InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pictures on the Wall ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 2 )

Sorry about the wait! Last night I made a trip down to Ball State and drank myself stupid and forgot to update! Please forgive me!

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PICTURES ON THE WALL

By Jacki (aka Kena, Oritsu)

Chapter 2 - Confrontation

"So is it true that you fought Naraku to avenge your pack, Kouga-sama?"

Kouga stared uncomfortably down at the young wolf youkai clinging to his arm. "Yeah, that's right," he replied quietly.

Kenji beamed. "And do you really have shards of the Shikon no Tama?"

"I did."

"Really?! Can I see them?"

Kouga frowned slightly. "I don't have them anymore."

The cub looked down, perturbed. "I guess I'll have to change that then," he mumbled.

"Nani?" Kouga stared at the boy in mild incomprehension and annoyance.

"Oh! Here, I'll show it to you, Kouga-sama. Come with me." Kenji pulled at his arm, leading him down a small tunnel that branched off from the back of the main cavern. Kouga followed reluctantly. The kid was annoying, but he would much rather face his rapid-fire, idiotic questions than those of the rest of the pack. Or Ayame.

Bright light fell onto his face and he shielded his eyes as he looked up into the grinning face of the full moon. He was standing beneath a large skylight cut into the ceiling of a small, circular room. Moonlight bathed the walls with a cold bluish glow.

Kouga blinked. What were those strange marks on the wall?

"Here, Kouga-sama!" Kenji waved him over and Kouga joined him, squinting for a better look at the marks. Ah ha, so that's what they were: drawings. The figures of trees, animals, and people were scattered in rough relief from floor to ceiling all around the cavern. Kouga gaped at the pictures.

"Did you draw these, kid?"

A wide grin split Kenji's face from ear to ear and he nodded proudly. "When the youkai at the top of the mountain started attacking us, my mother and I remained in the caves because it was too dangerous for me to go out." He pointed to a small tunnel, accessible only to a small person on hands and knees. A large rock sat to one side of the tunnel's entrance, the floor smooth and shiny from where it had been rolled back and forth. "We would hide in there whenever we sensed malicious youki. With Ayame-neesan and the others having left to get help, there wasn't much else for me to do except draw."

"Where's your mother now?"

Kenji's face fell. "She was killed when she went out to hunt."

Feeling guilty at having brought up the subject, Kouga nodded. "So what is all of this?" he asked, motioning to the clusters of drawings.

Kenji tapped at a tall, brown figure with long legs and broad triangular chest. "That right there is you, Kouga-sama. See, in this picture you're fighting Kagura, minion of Naraku."

Kouga followed the boy's figure up to a second, smaller figure, swirls of bluish white swirling around her body symbolizing the wind that she controlled. Kenji shuffled over a few paces and pointed at another scene etched onto the limestone wall. "And here you are finding the Shikon shards." The brown male figure stood with arms outstretched in a position of victory, three small white circles embedded in its forearm and shins.

Kouga glanced at the pup in wonder, following silently as he moved to show him another picture.

"Here you are fighting the evil hanyou Inuyasha." The Kouga figure was towering over a smaller figure, set on all fours. In between and below the two fighters was a third person, a woman given the two triangles of breasts on her chest. A bow and arrow were poised and ready in her arms. "That's the human miko, Kagome," Kenji explained.

"Where did you…who told you about all of this?" Kouga whispered, fingers lingering on Kagome's small form.

"Neesan."

"Ayame is your sister, right?"

Kenji nodded happily. "Kouga-sama, were you really going to take the human miko as your mate?"

One of Kouga's eyebrows twitched slightly in annoyance. "I'm a prince of the wolf tribe and I can mate with whomever I please," he snapped.

"So you would break the promise you made to Neesan?"

"What promise? I never made any promise with Ayame," Kouga growled. He sent a menacing glare at the brat in an attempt to scare him into dropping the topic.

Kenji sighed then brightened as his gaze latched onto a cluster of small clay pots sitting against one of the walls. Gathering them up in his arms he walked over to the other youkai.

"Can I ask you for a favor, Kouga-sama?"

"You better not be wanting to be my wife too, brat," Kouga grumbled.

Kenji laughed and shook his head. "No, I wanted to know if you would draw yourself defeating Naraku."

Kouga stiffened. Fists clenching into tight balls at his side, he bared his teeth and glared at the small child and his proffered bundle of pigments. Kenji blinked up at him in confusion.

"Gomen, Kouga-sama, you must be tried after the battle and your journey here. Maybe you could draw it later?"

A low growl rose in the back of Kouga's throat, growing into a snarl of rage. He swatted the pottery from the cub's hands. The small vessels hurtled through the air to shatter on the far wall. Red, blue, and brown pigments splattered in riotous confusion, ruining the pictures.

"You're too noisy!"

Kenji flinched, startled at the sudden movement. He glanced at the mess on the wall, then back at the furious youkai looming over him.

"Stupid brat, wasting my time with this idiotic crap! Drawing your stupid little pictures on the wall instead of going out to hunt like a real wolf! How dare you tell me what I should and shouldn't do, you little coward!" Kouga growled, turned on his heel, and stormed out of the room towards the main cavern. He didn't meet any of the dozens of eyes that were peeled on him, nor responded to the flurry of curious whispers rising in his wake.

"Kouga!" He leveled a murderous look in Ayame's direction as she rose to block his path.

"What just happened?" she demanded.

"Get out of my way," Kouga replied, voice dangerously quiet.

"Not until you tell me what all the shouting was about!"

Kouga shoved her roughly aside, breaking into a run as he exited the cave. Ayame yelled his name, but he had already disappeared into the night. She angrily turned away, gritting her teeth against the tears that threatened to spill onto her cheeks.

"Neesan."

Her anger was forgotten as she saw Kenji standing before her, face streaked with tears. Letting out a wail, he threw his arms around her waist and broke out into loud sobs. Ginta and Hakkaku looked from them to the dark land outside the cave, faces riddled with concern.

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Ayame growled and leapt into the air, clearing the fallen trees in her path. She landed deftly on her feet and resumed running, her own furious whirlwind swirling around her heels. She inhaled deeply, letting her nose guide her through the darkness.

Damn him. Damn Kouga. What right did he have to come to the home of her people and treat her own brother-royalty of the wolf clan same as him-with such contempt?! Kenji had been nearly inconsolable as he told her what Kouga had done and said. She had left him, still bawling, to confront the bastard.

Damn Ginta and Hakkaku too for defending him. They had had the nerve to sit and listen to her little brother bear his broken heart and then try to stop her from going after him.

"Ayame, please! Kouga's exhausted. He's not acting like himself," Ginta pleaded, arms gesturing in emphasis.

"Just let him cool down for awhile! Hunting him down and yelling at him is not going to solve anything!" Hakkaku continued, one restraining hand on her arm.

She gritted her teeth as she remembered their insistent words. They were as traitorous as their leader and just as cowardly. They were always covering for Kouga, supporting his shameful and unreasonable pursuits, referring to the human woman as if she was a member of their own pack. It was infuriating, and as member of royalty in the clan, she wasn't going to allow this sort of behavior to continue.

She could hear the sound of rushing water from just ahead of her. She slowed down, the twister of air dissipating. His scent was strong; he couldn't be more than a few meters away. Ayame pushed aside a few overhanging branches and paused as she caught sight of him. Kouga was standing on a small bluff looking out over the large river that swept in a furious torrent down the mountainside, his back towards her. He was staring down at something below him, deep in thought.

Ayame crept closer. All she had to do was leap and kick him right off the bluff into the water. He'd probably never hear her sneak up behind him, nor be able to pick up her scent as she was downwind of him. That would teach him, knock his insufferable pride down a few notches.

But yet there was something about the way he was standing there. Shoulders slumped, head drooping. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought it was someone else. He seemed almost….sad.

Her nails dug into her palms. She couldn't let herself feel sorry for him. After all, he had blatantly disregarded his promise to her, humiliating her in front of an audience of humans and a hanyou. To see him fuss over a weakling human woman had almost sent her over the edge. Even the fact that the young miko did not reciprocate Kouga's feelings was not much of a comfort to her. And then this business with her little brother…

"Kouga!"

The tall youkai jumped, startled from his thoughts, and whipped around to face her. Ayame wavered, holding back the flow of profanity and insults that were ready to spill from her lips. That look on his face. He almost looked as if he were in some sort of pain.

"What do you want, Ayame?" he said quietly.

"Why were you so mean to Kenji? What did he ever do to you?" she cried out angrily.

Kouga's eyes darted to the side. "Why are you bothering me with this garbage?"

Ayame's eyes widened in fury. "Bothering you? The only thing you've managed to do since you came here is cause trouble! Kenji is heartbroken and the rest of the tribe is unsure if you're even fit to lead them!"

"Let them think what they want. I don't care."

"Don't care?" Ayame stared incredulously at him. "It's your responsibility, Kouga. Grandfather doesn't have much time left, which leaves you and Kenji as the only possible leaders."

"Let the brat run the tribe for all I care. He can teach them how to draw his little pictures."

A menacing growl rumbled in her throat. "And where will you be, huh? Chasing after your human woman?"

"Maybe," he replied softly.

"How pitiful." She smirked. "I'm really not that surprised that you came back alone, Kouga. Kagome may have been only a human, but she obviously saw what a lowly coward you were and chose the hanyou over you!" He growled, and her grin widened. "I bet he was the one who defeated Naraku too. How pathetic," she sneered.

His face darkened and he lunged at her. Her head rocked back as his palm connected solidly with the side of her head. Stunned, she touched the reddening handprint on her face, staring numbly at him.

"You bastard!" she screamed. Darting forward she swung one of her legs around in a furious round-house kick. He blocked the blow and the next one that followed.

Ayame smirked as she forced him backwards with a barrage of punches and kicks. So the rumors were true, then. He had lost his Shikon shards, and as a result, he had been weakened. Gone was the phenomenal speed and strength. They were almost evenly matched as they grappled on the bluff.

Plucking a leaf from a nearby tree, she threw it at him. Instantly it became many leaves, sharp green blades darting towards their mark. Kouga threw his arms up in front of him in a defensive gesture. Ayame took the opportunity and tackled him around the waist, knocking him backwards. He used the momentum to his advantage, rolling the two of them head over heels so that he pinned her to the ground. Ayame screeched in fury and wriggled beneath him.

"Cut it out, baka! I don't want to fight you!" Kouga's fingers dug into the soft flesh of her arms, restraining her. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a loud crack. The earth beneath them gave a sickening lurch before giving away completely, throwing both of them into the raging current below.

The water was ice cold, nearly stopping both of their hearts as they instantly sank to the rocky bottom. Ayame began to thrash her way to the surface, her armor slowing her down. Kouga emerged beside her, gasping. He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and began to pull her towards the bank.

"Let go of me!" she screamed as she tore at his arm with sharp fingernails. White stars flew before his eyes as her elbow connected solidly with the side of his head. Disoriented, he spun around in the current, carrying her along with him, screaming obscenities and thrashing around in his grip.

The air was suddenly knocked from both of their chests as the river threw them into a large rock jutting up like a dark sentinel from the rapids. Momentarily stunned, they sank beneath the surface only to rise again in a sputtering tangle of limbs and wet fur. Ayame's ear-shattering shrieks of rage nearly drowned out the sound of the river and he turned on her angrily.

"Shut up, you idiot! Do you want to die here?" he barked, giving her waist a savage squeeze. She began to reply, only to be interrupted as they were thrown against a second, then third, then fourth rock in swift, bone-jarring succession.

"Let me go, you spineless bastard!" she finally managed to spit out. "I'll swim to shore on my-"

She was suddenly cut off as her cape caught on one of the submerged branches that littered the river bottom, jerking them both backwards and drawing a strangled cry from her throat. Water began to pour over her shoulders and she was dragged under, gasping for air. She frantically began to claw at the metal clasp of her cape that was digging painfully into her throat. Her chest burned as struggled in vain to free herself, her fingers becoming numb from the cold and lack of oxygen. Vaguely she heard Kouga shouting and felt his hands on her, but soon all sensation disappeared into a field of black.

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Only one chapter left, and you can expect it in another few days or so. I like to save the lemon for last, so you're going to have to wait until then for all the horny goodness. Until then, please R&R!

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