chapter 7:Gone
Inuyasha was grumpier than normal. It wasn't just the fact that he and Kouga hadn't got to spend much time alone but now it was spring again, which meant mating season. That would not have been so bad in itself but Kagome had gone into her monthly heat at the same time. Of course the human girl had no idea, but the demons in the group knew, especially Kouga. He tried his best to stay away from the miko, afraid of his own instincts during this time and not wanting to upset Inuyasha.
The aromas coming from Kouga and Kagome were driving the hanyou crazy and although he did love Kouga and would never betray him, he was still overly protective of the teen girl. He couldn't help himself and at times would come between the wolf and the miko even if they were doing nothing more than talking. Kouga, feeling more aggressive at this time, began to snap at Inuyasha, getting pissed because he felt the hanyou didn't trust him.
It all came to a head one day when the group was resting after tracking down a lead to find Naraku. Kouga had gone off to try to remove himself from Kagome, her scent making him aroused and edgy. He had lain down under a sakura tree that had just started to blossom at the edge of a steep hill. The girls and the two wolf boys had started an impromptu game of catch with a ball Kagome had in her sack to occupy the kit who was bored and wanted something to do. Miroku sauntered over and sat with Kouga to watch.
"Where'd Inuyasha get off to?" Kouga asked the monk as he sat down, laying his staff on the ground between them.
"He said he was going to go to that village we passed to grab some supplies."
"Oh," Kouga returned. He was a bit disappointed; he had hoped that he could get the hanyou off by himself somewhere and take care of his problem. Damn, I hate this time of year, he groaned to himself. He was missing the contact that he and the hanyou seemed unable to get very often. All the sneaking around was driving him crazy.
Miroku gave him a quizzical look at the tone of his voice and then the two men sat in companionable silence as the game the others were playing came closer to where they were. Kouga closed his eyes momentarily listening to his two friends laugh and yell who had, to his surprise, managed to keep the secret of what was going on with him and Inuyasha.
"Kagome watch out!" yelled Miroku as the teen girl came running backwards closer to the edge of the hill that sloped at an almost ninety degree angel. She heard the warning and tried to stop but slipped and tumbled back over the edge.
Kouga was up in a second and lunged for her, grabbing her around the waist and holding her tight as they both went over. The wolf turned in the air so that when they hit the ground he was on the bottom and she was on top their faces inches from each others. Kouga heard a snap as a couple of his ribs cracked from the force of their landing and the air whooshed out of his lungs. The back of his head hit the ground and he saw stars and bright lights sparkle before his eyes.
"Kouga-kun, are you alright?" Kagome asked worriedly, putting her hands on either side of his face to look at him. This was the point that Inuyasha walked out of the woods three feet from where they were laying. His eyes went large at what he thought he was seeing and he ran forward and yanked Kagome off of the wolf.
He grabbed the panting wolf who was trying desperately to get his lungs to take in air and held him by his chest armour, "What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" he yelled in the ookami's face before throwing him back onto the ground.
Kouga yelped in pain as his ribs finished breaking all the way. He was so dazed he couldn't get his mouth to work to explain.
"Inuyasha, stop, Kouga was just..." Kagome started.
"Shut up, I don't want to hear it!" he yelled at the girl, making her eyes go large in shock, her mouth opened in an "O".
"Don't you ever touch her!" the hanyou hollered, punching the wolf as he tried to rise.
Kouga landed back on the ground, his head swimming with pain as blood flew out of nose and mouth. His own anger came to the fore and he yelled back at the half demon. "I didn't do anything, you fucking mutt!" He gave a gasp as pain flooded through his ribs from taking such a large breath to yell.
Inuyasha again lifted him, staring him straight in the eyes. "This was a mistake, I should have known better than to trust a stinking wolf." He gave Kouga a push away from him and the wolf managed to shakily stay on his feet looking at Inuyasha with wide, disbelieving eyes for a moment before anger overtook him.
Kouga began to growl, showing his teeth. "Fuck you!" he screamed before gripping his broken ribs and limping into the forest feeling the hurt more than just in his body but in his soul as well.
Inuyasha was going to go after him and yell some more, he was so angry and hurt at what he imagined his lover and his friend had been doing, but then Kagome finally came out of her shocked silence. "Inuyasha, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!!" she yelled.
Miroku made it down the hill as Kagome ran off into the woods to look for Kouga. He crouched down beside the groaning hanyou. "Kouga tried to save her from falling, he wasn't making a pass at her," he told Inuyasha. "Not that any red blooded male wouldn't think to make a pass at such a lovely..." he stopped talking as he heard a loud, menacing growl emanating from the hole in the ground the hanyou was trying to rise from.
The rest came up as Inuyasha was standing. "What did you do?" questioned Ginta accusingly. He, as well as the others had seen the fight from above and they were angry with the hanyou for hurting Kouga.
"He saved her from getting hurt," Hakkaku added, frowning at the half demon.
"I didn't know that," Inuyasha replied still upset from what had happened. He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, "that wasn't what it looked like to me."
Ginta came close to the hanyou's face making Inuyasha's eyes go round with surprise. "He wouldn't have betrayed you like that," the wolf demon whispered furiously so the humans wouldn't hear. He knew that Kouga, like all wolf demons, were intensely loyal to those they chose as mates and Ginta thought that by now Inuyasha would have known that as well.
Miroku explained what had happened and what Kouga had done to help the miko girl when she fell. "He hit the ground pretty hard, I'm sure he must have been hurt," he finished saying to the hanyou.
Inuyasha's ears drooped in sorrow for what he had done. He hadn't meant to get so angry but the two of them, throwing off those pheromones, and lying like that on the ground had made him think the wrong thing.
"We better go find them," Sango stated, starting to trek into the woods where Kagome had gone. They hadn't gotten far when they saw the dark haired girl approaching them.
"I can't find him," she stated worriedly giving Inuyasha an angry glare. "He tried to help me, why did you get so mad? I mean I know you guys fight sometimes but that was just too much, Inuyasha. He hit his head really hard, he might have a concussion, he could be lying somewhere unconscious." Kagome was beginning to hyperventilate imagining all the worst possible scenarios and from speaking so quickly without breathing.
"He'll be alright," Inuyasha told her guiltily. "He's full demon, he'll heal pretty quickly from any wounds."
"No thanks to you," Kagome said irritably, taking some deep, slow breaths to stop herself from feeling dizzy. She was still angry that the hanyou had hurt their friend.
"I'm sorry, okay, I thought..."
"I know what you thought," she retorted. "He hasn't tried anything with me since he's joined us. He's really been trying to be your friend, haven't you noticed?" she queried innocently.
Inuyasha blushed, he had noticed that the ookami didn't flirt with Kagome anymore; it had been something he had worried about when they first joined up together. He knew him and Kouga had something special, they loved each other, right? So that shouldn't have been an issue, but old habits are hard to break and sometimes he felt unworthy, like he wasn't good enough or he didn't deserve the happiness he felt. His biggest fear had been that Kouga would think that as well, that he would change his mind and want Kagome instead of him.
"Let's go find him, he couldn't have gotten far," he intoned, worry beginning to gnaw at his gut as well.
Kouga put on a burst of shard enhanced speed when he heard Kagome calling to him. He ran as fast and as far as he could before he collapsed from the agony in his ribs, his head spinning. He had a moment of nausea from the pain in his head but took some deep breaths until it passed.
Fucking mutt, what's his problem anyways? I didn't do anything. He hobbled over to a tree and lay down with his back against it. He stayed still, trying to allow time for his ribs to knit back together. He felt a hot, prickling behind his eyes the more he thought of what had happened.
Doesn't he trust me? I mean I know we were rivals in the past but that's all over, right? Kouga began to worry as to why Inuyasha would act so harshly towards him.
It was something that had always been in the back of his mind. He knew, just from watching, that Kagome really liked the hanyou, maybe she even loved him and he would feel some jealousy when Inuyasha, his Inuyasha, would pay attention to her. He understood that the half demon had feelings for her too but he was always consoled by the fact that Inuyasha wanted to be with him. He even understood that the white haired boy couldn't ignore her, that would make everyone suspicious but it still bothered him when he saw some of the tender looks the hanyou would give the girl.
Maybe he's changed his mind, maybe he wants to be with her instead of me, he thought miserably. The more he thought about it the more insecure he felt until finally he had himself believing it.
Now what do I do? I can't go back to the pack, they won't accept me now. Inuyasha doesn't want me..., this thought made a pressure build up in his chest, like someone was sitting on it and not letting his heart beat.
He shook himself out of his sorrow, anger and resentment growing in its place. Who needs him, fucking jerk, half breed mutt. I don't and I don't need anyone else either. He's turned me into a fucking woman; that ends now! He waited until he felt his ribs had pretty well healed and then slipping into his wolf form, he slunk into the forest and away from everything he loved.
It didn't take the group long to realize that they wouldn't be able to follow Kouga's scent. The wind created from when he ran using the shards blew the scent away, allowing it to dissipate in the air.
"Where could he have gone?" Kagome asked, worry lacing her voice.
"I think I might know," returned Inuyasha, turning to the west and heading to a certain mountain.
It took them a day to reach Kouga's cave but only a few seconds to realize he wasn't there and probably hadn't been since they found the two boys there those few months ago. Inuyasha really began to get worried. "Would he go back to the pack?" he asked Ginta.
"I doubt it, he abandoned the pack, I'm sure they have someone else as alpha now," he said with a bit of an accusatory note to his voice. He sighed when he was the look of misery cross the hanyou's face. "But I'll go look, maybe he's hanging around on our old territory."
"I'll go with you," offered Hakkaku. The two wolf demons took off leaving the others to head back towards the village.
"He did know we were going back, maybe he just needed some time to cool off. He might be there now waiting for us," Miroku told the group. He was a bit mystified as to why Inuyasha seemed to care so much. He understood that maybe he felt badly. But still, the hanyou seemed as upset, if not more so, than Kagome. He wondered if he was the only one to notice this.
Kouga had travelled far to a completely different region of Japan and was currently tracking a rabbit in his animal form. He actually liked his wolf form and he enjoyed the feeling of freedom he got from the animalistic sensations and instincts. There were times when he would stay this way for days, getting lost in the simple passions and perceptions of his beast. Now was one of those times as his blood hummed with the joy of the hunt allowing him to forget, at least for awhile, why he was out here in this unknown forest by himself.
So involved was he in getting closer to the rabbit without startling it that he didn't notice the metal jaws hidden under the leaves until his leg was firmly clamped between the wicked, spiked teeth. He yowled out in pain, his leg broken, unable to heal as the steel trap held the bones open. He pulled and bit at the trap, blood flowing out of the wound on his leg and then his mouth as he was unable to break the metal jaws with his teeth.
He momentarily thought of transforming back into his human form but then discarded the idea. If he did, his human leg being much larger in circumference than his wolf one, would most likely be cut off as the jaws of the trap would not expand to accept the larger appendage.
The trap was held to the ground with a chain attached to a spike and he tried to pull the trap out of the ground hoping to at least get out of the area. He had no success and his perceptions began to grey out as unconsciousness claimed him, the pain unbearable.
The trapper looked down on the large black wolf held in his trap. He noticed the unusual coloration of the animals face mask and ruff and felt the unmistakeable aura of youkai.
The former monk pulled out a leather strap from his horse's saddle bag and a sutra from his pocket. He folded the strap with the sutra inside and tied it around the neck of the wolf before unclamping the jaws of the trap. He then used leather thongs and tied the animal's legs together and its mouth closed, slinging the creature over the horses back.
"There now," the dark haired, slightly balding man cooed to the unconscious wolf. "I don't know what luck brought you to me but if you're what I think you are, you'll heal quick enough and then they'll be nothing to beat me in the fights. You're going to make me a lot of money, wolfie." He gave the unconscious Kouga a pat on the shoulder and with a happy grin started walking back to his village, leading the horse.