InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cereal Box Romance ❯ Kouga Drops the Ball ( Chapter 14 )

Edited by: thyme_cat

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Chapter 14 - Kouga Drops the Ball

 

“Where is she? I know she's here with that-hurk!“

 

Inuyasha hit the cement patio floor with a surprised grunt, much to the astonishment of the twin hanyou that had been clutching his arms. Their painted, plum lips formed identical `O's of surprise and large, dark doe eyes met in the space where a silver head once resided.

 

“Yasha-baby!”

 

“You okay?” the women chimed, one after the other.

 

“I see you still wear the subduing beads,” Sesshomaru commented dryly, his eyes fixed on a resplendent vision in burgundy satin, marred only by the fact that a suicidal wolf had his arm wrapped possessively around her waist…and she wasn't removing it. Very well, he would remove it for her…and make sure it didn't grow back…

 

“Nope!” Toran shot her arm in front of a growling dog demon, relieved that he stopped instead of mowing her over. “No violence!”

 

“They wouldn't come off,” grumbled Inuyasha when he was finally able to pry himself off of the concrete, completely missing the exchange between Toran and Sesshomaru. He straightened his red, button-down shirt and dusted off his jeans (he'd compromised and had worn black denim), allowing his girls to brush the dust off of his butt, even though he hadn't fallen on it. “Nice fucking way to greet an old friend!”

 

“Oompf!” He was prone on the cement a moment later, the hanyou twins fluttering prettily above him. “Whoa, she's pissed about something.”

 

“I had noticed.” And he had: it was hard to miss the glare of death she was sending him, her dark eyes snapping with fury as the spike in her unmistakable scent curled toward him through the other odors of the party. He drank it in greedily and his first fresh draught in five hundred years sent undignified tremors through his limbs.

 

Ever since his Miko Receiver had begun to throb approximately three hours ago, he had been tense, on edge, and though he hated to admit it, impatient. It had been more than enough to urge him out of his office and into something semi-casual (but scrumptious), where he'd cooled his heels and cursed the day he'd agreed to carpool with Inuyasha. The idea that Kouga might miss this opportunity to flaunt Kagome had not occurred to him; if he, Sesshomaru, had been in possession of the girl (and it was only a matter of time), then he certainly would have brought her to Hoshi's fashionable star-gazing party. When the three hanyou had finally arrived and the pulsing of the receiver had gotten stronger as they approached the party, it had taken significant stores of his indomitable will to remain coldly detached instead of fidgeting like a pup.

 

As absurd as his struggle may have seemed, he had forgiven himself the instant he'd caught her eye. He realized that the idea of Kagome, though tantalizing enough to give him countless sleepless nights, was nothing compared to Kagome in the flesh. She may not have been the most beautiful female he had ever seen, but she had a certain je ne sais quoi* that drew him to her. Snippets of their arguments, comfortable silences and passionate kisses traipsed through his mind, quickening his blood and stirring his youki. She had been so much fun; he was anxious to begin the chase anew. Interestingly enough, and taking him somewhat by surprise, it wasn't only his groin that was tingling: something in his chest tightened in a remarkably pleasant way. Perhaps he had missed her, a little bit.

 

Lowering his chin to let his bangs fall into his eyes, he gave the female the tiniest of predatory smiles. Her eyes widened and he could almost feel her increased heart rate thrumming against the air between before she deliberately turned her back on him, offering a tantalizing view of her backside enhanced by the shimmering satin of her dress.

 

“Hey Moondoggie, you're drooling,” Hoshi commented as he strolled up beside him, a sparkling glass of champagne in one clawed hand.

 

Sesshomaru swallowed quickly after licking his lips (just in case), “This Sesshomaru does not drool.”

 

“Whatever you say,” the fox humored him with a patronizing smile. “Not that I blame you; she's got a fantastic a-“

 

Toran jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and he clutched at his side dramatically, “No abuse of the host! And I just call them as I see them.”

 

Rolling her eyes when she was sure that Sesshomaru wouldn't turn his claws on Hoshi, Toran sighed. “What was Kouga thinking bringing her here, knowing that those two,” she jerked her head toward the dog brothers, who were both staring intently at Kagome, “would be here, too?”

 

Hoshi shrugged casually, “That's Kouga for you. Besides, it's not a party without a good brawl!”

 

“That is exactly what we are trying to avoid! You keep your eyes on Inuyasha,” she didn't miss his quick, mischievous grin, “and I'll watch the West.”

 

“A host really must mingle…but for Puppy Ears, I'll make an exception,” Hoshi drawled and sidled toward Inuyasha, planting a kiss on each of his consorts' cheeks, much to their exclaimed delight. Inuyasha was less than attentive at the moment, not that they expected him to have eyes only for them, but they didn't appreciate being ignored.

 

Kagome watched the odd group of youkai out of the corners of her eyes from her post at the buffet, still seething over the smoldering look Sesshomaru had sent her and her traitorous body's reaction to it. And she couldn't believe how Inuyasha touted those two floosies hanging off his arms! Obviously hanyou with matching sets of elongated taupe deer ears, their exaggerated hourglass forms were poured into white, haltered dresses that barely came to the tops of their thighs. The first osuwari had slipped out by accident; the second she had meant.

 

Sesshomaru stood next to a demoness that she was sure she had met before: tall, slender, with classically beautiful features and a lush mane of ice blue hair. Her modest cocktail dress was shimmering silver, reminiscent of a fish's scales, and complimented Sesshomaru's tailored white slacks and midnight blue shirt. Could it be that they were together? The thought shot a ribbon of disappointment through her veins, chilling the blood as it pumped through her body.

 

The blue-haired demoness laughed and latched onto Sesshomaru's elbow, guiding him away from the little group as Inuyasha, the two hanyou and a redhead in leather pants wandered off in the opposite direction. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she realized that none of them seemed inclined to approach her and that Sesshomaru and the demoness were, in fact, an item.

 

Of course, they had moved on: it had been five hundred years since she had last seen them! But it didn't stop the tearing of her eyes or the painful squelching of her heart under careless paws. She couldn't fool herself, no matter how hard she tried: seeing the dog with another women hurt, more so than she'd ever expected. She should have been used to it with Inuyasha and all the crap he'd pulled with Kikyou, but it left fresh wounds on her already tender heart, driving home the fact that she'd been the flavor of the moment, easily discarded for the next pretty face. Through her mounting anger and heartache, Kagome felt sorry for the demoness whose boyfriend couldn't keep his eyes to himself. Did Sesshomaru even recognizer her?

 

`The jerk probably eyeballs anything in a skirt,' Kagome thought as she steeled herself against the pang of regret and slid her eyes away from the couple to Inuyasha and his small entourage. He was snarling at Kouga over his shoulder, his silver ears laid flat against his head as he walked stiff-legged between the two trollops. The group disappeared behind the stand of bamboo and Kagome release a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and blinked rapidly, trying to stymie the tears that had collected in her eyes. Not even her best friend had come to greet her! Granted, she'd just sat him twice, but still…

 

`Oh dear,' she thought with a mental wince. She'd just sat the person she claimed as her best friend after not seeing him for a few weeks, or centuries, or whatever it was. Squeezing her eyes shut against an oncoming headache, she chastised herself, `I'm such an idiot. No wonder he's avoiding me. And he's still wearing those beads…'

 

Feeling like an absolute heel, she sighed heavily, staring sightlessly at a platter of bruschetta. Kouga must have sensed her distress, for he pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “Don't worry, love. I won't ever let those mongrels hurt my woman.”

 

All at once, it was too much for her to handle: Kouga's smothering, unrequited love, the shock of seeing Inuyasha and Sesshomaru with other women, her own pain, anger and longing pressing down with claustrophobic force. Someone jostled her elbow, pushing a strange youkai aura into her personal space, and she cringed as the air became too stuffy to breath. A tiny flare of panic set her heart racing and tiny discharges of purity crackling in her hair like static electricity.

 

Kouga winced and released her waist, flexing his fingers as if burned. “Kagome?”

 

“I'm sorry, Kouga, I just need a minute to myself…” she pushed away from him and darted into the crowd, praying that he wouldn't follow her. More guests had arrived in the last several minutes, steadily filling the patio with a thick throng of richly dressed beings. Angling her body and walking quickly, she slipped through the crowd toward the edge of the patio, trying not to touch the bodies around her. A large potted tree placed near the railing created a small, semi-private space and it was towards this haven that Kagome fled.

 

Breathing harshly, she leaned against the railing and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her mind of nothing but the wind on her face and the comforting sounds of the city below her. She really wanted to cry but she wouldn't let herself; she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing that they had hurt her without even trying. She was stronger than this.

 

“Kagome.”

 

The word resonated behind her and goose bumps erupted on her skin in a prickly rush. She gasped and whirled around, hating that he'd intruded on her solitude as much as she loved the sound of her name rolling off of his tongue. Again, she found it difficult to breath, but now because the air had become too thin.

 

“Sesshomaru,” she whispered, very glad that she could lean on the railing instead of dropping like overcooked spaghetti to the patio floor. Already, she could taste the tang of his poison, feel his long, hot tongue exploring the depths of her mouth, and yet he was standing four feet away. She licked her lips in a desperate attempt to moisten them, despite the fact that her mouth had become an arid desert. Clearing her throat, she blurted the first coherent thing that came to mind, “Where's your woman?”

 

`Absolutely brilliant, Kagome,' she thought as she tried not to cringe.

 

“My woman?” he asked as his head tilted slightly to the side and a thin lock of silvery hair slipped over one shoulder to trail over his midnight blue shirt. His left arm had grown back, she noted, and now both hands were stuffed casually into the pockets of his slacks. Her eyes drifted over a generous bulge and slight camel-toe at the front of his pants before shooting back up to his face with a heated scowl. His eyes glimmering brightly as they reflected the light of thousands of false stars, he stared at her with warm amusement and something darker that made her body clench invitingly. He'd just caught her cock-watching.

 

`This has to stop!' Kagome rallied her wayward mind and stiffened her spine. `I'm mad at that bastard.'

 

Smoothing her hands down her dress as she stood up straighter, not missing the way his eyes followed her hands' paths down her body, she lifted her chin and tried to remember what it was they had been talking about. Oh yeah, his date.

 

However, Sesshomaru beat her to the punch.

 

“I am looking at her.” He took a step forward and Kagome suddenly wished that there wasn't a railing at her back so that she had some avenue of retreat. It wasn't that she wanted to run away; she simply wanted to maintain distance so that she didn't do anything stupid, like twirling her fingers through that lock of hair that had her so distracted. Settling for sidling sideways across the railing, she glared at him for all that she was worth.

 

“Liar,” she bit out. “I know of your little game and I'm not playing.”

 

“I do not play games,” he stated untruthfully in his infuriatingly cool, collected manner as he took another predatory step forward. “Be careful of whom you accuse, miko.”

 

Eyes narrowing, she forced her body not to retreat. “You probably use that same line on all of your little conquests,” she spat the last word out with loathing, though for herself, or the blue-haired woman, or him, she couldn't quite say.

 

He blinked, regarding her from swirling pools of gold. If Kagome hadn't known better, she would have sworn that he was…confused? Damn it, where was a Dog Decoder when you needed one? He blinked again and a wry amusement, coupled with understanding, stilled the eddies of molten gold.

 

“Kagome,” he said with another step forward and she had to bite her lips against a moan. Her name on his voice oozed like hot fudge over ice cream and how she wanted to gorge herself on it! Belatedly, she realized that he was now way too close, the fire of his youki dancing over her skin. Her spiritual power flared, brushing along the edges of his aura in an almost tangible caress that was doing nothing for dampness of her panties. “You are mistaken. I am not here with Toran.”

 

“Oh,” she said, now finally remembering why the demoness had seemed so familiar. She was one of the panther demons who had once tried to sacrifice her in order to resurrect their father. However, the flood of relief at hearing his words only served to further incite her anger. Tossing her head, she crossed her arms over her chest in a show of nonchalance, “It's not like I care, anyway.”

 

“Do you not? I think it is you, miko, who are the liar,” he stated, a knowing smile creeping into his eyes and quirking the corners of his lips. She wasn't fooling him and it was flustering her to no end.

 

“Yeah? Well at least I don't make wagers over other people's…” she finished with a frustrated, inarticulate noise and waved her hands, blushing furiously, unable to finish that sentence out loud in front of Sesshomaru, who practically exuded sex. Not when he was close enough to run her hands down his chest and feel his heated skin through his shirt. She fought against his gravitational pull with as much success as an orbiting planet and clasped her hands behind her back where they couldn't get her into trouble, thinking that maybe running away had been her best option, after all.

 

“Cocktail?” a light, feminine voice chirped to her right and without thinking, she stepped sidewise to grab a glass of red wine from the proffered platter of drinks, grateful for the interruption. With something to occupy her hands, she wouldn't be so tempted to touch the demon who was now staring menacingly at the waitress.

 

“Leave,” he commanded coldly. The poor girl blanched and scurried away.

 

When they were alone once again, Kagome wished that she had taken that moment to scram, too. He closed the distance between them, towering over her as he eyed her glass with disdain, a tiny twist of his lip showing a hint of fang.

 

“Should you be drinking that? I hear,” his eyes narrowed slightly and he gave her an odd, calculating look through thick, dark lashes, “that humans cannot hold their liquor.”

 

Kagome gasped, mortified, her eyes widening as his meaning made itself all too clear. That jerk Kouga, how dare he gossip about something like that! Oh, was he going to get it! But first things first: to deal with the jerk at hand.

 

“I suppose you're right,” she said with false sweetness and tipped her glass forward. He stepped back quickly, his breath hissing between his teeth, but not before a bright red stain had spread over the crotch of his pristine white pants, plastering the thin fabric to the package she had ogled earlier. She tried not to notice how well the phrase “trouser snake” fit him or that the crimson stain would accessorize nicely with the stripes that twisted around said snake, but quickly realized the futility of it all. Some things required a good look.

 

His eyes snapped to hers, surprise widening them to graceful almonds as his lips parted slightly, though he didn't say a word. With a triumphant grin, Kagome set the empty glass on the railing and swept past him, nodding her head at Toran, who was standing just on the other side of the tree and giving her the oddest smile.

 

Toran watched the petite woman glide away, the pink light of her aura glittering around her in a corona of fairy dust and trailing behind her like ephemeral wings. She shook her head and turned to Sesshomaru, still standing in the alcove, her smile stretching at the sight of the wine stain on his pants.

 

“Drinking problem, Sesshomaru?”

 

Without sparing her a glance, he stalked away in the opposite direction, Toran following at a safe distance behind. She'd had misgivings when the taiyoukai had announced his claim on the woman, not wishing the overbearing, self-important dog on anyone, but with the scents of wine and desire, both human and demon, still heavy in the air, she decided that if anyone could put him in his place, Kagome could.

 

XxxxxxxxX

 

Winding her way through the crowd as she scanned it for a wolf demon to whom she owed a piece of her mind, Kagome allowed herself a mental happy dance for not only winning their spat, but not giving in to her treacherous body's desire to remove the pants that she had so blithely stained.

 

`I wonder if he still doesn't wear underwear?' the thought came unbidden, followed by a vivid mental image of red wine soaking his thick, white, curly carpet. At that moment, her spiked heel chose to wobble, sending her careening backward and into the arms of a fellow partier.

 

“Gah! Clumsy wench,” her savior barked good-naturedly, setting her back on her feet and holding her at arm's length, then crushing her to him in a warm hug. “Gods, I've missed you, Kagome!”

 

“Missed you…too…Inuyasha,” Kagome wheezed as she wrapped her arms around him and returned the pressure. Momentarily forgotten were his groupies and her anger as she surrendered to his loving embrace. Tears sprang to her eyes and she sniffled quietly, burying her face in his chest, uncaring of her carefully applied makeup. How could she even have believed, for one second, that he had forgotten her?

 

Inuyasha stiffened and pulled her away by the shoulders, staring flustered into her face, “Oi, stop with the waterworks!” Kagome laughed and dabbed at her eyes, trying not to smear her mascara any worse than it probably was. “Now, did that bastard hurt you or do I have only one ass to kick tonight?”

 

“Sesshomaru? No, he didn't hurt me…”

 

“Good. Then let's go find that pathetic excuse of a wolf and you can watch as I break floor with his face,” he said and then grabbed her arm and began to drag her through the crowd.

 

“Why do you have to kick…” Kagome stopped in her tracks, effectively halting Inuyasha, as well. He turned to her with an impatient frown. With her heart wildly beating in her chest and humiliation staining her cheeks, she covered her mouth with her fingertips as she whispered, “He didn't tell you, too, did he?”

 

“Yeah, and I can't believe you could be so fucking stupid! It's not like we all haven't been there, but damn, Kagome! Kouga!” He shook his head, and then reared back with his ears pinned. “Don't cry! It's not your fault, it's mine! I shoulda been there for you.”

 

Kagome was about to protest when he resumed their march across the patio, cursing the entire way and drawing disapproving stares from the other guests as he pushed them out of his way. “Fucking wolf won't know what hit him. He'll have to pull what's left of his balls outta his chest cavity when I get done with him…”

 

“Inuyasha, I don't want you to fight Kouga, this isn't your business,” Kagome tugged on her arm, but to no avail.

 

“The fuck it isn't,” he snorted. “If you see that perverted fox come by, distract him so he doesn't butt in.”

 

“What was that about my butt?” Hoshi stepped in front of Inuyasha and gave him a cheerful leer, much to the hanyou's disgust. The fox shrugged and turned his eyes to Kagome, clasping one of her hands and bringing it to his lips with a flourished bow. “And don't you look ravishing tonight, my dear. Kagome, I presume?”

 

Blushing, Kagome suppressed the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl under the youkai's sincerely twinkling green eyes. That, and his tousled red hair, reminded her so much of Shippo that her heart nearly wept. “Um, yes, and you are?”

 

“Hoshi, Lord of the South, and your humble host for the evening. Though you know,” he said thoughtfully as he turned her hand over and placed a kiss in her palm, “I have an apartment just below this patio and I would be honored to host a private-“

 

“Get your dirty lips offa Kagome!” Inuyasha snatched her arm out of Hoshi's grasp and yanked her behind him. And while Kagome didn't mind having Hoshi's proposition cut short (for it was quite clear to her that the fox had come from the same school of thought as a certain monk she'd known), she was suddenly reminded of why she had been angry with Inuyasha in the first place.

 

“Osuwari!” she snapped and scowled down at the prone hanyou. “How dare you act all possessive of me when you waltzed in here with not one, but TWO girls on your arms!”

 

“They're twins!” Inuyasha protested unhelpfully from the ground. Not even in five hundred years had he learned to not incite Kagome's wrath.

 

“Osuwari! And I can't believe you bet on me with your brother like I was a piece of meat! How could you?!”

 

“There wasn't any money involved!” he tried to explain, only to be forced into the cement again.

 

“And that's supposed to make me feel better? Osuwari!” She shouted and stamped her foot, her arms straight and rigid by her sides. Taking a deep breath, she smiled grimly at Hoshi. “Thank you for the lovely party.”

 

Turning back to Inuyasha, she glared at the top of his silver head, wracking her brain for a suitably scathing, witty parting remark. None were forthcoming, so she settled for a final, “Osuwari,” and stalked off.

 

She had a wolf to punish.

 

“Sadist,” Hoshi commented above him, and then winked at the guests that had gathered around to witness the spectacle.

 

Inuyasha groaned and tested the strength of the spell, finding that he was still held quite snuggly to the patio. “Oh, shut up.”

 

XxxxxxxX

 

After several minutes of wandering and craning her neck, Kagome found Kouga standing next to a small raised stage at the other end of the patio. The edge of the stage was trimmed with glittery swags of silver cloth and strands of white twinkling lights over top of a midnight blue velvet drape. For the stage itself, a panoramic view of the city served as the backdrop and two potted trees, each placed at one end of the stage, created makeshift wings.

 

`It's almost time, I can hardly wait…'

 

For what, Kagome neither knew nor cared. She was tired, pissed off, and her feet were killing her, not to mention that she was now more confused than ever. All she wanted was a nice hot, relaxing bath so that she could ponder what she'd learned tonight without fear of interruption. Obviously, Inuyasha had gotten over Kikyou and had become somewhat of a ladies' man. While the second discovery was somewhat disturbing, her lack of relief over the first was even more so, especially since it brought to light the third and most unnerving revelation of the evening, even though it really should have been no big surprise. She wanted Sesshomaru like she had wanted no other man and she was jealous of the women in his company. He was not a passing fancy.

 

And hadn't he indirectly claimed her? What was all that about? So what if he was hot and just the sound of his voice stirred her hormones into a fevered tornado of need, she had had it with demons assuming ownership of her person. Speaking of which…

 

“Kouga!” she bit out, coming to a stop in front of him and jamming her hands on her hips, then jerking her head to the side as he tried to give her a distracted peck on the lips. “Please tell me why the whole world knows about the other night?”

 

“Huh?”

 

`Two more minutes! Just two more-`

 

“Kouga!” she grabbed a handful of turtleneck and yanked down, bringing his face down to her level.

 

“Yes, love?” he asked as his eyes finally focused on her face and not what was going on over her right shoulder. “Oh! Yeah, that. They asked. What's the big deal?”

 

“What?!” Kagome could hardly believe her ears as she was literally struck dumb by his offhand explanation. She was seriously considering demonstrating to the ignorant wolf exactly how big of a deal it actually was with a knee to his groin when the lighting on the patio dimmed. An excited hush rippled through the crowd as bodies began to move toward them. Kouga latched onto her elbow, tugging her toward the portable steps placed at one end of the stage.

 

“Come on, Kagome, before the entertainer comes on!”

 

Kagome jerked on her arm with an indignant, “Hey! I'm not going up there!” Moments later, however, she found herself standing in the center of the stage next to Kouga and facing the entire party. To her immense relief, the stage was just as dark as the floor, though she knew that the audience could see their silhouettes.

 

“What are we doing up here?” she asked the wolf, who was waving to the spotlight operator at the back of the crowd, out of the corner of her mouth. “Don't do that, he'll turn on the light!”

 

Which is exactly what he did, flooding the stage with brilliant white light and blinding Kagome to an audience that whispered uncertainly upon seeing the pair on the stage. Kouga cleared his throat and stepped forward, tugging a hesitant Kagome along with him.

 

“Kouga, just what the hell do you think you're doing?” hissed Hoshi off-stage from his hiding place behind a potted plant.

 

Kouga sent him a placating gesture and addressed the audience, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Before the entertainment begins, I, Kouga, Lord of the East have an announcement to make!”

 

Kagome didn't like the sound of that, or the way he pulled a small box out of his jacket and dropped to one knee, clasping her hands in his.

 

“Kagome Higurashi, will you marry me?”

 

The crowd gasped and awed but Kagome could do nothing but stand there and blink as the blood drained from her face, desperately hoping that a giant flying youkai would swoop down and snatch her up. Hell, it had happened to her before and at much less convenient times. Silently, she cursed the era where the population miko-snatching demon birds had been decimated. The humiliation of being kidnapped (yet again) would be nothing compared to this new torture.

 

“This is where you say yes, burst into tears and fall into my arms,” Kouga prompted in a stage whisper to the immobile woman before him. He'd done his homework; why wasn't she following the script?

 

“Um…can we talk about this…somewhere else?” she whispered back with a frantic glance at the invisible audience that was now murmuring in the darkness.

 

A familiar gruff voice shouted from the audience, “Oi, you fucking-“

 

Striding quickly across the stage to stand in front of the couple, Hoshi held up his hands to gain the attention of the audience. Behind him, Kouga rose to his feet, Kagome's hand still held tightly in his own, and stared down at her with lost, longing eyes. “Kagome…”

 

She heard the catch in his voice, despite Hoshi's booming words as he placated the crowd. The spotlight blinked off and she almost swayed in relief, snatching her hand back to hitch the hem of her dress off the floor and flee for stage right. She heard Kouga's footsteps right behind her, his desperate pleading as called out her name. Without pause, she pushed through the crowd, her cheeks burning at the snickering and amused glances thrown her way. Finally, she reached the bank of elevators and leaned into the down button, pressing it several times as the floor indicator dinged placidly through the lighted panel of numbers above the door.

 

“Wait, Kagome,” Kouga wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his cheek to the side of her neck, nuzzling his nose gently against her jaw line. “I love you, please wait.”

 

Pressing her forehead against the cool metal doors of the elevator, Kagome tried to calm the fierce palpitations of her heart with a hand pressed against her chest.

 

“How could you do that to me?” she asked him quietly, squeezing her eyes shut against the rise of tears. She wasn't sure if she should be furious, mortified, or flattered, so she settled on flustered with a touch of all three. It had been one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done for her; was it Kouga's fault that he was the wrong guy holding the ring?

 

“I just…wanted to make it special,” he mumbled against her neck, his silky lips brushing against her flushed skin. “Like in all those romance movies. `Cause the other night was…”

 

“It was a mistake, Kouga,” she stated quietly and fought down the lump in her throat that was threatening to choke her. Yes, he was a gossiping, presumptive jerk, but she'd never felt so cruel as she did now, when his arms tightened around her waist and his body shuddered against hers. She felt dirty; her hands coated with the blood of his heart as she neatly tore it in two.

 

“No, never,” he whispered fiercely and buried his face further into her neck.

 

“I'm sorry, Kouga. I shouldn't have come…it wasn't fair to you.”

 

He whimpered softy, nibbling gently on the skin behind her ear as he clung to her waist like a lifeline. “I don't believe you. You're just confused…”

 

The elevator binged cheerfully and Kagome released a sigh of relief, stumbling into the well-lit chamber with the wolf demon still wrapped around her. She pressed the parking level button, and then tried to gently pry loose the arms encircling her waist.

 

“I'm not confused-“

 

He released her suddenly, his hand clenching her shoulders to spin her around to face him. Staring searchingly into her face with blue eyes that were suspiciously moist and bright, he gave her shoulders a small shake. “You have stage fright! I didn't know! But now we're alone, so,” he once more dropped to one knee, grabbing her hands and holding them against his cheek, “marry me, Kagome!”

 

“Kouga, I can't!”

 

“But you're my woman, my mate!”

 

“I'm not!”

 

“But we-“

 

“Because I was drunk!” she snapped in exasperation, hating to have to put it so bluntly but knowing that it was necessary.

 

He stared at her wide-eyed and she could almost hear the wheels spin in his brain as his thoughts tumbled over themselves in an incoherent mess. His face scrunched into a scowl as he stood, pulling her closer with his grasp on her wrists as he separated her arms and wrapped them around his chest. With the weight of his body, he pinned her against the wall of the elevator and pressed a fevered kiss against her lips, coaxing her to respond with greedy, desperate pressure. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and pursed her lips, refusing to allow entrance to the tongue that lapped against her mouth. He gave up with a small whine, dropping his head to the crook of her neck and resting his forehead against her shoulder. His hands released hers, sliding down her arms to settle on her hips, the points of his claws pricking the skin of her back left bare by her dress.

 

`No, no, no, no, no…'

 

“I'd do anything for you,” he pleaded quietly, the despair in his voice thick and heavy. His fingers tensed but his claws never broke the fragile layer of skin. She sighed despondently, holding him to her in a platonic hug as her eyelids finally overflowed and let salty tears slide down her cheeks into his dark hair.

 

“Just take me home,” she replied, wincing as he whined again, his tongue rolling out of his mouth to glide along the ridge of muscle at the base of her neck. When his teeth scraped against her skin, she released him. “Kouga-“

 

The elevator chimed softly and the doors slid open with a quiet whoosh. She pushed gently against his chest, relieved when he stepped back but unwilling to meet his eyes. She couldn't bear to see the pain she knew lurked behind them. They walked back to the car in silence, Kouga trailing her like a mournful shadow. Standing by the door as she waited patiently for him to unlock it, she sighed as she felt his body encroach on her personal space.

 

`Shit.'

 

“Um, Kagome,” he started hesitantly and she blinked rapidly his sudden change of mood. “Do you have the keys?”

 

Startled, she glanced up at him to see him staring at the lock of the car in bewilderment. `He has got to be kidding me.' Apparently, he wasn't, for he bent down and peered into the window, a frown creasing the skin between his brows.

 

`Fuck.'

 

“No, are they still in the car?” she asked, leaning down and cupping her hands against the glass to reduce the glare of the garage lights on the window. Sure enough, a set of keys dangled from the ignition. Kouga growled and stood, giving the handle a jiggle, then stalking to the driver's side to test that door.

 

“Damn it!” he swore, pulling his fist back with every intention of breaking the window.

 

“Kouga!” Kagome protested before his fist could connect with the glass. “You'll cut your hand! Just call a locksmith!”

 

`She does care! I knew it!'

 

Kouga grinned at her and tossed his ponytail. “Naw, this stupid glass couldn't hurt me!” He pulled his fist back again and Kagome scowled.

 

“The drive home will be cold!” she reminded him, giving her arms a quick rub to emphasize her point.

 

“Oh,” he lowered his fist gave his keys a brief glower. “Let's go back up, then. I, uh, forgot my cell phone,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck with an abashed grin.

 

Rolling her eyes, Kagome leaned against the car and crossed her arms over her chest. There was no way she was going back to that party to face the other guests. “I'll wait for you here.”

 

“I won't have my woman-“

 

“Kouga, go!” she all but shouted, choosing to ignore the “my woman” for the moment. The wolf had a rubber hide and a hollow brain…and here she'd thought Inuyasha was obtuse. “I'm in a parking garage! What can happen?” Shaking her head, she crossed her arms and leaned against the car, watching as the wolf strolled back to the elevators and threw her a dashing grin over his shoulder.

 

`Famous last words,' she thought resignedly several minutes later as the woman in the sequined dress stepped from behind a concrete pillar. Her yellow-green eyes held a wicked glee as she swayed toward Kagome's position by the car, the tiny discs on her dress glimmering gold and emerald green in the dim light of the garage. The woman smiled slowly, revealing a mouthful of needled teeth, her pointed tongue dancing over her lips as if she were tasting the air.

 

Which was exactly what she was doing, Kagome realized, as she watched the woman's floor length sheath dress bulged oddly at her thighs, then hang slack as an olive green and black patterned tail slithered from beneath the hem to form a thick coil on the ground. Matching diamond-shaped scales began to crawl up her neck, smooth, shiny and completely uncoordinated with the color of her dress. Again, the dress bunched and stretched, and the woman rose a foot in height, balancing on her the coil of her tail. Her tongue flicked out again, now elongated, thin and forked, her fangs lengthening over her bottom lip.

 

`I thought I'd asked for a bird to kidnap me. I doubt she's here to talk,' Kagome groused to herself as she pushed her purifying power into the one weapon she had on hand: her purse.

 

“Ssssorry to disssssappoint you,” the woman hissed in a distinctly unrepentant tone of voice and tickled the air with her tongue.

 

Frankly, Kagome had never seen a less sorry looking snake woman. Well, give her a minute with her spiritual purse and she'd see how sorry she was!

 

“Tell your goons to stay back!” Kagome warned as she felt the telltale signs of lesser youkai encroaching from the left, now knowing them to be threats instead of the late partygoers for which she had mistaken them. Hefting her purse behind her back, she decided that she should have packed a brick along with the wallet, lipstick and wolf ring she'd stuffed into it.

 

The snake-woman grinned and mocked, “Or you'll what? Hit me with your pursssse?”

 

Kagome supposed that she should have been a little bit frightened, or at least wary of the situation in which she now found herself, but she just couldn't drum up much fear. Perhaps because a clashing snake-thing with a severe over-bite that wore the wrong shade of lipstick just wasn't that scary. And wait, didn't she sell cosmetics? Kagome almost snorted a laugh when she finally recognized her from the wrinkle cream infomercials.

 

“I don't want to hurt you,” Kagome warned again, and then winced as the woman broke out into a shrill cackle. It wasn't quite true, for she had a strong suspicion that walloping on a hateful youkai with evil on her breath would help relieve a bit of the frustration she'd built up, but she liked to think of herself as a fair-minded person who used violence only as a last resort. Granted, it got her into trouble once in a while, but she'd seen much worse than this woman. Compared to Naraku and his incarnations, she just didn't rank that high on the threat-o-meter.

 

The woman's laughter ended abruptly, her gloating smile twisting into a sneer as she rose higher on her tail and propped her fists in the vicinity of where her waist would have been, had she not been a giant reptile from the bust, down. “Not threatening, am I?”

 

`Now that's kinda weird,' Kagome had to admit to herself as the woman once again seemed to answer her thoughts. The first couple of times might have been coincidence, but…

 

Her train of thought was cut short as two humanoid wasp youkai, complete with iridescent wings, multi-faceted eyes, and rapier-like stingers protruding from their rear ends, descended on her from over the roof of a parked minivan. The size of tall children, they had overly large heads and hips with one pair of legs and two pairs of arms that were disproportionately long and skinny. Kagome grimaced and swung her purse, praying that wasp youkai did not splatter guts like beetle youkai. She did not want to explain to her aunt why her daughter's lovely satin dress was stiff with inhuman gore.

 

“Watch her purssse!” the snake lady yelled and the wasps lifted out of whacking range, their black lips curled in disdain. They hovered for several moments close together, their antennae tapping and rubbing each other in quick caresses.

 

This had to be one of the most ridiculous fights in which she had had the displeasure to participate. Kagome sighed, rolling her eyes, and began to twirl her purse by its straps. “Um, guys? Can we finish this up so I can go home? My feet hurt.”

 

Snake-woman hissed, her tongue flicking between her teeth. “Fine, you bipedal little husssssy!” she shouted sibilantly and reached down her plummeting neckline into her scaled cleavage.

 

“Hey! I am not a hussy!” Kagome yelled back and swiped her purse at the woman who was now brandishing a tiny vial of clear liquid. In an amazing feat of agility, she bowed her midsection out of reach of the glowing pink purse and leaned her upper body forward, depressing the plunger and releasing a cloud of odorless mist into Kagome's face.

 

Startled, Kagome gasped, instantly knowing that was the wrong thing to do when her world warped, blurred, and then tilted alarmingly to the right. She tilted along with it and was distantly surprised when hitting the pavement didn't hurt as much as it should have. `Where is that woman's shoes?' the next thought wandered through her mind as olive green and black scales marched by her nose.

 

“I would have given you a fighting chance, but no!” the woman's nasally voice droned on as if through a long, padded tunnel. “You had to sssspoil it all!”

 

`Damn it, I didn't even get a good shot in,' Kagome hardly had time to feel irritated with herself before she dropped into unconsciousness.

 

 

A/N: *je ne sais quoi - French for “I do not know what” and generally refers to some attractive, indescribable quality. Pronounced something like “zh-n say kwah”. Sorry, I've always liked French and the idea of Sesshomaru speaking/thinking it is quite yummy. *drool*