Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 25: Water

Then sun seemed brighter then it'd ever been, it flooded into the room and surrounded everything, Souta felt as though he were submerged, as though in a warm body of water. He slowly pried his eyes open and squinted when the bright morning light met his eyes, the feeling of hard floor boards against his body, the warmth of the temperature around him. A breeze swept in and struck against his left side, where he quickly gathered the broken window was, and washed over his entire body like a wave from the tide. The residual feelings of dampness from cooled sweat appeared on his form as if the air had activated it. Souta took in a deep, full breath, the air was clean, sharp, moist, as though he were near the sea, it engulfed his senses enough to awaken him fully.

But his body was so tired that he lacked the will to move, even the ground gained a soothing, comforting attribute and called for him to dwell there just a little longer. Souta merely laid there in silence and waited for his eyes to adjust.

“Un...”

Souta lifted his head slightly and squinted at the familiar sound. “?” 'Kouga?' With his curiosity partially satisfied he let fatigue draw his head back to the floor and his eyes closed.

Kouga felt a subtle, jerking motion that jarred him back into consciousness. He felt a warmth, not from the temperature, but from a gentle support, he felt as though he was close to falling but that gentle support held him back. Before he even thought of opening his eyes he smelled Houjo's scent, that arousing, intoxicating, comforting scent that caused so many reactions inside of him. “...” Kouga slowly pried his eyes open, his head was resting on Houjo's shoulder, his arms wrapped around his neck, that's when he realized he was being carried down the stairs. “Houjo...” Maybe it was because he was still sleepy, but annoyment rose quickly, it was audible in his voice.

Houjo paused halfway down, the focus his eyes dwindled away into a sullen state visible in his expression. “Kouga...please.” He said, his voice slow and tired, but not from fatigue.

“Damnit...” Kouga could see the strain Houjo felt maintaining his weight, the pain in his back that made his steps hold an unusual sync to them. “What are you doing?” He felt angry washing upwards inside of him, hot and white. Houjo didn't understand how much he hated this, if anything could be done in his behalf, he himself wanted to do it; not others. The more he saw others exerting themselves, the emptier he felt. Houjo didn't seem to know how deeply he felt about this.

“I know you don't want me to do anything for you.” He sounded truly in a depressed state, his voice was almost mesmeric, cooing and soothing by inane fashion. “But...just for now can you just let me do this for you?” he pleaded

Kouga stared down at Houjo's back, the sound of Houjo's voice drew him in an dejecting way, his arms holding just the right amount of strength, not too strong, not too weak, wrapped around his body. His pleasing scent, the feel his form, his touch against the back of his legs, the atmosphere of the warm, bright morning, the peace of a pleasant awakening...Kouga closed his eyes and silently consented, and Houjo breathed out a thankful breath and continued to carry him down the stairs.

Eventually Houjo set him down on the couch, it had been move moved back into it's place in the middle of the now empty living room. All of the water had either been removed by hand or drifted out some unnoticed orifice, the rest had been done away with from sunlight and heat. Houjo stretched his arms sleepily above his head, the white tee-shirt rising softly above the waist of his shorts and exposing his navel. With a few incomprehensible mumbles he walked sluggishly out of the room.

Kouga couldn't help but admire his sleepy form, he seemed aesthetically peaceful when he was in this state, lose and defenseless. For someone who hated to be defenseless, it was ironic he'd find the trait so appealing in Houjo, it was admirable, it took blind ignorance or great courage to be like that. 'Houjo.' He smiled lightly, letting his eyes wander around the light until they found Souta. His smile grew as he looked over the boy, laying stretched out across the ground in only a pair of pants with the cuffs rolled up to his knees. Kouga could smell his scent strongly, giving him a pretty good hint of why he was asleep on the living room floor and what he had been doing before hand. 'He's alright, he's better then ever even.'

Souta opened his eyes, staring up at the white ceiling above his head brighter then he'd ever seen. He slowly sat upright, and looked instinctively up at Kouga. “Kouga.” He said greetingly, opened his mouth wide and took in a deep yawn, then wiped away the tears that formed in the corner of his eyes and scratched his head absentmindedly. “Are you ok?” He climbed to his feet and dashed over to Kouga, nearly diving onto the wolf as he threw his arms around his waist and buried his head into his chest. “I was so~ worried about you!”

Kouga rested his hand on Souta's head and ran his fingers threw the soft, dark hair. “I'm glad your safe, heh, I should have known you'd be alright.”

Souta shook his head, clinching Kouga tighter. “Nah, Houjo's the one, he...”

Kouga smiled in an odd amusement, “Souta, you gotta learn to take credit for your share.” Kouga had no problems in that area, and he didn't want Souta to either, the boy needed confidence or he'd never get anywhere. “I heard you did pretty well for yourself.”

Souta felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, no matter how much he thought about what Inuyasha said he still felt guilty, as if he was doing something wrong every time someone said something like that to him. Maybe this was the ultimate retribution that he felt was happening to him, maybe it was inside of him, because he was so weak He certainly felt weak, maybe if he was stronger he'd be able to do more and he wouldn't feel this way... “Maybe if we'd gotten there sooner, this wouldn't have happened to you...” .

Kouga stared down at him in utter bewilderment, why was he like this? What had made this boy so worried about him, why did he love him so much already that he felt this anxious over what had happened. Was he real? Was he serious? The boy was astoundingly simple, yet vital in a way that Kouga felt he had never known. What kind of life had he lived that made the reality of this boy, and Houjo for that matter, so strange? No one had ever been so... Kouga wrapped his arms around Souta and rubbed his back. “Don't think like that, none of this was your fault, in fact, if you guys hadn't come when you did we'd never have made it out of there.”

“But...what about your legs?”

“Don't worry about that.”

“But you can't walk anymore...”

“Heh, minor set back.” Kouga waved his hand dismissively, “I won't be like this for long, I promise.”

“Your really gonna be ok?”

Kouga gave Souta a wolfish grin. “I'll be better then ever in no time.” He felt in the quiet presence of Souta a force, inarticulate and unconscious, making for living without thinking, making for peace and habit, making for disorganized organization, making for a hope that blinded. He felt that Souta wanted and yearned to see life in a certain way, he needed a certain picture of the world; there was one way of living he desired above all others, and that was a strong one, as strong as the strength he perceived in those he admired, if he aspired to reach that same strength so he could feel the same admiration of himself that he did of others. He was blind to what did not fit, blind to most things bellow the surface. Kouga rested his palm on to Kouga's head, it was something he liked about Souta, he was still so young, naive, he had so much potential. Kouga had no such blindness, he saw things more clearly then he'd ever had in his life, he could see himself for what he was. He could see why he felt such a pitifulness, though only vaguely, he saw his anger for what it was. But even with this sight, it was reasoning, level headiness he lacked when over taken by these feelings, he lacked the sheer will power to force himself to act and change them. He felt empty, weak, he was losing to something inside of himself, and he needed to regain that strength, or in some cases, develop it, in order to face himself. “....hopefully...”

Souta tilted his head to the side and his hopeful expression queered into a confused one when he saw Kouga's face and tone change the way it did. “Kouga?”

Kouga admired Souta's face, bright with the morning sun that gave him a radiance, though still tainted with a sluggishness having just woken up. “Don't worry about it.” He smiled faintly again and let his head fall backwards, his eyes drifting to the ceiling.

It wasn't long before the hearty scent of food reached him, the sound of a frying pan's sizzle, and he felt his mouth begin to water and his stomach rumble anticipatively. 'I still haven't eaten anything. ' He realized, making him even more anxious.'Only water.' No matter how much he drank he didn't think he'd ever become satisfied, he was constantly thirsty. ' Houjo...' His smile grew wider, he didn't know exactly what Houjo was making, but he couldn't wait for it, an elation filled him.

Finally Houjo entered the room with a plate in his hand. “Power's back.” He announced with a satisfaction as he sat down in between Souta and Kouga, “Everything's working again.” The sent of bacon, eggs, and pancakes among other things was strong now, the only thing Kouga found more appealing then the smell was the sight. “Hungry?”

“Is that a joke?” Kouga snorted. He lifted his hand to take the plate, and as soon as he tensed his muscles to move he felt as if fire was flowing through his veins. Kouga winced and hissed in pain, dropping his arms back down to his sides. He had strained himself from a too long lack of sleep and food, yesterday also seemed to have taken it's toll on his arms, his weak and injured muscles were sore and extended beyond their limits, not yet having a chance to begin healing. He narrowed his eyes in aggravation.

He was about to fiercely chastise himself in frustration at his weakness, when the head of a fork stuffed with eggs appeared before his face. “?” Kouga glanced over at Houjo questioningly, staring blankly at the boy's offering, friendly face, and hopeful eyes. “Houjo.” Kouga shook his head as if to snap himself out of it, with a scowl he closed his eyes and looked away. “I don't-”

“Kouga,” Houjo's expression dimmed into a disappointed one, his eyes silently pleading. “Don't be like that.”

“I don't need you to help me.” He grunted bitterly, he couldn't even allow himself to look at Houjo right now. He refused, feeling ashamed that so often he had to be helped in such things that he should have by all means been able to do himself. By Houjo especially, he hated for his mate to see him in such a pitiful state. “I can do it myself.”

Houjo dropped his head, forcing himself to refrain from sighing. “I'm sure you can, but still you have to take it slow.” He paused to appreciate the fact he was telling Kouga of all people to take it slow. “You'll never get any better if you don't take it easy, you haven't even healed yet, you'll just make your self worse.”

“Tch.” Kouga stubbornly refused, even as his stomach growled and his arms throbbed in a pulsating pain. He was hungry, but such a thing would be worse then anything he'd let Houjo do for him thus far, this was an entirely different level. Even so he couldn't stop himself from peaking an eye open and staring at the source of the tempting aroma.

“Kouga...” Houjo asked. He wanted to help him, he wanted Kouga to eat and reclaim his energy and grow stronger. Then he himself could relax, could feel better, to gain relief from tightness in his chest and the nervous tension quelling in his stomach from worry. It felt a lot like guilt, reasoning prevented him from making the connection, but it was curiously similar. If he help Kouga, he knew he'd feel better at lest for a little while. “At lest taste it.”

Kouga growled like an aggravated canine, but grudgingly he looked up at Houjo and couldn't resist, he opened his mouth and took a strong bite, much more then was needed, and gained his first taste of food in days. He admitted to himself, shamefully, that he enjoyed seeing Houjo pleading for him, seeing an feeling the worth of himself in his bewildered desperation. At the very lest he needed Houjo to need him, at this point it was the only thing he could measure himself with.

Houjo smiled, “See, that wasn't so bad.” Houjo picked up a piece of bacon and shoved it into Kouga's mouth before he could respond. Slowly but surely, with each piece of food, it became easier, and Kouga became more accepting.

As he ate, Kouga's hunger returned in full force. There was eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes with syrup and milk. Gingerly, Houjo cut a piece of pancake, dripping with syrup and put it into Kouga's mouth. It tasted so good that he tried to swallow it before he chewed it, Kouga wished Houjo would move faster but he didn't dare to say anything. He knew Houjo would not have cared or thought anything of it if he made this request but his speaking would draw attention to himself and weakness. He sat on the edge of the couch and drew forward so that he could reach the food. Houjo fed him the sausage and bacon, slicing them into smaller pieces before relinquishing them to Kouga. Kouga ate so fast that his jaws ached, he paused and held the food in his mouth, feeling the juices of his glands flowing round it.

He didn't think he'd be able to stop himself even when he was full, Kouga had been sure he'd never taste anything again. This was amazing, he had to be sure to remind himself to complement Houjo on this later. Each bite revived memories of himself and Houjo in the kitchen, creating whatever his stomach dictated to him. '...' He wanted that again... When he was through, he leaned back again upon the couch and closed his eyes, dozing off to an uneasy sleep.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

“...” Honestly at this point Souta didn't know what to say, he was almost angry at himself for feeling even the barest trace of surprise. He came to the top of the basement stairs and peered down, he couldn't see beyond the shadowy frame of the stairs descending steadily, but he could hear the water sloshing around, he could smell the humidity in the air like so many visits to the pool, only with less chlorine. Souta reached out and felt along the wall until he found the light switch and with a few flickers a dim light illuminated the lower level. About 5 steps down the water began to swallow everything, it swayed agitatedly, sliding up the edges of the wall as if to over take more of the basement, but always falling short. “Great...” He shouldn't have been surprised, there was always something.

'That water's really high...' The notion formed in his mind, growing with it's own appeal, like most other things he did at that age it was impulsive and he failed to see any ill effects with it. In an instant his curiosity was decided, he sat down on the ground and began striping himself, tossing all of his clothing aside until he was clad in nothing more then his underwear. With an excited energy closely resembling nervousness, Souta back up until he reached the wall, then ran forward and dived from the top of the stairs. The water surrounded him in a cold grip, he could feel goosebumps forming along his skin as he reached the bottom, barely avoiding slamming into a few stairs.

Almost immediately he swam up to the top, gasping in deeply and wiping the soaked hair from his eyes. It was colder then he expected, the freezing water squeezed his body in cold compress. But he could still stand it, so he didn't immediately leave, instead he surveyed the damage for himself, looking amongst the boxes and small objects floating around him. “Everything's ruined...” Souta took in a deep breath and allowed himself to sink into the water, he fell backwards, staring upwards at the light now only an ambient aqua glow. He could see clearly all of the partials floating around, his body grew colder and colder the deeper he went, until finally his back fell against the icy cold surface of the ground and settled there.

It was...peaceful, all sound was muffled and dulled into a constant and low mumbling, the light was dim and shadowy. The cold became familiar to him, squeezing him so tightly a unison formed, if he remained still, he didn't feel it at all. If he could breathe he was sure he'd fall asleep.
'Mom's gonna kill me...' He thought to himself, 'Everything feels different...Inuyasha's acting weird... Kouga's all sad....' He watched and felt the water around him rock and sway, pushing against him softly. Much to his dismay, when he found peace, when he was able to fully and completely relax more then he'd ever had in resent memory. He started to hear things, out of the blue, not from his ears but from some other place that wasn't completely physical. 'Huh?' The familiar mummer of voices, a chaotic song he couldn't turn off, if things persisted as they usually did he was sure he would start seeing things. His lungs began to burn with need, forcing Souta to push off the bottom and rise to the surface, drawing in deep swallows of air.

There was a drain down here, so the water shouldn't have been sitting here in his manner, which could only mean it was blocked. So Souta knew what his next task would be. The encompassing still blanket of cold was now a harsh chill, making him shutter.

! - ! - !

This was nothing, there was no reason for this, he was just passing through.

Inuyasha stood at the bottom of the stairs, his unslinged arm hanging loosely at his side with his back against the wall, one eye peeked half open and fixed on an unconscious Kouga across the room on the couch. He closed the single eye and took in a deep breath to ease himself. He tried to look away, to walk away, to leave, to get away from this wolf, but the moment he tried to leave his feet seemed to plant themselves in place.

He didn't feel like moving, yeah, that was it. He'd go in a minute, when he felt like it.

Inuyasha's eyes slipped open again and found their way to Kouga, studying the uncomfortable peace on his face and in his body. The sight disheartened him, even when Kouga was sleeping Inuyasha could still see it, this underlying depression that could have possibly always been there, but never strong enough to be visible until now. It was painful to look at him when he was awake, embarrassment aside, the sight of his anguish was like gazing upon the most gruesome and brutal torture, he couldn't stand it.

Even still, some irresistible attraction drew him to Kouga, he was racked with guilt and worry so strongly that he couldn't at lest check on Kouga. And now he stood here, unable to leave as if making up for all the lost time, his stomach trembling nauseatingly, his heart pounding slowly in his chest, his finger tips sweating. 'Kouga...' Inuyasha scuffed and quickly looked away, resenting the feeling his enemy was drawing up inside of him, it felt like a strong weakness, and he despised the though of Kouga having anything over him. Even if it was something minor and he knew by all means were insignificant, something Kouga would never know about, there was always the subtle implication in his subconsciousness of what Kouga would say if he did know.

“Damn wolf.” He mumbled. 'You had to go and have something like this happen to you...' He found himself thinking more of Kouga then himself, and his thoughts always seemed to find their way back to the kiss. Inuyasha would blush and look away from Kouga, attempting to divert his thoughts, but they would aways boomerang right back. It continued like that for a greater portion of an hour, during which Inuyasha's only movement had been to sink down and it on ground, until...

“Un...” Kouga moaned softly and his head shifted with growing awareness.

“!” Inuyasha flinched, and immediately became angry at himself for his reaction, by the time he regained himself, he could see Kouga's eyes prying slowly open, his head tilted in his direction, and almost as if by nature their eyes met, and locked. They stared at each other, nether moving, nor speaking. Neither of them wanted to draw attention to themselves any farther by making sudden movements.

“...” Kouga was silent, wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say, or that he even wanted to say anything at all. He hadn't seen Inuyasha since he'd woke up, only heard that Inuyasha was alright, he'd hadn't witnessed that for himself, and now that he was staring at Inuyasha speechlessly he realized how much he wanted to stay away from Inuyasha altogether. His eyes trembled and his mouth opened questioningly, he took in deep breathes and tried to avert his thoughts from the last week, despite the fact he was like a deer caught in the headlights, it was all he could do to stop from blushing.

'Damnit, this is stupid.' Inuyasha grunted, closed his eyes and left the room. He resolved to avoid him after that. Whenever he saw Kouga, awake at lest, he felt in a queer way that he was his enemy, for Kouga possibly knew how he felt and it had seemed to him the safety of his life depended upon how well he concealed from all everyone what he felt.

Inuyasha's presence left a lingering feeling of awkward nervousness in Kouga, as if he'd just embarrassed himself monumentally and knew he'd have to face those who he'd embarrassed himself in front of again. 'Damn mutt...' He grunted to himself resentfully, hating the way he felt around Inuyasha, their relationship of hate and easy conflict that he loved had been misconstrued into something strange and foreign, and change wasn't always a good thing... As strange as it was, how he felt about Inuyasha, not that he could decipher it, felt natural, maybe this was just a natural progression of what ever association they had. And progress, as Kouga understood it, was s necessary ugly. 'Nothing stays the same forever.' Kouga thought to himself. 'Nothing stands still, and neither will I.'

“?” Kouga lifted his head and looked toward the basement stairs where a curiously wet Souta was standing silently and watching questioningly.

'What was that?' Souta walked into the living room, dripping a trail of water with each step, he welcomed warm air flowing in from the open window, making him feel the cold water that clung to him even more deeply. He shuttered and clinched his arms. “Your up?”

“Hn.” Kouga gave the boy an acknowledging glance. “What's with the water?”

“The basement's full of water.” Souta said, he smiled in a childish excitement, he knew how bad it was, he shouldn't have been happy about it in any sense. But he found a grand amusement in it, at least for now, the prospect of having a swimming pool in his basement was wild and exciting.

Kouga smirked, listening to the tapping of falling drops of water. “What'd you do, fall in?”

“I jumped.” He announced proudly, “It felts good too. I'm freezing though.”

“Is that so.” Kouga let his head fall back and stared upward, letting himself become lost in thought.

Souta's smile faded into a sullen disappointed stare when he watched Kouga, it seemed like all of the wolf's energy had evaporated. If only Kouga could move, then he'd feel better. “It must be hard not being able to move.” He said absentmindedly, not knowing fully what he was saying to Kouga

Kouga looked down at Souta blankly, the subject immediately struck a cord in Kouga, it was like poking an open wound, it hurt. “...” He didn't respond. His tail hung lifelessly behind him, almost sliding between his legs.

Souta didn't notice the change in demeanor, he didn't see exactly what Kouga's non-responsiveness meant.“Only being able to sit around, must be boring.”

Kouga quickly became annoyed by it, where he normally wouldn't have been so impatient with Souta. “Leave me alone.” He uttered, rolling his eyes. A frustrated, dull anger rose up quickly inside of him.

“Huh?” Souta was confused, why was Kouga so angry all of a sudden. “Kouga what's-”

“Just go somewhere willya.” His voice was more curt, assertive, his annoyment shifted to a mild anger. The last thing he wanted was for other people to bring it up, to talk about it, to pity him, to make him feel more weak and pitiful then he already did. The thought of it made him feel an invisible persecution, a pressure, and he knew how to nothing but lash out.

“...” Souta gave Kouga one last look, his face reminded the wolf of a scolded puppy, and then left.

For a while Kouga sat silently and watched the spot Souta once stood in with mild irritation, but then he sighed and looked down at his legs, and an even greater irritation rose inside of him. With a tormented grunt he tried to raise them, to move them, to feel even the most minute twitch. But there was nothing as before. “Damnit!” He snarled, he couldn't be like this, he wouldn't!

Kouga dug his claws into the edge of the couch and pulled himself forward, but not to long after a throbbing, bruised pain, as though his arms had just been crushed. He didn't care, his hissed and pushed through it, was not as great as the pain he'd felt down in that hole. He pushed himself upward slightly, holding a part of his body's weight on his legs, then slowly but surely he pushed himself up more and more until his arms reached their length. 'Come on...' His face contorted into a concentrated strain, trying again with all of his might to stiffen his legs in preparation, to move them in to place, anything. Finally the strain on his arms became too great and he could wait no longer, he was too stubborn to sit back down, so he pushed forward and propelled himself in to a standing position. Though only for a brief moment, with no strength his legs gave way and he crashed down onto the ground.... “Fuck....” He growled to himself.

There he was, alone and nearly helpless, having only himself. Again and again he continued to try stubbornly, soon enough his mind started to wander, become dull to his actions, and his motions were automatic without any mental intervention. He was left to contemplate himself, thinking of all of the things he'd done up until now, but of his anger mostly. He contentiously wondered why he was so angry, why there was this stomach churning sadness he couldn't push aside like so many other things in his life. Kouga picked himself up, and fell again, he clawed his way up, and tumbled right back down, his body still continued on auto pilot despite how it was becoming increasingly harder with each fall.

Soon enough the fatigue took him, and he fell again and didn't get back up. Drifting off into a dull sleep.

! - ! - !

Houjo sat down on the only dry spot in the ground, his back rested against the cheery blossom tree, full of empty branches and twigs that crossed in a chaotic pattern against the sky. He took in a deep breath of the warm air, staring upward at the thick white clouds swimming across the blue expanses.

He never imagined when he first came here that he wouldn't leave, at lest not for very long anyway. He never thought he'd come across what he did, he certainly never thought he'd come across a sick Souta, who he was still wondering about by the way. He'd never thought he'd find Kouga, or be so inexplicably drawn to him in such a physical way. And that's what it was at first, physical, a very potent attraction albeit, but merely physical. Houjo wasn't the person to do such a thing on a whim, at all, in fact he had substantial self-control, which is why he was so embarrassed at his lapse afterwords.

He could barely keep from blushing every time he saw Kouga afterwords, he was embarrassed but he couldn't keep away from the wolf for anything in the world. Sure it was the physical attraction that played a part in it, but what kept him drawn was the curiosity, Kouga's form, his tail, his ears, his speed, his personality. He was like a child when he was around Kouga, despite the fact there were an abundance of things he had over Kouga in his knowledge, he was still weaker, slower, he wasn't nearly as bold, nor did he have that extent of confidence. The way Kouga acted around him, the way he coddled him, how he was so protective, it made him feel like...

There was almost an admiration that was adorned to his affection for Kouga, in a way he looked up to him like he looked up to him as Souta did, only at a much...much lower capacity. Houjo smiled, he could almost laugh at Kouga some times, for all of his strength he had an immaturity, especially when it came to Inuyasha. When they were together it was like watching two preschoolers fighting over the last juice box, only the juice box was everything and the fights were more violent.

He certainly never thought it would become so strong, it certainly wasn't just something physical anymore.

“Kouga...” Houjo sighed, he scratched his chest through the white t-shirt and let his head fall against the trunk. He closed his eyes. He knew he'd never stop thinking about him, so he didn't try. 'I wonder what he's gonna do.' Houjo thought, he didn't expect Kouga to be getting better anytime soon, who know what happened to him. He'd contemplated taking him to a doctor, but he'd seen Kouga take inhuman amounts of damage only to return the next day with a few weeks worth of healing done. Also, he wouldn't have possibly known where to begin explaining things if he did, he was almost sure any one would have paid more attention to Kouga's...demonicness then his actual injuries. 'With the weather warm again school's probably gonna be starting up again soon.' And that meant he couldn't stay by Kouga, not that Kouga particularly wanted him to do so right now, as much as he wanted too.

Well, Kouga was strong, he was certainty willful, it was Houjo's only consolation. “Hn...” Houjo reached to his side and picked up the sheathed sword sitting on the damp grass. Slowly he withdrew it and held it up to the sky before his eyes, watching how it gleamed in the sunlight.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

The night time held an odd tranquility to it, it was quiet, peaceful, warm. The stars weren't as clear as they used to be, back when the power was out, but the moon was a vibrant as ever. Inuyasha made his way to the roof with a few quick leaps, he eased himself down and laid back on the tilted surface, staring out into the distance lazily. Souta was in bed, much earlier then Inuyasha known him to be, sleeping in his room. Kouga was...well Inuyasha had no idea, and as much as he would deny it had anyone ever questioned it, he did want to know.

Yup, as much as he denied it, as much as he protested the subtle feelings, as much as he resented when he had those types of thoughts, he had grown to, for lack of a better word, care about Kouga. 'Dumb bastard, Houjo's probably ogling over him right now.' Something Inuyasha would always readily admit was that he was angry at Kouga, generally for no reason in particular, but most notably was for how he pushed away Houjo like he did. Though he most definitely would have done the same thing, but that never stopped him from being angry before

He wasn't angry because of how it was probably making Houjo feel, he hated the fact that anyone liked Kouga, and that Souta liked him so much. It was because Houjo wanted to be around him and help him, and Inuyasha didn't. If Houjo was there, if someone was there Inuyasha wouldn't feel guilty that he himself wasn't...Ok, well, it seemed Inuyasha did want to be around him, or at lest help him... He suddenly felt like a piece of consciousness was laughing at him having been right but constantly ignored and pushed aside. It made him angry. “Shut up.” Inuyasha growled.

Inuyasha's ears perked at a soft sound beyond the murmur of wind. “?” Inuyasha sat up and watched as a hand clinched on to the side of the roof. With a soft strain Houjo pulled himself up, he paused when he saw Inuyasha.

“Inuyasha? So you are up here.” Houjo stood up, placing one foot back to keep himself from slipping.

“You sound like you were looking for me.” Inuyasha laid back down, his eyes toward the sky averted from Houjo discardingly

“Not particularly.” Houjo paused to dust himself off before he moved with casual yet cautious thoughts to Inuyasha's side. He sat down, drew in his knees and wrapped his arms around his legs, a quiet moment passed between them, and Houjo silently basked in the omnipresent feeling of insignificance he got when he stared up at the expanse of a star filled sky and felt the warm, whipping winds of the world over his body. “One good thing I can say about a black out is that the stars are never as bright in the city.” He shifted his eyes downward and let them take in the horizon. “But the city lights are much better anyway, they're always changing.”

“Is there anything you *want* Houjo?” Inuyasha asked in mild annoyment, the last thing he wanted was *Kouga's* mate to come up here when he was thinking about Kouga, decidedly his worst enemy, he felt as he had been caught doing something wrong. Few people had put him through more then Kouga had, no one had battled him in body and mine and caused so much turmoil. With everyone else, Naruku, his brother, ect, it had been clear cut, simple hate. Hate was easy, hate was simple, hate was what he knew and love, he'd grown up with hate, it had coddled him, comforted him when he was a hurt child, it had gave him options when he felt helpless. It was a friend he could rely on if nothing else, it had grown to be instinctual. But this, what he felt for Souta, and Kagome for that matter, it completely threw him for a loop, this was not something he knew how to deal with, love and affection or whatever the hell this was, was something new and bewildering. And now this thing with Kouga, he didn't know what he was feeling around Kouga. How the hell was he suppose to handle this?!

“Oh sorry, I didn't mean to get on your nerves-” Houjo smiled with that same friendly smile and rubbed the back of his neck. “-It's just that Souta's asleep, and Kouga...wants some space I guess.”

“So your coming to me?” Inuyasha snorted. “Why in the hell would I care?”

“...The weather seems to be normal again.” Houjo said, he looked down at Inuyasha fully. “That means both me and Souta have to go back to school in the morning.”

“What?” Inuyasha sat upright with surprise, staring at him with a startled expression. “What do you mean you have to go back to school?!” His voice echoed along with the silent hiss of wind and the high-pitched hum of crickets, starting to understand with a vague dread what it meant.

“No snow, no snow days, me and Souta are going back in the morning.”

“But...But-” No, both of them couldn't leave, then that would only leave him and-

“Kouga can't go anywhere as it is, so It's just gonna be you and him.”

“Wait! No way!” Inuyasha stubbornly shook his head, “Can't you guys just skip it?”

“Heh, if anything he should have to stay extra, all the school we've missed. We've gotta go.” Houjo said, with a bit of anxious disappointment in his words.

“No, no way.” Inuyasha folded his arms and looked away stubbornly. “I'm not staying here with Kouga.”

“You know, Kouga's fine on his own, his been just about by himself for 2 days. It wont matter if me and Souta are here anyway.” Houjo told him. “It's not like you have to do anything, him sure he doesn't want you to do anything, I'm just letting you know.”

Inuyasha stared at Houjo, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Houjo was right, Kouga was fine on his own, and he didn't want anyone around him. In fact, Kouga would be mad if he knew they were talking about him in this manner, if he knew Inuyasha was thinking about him in this manner, as if he was just someone that needed to be taken care of, that arrangements needed to be made for, that needed special consideration. Inuyasha laid back down on the roof and stared up at the sky. He couldn't hide it from himself, he was worried about Kouga, and judging from the way Houjo was looking at him he couldn't hide it from the boy either. Of course that out burst was a dead give away for anyone who payed attention, and Houjo always payed attention, he had only himself to blame.

It wasn't just a few momentary lapses in sanity due to stress. He needed to know someone, if not himself, was looking out for Kouga. He knew his thoughts that something would happen, though he didn't know what possibly *could* happen, were unfounded, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling the way he did. “Tch. Fine, Doesn't matter to me.” If he had to, then he guessed he could survive it. He was gonna hate himself for thinking of it in this way but...for Kouga's sake... '...' He felt uneasy already.

“Thought so.” Houjo climbed to his feet and stretched his arms above his head with a deep breath. “I think I'm gonna go to bed, G'night.”

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