How Could This Happen...

Chapter Two*

"Grandfather..." Ayame whispered desperately as she was stopped by both Ginta and Hakkaku once more. She stared at them helplessly as they tried talking to her, but all she could think of was her grandfather and what state he was in.

"Ayame?" Both wolves questioned in unison, confused at her blank look.

She didn't hear anything they'd said, questions about her grandfather kept circling her head, and more than just one or two. How serious was his condition? Would the healer be able to help him? Did he already pass on to the underworld? 'I'm coming grandfather." She promised silently. "Move please!" She demanded aloud, trying to get around them.

Ginta bit his lip as he moved away slightly, putting Hakkaku in harms way.

Hakkaku flinched as Ayame raised a hand at him, "Ayame wait!"

*smack* her hand connected with the side of his cheek. "Will you move or would you rather have it the hard way?"

Ginta shook his head, stepping quickly to the side, he let the Princess pass. His eyes then fell to the twitching form of his friend. "Hakkaku?"

"Never again." He muttered from the ground.

"She smelt different..." Ginta added with an after thought as he helped Hakkaku.

Hakkaku dusted himself off. "It must've been from her bath."

- - - - Kouga - - - -

"Kagome, wait..." Kouga muttered, ending with a groan of misery as he rolled over. He felt miserable! His head was pounding as if a pack of demons had decided to play target practice with it. His tongue felt dry and swollen, like all the saliva in his mouth had dried up while he slept. He tried to open his eyes, but what felt like shards of glass shot through his eyes and into his head, only to bounce around until the last figments of light disappeared.

However despite the abnormally horrible headache, his body felt absolutely euphoric; better than it had in almost three years. Slowly moving onto his hands and knees, he tried once more to slowly open his eyes. His eyes once again protested the idea of letting any light in, but that was quickly remedied, to his confusion, but Kouga's hair fanning loosely around him.

"Uhh..." He mumbled to himself, looking down the front of his body, his eyes widened. He was bare, completely and utterly naked. He was more than confused now, "What the hell happened last night?" He demanded, unsure if he was alone, he looked over toward the entrance.

Kouga's head gave a dizzy protest at the rapid movement. "Damnit!" He moaned pressing his head to the floor of the cave until the spinning stopped. Once he felt it disappear, he pushed his body away from the floor slowly and got to his feet. Stretching his back out, he gasped. "Damnit, why in seven hells does my back burn?"

Looking slowly around the cave, Kouga noticed his clothes scattered about. "What the hell happened in here? It smells like a bitch in heat... This was Ayame's secret cave..." He concluded noticing the flowers drawn on the lower parts of the cave walls. 'If I find her, I could ask her, how the hell I got here.' He thought, moving to the first pile of clothing, he slowly dragged it over his body, dressing himself.

Suddenly angry he quickly tied his hair. "That damned Ayame! She could have at least came back to check on me! Dumb Bitch!" He muttered walking to the cave entrance. "And where the hell are Hakkaku and Ginta?"

"Kouga, don't..." Ayame muttered breathlessly.

Kouga blinked, confused at the sudden memory. "What the hell? Did, did something happen here?" He whispered looking back in the cave, blinking at the rumpled furs. "Where the hell is Ayame...?" He muttered darkly.

- - - - Ayame - - - -

The tribe healer wobbled slightly as he carried the roots and herbs back to his spot near the cave entrance. He tried to concentrate on mixing the ingredients into a smooth pasty medication for the Elder, but his hands shook nervously as Ayame glared at him. "Princess, perhaps you would like to wait outside?"

Ayame glared at him. "Listen Shuu, just because you were appointed 'Tribe Healer', gives you no right to tell me what I might like to do. You get that?"

Shuu gave a nervous jerky nod. After no more than an hour later, Shuu reached over to the table that held a bowl of water and brought the medicine to the Elder's side. He then forced the paste into the Elder's system.

The Elder's chest began to quake uncontrollably as he coughed, trying fruitlessly to remove the paste from his mouth. His eyes sprang open, racing wildly around the cave, never once focusing on one thing.

"Grandfather?" Ayame yelled jumping to his side and propping him into a sitting position. "Grandfather, please swallow the medicine, it will help you get through this sickness." She struggled to hold onto her grandfather, as his entire body was wrecked with strangling coughs.

Just as the sudden coughing fit started, it was finished. Leaving both a fearful granddaughter and healer, staring at the ailing old man.

She looked tearfully at Shuu, "Please help him, I beg of you."

Shuu nodded, looking over the table covered in medicines, roots, herbs, leaves and different tree barks. "My lady, if you are willing, could you please go up to the sacred mountains."

Ayame nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Once there you will meet the monk and priestess who reside there. When you meet them tell them I've sent you, and ask for some of the river water. Not only that, but there is also a list of ingredients you must get from them."

"Yes, have a list prepared for me; I'll go get ready for the trip." She agreed immediately then looked back at her grandfather, a feeling of helplessness washing over her. Heading to the entrance of the elders hut, she shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling of guilt for leaving him at such a vulnerable time. 'He needs these ingredients.' Quickly she went to a neighboring hut to retrieve some supplies for the quick trip.

- - - - Ai - - - -

"Geez." Ai muttered as she moved quickly past a group of older wolves slapping at one another.

The group consisted of four of the northern wolves and two of the eastern wolves that taken to reside here when they passed through years ago. One of the eastern wolves tipped back his bowl, laughing gaily after as another made a crude comment about the younger wolves now a day.

Isuma, the owner and idealist of the tavern, chuckled at the old wolves. "Ai, make sure they don't leave here sober." He called out jokingly as he cooked the bear meat for a young couple waiting for food.

A pale green eyebrow rose, as a slow smirk formed on the pretty girls' mouth. "Oh I'm sure these men will drink this tavern dry before they're even close to drunk."

They laughed at the girl, "You're starting to know us aren't you Ai?"

"Oh you know it sweetheart." Ai retorted with a wink and a laugh.

Isuma shook his head. "Hurry up Ai, don't give those old men too much attention."

"I'd make her my mate if I wore a few years younger!" One cried out wanly.

Another chuckled. "You mean decades, you old beast."

Laughs sounded all around the table, even a few others including Ai and Isuma shared in the laughter.

- - - - Suki - - - -

In the middle of a field, laid a young woman. Brown hair fanned out around her as she rested quietly next to a patch of wild flowers. Raising one hand about her, she blocked the sun that signed it was already high noon.

Sighing, she laid her hand back on the grass and turned over onto her belly. "This is pathetic." Breathing in deeply the smell of grass and earth, she shook her head. "Damnit all!"

Thinking back to a few hours earlier, she smiled sadly at the grass. "I really should thank Ai... and probably apologize to Koji and Jin for my behavior."

Shaking her head she quickly maneuvered to sit on her knees. "I have nothing to be ashamed of! I wasn't the one that betted that I couldn't cut down that demon bird; I wasn't the one that betted that I couldn't scale the roof of the hut and leap from there to the trees. I was just proving that I could."

Suki's hair moved gently along with the breeze that blew it. Soft long curls moved along her back and shoulders. She was a beautiful female, why couldn't anyone see past her sister long enough so that they could notice her... Why was that always the problem? Did she have to ship her sister off to another tribe, just so she could finally get a mate and have the family she craved so dearly?

Lightly smacking her face, she muttered to herself. "What are you thinking? You love your sister no matter what, she can't help who she is and the attention she attracts." Bowing her head, Suki added softly. "Maybe I just need to look outside of the two that I've always wanted. Bond with some other males, maybe then the mark will finally appear on my skin."

Her stomach made a few small sounds of protest. "I suppose it's time to head back home and face the music, along with making some food for myself." She said moving to stand and make her way secretly back to the village and her hut.

- - - - Ginta & Hakkaku - - - -

"Isuma!" Ginta yelled as he and Hakkaku walked into the bustling tavern. "Give us some of your finest sake!" He added happily as they moved to an empty spot.

Isuma lifted his graying head from the table he was wiping. "Everyone drank the best we had last night, second best is being fed to the old wolves there... How about you boys settle for the third best?"

Hakkaku sighed sadly, "I guess that will do."

Isuma left, only to return several seconds later with two bottles of sake. "Here you go... Don't worry about payment for both. One's on me for the help you two offered me to get the others back to their caves and huts after the celebrations."

Hakkaku grinned like a small child on its birthday. "Thanks!" Pouring two cups of the sake, he turned a thoughtful look at the man that went back to cleaning. "Hey, have you seen Kouga yet?"

Isuma looked thoughtful for a moment then gave a sheepish smile. "No, but I sure hope he doesn't remember what I said to him last night about trying to drink everything to himself." He looked outside and paled slightly.

There, just outside the tavern a ways, was Kouga and he didn't look too happy.

"On second thought, I just spotted him." He added to the men.

Ginta looked somewhat surprised. "Really? Where?"

"Heading this way, so if you two don't mind I'm just gonna head on to the back and... Bye!" He said as he quickly sped out the back and out of sight.

Ginta and Hakkaku stared bewildered at the spot where Isuma had just been. Looking at each other, they shared a shrug and continued drinking.

Right when they started drinking, Kouga stormed in, slamming his hands on the table he demanded, "Where the hell is she?"

- - - - Ayame - - - -

'If one more person asks how grandfather is fairing, I'll scream!' She thought angrily, her bright red hair frizzled with her heated thoughts. 'Or if they give me their condolences, how dare they!'

"Grandfather..." She muttered quietly as Shuu moved about the old man, watching him carefully.

Shuu slowly moved back to her, making sure not to make sudden movements around either wolf... Mostly the ailing one, who had coughing fits when too much dust would stir around his body, the young one however was always glaring daggers at him. "Uhh, Princess, here is the list."

She scanned the list, before she folded the paper and moved it into the fold of her clothes. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Shuu nodded, "We pray for your safe arrival, Princess."

- - - - Kinadi - - - -

"Jin?" Full red lips pouted as bright green eyes took in the sight that she'd came across.

Jin, a man just at three years her senior, sat on the floor in the middle of his hut. Itching at the incurable itch that the tribe outcast joker Ai had set upon him. He turned away from the beauty at the entrance. "Please my dear Kinadi, you shouldn't witness this."

Kinadi frowned, "Jin, you mustn't turn from me, maybe I can cure you." She added with a flirtatious hint. She gasped at what greeted her when the once handsome wolf turned.

Jin was once a man who broke hearts just by smiling at a woman. His smile a thing that made girls dream lust filled dreams at night. His hair something that was desired by both women and men. Now he was toothless, balding and itching more hair away from his body. The only thing he still had going for him was his body, it was toned and lean muscle.

Jin's smile slowly disappeared. "My dear?"

She shook her head. "You're not... You're..." She broke off completely at a loss for words, before she turned tail and ran out of the hut. Leaving the once heartbreak Jin to his own difficult problems to deal with solo.

Kinadi pouted as she power walked straight past the huts to her own. "Oh!" She muttered angrily. "If Jin looks like that, Koji must not look any the better... Damn that vile little girl Ai!"

- - - - Chiaki - - - -

Rising to her feet, the young woman couldn't help but frown at her situation. She'd forgotten the scroll she desperately wanted to read over. The healing scroll was the one that always interested her, with interesting facts about every flower and tree, even a blade of grass.

Moving out of the forest, she directed herself onto the path leading to the village. "Maybe I can stop and see Ai while I'm getting the scroll."

Her thoughts continued on this path all the way to the village, up until she found her scroll and greeted her family. Now on to dropping a quick visit to Ai at the tavern.