Love Me As I Am

For once, I'm going to put the A/N up here instead of at the bottom. This chapter was a result of you guys asking what happened to Kouga and wanting to know how he ended up giving his jewel shards over and just what happened to him. I decided to write a short detour chapter so this will have none of the usual Kagome/Inuyasha or anything else in it. It's purely Kouga's chapter in the story. The usual story will resume right after this chapter. However, don't think I've forsaken all you fluff lovers. Kouga's got a mate too ya know. Also, all of you will be happy to know that I found my notebook so I can continue the main part of the story. Happy days! You should all rejoice! cough

Trunkslover22: Yeah, sorry I forgot about the email. It's in my profile but just in case it's not working or something, my email is . Feel free to email me whenever you want. Oh, and just a small question, your username means you like Trunks from Dragonballz correct? He's only my favorite character so it kinda stuck out. The framed poster of him above my bed is a constant reminder of my Trunks fan girl days…as well as my T-shirt and figurine with his little mini sword. (which I heart)

So anyway, on to the story!

Chapter 67- Kouga Gives In

"Kouga…Kouga where are you?"

The red-haired princess made her way through the brush as she tried to find her mate. He had left earlier that morning to go hunting and had promised to return in the afternoon. Despite his promise, it had gotten late and still no sign of him.

'What's taking him?' Ayame pondered as she stopped in an empty clearing.

"He promised me…boy am I going to kill--"

"Kill who?"

His strong arms surrounded her waist in a strong yet loving embrace as she melted against his toned frame, holding his arms closer to her with her own.

"Kill? Who said anything about kill?" She whispered quietly and an almost mysteriously sexy tone.

"Oh…I'm sorry. It must have been the wind. My mistake." Kouga joked as Ayame set her hand behind his head and tangled her fingers in his hair, toying with it.

"Shall we go home love?"

Kouga nodded and picked her up, cradling her against him. Her arms surrounded his neck as she pressed her nose against his and stared him in the eyes.

"You won't drop me will you?"

"Don't you trust me yet Ayame?"

Even her eyes were smiling now Kouga noted as he stared into their deep green depths. Obviously this was another joke of hers. Maybe the age difference was finally showing up. Not that he cared.

"Of course I do. I trust you with my life…you know that."

Kouga nodded slightly. Of course, she had said it before, but how long had they REALLY known each other. They were married now, so that had to count for something.

"You are thinking about us…are you not?" Ayame asked, wonder in her voice.

"Y-yeah. But it's nothing. Let's go home."

Kouga carried Ayame back to the cave as she rested her head on his chest. It had been forever since they'd even had a moment to themselves. While having Kouga be the leader of the wolf demon pack did have its perks, it also meant little to no privacy for the two lovers. Every problem, big or small, went directly to Kouga. If it wasn't a fight, it was a food shortage, or a disagreement about something. He HAD to find a way to get away and faking a hunting trip did just perfect for now.

If there was one thing that annoyed Kouga more than anything else, it was all the pestering he had to put up with. He didn't mind Ayame's pestering because he knew that that was what married couples did, fought. He was ready for it when he had made his vow. No, the kind of pestering he meant was the pestering he received from countless enemies after his jewel shards. One particular dog demon's face came to mind.

"C'mon Kouga! You know darn well there's nothin' you can to do make your stupid little wolfy self any stronger! Why not just give up the jewel shards and go into hiding or something?"

"Feh. Like the jewel shards help YOU any. It's just a mental state of mind. You're not really any stronger with them, you just THINK you are."

"GIVE ME THE JEWEL SHARDS DARN IT!"

The mere thought of that 'dog breath' made him growl in response.

"What is it?" Ayame questioned inquisitively. "What is it that ails you?"

She raised her head from it's current position on his chest so that she could see into his eyes. She had the most peculiar look in her eyes, a look that told him he would be telling the truth.

"I just have a lot of things on my mind. That's all."

"Not just about us then. Your face tells me it's something else. Why don't we stop here and talk for a little bit?"

Kouga nodded and they stopped almost abruptly, his feet slightly only momentarily in the dirt until he came to a complete halt. Ayame climbed out of his arms and took his hand, pulling him over to a nearby rock formation on which they sat.

"What is it?"

"It's about the jewel shards." Kouga admitted.

"You haven't lost them have you?"

Her voice didn't hold any fear in it, merely just innocence.

"No, I haven't. I've got them. It's just that…something's bugging me."

"What would that be?" Ayame asked.

"Do you think…that we've been attacked more often because I possess the jewel shards?"

Ayame didn't seem to have a straight answer. Her face twisted as she thought about it.

"Perhaps."

"I need your help in deciding something then. I need to know what I should do with the jewel shards."

"You mean, you're thinking of getting rid of them?"

Kouga nodded.

"Well if you think about it, our pack has grown stronger after yours joined with mine. The birds of paradise no longer exist so we haven't really got any enemies around here besides the occasional demon that gets in our way. If we get rid of them then the stronger demons who keep coming to look for them will just leave us alone. Right?"

Ayame seemed to ponder this. He had a point.

"Alright. So we should get rid of them."

"Really? You mean you—you agree with me?"

Ayame giggled and kissed the end of Kouga's nose.

"Every good man is entitled to at least one good idea in his life time, right?"

"Hey…" Kouga whined playfully.

"That only leaves us with one more predicament." Ayame continued with a little more of a sense of seriousness in her voice.

"Who do we give the jewel shards to? Who has the power to take care of them and who needs them most?"

Kouga saw what she was getting at.

"You're saying…we should let Kagome have them…right?"

Ayame smiled and nodded.

"Hai. Exactly."

"But…but that would be giving into dog breath! He'll never let me live it down! He'll tell the whole world how weak Kouga the wolf demon is and he'll try to tell them it's because I'm not strong enough to take care of them!"

"But you don't believe that, do you?" Ayame wondered.

"Of course not!"

"Then there's only one thing for us to do. Give the jewel shards to Kagome."

Kouga didn't seem at all pleased with the way their conversation had turned out but knew there was no other way.

"Fine. I'll take it to them tomorrow."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Ayame questioned kindly.

"No, I think I'll be alright. Trust me."

"Okay. Let's go home. You feel better now, don't you? Now that you have everything figured out?"

Kouga stared straight ahead and took off running.

"Not particularly."

Alright, so I know some of you are probably dissappointed because I didn't post a regular chapter. Hark, I have good news which will bring you great joy! I shall be posting another chapter shortly!

Miyu