Author's Notes: Hey everyone, glad to see you're still around! Just a quick clear-up, but Kouga was not either of the wolf youkai that made an appearance in Chapter 42. Sorry about any confusion on that! Enjoy!

Awesome Betas: Penthesileia, Not_Towa_Wakasa

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Chapter 43: The Youkai Within

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Inuyasha

Fool... What did he do to my body?

The world throbbed around him. His arm burned. His brain pounded an annoying beat in his head. The female's voice did not help. She blubbered and screeched over him, her tears splashing onto his forehead.

He wanted to reach out and slap her. To grip her chin and demand her to stop being hysterical.

...Yet wasn't that exactly what females were? Nothing but ridiculous, emotional hysterics?

He wanted to open his mouth to tell her to shut up. To demand that she obey him. But his mouth wouldn't work. Nothing worked.

That is what I get, leaving myself in the hands of a hanyou, he thought, the bitter words stewing his insides. The only thing that made him feel better was that he knew it wouldn't be long now. Already, he could feel his body healing. He could feel his snapped bone threading itself into repair.

Yes… It wouldn't be long...

He couldn't smell the woman that was bent over him, screaming his name. Not yet, anyway. But she rubbed him wrong. She seemed… familiar somehow. He knew her, he was sure of it. Which meant…

She belonged to him.

So why then, was the bothersome wench screaming like a banshee? If she was his, which she was, then she should know her place. She should know to be silent.

It was great fortune that in that moment his broken face healed enough that he could smell her, and…

Ah, yes, he thought as her screaming turned to jumbled words, her voice worried and desperate. I know this wench. My wench.

MINE.

Inuyasha opened his eyes. They were newly healed and sharp.

The world was still dark around him. What-was-his smelled delicious, leaning over him, her hands on his chest. Her hair was black, even deeper so than the black that surrounded her, her eyes a devastatingly beautiful color, for a human. Her pink lips moved as they formed around his name, her pupils widening as they finally met his in the night. She knew he had changed. He could smell the fear that bloomed inside her. He sat up and she jerked back. But he was quicker. Oh yes, he was much quicker. What-was-his should not attempt to escape him, she should know it would be useless to try.

Incompetent hanyou, can't even train what is mine correctly, he thought as his hand caught her upper arm, tightening his grip when she tried again to pull away.

"I-Inuyasha," she said, a worried tint still evident in her voice. She'd stopped her incessant screaming, he noted, so he would not have to correct her by way of a slap. Still, what-was-his should know better.

"Woman. Where do you think you are going?" he asked, his tongue heavy and thick in his mouth.

What-was-his widened her eyes even more, although he'd have thought it impossible. She started to tremble, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Y-your face…" she whispered.

"What about it?"

"It's… different."

"It's how it should be," he corrected, then pulled her closer to him, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply. She smelled exquisite. Intoxicating. It seemed the foolish hanyou had done something right, claiming this one as his. Never had Inuyasha felt so… warm.

He reached around to push her thick, tangled hair away from her neck and dipped his head low to nuzzle at the skin, ignoring her irritating cries of protest. He needed a taste. He deserved one, did he not? He had obviously been protecting her, although from what, he could not remember at the moment.

He darted out his tongue to sample her, to taste her skin, just a hint at what he'd already…

It can't be… he thought as she shuddered under him. He pulled back from her, perplexed. He could smell how she became wet for him, could tell she wanted him. She ached for him just as he did for her. And yet…

He hadn't claimed her yet. It was written all over her. No wonder she didn't know her place. No wonder she wasn't submissive to him as she should be.

However, what enraged him was that she smelled like other youkai.

What the fuck did the hanyou think he was doing, leaving her unclaimed and in the presence of other youkai? Inuyasha struggled to understand and came up short. It angered him even more.

What use did he have with a human female if she was not claimed to him?

...That would change. Now. He would have her now.

His hand moved to wrap in her hair at the base of her neck, and he pulled her to him, jerking her chin back and ignoring her cries of protest. She was sweaty and covered in blood and dirt, her arms scratched and a deep bruise blossoming across her throat, yet still her scent was so intoxicating it did not matter. It was almost unbearable. He hardened for her.

There were other youkai in the vicinity, and they were close, although he couldn't yet pin them down. He would have to claim her now, to cement her as his own. No other would have her. He would see to that.

"Mmmm," he growled in her ear, pleasured by the way her body writhed against him. She was still afraid, he could smell it mixed in with her pleasure. He batted her hands away as she pushed against him.

"Stop," he demanded, but she did not obey. Frustration shot through him. Why was she denying him? She should be welcoming of him and submit. He growled, frustrated, because the other youkai were now closing in. Two of them, along with the stench of wolves. The hand that caressed his female's hip tightened. His ears flicked towards the sound of their approaching enemies. He ignored her cry of pain.

What-is-mine will have to wait, he decided. It did not make him happy that he could not claim her now, but after he spilled blood, his lust would increase.

And there was nothing more satisfying than a good fuck after a thrilling kill.

So wait he would.

A youkai stepped out from between the trees, and Inuyasha scrunched his nose in disgust as his stench threatened to overwhelm him.

"Filthy wolves," he spat, pushing his female away and standing to face his enemy. He clenched his fist. His muscles coiled, ready to strike.

"Inuyasha…" the youkai said. It was the one that had held what-was-his over the cliff by the back of her neck, he now remembered. The memory replayed back to him now: the terror in her eyes, the knowledge that she would die ate at the hanyou's insides - at his own insides...

Inuyasha snarled in response, not just livid at the lowly youkai daring to speak his name, but also at the hanyou for allowing what was his to be put in such danger. It was a good thing the hanyou now slept deep inside him.

He would not be giving control back.

"How is it you live?" the stinking wolf youkai continued, brows drawn together, lip curled. "How-"

"He is no longer hanyou," a second youkai said, also stepping out from between the trees. This one was bigger than the other, and yes, Inuyasha recognized him as well. The rust-colored bastard that twisted his arm, breaking it while he was in his weakened hanyou state.

Such a thing would not happen again.

He stood, keeping an easy track of the others that surrounded them. He could see them through the trees, closing in.

Fools.

What-was-his whimpered from behind him, a pathetic, human noise. He noted it, but refused to let it distract him.

"He's silent," the first one said. He peeled back his lip to show his fangs.

"Keep your focus, Goro," the larger one warned, "you've heard the stories."

The youkai named Goro snapped his teeth, frustrated. "We have him cornered, Hokuto. It's just as Kouga said, he cannot escape this ti-"

Inuyasha lept.

He lunged across the short distance, claws outstretched, silent as the night sky, as he should be. Every muscle in his body pulled tight, ready to maneuver at the last possible moment.

He did not need to.

He flew past the one called Hokuto, too quick for his fool eyes to follow, and plunged his claws through the black-haired youkai's throat. His chin slumped forward, the only sound a wet gurgle, a slush of liquid and the crunching of vertebrae and crushed esophagus between Inuyasha's fingers.

"Goro!" the other shouted from over his shoulder. Inuyasha rolled his eyes in annoyance. So slow. These youkai that challenged him were not of nobility line, as Inuyasha was. They could not conquer him.

And since these two were so simple, where then, was the noble of the pack? Where was their leader? Inuyasha coiled to reach around and grab the one named Hokuto, who, to his surprise, reared back before leaping into the clearing, giving them space.

Inuyasha grinned. So then, both were not as foolhardy as he thought. This wolf chose not to roll belly up and die. Interesting.

He crouched down low, fangs extended and claws digging into the dirt, waiting for the moment to leap, when the coward turned and ran. For a moment, Inuyasha froze, again taken off guard. The wolves that surrounded him and what-was-his stayed put, yellow eyes glaring and pacing, weaving between the trees.

He huffed in annoyance. So be it, then. It would be easy for Inuyasha to catch up, once he was done with the pack.

He didn't wait for them to attack this time. One by one, Inuyasha tore through them. It was a game. A pattern that he chose, striking out to efficiently kill each and every one. A few turned and ran, just like their leader. But it did not matter. It was the hanyou's endeavor, to hide himself away like a cur. Inuyasha as he was now would do no such thing. Let the few wolves who escaped run and tell their master. Let them know he had come. He would be glad for the challenge.

What-was-his was standing, still in the clearance. He turned, his eyes falling upon her.

Her hands were out in front of her as she slowly turned in a circle, searching for something. For him? Or for something else?

He shook off the body still impaled on his claws and crept back into the clearing. What-was-his now had her back to him. He could see her shivering under her torn sweater. He reached out and spun her around.

She screamed, her hands coming up to clasp over her mouth as she jerked back. He stepped towards her, closing their distance.

"I-Inuyasha," she sputtered, taking a step back.

"Do not speak," he demanded. "I have killed the wolves that aimed to eat you. You will now give me what I want."

"Wh-wh-what's that?" Another step.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back to him, and dropped his head to again nuzzle at her neck. "You know what it is I must take from you."

"But I don't, Inuyasha, I-"

He snorted. Insolent female. It was no secret how youkai claimed what was theirs. He would not play into her ridiculous games. He trailed his free hand up her arm, which hung limp at her side, trailed his claw along her shoulder, her clavicle, up her neck.

Her breath quickened, now in tune with the blood that pumped through him. He would have her before the night was over. He gripped her jaw with his fingers and crushed his mouth to hers.

Fuck, she was exquisite. Her taste drove him forward, her tongue sweeter than anything he'd sampled before. He would-

She yanked back away from him. "No!" she shouted, her arm swinging out, her closed fist catching him on his jaw.

Inuyasha took a step back, astounded.

Never… never had any of his conquests...

Her eyes widened. "No," she whispered, again, taking a step back. Then another. She turned and ran.

He gave chase.

Leaping to the canopy he easily followed her, dropping down to cut off her path and drive her towards where she'd pointed out the shard to his hanyou self. She was mistaken if she thought she could escape him.

Up the mountainside she ran, panting and gasping and struggling to push forward. She was slow. And clumsy. Inuyasha easily swooped down and scooped her up, leaping over the last bit of slop before landing on the small mesa and dropping her from his arms. The mesa was flat for the most part, just one final peak rose above them to their right, and Inuyasha could see the mouth of a cave at the base of it, a few feet higher than where they stood. Huge, naked, mountain rock piled one over the other to form the lip of the cave, jutting out into a natural terrace overlooking the mesa.

He could smell them inside the cave, the wolf youkai. He knew their smell. He had been there many times before, bathed in wolf blood, just as he was now. But this was the first time he was out from under that bitches control. This time he would do things his way.

Obtaining the jewel was the only way to ensure that he would stay as he was. As he should be. The power Inuyasha could feel throughout his body… the way his youkai blood pumped in his veins… he would not go back to being less than he was now. He would piece the Shikon no Tama back together and keep himself complete.

What-was-his attempted to slink away from him, but he whipped around and shot a warning growl her way. She froze, eyes wide, her gaze meeting his own.

"It is here, yes?"

She had the right sense to nod.

He stepped towards her, reached out and wrapped his fingers in her hair, gripped it at her scalp and drew her to him. Her eyes closed, tears damp at her cheeks. Inuyasha inhaled. Her sweet skin mixed together with the salt of her tears. He wanted another taste and so he did, drawing a slick line from her jaw up to her cheekbone.

He felt her shiver under him, and he growled in response.

"Soon, female," he promised, reveling in the way she whimpered in return, "after I rid us of these pesky wolves."

"W-we just need the shard, Inuyasha. That's all we need. We don't need to-"

He snarled and gave her a shake. What-was-his should not speak unless he allowed her to. Especially now. Because he could smell him there, behind him. He could hear the movements from inside as one of them moved out from the cave and into the moonlight.

A snarl ripped through the air, heavy and deep. "Mutt. You dare to return?"

Inuyasha turned, his grip loosening in his female's hair. He released her as he faced his opponent, keeping his body between the two of them. "And who might you be?"

His yellow eyes gleamed in the dark. "I am the Wolf King. And you will call me Kouga."

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See you all soon!

~SugarRos