The Race For Kagome
By: LadySol
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I think this goes without saying, I don't own Inuyasha and Co. although I do own the good ol' boyz Korii, Mael, and Kentaii and the Lady Maekomari and Saeko. You may borrow them if you so wish, all I require is recognition, so don't go stealin' and claimin' em as yerz! Got that!? Umm, okay point made. Anyway, enjoy the ficcy.
Chapter 15: The Trouble With Saeko
"Are you swimming with us, Lady Kagome?" Us? Kagome looked around and felt her cheeks redden as she realized they were surrounded by Kouga's pack. All of them watching her quite intently. Kagome mumbled something akin to a 'hello' before her embarassment rose as she discovered most of them weren't very... Clothed. A glance to her right confirmed that there was indeed a lovely looking spring.
"No, I'm afraid my friend, Inuyasha, will come to get me soon." Saeko looked absolutely crestfallen. Kagome felt a tug a her heartstrings.
"Don't worry about Dog Breath, Kagome. If he shows up I'll just kill him." Kagome kept her laugter at bay and managed a polite smile.
"Of course, Kouga. We all know you're the strongest." Kagome watched amused as the wolf prince's chest puffed with pride. Kagome looked back to Saeko.
"I guess I'll be swimming after all." Saeko gave a cheer, telling Kagome to wait for her to gather her friends. Content with the situation at hand and their newest addition the rest of the pack that was present continued to disrobe and carry on. Some of the older wolves made campfires, roasting fresh fish. Others folded and prepared dry clothes for after the adventure. Kagome felt her heart warm. Watching all these people work together as one, as a single unit, was very powerful. People in her time valued anonymity and lots kept to themselves. Kagome looked to Kouga and found her smile wiped away. The look on his face was simply... Not Kouga. He looked sad, longing, even worried. She reached out to him, running her fingers lightly down his arms. Kouga gave a start and then laughed akwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Kouga, what's wrong?" Kouga's embarassed smile turned to a content one as Kagome found herself gathered in his arms.
"I feel stongly for you, Kagome. Stronger than anyone I've ever met before. It's just... Sometimes I make descisions that I look at later and I regret them." Kagome's heartrate picked up. Was he breaking up with her? That would certainly make things easier. It would be better for everyone if he put his childish crush behind him...But...Why did it feel like she didn't want it to happen? Why did it feel wrong?
"Are you...Saying you regret me?" The shock on Kouga's face was evident.
"Kagome, of course not! How could you say that?" Kouga tightened his hold around her.
"But, you were talking about me, weren't you?" Kouga sighed.
"Yes and no. Kagome, take a look around." She did just that. She saw the different families setting up a temporary camp. The little ones already in the water.
"What am I looking for?"
"How many women do you see?" The question stunned her for a moment. Kagome glanced around again, this time confused.
"I-I...Don't see any." Her answer hung in the air, almost foreboding.
"Lady Kagome! We're ready to swim now!" Kagome looked to see Saeko running towards her with two boys in toe. One looked about twelve and the other a bit younger.
"Give us a second, Saeko? We'll join you in a minute." Kouga's tone was much more upbeat and friendly then it had been a second ago. It was a special tone, Kagome realized, reserved for Saeko.
"Okay!" The beautiful little girl was off just as quickly as she had come.
"Oh my god." Realization struck her hard.
"Saeko's the only girl."
"And everybody knows it except her." Kagome turned around in Kouga's arms so she could face him.
"What do you mean?" She saw the hesitation in his big blue eyes.
"Come on, Kouga," she said, taking his face in her hands,
"you can talk to me. You can always talk to me about anything, okay? I don't want you to ever hesitate around me. You promise?" Kouga nodded, a prideful look coming over him.
"I promise, Kagome."
"So talk."
"It was another one of Naraku's twisted games. While we went out to battle Kagura we left all of our women and children behind, being safer away from the fight. The battle didn't last long and we were left confused and disapointed. Not many of us were injured and none of us were dead. That's when it hit us. We raced back to the den-" Kouga choked slightly, the words seemingly to painful.
"They were dead. All except the boys who had been allowed to escape. They were butchered, Kagome." His eyes bored into hers. The intensity held her gaze.
"We couldn't even find all...all the parts." Kagome shuddered in terrible understanding.
"Naraku made it impossible for you to bear pure blooded wolf youkai. By killing your females he forced you to either interbreed with other youkai or humans, humans that would give you hanyous... Like him." Kouga barely nodded. Kagome watched as a lone tear made it's lonely way down his tanned cheek.
"Saeko had wandered away from the den that day. We found her before she found her way back home. Now, she's this pack's only chance for survival, yet she has no age-mates."
"Age-mates?" Kouga nodded.
"Members of the pack of opposite sex within a five year age difference. There are no males here under eleven years. That makes her free territory."
"What do mean? Like she's up for grabs?" Kagome wiped away Kouga's tear and he looked away, almost shamefully.
"There have been many battles fought over who would take Saeko as a mate when she came of age. Some have even died over it." Kagome was almost afraid to ask.
"Who won." Kouga's eyes bored into hers once again.
"I did." Kagome felt a lump in her throat. What did this mean? He was breaking up with her for a four-year-old?
"So, Saeko belongs to you? She's your mate?" Was her voice trembling or was it just her?
"She did...Then I met you." Her heart skipped a beat.
"When I saw you, Kagome, I mean truely saw you, I knew I had to have you. You were perfect for me. Loyal, unselfish, generous, thinking of others weaker then you in a crisis. That loneliness I had carried with me since my parents went to run with Hisi and left me the pack was gone. I knew that we would fit." Kouga's demeanor darkened somewhat.
"Then I found out that mutt was your intended. When he came to get you I made an open claim to my entire pack and Inuyasha that you were mine. Thus, my claim on Saeko was..."
"forfit." She finished for him.
"Kagome, I love you. Don't take what I say to you lightly, ever. I love Saeko to. I've known her father since he was a pup. I promised to take care of Saeko so he wouldn't have to worry about her ending up with a brute who wouldn't take her feelings into consideration. I trust my pack with my life, but that doesn't make all of them good people like Ginta and Hakakku are. Not all of them are as welcoming."
"How horrible! So Saeko's up for grabs again? Just because you wanted me?" Kouga shook his head.
"No, she's been claimed once again. Her future mate sits not ten feet from her." Kagome's eyes shot over to where Saeko and her bouncy curls were playing in the shallow water to the area around her. A man sat on a boulder, not far from the shore. He was extreamly broad and muscled. Scars crisscrossed what she could see of his body underneath his armor. The largest scar of all ran across his face, starting at his forehead and ending at his cheekbone over an empty eye socket.
His left eye was completely missing.
"Who is that?" Kagome was proud her voice didn't quivver with disgust. The man's long brown hair blew across his face in tangles.
"Kentaii. He doesn't talk much seeings how his tongue was cut out." This time she did squeak.
"What?"
"He came to us from the northern tribes when I was young. He wasn't much older than me but I always thought of him as another father figure. He was the only one who could ever beat me in a fair fight. I learned a lot from him over the years. Unfortunately, I also learned from him that he doesn't let anyone get in the way of what he wants, even friends."
"Why was he shunned from the tribe he came from?"
"No one really knows, no one really asked. Perhaps he betrayed someone and so they made sure he would never speak ill against them again. The rumors are endless, Kagome. I practically grew up with him and yet I don't know the first thing about him." Kagome gave Kentaii another look. It wasn't his scars, or dirty skin, or even his tangled hair that made him seem so horrible. It was the he held himself. He was ready for battle at any second. Ready to rip someone apart. It was as if the world was against him. Spite rolled off of him in waves.
"Hey, Kouga!" They both looked to Ginta who was a fair distance away.
"Come help with the hunt, will ya?" Kouga shouted back in the affirmative.
"Be back soon." Kagome accepted the swift peck on the cheek without so much as a wince. Kouga raced off into the distance, Ginta chasing after him.
"Who knew Kouga could be so chivalrous?" Poor Kouga. He wanted to protect Saeko, the daughter of his friend, from the ways of the world and yet he thought he loved her. Kagome looked to Saeko playing with the two older boys. She would splash at them and they would pick her up and toss her in the air back into the water. They would resume talking until she had paddled her way back to them and then the process would repeat. Although the two boys looked mildly bored and more interested in the fish cooking and the prospect of more food on the way then the little girls games, it was sweet to watch them indulge her. Kagome had to admit, it did look adorable when they made what she equated as the infamous 'tickle-monster' face at her. It was plain to see that the two boys showered her with brotherly affection. Kagome blinked as she realized she wasn't the only one watching Saeko. Kentaii's gaze was locked. What he doing? Kagome watched, intrigued. Kentaii tensed slightly as one of the boys threw Saeko a little too high for her liking as she gave a squeel before she went underwater. Kentaii stayed tense until she resurfaced again, bubbling with a fit of giggles. Kagome watched as Kentaii visably relaxed, but not before shooting the two boys a dirty look.
"He's looking out for her. That's kind of...Cute." That's when she decided.
She was going to talk to him.
AN: hey y'all sorry for the late update and short chapter but hey, better then nothin' right? Let me know if you want to see anything particular happen and I'll see if I can widdle it it, kay? Pairings by the way...If you haven't guessed it yet, it's supposed to be a SURPRISE. She could end up with anybody hehehehehe...
