Striking A Deal

A/N:Thanks for reviewing. I may take tomorrow night off, but I don't know yet. I kind of want to work on my Kouga/Kagome and maybe a M/F/M. Ummm, I don't own IY. So, please continue to review and I will continue to pump out the chapters. Thanks. :o)
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Kouga stared across the fire at Kagome and Sesshomaru. It amazed him to no end that despite giving up his claim to her, the demon lord was more protective than ever.

Sesshomaru could not take his eyes off of Kagome. His words ringing in his ears, he snuggled her closer to him trying to take away the pain that he knew that he caused her. He whispered words of regret and begged her forgiveness, but he was met with silence. He could not tell how she was feeling anymore, not since he broke the pact between them. He wanted to tell her that he did love her and that his words were spoken out of jealousy and were not thought out.

Inu Yasha could not help but feel sorry for his brother. He could tell that the "˜ice prince' did in fact love Kagome and now he had to watch as she suffered through an injury that she received after their argument. He could only imagine how she must have felt; hearing those words of hate coming from Sesshomaru, and Inu Yasha's heart lurched. He knew how emotional Kagome could be. He could almost bet that the reason she had not awoken was because she had buried herself so deep within her mind to escape the pain from losing Sesshomaru. The hanyou shook his head. It should be him that she had mated with, not his brother. He was such a fool.

Miroku looked at his friends and could not help but feel lucky. He had made a decision to be with Sango, and he would fully understand how Sesshomaru felt. His despair was apparent as he sat with his mate, mourning their precious pact that was so casually destroyed. He glanced over at Sango, who was still in shock over Kouga's proclamation that there had been something going on between herself and Sesshomaru. He inched closer and put his arm around her, kind of expecting to get slapped, but was happily surprised when she put her head on his shoulder. Even though his companions were in pain, he could not help but feel a bit happy.

Jaken could not shake that somehow he was going to be blamed for what happened to Lady Kagome. Sure, he was nowhere in the vicinity nor did he make the wound, but somehow, fate was going to come up and kick him from behind. He stood up and bent over to pick up a piece of wood to throw in the fire, but a gust of wind hit his short kimono just right and blew it up, revealing his green backside to everyone at the camp.

At first, no one said anything, but then Inu Yasha began to snicker, and then broke out into loud laughter, followed by Miroku and Sango. Kouga was too angry to laugh, but he did quirk an eyebrow at the humiliated toad before turning his head, and Lord Sesshomaru only growled in frustration. Shippo and Rin turned red. This was the first time that they had ever seen the toad speechless, and for them, it was worth mentioning.

"Sesshomaru-sama!! Jaken showed Rin and Shippo his backside. If Jaken is green, why does he have red bumps? Rin doesn't have red bumps on her backside, so why does Jaken? Is he sick?" Rin asked innocently.

Shippo snickered. They knew exactly what they were doing. He bet that Jaken would never again call them 'stupid little children' ever again. "Yeah, I've seen Inu Yasha's backside and he doesn't have those bumps either. And I am guessing that Miroku and Kouga don't have them, so why does Jaken?"

That did it for Inu Yasha. He jumped up and ran into the forest. Miroku and Sango turned red from laughing so hard. Sango jumped up and grabbed both of the children's hands.

"Let's get you two cleaned up for bed. I think that perhaps Jaken would like to have a moment to collect himself." Sango said.

When she and the children left, Jaken looked at the remaining males. His normally green face was pure white. He had never been so embarrassed. Miroku noticed the toad's discomfort and said, "Don't let it bother you, Jaken. They are just children and are curious."

Jaken turned and walked away from the camp, muttering, "They are not children. They are demon spawn forged in the deepest pits of hell."

Sesshomaru shot the toad a glare, but it was not noticed. When the soft bundle in his arms moved, he directed his attention back to his lap.

Kagome's eyes fluttered as she struggled to open her eyes. She felt horrible. The words that Sesshomaru had yelled at her rang in her ears, and she could feel the tears slip down her face. She felt a gentle finger wipe her tears away and warm breath next to her ear.

"I am so sorry, my Kagome. I am not worthy to be your mate, and regret not trusting you. Please forgive me, and I will never doubt you again." Sesshomaru whispered.

Kouga jumped up. "Why don't you leave her alone, you bastard? Have you not done enough to upset her?" He growled.

Sesshomaru regarded him with cold eyes. "I don't care what you feel towards her, Lord Kouga. But I will warn you this one time, do not ever tell me to leave my mate alone. She is mine and I am hers. I suggest that you take a walk before you say and do something that you regret."

Kouga barred his fangs at the taiyoukai and started toward him, but was stopped by Miroku.

"Kouga, go take a walk. Cool down. Kagome is waking up and doesn't need to hear you and Sesshomaru arguing with each other. Please, if you care about her at all, leave for a while and calm yourself." Miroku said.

Kouga looked at the monk and then at Kagome. He slowly nodded. "Fine, I will go, but I will be back. I won't allow him to hurt her anymore than he already has." He said, turning on his heel and stomping off into the woods.

"Thank you." A voice said behind Miroku. Miroku turned and said, "You are welcome, Lord Sesshomaru. But, he only worries for her."

"I know, but Kagome is not his to worry about." Sesshomaru said quietly.

Miroku slowly nodded, wondering to himself if Sesshomaru realized that since he broke his pact with Kagome, that now Kouga has as much right as he did to Kagome.

The monks stared into the night's sky, hoping that their small group would come back together and finish this quest as friends.
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Kouga walked deep into the woods. His thoughts surrounded Kagome and he could not help wonder if Sesshomaru still had a chance with her. Kouga growled out his frustration. He should be the one that Kagome was mated too. He would never have broken the pact with her, and he would have been damned if he accused her of sleeping with another and not honoring the pact.

He turned when he heard a twig snap. Kouga came face-to-face with a small child. He sniffed the air, and realized that he was looking down on a child of Naraku.

"Tell me, little one. How should I make your death: quick and easy or slow and painful?" Kouga sneered.

Kanna stared at the wolf demon and then licked her lips. "Look." She whispered.

She held out her mirror to Kouga and he felt his eyes drawn to it. The darkened mirror suddenly brightened, and in it he saw Kagome lying on his bed at the eastern den. She was nude, and in the throws of passion. Her fingers were between her legs and she was moaning, screaming his name each time she climaxed.

Kouga swallowed, and felt his groin tighten. He was highly aroused by what was in the mirror, and then he heard Kagome speak.

"Kouga, please come to me. I need you and only you. He forced me, Kouga. He forced me to mate with him. Please, don't let him mark me again. I want your mark and no one else's. Make me your mate for life." Kagome pleaded.

That did it for Kouga. His eyes took on a red tint. He had known it. Sesshomaru had forced himself on her. He probably forced her to be nice to him by threatening her friends and family. He howled into the night, and when he looked back down to the mirror, he was surprised that the little girl was gone, along with her mirror. But, Kouga had seen enough. He turned and ran back towards camp. He would take Kagome from that monster and mark her as his own. Yes, this time he would not be denied from what belonged to him.
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Inu Yasha had finally calmed down. His laughter fading, he decided that a nice walk would be the thing to get his nerves back to normal. As he walked, he thought about everything he had been through after being unpinned from the God's tree. He thought about how he had treated Kagome and that he, for the most part, used her. She had never asked him for anything except for his friendship, and time after time he had thrown that friendship right back in her face by lying to her and leading her on. But what really got to him was that his older brother, known to many to be an ice cold killer, fell in love with a woman from a race that he claimed to hate. Could it be that their father had much more of an influence than they had realized? Inu Yasha shook his head.

"I see that you are thinking. How original for you, my mate." A soft voice said, behind him.

"Go away, Kikyo. I don't have any energy to go a round with you. So if you don't mind, leave." Inu Yasha said, as he turned around.

"Leave? But, are you not happy to see the love of your life? After all, you promised that we would be together forever. You said that when you marked me." Kikyo said, coming closer to where he stood.

Inu Yasha smirked. "You don't know much about demon mating, do you? Well, I have made a decision, Kikyo. I don't want you anymore. I defy the pact that we made together. I will not be going to hell with you, and I sure as hell won't ever lay with you again. As far as I am concerned, we are not mates anymore."

Kikyo screamed. "How dare you, you traitor. First you betray that copy of mine, and now me. Who is next? That slayer and monk? You are a fool, Inu Yasha. If you really think that I would ever let you go, you are sorely mistaken."

"Kikyo, I don't owe you a damn thing. It was not me that killed you all those years ago. That was Naraku. Take him to hell and be content. But for now, leave us be." Inu Yasha said, as he turned to walk away.

"I will not let you go so easily." Kikyo said. "After all, after what happened to that bitch, Kagome, I would think that you would not question the lengths that I would go to keep you."

Inu Yasha stopped. "It was you. You are the one who harmed Kagome. Why?"

"You ran back to her. Just like you always do. So, I eliminated the competition. Now, you belong to me." Kikyo said, smugly.

"I see that you are no better at killing people than you are at fucking, Kikyo. You see, Kagome is not dead." Inu Yasha said, laughing at the corpse's crestfallen face.

"If you think that this is over, Inu Yasha, you are wrong. I will have what I want." Kikyo said, as her soul gatherers slithered around her.

"And if you think that I won't tell Sesshomaru and Kouga that you are the one who harmed Kagome, then you are about to be proven wrong." Inu Yasha countered.

"I am not worried about your brother and the wolf. After what Kanna showed the wolf, I bet he and that dog are fighting to the death as we speak. Until the next time we meet, my love." Kikyo said, as she disappeared into the night.

Inu Yasha stared after her, and then said, "Oh shit."
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