How Will I Know

Disclaimer: Ha Ha Ha!!! I saw my first CBR World Championship rodeo last night, and I don't own InuYasha or rights to it, etc. (Also, rodeos 'r great! The guy I wanted to win did, so I am GOOD, but I didn't get his autograph ::whine::

Chapter 24: By the Light of the Jewel

The waterfall's contents pounded the rocky cliff's base in the night. A shadow moved around one side, and was greeted by two more. They paused together a moment before separating. One headed behind the waterfall by dodging under a small ledge that kept him and the girl he carried from the torrents of water raining down inches away. The other two moved to lookout 'posts' on either side of the waterfall and melded into the shadows again.

Kouga looked around the large cave that once held his clan; now all that was left of his pack were Ginta and Hakaku, the lookouts at the moment. Besides himself, of course. He was their leader, and needed to keep the pack going. He planned to do just that with the girl he'd taken from a certain half-demon, his rival over the affections of this girl. Now that he had his rival out of the way, when she woke, the girl would love him. She was the one he'd chosen as his mate, although she hadn't cooperated so far. In his view, she was a prisoner of her inexplicable affection for his rival.

Kouga sat on a soft patch of grass growing along a side of the cave, setting the girl against the wall. She sleeps soundly, he thought once, before gathering more grass and soft materials and laying them down on the patch. Once that was complete, he lifted the girl into his arms, wrapped in the overcoat of his enemy, and sat down, gazing at her beauty.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, and saw InuYasha's red haiori. She snuggled deeper into Kouga's chest and InuYasha's shirt, believing it to be him. A scent reached her nose that made her tingle… come to think of it, this wasn't exactly how InuYasha's lap felt either… She looked up into the face of the prince of the wolf demon clan, and immediately stumbled clumsily out of his lap, landing on her butt disgracefully a few feet away.

"Kagome…" Kouga began.

"What happened to InuYasha?" Kagome shuddered, still stunned about finding herself in these new surroundings. Kouga stood gently, and Kagome followed, and took a step back for the one he took forward. Kouga halted, then picked up InuYasha's haiori that had fallen at his feet when Kagome jumped.

"InuYasha was killed by a demon. He was sleeping, and you were lucky I was near there and sensed the demon. I managed to pull you away, and I grabbed InuYasha's haiori for you, but I'm afraid he's dead. I killed the demon that attacked InuYasha, and I wish he wasn't, for your sake, but he is dead."

"You're lying. Give me his robe; I'm going to look for him." Kagome reached out for the red garment, but Kouga pulled it away and held it behind himself.

"I can't let you go, Kagome. He's dead. I watched him fall." Kagome shook her head, denying it; just the same, tears welled up in her eyes. Kouga stepped forward, and she didn't resist as he wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't believe it, but if it was true… Kagome cried into Kouga's chest. He began stroking her back, and something twisted in her heart; in her mind a picture of InuYasha's face stared at her, shocked. She pulled away from Kouga, still feeling guilty for crying to him.

"How long was I asleep?" Kouga looked a little hurt by her pulling it away, but it vanished as he tried to be as pleasant to her as possible, sympathetically.

"Only a few hours, I suppose. It'll still be dark for some time yet."

"Then I'm going to bed. Where can I sleep?"

"Anywhere, sweet." Kagome's throat grew a knot, and small flare of an emotion -anger, she realized- appeared as she heard Kouga's word.

"Sweet?" She asked incredulously. Kouga realized his mistake, and hastily but smoothly covered up.

"I said 'meet'. I have to go meet with Ginta and Hakaku, so get some rest. I'll be guarding the entrance, so you'll be safe." With that, he waved and disappeared in a whirlwind. Kagome wondered if he was guarding it to keep her in or to keep others out. Either way, she was safe, in a cave by herself, and tired. She lay down on the soft pile of cushions and other miscellaneous soft accessories, and sighed.

After a few minutes of hard thinking, making her brain buzz, she'd reached a conclusion that made her feel slightly better, but very slightly. InuYasha was not dead. He couldn't have died, but Kouga had sounded so sure, so maybe he had looked dead. That had happened before. However, that meant he was probably close to death for some reason. Her imagination took hold, and she reached for the jewel shard case. It wasn't there, and she started to blame Kouga, but remembered that she'd never gotten it back from InuYasha. If he still had them, she might be able to sense them and find out where he was.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing.

Kouga sat in the shadows outside the cave. He could see his comrades, but only with his sense of smell. They'd all concealed themselves to protect the entrance to the cave, and Ginta and Hakaku were as determined as Kouga to protect their leader's 'mate'. They had grown to like the spirited girl who had fought alongside them once amongst the harpy battle. The wolf pack returned from hunting and laid out in the moonlight above the waterfall to either side. Suddenly, Kouga's shards began glowing.

InuYasha lay flat out on his back in the grass, panting with his eyes shut. The herb was affecting his body, causing pain, and also a sense of floating. He felt as if he were going to die, or was supposed to have died long ago. He clenched his teeth as another spasm of pain swept through him.

"InuYasha." It was Kagome's voice. InuYasha's eyes flew open, and he seemed to come back to earth. He looked around, pain shooting through his stomach and neck as he turned his head. She wasn't around. He looked down, and through his yukata, the bottle of jewel shards glowed. Kagome's voice called him again, and it resonated from the shards. He looked around again, to see if anyone was nearby and had heard, but there was nothing. He was in the grass by the edge of the pond. InuYasha closed his eyes and concentrated on Kagome's voice and the shards.

"Kagome?" She had appeared about ten feet away, lying on the ground. He watched as she opened her eyes and stood, walking slowly towards him. He lifted himself to his feet, the pain gone. Am I dead? Why is Kagome here… with me… if I'm dead? The thought passed as Kagome spoke.

"InuYasha… Kouga said you were dead…? Are you?"

"I… don't know. I was just lying in the grass, and now I'm… here." 'Here' was a strange place; the ground shimmered as if it were smoke, and the atmosphere was odd; as if a bright cloud had settled over them; it had a pinkish tint. (A/n- 'nough semicolons? Heheh.)

"What happened to you?" Kagome stepped closer, but halted three feet away.

"You fell asleep, and I became tired. Kouga came up behind me and took you from me; I couldn't move, and was fighting the sleep. I really tried to get you Kagome, but I couldn't, like I was drugged or something. Then Kouga said I couldn't follow, and something about 'the herb should work soon' and that I shouldn't ever wake again. He said he couldn't risk me following, and knocked me out." Kagome reached for him, but let her hand fall, afraid that he was only an illusion and she would run right through him.

"The herb… I bet it was to kill you, but Kouga probably forgot your human half… the herb kills demons if they breathe it in, but has little or no effect on humans. I've never heard the cure, but if you just rest for a few days, you should be fine." InuYasha reached into his yukata and pulled out the bottle of jewel shards. He held it out to Kagome, but she pressed it back, and was surprised at how solid InuYasha and the bottle felt.

"If I take the bottle, I won't be able to contact you again. I don't know if I'd be able to, but I would like you to keep them so I could try again."

"You contacted me through the jewel? Then it must have brought our spirits here, because I feel like I left my body behind. You certainly did." Kagome turned around and saw herself in a misty vision, lying, eyes closed on the floor. InuYasha popped open the bottle and took out a shard. He handed it to Kagome.

"This should make it easier for you to contact me, if you can again." Kagome looked at the determined gleam in his eye as he pressed the shard into her palm and closed his hand around hers, making a fist.

"InuYasha, promise me you'll rest! I want you to heal! You can't try and come find me!"

"Kouga took you to his cave, huh? Well, I know where to go, so-"

"Promise me!" Kagome interrupted. InuYasha's eyes opened a little wider, but he relaxed after a few seconds.

"Fine… I'll rest, but as soon as I can travel I'll look for you. Will you be alright? With Kouga, I mean."

"I'll be fine, please don't worry. I can hold off the 'wolf'. Please, I don't want you two to battle. When you can travel, stay away from him; I'll sneak away and find you." InuYasha opened his mouth to protest, but Kagome put a finger over his lips. InuYasha's eyes fixed her with his disapproval, then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. Kagome hugged him, and he pulled his head back. Their eyes met again for an instant, then he kissed her lips. It was soft and tender, apologetic yet dominating. He pulled away after a short time, and Kagome didn't open her eyes, still wanting to kiss.

"Stay safe, and keep in touch Kagome. I'll stay out of sight and scent of that wolf, but as soon as I think you need me, I'll be there. I should go and start to heal. Take care, my sweet." Kagome's eyes watered and her heart throbbed as InuYasha spoke the name, and she pressed her head into his chest. She closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

"I'll miss you, InuYasha."

"I'll be fine, and don't worry. I'm with you, sweet; just look around."

Kagome opened her eyes and the dark wall of the cave met her vision. She sat up and looked around. Was it a dream? She lifted two fingers hesitantly towards her face and touched her lips. They still tingled from the kiss, and she noticed something in her hand. A jewel shard sat in her palm, and she decided it would be best to hide it from Kouga. Only… how to do that? She lifted the shard to the hollow above her collarbones and pressed gently. The shard vanished, and Kouga ran up a second later.

"Are you alright? My shards glowed, and I wonder if it had anything to do with you." Kagome pondered this: she'd probably used Kouga's shards to contact InuYasha, but now that she had her own she wouldn't have Kouga's suspicion.

"I'm fine. How long was I asleep this time?" Kouga gave her an odd look.

"If you even fell asleep it was only for a few seconds. I just got settled outside when my shards began glowing. Oh, here." Kouga dropped the haiori across Kagome as a blanket before leaving with a small grin. Kagome pulled InuYasha's haiori tight about her and breathed in his scent. About ten wolves filed in through the cave opening and curled themselves around her, one studying her at eye level then curling up at her back. She drifted off to a peaceful sleep, and didn't dream.

InuYasha lay on the ground once again, but he was more able to move. He lifted the bottle of shards, and counted only six. Sleep well, Kagome.

Once again, don't hate Kouga. I actually think he's kind of cool, or maybe that's an understatement. Well, anyway, let's just see how this turns out. Also, any plot suggestions? Go on, throw something at me. Anything you'd like to see happen or whatever? Open to criticism & would be delighted to tweak the story for its readers.