Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 12: Snowed in.

The morning seemed better then others before it, it just had a different feel to it, and right now it felt better then a Saturday after a long week. Souta opened his eyes slowly and looked upward sleepily, the walls of his room were painted with sunlight, it seemed unusually bright for winter. The light was harsh to his eyes for a moment, until they finally adjusted to the contrast of his eye lids. Everything looked more vibrant, and the bed was the most comfortable it had ever been. It was so warm here, laying under the covers, Inuyasha's arms wrapped around him.

Souta titled his head back and looked up at Inuyasha, he looked so peaceful, unusually peaceful and still. But he was sweating despite the cold, and his claws had extended abnormally, Souta could even see his fangs peeking out over his bottom lip. Heat was obviously in effect, probably from some dream Inuyasha was having, maybe it was the cause of his peaceful look. Inuyasha didn't usually hold him like this either, he barely did it at all, in fact Souta knew if he realized it he'd have a big blush on his face and he'd started looking around nervously. 'Heh. Heh.' Souta closed his eyes and smiled at the thought.

Maybe it was because of everything that happened last night that made this morning feel relaxing after a great deal of sleep, or the cold that surrounded him out side of this warm bed. Souta didn't know, but he was happy for it. It had never felt so good for him to just lay in bed and do nothing. 'I wonder what time it is?' He slipped his arm from where it was held down underneath Inuyasha's and covered his mouth as a yawn forced it's way out.

Inuyasha's ears perked, even in sleep he was keenly aware of the small sound and the subtitle movements since being on a slight edge after last night's events. Slowly the usually golden eyes opened, they were red now, and shifted around the room until his eyes fell on to Shota's looking up at him. “Souta?” Inuyasha drew in a deep yawn and spoke in a sleepy voice. “What are you doing up this early.”

Souta wasn't sure it was so early, but he couldn't tell, with out the power his clock wasn't working. “Nothin'.”

Inuyasha lifted his arm off of Souta and rubbed his eyes softly, then looked away reluctantly. He felt some what clouded, his instincts rising in side of him with heat in full effect. Even in his current state though... “You ok?” His voice was low and fleeting, referring to last night. Souta had seemed...out of it then, and not just when he met back up with him at the fuse box in the basement, for the rest of the night he had that emotionless, almost dead demeanor to him. Inuyasha had never seen him that way, he was actually worried.

“Uh-huh.” Souta nodded, he looked so innocent and content at the moment, after everything that happened thus far, Inuyasha had never been so happy to see that look.

“Are you really?” Inuyasha asked. “Your not just saying that are you?”

Souta found some amusement in it and laughed at little. “Yeah, I'm ok.”

Inuyasha had learned of Souta's tendency to repress every unwanted emotion or anything that he didn't want to be seen. Inuyasha closed his eyes and lent down, pressing his mouth against Souta's neck. “Your not lying to me are you?” His voice was deeper, huskier when he spoke this time, the tip of his tongue making gentle licks over the bite marks he'd created a while ago.

Souta closed his eyes and inhaled the familiar sent that started to drift off of Inuyasha. “No.”

“Good.” Inuyasha pushed the covers away and climbed on to his knees above Souta, his breathing was noticeably heavier from the heat rising in making it harder to do so...He had to relieve it. He nearly ripped the fire rat coat off of him and tossed it aside, shedding himself of the shirt beneath it right after, he was happy to feel the cold air against his bare skin. A small smirk formed on his lips when he looked down at Souta laying completely still beneath him, his eyes closed, his arms stretched out at his side, completely under the inhibiting effect of his pheromones.

Inuyasha lent down and pressed his lips against Souta's in a delicate kiss, Souta growing confidence in the interaction was apparent in how his smaller tongue wrestled with Inuyasha's. Though still holding a great deal of reluctance and uncertainty he always had. Inuyasha pulled back from the kiss and buried his face into Souta's neck, his hands drifting anxiously down Souta's body. “Uha...” Souta let out a soft, barely coherent moan, clinching his eyes tightly shut with his still present shyness but completely unmoving with obvious willingness.

Inuyasha tugged at the collar of Souta's green night shirt with one hand while slipping his fingers into the waist band of his matching pants. He couldn't resist softly bitting down into Souta's shoulder with more soft licks, it took all of his will not to draw blood. He nearly ripped off the button up shirt Souta had on, and Souta lifted his legs slightly to help Inuyasha pull off the pants. Before they were torn off In Inuyasha's impatience.

The cold air chilled Souta even farther when Inuyasha opened his shirt, leaving himself completely open, he shuttered at the noticeable difference between now and when he was under the covers. Inuyasha paused to pull down the fabric covering his lower body just enough to release his already fully hardened erection, his eyes rolling hungrily over the small body below him.

Souta peeked one clinched eye open to see the cause of the small delay, then quickly shut it again when Inuyasha lent down and kissed him softly. A sloppy, quick action made before lifting himself off of Souta completely. Inuyasha crawled upward, repositioning himself on his hands and knees with his erection positioned in front of Souta's face. Souta opened his eyes again, and when he saw the shift in positions he knowingly lifted himself up to his elbows and lent upward, taking Inuyasha into his mouth.

Inuyasha grunted and dropped his head, feeling Souta smaller mouth slowly and softly sucking the his length, the sudden rush of sensation... Inuyasha let out a deep breath, his claws clinching in the thick fabric of the covers and his fangs bitting down on his bottom lip. He had to resist the urge to thrust blindly into the boy's mouth, Inuyasha grimaced and forced himself to pull back before he actually did, sure his member was slick enough. '?' Souta looked up at him with an inquisitional look, watching as Inuyasha crawled back down and brought the two of them face to face again. “Inuyasha...” Souta closed his eyes slyly as his parted lips were joined with Inuyasha's once again, a small blush creeping on to his cheeks.

Inuyasha's hand firmly grasped Souta's thighs and pushed his legs apart with his knees, his cock pressing firmly against Souta's entrance. The kiss was short lived, Inuyasha pulled back, shifting himself a bit, then slowly begin pushing his cock into the tight ring muscles. “Uhaa...” Souta's eyes clinched tightly again and he began squirming slightly. It hurt, feeling himself stretching around the proportionally large cock, but he forced himself to be as quiet as he could.

Inuyasha had the presence of mind to go slow, no matter how tormenting it was for him. The tightness was amazing, it made him simply want to let go and lose himself, but he forced himself not to pound mercilessly into the soft heat. He was too protective for that, he wanted more for his mate to feel good, much more.

Inuyasha wrapped his fingers around Souta's nearly painfully erect member and begin stroking the delicate flesh to keep his mind off of pain. “Inuyasha...” Souta groaned through clinched lips, grasping handfuls of the soft sheets and covers underneath him. He just focused on the intoxicating scent emitting from Inuyasha, with everything working on his senses the way they were he could tolerate the pain, he wanted this more then he could describe.

Slowly but surely the pleasure began to grow, slowly swelling up from Souta's abdomen and washing over his whole body with each one of Inuyasha's thrust. The somewhat cringed look of discomfort and shy blush was replaced by a flushed, needy one that Inuyasha couldn't hope to resist. “Souta...” Inuyasha begin thrusting his sickened cock harder into the tight inner muscles, driving in as far as he could, half of his length was forced inside of Souta before pulling back nearly all the way save the head.

“Inu-Inuyasha!” Souta's back arched off the bed and the small body trembled as he was forced to his limit. A few more hard thrust pushed him deeper and until he came, his seed streaming out of his smaller cock and on to Inuyasha's hand. He constricted around Inuyasha with twitching motions, driving the hanyou to trust in harder into the enticing pressure.

“!!” Inuyasha removed his hands from Souta's legs and pushed them on to the bed to catch himself before he fell on the boy below. Every muscle of his body tensed and a low growl repressed itself from deep in his throat as he came soon after, his seed quickly filled Souta and streamed off of his cock, spilling on to his waist.

! - ! - !

Houjo sat peacefully on the ground, one leg drawn up while the other laid lazily outreached before him, his back resting against the sofa with his hands resting in his lap. He was fully awake, he simply didn't feel like moving, there was no reason to. Truthfully he was content to just sit here like this, there were more then a few days he wished he could do just this, he rarely was able too.

'...?'

Houjo felt something against the back of his neck, something so soft that it could have been discarded as simply air. If it was air then their had to be a hole somewhere, maybe close... Houjo sleepily opened his eyes and glanced back over his shoulder. “!!!” Startled, he flinched with a sharp gasp, all before he could realized what he was looking at.

Kouga sat crouched atop the furniture behind Houjo, completely unknown to Houjo.

“Oh, Kouga.” Houjo rubbed his head nervously. “You scared me.”

Kouga smirked wolfishly, he really loved the look on Houjo's face when he was surprised. “I know.”

“How long have you been up?” Houjo asked, he blinked slightly, his eyes were met with an vision pleasing dimness. Unlike upstairs the blinds were closed and what light there was came from what rays made it past the barrier and from upstairs

“Not long.” Kouga sat down on the couch and folded his arms.

“Man, I can't believe I slept in this late.” Houjo slowly pushed himself on to his feet with sloppy, staggering steps, yawning deeply as he stretched his arms above his head. With even what happened last night he still didn't know why he slept in like this. “Last night,what were those things?”

“I don't really know, some demon.” Kouga shrugged, he didn't sound too worried, but he didn't sound to much of anything right now.

'Geez...what is going on around here.' Houjo rested one hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it with half lidded eyes.

“Scared?” Kouga asked.

“Maybe a little.” Truthfully Houjo was more then just a little uneasy about it, when the power went out in the middle of the night and those things showed up, one tended to get more then a little unnerved.

Kouga wrapped his arms around Houjo's waist and laid his hand on Houjo's shoulder. “You don't have to worry, your my mate and I wont let anything happen to you.”

Houjo laughed slightly and smiled. Pulling out of Houjo's grasp. “You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine.” He stretched his arms out in front of him with another yawn and scratched his ruffled hair. “I guess I better get started on breakfast.” Houjo always felt lost when he wasn't doing something, and that feeling was starting to rise up in him now.

Kouga now felt pretty competent in the kitchen after the last few days of trying his hand at it, “Ok.” That's why he felt so interested in watching Houjo.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Souta made his way down the stairs, fully dressed and wide awake, he was met halfway down with familiar voices. 'Oh ... they must be up too.' He was drawn curiously to the kitchen first, finding Houjo standing over the stove and Kouga hanging over his shoulder with his tail wagging excitedly. “Houjo? Kouga?”

“Souta?” Houjo glanced back acknowledging before turning back to the stove. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah actually.” He sat down at the table, resting his elbows on the surface and his head in his hands. “What are you doing?”

“I don't know.” Kouga said, leaning even farther over Houjo's shoulder. “It's not working, what's wrong with this stupid thing!?”

“The power is out.” Houjo walked away from the stove in defeat, there was nothing he could do.

“What does that have to do with the stove?” Kouga asked, in obvious annoyment.

“It doesn't just mean the lights wont come on.” Houjo sat down in a chair beside Souta, yawning again. “Everything runs on electricity, with out that nothing works.”

“Well that's pretty stupid...”

Inuyasha finally came down the stairs after a notable delay, his face was thoughtful and held a slightly perplexed attribute to it, as if he was forming an idea in his mind. “Geez, why is it so dark down here?” He said, though it was obvious that it wasn't what his mind was focused on. Then he remembered the quick discussion last night about Lights and power, and how Kouga spent a considerable amount of time flipping the light switch repeatedly. “Is the snow that high?”

Souta looked back at Inuyasha. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Go look.”

Souta and Houjo looked at each other and then stood up to investigate Inuyasha's claim. It was Souta's first time stepping into the living room since last night, and now that he could see he was surprised at what it looked like. “Oh man...This place looks horrible!” Souta clinched his head with both hands and looked at the room with a sense of dread. It wasn't just in disarray, things were broken, dust and debris were scattered about, and there was a crack in the hallway wall leading to the basement where Inuyasha had used his wind scar.

“Don't worry, we can clean it up.” Houjo patted Souta on the back comfortingly. “And I can patch up that crack. This place will look like new in no time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Houjo nodded.

“Hey!” A loud, frustrated voice sound from some corner of the room where Kouga stood by the door, turning the knob back and forth just short of breaking it. “Don't tell this isn't working because the power's out too! Damn this is so stupid!”

Souta quickly intervened before Kouga actually did break it. “The door doesn't work on power.”

Kouga folded his arm and glared at the barrier. “Then why isn't it opening?” He asked, watching Souta tug at it strenuously with all his strength.

Houjo watched the interaction curiously, then glanced back at Inuyasha who simply watched from the wall. 'Huh?' Thinking on what Inuyasha had said, he walked past Souta and Kouga and walked over to the window. 'What did he mean by-' Houjo drew the blinds open, and instead of being met with a burst of bright light, he found himself staring at a barrier of snow. “Oh...my...god.”

Souta pressed one foot against the wall and strenuously pulled at the door with everything he had. When the door finally, and unexpectedly swung open, Souta lost his balance and fell to the ground. “!!” He and Kouga found themselves staring up at a wall of half frozen snow, a small imprint was left behind where the other door knob had been stuck inside. “Holy crap! This is what you were talking about?!”

Inuyasha stared at the snow with his own amazement at it, it looked worse then when he'd seen it from Souta's window. “What else would I be talking about?”

“W-Where did all of it come from?!” Houjo leaned forward so close that his nose was pressed against the window. “H-how?”

“It must have fallen when we were asleep.” Souta reasoned, “But how? We would have heard it wouldn't we?”

“No way!” Kouga shook his head, he couldn't believe this. “There's on way a storm came and dropped all of this then left before we woke up.”

“I don't know.” Houjo shrugged. “We were all so tired last night and we all slept so late...I guess we're just snowed in.”

“What? No.. No, no, no, no, no!” Kouga backed away from the door slowly with wide eyes, like those words triggered something. “No!”

“Kouga?” Houjo pushed himself off of the window and looked over at Kouga questioningly. “What? What is it?”

“We can't.... really be... No!” Kouga clinched his head and began rambling uncharacteristically.

Inuyasha turned his attention away from the door and looked at Kouga. 'What is with him, he's losing it over there.'

“We can't be snowed in!?” Kouga nearly shouted. “I can't...No..I-I can't-”

“You can't what?” Houjo examined Kouga scrutinizingly, he was just as confused about this as everyone else was. “What's the problem?”

“I'm trapped...” Kouga's breathing grew heavy and his heart started to race, pounding loudly in his ears. All at once Kouga impulsively took off towards the door, but Houjo grabbed his hand and pulled him back before he could reach it.

“Kouga calm down.” Houjo pleaded, he was worried now, why was Kouga acting this way all of a sudden? 'Trapped? He's been in this house for 2 days, how can he feel trapped?'

“No, no no.” Kouga shook his head feverously, his breathing growing even harsher and his heart pounding so loudly he was sure everyone else could hear it. “I-I can't do this! I-I can't-”

“Kouga, please calm down.” Houjo said worriedly. “Maybe you-”

He suddenly felt like the walls were closing in on him, like the enclosed space was closing in more and more each second. He was stuck! He couldn't stand here! He couldn't! The air was getting thinner, he'd pass out at this rate! He was trapped! He had to get out! 'No,No,No!' “I gotta get out of here!” Kouga swiftly pulled his arm out of Houjo's grasp and ran toward the door with all of his speed. He didn't get too far that way, he was halted by stomach high, half frozen snow that was nearly impossible to move in, Kouga most definitely couldn't.

“Kouga!” Houjo wrapped his arms around Kouga and pulled him away from the door, keeping a tight hold on the struggling wolfs waist “Please, calm down.” No one else may have gotten it, but as soon as Houjo saw him make a break for the door he understood it.

As soon as his back pressed against Houjo's chest, Kouga's sensitive ears focused themselves on Houjo's odd heart beat and he slowly began to feel calmer. He shifted around a bit at first, but eventually he was able to be still, as long as he was close...

“Kouga? Are you ok?” Souta asked, worried and slightly fearful something was really wrong and he couldn't tell yet.

“Yeah!” Inuyasha snorted. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“He's claustrophobic.” Houjo explained.

“What?!” Kouga looked back at Houjo with a harsh glare. “I'm not claustrophobic!”

Inuyasha didn't know what either of them were talking about, his eyes narrowed in an annoyed confusion. “Claust-what?”

“It means he's afraid of closed in spaces.” Houjo said.

“I'm not afraid of closed in space!” Houjo shouted protestingly. “Have you seen my den? It's a lot more closed in then this!”

“Well maybe I shouldn't say closed in spaces.” Houjo looked up thoughtfully, trying to find the right words and explanation. “Of not being able to get out of someplace I guess.”

“Wait?” Inuyasha walked closer to Kouga with a smirk on his face. “Your afraid of some snow blocking the door? Heh, You really are a wimpy wolf.”

Kouga pulled out of Houjo's hold and leaned towards Inuyasha offensively. “Who are you calling a wimp dog boy!?”

Souta grabbed on to Inuyasha's leg and pulled him back. “Come on Inuyasha, don't mess with him about it.” Souta had learned a few things about fear, one of which being made fun of because of wasn't something easily gotten over.

Inuyasha just looked away from Kouga with an amused smile on his face. “Don't give me that look idiot! I'm not afraid of anything!” Kouga growled

“Yeah right, you almost lost it.” Inuyasha laughed, which only served to farther infuriate Kouga.

“Inuyasha cut it out!” Souta began pulling at his leg, drawing him toward the stairs and away from Kouga. “Just leave him alone.”

“H-”

“Inuyasha!” Souta just pushed harder, forcing Inuyasha up the stairs and out of the room.

The room became silent again, and Houjo and Kouga were by themselves like before. Houjo shivered at the small chill let in from a breeze coming from the opening to the outside near the top of the door way. “Are you ok?” He asked, slowly but surely releasing him.

Kouga clinched his hands into tight fist, then let them relax again.“I'm gonna pound that mutt into the ground!”

'He's fine.' Houjo scratched his head and sighed, what a morning. “Just try not to think about it...”

“That bastard!”

'That shouldn't be a problem.'

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

It slowly but surely started to become darker and dark on the first floor as time wore on. A few hours had slowly drawn past and the sun outside stretched to the other side of the sky and began to drift below the horizon. The level of the house above the blocking snow was still bright as ever, brighter then it usually would have been at this time.

Houjo walked up the stairs with slow steps, his arms resting behind his head as he came into the bright light of the upper level. All of the windows in the right side of the house were shinning with almost blindly bright golden light while the left seemed normal for this time, he had to shield his eyes for a moment when he walked into Souta's room, he'd spent too much time in a much less harsh light. “Wow, it's warmer up here.”

Souta was sitting in the open window still, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees and his head resting in his hands. He appropriately had a coat on though. And Inuyasha just laid carelessly across the bed with his hands resting on his stomach and one leg drawn up, his face was strained slightly and he was sweating heavily despite the window being open. Houjo could tell how impatient he was, he shifted around often, and his fingers played with themselves subconsciously.

“Hey Houjo, you should see this.” Souta called him over.

Houjo curiously made his way over to the window and slipped his head out over Souta's shoulder. “Wow...” He gazed out over the land in amazement, staring at the smooth finish of snow that stretched smoothly over over the sloping landscape, the top of the snow froze over with a glassy cover. The pink and orange colors of the sunset reflected off it, pouring into the window brightly.

“I'm hungry!” Inuyasha complained winningly.

“We all are.” Souta called back. “I'm sorry but theirs nothing I can do about it.”

Inuyasha folded his arms with a small pout. “All I have to do is start a fire and-”

“No!” Souta shook his head firmly, a hint of fear in his voice. “No fire!”

Inuyasha turned his head away with a grunt and stared at the wall, it was just as well, he didn't think he could stand the heat of an open flame. 'Damnit I hate this!' He constantly shifted around uncomfortably on the bed, he strongly contemplated going through the window but it would be too much of a hassle to get back in. Finally frustrated with just laying here, Inuyasha pushed himself off the bed and stood up abruptly, wiping the sweat away from his forehead before it could fall into his eyes.

“Inuyasha, where are you going?” Souta looked back curiously when he heard the hanyou stand.

“Nowhere in particular.” Inuyasha walked out of the room and paused a few feet ahead in the hall. There was a small draft of air coming steadily from the stairs, and Inuyasha inanely descended in to it. He let out a sigh at the thankful change in temperature that grew cooler and cooler as he descended farther and farther until he was at the bottom of the stairs. 'Huh?'

It was much darker here, only a very dim light came from the top of the windows and a much brighter light shining down from the top of the stairs. Inuyasha felt like he'd just been submerged in the deeper depths of a body of water, it was the only way he could describe the contrast from upstairs. His ears twitched in his eyes peered forward when he heard the sounds of heavy, panting breathes, it had to be Kouga.

Kouga practiced persistently, standing in front of the window in the largest open space of the room. He stood in a ready stance, his fist raised, his eyes set forward. Kouga moved with his usual swiftness, throwing a fury of quick punches at invisible enemies and occasionally an even swifter kick. His heartbeat raised, pounding so loudly in his ears that he couldn't hear anything else, and his breathing was even harsher then this level of activity required. He kept throwing blows, he kept dispersing energy rising in him, it was all he could do to keep from trying to dig his way out of this house.

“N-no...” Kouga mumbled, throwing a harder punch that audibly cut the air it forced itself foward. He clinched his eyes and shook his head, images forcing their way in to his mind as they had been for the past few hours. “No...” He forced them away, punching even harder into the darkness as if fighting them with his fist. Just keep practicing, work out this nervous energy, just keep going and he'd be fine... But he saw it, not in his mind but this time before his eyes. “No!” His eyes trembled and narrowed, his breathing growing harsher and harsher. His pulse was the only thing he could focus on, the beating of his heart was so loud it sounded just like the pounding he heard that day...

“Goddammit no!” He thrust his fist forward in even harder punches, trying to fight away what he was seeing. Just keep going, Just keep going... But he still saw it just as brightly in the darkness, the dark sky coated in black clouds heavy with rain, a firm surface against his back, he was laying down...and the strong wood above him lined with unknown metal. The wood swung slowly towards him on creaking hinges like a closing door, blocking out more of the sky with each second. “No! Damnit not again!” His punches grew more and more desperate until he was only clawing, his body was moving on it's own, fighting of it's own accord while his mind was frozen on what he was seeing. “I'm not going through that again!” He fought, but the wood and metal blocked out more and more of the dark sky until Kouga was left in darkness and all he heard was a slamming sound. “No!”

A sound different then his own pulse and a new scent snapped him out of it, it made Kouga abruptly turn around, and his eyes meet with Inuyasha. For a moment all he could do was take in deep breathes and fill his air starved lungs to their content, he couldn't say anything at all. 'I was just dreaming or something...' He said to himself, he was even happy to see Inuyasha right now, happy to see since he was the one that relieve of the sudden hallucination. “What do you want?”

“What are you looking at me like that for?” Inuyasha snorted. “Your the one screaming, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Kouga stood up strait and folded his arms, turning his head away from Inuyasha. “Nothing-”

“Your scared!” Inuyasha pointed at him accusingly. “I knew it, your scared!”

Kouga growled in anger, glaring at Inuyasha angrily. “I'm not afraid!”

“Yeah right! What are you so scared of?”

“I'm not afraid! Stop saying that you stupid mutt!” Kouga shouted, he wasn't afraid! He wasn't afraid damnit! “You know I'm getting real sick of your mouth.”

“Oh yeah?” Inuyasha slipped off the fire rat coat he wore and tossed it aside some place unseen, removing the shirt beneath it and throwing it in the same direction. The cool air felt good on his bare skin, and he inhaled it deeply to ease the fire burning inside of him. “What is a wimp like you going to do about it?”

Kouga smirked, lifting his fist in that same ready stance, “I'm gonna kick your ass, that's what I'm gonna do about it!” Kouga took a step forward in the darkness and punched Inuyasha across the jaw, hard.

Inuyasha stumbled back a few steps, his first instinct usually would have been to draw the Tetsusaiga and the fact that they were inside wouldn't have made any difference. But not this time, he just smirked as he closed the gap between them with a few quick steps and punched Kouga in the chest with all his strength.

Kouga fell backwards from the hard blow but flipped backwards nimbly and recovered, then with his speed he dashed forward with his arm drawn back. But Inuyasha anticipated him and stepped to the side, punching Kouga across the jaw and effectively knocking him to the ground. “Inuyasha 1, Kouga, zip.” Inuyasha said confidently, “Is that the best you got?”

Kouga swept his foot across the ground and kicked Inuyasha in the back of his legs, knocking him off his feet. Then with his typical agility he sprang in to the air and sent a hard kick into Inuyasha's chest before he could hit the ground, throwing him into the wall. “Inuyasha 1, Kouga 1, and I haven't even gotten started.”

Kouga landed and in fluid motions he threw a punch at Inuyasha with all of his strength, Inuyasha caught his first and pulled him forward as he threw one of his own with his other hand. Kouga drove his knee into Inuyasha's stomach, making Inuyasha keel over and his punch go off course. Kouga easily tilted his head to the side and dodged, then he caught Inuyasha's arm between his neck and shoulder and with a strong kick he threw Inuyasha over his shoulder. Inuyasha landed hard on the ground behind Kouga, the air being forced out of his lungs. “Inuyasha 1, Kouga 2.” He announced jokingly. “What's wrong mutt? Too much bark, not enough bite?”

Inuyasha stumbled forward and climbed to his feet, reaching out to grab hold of Kouga. Kouga swiftly moved out of the way and in a blur he appeared behind Inuyasha, but Inuyasha was also anticipating that action and threw his elbow back. Kouga crouched under Inuyasha's arm and thrust his fist into Inuyasha's back. “Don't even think about it!” Inuyasha took a half step to the left and caught Kouga's arm between his arm and his side, and with the wolf momentarily trapped he thrust his elbow back into Kouga face to knock him off balance then grabbed Kouga's arm with both hands and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground.

“Inuyasha 2, Kouga 2, and my bite is much worse!” Inuyasha growled, hammering down his fist into Kouga's chest and audibly forcing the air from his lungs.

Kouga rolled out of Inuyasha's range and sprang on to his feet, gasping for air to recover what was lost from Inuyasha's blow. He paused to wipe the blood from his bottom lip and the smirk returned. He quickly forgot all of the anxiety that made the last few hours unbearable for him, he seemed content to attempt to prove Inuyasha wrong by attempting to beat him senseless. “Whatever dog face!” Kouga lept forward and kicked Inuyasha in the chest, then quickly pivoted around and delivered a round house kick.

Inuyasha took a step backwards from the blow but quickly reached out and grabbed Kouga by the leg before he fell, but his hold was short lived. Kouga drove his other foot into Inuyasha's face in a hard kick and knocked him off. When he landed he flipped on to his feet and lunged forward, throwing a series of rapid punches into Inuyasha's stomach before he even realized the first one was landed. Then Kouga finished off his combo with a hard kick to chest that finally did send Inuyasha plummeting to the ground and sliding back a good distance. “Inuyasha 2, Kouga 3.” Kouga jumped into the air and came diving down onto Inuyasha fist first. “What's wrong, can't handle me?”

Inuyasha reached up and grabbed Kouga by the fist as the Youkai attempted to pound him into the ground. “Arrogant bastard!” Inuyasha reached out and grabbed Kouga by the neck, with a tight hold he tossed him into the wall by the window, and with unusual quickness he was there, pinning him against it. Kouga's hands immediately began attempting to pry him off, but Inuyasha was physically stronger, there was no way he'd get him off this way. “You don't know how long I've been waiting to do this.” He growled, throwing a hard punch at Kouga with all of his strength.

“Keep...waiting.” Kouga's voice was strained when he barely managed to force it the words out, his quick hands reached out and caught Inuyasha's fist. But the strength difference became painfully clear again between them as he had to struggle to restrain the hanyou. “Get...off!” Kouga panted both feet against Inuyasha's stomach and attempted to pry him away, using his strong leg strength. Inuyasha couldn't hold him like this, so he spun around on one foot and tossed Kouga aside, sending him sliding to the ground and his head crashing into the opposite wall with a loud thump.

“Inuyasha 3, Kouga 2.” Inuyasha said mockingly. “Not talking so much now are ya?”

“Don't worry.” Kouga pressed his hand against the wall and pushed himself up on to his feet. He slowly lifted the chest plate of his armor off and set it aside, opening himself of the cool air of a level entombed by snow. “I'm just getting started.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

It seemed like hours had passed, neither of them knew how long they had been at this fight of theirs. But they were too persistent to stop.

“Not bad.” Inuyasha leaned on the back of the couch, his breathing harsh and heavy from fatigue . He subconsciously slid his tongue past his lips and licked the blood off of his cheek, he was far more bloody and sweaty then when they first started, and weaker then Inuyasha would have liked to admit. “Not bad...” He didn't even notice the unbearable heat that had drawn him down here in the first place anymore and hadn't for some time. When he fought with Kouga he completely forgot...

“Inuyasha 51, Kouga 51.” Kouga counted off in a matter of factly tone, he leaned against the wall for support, just as weak and bloody as Inuyasha was. He dropped his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. It was just about pitch black, neither of them could see a thing, even in this condition he fought with Inuyasha for the last hour. Trying to see who had the better senses. Kouga didn't even realized he was trapped anymore, this was just some place he was finally getting to do what he had wanted for a long time, fight Inuyasha.

Kouga hated being trapped more then just about anything.

Inuyasha smirked, he wanted to keep going, to beat Kouga, even if he couldn't kill him, kill the bear some. He wouldn't admit it out loud but Kouga was really hard to beat. “I'm too hungry to deal with you anymore.” Inuyasha looked away, smirk still persisting on his face despite his best attempts. Truthfully there was no way he could keep this up, Souta would hate him forever, not to mention Houjo, and besides, if Kouga had any more energy left in him he'd lose.

Kouga didn't. The wolf rested his hand on a small cut on his chest, and his tongue slowly reached out of his slightly open mouth and ran over another bleeding laceration on his cheek. Oddly enough it wasn't his own blood he tasted, it was Inuyasha, in fact a lot of the blood on him was Inuyasha's, he was covered in the Hanyou's scent. “Whatever.” Kouga turned his head away in a similar manner, the action didn't matter, neither of them could see the other.

They both felt kind of embarrassed, the fact that they didn't have the energy to fight each other anymore seemed almost like conceding defeat. The only consolation was that the other was doing it too.

'He doesn't seem scared anymore...' Inuyasha thought to himself. 'What the hell was he so afraid of? Matter of fact...Last night, why did he sound so...' Inuyasha folded his arms and glared into the darkness. 'Damn wolf.' Great, now he was trying to figure out things about Kouga, that was last thing he wanted to do. 'The hell with this.' With his desire to fight temporarily satisfied, Inuyasha walked past Kouga and headed for the stairs.

“So your leavening?” Kouga didn't speak in his usual cocky manner, just a slightly questioning one.

“Got a problem with that?” Inuyasha asked half threateningly, but his voice was so strained and weak that it hardly sounded as such.

Kouga obviously didn't even notice the threatening aspect of his statement, he just shrugged. “None at all. In fact I'd prefer it.”

Inuyasha ascended into the dimly moonlight second floor, silently passing Houjo who was on his way down.

“Kouga?” Houjo felt a little nervous in the complete darkness as he descended farther and farther down. He wasn't afraid of the dark, just thoughts of last night...

“Houjo?” Kouga pushed himself off of the wall and stood upright immediately.

“What were you two doing down here?” His voice held a tent of sleepiness to it, and the unseen look on his face had the same attribute to it. He followed Kouga's words to him, hoping not to trip over anything.

“You were asleep...Oh, I didn't mean to wake you up.” Kouga said with a considerate streak coming into his voice, he rubbed his left shoulder and shifted it around unsteadily, trying to stretch the stiff ligament.

Houjo laid his hand on Kouga's shoulder just to make sure he'd actually found him, and when he felt the blood he got a good idea. “You were fighting? Why.”

“Are you seriously asking me that question?”

Houjo sighed, 'What is with both of you?' “Why do you two hate each other so much?” Houjo asked. “What did he do to you?” Houjo sat down on the ground against the wall and slipped his hands into his pocket, fishing around for something he'd had since the last time he left the house.

“What did he do to me?” Kouga growled. “That mutt--...” His voice started to trail off in the middle of his sentence, something was...somthing was distracting him... Kouga lifted his nose and inhaled the cold air, taking a few small sniffs. “Is that what I think it is?” He tail began to wag excitedly at the familiar scent, when he smelt it, his mind was drawn to a rather happy memory. He crouched down on the ground beside Houjo, nearly swallowing the stronger scent. He could just about taste it... “Is that chocolate?”

“Wow, your good.” Houjo smiled, holding up an unwrapped chocolate bar. He could hear Kouga's tail pushing air as it shifted around behind the demon wolf with gaining speed. “Want some?”

“Yeah!” Kouga nodded.

There was a dim blue light shining from upstairs, Houjo could half see Kouga, but he saw the wolf's reaction clearly. His smile grew wider and he handed the bar to Kouga. 'Heh.' He watched with slight amusement as Kouga devoured the square bar of chocolate, Kouga didn't even bothered to ask why it was hard, not at all like he had it last time.

In a few seconds Kouga was done, though not with out some mess. His fingers were covered in melted chocolate from around the bar's wrapper, his tail shifting around behind him contently and his eyes held a happy look to it, the wrapper itself was now in Kouga's mouth. “Uh Kouga, you don't eat that.” Houjo laughed.

Since it was dark, and his experiences with chocolate was relatively limited, he had trouble distinguishing where the chocolate bar ended and the chocolate covered wrapper started. “Oh.” Kouga didn't care either way, he was too busy licking the chocolate off of his fingers.

A small yawn forced it's way out of Houjo and his eyes began drifting closed in the darkness, he could barely tell it apart from the inside of his eyelids. 'He seems alright.' Houjo slowly lent down and laid his head on Kouga's shoulder, met with the soft scents of Kouga's compelling pheromones.

Kouga's ears were met with the unsteady beat of Houjo's heart, unlike any human's, or demon's for that matter then he'd ever encountered. He welcomed the sound familiar, with his mouth holding the taste of chocolate and his nose the scent of his mate's he felt that everything perfect right now. 'Houjo...' Kouga smirked to himself and closed his eyes, letting his head rest against the wall. Sleep would be the easiest now then it ever had been.

! - ! - !

Inuyasha set his Tetsusaiga down by the door as he walked into Souta's room, he found the boy half sleep in his bed. Rolled over on his side and curled into a small ball, so far gone that he didn't notice Inuyasha.

He wasn't as hot as he'd been when he'd left the room the first time, any heat he'd carried with him from the fight was dispelled by the cool air of the still slightly open window. He would just be happy to crawl into this comfortable bed and pass out next to Souta, he usually would have been at lest, he found he wasn't as egger to sleep these days. Inuyasha scratched his head and forced his half lidded eyes to stay open until he could lay down.

“Inuyasha?”

Apparently Souta hadn't been as asleep as he'd thought. “Huh?” Inuyasha sat down on the side of the bed and folded his arms. “What is it?”

“Oh...” Souta glanced over his shoulder, then closed his eyes again. “Just making sure it was you.” He didn't sound at all sleepy, he probably hadn't been asleep.

“Huh? What's with you?” Inuyasha was quick to pick out the almost monotone aspect to his voice, it sounded familiar, very familiar... Where had he heard that tone before?...Oh yeah, now he remembered, he heard it last night when he met up with Souta in the basement. In fact, he heard a few times during the day, why was that?

“Nothing.” Souta shrugged, he felt just like he did when his mother used to ask him that question, convinced that he was sick. Well, he hadn't been then but he was now, he was still getting over that half poisoned cold that was only visible on the outside by a sparse sneeze and the occasional cough. But he did feel the occasional headache and traces of sore throat, not to mention he had no appetite.

Inuyasha gave Souta a swift punch to the back of the head, effectively waking him up.“Don't give me that nothing crap!”

“Ow!” Souta clinched the back of his head painfully and shot upright. “Hey! What are you hitting me for, I didn't do anything!”

“What's wrong with you?” Inuyasha asked again, this time more firmly.

“Nothing.” Souta repeated again, though he didn't look him in the eye when he said this, not like he usually did when he was mad.

Normally Inuyasha wouldn't have attempted to ask what someone was feeling, it was something he didn't want to get involved with. But Souta tended to go to much larger lengths to prove he was fine, and since Inuyasha was currently working on him, there was no way he could let that stand. “Tch, right. What's wrong?” He asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Nothing.” Souta repeated, laying back down in the bed facing away from Inuyasha. “I was just thinking.”

“Thinking? About what?”

There was a million things he could have been thinking about.“Nothing.” Souta told him. Then he looked back over his shoulder at Inuyasha. “What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

Souta rolled over to the other side to face Inuyasha, “You always kinda act like you don't want to go to sleep.” he said. “You look like you try really hard stay awake.”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and looked away, he didn't say anything for a longer time then he noticed.

“Inuyasha?”

“Nothing anybody needs to worry about.”

“Wait!” Souta pointed up at him accusingly. “You can't say that!”

Inuyasha laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, he was too tired to hesitate tonight anyway. “It's just sleep.”

Souta dropped his hand and looked at the hanyou disappointedly. “If you wont tell me, ...then I wont tell you.”

“There's nothing to tell you.” Inuyasha said discardingly, feeling his conscious fading, like falling through water...

“...” Souta just curled up into that same ball and closed his eyes. “I guess.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Souta didn't know what time it was when he stirred into consciousness, it was clearly the middle of the night, sometime well in to the next day, that much he knew. That familiar sound came from above, Souta had learned it by heart now, drifting from above the ceiling and echoing into his room. 'Uha...?' Souta rolled on to his back and opened his eyes, it took him a second to figure out if it was real or not, whether he was dreaming or awake. “K...Kouga?”

Souta sat up, looking at the window, then over at Inuyasha. 'Inuyasha doesn't hear that?' He was well aware that Inuyasha's hearing was better then his, he was surprised Inuyasha didn't notice it. It didn't matter, not right now.

Souta stared up idly at the ceiling, listening to the almost haunting sound “Kouga....” Souta pushed the covers off of himself climbed out of bed, he was drawn to the sound, he had to get there, he had to get close to it.... Souta pulled open the window and shuttered at the cold wind that immediately washed over him, his mind uttered the coldness but his body didn't stop. He climbed out of the window and landed on the slanted surface on the other side. His body trembled and a harsh breath forced it's way out of his mouth when he landed in snow up to his ankles.

Souta began climbing upward, using anything he could to rise higher and higher until out of some form of luck or persistence he made it on to the roof. He pushed himself up through the snow that had gathered on the slanted roof top and stumbled to his feet, finding himself again in knee high snow and frozen air. Despite that he pushed forward, moving with slow, unsteady steps until he eventually got to the center of the roof and was standing directly behind Kouga.

The Youkai just sat there, his legs drawn in and his arms wrapped around the, hugging them close to his chest, his chin resting on his knees. The full moon shined brightly overhead, it seemed larger then usual, and closer. The sky was like Souta had never seen before, with all of the lights of the city the sky often took shades of purple, or some odd color. Tonight it was blanket of complete black, scattered with bright, shimmering stars, more stars then he remembered there ever had been. The sky and stars met with a sea of white snow on the ground at the horizon, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was like being on an island.

Kouga's ears twitched at the small sounds of footsteps and breathing, “Huh?” he looked back over his shoulder and was fairly surprised at what he saw. “Souta? What are you doing here?”

“I-I don't know. “Souta hugged his shoulders to fight off the chill running through, then his body trembled with a sneezed, his mind finally took notice of something other then Kouga, like how deathly cold it was around here.

“Geez, what are you trying to do,freeze?” Kouga said criticizingly, he stood up and turned to face him. “You should be asleep or something, not out here in the middle of the night.” Kouga knelt down in front of Souta, wrapped his arms around him and picked up, though he hadn't quite decided to go back inside yet. Instead he sat back down in the same spot, crossing his legs and setting Souta down in his lap. His arms wrapped around the boy protectively, keeping him warm, holding him close to his now intensely overheated body.

“I heard you.” Souta said, he relaxed in Kouga's hold, the warm felt good, it felt comfortable, it felt safe, like Inuyasha did. “What's wrong?”

“What do you mean what's wrong?” Kouga looked down at Souta carefully, “You came all the way out here to see what was wrong with me?”

“I...don't know why I came out there.” Souta paused and shuttered as he felt another cold wind sweep over the rooftop, but his chilled body was quickly surrounded by Kouga's conforting warmth again. “But you...”

“Me? What about me?”

“You sound kinda... sad.” Souta told him disappointedly. “What's wrong?”

Kouga smirked and laughed lightly to himself about something that wasn't even funny to him. “Nothings wrong.” he said standardly.

“...” Souta didn't say anything immediately, he just stared at the moon and the black sea of stars, taking in the scent coming from Kouga. It was detoured by the wind blowing at the wolf's back but Souta could still pick it up, even if it was just lightly. “That just what Inuyasha said to me.”

“Inuyasha?” Kouga snorted. “What does that mutt have to do with anything.”

“He told me the same thing.” Souta's face shifted into the beginnings of annoyment. “Something's wrong with him and didn't tell me. He just said it's nothing. Should I be worried or something?”

“About Inuyasha? Nah.” He said reassuringly, though still... 'What's wrong with him? I haven't seen anything different about him.' Kouga slowly started trying to pick out any times Inuyasha could have been acting the lest bit strange. Then as soon as he realized what he was doing his face contorted in anger. 'I don't care about that no good idiot.'

“Why are you so sad?” Souta asked, looking up at him with a child's hopefulness. “Your ok right?”

Kouga smiled and ruffled his hair lightly. “You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine.”He said condescendingly. “Save it for someone who needs it, like dog boy.”

“Inuyasha?”

Kouga rolled his eyes. “If that's what you wanna call him.”

Souta didn't responded to that, he just continued to look on , a look of content coming on to his face. “I've never seen the stars so bright, or the moon so big, this is so cool.”

Kouga tightened his embrace around Souta and pulled him closer, his tail sweeping slowly over the snow behind him. Souta smiled to himself, allowing his body to relax and his eyes to drift closed in the safety of Kouga's arms, he just wanted to stay like this...

They just sat there in silence, staring into night in silence.

A few moments passed by and Kouga watched Souta lose consciousness, his hold became even tighter. Then he tilted his head back and let out another deep howl...

! - ! - !

Inuyasha laid dormant in bed, completely silent, almost at peace. A streak of cold sweat rolled down his forehead, dripping off of his cheek as another breeze swept through the room from the window. Then suddenly his breathing grew harsh and loud, Inuyasha gasped and suddenly bolted upright, his golden eyes shooting open and shifting around uneasily, more streaks cold sweat rolling down his head. Inuyasha quickly looked over toward where Souta had been sleeping, then to the door just as hastily when he heard the soft sound that had awaken him.

Houjo gently peeked his head through the cracked door and looked into the room curiously, when he saw that Inuyasha was awake and he wouldn't be disturbing him he allowed himself to walk in side, carrying himself like someone usually would when they just woke up in the middle of the night. “Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha wiped his head and took quick swallows of air to catch his breath, the first thing his mind went to was Souta, he didn't think much of the open window since Souta had been looking out of it before. If Houjo was awake, maybe it wasn't so strange that Souta may have been too. “What do you want?” He asked, the annoyance clear in his voice.

“Nothing, I was just wondering if you were awake too...” Houjo told him, sleepy eyes looking toward the window.

Why would Houjo wonder if he was awake? Well, maybe it was because Souta was awake, so he didn't think too much of that question either. “Yeah I am, so what.” Inuyasha grumbled, lifting himself off the bed and climbing on to his feet.

Houjo rubbed the back of his head and yawned, but even in his current state of half-awareness he noticed a few things that weren't right with Inuyasha. He obviously wasn't worried about Souta or else he would have asked, and Houjo could see from the visible slump in his figure, and the expression on his face, not to mention the yawn he was trying to repress. That Inuyasha was tired, so why did he get up? Why didn't he just tell him to leave him alone and keep sleeping. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine.” Inuyasha gave him a half hearted response and dragged himself slowly over to the window. With his blurry eyes slowly starting to sharpen along with slowly returning awareness, he leaned against the still and peered outward into the cool dark of night.

“Really?...Just asking, I'm not trying to annoy you or anything.” Houjo leaned up against the wall, standing up strait was just too energy consuming, “Just, that it seemed like something wasn't right with you.”

“Not trying to annoy me huh? Your doing a pretty good job of it now.” Inuyasha bit down slightly as another cool breeze flowed into the room, it stung the still healing cuts on his torso caused by the fight earlier, because of his above human healing those would be gone by morning, but that didn't help ease the pain much now.

Houjo smiled apologetically “Sorry.”

“Why are you so worried about me anyway?”

“Well, it was the way you woke up.” Houjo explained, “Were you having a nightmare or something?”

'...' Inuyasha winced at the words as if he'd been struck by some invisible blow, they seem to register with Inuyasha in a negative way, Houjo could tell from his reaction even from behind. “It's nothing, it's just sleep.” Inuyasha said, his voice holding a more defensive tone to it.

'I guess it was something like that.' Houjo decided not to press it any longer, since Inuyasha tended to get annoyed really easily and he wouldn't get much more from him.

...

It echoed from above again, a long, soft howl, barely audible, something that wouldn't have normally woken Houjo up. It held that oppressively saddened hint to it, something that made Houjo's mood plummet as soon as he heard it. “Kouga...”

“Is that why your up, looking for Kouga?” Inuyasha asked.

Houjo nodded, it didn't take him long to notice that the wolf wasn't there, and considering Kouga's state of claustrophobia he was worried about him. “Yeah.”

“What? You thought he tried to dig his way out?” Inuyasha was amused as the thought, an impish smirk crossing his lips.

“Actually...” Houjo rubbed his head nervously again. “He did try earlier today, so I was worried.”

Inuyasha laughed lightly to himself, “Should have let him go, mangy wolf.”

Houjo had quickly gotten use to the shots Kouga and Inuyasha took at each other, and the arguing, and the fighting, and learned to just let it be. Things were easier that way. But he strongly wondered why they didn't like each other in the first place? 'At lest he didn't jump off the roof...' “It could be just me but I think something's wrong with him.”

“Forget about that claustr-whatever, that baby, he'll get over it.” Inuyasha replied discardingly. He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands and gazed outward with lazy eyes.

“Not that.” Houjo shook his head. “Doesn't he seem kinda... sad to you?” Houjo slowly eased himself down on to the ground, his back still pressed against the wall as his arms wrapped around one drawn up knee.

“...” Inuyasha glanced upward toward the sky in thought, he didn't say anything through, he didn't care if anything was wrong with Kouga, he'd rather not deal with him at all.

“I know he couldn't normally be like this because when ever he's fighting with you he has so much energy. He just seems, off...”

Inuyasha couldn't deny he knew what Houjo was talking about, he'd seen it too. 'I guess he is a little off...' “Your thinking to hard about this, I'm sure he's fine.”

“Really?”

“Ye-...” Wait, he didn't give a damn it Kouga was alright or not. Inuyasha's voice trailed off in mid-sentence, his face suddenly growing more annoyed. 'Damn wolf...' “...”

There was a silence that followed, and Houjo just gave up, he figured he wouldn't get an answer.

Finally after a few moments Inuyasha's curiosity got the better of him, he glanced back at Houjo. “Have you seen Souta around here?”

“He's with Kouga I think.”

With Kouga? On the roof?! Inuyasha folded his arms and scowled to himself, 'Damn him...' “Figures.” The hanyou pushed himself off of the window, if he was up the then Inuyasha didn't want to be anywhere near him. He took slow, uneven steps toward the bed, letting his tired body fall head first into the warm covers. “I'm going to bed, you do what you want.”

Much to Houjo's confusion. 'Huh? He's not going to get mad?' Houjo had seen Inuyasha begin shouting rather vulgar threats whenever Kouga laid a hand on Souta. He was sure he'd do something even worse now. 'Man... something really must be wrong.' Maybe Inuyasha was tired? Or maybe he was getting sick? “I guess I'll go to sleep too...”