"PUT ME DOWN!"

"IF YOU DON'T STOP SQUIRMING I'LL THROW YOU OVER A CLIFF!"

Yuki growled softly in frustration and squirmed more even when he knew it was futile. Despite knowing how screwed he was, his stubbornness stopped him from coming along quietly. Damn him and his big mouth... He just had to mention he could see these freaky jewel shards that was apparently more important than he thought. It seemed that the jewel is desired by demons, so Yuki couldn't help but wonder why his cousin would possess such a jewel, or if she could sense them as well. He had so many questions, but he doubted he'll find closure any time soon. It's complicated, clearly.

They argued in futile for another good five minutes before the wolf demon finally skidded to a stop. Upon scanning his surroundings, Yuki spotted a small waterfall that fell over a cave in the center of a hill. The waterfall fell into a peaceful looking river just below the water fall, and there were a few cliffs near the cave that made it easy to get access to without getting wet. Yuki wasn't sure what time it was, but it was obviously dawn since the sun was beginning to rise over the hills. He must've been out all night if they were just arriving now.

"Hey Kouga! You're back!" a new voice called out in greeting to them.

"Hey Ginta, Hakkaku!" the wolf demon replied, and Yuki could hear the grin in his voice.

'Kouga... that must be this jerk's name,' Yuki thought and glared at Kouga's back, as if the wolf demon could see him with the position he was in, still slung over his back like potatoes.

"Who's that? Unless it's... Breakfast?" a different voice asked hopefully, and Yuki could hear the low and hungry growl in his voice.

Yuki gulped nervously.

"Keep your claws to yourself, Hakkaku! You're beginning to gain weight anyways," Kouga snapped in response, not unkindly, mind you.

Yuki sighed in relief, before squirming again, "You can put me down now! Even if I wanted to run away I wouldn't know where!" he pointed out, wanting to be on his own two feet. The indignity of being carried around like this was just embarrassing, and if they were going to end up killing him then at least Yuki would die with some of his pride.

"Fine! Geez, brat," Kouga growls and relinquishes his hold on Yuki, bending over and setting him back on his feet and the strawberry blonde was slightly surprised that the wolf demon didn't just drop him to the ground. But he reached forward and grabbed the teenager's upper arm, hauling him up one of the cliff sides and dragging him in the direction of the cave hidden behind the waterfall.

Fear curled in Yuki's stomach as Kouga took him inside. The cave was bigger than it looked on the outside, and all along the walls and the back of the cave were wolf demons just like Kouga. They were all dressed the same, and wore the same fur pelts that Kouga wore. Some looked more hard around the edges then Kouga did; sporting scars on their necks, faces, legs or arms, as well as eye patches. There was also a small group of wolves near the back at the cave, and they all turned and growled in Yuki's direction when he entered. Yuki whimpered in terror and tried to draw away, but Kouga's hand was firm on his upper arm and he all but dragged him ahead.

"Don't be a chicken shit," the wolf demon says gruffly, turning his face to meet his gaze, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, alright? You're too useful."

Yuki glared murder at him. He refused to acknowledge the small twinge he felt in his heart when Kouga mentioned that he was going to protect him. He was only saying that because he can sense the sacred jewel shards... He wouldn't be in this terrifying cave if it wasn't for the brute that abducted him.

The wolf demons, as well as the regular wolves, drew closer as Kouga pulled him across the cave. Only when they were deep in the cave did they stop at a huge pile of wolf fur. It looked like a pallet. Before he could demand that Kouga set him free(for the sixth time in the last ten minutes...) he was shoved unceremoniously down unto the soft pallet. Wolf demons circled around him, licking their jaws and taunting him.

"Who's the boy, Kouga?"

"Can we eat him?"

"I call dibs on a thigh!"

Yuki, despite what Kouga said earlier, began to shake with terror. He inched away across the pallet, shaking hands held to his chest.

"This boy is off limits," Kouga snarled; Yuki blinked in surprise at the ferocity of his tone, "I'll kill anyone who tries to take a bite!"

The wolf demons flinched; nodding and murmuring in understanding and slight terror before backing off. He breathed out a sigh of relief as they trickled away from the pallet to go sulk about not being able to eat the new human. Kouga explained the situation to his people, and they all seemed to understand why they weren't allowed to eat him. Even though Yuki was still confused as to why him being able to see these mysterious shards would be useful to them.

Kouga soon returned to the pallet and sat on the edge of it, "As long as you do what I say and help us find those shikon jewel shards, no one's going to eat you, got that short stuff?"

Yuki nodded, albeit a bit meekly, "Can you please explain why this shikon jewel shard is so important to you and your tribe?"

"Tch, you don't know anything do you? Do you even know what the sacred shikon jewel is?" Kouga replies, and Yuki didn't appreciate the impatient bite to his tone.

"No, I don't."

"Ironic how such a strong ability is given to a kid who doesn't even know how to use it..."

And now Yuki was offended, "Are you going to keep on insulting me or tell me what it is already?" he asked through gritted teeth and a twitching eyebrow, "And I'm not a kid," he added and crossed his arms over his thin chest.

Kouga sighed in exasperation, "Well, it's hard to explain. To put it in simple terms; there was once a jewel called the sacred shikon jewel. And sometime over fifty years ago it was put under the protection of some priestess. This jewel grants anyone who wields it immense power. It was also said that the jewel could grant any wish made. I'm guessing that's why it was put under that priestesses protection. I'm not sure what happened, but it was said that the priestess died and the jewel disappeared along with her. But not long ago, it appeared again. Some idiot shattered it, and it scattered in shards. Now, we're trying to collect as many shards as we can, to strengthen my tribe."

"Sounds very selfish," Yuki grumbled and side eyed him suspiciously.

"That's not the only reason," Kouga grumbled and gave the boy a glare that silenced whatever protest was rising to his lips, "Y'see, there's a reason why we need jewel shards so bad. We're currently in a war against these other demons called birds of paradise. They've been killing my wolves and my comrades and it's not getting any better. That's where you come in. The more shikon jewel shards we find, the better. Especially since I'm convinced that the birds have some in their possession, and if we take the ones they have then it will strengthen our side considerably."

Yuki nodded, beginning to understand why they needed him. It didn't mean that he appreciated the kidnapping or that he wouldn't try to flee whenever a chance was given to him to do so. But at least he was figuring out what this mysterious jewel shard is.

However, what he didn't understand, was why he was able to see them.

"Not all people can see the sacred jewel shards like I can, right?" Yuki says hesitantly, his golden eyes meeting Kouga's, "Why can I?"

"No idea. As far as I know, the ability is passed down through blood. Or if you're a priest or priestess. Or even if you have spiritual abilities. Do you have a family member who's a priest or priestess?"

Yuki shrugged and shook his head, "As far as I know, no. And I'm not a priest, I barely know what that is."

"You must have inherited some spiritual powers then," Kouga says with a shrug, his arms crossing over his chest, "Anyways, it's like I said. You help us find the jewel shards, and I protect you, feed you, and give you a decent place to sleep. Is it a deal?"

Yuki nodded and looked down. He couldn't try and run, could he? Even if he got the opportunity to do so, Kouga would just find him. Kouga knew this area way better then Yuki did; the strawberry blonde wouldn't even know which way to go if he managed to escape.

The teenage boy peered up; his eyes making contact with Kouga's once again. His stupid heart skipped a beat at the intense way the brute was looking at him; like he was trying to memorize every line of Yuki's face and body. Yuki quivered underneath the scrutiny; feeling uncomfortable and suddenly a bit flushed.

"Go to sleep," he says gruffly and tosses fur pelt over him, and it was surprisingly warm and soft.

"Why?" Yuki asked, peeking over the pelt at the strong wolf demon.

"Because you look awful. Maybe some sleep will help fix that," the wolf demon says as he got up from the pallet and marched over to the opposite wall, leaning back against the rough cave wall and closing his eyes.

Yuki sighed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he grumbled and turned on his side, burrowing himself in the furs and closing his eyes.

'Ugh, why has my life gotten more complicated over the course of twelve hours...'

When Yuki woke up the next morning, it was because of a loud ruckus going on in the cave. He opened his eyes, nearly forgetting where he was for a moment until he saw what he was covered in. A fur wolf pelt. He pushed it down and sat up, rubbing his eye with one sleeve and peering around to see what was going on.

There were demons being carried into the cave, three of them in total, and they looked severely injured. One was bleeding profusely from his side, another had a gash on his temple and was curled into himself in pain, and the last was holding his bleeding arm and blood was coming from his mouth.

"What happened?" Yuki asked, getting up from the bed and making his way over to where they were laying the injured wolves down.

"They were attacked by the birds of paradise," a wolf demon tells him.

'The demons Kouga told me about the other day...' Yuki thought as he watched one of the injured wolves toss and turn in pain, 'They did this?'

"Where's Kouga?" he asks and peers around.

"He's out on a hunt. We've sent word to him; so he's probably on his way back now," the demon he remembered by the name of Ginta spoke up.

Yuki's eyes lingered on the hurt wolves, "Okay, I'm going to tend to their wounds," it was a good thing that Yuki spent the majority of his life fixing up his own scrapes and cuts. His mother never paid that much attention to him, even when he was a kid. The young boy stooped down next to the most hurt demon, examining his wound.

"The wound looks deep, I'll need some water to wash away the blood, and rags or fabric to stop the bleeding. If you have herbs or something that will prevent infection and help heal the wound faster, that would be good too," Yuki says as he reassures the wolf that he was going to be fine. The wolf stared up at him with hazy, pain filled eyes and merely groaned in response. This would be much easier if he had medical supplies from his era, but he would make do with what he had here.

When his directions were not responded to, he looked up to see the group of wolf demons staring at him in what appeared to be shock.

Yuki's anger rose, "Don't just stand there like idiots, get moving!" he snapped.

The wolves snapped to attention, surprised at themselves, they began to search for what Yuki demanded.

Kouga had gotten word of what happened and cut the hunting trip short. He rushed back to his den, expecting the worse. He's learned to expect the worse when it comes to those flying nuisances. With a dead boar over his shoulder and his wolves at his heels, he made his way up the cliff and into the den.

What greeted him was something he certainly wasn't expecting.

Yuki sat between the rows of injured wolves. He was tending to the last wolf's wound, wiping at the blood dripping down his temple and dabbing water across his forehead to cool him down. He was entirely focused on his task, not bothering to look up when Kouga entered or even when he made his presence known. He set the dead boar down and stepped closer to the crowd of demons, pushing wolves out his way to get closer to Yuki and Ginta, who stood by him.

"Tell me the whole story of what happened," Kouga says to Ginta, not taking his eyes off of Yuki.

"We heard their calls for help. They were apparently finishing up their morning patrol when they were ambushed. The birds are pushing further and further into our territory, it seems," Ginta replied and looked back towards Yuki, "It's thanks to Yuki that we got them all patched up; none were fatally wounded. But we lost two of our wolves to them; they were carried away by the birds."

"Damn those birds," Kouga murmured and knelt down by one of the hurt wolves, "Get some rest and try not to move around too much."

"You got it, boss," the wolf replied in a strained voice, "It's all thanks to the hostage that I feel much better; he appears to be much more than a jewel detector."

The wolf closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep.

Kouga's eyes raised to Yuki, who was finishing up on the third demon and wrapping up his hurt head in a clean cloth. He got the bleeding in his temple to stop, and after he applied the herbs that the wolves gave him, he should make a full recovery.

Yuki peered up to find Kouga staring at him, and a light flush raised to his cheeks before he quickly looked back down at what he was doing. Kouga couldn't help but smirk lightly, deciding that he liked what he saw in the young boy, ' Cute... ' he thought as he pushed himself to his feet and crossed his arms in front of him. The boy had the ability to see the sacred jewel shards, and now it appeared he had an extensive knowledge of medicine and healing wounds. Kouga was even impressed by how the boy seemed to adapt well with the wolves already. In that moment, he made a decision.

'I'm going to take him as my mate.'