Part IV
Kagome felt the snap of her nail and swore underneath her breath, pulling her hand back to press against her chest. She was bleeding again. Sighing, she tipped her head back, resting the back of her head against the wall. She had been trying to undo the complicated knots of the ropes ever since she had arrived, breaking her nails in the process. There was one piece of the rope that she had managed to fray somewhat, though it was taking longer than anticipated to work that piece of rope out of the knots. Even so, it gave her something to do and provided some small semblance of hope.
It would not have mattered if she had gotten the ropes off anyway, as the room that she had been placed in was surrounded by solid wood beams, secured at the door with an iron lock and hinges. She was bitterly aware that if she had thought to continue using hair pins from the modern world, she might have been able to pick the lock with all the free time that she had in here. Bushuugi had not even bothered to place guards on her. It was clear he had low expectations for her abilities.
The demon lord in question had visited her occasionally, mostly when he was bored and wanted to torture her for sport. He never did enough to truly hurt her, but enough to scare her. He would cackle an ugly laugh and then leave her for days where she would not sleep well. Another demon would come in to heal any cuts or abrasions on her skin and when she asked him why he bothered, his vague answer had been, "An intact lure brings greater rewards."
Kagome never enjoyed these encounters. He reminded her of Sesshomaru before he had met Rin – lacking empathy, cold, and generally dismissive of everything around him. There was something maniacal and not quite sane in Bushuugi that Sesshomaru had lacked, making him a more unpredictable nemesis. There was such a feeling of absolute remoteness from him, though, that she doubted he cared about anything outside of himself. She understood his motivations on a shallow level, but could not imagine how someone like him had made it this far in his plans. She could not understand why anyone would ally themselves with him when he gave the impression that he was willing to kill anyone, including his allies.
Speak of the devil, Kagome thought grimly, hearing the heavy footsteps that were becoming all-too-familiar. She tensed in anticipation for his arrival, listening as one of the two demons he walked with unlocked the door and opened it. Bushuugi's mouth opened wide into a grin.
"I smell blood," he said in an amused tone. "Have you been maiming yourself again?"
Kagome's mouth compressed into a tight line, remaining silent. She curled her fingers against her palm, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her bleed.
"Don't worry, today's not a play session. I've got good news for you." His crimson eyes glowed with good humor. "Your rescuers have finally arrived."
"Rescuers?" she repeated, her stomach sinking in horror. They're here? Who?
"Oh, yes. That disgusting mutt of yours and the wolf demon." He clasped his hands behind his back, narrowing his eyes on her. "I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed. This lure was to get Sesshomaru here, not the half-breed. But no matter. I'm sure he'll follow his brother soon enough."
"You've got a weird view of Sesshomaru then."
"Then what about his mate?" Bushuugi's smile turned sly and Kagome could feel the colour drain from her face. "I'm not stupid. I've heard the rumors about him – he'll do anything for that girl and I can tell you're close with her. She won't leave you to die. One way or another, I'll get Sesshomaru here. Now, help me make a decision, human."
"Why should I?" Kagome demanded icily.
"Because it could prolong your worthless life." He paced a few steps away from her, keeping his eyes on her. "When I get Sesshomaru's mate, I plan to kill her in front of him. It's going to be such an enjoyable culmination to all of these plans. But what should I do with you? Should I do the same to you – make the half-demon watch as you're beaten to death? Or shall I do the reverse and have you watch his death? The other girl, after all, won't know whether you're still alive or not. It doesn't matter at the end of the day. As long as I get them here in the west, they're not getting away. So, what do you think?"
Kagome laughed at him in disbelief, knowing that it was a bad idea. "You're really stupid, you know that? You actually think you can kill Inuyasha?"
She had expected to be backhanded, but not whipped with his tail. The strength of it sent her skidding across the floor, her face smashing against the other side of the wall. Tiny stars sprang out in front of her eyes and it took a long time for her vision to clear. Bushuugi walked lazily towards her and knelt down, his pale face looming above her own.
"Every demon has their weakness," he told her quietly, "and just like the Great Dog Demon, his sons will die because of their human women. You don't need to be strong to kill a demon in combat." He chuckled, rising to his feet. "And you've answered my question."
"What?" Kagome weakly muttered, struggling to push herself up to a sitting position. A cut had opened up on her temple and the blood from it was making it hard for her to see. Out of her good eye, she watched as Bushuugi strolled back to the doors and one of the demons came inside. She recognized it as one of those that had healed her another time.
"Why have both of them watch their women tortured? Instead, I'd like to see you watch the half-demon die. It'll teach you to watch that mouth of yours the next time I come in here."
Kagome felt the coolness of the healing, the fading of pain from her temple, and the blood subside. She did not look at the demon, though, staring hatefully at Bushuugi. She had not thought she could hate someone more than she did Naraku, but just then, she would have done anything to see his body cut into pieces like so many demons that had met Tessaiga. Her nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fingers into fists.
"We'll see about that," she finally managed.
"Yes," he agreed with a nasty grin, "we certainly will."
The new moon had arrived, drenching the estate in the pitch darkness of a night sky vacant of any moonlight. The subtle glow of the lanterns was all that lit up the grounds and, perched as he was on top of the estate's front gate, Inuyasha could make out very little. Even though he held Tessaiga clasped in his crossed arms, it was meant more as protection than an actual weapon. It had been an unfortunate accident that the night Kouga left the estate was when the new moon had arrived. Inuyasha had been on edge all afternoon, anxious beyond reason. He might have grown accustomed to his dulled senses, but it never did make the experience any more tolerable. He could only recall a handful of times that he had been near Sesshomaru during the new moon and of those times, he had only seen him once and it had been when he was still a child. If Sesshomaru's temper was aroused tonight, Inuyasha would have no way of defending himself.
Outside of the usual anxieties that being without his demon powers produced, Inuyasha disliked sneaking around the estate in this way. He was certain that both Kohaku and Rin were aware that something had happened that day the three of them had gone down to the village. If they had mentioned anything to Sesshomaru, he had chosen not to act upon it. It had given him a pang of guilt when he saw Rin injured, knowing how Kagome would have scolded him, how disappointed his friends would have been in him. If he could have trusted her not to say anything to Sesshomaru or Kohaku, he would have explained himself. Rin was too honest, though, and would not have agreed with their plans.
It had been Inuyasha who had picked up the scent of the wolf demons when he had been in the village. He had caught it, very faintly, the previous time and had told Kouga to meet him outside the estate. He had not expected Rin to be part of their group and he had not had a chance to change plans by the time Kouga met him on the outskirts of the village. It had taken Inuyasha letting Kouga wear his hakama in an attempt to douse his scent and a good deal of tracking for them to find the wolf demon camp. There had not been many of them, but enough to make them aware that it was a hunting party.
Listening to them, it was not clear what exactly they were looking for or how much they knew about their group. Unlike in the books that Kagome had brought from her world, there was no villain monologuing his plans, a group conveniently disclosing their leaders or anything else. The demons had been speaking of mundane things, joking, and acting as if they had no care in the world. It was after a long time of watching their boring activities at camp that the two had quietly departed from their vantage point to return to the village.
"If I can get one away from the others, I'd be able to get more information," Kouga had said to Inuyasha during their trek. "If I wear your hakama, they won't pick up on my scent and it's not like they'll recognize you since you've never been here."
"We can't do that now. It's broad daylight!" Inuyasha had replied, scowling.
"Then I'll come back at night. Now, look." Kouga had stopped him, a surprisingly sober expression on his face. "I don't know what Sesshomaru's got planned, but we can't sit around forever. He won't say anything to us."
"Yeah? And?"
"He doesn't trust me. Which, hey, I get it – I did threaten to kill his girl not too long ago." Inuyasha had merely cast him an exasperated stare in response to that piece of self-reflection. "But Kagome sacrificed herself for her and the only reason he's here is because of that. I'm not going to disrespect that. We all want the same thing at the end of the day. I don't think that Sesshomaru's ever going to work with us, so I might as well find out what's going on with my tribe and if we're lucky, we'll find something out about Bushuugi on the way. What do you say?"
Inuyasha had not been entirely on board with this line of thinking. Nonetheless, he had reluctantly agreed to Kouga's plan about accosting one of the wolf demons alone. The anticipation of doing more than sitting on the estate had buoyed Kouga's spirits to such considerable levels that it was a miracle nobody had questioned him on his good mood. Inuyasha had made it explicitly clear that what they did after that would be dependent on what Kouga learned. As he had told Kagome in the village, he did not want to get involved in Kouga's tribal issues and he had no reason to provoke Sesshomaru. Agreeing to Kouga's plan made him complicit, but he was banking on the hope that Kouga would have enough sense not to do more than he had suggested.
Unlike Kouga, Inuyasha did not believe that Sesshomaru was merely lounging about on their father's old estate. There had been times in his past when Inuyasha had thought his brother simply wandered aimlessly, yet would appear with some new toy or nugget of information that he had been seeking along the way. Sesshomaru was not the type to meander without purpose and while he probably thought that he was ignorant to it, it was more than obvious to anyone knowing him that he did not want to be here. The fact that he had tried to push off the issue of Bushuugi to Inuyasha was evidence enough that he had wanted the issue resolved quickly.
Understanding, though, did not ease his frustration with Sesshomaru for refusing to share any information with them. Kouga wanted to do this because he believed that Sesshomaru would never work with them – Inuyasha had agreed to it in order to force him to work with them. He might have the strength capable of bringing down Bushuugi, but not the resources or the information necessary to find him. He had no idea where to start in order to find the demon lord and was not going to take a year or more to hunt for him or end up on another Naraku-like escapade. He, like Sesshomaru, wanted this done quickly. If that meant working with his brother, he would suck up his pride and do it and if Kouga bumbling around with his wolf demons forced Sesshomaru to suck up his pride, then so be it.
Doesn't mean I have to like it, he thought grimly, shifting on the gate and passing a hand over the top of his head where his ears were noticeably absent. But we can't just bide our time forever and he's got to talk to me eventually.
His gaze caught sight of something white moving across one of the pathways, diverting his attention. It was as though Sesshomaru had heard his internal thoughts, stepping into view around one of the buildings. He paused and turned slightly. Inuyasha saw that he was not alone. Rin came hurrying behind him and once she had joined him, he continued walking.
Inuyasha sighed, frowning as he watched the pair walk across towards the guest building. It had been easier to hate Sesshomaru before Rin had begun to live in the village.
One of the reasons that he had not wanted to approach Sesshomaru since arriving at the estate was because of the words they had exchanged at the abandoned hot spring. He had not been able to shake the similarities of Sesshomaru and Rin to his parents and stubbornly refused to consider for even a moment that what Sesshomaru had said might have some merit. Time spent on the estate was often lost in thought and memories that he had tucked away for a long time, hidden behind layers of walls that he had built to forget much of his past. His own anxiety for Kagome had made him linger on memories of Kikyo, remembering strange things like the smell of her, the way her lips curved ever so slightly when she could see through his bravado. Overlapping those memories were those of his mother, the same small smile, the quiet manner of speaking. After Kikyo had been reborn from her ashes, she had exuded the same forlorn air of someone that should not have existed.
"It was my fault."
The words had echoed from somewhere deep within him, in the hollow memory of peeking in on his mother sobbing to herself when he had been a child. She had taken one look at him, tears streaming, and had said them to him. He had only stared at her, confused. It was only when he grew older and she had passed away that he had become aware of whom she referenced.
Sesshomaru had said it was his mother's fault that their father died and it seemed, even in life, she had thought the same thing. He had been too young to ask her questions about her life or to even hear more intimate stories about his father. Izayoi had not seemed to like speaking about him, either, as if the conversation had been too painful for her. The memory had still been fresh in his mind the day Rin had been injured. If his mother had tried to learn to protect herself like Rin was, could things have turned out differently? Had she been, like Sesshomaru insinuated, too cowardly to defend herself or stand by her partner?
There was no way for him to reconcile what he had wanted to be the truth and what lied in his memory. As a child, he had recognized sadness in his mother, but had never really understood it. Only when he could look at Kikyo's half-life after her rebirth beside his mother could he see that, on some level, she had not wanted to be alive. There was the possibility that she had lived in shame for living without Toga, for not knowing that one of her men had designs on her life, and that her inability to defend herself had, in fact, caused his death. His mother had loved him enormously, but Inuyasha wondered how many times she had looked at him and felt grief because of what he represented?
While these thoughts resurfaced in his mind, he watched as Kohaku exited the building to meet Rin, putting his hand on his hips as he talked to them. Even from afar, he could see her laugh and then she beamed up at Sesshomaru, saying something before she and Kohaku went inside the building.
Inuyasha checked over his shoulder, but the pathway was empty. Kouga still was not back yet. There was no point in staying here when Sesshomaru was out on the estate grounds.
Heaving another sigh to himself, he hopped off the gate, landing a little unsteadily on the ground below him. Keeping a hold of Tessaiga, he made his way across the gardens. He felt exposed without his Robe of the Fire-Rat, even if he knew Tessaiga's scabbard would keep him relatively safe. He was wearing a normal hakama that he had pulled out of storage in the building to keep warm and when he had peered at himself in a looking glass, he had been unnerved by how human he had appeared.
He met Sesshomaru halfway from where he had been walking from the guest building.
"Hey," Inuyasha said gruffly when Sesshomaru paused, his eyes narrowing slightly on him. "I need to talk to you."
"And you choose now?" Sesshomaru queried. "As usual, you're far too comfortable in exposing your weaknesses."
"I don't have a say in what happens on the new moon," he snapped petulantly. "Not that I expect you to understand."
Sesshomaru continued to stare at him for a long before saying succinctly, "Evidently."
Inuyasha had to bite down on his tongue to prevent himself from swearing at him. Even with saying so little, Sesshomaru's stare was enough to annoy him. The latter male had turned away from him, continuing on towards the main building with Inuyasha trailing behind him a short moment later. As Sesshomaru made his way onto the stairs, he hesitated at the bottom. Even after so much time of being there, he still did not want to enter his father's old living space. Something about him struck fear in him. He did not want to see the signs of a man that he had never met, a figure that he had yearned in his life as a boy.
Sesshomaru had stopped at the top of the stairs, turning to look down at him. He did not need to say anything for Inuyasha to know he had sensed his hesitation, knew that a tremor of panic had coursed through him.
Steeling himself, he gripped Tessaiga a little harder as he slowly ascended the steps and followed Sesshomaru inside the building. His eyes darted around, but there was nothing particular special in the room. The adjoining shoji doors were wide open and he could see into the interior of the building. Again, there was nothing particular personal about the place. Somehow, this was more disappointing than finding something of interest.
While Inuyasha had entered into the room, Sesshomaru was standing by the open doors, staring out into the gloom. Glancing out, Inuyasha could see and sense nothing.
"What do you want?" Sesshomaru asked at last, returning his gaze to Inuyasha.
"Has Jaken found anything? Kohaku said that he was looking for contracts."
"No. It would appear father didn't keep those types of records."
"Well, what now then?"
Sesshomaru cocked his head slightly, sweeping him with a speculative gaze. "Are you suddenly interested in being helpful or trying to decide what to do when that wolf returns?"
As Inuyasha had suspected, Sesshomaru had already known of Kouga's disappearance.
"If you knew, why didn't you say anything?" he countered.
"It's no concern of mine if you two choose to act as bait."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I don't expect you to understand since your manner of handling things is blindly swinging your sword. Bushuugi thinks the wolf demons will lure us out into the open by themselves. He should know by now that Kouga's here if Ujihime reported to him. If she has any sense of self-preservation, she will have only told him about you and him."
"You think that she'd lie to Bushuugi? For what reason?"
"Her motivations are beyond me."
"So...what? You didn't tell us anything because you wanted Kouga to do something?"
"You and him have very little to do with my own designs."
This conversation was going nowhere. Inuyasha felt even more mystified than before and was getting the impression that he needed someone there to interpret his brother's vague, unhelpful answers. Frustrated, he paced a few steps inside the room stared at the small fire crackling in the irori. If he had not been in his human form, he might have exploded on Sesshomaru, challenged him until they were fighting out in the open. He knew he would lose in his current form if he tried something like that right then and if he were honest with himself, he was too weary to try such a thing. The days of doing nothing, of being haunted with memories and thinking of Kagome had physically exhausted him.
Releasing a tiny sigh through his nose, he closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids, feeling the burn of his eyes behind them. Verbal sparring sessions with Sesshomaru had never been fun and he rarely won them, even if he had succeeded against him in combat. Trying to understand him was mentally taxing. He could have lived in the same home as Sesshomaru for thousands of years and was convinced that he would never understand him. Nothing he did made sense. Jaken and Kohaku, at least, were simple-minded in their dedication towards Sesshomaru.
He could not conceive what Rin could possibly see in him. Clearly there was something there, some better nature to him that had been revealed to her. He wished, for once, that he could see Sesshomaru from her perspective. In her eyes, Sesshomaru was above all other men and it had little to do with his strength or power. She had made it abundantly clear that she believed he misunderstood his brother and was not willing to understand him. On some level perhaps that was true, but he was making an attempt now. That should have counted for something.
"Look," Inuyasha said at last, opening his eyes, "all I'm trying to do is get what we're doing here. If you need us to bait Bushuugi out, then fine, whatever. I can't just sit here and read your mind. You need to at least tell me what you want us to do."
Sesshomaru said nothing for a moment, considering over his words. He dropped his eyes briefly and raised a hand to Tenseiga. Inuyasha caught the sight of something along the braid of Tenseiga's scabbard that he had never noticed. It appeared to be cloth wrapped about the braid, though he did not get a good look at it, for Sesshomaru's fingers had closed around it, obscuring it from sight. Something about it seemed to stir Sesshomaru's thoughts.
"There's no way to know where Bushuugi is," Sesshomaru spoke into the silence, "and he doesn't know where we are. Kinrokuro could have some idea of where Bushuugi's hiding out, so I've been waiting for him to make his move. You and Kouga just happened to do it for me. It makes no difference to me whether you decide to be bait or if I sent Jaken and Kohaku out. It's more ideal that Kouga exposes himself. Any information that they bring to Kinrokuro will eventually go to Bushuugi. It works in our favor if he's unaware of my presence here."
"Why? It's not like you to hide out."
"No," he agreed in a soft tone, "it's not. But it's necessary for Rin's safety."
Inuyasha stirred, surprised by the brevity in his response.
"There's no guarantee that the spell over the estate will hold if they managed to discover it being here," Sesshomaru continued. "Without knowing who is allied to the dog demon clan, it's better to keep my presence hidden for now. Bushuugi underestimates your power because you're a half-demon. It's a mistake that will cost Kinrokuro and may incline him to hand over information."
"He won't send reinforcements, then."
"He'll think that Kinrokuro can kill you and Kouga with just his clan. It's a common deficiency in thought for the demon lords here. By his standards, you may as well be a human and because of Kinrokuro, he'll have a poor opinion of Kouga's strength, too."
Inuyasha wanted to point out that he, too, had once thought this, but felt it better to keep that to himself. Instead, he asked, "You're not coming, then? To meet the wolf demons?"
"Not for that reason," Sesshomaru replied. "If the pup feels brave enough to turn sides, I plan to kill him before he can reveal too much to Kinrokuro. I don't trust you to take care of him."
Inuyasha frowned, ignoring the slight on his character. "Kouga won't do that. He's brash, but not disloyal."
"To you. He has no fealty towards this Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru dropped his hand from Tenseiga, turning back to look outside the room. "Where you see brashness, others see differently. Neither Rin nor Kohaku trust him in battle against the wolf demons. Both of them have expressed to me that they expect him to choose his clan. It's unlike them to suspect someone of deception, so I'm inclined to take their cautions into consideration."
Inuyasha had no retort to this. Sesshomaru was right. Kohaku might be overly cautious due to his experience, but Rin was usually the one willing to give even the wolf demons a chance at redeeming themselves. It amazed him that Sesshomaru, who was so proud and confident in his own intellect, would actually pay any mind to advice given to him by someone else. Then again, Inuyasha could not think of a time when anyone had felt the need to voice their concerns to him outside of Jaken.
It was not a good look for Kouga. Even he had been uneasy given his experiences with him when they had been hunting down some of Bushuugi's men. Kouga had always had trouble listening to directions and, like all wolf demons, he had a restless energy that was hard to contain. Inuyasha had fought with him often enough to expect it from him. While he would not have called them 'close,' they had at least known each other long enough and had a similar interest in Kagome's well-being that he had never doubted Kouga's reliability, even if he questioned his combat tactics. He could well understand why Rin and Kohaku, whose loyalty lied elsewhere, might not see it the same way. Anyone who had noticed Kouga's attitude towards Sesshomaru would have similar reservations.
But because Kouga loved Kagome and respected her decisions, he would protect Rin.
That was a piece that was often lost on others that Inuyasha saw more clearly. He was sure that Sesshomaru had already expected Kouga to act out of line without the two saying anything, similar to what Inuyasha expected. Kohaku had never really trusted Kouga, even when he had been a child, and after becoming close with Rin and Sesshomaru, that feeling of distrust had only intensified. There was too much animosity between the two groups due to Kouga's demons killing Rin the first time. Rin, he suspected, was more concerned about Sesshomaru's safety than her own. Kouga had saved her from the crow demon, so she must have known that he felt no ill will towards her, but was more concerned about how reliable he would be as a combat partner for Sesshomaru. That was not something that Inuyasha could address, as he had no idea if Kouga would back Sesshomaru up when it mattered – or if his brother would even want such a thing.
He would not explain any of this to Sesshomaru, though. It would not matter at this point. Even if Kohaku had said nothing, he would respect Rin's cautions. Inuyasha had at least learned that much about their relationship. When she did go out of her way to voice something to him, Sesshomaru often deferred to her.
"It seems he's returned," Sesshomaru said, glancing over his shoulder at Inuyasha.
"I'll go meet him," Inuyasha replied, straightening up and stretching. His head was aching from thinking too much.
Without waiting for a proper response, Inuyasha rushed out of the room and down the steps. He could see Kouga's form in the distance only because of the familiar red hakama. As he walked towards him, the knot of unease began to tighten in his lower belly. Hearing Sesshomaru speak so casually about Kouga's dual loyalty had unnerved him. It had raised an important question to him – if he Kouga did betray them, would he have been able to stop him? Would he have killed him?
As much as Kouga annoyed him, he had always considered him as an ally, if a bumbling one. Sesshomaru already had a reason to kill Kouga and had already demonstrated a keen desire to do so. Outside of that, Kouga was no longer under Rin's protection if she suspected him of betraying Sesshomaru. It was evident to Inuyasha that where Sesshomaru had been holding back directing punishment on the wolf demon in the past because Rin must have asked it of him, that limitation no longer applied. Without knowing it, Kouga was in a precarious situation in their group purely because of the tense dynamics of a past error.
"There you are," Kouga said when Inuyasha met him. He shrugged off the hakama and tossed it to him, planting his hands on his hips. "Sorry it took so long."
"Yeah, you were supposed to be back an hour ago. What happened?"
"I didn't get a lot, to be honest," Kouga admitted, "but enough for us to go on. Kinrokuro appears to be acting on his own. The demon that I managed to get away from the rest said that Kinrokuro had a lot of scouting parties sent out to look for me. They don't even know anything about Sesshomaru – they've heard of him, obviously, but said that their orders didn't include him."
"What about me?"
"Dunno. If Kinrokuro knows that you're working with me, he didn't tell anyone else or wasn't worried about it." He pointed a finger towards Inuyasha meaningfully. "But what's important is that they don't know about Sesshomaru. We've got the element of surprise."
"And Kagome?"
"Didn't know anything about her." Kouga shook his head remorsefully. "Sorry. Like I said, I couldn't get much from him. Kinrokuro must be keeping information tight – if he knows anything else, anyway. I had to kill the scout after all that. It sucked having to do that to one of my own, but I couldn't risk him sounding the alarm."
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the Robe of the Fire-Rat in his hands. He could not offer any words of comfort to Kouga, as he could not relate to the pain of killing one's own kinsmen. He and Sesshomaru had been trying to kill each other for as long as he knew him. Witnessing Kouga grieve for so many of those in his clan and those that were not even related to him by blood had made Inuyasha begin to question whether his family was simply dysfunctional by nature. It certainly appeared as such when comparing their clan to the wolf demons.
"Anyway, while their scouts are out would be the best time to corner Kinrokuro," Kouga continued swiftly after the awkward pause. "There's a very small window of opportunity. If it were up to me, we'd leave tomorrow before they can start returning to Kinrokuro in case a fight breaks out."
"You know that a fight is going to happen when you show up, right?"
"Well, sure. I'd like to avoid it, though."
"You're hanging onto the possibility that Kinrokuro isn't trying to kill you?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief. "Are you that stupid?"
"No!" Kouga scowled at him and crossed his arms, appearing defensive. "It isn't that! I'd like to give him a chance to talk to me – is that so bad?"
Inuyasha tossed the hakama on the ground and then shoved Kouga by the shoulder without thinking. "You moron! Just where do you think you fit in all of this? You and Kinrokuro could be dead and the wolf demon tribe rotting in the ground. This isn't some fucking game you're playing!"
"I know that!" Kouga snarled back, glaring at him.
"You obviously don't."
Inuyasha shot him a last, disgusted glance and then snatched up the hakama, turning to leave him. He never would have thought the day would come where talking to his brother made more sense than talking to Kouga.
"I see the way they look at me," Kouga said to his back, causing him to halt. Inuyasha frowned, glancing over his shoulder. Kouga nodded towards the buildings. "That imp and the boy. They don't trust me. If I step out of line even once, I'm sure that Sesshomaru's going to kill me."
"If you know that, then what are you playing at?"
Kouga hesitated, his usual stubborn expression in place until he dropped his gaze, shrugging. "I don't know."
Exasperated, Inuyasha turned around again and folded his arms across his chest. "Try again."
He sighed heavily and then dropped his head back to gaze up at the sky. "Kagome told me once that wolf demons seemed to have an uncontrollable bloodthirst. At first, I was proud of that, but then I thought of how she looked when she said it – like it made her uncomfortable. Then I started seeing how people looked at us in the village, how that girl would always disappear when we were around. It's important to me that Kagome's proud of me." He gestured vaguely. "If I chose to fight against you and Sesshomaru, I couldn't face her again. There'd be too much shame."
Inuyasha wanted to be impressed by Kouga's internal growth, but the overwhelming sense of jealousy was obscuring any rational thought. He had to forcefully shove down his angry emotions so that he did not end up in another shouting match with him. Reminding himself that he was still human seemed to control the feelings and he was able to swallow the nasty words that had been forming, wanting to burst forth. Part of him wanted to laugh scathingly at Kouga and the other, more empathetic part beat that laughter down.
As a result, a long silence had settled between them in which Kouga eventually looked away from the sky and cast a suspicious look to Inuyasha.
"Alright," was all Inuyasha said.
"Is that it?" Kouga demanded brusquely.
"What do you want me to say?" he grumbled, turning away and hastily making his way back to the guest building. Kouga's loud footsteps followed closely behind him. "You want a pat on the back for being a decent person for once?"
"You're making me feel weird!"
"Well, you should! Next time just keep it simple!"
"You're the most emotionally stunted person I've ever met!" Kouga said as they neared the building. Inuyasha had broken into a panicked run, causing Kouga to also follow in a trot. "I can't believe you! I was really opening up there!"
"I never asked you to open up, you freak!"
When Inuyasha burst into the guest building and halted in surprise, Kouga ran headlong into his back, causing the two of them to go flying towards the irori. Jaken, who had been standing a few feet from the fire, released an alarmed squawk and jumped out of the way. Standing serenely from their tangled bodies was Sesshomaru, who was gazing down his nose at them with the blankest of expressions.
"Get off me!" Inuyasha snapped, shoving Kouga off of him and getting to his feet. "What are you doing here?"
"Tomorrow, we leave," Sesshomaru told him simply and then brushed past him, with Jaken following behind and shutting the door behind him with a disapproving sniff.
He must have overheard the conversation, Inuyasha realized as Kouga got to his feet.
"Where does he think we're leaving to?" Kouga asked with a frown. "And who is 'we,' anyway?"
"Lord Sesshomaru's leaving Rin, myself, and Jaken behind, so I'm guessing you three," Kohaku explained, ushering for them to come closer to the irori. "Here, we made some miso soup. It'll warm you both up. You've been out for a bit."
"Huh," Kouga said to himself, taking the proffered bowl as he sat by the fire. "That guy's one step ahead of me."
Kohaku smiled, glancing meaningfully at Inuyasha as he, too, sat down. "Yeah. He tends to be that way."
A/N: A slightly shorter, transition chapter! I've been fighting with editing the next chapter since it has a spicy scene in it, re-writing and re-editing it far too many times. I've finally just had to leave it alone and move on. As a result, it's set me back a bit, but hoping to get back to weekly updates eventually :3