A/N: I have noticed that some people don't like the "on the subject of sex…" scenes. Well, I let you know, that there are no more of those in this fic. As stated, it gets really dark from here on out. However, this chapter is a bit happier and more lighthearted. Just don't get your hopes up. It's probably the last happy chapter for…quite a long time. (I always have to write a happy ending…)

Plus, back by popular demand, a Kouga haunting! (I am SO sorry…I just had to…)

Chapter 19: Life's New Turn

After that frightening incident, Kouga always had to look behind him before he went anywhere. But, that particular incident hadn't filled him with as much dread as a certain hanyou would have liked. The wolf prince didn't want to believe that Inuyasha was dead.

After all, that would mean two things, 1. Being that Kagome would also be dead, since he knew about youkai mating and the soul bonding and all, and 2. That he wouldn't get sleep again, EVER.

So, on that fateful day when he heard an unknown body mutter, "Wimpy wolf…" in a whisper behind his back, he cringed.

"That's f-funny…" he said, shaking slightly with sweat rolling down his face. "It sounded like that dog crap just said something..."

He was punished for that.

With a loud WHAM! Kouga found himself flying across the den hit by an unknown force. "WHO you calling dog crap, mangy wolf!" Inuyasha yelled, suddenly appearing.

The wolf quaked in fear for a moment, and then cried his lungs out. "AHHHHHHHH!" With that, Kouga fleed his den as fast as his legs would carry him, leaving Inuyasha laughing evilly.

Akuto lowered his voice to a whisper. "You know what? You like me because I'm a scoundrel, jackass, perverted bastard and whatever else you call me. You like me because there are no scoundrels in your life."

Kiri shook her head again, not able to pull away from the lure of his green eyes. "I like nice men." She stated.

Akuto gave a small grin. "I'm nice."

Kiri started to say, "No you're not you're—"

But she was cut off, when he suddenly pressed his lips against hers.

Akuto sighed, looking at the rock wall of the den. That was the one memory he kept going back to, the most precious memory of all. The sweetest memory he had of her.

Especially when he remembered his surprise when she suddenly started kissing him back.

He sighed. I felt so sure then…so sure…

It had been more than a month since he last saw her. Everyone, including is mother, had wondered why he had been so moody since he got back, but most attributed it to his father forcing him to find a mate.

In the end, his father had won out. Akuto had been forced to be mated to another wolf girl from the mountain tribe. As of that moment, they were still promised, because she had not yet come down from the mountains for a formal mating ceremony.

He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he would have to concede to his father's wishes.

It doesn't matter anyway…He remembered kissing Kiri. I'll never see her again…

As Akuto remembered her face, remembering everything about her, his eyes widened as he realized something. Something that he had known in the back of his mind, yet never really acknowledged it. His eyes grazed the ground as he thought about this.

And then he looked up, his green eyes full of determination. He clamped his right hand into a fist, and strode over towards the entrance of the cave, not looking back.

"Akuto, where are you going?" Kouga asked, jumping in front of him.

"I'm leaving." His son replied, simply walking around him.

His father looked mildly surprised, and then angered; a vein started popping in his forehead. "No you don't runt! You just agreed to get mated to that girl from the mountain tribe, you ain't leaving now!"

He wasn't at all daunted by his father's statements. "Too bad. I'm going, and I hope I never have to come back back!"

His sister also noticed Akuto's sudden urge to depart. "Akuto, I told you, forget about her!" Tsume yelled. "That hanyou girl would never be able to be with you—"

"Hanyou girl?" Kouga asked, bewildered. "Akuto, I forbid you to go off and mate with some hanyou girl—"

"You don't know what's good for you, if you want to keep pursuing her—"

"You're too keep the family in line, pup! And that means you're only going to mate with someone I allow you too! Got tha—"

Akuto had enough. "I LOVE HER!" he roared, to make them shut up. "And I'm not going to sit around and let my chance to tell her go by!"

And with that, he turned his back on the shocked faces of his father and his sister, and ran off into the woods, with only his sweetheart on his mind.

Kiri wandered around the woods, looking for Kuro. Where the hell has he gone? I was going to ask him something about this 'Henka' guy, and then he disappears!

Of course, it wasn't such a mystery of where he had gone. Suki…I swear, if I catch him kissing her one more time…She had been quite irritated with the fact that her brother felt the need to look like he was eating her face off every five minutes. Of course, this was probably brought on by the fact that the only person that thought such things about her was gone for good. Oh, shut up! She told herself.

She didn't find Kuro, but Kiri found herself next to Goshinboku, and there was someone next to it. It was Suki.

She turned to the silver haired hanyou and smiled. "Kiri-chan! I haven't seen you in a while!"

Kiri started to say, walking closer so they could talk, "Hello, Suki-chan, I guess I haven't seen you since—" She cut off her sentence as a wave of Kuro's scent hit her.

Wait…why would… And once she realized, she felt like gagging. Oh my…EWWWWWWW!

Suki stared at Kiri's reaction, before figuring out what had brought it on. She blushed scarlet. "Kiri-chan…um…well…"

Her friend wasn't listening. She was still trying to purify her mind of many images she would have hoped never to imagine. "That's why he was gone that one night…" she muttered to herself. "Because…you two were…" Kiri was too grossed out to finish the sentence.

"Kiri-chan…" Suki said, still blushing. "W-we didn't tell you because we knew this is how you'd react…"

"You thought right…" she muttered, wincing. "Suki-chan…I'm sorry to have to ask you this, because I don't really want to know, but…" she gulped. "When did this…start?"

Kuro was looking for his sister. He had been looking for her because he wanted to tell her of his new plan of getting Suki and her family out of the village, but Kiri was no where to be found.

He was just coming from their camp where he had expected her to be. He decided to check around the woods a bit more, just to make sure, but he hadn't been able to pick up her scent.

Where could she have gone, I was sure she'd be there…

"BAKA!" Came a yell, before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and tripped because of it.

"OW! What the—" He rolled over and looked up to a furious Kiri. "Kiri! What the hell was that for?"

She didn't say anything, she just grabbed his right hand before he could pull it away. "Aha!" she said in triumph looking at the scar on his right hand. "So you did a soul bond with her!"

He felt a sudden shock. His sister had figured it out. And he knew, there would be no room to explain. "Kiri…um…I can—"

"Don't even say it, I already know the why, you pervert! You are the biggest baka in the world!"

Now angry, Kuro jumped up and glared at her. "What does it matter to you if I'm mated! I can do what I like, without you interfering!"

She retorted. "Listen, Kuro! First off, you tried to keep this a secret from me, and secondly, do you know what you've done?"

"What?" he challenged.

Kiri grabbed Kuro by a hunk of his black hair and pulled him closer, receiving a yelp of pain in return. "What is it with you anyway? All you thought of is how much you'd love to have her your mate! You didn't even think of what might happen if you did!"

"Oh yeah? Then what's so terrible?" he asked, growling.

Kiri glared. "Suki-chan! Did you even think about her? If Henka finds out about this, she'll be in a lot of trouble. Did you even think of that?"

The glare left Kuro's face. He hadn't thought of that. He hadn't even thought of that. He hadn't realized what danger he must have put her in. What have I done?

Kiri released him. "See what I mean? You screwed up big time, baka! You didn't even realize the lot of damage you did! You're stupid head was filled with all your little thoughts of Suki-chan!" She let out a scream of frustration. "Go talk to Suki-chan."

He stared. "What?"

"GO TALK TO SUKI-CHAN!" His sister bellowed, Taking a swipe at him, making a cut across her face by her nails. Not wanting to receive any more abuse from her, he turned and walked away, wiping the blood off his cheek.

As he walked away, he remembered her words. Did I…did I really make that big of a mistake when I asked her to be my mate?

Kuro found his beloved leaning against Goshinboku, looking up at the dark sky. She seemed to have a more sullen face than normal. Night had fallen, a darker night than usual. "Kuro…" she said, walking up to him.

"Suki…" he replied, taking her in his arms.

"You're cheek…" she pointed. "What happened?"

"Kiri." He replied, holding her. "Suki…I…"

"She figured it out…" She told him. "She could tell because of the scent…"

Kuro nodded. "I know. She has a sharp nose."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Suki hugged him tighter. "Kuro…I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" he asked. "It was my fault for asking you to mate with me in the first place!"

"B-but I'm the one that agreed!" Her voice trembled, she was crying. "I…d-didn't want…forgive me…"

Kuro pulled back so he could look at her, tears streaming down her face. "Suki…what's wrong?" There's something else…

She started to say, "Kiri figured it out…she..." Suki looked up at him, even though she wished she could look anywhere else. "Kuro… " she sniffed, wiping her eyes, though more tears came. "Kuro…I…I'm…I'm pregnant."

His heart stopped, along with a sharp intake of breath. All thoughts he might have had in his head were pushed aside as he tried to comprehend this. She…she's pregnant…that means…a-a baby… a child...my child…our child…

And then he realized. I'm a…I'm a father…

He felt his heart stop again. If Suki hadn't been right in front of him, he probably would have fallen over in shock.

Our child …but…if anyone finds out…That was why she was so terrified.

Suki started crying again. "Kuro, I'm so sorry! It's my f-fault…"

He held her close, comforting her. "No, it's not. It's mine. I was the one who asked you to be my mate."

Her head rested on his chest. "Kuro…what are we going to do?"

Kuro sniffed her. Through the layers of his scent and then her own...there was a tiny scent that was easy to miss. It was theirs combined. There was no doubt about it now. We can't do anything to stop it…but…we can… "We're not going to do anything about it?"

"What?" she asked puzzled.

He looked down at her. "But we can do something about ourselves."

Suki looked into his chocolate eyes. "Kuro…what do you mean?"

He told her. "We can quit this hiding, and do like we always planned. We can get out of here, as soon as possible. We can go live somewhere, like we dreamed. Together, forever. All three of us."

Suki gasped. "Kuro…you…mean that...?"

He took her left hand, the hand that was resting on his chest. The hand where her mate mark was. "I do. We'll leave, as soon as possible, tomorrow night. Tell the others, they can come with us…"

Her indigo eyes sparkled with joy, rather than sadness. "Kuro…"

Kuro continued. "I promise I'll take care of you, Suki. Whatever road lies ahead. I love you…" His hand drifted down to touch her midriff. "And the baby too."

With no more sadness, Suki jumped into his arms as he kissed her. They were running away, to live wherever they wanted. With no more fears of being caught. And soon, they'd have their own family. He twirled her around, before setting her back down.

"I'll come," she laughed, her face smiling with happiness. "I'll come, tomorrow at midnight, here at the same place!"

"And I'll be waiting." He was unable to keep the happy grin from his face. "Suki," he smiled. "This is the happiest day of my life!"

"Mine too!" She reached up, and planted a small kiss on his cheek, before he dove in to devour her lips with his own. "I love you, Kuro…" she murmured as he caressed her neck with his mouth.

But, unknown to them, someone else had seen the entire scene. A snake slithering in the tree nearby had watched them with interest. Well well…Tai said. Henka is not going to like this when he finds out…

Not...that I'll tell him now...I want to see his reaction when he learns that his precious Suki is carrying the half-breed's child...

A/N: Jeez...I make all the characters pregnant! But anyway, Teenagers madly in love + no protection lots and LOTS of babies...

Anyways, you guys know I can't have a happy moment without making it sad...so...this was, unfortunately, the last funny/ happy chapter before the big fight in the end.