InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Frozen Armor ❯ Intensity ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The pain slammed into the back of his head, like a constant thread of venom behind his eyes. Swirling blacks and greens clouded the air, and he could feel her nails scraping against the white of his wrists. He was undoubtedly pinned, and doubly so, as she could cut the thin veins running underneath her grip. He had never had the experience of being thrown against a wall, and held in place by force of a woman, yet he couldn't feel any speck of surprise inside of him.

She hissed. "WHERE is it?"

Inuyasha struggled against her grip, the pulsing, dark colors making him dizzy and confused. He couldn't see straight. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

She kneed him sharply in the groin, knocking his breath away from him. He bent in pain, coughing, grappling with the undeniable urge to vomit. He twitched a few times while she slipped a hand to grab his face, and the sound of metal rang, obviously the sound of her extravagant earrings. They tinkled like wind chimes. "No games mixed-breed," she whispered. She twisted his neck to the side, frustrated.

He hadn't felt this helpless since Sesshoumaru had taken the pearl from his eye, and his arms twitched nervously. His mind was starting to finally adjust to the situation, yet the colors seemed to fade more and more. The woman, although so close, was impossible for him to see. "You think I actually have something to hide?" he asked slyly, a touch of amusement on each corner of his mouth. He flicked his wrists to see if they'd budge. They wouldn't.

She cut a thin stripe on his hand as he struggled, desperate to get free. She seemed to admire his tenacity, from her place in the pulsating darkness. He imagined she was hovering close, examining the work of her brutality. She murmured, "Don't we all?"

She thrust his head against the wall, but he didn't make a sound. There was an empty, thick pain as he felt cold fingers of numbness spread across his torso. He grimaced in reaction, and the room spun wildly around him. Whether he was suffering from a concussion or delirium was swiftly fading from his mind. The room twisted beyond his vision, as if the wall was the only place that existed.

The woman had an interesting accent that melted through the throbbing colors, and he had the feeling it was foreign. He could sense her tilting her head, with the strange jangle of earrings following it. "You fumble with the little strength you possess. You do not realize you have already lost.” She placed a fingernail to his throat, silencing him abruptly.  "I won't ask again."

She lowered her face, still silhouetted in the dark. Inuyasha swallowed fiercely as she brought her face next to his, pressing her cold, venomous lips to his ear, smiling. "Where IS it?"

Fingers were suddenly all over his robes, trying to scrape, claw, tear away at his clothes. A hand flung itself towards his beads, trying to rip them off. He swatted one away, trying to slice at the numbers, but quickly realizing he was losing. They began grabbing him, all of them suddenly flung across his hakama. They grabbed his face and forced his eyes shut. Fingers, fingers, suddenly on every crevasse of his body. He couldn't scream.

"Inuyasha!"

He sat up quickly, hitting his head against the rocky side wall. He yelled out. "Agh, Damn it!"

The blood flowed quickly from the new wound, slipping over the strands of white hair. He could feel the red liquid trickle onto his fingertips. His feet lay spread apart, sprawled along the blankets. The disheveled pile was pushed mostly to the side, and lay strewn over one leg near the cave wall. He grabbed at the bottom of his shirt, all the more realizing how much blood he was losing. He had suffered enough head and torso injuries that he had learned how to suppress the bleeding, but he was quickly getting foggy headed. He ripped a strip from the bottom half and forced himself to make the knot. If he continued to bleed out, he knew he would lose consciousness within minutes.

There was the small patter of footsteps as he continued to fumble with the knot, not doing one of the strands correctly. His hands were shaking as he was coming to the conclusion he refused to admit. He was doing it wrong. "I... I can't..."

There was a breath of surprise from what seemed out of nowhere. "Inuyasha!" There was only a second to register before a small set of paws jumped onto his lap and forced Inuyasha to lock eyes. They were green. He garbled, "Shippou?"

A small set of hands suddenly took over the work with the knot, and he felt his hands fall weakly to the sides. He hadn't realized he was getting so drained. There was wetness on his back that told him the blood had continued to flow despite the strip. Shippou was at work doing something on his head, but he couldn't remember what other steps he needed to take for his injury. Was it inclined…? Declined..?  He shook his head.

Shippou's hands came to a stop, dexterously moving to prop up his chin. "Inuyasha, count to ten." The demand was short, and Inuyasha could do nothing but comply. He blinked numerously. "One, two..." He grunted.  "Sorry, I meant three."

Shippou shook his head, his orange hair bouncing wildly. His green bow seemed a bit lower today, as if he had dressed in a hurry, but he otherwise seemed recently bathed and combed. He couldn’t help but feel it was odd. The fox sank back, suddenly devoid of worry. "You're eyes look a bit clouded, but you're going to be fine. If it were anyone but a half-demon, I might have been worried." He sat towards the opposite side of the wall, with the hint of exhaustion.

Inuyasha leaned similarly against the smooth surface. He let out a breath, as his mind worked on overtime. Dreams had never visited him so vividly before, and he had still felt the fingers wrapped around him even as he woken up. He hadn't been having any dreams lately, which only provoked more questions as to what had caused his nightmare. He raised his hand to scratch his head, but he could feel the bleeding was nearly stopping. He lowered it once more. It had only been a dream, yet it was like he could still hear the horrible woman’s voice. He grimaced at the pain of the wound above his temple. His life lately was nightmare after nightmare.

"You dreaming over there?" Shippou put both hands on his knees, leaning forward.

Inuyasha turned slightly, not wishing to abuse the healing gash. He gazed at Shippou with heavy eyes, dazed and less spiteful than usual. "No, not anymore." He lowered his head, but he still felt lightheaded, swooning at the smallest of movement. "What are you doing here Shippou?"

Shippou blinked. "Other than saving your life? I came to get you before the group leaves." The half demon sighed, but the kit squinted his eyes. Shippou was still leaning forward, interested. "Don't you want to say goodbye?"

There was another long pause, as the morning breeze trickled coldly into the cave. Honey suckle and water pervaded the air, and Inuyasha got the sense that somewhere lower in the valley, there might be mist. The rain was still freshly falling outside. He felt the damp, uninviting feeling that seemed to emanate from the outside, and he clutched at his white shirt, trying to keep warm. He didn't feel as if this were the proper condition to say goodbye to the group, but the intense green stare told him he had little choice.  He nodded. "I guess I should, yeah."

He had forgotten all about the situation due to his vivid nightmare, followed by nearly bleeding out upon waking up. As he began to calm down, he squeezed his hands together, and locked them tight. The whole prior day was coming back to him.

He felt angry, but it was merely a veil for the sadness. It was too surreal. "I can't believe they're gonna leave me here," he whispered to himself, his cold breath brushing past his shoulder. He was the strongest of all of them, why didn't she trust that he could heal the poison on his own?

Shippou lowered his gaze to the floor as if realizing the severity of the moment. He was quiet. "It's for your health, you know. If Sango can't identify the poison, then you have to trust you could be in serious danger. It's best not to tempt fate."

The half demon sprawled out over the blankets, sleepy from the lack of blood.  His white shirt was still partially drenched with blood, but it had only gone down half-way. He could feel it was damp, as he pressed his nose into the soft, velvety quilts. Never had he felt so foolish. Only Miroku was stupid enough to bring injury upon himself, usually from lack of fore-sight. He would have to ask Shippou to not bring this up in the future. He wasn't familiar with sleeping in the wolf caves.

The cave was narrow enough that two people could walk in side by side together, while it was tall enough just enough to stand. The fire had gone out a long time ago and the cave was still slightly dark deeper inside. As he lay, he almost he wished he could back to sleep. He blinked once. Not if that crazy woman is waiting for me.

He opened his eyes as he heard Shippou stand. The kit turned resolutely towards the cave entrance, his hair swaying lightly in the breeze.  Inuyasha sat up quietly, still brushing his hands over the blankets. He looked over asking, "You're going outside then?"

Shippou peered over, curious. His eyes were puzzled. "Aren't you?"

Inuyasha grunted, not wanting to stand, but doing so anyway. He brought himself to his feet, not trusting himself to stand fully, as he wobbled slightly upon his first try. He leaned a shoulder against the cave wall, evoking some dust to rise from the floor. He stared down at the little fox after having moved a small ways. He didn't feel in the mood to say goodbyes, but he nodded his head in the direction of the entrance. "Lead the way, runt."

It was only a moment that the green eyes remained locked on him, before he scampered forward, eager to get outside. Inuyasha was led groggily to the mouth of the cave, the slightly wary fox looking back as he took so long. It was only a five second walk to the sleeping area, but Inuyasha nearly tripped once over his own feet. He gradually felt more steady.

They gazed out into the drizzle, and held their grip on the rock wall that supported the entry way. Inuyasha looked ahead, only now able to look out at where he had been brought. He saw the vast crags of rock that spanned into the horizon both left and right, and tried to see the wolf caves, but they were hidden behind the vast trees that encircled his dwelling. This cave, unlike the others had been set near the base of the mountain, and was virtually on its own. The circle of trees near the entrance also shielded him from any prying eyes, making it so no one could see the cave or anything outside it.

Shippou glanced over, putting a small paw out to cup the rain and turning a childish smile in the hanyou’s direction. "You ready, Inuyasha?"

The half demon looked down, and scoffed. "Move it, Shippou."

Shippou rolled his eyes and calmly walked out, his hands by his sides. There was a smooth transition from stone to grass as they stepped away from the cave.  The ground was damp as the rain continued to patter the ground, wetting the mountain behind them. Inuyasha stepped carefully over the grass as he looked ahead, trying to see the through the trees. This small clearing had the benefit of privacy, yet didn't have a view of anything besides these tall, gargantuan eye shields.

Shippou's gaze swept over the green expanse. His clothes started collecting rain, and there was a tenseness as he continued to look forward. "I imagine it's nearly time," he professed, squeezing his fingers together. He stopped and pointed through a gap in the trees, slightly to the right. "There should be an open field over there where the group is getting ready." His eyes turned back onto the shadows of the trees. He tightened one of his small fists.

Inuyasha nodded his head a bit, confused. He shuffled uncomfortably in the soft grass. "You're comin', right?"

The fox kit shook his head, unfazed. "I have to take care of some business before we leave." He turned bright eyes on the half demon, as he gestured in the same direction as before. He smiled. "But you can go on ahead."

Inuyasha scoffed loudly. His arms were folded, and his hand was able to feel the blood spread across his upper shoulder. "But Kagome..."

"Don't worry about that. She does want to say good-bye to you." The fox padded his paw into the water, as if seeing how deep it was getting. "So does everyone else," he added quickly.

The half demon sent a skeptical glance. "You'll be back soon, right?"

There was a silent pause as Shippou looked up with those interested green eyes. His brows furrowed. "I'll be back before they leave," he assured.

"Better hurry then." Inuyasha smirked as he walked away in the direction of the field. He heard Shippou scurry away behind him into the denseness of the forest. He was alone in the great profoundness of the trees.

The smell of rain and leaves fell around him as the breeze began to pick up. He winced. It had only been a day since he had been outside and yet he felt infinitely weaker. And worst of all, his ears were getting cold. He marched forward barefoot, continuing through the thicket of trees, twigs snapping underneath his feet. He progressed this way for a few minutes until an upcoming line of trees seemed brighter than the others. Moving quickly through the foliage, he burst through, landing once more in the soft green of grass.

The sky had opened above him, and the field ahead of him stretched on for miles. It rolled and rolled into the distance, pure and green, never seeming to end. There was a single patch of flowers near the trees, but the pasture flowed out for days, luscious and green, disappearing into the rising sun. Inuyasha stopped and gasped at this wonderful sight. The rolling hills had seemed to have stolen all his breath away, and he longed suddenly for one thing: he wanted to run as far as he could into those endless green plains, and disappear in the looming, orange sun.

The small whistle of wind and the bite of a morning breeze at his elbows tore him from his reverie. He glanced to his right, his ears perked and listening for any signs of life. Nestled amongst some soft tree branches and the falling leaves was the wooden, spacious caravan he remembered walking with days before. A stir of anxiety went through the hanyou, the crease at his mouth growing strained.

The last time he had seen it, it had been tipped over and robbed of one its wheels on the side of the road, while he and his friends had fought for its safety. The desolate looking vehicle had somehow been put right side up, found a replacement wheel, and made it all the way to the wolf caves. The wood was damaged, and looked as if Sango had spent the latter part of the night getting it to be stable. The demonslayer was good with her hands, and it looked as if it would survive the trip.

Near the back, fumbling with a variety of jars, the woman in the pink kimono bent lightly into the grass and placed things calmly on the back end of the caravan. The purple robed monk, Miroku, suddenly came into view from the inside. He would take the things Sango set down, and set them neatly amongst the rest of the load. Inuyasha took a few tentative steps forward, not seeing Trivolio anywhere in sight, but he quickly made himself known. Sitting right in the front, as if feeling impatient, the blond haired man from the west sat with the reigns in his hands, a blank stare encapsulating his features. Aran and Erufn were probably inside, helping Miroku organize. Kagome was the only one in the clearing unspoken for.

There was a flicker of sound and movement, as Inuyasha looked into the depths of the trees. From a lighter section of the forest, the young priestess suddenly appeared, stepping quietly and with a sway in her hips. A color like excitement or bemusement colored her cheeks, and she looked about with a mild curiosity over the rain streaked plants. It was only after she leaned over to lightly touch the underside of a green plant, that she turned her head his way. There was a moment of recognition, as all the polite curiosities dissolved away, and her hair brushed against her face like a lover's caress. She took a step, gaining speed as a genuine smile took the place of the tight lips she held moments ago. Inuyasha mentally held his breath.

As she got closer, her smile turned into a confused expression, followed by an urgent sympathy as she raised a hand towards his head. As soon as she was within reach, he took her by the wrist, stopping her pressing need to touch his bandage.

She quailed with empathy. "Inuyasha, what happened?" Her breath was hurried and concerned, but her hand remained within his, showing her assent to restrain herself.

He let go, tossing her hand to the side. "It was nothing, I just woke up wrong," he explained, an angry undertone pressing through his teeth.

Kagome examined the injury from afar, bending to the right in order to see it clearly. She placed her hands behind her back, as an innocent gesture. "Are you ok? That's no scratch you've got you know."

"Yes," he breathed calmly, exuding an air of patience. He looked down at her skeptically. "Shippou helped with the bandage, and the blood loss wasn't serious. I've been through worse."

"I'd hate to have another thing to worry about. This trip is already looking pretty bleak."

"Tell me about it." The hanyou sniffed, showing disdain with a blatant tone. The young girl looked over understandingly, her eyes full of regret.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry you can't come along. Truly." Her hands moved one another, her nervous tick that followed her across the years. The morning seemed to brighten around them, while Kagome turned around swiftly and leaned against a tree. Her uniform was cleaner in the light, but the rain continued to darken its colors. She shook her head slowly, sadly. "I'd stay with you, if I could."

The hanyou raised an eyebrow with interest. “And what’s keeping you on the caravan?”

Her eyes seemed reflecting for a moment, glassy and thoughtful. He guessed she might have been thinking over their predicament more than he had in the past few hours. “Numbers of things. The caravan needs protection, you know? Without you tagging along, we need all the muscle we can get.”

Inuyasha tried to think of a way to voice that he was fine, but nothing seemed to put itself into words better than he had already explained. The small girl seemed intent on keeping him here. He couldn’t make himself angry over this, knowing she only cared about his safety.

The half-demon let out a sigh, eyes low to the ground. “You’re sure? There’s nothing… I can say, is there...?”

She turned with a desolate expression, her eyes melting from guilt. She searched his features for a moment, her hands locked neatly in front of her. “No, I’m afraid not,” she whispered. Her fingers moved dimly over each other, ghosts of a nervous thought, a silent anxiety. “You would do the same for me, wouldn’t you?

There was a moment of thought to this. If Kagome had been poisoned in his stead and refused to rest, would he make her stay anyway? Would he make her stay, regardless of temporary discomfort for her overall safety? Would he do the same for any of his teammates? The answer at that moment seemed obvious. It didn’t make him any happier about it though.

He turned a soft expression to the sun, hiding his face from her scrutinizing gaze. There was a passing moment where he wondered if she noticed his smirk. “Go on then,” he replied, knocking his hands away from him in a dismissive manner. He felt only a bit lighter inside. “I’ll take care of myself. Sooner you leave, sooner you can come back and we’ll be rid of these stinking wolf caves!”

There was a light smile that pressed at her for a moment, before a yell came from the caravan. “Kagome!” Miroku held a hand at first to get her attention, then waved her over with a half-expectant grin. They ventured over together, passively aware this would be where they said goodbye.

Inuyasha tensed for a moment, then spun around, only to find Shippou bounding towards them. The fox managed to spring into the air, rotate once, and land on the back of the caravan with a slight, but impressive thump. Inuyasha glanced suspiciously towards the kitsune, wondering what had captivated his time, but the probing green eyes drove him from asking any questions. Sango and Miroku did not say anything to him, only giving him a hug, before loading into the caravan. Slowly, Shippou and Kagome followed suit, only returning apologetic glances, before he could no longer see them. As the caravan gained speed, and drifted towards the green hills, Kagome pressed herself lightly out the back.

With a hand around her mouth, she yelled loud enough for him to hear. “Three days!”

He watched the caravan for a few more moments before turning back, knowing that in the endless fields, it would be a while before they were out of sight. The return to his cave was quick but monotonous, as he now had a good idea of which direction to go in, but he now felt as if he had no purpose for the rest of his day. What was he supposed to do? He could not explore much, or hunt for jewel shards on his own. The poison that still ebbed in his blood insisted he never be mobile. This only frustrated him more, but he would try and be patient. He would sleep these days away, if need be.

He arrived at the cave meant to be his temporary home, facing the mouth of the entrance expressionless. Sunlight now flickered from above, and he absently noted that it had stopped raining. While water remained on the trees and ground, the sun now showed brilliantly in the blue, morning sky. Despite the change in weather, he felt little desire to be outside. There was a brush of movement from behind, slight but graceful. He made no move to turn around, already knowing who was waiting there.

“Kouga,” he breathed, fixed into place. The name fell off his tongue easier than it had months ago. Even now it seemed to have a friendlier ring to it, but the wolf behind him seemed to be wary of something. He raised an eyebrow in unvoiced confusion.

There was a shuffle, as if the weight had been shifted from one of the wolf’s legs, to the other. It was a gentle sound, as the wolf had more slender, but stronger legs then he. “They already left?” The words sounded like a question, but he knew the wolf must have seen them drive away. Was it simple politeness that brought this question?

Inuyasha turned around fully, towards the direction of the voice. The blue eyes suddenly met his from across the grove, concentrated, waiting for an answer. It struck him that while he should have been coming up with an answer, the only thought that arose continually was that this was the first time he had addressed Kouga alone for months. The blue, perplexed eyes stared back purposefully, as if assuring it was alright to speak.

Inuyasha found the words, brushing his hakama lightly with his fingertips. “Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t see Kagome off.” There was no malice tipped on these words as was usual, which Kouga noted with a slight tilt of the head.

“I didn’t see much point. She’ll be back before the week is over anyways.” Kouga seemed to speak of the departure with little interest, his head still tipped with that slight curiosity in his features. The slightly upturned eyebrows, the firm set of lips that tucked down in a mildly appeasing way.

The half-demon drew a breath, but didn’t answer. Kouga still gazed with that unsure, tentatively concerned look.

Concern. Why did this idea make the hanyou inwardly smile?

Inuyasha dipped his head, refusing to meet the gaze of the curious demon ahead of him. “Right,” he affirmed, still facing away. A wind rustled between them, and the trees whistled with a beautiful sound. Kouga’s expression rapidly changed to something that resembled surprise.

He reached with a weak finger, as if he was respecting the distance between them, but still took a step forward, his eyes wider. “Your head…” he managed slowly, a grimace flittering like a shadow across his face.

Inuyasha tried to feign being nonchalant about the injury, glancing tiredly to the injury. “Oh, yeah,” he began, his arm lifted slightly to cradle the bandage. Embarrassment snuck briefly into his blush, but he forced it down. “I hit my head this morning. On the cave wall.”

Kouga raised a speculative eyebrow. He didn’t pursue it too far. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” the hanyou waved quickly, “It was nothing.”

The wolf brought a fist to his mouth, but let out a hearty chuckle, his eyes glittery. “Kagome’s right, I really do have to keep an eye on you.”

“Hardly,” Inuyasha responded brusquely. “She’ll only be gone three days.”

“Three days, is that all?”

Inuyasha smirked to this, impressed. Kouga was usually known for his brevity. The fact he was putting forth conversation stirred a sense of intrigue inside him. “Well, I’ll bet it’s gonna feel months longer, if that makes you feel better.”

Kouga, with furrowed brows shook his head at this, unamused. “You think I want to hear you sniffling about how bored you are? I’m not here to listen to you suffer.”

“Well I’m poisoned aren’t I? I’m not exactly leading a parade.”

“Quit the whining,” the wolf barked, slightly irritated. He stroked his ponytail, in mock frustration, walking a step closer. “This is exactly the type attitude I don’t want hear the next few days.

The half-demon huffed for a moment before turning his back, flustered. “Go to hell, Kouga.”

The wolf sped up a few steps, retorting, “Hey, lighten up Inuyasha!” He reached forward. “If you’re gonna stay, you might as well-“

There was a moment of complete stillness as Inuyasha processed what had occurred. Kouga had reached forward, trying to grab the half-demon by the elbow, while Inuyasha had suddenly whipped around to tell Kouga off. The suddenly flurry of movement had caused Kouga to awkwardly grab the half demon by the hand, an action that under any circumstance should have felt like a violation. It was a violation. But there was only one word that seemed to bubble to the surface in the few instants that followed.

Warm.

There was a second as they looked down at their connecting hands, before they automatically returned gazes. The blue eyes seemed questioning, fierce. He too hadn’t realized what happened yet, but his gaze was powerful, frightened and honest all at the same time. The intensity of their moment, where there was nothing but blue and gold together, could have blown the boy through continents.

Inuyasha wrenched his hand away, with a sudden, tangible urgency. “Don’t touch me again, you mangy wolf!”

Kouga’s temper flared, ready to lash out, but he hesitated, the seething anger lightly restrained. Inuyasha felt puzzled as the wolf remained quiet for several moments only to see his expression soften. He sent a quizzical look in the demons direction, yet there was no response.

The wolf let out a deep sigh. Inuyasha found it strangely comforting.
The wolf turned to the side, holding his hands at his hips. His breathing was a bit ragged from anger, and Inuyasha nearly felt sorry for giving him extra grief. Kouga was already forced to keep an eye on Inuyasha as a favor. The last thing he needed was to be put down for his attempts at kindness. As the half demon thought further on the subject, he knew Kouga was probably busy enough with handling the wolf dens and being a leader. If there was one thing Inuyasha hated, it was catching himself in a petty act.

The silver haired boy, took a small breath as a comfort, then braced himself. “Kouga, I—“

“Naah,” he was immediately rebuked. “Forget it.”

Inuyasha felt the need for an apology was still in the air, but his pride would not easily bend. He bit his lip, and cursed himself inwardly twice. He bent his head low, to the side. “S—… Sorry…”

Kouga turned immediately, his black hair vibrant in the bright sunlight, his pelt slightly teased by the wind. His eyes were suddenly filled with a look that reminded of him of remorse. His lips moved slowly. “What?”

The small hanyou kept his eyes averted, the gold glinting with indecision. “I…don’t wanna repeat it.”

The blue eyed boy shook his head, pressing. “No, I meant, I don’t understand.” A half step closer, head with that curious tilt. “Why are you sorry?”

“The…” his lips failed for a moment. His eyes pulled up before he could stop them. Kouga’s expression was something of misunderstanding. The anger had all but dissipated. Inuyasha made a small gesture with the fingers. “…when our hands…”

Kouga elicited a look of surprise, before nodding in understanding. His tan arms folded over on themselves, forming a sort of tenseness to this entire stature. “You shouldn’t,” he spoke. He paused, facing the ground, his eyebrows furrowed. “You shouldn’t be sorry for that.”

Inuyasha glanced up. Confusion rang in his ears. “What?”

The wolf was silent for a few moments, before lightly looking up, and responding with a wolfish smile. “It was an accident,” he amended, quickly putting up both hands, as if innocent. “It happens.”

“I yelled at you.” Inuyasha stated.

“And I yell at you too,” Kouga responded, squashing the argument.

“I made you angry.” The hanyou pressed.

Kouga waved off the words, as if they were flies in the air. “By-gones.” The wolf turned a degree back toward the hanyou, a rugged smile in place. “It’s gonna be lunch time soon. There’s a creek not far from here.”

Inuyasha seemed to understand where this was going. “Yeah, I’m a bit hungry. And it’s not as if I have anything else to do.”

Kouga seemed to mull this over for a moment before taking a soft step further into the sun. He spoke over his shoulder. “Well, if you’re really gonna have nothing to do the next few days, you could spend some of the time with me. I can show you what we wolves do for fun.”

The invitation hung in the air, and Inuyasha realized Kouga was going out on limb to accommodate him. Was this solely because he didn’t want Inuyasha whining? Or still as a favor to Kagome? It didn’t really matter he decided.

Inuyasha stepped further into the sunlight as well. “Sure, I’d like to see if the wolves have a good sense of adventure.”

“If you can stand being with me for three days,” Kouga said with a toothy grin.

Inuyasha took a moment to chuckle to himself. The blue eyed boy noticed this too, and his grin seemed to expand just a bit wider. The hanyou looked around at the beautiful day he still had left to spend, then at the boy he would be seeing the next few days.

He smiled slightly in the wind. “Let’s start with just one day.”






A/n
Mmm, tell me what you think? Future chapters will be varying in length. They will probably be around this length, but I feel as if I want to fit more in. I sometimes take a long time to write, so feel free to help me out with that! Thoughts? Anyways, please review!

Converting /tmp/phpxPyTLW to /dev/stdout