*Warning: Slight Lemon.*

A/N: Sorry this took a while to put up, longer than usual. But, I've been busy with work and school. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 30: Running

It was late at night when Tamako awoken from her sleep, breathing hard, sweat trickling down the side of her face. Moving one hand up, resting it against her face, looking down and shaking her head.

"It was just a dream..." she told herself slowly.

She was still in Future Tokyo, though...still in her old bed. Looking around the room, breathing hard and closing her eyes halfway. She had no idea what to do, she was having nightmares every night, and sleeping wasn't any easier.

Running her fingers through her hair, moving to stand up off the bed, making a rash decision. Getting dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a short sleeved shirt. Pulling on a pair of socks and picking up a pair of tennis shoes, and then her concealment bracelet, taking a piece of paper off the desk that she had an address scribbled on before she quietly raced downstairs and walking out the door, pulling on her shoes as she stepped outside.

And then, she'd took off running. Not as fast as she could run since she was a hanyou, but fast enough for human speeds. Running down the steps and starting to sprint down the streets of Tokyo. She felt like she had a mission: she had a purpose. Looking forward as she ran, taking in deep breaths.

Looking down at the paper every now and then, making sure she took the right turns. Eventually, she ended up in front of a house. Looking at the paper, reading the address she'd written down and then looking back up at the house. This was it.

Earlier that day she had done some research with the help of her grandmother on where Kouga lived. And now, she stood in front of her and Kouga's house. Looking at the place in wonder, it was so...huge. More like a mansion than a simple house. She'd also read that they owned a successful company that owned a lot of other companies. Both her and Kouga were CEO of the place.

She couldn't believe all of this would be hers. Slowly walking up to the gates, gently moving them open and walking forward, looking up at the place. It looked way bigger than her den she shared with Kouga in the feudal era. The flowers along the pathway were perfectly planted and groomed, and the house was done in a western style. The siding was a pale yellow with white trim, and the front itself had almost a dozen windows. Just next to the house was a huge four car garage matching the house. And, it was complete with a wrap around porch. Large pillars held up the head of the porch, and most of the lights in the house were off except one.

Slowly she walked up to the house, her fingers moving along one of the pillars next to the walkway. Moving up to the large set of double front doors that were done in a beautiful dark wood, stained glass oval windows in the middle of each door. Slowly her fingers moved up, resting on the wood of the door before gently knocking, looking down, hoping someone heard her.

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Well, of course someone heard her. Kouga was upstairs with his Tamako. They were both still awake, and quite busy at the moment. He was on top of her and had her legs around his waist. All that was left on him were a pair of pajama pants.

He kissed her, pressing up against her until she moaned against his lips. Grinning slowly to her. "Mm, I'll never tire of that sound. I'll make you scream baby." he whispered to her. Leaning and kissing along one side of her neck, nipping at her skin with his fangs. His hands slowly moved down her sides, grabbing her hips to pull her up against him.

When he heard the knock on the door, a growl came to his throat. "The fuck. God damnit." he said, looking down at her.

She smiled up to him, leaning and kissing the tip of his nose. "Go get it. I'll be right here baby. But you better not make me wait too long...or I might take care of it myself."

He growled playfully. "You better not. You're mine to take care of. I'll get rid of whoever that is." he said as he moved off of the bed. Grabbing one of the bracelets from the bedside table and putting it on to hide his demonic features before walking out of the bedroom.

Walking down the large staircase, one hand running along the railing as he walked to the front door. Moving to open it, he was about to snap at whoever was there, but he blinked when he looked down at Tamako.

"Tamako? Wait...what...?" he asked, glancing at the stairs and then at her. Shaking his head a bit. "Oh. Right. It hasn't been enough time for you to get home." he said. It'd only been a few days.

She pouted up at him, shaking her head. "I don't know what to do Kouga! I don't know how to fix things...please...please help me..." she said slowly.

Sighing a bit. "Listen. I love you, okay? But...you have to do this on your own. Its confusing a little, but you're right upstairs, and I don't think its wise if you meet yourself. That might just be strange." he said as he looked down at her.

Crossing her arms across her chest, she looked up at him. "I need help. I can't figure this out on my own, I know I can't. Kouga please...help me figure this out...help me do this."

"Daddy?" a small voice came from the stairs, bringing them both out of their conversation. A little girl stood at the top of the steps with short silver hair that only touched her shoulders. She must have been only about four or five. She wore a pair of kids pajama pants and long sleeved shirt. She had sort of normal human ears, they were more pointed like Kouga's ears were. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she slowly walked down the steps.

The girl walked down the steps and up to Kouga, reaching her fingers up to him and opening her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she revealed that her right eye was a light blue, and her left eye was golden. Her eyes looked more like a humans than Kougas did without his concealment bracelet on.

Looking down at the girl, Kouga sighed. "Hey angel. What are you doing up? You should go back to bed." he told her, not picking her up right away.

A small pout formed over the girls lips as she whined. "Daddyyyy..." she said, extending her fingers to affirm her wish.

Sighing, slowly he moved to pick her up, holding her against his side and looking at her face. "Daddys busy, okay? If you go upstairs I promise I'll be up in a few minutes."

"No." she just said, laying her head on his shoulder and hugging him around his neck, cuddling up to his side.

Looking at her, he shook his head. "You shouldn't tell me no, little miss." he said slowly.

Tamako stood, watching the interaction with a sudden realization in her eyes. The girl was calling him daddy. That must mean she was her mother. Which meant that this girl would be her pup when she grew up. Her eyes widened a little, looking at the girl in Kouga's arms.

He looked back at Tamako, shaking his head. "Please...I can't help. You have to do it on your own, okay? I...I've got to go." he said to her before slowly closing the door, locking it. He hated to tell Tamako he couldn't help...but he knew he couldn't. "Come on little girl, lets take you to bed."

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Tamako had sat there on the porch for a while, crying softly into her hands. Kouga wouldn't help her. Or, well, couldn't help her. So, she had to figure it out on her own. A sigh came from her lips as she moved to stand up, hugging herself tightly and walking down the driveway towards the gates.

Taking a final look back at the large house, her eyes closing halfway and sighing gently. She wanted to get back to her Kouga so bad. And, seeing that they had a future together did help a little. Just...not enough.

Slowly she turned back and started to walk towards the street again, taking a few steps down the sidewalk, her fingers clutching the shirt at her sides. It was a bit chilly, but thats not why she clutched her shirt. She was upset, and felt so alone.

It took her a while to get back to the shrine, a lot longer than it'd taken for her to run there. She wasn't running, she was walking slowly, thinking, going over the problem a hundred times in her head.

Walking up to the shrine house, she opened the door, slipping her shoes off and slowly starting to walk up the steps again. Going to her bedroom door, she found it open, making her blink. She could have sworn she closed it behind herself. Looking into the room, she saw Kohaku sitting on her bed, making her blink.

"Kohaku?" she asked.

When he heard his name, he looked up at her, a sigh of relief coming from his lips. "Thank kami!" he said. Standing up and moving to hug her. His arms encircled her shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace.

The sudden hug made her take in a breath, her eyes widening as she looked up at him. "Ko...haku?" she asked curiously.

"I thought you were dead or something." Kohaku said, looking down at her and smiling a little. "Not that anything could kill you. But...you're really the only person I know here...I have no idea how to go about finding you in this world..."

Shaking her head, leaning from his arms and walking around him towards the desk, looking down at it. "No, I'm fine. I just went for a walk. You don't have to worry about me.."

"Yes. Yes I do." he said. Moving up behind her, he took her shoulders and turned her to look at him. Looking down at her, he smiled a little. "I have to worry about you. I...I care about you. Even if you don't feel the same about me, I've gotten to know you over these days we've been together since you saved me. When you care about someone, you worry."

Looking up at him, leaning back against the desk a little and shrugging. "I suppose." she said, her eyes looking away from him.

Resting his fingers under her chin, he turned her head up to look at him, looking into her eyes. "Don't look so sad, Tamako. You look much prettier when you're happy..."

"I can't help it. You don't know what its like. I feel utterly alone here! I'm expected to bring us back. Me. Myself. Thats all on my shoulders. And when we get back theres still a psycho demon after me. How can I be happy, Kohaku? How?" she asked.

Listening to her, he shook his head. "You don't have to go back you know. Just because you're expected to doesn't mean you have to. You could stay here. We could stay here..."

"But you know we do. If we didn't, we wouldn't have run into Kouga like that. He wouldn't be with my future self. He'd be alone and miserable."

"The future is not set in stone. It can be altered. The future is how you see it." he said, gripping her shoulders a little, but not too much. He knew he couldn't hurt her, but she was still a woman.

She shook her head a little, glancing to the window. "I can't do that. I can't feel this alone for my life."

"You're not alone!" he said, pulling on her shoulders a little, making her look up at him with her eyes closed halfway. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. If you want to live here...with me...we could."

"With you?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "Kohaku I-" she said.

But, he cut her off. Pressing his lips against hers quickly. He had to do it before he changed his mind. He had to at least try for her. If he didn't, he'd live his life wondering what could have happened. Gently stepping up to her, making her back up so her butt pressed against the desk. Her fingers reached back to rest on the desk, her hands pressing flat against it.

Closing his eyes, he kissed her slowly, tilting his head to one side as he leaned close to her.

She was shocked, to say the least. Her eyes widened a little, feeling his lips against hers. She couldn't believe he was bold enough to try this again. And she thought he'd stop after a minute. But, he didn't.

Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes, her fingers moving to grip the edge of the desk. She still wore her concealment bracelet, so her human fingers dug into the wood of the desk behind her. She'd never actually kissed another man besides Kouga. And they'd spent a little over a week in this world. She wasn't used to being away from Kouga that long, and she missed the feeling of his lips against hers, of just being close to someone else.

When she closed her eyes, he took that as an invitation. Keeping his lips against hers, softly his fingers moving down her arms and moving to rest on her sides. Bringing her up against him tightly. He actually thought he might have a chance, a chance at getting her to stay there with him.

Behind her closed eyes, she was almost picturing Kouga. The feel of Kouga's lips against hers, his hands on her sides. Her mind was slowly giving away to this fantasy. It was only a kiss, after all. But when she felt Kohaku's hands on her sides, her mind couldn't help but wonder where Kouga's claws were. It felt so strange.

Gently, Kohaku moved his hands, becoming a bit bolder. Moving his hands to take her thighs, pulling her up to sit on the edge of the desk, bringing her more up to his height. Her arm moved up to go around his neck and grip at his shirt a little bit as he moved to step in-between her spread thighs.

Breaking the kiss, his kisses trailed down her jawline and down the side of her neck, the side opposite of her mating mark.

Tilting her head back, a low growl coming from her throat as he kissed it. "Kougaaa.." she moaned out. Her legs closing a little, her thighs on either side of his hips, causing him to be closer to her.

He flinched a little when she said his name, shaking his head. "Kohaku." he reminded her, licking the skin at the base of her neck, pressing up close to her.

But, Kohaku was playing with fire. Even with the concealment magic, her youkai was screaming to come out like it usually did when her and Kouga had sex. Gently her arms moved up around his neck, her hand grabbing her bracelet and pushing it off. The metal falling to the floor with a clank just behind him. Instantly her demon features showed again. Her claws grew, along with her fangs and her human ears disappeared into dog ears.

"Kougaaa.." Tamako's voice groaned out in more of a harsh tone. Red was playing at the rims of her eyes, her claws growing just a little bit, but not all the way.

The human side of her was letting this happen, almost thinking it was Kouga. And her youkai side told her that no other male would dare touch her like that, so it had to be Kouga. Her senses were all sort of fogged with emotions and feelings.

Her legs moved around his waist, pulling him up tightly against her, feeling him pressed close to her. He was becoming aroused, becoming harder against her. And, as she felt him, she let out a slow growl. "Shrinking on me, Kouga?" she asked in a growl. Kouga was bigger than Kohaku. After all, Kouga was a demon male, and demon men tended to be bigger in that area than human ones.

Before he could say anything, it was then that Tamako sort of realized what was going on. Taking in a breath, moving her fingers to rest on his chest and pushing him back, untangling her legs from him and leaning back, staring at him wide eyed.

Red was slowly finding its way into her eyes, dancing around the edges, almost taking up the whites of her eyes. "Ko-ha-ku...go. Now." she growled at him, harsher than she'd meant for it to sound. But, if he didn't go, her demon might get at him.

Slowly she moved her fingers up, moving her hands over her eyes, her fingers grabbing her hair slowly.

"Tamako..?" Kohaku asked confused, looking at her and shaking his head. "Whats the matter? Tamako...please...?" he asked. Stepping up to her, one hand reached up to touch her.

"GO!" she yelled at him, glaring up at him again slowly. "Go while I can still control myself. Right. Now." she warned him.

Her hanyou self was not the only one that realized the man that had been touching her was not her mate. Her youkai had realized, and was becoming enraged. She could not loose control of that. Not here in Tokyo.

Hearing the urgency in her voice, he stepped back, seeing the red in her eyes. He thought it was a good idea to listen to her.

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Kohaku had listened to her. And, Tamako laid herself on her bed, trying to regain control of herself.

She laid there half the night, not really asleep. It was just after dawn before she thought she could control herself, her youkai locked securely away. Moving to stand up from the bed, she sighed. She'd gotten no sleep the night before, at all. Stepping out of her bedroom, walking out of the door and down the hall. Glancing at Kohaku's bedroom, she pouted. She felt guilty. Slowly moving to knock on the door, sliding it open just a little. Seeing he was sitting on his bed, and watching as his eyes looked up at her.

Gently smiling at him, walking into the room and closing the door behind her. Sitting on the bed by him, looking down at the floor slowly. "Kohaku...I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry. I...shouldn't have done that. I just...I just want to be with you so much Tamako, you have to know that..." he answered.

Nodding slowly, looking up at him. "Yeah I know. But, I should have controlled myself. I just miss Kouga so much..." she said, sighing and looking away, looking straight ahead of herself. "Kouga and my relationship isn't quite like human relationships, Kohaku. I'm bound to him, in every way. He's my mate, my everything. We're bonded, soul bonded. My youkai will accept no other mate now. Even if Kouga...died...my youkai would not accept anyone else..." she explained, looking back at him.

"Even if he died? You'd be alone?" he asked.

Nodding to him again. "Yes. I would." she simply said, sighing a little. "Thats how soul bonds work. Our souls are bound together. If he dies, I die. Visa versa. Until we have pups that is. Our bond sort of changes when that happens. Because one of us needs to be around to take care of the pups if something happened to the other. And...during...sex...my youkai likes to come out and play. I'm always aware of it, and its not like when I completely lose control. But, if my youkai had come out completely...and it noticed it was you and not Kouga...I might have ripped you apart. I don't want that on my shoulders. I don't want your blood on my hands..."

Listening to her, he nodded, moving to take her hand and gripping it a little. "I did not realize how deep soul bonds go. Do your parents not have a soul bond?" he asked.

"No, they don't. A soul bond cannot happen between a demon and a full human. A human has no way of biting and claiming the demon, an important part of the bond." she explained.

"Oh...so Kagome will...die like a human?"

"Perhaps. I'm not too sure how it works when a demon is bound to a human. I don't think anyone really does. But, my grandmother was my grandfathers mate. Inu no Taisho was the mate of Izayoi. But when he died, she didn't follow him. Of course, she had my father to take care of...she still died of a human sickness..." she said, sighing and shrugging. "We're not sure about that. My dad doesn't like to talk about the idea of my mom dying though. Neither do I, of course..." she said.

Kohaku nodded slowly, gripping her hand and bringing it up to kiss her knuckles, looking up at her. "I'm sorry. I should not have been so forward last night...Kouga will probably kill me when he finds out."

"He doesn't have to find out. Nothing happened. Thats whats important. What Kouga doesn't know, won't hurt you." she offered with a smile.

"Thanks...but I know you tell him eventually."

"Eventually. But, long after there is no danger to your life." she promised, looking at his face. "So, lets not worry on it. For now, we must worry more about how we are going to get home."