Journey of the Heart: Chapter 4 - Determination
DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha and his companions are not mine to own.
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Inuyasha could feel his stride becoming shorter as the sun sank into the horizon. "DAMMNIT!" he screamed loudly enough to startle a nearby flock of birds from their roosts as he charged ahead.
'Why did it have to be today? Couldn't she have found a more convenient time to get abducted?' Inuyasha stopped briefly when he came to the foot of an almost comically steep mountain. The smooth rock face was nearly completely vertical, and the top was somewhere past the clouds that obscured it from view.
Without any more delay, Inuyasha attacked the climb with the same vigor he had poured into the previous tracking. His sharp claws were the only thing standing between him, and a particularly nasty fall. He knew turning human before reaching the top would mean death, but he never even considered not going.
'Hanyou, youkai or human, I will rescue you, Kagome. I swear it!'
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Kagome's fingers laced through Kouga's long dark hair. It was surprisingly soft considering the rough life he lived--devoid of the modern conveniences afforded to her even in the feudal era.
The warmth of his body pressed against hers made her feel slightly dizzy. His lips were massaging hers with zeal. Her body tingled all the way to her toes as his tongue ran along hers in a sensually playful manner.
Kouga had enveloped her in his arms. His strong fingers were working along her back, kneading and rubbing her muscles through the thin fabric of her school uniform. Everything in her body buzzed with a strange mixture of excitement and contentment.
She felt so safe--so cared for, but something in the back of her mind was gnawing at her for attention. 'What is it?' She found it difficult to form thoughts as her body became progressively warmer. Her eyes fluttered open to catch a glimpse of nearly lidded brilliant blue eyes. 'Blue? Is that right? Wait, shouldn't they be amber?'
"Inuyasha!" she gasped as she broke the kiss. Lowering her head in shame, she pushed away from the embrace.
Hearing that one word spoken from Kagome's lips wounded Kouga more than fighting a thousand youkai ever could. When she had initiated contact he thought it was too good to last, but when she welcomed his advances, part of him started to believe he truly had a chance in her heart. For the first time since he met her, he dared to hope they were out from under the shadow of the hanyou, who had captured her heart.
Now that hope had been shattered like a mirror colliding with the cold, hard ground.
Kouga's body pulsed in agony as he watched her retreat a few paces away, and curl herself into a tight ball. His heart felt as if a clawed fist was squeezing and wrenching the life from it.
"Kag-ome?" he tried to mask the hurt in his voice to spare her further feelings of guilt, but despite his intentions, she flinched in response.
"I-I'm sorry Kouga. I shouldn't have…" Her voice trailed off as tears began to bead within her dark eyes.
Kouga's pain melted into concern as he watched a tear slide down Kagome's flushed cheek. He slowly crept closer to her position, and gently pulled her into a nurturing embrace. One hand traced semi-circles over her back while the other brushed over her hair in a comforting manner.
At first, Kagome had resisted his comfort--still feeling guilty for the tortured look in his eyes--but soon she found her face buried against his neck. Her tears slid over his tanned skin as the steady rhythm of his breathing calmed her.
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Naraku watched the wolf youkai and miko with growing interest. 'Hmm, I suppose for Kagome it is not absence that makes the heart grow fonder, but rather out of sight out of mind. I do wonder how poor determined Inuyasha will feel about all of this when he discovers how close they have become.'
Naraku emitted his strange clucking laugh as he pictured the hanyou's face at seeing the woman he refused to admit he loved in the arms of one of his rivals. As amused as Naraku was by their dysfunctional interpersonal relationships, something about their earlier confrontation bothered him.
'She has never exhibited so much spiritual ability before. Their current situation must be allowing her to tap directly into her powers. They are not bound by the same inhibitions and restrictions they are normally. It would be best if she made no further attempts to use her powers in there. It is too difficult to predict what the outcome might be, and I do not enjoy leaving things to chance.
'I had hoped to use the beast to prevent them from discovering sensitive locations, but perhaps I should eliminate all opposition for now to keep her skills at a reasonable level.'
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When Kagome gained control of her emotions again, she shifted so they were more or less facing the same direction, but she remained close to him. "Don't ever do that again," were the first words to break the mutual silence.
Kouga's eyebrows arched with surprise. 'Could she mean the kiss? It wouldn't surprise me, but she was the one who started it. Maybe she meant the way I have been comforting her. Am I to never touch her again? But if that were the case, why hasn't she pulled away? Perhaps I should just ask.'
"What is it I should never do again?" he forced his voice to remain even, and hoped for the best.
"Get yourself nearly killed just to save me," she said simply.
"Ohhh," he purred in understanding. "Kagome, it will take more than a little pest like that to stop a youkai prince," he said with more than a hint of his trademarked arrogance.
His reply earned him a sharp slap on the chest from Kagome as she pulled away to face him. "I'm serious!" Her eyes glistened slightly as she continued, and he feared another wave of tears might be brimming. "I thought you were dead," she said just loud enough for his sensitive hearing to register.
'Actually, why did I heal so quickly? Given the extent of my wounds it should have taken at least a week for a full recovery--probably even longer--and that is with youkai healing abilities. So why is it I'm sitting here without a scratch on me?'
"Kagome, what happened with the beast? I remember I was just regrouping to take it out when I saw a blinding pink light, and then I must have rested my eyes because the next thing I remember is holding you," he asked without a trace of sarcasm.
"Regrouping to take it out?" Her expression took on a deadpan look. "Resting your eyes?"
"Something wrong?" Kouga asked when he saw a bead of sweat form on her forehead.
"No, of course not, assuming that translates to 'being crushed to death by a giant beak' and 'passing out' in wolf youkai that is."
"Ahem, I did not 'pass out,'" he said rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest in a pout.
A small smile found its way onto Kagome's lips at the proud demon's reaction before turning more serious to answer his question. "I'm not sure I understand what happened either, Kouga.
"One minute I was just desperately hurling a rock at it in hopes it would cause enough of a distraction for you to get the upper hand, and the next it was dissolving in midair," she said trying to rack her brain for more information.
"Isn't there anything else you remember?" he probed.
"I was so upset. I wasn't really thinking straight."
'I guess that explains the kiss,' Kouga thought sadly.
"Wait, there is something. I felt a surge of energy go through me when I threw the last stone. And..." She wasn't sure how to finish the thought. Surely, she couldn't have destroyed the creature using her miko powers without an arrow.
"And?" he goaded.
"Well, it's just that it felt like I was channeling my miko abilities. It was kind of like the time I repelled Madam Centipede without using a weapon. I guess that makes sense. But, the next part is really strange." Kagome's brow furrowed slightly as she remembered watching Kouga slowly lower to the ground in a halo of pink energy. 'Could I really have been controlling that? I've never used my powers like that before. I've never even seen Kikyo do anything that controlled without something to focus the energies.'
"Go ahead Kagome, after the day we have had, I think I could believe anything." Kouga shot her a winning smile in hopes of picking up her spirits so they could get to the bottom of the strange land.
It did the trick, and Kagome's shoulders dropped a bit, showing she was more relaxed. "I think I kept you from hitting the ground, but I don't know how that is possible."
Kouga cocked his head to the side to study the doubtful young woman. "I do."
"You do? How?" she asked with considerable surprise.
"You are a resourceful and powerful woman, Kagome. I've known that for a long time. It is sad you have such a hard time believing in yourself."
A bright blush spread across her cheeks, and she averted her gaze slightly at his generous words. In hushed tones she managed to thank him before continuing. "It isn't that. I just, well, I've never seen anyone use miko powers like that--not Kaede and not even Kikyo. So how could I do it without even being trained?"
"You have a very strong will. Perhaps, the power simply obeyed when your heart desired it enough." Kouga said while taking one of her hands in his own in a reaffirming manner.
"Maybe you are right," she finally agreed, but she was far from convinced. 'Something still doesn't feel right about this. After all, I've been in life or death situations before. I've seen my friends injured. I've seen Inuyasha nearly killed. And yet, none of that was able to draw out such massive power, so why now? Why here? Does it have anything to do with this place?'
"Is that how you were able to heal me too?" Kouga asked, needing confirmation on the event he found most surprising and impressive.
"Me? I thought your youkai powers healed you."
"They would have healed me eventually--but take a look--not even a trace of a wound." Kouga said as he stretched his arms wide to give her a clear view of his body.
Kagome's eyes darted over his arms seeing no abrasions of any kind. His smooth neck was free of nicks and scratches. Her eyes trailed slowly down to his chest where much of his armor had been torn away by the beast, exposing a well-defined hairless chest. Transfixed, her gaze continued to slide further down--over his tight abdominal muscles and down a little further to the fur belt holding his lower furs in place. Her cheeks felt hot as she continued staring to check for cuts, yes, cuts.
Kouga smiled almost wickedly when he realized his body had caught her interest. "Everything looks good?" he asked mischievously.
"What?! Oh, yes, it looks great! Uh, I mean good. No, I mean fine! Ummm...that is, there are no injuries." Kagome managed to stop speaking to prevent her already red cheeks from blushing any brighter. "I think I could use something to drink, um water that is."
'I love it when she gets flustered. The tips of her ears turn pink. It is quite endearing,' Kouga thought happily. "Water, yes, we might be here for a while. It is time we gather some provisions. Sunset is upon us, so we should probably find a campsite too--preferably something with some natural protection since we obviously do have enemies in this place."
Kagome was immeasurably grateful that the conversation had finally turned to safer topics. The less she thought about her feelings for her travel companion, or the silver haired hanyou on the other side of the vortex the better.
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Dull claws savagely embedded themselves into the firm ground as Inuyasha strained every muscle in an attempt to pull himself to the top of the cliff before his transformation was complete. Dark black strands of hair were already threading their way throughout the normally silver mane, and his senses and strength were declining rapidly.
'Just a little further,' he thought as he grunted loudly, and thrust himself onto the landing in one final extreme effort before his amber eyes darkened to an almost obsidian color.
Cursing his weakness, he laid on his back to gather his strength before continuing. His labored breathing was the only sound he could hear, which wasn't surprising since he lacked his acute hanyou senses.
Finally pushing himself up--using Tetsusaiga for balance--he took in a full survey of the mountain top--or at least as full as it could be without the benefit of keen night vision. He could no longer track Kagura, and if he allowed the trail to completely dissipate there would be no finding it tomorrow.
He had to continue on using his limited human abilities for all their worth. Seeing nothing of interest in his first sweep, he moved forward to see if he could discover any clues as to where Kagura had gone.
'Keh, where is Kirara, or even that runt, Shippo when you need them? Oh right, I abandoned them in my rush to rescue Kagome. They were holding me back. Glad that is working out so well for me. If only I hadn't turned human--stupid hanyou weakness! Sigh, this is no time for self-loathing or self-pity. Wait, what is that behind the grove of trees?'
Inuyasha increased his pace in the direction of his discovery in hopes that he had stumbled upon some clue to Kagura, and thus Naraku's, whereabouts. Sure enough, he had found the entrance to some kind of cave.
"Finally!" he exclaimed as he ran full tilt at the mouth of the cave only to be violently repelled by one of Naraku's forcefields. He was sent flying several meters before a tree graciously impeded his momentum.
"Damn!" he managed to groan as he struggled to get back to his feet. He nearly doubled over from the pain in his side. 'Great, now I have a broken rib.' He attempted to take a few steps, but collapsed from the searing agony in his chest. 'OK, a few broken ribs.'
Inuyasha managed to pull himself into a reasonably comfortable position, and although it took every bit of willpower he had, he forced himself to remain still. 'Damn Naraku! And damn this frail human body! But at least I know where I need to go once I can wield the barrier breaking Tetsusaiga again.
'As much as I hate to admit it, there isn't much more I can do until the morning.' Inuyasha fought the powerful urge to sleep that threatened to overtake him. He never slept while he was in human form. He was far too vulnerable, and with his recent injuries it was even more important to remain alert.
To keep himself awake he tried thinking, but every thought turned toward his last argument with Kagome. Her parting words still looping in his memory, and it brought him pain that eclipsed even the physical pain of his injuries.
Struggling to find a more peaceful line of thought his mind drifted to the rest of the group. He knew that even their significant abilities would not be enough to break through the barrier, but he had to admit he wished they were there. He had been alone for some time before encountering Kikyo fifty years ago, and although he always tried to make it seem like he preferred it that way, he really hated it.
As he awkwardly laid on the cold hard ground, he thought about how much better his situation would be if the rest of the group was there. Sure, Shippo would no doubt be taking this opportunity to make up for some of the times Inuyasha had chased or hit or yelled at him. And Miroku would probably spend most of the night finding ways of getting his hand on Sango's bottom. And Kirara would just do whatever it was Kirara did when they were resting for the night. But just being with them was kind of nice, even if he rarely participated in their idle banter.
Traveling with the strange group had become his second chance at having a family. Even though they squabbled at times, it was never as serious as his battles with his brother, Sesshoumaru. His brother had never had any use for him, but there was a time when all Inuyasha had wanted was to be just like him. And although he would never admit it--certainly not in his hanyou form--a part of him still admired the older dog demon.
'Why do I always become so sentimental when I'm in this form?' He shifted slightly, and winced when a new stabbing feeling shot through his torso. 'If Kagome was here I'd feel better. Of course, if Kagome was here, then I wouldn't need to be. Did that make sense? I think the pain is starting to affect my brain.
'Wherever you are right now, Kagome, I hope you are safe. You better be protecting her, wolf!' And as a second thought came crashing into his mind, he added, 'And staying the hell away from her!'
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Author's Note: I got myself a new computer for Christmas. Good news for me, but less so for fans of this story. Writing just didn't seem as much fun as testing out all the new capabilities! But at last you have chapter 4! You can also blame my Crossing the Line fans. They MADE me update it twice before I updated this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review.
FF Reviewers: Angel6582 (I always look forward to your reviews! I'm glad you think my stories are fairly error free. I hate the editing part, so I'm glad someone appreciates it.), TheLightintheDarkness (I'm glad you enjoyed it!), Dancing-Anime-Lover (hey person, thanks and I will!), AnimeLover18 (Aww, shucks!), Kouga's #1 fan (I will!), kogas-mate05 (I love people who are reading both of my chapter fics!), Black-rose23 (All will be revealed in time), Sierrakoi (I have to agree), Nichole Hibiki (Merry Christmas to you to, and a Happy New Year!), nonofyorbiz (I hope this chapter helped alleviate your concerns with the pace of their relationship.), garry (Thanks! I think you are great for reviewing!), i-wish-i-was-kagome (Yea!), VangieGirl (No plans to involve Kikyo or Sesshoumaru yet, but I haven't ruled it out as an impossibility either. I feel like I'm already juggling a million characters as it is!), Mesa Juu-Chan (You are awesome!), and jschu25 (It is always great to have a shot at converting someone to one of my favorite alternate pairings!)
MM Reviewers: I just found out that no one can review without being signed in. Sorry for thinking no one cared about me on this site. If it is easier just email me with your reviews directly. E-mail: wastedthoughts insightbb. com (just take out the spaces.) And now, on to the thanks...I couldn't access the reviews when writing this so, sorry I can't do a personal message, but thanks for your review BookNerd!
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