Inuyasha: The Story Continues

Chapter 80: The Wolf Demons Gather

Izayoi's POV

We arrived at a large valley in the mountains in the south just as the Sun was going down. There was a large river that ran through said valley and stretched for miles away from it, going to who-knows-where. As soon as we entered the valley, I could smell all the different wolf demons, which I estimated to be around twenty to thirty of. Plus there was also a few...humans? 

Koga led us through the valley, using the river as a guide, and we soon found a small set of caves that lined the upper range of the mountains. In a much bigger cave there were most of the wolf demons, ranging from around my age to the very elderly. Among these wolf demons were humans, all of them young women, and they were each close to a young, male wolf demon. 

"Tsuyo, why are there humans here?" I asked him as we walked in. 

"They're the mates of some of the other wolf demons," Tsuyo whispered. "They either agreed to mate with them or they were forced into it." 

I growled. If the second part was the case then I was going to lose it. Still, I remained composed and stayed by Tsuyo's side as we started to intermingle amongst the other wolf demons. As we walked towards the back, someone tapped Tsuyo's shoulder, causing us both to stop and turn to look at the person who was trying to get Tsuyo's attention; it was a wolf-demon about a year or two older than Tsuyo, smirking as he seemed to "size Tsuyo up". There were two other wolf demons by his side, who were doing the same thing. "Hey Tsuyo," the head wolf demon greeted cockily. "How are you?"

"Good," Tsuyo rolled his eyes and then went over to me. "Izayoi, this is Daichi, Goro, and Juro. They're from some of the other wolf demon tribes. Guys, this is my mate; Izayoi." 

"Well, well Tsuyo," Daichi said. "You finally got yourself a woman." 

"But why a half-demon?" Goro questioned. 

"Couldn't get yourself a wolf demon or a human so you went for a half-breed?" Juro laughed. 

I growled in anger. "Excuse me?!" I shouted. "I'm standing right here!" 

"Oooh~, and she's a feisty one too," Daichi chuckled. 

"Hey Tsuyo, maybe you should teach your mate some manners," Goro suggested. 

"You just gonna let her speak that way to you?" Juro said. 

I was furious...no, I was beyond furious....I was ready to give these guys a good thrashing when Tsuyo grabbed my arm and held me back. He leaned to my ear and whispered, "They're not worth it. Trust me."

Even though I was still angry, I calmed myself down and just glared at the no good, stupid....I can't even finish the sentence because I'm sure some young people are reading this. 

When the Sun had completely set, the wolf demons began a huge bonfire and everyone sat in a circle around it as the flames rose to the sky. Tsuyo and I sat down next to Koga and listened as one of the other wolf tribe leaders began to speak;

"My fellow brethren, we gather here once a year to commemorate unity amongst our tribes and to see the future leaders that will lead our l when we are gone. While this is a time of peace, we also evaluate one another and the ones who have been chosen to lead. When I look out among you, I see the faces of proud wolf demons who will one day take up the charge and take our people to prosperity!"

A loud cheer rang out amongst the wolf demons and a few were howling as well. Once that was done, we all started eating some boar and fish and some of the younger wolf demons began wrestling each other. At one point, people started calling out challenges against each other to fight. Some got pretty serious and I'd be lying if I said that some weren't out for blood. Heck, even Koga got called out a few times and he won every time with a few bite marks on his arms and legs to prove it.

During one brawl, one of the wolf demons was fighting Daichi who was getting really rough. When the other wolf demon three in the towel Daichi became enraged. "Our fight isn't over until I say it's over!" he growled as the other guy bled from his arm.

Worrying about the other guy, I went over and helped him up. "Let's get you some bandages for those wounds so they don't get infected," I told him and started helping him away from the fight.

Apparently Daichi didn't like that because he yelled out, "Hey mutt girl, we're not finished!"

"He said he was done," I told him in a serious tone, turning to face him. "You've proven yourself, now let it go."

"What does a mutt like you know?!" Daichi yelled back. At this point, it seemed the whole lot of wolf demons was watching this going on. "We're fighting until I say we're done!" 

"Not happening." 

3rd Person's POV 

Daichi couldn't believe this; this half-breed had the nerve to tell him what to do. He then charged at her from behind, getting ready to smack her, when a hand caught his. Daichi and Izayoi looked to see that Tsuyo had been the one to intervene. Unbreathable silence followed and no one spoke as Tsuyo stared holes into Daichi. 

"What do you think you're doing to my mate?" Tsuyo growled, pushing Daichi away from Izayoi. 

Of course Daichi wasn't going to take this standing up. "Fine, you wanna go Tsuyo?" 

"You better believe it." 

Izayoi could only stare in shock. She had never seen Tsuyo so angry before. He just seemed to be seething in rage. 

Tsuyo and Daichi faced each other, waiting to see who would make the next move, with everyone else watching in breathless anticipation. It was like this for a few more moments until Daichi went and charged at Tsuyo. Tsuyo dodged all of Daichi's punches and tried to sweep his opponent out from under his feet using his leg. That didn't work though and Tsuyo ended up receiving a punch to the face. That didn't stop him though; Tsuyo just grabbed Daichi's arm and flipped him over his shoulder, sending him quickly to the ground. Daichi then received an elbow to the gut, making him cough up in pain. 

The fighting went on for several minutes with the two dealing an equal amount of blows to each other. Soon there were shouts from the crowd, telling the two where and how to hit. Izayoi almost jumped in at one point but was stopped by Koga who told her that Tsuyo had to do this on his own. When the two fighters started panting, Tsuyo knew he had to act fast before he lost consciousness. Gotta finish this quickly, he thought. 

Even though he was in a bit of a tight spot Daichi smirked, thinking he still had control of the situation. "Face it Tsuyo; you're just not that good," he panted. "Your woman's just as bad too. Someone outta teach her some manners." 

That was the straw that broke the camel's back; something inside Tsuyo snapped and he went on a full assault against Daichi. He punched and then threw Daichi up against the cave wall and delivered three blows to Daichi's gut before letting him fall to ground. "Let me tell you something Daichi; my woman has a name and it's Izayoi, and don't you ever insult her again or else I'll kill you," Tsuyo threatened before walking away. 

Everyone could only stare at Tsuyo as he walked past them and over to Izayoi, who was also in awe. Tsuyo smiled at her though and then helped her with the injured wolf demon. Izayoi smiled back with a faint blush dusting her cheeks. 

Don't you go messing with Izayoi when Tsuyo's around! *snaps* What'd you guys think?