Chapter 22 Hope and Wolves in the Dark
"Master! Lady Kagome! You have finally returned!" Miroku exclaims from the front door as Inuyasha dismounts, inconspicuously helping Kagome in the process. The now very wet pair makes their way inside, closing the door behind them. Kagome starts squeezing the water out of her clothes while Inuyasha simply begins to shake it off, eliciting a squeal from the girl, along with a giggle.
This doesn't go unnoticed by the two head servants, who silently look at each other with a raised eyebrow, agreeing without words to save questions about the friendly laugh for later. "Lady Kagome, you're soaked! We need to get you out of those clothes right away!" Sango comments before turning to the nearby teapot, who was the head cook, "Kaede, could you please take her to her room to change?"
The old teapot bows slightly, "Of course child, I would be glad to." She smiles up at the girl before turning towards the main stairs, "Come, little one, we can't have you catching cold now." And with that she begins to make her way up, Kagome close behind.
As soon as the girl is out of sight and hearing range, the head servants round on their master with expectant looks on their faces; "Well?" they ask in unison.
Inuyasha raises an eyebrow, "Well what?"
The two look exasperated before Miroku hurries to specify, "How did it go? You don't look to worse for wear. Usually when you have a confrontation with your brother you come out of it with at least a broken arm. We've been worried sick my lord."
Inuyasha rolls his eyes, "Oh, that. Outside the fact that I got to fight, it was pretty pointless." With that the hanyou prince relates the tale, at least the parts he wanted them to know. He grew more serious at the end, when he spoke of how Sesshomaru had denied attacking the village, "...that's the thing I worry about the most. He didn't just give me the cold shoulder, he blatantly denied destroying the town. Sesshomaru is a lot of things, but he's not a liar, it's just not possible for him. If he says he didn't do it, then, as much as I would love to pin it on him so I could beat the shit out of him, I can't. As much as I hate him, if he says something, I believe it. But my scouts haven't ever been wrong before. I want you to find the one that actually saw the village being destroyed and bring them to my study. Maybe if I hear it straight from the bird's beak I can figure out who's ass I'm going to flatten for making me look like a fool."
The two bow and make their way upstairs towards the scouts' rooms. Sango, however, stops after a moment. Miroku, realizing that the lady clock is no longer beside him, looks back to her, "Lady Sango? Is something wrong? Does something trouble you?"
Sango looks thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head, "Not really, just wondering about something. You go on ahead and find the scout, I'll catch up a little later."
Miroku looks doubtful, "If you're sure..."
Sango rolls her eyes and sighs, "I am, now go. You know how the master hates to be kept waiting."
Miroku put on one of his famous smiles (A.N. the charming ones, not the perverted ones lol) and says, "That I do. Alright then, see you later my lady." before hurrying off.
Sango looks after him for a moment before turning and heading off towards Kagome's room. She reaches it with no real difficulty and almost enters when she hears the girl speaking and halts momentarily to listen. "...it's just going to take some getting used to. I mean, you have to admit, it's not every day that one finds that the one keeping you captive is not only cursed, but half-demon besides."
Sango's eyes widen, 'He told her? I can't believe it! I never thought he'd just come out and tell her!' she quiets her thoughts as Kagome continues.
"Not that I mind. I mean, just because I just learned about this part of him doesn't make him a different person. It just makes him more complex. Much, much more complex." A frustrated sigh comes forth before the sound of her flopping on her bed can be heard. "I don't know why. He's my captor! I should hate him for keeping me cooped up in here. Yet..." Kagome trails off and Sango finds herself mentally trying to get her to continue, this was the most joyous news that she had gotten in a very long time. Kagome sounded like she was...no, no reason to get her hopes up that high, but at least she seemed to like him, which was a big improvement over where they had been just last week. Sango, for the first time in quite a while, felt the spark of hope gleam into existence. 'She just might actually be the one! Now if only we could get through Lord Inuyasha's thick head.'
With a new determination and hope, Sango slips away, set on finding Miroku so that they could think up of a plan to fan their last ember of hope into a flame that had a good chance of surviving and setting them free.
Meanwhile, in the very forest that Inuyasha and Kagome had escaped into, a certain blue-eyed, black-haired figure races through the forest. It comes upon a clearing, in which a familiar man in a white baboon pelt stands, almost as if he had expected the figure. Koga steps out of the shadows of the trees and snarls at the man. "You! You told me that I could beat that stinking hanyou with that power you gave me, but he threw me around like a rag doll! I oughta shred you to pieces!"
The man just chuckles, "Ah, impatient young wolf, but then you would have no idea how to refine your skills, and thusly you would have no chance at all against Inuyasha."
Koga looks curious (A.N. Ah, Koga, always the idiot.) "Refine? What do you mean?"
The cloaked man smiles slickly under his hood, "You have the power to defeat Inuyasha and claim your prize, you just don't know it yet. Weren't you ever told that power without training of some sort is useless? I will train you to use your new body to its fullest potential and beyond, but this time, there will be a price." (A.N. Ah, the devil makes a deal.)
Koga raises an eyebrow, "What kind of price?"
The figure replies smoothly, "Nothing that won't help you of course. But to train you in the shortest amount of time possible, I will need to transform you entirely into a wolf demon. I will not train you otherwise. Do you accept that term?" He waits for Kouga to nod before continuing, "Good, then the only other one is that I need you to do a few little jobs for me. They will help you to grow and strengthen yourself. That is agreeable to you?"
Koga nods, "If you can make me able to beat Inuyasha, then I will gladly do it."
"That is exactly what I wanted to hear." Suddenly a great wind picks up and the cloak spreads considerably. Also, as Koga looks to the figure, he sees that two blood-red eyes shine out from the eyeholes. As soon as he lays eyes on them, his entire body is hurled into a sea of pain. He screams out in agony and falls to the ground, unable to support himself any longer. As waves of pure pain rush through his system he curls into the fetal position, still screaming like a banshee. He feels himself transform, his tail grow inch by torturous inch, his blood change into something that makes his body feel on fire.
Finally after several eternities, the agony ends, and Koga is left to catch his breath. This was different than before. Before, he had just gotten stronger and faster, along with that strange connection he felt to wolves. This time, he WAS a wolf. A wolf that could think and reason. He felt...like something was missing. He quickly dismissed it as his need for a bitch (A.N. The dog definition, not the profane one) and slowly got up, looking around. His eyes fall upon the cloaked man, now standing very still. Koga sniffs the air. This man exuded the scent of an alpha male by the tons. He was obviously Koga's better. The wolf demon bows before the one he has designated as his alpha, tucking his tail between his legs to show respect. The man chuckles before turning, "Come Koga. There is much to teach you, and little time to teach you in."
"Yes, my alpha." Is all Koga says in a slightly hollow tone before following him into the shadows of the deep forest.
A.N. Boy, is Koga an idiot or what? Now he's just a stooge for Naraku. Haha, serves him right. I let him go through a considerable amount of pain this time, and Inu-kun wasn't even there! Sorry I haven't updated for a while, it was that time of the month and I did NOT feel like writing. Alright, now to Reviewer Replies!
Inuyashasonly1- Yes, castle hijinx starts next chappie, much a part of the many plans that I'm sure Miroku and Sango will cook up to try and get the two together lol. Again, sorry I haven't updated but, ahem, yeah. Lol.
Rebel Writer- Ah, the big red monster. It definitely visited me this past week or so. I feel sorry for those that had to put up with me lol. I don't know what my percentage would be, like you said, it depends a lot on mood and stuff like that. I'm glad you liked the chappie, I'll try to keep it up.
Tearsofamiko- I promise to continue updating as quickly as possible. I promise that this last week has been an oddity. I hope. Lol, just kidding, I'll continue updating asap though.
Starflower-Gem- Thanks; no Kikyo will not show up until...well later, I'm still trying to decide whether or not to make her bad. Personally, I hate her guts, but I'm not sure if it'll work into the story. I will continue to update as soon as possible.
Katerina- I hope I didn't take too long to update lol. Thank you for the compliment.
RoseMaiden- I'm glad you found a way around your comp. problem. I'll continue to update as quickly as possible.
Copperline Kitty- Lol, I'm glad to help in any way possible. Thank you for the support and don't worry, I don't think this story will be done for a very long time lol.
Kikile- Cool, I'm a girl too, if you couldn't figure from my name lol. Thanks for the support and I'll continue to update as quickly as possible.
ChibiSess- Thanks. Yeah, I was bummed too, but it had to be done. Even I can't say for sure what the future holds for this story, but I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of Inu-kun and Souta acting silly together lol. We'll just have to wait and see.
Well, that's all for now. R&R please!