InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Landfill ❯ Two Peas in a Pod ( Chapter 51 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness!! Some of you seem to believe that Hakkaku is dead, well he is not. Kouga did try to kill him, but the gun jammed. Ginta however, is totally full of maggots as of now. That said, thanks to all of you who continue to review and read this fic. I know it's been ongoing for more than a little while, but you can't really rush angst, can you? If I did, you guys wouldn't be reading this, you'd be hitting the delete button…lol. Anyway, happy early mother's day to the few mothers reading this fic, and a special thanks and Happy Mother's Day to my lovely, darling, beta, Neko!!

 

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Nya, Nola, Takira, Gage, Dr. Aikio, Maki, and Moki. All others belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Chapter 51:

 

Two Peas in a Pod

 

She ignored the many faces that passed her as she stalked through the mall with no final destination in mind. She was fuming, pissed, and downright livid because of the happenings of a few hours ago, and no matter how hard she tried to minimalize it, she just couldn't!

 

How dare she fucking hit me, she thought angrily as she subconsciously rubbed her cheek that was still a little flushed from where Kagome had struck her.

 

She knew that maybe she had taken her little spew about hanyous a bit too far, but she took everything a too far, didn't she? Hell, that was her thing; they all knew that. That aside, it never resulted in anything like this!

 

Sure, she meant what she said; he was a fucking hanyou, a nobody, and Kagome really didn't need to be wasting her time on him because it wasn't going to go anywhere. She didn't need to meet him to know that!

 

Her relationships never go anywhere, she surmised quickly as she stopped at a window that was littered with different versions of pumps and stiletto boots.

 

She fucking hit me! She fucking…hit…me; her friend of God knows how long, over some impotent fucking hanyou that she's only known a few months! That bitch!

 

She honestly didn't want to be angry with Kagome, and she probably wouldn't have been, had the whole hitting thing not occurred, but with every move of her cheek, it was a staunch reminder of what had happened.

 

Not to mention, Kagome's outburst after the fact, kept echoing in her head. “Don't forget to pay your bill, you broke bitch!”

 

How dare she treat me like that? She knows why I couldn't finish college, she knows why and still… Every fucking chance she gets she throws it up in my face!

 

In the back of her mind, she knew that wasn't the total truth, because Kagome had been nothing but supportive to her when she found out that her parents had squandered her college money on gambling debts, forcing her to drop out of school and take a job so that her father's legs wouldn't be broken.

 

Even knowing that, she still couldn't stop those words from twisting through her mind. She knew that she'd probably only said it to hurt her because of the things she'd said about her hanyou boyfriend, but damn it…

 

Yuka pushed away from the window and stomped inside the shop. Shuffling over to a pair of black leather thigh high boots with silver and gold buckles running up and down the side, she sighed heavily and decided that maybe if she bought herself something nice, it would help her get over their little spat even quicker.

 

Turning, she quickly eyed the young man behind the counter. “Can you get me a size five in these?” she questioned rhetorically, knowing that he'd have to regardless of whether he wanted to or not.

 

“Sure,” the guy replied before disappearing into the backroom of the store.

 

Shuffling over to one of the cushioned seats, she sat down and began to slowly tug off her worn ankle high boots. Stretching out her leg, she rolled her foot to the right and back again to the left in an attempt to loosen up the bones of her ankle.

 

Leaning forward, she planted both her hands on either side of the chair she was sitting in and stared around the vacant store aimlessly in an attempt to keep her mind off of Kagome and the mean spirited things she'd said to her, but just like that, her voice was back in her head taunting and teasing her.

 

“Just forget that we're friends! …broke bitch! I'll put my foot so far up your ass…”

 

She growled, cutting her own thought off. This wasn't helping! It was only serving to make her even madder and more pissed!

 

“Well, this has got to be my luck day,” a smooth voice stated over her shoulder.

 

Yuka turned, prepared to swing out on the person that was invading her personal space. When she saw who it was, she growled instead and swung back around, her arms crossed beneath her full breasts, and a very pronounced pout on her face.

 

“What, you're not even going to greet me, Yuka?” he drawled as he made his way around the partition to stand directly in front her, his trademark smirk on his lips.

 

She huffed, not even wanting to acknowledge him as she slowly took him in from head to toe and back again. Son of a bitch, she hissed silently as her eyes took in the way his alligator shoes matched his belt, the way his slacks hugged his hips almost too perfectly, leaving just enough to the imagination, and the way his button downed shirt showed just enough of his powerful chest.

 

She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the way his biceps that were crossed over his chest pulsated sensually as if calling her name. Her eyes came back to him, roamed a little higher and stopped on his iridescent blue ones. Once again, she realized why Kagome made such a fool of herself for him during the years that they dated.

 

“What the fuck do you want, Kouga?” she huffed while running her fake acrylic nails through her cropped mane.

 

He laughed haughtily and sat down beside her. “You know that mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day.”

 

She rolled her eyes, and shifted away from him as she snapped, “It hasn't yet!”

 

“Well there's a first time for everything, isn't there?”

 

Yuka eyed him closely, but she didn't comment about what he'd said, instead she queried abrasively, her neck rolling with every syllable that fell from her lips, “Once again, what…do…you…want?”

 

“I don't want anything. I happened to see you walking all by your lonesome and you looked like you could use a friend.”

 

Yuka scoffed with disdain, “A friend? Please, as if you could ever be anyone's friend!”

 

Kouga chuckled softly as he leaned in closer to her. Reaching around her shoulder, he lightly fingered her right earlobe and whispered seductively, “We were friends once, weren't we?”

 

She swatted his hand away and moved a seat down from him as she bite out, “That will never happen again, you son of a bitch! And don't you ever touch me again!”

 

Kouga actually had the audacity to laugh as he moved down, claiming the seat she'd just vacated. “It was fun, you know it was. If I think hard enough, I think I can still remember the way you screamed my name.” He chuckled again, and sat back, his arms draped over the back of the chair. “You were so fucking wet, you remember? You had the sheets soaked.” He leaned in and whispered softly, “You remember as you road my dick you kept asking if Kagome fucked me like you did?” He watched her visibly shrink back away from him at the memory and he finished, “See, you do remember. We were really good friends, weren't we?”

 

Yuka stood to her feet and stomped away from him. “You took advantage of me! You knew I was high! I was drunk for gods-sake and you took advantage of me!”

 

Kouga stood as well and stepped towards her. “Call it what you want, but I damn sure didn't force my dick into that hot little mouth of yours.” He leaned into her, so that he was a breath away and intoned, “You know what I remember most about that night?” He didn't wait for her to answer before he finished, “When you told me that my cum tasted like coconut water. Do you still like coconut water, Yuka?”

 

Yuka swung out frantically, trying to slap him hard across the face, but he caught her hand and pulled her roughly against his chest.

 

Kouga laughed as he allowed his hand that was wrapped around her back to slip down to her lower back, forcing her closer to him. “No hitting, because with the day that I'm having, I can't promise you that I won't hit back.”

 

This was so wrong that as she fought against his hold, she almost broke down. She remembered that night clearly and she remembered the guilt she'd felt afterwards whenever she saw Kagome or whenever she saw the two of them together.

 

She didn't have an explanation for why she did what she did. She didn't understand it, but she knew…she knew he hadn't really taken advantage of her. Sure, a better man would've pushed her away, but he…he accepted her advances and for one night, it was just her and him. For one night, she had something that Kagome had. For one night, she and Kagome were on even footing.

 

Yuka shivered against him and quickly pushed back away from him in hopes that he wouldn't see that she was so turned on right now that if he said the right words they could have a repeat of that night.

 

He let go of her thankfully, but she stepped back so quickly that she bumped into the rack of shoes behind her. “I'm so sick of this shit! I swear if one more person threatens to hit me or put their foot anywhere near my ass, I'm going to go ballistic!”

 

Kouga watched her walk around him as if he were a diseased vagrant, and all he could do was laugh, because he could smell the real reason why she was acting the way she was.

 

She laughed dryly when he sat down next to her again. “What? For the sake of the gods, just tell me what you want! Matter of fact, don't and just leave me alone!”

 

“I think I'll sit here for a little longer. After all, I lost a really good friend today and you still look like you could use one.”

 

Yuka rolled her eyes and scanned the store making a quick note of the two barbarians that appeared to be guarding the door of the store. “Yeah, well that makes two of us.”

 

“Two of us? You lost a friend today? Say it isn't so,” Kouga advised playfully, his voice just above a whisper and so damn enticing that she had to shift in her seat to try to quell the wetness that was growing there. “How did you lose your friend, I shot mine.”

 

“That bitch had the audacity to slap me, so I decided that we weren't friends anymore,” she told him, not really paying attention to the last thing he'd said.

 

“Ma'am, I'm sorry about the wait. We just got these shoes in and I had to unpack them in order to find your size,” the guy from earlier stated, handing her the large box.

 

Taking the package from him, she dismissed him with a flip of her wrist and then opened the box and made quick work of tearing off the paper that was wrapped around the boot and removing the wads of paper that was shoved into the pointed toe.

 

“So, is this a new friend or one of the hens? Wasn't it Eri, and Ay...Aikumi… Shit, I don't remember that bitch's name. What was it?” Kouga asked conversationally.

 

Not really paying attention to him as she carefully scanned the boot, she replied, “It's Ayumi, and no we're still friends; at least, I think we are. But I wouldn't be surprised if we're not. They always side with Kagome over me.” After locating the hidden zipper, she unzipped the boot and placed it on the floor before her. “That bitch had the temerity to slap me today, because she didn't like what I had said about her little erectile dysfunctional boyfriend. And then she calls me a broke bitch. Fuck her; I don't know who she thinks she is!”

 

Kouga licked his lips as he watched her backside closely while allowing her words to be absorbed in his mind. Wait, did she just say that Kagome…my Kagome slapped her? That means… Shit that has to mean…

 

Zipping the boot up, she took a few steps towards the full length mirror and stared at her reflection as she continued with her rant, oblivious to the fact that she was telling the secrets of the gods to the devil himself, “They're always sucking up to her like she's so much better than us! So what she has a fucking law degree! So fucking what she's partner in a fucking law firm. That doesn't mean shit! I just want her to take her stuck-up, uptight ass, back to Tokyo!”

 

Kouga ran his hand over his mouth in order to hide his smile. He hadn't expected anything like this when he'd first seen Yuka, but damn it…damn it…damn it…this was turning out to be a great day.

 

Ginta and Dinshu were fucking dead, Hakkaku seemed to have gotten the picture, and now he'd just found out that Kagome was back in Kyoto where she belonged. Life couldn't get any better.

 

Smoothing out his features, he questioned, “Damn, Kagome hit you?”

 

“Yeah, that bitch did! She just better be glad that Eri wouldn't let me get my hands on her!”

 

“You guys are friends; you really don't need to carrying on like that. How long is she here for?” he questioned, mindful of keeping his tone neutral.

 

“Friends? We ain't friends no more! Well, at least not until she apologizes to me,” she intoned as she sat down beside him and started removing the boot from her foot. “I don't know how long she's here for, but the sooner she leaves the happier I'll be.”

 

Kouga chuckled softly, his mind moving a mile a minute as he watched her repack the boots into the box. “So this boyfriend of hers…”

 

Yuka stood to her feet and started towards the counter, but stopped and turned to him. “Why the hell are you so interested? Don't tell me you still have feelings for her, because I'm sure she has none for you. She's all in love with that fucking hanyou now.”

 

Kouga wanted to growl and slit her throat with his bare claws, but he refrained as he stood and started towards her. “Feelings, nah, never that. I just wanted to make sure she was okay is all.”

 

She looked like she didn't believe him, but she left it alone just the same and for that he was thankful. This was the closest he'd actually gotten to getting to Kagome and it seemed to be almost too fucking easy, but he couldn't dwell on that now. A chance was presenting itself; he was damn sure going to take it.

 

“Would you like anything else with this?” the clerk asked as Yuka slide the box across the counter.

 

“No, that's it.”

 

The clerk hit a couple of buttons on the register as Kouga started towards the door, but he stopped abruptly as a thought occurred to him; one that he'd use if he got the chance.

 

“Your total is $2517.96,” the gentleman stated as he started to slide the boots into an oversize carry bag for her.

 

Yuka gasped, knowing she couldn't afford that, but she was too embarrassed to say anything as Kagome words twisted through her mind for the umpteenth time, “…broke bitch!” She growled furiously and pulled her wallet from her purse as if the inanimate object had offended her in someway.

 

Stepping up behind her quickly, Kouga handed the guy some cash. “Here, that should take care of it.”

 

“No, you don't have to do that! I'm…I can buy it myself!” She knew it was a lie, but she had to try to save face somehow.

 

“I know you can, but you've been such a good friend to me, that I feel I should do something nice for you,” Kouga declared chivalrously while stepping away from the counter and starting towards the door of the establishment.

 

“Sir, your change,” the clerk called.

 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stated cheerily, “Give it to her.”

 

Taking the change that was easily more than $ 300.00 and the bag from the guy, Yuka ran out the store and in the direction that Kouga and his goons were slowly walking in.

 

“Kouga,” she called stepping up behind him.

 

“Yeah?” he questioned blandly, his face innocent…too innocent.

 

“I'm…I'm not sleeping with you!”

 

“Why, you don't like coconut water anymore?”

 

Yuka growled, a rosy hue blossoming over her cheeks, but she didn't respond verbally.

 

Kouga laughed. “Wow, what a way to thank someone that has just bought you a pair of $2500 dollar boots, Yuka.”

 

“I'm serious; I'm not sleeping with you. So, we can take these boots back right now!”

 

Kouga stepped towards her, slipped his arm around her shoulder and started walking with her as if they were a couple. “Fine, I won't ask you to sleep with me. So, will you at least eat with me, Yuka?”

 

“What?” she questioned staring up at him unsure of whether she could honestly trust him. Of course, she didn't, but this was the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for her.

 

Kouga laughed and as much as she hated it, once again, she realized how and why he was able to get away with so much during his relationship with Kagome. The damn man had a way of disarming a woman that was unlike anything she'd ever witnessed in her life. His smell, his smile, the sound of his voice, the color of his eyes; they were all weapons against the opposite sex.

 

“Kouga, am I going to regret this?”

 

“No woman, it's nothing like that. And you don't have to pay me back for the boots, but you do have to eat dinner with me and…”

 

Yuka stopped and huffed agitatedly, “Oh God, here it comes. You want me to sleep with someone else or do something illegal, don't you?”

 

Kouga tugged her along again as he eyed the stores around them curiously looking for nothing in particular. “Nope and nope. I just want you to do me one little favor and we're even.” She started to say something, but he cut her off and finished, “We'll talk about it over dinner, okay? I feel like sake; how about you?”

 

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was in no way going to like where this was going. However, as long as it had nothing to do with letting him and his goons run a train on her, or her carrying out anything that could land her in jail, she supposed that she could at the very least listen to what he had to say.

 

After all, after the day that she'd had, he really was making her day so much better.

 

Simonkal of Inuy

 

The hanyou grabbed the baby bottles, and bumped the door to the refrigerator closed with his hip as he tried to balance the cell phone he was talking on between his head and shoulder. “Why do you sound like that? Did something happen?”

 

“No, nothing…” Kagome started to say, and then amended her statement altogether, “Well, I kind of got into a fight with one of my friends earlier today, and it's kind of bothering me.”

 

Inuyasha sat the bottles down on the counter and pulled a small stainless steel pot down from the rack. Filling it halfway full with water, he then turned the stove on and sat the bottles in the center of the pot, and then sat the pot on the stove.

 

“You guys didn't like throw blows or nothing, did you?”

 

“Well…well, I hit her. I mean at that time I was so upset that it was all I could do, but now that I've had sometime to think about it, I feel like I could've handled the situation better than that. Not to mention, I shouted some things at her that I know I shouldn't have said.”

 

The hanyou sighed as he leaned back against the counter of his brother's kitchen, his legs crossed at his ankles. “Did you have a good reason for hitting her?”

 

“At the time I thought it was a good reason, and I still think it was, but we've been friends for so long that I know I shouldn't have let her get to me like that.”

 

“I see,” he quipped. “So you going to tell me why you felt you had to hit her?” She was quiet for a long moment and Inuyasha took that as a no, so he decided quickly that he wasn't going to push it. “Look, if you're feeling that bad, call her and apologize. Otherwise, just let it go. If you two are real friends, it'll work itself out eventually.”

 

“You think?” she queried hopefully.

 

The hanyou laughed. “Honestly, I really don't know; it's not like I have that many friends that I can actually speak from experience or anything.”

 

Kagome giggled on the other end of the phone, and the hanyou pushed up off the counter and walked towards the backdoor, one hand shoved deep within his pocket, the other holding his cell.

 

Staring out at the massive side yard, he couldn't believe that he'd actually let Rin talk him into babysitting again. After the first time, he'd told them never again because the twins cried so fucking much, but two days later here he was again, playing Mr. Fucking Nanny.

 

Of course, he didn't mind spending time with his nephews, but damn it, this was serious women's work! Feeding them, burping them, changing their shitty diapers, yeah, this was definitely bitch work!

 

Pushing the storm door open, he shouted, “Get your ass away from there, Ashton! I swear, I'm not taking you to the vet if you stung!”

 

“What's he doing, Takahashi?”

 

“Barking at a beehive or something,” he replied as he stepped out onto the small porch. “Ashton!” he called again.

 

“Go get him,” Kagome ordered from the other end of the phone.

 

“No Wench, I don't think I'm going to that,” he replied, and then finished, “If I go pull him away from it then how will he learn?”

 

“Takahashi Inuyasha, don't let my dog get stung!”

 

“Higurashi Kagome, if you're so concerned then maybe you should bring your sexy little ass back home and do it yourself,” he replied, stepping down off the step and into the yard. His eyes were trained on Ashton, who looked like he was about to start climbing the damn tree. “Besides, would you rather I get stung or Ashton?”

 

Kagome laughed and replied, “Well, you of course.”

 

“Damn Wench, way to bruise a guy's ego,” he stated, knowing she was only half joking. Removing the phone from the side of his head, the hanyou stepped further into the yard, and shouted, “Ashton, get your ass over here now!”

 

As those words fell from his lips, the hanyou heard the loud buzzing of the bees rise by more than a few decibels. He stepped back, his eyes still trained on the beehive and `the girlfriend's' dog.

 

Ashton yelped and turned without warning and charged towards him, barking and yelping like something was biting into him. He stopped, hopped around in a circle on his hind legs and bite at the air around him before he fell on his back as he continued to yelp loudly as if calling out for help.

 

Inuyasha stepped back again, glanced around him for a water hose or something that would be able to get the bees off of the damn animal.

 

“I told your ass to leave it alone, didn't I?” he shouted as he turned and broke into a run the moment he saw Ashton pitch back up and charge toward him again.

 

“Get the fuck away from me! I told you, I fucking told you,” he bellowed over his shoulder as he tore around the corner of the house trying to outrun the bees and damn dog that was following behind him a little too closely.

 

“Don't run this way! Go in the other direction,” he shouted, knowing the damn dog wasn't understanding a goddamn thing he was saying.

 

“Hoko!” he screamed as he turned another corner and ran towards the greenhouse, knowing there would be a water hose there. “Turn the fucking water on! Bees! Fucking bees!”

 

He glanced behind him again, the cell phone still gripped tightly in his hand, and he silently cursed Ashton to the deepest bowels of the seven hells as he felt the first sting on the side of his neck.

 

The hanyou stumbled as he slapped at it, and fell face first into the emerald green grass. He tried to push himself up and run again, but Ashton leapt at him from behind, knocking him to ground again, which caused the cell phone to slip from his hand and slide across the grass and a few feet away from him.

 

“Fuck! Shit!” he hissed as he tried to push the dog away with one hand while swatting at the bees with his other hand! “Son of a bitch! Hoko, where the fuck is the water? Where the fuck is the water?”

 

If he wasn't sure that he was delirious at the moment, he would've sworn that he heard the emotionally challenged butler chuckle, but as the feel of a powerful water flow hit him, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind and curled into a ball.

 

The hanyou tried to hold his position, but between the water stinging his back, chest, shoulders, and stomach, and the audaciousness of the three or four bees that continued to flit around his ears and face, he had no choice but to strike out at the air around him in hopes that maybe he could knock a few of them away.

 

It was a fruitless venture.

 

“Hoko, get Ashton! I think he took the worse of it!” Inuyasha shouted quickly as he carefully raised his head and opened his eyes to glance around. “I swear if those fucking stings don't kill him, I'm going to do it myself!” he groundout as he felt another pinch from a stinger on his forearm, and another on his left shoulder.

 

Swatting at both of them, he jumped to his feet and ran towards Hoko, who was now spraying Ashton where he laid on the ground whimpering pathetically.

 

“Still mischievous, I see,” Hoko declared mildly, his face just as expressionless as ever.

 

“Fuck you,” the hanyou bit out angrily, knowing that that comment was meant for him because when he was little, he was notorious for stuff like this.

 

Situating himself safely behind the man with the hose, Inuyasha quickly began to scan the grass for his phone. Spotting it as Hoko turned the water off, he stalked towards it and picked it up while watching Ashton push to his feet and limp the short distance to him.

 

Rubbing the spot on his neck where he'd gotten bit, he placed the phone to his ear and immediately regretted not just hanging it up.

 

Kagome was on the other end losing her goddamn mind! She was laughing so hard, the damned woman was snorting between breaths! Even though he couldn't be sure, he would've sworn that she was probably holding her sides as she doubled over on the toilet in the bathroom where she was had gone to find some privacy when he'd called her 20 minutes earlier.

 

The hanyou closed his eyes, counted to 15 and ground out, “Wench!”

 

She was still laughing as she answered, “So…rry! I'm… Me sorry! Oh God! Oh god! Inu…”

 

“You ain't fucking sorry! And this shit ain't funny, either!”

 

He could tell that she was doing her damnedest to stop laughing, but it appeared that whatever image she had in her head of what had just taken place was still just a little too funny for his liking.

 

Annoyed and embarrassed, Inuyasha snapped, “You know what, keep laughing, Kagome! This shit ain't fucking funny! I just got stung by fucking bees because of your fucking dog!”

 

And she continued to laugh, if not even harder than before.

 

“You know what? Bye! Bye! I don't want to talk to you anymore! And don't call me back!” he snapped agitatedly as he flipped the phone close and hung up on her. “Stupid Wench and her stupid dog,” he ground out as he started alternating between scratching at his neck, shoulder, and forearm where he'd been bitten.

 

Glancing down at Ashton, who was now laying at his feet, Inuyasha growled as he knelt down quickly and scooped the dog up like a sack of bones. Tossing him over his shoulder, he continued to scratch at his neck as he proceeded back towards the house.

 

“Master Takahashi?” Hoko stated from somewhere behind him.

 

Inuyasha didn't even look back as he answered brusquely, “What?!?”

 

“Young Masters Takira and Gage, have you fed them?”

 

“Shit,” he bit out as he quickened his gait towards the house. “Fuck! The milk, I left it on the fucking stove!”

 

“I see,” Hoko stated. “I'll let you see to that while I find something to put on your and Ashton's stings.”

 

For some reason it appeared to Inuyasha that the prick took a little too much pleasure in saying that, but then he wasn't really in his right mind right now to say anything that he wouldn't regret later.

 

“Whatever,” the hanyou replied as he pulled open the storm door to the kitchen and entered the house. Picking up the two bottles of milk that was thankfully just starting to boil, the hanyou ignored the sound of his cell phone ringing as he continued through the house.

 

Stopping long enough to lay Ashton on the couch until he was done with the twins, Inuyasha started up the stairs towards the nursery as his phone that had stopped ringing started up again.

 

Pulling it out of his pocket, he flipped it open and bit out, “I told you not to call me again, didn't I?” Balancing the phone between his head and shoulder, he quickly pulled open the linen closet and grabbed a big fluffy white towel. Quickly unfolding the towel, he started to dab at his face, neck and chest as he waited for an answer.

 

The only thing that greeted him was the sound of the fucking girlfriend continuing to laugh her head off at his situation as she tried but failed miserably to say whatever she was trying to say.

 

Whatever it was, he couldn't honestly give two shits at the moment! His ego was bruised, and his pride beaten by a cackling wench, a horde of fucking bees, and a goddamn dog!

 

Stopping outside the nursery, he hissed, “You'll see how fucking funny this is when I get my hands you, Wench!” Not giving her a chance to respond, he flipped the phone closed and stepped into the room so that he could feed his nephews.

 

That shit really wasn't that fucking funny!

 

Simonkal of Inuy

 

Her red locks danced on the light wind that was blowing around her, but she paid it little mine as her eyes scanned up and down the sidewalk to the right and left of her.

 

The night air was cold against the skin of her face, causing her to shiver unconsciously and bring her sweater clad arms up to encircle her tiny waist.

 

Ayame stepped back and leaned lethargically against the pearl colored Lexus that her mate had given her a few months back as an anniversary gift.

 

She wasn't sure why she'd driven all the way out here. She wasn't even sure that she'd remembered the directions after all this time, but here she was. She supposed that after hearing what she had, the jealous part of her wanted to confront the other woman. It wanted…it needed closure-if that made any sense.

 

Her head lowered as her innards twisted into themselves. She was nervous, scared, unsure, and confused, but she refused to turn around. She refused to back down from this confrontation. She needed someone to tell her the truth!

 

His words and the words that Hakkaku shouted back at him floated back through her head as if it were a haunting melody, or a sordid half-tale from a John Grisham novel.

 

“Did you kill him? Did he get between you and Kagome?” Hakkaku laughed dryly and finished, “Even though you let him fuck her once before, did he forget his place this time, Boss?”

 

“You did it, didn't you? You had Din killed because of that fucking bitch! What the fuck did he do Kouga? Did he look at her too fucking hard? Did he tell you how fucking stupid you were acting? Did…did-“

 

“Shut the fuck up! You don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Hakkaku!” Kouga hissed as he took a step towards his one time confidant and best-friend.

 

“I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about?” Hakkaku questioned quizzically. “I know that before you discovered this newfound obsession with Kagome, Din was alive and Ginta hadn't been shot! I know that before you started this fucking hunt for her, the syndicate wasn't the laughing stock of Kyoto! I know before you lost your fucking mind over a piece of fucking pussy, we had a boss that we all respected and would've died for!”

 

Ayame shuddered, and pushed their voices away abrasively as if just the thought of what they were insinuating would eventually kill her.

 

Kouga didn't admit that it was the truth! He didn't say that what Hakkaku was insinuating had any validity to it! Kouga wouldn't… He wouldn't… After the last time, he wouldn't hurt me in such a way again. He saw how crushed I was. He knows…he knows I love him. He…he knows, and he wouldn't…

 

She didn't want to believe a word of it even though she'd heard it for herself. She didn't want to embrace the fact that maybe her mate was cheating on her, that maybe he was running after a human woman…the same human woman again. Then again, maybe his anger of late and his preoccupation was due to everything that she'd heard Hakkaku say.

 

It can't be true, she told herself, It can't be true.

 

She subconsciously raised her hand and rubbed gently at her neck where his claws had dug into her skin earlier that day. Even with the fear that she felt at that moment, the knowledge that she was mere seconds from death at the hands of her beloved mate added to this new information; it still wasn't enough to make her believe the ugly truth that was standing before her.

 

No, it can't be true, she shouted in her mind as she pushed up off the car and took a small nervous step towards the steep set of stairs before her.

 

If it is true that Kouga has…has been looking for her. If Hakkaku was telling the truth, then that means that Kouga hasn't done anything yet, right? It means that he hasn't betrayed me yet. She smiled sullenly at that thought. Why am I finding solace in the fact that he has yet to cheat on me? What's wrong with me? I shouldn't find comfort in such a thing!

 

She shook her head and stepped back away from the stairs as she hissed, “Yet!” How pathetic was she really, that she'd smile at the fact that her mate hadn't cheated on her, yet? Seriously, how pathetic was she? Did yet, mean that she was expecting him to cheat? Did it mean that it was to be expected?

 

She shook her head.

 

That, and this whole situation should have been something that she didn't need to even think about! She was a mated woman! She was a damn good wife, she knew that! Anything he asked her to do, regardless of how immoral, she did without question! And still…and still he strayed from the confines of their monogamous relationship.

 

A frustrated growl slipped from her lips as angry tears came to her eyes.

 

After she'd eventually forgiven him for his first indiscretion, he'd promised her that it was over! He told her with tears trailing down his face that he'd simply made a mistake and nothing more! He'd told her on bended knees that he loved her and that without her, he would die! And she…she believed every word. She'd hung her heart on those words…his words and promised herself that she'd make this work because men made mistakes and even though he was a demon, he was still a man…her man…her mate…her beloved.

 

Wiping fitfully at the tears that continued to cascade down her cheeks, Ayame sniffled loudly and dug into her pocket for a Kleenex. Wiping at her eyes, she decided quickly, “I'll talk to her. I'll find out what she knows. I'll…I'll find out when the last time she and Kouga were together, and then…and then I'll…”

 

She took a step towards the stairs. I'll make her tell me the truth, and then I'll threaten her! I'll make her leave Kouga alone! I'll make her leave my mate alone. She reached down, feeling for the bulge in her purse. Reaching into the bag, she ran her clawed fingers over the cold hard steel as she closed her fingers around the hilt. I'll make her this time. I'll make her leave him…us alone.

 

Stopping at the bottom of the steps, Ayame pulled her hand out of her purse and clutched the bag to her side as if she thought someone was going to take it from her. She stood there for a long breathless moment-a moment where one chooses life or death, freedom or jail-and she just stared up at the large red sign the read Higurashi Shrine.

 

Her intention was not to come here and do anyone any harm, but…but she loved him regardless of his faults and she was more than willing to fight for him; he was her mate. He was her everything.

 

To save what we have… To salvage what we have, I will do what I have-

 

“Excuse me Miss, can I help you with something,” a masculine voice asked from behind her.

Simonkal of Inuy

 

Ayame jumped and spun around while leaping back a few feet.

 

Chuckling huskily, the young man reached out quickly to steady her then stepped back and readjusted his book bag on his shoulder. “Uhm, sorry I didn't mean to scare you.”

 

Ayame stared him up and down taking him in slowly. His baby face told her he couldn't be any older than 16 or 17, but his eyes-she realized-held a sort of wisdom that she found rather unnerving. His dark gaze bore into her as if reading her inner most thoughts and she took another step back and looked away from him and back up towards the stairs.

 

“Ma'am, are you okay?” he asked again, his face holding such concern that for a moment she actually believed that he cared.

 

“I'm…I'm fine,” she intoned softly, her eye's trained on the steps once more, her mind yards away already confronting the woman that would once again try to tear her marriage apart.

 

“Uh, well,” he started as he followed her gaze up the stairs. “It's after hours, so the shrine isn't really attended now, but if you'd like to go in to pray and light some incense, I could get the key and let you in.”

 

Ayame's head snapped towards him then, taking him in once again, but quickly this time. “You live here?”

 

“Yeah; I'm Souta,” he declared with a slight bow before standing upright again. “My family has owned this shrine for generations now. So, if you need to get in, I can help you.”

 

Ayame sneered angrily, “What makes you think that I need to pray?”

 

Souta didn't seem to notice her anger as he retorted calmly, “Well, you're standing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night crying, I just figured that whatever it was prayer would probably be something you needed.”

 

Her younger brother, Ayame thought quickly, not totally understanding why it didn't click before.

 

Regardless of how much time passed since the incident, she would never forget her face; round, angelic, beautiful. No, stunning for a human. She was so striking with her dark eyes, high cheek bones, prominent jaw line, and thick raven black hair that shimmered in the dim light of the room. Standing there next to Kouga, they seemed made for one another.

 

She'd always thought that maybe it was that solitary thought that had driven her jealousy, her anger; her rage against a woman that she knew was probably just as betrayed as she herself was.

 

So, now as she stood here staring at what had to be a male younger version of Kagome, she realized that the similarities between the two of them were actually, uncanny. He was gorgeous in an angelic innocent sort of way. There was such a naiveté to his face, his demeanor that she found it…him disarming.

 

Ayame forced a small smile and stepped closer to the young man. “I must look like a crazy woman to you; standing out here in the middle of the night like this?”

 

“Not at all,” Souta advised quickly. “You would be amazed at how many people I find standing here staring up at the shrine steps.” He laughed softly, and finished, “I guess this is where broken hearts go once they've been broken for whatever the reason. I mean death, divorce, miscarriages, abortions; I've seen and heard it all.”

 

She realized that the wisdom she'd seen in his young eyes had to come from his experiences here and she smiled softly, but genuinely this time.

 

“I lost a friend today, Souta,” she stated making sure to pronounce his name correctly. “If I could light an incense for him, I would really feel a lot better.”

 

He smiled at her and adjusted his backpack. “Of course, come with me,” he said as he turned and started up the stairs.

 

Ayame watched the young man for a few seconds before she started slowly up the stairs behind him. A tear came to her eye again and she wiped it away quickly with the back of her hand.

 

When she'd gotten up this morning, she had no idea that within a few hours her heart would be so crushed, her world turned literally upside down, or that she'd be scaling the steps of the other woman's home with her younger brother guiding way.

 

She didn't know what she would do when she reached the top, or even if she should do anything. She didn't know what she'd say if she by chance ran into her, but what she did know is maybe if she paid her respects to Din and Ginta and apologized to the gods for any role her mate played in their deaths just maybe she'd be able to see things a little clearer.

 

“Wait here, I'll be right back,” Souta told her, unknowingly cutting into her private thoughts.

 

Ayame stopped abruptly, and nodded. After watching him make quick work of crossing the threshold to the home that he probably shared with his mother and her, she turned and stared around the yard.

 

Her eyes made quick work of taking in a large tree that had to be more than 700 years old, and then a tiny house that sat at the opposite end of the yard that looked like it was some kind of enclosure for a well or tool storage.

 

She stared at that for a moment longer before pondering grimly, “If it's a well, could I jump in head first and break my neck?” She laughed dryly at that as she heard the screen door to the house open and close and a woman's voice call out, “Hurry up Souta, we've waited long enough for you.”

 

Ayame stared passed the young man that was strolling casually towards her and towards the frosted glass portion of the door. That voice… It was her. She's here!

 

“This way,” Souta directed.

 

Ayame pulled her eyes away from the house as she watched the façade of a woman with long black hair pass by the other side of the closed door.

 

“Is that your sister?”

 

Souta turned and stared at her, a perplexed look on his face. “Why do you ask?”

 

Ayame started towards him slowly, her hands clasped before her. “No reason. I guess I'm just looking for any way possible to keep my mind off of the bad things that are happening around me.” That wasn't a total lie.

 

Souta looked at her for another long moment, before he retorted with a half smile, “I understand, and yeah, that's my big sis. She's in town visiting for a few weeks.”

 

They scaled the steps slowly headed towards the inner sanctuary, Ayame following a few steps behind him.

 

“Really? She sounds nice.”

 

“Most of the time she is,” he answered jokingly.

 

“I've always wanted more siblings.”

 

“You're the only child?” Souta questioned, not really caring but attempting to oblige the woman in her attempt to keep her private demons at bay.

 

“Yes,” she replied, and then corrected, “Well, I have a really good friend that I call my sister, but it's not the same.”

 

“Trust me, it's highly overrated,” Souta stated offhandedly as they turned down a cement walkway and started the last leg of the trip to the sanctuary. “I'm sure a lot of perks come with being an only child.”

 

She was quiet, the only sound coming from behind him, the soft clicks of her heels against the side-walk and Souta sighed lightly, his heart going out to the woman that clearly had more going on than she cared to admit.

 

“I don't mean to pry, but-” Souta realized that she'd never told him her name. “I'm sorry, but I don't know your name,” he said, stopping a few feet away from the door.

 

She looked up, away from the stained spot on the ground she'd been staring at for the past few seconds while she debated on whether she should just stomp up to the door of the house and demand Kagome come out and talk to her.

 

She wanted to, she did and once she'd gathered the courage she would've done it had he not interrupted her, but now, now…

 

She stared up at him, tears swimming in her eyes, threatening to fall. Her lips trembled, opening and closing like a fish out of water as her nails twisted around each other nervously. She stepped back away from him as the first tear sneaked over the rim of her lower eye-lid and ran the length of her face.

 

Souta stared at the woman that couldn't be any taller than his girlfriend, Nola, and couldn't weigh any more than maybe 100 lbs soaking wet. Her eyes were so sad, her aura so despondent that he felt as if he just wanted to take her somewhere and hide her from everything that would ever hurt her.

 

He'd been taught all his life that women were to be protected and cherished. They weren't supposed to feel pain if at all possible and this woman…this woman even though she wore a very prominent wedding ring, did not have a man in her life that protected her.

 

His heart went out to her with such urgency that he stepped forward and grabbed her hand before she turned and bolted. He hadn't even realized what he was doing until afterwards. Letting her hand go, he stated quickly as if reading her mind, “Ma'am, please, I'll pray with you if you need me to, but you…you need to come in. Running from your problems won't solve anything.”

 

She looked up at him, a half smile half grimace on her tear tracked face. Her eyes seemed to be searching his face for something. What, he didn't know.

 

“Ay…Aryanne,” she lied as she stepped towards him while wiping at her face. “My name is Aryanne.”

 

Turning to put the key in the lock, Souta acknowledge, “Pretty name.” Stepping back away from the door after flicking on the lights, he held it open for her, and finished, “If you would like, I can call your husband to come pick you up when you're done. You really don't seem to be in any condition to drive.”

 

Her shoulders stiffened briefly before she started towards the tables lined with candles and burnt incense. She stopped halfway down the aisle, her shoulders slumping forward lethargically as if the weight of the world was on them. Gripping the white, solid, floor to ceiling pillar nearest her, she whispered, “I…I don't think that would be a good idea. He's…he's still in love with her. He won't come for me.”

 

The truth in those words as they fell from her lips, the underlying meaning that until now she'd been trying so hard to deny took a hold of her heart and twisted it viciously. Everything that she thought to be the truth, every dream she had for herself and for Kouga, every image… The idea of children, of a future with him; it all evaporated before her tear filled eyes.

 

Souta watched with a heavy heart as the distraught woman collapsed to her knees, her face in her hands as she openly sobbed. He debated quickly on whether he should go retrieve his sister or his mother, but decided against it as he stepped back into the sanctuary and closed the door behind him.

 

Standing beside the closed door, he bowed his head and said a quiet pray of peace for this woman, Aryanne, who had lost a friend today and whose husband had so savagely betrayed her trust, her heart, and her very soul he imagined.

 

Until Next Time…(Your .02 cents are greatly appreciated.)

 

Next Chapter: Ulterior Motives

 

Acknowledgements:

~Niicko ~ Animegirl1 ~ Deipurple ~ Inulover ~ Zetsuii ~ Ravens_Ashs (In the beginning of the last chapter its Kouga's POV, but Ayame is on the phone with Dinshu's wife. Kouga is listening and is given his little internal comments every now and again.) ~ Angel-up-above-heaven ~ Tueske (Wow!! That had to be the longest review ever! Thanks!!) ~ Miss_Marilyn69 ~ Little Red ~ FoxyLove ~ Xyanblues ~ Silent Reader ~ Mynera ~