Disclaimer: Don't own Inu-yasha or any of his fellow Feudal era comrades.
A/N: mai yamainu (my wolf); nisou (priestess); Hiashi - spreading of a fire
The Nisou and the Wolf
Chapter 6
Kagome woke up to the familiar sight of drawings on a cave wall depicting warriors and their prey. She slowly turned over to see Koga lying next to her, his chest rising and falling steadily. He had been cleaned and the bedding made fresh. Kagome had fuzzy memories of what happened after she began the healing trance. She remembered Koga's eyes opening for a brief moment and the joy that spread through her when they looked at her. She remembered pain. Pain in her hands, as if they were burning. But when she looked at her hands they were fine. She also recalled Miroku, kneeling behind her, his hand on her shoulder. What was he doing there? Had she imagined that part somehow?
Kagome turned her attention back to Koga. She ran her fingers over his lips and down his chest. She lifted his hand to her lips, gently kissing the palm. She stroked his hair and absently played with a strand between her fingers as she continued to gaze upon her lover.
"I was so scared you were going to leave me. I love you so much. I felt your pain when you were gored by the harpy. You were so strong, fighting against the agony and the blackness. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you. Don't ever scare me like that again. Ok?"
Kagome rested her tear-stained face on his chest when she heard the weak voice.
"Ok."
Kagome's head shot up and looked down into Koga's deep blue eyes and smiled through her tears. Koga reached up and wiped her tears away.
"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I wish I could wake up to your face everyday."
"Someday mai yamainu. Someday. I want you to go back to sleep now and rest. My healing energy only went so far. You lost a lot of blood. I need you to rest now."
Kagome kissed him gently and watched his eyes slowly close. She started to get up and leave when she heard his soft voice.
"By the way. What did I just say 'ok' to?"
Kagome chuckled as she looked back at his one open eye. "To love me always."
"Oh. Ok."
As she walked out onto the ledge outside Koga's dwelling, she immediately saw her friends sitting with a group of wolves eating. She smiled down at them and they smiled back, waving her down to join them. All except Inu-yasha. When she met his eyes, even from this distance, she could see the hurt that was there. He got up and left before she even started down the slope.
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When Kagome arrived at the breakfast gathering, Sango embraced her. Kagome was so grateful for the gesture, new tears started falling as Miroku joined in.
"Thank you. I am so sorry I kept this from you. I didn't know how---"
Sango pulled Kagome away to face her. "There's no need to apologize. We understand. Mostly. The important thing is Koga's ok. So sit down and eat something."
Kagome sat down and Miroku handed her a plate of food. Once she began eating she realized just how hungry she was. As she ate, she remembered something.
"Miroku? Did I imagine you standing behind me last night?"
Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. "No you didn't. After Inu-yasha dropped you off here, he backtracked looking for us. He said you needed my help, so he brought me here ahead of Sango and the two wolves. When I arrived, your energy was running very low so I gave you mine."
Kagome felt new tears running down her face. She hung her head and dropped her plate of food. She couldn't take it anymore. She felt guilty enough about hiding Koga from Inu-yasha and her friends. But he went back and got Miroku here in time to help. If Miroku hadn't been here… Kagome felt Sango's arm around her and she leaned into the woman. After a few moments, Kagome gathered herself back together and sat up once again, wiping her eyes and offering Sango a look of thanks.
"And Inu-yasha?"
"He hasn't spoken to anyone." It was Miroku who answered. "He just sat here. He went up to the cave and checked on you a few times, but never said anything. You just need to give him time."
"I hurt him so much. I betrayed our friendship." Kagome slid off the rock and started to walk off.
"Wait, Kagome! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get cleaned up. My conscience may not be clean, but at least my body will be."
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Kagome felt the tears streaming down her face all the way back to the cave. She had decided to go get cleaned up and was halfway there when she realized she didn't have anything with her necessary to take a bath. No soap, towels, clean clothes…So she headed back to retrieve her things, and she'd started crying again. She couldn't help herself. She entered the room where Koga was sleeping and picked up her bag that had been put next to the bed. She leaned down kissing Koga lightly on his forehead and turned to leave. She let out a small yelp as she turned to see Inu-yasha sitting against the wall next to the doorway.
"Inu-yasha? What are you doing here?"
He just looked at her, the pain evident in his eyes. She didn't see the anger from before, just…sadness. She slowly approached him, as if she was afraid of spooking him.
He watched her approach and knee down in front of him. He could see she had been crying. For awhile from the looks of it. His immediate reaction was to hold her and make the hurt go away, but then he remembered why she was sad, and pulled back. When Inu-yasha wouldn't say anything, Kagome hung her head, her shoulders dropped and she began to cry again. Her voice was barely audible in the cave, but she knew Inu-yasha could hear her with his sensitized demon ears.
"Thank you for being my friend Inu-yasha. You saved his life, and for that I will always be grateful." She turned her red eyes up to him, breaking his heart. She bowed her head again and continued, unable to face him. "I am so sorry. At first I didn't know what was going on so I didn't say anything. And then, I was scared. I should have trusted you as my friend to be happy for me. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
Inu-yasha let Kagome cry for awhile. Then he sat up from the wall and tentatively reached out a hand, pulling it back several times, before letting it stroke her hair, slide down her arm, and come to rest on her hand.
"Kagome, I won't lie to you. I'm hurt by what you did. You doubted our friendship and that hurts more than any wound I could suffer." A tear splashes down onto Inu-yasha's hand, catching his attention. He brings the hand up to his mouth and licks the salty drop away, then puts a finger under Kagome's chin and lifts her face to meet his. He gently wipes the tears away and sits back against the wall again. "I love you Kagome." Kagome jerks back a bit and Inu-yasha drops his gaze. "Not like that you crazy woman. And if Koga makes you happy, then I am happy for you." Inu-yasha looks up again, meeting Kagome's eyes. "I forgive you, Kagome. Just…please don't be sad anymore."
Kagome starts crying anew as she hugs Inu-yasha. He just sits and accepts the embrace at first, then wraps his arms around the crying priestess. He lays his head against hers and just lets her cry, being her friend. As he listens to her let all the built up guilt and relief leave her heart, Inu-yasha sees the yellow flower petals sticking out from Kagome's shirt again.
"Kagome? What's this?"
Inu-yasha runs his finger over the exposed petals. He can feel Kagome tense at his touch. She sits up and turns her back to Inu-yasha, lifting her hair from her neck. "Pull the shirt down. It's a Hiashi flower."
Inu-yasha tugs the tank top collar down to reveal a beautiful yellow flower with black specks. It seems to shine on her skin, almost iridescent.
"It's beautiful. When did you get it done?"
He releases the collar and Kagome turns back to face him.
"When I went home this last time."
"Why did you get it?"
Kagome turns her face to the side, letting her hair cover her face. "Maybe we should leave that for another day, Inu-yasha."
He looks at her, not understanding what the big deal could be. He moves her hair from her face and sees her blushing cheeks and her pleading green eyes. He feels his heart sinking, instinct telling him he doesn't want to know. He lets her hair go and stands up. Kagome looks up as he offers her a hand.
"C'mon. Go get cleaned up. I'll wait here with the mongrel until you return in case he wakes up."
Kagome hugs him once more and plants a quick kiss on his cheek before running outside.
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Thankfully Koga didn't wake up while Kagome was out taking a bath. Inu-yasha was not prepared to be nice to him yet. He felt as if Koga had stolen Kagome away from him. Which Inu-yasha knew was stupid because she wasn't his to begin with. But still, that's what it felt like. He sat there by the fire, thinking about Kagome's tattoo. He had seen the flowers covering the valley floor while wandering earlier in the day. He knew it had something to do with Koga, but what?
The other question nagging Inu-yasha was what did Sessho-maru say to Kagome? He hadn't asked her about it yet with everything else going on, but it still bothered him. It bothered him because Sessho-maru obviously got to Kagome. He had never seen her so scared. Or so angry. He thought for sure she was going to fire that arrow right at Sessho-maru's heart. Not that Inu-yasha would have minded. It also bothered him because Sessho-maru knew something about Kagome. Something very personal that seemed to touch her very soul. Was there something else Kagome was keeping from him?
"Inu-yasha!"
The half demon looked up to see Kagome and Koga walking towards him. Inwardly he groaned at the meeting, outwardly he kept a casual face. Not friendly, and not hostile. Indifferent. He was happy to see Koga wasn't too thrilled about the idea either. Good. We understand each other.
"Inu-yasha, I've been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing out here? Why aren't you with the others eating dinner?"
He didn't acknowledge Koga. He looked up at Kagome when he answered. "Not hungry I guess." Inu-yasha's hard, golden eyes suddenly fixed on Koga. "I see you're up and about. Heard you let a bird get the best of you."
Kagome quickly slipped herself between the two demons as Koga advanced on Inu-yasha thumbing the hilt of his sword free, and Inu-yasha matched his challenge, springing to his feet. She turned to give both the hotheads a glare that showed she would not tolerate fighting.
"Could you two please act your age?" Kagome put a hand on Koga's chest and he backed up a step, taking his hand off the hilt of his sword. Inu-yasha and Koga wouldn't break from each other's stare. "Inu-yasha, we came to get you for dinner. If you're not hungry, fine."
Kagome looked at Inu-yasha, who in turn was glaring at Koga, who was matching Inu-yasha's glare. She realized that neither one of them would hear a word she said. The testosterone had taken over.
"I'm going to go have dinner. You two work it out for yourselves. And I just want you to consider a few things before you decide to kill each other. You have both saved each other's lives. And you both have Naraku as a common enemy and need the other's help to defeat him. And lastly, I love you both and it would make me very unhappy if you two couldn't at least be civil to each other."
Kagome waited for any sort of reaction, but got only silence in response. She turned and walked back the way she came.
"Before this goes any further, I would like to thank you. If you hadn't brought Kagome when you did, I would have died. For that, I am grateful."
"Huh?"
Inu-yasha couldn't believe what he was hearing. Koga actually thanked him. And he sounded sincere! Inu-yasha blinked and stepped back to sit on the rock he had just vacated.
"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Kagome. She was desperate and scared."
Inu-yasha turned his attention back to the fire, trying to rid his mind of Kagome's tear-streaked face, full of panic and fear.
The two waited in silence for awhile. Koga looked into the fire, trying to see what Inu-yasha was seeing. Inu-yasha began to speak, his voice quiet, giving away a hint of his fear for Kagome.
"She felt it when you were wounded. She was sleeping by the fire and suddenly she was awake, but wasn't, ya know? Later she told us she felt a searing pain in her stomach and then her shoulder. She saw only blackness, and could smell the blood." Inu-yasha looked over at the horrified wolf demon. "She…didn't tell you?" Koga shook his head, his shocked eyes still fixed on Inu-yasha. "I understand that you and Kagome care for each other. But I don't understand how a connection like that could have happened. Do you?"
Koga swallowed hard and let his eyes drop back to the fire. He sat down and put his face in his hands. When he looked up into the fire again, his voice was pained. "Did…what happened…." Koga took a deep breath and tried again. "Did anything….traumatic, happen to Kagome earlier that day?"
Inu-yasha gave a questioning look at Koga, who now faced him. "Yeah. She had a confrontation with Sessho-maru. I don't know what he said to her, but she became terrified and angry and threatened him." Inu-yasha jumped off the rock and went to stand in front of Koga. "What do you know? How did Kagome feel your wounds? Do you know what Sessho-maru said to her?" Koga just looked at Inu-yasha. "Tell me damn it!"
Koga flashed cold eyes at Inu-yasha. "I felt Kagome's anger and fear. Her body was ice cold, and it hurt from the tension. I don't know what he said to her, I just felt her reaction."
"So what's causing it?"
"I have to talk to Kagome."
Koga pushes past Inu-yasha and heads for the village forum. Inu-yasha grabs his arm and whirls Koga around to face him.
"You'll talk to me! What's going on?" Koga bares his fangs in a snarl and yanks his arm away.
"You may be Kagome's friend, but this does not concern you."
Inu-yasha starts after Koga, a growl building in his throat. As he reaches out, he misses Koga's neck and catches the back of his tunic instead. He yanks backward and pulls the wolf down onto his rear. Inu-yasha looks down at where his hand is grasping the collar and sees black characters going down Koga's back. Mai…mai yamainu…. Inu-yasha lets go and steps back from Koga, his eyes so wide they hurt. Koga turns on Inu-yasha, sword drawn, and he freezes at the look on his face.
Koga wasn't sure what happened to cause such a dramatic change. He watched as Inu-yasha's face turned from complete horror to ice cold hatred. He could feel something pulsating from Inu-yasha and wasn't sure if it was safe to approach the half-demon.
"Inu-yasha? Are you---"
The voice is low, guttural, and feral. "Tell Kagome I will find her later and not to come looking for me. Now leave before I kill you."
Koga's initial reaction was one of hostility at Inu-yasha's threat of killing him. But he could see the look in his eyes. Inu-yasha was beyond anger. Beyond logical thought. Koga turned and headed for Kagome.
Inu-yasha watched the wolf demon leave the light of the fire. He could hear nothing but the pounding if his enraged heart. He was having trouble thinking clearly. Once Inu-yasha realized the extent of Kagome's relationship with Koga, something inside him snapped. His thoughts were slowly being drowned out by one overwhelming urge. The urge to kill. Koga, Kagome, anybody and anything.
He shook his head, trying to regain control. He was thankful Kagome had not been standing in front of him when he found out. That she had not been the one to tell him. And he realized she knew this too. That's why she wouldn't tell him about the tattoo. She had known his reaction would be terrible and potentially violent. Inu-yasha could feel the urge welling up inside him again, threatening to take over. Then he felt a tug at the back of his mind. The sword. Tetsusaiga was calling to him. Inu-yasha pulled the sword from its sheath and looked at it as if for the first time. Then he felt his hand turn warm, then hot, and finally Inu-yasha dropped the sword as it began to burn his skin off. He scowled down at the singed hand when his ears twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. He quickly disappeared into the night.
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Koga found Kagome and the others sitting by a fire enjoying each other's company. Kagome smiled as she saw him approach the fire, but the smile quickly faded when she saw the look on his face. What had happened between him and Inu-yasha?
"Koga? What's wrong? Did something happen with Inu-yasha?"
"Uh…" Koga looked over at Sango and Miroku and then back to Kagome.
"It's ok."
"Inu-yasha told me about the attack you experienced in your sleep." Kagome's face reddened slightly. "Kagome," Koga grasped her hands in his, "I felt what you felt when you confronted Sessho-maru." Kagome's face was full of confusion as Koga continued on. "It's rare, but it has been known to happen. When mates choose each other, they form some sort of bond that allows them to sense the other. We don't know what causes it, but there have been known cases."
"Mates!" Sango and Miroku shared the audible sentiment and blushed as the two lovers turned to them.
Kagome turned back to Koga. "Ok, so that explains the pain. But what happened with Inu-yasha?" Koga looked worried, and that in turn made Kagome panic beyond reason. "Koga please! What happened?"
"He…I think he…figured out the mates bond. I can't explain the look on his face Kagome. His voice was…feral. He told me to tell you he would come looking for you later and that you shouldn't try to find him. Then he told me to leave before he killed me."
Kagome got up and ran back for Inu-yasha.
"Kagome! Wait!"
Everybody called after her to stop, but she couldn't. She had to find Inu-yasha before he did something stupid. Or deadly. The way Koga described him, it sounded like he was reverting to his true demon form. But that shouldn't happen because he had the Tetsusaiga with him.
Koga, Sango and Miroku found Kagome kneeling next to the fire, tears running down her face, the Tetsusaiga in her lap.
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Koga couldn't stand to see Kagome torture herself any longer. He slipped a sleep powder in some water and made her drink. While she slept, Koga talked with Miroku and Sango about what to do.
"How dangerous are we talking?"
"True demon form, full demon powers. He can rip anything to shreds with his claws."
"And in the past he has shown no recognition of friends or enemies. With the exception of Kagome." Miroku offered apologetic eyes to the wolf demon.
"Any idea where he might have gone?"
"None. When he's in his true demon form, he is consumed with an urge to kill and hunt. Those are his only thoughts. Just as Inu-yasha's heritage is split, so is his personality. When in true demon form, all he knows is the id. And when he's in his mostly human form, he has a conscience guiding him, a sense of right and wrong. He has a heart."
"So there's a killing machine running loose. How do we stop him?"
Miroku and Sango looked at each other and turned back to Koga. Miroku gave him the bad news. "Without Kagome, we don't stand a chance."
"I will not put her in danger."
Sango went over to Koga and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We love Kagome too. And we would not ask her to do something that we thought she couldn't, or that might endanger her. She is the only person Inu-yasha has responded to while in his demon form. She's our only shot at bringing him back."
Koga sighed and saw the truth in the demon slayer's words. "Alright. We'll start first thing in the morning." Koga got up and started for his cave when Miroku called out for him.
"Koga, may I ask you something?" Koga just shrugged his shoulders. "If you didn't tell Inu-yasha about being mates with Kagome, how did he find out?"
"I'm not sure, I was heading to talk to Kagome about the connection when he grabbed me from behind and yanked me down by my tunic." As Koga mimicked the pull backward from Inu-yasha, it dawned on him. "He must have seen the tattoo and made the connection."
"Tattoo?"
"Yeah. Kagome and I are marked as mates. She has a Hiashi flower between her shoulder blades and I have….characters between mine. He must have seen them when he yanked me back."
"May I ask what the characters say?"
Koga gives the monk a stern look. "Enough for even a simpleton like Inu-yasha to paint a picture. Goodnight Miroku."
To b continued….