Champion of the Wolf Tribe

                             Champion of the Wolf Tribe
                                       An InuYasha fan tale
                             Word count 5397 (includes glossary)


“Geeze, can’t I even be civil to the guy without you getting all bent out of shape?”  Kagome’s dark brown eyes were snapping dangerously and her hands were on her hips.  Her modern upbringing in Tokyo allowed her to stand up to InuYasha, unlike the girls of the feudal era.

“Why should I care who you’re civil to?” InuYasha barked back.  He had his arms crossed inside of his red kimono and he wouldn’t look Kagome in the eyes.  The argument had been building ever since Kouga of the Wolf Tribe and his company had sped off.  Miroku and Shippo were wisely staying out of it, and wisely staying away from it as well.  They settled comfortably under a nearby tree to watch the drama. 

The little kitsune was always uncomfortable when InuYasha and Kagome fought, for the human girl was almost a mother to him.  He kept looking up at Miroku, but the monk was too busy watching the fight to notice Shippo’s concern.

“Of course you don’t care!”  Miroku grimaced at her sarcastic tone. Shippo watched Miroku's small black pony tail shake as Kagome continued, a little louder.  “All you care about are dead girl friends whom you are obsessed with!”

“Hump!” huffed InuYasha, and turned his head, his long silver hair now hiding his face. His dog ears twitched.  “I am not possessed by Kikyo!  She doesn’t have anything to do with this!  Besides, I do what I want!”

Miroku moaned.  This was not going well.  “No, you just want everything to go your way,” snapped Kagome.  “Well, for your information, I do what I want, too!  And I want to go home!”  Nose in the air, Kagome stomped up the hill.  The dark green skirt of her school uniform flounced as she walked.

“Fine!” InuYasha shouted back.  “See if I care!”  The local birds stopped singing.

“Uh oh,” said Shippo.  He and Miroku could tell by the way Kagome stopped and held herself that InuYasha had gone too far.  Shippo hid behind the Monk’s robe.  “She’s going to be scary again,” he said.

“Sit!” Kagome yelled.  “Sit, Sit! Sit!! SIT, SIT!!!”  The birds all flew away, squawking loudly.  Each sit was accompanied by a thump, as the magic necklace InuYasha wore slammed him into the ground. She marched out of sight before their two friends ventured down to see how deep of a hole InuYasha had dug for himself this time.  He groaned as they reached the edge.

“That’s deep,” commented Miroku calmly, leaning on his monk’s staff.  “You really hurt her feelings this time.”

“I hurt her feelings!”  InuYasha followed that with a few words that showed he was still mad.  He started to jump out of the hole.

Faintly from across the meadow, they heard a faint “SITT!!!”  Birds flew from their trees in the distance.  InuYasha hit the bottom with a thump that made the ground shake, and Sango came running.

“What happen?” the pretty Yōkai slayer asked.  She leaned over the hole, and sighed.  Her own brown eyes narrowed in concern, and she looked at the handsome young monk beside her for an explanation.

InuYasha groaned again.  “Someone help me outa here,” he whined.



“That stupid jerk!” Kagome muttered.  “I am not possessed by Kikyo indeed!  He’s possessed AND obsessed!  And so jealous I can’t stand it.  Just who does he think he is anyway?” 

Her angry feet took her deeper and quicker into the forest than she realized as she complained to herself.  By the time she walked out her temper, she was a long way from her friends, but the Bone Eater’s Well, her passage back to the twenty-first century, was still a long way away.

She suddenly realized that she didn’t bring any of her stuff with her.  My backpack!  I can’t believe I left everything behind, she thought.  Well, there’s no help for it; I have to go back.  I can’t go home without my school books.  She turned around and determinedly headed back the way she came.


“Aren’t you going after her, InuYasha?” begged Shippo.  He leaned forward anxiously on his hands, his big eyes swelling with tears.  His fluffy tail swished.
.
“NO!”  InuYasha sat stubbornly with his back to them, arms and legs crossed.  His long silver hair helped hide his expression, but his dog-ears clearly showed his agitation.

“Don’t worry about it, Shippo,” said Sango.  She had changed from her kimono into her black fighting clothes.  “Kirara and I are going to find her.”  Miroku leered at her in her pants, for it showed off her figure.  Luckily for him, she didn’t notice, and Shippo was too upset to tell on him.

“Oh, good,” said Shippo. “Could I ride along?”  Kirara mewed, and transformed into her larger incarnation, which made the two tailed cat larger than a horse. Sango and Shippo climbed upon her back.  Sango had already asked Miroku to stay with InuYasha until he calmed down. 

InuYasha jumped to his feet.  “Why are you going after her?” he demanded.  “It’s none of your business!”

“InuYasha,” said Sango patiently for what felt like the fiftieth time.  “She did not take her bow and arrows.  It is a long way to the well, she may need them.”

“She didn’t take her weapons? Why didn’t you tell me!” the half-Yōkai demanded, and took off leaving the other three shaking their heads at each other.

“I’m always surprised at what a simple mind he has,” remarked Miroku.  “He can only keep one thought in it at a time.”



Kagome had not backtracked herself very far when she found herself surrounded by wolf Yōkai.  She didn’t recognize any of them, but hoped they were going to be as friendly as Kouga’s clan.  “Er, hello,” she said brightly, wishing she had her bow.

One of them sniffed loudly.  “This is the human,” he announced. “I can smell Kouga’s scent all over her.  It has to be Kouga’s human.”

Kagome riled instantly.  “I am NOT Kouga’s human!”  She glanced at the approaching wolves and added, “I mean we’re friends and all, but…”  She began backing up, but could not prevent herself from being scooped up and tossed over the shoulder of one of the wolf yōkai.  “Oh, no!  Not again!  Put me down!”

The Yōkai paid no attention, but sped off along with the rest of the pack, heading north to the mountains.  Kagome kicked, yelled and beat furiously on his back.  Her voice began to fade off into the distance, as they bounded up the slope.  “Stop this minute.  You better let go of me!  Put me down right nowwwwww…”



Kirara, flying with the three on her back, couldn’t find InuYasha right away.  When they finally found him, he was on all fours sniffing the ground and plainly disturbed.

“What is it, InuYasha?” Miroku asked as Kirara dropped lightly to the ground, next to the hanyō.  Shippo hopped off to check for himself.

“Wolves!” InuYasha growled.

“Kouga was here?”  Sango was startled.

“No.”  InuYasha shook his head as he stood.  He brushed the moss from the knees of his red hakama pants. “I don’t recognize any of these Yōkai.  Kagome came through going toward the well.  Then she must have come back, and a group from the direction of the red bird came through and her scent goes with them.  Then another group of wolves come from the direction of the ox-tiger, and now they are on the same trail as the group that took Kagome.



Many kilometers north of her friends, Kagome was carelessly dumped on the ground.  “Hey, that hurt!” she protested, rubbing her posterior.  The yōkai ignored her, but spoke only to his wolf brothers, who settled on the ground around her, their heads settling on their paws, and their gold eyes watching every movement.  She tried to get up, and every wolf growled and sat up.  “All right, already, I get the point!  I’m just trying to get comfortable.  I know I’m not going anywhere.”

When she first met Kouga, he had kidnapped her because of the shards from the shattered Shikon no Tama, or the Jewel of Four Souls that she carried.  When Kouga discovered that Kagome could sense where the pieces were, he had then decided that he would keep her. He declared his love for her when InuYasha caught up to rescue Kagome.
 
Kagome had to respect Kouga’s loyalty to his people, but she certainly didn’t want to marry the guy.  Neither did she want InuYasha to kill him, hence the fight that occurred every time, they ran into Kouga.  InuYasha still hadn’t forgiven Kouga for kidnapping her.

InuYasha had not only saved Kagome that day, but the entire Wolf tribe.  Kouga was injured in that fight against the Birds of Paradise.  That was the first day that Kagome and InuYasha argued over Kouga; she had kept them from fighting after the defeat of the Birds, because Kouga was injured.  The argument between them escalated to the point that Kagome went home.  InuYasha passed through the well twice to go get her, but ended up not even speaking to her.  The second time he broke her alarm clock, and she figured out he had come, and so returned to the feudal era.  They made up, but never really settled the issue of Kouga.

They ran into Kouga and various members of his tribe occasionally, and Kouga made it a point to make InuYasha angry.  Kagome ignored both of them when they acted like that.

She knew most of the yōkai that were in Kouga’s tribe, so she was nervous that these were all strangers.  Knowing that she had apparently been the object of their little hunting party didn’t help.  The fact they would not even talk to her made it worse.

She struggled to listen, but it was hard to hear what they were saying.  If there was anything she had learned living here five hundred years before she was born, it was to use every scrap of information she could collect. She kept a close eye on the one who had been carrying her: he seemed to be in charge of this group.  He joined the others, and sat down.

The group passed around jerky of some kind.  They didn’t offer Kagome any, and though she was getting hungry, she felt a little relieved.  For one thing, they weren’t eating her, at least not yet, and two, well, she had seen some of the things the wolf tribe made jerky out of.

At first she thought it was just a quick stop, but it grew later in the afternoon, and no one seemed in any hurry.  She judged that there was only an hour or so before sunset, and began to hope that InuYasha would come before it got dark.

Suddenly a second group came into the clearing.  One of them appeared to be the leader of both groups, judging by the behavior of all the wolves.  Even the wolf brothers guarding her whined in welcome, and looked over at him.

He was about the same size as Kouga, but much wilder looking.  His hair, cut at shoulder length, had the appearance of a mane, or the ruff on a wolf, rather than being neatly bound, as Kouga kept his.  The furs he wore were all black and he wore fangs in his ears.  The feature that worried Kagome the most was the fierce angry expression on his face.  He looked far crueler than even the worst bandit the friends had ever battled, and she shivered.

After speaking to the wolf yōkai that had captured her, he came over and stared at her.  “Kouga would choose this human?” he remarked.  Kagome flared up.

“I told them, I am not Kouga’s woman!  Can’t any of you get that through your thick skulls?”  The wolves around her growled and bared their teeth, but he didn’t even bother to answer.  Instead, he joined the others.

As he did, one said, “I still don’t understand the reason for the human, Ginmaru.”

Ginmaru?  I’ve never even heard of him.  Why would he want to kidnap me? Kagome thought.

Ginmaru looked annoyed.  “I’m getting tired of explaining this.  It will prove to the elders how weak Kouga is.  He is not worthy of our princess, Ayame.  I will use this human”-he said the word, much like Kagome would have said cockroach-“to prove that I am the only one worthy of Ayame, and of becoming the leader of all the tribes!”

“But how is the human going to do that?”

“Do you really think a yōkai that claims a human as his woman is worthy to lead our tribes?  Besides, he has repeatedly failed to defeat that half-blooded dog that she runs around with.  Can’t you smell him on her?  It makes my blood boil that he would even want a human that runs around with a half-breed!”

The group all growled at this. Apparently, Kagome thought, InuYasha isn’t too popular with this group of wolves.  Well, wolves aren’t at the top of his list either.  I hope that InuYasha somehow shows up soon though I don’t know how he will even know what happened.  If not, I sure hope that they take me to where Ayame is.  Ayame would help me.  Assuming that I’m alive at that point.

This wasn’t the first time she wished that she hadn’t fought with InuYasha.  She just hoped it wouldn’t be the last.



Some distance away, InuYasha was following the trail of the wolves.  Sango and Miroku were still riding Kirara, but Shippo now clung to InuYasha’s shoulder where Kagome usually sat.  Suddenly, Kouga appeared out of the underbrush, branches and leaves swirling behind him.

“Where’s Kagome?” he demanded of InuYasha.

InuYasha was riled immediately.  “That’s what I want to know,” he snarled.  “She’s been kidnapped by a bunch of your wolves!”

“My wolves!  My wolves all love Kagome.  It couldn’t have been my wolves!”  Kouga was as dramatic as usual.

“They were wolves, weren’t they??” InuYasha snarled.

“That doesn’t mean they are mine!”  The two rivals glared at each other, ready to come to blows.  “Besides, wasn’t she in your care?  How could you be so careless as to let her get kidnapped in the first place, Muttface?”

“I didn’t let her get kidnapped, you mangy wolf!”  InuYasha’s sword, the Tetsuaiga, slid far too easily from its sheathe.  “It’s all your fault, anyhow!”

“My fault?  How could it be my fault? I wasn’t even here!”

“InuYasha and Kagome had a fight over you,” piped up Shippo.  Miroku snatched up the fox child, and covered his mouth.

“Shut up, Shippo,” growled InuYasha, not taking his eyes off of Kouga.

“Ho!  That’s my woman!” chortled the wolf Yōkai, hands on his hips.  As he laughed, his dark hair bound up in a ponytail swished, matching the twitching of his tail.

“That’s not what happened,” snapped InuYasha.

Even Miroku was unable to keep the irrepressible Shippo quiet.  “InuYasha just gets jealous over you for no reason,” he explained.  This statement made both the Yōkai irritable.

“Shut up!”  Both Kouga and InuYasha barked at the child.  They growled at each other, and began circling to fight.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” chided Miroku.  “Please!  We have a more important issue here!  Kagome is missing!  Kouga, just how did you come to know Kagome was missing?”

Later, Sango would insist that Kouga actually blushed, but neither Miroku nor InuYasha noticed.  At any rate, he did look away and mumble something about a message.

“What was that?”  InuYasha demanded, his fangs showing.

“Nothing!” retorted Kouga, but unfortunately for him, his two loyal companions finally caught up.
 
Hakakaru was completely out of breath, and panting, but Ginta managed to gasp out a question .“Did you find sis?  Ginmaru hasn’t really kidnapped her, has he?"

“Aha!” shouted InuYasha.  “I knew it was all your fault somehow!”

It took both Miroku and Kouga’s constant companions to stop them from fighting then.  Miroku thought he was going to have to get help from Sango to hold InuYasha back, but for once, Shippo helped instead of inciting.  He began crying over the missing Kagome, and both InuYasha and Kouga had the grace to look abashed.

“I will go rescue Kagome,” announced Kouga.  “She is after all my woman.”

InuYasha said a few words that made Sango cover Shippo’s ears.  “I’ve heard him say that before,” he told her.  Sango glared at InuYasha, but as usual, he didn’t notice.

“You will not.  I will.  And she is not your woman,” he growled in instead.

“Why don’t we all go to find her,” said Miroku.  He looked at Kouga knowing he would be the most likely to take off without them.  “After all, she is our companion.  You would not be happy if we went to rescue Ginta if he was in trouble and left you behind.  And since this somehow involves you, it is clear we need your help.”

InuYasha didn’t look happy, and Kouga hesitated before finally agreeing.  The two groups headed north, to find Kagome together.



Kilometers away, Ginmaru and his friends traveled all night. The mountain paths they followed were both rough and narrow.  Kagome was forced to close her eyes from her upside down position over Ginmaru’s shoulder.  She couldn’t decide what was worse, the smell of his furs, the dizzying heights, or being upside down.  She finally fell into an uneasy doze, one that felt more like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

It was fully dark, except for the crest of the moon low on the horizon, when the wolves stopped for a rest.  Kagome half awoke, when Ginmaru slung her to the ground, but it seemed to her nightmare was still happening.



Her rescue team was also forced to stop.  InuYasha wanted to go on without help, but Sango coaxed him into resting a little.  Shippo could barely hold his head up, and fell asleep curled up next to InuYasha, whom he often saw as a rival for Kagome’s attention.  At the same time, InuYasha was his security.  He had lost his father to the terrible Thunder Brothers.  InuYasha rescued Kagome from them, and revenged the death of the little kitsune’s father.  In a way InuYasha took his father’s place, even though the hanyō teased the young Yōkai unmercifully.  They rested until the pink of the dawn crept across the sky.



The sun was fully up when Ginmaru’s group entered the craggy clearing that was the main Wolf tribal home.  Groups of wolves and well as Yōkai were scattered though out the clearing.  Some were doing various tasks, while others were just enjoying the beautiful morning air.

On the highest crag, the Elder was basking in the sun.  Nights tended to bring an ache to his bones, so he often spent his morning in the sun.  Ginmaru didn’t hesitate, but leaped to his ledge, with Kagome over his shoulder.  He tossed the girl at the Elder’s feet, and knelt.

“Hey,” complained Kagome, “Do you really have to be so rough?  That hurt.”  Then she looked up into the grayed muzzle of the Elder right over her, and gulped.  “Oh, my.”

The Elder ignored her and rose up onto his massive haunches.  “Why have you brought this human here?” he growled.

Ginmaru stood proudly.  “I am going to prove to you that Kouga is not a worthy suitor for Ayame,”

Ayame came around the side of her grandfather, lovingly rubbing his graying coat.  ‘What’s going …Kagome? What are you doing here?”

The old wolf gazed at his granddaughter fondly.  When he spoke, the words rumbled through his chest, and he coughed.  “Do you know this human, child?”

“Of course,” the girl answered, “You remember I told you about the priestess that travels with the younger son of the Great Dog Yōkai of the Western lands?”

“Nonsense!” snapped Ginmaru.  “She couldn’t be a priestess!  Look at her!  Does a human priestess dress like that?  And she has shown no sign of power!”

“Oh, she has power enough and more.”  Ayame reached down and pulled Kagome to her feet.  “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Fine, thank you, no thanks to him,” Kagome answered with a sour look at Ginmaru.  Then she turned to the Elder.  “So this is your Grandfather?” she asked and bowed.

The huge wolf nodded his head.  “Welcome to our home, Priestess,” he said, and coughed again.

“Are you all right?” Kagome asked, with a look of concern. 

“The nights are still cold for him,” Ayame said.  “He coughs at night and most of the mornings.”  She hugged the old wolf and he leaned his head against her. 

“I might be able to fix him a hot drink that would help,” Kagome said.  “I could show you how to fix it, and then you could give it to him at night and in the mornings.”

Ginmaru had had enough.  “We know nothing of this human except that Kouga desires her instead of a proper yōkai!”

Kagome saw the flash of hurt and anger in Ayame’s eyes, and realized that Ginmaru had no chance with Ayame; she would refuse anything to do with him.  Kouga was the only one she wanted.  Kagome reached over and squeezed Ayame’s hand briefly.

“You refuse to take my word?” Ayame snarled, standing tall and proud like the princess that she was.  Her only crown might have been flowers, and her dress only furs, but she still had a regal look that Kagome admired.  “If she had her bow, she could show you her power.”

“Yeah, well, I kind of left that with InuYasha after our argument,” Kagome admitted, embarrassed.  “I was so angry, I walked off without them.”

Ayame had witnessed a couple of their arguments.  She smiled at the human girl who dressed so differently from herself in a Japanese school uniform.  Once she had gotten over her initial jealousy of Kagome, the two girls had turned into rather good friends.  “I actually suspected that might be the reason.  I am sure if you had them that one would not have been strong enough to capture you.”  She glared at Ginmaru with the last sentence.

“Ayame,” Kagome said, “don’t…”

Her words were lost as Ginmaru reacted just the way Kagome was afraid he would.  “That’s nonsense,” he growled.  “No human can defeat me!”

“Then we will test her,” declared the Elder.  He let his tongue loll out of his mouth.  Kagome got the distinct impression of laughter.  “Ayame, give the Priestess your bow and arrows.”

The wolf girl hastened to obey and Ginmaru fidgeted.  The Elder ignored him.  Instead, he turned to Kagome.  “This younger son of the Inu daiyōkai, is he strong?”

“Oh yes,” she assured him. “InuYasha is very strong. He has his father’s sword, the Tetsuaiga, as well.”

“So, the great Inu no Taishō provided for his Hanyō son, as well as the elder.  I understand that the elder son has the Tenseiga.”

Kagome gulped.  “You knew InuYasha’s father?”

“We fought together in the great War against the Yōkai of the continent,” he answered; then continued.  “And has this younger son mastered the sword his father left for him?”

Kagome hesitated.  This wily old wolf knew more about InuYasha than he was admitting.  She felt she should tread warily.  “He has mastered many phases of it,” she said.  “But who is to say that there will not always be another phase to master?”

Gee, she thought.  I’ve been spending way too much time with Miroku.  She looked up at the Elder, and again she got the impression of laughter.  I’m not fooling him a bit, she thought.

“What is this young Hanyō like?” the old Yōkai asked.

“Well,” she said slowly, “he’s often rude, and crude and he has a temper.  However, he has always come through for me.  I’m sure he will be here soon, and you will be able to see for yourself.” I hope.

The Elder was quiet for a moment, and Kagome looked into his golden eyes.  There was compassion, and kindness there.  She began to feel that he might be on her side.

Ayame returned with the bow and arrows.  She laid them in front of her Grandfather.  “Ginmaru,” he ordered.  “If she can outshoot you, will you concede the issue?”

Ginmaru hesitated.  “It is Kouga that I wish to defeat,” he said.

“And if this human friend of his, whom you state is proof that he is unworthy of the tribe, can outshoot you, then will this not prove that his friendship with her is wise for the tribe?  After all, you are well known for your ability as a warrior.”

Both mistrustful of what the old wolf was setting him up for, and flattered at his last statement, Ginmaru still hesitated. There’s no way a human can outshoot me, he thought.  Perhaps the Elder is merely trying to keep me from killing Kouga.  He would after all be disgraced once I beat her.  Ginmaru noted the distain with which Ayame ignored him.  It made him angry. He glanced at Kagome again, and noted her thin arms and legs, showing so obviously in her school uniform.  It reaffirmed his conviction.  “Very well,” he said.  “How do you want to do this?’

“Do you see the bit of red in the top of yon pine tree?” the old wolf asked.  Ginmaru nodded.  He thought he could hit it, and doubted the human could even see it.  “Ginmaru, would you take the first shot?” The Elder spoke graciously.

Now it was Kagome’s turn to feel nervous.  She could just barely make out a bit of red, and could only hope it was the right bit of red. 
The whole tribe had gathered around by now.  No one spoke as Ginmaru, took his stance, fitting the arrow to the bow.  He took careful aim.

The arrow flew high, and toward the pine tree that Kagome was counting on.  It was an amazing shot, although his arrow pierced the leaves just under the bit of red.  His shot did not even disturb the goal.  The wolf tribe clapped, and most believed that Ginmaru had won.

Kagome traded places with him.  She glanced back at Ayame and her grandfather, and was reassured by a smile.  She took her stance.  Please, she thought, please hit the mark.  It’s so far away!  Oh please, hit it!  Carefully she took aim.  Her arrow sped on its way, and though she did not know it, the Elder noted the spirit energy gathering around the arrow.  He was the only one not surprised when the arrow disappeared into the pine along with the bit of red.

Kagome sagged with relief, but Ginmaru turned toward her, and his fangs glistened.  Before anyone could move, and before Kagome even realized she was in danger, the Elder and Ginmaru, now in wolf form were battling at her feet.  “Oops,” she stammered and fell back.

It was all over within a minute, and Ginmaru, fully disgraced, lay with his head down, before the Elder.  The old wolf slapped the younger wolf with one massive paw, and the yōkai rolled from the ledge.  There his friends gathered him up and carried him off to the cave.  It would be some time before his injuries would heal, but even then, it would be longer before Ginmaru would get over his disgrace, for the Elder had swatted him as a cub.

Kagome didn’t know about until later, although she did notice the laugher that followed Ginmaru.  Her concern was for the Elder. Although he won, the crafty old wolf was bleeding from one nasty bite.  She stepped quietly over to Ayame, and the two disappeared into the tree line.  Kagome soon found the herbs she was looking for and made sure that Ayame could find them as well. It was close to midday when the Elder retreated into his cave, and allowed Kagome to dress his wounds.  She also prepared the tea for his cough and showed Ayame how make it, so that she would remember how to do it.

Though they were busy and talking together, they still heard the disturbance in the clearing.  Kagome looked up with a smile when she heard InuYasha’s voice.  She fairly danced from the Elder’s cave, calling his name.  He looked up and she leaped from the ledge straight into his arms.  “That was a bit dangerous,” he scolded.  “Suppose I hadn’t looked up in time?”
 
The joy in her voice made her sound a bit breathless.  “I knew you’d catch me.”  He hugged her tight, and whispered, so no one else could hear.
 
“I was worried about you, you know.”

Her smile was bright.  She heard the meaning behind his words.  “I’m sorry, too.  Ok?”

By this time, Ayame and the Elder were on the ledge.  He noted with pleasure at the relationship between the girl and the hanyō, son of his old friend. 

Kouga was angry and looking for Ginmaru.  Ayame dropped lightly beside him.  “You don’t need to worry about him.  Kagome took care of him.”

“Oh, hi, Ayame,” Kouga said, a little embarrassed.  He really didn’t quite know what to do with this Princess of his tribe, who claimed him.  His crush on Kagome kept him from seeing the truth, but Ayame knew she would win in the end.  Perhaps Kouga faintly recognized the truth of it, and that’s why she embarrassed him.

The Elder wanted to get to know InuYasha, so the five friends ended up staying the evening with the wolf tribe.  Kagome, kept her arm tucked into InuYasha’s and he didn’t resist her.  Miroku would later insist to Sango that InuYasha had all he could do to keep an eye on Kouga and carry on a conversation with the Elder, and so was too distracted to be embarrassed.  Kouga, on the other hand, had all he could do to put off Ayame, without really insulting her in from of their tribe.  Kagome just smiled and watched them, and listened to the stories that the Elder told InuYasha about his father.

Ayame proudly recounted the story of her friend outshooting Ginmaru.  InuYasha looked up surprised.  Out of his haori, he pulled an arrow tangled in a cluster of berries, dried hard.  “We found this on the trail coming in.  I could smell Kagome on it and picked it up."

The Elder started laughing, and laughed until he was coughing.  Kagome ran to make him a dose of the hot tea.  When he could finally get his breath, he asked InuYasha for the arrow and berries.  The rest of the evening, he would periodically burst into laughter.

The five friends left the tribe the next morning.  When she got the chance to talk to InuYasha without the others hearing, she asked him.  “Are you glad you met the Elder?”

The hanyō shrugged and didn’t answer.  Kagome pressed a little further.  “I mean he did tell you a lot about your father and all.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Well?”

“Well what?”  InuYasha snapped.  He looked her in the eyes and sighed.  “Well, I already knew the old man was a great Yōkai and all.  I don’t suppose I’ll ever be much like him.”

Kagome hesitated.  “Remember when I talked to the Elder just before we left?”  InuYasha nodded, so she continued.  “He said that the great Inu no Taishō would be very proud of his son.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she said. 

InuYasha’s mood improved immediately. “Hey, guys let’s get a move on!  Those jewel shards ain’t gonna find themselves!”  InuYasha picked up the pace, leaving Miroku and Sango to catch up.  Secure on InuYasha’s back, Kagome hugged him tight, and smiled to herself as she remembered the rest of what the Elder had said to her. 

“He would also be proud of the woman his son has chosen.  And I am proud to call you my friend.”


Hanyō ~half human, half Yōkai  InuYasha’s mother was human
Haori ~men’s short kimono, worn over hamaka, which are baggy pants.
Kitsune ~Japanese fox spirit
Inu daiyōkai ~great dog spirit; refers to InuYasha’s father
Inu no Taishō~great dog general: InuYasha’s father’s title
Yōkai ~ Japanese nature spirit, literally “otherworldly weird”

If you want to know more about InuYasha and Kagome check out  http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/inuyasha-english-dubbed-online-free