A/N: You know, because I'm not really doing anything this summer besides going to Otakon (I hope!), it doesn't even feel like summer. It just feels like one really long weekend. All I'm doing is what I usually do on weekends, every day. It would be boring, if I wasn't barricaded in my room everyday, writing. (My mother thinks that I spend my time watching movies, or reading or something normal, but no, its either online or writing for me. I think I have a writing addiction.)
Anyway, for all that demanded it, here is KOUGA-KUN! Like all my fics, he's not the center of focus so he won't be in it much, but when he is savor the feeling. I love writing the baka boys, but somehow, Kouga never really makes it into my plots except for small cameos. Just to let you know, Sessy and Kikyou pretty much are the same thing in this fic, not really involved besides cameos for your enjoyment.
As always I love to hear your theories on what the curse is, who's going to die, etc, etc, and I also love it when reviewers get really creative and point out things I didn't even notice. (Rambling Philosopher, you rock!) So keep sending me those reviews, and I'll respond to those that really catch my intrest.
Also, one more thing, I am in the process of updating my site now with the link for this, a few more links on the link page, a new hilarious fanart, and, of course, a new journal entry. I'm sad to say (if I didn't say it before) that all my pictures from Katsucon got ruined because the film in my stupid, disposable camera was much less than satisfactory, but maybe I can post a picture of my autograph from RIC and KM sometime soon.
Chapter 7: Meeting with the Wolf Prince
After that day where I saw Inuyasha's childish side for the first time, we continued on, towards the north, in search of Kouga. Spring had turned into summer as the air became a bit stuffier, and a bit hotter. I hadn't noticed the changes much, as spring fell away while we were still on the road with our friends, but now when I was alone with Inuyasha, free to observe the landscape, it did cross my mind that the seasons were changing.
Of course, this has little significance with the story, I am merely stating so because from then on, I took greater notice in the change of the seasons from one to the next…subtle changes from one to the other, growing faintly colder, and then warmer again, yet so different if comparing say, winter and spring as opposed to spring and summer. It would mirror my life, or as it soon would be. Seeming to flow in a natural order of progression, the changes not noticed until compared with how I lived formerly.
And, like in everyone's life, those changes were both good and bad. Some things I would not change for the world—my and Inuyasha's love, our son Inuko, the happiness that we shared…
But others…given the chance, I would try, at least, to change them for the better. There are many things I regret, many things I gave up in order to gain my happiness, and many that seemed to pass without me doing anything to instigate or stop them.
Life is like that, I suppose. Full of its own happiness and regrets, and only when we muse upon them do we fully realize how things could have been different…
Kagome couldn't help but smile as she and Inuyasha continued on towards the North and to Kouga's den. His mood seemed to be considerably better ever since they had first set out. She figured it had something to do with their little playfulness the day before.
When I think about it…she gazed at him as he ran, his silver hair streaming behind him, his cute ears slightly flatter on his head as he ran, his amber eyes open, scanning for any danger, and she couldn't help but keep her smile. Sometimes he seems like a boy who was forced to grow up too fast…and who just wants some happiness and laughter in his life.
Though she felt sorry for him, having missed out on having a childhood because of what he was, being shunned by humans and youkai alike, and not able to help the fact that he was different from everyone else, she knew he would never allow her to cry for him. Sometimes Kagome wished she could just take him in her arms and hold him, promising to rid him of the loneliness she would see sometimes in his eyes.
But he'd never allow it. And if he did, he wouldn't be the hanyou that she had come to love so much. That personality which at first seems to be gruff, arrogant, and uncaring of anything in the world, was in reality hiding a softer, gentler, sensitive person inside. And it took great care and skill to actually see the real man he was beneath his cold exterior, his heart surrounded by walls built up of years on inner pain.
Kagome longed to be the one to remove those walls, and let him be happy one more, and bring laughter and sunshine into his life, never again allowing him to be sad.
But her happy train of thoughts were shattered when she knew Inuyasha wouldn't let her be the woman to remove the old scars on his heart. He loved Kikyou, and would probably always love her, meaning there was no room for Kagome in the picture.
She knew that, yet every time Inuyasha did something or said something that made her heart flutter, she couldn't help but forget. That was how it was the day before, when they were both left laughing in glee over something seeming so innocent and childlike. But a new day dawned with her remembering the knowledge that he had pledged himself to Kikyou, and nothing she did or said would break that bond.
The journey was supposed to take a week to get to the wolf's den, and throughout the first three days, Inuyasha's mood got fouler and fouler as they kept going on, leaving no doubt in Kagome's mind as to what had instigated it. There had been times when he had even snapped at her for no apparent reason but to feed his anger, and then she had lashed back with a fury he hadn't expected of her.
Kagome was used to his angry moods, but sometimes they were more than she could bear. Squabbles were nothing new to them in their relationship, so they kept going, the tension between them both so thick it could be cut with a knife as they got closer to Kouga's den and thankfully, the end of this journey that was now turning out for the worst.
"You don't have to be so angry, you know!" Kagome snapped at Inuyasha while they took a rest from their constant traveling.
"Who said anything about being angry, woman!" he roared, folding his arms while a sour expression was etched into his face.
Standing up with her hands on her hips in an enraged fashion, she retorted, "Then you tell me why you've been in this bad mood the entire time!"
"I'm not angry!" he snarled like stubborn child back in her face.
"Yes you are!" they leaned closer in their fight, glares in both of their eyes.
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"I am not!"
"You are too!"
The fight would have continued at such an enraged tone until they saw a whirlwind shaped cloud upon the horizon. The source of Inuyasha's annoyance seemed to have come at last has he let out a few growled profanities while gripping the hilt of Tessaiga.
If that wolf wanted a fight, he would gladly bring it, and would make sure that it was one Kouga never forgot.
The tornado shaped cloud dissipated to reveal a happy looking wolf youkai holding Kagome's hand in his. "Kagome, I am glad to see you again—" An enraged snarl came from behind both of them. "Even if you still are hanging around bad company."
Kouga found himself forcefully pushed away from Kagome as the hanyou, red with pent up anger, stepped between them. "Look who's talking, mangy wolf."
The wolf prince looked around them, his blue eyes scanning for something missing from the picture. "Where's the rest of your friends…the human ones and the kitsune pup?"
Elbowing the hanyou so she could get past him, Kagome explained, "They're not here, Kouga-kun. We needed to find you quickly and so we had to leave them behind."
The youkai's blue eyes lit up at that, and he instantly grabbed Kagome's hand and pulled her towards him. "You were looking for me, Kagome?"
"Umm…Kouga-kun…"
Kagome was dragged away from Kouga as Inuyasha grabbed her back, feeling much like a toy that was being fought over by two children. She rolled her eyes at the thought while Inuyasha growled, "Shut up and let her explain, baka. It's not like she'd travel all this way just to see you."
Narrowing his eyes, Kouga retorted, "Of course, if that were the case, she would have gotten rid of you much sooner, right?"
Giving a deep growl, the hanyou was about to lash back, but Kagome stepped in front of him, knowing she was the only thing keeping the peace between these two. "Kouga-kun, Inuyasha, please stop fighting. This is serious. Perhaps we should just all sit down and explain what's going on…"
And so that's what they ended up doing, with Kagome explaining their encounter with Naraku's puppet and their assumptions on the matter while Inuyasha would ever so often add a more-than-rude comment in between her words about a certain wolf youkai sitting next to them. Kouga would snap back, of course, but only Kagome sighing and continuing the story would get them to shut up enough so she could finish.
After this, the wolf contemplated the situation while looking at the clear blue sky. "So you're saying you think you can learn more about this curse with my shards?"
She nodded. "Yes, Kouga-kun. Your shards aren't as pure as mine, and I won't even need to remove them to do this. You can keep them afterwards. So, will you help us?"
After another second of silence, Kouga smiled and grabbed her hand once more, "For you, Kagome, I will do anything."
The hanyou gave a growl at that. "Let's get this over with," he muttered, separating the two. "So we can get out of here and go home."
Glaring back at him, Kouga replied, "That would probably be best, considering the smell of the mutt makes me sick." He was responded to by a deep growl from the hanyou. "What do I have to do, Kagome?"
"Nothing, Kouga-kun. I just need to feel their aura and see if they will give me any answers." As the wolf stretched his legs out, giving a triumphant grin back to Inuyasha, the hanyou scowled. This was his least favorite part of the trip.
Kagome placed her hands above where the shards lay in the wolf youkai's legs, and closed her eyes, feeling the slightly pure aura react to her position as a miko.
She tried again with her begging, hoping Midoriko's shattered soul would reveal something to her. Please, Midoriko, tell us something about the Curse of the Shikon no Tama…we need to know to keep Naraku from using it against us, and against innocent lives…please…
Kagome didn't get as much of a reaction as she was hoping, but she did get something more then when she had first tried it with pure shards…Instead of just the bad feeling, she now got an image…it only lasted a second, but it was something more to go off of…perhaps Midoriko would help her out after all.
At first, the picture came so fast and then left that she didn't recognize what it was, but she gave a gasp when she saw it before it disappeared. "What is it? Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, concerned.
Concentrating harder as she kept her eyes closed, Kagome replied. "I…don't know…all I saw was…"
She gave another small gasp as the image came again, this time staying a second longer for her to realize what it was.
It was the Shikon no Tama, pink and pure, lying in a pool of blood.
It was gone a second later, and Kagome snapped her eyes open with another gasp at seeing this horrible thing. "Kagome? What is it?" the hanyou asked, concern in his amber eyes.
Shaking slightly in fear, she whispered, "I saw…oh Inuyasha! I saw the Shikon no Tama…in a puddle of blood!"
His eyes went wider at that information. "You saw it in…"
Nodding while trying to regain her composure, Kagome answered, "Yes!"
The wolf glanced at the hanyou. "So…you have any idea what this means?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "Not a clue."
"I think it's obvious!" Kagome shot back, still looking slightly scared. "Whatever this curse is, it's mortally dangerous!"
She had just barely said then when all of a sudden, a loud crash made them jump and turn around. A rat youkai had emerged from the rocks of the cliffs nearby, and had come down to see them. It seemed that when Kagome had tried to learn something from Kouga's shards, it must have alerted other youkai to the presence of the Shikon no Tama as well.
"Keh." Inuyasha muttered, standing up when he surveyed their opponent. It was about eight feet tall, with dark purple fur and yellow eyes, with long buck teeth and a pink, rat like tail. "This should be easy."
Kouga had also gotten up, and was now in a battle stance. "Don't you even think about stealing my fight, Dog Crap."
"No way!" Inuyasha drew Tessaiga and changed it to its proper form in one sweep. "I've been looking for a good fight for days, he's mine!"
And with that, both of them charged, ready to take down the youkai as a vent for frustration. But as Kagome ran up to them, she saw that the fight was harder than it looked. Unlike most rat youkai they had seen before, this one seemed a lot tougher…The king of its clan, perhaps? It was swifter and able to dodge blows from Inuyasha's Tessaiga easily, though fighting with a speed youkai like Kouga proved to be more of a challenge.
Inuyasha would swing his sword, and the rat would jump away just in time, but then Kouga would be there to kick it back, before the rat would jump in, sharp claws and teeth ready to kill. This continued for some time, neither parties gaining the upper hand until finally, Inuyasha had enough. "Kaze no Kizu!" he yelled, sending out the damaging blades of wind.
But the rat was just barely out of his range. It's tail was hit with the blast, causing it to screech in frustration as the pink tail was nearly disintegrated. "You're hopeless, Mutt!" Kouga taunted, offering the rat a punch in the face, causing it to stagger back.
"Just because I don't rely on those shards as a crutch doesn't mean I'm hopeless!" Inuyasha shot back, jumping up and slapping Tessaiga against the rat, causing it some damage while Kouga had it distracted.
"Who said they're a crutch?" the wolf called back, giving a yell of fury as he kicked the youkai once more, making it fall several feet away from both of them.
Kouga jumped back next to Inuyasha, where they continued their bickering. "A real man fights with his own strength!" the hanyou roared, keeping Tessaiga ready in case he decided to attack Kouga.
"Oh yeah? Then why don't you throw that iron mallet you call a sword away and then we'll talk!"
"Keh! I could take you without this any day! But you need to get rid of your shards first and let me see your real strength, if you have any!"
"Why would I need to get rid of them? I thought you could take me without your sword? Can't you beat me without me removing them?"
"I could beat you without you removing them!"
"Oh yeah? Then why don't we find this out!"
"Anytime, wolf!"
While this was going on, the rat youkai, unnoticed by the bickering hanyou and youkai, had already started to get up. It was in no mood to go back to those two who were beating it up, instead it looked for a new target—and found it when he saw the female running towards the two.
A scream suddenly broke Inuyasha and Kouga from their fight. Turning around, they saw the rat youkai pouncing for someone—Kagome.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha immediately jumped for her. Kouga ran after them, but he had started a second after Inuyasha and would never make it in time.
Kagome only saw the youkai suddenly lunge for her, yellow eyes wide in anticipation, while it kept its claws raised and teeth out, ready to sink them into her soft flesh—
Until a flash of red blocked her vision, followed by a male yelp of pain.
Gasping, Kagome stepped back to see what had happened. Inuyasha had jumped in front of her, and the rat's teeth had sunk into his chest. "Inuyasha!" she cried, as the youkai removed itself from him, sputtering.
Inuyasha had felt some of the worst pain he had ever felt when those teeth had sunk into him, he looked down and could see through the hole in his shirt, the wound was turning a nasty shade of purple…
But he didn't have time to contemplate that now. The youkai was so close that it was impossible to miss, and he wouldn't let this opportunity go to waste. Using the last of his strength to change Tessaiga to its crystal form, he lifted it towards the rat youkai's chest and yelled, "Kongousouha!" It was all over in a matter of seconds as the diamond shards emerged from the sword and pierced the youkai all over, ripping it to shreds and killing it instantly.
Kouga made it over and was relieved to see that Kagome was okay. He walked up to Inuyasha, who still had the transformed Tessaiga in his hands, though he didn't hold it up any longer. "Well, mutt, I guess I owe you that one for keeping my woman safe."
Inuyasha didn't even make a retort to his possesive comment about Kagome, and that was when he knew something was wrong.
Suddenly, the hanyou fell backward, into Kagome's arms. "Inuyasha!" she cried, as she sank to her knees to accommodate the weight. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't responding, a dark purple liquid was beginning to stain his haori from where he had been bitten. "Inuyasha!" she screamed, her voice echoing into the distance.
