So, I guess I should mention that I had a lot of problems with this chapter.

Why, you may ask? I have no idea.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

--Chapter Twelve--

"… She's not your property!"

The first thing that registered in Kagome's mind when she was suddenly thrown out of the dark void was the fact that she was having a hard time breathing. Still refusing to open her eyes, she heard the distinct cackling of a nearby fire, and the woodsy smell that hung on her tongue, reminding the young priestess that she had run into Kouga.

She quickly willed the memories from yesterday away, not wanting to face her embarrassing mental breakdown in front of the wolf demon leader. Kagome took a deep breath, regaining her control and slowly started building up the wall that had been forced down as the painful memories attacked mercilessly. She knew in order to place her heart in that cold place once again it was going to take a while and a lot of patience. As the wall started growing once again, she felt the emotions slowly leave, draining her of unbearable pain. She mentally braced herself for apologizing for her earlier actions, the shame wiped away. She opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a dark cave wall, slightly lit by the fire that cracked noisily by the entrance. Not able to see if Kouga was anywhere near the fire, the young girl eyes widened a fraction more as she tried to count the number of animal hides piled on top of her.

There's got to be more than ten or fifteen here, she pondered questioningly. Was it that cold when Kouga took me in?

Suddenly remembering the reason for her visit, Kagome's whole mission flooded into her mind. Determination taking the place of cold sorrow in her brown eyes, she started to twist and turn forcefully, trying to get out from under the heavy pile of animal skins. After a few seconds more of nonstop defiance, she was able to release one arm, and shortly after, the other. She braced both hands strongly against the massive pile, pushing with all her strength, trying to free her legs and body. Wiggling her hips, she squeezed herself out, slowly inch by inch.

When she had finally succeeded in releasing her body from the weight pressure from the pile, she tugged one more time, freeing her poor cramped feet. Gingerly standing up and waiting impatiently for the blood to reach all parts of her limbs, she eyed the pile of skins. During her sleep, she couldn't recall feeling crushed at all… but then again, she couldn't even recall what had happened after she had collapsed in Kouga's arms. I must have really passed out.

After looking around in the dark for the said demon, she located him alone, sleeping in front of the fire. Kouga was leaning against a cave wall, arms crossed, light snores escaping through his open lips. Taking quiet steps as to not wake him, Kagome grabbed a few small pieces of wood from a nearby pile before heading over to the dying fire.

She crouched down on the other side of the fire, facing Kouga. The priestess placed the few chunks of wood on the fading embers before softly blowing on the glowing coals in attempt to coax the fire. When the flames seemed to burn confidently, Kagome looked at Kouga over the fire, studying his features.

The wolf demon leader looked so peaceful in sleep in comparison to his cocky self when awake. His bronze face was relaxed with a tiny trail of drool snaking its way from one corner of his open mouth down to his strong chin. He looked so vulnerable that if Kagome had been the same girl she was when they had first met, she would have laughed out-loud. Instead, she remained impassive to the unwanted feeling of showing happiness. It was just an instinct; something she did automatically without even thinking of it.

She walked noiselessly over to the sleeping Kouga and took a seat next to his snoring form. She instantly regretted it; as soon as she had gotten comfortable, the wolf demon mumbled something incoherent in his sleep before leaning heavily onto the girl who was sitting at his side. She tried to remain sitting upright, but his form was a lot heavier than she would've admitted, and she found herself starting to lean to the one side.

"Damn, Kouga," She whispered, slight irritation marring her soft features. She refused to be pushed over by a sleeping demon, even if he was about two or three times her size. Placing a hand on his muscled shoulder, she pushed hard, watching with satisfaction as Kouga moved at the force.

Unfortunately for her, Kouga's sleeping form only swayed a few inches to the other side before crashing solidly back into her side. His shoulder dug painfully into her upper arm, his head falling heavily to collide with hers.

Kagome cried out in shock when the side of Kouga's thick skull rammed into her forehead, making the girl cringe from the pain that suddenly surged through her head, causing a headache in its wake. A hand came up unconsciously to tenderly feel around the site, checking for blood. Instead, she was greeted by a bump the size of a chicken's egg.

When the side of his head smacked loudly off Kagome's, Kouga's eyes shot open. Arms shooting out to protect himself, the wolf demon shouted, "Woah! What's going on —?"

His wide-eyed stare was met with a heated gaze that displayed the priestess' annoyance. "You leaned on me in your sleep," She informed him. "And I tried to push you off."

His lips turned up into a feeble grin when he saw her cautiously examine her goose egg with light fingers. Letting out a soft chuckle and relaxing his arms, he asked, "And I guess it never worked?"

Kagome shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips. "Nope. Instead, you gave me this thing." She pointed a meaningful digit at the lump that was starting to form on her smooth forehead, nailing him with narrowed chocolate eyes.

He laughed at her expression, although her reaction dumfounded him. Why Kagome would ever be angry over something as petty as a little bruise baffled him. And she had never shown this much anger in her eyes, reflecting blazing flames in the bottom of her hard gaze. Something had happened to his Kagome, and he wasn't sure if he liked this new-and-improved priestess.

Almost as if she had read his thoughts, Kagome's hand dropped and her chocolate orbs fixed themselves on the fire, unable to meet his gaze. She knew that her reaction and her attitude confused the wolf, but she wasn't sure she was ready to tell him exactly why. She wasn't even sure if she had truly accepted that he had actually died.

A sigh left her body, admitting her internal irritation and pain to the wolf. No, she still woke up everyday, expecting to find herself sleeping in a sleeping bag from her time on the cold forest floor, her friends sleeping soundly around her. She yearned to see her hanyou sitting cross-legged with Tetsusaiga lying in his lap, watching over his group. He was their protector, their fearless leader. And even though she wouldn't say it to herself, she had always felt safe in his presence.

Kouga fell silent, his eyes following her gaze to stare into the flames as if they held the answer to the question he knew he wouldn't dare ask. Usually his male intuition would get in the way and he would end up seeming callously shallow if he tried to say something in this kind of situation. Most likely along the lines of boldly asking her why she had changed so. Instead, the wolf sensed Kagome's distress and decided to give her time to think.

A sudden thought popping into her mind, disturbing her train of painful thoughts. Welcoming the distraction, Kagome turned to Kouga with the ghost of a smile on her lips. "Wolf?"

Kouga turned at mutt-face's nickname for him, his eyebrows rising a bit in surprise. "Yeah, Kagome?"

"Did you need to crush me with hides last night? I didn't think anyone needed twenty or so animal skins to keep warm," She asked curiously, trying to tease lightly. She didn't want him to worry about her new persona.

Kouga failed to notice the teasing. "I'm sorry," He muttered shamefully, turning his gaze back to the fire.

She hadn't missed the way his blue eyes darkened at the sudden reminder. "Kouga?"

His azure eyes narrowed angrily at the fire. "You were… screaming, and… I couldn't do… anything," He whispered, silent fury and the feeling of being completely worthless making his voice shake.

Kagome didn't say anything. Instead she bowed her head and hugged her knees to her chest, eyes on her feet. She couldn't remember being enveloped in a nightmare last night. Sango had once woken the priestess in the middle of the night, claiming Kagome had been screaming. Maybe she was having nightmares again, but just not remembering them…

Maybe it's good that I can't remember, she thought sadly. If I were screaming out in my sleep then I have a feeling that Inuyasha's final battle was probably what I was seeing…

Kouga took a visible swallow, trying to gain control of his anger. "And, you were… tossing and turning… so I thought that you were… cold," he muttered lamely, shivering inside from the memory. I couldn't help you, Kagome… you were screaming and shouting his name… but he never came for you, did he? I… wanted to hold you… but you were so absorbed in saving him… I couldn't do anything… The wolf demon felt suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of being completely and utterly helpless. He had never felt this strange emotion before in his life, and he knew it had suddenly kicked in as he stood over the priestess' sleeping form, watching her thrash and turn in her sleep, screaming wildly and calling out Inuyasha's name…

Kouga laid his head in his hands, balancing his elbows on his bent knees. He shut his eyes tight, willing the painful memory away.

"Listen, Kouga – " Kagome began weakly. But she stopped when he began to shake uncontrollably. "Kouga?"

The wolf demon growled dangerously, his voice low. At that moment, Kagome had never been more afraid of him in the time they had known each other. When he lifted his face from his hands, his eyes were dangerously narrowed with black fury, focused on the flames in front of him. "Kagome," Kouga hissed, struggling to control his raging emotions. "I swear; Inuyasha will pay for what he did to you!" His voice rose at the end, becoming more like an angry shout.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat at his words. Kouga had never said the hanyou's actual name, only referring to him as 'mutt,' 'dog,' and sometimes 'dog-turd.' It only proved that Kouga was past discussion; he was past angry. Inuyasha had finally crossed the line in his mind, and the bastard would pay for it.

Kagome's eyes suddenly became sorrowful, their deep brown depths filling with silent memories and broken feelings. She lowered her head back down to her knees, resting her chin on the boney joints. A lone tear ran down her cheek as her control was once again thrust harshly to the side, and her small frame began to tremble. The painful memories Kouga had invoked flooded and flashed before her eyes, torturing her mercilessly.

"Inu…yasha…" Kikyo staggered through her pain on hand and knees, crawling over to the fallen hanyou. Her breath was coming in violent rasps, pain etched into her pale face. Her body gave out when she finally reached her one and true love, falling into blood and dirt at the hanyou's side.

"He's…" She began, her voice barely a whisper

"I'm here…" Kikyo whispered through torn gasps of air. "We can… finally be… together…"

"No, no, no, no… he can't be…" Kagome's tears came relentlessly as they had the day after the battle, flowing slowly down her pale cheeks. Her heart screamed in horrendous pain, protesting against his death. No, he can't be dead… he's still out there… h-he has to be! The broken organ cried out in denial. Her trembling became more violent.

"Kagome – " Kouga's furious glare dissipated when he saw the young girl's tears.

"He's dead," She whispered sadly, barely able to form the words on her tongue. A fresh new wave of tears rolled down her cheeks as the truth of her words sunk in into her own mind. I will never be able to see him again… or hear his voice again. He's gone… really gone… forever…

Kouga couldn't believe that for once, words had left him, rendering the normally cocky demon speechless. Mutt-face dead? But… how? Weren't stupid dogs supposed to be strong? How could he go and get himself killed and just leave Kagome alone, unprotected? "Kagome… I'm so sorry…" The wolf's arms came around the trembling girl's shoulders to pull her into his chest. How will we defeat Naraku without him…? The question hung in his head like a thick fog.

He didn't have an answer to it.

Kagome welcomed Kouga's easy embrace, wanting to be comforted for the first time since the hanyou's death. With her cheek pressed tightly against his chest armor and half of her body in the wolf demon's lap, she couldn't deny that she wasn't in a comfortable position. But she ignored it, and instead focused on slowing her breathing and stopping her tears and trembling.

After a few more moments spent calming herself down, Kagome took a deep breath. She knew Kouga deserved the full story, and she would give it to him regardless of how many painful feelings that were going to stir.

Resting her hand gently against Kouga's armor next to her face, Kagome slowly began to recite. She paused only a few times to take a needed breath to control her feelings or to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. As words rolled off her tongue into the still air in the cave, she felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt lighter even though her heart still wept in his absence.

"He died protecting you," Kouga told her softly when she had finished. "An honourable death for any demon."

Kagome didn't know if it was honourable or not, it hurt either way. The woman that had saved my life said that there was no one else found besides Sango, Shippo, Kirara, Miroku, and me… no sign of Inuyasha or Kikyo. Kagome's tears had stopped, and yet she held off wiping the remnants of them off her cheeks. I guess Kikyo got her wish after all… now they are together… forever.

"Where is the rest of your group?" Kouga asked gently, not wanting to push the broken girl too far.

"Sango and Miroku are still at the exterminator's village with Kirara," She informed him softly, her voice barely audible against his chest armor. "And Shippo is with Kaede."

Kouga seemed to think for a second before declaring, "I'm coming with you."

/----------

"You know, Kouga," Kagome shouted in his ear from her current position on his back. "You could have just let me ride with Kirara!"

His feet barely touching the dirt ground beneath him, Kouga dashed through a human village managing to dodge every single individual. She could hear his light chuckle at the flabbergasted expressions on most of the residents' faces as he shot by, leaving tornados of wind and dirt in his wake. He didn't waste time in getting out of there, barely giving the human inhabitants a second to see what had exactly disrupted their normal day. "Where's the fun in that?" He shouted back at her over his shoulder.

Tightening his grip on the girl's thighs, he grinned to himself. Oh yes, their current position was one that he favoured very much. No wonder dog-breath carried Kagome everywhere, he thought wickedly. In this position, I can feel almost all of her soft curves. Not to mention her chest is pressed up against my back and her slims thighs are warm under my hands…

"Take the right road!" Kagome shouted, breaking his train of thought, her small hand pointed towards a side road that was fast approaching.

Kouga took a sharp turn and with a burst of energy, he shot across the dirt surface, practically flying across the land. After quietly marveling about the demon's obvious grace, Kagome turned around to search for Kirara's form. The large cat demon followed behind, not fast enough to keep in stride with the wolf demon. She kept slightly to one side, avoiding the large whirlwinds that sprung up from the ground at the back of Kouga's feet.

Turning back around, she caught the wolf demon's long ponytail of midnight black hair in one hand, tired of the strands that whipped across her face every time he moved his head. She leaned in close to his ear, shouting loudly, "Maybe you should slow down for Kirara!"

Kouga winced mentally as Kagome's blaring shout rattled a few times in his sensitive ears. Doesn't she know I am perfectly able to hear her even if she fucking whispered at this point? he thought irritably. Throwing the priestess a quick glance, he replied impartially, "And why would I do that?"

"Because you're going to tire her out! She's barely keeping up with us!" Kagome yelled back at him, pointing a finger in the cat's direction.

Kouga resisted the strong urge to cover his ears and protect them from her overbearing voice. Damn woman! he groaned internally. Knowing that the young girl on his back was most likely right, he sighed. "All right – "

The wolf demon stopped abruptly, halting his high-speed run. He lifted his nose to the air, trying to catch the scent again. It had hit him so suddenly and then had just disappeared as quickly as it had come.

It was the foul and unmistakable scent of death.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably behind his back, curiosity and apprehension rolling off her small frame in waves. Paying her no heed, Kouga let the girl down from his back before cautiously walking around and tasting the air in different spots. The wind carried a wild scent of sweat and fear, bitter in its regard to those who were suffering. The breeze teased his senses, sending him images of pain and anguish, before wafting his nose with the fresh odor of blood.

"Kagome." Kouga turned to her, his blue eyes suddenly hard with the promise of battle. "Go with Kirara and get Sango and Miroku."

Kagome's mind whirled shrewdly at the guarantee of danger lurking in the wolf demon's eyes, but remained coolly calm. "What is that you smell, Kouga?"

Kouga turned his face to where the scent was coming from, his eyes landing on a forest. "Blood, and lots of it. We'll need the demon slayer and monk for this one."

Kagome turned to the demon cat, her face impassive. "Kirara, go fly and get Sango and Miroku. Follow our scents and bring them to us as soon as you can."

"Kagome, you're going with her," Kouga stated, a warning in his rough tone as he turned to stare her down with the confidence of a wolf demon leader.

She chose to ignore it, regarding him with icy cool calculating eyes. "It would be easier for Kirara to fly alone."

He was about to retort to that when Kagome suddenly glared at him with menacing eyes that demanded obedience. "We should not waste time," She told him harshly.

He met her glare with a solid blue gaze, giving in but not liking the idea one bit. "Get on my back," He ordered.

As she jumped onto Kouga's back, the wolf demon's hands clamped themselves on her firm thighs to keep her there as he took off at high-speed. Kagome turned her body to watch the cat demon take off with purpose, her red eyes filled with brisk determination. The priestess watched the feline until her form began to fade from sight and trees began to take the cat's place in her line of vision…

Next chapter: action! Oh, and I cannot forget more drama.

It seems drama is the only thing I can do right, tehe.

AND, I forgot to mention that Sora means "sky" in japanese.

Until next time, guys. Let's hope I don't have as many problems with the next chapter. Woah, I'm going onto my thirteenth chapter you say? REALLY? So sweet!

Read and review, you know the routine!

love bumble, xxx.