Thursday, December 9, 2004

   InuYasha 32
Kagome felt the thrum of the Shikon shards first, stopping her in her tracks in the small clearing when the feeling hit her awareness. The abrupt sense cutting her rather blood-thirsty thoughts concerning one priest and one hanyou short and turning her in the direction she felt the tingling aura. She frowned, concentrating as she felt it come closer and separate into two different pulses of power.

Two shards.

Fast.

"Oh hell," she whispered, her head snapping around just as Inuyasha froze, his ears and then his face turning in the direction she had been staring at a moment ago.

Inuyasha was in front of her so fast he seemed to blur, positioning himself defensively in between her and the approaching youkai. In reflex, Kagome jumped in surprise, but the vicious growl coming from the hanyou's throat had even her backing away instinctively. She'd barely taken a single step when his hand snaked out and caught her wrist, bringing her close even as he flashed her a commanding look.

"Don't," Inuyasha's eyes were nearly glowing as he looked first at her and then off the right where the scent originated.

Kagome self-consciously reached down, covering her hip with her palm when the tattoo warmed and pulsed strongly, "But, Inuyasha, it's only-"

"Kagome!" Kouga came skidding to a halt around behind Inuyasha in a cloud of kicked-up dirt and snatched both her hands in his own.

"Kouga-kun," she blinked in surprise when the wolf yanked her to one side, back-kicking the hanyou hard enough to send him crashing off the path and into the woods. "What a...a surprise!"

She winced when she saw Inuyasha pick himself up off the ground, shaking his head and turning his enraged scowl at the wolf. His expression flickered with surprise for a fraction of a second before he was snarling, his eyes on Kouga holding her hands. With how he'd been acting lately when even Shippo touched her, she'd be lucky if Inuyasha didn't try to rip out Kouga's spine with his teeth.

"Oi! Get your fucking hands off her!!" Inuyasha shot forward, but with the shards, Kouga was faster, looping his arm around Kagome's waist and leaping out of the way with an arrogant grin.

When Kagome caught the look on Inuyasha's face she grabbed Kouga's arm and shook it, "Kouga-kun, put me down."

"Why?" the grin turned warm and delighted when his gaze slid down to her face.

At the redirection of his focus, Kagome was wrenched from the wolf's grip and all but flattened to Inuyasha's chest. One arm wrapped around her torso and holding her close while the Tetsusaiga was held protectively in front of her, warning the wolf to stay back, "She said to fucking put her down, you bastard! That means keep your filthy hands off her."

Kouga recovered from his momentary surprise at the speed the hanyou had used to pull Kagome away from him, his brows lowering to darken his expression, "She's my woman, inukkoro. You're the one who should fucking back off."

Shippo jumped to the relative safety of Sango's shoulder, pulling a small handful of candy from his vest and settling in to watch the fight, "Oooh, this is gonna be good!"

Inuyasha's lips pulled back in a nasty smile, "She's mine."

Kouga looked slightly taken aback at not just his expression, but at the words, "Hn? Wha-what the hell did you do to her that you'd say that so openly?!"

"Inuyasha, don't you dare!" Kagome hissed at him clamping her hand down over her hip when she felt his hold loosen and his hand lower. Was that his answer to everything? He'd gotten away with this once with her friends, there was no way she wanted to be embarrassed like that in front of Kouga.

Inuyasha stilled, looking down at her with surprise and more than a little hurt coloring his expression, "Kagome..."

She wanted to hide it from Kouga. Even more than she'd wanted to hide it from the idiot human boy who'd acted so familiar with her. She'd yelled to her whole damn 'school' thing in her time that he was hers, what was the difference? Didn't she want this weakling to know she belonged to him? To see his name on her? They were promised to be mated, dammit, SHE said so!

Kouga took full advantage of the distraction, slamming his foot into the hanyou's face to send him flying backwards and catching Kagome by the waist to hoist her up over his shoulder. He waited until the hanyou was up on his haunches before he gave him a cold glare and ground out, "I don't think it's safe to let you protect my woman anymore, inukkoro. So I'll just take her home now. Don't come after her unless you want to die."

"If you don't put her down and get the hell out of here right now, asshole, I'll fucking rip you apart with my bare hands!" Inuyasha's eyes blazed as he sheathed the Tetsusaiga and shot forward, claws tensed.

Rather than setting Kagome down to put her out of the attack as Inuyasha had expected, Kouga just tightened his grip and flipped out of the way, his own expression enraged, "Hup! C'mon then, you worthless mutt, I'm gonna enjoy punishing you for trying to take my woman!"

Kagome was getting damn tired of being thrown over shoulders.

And more than that, the two of them were seriously pissing her off.

Her head hurt enough without having to try and think of new ways to break up these two fighting and she was going to put a stop to it. Now.

"Inuyasha, sit!"

Kouga was immediately grinning from where he stood and Inuyasha swearing murderously for all of two seconds before Kagome twisted on the wolf's shoulder and slammed her knee into his chin as hard as she could. She somehow managed to slide out of his hold and off his shoulder before he stumbled back and sat down, blinking and shaking his head to clear the dizziness her blow had caused.

Kagome's hands were fists on her hips as she glared between the two of them and waited for their attention to completely center on her before she barked out, "Dammit, what do I have to do to get you two to knock it the fuck OFF!"

Kouga was gaping up at her, his sore jaw forgotten at what was totally at odds with the speech and behavior he was used to. Not that he minded, he thought, his smile returning even wider than before as he looked her over appraisingly. She was very enticing like that.... her eyes blazing, and she'd even managed to stagger him.

"And I thought you had guts before," Kouga was back on his feet and in front of her with her hands in his before she could suck in the breath to yell at them again. "This is fucking great! I love you even more like this."

Kagome didn't even get a chance to form a response in her scattered thoughts when Inuyasha's fist connected with the wolf's face. His hand dropped only enough to snake around her shoulders and slam her back to his chest. Ignoring her shriek of protest, he grabbed her shirt and yanked it up even as he twisted her so her hip faced the other youkai.

"Here! Take a long look! Can a worthless bastard like you fucking read or do I have to tell you what this means?!" Inuyasha snarled out, taking some satisfaction in the way the wolf's eyes widened in surprise when the lowered to the red mark and filled with recognition.

Kouga stalked back up to them, punching Inuyasha in the face yet again, making Kagome freeze when she felt his fist brush so close it grazed her hair. With the hanyou back on the ground, Kouga grabbed her hips and turned her himself so he could look down at the crimson lines more closely, "Oi....Kagome? How did inukkoro get his name on you?"

"I-"

"No matter," Kouga shrugged and flexed his claws against her hip, lifting his hand so that his claws almost touched it. "We can just cut it off of you and then-"

That was as far as he got when Inuyasha's hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him off the ground. If Kagome thought he'd been growling before, that was nothing compared to the sounds coming from the hanyou now. His eyes had bled red, glowing violently as he bared his fangs and slowly squeezed the skin beneath his hand, "What the FUCK did you just say?!"

Kouga reacted instinctively, bringing both legs up in an attempt to kick them into his chest and gain his release from the choking hold, "I said we can cut your fucking name off MY woman!"

Inuyasha caught Kouga's leg, digging his claws deep into the wolf's thigh even as he turned and flung him into the trees with all his strength. Kouga slammed hard through at least two trees before they briefly lost sight of him, but his bellowing curses echoed easily back to them to show he was still close.

Inuyasha would have gone after him immediately.

At that moment he wanted nothing more than to tear the wolf's head off for even thinking of hurting Kagome on purpose, let alone daring to say it out loud. For wanting to cut his name, HIS proof, off her hip and saying it so casually to her. For ever putting his hands on her at all.

Kagome caught his arm, "Inuyasha, wait! He doesn't-"

His thoughts immediately redirected, a clawed hand fisted in her shirt over her heart, yanking her forward so fast she stumbled and had to catch herself against his chest. Inuyasha's fastened his mouth to hers, bruising, branding, and almost violent all at once in a blatant demand for her response.

Inuyasha was blind and deaf to everything around him, so focused on gaining answers from Kagome that he probably wouldn't have noticed if someone tried to run him through. But he had to know... What if she pushed him away? She had always been ridiculously kind to Kouga, never letting Inuyasha kill him and put an end to the violent competition once and for all. Like now. She didn't want him to go after the wolf even after everything he'd said. Did she want to let him cut her? Just to get his name off her?

Kagome felt the desperation in the devouring kiss, and her fingers curled in his haori as she tried frantically to think what he could possibly be desperate for. It was next to impossible. Just like it always was when Inuyasha was kissing her... But with the last complete thought that managed to make itself known, she wondered if the hanyou actually wanted reassurance. Could he be so unsure?

She slid her hand up to his cheek, turning her head and opening her mouth a little wider. Apparently that was the right response, as Inuyasha's hand tightened before moving around to the small of her back and press her into him while the other sank deep into her hair. The kiss was no less intense or consuming, but she dimly registered that the desperate edge was gone, replaced by a sense of relief and...elation?

Sango couldn't really remember a time she had been this shocked. She stood blinking rapidly as though trying to clear the image in front of her from her sight while Miroku watched beside her, no less surprised but covering it with much more aplomb and keeping a hand over Shippo's eyes.

"Hou-houshi-sama... do you think they...they might have-?" Sango was having difficulty even forming the question, her mind trying to deny it even as her eyes told her it certainly seemed true.

"It certainly... looks that way," Miroku nodded.

"What's going on?!" Shippo squirmed in the priest's hold. "Dammit, let me see!"

Inuyasha rumbled low in his chest, the tension in him easing at the honest emotions he could feel in her embrace. Kagome was soft and accepting, moving against him naturally as though she realized she was right where she belonged. She couldn't possibly kiss him like this if she didn't mean it, and that meant she didn't want Kouga.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, inukkoro?!" Kouga's outraged snarl snapped Inuyasha's attention back to the situation, but this time his attitude was much more confident, even arrogant.

He opened his gleaming eyes to watch the wolf, but purposefully tightened his hands, well aware that Kagome was too distracted to notice Kouga's reappearance. He smiled against her lips before ending the kiss, pressing her into him again and sliding his arms around her tightly, "I told you, she's fucking mine."

Kagome took several deep breaths, desperately trying to clear her head when his lips left hers, but Inuyasha's hand stroking lazily up and down her spine beneath her shirt was keeping her from getting herself back under control. She felt like she was on fire, her knees weak and shaking as she slumped in Inuyasha's hold, trusting him to keep her from falling flat on her face.

Kouga's eyes narrowed dangerously, nostrils flaring at the arousal in her scent, "I'm going to tear off your fucking hands for touching her, you worthless bastard!"

Inuyasha's eyes were hard and deadly even as his smile turned smug, "Funny, I was just about to say that."

Kouga snarled and shot forward, Inuyasha carefully setting Kagome aside as he leapt to meet the attack.

Ignoring the clashing youkai, Sango made her way over to where Kagome had more or less dropped to the ground, staring blankly ahead and barely supporting herself on her arms. Reaching down, she set her hand on the girl's shoulder, shaking lightly, "Kagome-chan, are you okay?"

Kagome turned to look up at her, her eyes still glassy as she lifted her hand to touch her swollen lips, "I... that was... I think so."

Somehow that just hadn't been like the other times he'd kissed her. This one had left her head reeling and that heat still streaking through her veins, making her heart pound in her ears. She could feel the tattoo pulsing in time with her heart, spreading a sort of longing through her at the almost harsh, demanding feel of his lips against hers. Before he'd been careful, almost as though he was afraid he'd hurt her, but this time he hadn't held back a thing.

It had been more than a little overwhelming, rough enough to occasionally border on pain, and... and unbelievably exciting. She was frustrated, still trying to tamp down the urge to run in between the fighting youkai and demand to know just how the hell he could kiss her like that one second and try to kill Kouga the next.

Miroku held out a hand to help her up, giving her a friendly smile, "Here, let me help."

Numbly, she set her hand in his and let them pull her to her feet, her eyes drawn to where Inuyasha was currently slamming Kouga face first into the ground, "I should stop them."

"I think she's had a shock," Sango shook her head, murmuring to Miroku when she saw the glassy look hadn't left the girl's eyes. Taking her hand, Sango tried to pull her away from Inuyasha, "You need some water, Kagome-chan. Houshi-sama, if that hand hits skin Inuyasha will kill you," she cut in when Miroku's hand lifted towards the exposed curve of Kagome's hip.

Miroku gave her an innocent look, "I was merely helping Kagome-chan stand."

Sango gave him a dry frown, "Then again, I might kill you and save him the trouble."

Kagome sucked in a breath sharply, her hand clenching over her chest when she felt a chill streak through her. Her heart pounded and she whirled back to see Inuyasha rising to his feet, wiping blood from his chin while an equally battered looking Kouga faced him across the clearing, panting hard and snarling wildly.

Inuyasha was angry and injured, and it was spilling over into her.

She could distantly hear her memory of the voice telling her not to get angry or use her magic even as her brows lowered and her eyes began to gleam. She slowly turned and started to walk back, turning a freezing glare at the monk and exterminator when they tried to stop her. Satisfied only when they stopped trying to follow, Kagome started walking again, her steps slow and measured even as her hands curled into fists at her sides.

"Houshi-sama?" Sango gritted her teeth, hating the helpless feeling swamping through her as her mind raced for something, ANYTHING she could do.

Miroku looked at Inuyasha and Kouga grappling and then down to Kagome as the aura around her curled and sparked around her, dangerous and more powerful than he remembered her aura being before when she was angry. He took a step back, brow furrowed in concern as he felt for the presences he'd sensed in her the last time they'd seen this.

"Only two magics this time," he murmured in confusion. "But they're...they're mixed together. Inuyasha! Kagome is-"

"Sit!" Kagome yelled when she was almost standing in the middle of the fight.

Miroku's surprise was nearly comical, "Or maybe she doesn't need our help at the moment."

"Dammit, Kagome, what are you-?" Inuyasha reared up, but froze at the look on her face, or more precisely, that he could literally feel the rage pouring off of her. The way her eyes were glowing as she watched first him and then Kouga was deeply unsettling, "No. Kagome?"

Kouga cocked his head as he regarded her, breathing heavily from his previous exertion as he moved to her side. Confused at the odd power vibrating off her, he reached out and touched her arm to draw her gaze, "Kagome?"

"Kouga-kun?" her voice was sweet, a little too sweet and it had Inuyasha trying to inch backwards in concern.

"What is it?" he smiled affectionately, relaxing at the normal response and blissfully unaware of the sense of foreboding surrounding them.

Kagome grabbed his arm with unnatural strength, ducking under it and twisting to slam him over her head and flat on his back. To the amazement of all of them, the moment she had him down, she dropped to one knee, her eyes sparking red as she put all her weight behind her shoulder and slammed her fist into his face.

Inuyasha blinked owlishly at her, slowly rising to his feet as she rolled back on her haunches, glaring down at the stunned wolf youkai, "K-Kagome?"


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