Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.
Ayame Loves Kouga
Did she love Kouga?
Yes.
Yes, she loved her mate. With all her heart.
Did she miss Kouga?
Yes.
Yes, she missed her mate. Very much.
Did she plan on going back to her pack and go on as if nothing changed?
Yeah... not a chance.
She may love her mate and miss her mate, but she had a little one now who counted on her and would need her to be a strong role model. And she wasn't going to let herself fade away into the background while another female raised her... well, okay, that was an unlikely scenario. Kagome wasn't going to be raising her cubs, no matter what Kouga thought or hoped or dreamed or planned. It was plain to see Kagome had dreams of raising little ones with puppy ears.
So, that was one of her fears gone. Kagome would never leave Inuyasha willingly. And Inuyasha would move the heavens themselves to get her back even IF Kouga managed to take her. And Kagome... no, Kagome would not stay with Kouga. She would fight to get back to Inuyasha. Her mate was doomed to failure if he thought to keep her from him. Still... would he keep trying to take her?
"Stop moving Ayame," scolded Shippo.
"Sorry! Sorry!" the she-wolf apologized as she stilled herself once more as Shippo went back to braiding flowers in her hair.
The women had returned from bathing and were sitting by the warmth of the fire drying their hair. Kagome had sat still for all of five minutes before busying herself with something called homework. Sango had lasted a few minutes longer before she became suspicious of the monk's absence and had went off to search for him. Apparently her senses weren't well tuned enough to know that he was nearby hiding watching her. A very odd hobby of his, but she supposed everyone needs a hobby...
"SISTER!"
Inuyasha groaned, but didn't leave his spot in the tree where he was silently watching over Kagome as she did her homework. She didn't suppose Ginta seemed to be much of a threat to the dog demon. The wolf demon was still too far away for the humans to hear.
"SISTER!"
Ayame sighed, but did not stand up. She was tired, and unless it was very important, she was not planning on moving. There was a great deal more of her to move these days.
"Good evening, Ginta," Kagome greeted the wolf demon with a smile.
"Good evening, sister," he said with a grin. He too, naturally, loved Kagome.
Ayame frowned at that. Why was Kagome 'sister', too? The thought all but vanished as Ginta spun around with a look of panic and dropped to his knees in front of her.
"Please, sister," he begged, "You must keep running! Hakkaku and I have kept Kouga off your trail as best we could. But he has caught your scent and is on his way. You must leave now!"
Ayame blinked. Shippo quit braiding her hair and went to busy himself near Kagome. Apparently the raised voices had him seeking the safety of his mother figure whether he knew it or not.
"Kouga... followed... me?"
"Yes! So you must run, sister! Hurry!"
"For... for how long has he been looking for me?"
Ginta looked at her sideways. "Since you left, sister. Hakkaku and I have been hiding your scent and setting false trails. We have been helping you to hide!"
Ayame felt off balance and a little dizzy. "Since I left? Helping me hide? False trails?" Kouga had been looking for her since she left... did this mean... did this mean that he actually... cared? Or was it that he didn't like being disobeyed? Or did he not want to lose one of the few female wolf demons left who could breed so that their line did not die out? Her heart sank as she realized which one of these was likely the answer.
A gentle hand touched her shoulder.
"Kagome..."
"What will you do?"
Ayame bit the side of her bottom lip and worried it between her teeth for a moment. "I'm not sure." She smiled at her pack mate. "Thank you for delivering your message, Ginta. But I believe I will wait here for Kouga. It is time we had a talk."
Though, she sighed to herself, I have no idea what I am going to say.
Ginta stood up and nervously wrung his hands as he paced back and forth. Luckily Inuyasha grew sick of it and yelled at him to go keep watch from a distance and let them know when he sees Kouga. A far distance.
As he grew smaller and smaller into the distance she realized just how much she missed him. All of them.
"Wolves, even wolf demons, are creatures of the pack. We are not meant to live alone. Much as I would love to keep running... I can't run forever. My child needs to be with others. To be alone would be to condemn him or her to a life of misery. That would be too selfish of me."
"You are welcome to stay with us," Kagome told her as they stood side by side watching Ginta race off into the distance, calling out that he would do his best. "For good, I mean, not just for the night or anything."
Ayame smiled and took Kagome's hands in her own. "I thank you for your generous offer, and it is one I know you did not make lightly."
Oh boy was it not made lightly.
Well, Kagome had brought it up and there had been some heated debate last night when she had gone to bathe and the miko had thought she was out of earshot. They debated for a while, until Kagome mentioned (quite innocently) that "harboring Ayame may cause problems with Kouga, so perhaps it wouldn't be so wise after all..." and immediately Inuyasha was on board and it was pretty much the end of the discussion.
Sneaky miko.
The she-wolf sighed and put her hand on her belly. The wolf demon clan had been slaughtered. The cub growing inside her would be the first born since it happened. They were a dying breed... bordering on extinction. Closing her eyes she rubbed her belly and cooed soothing words to her child.
Logically Kouga's plan, parts of it at least, made sense. Their pack needed babies. They needed to repopulate or they would die out. And wasn't being Kouga's mate all she dreamed of? Wasn't it what she begged for and pleaded for and wished and dreamed and risked life and limb for? They were childish wishes and dreams, sure... she was practically a cub when she made them. But she was grown now, with a little one on the way. It was time to be a grown up and do what was right. Not just for her, but for her pack.
"I'm going back. It's time for me to go home."
"WHAT?" Kagome and Shippo called out in unison.
The grin that Ayame gave Kagome was just short of evil.
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to make it easy on him."
ooOOooOOooOOoo
OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOO
ooOOooOOooOOoo
Author's Note: Goodness, I don't know where time goes! Thank you all for your reviews, I really appreciate your kind words and the time you take to write me. It means a lot to me. Not to mention your patience...
