Dealings of the Heart

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Dealings of the Heart
By: ChibiInuTai

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Chapter 8: Kiss

It had been three days since Shippou had shown up at the den of the
wolves. The morning after he had shown up, Kouga and Ayame had gone
down to the southern border while Inuyasha had stayed behind to take
care of the kitsune pup. Shippou and Inuyasha had struck up a great
friendship and were patiently awaiting the return of the two wolf
demons. Inuyasha had found that the young kitsune was alike him in
many ways

Inuyasha had introduced Shippou to Riana and the other pups of the
den. Riana and Shippou were quite smitten with each other since their
first meeting and Inuyasha took the opportunity to tease Shippou to no
end about it. Shippou, not one to sit back and take a verbal beating,
teased him about Kouga, which infuriated the hanyou to no end. Despite
their little friendly arguments they got along quite well

After Kouga had left Inuyasha told Shippou about how he had lost his
parents when he was younger. Inuyasha still missed his parents deep in
his heart and he knew that it would take a while for the wounds of
Shippou's heart to heal if his father had truly died. Shippou silently
hoped that his father had not died but escaped the wrath of the
thunder demons but did not say it aloud

At the moment Shippou was perched on Inuyasha's shoulder as they
walked through the den. He had not once left Inuyasha's side
unless it was to play with the other pups, or eat.
The two of them were quite content in each other's company as the
passed the waterfall. "Looks like another hot day out," Inuyasha mused
as he looked up at the clear sky

"Better then raining," Shippou said happily and Inuyasha nodded in
agreement. The two of them walked until they came to Inuyasha's
favorite tree. Inuyasha jumped into the branches of the oak tree and
sat so he could look over the dens. "Kouga and Ayame are coming back
today?" Shippou asked suddenly

"Yeah, and hopefully they have some good news," Inuyasha said
sympathetically as he patted Shippou on the back, "what will you do
if…" Inuyasha trailed off but Shippou understood the unfinished
question

"I don't know," Shippou replied truthfully. The smell of tears began
to fill the air again and Inuyasha brought the young pup into his lap
and hugged him. Shippou buried his face into the blue haori Inuyasha
wore today, trying to stop the tears from flowing

"Shippou…" Inuyasha said carefully, "If you dad has…died…" Inuyasha
felt Shippou flinch at the word, "would you like to stay here…at the
den?" Shippou looked up at the hanyou with tear-filled eyes and
nodded. Inuyasha began wiping the tears from Shippou's face, "no
matter what happens Shippou…I want you to be strong okay?"

"Okay," Shippou replied as he snuggled closer to Inuyasha, "I'll be strong."

"Good, now lets get you cleaned up," Inuyasha said as he jumped down
from the tree, "don't want your little girlfriend to see you've been
crying." Shippou blushed deeply but didn't argue, causing Inuyasha to
chuckle. The two of them made their way back into the den for a nice
hot bath

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Jaken, the new gate guard, was a small toad-like demon. He had at one
time been Lord Sesshomaru's retainer but due to recent circumstances
he had been assigned as the castle gate guard. He sat up in the small
window near the top of the gate and watched as a woman approached the
castle. She had long reddish brown hair tied up in many intricate
loops and her orange eyes glared up at the toad demon. She wore a
short yellow yukata, covered by a simple red robe and tired with a
casual pink sash

"Who are you and what is your business?" Jaken yelled down at the woman

"My name is Enju and I am here to speak with Lord Sesshomaru," the
woman called back, "and if you don't let me past I shall inform Lord
Sesshomaru of your insolence once I see him!" Jaken mumbled something
about stupid wenches under his breath as he signaled the other guards
to open the gate. The gates opened partially and allowed Enju to pass
through the gates before they were closed again. Ever since the attack
by Naraku's men there had been a lot more extra security around the
castle

Enju was walking across the courtyard when a familiar voice called out
to her. She turned to fins the lord of the castle sitting on a bench
underneath the sakura tree with the girl named Rin in his arms. She
made her way over to Lord Sesshomaru and bowed slightly before him.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Lady Rin." Enju said respectfully

"Hello Enju," Rin said with a bright smile on her face, "it's good to
see you again."

"Thank you milady," Enju bowed again

"Enju," Sesshomaru nodded courteously, "I take it you have found some
information if you are back early?" Enju nodded and proceeded to
inform him of the attack that Naraku was planning on the northern
lands. After a moment of silence Sesshomaru spoke again, "this is
interesting…very good job, Enju."

"I also confirmed your suspicions of the girl Kagome," Enju informed
him. Sesshomaru nodded and Rin blink in confusion

"Kagome? What suspicions?" Rin asked

"It seems that Kagome was a spy of Naraku," Sesshomaru told her and
she gasped in shock. She had never thought that a sweet girl like
Kagome would turn out to be a spy for their enemy

"My lord, Kagome not only seems to be a spy but also Lord Naraku's
lover…" Enju said carefully

"I see..." Sesshomaru said thoughtfully, "well, it seems that we will be visiting my brother soon, for I am sure he and Lord Kouga will be wanting to
know this information." Sesshomaru smiled one of his rare smiles,
"Enju, tell Eri that you are to have one of the guest room set up for
you and I will come see you later about a reward."

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." Enju bowed and turned to leave when Rin
stopped her

"Enju, would you like to come with us when we visit Inuyasha?" Rin
asked her once she turned to face them again

"I do not wish to intrude…" Enju stated, "but if you wish for me to
come I shall."

"I would like it very much if you came," Rin said with a wink, "mayhap
you will meet a nice man while you are there." Enju blushed in
embarrassment and Sesshomaru chuckled heartily. Enju thanked them
again and with that left the two of them alone once again. Rin looked
up at Sesshomaru, "she needs a good man in her life, don't you think
so?"

"You aren't playing matchmaker again are you?" Sesshomaru asked jokingly

"Hey!" Rin punched Sesshomaru in the chest playfully

"So you like it rough do you?" Sesshomaru teased her again

"Maybe…" Rin said with a wink, "depends on how rough you are."

"I can show you," Sesshomaru whispered seductively, sending shivers up
Rin's spine. Rin smiled as Sesshomaru stood up and carried
her bridal style towards the castle

Meanwhile Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka watched the pair from one of the guest
room windows as they walked into the castle "The way those two go at
it they will have a couple hundred kids!" Eri giggled. Yuka and Ayumi
nodded in agreement as they set about setting up the room for Enju

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Kouga and Ayame had gone down to the southern border of the northern
lands. Signs of a battle were everywhere and the scent of their friend
Kujo was fading away. Dried blood and scorch marks were found in one
area and they had figured out what happened. After Shippou had run off
his father had fought the demons to give his son time to escape. After
sniffing around a bit they finally, and sadly, concluded that Kujo had
indeed died in the fight with Hiten and Manten

Kouga raged when he found this out and would have run to Naraku's
castle in his blood rage if Ayame had not stopped him. It had taken a
lot of convincing but Ayame finally got him to calm down. Ayame was
also angered by the death of her friend but knew that by just running
into enemy territory would get them killed. So Ayame had opted that
they gather their forces before doing anything so rash and,
surprisingly, Kouga agreed

The two of them took off at full speed back in the direction of the
den. It had taken them a day and a half to get down here and it would
take another day and a half to get back. They only times they stopped
is when they needed to rest, other than that they ran non-stop towards
the den. When they finally reached the valley they found Inuyasha and
Shippou just exiting the den

Kouga had told Ayame not to tell Shippou about his fathers' death and
that he wanted to speak with Inuyasha first. Ayame took Shippou off to
play with the pups while Inuyasha and Kouga want for a walk along the
riverbank. "No good news I take it," Inuyasha said with a shake of his
head

"No," Kouga said sadly as they walked. An awkward silence fell over
the two, as they walked, neither knowing what to say. Kouga finally
got his thoughts together after a while, "Inuyasha, would you tell
Shippou about his father?"

"Why me?" Inuyasha asked

"Well, you seem to have a strong bond with the pup and he will listen
to you easier," Kouga said simply, "I think he would rather hear it
from you than me."

"That's true," Inuyasha said thoughtfully "I did offer that if his
father had died that he could stay with the pack…if that's ok with
you."

"Of course it's ok with me," Kouga told him, "there is no way that I
would just send the son of one of my friends out on his own!" Inuyasha
nodded in agreement and again the silence fell over the two of them.
The two of them made their way back to where Ayame and Shippou were
playing with the pups. Inuyasha could see that Shippou looked happy
from a distance but once he got closer he could see the pain in his
eyes

'He must have figure it out on his own,' Inuyasha thought sadly as he
and Kouga approached them. "Shippou, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Shippou nodded and leapt up on Inuyasha's shoulder, his favorite place
since they had become friends. Before Inuyasha left he saw the glare
that Ayame sent Kouga and chuckled inwardly. 'He's in for it now.' He
thought as he began to walk

Inuyasha and Shippou walked in silence as they approached the large
oak tree, which Inuyasha favored. Inuyasha leapt up into the branches
and once settled, pulled Shippou into his lap. "Shippou…remember what
I told you about being strong?" Shippou nodded quietly, knowing what
was about to be said, "well…Kouga asked me to tell you that…you dad
is…dead."

Shippou sat silently and Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Shippou
tightly. "I know…" Shippou said quietly, "When Kouga and Ayame came
back…I knew right away…"

"Shippou…" Inuyasha said sympathetically, "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" Shippou said quietly. An awkward silence filled the
air as the two of them sat up in the tree. Inuyasha knew what Shippou
was going through; all the hurt and anger he would be feeling. He knew
that it wouldn't take long before Shippou broke down, and Inuyasha
would be there for him. The smell of tears cut through the air like a
knife and Shippou began sobbing quietly

"It's ok to cry now, Shippou." Inuyasha hugged the kitsune closer to
him. Shippou finally caved in and began crying into the sleeve of
Inuyasha's haori. Inuyasha knew everything he was going through
because the same thing happened to him all those years ago when he
lost his mother. The dreams came back to haunt him sometimes, for he
had never fully recovered from losing his mother

'If only I could have protected mother better…' Inuyasha thought
dejectedly, 'I promised her I would be strong…yet…she still died in
the end.' Inuyasha had not known it at the time but Naraku had been
the one to send the demons who killed his mother. When he had found
out, he'd been livid with anger and his hatred for the dark ruler of
the south only grew stronger

Inuyasha still held it against Naraku and had made a silent promise to
kill the man one day. He had never told anyone how his mother had
actually died, only he and his brother knew how she died and he tended
to keep it that way. Sesshomaru had never spoken to anyone about it
and he even went as far as to say he hated the woman. But Inuyasha
knew that deep down Sesshomaru had really cared for Inuyasha's mother
even if she was not his biological mother

Inuyasha had been so caught up in his thoughts of the past that he
failed to notice that Shippou had fallen asleep in his arms. When he
finally did realize this he jumped down from the tree with Shippou
carefully held in his arms. He made his way back into his and Kouga's
hut and deposited the sleeping kitsune in the bed he and Kouga shared.
Inuyasha gave the kitsune one last look before leaving the hut

When he exited the cave he found that the sun was nearly setting. He
walked over to the river to find Kouga sitting by himself, awaiting
the return of the hanyou. Inuyasha sat down beside the wolf lord and
let out a sigh. "How did he take it?" Kouga asked after a moment of
silence

"He took it better than I expected he would," Inuyasha told him
quietly, "but wounds of the heart take a good deal longer to mend."
Inuyasha drew his knees to his chest and stared down blankly at the
water. Silence filled the air as the two of them sat by the river,
both unsure of what to say to the other

"Umm, about the other day in the bath…" Kouga started but Inuyasha
waved him off before he could finish

"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha told him

"So I'm forgiven I take it?" Kouga asked hopefully

"Yeah," Inuyasha sighed, "just don't do it again or I might take your
head off." Kouga chuckled at this. "What's so funny?" Inuyasha asked
seriously

"I don't think you would actually do it," Kouga smirked at the hanyou
trying to cheer him up, "you wouldn't dare attack the lord of the
northern lands!"

"Not now, Kouga" Inuyasha said quietly, "I'm not in the mood for your games."

"What's wrong with you?" Kouga asked, "ever since your talk with
Shippou you've been acting all gloomy and depressed! I noticed it when
you were making your way back to the den with Shippou." Inuyasha
remained quiet, which unnerved the wolf lord to no end. Kouga calmed
himself before he put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder but it was quickly
swatted away

"Inuyasha," Kouga moved to kneel in front of the hanyou, "tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want to talk about it," Inuyasha mumbled as he drew his knees
tighter against his chest. All the memories of the night he had lost
his mother came flooding back to him. Old pain flickered in his eyes
momentarily before he quickly covered it up, but it did not go
unnoticed by Kouga

"Inuyasha, how can I help you if you wont let me?" Inuyasha looked up
to meet the steely gaze of the wolf lord. "Why wont you let me help
you?" Inuyasha bit his lip and bowed his head, his bangs covering his
eyes. "Please Inuyasha…I want to help you but I can't if you don't
tell me what's wrong." Inuyasha's amber eyes once again met Kouga's
blue ones and he could find nothing but sincerity there

Inuyasha finally gave into Kouga's request, "my mother died when I was
young. I loved her a lot." Inuyasha tore his gaze away from Kouga and
stared blankly at his knees. He wouldn't allow anyone to see the
weakness in him at the moment

"I-I didn't know…" Kouga whispered

"It's ok," Inuyasha said

"No it isn't! I wouldn't have asked you to talk to Shippou about his
father if I had known!" Kouga placed both his hands on Inuyasha's
shoulders and forced him to look at him, "Inuyasha, I'm sorry for the
pain that I caused you."

"Don't be. You had no idea about my past so don't blame yourself."
Inuyasha stared hard at Kouga. Kouga stared back, the silence passing between them, comfortable yet unnerving

"Let's spar," Kouga said suddenly

"What?" Inuyasha looked at him like he grew an extra head

"It'll help you take your mind off things," Kouga said simply as he
helped Inuyasha stand up. "Believe me…after a good match or two all
those depressing thoughts will be gone from your head."

"Kouga I don't want to…" Inuyasha complained

"Please? I don't like seeing you all depressed like this," Kouga told
him, "I promise it'll make you feel better…" Inuyasha sighed and gave
in, knowing it was useless to argue with the stubborn wolf lord.
Inuyasha halfheartedly got into a fighting stance and faced off
against Kouga. "I'm not going easy on you so you'd better be ready,"
Kouga said with a cocky smirk

"Hn," Inuyasha replied nonchalantly. Kouga rushed at Inuyasha, aiming
his left fist for Inuyasha's gut. Inuyasha easily blocked the attack
and sent a roundhouse kick at Kouga's head. Kouga ducked under the
attack and swept Inuyasha's feet out from under him, causing Inuyasha
to land on his back with a grunt

"Come on Inuyasha, fight for real!" Kouga sent his fist towards
Inuyasha's open stomach. Inuyasha rolled to the left and brought his
foot up at Kouga, successfully connecting with his chest. Kouga was
sent into the air and landed a few feet away, "not bad, but you can do
better."

"Right…" Inuyasha was on his feet again and rushing at Kouga. He faked
punching left, and anticipated Kouga's dodge right he kicked out at
Kouga's shins. His foot connected with Kouga's shins causing the wolf
to fall forward. Bring his knee upwards it connected with Kouga's
chest, winding him instantly. Kouga grunted loudly as Inuyasha brought
his elbow down and it connected with his back

Kouga crumpled to the ground and Inuyasha let out an amused chuckle,
"who can do better now?" Kouga sat up and stared at Inuyasha. Without
warning Kouga bolted at him and tackled him to the ground. Kouga
jumped off of Inuyasha and smirked at him

"Never let your guard down, Inuyasha." Kouga chuckled when the
irritable hanyou scowled at him, 'looks like his mind is off the
past.' Kouga dodged as Inuyasha threw another punch at him. Kouga
kicked at him but his foot was caught in mid air. Inuyasha threw him
off balance by pushing forward, making Kouga fall backwards. Kouga,
being ever ready, used the momentum to throw Inuyasha over his head

Kouga got up and turned to find Inuyasha in a sodden mess in the
middle of the river. Kouga couldn't help but laugh at the sight, "You
look like a wet puppy!" Inuyasha growled in annoyance as he waded
towards the bank. Inuyasha held back a shiver, for the river was
pretty cold at the moment

"That was a dirty trick," Inuyasha pouted

"You fell for it though," Kouga laughed

'We'll see about this…' Inuyasha thought about how to exact his
revenge on Kouga. An idea came to mind and he hoped dearly that it
wouldn't get turned against him in some way. Inuyasha sauntered
towards Kouga with a seductive smile on his face, "oh Kouga…"

"Yes?" Kouga swallowed nervously. Although he had hit on the hanyou
many times, he had never once acted like this. Kouga knew he was up to
something but he couldn't move from under Inuyasha's gaze. He felt his
groin begin to tighten, as Inuyasha got closer to him

'He's mine,' Inuyasha inwardly cheered. Inuyasha kept up his façade as
he bodily pressed himself against Kouga. Both Inuyasha and Kouga
couldn't stop the blush that came to their faces. Inuyasha noticed
Kouga's breathing had become a bit labored and could clearly feel and
smell the wolf's arousal. 'It's now or never,' Inuyasha thought as he
ran his hands up Kouga's arms in a show of false affection

Inuyasha roughly grabbed Kouga by the arms and heaved as hard as he
could. Kouga, totally caught off guard, was thrown head over heels
strait into the cold river. Kouga yelped out in surprise as the heat
quickly left his body. He resurfaced in the water and stared up at
Inuyasha, who was literally rolling on the ground laughing. Kouga made
his way towards the edge of the water, 'tricky…' Kouga thought

Kouga made his way over to Inuyasha and lifted him over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked him as he started walking towards
the forest. Kouga smirked at him but didn't say anything as he walked.
Inuyasha kept protesting being carried around like this but Kouga paid
no heed. After a while of walking he finally reached his destination,
'payback time…'

"What the…" Inuyasha was suddenly thrown into some very warm water.
When Inuyasha resurfaced he found Kouga standing on the edge of the
hot spring, smirking his arrogant smirk. "I thought you might need
warming up."

"Better than being cold," Inuyasha said

"True…" Kouga jumped into the water, still fully clothed. Inuyasha
waited fro him to resurface but when he didn't he began to get a
little worried. Inuyasha swam over to where Kouga had jumped in but he
wasn't anywhere in sight

"Boo!" Kouga shouted from behind him

"Gah!" Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his skin when he spun around to
find Kouga right behind him. "Don't do that!" Inuyasha yelled as he
closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. Neither of them
seemed to take notice of their close proximity until Inuyasha opened
his eyes again. His calmed heart started to race again as amber eyes
met coral blue at such a close range

Inuyasha found himself unable to break away from the gaze of Kouga.
Neither of them knew that they were drawing closer to one another
until they felt each other's hot breath on their skin. Inuyasha
unconsciously licked his lips, his body telling him he wanted it but
his mind telling him it wasn't right. Caught in his inner feud he
found himself unable to break away

When Kouga's lips pressed against his he felt a wave of heat rush
throughout his body. An unbelievably intense wave pf pleasure shot
through his body, all coherent thoughts were lost to the hanyou. When
they finally broke apart Inuyasha had to back up a little ways, 'what
the hell happened to me?' Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly, hoping he
would wake up from this dream

"Inuyasha, I…" Kouga was at a loss of words as well. 'What came over
me?' Kouga thought, 'it was like I couldn't control myself…but, why?'
Inuyasha opened his eyes again, their gaze once again crossing.
Inuyasha opened his mouth but no sound came forth as he was totally
speechless. Kouga had seen so many emotions go through the hanyou so
fast that he couldn't distinguish them. 'Is he disgusted with me?'
Kouga asked himself sadly

Inuyasha was confused beyond belief. That kiss, he had told himself,
wasn't right but his body told him a different story. So Inuyasha did
the only thing he could do in the situation; he ran

~ % ~ IK ~ % ~

AN – What can I say…how about…OHMIGAWD! Depressive stuffs and lovable
stuffs all in the same chapter? ACK! My head feels like it's going to
EXPLODE! (Takes a couple Tylenol) GAH! It's not helping!

So, I guess you figured out by now that the spy person was Enju. If
you hadn't then I guess you're not the brightest person in the
world…but who's complaining?

Reviews are welcome! Reviews make me happy!