XII.

In Via

Well provided by Kaede with things that Kouga knows they will need and things he does not, he makes his way out of the village with Kagome in his arms and a heavy frame strapped to his back. He has no interest in lingering here now that he has everything he needs, but he is leaving his armor and he wants to be able to come back and retrieve it. It is not his first choice of options, but he can't carry Kagome with it on and the bulk of it is too much to pack along with everything else. At the edge of the village he looks down at the woman in his arms, wrapped comfortably in fur against the chill of the autumn wind and pressed against his chest, and grins a bit of grin with gleam in it.

"Hey Kagome, d'ya want to have a bit of a fun?"

"Fun?"

She eyes him suspiciously but his amusement is infectious.

"What kind of fun?"

"Speed. I've got a test to make; let's see how fast I can go, Kagome!"

"All right - Oh!"

She smiles but she has no idea what she's in for – and in the same moment as her nod Kouga is off like an arrow from a bow and gaining greater speed all the time. A whirlwind of ruptured air and dust sucked off the ground follows at his heels. She gasps with laughter, and then with delight; she has never felt safer than in this moment, and yet she knows she is moving faster than anything she has seen in her own future.

After several minutes he slackens his pace and the wind dies behind them, becomes a stinging touch on her cheeks. Green landscape falls away around her, and the rolling hills of Japan's interior, leading up toward the slopes of the central mountains. Kouga speaks to her now and then as he runs and the hour moves toward noon, pointing out things that she misses on their way across the countryside; faster than a train he is running, and yet not out of breath. His voice is louder than usual only by a bit, because he wants her to hear him over the wind, and she turns her eyes wherever he indicates.

"There – quick! Three bears, must be a mother and her cubs."

She sees flashes of brown fur, mouths opening wide to yawn, pink tongues lolling -

"Look, those trees, see – the red ones? They're always red – bloodstained, they say."

"Are they really?"

His eyebrows shrug; beneath them his glance gains mischief she finds compelling.

"Maybe – but there! Look, a whole sounder of boar - but those aren't the ones I hunted for you."

She grins at his boasting and sees the streaming dark bodies just as they vanish into the undergrowth. The pride in his voice is cute – sweet even, because he had hunted for her, but his eyes are darker blue than she remembers when he looks down at her and the feeling in them -

"Do you hear water, Kagome?"

He comes to a sudden stop; the silence is startling after the rush of the wind in her ears and on her face, and at first she can hear nothing but the rush of her own blood in her veins. Slowly, as she concentrates, a faint, distant sound makes itself known to her. The rush of a river; the spill of an enormous waterfall, to be heard by her at such a distance.

"I hear it..."

Her eyes scan the land around them, but there's nothing; she can't see what she can hear.

"That's home; near the river, and the falls – deep in the mountains. You won't see it now, even I can't – but look up, Kagome, look up! That's home – there, all that you can see and all that you can't."

Mist burns off the land and rises in a haze that sets the Echigo Mountains floating baseless in the sky. Their slopes are rich with thick greenery; she wants to be among them, walking those untouched forests, breathing the cleanliness of this air. Homesickness doesn't occur to her; her first sight of Kouga's home is magic; wonder; breathless mystery; excitement.

He tastes all these things in the flood of her scent – truths she couldn't hide from him even if she wanted to. The feeling that has been building since he first tasted her power in the distance grows greater within him. The purity of her smile and her scent entice him, and the strength of her will and her personality impel. He recognizes his desire, standing on the green plateaus below his mountains – more than desire, or a desire for more than flesh.

Kagome. You'll be my woman, my shikon woman.

He says nothing to her yet; he is eager, almost too eager, but she is strange and confused and his nature is new enough to her as it is. He doesn't want to frighten her off – anything but that. He wants her to stay; he thinks he wants her to stay forever. Unless some other suitor makes himself known, he has no need to press himself on her...he will be gentle. He will take his time. He will court her with loyalty and charm and magic - until she is his.

My woman.

But Kouga has only a moment to come to terms with the richness of his feelings; he hears her stomach growl, scents her embarrassment, her blush – she's utterly distracting, even from thoughts of herself. He leans down so that they are almost eye to eye, and Kagome is breathless with the closeness of him; she must lick her lips and swallow before she can answer him when he speaks.

"Shall we stop, Kagome? Your body is making hungry noises."

"I – I would – I would like to, if you don't mind -"

"Why would I mind? It's my job to take care of you, remember? I learned how to heal you from that old woman, and I hunted for you so that you could eat – you've got to tell me what you want, though, I haven't got much experience with humans."

He grins and leans back from her and then sets her down on the green. The grass is soft here, and the view is gorgeous; Echigo opens before them wide and misted and dark with forest. The pack that the old miko gave him gives up its contents, and Kouga moves herbs and ointments and clean bandages out of the way to get to the tightly wrapped package he can smell at the bottom.

It comes undone with a swift slice of claws – he's too impatient for knots – and Kouga takes one of the slabs of boar for himself, tears a mouthful of flesh from it and then holds out another chunk for Kagome.

"'Ere, 'ab un 'a-ome -"

Juices drip from the slab of boar he holds out toward her. The raw flesh glistens in the sunlight, and Kagome stares at it, reaches out and takes it from him and holds it between two fingers. She raises her eyes to his face. Kouga sees confusion, amusement, and faint nausea mingle there for a moment, and then she shakes her head firmly.

"Kouga I can't eat that!"

"'S goo', 'y no'?"

"...It's raw."

Kouga gulps his mouthful and then shrugs at her before he tears off another.

"So? It's best that way, isn't it?"

She sighs, and rubs her unoccupied palm against her forehead, over her eyes.

"You really don't know anything about humans! Raw meat will make me sick -"

He reaches out with alarm on his face and snatches the meat back from her hand. Kagome stares at him and then snorts.

"If I eat it, Kouga! If I eat it, not if I touch it -"

He eyes the bit of boar suspiciously before he hands it back to her, and Kagome shakes her head and tries to control uncontrollable giggles – they hurt.

A/N: First, translations of Kouga's 'full-mouth speak': "Here, have one Kagome!" and "It's good, why not?" just in case that was completely unintelligible! Second, today's chapter title translates to "On the road". Third - to reviewers new and old - thank you for all your kindness! Fourth - more tomorrow, of course! Fifth - shameless plug! Those of you who enjoy reading this serial, check out my blog on Tumblr, which currently is hosting another daily serial of mine; an original retelling of Sleeping Beauty, complete with darkness, magic, fairy kings, and well..smut XD The link to my blog is available in...my profile!

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