Didn't have much of an opportunity to express my love for you all on my previous update. Was a little determined to get the story up and posted before bed time so busy busy! Not this time though!

Spring is here and my vacation time away from the hell hole known as college will soon be present! Can you tell I'm excited? But not half as excited as I am to be posting a new chapter!

Thanks so much for all the support! Reviews are my fuel and keep my going! Enjoy the update my fellow Kou/Kag junkies!

Note's For Review's :

MysteriaMania - Did you wish on a star? Cause if you did make sure to send it my way! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Neko Gear Girl - Yay for list conquering then! So happy to be on the top! I like it up here. Thanks for the support!

Write more please - Review more please. Just kidding! Enjoy!

Guest - Soon enough? I hope so!

Bertabee - Clever right? Kouga is a sharp tool lol

Kouga's Older woman - Me too! Nothing wrong with being a step dad!

Ethril - Thank my over active imagination whilst asleep lol It planted the seed for this little story plant and now I'm just helping it grow! Thanks for the support! Also Shippo is a little stinker lol

Leti0422 - The questions will most definitely probably have a slow answer time but we will get there! And you would be surprised on who I have in mind to drop in on this story. *wink*

JJ - Man period? Lol Just kidding!

JamlesSassenach - Thanks so much! Enjoy the update!

Write More Please - This again? Done. Lol

Naruto4Sakura - Thanks for the words of encouragement! I take it you're a college survivor lol? Oh and you caught my little play on words did you? Lets see if you can do it again in this chapter *wink* And I wouldn't say Kouga and Kagome necessarily fight. They just talk really loud back and forth to each other. In a sometimes rude manner….Okay. They fight. Lol As for Kouga's secretive past. Oh its juicy alright and definitely on the dark side. It will be revealed…soon? Maybe soon. Really looking forward to your take on this new chapter! Eagerly awaiting some review juice lol

Aja-Armani - Thank you sooo much for the beyond descriptive review! I mean wow! It really motivates me to keep going knowing people like you really understand where I want to take this story and how I want it to develop. Slowly but lengthy is usually my system for updating I think it gives me a little breathing room between chapters. As for the back-story revealing it is coming! For sure! Everyone has a piece of themselves in the past and everyone really wants to know what happened to bring them to their points in the future. It will be done. I swear lol. Until then though thanks so much and really looking forward to your next review!

Chapter Four

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Rain tapped the cracked puddle stained pavement of the worn down concrete leading further and further into the most desolate part of Tokyo Kagome had ever seen.

Peering up from under the shelter of her bright yellow umbrella she could see the late evening sky was such a deep shade of grey it was only a moment or two short of fading into total black.

A scenario her determination aside she really wanted to avoid. Being in this neighborhood after dark wasn't ideal.

Her motives for being in such a run down part of the city were justified but from the outside looking in she could see how foolish she might seem. Putting herself in a situation like this over something as trivial as a piece of clothing.

Unintentionally Kagome's hazel eyes peeked down at the thick brown coat neatly folded over her forearm. Just the sight of the familiar leather made Kagome's strive that much more certain.

She wasn't turning back now. She was doing what she had set out to do since waking up this morning on her tear stained pillow.

Last night had been one she never wanted to relive again. Crying over Kouga and his borderline cruel words.

She may have wanted the wolf demon as her friend but not after what she had seen. The demon who had snapped at her wasn't the wolf she had once known and cared for.

It was a painful realization, but a necessary one.

Who she let into her life was more important now then it ever was. She wasn't just surrounding herself with company after all. But her unborn child as well.

She was only sorry it had taken her this long to realize it.

It was that very comprehension that had led her hear. To this slightly desolate place.

A lone street filled with nothing but weathered and completely run down warehouses and abandoned apartment complexes.

As sad as it was to admit. It wasn't surprising this is where she had been guided to locate the absent wolf demon.

After a few lingering phone calls to various sources (mostly being Shipoo) she finally had been given an address.

Though facing Kouga again was the absolute last thing Kagome wanted to endure. She wasn't letting the azure eyed wolf barge back into her life on his terms.

It hadn't been till after their heated exchange of words that Kagome had returned to the empty confines of her home only to realize she was still wearing Kouga's coat.

The moment she noticed such a thing she tore the leather away from her, but didn't have the nerve to throw it outside into the storm. Though inside that is what she had deeply wanted to do.

So after waiting out the dreary weather for the better part of the day. A temporary break in the endless spring showers had allowed her to travel across the city until eventually she found her way here.

Her plan was simple. Locate where Kouga 'supposedly' stayed. Leave his coat on his doorstep and turn away. Whither the wolf demon was present or not was not important.

She had nothing to say to him.

Fueled on by her still silently stinging hurt and anger Kagome trudged her boot covered feet forward. The sooner this was over, the better. She could move on with her life without regret.

Turning the last corner sharply as she had been instructed to do she continuously walked to the end of the dead end street.

Any other time she would have been intimidated or frightened to be in the center of such a dangerous looking neighborhood but luckily the relentless rain gave her an odd form of comfort.

She seemed to be the only one brave enough to endure this weather. She hadn't even seen a hint of another person for miles now.

Just a plentiful amount of construction and renovation billboards "masao ookami" or something like that. Kagome honestly hadn't paid that much attention to them all. Her mind was far to preoccupied to enjoy the odd placed scenery.

Bringing her back to the present Kagome finally reached the end of the badly damaged concrete walkway. Looking up from under her shielding umbrella she found herself standing in the shadow of a surprisingly large brick warehouse.

The foundation was damaged and there didn't seem to be a single glass window in tact. Hard rust lines cut down the dirt stained bricks from the row upon row of aged fire escapes leading up to the unseen roof.

Nervously Kagome glanced down at the cracked and dented curb.

The numbers were correct. This was definitely the place.

Kagome swallowed hard in disbelief. She had expected bad, but not like this. Did Kouga actually live in a place like this?

Kagome shook the thought away all to quickly. She didn't care! Kouga's life was none of her business. He had made that painfully clear last night.

Taking a reassuring breath Kagome walked forward towards the threshold of the building. Noticing among countless other things it was missing a front door.

She peered inside the darken building nervously. Just from this standing point she could see it was absolutely filthy inside.

Dirt and grime from constant heavy weather and neglect all to visible.

Timidly Kagome looked down at the cracked step that acted as the only porch into the decaying building. She had come all this way across the city to return Kouga's coat. Not just toss it on the rain drenched ground.

She could have done that last night.

Still the idea of walking inside such a visible death trap didn't sit well with her.

What should she do? It shouldn't be this difficult to handle something so simple. Yet, it was.

Still weighing her options, out of the corner of her eye Kagome witnessed an all to brief flash of light flicker across what looked like the top floor of the brick building.

Kagome felt her stomach knot. So someone was here? Was it Kouga?

She didn't want to see him. She didn't! But, she wasn't so callous just to shove what was most likely Kouga's only decent article of clothing into the muck.

Frustrated at the situation more than anything Kagome huffed out angrily. She would do this, but that was it! No more going out of her way to appease someone who clearly didn't care all that much about her!

Bravely she trudged over the threshold into the warehouse immersing herself in the filthy ruin before she had a chance to come to her senses.

Closing her umbrella she placed the plastic dome by the doorframe now capable of taking in her new surroundings fully.

The building was even more impossibly disgusting inside then it was out.

Cobwebs and blacken muck littered the floor and ceiling. Over grown shrubbery actually emerging through the walls on the opposite side of the floor.

Kagome's sense of urgency kicked into overdrive. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Averting her attention to the nearest means of exit Kagome caught sight of a winding staircase that led upwards. The wood was aged and badly cracked but surprisingly it didn't look all that unstable.

With a heavy sigh Kagome soldiered towards it gripping a hold of the handrail tightly before inching up the flights of stairs that laid ahead of her.

Reminding herself that this would all be over soon Kagome braved floor after floor until finally the one she unknowingly searched for revealed itself.

Stepping over the last of the seemingly endless stairs she had climbed Kagome emerged on the top floor a single room flat that expanded a surprisingly wide distance.

Even more impressive was this level actually appeared cleaned.

The room still smelled of rotted wood and aged water but the floor was unmarred by filth and the metal crisscrossed ceiling was spider web free.

Even the row of windows lining the front wall were intact. Badly scratched and heavily fogged but sturdy.

But what kept Kagome's attention captive more than anything else was the flickering light she had managed to catch a glimpse of before.

Off in the far corner of the room was a frameless bed. A flatten and extremely tattered matters draped in torn ragged blankets.

All illuminated by the dim glow of a burning clearly battery operated lantern. The reflective plastic and glass placed on the floor beside the makeshift bed.

Speechless Kagome placed Kouga's coat on the stair railing she had emerged from. But instead of retreating down flight like she intended on she stepped forward.

Completely under a shock filled trance of what she was currently seeing.

It wasn't until she was right at the edge of the pieced together bed that she was able to see the darken corner of the pile.

Laying motionless and breathing heavily was the very person she swore up until this point she wanted to avoid at any cost.

Kouga laid still and deeply asleep before her. One of his thick muscular arms folded beneath his head while the other laid across his harden abdomen.

A badly stained t-shirt and jeans covering what the weathered and badly torn blankets didn't.

Kagome stood there frozen in her own disbelief.

Deep down she had always known Kouga lived less fortunate then others. She had thought that the night she had found him in that awful fighting pit. But, she had no idea it was this bad.

This awful.

Reflexively Kagome's hand cupped over her mouth to keep a silent broken hearted gasp from escaping.

All the anger and hurt that had fueled her action prior to this moment instantly melted away. How could she possibly be angry any more?

This. This moment explained everything. Why Kouga had been so hell bent on not letting her in.

He was ashamed.

It explained everything. He hadn't wanted her to see him in his state. Had he wanted to keep her memory of the proud wolf he once was the same?

Was he afraid this would change her opinion of him?

Kagome felt tears instantly haze over her soften eyes.

Her heart felt like it was breaking at the remembrance of what Kouga had given her. All he had provided her with. And all the while he was living like this. Like an animal.

She couldn't bare this! She didn't care about her previous declarations of never wanting to see the azure eyed wolf again.

This heartbreaking discovery had dissolved all of that completely away. All she wanted now was to be there for Kouga the way he had always secretly been there for her.

Still trying to gain the composure to speak Kagome took a steady breath. Soft as it might have been it was enough to cause the wolf demon sleeping before her to groan tiredly.

Kouga's face tightened groggily before relaxing his azure eyes prying open to meet the hazel pair of orbs gleaming back at him from the foot of his makeshift bed.

Kouga blinked several times in disbelief almost positive he was still partially asleep.

But after a few strokes of his eyelids and the once priestess staring back at him still didn't vanish hard pulsating reality immediately slammed into him.

"Kagome? What the hell are you doing here!?" He asked bolting upright.

Kagome was far to buried by her raging sympathy and guilt to be bothered by his clearly furious tone. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came to the surface.

Only the almost desperate need to comfort Kouga in anyway she could. It was all she could do to let the wolf demon before her know everything was going to alright.

Before her mind even registered her bodies command she was lunging forward!

The bed squeaked with her sudden weight as she curled herself to Kouga's chest. Her arms coiling around his thick waist tightly as she rested her head on the broad plain of his collarbone.

She held him so tightly were he human it might have boarded on painful.

"Oh Kouga! I'm so sorry!" Kagome cried against him fresh tears cutting hard lines down her heated cheeks.

Kouga sat paralyzed as he felt Kagome begin tremble against him. Her uneven sobs rumbling through his chest due to how desperately she held onto him.

He didn't know how long it took him to react or to overcome the almost insane realization Kagome was actually here. In a bed, holding him…and crying.

But eventually he did.

"Hey-" He whispered gripping a hold of Kagome's shoulders to gently pull her away from him. Wanting to see her face as he finally found the nerve to speak.

"What's with the tears? I thought you'd still be pissed at me?" Kouga asked calmly reached up to thumb away a few of Kagome's escaping salted drops.

Kagome rocked back onto her knees releasing Kouga from her embrace to instead hold tightly onto his wrist afraid to let him pull away as she finally met his bright azure eyes.

"I'm not angry. Not anymore." Kagome sniffled admittedly.

Kouga sighed heavily. Well he damn sure hadn't expected this. But, he was happy all the same. Since leaving Kagome last night he had literally done nothing but mentally kick himself for being such an ass towards her.

It wasn't her fault she wanted to see past the surface. It was to expected. He just hadn't been prepared for it. And like most everything else in his life when something unexpected happened it was rarely a good thing.

Being defensive was just part of him now. But, it had been made painfully clear how easily he could hurt someone he really cared for.

Remorsefully Kouga cupped Kagome's cheek thumbing her soft flesh apologetically.

"You shouldn't have come all the way down here." He breathed.

Kagome nodded silently. She knew that better then he ever could. But, she wasn't about to regret her decision especially since it had led her here. To the truth.

"How did you even find me?" Kouga asked only now realizing even in the heat of their previous argument he hadn't mentioned anything about where he could be found.

"I called Shippo." Was Kagome's whispered response.

"That figures." Kouga gruffed under his breath.

"Kouga." Kagome began evenly and much more composed catching Kouga slightly off guard.

"Why didn't you tell me things were this bad?" She asked visibly hurt by the realization Kouga felt like he had to hide his situation from her.

Kouga hesitated. That seemed like a strange thing to say at a time like this. He wouldn't say things were bad. Especially now. They were recovering from their argument weren't they?

"We're friends aren't we? You should have trusted me. I would never have pushed you so hard if you had just been honest with me!" Kagome stated directly.

She may have forgiven Kouga but that didn't mean she was completely ready to let him off the hook for being so distant from her.

Kouga was almost at a loss for words. This conversation didn't seem like one he had much input in. Or understanding for that matter.

"Honest about what exactly?" He asked gently retracting his hands away from Kagome's suddenly intense facial expression.

"About this! How you are living!" Kagome said while gesturing with her hands towards the rusted ceiling and slowly rotting floor.

Kouga felt his azure eyes widen in sheer confusion. Did Kagome actually think…?

He didn't have time to verbalize his disbelief before she spoke again. This time much more consoling then accusing.

"It's okay now. It's over. You can stay with me until you get on your feet." Kagome reassured proudly. She was really in no position to open her home so freely especially with her priorities shifting drastically towards her child.

But she wasn't about to let Kouga endure out here all alone in the cold.

"Wait-" Kouga finally broke his silent daze.

"You think I live here?" He asked in total disbelief.

Kagome didn't respond. She didn't want to rub salt in his wound but that was a slightly strange question to ask. How could he possibly deny what she had seen? What was still being seen?

She didn't have time to honestly think of a deserving response before she watched Kouga's head dip slowly.

She halfway expected him to be shameful or apologetic but instead a low rumble was heard from the back of his throat and then rich unchecked laughter burst outwards.

Kagome felt her expression shift from understanding to disbelief.

What could Kouga possibly find funny about this situation? He was basically homeless and no doubt struggling just to survive. Yet her proposal of providing him with an actual roof was humors?

Kouga's unrestrained laughter filled the large partially empty room before it finally died down with a run of his calloused hand through his raven locks and onto the back of his neck.

"What's so funny?" Kagome asked bordering on insulted.

Was this how Kouga was going to react when she was going out of her way to make sure he was actually going to be sheltered?

Her home might not be all that glamour's but it was a thousand times better then this place!

With a coy and slightly fangy smirk Kouga met Kagome's suddenly annoyed gaze.

"As tempting as the offer to move in with you is. I think I'll pass." Kouga chuckled before slinging his legs over the side of the mattress they both still sat upon.

No longer tired in the least he climbed to his feet watching as Kagome followed suit. The sweet almost attentive intimacy between the two of them dissipating in an instant.

"You want to stay here?" Kagome asked in suspicion her hands instinctively bracing on her hips in aggravation.

"Um until my contractors show up? Yes." Kouga replied bluntly strolling towards the line of heavily fogged windows just ahead ignoring Kagome's sudden flare of frustration completely.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked edgily turning to face the unnaturally relaxed wolf demon staring to what little of the outside world could be seen.

She heard him chuckle under his breath lightly.

"Kagome. I don't live here." He smirked mischievously peering an azure eye over his broad shoulder towards the beyond doubtful priestess.

"You don't." Kagome huffed disbelieving.

"Here-" Kouga gestured with a tilt of his chin towards the distant glow of the city lights.

With a still questioning brow Kagome walked towards the row of damaged glass to attempt to follow the wolf demons line of sight beside her.

"You see that building-" Kouga began pointing a clawed finger towards one of the most visible skyscrapers on the storm hazed horizon.

Even at this distance the building seemed incredible. A glimmering jewel in the midnight and a tower that cast every other into its enormous shadow.

"The big shiny one. That. Is where I live." Kouga smirked prideful and believably honest.

Kagome turned towards Kouga with a sympathetic stare. Why did he feel the need to do this? To lie to her. She wasn't judging him in the least. She just wanted to help him in anyway she could.

Indulging in his fantasy of living in probably one of the most extravagant places in all Tokyo wouldn't help the situation. She had to make him understand that.

"Kouga you don't have to lie to me. Everyone falls on hard times now and then. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She began understandingly.

Instead of finally breaking down his bravado façade Kouga once again chuckled lowly with a few shakes of his head.

Turning from the view he sat on the rim of the window sill with a smirk still on his handsome lips.

"Kagome. Can I ask you something?" Kouga asked carelessly.

Kagome's brow arched but otherwise she didn't respond. It was a fair enough reaction to continue from Kouga's view point.

"The billboards around the city. You've seen a few that say "Masao Ookami" right?" Kouga asked leadingly.

"Yes?" Kagome responded. How were billboards relevant to this conversation?

"Okay-" Kouga nodded grateful he had been given some sort of headway. Reaching into his back pocket he fished out his folded leather wallet before extracting a slightly dented and worn card.

He extended out the crumpled square to Kagome who reluctantly took hold of it before staring down at its aged cover.

Odd enough. It was a business card for the very renovation company Kouga had just mentioned. It was nothing extravagant just a plain colored card with the companies label and several numbers.

Kagome looked back up to Kouga with misunderstanding clear on her face.

"Is this suppose to mean something?" She asked unsure.

"First number. Call it." Kouga instructed already handing Kagome his personal phone since he had come to learn she didn't currently have a cell phone.

Kagome took hold of the onyx colored device tiredly. This all seemed pointless but if it would appease Kouga to the point of actually carrying on a real conversation with her. She would happily get it over with.

Skillfully she punched in the numbers that were imprinted on the cards cover before bringing the ringing tone that followed to her ear.

She looked at Kouga halfway expecting him to be ashamed she had called his bluff but instead he looked actually amused.

Then almost startling a loud chime of a phone could be heard filling the silence between them. Kagome was completely confused as to where the sound was coming from until it was all to clearly pinpointed.

With a coy smirk Kouga reached into his opposite jean side pocket pulling out another phone that Kagome had no knowledge of.

Never looking away from Kagome's now widen hazel eyes Kouga flipped the smaller phone open before speaking.

"Hello?" He answered. His voice carrying through the line Kagome still held to her ear.

Beyond shocked the phone slipped from her hand and almost made contact with the floor before Kouga quickly caught it mid air. Punching both phones end buttons before placing them back into his pockets.

"You work for 'Masao Ookami'?" Kagome asked dumbfounded. Though she knew very little about the corporation she had come to learn recently it was one of the most successful renovation companies in the city.

"Work for? No." Kouga repeated with a disapproving nod.

"Own? Yes." He corrected with a fangy smirk.

Kagome could feel the hard expression of shock literally spread across her face. This just didn't make sense. If Kouga was owner of one of the most lucrative business in all of Japan? Why was he staying in a place like this?

Her question didn't have the opportunity to be verbalized before Kouga answered.

"I might own the damn thing but that doesn't mean I don't like getting my hands dirty. I like to check out all the buildings before I start investing work into them." Kouga explained

"This area's a little bigger and takes a lot longer. When a storm hits like this. I just crash at one of the sights." He admitted. It wasn't the first time he done something like this. After all he had to intake every hint of structural damage or bad board just to get an estimation before his contractual team was called in.

He didn't trust anyone else to do it besides him. Even though every soul that worked for his corporation was indeed his fellow tribesmen.

He after all was still leader of the eastern territories. But, he wasn't about to explain all the semantics to Kagome. She looked shocked enough as it was.

"So this means y-you're?" Kagome asked in total astonishment. Her mind was now completely scattered and left her with very little vocabulary to choose from.

"Rich?" She blinked.

Kouga smirked wide and prideful.

"Filthy." He added.

Almost afraid she might drop to her knees at the weight of this monumental discovery. Kagome slumped backwards until she too was seated at the window sill her hazel eyes wide and staring aimlessly at the damaged floor below.

"This is unbelievable." She thought out loud.

"Don't take it so hard Kagome. The subject never came up between us. Besides, its not my face you see on the advertising." Kouga chuckled lowly. Thinking back to the human pawn he had hired as the companies face and front man.

The world had definitely changed in the past few centuries but he didn't think it was quite ready to have his badly scarred not to mention demonic presence as the image of a nationwide corporation.

Kagome didn't respond only sat there seemingly frozen until slowly her head dipped lowly allowing her raven bangs to shadow over her hazel orbs.

Kouga watched her wordlessly. Was all this really that big of a shock to her? He was about to ask when suddenly she climbed to her feet.

Never daring to peer into Kouga's direction Kagome all to quickly began to march forward.

"I'm leaving." She announced coldly.

"Hey wait a minute!" Kouga called jumping to his feet right behind her. His hand had barely managed to make contact with her sweater covered shoulder before she jerked away angrily.

"Don't!" Kagome snapped spinning to face the clearly caught of guard wolf demon.

At the sight of her tear hazed eyes and clearly furious expression Kouga took a surrendering step backwards.

"Why are you so upset?" Kouga asked as openly as he could.

"I have every right to be upset!" Kagome shouted so loudly the room vibrated with her rage filled tone.

"I practically just threw myself at you! I thought you needed me! And all this time you've-?" Kagome couldn't even find the words to finish her heated statement. She was so fuming her voice and body were literally trembling!

Adding more fuel to her rage filled fire she caught sight of Kouga's makeshift pile of a bed that she had just momentarily ago leapt onto without a second thought!

"What makes you think I don't need you? You're-" Kouga defended, before Kagome cut him off all to quickly.

"I'm your what? Your friend?! News flash Kouga! Friends don't lash out at one another when one is just trying to help!" Kagome hissed furiously.

Kouga cupped the back of his neck edgily.

"You're still pissed about last night?" He asked reluctantly.

"Of course I am!" Kagome snapped!

"If you weren't embarrassed about your life. Then why did you turn on me!? All I wanted was to get to know you better! Was that to much to ask?" Kagome asked angrily.

"Yes!" Kouga growled sharply catching Kagome slightly off guard.

Kouga watched his heated reaction momentarily stun Kagome before he forcefully bit his tongue to keep himself from continuing.

He wasn't looking for another fight. He had hated himself for the first one. He wasn't about to make that mistake again.

But, this conversation wasn't something he wanted any part of.

Frustrated Kouga sighed heavily.

"Kagome-" He breathed turning from her clearly still upset gaze before returning to his seat at the damaged windowsill.

He cupped the back of his neck exhaustedly locking eye contact with the floor and nothing else before he found the drive to continue.

"The past. Isn't something I want think about. Ever." He stated coldly.

Kagome swallowed down her own broiling anger with a few steadying breaths. She didn't want to scream or shout either but she wasn't about to let this go.

Why wouldn't Kouga trust her enough to let her in? What was so bad about the past that at the very mention of it he began to shut down? Much like he was doing now.

"Why?" Kagome asked softly struggling to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions she found herself trapped on.

"Because I cant!" Kouga demanded. His azure eyes meeting hers openly.

Instantly Kagome no longer needed explaining at this point. The look in his shifting orbs told her more than words ever could.

His azure eyes were sharp and fierce as they ever were but beyond that somewhere deep in that inhuman blue. Devastation could clearly be seen.

Kagome knew no matter what was said between them from this point on. Or what questions she still felt lingering on her tongue. One thing had been revealed above all else.

Whatever had happened to Kouga five hundred years ago. It had been crippling.

Knowing the look on his face was undoubtedly giving Kagome an open window into his soul he bowed his head and sealed his eyes defeated.

He couldn't keep digging into himself like this. Tearing open this ancient wounds hurt just as much today as it had been then.

But his usual method for escaping his trauma wasn't going to work now. He couldn't shove Kagome away again. He'd lose her for sure this time.

But he couldn't stand the idea of thinking about what was buried so deeply within him a moment longer.

Mercifully though. It seemed he no longer needed to.

Before he could even sense her presence Kagome was at his side her raven haired crown resting on his shoulder attentively as she leaned herself against him.

"Okay." She whispered.

Kouga's glowing eyes lifted open as he stared ahead to the vast darkness of the room around them.

"I'm not trying to push you away-" Kouga breathed apologetically.

"Its alright. You don't have to say anymore." Kagome assured him softly. Nothing about this conversation had been easy on her or Kouga. And honestly there was little left to gain.

Kouga may have known everything about her past but maybe it wasn't right to ask the same from him. That would take time, and she was in no hurry to push the boundaries of their friendship more then she already had.

After all she was still dealing with her own lingering amount of grief.

"Kagome I need you to know something." Kouga said firmly turning to face Kagome and reluctantly she lifted herself away from him to meet his harden gaze.

"What I said to you before-" He began slightly reluctantly.

"I was an ass for saying it the way I did. But it was the truth." He confirmed thinking back to the hurtful words he had practically spat at Kagome the night prior.

"I'm not the person you remember." Kouga whispered dryly.

"I have changed. And not for the better-" He admittedly remorsefully but before he could continue Kagome's soften palm gripped hold of his heated face stopping him mid sentence.

"Don't." She whispered a caring smile written across her pink lips.

"The Kouga I knew. Is still right here. I'm looking at him." She promised honestly.

Kouga felt a disbelieving smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He wished that could be true.

Effortlessly he gripped hold of Kagome's wrist pulling her gently to his chest and coiling his arms around her in a warm embrace.

Kagome didn't resist as she returned the affectionate gesture full force.

All the anger and hurt she had felt for the past few hours melted away and was replaced once again by but appreciation and compassion.

Kouga breathed in her usual intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms with a solemn expression. Words couldn't describe how appreciative he was to have someone like Kagome in his life. He only wished he deserved it.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Kouga asked loosing his tender hold on Kagome just enough to allow her to peer up to his azure eyes.

"Depends." Kagome smiled upwards to the wolf demon still holding her.

"On?" Kouga asked cursorily.

"If I go home tonight with a belly full of ice-cream?" She winked playfully.

Kouga smirked widely exposing his pearl fangs.

"I think I can afford that." He smiled.

Kagome giggled before climbing to her feet Kouga following suit as the two of them began to walk towards the staircase leading to the lower floors.

"Hey. You brought my coat?" Kouga asked looking at the aged railing that his leather jacket still remained slung over.

"Yeah. But, I think I'll hold on to it." Kagome smiled teasingly before gripping a hold of the thick fabric and once again sleeving herself inside of its protective layers.

"Its kinda comfy." She added.

"Whatever it takes to make you happy." Kouga smirked while beginning to take the stairs out of sight.

Kagome watched him descend and all the while allowing his joking words to sink into her with a much more deeper unexpected meaning. Then a single thought crossed her mind.

Was she actually…happy?


The pixilated glow beaming off the shuffling computer screen filled the otherwise bleakly small dark office with its silver like hue.

A pair of puce colored feminine eyes searched the ever changing screen time after time moving the wireless mouse across the monitor to drag the documents she read down further.

What could be evidently read were endless row upon row of mismatched numbers and positive plus signs littered about the digit sheet of paper.

With a crimson smile the white coat draped curvaceous figured woman reached over her keyboard on the metallic desk for her office phone.

Picking the receiver up and then bringing it towards her pierced ear she punched in an array of number stamped buttons before the dial tone began to ring.

On the first ring a smooth and collective voice answered from the other end.

"Mr. Taisho? This is Dr. Shizuna from the 'Tenma' clinic. I'm sorry to be calling so late but the results of the test you asked for have just come in." The feminine physician chimed politely.

The voice on the other end of the line responded quickly and in a sharpen tone.

"The Higurashi girl you were inquiring about? The test have all come back positive." Dr. Shizuna assured with a flick of wrist to once again stare at her brilliant computer screen.

"She is most definitely carrying a member of your bloodline." She said evenly while crossing her heel covered ankles ignoring the rise of her already slim fitting skirt.

Patiently she waited for the response that came all to suddenly.

"Of course. I will have all the documentation faxed over to you immediately." The wine colored eyed woman promised.

Then the line went dead.


Keeping the ball on a roll here right? Hopefully I can keep it spinning with another update which is currently in the works and should be posted relatively soon.

Thanks for hanging in there guys! Always nice to know the hard work of my typing fingers isn't taken for granted lol.

Bit of a side note the translation for "Masao Ookami" means "Blue Wolf" clever huh? I thought so.

Until next time!