Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Inuyasha: Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi. I am borrowing it for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made from the writing or reading of this story. Only original characters and situations belong to me.
I Want Tomorrow
©2001-2002 by Kei
VII – In the Company of Wolves
The first thought, fuzzy as it was, to surface in Kagome's mind was 'I didn't have a vision while I was asleep.'
She sat up slowly, feeling more rested than she had since before leaving home on her journey with Inuyasha and Shippô. She also felt a bit damp, but chalked it up to sweat secreted during her slumber. She had slept on a velvety brown wolf pelt all night, with a second one on top of her serving as a blanket. Her bedroll was a wooden board compared to the softness of the fur. A distant liquid roar flowed into her ears, and she guessed a waterfall must be nearby.
'I feel so calm and rested,' she thought. 'I can hardly wait to tell Inu—"
"So, you're finally awake," a voice spoke up from the shadows of the cave Kagome was in. She gasped, startled, and instinctively reached back to grab nonexistent arrows out of an imaginary quiver. She frowned when she realized she didn't have her favorite weapon and looked in the direction the voice had come from. Her captor, Kouga, slinked out of the umbra and approached her. He squatted down by her bed and gazed deeply into her eyes. Kagome arched an eyebrow at his strange, serious expression.
"How did you sleep?" he asked finally.
"With my eyes closed," Kagome replied bluntly, though Kouga obviously did not understand the joke. Kagome sighed at his obliviousness, sure that Inuyasha would have understood her remark, and said, "Actually, better than I have in a while. Thanks."
"Anything for my woman," Kouga grinned, showing fearsome canines.
"Would you quit referring to me that way?" Kagome muttered. "I'm not your woman. You're delusional, Kouga."
"Would you rather be my woman or my meal?" Kouga inquired, this time baring his teeth threateningly.
Kagome regarded him with sorrowful blue-grey eyes. "So that's it, then? If I don't agree to be your mate, you'll eat me? I don't even have a choice in the matter? Why was I so stupid as to hope that you'd have a good enough heart to let me go free if I really didn't like being here?"
Kouga glanced away, looking contrite. He growled weakly, angry with himself for his rash words. He knew he wouldn't eat Kagome.
"Sorry," he murmured, a bit surprised when Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and huffed disgustedly. He watched her curiously, awaiting the words that lay stationary on her tongue until they were urged forth.
"No, I'm sorry," she said softly, her dark eyebrows knitted together like she was deep in contemplation.
"For what?" Kouga asked, bemused at her sudden shift from forlorn little girl to brooding priestess.
"What I said just now, Kouga, that was manipulative and unfair of me," Kagome declared. "I know that you have certain feelings about me, muddled as they may be, and I took advantage of them. If you can find it within your heart to forgive me, I implore you to do so. It's just that I was thrown into this new situation so abruptly, and desperation overtook me. My action just now was that of a desperate person. Do you understand? I'm sorry, Kouga."
"Kagome," Kouga murmured, leaning forward just enough to drop from a squatting position to a kneeling one so he could wrap his arms around her. Kagome's eyes went wide and she squirmed, trying to unfold her arms to push him gently awake and indicate his fallacy in believing her apology was a concession to remaining here and being his "woman." She wouldn't be thus held by any creature save a certain stupid dog demon, despite how enraged she was at his withholding of the truth from her.
Though Kagome was trying valiantly to free herself from Kouga's embrace, she was not the one who succeeded in interrupting the moment. No, the scene was broken when a wolf loped into the cave and transformed into a pretty young woman when her sharp eyes caught sight of the pair.
"What's going on here? Who is this, Kouga?" the she-wolf demanded, and Kouga spun around and stood up in the same fluid motion. He placed himself protectively in front of Kagome, who peeked around his legs to view the intruder, remembering another male who had likewise possessed the instinct to protect her.
The unknown woman had long black tresses and menacing violet eyes that glared daggers at Kagome. She wore a more feminine version of the armor decorating Kouga's figure, and she too had a bushy, tawny tail emerging from her lower backside.
Before Kagome's kidnapper could reply to the female's inquiries, the wolf-girl bit out another remark. "Not only does she stink like a dog, she carries the scent of blood on her."
'I need a bath,' Kagome thought, horrified that she actually had an odor. She decided she would ask Kouga as soon as possible where the nearest river could be located. She wondered absently if he would be as polite as Inuyasha had been and perch on a sturdy bough while Kagome cleansed herself.
"I don't think it's really any of your business," Kouga growled in retort. Kagome felt him change before she actually saw his metamorphosis from humanoid to wolf. It created tiny ripples of energy in the air around him, and his proximity to Kagome was such that the energy danced lightly across her bare skin.
Though she had known he was a wolf demon, it still surprised Kagome to see Kouga in this form. He was a huge canine creature with midnight fur and glowing, hypnotic red eyes, and he now had his teeth bared at the other woman, snarling for all he was worth. The sound was so deep and intense that Kagome could swear the ground beneath her was quivering.
"Why are you defending her? She's an abomination, Kouga! I can't believe you brought her here! She's food, not friend!" the female wolf admonished the growling male.
Kouga leapt forward and flattened the woman on her back, diminishing her completely with his enormity, and she whimpered her submission. Kouga was obviously dominant, and with a final snort of antipathy he got off her chest and trotted back to Kagome, circling her twice before situating himself on his haunches beside her. Even when he sat his head towered above hers by a meter or more, instilling just a tiny degree of fear in Kagome of how powerful this youkai really could be if he applied himself.
After the girl hurriedly collected herself and scurried away, Kagome spoke up quietly. "Not a very friendly thing, is she?"
The comment was made lightly, but Kagome was quite serious about the she-wolf's instant animosity towards her. It was unsettling, and she dwelled briefly on what could have occurred had Kouga not been there to defend her against the threat. A small question suspended in the back of her mind asked if Inuyasha could have so easily eliminated the danger posed by the female wolf.
"Anyway, you have my gratitude, Kouga. Thank you for protecting me," Kagome said to him, and he put forth a lupine smile. He leaned over and licked her right hand, and she would have jerked the limb away, but her girlish love for anything even remotely adorable and puppy-like took over and she allowed him to give the grubby extremity a short tongue-bath.
When he finished the job to his satisfaction, he moved himself to a position right in front of her, and Kagome craned her neck backward to view his face. She watched, entranced, as energy billowed around Kouga and he began shrinking and shifting in size and shape. Not a minute later he was before her in the human form he had been wearing when he first encountered the young woman. He smiled and said, "You're welcome, Kagome. It is my duty to protect you, after all, you bein' my woman and everything."
Kagome rolled her eyes and looked at him, one eyebrow arched high as she regarded his nonchalant expression, his seeming unawareness of the fact that she was only his woman in his warped little mind.
"Kouga, I want you to listen to me," she spoke in a voice one might use when addressing a child. "I'll put this as plainly as I possibly can, and I hope that you heed it: I am not your woman."
"Not officially, no," Kouga replied, blithe as ever. "There of course will have to be the conjugal rites with the consent of my sire and dam, and witnessed by all the members of the tribe. Naturally, the consummation will follow after, and then you will truly be my woman." He flashed a grin, and despite the boyish charm it exuded, Kagome easily resisted. She didn't know how to make the wolf demon understand, but she sincerely hoped that he eventually would.
Kouga extended his left index finger to gently push Kagome's chin upward so her gaze met his. His aura rippled smoothly around hers, the edges of it commingling with Kagome's energy. She felt warmth from all sides and knew his affection was genuine, but she could not return it, no matter how sweetly he smiled or to what lengths he went to protect her. Her current dedication was not to him, but to a particular canine hanyou with eyes like the sun. His visage swam in her consciousness, and as much as she strove to drown it, it would not yield, nor was Kagome certain she really wished it to. She realized her wrath at Inuyasha had dulled. No, she hadn't quite forgiven him yet, but she was well on her way towards that point.
Kagome sucked her aura in as close to her as possible, but Kouga's unhesitatingly pursued. Looking deep into the blue pools of his eyes, she comprehended that he did not perceive the numinous dance of their energies as she did. It wasn't that he was dumb, just incapable.
"Where is the nearest moving body of water?" Kagome inquired, and the question broke Kouga's concentration. He had obviously expected some amorous discourse or other, but Kagome would have none of it. She needed to get clean.
With a chuckle, Kouga answered, "Right in front of you, Kagome. This cave is behind a waterfall. Does that sound suitable to you?"
"One has to go through the waterfall to enter this cave?" she asked, receiving a wordless nod in reply. That explained the dampness she had first felt upon awakening.
Unsure of what to say next, Kagome slowly rose to her feet and began making her way towards the cave entrance, Kouga following right behind her. She tried to ignore his presence, but it completely inundated her sentience. She swallowed and increased her speed slightly, but Kouga kept up effortlessly. Kagome found it obnoxious and wondered if perhaps Kouga was a leech demon and not a wolf youkai.
At last they arrived in front of white wall of water shielding the cave from the outside world. Kagome tossed a cursory glance back at her self-appointed guardian before hurtling out of the cavern through the cold cataract and plunging into the river below. She cared not at all that Kouga had not followed her, and was glad for it more than anything else.
The chilly water engulfed her completely, saturating her clothes and skin, eliminating all sounds except for the surge of the current. Kagome fleetingly wished the watercourse would just sweep her away to the ocean, away from the tribulations burdening her life.
When she floated to the surface she found several diminutive spectators staring intently at her. The humanoid wolf cubs discussed something amongst themselves in low voices, their eyes darting over to Kagome every so often. Finally one of them stepped forward, a little boy whose round face and green eyes caused recollections of Shippô to flood into Kagome's mind and bombard at her conscience.
"You're the one, aren't you? Kouga's mate?" the small male questioned.
Kagome pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at being referred to as such. However, having gleaned from Kouga's speech and manners that this was a human-eating wolf tribe, she understood that the designation of being his mate was the only protection she had.
With this in mind, Kagome returned her gaze to the children and said, "Yes, that's right."
Their chubby faces broke out into wide smiles as they bounced up and down, clapping their small, clawed hands.
"She's our new sister!" one of them cheered.
"She must be a lot nicer than Mami if big brother Kouga's chosen her to be his woman!" another enthused.
"What's your name, big sister?" the brazen leader asked.
"Kagome," she told him.
"I'm Jin, big sister Kagome," he introduced himself. Then, pointing to his fellows, he gave their names as well.
"Let's take a bath with big sister Kagome!" the lone little girl named Yukiya suggested merrily.
"Last one in's a rotting gokuraku-chou carcass!" announced the pony-tailed Masaru.
"Not gonna be me!" cried Shiro, giggling as he dove in.
Jin and the other two followed suit, howling gleefully as they splashed into the river. Kagome observed their innocent play impassively. She would have preferred some private time to herself, just a bit of isolation in which to sort out her thoughts, but it seemed that would not be possible. She tried to devise a plan of escape, but the kids' shouts penetrated her skull, making so much noise she could hardly think.
With a sigh of defeat, she situated herself so she floated on her back, her eyes closed to the blinding afternoon sun. The cubs' laughs and joyful yelps passed around her unacknowledged. She let the rushing waters break up the dirt and blood on her body and clothing and wash it all away. She inhaled deeply and righted herself, planting her feet on the sandy river bottom and rubbing her eyes. She saw Yukiya, Shiro, and Masaru paddling about frantically, wailing something about Jin.
"What's wrong?" she inquired, wading over to them.
"The current took Jin away!" Yukiya keened. Kagome gasped and whipped her head around to see Jin bobbing away down the swift river, flailing his short arms and yowling for all he was worth. She told the others to get to shore and find Kouga before pushing off a large rock with her feet, shooting down the channel towards Jin. With powerful strokes and kicks, Kagome was able to reach Jin and grab hold of him to keep him above the water. He had acquired a bluish tint to his skin from water inhalation, but Kagome judged that he would eventually be all right, if she could just extricate them from the current's inexorable grip.
Kagome caught sight of an old tree on the river's left bank with one branch overhanging the river. She urgently beseeched the tree's spirit to save them, and launched her power at the large bough jutting over the waters. Focusing so hard it pained her, Kagome held fast to the tree and slowly but surely hoisted herself and Jin up until she was sitting atop the sturdy bough, clutching Jin close to her as he trembled and sobbed.
"Kagome!" she heard someone cry from the ground. She glanced down to see Kouga racing ahead of a small band of youkai wolves to get to her. He easily leapt from the shore to the branch, and ventured out towards Kagome, extending his arms. She handed her dripping cargo over to him, noting his surprised expression. She knew he had expected her to throw herself into his embrace, but that was certainly not going to happen.
"Jin-chan!" a woman's distressed voice exclaimed, and Kagome watched as Kouga gave the wet child to an older woman wearing a mixture of fear and relief on her face. She held the traumatized pup tightly, close to tears. All the accompanying wolves were standing still, viewing the scene staidly and eyeing the woman with something akin to reverence. Even Kouga had fallen silent and tranquil. From what Kagome understood of wolf packs, she guessed that Jin's mother was the alpha female, which would mean that many of the younger wolves were her offspring, including Kouga.
When at last Jin's mother finished fussing over him and sent him off to be cared for by some handmaidens, she turned her intense blue eyes to Kagome, who had since climbed down from her perch and taken up a position in front of the tree trunk.
"You saved my Jin, did you not?" she questioned, approaching the human girl.
"I did," Kagome answered softly.
"And are you not also the one my eldest son has chosen for a mate?" she continued, though her tone was not as accusatory as Kagome might have anticipated.
"I am."
"He has chosen well."
Kagome's head shot up and she was nearly stunned to see the alpha female smiling warmly at her, a smile reminiscent of Kagome's own mother's when she gazed fondly upon her blossoming daughter.
"I am Natsuko," she said, inclining her head at Kagome.
"Kagome," she responded slowly, bowing slightly out of respect.
"Come, Kagome, we must find you some proper clothes and do away with those drenched rags you're wearing," Natsuko declared, taking Kagome by the hand and leading her back to the wolf tribe's encampment near the waterfall. Kouga walked beside his woman the entire time, smiling widely to himself because of his mother's approval and acceptance of Kagome.
When they arrived back at the youkai wolves' camp, Kagome was spirited away by a great many of Natsuko's attendants who proceeded to scrub her to shining perfection before decking her out in an immaculate white kimono and matching obi cinched around her slender middle. Her tangled sable hair was fastidiously tamed and subsequently pinned up in the bunkin-takashimada style, though Kagome was unaware of it. She had no mirror in which to glimpse her reflection, and she doubted she would be allowed to go down to the river any time soon. Then her eyes darted over to the mucky bathwater, which, despite its polluted condition, could serve as an ad hoc looking glass.
Kagome made a move to stand up from her seat, but she was roughly pushed back down as combs and other unknown ornaments pierced her scalp to decorate her hairdo. She also felt some sort of strange bonnet contraption being situated on her skull. She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest and sulking until the handmaidens chirped their approval and left Kagome to her own devices, their only instruction being to wait in the bath chamber until she was summoned.
Upon feeling certain of her seclusion, Kagome tiptoed over to the bath basin and leaned over to see herself. When her image came into view, the priestess almost choked. Why hadn't she been paying attention? They'd been dressing her in a shiro-maku wedding kimono! They meant to bind her to Kouga in matrimony as soon as possible, probably that very night!
Grunting, the unwilling bride attempted to wrench her tsuno-kakushi off her head without tearing all her hair out. But before she could get it to budge even a bit, Natsuko stepped into the chamber and beckoned Kagome to follow her. The girl followed the alpha female reluctantly, all her flesh screaming to be released from the pristine bridal garb.
Kouga's mother gracefully arranged herself on a large silk cushion, and indicated for Kagome to occupy the one beside her. The unenthusiastic bride-to-be tried to place herself atop the pillow as elegantly as she could, but the constraining shiro-maku hampered her movements a great deal, and she wobbled and squeaked worriedly as she lowered herself down into a kneeling position like the one Natsuko had adopted.
"You look so lovely," Natsuko commented once Kagome had settled. She coughed delicately behind one slim, clawed hand. "For a human girl, that is."
Kagome blushed peevishly at the remark, but chose to keep her head down and not to speak.
"Though we are strictly averse to welcome humans into our tribe—most specifically because we frequently feast on them—know that you will be treated with the utmost respect because of your status as Kouga's mate," the she-wolf informed her future daughter-in-law.
Kagome's eyes went wide as she continued to stare down at her hands resting against the white material on her lap. The bluntness of the statement, not to mention its reference to the wolves' devouring of humans, made her blood run cold.
Natsuko went on speaking about the ceremony, but Kagome wasn't listening anymore. She had turned her attention inward and begun invoking the kami.
'Spirits of soil, imbue my emotions with your resilient inertia. Let me not weep, let me not lash out, let my eyes reveal nothing of my misgivings,' she prayed. 'Oh watchful kami, protect me in my time of trouble and let not my heart be consumed by distress. Generous spirits, send me a miracle…'
"Come, Kagome, the moon has risen, and the ceremony will start soon," Natsuko told her, rising to her feet.
Kagome's mind whirred frantically, searching for any reason at all for delay of the looming nuptials.
"But what about Kouga's honored father? Isn't his permission required before Kouga and I may be wed?" Kagome inquired innocently, gazing up at Natsuko hopefully.
Natsuko smiled at the girl and said, "While you were bathing, my mate arrived home after a long day of hunting and granted our son his leave for Kouga to mate with you."
"Oh," Kagome murmured, her hopes dashed. She scrabbled anxiously for any cause that would forestall the ritual. One finally dawned on her and she asked, "May I see Jin? I want to see that he's all right."
"That's kind of you, Kagome, but I assure you that Jin-chan is recovering quite well, and you have my consent to visit him after the conjugal rites," Natsuko said, a hint of brusqueness laced in her words.
Kagome gulped and nodded, at last standing up to follow Natsuko to the riverside, where Kouga and his entire tribe awaited her appearance. She wanted to drag her feet and impede the start of the rites, but though better of it, not wanting to risk some sort of physical punishment for lingering. She also briefly considered striking out with her power, but knew it was still a bit weak, and she couldn't defend herself from the droves of wolves in the tribe.
'Please, please, save me, save me, save me, please…' she mentally beseeched the higher powers. She saw Kouga posing proudly in the fast descending twilight, his eyeteeth glinting in the moonlight faintly beaming down from the darkening sky.
The lone human girl felt what seemed like a million eyes on her, each pair sizing her up in consideration of how good she might taste. The energy in the air stabbed at her, antagonistic and bloodthirsty. The only ones who didn't seem to utterly hate her were Kouga of course, and his mother and the cubs she had met that afternoon.
A wizened wolf youkai stood beside Kouga, and Kagome supposed him to be the one presiding over the ceremony. Also taking up a space near the groom was a large, fearsome wolf Kagome took to be Kouga's sire. Kouga was practically the spitting image of this imposing creature, just smaller in size. The tribe's leader regarded Kagome apathetically, looking rather bored with the proceedings.
A bit beyond the elderly wolf Kagome saw a flash of hostile purple eyes, and she guessed that was the female wolf Kouga had fended off earlier, the same one she figured the pups had been referring to when they talked about an unfriendly Mami.
Kagome's stomach knotted and she felt on the verge of losing consciousness, but a familiar presence tingled at the back of her mind, and her heart leapt in her chest. It became stronger and stronger as its owner drew nearer to the camp and Kagome's heart beat faster and faster.
When the aura exploded behind her eyes she whirled around and immediately directed her view to the silhouette poised atop the cliff where the waterfall crashed over into the channel below. She couldn't contain her joy and relief any longer. She opened her mouth and one word rang from her throat:
"Inuyasha!"
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NOTES:
Thanks to Yamashita (Not the psychopathic muse! Noooo! But seriously, thank you for sticking with this.); Persephone of Abydos (Well, thank you for sharing your opinion with me. What I said was rather silly, and I have since learned to be happy that I get any reviews at all. I'm glad you like the story.); usagipegasus; cherrystemtwister (Probably Miroku and Sango will be in it, and Sesshômaru will definitely be in it, and on that note, most likely Jaken as well. Can't say for sure about Rin, but we'll see.); chris-san (It's IC? Really? That's a relief to hear, seriously…); AngelsExist (Kouga did cut a dorky rug, didn't he? *laughs*); DemonBlade (My goodness, I think you want Kouga knocked off. I promise that he will get out of the picture, though I don't think by death. Kikyou, on the other hand, well…you'll just have to see.); kmf (Thanks so much for the long review! It's nice to hear your thoughts! And I am continuing this [duh, Kei .], definitely.)
Okay everybody, I finally return. The combination of schoolwork and procrastination really burns me out, and I'm very sorry about that. I can't make any guarantees about when the next installment will arrive, but I'm shooting for some time during the winter holidays, when I get a well-deserved reprieve from the grueling workload doled out by my dear Holy Hell High.
I just want to extend my gratitude to all of you for your continued readership. You've stuck with this, despite how long it takes for updates, and I am so thankful for that. I will finish this, no matter how long it takes. I hope at least some of you can bear with me through the end.
Alright, that's it for my spiel. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I look forward to hearing what you think.
Kei ^^V