‡ ‡ ---------------------------‡ ‡

:: Easier said than done ::

‡ ‡ ---------------------------‡ ‡

It's been twenty-two years since the leader of the Lycan clan, Kouga, claimed he would have the parable's human by his side. Exactly twenty-two years later and all their searching resulted to zilch. And seeing as tradition in the Lycan tribe preaches that the leader mates with the full-breed female in order to produce the next generation and protector of the group wasn't something Kouga was vastly keen on. He didn't want to mate with Ayame, yet with the 'chosen one'. But this tradition of theirs was nearing in and he would have to do was what necessary to keep their species flourishing, except he didn't want to. He might be sounding like an in competed child, but he just didn't want to. It was a simple 'no'.

Secretly he was searching for her with a very trustworthy group of comrades. This search of theirs was difficult to do since the same wolves whom were searching for the human girl were also the ones whom go hunting for the tribe. They'd hunt, then search. Of course, at first this was an easy task, but as the years rolled by it became gruesome. The hunters needed to rest and Kouga didn't allow them to do so. They did complain amongst themselves, but word never spread out to their leader. Twenty years was an awfully long time of searching and this worried Kouga. It worried him terribly.

As each day passed and there was no result he thought of the worst possible cause of why he couldn't find her. He'd believed that the Vamps were the one whom had triumphed on finding the human individual and had made her their leader, but somehow he knew that was impossible. The Vamps weren't all that excited on finding one human in particular. They went after them all; they weren't all that loving when it came to humans. Plus, to make matters even supplementary complex, he didn't have a name - her name to be exact-. He knew that if he had a name, whether it was a first name or a last one, he'd find her. Yet, he had no clue of what she might look like, what she would sound like, or how pleasant her scent would be. Nothing, zero, zilch.

Kouga settled himself on the roof of their resident. The location of their dwelling was sited in an unknown forest which was called " The Diablo's Keep" by some villagers long ago. Sure enough that name was well known by the wolves, it was their home after all. In order to keep others from finding their home they camouflaged it. On the outside it appeared as just another towering mountain in the middle of the forest which a bloodcurdling entrance on the side, however the inside was breath taking. It would have seem that the Lycans were a pair of rich dogs.

There were rooms that could go on forever. A room for every wolf; a certain side was for the females and the other for the males. Half and half and everything from the kitchen to the dinning room was shared between them all. Their kind grew, but the rooms didn't. Every time there was a new born an elderly would pass on, thus a burial ground was located behind the vast mountain.

Kouga was saddened by the way things were set. Not all tactics would go as planned and he would be dammed if he was to mate with Ayame by force. She was his chosen mate ever since both were brought forth. His father had mentioned to him that being the person in charge wasn't going to be easy, he had to be strong for the pack. Just as tradition goes, emotions were to be neglected when becoming the leader. Yet, for Kouga it was easier said than done. His father's mate was chosen as well, just as every leader's, other than he was lucky because he did love his mate. He had loved her even before he knew she was to be his mate. Except for Kouga Ayame was just a snotty child. She was a bit too young, but she was the only full-breed female capable of producing a heir strong enough for his flock as well as hers. Fortunate for him was that she was miles away from him busy with her own duty. Once the mating was to take place he would have to go to her and produce the next generation for both herds, and so both packs would soon become one.

Though, not only the leader was entitled on being able to mate. The only difference was that the leader had a chosen mate in which he had to pair off with whether he liked it or not while the rest of the gang were liberated to chose their mate, which of course was easy because it was based on fondness.

Sure, Kouga loved being the boss and having everyone else attend to him and have faith that he would keep them safe. He loved being able to care for everyone's needs and even wants. He took care of them, fed them, kept them from harm's reach and he had no problem with that, after all it ran within him. His father was the exact way.

However, he was different from any other leader the Lycans have had. Maybe it began because of his father's care towards his mother. His father loved his mother even though he didn't show his affection in front the tribe. He knew his father would risk anything to make his mother happy no matter what the cost. Except for things didn't go that way, they weren't suppose to go that way. The leader only mated with a strong female to generate a strong leader. It was simple and cold. You mated. You had a strong offspring. He took over the tribe and you were now officially off duty. There were no feelings, no 'I love you', no 'I'll take care of you', none of that. And Kouga knew that, but he didn't understand that. He believed it wasn't fair for everyone else to be able to fall in love while he had no permission to do so. His father did and thus so will he.

But, the person whom he'd fallen in love with was out of sight and it wounded him to know he couldn't be with her. He didn't need to know her, he just knew he need to be with her and be able to have her in his arms. It wasn't a difficult thing, he simply loved her, is all. Loved her with every bit of strength he had.

---

"My Lord, there is still no word on the girl. It is believed that she still has not reached her full peak until she is of twenty- three years of age. If anything occurs before that prophecy claims she will not survive the bite and she would be of no use," a calm yet frightened voice replied as he paid very close attention to the ground as he bowed to his master.

"Very well. All we have to do is wait upon the girl's twenty-third birth date and then we will go on with my proposal. Anything else that might be useful information that might interest me?" Sesshoumaru uncaringly said while brushing a few strands of white hair from his eyes as he looked down onto his faithful servant.

"Uh. Yes my Lord, it is said that the leader of the Lycan tribe might be searching for the girl as well. I am not precisely sure what his plan is once he finds the girl, though," he replied still admiring the ground.

"The Lycans? Well it seems that the Lycans have decided to slither out of hiding. I might have myself a bit of competition after all, will I?" Sesshoumaru questioned himself rather than the servant before him.

"I guess that would be all, leave me," Sesshoumaru informed to the bowing servant.

He was quivering, though not because it was bitterness he felt, but because he was in great need for blood. He was weakening and any second longer he could have plummeted to an eternal slumber.

If a Vamp was craving blood he required to hunt for it before falling weak. Once weak you fall into a sleep where you would doze forever and be kept in a cellar where every Vamp is kept until someone was to supply you with enriched blood and from there you're up and ready to go. But things didn't work that way. Every Vampire for himself. If you failed to supply yourself with human blood then that was your problem unless you had someone actually kind enough to provide you some. However, once asleep you would only be awakened with the permission of Lord Sesshoumaru. Most Vamps were kept asleep until Sesshoumaru felt it was necessary to awake them.

Sesshoumaru arose from his chair sighing a bit to himself. He was enraged knowing the Lycans knew of the girl. He knew the Lycans were extremely dim-witted and they had no such clue as to what the prophecy claims. His plan would instantly go to ruins if the Lycans got a hold of her.

His blood boiled and he flew out the nearest window to devour on something innocent.

---

"Hojo, could you pass me the scissors," Sango commanded as she stood still on a rolling chair.

Hojo had informed her he would carry her on his shoulder seeing as standing on a chair with wheels isn't the smarted thing to do, especially when you squirm as much as Sango does.

He did just as she commanded and handed her the scissors she acquired. She smiled a thank you and snipped a few unwanted strands from the banner she proudly stitched herself.

"There, perfect. Isn't is beau--," she was cut of mid sentence when she decided to step back and take a look at the banner.

Obviously the rolling chair did as it was purposed to do, it rolled right off her feet, but luckily she landed in a pair of warm arms.

"Well, aren't I glad I decided to join you two and in the nick of time," Miroku replied with a sly smirk as he held Sango closely to himself.

"Yeah, how fortunate of me to have landed on your arms, Miroku," Sango said rather sarcastically.

She pushed herself off Miroku's arms and went back to admiring her banner.

"Isn't it perfect?" She questioned.

Miroku nodded and stood by her side admiring the banner as well.

"Happy Birthday, Kagome! I like it, I really do," Miroku stated wrapping an arms securely around Sango's waist and added, "Next time I better see a huge banner saying 'I love you, Miroku!'."

Sango pushed herself away from him once again and laughed out her comment.

"I love you Miroku! And why on earth would I stitch that?"

"Because you love me, of course, why else?" Miroku blankly said as if being and obvious thing to say.

Sango rolled her eyes shaking her head as she walked away from him and assisted Hojo with the tables and chairs. Miroku followed like a sick puppy hoping to steal a small kiss from the blushing girl

Hojo, on the other hand, was busy minding his own business. He was distracted recalling all those time he and Kagome had spent together as friends. Plainly friends, nothing more. It surely wasn't him only whom knew it was time to take it further from being friends into being something more. He knew Kagome felt the same way about him. He wasn't sure, but know he was positive ever since his accident.

He was seriously injured and was kept in the hospital for a week because of his severe state. Without a doubt he knew his friends would visit him and perhaps stay with him for a while, but not as long as Kagome did. She remained on his side all day and slept in an uncomfortable chair by never leaving him by his lonesome. Whenever she did leave it was because she had to shower and needed a change of clothing, but besides that she was with him. She had even confessed to him that she loved him than more than just a friend when he was asleep, yet he wasn't asleep just had his eyes shut.

He knew how she felt and he was sure about his feelings as well. He would give her the greatest gift of all on her birthday. He had it all planned out. After the party he would take her out to a romantic dinner, just the two of them. Then he would shower her with mountains of gifts he had already bought. Later into the evening she would surely question his odd behavior and he would say nothing but allow his actions speak for themselves. Yes, it was prefect.

"Miroku, stop it!"

Hojo was instantly brought back to reality when he heard a painful slap. Miroku was at it again. It was quite noticeable that Sango had somewhat of a thing for Miroku, except she wanted nothing with him because of the way he was.

Miroku was unmistakably handsome and he knew that therefore that didn't stop him from accepting every woman's offer. He did, though, cared very much for Sango. Perhaps it was true when they say 'You can't always get what you want, and the more you can't have it, the more you desire it.' That was exactly how Miroku worked. He never could have Sango and so he was willing to accept all those throbbing slaps until one day she would accept his proposal. He knew she felt something towards him, every woman did. Other than Sango was the only woman he'd known ever since he was a youngster and was the only woman in the world whom loved him even before all his riches. Woman sure did love money, save for Sango. She loved him ever since they were small and played together in the park. And weird enough, he felt the same way, but he couldn't help it if another woman was willingly to give him something he was aching for. He only slept with other woman because he was deeply aroused whenever he was near Sango and since she wasn't keen on pleasuring him and releasing this terrible ache of his, he might as well go with someone who did care.

He only did this because of her, if she was to forgive him for everything he did and be with him then everything would be as it should be. Simple as that.

"Maybe I should leave you two alone. I need to go pick Kagome from work anyway. Have fun you two," Hojo replied as he left before Sango had the chance to clung to him like she always did when she was to be left alone with Miroku.

"Don't worry, we will," Miroku cheerfully said as he waved to Hojo and clung to Sango.

---

The night sure dragged on slowly when ever you were put to work extra. Her dark locks which were perfectly sprayed into position were dragged upward into a messy bun. It relived stress from her neck and she sighed as she soon found out she was the last one still working. It seemed pointless to stay after hours. Her job wasn't all that difficult after all, she was merely a secretary for a High School. The only reason why she had piles of work to do was because she allowed them to do so. She was such a generous person that she permitted the other staff to give her their unfinished work. It was very distressing seeing as summer was just about to end for the youngsters and there was tons of work to do before school was to begin. Sometimes she'd wish she would just disappear into thin air. That she never existed and never had to tiring work days and sleepless nights.

Not to mention her second job wasn't easy as well. Her second job was kept a secret from her friends since it was such a decent one. She danced. She was a dancer for a night club named 'Exotica'. She was a dancer, not a stripper and nor did she sleep with her clients. She merely danced on stage, yet not nude. She did provide lap danced for certain paying costumers and that was the only way in which she could afford the way she was living as well as the way she appeared. When dancing partially almost nude you had to look depart and that was her encouragement to keep in shape. She loved her petite body and loved the side glances she was given.

She sighed once more stretching her legs and arms and released a loud yawn.

"Working late again?"

She was startled and flopped out of her chair.

"I'm sorry, Kagome, didn't mean to scare you," the familiar voice apologized.

"Hojo? What are you doing here?" She asked as he offered a hand to help her up.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I came to pick you up from work, like I always do."

"Oh," she simply replied.

Hojo knew something was bothering her by the way she was easily distracted. He was talking to her and she seemed to have been somewhere else since she was staring into empty space.

"Kagome? You allright? Maybe I should just take you home, you tire yourself out," Hojo pleaded leading her to the door.

Kagome nodded and turned on her heels grabbing her purse and put away any sheets that weren't suppose to be displayed for everyone to see. Once her desk was clean enough for her she took a hold of Hojo's arm and followed him outside to his car.

Both were silent on the way to Kagome's house, the only thing talking was the radio. As soon as they arrived at Kagome's residence Hojo turned the engine off and turned to Kagome whom seemed to pay close attention to the window beside her.

"Kagome? You seem to be distracted a lot lately, something you want to tell me?"

She turned and looked at him with a look that said he needed to repeat himself. She looked lost, as if she had no idea what to do next or why she was even here.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You're right, I'm exhausted because of work," she yawned searching for her purse, " I might as well get some sleep, haven't had much of that either."

Hojo bit his lower thinking of something to say or do to maker her feel better. It was his responsibility she was well and about. He tried to think of words but nothing poured out of his mouth, though his actions instantly reacted. While Kagome searched for her purse he gaped at her. God, she's beautiful, he thought to himself. He couldn't wait any longer, he had to know how she felt, he had to hear it. He had to feel it. Feel her lips pressed firmly against his.

He cupped her small, confused face between the palms of his hand and looked profoundly into her auburn eyes. Their gaze locked for a while until Kagome spoke.

"Hojo?"

He smiled as did she and he began to feel nervous. He lost confidence and frowned on the inside, his hands dropping in front of him.

"Kagome, if there was ever something wrong you'd tell me, right?" He asked concerned.

She chuckled a yes and smiled finally finding her purse.

"You know I will, silly. Thanks for worrying, but there's nothing to worry about."

She smiled and quickly leaned to kiss his cheek as she always did before getting off the car.

Hojo's confidence rolled on again and instead of allowing Kagome's lips land on his cheek he turned to face her and lips were pressed against lips. It wasn't long before Kagome noticed what she had done.

"Hojo, I…well--."

"Kagome…" Hojo whispered leaning in to feel the warmth of her lips against his once again.

She blushed furiously as she saw Hojo leaning closer to her, eyes closed. It felt natural to want to kiss him and she did just as she desired. She kissed him back, deeply this time.

The night was quiet as was the car excluding the noise made by pressed lips and twirling tongues. When they decided to part from and unforgettable kiss they were silent. They both beamed shyly and Kagome placed a small kiss on his lips before moving out of the car and walking up to her front door. She waved hastily and entered her home leaving a speechless Hojo.

As soon as he came to his senses he turned on his car and drove home happily. Her lips were just as he dreamed they would be.

---

"Lord Sesshoumaru, there are two girls in which match the prophecies description. One is located right here in this very town. Her name is Higurashi, Kagome. Age twenty-two. She will be twenty-three this weekend. The other one is in America, Orient, Rika. Age twenty-two as well. She will not be twenty- three until the end of next month," the same servant that had informed him about the Lycans earlier was now energized and full of blood.

"Allright. We will seek after the Higurashi girl first. Surely she is to have a party and we will be ready to attend. A very happy birthday to the Higurashi woman," Sesshoumaru raised his glass of wine twirling it before taking a sip.

He knew he would have that girl in his grasp before the Lycans would and that was enough news for him to devour all night because of the pleasant mood he was in. It aroused him even more to finally have found the perfect woman whom would serve him greatly as a pleasure slave.

-Kianna Chan-

Author's Note: Every person that reviewed thank you, I really appreciate it. I really do. I'm glad you liked my story so far because it ends up getting better. Hopefully .

Things have been slow and I apologize. I blame school for every delay I've made. Writing this chapter really got me going, it intrigued me on writing more, but I'll leave it here. Hope you enjoyed.

Please do leave a review.

Thank you.

Ja ne.

Thanks to the following people for reviewing Ch.1:

• Sailor Tiamat

• Groping-Monk

• HanyouKiki

• Sorcerer of Darkness

• Kairinu

• HanyouSweety

• FanFic-Faerie-Rikku91

• Lyn

• Megan Consoer

• Kawaii houshi

• Kiki

• Xhy'Lanka