InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ As Fate Would Have It ❯ Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 

Miroku and Sango hurried over as they saw Inuyasha knock Kouga flat to the ground. This can't be good, was both the monk and the taijiya's thought as they came to a stop next to the Wolf youkai leader in the grass.

 

“Gimme my daughter, would ya?”

 

Four heads snapped to attention on Inuyasha as he took Minako from Kagome's arms. Kagome and the others stared at him, completely bewildered at the inu-hanyou's claim. Kouga sat up, flexing his jaw and wiping a thin trickle of blood off the corner of his mouth.

 

“What the hell do you mean your daughter??” Kouga demanded, standing up quickly and causing Miroku and Sango to edge closer to Kagome. “That little mongrel is my sister's cub, and I'll be skinned and hung on a wall before I'd let a mutt like you take her and do kami knows what with her!”

 

“She's our pup now and we will treat her with the respect she deserves, you fucking bastard!” Inuyasha spit back. Minako grabbed wildly for the ear closest to her, trying vainly to latch her fingers around the soft triangular appendage.

 

“What respect?” Kouga yelled. “She's a half-breed! She doesn't deserve respect- she deserves to be drowned!”

 

Everyone, including Ayame, gasped, then dead silence.

 

“Kouga…” Ayame whispered as she laid a hand on her mate. “I thought we were going to raise her as our own, not kill her!” Kouga never took his eyes off Inuyasha as the hanyou slowly and methodically handed the baby back to Kagome. His eyes were concealed by the silver fringe of his bangs and his ears were laid back, almost flat against his head.

 

“Fucking wolf,” he growled, low and deep in his throat. “You just dug your own grave…”

 

His head slowly came up, his gaze resting on the male Wolf youkai in front of him. His whole body pulsed, radiating power and fury like a heartbeat. Inuyasha's eyes were no longer gold, but had shifted to scarlet. A jagged purple streak appeared on each side of his face and he lifted one hand up, brandishing longer, lethal claws before tightening into a fist. He bared his teeth, a cold, calculated smile that showed his lengthened fangs.

 

“Inuyasha, no!” Miroku cried, pulling Sango further away from the hanyou.

 

“He's transformed again- into a full youkai!” Sango whispered, horrified. “Yet the Tetsusaiga is still with him! How is this possible??”

 

Kagome simply stood there watching Inuyasha as though it were happening to someone else, somewhere else. She heard a squeal and she quickly looked down at Minako in her arms.

 

The little wolf hanyou was giggling and reaching out to Inuyasha, despite the fact that he had transformed. Kagome tightened her hold on the baby, trying to protect her. “No, Minako! He's dangerous!”

 

Inuyasha's crimson gaze turned back to Kagome and the baby, and she tensed, getting ready to run away if he should decide to attack them. His eyes returned to gold, but the youkai marks on his cheeks remained, as did his lengthened fangs and claws.

 

“I'm in full control, Kagome,” Inuyasha rumbled, a gentle and soothing sound that contrasted greatly with his ferocious appearance. “I would never harm you or our pup.”

 

He turned back to Kouga, who was eyeing Inuyasha as though he had never seen him before. “Now take her and the others and get somewhere safe while I take care of this pathetic excuse for a youkai.”

 

Miroku and Sango grabbed Ayame and pulled her away as she protested half-heartedly. She didn't want Kouga killed, but she also didn't really want to stay and confront the angry inu-hanyou-turned-youkai. Kagome paused briefly before fleeing as well.

 

“Don't kill him, Inuyasha,” she whispered.

 

“Don't worry,” he growled as he flexed his claws again at Kouga. “I won't stoop to his level.” With a nod of gratitude, Kagome fled, Minako protesting the whole way.

 

“Now,” Inuyasha snarled. “I may have promised her that I wouldn't kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't make you wish you were dead…”

 

“Pfft!” Kouga scoffed. “I'd like to see you try to land a blow on me, let alone maim me. Your stink may have changed, but you're still a pathetic dog-shit.”

 

“You asked for it, bastard,” Inuyasha said under his breath. He ran at the Wolf, claws bared.

 

Kouga smirked. “You are so predictable, mongrel,” he said smugly. He jumped into the air in an effort to dodge the oncoming attack. He looked down, expecting to see Inuyasha standing in the spot that Kouga had just vacated. Instead, there was only the grass.

 

“You'd better pay closer attention than that, wolf,” Inuyasha growled in Kouga's ear. Kouga's eyes snapped open in shock right before Inuyasha blasted his back, slamming Kouga to the ground, causing debris to fly.

 

Kouga sat up, wincing. That stupid dog had managed to slice his back open, and that was only the first blow! He readied himself as Inuyasha landed next to him, flexing his blood-tipped claws.

 

“That was for Kagome,” he growled softly.

 

:”Kagome? What the hell for?”

 

“For kidnapping her and trying to claim her as yours!”

 

“She was more mine than yours, dog-shit!”

 

“Not anymore, bastard…”

 

Moving faster than Kouga could have imagined, Inuyasha landed another slash to Kouga's stomach, slicing it open as well. The Wolf youkai gasped and coughed, spitting up blood as he doubled over. How the hell did he get faster than him?

 

“That was for Minako.”

 

“Worthless….half-breed…”

 

Inuyasha's gaze flickered red again before returning to gold. With a quick swipe of his already-bloodied claws, he removed the jewel shards from Kouga's legs.

 

“What the hell do you think you're doing, dog-shit?”

 

“You are no longer worthy of using these shards,” Inuyasha growled. “I'm giving them back to my mate so she can complete the Shikon no Tama.”

 

“Your mate?” Kouga laughed, spitting out more blood. “She'd never have a half-breed mongrel like you, when she could've had a real youkai like me.” He sniffed. “Besides,” he grinned weakly, “you haven't really taken her as your mate yet or you'd smell like it. You're just full of shit.”

 

Those golden eyes flickered red again. He punched Kouga again, this time leaving deep gouges in his cheek as a reminder. The Wolf demon fell to the ground, unconscious.

 

“That was for me.” He turned and walked away, toward the river to wash off the Wolf's blood. “Because you threatened my family…”

 

-------------------------

 

Kagome paced back and forth in front of Miroku and Sango, who were sitting patiently on a fallen log deep in the forest nearby Kouga's cave-den. Sango held a very subdued Minako, who had fallen quite silent once leaving Inuyasha's sight.

 

Ayame had disappeared back into the den after being forced to leave Kouga's side, her lovely face completely blank with the staggering knowledge that her new mate was so prejudiced against hanyous that he'd be willing to kill his own flesh and blood.

 

“You don't really think that Inuyasha would kill Kouga, do you, Houshi-sama?” Sango whispered to Miroku. He closed his eyes and shook his head, unwilling to voice aloud his concerns to his beautiful taijiya.

 

Sango turned her attention back to the pacing Kagome, who was looking ready to do battle with Naraku all over again.

 

“Kagome, do stop pacing. It won't bring Inuyasha back here any faster.”

 

Kagome whirled and fixed a fiery gaze upon the unwary monk. He blinked and backed up a few inches. “G-gomen nasai…”

 

She turned away with a sigh. Truth was, she was scared for Inuyasha. She knew the penalties for his transformation. Would he still be the hanyou she loved and adored, or would he become a blood-thirsty killer again?

 

The rustling of foliage drew the attention of three adults and one little hanyou. Was it Kouga? Or Inuyasha, now bent on destruction of all living things in his path?

 

Minako squealed in delight as Inuyasha stepped out of the flora, his face lowered and his features covered by silver strands. Was he here to finish them off?

 

Inuyasha looked up, his golden eyes clear and focused as his gaze met Kagome's. The lengthened fangs and claws had shortened back to their original length. One thing remained oddly evident, however.

 

The marks on his cheeks.

 

The jagged purple streaks on each cheekbone were still visible although all of the other traits of his transformation had disappeared. Kagome took a hesitant step forward, her hand partially raised as though afraid to touch him.

 

“Inuyasha? What happened?”

 

He smirked, the “I'm-a-badass” grin returning to his face while he took up the accompanying pose. “Keh! What do you think happened, wench?”

 

Everyone visibly jumped at his oh-so-normal demeanor. Sango exchanged a glance with Miroku. “You mean you killed Kouga?” the monk asked politely.

 

Inuyasha stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his haori and snorted. “Don't be a baka, monk! I didn't kill that stupid wolf.”

 

Everyone visibly relaxed. Kagome and Sango's gaze remained locked on the marks on Inuyasha's face. Sango stood up and stepped next to Kagome, Minako still straining in her arms to get to Inuyasha. “Inuyasha,” Sango asked slowly, “what is on your face?”

 

Inuyasha looked at her skeptically. “Whaddya mean, `what's on my face?' I would assume all the stuff that's supposed to be there is there.”

 

“All that and more, my friend,” Miroku added, stepping forward as well.

 

Inuyasha snorted again and reached for Minako. “I dunno what you're talking about. I washed off all that mangy wolf blood before I came here.”

 

Kagome gasped. “Wolf blood?”

 

He had the decency to look embarrassed. “Keh… yeah. I sliced him up pretty good. Didn't kill him, but made him think twice about `weak' hanyous.”

 

He plucked Minako out of Sango's arms and the little girl squealed in delight again. He lifted her up and regarded her at eye level. “Ain't nothing weak about my pup.”

 

Kagome relaxed. He was acting normal- normal for Inuyasha, anyway. The marks on his cheeks didn't seem to be affecting him in any obvious way- and he didn't even seem to realize they were there. What did they mean? Why didn't they vanish after everything else did?

 

Miroku coughed. “Perhaps, seeing as we have concluded our business here, we should head back to Lady Kaede's village. I'm sure Shippou is concerned about our welfare.”

 

Sango nodded in agreement. The two humans turned away and began to walk away, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha gazing at each other while Minako snuggled into her adoptive father's arms.

 

“Inuyasha? Are you… okay?”

 

“Keh! Why wouldn't I be okay?”

 

“It's just… you look different.”

 

He cocked his head to the side and regarded her in confusion. “Whaddya mean `different'? What's with you and Sango all of a sudden?”

 

Kagome was silent for a while. She reached over and gently lifted a yawning Minako out of his arms. The little hanyou smiled sleepily up at her new mother and settled herself comfortably, with her cheek resting on Kagome's shoulder. Kagome looked into Inuyasha's mesmerizing golden gaze.

 

“Your cheeks, Inuyasha. You still have those purple streaks from when you transformed. They didn't go away.”