FicWad

Kagome narrowed her eyes and cursed herself for not remembering to ward the back door. She glanced over the man, his feet were propped up on another one of her chairs. He had looked up from reading the newspaper at her appearance and was grinning cheekily at her. She sniffed at the air, and had to stop herself from smiling when she detected the scent of coffee.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t mind me, go ahead and make yourself at home.” Kouga laughed at her and motioned for her to sit down. Kagome complied, plopping herself gracelessly down into a chair. “Coffee?” Kouga asked. At Kagome’s nod he rose smoothly from the chair and crossed to the counter, apparently to get her some coffee.

Kagome stared at his back, not caring if it was considered rude. He broke into her house, she could be rude. Kouga hadn’t really changed at all in the last five hundred years. The main difference she could see was his clothes. She was used to seeing him decked out in furs and leather. Now, as he was standing in her kitchen he was wearing Armani jeans and what was most likely a designer black sweater.

Kagome was shaking her head over that last bit of information as Kouga turned around, bearing two steaming mugs of coffee. He set one down in front of her as he sat down and started sipping his. “What?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. Kagome looked up at him, smiling in spite of her self. “Armani Kouga?” she shook her head again as Kouga threw back his head and roared out a laugh.

He was still shaking as Kagome asked her next question. “Why are you here Kouga? Are you the boss of that man that was here last night?” Much to Kagome’s dismay, instead of calming down and answering her question, her question started Kouga off again. He started laughing so hard he couldn’t hold his coffee. After having the hot beverage spill onto his hands he set it down on the table, still laughing. Kagome sighed, sat back and waited for the demon to calm down.

Kagome groaned, and started sipping her coffee again. Kouga, after hearing her groan tried to calm himself down, but the occasional chuckle worked its way out of his mouth. He was still trying not to laugh as he answered Kagome’s question. “ I’m here for your help, and Jack he-“ Kouga had to stop again, seeing as he had started laughing again. Once he got himself under control again he continued. “Jack was scared shitless when he reported. I had told him that you-“ Kouga’s statement was cut off by an uncontrollable spurt of laughing. This time it took almost two minutes for him to calm down before he continued. “ I told him that you were harmless and sweet tempered and that he should be careful not to scare you!” Kouga almost started laughing again but stopped himself and continued. “And you- you threw him out using wards that could have purified him in two seconds flat if he had resisted too much!” Holding in that laugh seemed to have taken its toll on his control. Kouga started laughing, much harder than before.

Kagome waited impatiently for the man to stop laughing. In the end she had to stalk over to the table beside the door, retrieve some wards and go over and shake them in Kouga’s face to get him to stop laughing.

Kagome slammed the wards back on the table as Kouga came back to the table, he had stumbled out of his chair when the wards appeared in front of his face. “Kouga, will you please tell me why you need my help” Kagome sighed as he sat back down. Kouga seemed to have gotten all the laughing out of his system because his handsome face was now serious, almost grave, as he settled himself.

“Kagome, I’m head of a private detective agency.” He paused for a moment, letting out a long breath. “Our clients are mostly demons”. Kouga looked worriedly at her, his brows furrowed. Kagome finally noticed something that had changed in Kouga physically, when he frowned little permanent worry lines appeared on his otherwise ageless face. “Kouga, that really isn’t surprising. Seeing as there are a lot of demons in Japan… today” She added. At her words, Kouga looked relived. Kagome tilted her head to the site. “You thought that you, a demon, owning a company whose clients are demons would shock me? Scare me?” she asked.

Kouga look sheepish as he answered “well, yes. I haven’t known you in five hundred years… “ he trailed off and looked away from her. Then it hit Kagome like a ton of bricks. That was why Kouga was laughing, not at poor Jack. He was laughing because he was nervous around her. She was a stranger to him now. The thought made her heart ache, in the past she had considered Kouga a dear friend. And now, he only came to her because he needed help. Not because of friendship.

“I considered you a dear friend back then Kouga.” Kagome said quietly. Kouga’s head turned back slowly, a faint blush spreading out across his face. “ I don’t love you any more” Kouga seemed to ease a bit as if weight a had been lifted off his shoulders after he spoke the words. Kagome smiled at him “I know you don’t Kouga. I was just saying that I considered you a friend. Apparently you didn’t feel that way towards me friend after you knew you didn’t love me anymore.” Kagome sighed, got up from her chair and started walking back to her room. Kouga raised up out of his chair, his hand outstretched. “Wait Kagome, I really do need your help with something.” Kagome stopped at his words and turned to face him.

“I wasn’t leaving, I was going to go get changed. I don’t think that pajamas are appropriate for where your taking me” with that said Kagome turned around and continued to her room.

Kouga plopped back down with a “thud”, starring at Kagome’s retreating back. He didn’t really know what he had expected to have to do. Convince a young, infatuated girl that he didn’t love her anymore maybe? Calm down a young scared girl and try to get her to believe that demons, at least not these demons, wouldn’t hurt her. But Kagome had taken it all in stride. He chose to ignore the friend comment. They didn’t know each other now.

He heard her shower turn on and the soft “thuds” of clothes hitting the ground. Apparently she thought she smelled bad. She did, but then again he was a demon. Really every one smelled bad to him, except maybe other demons. Once demons had become “civilized” they had taken it upon themselves to never smell bad, to any one. That was one of their newly acquired habits they had gained during the long, arduous, and unbelievably difficult “civilization” process. For a demon to smell pleasant to another demon all day, they either had to have a rather pleasing scent, very rare, or acquire obsessive bathing habits.

He didn’t bother taking a look around her house. He had done that when he got there, at 6:oo a.m.

He remembered walking into her house through her back door and stopping barely two steps from it. The scent of Kagome assaulting his nose. His body remembered her, and subconsciously he remembered her too. Memories flooded him, memories of Kagome.

Kagome, healing his leg, and smiling kindly at him.

The feel of Kagome thrown over his shoulder, the first time he kidnapped her.

Kagome screaming fiercely, firing an arrow.

Standing on the top of a hill, the wind brining her scent to him. His heart beating faster. Kagome healing one of his kin.

Declaring his love for her… the first time.

Kagome blushing, stammering and trying to not except the flowers he had given her.

The scent of her, everything.

He had stood there shaking for he didn’t know how long. Too many memories assaulting him. They came too fast and too many for him to think through them. He didn’t want to remember. He wanted to be able to be angry at her. He didn’t want to remember why he had loved her in the first place. He didn’t want to feel guilty for ignoring her existence for so long.

Kouga sighed and leaned back in the chair. He had ended up feeling guilty anyway. It wasn’t her fault that he had acted that way after she had left.

He could still remember the look on Ayame’s face. The hurt. Even back then he felt guilty for saying that.

It had been just after he had gone to the village, and found Kagome gone. Keide, the old prestes, had explained to him about Kagome’s time travel, and that she was gone beyond his grasp. That had hurt. He had really thought that Kagome loved him back.

Now if he looked back over his memories he could see she tried to tell him otherwise. She had tried to tell him nicely, and he had thought it was Inuyasha’s doing. And so he had tried harder. Now he almost wished she had been cruel from the beginning, but that would have most likely had the opposite effect. And he would have probably have tried harder.

So when Ayame came to collect him, as he had promised, he had overly cruel. He been hurtful on purpose. Because he was blinded by his hurt. To this day there was still a wall between them

Over the next five hundred years, the hurt faded. He hade made it fade, he didn’t want to be haunted by her. As the hurt faded so did his love, but all the affection wouldn’t leave. He had tried. But to no avail.

Now, as he sat in her kitchen he still felt affection for the girl- no woman, a few rooms away. After all this time he still considered her a friend. His heart still warmed at the thought of her. Even when he didn’t know her anymore.

Kagome pulled her wet hair up into a bun as she walked into the living room, she didn’t want to take the time to dry it. Kouga was probably bored already. True to her thought, Kouga had moved into the living room , was stretched out on her couch , and was looking through one of books on her coffee table. As she approached Kagome silently thanked herself for moving her romance novels into her bedroom. Kouga looked up at her and smiled. Kagome stopped dead in her tracks.

Something was different about him , different as in come to terms with something. She knew something was bothering Kouga from the beginning, but she had prepared to beat him upside the head with a 2 by 4 to get him to admit it. Which is what she usually had had to do to get the men in her life to admit something. But Kouga’s posture was relaxed now, and his smile wasn’t forced.

Kagome tilted her head to the side, studying him from all angles. “Kouga?” His smile faded and he turned away form her.

“It hurt Kagome. It hurt when you left. I… I really thought you loved me. You didn’t even say good by” Kouga heard her gasp at his words, but kept his face averted. “I’m sorry Kouga. I don’t know what else I can say.” Kagome’s voice was shaky.

Slowly Kouga turned his head back to her, not knowing what he would find. Instead of a blush, or shock, Kagome’s face was actually sad. Her eyes her glistening with tears. “Kouga, you have no idea of how many nights I stayed up crying because I couldn’t say good by” a tear slipped down her cheek.

The two stared at each other, not speaking. Simply healing five hundred ten years of hurt feelings. Two strangers slowly getting to know each other… again. Kouga was the first to break the silence. “Friends?” Kagome slowly started to smile and Kouga grinned wolfishly at her. She walked over to him and kneeled beside the couch. “Friends”.

They stared at each other, faces almost touching. They simply stared at each other until Kouga broke and started laughing, not forced this time. After a few seconds Kagome started laughing too.

They finally got themselves under control and they both rose. Kouga offered her his arm ceremoniously to her and Kagome took it, giggling. “Shall we go?” Kouga asked, grinning and raising his eyebrow at her. Kagome laughed again and picked up her purse. “Sure”. On their way out of the door Kagome reached down and snagged some wards from the drawer. “Just incase.” she explained.