• Ok, ok, now I know this Kouga/OC story hasn't showed much of Kouga yet, BUT HE'S COMMING UP SOON!!! I SWEAR!! Anyway, enjoy this next chapter. AHA!!

    Heart of a Wolf
    Chapter three
    Hatefull memories, New compainions.

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    Emily woke early the next morning..seeing as she got close to no sleep the night before. It was all still fresh in her mind...Seres, Shikigami, the pendent...everything about the previous night was all very confusing to her. What was the story behind Seres?...and why did it feel like she knew him? She walked out of the hut and looked around. The village was alive with the laughter of children playing, the smell of sweet meats and vegetables cooking filled the air, and the smiling faces of the townsfolk to top it all off. It was just like something out of one of those old oil paintings. She had been in this world for two days now and everything still felt so new, but it wasn't frightening like it was before. She actually enjoyed being here. I mean, she was American so she still looked different from everyone else, but instead of bombarding her with questions and overcrowding her space, everyone was kind and accepting of her. In a way, the village people reminded her of one big family, everyone knew and loved everyone else...kinda like the world of cosmetics...only more loving. Her mom was a hairstylist, and she learned at an early age that once one person knows something--everyone knows. It was hard for her mother to keep up with the ever growing world of the cosmetic industry because of her age...but she never stopped trying. That's why her mother was secretly her hero and rolemodel.
    She smiled softly at the thought of her mother. When her mother devorced her father Emily was angry at her...she didn't even know why they split up, but as she grew older she came to learn that her father had a mistress. Soon after the divorce, her father and his new lover married. This truly broke her mothers heart, but she kept a straight face and a strong will so that she could raise Emily on a small but honest budget. Over time, she had been passed from her mother, to her father, then back to her mother again. This was hardest for Emily because of her step-mother. The woman was cruel by nature and was easy to loose her temper, which would usually happen around Emily. Her step-mother was a violent woman and would beat Emily at the smallest thing. She could handle the physical beating easily, but it was what the woman said that hurt her the most. Her step-mother would say hatefull things that lowered her self-esteem, but the worst part was that whenever her step-mother would loose her temper, her father would look the other way and ignore it. This horrid childhood caused Emily to become closer to her mother. In her eyes, her mother was the exact opposite of what her step-mother and her father combined were.
    However, even though she found sanctity in the arms of her mother, her self-esteem was shot. She had no friends, was teased constantly by other schoolmates, and to top it all off--her grades were slipping. This continued throughout junior high. The strange part was that once she entered high school, she had found the friends that she never thought she would have! She was from then on surrounded by people that accepted and loved her, this caused her to realize what a beautiful person she truly was. Sure, she was slightly overweight--but she was beautiful! And she loved it. This however, would only last untill her sophmore year. That was when her mother remarried. They moved to Japan which ment starting all over again! That was ok though...she was a pure-blooded anime fan! She had wanted to visit Japan all her life...she just never thought that she would live there...

    It was then that she was jolted from her thoughts when she felt a feminine hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled as she was met by Kagome's happy face, "Are you ready to go?" Kagome asked. Emily nodded and got to her feet, she took one last look at the village before turning to face the journey ahead of them. They then walked to the outskirts of the village where Inuyasha was waiting for them with Kagome's bike. Emily walked up to Inuyasha and growled as he shot her a nasty glare. Before the sparks could fly Kagome fwapped him over the head with her bag, "Inuyasha! Be nice to her! She's under enough stress already, so she doesn't need any attitude from you!" she said causing Emily to stiffle a giggle. It was obvious to see who was the alpha-dog in their topsy-turvy relationship. Kagome then turned to Emily and grinned knowingly. She then mounted her bike and kicked the peddle up. Unfortunetly, Emily had other means of transport set for her as she was slung over Inuyasha's shoulder, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING YOU MORON!?!? PUT ME DOWN DAMNIT!!" she yelled as she banged her fists against his back. Inuyasha was unphased by this and just ignored her. Kagome couldn't help laughing at how much Emily and she were alike...
    About three hours had passed since they started traveling. Meanwhile, Emily had stopped struggling at around two hours. Now she just looked like a sack of potatoes slung over a farmboys shoulder. Kagome was traveling behind them so that they could talk. Emily was propped up on her elbows while her backside hung over Inuyasha's chest, "Y'know Inuyasha...I think we finally found a positive use for you." Kagome laughed. Inuyasha had been ignoring both their insults since the begining, so he just shrugged it off. Emily sighed and pulled out the pendent she had recieved from Seres, running her fingers over the pearly white surface of the charm as she did so. She had decided not to tell Kagome and Inuyasha about Seres...she didn't know why. She just felt that they wouldn't understand. She looked up and stared at Kagome for a minute before speaking, "Hey Kagome...are all demons bad?" she asked causing Kagome to stare at her funny. She then shook her head and smiled, "No. Not all demons are bad. In fact, we usually have two other full-blooded demons that travel with us. One is a little fox demon named Shippou and the other is a cat-like demon named Kirara." Kagome said, "In fact, you'll meet them soon. Along with Sango and Miroku." Emily tilted her head to the side, "Sango and...Miroku? Are they demons too?" she asked. Kagome shook her head and laughed, "Nono. Sango is a professional demon slayer and Miroku is a monk with a wandering hand..." she said. Emily laughed to herself as she pondered that last bit.

    They slowed to a stop at the next village where a little boy could be seen waving his hands and jumping around on the outskirts of the town. This however went unseen by Emily considering she was still slung over Inuyasha's shoulder. Kagome waved back to him and laughed, "Hey Shippou!" she shouted before hopping off her bike and tackling him for a hug. Shippou looked up at Inuyasha and pointed at the thing over his shoulder "Inuyasha, what's with the sack of potatoes?" he said of course refering to Emily. Inuyasha threw his head back and laughed as Emily started to beat down on his back again, "Inuyasha!! You idiot!! Put me down NOW!!!" she yelled before reaching up and yanking on his ear. He yipped loudly before throwing her to the ground, "What the hell is your problem you b***h!? And who the hell are you calling an idiot!?" he yelled. Emily leaped off the ground and growled at him before smacking him in the jaw "I'M CALLING YOU AN IDIOT!! YOU IDIOT!!" she yelled into his face before turning away from him. She then knelt down and smiled at Shippou, "Hello. My name is Emily. I'm a friend of Kagome's." she said happily. Shippou smiled back and extended a hand to her, "I'm Shippou! It's nice to meet you!" he said. Just then, a boy who looked about Inuyasha's age(minus the fifty year difference...) and a young woman walked out of a nearby house -the best looking one in the whole village- and greeted them. Kagome smiled at the two and then looked back at Emily. "Sango, Miroku, this is Emily Shotougawa. She's from my world -it's a long story so don't bother askin'- and she'll be traveling with us for awhile." she said. Emily smiled gently before bowing politely, like she was taught to do in Japanese culture. "It's very nice to finally meet all of you. I hope we can become good friends." she said. When she stood upright again, she noticed something was missing...Miroku was gone!(*GASP!*) She lightly scanned the area for the missing monk before a sudden burst of shockwaves jolted up her spine, causing her to faulter. She spun around to come face-to-face with the monk...and his "wandering hand". He then took hold of her hands and smiled happily, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well m'lady. By any chance, would you be so kind as to bare my children?" he asked. "IN YOUR DREAMS PERVERT!!!" Emily cried out as she violently slapped him across the face, Bwahahah!! "Wandering hand", meet "Fist of Fury"!! HAHA!! She thought. At the sight of this, Inuyasha almost fell over in stitches. He couldn't help but point and laugh at his kinky friends misfortune. Emily turned and glared at Inuyasha before swinging her foot up to connect with his shin. "OH SHUT UP YOU MORON!! YOUR NO PRIZE YOURSELF!!" she yelled at him. Sango and Kagome could only stand and watch as their new friend made complete morons of their male companions. In a way, she almost seemed like she truly belonged there with them. And even though she might eventually have to return to the present, at least the time they'll spend together will be something to look forward to...

    Meanwhile...A soft howl of a wolf could be heard as the dark shade of the night sky decended upon the horizon. If one looked closely, one could see the outline of a man as it slowly made its way up the slanted path that was paved into the mountain known as Hokajii.


    He took one last look over the area before retreating into a lit cave near the top of the mountain to retire for the night. As he entered, he was greeted by his two followers, Ginta and Hakaku who were pirched near the bonfire they had made earlier. He was Kouga of the wolf demon tribe. He waved a tired hand to his friends as he walked to the back of the cave and sat down. It had been five months...almost half a year since the woman he devoted himself to had permanently fallen into the arms of his rival... "Inuyasha..." he growled softly as the memories began to flood his mind. Kagome was truely Inuyasha's mate now(ya...you know what I mean. HINT HINT)...this caused Kouga to become strangely insecure. He had nothing to fight for anymore..besides wanting to kill the demon known as Naraku. Other than that, he had nothing. All the things he saw worth guarding were gone..his tribe..and Kagome..both were now gone. The once powerfull leader and protector of the wolf demons -though still powerfull- had nothing left to protect. And now, he was being preasured to marry Ayame, the daughter of a fellow wolf demon tribe leader. This was hard on Kouga seeing as he had no affection for the girl...besides, she was litteraly just an infant compaired to him. He just couldn't see himself with her. He sighed again before glancing up to see the concerned faces of his commrads. He grinned back at them as to set their concerns aside... That's right., he still had his friends with him. He stared down as the flames from the fire and sighed, "Tomorrow, we'll set out again to look for Naraku." Kouga said softly "We've stayed in this area for long enough.". His friends nodded in agreement. Ginta then stood and turned to the entrance to the cave, "I'll stand first watch. Go ahead and get some sleep." he said before exiting the cave. By this time, Kouga's head had already begun to sleepily droop into his hand as it was propped up on his knee. Hakaku sighed softly as he stared at their leader knowingly. Both he and Ginta were beginning to see the after effect that loosing Kagome had on Kouga...and they were becoming worried. They never said anything about it to his face though. They new his pride would never let him admit to this weakness...not out loud anyway. The remaining number of wolves that traveled with them had begun to dwindel slowly as their journey continued. Some had strayed to other, much larger wolf demon tribes...some had left to join a pack of just wolves...but most had been slaughtered in battle. The rest proved their loyalty to Kouga and remained with them.
    The next morning, they had set out down the mountain. Kouga, like always, was a few miles ahead of his other two companions as they trotted along behind him. Kouga stopped suddenly as he caught the smell of him...Inuyasha. It was faint, but he could smell it. At that moment, angry, hatefull thoughts filled his mind..thoughts that were mainly centered around Inuyasha. He let out a determined grunt and dashed off in the direction of the smell...wherever Inuyasha was, Kagome was most likely with him. Kouga knew that Kagome could defend herself without his rivals help..he knew that she didn't need Kouga's protection either..but it didn't matter to Kouga. He just wanted to wail on her worthless mate for taking her away from him. Ginta and Hakaku both sighed deeply as they saw him set off. They looked at each other knowingly. They didn't need their noses to tell them where he was going. The only time Kouga ever darted away at that speed was for one reason only...Kagome was near..
    In the world of wolf demons, wolves mate for life. That's why Kouga was always so devoted to Kagome...but there was one flaw in this senerio..: When it comes to the wolf demons mating ritual, both male and female have to acknowledge the other as their mate. If one did not accept the other, which was usualy unheard of, then both would no longer be obligated to the other. In that case, both would set off to find another mate to spend their life with. Thus is the way of the wolf demons. That single flaw enabled Kouga to be allowed to search for another mate other than Kagome.
    Ginta and Hakaku both knew that Kouga would get over her sooner or later..but they still worried for him. Even if he did get over Kagome, it would be hard for him to find another mate that he'd see as worthy. They then sighed in frustration before trotting off in the direction of their leader...Unbeknownst to them and Kouga himself...the leader of the wolf demons true journey was about to begin...he was about to meet the person who would change his life...

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    YAY!! The end of chapter three. Now, I know that this didn't have much Kouga in it, but that's ok because you still have the rest of the story to read!! And like they say: "Good things come to those who wait."(*nods happily in self agreement*) Anyway, the ending of this chapter was just to give an explanation as to how and why Kouga will move on from Kagome. Not that I mind...actually, I'm quite a Kouga/Kagome fan myself..but this fic aint about Kagome and Kouga so it shouldn't matter. Anyway, ON TO CHAPTER FOUR!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH*coughcough* BWAHELGH!!....oh nevermind...