Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine

Chapter 10

Kouga frowned and looked at Hiro, whose gaze slipped to the floor. The younger elf was blushing furiously. "Et tu, Brute?" he thought sadly. Kagome would be attracted to Hiro, he knew. Yuki was a mixture of Sesshoumaru and Miroku at times... mostly Miroku. Yuki wouldn't find Kagome that much fun. She wasn't jaded enough for his tastes.

Hiro was gentle, kind and loving; the typical elf. Maybe he should have put Yuki in charge of Kagome after all.

Sesshoumaru sat behind his marble desk, waiting. The hanyou should be calling him soon. He lay his head back and closed his eyes.

Ah...Kagome. He enjoyed thinking about her. He only wished he had more memories of her.

'Gosh, I wonder why,' his youkai said cooly.

Shut up, he thought with exasperation.

'You do realize, don't you, that our Kagome is LIVING with that ookami,' it reminded him harshly.

Yes, he thought with a mental sigh, I do realize that.

'...and there's a VERY good chance she'll end up with HIM.'

Sesshoumaru's eyes flew open. "Can't you just shut up?" he hissed at it. It was making him angry and he didn't want to get angry. He was thinking of his Kagome.

'She isn't ours anymore,' it said reproachfully. 'All because you wished to protect the honor of your pure-blooded lineage.'

"SHUT UP!" he roared just as Inuyasha came through the door.

"Keh. Talkin' to yourself again, Fluffy?" he jeered, throwing himself into the nearest chair.

"Fuck off."

"Hello to you too," Inuyasha retorted, grinning.

"What did you find out?" Sesshoumaru asked, glaring at his half-brother.

Inuyasha leaned back against his chair and sighed. "What is there TO find out, Fluffy? She and Shippo had lunch at some swanky restaurant. They talked. Nothing happened."

"Well, what did they talk about, baka?" Sesshoumaru lifted an elegant eyebrow. He was very good at lifting his eyebrows, Inuyasha thought with malice.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Shippo told her about what happened after she and the others left. That's all. What did you expect? For her to reveal to him that she's desperately in love with you and wants you back? Keh!"

It was all he could do to not leap over that massive marble desk and remove the hanyou's lungs from his chest. "Where did they go after lunch?" he asked quite calmly, his cold mask firmly in place.

Inuyasha got to his feet and stretched, cracking his knuckles. He smirked when he saw one of Sesshoumaru's eyelids twitch. Sesshoumaru HATED the sound of knuckles cracking...unless he was crushing some poor sap's hands to a bloody pulp.

"The limo took them back to Kouga's place," he replied, getting ready to leave.

"Are you going back to watch his house?" Sesshoumaru asked, picking up his pen.

Inuyasha grinned at his half-brother over his shoulder. "Of course. That's what you pay me for, isn't it?" Before Sesshoumaru could give a nasty reply, he left.

Kouga brought the elf brothers to his house to meet Kagome and to look over the household. When he entered the foyer, he sniffed the air and followed the wonderful scent he was seeking. He lead the elves down a hallway to the left of the foyer. The sound of loud music drifted down the hallway to the ballroom.

When they reached the closed doors of the ballroom, Hiro covered his ears. "Must that noise be so loud?" he asked Kouga, frowning slightly.

Kouga sighed and flung open the doors, indicating for them to go in. All three men looked down at the far end of the room, where two young women were facing a massive mirror that covered nearly the entire wall.

They moved to the beat, stepping in unison until one of them turned around. She quickly turned down the deafening music and ran towards them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Kouga-kun!" she cried happily and launched herself at him.

Kouga's arms went around the excited young woman and staggered back a pace. "Now why are you so happy, my koi?" he asked, grinning at her.

"We've been invited to a party!" the young woman trilled happily.

Kouga chuckled. "I see. When is it going to be?" he asked, already knowing the answer. It was a fancy dress party thrown by his company. Every major player in Tokyo would be there.

"Tomorrow night," she tripped along, "and you know what THAT means!" She stared up at him, huge brown eyes filled with excitement.

"Credit card time?" Kouga asked, giving a mock sigh of defeat.

"Credit card time!" she replied, giggling. With that she turned and looked at Kouga's visitors. "Hi, my name is Kagome." She bowed to each of them.

The moment each elf saw her face, they melted.

Hiro recalled her face as if he had seen it yesterday. She had had silver streaks running through her raven locks, accompanied by sharp claws and fangs...but he had no doubt that she was the same girl, despite the fact he already knew her name. Never had he forgotten her beautiful face.

Yuki had never seen her and yet her soul seemed familiar to him. She was powerful, there was no question about that. With much effort, he looked away from her sweet face and stared at his brother. It was pathetically obvious that Hiro had fallen under the miko's spell. Hiro's face was flushed and his hands trembled slightly. Oh yeah, he was definitely in love with this girl, Yuki thought with a smirk. Thankfully, something like that could NEVER happen to him. He was much too experienced to fall prey to such pansy-ass emotions.

But when he turned back to look at the miko, his heart stopped. She was studying him with her luminous, chocolate-hued eyes. All in that heart-stopping moment, he began to feel... emotions. Real emotions that he hadn't felt in centuries. What was she doing to him?

His heart began to pound maddeningly when she smiled innocently up at him. This girl was so beautiful, so perfect, so pure. She was truly a holy miko.

Kouga was making the introductions when he finally came back to reality. "Kagome, this is Hiroshi. He will be with you at all times, okay?" Kouga was saying.

Kagome frowned. "You mean he's my bodyguard?" she asked, rather skeptical.

Yuki nearly laughed out loud at her expression. She had the most expressive face he had ever seen.

Her gaze fell on him, forcing the inward laugh to cease at once. "Will he be my bodyguard, too?" she asked Kouga in a low voice.

Hiro smothered a laughed and Yuki glared at him. He felt incredibly jealous. Jealous? Of his brother?

"No," Yuki replied, a little more harshly than he wanted to, "I'm the fucking security guard." With that, he turned on his heel and walked back down the hallway.

Sango, who had joined them asked, "What's his deal?"

Hiro sighed. "He is just jealous because I get to watch Kagome all day," he answered. "He's going to be in charge of securing this house and making sure that it's totally secure."

Kouga nodded. "So you see, you will be completely safe, Kagome," he said, wrapping an arm around her.

Kagome looked up at him. "Safe? Safe from what?" she asked, puzzled.

Hiro and Kouga looked at each other. "You didn't tell her?" Hiro asked, a frown creasing his features.

"You didn't tell me what, Kouga?" Kagome asked, stepping a little ways back from him.

Kouga let his arm drop. He knew he had to tell her sooner or later. Why couldn't it have been later? "Sesshoumaru. He's been looking for you. For years, in fact. Now, he's that he's found you again, he sent a spy to watch your every movement."

"A spy?" Sango broke in, clearly startled. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner, Kouga?"

Kouga nodded. "Yes. His best." He thought a moment before answering Sango's second question. "I didn't want to alarm any of you, especially you, Kagome."

But Kagome wasn't paying attention to his answer to Sango's query. She already knew who it was that was spying on them...on her. "Who is this spy you speak of?" she asked quietly.

He knew that she knew. Kouga looked her straight in the eye. "Inuyasha," he said, before leaving the ballroom. Would it happen again, he wondered. He knew that Kagome still loved the foul-mouthed hanyou, even though he hadn't been there for her in the end.

Would he have to fight with Inuyasha for her love once more?

Kagome turned to look a the beautiful, dark-haired elf and smiled. He was so nice, she thought as he smiled tenderly back at her.

"So, Hiro. Do you like shopping?" She gave him an innocent look. Hiro looked startled.

"You see," Kagome continued, "there's this fancy dress party tomorrow night and Sango and I need to find something suitable to wear."

Sango giggled. "Oh come on, Kagome-chan. Don't do that to the poor man. Er, elf, rather." Sango turned apologetically to Hiro. "Gomen nasai, Hiroshi-sama. We...we're just not used to elves in our little circle. All we've known has been ningens and youkai."

Hiro smiled understandingly. "You do not need to call me that. Hiro will suffice."

Sango nodded and watched him watch Kagome walk back to the end of the ballroom where they had danced earlier. She grinned. "Fallen already, Hiro? I think that's a record. I do believe you've beaten Kouga's old record."

Hiro shot a nervous look at Sango. "Is it that obvious?" he asked quietly.

Sango, who had been carrying a towel with her, threw it around her shoulders. "Uh, yeah." She smiled and gave him a wink before leaving the ballroom.

Hiro joined Kagome down at the other end of the room where she was gathering her things. She was so busy putting away the boom box, that she dropped it when she saw him standing next to her.

He grabbed it swiftly before it hit the ground.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, cheeks turning red with embarassment. "Gomen ne! You startled me!"

Hiro set the boom box in the cupboard where she had tried unsuccessfully to put it and closed the sliding panels.

Kagome giggled somewhat nervously. "Arigato. I'm afraid you'll learn that I'm one of THE clumsiest people in the world. But please, don't hold that against me."

Again she smiled that entrancing smile at him. Hiro felt his heart rate speed up and it was difficult to breathe. Also, his insides were doing this weird dance...

He managed a nod and a small smile. Kagome turned and walked away, humming softly to herself.

Hiro sighed inwardly. Now that she was no longer staring up at him with those magnificent eyes, his traitorous organs relieved him of his agony as he followed her out of the ballroom.

Kouga found Yuki waiting for him in his study. From the looks of things, the elf had already made himself at home, for he was sprawled across his leather sofa, drinking. The contents of the glass looked and smelt suspiciously like alcohol.

"Yuki, I didn't know elves drank," Kouga remarked, closing the study door behind him.

Yuki snorted. "Well, this one does."

Kouga sat down on his desk, facing Yuki. "What's your deal? I don't remember you being so mean and nasty before."

In the middle of taking a swig, Yuki raised an elegant eyebrow. "Nonsense," he muttered, swallowing the hard liquor without batting an eye. "I've always been mean and nasty."

"Only since SHE died, Yukio," Kouga said gently.

Yuki froze. How the hell did he know? Hiro must have said something to him. "What are you babbling about, ookami?" he asked irritably.

Kouga sighed. "Oh come on, elf, you know exactly what I mean. Her. Midoriko."

The golden haired elf closed his emerald green eyes and exhaled a shaky breath. "Damn it, Kouga, you KNOW I loved her." He opened his cat-like eyes and stared at his old friend.

Kouga nodded. "I know. You were sworn to protect her and yet, she died, without you there by her side in her last battle."

Yuki scowled. "But it wasn't her last battle, was it? Not for her poor soul, anyway. No, she was doomed to fight a battle forever, locked up in a little piece of glass." His voice was bitter. He thought of that girl Kagome and how just looking at her made him feel. Her soul was so very familiar...

"This girl, Kagome...who is she really?" Yuki asked.

Kouga crossed his legs at the knee and leaned back on his hands. "Well, when we first met her 500 years ago, it was believed that she was Kikyo's reincarnation."

"Kikyo?" Yuki grumbled. "Hell, that one was nothing important. She wasn't even the true protector of the Shikon jewel...and she most definitely WASN'T Midoriko's reincarnation." He waved his hand impatiently. "Kikyo was a poor substitute for the powerful Midoriko."

"Oh," Kouga said, interested. He didn't know much about Midoriko, except from what Hiro had told him. "Please, continue."

The elf was looking at him rather oddly.

"Nani?" Kouga asked, puzzled.

Yuki leaned forward, looking almost conspiratorial. "Is your Kagome chick a ningen?" he asked quietly.

Kouga nodded. "Well of course, you know she is. Why do you ask?

The elf nodded slightly. "I thought so. For a moment there, I thought you said you first met her 500 years ago."

Kouga cocked his head slightly. "We DID meet her 500 years ago, Yuki. Weren't you paying attention?"

Yuki goggled at Kouga. His buzz was starting to really kick in. "But...that can't be. Humans can't live that long, Kouga. You know it's impossible." His voice began to falter and he slurred his words slightly.

Getting off his desk, Kouga snatched the glass from the startled elf's hand. "You are a filthy lush," Kouga declared and explained to Yuki about the Bone Eater's Well.

Understanding flickered in Yuki's eyes, as his semi-inebriated brain comprehended what Kouga had told him. "Well, suck an elf," he breathed, sitting back in his chair. "That's pretty awesome. Does it still work, you think?"

Kouga shook his head. "Iie. It was destroyed when Kagome and the others came through several months ago."

Yuki looked crestfallen. "Fuck. Oh well." He looked at Kouga, then at his drink in Kouga's hand and then back at Kouga. "Ano, Kouga...could I...?"

"Iie," Kouga replied firmly, taking the glass to the marble fireplace and throwing it in the grate. Glass and liquor flew everywhere.

Yuki heaved a sigh. "Fine. Let's get to work then," he grumbled.

Upstairs, Hiro waited outside of Kagome's bedroom. His powerful elven ears picked up every sound she made inside her room. He heard the whisper of silk fall to the floor over the sound of running water. Again he felt his skin heat up.

He groaned inwardly. He really shouldn't be having such impure thoughts about such a pure creature.

Hiro decided to think of something else other than the lovely woman only feet away from him.

The elves, he recalled, were sworn to protect the mikos of this land. The mikos were powerful creatures but the first Holy Miko, Midoriko, who was the creator of the Shikon jewel was by far the most powerful one to have ever existed. Yuki had been chosen among many elves to be her protector, for he was the most powerful elf, other than himself. But unfortunately for Yuki, he had fallen deeply in love with her.

Right before her final battle, Yuki had been called away on an urgent matter, leaving a less experienced elf in his place. Of course, no one KNEW Midoriko, the hard-headed woman that she was, would slip away from her temporary protector and enter into that battle that eventually ended her life and created the Shikon no Tama.

By the time Yuki had found out that his love had gotten into yet another scrape, this time one she would never emerge, he was frantic. He wasn't able to get to her in time.

Yuki was never the same again. Even though there had several holy mikos since Midoriko, Yuki had never offered to protect them. For none of them were her.

When Kikyo appeared on the scene, he thought that she might have been Midoriko. But although they were alike in appearance, she was not the one. For Kikyo, as pretty as she might have been, could not draw elves to her. Yuki, in his desperation to have Midoriko back, was prepared to fight Inuyasha for her. But thankfully, when he saw her up close, he knew she was not the one. He could resist her.

That was the key to knowing which miko was the real thing. Holy power, true holy power, drew elves like moths to a flame. Pure creatures like the elves thrive on holy power. Even semi-powerful mikos could lure an elf, but it was the Holy mikos that were impossible to resist. Therefore, Kikyo was not a holy miko.

But when he and Yuki had looked upon Kagome, Hiro knew she was a holy miko. Only a holy miko could make him feel like that...like he couldn't resist her, no matter how hard he tried.

Hiro sighed. As if he wanted to. He had known Kagome was special the first time he had seen her, despite the fact her appearance. Kouga had been worried about her and had contacted the elves. Yuki, still broken up from Midoriko's death, refused to have anything to do with this new miko. Like hell would he look like an ass again over a normal miko. So, it was up to Hiro.

He had barely made it to Inuyasha's Forest when he saw a flash of fire above the trees. A signal. He hid in the forest and saw a lovely black and silver haired goddess standing alone, waiting.

Even from his distance, he could tell she was the one...the next holy miko. She was alone and scared. He decided to make his presence known, although she herself wouldn't know who or what had sent her that calming gust of wind on the still day.

Naraku's army advanced towards her. Her fear was nearly palpable. Hiro raised his hands and the winds obeyed, keeping the hordes back from her. Powerful Naraku might be, the wind was far more powerful.

His heart had shattered, watching her being purified by her own energy. Another holy miko lost. Two ningens ran forward, the male one grabbing Kagome and hoisting her up over his shoulder. Looking up, Hiro realized why they had run. Above them was Kagome's mate, the feared Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western lands...and he was not pleased.

Hiro saw that Sesshoumaru was trying to attack the fleeing ningens. Quickly, he threw up his hands and summoned the winds. A strong gust blew between Kagome and Sesshoumaru, repelling his deadly, poisonous claws. The puzzled look on Sesshoumaru's face was priceless. Always had the wind worked to Sesshoumaru's advantage. Hiro smiled to himself. 'Not this time, you bastard.'

Now completely enraged, Sesshoumaru tried to attack again. And once more did the winds keep the arrogant inu youkai at bay.

The ningens dropped into the well, just before the well collapsed. The holy miko was gone. He could only imagine when the next holy miko would arrive.

Hiro's ears twitched and he jerked back to the present. He could hear Kagome getting dressed and singing softly. He smiled to himself. Here she was, alive and well...and no longer a demoness.

The door opened and Kagome appeared. "Hey," she said, shutting the door behind her.

Hiro looked down at his charge. Once again, his insides betrayed him. "K-kagome," he stuttered, his warm brown eyes lighting up.

She smiled shyly up at him, her cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink.

"You guys ready?" Sango called out cheerfully from down the hallway.

"Hai, Sango-chan!" Kagome called back. She hooked her arm through the flustered elf's arm and tugged him along.

If she only knew what her mere presence did to him...

"Do you have the card?" Sango asked, leading the way downstairs.

Kagome giggled. "Hai! I never gave it back to him from the last time!"

Something told Hiro that this would be a very long afternoon.

Inuyasha growled at his cell phone before hanging it up. Damn Sesshoumaru! What the hell did he think Inuyasha was? His damned lap dog?

'Arrogant bastard,' he thought. 'Shit, I know what I'm supposed to do. He doesn't need to fucking remind me every fucking minute.'

He started the engine of his silver Mercedes when he saw Kagome's champagne colored BMW pull out of the gates of Kouga's estate. He also saw that it wasn't Kagome behind the wheel. It was a man.

Inuyasha frowned. Who the hell was the guy driving them? It wasn't Kouga, from what he could see.

He pulled out into the street, following the BMW at a discreet distance.

Hiro saw the silver Mercedes pull into traffic behind them. A flash of silver hair and hanyou ears told him it was Inuyasha. He frowned.

"Hiro? What's wrong?" Kagome asked, instantly concerned.

Hiro debated on whether or not to tell the girls they were being followed.

Kagome noticed Hiro's dark eyes continually glancing up at the rear view mirror. "Oh no," she whispered and looked in the mirror on the passenger side. "We're being followed, aren't we?"

Sango yelped and slid down as far as she could in the back seat. "Oh man, how much do you want to bet it's Inuyasha?" she groaned.

Hiro nodded. "It's HIM alright." He reached inside his coat pocket pocket and hit a number. There was the sound of a series of beeps. "Yuki, it's me. He's been watching the house. Now we're being tailed." Hiro listened for a moment. "Yeah, it's Inuyasha. You know Sesshoumaru doesn't like getting his hands dirty."

Silence fell over them. Then, "Yeah, I'll shake him. Shouldn't be too difficult. Ok...yeah. Ok...yeah. Later." He flipped his phone closed and replaced it in his pocket.

"Okay ladies, hang on," he said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Hiro accelerated, zooming past the other motorists on the freeway. He weaved in and out of traffic...but Inuyasha kept right behind them.

"Chikusho," Hiro muttered and tried one last time to lose the persistent hanyou. He raised his right hand, summoning a strong gust of wind to blow hard against Inuyasha's car.

In the mirror, he could see the car rock. But it stayed the course.

Again he tried blowing Inuyasha's car off course. This time the Mercedes rocked so hard, that Inuyasha had to swerve and ended up running off the road.

Hiro and the girls laughed, continuing on to the mall.

Inuyasha cursed loudly while he slammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a halt on the side of the road.

"CHIKUSHO!" he roared furiously and banged the steering wheel hard with his hands. Who the HELL was that guy driving the car?? Angrily, he flipped open his phone and dialed Sesshoumaru's number.

"What."

"Fuck you Fluffy. They got away."

"Nani?" The voice on the other end was smooth...cold...deadly.

"You fucking heard me. There was some guy driving her and Sango."

A brief, icy silence. "What did he look like?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Shit, Sess, I don't know. He had dark hair and seemed kind of tall." He could practically hear Sesshoumaru's irritation.

"Was it Kouga?"

Inuyasha sighed again. "Look, I'd know that yaseokami anywhere. THAT guy sure as hell wasn't him."

"How in the hell did you let them get away?" Sesshoumaru snarled. "Don't tell me that there's someone out there who drives more insanely than you do."

Inuyasha was silent for a moment, thinking. Could this be a coincidence? This was not the first time a gust of wind had kept Kagome away from her pursuers. Or rather, the pursuers were kept away from Kagome.

"Inuyasha. Answer me." Curt, clipped tones burned in his ear.

Inuyasha stared sightlessly out through his windshield. "The wind," Inuyasha said, quietly.

"What are you going on about?" Sesshoumaru snapped.

"The wind," Inuyasha said again. "The wind protected her again."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Never mind about that. Get to my office NOW!"

He slammed the phone down in its cradle. "Baka," he muttered.

The beautiful taiyoukai rose gracefully from his chair and went to his personal wet bar.

Automatically, he poured himself and drained a glass of whiskey. What had that baka brother of his been talking about? The wind? Baka na koto...

But in the middle of his second whiskey, a thought struck him and he remembered...

That day, at the well. The day Kagome had escaped his grasp. Strong gusts of wind had held him back, allowing her ningen friends to escape with her body. Someone or something with elemental powers had acted as her protector that day.

Sesshoumaru rumbled low in his throat. Someone dares keep THIS Sesshoumaru away from his mate? Such disrespect will not be tolerated.

When Inuyasha burst into Sesshoumaru's office half an hour later, he found his half-brother glaring into an empty glass.

Inuyasha gave an amused snort. "Doshita no? Has the whiskey offended thee and in retaliation thee hast drunk it most violently?"

"Shut up, you miserable hanyou."

"Keh! Missed your ass too, big brother."

"Silence!" Sesshoumaru hissed. "I need you to go and get Kagome very soon."

Inuyasha shot Sesshoumaru a nasty glare. "Dude, seriously. That's called kidnapping, if I'm not mistaken."

Sesshoumaru returned the look in spades. "Do not question this Sesshoumaru. You will do as you are told."

"Me? Oh hell no, Fluffy. You are going to get her yourself! I won't be any part of it!"

Frosty golden eyes bored into Inuyasha's own eyes. "What did you just say?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly, his voice just barely above a whisper. "How dare you, you pathetic excuse for a youkai."

Inuyasha looked thoughtful for a moment then spoke. "Okay, that's fine with me." He turned to leave.

"Just where do you think you are going?"

Inuyasha ignored him and left the office.

By the time Inuyasha was back on the road, Sesshoumaru was calling his phone.

"Oi," the hanyou barked into the cell phone.

Sesshoumaru growled into the phone. "What is your deal?"

"Keh."

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru growled angrily.

"What is it you want? Look, I'll find her, but for myself. She's mine and I'M going to be the one to mark her."

"NANI?!" Sesshoumaru roared as the line went dead.

A/N: Okay then. I hope THIS chapter was long enough. It had better be cuz i'm feeling the beginnings of carpal tunnel...

R&R!