Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 5: Snowing

It was dark outside this time when Inuyasha awakened, still sitting in the same spot on the couch with his head titled back. His golden eyes opened to the vision of window and a partial view of the ceiling. Snow was still falling just as hard as before, he could even hear the faint sounds of howling winds blowing in swift currents outside the house.

“Eh?” Inuyasha lifted his head sleepily, his noise rose into the air and his eyes drifting closed again. “Is that...” his nose twitched lightly and his dormant stomach growled loudly as an aroma drifted into the room, surrounding him tauntingly. “Food!!” Inuyasha sprang upright and on to his feet, his eyes clinched tightly as he followed his nose blindly toward the source. He wasn’t surprised when he was lead to the kitchen, though he was surprised of the sight he encountered.

Kouga was standing at the stove, his tail shifting back and forth happily, holding Souta off the ground by the waist with one arm. Souta was holding a wooden spoon, stirring the contents of a large pot that absolutely smelt amazing. Even more appetizing was what food lay on the table, which had to have been at lest half of the refrigerator’s contents. “Where did all of this come from?” With his eyes wide and his mouth open, Inuyasha inanely drifted toward the food hungrily, he was almost sure he was drooling.

“Back off mutt.”

Inuyasha was halted by a furry brown tail slapping him the face, enough to bat him away from the table “Nhagaaa.”

“That’s not for you.” Kouga told him chastisingly, setting down Souta with a small ruffle of his hair. He couldn’t believe that he‘d actually did this, and it actually turned out well! It turned out great in fact, he was sure there would be at lest 2 fires involved, but aside from a few burned fingers (careless mistakes and lack of experience) and his tail catching on fire with out Souta noticing (No...Maybe that did count as a fire). “It’s for him.” Kouga indicated Souta.

“You made all of this?” Inuyasha asked in disbelief, his eyes shifting around the items like a child witnessing something amazing.

“Yeah! It was really cool.” Souta said with a nod and a voice Inuyasha hated to hear when referring to Kouga. It had been interesting to watch, or at least for Souta it had been. How fast Kouga did everything, too fast for Souta to even notice the times when Kouga had no idea of what to do next, or when he screwed up.

Kouga didn’t enjoy it so much, not at first at least. He had started by tasting every ingredient, when he noticed a few of which would go well together, so he tried tasting them together, with mixed results. The hardest task had been when it actually came to cooking the meat, Souta had to explain to him how to use each of the pots in pans, and the oven that Kouga didn’t know he wasn’t suppose to stick his head into after turning the wrong dial and hitting the wrong button. When something under you just suddenly turns red with out any explanation how else was he supposed to check it out?

So after burning his hand on the center of a pan and nearly burning a hole through a pot he didn’t know at the time he was suppose to fill with water or some type of liquid. Kouga started to figure he had to put something in that water he‘d just filled the pot with, and while wrapping his burned left hand in some bandages he realized he’d never seen anyone cook meat in water. He wasn’t going to try it, but what could he put in boiling water? Since he so bluntly told Souta that he knew how to use a pot and could make something edible with while trying to save face, he’d have to put something in it.

Why not put some of those vegetables in to it?

And when Souta asked him if he was really going to put them in whole, which he had been about to do at the time and realized he probably shouldn’t have, Kouga attempted to use his claws, and his sword which he never used anyway, to partition them into smaller bits. Souta nervously suggested he use a knife instead so he didn‘t slice the cabinets and counter in half, that didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

It was like finding something he was meant to use, at first he went slowly with the knife, just chopping uneven chunks out of solid vegetables. But pretty soon he was using that knife like a professional chef, it just came to him.

After slicing and dicing every vegetable he could find like a child who’d just learned a new trick, Kouga decided he had better put something into that pot that was about to boil over, and turn down the heat as well. He threw in a few bits of carrots and potatoes, yeah, that looked good, and maybe a few other appetizing looking vegetables. Right before he stopped to place a substantial amount of beef, which he also diced in to small pieces unable to help himself with that knife, into a skillet and throwing in a few spices that he also thought tasted pretty good...and 2 hours later and this happened.

“Is it finished yet? Can I have some ?” Souta asked anxiously, holding up a bowl and a spoon.

Kouga flashed a victorious smirk to Inuyasha and nodded to Souta “Sure.” Kouga poured a rather large amount of beef stew into the bowl, more then Souta could eat on his own , just to spite Inuyasha who he was currently baring from the food he’d just put in the better part of 2 and a half hours labor learning how to create. “I’m a pretty good if I do say so-- Huh?”

Kouga was currently going unnoticed since Souta was more focused on Inuyasha. “You have to taste this.” Souta said with a large grin, digging his spoon into the bowl and pushing it into Inuyasha’s openly awaiting mouth.

“Food!!” Inuyasha gracefully took the stew, not even taking time to chew before swallowing. It had touched his tongue just briefly enough for him to register the tasted. “Hey, this is--”

“Back off mutt face!” Kouga appeared in front of the half-breed in a complete blur, giving him a forceful push back “That‘s not for you!”

Inuyasha stumbled backwards in to the wall, glaring angrily at the wolf. “Your getting on my last nerve! I should beat you to a pulp right now!”

Kouga clinched his hands in a tight fist, taking a step forward “You wish! You couldn’t lay a finger on me you lousy mongrel!”

“Oh Yeah?” Inuyasha grabbed Kouga by the shoulder and pulled him closer “Why don’t we find out?”

“Hey! Hey!” Souta came in between them, trying his best to push them away from each other “Come on guys stop, no fighting.”

“Why don’t you just get out of here.” Inuyasha snorted.

“Why don’t you?!” Kouga yelled. “Just leave Inuyasha, Souta’s better off with me.”

“What did you say!” Inuyasha would have attacked him right then if it had not been Souta grabbing on to his leg.

“Inuyasha stop!” Souta’s voice was louder then usual, he was apparently very serious about it.

“Me?! He started it!” Inuyasha shot back.

“Come on stop. He saved me, I want him to stay.” Souta radiated over to Kouga, almost taking a defensive stance in front of him.

Inuyasha glared at Kouga who made a face at him which only severed to farther infuriate the hanyou. And the fact that Souta was protecting him... “Fine! You want him to stay, whatever.” Inuyasha folded his arms and walked out of the room angrily, despite Souta’s protesting for him to come back.

“Inuyasha...” Souta dropped his head with a sigh, not knowing exactly why these two hated each other so much...Why did they hate each other so much. “What’s wrong with him?”

“That’s just the way he is.” Kouga told him with a sarcastic shrug.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

It was a while before Souta found Inuyasha again, he’d spent about an hour searching the house and outside. He was sure that Inuyasha had gone out side, only to find that it was dark and the snow was up to his knees. After about 15 minutes Kouga had come out to find him out of worry, which he expressed to Souta when he was carrying him back. ‘You can’t just go out alone. It’s just stupid.’ Kouga had told him. ‘You could get attacked by a demon again, then what would you do?’

Souta supposed he was right, infact if he had though of that before he ran out side he may have been more cautious, He had been attack by 2 demons in 2 days, he didn’t want to push a third.

During a second check of the house Souta found Inuyasha sitting in his room, his legs crossed and his arms folded on his bed, apparently thinking. He didn’t move when Souta opened the door and walked inside, carrying a still hot bowl of the beef stew that Kouga had made earlier. “Inuyasha?”

“Huh?” Inuyasha still didn’t move, his noise just twitched lightly at the alluring scent filling the room.

“I brought you some food, I figured you were still hungry.” Souta sat down on his bed next to him, now out of his school uniform and in to a pair of green pajamas. When he saw Inuyasha still wasn’t moving he decided to take more direct actions to break him out of his inward mood. Souta lifted the bowl up to Inuyasha’s nose, watching his face contort slightly with restraint. Inuyasha’s growling stomach is what gave him up.

That didn’t work, fine, he’d just try something else.

Souta lifted the spoon out of the bowl and shoved some of the very delicious smelling food into the Hanyou’s mouth. Inuyasha’s eyes shot open wide, making muffled sounds of protest until he just couldn’t resist any longer and swallowed. After that he couldn’t hold back, he took the bowl out of Souta’s hands hastily and began shoveling the stew in to his mouth, all of that hunger he’d been carrying around all day finally reemerging full force.

Souta couldn’t help but laugh, drawing Inuyasha to say something completely incoherent that he hadn’t bothered to stop eating long enough to say clearly.

Finally after Inuyasha had finished his long awaited meal, he settled back on the bed in to a more comfortable position. Seeing that Inuyasha was feeling better, Souta laid back, resting his head into Inuyasha’s lap comfortably. “Inuyasha, are you mad at me?”

“Huh?” Inuyasha looked down at the boy, “Where did that come from?”

“Because of before.” Souta explained.

“You worry to much, I’m not mad at you.” Inuyasha said simply. “I don’t know why you want to keep Kouga around.” Damn wolf.

Souta didn’t respond, only again wondering the nature of such an animosity, what was with those two? And speaking of Kouga... “Uh, I’ll be right back.”

! - ! - !

“Kouga.” Souta leaned over Kouga’s shoulder, who was sitting on his knees before the window in the living room, staring in to the falling snow on the other side as if looking for something. “I been meaning to ask you something.”

“What is it?” Kouga didn’t look back, he just continued to stare outward. His voice didn’t even sound focused, was he even paying attention?

Souta looked down at Kouga‘s lower body, the thing that held his interest since the first time he saw the wolf demon “Those lights in your legs, what are they?”

“Huh?” For a moment Kouga was so distracted that he hadn’t even known what Souta was talking about, but when he finally glanced over his shoulder to look at Souta his focus returned and his memory as well. “Oh that...“ More realization followed. “You really can see them.”

Souta sat down next to him with crossed legs, wondering for a moment why he was sitting in the dark looking out of the window. Was something wrong? “See what?”

“Inuyasha really didn’t teach you anything huh?” Kouga snorted with disapproval. “They’re Shikon jewel shards.” He explained “A part of the Shikon no Tama.”

“I keep seeing them.” Souta said with light confusion. “I saw it on the demon that attacked me two days ago, and in the one that attacked me today. Are they special or something?”

“Are you kidding me?” Kouga laughed. “Hell yeah. Each shard holds an amount of power.”

“Oh.” Souta nodded, “It just seems like they‘re coming after me. Why is that?”

“Heh, why aren't they coming after you. Your human, your blood is soaked with the Shikon’s power.” Kouga smirked, rubbing Souta’s head lightly, “And your really cute.”

Souta laughed and pushed Kouga’s hand away playfully, his face becoming more serious after another moment. “Are they going to keep coming?”

Kouga studied Souta’s face for a moment, rubbing the back of his head nervously when he realized that he was he was making Souta afraid. How was he suppose to handle this? He couldn’t lie... “Probably, but don’t worry about it. I’ll be there to protect you.” Kouga said with his usual confidence, which seemed to make Souta feel better.

Souta smiled. “You are so cool.”

“I know.”

“So, what are you looking at?”

Kouga shook his head, “Nothing you really need to be worried about...it’s pretty late, you should go to sleep.” Kouga stared out of the window again, watching the snow being blown on the other side with a forlorn look forming on his face.
! - ! - !
! - ! - !

It had to be about 1 in the morning, though Souta didn’t think to look at the clock, honestly during that moment he didn’t think of anything. It seemed odd to him when he heard it, a loud howl coming from above, the usually alert Inuyasha didn’t wake up “Wh....What was that?”

Souta sat up with a small yawn, rubbing his eyes lightly with the back of his hand as he rose off of Inuyasha’s lap. The room was dark, the only light was the light blue one shining through the window behind his bed, a blue glow that was patchy with the shadows of falling snow out side being cast. It was almost hypnotic to watch, and that’s what Souta did for who knew how long, just sat and stared at the wall holding his door where the light and shadows almost made the room appear as though it were moving.

He didn’t know what caused him to just sit and stare blankly like that, what caused a comfortable fog to cover his mind.

Another now faint howl snapped him out of the daze, a force that was more hypnotic then the display in front of him. “What’s that noise?” Souta pushed himself out of the bed and walked sleepily over to the window, looking around to see if he could find the cause from where he was. But a third similar howl made it clear that what ever was causing that sound was above them, there was no way he was going to find it from this point of view.

He wasn’t sure what drove him to do what he did next.

Souta unlocked and pushed open the window, letting through a flurry of wind and snow that struck him right in the face, he was instantly chilled. Despite that Souta climbed on to the windowsill and out of the glass barrier separating him from the out side, stepping on to the snow covered ledge with bare feet. He barely kept his balance on the slippery surface he stared upward toward the roof, finding he was only a few feet below the edge. So he jumped, ignoring the fact that if he didn’t reach his target that there was no way he’d keep his balance on a landing and most definitely would fall.

To his luck he didn’t have to realize that prospect because he managed to grab a hold of the ledge and pull himself up.

He crawled on to the roof’s exterior, standing with bare feet on the snow covered, narrowed surface that was slanted up on both sides, another way he could easily fall.

That’s when he saw him. Kouga was sitting on the other edge of the roof, an arm resting on his one drawn up leg and his head tilted to the sky where a surreally large blue moon seemed to surround his body like a shadow. Basking his body in a radiant blue glow, outlined in the powered white of heavy snow flakes. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the cold.

“Kouga?” Souta ran over to him, stumbling a few times on the cold surface but managing not to fall on his way up.

Kouga turned around at the sound of Souta’s voice, his blue eyes now a deep red and fangs protruding visibly in his mouth, clearly under the physically persuasive effects of his own heat. Pheromones where pouring out of every pour on his body, Souta had caught the scent of it even with the winds so strong. “Souta...”

The eyes were a little questionable, and those fangs, the last time he saw Kouga with those fangs he got a bite mark on his shoulder. He wasn’t too worried though, just curious...

Was it really curiosity? Was it really curiosity that had caused him to come so far out here in the middle of winter?

Kouga rose to his feet, stretching his arms out extended at his side and tilting his head back with another loud, animistic, howl that sounded very canine like...

No, there was no way this was just curiosity. “Kouga...?” Souta nearly forgot how cold he was when he felt Kouga‘s strong arms wrapping around him, one hand drifting up to the back of his head and pulling him forward.

Kouga leapt into the air, carrying Souta with him, springing with his usual speed and agility off of the roof and landing on the ground in the high snow piled at the front door. “Souta...”

Souta stared up at Kouga, his eyes meeting with the glowing red ones above him. “Kouga?” He only stood idly as Kouga buried his face into his neck, running his tongue alone the soft skin with soft kisses. “Uhaaa....” Souta laid his head onto Kouga’s shoulder, close enough to smell that manipulative scent again over the howling winds. The cold didn’t seem to matter so much anymore.

“You...Y-You shouldn’t be out here.” Kouga pulled back, some sudden and unexplained hesitation coming into his voice. Those piercing red eyes reverted back to the calm ocean blue, the fangs in his mouth shifting back to normal size. “It’s freezing, humans can catch a cold so easily.” Kouga lifted Souta into his arms abruptly and headed in side.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Souta groaned lightly, awakening a second time from a ringing alarm clock. His eyes drifted open while his hand found it’s way blindly over to the nightstand beside his bed and pressed a button to stop the noise.

He found himself on his bed, his head in Inuyasha lap just as he remembered it.... “Was...that a dream?” Souta lifted his head out of Inuyasha’s lap, rubbing his eyes, and finding Kouga once his vision cleared. The Youkai was knelling by the stand, staring questingly at the clock.

“What the hell is this thing?” Kouga poked at it, knocking the small clock over when his taps became too forceful.

“Kouga?” The curiosity was killing him, was that really a dream? “Last night, did--”

Inuyasha groaned loudly, scratching his head as he sat up right. From glancing out side he could tell just about what time it was, it was the same time as it had been yesterday when he woke up this early in the morning. “Souta...”He looked down at the boy, leaning forward with a light stretch “Damnit, don’t tell me...”

“I almost forgot!” Souta pushed himself off the bed, stripping himself of his green shirt and tossing it messily on the floor on his way out the door. “I have to go to school.”

! - ! - !

Souta held a lose grip on Inuyasha’s shoulders, his knees straddling the Hanyou‘s sides and his face burred in Inuyasha’s back. He still loved when Inuyasha carried him, even if it was freezing cold out here, Inuyasha never seemed to miss a step despite the piling snow that had to reach about 14 inches by now. Souta was sure if another inch was gained between now and tomorrow, which wasn’t a sure thing considering since first snow day he gained 2 days ago the snow line had receded enough to allow school to be in secession yesterday, that he wouldn‘t have to go tomorrow. It just didn’t seem like this snow would let up anytime soon.

Inuyasha moved quickly down the half familiar path, his arm outstretched to his side as he ran, shifting nimbly past any obstacle. He seemed to be able to handle everything with out a second glance, except for one thing that made him groan in annoyment. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Kouga had easily caught up to them, not even seeming to notice the snow at all. “The hell if I was gonna let you take him.” Kouga growled.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at him. “Get out of here you bastard.”

“You get out of here!”

“My patience is running thin Kouga!” Inuyasha shot back. “Leave!”

“Make me.”

“Fine.“ Inuyasha came to an abrupt stop, and Souta immediately let go of Inuyasha’s shoulders and jumped off his back.

“Thanks Inuyasha.” Souta called back, running off ahead.

“Huh? Hey where are you going?” Inuyasha shouted, only to look away from Kouga and realize that they were here already. Of course all the snow didn’t help his visibility, and with Kouga distracting him he didn’t even pay attention to where he was going until he arrived. “Huh?”

“See you later!” Souta gave one last wave back before he crossed into the front door of the large school building.

Kouga watched where Souta had gone in confusion, did he just run all this way for nothing? “He‘s leaving?”

“Where did you think he was going idiot?” Inuyasha said with a visible roll of his eyes, turning his back on Kouga and walking off. “What the hell did you think we were doing? It’s freezing out here.”

! - ! - !

Math.

Math was a subject that required constant thought and focus, because if you lost your place you probably would have to work out the whole problem over again. For someone like Souta who didn’t like math in the first place, it was always rework the whole problem when he lost his place.

He’d been on the same problem for 10 minutes.

Souta stared down at the nearly completely blank paper on his desk in front of him, contrast to the other students writing frantically around him in silence. ’Oh man...’ Souta leaned back in his seat, dropping his pencil beside him as he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. Once again, all ability to concentrate seemed to be lost. ‘I can’t think!’

This was not where he wanted to be. Still he persisted to come, for whatever reason drove him to go to school.

‘Huh?...’ Souta closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, catching a faint trace of a familiar scent in the air. ‘I...is that..---” “!!” Souta nearly fell out of his seat when the teacher at the head of his class called his name, his eyes shot open and he stiffened upright.

“Is there a problem Souta?”

“No.” Souta shook his head. “Sorry.” He looked back down at the paper he probably should have been getting started on, just to realize that he didn’t have his pencil anymore. So he leaned over to the side and to where it had fallen, only to notice one his way up that the tip of something brown could be seen in the window beside him.

He thought he smelled Kouga’s scent, and if he wasn’t mistaken that had to be the edge of a tail. That made him feel a lot better, knowing that Kouga and Inuyasha where here with him. How could anything bad possibly happen to him? They would protect him from anything, how could anything possibly beat his hero and his cool wolf demon? ‘Why won’t this day end....I wanna be out there, with them.’

....Rumble..

The whole building began to shake suspiciously.... .