"Ayame? Wow… you look different"

"I will take that as a compliment Kouga-san"

Kouga began circling her as if she were his prey. She had become beautiful and he had missed the transformation. The way she spoke sent shivers down his spine. She now had an aura that was indescribable and she was breath taking. Now that he knew who she was he figured he could not go with his original intentions of just bedding her. It was his tribal instinct to claim the beautiful women but now that he figured out it was Ayame, he knew she deserved more respect than that. But just because he would not pursue her as a lover, did not mean he wouldn't find out more about her. This new Ayame had spiked his interests and he had always been a man who explored his interests fully and took what he wanted.

"Kouga- san, if you continue to gaze at me as if I am dinner, I will go into defensive mode to protect myself" Ayame said with a chuckle

Kouga stopped circling her and looked at her in her eyes

"Now, this is more acceptable" Ayame said with a small smile

Kouga was captivated by her green eyes and radiant smile

"okay" Ayame switched to business mode

"I would love to sit here and talk to you about old times and the past; however, that is not why I was summoned to speak with you"

"Sou-sama, asked you to come right?"

"This is correct, as discussed earlier; you need to cease your continuous assaults on other clans"

"Why should I do that?"

"Because Sou-sama is prepared to take the necessary measures to wipe you and your entire clan from existence"

"How do you know that my clan is not ready for an attack?"

Ayame smiled at him

"You are willful Kouga-san. You are extraordinarily adamant about what you believe in, this is one of your many attributes, however, there are times when you need to back down"

"You feel this is one of those times."

"Your clan has no doubt grown increasingly since the last time I was able to observe them. How many are there in your clan? If you don't mind me asking…"

"203"

"That is a large number and no doubt they are all very strong"

"Even the elderly can best strong demons" Kouga said proudly

"I would expect no less from you. Answer me this, are the 200 members of your clan all able to take on 100 strong demons alone?"

"What?"

"If I was to take each of your men and divide them, then after separation, I ordered 100 extremely strong demons to attack every one of them, would they be able to hold their own against those 100 demons alone?"

"A few of them would be able to, but of course not all of them"

"Exactly. For every one soul in your army, Sou-sama has 100 men standing by to fight them. Even if your men are strong, they will not be able to defeat an army that outnumbers them 100 to 1."

"What's your point Ayame?"

"You do not see my point Kouga-san?" Ayame asked exasperatedly

"You are not prepared to go into battle with Sou-sama, you are strong, yes, one of the strongest men that I have had the pleasure of coming in contact with, however there is a superior strength in numbers, a force that you and your clan collectively are not prepared to face. I request as a friend that you end the trouble with other clans, for the advantage of your own"

"What am I supposed to tell my clan when they are tired of the land the live on?"

"Tell them it is either that, or death"

"I can't do that to them"

"No one said that you are not to travel Kouga-san, you merely need to stop taking over the lands of other clans. Travel around the lands, see new places, observe new sights, but when you have had your fill of the burdens of travel simply return to the lands from which you came"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in" Ayame said wit authority. After being given the permission to enter a maid walked in.

"Ayame –sama there was a messenger Youkai sent to you by Fumiko -sama. Here is the note that was attached."

Ayame took the note it said,

Ayame –sama,

Word has gotten out about your absence from the land and the rogueYoukai whose leaders you killed, are planning to attack during your absence. I have prepared the army to fight them off when they decide to attack.

Fumiko

Ayame sighed mentally; she has to kill them all now, and she was hoping to avoid that. She stood from her seat

"Kouga –san it has been… interesting gathering with you again, but it seems there are some matters that need attending back in my lands. Feel free to come and visit me any time, and do give what I said some thought, some serious thought."

Ayame turned a sauntered away.

Kouga watched her amused, maybe he would take her up on the offer to come and visit her.

She stopped in front of the maid that had delivered the message to her and said

I need to inform Sou-sama of my departure, would you lead me to him please?"

"Of course Ayame- sama, follow me please"

They stopped in front of the room , Ayame knocked and Sou told her to come in

"Sou-sama it is time that I take my leave"

"so soon?"

"It seems there are some complications that needs to be taken care of back in my lands"

"Then I will not hold you up Ayame –Sama, tell me how did things go with Kouga-san?"

"I must say he has become devastatingly handsome, however, his personality has remained unchanged" Ayame laughed

"That bad, Huh?" Sou sighed

"It was interesting to say the least, but I do imagine he will provide thought to what I said"

"Maybe I'll send him to live in your lands" Sou joked and laughed

"He is most welcome" Ayame joked back

"Well Ayame –Sama, I wanted to have a feast as thanks but it seems you haven't the time"

"I will have to take you up on your offer some other time Sou – sama" Ayame said apologetically

Once Ayame passed the gates of Sou's castle she broke into a sprint towards her lands. If she ran nonstop she could get there before sunrise the next day.

Just as the sun rose Ayame stopped her full speed running and walked up to the gates of her castle. She saw the guards lined up around them and she smiled. Fumiko was the perfect second in command. She walked pass a guard in command and he bowed immediately.

"Report" Ayame said

"There are a large number of rogue Youkai coming this way. The same ones from before, Ayame –sama."

"How many?"

"There are about 150 of them"

"How long?"

"At the pace they are moving they should be here tomorrow around midday Ayame – Sama"

"I see… inform me the moment you see them and tell the men to keep up what they are doing"

"Yes, Ayame – sama"

He bowed to her and she nodded her head in response

"Good work"

With that she went to enter her castle. She had no intention of getting the army involved she would defeat the army on her own. She just needed time to take a bath and relax.

Ayame removed her clothing and stepped into the steaming hot springs. An image came to her head and she would immediately paint it when she finished with her bath.

Another one of Ayame's hobbies was to paint. She loved doing it; it was another way for her to relax. She had become quite good at it over the years. Ayame was a very artist person. She found that it was a good way to replace her anger. Before she started her painting fetish she would get upset quickly and go out and pick fights with the males of the northern wolf tribe. That was when one of the elders of the tribe suggested that she get a hobby in an effort to save some of the male wolves from unneeded injuries. So she decided painting would be fun. She never imagined it to be sort of a therapy for her.

When she first started it was pretty good for a beginner, now if you look at her painting in comparison to the ones she created when she first started out, a person could see the improvement quite easily. She was very good at depicting details to make what ever she painted look extremely real. And when she painted scenes that were fictional a person would believe whatever she painted was actually something she had seen. Her imagination was boundless and she liked it that way.

She rose from the water and headed for her room she sat down in front of her easil that was made from the skin of an animal, and started to paint what she had seen on her trip back. She had seen the most beautiful field of flowers filled with mostly irises and she could not help but want to paint them. She reached for her paint but she noticed all of the containers, made from various things found in the wild such as coconut shells, were empty. She would have to inform the castle keep to go out and make some more or purchase some more she didn't really care which.

There was a frantic knock on the door

"Enter"

"Ayame-sama the Youkai arrived sooner than we thought they are a mere mile away and will be here in a matter of minutes!"

"I see… thank you, you are dismissed"

The maid bowed and left the room.

Ayame sighed and stood. Her picture would have to wait a while.

Ayame arrived to the front of the army

"I will handle them"

"Ayame –sama! You must allow us to assist you! War is our profession!"

"Are you sure? it is not necessary"

"It is unnecessary for you to fight Ayame-sama. It is our honor to fight for you."

"I see. I admire you willingness. I will not fight then. However, I will observe"

Ayame liked this particular guard and if he did well in battle he would have a chair on her council as well as keep the position that he already had. He seemed like an overall passionate guy, he would prove helpful.

"It is our pleasure to serve you Ayame- sama"

"Thank you Chine"

Chine bowed and the rest of the soldiers bowed.

Ayame hopped up in a tree on one of the taller braches so she could observe the battle from the air.

She watched as the rogue Youkai came into view.

The leader walked up to Chine who was in charge of Ayame's army

"You will not pass through these walls with your lives I suggest you turn and leave" Chine said with authority.

The Youkai just attacked. Even though there was a lot of the rogue Yokai, none of them were very strong. The army had not problems in holding them off. While watching the fight Ayame thought. 'Yeah, that would have been a waste of my time'

She jumped down of the branch were she sat and walked toward the army

"Great work Chine-san, you have trained your army well, and tomorrow I wish to have an audience with you"

"Your flattery is too much Ayame-sama they were just exceptionally weak"

"Are there any in your army that would be good for scouting the area? I wish to be sure these pathetic excuses for demons did not have back up"

"All of them are prepared for any order you give Ayame-sama"

"Great send four of them to scout the surrounding area"

"Yes Ayame-sama"

"Keep up the good work Chine-san"

A few hours she looked at her completed panting with a smile. The irises looked beautiful and the sun was just setting in the picture giving the purple irises in the picture and ethereal glow.

"This will be the art for my room" Ayame-said with a smile as she held the painting in the air above head.

There was a knock on her door

"Ayame-sama, my men were unable to find anymore problems however they did find a messenger Youkai with a message for you"

Chine handed her the parchment and bowed

The letter said:

Ayame

I've decided to take you up on your offer, see you in a week.

Kouga

An: first of all let me say don't kill me!!!!!!! It wasn't my fault! I lost the files for the 4th chapter and the inspiration to write was lost with said files! Another thing I apologize for is the short chapter! Its only seven pages. And even though I didn't get as many reviews as my little threat was supposed to bring I still updated! So sorry again and thanx for reading!