Preview from last chapter:

"What's taken you so long? Kagome's hands are full tryin' to get wolf boy to sit down!" The hanyou exclaimed.

"Ah, so he's awake?"

"Hai, just woke up not too long ago."

"That's good to know," Tora nodded as he handed the hanyou his precious Ookami-sama, "here, take her for me."

"Nani?"

"Take her to Kagome-san's backyard, all right? I need to talk with the anxious wolf."

"Oh, all right."

"I'll send for you, okay? I promise. Just keep Sama-sama away from him and we'll all be peachy. Well, except for him. He's just gonna be uncomfortable for awhile."

"Gotcha. I'll see you there." Inu-Yasha said as he took off towards Kagome's house.

Tora sighed, "Oh boy, this is gonna take a lot of persuasion."

"Why, what're you gonna do?" Tatsukichi asked.

"Let's just say," Tora began, turning follow Inu-Yasha's lead, "we're gonna have to make a few adjustments."

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A/N:

The character Hareyu belongs to: twocolors007, okay?

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Chapter Eighteen:
Reflecting On Lost Loves

Knocking on the door to the Higurashi household, Tora waited a few seconds before letting himself in.

"If you don't sit down right now, I'm gonna tell Tora-san that you've been sorting through that newspaper-covered stack he brought!"

"Ah the sounds of mindless bickering," Tora thought, "but still... I feel sorry for them just because they're driving each other nuts!"

"How can I stay sitting down when my mate is out there in the hands of some sexual freak?!"

Tora decided to walk in the room at that moment, wanting to save Kagome from having a mental breakdown.

"Oh, Tora-san, it's you." Kagome said, smiling at the tiger.

"Hey Kagome-san, Kouga-sama. How are you?"

"I'll be great once I get my koishii back."

"Well, uh, about that..."

"What? What do you know about it?"

Tora sighed, "I need to talk to you, Kouga-sama. Now."

Curious as to why there was a tone of urgency in Tora's voice, Kouga stood up from his place on the couch and nodded. Tora gestured for Kouga to follow him, and the wolf did so without question. No words were spoken until they got outside.

"What's going on, Tora-san? What's happened to my koishii?"

Taking a deep breath and then releasing it, Tora answered, "Ookami-sama's memories of you have been erased, Kouga-sama. Not completely, but more of an 'alteration'. Xavier made her believe that it was you that hurt her for all of those years, made her think that you  are the one to blame."

"What?!" Kouga exclaimed, horrified at what this would mean, "What am I supposed to do?!"

"Right now, the mere mention of your name causes her to convulse and spasm as though going through a seizure. I've been told that when she wakes, she'll act as though nothing wrong has happened, well, she'll know she was kidnapped, but she'll know that she was rescued and her tormentor isn't here."

"Her tormentor being me." Kouga said sadly.

"Hai," Tora said, equally as sad, "I'm so very sorry, Kouga-sama. I had no idea that Xavier possessed that much power. I didn't even know he knew how to do what he did. Apparently he's been saving it in case Sama-sama was ever 'in the neighborhood'."

"So.... what are we gonna do?" Kouga asked, afraid to know the answer.

"Well, we can do one of two things."

"What? What can I do?"

"Our first option, and probably best, is for you to go back to the Feudal Era and sit in your den while waiting for her to get over this with the friends she knows to be good."

Kouga bared his teeth, "Absolutely not!"

"Hn, didn't think you'd go for that one anyway," Tora said, shrugging, "then our only option is to change the way you look."

Giving the tiger a suspicious look, Kouga asked, "How much of a change?"

"You up for a hair cut?"

Tora's response was a low growl and a menacing glare from the angry wolf, "No. She likes my hair long."

"Ah, but she won't know that, remember?"

"Still! When she gets over all of this, she'll want my hair long!"

"Okay, okay! I gotcha, I gotcha!" Tora said, holding his hands up defensively, "Sheesh! Don't get your fur in a knot."

Giving Tora a sideways glare, Kouga asked, "What's the other option?"

"You're not gonna like this one, I can tell that already."

"I don't care! What's the other option?" Kouga yelled.

"The second option," Tora began, "is more along the lines of a curse. There're two parts to it, both of them necessary, in my opinion. You're gonna need to learn some of the 'yes and no' things you can do, but with your learning capabilities, this should be no problem. The only thing you're gonna have problems with is adjusting to the laughter from Inu-Yasha-san, Kagome-san, Miroku-san, Sango-san, Kaede-sama, Shippo-chan, Lunia-san, and Kagura-san."

Kouga blinked, a confused look making its way onto his face, "Why would they laugh at me?

"If you decide to go through with it, you'll find out." Tora said.

"Listen, I don't care what they do. I don't want to be away from her for so much as one second. Do you understand that?"

"I understand, Kouga-sama, believe me. You're not the only one that's loved someone, 'ya know? I've loved too."

"You have? Who?"

"No one you know," Tora said, shrugging; he continued once Kouga shot him a glare, "her name was Hareyu, and she was the cutest wolf demon. I tell you, I've seen Sama-sama bond with someone so quickly. Those two would not shut up. They'd always have something to talk about, no matter how trivial, their mouths were always moving. Kami, it was great to see. Sama-sama was the only one that ever got to meet her, because I didn't want my parents to know I had chosen a woman of my own."

"What happened to her?" Kouga asked quietly.

Tora sighed, "We were up in the forest one day, Sama-sama insisted on coming, but Hareyu and I politely refused her company. We wanted some alone time that day, but we didn't know why. While we were walking on the river's bank, we heard screaming from not too far away. Someone was screaming, 'She's here! She's here! The Guardian of the Shikon no Tama is here!' Interested in what was going on, Hareyu and I went to check it out.

"We reached what we thought was a safe distance and saw a dark-haired woman shooting down demons and hanyou alike with sacred arrows. Worried for the lives of some of the hanyou down there, for we knew Ookami-sama would have a fit if she knew they were being killed like fish in a barrel by some priestess that wasn't even supposed to be there, Hareyu and I went to go help. We were upper class demons and believed ourselves strong enough to at least send her back where she belonged."

Tora's pause was so long that Kouga wondered if he'd start up again, "It was the mutt's clay zombie, wasn't it?"

Looking surprised, Tora said, "Hai, it was; but, she wasn't a 'clay zombie' then, no. She was as alive as you or I back then, and damned powerful, too. We rushed her, Hareyu and I, instinctively knowing that she was a trespasser in our world."

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"Hareyu, you take the left, I'll take the right!" He yelled, using the Common language that all demons from the Inside could understand.

"Be careful, Koishii!" She called back, claws extended to attack the offending priestess.

"Fools," the priestess sneered, throwing both Hareyu and Tora back, "do you really think you can stop me?"

"What do you want here?" Tora asked, speaking Japanese, something he was not quite fluent in.

"I merely seek the one who calls herself Usu-Venita. Do you know where I might find her?"

"And if I do? What do you need to speak to her about? What could be so important that you would kill innocent demons and han-..."

"Idiot! Neither demon nor hanyou are capable of being innocent! Anything that is even remotely related to a demon should perish!"

"And why is that, hm? What do you suddenly have against we of the Inside? What have we ever done to you? We rarely leave here to go to the Outside. If ever an Outside we'd go to, it would be the Outside where magic does not exist."

"You're lying. A village was attacked just three days ago, a demon baring the name Usu-Venita. I have come here to seek and destroy her."

"Now it is you that fabricates, Priestess Whatever-Your-Name-Is. Usu-Venita attended a conference three days ago. There is no way she could have crossed over to your world, attacked a village, and then returned to the conference within five minutes. Even she is not that quick, albeit she is pretty good at changing clothes between parties."

"My name is Kikyo, and you'd do well to remember it, Demon. Now, I have come here to kill the one Usu-Venita, shall you tell me where she lives or not?"

"Hey, I have a name, too; however, I do not believe one as impure as yourself deserves to hear it, Kikyo. Besides," Tora began, his mind throwing a new piece of information to the front of his memory, "are you not in love with a hanyou yourself?"

The aura of the now-enraged priestess grew to immense proportions that Tora had never before been able to fathom, "My affairs are none of your concern!"

"Then neither should our affairs be any of your business!" Hareyu protested.

Eyes ablaze with an emotion Tora would later learn as being self-hatred, Kikyo placed an arrow upon her bow and fired. Hareyu fell before Tora's eyes, a still-glowing arrow protruding from her chest.

Eyes widening, Tora heard his love speak with her last breath, "I love you, Tora-kun. Always."

Angry beyond belief, Tora's mind began going blank. He could only register a few things at a time, his eyes only seeing the one who was responsible for the death of his beloved.

Running towards the priestess in an attempt to avenge his Hareyu, Tora only barely heard the laughter spilling from her lips. The priestess seemed to take pleasure in the deaths she had caused, and took extreme glee when she saw Tora charging her once again. Placing another arrow on her bow, she released the arrow and watched as it struck the angered tiger demon in the heart.

Kikyo watched as Tora fell onto his side upon the bloodied ground next to the woman he had failed to save. Laughing, she walked past him and began going back the way she came, probably planning on taking the road that would lead to Shilan, the capitol city of the South where Venita was said to be living.

Suddenly, as though Tora were dreaming, he watched as four neat slash marks appeared on Kikyo's back, the blood soaking through her priestess robes. Said priestess turned around, apparently stunned.

"The wind told me you searched for me, Kikyo." Came a voice so cold that Tora was afraid the ground would become covered with frost, "What's the matter? Did you miss me?"

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"And so Ookami-sama sent Kikyo packing for a while. When she'd finished, she rushed over to me and healed me with the magic her brother had taught her. She was about to check on Hareyu, but I told her not to bother. As I watched Ookami-sama's face change from one of anger to that of sadness, I made a promise to protect her as best I could until she got a Mate of her own. Now that that's happened, though, I thought I could finally take a break; however with her newly-developed fear of you, it looks like I'm gonna have to step in after all."

Kouga, who was extremely distraught by Tora's story, put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, "I'm sorry, Tora-san. Gees, no wonder she hates Kikyo so much."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. There was no village destroyed, Kouga-sama. Kikyo was using that as an excuse just to see Ookami-sama."

"Then why did she even bother going to your world?"

"Kikyo wanted to kill Ookami-sama because she'd been watching Inu-Yasha-san. Sama-sama had heard of a hanyou on the Outside that had fallen in love with a priestess. Already guessing the outcome, she wanted to try and see if she could change his mind; but, well, you know how stubborn he is. Sama-sama couldn't get through to him, so she came back to the Inside. Kikyo, on the other hand, thought that Inu-Yasha was cheating on her, so she wanted to get rid of Ookami-sama. You get it? Kikyo was jealous; a very bad emotion for a priestess to be feeling."

"I see," Kouga said, thinking over all of the information he'd just learned, "it's no wonder why you don't like seeing lover's antics. It reminds you of just how lonely you are."

Tora shrugged, "Ah well, you know what they say: 'It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all'."

Kouga smacked Tora on the back of the head, "Idiot."

"What? Ow.... you hit just like Ookami-sama." Tora said, rubbing his head.

"You don't really believe that, do you? Come on, Tora-san, you need to..."

"Hey, come on, let's focus on your love life, shall we? Then we can worry about mine, got it?"

"All right, all right," Kouga conceded, "so what's this second option you started talking about?"

"Ah! Of course! So sorry about that, Kouga-sama. The first one I think you'll agree to; it's the second part I don't think you're gonna like."

"Why? What's the second part?"

Tora sighed, "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because then I'm sure you wouldn't go through with any of this."

"Tora..." Kouga threatened.

"I know, I know! You don't wanna be away from her for more than one second! Sure, you say that now, but if you learned of what I planned to do to you, even one as loyal as you would start to question himself."

Sighing, Kouga asked, "All right, well what's the first part?"

"Ah, now that I can tell you," Tora said, a smile on his face, "we have to make you either human or hanyou."

"Why can't I stay the way I am?"

"Sama-sama's memorized those pointy ears of yours, Kouga-sama."

"Oh," Kouga said softly, "I hate to say it, but a hanyou's the best option."

"Why do you say that?"

"If I need to protect her, I'll at least be demon enough to do something to help."

"This is true," Tora agreed, pulling out a charcoal pencil and a small piece of paper, "so you want wolf hanyou, yes?"

"Hai."

"All right, thanks." Tora said, writing down several words in a language Kouga couldn't even begin to understand.

"Now what?"

"Now," Tora began, "I tell you that this spell is temporary and can only be removed once Ookami-sama comes to her senses about you."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

Tora shook his head, "I don't know, Kouga-sama. I really don't have any idea about this."

"I see. Well, how does this whole spell thing work?"

"Like this." Tora said simply, placing the piece of paper upon Kouga's chest and holding it there with his index finger.

Immediately, Tora began muttering in a different language. The piece of paper started to feel warm, and Kouga wondered if it would burst into flames at one point since it was so hot.

Not too long after Tora's chanting began, Kouga could feel his body tingling with the sensation of change. Suddenly, pain took over the warm feeling, and Kouga felt himself fall on his side, Tora's finger following his movements to keep the paper in place.

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Up in the trees...

Inu-Yasha watched as Kouga writhed on the ground at the base of the tree he had chosen to sit in. He couldn't believe the sacrifices the wolf was making just so he could be with the woman that currently lay in the hanyou's lap. It made him start to think of what he would be willing to do for the woman he'd chosen. It didn't take long to come up with the answer that he would do anything for his woman. The woman he had decided he would take to be his love, his woman, his mate.

But what had Inu-Yasha wanting to bare his teeth was the story Tora had told Kouga. He just couldn't accept the fact that Kikyo would go through the portal that led from the Feudal Era to the land of the Inside just to kill a woman Inu-Yasha now loved as a sister. Oh sure, he remembered how Kikyo had been upset about something. He remembered that she wouldn't let him anywhere near her back for quite some time.

Now he knew why.

"Why, Kikyo? Why would you think I would do something like that?" Inu-Yasha thought, sadness breaking into his thoughts, "Of course, Kagome thinks the same thing whenever I see you, doesn't she? I don't mean to hurt her; it just..... happens. I don't know what to do anymore, so I've made my choice, Kikyo. I know what I want, and I know who I want to do it with."

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A/N: Phew! I'm so glad that chapter's over!

Twocolors007— please tell me if I got anything wrong! I tried to get in touch with you, but it seems the e-mail address I tried was the wrong one. When you reviewed, your service provider didn't show up… grrrr……. Anyhow, please tell me how I did, all right??? Please, please, please!

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As to all of you, my faithful reviewers….. muahaha……….. you get to tell me how I did too, all right?? Please? Onegai? S'il vous plaît? Bitteschön? Dang, I ran out of languages…. Ah well, I did pretty good, yes? English, Japanese, French, and German… hehe…..not bad if I do say so myself. :-)
By the way, I have to say that I don't much like Kikyo; the living one was okay, but the "new" one..... ::shudders:: blech......... uh-uh........... ::shakes head violently:: no way.... ;-)

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--Ookami-chan--