Summary:
Koga lived centuries as the Pack's bachelor alpha. It's fine, really. It doesn't bother him anymore. He embraced the lifestyle. Little does he know the Tanabata festival has a surprise in store.
An Inuspriation 6: Tanabata Bang submission!
Notes:
This belated submission to Inuspiration 6: Tanabata Bang was an inspiring collaboration between Otaku-108 and myself. Their stunning art is featured in the fic on AO3 and tumblr. Be sure to give them some love!
Writing this fic was my first dive back in the pool of fanfiction after a significant time away. It's nice to be back.
Some of the original formatting was lost in the process of transferring this fic over. Please forgive the mistakes, It will be fixed later.
Hungry Like A Wolf
Tanabata at the city shrine was in full swing and Koga was in the zone. He and his pack moved with practiced grace that only came from working together for so long. They cooked and plated their signature dishes like a choreographed dance. Skewers of decadent meat and veggies roasted over hot coals, sauces poured with flourish, garnishes laid with care. All before being served to the customers who moaned in awe at the explosive combination of flavors.
The generator to their yakitori food truck, Hungry Like A Wolf, roared over the crowd of people milling on street, but that didn't prevent him from hearing orders as they came in. He was yokai, after all. One gifted with extraordinary hearing.
Koga dutifully rotated the skewers as his pack members continued to take order after order. He smiled, loving the rush of food service and preparation. It called to him; providing people with not only a meal, but an experience in a place that normally wouldn't be accessible.
Teens ran from food stall to food truck and back again. Young couples strolled hand in hand perusing artists' booths. Parents cajoled their grumpy toddlers as they climbed up and down the shrine steps to where they made their wishes. While he observed the festival goers with fondness, there was an ever-present ache in his chest. A small but sharp twinge of envy that he himself could not experience this festival with someone special.
He was Koga, Prince of Wolves: the centuries-long bachelor alpha.
As he placed another order onto a plate, he fought a sigh and repeated the same mantra he had for 500 years ever since he made the decision to let her go. He would find his someone at the right time, and they would be the right person for him. Inevitably worth the wait. Patience was key.
Koga turned back towards the hot coals, laying more skewers on the grill when he heard it.
"I'll take one chicken thigh skewer, please."
He froze.
Heartbeat seemingly stopped then restarted frantically. The whole world suddenly narrowed down to that one voice.
He'd know it anywhere.
500 years…
500 years and it was as if he had heard it only yesterday.
Were his ears playing tricks on him? He may be glamoured to hide yokai traits from the public, but the magic didn't dull the senses. Surely it couldn't be her . She was human and 500 years had passed since he last heard her voice. Her survival was impossible.
A gentle breeze blew past and her scent hit him then, pine and citrus and what he now knew to be vanilla.
He whipped his head to the cashier, cobalt eyes finding her as she continued with the transaction.
His hands shook.
It was her .
Kagome.
Exactly the same as he remembered. Older now, perhaps in her late twenties. Her sapphire eyes still glowed with kindness and determination. Her cheeks no longer held the roundness of youth, but the sharp lines of adulthood. Black, almost midnight hair was still long and curly, although more tamed than in her teenaged years.
Underneath her appearance and her persistent scent dancing in his sinuses, he noticed the underlying hum and buzz of her reiki thrumming below the surface of her aura.
It required every fiber of his being to prevent his yoki from flaring on the spot. Her reiki, though subdued, called to him as it always had.
His body vibrated from the intensity.
"Boss, you good?" One of his pack asked as they grabbed his shoulder, startling him back into control.
Smoke overwhelmed his senses, and he reluctantly tore his eyes away from her to the grill in front of him.
Everything had burnt.
But that wasn't important now.
"Take over." He gestured to the grill as he stepped away.
Koga ripped off his apron and was suddenly at the cashier.
"K-Kagome?" His heart was in his throat.
Her smile was radiant when she met his eyes, "Koga, I knew it was you. Your yoki is unforgettable."
A raging storm of emotion rushed through him. Koga did his best not to blush, "Unforgettable?"
"Even without you projecting it, I could feel you from all the way at my shrine." She gestured towards the shine steps he'd been staring at all day.
"This-This is your shrine? Sunset Higurashi?"
Kagome nodded, "Been in the family for nearly 500 years."
"What–"
"Boss!" the young cashier exclaimed. "I love a good reunion as much as the next person, but you're holding up the line."
"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed, as Koga gently ushered her out of the way. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't apologize. I'm the one who got sidetracked."
Koga couldn't help himself from studying her again. Was she taller now? She looked radiant in a pale summer yukata, as if she glowed in the afternoon sun. Suddenly, it felt hard to breathe. He probably looked like an idiot, standing there staring at her with too many things to say and not enough wherewithal to actually spit out a single word.
"Best thighs in Japan?" Kagome smirked, reading their tag line plastered across the side of truck.
Why couldn't the earth open up and swallow him whole. None of this was going well. Koga rubbed the back of his head. A soft blush warmed his cheeks.
" That is a result of a drunken night of brainstorming with Hakakku."
Her laugh was like wind chimes and that chronic ache in his chest lightened.
"I don't doubt it," she teased. "You did have the best thighs in Japan. Then and now."
Koga coughed. The blush burned hotter.
Kagome's order arrived just in time to break the tension. After handing it to her, Koga forgot what to do with his hands. They were sweaty and clammy, and he fought the urge to wipe them on his pants.
"Care to join me?" she asked, her sapphire eyes never leaving his.
"I would love to." Koga waved to his pack, they would be just fine without him, and fell in step with Kagome as they headed towards the shrine.
"How are you… How did you…" He didn't know how to start. The fact that he could be even remotely coherent right now was a miracle.
"I have something to show you," Kagome said. As they began the ascent to the shrine, she bit into her skewer. "Oh my god. This is heavenly!"
"Really?"
"Yes! Best yakitori I've ever had. I'm regretting only getting one."
"We can always go back for more. It's on the house."
"Don't tempt me. I'll eat everything you have." She quickly made work of the food, and Koga felt a rush of pride in her satisfaction and genuine praise. Pride in providing for her.
Kagome tossed the soiled disposable plate and skewer in a nearby receptacle.
"Your hair is longer." As if she could not stop herself she reached for the ends of his waist-long hair. "The half-up half-down style suits you." Her gaze landed on his lower back. "I do miss the tail."
The wolf waived a watch-adorned wrist her direction. "My watch isn't just a handsome time piece, it's a glamour to hide the more… rugged features."
"I hope they're not hidden all the time?"
"Only when necessity requires it."
Eventually, they reached the top of the stairs. Though the courtyard was full of people his eyes fell immediately on the Goshinobku standing healthy and strong despite its advanced age. Something like homesickness weighed on him, but it was gone when Kagome faced him, eyes bright. He followed her through the crowd until she veered towards an ancient structure.
Festival goers paid them no mind as she approached the small hut with a sliding door. Her hand touched the old wood and hesitated before opening the door.
"This is it," she said as they stepped over the threshold.
Inside, a flight of steps led down to an ancient well, one he remembered with striking clarity.
Hair stood on end and his yoki swirled in recognition.
While there was no longer any power, there still existed a presence as all ancient magical things contained.
The two of them recognized each other - one relic of a forgotten age to another.
Kagome laid a hand on the lip and her reiki surfaced, illuminating the dark well house.
"I'm a time-traveler, Koga," she stated as she met his gaze. His breath stopped as he listened. Kagome gestured to doors, to the world beyond them. "This is my time. This well is how I came to be in your time, the Feudal Era. Every time I jumped in, a portal carried me from now to then and back again. After I made the wish on the Shikon and it was defeated, I made the journey home. I didn't realize it would be my last. Without the jewel's power the portal closed for good. The magic imbued in this well dried up. I could never make it back as much as I wanted to. As much as I tried. I was stuck here."
Koga blinked, stunned.
A time traveler…
He knew many things were possible when magic was involved, but walking through time?
How often had he witnessed her jump into the well and disappear, thinking she was simply being transported to another location. It never occurred to him that it was time.
So that's how she was here, now. She hadn't survived 500 years; she skipped all the centuries in between.
"I'm sorry."
That snapped him out of his thoughts. In her eyes, a silver sheen of tears gleamed in the dull shafts of light.
"What are you apologizing for?"
"I never said good-bye. I never told you."
Koga gave a light smirk, if only to alleviate her worry, "I understand why you didn't say anything, Kagome. If word got out… Time travel in the wrong hands: Naraku or the Band of Seven? It would have been disastrous. I'm not hurt. You were protecting your home."
He sighed, a single finger tracing the wood grain.
"As for good-bye… I had… I had already let you go. We said our peace on that hillside."
She blinked rapidly and wiped away a stray tear. Oh, how much he wanted to wipe it away for her. Wipe them all away and have her smile again.
"How is Ayame?"
"Ayame?"
"Yes, your mate."
"She's not my–" he stopped, stumbling over his words. "We never… I couldn't go through with it."
Silence echoed in the space between them.
"Why? You were so sure when you made your choice."
"I made the choice to mate her for what I believed were the right reasons, but my heart and soul weren't in it. I couldn't, in good conscience, commit to her when there was no possibility of giving her what she deserved. Ultimately, my pack understood. We managed to make it out okay without the northern tribe in the end." His eyes searched hers dreading the answer to his next question. "What of Inuyasha?"
"Like I said, I couldn't go back." Kagome's finger traced the ancient wood like his had earlier, but her gaze never left his. "He stopped by the house many years ago after I graduated university. He's an old man now - with grandchildren."
The pair remained silent as their focus settled on the well.
He was grateful for it, this ancient thing, for connecting her to him across the centuries.
His hand fully rested on the old structure. Yoki flared and met her reiki like it had wanted to when he first laid eyes on her. She released a faint gasp. Reiki pressed against him in return.
It was one thing to remember how invigorating their powers were when colliding, but it was another to experience it again after centuries apart.
The initial press of powers calmed and their two currents ebbed and flowed together like the tides of two merging seas.
Sounds of the lively festival filtered down, as they stood with powers dancing in the darkness.
Kagome's soft voice broke the silence. "We should probably head back?"
Reluctantly, he reeled in his yoki. As she did the same. Air between them still vibrated.
"Thank you for showing me." His voice felt rough, unused. "For trusting me."
She stopped on the first stair upwards and faced him. "I always trusted you, Koga."
"The feeling is mutual."
Miko and yokai ascended the stairs. As they exited the well house, the door clicked shut not with finality but with purpose.
Koga gestured for her to lead the way. They strolled through the shrine grounds taking in the sights. Koga was content to let her guide him. Her gait was sure and strong. There was a comfortability and confidence to her demeanor he hadn't recalled seeing back then.
A couple meandered past holding hands.
His own palm itched to reach for hers. Koga had asked her about Inuyasha, but what of anyone else? He couldn't scent a male on her, there was no ring on her finger, but that didn't mean she wasn't committed to someone. He didn't want to get his hopes up. If she was seeing someone he would respect her decision. If she wanted nothing to with him he would respect that too. As much as it would hurt, he would do it.
How could he ask her? What was the best way to gauge her interest? Decades had passed since he last tried asking someone out. It ended so horribly he vowed to never do it again. But she wasn't just someone . She was her .
Long and short of it: he was rusty. When he was younger, when they had first met, he'd had the audacity to demand an answer outright, but times had changed and so had he. The wolf resolved to find out the answer before they parted.
As he began to speak she cut him off.
"When did you start the food truck?"
Koga hid a triumphant smirk as his nerves settled. Little did she know this was the perfect question.
"A few years ago. Ginta and his family had moved to Scotland. Without him Hakkaku and I needed something to keep us single members of the pack busy and out of trouble."
He hoped that was blaring enough for her to latch onto. A giant flashing neon sign.
"Must be difficult wrangling a pack of lone wolves in modern times like these. Society changed so quickly in only a 150 years. As I'm sure you experienced."
"Like herding cats, Kagome," he chuckled. "We do what we can, but the younger generations are antsy. The truck helped give them purpose. Me too, if I'm being honest." He paused, his palms felt sweaty again. "And you? What are you doing now? I can't imagine you running around the city with a bow and arrows."
"No, I'm not saving the world in that way any longer," Kagome met his gaze and a bashful smile bloomed. "I'm a resident, studying emergency medicine."
Pride bloomed and nestled within his chest.
"You know, that doesn't surprise me. You were always calm under pressure. Unflappable. How many times did you patch me up after a fight?"
"Too many to count. I don't know why you let me bother, you always healed by the time I tied off the bandages."
Something deep within urged him to be honest. The feeling was overwhelming and impossible to contain. Words burst forth without thought.
"I liked the attention, Kagome. Your attention. When I was injured, it was the only time you were completely focused on me."
Kagome met his gaze. Resolution brewed in those ocean depths. Warmth spread through him and his whole being burned deliciously.
"Well, you don't need to take such drastic measures for my attention anymore, Koga."
"Because it's a lost cause?" He half-joked.
"Because I'm here. With you. Hoping that some things haven't changed."
Koga swallowed hard. "Kagome, I–"
"Do you want to make a wish?" Kagome cut him off as she turned towards a bamboo tree looming over the festival, branches weighed down with paper slips. A line of people wrote their wishes and tied them to the tree with care.
"No," his tenor bolstered with certainty. Koga finally felt on solid footing since they reunited. He reached forward and grasped her hands, drawing her attention back to him. Calluses scraped over soft skin. "I don't need wishes. Everything I want is right here."
Her answering blush was magnificent and her shy smile tugged at his heart.
"Come to dinner with me."
"I thought you'd never ask." she replied, beaming. Her face reflected every emotion raging through him.
Her gaze dropped to his lips. His own ached to feel their softness. Koga stepped closer, their hands pressed against his chest.
"Koga," she whispered as she drew near.
"SIS!" A young man hollered, jolting Kagome out of the moment. She pulled back, startled. Though her hand remained in Koga's sure grip, she cast her focus around the sea of festival goers searching for the source of the disturbance.
A young man standing across the grounds waved his arms back and forth for her attention.
"WHAT?!" Kagome hollered back, exasperation palpable. It was all the wolf could do to avoid cringing at the volume. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY?"
The younger man eyed Koga. A hardness set to his jaw, but he turned back to Kagome. "JII-CHAN NEEDS YOU!"
"GIVE ME A MINUTE, SOUTA!" Kagome's attention fell on the yokai once again, "I'm sorry, duty calls."
"I should head back to my truck anyway." Disappointment curdled beneath his ribs, but he refused to let it show. Gently, his lips brushed the back of her hand. Her pleased sigh echoed through his head. "Let me walk you back."
His fingers entwined with hers, her smaller hand dwarfed by his. Their steps slow as they journeyed back to the stairs.
Koga broke the silence first.
"I just found you again, Kagome. I don't want to let you go."
"I don't either." Her bottom lip protruded in a pout, and it took everything in him to stop himself from devouring that lip with his own.
"When are you done tonight?" His voice was rough.
"We close the grounds at nine P.M."
"I'll be right here, waiting for you."
Suddenly her lips were on his, just a soft brush against his own. As she pulled away, his hands grasped her, one carding through her hair and the other at her waist, pulling her towards him.
Lips crashed together.
Euphoric. That was the feeling racing through him as her tongue met his.
Euphoric. As her hands latched onto him, a vice-like grip.
Euphoric. As–
"PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ARE HIGHLY FROWNED UPON, SIS!"
Kagome growled as she pulled away. Koga barely resisted throwing her over his shoulder and running off to the nearest apartment the pack owned.
"I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!"
"THAT'S FROWNED UPON TOO!"
Laughter erupted from the wolf, and Kagome whirled on him, ire palpable, "Don't laugh! You'll only encourage him."
"I missed this side of you."
"You'll see more of it soon, I'm sure." He kissed her again, gentle this time. And when they parted, she whispered, "You'll be here?"
"I'll be here, waiting for you every night for the rest of my long-ass life if that's what you want."
"That is what I want."
"With a handful of yakitori," He winked, drinking in her laughter with kisses on her brow, her cheek, her nose, the corners of her lips.
Again and again.
And again as his feet led him farther away from her embrace.
And when he finally, achingly turned from her, he felt her gaze on him like a comforting weight as he descended the stairs to his food truck. Lips still buzzed and heart raced with anticipation.
500 years…
500 years felt like nothing now.
A new chapter was just beginning.
Notes:
Thank you for reading!
If you enjoyed this work, be sure to check out the other fics posted for the Inuspiration 6: Tanabata Bang!