Author's Note: Archiving (some of) my 2017 Inuvember oneshots in this collection. Koga ships prompt.

Originally posted here & Tumblr: Nov. 30, 2017

Posted here: Nov. 7, 2021

Setting: Post-canon

Characters: KogAya

Words: 987

Rated: K

Genre: Romance...?

Try Again

"Dammit, it's cold!" Koga grumbled, though he knew he had no right to complain. He had several of his wolves curled around him, their body heat and thick fur coats providing adequate heat to protect his exposed skin from the biting winter wind.

But somehow, when he wasn't hunting or fighting or even sleeping, the freezing weather seemed much more difficult to ignore. And besides, they were several miles north from the Wolf-Demon Tribe's interwoven caverns in the southern mountains. At least there would be hundreds of his family members, comrades, and loyal wolves, plus several roaring fire pits.

Out here, in the open clearing, with the wind blowing fiercely and relentlessly, was another story.

"Well, well. So, the great chief of the Southern Tribe is more of a wimp than I thought."

Koga jolted more at the familiar voice than at the insult. He buried his face against one of his wolves, and muttered mutinously, "What do you want, Ayame?"

"I was just passing by," she said nonchalantly, a hint of amusement notably still lingering in her tone. Koga almost growled in irritation. "May I ask, Koga, what you're doing so far from home?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" he snapped, jerking upright and staring straight into Ayame's blue eyes. "What's a northern dame doing so far down south anyway? My wolves and I were on a hunting raid and we ended up stranded when this storm hit. We'll get going once it passes."

"Uh huh. Assuming you don't freeze to death first." Ayame rolled her eyes, and whistled. Several white pelts appeared in the background. "My wolves have proper winter coats for this kind of weather. They'll add to the heat, but only if you follow us first."

"Don't you dare try to lead me and my wolves into some sort of-!"

"Sort of what? A trap? Honestly, Koga, for a wolf chief, your loyalty can almost blind you sometimes. Why on earth would I want to kill my fellow brethren? That's not the wolf-demon way. I would think you of all demons would know that."

Koga gritted his teeth, then grudgingly gave a few sharp orders. His nearly frostbitten wolves stood up slowly, on trembling legs. With encouragement from their white-furred cousins, they slowly began walking together to follow Ayame, who led the pack further into the forest. Koga's heart clenched at the sight of his helpless comrades. He shivered violently and bounded off after them.

Ayame was right to lead Koga's wolves away from the clearing. Just a little bit into the forest there stood a secluded cave, which would provide protection from the biting winds and continuous snowfall. The exhausted but grateful wolves clambered inside and gathered around a fire pit that Ayame had set ablaze. Koga plopped down on the warm hard ground (an immense relief compared to the soft yet uncomfortably cold snow earlier), and warmed his hands. Once he felt relatively satisfied, he looked up and saw Ayame sitting in the distance, her knees curled up to her chest. Another squeeze in his chest reminded him that if it wasn't for her finding them and leading them to shelter, he and his wolves would have eventually fallen asleep and never awakened again.

He stood up and walked over to her. She kept facing pointedly outside the cave.

"Hey, Ayame, it was …. really good of you to help us out. A true wolf-demon couldn't have done better."

"Oh? I thought I was leading you to a trap?" Ayame said coldly.

Koga winced at the sharpness of her tone. "L-look, I want to apologize about that. I've been... through a lot. You know, with Naraku and all. It's made me... cautious."

"Did you get your revenge?"

"N-not exactly. After I lost my jewel shards, and the ancestor's blessing to protect me once, I just... realized that the most I could do was help Inuyasha weaken the bastard as much as possible. Then, I remembered that my comrades and family were still waiting for my return. I've been back home for almost a year now."

Ayame nodded slowly. "Did Inuyasha kill Naraku?"

"That's what I heard. He and Kagome destroyed him together, with the help of some friends."

Ayame held her knees a bit tighter. Koga cleared his throat awkwardly. "B-but she's gone now! She returned to her world. I heard from …. around," he finished lamely, gesturing vaguely.

"Oh?"

"Honestly, Ayame, when I left my revenge in Inuyasha's hands, I also knew I was leaving Kagome in his hands. She never... never really loved me, you know?"

"Of course I knew. Everyone else knew, too."

Koga frowned. "Yeah? Well, I tried, and that's what counts!" He crossed his arms and looked away. "Besides... I guess there's no point in having a mate who doesn't want to be your mate."

"Yeah."

The two wolf-demons remained silent for a little while. The wind whistled loudly outside, but inside, with the crackling fire pit in the center of the little cave, and both tribes' wolves sleeping peacefully in the warmth, the storm was hardly noticeable anymore.

"Hey, Ayame?"

"Mmmm?"

"You want to stay with my tribe for a while?"

"Why should I?"

"We could strengthen the bonds of our allies. You could teach my wolves how to survive in the harsh winter, since storms like this don't come around too often in our territory. And maybe..." Koga let the last thought drift, watching Ayame carefully.

Finally, she sighed and stood up. "All right. If only to please my grandfather. But don't get any ideas," she added sharply, jabbing a finger at Koga's chest. "I am not leftovers, Koga, so don't start thinking you will marry me or something just because you lost Kagome." She tossed her head and marched to the side of the cave, ready to sleep next to her loyal wolves.

Koga smirked. "We'll see, Ayame..." he said quietly.