InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Survival of the Pack ❯ Leader of the Packs ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: I've decided that it is time to get the ball rerolling on this fict. I've put it up on several more sites to get me encouraged to finish this story. Rating for this fict is R, though I may or may not add a few lemons. I'll have to think about them. For the new sites: I hope you enjoy. As for the old site: The first 6 chapters will just be edited a bit more to clear up confusions and awful editing of previous installments.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Warnings: None

Chapter 1

"Kuso," muttered a very annoyed female hanyou. She wore an ankle-length black skirt, with a slit up to the hip on one side for easier running. Black spandex pants were situated underneath, overlapped slightly by soft tipped boots that reached midway up her leg. A utility belt hung freely over her hips, holding a variety of silver objects. She wore a long-sleeved, skin-tight black shirt with holes cut out of the shoulders. Her long black hair, tied loosely behind her with a black tie, laid limply on her shoulder. Deep brown eyes, surveyed the area, before removing a small silver crossbow from her waist. Her black dog ears flickered to the variety of sounds in the darkened forest.

It had been a long hunt, and thus far no food had been obtained to feed her small clan. Night was still strong, but the presence of other predators had scared away most of the prey. She moved quietly along the ground, watching for the signs of predators she knew were in the area. She could smell them, wolves. But these were not part of her makeshift band. These were foreigners, and there were a lot of them. She clicked a small silver arrow into her crossbow, scanning the area with worry.

It was not a good idea to pick a fight with another clan of wolves. Her small pack had learned that when they had met Kouga and his clan of brown wolves. It had been a pretty pathetic fight since her band only had two youkai fighters while Kouga's clan were all youkai. Well, all four of them, to be precise. A famine during the winter season had killed off his clan leaving only three true brown wolves. Their fourth member was actually a fox youkai, rescued during a particularly harsh winter storm.

Kouga was the leader's son from the previous clan, and thus he had taken over the role after the death of his father. Sadly, he was a very domineering sort and rarely listened to other opinions. His second in command was Sango. She was a born fighter and one of the only women in the clan taught to fight. She, therefore, trained extremely hard and to the black wolves, they had practically been doomed from the start. Then there was Kohaku, Sango's little brother. So what if he was only ten, he was still a vicious little thing. Lastly, there was Shippou the fox youkai. He was probably just as bad as the other three because his illusionary power was good. They were beaten to a pulp and didn't even know it.

As for her clan they had been ousted by their own clan in the fall. Her and her little brother were the main reason they were cast out. Kagome and Souta were both hanyou's. Their father, a youkai, had recently died from a disease very similar to the one that had killed their human mother. The clan considered the two to be cursed, and forced them to leave or be killed. As for the other two members, they had come of their own accord. Miroku was a pervert, and tried to get all the females to mate with him. He, therefore, thought that it was in his health interest to leave before an angry mate killed him. Rin, however, came for the adventure and her friendship. Funnily enough, the group had adopted Kagome, a mere hanyou, as their clan leader.

Kagome was grateful that they respected her opinion so highly. Thus, she took this job very seriously, and put her whole heart into protecting her small band. Throughout the fall and most of the winter she had kept her clan healthy and safe. There had been a few close calls, but they held together. Their trust never wavered in her, even when they had been defeated by brown wolves.

The conflict with Kouga's group had been in the last part of the winter. It had been a very cold day and little food had been attained by either group. The battle had not even lasted more than five minutes before Kagome yielded. That, in itself would have been their death sentence, except that Kouga's clan were hungry. Since Kagome was a skilled hunter, they had joined together in an uneasy alliance. From there the two clans came to rely heavily on her skills for hunting and leadership, even if Kouga considered himself the `leader' of them all.

Currently, they had all split out to find food. Souta, Kohaku, and Shippou were still cubs and weren't allowed to hunt without the adults, yet. They had been told to stick together near the den with one of the adults. Kouga volunteered to be the sitter, and stayed back to guard the den. Sango had gone off with Rin and Miroku. That left her, Kagome, on her own to hunt. She normally would have had a partner, since it is always better to travel in pairs, but Miroku and his lecherous ways had prompted her to leave Rin to protect Sango. She hoped that would work.

A snap of a twig brought her out of her reflections. Something was here. She glanced over to her left, which turned out to be a mistake for the attack came from her right. A body collided with her, throwing her into a tree trunk. A flash of claws was seen, but she ducked and rolled out of the way. The tree crashed down, having been sliced in half by the being.

She shot her arrow off at the being, but it knocked the arrow away with a swipe of the hand. Before she could lock in another, the being was on top of her again. Claws ripped at her shirt, trying to get a hold of her neck. She fought the claws with her own, before kneeing the culprit in the stomach. She rolled away from the stunned being. And fixed another arrow into her bow, aiming at the creature's heart.

The being paused, watching the wolf-girl. In the faint light of the moon, she could discern that this person had long silvery hair, far longer than her hair would ever get. The shirt was definitely white, as it seemed to glow like the hair. The most disconcerting feature, however, were the glowing gold eyes. "White wolf?"

The being shifted its weight. "What difference is that to you?" snapped an irritated, very male, voice.

Kagome glowered. "You are trespassing," she hissed.

The being shrugged. "Your point, wench?"

Kagome shot the arrow, missing him as he jumped out of the way. He tackled her again, taking the crossbow out of her hands. "You need to learn some manners, bitch. Is that really a good way to greet visitors?"

Kagome growled. "And attacking natives is any better, is it?"

They rolled around on the floor wrestling with each other. Occasionally an added hiss or growl would emerge as they rolled over a rock or root. He pinned her down and said, "I wouldn't have attacked if I hadn't been upwind of you. Who in their right mind wears black at night? That's how you get yourself killed, bitch. By the way, you stink."

Kagome growled. "You think I smell? Look who's talking. Ever heard of bathing before?" She rolled him over onto his back.

"Kuso, bitch, that hurt! You need your claws trimmed." He quickly rolled her onto her back. "Much better. Now give me your neck so I can kill you quickly."

"Asshole. I wouldn't give you that satisfaction." She pushed them and together they went rolling over the ground again.

A howl pierced the still night, pausing the two in their struggle for domination, Kagome ending up beneath the other. The wolf on top bent his head down within an inch of her face, to look at the girl. His silver hair fanned about her face and his gold eyes twinkled slightly. "Not anyone I know. You?"

"Kuso," muttered Kagome. Moving her head to the side a little to keep his face from getting so close.

"You should watch your mouth, bitch."

Kagome grabbed his arms, sinking in her claws into his skin in retaliation. "Don't call me bitch."

"I can call you whatever the hell I want. Shouldn't you be running off to your mate. He's calling, isn't he?"

Kagome hissed. "I don't have a mate, bastard!" And with that she stuck her foot into his gut and flipped him over her head, using her arms to propel him. She hopped up from the ground, spotting the silver crossbow. She raced over to it, glancing back over at the wolf rising from the ground. "Love to roll around with you some more, but the cubs and clan need me." And with that she raced off, leaving a cursing male chasing after her.

~~ ~~ ~~

"What do we have here? I thought the black wolves lived to the north of here?" a cold, emotionless voice said. Sesshoumaru, leader of the White Wolf clan, stood upon a large boulder looking down upon his unexpected guest. He wore a long white rain coat framing his white shirt and gray pants. Silver armor was plated near the breast bone and around the waist. Two swords were held on one side of his body. A large fluffy looking boa-like tail, laid over one shoulder. A blue crescent moon adorned his face, along with two red strips on either cheek. A youkai through and through.

The girl below looked at him in awe. She wore a knee length black skirt with slits on both sides. She wore three-quarter length pants and low ankle boots, adored with silver buckles. She carried two silver hip daggers around her narrow waist, one currently in her hand. She wore a loose fit black shirt with three-quarter sleeves, and finger less black gloves adorned her hands. Her short brown hair had a small ponytail to the right side. She, all in all, looked harmless except for dagger she held in her hand. "You thought wrong, sir," the girl replied.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow up at the girl. "Such respect for a girl who's about to die."

"We shall see," replied the girl, ready for an attack.

Before another word could be exchanged a howl resounded. Sesshoumaru glanced in the direction of it, drawing one of the two swords he had. A crash from bushes a second later, alerted him of another presence in the clearing. A girl in similar black attire paused in her running. She clicked her tongue twice, causing the girl in front of him to turn. A minute too late, he realized the girl had bowed to him and departed with her friend into the woods. He cursed stepping down from his pinnacle. He strode toward the direction they had departed, sniffing to pick up their scents.

Another person crashed into the clearing, wearing a short-sleeved white tank top shirt and black pants. His silver hair, held with a red tie, glinted in the new found light. He paused, noticing Sesshoumaru was in his way. His gold eyes glowed in an ethereal manner. He was not happy.

"Do not tell me you let your prey escape, hanyou?"

The figure smirked, taking a quick sniff. "No more than you did, dear brother. Shall we continue the chase?" He cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"No," Sesshoumaru replied, departing back toward their camp. "Gather the rest of the group, Inuyasha, and meet back at camp. We need to discuss how to deal with these youkai."

Inuyasha scowled. He wanted to catch that bitch that fought with him. Instead he had to head back for another `meeting.' He nodded his head slightly, releasing a howl to the sky to call his comrades home. Before running off to track the wayward members of the clan.

~~ ~~ ~~

"Kagome," said Rin, following after the speeding hanyou. "What's wrong?"

Kagome continued to leap across the ground. "Other than our uninvited guests? I have no idea, but when I find Kouga, I'm going to lop off his head!"

Rin sighed, but kept her comments to herself. Kagome and Kouga did not get along at all. The power struggle between the two was worse than a raging forest fire. Kouga still bugged Kagome about becoming his mate, but Kagome refused each time. Not that Rin blamed her. Kouga was well and good to people most of the time, but far too ignorant about the world around him. Kagome, however, knew what the real world was like. Which added more fuel into the battle between the two chieftains.

They ran through another gap in the forest, spotting two more of their comrades. Kagome clicked her tongue again, causing the other two to turn. They left the crowd of fallen white wolves and followed after their leader. A minute later they emerged from the heart of the forest into a waterfall valley. Their cave, situated behind the largest fall, was, thankfully, hidden from prying eyes. They ran together, hearing a distant howl not of their clan.

Exhausted, they entered into the den, along a narrow cliff edge. The `cubs' were rough housing with each other, not even noticing their presence. Kagome's eyes glowed in the darkness, before in a loud voice she said, "What the hell do you want, Kouga?! We still haven't gotten any food!"

"What?! You have been out there since sunset! The Moon is fully overhead! What the hell is wrong with you guys?! Don't you know how to catch food?!" Kouga emerged from the dark of the cave. He wore a short-sleeved brown shirt, with a v-cut to show off some of his chest. Matching khaki shorts and knee high furry boots adored his lower physic. Metal armor was attached in random places, and brown cuffings adorned his wrists. He had a short sword on his hip, made out of the typical silver used on all their weapons. His black hair was pulled up into a pony tail with a brown bandana. Several pink bows adorned the wolf youkai's tail, destroying the tough guy image.

The den became deadly silent, before the hunting party started laughing. Kouga glowered at them, catching his tail and taking out the bows. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Where did you get pink bows? None of us wear pink."

"None of your damn business! Now where is dinner?"

Kagome growled. "We haven't gotten anything yet! White wolves are in the area!"

Kouga paused in his next retort, digesting that new piece of information. "How many?"

Someone behind Kagome stepped forward. The figure wore baggy brown pants with an assortment of pockets, boots hidden beneath the pants. A flare of hips and a narrow waist, revealed this to be the female brown wolf, Sango. She had an assortment of traps, poisons, wires, ropes, and weapons in her multitude of pockets. She wore a tan tank top shirt and brown arm warmers. Her black hair was held up into a high ponytail, allowing her brown eyes to shine without getting lost in the dark of her hair. Her brown tail twitched as she said, "Estimated about fifteen or so. We think there are more."

"I think we are looking at more than two dozen," said another voice. Miroku stood forward. He was wearing a black cloak over a pair of pocketed black pants and matching shirt. Pockets were filled with a variety of herbs, that made him smell more like a plant than a wolf. Purple cloth and beads were placed on his right arm, where a curse had been placed upon it. Back in the Black Wolves den, he preferred to wear human priest clothes, but now, robes were just inconvenient. The black cloak, however, now served the purpose of blending into the night.

Rin stepped forward this time. "Their leader is powerful."

This time everyone turned their eyes toward the girl. "How would you know?"

Rin blushed slightly, though no one could tell with the lack of light from the nearby fire. "I encountered him. Kagome called me away."

Kagome looked at her clan member. "The person on the boulder? He's about as useful as Kouga is. Though, I would have to say that his clan members are a bit rough."

Rin glared slightly at Kagome, but didn't comment. She couldn't argue with her leader, and looked down. That's when she noticed blood dripping on the ground. "You are bleeding, Kagome." She moved over to her comrade.

The cubs moved over as well, making their presence known again. They weren't really cubs, but since they were a good eight years younger than some of the `adults' they were still considered cubs. That and they also had little training in the world of the hunt.

"What happened?" asked Shippou, wrinkling his nose slightly. He wore a pair of brown pants, that allowed his bushy fox tail to show as well as his fox feet. He wore a tan long-sleeved shirt with a black vest. A black tie was held in his hair to keep the orange strands out of his way. "I smell another wolf all over you."

"What?!" snapped Kouga. "Another wolf was on my woman?! I'll kill the bastard!"

Everyone ignored the outburst by Kouga. It was a constant thing for him to flip about another male being near Kagome. Not that it made any difference. Kagome did as she pleased, anyway.

Souta handed Rin some cloth to clean the wounds on Kagome. He stood nearby looking anxiously at his sister. His black ears twitched and flattened every time Kagome winced or squeaked out a curse. He wore a long black shirt and black gloves. A set of gauntlets were situated over his tight sleeves, that held his ninja stars. A small pouch adorned his left side where the extra stars were held. He wore semi-loose black pants and small sneaker-like boots. His brown hair was the only one short enough to not have anything adorning it.

The remaining member of the two clans, Kohaku moved over to his sister to help her clean the weapons she had used on the new wolves. His black hair was pulled back in a short ponytail much like his idol, Miroku, did his hair. Kohaku, thankfully, did not pick up Miroku's bad habits, but he did do similar studies that Miroku did. His weapon, a sickle with chain, was held on a strap on his back. He wore a thick brown shirt with short sleeves. A pair of brown pants, adorned with several buckled pouches, covered his boots and legs.

"So, we don't eat tonight?" asked Shippou.

Kagome, stretched her bandaged arm. "No, Shippou. I'll go and get some food."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. "I'll be fine. I'll be back in a little while." Without waiting for an answer from the group, she ran out into the waterfall, falling into the water pool below.

~~ ~~ ~~

"Other wolves? Here?" asked one of the cubs. Kanna and her twin Kagura sat next to each other, exchanging excited glances. Kanna wore a white dress with matching sandals. Her black eyes, for once, glinted her amusement on her usually serious, expressionless face. Kagura, wore the same white dress as her sister, but her black hair and red eyes set them apart. Kagura was smiling too, unlike her sister, and she always displayed her emotions up front.

"Any women?" asked another member. He had long curly black hair and beady black-brown eyes. Naraku, a hanyou of a baboon clan, sat next to the twins. How he became one of the White Wolves was an interesting story, but a long one. Needless to say, instead of being eaten, he was allowed to join into Sesshoumaru's rank. He usually wore an Atsuita, an ancient male clothing outfit, with a white bamboo pelt over it.

Kikyou glared at him from across the fire. She held her long black hair up in a white ribbon that matched her white skirt and shirt combo. Her skirt reached her knees, where white thigh-high boots were revealed. Her shirt had large sleeves that were translucent, and a very low collar. Needless to say, she left little to the imagination for the male populous. She was a very calm, practically emotionless, person on the whole.

"Yes, they have females," muttered Inuyasha, running a clawed hand through his hair. The movement showed a few of the scratches he had received along one of his arms. A murmur of laughs and chuckles resounded from the people in the group.

Sesshoumaru held up a clawed hand for order. "We need to discuss how we will deal with this clan. They apparently are somewhat skilled in defense." His eyes focused on seven of the group sustaining injuries from broken arms to bleeding gashes. "Only two of their number did that. As for the others, we are still unsure what they can do. We also do not have any idea how many of them there are."

"What can a bunch of females do anyway?" muttered Kikyou.

"They aren't all female," snapped Inuyasha. "And they aren't all black wolves either. There are brown wolves and even possible foxes in their midst."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "This Sesshoumaru, also came to the same conclusions. Therefore, scouts and guards will be posted tonight. Kikyou, Naraku, Houjo, and Ayumi are on guard duty. Ayame, Hakkaku, Jaken, and Inuyasha are on scout duty. See what you can find. Now." The people rose from their places, muttering obscenities under their breath as they set out on their duties. "And will someone please get rid of that blood scent from the grounds. It is going to make us all sick."

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Updated 1/12/05

Translation notes and Pronunciation:

Inuyasha- (e-new-yah-shah) Literally means female dog demon… but typically most just refer to his name as dog demon… though yasha is really only used for female demons.

Kuso- (coo-soh) Shit.

Hanyou- (hah-n-yoh) Half of a kind.

Kouga- (koh-gah) Depending on Kanji, this name can mean selfish beggar or elegant.

Youkai- (yoh-k-eye) Apparition, demon.

Sango- (sah-n-goh) Coral.

Kohaku- (koh-hah-coo) Amber.

Shippou- (sheep-poe) A tail.

Kagome- (kah-go-meh) Kagome is actually a poem that children in Japan will sing. Basically her name would mean Caged bird like in the poem.

Souta- (soh-tah) Depending on Kanjii his name can mean anything from highly respected priest to just plain ol' highly admired and respected.

Miroku- (me-row-coo) Not a good body or person.

Rin- (ree-n) A bell.

Sesshoumaru- (seh-show-MAH-roo) Cruel curse or circle. Now I'm going to rant because dubbed anime has messed up his name. It is not pronounced seh-SHOW-mah-roo… the `ma' in his name is where the emphasis is placed on the name not the shou… (just my little pet-peeve).

Ninja- (kneen-jah) Practitioner of ninjitsu (a form of martial arts- the art of invisibility).

Kanna- (kahn-nah) A plane; non-existant.

Kagura- (kah-goo-rah) A sacred dance of shinto religion.

Naraku- (nah-rah-coo) Hell.

Kikyou- (key-k-qyo) A chinese bellflower, violet blue.

Houjo- (hoe-joh) I used his last name instead of his first name for this fict as most people probably don't even know what his first name is. Anyway Houjo means: Help; Aid.

Ayumi- (ah-you-me) Walking a step.

Ayame- (ah-yah-meh) A sweet blue flag.

Hakkaku- (hahk-kah-coo) Disclosure; octagon.

Jaken- (jah-keh-n) Unkind, cruel.