Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 17: On the path

Inuyasha's ears twitched at a faint sound, one he could barely hear in his half awake state. '?' Inuyasha didn't know what time it was exactly, he rarely did, but from here he could see the faint orange and pink light of the sun rising through the trees of the forest behind him. 'Hmm...' Golden eyes became fully alert again as he slipped his hand from behind his head and pushed himself upright, looking around curiously.

Souta slept peacefully at his side, resting on his back beside the hanyou's leg, as content as he could be under the temperate air and the fading stars. Kouga was only a few feet away, laying asleep under a tree, contently in Houjo's sleeping bag, though without Houjo, infact, the boy was nowhere to be found. They had stopped at the edge of the forest, it had take a full day to pass through, the pace was much slower since Houjo and Souta had to keep up, being not nearly as fast as Kouga and Inuyasha. Night came and they stopped to set up camp here, where the density of the large forest began to devolve and the trees became increasingly scarce and spread out among the short grasses of flat lands.

Inuyasha lifted himself on to the feet and stretched out his stiff muscles, raising his arm high over his head, reaching towards the high tree branches shrouding them from the fading night sky. He hadn't slept, at all. When Kouga asked him about it in his usual way the night before, he simply protested he wasn't tired and it was none of his business anyway. Normally Kouga would have argued back, but he simply said he was to tired to deal with the Inuyasha's mouth and went to sleep without another word.

Inuyasha folded his arms, giving a menial glance at the sleeping Kouga before turning away with a snort and walking off, leaving Souta with him. Damn wolf had better not let anything happen to him while he was gone either. 'Damn strait.' Inuyasha thought, satisfied with himself as his eyes began to drift closed his eyes and he walked blindly though the trees with dazed steps, following his ears toward the growing sound.

He didn't need his eyes, and he never depended on them as much as most others, Inuyasha was more partial to his hearing and sense of smell. He took in deep breath, the air that smelled lightly of damp plants and foliage, waking memories of past visits of similar settings. The scent stirred his senses and his eyes drifted open again, his mind snapping back into awareness. 'Huh...oh, nothing.' It wasn't long before he came to a spot where the trees were the forest was barely there and wide open spaces of low and high grass stretched onward in it's place.

Thats were he found the missing boy, standing with his legs spread shoulder length on the soft grass wet with morning dew. Bare feet visible underneath the black pants. Kouga's sword was raised readily in both hands and his body fell inanely into stance Houjo knew like second nature. His shirt was discarded, hanging neatly on a branch of the same tree he was facing off against, his exposed chest was dripping with pooling drops of sweat and his mouth hung open slightly with soft pants. He could still move, so he would keep going as he always did. "..." Houjo grunted softly and darted froward across a roughly 15 foot gap between himself and the tree, drawing the sword out to his left and slashing across the trunk as he slipped past it's side, leaving a rough scar behind among many others.

Ok, *now* he couldn't move.

Houjo let his sword fall from his hands and drop to the ground at his feet, letting his body slump as heavy breaths were taken to remove the fatigue inhibiting him from going farther with his training. 'Man...this is hard.' Houjo stared blankly at the grass below him, his mind blank, yet observantly sharp, completely unclouded by the feelings of doubt, and uncertainty that came about him some times. When he held that sword he lost the ability to focus on those things, and things grew into a child like simplicity, he depended on that feeling.

Houjo lifted one hand to his chest, feeling it quickly expanding and contracting with each breath, and forced himself to stand up strait. '!' To his surprise he found himself staring Inuyasha face to face suddenly and unexpectedly enough to make him flinch in surprise. "Inuyasha? You scared me."He smiled with a friendly, relieved gesture as he always smiled when he was nervous, or uncomfortable, happy or afraid. It was habitual, something bred through years of joy and pain, he smiled when he was content, and he smiled when others were unhappy, unconsciously hoping to give some comfort. He smiled when he himself was uncomfortable, he never knew why, and he smiled when he was feeling sad or disheartened and others were around. It was something to make light of a situation, something he did without even realizing it when he didn't want others to worry, feel concerned, or pity. He always smiled, maybe it was out of his own defense....

Inuyasha gave an acknowledging nod, with his curiosity now appeased, he felt like he'd lost his purpose for being here. "Geez, you are one jumpy person."

“Yeah well...” Houjo clinched his racing heart tighter, the frantic pace coming more from his last hour of strenuous physical training then the startle. "It comes with the territory I guess."

Inuyasha looked over at the scared tree trunk heavy with rough slashes from the sword, he didn't know any better he'd say that Houjo was trying to cut it down. "I see your getting better." Inuyasha admitted, he'd never seen anyone work as hard as Houjo, though Souta came close. The way Houjo went about his training made Inuyasha admire silently. Houjo's peaceful demeanor, the calm that never wavered even in frustration, his patience was endless. As if he knew everything that would happen and had already accepted it, and his observant way of studying people, he could have fooled anyone into thinking he was a master swordsmen from those traits alone. 'I wonder how someone becomes like that? He's much better then his stupid mate Kouga.' Inuyasha snorted to himself.

"Inuyasha." Houjo looked up at him with a hopeful questioning. "Do you think I'm good enough to fight yet?"

"Tch, not really." Inuyasha said truthfully, blunt as always, and he immediately felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look of disappointment come on to the boy's face. An adverse urge rose in him to rid Kouga's face of that disappointment and correct some wrong he'd committed without knowing "Uh...well, but...at this rate you'll be able to soon, you have a lot of potential." He did.

"Yeah maybe." Houjo fell back softly into a sitting position on to the grass, crossing his legs and cradling the blade in his lap carefully. Something that showed he was truly an armature. "It's just that I'm not use to these sorts of things, I was never really the fighting type."

"Could have fooled me, your a natural with that sword." Inuyasha sat down beside the boy, crossing his legs and folding his arms before he let his eyes drift closed again. Some guilt that lingered for his half insult had finally been fully appeased with that last compliment, he didn't mean it any less thought

“I still need some work it seems.” Houjo said. "What do you think I need to do?"

"Get stronger, definitely." Inuyasha nodded, a small smile came proudly to his lips as he was finally able to convey himself with a subject he knew of well, it was satisfying in some unknown way. A content feeling he felt many times when he taught Souta things. "If your gonna go head to head with an enemy, you have to be strong enough to overpower them, or at lest do enough damage to them."

"So I should focus on my physical strength?" Houjo asked, in reconfirmation.

"Of course, if your strong enough you can take a hit too. And if you can't take a hit your nothing in a fight." Inuyasha's voice grew a little softer and his body a little more still, softly inhaling the fresh morning air. He liked the soft traces of moist grass that the warming winds carried, and an uncountable number of other things that compiled in the air. The light of sunrise grew a little stronger, reaching the deeper shadows covering their bodies.

Houjo looked away absentmindedly, his eyes completely averted from Inuyasha. He was silent for a full moment, waiting to see if Inuyasha would continue, before he came to his own conclusion that he wouldn't. A distant sense of worry became closer to him when he thought about Inuyasha, and some stray form of his curiosity rose up in him almost uncontrollably. He knew he'd make Inuyasha uncomfortable by bringing this up, but he couldn't seem to stop himself...maybe this was the same feeling of weak restraint Kouga must have had. "You didn't get much sleep last night huh?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his tired daze. "Huh? Why do you say that?"

"You were awake when I left this morning." Houjo said, he was keenly aware that Inuyasha hadn't slept last night, it was obvious to him this morning when he saw Inuyasha continuously nodding off and fighting to stay awake, which was why he hadn't been noticed by the Hanyou. It was curiosity, no doubt about it now, worry and concern were close to curiosity in nature, at times they called forth the same impulsive feelings in Houjo that curiosity did.

"I was keeping watch." Inuyasha said simply. A minuet sense of embarrassment came over him, knowing that he had to lie to protect himself, to keep Houjo at a distance. It was just a dream, he'd repeated that to himself more times then he could count, but it had created a fear in him that effected him in ways he knew it shouldn't. It was a weakness, and like all other weakness he covered them from an inane fear that they would be used against him, they often were.

Houjo just nodded, that sounded passable, he had to give the Hanyou credit for that. "...Your still having that dream." Houjo wasn't so much as asking as acknowledging it was still happening, and he knew just how much Inuyasha hated that dream, simply from watching. He felt awkward for even bringing it up, but he was worried.

Inuyasha's eyes drifted open into narrow, glaring slits, a sudden feeling of almost fear rising with him a fact he was trying so hard to ignore, wanting desperately to keep to himself was being called out so easily. "It's nothing, just a stupid dream." Inuyasha said spitefully. "I'm not afraid of anything, and if I was, it would be something real."

"Yeah, I guess your right." Houjo said simply, going along with it, from what he knew of the Hanyou it would be a lot easer if he didn't oppose Inuyasha's defense on this. "It's just a dream...you can go to sleep you know, you don't have to keep watch anymore, I can take over." Houjo said, quickly finishing his statement before Inuyasha could object pridefully, since that alone clearly wouldn't work. "This place is really dangerous, and as you pointed out, I'm not strong enough to take on anything that might attack. But...your senses are really strong, your the only here that can tell if anything is coming, I'm only human." Houjo rubbed the back of his head, smiling nervously as a person would when admitting their faults. But he knew he had to, it was the only way to reassure Inuyasha's pride enough for him to accept the offer. He was worried, and unlike Inuyasha, or Kouga for that matter, he didn't care how much he had to sacrifice his pride. It amazed him how that aspect clouded them both so much. "...I'm sorry about this but I'm gonna have to wake you up every once and a while, you'll find something before I ever could, as you can see I'm kind jumpy."

Inuyasha didn't question it, he felt like Houjo's unwittingness was giving him an acceptable out he was too sleepy to question it... Houjo would wake him up, if it did happen again, he would be there, he had to... With that thought in mind he closed his eyes and let his head fall slowly as he began drifting off.

"Goodnight Inuyasha..."

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It was roughly an few hours before noon when they set off again, eating breakfast before resuming travels along a path that wasn't always visible. Kouga took the lead, taking them along a way he'd used many times, though he'd never seen it in such detail, since usually he was blowing right past and it was all a blur. Souta was mounted on Kouga's back, his arms tightly around his neck. Inuyasha sat with a strange balance on the back of Houjo's bike in a position that would be difficult for most. Houjo was easily able to carry their combined weight, and he was happy to do it, seeing how tired Inuyasha was.

"Hey Kouga, where are we going?" Souta asked curiously, he slipped his head over Kouga's shoulder and looked ahead at the landscape rolling past, feeling the the wind sweeping through his hair as Kouga dashed froward. He felt an immature freedom when Kouga, or Inuyasha, carried him like this, watching the world rush by him at speeds he doubted he'd ever reach on his own. It left a vague, undefined sense in him left to be developed, a desire for this feeling, something that made him want to fly.

Kouga glanced upon the fields around him, his eyes picking up the sight and fragrance of flowers among the green of high grasses. He'd never seen any of these, he'd never taken notice of any one of the different living objects spread across this field, it was the only good thing he could pick out at going the slow pace. Much slower then he was use to anyway. "My Den." He said, eyes drifting around lazily through the grass that rose as high as his shins.

"Really?" Houjo's voice grew with a small questioning, he knew already that the inhabitants of that den, Kouga's pack, had been killed by something unknown to him. In this world it could have been anything, the thought made him uneasy about any endeavors to this place. So why we're they going there? As much as Houjo wanted to know what the purpose of this particular trip was, he didn't ask, he didn't want to make Kouga feel worse then he already must have about it by making him explain it. "Hn."

"So, how much farther? " Souta asked.

"At this rate?" Kouga scowled impatiently, "Too long." His steps became slightly faster, quick feet hidden beneath the elevated grass. The blue sky was streaked with long, thin clouds like white smoke, small burst of winds were frequent, blowing against his back. His tail wagged anxiously, full of pint up energy that begged to be expelled by taking off as fast as he possibly could, he wasn't use to going this slow even before the jewel shards became embed in his legs. Not even when pacing himself.

He felt like Souta felt, only in a more defined sense, he was never more free when he was running at full speed, and nothing in the world could catch him. It was as close to flying as he needed to be.

Houjo adjusted his rate to keep up with Kouga, steering evasively through whatever obstruction protruded from his path. "Huh?" Houjo glanced back when he felt Inuyasha's head fall on to his shoulder, he contemplated allowing him to sleep like that for a while, how Inuyasha could be unconscious and maintain his balance was beyond him. Though, Inuyasha could do a lot of things that he didn't understand. Houjo's most worrying side decided against it, it wouldn't be worth it if Inuyasha did happen to fall. He sent a small nudge into the Hanyou's side with his elbow, Inuyasha flinched and sat upright immediately, his eye widened for a small second in realization before they fell into the sleepy haze again.

Houjo felt guilty doing this.

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Souta watched in an admiring awe as he watched Kouga's endurance, it had been a few hours now and Kouga hadn't stopped running yet, he didn't so much as slow down, and he didn't even seem tired. 'I wonder how long he can go? Man he is so cool, I wouldn't be surprised if he could run forever.' Souta smiled in admonishment, resting his chin on Kouga's shoulder and staring outward across the darkening sky and brightening stars stained with the orange streaks of the not yet completely faded sun.

"Uh... Kouga." Houjo's breath was heavy with harsh pants and his body weak with fatigue, finally after what seemed like an eternity he came to a slow stop with no other choice, putting his foot down to keep himself from falling over. He couldn't go any farther. "I...I think we should stop for a while." He forced out, his soft voice filled pitifully in sharp breaks and a weak tone, showing just how tired he was. Carrying Inuyasha's weight became hard after a while, even if most of the trip Inuyasha had gotten up and walked on his own, occasionally fighting off a few lesser demons that didn't seem to know what they were going up against.

Kouga's sprint slowed to a complete stop and he turned around to face the stalled boy, hands resting on his waist. He could see Houjo was about ready to collapse, he'd forgotten that humans, this one in particular, didn't have the stamina to move like he did or nearly as long. And Houjo was carrying Inuyasha, for reasons he didn't know...why the hell was Inuyasha making his mate carry him? 'Wake up you lazy bastard.' Kouga gave a silent glare towards Inuyasha before nodding in agreement. Houjo must have had a good reason, and he didn't want to dishonor that reason by screaming at Inuyasha. "Yeah, sure, whatever." Kouga knelt down, allowing Souta to release him and climb down to the ground.

"Are you alright Houjo?" Souta looked up at Houjo curiously, watching as Inuyasha sprang off the back of Houjo's bike and land silently beside him. He had to admit, Inuyasha was quiet today, and he looked out of it, since altogether he'd gotten an hours worth of real sleep.

"I'm fine." Houjo let his bike fall messily on to the grass as he himself fell into roughly into a sitting position, pausing to catch his breath again before making any other movements. "Just need a little rest." He said with a dismissive wave, slipping the backpack off his back and sitting it down between his legs.

As soon as Kouga saw that, and noticed the time of day, he remembered how hungry he was. Traveling could work up an apatite. "Making dinner?" Kouga asked anxiously, stopping was staring to seem more and more worthwhile.

"Uh-huh." Houjo nodded, pulling out the pot Kouga had insist he take along with them. It seemed silly to him then to even humor Kouga by bringing so much, the food he could understand, maybe. He had insisted he only needed a flash light, but at the time he thought the only thing that resided down the dried up well was some type of underground passage, a sewer line maybe. He was glad that he listened.

Kouga's tail shifted around anxiously behind him, speaking of retrospect, Kouga had never known food could taste so good before he met Houjo. Every time a meal was mentioned with the prospect of Houjo making it, Kouga's mouth watered as if on command, especially when he was really hungry. "Great."

Souta was just glad they were out in the open, unlike when they inside his house and Kouga and Inuyasha seemed determined to set a fire. Which, now that he thought about it, made Souta curious, the boy looked up at Kouga standing anxiously beside Houjo, then up at Inuyasha directly behind him. "Hey Inuyasha, can you teach me how to make a fire?" He asked.

Inuyasha's sleepy eyes opened up and he looked down at Souta for a moment, he'd been under the impression that Souta didn't like fires, but on second thought he was just overly cautious. "Sure, I'll teach you." He nodded. He enjoyed teaching Souta things, and hey, he might find some use out of this. "Go find some dry wood."

"Ok." Souta nodded obediently and ran off, scowering the area for anything so much as a twig.

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Houjo sat aside, his back against a tree where his bike was also leaning against, one let drawn up and one stretched out before him. He'd sent Kouga off to find some water and now he just set back and watched the remaining two members of their group from the corner of his eye.

"Do the rocks have to be like this?" He heard Souta asked.

"Yeah, or else the fires gonna get all over the place. " He heard Inuyasha tell him.

Houjo let his head fall back against the trunk of tree lazily, from what he guessed could have been no more then 30 or so years old by the size. His eyes drifted up to the night sky beyond the shady canopy that grew darker every moment, the edges of the horizon in front of him were a bright pink, mingled with dark oranges as the very last curve of the sun fell from view. Even at dusk he could see the stars more brightly then he could from the city at night, the blanket of dark blue they drifted in was completely different from the off purple caused by city lights. "Hmm..." Houjo studied the bright orbs of light, slowly lifting his finger with wanton eyes to trace constellations he knew by heart, his eyes picked them out easily. 'The constellations are the same? ...Where am I exactly?'

"You have to make a spark." Inuyasha explained, holding a flat stone in his hand, flint from the look of it. "Just hit it against another rock." Inuyasha handed the stone to Souta, who looked over it for a second, before picking up another, larger, stone nearby.

"Alright." Souta began pounding the rocks together, the sound of two hard surfaces crashing against each other repeatedly echoing loudly.

"No, not like that." Inuyasha grabbed Souta's hands and halted the action, taking the two stones from him. "Like this." Inuyasha demonstrated the correct way to him, striking the two rocks together at an angle that seemed almost like he was chipping away at them. He quickly produced a visible spark, but didn't attempt to ignite the dry wood and grass piled in front of him.

"Oh..." Souta took the two stones back, looking over them with Inuyasha's demonstration replaying over in his mind. 'I can do that.' He held the stones in his hands just as Inuyasha had and began chipping the edges together. Softly at first, then harder and harder. 'Come on! Inuyasha did it one one hit.' His eyes narrowed with a growing frustration, striking the two stones over and over.

"Souta, it's not how hard you do it." Inuyasha said. "It's the way you do it." Inuyasha reached over and held out his hands expectantly, feeling Souta drop the two stones in his hand and he went about doing it himself. Inuyasha easily created a spark, though he didn't need stones to do it, he was only using them for Souta's sake. The spark streamed on to the piled material and faintly a small ember was created, "Alright." Inuyasha scoped his hand underneath the piled grass and lifted it before Souta. "Blow."
Souta leaned froward and gently blew on the pile, watching a small stream of smoke begin to rise, he blew on it again and he could see a faint red glow light up inside. With the third breath a small fire erupted, and Inuyasha dropped it into the pile, fanning it lightly. "Simple, you'll get it eventually."

Souta looked down at the two stones, Inuyasha was so good at it, why was it so hard? 'I can do this, this isn't that hard.' He said to himself, this was one thing he could do, he didn't need to be strong or fast or anything else to do this task. With that in mind, Souta began practicing, hitting the stones together just as Inuyasha had, he was gonna get this, even if it took all night.

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After Houjo made dinner, with Kouga hanging over his shoulder with every stir of the pot, and they ate, which all together took longer then expected. Each of them retired to their own respective devices, Kouga wanted to set off again to make up for yesterday's lost time, but all hopes of that were squandered when Inuyasha abruptly passed out as soon as he was finished.

"Lazy bastard." Kouga folded his arms and rolled his eyes as he watched Inuyasha's sleeping form laying sprawled across the mid-high grass. Souta was not too far away, sitting nearby the burned out fire with the flint Inuyasha had given him, completely concentrated on creating that ever elusive spark.

Houjo sat nearby, just above Inuyasha's head with his legs hugged closely to his chest and his head resting in his lap, watching the sleeping Hanyou from the corner of his eyes. "He's just tired, that's all." Houjo said.

Kouga glanced over at Souta, then at his sword resting behind Houjo's back. "You wanna go train don't you?" It wasn't hard to figure out, the task of practicing had consumed every inch of his time when they we're moving.

Houjo lifted his head questioningly. "Huh? Well...yeah but I-"

"Then go." Kouga cut him off. "No use sitting around dog face...lazy bastard."

"He's not lazy." Houjo said, with a reluctant defense. "He hasn't gotten a lot of sleep lately."

"Who cares, go, do what you want to do." Kouga snorted, easing himself on the ground beside Inuyasha and looking up Houjo fully. "Don't worry, I can watch things here." A wolfish smile spread across Kouga's lips as he turned away, staring into the darkness beyond his vision. He couldn't seem to look at Houjo fully when he said this, some form of pridefulness and embarrassment nagging at him at the thought he was conceding himself to watch over Inuyasha of all people. He felt a shame in him that he had volunteered and immediately regretted it.

Houjo looked down at the sleeping Inuyasha carefully, then with clear reluctance he agreed, giving a small nod "Hn." He didn't want to leave, though he didn't want to stay here, as much as he wanted to do his nightly ritual of training, he was worried about Inuyasha. But Kouga was alert and perceptive, he'd wake Inuyasha up if he indeed started having that recurring dream...he would right? He'd notice it right? Kouga probably wouldn't even notice, he didn't even know to look for it? "Just watch Inuyasha...and Souta for me ok?" Houjo said with an usually seriousness. knelt down and picked up the sword, looking over it with distracted eyes.

'What's he so worried about?' Kouga just lifted a discarding hand and nodded, waving the boy off. "You worry too much, nothings gonna happen. It's not like I can't handle anything."

'That's not what I'm worried about.' Houjo rested the blade on his shoulder and took in a deep breath of the cool night air. His eyes were drawn to the full moon, the large blue orb seemed bigger then he'd ever seen it before, it was surreal almost how much of the sky it took up as it rose. "Alright then...” He sighed dejectedly, maybe he was being too weak giving in like this...Speaking of weak. “Oh yeah, Kouga” He looked at the wolf intently, his eyes hoping for a n honest answer. “Do you think I'm good enough to fight yet?"

Kouga shook his head without hesitation. "Not at all." He said, honestly. But then when he looked up at the boy and saw the usually strong look of discouragement on the boy's face he immediately regretted his words. The realization came to him that maybe...that wasn't the best way to tell someone that, was he always this blunt with Houjo? "Oh...uh, um...well...But your really good, your great in fact for a beginner, if you keep going like this it won't be too long until you are ready."

Houjo nodded, two strait rejections in one day, this wasn't encouraging. But what else was he suppose to expect. "I never really liked fighting." He said, his eyes glancing over to the sword resting not too far away from him. "I guess it shows huh."

"Hell, you could have fooled me." Kouga said, meaning in skill, not in the way he acted. It was Houjo's demeanor in general, he never got angry, he never panicked, he barely even raised his voice. Even in the worst situations he never saw an hint of fear, only worry, concern, did Houjo even think about himself when he fought? And he never seemed to run out of patience, the way he trained, he had a peacefulness about him that was if he already knew everything there was to know by heart and there was nothing left to surprise him. "If I didn't know you I would have sworn you were really good." This was proof to Kouga that appearances matter, Houjo could fool him if he didn't know the boy, Kouga wondered if he personified himself with the same success. He could only hope.

"Well...What do you think I should work on?"

"You should try to get faster, most definitely." Kouga said with a nod, completely sure of himself as always. "It's the most important thing, your useless if your not fast enough to catch your enemy, or fast enough to hit him."

"So, I should work on my speed? Above all else" Houjo asked.

"Yeah. " Kouga nodded again. "Plus, it's really important that you be able to dodge, your pretty useless in a fight if you get hit by everything someone throws at you."

"Alright." Houjo nodded understandingly. "Thanks."

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The moon was well into the other side of the sky now, the stars glowing at full radiance against the deep blue . Houjo let his grip on the sword loosen and his arms drop slightly, his head tilted back almost inanely with alert eyes staring up at the expansive heavens overhead. Once again every bit of his energy was completely expended, and he was left fighting to catch his breath in tired paints. Houjo stood, his shirt discarded some place among the tall grass, his exposed chest holding the faint traces of new sweat. His bare feet were planted on the ground among the forming dew. 'It's so much brighter here...' Houjo stared outward with astonishment, 'There isn't anywhere back home where you can see the sky like this.'

He thought of what Inuyasha said, and of what Kouga did, they were both so strong and such good fighters. But had such conflicting personalities and traits, styles too, if he asked both of them he hoped that could find some balance between the two. Maybe if he did it, they could.

A cool breeze swept over, much stronger then those that came during the day, washing over him and cooling the sweat on his skin. The grass swayed, sweeping completely to the left in strong ripples that stretched as far as his vision could see. Houjo's eyes drifted closed and he took in a deep breath, inhaling the faint traces of a scent, something that made his heart beat faster and a his blood heat up like a flare, a single burst that faded in the same breath. 'Ahha...' Houjo knelt down to pick up the discarded casing as well as his shirt and sheathed his sword, turning to face the wind.

A howl, an almost hunting sound, radiated across the flat land and drifted just barely to Houjo's ears. 'Kouga...' Almost as if drawn by some inexplicable force he drifted towards the sound. His ears picked up another howl, a sad, almost depressing sound that Houjo recognized through previous times.

He didn't have to travel too far, near the edge of the forest they'd spent all the previous day traveling through. He found a lone figure crouched down in a very canine like manner, staring upward towards the moon presumably. Kouga's armor was removed, discarded someplace unknown. The scent was strong here, the air was clouded with pheromones, and Houjo found himself entangled in something he couldn't possibly hope, nor want to escape. "Kouga." He let the sword as well as his removed shirt fall out of his hands, to the ground, completely distracted.

Kouga didn't move at first, he just took in a deep breath and inhaled Houjo's scent, it emitted stronger from the boy after hours of training. 'Houjo.' Kouga stood up, his claws longer then usual,in the silver light his fangs could be seen clearly protruding from his mouth far beyond their normal reach, glowing red eyes and pupils shifted into animalistic slits. All the changes clearly heat induced.

"Kouga, your-" Houjo's words were halted when he felt Kouga wrap his arms around his neck, heat radiating from his body in wave and surrounding Houjo...

'H....hot...' Kouga's burning red eyes drifted into half lidded form as he took deep breath of Houjo's enticing scent in audible sniffs. 'Too damn hot...' As much as this unbearable heat consumed his thoughts, he couldn't find the will to pry himself away from Houjo, away from that scent, away from that odd sound of his heartbeat. "Houjo..." Kouga buried his face into Houjo's neck, running his tongue over the salty flesh.

"K-Kouga..." Houjo moaned softly, letting his head fall backwards as the sensitive touches crept along his flesh. Setting his nerve endings on fire. "Uha..." Houjo's hands held on to Kouga's waist, his arms slowly wrapping around his torso, pulling the heat source closer to him. It was so warm... "Your...your..."

"Houjo..." Kouga closed his eyes and ran his tongue over the bite marks he made earlier, he could almost taste the blood that had been there.

Houjo's heart began to pound harder and harder, the only thing he could focus on, think about was that manipulative scent, he wanted more, he barely knew what he wanted more of but he knew he needed it. 'K...Kouga...' Houjo slipped a hand under the shorter wolf's neck, cuffing his chin and lifting his head enough for their eyes to meet, soft brown staring into the glowing red. And finally he did as he always did and gave in, he didn't have the will or the desire to resist. His eyes drifted closed and he lent down, pressing his lips against Kouga's in a kiss that made the heat radiating from the wolf's body grow stronger all of a sudden, like a rush. Their tongues mixed together, each exploring the other mouth beyond their own, and it made it completely clear what each of them needed.

Kouga pulled back, an uncharacteristicly needly look growing in his eyes as he panted, drawing in heavy breaths not from fatigue, but from the heat that made it hard to breathe. The cool wind that swept over them out from the forest did little to disearn that, he felt weak almost, the only thing that could hope to dispell this feeling was Houjo.

Houjo let his eyes roll over the sorter frame in his arms almost hungrily, he was usually the one with more self control, more restraint, but that edge seemed to be fading fast. He never made the first move, but at the moment Kouga looked too disoriented by the heat to do such a thing, 'He's so hot...' Houjo's eyes grew a daze to them, a wonton, distant look almost as if he wasn't himself, and in away he wasn't..

The sleepy eyes closed again as Houjo lent down and pressed his mouth against the flesh of Kouga's shoulder, his face grew completely hidden with in the expanses of the Youkai's neck. Houjo sucked and kissed the pale skin now damp with sweat, trailing slowly down Kouga's collar bone with gentle licks.

"Uh..." Kouga moaned softly, pulling his hands from around Houjo's neck and slipping them into the brown strands of Houjo's hair. 'What is this...Why do I feel so...' For lack of a better word, he felt weak, and he could barely breath. He also felt more sensitive, the feeling of Houjo's fingers pressed against his back, the feather soft touches of his tongue across his chest, the sensitively that had been lost through years of battle and injury had all returned. "H-Houjo..." One eye slowly drifted closed and his back arched lightly towards Houjo, 'Why...' He wasn't sure why but he suddenly felt his knees losing strength, and he found himself sinking in Houjo's embrace.

Houjo didn't question it, he simply pressed his mouth against Kouga's nipple and slowly eased the Youkai lower and lower until they both fell on to their knees. Houjo's tongue took a hard lick across the sensitive flesh, the tip of the wet appendage played with it slowly, he could feel Kouga's pulse growing stronger beneath him. He enjoyed doing this more then he thought he would, watching the reactions of the stronger Youkai, having him like this felt oddly right. Houjo slipped his hands down to Kouga's waist and slowly left a string of kisses down Kouga's chest ,until his chin met the soft fur Kouga wore around his waist.

"..." With an inward feeling of content rising at thoughts he didn't usually have, Houjo lifted his hands to Kouga's shoulder and pushed the wolf on to his back, but afterwords he found himself reluctant to let go, he found himself pinning Kouga down.

Kouga's eyes narrowed and he looked up at Houjo harshly, being the alpha male of a pack he wasn't in the habit of being in this position very often...at all actually. He was the dominant male, he wasn't suppose to be like this. With instinct's screaming at him, he growled, his fangs bared completely, Houjo looked down at him with confused eyes at first, but then that warm, friendly smile returned, which made Kouga confused. 'Huh?' That was not a dominating male's behavior, his growl faded, and his glare turned into perplexity, but he'd forgotten for a moment that Houjo wasn't a demon.

Houjo slipped his hands back onto Houjo's waist, slowly tugging down the fur that concealed him, and just as soon as it was gone, Kouga's perplextion faded and he growled again at the boy above him. A warning almost. Houjo just looked down at him, his smile fading for another questioning look of his own as he held himself just above the Youkai's body with one hand planted firmly on Kouga's chest. "?" Houjo wasn't completely up on what was happening, most instincts would have detoured not to pick this particular course of action, but he wanted it, much too badly to listen to anything else.

Kouga growled again, warning eyes staring directly into Houjo's. '!!' That fierce growl turned a startled gasp when he felt 2 of Houjo's fingers pressing against his entrance, any other sound he tried to make came out as little more then a whine when Houjo pushed the two digits into him. "Uha..." His tail twitched softly and his body arched upward at the foreign sensation, this was entirely new to him.

Houjo wrapped his arm around Kouga's back and pressed himself against the gasping wolf, softly kissing along his jaw. His fingers thrust harder into the heat, stretching the tight ring muscles, while his fingers rubbed against the sensitive inner walls in massaging motions. Kouga whined again, his body arching upward against Houjo. "H-Houjo!"

Almost suddenly, or so it seemed to Kouga, Houjo withdrew his fingers from the tight warmth, gaining another small whine from the wolf. "Houjo..." His voice was almost needy as he opened his eyes in question, to find Houjo on his knees between his legs, pants already unbuttoned and his length exposed. His fangs slipped out again and a harsh glare returned to his eyes, but the snarl all but faded when felt Houjo slip his legs on to his shoulders and leant down, gently press his tongue against the awaiting opening. "Uhnn!" His hands fell to his side and his claws clinched the long blade of grass at his back.

Houjo's tongue swirled around the ring muscles, running over the pucker entrance with hard licks, before the tip pressed against it. Then silently it slipped in, running lapping circles against the soft ring muscles. Kouga's tail shifted around anxiously, and the wolf bit down on his bottom lip to keep from crying out. But soon the teasing sensation that sent waves across his heated body stopped, and he felt something entirely different in it's place. 'Eh?' Kouga's eyes drifted down from the moon high in the sky, until they settled on to Houjo. The boy was now hanging over him, on his knees firmly between his legs with his erection pressed against his entrance, his hands planted on the ground above Kouga's shoulders, looking down at him with that same smile, though it did hold an anticipation to it.

Kouga immediately growled in dangerously low tones, leaning upward and bringing himself directly face to face with the boy who's eyes grew that same confusion. The boy didn't understand why, but it was all the same to Kouga, he didn't care if Houjo didn't understand why, as long as he didn't continue on this course of action. Despite his rather intimidating growling, he could barely maintain the low rumbling from the heat, making it hard to breathe. Audible pants broke into the growl , his chest rapidly rising and falling, sweat forming over his body.

Houjo, though intimidated, swallowed hard and clinched his eyes shut, and for the first time he thrust into Kouga completely, though a little rougher then he intended. "!!" Kouga's eyes shot open and his mouth opened wide, this time a deep roar burst from his throat, rumbling the earth and seemingly the air in it's wake. Houjo's skin was flushed with a nervous energy that made his blood run cold for a split secund, it only made him clinch his eyes tighter, draw back and thrust into the wolf again.

"Uhna..." Houjo lost what balance he had and crashed on to Kouga's chest, moaning softly as he drew back and thrust into the tight hole as far as he could. Another growl was forced past Kouga's lips, but his pants grew heavier and the heat drifting off his body grew stronger, like a blaze. "Uhnnaa...." Houjo grunted pushing harder into the taunt warmth, it was so tight, every so often an almost nervous Kouga clinched around him, making the heat more intense.

Kouga roared again, his arms wrapping around Houjo's back and his claws digging into the flesh of the expanse hard enough to draw faint traces of blood. He couldn't describe it, the pleasure was unbelievable, and there was a good measure of pain, which Kouga liked, he had to admit Houjo would make a good alpha male if he was only stronger... Kouga's loud roars turned into low growls, and with heavy breaths he lent upward, pressing his mouth against Houjo's shoulder and bit down hard into the soft flesh.

"Uha!"Houjo winced slightly as he felt Kouga mark him on his other shoulder. The sound of ruffling grass and shaking leaves from the nearby forest in a rush of wind quickly covered the sound and meowing whimpers that followed afterwards as the wolf licked the new wound.

Kouga inhaled the scent that flooded the air as his tongue lapped at the crimson liquid pooling down Houjo's shoulder, his last attempt to reinstate his dominance before he became lost in it all. "Ahha..." His growl turned into whimpers and his body began moving with Houjo's, with his thrusts, cradling him to his limit. "H-Houjo!" Kouga pulled Houjo closer and burred his face into the boy's neck as he came, his seed spurting powerfully from his cock, spreading between their torsos.

Houjo's face cringed as he felt Kouga tighten impossibly around him and the heat intensify, his body fell against Kouga again, "!!" A sharp tremble rushed over his body him as he came, dispelling and strength he had as he spilt his seed into the warmth...

Kouga stared up at the sky as he caught his breath, feeling the heat receding, thankfully. A cool breeze swept over the tall grass, washing over them who were almost concealed in the green. He glanced down at the taller boy who smiled happily with closed eyes, tightening his embrace. Kouga found himself smiling a little at Houjo who was quickly falling asleep on his chest, he was like a child who'd just gotten a present he'd been waiting for all his life. It was hard to believe he'd just taken the lead, it didn't seem to be in his nature, and he couldn't explain why he let him at all.

"Houjo..."Kouga wrapped his arms protectively around the boy, letting his eyes roll back and lock with the moon high overhead, and howled.

! - ! - !