Koga couldn't sleep that night; how could he with doubt weighing down his thoughts? He sighed, staring into the darkness. Every day he has all the burdens of the tribe upon him, and yet he never felt more lost than he did right then. Something wasn't right, but he was unsure of what exactly it was. He turned onto his side and pulled the fur blanket further up his bare chest, trying his best to get comfortable. Kikyo was curled up at his side, her pale skin illuminated by the moonlight seeping in through the cave's entrance. He smiled softly at her sleeping form and circled his arm around her waist, closing his eyes. She looked so much at peace, so kind and innocent, "How could anyone doubt someone so pure?" he asked himself before drifting off to sleep as well.
In the morning, Koga awoke to find that Kikyo was not by his side like usual. He sat up and looked around the cave, but she was nowhere to be seen. Curiously, he left his chambers and trudged down the steeply sloped paths of the cliffside, heading down towards the heart of their camp. Kane sat at the fire, surrounded by some of the younger boys in the clan, and Akai sitting on his lap. As Koga approached them he saw what the little group was there for, Kane was drawing pictures for the children in the dirt, the story of how the infamous Naraku met his defeat many, many years ago.
"Good morning, Lord Koga." the children said in unison, bright smiles glued onto their young faces.
"Naraku, eh?" he inquired, "I thought you didn't like that story, Akai? Too much violence for your taste, or something along those lines?" he smirked.
"Well…I, I changed my mind" she said with a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, almost matching the color of her auburn hair.
He chuckled, "I guess you'd better tell it right, then, Kane, or else you might lose your audience."
"I don't mind the attention, to tell 'ya the truth." Kane laughed. "I'll be right back, pups. Akai," he said, looking down at the girl as she slid off his lap, "why don't you continue the story until I return, alright?"
Akai nodded to him and he smiled and nodded to her before walking off with Koga, "Something's wrong, milord. What is it?" he asked.
"Have you seen Kikyo this morning? She's not in our chambers and didn't wake me this morning."
"I thought she'd told you." Kane said, a bit perplexed, "She went over to the healer's chambers earlier today. She thought it would help ease some of your stress if the newly acquired victim was healed a bit faster. She said you didn't sleep much last night; probably figured you were stressed out about the attacker."
Koga sighed and rubbed the back of his eyes to relieve some of the tension there, "We're practically strangers, and yet she knows me so well sometimes. Strange, huh?"
Kane shrugged, "That's love, I guess. I wouldn't know, I've never been in love before."
"What happened with Ewen? She's a nice girl with a lot of potential. I thought you two were getting along well these days?" he asked.
Kane shrugged, "Yeah, she's really nice. We got along pretty well, but there wasn't any love. No connection like what you and Lady Kikyo have."
A smirk came across Koga's face, "You're still young, don't worry about it too much, Kane. Besides, Akai seems to be very attached to you lately."
His eyes widened a little as Koga turned to head off to the healer's chambers, "B-but, milord! Your daughter?! She's so young!"
Koga merely laughed and continued to walk away before Kane stumbled along after him, "Her mother gave birth to her at 16, Kane." he said, "She's only a couple of years younger. Age is not much of a matter when it comes to the clan, you'll learn as you get older. How old do I look?"
"I don't know, I've never thought about it."
"Well, I was full-grown when I first met Ayame. She was barely as high as my knee. Age is no difference once one has matured; we all live so long because of our demon blood. Besides, you're at least half my age. Don't think too much into it, but if Akai had to pick someone amongst the clan, I'd hope it was you. Your father was a good friend of mine when I was young, a sort of mentor. I'd be honored if his son were to choose my child as a mate."
Kane fell behind in pace slightly, "Is this your way of asking me to be her mate?"
"No, I would never force someone to love her. All I'm asking is that you get to know her, and go from there. The decision would be entirely up to the two of you, no hard feelings either way."
Kane nodded slightly and turned back towards the fire where the kids were waiting for him. He stopped when he was about halfway back and within viewing distance of them. He leaned back against a tree and crossed his arms with a sigh. Akai had always sort of seemed like his kid sister, but lately things have changed. He'd felt awkward around her. Surely he would've blushed a few times if he hadn't been too embarrassed to. Now he had permission to be around her more, to even flirt a little. Before, he felt that it was wrong. She'd only recently matured, he never really noticed. It did, however, explain the new feelings he'd had around her.
Koga spotted Kikyo entering the healer's cave with a bucket of water in each hand. He followed after her swiftly and entered the cave as well just in time to see the water spill all over the floor. Kikyo sat beside the bed of furs where Kohana lay. "What's going on here?" he asked strongly.
Kikyo turned to look at him with a gentle smile, but it was no use, he saw the bright red streak across her cheek. She'd been hit, hard, and it definitely hurt. He could see the tears in her eyes, the ones she was trying hard to fight back. His eyes narrowed and he marched over to Kohana in but a few long strides. He took hold of her by the arm and pulled her up to his eye level, glaring daggers into her eyes, "If you ever lay a finger on your Lady and priestess again, you will not live to see the inside of the healer's chambers again." He let go of her arm and let her drop back to her bed.
He walked around to Kikyo and helped her to her feet. She remained silent as he escorted her from the cave and led her into the forest instead. After a few minutes he stopped and plucked a leaf from a low-grown shrub. "Have a seat." he told her gently, sitting at her side as she sat upon the ground. He placed the leaf up to her cheek where she'd been hit and held it there, "This should help so you won't bruise." he told her.
She smiled at him and nodded slightly, careful not to move her head to much, "You didn't have to do that. She is angry at being attacked, and I do not blame her for trying to harm me. I really am fine, though."
"How can you not be mad? She had no right to do that, especially if she respected either one of us. "
"I saw the arrow, Koga. She probably thinks it was me who attacked her. She was threatened by me being there, so I left to fetch some water as assistance to the healer. I doubt she thought to see me there twice in the same day. Any human would most likely offend her as of now." she explained softly.
"You aren't human anymore, Kikyo. You are one of us. You are her leader as well as the leader of everyone else in this clan. She had no right."
"Why do you despise her so, besides what happened today?" she asked gently, touching his arm.
"What makes you think I hate her?"
"She was one of the girls who helped me dress for our ceremony. Hana and Ewen. Hana is short for Kohana, is it not? Well she seemed awkward around me, like she didn't want to be there. Ewen made sure she didn't say anything wrong, though. As soon as Hana started to speak, Ewen dragged her right out of there. I didn't think much of it at the time, what with my nerves and all."
"You're not the one who attacked her, though?" he asked cautiously, rubbing the leaf against her cheek one last time before pealing it away and tossing it to the ground.
Kikyo lowered her head slightly and sighed, getting to her feet, "If you truly love me, you wouldn't need to ask that question." She turned and headed back towards the edge of the forest, returning to camp.
Koga sat there, mentally kicking himself over and over again. He knew he loved Kikyo; he loved her more than he thought he could ever love someone, but things seemed to be so complicated. He didn't know what was true. Just two days before, he was perfectly content. There was no invisible wall separating him from his love, but that is precisely what it felt like. He thought she hated him at that point, all because he was stupid enough to let Kohana's hatred rub off on him. He was stupid enough to allow her to put that doubt in his mind.
He jumped to his feet and bolted into a run, dashing out of the forest as quickly as he could, heading over to the healer's yet again. Inside, he found that Kohana was on her bed fast asleep. He sighed and slumped down onto one of the empty beds, his eyes locked onto the floor in concentration.
"Why do you despise me so much now, Koga?" came a quiet voice from beside him.
He grumbled to himself and turned to look at Kohana sitting down at his side, "What has she ever done to you, Kohana? You know very well she wouldn't hurt anyone in this tribe."
"How can you be so sure, Koga? She was once human. She used to kill demons like us without a second thought. Nothing changed in her; she is not purely of us or of her own kind anymore." Kohana told him, moving slightly closer.
"She wouldn't hurt any demon of this tribe! How can you sit there and point the blame so easily towards her?"
"She knows about us, Koga. She knows what we once were. She's threatened by what we once had." she whispered to him.
"How could she possibly know that unless you told her yourself?"
"Ewen must have told her, Koga. Ewen was my best friend at the time, she knew something strange was going on, if I didn't tell her then I would have risked losing the only friend I had left."
"Kikyo really must hate me…" he said, his eyes lowering to the floor again.
She wrapped an arm around his back and leaned her head on one of his drooped shoulders, "You cannot have someone so impure and insecure as your mate and queen. It shows weakness. Someone who is weak will never be able to survive as a leader in the harsh wilderness we live in."
"You know what, Hana? You're right. Humans are too weak to live out here on their own, away from their villages and families. That's why your attack makes no sense to me."
"W-what are you talking about?" she asked, lifting her head and watching him very closely.
"Humans can't survive so far away from their resources. You were attacked out in the hunting grounds, but we scrounged around the whole area of your attack and found no trace of anything capable of holding a bow. No human would even try to kill a demon with a simple bow and arrow, especially with no one to help them." he stated firmly, lifting his head.
"So, what, you don't believe me?" she asked with a bitterness to her voice.
"I wouldn't believe you if my life counted on it, Kohana." he turned and began to walk out of the cave, "By the way, where did you end up stashing that brother of yours? If he was with you, like he usually is while you're out collecting wood, he would've died for you. The problem is, he wasn't there, not even his blood or a scrap of cloth."
As he left the cave, he sent in the two guards who were standing nearby, "Don't let her leave for any reason whatsoever. No one but the healer is allowed in or out until I say otherwise."
A/N: I wrote this whole one today. It's long, huh? Yeah, I had a lot of spare time. Ooh! And I already know what I'm going to do for the final chapter. Yes, that means chapter 11 will be the very end. But no worries! I've got an idea for a sequel. You wanna know about the sequel? You'll have to wait until the last chapter's A/N for my few ideas. XD I know, I'm evil. R&R!