Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha. And that's my final answer!! I win a million big ones, yay! Err, not. ^^;;;;
Author's Note: Yes, summer! School's out! You know what that means. *Drum roll . . .* "Jesia's Big Inuyasha Summer Bash!" My new summer fic that is actually going over quite well, I'm surprised at the feedback I'm getting from reviewers on it. If you get bored enough, why don't you check it out? Thanks to everyone who has ever read or reviewed either of my stories, I really appreciate the support!! :-D
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"In the Crossfire" by: Jesia
Chapter 7: Into the Wolf's Den
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Soon Kouga realized that his Sakura-chan had once again fallen unconscious. 'Now what should I do?' he asked himself, a grim look of worry and regret on his young face. The wolf youkai knew that he couldn't simply take her home back to Mutt-face and feign that nothing had happened . . . No, he would just have to risk taking her to his den to rest until her demon blood finally healed her. Then escort her home safely and make sure that she understood to not mention him. 'I'm not sure how I'll convince her to understand, but I'll have to worry about that later. For now I need to get Sakura to the den where she'll be safe.' Kouga was aware that scavenging youkai looking for their next easy meal would be drawn to the clearing any second by the enticingly strong scent of freshly spilled blood. His senses served him correctly.
Suddenly pair after pair of ferocious yellow and red eyes began showing themselves, glaring at the couple through the thick bushes and underbrush. "Damn . . ." Kouga hissed as he hoisted the sleeping form of Sakura into his arms. The wolf leader retreated as quickly as his legs would allow him to in the direction of his home, with only a half-formed plan in mind. The only thing that he failed to notice was a pair of sorrowful green eyes staring at him and his mate-to-be.
'Still playing around with girls who aren't your type, eh Kouga?' the owner of the emerald eyes thought as she observed him take off back to his tribe . . . with her.
"I'll get that bitch to leave him alone, even if it kills me . . ." Ayame murmured from her hiding spot several yards away from the bloody clearing which was now infested with ravenous demons. "He made a promise to me, not her. Not Kagome either. I am Kouga's rightful mate. I will make him see it!" she vowed and balled her hands into tight fists.
Ayame's good friend, Umi, had given her an idea on how to separate the blooming couple's friendship. One thing was for sure though . . . Ayame hated to lie, especially to such a nice looking girl that she would otherwise have made friends with and the man who had once saved her life as a child.
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Shunusuke was beyond confused; the whole situation felt like it went *whoosh!* right over his pony-tailed head. 'Why would she call me nii-chan [brother]? Surely she was just playing . . . right?' he wondered. The lecherous teenage Miroku-mini-me sighed. 'I certainly don't see Sakura as a sister; I see her as a soon-to-be-eligible, beautiful, intelligent young woman.' Shunusuke settled himself into a deep thought process on the living room floor while his tired mother napped in her's and Miroku's bedroom. 'Those inu ears are especially cute . . .'
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Kouga immediately began barking out orders at his puzzled demon-wolves as he came to the waterfall entrance of his cave. The ones ordered around wasted no time in obeying. Warm fur blankets, cool water, some old rags, and clean bandages were all gathered and brought to the wolf prince's nest where the injured Sakura now lay. Kouga kneeled at her side with a concerned expression plaguing his features.
Worried, Hakkaku began to ask, "Wh-What happen--?"
"Is she going to be alright?" interrupted Ginta.
Kouga didn't reply right away; he was still contemplating on what to do when she finally woke up. ". . . Of course she'll be alright . . ." he answered slowly. "She was attacked in the forest, but Sakura is a fighter . . . she'll be up and around before nightfall." Ginta and Hakkaku nodded in silent agreement. ". . . Well?" the leader of demon-wolves inquired roughly. "What are you two still doing here?! Go away. I'll call you if I need you again."
"Oh, gomen Kouga," Ginta apologized sheepishly. Hakkaku simply nodded. The two wolf-demons bowed and left Kouga to nurse his Sakura-chan by himself.
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Amazingly enough, Kouga had somehow fallen asleep after tending to Sakura. First he had washed the blood off of her hands and cleaned her wound; this also helped to lower her temperature. Then he bandaged her side, (A/N: Without looking, perverts! :-P) noticed that she was shivering slightly, and wrapped her in the fur blankets. He then watched her sleep; her angel-face expressionless, her chest slowly moving up and down evenly with each breath she took, her white, triangular dog ears flat against her raven black hair. Just by watching her sleep so peacefully he was easily pulled into a very brief cat-nap while leaning against the cave wall . . . very brief.
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Sakura awoke wrapped in bandages and warm fur, and quite confused. Her amber eyes surveyed her current surroundings . . . nope, this definitely was not home. 'Where am I?' Suddenly her nose kicked in and alerted her that Kouga-kun was nearby; his scent was everywhere, like he lived here or something . . . The young inu-girl arched her head up and rolled her eyes to the top of her skull. There sat her ex-crush, her hero, the only man outside her extended family she felt that she could depend on and trust: Kouga. Directly behind Sakura's head his body sat stiff against the hard rock wall, obviously asleep. 'What was that crazy wolf thinking?!' she asked herself furiously, suddenly angry at him for not taking her home.
But then she saw Kouga's face turn in his sleep, her eyes softened. 'Wow, he's handsome,' she thought longingly. 'No, what am I thinking? He could never love me; we're just friends,' Sakura mentally scolded herself. 'Get over it, girl. Get these silly thoughts and fantasies out of your mind, 'cause you'll only get hurt when he finally claims that other woman he loves.' Her eyes then caught sight of Kouga's tail. She simply couldn't resist . . .
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Kouga awoke with heavy eyelids to find a pale, feminine, clawed hand gently stroking his brown wolf tail. "Oh, I'm sorry Kouga-kun! I didn't mean to wake you."
His dark blue eyes lightened up at the sound of Sakura's voice. He turned his gaze to her golden-amber eyes, a genuine smile tugging at his lips. "S-Sakura! You're alright?" he asked. His excitement sounded similar to that of a little child waking up to find a truck-load of gifts on his birthday.
"Um, yes?" she replied, surprised by her long-time friend's behavior.
Kouga helped her to sit up and pulled her into a tight bear-hug. "Thank the gods," he murmured to himself joyfully.
Sakura flinched; her just-now-starting-to-heal injured side was being crushed against Kouga's armor. 'What is wrong with him?! He's acting like I was knocking upon death's door or something; I've never seen him act like this!' Tears threatened to stain her face at the pain.
A slight scent of salty tears reached the wolf-youkai's nose. It didn't take him long to realize that he was hurting her; he pulled away. "Gomen nasai, Sakura! Daijoubu? I didn't hurt you too bad did I? I'm so sorry; I was just so happy that ---."
"I'm alright, Kouga-kun," Sakura interrupted. "So where are we? Are we at your home?" Kouga nodded. Sakura's ears pivoted. "I hear . . . running water . . . ?"
"Hai, that reminds me; while you're here I want to show you around," he said eagerly.
"Umm, alright. I suppose --." Before Sakura could finish her sentence, the prince grabbed her delicate hand and helped her to her feet.
"Sakura, close your eyes," he told her. She began to open her mouth to object but he insisted again. "I want to show you something. I think you'll like it."
She closed her eyes and allowed Kouga to walk her to the front of the cave; one arm wrapped loosely around her waist, one hand holding her's. The sound of running water seemed to be coming closer and closer. It was almost evening, so the sun was just about right . . . The pair stopped in their tracks.
". . . Okay, now open your eyes," he said finally.
Sakura opened her curious eyes and gaped at what was before her. "K-Kouga-kun, i-it's beautiful!" she gasped in pure delight. The pink, orange, purple, and blue sky showed through a crystal clear blue waterfall, making the most gorgeous and romantic scene the sappy teenage girl could have ever hoped to see.
Kouga grinned, happy to see his Sakura so pleased. He continued to hold her close, savoring this rare, blissful moment of ecstasy. There he was holding the woman he loved, while miles away a certain hanyou father was becoming increasingly concerned about his "baby" not being home.
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An anxiety-plagued, extremely over-protective, worried hanyou was pacing in the living room. Refusing to eat dinner, refusing to sit down and talk about the possible reasons for her being late, Inuyasha was pacing so hard that the floor creaked loudly and was threatening to give in to the abuse it was putting up with. 'Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?' he kept asking himself. 'Surely she's alright. She's able to protect herself . . . Yeah, 'cause she's half ME!' Inuyasha stomped furiously. A crack began to form in the hard, wood floor. 'Where are you, Sakura? Chikuso!' *Grr . . .*
The rest of the family resided in the kitchen eating dinner, listening to the half dog-demon's pacing and stomping. "Ya know, Inuyasha isn't the only one that's worried about Sakura," said Shippo quietly. The others all nodded and continued to eat with nervous faces and uneasy eyes.
Shunusuke stared at his plate as he chewed without tasting, wondering, 'What could have happened to you, Sakura?'
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Author's Note: Another chapter down! I hope you weren't too disappointed minna-san, but I wasn't exactly in the best of writing moods when I wrote this. Ya hate it? Ya love it? Please let me know by clicking that lovely button there in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen that I just love so much!! ^^;;; Anyway, if you get bored this summer, try reading my new fic. I'm taking suggestions on it and it should be pretty interesting. And I'll be gone to summer camp here in KY between June 15 and 27. I get to stay in a college dorm, (again!) yay! Plus if I want to get into the AP English class in high school I have to do these huge summer reading book report things and turn them in by certain dates, so I won't be updating as much this month. Gomen nasai!! I will be almost free as a bird in July, though. Ja ne, minna-san. Thank you all so much for all of your support. ^.~ Love y'all!