Disclaimer: I don't own the show Inuyasha, but I do own Yukio. He's my OC. (Woo hoo!)
In a World of Demons
Chapter 6: DOA Gang
Inuyasha sailed through the night's air, jumping from one branch to another, with only a little moonlight as light. Not that he needed it. He was actually glad for the little light, because then he had a less chance to be seen. It was inconceivable, some of the odd stories people made up so as to have an explanation after seeing a person soaring through the air.
Before he knew it, he was standing in the tree beside Kagome's bedroom window. A wave of nervousness came over him. He was here, but what exactly should he tell her? His mind went blank and Inuyasha began to think coming was a bad idea. Maybe he should just go now and forget about telling her anything at all….
His gaze was drawn again to the window and the darkness inside it. It was hardly after ten, was Kagome asleep already? Well if she was asleep maybe he should come back later…. He shook his head. That was the cowardly way out and he never wanted to be accused of being a coward. With a last sigh, he opened the window and slid quietly into the room.
"Kagome?" he called.
A frown appeared on his face. Something was not right and he recognized it immediately. Kagome was not here. The bed was still made and her clothes for the next day were not draped over a chair like they usually were, which meant she would not be elsewhere in the house either.
He growled in frustration and worry, wondering where she was. The little idiot probably went out by herself again, were his first thoughts. He feared the worst, believing that maybe another one of her enemy's lackeys got their hands on Kagome.
Inuyasha jumped back out the window, not even bothering to close it again behind him. If he worked fast he might be able to pick up some sort of trail if she had not been taken too long ago. He did not even want to think of what would happen if he could not find her.
"So what's with the human bitch?" one of the many wolf demons in the room said.
"Yeah, she's kind of cute for her kind," another commented, moving closer to Kagome.
Kagome moved further away from the demons, shoving herself tightly into the corner of the room. She had woken up a few hours after getting knocked out, to find herself in the main room of one of the bars downtown, but that had not been all. The room was quite large and had quite a few number demons in it. Yeah, more like a hell of a lot of demons.
The bar was actually a nightclub too, but only the toughest people came to it. It was no place for human teenagers and she now realized that most of the people that did some to the nightclub were actually demons, which explained the harshness of the bar. It was one of the roughest in town and unlike some others, it was closed during the day, which told Kagome she had at least been out for all of the night and into part of the day. Who knew what time it was now and she did not feel like asking the demons around her. She did not want to be around the demons at all.
So this was the Dead on Arrival Gang, she thought as she glanced around. Most looked fairly young, like they could be in their teens or their twenties, but who knew how old they really were. Demons did not age like humans and most would have the appearance of youth until otherwise killed. Miroku had told her that demons could not be killed by old age, but most could be killed by any other means, just like humans. The fact that they could die was an odd comfort to Kagome.
Kagome could tell there was also a reasonably number of demons in the back rooms too since she could feel their presence like a tingle in the pit of her stomach. There were a few drunk wolf demons stumbling around and more passed out on the floor, but not enough were passed out for Kagome's liking. There were five demons surrounding her at the moment, closing in on her from her squished position in the corner.
Why would they not just let her go? And where was the demon that had knocked her out? Were they working with the enemy that seemed so anxious to get his or her hands on Kagome? Or did they have designs of their own? Both thoughts made her want to shiver with fright, but instead she stuck out her chin defiantly, masking her terror. The fact that she was jammed into a corner did not help, but it would have to do. Kagome did not want to be any closer to the pack of demons then she had to be.
"You stay away from me," Kagome threatened, unconvincingly.
They smiled cruelly at her, paying no heed to her declaration. One of the demons reached out a hand and grasped her chin, tilting her head upward and bringing his face close to hers.
"So cutie, how's about a kiss?" he asked huskily with a devious smile curving his lips upward.
Her heart thumped hard against her chest. She did not want to kiss this demon in front of her, but she was not sure she had much of a choice. Call her old fashion or a daydreamer, but when Kagome had her first kiss she wanted it to be special, to actually mean something; a kiss she could look back on when she was old and gray that would still bring a slight smile to her face. Kissing the demon in front of her would kill any of the little fantasies Kagome had in her head.
A sudden image of Inuyasha popped into her head. If he had just kissed her before, maybe her heart would be beating so fast now. She shook her head. Who the hell was she fooling? Her heart was pumping so fast because she was scared of what might happen after the kissing. Just how far would the demon go? What did his scheming mind have planned for her?
His lips hovering inches of hers, her eyes wide with fright, she fought herself to keep from slapping the demon. Provoking him was something she so did not want to do. Just when she almost lost control over her hands and before his head came down so his lips could meet hers, someone picked up the demon and threw him across the room. Inuyasha was the first thing that came to mind and she looked up with hope-filled eyes, only to have her gaze fall on another stranger, well, actually two strangers, but only one did the throwing.
"Kouga wants everyone to stay away from the girl, that includes you," the demon who had helped her growled. He turned to Kagome and gave an apologetic smile. "Are you alright?"
I'm stuck in a bar with over thirty other demons around me, should I seem alright? was what went through she head. Out loud she responded, "Fine. Why are you being so nice?" Kagome asked suspiciously, getting right to the point.
He shrugged. "Boss doesn't want you hurt," he said simply, "I'm Ginta and this is my brother, Hakkaku."
The demon behind Ginta nodded in acknowledgement and Kagome nodded back, though somehow she did not want to give her name back so she said just as simply, "nice to meet you," though she would soon have to see if her words were true or not.
She still did not know what they wanted her for and if they wanted to use her like the rest. No offense to her two close friends, but everyone seemed to have a plan for her, so that probably meant these demons did too. If that were the case, Kagome would rather stick to herself as much as possible. There was still the possibility that they did not know of her powers, but then they would have brought her to their lair for another reason and that reason she definitely did not want to know.
"It's a little rude not to give a name back," said a male voice from the shadows.
He walked out, showing Kagome that he was in fact the demon that had knocked her unconscious in the first place. She stood up, moving slightly away from the wall, not wanting to seem like a weakling even though she was scared.
She glared hard at him and their staring contest began. "You seem to know me already, so why don't you just tell them my name for me," Kagome told her attacker, Yukio.
"Never did learn it, never did really care, sweet," Yukio told her, his voice dripping with malice.
He took a threatening step forward, his cold blue eyes still locked with her brown ones. Kagome remained frozen, not daring to move in the least, feeling a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, except with her, there were headlights coming in all directions and all of them seemed about to crash into her.
Another demon made his way over, his long black hair in a ponytail in the back of his head. He stood as though he was superior to the others, which probably made him the leader of the other demons. He did not look too happy and the frown that was on his face deepened when he saw the intensity which Kagome and Yukio stared at each other.
"Yukio," he growled warningly. Yukio, however, ignored him, as did Kagome.
Annoyed, the leader took hold on Kagome's upper arm and dragged her toward one of the back rooms, ignoring Kagome's protest. Unfortunately, Yukio also followed, with an annoyed look on his face. They shuffled into the room, while Kagome tried wildly to get away and the door to the main room was closed with a growl from Kouga, as though warning no one to disturb them.
Miroku walked up Sango's driveway and then onto her lawn, heading for her front door. She had not shown up for school that day and neither had Kagome, so he had left around third period and headed toward Sango's house first, figuring that the girls were probably together at one of their houses.
He rapped on the door and Sango's father opened the door. His face had been expressionless but when her father saw Miroku a frown appeared.
"Hello, Mr. Kumiko, is Sango home?" Miroku asked Sango's father with a smile on his face.
"Hello, Miroku," her father said coldly, "she's upstairs."
Miroku nodded his thanks and hurried up to Sango's room, ignoring Sango's father's intense glare following him until he was out of sight.
"I'm getting the distinct impression that you're father doesn't like me," Miroku told Sango as he walked into her bedroom.
Sango rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I wonder why. Maybe next time you try to grope me as you leave, you shouldn't do it when my dad's in the room," she told him, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
She lay on her stomach on her bed, petting a kitten that was jumping around furiously trying to get her attention. The kitten was golden with black feet and a diamond-shaped patch of black fur on its forehead, with black stripes going through its two tails. It looked very anxious to do something, its red eyes wide.
"Getting demonic pets, are we now?" Miroku asked, one eyebrow raised as he looked at the small youkai on her bed.
"She showed up at our front door yesterday, scratching the door to pieces. She's very anxious and I don't know why, but she keeps rubbing against my leg and then running toward the nearest exit," she told him.
Miroku sat down next to her and petted the youkai, who was still meowing urgently. "So you skipped school to baby-sit a demonic cat?"
"Uh-huh," she said, putting her head down on the bed so she was eye level with the youkai.
"It's obvious the cat wants you to follow… her, I think you said?" he said.
"It's a her, and yeah, I know, but do you think it's a wise idea to follow any type of youkai?"
"It looks harmless," Miroku said, eyeing the cat that was now rolling back and forth on the bed while purring, enjoying the attention it was getting from both humans.
"Its master might not be. The cat might just want to lead us to its owner and that could be a powerful demon."
"Well, then why don't we suit up and follow?" he suggested, eager to fight. If he was not at school, he might as well do something productive.
Sango thought about it then nodded. "Alright, let's go."
Miroku looked around the room, finally noticing something. "Where's Kagome? Is she not here?"
Sango stood up automatically and stared hard at him. "She wasn't at school?"
Miroku shook his head and both had the same worried look on their face. The cat youkai suddenly bolted from the bed and scratched eagerly on Sango's door, more excited then before. The cat was practically doing back flips to get their attention. Come one, come all, to see the amazing acrobatic youkai!
Miroku looked at the cat oddly and finally Sango asked, "what?" Miroku continued to stare but began voicing his thoughts. "You don't think…? Does that youkai know…?"
Sango seemed to understand and said, "then what are we waiting for?"
The two stayed in civilian clothing since it was still during the day and anything else would make them stand out like sore thumbs. Instead of bringing her hiraikotsu which was much too large to be discreet, she hid a sword under the large coat she was wearing and various other weapons she had been trained in over the years. Miroku did similar and with a nod, he opened the door and both followed the running youkai to wherever it was she wanted to bring them.
The leader of the pack of demons threw her onto the couch in the backroom, somewhat roughly. She made an "oomph" sound as she fell onto the stiff springs that dug into her back.
"You don't have to be so rough!" she told the leader.
He eyed her oddly. "You shouldn't be the one to make requests here."
A chill suddenly went through her. The other demon that had captured her, Hiten, had said something similar before striking her. Would this wolf demon do the same for her speaking out of turn? Not that that would stop her from doing it, but would she have to face the consequences for her actions? No, just looking at him, she doubted he would. He seemed… different for the other demon she had been captured by and younger too.
She stuck out her chin rebelliously once again. "What do you want from me?"
He tsked at her, stepping closer. "That's another request."
She crossed her arms over her chest, now positive he would not hurt her—for now at least—and said, "no, it was a question."
"You still have no right to ask questions," the leader taking another playfully step forward, making it so they were a foot away from each other.
Yukio snarled and said to Kouga, "stop flirting with the bitch."
Kouga glared at him and in the blink of the eye was standing in front of him, holding a fistful of Yukio's shirt in a threatening way. "You definitely don't have a right to question anything your leader does."
Yukio brought their faces closer together and his voice was like rolling thunder, rumbling as he spoke lowly to him. "I'm not scared of you."
"Then challenge me. Fight me on the new full moon for the position of pack leader and we'll see who's boss after that," Kouga dared, knowing now that he had won.
Yukio looked away and Kouga let him go, satisfied. Yukio was not strong enough to go against Kouga and win. Not that he was weak, it was only that Kouga was stronger. The only reason he was not dead yet at Kouga's hands was because Yukio always stopped just in time to avoid a fight, though he was never happy about it.
Yukio balled his hands into fist that shook and thought, In time, in time I'll be able to beat you. "You win, Kouga," he said though their was a trace of frustration in his voice.
Kouga smiled cruelly while Kagome's blank face turned into a frown. Kouga… where had she heard that name before? She searched her memory until she find what she was looking for. A content smile came on her second for a split second, pleased she could find the memory, but changed into a scared expression when she remembered where it was from and who the two were.
The two had been part of a group she had made fun of that day she first met Sango. The demon in front of her now, Yukio his name was, he had been the one who had gripped her arm painfully while Kouga had told him to let her go, though Yukio had not listened and Kouga had just walked away with a shrug. At the time she had not known they were demons, but had been frightened all the same. Then Sango had come along and beat up Yukio who had drawn Kagome's blood with his nails. Kagome face paled as she remembered Yukio's promise of revenge.
She had remembered also when Yukio had sent teenagers to beat up her and Sango or worse. How could she not? They had been the one who had broken Sango's arms and almost killed her from loss of blood and had taken her most prized possession away from her, her necklace. Now she wondered if the people who he sent were actually other demons that were part of the pack. She shuttered at the thought of what could have happened if the owner of the deli they had been behind had not shown up and called the police.
Her eyes went over to Kouga wondering if he would interfere if Yukio did try to kill her in present time. He had not back then when they were in middle school, but now Kouga was pack leader and Yukio had to obey his orders. So far Kouga did not want Kagome hurt, though if Kagome got on Kouga's bad side, he might hand her over to Yukio for punishment, if only for his entertainment. She swallowed a lump in her throat, rising from the couch.
From the frightened look on her face, Yukio smiled. "Remember now, do you?" he said wickedly.
He took a step forward and she automatically took at step back as he laughed at her attempts. Seeing no point in trying to remain brave now, Kagome went behind the couch so it was now between them as he moved closer, slowly, seductively.
"You tried to kill me and my friend," she accused, while moving around the couch as he moved toward her, always keeping the couch between them.
"Yeah, and I would've succeed too, hun, if it had not been for your damn powers," he told her angrily.
"And Naraku would have killed you once he found out," Kouga added, stepping in front on Yukio so he was in-between the two. "So you're the lucky one."
"What about my powers? And who's Naraku?" she said.
Kagome felt terribly confused. Her powers? What did they have to do with anything? And who was Naraku? Was that another wolf demon? Well, at least now she knew for sure that they were aware of her powers, whatever they might be.
Kouga glared at Yukio who looked away and then sank onto the couch, arms folded over his chest. Kouga then turned to Kagome answering her questions.
"You're powers are what saved you that day. After Yukio got some of the wolf demons of the pack to go after you and your demon slayer friend, they would have killed both of you, nearly did, but after you fell unconscious a pink light surrounded you and your friend and protected you, knocking out any demon that tried to touch it, or so we heard. Neither of us were actually there, but the others told stories and we wondered if you were really the human of the prophecy, the one with the power." He paused, then continued, "as for Naraku, he's the demon who's been after you for the last couple of months."
"Sure let's tell the possibly deadly stranger everything," Yukio mumbled but was ignored by both human and wolf demon.
"You mean Naraku is the one who's been sending all those demons after me?" Kagome asked, slightly dazed by the new information.
She concluded that she need more room in her head for all the new information she was receiving. An added section that she could label "Demon World Information" that she could neatly organize all the data she was getting about the demon world, instead of where it was jammed in with the rest of her memory, conflicting with all the supernatural books and movies she had read or seen over the years, whose information was not that correct.
Kouga nodded. "That's right."
She looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you on Naraku's side? Don't you want the world like it was before?" she asked him curiously, though suddenly thinking that maybe it was not the best idea to be putting thoughts into his head.
Yukio, who sat comfortably with his legs outstretched the spitting image of a bad boy, looked lazily over at Kouga. "Yes, why are we telling the little bitch all this?"
"Would you stop calling me a little bitch?" Kagome asked irritated.
"The truth too much for you, sweetie?" he said menacingly. She did not know which annoyed her more. When he called her bitch and other insulting names or when he used terms of endearment toward her.
Kouga had had enough. As quick as lightning, he had Yukio by the throat and slammed him into the wall behind him, making the wall tremble with the impact. A growl came deep within Kouga's throat as he spoke in a low, deadly voice.
"I'm fucking tired of you being a smart ass. If you won't shut your fucking mouth and stop insulting the girl, I'll tear out your precious voice box for you. How does that sound?"
Yukio stared daggers at him and croaked out, "peachy."
He gave his throat one last tight squeeze and let go, letting Yukio fall to the floor. Yukio got up slowly, while rubbing his sore neck, never taking his eyes off Kouga as he made his way over to Kagome. Yukio continued to glare at Kouga until Yukio finally got fed up and left through another back door that led outside to any alley, slamming the door behind him.
Kouga motioned for Kagome to sit on the couch while lazing on it himself. Reluctantly, Kagome sat down, wary of the wolf demon in front of her that had just threatened someone from his own pack.
She repeated her question from before. "Don't you want things how they use to be?"
He shrugged. "I like things as they are now. Some of the members of this pack are old and remember those former ways of demons and I've heard the stories, and that doesn't seem pleasing to me. I like this world of humans and you're technology. You have things like beer, sports, hot women in short skirts," he said while eyeing her own skirt, which she immediately tugged down while blushing. He continued, "music, night clubs, and you don't even notice when a few bodies go missing here and there. The list goes on. I like things better as they are now."
That sounded nice, except for the whole bodies going missing part. Could Kagome really trust his words? Though it did not look like she had much of a choice.
Sango ran slightly behind Miroku, who was faster than she was, as they ran after the demonic kitten. She began to recognize her surrounding and suddenly she knew where the youkai was leading them. She just knew somehow.
The cat was leading them to the same place Sango had gone six years ago when she had retrieved Kagome's necklace for her. They were heading toward the liar of the DOA gang. She had lied to Kagome all those years ago when she had told her that she had sneaked in when everyone was gone. No, during that night the bar had been open and in full swing, but she had managed to get into one of the backrooms and grabbed the necklace before anyone had found her. She had been truly terrified when she did this, having been surrounded by over fifty demons, a majority of them not friendly, especially to someone who kills their kind. How must Kagome feel now if the cat was really leading them to her and if she was there?
Sango picked up the pace and so did the Miroku and the cat. They had to get their soon for Kagome's sake.
Kagome laughed as her and Kouga continued talking. They had been conversing about anything really for the last few hours, Kouga trying to make Kagome at ease in the bar, although she wondered if he was doing this because of his good nature or if he were trying to gain her trust so that he could use her in some way.
They stayed in the back room since the bar would be opening soon, but that was fine with Kagome. She would rather not be around a lot of demons, thank you very much. Just feeling them in the next room was bad enough, which was weird on its own because before she could not sense demons, but lately she had been able to. One of her new powers, she assumed.
Kouga had explained to her one thing she had been very curious about and finally asked. Kouga, Yukio, and a few of the other younger wolf demons had gone to high school , but most had dropped out, though she learned Ginta and Hakkaku still attended high school. Most of the demons had gone to school, given up, and just did whatever the hell they wanted in this human world. They went to school as children so that they would learn about human culture and how to fit in, so if ever a time came when they needed to blend they would.
Demons like Naraku, Kouga explained, would never do this. They wanted so badly to bring the ways of old back, they would never when think about trying to fit in with the world that humans ran. They found it disgusting and all demons that associated and pretended they were humans were disgusting. That's why Kouga's pack was not allied with Naraku.
Overall, their conversation had been normal and light-hearted, except for the parts about Naraku, who Kagome was eager to learn about. She found she liked being around Kouga. He had been extremely nice to her the entire time during their conversation and she hoped it was not only because of her being what she was, a human with tremendous powers.
Kagome was about to open her mouth to ask something else when a large crash came from the other room that made her jump up out of her seat in surprise. Yelling came from the other room and more crashing sounds. Kouga got up and stepped in front of her, shielding her from the door and whatever was coming. Had Naraku found out where she was and sending other demons to take her away from the pack?
The door was kicked in and fell against the wall with a bang. In stepped a very pissed off hanyou, who threw the two wolf demons he was holding, Ginta and Hakkaku, into the room, where they collapsed on the floor.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried in shock. She tried to walk over to him, but Kouga held out his arm so that she ran into it and bounced backwards. He then stepped in front of her again, shielding her from the hanyou.
"Who the hell are you?" Kouga snarled.
"Don't you have ears, you asshole? She just called my name," he told him while stalking into the room. Kouga growled at him as he got closer and Inuyasha said, "give me the girl."
"No way, half-breed," he said, emphasizing the last two words, meaning it as an insult.
Kouga probably thought he was helping her, since he probably thought Inuyasha was anything demon sent by Naraku to fetch Kagome. Inuyasha too was trying to help her, although she liked being with Inuyasha better, since she did not know what other alternative motives Kouga had planned for her, although she doubted he would hurt her. Still, Inuyasha she knew she could trust because of all the other times he had saved her.
Inuyasha took another step forward. "Hand over the girl or die."
"How about….um, no," Kouga said dryly.
"Kouga…" she said with a sense of pleading in her voice. He turned to look at her, but that was as far as she got.
Two small black spheres rolled into the room. They were a few feet apart and after a few seconds they stopped rolling and everything was quiet as everyone in the room watched the two spheres as though mesmerized by them. Then they detonated and purple gas began to pour out of them.
Kouga and Inuyasha growled and jumped backward, Kouga taking Kagome with him as he went. The purple gas however filled the whole room and everyone inside went into fits of coughing, their eyes watering. Kouga stood behind her and pulled Kagome into him tightly, wrapping an arm around her waist.
When the gas began to die down, two blurry shapes entered the room that Kagome could not make out because of her teary eyes. They came toward Kouga and Kagome, but Kouga jumped into the air and landed on the other side of the room with Kagome, near Ginta and Hakkaku who were still on the floor.
The purple gas finally left completely and Inuyasha growled when he saw the wolf demon. He did not like how he held Kagome, his arm around her slender waist protectively and her soft body crushed against his. He could not even attack the demon either now because the way he held Kagome made her into a sort of shield for himself. The angry boiled up inside him and his dog ears, which popped onto his head whenever he got angry enough or felt stressed, appeared on his head and flattened in rage.
A hand gripped his shoulder and he whirled around to see Miroku and Sango come up beside him, facing against Kouga and his two wolf demons that got up to stand on either side of him. The six fighters were all ready in a fighting stance, except for Kouga, who still held Kagome.
The cat youkai that had come with her did not seem to feel the tension between the two groups or ignored it, because she ran right over to Kagome, climbing up her clothes until she sat on Kagome's shoulder and rubbed against her face while purring.
Kagome laughed at the cats attempts to comfort her, which lightened everyone in the room's mood, though Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha were a little shocked. Was she not in danger as they had thought?
Kouga's grip on her loosened although he did not let go, but she was able to lift a hand to pet the head of the youkai on her shoulder.
"Kouga, you can let go of me. These are my friends," she explained.
Kouga eyed Inuyasha, who's dog ears were still visible. "Even the hanyou?"
Kagome nodded and he let go of her, though Inuyasha and his eyes were still locked in a full out staring contest. They reminded her of five-year-olds. Ha! You blinked so you lose! she thought with a small smile.
She walked across the room, through the tension zone, and over to Sango.
"How'd you find me?" Kagome asked, puzzled.
Sango nodded her head toward the cat. "We played 'follow the leader' with the demonic cat," she said as the cat youkai jumped from Kagome's shoulder to Sango's.
"I guess she was returning the favor. I helped her get loose from some strings and she goes and tries to save me from some wolf demons," Kagome said with a half-smile.
Meanwhile, Miroku was staring intently at the frozen Inuyasha whose gaze was still locked with Kouga's. Neither had moved at all and seemed to have no plan of moving any time soon.
"Do you think if I pushed him, he'd fall over?" Miroku asked as though he were deep in thought on the matter.
Kagome pretended to scold Miroku. "Of course not. That's just a statue after all."
Kagome and Sango laughed while Miroku smiled at her comment. Inuyasha stayed frozen except for one of his white ears that twitched in annoyance. After a while longer as the staring contest continued, Kagome sighed and gently put a hand on Inuyasha's arm. Inuyasha turned sharply toward her, his gaze fixed on the hand that touched his arm delicately, her fingertips barely touching him. His face was expressionless so Kagome spoke softly to him.
"Inuyasha…" she said, letting her words trailing off there. She was not sure exactly what to say so she only spoke his name, but it seemed to do the trick because Inuyasha visibly eased up and his arm under her fingertips lost the tension they had only a moment before.
"You know this piece of dog-shit?" Kouga asked as he cautiously made his way over to Kagome and the rest, while looking at Inuyasha.
Kagome ignored the nickname for Inuyasha and responded, "these are my friends. That's Sango and Miroku." She pointed to each as she introduced them. "And he's Inuyasha."
Miroku and Sango nodded in acknowledgement though still on guard while Inuyasha just turned his face away. Obviously the two had not made good first impressions, though Kagome doubted they would have like each other anyway
Kagome turned to the wolf demon to introduce him. "This is Kouga, he's the leader of the Dead on Arrival Gang." She moved her gaze over to the over two wolf demons in the room. "And those two, that's Ginta and that's Hakkaku. They're brothers."
"That's nice, but why the hell are we even introducing ourselves?" Inuyasha asked angrily, "didn't these demons kidnap you?"
He turned to her, still angry while waiting for her answer. Inuyasha then saw the bruise that had formed on her cheek, much darker than the one that had been there before and his angry decreased as he looked at her. Slowly he placed a hand on her cheek, cupping her cheek. Kagome winced at the pain and jerked her head back, her eyes closed.
A growl grew in Kouga's throat as he watched Kagome draw back in pain. Neither did he like how tenderly Inuyasha touched her. The hanyou suddenly turned to Kouga when he growled and rage grew in his eyes, stronger than before.
Just like Kouga had done to Yukio before, Inuyasha took Kouga by the neck and slammed him into the wall, quicker than the human eye could see. Kagome saw the two standing a few feet away then she blinked and Inuyasha had Kouga by the throat.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, annoyed. What was he doing!
Ginta and Hakkaku looked like they wanted to jump in and helped their leader, but once they saw Miroku and Sango ready to fight them if they made a move, they stayed where they were, letting Kouga handle his own battle.
Inuyasha's nails dug deep into Kouga's skin and broke the surface, but then Kouga had kicked him in the stomach and Inuyasha fell backward. Kouga tackled Inuyasha and then both were sprawling on the floor, attacking the other whenever they had an opening.
"What do you want with Kagome?" Inuyasha yelled as he attempted to punch Kouga in the face but he jumped to his feet and Inuyasha followed.
"I'm not hurting her if that's what your thinking," Kouga responded, jumping backward as Inuyasha sent punches his way, not really aiming anywhere, just punching aimlessly.
"The bruise on her cheek says differently," he growled.
Inuyasha punches Kouga in his jaw and then managed to kick him in the stomach so that Kouga bent over in pain, then the hanyou swept Kouga's feet out from under him. He then lifted his foot to kick Kouga, but he disappeared and then Inuyasha was falling over, Kouga having had moved lightning fast and kicked Inuyasha over.
Kagome could follow Inuyasha's movements but Kouga was way too fast for her eyes. She could see that Sango too was having trouble seeing where they were going, but the grip on the sword she had taken out was tight. Miroku seemed to be able to see them better, but what he saw he did not like too much.
"I didn't give her that. One of my pack members knocked her out so I brought her here until she recovered," he replied.
Kouga elbowed him in the cheek and then in the back of the head, causing Inuyasha to fall face first into the ground. He picked up the hanyou by the hair so his face was off the ground then slammed it back down again.
Inuyasha growled and reached a clawed hand to him, yelling, "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"
Kouga had to jumped back to avoid the yellow streaks of power that came from Inuyasha's claws as he swiped them at the wolf demon, but he could not get away in time and four swallow cuts appeared on his stomach, running all the way across it.
"Is the person who hurt her dead?" Inuyasha asked, momentarily pausing in their fight.
"No," Kouga responded truthfully.
Inuyasha started charging at the pack leader, claws raised. "Then I'll hold you responsible!"
Am I suppose to be happy there are two guys fighting over me? Kagome thought as Inuyasha and Kouga continued to fight. She liked both of them and did not want either to get hurt, but what could she do to stop them?
She turned to Sango. "Could you get them to stop fighting?"
Sango shook her head. "Not without getting myself killed by one or both."
What could she do? She could not fight to make them stop and throwing herself in between them would only get her killed. Neither choice sounded fun anyway, so she did the only thing she could think of.
"INUYASHA!" she screamed.
His ears flattened on top of his head and he stopped in mid-attack. Both he and Kouga turned to look at her, curiously and slightly pissed off that she had interrupted their fight, especially when it was starting to get good.
"Would you two stop acting like children!" Kagome exclaimed, "we're on the same side here!"
The two demons eyed each other once again while Inuyasha said, "how do you know?"
"Because the demon that's after me is their enemy too," Kagome explained, getting frustrated. The cat came up next to her and rubbed against her leg in a comforting manner. Kagome could not help but smile and picked the small demon up and started to pet her as her mood lightened.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Miroku said with an eyebrow raised.
Kagome smiled slightly. "Exactly."
"So they know who's after you?" Sango asked Kagome, intrigued.
"Maybe we should sit down and discuss this," Miroku suggested.
Kouga nodded. "But not in here though, the bar is about to open soon."
Just as he spoke the music was turned on, raging on in the other room. The door and walls vibrated with the force of it and did little to stop the loud music from entering the room beside it. Kagome was just amazed at how they still opened the bar, even after Inuyasha had come in and half-trashed the place. Kouga opened a door and began to make his way down a hallway and the others followed reluctantly, except for Ginta and Hakkaku, who left on Kouga's command. They all felt like they were being led into a trap, except for Kagome who seemed to trust Kouga and the cat youkai, who just was following them contently wherever they went.
Finally he stopped at one room and opened it to reveal a giant bedroom. It was huge with a large canopy bed with red silk sheets covering it and too many plush pillows to count. The carpet was also plush, its color a slightly darker red than the sheets on the bed. The pillows were red and black, while the other furniture in the room were all black. It seemed like there were different sections of the room, one part the bedroom, the next part the living room with leather couches and armchairs, and a third part that had a glass table and black leather chairs, the kitchen part of the room. There was a door on the side in the bedroom part, which Kagome could only guess led to a equally marvelous bathroom. Just being in the room took her breath away. Living in this room probably made a person feel like a king, and that was what Kouga was to his pack. He was their leader, their king.
"You live here?" Kagome asked.
Kouga flopped down on the leather couch to one side of the room, the couch creaking with protest as he sat down, one leg off the side of it. The wounds on his chest were bleeding freely but he did not worry about them staining the couch. Either that or he did not care. "Yep. This is my pack's den. The other doors in that hallway lead to other rooms." He smiled. "None as grand as this though. The bar is just a front and also so we can earn some money, but mostly the wolf demons all live here. There are a few who don't but they live very close by."
"Well at least your living in style," Sango murmured, her eyes still taking in the beautiful room.
He smiled impishly and motioned for them to take a seat. Kagome took the seat next to Kouga, much to Inuyasha's annoyance, and Sango sat down next to her while the cat youkai sat on her lap, falling contently asleep. Grudgingly, Inuyasha and Miroku also sat down, each in an armchair.
Kagome's eyes were filled with soft wonder as she looked around the room, from the bed to the table, and the chair they were sitting on at the moment.
"I never would have expected you to live in such a luxurious place," she commented.
"Why because I'm a demon? There are a lot of civilized and peaceful demons, you know," Kouga told her.
"Yeah, too bad you're not one of them," Inuyasha grumbled. Kouga glared at him and he continued, "what's with the look? It ain't my fault your pack goes around stealing and murdering."
"That's how we live, it's how we've always'd lived even in the old days," Kouga shot back.
"Yeah, the old days that the demon who's after Kagome wants to bring back. How come you don't want it back?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.
He gestured around the room. "If I did, I wouldn't have comfortable things like this. The world was completely different back then, or so I hear. If it changes again… the things the human have today, all that technology would be gone. It would be like living during feudal times. And what about you, dog-shit? Why don't you want it to go back to the way it was?"
Inuyasha stared at him coldly. "As you might have figure out—or not since you seem like a dumb ass to me—I'm a hanyou. I don't fit in when demons rule the world or when humans do, but with the human world, at least they're not trying to hunt me down and kill me."
Kagome stared at him in surprise. "Inuyasha…" she said softly.
Silence engulfed the room while Kagome watched Inuyasha and he had his head turned away from her. He could not stand the gentleness of her gaze at the moment. For once he wanted to feel angry and looking at her face, into her eyes, then all the anger and self-pity would seep away.
"So, what do you want to know?" Kouga asked, getting tired of the silence in the room.
"Well, what do you know about the demon who's after Kagome?" Sango asked the leader of the wolf demon pack.
"He's a powerful one with a lot of demon minions. Almost all of the most powerful full-blooded demons and under his control, which tells you a lot about his own strength, but he never does things himself, he always sends out others to do things for him."
"A name would be nice," Inuyasha said dryly.
"I was getting to that, hanyou," Kouga said, spitting out hanyou as though it were an evil word. "His name is Naraku."
"Naraku," Inuyasha whispered, his face growing paler by the second.
Kagome had already known the demon's name of course, but had not recognized it at all. She glanced at Miroku and Sango but they too had blank looks on their faces. They obviously had not heard it before either, but when Kagome saw Inuyasha face she glanced at his worriedly.
"Do you know him?" Kagome asked Inuyasha curiously.
He turned to her and had a look on his face she could not decipher, but he told her slowly, "No, I've just heard of him that's all. He's very powerful and almost all demons know his name. No demon has ever gone against him and lived." Inuyasha then looked at Kouga. "You're not siding with Naraku on this?"
"No, I don't like his plans. Me and my pack are going to help you, Kagome, instead," Kouga told them.
Kagome whipped her head around so she could see Kouga now. "What!" she said, perplexed. "Why would you want to do that? If no one has ever faced him and lived, why would you help me?"
"Maybe you should not have said anything and just have let them help us," Miroku murmured to Kagome.
"I don't like what he's doing and people in my pack have seen your power and how strong it is. If you could use it against Naraku, then we could win. I have a feeling if we kill Naraku, the rest will fall easily," Kouga told her.
"Wait, you saw her power? When?" Sango asked.
Kouga turned his gaze from Kagome to Sango. "The day that Yukio sent some members of the pack to kill you Kagome produced a barrier that saved you both after she fell unconscious and almost died."
"How do you know that?" Sango asked skeptically.
"It was the members of my pack who attacked you, though I wasn't leader at the time and neither was Yukio who ordered the attack, but he managed to get a few wolf demons to go after you. Not many demons like you, slayer."
"I wonder why," Miroku said dryly.
"You too, priest," Kouga added.
"I'm a monk," Miroku said, though Kouga only shrugged at his mistake, not really knowing the difference and not really caring.
Kagome chanced a glance at Inuyasha, who was being awfully quiet. She wondered what was going through his head at the moment, but could not find it in herself to ask. If he wanted her to know, he'd tell her. She had to trust that.
Sango, Miroku, and Kouga and continued talking but Kagome was not really paying attention, she was too lost in thought. Finally, Kouga's voice jolted her out of her dazed state.
"So I guess that's it," he said. He looked over at Kagome. "We'll be helping you from now on. If you ever need anything you are always welcomed here."
Kagome doubted she would take the offer since she did not like being surrounded by some many demons. Plus, even though Kouga wanted to help her, some of his pack might not feel the same way and he might not always be around to protect her if she ever came back to the bar. Instead of saying all that, she just smiled and nodded, saying, "alright."
He led them out of his bedroom and into the room that they had been in before when Inuyasha and Kouga were fighting. He brought them to the outside door so they would not have to go through the now opened bar but stopped just as he reached the door.
Kouga turned around an faced Kagome with a small smile on his face. He lifted one of her hands up to his lips and lay a gentle kiss on them. "Until next time," he told her.
Kagome blushed slightly and was relieved when he returned ownership of her hand. From Inuyasha's face she could tell he was less than happy, but at least he was back to normal now. He had been too quiet before.
With that last note, Kouga disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving just a small bit of wind behind him. All of them let themselves out and walked slowly down the street in silence.
It was later than any of them had thought. The sun had set and the nightlife began. Lights were turned on everywhere and the pounding of the music in the DOA gang's lair could be heard all the way down the next street. Cars zoomed by everyone once and a while as the walked on the sidewalk.
Finally Inuyasha sighed. "I'm not walking at your slow human pace, I'd rather just get home and sleep."
"Then just go," Kagome told him.
"No, I don't want to just leave you here. I'll take you home," he told her.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "You have a car?"
"No," he said simply.
He did not feel like explaining because she probably would have said no and he could not rest easy until he knew she was home. Every time he did not keep and eye on her it seemed like she got kidnapped or someone tried to kidnap her, so he did the easiest thing. He picked her up, startling her greatly, and threw her onto his back and at the last minute the cat youkai jumped on too.
He jumped onto the nearest roof while hearing Kagome's startled cry and Miroku and Sango's protests but they were soon far away as he jumped from roof to roof, making his way quickly to Kagome's home.
At first she hung onto him tightly, afraid she would fall as they glided through the air, only touching the ground for moments before Inuyasha leaped up and jumped to the next roof. She was sure she was cutting off his air supply, but he said nothing, and she finally eased up. It felt wonderful being in the air. It almost felt like she were flying as the wind pushed back her hair from her face. A funny feeling started in her stomach every time they descended, just so Inuyasha could leap up again and they were air borne for a few more seconds, and the feeling delighted her. She could not help but laugh out loud in glee as the laughter built up inside of her.
Inuyasha smiled when she laughed but in a few more seconds they were at her house and he was standing on the tree outside her window. It was still open like it had been when he left to search for her the night before and he jumped easily through. He threw both her and the cat onto the bed so that they bounced as they hit it a few times and her laughter continued.
Inuyasha moved toward the window to leave and he heard her laughter end so she could say, "you don't have to go. I mean… if you wanted to stay for a while…"
He paused in his movement, one ear twitching as he considered it and Kagome tried not to laugh as she saw it twitch. It was just so unusual to see people with ears that when she did she felt like laughing. Not in a mean way, she just found them cute, but she knew if she told him that he would definitely leave so she kept her mouth shut.
He came over and sat on the edge of her bed cautiously and Kagome sat up, her legs tucked under her while petting the demonic cat next to her.
"What do you think Naraku will do when he finds out we've allied ourselves with Kouga's pack?" Kagome asked quietly.
"He'll probably try to destroy the pack to get to you," he told her truthfully.
She flinched at the thought of it. Even though they were demons, she did not want to be responsible for their deaths because they had been fighting for her. She could not even help them because she did not know how.
"What?" he asked her softly when he saw her flinch. She told him what she had thought and he responded, "it was their choice, they want to help you."
"No, Kouga wants to help me, and since he's their leader they have to do as he says, so some might not want to fight and die for me but they'll have to anyway."
Inuyasha shook his head and moved closer to her, moving more onto the bed. "It's still their choice. They'll voice their thoughts to Kouga and he'll decide then for certain. He's not stupid enough to risk all of his pack's lives." Inuyasha stopped to think about it. "Well, maybe he is that stupid, but he'd only do it for the right cause. Helping you is the right thing. If you don't win, humans become slaves again and fear the demons above them and the demons are cruel. They'll kill hundreds, maybe thousands, just for an afternoon entertainment. We need to beat Naraku."
"Thanks that really made me feel a lot better," she said dryly, "good to know the whole world is depending on little ol' me."
He reached a hand out and grasped her chin, making her look at him. "You're not little. You're strong and pure hearted. You'll come out the victor in the end."
"Do you really think so?" she whispered.
He gave her a crooked smile as he moved in closer. "I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't."
"Do you really think we'll be able to trust Kouga though? He was nice and sweet enough to me but…" she thought about it for a second then nodded. "I think we can trust him though."
A growl came from Inuyasha's throat. Inuyasha's hand abruptly dropped from her chin and fell limply on the bed. He got and walked to the window but stopped just in front of it, not facing her.
"Inuyasha…?" she asked confused. He had been so close, a comforting presence but then he had moved away and stood ready to leave.
"Goodnight, Kagome," he said brusquely, before he jumped out the window and out of sight, which only confused her more.
Why did he always leave her in a state of confusion?
"So the wolves are joining with the girl?" Naraku asked, tapping his nails against the chair. "How…interesting."
"You could put it that way. Doesn't sound very good to me," one of his minions said, though they was hidden in shadows, leaning against the wall.
"No I suppose not, but the wolves are nothing. I could easily make them fall," he said, then added, "with your help, of course."
The minion smiled cruelly. "That's fine with me. I'd love to bring the pack leader down to his grave."
AN: I loved describing Kouga's bedroom. I want that bedroom. It looks so awesome in my head.
I think I might write a Kouga/Kagome romance one day, but I don't want to get beaten up by all the Inuyasha/Kagome fans out there. It would be a change though. Don't get me wrong, in the series I hope that Inuyasha and Kagome get together in the end, but I like to read and write pairs that would not normally get together. It's fun that way.