Chapter 4: The Battle Begins

"Damn," Kagome swore quite loudly. It had been four days since she had left Naraku's castle. Kagome had no luck in finding Inuyasha or any of the others who had cursed her. It was becoming quite depressing. She had talked to a villager about two days earlier. Inuyasha had not been sighted for nearly four months when he had been heading back to the Eastern Lands, supposedly his domain. It had been helpful information since he knew what had ahppened to the first villager she had met who lied to her. Well, at least the first villager had at least sharpened my claws with those bones of his. He made a wonderful scratching post.

Kagome sighed, feeling a little tired. Mewling to herself, she climbed into the nearest tree. Stretching out, she leaned back into the tree and sighed. It's becoming tiresome looking for that Inuyasha. She thought as she licked the tips of her fingers, set on cleaning her ears. She had become fond of them in the last couple of weeks, and even if she went back to being a human, she didn't want to give them up.

Yawning, she leaned forward on to the bark of the tree branch. One of her arms sheltering the side of her face, the other swinging below her, she fell asleep just deep enough to keep her ears alert for danger.

^_^

Kagome... I can smell her! Kouga smiled. Although she smelled slightly different, he could still recognize her scent from miles away, which is where he was. Sniffing again he realized she was alone, no pesky fox, no monk, no taijiya and thankfully no hanyou to fight with.

His smile grew wider as he sped up, racing off to his woman.

He reached her ten minutes later, sleeping lazily in a tree. "Hey, Kagome. You change yourself into a youkai for me? I appreciate it, although I don't think a cat was the best form to choose. Or was the hanyou so worthless you had to turn yourself into a youkai just to protect yourself?"

Kagome's eyes opened suddenly, revealing to Kouga, her eyes had changed as well to a dark blue color, almost violet color. Leaping up into the tree, he pulled her up into an embrace quicker than even she could react. "I don't mind though, you're still mine." He nuzzled her neck for a moment before finding himself face-down on the ground.

"Don't touch me, wolf." She scratched her ear and looked down at him murderously.

Wolf? Kouga looked back quizzically. He had never heard her use basic form names before. Not even to others like the fox or the hanyou. "What's wrong with you, Kagome? Are you injured?"

"Nothing is wrong with me. Now go away, you offend my senses."

Now Kouga was thoroughly confused, but it quickly turned to anger. "I will not let MY WOMAN forget who I am!" He lept back into the tree. "You don't even act this way ("or should I put bitchy") towards Inuyasha. Now tell me what's wrong! Did he hurt you?"

"I am not YOUR WOMAN!" Kagome pushed him out of the tree again, and this time he stayed on the ground, looking up at her now anger-filled tear-streaked face. "Of course Inuyasha hurt me!" She screamed at him. Her claws scratching the bark of the tree. "He killed my friends, my sister and nearly killed me! I will take my revenge on him and I will do it alone! I don't need help and I certainly don't need you!"

Kouga inhaled deeply, anger flashing in his own eyes. He did this to her... He will pay dearly for causing so much pain to my woman! Kouga took a deep breath and ran off towards Inuyasha's forest as fast as he could.

Little did he realize he had smelled Naraku all over her.

^_^

Inuyasha yawned, waking up from his nap just in time to dodge a set of sharp claws.

"How could you do that to her, worthless Inukkuro!" Kouga swung again and just missed Inuysha once again, this time by even less. "You shouldn't even be allowed to live, you make Kagome cry so much! Haven't I ever told you she is MY WOMAN!"

Inuyasha dodged another one of Kouga's punches and swung himself. He's talking like he has seen Kagome... has he? "I don't even know what you are talking about! I haven't seen Kagome in nearly three weeks! What do you think I did to her?" He dodge another one of Kouga's moves, but Kouga, being quicker, gave him a foot to the stomach, knocking the wind out of Inuyasha momentarily.

"You nearly killed her that's what!"

"You've seen her? Where is she? Who has her?"

"Of course I've seen her!" Kouga sent a wave of kicks and punches at Inuyasha, only landing about a fourth of them. "She was in a tree in the Northern Lands."

Inuyasha swung and got Kouga right in the jaw, making Kouga aim for the same spot "Kagome's still alive? What did Naraku do to her?" He cringed inside. This is Kouga I am asking! But if has seen her...

"Naraku?" Kouga dropped to the ground and stopped the fight. "What does Naraku..." he trailed off, remembering Kagome's smell once again. He'd been so full of anger that he hadn't realized how thickly coated Kagome's scent had been with Naraku's.

"He kidnapped her weeks ago! We searched, but couldn't find her. I didn't even tell her..." Inuyasha lept down from the tree, and narrowly missed a white-feathered arrow that was now dug into the bark where his head had been. "I..."

Another arrow came soaring through the air, hitting Inuyasha, but in the right shoulder. It glowed a pinkish color when he tried to touch it, and Inuyasha knew instantly it was either one Kagome's or Kikyou's purity arrows. A second later, he got an answer when a figure stepped out of the bushes. He came face-to-face with a neko Kagome.

"K-K-Kagome?" He managed to spit out before realizing she had loaded another arrow into her bow, and aimed it at him. "How did you.... Why do you...." Inuyasha was obviously flustered, trying to figure out why she looked the way she did and why she was trying to shoot him with one of her purity arrows. It's not really her... Naraku used her in that game of deceit he likes to play with all of us. Kouga included.

"I appreciate the help, wolf. You led me straight to him, and now he will die!" She released the arrow, missing Inuyasha by a inch as he dodged out of the way once again. Chikuso, he's faster than I thought... She sighed and nocked her last arrow. If this arrow misses, I'll have to fight him another way... She released the arrow and was surprised when it hit Kouga, imbedding deeply into his left arm.

"Stay out of this. It is between me and that... hanyou," she spit out venomously, "Inuyasha." She rushed forward, her claws at the ready. She swung at Kouga violently, two sets of claw marks appearing on his cheeks. She aimed for his eyes next when he grabbed her wrists.

"Inuyasha is not your enemy!" Kouga stepped up, setting his hands against her wrists to stop her. "Don't destroy him. Despite what I always say to you, I know you love him, not me."

She flipped her wrists, breaking herself of his grasp. Her tail twitched nervously and she clawed at Kouga, trying to get past him to Inuyasha. "No! I could NEVER love a despicable half-demon who slaughtered my friends, my sister and nearly killed me."

"Your sister? Kagome, you don't have..." Inuyasha stopped as he saw a figure step out of the tree line behind Kagome. The shape it made along with its scent told him it was Naraku. "Naraku! What have you done with her!"

"He took me in," she replied in his defense, "helped me become myself once again, despite the curse you put on me!" She hissed, taking a swing at Inuyasha with her claws. "And I will destroy you for all you have done against me." She rushed forward and lept into the tree, retrieving the arrow she had tried to shoot him with first.

Using her youkai speed and miko powers combined, she slammed the arrow into Inuyasha, hitting him right below the heart, pinning him back up to Goshinboku, the way he had been when she had first seen him.

"K-Kagome. You must know... Ashiteru..." He fell over completely unconscious.

END OF CHAPTER 4...