I yawned hugely as I woke up, feeling better than I had in days. I stretched, feeling my stiff muscles flexing. Kaji sat beside the bed, the red blade was glowing softly, lighting the dim room. I turned to face the fur draped over the door, wincing at the pain in my body. I almost hit the ceiling of the cave when I noticed Koga, he was sleeping beside the bed, leaned against the wall. He stirred as I yipped, shocked that I hadn't sensed his demon aura. A strand of pure black hair fell across my shoulder and I swore and bolted to the mirror. I had slept for four days straight, right until the full moon. Brown eyes stared back at me, a human face. My claws had become blunt human nails and my fangs dull human teeth. I swore again and ran a hand over the dull teeth, shocked at how long I had slept again. Koga jumped awake, his blue eyes flashing as I swore loudly. He looked confused, studying me.

"Hotaru?" His eyes flickered.

"No shit genius! I'm a half demon, we all have a night of weakness!" I knew I sounded pissy and bitchy.

"I...you...I didn't know yours was the full moon." He was stuttering

I glared at him. "Well it is, clearly, stop staring!" I stumbled with human clumsiness at I tried to buckle Kaji to my back. He hurried over to my side and buckled the sword on for me.

"Do you want to talk to your cousins tonight about Naraku, or wait until you get your demon back?" His fingers were lingering between my shoulder blades, distractingly stroking the tense muscle.

"Um, we should talk, it's important." I brushed his hands away. walking toward the fur draped over the door. "So let's go, call Kagome, Inu Yasha, and Sesshomaru."

He looked offended about being ordered around, bristling before walking out, brushing past me. I tied up my hair quickly, glancing once more at my human body. I felt clumsy and uncoordinated in the body, different from the normal sleek warrior. Wolves stared even more openly now, whispering and pointing. I snarled, which must have looked stupid on a human, but I didn't care. Gaku raced through the halls, sliding to a stop when he saw me.

"Momma?" His amber eyes held the same confusion as Koga's had.

"Yes Gaku, all half demons have a night of weakness when they become completely human, mine id the full moon, tonight." I smiled at him.

He grinned back and launched himself at me. "I can protect you momma! I'll keep all the other demons away!" His amber eyes blazed.

I laughed. "Alright baby, you do that, I have to go see Koga and my cousins. You can come with me and tell me all about what you have been doing while I was sick."

He glowed with excitement and talked about training and working with Risa and playing with the other pups. He babbled about Kenma being a jerk and Chie being Kenma's future mate. He snarled when he said that, the young she wolf was his first love. He was young, but that first love burned so brightly. We reached Koga's study and I walked in. Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha sat there, waiting for me. Koga glanced up, his blue eyes hard. Inu Yasha's jaw dropped.

"Taru? What the hell?!" His golden eyes blazed. "You never told us that the full moon was your night weakness!"

I scowled at him. "Of course not Inu Yasha! I didn't tell anyone but Thorn, and he's dead!"

Koga glanced up. "Are we discussing Naraku and the other threats or Hotaru?" He sounded pissed off, bipolar wolf prince.

I glanced at Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha. "Wheres Kagome, we should wait for her." I settled with Gaku in my lap, the pup was looking at my cousins with awe in his eyes. I laughed at his admiration. "Gaku, these are my cousins, Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha." He bared his little fangs at them.

"You can't take my mommy away!" He snarled, wrinkling up his little nose.

Inu Yasha glanced at me. "How the hell did you get yourself a kid Hotaru? They tend to avoid you."

I glared at him. "Gaku is smart, that is why he chose me as his mommy!"

Inu Yasha cracked up. "D...Did you just say 'mommy'?"

I scowled and turned away from him. Sesshomaru seemed tense, glancing around as if he expected the wolves to attack. We all lapsed into a silence, Gaku resting his head under my chin. Kagome came in, with a monk and a demon slayer. I bristled, but the other three stayed calm, so I relaxed. Kagome looked at me.

"Hello Hotaru, I'd like to introduce my friends and traveling companions, Sango and Miroku. Sango is a demon slayer, the last of her village. Miroku is a monk, his family was cursed by Naraku. They both have a reason to hate him. And this is Shippo, he is kind of like my adopted son." A fox demon kit clung to Kagome's back, peeking over her shoulder. The monk had black had tied back in a short ponytail and carried a staff. The slayer had long brown hair tied back and hard brown eyes, a deep sadness and loss plagued her. Gaku and the fox kit were studying each other, both wary. I laughed at my pups antics.

"You can go play if you want to Gaku, I'll be fine with Koga."

He sent me a skeptical glance. "Koga is mad at you again mommy, he won't care."

I glared at the wolf prince. "He'll care or I'll kick his ass to hell!"

Koga almost choked, glancing at the pup. "I'll watch Taru." He glared at me.

Gaku nodded once, solom fire burning in his eyes. "You'd better." He walked over to the fox kit. "Come on, the caves are fun! And Rise might have a treat for us!" They both wandered out of the cave.

The slayer and monk both glanced at my human appearance. I could feel the weight of the silence over the group. I fidgeted with Kaji's hilt over my shoulder, trying to ignore stares sent my way. Koga cleared his throat.

"Naraku?" His blue eyes shifted around, never looking at me.

Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru both growled. "The bastard keeps hiding behind his puppets and incarnations. He hasn't personally had the courage to face us. Taru's brother and Yuuta both are in league with him. The band of seven are closing in on the mountains hunting Hotaru, and the jewel shards are still scattered far and wide."

We all winced, the odds were bad and against us, by a lot. Koga glanced around, his blue eyes worried.

"So what do we do, we have to act, Naraku had to many things going for him." He flexed his claws, eyes burning.

Kagome slammed her hand down on her desk. "We act, take out his main force. We set up a stand against the band of seven here, with Hotaru as bait. When they arrive we all fight, Sesshomaru's soldiers and your wolves included Koga."

I shook my head. "No, they're too strong and have Naraku backing them. We have to get straight to the cause. You all have to prepare for the final strike. Someone can distract the band of seven and keep them away while the rest of you take out Naraku and his incarnations."

Inu Yasha snorted. "What about Takeru and Yuuta, and who would be stupid enough to take on the entire band of even on their own?"

I sighed, this was what they would all fight me on. "Takeru and Yuuta will already be dead, and as for the one fighting the band of seven, me." I waited for their yelling, but I wasn't ready for the utter chaos that exploded. Everyone was yelling, all angry, Inu Yasha was right in my face. Koga was yelling about Gaku and the pack and how stupid I was. The slayer and monk were protesting in all, one person should not sacrifice themselves for all the others.

I stood and bellowed at the top of my lungs. "You all need to SHUT UP!" The room fell silent. "How many years have you been fighting? It's time to end this, and you all wouldn't live through a final battle against Naraku, his incarnations, and the band of seven. One of us has to sacrifice themselves to win the entire thing. Let it be me, I've done a lot in my life, not all good, maybe it's time fore me to pay for it all. And pay the world back for the destruction I caused along time ago." I grinned at them, summoning up more courage than I thought I had. "It might be fun, fighting the most famous mercenaries in history, who'd want to pass up that chance?"

Inu Yasha growled. "Fuck no! You're the princess of the East! Who'd rule with you gone?"

I thought for a minute, I didn't have a heir. "Gaku, he is as close to a child as I have. Would have help him Sesshomaru?"

"I helped him once, and I had my lordship stolen by a half breed pup. If that is your final request Hotaru, then yes, I would help the lord of the East." His golden eyes were cold.

"Thank you lord Sesshomaru, I would be grateful.

"Don't press your luck pup."

I smiled slightly. "Three weeks, then we act, good luck."

Inu Yasha looked away, anger burning in his eyes, but not at me. Kagome looked like she would cry. Sesshomaru, as always, looked distant, blank. Koga had multiple emotions flashing in his eyes. We all jumped as he breezed past and ran out. Inu Yasha glanced after him. "What's wolf boy's..." He glanced at me and understanding flashed across his face. "Oh..."

I glanced at him. "What?"

Kagome covered her eyes. "You're worse then Inu Yasha. Really Hotaru?"

"What!?" I was angry now.

Sesshomaru snorted. "Leave her alone, she'll figure it out."

I stood and stormed out, screw them. The halls blurred past as I ran, panting already and slow in my human body. I finally reached the exit and climbed up part of the mountain. The stars and full moon blazed overhead. The air was bitter chilly with the winter. Frost crunched underfoot. I sighed and settled on a freezing cold rock, staring up. I sat there almost all night, heading back with the first rays of sun and the return of my demon. I stretched, back in my own body and power. I wandered back into the caves, walking past the guards. I ran into the slayer, walking the other way.

"Oh, you're Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru's cousin, Hotaru."

"Slayer, where are you going so early?" I didn't completely trust a demon slayer.

"To think, mainly about you. You confuse me demon, all my life I was taught that your kind are selfish and only do things that benefit them in the end. You, on the other hand, are sacrificing yourself for our cause. We all have a personal reason to hate Naraku, as far as I can see he never did anything to you. You are giving yourself up, almost committing suicide, for a fight that isn't even yours. You are different, special, even Inu Yasha doesn't think like that."

"I owe someone something, and I guess I'm paying them back. You have your secrets, Slayer, and I have mine." I walked away, back toward Koga's den. He was there when I reached it, sitting against the wall again.

"Hotaru." His voice was cold.

I sighed. "What did I do now?"

"This, giving up, being confusing, exciting, new, beautiful, mysterious, making me want to be with you Hotaru, and then letting go. I don't want you to leave, I don't want you to stay. I don't want to be so confused anymore." He sounded like a scolded pup, and so sad.

"I...What? I don't understand Koga."

I huffed as my back hit the stone wall. His kiss was so passionate and wild, I could feel every emotion and all his confusion.

"Does that explain anything?" His blue eyes were so sad.

"Everything, you should have said something sooner."

"And now I have three weeks to prove how much I love you Taru."

"I might not die, and if I don't you'll have all the time in the world to prove how much you love me. I will never leave you again if I don't die."

He laughed. "You have a million to one chance of not dying." His blue eyes were bitter. "I thought the flame princess was done loving."

"Yeah, well the ghosts of my past came back and told me to live my life."

"And now you're throwing it away." He kissed me again, softer this time, and with more feeling. "I'm not letting you go without marking you as mine."

"I wouldn't expect you to, I'll let you mark me." I sighed as he kissed my neck, soft and feather light.

"Not today, today I just want to hold you. To prove you're real and this isn't another dream." He pulled me to the bed. "Just stay Taru, stay with me today."

I lay there, cuddled safe in his strong arms, and regretted my earlier decision. I had so much to lose now. I looked at the sleeping face of my angel and sighed. He could mark me any day, any time, and I would never regret that.


Oh My God! An update! How long had it been now. I'm actually really happy with this chapter, I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere with Hotaru and Koga, shocker! I'm really sorry, I had major writers block. I listened to "If I Die Young" By The Band Perry fifty million times before I figured out where I wanted this story to go. So, tell me, what did you all think of Koga's confession. And what do you think of Hotaru's sacrifice I honestly cried when I wrote it. Please review, and don't give up on my slow updates, this story is supposed to be very emotional.