InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Disaster ❯ Chapter 2: Kouga's Shock ( Chapter 2 )

Disaster

Chapter 2: Kouga's Shock

By Selenity Jade

 

Disclaimer: I really would love to own Inuyasha, but I don't think that I will be able to any time soon. After all, I work too much to write that often or draw that well. So please don't sue as I am so not making money off of this.

 

Rated: M

 

Last Chapter: Kouga and Inuyasha argue in a non-violent way about Kagome.

 

X

 

"This is really good, Sango-chan," Kagome complimented after taking a bite. She wasn't all that hungry, but she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings by not eating it.

 

The demon slayer smiled slightly. "Thanks, Kagome-chan."

 

Inuyasha snorted, having already downed his bowl, and was currently getting another. He was such a pig after any battle.

 

Kagome glanced to see how Kouga was faring, and found him simply staring at his bowl, a vacant expression in his eyes. He looked so alone, even among them, and she gently asked, "You're not hungry, Kouga-kun?"

 

He glanced at her, shaking his head, setting the bowl down near her.

 

She smiled sympathetically. "It's alright. Why don't you go to sleep? I think we have some extra blankets around," she began looking over at Sango to see if they did. When the demon slayer nodded, she turned back to Kouga. "We're all exhausted and ready to sleep after dinner anyway."

 

He shifted slightly, his pain apparent even to her.

 

"What's wrong?" she finally asked gently.

 

He shook his head, giving a quick angered glance to Inuyasha and the other humans. She blinked in realization. He didn't want to say it, especially not in front of everyone. Alright, but how would they solve-

 

Sango made a small noise, causing the rest to look at her. "He's a wolf youkai, and their entire lives revolve around pack. He's not used to sleeping without his wolves or other members of his pack right there."

 

Kagome blinked, glancing at him. Kouga was glaring angrily at Sango. He apparently didn't like this little pain known to the whole group.

 

Inuyasha snorted in amusement. "Poor wimpy wolf can't even sleep by himself," the hanyou taunted. "Just like the stupid kitsune!"

 

"Hey!" the said kitsune exclaimed angrily.

 

When both canine youkai were growling fiercely at each other, Kagome finally snapped. "Inuyasha! Kouga-kun, stop it!"

 

When she had both their attentions, she gave Inuyasha a glare, much to his annoyance. "Leave Kouga-kun alone, Inuyasha. You could be a little more sympathetic as he's lost most of his pack!"

 

"What are you yelling at me for!"

 

"Because you're the one who started it, stupid!" Kagome snapped, putting a hand to her head, wincing.

 

"Kagome?" Kouga asked, concerned at her obvious expression of pain. She wondered if wolf youkai had headaches from confusion in his eyes as he examined her face for signs of... injury, she guessed.

 

"It's nothing, Kouga-kun, just a headache." She sighed. "Look, if you can keep your hands to your self, you can sleep near me, though not with me, okay?"

 

"Hell no!" Inuyasha suddenly snapped furiously, standing up.

 

"I didn't say with me!"

 

"I don't care! He's sleeping as far away from you as I can throw him!"

 

"Inuyasha!" Miroku finally snapped, standing up. "Would you please stop yelling? Kagome-sama is in a lot of pain because of this headache, and you keep yelling at her. If you're having that much of a problem with it, perhaps you should sleep near her as well."

 

"WHAT!" both canine youkai roared.

 

Kouga growled, standing up.

 

"Kouga-kun?" Kagome asked softly, her head pounding even harder after the outburst that Miroku had caused. For a good ten minutes, both canine youkai had growled and yipped at each other like a pair of dogs.

 

"I'm sleeping away from him," he grunted, head jabbing angrily at the growling hanyou. He gave Kagome a glance, which reminded her of his wish to sleep on the outside of their camp, as he didn't want to intrude on Inuyasha's space right now. It must be hard on the wolf youkai to give up his place of leadership to a hanyou, especially a hanyou he felt was his 'rival' for her affections. She sighed. She still didn't quite understand all this racism, but she was better at getting it sometimes. She hated it, and it always made her want to stand up for Inuyasha, which would make him pissed that he had to be defended by a weak mortal girl, and it'd end up going around and around in an unrelenting, repetitive loop of fighting and screaming. This was definitely going to be a disaster.

 

She watched as he turned and trotted up the small hill beside their camp, disappearing from sight in the dark night. She was sure he wouldn't go far, not after humbling himself in order to even ask to join what he had called Inuyasha's 'pack'. She glanced at the hanyou, who was scowling in the direction the wolf youkai had gone. "Inuyasha?"

 

"Hn?" he grunted as he glanced at her, annoyance shining in his glare.

She hesitated on how to ask him. "I don't want this to sound stupid, but Kouga thinks with a pack mentality, and said you probably do too. So... do you think of us as a pack, like the wolves?"

 

He blinked in complete surprise before making that famous annoyed breath of air. "No."

 

Cocking her head, she blinked. "Just no?"

 

He shrugged and settled back against the tree trunk he had left when the growling had begun. "I don't think of us as a pack."

 

"Do you have youkai instincts, then?"

 

He rolled his eyes. "Of course, stupid! That's how I survived on my own after my mother died. I was simply raised until I was six with humans because my father had been killed! Any 'pack' formation instincts were pretty much gone by then, Kagome, and anything left was killed when I was forced to fight alone against every living creature in the forest I grew up in."

 

Kagome noticed the stillness coming from Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, but didn't glance at them, knowing Inuyasha didn't reveal personal information to any of them often, and those three less often. She smiled sadly at him, for sharing his sad past with her and their friends, as well as to let him know she loved when he shared his past with her. She smiled because it made her sad and it made her happy. Anything he told her, the tiny snatches of information he revealed always made her smile. She caught Inuyasha's slight surprise before he glanced at the pair with them, and annoyed with himself, snorted and jumped into the tree that sheltered their camp.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes but smiled slightly at the monk and demon slayer. They all were used to his moods after all. As she started settling herself in her sleeping bag, Shippou immediately rushed over from his spot near the fire. "Don't I get chocolate first?" the little kitsune asked with his famous pout.

 

When she had starting bringing chocolate back from her time to satisfy her cravings for it between well-jumps, she had began giving the fox-child a chunk or two every night after he finished his dinner. So when he asked, she smiled softly and dug into the side of her yellow backpack and pulled out a small silver-wrapped package, and almost quicker than she could see, Shippou had snatched it, unwrapped it, and shoved it in his mouth.

She couldn't help but laugh.

 

He chewed thoughtfully before swallowing, and she could feel the little boy watch her as she slid into her sleeping bag. "Kagome?"

 

"What is it, Shippou?" she asked, snuggling in deeper as the kitsune hopped gently onto her stomach.

 

"Why did Naraku have Kagura kill the wolf tribe?"

 

Kagome sighed, her head pounding even harder at the child's questions. Shippou often asked questions at night, trying to understand what the others did, and she didn't have the heart to tell him she'd explain later. "So that Inuyasha and Kouga-kun would fight, Shippou. He does it just to be mean."

"Oh," he said, cuddling more firmly into her stomach. "What's wrong with sleeping together, Kagome? I sleep with you, so why can't Kouga and Inuyasha sleep with you if they want to? Father and Mother slept together with me all the time..."

 

Kagome sighed, ruffling the kit's hair softly. "Just because, Shippou-chan." She sighed, rubbing her temples lightly. "Can I please sleep now?"

 

Shippou looked up at her. "Okay," he agreed with a cute little yawn. She watched the kitsune curl tighter against her stomach before she turned her face from the fire and closed her eyes. Even from up in the tree, she could feel Inuyasha's watchful gaze, and she couldn't help but feel safe and protected under it. Sometimes, when she was in her own time without Inuyasha there, she had problems sleeping, even in that wonderful bed of hers. She was so used to sleeping under his care, that without it, she felt... vulnerable.

 

Despite the pounding in her head, she smiled slightly under his gaze as she drifted to sleep.

 

X

 

"Oi!" he called, poking the girl's shoulder irritably. Did she have to sleep so long? Stupid, lazy girl! "Kagome, get up!"

 

She muttered something so low even his excellent hearing couldn't pick up, and he frowned.

 

"Kagome!" he snapped loudly.

 

She started, snapping her eyes open in shock. She blinked at him for a moment before recognition flashed in her cerulean eyes. "Inuyasha?"

 

"Of course, stupid." He rolled his eyes, standing up. "You planning on sleeping all day, or do ya wanna go now?"

 

She yawned and sat up, knocking Shippou off her stomach. The kitsune gave a startled sound, and landing on his feet, he turned to glare up at him angrily. Kagome rubbed her backside slightly. Inuyasha watched her stretch and wince as she warmed up from a cold night on the ground. It was months since she first came to this world, and while she wasn't as sore or tired as when she first started traveling with him, she still wasn't completely used to it.

 

He turned his back on her, satisfied she was getting ready and sniffed the air discreetly. He could smell Kouga still near the hill, and he couldn't help that his lip lifted in disgust. Stupid wolf.

 

He glanced sideways at the monk and Sango, who were busy filling their small packs with their belongings, and Kirara simply transformed to her demon cat form.

 

"Ready, Inuyasha."

 

He glanced at Kagome, noticing that she had already rolled up her sleeping back and stuffed it into her giant pack, as well as all the cooking supplies. She had learned to be quick about packing up as well. He was actually a bit proud of her. She adapted to this time quickly, much better than he would have to her world, he was sure. That time still made him nervous, the sounds and smells were so different from his own. "Hn," was all he allowed, and motioned her to give Miroku her pack.

 

She cocked her head, and did so, watching as Sango mounted Kirara. The demon slayer gave Miroku a good glare. "Keep your hands to yourself this time, or I'll throw you off."

 

Inuyasha chuckled as Miroku held up a hand in an act of supplication. "Would I do that, Sango?"

 

All four of the party answered immediately, "Yes!"

 

Miroku laughed good-naturedly and slipped onto the cat behind Sango. Sango lifted her arms just enough so that the monk could slip his staff in front of her, holding onto both ends of it to keep from falling off, or losing the stupid thing. Kirara consented to having Kagome's lightened - compared to when she first brought it back this time around - bag resting against her neck.

 

"What about Kouga?" Shippou asked suddenly, causing Inuyasha to growl at him.

 

"I'll go get him," Kagome volunteered

 

"No, we'll just stop by on our way," the hanyou growled irritably. "All he's good for is speed, so he's fast enough to keep up."

 

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked, as they both watched to make sure Shippou got settled with Miroku and Sango. As much as the kitsune loved Kagome, he was often dizzy while using her normal mode of transportation.

 

"Back to Kaede's," Inuyasha snapped.

 

He could feel Kagome's eyes narrow in suspicion, but he didn't even glance at her. "Is it getting close to th-"

 

"Yes!" he growled, giving her a 'shut the hell up' glare. Didn't she realize he didn't want that wolf of all people to see him in that state?

 

She glared back for that. "I wasn't going to say anything damaging, Inuyasha!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was going to say 'that time'. Idiot!"

 

He grunted, clenching his claws. "Ready?" he barked at Sango, and when she nodded and Kirara lifted into the air, he bent down, his back to Kagome. "Get on," he ordered gruffly.

 

He heard her sigh, but she settled her hands on his shoulders and let herself lean into his back. He, in turn - hesitantly of course, she was always wearing that stupid short kimono, and he was gripping bare legs when he did this - carefully slid his clawed hands behind her knees and lifted, feeling her chest settle immediately into his back comfortably. He was used to it by now, with all the practice they got traveling this way. It wasn't as distracting as it had been once as he had long ago gotten used to having her weight added to his, her scent tickling his nose at her closeness, her breasts pressed against him. And he didn't so much as twitch when she shifted anymore. But at first...

 

When he had first had her ride on his back, it was awkward as fuck. He had never allowed someone on his back before, but it had seemed so much easier when they were trying to go after the stolen Shikon no Tama. He had been bothered by her slight weight, the balance was off, and her smell was close enough to Kikyou's to piss him off, but different enough he couldn't bitch without sounding stupid. When he had gotten over his initial hatred of the girl - who, he had to admit, was nothing like the woman who he had thought betrayed him - he found that she was actually... comfortable to be around, comfortable to carry. It was odd. Even Kikyou had never been comfortable. He had felt resentment sometimes that she resembled Kikyou so much, but eventually that had worn away. He still didn't know what had possessed him to order the girl onto his back that day when he had never before carried anyone that way. Perhaps he had found it humiliating? Akin to being a beast, a monster, a freak... nothing more than a stupid hanyou? Yet when he had first met this girl at the place of his death and their eyes first locked together, her vibrant blue eyes didn't show disgust, fear - except of the stupid centipede demon, of course - or hatred for his features - his different, monstrous features.

 

Instead, he saw a plea.

 

He knew, even now, this girl never had never once gave it any thought that he was a hanyou when she saw him. All she had seen in him was a protector, a savior, a stupid bloody hero.

 

Of course, the first thing he did after saving her life was threaten it. But she had reminded him so much of Kikyou, the one he had thought betrayed him, and he hadn't cared one whit whether she was innocent or not. He was so fucking angry, swearing inside his head he'd never let himself feel for another living being again, and he sought to tear the jewel from the innocent girl in order to become a full demon. He had sought to kill her for the jewel so he could be a true demon and not feel anymore. Not to be a freak anymore. Not to be weak anymore.

 

Of course, that stupid bitch Kaede had other plans, with that stupid subduing spell. So he had been stuck with the stupid wench and forced to help her. And when she got her stupid self in trouble without him, he had been forced to save her, only to find the baka girl had let the jewel be stolen!

 

So he had urged her onto his back to get it back, and ever since then, that was how they traveled most of the time. It was comfortable for them both, and while he knew she felt it, she never voiced it, and neither did he. It was safer that way with things they way the were between them. This simple act of carrying her let him keep her safe - because who the fuck would try to kidnap her while she was riding an irritable hanyou? - and it let him have a sibilance of closeness to the person he trusted most.

 

"Inuyasha?" a hesitant voice asked near his ear, startling him out of his thoughts as his ear twitched slightly in response.

 

He sighed, standing up, and shifted his hold to underneath her lower thighs, near her knees, always careful of his claws. He moved his head enough to get his hair clear of her weight against his back so that he could move comfortably. He glanced up at Sango and Miroku waiting on the airborne Kirara. "I was just thinking," he grumbled.

 

"About?"

 

"Nothing." He started running immediately, knowing Kagome didn't usually try to talk with him once he had started going, unless she felt a jewel shard or the youki of another nearby. He jumped up the last part of the hill to where the pathetic wolf lay, and stopped.

 

"Oi!" Inuyasha barked. "Time to go."

 

The wolf sprang to his feet immediately, already moving into a defensive stance as he surveyed Inuyasha. He looked pathetically miserable, but Inuyasha knew he hadn't been sleeping, only thinking and not paying attention to his surroundings. Stupid wolf was so used to having other members of his pack as lookouts he was rather out of practice. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Now he supposed Kagome would want him to guard even that stupid worthless piece of shit wolf like he did the others!

 

Kouga growled when he noticed Kagome on his back, and the half-dog demon snarled back at him. If that pathetic, whiny bastard wants to fight-

"Stop it, both of you!" Kagome snapped angrily.

 

Inuyasha felt his ear swivel to her voice before he smirked at Kouga. "We're going, try to keep up."

 

The wolf youkai snorted, getting ready to whirl into a tornado of wind with his speed. "Nothing you can do will lose me."

 

The hanyou snorted, choosing to ignore the comment because he didn't feel like putting Kagome down to fight the damned bastard.

 

"Don't tear up the countryside, Kouga-kun," Kagome began pleadingly, much to Inuyasha's annoyance. "We're going back to the village, and we kind of look out for them. They barely tolerate Shippou, Kirara, and Inuyasha as it is, but they're getting better, and starting to trust them. Adding another youkai to the few who practically reside there now is going to irritate them enough as it is without them forming a mob because you sacked the village with your tornado, okay?"

 

Inuyasha turned a sharp glare on the wolf. He hadn't thought of that. "And I don't want my forest destroyed either," the hanyou growled at the wolf.

 

"Fine," Kouga agreed reluctantly, frowning. "You actually live among the mortals?"

 

Inuyasha snorted. "No. Unless we're staying with Kaede-baba."

 

"K...Kaede-baba?" Kouga asked, confused.

 

Kagome slapped Inuyasha lightly upside the head, causing his ears to twitch in annoyance. "Don't teach him to call her that!" He felt her glance back at the wolf. "She's the priestess for the village."

 

"Priestess?" Kouga said outraged. "Don't you people know that priestess's-"

 

Inuyasha growled, giving Kouga a good glare. "Ya moron, what do you think our group does? Miroku is a monk who exorcises demons. Sango is a demon exterminator. And what the fuck do you think Kagome is when she can see the fucking shards? Kagome is a fucking priestess, you idiot!"

 

Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk at Kouga being struck stupid, and took off towards the rising sun, towards the village, towards his forest, and towards the place Kagome would leave him, if for only a few days. Again.

 

But even that didn't damper his feeling of superiority when nearly a full minute later Kouga finally start following after them, still too shocked to come up with an intelligent query to that blasted piece of news.

 

X

 

Next Chapter: We'll see.

 

X

 

AN: Icky Ficcie.

 

Lovies!