InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Wolf's Cave ❯ Fleeing Wolf ( Chapter 1 )

Into the Wolf's Cave

Fleeing Wolf

Inuyasha was gone. Dead. The reality sunk in deeply, pouring into the crevices of Kagome's mind. Her thoughts didn't revolve around finding the shikon shards, killing Naraku, or going home to study for her next test; all she could see, all she could feel and all she could hear was Inuyasha.

Shoving Kirara and Shippo off of her, Kagome ran towards the edge of the roof, using every last ounce of strength in her scrawny legs to vault off the gutter, landing with a loud, snapping thud on the ground between two bloody bodies. The shock ran up through her legs and knees, the ripple of pain barely dawning on her as she ran towards where Kouga stood, staring ahead blankly.

Kagome ran past him, pushing him out of her way with whatever strength she had left. He tried to grab her arm, but she screamed some incomprehensible thing at him as she sank to the ground, feeling the storm clouds beginning to form around her.

Inuyasha lay on the ground in the center of the courtyard, his once beautiful, orange-yellow eyes staring up with a blank, dead stare. Kagome sat over him, her arms quivering, hands clenched into tight, white-knuckle fists. She couldn't cry; she was beyond crying. Crying would never express her emotion, crying was too weak.

So instead, she screamed. Kagome screamed with all her might, collapsing on top of the bloody Inuyasha. She tucked her head in the crook of his neck, her arms clutching at the sides of his red gi as she screamed into his rapidly cooling skin.

The wind began to blow, growing steadily as she slowly quieted down, her voice becoming muffled and sickly. Sango helped Miroku to his feet, the monk and the youkai exterminator walking slowly with each other's help towards where the mourning Kagome lay. They were both equally stunned; they walked past the blank Kouga as if the wolf youkai didn't exist.

Then Kagome began to cry. She sat up, tears flowing silently down her face as she cradled Inuyasha's soft, unblemished face in her trembling hands. Reaching forward with one finger, Kagome lightly closed his eyelids and leaned forward, planting one small kiss on his forehead.

One kiss that she had always wanted from him, from his soft lips. Oh yes. Kagome knew she had loved Inuyasha, wanted to protect him just as he protected her. She wanted all the feelings he had for Kikyo, the woman from his past brought back in a pitiful body of clay and bones. Kagome had Kikyo's soul; they were two very different people, but Kagome could never understand why Inuyasha couldn't think of her as he thought of Kikyo. The dead bitch had tried to kill him!

Taking her mind off it, she looked down at the soft face of Inuyasha, which had suddenly relaxed. He looked almost peaceful, despite the brown blood still trickling lightly down his cheeks. Kagome brushed back one lock of his silvery white hair, her fingers tweaking his once alert and sensitive ears.

Inuyasha was dead. Their fates were intertwined, destined, their eternal lines living in an argumentative, hidden pattern. Kagome needed the hanyou, not only to protect her and help her retrieve the Shikon no Tama, but to fill the void in her heart that only he had gained access to.

Kagome wiped the tears from her eyes, standing up. She turned back to where Kouga stood; the wolf youkai was no longer looking off into space, but had his unfocused, blue eyes trained on her. His face was straight and unreadable, his fur bandana casting a shadow over his brow.

Kagome walked slowly towards him, unsure of what to do. She wanted to hit him, wanted to stab him, wanted to throw him to the ground and torture him to all ends of the Earth; all feelings she had never before felt in the entirety of her life. She bit her lip, a small trickle of blood forming and trailing down her chin. His eyes widened considerably as her hand whipped across his face, sending his head careening off to one side.

Kouga turned back slowly, his cheek squashed and burning a bright red. His eyes were now as wide as saucers, either shocked at her daringness or her strength. Kagome began to breathe harder, images of Inuyasha's bloody body haunting her without even having to turn around and look at him. She began to hyperventilate, and this time slapped him with her other hand.

Kouga caught her hand in mid-air, his emotionless sapphire eyes plastered on her. She had the urge to shrink back, but remained standing strong, staring right back at him.

"You monster," Kagome accused, her eyes glowing daggers. Kouga almost released her in surprise at her harsh words, but he retained a semi-decent grasp on her small wrist.

"Puppy killed them," Kouga responded, looking at the grotesque, bloody body of the inu youkai. Kagome let out a loud hiss, pulling her wrist roughly away from him.

"Get away from me," she demanded, stepping back into the waiting hands of Miroku and Sango. The monk put his hands on her shoulders in assurance, Sango following suit. Kouga looked at the two helplessly, his eyes flashing with hundreds of uncountable emotions. Miroku turned away, and Sango merely focused her eyes on the shivering Kagome.

"Kagome..." Kouga took a step towards her.

Kagome looked up, her eyes glittering with tears, her face lighting on fire. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed at him, pulling away from Miroku and turning, taking off through the courtyard. She vaulted over bodies, screaming as she stubbed her foot on one particularly large one. She let out a long string of curses, surprising all three of them.

Shippo jumped off the roof, running after the fleeing Kagome, who had now reached the outer gate of Naraku's castle. The kitsune followed her silently, staying a good distance behind her.

"Kagome!" he cried, desperately trying to stop her from doing something stupid, which she most likely would. His efforts only caused the enraged girl to speed up, vaulting expertly onto the road which led away from the courtyard and towards the mountains.

Kagome couldn't see or hear anything. She could barely make out the familiar voice of Shippo, but she didn't want to be around him. She wanted everyone to just go away, leave her alone with Inuyasha. Leave her alone with the memories she had of him, leave her alone with his spirit, which still lingered. Everything was just a blur, and all she could feel were her feet pounding monotonously, mercilessly against the rocky road.

Kagome eventually had to slow down, with the voices following her finally leaving altogether. She was finally alone. She stopped, panting, her hands on her knees as she felt blood rushing to her head. Kagome wobbled, ignoring the immense headache rushing through her head or the wave of nausea threatening to overtake her.

She toppled forward, waiting almost happily for the painful ground to intercept her head.

It never came. Kagome felt herself held in a brace, both soft and strong at the same time. She retreated back into her mind further, her arms curling up tightly to herself as she buried her face in the soft feeling. Her legs gave way, her whole body suddenly absorbed by the wonderful sensation around her. Was this death? Was this what Inuyasha experienced? Inuyasha...

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, pounding ineffectively with her fists against the powerful arms that now held her up. She didn't dare open her eyes; she could feel the soft fur of Kouga's wristbands caressing her shivering gooseflesh.

"Where are you taking her?!" Sango's distant voice demanded, Kagome's soft bed jerked slightly. Miroku added his objections, albeit a bit quieter.

Kouga's rough, husky voice caught the still distant Kagome off-guard. "With me!" he responded loudly, his response followed by a menacing growl. Kagome gulped, stopping the tears threatening to stain her cheeks once more. She tried to pull her mind away from all that was happening around her, to just disappear forever.

"Why..?" Shippo's innocent question was drowned out by the sudden sound of rushing air. Kagome shivered, her hands clutching the soft warmth enveloping her. The strong arms tightened around her, holding her closer to the cool, smooth material her face had come into contact with. Nothing registered in Kagome's mind; she was gone. She had no desire to return, distancing herself to a place where she could be with Inuyasha forever. Whether or not it was some figment of her imagination, Kagome no longer cared.

Nothing mattered, except.. except the soft warmth that now surrounded her, causing her mind to slowly turn off. Kagome faded into unconsciousness, the soft wind blowing her black hair into the air. The momentum changed every few seconds in uneven intervals, lulling her to a matted, dreamless sleep.

Kouga held the girl in his arms even closer, the disgustingly purplish mark on his arm growing from the shikon shard embedded in it. He leaped from rock to rock, steadily climbing the mountain towards his home. Only now did it register with him what happened; Kagome had been there, Kagome knew Inuyasha had done nothing wrong. Still inexplicable were Kouga's dead comrades and their blood spattered all over the framed inu hanyou, but that didn't matter at this moment. The wolf youkai had seen the woman he loved losing her mind over the death of some pathetic puppy. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Kagome was sick. Her sprint, her blood, her sudden snuggling into his embrace, gave Kouga an extremely uneasy feeling.

He shivered slightly, his shikon shard-powered legs sending him flying across another deep canyon in the mountain. Kagome's feelings for Inuyasha were a mystery to Kouga. After killing the hanyou his woman was obviously in love with, the wolf youkai knew he would never in a million years make it up to Kagome. Not even that; he had kidnapped her, forced her to work for him, then had out of the blue announced his feelings for her and even threatened Inuyasha's life numerous times.

It was best to get her to some place where she could rest.

Landing on the rocky plateau of his home, Kouga snarled as his wolves came, tails wagging, to greet him. They rapidly backed off, giving some signal to the other wolf youkai gathering around.

"Sister?!" called a familiar voice. A tall, mohawked youkai rushed up, examining the sleeping Kagome. He looked up at the absent-looking Kouga. "What happened?"

"Sleep," the prince responded, carrying her into his cave. When his men attempted to follow him inside, he forcefully tied down his wolf-skin curtain and cursed a few times, keeping the other wolves far away.

Kouga walked deeper into the cave to where he and Kagome had first officially met. Though, not under the best of circumstances, Kouga still remembered taking such delight in her first angry, then sympathetic attitude.

The wolf youkai set her gently on the straw bed, taking a worship fur off the wall where it hang. He tucked it over her shivering body, running his claws lightly through her black hair before climbing up onto the elevated bed as well, propping his back up against the wall. He closed his eyes, his legs protectively extending out past Kagome's curled up body.

It was his fault. All his fault.

***

Hn. The next one will be longer, hopefully. I have to gain some momentum here. :) This may be long, this may be short.. I have no idea. It's just coming bit by bit, you know how inspiration works. Thank you for all your wonderful supportive reviews. ^_^