AN: Okay, so I've gotten some really awesome feedback for this story and it has rejuvenated me and now I am writing more. It make me happy that there are people out there enjoying it and I would feel horrible if I left them all hanging, so here is the next installment of 'Change is Good'.

Thank you to PhoenixDiamond, you have been a great help in getting my butt in gear to write more and brainstorming was fun. I hope to have more help from you in the future because you've asked a lot of interesting questions and I would like to find the answers myself X3.

Chapter 7: That's Amor.

With Ryoga~

It was hot, so very hot. He couldn't think, just run. He wanted to fuck, his body was telling him that much. The forest around him faded away as he ran. Dodge, duck, left, right, jump. He barely realized he was doing any of these things, he just did. He didn't know where he was going, but his nose wouldn't fail him. He didn't have time to think on this, he just knew it somewhere inside him.

Instinct.

He came to a stop abruptly. He smelt something that wasn't a tree, bush, or grass.

Demon. He didn't think it but he knew it. He took another wiff and growled.

Weak. His muscles bunched and his claws grew longer. This demon wasn't a worthy mate, so he could kill it, and then eat it. He wasn't hungry, his body didn't want anything other than to mate, but something inside of him wanted to kill it.

Do it. He catapulted himself through the trees and used the demon for a landing pad. The other demon didn't even smell or hear him coming. It screeched in fright before its throat was ripped out. It smelt feline. He grinned, blood dripping from his mouth, before spitting out the flesh that he had no intention of eating. He wasn't hungry for food, but maybe he will come back after he found a mate and share it with them. His mate would be pleased.

He dragged the carcass through the woods looking for a good place to hide it. He came upon a stump that had been hollowed out and shoved the still warm corpse into it. After covering it up with some branches and leaves, he set off again in search of a stronger demon.

Kouga POV~

The sun was starting to go down and so was the temperature, but my body felt like it was on fire, and yet…

It was usually much worse than this. I can remember previous years were I would rut with other non-mated pack members all day long and well into the night. I barely ate or slept and I still would have so much energy. I felt invincible.

Now, I felt weary. My body was still reacting to the heat, but it was like something inside of me was withering away. I remember looking at the older pack members who had lost their mates in battles or to illness and thinking they used to look so much more youthful. They were strong in body but they always looked so lethargic, the lines on their faces deepening with every day that passed until they just lay down and never got back up.

The longest one to stay alive after the passing of their mate only made it two weeks before dying of heartbreak and loneliness. All the pack mates and pups in the world couldn't keep a wolf alive if their mate was gone.

My mate wasn't dead, but I had decided to leave him so that he could be happy. Now he could choose his own mate. I would eventually go back, but I had to wait out mating season. Once it was over, I wouldn't have as big an urge to mate with him and I could still travel with him, be his friend. That would be enough to keep me alive and strong.

That's the least I could do…

And deep down, under all the depression and weariness, a tiny, miniscule flame flickered to life.

Inuyasha's POV~

My nap hadn't lasted very long. Before I knew it I had woken up and needed to jack off again. However, I held off doing that because I had this weird feeling that something was off. I decided to check the cave because I hadn't heard a thing for a while. I groaned in annoyance when I saw that the cave was empty. Something told me it had been that way for quite some time, after all, I would have noticed if Ryoga had left, unless…

Crap.

'I just haaad to go and jack off earlier didn't I? I couldn't have just ignored it like I normally do! Noooo, the world hates me!' I grumped to myself as I sprinted through the forest following Ryoga's scent, which criss-crossed all over the place.

'What did he get lost or something?' I asked myself sarcastically before remembering that he had said he got lost easily earlier. 'Well, isn't that just great!'

I came upon a small clearing where there was blood all over the place. I took a wiff and sighed in relief, it wasn't Ryoga's blood, but he had definitely been here. Ryoga didn't seem like the type to kill for sport though…

Then again, mating season did crazy things to demons.

With Kouga~

The moon was 3/4ths full, barely visible through the small clearing in the canopy. The light shined down into the little clearing where I sat. The moon looked so huge when it was this close, like I could reach out and grab it, but from the many attempts as a pup, I knew to be impossible. I always felt stronger when the moon was so close and when it was full; I knew my strength would increase by a ten-fold.

The link between wolves and the moon has always been a strong one and on those nights where there is no moon, I feel empty and much weaker. I wondered if half-wolf demons lose their demon side on the night of no moon like Inuyasha does. If so, Ryoga would need me to protect him on those nights, that is, if he doesn't find a mate before then.

'I'm sure he won't though. Inuyasha can look after him just fine until mating season is over.' It surprised me how much faith I put in the mutt when only a few days ago I considered him my rival…but we do have similar goals, values, and interests. We're both strong and we can beat on each other without hurting the other and we probably could have been good allies, maybe even friends, if the whole Kagome thing hadn't of stopped us. We were both looking for revenge on Naraku, maybe if we fight together that goal could be reached much faster.

My ponderings were cut short by the scent and sound of someone coming through the forest toward me. The scent was familiar and it only took a second to pinpoint it as Ryoga's.

'What is he doing wandering out in the forest? Wasn't Inuyasha supposed to keep him in the-' His thought was cut off when Ryoga broke through the trees lining the clearing and used his chest as his very own landing pad.

"Oof!" The momentum caused me to tumble to the ground with an armful of squirming half-wolf and the air was knocked out of my lungs from both impacts. I laid there dazed for a moment before I my mind refocused on what was currently taking place.

Ryoga was nuzzling my neck and raining down kisses and nips as he steadily moved down the column of flesh. I felt my body respond to the scent of arousal and my mate being so close to me, but my brain was screaming at me to push him away.

'Push him off! Now! Do it now!' I felt myself raise my arms and grip Ryoga's arms. It must have been a whole minute before I finally shoved him off. My brain and body wouldn't cooperate and I had no idea which to listen to.

I heard growling and I looked to where Ryoga had landed. He didn't look very happy and I could imagine that he wasn't at all. He probably wasn't expecting me to refuse his advances and a really big part of me was annoyed that I had. It felt weird to fight myself but I knew I had to be strong; Ryoga wouldn't appreciate me taking advantage of him when he returned to his normal self.

Ryoga lunged at me again, snapping at me when he got close. Thankfully, I had good reflexes. I managed to get him into a head lock and applied pressure, not enough to hurt him, but enough to lull him into subconscious. It was fairly easy to beat him, he was attacking sporadically and with no set plan, but he was a lot stronger than I originally thought he was and got a nice shiner and a few bruises as a reward.

I laid him down and let out a sigh.

'I hope I don't have to do that again. It was a harder fight than I thought it would be, but fighting him and myself at the same time just made it worse. I don't think I can do it again.'

Just then, Inuyasha came through the trees huffing. He surveyed the scene for a second and then looked at me in exasperation.

"What the hell happened here?" I leveled an annoyed glare at him and grunted as I got up.

'Hope I didn't break a rib.'

"I could ask you same thing! Weren't you supposed to be guarding him!" Inuyasha looked sheepish and scratched the back of his head, looking away.

"Yeeeaah…sorry 'bout that. I got a little…distracted." I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"So much for not be as effected by the heat, at least I was able to fight him off and knock him out. You're the worst baby sitter ever."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and huffed in his typical way of pouting.

"So, what now?"

"Maybe you should take him back to the cave and actually stand guard this time." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and huffed, before walking over and hefting Ryoga over his shoulder. He was just to the tree-line when he turned toward me. I raised my eyebrow in question.

"I'm surprised you were able to fight him off, it must have been hard."

"Don't let him wonder off, I won't be able to do it again." Inuyasha nodded and disappeared into the trees.

As soon as I could no longer hear him I let myself collapse onto the ground. I was confused and my body refused to function, but I knew that I had done the right thing.

I felt the tiny flame grow a little bigger.

END!

Alright, I know this chapter was really Kouga-centered, but that was just how it flowed, ya know? I have a pretty good idea about where the next chapter is going and there will probably going to be some time-skips in there just because I don't feel like torturing the poor demon and half-demons anymore. However, there will probably be some Ryoga-related-silliness in there, but who could resist? X3, anyway, reviews are awesome!

Peace!