Author's Note: I am sorry for taking so long to update, I hope this new chapter is worth the wait.
"Inuyasha..." A familiar voice called out to him, but there was something terribly wrong. Kikyou's voice, it was faint, tired, weak, and almost lifeless. Soon enough the hanyou had reached the source of that voice, golden eyes wide as he saw the pale form of his loved one, bound in thorns and bleeding. However, she showed no sign of being in pain, but again opened her mouth to speak, "You failed, Inuyasha. You couldn't protect me, I died because of you. Kikyou died because of you. It's all your fault..."
"No! Kikyou, don't go!" Inuyasha cried out, reaching a hand towards the girl being pulled into darkness by the very thorns that bound her, the demon running with all of his might in pursuit. But, it wasn't enough, for soon he could not see her. He couldn't touch her, or hear her voice anymore, "Kikyou..."
"Worthless, love-struck half-breed," A voice of bleeding amusement came as the image of a familiar, menacing white baboon pelt floated around the demon, causing said demon to grow furiously as tears burned in his eyes, "Had you not loved Kikyou, none of this ever would have happened. She would still be alive, as would the rest of your companions. Love is for fools, which proves that you are one of the biggest fools of all. You didn't even learn the first time."
"You bastard! You killed them!" Exclaimed Inuyasha, and without second thought he launched an assault towards the hated demon. However, not once could he make contact with the other he so loathed, and once he was out of sight, the hanyou felt a rough force shove him several feet, "Keh!"
"Foolish mutt. Maybe this will teach you to respect those with more power!" And the branches wrapped around him, tighter and tighter they clenched until he could no longer draw breath, "But, at least in death you shall be able to see your beloved priestesses once more, unable to see the misery a tainted Shikon no Tama has brought onto this world!"
No... he couldn't lose to Naraku, there was far too much at stake! But, just as the hanyou had freed himself from his wooden bindings, he gaped at the hanyou who had now turned into Kagome, a smile on her face, "Inuyasha, please don't blame yourself. You did all you could," Kagome spoke in her soft, encouraging voice, however she was fading into the light ahead of them, disappearing faster and faster while engulfed in white...
"No! Don't go!" Inuyasha bolted after her, this time he actually managed to catch up to the one he sought out, flinging his arms around her in a tight, loving embrace, saying his piece once more.
"Don't go...I need you, don't leave me!"
"I'm not going anywhere, my dearest mutt-face," A familiar voice that didn't belong to Kagome spoke. For that matter, it didn't belong to any female at all. And there was an odd lack of softness in this person's chest, a metal chest plate. What had just happened?
There was a long and awkward silence in which Inuyasha turned to look at exactly what he was gripping onto. He had tackled Kouga when he had said that in his dream...and then his favourite 'd' word came to mind as he jumped right across the room, panting and flushing as if he had run for miles on end, "Wh-what the hell are you doing in here! I was sleeping you goddamn jerk!"
"That any way to treat someone who came to check on you?" Kouga stared flatly at Inuyasha, which made him feel sort of small and ashamed of himself when he realized what he was yelling about, "Kaede asked me to. The old bat should have done it herself, then you wouldn't have gotten dog germs all over my armour."
This nearly made Inuyasha snap again, but instead he made a sound and turned his back, a grumbled retort just barely making it through his lips, "Good thing you came then. You might not be so weak if those 'germs' rub off on you."
"Osuwari."
Feeling the cruel weight of the enchanted beads slam him into the ground, Inuyasha let out a hiss as he glared with any and all hatred he could muster at the wolf before him, right before stopping his glaring to take in a surprising sight. His hands are still burned from helping me use Tetsusaiga...
"You should have bandaged those, Kouga," Inuyasha winced as sat up again, grabbing the roll of bandages that Kaede had left lying by his bed. Before Kouga could make his escape, the hanyou had caught his left hand, flipping the other onto the ground as he did so before sitting on his back, "Stay put, dammit! And don't even try using 'Osuwari' on me, or you'll get crushed too!"
After hearing Kouga growl, Inuyasha smirked in victory before getting to work on bandaging the other's hands, surprisingly he tried his best to be gentle while working on the wounds, "There. You're good to go," Inuyasha said once he was finished, standing up and turning to leave the hut before hearing the wolf say two very significant words;
"Thank you, Inuyasha."
"Don't. You're useless if you're injured," Inuyasha growled, feeling his face heating up. With that, he left the little hut, golden eyes surveying the sky. Sure, he did owe Kouga for helping him use Tetsusaiga, but how the hell did it transform in the first place? He couldn't think of anything he wanted to protect at that point...but the Tetsusaiga only transforms when the bearer has something they want to protect! What on Earth could it be? More-ever, once he found the cause, why would he want to protect it?
Inuyasha couldn't help but ponder those factors as he walked near-silently, going towards the lake as he did so. It was so puzzling; the hanyou went over the options in his head. Kouga, when he had gripped the Tetsusaiga, had also said that he had something he wanted to protect as well. What the hell could have have been? ...hell it could have been the jewel shards for all Inuyasha cared, he still needed to know what made Tetsusaiga transform in the first place!
A small sigh once again left him as he sat down by the waters, golden eyes lidding halfway in a deep, translucent gaze. He had nothing left he really wanted to protect, all he cared about had been snatched away by Naraku...Slaughtered, hacked into bits, sent to their deaths in their final confrontation with him...why did they have to die and not him! It was cruel, to make him live on without any of his friends at his side while he had to fight alone! These new thoughts unwittingly brought tears to the dog demon's eyes, all he saw was the image of a failure reflected in the water he sought his gaze from, that image being blurred by the tears in his eyes and the tears hitting the water.
"Quit your belly-achin', mutt-face. There's no use in crying while Naraku is still out there, you've gotta pull yourself together!" The less-than-comforting advice from a familiar wolf growled at him, causing Inuyasha to turn around and glare, tears still filling his eyes.
"You just shut your mouth! You've had time to recover from your loss to Naraku, I haven't, okay? Now get out of here before I use your head as a kamahi ball," Snapped Inuyasha, turning away as an uncontrollable shaking took over. Damn him, the bastard just wouldn't leave him alone! However, the shaking stopped as he felt the arms that helped him wield Tetsusaiga wrap around him once more, holding him close to something warm behind him.
"Hey, calm down. I just thought you'd recover quicker than this. I'm sorry," A low mumble reached one of his sensitive dog ears as Kouga spoke into it, causing the ear to twitch and flatten as though trying to deny that it was enjoying that attention. Wait...enjoying? "Come on, keep cryin' until it's out of your system. Anyone would need to if they had just lost everything. It's not weakness, in fact it shows the strength of your heart."
Biting his lower lip as he heard the wolf demon's little speech, Inuyasha gripped one of the arms holding him tightly with clawed fingers, his body beginning to shake with sadness and self-directed anger once more, not to mention guilt for being so cruel to Kouga when, in his own way, the other was only trying to help him get through this with his skin intact. Not only did he feel like shit, but also he felt comfortable at the same time...
"Kouga...thank you," Inuyasha mumbled at long last, allowing his tears to flow while he rested in the other's arms. He was going soft, allowing his barriers to break down and for his emotions to pour right on out in the form of silent tears. But, he didn't care, there was only one other person to witness that feat and it was someone who, no matter how they argued and fought, would keep his mouth shut about it. He might blackmail him, but that was beyond the point.
Inuyasha's pulse couldn't help but accelerate however, for this was the first time he was ever held like this since he was little. Not to mention the fact that it was a man holding him...WAIT A MINUTE!
"Woah whoa whoa time out!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he jumped right out of Kouga's arms and straight into the water, thoroughly soaking himself and the other as he did so, but right now that wasn't the issue, "What the hell were you doing, holding me like that? You're acting like you actually give a damn about how I feel, and all mushy and stuff! What the hell happened to you?"
Kouga wasn't even fazed from getting water in his face as the other jumped into the water, a glint in that crystalline gaze of his shining out as a smirk took his expression into a cunning visage, "You don't get it yet, idiot? This whole time, I wasn't really after Kagome," Inuyasha felt really confused as Kouga stepped into the water, a firm hand of Kouga's being placed on the opposite's shoulder.
"Kagome was a friend, and truly a beautiful person, but she was never the one I really wanted. Confessing love to her was a way to get your attention," Those blue eyes before him softened now, which made Inuyasha more and more nervous, "All this time, I was feeling pain that you loved her so deeply, along with feelings for that priestess. It was all because I wanted you, Inuyasha."
He couldn't believe what he was hearing, what the hell was coming out of the other's mouth? Did Kouga just confess love to him and not to Kagome? And why, in the name of Bhudda, was he blushing? None of this added up! At all!