InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Hopes ❯ Chapter 6

Author notes: There you go, another chapter Yay!, I have decided to enter one of the OCs. So have fun.

Thanks to faelaine, moodgoddess101, lil2 and kawaiijade for reviewing, you guys rock!

Chapter 6

Sango sat in one corner of the hut, with little Kirara in her lap, glancing, occasionally, at the hanyou, curled up in another corner, deep in thought. The old priestess was currently visiting the villagers with Kohaku, regarding some demon attack. They had been conducting their usual search for Inuyasha, near the well, where Shippo had last caught his scent. They tried, time and again, but to their great disappointment, they were not able to get any trace of the hanyou. But, they didn’t give up hope, he was their friend, for god’s sake. Today was no different; they began the search, early in the morning, Miroku and Shippo searching the ground, while she scanned the area from the air, on Kirara. But, like always, it bore no fruit, finally, as the afternoon rolled in, Miroku suggested they rest for a while and begin after lunch. Sango agreed, for she could see Shippo getting tired, the poor kit had been worried about Kagome and Inuyasha, and she found him sobbing at night, when he woke from a bad dream.

They had been having their lunch, when a certain rustling was heard nearby, before Inuyasha stumbled into the clearing. They scrambled to catch him, as he collapsed on the ground unceremoniously, from exhaustion. Before questioning him about his disappearance and Kagome’s whereabouts, the hanyou managed mumble, “ ’m tired”, before he curled up against Kirara, falling asleep instantly. They brought him back the hut, letting Kaede check on him. The priestess concluded, that the inu was simply worn out and recommended to let him sleep as long as he wants, answers could wait. Sango was sure that there was more to it, that Kaede was not telling them everything, but she chose to remain silent for the moment, waiting for Inuyasha to wake up. Kirara mewed on her lap and she smiled, petting the small cat, drawing little, happy purrs from her. “I hope he awakes soon,” she sighed. Miroku and Shippo went for a bath nearby, while she offered to stay with the hanyou. Frankly, it provided her with time to think, which was impossible, with a fidgety Shippo in the room, asking a thousand times, when Inuyasha was going to wake up.

“Is Inuyasha awake yet?” So much for peace and quiet, she turned to see Miroku entering the hut, with a hopeful Shippo, whose spirits dampened a bit at seeing Inuyasha still asleep. He pouted, sitting down in front of the taijiya, his hands itching to poke the hanyou awake. However, he restrained himself, instead, he settled to ask his regular set, of slightly irritating questions, to Sango.

“Sango-chan?”

“Hai.” Sango answered. ‘Here he goes again.’

“Do you think Kagome-chan is all right?” Shippo inquired, for the hundredth time.

“Hai Shippo, I am sure she is all right.” She assured. “Inuyasha might have sensed some danger and sent her home.”

“But, what danger?” He whined.

“I am sure we will get to know about that, when, Inuyasha wakes up, Ne?” She said calmly.

“I hate to wait,” he pouted, before his face lit up a bit. “Let’s wake him up.” He shouted, running towards to where the hanyou was sleeping, but before he could get there, Miroku pick him up. “Just for a few minutes.”

“Now, now, Shippo, we should let him rest,” Miroku advised as he sat beside Sango, with a sulking Shippo on his lap. “You don’t want to disobey Kaede-sama’s orders, do you?” He asked, with a smile.

“N-No.” Poor Shippo felt trapped, so he sat on the monk’s lap, glaring at the hanyou and wishing he had some magic spell to wake him up.

“Meanwhile, why don’t we do something to pass the time?” Miroku suggested, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, as his hand travelled behind Sango’s backside, giving it a firm squeeze.

“Huh?” Shippo looked up questioningly, before he jumped off Miroku’s lap, as a shriek rang through the neighbourhood, scattered a few birds on a nearby tree, followed by the sound of a painful slap.

“Pervert! Can’t you think of anything else except…except for that…” Sango yelled, her cheeks a dark tint of red, ready to throttle the monk, sporting a red handprint on his cheek, and sighing dejectedly. Although they had expressed their love for each other, sometime after Naraku’s death, and had shared a few kisses, and perhaps even more, but she absolutely detested this habit of the monk’s to touched her butt at unexpected situations. Moreover, she was still angry with him for flirting with the ladies in the feast, back in the village.

Shippo was looking from a defeated monk, to a fuming taijiya, trying to understand just what had caused this outburst.

“I swear Miroku, you try that one more time, and I am going to seriously injure you. Why don’t use these on the ladies back in the village?” She taunted. “Perhaps they will like it.” She settled down, a little further away from the monk’s reach, while Kirara, who had jumped off her lap, climbed back, falling asleep instantly, as Sango unconsciously petted him, as she sulked.

“Oh Sango,” Miroku reached out to her, but she shrugged him off. Miroku sighed. “I…I am sorry Sango. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything back there, what would I do if they came onto me?”

“You could have told them that…that you’re already engaged.” She huffed, not looking at her lover.

“Am I?” Miroku smiled, the mischievous glint returning to his eyes. Sango blushed hard, but her eyes held a little sadness, which the monk didn’t fail to notice. “All right Sango, I sincerely apologise for my actions,” he said, as he bowed down before her, before he moved to take her hands in his. “I promise, I’ll never hurt you again. I only have eyes for Sango, I swear. Please forgive me?” He added, with a very innocent, yet lascivious smile, and the best puppy eyes he could master.

“Hmph…as if.” Sango was trying to look angry, but was failing miserably, as she found her lips curling into a smile, matching Miroku’s own. She could never resist the puppy dog eyes and Miroku knew her weakness very well, using this weapon to win her over. Miroku knew that he was forgiven and leaned closer for a kiss, while Shippo covered his eyes, “eww”ing, at grossness of the situation.

“K…Kagome?” Miroku stopped in mid stride, quickly jumping back, as the room went completely silent and for a moment, all eyes on the hanyou, who was stirring awake slowly. Shippo was the first to recover, he vaulted towards Inuyasha, hopping on his shoulder, as he sat up, rubbing the ‘sand’ off his eyes. “Inuyasha what did you do to Kagome?” He asked, pulling on of Inuyasha’s puppy ears.

“Huh?” Inuyasha groggily looked around, as the events of the weeks before flooded his mind, a lump forming in his throat instantly.

“INUYASHA!” Shippo yelled, pulling harder on his ears.

“Shippo!” Miroku chided, trying to protect from the impending whack on his head, but was quite surprised, when Inuyasha sighed heavily, picking up Shippo from his shoulder, setting him gently on the wooden floor.

“Kagome’s back home,” He began.

“But why did you kidnap Kagome from the feast? When is she coming back?” Shippo queried, a bit surprised at the inu’s unbelievingly, calm behaviour.

“I didn’t kidnap her, I was trying to save her…” Inuyasha answered.

“From whom?” This time it was Sango. Miroku turned, to see the taijiya watching Inuyasha closely, as if trying to determine what caused the sudden change in the hanyou’s demeanour. He himself was surprised, Inuyasha seemed undeniably subdued, not quite his harsh, aggressive, grumpy self.

“From…from Kouga.” Inuyasha replied, the lump growing, as he mentioned the name, his backside burning, where the marks of possession lay. Yet, he refused to cry, he would not show them that he was weak, he would not tell them that he had lost everything and sacrificed it, for a few moments of pleasure, that he belonged to Kouga now, he was just a prideless freak, who was completely useless now. His instinct’s told him so. However, he suppressed these voices, putting on a brave front. He saw Miroku and Sango watching him intently and decided to speak up. “I-It was the mating season; Kouga was looking for a mate. If I hadn’t sent her back home, she would have been in serious trouble, for had she denied being his mate, Kouga would have forced himself on her. It was better for her to leave the place.”

“But where were you?” Miroku questioned. “We know that Kouga had followed you, and perhaps two had fought, but we could neither located you or Kouga.”

Inuyasha stiffened a bit; he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t possibly tell his friend about his submission, and Kouga’s victory over him. “Yeah, about that…Kouga was angry when he didn’t find Kagome and we had a terrible fight. I had underestimated Kouga; he injured me and I had to retreat to heal myself.” He stood up, adjusting his clothes, as he made his way out of the hut. He was scared, that he might give himself away, if he stayed there too long.

“Where are you going?” Shippo pulled on a leg of his hakama “I want you to get Kagome, NOW.”

“I’m going for a bath.” He replied mildly. “Don’t worry Shippo, I will go to her tomorrow morning.” With that, he left the hut, leaving a bunch of baffled people behind.

Shippo tried to follow him, but Miroku picked him up, settling the struggling, kitsune pup, on his lap and told him to quiet down for a moment. “Sango,” He began, breaking the taijiya’s train of thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t you think Inuyasha is acting strange, I mean he didn’t hit Shippo once, nor did he spit or grump like he usually does. It’s strange.” Shippo listened to him, wide eyed, as he too realised, that Inuyasha had not once hit him and, for Inuyasha, it was too weird.

“Yeah, I agree. It’s as if Inuyasha lost his spark. There’s something very wrong here. But what?” Sango looked up, but none of them had the answer to that.

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Inuyasha settled in the hot spring, sighing, as the warm water soothed his tense muscles, yet his mind was far from relaxed. He couldn’t seem to comprehend anything, except for Kouga, the memories of the past week haunting him, mocking him. It was if as if body, his mind, was calling out for the wolf, crying for his attention. But, he knew it would never happen.

“What am I gonna do now?” He wondered, closing his eyes, pushing back tears. “What am I gonna tell Kagome? I told her I love her, but I won’t be able to able to return it, not anymore. I belong to him now.” He gulped, suppressing the urge to cry. He wanted to die, to end all the humiliation, yet he couldn’t bring himself to perform the act.

‘I am stronger that,’ he convinced himself. ‘I have survived all sorts of things, I will be able to survive this.’

He felt a strange strength run through body, the will to live, not to give up, becoming stronger, every second. It was as if his heart was telling he was alone no more… That he had to survive this, he must.

He sighed once again, relaxing his head on a nearby boulder, letting his body soak up the warmth from the water, as his heart yearned for the warmth, the passion, he had found in the arms of his wolf….

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~*~ Meanwhile, at the Wolves’ Caves~*~

Kouga skidded to halt, near the mouth of the caves. He had been fuming, his mind planning on ways to make Ginta pay for calling him, when he had such ‘important’ affairs to attend to. However, once he neared the caves, anger vanished into air, a bout of happiness replacing it. He sniffed vigorously, the familiar scent hitting him, making his tail engage in a crazy, happy dance, behind his back. He lips curled into a joyous grin ,as Ginta approached him, accompanied by a another female wolf demon, a lean figure, with mahogany tresses, tied in a top knot, with a few wild flower adorning it and aquamarine orbs, that mirrored the joy in his own.

Ginta sniffed the air, the scent of fornication evident. His brows furrowed, for the scent accompanying it, was nothing like the human girl Kouga claimed to love, instead, it seemed to someone else’s. Someone he knew, but couldn’t quite place. But, he knew, now was not the time to inquire about it, so he retreated, after bowing to them. He would talk to Kouga later.

“Hello little brother.” Kaiya greeted, smiling, moving towards him, to give him a hug.

“Kaiya!” Kouga ran, picking her up; spinning her round and round, happily “It’s so good to see you.” He laughed, before setting her down.

“Well…” she tried to continue, but stumbled, feeling a little dizzy, from being spun with such speed. Kouga held her, before she fell. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“I…its okay otouto.” She smiled kindly. before her demeanour changed slightly. “Kouga? What’s that smell?”
Kouga stiffened. He had completely forgotten about ‘cleaning’ before reaching the cave and a light sniff told him he still reeked of his earlier tumbling with the inu. But when he looked up, Kaiya was smiling at him. “So, you decided to settle down after all?” she teased, with a mischievous smile. “Whose the lucky women?”

“N…no…I… it’s not like t...that,” he stammered, which caused Kaiya smile to turn into a devilish one.

“Oh… so your mated yet. That means…” she left the sentence hanging, grinning widely, when she saw her brother resembling a ripe tomato, as he struggled with his words. It was normal to a demon, to indulge in such activities during mating season, as long as the other partner was willing and was the demon’s betrothed, soon to be mated. Although the older wolves didn’t approve of this, the young ones preferred this arrangement, so that they can enjoy making love, even if they were not ready to settle down and have pups. Kaiya was happy that her little brother had found someone, who he was ready to spend his life with, and hugged him, congratulating him. “I am so happy for you brother.” She said, as they sat on a nearby boulder.

The pang of guilt intensified, ten folds, and pain returning. He couldn’t shake off the feeling of foreboding and that his actions, will bear nothing but pain to him. His demon screamed to seek out Inuyasha, to claim him as his mate, to love him, to hold him, before it was too late.

“Kouga…Kouga?”

He jerked, as he saw Kaiya looking at him, with concern. “What’s the matter otouto? Is something wrong?”

Kouga shook his head. “H-huh? No, it’s nothing.” He smiled reassuringly. “So, why the sudden visit, oneechan?” he inquired, changing the subject quickly.

“Oh, now I can’t visit my baby brother?” she teased, laughing at Kouga’s reaction. “Actually, I was getting bored up there, so I decided to come and see what you’re up to. Ma was getting worried about you.”

“Oh.”

“Yep, apparently someone informed her that you were chasing a human for a future mate and got father all worked up over it, ready to come after you with a cannon to blow your head off,” they both laughed a bit, imaging their father huffing and puffing around the house, while their mother watching him calmly, amused by his antics. Mashiro always had the habit, to get the whole palace worked up over trivial matters, and this was far from trivial. “Ma calmed him down and asked me to come down, as her “personal soy”, to investigate the matter.”

Kouga’s face fell, this was not good news.

“Personally, I don’t care who you live with, as long as you love the person, but you know father.” She sighed. “Anyway, by the ‘scent’ of it, I think I’ve noting to worry about, however, I would like to meet your future mate. I bet she is a cutie.” She remarked standing up.

“A..ah…ah.” Kouga began stuttering again, completely at a loss of words.

Kaiya laughed. “Oh, poor baby, okay, bring her when you’re ready. For now, go take a bath, you reek of sex,” she added, with a smirk.

Kouga sighed with relief, as he quickly retreated from his sister. This was going to be harder than he had planned. However, as he settled in the hot springs, he found his thoughts filled with the silver haired hanyou, instead of the miko……

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