Creatures of the Moon
Chapter Three
The mysterious boy across from Kagome bared his teeth, taking a threatening step forward toward Inuyasha. Then abruptly he turned and left, getting lost in the crowd. Kagome felt oddly disappointed.
But it didn't last long.
She whirled around to face Inuyasha, her hair whipping around with her as she did. He let go instinctively and braced himself for the yelling that was about to occur. …Maybe he hadn't thought this all the way through.
She poked a finger into his chest. "What do you think you're doing, mister?"
Wait, what gave her the right to be angry? He had just as much right to be angry with her! "What am I doing! Tell me, what the hell are you doing?"
Kagome crossed her arms while rolling her eyes. We could have this argument all day, she thought, but said out loud, "Excuse me, but you are not my boyfriend anymore so you don't have the right to… handle me like that!"
Handle? he thought, an eyebrow raised. "Couldn't think of a better word than handle?"
"Well, yeah… but, hey! Don't try to get off the subject!" she exclaimed.
But it almost work, Inuyasha thought grumpily. "Okay, let's get back to the subject. Why the hell are you drooling over Kouga?"
"Kouga…" she said softly, repeating the name.
So that was the name of the stranger? Well, at least he was a stranger to her. And yet still, even though she knew he was a stranger, knew she had not met him, she felt like she did know him. Though, that was impossible. Right?
Of course, she did not know many guys, courtesy of Inuyasha. He was too damn possessive, even before and after they were dating.
"And there you go again, spacing out over him again!" Inuyasha snapped.
Kagome came to after hearing how strict his voice was. Why was he getting so angry? Was he jealous? Though it seemed something more to her.
More secrets, she thought, as a cold fury swept over her.
Everyone around her seemed to be keeping secrets from her and it was… frustrating not knowing what it was. Knowing that her best friends, her boyfriend—at the time—was keeping something from her. It was like the world wanted to keep her out of the loop, all the while pointing and laughing at her ignorance.
"Well, I'm sorry if you think—" Kagome began, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I'm sorry you were too busy making moon eyes at Kouga to pay attention to a potential danger,"
"Potential danger? From that kid? He's a boy, not a wild animal," she told him. That's what you think, Inuyasha thought grimly. She continued, "how could he hurt me? I haven't even meet him yet! You're making a big deal out of nothing."
Inuyasha pointed an accusing finger at her, his golden eyes glittering. "Aha! You said yet! Meaning that you are planning to meet him and that's why you can't because he's dangerous! So ha!"
Kagome shook her head as she began walking away. "Oh god, I don't know you."
If only that were really true, she thought wistfully, though a small smile came upon her features.
"Hey, don't walk away from me!" Inuyasha called after her, before falling into step beside her.
"And how would you know, anyway?" Kagome continued. She abruptly stopped, turning to him. "I've never seen you even talk to that kid or mention him before. How would you know?"
Well what could he say? Well, Kagome, you see, I know him because I've been leader of a werewolf pack for about four years now—which makes me a werewolf too, by the way—and he happens to be the leader of the rival pack that we fight for this territory, among other things. And every time we meet we try to rip the throat out of the other, which I would have last time if you had not interfered and then helped my enemy.
Yeah, he did not see that happening. He would be surprised if she did not faint after the first line or burst out laughing at the ridiculous sound to it. Either one did not sound too much fun for him.
He mumbled some incomprehensible words in frustration.
"See you have no reason. Now drop it. It doesn't matter. I don't even know him," Kagome declared.
"Alright, I'll drop it as long as you stay away from him."
"What gives you the right—" Kagome began.
"He's bad news, Kagome—" Inuyasha started, turning to face her so that their faces were inches away as they began yelling.
"—to decide who I can—" Her voice rose slightly.
"—and he'll lead to trouble…"
"—and can't see!" she exclaimed.
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha shouted forcefully.
Kagome jumped at the command in his voice. Her name was recognizable, but it had almost sounded like he had barked it. She had never heard him use such a tone with her and she didn't like it one bit.
Many students stopped and looked over, a few with their heads down in a submissive sense that Kagome did not understand. Many of the ones with their heads down were people Kagome had met through Inuyasha. They seemed to have responded to the tone of Inuyasha's voice, which made her suspicious for a second, but it soon passed.
She, however, would not back down, her stubbornness would not let her. Though Kagome was still a little shaken up, she did not show it and neither talked as they continued to stare at one another, gold clashing with brown.
Of course, Miroku "happened" upon them then, and came between them with an arm over each of their shoulders. He began walking, taking them with him, while both Inuyasha and Kagome continued to glare menacingly at the other.
If Inuyasha had growled or glared at him, Miroku would have backed off right away. He could not defy his leader and old habits die hard. He was second to Inuyasha in the pack, meaning if anything happened to Inuyasha, he would become the new pack leader. Also if Miroku challenged Inuyasha and won, he would also become ruler of the pack and by challenge, he meant fight, where only one came out alive the majority of the time. That, of course, was something he did not want to do, so he was very careful around Inuyasha when he was extremely angry and never oppose him when he made a command.
Miroku began talking. "As much as everyone in school loves to see their favorite couple fight…" Inuyasha growled softly, but Miroku continued. "…why don't you continue this conversation somewhere more private?"
Kagome shrugged Miroku's arm off her. "We are not a couple!" Kagome responded automatically. She said it so often it was like a reflex now.
"Oh? You break up and get back together so many times, I forget. Whoops," Miroku said with a smirk.
"You did that on purpose, jerk," Inuyasha muttered darkly while removing Miroku's arm from him.
The lower wolf decided to ignore Inuyasha's comment. "If you're not a couple, then I guess you won't mind if I do this…"
For the second he started talking Kagome became distrustful. When the hand he put on her back that was suppose to be "comforting" began to slid lower, Kagome suspicions were confirmed. She grabbed Miroku's hand before it got dangerously low and settled for slapping Miroku hard across the cheek.
While rubbing his cheek, he said, "can't blame a guy for trying."
Hey, she could have done worse, but she learned a long time ago that that was just Miroku. He could not held accountable for his lecherous deeds. Scratch that, she did hold him accountable, but she was willing to forgive him. She supposed that was something.
Inuyasha looked pissed off, now with his anger directed at Miroku instead of Kagome. It was better for her, but not so much for Miroku.
The bell rang and she grabbed Miroku's hand, tugging him toward their next class. She had forgotten if he was even in her next class, but she figured she'd have better take him out of Inuyasha line of view before he exploded and began yelling.
Inuyasha watched them go with a mixture of perplexity and anger.
Why did she keep deserting him like that?
Sango supposed she should not have deserted the human Kagome like she had, but she had had no other choice. She could not have possible gone over and talked with the other wolves. That would have been insane! Let alone she probably would not have lived through the encounter.
She sighed as she glanced out the window longingly. It was finally the last period of the day. She had been tense every since she had seen the leader of the other pack. Maybe when the day was over and she was home, she'd have a nice long run in her wolf-form. That always calmed her down.
"This seat taken?" she heard the voice next to her ask.
Sango turned slowly and looked at the person next to her with a start.
"K-Kagome!" she said with surprise, then answering question, "n-no, no one's sitting there."
Kagome smiled and took the seat across from Sango. She bent her head down as she sung the strap of the shoulder bag over her head and set it on her desk before turning back to Sango.
"Are you okay? You seemed a little jumpy before…" Kagome trailed off, leaving room for her to explain.
Which happened to be the one thing she did not want to do. In these situations though, Sango had always learned that half-truths worked best. "Oh, it's nothing. I guess it's just your two friends. I… don't get along well with guys."
"Oh," Kagome said, looking relieved. She had thought maybe she had done or said something wrong. If it was just Inuyasha and Miroku she was worried about…. "Don't worry about them. They're not so bad once you get to know them." She paused, seeming to think it over. "Well, besides Inuyasha's temper and arrogance and Miroku has a lecherous hand or two…." She frowned slightly and glanced back at Sango. "Never mind, I think you're smarter than me. But I've known them to long to desert them now." She shook her head and spun in her seat so that she was facing the front of the class again.
"How did you meet them?" Sango asked curiously as she put her elbow on the desk and let her hand cradle her face.
She knew she should not have been curious about the enemy or asked about them, should have stayed clear of any topic concerning them, but she could not help being interested. How did such a innocent human who seemed to be oblivious to the whole idea of werewolves get mixed in with them? And often, at that.
Kagome smiled warmly at the memory. "I think I was seven or eight when I first met Inuyasha. I almost got hit by a car after kicking my soccer ball into the street and trying to get it back, but Inuyasha came and pushed me out of the way just in time." She frowned. "I still don't understand how he did it. He'd have to move pretty fast to have pushed me out of the way and moved himself without getting hit." She shook her head as to get those thoughts out of her head and continued with a smile. "Being Inuyasha, he tried to get rid of me after insulting my intelligence, but I wouldn't go away. And well, after that… we were friends."
She stressed the word friends, yet seemed a little sad about it at the same time. "And you wanted something more than that?" Sango asked.
"We were more than that, on and off, but that's not it…." Kagome glanced at her new friend. Could she confide in her? Trust her after only knowing her for less than a day? She decided, yes. "I've always felt like they're keeping something from me." She sighed unhappily.
Sango resisted the urge to snort. I bet. That's a pretty big secret to keep from someone so close.
At the same time, Sango could understand why they did it. They didn't know how she'd react if she found out and would not be able to handle it if Kagome were to ever look at them with disgust or fear. So they kept their little wolf mouth shut.
"Anyway, I met Miroku through Inuyasha, since they too had been friends for awhile," she informed her, "you sure you don't want to meet them?"
Sango paled once again. She felt the burning desire to fight because intruders were on their territory, though she did not yet feel the intense loathing the rest of her pack felt. They told her it came with time. But still, meet Inuyasha, who looked like he might tear her throat out from a distance, face to face? Sorry, but she was not suicidal.
"Uh, no thanks. They sound like great… people… but I'd rather not," Sango started.
Kagome looked a little puzzled still and Sango did not know what to say or how she could explain, so was relieved for the first time ever that the teacher had walked in and began the lesson.
Kagome walked home that afternoon, still a little puzzled by Sango's behavior, but let it go. There were too many mysterious in her life to try and figure them all out. She had decided that two years ago when she had become closer with Inuyasha. There were just some mysterious better left unsolved or waited for them to reveal themselves on their own.
She took the short cut through the woods that led right to her house—though her house was surrounded by woods on every side, so somewhere along the way she would have had to go through the woods—taking her time as she walked. There was no need to rush, so why should she?
Kagome was almost home when she felt a heated gaze on the back of her neck.
Kagome paused and turned around, eyes searching the woods around her. She heard the snap of a twig to her side and jumped toward the noise, her heart racing. She thought she saw a flash of black fur, but then it was gone.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she continued to look around her. Her eyes found nothing.
This is crazy, it's only my imagination, Kagome told herself sternly.
With a shrug, she made her way home, although her pace was quicker than before.
Her pace was slow and leisurely as she walked, most likely on her way home.
It had made it easy for him to find her, not to mention her scent had haunted him since he had run into her only a few hours before.
He had easily discarded his clothes and possessions in the woods and had changed to his wolf-form, ignoring the pain that came with the change. It was better for him to be in wolf-form because even though the werewolves in general were fast healers, they tended to heal best in their wolf form and Kouga's stomach was still not entirely healed yet.
Kouga had left his feet decide his path, just running for the need to be running. Before he knew it, he had been close to the girl and on intrigue alone had sought her out. What was it about her that he found so captivating? A surge of jealousy went through him every time he thought of how the Inu-trash had held onto her. It made him want to tear his throat out more than usual. And all over a human. Though there had been another human once that'd he'd be willing to do anything for….
He crept slowly behind her until she spun around and he quickly dashed away before she could get a good look at him. He watched her look curiously around and he involuntarily took a step forward. Unfortunately, that step ended in the breaking of a twig and Kouga quickly jumped away once again.
Not wanting to be discovered, he took one last look at the girl and trotted away, going closer to his own den. He'd come back later for his discarded items.
Sango only stopped at home to discard her books and went to her room. Her father would not be home from work until five and her brother would be home in a little over an hour. She'd have to be home before her brother came home, but it left time for a quick run.
She left her bedroom door only the slightest bit ajar as she discarded her clothes on the bed and began the change.
She fell to her knees almost instantly, clutching her stomach. Her insides twisted violently and she was jerked onto her stomach on the floor, sent into spasms as bones rearranged themselves and her muscles changed. A jolt of pain went through her hands and feet as they changed into clawed and furry version of a human hand, then changed completely. Her skin felt tight and pinched, painfully so, as her long arms and legs became shorter.
Keeping herself for crying out before, she could do so no longer. Right in between each form was the most painfully and she let out a howl that only ended when she was entirely wolf. In time, she'd be able to change with less pain and without calling out, but she had not been a wolf long enough to do that yet.
Sango hated the change. It was the worst, especially for her type of wolf. She had been told that it was easier, almost painless, for the type of wolves the other pack was. Well, lucky for them. At least the change back was less painfully.
Nudging the door open with the end of her muzzle, she trotted into the hallway and out the door, then broke out into a full high-speed run.
She ran as fast as she could, taking in all the scents, sounds, and sights around her, yet at the same time, ignoring them all. She recognized some as scents that were left behind from days before, revealing to her some people from her school, prey creatures like squirrel and deer, and other wolves among others.
In her chocolate-brown wolf-form, she recognized the fresh scent of a human, Kagome she realized, and stayed clear of it. No use in alarming the girl if a big dog or wolf, whichever she was willing to believe, suddenly went by. Not too far from Kagome's though, Sango ran into another wolf.
Sango froze when she saw the large wolf by her. She recognized the scent, if not the large werewolf. Kouga, her superior in the pack.
Werewolves were much larger than normal wolves, especially their pack, but Kouga was still larger nonetheless. He had piercing blue eyes, which was unusual for those that were born as werewolves, but still he had them. He was almost entirely black, if it were not for some white patches on his chest and his front left paw.
He was wondering what she was doing so far from their den. The area they were in was mostly hunted by the other pack, making it dangerous for the members of his own. Never mind that he was there, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. He would not let a little, annoying enemy wolf get in his way.
Kouga took a step forward, his ears forward, his body erect, and his lips pulled back in a snarl.
Submission. It was the one thing she hated about being a wolf—well, that and the actually transformation. If Sango were still human, she would take none of this crap because humans were foolish and thought they did not have to take anything from anybody, never having been ruled by a monarch or anyone else, not really. As a wolf…. Let's just say, showing him that he was superior took the place of an actual fight.
Unless she was his mate, she was subordinate to him. Since she did not plan on being anyone's mate anytime soon, she lay down on all fours with her head resting on her two front paws and her tail tucked under her belly, trying to look as small and non-threatening as possible. She had to swallow the growl of annoyance that tried to leave her.
It seemed to satisfy him, since the snarl left his lips. He bent down and lightly bit down on her muzzle to show expectance of her compliance and then let go. Sango stood back up. She passed the test, she supposed. Woo hoo, she thought dryly.
The black wolf tilted his head slightly to the side. You're the new wolf, aren't you? he spoke.
Slowly, the chocolate-brown wolf nodded her head in a more human manner than wolf.
I'd stay away from these parts. You'll get attacked by one of Inuyasha's, he told her.
He began trotting away, then looked back at her expectantly. With a silent sigh, the chocolate wolf followed him and the two raced back to the den.
Kouga leaned back in his seat at the back of the classroom. He told himself he'd pay attention in class so that he might actually graduate this year, but he knew it was not happening. The only reason he could not graduate last year was because he had failed foreign language the entire year and failed the final miserably. Last year he had taken Basic Spanish, hadn't learned a thing, so this year he was taking his chances with Basic French.
His thoughts once again dwelled on the human from the day before. Her scent still seemed to surround him, mocking and teasing him. So many question about her left him fascinated by this mystery girl that had saved him and was in close contact with the enemy.
That was when the girl in question, said to be one of the Longwood's pack, walked into the room.
Kagome walked in the room, glancing around as she did. They had mixed up her schedule before and had put her in French Honors. Yeah, right. She had barely made it through regular French. Still, they had made her take it for two weeks and then told her if she still wanted to change classes then she could. She did and she had, and that left her here, in Basic French. Oh, the joy. She'd certainly squeal with glee any minute now.
The teacher in front of the class looked at her expectantly. He was short and obviously bald, though he had a hideous looking toupee to cover it. Kagome thought it made him look worse. She wondered for a second if maybe one day she should mention it. She decided against it. Maybe one day if she learned how to say it in French, she'd let him know and maybe even get extra credit for it. Yippee.
She handed him the note from the guidance counselor that explained everything.
He read the note quickly and turned to the class, saying with a very fake French accent, "class, this is Kagome Higurashi. She'll be in our class from now on."
Kagome, eh? Kouga thought.
Fate seemed to keep throwing the two together. Kouga smirked. If it was what Fate wanted, who was he to go against it? It was enough of an excuse to get to know the human. There was something about her… something intriguing. Inu-trash must have seen it too, otherwise he would have never gotten so close to a human. Now it was his turn. Kagome was not a wolf, so she could not be claimed, unless Inuyasha had marked her. He saw no marks, which meant she was still up for grabs. Maybe if she entertained him enough, he'd claim her.
"Why don't you say something about yourself," the teacher said. It was a command not a request. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, he added, "en francais."
Oh, how she was going to hate this teacher.
"Je suis Kagome et j'ai 15 ans," Kagome began and continued on about a few of likes and dislike, using the simplest phrases she knew. The teacher looked less than happy.
He cringed at her accent.
She cringed at his hair.
"That's enough, take a seat, Kagome," he told her.
Kagome turned toward the class and paused when she recognized the boy from yesterday. The same boy she had bumped into with the long black hair tied back and crystal blue eyes. The same boy Inuyasha had warned—no, commanded—her to stay away from.
Kagome smiled. What would it hurt sitting near him?
There was only about fifteen kids in the classroom and about thirty available seats. Kagome went down the row next to the boy—Kouga, she remembered Inuyasha had called him. She sat down so that she was across and one desk up from him, not wanting to make it too obvious she wanted to sit close to him, aware that he watched her the entire time, never once taking his eyes from her.
Kouga hid a grin when he noticed how close she sat by him. Apparently, he was not the only one who was curious.
Kagome could feel his gaze on the back of her head the entire time. He seemed to have never taken his eyes off her. The first time the teacher turned to write on the blackboard, Kagome turned around to face the boy.
"Was there something you wanted?" she said in a partially annoyed whisper.
He looked her up and down, slowly. "Possibly," he said with a self-satisfied smile.
To his delight, a faint blush came upon her face. "Pervert," she said under her breath. Though at least he's not as bad as Miroku….
No human would have been able to hear the one word. Kouga's sharp ears did, which only made his smile turn into a grin.
"Kouga," he said.
"Kagome," she responded in turn.
"I know," they both chorused, and Kagome could not help but smile.
He held at a hand to her and Kagome studied it for the moments time it took her mind to decide what to do.
Inuyasha had seemed so angry with her for just looking at this guy and she knew just shaking his hand would start something that would piss Inuyasha off even more. Kagome hardly ever saw Inuyasha that angry. Jealousy? She did not know, but it was her decision, her life, and right now….
She looked from Kouga's hand up into his blue eyes. Then without another hesitation, she put her hand in his, shaking it.
The touch sent chills up both their spines and not in an unpleasant way. Her scent that had haunted her since the day before had died down to its normal level when she had come into the room, but at the touch it surrounded him again.
They only let go when the teacher turned back around and snapped at the two and it was only because Kagome had let go. Kouga did not care what the weak human male had to say about anything, but since she had let go he reluctantly had too.
It would be easier than he had thought to get to know her, the only challenging part was to get to her when Inuyasha was not around. He'd have fun getting to know her since she seemed interesting.
And considering she was in close contact with the enemy and was not even aware of it, only helped. She could unknowingly help him defeat the idiot leader of the other pack once and for all….
Kouga smirked once again.
This was going to be an interesting year.