She’s alive.

Relief washed through the wolf demon’s body, and he shook with surprise. His knees felt weak-not just from running. His love- his baby- was alive. Softly, Koga set Kagome against the wall gently, not really caring if she woke up or not. Kaede was working by Courtney’s tatami- mumbling silent prayers under her breath as she changed the bandages.

“Kaede.”

The old woman jumped at the sound of a voice and turned defensively, eyeing her bow and quiver by the doorway. “What do ye want here?”

Koga swallowed, taking a step towards her. Shoving down his pride, he bowed slightly to the priestess. “My name is Koga- the leader of the southern wolf demon tribe. I- I’ve come to see Courtney-san. .”

Kaede scowled, waving him away. “Aye child, I’m sure you have come to stir up some trouble with Inuyasha- can ye not see she’s near death? Leave me be!” She turned back to Courtney’s prone form, resuming her chants as if he wasn’t even there.

Koga stepped towards Kaede, dropping onto his knees next to her. He seized her by the shoulders and yanked her around- and their eyes met.

For the second time that night the old priestess was speechless. He looked- terrible would be a mild term. His eyes, however clear, seemed as if he had experienced the hurt of the world. Those were not the eyes she had seen – was it only two weeks ago? For this soul to be in such condition- it must have been years. Centuries. And his matted hair- what had become of the child? And what was his connection to the demon under her care? She stepped away quickly- she needed to get away from those eyes, lest they drag her into the depths of his hurt. She averted her gaze to the floor, and nodded once. “I will check with Inuyasha- but he is asleep. You must wait until he…”

“I’m awake, old woman; you don’t have to speak for me.”

Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet, wavering with each step. His wounded shoulder had been bandaged, and he had been force-fed potion in his unconsciousness to gain back his strength, but the long period of maltreatment had already taken its toll- he would need more time to heal before even thinking of fighting again. He pulled himself up with effort, holding to the wall to remain erect.

Kaede reached out to Inuyasha, chastising him gently. “Inuyasha, you really do not need to be active for a few days...”

Inuyasha waved her off and she quieted, retreating back to Courtney’s bedside. He made his way over strenuously, each step taking a little longer than it should, a hand placed cautiously on the walls of the hut. He faced Koga and nodded his head, gesturing outside.

“Let’s talk.” Then, upon seeing the incredulous look on Koga’s face, he narrowed his eyes warningly. “She’ll keep until we’re done. Let’s talk.”

Koga looked back at the prone form of Courtney, opening his mouth to argue once more. But then he remembered that tear- crystalline and almost undetectable in the dark light of their prison. For the second time in twenty- four hours, Koga closed his mouth and nodded. “Hm.”

Slowly, Inuyasha made his way out the doorway into the rising dawn. The sun rose slowly- the pink just then stained the horizon with a morning embrace. It was as if a painting had escaped from its frame and set itself in the village horizon- far away from the deeds and existence of the two troubled demons. The beauty was not lost on them- they considered it briefly, their visages bathed in the pale yellow light of the morning.

Inuyasha continued on, unsteady on his feet but soon gaining strength that seemed to be welled up inside him- used for emergencies and moments like these. He led Koga up through the village and up to a battle-scarred hill- the very hill he had brought Courtney to train every day. He looked around, heart heavy as he saw the claw-marked trees- some even shattered under the intensity of their mock battles. Just two weeks ago…Inuyasha clenched his jaw and closed his eyes in emotional onslaught. She was laughing, she had been happy here with him. Why had he let her run after a man she had known for only a few minutes?

He looked over at Koga, who was waiting for him to speak. Was he- an ally? An enemy?

What did he want with Courtney? Why was he here? Why was he being so damn quiet anyway? For a guy whose mouth was usually faster than his shard-studded legs, he was being awfully silent.  Inuyasha turned to face the sunrise, feeling the warmth of a new day heat his features. Finally, after gathering his thoughts, he returned to Koga and looked him straight in the eyes, hobbling forward until they were nose-to-nose. He narrowed his eyes into slits, stating with a growl,

“You hurt her and I’ll kill you. You leave her and I’ll hunt you down. You violate her- well, use your imagination. Her dad’s dead- so I guess that just leaves me to hand ‘er over. I swear that if I ever leave her in your protection again and she ends up like this- let’s just say that mug of yours won’t be so attractive to the next female who comes along- if you’re still breathing. I was an idiot to leave her in your care- and probably still am for letting her stay.”

Koga growled back, prodding an index finger on the hanyou’s bare chest. “Who are you to talk for her?”

Inuyasha grabbed his wrist mid-prod, holding it firmly in a strong vice grip. His eyes were steely and serious- no challenge or anger in them whatsoever. He spoke almost inaudibly, looking down at his bare feet as he softly answered, “Because I’m the only one she’s got in this damn world.” He then dropped Koga’s wrist and plodded over to a nearby stump, resting his still-tired body. Turning his back to the perplexed wolf, Inuyasha stared into the distance- more in the direction of Kaede’s hut.

For a few minutes, all was silent. Koga simply watched the hanyou, contemplating his relationship with Courtney. It was obvious that he loved her- but in what way? He seemed romantically attached to the miko- what was left? His mind began to flash images again- Inuyasha’s tear, the silver locket Courtney wore, Inuyasha carrying Courtney out of the fire, Inuyasha holding Courtney back from fighting him- he was her guard dog. He was her protector- and he had placed the job on himself. Why?

While Koga was pondering this, Inuyasha twisted his head around, firing off the single question that had been plaguing him ever since their prison.

 “Why her? Why do you want her?

Koga was taken aback by the question- he had never really pondered it before. Literally floored by this comment, he dropped to his knees and sat on his ankles, eyes downcast.

“I love her, Inuyasha. She loves me- I make her happy. If one day I no longer make her happy then she may leave me; I fear this every day.  I will protect her…”

Inuyasha snorted, turning an about face on his stump until he faced his former rival. He snarled furiously, an accusing claw pointed at Koga. “Protect her? I’ve seen what you call protecting, and guess what? She’s almost dead! For all we know she could be right now!”

Pain. Agonizing pain. Never before had Koga felt this pain coming from his chest- it seemed almost as if his heart had been ripped into small pieces. He dropped to his hands, grimacing at the sting brought on by Inuyasha’s truth. It was his fault she was dying. It was his fault she got caught in that fire, his fault they didn’t take action sooner. It was his entire fault. For a minute he struggled to tame himself- these strong emotions were new to him. He forced himself back onto his feet, his jaw clenched. His long claws dug into the calloused skin of his hands as he faced his accuser. He opened his mouth to answer, but shut it again as another wave of that very physical pain washed over him. He clenched his jaw again and squeezed his eyes shut, trembling with absolute force not to cry out. Finally his eyes snapped open and he breathed shakily.  He looked Inuyasha in the eye firmly, his jaw tense as he forced the words through his teeth, “Never again.”

Inuyasha scanned the wolf demon’s countenance and was taken back. He recognized the all-too-real pain in his eyes- had he not felt the same in Tokijin’s lair when Kagome was captured? He had been mortal- helpless.  Koga was helpless; nothing he did could bring Courtney back to health. If he closed his eyes, he could feel a thin wisp of that memory rising to the surface. He let the pain possess him- it was not so great to overtake him again, but enough to remind him of that heartache of loss. He gritted his teeth and opened his eyes again. Through these eyes- through the eyes of a fellow lover he could feel empathy. Through the eyes of a man- he could see what he needed to do.

 He swept his gaze over the wolf and down into the valley, where he could see Kaede peeking out the doorway. If he looked hard enough he even imaged he could see Kagome beginning to stir in the early dawn. Closing his eyes once more, he saw in his mind’s eye the wolf cradling Courtney’s prone body. She had smiled when she first awoke- kissed his tears away. He remembered Koga’s tears- unashamed and broken, almost like liquid diamonds running down his filthy face. He would do anything for her. She has him in the palm of her hand. Yet…she needs him. I can’t be everything she needs. I can’t be…I can’t be her lover. I can be her brother once more- I can even be her father figure. But I…I can’t complete her like he can. It’s never been that way. She has my locket- can I give her my blessing?

“Go.”

Koga started at the sound issued from the contemplative hanyou. His heart leaped, and it seemed almost as if some of his pain alleviated at that single word. He leaned forward eagerly, his eyes shining with desperation. “I can go to her?”

Inuyasha snorted. This emotional stuff made his head and heart hurt. “Go to her, marry her, do whatever you want.” However, as Koga dashed off to see her, Inuyasha still felt a little of that pain return on its own. Was he losing his imoutu? Would this be the end of their imagined kazoku?