Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha!

This chapter has been half written for months. I just don't have the time anymore, but I made time and here you go! I hope you like it!

Yeah, yeah, I know…

Hashiro drew back his neck, looking at me closely from many feet above my head. The four diamond-shaped scales on his forehead flashed again, glowing a green so dark they were almost black. In agitation, the dark red scales across his face lifted in a wave from his muzzle to the pointed ears tilted backwards on the top of his head. His teeth showed between his lips, white and sharp.

In a quick movement, his mouth opened and remained open as his deep voice filled my head. "How do you plan to do that?" He asked, his voice calmer, hopeful but suspicious.

I stepped closer, palm open upwards so he could look at the jewel. Koga's mark at my collarbone burned painfully as he tried to deter me from my task. His anger flowed into me through the mark; his energy tried to force mine into submission. But, despite his efforts, I pressed forward, determined to do good for a man who had experienced only heartache.

"This jewel shard, Hashiro, can do many things for a demon." I started slowly, coming closer to the dragon. "It strengthens the possessor's power immensely and can be used in any way the possessor wishes." I laid a gentle hand on his large chest, the jewel pressed between my palm and his scales, allowing him to feel the power the shard possessed. "Perhaps, it could be used to restore your wings."

A light flashed before me, but I remained where I was, only turning my face away to avoid the blaze that showed from his scales. When the light faded, my hand rested on the abnormally warm skin of a chest. I looked up quickly as Hashiro's hand wrapped around my wrist, pressing my hand harder against his chest. Something about his eyes was different than I had ever seen. They pleaded with me.

"Please, I would give anything." His whispered roughly, leaning closer to me. "Anything to end this hatred I feel." I searched his dark eyes closely, his words turning over in my mind. Within the darkness there, I saw a light, hidden in the back, scared to come out. Hashiro had not always been so harsh. The man he pretended to be was the man he had once honestly been.

"Turn around." I whispered softly. He hesitated, glancing over my shoulder at Koga and Yuki. I drew my hand from his chest, closing my fingers around the shard. I would assure him that they wouldn't attack him, but I did not know for sure if they would or not, and if they did, I knew I could do nothing to stop them. Wanting to resolve the issue quickly, I moved around Hashiro, grateful to find that the dragon knew some magic and wore a pair of white pants held up with a red sash at his waist. Most demons were nude when they returned to their humanoid form, but then again, demons could not do any type of magic while dragons had the ability to learn very basic skills.

When I reached his back, I pushed his long hair over his shoulder to expose the tattoo and scar on his back. Koga's mark burned again, almost causing me to cry out. I felt his eyes trying to make contact with mine over Hashiro's shoulder, but I kept my eyes down, focusing on Hashiro's tense back. I pressed a gentle hand to his midback, holding the shard between the thumb and first finger of my other hand. "Relax," I whispered softly, realizing that I didn't want to force the shard into any tense muscle. It would be an unnecessary pain.

Ever so slowly, Hashiro relaxed, his shoulders sinking slowly and his back loosening under my hand. I placed one sharp end of the shard against the section of his spine between his shoulder blades and the markings of his wings. I angled it upward. "This will sting," I whispered quickly just before I pressed the shard completely into his skin. He hissed between his teeth, arching away from my touch as the shard's power spread through him.

I took a quick step back, watching closely. I had never heard of a jewel shard being used by any being other than human or demon. There was no way I could ever predict how it would affect a dragon.

Hashiro wrapped his arms around himself and bent forward, crying out suddenly. I almost ran to him to remove the shard, scared of what it would do, but jumped back when I heard a familiar series of cracks.

Only this time, I heard two sets.

Hashiro straightened slowly, glancing over his shoulder coolly as he stretched both of his wings outward. The tattered wing was whole again, stretching outward farther than I remembered from the bathhouse. His second wing had grown outward from the stump, stretching out just as far as the other, powerful. They opened wide, the leathery skin becoming taut between the thin bones of his wings. Then he drew them back in. When the wings disappeared from view, two large tattoos stretched from where they had attached, just inside his shoulder blades, to his shoulders and down his back, much larger and darker than before.

Slowly, Hashiro turned to me. The scales that had always been visible on his forehead were raised and a brilliant green. Red scales surrounded his eyes and curled down and then back upward to his pointed ears, like a mask. His golden eyes were narrower, but kinder. The warmth they held was true.

He smiled softly at me. His energy flowed out of him and filled all of us, warm and gentle. Feeling it made me realize with a start just how old this dragon before me was. This man was older than any being I had ever met. I felt the sudden urge to bow to him, feeling that before his wings were taken, he had been some kind of leader among his kind.

Hashiro approached me, and my mark warmed, but it was gentle warning. Koga was only being cautious; his previous fury was gone.

A gentle hand cupped my cheek. Long silver claws reflected in the light as they moved into my hairline, mindful not to cut me. "You, young wolf, are a true treasure." Hashiro told me softly, his voice holding a warm undertone that seemed to echo in the air itself. Koga's mark pulsed once with panic, remembering what the dragon collected. Hashiro's eyes closed for a moment with a soft smile as he chuckled. He'd sensed the energy exchange in the air. "Calm yourself, wolf prince. I will not steal your mate from you." He turned from me to look at Koga.

My mate stood straight, hand on one hip as his hard eyes watched Hashiro closely. His dark eyes were calm, cautious. His calves were tense, ready to move into action if needed. "I'm glad to see that you have regained your power, Hashiro." Koga said slowly, his voice strained. "Your markings faded long ago."

Hashiro nodded. "A dragon's wings hold a lot of their power. I was no longer powerful enough for my markings to show after my wings were lost." Although such a statement would have caused him great sorrow before, his mention of his wings did not bring on a different tone in his voice. It was just a memory to him now.

I stepped forward to stand at Hashiro's side. Koga's eyes found mine, searching. My actions had confused him. I smiled, trying my best to send him reassure and communicate that I would do my best to explain later. Even I didn't completely understand why I'd done what I had.

But I was overjoyed to know that I had helped the tall man beside me.

I turned my eyes on the dragon. "Hashiro, there are a group of people who will come looking for that shard you hold. I do not know when or if they ever will come to find it, but, if they find you, they will do anything to take it from you. Please, promise me that you will leave this land as quickly as you can and seek another way to restore your wings with something other than that jewel. I could not bear hearing that you have been harmed in their attempt to retrieve it."

Hashiro smiled warmly at me as he nodded. "I promise."

My face became more serious. "And, Hashiro, please, the women in the castle—"

"They are free to go." He cut in, looking back at the stone castle. "They may leave whenever they please, and I give this castle to them if they choose to stay, but I will no longer retain them here." His face became serious. "But, I will continue to collect my treasures." At my look, he held up a hand to stop my protest. "I cannot suppress my nature, but I will change my way of collecting them. They must agree first to become my treasure and then I will use one of my claws to place a claim on them, just like Koga did for you."

Realization suddenly hit me. "That claw I wore," I whispered, "It was yours."

Hashiro smiled weakly. "Yes, Koga retrieved it from one of the elder pack leaders, I'm sure. Throughout history, dragons have given their claws to those that they feel close to. The only downside is that they grow back very slowly, which is why they are only given to those very precious to us." As he spoke, he drew a hand before him, looking carefully at the sharp metal of his own claws. "It forms a connection between dragon and receiver that cannot be broken, so demons and humans like to use them for the same purpose as we do." He explained. Suddenly, he brought the nail of his pinky to his teeth and bit. A loud crack sounded, and he withdrew the severed claw from between his lips. Removed from his humanoid form, it grew to full size in his palm. It was the same size as the one Koga had given me.

Wrapping his fingers around my wrist gently, Hashiro raised my hand and pressed the claw into it. "Please, take this. It is a replacement for the original that I destroyed. I know it meant a lot to you, but also, I would be honored if you wore it as my first honest treasure." At Koga's pulse of energy, Hashiro continued, his eyes finding Koga's for a moment. "I place no claim on you, but you are very precious to me. You saved me from my bitter hatred and restored my wings. Please accept this as my form of gratitude."

I closed my hand around the metal claw, still warm from his body heat, and nodded gently. "I will wear it." I replied softly.

Hashiro laid his other hand over my closed one, looking over my features slowly. After a moment, he drew back, letting me go completely. "In another life." He whispered with a sigh, his eyes holding a soft sadness as he ran a claw over my cheek. "Keep that claw, and I will always be able to find you."

Before I could respond, he took several swift steps away from me, his wings coming from his back in a quick motion, stretching out high above him. "I will see you again." He said to me before he looked to Koga. His face began to extend and red the scales began to spread from around his eyes to the rest of his body as he took on the shape of his true form. "Koga, I no longer thirst for revenge against you. My wings have been restored, and I am free to live as I once did. Please, accept my offering of truce. We have both had our losses, though I will never say mine are equal yours or the opposite, but I ask for a truce from here on."

Koga moved to my side, his arm snaking around my waist and pulling me against him. He pressed his face into my hair, breathing deeply. He nodded sharply against the crown of my head then straightened to look at Hashiro. "Good luck in your travels, dragon."

Hashiro's mouth moved upward in a kind of smile, wrinkling the tough skin across his muzzle. "I wish your pack a peaceful future, wolf prince." He replied.

Suddenly, Yuki stepped past as, quickly approaching Hashiro. He stopped just in front of him, leaning into his large face to examine him. "How could you possibly believe everything is alright now?" He demanded, his voice growing louder and louder. "You've killed so many. You've ruined people's lives! It can't just suddenly be alright!"

Hashiro drew back, looking down at Yuki as his mouth opened once more. "How do you think this should be resolved then, Yuki? Should I be killed for my bitterness at being attacked by Koga? Or should he be killed for attacking me so long ago?"

The fox had no answer.

Hashiro's voice softened. "Yuki, neither one of us is in the right, but instead of trying to figure out which one of us is more in the wrong, we will just go our separate ways."

It was obvious that Yuki was not pleased, but he remained silent, looking at Hashiro closely. Then he suddenly scuffed, turned on his heel, and stormed from the courtyard, fox fire forming in his palms with the magnitude of his fury.

When I turned to go after him, Koga placed a hand on my shoulder and kept me where I was, whispering that he would be alright. Just as Yuki disappeared from sight, Saka came down the front steps of the castle, his eyes wild. They landed on Hashiro then he turned to survey the damage of the palace. A fire had started in Hashiro's rooms and was reaching out in the air from the large gaps Hashiro had created in his rage.

Saka sent up a wave of air that circled throughout the inside of the room, preventing the fire from spreading to the rest of the castle, then he shouted out commands to his soldiers to put out the fire as they came out behind him. They obeyed without hesitation, running to find the water Elements in the castle. When they were set to work, Saka's eyes moved over us once more.

Before the commander could speak, Hashiro raised his wings high above him and then beat down hard, sending himself in the air. The wind that resulted caused me to cover my face with my arm as my hair whipped about me. Koga moved himself in front of me to shield me, and Saka's concentration broke when he saw his flightless master lift into the air. As Hashiro opened his wings high above the castle, the flames burst forth from the castle, hiding him from view.

Saka, startled, threw out his hands to send his wind once more, but when he'd finally pushed back the flames, Hashiro was gone. We all turned, looking for any sign of him, but nowhere could his form be found.

He'd vanished.

Once the flames were put out, Koga and I searched the Hashiro's room. We found Koga's armor hidden in a heavy wooden wardrobe that Saka's wind had protected from the flames. His sword was beside it, leaned against the corner of the wardrobe. Koga let out a sound of relief from deep in his throat and quickly pulled on the armor, tugging the leather straps tight across his shoulder to secure it. Once it was settled, Koga closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to savor the feeling of armor again. Rarely had he previously removed his armor except when he slept or he bathed; it was a solid form of security for him, and he'd been without it for a long time now.

Next came his sword, which he removed from its scabbard and examined. He stepped away from me and swung it about him, testing its weight again. When he was satisfied, he placed it back in its sheath and pushing it in his pelt, securing it carefully with a tie at the mouth of the sheath.

We searched the rest of the room for his warm and leg warmers, but we were unsuccessful. Koga sighed, coming to the conclusion that they had burned with the majority of the room.

I nodded, looking about the charred remains of the room. The whole lounging area we'd been in only a short time before was black. The cushions were burnt to nothing and only the metal of the low tables remained. A curtain that had once been attached to the window, spared by Saka's wind, blew out of the opening in the wall, flapping in the breeze that now blew through the room from the many holes in the stone wall. The blue sky behind it held no clouds.

Koga wrapped his arms around my waist, covering my back with his body. The hard armor comforted me, and my head fell back against his shoulder. "Koga, can we go home now?" I asked, my eyes still taking in the beauty of the sky. It was like a film had finally been removed from before my eyes, and I could see the beauty of the world again. I could sense peace in the air and could smell the coming winter.

Lips brushed my neck as Koga's fingers gently tilted my head up, pressing several more kisses there. "Of course." He replied softly, his nose finding the soft spot behind my jaw under my ear as he pulled me tight against him. "We will leave soon."

We left several days later when everything had settled. Koga helped repair the damaged room and settle who would take over the castle while I spoke with the many women of the palace, asking what they wanted to do. Many chose to stay, but those who wished to leave I helped, packing them warm clothes and giving them a portion of the money we had discovered at the castle. I sent Yuki to escort them to the closest village. He never spoke to me those few days, but his eyes lingered on my face. They showed his bruised heart, and I knew he never intended to hide it from me.

On the finally day before our departure, I found him in his room, packing his belongings in a shoulder bag beside his bed. He was wearing the merchant clothes I had first met him in and his appearance was that of a human. I stepped inside but left the door open.

He didn't look up but I knew he sensed me there. I approached him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. There was a thump as he suddenly dropped the shoulder bag to the floor. His hand closed tightly around my upper arm, and I was thrown down onto the soft cushioning of the bed, my eyes wide as he leaned over me. His palm settled in the hollow of my shoulder as his lips crashed into mine, moving hard and feverishly. I felt that same feeling again spread through me that I had felt with all of his kisses. My heart swelled, like I loved him, and I felt that I needed to go with him wherever he intended to leave to.

But I knew it was his magic that commanded my feelings. I loved Koga.

I brought my hands up and settled them on his cheeks, gently pushing him away. He didn't resist as he leaned back, looking down at me with guarded eyes. "Yuki," I started, but his look stopped the rest of my words. He suddenly sighed, his eyes closing tightly as he removed his hand from my shoulder. The feeling of love faded.

He supported his weight with a hand beside my head as his other hand disappeared into his pocket. He withdrew a fist, something small held within it, and placed the fist on the other side of my head, using it to support him as well.

His energy pulsed and his features changed to those of his true humanoid form. His eyes narrowed and his features lengthened beneath my hands. In an instant, he became much older in appearance, wiser and larger. Three thick lines of blue flashed on his cheeks, tapering off an inch from his nose, but they did not remain as Yuki pushed back the markings, making them fade.

"Yuki," I asked softly, startled, "how powerful are you?" Only demons of tremendous power bore markings. Koga had none. Was Yuki stronger than Koga?

Yuki gave no response, removing one of my hands from his face and pressing it into the padding of the bed. He pressed the object in his fist to my palm and closed my fingers. Before drawing back, he pressed a final kiss to my forehead and was gone out to the door with his shoulder bag before I could sit up.

I opened my palm to find a golden ring. There was no note or any engravings in the ring to tell me anything. It was only a ring.

Koga stepped in then, arms crossed as he looked at me. I jumped up quickly from the bed, startled and red-faced. "Koga, I-!" He held up a hand to silence me, shaking his head gently as he approached me. His face bore no anger, but was too calm. He held out a hand, and I placed the ring in it. He examined it, pressing his energy into it. When he seemed satisfied, he handed it back.

I wanted to ask what it was, but something about Koga in that moment made me hesitate. What was he thinking? I watched him carefully as he looked around the room, finding the side door that led to my room. He opened it then stood in the doorway, his eyes moving over the objects in that room. I was sure he found my scent in the room and put it all together himself.

He did not speak, probably recalling the night his bond with me had been cut off by Yuki. That was the night he'd brought me into his room and held me through the night, his energy surrounding the claw and keeping Koga from connecting with it. I wondered if they'd exchanged words while I had slept.

I knew my relationship with Yuki would always be a dark subject between Koga and me, but we both knew the affections I'd felt for the fox had been his own magic. My love had been for Koga all along. Really though, that did not atone for the many kisses nor the night I'd spent beside him.

I approached Koga's back slowly, placing the ring gently on the dresser by the door when I reached him. I slid my arms around his lower abdomen, leaning my weight into him and resting the side of my head on his shoulder blade. Neither of us spoke, but slowly, my mark warmed. I could not distinguish the feeling.

"Koga?" I asked softly, leaning away as he turned to me. His eyes were dark, but not angry. I backed away when he took a step towards me, my lower back hitting the dresser. His hands suddenly found my waist and lifted me to sit on the side of the dresser's top. One of his legs moved between mine as he pushed the neck of my shirt open, revealing his mark. "Kog—Ah!" I shouted, my question turning into a cry. Pain burned through me as Koga buried his fangs in the same place he had days before. Without any kind of distraction, the white pain was hardly bearable.

My hand found the back of his neck as he poured his energy into me. I clenched my teeth as I breathed hard into his ear. I tensed and tried to shift away, but Koga's hands pressed down hard on my hips, holding me still. When my body could take no more of Koga's energy, he forced more into me, and then drew back, panting heavily.

Blood ran from the punctures and down my chest, soaking into the white shirt I wore. Koga pressed a palm to it as he rested his forehead on my shoulder. A soothing warmth flowed through me, pushing back the pain. I let out a sigh as the pain left me, relaxing under his touch.

I turned my nose into his temple. "What was that, Koga?" I asked softly, my fingers touching his wrist at my shoulder.

Koga raised his face to look at me then wiped the small amount of blood from his lips with his free hand. When it was done, he rested it beside my hip on the top of the dresser. "He could have taken you from me." Koga said slowly, his voice soft, his eyes looking into mine. "I didn't have my full power when I marked you and so the mark was weak. Yuki easily suppressed it just now like the claw. I never realized the extent of his power." Koga paused, removing his hand from the mark to examine it. Blood still flowed from it, so he placed is hand back, pressing harder. "I've remarked you. The mark of a stronger demon always replaces the former. I did not worry about the strength when we went to face Hashiro because he is not a demon; he could not have remarked you, but Yuki, he tested the mark. I felt him do it."

I tensed. "When he put his hand on my shoulder…" I said slowly, remembering.

"If he'd marked you," Koga whispered, "whatever feelings he had caused with his fox fire would have been sealed within you. He could have made you fall in love with him. He could have taken you from me." Koga pressed his forehead to mine. "How did you stop him?"

I leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you," I replied. "His fox fire wasn't strong enough to make me forget that. I pushed him away, and he knew I could never be his."

Koga's lips found mine in a hard kiss as his hand slid into the hair on back of my head. He released my shoulder, wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulled me forward to the very edge of the dresser, pressing completely against him. Our legs were tangled between us, tense. He pulled his lips away suddenly, but kept close. "Good," he said huskily, breath moving across my swollen lips, "because I would have come after you. Wolves mate for life."

One more guys. One last, short chapter and this story is done. I hope you enjoyed it!

I still need a name for the main character for when I go back and edit it a bit. Any suggestions are appreciated! Also, I might upload an "extras" chapter with shorts cut from the story, original plot ideas, and the songs I listened to that inspired the story. Feel free to suggest any songs you think apply with a short explanation as to why it fits, and I'll include it. (I did this with Sesshomaru Children and it was a hit, so I think I'll do it again.)

I think I may write an Ayame x Koga next. Yes/no?

Please review.