On to the seventh chapter, let us do away with the:

Suspense

Koga's eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each as he struggled to raise them. His vision finally cleared and he found himself lying on a deserted mountain path.
How did I get here?
He sat up and brushed himself off, taking in the surrounding area. It looked like a path he knew, one near his mountain home. But it now had a distinctly lonely feeling, and the setting sun shone its wan light on no one but him.
I don't remember coming here.
Getting to his feet, Koga spun around and marched off in the direction of the wolf den. He'd barely gone ten yards when suddenly pictures and voices flashed through his head.
A dark, rocky area. The smell of blood and danger was heavy on the air. Thunder and lightning ripped the skies, though it did not rain. The sound of flapping wings was deafening.
"Ginta! Watch out!" Koga swung a leg, downing an unseen threat to his friend. Something hit him hard in the back and he fell to the ground. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a daggerlike claw that plunged down at him. Regaining his feet, Koga leaped back into the fray.
"Koga!"
Koga shook his head. Where had those thoughts come from? He looked around and was startled to see that he was already back at the den. Not only that, but nobody seemed to be around. Things just kept getting stranger. Koga strode up to the entrance and pushed aside the hanging curtain over the door. Ginta and Hakkaku sat beside a fire in the middle of the room.
"Hey! There you are, you lazy bums! Where is everyone?" Koga called in a jovial tone. His two followers didn't even look up.
Why are they ignoring me?
Koga peevishly stomped over to where they sat, heads and tails hanging. "Didn't you hear me? I said where is everyone?" the wolf leader hollered, practically straight into their sensitive ears. There was no response except for a hearty sniff from Hakkaku.
Bewildered, Koga walked around Ginta and waved a hand energetically in his face. His friend didn't move, he just sat there, looking despondent.
Turning quickly, Koga lashed out one arm, but received a cutting blow in the face before it connected. He crashed to the ground. Glowing eyes floated above him on hellish wings. A creature roared, and Koga roared back. Thunder crashed as his assailant lunged for him. Koga braced for impact, but its attack was deflected by a fellow wolf. Springing to his feet, Koga shouted a word of thanks and kept going.
Koga stumbled back from Ginta. More of those strange…memories, were they? What was going on? More confused than ever, he padded back through the caves to his own room. He walked through the door, looked around and froze.
Ayame stood there.
She had her back to him, standing facing his bed, with her head bent over a flower in her hand.
Crap! Maybe if I'm quiet, I can sneak out…
Stepping backward, Koga made his way, quietly…quietly…almost there…disaster struck. Koga tripped over a rock and fell hard to the floor. His eyes darted to where Ayame stood. She must have heard!
Nothing. She remained motionless.
"Okay, enough is enough!" burst out Koga. He stomped around in front of his self-proclaimed fiancée and shouted at her. "WHAT is going ON?" She gave no reaction. Koga glared at her, but his eyes widened as he noticed her face was covered with tears.
"Ayame?"
Fighting, fighting, all around. There were so many! Koga fought for all he was worth, but could feel himself flagging. Several wounds on his arms and legs were telling on his strength. His breath came hard, but he kept fighting. Many wolves around him did the same, and many fell.
Clenching his fists, Koga tried to rid his head of these strange pictures. He gazed into Ayame's face and she didn't even seem to see him. Another tear ran down her cheek.
"Ayame, what's wrong?"
No answer.
He fell briefly to one knee and was almost overcome by an enemy, but managed to scramble up in time to deliver a stinging blow. He was so weak he staggered backward from the effort. The wind was picking up.
"You stupid creatures, get the leader!" Lightning flashed and threw a figure standing on the cliff into sharp relief. A red-eyed, human-looking figure pointing a fan directly at Koga. The Birds of Paradise hovering in the lightning-torn sky screeched and grinned devilishly. As one, they turned and streaked toward Koga, converging upon him.
"Koga, why did you leave?" Ayame spoke in a quavering whisper. Koga stared wide-eyed at her, feeling almost desperate with confusion.
"Ayame…I'm right here."
The Birds seemed to strike all at once, shrilling in delight at their obvious advantage. Koga lashed out at any he could reach, but there was always another behind him. His senses were numbed with the pain.
"I wish you were still here…your pack still needed you…"
"Ayame…" Koga reached out to touch her tear-stained face. He brushed one finger down a tear track…and felt nothing.
His hand went right through her.
Koga's hearing came in and out, now louder, now softer. His vision dimmed. Suddenly his arms felt too heavy to move anymore. His legs gave out too, and he slid to the ground.
Everything went dark…
"No…" Koga was remembering now. A battle against the Birds of Paradise…led by Kagura. But he hadn't…he couldn't have…
Koga hardly noticed his own tears as he searched Ayame's face for some recognition or comfort. She raised her head, and her eyes gazed straight into Koga's as though she could suddenly see him. But she did not greet him. Instead, she gave Koga the answer he needed, but dreaded at the same time.
"Koga, why did you die?"

The End

A/N: If anyone remembers me saying that the Drama chapter took the longest except for one other, meet the one other. Suspense stumped me for ages before I came up with this. I'm still not entirely pleased with it, but I discovered that suspense is difficult to isolate. This story also seems to have some elements of tragedy, horror, dramaand, I suppose, romance. Add in the fact that suspense is supposed to keep people guessing over an extended period and I was trying to cram it into a one-shot, this is the best I could do. And no, I don't see this as a tragic character death.

Special cookie points go to obesesed-fangirl-mimi for recognizing the poem line in the Mystery chapter. I do suggest you read the whole poem if you haven't, though. ;