Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 31: A pair of students.

“I’m getting worried.” Souta said.

The boy carefully climbed out of his bedroom window, he became keenly aware of how short he was as his body hung ungracefully over both sides, he had to roll over the side and landed on his back. An impish smirk spread on Inuyasha’s face, he nearly laughed at the boy and would have had Souta not had such a pressing concern.

Souta climbed on to his knees and eased his way down the narrow slope of the perimeter roof edging around the second floor, sitting beside Inuyasha. His alarm clock had told him it was 4 am though it was becoming notoriously unreliable thanks to Kouga’s curiosity with it, the wolf hated the sound it made and had seemed determined to figure out how it was made, every time he heard it. Souta was starting to get into a bit of a routine of waking up early. He’d hastily thrown on a pair of jeans, he was still wearing his favorite green pajama shirt, like always did and headed outside. Only he found Inuyasha awake and sitting out here this time so he inevitably came out to talk. “Worried about what?” Inuyasha crossed his legs and rested his hands into his lap, leaning forward slightly.

The Higurashi shrine was elevated high enough for the entire city to be seen, Inuyasha looked out in awe at the stretching streams of light more radiant then the stars, it was amazing to see the ethereal glow around the city, blocking out the stars. He never paid attention to this before, but Kouga had basically shamed him into take notice of this world a little closer, he had to say he liked the view.

“My mom and grandpa.” Souta felt a soft breeze press against his clothes with a cool embrace. He didn’t notice it. “They’ve been gone for a really long time.”

“I don’t know.” Inuyasha shrugged, he had no answer to give Souta. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, they’ll be back eventually.”

Souta shrugged. “Alright…I guess.”

Inuyasha looked over the boy curiously, he could see the worried, anxious, though tired, expression on his face deepen and he watched the boy draw his legs up and hug his knees to his chest insecurely. He’d done nothing to help Souta. Inuyasha looked away, his hands shifting around in his lap, silently cursing to himself. Words always failed him, he never knew what to say, his logic simply came out insensitive and uninsightful. He hated that, it made him feel stupid among other unfavorable feelings. Where was Houjo? Houjo was good at these types of things…

Inuyasha wasn’t at all articulate, a fact he’d been increasingly made aware of during his time as Souta’s mate. Souta needed so much more from him then he’d realized. Souta was young, he needed constant approval, he craved it in fact, more then most because his self-confidence was so low. He needed guidance, having all the blind ambition of youth that quickly became a tunnel vision, (his strong craving for strength) that could lead him to large mistakes. Most of all, he needed love, he needed affection. Souta was fearful and doubtful, having no self-esteem he fixed on the notion that Inuyasha would stop liking suddenly and leave him. So Souta needed constant reassuremeant and affection. Affection wasn’t Inuyasha’s strong point.

‘Souta…’ Inuyasha sighed to himself and looked away. He had to get this right, he had to figure out a way to comfort Souta, to make him stop worrying. If he couldn’t do this, he’d fail as mate.

“Hey, Souta!”

The both of them looked down at the sudden voice. Kouga stood waiting down by the cherry blossom tree. “Ready?” He asked.

“Yeah, here I come!” Souta stood to his feet and ran back to his bedroom window, climbing in with a little less trouble then he had getting out.

Kouga couldn’t help but notice Inuyasha, he noticed Inuyasha more then ever. “Yo, mutt.” He gave a small, mock wave, then opened his mouth wide and yawned deeply and audibly.

Inuyasha scratched the back of his ear and looked down at Kouga. “What are you doing up so early puppy?” Inuyasha asked, still prodding Kouga with that name, hoping to get a reaction out of him.

It got nothing, Kouga didn’t seem to care at all. For him it was as if Inuyasha had started calling him that in a dream and when it started feeling natural it some how carried over into reality. He barely realized it. “I’m always up this early, what are you doing up this early.” Kouga called back. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked upward at the sky, examining the faded brilliance of the stars.

“Nothing.” Inuyasha wouldn’t admit he’d come out here to take in the city, because Kouga had accused him of being an oblivious idiot because he never noticed the world around him. He always had to prove himself to Kouga it seemed.

Kouga shrugged, “Whatever.”

Inuyasha watched Souta run out of the front door anxiously towards Kouga. It was even easier for Kouga to say things to Souta, he’d be better at comforting Souta then he himself would be. Was everyone better for Souta then he was?! “Damnit.” He cursed to himself. He hated this, he wasn’t that type of person, it was awkward. He had to do this, he didn’t want this, but he had to do this.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

“Stop that!” Houjo quickly darted behind Kouga and shoved the tip of his tail back into his pants hastily, looking around suspiciously to see if anyone had seen the odd display.

“I can’t help it!” Kouga stood up rigidly strait, his entire body was tense.

Kouga had convinced Houjo take him with him when he left Souta’s house, making it his point to bring up the fact that Houjo never took him with him anywhere, he was always off on his own somewhere, and Kouga didn’t like that. Houjo in-turn brought up that most of the time he was going to school. In the end no argument he made seemed to make a difference. Kouga stubbornly decided he was going to tag along, even though Houjo was going to come right back.

They’d traversed half the distance to Houjo’s home and they had to stop at least 6 times for Houjo to nervously shove Kouga’s tail back into the pants he was lending him. “It just sorta does it, I can’t help it.” Kouga said defensively. A pair of blue jeans, a brown t-shirt, and a pair of shoes just a tad too big, Houjo spent more time fixing his clothes on Kouga then actually putting them on the wolf. He’d easily gotten around the problem of hiding Kouga’s ears by pulling Kouga’s headband down just a little, but there was no way around his tail it seemed.

Luckily for them it was still early in the morning, the sun was still rising, it had to be no more then 6 by Houjo’s assumptions. “Hmm…” Houjo shrugged and sighed, it was alright he guessed, as long as no one saw. Houjo grabbed Kouga’s hand and slipped his own and Kouga’s into his pocket, continuing down the sun soaked road with slow, easing strides.

Kouga looked around absentmindly, becoming annoyed at the slow pace. “How much father?”

“Not that much.” Houjo said.

“Why is it taking so long?”

Houjo was amazed at how Kouga’s patience and attention span could be so short at times. “I would have thought you of all people would be enjoying this.” He said, holding on to Kouga’s hand a little tighter. “It’s so much more peaceful in the morning, coming from a place that’s so quite, you have to be sick of the constant noise.” Houjo took in a deep breath of the cool, crisp air, looking ahead at the sun striped road. The golden rays coming from the horizon were blocked by houses and buildings, letting sunlight shine only in between and shading the street with a patchy pattern. A sole car rode past and the road was empty again. “It’s not as loud in the morning.”

Kouga scratched his ear subconsciously, “It’s always loud. I don’t know how you can live with it so long.”

“You get used to it.” Houjo said. “Eventually you just tune it out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve been living in the city my whole life, I don’t even notice it anymore.”

Kouga shrugged and they walked together in silence. The wolf seemed impatient at first, then he tried to relax into the sleepy pace, taking every detail of his surroundings in as he could. He watched a few people trudge outside their homes in more clothing he’d never seen before, climb into their cars and head off for work. He saw the occasional jogger running past, strange devices protruding into or clamped over their heads with a wire leading down to another thing he couldn’t identify. He could faintly hear sounds coming from them, farther peeking his curiosity. He took the most interest in the people walking their dogs, he’d never seen anything like that.

“Hey Houjo.” He nudged the half sleep boy with his elbow. “What are they doing?” He asked curiously, pointing to a woman and her small dog.

Houjo glanced toward the site through the corner of his eyes. “Walking.”

“What’s that thing tied around his neck, why’s she holding it? Is she controlling him or something?”

Houjo smirked softly, this had to be the most interesting question Kouga had asked him yet. “It’s a leash, your supposed to use one to make sure that the dog doesn’t run off or something like that.”
Kouga watched a man with a considerably larger dog, a husky possibly, walked past the woman. The two dogs giving curious glances at the other before moving forward. Kouga rolled his eyes. “Geez, is that really necessary?”

“Yup.” Houjo nodded. “It’s not too unreasonable. A dog could run off and get into a lot of trouble. And besides, if they get lost the collar and the tag can be used to get them back home.”

“What’s the collar and the tag?” Kouga asked.

“The thing the leash is hooked to.”

Kouga felt his tail twitching of it’s own accord and slipping out of the back of his pants. He had to push it back down. He could see himself getting lost, in fact he had gotten lost, it was hard to find your way back when you couldn’t let anyone see you. “I get lost all the time? So does that mean I have to wear a collar?”

The funniest thing about Kouga asking that question wasn’t the image Houjo got, it was that Kouga was completely serious when he asked it. “Heh. Yeah maybe.” He laughed softly. “That would be cute.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

It wasn’t long before they reached Houjo’s home, it wasn’t as large as the Higurashi shrine, but there was an intimate feel to it. A manicured lawn, flowers out front, shrubs. Houjo unlocked the door and went inside, Kouga following behind. Houjo looked around and could tell immediately it was empty. “You can take your tail out now.”

Kouga let out a breath of relief, his pants sagged down lightly as it’s tail wormed it’s way out. “Finally.” He began looking around curiously. “This place is yours?”

“Nope.” Houjo set his key on the table and walked upstairs. “It’s my aunt’s place, I moved here when my parent’s died.”

“Hn…” Kouga studied the place, taking in the sights and scents. He could find his way to Houjo’s room on scent alone, it was easy with only two people living here, another thing he picked up on. “Where is she?”

“Work.” Houjo said, “She won’t be back till late so I guess I don’t really have to worry.” Houjo walked into his room and shut the door behind Kouga, out of habit more then any use. Then he spotted his bookbag sitting behind the door. “…” And got the vague feeling he was forgetting something…’!!’ “Aw man, I completely forgot.”

“What?”

“It’s Monday, I have to go to school.”

Kouga sighed in annoyance. “I thought you were gonna show me around.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll do it when I get back.” Houjo hastily pulled his uniform off the back of the door where it hung and began to change.

“Can I go with you then?”

“I can’t take you, your not a student.”

Kouga rubbed the back of his head and lifted his hands in surrender. “Alright, I guess I’ll just look around on my own. But if I get lost it’s your fault.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Inuyasha landed with soft steps into a familiar tree outside of Souta’s school, he slipped down a few branches and landed in the perfect position out side of Souta’s classroom. Souta always sat by the window, so it was easy for Inuyasha to watch him. And watch him he did.

Inuyasha studied him with a protectiveness about him, watching his bored, shiftless expression as he leaned over his desk and stared down at the paper that sat in front of him. Inuyasha didn’t have the slightest idea what the boy was doing but if his expression was any indication of what he was thinking then… Inuyasha wanted to pound his head against the tree, he hated obsessing over this! The very premise of his frustration made him furious, he hated this stuff, it annoyed him! But he couldn’t get over it. Maybe it was the first non-physical connection he’d had with Souta, this depression hanging over Souta was starting to effect him, simply seeing his mate in this state was starting to kill him.

Inuyasha crossed his legs and leaned forward, clinching his eyes shut. “What the hell is he so worried about anyway.” Well… It was Souta, Souta was worrier, Souta was a scared person, he was young, his Mom and Grandpa were who knew where. “What the hell am I suppose to do about this? What the hell does he expect me to do.” Inuyasha suddenly felt obligated, like Souta was expecting him to make this better, being his idol and all. “What the hell am I supposed to do! What am I supposed to say to him?” This was nerve racking.

He had to figure it this out.

! - ! - !

Houjo subtly readjusted the shirt under his uniform jacket, fixing the chain holding the shikon jewel shard around his neck. The two textbooks he’d stolen back from Kouga on his way out under his arm and his bookbag half open lazily. He felt a depression coming on as he heard the first bell ring and he became lost in a stream of nearly late students flowing in to the front door. There were many days he didn’t feel like coming to school, where he felt mentally fatigued and was to tired to deal with it.

This was one of those days.

Houjo forced himself down the familiar strings of halls, wondering how Souta was doing, what Inuyasha was doing, where Kouga was. He hoped Kouga hadn’t gotten himself into trouble wondering around out there. ‘I wonder if Souta’s doing any better.’ He thought to himself. There seemed to be no remedy to Souta’s inability to focus. The strangest thing of it was that he hadn’t had this problem before, it seemed to come out of nowhere. ‘Inuyasha’s still a little weak…’ Inuyasha was still trying to recover all the strength in his left arm, as well as his endurance. ‘And Kouga…at lest he’s on his feet.’ Kouga wasn’t nearly as fast as he used to, it wasn’t until recently he was able to sprint for any notable distance.

Houjo stopped and knelt down to the ground, a stream of students flowed past as he shoved the two books under his arm into his backpack and closed it completely. He moved slow and lagging, his mind still on his friends, seeming to have lost all of his energy between this morning and now. He didn’t want to be here today. He’d rather be somewhere training with his sword, or with Kouga or his friends.

By the time he realized he’d been starting to fall asleep he’d been sitting there on the ground for full minute half dreaming. The halls were empty now, he almost thought he was late save for the fact he didn’t hear the second bell yet. “I didn’t realize I was so tired…” He rubbed the back of his head and laughed at himself. “?” A shadow appeared where sunlight used to shine through the hallway windows, accompanied by a tapping sound. Houjo looked over and flinched in shock. “K-Kouga!?”

There the wolf was, on the small ledge (balancing very well) of a third story window, notably his attire had a new variation on it then when he last left him. Kouga spoke but his voice was muffled by two panes of glass separating them, then he tried to pull it open in just about every way but the right one. Then Kouga seemed to go get annoyed and he drew his fist back, Houjo knew immediately what he was about to do. “No! No!” Houjo immediately ran over to the window and made a series of barely intelligible and frantic motions which got Kouga to stop, and then move over to the next window still while he opened it up and allowed Kouga to enter.

“What are you doing here?!”

Kouga grinned and gave a mock wave. “Looking for you.” Kouga was wearing one of Houjo’s uniforms, black pants and jacket, still wearing the brown t-shirt with an untied tie around his neck. He looked sloppy, nothing really fit, but at least he remembered shoes. “I wanted to come with you.”

“W-Why?!” Wrong question, Houjo could come up with some reasons why Kouga would want to come here. The real question was what possessed him to actually show up?

“Cause I wanted to come.” Kouga said simply, his tail wormed it’s way out of the back of his pants and moved around anxiously, it was clear that he was excited to be here.

“No, no.” Houjo clinched his head and sighed, he was certainly awake now, he was tense, looking around nervously and anxiously, hoping no one had seen that.. “You can’t be here Kouga.”

“Huh? Why not?” Kouga asked, innocently enough. “I wanna see what this place is all about.”

Houjo heard footsteps coming down the hall and flinched, he felt his stomach sink in an almost fearful anxiety. Someone seeing a boy with tail, big problem! An anxiety of his Kouga didn’t seem to grasp the full weight of. “!!” Houjo grabbed Kouga by the collar of his shirt and pulled him along hastily.

“Hey!” Kouga nearly tripped from the sudden jerk and could do nothing more but stagger along as Houjo pulled him to the bathroom. Houjo managed to drag him inside before Kouga accidentally stepped on the overly long leggings of Houjo’s pants and fell to the ground. “What the hell! What are you doing!?” Kouga growled, awash with anger and embarrassment.

“Sorry.” Houjo sighed again, this time apologetically. He took hold of Kouga’s hand and pulled him on to his feet, looking over his appearance, he would have found it humorous had he not been so fearful of someone actually seeing Kouga. This was just something he wasn’t equipped to explain, and the moment Kouga opened his mouth he’d be sure to make it worse. Houjo reached out for Kouga again, only to be met with a growl.

“Watch it!” He said defensively.

“No more pulling, I promise.” Houjo reassured him. “I just had to get you out of sight. I couldn’t let anyone see you.”

“Why? What’s wrong with me?” Kouga asked, his defensiveness growing.

Houjo knelt down and began rolling up the cuffs of his barrowed pants, “I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just that your…clearly different.”

“Of course I’m different, I’m not a human like you.” Kouga said, almost arrogantly.

“Exactly.” Houjo was long used to Kouga’s arrogance and he easily enough ignored it. He stood up, grabbing the back of the pants with one hand and shoving Kouga’s tail down into them with the other. ‘They’ll never stay on…’ Reluctantly Houjo pulled off his belt with a few sharp tugs and began working it into Kouga’s pants. “You can’t be here.” He said, tightening the belt enough to be sure Kouga’s tail wouldn’t slip out again.

“Do you know how uncomfortable that is?!” Kouga growled with aggravation, he could feel his tail twitching..

“Then just relax. Hold it between your legs or something.” Houjo said, easily, trying to cool down Kouga’s anger. “That should be easy for you.” And with that he failed miserably.

“What?!”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Houjo quickly responded. “There’s nothing else to do with it, sorry.”

Kouga folded his arms and looked away, he was definitely mad at Houjo now, it was official. “Just for that I’m not leaving.”

“Kouga-“

“Why can’t I be here any way?”

Houjo began rolling up the edges of the jacket’s sleeves, luckily the length of the black fabric effectively covered the budge of Kouga’s tail. “Let’s just say…your not a student.”

“Alright, how do I become one?” Kouga was completely fascinated with this place, this was where Houjo had gotten those books from, this was where he acquired all of that knowledge he had. Kouga, though he’d never admit it, developed an almost idolization for the boy, he admired him and all his intelligence and kind ways. He wanted to be like Houjo. He wanted to be smart, he wanted to know about things and have experience with them. Knowledge had an amazing transformative power, and when he weld it it changed the look of things in his eyes. This was an phenomenon, and drove a an inherent need to see the entire world in this altered, ascended view. Like Houjo must have.

Houjo debated what to do with the tie, it seemed out of place. His hands subconsciously went about the familiar motions of tying it, he hadn’t realized he’d done it until he was in the middle of adjusting it around Kouga’s neck. At least he would be presentable for his inevitable exit out of the window. “You can’t just become one…” Exactly what did he have to say to get Kouga to leave?

“Why not?” Kouga reached over Houjo’s shoulder and began digging through his still half open book bag with, what seemed to Houjo, an astounding disregard for what he was doing, almost like a small child. He was mad, he didn’t care if Houjo was doing something. ‘Here they are.’ He withdrew Houjo’s science book and history book, the reason unclear to the owner.

“Because there’s a lot of stuff involved.”

“Like what?”

The innocent curiosity in Kouga’s blue eyes lead Houjo to something he’d forgotten completely, the ears. Houjo immediately pulled down Kouga’s ever present headband down halfway over his ears, enough to hide any abnormality. “A lot of stuff, you don’t have anything, you don’t even have a birth certificate. You don’t technically exist here…Why am I having this conversation, you can’t be here!”

“What’s a birth certificate?”

Amazing, completely amazing. Houjo had once wondered, during a history class a few years back, what it would be like to explain the improvements to old procedures, the strides in technology, even the way everyday life worked to someone a few 100 years in the past. In a childish naivety he didn’t realize how many layers seemingly simply concepts might hold. To explain the link between identification and school he’d have to work his way through dozens and dozens of concepts and histories.

Houjo heard the door open and he froze, debating between trying to seem normal and jumping in front of Kouga to try hide him as best he could. The conflict held him idle for too long and he ended up standing there with an expression reminiscent to that of a dear staring in the oncoming head lights of a truck while Kouga looked at him suspiciously. ‘So weird…‘ He didn’t see the problem.

The person that walked in just happened to be his teacher. “Houjo.” The man acknowledged.

“M-Mr. Iwara…”

The man looked over Houjo curiously as he pulled a few paper towels from the holder and began dabbing a wet spot on his left pant leg, spilled water. He looked past Houjo to a merely curious Kouga, not knowing who he was, and Kouga knowing possibly less then that,

“And who is this young man?” Speaking half jokingly, as if to a shy child. He couldn’t remember seeing him around.

Houjo almost froze again, his mind racing for an answer to tell him, as well as a few excuses for everything pertaining to the wolf’s presence, but Kouga spoke before he could come up with a plausible one. “Kouga.” Kouga introduced himself sparsely , still eyeing Houjo curiously. “What’s with you today?”

Houjo didn’t respond, he only stood there, burning in his fear and nervousness. He was almost angry at Kouga for speaking, for drawing more attention to himself. He was going to make this harder!

“I haven’t seen you around here, are you new Kouga…I’m sorry, what’s your’s your last name?” The man seemed to have convinced himself that Kouga had said it and he missed it. Only in reality Kouga didn’t have a last name.

Not one Houjo knew of anyway. “Um…Kouga…Akitoki.” Houjo realized immediately after he spoke that this had to be a lapse in his usual mental clarity. A slip up, A mistake. Using his own last name simply caused a lot more questions, questions he was supposed to be warding off. He blamed it on his anxiety and tried to force himself to calm down, it made him speak to quickly and with out much thought.

Kouga seemed a little interested at this too.

“Oh wow. You two are related? Man, you don’t look anything alike.” The man said in awe. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Yeah, neither did I.” Kouga remarked, growing even more interested. He was enjoying seeing the flustered Houjo try to lie on the spot, it couldn’t be more clear he didn’t do so often, he was horrible at it. Kouga would of course go along with anything Houjo said, because he was simply lost in a place he knew nothing about and Houjo knew everything.

Brother, why brother? He could have corrected him at the moment and said cousin, that would explain so much more. Or even say no relation, it wasn‘t that unusual. “He’s my…step-brother, I didn’t know I had a brother either.” But, being the horrible liar he was, he didn’t give a better answer, instead latching with Kouga so the wolf wouldn’t sound so sarcastic.

“Oh, well…” The man seemed to drop off of the subject, knowing it would inevitably lead to Houjo’s parents, something he assumed was too sensitive to go any nearer to. Houjo could sense it and for once was grateful for it. “The bell’s about to ring so you two better get going…Oh, wait a minute, Kouga do you know your way around? What class are you supposed to be in?”

Houjo then realized that he had made the mistake of letting his teacher think that Kouga was a student, the thing he was trying to avoid completely…though, he wasn’t sure exactly how he could have dissuaded him from that line of thought anyway.

He’s not a student. Really? Nope. But he’s in the school, he’s wearing the uniform. Look, just because he’s in the school, and he’s wearing the uniform, and he’s holding school issued text books, doesn’t mean he’s a student, how could you make that mistake? I don’t have the faintest idea.

No, Houjo didn’t see that conversation going well.

Houjo had to think fast, he was sure his ever diligent teacher would make sure this new student would reach his appointed class on time. “…Yours…?” He said reluctantly, at least then he was sure the man would entrust Kouga to him, then he could get Kouga out of here.

“Oh, then you better hurry, your gonna be late.”

Houjo sighed, taking Kouga by the shoulders and pushing him out of the bathroom and into the hall. Did he know? Did Kouga know what mess he’d just dropped into his lap? Even if he got Kouga out of here he still had a lot of explaining to do.

“So am I a student now?” Kouga asked, innocently enough.

“Not really.” Houjo said, still propelling him forward.

“But I’m going with you right?” Kouga was still angry at Houjo, what he should have said is ‘I’m going with you.’ Because he decided stubbornly that he was.

Houjo heard the bathroom door open and his instructor emerge, they were all heading the same way. Great, now he was stuck with this lie now. “I guess you are.”

Their entry into the classroom was greeted by the sound of 21 other students all speaking at once, conversing of their own accord. Kouga followed behind Houjo like a lost puppy, looking around curiously, he clearly hadn’t realized there would be so many people, that it would be so loud, and was immediately unnerved. Kouga leaned over Houjo’s shoulder, an unsure expression portraying a weakness on his features. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Just follow me.” Houjo lead him to two seats beside the window near the middle of the class room, luckily for him the person who sat behind him wasn’t there, leaving it free for Kouga. “Aright, listen to me.” Houjo turned backwards in his chair and looked at Kouga nervously. “You can stay. But you can’t say anything about being a demon or fighting or anything like that…in fact, maybe it’d be better if you really didn’t speak…” This was too much for him, he was nervous and afraid and the anxiety was unbearable. Was there no chance for him to back out of this? Was there no chance to get Kouga out of here? “You gotta stay in that seat.”

“Really, why?”

Oh god he wasn’t ready for this. “I’m sorry but you have to.” He whispered.

Just as Houjo was in the middle of trying to explain as much as he could to Kouga, for damage control purposes, three of Kagome’s friends, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi in particular, took notice of himself and a new face he was involved with. “Hi Houjo.”

Houjo nearly flinched at the sudden voice. “Oh, Hi. ” He managed not to sound as nervous as he had when he spoke to the teacher.

‘They smell nice.’ Kouga thought to himself, simply watching this new world he’d been planted in curiously. When he as he supposed to start learning stuff?

“You must be new.” Yuka said, looking at Kouga with a friendly smile. “What’s your name.”

“Kouga.” He wasn’t quite sure what to make of them. She looked good enough, she smelled nice, that was all he really needed to know.

He should have screened them better.

The girls interest quickly shifted to Kouga, much to Houjo’s fear. “I haven’t seen you around, did you just move here?” Ayumi asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Kouga said discardingly.

“What school did you go to?”

Houjo quickly and nervously intervened. “Uh…East tech.” He said, throwing out the first thing that came to his mind.

“Really? What was it like?” Eri asked curiously.

Kouga looked at Houjo, then back at her, shrugging. “I don’t know.”

The questions got more confusing for Kouga from there, he didn’t realize how strange he must have sounded to them as well. “Why’d you move?”

“I didn’t move.” Questioning.

“Your parents made you switch schools?”

“I don’t have any parents.” A simple response.

“Where do you live?”

“With Houjo…” Another simple response

“Really?”

“I’m pretty sure.” A sarcastic response.

“When did you move in with him?”

“I don’t know, a few weeks ago?” An unsure response.

“Why?”

“Cause I wanted to?” Unsure of how he should be responding.

“How do you like it?”

“I like it a-“ A cut off, through truthful response.

“Are you related to him?”

“No?” A response given while looking at Houjo.

“So you just moved in?”

“Yeah.” Still looking at Houjo, looking for help.

“That’s really interesting. Got any siblings?”

“No.” A response notably quicker then the last.

“How long you been growing your hair?”

“Huh?” An off balance response.

“Ever cut it?”

“No…?” A suspicious response.

“You know, I haven’t seen many people with blue eyes.”

“Uh…” Questioning.

“You know, your kinda cute.”

“Yeah…thanks.” Thrown off balance again.

“Hey, you your teeth look really sharp, did you know that?”

“Yeah, um-“ Bewilderment.

“How long are you gonna be staying with Houjo?”

“I don’t know-“ Confusion.

“I bet someone as cute as you has a girlfriend.”

“ Well I-“ Off balance confusion.

“So got a little special someone?”

“Y-“ Unfinished confusion.

“Do they go here?”

“Well yeah h-“ For once in his life he couldn’t keep up. As a single male he was no match for 3 girls, what could he say to make the questions stop?! Just leave me alone!

“So who are they? I wanna meet them. Someone as cute as you has to have someone else really cute, oh! I bet you’re the cutest couple!”

Kouga pointed to the boy sitting in front of him. “It’s Houjo.” Kouga’s voice was as bewildered as he was.

Houjo dropped his head and sighed, clamping his hands over his forehead. Oh god.

Luckily the bell rang at the moment, forcing the ladies to disband to their seats. “See you later Kouga.” Eri said. Houjo wasn’t sure if they had picked up on the fact that Kouga had been serious.

“They scare me a little…” Kouga scratched his ear and leaned forward towards Houjo.

Houjo could do nothing more then laugh out loud. “Your doing better then I thought you would.” Houjo felt a bit of the anxiety relieving itself, a small bit. “You can’t say stuff like that.”

“Why?”

Houjo heard the murmur of the class dull down followed by the shrill ring of the bell. Kouga winced at the loud sound and clamped his hands over his ears. Houjo had almost forgotten how sensitive his ears where. “Because I just told my teacher you were my brother.”

Kouga grumbled softly to himself. “It was your mistake, why do I have to pay for it?”

“I’m paying for yours, and besides if I didn’t say that it wouldn’t have worked.” Houjo said, he slowly turned around as Mr. Iwara came to the front of the class. “This is what you came for. So all you have to do is quiet and just pay attention.”

Kouga waited while the man went about the task of attendance, it made him a little impatient, why wasn’t he learning anything?

“Um…Kouga.” The man lifted his head from the sheet and scanned his eyes around the rows for Kouga. “Your name’s not on the attendance sheet, are you sure your in the right class?”

“Uh…” Kouga didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“Mr. Iwara.” Houjo nervously interjected, before the man had a chance to think to ask to see Kouga’s schedule. “He just got here today, and the attendance office said they didn’t have a chance to put his name on the list when I talked to them. So they told me you should just write it in for today.” He said, hoping the man brought it.

And he did, easily enough. “Alright.” He wrote in Kouga Akitoki and marked his status before setting the sheet aside. It was final now. “Now that that’s taken care of, we’re going to pick up where he left off yesterday…Uh…Kouga, you can share a book with Houjo.”

Kouga, still trying to gauge his surroundings, simply nodded. Houjo switched seats with another student in the seat beside him and pulled their desks together.

“Houjo, can I count on you to get him caught up?”

“Yeah, sure.” Houjo nodded, though as much as he saw Kouga looking a this book he wouldn’t be surprised if Kouga got through this just fine.”

“Today we’re going to take a look at what outside effects trigged …”

From the moment the lesson started Kouga was immersed in every word that was said. He took it all in with an amazing interest, each new detail that was given light outside of the book farther enticed him. Creating more questions and more interest. He tried his best to make the connections in his mind, to imagine the things that were spoke to him into images tangible to him that he could grasp. Half the time he couldn’t, so the full understanding was lost, it was disappointing, but it made him focus even harder so he wouldn’t let the next fact go over his head.

It wasn’t long before Kouga felt out of place, looking around he could see that everyone was understanding what the instructor had said. But he was hit and miss, spotty at best, he had trouble understanding some of the simplest concepts, some things he understood, most he didn’t. What irked him was that most of what he missed where the easy things, and he sensed that they were simple and he was the only one that had trouble with it. He was too embarrassed to speak up an ask a question and immediately began resenting the fact that there were so many people here. When going through Houjo’s books he’d sensed that there was a lot he didn’t know, but that was nothing compared to the sense of it he got now. Gods it was horrible, he wound up frustrated and feeling stupid. There where ways of doing things involved, everyone had at least a base knowledge, a foundation, an internal procedure already developed, there was something he felt everyone should know but he didn’t.

It was aggravating.

The bell rang and Kouga watched in confusion as everyone got up and began gathering their things. “Huh, what? What’s going on?”

“Class is over.” Houjo closed the book and began planting it in his bookbag. He watched as Kouga laid his head down on desk and clinched his head with both hands, he watched he for a moment before he determined that something was wrong. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.”

“What do you mean? Everything went great, better then I expected.”

Kouga slowly lifted his head and looked out the window. “Nah…everything’s not wrong, it’s just me.”

“What do you mean?” He didn’t realize, and how could he. Kouga portrayed such a brazen confidence all the time, it had begun to seem as though he could do anything with little to no trouble. And for the most part that was true. He’d taken up this endeavor all on his own, the minutia associated with it would be a trivial learning curve for him.

It was the very idea Kouga was carrying around, only with pressure. He couldn‘t fail at this, no way, he couldn‘t possibly let on that he…“…Nevermind.” Besides, it was only one class or whatever.

Kouga trailed behind Houjo cautiously, slipping seamlessly through the halls filled with students. Kouga was amazed by all of these people in one place. So many sights and sounds and smells mingling together in a blurring mix, he had trouble taking in all of the things happening around him. Everyone was doing something and Kouga had no idea what it was, rushing, taking their time, mingling of uniforms moving all around. They seemed right at home, and Kouga was uncomfortable as ever. He’d wanted this so badly, to come to this place, but it seemed that he just didn’t belong, at all. He’d never felt so out of place in his life, so isolated. What was going on here? What were they all doing, what were all of these things around him that he didn’t recognize, what was the source of all of these sounds. No one was explaining anything to him! It was all startling and overwhelming, Kouga cling to Houjo a little tighter, it was frightening being in a place where you didn’t understand anything.

Eventually they arrived at Houjo’s next class, Houjo wasn’t as afraid or anxious, how well the last class went seemed to give him more confidence in this. “Oh, we have a new student? I’m sorry, I don’t see your name on the attendance sheet, what is it?” Houjo’s math teacher Mr. Sato inquired.

Kouga’s eyes shifted away, he felt the entire class looking at him, expectantly. He felt more lost then ever, he didn’t know who he was in this world, a single day in this school and he didn’t have a sense of himself. “…Kouga… Akitoki.” He forced out, his voice sounding truly depressed.

“Alright, well welcome Kouga.” The man said. For that brief second Kouga felt better, because the focus was on him individually. Then the lesson started and so did the confusion, from the first word…or number rather, Kouga was lost. The focus was on everyone, as an entire body, moving and thinking the same, there was nothing for a person who didn’t understand, for a person who didn’t have that base structure and knowledge. His interest and eagerness to learn was quelled, he clearly wasn’t a math person.

Kouga eventually closed his eyes and put his head down on the desk, wishing he could just sleep.

“Kouga?” Houjo leaned over and whispered inquiringly. “Are you ok?”

“Just leave me alone.” Kouga said.

The moment it was over Kouga got up and slipped off in the crowd of students before Houjo could reach him. “Kouga…” He called out, not actually believing Kouga was simply going to just go off on his own. He was proven wrong. “Kouga?”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Houjo searched the entire building for Kouga, he missed two classes probing the school grounds. Checking every classroom awkwardly, looking through the lower levels, looking through every odd place he could find outside. Until he came to the last place he could search. The roof. Houjo pried the door open peeked his head out, much to his relief he saw Kouga sitting there, his science book open in his lap that Houjo hadn’t realized was missing. His ears had been freed from his head band, and the belt had been loosened allowing his tail to move about freely. “Kouga?” Houjo let out a breath of relief and stepped on the roof, making sure he shut the door behind him. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Kouga glanced up at Houjo and then returned his eyes to the book. “Oh…yeah…sorry about that.” He said, though he really wasn’t.

“Why’d you run off like that?” Houjo sat down in the open space beside him. The air was filled with the low hum of 2 air conditioning units behind them and the distant voices of students in gym class out on the field.

“I don’t know.” Kouga looked away from the book and stared out into the point where the deep blue sky met the city’s skyline. He seemed reluctant about something.

Houjo was confused. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “Everything was going great.”

“No~!” Kouga clinched his forehead with one hand and glared at Houjo “I don’t wanna do this anymore.”

Houjo was silent, studying Kouga’s features intently, taking note of his slumping form, of his angry eyes glaring down at the text book he was still holding, how his fist were clinched so tightly his claws were starting to dig into the binding. Houjo scratched his head and his eyes began shifting around their environment. “…” He didn’t speak at first, but after a few more second Houjo replied. “Why’d you start hating this place?”

“Damnit, I can’t take it ok!” Kouga growled bitterly, he’d long grown furious at himself and irritable. “It’s too much noise, there’s always noise in this place. And it’s too many people, and don’t know what’s going on. Everyone’s doing something and I’m the only person who has no idea, who’s lost.” He admitted grudgingly, staring down at his lap with a harsh glare.

“Hmm…”

Kouga didn’t particularly like admitting these things, it made him ashamed and angry, he wanted to remain withholding, because talking about it could only make him feel worse. But something about Houjo made him feel safe, made him feel as though he could open up because it seemed, by his patient and calm manner, that he already knew everything. “I hate it…I don’t get it, everyone there already knows all of that stuff and are just moving on without me. I don’t belong there…I’m too stupid.”

“Your just fine Kouga.” Houjo said. “You just haven’t had as much time as everyone. We’ve been going through this system for years, and you haven’t, you just have to catch up a little.”

“I don’t belong there.”

Technically he didn’t, but Houjo wasn’t one to pay attention to technicalities. “Your a smart guy Kouga.” Houjo found it strange to hear Kouga talking this way about himself, it was a far cry from his usual arrogance, it was surreal to think that two classes had done this to him. “I’ve never seen anyone go through that book like that, and you’ve figured out your own way to understand all the stuff you’ve read. You didn’t understand it at first but you kept working at until you figured it out.”

“So what? What was happening in there was nothing like that book.” He’d simply been chasing after Houjo, he’d figured if the boy could do it, he could give it a shot.

“Your reading to much into that.” Houjo reassured him. “Your just the type of person who understands things better by seeing it or figuring it out yourself. Not everyone can hear someone explain it and understand it the first time. A lot of people are like that.” It was something Houjo had known about Kouga for a long time. Kouga was a person that learned better reading things because he could take his time and understand it, or go back when he needed to, he didn’t get things on the first try. Though Houjo had to say his comprehension time was fairly quick. Now that he was thinking about the subject, Inuyasha was the type of person who could have someone explain it to him and understand it once, though he didn’t do too well on his own. And Souta was a completely hands on person, as of late it seemed that was the only way he could focus.

“…”

Houjo could see Kouga didn’t want to give up on this, he was just frustrated because it seemed impossible to him. He simply wasn’t used to this type of challenge, had it been a physical barrier standing in his way he wouldn’t have been so easily put off, such a determination couldn’t be so easily dissuaded. “Just ask me anything, I’ll help you.”

“…” Kouga was reluctant at first, his pride, as injured as it was, would be farther injured by asking for help on something he felt he should have got on his own. But…he wanted to understand this stuff more then he realized and he relented, with drawing a crumpled ball of paper from his pocket and tossing it to Houjo. “What the hell is this?”

Houjo unraveled it and straitened it out. “It’s homework.”

“What’s it for? How am I supposed to do it.”

“Homework is just a review of what you did in class to really pack it in. Your supposed to do it tonight and turn it in tomorrow. I’ll help you, you can even use the book…So, up to it?”

Kouga stared down at the sheet, his eyes grazing over it. “I…guess so. I got till tomorrow.”

Houjo smiled. He’d been so worried when Kouga had showed up, he never thought he’d want Kouga to say so badly. For a moment he’d forgotten what problems this would cause, what trouble this would be, and that it would be possibly impossible to pull this off for long. But he couldn’t *not* let Kouga do this, he was still regaining himself, he was finally able to walk again, his depression wasn’t as great as it had been. At this point he couldn’t let Kouga fail in this, he didn’t want that curiosity, that desire to know to be crushed, it was such a large part of him.

Kouga titled his head and sniffed the air.

“What is it?” Houjo asked curiously.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Kouga looked around curiously.

“Who?”

Inuyasha leapt up from down below and landed ungracefully next to Houjo, much to the boy’s surprise.

“I-Inuyasha? What are you doing here?” Houjo looked around, hoping no one had seen that.

“Yeah, what are you doing here mutt?” Kouga asked, curiously.

“What’s with the clothes puppy?” Inuyasha scratched the back of his ear. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Kouga grinned proudly, “I’m a student now.”

Houjo could only shake his head and laugh.

Inuyasha looked at him with perplexity. “What? Why?”

“Cause I want to. Why are you here?”

Inuyasha was sure he was just doing this to be close to Houjo. “It’s not for *you*, I’m looking for Houjo.”

“What is it?” Houjo asked.

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head nervously, starting to have second thoughts about it. He wanted to find some way to ask Houjo what he should do about Souta. Houjo always knew what to do, Houjo knew what to say to Souta, he knew how give him confidence, if only for a moment, he knew how to make him feel better. There was something to Houjo, Houjo was like no one else he’d ever met, he wanted to obtained something of what he had, just enough to get him past this.

“Um…” It was harder then he thought, he wasn’t even sure how ask, let alone draw up the strength to pose the question. He couldn’t simply say that he was an idiot and he had trouble dealing with people, even though that was how he felt. He’d come from a place were emotions like that were never shown, no one had comforted him when he missed his parents, he had no idea how to handle this other then shoving it aside and ignoring it, how could he have possibly comforted Souta now? How could he have possibly put all of these vague, worried feelings into sensible words and told them to Houjo, in front of Kouga no less. “N…Never mind.” He couldn’t go through with it, he merely stammered over his words and then ran away.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Souta opened the front door and moved silently into the house, it felt foreign, an empty hose. The silence always gave birth to anxiety and fear, sounds that he never noticed before seemed to be the only thing he heard now, making him question their source with anxiety. He hated it, it reminded him of when his mother and grandfather first left, they were supposed to be back by 9, and he was home alone from school with what they presumed to be sickness. Souta was starting to believe they were right because he was still enduring these symptoms, if nothing else they were growing worse. He was unable to focus, he was restless, there was constant noise in his head, a clutter of low and unintelligible voices and what seemed to be static. And on top of that he occasionally saw things.

Souta sighed as he peeled his book bag off his back and tossed it aside. “Where’s Inuyasha?…Where’s Kouga and Houjo?” He half mumbled. With them the house wasn’t empty, the air was always filled with the scent of Kouga’s cooking, or the sounds of Inuyasha and Kouga arguing or fighting or training. There was a warmth to Houjo’s presence, Souta liked being around him, he liked when Houjo helped him with his homework. Now the place was cold and empty, he missed his mother and grandfather more then ever. “Where are they?…” Souta felt himself growing worried again, then fear began to grow. An ominous dread sunk in his stomach, he didn’t even know what he was afraid of but he was still fearing.

Souta sat down on the couch and his eyes drifted to the phone, wishing it would ring. Then he realized it was silly for him to wait, he should call some one? But who could he call? He sat there, debating it…

Inuyasha froze at the door and stared at Souta, the boy still hadn’t noticed him come in, it was just as well. He wasn’t sure what to say to him anyway. He stood there and watched and listened to Souta call a few numbers, he conversed shortly, quickly asking the question and doing little more then hanging up as soon as he got his answer. Inuyasha still had no idea what he should do, but the situation was getting and worse the more time passed, he could feel a depressing air slowly descend. ‘Oh man…’ Inuyasha swallowed and moved forward.

Souta looked back over his shoulder and saw Inuyasha. “Oh, hey Inuyasha.” Souta smiled faintly, relieved he was not alone anymore. “Where’d you go?”

Inuyasha folded his arms and paused in front of the couch, “…Nowhere really.” Inuyasha seemed to debate with himself before he finally sat down beside Souta.

Souta gave him one last acknowledging glance before he turned back to the phone and began dialing again. He went through 2 more numbers before he seemed to run out of people to call. “I can’t find them anywhere…” Souta sat back in his seat anxiously, his hands found their way to his lap tensely and his head was lowered sullenly. “Where could they have gone?” He glanced up at Inuyasha questioningly as if the Hanyou could provide answers for him.

Inuyasha didn’t know what to say at all let alone what answers to say, so he ended up stumbling around his words awkwardly. “Well…um…I’m sure they’re alright.” He was getting tired of saying that, he hoped it didn’t sound as stupid coming out his mouth as he felt saying it. The question was so uncertain to him all he could do was deflect it with things like. “They’re probably fine.”

“….” And Souta, having no way to respond to it, simply gave up on voicing it. He simply receded into himself with statements like. “Yeah. I guess.” The feelings were there, he simply stopped talking about it.

Inuyasha could see all of it, the same things were still there, that much was obvious to him. “Really…I’m sure they’re fine.” Inuyasha said dismissativly.

“Your right, they probably are.” Souta nodded.

“Your saying that-“ Inuyasha closed his eyes and folded his arms. “But you don’t look like you believe it.”

“I kinda do.” Souta rubbed the back of his head nervously and looked away. “I know your right, but…I just keep worrying…I can’t help it.”

“Why?” This was a prime example of just how much trouble Inuyasha had dealing with issues like these, he had no clue what to say.

“I don’t know.” Souta shrugged, starting to feel insecure.

“What exactly is it your afraid of?” Inuyasha asked, hoping to hear something that would lead him in what direction he should go next.

“…” Souta shrugged, that was harder to explain the last thing. Everything was simply a vague wash of things that didn’t amount to a tangible thought, nothing clear and distinctive, he only felt them as fear. “I don’t know, I just am, I can’t help it.”

Of course he couldn’t help it, it was Souta, it was his nature. How could Inuyasha possibly change that?”

Souta looked up as if a sudden realization had come to his mind, then he dropped his head again. “I…keep having this stupid little thought, that I’m gonna see them.”

“What do you mean?”

“See them like…like I saw my dad…” Souta’s voice trailed off.

The air was oppressive now, a silence was held between them and Inuyasha felt that he had to say something to fill the long, agonizing gap. “Souta… I-” But no words would come, his mind rushed for something say, could he have possibly just made it worse? He could tell Souta to…He could tell Souta that… no…he couldn’t say anything. There was nothing to say, no words would make him feel better, they weren’t answers.

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Souta with a half embrace, and he nearly blushed, feeling awkward as he did it. Almost immediately Souta began to cling to him, he hugged Inuyasha tightly and burred his head into Inuyasha’s chest.

This seemed natural to him, Inuyasha spoke through his actions, his main medium was physical, it was the only really way he knew how. He didn’t learn how to express things with words except in contempt and hate, he’d been taught to only channel everything he feels into two emotions, anger, and depression which immediately turns in to anger, anger was the only thing that couldn’t be seen as a weakness. He was a hostile person, he knew it. Everything else besides anger and happiness, with those things his body demanded, were awkward, but he pushed through it, it was easier to convey himself with touch rather then to articulate it into words, it seemed easier to Souta also.

He wished he’d thought of this sooner. Maybe there was no real way to get rid of all of those worrisome feelings Souta had, but there was one definite way to make him feel better.

“Inuyasha?”

“Huh?”

“Thanks…”

“…”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

A warm breeze washed through the open living room window, it’s source was somewhere in the night sky. Inuyasha felt it wash over his bare chest. Souta was laying beside him, his head resting on Inuyasha’s chest. He couldn’t identify where Houjo was at the moment, but he smelled his scent someplace near. And Inuyasha knew Kouga was on the roof.

‘Eh…’ “…” Inuyasha felt himself slowly drawn out of his state of sleep and a semi consciousness came to him. ‘It’s…late.’ He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep. After eating his fill of Houjo’s meal at dinner, he’d grown sluggish and sleepy, and the next thing he knew he was awake here. ‘Geez, how long was I asleep.’ Inuyasha thought to himself, staring out the window with half-lidded eyes. He lifted his hand to scratch his ear habitually… Only his hand didn’t move. ‘?’ A cold chill shot through him when he realized he couldn’t move at all, an anxiety set within him immediately. ‘What the hell?’ He was startled when he tried to sit up only to find all of the strength drained from his body.

‘Fuck!’ He shouted loudly in his head, the words never made it to his half parted lips, he immediately began dreading what he knew to be coming next. He became terrified of the fear he’d feel, he was horrified before the fear even set. ‘No, damnit, no!’ He yelled to himself, his fear amounted to anger, this hadn’t happened to him in so long he’d been happy to let himself forget, but now…Inuyasha felt as though something had begun pressing against his chest, something heavy that seemed to block his lungs when they contracted.

“!!” Inuyasha took harsh, gasping breathes, nothing seemed to draw in to them, as if they were filled to the brim and nothing else would enter. “…” ‘Souta!’ Inuyasha could only stare down with trembling, half lidded eyes, while he suffocated, completely unknown to Souta. He struggled against whatever invisible binding had him paralyzed, he could feel his muscles tense as if going into an action but they’d never move. He was trapped in his own body.

Then suddenly there was this creeping presence he sensed with the same peripheral sense that made him feel as though something was watching him. A new, even greater fear pulsed in his chest and the pit of his stomach, he could feel some malicious intent, something that spawned an irrational terror. Inuyasha made another sharp, desperate gasp for air and his eyes darted to the edge of his vision, he could just barely catch sight of it in the corner of his eye. There was nothing he could see or describe, only vaguely feel was there, causing this weight on his chest and this immobility. ‘No! No! Back off! Get away from me!’ Inuyasha cried out, but again nothing reached his lips.

Again, something in him wanted to run, to get away from this, even as his mind tried to rationalize everything. ‘It’s not real! It’s a fucking dream! Just calm down…’ Knowing this didn’t alleviate his fears, his body that trapped him didn’t respond to logic, only this thing that caused this fear. His mouth was suddenly overridden with a harsh, metallic taste. “!!” His heart pounded against his chest causing a strange kind of pain, and an immeasurably loud noise blared in his noise, like a raging waterfall or a train roaring past. Inuyasha couldn’t even hear himself think, ‘NO!’

Souta’s face cringed slightly as his dreamless sleep was suddenly intruded by the clutter of static noises and random voices that plagued him during his waking hours. “…” Only this time there was one voice in particular that made it seem as though this was something a little different then static thoughts and a tormenting song he couldn’t get out of his head as he often referenced this to. This voice seemed almost intelligible, though distorted and bogged down by all of the noises, threatening to fade away into them even. “…Uh…” Souta’s eyes opened slightly, and his mind immediately focused on that strange anomaly since it was still there when he awake…Maybe he was still half sleep, maybe he was hallucinating in that half-dream state people often had when losing consciousness… ‘Wha…’ He could almost swear he was staring at something, all he saw was the shadowy living room patched with moonlight from the windows, but the patch of darkness he saw didn’t seem right, it was out of place.

He could almost make it out, he could hear the rises and falls in tone and key that came with words…’…I’m sleepy…’ was the only thought that came to his mind when he- ‘?’ It grew a little louder, this voice, he could hear it distinctly above the other sounds…what was it saying? It sounded like-

*Souta*

“!!” Souta felt his body shutter and he flinched in startled shock at the loud voice in his head.

A strong gust of window blew through the window, it held no warmth, only a slight chill. Inuyasha’s body shivered and was suddenly propelled from his entrapment of sleep. “!!” Inuyasha sat upright with a sharp gasp, his hand came to his chest and he took in deep gasps. The metallic taste in his mouth slowly fading away.

Souta yelled in fright, partially from the strange anomaly, partially from Inuyasha’s sudden movement. Together they were terrifying. Souta leapt out of Inuyasha’s lap, scurrying fearfully to the corner of the couch and immediately looking around in a violently strong fear.

Inuyasha and Souta both looked at each other, Inuyasha trying to catch his breath while Souta tried to gather himself. It was a moment in the dark silence before Souta seemed to realize that who he was looking at was no threat or foreign, frightful presence

“Souta?” Souta’s out burst startled Inuyasha as much as he’d startled the boy.

The connection clicked when he heard the voice. Inuyasha. Safety. “I-Inuyasha!” Souta quickly moved back to Inuyasha, throwing his arms around the Hanyou’s waist and clinging to him defensively. He buried his head into Inuyasha’s chest to hide himself from the cold darkness surrounding them where his fears now lay. “I heard it! I *heard* it!” He said frantically.

“Heard what?” Inuyasha had forgotten his own plight for Souta’s.

“There were all these voices! I still hear them in my head! I can’t get rid of them!” Souta had been hearing them for so long he began to tune them out. This clutter in his mind didn’t disturb him unless he focused on it. Which was why he needed something to hold his attention. A conversation, training, a task, anything. But this was different, this clear and real.

“Just calm down…I don’t understand.” Inuyasha said, completely confounded.

“I heard this one voice and it called me, it was loud and it was clear, I heard it! I’m not imagining things, it was there!” Souta half shouted in fear.

‘What the hell?’ Inuyasha wrapped his arms around the boy and tried to calm him down. He remembered one time back in Kouga’s den Souta had tried to speak to him about this, that he said something about hearing and seeing things then. Souta had never been more clear after that, he only awkwardly alluded to his problem. He was never sure what to make of it, it never seemed real to him, there was nothing he could see or hear or smell, nothing he could get a sense of this with. “It’s ok…just calm down…”

Souta seemed to settle a bit, lifting his head from Inuyasha’s chest. Again he noticed something seemed off about the room, or rather, it seemed righter then it had been before. It wasn’t as dark in this one spot in front of him, the spot that had seemed to have a shadow where there shouldn’t have been.

Another strong gust of wind blew through the window, this time it was frigid, and it carried on it a faint scent. “?” ‘Huh?’ Inuyasha lifted his head and sniffed the air with sharp inhales…this scent was familiar… ‘Wait a minute…isn’t this…’ “!!”

Souta flinched in his arms again and let out a frightened cry, clamping his hands over his ears. “There it is again!” He yelled in a desperate fear.

! - ! - !