Koga burst through the entrance, almost tripping over the slick rocks under the waterfall. Several of his brothers stopped what they were doing and stared at Amaya, who was pale compared to her usual tan skin tone. Barking out orders, Koga took her to the back of the cave, setting her on the bed of hay he had left only a few minutes ago. She jerked away as he reached toward her forehead; she was grasping at her left shoulder as she turned away from him. He reached toward her large shoulder pads, trying to see what was causing the pain.

"Damn!" He pulled back as Satoshi tried to bite his hand, moving to stand between them. He lowered his head, baring his teeth as he growled at Koga. Koga reached out again and Satoshi bite his arm. Ignoring the black wolf, he grabbed Amaya's shoulder and pulled the fur away.

Taku

The word was etched into her shoulder, only a few days fresh. Satoshi jerked Koga's arm away, pulling painfully with his teeth. Koga let go, dropping the fur back over the reddened skin. Satoshi didn't let go of his arm, tossing his head to tear at Koga's flesh. Koga tried to pull his arm away, but Satoshi didn't let him.

"Let go, dammit!" He didn't raise his hand to hit Satoshi; he never hit any wolf. Satoshi stopped to glare at him before letting go. Koga ran his hand over the bite; it wasn't torn too much, it would take just a day or two to heal. He looked back up at Satoshi, who was sitting next to Amaya. Nyoko and Nami both curled up next to her, licking her hands or face affectionately.

"Hey Koga!" He turned towards his brothers Ginta and Hakkaku, both of them standing near the front of the cave. They dropped the boars over their shoulders onto the cold floor, stretching out their sore muscles. Several of the other demons gathered around them, each talking in hurried mutters till they both ran towards Koga.

"What the he-" Hakkaku stopped short of both Koga and Amaya. He looked at the bitten and somewhat bloody arm that Nami had come over and started to lick.

"What's wrong with her?" Ginta squatted down nearby, trying to move closer. Satoshi growled at him. Koga shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything about the scar. They both continued to ask questions; it prodded at Koga's already frazzled nerves. He snapped at them mid-sentence.

"I don't damn know!" They both closed their mouths. No one really spoke to much that evening despite the large number of people in the tribe. All of them knew something was bugging Koga whenever he was quiet and that night it was deathly silent. He stretched out and leaned against the wall; a low growling could be heard from the other side of Amaya's resting form. He ignored Satoshi and closed his eyes, wondering what happened back there.

What was she going to say? He didn't know how long it took, but he finally managed to fall asleep, leaving Ginta and Hakkaku to manage the rest of the tribe. He didn't know how many times he woke up; there were just tidbits of conversation that he didn't think about. On one such tidbit, he remembered Ginta and Hakkaku sitting somewhere in front of him, talking.

"Koga's been acting strange," They were both sitting several feet away by a fire. Talking in hushed tones so he couldn't here; he could hear everything.

"Yeah, ever since the last time we met up with Kagome. You think it has something to do with her?" Ginta stood up.

"Most likely," Koga shifted then, turning slightly but turning away from where Amaya was. He felt that they were far off.


"Leave me the hell alone!" Koga yawned and stretched, still drowsy. "If you don't move I'm going to-!" Koga opened his eyes to the empty bed in front of him. He jumped up to his feet and watched the fight in front of the cave.

"You're an idiot to be walking around!" Hakkaku and Ginta stood by the entrance, blocking the way for Amaya, who was acting like nothing had happened the night before. She was irritable though; her head tilted back and her shoulders square. Nami stood by her feet, wagging her tail and Nyoko hid behind Amaya's long legs. Koga looked for Satoshi; he was sleeping in a corner. A growl came from the back of her throat and Koga guessed that if they didn't move soon, she would lose her temper.

"Then I'm an idiot, but move out of my way!" All eyes were on her as she shouted at them. They both stayed where they were but now seemed somewhat hesitant. She growled louder and Nami continued to wag her tail.

"After what happened yesterday you-" She finally snapped. Grabbing their upper arms, she pushed them back causing them to stumble and trip over the threshold of the cave. They fell back into the water, cursing at her. Koga laughed and many turned their heads; no one else had made a sound.

"As pissed off as you are," he started, "do you mind not picking fight with everyone?" Amaya turned to glare at him. Satoshi opened his eyes to watch.

"You want me to kick your ass, too?" Koga rose to the challenge slightly more enthusiastically than even he expected. He pushed himself to his feet and came to stand directly in front of her. He didn't have to look down too much; she was only little bit shorter than him. She glared at him but seemed slightly taken aback.

"I doubt you could beat me," He looked down at her clear blue eyes. He heard his brother's climbing out of the water, grumbling irritably. He ignored the mutters running through the crowd around them and instead concentrated on Amaya. He found himself once again taking in the details of her face.

"Let's settle this," she growled. She spun on her heel and marched out to the cliff. He followed with every one of his brothers proceeding after him. She turned to face him, pulling the dagger from her waist. Its' shape twisted into a long halberd, a large circular blade weighting down one end. She couched down, watching him with her blue eyes.

"Heh," Koga ran at her, dodging out of the way of her halberd as it swung at him. She was moving pretty fast even with such a heavy weapon but not fast enough to catch him. She kicked out at him as he came around behind her, grazing his left calf as he jumped back. She leapt at him, taking a full swing at him, putting all her strength into hitting him. Koga ducked under the blade, feeling the wind rush past.

She's not thinking straight, he thought. He grabbed her arm, twisting it until the halberd was in a position that she couldn't hit him. She pulled her hand back to hit him, but he caught her fist and pulled it towards him. He had pulled her very close; close enough that he could see the sweat on her forehead and hear her heavy breathing.

"Dammit," she struggled to free her hands. Some of the tribe cheered as she fought against his grip. It took several attempts before she stopped. "You win," she said, looking at him. She seemed to have more control over herself as he let go of her arms.

"I told you," Koga said; he was having trouble thinking straight. She moved to take a step back, but he put his hand on the back of her neck without realizing it. She stared wide-eyed and stopped as he leaned towards her. He suddenly found himself pressing his lips against hers, pulling her towards him. He released all the worry and anger from the last few days, wrapping his arm around her waist. She didn't move at first, but she dropped her halberd and pushed away from him suddenly, running away from him. Koga watched as his brother's muttered and whispered, hurriedly.

"Koga?" He turned his head towards Hakkaku and Ginta. They didn't say anything else. He looked back at the direction Amaya had run; she had run east. He wished she had just hit him when he lost control and didn't think. It was better than just running off without thinking at least. He cursed, hitting a boulder nearby. Koga had made her seem like a fool in front of everyone; and what more, he had made a fool of himself after. He had lost control of himself.

"I'm going," he said, "Ginta? Hakkaku? You're in charge till I get back." They nodded and he took off, running the same direction she had. He ran as fast as he could but was careless, having to backtrack several times to find her scent again. It took him two days to catch up with her.


I'm sorry about the EXTREMELY long wait for this. Major writers block. ANyway, I think this may have been alittle rushed, but I needed to move the story on so the next chapter should be pretty interesting. I hope you will stick with me even if it takes me awhile! Review please! Bye!

-Kyra Odayashi

Reviews:

- Makochan06: you finally get on Fanfiction...good for you! Here's the next chapter.

- wolfs pack: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter! I sort of had fun showing how Amaya does have a little bit of an attitude and can be impatient. Thanks for the favorite!

- Hyphy Chik: Here's the next update! I hope you liked it!

- EnduranceInTribulation: Yes. Irony Rocks. I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much, and I hope you enjoyed this one. As you can see, Amaya has some mood swings/problems after this types of incidents. I had a picture done of me cosplaying as Kyra at the Convention here. I'll post it on my profile once I'm done with this. By the way, haven't heard from you in awhile, what's happening over there? Did you see the Chapter dedication for you in Firefly Wings?