Insane-san says: I have returned! I had a blast on vacation, but now it's time to write once again...Haha. To those of you who are reading my other fanfictions, I plan to continue them as soon as I can. I will also be starting my horror one...I have been so obsessed with this one, though! HAHHAHAHA..hah...sigh.. o.o Enjoy this chapter, and please review.

Peacock Feathers

VIII

Once I stopped wondering why things were turning out so badly for me, I saw the strange wolf-controler boy drop his crossed arms. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened. His mouth appeared to be speaking silent words. Then he spoke something I would never have guessed in a million years would come out of his mouth.

"...M...Mutt-face?" He stuttered in a gasp.

My lips stretched in a line and my head dropped forward. "..What?" I said. Suddenly, he pointed a clawed finger towards Inuyasha and belted out laughter. A mocking, unpleasant laugh that made me annoyed. It was taunting and I didn't like it. I had heard his real laugh only seconds before, and this wasn't his real laugh. It was as if he was using that laugh to MAKE me annoyed. Or...to make someone else annoyed...My eyebrow winced and I stared.

"Little mutt-face...Ahahahah...Finally on his face where he belongs! BWAAHAHAHA! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" He bent over and held his knees to keep himself from falling over. What on Earth was so funny? Inuyasha cut of that monster's massive leg with one hand. ONE HAND. What was to laugh at?

"Hey, girlie," I coughed. "That's Kagome." He waved a hand and chuckled. "Whatever. How'd my wolf take 'im out, huh?" He grinned widely at me. I noticed he had big white fangs. The sun glittered over them and made them sparkle and seem all the more scary.

"Your...Wolf...Was nearly killed by Inuyasha." The boy snorted and clamped a hand over his mouth, I guessed to stop laughter. I narrowed my eyes. "It's true!" His grin showed through his hand. "Sure, sure. So.." He dropped an arm. "Who are you, anyways, gir-" He caught my glare. "Kagome." He said smoothly. I narrowed an eye and, quite flustered, crossed my arms. "I...I'll have you know that...!" Why was I acting so embarrassed? I heard Shippo's 'Wake up!'s behind me. That sort of snapped me back to where I was to begin with. I put my hands one my hips and stared at him.

"You'd better cut that attitude because it's making me mad! I already have enough to deal with with that arrogant guy back there, so I certainly don't need any crud from you!" He narrowed an eye and smirked in an amused fashion. "That still doesn't answer my question, girl-err...Kagome."

Oh yeah...That was true...

"Anyways...!" I whispered harshly. "I'm traveling with Inuyasha to..to...to..." Either my mind went completely blank from his nice looks, or I really didn't know where we were going. I stared at the ground for some time before I noticed that the boy was no longer standing in front of me. Jumping out of Thought Land, I whipped around and saw him checking out the dead Rupture Wolf.

"Wooooaah..." His face was absoloutly stunned-looking. "You said...Inuyasha nearly killed it...?" He asked quietly, as if he wasn't sure he should ask the question. "Yes, that's right." I said, staightening my clothes up a bit. I watched him sort of walking around the dead beast, checking it out. "What a huge hole...And no blood." His expression looked very thoughtful. I didn't know whether or not I should tell him that I was the one who did that. I killed that wolf.

"So, Kagome...If that dog punk nearly killed him, who finished the job?" He stood up straight and stared at me seriously. His eyes were a deep blue and I couldn't really tell if he had pupils or not...His long black hair went past his shoulders and was held up in a pony-tail. He was pretty much taller than Inuyasha from what I could tell, but not by much. He had more muscle though.. He, like Inuyasha, had no shoes. His clothes were made up of animal fur and something that looked similar to leather. This made me think to myself,

'Oh my gosh. Am I checking him out? Wait..But to be comparing him to Inuyasha means I checked Inuyasha out too..Oh..Oh my gosh..' I tried to avoid his gaze while still in my thoughts...Then I realized he had asked me a question. 'Oh no! How am I going to answer that one...?'

Then suddenly to my mass relief, I heard a noise to the left of me and saw Inuyasha stirring slightly.

Then it hit me that the boy somehow knew Inuyasha...So we'd be saved after all! Since they were good friends, we'd be in no harm at all! He seemed nice enough anyway, and I think he liked me... But then it also hit me that this wolf guy called Inuyasha a...'Mutt-face' was it? What was up with that? Maybe an inside joke kind of nick-name? I wasn't sure...

I don't know why I didn't go over to help Inuyasha up...Maybe I thought he could take care of himself, or maybe it was because I was so deep in thought. I still feel bad about not going to him...I think I should have. But it's only life to make mistakes and have regrets.

"Inuyasha!" I called in a worried tone. He raised himself up on his hands and shook his head around with a grunt. He picked himself up on his knees and then all at once, his face was blank. It took him a few moments. He stared at the body of the wolf, looked at the wolf guy, shot his gaze back around to me, checking me over I wanted to think...Then,

"Am I asleep?" He practically screamed at me. "I mean..What.." He stood up with a bit of effort and tried to find the words to describe all of what he was seeing. "What happened here? ..I.."

"You missed alot, Mutt-face." The wolf boy said, smirking. "Finally awake, huh? Keh...That's too bad..." He said with a dissapointed kind of face, glancing to the forest. I watched Inuyasha's face grow angrier and angrier by the second.

"I..Guess you two aren't old buddies then...huh?" I asked shyly. "HECK NO, IDIOT! Now you stay outta this!"

"Wha?" I stepped back. I could feel my insides heating up slowly.

"What the heck are you even DOING here, filthy wolf puppy?" Inuyasha shouted at the guy.

"Pfffft...What are you, my keeper? I can do whatever the heck I want!" The guy snapped.

My eyes filled with flames and my fists clenched. "Yeah right...You couldn't even get through any training! You ran away from everything just to live with your smelly ANIMALS!" Inuyasha said in a loud mock-voice. My head bent forward to my chest and then my whole body shook. I was at my boiling point. I had worried about him all this time.

I went through the scariest time of my life with that monster, killed it, and then had to worry about this wolf guy. I was terrified! And to top it all off, I was actually worried, WORRIED, about that stupid Inuyasha...Maybe I was a fool...
"IT WASN'T JUST BECAUSE OF MY WOLVES! It was because of my family! Oh, but of COURSE, Inuyasha... You wouldn't know anything about the love of a family because you don't HAVE one!"

My body went sort of relaxed and stiff at the same time. Those words echoed through my head. Inuyasha had no family? How sad..
And then, How dare that wolf guy be so cruel to him! What a jerk! My anger came back and I jump forward between the two guys. I shot what I hoped was a dagger look at the wolf guy.Unfortunately, the words I wanted to come out of my mouth were replaced with calmer ones.

"Can you guys please stop yelling? There's no need to fight..So umm.." There was a long silence. Then they simply walked to the right of me and started yelling again. "Excuse me!" I called, anger rising. "I just said stop!"

Then to everyone's amazement, Shippo stepped forward, clearing his throat loudly.

"I don't think you should get Kagome mad," They stopped yelling and glared down at him. "Considering she just blew a hole in the demon's middle." He said smiling.

"YOU KILLED THE WOLF?" They both screamed at the same time, staring at me in pure shock.

Silence...

"Y..yes..." My eyes filled with tears. I felt like I did something wrong. How stupid..

"And I was scared, too! If you don't mind, I'd like to be going now!" I said in a bratty way. Then, to my surprise, the wolf guy grabbed my hand. He grinned at me.

"Wow! You're strong!" He yelled excitedly. I blushed furiously.

"Yes, well, thank you..!" I turned my face away and tried to jerk my hand back.

"I like that in a girl, ya know..." He drawled smoothly. I blushed again and glared at my shoes.

"So? Why shou-should I care?" Oh great...Now I was STUTTERING. Well, it really wasn't my fault. It wasn't every day that a nice looking guy comes along and decides he's interested in me and stuff...What would YOU have done?

"Hey," Oh God, he was still talking... "How would you like to be my--"

I was jerked back with incredible strength. My back hit something hard. I looked back with a cry and saw that Inuyasha had me by the wrist and I had my back against his chest. I felt my cheeks heat up. This was the worst day of my life, PERIOD.

"Back off, Koga!" He shouted.

Koga smirked and narrowed an eye. Crossing his arms he said, "And what if I don't, Mutt?"

"If you don't, then the Demon Council will have your head before I can get to it." He snarled.

Koga's eyes snapped wide open and he gasped. "What did you say? Who..." He looked down at me.

"Who is this?" He whispered, raising a thick black eyebrow.

"This," Inuyasha said. "Is the Chosen One." The air grew thick and serious. I felt a light shiver go up my spine thinking of how I was the main source of their attention. I'd have given anything to be home at that moment. Or even back in the ice place...

"Let's go, Chosen." Inuyasha said at last. He jerked my wrist and I followed. Shippo ran at Inuyasha's heel.

Minutes passed in utter silence. We walked on and on until we came out of the woods. Not ten feet in front of us was the biggest wall I had ever seen. Massive and tall. I was awestruck. "Woooah.." I stared at it with saucer eyes.

A sharp, short growl came from my right. "What're you holding my hand for?" He said loudly in what sounded like an embarrassed voice.. He threw my arm away and backed up. I narrowed my eyes. "Hey, you were the one who grabbed my wrist back there! We weren't 'holding hands', as you put it." I said, looking away towards the wall. I walked towards it, frusteration turning into awe again.

"Just stay away from me, and we'll be fine." He sneered at me.

My face lit up with anger. "Stay away from you? Is that the thanks I get for saving your life?" I shouted exasperatedly at him.
"KEHHH! Save my life? Sure you did, after you KNOCKED ME OUT!"

There was a short pause. "YOU DISGUSTING BOY!" I shrieked, unable to think of any other come-back. It was true that I knocked him out, but not on purpose! "Oh, so I'm disgusting? What was that back there, miss FLIRT?" Before I could properly retort the way I wanted to, I heard,

"EHEHEEMMM!" Someone cleared their throat. We whipped around and saw six strange-looking people standing in front of the wall. Part of the wall, I saw, opened up as a door. They were standing in the entrance.

For some strange and unknown reason, I jumped behind Inuyasha.

Inuyasha on the other hand bowed a little less than half-way. The old men did the same.

A lump caught in my throat and I bowed as well. Obviously if the high-on-himself Inuyasha bowed, I needed to bow too.

I heard some gasps and some ruffling of clothing so I looked up a little. On the ground in front of me, the six old men, clad in baggy silk robes were pressing their faces against the wet grass. I stared with my mouth open. Inuyasha gripped my shoulder and jerked me up-right.

"What the heck're you doing?" He hissed quietly.

I blushed in embarrassment. "Bowing." I whispered.'Duh! What does it look like to you?' I wanted to say."Stupid! You can't bow. You bow to no one, understand?" He whispered harshly at me. I swallowed, taking the thought in, and nodded. "Fine!" I hissed back at him.

The men stood back up, heads bowed slightly to remain lower than myself. The colors they wore were the six colors of a rainbow. Somehow, the colors were dark. Placed on their bald heads was a hat much like a Judenhut. Black with their color on the top. One of the men put his arm out towards the door and said, "Please, Chosen...This way."

I nodded and stepped forward. As I walked towards him, I looked back at Inuyasha. He saw me looking at him and raised and eyebrow. Then he glared. "What're ya lookin' at ME for?"

I narrowed my eyes and walked into the entrance.

Knowing he was there gave me some kind of feeling of relief, so I smiled.

Insane-san says: -hums a tune- Review or dieeee! n.n