Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

My Woman	By : scattered-dimensions Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Kouga/Kagome Views: 16033 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. This is purely fiction. No profit involved.

Chapter List
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Keiji gripped Saburo’s bloody chin between his clawed fingers harshly, forcing the wheezing ookami to focus his attention solely on him.
“Did you enjoy murdering my young, wolf? You’re no different than your leader, killing and butchering without reasssson. How doessss it feel, hmm, to hear your young, your kin sssscreaming for merccccy? How doessss it feel to know you are alone, that your preccccioussss Alpha will not be coming for you?” Keiji hissed in pure satisfaction.
Saburo spit a bloody glob in his direction, but Keiji sidestepped it with ease, laughing at the blind wolf’s feeble retaliation.
“You think you know so much. Kouga will return and with him will come the gates of Hell. He will avenge us all.” Saburo replied hoarsely, his face screwed into a sneer.
Keiji removed his fingers from the wolf’s face, allowing his claws to lazily run down his chin, leaving new bloody trails in their wake.
“Ssssuch blind faith.” Keiji hissed laughter at his little joke. He had removed Saburo of the use of his remaining eye three days ago during their first session together. “Tell me it issss not sssso. You believe your broken Princccce will return after tassssting forbidden fruit?” Keiji asked, watching the confusion play out on the wolf’s face. “Oh, you don’t know, do you? Sssshall I enlighten you? You ssssee, your noble Princccce hassss mated the priesssstessss. Do you sssstill believe he will be coming for you?”
Saburo became deathly silent, so much so that Keiji had to strain his senses to ensure his captive still drew breath. He started back when a hoarse rumble began deep in the wolf’s chest. He looked on astounded as the wolf’s laughter gained volume, a sound bordering on hysteria.
“At least one of my brothers is having a good time.” Saburo said through chuckles.
Keiji hissed menacingly at the outburst and let his fist fly into the laughing wolf’s sternum. He heard a crack upon impact, signaling another broken bone. The fact was made that much more satisfying by the soft whine that rushed from the momentarily defiant wolf. He turned his head to gaze at the line of Elders strung up next to his current plaything.
“Do any of you have an opinion on what I’ve ssssaid?” Keiji asked with mock pleasantry.
He was answered with silence as usual. They didn’t even regard his presence at all, which bothered him little. He merely shrugged his burly shoulders and focused his attention back on the wolf Beta.
“Ssssurely you old onessss have figured it out by now. Your ssssilence holdssss no favor for your ssssecond in command.” Keiji continued, cracking his knuckles in preparation.
Saburo yelped in pain upon the first blow to his battered midsection, but held his tongue as Keiji’s fists rained down on him. It was something he had grown accustomed to over the past few days. It seemed that the snake took a sick pleasure in watching him suffer, but that didn’t really matter to Saburo. The only thing he truly focused on was an opportunity, one he hoped he would get soon. Opportunities always presented themselves, whether they are from carelessness or one moment of false security, it would happen and he would seize it. The snake leader Keiji would suffer terribly when he got his claws on him.
Saburo’s mind seared white with excruciating pain, his ears rang with the sound of the bones in his leg breaking and tearing through his flesh. He wanted to cry out, to struggle, to rip that filthy fucker’s head off, but he controlled his breathing instead and tried to think about something other than what his poor body was going through right now. He blocked out the euphoric laughter and mocking words from his captor, blocked out the pain, and left the scents and memories of his dead kin behind.
He let his mind drift to a lovely smiling face. Her chocolate eyes glistening in the fire light, her cheeks dusted with a pretty crimson, and a very happy Kouga standing over her with a crooked grin. The vision almost made him smile. It was the way Kagome always looked right after Kouga snuck in a little peck on her lips. Saburo didn’t know how much of the snake’s words were true and he frankly didn’t care. His friends deserved some form of happiness in their lives. If they had mated he would celebrate the union, if only in his mind. He could give a damn less if Kouga ever returned. There wasn’t much one lone wolf could do against numbers so large.
It wasn’t that Saburo had given up, no; he merely faced the facts. In the first day their numbers had been effortlessly reduced to half. He had watched the snake demons slaughter his kin with his only eye. He had struggled against his bonds, but to no avail, whatever was used to hold him in place was not going anywhere. The second day was sketchy, at best. That’s the day the beatings and gloating from the snake leader began. Saburo remembered losing consciousness that morning, or was it evening, listening to the sounds of frantic screaming from the mothers in the pack. He had awoken to pitch blackness and soon realized that the snake had taken his remaining eye. Then things were relatively quiet.
Saburo had no idea how many of his kin were left alive. He had moments throughout the day to quietly speak to the Elders who were imprisoned next to him, but he refused to do so. They had offered little help and in Saburo’s current mood, he just didn’t find that acceptable in the least. In fact, it pissed him off, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. The only thing he looked forward to was that opportunity. He would find a way to release himself and take down as many snakes before they ended his life. Maybe his endeavors would allow some of the surviving wolves a means of escape. If he could save one life then it would all be worth it.
Kagome and Kouga floated back into his mind. He remembered the way they would sit in close proximity when they shared meals, their knees and elbows almost touching. He had walked in on them sleeping together, snuggled comfortably into each other’s arms more than once. He had been there when Kouga would bring Kagome new furs, just because. The oblivious girl would smile and hug the Prince tightly. Kouga would close his eyes and bury his face in the little priestess’s hair.
Saburo could feel the darkness creeping in around the edges. He pictured what the couple would look like happily mated. He was sure he wouldn’t ever see a more joyous pair. He thought of how proud Kouga would be when Kagome finally carried their cub and of how wonderful a mother Kagome would make. Saburo smiled at that just before he succumbed to blessed unconsciousness.

“I wouldn’t have saved him if that was true, Hakkaku. I still care about the pack and our way of life. How could you still be so loyal to that bastard Kouga?” Ayame asked as she crossed her arms across her chest and stomped her foot on the cave floor like a petulant child.
Hakkaku kept his eyes trained on his brother, Ginta lying unconscious on the stone floor of the common den behind Ayame. He should have kept his mouth shut, but he couldn’t stand the way Ayame pranced around the den like all was sunshine and rainbows, like she hadn’t been a part of the dastardly fiends that murdered most of the pack. He wasn’t able to strike out because his hands were tied behind his back and his feet were connected to the binds on his wrists. So, he called her a murderous, traitorous bitch and went further to tell her that he couldn’t wait until Kouga returned and exacted his vengeance.
“You know, if I’m so bad, I could just take him outside and let the snakes have their way with your dear injured brother.” Ayame said inching closer to the prone wolf behind her.
Hakkaku froze; his hands twisted painfully trying to free themselves so he could protect Ginta from her threat. He watched helplessly as she knelt beside Ginta and brushed his brow lightly with her clawed finger tips. He felt his chest rumble with a growl and he curled his lip in warning.
“Oh, don’t be like that, Hakkaku. I wasn’t being serious. He’ll be safe as long as he’s under my protection.” She said with a smile, settling herself beside Ginta, her back against the cave wall.
“Your protection? What does that entail exactly? If we stay true to our ookami pride, we’ll be slaughtered where we stand? If we refuse to bend a knee to Hiroshi and that snake then we’ll be treated like Saburo?” Hakkaku spat vehemently.
Ayame’s smile drooped into a frown, her forehead creased in contemplation and she pinned him with pleading turquoise eyes. The expression made Hakkaku want to puke.
“You should know better than to ask me such a thing. Hiroshi understands what needs to be done to excel our standing in this world. All we’ve been doing under Kouga’s reign is struggle. We’ve fought the snake clan needlessly. Hiroshi single handedly united us, but everyone is being so foolish. Saburo is a fine example of that. He should have surrendered when he was given the chance.” Ayame said seriously.
“They slaughtered our cubs you fucking lunatic!” Hakkaku yelled.
“There will be more cubs, born from those loyal to this new faction. It was unfortunate, but necessary.” She stated matter of factly.
Hakkaku was done. His nerves couldn’t handle anymore. He had been inside the common den when the attack started four days ago, but had been one of the first on the scene to defend their home. He had seen the way Ginta’s jaw set and the determination glinting in his eyes, but he couldn’t reach his brother in time. Then everything had gone dark. Someone had knocked him out. His next waking memory was the scent of blood and the screaming of the females in the pack. His eyes were met with the sight of each and every cub in the pack being murdered by the snakes. Most of the mothers had willingly caused a scene to share the same fate as their young.
Hakkaku had begun to struggle at that time, wanting to free himself, to exact his revenge regardless the consequences, but then he saw two snake youkai carrying Ginta into the common den. That’s when Ayame had come to lay claim on him, like she had done with the Elders and some other wolves that she favored. Hakkaku noticed that Saburo had been conveniently excluded from that list. Once Ayame had made her rounds, picking out her favored, several snakes hauled them to their feet and pushed them toward the common den. They had passed the Elders and Saburo tied to the tree outside the den.
All of them had their hands bound above their heads and their feet were tied to the knurled roots of the tree. The Elders hadn’t been harmed, but Saburo looked horrible. He had one eye missing completely and the other was damaged to the point that Hakkaku was sure it would never heal properly. Hakkaku had thanked the Gods that Saburo had been unconscious because the wounds he had sustained had been extensive and vicious in nature. His torso was littered in meaty crimson stripes. The left side of his chest concaved in an unnatural way and his face was unrecognizable from the swelling and the blood. He was amazed that he was even alive at all. What the hell had their Beta ever done to deserve that kind of cruelty?
Then, there had been the next few days holed up in a den with a handful of favored wolves and a crazed bitch, who constantly hovered over his injured brother. It was too much. He felt as if his mind would snap at any moment. He sent out a silent prayer that Kouga would stay away, just leave the remaining pack to their fates. Hakkaku knew Kouga was happy, even if Kouga felt like he shouldn’t be. His Alpha was with the one he loved, completely ignorant and removed from the injustices happening on his lands. Hakkaku loved his friend the same as he loved his flesh and blood brother, and with that came the hope that Kouga could remain untouched by this madness. That he would continue on with his ookami pride intact and make a blissful life for himself and Kagome far away from here, but he was just fooling himself.
Kouga would return, more than likely go into an unseeing and indiscriminate rage and rip quite a few snakes to shreds before they caught him and gave him the same treatment as Saburo or worse. There wasn’t much Kouga would be able to accomplish by himself. He’d just end up perishing like the rest of them, but if he stayed away, he would be able to defeat the snake demons because there would be at least one true ookami that still lived. Kouga would carry on the ancient traditions and even though his pack would be small, he would protect the ones in it with his life. He wanted at least one member of this pack to spend the rest of their lives in pure happiness, but he knew Kouga far too well. Hakkaku heaved a heavy sigh which did nothing to relieve the tension knotted angrily inside him. He never thought he would see the day the ookami race would fall.

“Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru, I have brought Ah-Un like you commanded. Is it for R…” The kappa squawked while running full blast straight for the Western Lord.
Jaken’s question had been cut off abruptly by a perfectly aimed fist sized rock that whacked him in the mouth. Shippo snickered; Kagome frowned and crossed her arms, but said nothing and the other four acted as if nothing unusual had happened at all.
“Ah-Un is for the Miko. Jaken you will be accompanying this Sesshomaru in battle. If you fail me you will forfeit your life.” Sesshomaru said stoically walking past the twitching toad and into the thicket of trees.
Kagome was the first to follow after the Taiyoukai. She moved in an awkward half run to catch up to his lengthy strides, but once she did she grasped the hem of one of his billowing sleeves to gain his attention. Sesshomaru stopped and looked down into the face of the young woman. He could see the concern, the rampant thoughts of what if stirring around in her mind and he felt the paternal instincts to soothe her fears emerge.
“Lord Sesshomaru, what’s the plan when we get there?” Kagome asked.
“It’s simple, Miko. You, the slayer, and the kit will sneak into the dens to assess our situation. We need to know where they are and how many survivors are left.” Sesshomaru replied emotionlessly.
“Like hell my mate and son are going in there!” Kouga inserted angrily, wrapping his arm around Kagome’s shoulders protectively.
“Oi wolf, normally I’d be right with ya on that, but Sesshomaru’s right. If any of us go in there, we’ll be spotted first thing. They’ll definitely be waiting on you and Sesshomaru’s aura alone will have them on high alert. Natsuki is the missing link and I’m pretty sure her absence has been noticed and I’m no good at sneaking around, so that leaves the humans. Shippo’s so young he could slip in unnoticed.” InuYasha interjected.
“He’s right, Papa. We gotta know what we’re dealing with first before we rush in. Me and Mama have done plenty of sneaking around when we were hunting for jewel shards, so you ain’t gotta worry. Ain’t that right, Mama?” Shippo chirped from InuYasha’s shoulder.
“That’s right. Look we’ll be fine. With the three of us it will be quicker and easier to split up and cover more ground. We need to take some risks to make sure we do things right. The lives of the pack are at stake.” Kagome interceded with a small, worried smile.
Kouga looked to his mate and newly adopted son before meeting the cool amber gaze of Sesshomaru. The demon Lord inclined his head to the wolf Prince before resuming his trek into the forest south of the dens where they were going to make camp. It was far enough away that they couldn’t be detected, but close enough that they could rush into battle without losing too much time. Kouga kept his arm tightly wound around his precious woman. His nerves were frayed into virtual nonexistence with the news of the attack. His heart hung heavy like a cold, dead stone in his chest.
The snake clan was ruthless in their assaults and Kouga couldn’t fit the horrendous acts that could be happening to his pack into his mind. He simply held on to the urgency that screamed bloody murder in his brain and prayed that they weren’t too late. It had been four days since the initial attack and they were going to have to wait until the cover of night to send in their little reconnaissance team. That idea made Kouga physically ill. He’d just gotten his woman back and he didn’t relish any threat to her life. Sending her into a snake youkai infested territory to poke around and see what she could see was borderline madness, but Kouga understood the reasoning behind it.
They were only going to get one shot and they needed to get it right. Knowledge was power and the more they had the better. It didn’t hurt that they had the most powerful demon this side of the world backing them up either. Sesshomaru had made his repayment demands for aid quite clear yesterday. The lives of Hiroshi and Ayame were his and his alone. In return he would assist in eradicating the snake demons from the ookami territory. Kouga had deemed it reasonable enough, even though he wanted nothing more than to rip the hide off those insidious bastards. As Alpha he would make a deal with the devil to save the lives of his pack and Sesshomaru was about as close as one could get.

Saburo awoke to the sound of crickets chirping. He shook his pounding head to clear it out of the fog of sleep. He tried to take a breath but immediately regretted his actions. Apparently, the snake had worked him over harder than he thought. He forced the air into his lungs, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest. From the scent of the air he guessed it was early morning, just a few hours before dawn. He let the air out of his lungs slowly, wincing. He felt the subtleness of a small aura creeping up behind him. At first he thought it was a cub that had somehow managed to escape, but he held a barely recognizable memory of this demon and knew it wasn’t a wolf. He felt the tree limb that his hands were bound to bow slightly under a small weight.
“Psst, Saburo, you awake?” The tiny voice asked in a whisper.
“Who are you?” Saburo responded just as quietly.
“It’s me, Shippo. We met in Edo when you dropped off Papa…er…Kouga. Listen, I ain’t got a lot of time. We got help comin’, so just hang in there.” Shippo whispered back.
“What help, kit?” Saburo asked a little more cynically than he had intended.
“Well, my Mama and Papa, Lord Sesshomaru and a few others. I gotta go, be ready.” Shippo whispered hurriedly, causing the tree limb to sway under his retreat.
Saburo smiled to himself at the kit’s use of words. So Kouga was his Papa now, huh? It seemed as if the snake’s words were true after all and Saburo couldn’t be happier about the union. It was about damn time. Saburo’s smile fell at the mention of the fact that Kouga and Kagome were here to help. Sesshomaru he could understand, hell, even Kouga, but his little sister? What was that human thinking? She had barely survived the attack upon her several months ago and now she was willingly helping the pack fight? Lord Sesshomaru had been right; she was a strange human indeed.

Hakkaku squeezed his eyes shut, not really wanting to look at the one he knew who was poking him in the shoulder. Ayame was back for another round of ‘I’m doing this to save my people’ and Hakkaku was none too happy to be included, especially this late at night. Why couldn’t that crazy bitch give him peace?
“Psst, Hakkaku.” A whispering voice said next to his ear.
His eyes flew wide and settled on Kagome who was crouched next to him. What the hell was she doing here?
“Sis?” Hakkaku whispered dumbly, not really believing his own eyes.
“We’re going to get you out of here, okay, but we’re going to need your help.” She said seriously while checking his binds.
“Absolutely, what do you need me to do?” He replied while shifting slightly to give her a better view of his fettered hands and feet.
He felt the binds loosen and fall away and a dagger was placed in his hands. Kagome stilled him when he tried to move to stretch his legs and he looked at her curiously.
“You can’t let them know you’re free, not yet. Wait for the attack and then grab Ayame. We need her alive, so don’t do anything stupid, brother.” She explained hurriedly.
“Got it. Sis, how’s Ginta? Have you looked at him yet?” Hakkaku asked nodding across the den where Ginta lay.
“He’s going to be fine. Just got banged up pretty bad. He’ll need to be protected. Make that happen. I gotta go. Be careful, Hakkaku.” She whispered while she hugged him before making her way out of the common den.
“Sis, wait.” Hakkaku heard her pause before he continued. “The snake leader is holed up in Kouga’s den back there, just in case Kouga was wondering.”
“Thanks.” She said then she was gone.
Hakkaku rested his head against the stone wall and gripped the dagger tight, allowing a triumphant smile to play across his lips. Their Alpha had returned and the Eastern Ookami tribe would have their retribution. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Ayame’s face. He made a quick mental checklist of the ones captured inside the den with him. There were at least seven injured, including his brother, but roughly twenty more in fighting condition. The females were included in his calculations. Normally, they would stand aside and allow the males to do battle, but after all that had happened, Hakkaku was sure the girls would want their piece of the action. From the scent of things, he guessed at least six snakes were camped out toward the back of the common den. If he could get a few of his kin free quickly enough they shouldn’t be a problem. No, the problem was going to be keeping Ayame’s head on her shoulders until Kouga came for her.

Kohaku held the chain on his blade firmly to keep it from clanking together as he moved through the shadows from rock to rock surveying the damage done to the ookami pack. He was a slayer by trade and had done his share of killing, willfully or not, but what these serpents had done to the wolves was reprehensible. He had already passed the mass grave of the cubs. The bodies of what Kohaku assumed were the mothers were thrown into the pit carelessly among the dead of their young. It hurt his heart to see such a thing, but what got him the most was the folded body of a young female. From a distance she reminded him of Sango. As he crept closer he discovered the poor girl dead and in the protection of her lifeless arms she cradled an infant that appeared to be only days old. He checked the child, but found the infant to be dead as well. He placed the small babe back into his mother’s arms and continued on his way.
The rage he felt at the sight of such needless slaughter had his blood singing and his senses sharp. He missed nothing as he skirted the territory. There were maybe 150 ookami survivors that had been captured. They were all bound by their hands and feet and split into groups of ten. Each group was guarded by at least fifty or more snakes. The sheer numbers of reptiles to wolves was staggering, but not impossible to overcome. They had the Great and Terrible Lord of the West after all. A small group of snake youkai parted giving Kohaku an unobstructed view of the ookami that had delivered the message that day so many months ago, the one named Hiroshi. The rage bubbling beneath the surface of his skin threatened to overflow at the sight of the wolf walking around his captured kin, looking as if he hadn’t offered his very family up to be sacrificed, as if the very blood of every wolf that stained the earth wasn’t dripping from his own hands, but he couldn’t be lost to it, not yet. He had work to do.
Kohaku crept closer to a group of bound wolves. There was one closest to the rock he was crouched behind and that’s the one he decided would have to do. The others were too heavily guarded for him to relay Kouga’s orders properly. He felt the wolf stiffen when he touched his shoulder and knew he had his attention.
“I don’t wish you harm and this must be brief. There is an attack pending upon your captives, ordered by your Alpha.” Kohaku whispered quietly, knowing the wolf’s demonic hearing registered every syllable.
“Kouga is here? How?” The captive wolf asked in surprise.
“You must be silent and listen. Prince Kouga has ordered that Hiroshi is to be kept alive until he commands otherwise. This task will be entrusted to you. Wait for the right moment and free the others. Do you understand what is asked of you?” Kohaku explained while cutting the ties that bound the wolf’s hands and feet.
“Tell our Alpha that I, Kaito, and my brother, Isamu, will ensure that his commands are carried out.” The wolf whispered.
Kohaku handed the wolf the dagger and patted his shoulder in response, letting the obedient wolf know he had been heard. Kohaku silently marveled at the fact that Kaito never moved his limbs, not even an inch to arouse any kind of suspicion. He appeared to be a worthy asset to this little plot. Kohaku had completed his task and made his way back across the field, around the bodies of the dead and through the high grass back to their encampment in the woods. He didn’t relish the idea of delivering the terrible news of his findings to Kouga, but it had to be done. He just hoped Shippo and Kagome had found something better to report.

A/N: Okay, just wanna say I'm sorry about the massive delay in updating, but I do have the rest of the story written. I'm just not real happy with the battle sequences. I will post it as soon as it's tweeked to my satisfaction.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Cathyrin, KEdakumi, Ashlander, ladylynn, & Shelbie.
Hope no one's given up on me completely ;p
~scattered-dimensions~
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