InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time After Time ❯ Wolves at the Door ( Chapter 28 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: kanna37 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.25.2011 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 412 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.25.2011 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 412 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 28: Wolves at the Door
Yuuka sighed as she neared the Forest of Ages, as she had taken to calling it. She could feel the soul of the forest, and it wasn't truly evil – just angry, and bitter.
The Tree of Ages had been its heart, and when it was destroyed, the rest of the forest became angry. Before that, it had just been eerie, and with that air, had managed to keep most people out of it, which is what it preferred.
It was ancient, she could feel it, and it had, as had been said before, forgotten much of itself. At one time, it had been an intelligent, lively forest, and a beautiful place for any being to come and visit. Then, man had begun changing the things around himself, and instead of migrating with the seasons, and existing in harmony with his surroundings, he decided to put down roots, and change his environment to suit himself.
That's when things had begun to go downhill.
Mankind began cutting down the trees, and using them for building, and for fires, and sometimes, in the case of temperamental youkai, just because they were having a bad day. (Inuyasha had been very guilty of this in his own forest.) And the forest guardians began to know hate.
After a while, that hate began to affect them – they began planting themselves in groves closest to the edges, where the cutting was being done, and causing such havoc with their illusions and the beasts they created from their own imaginations, that mankind began to fear the forest they had once loved...
And the bitterness set in, the guardians angered at the loss of so many voices from their beloved trees.
That is where youkai like Yuuka began to come in.
Elementals, really, of earth, some of them began to have more of an affinity to plant life of all types, rather than just the earth itself, and as time went by, what was left of the guardians of the forest came to adore the presence of these beings. Unfortunately, as time went on, less of these elementals began to be born, and now, there were only about five others that Yuuka knew of – not including herself.
Two of those were her own children.
Still, she understood, though she didn't like it, why the kami had her stay behind after her mate died – she was the most powerful of those left, and her children, while their power was promising, and they were considered adult enough to live on their own, they were really still young, and their power had yet to develop to a level such as hers. And for this forest, as angry as it had grown over the centuries, only one of her power could truly help Sugimi's group.
Ergo, the real reason she had been forced to stay behind her mate and suffer through centuries of agony, was Naraku, when it came down to cases, and she wanted to make that greedy bastard suffer like she had for all the years after her mate had died. So she was quite eager, in all actuality, to meet the idiot who was trying to take over the world.
Someone had failed to mention to him that would never be allowed by the kami – the world wasn't meant to be ruled by one person, and no matter his own hubris, even he couldn't fight the kami and win.
No earthly power could unseat the gods.
Yuuka wanted very badly to be the one to inform Naraku of that particular oversight and watch his face fall off.
All of that to say, that when they began to approach the Hojo family's palace, Yuuka was already beginning to make contact with those few of the guardians of the forest that were still self-aware as individual beings, her presence soothing their rage, and hatred, until she could convince one of them to meet with her group.
She could feel the massive weight of the forests hatred being turned from anything that walked upright, to Naraku, specifically – his miasma was beginning to kill off portions of the forest nearest his own hiding place, and the forest couldn't rid itself of him; since he held so much of the jewel, he was too powerful.
That little fact would greatly help her case to the guardians for safe passage and alliance with her group, as they were there to rid the forest of the abomination that had taken over its once-heart.
~oOo~
Hojo led the group into the forecourt of his family's palace, and asked them to wait for him in the gardens, as he went to find the one of his uncles that would be able to tell him of any news regarding the forest or any disturbances in the area – besides Naraku, of course.
The young heir to the Hojo clan, (they'd found this out just that day) looked at Kagome sadly, before leaving to find his uncle while they were all led to the castle's garden to await his return. He had gotten his wish to be able to show her his ancestral home, but it no longer mattered whether she liked what she saw or not – she was off-limits forever, and in actuality, would still be alive and young-looking when his own distant descendants were old.
Still, he had promised his aid, and would deliver – never let it be said that the heir of the Hojo clan had forsaken his honor – that would never happen. And so, after a quick discussion with his uncle, he came back out to the group, and let them know what was going on in the region.
“Apparently, your enemy has actually stabilized this area, as all youkai have disappeared from the entire region. However, the forest is becoming even deadlier, as there is a noxious miasma that seems to be rolling through it from the center of the forest. It's killing everything in its path, and the forest seems to be enraged – anyone entering its confines lately is not seen again,” he finished with a worried air – out of bounds Kagome may be, but he still had feelings for her, and didn't want to see her in danger.
Of course, her husband, (he couldn't help but think of their bond in humanistic terms, the word mate just sounding too strange to him) was powerful enough to kill whole armies, and she herself wasn't defenseless, as he knew himself, but still... that forest was no joke. He could only be glad for that other youkai's presence, Yuuka – if she could make the forest play nice, all the better, as far as he was concerned.
Kagome herself didn't appear to be overly worried about anything, as she was sleeping peacefully in her husband's lap... which the great youkai seemed to enjoy, as he appeared to be totally lost in watching her, and didn't appear to even be listening.
That mistaken assumption was laid to rest when he spoke up. “Yuuka will be in the lead from here on out – while in that forest, you are to listen to her, and follow her instructions,” he told the group, and no one except Kana appeared to have a problem with that, though the contentious Southern Lady made no effort to actually argue.
After accepting their thanks for his assistance, Sugimi led the group from the palace grounds, Hojo watching with saddened eyes as his first love disappeared forever from his sight. He just hoped that they were all okay after facing this enemy of theirs...
But especially Kagome. He wanted her to have a long, happy life - even without him.
~oOo~
Sugimi was still watching over his little mate - she had finally woken and was walking, though still a bit groggily, next to him.
Every sense he owned was trained on two things, his mate, and their surroundings, in order for him to protect her in this dangerous endeavor of theirs. He made a mental note to take an extra strip out of Naraku's hide just for him being forced to expose his mate to such dangers in the first place.
And though he was the alpha of the group, and would normally be in front, leading, with the beta, in this case, Sesshoumaru, taking the rear of the formation for protection purposes, this time things were different. Instead of in front, he was in the middle, keeping his mate, the alpha female of the pack, safe from all harm. He was already obsessive over her safety – and it would only get worse once he pupped her.
Fortunately for her, he didn't plan to do that for some time to come – he wanted a few years just for them, before beginning a family – on top of the fact that he certainly wouldn't pup her while a sadistic, murderous freak was running around trying to take over the world. That was definitely a bad idea, and he wasn't stupid enough to give Naraku any chance at harming any more of his pups than he was already threatening, i.e. Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha.
He already knew that Kagome was well able to take care of herself – she was no helpless weakling. But... he also knew that their opponent was nothing if not dangerous – and then they also had Kana to worry about.
No one knew it, but he had already set a curse on the woman. If she tried in any way to betray them, or harm his mate, she would die. Immediately, and with no chance to even defend herself. And if she did try to betray them or kill Kagome, and she died, he would simply take over the rule of the Southern Lands himself, since at that point, they would be up for grabs.
Sure, if that happened, any youkai would be able to challenge him for the title, but he wasn't worried about that – anyone who tried wouldn't have enough of themselves left to make a streak on the ground when he was finished with them.
He slanted a glance at his mate, then, and sighed inwardly. She would definitely not like to hear me thinking what I am right now, that is certain. He was just lucky that she was still so drowsy – she wasn't thinking real clearly, or paying that much attention to what was going on around herself.
She would make a beautiful Southern Lady, he mused idly, smiling at the tiny stumble she made as her eyes started drifting closed again. With a chuckle, he grabbed her up into his arms, and settled her back with her head on his shoulder. The only downside to the whole thing was that he couldn't wear his armor, and while he hated his armor, it was a necessary evil. But with her like this, he'd had to let Ah-Uhn carry it, since he didn't have the children to carry.
Everyone had agreed that the two needed to stay at the Western Palace where it was safer, rather than follow them into such a dangerous endeavor. If Kagome had not been strictly necessary, herself, she would have found herself sitting in the palace waiting on him to return, too.
He was pulled from his thoughts as Yuuka led them towards one area of forest, though no one knew why she seemed to be looking for that particular area, no one said anything.
However, Sugimi's hackles rose at the heaviness and air of threat that was seeping from the trees that they were facing – and eyes narrowed, he tensed, preparing for any sign of violence against them. He would destroy whatever tried to cause his mate any harm.
The rest of the group, as well, were steadily becoming uneasy, and that nervousness could be seen in the tight formation they all walked in, hands on weapons and attention firmly fixed on their surroundings.
With an irritable scowl, Kagome awoke again, and demanded to be put down so he could put his armor back on before actually entering the forest. She'd felt the anger in the trees as they'd neared them, which is what had woken her. Now she was grouchy, and not inclined to tolerate any foolishness.
Everyone in the pack save Yuuka started edging away from the couple in the middle – apparently, their senses telling them there was danger, had boosted their auras incredibly high, and no one in the group had ever seen such a thing, nor felt so much power – except Yuuka, of course, in her own mating.
It was clear that finding your other was a significant thing, and Sesshoumaru, in particular, narrowed eyes and all, was intrigued. If he could find his own mate, would his power grow in consequence? It was an interesting thought...
Everyone in the area was surprised, however, with the growl that suddenly erupted from Sugimi as he stepped in front of his grouchy mate protectively. But that surprise only lasted for a short time as Inuyasha turned away in disgust.
“Keh. It's just that mangy wolf. Wonder what the hell he wants now?”
Kagome growled herself, a sound that had Sugimi's knees weakening with desire. “Well, maybe this is a good thing – because I need to get those shards from him, anyway,” she grumped, and inwardly, Inuyasha hoped that the stupid idiot argued with her – he really wanted to see some Koga smackdown.
In a sharp deviation from all the other times they'd run into the wolf, this time, he did not blow into the middle of the group, instead, he walked calmly forward, accompanied by his two underlings, and Ayame.
He bowed respectfully to Sugimi, who had stopped growling, but was eyeing him warily.
“I came to join you in your fight with Naraku,” he said, and gestured to his buddies and the lovely young wolf maiden. “I owe him vengeance for the destruction of my pack.”
Sugimi considered him for a moment, then his gaze passed across the faces of the other two male demons, evaluating them for threat to his mate, then looked at the young wolf princess.
“And you are..?” he asked.
She bowed her head respectfully, as though to an equal, and Sugimi's brows rose. “I am Ayame, princess of the Eastern Wolf Tribe,” she said.
He was slightly taken aback at her calm demeanor, but his attention was pulled from her as his mate stepped forward and nodded to him. “They do have the right to be there, Sugimi. What Koga said was true – Naraku wiped out almost his entire tribe trying to make Koga and Inuyasha kill each other.”
The daiyoukai pondered that for a moment, knowing he could not deny another their due justice, and nodded finally. “Very well. However, you will be under my direction as alpha of this pack. Where we are going is very dangerous, and right now, Yuuka, there,” he gestured to the earth elemental, “is in charge, as she is the one that will get us passes to move through this forest without interference. Whatever she says, do, without question – it might very well mean your life.”
The wolves looked at each other, then at Yuuka, who smiled, and nodded. Koga gave answer to Sugimi's demands. “Very well, we agree.”
One last thing, wolf – the shards in your legs – it is time for you to give them up to Kagome.”
Koga narrowed his eyes at the powerful male's demands, but after a moment of consideration, he sighed, and nodded. Bending down, he popped them out of his legs, and handed them to Kagome. He eyed her silver streak, and the males blue-ringed irises, and shrugged reluctantly, knowing she was forever out of reach.
Kagome nodded at Koga. “Thank you,” she said, then held out her hand to her mate, and he dug into his haori, handing her the diamond encased portion of the jewel that they had. As soon as Kagome merged them into the gem, all sense of their presence disappeared, and Koga and the other wolves all stared in fascination, taken aback.
“Umm, what's up with that?” Ginta asked, obviously speaking for all the wolves.
With a chuckle, Kagome explained, and the wolves couldn't help but laugh at the thought that already, Naraku's plans were empty – he would never be able to gather a whole jewel, as they could never be retrieved from inside the chunk of adamant.
He had already been beaten – he just didn't know it yet.
Handing the chunk of softly glowing adamant back to her mate, Kagome yawned, then started forward. “Well, let's get going. I want to get this over with,” she said, yawning again.
Ayame, watching, was pleased to see that Kagome was now out of Koga's reach – maybe now he'd stop playing around and admit he remembered his promise. And she had to smirk – it was obvious the mating bond was very new, and Kagome's new mate, that very gorgeous, to die for, daiyoukai, had worn her out.
She had to admit – if she'd shown up here and met that powerful, handsome male and he was unattached, she'd have been game for trying to get him for her own. But it was obvious they were a true mated pair, and she couldn't help but envy Kagome her luck in finding her other half.
They were all drawn from their thoughts as the female addressed as Yuuka spoke. “Everyone stay close, and do not wander from the group, no matter what you think you hear. It is only the forest guardians trying to fool you.” With that, she turned, and began to lead the group into the forest.
No sooner had the last person stepped under the boughs of the forest, than the sunlight disappeared, and they were surrounded by a deep gloom, and odd sounds from either side of the group. It held a very dangerous feel... and they all gathered closer together defensively, Sugimi taking that a step farther and literally plastering his mate to his side protectively, while raising his own aura to show the forest that he was a powerful daiyoukai who shouldn't be messed with – and that he wouldn't tolerate any attack on his mate.
As they moved forward cautiously following Yuuka, who was the only one that didn't feel threatened, the gloom at the floor of the forest only deepened, making Kagome glad that she had thought to bring a few flashlights with her. It wouldn't be much longer before it would get too dim for the humans in the group to see their way forward. And that wasn't even telling what they would be facing come nightfall.
They walked silently for a good half an hour before Yuuka began to hurry her pace just a bit, explaining that one of the guardians was near – in a small clearing just ahead. They were all warned to allow her to do the talking, unless asked a direct question.
No one bothered to argue.
Kagome had wondered all along about these supposed guardians – they certainly hadn't seen any when they had been fighting Menomaru. What would they look like? Would they be hostile, or simply defensive?
The others had all wondered the same, and so it was with considerable curiosity that the enlarged group entered the clearing that Yuuka led them to...
They were, needless to say, not what any of them had imagined.
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Yuuka sighed as she neared the Forest of Ages, as she had taken to calling it. She could feel the soul of the forest, and it wasn't truly evil – just angry, and bitter.
The Tree of Ages had been its heart, and when it was destroyed, the rest of the forest became angry. Before that, it had just been eerie, and with that air, had managed to keep most people out of it, which is what it preferred.
It was ancient, she could feel it, and it had, as had been said before, forgotten much of itself. At one time, it had been an intelligent, lively forest, and a beautiful place for any being to come and visit. Then, man had begun changing the things around himself, and instead of migrating with the seasons, and existing in harmony with his surroundings, he decided to put down roots, and change his environment to suit himself.
That's when things had begun to go downhill.
Mankind began cutting down the trees, and using them for building, and for fires, and sometimes, in the case of temperamental youkai, just because they were having a bad day. (Inuyasha had been very guilty of this in his own forest.) And the forest guardians began to know hate.
After a while, that hate began to affect them – they began planting themselves in groves closest to the edges, where the cutting was being done, and causing such havoc with their illusions and the beasts they created from their own imaginations, that mankind began to fear the forest they had once loved...
And the bitterness set in, the guardians angered at the loss of so many voices from their beloved trees.
That is where youkai like Yuuka began to come in.
Elementals, really, of earth, some of them began to have more of an affinity to plant life of all types, rather than just the earth itself, and as time went by, what was left of the guardians of the forest came to adore the presence of these beings. Unfortunately, as time went on, less of these elementals began to be born, and now, there were only about five others that Yuuka knew of – not including herself.
Two of those were her own children.
Still, she understood, though she didn't like it, why the kami had her stay behind after her mate died – she was the most powerful of those left, and her children, while their power was promising, and they were considered adult enough to live on their own, they were really still young, and their power had yet to develop to a level such as hers. And for this forest, as angry as it had grown over the centuries, only one of her power could truly help Sugimi's group.
Ergo, the real reason she had been forced to stay behind her mate and suffer through centuries of agony, was Naraku, when it came down to cases, and she wanted to make that greedy bastard suffer like she had for all the years after her mate had died. So she was quite eager, in all actuality, to meet the idiot who was trying to take over the world.
Someone had failed to mention to him that would never be allowed by the kami – the world wasn't meant to be ruled by one person, and no matter his own hubris, even he couldn't fight the kami and win.
No earthly power could unseat the gods.
Yuuka wanted very badly to be the one to inform Naraku of that particular oversight and watch his face fall off.
All of that to say, that when they began to approach the Hojo family's palace, Yuuka was already beginning to make contact with those few of the guardians of the forest that were still self-aware as individual beings, her presence soothing their rage, and hatred, until she could convince one of them to meet with her group.
She could feel the massive weight of the forests hatred being turned from anything that walked upright, to Naraku, specifically – his miasma was beginning to kill off portions of the forest nearest his own hiding place, and the forest couldn't rid itself of him; since he held so much of the jewel, he was too powerful.
That little fact would greatly help her case to the guardians for safe passage and alliance with her group, as they were there to rid the forest of the abomination that had taken over its once-heart.
~oOo~
Hojo led the group into the forecourt of his family's palace, and asked them to wait for him in the gardens, as he went to find the one of his uncles that would be able to tell him of any news regarding the forest or any disturbances in the area – besides Naraku, of course.
The young heir to the Hojo clan, (they'd found this out just that day) looked at Kagome sadly, before leaving to find his uncle while they were all led to the castle's garden to await his return. He had gotten his wish to be able to show her his ancestral home, but it no longer mattered whether she liked what she saw or not – she was off-limits forever, and in actuality, would still be alive and young-looking when his own distant descendants were old.
Still, he had promised his aid, and would deliver – never let it be said that the heir of the Hojo clan had forsaken his honor – that would never happen. And so, after a quick discussion with his uncle, he came back out to the group, and let them know what was going on in the region.
“Apparently, your enemy has actually stabilized this area, as all youkai have disappeared from the entire region. However, the forest is becoming even deadlier, as there is a noxious miasma that seems to be rolling through it from the center of the forest. It's killing everything in its path, and the forest seems to be enraged – anyone entering its confines lately is not seen again,” he finished with a worried air – out of bounds Kagome may be, but he still had feelings for her, and didn't want to see her in danger.
Of course, her husband, (he couldn't help but think of their bond in humanistic terms, the word mate just sounding too strange to him) was powerful enough to kill whole armies, and she herself wasn't defenseless, as he knew himself, but still... that forest was no joke. He could only be glad for that other youkai's presence, Yuuka – if she could make the forest play nice, all the better, as far as he was concerned.
Kagome herself didn't appear to be overly worried about anything, as she was sleeping peacefully in her husband's lap... which the great youkai seemed to enjoy, as he appeared to be totally lost in watching her, and didn't appear to even be listening.
That mistaken assumption was laid to rest when he spoke up. “Yuuka will be in the lead from here on out – while in that forest, you are to listen to her, and follow her instructions,” he told the group, and no one except Kana appeared to have a problem with that, though the contentious Southern Lady made no effort to actually argue.
After accepting their thanks for his assistance, Sugimi led the group from the palace grounds, Hojo watching with saddened eyes as his first love disappeared forever from his sight. He just hoped that they were all okay after facing this enemy of theirs...
But especially Kagome. He wanted her to have a long, happy life - even without him.
~oOo~
Sugimi was still watching over his little mate - she had finally woken and was walking, though still a bit groggily, next to him.
Every sense he owned was trained on two things, his mate, and their surroundings, in order for him to protect her in this dangerous endeavor of theirs. He made a mental note to take an extra strip out of Naraku's hide just for him being forced to expose his mate to such dangers in the first place.
And though he was the alpha of the group, and would normally be in front, leading, with the beta, in this case, Sesshoumaru, taking the rear of the formation for protection purposes, this time things were different. Instead of in front, he was in the middle, keeping his mate, the alpha female of the pack, safe from all harm. He was already obsessive over her safety – and it would only get worse once he pupped her.
Fortunately for her, he didn't plan to do that for some time to come – he wanted a few years just for them, before beginning a family – on top of the fact that he certainly wouldn't pup her while a sadistic, murderous freak was running around trying to take over the world. That was definitely a bad idea, and he wasn't stupid enough to give Naraku any chance at harming any more of his pups than he was already threatening, i.e. Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha.
He already knew that Kagome was well able to take care of herself – she was no helpless weakling. But... he also knew that their opponent was nothing if not dangerous – and then they also had Kana to worry about.
No one knew it, but he had already set a curse on the woman. If she tried in any way to betray them, or harm his mate, she would die. Immediately, and with no chance to even defend herself. And if she did try to betray them or kill Kagome, and she died, he would simply take over the rule of the Southern Lands himself, since at that point, they would be up for grabs.
Sure, if that happened, any youkai would be able to challenge him for the title, but he wasn't worried about that – anyone who tried wouldn't have enough of themselves left to make a streak on the ground when he was finished with them.
He slanted a glance at his mate, then, and sighed inwardly. She would definitely not like to hear me thinking what I am right now, that is certain. He was just lucky that she was still so drowsy – she wasn't thinking real clearly, or paying that much attention to what was going on around herself.
She would make a beautiful Southern Lady, he mused idly, smiling at the tiny stumble she made as her eyes started drifting closed again. With a chuckle, he grabbed her up into his arms, and settled her back with her head on his shoulder. The only downside to the whole thing was that he couldn't wear his armor, and while he hated his armor, it was a necessary evil. But with her like this, he'd had to let Ah-Uhn carry it, since he didn't have the children to carry.
Everyone had agreed that the two needed to stay at the Western Palace where it was safer, rather than follow them into such a dangerous endeavor. If Kagome had not been strictly necessary, herself, she would have found herself sitting in the palace waiting on him to return, too.
He was pulled from his thoughts as Yuuka led them towards one area of forest, though no one knew why she seemed to be looking for that particular area, no one said anything.
However, Sugimi's hackles rose at the heaviness and air of threat that was seeping from the trees that they were facing – and eyes narrowed, he tensed, preparing for any sign of violence against them. He would destroy whatever tried to cause his mate any harm.
The rest of the group, as well, were steadily becoming uneasy, and that nervousness could be seen in the tight formation they all walked in, hands on weapons and attention firmly fixed on their surroundings.
With an irritable scowl, Kagome awoke again, and demanded to be put down so he could put his armor back on before actually entering the forest. She'd felt the anger in the trees as they'd neared them, which is what had woken her. Now she was grouchy, and not inclined to tolerate any foolishness.
Everyone in the pack save Yuuka started edging away from the couple in the middle – apparently, their senses telling them there was danger, had boosted their auras incredibly high, and no one in the group had ever seen such a thing, nor felt so much power – except Yuuka, of course, in her own mating.
It was clear that finding your other was a significant thing, and Sesshoumaru, in particular, narrowed eyes and all, was intrigued. If he could find his own mate, would his power grow in consequence? It was an interesting thought...
Everyone in the area was surprised, however, with the growl that suddenly erupted from Sugimi as he stepped in front of his grouchy mate protectively. But that surprise only lasted for a short time as Inuyasha turned away in disgust.
“Keh. It's just that mangy wolf. Wonder what the hell he wants now?”
Kagome growled herself, a sound that had Sugimi's knees weakening with desire. “Well, maybe this is a good thing – because I need to get those shards from him, anyway,” she grumped, and inwardly, Inuyasha hoped that the stupid idiot argued with her – he really wanted to see some Koga smackdown.
In a sharp deviation from all the other times they'd run into the wolf, this time, he did not blow into the middle of the group, instead, he walked calmly forward, accompanied by his two underlings, and Ayame.
He bowed respectfully to Sugimi, who had stopped growling, but was eyeing him warily.
“I came to join you in your fight with Naraku,” he said, and gestured to his buddies and the lovely young wolf maiden. “I owe him vengeance for the destruction of my pack.”
Sugimi considered him for a moment, then his gaze passed across the faces of the other two male demons, evaluating them for threat to his mate, then looked at the young wolf princess.
“And you are..?” he asked.
She bowed her head respectfully, as though to an equal, and Sugimi's brows rose. “I am Ayame, princess of the Eastern Wolf Tribe,” she said.
He was slightly taken aback at her calm demeanor, but his attention was pulled from her as his mate stepped forward and nodded to him. “They do have the right to be there, Sugimi. What Koga said was true – Naraku wiped out almost his entire tribe trying to make Koga and Inuyasha kill each other.”
The daiyoukai pondered that for a moment, knowing he could not deny another their due justice, and nodded finally. “Very well. However, you will be under my direction as alpha of this pack. Where we are going is very dangerous, and right now, Yuuka, there,” he gestured to the earth elemental, “is in charge, as she is the one that will get us passes to move through this forest without interference. Whatever she says, do, without question – it might very well mean your life.”
The wolves looked at each other, then at Yuuka, who smiled, and nodded. Koga gave answer to Sugimi's demands. “Very well, we agree.”
One last thing, wolf – the shards in your legs – it is time for you to give them up to Kagome.”
Koga narrowed his eyes at the powerful male's demands, but after a moment of consideration, he sighed, and nodded. Bending down, he popped them out of his legs, and handed them to Kagome. He eyed her silver streak, and the males blue-ringed irises, and shrugged reluctantly, knowing she was forever out of reach.
Kagome nodded at Koga. “Thank you,” she said, then held out her hand to her mate, and he dug into his haori, handing her the diamond encased portion of the jewel that they had. As soon as Kagome merged them into the gem, all sense of their presence disappeared, and Koga and the other wolves all stared in fascination, taken aback.
“Umm, what's up with that?” Ginta asked, obviously speaking for all the wolves.
With a chuckle, Kagome explained, and the wolves couldn't help but laugh at the thought that already, Naraku's plans were empty – he would never be able to gather a whole jewel, as they could never be retrieved from inside the chunk of adamant.
He had already been beaten – he just didn't know it yet.
Handing the chunk of softly glowing adamant back to her mate, Kagome yawned, then started forward. “Well, let's get going. I want to get this over with,” she said, yawning again.
Ayame, watching, was pleased to see that Kagome was now out of Koga's reach – maybe now he'd stop playing around and admit he remembered his promise. And she had to smirk – it was obvious the mating bond was very new, and Kagome's new mate, that very gorgeous, to die for, daiyoukai, had worn her out.
She had to admit – if she'd shown up here and met that powerful, handsome male and he was unattached, she'd have been game for trying to get him for her own. But it was obvious they were a true mated pair, and she couldn't help but envy Kagome her luck in finding her other half.
They were all drawn from their thoughts as the female addressed as Yuuka spoke. “Everyone stay close, and do not wander from the group, no matter what you think you hear. It is only the forest guardians trying to fool you.” With that, she turned, and began to lead the group into the forest.
No sooner had the last person stepped under the boughs of the forest, than the sunlight disappeared, and they were surrounded by a deep gloom, and odd sounds from either side of the group. It held a very dangerous feel... and they all gathered closer together defensively, Sugimi taking that a step farther and literally plastering his mate to his side protectively, while raising his own aura to show the forest that he was a powerful daiyoukai who shouldn't be messed with – and that he wouldn't tolerate any attack on his mate.
As they moved forward cautiously following Yuuka, who was the only one that didn't feel threatened, the gloom at the floor of the forest only deepened, making Kagome glad that she had thought to bring a few flashlights with her. It wouldn't be much longer before it would get too dim for the humans in the group to see their way forward. And that wasn't even telling what they would be facing come nightfall.
They walked silently for a good half an hour before Yuuka began to hurry her pace just a bit, explaining that one of the guardians was near – in a small clearing just ahead. They were all warned to allow her to do the talking, unless asked a direct question.
No one bothered to argue.
Kagome had wondered all along about these supposed guardians – they certainly hadn't seen any when they had been fighting Menomaru. What would they look like? Would they be hostile, or simply defensive?
The others had all wondered the same, and so it was with considerable curiosity that the enlarged group entered the clearing that Yuuka led them to...
They were, needless to say, not what any of them had imagined.
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