InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tangled In Love ❯ Betrayal ( Chapter 5 )

~Chapter Five~

Betrayal

 

 

 

“Have you seen the latest development?” Samara entered the room where she held Inuyasha captive, “Kagome's been kidnapped…”

 

She smiled when Inuyasha's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing, daring her to tell him a lie. Samara sauntered forward and laid her scrying bowl just within his reach.

 

“Come, look. Come see. I hope she's not counting on you to save her… ah. I see, Koga is here.”

 

As Inuyasha eyed her, creeping forward to peer into the reflective water, she couldn't help her delight, watching his reactions, his face contorting, having a complete physical reaction to what he was seeing.

In the reflection, Kagome sat up from where she'd rolled away from the meelee in desperation. Then she bolted into the woods, knowing she'd be more of a hinderance than anything. She waited until she heard Koga, and then raced back to him, relief pouring through her. When he was close enough, she hugged him tightly, shaking a little. 

She was terrified about what almost happened to her...she was very happy that she was saved...but she was crying because she'd wanted so much to have Inuyasha save her. Her whole body had focused on that, and then...well, things didn't go as planned. 

Finally she pulled away and smiled at Koga. “Thanks Koga...that was really scary…” She reached out to take the shikon no tama, holding it to her chest. “I can't believe what an idiot I am, letting myself be captured like that…” she sighed and shook her head, looking down. Then, she gasped, seeing a trail of dark liquid soak into his pelt-boot.

 

“You got shot…” she sucked her bottom lip in, worrying it, “I'll get you fixed up when we get back to the village,” she was so stupid. She got him hurt because of her carelessness. If Koga were as tempermental as Inuyasha, she would be getting a disgruntled earful right now.

 

***********

 

He limped towards the woods, favoring his right leg as his blood dripped down his calf and was soaked up by his furred boot. He could smell Kagome, knew she had fled to the woods, which was a wise choice on her part, but he didn't see her until she launched herself into his arms, crying and shaking.

He had only seen her cry like this once, when she thought Inuyasha had died. It had partially been his fault, of course, because he had been quick to say that the hanyou probably had been blown to bits and Kagome lost it. But, as it turned out, Inuyasha had been one lucky sonabitch that day. 

But Koga was still very much unused to seeing her lose her cool like this. 

"Uh, it's okay," he reassured her, patting her awkwardly on the back and smoothing her hair down. He let her take the shikon notama from him before he gently scooped her up and started heading back towards the village. He was very conscious of his crushed hand and used his forearm to support her behind the knees. Damn those samurai. He viciously hoped the leader died from his wounds.

"It was my fault, really. I should've been watching out for you better," he gave her a cocky grin, "You're like a homing beacon for greedy humans and youkai with a nearly whole jewel."

'Inuyasha would have protected her just fine...' his youkai muttered.

Koga stumbled a little at the bluntness of that comment before setting his teeth and walking more briskly despite his injuries, 'I thought you were my youkai...'

'Hi, why, yes I am. Hello, nice to meet you. Welcome to reality, Koga. It hurts. Are you ever gonna get it through your skull that we are just not meant to have Kagome?'

He felt that his youkai deserved no comment for that statement.

'Fine, ignore me all you want. You know it's true, though.'

It wasn't long before they entered the village. Though they hadn't been gone long, it seemed as though Sango, Miroku and Kohaku had done some miracle work in setting up a make-shift infirmary and getting the villagers settled down for the night. He didn't know what to make of the gesture. While it was nice of them to do that, he, as a wolf youkai, had a very natural dislike and distrust for many and mostly all humans which had only been increased by certain traumatic events in his life. If he had been responsible for relief efforts, he would have left them to fend for themselves. 

"You wanna stay here and help and villagers tonight?" he asked her, placing her carefully on the ground, "Maybe get a good night's rest here?"

****************

Inuyasha was trembling with fury as he watched the spectacle play out before him. It was like watching one of the moving pictures that Kagome had played for him once on the "TV" but this... this was more real.

And far more torturous.

He would rather be beaten again for the second time today and have salt rubbed all over him than watch this and know that it's real. He would rather be pinned to Goshinboku for another fifty years than watch Kagome being attacked while he was helpless to save her, to rush to her rescue. And he would rather stab out his own eyes than witness Koga inadequately save her and have Kagome fall into his arms, hysterical.

'How dare she...' he growled in his head, refusing to show any voluntary emotion, 'She's falling all over him! How dare he touch her!' he didn't know who he was more angry with; Kagome or Koga.

'Be thankful he saved her, Inuyasha,' his youkai, ever the voice of reason, reassured, 'She was nearly raped by all those humans. That's scary shit for females, ya know? She's probably just thankful she was rescued by someone familiar.'

'She doesn't have to fawn all over him for it!' he snarled back, closing his eyes to rid the image. But it was burned into his mind.

"She's so happy to see him," the sorceress's voice dripped like poison into his ears, "She was indeed very quick to switch teams. I think she finds Koga to be a very acceptable switch, don't you think?" she smirked and gathered up her bowl of seeing water and drifted out of the room.

'Don't listen to that bitch,' his youkai warned, 'Kagome's just a little distraught. Koga's just a friendly face. Maybe, maybe she misses us too."

That last comment didn't sound so confident.

 

****************

 

They'd traveled another night, slower because of Koga's wound. Kagome was beginning to get antsy. She felt a deep sense of worry about Inuyasha. She gripped his sword when she slept, and with every passing day she worried more, because she knew Inuyasha's ability to keep control of his youkai side was very weak without it. She worried, and it was obvious. 

Kagome shivered, because despite the fire it was still cold, especially on her back. She put Tetsusaiga down for a moment and held her hands out to the flames. 

"At the pace we're at, we should be there in two nights..." Kagome told Koga with more confidence than she felt, trying to keep her spirits up. "And then I'm going to purify whoever kidnapped Inuyasha," she continued, her voice getting stronger. "And then I'm going to purify Inuyasha for worrying me," she finished with a set expression of murder.

 

************

Koga leaned back on his hands, smirking as Kagome ranted on about purification and death. Had he not known that she would never dream of purifying Inuyasha, he would have been nervous for the hanyou by looking at the murderous look in her eyes. But she was just tired and stressed, he knew that too. He could sense it.

A cool breeze blew gently through the clearing and he noticed the goosebumps erupt all over her legs and neck. He never thought about the cold and humans inability to adjust their body temperature to the weather.

Standing, he unwrapped his mokomoko-sama from around his hips. Underneath, he had a samurai armor skirt that connected to his top and leather shorts underneath that protected his skin from the rough armor. He unfolded the length of fur blanket and gently draped it over Kagome's shoulders before settling back down next to her.

"That'll be warmer than the warmest kimono," he told her, leaning forward so that he didn't sit on his tail. Without the mokomoko-sama to cushion it, it tended to get in the way and tended to get very easily stepped on. And once stepped on, his balance was fucked for a couple of days.

'Aren't you just so sweet?' his youkai gushed in his head sarcastically, 'Cover her in our scent just before we find Inuyasha. That is sure to be one hell of a greeting.'

Koga smiled just a little at that image.

 

***********

 

She was cold, glaring into the flames, when Koga stood up suddenly, and then she was covered in a warm and soft fur that instantly took the chill from her bones. 

It was so unexpected and sudden that Kagome blinked several times, staring down at the brown fur on her, before she could react. She knew full well that this was not normal fur. She'd asked Inuyasha once what Sesshoumaru's white fluff stuff was and found out that all full-blooded demons have what are called mokomoko sama's, that allow them to go to their full demon form. For Koga to offer his to her was really sweet and rare, for a demon. 

"Koga..." she said softly, trying to keep her voice down so as not to wake the others. She smiled at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

 

He turned his head and Kagome couldn't stop her forward momentum. And suddenly, there was a shocking meeting of the mouths.

 

They separated at the same time, both of their faces flaming, eyes wide, all breathing seemed to halt, “Uh, sorry…” Kagome started.

She didn't get a chance to finish as Koga leaned in and kissed her again, fully intentional this time.

In a split second, she kissed him back, tentatively. Maybe she could learn to like Koga. If Inuyasha was never going to come around, then she might as well find the next best thing...or maybe Koga could offer her everything she thought she was looking for in Inuyasha. 

But as she kissed Koga back, her eyes closed tightly, her fingers curled into tiny fists...nothing happened. Nothing at all...no butterflies, no fireworks...she could have been kissing Shippou. 

 

*********

 

He kissed her and waited. In fact, he put a lot into this kiss. He tried to muster up as much caring and compassion that he had for this little human and still, the end result was the same.

There was something lacking in this meeting of the mouths. A kiss was supposed to be stimulating, electrifying. It was supposed to make your bones into mush and your good reason fly out the window as it triggered more primal, baser instincts.

They pulled back and stared at each other for a whole minute before either of them spoke.

 

“I got nothing,” Koga started, a slight frown wrinkling his brow.

 

Kagome shook her head, “No, I don't think so either.”

 

“Maybe we should try again?”

 

“Maybe…”

 

They kissed again, a little longer this time.

 

“I feel like I should be more disappointed,” Koga said to her, “But… I'm not.”

 

“Do you agree that this is completely platonic between us?” Kagome offered, settling back and looking at the fire again.

 

“Well, I got no instincts to jump you so yeah, I'd agree.”

 

“Thank you for that image, wolf boy.”

`She's a pack-mate,' his youkai offered as Koga followed her example and turned back to the fire, `If Ginta and Hakkaku had messed up relationships like she has with Inuyasha, you would feel the same way, that they shouldn't be chasing after females that didn't appreciate them.'

It was a very powerful conclusion that he came to in those brief seconds. He loved Kagome, that was true and he wanted her in his life and he wanted what was best for her, but she wasn't going to be his mate. She was, shit, she was like a sister to him. He still wanted to beat the ever living fuck out of Inuyasha, but it wasn't because he was stealing his Kagome away, but more like he didn't deserve her.

`I've been telling you this for years, dude…' his youkai sighed.

 

“Mutt-brain still doesn't deserve you,” he commented after a minute, casually placing his arm around her shoulders in a pseudo-side hug.

 

She made a humoring noise in the back of her throat, probably the only response he was gonna get from her. He chuckled, kissed the top of her head and she leaned her temple against his shoulder with a sigh. He took that as a sign of gratitude.

*********

He couldn't believe it.

He flat out was completely bewildered.

Inuyasha watched in total silent dumbfounded shock as Koga kissed Kagome. But if that was the knife sticking into his heart, what twisted the knife and plunged his heart into his stomach was that she kissed him back, then snuggled under the wolf-youkai's shoulder and leaned her head against him.

It seemed very surreal, like it wasn't happening, like it wasn't something that was even conceivable and yet, there it was. He had been watching the two of them for days, tamping down his jealousy, his youkai convincing him that this was okay, that Koga was just helping Kagome out. That Koga was just Kagome's friend. Sure, she hugged him and slept near him at night, that when she ran off to take a quick bath, it was the wolf demon who kept guard to make sure nothing happened to her. She rode on his back so they could travel more quickly, he protected her from the demons that tracked them because she had the jewel piece. Friends did that to help each other, or so his youkai had dutifully made him believe.

But the inner part of him that acted on its own accord had no answers for him now. A kiss was a kiss. And this wasn't just a kiss. This was a kiss, a conversation that he couldn't hear then a snuggle. This… this was a declaration of love.

`How dare she…' his youkai growled menacingly, `After everything we've ever done for her, protect her, shelter her, care for her, love her… she… she has betrayed us. She really has dropped us for that wolf youkai scum.'

Inuyasha picked up the bowl and flung it across the room with a murderous yell. It hit the wall and shattered into pieces, water spraying and dripping down the wall as the pieces clattered to the floor. It couldn't stop the noise that was growing louder in his head; memories, conversations. Three years worth of time spent with Kagome, swirling around his brain, his mind picking up pieces that seemed relevant to Koga and her attitude towards the wolf.

`Koga can't fight you, Inuyasha, he's hurt!'

`Don't flirt with him, Kagome, batting your eyes at him and saying all those pretty words.”

`Maybe I will go with Koga. He's nicer to me than you are.'

`Face it, Inuyasha, Kagome deserves a real youkai like me to take care of her, not some pathetic half-youkai like you.'

`I want to stay with you, Inuyasha.'

`I like you as a half-demon. Don't ever change.'

`Hey, Kagome, I see you're still dragging around Inuyasha. Don't you get tired of spending all your time with this worthless mutt?'

`Oh, Inuyasha, you can be so exhausting sometimes.'

His mind was relentless. And brutal in its torture. Rage boiled through his bloodstream, contorted his face until he was pounding his fist through the floorboards, gouging deep holes in the wood. Then, with strength born only from deep seated jealousy and hurt, he started ripping up the floorboards with wild abandon, tearing chunks of wood and throwing them at the walls. His hands and claws gushed blood until the scent of it filled his nose, but it still didn't completely block out the scent of Kagome. She smelled like clean, like flowers and adventure, like the shampoo she used and a little bit like her home era. He didn't stop tearing at the floor until he was standing on the cool ground below it, surrounded by the stilts that the shrine was built on.

 

And when he stopped to take a breath, to study his bleeding and slivered hands, the image of Koga and Kagome came back and with it a deep emotional hurt. His anger immediately dissipated, replaced by this feeling like he couldn't breathe, like his heart was being squeezed by some invisible hand. And for the first time in his life, Inuyasha fell to his knees, brought there not by some powerful, worthy opponent. Not even Naraku had felled the hanyou. 

No, it was a silly little mortal girl that he didn't realize he had fallen in love with until she was leaving him.

`She promised she would stay with us,' his youkai whispered, `She said she wanted to be with us. She cared for us, stayed with us, she loved us and we stayed by her side because we wanted to, not because we had to.'

He trusted her, like he had never trusted anyone in his entire life. He avoided putting faith in people just so he could avoid this very feeling, this betrayal of trust. Only Kagome had the power to break him down and crawl under his skin. She calmed him while she rattled his cage. She believed in him and he had protected her. 

His mind reeling, Inuyasha pulled his knees up to his chest and ducked low in the little hole that he had made in the floor. She had left him at the first chance she had, dropped him like he deserved. How dare he think that he could ever be good enough for her? No, how stupid of him to think that he could trust anyone in this world. 

He didn't know how long he stayed there, in that position. He felt like he could die, that his life wouldn't be worth it without Kagome to temper him. In that time, under the floor like he was, he had considered it. How easy would it be to bleed himself out so he could escape this deep-set hurt in his soul that Kagome had left behind? How easy to end it all so he wouldn't have to suffer the heartbreak when she finally got here to rescue him, so that he wouldn't have to see her with that wolf youkai and know that somewhere along the line, he had wronged her to push her in that direction. 

It could have been minutes, hours or days before he finally heard the door above him slide open and a deep feminine chuckle reach his ears.

“My, my, it looks like you are in quite a mood today, Inuyasha,” Samara greeted him, standing over the hole he had made in her floor, his hands still bound to the ropes attached to the wall above him. She snapped her fingers and he levitated out of the floor and he placed him on his feet on the floor. He offered her no fight, no resistance.

“Well, this is hardly the hanyou I had trapped in here yesterday,” she commented, coming closer to him than she had dared before, but it seemed all the fight had been swept out of the half-youkai before her. He looked like the shell of the male he was just hours before. She smirked at the dead-beat, tormented gaze that reflected out of his golden eyes, “My, what has happened to you, my little puppy?” she could feel this youki, or his demonic aura very diminished, pulled in so tight to his soul that he had almost no presence. She could hardly sense him.

With a sweep of her hand, she pulled the bowl back together again and filled it with the water once more. Then, she called upon the water to show her the last image. She had left the bowl in here on accident, having had to have left in hurry to deal with some triviality of the mikos. But when she saw the last image, she smiled. Koga and Kagome, sharing a kiss and snuggling by the fire. How very sweet. As soon as the image appeared, she felt Inuyasha's youki pulse and then pull even tighter into his body and she knew instantly that this was the reason for his behavior.

“I see,” Samara started slowly, “She had betrayed you, the slut. No doubt she has finally accepted his offer to be his mate.” She carefully watched the hanyou for some reaction, but all she got was this dull glaze over his eyes, eyes that reflected a soul-deep anguish, “All you did was love her and protect her and this is how she repays you? How ungrateful she is for you. She hardly deserves your love, Inuyasha and you hardly deserve to mourn her so. She doesn't care for your pain.”

Samara came forward and grabbed his chin, very gently, very lovingly. She kissed his cheek. He flinched, but didn't move away. How he was so wrapped up over this miko. It was pathetic really, “I can take away your pain, Inuyasha,” she whispered seductively, “I can make it so you don't hurt for her anymore. You can be free of these pathetic human emotions you suffer from.”

He lifted his molten gold gaze to her blood-red one, then locked on to the jewel. All he had ever wanted was to be a full youkai, to use the jewel to rid himself of his human side. But he had been worn down by Kagome, who convinced him that he didn't need the jewel. Without her, he had no reason to be a hanyou anymore. She was the only one who ever said she loved his hanyou nature, yet now, she didn't love him at all.

“That's a good boy,” Samara cooed, kissing his cheek again. With a blast of magic, she knocked him out cold, and he crumpled to the floor. She brushed his hair off his face and placed the jewel shard in his back, right between his shoulder blades. His body absorbed it quickly and the shard changed from a brilliant pink color to a deep crimson. She smiled. His soul, tainted by betrayal, had tainted the shard. Not even a miko as powerful as his Kagome would be able to take it out without killing him.

Samara watched as the physical changes came over the hanyou. She watched, fascinated, as the deep purple slashes appeared on his cheeks, as his muscle tone increased. The claws on his hands lengthened and the fangs in his mouth grew just a little. He was truly quite formidable.

With a quick incantation, she placed the prayer beads back on his neck. They glowed briefly from her magic. She now controlled his soul, controlled this new powerful body he was in. Slowly, his eyes opened and he sat up, staring at her blankly, though not in the way he had been earlier, but in the way that his mind was blank, fresh for instruction.

 

“Can you hear me, Inuyasha?” she asked him.

“Yes,” his voice was deeper by an octave, more growling. It sent a little shiver down her spine.

“There is a young miko on her way here,” she conjured Kagome's face in the water, “She carries the Shikon Notama with her. I want you to kill her and give her jewel to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Repeat it back to me, Inuyasha.”

“Kill the miko, take the jewel.”

Samara smiled.

 

 

A/N

Inuyasha and Co belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

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And if I don't get around to more chapters this weekend, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Be safe.