InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bittersweet Rhapsody ❯ Electricity ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, right now I'd be sailing around the world in my high-tech yacht and literally rolling in gold.

&%#%

Kagome trembled as Kouga slowly began to unwrap the ermine blanket enveloping her body. "Kouga...please," she whispered faintly. "Please don't-"

Kouga, panting heavily, shook his head as he ran his hand through her tangled coal-black hair. "Sorry, princess, but when I decide, I decide for good. Now hold still..."

Kagome trembled uncontrollably as she felt his calloused hands caress her breasts roughly, as he inclined his head in order to take one into his mouth. She shuddered as she felt his pointed fangs rake against her nipple, knowing that he was due to push her down any minute. She could feel his hardness throbbing against her inner thigh, his heavy breath gently tickling her hair... "Kouga, stop it!" she shrieked one last time, struggling but to no avail.

Her stomach clenched as she watched Kouga lean back in order to begin unbuckling his belt. "Don't worry about it, Kagome," he began excitedly, "just think about our first litter of pups-"

But before he could finish his sentence, however, the fur curtain was suddenly lifted and a dark outline could be seen at the cave rough orifice, a figure that could have been the Messiah for all Kagome could have cared. Brightness flooded into the dark alcove, and an unpleasantly familiar voice spoke, a voice that was filled with raw anger... "All right, then! Come on out, you asshole! New moon or not, I'm good and ready to kick your ass till it falls off! You'll regret it for calling me a pu----"

The cave was suddenly plunged into silence. Both parties stared at one another, all of them shocked beyond words. Kagome herself stared google-eyed at Inuyasha, relief immediately coursing through her veins. She didn't care that the blanket had been ripped away and that her body was completely exposed to the both of them, that she was looking afraid and vulnerable. All that mattered was that she was going to be saved, for surely even her greatest enemy wouldn't leave her to a fate like this... Yes, there he was, towering over them menacingly, his eyes blazing like fire and his hair blacker than midnight... Wait, midnight?! (Shit! What a time for it to be new moon!) Kagome cursed inwardly, her heart beginning to sink again. (What can he possibly do against Kouga like THIS?!)

Out of all of them, Inuyasha found his voice first. "Get off her," he said stonily, an eerie calm pervading his voice. She had never seen him this spine-chilling, this deadly quiet...

"What if I don't?" Kouga shot back calmly, his hands still playing with a few of Kagome's stray strands.

"Then I'll have to kill you."

"Like that?" Kouga laughed, pointing towards Inuyasha's black hair. "In that getup you couldn't even kill one of my wolves!"

Inuyasha refused to lose his cool. "Oh, trust me, Kouga, it might be morning when I do, but I'll make sure that I get you. And when I do, it'll be the longest, slowest, most painful death imaginable." He walked closer, now looming over Kagome and Kouga sinisterly. "NOW LET HER GO!" he roared, his temper finally coming through.

Kouga appeared to think for a moment, but eventually did as he ordered and neatly climbed away, leaving Kagome shaken but luckily unharmed. Before anyone else could react Inuyasha grabbed her, blanket and all, and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He then turned and headed out of the room, walking swiftly towards the cave entrance, stepping lightly over the sleeping wolves and wolf-demons (though he rather would have stepped on their faces).

"WAIT!" Kagome suddenly cried just as they reached the entrance. "My backpack! I forgot my backpack!" Though cold tears were streaming down her face and she wanted nothing more than to get out of this horrid place and never come back, she knew that wandering out in the wilderness without food and water was even worse.

Though Inuyasha growled irritably, he did, however, set her down. "Wait here," he snarled, walking back towards Kouga's cave. "If you don't I'll throw you back in there and let him do what he wants!"

He ripped the curtain back open, snarling again as he sighted Kouga still sitting on his bed, staring at the floor stonily. "Where's her backpack?!" he spat as he re-entered the room.

Kouga pointed at it dully. As Inuyasha bent to get it, he asked the half-demon in a barely audible voice, "How do you know, puppy, that I won't send my wolves to kill you before the sun comes up?"

"If you give a damn about Kagome, you won't," Inuyasha grunted, his eyes once again blazing fury at the wolf-demon. "You idiot, you could tell as well as anyone that she didn't want you! Besides," he added darkly, his lip curling contemptuously, "I'll definitely put up a fight, even if I know I'll lose."

Kouga laughed humorlessly. "What's your motivation, Inuyasha?"

"Motivation for what, wolfbrain?!"

"Your motivation, you fool! You haven't even mated with her yet; your scent isn't on her! She isn't even yours to carry off!"

Inuyasha looked at him coolly but didn't answer. That was something that he hadn't quite come to terms with himself...why was he doing this for her, when he supposedly didn't give a damn about her in the first place?! Though at times he knew the answer, on those dark, moonless nights in the forest when he had longed to see her again, to throw away his immense pride to get what he wanted... He knew by now that it was definitely much, much more than merely getting revenge against Naraku and using the Shikkon Jewel to become an all-demon...

"See, puppy, you're too green behind the ears yet to even know yourself!" Kouga taunted. "You really ought to get your priorities straight, you know?" He laughed darkly, slowly standing up. "But any moron can see that you did this for a reason. You know as well as anybody that demons don't go through the whole rigmarole that humans do. They don't go for courtly pretenses, y'see--they just take what they want! Just like I was doing!"

"I don't care! Kagome isn't a demon; you were scaring the hell out of her!" He sniffed and turned to leave, always keeping the corner of his eye fixed on the wolf demon, who by now he obviously thought very untrustworthy.

As he left Kouga went on for one last punch. "Have fun trying to protect her from all the demons in that form!"

"You bet I will!" The outraged answer floated back to him a few seconds later, when Inuyasha was halfway back to the entrance.

&^$^

Kagome whimpered uncomfortably as Inuyasha practically gave her a concussion when he clumsily tripped over a rock. Wincing in pain as tears continually ran down her face and even onto his rough red Fire Rat haori, she didn't even bother with any pretenses of being unaffected by what had happened. It was way beyond that now...

She shifted awkwardly into Inuyasha's rock hard shoulder; it was, after all, not too pleasant when being thrown head over heels and carried like a sack of feed. Inuyasha, however, did not halt or even acknowledge that she was uncomfortable; he just continued on, on through the gorge, hardly even waylaid by the driving rain that was falling from the post-midnight sky, which was occasionally lit up by vivid forks of lightning. Mother Nature wasn't being very nice tonight, Kagome concluded as she painfully shifted her neck to look upwards; the sky was black, blacker than Inuyasha's hair, which now hung in sopping clumps and clung stubbornly to her face.

(That's right, his hair...) she thought glumly as a loud boom of thunder sounded nearby. (How could I have not remembered that it was New Moon tonight?! He's human right now---and he can't defend me any more than a normal guy can!) She shuddered at the awful prospect of Kouga taking advantage of this and coming after them, and shuddered even more at the prospect of being Kouga's mate.

(Oh God...I can't believe how close that was...How close I got to - to being...) She sniffed pitifully as she thought about the prospect of being Kouga's mate for the rest of her life. He might have been friendly, and he might have been strong; however...he was also boorish, arrogant, and condescending. He probably would have ended up raping her as many times as he wanted had he had the chance, and after a few months she most likely would have been carrying a litter of little half-wolves. She shuddered at the very thought. She had always known about his obsession towards her, she had just never thought he'd actually act on it, especially with Inuyasha so close.

What was she doing anyway, entangling herself with a bunch of demons in the first place? Demons were dangerous, demons were wild...someday she would get into a situation that she couldn't escape so easily. Even Inuyasha---he was dangerous. Not exactly dangerous in terms of hurting her, but dangerous because of the fact that he still continued to hold her heartstrings taut. In a way, that was even worse than what Kouga had done...

For even bumping and being pressed against Inuyasha's body wasn't enough to make her forget about everything. Normally it would be arousing as hell, but rubbing against a man's body was about the last thing she wanted right now. And especially if that man didn't give a rat's ass about her in the first place... Why had he saved her anyway?! Why now and why before?! He had practically made it a long-term goal to tell her how worthless she was, and also how ugly and whiny and dumb she was; why HAD he bothered, come to think of it?! Wasn't she just an extra one hundred twenty-five pounds to be lugging around in the dark and in the rain?! Was it because Miroku and Sango would flay him alive if he didn't?! She didn't know, she really didn't know...

Suddenly Inuyasha practically did a header into a rocky outcrop of which he had been trying to edge his way down; the rocks were getting so slippery and treacherous from the rain that they were becoming downright deadly. "Would you please LET ME DOWN?!" Kagome shrieked shakily as he righted himself and continued on. "I've been up here for over an hour, and besides, you don't seem to know where you're going!"

"Shut up!" was the agitated reply. "It's not my fault that I don't have my eyesight tonight!"

Kagome growled frustratedly into his shoulder, but he ignored it and gingerly went on. He wasn't listening to her; didn't the little twit know the danger that they were in?! Probably she did; after all, she had been sobbing on and off ever since they had left Kouga's cave. As much of a people person that he was not, he did know that there was no way that Kagome could have even remotely wanted Kouga's advances. No, not the way that she was still whimpering and carrying on, even after a good hour had elapsed. And he certainly wasn't going to stand it, her being the mate of that brutal, arrogant bastard... It was a good thing that he had decided to burst in when he had, otherwise right about now she'd be crying even harder than she was now...

He could absolutely KILL Kouga right about now. Kill him in a thousand long and painful ways. And it wasn't just the fact that Kouga had tried to claim her... It was perfectly within Kouga's right to do what he had done; demon instinct dictated that there was no choice on the female's part, whether they thought otherwise or not. No, it was something else...and that something probably had to do with the minx herself, he thought angrily as he tried to suppress a growl when she moved her head slightly, allowing her cheek to briefly brush the nape of his neck.

What had she DONE to him, anyway?! She had by now practically reduced him to a raving lunatic who got a hard-on practically ever time she accidentally TOUCHED him!! He had never been like this before; why now...why HIM?! And she hadn't even a clue! ...Part of him now even wanted to stop holding her by the legs and to creep slightly upward to rest on her behind...but his other half angrily chided him that she probably didn't want anyone pawing her, especially after what had just happened. And he definitely wasn't one to be like Kouga and to not respect her wishes...

"Inuyasha! PLEASE!" he heard her cry, slightly muffled from the constant rain. "Let me down! I need to rest!"

"Yeah, when I'm the one doing all the walking?!" he snarled back. "Just keep quiet and enjoy the ride! And be glad that I bothered to save your ass!" he added on an afterthought.

(Shit, I said ass, didn't I?! Goes to show where my mind is...) Honestly, he was getting to be like Miroku...peeping and peeking and constantly thinking dirty thoughts like he was... He had probably imagined Kagome in (various) compromising positions with him more times in the last three days than all of the days he had known her combined...Damn, she was getting to have a powerful effect on him. The fact that she wasn't even another demon, that she was a mere human driving him almost to the point of insanity, was downright scary. Perhaps Sesshomaru had been right---maybe he had inherited some of their father's less desirable traits...

Kagome was crying outright by now. "Please!" she sobbed. "Let me down! I don't care if he chases us anymore! Just please let me down!"

"Will you SHUT YOUR YAP?!" Inuyasha screamed back, jerking angrily as he stumbled over yet another rock. "If you hadn't decided to be so stupid then we wouldn't have gotten into this!"

Kagome said nothing in reply to this barb; she did, however, shudder and let out a choked sob. Giving out a frustrated sigh as he continued to walk on, it slowly dawned on him that she was probably in no condition to travel. She had just been almost forced upon by a wolf-demon, she still had a fresh wound that would take days yet to heal, and the unrelenting storm had her soaked. Maybe, a small nagging voice penetrated into his brain, just maybe they should stop somewhere for the remainder of the night...

It took him about ten minutes to sight an appropriate place, but he finally located a cave hewn into the southern side of the gorge, half-hidden by thick vines growing crazily over the entrance. Without bothering to consult Kagome first, he ripped away some of the vines and ploughed into it, unceremoniously dumping her onto the ground the moment he set foot within. "There!" he barked curtly. "Are you happy now?!"

Since all he got in reply was a rueful sniff, he growled angrily and turned away, looking for the proper materials to start a fire.

One thing was for sure, he reflected as the rain pelted on the rocks outside and as the wind mercilessly howled through the gorge, it was going to be a loooo-ooooong night.

*#%$^%&

Although she was drier than she had been in hours and she was reasonably certain that Kouga was not in pursuit of her, Kagome was more disparaged than she had been in days. Even the cheeriness of the roaring flame within the little cave was not enough to uplift her mood as she sat huddled over it depressedly, her nerves constantly wracked by Inuyasha's unpredictable mood.

He was more wild-looking than she had seen him in days -no- years. He may have looked angry when he had come to her rescue from Kouga, but now he looked downright terrifying. She watched nervously as he got up once again from his usual station by the cave entrance only to pace around frenziedly for about the fifteenth time in one hour. He had been doing it ever since they had arrived---his energy seemed to know no bounds as he practically walked the cave floor worn. Something was troubling him, that was for sure---but Kagome couldn't quite lay a finger on it.

She stared at him with hooded eyes once again as he, tired from the pacing, slumped back down near the entrance, staring outwards at the ink black night sky, which revealed nothing except for the occasional flare-up of forked lightning. Was he, perhaps, still a little apprehensive? Did he believe that Kouga was planning on following them? It wasn't like he could tell unless Kouga actually approached them, however---the wolf-demon's keen sight, smell, and hearing far outmatched Inuyasha's on this night, whatever either of their wishes were. If he chose to pursue them, then Kouga would have a great advantage.

(Kouga...) She shuddered inwardly at the name, the skin on the back of her neck prickling eerily. He had given her quite a scare, pouncing on her like that...It was a scary thought, thinking of what might have happened had Inuyasha not stormed in... (Ugh, right now I'd probably be lying awake in his bed with his arm around me while he snored. Not a comforting thought...) She knew enough about demons to know that they didn't operate with -um- mating habits like humans did; the males were more apt to just instinctively take what they wanted, whatever the female demon's wishes. (It's not for me, though,) Kagome thought glumly. (There's only room in my heart for one person...and he doesn't even like me. Damn you, Inuyasha! Why can't YOU do that to me, not him! It's not as if I would mind...) Though he was human tonight and his instincts had dulled, it for sure didn't make him any less sexy... She had always thought of his transformations as sort of enigmatic, something that reminded her that he was anything other than normal. Most girls would have been terrified of his sharp, dangerous claws and his pointed fangs, but she thought otherwise. To have those fangs gently sunk into her bare. vulnerable shoulder...and to have those claws digging into her back during the throes of passion...she shuddered in delight at the mere thought it.

Even as a human, though, she had to admit that Inuyasha was quite an Adonis. His coal black hair, tangled and dripping from the persisting rain... Those dark, brooding eyes, now a startling black rather than their normal amber hue... And that chest of his, mmmm... now it was completely bare, as he had removed his outer haori and the shirt underneath to dry them near the fire. It was quite a sight, flecked with raindrops and accenting darkly with his rosary, which he had still been unable to remove over the years...

"What are you looking at?!" Inuyasha shot out grumpily, glaring absolute daggers at her as she snapped back to life.

"Um---um---nothing?" Kagome squeaked, her cheeks flushing as she realized that she had been caught.

His reply came in the form of a livid growl which immediately shut her up. She sighed and averted her eyes to the fire, which seemed to be the only sign of life within the otherwise desolate cavern.

Why was she so turned on by him---why?! He constantly belittled her, he was ruder than rude to her, and worst of all, he absolutely hated her guts! Why did she still feel so hopelessly entangled with him yet, when their life paths had diverged years ago?!

Little did she know that Inuyasha was practically thinking the same thing as he sat heavily against the rough rock wall. He too was downright depressed at this turn of events, and had gone to show for it so far for alternately pacing and sulking the entire night. It would have been strange had someone had been able to hear their thoughts---thoughts that were similar, if not the same...

(This sucks. Now she's gone and noticed that there's something off. Argh, I hate myself, I really do. Why the hell did I go off to sulk when I KNEW that Kouga would pull something like this?! I oughta be took out and hung for what I did.)

A crescendo of thunder suddenly boomed, illuminating the entire cave with a vibrant, momentary flash of light. Kagome shuddered as she scooted closer to the fire, trying to dry her blanket out. (Can it get any worse than this?! I'm alone and stuck in a cave with Inuyasha, Sango and the others might be dead by now, and I don't even have any clothes except for this goddamn blanket, which I can't even take off and dry because, of course, Inuyasha's here!) She tried to make a compromise by shifting as much of it as she dared towards the fire, exposing her bare, damp legs into the half light.

(Don't you DARE adjust that blanket any higher, you minx! Dammit, you're driving me nuts! Are you taunting me?! Are you doing it on purpose?! It's not FUNNY, dangling in front of me what I can't have! Good thing I'm not demon tonight, otherwise I might-)

(Huh, what's the problem with him anyway?! Does he miss perfect little Kikyo? Is he stressed because he hasn't seen their perfect little pups in about a week?! Does he miss the wild, no holds barred sex that she has with him every night?! )

(Sleep, that's what I need, sleep... I can't even keep my damn eyes open anymore. Maybe that's for the best, though, because all that I dream about every night is Kagome Kagome KAGOME! Kagome near me, Kagome beside me, Kagome under me, Kagome on top of me! She even gets into my dreams!)

(He is SUCH an ass! Why couldn't I have fallen for a nice boy, like Hojo?! At least Hojo would have the capacity to love someone besides Kikyo!)

(Shit...why couldn't I just have kept my sights on Kikyo and not this argumentative little minx?! Kikyo was more ladylike, she was talented, AND she was a hell of a lot prettie - aagh, who am I kidding? I want THIS one!) He growled frustratedly, sulking like a little boy who was just out of paw's reach of the cookie jar.

(Yeah, GO ahead and growl at me, dog boy! Like that's gonna fix anything! Well, that is, unless you come over here and let me reach into those big red pa---eughhhhhh! )

(Geez, these pants are way too small.)

(You don't have to growl at me, you arrogant bastard---really, you'll have your chance to kill me if we manage to get the Shikkon Jewel! I know that's what you'll do---when you become a REAL demon, then I know that you'll not merely hate me but actually be out for my blood...)

(Goddamn it, I HATE having human blood! I'm freezing! Thanks, Father, for having it bad for a human woman! You even had to go and wed her. And look at me now---humans are terrified of me and real demons laugh their asses off at me. I'm just a whelp who swings his papa's fang around.)

Kagome sighed as he rolled over on her side in order to expose the damp side of the blanket to the flames. (Who knows, maybe it's fate. He wants Kikyo. I can't be Kikyo. I couldn't be happy trying to BE Kikyo. It's as simple as that.)

Inuyasha too turned to the side, almost wistfully staring at the rain outside. (Y'know, maybe it's better this way anyway. Every time I open my mouth to say something to her I end up insulting her. I don't know the first thing about women---I'd screw up with EVERYTHING.)

He laughed humorlessly at the surrounding darkness. (Like how I've done with everything so far...)

^$^%&^&

Another long, grueling hour had passed, and it was now, or so Kagome judged, around two or three in the morning. Her eyes red-rimmed for want of sleep, she had been trying for the longest time to drop off, but her body refused to listen. She was just too taut and tense. The floor was hard, she was still a little wet, and most importantly of all, Inuyasha was still sprawled near the cave entrance, completely soaked but still wide awake. (What's his point, anyway?! Wouldn't he be more than happy to hand me over to Kouga and let him do what he likes? )

(Oh, that's right. The Shikkon Jewel. And then when he gets it whole, he supposes that he gets to kill me, or maybe even slowly kill me by throwing me back to Kouga. OK, I get it, it all makes sense now...)

And, speak of the devil...

She sat up only to find that Inuyasha had quietly gotten up and was now right across from her, warming his hands near the fire. Their eyes locked intensely, and Kagome could feel herself reddening as his gaze became more and more belligerent. "This is all your fault," he finally snarled, giving her a look that would have frozen a lava pool in hell.

"What?!" she replied guardedly, inwardly groaning that another one of their fights was getting ready to start up yet again.

"THIS!" he exploded, his arms waving vaguely all around the cave walls. "If it wouldn't have been for YOU, then we'd all be halfway to Naraku's castle by now! Why did YOU have to go and get injured?!"

"Oh, so now it's MY fault, is it?!" Kagome snapped, the angry heat rising within her like an active volcano. "D'you think I just snuck off, happened to find a whole freakin' flock of the Birds of Paradise, and tell them 'hey, why don't you come and attack us? Oh, and why don't you wound me too, so that Inuyasha can get pissed off at me later'? You ought to transfer your anger where it should really go!" she screamed, the unfairness of the situation striking her like a brand.

"Well, what about Kouga?! That was YOUR fault!"

"My fault, really?! My fault that he practically raped me?!"

"Well, perhaps you were LEADING HIM ON!!"

"Are you calling me a slut?!"

"Yeah, maybe I am!"

Unable to hold the flow any longer, the dam burst and tears began to run down Kagome's face. "I - I can't believe you!" she sniffed, turning away from him. "You're such an arrogant bastard!" She stopped to choke back a sob, and then continued, "You really haven't changed, have you?!"

"What if I haven't?!" was the angry reply.

"You're still so absorbed with yourself that you fail to see what's going on with others around you!" Kagome choked, refusing to meet his eye. "If you had - if you had just been honest with me..." She closed her eyes, unable to speak any further.

Inuyasha momentarily looked confused, but he shook it off and shot back furiously, "Well, first SOMEONE needs to be loyal so I can BE honest!"

"You don't even make any sense! It was YOUR fault that I left you in the first place!"

"Runaway!"

"Backstabber!"

"Slut!"

"Bastard!"

"Harpy!"

"Liar!"

"Coward!"

That did it for Kagome. Turning upon Inuyasha furiously for one last time, she spat deliberately, "That is IT. No one, and I mean NO ONE, calls me a coward. I'm leaving now, Inuyasha. I'll WALK back to the well if I have to. Good night." And with that she gathered up her blanket and stormed out of the cave and into the dark rain.

Inuyasha stared at the flickering flames for a moment, feeling completely stunned. For the second time in his life, he had absolutely no idea what to do... (So this is it, huh... I opened my huge gaping mouth and I got just what I deserved. Looks like this is it...)

Something in his brain, however, firmed up his resolve and pushed him to action. (No, this is NOT it. I can't let it end like this! I'd never forgive myself! No...) Swiftly he walked out of the cave himself, having made a big decision...

He found her not too far away, stumbling in the dark on the sharp rocks with her bare feet. With that he grabbed her shoulders, and, upon hearing her gasp, he looked her right in the eye, saying softly, "Please don't go, Kagome..."

"Why shouldn't I?!" was the angry response. "You've hurt me just one too many times, Inuyasha!"

"No, you don't understand..."

"What IS there to understand?! ...OK, give me ONE good reason for me to stay here and put up with your crap!"

"Well, because, because I-" He didn't bother to finish his sentence. Instead he pulled her into an embrace by the waist and kissed her soft pink lips hungrily.

Author's Note: ^Grins devilishly^ Again, another cliffhanger! But hey, at least Inuyasha finally realized what was important! How will Kagome react? Until next time...

allegro assai: After this initial lust wears off, it gets more clear that Inuyasha really IS in love with her, so don't worry about that... :) I do have a lemon as well, actually, and some lemony scenes, but I decided to be hush-hush about when they show up for the shock value.

Also thank you to w j and oh my for reviewing as well! :)