Author: Heh heh, yes, Lilian has a husband...but the fic isn't over...O.o.
Sorry about the late update, I got a PS2 and I bought .hack sign: Infection...man that game is addictive.
20 chapters!!!!! So proud of myself.
Chapter 20:
Confusion turned to shock on Kouga's face, the expression was not hidden at all, however the shock was so strong that he couldn't fit the hurt that he felt. Lilian's eyes left his and went to the ground after breaking the news to the wolf, unsure of why she was feeling so uncomfortable.
A bony hand stretched out to Kouga for a handshake followed by that irritating voice.
"Well if you were the one to take care of my Lilian, then I must thank you."
His voice dripped with something devious that Kouga couldn't put his finger on. His eyes lifted to skim over the man that had reached Lilian before him.
...before him...
Kouga knew that his stomach should be lurching at the thought of touching and comforting another's mate, one of the greatest kinds of dishonors to him...but it didn't make him feel sick. He still wanted her, and he hated himself for it.
Donned in a baggy one piece outfit much like the villagers of the village, the color was some kind of red, but he couldn't make it out in the darkness. His face was as bony as his arm, deep dips where his cheeks met his nose, making the already large and ponted nose seem even bigger. Thin hair fell evenly around his head at ear's length. Small beady black pupils on white eyes that fell deeply into the face. He smelled as creepy as he looked, the thought that he had lost Lilian to him made his blood temperature rise.
"Is there a problem sir?"
The elderly man, dressed in a full Karate gi, the most likely burnt orange, but the night hid the truth of the color. His hair was white displaying his age, brought neatly back into a ponytail which fell to his neck. His eyes were black, his very presence just emanated peace. He seemed like a nice person, his scent, like his appearance gave the feeling of tranquility.
Kouga managed to shut his jaw, but he could not pull the shocked look off his face. He reached out and grabbed the bony hand in his hand in the human ritual. It was cold, very cold.
"N-no, its just that she never mentioned to me that she had a mate."
The young boy turned to leave, dressed in what looked loosely like the assassin clothes that Lilian wore, except much smaller and with much less slots. It seemed rather bulky and when the kid moved, Kouga could hear the faint sounds of metal clanking within the folds of the clothing. Coupling that with the sluggish and dramatic steps the kid took, told Kouga that suit was weighted. He caught a glimpse of black eyes much like the elderly man's before he turned. Black hair that shined under the moon. He smelled a bit like sweat but other than that, there was a bright tinge to it.
"Really, you didn't tell him Lilian darling?"
Kouga pulled hand back, he could feel the shock subsiding, and showing the hurt and anger he felt in front of these people would be a bad idea. He turned his back to them, effectively hiding the new face that he was making. Summoning up his strength, he forced out some words, struggling to keep the sadness out of them.
"I have guard duty, good bye Lilian."
Without listening for a response, Kouga took off back towards the shrine.
"Lilian, is he always that quiet?"
Lilian pulled away from Kan-ryu and turned to her father, a fake grin on face.
"Yeah, but that's a good thing sometimes. The mountains out there were best enjoyed in silence."
"Oh, well, maybe we'll see him again. I get the feeling that he was a nice man."
"Father, he was a youkai."
"And I keep telling you, youkai aren't always evil. Maybe he'll be the one who shows you that you can have friends of other species."
She forced a chuckle.
"Whatever"
"Well, I'm going inside to go rest, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
"Okay, good night"
Her father walked into the house, disappearing into the darkness. As soon as he was out of sight, Lilian immediately started to walk away from the house. She fought off a snarl as she heard footsteps behind her.
"Akira's right, we need to go to bed, we have work to do." Devious humor in his voice as always when the others weren't around.
"Just shut up Kan-ryu." Cold as usual when around the man, nearly spitting his name out of her mouth.
"Oh, what's the matter darling?"
"I told you never to call me that when fathers not around."
She stopped and scowled at the man who looked and acted remarkably like a vulture.
"Oh, but you seem to enjoy it so much whenever he's around." He whined a bit, knowing it pissed her off like nothing else, coupling the words with wrapping his arms around him.
His reward was as always, two fingers pressed firmly under the base of his sternum, pressed inward and curling upwards. He winced and pulled away, a large, sick smile on his face in satisfaction.
"Wife or not, do not touch me when my father is not around, do you understand that?"
"How many times have you said that darling?"
Lilian seethed but stayed silent, they weren't far enough away from her family's new house for her to start yelling.
"Well, we'll be staying with your parents until I find a house for us, so let's go."
The change in his voice to stern signaled that he was done playing with her.
"I'll be there eventually."
Her voice changed as well, using the deepest part of her register and expressing no emotion.
Kanryu turned and walked, making it to the house in a while and disappearing into the darkness within leaving Lilian to only gaze at the stars. Memories of the moment between her and Kouga came back to the front of her mind as his face made its way to the stars in her mind's eye.
Her voice was hardly stronger than a whisper.
"I'm sorry Kouga..."
===============================================================
Shock, pain, anger, frustration, and confusion had already passed, leaving Kouga in the next stage: depression. His eyes had lost their sparkle as he looked at the ground in front of him, he was so out of it that he hardly felt the shikon's pull. His whole body stayed still except for his deep breaths.
His rational thought had finally returned to him at this stage, but it didn't help him. His thoughts refused to budge from the memory of either Lilian's body against his on the night they agreed to do guard duty or the feel of her lips against his.
'She has a mate, I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. Its bad enough that I did as much as I have already, there's no excuse for touching a mated woman. There never was, and there never will be...even if I didn't know.'
He shifted unconsciously as guilt washed over him.
'Why the hell didn't she tell me? She could have let me know that she had a mate, even one as creepy as him. At least that way I wouldn't have disgraced myself by laying hands on another's mate...by touching that soft skin...caressing that beautiful hair...'
His eyes shifted as his tangent continued in his mind, as much as he knew he should break the train of thoughts, he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about her, mated or not. That's what made him the angriest.
He didn't even notice the black haired individual that closed the distance between them.
"Hey what's wrong?"
Jerked out of his train of thoughts he looked up to see...what reminded him of Inuyasha. His eyes went wide as he looked over what could be none other than Inuyasha by facial features and wardrobe...but his hair, ears, and eyes...they looked almost...
"Yeah, I turn human on the nights of the new moon."
Kouga blinked a few times before returning his gaze to the ground, ignoring the smell of sex coming off his friend. He missed the look that was sent off in the distance to none other than Kagome.
She ushered him on with a pleading look that he hardly could make out...curse human sight...and a small gesture that meant to keep badgering the wolf until he figured out what was wrong.
He sighed in defeat before sitting down, maybe starting up a conversation would be an easier start.
"Hey, where's Lilian?"
He didn't miss Kouga's flinch.
"Why are you two out here?"
Inuyasha was a bit taken aback by the subject change.
"Oh, we came out for a stroll and I saw you, Kagome and I thought you could use someone to talk to." In actuality, Kagome pleaded with Inuyasha to take a stroll even though it meant Kouga would see his human form, and upon seeing said wolf sitting alone, "asked" Inuyasha to go talk to him, promising him that they would go back inside afterwards.
A sigh and a sound of acknowledgement from the wolf before he went back to staring at the ground.
"So what's wrong?"
"Nothing"
"Kouga..."
"What Inuyasha?"
"What's wrong?"
"There is nothing wrong..."
He sighed again, obviously giving away that something was wrong.
"Where's Lilian?"
It was a moment before Kouga spoke, giving ample time for the depression stage to end and for the short "broken" stage to start and give away any information asked.
"I-I kissed her..."
Inuyasha brightened up, even though his eyes weren't gold tonight, they still shined as if they were.
"That's good, I guess you didn't need my help afterall."
"I kissed her Inuyasha..."
His eyes turned to the human friend, the pain on his face effectively killed the shine on Inuyasha's.
"I kissed a mated woman..."
Inuyasha's eyes went wide with shock trying desperately to process what was just said. A single word passed his lips, though it was dangerously close to a shout.
"What?"
"S-she has a husband Inuyasha...she never told me...but she has one...she has a mate..."
Concern replaced shock.
"Wait a second, she has a husband?"
"Yes, I kissed her and then she ran off. I followed her and we ran into her husband and her family...they just moved into the village..."
"Oh..."
Inuyasha sat down on the ground next Kouga, making himself comfortable, not sure if he wanted to move because...he wasn't sure exactly what was going on. Originally, the whole thing between Kouga and this other woman really didn't matter to him other than an excuse to have a sparring partner, but to be honest, he was starting to hope the two would end up together. Maybe it was because some of Kagome's enthusiasm bled into him, but suddenly he felt as if a huge weight was being put on his shoulders.
Comforting was never something that Inuyasha liked to do...but for once, he decided he would try without being either forced to, or in love with the person he was comforting.
There was a deep sigh before Inuyasha opened his mouth.
"So what, are you going to leave now?"
"No...I told you that I would stay so that you and Kagome could have time together...I plan to do that."
"Ok, thank you."
Kouga made another sound of acknowledgement.
"So your gonna stay here but give up on Lilian then?"
"I have to...she's mated, there is no honor in desiring one who is bound to another."
"But does that mean that you want to?"
Kouga turned over to his companion, his eyes etched in a portrait of confusion. Inuyasha didn't meet his eyes, instead, focusing on the building before the both of them.
"Yes, I do want to give her up..."
"Really?"
Kouga turned back to the ground, angry as the truth ran over both his lips and his mind.
"No...no I don't want to. And that's the disgusting thing...I need to forget about her, I do...I know that...but I also know that I can't...that I don't want to..."
"Then maybe you shouldn't..."
Kouga turned to Inuyasha again, confused by his words for the second time.
"That's wrong, I could never touch a mated woman, do you think that low of me? I never once touched Kagome in an affectionate way after you two became mates."
"But you also didn't want to..."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because you would have, and I would have killed you."
"Fine then...I didn't want to...when I found out you were mates, I stopped caring about her in what little way I did..."
"I know, and that's why I know that you feel something more for this woman..."
"But it doesn't matter how I feel about her, she has a mate..."
"No, she has a husband."
"Same thing isn't it?"
"No, humans don't mark each other when get together, so they aren't bound to that person by anything other than their word."
"But humans mate for love, she must love him if she chose to settle down with him."
"Maybe, but I know first hand...not every love is true love."
"But she's already with him...I can't just step in there...I don't even know how she feels about me."
"You said you kissed her right?"
"Well...yeah."
"Did she let you kiss her?"
"I-I guess so..."
"Then its safe to say that there is something there, its up to you whether you let her go or not, but it sounds to me like you love her."
Kouga's eyes went wide as the information hit him...maybe...maybe he did love her...but how could he tell, he didn't know what love was.
"But...she already has a husband...he got to her first..."
"Kouga..."
"What?"
"Between the two of us, who claimed Kagome first?"
There was a short silence.
"...I did..."
"Who loved her more?"
Another silence.
"...You did..."
"And who is her mate right now?"
Eyes widened yet again as the logic hit him at once. Inuyasha didn't expect an answer, he knew that Kouga understood from the sudden silence. He got up from his seat and began walking back towards the place where Kagome was watching out of hearing distance.
"I-Inuyasha!!!" Kouga shouted at the retreating human.
"What?"
"Thank you...I couldn't ask for a better friend..."
Inuyasha smirked.
"Whatever, just remember that you owe me a match when this whole thing is said and done okay?"
"You got it."
With that, Inuyasha continued, preparing the re-telling in his mind for his mate. Kouga merely stayed sitting, awaiting the sunrise so that he could go talk to Lilian...he wasn't sure what he was going to do...but he would try something.
A bit of hope found its way into his eyes.
He may have been down, but he was certainly not out yet.
Sorry about the late update, I got a PS2 and I bought .hack sign: Infection...man that game is addictive.
20 chapters!!!!! So proud of myself.
Chapter 20:
Confusion turned to shock on Kouga's face, the expression was not hidden at all, however the shock was so strong that he couldn't fit the hurt that he felt. Lilian's eyes left his and went to the ground after breaking the news to the wolf, unsure of why she was feeling so uncomfortable.
A bony hand stretched out to Kouga for a handshake followed by that irritating voice.
"Well if you were the one to take care of my Lilian, then I must thank you."
His voice dripped with something devious that Kouga couldn't put his finger on. His eyes lifted to skim over the man that had reached Lilian before him.
...before him...
Kouga knew that his stomach should be lurching at the thought of touching and comforting another's mate, one of the greatest kinds of dishonors to him...but it didn't make him feel sick. He still wanted her, and he hated himself for it.
Donned in a baggy one piece outfit much like the villagers of the village, the color was some kind of red, but he couldn't make it out in the darkness. His face was as bony as his arm, deep dips where his cheeks met his nose, making the already large and ponted nose seem even bigger. Thin hair fell evenly around his head at ear's length. Small beady black pupils on white eyes that fell deeply into the face. He smelled as creepy as he looked, the thought that he had lost Lilian to him made his blood temperature rise.
"Is there a problem sir?"
The elderly man, dressed in a full Karate gi, the most likely burnt orange, but the night hid the truth of the color. His hair was white displaying his age, brought neatly back into a ponytail which fell to his neck. His eyes were black, his very presence just emanated peace. He seemed like a nice person, his scent, like his appearance gave the feeling of tranquility.
Kouga managed to shut his jaw, but he could not pull the shocked look off his face. He reached out and grabbed the bony hand in his hand in the human ritual. It was cold, very cold.
"N-no, its just that she never mentioned to me that she had a mate."
The young boy turned to leave, dressed in what looked loosely like the assassin clothes that Lilian wore, except much smaller and with much less slots. It seemed rather bulky and when the kid moved, Kouga could hear the faint sounds of metal clanking within the folds of the clothing. Coupling that with the sluggish and dramatic steps the kid took, told Kouga that suit was weighted. He caught a glimpse of black eyes much like the elderly man's before he turned. Black hair that shined under the moon. He smelled a bit like sweat but other than that, there was a bright tinge to it.
"Really, you didn't tell him Lilian darling?"
Kouga pulled hand back, he could feel the shock subsiding, and showing the hurt and anger he felt in front of these people would be a bad idea. He turned his back to them, effectively hiding the new face that he was making. Summoning up his strength, he forced out some words, struggling to keep the sadness out of them.
"I have guard duty, good bye Lilian."
Without listening for a response, Kouga took off back towards the shrine.
"Lilian, is he always that quiet?"
Lilian pulled away from Kan-ryu and turned to her father, a fake grin on face.
"Yeah, but that's a good thing sometimes. The mountains out there were best enjoyed in silence."
"Oh, well, maybe we'll see him again. I get the feeling that he was a nice man."
"Father, he was a youkai."
"And I keep telling you, youkai aren't always evil. Maybe he'll be the one who shows you that you can have friends of other species."
She forced a chuckle.
"Whatever"
"Well, I'm going inside to go rest, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
"Okay, good night"
Her father walked into the house, disappearing into the darkness. As soon as he was out of sight, Lilian immediately started to walk away from the house. She fought off a snarl as she heard footsteps behind her.
"Akira's right, we need to go to bed, we have work to do." Devious humor in his voice as always when the others weren't around.
"Just shut up Kan-ryu." Cold as usual when around the man, nearly spitting his name out of her mouth.
"Oh, what's the matter darling?"
"I told you never to call me that when fathers not around."
She stopped and scowled at the man who looked and acted remarkably like a vulture.
"Oh, but you seem to enjoy it so much whenever he's around." He whined a bit, knowing it pissed her off like nothing else, coupling the words with wrapping his arms around him.
His reward was as always, two fingers pressed firmly under the base of his sternum, pressed inward and curling upwards. He winced and pulled away, a large, sick smile on his face in satisfaction.
"Wife or not, do not touch me when my father is not around, do you understand that?"
"How many times have you said that darling?"
Lilian seethed but stayed silent, they weren't far enough away from her family's new house for her to start yelling.
"Well, we'll be staying with your parents until I find a house for us, so let's go."
The change in his voice to stern signaled that he was done playing with her.
"I'll be there eventually."
Her voice changed as well, using the deepest part of her register and expressing no emotion.
Kanryu turned and walked, making it to the house in a while and disappearing into the darkness within leaving Lilian to only gaze at the stars. Memories of the moment between her and Kouga came back to the front of her mind as his face made its way to the stars in her mind's eye.
Her voice was hardly stronger than a whisper.
"I'm sorry Kouga..."
===============================================================
Shock, pain, anger, frustration, and confusion had already passed, leaving Kouga in the next stage: depression. His eyes had lost their sparkle as he looked at the ground in front of him, he was so out of it that he hardly felt the shikon's pull. His whole body stayed still except for his deep breaths.
His rational thought had finally returned to him at this stage, but it didn't help him. His thoughts refused to budge from the memory of either Lilian's body against his on the night they agreed to do guard duty or the feel of her lips against his.
'She has a mate, I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. Its bad enough that I did as much as I have already, there's no excuse for touching a mated woman. There never was, and there never will be...even if I didn't know.'
He shifted unconsciously as guilt washed over him.
'Why the hell didn't she tell me? She could have let me know that she had a mate, even one as creepy as him. At least that way I wouldn't have disgraced myself by laying hands on another's mate...by touching that soft skin...caressing that beautiful hair...'
His eyes shifted as his tangent continued in his mind, as much as he knew he should break the train of thoughts, he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about her, mated or not. That's what made him the angriest.
He didn't even notice the black haired individual that closed the distance between them.
"Hey what's wrong?"
Jerked out of his train of thoughts he looked up to see...what reminded him of Inuyasha. His eyes went wide as he looked over what could be none other than Inuyasha by facial features and wardrobe...but his hair, ears, and eyes...they looked almost...
"Yeah, I turn human on the nights of the new moon."
Kouga blinked a few times before returning his gaze to the ground, ignoring the smell of sex coming off his friend. He missed the look that was sent off in the distance to none other than Kagome.
She ushered him on with a pleading look that he hardly could make out...curse human sight...and a small gesture that meant to keep badgering the wolf until he figured out what was wrong.
He sighed in defeat before sitting down, maybe starting up a conversation would be an easier start.
"Hey, where's Lilian?"
He didn't miss Kouga's flinch.
"Why are you two out here?"
Inuyasha was a bit taken aback by the subject change.
"Oh, we came out for a stroll and I saw you, Kagome and I thought you could use someone to talk to." In actuality, Kagome pleaded with Inuyasha to take a stroll even though it meant Kouga would see his human form, and upon seeing said wolf sitting alone, "asked" Inuyasha to go talk to him, promising him that they would go back inside afterwards.
A sigh and a sound of acknowledgement from the wolf before he went back to staring at the ground.
"So what's wrong?"
"Nothing"
"Kouga..."
"What Inuyasha?"
"What's wrong?"
"There is nothing wrong..."
He sighed again, obviously giving away that something was wrong.
"Where's Lilian?"
It was a moment before Kouga spoke, giving ample time for the depression stage to end and for the short "broken" stage to start and give away any information asked.
"I-I kissed her..."
Inuyasha brightened up, even though his eyes weren't gold tonight, they still shined as if they were.
"That's good, I guess you didn't need my help afterall."
"I kissed her Inuyasha..."
His eyes turned to the human friend, the pain on his face effectively killed the shine on Inuyasha's.
"I kissed a mated woman..."
Inuyasha's eyes went wide with shock trying desperately to process what was just said. A single word passed his lips, though it was dangerously close to a shout.
"What?"
"S-she has a husband Inuyasha...she never told me...but she has one...she has a mate..."
Concern replaced shock.
"Wait a second, she has a husband?"
"Yes, I kissed her and then she ran off. I followed her and we ran into her husband and her family...they just moved into the village..."
"Oh..."
Inuyasha sat down on the ground next Kouga, making himself comfortable, not sure if he wanted to move because...he wasn't sure exactly what was going on. Originally, the whole thing between Kouga and this other woman really didn't matter to him other than an excuse to have a sparring partner, but to be honest, he was starting to hope the two would end up together. Maybe it was because some of Kagome's enthusiasm bled into him, but suddenly he felt as if a huge weight was being put on his shoulders.
Comforting was never something that Inuyasha liked to do...but for once, he decided he would try without being either forced to, or in love with the person he was comforting.
There was a deep sigh before Inuyasha opened his mouth.
"So what, are you going to leave now?"
"No...I told you that I would stay so that you and Kagome could have time together...I plan to do that."
"Ok, thank you."
Kouga made another sound of acknowledgement.
"So your gonna stay here but give up on Lilian then?"
"I have to...she's mated, there is no honor in desiring one who is bound to another."
"But does that mean that you want to?"
Kouga turned over to his companion, his eyes etched in a portrait of confusion. Inuyasha didn't meet his eyes, instead, focusing on the building before the both of them.
"Yes, I do want to give her up..."
"Really?"
Kouga turned back to the ground, angry as the truth ran over both his lips and his mind.
"No...no I don't want to. And that's the disgusting thing...I need to forget about her, I do...I know that...but I also know that I can't...that I don't want to..."
"Then maybe you shouldn't..."
Kouga turned to Inuyasha again, confused by his words for the second time.
"That's wrong, I could never touch a mated woman, do you think that low of me? I never once touched Kagome in an affectionate way after you two became mates."
"But you also didn't want to..."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because you would have, and I would have killed you."
"Fine then...I didn't want to...when I found out you were mates, I stopped caring about her in what little way I did..."
"I know, and that's why I know that you feel something more for this woman..."
"But it doesn't matter how I feel about her, she has a mate..."
"No, she has a husband."
"Same thing isn't it?"
"No, humans don't mark each other when get together, so they aren't bound to that person by anything other than their word."
"But humans mate for love, she must love him if she chose to settle down with him."
"Maybe, but I know first hand...not every love is true love."
"But she's already with him...I can't just step in there...I don't even know how she feels about me."
"You said you kissed her right?"
"Well...yeah."
"Did she let you kiss her?"
"I-I guess so..."
"Then its safe to say that there is something there, its up to you whether you let her go or not, but it sounds to me like you love her."
Kouga's eyes went wide as the information hit him...maybe...maybe he did love her...but how could he tell, he didn't know what love was.
"But...she already has a husband...he got to her first..."
"Kouga..."
"What?"
"Between the two of us, who claimed Kagome first?"
There was a short silence.
"...I did..."
"Who loved her more?"
Another silence.
"...You did..."
"And who is her mate right now?"
Eyes widened yet again as the logic hit him at once. Inuyasha didn't expect an answer, he knew that Kouga understood from the sudden silence. He got up from his seat and began walking back towards the place where Kagome was watching out of hearing distance.
"I-Inuyasha!!!" Kouga shouted at the retreating human.
"What?"
"Thank you...I couldn't ask for a better friend..."
Inuyasha smirked.
"Whatever, just remember that you owe me a match when this whole thing is said and done okay?"
"You got it."
With that, Inuyasha continued, preparing the re-telling in his mind for his mate. Kouga merely stayed sitting, awaiting the sunrise so that he could go talk to Lilian...he wasn't sure what he was going to do...but he would try something.
A bit of hope found its way into his eyes.
He may have been down, but he was certainly not out yet.