A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry I've take so SO so long to write this, I started working on it while I was on vacation, like I said I was going to, but never got around to finishing it till Christmas break. I hope you like this one, as it took me forever to get it going, I blame my tardiness on the pressures of HS junior year, as well as the stupid condition thingy I have. (always needing sleep, I could sleep for all night, all day and still take a nap.)
Anyway, thanks to Lylli Riddle, pruningshears, and opal eyes for reviewing! I'm so glad that you haven't abandoned my fic b/c of my lateness!!!!!!
Disclaimer: (I think I forgot this a couple times, but o well, you all know I'm not ripping off Takahashi-san) I don't own any character or whatever from Inuyasha. So don't sue me, dammit.
The next few days were primarily uneventful, give or take a few giant centipedes that is. Then, one week after the full moon had passed, the shard collectors met an old friend, at least that's one thing you could call him.
"Hey, mutt face! Taking good care of my woman?" a familiar voice came up behind the group out of no where.
"Koga, you wimpy wolf, what the hell are you doing her?! And for the last time, Kagome ain't your woman!" Inuyasha turned around, slightly peeved at meeting their, uh, visitor.
The wolf demon ignored Inuyasha's last comment and proceeded straight to his "woman." "Ugh! Dog turd, what did you DO to her? She reeks of your foul odor!"
Kagome turned scarlet red at this point, but no one was quite sure if it was from the fact that Koga said she reeked or perhaps what Inuyasha really had done to her.
"I haven't done anything to her!" Inuyasha was furious. "And the only time she reeks is when she's been around you!"
"Take that back mutt face!"
"Make me!"
"I see you haven't matured any. I really don't see HOW Kagome could EVER like an immature brat like you."
"And WHAT, may I ask, is SO wrong with being immature?" piped a low, female voice, that was definitely not Kagome springing to Inuyasha's defense as she so often did when Koga came around. "Personally, I think "growing up" is overrated."
Koga spun around to face a dark-haired woman looking at him so intensely; it was like she was looking THROUGH him. "Mutt! How dare you?! You say you want Kagome, yet you have OTHER women running around defending what little pride you have?! I can understand keeping the exterminator, as she's the monk's woman, but who is this?!"
In reaction to the last comment, which was over-looked by everyone save for those whom it referred to, Sango's cheeks tinted pink, and Miroku's face broke out into a distinct smirk.
Kagome and Inuyasha simply stared at Koga in disbelief. Anzu, however, was NOT happy with this cocky wolf demon who had just waltzed into her already bizarre life.
"WHO AM I?!!" Anzu spat through her gritted teeth, "OTHER WOMEN?!" Anzu slowly walked over to where Koga stood, still angry at Inuyasha. "WHO THE HELL D'YOU THINK YOU ARE? TO TALK TO ANY WOMAN LIKE THAT!!! I AM NOT SOME MAN'S PROPERTY, YOU ASS!! AND I WILL NOT HAVE YOU TALK ABOUT ME OR KAGOME OR SANGO IN SUCH A DEGRADING WAY EVER AGAIN!!" And with that, Anzu proceeded to pound her fists into Koga's gut.
What probably only lasted a few minutes was over in, well, a few minutes. Inuyasha inched his way in front of Kagome, so as not to alert the almost certainly pissed wolf demon and to prevent any further kidnappings of his shard-collector with benefits.
For another good minute all eyes were on Koga. He had run away in the face of danger before, what would he do now? Though none of them knew for sure, everyone was almost certain that this particular demon had never gotten his ass kicked by a girl. Well, a girl that wasn't a demon anyway.
"Heh, don't you have anything to say that might save what little pride you have left?" Anzu snorted.
Koga slowly raised his head from the bent-over position that all people assume after receiving painful blows to the gut. He stared at this strange young woman who smelled so like Inuyasha, yet so un-like him at the same time. Who was she and how did she manage to make such a fool of him? "Wh-who are you?"
"Damn this shit! What ARE you, a simpleton? You really think I would answer any question of yours after I demonstrated my utter dislike of you, fool?" Anzu retorted. Everyone had decided to grab a good seat to watch what promised to be an interesting fight somewhere in the last few minutes.
"How dare you talk to me like that! Since you seem so uninformed, I'll have to tell you just who I am." Koga drew himself up, his best attempt to intimidate Anzu, "I am Koga, leader of the wolf demon tribe!"
Anzu just stared at him blankly, "And I should care… why?"
"Insolent wench!"
"Stupid demon!"
Koga took another whiff of the strange mixed scent coming from Anzu. What is this? She smells like she IS Inuyasha, but she also has some similar scents as Kagome does lingering on her. She appears human, acts human, but smells hanyou, he thought. "Who are you to call me a foul demon, when you are a hanyou yourself?"
Anzu stopped in her tracks. Her gaze shifted from furious to puzzled. Come to think of it, the longer I stay here, the more my demon powers surface. I still look like me, but I can hear better and my sense of smell has increased too… Anzu continued to stand in place and peer at Koga, sizing him up.
"Well? What're you staring at wench?!" Anzu's gaze unnerved him. For a good ten minutes, this went on, till Koga couldn't stand it anymore. "Keh, I think this fight is over," he stated in a cocky voice, even though he knew he just lost. "Later!" And with that, Koga sped off into oblivion.
For a good time after, the shard collectors stood in uncomfortable silence, save for Anzu, who was still gazing at where Koga had been, deep in thought. Finally, Kagome broke the silence, "Erm, it's getting late… We should get going," she turned to leave, "Coming, Anzu-chan?"
The sound of her name snapped her out of her trance-like state. "Hmm?" Anzu gazed up at the darkening sky. "Oh yeah, of course." And she quickly caught up with the group, Miroku in the lead, searching for a good-looking tavern with an "ominous cloud" above it.
~*~
When they reached a tavern it was already nightfall, and the group was sorely tired from traveling all day. The girls and Shippo took to their room immediately after dinner and fell asleep right away. Inuyasha and Miroku didn't stay up much longer until sleep, too, claimed them.
Outside the tavern, doing his best not to alert the hanyou's sensitive ears of Kagome's shard-detecting powers, Koga snuck in to see Anzu. There was just something about her…
A/N: ya, well, I pretty much got everything I needed to say said in the a/n at the beginning, 'cept one lil thing. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! YOU WILL MAKE ME SO HAPPY IF YOU DO!!!!
