Ayame didn't really sleep. It was more meditation than anything, but she did it for a long time so it was considered sleep by some. While meditating many different ideas came to Ayame so she did it often. It also allowed her time to clear her mind. She needed this time because with all the madness she had to endure she needed a moment to rest her mind.
I was time for the meeting so Ayame stood from her meditation pose and stretched. She bathed in the personal hot spring that was provided and dressed. She chose her standard colors to wear light green and violet. Instead of the braid she usually wore she decided for times like these it was best to put you hair up. Ayame sweep her hair up into an elaborate style with beautifully placed braids, loops and hair ornaments, not excluding her custom iris. She made sure that Fumiko, and Mimaru were ready.
"Buchi I mean no disrespect, but you are not allowed to attend the meeting. It is customary that only three beings from each party be in attendance to the meeting and seeing as how it is Mimaru's profession to assist me in these matters, I am afraid I must ask you to stay behind" Ayame said with a little regret she did like having Buchi around, for her and Mimaru always provided comical relief but this was not the time for such things
Buchi smiled and said
"I am honored that you would even take your precious time to explain it to me. I assure you no offence is taken. It will give me some much needed relaxation time"
Ayame smiled ands said
"well, shall we be off then the meeting starts in 15 minutes and I wish to be early"
The group of three walked into the room and took their seats after the rulers, their mates, and Fumiko said their greeting Ayame turned to the main servants ( same position as Mimaru for the other rulers) and greeted them all by name. Last she turned to Jaken and said
"and you must be the famous Jaken-san. I must say it is truly an Honor to meet you" Ayame said as she stuck out her hand for him to shake
Jaken took her hand and shook it
"you have the most distinctive eyes. You must be very wise" Ayame said with a smile
Jaken blushed and said
"Thank you so much Ayame-sama, you know it is about time somebody recognized my talents, I happen to know many stories and a very interesting one is…
Before Jaken could finish Sesshomaru kicked him in the head (with grace I might add )
"Jaken, do not bore her with your useless ramblings, and you Ayame-sama, should not provoke it. Once he starts talking he never stops"
"I see" Ayame said with a smile
Itami said with a clap of his hands
"Shall we get the boring stuff done, so you can be on your way?"
They all went their seats and the meeting started.
After what seemed like days, but was only a few hours the meeting was over. In the meeting they talked of the condition of their lands, The different creatures that resided there, leaders of the tribes and they gave each other pointers on how to run their lands better. A Huge topic was the humans and what was going on with them
Start flash back of the meeting
"there have been a huge amount of humans migrating to our lands" sand Sou indicating him, Itami, and Sesshomaru"
"The reason for this is because they all are running from my land. If you remember correctly Fuzen used to eat thousands of them at a time"
"But surely they know the lands are under new rule" Itami said
"Yes, but they fear that under the rule of a woman the lands will be even more chaotic than when Fuzen was ruling"
"Why is this?" Sesshomaru said slightly interested but not showing anything on his face
"They think a woman will not be able to control the demons, as a result, the demons would go rampant and start eating humans even more. So they stuck with their plans of migration even after Fuzen passed"
End flash back of meeting
Sou walked up to Ayame with Warai smiling gracefully by his side
"Ayame sama I need to speak with you"
"Of course, Sou-sama"
"I was wondering if you would come visit my lands"
"I assume there is reason other than a friendly visit?"
"yes, I was wondering if you would speak with the wolf tribes leader, Kouga"
"I see, I am afraid I must decline, there is much for me to attend to back in the Northern lands. There is probably a war going on with my Army and the rouge youkai hoping to take my spot" Ayame said with a laugh.
She really didn't want to go and talk to Kouga. Meeting him after many years would stir up feelings that she was not ready to deal with. She was only 50 percent sure that she was no longer in love with him. She was not yet ready to see if she was correct or not.
"I would not be so unreasonable as to ask you to come at this moment. I was expecting you to come after two or three weeks of getting your self situated with your own lands and then coming to ours."
"I see. Is there a reason you are so interested in this particular tribe?"
"There is, you see, I rather like this Kouga. He is quite different from any of the other tribe leaders. But as ruler of the lands I can not allow him to cause all of the problems he has been causing. If you do not talk some since into the man, or at least get him to calm his rampages some, I will have to kill him. It is not something I wish to do but if he continues like he is, it will become quite necessary"
Ayame thought for a minute. Though she did not want to see Kouga, she certainly didn't want him dead. She thought over his strength when she last saw him. He was strong yes, much stronger than she was at the time, but he would be no match for Sou even with the Jewel shards that he used to have. But he didn't even have those now. He might have become stronger, she had no doubt in her mind that he could, all it took was a practice she was a result of that, now she could easily rival the other three lords, but even if he had become as strong as Sou, and was able to defeat him, that was not something Ayame wanted either, she rather liked Sou. Seeing no other way she said
"I see, I do not wish for his death, I will come to your lands and talk with him in two weeks. Please do not harm him before then. He really is one of the sweetest people you will meet" Ayame said
She was not able to meet Sou's eyes. She had gained the ability to control her emotions so well that it was impossible for people to see what she was feeling unless she allowed them to, but with the subject of Kouga she could feel her control slipping away. Now she was only 40 percent sure she no longer loved him and she had to test it rather she wanted to or not.
When Ayame got back to her lands she immediately had a meeting with the leader of the bat Youkai and monkey youkai clan. She got them to agree to a truce and divide the lands that they were fighting for evenly. The only persuasion that it took was her threatening their lives and giving them proof that she could actually do what she said by breaking a few arms and legs of both leaders, no big deal.
The hardest thing was dealing with the leader of the youkai that wanted to take her place. She had a short battle with him and his second in command. After the murder of both, the other Youkai decided to give up the idea of taking over.
A week came and went quickly and before Ayame knew it, it was already the middle of the week and time for her to leave.
"Fumiko, of course you are in charge. I should be back in a week, two weeks tops but if you need to contact me for any reason send a discreet messenger preferably a small bird youkai"
"hai"
"You know how to handle the people who want to challenge me. Most of them you can handle but if there are any too strong for you to handle in one day, Have him stay in the quest quarters until I return, and send a messenger and I will return right away. Make sure his or her room is heavily guarded with the best guards in case they try something stupid"
"hai"
"I know you can handle things Fumiko-sama, you were born for it"
"Ayame-sama"
"hai?"
"Who is this Kouga person, it has been bothering me for a long time, when you speak of him you are not the same, it seems as if you loose some of your confidence but gain something else"
"Gain, what?"
"A loving gaze"
Ayame fought, and eventfully won, control of her emotions
"It is a long story. I will tell it to you when I return"
"Yes Ayame sama" Fumiko knew she was avoiding the subject but she also knew not to push the issue. There were very few things that Ayame was uncomfortable with sharing, and if there was one, then it must be huge.
With that Ayame turned to leave. It would take two days to travel to the eastern lands. All the lands were an equal distance apart but alone she had less to worry about.
Ayame arrived at the castle of the eastern lands 2 days early and looked around. She remembered when she trained in the eastern lands she thought it was the most beautiful castle out of all four of the main castles, it was still true but hers was a close second and she was working on making hers even more beautiful.
After gaining entrance into the castle with no problem she was directed to the ruler
"Ayame –sama! I am so glad you have come!"
"It is my honor to be here, Sou-sama."
"I will bring Kouga to you tomorrow, if that is your wish"
"That is fine"
"Please, rest now"
"Thank you, Sou-sama"
"It is I who should be thanking you, Ayame-sama"
"Think nothing of it" Ayame bowed
"If you will excuse me"
"Yes of course, sweet dreams Ayame-sama" Sou said with a bow
Though Ayame's meditation time usually brought her peace of mind, intellect, epiphanies, and new opportunities to better herself, this time it brought about a memory, a memory of Kouga.
Ayame stood out of the memory and watched it as if she had been watching a play. She could see the whole painful thing as if she had a front row seat
Start memory
"Don't you remember Kouga?"
"Remember what?" Kouga barked at her roughly
"Your promise! You promised to marry me!"
"I can't marry you. I'm already in love with someone else." Kouga said nonchalantly as if he had said something simple like 'Ayame, your fur is white'
"who?!"
"Kagome"
"Kouga are you nuts? she's a human!"
She found how unrefined she used to be slightly funny
She remembered as Kagome tried to help her
"Kouga think back to a rainbow at night. There is no way you could forget something like that"
Ayame watched herself watch Kouga think. She saw that look on his face. The look a person gets when they remember something. She knew then and she knows now that he remembered, which made the heartbreak all the more worst when he said
"uhhhhh nope! Still can't remember"
She watched her old self as the tears ran down her cheeks. She now remembered why it had been such a priority controlling her emotions. It was because she looked pitiful with tears in her eyes.
End memory
Ayame stood from her meditation pose and touched her cheek because she felt something wet streaming down it. She walked over to the mirror and seen one lone tear fall down her cheek. She quickly wiped the stupid tear away and mentally scolded herself for showing stupid signs of weakness. She instantly went back to the Ayame of now, the one who was fierce, and loving, the one who controlled her emotions and not the other way around. The one that DOES NOT love Kouga!
It was morning and Ayame watched as the sun rose. She had always loved mornings. Everything seemed more beautiful in the morning time. The smells were more pungent. The colors seemed to be a different shade, thanks to the rising sun. The animals that rose early were better heard as the serenaded you. The mornings were truly a blessing. But today's morning seemed to be more on the gloomy side even though it was bright out and there were no gray clouds.
Ayame bathed in the hot spring that was provided and braided her hair.
'Today will be a long day' she thought with a sigh.
She walked down the hall and stopped at the room where she had last talked to Sou. She gently knocked on the door
"Come in!"
"Good morning Sou-sama, and Warai- sama. How are you this morning?"
"Great Ayame-sama. I just want to thank you one more time for coming"
"As I said before Sou-sama it was no problem at all" Ayame sighed mentally but smiled physically.
"So where is Kouga… san?" she said remembering to add the honorific at the last minute
"He is waiting in a room just down the hall. Chika will show you the way"
Just then a woman came up and bowed deeply to Ayame and she bowed slightly in return
"Thank you"
She walked down the hall and Chika pointed to a room and said.
"Here is the room, Ayame -sama"
"Thank you, Chika san, you may leave"
Ayame turned and watched the woman walk away. She turned back to the door and walked into the room.
She walked in and her breath caught in her throat. His scent of sage and Papaya filled her nostrils immediately. How could she have just realized that the walls were built to filter out Youkai's smelling ability. She breathed in his scent. No one had ever smelled as manly and refreshing as the wolf youkai standing in front of her.
He turned around because he smelled a familiar refreshing scent of Irises and spring water. Not quite able to place it he thought maybe if he just saw the person.
She watched as his black pony tail, which reached a few inches past the small of his back, swung with the movement and his broad shoulders flexed. She took a deep breath and readied herself.
He turned completely to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had so much grace and presence. She demanded attention and her shocking green eyes snatched your focus so that you would only pay attention to her. He admired her outfit choice, never had he seen such a combination. It was the perfect mixture of elegance and deadliness. Her light green and violet outfit was beautiful and feminine. But the pants made the statement "I might be pretty but I hold my own" her chest plate and sword just completed the statement. Her long orange hair reminded him instantly of fire. It reached her knees and it was in one loose braid to the back. The woman was by far the most interesting woman who had ever been in his presence. He had to know who she was.
Ayame was stunned. He looked the same, but much better. His blue eyes were still the same captivating things she remembered. But now, not only did they grab you, they held you. His smirk, with that one fang sticking out his lips, was the cutest thing she had ever seen. He had lost the head band so his bangs were more in his face now. And he had switched the brown fur for some black pants similar to her own. It went great with his black and red chest plate. He looked a tad bit more refined than before. But he still had the rugged soft appeal that had drawn her to him when she was still just a child.
She noticed how he eyed her up and down and she immediately took control over her own body. She marked her initial reaction to just being surprised at the change the years had brought him.
She smiled at him and said
"Kouga-san. How nice to see you again"
Kouga eyed her with confused eyes. He clearly didn't know who she was. She didn't know whether she was insulted or happy.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"We have met in the past, but it seems you have forgotten who I am. Maybe I have a forgettable face. You needed to be reminded of who I was every time we met in the past"
Ayame said referring to the time when his friends had to tell him who she was when she went to claim him as her mate.
Kouga had no idea what the woman was talking about. Surly he had not met her before. He would remember a woman so beautiful. But her scent did smell familiar…
"I'll take this opportunity to reintroduce myself then. I am the ruler of the northern lands. It is a pleasure being reacquainted with you"
Now Kouga was up on the times he knew that the new ruler of the northern lands was a female wolf Youkai. But what did she want with him? And why did she claim to know him in the past?
"It's an honor meeting you, what do you need with me?"
Ayame smiled lightly and said
"I hear you are wreaking havoc on all of the eastern lands."
"I don't wreak havoc" Kouga said with Attitude
"Really? What is it that you do?"
"As leader of a wolf tribe, I have to find a comfortable position for my tribe. You are a wolf youkai, so you know that we don't stay in the same spot"
Kouga's appearance had changed slightly, but he still had that melodic deep voice and he still spoke with rugged conceit.
"yes, as a wolf youkai I can relate to your predicament, being the former leader of Northern wolf tribe, I can even better relate, but now I am the ruler of the northern lands so seeing it from Sou-sama's perspective is normal as well."
"I can see that but… wait! The former leader of the northern wolf tribe was…"
Ayame smiled at him and took the iris from her pocket and stuck it in her hair
"Ayame?!" Kouga asked/yelled at her incredulously
"I knew it would click eventually" Ayame chuckled at him
A/N: Ayame's memory was based on MY memory of what happened in that episode. I forgot the episode number so I could not watch it and write how it happened word for word. Plus when they translate it, you get many different variations of what they are saying anyway so I really didn't see a point. It also had parts that skipped and put together where they were not supposed to be. I did that on purpose. It was a memory, so my goal was to make it accurate but still have small errors to show that she only remembered the parts vividly that hurt her the most or made the biggest Imprint on her. Sorry if that made you mad .
A/N: this chapter is shorter than all the other chapters. They have all been around 10 pages (even my old stores that you should read) but this one was only 9 pages… sorry! I just needed a good cliff hanger because you guys don't like to review. So I've decided to get greedy and say I need at least 7 reviews to post the next chapter. Not that I don't appreciate the ones I do get, and believe it or not I don't write the stories to get reviews, I do write them for my own enjoyment(and yours ), but reviews let me know that I am posting the stories for a reason. I could always write the story and let it sit in my computer for no one to read. I love it when you guys review it lets me know where I stand in the story and when I don't get reviews I assume that the story is bad and not worth posting so I stop :p . so with that said… thanx for reading! I hope you continue to read in the future and enjoy!
There were not really any cultural notes in this story. You already know the meaning of all the names except Chika and I made that up to fit the Japanese sound system.
Sorry for the long A/N but please review.