InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inevitable ❯ Possessive ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this bit of ficcage… especially for the one with a possessive streak. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.

 

A Debt of Gratitude: I owe my tenuous grasp on profanity to mine beta, Fenikkusuken. It's a dubious honor, I know… but it's all hers.

 

This oneshot was first posted on February 1, 2008.

 

oOo

 

Possessive

 

 

“Oi!”

 

“Oof! Hey, what was that for, ya dumb mutt?”

 

“Get away from Kagome!”

 

“You gonna make me, dog-turd?”

 

“Come over here and say that, ya wimpy wolf!”

 

“I'd like nothing better, asshole!”

 

“Er… guys?” Kagome called, trying to gain some attention from either party before the usual verbal sparring between Kouga and Inuyasha devolved into an actual dogfight. Her mediatory effort was monumentally unsuccessful, and she winced as Inuyasha took a swift kick to the head, courtesy of the wolf youkai.

 

“You'll pay for that, you bastard!” snarled the hanyou, smearing at his cut lip with the back of his hand. In the next moment he launched himself at his opponent, claws extended.

 

Kouga leapt, narrowly missing the swipe. “Ha! Too slow, mutt-face!” he taunted.

 

Inuyasha anticipated the dodge, and with his rebound, intercepted the wolf, driving his fist into Kouga's jaw and sending the youkai's head back with a satisfying crack. “That fast enough for ya?” he gloated.

 

“Not again,” muttered Kagome wearily, hand on hip. “No... not again,” she repeated more firmly, and with grim determination, marched into the middle of the fracas.

 

“Damn!” yelped the wolf, and Kagome squeaked as a wild rush of wind told her just how close she'd come to a dangerous collision. “Kagome!” he called in concern from where he crouched, blue eyes wide with shock.

 

Inuyasha appeared in front of her and leaned in, studying her face for signs of pain or distress, but his words were far from gentle. “Are you stupid? You coulda been hurt!” he snapped.

 

Straightening at the perceived insult, Kagome narrowed her eyes, giving them each a glare in turn. “What is it with you guys, huh? Can't you at least try to get along?” she demanded, frustration edging her tone.

 

Kouga's alarm faded quickly, replaced by his customary cocksure attitude as he stood and swaggered forward. “Don't be angry with me, Kagome,” he pleaded, hands outstretched in a gesture of innocence. “I'm not the one who started this,” he pointed out.

 

The hanyou took a defensive posture in front of the young woman, a growl warning his rival off. “You're not welcome here, idiot.”

 

With an impatient huff, Kagome placed a restraining hand on Inuyasha's arm. “That's enough! I didn't risk life and limb just so you two could start all over again. If it weren't for the fact that you're both canine, I'd say you fight like cats and dogs.” Inuyasha and Kouga exchanged blank looks, and Kagome sighed in resignation. “You know… never mind. Kouga, maybe you should just… be on your way now. Thank you for these,” she added, lifting the small bouquet of wildflowers he'd thrust into her hands upon his arrival.

 

“Sure, Kagome. Whatever you say,” the wolf agreed, flashing a roguish fang in her direction as he backed away. “Later, dog-breath; take care of my woman until I get back,” he called as a parting jibe to the fuming hanyou, then turned tail and kicked up a swirl of dust.

 

Once the signature whirlwind receded from view, Kagome squared off with Inuyasha, arms folded over her chest. “Why do you always pick fights with Kouga-kun?” she demanded. “It's silly!”

 

“He's got no business sniffing around you like that,” Inuyasha replied defensively, a frown marring his handsome face.

 

“He was just stopping by to say hello,” Kagome assured him.

 

“Yeah, right,” retorted the hanyou sarcastically. “With flowers?” he challenged, waving towards the wolf's offering.

 

Kagome bridled at the insinuation. “It was a nice gesture. Kouga-kun was just being… thoughtful,” she insisted.

 

“He called you his woman,” he reminded, accusation making his amber eyes snap with an inner fire.

 

“That's nothing new, Inuyasha,” Kagome shrugged.

 

The hanyou refused to back down, taking a step closer so that he loomed over her. “He was making you nervous,” he grated out between clenched teeth.

 

The young woman blinked. He's right. Kouga's attentions had been harder than usual to brush off today, and she'd been unnerved by her would-be suitor's dominating presence as he'd invaded her personal space. Before she could put some distance between herself and the wolf youkai, Inuyasha had practically tackled him. “You were… worried about me?” Kagome asked tentatively.

 

Inuyasha scowled and turned, giving the young woman his profile. “I never said that,” he grumbled. “He shouldn't charge in and act like he owns you, that's all.”

 

“That would be an improvement,” Kagome conceded.

 

A golden eye slanted her way, dropped significantly towards the bouquet. “Uh-huh,” he drawled, unconvinced. “If you keep accepting his gifts, he's just gonna keep coming back.”

 

Startled, the young woman considered her scant handful of wildflowers. “Wait. Hold on a sec. Back up. They're just flowers, Inuyasha,” she asserted, waving the nosegay for emphasis.

 

The hanyou was unimpressed. “They're not just flowers,” he crisply corrected.

 

“They're not?” Kagome gasped, suddenly worried. “This isn't some weird feudal-youkai custom or anything, is it?” she asked, eyeing the innocently nodding blossoms with suspicion.

 

“They're from him,” Inuyasha replied snippily. “Ain't that enough?”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “So, it's not the flowers; it's just Kouga-kun,” she murmured, relieved that the problem wasn't anything more than a resurgence of Inuyasha's jealous, possessive streak. Not exactly flowers… but still kind of sweet.

 

Meanwhile, the hanyou was just getting started. “You take them. You keep them. You like them. You even thank him for bringing them,” he accused, as if such things were a high crime. Turning his back, he lifted his chin in a silent snub.

 

Struck by the humor of their situation, Kagome's features relaxed into a fond smile. “Listen, Inuyasha. You know I don't want all this attention from Kouga-kun.” The hanyou snorted and hunched his shoulders, grumbling under his breath. Something about his reaction gave her pause. He… he doesn't know, she realized, startled. Honestly, he really takes stubbornness to a whole new level of obstinacy. “You are so impossible sometimes,” she informed him quietly and reached around to latch onto his sidelock, giving it an insistent pull.

 

He turned back towards her, grimacing as he was drawn by the taut line of silver hair. Dark eyebrows lifted in surprise, but for once he didn't immediately complain over the rough treatment. Wary golden eyes searched Kagome's upturned face, which held no signs of anger. In fact, once she was sure she had his full attention, the young woman released the gleaming lock of hair, smoothing it with an apologetic pat. Her calm took the edge off his ire, and all he could manage in response was a half-hearted, “Am not.” Kagome smiled at this, and Inuyasha's ears drooped in confusion.

 

Taking a deep breath, Kagome decided to begin with a little object lesson. If the harmless handful of flowers represented some kind of crazy symbolic acceptance of Kouga's pursuit, then she could demonstrate a little symbolic rejection. With careful deliberation, she turned the bouquet upside down, then tossed the flowers aside, scattering them to the wind. “Is that better?” she inquired patiently. The hanyou's gaze was guarded, as if he suspected she was making fun of him, and Kagome searched her mind for a way to erase that hint of uncertainty from his expression. “Inuyasha, how often does Kouga show up?” she asked.

 

“Too often,” he grumbled truculently.

 

“It's weeks between his visits,” Kagome corrected, then continued. “He shows up without any warning, the two of you try to knock each other senseless, and then he dashes off again.”

 

“Good riddance,” commented the hanyou acidly.

 

The young woman ignored the aside. “And where am I?” she persisted.

 

Inuyasha's brows lowered in confusion. “Uh… what?”

 

Kagome held up a finger, demanding his attention as she laid it all out for him. “Kouga-kun breezes through every once in a while with flowers, makes a bunch of crazy promises he'll never be able to keep, claims to love me, and then turns around and leaves.” Anger flashed back into the hanyou's eyes at Kagome's summation, but she cut off any retort he might have made with the wave of a hand. “Don't you get it? He's here one moment and gone the next, but who's always with me?”

 

Inuyasha shuffled uncomfortably, but finally answered the question. “I am,” he said slowly.

 

“Kouga-kun will never be able to do all the things he says, but you've made me a promise that you've never broken,” she went on, admiration for her hanyou shining in her eyes.

 

The last vestiges of Inuyasha's disgruntlement faded away, and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I promised to protect you,” he declared confidently.

 

Nodding her agreement, Kagome reached out to tug at his hand. “I made you a promise too. Do you remember it?” she asked, a trace of shyness creeping into her tone.

 

Inuyasha looked down at the slender hand clinging to his with such insistence, and with a sense of great daring, threaded his fingers through hers. Meeting her hopeful gaze with growing boldness, he murmured, “Well, yeah. Of course.”

 

“Did I go with him?”

 

“No… you stayed with me,” Inuyasha replied, shifting nearer.

 

“Kouga's words are very flattering,” she admitted, gesturing towards the scattered blossoms that were already wilting in the sun. “They're as pretty as the flowers he brings, and they last just about as long,” she added dryly. The hanyou snorted at her analogy, but grew very still as she continued. “As nice as it is to be told those kinds of things, I'd rather put my life in the hands of someone I know I can depend on to keep his promises.”

 

“Kagome…” he whispered in a wondering voice.

 

The young woman's pulse quickened at the sudden intensity in the hanyou's gaze, and she tried to cover up her flustered reaction with something practical. “You should let me clean this up,” she offered, reaching with cool fingertips to brush the split lip he'd sustained earlier. As she traced the shadow of a bruise along the line of his jaw, Inuyasha blinked slowly and peered down at her with half-lidded eyes. “I'll go get my first aid kit,” Kagome decided aloud, dropping her hand self-consciously.

 

As she began to pull back, Inuyasha's grasp tightened, preventing her from fleeing. “Don't go; I don't need it,” he said huskily.

 

“Oh, it's no trouble,” Kagome assured him briskly, eyes downcast.

 

He held fast. “That's not what I need,” he told her, and Kagome hesitated, risking a peek at him from under her bangs. “I need…. you,” he confessed seriously.

 

“Inuyasha?” Kagome's heart raced nervously, but it wasn't at all like the discomfiture that Kouga always inspired. This was the flutter of anticipation.

 

“Stay,” he begged in a low voice, and then risking everything, he drew warm lips across hers in a fleeting touch. The hanyou drew back slowly and waited for Kagome to focus on him, carefully searching her eyes for her reaction to his presumption. To his immense relief, their depths shone with joy, and an answering fierce happiness surged through him at finding such acceptance. Casting aside every doubt, Inuyasha dipped down for more, pleased when Kagome lifted her face to meet him halfway. There was no hesitation in his caresses, but neither was there any haste as he pressed a series of chaste kisses against the curve of her lips.

 

Their fingers were still entwined, but the hanyou's free hand found its way into Kagome's hair, sifting through its softness for a few moments before settling into a comfortable hold behind her head. This allowed her to relax into his support as he scattered more kisses across her cheeks and returned to linger over the sweet smile that was just for him. Neither minded prolonging the moment; it held a new promise for them both—one on which they could rely.

 

oOo

 

End Note: This oneshot was written for the brand new Live Journal community firsttweak, which holds bi-weekly drabble and oneshot contests for the Inu/Kag pairing. The theme for Week 1 was Race Relations. 1,965 words.