Chapter Six
"Shelter"… Or Something
"Are you sure this is where you saw them?"
"For the last time, Inuyasha-sama, yes!" Myouga cried,
exasperated, to the annoyed hanyou.
They'd been searching for signs of Amaya and Sesshomaru
for hours, but had found nothing, and it was grating on everyone's
nerves.
"Can't he just find her trail or something?" Shippou asked.
The kitsune was exhausted, hungry, and soaked through from all the
rain. Kagome sighed. "Shippou, the rain washed away any signs of
her. Without the trail, InuYasha has nothing to go on, especially
since she's obviously so far away by now."
"THAT AIN'T HELPIN'!" InuYasha snapped, enraged at
this feeling of helplessness. "Damn, why do we have to look for
the wench, anyway? It's her own fault she got lost…"
"InuYasha…" Kagome said coldly, making the hanyou wince
when he realized what he'd said. Kagome was as miserable as the
rest of them, and worried sick about Amaya. It was making her irritable,
and… "SIT."
WHAM.
…He was going to be feeling it very keenly.
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Amaya clutched her chest, breathing hard. She was so out of
breath that she felt sure her lungs would burst. She glanced over to
the side and looked Kouga over concernedly. He actually seemed like
he might pull through- apparently, she'd managed to get him away from
Sesshomaru before the demon could get enough poison in him to kill him,
but he was still unconscious, had been ever since she'd started carrying him.
But he'd be all right… Wouldn't he? Youkai were stronger than
humans. He'd have to be all right. Amaya reached over and put the back
of her hand to his forehead. Fever… But not as bad as before. Youkai healed
faster. He'd be all right. Because if he wasn't… If he didn't survive… Then
what?
She sighed and lay down by the mouth of the shallow cave she'd
found for a shelter. It wasn't the most comfortable of places, but it kept
them semi-dry, and it was the best she'd been able to find.
Amaya closed her eyes and shivered, clutching her cloak tight
about her. It was so cold…
Amaya was awake. She couldn't open her eyes, though. If she
opened her eyes, she'd have to admit that she was awake, and she'd have
to start moving. She didn't want to start moving, because somehow…
In spite of all the wet and cold… She felt warm. She felt loved, as if
someone she knew was holding her. It must have been some remainder
of a dream, however, because nobody loved her. Not that way.
She drifted back off to sleep, unaware that she was, in fact,
lying in Kouga's arms. At some point during her sleep, she'd instinctively
sought out the closest source of warmth- which was, of course, Kouga.
Amaya's head was leaned against his chest, and her arms were around his
neck- and Kouga was holding her close to him, resting his chin on the top
of her head. To anyone passing by, they could have been lovers, sleeping
in eachother's arms. It was a peaceful scene. A beautiful scene. It was an
extremely misleading prelude to what was about to happen in a few minutes,
when the young Amaya really did wake up.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" The scream echoed throughout the woods,
sending birds flying off from their trees, sending animals running off in panic.
It was enough, even, to awake Kouga.
"Whuh…?" Was all the wolf demon managed to say. What the
hell was happening…?
"HENTAI!" Amaya snapped furiously, glaring at him, her eyes
narrowed into slits. "HENTAI BAKA!!"
"What?" Kouga snapped back. "What the hell are you talking
about?" He stopped, realizing the situation they'd just been in. "Oh…"
He mumbled, a tinge of pink entering his cheeks.
"Look," He said angrily. "It wasn't like I was trying anything-"
SLAP.
"Ow! Damn!" Kouga nursed a large, pink, hand-shaped mark
on his cheek. Where did a human girl learn to hit like that?!
"Will you listen to me for one second?!" He demanded.
Amaya glared at him fiercely, but nodded coldly after a moment.
"Listening," She said icily.
"I don't know what's going on, but I swear I wasn't trying anything!"
He said indignantly. "I don't even know who you are! I just woke up and I
was here!" Speaking of which… "How did I get here? And where is that bastard
Sesshomaru?!"
"Typical," Amaya snorted, looking away.
"What?"
"That's so like a man," She said, sniffing.
"What do you mean?" Kouga asked, confused.
"The first thing you think of is fighting. That's all you think of! You're
not even concerned about the fact that you could have died, and you didn't even
thank me for saving your life!" She said, looking slightly hurt.
"How could a girl like you save MY life?!" He demanded.
Amaya looked at him with mixed rage and hurt, her eyes blazing. "Oh,"
She hissed, getting to her feet and storming off.
"Hey, wait! Where d'you think you're going?" He called, trying to get
up and follow her, but gasping and sinking back down to the ground when
he felt the sharp pain in his side. Kouga looked down, seeing that his
wounds had all been bandaged carefully, and they barely hurt at all compared to
what he had felt when fighting Sesshomaru. A twinge of guilt tugged at him. So
this girl actually had saved his life… I'll have to repay her somehow, He thought.
"Wait!" He called louder. "Please."
Amaya stopped and turned slowly, raising one eyebrow skeptically.
"Yes?" She asked coldly.
Kouga took a deep breath. He hated having to admit he was wrong,
especially to a lowly human, but… "I'm sorry. I really am. You were kind
to tend my wounds when I had done nothing for you, and I…" He bit his
lip. "I need your help," He admitted reluctantly.
Amaya looked him over, then smiled softly and returned to his side,
sinking down to the ground next to him. "Apology accepted," She said kindly.
"I'm sorry for slapping you," She added after a moment's thought.
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"Houshi-sama…"
"Yes, Sango?" Miroku replied, yawning slightly. It was too early,
he decided. Much, much too early.
"I'm worried about Amaya," She said softly, tugging at a lock of
her ebony black hair.
Miroku looked back at her sadly. He hated seeing her like this…
Above all, he wanted her to be happy. That would probably be a better way
of expressing my feelings for her than rubbing my hand against her bottom, He
thought absently, then shook his head and returned his attention to the crisis at hand.
"I am worried about her as well," He replied. "But Amaya-sama
seems like she can take care of herself."
"I know," Sango said, smiling. Her smile faded quickly, however.
"But, against Sesshomaru… If he did something to her…"
"Sango-sama," Miroku said gently, clutching one of her hands in
his. "We will find her. I promise."
The slayer looked up at him in surprise, feeling a rush of excitement
when he touched her. Why couldn't he be like this all the time…?
"Oi! You two!"
They both jumped and backed away from each other quickly,
putting their hands behind their backs and turning to stare, wide-eyed,
at InuYasha.
"We're going," He snapped, turning and walking back towards
the place where they had made camp.
"Going where?" Miroku asked, following after him.
"To find Sesshomaru."
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"There. That should stop the itching."
"Thanks," Kouga replied, smiling.
Amaya just looked back at him, then looked away quickly,
her cheeks burning. She'd been helping Kouga with his bandaging, but
for that to be possible, he had to take off his shirt.
Don't look at his chest. It's disgusting. It's something a man would do.
However, she couldn't help but notice how well muscled he was. No!
Amaya looked down, blushing even more deeply than before, and feeling
her heartbeat speed up. Kouga was… Handsome. Very handsome. All
of the men in her village put together couldn't compare with him. I must
not think that… Don't think, don't think, don't think…
"Something wrong?" Kouga asked curiously, pulling his shirt back
on.
"No, nothing," Amaya said quickly, her eyes darting to his face
and then away again.
"Okay…" He said doubtfully, leaning back against the walls of
the cave.
"Kouga," She said, feeling that they needed to change the subject.
"Yeah?"
"Where is your pack?" Amaya asked shyly.
"At our den, I guess," He replied, shrugging carelessly.
"And… Why were you going after Sesshomaru?" She asked
hesitantly.
Kouga stiffened and glared at her. Amaya widened her eyes and
backed away quickly, looking at him nervously.
The wolf demon sighed and sat back. "Sesshomaru made an attack
on our den," He said gruffly. "Killed a bunch of wolves, and some of the
pack, as well…" He looked down.
"I am so sorry," Amaya cried, coming closer and putting her hand
on his arm. "Forgive me. I should not have asked."
Kouga looked up at her slowly, blinking in surprise. She was
actually concerned about him. Her eyes… She looked like she might start
crying. For him.
"Uh…" He said awkwardly. "Don't be sorry. It's not like you
did anything."
Amaya sat back and released her hold on his arm. "I'm still sorry
to hear that. You must miss them terribly."
Kouga shrugged. As a matter of fact, he did, but he wasn't about
to admit it to her. Men weren't aloud to be weak in front of women.
Amaya watched him closely. He was different from anyone she'd
ever met before, and there was something about him that... I feel like I
could tell him… What I've never told anyone else before.
Kouga raised his head and his eyes met hers, unblinking. For once,
Amaya didn't look away. Her heartbeat quickened again, and she had a
rushing feeling in her head that made it hard to think, but it was a pleasant
feeling. One she didn't want to go away.
Kouga couldn't tear his eyes away, either. He saw something in
her that fascinated him. He wasn't sure what it was, but seeing it, he
was determined to find out. He leaned forward slowly, putting his hand
against the wall that Amaya was sitting by, and gradually came so close to
her that he could feel her body heat. He could smell fear on her, but also…
Something else… Something… Gods… She's in heat?!
"Kouga-sama?"
Both demon and girl looked up, startled, their faces flushed.
Looking down at them were three wolf demons from Kouga's
pack, watching them in amusement.
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Okay! Sorry that took so long, but at least I got it up, right? I believe now is the time I thank everyone who read this, especially people who took the time to review! So... Thank you all! I am your slave for life!!!
Now... Reviewer response! Wheee!!
K-chan
Thanks Kagome-chan! Although I am going to have to yell at you for making me give you spoilers in school. ((Glares fiercely)) Spoiler... Um... Getter... Heheh...
faerystrangeme )Thanks! Point taken. I know that wasn't all that accurate to the time period, but it's a story for fun... If I barely do research for school projects, why would I do it for something like Night Rain? ... Seriously, it's a good point. But when I created Amaya, basically my whole idea of her was that she had a traumatic past... And I liked this one. The first draft of it... Well... Sucked.
Anyway, next time I do something like this I will try and be more accurate.
LostArtistThank you! I did have fun, although being away from my computer seriously got to me. For some reason, I can't write anywhere except at MY computer... O.O Wierd, I know. The good thing was, I was thinking about the story so much that I was able to write this in under an hour.