InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Wolf Prince's Love ❯ The Fateful Reunion ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three:

 

 

Kagome's eyes popped open and she sat up with a jolt from her not-so-comfortable, makeshift bed on the grass. Had she accidentally dozed off? She certainly hoped not because that would mean less time to find Kouga.

 

`I'd better start looking again.' She said with a heavy sigh, rubbing her sore, grass-covered back. All this searching was making her tired, but she didn't regret coming out alone in the middle of the night. Besides, if Inuyasha were here, he would have been making her problems even worse…

 

No matter where or when, accidentally or not, they met up with Kouga, he and her dog friend would always start their conversation off with a fight. Narrowing her eyes, she groaned as she remembered every argument that she could between the ookami and inu.

 

“Inuyasha, why do you have to be so pigheaded?”

 

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“Aaaaaaachooooo!” A certain inu-hanyou fell off his designated tree branch in a tangled mess.

 

“Bless you.” Miroku exclaimed to the surprised half demon on the ground.

 

“Thanks,” Inuyasha muttered as he wiped the excess moisture off his nose.

 

“Aw Inuyasha, that's nasty!” Shippo called from his secure hiding place atop Sango's shoulder.

 

“Shut up, Shippo.” He grumbled angrily at the little kitsune.

 

“Are you feeling all right, Inuyasha?” Sango asked.

 

“I'm fine. Demons don't get sick.” He crossed his arms proudly and stuck his now reddened nose in the air.

 

The other three companions rolled their eyes at his typical haughtiness.

 

“Well, you know what they say,” Miroku speculated. “When you sneeze, it means someone is talking about you behind your back.” He pointed an accusing finger at his confused friend.

 

Inuyasha growled.

 

“It'd better not be that lousy wolf!”

“Somehow, that wouldn't surprise me.” Miroku whispered to Sango behind his cursed hand.

 

“What was that?!” Inuyasha demanded.

 

“Nothing,” remarked a suddenly innocent Houshi.

 

 

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Kouga sniffed hurriedly at the air.

 

Yes, she was definitely close by. He slowed to a halt and relied on his superb wolf-like ears for the rest of the tracking. Closing his eyes, the Prince focused all of his attention on hearing the slightest sign of life in the quiet forest. After a few short seconds, he began to hear the soft trickling of a woodland stream maybe a mile and a half away.

 

`Just a little further.' He thought.

 

“KOUGA!”

 

The poor wolf jumped five feet in the air and landed with a thud on the cushiony dirt bottom. When his racing heart slowed down a bit, he glanced up and all around him. There was no apparent sign of Kagome anywhere.

 

`I must've been straining too hard, she must be over a mile away!'

 

Kouga slowly rose to his feet. This was it. It was now or never. He took a deep breath, decision made, and took off toward the sound of her sweet voice.

 

 

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“Kouga!” Kagome tried again. Once again, nothing stirred in the great forest from what she could see or hear.

 

“Gosh, where is he?” She muttered. Her exhausted feet whined at her as she trudged on yet again.

 

Just as her sleep deprived mind reluctantly questioned giving up…

 

The wind picked up suddenly and she glanced around, recognizing the signs of her wolf friend. She braced herself for anything and everything as a familiar cyclone made its way toward her…and stopped a few yards away. Kagome removed her shielding hand from her eyes as the dust cleared away and revealed the one youkai she had been searching for all night.

 

Kouga grinned sadly and took a few doubtful steps towards her.

 

“Kagome…” He breathed out in a gentle whisper.

 

She opened her mouth to tell him everything she had been rehearsing in her brain for the past few hours, but no sound emerged. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she felt mute.

 

Unsure of what else to do, she did the only thing her now useless mind would permit. The tears started out slow, but then fell like heavy rain from cinnamon-colored clouded eyes.

 

When Kouga saw those tears, he felt the salt water stinging at his heart. Before he could stop himself, he enveloped her in a tight embrace, against his better judgement.

Kagome gasped softly as his strong arms wrapped around her waist, one hand gently resting on her back. His words surprised her even more.

 

“Kagome, please,” He whispered so lightly that she could barely make out what he was saying. “Please don't. Don't cry for me.”

 

She breathed in sharply, not believing what she was hearing.

 

“Kami knows I don't deserve your tears.” He whispered, his fingers gently stroking her hair.

 

“W-what are you t-talking about, Kouga-kun?”

 

“I'm not worthy enough for an angel like you, Kagome.”

 

As she listened to Kouga belittle himself, she suddenly had the strength to shout.

 

“Stop it!”

 

He pulled away from her in shock, thinking she didn't like it that he was touching her.

 

“Kagome?” He asked, wondering why on earth she was shouting at him this time.

She dropped her shaking fists to her sides and looked into his eyes, very sure of herself now.

 

“Just stop it, will you! Why are you saying this? What makes you so inferior to someone like me?”

 

A ghost of a smile formed on his lips.

 

“Well, why wouldn't I be?” Kouga asked. “Kagome, before you came into my life…” He sighed in deep regret and, unable to look her in the eyes, he turned his gaze to the grass-covered ground.

 

“You saw what I did that day when we first met.” His hands turned to fists and he began to tremble. “You saw what I commanded my wolves to do.”

 

Kagome's anger left her all at once. Her frown turned to a saddened grimace. She could tell she had just brought back many painful memories for him.

 

He paused before continuing his painful confession.

 

“It wasn't just that one village, Kagome. Every village we found, all of those humans…dead. All of those people are gone now, and it's all because of me.” Kouga's eyelids came down over his eyes, hard.

 

“Demo…you did it so you could feed your wolves. You had a big pack and it couldn't really be helped once you think-“

 

“No, Kagome.” He paused, still not exactly ready to tell her the next part of his inhumane tale. “It wasn't for us to eat. We're hunters. We could have easily hunted down some game from the forest.” He took a deep breath and looked up into her eyes in shame. “I did it. It was done out of my own hunger for power. I thought that the more people I killed, the more villages I destroyed…I thought I would gain respect. But then…” He held up his hand and tenderly stroked her cheek. He was smiling now. His eyes gave away his gratitude to the young ningen.

 

“But then, you came. And you taught me that what I was doing was wrong… and you turned this heart of stone into something so much more. I'm not a bloodthirsty monster anymore. I'm finally starting to feel…human. Well, not human, but close to it anyway.” He finished with a shrug. “Thank you so much, Kagome.”

 

She smiled sweetly up at him.

 

“Didn't you just answer your own question?” She asked.

 

“Nani?” Kouga tilted his head to the side, confused.

 

“You just said you weren't like that anymore.” Kagome cocked her head playfully. “So, why wouldn't you be worthy of someone like me?”

 

His mouth dropped and his blue eyes widened.

 

“Forget your past, Kouga. You've definitely changed since then, that much I can certainly tell.” She smiled even more at his surprised expression. “You've changed for the better, and I'm proud of you.”

 

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. Smiling wider than ever before, he ran up to her and squeezed her into a hug so tight, she could barely breathe. But that wouldn't have mattered anyway, she was laughing so hard. He twirled her around a few times and set her down gently, laughing just as hard; however, he was laughing from relief. A huge burden had just been lifted from his shoulders thanks to Kagome, and if it was possible she had just amazed him even more…

 

 

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Lurking in the shadows of his demonic castle, Naraku grinned evilly at the wolf and girl that appeared to him in Kanna's mirror. They were falling into his trap so easily, and they didn't even know it.

 

 

A/N: Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!

 

Until next time.