InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Invitations to Trouble ❯ Runaway ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

Beneath the full moon, the waterfall turned into a mist shrouded tower of quicksilver light. The pounding roar of the vast torrent against the rocks below sounded like the battle cry of the heavens. Tucked against a wide, flat rock at the foot of the falls, a body was curled up loosely around a spear. Ginta was supposed to be on lookout, but his eyes were closed, his mind adrift in pleasant dreams.

A figure moved up behind him, grinning widely before throwing a stone in the water and screaming, “HELP! HELP! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!!”.

Leaping wildly to his feet, Ginta swayed groggily as he tried to find his balance. A finger poked his leg, sending him falling over into the frigid waters. Sputtering and coughing, the wolf youkai splashed to the bank and pulled himself up. High pitched laughter made him scowl at his pack mate. “Hakkaku…”

“What?” Large black eyes sparkled with mirth. “You’re the one who fell asleep on your watch Ginta.” Reaching out a hand to help his friend, he shielded his face as the other vigorously shook dry. “Just be glad it wasn’t Kouga or Lord Gorotsuki who found you.”

Ginta shivered involuntarily. With Kouga, all he had to worry about was a mild beating. Lord Gorotsuki would kill him where he stood. Feeling mildly sick, he gripped his spear tighter. “Yeah, lucky me.”

“Hey.” All traces of the former humor gone from his eyes, Hakkaku leaned over and gave his friend’s cheek a gentle nip. “Don’t worry man. I’d be right by your side.”

Relieved, Ginta laid his head across his friend’s lap with a sigh. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.” Hakkaku affectionately ruffled the tufts of black and gray hair. “What’s a friend for?”

(A/N: Look you hentai. I’ve had up to 14 dogs in my life, 7 at the same time. Trust me or ask a vet. This is acceptable pack behavior, even with same sex pack members. Quit being so blasted human!)

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Kuroi chopped the radish before her into wafer-thin slices and then dropped them into the pot. Beside her, Kagome minced a few carrots and peppers. The only sounds in the cozy kitchen were the bubbling of the cook pot, birdsong drifting in from outside and the tapping of knives against wood.

Neither woman uttered a word.

Seated at the table behind them, Shippo watched them both worriedly. It had been exactly a week since the fight between everybody and no one had made up yet.

Inuyasha was more surly than he could ever remember and Lord Sesshomaru has slipped quietly back behind his former mask of aloof and haughty indifference.

As for his adoptive mother and aunt... Biting clean through the sharp nail he'd been chewing on, Shippo shook his rust-red head. Mama Kagome and Auntie Kuroi had been wandering around in a state of dazed silence.

Turquoise blue eyes watched the jagged nail grow back. Quite frankly, the whole situation was starting to upset him.

"Mom, I don't feel so good." Getting up, the little kitsune walked over and tugged on the corner of her white and rose kimono. She didn't stop chopping, or look down. His expressive eyes narrowed in annoyance. Turning to his aunt, he tapped her bare leg since she only wore short robes.

"Auntie Kuroi. My head is about to explode and spew gunk all over the house unless you stop and look at me."

Like Kagome, she did neither.

'This is not fair.' Sending a prayer to the heavens for forgiveness, Shippo launched a tiny blue fireball at their backsides.

"AARRGH!!"

Whirling with knives at the ready, they looked around for the source of the surprise attack. All they saw was a small, tearful little cub. Confused, Kagome bent over as far as her stomach would allow and frowned.

"Shippo! Why did you do that?"

Kuroi rubbed her offended behind and flicked the knife she held in his general direction. It missed him, but shaved a few strands of hair as it passed by. Her voice lowered to a growl, "Talk fox, because cute won't save you this time."

"Quit scaring him Kuroi! You're worse than Inuyasha!"

"If he does that to Koinu, I understand why they fight now. He burned me!"

"If you wore more clothes it wouldn't have hurt."

"Damn it woman, I like what I wear!"

"Quit fighting!! Stop it!!"

Sniffling and struggling mightily not to cry, the little boy leapt onto the table. Tiny fists clenched at his side, he squeezed his eyes shut. "Stop fighting, I hate it when you fight!" Now the tears managed to seep out of his closed lids. "Everybody's mad at each other and I hate it!"

Kagome reached out a hand to comfort him, but he backed away. He was hurting and scared. He didn't want to lose his family.

"I want you to be happy again. We were all actually getting along with each other for a change." Raising his head, he looked at his mother sadly, "Can't you just forgive the guys and go back to how you were before? Whatever it is you're mad at them about, is it really that bad?"

Hopping away, he shot out the window and transformed into his balloon-like shape and floated off, still crying.

Kagome and Kuroi went to the window in a shot, but couldn't catch him since he was already airborne. Gray-blue eyes met icy clear ones. "We need to talk to the guys sis."

Pink lips trembling, Kagome agreed.

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"Shoulders back and wrists down." Fluid and emotionless, the voice managed to grate against frayed nerves despite it smoothness.

"Shut the fuck up." With a snarl, Inuyasha complied with the directions and shifted his posture a fraction more.

Ever since he'd been kicked out of the room he shared with Kagome, he and his brother had found an isolated field to spar in. Sesshomaru was almost in the same fix. Kuroi would let him in the room, but wouldn't let him near her.

Inuyasha felt a touch of pride. His little flower was in effect, torturing the youkai lord with her mere presence.

After a full week, the brothers had been spending hours on end here training and mock-battling in an effort to burn off excess energy they normally reserved for a more pleasant activity.

'I don't know about Sesshomaru, but I'm trying to wear myself out so I can't even smell that infuriating girl when we get back.' the dark thoughts about Kagome only darkened further when that smooth voice broke his reverie.

"Look han...little brother." Catching himself, Sesshomaru took a calming breath and tried again. "You said that you desire to be a master sword fighter Inuyasha. I happen to be a master sword fighter who has graciously agreed to teach you." Circling his incensed sibling, Sesshomaru leisurely flung aside a lock of silky hair and moved behind him.

"If you would just do as I say without the back talk, we could make some progress. Now quit hunching over the blasted thing and stand up like a man!"

A clawed hand grabbed Inuyasha's shoulder roughly from behind and pulled it back. With another deep growl, the hanyou restrained from putting a fist through the face right behind him, but just barely. With a wicked smirk, he said nastily, "Not so hard Sessy, I ain't your wife."

There was a moment of silence before a fisted hand slammed into him right between the shoulder blades.

"Shut the fuck up you miserable little bastard!" Enraged youki shot across the clearing, shredding and flinging up from the ground in a large circle around the young lord.

Landing roughly from the force of the blow, Inuyasha coughed up a bit of blood-flecked spittle. He snarled grimly as he rose to his feet. Tetsuaiga sang through the air as he stood and swung it before him.

Oh hell yeah, it was time to dance.

"I knew you'd show your true face eventually Sesshomaru. Even in love, nice just ain't your style." Breathing deeply with his eyes closed, Inuyasha reveled in the moment. Every sense was humming, alive with the thrill of impending battle as he faced his sibling and opened his eyes. "It's about time you and I...whu? Oh fuck NO!" Pointing a quivering finger, he shouted, "You're not supposed to be doing that!!" The horrified cry slipped from between gaping jaws.

Sesshomaru was currently pounding his head into the ground, alternately cursing and pummeling the soil. "No, no, no, no, NO!!"

When his forehead was sufficiently battered and he felt a sliver of his former control return, the youkai stopped and rolled over onto his back. Panting and spent, he threw a slim arm across his face and whispered miserably, "If you have ever felt even a passing affection for me little brother, kill me." He sighed deeply, the puff of breath pushing the sleeve aside slightly. "I don't think I can keep this up if she stays mad at me much longer."

Watching the prone form warily, Inuyasha felt a tic building in one eye. ’That man just keeps getting weirder and weirder.' He put his sword away and slid down into the shallow depression formed by the blast to sit next to his brother.

Glancing at the half-covered face, he snorted rudely, "You're too pathetic to kill right now. What the fuck happened to the whole 'I am the lord and master of all I survey' routine?"

"Effectively beaten since I met Kuroi, wounded beyond recall when Kagome shot me and buried in bliss unimagined the night I wed. Any more questions?" A yellow eye peeked out at him, "This is all your fault, you know?"

"What the? How the hell did you come up with that thought?" Gaping slightly, Inuyasha tried to figure out where the conversation was leading.

The eye closed. "If you had not started this mess in the first place, I would not be suffering."

Inuyasha blinked. Sesshomaru was crazy. That was the only theory he could come up with to explain away that line of pure idiocy his brother had just spouted.

'Fucker gets laid for probably the first time in centuries, and when it's cut off, he blames me. In-fucking-sane.'

Clearing his throat, Inuyasha asked mildly, "Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"I was never trying to beat you little brother. I was honestly just enjoying my time with Kuroi." A wistful smile peeked out from beneath the red-piped sleeve. "I don't know why you felt the need to try and compete with me. I am going to assume that it must be the human in you that drove you to such a pointless effort."

'If I kill him, I can claim it was the will of the gods, right?' Amazed at the amount of sheer self-deluding tripe his sibling could come up with on a moment’s notice, Inuyasha shook his head.

"I wasn't trying to compete with you dickhead!" Grousing through clenched teeth, Inuyasha wondered how they had wound up on the subject anyway. 'Every time we're alone, we start in on the strangest shit.'

"I was just happy that I finally married Kagome." another snort sounded. "Besides, it ain't like you could have kept up anyway."

The eye was back. "As I recall, that particular attitude got us here in the first place." Propping himself up on his elbows, the silver head tipped back, exposing the slim, pale throat. Could it be that their wives had merely been the recipients of their husbands' natural exuberance? Pursing his lips, Sesshomaru asked slowly, "Wait, do you mean that you weren't..."

"Fuck NO!! Clean out your ears moron!!"

A pale brow rose up slightly, before the body flopped back down in a boneless heap, groaning deeply. So they were being punished for nothing?

"Then this whole time..."

With an incoherent gurgle from the back of his throat, Inuyasha snapped, "I said NO! Do you EVER listen to anything I say to you, dickhead?!"

"Truthfully, no. Most times, since all you spout is complete gibberish, I just ignore it." Brutally honest, the barb was delivered levelly. At the ominous cracking noise, Sesshomaru said softly from beneath the cover of the sleeve he’d flung back over his face, "Put the boulder down Inuyasha. I was joking."

There was a distant thump, followed by muted cursing. In an effort to further pacify his irate sibling, Sesshomaru sought his council, "Why are humans so fickle anyway? She wants to forgive me. I can see it in her eyes, when she let's herself look towards me that is."

Knowing the request for exactly what it was, Inuyasha accepted the stalemate. "How the fuck would I know?" Sighing gustily, Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Spotting the wry smile that was visible from beneath the casually flung pale arm, caused a grin to replace his scowl. 'He should have married a cat. At least he could chase that up a tree for a laugh.'

His tone was more mellow as he continued, "Feh. Seriously, how the hell should I know? Just because I'm half human, doesn't mean I understand every little thing about them." Sliding a look at his sibling, he smirked. "You look like a girl. Do you understand everything about them?"

Sesshomaru didn't rise to the bait. "Don't hate me because I'm the beautiful one."

When Inuyasha heard a surprised chortle as he poked a finger at the white-clad side, the smirk broadened to an evil smile. Amber eyes gleamed as his brother shied away from yet another prod.

"You're ticklish." More of a statement than a question, his voice held a superior quality.

Sesshomaru shot to his feet, clearing his throat dismissively. "Do not be ridiculous. I am far too old to be effected by something that childish and undignified. You are mistaken... What exactly do you think you are doing? GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"

In a blur of red, his little brother tackled him from the side, deft fingers crawling to before unknown areas. Uncaring how he sounded, Sesshomaru shrieked as he fought back.

"Not there!! Not there!!" Smacking the hanyou across the ears, Sesshomaru tried to scramble away, but a strong hand held his ankle in a death-grip and dragged him mercilessly backwards.

The deep growl from Inuyasha actually managed to impress him. "You're not...getting...away with hitting...my ears."

Suddenly, the world flipped as Sesshomaru found himself pinned face-down against the ground with Inuyasha straddling his back. Digging his claws into the soil proved fruitless, his earlier blast had made the ground too soft for him to find any purchase.

'And that, you baka, is why you always kept your emotions under CONTROL!!' Mentally cursing the loss of temper that put him in the fix, he tried to kick off and seek safety in the sky.

It wasn't going to happen. Inuyasha expertly leaned forward, freeing his legs in order to clamp them around his brother's knees, preventing the older youkai from bunching his feet beneath them both and getting a foothold. Breathing heavily from the exertion of fighting the powerful body he held, Inuyasha squeezed his thighs together.

When Sesshomaru hissed in pain and reflexively reached back to claw him, he seized the striped wrist and yanked it around to lay in the hollow of the white back. His laughter was mocking as he got a hold of the other hand in almost the same way.

Now he that he had both of Sesshomaru’s hands locked together, he secured them neatly with one clawed hand, effectively freeing one of his own for further tickling.

"I told you, you're not getting away that easily!" Leaning forward to crow his victory in his brother's ear, Inuyasha froze as he realized what he'd just done.

'I've got him, sure.' A cold sweat broke out, chilling his flesh despite the warm afternoon. 'But all he has to do is use Dokusou and the twins will never know their old man.'

Starting to move away from the imagined threat, he was caught by surprise in a lightning fast reversal that slammed him into the ground hard enough to drive the air from his lungs. The characteristic smirk plastered on his brother's regal face, did not help his bruised ego.

"For your information Inuyasha, I would not have used my poison claws against you, but it was an astounding lack of tactical foresight on your part."

Currently perched atop his brother, Sesshomaru took his chance to crow the victory. "Sword AND fighting master. You do not stand a chance against me at your current level little brother, and you have so much yet to learn."

Leaning in close, he laid his moon-crested forehead against Inuyasha's sweat speckled brow. "Although I will admit, you are good.” His gaze grew intense.

“Very good."

Warm breath feathered softly across Inuyasha's cheeks, causing an uncontrollable heat to rise to his face and color it faintly.

The mind between the fuzzy ears screeched to a halt before churning furiously to make sense of the situation.

'I know he hasn't been laid in about a week, but this has got to be wrong in SO many ways!' As firm lips drew closer, he clamped his mouth shut and squeezed his lids together, fervently praying that this whole experience would disappear.

'If you're up there Kami, please accept this unworthy soul. Because if my brother kisses me right now, I'll have to kill him and then myself.'

A light bite grazed his cheek.

Inuyasha bolted upright, slapping a hand over the spot. He was dimly aware that the weight of the other body was gone. ‘What just happened?’

Sesshomaru sat a short distance away, watching him speculatively.

Dry-mouthed, Inuyasha swallowed repeatedly as he looked back. "Whu?" While disturbing, something about the act had felt...good?

Yellow eyes rolled in disgust, "Gods preserve us. You've been with humans for far too long Inuyasha." There was a flicker of pride in the other's eyes when the hanyou suppressed the nearly visible flinch as his brother drew near.

The lean fingers were cool as they touched the still damp spot on the handsome face. "It is a simple sign of affection in packs, Inuyasha." Amusement shone down on the still gaping figure. "In a way, it is like the bite that you gave Kuroi on her shoulder. You do remember doing that, don‘t you?"

The blush hit the roots.

"S-she told you about that?" Casting his eyes to the ground, Inuyasha mumbled the question into his lap. "Are you mad?"

A remarkably good snort sounded as Sesshomaru moved to sit close beside him. "No, I am not angry about it in the least. I actually saw it when I went into her aura field, shortly after Kagome healed her."

Still unsure, Inuyasha babbled a bit. "I can explain. Kuroi was sick and I bit her to make her better! She did get better after I bit her, I swear!" He broke off when he realized how that sounded and tried again. "She got bit before I did it. By a snake youkai, not anybody else! I only bit her when the snake got through with her!"

It was still sounding like the gibberish Sesshomaru had accused him of spouting earlier, so he took a deep breath and started slowly.

"We were traveling and ran across a snake youkai. We managed to kill it, but Cuckoo got bit in the fight. I managed to draw out some of the poison, but too much of it had gotten into her blood already." The golden eyes lost their luster at the resurrection of the painful memory. "I really thought she was going to die."

Knowing how he felt about the loss of anyone he held dear, Sesshomaru remained silent and let him speak. The sadness in the words made him frown slightly.

"The bleeding wouldn't stop because the poison was eating away at her flesh. I used some herbs and that stopped the poison on her skin, but her fever wouldn't break. She was so hot. I could see the sweat steaming up from beneath her skin."

Plucking clods of dirt and sourly tossing them away, his haunted eyes focused on nothing. "We were too far from her house to get help, and I couldn't move her around even if we weren't." The fingers stilled as his voice took on a dangerous note.

"And the humans... No one from the human villages nearby would believe me." Balling into fists, his hands pounded against the soil as his rage built. "The ones that didn't drive me off, just thought I was a fucking demon who wanted to lure them into the forest and devour them." His growl dropped further. "I should have killed them."

"Inuyasha..."

"Kuroi almost died!!" Heated by the memory of a prone, trembling body slipping away before his eyes, he almost howled in pain. "No one would help me save her! Just because I look like this, she almost died!" Looking down at the fingers tipped by razor-sharp claws, he grabbed his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I don't even remember how I got into her field. All I saw was this beautiful blue light around her body, but it was fading. I didn't want it to go away, because somehow, I knew it wouldn‘t come back if it did.

“That’s when something inside of me, inside my heart made me grab her and bite her on her shoulder. I never understood why it worked, but the light got stronger." Tipping his head back, he managed a wry laugh. "For some reason, I passed out after that. When I woke up, she was sitting beside me, smiling down at me like an angel. Just for one moment, I thought I was looking at her spirit saying goodbye. Then she tickled my ear, and I knew that she was okay.

“The fever, the poison, all of it was gone. She was fine."

His vision blurred a bit, making him curse roughly and rubbed at his eyes. Once again, Sesshomaru refrained from making any comments.

Gratified, Inuyasha continued when he had himself under better control. "But if I hadn't accidentally slipped into her aura, she would have died Sesshomaru. I didn’t know how to help her on my own.” His voice was soft, barely above a whisper. “Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so useless."

"I am so useless. How can she love me? Even Kikyo wanted me to be human for her, so how can she stand being around me? Touched by me? How can she love me?"

Knowing that they were no longer discussing his own mate, Sesshomaru looked at his brother sadly. 'Kuroi was right. He really does not trust the love he is shown.'

Guilt flickered behind his eyes. 'Part of that is largely my own fault, though. How could he learn to trust in something he believes was never his to receive?'

Before he said anything, Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around the hunched figure and pulled it slowly towards his body. Pouring as much calm and understanding as he could muster into his voice, he closed his eyes.

"You are far from useless Inuyasha. Kuroi is safe and I am indebted to you for her very life, little brother. Do you not have a mate who loves you, and soon, new pups to care for and watch over?

“While they are a bit unusual, you have friends who honor you and will fight to the death for you, just as you would for them. Our father is more proud of you than he could ever admit." Resting his pale chin on his brother's head, he admitted slowly, "As am I."

"Bullshit." Strangely calmed, Inuyasha closed his eyes and relaxed into the embrace. ‘Okay, so maybe he isn’t as weird as I thought.’ Those same cool fingers flittered up and rubbed an ear, bringing a low rumble from him. Somehow, he found that he didn't mind the touch now.

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to chuckle at the way Inuyasha purred, marveling at the sense of well-being he himself derived from the contact. 'I have not held him like this in over a century. Why did I deny him something so simple for the sake of making him stronger?' Recalling the wounded look that had marred the expressive face when his brother spoke of himself, his heart ached. 'Heaven forgive me. Did I give you physical strength only to cripple your soul Inuyasha?'

"No little brother, the truth. I have always admired you, even when I was trying to remove your spine with my bare hands." That garnered a mild chuckle.

"I have never known you to back down from a fight, no matter how badly you were beaten. You have always spoken your mind, rude and poorly phrased as it might be sometimes. The maids that worked in the mansion thought those ridiculous ears were adorable. Plus, you have a cute snore."

"That offer to kill you is still good, right?"

A mellow laugh filled the air. "Ah, I almost forgot. The infamous Inuyasha sense of humor." Releasing his hold, Sesshomaru stood and offered a hand to his brother.

"Let us return home. If we work together and explain ourselves convincingly, perhaps our wives will forgive us."

“Yours might. Mine will probably sit me into the center of the earth.”

“Did you say something? I heard gibberish again, so I couldn’t quite make it out.”

The ominous creaking came back.

“Kidding! KID-DING!”

“…there is always tickling…”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“…”

“I have the Dokusou and Kousen.”

“I have the Tetsuaiga and Sankontessou.”

“…”

“…”

“I think we understand each other, don’t we Inuyasha?”

“Not in this lifetime dickhead.”

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Downwind of the pair, blue eyes watched them from the darkness of the tree line.

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Kagome thought of herself as a calm and rational person. How many girls found themselves dragged through an ancient well into the past, fighting demons almost daily? Winding up married and pregnant by a deliciously handsome half-youkai couldn't be exactly common either, but doing it all without batting an eye?

Not many sprang to mind.

Which is why she was so furious with herself about how she was currently bawling her eyes out on the floor of the kitchen after the tearful departure of her son. But she couldn't seem to help it!

On her end, Kuroi wasn't feeling much better, but for different reasons. "C'mon sis, calm down." Awkwardly rubbing the wailing girl's back, she frantically racked her brains for a way to make the noise stop. Trying logic, she said encouragingly.

"He's a big boy and he has his magic to help him."

"I know!" Sniffling and wiping at her face, Kagome cast reddened eyes to the window through which Shippo had fled, before wailing again, "But he's just a baby!" Fresh tears coursed down her face as the outburst dwindled to a miserable mutter, "I'm a bad mother."

"No you're not Kagome. He's just a little upset right now."

Two surprisingly strong hand gripped Kuroi's shoulders. Kagome shouted out, "What if I lose my kids?! What if they run away because of me?!" Slumping back over, she continued crying into the floor. "They'll hate me like he does."

'Mom, I praise you forever as the goddess you are for having weathered through this twenty times. One shot of hormones and sis has lost it.'

Peeking out the door to ensure that the rest of the house was empty, Kuroi bent down and scooped her sister up easily.

Being over two-hundred years old, transforming once a month as well as being endowed with inhuman strength were all things that she didn’t really feel comfortable with flaunting. Sesshomaru had been very accepting of the first two, but the last was something Kuroi had tried not to bring to the forefront of their relationship.

'I hope to hell nobody sees me doing this. It's bad enough I go furry once a month, being called a man-girl would kill all my remaining feminine charms.'

The joke was partially successful in taking her mind off the situation at hand. Shippo was gone, Kagome was unbalanced as hell and the guys weren't back yet. Problems.

Heading out of the kitchen, she went to the bedroom and laid Kagome down. Too wrapped up in the fog of hormones to notice how she'd gotten there, the distraught girl grabbed the nearest pillow in a death-grip and cried into it.

Kuroi backed out the room slowly. 'Easy, easy. If she doesn't look up, you might have a chance to escape.' Having made it back into the main room, she went to the front door, fully intent on finding both her brother and her husband. With visions of pummeling them both into the ground dancing across her mind, she opened the door and rushed outside.

A solid object stopped her cold. "Ow, who the hell?!"

"Oi woman, look out!"

The familiar voice sent a chill down her spine. Whipping her head around, Kuroi’s eyes widened as she took in the tilted blue eyes and bound, thick black hair. A clawed hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her to her feet. Firm lips tugged down at the corners in a frown.

"Oi! Are you deaf, I'm talking to you!"

"M-me?" The squeak in her voice that rang like the call of a castrated squirrel was completely out of place, but she really didn't care. ’Act stupid and hope he doesn't recognize you!'

Apparently, he didn't. Cocking his head, the young man growled, "Where's Sesshomaru?"

Protective urges flooded her body, making her straighten and glare back. "What do you want with him Kouga?"

Brilliant cerulean eyes turned quizzical. "You know me?"

Kuroi gulped. 'Shit. Think stupid, think!'

"Yeah, Kagome told me about you."

'Good answer!!'

Those eyes scanned her appreciatively. "Funny. She never mentioned you." Letting go of her arm, he circled around her slowly, watching every twitch she made closely. "I think I would have remembered." Strong fingers lightly captured her chin as he inspected her face with growing admiration.

"Who are you anyway?"

"Kuroi. My name's Kuroi." She knew her name wouldn’t ring any bells. After all, she’d never given it to him.

'Hope to any god you know that your husband doesn't come home.' Trembling slightly, she tried to steady her voice. "I'm a friend of Inuyasha's and I'm here to visit him."

"Inu-koro has friends outside of that pack of weirdoes he hangs out with? Amazing." If he noticed the growl she made at the rude comment, he gave no indication. Puffs of breath fanned across her face as he moved closer. "You're cute. You want to be my woman?"

'Kami in heaven, he really doesn't recognize me if he can ask that question!' Pulling her face out of his grasp, she shook her head and scooted sideways a bit. "No, I have someone already. He's my mate."

A bronzed hand shot out, tugging on the bow securing her hair and causing it to spill down across her shoulders and chest in an inky waterfall. She froze as Kouga stroked a handful and purred, "Nice, very nice."

Powerful arms flexed as he braced them on either side of her head, cutting off her escape. "I don’t know who your mate is woman, but he can't be stronger than me."

If she wasn’t so scared, she would have laughed in his face at the boast.

'You have NO idea buddy.’ Gathering together as much of the dark mass as she could, Kuroi loosely braided her hair together, as much to get it out of the way as to keep him from touching it again. Her voice was polite, but firm.

"No thank you Kouga. I'm happy with who I have and wouldn't switch for the world!" Ducking the arm, she started to go past him. Knowing full well that he could hear her hammering heart, she tried to calm herself down. 'If he’s a youkai, he's like Koinu and Sessy. His senses are probably the same, so he can smell your fear girl!'

The youkai obviously wasn't well acquainted with rejection. Snaking an arm around her waist, he pressed in close and drawled lazily against her neck. "Dump the human and be my woman." His fur-wrapped hips bumped once against hers, the move was short and suggestive. It brought a choked whimper from her throat when he whispered in her ear.

"I promise that you won't regret it."

"You are going to be regretting a lot of things if you do not release that woman at once ookami, and I will see to it personally!"

Cold enough to freeze hell, the voice crackled with rage as Sesshomaru landed a few feet behind them. Inuyasha sprang away from him when the two touched down.

Taking her chance, Kuroi shot off when the lean body edged away from her.

The wolf youkai growled low, "Sesshomaru. Just the person I wanted to see." Leaping forward, Kouga stopped right before the young lord. "I need to speak with you."

Sesshomaru‘s features were arranged in the terrible beauty that only angelic fury could achieve. It made her heart sing to see him.

Silver hair rippled in the evening breeze as the sun-colored eyes burned. "Make it quick Kouga. I want to kill you, but I am going to try to honor your last request."

Kuroi raced over and grabbed Inuyasha's hand where he stood a short distance away. He started to pull it out of her grip, wanting to fight by his brother's side. As he watched the two full-blooded youkai facing off, his blood trilled to him to join in and defend his own.

Especially against Kouga. Against the foreign blood that did not belong here. His throat was humming with the nearly inaudible growl. He wanted to fight!

Biting her lower lip, Kuroi sent a flash of panic straight into his aura.

That got his full attention.

'What is it?' His eyes were slightly glassy as he scanned her field.

'Don't let them fight!' Normally wide and welcoming, her energy was drawn up tight against her skin. The bright blues were muted and sluggish. Something was seriously scaring her.

He took her other hand and tilted his head slightly. 'Why?' In an attempt to calm her, he let his own aura flow out to surround hers and softened his inquiry. The effort worked, but only some. Her field was still too tense. 'Sessy is going to kill him and start something he can't handle. Make them quit!'

Inuyasha snorted. 'My brother is not just going to let this go after Kouga practically molested you in front of his face. The fact that it happened on MY doorstep isn’t endearing me to that dickhead either.' An amber gaze flickered between her and the wolf prince. 'What's up with you anyway?'

Kuroi looked away quickly and cut off her side of their link. Swearing under his breath, Inuyasha tried to reconnect it. A blank wall met his energy.

'What is up with her today?' Trusting in his friend despite the oddity of her request, he didn't try to press the point. From the way Sesshomaru was looking, Kouga would be mulch in a minute.

"Sesshomaru!"

Loping over to his brother's side, Inuyasha grabbed the rock hard arm, drawing the focus of those burning orbs to rest upon him. If he hadn‘t seen worse, the look might have actually given Inuyasha pause. But he had seen Sesshomaru stare at him with far graver and terrible expressions.

Such as the day his brother had stared at him as if he was nothing.

After that, everything else was as light as a lover‘s gaze. With a scowl, he spoke quietly, "Kuroi needs to talk to you." A quick tilt of his head indicated the young woman standing a distance away, watching them nervously. Noting her obvious agitation, Sesshomaru frowned. "What does she need?"

"She won't say." Golden eyes slid over meaningfully towards the waiting ookami, "But I think it's important."

"One moment." With a last dark look, Sesshomaru drew himself up and strode away from Kouga. Coming abreast of his wife, his eyes narrowed in irritation. "What is it?"

She snatched up his hands and said tremulously, "Fly up now!"

"What?"

Tears spilled down her cheeks, replacing the displeasure with concern. It deepened as she pleaded again, "If you love me, fly!"

Pulling her into his arms, he flew.

Back on the ground, Kouga and Inuyasha watched the pair depart. After a moment, they turned their heads to stare at each other.

Momentarily at a loss, the wolf prince cleared his throat. "So, how long have you known Kuroi?"

"Longer than you need to know or worry about!” Thrusting a finger in the rugged face, he snarled, “And don't you ever go near her again, you sick, groping bastard!"

Kouga had the grace to look genuinely surprised at the outburst, "Calm down Inu-koro, I was just teasing the human. It‘s nothing to get so worked up over." He gave a cocky grin. "Besides, you know the only woman for me is Kagome."

An evil light danced in the hanyou's eyes, so he dropped his head to hide it behind snowy bangs. ‘His woman, huh? Today is turning out in my favor.’

Having not seen it, Kouga asked offhandedly, "What have you been up to lately anyway, dog-breath?"

"Nothing really Kouga." Smirking as he slid a knowing look at his suddenly meaningless rival, he replied, "Kagome and I got married a while back, and she's pregnant with my twins."

The front door buckled and flew off its hinges when he hit it.

}

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A/N: Hmm, for those that are interested, the Dokusou is the name of Sessy’s Poison Claw attack. If I misspelled it, I beg the forgiveness of die-hard Sessy fans and the Japanese community in whole. Kousen is the name I gave to Sessy’s light whip after looking through a Japanese dictionary. It can roughly mean ‘beam, light ray, or even steel wire’. All definitions that I felt fit the energy attack to a T.

For die-hard Koinu fans, sankontessou is the Japanese name for the more widely recognized, American; ‘Iron Reaver Soul Stealer.’ Personally, I think it sounds better in Japanese.