InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Curse of the Wolf ❯ Gone ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10: Gone

 

Kagome looked at the two boys before her in total puzzlement. “What are you guys doing up here?” she asked.

 

“We just wanted to work some things out,” replied Kouga speaking up after a momentary hesitation seeing as Inuyasha was standing there with his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

 

“Work things out?” echoed Miroku also at a loss as to why Inuyasha would go off to chase the wolf and why they weren't covered in wounds from fighting.

 

“Yeah, I guess were friends now, right Inuyasha?” he grinned, giving the hanyou a jab with his elbow. He caught Ginta and Hakkaku staring at him and he gave then a firm look. They got the idea; Kouga wanted them to keep their mouths shut.

 

“Yeah…yeah, friends,” Inuyasha responded, finally finding his voice.

 

“That's wonderful,” beamed Kagome and Kouga felt a stab of guilt go though him at lying to her.

 

“If I'd have known Kouga was into guys, I would have asked him to join us,” Hakkaku whispered to Ginta behind his hand too low for the humans to hear. Ginta threw him a scathing look and the mo-hawked boy shut his mouth, especially when he saw Inuyasha give him a death glare.

 

“We figured we might as well get along so we could…you know…work together to defeat Naraku. Just temporarily you understand,” Kouga rambled, blushing slightly as he too had overheard the whispered remark of his friend.

 

“So we're going to join Inuyasha's group now?” asked Hakkaku, not able to resist putting his elder pack member on the spot.

 

Kouga gave him a look that would have melted ice. “Yes, that's what we were discussing,” Inuyasha returned “how we should be together…I mean to defeat Naraku,” he added quickly.

 

“That's a great idea,” Kagome smiled innocently at the two boys. She was so happy they wouldn't be fighting anymore and they really did look like they were getting along. “We can help Kouga-kun protect his shards.”

 

Inuyasha winced internally. He hated to lie to the one person who had made it possible for him to love again. He really was sorry it couldn't have been her. Kouga too was feeling like a heel but he was not going to pass up the opportunity to be with Inuyasha even though he had concerns on how all this was going to work out.

 

“You two weren't planning on going after Naraku by yourselves?” questioned Miroku, eyeing the two of them suspiciously.

 

“No, we were coming back,” Inuyasha replied. Miroku gave him a - I'm not sure I totally believe you - look but decided to let it go.

 

Kouga looked over to Ginta and Hakkaku, “You two should go back to the pack,” he said firmly.

 

“Where you go, we go,” Hakkaku stated cheerily.

 

“Yeah, we've been together since we were kids, we're not going to stop now,” Ginta chimed in.

 

“The more help we have to bring down Naraku, the better,” Sango stated.

 

There was nothing for Kouga to say, he knew for sure he was going to take his two friends aside though and have a very serious talk with them. He knew they knew what had happened in the cave between himself and Inuyasha and he had to make sure they kept their mouths shut. If Kagome or Inuyasha's other friends found out he wasn't sure what would happen but he knew he would not allow anything to hurt the hanyou. He would keep their secret unless the half demon himself wanted to tell the others.

 

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Inuyasha was grumpier than normal. It wasn't just the fact that he and Kouga hadn't got to spend much time alone but now it was spring again, which meant mating season. That would not have been so bad in itself but Kagome had gone into her monthly heat at the same time. Of course the human girl had no idea, but the demons in the group knew, especially Kouga. He tried his best to stay away from the miko, afraid of his own instincts during this time and not wanting to upset Inuyasha.

 

The aromas coming from Kouga and Kagome were driving the hanyou crazy and although he did love Kouga and would never betray him, he was still overly protective of the teen girl. He couldn't help himself and at times would come between the wolf and the miko even if they were doing nothing more than talking. Kouga, feeling more aggressive at this time, began to snap at Inuyasha, getting pissed because he felt the hanyou didn't trust him.

 

It all came to a head one day when the group was resting after tracking down a lead to find Naraku. Kouga had gone off to try to remove himself from Kagome, her scent making him aroused and edgy. He had lain down under a sakura tree that had just started to blossom at the edge of a steep hill. The girls and the two wolf boys had started an impromptu game of catch with a ball Kagome had in her sack to occupy the kit who was bored and wanted something to do. Miroku sauntered over and sat with Kouga to watch.

 

“Where'd Inuyasha get off to?” Kouga asked the monk as he sat down, laying his staff on the ground between them.

 

“He said he was going to go to that village we passed to grab some supplies.”

 

“Oh,” Kouga returned. He was a bit disappointed; he had hoped that he could get the hanyou off by himself somewhere and take care of his problem. Damn, I hate this time of year, he groaned to himself. He was missing the contact that he and the hanyou seemed unable to get very often. All the sneaking around was driving him crazy.

 

Miroku gave him a quizzical look at the tone of his voice and then the two men sat in companionable silence as the game the others were playing came closer to where they were. Kouga closed his eyes momentarily listening to his two friends laugh and yell who had, to his surprise, managed to keep the secret of what was going on with him and Inuyasha.

 

“Kagome watch out!” yelled Miroku as the teen girl came running backwards closer to the edge of the hill that sloped at an almost ninety degree angel. She heard the warning and tried to stop but slipped and tumbled back over the edge.

 

Kouga was up in a second and lunged for her, grabbing her around the waist and holding her tight as they both went over. The wolf turned in the air so that when they hit the ground he was on the bottom and she was on top their faces inches from each others. Kouga heard a snap as a couple of his ribs cracked from the force of their landing and the air whooshed out of his lungs. The back of his head hit the ground and he saw stars and bright lights sparkle before his eyes.

 

“Kouga-kun, are you alright?” Kagome asked worriedly, putting her hands on either side of his face to look at him. This was the point that Inuyasha walked out of the woods three feet from where they were laying. His eyes went large at what he thought he was seeing and he ran forward and yanked Kagome off of the wolf.

 

He grabbed the panting wolf who was trying desperately to get his lungs to take in air and held him by his chest armour, “What the fuck do you think you're doing!?” he yelled in the ookami's face before throwing him back onto the ground.

 

Kouga yelped in pain as his ribs finished breaking all the way. He was so dazed he couldn't get his mouth to work to explain.

 

“Inuyasha, stop, Kouga was just…” Kagome started.

 

“Shut up, I don't want to hear it!” he yelled at the girl, making her eyes go large in shock, her mouth opened in an “O”.

 

“Don't you ever touch her!” the hanyou hollered, punching the wolf as he tried to rise.

 

Kouga landed back on the ground, his head swimming with pain as blood flew out of nose and mouth. His own anger came to the fore and he yelled back at the half demon. “I didn't do anything, you fucking mutt!” He gave a gasp as pain flooded through his ribs from taking such a large breath to yell.

 

Inuyasha again lifted him, staring him straight in the eyes. “This was a mistake, I should have known better than to trust a stinking wolf.” He gave Kouga a push away from him and the wolf managed to shakily stay on his feet looking at Inuyasha with wide, disbelieving eyes for a moment before anger overtook him.

 

Kouga began to growl, showing his teeth. “Fuck you!” he screamed before gripping his broken ribs and limping into the forest feeling the hurt more than just in his body but in his soul as well.

 

Inuyasha was going to go after him and yell some more, he was so angry and hurt at what he imagined his lover and his friend had been doing, but then Kagome finally came out of her shocked silence. “Inuyasha, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!!” she yelled.

 

Miroku made it down the hill as Kagome ran off into the woods to look for Kouga. He crouched down beside the groaning hanyou. “Kouga tried to save her from falling, he wasn't making a pass at her,” he told Inuyasha. “Not that any red blooded male wouldn't think to make a pass at such a lovely…” he stopped talking as he heard a loud, menacing growl emanating from the hole in the ground the hanyou was trying to rise from.

 

The rest came up as Inuyasha was standing. “What did you do?” questioned Ginta accusingly. He, as well as the others had seen the fight from above and they were angry with the hanyou for hurting Kouga.

 

“He saved her from getting hurt,” Hakkaku added, frowning at the half demon.

 

“I didn't know that,” Inuyasha replied still upset from what had happened. He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, “that wasn't what it looked like to me.”

 

Ginta came close to the hanyou's face making Inuyasha's eyes go round with surprise. “He wouldn't have betrayed you like that,” the wolf demon whispered furiously so the humans wouldn't hear. He knew that Kouga, like all wolf demons, were intensely loyal to those they chose as mates and Ginta thought that by now Inuyasha would have known that as well.

 

Miroku explained what had happened and what Kouga had done to help the miko girl when she fell. “He hit the ground pretty hard, I'm sure he must have been hurt,” he finished saying to the hanyou.

 

Inuyasha's ears drooped in sorrow for what he had done. He hadn't meant to get so angry but the two of them, throwing off those pheromones, and lying like that on the ground had made him think the wrong thing.

 

“We better go find them,” Sango stated, starting to trek into the woods where Kagome had gone. They hadn't gotten far when they saw the dark haired girl approaching them.

 

“I can't find him,” she stated worriedly giving Inuyasha an angry glare. “He tried to help me, why did you get so mad? I mean I know you guys fight sometimes but that was just too much, Inuyasha. He hit his head really hard, he might have a concussion, he could be lying somewhere unconscious.” Kagome was beginning to hyperventilate imagining all the worst possible scenarios and from speaking so quickly without breathing.

 

“He'll be alright,” Inuyasha told her guiltily. “He's full demon, he'll heal pretty quickly from any wounds.”

 

“No thanks to you,” Kagome said irritably, taking some deep, slow breaths to stop herself from feeling dizzy. She was still angry that the hanyou had hurt their friend.

 

“I'm sorry, okay, I thought…”

 

“I know what you thought,” she retorted. “He hasn't tried anything with me since he's joined us. He's really been trying to be your friend, haven't you noticed?” she queried innocently.

 

Inuyasha blushed, he had noticed that the ookami didn't flirt with Kagome anymore; it had been something he had worried about when they first joined up together. He knew him and Kouga had something special, they loved each other, right? So that shouldn't have been an issue, but old habits are hard to break and sometimes he felt unworthy, like he wasn't good enough or he didn't deserve the happiness he felt. His biggest fear had been that Kouga would think that as well, that he would change his mind and want Kagome instead of him.

 

“Let's go find him, he couldn't have gotten far,” he intoned, worry beginning to gnaw at his gut as well.