Chapter 33 Going to War

"So," Kagome started in what she hoped was a nonchalant voice "I hear you wanted to speak with me?"

"Kagome," Kouga said sweetly and moved closer to take Kagome's hands in his own, but stopped when the smell of Sesshoumaru's corrosive venom reached his nostrils. It was clearly Sesshoumaru's silent way of warning him to keep his distance or have his hands melted off. Stopping at meter in front of her and keeping his hands at his side, Kouga chose his words carefully and continued "I've been wanting to see you for the longest time."

Kagome forced a pleasant expression to remain on her face. "Yes, I heard that you had been dropping by the village occasionally to ask about me. I also heard that you recently got married."

Kouga winced slightly as the underlying message got through to him: You're married and you had better act like a good husband if you want to keep me as a friend.

"Yes," Kouga affirmed "To Ayame."

"You've married Ayame?" Kagome asked Kouga. Inwardly, she was rather surprised. She had come under the impression that Kouga was not all that fond of the red haired wolf princess. On the other hand, perhaps she was one of those highly annoying people that grew on you inexplicably.

Much like her brother, Souta.

Kouga sighed somewhat regretfully. "I did make her a promise after all."

I did make her a promise after all...Those words echoed in Kagome's mind, provoking a dull ache in her heart. Just as Inuyasha made to Kikyou...

Although Kagome liked to think she was past Inuyasha, she sometimes felt a profound sorrow overcome her when someone spoke of an obligation in the same way her first love spoke of his to Kikyou. It wasn't that she was still in love with Inuyasha, not like she was with Sesshoumaru, but just a reminder of the kind of ruin such promises could bring made black threads of despondency lace around her heart.

"It was probably for the best," Kouga continued. "If I had made you my wife-"

A warning growl emanated from the throat of a certain inuyoukai.

"Not that I would do so now," Kouga hastily added. "But if I had, though, our children would most likely have had very unpleasant lives." Kouga deliberately avoided using the term half-breed in deference to Sesshoumaru's sensibilities. "And I might have lost the leadership of the pack also. So it was probably best for everyone that I married another wolf like Ayame."

Although Kouga did his best to sound as though he were satisfied with the way things turned out, it was clear that he was not really. Kagome had to remind herself that in the feudal era people married out of duty to their ancestors first. Providing a male heir was considered the primary goal of this era's marriages, so as to carry on the lineage and not commit a sin against one's forbearers. If a couple was lucky, they would fall in love after the marriage. But even if they hated each other, the concept of divorce was anathema and not to be considered.

"Kagome," Kouga said, deciding that he had cleared away any suspicions about his intentions. "I would like to spend more time catching up and all, but it will just have to wait until after Wei is dealt with. And am I right in thinking that Wei came from your world? His clothes kinda reminded me of yours."

Kagome's smile froze on her face and then gradually disappeared like the sun disappearing behind the horizon. In her own time, the idea of a magical well that could transport people back and forth across five centuries of time would sound absurd. But here in the feudal era, it probably wouldn't sound as outrageous. Phenomenal and bizarre, yes, but not enough to make her sound insane. Besides, Kouga wouldn't doubt her. She had never given him reason to distrust her.

"Kouga," Kagome started hesitantly, "I don't come from a different world. I come from a different era. The same era that Wei comes from, 500 years in the future. The well that is nearby is the portal I use to go between times."

Kouga looked at Kagome stupidly for a second, then with amazing eloquence said, "Oh."

Kagome continued more confidently. "We don't know much about Wei, except that he's Chinese and seems to hate all Japanese."

While Kouga had never met any of the people from across the waters, he had heard about them from time to time. They supposedly believed they were the height of sophistication and elegance and considered their kingdom to be at the center of the world. However, he couldn't imagine why one of them would harbor such hatred toward his homeland that he would seek to wipe it out.

Kagome pressed on. "We are guessing that he is trying to change the past and by doing so alter our present. It is safe to say that he didn't go to the trouble of entering into the past for benign purposes."

"We actually know a slight bit more now Kagome," Sesshoumaru added. "Seems that recently Wei spared a Korean and was even friendly with him; called him his 'dongseang' and his 'brother in suffering.'

"I guess for a total psycho that is relatively friendly," Kagome allowed. "But-"

"In addition," Seshoumaru continued over Kagome, "according to Hakkaku and Ginta, he is expecting them to return with reinforcements sufficient to stop Wei."

"This Korean might have a bit more to say without Wei hovering around," Kouga put in. "Probably wouldn't need to fear having his head cut off. Now is there a reason why Wei has such a hard on for killing us all?"

"I think the way he treated the Korean is telling" Sesshoumaru answered "This requires me to explain something about the future though. Hundreds of years from now, when this island has been unified completely, we are going to conquer both the Koreans and the Chinese in incredibly bloody wars. Wei probably sees Koreans as natural allies against us due to what both their people went through under Japanese rule."

At first, the idea of a united Japan seemed unnatural if not impossible to Kouga. The various warlords had carved out their domains and weren't about to surrender control of what they had built to someone else. A moment more of consideration though and he saw parallels with his own efforts since uniting his tribe with Ayame's. With the resources of both tribes behind him, he had used either persuasion or force-in some cases both-to bring other tribes under him, expanding their territory and settling long-standing feuds to make one unified pack.

Kouga was suddenly hit by a horrific vision of everything he'd built, every alliance he'd made, everything he had sweated for, fought for, bled for, all reduced to ashes and charred remains. Friends' and allies corpses' would litter the ground while Wei desecrated their bodies and feasted from their skulls. Wei...you think you can take this from me...from us...not going to happen.

"Whatever happened 500 years from now," Kouga growled "I can't do much about but I can do something about Wei. If he spilled something worth knowing to this Korean we need find out what it is."

"Hakkaku, Ginta," Kouga called out. "I'll take Sesshoumaru and Kagome to where we met Wei"-Kouga deliberately avoided mention of his death-"to meet whoever. I want you two to get the pack moving. We're going to war."