Title: Family

Genre: General

Pairing: all canon pairings hold

Rating: PG-13 (bit of violence)

Summary: Kouga takes Amara to meet the rest of the wolf demon pack. The celebrations are cut short by some unexpected visitors.


Kouga and Amara raced along the ground toward the mountains where Kouga's pack lived. Above them, Kiara carried Kagome and the others. InuYasha complained loudly that he didn't see why the rest of them had to go. It was Amara who was part of the pack, not them. Miroku reminded the hanyou that Kouga had been very generous in inviting them all back and having a celebration in Amara's honor, and that this wasn't the time to sulk.

"I am not sulking; I'm just saying that we should be looking for more shards and not celebrating with Kouga and his kind." InuYasha did quiet down once they reached the mountain. Kouga and Amara had already disappeared behind the waterfall as Kiara landed and they all got off. As they entered the den of the wolf demons, they heard Kouga's voice ring out above rest.


"Brothers and sisters, today is a day for celebration. One of our own has come to us from the future. Magic has brought a descendent of our pack to this time to show us if we truly unite, we will be strong and survive throughout the centuries." The pack was silent, and Kagome watched as some pack members came up and sniffed at Amara curiously.

"Yep, she's one of us", said a male. The rest of the pack came forward and introduced themselves. Amara noticed that majority of the pack was older, and mostly male. There were few females, one of which was Ayame. Ayame was tense, this female was about Kouga's age, and she was already looking at the girl as a threat. The way Kouga was acting though, she was only a descendent from their pack. Ayame would treat her as a member too, unless the girl did start acting interested in Kouga. By this time, Kouga had called for a celebration. Most of the males were sorted into groups and went off to hunt some food. Soon, the only ones that were left was the InuYasha-tachi, Ayame, Kouga, Amara, Hakkaku and Ginta.


Gathering in a small group, Kouga noticed that Ginta and Hakkaku were looking at Amara with interest. As the final two of his original pack, Kouga had held them with a special regard. They were the ones that always managed to talk some sense into him, even if he didn't want to hear it most of the time. As Kouga watched them, he noticed that whenever Amara looked back at the two they would look down and blush. This amused Kouga greatly and he couldn't help but pick on them just a bit.

"So, Amara. Do you have a mate back in your time?"

"Oh, no," Amara said, "but that's okay. I've haven't met anyone that makes me feel special."

"Good, since only a wolf youkai would be worthy of you. There are a few males here that might be interested, like Ginta and Hakkaku for instance. They fight when needed and smart enough not to walk into anything stupid. I believe they'd be worthy of you." Kouga saw the mixed looks of pride and panic cross Ginta and Hakkaku's faces. Amara looked back at them and smiled. "Now Kouga, don't go and put pressure on them. I'm sure they're both wonderful guys and I hope I get the chance to get to know them." Blushing, the two announced that they had some things to do, and left the group quickly.

Ayame watched the exchange that went on between Ginta and Hakkaku. Both of them were interested in the new girl. "Good," Ayame thought,"that will keep her away from Kouga." Amara wasn't expressing any interest in Kouga, but since she was a wolf youkai, Ayame had to be sure.


"Amara-chan, can I see you for a minute outside?" Amara nodded and followed the other wolf girl outside. They walked a bit until they were on the bank of the river. Ayame sat down first. When Amara sat, Ayame asked her point blank, "What do you think of Kouga-kun?"

"Well, he's been very nice in bringing me back here. He seems to be a good leader, and the pack will survive as long as he continues to seek help from others..." Amara paused for a second, then added, "I'm not interested in him if that's why you asked me out here. As he said, I'm a descendant of this pack. I'm a descendent of Kouga and his mate." Here, Amara got quiet, but Ayame fumed.

"MATE?? Who is his mate going to be? If you know, you have to tell me. If it's not me, I'll find whoever it is and..." She was cut off by Amara's hand on her shoulder. "Ayame, look at your reflection, and then look at mine. Tell me what you see." Ayame looked down at her reflection. Beside hers, Amara's was almost identical. There were some slight differences, like that Amara's hair was a bit darker and her eyes were the same shade of blue as Kouga's, but other than that, Ayame couldn't really see any difference.

"You mean, I'm going to be Kouga's mate?" When the other youkai nodded, Ayame looked down. "He's only interested in Kagome-chan, though. He made a promise to marry me once, a long time ago. Now that we're older I've learned I shouldn't hold onto such childish dreams."

"But Ayame, don't you see? I'm here because Kouga will take you as a mate someday. If he didn't, I wouldn't have been born, right? It's not a childish dream to hope that the person you love will love you back someday. It may take some time, but I know Kouga has some type of feelings for you." Amara paused for a moment, then added, "Besides, he's a boy. It takes them a while to figure out that they like a girl and to do something about it." The younger wolf youkai smiled, then looked up and pointed, "Look, the others are back with food. Let's go celebrate." Walking back, Ayame thought that things for the pack could only get better.


There was quite a feast going on in the den. Several wild boars had been caught, along with fish and even a few stray horses. Kouga had figured Amara wouldn't eat a human, so he had asked that only animals be killed. There as talking all around the den and several members were asking Amara about the future of the pack. She answered the questions best she could, but for the most part, she tended to hang around with Kagome.

"This is so weird," she was saying to the younger girl and Sango while they ate some fish, "I've never had this much attention placed on me before. Now, I'm the most popular person here. It's kinda freaking me out." Kagome and Sango grinned. "You'll get used to it. Kouga will probably give you all types of attention since you're a direct descendant of him and Ayame." Kagome patted her friend on the shoulder.

"Hey look," Kagome pointed and Amara looked across the room to see Ginta and Hakkaku coming towards her. In their hands, they each held a small wrapped bundle. "H-Here, these are for you." Ginta held out one bundle, while Hakkaku held out his. "Yeah, welcome to the pack." Inside Ginta's was a necklace made of leather with polished stones attached to it. Hakkaku's gift was a knife made out of a type of bone. Amara beamed, "Thanks Ginta, thanks Hakkaku. They're great." With this, she gave each of them a quick hug and then went off to show her presents to Kouga. Both demons grinned and walked off in a bit of a daze.

Kagome and Sango exchanged a look. "For as long as I've known them," said Kagome, "they've always seemed like the best of friends. I hope that being interested in Amara doesn't change that." Sango agreed. "Let's hope that they don't lose their heads when trying to get her as a mate."


As the feast was coming to a close, Ayame and Amara went outside. The day was nice and warm and the sun shown brightly. The two had bonded quickly, and Amara knew it was more than just the fact that she had told Ayame she would become Kouga's mate. It seemed like maybe the younger wolf youkai was lonely, and given the fact that she was the only female around her age didn't seem to help much. Ayame was about to say something, when a dark shape passed over her. "That was too big for a cloud..." Before Amara could finish her sentence, the sky became black. Looking up, the two girls saw something that resembled a bird.

"Oh no. Amara, we have to go back to the den. It's the Birds of Paradise." Ayame looked frightened, and once Amara got a good look at the demons, she understood why. The bottom half was made up of some giant bird creature, with a face that had sharp teeth. On top of the bird-like body, the upper half of a demon sat. Amara guessed that put together they equaled one demon, but she didn't want to find out for sure. Both girls took off at a run, but Amara was faster. Just as she was about to reach the den opening, she heard a scream.


Ayame was caught. The first demon that they had seen had caught Ayame by the waist in one of its talons. It was flying away, but the others were closing in on the den. Reaching the entrance, she began yelling for Kouga. When the others came out, InuYasha among them, she explained the situation. The look on Kouga's face was pure pain. Yelling that it was time for an attack, he gathered the others in preparation for the fight. Armed with her new knife, Amara went off after Ayame's kidnapper.

"Amara! Stop!!" Kouga's voice was lost to Amara. She was too far ahead. "Ginta, Hakkaku, follow Amara. Protect her no matter what." They nodded and set off. By now, InuYasha had lost his patience with the Birds and was going after them with his claws and sword. Kagome shot a few with her arrows, and Sango was doing many of them in with her boomerang. Kouga joined in the fray, but his thoughts were elsewhere. "Please let Ayame and Amara be alright."


Ginta and Hakkaku had managed to catch up to Amara. She had slowed her approach seeing that the demon she was after slow down too. "Amara-chan," Ginta panted, "let us get Ayame-chan. We promised Kouga we'd protect you." Hakkaku nodded, "Yes, it would be safer if you let us handle it. We are more skilled at fighting the Birds of Paradise." Amara smiled back at them but shook her head. "No guys, Ayame was with me when that big buzzard got her. It's my responsibility to get her back. You two can help out, but this is mainly my fight." She paused for a moment then continued. "I want one of you to lure it back here. Start yelling or something. I need to get closer to it." Ginta and Hakkaku exchanged a look, but they went out anyway.

By now, the Bird of Paradise had changed direction, obviously knowing that three other demons were close by. Hakkaku gulped, and then shouted, "Hey!! Wouldn't you rather have us?" Ginta joined in, "Yeah, two more for less effort. Come on, we're tasty." The demon began to dive at them. Giving up their brave front, the two wolf youkai began to run for their lives. Just as they thought they weren't going to make it, Amara leapt up from the rock she had been hiding behind. She landed on the creature's back, behind the upper body. The demon swung around and hissed at Amara, then scratched her deep with it's claws. Ignoring the pain, she plunged her knife deep into the demon's chest, then for good measure, yanked it out and stabbed the bird-demon body several times. The demon began to fall. Amara caught a glimpse of Ayame's body falling and she jumped off the bird. Barely catching Ayame, Amara began to fall as well. Just then, the pain overtook her, and everything went black.


Amara groaned as she sat up. Her head felt like it weighed a ton. Glancing down, she noticed that she was no longer wearing the clothes she had come to the past with. Her chest was bandaged up, as was her left wrist. She was mostly covered with a wolf pelt, and she had to admit she felt warm despite the huge headache she was having. "Hey, you're awake." Ginta's voice caused Amara to remember what state she was in, and quickly pulled the wolf pelt up and held it to her chest.

"What happened? Where's everybody?"

"Kouga and everyone went off to make sure that the Birds of Paradise were dead. Hakkaku and I stayed here to look after you and Ayame. She's fine; a little scratched up, but fine. The two of you were knocked out when we found you. You were lucky that you managed to fall on the Bird demon's body. You should get some rest." Before he could say anything else, Amara asked about her clothes.

"Oh, well..." here, Ginta had the good sense to blush a bit, "Kagome-neechan had to remove them in order to bandage up your wound. We've made you some clothes though." He held up a piece of something furry, but Amara didn't want to concentrate too hard. "That's fine. I'll put them on in a little while." Voices were heard from the other end of the den, and Amara saw Hakkaku walking alongside Ayame, telling her she should still rest. When the two wolf youkai saw that Amara was awake, they both rushed over to give her a gentle hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Amara-chan." When she pulled away, Ayame had tears in her eyes. "I was so worried when I woke up and saw your chest all torn." Hakkaku nodded, "Yeah, Kouga yelled at us, but we told him what you told us, about it being your fight and all. He says you're really brave, a true wolf demon if there ever was one." Ginta agreed, "It's true. Although he was really angry that you ran off like you did, he said you showed true pack loyalty by going after Ayame." Amara smiled.


"Well, that's good. I do want to be part of this pack you know. Now let me see whatever that is you made me. I'm in need of some clothes." Ayame smiled back at Amara as she examined the clothes that Ginta and Hakkaku had made with the help of an older female. The clothing was similar to what Amara had seen on all the other wolf youkai. The fur skirt was black, as were the leg guards. "They remind me of those horrible leg warmers back in the '80's", Amara thought. Next was a chest plate, made of dark grey metal, along with two arm bands that went from her wrist to just below her elbow.

"What I want to know," she said as she gathered all the clothing up, "is which one of you took my measurements while I was asleep." Ginta and Hakkaku blushed, but told her that Kagome had done it when she was fixing up her wound. Amara smiled, and asked if she could have some privacy while she put on her new clothes. The two males went to the opening of the den to wait for Kouga and the others. Ayame helped Amara into the chest plate, and when Amara was just about finished, Ayame produced some wrappings.

"For your feet," the younger girl explained. "Although we have stronger and tougher feet than most demons, the wraps help protect them more." Nodding, Amara wrapped some of the cloth around her feet and stood up. Once again, she was struck by how much she and Ayame looked alike. Ayame noticed it too, saying, "Wow, it's like looking back at myself...almost." Going to the mouth of the den, Ginta and Hakkaku told Amara how nice she looked, and offered up their earlier gifts. Amara put the necklace on, and placed her knife, which Hakkaku had cleaned, into its hilt that attached to her skirt.


By now, Kouga returned, telling Amara that InuYasha and Kagome had gotten into a fight on the way back, and that she had left for home. Amara smiled and thanked everyone, promising to return in a few days. She gave Kouga and Ayame a hug, waved at Ginta and Hakkaku, and took off, although it was at a much slower pace due to her injuries.

Kouga looked down at Ayame. She seemed happier now than she had been earlier. Perhaps having Amara around would help the girl. He recalled his worry at the sight of Ayame laying motionless next to Amara when Kouga had found them. Although her injuries weren't as serious as Amara's, Kouga had truly panicked. She still looked a little weak, and so Kouga wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's go back inside." Ayame smiled, and together they went into the den, hoping to see Amara again soon.