I know I said I was through…but I think Kouga deserves a happy ending too.

If You Could Only See

Kouga's Ending.

Modern Day Tokyo: Approx. eight years after the well closed.

Sometimes…life can really suck. And right about now, for Kouga at least, life really sucked. He didn't know what to do with himself. It wasn't like the old days, when he could just take off running, not caring where he went or how long he'd be gone. Now there were all these damn restrictions. "You can't be in your demonic form in from of humans, you can't kill other demons or humans, you can't fight in open places," hell, all the fun was gone!

Besides…he'd spent years searching for Kagome...ever since that fox let slip that she had come from the future. And then, finally, they'd found her. But then he'd discovered that she really did choose that dog turd over him. It wasn't like he was angry at her or anything, he truly did just want her to be happy. But his pride definitely took a blow when he was forced to admit defeat to the mutt.

And now what was he supposed to do? He for the life of him couldn't even remember what he'd done until he learned of Kagome's inevitable return.

He was still the leader of his wolf tribe. But was he supposed to do? There weren't any wars between neighboring demons. There was never a struggle to find food or fresh water. Even territory wasn't an issue…all thanks to West Industries. In all reality…he was itching for something to go wrong…something to keep his mind occupied.

He had just come back from visiting the newest member of his ever growing pack. Kagome and Inuyasha's new baby girl. He'd only just made the trip even though the cub was already a few months old. He'd stalled it as long as possible, but when the mini dog turd called him over the phone, begging in his high little voice for his "uncle Ko'" to come and see his little sister, he had no choice but to come.

Even though he was half dog demon, Takao was a pretty cool cub. It was fun to wrestle with the little twerp, and he had to admit, the kid was strong for a cub so young. But there hadn't been any horse play this time around. Takao was stuck in big brother mode, and hardly left the little girl's side, constantly asking Shippo for advise on how to protect her.

All in all, it hadn't been a very enjoyable trip. Even if he did get to see mini dog turd and Kagome. He knew he didn't love Kagome, not romantically anyway. But he still felt jealous at that mutt-face. Inuyasha had it all! The high paying job, the nice house, a beautiful mate, and now three cubs, if you counted Shippo like Inuyasha and Kagome did.

He slammed his glass down on the bar he was sitting at. It just wasn't fair, dammit! He knew his personality could seem a little…strong…at times, but he wanted a happy ending too! He wanted the job, the home, the cubs, the mate…

He wanted his own family.

"Hey sir, you want another beer?" the man working behind the counter asked.

"Yeah," he said shortly, shoving his empty glass in the direction of the bar tender.

"This is your eighth one, how come you ain't drunk stupid yet?" the guy asked curiously as he filled the glass.

"High tolerance…" Kouga mumbled. It was the truth…demons didn't succumb to alcohol as easily as humans. But it wasn't like he could tell this human that. Inuyasha made sure of it when he suggested demons go into hiding centuries ago.

Taking the glass from the man, he chugged half of it in one gulp, hopping to get a little buzzed at least.

"Bar tender, get me a glass of rum, with about three shots of vodka in there, pronto," came a new voice as a girl with bright red hair pulled into pigtails sat on the only empty bar stood left, the one right next to Kouga's.

"Uh…that's a little strong, don't cha think, miss?" the bartender said, surprised at the order.

"I said pronto, come on now I ain't getting' any younger here! I can handle it, trust me," she said coolly.

The bartender raised his eyebrows a little, but began mixing the drink anyway. Kouga however turned his head towards this new girl. He could pick her aura up right away.

"You're a demon," he said flatly, and she turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes. But what kind of demon?"

He took a moment, taking in her scent carefully. "Wolf demon, I'm sure of it," he said confidently.

"Lucky guess," she laughed as she took a sip from the drink the bartender placed before her. "And by your scent, you smell like a wolf demon too. Although…you kinda have this wet dog smell," she said wrinkling her nose.

"I was visiting a pack sister…she mated a dog demon, and now she and her kids reek of his stench too," he said, a little miffed that Kagome's natural scent was covered in dog.

"You don't sound like you like this guy very much," the red head observed.

"Not particularly," Kouga growled.

"Then why did you go visit?" she asked.

"Cause someone's gotta keep their eye on that flea bag. Plus they just had a new cub, so I had to go see the newest member of my pack."

"So you're a pack leader, huh? Which pack?"

"Eastern tribe," he said shortly. "Name's Kouga."

"Kouga, huh? I knew your scent was familiar!" she said, propping her elbow on the table and looking up at him. "I'm Ayame, leader of the Northern tribe, you remember me?"

"Ayame?" he asked, confused. His eyes strayed to the flowers resting in her hair, and suddenly he remembered! It had been back in the feudal era, back ever before he met Kagome. The leader of the Northern tribe had just come down to visit the Eastern tribe, as Kouga had just been appointed the new leader. He had gone out in search for the Northern chief's granddaughter when she had gone missing. She had been young then, only a small cub, and she had gotten cornered by the bird demons when he finally found her. He had given her the same type of flower to show her he didn't mean any harm, and she had put in one of her pigtails, just as she was wearing it now.

"Ayame!" he said surprised. He had heard that the Northern chief had passed centuries ago, but he had never gone to see the new leader because he was still on the hunt for Naraku at the time.

"I see you do remember me," she said smugly, taking another giant gulp of her drink, downing its entire contents in one go.

"Yeah…but you sure grew since then," he said, taking in her assets.

She laughed when she noticed his eyes trained on her chest, and he snapped his eyes back up to her, as if just noticing were they were staring.

"That's it. I've decided," Ayame said, looking at Kouga with a broad smile. "I'm going to be your woman from now on."

Kouga blinked, surprised. He'd never seen someone as bold as her…aside from him that is. A smile began creeping up the edges of his mouth as he thought about her offer more, though in truth, she had meant it as more of a demand than a request.

"I think I like the sound of that," he said. He reached into his wallet and pulled out some bills throwing them in the bewildered bartender's direction, never once taking his eyes off the red haired beauty.

He stood, holding his hand out to her, and she took it, hopping down from her own seat. As soon as she was down, he picked her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest, and she in turn wrapped her arms around his neck, her face never loosing that mischievous grin.

He turned, and holding his woman walked from the bar. Perhaps this day hadn't been so sucky after all.

I know I said no Ayame before…but I really wanted Kouga to have a happy ending! I guess I'm just a sucker for those…

Anyway, that's probably it for reals this time!

I really appreciate all you who have reviewed or favored or followed and what-not!

I would love a final review if you have time, but if not I'd understand!

Thanks so much for reading! ily wamham!

~Lions Heart (ROAR! ^-^)