Kouga sat on the bank, arms draped over his knees as he stared at his reflection, his face showing a mixture of disappointment and anger. This was supposed to have ended differently. He should have been celebrating his victory over Naraku and bringing back a wonderful mate. Instead he was mateless and he hadn't even been around when Naraku was killed. Leave it to muttface to take all the glory, and then gloat about it in the wolf's face when he caught up to them. Naraku's death had been more important to him than dealing the death blow himself. What had really mattered to him was Kagome. He had even given up his damn shards for her!

He snorted at his reflection. Alright, more like it had been give up the shards or give up his life, though the thought didn't improve his disposition. Even with the loss of the shards he was still fast and had been forced, again, to wait for his hair brained companions. It gave him too much time to think about what he could have done differently. But the more he thought about it, the more he came to terms with the fact that Kagome had been Inuyasha's long before he had met the girl. Mated or not, Inukoro had clearly laid a claim on the beauty, evident to any with a decent nose.

Speaking of noses... Kouga had about two seconds to catch whiff of an uninvited guest before he found himself knocked head over tail into the stream and subsequently into oblivion.

The first thought that ran through Kouga's head when reality returned, was wondering if someone would kindly knock him back into unconsciousness to avoid the splitting ache in his head. An attempt to open his eyes only worsened the pain and he groaned with the intensity of it, raising a hand to shade his eyes before making a second attempt. It was dark somewhat, and he thought for a moment that he'd been out all day, until he realized he was seeing rock and not sky. He was inside somewhere, but how had he gotten here and who had brought him? Another groan, this time to accompany the upward propelling of his body into a relatively sitting position. He was in a cave, near the back by his guess and with a fire nearby. The smoke was being pulled towards the wall and up through a crevice in the ceiling.

Well at least I won't go nose-blind.

"Oh good, you're awake."

The cheerfully bright voice made Kouga wince with recognition. He knew he was going to be indebted to whoever had saved him, if he had been saved, which it was clear now that he was. Or was he? Of all the people to have to repay a debt to… She stood just inside the mouth of the cave, looking just as she had the last time they'd run in to each other. Though he could see that the time between the meetings had been rough on her and she'd grown up a lot.

"Ayame," he said neutrally, careful to keep the tone of his voice from showing how he really felt about the situation.

"So that's how you're going to be about it." It was a statement, not a question. "I save your scrawny ass and this is the thanks I get?"

Kouga grimaced at the contemptuous tone of Ayame's voice. He should be lucky she had saved him at all, let alone stuck around to take care of him. Especially after the way he had dismissed her claims of the promise he'd made. A promise he lied about knowing about. It still bothered him when he thought about it what his rejection had done to her. She had smiled and laughed, determined to make him see the light, but he had seen through her happy veneer. He had watched a part of her die that day.

"Fine. Since you're obviously alive, I'll be going now." She stomped over to him and snagged the white pelt from where it had pooled in his lap. Startled by her actions, he could only sit there in stunned silence, realizing too late that he'd owed his warmth to her mokomoko-sama. She…she did that… for me? The sight of watching her leave kick started something in him, something he wasn't altogether certain he wanted to look into right now. Before he could second-guess his actions, he stood rapidly, calling for her even as the room took on a rather interesting tilt.

"Ayame…" He groaned and grabbed his head, dropping back down with a soft thump. What the hell had hit him anyway?

He vaguely picked up the sound of her footsteps slowly and then stopping, but they did not return to him. She was waiting for something. What was he supposed to do, now that he had her attention? What the hell could he say that wouldn't make him sound like an ass or wimp?

"Ayame… I… I'm sorry." He frowned, staring at his hands in his lap. It wasn't so hard to say, but he had never said it to anyone without really meaning it. Until now. He wasn't sure what exactly he was sorry for, but he knew it was mostly for his current behavior, and a bit for his behavior in the past. He must have said it right because he heard her approaching, then saw her feet before him. Such small feet… and she managed to keep up with me… He mused to himself before her hand under his chin distracted him. She was crouching down to meet him at eye-level, a sad little half smile on her face as she stared into his eyes for a long moment, making him wonder if she was going to hit him on principle.

"You should have listened to Kagome-sama, Kouga. I saved you because I still care about you, even if you are an ass. But your apology is too little, too late. I stopped waiting for you a long time ago."

Kouga remembered all too well the advice Kagome had given in regards to his treatment of Ayame. She warned him that if didn't pull his head out of his ass, anything he did was going to be 'too little, too late'. And right now he was wishing she had hit him instead. Then again he deserved this, didn't he? He had known all those years ago what she would mean to him one day, but too afraid he'd be the one pinning her down. Then he'd met Kagome and thought maybe… maybe he'd been wrong about Ayame after all. He hadn't seen the ookami female in years, nor heard word either, and began to think Kagome was a good choice of mate. And then Ayame had literally breezed back into his life, scaring the shit out of him all over again because this time she was old enough, this time she knew what his promise had really meant. And he balked.

Now he was in a place worse than either of those times. Now he was listening to the girl, woman, tell him she was the one leaving this time, only she wasn't going to make him a promise. She wasn't going to give him hope like he'd done to her. And he had to admire her for it. She was the better of the two of them, though he wouldn't say it aloud. He watched her stay with him for the remainder of the day, saying very little because he wasn't sure if there was anything left to say anymore. He had ruined even the chance of being friends with her. He would have to be content with passing acquaintances or risk losing her for good.

When daylight came again, they were both silent as she assessed the food she had caught for him, both knowing he was in no shape to go hunting for at least another day. She never told him what happened when he was attacked, and he never asked. Then she was leaving, heading out of his life again, but this time no apology would stop her. He didn't think he could say anything that would make her turn around; make her give him another chance. And he knew, as he watched her leave that he would never want to force her into anything. If she gave him a second chance, then it would be on her terms and not because he had demanded it of her. His heart nearly stopped when she paused at the cave mouth and looked back over her shoulder. For a moment that felt like an eternity, their eyes met and he saw something that she had been trying to hide the past two days. Her heartache, her love - his hope.

So he gave her his cocky, predatory grin and nodded at her. The hunt begins…I'm not going to screw up again, Ayame.

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Kogashu smiled as the waiter seated his invited guest. He had prepared for months for this night, though from the look he was getting, the guest of honor was completely clueless about the significance of the occasion. He gently pulled a violet lily from the vase beside the table and held it out. The flower she had worn so long ago was no longer in existence, so this was the next best thing he could compare it to. It was so rare to see her wear flowers anymore that he missed it sometimes, but cherished the times she did. She took the flower, but the look of confusion shifted to one of skepticism.

"What are you about, wolf?"

He grinned. "What? I can't share a nice meal with my mate?"

She didn't look convinced. "You didn't forget my birthday or our anniversary, so what fuck up are you attempting to apologize for?"

Kogashu feigned death, clutching his heart. "You wound me, love. I've done nothing except remember the second most important anniversary."

"Second most?"

He chuckled. "How ironic that I'm the one remembering such a humiliating moment, fair knight."

She stilled, her eyes going wide for a moment before soft chuckles escaped. "I can't believe you're celebrating that."

"I'm not," he smiled, reaching over to take her hand and placing a kiss on her wrist. "I'm celebrating being given a second chance. I love you, Ayame."