InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 63

Kagome slipped out of Kouga’s arms. He didn’t wake. Kagome wasn’t surprised. It sounded like he and his wolves had been fighting an organized opponent with infinite resources, just has they had in their war with Naraku. Ginta and Hakaku were lying in a snoring heap in a corner, dead to the world. She caught the glint of firelight off Shippou’s reflective fox eyes, and gestured to him, grabbing her sword and a wad of bandages on her way out the door. “Hey, Ship, I’m thinking Kouga will want to take his men and head out tomorrow. You know him. Do you think you could go hunt up a deer or something so at least they leave here fed and rested?” Shippou nodded and slipped away into the shadows. It was starting to feel like old times.

Dried brown grasses crunched under her feet as she made her way into the bushes. Kagome looked up at the moon. It was very bright and lit up the whole sky. Her sword was a heavy weight in her hand. She felt like it wanted her to look at it, something she had been avoiding since the incident with Kohaku. She felt a sharp pain, coming from somewhere near her heart, and suddenly found herself missing her mate, very, very much. She stared up at the moon. She thought of his slanted golden eyes, and his long silky hair, and the way he had held her on the few times they had been able to spend together. Still feeling compelled to look at her blade, she lifted it to the sky, tilting it so the moonlight was reflected in the shining polished steel. There it was, his face, his eyes, just as she had pictured them a moment before. It wasn’t just an image. It was as if he were looking right back at her. “Sesshomaru.” She pressed her warm lips to the cold steel of the blade, and when she removed them, the image had disappeared. She shivered, the moonlight suddenly feeling cold and alien. She finished her business and hurried back to the warmth of the cave.

Taking care to be as quiet as possible, Kagome stirred up the embers and fed the fire with several big, solid logs. She could tell by the way the moon shone in the clear sky, and the way the grasses had felt under her feet, that it would only get colder as night gave way to the early hours of morning. By the time Shippou returned, the fire would be ready to begin roasting the meat. Like Ship and Inuyasha, Kouga and his men had grown to enjoy cooked meat and even the rice and noodle dishes Kagome had introduced them to. She remembered how they had become addicted to the greasy potato chips she had brought back through the well from her time. Remembering how Kouga and Inuyasha had fought over the flavored chips made her smile. Boys. They were just too cute. And the chips had been garlic flavored. Funny, she thought. How quickly her heart had healed from all the pain inflicted by Inuyasha. She could even bear to think about him and his rivalry with Kouga without breaking down in tears.

‘A month ago, I wouldn’t have been able to remember those days, traveling with Inuyasha and the gang, and how much I used to love him, without crying for the way it turned out. It hurt so bad when he abandoned me. I know it’s because of Sesshomaru that I don’t hurt anymore. It’s like he’s filled me up inside in a way that Inuyasha never could. There’s no room for anyone else in my heart, not even Inuyasha, who I used to think was my whole world.’ Being Kagome, she began to feel guilty. ‘Was my love for Inuyasha really that shallow? That I could forget him just like that?’ It was true. Every little iota of love that had filled her heart for Inuyasha was gone. She felt bad for having cut his arm off, but not nearly as bad as she should have. She wished she hadn’t had to do it, she even knew he must hate her now. But she found herself not really caring. How Inuyasha felt about her just didn’t matter any more.

Her chores done, Kagome went to Shippou’s corner of the cave and bedded down in his blanket. She took comfort in the familiar smell of her kit. She drifted off to memories of how it had felt to cuddle him against her chest when he was small, how fluffy and soft his little red tail had been as it tickled her cheek.

The cold, thin morning sunlight crept into the cave, waking Kagome. Jak was gone. No doubt out raping, robbing, and pillaging. She shuddered at the thought of Jak raping. Not something she wanted to think about. He had a real kink, that was for sure. Thinking about Jak’s tendencies fell into the same category as thinking about Kouga eating humans. ‘Just don’t go there, Kagome.’ Shippou had returned, and there was a fat deer roasting over the fire she had prepared earlier. Kouga and his men were still asleep. Kagome stumbled over to the entrance to the cave. There was a little alcove that stayed cold, but not freezing, which she considered her refrigerator. Really, there was something to be said for winter. Food spoiled so fast in hot weather. She rummaged through the basket of luxuries she had been saving for a special occasion. There were a few more eggs, some rice, and some spices. If she combined them with the few remaining scraps of leftover meat from Sesshomaru’s boar, she should be able to come up with a fairly interesting fried rice dish. “Hey, Ship. How wide and flat can you make this mug?”

Kouga woke to the delicious smell of frying rice, meat and eggs. His mouth was watering. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to eat much. Anything he managed to catch, he gave to the cubs and mothers of his pack. He stretched luxuriously, feeling his back crack. Across the fire was his Kagome, crouched down cooking his breakfast. He could get used to this. He could really, really get used to this.

“Hey, Kagome, watcha cookin?”

“Something special for you and your men, Kouga. And Shippou went hunting last night. He brought back a nice young deer, so you guys should have plenty to eat!”

He sniffed, his nose twitching. “Smells great!” The food wasn’t all that smelled great. Kagome was in season, a scent that always drove him crazy. He’d really have to watch himself. He was self-confident, but not a big enough fool to think he could take on Inuyasha’s brother. Kagome was strictly off-limits, at least for now. Kouga was a young demon, but in two hundred years, there’s at least one lesson he had learned. That is that if you wait long enough, things are sure to change.