Happy Halloween! I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday this October 31st! This chapter brings one of my favorite characters into the mix- Koga!
Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this next chapter! Please review and enjoy!
1 week later
Inuyasha found Kagome sitting on her knees in the cave, the box containing her blue kimono laying in front of her while she silently stared at it.
"'gome?" He questioned, pausing in the opening of the cave. She jumped at his voice, blue eyes meeting his golden ones. "Inuyasha you startled me! Sorry, I was only trying to figure out how I'm going to carry this without messing up the robe."
"Can't just carry it?" He felt that point should be obvious, but by the glare Kagome shot him, it apparently wasn't that simple.
By the time they had gotten back to the cave after rescuing the goddess, Kagome had woken and insisted on going to the hot spring to wash her hair. Inuyasha didn't argue on that one, he too was ready to stop smelling the blood in her hair. He refused to leave her alone, instead sitting next to the spring with his back to her in case she needed him. He managed to get some food in her back at the cave before she passed out and slept for a good 12 hours or so.
They took it easy the next couple of days, doing some light foraging and giving Kagome time to regain her energy back. She'd had a nightmare on the first full night back, dreaming that Inuyasha rescuing her in her mind had all been fake and the heartbreak had been real. He'd held her in the bed until she'd cried herself to sleep, letting her cling to him the entire night. The next night, she hesitated going to sleep until he joined her. After that, he joined her every night; sometimes loving her with his body, sometimes sleeping a few hours and just letting her curl close to him to feel safe. He liked knowing that even in her dreams he kept her safe.
Later they were leaving to begin the journey to the slayer village for the wedding. Kagome told him Sango's mother had passed years ago, and she wanted to be there to help Sango before the wedding to make sure all was perfect. He had a feeling she was living out some of her own wedding fantasies as well.
"We'll just pack it neatly." He shrugged and moved towards one of the other chests in the cave, recalling there was some extra cloth somewhere they could wrap it in. He pushed a pile of rocks aside to better get to the chest, opening it and digging through it. Kagome raised a brow at the pile of rocks; curious as to why they were in the cave- Inuyasha wasn't a collector. She reached over and picked one up the size of a fruit, brushing the dust off and gasping when it revealed a deep blue gemstone.
"Inuyasha?! Where did you get these?" He glanced over his shoulder to find his mate holding one of the weird rocks that had originally been in her chest, her jaw hanging open.
"From the chest you use." He wasn't sure what the big deal was if he was honest.
"Inuyasha, do you know what this is?" She prodded gently, knowing he would get defensive if she was too pushy. He shrugged as he pulled out a bundle of dark cloth.
"Here, you can wrap your kimono in that." Kagome held the rock out to him and placed it in his palm, rubbing some of the dirt off. "Inu, this is a very expensive gemstone called a sapphire. Have you ever heard of that?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes and tossing the stone back to her. "Ain't like any sapphire I've ever seen." Kagome bit her lip to keep from laughing and set the stone carefully back into the pile.
"That's because it hasn't been made into jewelry yet. This is what they look like before they're cut up into shapes and made into things. These are worth a lot in the human world, you certainly won't have to go hunting for large game to trade for vegetables anymore." She beamed and he couldn't help but smile back at her. She took the cloth he'd pulled out for her and inspected it, deciding he was right and she was being silly for worrying about it.
"I'll just go wrap the kimono and then we can leave, m'kay?" She beamed again and began nearly folding her new kimono in the cloth, tucking it neatly in her bag for the journey.
"Oi, Kagome." She looked his way when he said her name and he swallowed, not really sure how to ask the question that had been bothering him since they had been invited to the wedding.
"Do you uh, are you- are you mad you never had a wedding like Sango's?" She blinked in surprise at his question, not expecting such a request from him.
"No, I don't regret it Inu. I bound us by saving your life, and that is better than any wedding I could ever ask for." She replied after a moment of thought, beaming at him and reaching a hand out so he could help her up. He did so, pulling her close and kissing her soundly- he never got tired of that.
"Out of curiosity, why did you ask?"
"Ah, nothin' doin'." He dropped her hand and bid a hasty retreat from the cave, and was that a blush she noticed on his cheeks? Deciding to drop the matter- she'd figure it out later- she picked up her bag and followed him out of the cave.
He was waiting for her outside, the pink having faded away from his cheeks. He had his face firmly set in a scowl and it took all the priestess training Kagome had not to laugh at the big face he was putting on over his embarrassment.
"I think I'm ready to go." She announced, eyes sweeping the clearing one last time before they left.
"Bout time." He teased, offering his back for her to climb on. She did after hiking her bag over her shoulder, letting him grab her thighs without so much as a flinch.
"How long until we get there do you think?" He shrugged and inhaled deeply through his nose.
"Couple days maybe. Depends on how fast I can go." He shot her a sly grin over his shoulder at her and she tweaked his ear, giggling when he flicked it away from her fingers in annoyance.
"Just take it a little easy for my sake, m'kay?" She felt his muscles tense, and then the wind was whipping in her face and they were soaring above the trees. She bit her tongue and hooked her arms around Inuyasha's shoulders, burying her face against the mass of muscle. She heard him chuckle at her reaction, his muscles continuing to tense and the wind whipping around her face as Inuyasha moved through the forest faster than any animal she'd ever seen.
Though if she was fair, she'd never heard of anything that moved as fast as he did.
It was impossible for Kagome to really judge how far they had gone with Inuyasha moving as quickly as he did. (He was showing off, she just knew he was) considering Kagome very rarely ever left the River village and was thus unfamiliar with their path. He slowed considerably when they came to a steady stream, finally stopping and letting Kagome settle in the grass with legs feeling like jello.
"I'll start a fire while you fish?" She suggested when she saw him move towards the stream.
"Let's make it quick, the farther away from the mountain the better." Kagome's brow furrowed as she cast a look towards the snow capped mountain in the near distance. What was so special about this mountain?
Inuyasha didn't elaborate, instead wading into the stream and assuming his fishing pose. Kagome wandered a little to find wood, taking several minutes to grab small sticks to start the fire with. She had dumped them into a pile near the stream when a thick, demonic aura washed over. Inuyasha's head snapped up and he snarled when he sensed it too.
"What the-" Kagome froze as Inuyasha abandoned the fish he had already caught by the stream and firmly placed himself in front of her, growling. The aura came closer until it was right on top of them, and then-
"Well well well, if it ain't mutt face." Kagome immediately bristled at the insult, forcing herself to hamper down her spiritual power so as not to reveal it just yet. The demon that appeared before them was tall, just as tall as Inuyasha with dark hair and tanned skin. He wasn't alone, two other demons similar in appearance were behind him, all of them wearing clothes made of fur and armor.
"Koga. Don't you have something, anything better to do?" Inuyasha's words would have been dripping with sarcasm if not for the snarl on his face.
"Nothing more fun than annoying you, dog shit." He caught sight of Kagome behind Inuyasha, and suddenly his expression changed.
"You've been holding out on us dog breath. Who's the bitch?" Inuyasha slid his body slightly to the side, blocking Kagome from Koga's view.
"My mate." The words came out as a snarl, somehow more intense than before. Koga's expression changed again, a mixture of reserve and resentment.
"Like any woman, much less a human would choose a half breed like you dog breath." Inuyasha didn't flinch at the insult, instead flexing his claws.
"Human or no she is my mate, and you know exactly what that means." Koga's face grimaced into a snarl without letting out a sound.
"We'll see about that, half breed!" He spit out, but Kagome had had enough. She jerked around Inuyasha, her face failing to hide her anger.
"Stop it!" Koga looked almost amused at her interruption.
"You've got spine, I'll give you that." He smirked and Kagome held up her hand, letting her power flow to her fingers and causing the hand to glow.
"You say one more insult to him and I'll purify you so bad even the Kami won't be able to find you." Koga's companions actually stepped back out of fear. Said demon looked more annoyed than afraid.
"I wouldn't try it Koga, she purified a goddess last week; you willing to bet your life on it?" Inuyasha had a smug smirk on his face, arms crossed over his chest. Koga looked back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha for a moment, studying them.
"I mean it," Kagome sniped, "I don't know who you are, but you say one more insult and I will not hold back." To Kagome's surprise, Koga smirked at her.
"You go right ahead and try it. I'm not afraid of some priestess, beautiful as she may be." Kagome flinched and Inuyasha started growling again; a warning if Kagome ever heard one.
"What's the matter dog breath? Worried I'll steal your woman?"
"That's it, you're dead!" Without warning Inuyasha launched himself at Koga and landed a blow to his face- with his fist. Koga flew back and hit a tree, growled and clenched his fist together before attacking- also with his fists. Kagome jumped in surprise when she felt a tap on her shoulder and found Koga's two companions standing next to her.
"They always do this when they meet." The demon shook his head while his companion smacked a hand to his forehead. "I'm Ginta by the way, this is Hakkaku."
"Nice to meet you. So this is… normal?"
"Normal enough when your territories border." Hakkaku replied.
"Ah I see, so your territory must meet where the mountain village settles." Both demons looked at her in surprise, as if not expecting her to know. She shrugged, pleased to have done so. Before them, Koga and Inuyasha continued to exchange blows, with Inuyasha clearly having the upper hand.
"Inuyasha showed me where his territory borders. It wasn't a huge leap. If you don't mind me asking, what type of demons are you?"
"Wolf demons. We form the eastern wolf pack that spans over this mountain."
"Do wolves and dog demons usually argue like this? How long does this usually go on?" She waved a hand in the direction of the fight and winced as Inuyasha took a blow to the gut, only to watch him return it with a punch to Koga's face.
"A while." Hikkaku sighed, "until they get tired of yelling insults and punching each other."
Kagome sighed. "Well, this food isn't going to cook itself." She shook her head and headed back to the pile of sticks and fish to continue their lunch.
"Ginta, would you gut the fish? No use in all this food going to waste."
"S-sure Kagome."
"Hakkaku? Would you gather some more wood? I'll get this fire started." Both demons obeyed without a word, finishing their respective tasks and sitting opposite of her across the fire while she skewered the fish and set it to roast before the flames.
A log thrown by Koga at Inuyasha missed and flung into the river only a few feet from Kagome, causing her to shriek in alarm.
"Oi! Watch it jackass you almost hit my mate!"
"Don't avoid it like a coward next time and maybe I will!"
"Today's the day you're going to meet your maker!"
And so it continued.
-0-
Ginta and Hakkaku were nice, but after making random small talk over the meal, Kagome was ready to keep going. They still had a long way to go before it got dark, and neither Koga nor Inuyasha were showing signs of relenting… though from Kagome's view, Inuyasha seemed to be really holding back. Or was that just her imagination?
"You aren't imagining it." Ginta randomly said, leaving Kagome to wonder if she had spoken that last bit out loud.
"Koga can't match Inuyasha anymore and they both know it. Inuyasha has you to thank for that." Kagome's brow furrowed as she took in the wolf demon's words. "Me? I didn't do anything."
"Taking a mate makes you stronger. Maybe Koga will finally marry Ayame now so he can beat Inuyasha!" Hakkaku shook his head.
"I knew it made him stronger- but did it really make him that much stronger?" Kagome was stunned to know binding them together had such an effect on Inuyasha. But then again, she'd seen how protective and possessive he was, just like Myoga had said.
It gave Kagome an idea.
She bit her lip, knowing Inuyasha wasn't going to like it at all with how much of a stickler he was about her safety. But at this rate they'd never make it to the slayer village on time! Really, she was being forced to take such a drastic action.
At least, that's what she told herself as she debated the idea.
The base of the mountain was covered by thick, heavy foliage and trees. Less now that Inuyasha and Koga had successfully cleared some of it with their fists and bodies. Still, Kagome knew she'd maybe have a few minutes at the most to put her plan into action before she'd be caught.
She left their bag by the remains of the fire, knowing it would only slow him down and maybe give her a few extra seconds.
"I have a plan; don't follow me." She whispered to the very confused wolf demons across from her.
She waited until Inuyasha was good and distracted, facing away from her, and then sprinted towards part of the thick foliage the two demons hadn't managed to clear yet. She heard the two wolf demon's amused chuckles behind her, soon followed by a loud yell of "Kagome!" Coming from her husband.
And boy did he sound annoyed.
Giggling a little to herself, Kagome rushed as quickly as she could through the foliage; her heart pounding in excitement and knowing it wouldn't make the slightest difference with his strong sense of smell. She finally ducked under a fallen log and pressed her back against a tree, no more than five minutes after sprinting into the forest.
She could feel his aura coming closer and clapped a hand over her mouth to try and stifle her breathing. And sure enough, no more than a minute since she had stopped by the tree did she feel a shiver go down her spine, and she knew he was near.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" His voice was low and husky, without the slightest hint of annoyance and it sent another shiver down Kagome's spine. He dropped down in front of her, their bag over his shoulder and an already fading bruise on his face. He had a slight smirk, one fang poking out in the way that made him ridiculously attractive.
"Running?" She suggested meekly, feeling a blush start to form at the almost predatory look he was giving her.
"Running? Wench, as if you'd have a chance of escaping me." He stepped closer to her, only succeeding in racking up Kagome's heart beat even more.
"That was the point." she whispered as he placed one hand on the trunk of the tree behind her, effectively pinning her in place as he brought his face closer to hers. "Yeah?" He murmured, brushing his nose along her neck, inhaling her scent. She swallowed hard.
"I had to stop the fighting somehow… I figured you wouldn't be able to resist chasing me." She felt his lips press against her neck and had to repress a shiver going down her spine.
"You thought right." He murmured against her skin, and suddenly his lips were on hers, slanting his mouth against hers and wrapping his arms around her body as he kissed her deeply. He pressed her back against the tree, his arms and fire rat robe protecting her from the rough bark of the tree.
She repressed a loud moan as his lips left hers and moved to her neck, grazing the delicate skin with his fangs enough to make Kagome's knees feel weak. She protested only slightly when he slid her robe down her shoulder, pressing his lips to the expanse of skin he found there. Did they have somewhere they needed to be…?
The wedding.
"-yasha wait," she muttered as his fangs grazed her skin again. He lifted his head enough to meet her blue eyes with his golden ones, bits of his hair brushing against the exposed skin and tickling her.
"Not here… in the open- the wedding." she managed to piece together through the hazed fog of her mind. Inuyasha sighed like a bucket of water had been dumped over him and let out a low growl that was anything but threatening.
"Forget the damn pervert's wedding-" he cut himself off and kissed her again, this time cupping her head with his hand. She kissed him back, then pulled away after a minute and pressed her forehead against his.
"We will definitely be continuing this another time, but we really do have to go." He sighed again, inhaling her scent and loving the hazed look in her eyes. "I will always chase you Kagome." He reached for the pendant hanging from her collarbone, running his thumb over the Kanji for protection engraved in it. She kissed the tip of his nose before taking his hand in hers.
"I know."
-0-
"Fear not fair maiden! I shall vanquish the vile demon and save you!" Kagome, the fair maiden, giggled as Shippo puffed out his chest and glared fiercely at the demon he was saving her from. Said "demon" was lounging lazily in the large tree next to them, looking bored out of his mind as his mate and the kit played.
"Oh thank you brave prince! Whatever would I do without someone so brave to rescue me?!"
"Hopefully purify their ass." Inuyasha tossed out from the tree, lounging on his back with his hands behind his head. Shippo held up a stick he had found and was using it as a sword, pretending to wave the sword in a manner of fighting moves.
"My brave prince! You deserve a handsome reward!" she scooped the kit up in her arms and kissed his cheek with a loud smooch. Inuyasha's ears perked up and he glared out of the tree to find his mate pressing repeated kisses to the kit's cheek. Smirking to himself, he leaped from the tree, startling the prince and fair maiden on the ground.
"Inuyasha?" He smirked and scooped Kagome up in his arms, grinning devilishly at the kit she was still holding.
"The demon has stolen your fair maiden. Better luck next time brat!" He kissed her, ignoring Shippo's loud exclamations of "Eww! There's a kid here Inuyasha!"
"Don't care." The half demon snipped, staring down at his woman. She smiled radiantly back at him. "It's ok Shippo, it turns out the vile demon was the fair maiden's true love hidden in disguise. We can all live happily ever after now." She winked at the kit and he rolled his eyes, adults were so mushy sometimes.
"Whatever, I'm going to go play!" The kit scampered off, disgusted by the gross behavior of the adults and refusing to watch them make googly eyes at each other any longer.
"That was almost too easy." Inuyasha quipped, watching the kit scamper off with a triumphant look in his eyes.
"Don't tell me you were jealous of Shippo!" She scoffed, whacking him lightly on the chest. "He's just a kid, you're being ridiculous."
"What kind of vile demon would I be if I didn't rescue my woman from the clutches of a prince?" He clutched her a little bit tighter as she rolled her eyes at him.
"The kind that gets his wife to the wedding on time." She shot him a look and he started walking back towards the slayer village, where all the villagers were busy preparing for the wedding of Sango and Miroku.
Thankfully, they'd arrived relatively on time earlier the morning before. After the encounter with the wolf demon Koga, they'd pushed the limits of Inuyasha's speed to make up the time, stopping overnight and making it early enough the next morning, the day before the wedding. The slayer village had been very weary over Inuyasha when they had first arrived, but had relaxed when Sango and Miroku had both vouched for him, regaling tales of his bravery and the amount of times he'd saved Kagome.
The morning of the wedding, it was hard to tell who was more nervous, Sango, or Miroku. Kagome had soothed Sango before taking Shippo out to play until it was time to get ready for the wedding. She wiggled in Inuyasha's arms as they approached the village, wanting down from his arms.
"Relax woman, geeze." He set her on her feet as they approached the entrance. She squeezed his arm and headed towards the hut where Miroku was pacing and getting himself ready.
"I'm just going to go check on Roku, go brush your hair and I'll join you in a bit to get ready." He scoffed at her suggestion.
"Keh! My hair is just fine woman." He stomped off towards the home of the village headman, Sango's father, and where they were staying until after the wedding. Kagome giggled and headed towards the modest hut Miroku was in, knocking gently before pushing the door open and finding the man she considered a brother pacing steadily in the room.
"Roku? Can I come in?" He looked surprised by her arrival, but gestured for her to come in. She had to admit he looked dashing in the rich kimono he'd donned for the occasion. She approached and gently smoothed imaginary dust off his shoulders, forcing him to stop his pacing. He took a deep, ragged breath and Kagome smiled at him.
"That's it, get it out. You're getting married soon."
"I can't believe it's finally here. I confess Kagome, I wasn't entirely sure we would make it to this day without something bad happening." She smoothed the imaginary dust away again before wrapping her arms around him and hugging him strongly. She relished the hug, remembering how safe and loved he'd made her feel as a child. Of all the times she'd run to him with a scraped knee and he'd hugged the pain away. He hugged her back just as strongly, for a minute imagining she really was his little sister here for his wedding day.
"I love you Roku, and today is going to be perfect. You'll see."
"I love you too Kagome, and I hope you're right." She pulled back and planted a kiss on his cheek, beaming at him once more.
"I'm going to get ready before Sango sics the Kami on me, will you be ok? I'll send Inuyasha over for you to pester until the wedding starts." He chuckled and enveloped her in his arms one more time before letting her go.
"That sounds lovely Kagome, thank you."
She left him there, considerably calmer than when she'd arrived, and headed back to the room Sango's father had graciously roomed them in. (After getting over his shock at their bond)
"I swear Miroku, if you don't shut the hell up I'll do it for you, I don't give a shit if it's your wedding day!" With less than two hours to the wedding, Miroku wasted no time in making himself feel better by pestering and annoying Inuyasha with questions that were absolutely none of his business.
"Now come on Inuyasha, it's only out of concern for Kagome that I ask these things. I care for her as a sister after all, and as such it's my duty to ensure she's being well taken care of-"
"I ain't tell you a damn thing monk. What happens between me and 'gome is between me and her damn it!"
Really, why had Kagome insisted he keep the damn monk company? She'd shown up in their room after calming Miroku down and had started preparing herself for the wedding, shooing him off to keep Miroku busy and sane.
His woman was bossy as hell sometimes.
The monk sighed loudly and finally gave up, unable to sweet talk the stubborn demon into talking.
"You'll understand for your own wedding someday, Inuyasha."
"Ain't gonna be a wedding monk, Kagome doesn't care about having a fancy party." He crossed his arms and hid them in his sleeves. Miroku raised an eyebrow in surprise, considering how many hours she'd spent as a child planning a wedding in secret.
"Oh? Kagome doesn't want a wedding?" He threw it out there casually, hiding his smirk when Inuyasha shrugged.
"Nothin' doin'. She said so herself." Miroku opened his mouth to retort when Shippo came bounding through the door, calling "Inuyasha!"
"What is it runt?" Inuyasha looked almost bored.
"Have you seen Kagome? Sango's looking for her and I can't find her anywhere!"
"Runt, what do you mean you can't find her?" Gone were all signs of boredom on Inuyasha's face, his features serious as he knelt down to Shippo's height.
"I can't find her anywhere, she's gone!"
-0-
Half hour earlier…
Kagome finished the final touches on the updo she had done for the wedding, spraying a small amount of the perfume Sango had lent her around her neck and wrists. Standing up she made her way over to the beautiful Kimono Inuyasha had gifted her. She admired the design for a moment before slipping out of her current robe and sliding the beautiful piece on, feeling for all the world like a princess in the stunning navy blue outfit as she tied the obi. She made her way outside to join Inuyasha and Miroku before the wedding, first heading outside the village to look for wildflowers and check for a flower to add to her updo. She ran her fingers over one of the flowers, about to pluck it when a demonic aura washed over her and a voice spoke behind her.
"Finally, the slayer bitch. You'll pay for what you did!" She found herself facing a demon taller than herself, with long, dark hair in a braid and pointed ears. He snarled at her, and then his hand was on her neck before she had time to react, pressing tightly enough that she gasped as the world faded to black, and she knew nothing more.
