InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A New Love ❯ Chapter 21 ( Chapter 21 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 21



"Dammit it's been over a week since that mangy ass wolf took Ayame. Where in the hell did that bastard take her." Kya screamed out in frustration as she began to pull her hair.

"Damn woman stop yelling like that. Your letting every youkai in a seven mile radius know just where we are." Inuyasha grumped to the overly loud and extremely pissed off female hanyou.

"I'm sorry." Kya said as she stopped tugging at her hair as she fell in line with the others. "It's just that I am so worried about Ayame. We have been looking for days now and there is still no sign of where Kouga has her hidden. He should have brought her right back to us and instead he disappears to only kami knows where. With her wounds as bad as they were she needed us to treat her. I'm so scared that she is dying or dead. If I find out that this is the case I promise I'm going to kill Kouga. There won't be enough of him left to spit on when I get done."

Inuyasha watched as Kya flexed her claws in anticipation. She had been throwing rants and curses at Kouga for several days now. Thank Kami she had forgiven him or he was sure her punishment would have mad Kagome's sits look like childs play. Kya could be one scary woman when she wanted to be.

Passing an accessing eye over his traveling companions from under the heavy fringe of his bangs; Inuyasha could see how badly the humans in the group were flagging. They would make camp early this night so that everyone could rest well before they had to continue their search for the missing demoness. It was beginning to look like a never ending quest. All of thier hopes rested on the fact that somewhere Ayame still drew breath.

As Inuyasha began to slow his pace to let the human's breath, his mind began to wander to the night that Ayame was taken. He could still feel Kya's tears seeping through the cloth of his hoari as he held her close. She had wept bitterly for hours until finally she had cried herself to sleep. As he held her through the long hours of the night he prayed that she would forgive him for his part in this whole stupid mess. As the pale rays of dawn began to tinge the sky Kya had stirred on his chest. Bracing himself for her scorn Inuyasha had hidden his eyes behind the long fall of his hair as she sat up and noticed where she had passed the night. Long moments had passed as she just stared at him. Finally unable to take the weight of her gaze he had yelled at her.

"Go ahead and say it already."

"What do you want me to say Inuyasha." Kya had stated back.

"Just go ahead and tell me how this is all my fault and you will never forgive me."

Kya said nothing for long moments as she seemed to think about what to say. Finally she made up her mind. Turning in Inyasha's arms she lifted her hands to his face, pushing the long fall of hair from his eyes and made him look at her as she spoke.

"Inuyasha I am not mad at you. Nor do I blame you for what happened. How could you have known things would turn out like this. You said yourself that the demon was strong and concealing his scent from you. Apparently even Ayame was unaware until the last moment that he was there. And you certainly are not responsible for Kouga running off with her while she was wounded. Please do not continue to beat yourself up over this. I place what blame I can assign directly onto Kouga. He had no right to take her the way that he did. She was so hurt and she needed me. What if she dies and I am not there for her. I will never be able to forgive myself or that damned wolf Kouga."

"Thank you Kya."

Inuyasha had pulled her into his chest and held her until the others had awakened. Once everyone was up it was decided that they would begin to search for the missing Ayame. It quickly became apparent that there was no trail to follow. Kouga had hidden their scents as he ran. Frustrated they had began to walk in a straight path in the direction they thought Kouga had taken. Everyone became lost in their on thoughts as they walked wrapping them in an unnatural silence. That silence was broken around mid morning by the enraged howl of a some powerful demon. Kagome had shrieked and hidden behind Inuyasha before peering ahead and asking what made the noise. Ears twitching Kya had informed them that whatever demon had made that noise was miles away which was all the better for them. Who wanted to deal with a rampaging youkai when they needed to find Ayame soon.

So they walked until they were exhausted still having found no clue as to where Kouga could have hidden Ayame. Morning had came and they had began the search anew. This day passed the same as the one before as did the following days. With each new dawn and no sight of the missing demoness Kya became more despondant. The only time that she showed any life was when she would curse and rail at the wolf prince. Inuyasha did the best he could to try to keep her spirits up but there was only so much he could do. Mostly he waited until the others were asleep and then he would gather Kya into his arms leaping away from camp to find a place where he could hold her close and tell her that everything would be fine. That somehow they would find Ayame no matter what..

"Inuyasha...Inuyasha...Oswauri!" Kagome yelled as loudly as she could at the back of the oblivious hanyou.

"Damn bitch what the hell was that for." Inuyasha said as soon as he could drag himself up from the ground.

"I am not a bitch. I have been calling your name for the past three minutes and you were ignoring me. I am tired and hungry. We need to make camp now."

Shaking his head to clear his scrambled brains, Inuyasha noticed that the sun was beginning to set overhead. He realized that he had been so lost in his thoughts that they had walked much further than he had intended. Not that he would ever let them know this though.

"Fine we will stop here and make camp."

Gratefully the others began to divide the tasks to make camp. In no time the weary group had a fire going and water heating for their meal. Inuyasha jumped into a nearby tree as he watched over the members of his pack. Miroku was placing more wood by the merrily burning flames as Sango checked to see if the water was boiling. Kagome was rummaging in her bag for ramen cups while Shippou and Kirara chased each other nearby. Kya was leaning against a tree looking depressed again. Inuyasha shook his head and was just about to jump from his tree to talk to Kya when something began to stir in the underbrush.

Inuyasha lept to the ground pulling tetsugai from it's sheath in one fluid motion. The others upon seeing his actions all took up battle positions around the camp. Looking quickly at Kagome she gave a negative shake of her head to indicate that she sensed no jewel shard nearby. The bushes to the left of Inuyasha's position began to rustle as shadow emerged and fell into the camp. The figure was slumped on all fours and panting harshly. Looking over the body before him Inuyasha could tell that it was a woman but never had he seen one in a condition this bad. The womans clothes were tattered rags hanging from her frame. Every inch of her covered in dirt and blood. Trying to lift her head long hanks of matted hair fell around her face obscuring her features. Just as Inuyasha was about to demand to know who she was and where she came from; Kya ran around him. She dropped to her knees and pulled the woman into a tight hug as she began to cry happily.

"Oy what the hell are you doing Kya?" Inuyasha said in amazement.

"Baka what the hell do you think I am doing. I'm hugging my best friend."

"Your who."

"Use your eyes Inuyasha. It's Ayame." Kya said as the other woman pushed the filthy hair from her face.

The others could only look on in shock not convinced that this was really the woman they had been trying so hard to find. This poor creature looked nothing like the wolf princess that they had been seperated from just a week ago. But no one could deny her identity as she spoke.

"Kya." Ayame cried as she hugged her sister back."I'm so glad that I finally found you."

"What happened to you? Where did Kouga take you? I thought you would be back by the day after Kouga disappeared with you. When you didn't show up we started looking for you. I had just about given up hope. We have been searching for days and couldn't find any clues as to where you were." Kya cried as she released her hold around Ayame.

"I can't talk about it right now please Kya. I don't have time. He is to close."

"Who's to close?"

"Who do you think. Kouga. I wouldn't have come to you guys but I didn't know what else to do. The day after Kouga took me I tried to get back to where you were camped but my strength gave out and I had to stop to find a place to rest. I thought I was well hidden in the cave I had chosen. I had hidden my scent since the moment I had ran from Kouga but I was unaware that I was leaving a faint blood trail behind me. He almost reached me before I sensed him and ran. I have kept one step ahead of him ever since but I am so tired. I am so sorry that I am bringing this trouble to you. I only came now to beg a favor of Sango and her fire cat."

Meeting the eyes of the exhausted wolf Sango asked "What can I do to help you Ayame?"

"I respectfully ask you and your neko if it would be possible to take me far from here.Please."

Kirara gave a purr and ran close to Ayame's side transforming into her larger form beside the wolf demoness. Sango looked from Kirara to Ayame and simply said, "I think that it has already been decided."

"Where do you think your going now."Kya growled in annoyance."Don't you realize that I have been scared out of my mind for days now. I thought that you were dead you stupid bitch."

"Kya I have to go. I have to have some time to think and I need to get away before he finds me. He could be here any second. Please I'll be back soon. Just let me go now while I have a chance."

"Fine you can go. However, I am coming with you. Kirara doesn't mind. Do you." Kya said as she looked at the neko. Kirara gave another low purr to signal her okay.

With that Kya stood and helped Ayame to her feet and onto Kirara's back. Swinging up behind Ayame and wrapping her in a tight hold Kya waved to the group at large. With a huge leap Kirara took to the air and in moments was out of sight.

"What in the hell just happened here?" Inuyasha said as he seemed to come out of a dazed stupor. "And where does Kya think that she's going. Stupid woman now I gotta go find her and bring her back."

"Inuyasha I don't think that is something that you need to worry about at this time. If I understood correctly from what little the lady Ayame revealed we can soon expect Kouga in our midst." Miroku stated as he sat down near the fire.

"That is how it sounded to me too Miroku. I wonder why Kouga is chasing her though." Kagome said as she laid out a couple of ramen cups near the fire. Then she too sat down with Shippou coming to sit in her lap.

"Keh." Inuyasha said as he watched Sango add the now boiling water to the cups. He quickly snatched two and retreated back into his tree before he said "Like I am worried about that wimpy wolf. Let him come and then maybe we will find out what the hell is going on."

The others all nodded in agreement as they sat back to eat. Inuyasha finished his ramen much faster than his companions and after throwing the empty containers into the fire he joined his friends by the fire. He watched as they quietly ate their meal seeming to enjoy the peace around the camp while it lasted. Finally they too finished eating. After clearing away all of the garbage and putting away the the cooking utensils they all settled around the fire to await the apperance of Kouga. Each second seemed to crawl as they waited. One hour passed. Then another. No one spoke much as they waited. Finally after three hours had come and gone no one could stand the tension anymore. Kagome finally broke the silence saying obviously Kouga was not coming. She decided that they might as well go to sleep Everyone got up and started to lay out thier sleeping places for the night. Inuyasha watched as the others completed their nightly rituals. He still had a bad feeling. The others were not expecting Kouga to show but he had a feeling that it was only a matter of time.

No sooner did this thought cross his mind when suddenly Inuyasha found himself thrown over the fire and across the camp into the trunk of a large tree. Before he could blink he found a hand encircling his throat as he was hoisted into the air. Gasping for breath he looked into the blue eyes of his attacker and tried to figure out just how Kouga had snuck up on them without anyone sensing his presence.

Vicious snarls were issuing from Kouga's throat as he kept Inuyasha lifted off the ground. His eyes flickering from blue to red as he worked to control his rage. Inuyasha watched all this as calmly as possible. He wanted to fight the hold that Kouga had on him but he didn't want to push the wolf into a blood rage. He couldn't have any of his pack hurt. Taking his eyes slowly off Kouga he could see the others preparing to attack the wolf while he was distracted. With one look Inuyasha warned them away.

Inuyasha tried to swallow before speaking but found the act painful. So in a raspy voice he asked "What do you want."

Kouga eased his grip slightly before saying "Where is she."

"Who do you want. Kagome is right behind you."

"Dammit bastard I don't mean the ningen woman. Where the hell is my MATE. Where is Ayame."

"Your Mate?!"

Kouga tightened his grip as his eyes began to bleed red. "Bastard where is she." He snarled.

"Kouga-kun please let Inuyasha down." Kagome begged. "Ayame is not here. She left hours ago. Please Kouga-Kun your scaring me."

Hearing Kagome pleading with him Kouga shook his head and released his hold on Inuyasha. Falling to his knees Inuyasha gasped for breath as he got his first good look at Kouga. If they had thought Ayame looked bad Kouga was on equal ground if not worse. His hair was matted with filth and gore. His armor was gone leaving him bare chested, arms and legs naked. His fur wrap rode low on his hips torn and dirty. What surprised Inuyasha the most were the wounds covering Kouga's body. From head to toe he was covered with bites, scratches, lacerations, and holes. He shouldn't have even been standing any lesser being wouldn't have been. Turning to Kagome he fell to his knees with his head bowed.

"She is still running from me. Why? I don't understand." Kouga said softly as he raised his head to look at Kagome. "Is she safe. Was she ok."

"Yes she is safe. Kya left with her." Kagome said as she slowly approached the wolf youkai. "She didn't look to good Kouga. I don't know what happened but she seems frightened of you."

Kouga hung his head back down as Kagome reached his side. Kneeling she began to check his wounds as she stared at the man before her.

"Kouga please rest. Let me clean your wounds."

"No I need to find Ayame." Kouga started to rise to his feet as he said this only to be stopped by Inuyasha who was growling at him.

The others could not understand the conversation that followed as it was as conducted in a series of yips, growls, and snarls. What was said between the two was private and Inuyasha didn't think the others needed to hear. When he growled he was getting Kouga's attention. When Kouga looked at him they began to speak.

"Why mate run?" Inuyasha barked.

"Mate scared." Kouga snarled back

"Why scared. You hurt?"

"No never hurt. Love. Always."

"Good. You stay. Rest. Talk later."

Sinking back to the ground Kouga heaved a big sigh as he conceded defeat. Kagome immediately called for Shippou to bring her the first aid kit and some water. She cleaned the worst of the wounds and bandaged them. Finally content that she had done all she could she prepared to ask Kouga some questions. Looking into his face she saw that he had fallen asleep as she treated him. Kagome grunted in exasperation as she called Miroku to help her lower Kouga's upper body gently to the ground. Looking for Inuyasha she found him already up in his tree asleep. Seeing those two asleep Kagome crawled into her sleeping bag and bid Sango, Miroku, and Shippou goodnight. In moments she was asleep as were the others.

Still Kouga waited another half hour before he decided to get up. He knew that Kagome and the others wanted to question him. It was not their place nor any of their buisness. He had pretended sleep so that he would not become angered by them. Listening to the deep breathing from the sleeping pack Kouga made his way stealthily out of camp. In moments he heard Inuyasha behind him. As they got far enough away from the camp they began to talk.

"Oy wolf where do you think you are running off to."

"Baka I'm covered in blood I am going to the springs to bathe. If you want to talk wait for me here. I'll be right back."

True to his words Kouga was gone only long enough to get rid of the bandages and clean his hair and body. He met Inuyasha and motioned for him to follow him a little further from camp. Finding a small clearing Kouga sat down and Inuyasha followed a second later.

"So where should I start." Kouga said as he laid back into the fragrant grass closing his eyes.

"Start from the beginning wolf." Inuyasha said.

"Ok from the beginning. How's this I never wanted Kagome."

"What! Then why the hell were you always coming around and saying that my woman crap."

"It was just to piss you off and push Ayame away."

"Why would you do that."

"Well I like to piss you off because it is so easy and as for Ayame. Well I have always loved her. I knew when she was just a child that I wanted to make her my mate. I was just waiting on her to grow up. Then she was taken to the Northern Mountains. I thought that I would never see her again. Then suddenly she is back in my life. I wanted her so badly but how could I make her my mate when I might die. Worse how could I make her my mate when she could be put in danger. I couldn't do that so I lied to her and pushed her away."

"So what happened the other day when you ran off with her."

"Easy I saw my mate dying. I couldn't allow that to happen. I had to protect her. That is why I ran off with her. I wanted to keep her safe. It just didn't work out that way. I gave into my urges. When I woke the next morning she was gone. I went crazy. Damn woman had concealed her scent. If she had not still been bleeding I would not have found her. I almost had her but some how she sensed me. She ran and she kept running. I kept thinking that I would catch her but she was always one step ahead of me. As mad as I am that she got away every time I am also proud of her. She's one smart bitch."

"So how about the wounds. Where did those come from?"

"Actually it would not have been so bad if I had gotten my armor but I was so angry when I woke up and she was gone that all I did was grab my wrap. First day I caught a bear youkai sniffing out her blood trail. I beat him off pretty easily. The next day I ran into Kagura. That afternoon one of those damn puppets. The next day another bear. You get the idea. So here I am."

"So what are you planning on doing."

"Honestly. I am not sure. I guess I will have to woo her."

"Good luck with that. From what I saw your going to need it."

"Keep laughing dog turd. So have you told Kya how you feel yet."

"Keh". Inuyasha said as his face turned red. "None of your buisness baka."

Kouga could only laugh at the blush staining the Hanyou's cheeks.

"You know dog turd you ain't half bad."

"You either mangy wolf."

"Damn I guess this means that we have to be friends now. Oh well I guess there are worse things."

"Your right about that. Come on wolf we better get back to camp before some youkai eats the humans."

After making it back to the camp Kouga laid back near the fire as Inuyasha resumed his place in the tree. Kouga immediately fell into a deep sleep. Having had no rest in days his body needed a short period of inactivity. Inuyasha on the other hand while needing sleep couldn't keep Kya off his mind. He kept thinking about Kouga's words. He knew that he needed to tell her his feelings before it was too late. Finally he dozed for a bit. He was up long before the others woke. He tended the fire and caught some fish for the morning meal. After they had eaten everyone including Kouga decided to head back to Kaede's village. Inuyasha wasn't surprised when on the way Kagome said she needed to go home for a little while. Kouga asked what village she was from. Kagome decided that it was safe to tell him. So for the rest of the trip she told him all about the future.











Hi guys thanks so much for reading this story. I hope you like it.
SacredJune