Chapter Six
A Deadly Trap
Naomi woke up to the sound of the waterfall. It echoed the cave walls, seemingly louder than normal. She also noticed the musky guy smell was stronger than normal... actually, she hadn't noticed it before. It could have been the fact that Kouga was right behind her, but she would have noticed the same smell when she woke up last night. She quickly looked at the waterfall to see if it was night or day. It was day now.
Kouga's arm was once again draped over her waist. She turned to face him and saw him sleeping, the same peaceful expression that she saw last night there again, but somehow, he managed to look more self-satisfied, than before, even in his sleep. She smiled and cuddled against his bare chest, unfortunately waking him up.
"Morning," he said in a lowered tone.
She looked up at him startled. "I didn't know you were awake," she said with a smile.
"Just woke up," he said simply.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"It's not your..." he trailed off and his gaze drifted away from her face.
"What?" she asked.
Kouga lifted his hand up to her ear and rubbed the tip of it. Naomi moaned in pleasure and then giggled at his approach.
"Naomi, can we stand up?" he asked, starting to get up.
She raised an eyebrow and followed him up. "Shouldn't we go out?"
"We're not going to do anything right now," he said seriously.
"Then what the hell are you doing?" she asked utterly confused.
"Just wait," he said and took her by the shoulders and turned her around.
"What the hell?" she said again. She felt Kouga lift something up to her. She turned just so she could see it and her jaw dropped. She grabbed the fuzzy thing from Kouga's hand and yelped from pulling it. "I have a tail?!" she screamed astonished, waking some of the wolf youkai. What the hell did he do to me, she wondered to herself, not mad, but wondering how it could have happened.
"Your ears are pointy, looks like your hair got darker too... and I'll bet you've got fangs." Kouga ventured.
Naomi ran her tongue over her teeth and sure enough, she had fangs. "Yup," she said simply. "Okay, what could have made me..." she trailed off, not sure how to explain it. "Anyway... well, we did..."
"I don't think doing that would have anything to with it. Hey. Your eyes have changed too. They've got a lighter blue in them, like mine... That's it!" he exclaimed.
Naomi looked away from her newly formed tail up to him. "What's it?" she asked, still completely lost.
"Me. My blood. I did this to you. Last night when we did that blood thing. My blood must have manifested in you."
Recalling the claws used to cut their palms, Naomi looked down at her nails. She had claws now, too. She also looked at the cut... or where it had been. It was gone now.
"Hey, Kouga," Hakkaku called. Kouga turned to look at him. "I could be out of line for saying this... What the hell'd you do to her?" he asked.
"He didn't do anything. It was my idea," Naomi defended her lover.
"Yeah, but it was my blood," he argued.
"Okay, so it was both our faults," she compromised. "Either way, it could be an advantage, like if we ever have to battle anything like those Birds of Paradise?"
"You've got a point," Kouga pondered.
"Okay. Now can we go out and run around or something. I'm not used to having this much energy and I think it would be a good idea to run some of it off."
Kouga laughed at her urgency and then agreed. Naomi immediately started for the waterfall followed by Kouga. Reaching the ledge, Naomi prepared to jump but then had a second thought.
"Need me to--"
"No," she said, cutting him off. "I-I wanna do this." Naomi swallowed her nervousness and jumped, landing perfectly on her feet. "Ha! Take that, gravity," she said, stomping her foot on the ground.
Kouga jumped gown beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked, Naomi bursting out laughing. "F-fine," she managed to say. She took a breath and stopped herself from laughing. "Race you," she said playfully, knowing all too well that he could easily outrun her, but she also knew he wouldn't try to beat her.
"You can't beat me," he said, getting in a running stance. Naomi did the same.
"I know, but I don't care. I wanna run. That's all I want to do." Naomi smiled at him with a look of playful determination and he did the same back at her. "Ready?" she asked, Kouga responding with a simple nod. "Go!" she yelled, taking off to god only knew where. She ran through the woods, Kouga at her side.
She never imagined running could feel so good. She felt so alive, so free. The wind toying with her hair, her heart pumping, a smile slowly spreading across her face. There was of course the mile run that she had to do for gym every year for a grade, but she always got tired and annoyed with it. But this... this was amazing. She felt like she could run for hours, especially because Kouga was there with her. She was free as the wind. She felt as if she wasn't just running through the woods, but flying as well. Her spirit had taken flight. Nothing could upset her now. She let a content giggle pass her lips. Kouga heard her and looked at her, smiling when he saw her laughing in contentment.
Naomi slid to a halt at the base of the waterfall, watching as Kouga did so himself.
"Well, that was fun," she said still smiling.
"Get rid of enough energy?" he asked, heading for the river for a drink of water. He kneeled down and started scooping water up in his hands and drinking it down.
Taking a deep, peaceful sigh, Naomi walked up behind her lover. Naomi kneeled down behind him and wrapped her arms around his lower waist, hanging her hands so there was a slight weight on his lap. Kouga stopped drinking then.
"I don't know, but I know what might do the trick..." she ventured. She leaned over and started nibbling and kissing the crook of his neck. Moaning with pleasure, Kouga leaned his head back over Naomi's shoulder and placed his hand on her neck, pulling her closer, begging her to be rougher. Licking up to his jaw line, she obliged. Her dominance aroused him, and Naomi could smell it almost instantly. Wanting to get closer, Kouga turned to her, her mouth staying on his neck and jaw until the last possible minute. He lifted her head up to his mouth and captured her lips in his as he wrapped his tail around her to bring her closer.
He pulled away briefly to respond. "Now's probably not the best time," he said, just now hearing the 'wolf' whistles from Hakkaku. Naomi then heard it, too. The two looked up at him annoyed, but then back at each other, more peacefully.
Kouga and Naomi stood up and Kouga took her in his arms, embracing her. Naomi wrapped her arms around him as well. "I love it when you hold me like this," Naomi said smiling. Kouga brushed his lips against her forehead. Naomi pushed her hips against him, wanting to be closer. "You make me feel protected... and for once in my life, loved. When I'm here with you, nothing can hurt me, nothing can upset me... just as long as you're holding me..." Naomi trailed off and placed a kiss on his collarbone.
Kouga smiled and held her tighter. He loved that he could make her feel that way just by holding her.
"I love you, and I love being here with you.," she said.
"I feel the same way with you," Kouga said, his hot breath rolling over her shoulder.
Naomi took a quick look up at Hakkaku and looked back at Kouga smiling. "Oh, let him watch," she said and pulled Kouga down, catching his lips in hers.
Suddenly, they heard two men walking down one of the paths to their den and they looked up and over in that direction. Sure enough, two Northern wolves were coming their way.
"Let's see what this is all about," Kouga said, unwrapping his arms and taking her hand.
Kouga sat down against the wall of the cave, Naomi following. She put her hand on his upper arm, resting her head on his shoulder. Rusty came and sat down by her and she scratched him on the head briefly, but then pulled her hand away. The two Northern wolves came and sat down in front of them.
"There's someone who possesses a huge sacred Jewel Shard," the larger wolf youkai said.
"He's a lord of a castle. I know it's hard to believe, but we're not joking about this guy," said the other.
"Let's combine forces and join the Northern and Eastern Tribes together. Then we can storm the castle. We'll take the Jewel Shard and divvy it up evenly."
"Well, Kouga. You wanna join us?"
"Sorry. Not interested," Kouga said simply.
"What?" the first one said in shock.
Naomi, too was in shock, but didn't show it. She didn't know much about the Sacred Jewel and all the pink little shards, but she knew Kouga wanted them and that it gave him strength.
"Why the hell not?" asked the other.
"I have something I have to take care of first, before I do anything else," Kouga said.
"I see. Well, no sense forcing the issue," the first one said, the two Northern wolves getting to their feet.
"He's got an injury. Do you see that?" the second one said to the first in a lowered tone, so Naomi and Kouga couldn't hear. However, their sensitive ears picked it up anyway.
Naomi worried that Kouga was going to loose his temper on the two, but thankfully he didn't.
"You sure you want to turn them down, Kouga?" one of wolves from their tribe asked.
"If we don't join them, the Northern tribe will get all of the Jewel Shard," another one of the wolves said
"Let them go. It doesn't matter," he said. Naomi picked up a lot of depression in his voice and she started to worry about him. He hadn't told her anything.
"Well it matters to me. I'm gonna go with them."
"Me too."
"Go ahead. I could care less," Kouga said, lying through his fangs. He placed a hand over the little one on his upper arm, as if for support. "If you wanna leave, I'm not going to stop you."
Naomi looked up at him deeply worried about him. Just as he didn't like to see her cry, she didn't like to see him so distraught. "Oh, Kouga," she said under her breath. No one caught it.
"We're gonna go with the Northern Tribe," one of them yelled to the tribe.
"If you want a piece of the Sacred Jewel you better come with us," yelled the other.
The two ran out of the cave, followed by over half of the clan.
Naomi watched as Kouga looked down at the gash in his arm.
"Kouga, come here," Naomi said, taking Kouga into a loose embrace. "Tell me what's wrong," she said gently, running her claws over his toned arm to calm him. "I don't like seeing you this way..."
"My brothers would rather go with the Northern tribe than to stay with me while I work on getting my shard back from that damn hanyou," he explained, angered.
"Oh, Kouga. They don't know what the hell they're doing. Besides, some of them stayed, like Ginta and Hakkaku. They're the ones you can count on. And you know I'd never leave your side."
Kouga bent his legs so he was sitting Indian-style and sat Naomi in his lap. "Thanks," he said, pulling Naomi up he could kiss her. It was light and gentle. "Any time," she replied. But his brows furrowed again.
"But they reminded me that I need to go and find that hanyou son of a bitch and get my Jewel Shard back."
Naomi stood up and extended a hand to help him up too.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"We're gonna go get your shard back."
Kouga smiled and gave her his hand, standing up. "Thank you." Naomi nodded and they headed for the waterfall and back outside again.
Kouga and Naomi ran through the forest, following InuYasha's disgusting scent, Kouga going slow so Naomi could keep up. However, it started to rain and Naomi stopped, looking up at the sky.
"What? Kouga asked, sliding to a stop a few feet ahead of her.
"My shirt," she said simply. Kouga looked down at the shirt, a white tank top, plain. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong with it, it started raining harder and he could see through it. She didn't have a bra on either. Kouga raised his brows and smiled. "You wanna go back for a different shirt?" he asked.
"No. We can stay in a tree until this lets up and by then, it should be dry."
"Okay," Kouga said simply before taking her in his arm and jumping up in the nearest tree. It was well covered, so they didn't get wet, and there were huge branches so both of them could fit on one. Kouga sat down on one and Naomi sat down in his lap, leaning on his chest.
Kouga didn't waste any time in getting her shirt off. "You don't want to get sick, do you?" he made an excuse.
"Fine, but you take off your armor, too. It's cold against my shoulder."
"Sorry," he said and took that off too, putting them on the branch beside him. "Good now?" he asked.
"Very good," she said cuddling against his chest. "And now that we have some privacy, where were we?" she asked referring to just after the morning run, placing a few kisses on his chest.
"About here, only more clothed," he said, pulling her up for a kiss.
"Yeah, well, I like it here better," she said when they pulled away.
"Me too," he said, wrapping his arms around her, knowing how she liked it. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then rested his head on hers. "I think I like the rain," Kouga said.
"Me too," she said. Naomi started placing little kisses over his chest.
Kouga started running his claws over her arm. Naomi stopped kissing and put her hand on his chest, lying her head back down. "I love you so much," Naomi whispered.
"I love you, too." He took a deep breath, taking in her heavenly scent. He kissed the top of her head and lying his head back down, he finally noticed it. Her scent had changed slightly. As he tried to figure out why, a huge smile spread across his face. Why didn't he notice before? Oh well. That didn't matter. Her safety was all that mattered now...
He held her closer, wanting her to be as safe as possible. Nothing was going to hurt her.
They waited for what seemed like hours, but the rain didn't let up. The two finally decided to head back. Naomi rode on Kouga's back so no one could see her. She had gotten a lot more modest since she had become Kouga's. She wanted her body to be his and his only.
By the time they got back, it was night, and the rain was stopping. Kouga let Naomi off at the bed and brought her bag over to her, not wanting to overwork her. Thanking him for the service, Naomi shed her wet shirt and pulled dry clothes from her bag. To their luck, Ginta and Hakkaku were both outside on guard duty, so she could get dressed without an audience--other than Kouga. She then went to go get a blanket and Kouga went and put her backpack where he had found it. Ceasing her opportunity Naomi snuck up on Kouga and jumped on his back with the blanket.
"What the hell are you doing?" he laughed.
"Drying you off," she answered simply, rubbing his shoulders and his chest from behind.
"Don't hurt yourself," he said.
She got off his back and she started down his sides. "Oh, please," she said with a smile.
He turned to face her so she could get to his front. "The boys are outside," she said lowering her voice an octave. She stopped toweling him and stood up, starting kissing the droplets of water off his chest. Kouga hooked an index finger under her chin and tilted her head up, pulling her away from his chest. He looked lovingly into her eyes, gently smiling, silently telling her he loved her before catching her lips in his. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist, the other one tangling in her hair.
Suddenly, he pulled away. "Naomi, I've got some really good news," he started, a toothy smile spreading across his face, a real wolf-grin.
"What's that?" Naomi asked.
"You're--" he stopped suddenly when they heard Hakkaku scream from outside and the two looked at each other in horror. They took off for the waterfall.
"What's the matter?" Ginta asked waking up. He immediately saw the wolf youkai in front of Hakkaku. "What's wrong with him?"
"Didn't he go with the Northern Tribe?" Hakkaku asked.
Kouga and Naomi ran up then. "What happened? What's wrong?" Kouga asked to the wolf who had just come back.
"I was only able to get one," he said, holding out his hand.
"You got a Sacred Jewel Shard," Kouga said in shock.
"Hurry to the castle, Kouga. If you don't, everyone will be slaughtered."
"Naomi, Stay here with them," Kouga said.
"No. I'm coming with you," she demanded.
He passed almost a worried glance at her. "No. I want you out of danger." He took off then. He leaped up the cliff, following the scent of his comrades. A Jewel Shard, he thought. I'll but it to good use. Kouga shoved the Shard into the gash in his right arm and continued running.
What was that look about, she wondered to herself.
"Come inside and rest," Hakkaku offered to the injured wolf youkai.
"You're amazing. How'd you make it back with all of those injuries?" Ginta asked, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. He fell apart then, the cuts apparently straight through his body. Foam and blood were everywhere.
Hakkaku, Ginta and Naomi screamed. "What the..?" Hakkaku said.
"He's dead," stuttered Ginta.
"Kouga..." Naomi said under her breath. "You guys stay here." Naomi said to Ginta and Hakkaku. "I'm going after Kouga," she said, taking off up the mountain.
"Wait, Naomi!" Ginta called after her, but she was gone.
Reaching the castle, Kouga leapt on the roof and peered down on the grounds. His men and that of the Northern tribe were covering the ground dead, but in the middle of them all, InuYasha stood, covered in their blood.
"InuYasha!" Kouga yelled, rage coursing through him.
"That's Kouga from the Youkai Wolf Tribe," the monk stated, but Kouga was fixed on InuYasha.
"InuYasha. How dare you do this!" Kouga yelled.
"Before you jump to conclusions, your pals here were already dead by the time I got to the castle," InuYasha defended.
"Shut up! You can't lie to me! You're covered head to foot in their blood!"
The hanyou looked down at his blood soaked hands and flexed his claws.
"Kouga!" called Kagome. "You're wrong! We came here looking for a youkai named Naraku and we found the Wolf Tribe slaughtered. But then they came to life and started attacking us, but they weren't really alive, they were zombies."
"Don't you even try and protect that cur. 'Already dead when you got here,' how stupid do you think I am you blood thirsty mutt?" Kouga locked eyes with InuYasha, growling, blood boiling. He wasn't going to forgive him for this. That mutt was as good as dead as far as he was concerned.
Kouga leapt off the roof, a fist aimed at InuYasha. He dodged it, but he Kouga was right back on his heals. He punched again, a huge ray of light lighting around him, headed at InuYasha, unfortunately, once again he dodging it.
"You get your strength back, Kouga? I see you've managed to find another Jewel Shard for your arm," InuYasha said.
"You stole my original Jewel Shard the last time we met, but I warn you. This one's even better." Kouga threatened. He let out a low grow.
Kouga started throwing punches at InuYasha again when Kagome spoke up again. "Stop it, Kouga. I want you listen to me. Please. This whole thing's a trap. InuYasha didn't kill your friends. It was somebody else."
"Shut up," Kouga yelled, increasingly enraged at how much they denied slaughtering his kin. "Words are cheep. I believe what I see with my own eyes."
"Kouga!" Kagome yelled.
"Forget about it Kagome. The guy's got a block of wood for a brain so he can't grasp anything too complicated," InuYasha said. "There's no reasoning with the moron. The only thing he understands is a few punches in the head."
"The Wolf Youkai Tribes live in packs and cherish their comrades like family," the little fox noted. "Seeing so many of his brothers dead all at once would make him insane with grief."
"I thought he might listen to you, Kagome, but I was wrong. He's too far gone," said the monk.
"You can't blame InuYasha for fighting back," said the youkai hunter. "He has to defend himself against Kouga's attacks.
Kouga noticed InuYasha looking around him and took the opportunity to attack. "Pay attention if you wanna live," he warned. "What the hell are you looking at, coward?" Kouga lunged for InuYasha again. He came close to hitting him that time, but missed.
Naomi was so close to the castle she could practically taste the blood. The scent surrounded her, overwhelmed her. What looked like lightning struck nearby in the direction the scent of blood was coming from. The ground was also shaking a little bit. "Oh, Kouga. Please be okay..."
Kouga chased InuYasha onto the roof. He lunged at InuYasha again, but when he dodged him this time, it made him put a hole in the roof. InuYasha was on the ground now. Kouga peered down at him and once again got a sight of his tribe dead on the ground. If any rage had been lost, it was renewed then. "That filthy mutt. You won't live to regret this!" Kouga yelled, jumping off the roof, chasing after InuYasha again. He punched every time he got a chance, but the mutt dodged every one barely. Kouga placed one strong punch, sending a ray of power straight at the small fox, the neko youkai, and the human girl. The Neko moved them out of the way before it hit, however.
"Kagome! Stay away from her!" InuYasha warned.
"Your fault for trying to escape. If your girl's hurt, it should be on your head." Kouga said.
"He intends to fight me to the death," InuYasha said, putting a hand on Tetsusaiga. "Naraku laid the trap, but Kouga's forged his own fate." He unsheathed the sword and said, "You've pushed me far enough. I'll take you on."
"Prepare to die," Kouga said raising his fist. "In the name of my comrades!" Kouga lunged for InuYasha once more and punched the sword out of his hand. In a desperate attempt to stay alive, InuYasha used his iron rebar, but poor aim made Kouga hit the side of his arm, shattering the bone. The turned to face each other again. "I'm afraid I scratched you in passing," Kouga said with a wicked smile, and he held up his fist again. InuYasha put his opposite hand on his arm in pain.
Kouga went for him again. InuYasha tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. He got a good punch in the face. He punched again, missed, so he kicked him to get him down. InuYasha fell into a roll.
Kouga jumped into the air as high as he could. "This will finish you," he said with the same smile. He came down on the hanyou hard, a fist to the gut. "Revenge is mine!" he yelled as InuYasha screamed in agonizing pain. He was down.
"At last. That murderer is dead," he said.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kouga saw a woman headed straight for him. He turned to face her. "Name yourself," he commanded.
"Well done, Wolf Boy. With the score settled, you are able to die without any regrets."
"What do you want from me?" Kouga asked.
"My name is Kagura. I will see that you have one final dance." The woman raised her fan and opened it.
Suddenly, his tribe rose to their feet, eyes glowing red.
"What's the meaning? My men were dead. Why do they rise again?" Kouga asked himself.
"To attend your final dance," Kagura said simply. "It would kill them to miss it."
"You sorceress. Was it you, then, who slaughtered my men?" Kouga questioned, rage refilling him.
"Ooh, I wonder. It must have slipped my mind." With a wave of her fan, three of the zombie wolves flew down to attack Kouga, but, leaping into the air, he punched them out of the way. "I'll kill you, sorceress," Kouga warned, heading down do slug the wind witch. Suddenly, a searing pain hit him in his right arm and he stopped short, staggering, and he fell to his haunches. I can't move, he thought. What's happening to me?
"The Jewel Shard in your arm has finally released its poison. Now it's time for you to die." Kagura said, raising her fan.
Naomi ran into the castle doors and looked at the sight. All of the wolves that had gone to get the Shard from here were dead. There were the people she had met during the fight against the Birds of Paradise, and someone new. She had a fan and was facing off with Kouga. She swept her fan through the air and ten or twelve blades came out of nowhere headed for Kouga.
"Kouga, move!" she yelled, heading for him at a run, but he didn't. He was hit, his dark youkai blood pooling from the cuts. He fell to the ground and Naomi ran between the two, her arms out to the sides, trying to block another attack.
"Naomi, what the hell are you doing?" Kouga asked. "Get the hell out of here."
"No!"
Kagura laughed. "You are unable to move. That Sacred Jewel in your arm is an imitation made from a crystallized poison in the paralyzing miasma. That leaping around made your blood pump faster and sped up the spread of the poison."
"Wench!" Kouga yelled at her.
"Damn you!" Naomi said.
"Now that you're paralyzed I'll help myself to your true Jewel Shards."
"Not while I'm--" Naomi started, but stopped when she saw an arrow flying at Kagura. She waved her fan and some of the dead wolves flew in the way of the arrow. They were hit and disintegrated, a huge burst of light nearly blinded them. It was Kagome.
"So. That must be the sacred arrow," Kagura said, turning and waving her fan at the girl. The same blades that came at Kouga came at the girl, the hut she was on collapsing. However, the Neko Youkai caught her and flew her to another roof before she was hit.
"Not very impressive. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to continue interfering." Kagura said.
"I won't let you hurt Kagome," said the hanyou rising to his feet. "I'm the one you should be coming after, not her."
"Still alive, are we now?" Kagura said, fan raised. "Wolf Boy. It appears you didn't finish the job."
Naomi turned and fell to her knees next to Kouga, not caring about the mud that now froze her legs. "InuYasha?" he muttered.
"You're kidding yourself if you think that puny wolf cub can do me in with his meager attack."
"Oh, please forgive me," she said, turning from Kagome to InuYasha. "Then you are up to a duel with me?"
"I'll take you on, but I warn you. You're not going to die quickly. Tainting me with the blood of the wolf youkai, and setting that fool on me was unforgivable. But even more infuriating, is the reek of Naraku that cloaks you."
"Naraku?" Kouga wondered out loud.
InuYasha readied his sword and continued. "Just the thought of that beast is enough to give me the strength to move my wounded body." And he lunged for her, but she was prepared with another blade of wind. She pushed him back easily.
"Kouga, are you okay?" Naomi asked, tears starting to stream from her eyes. "Oh, my God. Look at you," she said, brushing a stray hair out of his face.
"The Jewel was a fake. It was poison," he explained.
"I have to take it out," she said, moving a hand to his arm, but a barrier protected the foul shard and hurt her hand. "Dammit. There's a barrier. I can't get it out."
"Naomi, if I don't make it--"
"Dammit, Kouga, you're going to make it!" she commanded him. Putting her head on his, she continued. "For god sakes, what would I do without you?" Her tears started flowing even more freely.
The fight raged on beside them, but she paid no attention. She was really sure she was going to lose him. "You have too much to live for. You have to live, god dammit! You... you have to live to make up for those lost. And I need you to live. You're the only one who understands me... who loves me. You're the one who gives me something to live for. Do you know how many times I attempted suicide in the past two years? At least twice a month. But something kept me from doing that. Something told me that there was something waiting for me. Something wonderful... and now I've found you, and you can't leave me. You can't..."
"I'm sorry Naomi..."
"Don't think like that, dammit! You won't give up on me! Say it!"
"I... I won't give up on you, Naomi. I'm trying..."
"Kouga!"
Naomi sat up and looked over and noticed the battle coming to a slow as Kagura flew away like a coward. The castle began to disappear and the monk and the youkai hunter came out.
"Somebody help. Please," Naomi begged, trying to get their attention. It worked.
"Oh my gosh. Kouga! Naomi! Is he alright?" she asked, running and stopping beside her.
"His arm is changing color," the little fox noticed, and for the first time, Naomi did too, since she had her head down. "The poison from the counter-fit shard is spreading."
"What should we do? We've got to act fast or he'll die." She reached for his arm, but just as the barrier deflected Naomi's hand, it did hers.
"You can't touch him. The barrier around his arm is to fucking strong."
"Well we have to do something," Kagome said, determined.
InuYasha made his way over to the group, his sword swung over his shoulder.
"InuYasha," Kagome pleaded, looking for an answer.
"It seems we were both deceived by Naraku's scheme," he said. "If you can hand onto life, there is a way to save you," he said and raised his sword. "Hold out your arm. I will cut it and the counter fit jewel off."
"No! There has to be another way," Kagome said. "Don't just hack the guy's arm off, InuYasha."
"Wait a minute. We can't touch the poison's barrier, but Kagome, isn't the Sacred Arrow able to break the barrier?" The little fox kid was young, but very intuitive. Kagome pulled out an arrow and thrust it down on the barrier. Kouga grunted in pain as the shard was removed and disintegrated. His arm turned back to a normal color.
"Thank you," Naomi said quietly as her tears ceased.
"No problem," Kagome responded gently. "If you ever need anything, just let us know." The five walked away shortly after that, leaving Kouga and Naomi together.
"I'm sorry about leaving the den," Naomi said, raising Kouga's hand and gently kissing it.
"You're too loyal for your own good," he said, starting to get up. The wind however opposed, trying to knock him down. Naomi helped him up, she pulling his good arm over her shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. They started back for the den.
"I love you Kouga. That's why."
"I love you, too."
They walked for what felt like miles, but nothing seemed familiar. If Ginta and Hakkaku's scent weren't steadily getting closer, they could swear they were going in the wrong direction. Suddenly, Kouga, gave up, falling to his haunches and dragging Naomi down with him. A single tear fell and hit the ground.
"Kouga!" she exclaimed and moved in front of him.
"Kagura murdered my comrades," he said, another tear falling. "I swear, as you as my witness, I shall take her life with my own hands... and that of Naraku."
Naomi pulled him off his hands and wrapped her arms around him tightly, she herself beginning to cry. Kouga wrapped his arms around her desperately, wishing it had all been a bad dream. It wasn't however. It was all real.
Rain started to pour from the skies and the two wolves clung tighter to each other, tears flowing freely.
"I'm so sorry, Kouga. I wish I could make it all go away. Go back and prevent everything from--"
Kouga cut her off, catching her lips roughly in his. "It's not your fault. And I still have you," he said, and kissed her again, more gently this time. She held him tightly, wishing time would stop around them and they'd be set free of this nightmare, but no such thing would happen. "Kouga, please. Can we get out of the rain?"
"Sorry," he said, getting to his feet shakily. Naomi followed, and she went back to her place under his arm and they started trudging back to the den again.