Written for the KogKag Secret Santa 2019 gift exchange for Underwater0phelia on tumblr.

"What are your plans today, Kagome?"

Hakkaku's voice jerked her from her daze, landing Kagome right back in the middle of the field. It was the first clear day in over a week and she was finally allowed out under the sun. The storm had been horrendous and the weather even worse. Kouga had forbidden anyone to leave the den until he was certain it was safe to go out.

Though she didn't know why the mandate included her as well. It wasn't like she was really a part of the pack.

"Is there anything I'm allowed to do?" she asked, unable to keep any of her pent up bitterness from her tone.

Thankfully, Hakkaku understood. He was one of the few who treated her well. The other beta, Ginta, was also nice when he spoke to her. Kouga… Well, the alpha wasn't mean, per se, but he wasn't nice either.

Hakkaku sighed and lowered himself to sit next to her on the grass. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but you're not a prisoner here."

Her glare was enough to give her response to that.

He had the grace to duck his head. "At least, you're not a prisoner we usually take."

Right. Because they didn't ever take live prisoners.

"It's only until he's sure about you."

And wasn't that the crux of it. Treated as if she were the danger when the pack ate humans!

"Having an untrained miko around isn't something we usually deal with." Hakkaku stretched out on the grass, folding his hands behind his head in a makeshift pillow as he looked up at the bright blue sky. "Especially when you know where the jewel is."

"It's not like he needs it," she muttered, ignoring the untrue part so she would't have to lie. "The jewel is too dangerous to play with like that. Who knows when it's going to turn on him."

"Why are you so certain it'll turn?"

She huffed a laugh at that. "It always turns. That's the whole point. Get the unsuspecting user comfortable enough to let their guard down and then it takes over." She brought her knees up to her chest, linking her arms around her ankles. "He might be strong enough to override the initial desires now, but what happens when it learns his weaknesses and uses them against him?"

"It won't."

The new voice had her freezing, her back stiffening until she thought her spine might crack. Deep, powerful, dangerous. She hadn't felt him approach and now it seemed she attracted his attention. Still, Kagome hadn't backed down before and she refused to back down now. Showing any sort of weakness against him would only backfire on her in the end. "You can't be sure of that."

Powerful tan legs moved into her vision. "You can't be sure it will."

"Yes, I can," Kagome snapped. "I've seen it affect far stronger youkai than yourself."

"Oh really?" His lips quirked in a cruel smirk as he crouched down to look her in the eye. "You're used to tangling with stronger youkai, are you?"

His question reeked of a trap. She didn't know what to expect, but she didn't think this would end well. "I'm not usually the one tangling with them," Kagome answered, going for honesty, "but I've seen what it can do and you won't be the only one hurt when it decides to act."

His smirk widened, revealing his fangs. Amusement danced in his eyes, but not the innocent amusement she was used to. This ookami alpha had something up his sleeve and Kagome wanted nothing to do with it.

"But if your presence keeps the jewel from turning," he crooned, "then nothing will happen as long as I have you around."

Unease flushed down her spine. This wasn't good. So far, she'd been stuck in the den due to weather and travel, but this? The idea that Kouga would keep her trapped for his own gain? Kagome didn't know how to handle that.

"I have to get the jewel back where it belongs," she said carefully, her voice clear even as her hands trembled. "It needs to go back before it falls in the wrong hands."

"Wrong hands such as mine?"

She looked away then, not quite sure what to believe. "Anyone's," she clarified. "The jewel needs to stay with someone who can keep it pure."

"Even though Kikyo's the one who lost it in the first place?"

Kagome bit her tongue. Explaining this mess — that Kikyo didn't lose the jewel, that Kikyo did all she could to keep it contained, that it was Kagome's stupid wish to try and get rid of the jewel that landed her in this new timeline with a Kouga that didn't recognize her — it was all useless. She didn't want to believe it herself, but that's where she was. Kikyo and Inuyasha were living happily ever after together while she was stuck away from her home and stuck reliving what could have happened.

With Kouga.

Not that there was anything wrong with Kouga, but this Kouga was still eating humans and didn't trust her and didn't… He didn't know who she was.

And didn't that just hurt.

"It's not like you can travel with it alone," he said, drawing her back with one clawed hand tugging at her hair. "You'll be dead in a matter of days."

She didn't bother telling him she had no choice. She had to destroy the jewel — again — and hope that maybe she'd have a life that looked somewhat familiar. "I'll figure something out."

"Hmm." He rose to his feet and she could feel his eyes on her, though she refused to look up. "I'm sure you will. Until then, you're going to stay right here."

"Why?" she challenged. "Why won't you let me go?"

He bent at his waist then, making sure she was looking in his eyes before he answered. "It's not that hard to figure out. You just haven't been paying attention."

He stood before she could respond. "Stick with her today," he ordered Hakkaku before he walked off.

Kagome didn't relax until he was out of sight. He was still around — Kouga never truly left for long — but at least he wasn't right there with her.

"What on earth did that mean?" she asked, more to herself.

Hakkaku's laugh came from the grass and she turned to look at the wide grin on the ookami's face. "You really don't know?"

Angling closer, she narrowed her eyes. "Don't know what?"

"You have no idea why Kouga's keeping you around?"

"As his own personal jewel keeper?" she snapped back. "It's not like I offer much else!"

At least to this Kouga. The Kouga she knew would want her around for her company, but this one was different.

That sent Hakkaku into a fit of laughter, his guffaws filling the cleaning.

Okay, maybe they weren't really guffaws, but Kagome hated being so out of the loop. What did they know that she didn't?!

"You crack me up, sis."

Turning back, she rested her chin on her knees with a sigh. She was getting no where with these idiots. And it didn't matter who she asked, she was always met with the same answer — if she was given an answer at all.

Still, she had to keep an eye open for any chance that would let her leave with the jewel.

…

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked Ginta as she followed him up the path of the mountain. He'd woken her early this morning, handing her the yellow backpack they'd confiscated and quietly telling her to follow.

"We need you to look at something," he answered over his shoulder.

"Right now?" The sun was barely rising, the dim glow of dawn slowly lighting the mountain tops. Shadows stretched along the valleys and Kagome wasn't quite sure there was any good reason to be out so early.

"Yes, right now," Hakkaku answered, having joined their little team at the top of the den. There was another youkai she'd spoken to with Hakkaku and one more trailing a bit behind them. Was he there to make sure no one followed? Or to keep her from running?

Not like she could run. The youkai would catch her in a heartbeat and even if she managed to outsmart them, she didn't have the jewel and Kouga would track her down in no time. He seemed to know where she was at all times, almost as if she had a jewel of her own that he could detect.

Shaking the man from her thoughts, she continued her climb. The backpack was welcome, but heavy. The couple weeks in the den spoiled her. Still, she wouldn't complain. Last thing she wanted to do was give the impression she needed their help.

The sun was starting to peek over the mountains when Ginta finally stopped. She finished her climb and found him just away from the edge of a cliff. There was a wide valley in between and Kagome caught herself from letting them know she recognized the site.

"Do you feel the jewel?"

"There?" she asked, pointing toward the homes for the Birds of Paradise.

"Anywhere."

The four ookami looked at her expectantly. Blowing out a breath, Kagome turned toward the cliff face. Why are they asking her? The jewel was back in the den. It hadn't moved in three days, even though Kouga kept alluding to it. Did they not believe she could feel it?

"It's in the den," she answered honestly after a bit of silence, "about halfway between us and the entrance. There's nothing over there."

One of the silent youkai howled, a large, loud sound that made her jump.

"A little warning next time?!" she half-shrieked when the howl ended. "I almost jumped off the cliff."

He gave a bashful but amused smile. "Sorry about that."

"Uh huh." Heart pounding in her ears and not believing that for a second, she turned back to Ginta. "Why did you ask? There's just one jewel and it hasn't left the den."

Ginta opened his mouth to answer, but a strong pulse caught her attention. She turned to look down the path just as a wind funnel flew up. Kagome shielded her eyes from the flying dirt and the noise quieted just in time for Kouga to speak.

"She find something?" he asked gruffly.

"Nothing," Ginta answered.

Kouga cursed, his brows pulled down in a frown. "They don't have a jewel?"

"She says no. Seems to be another fake."

A fake?

"So there's nothing over there?" Kouga's weighted gaze turned to her as she steeled her spine to keep from taking a step back. "Nothing at all?"

"Not the jewel."

"Huh." He glanced over, then a smile tugged at his mouth, showing off a fang. "Then I guess we better go see what they do have."

Before she knew what happened, she was in Kouga's arms as he flung them both off the cliff.

…

"I'm going to kill you," she hissed after they made sure the small cave was empty. "I'm going to wrap my hands around your neck and purify you from teeth to toes."

He pressed close against her, his chuckle rumbling against her back. "That sounds a little vicious for a human, doesn't it?"

Kagome barely kept from swatting him away from her ear. "I'm still going to do it."

"No, you're not," Kouga said, his breath ghosting over her ear. "You're going to wait for me to take you back to the den and then you're going to ignore me for as long as I let you."

She hated how well he knew her. It reminded her of before — when he actually knew her and cared for her and saw her. She had to remind herself that this wasn't the Kouga she knew.

"No argument?" He sounded amused.

"Just shut up," she snapped quietly. "Why are we here?"

He paused, her words settling between them, then he gently moved away. "There's some sort of stone giving one of the birds a power similar to the jewel. I want to figure out where it came from."

"Is it one of the fakes you were talking about?"

"Yeah. A few have been popping up here and there. No one seems to know where they're coming from."

She had an idea, but didn't say any more. The jewel seemed to enjoy making her relive certain events, even when so many other things had changed. Kouga didn't think anything of her silence and they quickly moved from cave to cave.

Each one was eerily empty.

"Where did they go?" she asked when the climbed up to the fifth one.

"Who?"

"The birds of paradise."

He sent her a sharp look, his blue eyes practically glowing in the poorly lit cave. She almost groaned out loud when she realized what she said.

"How do you know what they are?"

He's going to smell a lie, she thought grimly. Shoot. How was she going to get out of this one? "I've encountered them before."

His gaze was assessing, but he let none of his thoughts through. "They liked to terrorize the human villages before they started attacking my pack," he mused.

She didn't say anything in response.

"Did you purify any?"

Kagome shook her head. She hadn't figured that out the last time they faced the birds.

"Can you purify one now?"

"If I had my arrows, yeah."

He didn't say anything to that, but kept moving them up the cliff. Six more caves, all deserted the same as before, until they finally entered the one at the top. The air was still, dreary, and Kouga moved in front of her.

"It smells like death," he murmured, carefully stepping around the fallen rocks.

Kagome followed, doing her best to copy his silent moves. So far, so good, but she knew things would be very different should something in that cave move.

They continued further, bones and rocks all giving way until she could see a few feathers scattered along the ground. Kouga ignored them as he continued until he finally stopped. Kagome squinted through the shadows but couldn't make out what caught his attention.

"Can you see?" he asked.

"No. What is it?"

"Is there anything in that pack of yours that could help you?"

Did he know? Kagome swung her backpack around her torso, unzipping it and rummaging around until she found her flashlight. She almost grabbed the matches instead, but that wouldn't give enough light. Flicking it on, she looked further in the cave and gasped.

The large leader lay on the ground, dead. She couldn't find any blood, but there was a black sphere resting on the ground in front of it. The stone didn't reflect the light of her flashlight and she moved toward it without thinking.

Kouga caught her with an arm across her chest to keep her from moving closer. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but it looks like the jewel."

"It killed the bird," he said, shifting closer to her. "How did it do that?"

The aura from the stone was powerful, drinking in the youki pouring off Kouga even as they stood there. If he spent too much time with it, there'd be nothing left of him. "I think I can purify the stone," she said instead.

"And if you can't?"

That was odd. He almost sounded like he cared? Kagome shook the thought off. "I can."

He was hesitant, but he eventually let her pass. Flashlight in one hand, Kagome neared the carcass, the oppressive aura of death filtering from the orb. It lashed against her, but she pulled her powers to her fingertips and reached out.

A wave of pink light shattered from the stone, a crack almost cutting it in two. Kouga shouted and lept back, but Kagome continued on until she could grab the stone for herself.

Kouga's clawed hand gripped her forearm before he yanked her toward the front of the cave.

"What was that?" he demanded.

Kagome ignored him for the stone in her hand. It looked like glass now with the crack only toward the center and then stopping. Almost like her powers broke through the stone until it could purify what was living at the center. She lifted it to show Kouga.

"It looks like nothing," he said.

"I don't know what it was, but it's harmless now." Careful of the crack, she smoothed her thumb over one side. "Seems whatever was trapped in it is gone."

Kouga was silent and when she finally looked up, she saw why. His gaze was firmly fixed on the still lit flashlight in her hand. Panic flashed through her. Kagome had no idea what he was going to do if he found out she was from another time. Or anything about her past.

She flicked off the flashlight and he finally looked at her.

"It seems you've been keeping secrets," he rumbled at her. Kouga stepped into her space, crowding her until all she could see was the breadth of his shoulders. "What is that?"

Her eyes closed, her shoulders drooped, and she tried to think of something she could say.

Kouga hummed after a stretch of silence. "Keep thinking, you'll tell me the truth eventually."

She almost snapped at him, but bit the inside of her cheek. If the old Kouga found out? He'd blink at her, make sure she was telling the truth, and then proceed to ask her a million questions. This Kouga? She was scared he'd find a way to use that for his own gain.

His nose wrinkled on his next breath and he took a step away. "You ready to get back?" His voice sounded a little colder, a little more distant.

"Sure."

This time when he picked her up and leaped out of the cave, she was prepared.

…

Another bright sky had her sitting next to the river a couple days later, using a stick to draw doodles in the damp soil. Things changed after getting back from the caves. The ookami seemed to have settled with her living with them, she started making a few tentative friends she enjoyed hanging out with, and Kouga was avoiding her.

It was weird.

She only brought it up once. Ginta had asked her that morning what she wanted to do and when he led her out to the empty area, she chanced asking him what was going on. She was surprised he answered with a smile.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," he'd said before telling her he would be back around lunch.

Kagome waited until he left before kicking the dirt and ranting her frustrations. She finally started getting her groove, finally adjusted to what the jewel did to her, and now Kouga's gone off and acting weird? Not even old Kouga would do this. He'd be shouting from the top of the mountain until he thought it was resolved.

"Stupid youkai," she muttered under her breath as she stabbed the stick into the dirt. "Stupid era, stupid jewel, stupid—"

"Miko."

A stern voice jerked her around, wide eyes looking up at Kouga standing right behind her, his face almost pressed against her hair.

"Are you okay?" His tone was harsh and demanding, but laced with concern.

"Uh, yeah?" she stuttered. What was he doing here?

"You're bleeding. What happened?"

Bleeding? Shaking off her confusion, she cast a mental inventory of her body. "Nothing happened. I'm not—"

She stopped, counting back the weeks in her head. Oh no.

Kouga seemed to understand the same moment she did. "Humans have different cycles," he said gruffly. One clawed hand wrapped around her arm. "Let's go."

Kagome had no choice, jumping to her feet and hurrying after him down the path away from the den.

"Why didn't you tell me this was coming?" he demanded as they entered the forest.

"I lost track of time," she hissed in response. "Where are you taking me?"

"Away from the den." He jerked her into his arms and started running. "A bleeding human and a cave of wolves don't mix."

Well. No, they didn't.

"So what now?" she asked, tense and uncomfortable with her current position.

"You tell me. Where did you go during this time before coming to our den?"

She flinched. Home, she wanted to say. She always went home. Used the time to check on her family, rest, refill her supplies, and catch up on school. But things changed now — she graduated high school, she didn't have any supplies to add, and she didn't even know if she could get home.

"Don't think up a lie to give me," he growled, though his growl didn't sound threatening. "I don't know that I can handle smelling a lie on you right now."

She heaved a sigh and resolved herself to telling him the truth. "I go home and spend the week there."

"You said you don't have a home."

"I said I don't have a home here."

Kouga came to an abrupt stop. "Explain."

She'd put this off far enough. Kouga wasn't going to let her go anywhere until he knew what was going on. "My home is on the other side of the bone-eater's well."

"There's nothing in that forest."

"Kouga." She met his eyes, bright blue and focused intently on her. "Please."

A fang poked into his lip and he nodded.

"I'm not from this era. The jewel dragged me down the well and when I climbed out, I found myself here. Five hundred years in the past."

"You're trying to tell me that you traveled through an old, rotten well from the future?"

She knew he wouldn't believe her. "Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but that's exactly what happened."

"And you traveled back through the well when your heat starts?"

"Cycle, not heat," Kagome clarified, already used to explaining the differences between humans and dogs to a certain hanyou. "And yes. I typically hopped down the well, visited my family, and then came back."

His eyes didn't leave her and after silence settled around them, he gave a long, slow sniff. He adjusted her in his grip and then started running again. "Why did you come back?"

Of course he would ask that.

"It's a really long story."

"It's not like I don't have time."

"You're not going to believe me."

"It can't be worse than what you just said."

"If only you knew."

He nudged her cheek with his nose, drawing her attention back to him. "Try me."

She shook her head. "I can't. I have trouble believing it myself and some of it, I don't even understand."

Kouga switched direction and she knew enough of the region to know he was skirting around a village. "Does it have anything to do with why your scent is so familiar?"

That bit of information jolted her right up, blinking at him as he kept running. "My scent is familiar?"

"As familiar as one of my wolves."

Maybe he did remember somewhere in the back of his psyche. And if he knew her scent, did that mean the original timeline wasn't lost? Only shielded a bit?

Kagome swallowed, trying to put the story into words. Where did she even begin?

"Did you jumping times have any effect on our world?"

She considered that question. It wasn't that her jumping affected it, but her actions in this era totally did. How did she explain that? "If it did, I don't know about it."

He continued running, his brows furrowing in concentration. "Why were you here?"

Another good questions — one she never got a straight answer for, but she did have a guess. "I think the jewel wanted to be back in this time."

He glanced down at her so she expanded.

"Where I'm from, there aren't any youkai. At least, there aren't youkai that I know about. Only humans. And to us, the jewel is a fairy tale, something that we tell our kids when trying to put them to bed."

He didn't say anything, but she could tell he wasn't a fan of what she was saying.

"One day, I got too close to the well and the spirit of a youkai that was buried in the well managed to pull me down and through to this time."

"Why did it pull you and not just the jewel?"

"Well, the jewel was in me."

His look this time demanded an answer.

"In my history, the jewel was destroyed in a fire with Kikyo. Her soul reincarnated in me and with that, I also got the jewel."

"Is that why you're a miko, too?"

She paused, all those past insecurities popping up. "I don't think so. They haven't seemed to be connected."

"It seems like there's a lot to this story you're leaving out."

Kagome didn't bother answering that. Of course she was, but she didn't want to go into it now. Turning from him, she was surprised to recognize the forest they were going into. It surprised her even more when Kouga stopped next to the old, familiar well, holding her while looking down into it.

"There's only bones at the bottom."

"I know."

"But you travel through this to go five hundred years in the future?"

She nodded.

"Are you coming back?"

Kagome went still, but Kouga seemed to be expecting that answer. His grip on her tightened and next thing she knew, his nose was at the curve of her neck. Three large sniffs later and his grip loosened.

"Go," he said hoarsely. "Even if you never come back, go. I'd rather you be happy than here."

That startled her. "Kouga?"

"Look," came a harsh growl, "the longer you stay here, the harder it is to let you go. So get gone before I drag you back to my home."

And just like that, the new Kouga merged into the old and she was looking at an old friend.

"Thank you." One last look, and then she turned and jumped into the well.

…

It didn't work.

…

"So you already traveled this world collecting shards of the same jewel that I found you with in order to defeat an evil youkai who played us on a string, but when you made the final wish on the jewel, it changed the timeline, erased you from everyone's memory, and trapped you here?"

Kagome's cheeks were damp and salty, pressed into Kouga's shoulder. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it kept her from sitting on the bones at the bottom of the well.

"Everyone?" he asked.

She nodded. "Inuyasha and Kikyo didn't recognize me, I couldn't find Shippo, Sango had no idea who I was, and you…"

"Treated you like an enemy," he finished.

"It's not your fault," Kagome soothed. "I was some random human walking around with significant miko powers and a ridiculously powerful jewel. What were you supposed to do?"

He hummed in response, his hand stroking calmly down her back. "What are you going to do now?"

She'd cried her eyes out, but it seemed there was still some left as her eyes began to water again. "I have no idea."

"I'm not going to leave you here," he said gently. "You'll be swarmed with youkai by nightfall."

"It's not like I can go back to the den," she retorted. "I don't want to go anywhere. I have no idea how human women deal in this time."

"I'm sure we can figure something out. It's a week right?"

She nodded.

"We can handle a week."

He was trying to cheer her up and even though nothing would lift the heavy weight on her chest, she appreciated the attempt.

"We can stop by the village and see about getting some extra clothes," he offered as if this wasn't the most mortifying thing she'd ever talked about, "and stick next to the river as we go on. I know a few hot springs we can visit if that will help."

Overall, it wasn't the worst idea. It had taken them a bit of maneuvering when she was traveling over the years before, but for her limited resources that seemed doable.

"I can hunt you some food," Kouga continued, "though I'm not the greatest at building a fire."

That brought a weak smile.

"And I know you don't trust me, but I'm not that bad of company. At least I'll try not to be."

Her brows furrowed. "I don't?"

He huffed. "You might have trusted the Kouga you knew, but you've been keeping your distance of me since we met. Can't blame you. I haven't been very accommodating."

In comparison, no, but the old Kouga had kidnapped her in the beginning. Not everything had been different.

"At least this explains how you knew what the birds were. And that light thingy you kept in your pack."

That brought another small smile. "Fighting the birds this time was a lot easier, I have to say."

"I really had jewel shards in my body?" He sounded surprised.

"One in each leg," she confirmed. "When we first met, you also had one in your arm, but the bird bit that from you the first time we fought them."

"Weak pup," he commented. "I must have been younger. I know better than to let my limbs get close to their teeth."

Funny how little bits of the Kouga she knew popped up.

"Are you ready?" he asked. "I'm not trying to rush you, but I think we need to find you a river soon."

A blush flew up her cheeks and she scrambled onto her feet. Kouga stood gracefully, picked her back, and jumped both of them out of the well.

…

It was odd traveling with Kouga this way. When they were alone in the forest, he seemed more relaxed even though he was constantly aware. In the villages, he was quiet and contained, but not overbearing. For the most part, he let her lead and only stepped in when she needed him to.

Different. It was just different.

And it took a couple days to get used to the new way of doing things. Kagome acquired a few pieces of clothing she traded her miko services for and cleaning them definitely took some time, but Kouga was patient. He wasn't in any hurry for her to move faster than she felt like moving. Granted, they didn't have jewel shards to find, but it was still refreshing.

On the third day they came across another one of those fake jewels, this time in the forest. Next to the stone was a massive dead bear — another creature she had previously battled for a jewel shard. Would the fake stones be wherever there had been a jewel shard? No, she thought, there had been none in the den with Kouga.

But how many of them were there?

This one worked just like the last one, cracking as soon as she got close and sending a huge purifying wave in the clearing. Kouga learned from the first one and kept his distance until the stone was clear. And when it was purified, it looked the same. Nothing wrong, nothing unique, nothing to mean anything.

Still, Kagome placed it in her pack and they continued traveling.

It was nice to travel without a set destination. Following Kouga's lead showed her a lot of places she hadn't been able to spend time in before. He explained that he was sticking to common ookami spots and it made sense for Inuyasha to avoid them. As Kagome shared more, she learned that a lot of their common places were safer areas, less visitors and easily defendable. It was neat to see everything through a different lens.

The third and fourth stones were sitting at the bottom of a mountain, two humanoid bodies next to them.

"Did you fight them?" Kouga asked after she purified the stones.

"The Thunder Brothers," she answered. "They kidnapped me and wanted to use me in a stew that would promote hair growth."

He looked at her before cracking out a laugh. "They actually thought it would work?"

"Tell me about it." She paused, looking at the scene. "I don't see a fox pelt, so maybe Shippo's family stayed safe after all."

"The kit, right?" Kouga's nose twitched and he moved to stand next to her. "I still don't remember it, but that fits. You with a small kit." He turned to her. "Is that how I met you?"

"You captured us both," she answered with a smile. "And when I managed to sneak Shippo out to safety, you declared I was your woman."

Kouga laughed again, this one a booming sound that filled the clearing. "Oh yeah, definitely a young pup."

They continued moving, Kouga leading her deeper into the forest than usual. "You feel up for a hot spring?"

Every bone in Kagome's body cried out in relief at the thought. "There's one nearby?"

"Yep," his smile was evident in his tone. "It's not far. I'll set up camp and then hunt down some dinner so you can spend some time soaking."

She didn't even think of protesting the offer. After five days of continuous travel and bathing in the cold rivers, a hot spring sounded like heaven.

She heard him giving a sniff and a small blush flared up her neck. Not as bad as it was in the beginning, but this would take some getting used to.

"We should be able to start heading back to the den tomorrow," he said nonchalantly. "If we keep our current pace, it'll take two days' travel."

Kagome smiled, grateful at everything he was doing for her. "We'll know by tomorrow afternoon if we're in the clear."

He shrugged, his shoulders moving easily and his back rippling with the effect. "We can make that decision tomorrow, then."

…

The hot spring was bliss. Absolute bliss. Kouga was true to his word — he showed here where the spring was then headed off to make camp. Kagome took no time stripping and submerging in the water, scrubbing off the grit and grime and sweat before finding a smooth rock to lean against. The sand at the bottom felt great on her toes and the soap they got from the village smelled wonderful in her hair. All she needed was a nice cup of tea and it would be the life.

Bushes rustled behind her, but she didn't tense.

"I found a couple fish downstream. Will that work for you?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." She'd finish here and then start the fire so she could cook her dinner.

"Good." His voice sounded closer. "How's the water?"

"Amazing. Exactly what I needed."

"I'm glad."

He stopped moving, but the air was heavy with his unspoken thoughts. Craning around, she poked her head over the boulder to see Kouga standing a few yards away, gaze fixed intently on the wet clothes laid out over another rock to dry.

"Is everything okay?"

When he looked at her, his eyes were ringed with red and his fangs seemed larger in his mouth. "There room for one more?"

Kagome stilled. It was a weighted question and she knew he wasn't just asking about the water. If she said yes he would be in her space in no time, there was no denying that. This Kouga might not have been as forward as the one she knew, but the attraction was still there. And heavy, judging from the look in his eyes.

"Don't answer that," he finally rasped. "No matter what your answer is, don't answer that until after you've stopped bleeding."

If she hadn't been in the hot spring, she'd still be bright red.

"Take your time. I'll skin the fish and set up camp."

He turned and stalked away, leaving Kagome with an entirely new question to consider.

…

When she got back to camp, clean and dry and feeling more relaxed than she could remember feeling, Kouga had a fire going, one fish cooking over it, and two bed rolls laid out. Her sleeping bag was one of them, a touch she found endearing.

He was cleaning two raw fish and when she sat down, lifted the stick off the fire and passed it over.

"It's hot," he offered, then proceeded to bite into his.

"Thank you for cooking." She tested the fish with a finger and decided to wait a bit. "You didn't have to."

He shrugged. "I've been watching you do it all week. Didn't hurt anything for me to give it a shot."

She tested the fish again and decided to take a bite. Slightly less done than she preferred, but still edible and very good. Not bad at all for his first time.

"Was the hot spring worth it?" he asked, his tone forcibly casual.

Kagome wasn't sure what the right answer was, so she decided to be honest. "Very much so. Thank you."

Another shrug, this one through the fish bone he was picking off. "I'll probably take a swim when we're done if you don't mind."

"Go ahead. I definitely recommend it."

They fell into another silence, but it wasn't as tense as she expected. Weighted, definitely, but not oppressive or demanding. Almost like Kouga was keeping his reactions to himself instead of putting them on her.

Which was really nice. She hadn't realized how much she'd been expecting the latter.

They finished their fish rather quickly and after a quick scout around, Kouga headed to the spring. Kagome took that time to clean up the site, toss the fish remains in the fire to keep animals from scoping out the scene while the slept, and prepared the bed rolls. Kouga's looked efficient, but she cleared out a few sticks and rocks underneath, then did the same for hers. The ground was a little uneven and after shifting things around a few times, the bed rolls ended up side by side to share the same flat area.

All the supplies went in her pack and she was sliding into her sleeping bag when Kouga came back the clearing. His hair was wet and loose around his shoulders, his armor carried in his hands. His skirt was dry, but his tail damp and she smiled at the rosy red of his cheeks. It was nice to see the heat didn't only affect her.

"I moved the beds around," she explained when his eyes flicked between the two. "It's the only space that isn't slanted or covered in roots, so I figured it would be more comfortable for both of us."

He slowed, his gaze taking in the rest of the area, then he put out the smoldering fire. It wasn't until he was lowering himself onto his mat in that she realized what she did.

Kagome studiously fought back the blush and continued settling in for the night. This was the most comfortable solution. She couldn't fall asleep with a root in her back and she wasn't about to let Kouga be uncomfortable with everything he'd done for her. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Good night, Kouga," she said, taking in the vast array of stars visible in the night sky.

As she was falling asleep, she heard a soft "Good night, Kagome," in return.