The Importance of Being Kept

It was the first day of class and Kagome really wished she had taken the time to study the campus map. She figured finding her class couldn't be that bad, sure the campus was big, but how hard could it be? Thirty minutes later she found herself standing somewhere in a wooded area of the campus completely and utterly lost. Worst there wasn't any students walking around in this direction. She took out the map again from her back pack and stared at it hard, then gave an annoyed sighed as she realized her mistake. She had been looking at it upside down.

"Oh great," she said out loud. "It's going to take me exactly thirty minutes to get to class! I'm going to be so late!"

"Late for what, my lovely little human?" A voice from the woods made her jump and look around quickly. She dropped her map forgetting all about it. The wind blew it away.

"Who's there?" She asked squinting to see who was hiding in the trees.

"Looks like little red riding hood has lost her way."

Okay, that was definitely a male's voice, but she still couldn't see who it was from beyond the thick trees. Did they build this campus in the middle of the woods she wondered?

"Over and under and through the woods to grandmother's house we go," another male's voice began to sing.

Malicious laughter suddenly began to spread through the woods in all directions and still Kagome couldn't see a thing. She was beginning to get the creeps. "Who's there?" She yelled taking a step back and preparing to run.

"The big bad wolf or should I say wolves!" Another set of laughter.

Kagome saw a pair of red eyes staring at her from deep into the woods. She swallowed and turned to run, but stopped when she saw three of the roughest looking guys blocking her path.

"Where ya going beautiful?" The one in the middle asked.

She could tell they weren't human. Their ears were pointed and when they smiled large fangs appeared. Their hair was wild and tangled as if they never bothered to comb it. They wore cut off jeans, tattered shorts, dirty t-shirts and leather jackets. One of them wasn't wearing shoes.

"I'm new here and I was trying to find the building for my classes. I must have went in the wrong direction." Kagome said as politely as she could.

"You must be new to come on our territory," the one in the middle looked at the other two beside him. They began to walk towards her.

Kagome began to back away. "Please just let me pass and I'll be on my way. I'm so sorry for stumbling on your territory, really it was an honest mistake!"

"She looks tasty," one of them said. "I want her."

"I saw her first, she should be mine!"

Kagome looked at all three, her face turning pale with fright. Just what were they planning to do to her? Perhaps, Inuyasha had been right, perhaps...she should have worn his bracelet.

"Look guys, I don't know what you're thinking, but I belong to Inuyasha!" She heard herself saying. No need to be ashamed for saying that now, this was a life and death situation.

They stopped for a moment and looked at each other in surprise. The one in the middle narrowed his eyes. "If you belong to Inuyasha, where is his token of ownership?"

"You mean the bracelet? Oh," Kagome laughed nervously. "I forgot to put it on."

"She's lying. A kept human would never forget to wear their owner's bracelet."

"Wait a damn minute, nobody owns me!" Kagome yelled indignantly, then covered her mouth when she realized what she had said and what that meant to them. She just couldn't let go of the" independent woman" pride to save her life.

"Told ya she was lying."

"You want to know what we do to fresh little human girls that get lost in our woods?" the middle one asked with cynical grin.

Kagome began to bite her nails nervously as she looked around for a way to escape. "No, not really!"

"Anything we want with them!"

Before she could run, all three came at her with blinding speed. She closed her eyes prepared for the worse. Nothing happened.

"What the hell do you three think you're doing?" A strong masculine and angry voice spoke in front of her.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and saw a tall body standing in between her and the three guys that had tried to attack her.

"Aww, Koga, we were just having a little fun!" It was the middle's one voice.

"They're such troublemakers, I don't know why Koga bothers to keep them in the pack," someone said beside Kagome. She jumped and turned to see another strange looking guy who looked a lot cleaner than the guys that were harassing her.

"Where are they going to go if he does send them away? They won't do anything but cause more trouble, besides its best they're here, Koga can at least keep an eye on them." Kagome whirled around to the second voice standing on her other side and saw another strange guy. This was turned and smiled at her.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she replied staring up at him blankly.

"Leave the girl along and go back to your dormitory. You are not allowed to harm any humans unless they threaten you, that's the rule," her attention was brought back to the one shielding her with his body.

"But she came on our territory!" Kagome heard the bad ones protest.

"I'm the Alpha of this pack. I'll decide what to do! Now go home before I get angry."

Kagome watched the three men walk away with their heads hanging down and their tails between their legs. Tails?

As a matter of fact, the one standing in front of her also had a tail, a long thick one with brown fur that kept moving up around her legs. She quickly took a step back. He turned around and smiled at her. The one named Koga was the same height as Inuyasha and had the same muscular built, but that's where it ended. From what she heard, this youkai was a wolf, an Alpha wolf at that. He had long dark brown hair which he had pulled behind him in a thick ponytail. A wide brown band circled around the top of his head. He wore a leather jacket, a white t-shirt with the picture of a ferocious wolf on it, black jeans and black tennis shoes. His looked wild and dangerous, yet his rough features seemed to enhance his good looks. Kagome couldn't help but stare back at the wickedly handsome youkai as he peered down at her with vivid green eyes. He grinned, showing fangs she did not want to see.

"Well, it's not every day a little cutie wanders into our woods."

Kagome blinked. Was he flirting with her?

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Koga and the ones beside you are Ginta and Hakkaku."

Kagome gave them a nervous smile. "Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for saving me, I was looking for my building and I got lost."

"Tell us your name and I might help you," Koga said giving her a flirtatious smile.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi," she told him watching him closely as he began to circle around her, looking her up and down.

"You are just too cute, Kagome. I have a thing for girls who wear short pleated skirts and cute little backpacks."

His friends Ginta and Hakkaku chuckled.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'll just be on my way," Kagome said suddenly not feeling too safe with him.

"What's the name of this building you're looking for?"

"Goen Hall," Kagome said. "I'm already very late."

"I'll give you a ride," the wolf youkai told her standing in front of her again.

Kagome looked around. "I don't think I have time to walk with you to your car. There's no parking lot close by."

"Who said anything about a car?"

Kagome screamed when he suddenly picked her up in his arms and took off in a full run.

"Hold on tight, beautiful. Close your eyes if you have to, we're about to go very, very fast!"

Kagome screamed again when her surroundings began to turn into a blur. How fast was this wolf going? Was this possible? She held onto him tight and buried her face in his chest so the wind wouldn't snatch away her breath.

"We're here," Koga said after five seconds. Kagome had a death grip on him. He laughed and slowly lowered her legs to the ground. "You feel pretty good in my arms," he sniffed her hair. "And you smell good too."

Kagome felt dizzy and held on to him until the world stop swimming around. Koga seemed happy to let her take her time. "I've never been this close to a human girl before," Koga stated. "I like it."

Kagome pulled away from him. The last thing she needed was another youkai trying to claim her. She turned around and saw Goen hall in front of them. "We really are here? That was crazy fast!"

"It's all in the legs, cutie," Koga told her with a grin.

Kagome looked at her watch. She had enough time to find her class. "Thank you so much, Koga!"

"Can I see you again?" Koga asked.

"Umm..." Oh gosh, what to do? Kagome thought. It would be rude of her to say no, after all, he had just possibly saved her life and gave her a 'ride' as he called it to her class. "Sure!" She finally told him and ran away. "Thanks again," she waved. He would never find her. She hadn't told him which dorm she stayed in or when they would meet.

The rest of her day went pretty normal. Most of her classes were in Goen Hall which she was grateful for. She didn't want to get lost again. She sat through three classes each lasted an hour and was relieved to finally leave for the day. Kagome lifted her back pack on her shoulders and headed out the building intending to walk back to the dormitory. She stopped when realized, she had lost her map and didn't know how to get back to her dorm.

"Dang it!" She yelled frustrated.

"Hey cutie," a familiar voice said beside her. She turned around. Koga grinned down at her.

"You've been here all this time?" Kagome asked giving him a strange look.

"Yep, I wanted to see you again."

"Why?" Kagome gulped. Was the wolf stalking its prey?

"I like you and I was wondering if you knew the way back home."

"Really? That's kind of sweet," Kagome said relaxing a little.

"Well...do you?" Koga asked waiting for her reply.

Kagome sighed.."No."

Koga laughed. "Where do you stay?"

"I live in Westwoods Hall."

He started to pick her up again, but Kagome stopped him. "Why don't we just walk back this time!" She said quickly.

Koga laughed again. "Fine, it will give me a chance to get to know you."

They walked together for a moment not saying anything. Kagome glanced up at the tall handsome young man. He is kind of cute, in a bad boy sort of way, she thought.

"So what brings a sweet girl like you to a place like this?" Koga asked.

"Well, they have excellent culinary classes that no other university offers," Kagome said.

"You're a cook?" Koga eyes lit up. "That's a huge bonus point for me! I'm always hungry."

Saying he was always hungry made Kagome shiver a little. A hungry wolf...walking her home. She hoped he didn't turn bad like the ones she met in the woods. She looked around her. There were a lot of students walking around, she was safe. Besides, if he had wanted to harm her, he would have in the woods.

"What else do you do, Kagome besides cook and get lost?" He grinned showing those fangs again.

"I don't know, I'm not that interesting," Kagome said. She didn't want to tell him too much about herself.

"I think you're very interesting," Koga told her.

"What about you? Why do you stay in the back woods of the campus?" Kagome asked changing the subject.

"It's where the wolf youkai prefer to stay. It reminds us of home. Plus, we're not rich enough to stay in a fancy place like Westwood Halls."

Kagome laughed. "I'm not rich either, my mother saved up enough money for me to stay there."

"She must love you very much," Koga said in admiration.

"Yes, I guess she does," Kagome smiled.

"That's the first real smile I've seen since I met you. You have the cutest dimples."

Kagome blushed.

"Kagome, how would you like to be my woman?"

Kagome stopped walking. Silence. "What did you say?"

"I want to keep you."

Kagome lowered her head, her hands became fists. "You...don't...even...know...me!"

"I know enough," Koga said. "You are the sweetest girl I've ever met."

"No, I'm not, really, I'm not." Kagome said angrily as she imagined hitting him over the head with a very large wooden mallet.

"Really? Most people, human and youkai alike, don't like my kind. They look down on us, they think we're wild, barbaric, and low class. You haven't turned your nose up at me not once."

"You did save my life and took me to my classes," Kagome said. "And now you're helping me find my dormitory, why would I not like you?"

"Are those the only reasons why you're talking to me?"

Kagome could feel her anger fading. "No, I could have told you to leave me alone and asked a student for direction."

Koga grinned. "Exactly, I expected you to run away when you saw me, but you didn't!"

"But Koga, I..."

"Kagome, I don't really need to get to know you like another human would. I can tell everything about you by your scent, the way you carry yourself, the way you talk."

So that's how they do it, Kagome thought. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Koga someone else has already laid claim on me," she hated herself for using something she detested to her advantage, but youkai men didn't seem to understand the word "no".

Koga frowned. She could tell he didn't like to hear that at all.

"Kagome!" Someone called her name. She turned around to see Shippou jogging towards them. "What are you doing with him?" He asked staring at Koga warily.

"We're talking," Kagome said.

"She's Inuyasha's you know," Shippou told Koga.

"I don't see his bracelet on her and I can't smell his scent," Koga said defiantly.

Shippou gasped when he looked at Kagome's arm. "You're not wearing his bracelet! No wonder Koga is with you."

Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Koga turned to Kagome. "Is this true?"

"Inuyasha wants me for his, but I don't believe in being a kept woman and that goes for you too, Koga. Nobody, youkai or human, is going to make me their "kept" woman!"

Koga stared at her and began to laugh out loud. "I can't stand it!" He laughed louder. "Dog face must be going through a really hard time. This is priceless! For once the spoiled brat can't have what he wants."

"Hey don't talk that way about Inuyasha! Kagome is his, she just doesn't understand, yet."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at Shippou.

"You know, Shippou, I'm still hungry." Koga leaned in the fox youkai direction.

Shippou backed away quickly. "Kagome, get away from him. He's really dangerous. He tried to eat me when we first met!"

Koga grinned."He wandered into my woods just like you did Kagome, but I was hungry that day and little foxes are my favorite."

Kagome watched Koga terrorize Shippou and wondered if he was teasing or for real. Koga sniffed the air. "Damn, I would stay, but I don't feel like fighting today," Koga said. He turned to Kagome and kissed the back of her hand. "Until next time, beautiful and you're right, don't let dog breath make you his kept woman. I find your independence very sexy."

Kagome watched him disappear. "Wow," she said liking Koga a little more.

"Kagome!" She heard Inuyasha's voice and turned to him. He ran up to her and grinned. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I came to get you today to walk you to class, but Sango told me you had already left. Did you find everything okay?" He suddenly stopped talking. His golden eyes narrowed into two slits as he leaned forward and sniffed her. He sneezed and glared at her.

"WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE A FUCKING WOLF!?"