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Koga wasn’t worried. He had simply caught the dog’s scent and thought he would follow it. It had nothing to do with the quick approach of the new moon and the strange distance Inuyasha’s scent was from his human village. They had kept loosely in touch with occasional visits; however, Kagome was gone and Koga had a pack to lead. Their rivalry had lost most of its fire at this point, mostly due to Inuyasha’s own will to fight. Last Koga had visited him nearly three years ago the inu was slouched in the goshinboku tree and gave him little more than a few halfhearted insults coupled with dull glares. Despite everything, he knew that the hanyou wasn’t one for roaming lately. He seemed eternally glued to the scattering of human huts and the strange well that he claimed Kagome had gone through. What exactly that meant had been the point of several confusing arguments. Koga had long-since let go of the specifics of Kagome’s existence and let her be an otherworldly figure that passed through his memories occasionally. The sky was already dipping into twilight as Koga stalked along the winding path Inuyasha’s scent lead. The demonic twinge of it was already disappearing and Koga had to wonder what the mutt was up to. Didn’t he guard his human night with the utmost care? Now, here he was strolling through some random forest just asking for a demon to make him a late evening snack.
Koga hadn’t intentionally kept his footsteps quiet, however, it underestimated how dulled Inuyasha’s senses were when he emerged from the foliage to see the hanyou walking ahead of him completely unaware of his presence. A wicked smirk stretched across Koga’s features and he darted forward, grabbing the inu’s shoulders and huffing a loud growl into his ear. “HOLY SHIT-!” Inuyasha screeched and whipped around, wrenching out of Koga’s grip and pulling out tessaiga in one fumbled motion. Koga laughed at the furious expression on the other’s face, completely unbothered by the half-transformed sword pointed at him. “What the fuck is wrong with you, you mangy wolf?!” Tessaiga lowered, though the tension didn’t leave Inuyasha’s shoulders.
“It’s your own fault for not hearing me, mutt.” Inuyasha only glared harder at that. Koga took a swift step forward, watching with interest as the amber quite literally drained from the hanyou’s irises, darkening to a soft gray. Inuyasha shoved him away as ebony colored his hair, starting at the roots and travelling downward like ink. Koga had never actually seen the other’s transformation in person before and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t fascinated by it. Most interesting was the way his ears shifted and travelled downwards into normal human ones. He looked younger without the aid of his demonic features, his face rounder and eyes losing their feral glint. The wolf was so entranced with the change that he failed to notice the rising anxiety in Inuyasha’s scent.
“Stop staring at me,” Inuyasha snapped and took a few steps backward, eyes falling to his sword that was nothing more than a scratched and rusted blade. Koga rolled his eyes and shrugged. No matter how depressed he hanyou acted, he was always a whiny bitch. The wolf almost appreciated the consistency if it wasn’t annoying as all hell. Koga would stick around, if not for the entertainment Inuyasha always offered, then for the opportunity to take in his human face. As much as Ayame was beautiful and good for strengthening the pack, Koga was partial to…well, something else. He was scouting new hunting routes, nothing terribly important that needed his attention. Everything about Inuyasha’s posture screamed he wanted Koga to leave him alone but the wolf was never one to listen to orders.
“What are you doing out here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be holed up in with that ancient miko praying her weak powers are enough to protect you?” His words were cruel, but his tone was light and teasing. Inuyasha frowned at him, features darkening with suspicion. Koga snickered and darted the rest of the short distance between them so he could throw an arm around the human’s shoulders. Inuyasha flinched away from his touch with a snarl that paled in comparison to his usual one. Koga watched him with a lazy grin, eyes studying the other’s human features. While Inuyasha’s human features were rather striking, Koga much preferred the other’s hanyou appearance in all honesty. The amber eyes and bright silver hair, a mark of royal lineage that the wolf liked more than he would care to admit. Even all those times he chased after Kagome; he couldn’t help taking note of Inuyasha’s features. He would have to be an idiot to not know at least some of the tales of the great dog lord of the west. He probably knew more about the other’s lineage than he did himself, Inuyasha sure as hell didn’t act like he knew he was royalty.
“That’s none of your business, so fuck off,” Inuyasha practically growled as he stepped away and began quickly walking, stumbling more like it, towards whatever destination he was travelling to. Koga let him go, dipping away into the gloom of the trees without a sound. He followed along the human’s path until the sky grew dark enough that Inuyasha seemed to think it too dangerous to continue and he began eyeing the trees for a viable hiding spot. Koga reached out to rustle the bush next to him, amused when Inuyasha jolted and stared in his direction. Koga had to do little more than let the shadows cover him for those weak gray eyes to scan over him unseeingly. Really, the dog was trying to get himself killed. Koga growled low and loud in his throat, loud enough that even those dull human ears would be able to pick it up with ease. He almost felt bad when those dark eyes went wide and Inuyasha scrambled back. The other took out his sword again, holding it out in front of him as if that would do any damage to a demon whatsoever.
Koga finally felt a twinge of guilt at his teasing when the scent of fear met his nose and he took in how Inuyasha had pressed his back against a tree, jaw clenched and shoulders so tense they shook just a tad. He emerged from the underbrush with a lazy wave, marveling a bit at how long it took Inuyasha to be able to make him out in the dark. “If it was anyone else, you’d be dead.” At his voice, Inuyasha groaned but let some of the tension leave him. The wolf walked over and grabbed Inuyasha’s wrist to tug him away from the trees he was previously thinking of hiding in. The human was trying to pull from his grip but he paid it no mind as he tried to remember this stretch of woods, wondering if there were any good spots, he could dump the other that he wouldn’t immediately get swarmed by lowly demons. With all the fear-scent Inuyasha was giving off, it was solely thanks to Koga’s demonic aura flanking out around them that demons hadn’t attacked.
He realized that there were no caves or anything that Inuyasha could hunker down in so he cheered himself for being so entirely selfless and heaved the human into his arms before leaping up into a nearby tree. A yelp met his ears and he didn’t bother to hide his grin when arms snaked around his neck. He leapt into the high branches, finding one that would support them both and lowered himself onto it. Inuyasha squirmed in his grip, pushing away from him and cursing loudly. “I wouldn’t if I were you, dog-face.”
“What-” Inuyasha’s words were cut off as a particularly strong breeze rushed past them and Koga intentionally let his grip loosen enough to make his point. It wasn’t that in his human form Inuyasha could ever put up a fight against him, but all his wiggling and shifting was starting to ruin his mood. The body in his arms dipped forward, dark eyes staring briefly into the sheer drop below them before going rigid and re-wrapping his arms around Koga’s neck. “Don’t read into this, you bastard.”
“We’ll both pretend you aren’t wrapped in my arms like some weak damsel. Then when the sun comes up you can go right back to being your loudmouth self, deal?” Inuyasha glared and moved away, suddenly ready to fall to his death than stay near the wolf. Koga tightened his hold and let his smirk ease into something softer and more teasing. “Come on, pup. I’m just teasing you.” Humans were always so sensitive, getting ruffled by every little thing. He supposed he shouldn’t be too surprised considering the obvious fear and sadness coming off the other in waves. Usually, Inuyasha could keep his deeper emotions under control but it seemed his human night made that impossible. It took a few minutes but Inuyasha leaned into his hold, resigning himself to his fate. They let the silence fall over them, the air growing chilled as night fully took over. Inuyasha shuddered against the wind and Koga pulled the human closer and rested his chin on the other’s shoulder. “You gonna tell me why you’re out here on your human night?”
“Fuck off.”
“Don’t be a bitch. I’m sorry for scaring you before,” He huffed into Inuyasha’s neck. He even offered a bit of a nuzzle to try and soften the other up, but Inuyasha snorted and remained silent. Koga considered pushing it but instead relaxed against the trunk of the tree and let his eyes roam over the stars dotting the sky. The occasional shudder quickly became a constant shiver and Koga silently encouraged Inuyasha to tuck into him. Stubborn as the inu was, he refused to do so. “I’m already holding you, just come closer before that human body of yours gets sick.”
“I heard rumors of a woman who had the ability to control time. That’s why I’m out here.” Inuyasha’s voice was unusually subdued as he pulled his limbs closer, trusting Koga wouldn’t let him fall from their perch. The wolf took the chance to pull Inuyasha more firmly into his chest with a please rumble. “It was a lie. She was nothing more than a witch with some fancy tricks.” Koga hummed in sympathy. He knew how much Kagome’s disappearance hurt Inuyasha. Koga felt the loss as well but it was short-lived. He had been drawn to the young girl’s fiery personality and sweet appearance but she was human and he never truly saw himself living a long life with her. Mostly because a long life with a human was pitifully short and spiritual powers or not, Kagome would die long, long before him. It was honestly far more fun to mess with the hanyou’s obvious jealousy, than to seriously pursue the human.
“You know better than to wander around on this night,” Koga murmured. Inuyasha shrugged, his dark hair falling over his expression. Koga growled, letting his claws prick lightly at the human’s skin. Not enough to draw blood but just enough that his displeasure was apparent. “Don’t you dare do that, mutt. Kagome is gone but you can’t give up.”
Inuyasha didn’t bother to pull away from the pain that Koga’s claws caused. He heaved a sigh, long and rattled as if a hand was tight around his throat. “I can do what I want. It doesn’t concern you, Koga.” No jabs or nasty nicknames. It made the wolf’s chest tight with unease. The idea of losing Inuyasha, not even to a battle or a fierce demon, but to his own depression scared him. He realized quite suddenly that the inu was important to him. Inuyasha wasn’t just some throwaway rival or weakling for Koga to tease. Unsurprisingly, saving the world was great for bringing people close together. He loved his pack, would protect them with his life but Inuyasha was different. He was strong and unyielding in a way that challenged and intrigued him. He didn’t put up with anyone’s shit and Koga liked that. But with the realization that Inuyasha was someone he couldn’t lose; he noticed his own blindness to the complexity of Inuyasha’s person.
“It does when you’re basically serving yourself up on a platter for some random demon. What about those other humans, uh, Sango and Miroku? Or that fox and the old miko?” He caught himself before he added himself to the list. Inuyasha scoffed and his head fell back against the wolf’s shoulder, revealing his solemn expression. Koga understood. Humans never knew the importance of a pack or staying together. They scattered to whatever caught their eye with only the barest inclination to the bonds that tied them to other’s that weren’t blood. He pitied the dog for trying to surround himself with humans. “They left, didn’t they?”
Dark eyes met his own, both surprised by the animosity in Koga’s tone. Confusion colored Inuyasha’s cheeks and he quickly ducked his head at their close proximity. “They have their own lives and families. Miroku and Sango have children now and Shippo left to train with the kitsune. I can’t keep them with me just when they have something better. I thought Kagome would stay, at least, but she…has her own place where she belongs. And it was never here.” Maybe it was his human weakness, but Inuyasha’s voice came out whispered and hurt. Koga pushed his face into the juncture between Inuyasha’s neck and shoulder with a growl of reassurance. He didn’t know how it would translate when the other was human but he hoped the message wouldn’t be lost.
“Why don’t you come back with me? Come to my pack.” Silence stretched between them and Koga was more disappointed than he expected when his offer was left hanging. It wouldn’t be easy to integrate a non-wolf into the pack, a hanyou at that. He hasn’t horribly worried since Inuyasha’s strength was undeniable and with the alpha backing him up the other wolves wouldn’t put up too much argument. But wolves were known for being brutal towards humans and a backlash would be inevitable. Silence fell between them, thick and heavy with thought as they both lost themselves to their own ponderings. At some point Inuyasha turned so his face was pressed up against Koga’s and neither said a word of it. It wasn’t until dawn painted the sky a soft yellow and a rush of youki surrounded them both that Inuyasha spoke up, his voice hoarse.
“I’ll think about it.” Koga grinned against Inuyasha’s neck and offered a playful nip to the soft skin there, which only caused Inuyasha to curse and leap away. His smile softened to something more wistful as he watched the red and white figure disappear into the trees.