Moonlit Encounter:

A Tale of Dogs & Wolves 

By: ChocolateEclar

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any other character from the anime/manga "Inuyasha." So don't try to sue me.  ^___^

Claimer: I own Koinu (Nobara), Shirakaba, Yu (Yousukou), Hime (Yuck!), Mashiro, Itoshii, Haipaa, Koishii and her children, all of Yu's younger siblings and cousins, and the Shinrin Twins (Yaki and Karasubairo).

To kyu-bi: I like my cliffies anyway. ^__^ I'm a sucker for love stories too.

^_-

To eX Driver Liz: Hime will be back in this chapter. ^__^ Hehe. Btw, you're penname probably had a 3 on the end 'cause other people were 'Sailor Universe' before you and, as you probably already know, we have to have unique, individual pennames now. Anyway, thanks again!

A/N: Here's a few dialogue between toad boy and Fluffy:

Jaken: "You can't blame him for not liking you! Your resume is one long death
wish!" Sesshoumaru: *smiles slightly* Jaken: "Ahh! You're smiling! Oh, don't smile at me! You're always much harder on me when you're being passive-aggressive!" *thinking* 'I think I've just shortened my life by a hundred years!'

Choccy: Come to think of it, what ever happened to Jaken in my story? Hmmm…. Maybe I'll add him in the next chapter. I don't like him at all, but he was a character we saw a lot of in the anime and manga.

Part 12: Thought-Weaving

"Is she alright?" asked Kagome as Yu arrived in the wolf den where she, Inuyasha, Shippou, Mashiro, and Shi had waited. Koinu was sleeping in Yu's arms, her breathing heavy and her body relaxed.

"She'll be fine," Yu reassured them, slowly sitting down on a pile of furs, holding Koinu to his chest. Koinu didn't even stir.

"How did you turn her back to a quarter youkai?" inquired Shippou, his reddish brown locks shining in the sunlight.

"Well," muttered Yu, laughing. "It's a long story, but basically I barely did anything." He smiled tenderly at Koinu who grunted in her slumber. "I'm sure she could explain it better than I ever will. But I think we should let her sleep. She's been through a lot." He looked up at everyone. Mashiro and Kagome where winking at each other and whispering causing Yu to think dryly, 'Ah yes, the ancient female ritual of gossip.' Then he looked at Shi, Inuyasha, and Shippou. Inuyasha was looking at him strangely, a mixture of pleasure and protectiveness on his face. Shi and Shippou were grinning secretively.

Yu sighed, shifting Koinu to a new position in his arms. He wasn't quite sure what had happened between Koinu and her youkai blood back at the river himself.

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Twelve hours later, Koinu awoke to see her family, most of Kouga's pack, and Shippou eating together in the cave. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. "'Having a picnic without me?" she inquired causing everyone to start in surprise. She smiled, showing her fangs. "Miss me?" she asked.

"You were gone, Ko?" questioned Shi sarcastically.

"Very funny," Koinu said, eyeing him laughingly.

She turned to her oya, who smiled at her. Then Inuyasha went back to his 'insult match' with Kouga who sat across from him. Koinu laughed as her otousan called Kouga a "wimpy wolf" and Kouga dubbed Inuyasha an "inukoru."

'Some things never change,' thought someone. Koinu blinked realizing it was her okaasan who had had that thought. She had unconsciously weaved herself among everyone's thoughts.

'This is funny,' thought Shi.

'Stupid urufu,' Inuyasha thought.

Koinu quickly removed herself then; her head pounded from the sudden over load of feelings.

'Too many people here to listen too,' she thought. She had left her connection with Yu's mind alone and he caught her thought, looking peculiarly at her. Koinu chuckled, winking at him mysteriously.

Hime was noticeably absent. 'Probably doesn't want to be involved in cheerful conversation,' Koinu thought lightheartedly.

Yu went over to her, sitting beside her on the heap of furs. "Are you hungry?" he asked her.

"I'm starved!" declared Koinu.

Yu laughed, handing her a plate full of meat strips. "Is this all you guys eat?" Koinu inquired dryly.

"Pretty much. Here have some lettuce," he said placing some of the green leaves on her plate as well.

"Thanks," said Koinu, eating.

Yu watched her for a moment before turning back towards the others.

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"So? What exactly happened to you?" Shippou asked Koinu after dinner. The young kodomotachi had been sent to bed and only Kouga, Yu, Mashiro, Inuyasha, Kagome, Shi, Shippou of course, and Koinu remained in the den.

"I got eaten," said Koinu cryptically. She wrinkled her nose and continued in a more normal tone, "I couldn't control her. My youkai blood I mean. It was strong and it trapped me within myself. After awhile I regained awareness, inside anyway, and I took a trip down memory lane, or as I like to call it: 'my sea of reminiscence.' I had to do that to help take control again. You see, as long as I could still think and relive memories, I had a chance of surviving and taking control again. So I did that for awhile and then I just, well, waited."

"Waited? Why? Shouldn't you have been fighting it?" asked Shi.

"I couldn't do anything else until my youkai self was subdued by someone. In this case, Yu," Koinu explained. "He did that and I was able to 'run' my body again. Naturally, I was exhausted by then and fell asleep."

Yu noticed how vaguely she described how he had 'subdued' her youkai blood and nearly laughed.

'It was sealed with a kiss,' something that felt like wind whispered in Yu's brain.

Koinu winked at him, smiling. Then she added to everyone else, "So now we need to find a way to stop this from happening again. Any ideas?"

"I'll contact Myouga through the 'all-youkai spa' he's staying at in Hawaii," said Shippou.

"'Sounds good to me. He should know something that can help," said Kagome, who was leaning against Inuyasha.

"Well, I gotta get home," Shippou said. "I'll tell you what the flea says as soon as I can. Bye, guys." Then he left in a blur of reddish brown fur.

Koinu yawned, she felt drained again. She had a feeling it was because of her repeated 'thought-weaving' and she smiled wryly.

"Let's get goin'," said Inuyasha after a few moments of silence.

Koinu, Shi, Inuyasha, and Kagome nodded, standing up. They said good-bye to Kouga, Mashiro, and Yu who walked with them to the entrance of the cave.

Then, Kouga and Mashiro went up to their own den. Shi and Inuyasha, who was carrying Kagome, took off into the forest, leaving Yu and Koinu alone in the entryway to the den.

"Come on, Koinu!" called Shi a moment later.

"I'm coming!" shouted Koinu. She turned to Yu, smiling, and whispered, "Bye, Yu."

Yu placed his hands on her hips, pulling her to him. They started kissing, but were interrupted by a shrill hoot and a female voice yelling, "Awwwww. How cute; two idiots exchanging spit!"

"Damn it! Hime, go to hell!" hollered Yu, breaking away from Koinu who frowned at the urufu demoness who was sitting on a crag of rock above them, laughing.

Hime faulted though, abruptly hurrying into her den, a strange look on her face.

Koinu smiled wickedly, as she watched Hime scurry away.

"What did you do?" asked Yu mock-disapprovingly.

Koinu chuckled. "Nothin' much really," she said. "I just told her I knew about Kyuukai and that I would tattle if she didn't get lost fast."

"Whose Kyuukai?" inquired Yu.

"Oh, just her ninjen boyfriend."

"WHAAAAA?!"

"You heard me," replied Koinu. "I looked at her memories for something that she would hate for others to know about and saw them smooching."

"Are we talking about the same sadistic Hime here?"

"Yep."

"Whoa. I'll have to think about that," muttered Yu. "Are you ever going to tell me how you can read people's thoughts?"

"I like to call it thought-weaving, " said Koinu laughingly. "I started doing it when I was little I think. I thought I was just imagining things at first and then I thought I was just hearing things. But when I was trapped inside myself, I realized it was an ability I seemed to have always had and used rarely before. You heard me before you reached me, remember? I called out to you."

"Yea, I remember. Do you know how you're doing it?" inquired Yu.

"'Could be a quarter youkai thing, or something I inherited from an ancestor," suggested Koinu. "Then again, I'm pretty sure Shi doesn't have it."

"Hmm, I bet we'll find out eventually," mumbled Yu, drawing closer to her again.

Koinu breathed in his scent, a mixture of urufu, tree bark, and mountain air. They kissed again without any disruptions.

Then, they parted, Koinu jumping backwards and onto a tree branch without looking. "Bye," said Yu noticing her unusually graceful landing. 

"Bye," called Koinu hopping to the ground and taking off after her family. She was soon out of sight but her scent stayed with Yu who grinned.

He was thrilled. Blissful. Cherished. He was everything he could hope for at the time.

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A/N: Here are 2 quotes from Fluffy!

Sesshoumaru: *glare*

Choccy: *nervous laughter* ^_^; I mean, here are 2 quotes from the great Demon Lord of the Western Lands Sesshoumaru:

"Oooh, well done. Looks like you've remembered your elder brother's face."

"Little brothers are such pests..."

Choccy: ^__-

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A/N: Here are the translations: Oya=parents Kyuukai=long-cherished hope A/N 2: Review! ^___- Bye!