A/N: So…where was I in this story again? Having to cram for tests makes you forget a few things…Anyway, This first scene was an add-in because of everyone's reactions to Inuyasha in the last chapter…and XD…I just had to do it. Enjoy and laugh, my little minions!

Chapter 18: Painful Truths

Kouga had a rough time over the last couple of days. Rock mysteriously falling from the ceiling of the den only narrowly missed him. There had been horrible sounds of youkai coming from outside each night, and he was always looking over his shoulder, feeling that there was something behind him, sometimes even hearing mysterious snickering occasionally.

But, the worst of which was to happen when he couldn't fall asleep late one night. He tossed and turned, but couldn't get the thought out of his head that there was something else there.

Suddenly, he sat up, seeing an oddly shaped shadow on the wall. An oddly shaped shadow on the wall shaped like a man…but with two triangles on its head…

"BOOO!" Inuyasha screamed, suddenly materializing inches from Kouga's face.

The wolf let out a very girly sounding yelp, waking several of the wolves, while the spirit of Inuyasha laughed manically.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, suddenly appearing as well, mad as ever, and grabbing hold of a frightened looking Inuyasha, both disappearing in a white light.

Kouga panted while everyone else pondered where the sound had come from, not having seen what he did. "What…the HELL…is going on?" He yelled, also arousing confusion from the other members of the wolf youkai tribe.

Akuto lay flat on his back, looking up at the clouds as they went by. Kiri…He pictured her in his mind again.

He didn't know how long it had been since he had come back to the wolves's den, but it seemed like an eternity. It seemed like so long ago when he last saw her, when he last held her close.

Picturing her right before they said goodbye, he thought. Baka…didn't you realize…you never realized we were meant to be, did you?

Akuto glanced back over at the den sadly. My sweetheart…

"What's with you lately?" A voice asked from behind.

With an angry growl, he sat up, and turned around. It was Tsume. "Nothing!" he denied.

"That's not true!" She yelled. "Something's up with you, Akuto. You haven't been yourself. You haven't even yelled at Father since you came back, and you spend all your time staring into space."

He stood up, and started walking away. "Leave me alone!"

"It's that hanyou girl, isn't it?" She asked. "Just get over her, Akuto! She is a hanyou, you are a youkai. She is from the line of inus, you are from a tribe of wolves. What you did was right."

"I said," he snarled, turning around and glaring at her. "Leave me alone!"

His older sister wasn't affected by his anger. "She rejected you, didn't she? Not surprising, since you were too forceful on her."

His growling became louder. "Tsume, if you don't shut up—"

"I'm only saying what's true. It's true and you know it." She walked away, her long red hair trailing behind her.

Akuto clenched a fist, his sharp nails biting into his skin. Even though it's too painful…he sighed and closed his eyes. She's right…

Kiri lay on her side, late at night, thinking about a certain wolf youkai. Akuto…

She closed her eyes. Why can't I just get over him? I mean…he's a youkai…I'm a hanyou…it wouldn't have worked any way…

And then there's the whole thing about never seeing him again…

Why can't I just go back in time and make things right?

The silver haired hanyou opened her eyes and rolled over to look at her brother who (for once, unbeknownst to her) was sleeping in the camp. He was leaning against a tree, holding on to Tessaiga in slumber.

Also unknown to her, he had to make special care when he was around her not to show her the scar from the soul bond. Kuro knew she would recognize it at once, and instantly figure everything out.

Sure he was asleep, Kiri stood up, and decided to take a walk towards the village. It seemed like ages since she had last seen it. Since it was late, she wouldn't have to worry about being caught, she would be shielded by the black night.

The only place she wanted to go was to her parent's graves. She wanted to see them , to take comfort in them once more.

Once in the village, she crept towards the temple, keeping to the edge of the village. Once she saw the temple, Kiri walked towards the graves, sitting in front of them.

She looked at each of them in turn. Mother…Father…Aunt Sango-san…Uncle Miroku-sa—

Kiri paused her thoughts, and sniffed the air. There was a strange scent around the graves, centering from her aunt and uncles graves.

She sniffed again, trying to identify it. I know what that is…but…I just can't…

And then she realized.

Clamping a hand to her mouth, Kiri gasped in shock. No…no… This can't be!

The next day, Suki made her way back to her hut after getting the food for the night's meal. Now that she had to take care of her sisters, she had to do everything, but they would help out whenever they could. At the moment, Yume, Hana, and Shippou were washing clothes in the river. She had instructed Kirara to stay with them to keep them away from any youkai that may still be lurking about.

She sighed. It had only been a few days ago that she had met up with Kuro. They didn't have any time to engage in any activities, but their meeting was sweet, and that's all that mattered. She desperately wanted to see him again, but some nights it was impossible to slip away.

Suki cast a glance at the scar on her left palm. She had to be careful to hide it, especially in the village where others might see it. It was hard, going from the dreamland made from the passionate times that she spent with Kuro, back to the harsh reality of what her life was really like. During the day, she was the maiden Suki, alone in the world, pledged to marry Henka to ease her pain. But at night, she was all what she wanted to be, Kuro's mate, loving him more than anything.

But I guess the next night's a long way off… She pushed back the bamboo curtain, and looked inside her hut, only to gasp.

"Did I scare you?" Kuro grinned, leaving his present position of leaning against the wall, his arms folded inside his haori.

"Kuro!" she whispered, looking around as if she was afraid someone would hear. "What are you doing here?"

He came closer. "Coming to see you." He started pulling her close to him. "I missed you."

Suki shook out of his embrace. "No, Kuro, not here!"

"Why not?" he asked.

She made the mistake of looking up at him. "Someone will…see…"

Before she could think another word, Kuro had taken her in his arms and was kissing her passionately.

But she shook herself out of it, pulling away. "Please, Kuro! What if people see?"

"They wont." He replied, a sensual glint in his eye. "The only window in your hut is in the back room."

"But they'll hear!" she pleaded, backing away.

With his mate's panic, he did stop. "Alright, if you insist."

"How did you get here without being seen, anyway?" she asked.

He grinned. "I have ways. The only way anyone will know if we are here is if they can catch my scent."

Suki paused. It still seemed too risky to her. "Speaking of scents…I think Shippou-chan knows. The night after we…" she blushed furiously.

"Made sweet love to each other?" he suggested, smirking.

"Became mates!" she insisted, blushing even more. "Shippou-chan sniffed me and gave me a funny look."

Kuro shrugged. "Shippou-chan's got to good of a nose not to know. If he hasn't said anything, then its nothing to worry about."

"What about Kiri-chan?" Suki asked. "Has she noticed anything?"

He shook his head. "No, I've been too careful. And if she did notice anything, she would have said. You know her."

Suki sighed. "Kuro…when are we going to get out of here? I mean…leave this place, and be able to be together?"

"I've got a plan." The raven haired hanyou said. "It involves sneaking out of here in the dead of night, since we seem to have mastered that already."

"It's the only plan we have." She said. "And we'll have to go with that. We just have to make sure of a way to cover our tracks, so Henka won't follow us."

Kuro took her in his arms. "Don't worry, my love. I'll make sure we'll be safe. Just wait a little bit longer. A little bit longer, and we'll be together like we always dreamed of."

Suki looked into his brown eyes, and found her lips suddenly kissing him. How she was seized by such passion, she didn't know. All she knew was she wanted to feel his love once more. As if reading her thoughts, Kuro suddenly took charge of their passions, making the kiss deeper and more forceful, causing her knees to weaken and causing her to sigh with pleasure. "Kuro…" she murmured against his lips, before they once more ravished hers.

"Onee-san!" A voice yelled, causing her to break away. Her sisters were a second away from pushing back the curtain.

"Wait!" she yelled, causing them to stop. "I'm…just don't come in quite yet!" They obeyed her commands.

Suki turned back to Kuro. "Go, now." She whispered.

As he headed for the back room, in order to go out through the window, he whispered, "Tonight."

She nodded. "Tonight. Go."

He said one more thing before leaving. "Love you." And then he vanished outside the window, going back to the forest through a way only he knew.

"Onee-san!" Yume and Hana said, coming into the hut. "What was that about?"

She shook her head. "Oh, nothing. Just…nothing…" She noticed Shippou was still looking at her with a puzzled look.

But Suki didn't care, she only remembered Kuro's promise. Tonight…

Kuro found his way back to the camp safely, still smiling over his future meeting with Suki. Kiri was leaning against a tree, looking more dejected than ever. "What's got you so happy?" she asked.

He decided to hide his smile. "Nothing. What's wrong?"

Looking at his sister up close, she looked sadder than ever. "Kuro…it's…"

"Kiri, what's going on?" he demanded.

She paused. She didn't want to reveal what she had to tell him. It was already painful enough knowing herself. "Kuro…Aunt Sango-san…and Uncle Miroku-sama…you know how they died, right?"

He didn't know what she was getting at. "Suki told me that they died because of the plague…"

Kiri started shaking. "That's not true…"

"What do you mean? What did you find out?" he said more forcefully. When she didn't reply, he yelled, "Well?"

"Kuro…there's…" she gulped. "When I was in lessons with Kaede…I learned about a certain type of…p-poison. It's a liquid, but when boiled…the gas…and…I smelt it by their graves!"

He was struck with shock. "Kiri, are you sure…I mean…this can't be…"

She nodded. "Only they are…I mean, there only was a window in their bedroom…"

Kuro covered his eyes with a hand. "That means…whoever did this…wanted only them? But…why?"

Kiri may have had a few 'arguments' with her brother, but she didn't have the heart to say what she was thinking next. Isn't it obvious? I think…I think we might have underestimated Henka…

That night, as Suki and Kuro met in the hut once more, he kept getting distracted by the terrible thought. "Kuro…are you all right?" Suki asked. He had been kissing her with all the love he had, when he suddenly stopped.

Don't think about that right now… "No, I'm fine…" he said, bending back down, and starting in on untying her yukata.

Once he pulled away, Suki asked, "Kuro…if there's something you need to tell me, please do."

He paused. Can I tell her? But he couldn't bear to see her in pain. "No. Nothing. I'm just…never mind." He closed the conversation on that thought, by brining his lips back to devour hers.

But little did they know, as theyjoined theirselvesin their own little world as mates, that soon they would have more on their hands. Something that would jeopardize their happiness, and that would change, or abolish their lives, forever.

A/N: Wow. Longer than I expected…anyway, how bout that Henka, eh? Evil enough for you? I feel like having a good cry…

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Kouga getting freaked out...heh heh…I'm so evil to dog boy!

Also, I changed a scene from last chapter of We're Having a WHAT? To sound better, and to make it flow into this story more. It also explains a bit about the mating ritual to make people understand it more.