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
©2001-2003 by Kei
VIII – Leave-taking
At that moment, when she saw him standing at the cliff's edge, Kagome thought she had never seen anything more beautiful. Moonlight made his white hair glow silver as it blew in the passing breeze; his gold eyes sparkled brilliantly from within the shadows shrouding most of his form. His aura poured over Kagome, its intensity matching that of the waterfall nearby. She rejoiced to feel him near again, completely forgetting the rage she had once felt over him keeping secrets from her.
"Inuyasha!" she cried again. She started to lift her arms from her sides to reach out for him and begin running, but she almost collided with Kouga's back. The wolf youkai had stepped protectively in front of her, effectively blocking her view of her saviour. She glared at his thick black ponytail, and continued raising her right hand until it closed around the coarse ebony locks. She yanked down with all her might, shocking Kouga, who was so startled (not to mentioned pained) that he lost his footing and dropped unceremoniously to the ground. He gazed up at his bride-to-be with wide, questioning aqua eyes, rather confused as to why she would do such a thing. With a mental shrug, he decided perhaps it was some odd human mating custom. He got to his feet, brushed himself off, and turned once again to look at the intruder.
"What're you doing here? Who are you and whaddya want?" Kouga shouted up at the stranger.
For a moment there was no reply. The rapt onlookers watched speechlessly as the interloper fearlessly leapt off the precipice and landed mere meters away from the as yet unwed bride and groom. Everyone scrutinized the intruder closely, and most drew back with snarls of disdain when they realized he was a dog, and a hanyou at that. Many of the wolf tribe took their lupine forms in preparation for battle, but were halted abruptly when their leader spoke.
"This is between Kouga and the dog, no one else!" Kouga's sire boomed. "Anyone who dares to interfere will feel my fangs at his throat!"
Those who had transformed reclaimed their humanoid shapes, and all the tribe members shifted to create a large circle around the trio of Kouga, his mate, and the hanyou. Everyone was so focused on the imminent duel that nobody noticed a lone wolf stalking furtively around the edge of the circle, watching the white-garbed human girl with sharp, mordant amethyst eyes.
"I've come for Kagome," the dog said finally, his eyes narrowed at Kouga. "Let her go."
"She's not a prisoner here," Kouga answered indignantly. "She's here of her own free will. She won't be going with you, inukkoro. She's gonna stay and be my mate."
Kagome, peeping out from behind Kouga, watched Inuyasha's face intently as his expression changed from one of anger to one of mild confusion.
"I wanna ask Kagome if she feels that way," Inuyasha said slowly, his hands tightening into fists.
"I speak for both of us," Kouga retorted, unaware of the scowling human girl who had moved out from behind him.
"Inu—," Kagome tried to say, but Kouga suddenly turned and crushed her in a fierce embrace. She worried about suffocating in the overzealous wolf's forceful hold.
"Don't worry, Kagome," he whispered, attempting to sound reassuring. "I'll fight this mutt for you, and I'll win, and we won't be bothered again." He kissed her on the temple and released her, failing to see how she gasped for breath.
"I'll fight you, inukkoro. Whoever wins gets Kagome," Kouga declared.
"She ain't a prize, bastard," Inuyasha barked.
'Thank you!' Kagome thought, grimacing in Kouga's general direction.
"If I win, you let her go. If you win, well, I guess she stays here," Inuyasha asserted. Kouga nodded his acceptance of the terms and got into a fighting stance. His knees were bent slightly; he balanced on the balls of his feet. He had his fists up, ready to take the defensive or the offensive.
Inuyasha, on the other hand, didn't care to look stylish and take some sort of pose. He cracked his knuckles, flexed his hands a couple of times, and, without warning, dove for Kouga.
Kouga sidestepped, thinking Inuyasha would simply fly by him and slide pitifully into the dust. He was shocked when a clawed hand shot out, gripped his ankle, and wrenched him off his feet. And while he was down, Inuyasha pounced, slamming his weight on Kouga and pummeling the wolf's face with his fists.
With a roar, Kouga shoved the hanyou off and leapt to his feet, irked to find that his opponent was on his feet as well. After roughly wiping away the blood flowing generously from his split lip and probably broken nose, Kouga dashed forward at Inuyasha, talons outstretched to pierce the half-breed's throat and rip it out.
Inuyasha thrust his hands out and laced his fingers through Kouga's, digging his sharp claws deep into the backs of Kouga's hands. He broke the thin flesh easily and was satisfied to hear Kouga grunt in pain. Before the wolf could regain his senses, Inuyasha bashed Kouga's forehead with his own hard skull and then slammed his foot into Kouga's vulnerable stomach, sending the blue-eyed demon soaring backward. He landed hard on his back, skidding through sharp rocks that sliced open his skin and dirt that stung harshly in the wounds.
Kagome looked from Inuyasha to Kouga and back again. Seeing the wolf in such agony caused her to waver in her eagerness to return to Inuyasha and Shippô and their journey to Inuyasha's home. She wondered if maybe she should stay here with the wolves, because Kouga needed someone to watch out for him….
'No,' Kagome realized. 'If I remained, it would be out of pity, not love, and that would be more disgraceful and humiliating for Kouga than losing this fight.'
Inuyasha stood back and waited for Kouga to get up. With a loud groan, Kouga at last rose to his feet. He glared balefully at Inuyasha, and Kagome observed in horror as Kouga's blue eyes turned red and the dust around him swirled with energy. His image rippled and mutated into the huge black wolf Kagome remembered from just that morning. The power emanating from the gargantuan beast was staggering, fueled by the rage within him. Kagome gulped and looked at Inuyasha, who had given no ground, even in the face of such a fearsome foe.
'He has no weapon but his claws,' Kagome thought frantically, frozen as she saw Kouga bare his fangs, which had to be at least a meter in length, though they were unexpectedly thin and narrow.
A growl rumbling deep in his throat, Kouga charged at Inuyasha, who barely dodged Kouga's paw falling to pound him into the dirt. The giant black wolf swiped again at the hanyou, who jumped out of the way once more. With a tenacity that stunned all the spectators, Inuyasha leapt up onto Kouga's back and scrabbled ferociously at his ears.
Howling in pain and annoyance, Kouga shook his head vigorously, succeeding in throwing Inuyasha off. The white-haired dog-boy sailed through the air until he hit the ground with a sickening thud, his head striking a jagged rock. Blood pooled around him, coloring his pale hair a deep, dark crimson.
Kouga wasted no time in taking advantage of Inuyasha's vulnerable recumbence. He bounded forward, his large jaws parting and releasing large drops of saliva that flew out as he advanced on his opponent. He swiftly, brutally snatched up the half-demon in his frothy maw, audibly spearing Inuyasha through his neck and his stomach with nauseating squelching sounds. The maimed, impaled hanyou's mouth opened in a silent scream as his topaz eyes widened in horrific shock and ineffable pain.
Kagome's vision was filled with blood. The fluid of life spurted from the ghastly punctures in her companion's limp, enervated body. It spilled onto the dirt, branching out into bloody little tributaries. It soaked deeply into his red kimono, distinctly darkening its color. Kagome knew now that she would never have any trouble discerning whether or not Inuyasha bled.
After a repulsive, beastly display of violently shaking Inuyasha's ragged form still locked in his jaws, Kouga spit the dog demon out and watched with smug satisfaction as his lifeless body tumbled to the ground in a sanguinary heap that was almost unrecognizable as the fearless half-breed who had confronted the wolf youkai not long before.
Her breath quickening to the point of hyperventilation and her heart beating faster than a rabbit flees, Kagome's chest shuddered and she released an unearthly, earsplitting scream. All eyes fell on her trembling figure as she stared in stunned horror at Inuyasha crumpled on the ground in an ever-expanding pool of his own blood. Kouga had killed him!
Images flooded Kagome's racing mind, recalling the discovery of her father's mangled corpse in the woods surrounding their home. There had been blood everywhere, and Hirofumi's eyes had been huge and dead, gazing up at the sky. Reliving the abject horror of that moment increased Kagome's storm of emotions into a dangerous, raging tempest that she could hardly control. She wanted to lash out at all those who had hurt her and the ones she cared about. She felt a rapacious desire to tear Kouga's heart from his chest and feed it to his loyal wolves. She could feel the bloodthirsty craving engulfing her like a tsunami wave, and she felt small and helpless, powerless to stop it.
And yet, there was something, tiny but bright, flickering in the back of her mind that slammed her back into her self. Her mouth opened again.
"NO!"
She glared into Kouga's big red eyes, her lower jaw quavering. The almost undetectable flickering had been Inuyasha's life force. He was still alive, but just barely. Kagome had to protect what little vitality remained in his mutilated being. She jogged awkwardly over to him and sank to her knees beside him, lightly, tentatively stroking his tangled, blood-matted hair. She jerked her head up when she realized Kouga's long, intimidating shadow no longer fell over them. She saw him standing in his humanoid guise a few meters from where she knelt by Inuyasha. Her eyes stayed on him, though her face was blank, as he slowly approached her.
Once he stood no farther from her than a man's height, he said, "Do you fear me now, Kagome? Or hate me? Or both?"
Her momentary silence he accepted as an affirmative, but then she murmured, "Neither." She glanced up, and upon seeing his eyes glimmer with a sheen of hope, added, "But nor do I love you. You are…not bad, Kouga, but I think there are many things you don't understand. You need more time to grow and mature before you take a mate, especially a human one. You must learn that your strength is not your only asset."
"Kagome, I—"
"You didn't really give me a choice in the matter of staying here with you, and you didn't stop to notice that the whole time I've been here I've been longing to leave. You treated me like a possession," she said quietly. "And that…is very wrong."
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, casting his sharp blue eyes down.
"Thank you for your remorse, but it doesn't erase what you've done. Perhaps my heart is big enough to forgive you—eventually. But I am certain it is not big enough to love you, ever, in any way. I think you should forget me, and I hope that you're able to find someone who will expedite the process considerably," she stated honestly.
"Please, Kagome, I—," Kouga stuttered, but couldn't seem to convey his feelings in words. He swallowed hard and said, "I can't forget you. In fact, I refuse to."
Kagome met his gaze squarely and replied expressionlessly, "Then think of me as a friend, and nothing more."
With that, she set about gingerly gathering up Inuyasha's broken body in her arms and steadily plodding away, her burden issuing crimson liquid all over her spotless white kimono.
There was a collective gasp from the crowd when a normal-sized black wolf suddenly burst forth from among them, headed straight for Kagome's retreating back.
Without even turning around, the young priestess repelled the attack with a gigantic dancing green flame that inexplicably blazed up around her and Inuyasha. The wolf smashed into the shield and bounced harmlessly off, hitting the ground hard after receiving a decisive shock from Kagome's powerful aura.
The amethyst-colored bitterness pouring off the offending wolf immediately told Kagome that it was Mami, driven by jealously to attempt to murder Kouga's chosen woman.
Mami remained undeterred. She drove herself again and again into the incandescent green armor, but all to no avail. She was further enraged by the fact that Kagome continued walking away, ignoring Mami utterly.
After snarling and pawing angrily at the dirt for a moment, Mami lifted her head and let out a strange bark that Kagome sensed was magical. It battered her shield and then broke it, providing Mami with an easy target. She darted forward and leaped at the human girl as Kagome whirled about, Inuyasha still firmly in her hold.
"Fool!" she cried scornfully as a thick vine of her power shot out from seemingly nowhere and encircled Mami's throat. Kagome's eyes raised, and so did the struggling black wolf. She made gagging noises as the vine tightened; her thrashing became weaker and weaker. At last Mami let herself hang limp, awaiting death's dark embrace. But her ears perked when she heard Kagome speaking.
"Don't you see that I'm leaving, you dumb bitch? And still you are so full of hate and fear that you would threaten me?"
She laughed shortly, humorlessly, before continuing, "But I'm not like you, Mami. I don't hate you; I pity you. Heed me well, wolf: This is your first and only lesson in mercy from me. I trust that we won't meet again, but should our paths cross for some reason, and you act antagonistic to me or anyone under my protection, you can rest assured that I will not hesitate to kill you."
Then the green vine vanished and Mami fell gracelessly to the ground, panting hard. She stared at Kagome one last time before hurriedly loping away and losing herself in the throng of spellbound spectators.
Kagome, secure in the knowledge that no one else posed a threat, started her trek once more, cradling Inuyasha even more closely to her.
All was silent and still as the miko gradually made her way out of the wolf tribe's territory. When she was on the fringes of the forest, Kouga called out, "Goodbye, Kagome!"
For a second there was no reply, but the wind carried her low, lilting voice to his sensitive ears:
"Farewell."
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NOTES:
Thanks to zel no miko (Haha, you're pretty smart, guessing at Mami trying to kill Kagome. I couldn't have Kagome kill her; I hope you understand the reason behind this. As for Sango and Miroku, I do think they will be appearing later on….); Ladyspice (Well, even though Kouga's out of the picture [for now, ^_~], he will still come up in conversation, so perhaps will in that way provide some humorous instances.); Twin Star of Suzaku (Yes, our dear Inuyasha does indeed pick a fight with Kouga. Can't have him be too OOC, can we?); Yamashita (I am imagining the consequences of marrying Kagome to Kouga right now, and they are not fun, not fun at all…. And I can't put into words how good it makes me feel to hear you say that you'll wait as long as it takes for me to update. *bows* Thank you.); kame Hime; kmf (Thank you for being so understanding about how long it can take to produce quality stuff [depending on what one's concept of 'quality' is…].); Angelstars; Tori (*o* You are so NICE! Eeeeeeee! I would love to write something and actually have it published; it's a dream of mine actually. Thank you so much for reviewing and telling me what you think of this. It's a joy to hear such wonderful, complimentary things. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And, by the way, a spiel is "A lengthy, usually extravagant speech or argument intended to persuade." Not exactly what my little notes are, but close enough for me!); ArtemisMoon (^^;; So enthusiastic! I'm sorry I can't really update SOON SOON SOON SOON SOON, but that's the way the cookie crumbles I guess. Thanks for sticking with it, though!); Miaka Kiri (Inuyasha isn't really the one doing the rescuing, is he…? ^^;); sara; animegurl (Ah, one of the few souls who actually roots for Kagome and Kouga! I actually like that couple, too, for some odd reason. Maybe I'll write a one-shot about them or something…. But anyway! I don't think it's right that Kagome would have to learn to like Kouga. I completely believe in following one's heart, and Kagome is doing just that. Her heart is telling her that Inuyasha is someone very special, more special than Kouga, so…yeah.); kleptomaniac sam (Oh dear, don't drown on your tea! ^^;;); Silver Eyes Bright (I'm glad you're able to follow the story with ease. I try not to get too complicated, though perhaps sometimes I don't quite succeed…. Yes, cliffhangers do drive readers crazy, which is exactly the reason authors put them in. ^_~ Thanks for reading!); Nana (FINALLY I update, like a week after I say I'm gonna…. It's the schoolwork, Nana-chan! [And the horrid procrastination…! _]); Crystal Twilight (I'm glad to hear you say I portray Kouga well, because I don't know a whole lot about him, considering I've only seen a few episodes of the anime that feature him, and the fact that he has yet to appear in the translated manga….); Geminidragon; Cutie Blossom; Anon.; Kururi (Oh, no, don't bow down…my modesty will kill me….); mousas (Sorry if Kouga looks a bit dumb. He's not the male lead, so he can't be really super great, you know? As for the wolves welcoming her, well, they are wolf demons that feast on humans, and the son of their leader has brought home a human girl to be his wife. And a priestess at that, who is supposed to be an enemy of demons! I wouldn't be welcoming to Kagome if I were a member of that wolf tribe, lemme tell ya.); GroveWolf
Oh, you guys, all of you have been so sweet and kind in your reviews, and I reward you by taking an eternity to update. I really am so totally sorry, from the bottom of my heart. It's just hard to get it together sometimes. With schoolwork and other things piling up, I just get burned out. I try, but I don't think that's enough. I really do feel bad about the long times between chapters, but there's not a lot I can do to change that, and I'm sorry.
I'd appreciate it if you leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter, or what you think about whatever. Thanks for reading, thank you a million times.
—Kei