Chapter 9: Familiar Faces

They had been walking for ages when night began to fall. Kagome watched the sky streak pink overhead, and slowly the stars became visible. She guessed they were far from the next town if the overgrown path they were walking told her anything about their surroundings. It didn't seem like people traveled through here very often, or at least it didn't get much foot traffic. Kagome tugged at the bags on her shoulders to try to redistribute the weight.

They were heavy, and her body was growing tired from the exertion. It wasn't long into their trek before Kaede needed to be carried, so Kagome had been hauling the brunt of their supplies for hours, and she was feeling it. It was journeys like this where she wished she had her bike. Traveling the feudal era on wheels felt a bit ostentatious, but it sure moved faster than on foot.

A small smile formed on her lips from the memories coursing through her. She recalled times when she would ride her bike while Inuyasha ran alongside her, she remembered the feeling of clear unpolluted air rushing past her as she rode and tracked the jewel shards. She remembered when her bike had broken, and her mother gave her a hand-me-down to use instead. She spent so much time cleaning it up and getting it in shape, just for Inuyasha to fly out of the well and crush it underneath his weight. He had apologized to Mama profusely, and, ever the kind and compassionate person, she shrugged it off.

The memory of her mother brought with it a pang of sorrow. She missed her mom, her brother, and her grandfather. She couldn't help but wonder how they were doing and if they were okay. If they missed her the same way she missed them. And if so, her guilt weighed heavy in her chest. She would never regret her choice to come back, but that wouldn't stop her from missing her family. Suddenly, her stomach churned, and she felt nauseated. She was a little unsteady on her feet and took a moment to stand still as it passed over her. When was the last time I ate something? She wondered to herself. Inuyasha seemed to catch on to her discomfort and turned to look at her. She tried to meet his eyes with a reassuring smile.

"You okay-" he was cut short by a sudden realization and looked up at the sky in panic.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Worry coursed through her as she took a few steps toward him. As she got closer, she saw the gradual change taking place. His hair was losing its platinum and fading into onyx, his fangs were blunting into human teeth, and his eye color was disappearing.

"Oh, shit!" She sighed in frustration. None of them had realized or remembered tonight was the new moon.

"Fuck." Inuyasha scrubbed a hand over his in exasperation and lowered a heavy Kaede to her feet as his strength failed him.

Kagome felt her heightened senses begin to fade, and the combination of their energies was no longer as strong within her. At least the bond remained intact, and she was certain that she could still feel Inuyasha through it. She hadn't realized how much she had come to rely on his energy in the time since they'd been mated. Now she had a taste of what it felt like on his human night every month, and she had to admit she had a new understanding of why it always put him in such a foul mood.

"This is not good. We'll never make it to a town at this rate. It's too late, and we're too far out." Kagome mused aloud. Inuyasha nodded.

"How did we forget this?" He was angry, and he kicked at the dirt under their feet. She pressed a hand against his cheek.

"There's been a lot going on. Don't beat yourself up over it. I have our backs if something goes sideways." She tried to reassure, but he shrugged out of her hold and continued angrily kicking at the ground. He was mumbling to himself, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Throwing a fit over it isn't going to help anyone, Inuyasha." She chastised. She was trying to be understanding but also knew that now was not the time to let the frustrations overwhelm them. She only heard Inuyasha scoff back at her, but he began to take breaths to try to calm himself down.

"I'm not throwing a fit. I'm just pissed off. Gimmie a minute, will ya?" He retorted, voice thick with irritation. Kagome sighed in response but didn't push the matter as he collected himself. Kaede looked between the two of them for a moment before she moved to pull a bag off of Kagome's shoulder.

"We must make camp. We will be here for a while," She said. She sat down on the ground and began to rummage through her belongings to pull out supplies for a fire.

Kagome and Inuyasha began to sit with her, but suddenly the energy around them changed. There was a shifting in the leaves and the trees, and they could feel bodies moving just beyond their line of sight. Kagome felt the prickle of a demonic aura on her senses, but it didn't seem sinister. She almost recognized this aura, but before she could pinpoint it, a body flew out of the darkness straight toward her.

She shrieked as she was knocked off of her feet, but she didn't feel an impact. Instead, she felt strong arms holding her tight. She pulled back on the Reriyoku surging inside of her to meet a familiar pair of blue eyes.

"I knew it was you! I'd recognize that smell anywhere," Koga's voice rang out, and he pulled her against his chest, taking a deep inhale. "Ugh. Tough to place it when it's covered by the stench of dog, though." He complained, crinkling his nose and making a fake gagging gesture. She laughed in response and swatted at him.

"It's good to see you too, Koga." She rolled her eyes at him and then heard two voices growling in displeasure.

She looked around to see a seething Inuyasha standing directly behind her, staring Koga down. She looked back to where Koga came from for the source of the second voice and saw Ayame emerge from the tree line. She locked eyes with Ayame, who took a moment to take her in. She softened a bit, then smiled a victorious smile. Kagome didn't have long to ponder that, as Ginta and Hakkaku rushed toward her as well.

"Kagome!" They yelled as they joined their leader. "It's so good to see you." Now she was surrounded by arms everywhere, and her body was pressed further into Koga's.

"Yeah, you guys too. Koga, can you put me down now?" She asked.

Koga blushed and set her back on her feet quickly as they all disentangled from each other. Inuyasha was immediately behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders protectively, leveling another heavy glare at Koga.

"Oh, relax. I was just saying hello. No need to go marking your territory." Koga said to him, but his tight grip didn't relent. Ayame piped up then from her place at Koga's side,

"You're mated, Miko. Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you, Ayame!" Kagome said, eyes falling to the other girl's shoulder. She expected to see the scar of a mating mark, but there was nothing there. Koga wrapped an arm around Ayame, and Kagome could almost swear she saw a flicker of disappointment on his face.

"So you two finally did it, huh? I have to say I'm surprised. With how long you were gone, I thought for sure you'd still be single." Koga looked disappointed as he said it, and received an eye roll from Ayame. "Good job locking her down, Dog. I didn't think you had it in ya." Koga looked at Inuyasha as if really taking him in for the first time.

"Wait. Are you human right now?" He asked in surprise. His eyebrows shot up into his hair and disappeared. Kagome stifled a giggle at his expense.

Inuyasha didn't respond but huffed and looked away. He was angry and embarrassed in this state, and the last person he wanted to talk to about it with was Koga. She wrapped a hand around his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"In all of the commotion around us, we forgot about what time of month it is." Kagome shrugged at them. She tapped Inuyasha's arm, lightly requesting he let her go. "We probably need to set up camp. There's no way we make it to a town now." Kagome sighed as she let their other bags fall from her shoulders. Inuyasha quickly grabbed them and helped lower them to the ground as he sat to rummage through.

"You're not gonna find a town around for ages. This area is pretty deserted for the most part. What the heck are you guys doing around here?" Koga questioned.

"Well, it's a pretty long story. Do you have time?" Koga nodded in response. Kagome looked to Inuyasha for approval to recap their recent exploits, and he gave her a curt nod as he tended to Kaede and helped start a fire, pull out food, and settle blankets and bedrolls.

The group was huddled around the fire listening with rapt attention as Kagome told them all about Jubo and her plans. Koga's hands were fisted at his sides, and he looked enraged. Ayame was asking all of the important questions and seemed to be very invested in the story. Kagome mused internally that this was probably the most pleasant interaction she had had with the demon opposite her, and how ironic that was under the circumstances.

"So, now we're on our way to meet a friend of Kaede's to see if she can give us any more information about the tree of ages." Kagome finished. Kaede nodded,

"Aye. Hikari should be able to tell us something of use. We will have to see." She said.

"Who does Jubo think she is, anyway?" Koga paused and thought for a moment. "This is a threat to demon kind and the wolf tribes. As their leader, it is my duty to protect my people, and that means fighting alongside you. You said you have a few weeks left to prepare, right?" Koga said. Kagome's mouth fell open in surprise.

"You want to help?" She asked.

"Of course we do. Your tiny group of humans and one half-demon couldn't take down an army. The fate of our world is in danger here. Why wouldn't we?" Ayame said, with an air of superiority. Kagome felt Inuyasha's indignation, and she placed a hand on his arm to keep him from lashing out.

"Our 'tiny group' defeated Naraku. This isn't much different. You can't put all of your people's lives in danger. We can handle it." She argued.

"If they wanna help, let 'em," Inuyasha said. He had been particularly quiet since they set up camp, so this was the first time he'd spoken to the group. "More feet on the ground makes it even more likely we'll survive." He looked like he was far away, and Kagome could feel his fear, concern, and worry lacing his every word. She nodded in understanding, and affirmation to Koga.

"If Inuyasha is on board, then I suppose, so am I. If you'd like to get some people together, we can get you the exact details as soon as possible."

"I won't be able to get everyone, but I can get a good group of fighters together. How many demons are we talking here?" He asked.

"Around two dozen is our guess," Kagome said. "But, that is just a guess. We don't know exactly."

"Chump change. I can get 20 people together by tomorrow if I want to." Koga crossed his arms over his chest in a triumphant gesture.

"We don't have as many to spare as we typically would. With the tribes planning for our mating and merging the north and east, almost everyone has an important role in making it happen." Ayame offered.

"Then it may take the entirety of the weeks leading up to this battle to get that many together. But, I can get it done if it means protecting you," Koga almost stopped there, but then he noticed a fuming Ayame before hastily adding, "...and our people, then I will do everything I can. And I think that includes staying with you three tonight to keep you safe. You're down a half-demon, and we don't need to sleep as much as you do. We can skip a night."

Inuyasha scoffed at him but didn't argue against their assistance. The group fell into quiet conversation while Kagome caught them all up on her time back in this era. There was a lot to fill them in on, even outside of everything with Jubo.

"The wedding was beautiful. We didn't do anything too fancy, but it was perfect for us." She finished recounting the event with misty eyes.

"That sounds so lovely. I wish Koga and I could do something like that for our mating, but with two massive tribes coming together, there really isn't a way around a big party. And aside from that, demon mating rituals are sacred within the tribe. If we shirked that duty, we would probably get a lot of very angry wolf demons." Ayame sighed, and Kagome realized this was the most vulnerable she had ever seen her.

"Have you considered doing something private before the big ceremony so that you can have the best of both worlds?" Kagome asked.

"Well- No. I guess I hadn't. That's a pretty good idea, huh?" She nudged Koga with her elbow to get his thoughts.

"Yeah, if that's what you wanna do, then I'm fine with it. It would definitely take some of the pressure off." He shrugged in agreement. Ayame's eyes lit up, and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you! This means a lot to me." She said. He hugged her back for a moment before pulling away from her and righting himself with a flush coloring his cheeks. She turned back to Kagome,

"That was a great idea. Thank you for sharing it." She said simply. It was a warm thank you despite being to the point. Kagome was finding that Ayame wasn't much for big displays of emotion, but at least she was trying to engage with her more than she had in the past.

"Alright, time to get some sleep. We have an early morning to get back on the road for. You all gonna stay up all night?" Inuyasha asked them.

"Yup, we've got ya. Get some sleep, humans." Koga enunciated the word with a smirk in Inuyasha's direction. The half-demon, turned human, rolled his eyes before beginning to set up the futon bedroll with Kagome.

They were able to get one big enough to share and found it was much more comfortable than single-person outdoor sleeping. As they tucked in, he pulled her close to his chest and trailed kisses along her neck as she snuggled in beside him.

"Sleep well, love," he said, before crashing his lips against hers. She kissed him back with fervor and let her fingers tangle in his hair.

His trailed down the length of her body and settled against her hips. A wave of desire her hit her so strongly that she was certain even a human Inuyasha could sense it. A throat clearing reminded her where they were and who was around them. She pulled away from him gently, a light flush coloring her cheeks, and settled into the sleeping bag. She didn't miss his smirk of accomplishment before she turned her back to him.

"Ah, young love." She heard Kaede joke with a laugh. It was mere moments before the old woman was snoring deeply and asleep.

Kagome and Inuyasha lay in silence for a while, peering up at the moonless sky and bright stars. It was peaceful like this, and she could almost forget about their circumstances for a moment and enjoy their brief time together before they both succumbed to sleep. She pushed her body in closer to Inuyasha's and felt his arms encircle her waist from behind. Her back was flush to his front, and his warmth was permeating their cocoon of blankets.

He ran his fingers over the exposed skin of her thighs where her sleep kimono was riding up, and she could feel his breath against the side of her neck before he let his blunt teeth skim the surface of the skin there. She shivered in response.

Looking around, she found that they were mostly alone. Kaede was sleeping a ways away from them, and their demon bodyguards seemed to have set themselves up a little distance away, so as not to disturb their sleep. Her thoughts were interrupted by Inuyasha's hand breaching the front of her sleep kimono.

"What's gotten into you?" She asked, giggling. He forwent an answer and instead pulled open her clothing further to have more access to her skin. She stifled a moan as he ran his fingers over the peak of one of her breasts.

"Is this because of Koga?" She questioned, breathless.

His response was a low growl in warning before he hooked a leg around one of hers to open her up to him. His fingers found the outsides of her labia and circled the flesh there, teasing her and enjoying the feel of her squirming against him. Without warning, he pressed against her clit and began moving his fingers in fast circles that he knew would bring her to orgasm quickly.

"Just reminding you that you're mine." His voice was a husky whisper that had butterflies erupting in her stomach. She moaned in response and felt him still. "Shh." He cautioned and then resumed his movements.

Her breath was already coming in quick quiet pants from the combination of his fingers, and his teeth's assault against her neck. She could feel her muscles tensing, and a tremble settled in her restrained thigh that she couldn't control.

"Who do you belong to?" He whispered the question in her ear, and the sensation of his breath sent a chill down her spine.

"You." She answered simply.

"Good girl. Now give me what I want." The moment the words left his lips, the orgasm racked through her. Inuyasha's free hand came up to cover her mouth as she fought off the cry that was attempting to escape her throat.

When her body had relaxed, he pulled her flush against him and nuzzled into her neck. She enjoyed the embrace of his arms and tilted her head back to press her lips against his.

"I like it when you're jealous." She told him.

"Who said anything about being jealous?" He scoffed.

"I think it was a lot more show than tell. But keep denying it all you want." She smirked at him, and immediately he smiled back at her.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She answered. Not long after, they drifted off wrapped up in each other's arms.

Kagome's dreams were restless and panicked. She was fighting Jubo hand to hand, with surges of Reryoku flying out in all directions. Just as her blade was about to end it all, suddenly, it was Naraku before her. The earth opened up to swallow her whole, and she fell into a desk chair in a classroom.

She looked around wildly, trying to make sense of the group of unfamiliar faces around her. A cold breeze from a nearby window had her realizing she was taking high school entrance exams in her underwear. She moved her arms to cover herself, but it was useless. Everyone around her began to laugh and point.

"Pencils down!" Was called out by the instructor, but she hadn't even written anything yet. She raised a hand to question what was happening, as the walls of the building fell away and smacked the ground. Her desk chair turned into the Bone Eaters Well, where she sat staring out at a landscape reduced to ashes. Inuyasha's body was a crumpled, bleeding mess at her feet.

She jumped up off the well and reached out to touch him. As she opened her mouth to call out to him, she saw that her hands were covered in his blood. She gasped and reeled back in horror. The light of the Tree of Ages' magic shone so bright that she had to squint just to keep looking ahead. Suddenly she was engulfed completely by the light, and everything went so white that her vision faded to black.

Kagome woke with a scream. Her heart was pounding, and she felt terror running through her entire body. It was then that she realized that these weren't just her feelings, but also Inuyasha's. It was his fear. Her bow was nearby, and she scooped it up into her arms as she took off running, decidedly alone.

"Inuyasha!" She yelled his name through a raw throat and threw her body into the trees in the direction she could feel him from. She could hear heavy footsteps falling on the ground, and the strained noises of people fighting. The image she was straining to see in his mind didn't make much sense to her. It was the trees and the ground that seemed to be around him, but it was from a strange vantage point she couldn't quite place.

She sprinted ahead to find her husband in the throes of battle with a massive demon, the likes of which she'd never seen. It looked somewhat like a turtle with a heavy defensible shell. Koga, Ayame, Ginta, and Hakaku were all fighting alongside a defenseless Inuyasha, who was being held in a vice grip in the demon's mouth.

Now the images she saw made sense. He was high up in the air, and sideways. Everything around him was distorted and warped. Kagome watched for a moment as Koga kicked and slashed at the demon's thick skin. It was doing some damage, but not enough to make a dent. Ayame was summoning whirlwinds of leaves left and right. The demon had cuts and nicks from the sharp leaves but seemed not to care about it enough to even flinch away as another impact hit.

The one saving grace was its speed. It was a slow-moving tank of a creature and that left room for more attacks. Kagome raised her bow, aiming for the beast's mouth. Inuyasha was human right now, so she didn't run the risk of the arrow harming him the same way it would if he were a demon.

"Hit the mark." She whispered. The arrow flew through the air buzzing with lilac energy, and embedded itself into the sinus cavity of the turtle. It reared back and opened its mouth. A now unconscious Inuyasha tumbled to the ground and smacked the dirt with a hard thud.

Koga easily lifted him off the ground and tossed him in Kagome's direction. He landed at her feet with a heavy slap against the dirt. She sunk to the ground and cradled his head in her lap as she simultaneously erected a barrier over the two of them. Her eyes ravaged him, assessing for deadly injuries in the near pitch dark of the early morning. He had open wounds on his abdomen from where the demon was grasping him, and the back of his head had a large bump on it.

He was coated in a layer of blood and what she assumed was saliva, but what worried her was the blood that continued to pour from the wound. He was losing too much blood, and he looked completely devoid of color. His skin was an ashen white with dark hollows under his eyes. Kagome looked up to the sky to see the sun just cresting the horizon.

"Hang in there, my love. Not much longer." She whispered to him. She ran her fingers through his hair while keeping her Reiryoku out and buzzing around them. She couldn't do much for these wounds, but she could keep him alive until his body was back to normal.

The ground around her began to shake and shift, and she looked up to see an angry demon charging at them. She focused her energy on the barrier and watched as the demon attempted to step directly onto Inuyasha over it. When it bounced off of the barrier, it stumbled back and fell to the ground on its back. It struggled to right itself, and she knew she had an opportunity.

She lowered her barrier and raised her bow. With a deep breath, she fired an arrow directly into its throat. Pink light exploded through the copse of trees, and she heard the demon gurgle on its own blood before its life fizzled out. She lowered her bow and took several deep breaths to steady herself. That took a lot more of her energy than it should have, and she didn't like the timing of this.

"Everyone okay?" She asked, looking around.

"We're perfectly fine. But how's your man?" Ayame asked. Kagome looked back to the horizon and saw the sun almost fully risen in the sky.

"He'll be alright in a minute." She assured them. "What the hell was that thing?" She asked.

"Something ancient and terrifying. I've only heard stories of demons like that. Never seen one with my own eyes." Koga said.

"Don't like the sound of that." It was Inuyasha's weak voice that sounded from her lap.

"Thank god you're okay!" She exclaimed. He sat up straight and barely got a breath in before she was on top of him. Her legs straddled him, and her arms were around his neck.

"You scared the shit out of me. What happened?" There were tears in her eyes.

"I came out here to take a leak, and that fucking thing jumped me. I'm lucky it didn't take me out." He said, then his eyes flickered to their unwelcome companions. "Thank you all. For helpin' me or whatever." He said.

"I think you mean 'for saving your life'. You owe me one." Koga said, winking at Kagome as he spoke.

"Thank you all so much. I'm so glad you stayed with us." Kagome said from her place wrapped around Inuyasha. The sky began to light up all the way with welcome rays of sun, and she felt their energies shift and change together.

A kiss landed against her head, and she felt Inuyasha take a deep breath of her.

"I missed your scent. It's not as strong in human form." He said with a sigh. She only held onto him tighter. "I'm okay, you know. You can let go." He chuckled at her as she shook her head.

"No chance in hell. You'll have to pry me away from you now." She said, locked her legs behind his back.

"Alrighty then." He said with a huff, as he stood and made to carry her back to their camp with a giggling posse of demons. Koga groaned at the PDA.

"I've heard the honeymoon phase is the worst for everyone around them." He complained.

"Hey, they're in love. I think it's cute." Ayame said.

"It's not cute when you have to hear them clearly fucking from across a campground," Koga mumbled the words, and Kagome caught the victorious smile gracing Inuyasha's features.

"Imagine living with it," Kaede said as they got back to their camp. "Ye think they are bad now? Ye should have heard them on their actual honeymoon." The woman rolled her eyes but seemed amused nonetheless.

"Kaede!" Kagome yelled with bright red cheeks and then buried her face into Inuyasha's shoulder. Everyone dissolved into some much-needed laughter. She could feel the tension of battle start to fade away.

"I'm sure that's not the name she was screaming." Hakkaku snickered to Ginta loud enough to be overheard. Koga punched him in the arm, and the lesser demon's whole body swayed at the force.

"Okay, okay. That's enough of that. We have places to be people, let's get a move on!" Kagome called out as she forced herself away from Inuyasha. They were both covered in blood, so she knew a quick bath was in order for both of them. There was a stream nearby, and she thanked every god she could think of that it wasn't winter yet.

"Are you coming any further with us?" Inuyasha asked them all. His mood had drastically changed since the prior evening. Koga looked around at his companions before giving a shrug.

"We can go a little further with you. I wanna make sure nothing else like that," he spat out the next word, "thing, comes after all of you." He said resolutely.

"Cool. By the end of today, we should be pretty close." Inuyasha said, looking to Kaede for confirmation. She was elbow-deep in her bags, trying to gather all of their supplies.

"I am expecting to arrive tomorrow morning. With this morning's setback, we didn't get quite as far as I had hoped." She agreed.

"Got it. We will hang around as long as we can." Koga said.

Once they were back on the road in clean clothes, Kagome felt like she had to address the elephant… er… turtle? In the room.

"So, that was a weird demon, huh?" She asked the group. Everyone nodded, but no one responded directly. "And it seemed particularly fixated on Inuyasha, while I was there anyway."

"Not just when you were there. Before that too." Koga said, looking concerned. He shifted Kaede on his back a bit to turn and look at her. "Think this could be related to your big bad demon problem?"

"Could be. I wouldn't put something like that past her. I'm just not sure how she would have found us all the way out here." Kagome mused.

"Could have followed you from somewhere, maybe? Are you certain you've been alone this whole time?" Ayame asked.

"We definitely weren't followed. I've been checking our surroundings religiously." Inuyasha argues.

"Maybe it's unrelated then?" Kagome said.

"Maybe. But I wouldn't hope for that. That demon was something old and powerful. I don't even know how it could be here. It's possible we happened to stumble on its habitat, but that kind of creature should be living in the mountains somewhere, not in the forest." Koga explained. Ayame was nodding in agreement.

"Exactly. If that was the kind of demon I've heard about, it would be smaller and living somewhere else." She said.

"How strange. This is just never-ending, is it?" Kagome sighed, exasperated by the constant changes and new hurdles to jump.

Her tired, swollen feet weren't moving nearly as fast as she'd like, and it was only making her feel worse. This morning's excitement was weighing heavy on her entire body, and the amount of power she had to muster had left her tired and heavy. She was sure that her irritation and discomfort were blaring at Inuyasha, but he seemed to take it in stride, offering her an arm to hold. She took it gratefully and leaned onto him for support. Just his presence was enough to help calm her anxieties.

After she stumbled over her third invisible obstacle, Inuyasha took pity on her and scooped her up into his arms with a laugh.

"Don't worry. The ground was a little wavy there. I saw it." He joked at her. She rested a tired head on his shoulder, thankful for the break.

"My knight in shining armor. Protecting my feet and my pride. What did I do to get so lucky?" She asked.

"You were you. Nothing special needed." He kissed the top of her head lovingly before squeezing her tighter. "Now, hold tight. Let's make up for some lost time." He said before taking off running. The rest of the demons followed in stride.