A/N: I'm ba~ack! I'm finally returned from brain-frying, and Lily, I hate you! WAH! I deserve my chocolate! This chapter was d*** hard to write!

Anyhoo, thanks to all of you who have reviewed! Feel free to give contructive criticism, because how else would I be able to improve my writing? And forgive me if the updates are rather slow -- I'm a lazy, short-attention span sort of person. Hehe. Well, enough about me! Back to Kouga-kun!I just realized, he swears alot... and is a rather naughty person. I just love that guy! Ahem... So start reading and don't forget to review!



Golden Eyes
Natsue Arishima

Chapter Two



The first thing that I was aware of was the heavy warmth around my body. It was as if I had fallen asleep in an unbearably scorching hot spring. All of my muscles were unresponsive and limp. Deadweight seemed to have settled down on my shoulders and limbs.



I groggily opened my eyes. Bright sunlight quickly flooded my vision and I hissed, letting my eyelids droop shut immediately. Even so, a reddish haze pressed against my vision. Every inch of my body ached, and I wondered if I had finally died. But death would have felt better, wouldn't it?



Taking in another breath and attempting to loosen up my chest, I wondered how the hell I had gotten here. My memory had vanished and a damn black hole had taken its place. How could I have been in front of Kagome one second and then wake up on my back, practically cooking from the heat?



Kagome...



Shit.



I jerked up sharply into a sitting position, almost yelping at the pain that lanced through my body. Several layers of scalding hot blankets tumbled off my shoulders, and it was suddenly cold. Looking down, I blinked at the sight of my bare chest before my reaction kicked in. Why the hell was I naked?



Peeking underneath the covers, I breathed in relief. At least I still had my pants. But my chest armor. And my sword!



Sword...



I swallowed, jaws clenched. There was something about the weapon that rang a bell in my memory. Had I... used it? No. I couldn't have... or else... That damned blade. My father had given it to me as a gift, a birthday gift. A present that had almost killed me the first time I had used it, and the one that had labeled me as a coward in the months that followed by all other cubs in my clan.



I suddenly took notice of the sensation of my unbound hair, resting silkily on my shoulders and down my back. What the hell? I wanted my hair back up again in that friggin' ponytail! I felt like a damn woman... Oh, whoever did this was gonna get it bad...



I realized that I was on a bed, in the middle of a rather disorganized room. Herbs and bottles littered the shelves and ground, along with several pieces of parchment and a finely carved bow.



Now I had really gotten confused. Just where was I? And... the pain. What the hell did I do? And once again, why was I partially naked?



There was a shuffle of footsteps and an old woman stepped over the threshold, a bowl of disgustingly smelling herbs in her hands. My nose twitched uncomfortably. An empty quiver was slung over her shoulder, and she adjusted her eye-patch before nearing the bed. Nearing me.



I scrambled closer to the wall. "Gah! You stay away from me! And give me back my armor, perverted old hag!"



The miko paused in mid-step, eyebrows raised and face emotionless. Until... "Perverted old hag, am I? I think not! I, Kaede, willingly took you in and healed you, and now I get accused? Fine, heal yourself then. And mind you, get out of my hut as soon as you're well!" Placing the bowl of mashed herbs down on the foot of the bed, she huffed out.



I blinked. That had been strange.



And then it kicked in. I had almost killed Kagome.



My blue eyes widened and my hands clenched in the blankets. Dammit. Of all the things to have happened... I had transformed.



Well, almost transformed. Thankfully, I had finally controlled myself again at the last moment. But damn it all! That fucking hanyou. I buried my face in my hands, ebony strands sliding onto my chest. I shouldn't have acted that way! My control was slipping. I couldn't let that happen again.



But... the fact that... Inuyasha. He loved Kagome. I bit my lip, feeling it tear and start to bleed. Dammit, dammit, dammit! I raised a fist and aimed it at the nearest object, which happened to be the pottery bowl that Kaede or whoever she was had just brought in.



The bowl cracked and I slumped forward, watching silently and almost with amusement as my knuckles started to bleed, my hand numb but painless. The crimson flowed slowly out of the wound, staining the sheets. My anger didn't fade immediately, but the sight of my blood seemed to mollify me somehow. The boiling fury was replaced by a strange calm and all feelings seemed to leave my body. All except for one.



Damn that Inuyasha.



I loved him and yet hated him for making me love him. And I hated him even more when I finally realized that he loved Kagome. But I could never truly hate him. I loved him. And because of that, hated him...



I howled, my wolf blood pounding in my ears as I fitfully pulled out pieces of my hair. I had gone in a complete circle with my thoughts, and it hadn't helped. Now, not only was I angry again, I was fucking confused. A soft hand was placed on my shoulders and I tensed immediately.



"Kouga-kun! You're up."



Kagome. Just the one person in the world that I didn't want to see.



"Kagome." I wearily lifted my head out of my hands and gazed at her, my eyes glassy. She stared back at me, hazel eyes once again filled with their usual concern, and I knew that I needed to apologize, no matter how hard it may be. Pushing away my already deflating ego, I managed to say, "I'm sorry." I swallowed.



"For what?" she asked softly, gently taking my bleeding hand and examining it. Her expression darkened and she slowly pulled out small pieces of clay out of my fist, not trying to give me any discomfort. I raised an eyebrow. It would have been nice of her, but in my current state, I couldn't feel pain anyway.



"For almost killing you." The silence stretched on for a while until my usual personality jumped in before I could stop it. "But no matter! Once we get married, that damn hanyou'll never interfere again!" I re-arranged my grip so that her hand was in mine. Dammit. Why was I still acting this way? Inuyasha didn't care. But the arguments between the two of us had become so frequent that I had gotten used to them. They had become a part of my everyday routine.



Kagome blushed, averting her gaze. "Kouga-kun... You know that I... Inuyasha... we..."



Slowly, I loosened my grip. My eyes drifted onto my hands, and my mind was blank, still horrified at the fact that I had almost transformed. "I know," I mumbled, suddenly serious. I could tell that Kagome was surprised at my attitude. She had only seen me serious on the battlefield, or perhaps after a strained conversation with Ayame.



The bed shifted and I knew that she had stood up. Seconds dragged into minutes, and I thought she had left the room. Sighing, I was about to get up as well when Kagome's voice echoed from my right.



"Sorry, Kouga-kun. Please, try to like Inuyasha, even just a little bit. He's a good person." The girl was quiet for a few seconds, eyes hidden underneath dark bangs. Finally, she perked up and gave me the usual smile. "Ne, Kouga-kun, get better soon, 'kay?" And then she was gone.



I fell back down into the blankets, closing my eyes. Try to like Inuyasha? Che. If only she knew...



>



Tugging my protesting hair back into its usual restraints and adjusting my armor, I stared cautiously around me before slipping out of the hut. I had no intention of bumping into Kaede again. She had already blown up on me once more after she had found the ruined bowl. Kagome claimed that the miko wasn't usually like this, that the woman was just a bit unnerved after the previous attack youkai had inflicted on her village. That explained the numerous shifty glances the miko placed on me. She didn't trust me. Che. Not like I needed the trust of a pathetic human in the first place.



Once outside, I pushed my head back and inhaled the fresh air deeply. I had always been fond of nature, even though my father had disapproved of it. Then again, my father had disapproved of almost everything, not like it mattered. At least it meant that he knew I existed.



I spotted a familiar sword leaning carelessly on the side of the house. Biting my lip, I slowly approached it. I tentatively stroked the hilt and could feel the blade quivering underneath my touch. Lips curling back in a snarl, I ignored the fear that dashed through me and grabbed the weapon, dominating it once again and putting it safely against my side. This was ridiculous. Whoever heard of a youkai being afraid of his own weapon?



But, as I gazed down at the almost ordinary hilt, I had to admit that I had been lucky. The sword was dangerous, and I knew it. Thankfully, in my crazed and fitful stage, the blade had easily bent to my will. But only for a few seconds. I knew that it had been eager for the blood that I had long kept from it.



So deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice the sound of the intruder approaching, or the bold, familiar scent. A fist came swerving up to meet my face and I dodged it just in time, thanks to the shards in my legs.



"What the hell -?" I snapped, the calm shattering in seconds.



"Bastard! What the fuck were you thinking?" The hanyou spat in my face, golden eyes glinting in anger.



"Shut up, mutt!" I yelled back, wiping the spit off of my face and glaring at him. Inuyasha. "What's up your ass today? Or are you just bitchy because your precious Kagome loves me more that she loves you?"



Tetsusaiga glowed and changed as it was whipped out of its sheath. "You fucked up wolf! You almost killed Kagome, and you still think she loves you?"



"Che. You think I did that on purpose, did you? What, wanna fight?" My hand lingered on my sword hilt a second longer before I brought both hands up in front of me, balled in fists. I couldn't risk it. And besides, why would I enjoy ruining that pretty face? Though I hated to admit it, Inuyasha looked damn sexy when he was mad. My mind started to wander...



"Bring it on! I'll kill you this time, I swear!" He made a lung for me and I snapped out of my daydream, jumping up quickly and flipping over his back. Landing evenly on my feet, I turned around and aimed a punch at his sword-wielding hand.



He had gotten faster. There was a blur of red and then something hard collided into my stomach. Gasping for air, I was lifted off of my feet and slammed harshly into the wall of the hut. My hands automatically went up to my throat, where two palms were currently held, cutting off my air supply and hard enough to bruise.



"Damn... mutt..." I managed to gasp, barely able to pry his fingers away from my neck. Dammit! Why was I so pathetically weak? "Fuck off -"



"If you ever get close to Kagome again, I'll murder you." His hot breath washed over my face, and I suddenly realized how close we were. A small shiver ran down my spine.



Getting rid of my roving thoughts, I snarled back at him, not about to lose a verbal match. "Funny. I thought you already said you were gonna kill me. Chickening out, are we?"



He made an angry sound in the back of his throat before responding sharply. I was barely paying attention, my eyes fixed on his face, lost in those golden orbs. Several strands of his silver hair brushed against my cheeks, which started reddening. Shit.



My mother had once told me that to get rid of a blush, you'd need to stare at something red. I jumped into quick action, tearing my gaze away and focusing it on the first crimson thing that caught my eye - which turned out to be an even bigger mistake. I found myself staring openly at Inuyasha's shirt.



Thankfully, he didn't notice, taking advantage of my silence and too caught up in his ramblings. He had obviously assumed that he had won this time, with that smug expression on his face. It amazed me once again that no matter what Inuyasha did, no matter how annoying it was, he still managed to look hot...



Zoning back in, my blue eyes glinted as I starting cursing him again. He blinked at my comment and then growled one back, which I smartly replied to. And then it would start all over again. The insults varied from colors to hair and even to long dead parents. Every word and sharp phrase brought our heads closer together, though for different reasons, most likely.



I was starting to get tired, realizing that this verbal fight was longer that usual, probably due to the fact that Kagome wasn't here to stop us. To my greater frustration, the damn mutt didn't look like he was going to give it up any time soon. In fact, he looked like he had only warmed up, and was just getting started. And the fact that he was so close didn't help either.



I don't know what caused me to do it. I was infuriated, cheeks blotchy from my anger. My hands had found their way to the collar of his shirt, and his mine. Snarling, spitting, snapping. Half of my brain was zoning out, since I was still a bit worn from my previous near-accident. Growling and trying to back away, which didn't work since my back was already pressed up against the wall, I spat openly in his face.



He blinked for a second, stunned, and I immediately wanted to apologize, wanted to wipe the spit off of his smooth face. The guiltiness didn't last long however, and he started rambling again, throwing insults at my face. "You damn wolf! What was that all about? You..." Blah blah blah. And then, "What the hell's wrong with you?"



Tired of getting insulted and positively fuming, both at Inuyasha's stupidity at my feelings and for my own insanity, I yelled, "You really wanna know?" before grabbing his soft hair, jerking his head forward sharply and crushing my lips against his.



Had this been a different situation, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of his lips against mine, his scent, his warmth... But this was all wrong. Inuyasha was probably going to bit my head off after this...



Remembering that this was supposed to be some sort of punishment, I took advantage of Inuyasha's shock and bit his bottom lip fiercely, hard enough to draw blood. I felt him yelp and pull away. I did too, though less willingly, and snapped at him before he could say anything, licking my lips to get rid of the blood. "There? You happy? I'm fucked up, alright?"



I had just kissed Inuyasha. I couldn't believe it. What the hell was wrong with me? Damn it Kouga! What the fuck had that been about? Though it had been nice, if not a bit abusive... No! My mind started screaming at me, and I stood with my hands balled into fists, slowly watching his reaction change from anger to disgust, his hand wiping his bleeding lip.



Rejection. That was my first thought.



"You sick bastard! Get the hell away from me!" The hanyou backed away, eyes glittering dangerously as he shoved me aside. Without turning to look at me, he stalked away, Tetsusaiga obeying silently as it was slammed harshly back into its sheath.



Yep, rejection. Though in a harsher, ripped-into-shreds kind of way. It hurt. It really hurt.



I had half wanted him to hit me, slice at me, hell, even kill me. But this silent treatment thing... it was much worse.



On the other side of the hut, there came a loud smack and a frustrated scream, sounding suspiciously like that demon huntress and a low moan of pain from that perverted monk. Oh great. Just what I needed right now. Company.



A lump grew in my throat and refused to leave, no matter how hard I shoved at it. What was wrong with me? I had been expecting a rejection - the damn hanyou couldn't possibly like me back. So why did it hurt so much?



In the middle of my self-pitying session, my ears twitched and I turned. Black hair, hazel eyes, annoyingly soothing voice. Kagome.



I couldn't, just couldn't, face her right now. And... her expression... that painfully fake smile. Eyes with a depressing shine. Had she... had she seen it? Had she seen everything?



She was walking in a slightly slower fashion, a stunned expression quickly fading from her face as she looked at me. "Kouga-kun, I -"



No. I didn't want to talk to her. I didn't want to see her, listen to her, even know her. The one girl that loved Inuyasha who he also loved back... I think, in that split second, I hated her. What was it that I felt? Jealousy? No... of course not. But I still couldn't talk to her.



And so I did the only thing that made sense at that time.



I ran.