Chapter 58: Invasion
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Inuyasha
Inuyasha knew a few things about the differences between the two social worlds he was cursed to live in, and he'd spent a lot of time studying both human and youkai dating rituals. After all, he'd had a lot of free time on his hands.
He had tried courting women before Kikyou placed her curse on him, so it wasn't like this was his first time attempting to build a future with someone. And he wasn't stupid, he had realized during this torturous journey that Kagome wasn't the same as other women from his past - and it wasn't due to her ability to sense the jewel, or kiss him out of the mirror. He'd been honest when he said he'd kiss a goat for his freedom.
But even with the understanding that she was different, he wasn't prepared for the step they'd taken earlier that day and how it meant everything would change, because she had also made him different, somehow, along the way.
The frustrating thing was he could now tell what Kagome's body was saying, far past his sense of smell and sharp eyes, but he still couldn't tell what she was thinking. He knew she was scared. He could feel it in the way her nails dug into his arm, the way her fingertips began to tremble, the way her heart rate spiked and stayed elevated. On top of that, he just… knew. It was like a weird, heightened sense that hadn't been there the day before.
He wasn't surprised at her fear, though. It hadn't been that long since they'd come up against the Naraku youkai themselves, and Kagome had fought like hell for her own life, barely losing it in the process. That goddamn goop the creature had covered her with hadn't helped, either.
Fuck, he was not ready for the way his body physically responded to that memory; of seeing her beaten and bruised, of hearing the pain and utter relief as she spoke his name. No way in hell was he letting that thing near her again.
"I hate to say it, but… we could use your claws. You fight with us here, and I might think about letting you leave in one piece." Kouga's eyes held steady, daring Inuyasha to turn his offer down.
Inuyasha wasn't one to turn down a fight. Could he take on another Naraku youkai? Yes he could. Could he take on multiple? The probability was high. But pride was only his highest priority when he was on his own, and now he had someone by his side he refused to put below it.
He bared his teeth. He wasn't going to just bend to Kouga's demands. "Yeah? And what the hell are you going to do if I decline? It's the survival of your clan or chasing after me when I take Kagome away from this death trap you call a home."
Kouga's foot moved millimeters in their direction, and Inuyasha nudged Kagome behind him, preparing for the swift kick he knew was coming.
"You would leave women and children to die," Kouga stated. "You come to us time and time again over the centuries as full youkai and slaughter my people, only to turn down a possible chance at redeeming yourself? Who is the monster here?"
Inuyasha opened his mouth to bite back, but Kagome stepped up beside him, her fingers pulsating warmth through the skin of his arm.
"No one in this room is a monster," she said, and he couldn't help but be impressed that her voice held steady and calm. He could hear the erratic heartbeat pounding loudly in her chest, could smell the fear oozing from her.
"And no, Kouga," she continued, "we're not leaving. We're staying to help protect your people from the Naraku youkai." Her face was pale and clammy, barely holding herself together as the words fell from her mouth
Kouga was one thing, but did she think she could lie to him? He was her mate, dammit. He might not know what she was thinking, but he would always know what she was feeling.
"Kagome-" he started, and her eyes locked right on him.
"I'm not leaving," she insisted, standing a little straighter than she was before. "You… you don't have to stay, but I-"
"Don't even think of finishing that sentence," Inuyasha growled, irritation and specks of hurt unfurling inside him. "I know you're not stupid enough to think I would leave you unprotected."
"Me! I'm here too!"
Inuyasha's ear flicked towards the annoying runt, but ignored him otherwise.
"I can protect myself," Kagome snapped.
"You can put up a fight, but you won't, not this time. Not while I can. And if I can't, it means I'm dead."
It wasn't what he meant to say. He wanted to gobble those words back up as her eyes widened in a hot flash of ire before her lashes flicked down. She turned her attention back to the wolf.
"We're staying," she said with more force behind each syllable. "I'm going to have a quick word with Inuyasha. Kouga, we'll be ready to fight."
With one last glare directed Inuyasha's way, Kouga turned on his heel and stalked from the room.
They both waited a moment, Inuyasha to ensure that Kouga was out of earshot and Kagome, he could tell, for a signal that it was safe to talk freely. Another beat of silence before he rounded on her. She so easily pissed him off, and he fucking loved her for it just as much as it drove him mad.
"What the hell was that?" he snapped. He wanted to shake her. "The Naraku youkai almost did you in last time, we're grabbing your shit and sifting out of here, now."
Her brows pinched together. "I know more about what Kouga is like. It took him a lot to even ask you for help. We're not leaving the wolves defenseless."
Shippou gripped his little fingers around Inuyasha's ankle. "Me too, I can help too!"
He shook his leg just enough for the kit to tip back and fall on his butt. "Kagome, they're wolf youkai, and there's a whole clan of them. They're fine. We're going."
He turned to grab her bag but her hand wrapped around his wrist and he felt her pull him - well, he felt her try to pull him - back towards her. He allowed himself to be pulled, because she was weak, but also because he would take any chance to be as close to her as possible. He'd spent so long forcing a distance between them, and he refused to do it anymore. She put her other hand on his chest, her blue eyes searing into his soul, basically.
"I love you, and part of why is knowing you won't leave them to fight alone."
He couldn't help himself. She made it impossible. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder and sift away. So what if he had to wait out the storm of her fury? So what if she took a week, a month to forgive him? Those were his thoughts as she stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
He brought his hand to her hair and took a gentle fistful, pulling her back so he could more easily catch her lips how he wanted them. He felt the flame of desire in her expand, felt the pull of her longing, the eagerness of her hunger for him. Each soft breath pricked at his ears.
"What a stupid thing to think," he growled when he pulled away. "I'll go crazy trying to keep you out of harm's way."
"You've done such a good job so far."
"Barely," he whispered, before taking her lips again. She breathed into him, moved to wrap her arms around his neck so she could pull herself closer still. Forget the wolves or fighting youkai, he wanted her now. His need throbbed fervently between his thighs. She was soft and warm and perfectly flushed, ready for him again. Always ready.
Damn, he'd wasted so much time trying to resist, and for what?
A warning blared at that moment, echoing from afar and bouncing through the tunnels to reach his ears. Kagome heard it too, because she pulled away just when he did, gazing up at him.
"Fine," Inuyasha groaned, stepping back and losing some of that sweet connection. He found it to be more addictive than anything he'd come across before. "Fine, you win. But I make the rules."
"Deal," she said without hesitation.
"Is that what you guys were doing out in the forest together? Gross!" Shippou stuck his tongue out. "Kagome, that's why you stink!"
Inuyasha watched Kagome's face turn red, but he couldn't help the pride that swelled up inside him. He grinned. Keh, of course the stupid fox could smell her protection. To Shippou, her smell was going to mix with Inuyasha's forever, which meant he wouldn't be bothering her so much, hopefully. No matter what Kagome thought of the runt, he was still a youkai.
"Let's go," he said, instead of teasing his mate like he wanted to. Now wasn't the time. "Let's see what could possibly cause Kouga to ask for my help."
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He cursed.
One slimy beast Inuyasha could handle. He'd slaughtered the Naraku youkai that had tried to off Kagome with ease. That was, of course, after she'd basically disabled the thing with her arrows. But still, they couldn't be that terrible at full power. ...he hoped.
This time there were a couple dozen at best. They moved silently, deep, dark purple tentacles - almost black to even his own eyes - thrashed up and above the canopy of trees visible from the mesa's edge. Kagome was on his back, her handmade bow and arrows slung over her shoulder. She repeated his curse under her breath, trembling. He tried his best to ooze calm confidence, hoping his emotions could reach her the ways hers did him.
Kouga stood beside them. He was there when they arrived, barking orders to his clan. A mess of what compared to seasoned human generals move as he spoke, preparing for the onslaught.
"What's the plan?" Inuyasha asked, watching the clan scramble below them.
Kouga made a sound of disgust between his teeth, but answered. "Elderly and children to the river. Bastards don't particularly like water, as far as we can tell." His jaw tightened. "We lost a few to that fucking jelly the beasts are covered in. Here, I'll show you where." He stepped casually off the mesa.
Inuyasha felt the soft squeeze of kagome digging her nails into his shoulders. He shared her memory as he kept after Kouga, the bitter taste in the back of his throat poisoning the lingering taste of her lips. Still, the bit about water was good to know.
"The rest are heading out to meet them head-on," Kouga said without skipping a beat as they made their way to the back of the cylindrical rock formation.
"Keh," Inuyasha replied, "sounds like the perfect place for me."
"While leaving Kagome with the others, yes?"
"What I do with my mate is none of your business, you dumb wolf. I- ow!" He slapped Kagome's hand away from his ear. "Woman, what are you doing?"
"No fighting," Kagome said as they came to a stop. She wiggled to get off his back, and he let her drop so he could massage his ear. "We're not fighting each other. Especially not now."
"There," Kouga said, pointing a good way off to the distance between the trees. The forest wasn't as thick around this side, sparse enough that even Kagome could see it. The river was wide enough to fit everyone in, and it didn't look to be moving too fast, though the undercurrent could be a problem for his mate.
"It's a good spot, if the water really is protection," Kagome said. "They should be okay here. That frees me up to-"
"Not a chance."
"Inuyasha," she hissed, brows pinching together, "let me use my arrows." She tried to hide the shake of her hands, but she couldn't hide it from him. He would always know.
"She'll make a great leader one day," Kouga said, his attention turning to one of his clan.
But Inuyasha had noticed the grin Kouga threw Kagome's way, and he felt the familiar stirring of his youkai in response. It had been deep inside, fast asleep since he'd woken up under the sun. The disturbance of his inner peace gripped tight around his spine, and the slight acknowledgment of the monster inside him made his stomach roll.
Inuyasha was going to rip his throat out. His hand clenched and he was going to pounce, but Kagome was there, her hand on his arm, and he realized she was soothing him somehow.
"Don't fight him," she said, "at least not until the Naraku youkai are defeated."
He set his jaw. "Fine," he said, accepting Kagome's heated glare. "I'll play nice for now."
"I'll take it," she replied. "We'll have to-"
Tentacles burst from behind them.
Inuyasha yanked Kagome down to the forest floor, his heart lurching in his throat. Her scream muffled into his firerat coat, her terror spiking to overwhelm his own.
Didn't even hear the fucking bastard approach, he thought, protecting her with his body.
The wolf youkai around them burst into a mess, the screams and roars of those unlucky enough to be in the area a chaotic backdrop to the monster over their heads.
He grunted and rolled to the side so he could see more of the creature. It was a giant tentacle whipping back and forth above their head. His eyes tracked its movement, and…
Dammit, how is it able to see where the fuck it's going? It was thick and slimy, just as he remembered before, but it moved with a speed that almost matched its own. It was twisting and bending around each tree, like a never-ending worm making its way through a pattern of roots.
Kagome shook in his arms, so much that he felt as if he were shaking himself.
And then it was gone, just as silently as it appeared, the tentacle retracting through the trees and into the thicket. Kouga was also gone, having lept into action.
Fuck it. It wasn't worth it to put his mate through anything like what she'd been through before. He was going to sift. Fuck the wolves and their stupid clan, and fuck the wolf king. He inhaled, ready to take them far enough away to feel comfortable.
Until her voice reached his ears.
"Inuyasha."
He caught her gaze; gorgeous, soul-tethering eyes fastened him in place. Trembling hands gripped his forearm, but her voice stayed composed and collected.
"You have to protect Kouga," she said.
"Keh," he spat, his irritation spiking again. He rolled off her and offered his hand out, lifting her onto her feet "Why's the wolf prick so important to you?"
"They're after the shards in his legs."
He felt the color drain from his face. "But not after ours?"
She shook her head, her hair a mess, tangled with pine needles. "It was, last time. It knew, somehow, that I had them. But it's not talking about the shards I'm carrying this time. It's after Kouga's legs."
Well, how the fuck did she know that? He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a sense of what she was feeling. Worry, a bit of panic… He frowned, unable to sense any guilt. She wasn't trying to hide anything from him.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"I can hear it when it speaks."
Inuyasha's ears flicked. "I didn't hear anything."
"Uh," she said, shifting her weight, "there's no voice, really, it's just… in my head."
He bit his tongue against a ready insult. His confusion and frustration wasn't her fault. He opened his mouth. He needed more of an explanation.
Then, shouting from around the curve of the masa. He could hear the clashing, the howling from deeper out into the woods.
This time the curse slipped free from his lips. He swiped up the quiver of homemade arrows and held them out. "Kagome, take your arrows and get in the river."
She shook her head. "No, I'm coming with you to help fight."
He pressed her weapons against her chest, nudging her backwards. "Someone needs to protect the elderly and children-"
"That's bullshit, and you know it," she said, grabbing the quiver and slinging it over her shoulder. "The elderly and children are youkai, they're much stronger than I am. They can protect themselves. Besides, I've fought beside you since the spider youkai came after me at Kaede's. ...Don't you trust me?"
He gripped at her arms, leaning down so he was at eye level. He wanted to give her a shake, to clear her head.
"I trust you, don't think otherwise, but when this thing attacked before..." He could still see Kagome's face, weary and beaten and covered in slime, and so utterly relieved that he'd made it to her before… "It almost killed you."
He racked his brain to think of something, anything else he could say to convince her to go to the river with the others, even as she set her jaw in defiance. He could tell she was frustrated, just like he was, but damn if he was ever going to put her in a situation like that again.
Shippou moved, and Inuyasha caught him from the corner of his eye. "Besides," he said, relieved that for once the kit might work in his favor, "we have to think about Shippou.".
Her eyes narrowed. "What about Shippou?"
"He's not accepted as one of them. They'll give him up to the Naraku youkai if they think it will save them or buy them time."
"You…" she started, and the anger in her voice was evident, "you're such a jerk, using Shippou to try and get what you want."
"You saved him last time, but just barely. He's a trickster, not a fighter. I can't risk it."
"But you're okay risking yourself."
He grinned and gathered her up in his arms, ignoring her annoyed, stiff resistance. His hand moved up the back of her neck, his fingers in her hair, and brought her in for a kiss. Slowly, he worked her into putty, and she responded. He could feel the anger draining out of her. "I'll be back before you miss me." he murmured, hating himself as he parted his lips from hers and gave her a gentle nudge in the kit's direction.
Her jaw was tight, eyes ablaze. Sexy as fuck. Keh. If he wasn't so generous as to help out the wolves, if Kagome wasn't so damn insistent they do the right thing, he would have had her right then and there. The hours between now and when she'd last come undone in his hands were too many.
She turned and motioned for the kit to follow, and he jumped up onto her arm and allowed himself to be carried away. Inuyasha couldn't be sure if she knew he caught her voice, spoken quietly and under her breath.
"I miss you already, though."
He almost went to her then. Almost. Sifting was still an option.
Instead, he turned and lept, eyes pinning to where Kouga stood, directing his army of wolves.
