Before I start, I'd like to say thanks to all my great reviewers hugs them all especially Duo, since Duo was the first anonymous reviewer to review a story of mine. Thanks for being a trailblazer of sorts, Duo. ;; Sorry, I have a thing for blowing things out of proportion. Anyway, speaking of Duo, I'd also like to say here briefly that Koga is the only InuYasha character who will appear in this story unless I happen to add in other wolves like Hakkaku or Ginta. That's why I called it a slight crossover.
The Epics of the Wolf
Chapter Four
The Pain Just Won't Stop
Suni approached the cave, unwilling to enter. However, she knew better than to show her fear to Kitsu. Kitsu seemed to be delicately balanced on her every action. If she became fearful now, his world would come to a crashing halt. She bit her lower lip, trying to conquer the nervousness and fear but to no avail.
Though the feelings did not go away, she entered cautiously. Suni found relatively what she expected to find. Koga was sprawled out on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. She looked around for Akira and Heroki. Heroki was nowhere to be found and Akira was in the back, flipping over dirt with a shovel.
"He's burying Midori," Suni assumed.
"Midori," Kitsu whimpered again, sniffling.
Koga jumped at his mother's name and stared at the supposed mute. A reaction to be expected, Suni was sure.
"K-Koga… Koga, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Suni fell to her knees, tears gushing from her eyes.
"Never!" he objected harshly. "Never, you hear me!? I could never hold you responsible for this Suni!"
"Koga…" Suni blinked.
"Finished," Akira said emptily.
"Where's Heroki?" Suni questioned.
"I think he went for a walk. He seemed a bit… upset."
"I hope he's alright…" Suni dried the tears from her eyes. When Heroki was angry, he tended to get himself in over his head.
"He'll be fine," Akira assured, though still dealing with his own doubts. "He can handle himself."
"I think I'll go find him," she sniffled. "We all know what he gets like when he's upset."
"I'll come with you," Koga said shakily.
"It's best that you stay here, Koga," Suni shook her head. "I refuse to lose anyone else as dear to me as you are."
"I understand," Koga nodded, a fresh tear tracing down his left cheek slowly.
Suni left quietly and began walking down the path. She had barely walked a hundred feet when she was sucker-punched from behind. She turned to see Ai standing behind her, fist clenched in a red-hot rage.
"HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU JUST WALK AWAY FROM THEM?" Ai yelled.
"I'm sorry. I know they need me but I must find my brother. If this upset him, he might actually attack mother. He might be killed too. So… while I do care, my top priority is keeping everyone I can alive."
Ai paused. She didn't know what to say. She was still angry but how could she attack such a just position. Ai growled, turned away sharply, and stormed back into the cave. Suni continued on in search of her brother…
"You bitch," Heroki growled.
"Hello Heroki," Moro smirked, though she did not turn to face him.
"She was an innocent by-stander! How could you do that to her?"
"I do as I please. You know that. Do you suddenly have an issue with the way things work Heroki?"
"SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THAT!!! HOW COULD YOU!?!"
A fight broke out instantly and it ended as abruptly as it began. Within a few minutes, Heroki had been thrown to the ground in a bloody mess.
"If you were not my son, I would not have spared your life. Be grateful," Moro snarled and left.
Suni found her brother Heroki leaning against a tree an hour later, a tattered heavy-breathed heap of blood and tears. She approached quietly and used what little goddess powers she still retained to heal him.
"Heroki?"
"Why did it have to be her?" he sniffled.
Suni was taken aback by her brother's unexpected outpour of emotion. He never cared about demons before. Why now?
"Why couldn't it have been Retendo? Or some other demon? Why her?"
"She was the next best thing when Koga disappeared I suppose," Suni frowned. "Brother?"
"Meeting her today," he wiped a tear away from his eye. "Never mind. It's stupid. You'd laugh."
"I promise I won't. Come now, tell me," Suni insisted.
"I think… I fell in love with Midori," Heroki said softly.
"My… I never would have expected…"
"She's not Koga's mother, you know," he said, seeming to stray from the topic. Her mate has another woman who he had the child with. Then he left Midori with the child."
"Why do you mention it?"
"It means that he didn't want her… that I could have taken her as my mate if things had turned out differently," he murmured.
"The pain continues to stay," Suni began to cry suddenly. "Make it go away. I can't take the pain. Tears streaming down my face as the sky drops rain. It hurts just to breathe. I'm in the darkest deepest pit, on my knees. The endless stream of blood and tears… it just burns and cuts and scrapes and sears. Why can't the pain go away? Why can't it vanish, like the day?"
"Indeed," Heroki answered, picking himself up off the ground. "I smell a storm coming. Let's go back. I'm sure the others need us anyway."
"Yes, they probably do," Suni nodded solemnly. They began to walk back toward the cave.
"Oh Suni… do we have to let Akira know… that Mother flat-out kicked my ass?" Heroki asked, hoping to bring back some of the long-gone happiness and smiles.
"No, of course not," Suni replied seriously. The seriousness saddened him more. They continued to trudge on.
The pain just won't stop.