InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Knight Errant ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of the other inhabitants of the fine story of Rumiko's that we all know and love. Shibugarasu -crow youkai. Onee-san -sister.

 

 

 

 

“You there girl, hold it right there!”

 

 

 

Thinking back on it, she supposed that what happened was inevitable, not something she could have stopped or helped either way, yet it did infuriate her that it had happened at all. Conflicting thoughts plagued her as she thought about the direction her life had abruptly taken. She didn't think of it on terms of fair or unfair, only that in her wildest dreams she would never have imagined this for herself. She had had thoughts of school, high school and then college, though no real idea of just what she wanted to actually do once she was finished; it was expected of her to go and she did like learning. Now she was wondering if she would ever be able to get home, and if she did how long she could stay. Because now she had an obligation, a promise to fulfill, though it was most likely not fair that she had to promise, since the whole thing had been an accident.

 

 

 

If only Kouga had gotten there first, surely it wouldn't have happened the way it did. But something had drawn Kouga far enough away that he hadn't heard her shout for him, and while she wasn't angry about this because it wasn't like he had told her he would be within earshot, she still couldn't help but think that it would have had to have happened differently. She could still feel that moment of despair when she had called for Kouga and he didn't come racing to her, and the bandits had taken her. The other boy, that InuYasha had eventually come even though she had been well on the way to rescue herself thank you very much, but the Shibugarasu had gotten away with the Sacred Jewel and that was where things went wrong.

 

 

 

She supposed she could see that InuYasha felt he had a prior claim on it, whether to use it or protect it. The fact that it had shattered was a one in a million accident, and she had felt badly enough about it because it was her arrow and her idea to use the foot of the crow demon to aim her arrow. So in a moment of responsibility she had promised that she would help him get the shards from wherever they might have gone. Surely it wouldn't take that long to do it? It sounded simple of course, and like most simple sounding things the actual doing of it would prove to be far more complicated than she could ever have dreamed.

 

 

 

After the dust settled and the promise to InuYasha made, Kouga returned. He went straight to Kagome after hearing one of the village children excitedly going on about how she had saved his life. That took the thoughtful frown from Kouga's lips a moment as his chest swelled with pride because it was his woman they were talking about. His woman was brave and resourceful, but hadn't he known that from the first moment when she was able to wake him? When he had heard she was in danger and he wasn't there, guilt overwhelmed him and he'd taken her hands in his, ignoring the growl from the hanyou who was close by.

 

 

 

“Forgive me, Kagome.”

 

 

 

He could tell that she hadn't been angry with him, but he somehow needed her to hear those words. In his heart he felt he'd failed her, he was after all supposed to be able to protect his woman! Now though he was sure he could, especially after what had happened while he was away, and he was even more certain than before that he would love her as much as she deserved. It was ironic, that if he hadn't have gone he most likely would not have confronted the issue that would have eaten at him later, so while he could have saved her from the bandits, he might not have been able to save her from his own ignorance.

 

 

 

It might be harsh to think of it in that fashion, because Kouga really wasn't stupid. He just let his emotions get ahead of his brain sometimes, and he didn't fully think out the results of his course of action at times. It made him decisive in battle, made him believe he could always win and sometimes helped him to win just because he believed in himself that strongly. Just as he had chosen Kagome as his woman, because when she had looked up at him in such trust, had taken that arrow out of his chest, he knew that he had found his match, the one that would be the mate he needed, the one he had dreamed about just before he'd been Sealed by the long dead Kikyou. She would be the mother of his cubs, the future of his tribe, and … she was human. A miko, a priestess, but still a young human girl and the children of any youkai and human could be only one thing. Hanyou.

 

 

 

Yet he had not realized that until he'd gone in search of any sign of his tribe. It was why he'd been gone when she'd needed him, though what he had found on the way made the travel pass in a flash, didn't it. They were still alive, thriving somewhat even despite the incursions of other tribes and those horrible Birds of Paradise demons, and he found that they had not forgotten him. His old friends Ginta and Hakkaku had even come often to Kouga's Forest to see him, and they had tried many times to free him. In their innocence it had been them that had given Kouga his stark and startling revelation about his cubs to be and his chosen mate. He had been stunned. Absolutely stunned for a moment, speechless as he turned it over in his mind, those visions he'd been weaving of his Kagome holding his cubs, teaching them and comforting the wolves of his tribe tearing like flesh under his claws.

 

 

 

He had to confront truths then, truths he might not have thought about until it was too late, and then taken the consequences out on his mate. She was a human, even with her purity and powers. That meant that she would not live as long as her own cubs, as long as her mate. Their cubs would be hanyou, half demons and would have to be braver than most, stronger than most. Hanyou, like that dog demon back at the village that seemed so interested in Kagome; his thoughts trailed off a moment and he snarled. Kagome was his woman! Then he laughed, startling Ginta and Hakkaku as they had been staring at him when he'd lapsed into silence to think.

 

 

 

“I don't care if she's human, she's my woman and you will all respect her. I'll kill anyone that doesn't.”

 

 

 

A rational part of his mind knew it might not be so easy. Kagome after all hadn't really agreed to be his woman, he'd just announced it. He knew little of her, where she was from or who her family was, though he'd gathered that she wasn't from that village. If she was one of theirs they would never have shot arrows at her when she was with him at the Goshinbuko. Again he was drawn back to that first moment. It was the first waking thought he had had in fifty years, though he was vaguely aware that time had passed he didn't know how much, her little hand on the arrow that pinned him to the tree. Her scent had been drawn into his lungs, and the look in her eyes and the sweetness of her face, the determination to live, all of those things had branded her into his heart.

 

 

 

He knew then, and he knew it now. She was his woman, she was meant for him and he was so grateful that she had finally come to him. He would worry about introducing her to the pack soon, he would start with his two best wolves, and go from there. Ginta and Hakkaku should be there shortly, and he decided to sit down with her and explain his heart to her before they came. Of course that had been pushed aside when he had heard of her adventure while he was gone, and he had apologized with all his heart not just for not being there, but for his moment of doubt when he thought about having hanyou cubs. He told her not to forgive him, because of course he had wanted to explain fully just what he was apologizing for, when she had looked up at him with those big chocolate eyes.

 

 

 

“You … Kouga, you have Sacred Jewel shards!”

 

 

 

She could see them!

 

 

 

He had of course found three on his trip to the cave where his tribe lived, they had come arcing at him through the air and one had embedded itself in his right arm. When he realized how strong that arm suddenly was, he'd taken the other two and placed them in his legs. Kouga had after all, always loved to run. Now he ran with such speed that nothing could catch him, at least nothing he had as yet encountered. He gently put a clawed finger to Kagome's lips, and the delicate flush that came to her cheeks at that touch made his own grin a bit lopsided and sweet.

 

 

 

“Let's keep that our little secret, for now Kagome.”

 

 

 

Again in one of his brighter moments he would realize that someday in order to fulfill her promise to the hanyou to find all the shards of the Jewel he would have to give these three up, but for now he had a use for them. To better protect his tribe and his woman, he would bear these in his flesh and use their power. In this case there would be no deep moment of reflection, because to want to protect his pack was as natural as breathing and because he considered Kagome his that made her a part of his pack. It had yet to occur to him that there might be a downside to his possessing Jewel Shards, or considering finding more to give to his wolf brethren to make them stronger. What could be better than that, stronger guardians for the cubs meant a stronger pack as a whole, right? That some of the shards could be tainted escaped him, because the trio he had were pure. Those thoughts would come in the future though, when experience would teach Kouga lessons that words might never do.

 

 

 

She was talking to him again, she did like to do that and he did like the sound of her voice, even when she got annoyed. Annoyed. Whoops. He hadn't really been hearing her words, had he, he'd just been listening to the lull and cadence of her speech and he had the decency to look abashed when she caught him. When she accused him of not listening to her he hung his head a little and explained why he'd missed her words. He wasn't used to having a female around him, and had let himself be comforted by just hearing her talk, even though he admitted he hadn't really heard what she said, and he promised to try to better listen. Now whether he could follow through on that remained to be seen, but that little blush she got when he told her she had a nice voice made the scolding he'd gotten a moment ago worth it, didn't it?

 

 

 

They were in the forest again, the forest the villagers had named Forest of the Wolf after him and his tribesmen called Kouga's Forest and he wondered why a moment, but then being with his woman in a peaceful setting as this made up for that lack of knowing just why. She was telling him now about the herbs and things that Kaede was teaching her about, and he did make the effort to listen even though he didn't understand most of it. He did know a few things about herbs and medicines, but much of this was beyond that, it was obvious enough that she was interested though. So intent on listening to her words he was, that he'd taken a few steps beyond her when he realized that they had ceased. He turned his head to look at her and he heard her catch her breath.

 

 

 

The sun was beginning to set behind him, limning him with faint orange and red as if he stood before a raging inferno that framed him with its light and power. As he'd turned his head to look his long dark ponytail had flung out a bit and her eyes had followed the movement of that. His blue eyes, so serious as he looked at her, so full of whatever it was he felt when he looked at her, made her want to blush all the way down to her toes. No one had ever looked at her like that, as if she were everything. The way his lips curved into a slight smile that on someone else might have been a smirk, made her think of what it might be like to kiss him. Those thoughts made her blush and avert her gaze. Kagome had after all just turned fifteen the day she'd been yanked down the well, and she had yet to even have her first kiss.

 

 

 

She shyly looked back at him and then turned to the object she'd walked all this way to see. It was the well that had brought her here, and she had had the thought after speaking with Kaede that maybe it could take her home again. The way she felt it would work rested in the pocket of her skirt, the single shard she had managed to keep when the Jewel had shattered. It was of course just a theory, and she had wanted someone with her if she decided to test it. If she and Kaede were wrong she could end up hurt at the bottom of the well and unable to climb out, which was not a fate she wanted. Looking back at Kouga though proved to be a bit of a mistake.

 

 

 

She sat on the lip of the well, one leg swung over and then she looked back at him. Her heart thudded in her chest, as she took in the sudden curious expression on his face. What if she got back home and couldn't come back? Not only would that make her a promise breaker to InuYasha, but she would never perhaps see her wolf demon hero again. White teeth bit her lower lip and worried it a moment before she turned her gaze back to him. She had to try it. If she never tried it she would wonder forever if she would ever see her mother again, her little brother and her grandfather, and she missed them terribly.

 

 

 

As she debated on what to tell him he moved closer until he stood there with his hands on his hips, head cocked to the side and a half smile back on his lips, from the direction of the village she heard the silver haired boy's voice raised in a shout, yelling at her to wait. She bet he was going to try and keep her from going! She reached out for Kouga's hand then, her fingers squeezing his as she gave a slightly watery smile. Tears pricked at her eyes because she might really never see him again if this didn't work the way she hoped and he saw the sudden worry as his nostrils twitched, scenting her nascent tears. She didn't know what this bond she felt between herself and this wolf prince was. Surely it was far too soon to be love? Nor did she understand some of the things that she felt when she was near that other boy, that InuYasha. Fate couldn't be so cruel, as to keep her from finding out, could it?

 

 

 

“I need to see if this will work, Kouga.”

 

 

 

Her voice came out in a breathy rush, soft and entreating.

 

 

 

“Please understand. My family needs to know that I'm alive, I'm sure they are so worried about me. I'll try not to take too long coming back.”

 

 

 

She winced inwardly, thinking again about the possibility that this had been a one time occurrence, something that could never happen more than once in a lifetime. She had to do it now, or she'd never get the chance, she could see that red robe the boy wore at the edge of the clearing so she let go of Kouga's hand and slipped off the lip of the well, dropping down into darkness. She heard Kouga's startled swear just before a soft blue light came up and enveloped her, heard InuYasha cursing a blue streak at Kouga and then the dark silence of the well house once again.

 

 

 

Present Day:

She was kneeling on the soft dirt inside the well at her own home, she was back in her own time at her family's shrine. But instead of jumping up for joy she was quiet a moment, her hand pressed to her chest. Her heart ached, and she didn't know why. So she took a moment to examine that, wondering just who she was longing for in her fear that this was it, that it was done. Then she heard her brother's voice and she was calling out to him, and he ran to get their grandfather so she could get out of the well. As soon as she was out she was hugging them all and crying, the tears helping to ease that pinch in her chest at least for now. They had so many questions, but she made them all wait until she had taken a hot bath and had a home cooked meal before she answered them all with the story of what had happened.

 

 

 

She gave them the conclusions she had, that she had been back in the Feudal Era because of the Shikon Jewel, giving her grandfather a nod of respect because it had been his words and stories which had given her any clues of what had been going on. It made his old chest puff up with pride that she had listened, even if just a little. Souta had eaten up her stories of her adventures and declared that he would like to have met Kouga to thank him for saving his sister. It made her a bit sad again, because what if she couldn't go back? She made a promise, to find all the shards and make the Jewel whole once more, and she never made promises lightly. But it wasn't the prospect of the broken promise which made her sad, and her mother had sent her up to go to sleep rightly guessing she was tired but all that did was make her stare at the ceiling above her bed and think. It wasn't the promise that had her wanting to go back.

 

 

 

Her eyes drifting closed finally she surrendered herself to dreaming. They were disjointed and random, and she was aware she was dreaming, though many of the images made no sense to her nor would when she wakened and examined them with her more rational mind. She was walking in one, through a forest that was both familiar to her and yet strange, wearing the white and red robes of a priestess and carrying a long bow. She calmly fitted an arrow to her bow, aimed and fired with complete confidence, a voice speaking in low pleasant contralto which she realized was her own.

 

“I will not kill you today.”

 

That voice said, and then the scene shifted. Were these really dreams? She was walking in a meadow now, and then her voice was entreating someone to come join her. Her vision was filled with the hesitant shuffling forward of the boy she knew as InuYasha, a slightly mistrustful expression on his face.

 

“You watch me often enough, I thought perhaps we might speak.”

 

 

 

Images such as that continued for awhile, and then faded into true dreams. She was standing before the God Tree, and Kouga was there before her still pinned with that Seal, the sacred arrow that Kikyou had meant for InuYasha which had tragically hit the wrong mark. Unlike what had happened she had time to simply look at him before she chose to remove that arrow, time to look at him with her eyes in dream. She saw him through the screen of magical vision, seeing how his yokai was bound by the arrow that pierced his breast, seeing the purity of his power and the scope that it might one day attain. Was it really destiny that led her to release him, that let the reincarnation of the priestess that had Sealed him in the first place remove his bindings and free him? She wasn't sure of that, but her hand was sure when she reached up and removed the arrow, freeing him in dream as she had in real life.

 

 

 

He spoke to her then, though his voice was so soft as if it came from a very great distance. There was strength in it, and sadness, pride and loneliness as well. Kagome could not imagine the responsibility he had just by being what he was, and how his people must have missed him, because he was a prince, even InuYasha who obviously didn't like him had admitted that much. She had a moment of sadness herself, thinking, wondering, what his people might think of her being a human. She had gathered from some things Kaede and InuYasha said that humans and youkai were not often in the same company and she was sure there was more unsaid than said in both instances she had tried to talk to Kaede about the half demon. She could hear his words, see his lips move as he spoke them, but no matter how hard she tried she could not advance those few inches to touch him.

 

 

“Kagome, where did you go? I can't find you, not even your scent. Are you safe? I hope you're not hurt. If you are, I'm sorry I can't find you.”

 

 

 

When she woke there were wet trails on her cheeks, and she knew that no matter what, she had to try to return. She went to school, and while everyone gushed over her return and she had some puzzling attention from Hojo which she had a suspicion was due to something her friend Ari said to him, for the most part she realized that she might as well have been a wooden doll for as involved as she felt. She sighed most of the day, and when the final bell rang she made quick goodbyes to her friends and ran off to get home. She had decided to think positively about this, to not harbor the doubts that her mind tried to throw in her path. The shard had allowed her to come home, and now it would let her go back.

 

 

 

She got out a large yellow backpack to fill with things she might need back there, because she wasn't sure how long she might be gone this time. She sat down with her mother and had a long talk with her about why she was going back and her promise, though she didn't tell her mother about the tears she had shed that morning because of the words of Kouga she had heard in her dream but she felt that just maybe her mother knew about it anyway. Her mother had been so understanding about her need to return that Kagome had almost cried again, but hugged her instead. She had taken her advice on a few things to pack, and then it was time to go. She said goodbye to Souta and her grandfather, though she had passed on his offer of charms of protection with a soft laugh. She would never admit that she had run those last few steps to the well or that she had leapt into it rather than drop down carefully. Thoughts of injury or inability to return had fled from her young mind, she was simply bent on getting back. He missed her, after all. She just knew it.

 

 

 

Feudal Era:

He'd been so astonished that he'd actually sworn out loud at her. She had jumped into that old smelly well that the villagers called the Bone Eater's Well, and he'd fully expected to have to jump in after her. But then the most amazing thing had happened, she had disappeared into a flash of pale blue light, leaving him gaping until that hanyou had come up and cursed at him for letting her go. Kouga might have been content to let him continue to rant and rave while his mind tried to digest what had just happened to his woman, but InuYasha in his anger had actually struck Kouga.

 

 

 

For a moment, both had paused. Kouga blinked at him, then a slow grin spread on his face and he'd cracked his knuckles. It had been a very satisfying fight, Kouga had refrained from using his shards and InuYasha had been surprisingly strong for a hanyou. If only he'd known how happy that had truly made Kouga he would probably have thrown up in disgust, as he now viewed Kouga as a rival more than ever. He'd made Kouga happy because he was strong, and it made Kouga's argument to himself the truth. A hanyou did not have to be weaker than a demon, therefore his cubs with Kagome would in truth be as strong and brave as they needed to be to survive in the world just as they were.

 

 

 

It was not that InuYasha had beaten him, it was the fact he'd been able to match him at all that had made Kouga smile. He still didn't like InuYasha, but a creeping amount of respect for the silver haired Inu half-demon had begun to grow in him. It made the next day bearable while he sat under the God Tree and watched the well for any sign of his woman's return. She would come back. He had an unshakable faith that she would, even if it was just to keep her promise to InuYasha about the Sacred Jewel. His woman, he had not won her for certain yet, but he knew that about her, that she was truthful and her heart was good.

 

 

 

Ginta and Hakkaku had come while he waited, and while naturally concerned about how close InuYasha was to the clearing that their leader sat in so serenely, were content to sit and talk to him about how life had been while he was sealed away. Kouga spent some of his wait thinking of ways to destroy the Birds of Paradise which preyed on his people, it was productive and helped keep his mind off of longing for Kagome. He sighed almost soundlessly, he was missing her and had almost fooled himself into thinking he could smell her scent when Ginta had spoken up.

 

 

 

“Hey Kouga! What's that light over there?”

 

 

 

He'd leapt up and run for the well leaving both of them blinking in confusion and then yelling at him to wait for them! Let it be her, he thought. Let it be her, and he saw her little hand reach up over the lip of the well and heard her voice as his hands were there to help lift her out. She had a strange yellow bag with her now, which he wanted to examine but right then he was just torn. He wanted to pick her up and swing her around in a big circle, or shout at her for leaving him without telling him what was going on, or both. But he settled for taking her hands in his again, rough clawed thumbs lightly smoothing over the backs of hers.

 

 

 

“Kagome.”

 

 

 

All the longing he'd felt was in that one word, her name and she looked up at him with a smile. The moment was perfect, and she saw the expression on his face, how his eyes focused on her lips. Was he going to kiss her? She felt her lips part just a little, she was going to say something, that she was sorry he worried, that she'd dreamed about him talking to her, that she missed him. Of course neither happened, not the kiss or the words as Ginta and Hakkaku got there just about the same time that InuYasha did. They had been told that Kagome was Kouga's chosen woman and that they would be expected to treat her as pack; so they inhaled around her to take her scent and then bowed a little to her, calling her onee-san, sister. That made InuYasha growl, which made Kagome sigh and step a little closer to Kouga. His rough voice completely broke the spell of the moment.

 

 

 

“Oi, wench. It's about time you got back, we have Jewel Shards to find!”

 

 

 

 

AN:

BrucesGirl, Rena Moon, Kogasgirl142, LynGreenTea, Koday, Black-rose23, InuKochan, thank you so much for reviewing.  Hehe reviews are like cookies for me!  I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think. I will try to answer any questions that come up as this story progresses … I've also broken up my paragraphs a bit more, hopefully that makes it easier to follow!