duende

.:avidity:.
chapter eleven

"Are you all right?"

The question gave him a start. He bit back a reprimand, knowing instinctively that she waited to ask the question until after he sheathed the sword. So deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice the floors creak as she moved down the hall, nor did he hear the door slide open when she first stepped into the room.

"I'm fine," he said finally, dejectedly.

He could almost hear her frown behind him, his mind's eye providing him the image of her eyes growing doubtful. The wooden floor whispered as she stepped near. Kneeling next to him, she placed her hand on his knee and squeezed.

"You're going out there, aren't you?"

The sheathed sword lay in front of him, reminding him of forgotten promises. Arms crossed over his chest and chin down, he murmured. "He's dangerous."

Her fingers reflexively clutched his knee a little tighter as she gazed at her hand. He couldn't stop the grief and anger that radiated from him. The emotions were almost tangible.

"They could have been mistaken," she said softly, her voice taking on a soothing quality. "You have to admit that the story is a bit unbelievable."

His hand wrapped around hers. Warm and clammy. "I know," he agreed.

"But you're going anyway," she said. "You've already decided."

He snorted with a self-mocking tone, his eyes fixed forward. "I should have asked to see the damn body."

"I still don't believe this notion that they're friends—"

"Why?" he asked, looking her in the eye for the first time since she entered the room. His expression revealed his growing distain and his tone only amplified it. "She was part of the group that helped destroy the Shikon no Tama. She traveled around with a hanyou. Rumor has it that the Youkai Lord of the Western Lands helped as well. She has a history of being friendly with youkai, that much we know. Hiring her to exterminate that wolf youkai was obviously a mistake. I should have hunted that monster myself."

Eyes distant, he muttered, "I should have avenged our son myself."

Silence blanketed them, both lost in the moment. She, uncertain how to comfort her husband and he struggling to get a handle on his emotions.

"We're nothing but fools to her," he continued quietly. "She accepted our hospitality, her service fee and then she left. For all we know it was a set-up from the beginning."

Her face paled. "Ichiro... you don't really think... she wouldn't--"

"Our son was eaten by a youkai who's tribe was supposedly totally wiped out over a year ago."

"But... she helped to destroy the Shikon no Tama. If she were evil..."

"I know. I just can't... in good conscious... not go."

Aiko fell silent. After several moments, she asked, "What are you planning?"

"I plan to kill him," he said, eyes hard.

• • •

A frightening scent tickled at its nostrils, sending currents of panic racing through its veins. The beast snorted, beady eyes darting about as it sought after the predator its snout already detected.

Nothing. Nevertheless, the scent was growing stronger. Insistent.

Knowing death was looming, the boar did the only thing it knew to do. With an ear-piercing squeal, the beast fled for its life, cloven hooves scrambling wildly. Puffs of dust rose silently in the wake of the flight as a wry grin graced the mouth of the boar's worst nightmare.

Thus began the pursuit.

Leaves and branches tore from his passage as he cut a chaotic trail through the forest. The joy of the chase caused his wild instinct to sing with pleasure. He toyed with the animal, prolonging the hunt a few extra moments before the scent of the village grew too faint for his liking. At which point, he knew the game must end. His moment of raw enjoyment concluded far too quickly as Kouga pounced upon the animal in one effortless leap.

It was almost regrettable.

With one quick twist, he broke the boar's neck without a second thought. A clean, easy kill. Almost dull.

The wolf stood with a sigh, dusting himself off and adjusting his wristbands. With a grunt, he hefted the beast over his shoulders and silently made his way out of the dense woods. As he came within sight of the village, Kouga detected Sango and Kirara's scent on the wind. Then the tale-tell sounds of a boomerang beating through the air caused his ears to twitch irritably. Frowning, Kouga decided to investigate. That woman was probably pushing herself too hard. Again.

From the cover of the dense foliage, he watched her. The weapon she was using was not the Hiraikotsu. It was smaller and probably much lighter, though she handled with a slight degree of difficultly. She threw it with a grunt, and then frowned immediately upon release. Kouga wasn't certain exactly where she was trying to aim the training weapon, but her expression clearly revealed her displeasure with the trajectory. She caught the weapon with confidence, though Kouga still saw her flinch.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Sango visibly recoiled when she heard a familiar yet heavily sarcastic voice break through the quiet, catching her unguarded.

"I thought you were going to take it easy today."

"I have been," she objected half-heartedly, her back still pointed in Kouga's direction.

The wolf snorted. She knew she had no excuse to offer that would satisfy him. Sango had promised him that she would spend the day resting. Unfortunately, idleness was a far greater annoyance than an overprotective wolf youkai.

Still, she didn't want to argue with Kouga. A promise was a promise.

"Really?" he asked, scenting the air. The training weapon sagged slightly in her hands as he moved to stand in front of her.

Blushing, Sango finally lowered the weapon completely; her lack of protest completing the condemnation but her expression did not reflect remorse. Instead, she peered at him with a crooked grin, amusement evident in her features.

He ignored her smile and leaned toward her, inhaling deeply, "Huh. I smell otherwise."

She said nothing in reply, though Kouga thought he heard a giggle. While he preferred that Sango follow through with her promise and spend the day resting, she did not appear to have worked herself too hard. For that, he was glad. In fact, the time she spent building up the strength in her injured shoulder was invigorating enough to cause her to break out into a light sheen of sweat. She was smiling at him, her cheeks still flushed from the workout giving her skin an alluring glow.

He smiled in return, not really knowing why. He only knew that she smelled incredible and looked even better. So soft and powerful and… female. Unmistakably, beautifully female. And she was so close…

"You sure look pretty with those leaves in your hair. I didn't know you liked to dress up for a hunt," she said with mirth.

The wolf blinked, his mind suddenly snapping back into the moment. Embarrassment quickly brightened his features as he noticed the way she was looking at him, jocularity reflecting in her eyes. To add insult to injury, he realized that he had been staring at her. Intently. And with his mouth slightly open, too.

The wolf hastily turned his attention toward the stream in order to hide the ruddiness of his cheeks.

"What?" Kouga asked as he lowered the carcass to the ground and strode toward the water.

Stifling her giggles, Sango observed as the wolf did his best to avoid looking at her. Even the tips of his ears took on a pinkish hue. "I said, I didn't know you like to dress up for a hunt."

"What are you talking about?" Kouga asked as he cupped some water in his palm and drank.

"Those lovely maple leaves, of course. Red looks really good on you, Kouga."

Kouga paused in mid sip, now thoroughly confused. He saw her move toward him in his peripheral vision and watched as she produced part of a crimson colored maple leaf from his hair. The same breathtaking smile and playful expression she showed him before returned in full force and he couldn't help but to smirk in return. He touched his head where she retrieved the leaf and pulled out another torn piece from his hair. And another.

"You missed some."

Kouga rolled his eyes and searched for additional pieces with his fingertips. "You seem awfully amused."

She grinned, "I was just thinking how cute you would look with some flowers in your hair."

The wolf discarded part of a stem and did his best to glare at her.

"Let me," she said quietly, still grinning cheerfully.

Limbs grew suddenly tense as she drew close to him, her ponytail brushing against his arm. Clearing his throat, Kouga forced a smirk to mask the anxiousness he was feeling from her nearness. "This isn't very dignified for a Yourouzoku."

"'Cute' is rarely dignified," she remarked as she carefully pulled at a snagged leaf tip, "That's usually what makes cute, cute."

Kouga thought his heart would stop when she paused long enough to grin at him. Even worse, he felt her breath brush against the tip of his ear when she began her ministrations once more and the contact sent chills down his spine.

"You even have a couple pieces in your ponytail! Were you chasing that thing trough the tree tops?!"

"I— It was a fun chase," he murmured.

"I guess. You're a mess, Kouga," Sango teased as she leaned closer still, gently pulling at his ponytail and flooding his senses with her fragrance.

"I need… I need to clean that boar," Kouga remarked hastily, his voice taking on a strained quality, almost sharp. Her proximity was giving him ideas. Ideas he wasn't ready to act upon.

Beguilement quickly drained from her features as she focused on his eyes. In that instant, both were suddenly caught in a pocket of uncertainty that neither knew quite how to escape. Neither seemed willing to move and Kouga swallowed hard. The movement of his neck as his Adam's apple fell and rose was enough to break Sango from her trance and she shifted her weight away from him. The added space between them effectively ended what felt like an hour of seconds by simply pulling back a few, short inches.

"R-right. I'll bring you a couple of knives," she mumbled before standing and walking away, providing both a moment to collect their wits.

Unfortunately for Kouga, his eyes had other plans.

The moment she faded from sight, the Yourouzoku prince realized he was staring at her once more. He was even unconsciously scenting the air, trying to gather the last hanging wisps of her fragrance that remained. He imagined he looked quite ridiculous at that moment and he immediately berated himself for his obvious longing.

This was quickly developing into a problem. He knew he was infatuated, but the last thing he wanted to do was make another mistake like he did with Kagome. If there was one thing he learned from the little miko it was that human females weren't like youkai females. A long courtship seemed to be the way to go with them. So he would have to take his time. Otherwise he worried that he might scare her off.

The wolf stood and picked up their soon-to-be meal. He'd have to stop staring at her. That was paramount. Eventually she would grow uncomfortable with the way he looked at her and it would affect their friendship… if it hadn't already. He didn't want that.

Of course not looking at her was far easier said than done. The woman drew his eyes like a moth to a flame. He liked looking at her. Just as much as he liked smelling her.

And did she ever smell great.

Really great.

Usually, a human's scent was somewhat offensive. Either they didn't bathe enough or they were sickly… but Sango… she always smelled good. After a workout, after a bath, in the morning, in the evening, when they argued, when she laughed…

She had a great laugh, too… bright eyes… Beautiful smile. Nice mouth… nice lips…

Kouga slapped his forehead. This was exactly the line of thought he didn't want to engage in. It led to staring and staring led to drooling and drooling led to embarrassment and he just couldn't have that.

Even now, he was staring. She was walking toward him with the tools he would need to clean the boar in her hands and her hips swayed under her kimono so nicely…

Kouga sighed. He was already fighting a loosing battle and he knew it.

• • •

The meal proceeded with an uncharacteristic level of quiet. It almost felt tense. Not the same type of tense that existed between them when she first brought him to the village… it was more like avidity with just enough uncertainty to leave them both verbally paralyzed.

Eating in silence wasn't a new occurrence for the two of them. They'd done it on more than one occasion. This time, the silence felt strange to her. Oppressive. She often caught him watching her out of the corners of her eyes and when she would look at him directly, he would return his focus to the food before him. Sango felt confident that the looks she was receiving had little to do with her breaking her promise earlier in the day, but that explanation seemed the most reasonable to her.

The sidelong glances didn't bother her as much as the questions floating around in her head. He told her that he would stay with her. 'I'll just have to stick around and keep you out of trouble,' he said. It was such a casual comment, but at the time, she believed he meant permanently.

It was silly, she knew. Obviously he simply meant that he would stay around until she was recovered enough to take care of herself. That time was upon them now. Surely, he realized that. Even so, Kouga gave no indication that he was planning to leave any time soon and Sango couldn't help but wonder when she would wake up and find him gone.

He left once before without so much as a word. What would stop him from doing it again?

Suffice it to say, she enjoyed his company. Over the past month, their friendship grew to the point where she felt completely comfortable around him. She trusted him, but a cloud of uncertainty still remained. If that wasn't bad enough, she was starting to realize that she really didn't want him to leave. Her initial belief that he meant to live with her in the village was born out of an unrealized hope. The more she thought about it, the more she had to acknowledge how fond she had grown toward him. Even somewhat infatuated.

That admission instantly made things much more complicated. More often than not, she found herself thinking of him when he wasn't around. The sidelong glances he sent her way filled her with a twinge of excitement, and when he was close to her…

Sango felt her heart flutter in her chest as she stared down at her food.

Her feelings were hers alone. She would just have to keep them to herself for the time being. She was already too attached to him. If he left…

"Why aren't you eating?"

The taiji-ya flinched and glanced up at Kouga as though caught.

"I cooked it long enough, didn't I?"

Her lips trembled into a smile. "Y-yeah, it's fine."

Kouga wiped his chin, eyeing her. She barely ate half her portion of food. "Then why aren't you eating?"

"I'm… full."

Kouga snorted and Sango remained mute as she poked at her meal. She simply didn't have an appetite. Worry tended to do that to her. Moreover, she wasn't about to explain her worries to the very person causing her worries to begin with. Not when she was certain she would wake up one morning and find him gone.

She would just have to distance herself from him.

Simple.

Twin tails flicked as Kirara sniffed at Sango's food, then mewed up at the taiji-ya with attention-starved eyes. The cat youkai always seemed to know just when to make her presence known. Another mew and the cat nudged her hand, demanding access to Sango's lap. Grateful for the diversion, the taiji-ya scratched the little ball of fluff under the chin and behind her ears as she tried to bury the heaviness in her heart.

It wasn't until Sango felt a gentle squeeze on her still-recovering shoulder that she realized Kouga had moved to sit beside her, his eyes watching her intently.

"Are you sore?"

"… A bit."

The wolf gave a condescending smirk as he reclined, supporting his upper body with his palms. "You overdid it today. You should have rested like you promised you would."

Sango nodded reluctantly as she stroked Kirara once more. Already she didn't like the possible implications of his comments, but she couldn't help but feel wary. If he wanted to leave, he should just come out and say it. She could handle it. She'd been alone before.

"You're still having trouble with the throw."

"My aim still isn't quite right," she admitted reluctantly. Throwing was the most important skill to master when using the Hiraikotsu; of course, he would notice that. Especially if he was just sticking around until she was fully recovered.

"Which is causing you more trouble? The throw or the catch?"

Pride kicked in, encasing her heart and battling her fears with a pseudo confidence. "The throw is more important than the catch. I can catch."

"That's not what I asked."

Sango paused in her ministrations behind Kirara's ears to turn her face toward the wolf, "I can catch, but what good does that do me in battle if I can't cause damage?"

Kouga said nothing for several seconds, then nodded. "True. Is that what's been bothering you? The fact that you're having some trouble aiming that thing?"

Kirara jumped from Sango's lap as she turned to face the Yourouzoku fully. "What do you mean?"

"You have that look again. I thought maybe you hurt yourself by overdoing it today or something but now I'm not sure."

"Are you wondering when I will be fit enough to defend myself?" she asked sharply.

Kouga tilted his head and gave her a queer look. "Huh?"

"I can defend myself now."

"What are you talking about?"

"You," she gestured at him, her expression hard. "You're here because I was too injured to take care of myself, right? Well, I'm better now."

Kouga sat forward, brows furled. "What?"

"I appreciate all that you've done for me and everything, but you don't have to stay here anymore. I'm well enough to take care of myself."

"You… you want me to go?"

With the question spoken aloud, the hardness quickly vanished from Sango's expression. She quickly fell silent and found that she lacked the confidence to look at him directly.

The wolf only felt emboldened. He leaned toward her, eyes dark and voice demanding, "Are you asking me to go?"

The silence remained. Much to her discredit, Sango found she did not have the strength to speak the words aloud. Heart pounding hard in her chest, she could only stare at her hands as she tried to ignore the painful lump forming in her throat.

"Sango! Look at me!"

Startled brown looked up to see angry aqua only a few inches from her face. She felt her mouth go dry at the unanticipated nearness. Lips parted to speak, but she found that her voice still would not come.

Kouga had no such problem.

"Are you asking me to go?!"

"N-no! I—"

She was cut off by a kiss. Sudden and fierce, he pressed his mouth against her. The contact sent her heart racing as her muscles tensed in shock. As quickly as the kiss began, it ended, leaving the taiji-ya and youkai wide eyed and flushed.

"I'm staying," he whispered after several long seconds. Searching her face for any sign of hesitation, he heard her breath catch in her throat before she gave a slight nod, her eyes watching his.

"Yes."

Lips quirked upward as Kouga brought his hand to Sango's face, cupping her chin and tracing her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into his palm, her eyes never leaving his before he leaned forward and kissed her once more.

AN: The leaves Kouga gets caught in his hair are from the Bloodgood maple indigenous to Japan. It is a popular upright cultivar with large, deep red leaves. The leaves are red in spring but become purple in summer.