InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cats and Dogs ❯ Songs, Scholarships and Stories ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 3

 

 

The girls arrive back at the gym to the student body in a chaotic mess of sobs, screams and cheers.

 

Ooooookay then… 

 

It would seem that The Fangs have made their appearance. 

 

‘Ok, before things get any crazier, who’s dancing and who’s listening?’

 

Kagura thinks, having never before been so grateful for her ability to create telepathic communication channels. 

 

‘Dancing!’ 

 

Kagome and Sango reply simultaneously, dissolving into a sudden giggling fit. 

 

‘Both!’

 

Ayame exclaims, practically bouncing off of the walls with her hyped energy. 

 

Kagura merely shakes her head slowly. 

 

Children. 

She was friends with a bunch of children… and related to one of them. 

 

‘Ok then, I’ll be in the air, send a pulse if you need me.’

 

Kagura says, though the girls are already wriggling their way through the crowd to get onto the dance floor. 

 

Allowing herself a small smirk, Kagura compresses and punctures her aura so that a very thin layer above her skin becomes wrapped in wind and carries her into the air. 

 

Seeing the support beams lining the ceiling, a little light bulb goes off over her head and she picks a horizontal bar before sitting atop it.

 

Looking down to see the full dance floor, and The Fangs making some final adjustments to the instruments on stage, Kagura closes her eyes and concentrates on reducing her aura to an absolute minimum. 

It was an exercise that Kaede had taught her, which allowed her to sharpen her focus and reduce her presence all in one go. 

 

Something she direly needed in a place that was eclipsing music with so much noise. 

 

Then again, the music had just been turned down, which meant that it was time for introductions, though they needed none, and a performance that even she admitted to looking forward to. 

 

“Hello Umitoge High!” 

 

Inuyasha, The Fangs lead singer, called out to the crowd. 

 

A unanimous overlay of screams answered him. 

 

The response makes the hanyou smirk, which causes Kagura’s lips to purse distastefully. 

 

“I’m just going to skip the unnecessary shit and start our song right off the bat. Enjoy it!”

 

Inuyasha yells over the noise of the crowd, starting to pick at his amped acoustic guitar only a second later. 

 

(Song: Kiss You, Artist: One Direction)

 

After a short, two-bar intro, Inuyasha jumps right into the lyrics. 

 

“Oh, I just wanna take you anywhere that you’d like.

We could go out any day, any night.

Baby, I'll take you there, take you there. 

Baby, I'll take you there, yeah.” 

 

The crowd’s reaction is instantaneous. Students pound the gym floor with their feet, jumping in time to the music and singing along to one of The Fang’s most popular party hits at the moment. 

 

Kagome is almost swallowed by the surging mass of people struggling to get on the dance floor and join in on the fun. Wasting no time, she quickly sends out a pulse and finds herself being pulled out of the crowd and into the air by her older sister within seconds. 

 

Releasing a grateful sigh, Kagome mimics her sister’s aura and flies back up to Kagura’s viewing beam, taking a seat next to her sister to enjoy the view from higher ground, where the danger of being squashed was decidedly lower.  

 

Miroku then takes over the second verse as Kouga keeps a fast but lighthearted tempo with the drums, keeping the boys in time and ensuring a wicked party atmosphere. 

 

As soon as he starts to sing, the girls start to scream.

 

General sounds, his name, typical teen slang like “OMG!”, all make Kagura turn her eyes upwards with a deep, irritated sigh, while Kagome clamps her hands over her ears because of the added, shrill, noises. 

 

“Oh, tell me, tell me, tell me how to turn your love on.

You can get, get anything that you want.

Baby, just shout it out, shout it out.

Baby, just shout it out, yeah.”

 

Changing pitch and key, Miroku sends his fans a friendly wave and delivers an awesome three-liner in a high, strong alto, while Sesshomaru and Inuyasha keep strumming and Kouga keeps drumming. Sesshomaru having decided that he may as well partake in his band’s performance if he was already on site anyway. 

 

“And if you, 

You want me to. 

Let's make a move, yeah.” 

 

There’s a brief pause after Miroku’s lines, the last word harmonised and practically shouted into the mics as the crowd grows excited in the wait for the soon to come chorus. 

 

Inuyasha delivers the first line solo, but is then joined by both Miroku and Kouga as they sing the chorus of their song in a deliberate and catchy fashion that makes everyone want to sing along. 

 

“So tell me, girl, if every time we touch; 

You get this kind of rush. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

If you don't wanna take it slow

And you just wanna take me home. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah 

And let me kiss you.” 

 

The last line is then sung by only Inuyasha, as he delivers it with a very confident hair flick and smirk, which sets quite a number of girls in the front rows squealing so loudly, that even Kagura can’t mask a slight wince. 

 

Continuing the song, Inuyasha exchanges a look with Kouga on the drums and starts the next verse after a short bass interlude is played by his brother. 

 

“Oh, baby, baby, don't you know you got what I need. 

Lookin' so good from your head to your feet. 

Come on, come over here, over here. 

Come on, come over here, yeah.”

 

After those four lines, right on cue, Kouga takes the next verse, receiving another wave of loud cheers and applause as his speedy tenor text sets a few hearts aflutter. 

 

“Oh, I just wanna show you off to all of my friends.

Making them drool down their chinny-chin-chins. 

Baby, be mine tonight, mine tonight.

Baby, be mine tonight, yeah.”

 

Miroku then jumps in to repeat his higher pitched three-liner, signalling a build in the gym’s energy as everyone excitedly awaits the next chorus. 

 

“And if you,

You want me to. 

Let's make a move, yeah.”

 

Again Inuyasha delivers the first line solo, but is then joined by Miroku and Kouga as they sing the chorus of their song in that same deliberate and catchy fashion, which somehow doesn’t get old.

 

“So tell me, girl, if every time we touch. 

You get this kind of rush. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

If you don't wanna take it slow (come on)

And you just wanna take me home. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah 

And let me kiss you.” 

 

Everyone except Sesshomaru then starts a fast-paced, repetitive and somehow relaxed bridge, elevating the tension in the gym even further. 

 

“Come on, na na na na na na na 

Na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na, yeah.” 

 

This time Miroku sings the first line of the chorus, and is joined by Inuyasha as the pair deliver the last chorus of the song in a fun duet, with Inuyasha moving to lean against Miroku’s back as he strums his guitar while Miroku keeps playing the keyboard. 

 

“So tell me, girl, if every time we touch. 

You get this kind of rush. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

If you don't wanna take it slow 

And you just wanna take me home. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.” 

 

They’re joined by Kouga in the final stanza, half-way through the chorus and finish the song with Inuyasha singing the last line solo and punching the air in time to Kouga’s final drumbeat. 

 

“Every time we touch

You get this kind of rush. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

If you don't wanna take it slow

And you just wanna take me home. 

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah 

And let me kiss you.” 

 

A second before the cheers start deafening people within a kilometre radius, Kagura controls the wind to levitate Sango and Ayame up to the support beam she and Kagome are sharing. 

 

Coming to an unspoken agreement, Kagura whisks the four girls through an open window, out of the gym and across town into Kagome’s room, trailing the cheers of their former classmates behind them. 

 

… 

 

“Wow.”

 

Sango whistles, her murmur breaking the thoughtful silence held between the four girls. 

 

She was sitting next to Kagome on her bed, while Ayame was lounging in a beanbag and Kagura stood, silent and thoughtful, between the three of them. 

 

“That was…”

 

“A LOT to take in.”

 

Kagome starts and Kagura finishes. 

 

“…So, what are we talking about first?”

 

Ayame asks, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her thighs and looking at her three friends with inquisitive eyes. 

 

“First off…” 

 

Kagura starts, her voice dangerously low and her hair swishing against her back with her restrained powers and emotions. 

 

“Let’s make sure we NEVER end up that conceited.”

She says, eyes narrowed disdainfully. 

 

If there was one thing she loved about music, it was that is was free and could be formed however a performer wanted it to be. But, those boys hadn’t respected that at all, their lyrics had been fun and catchy, sure, but they had been orders, rather than invitations to enjoy the music. 

 

The three other girls in Kagome’s room feel the same, and nod the affirmative. 

 

“I could hardly believe how full of themselves they were.”

 

Kagome admits, a dangerous glint suddenly in her eye as she remembers how one of The Fangs members had winked her way, as though he expected her to swoon and smile like every other girl in her general vicinity had. 

 

Sango scoffs. 

 

“No shit. I give them credit in the music department, but JUST because you’re famous, does NOT give you the right to act so… so…”

 

“High and mighty?”

 

Ayame offers. 

 

“Full of yourself?”

 

Kagome tries. 

 

“disrespectfully.”

 

Kagura ascertains, gaining a thankful look from Sango for her input. 

 

“Exactly.”

 

The brunette confirms, shooting a finger gun Kagura’s way. 

 

The wind demoness smirks. 

 

“Did any of you notice something… off, about their music?”

 

Kagome asks slowly, her nervous gaze travelling around her room to each of the other three girls. 

 

Kagura had been wondering that herself. 

 

Nodding when her little sister’s gaze sweeps over her, Kagura speaks up. 

 

“It was fun and full of energy, had a catchy tune and a steady beat, but, if you weren’t distracted by the dancing and fan reactions, you definitely noticed something lacking in the song.”

 

“Their hearts weren’t really in it.”

 

Ayame speaks up softly, pinpointing the oddity of The Fangs music. 

 

“No WONDER I found it so difficult to get into the groove of the tune!”

 

Sango exclaims, having been contemplating why she couldn’t get a good sense of the song’s story. 

 

“…Now I REALLY don’t want to end up like them.”

 

Kagome murmurs, reaching to the head of her bed and pulling a pillow into her arms. 

 

“I don’t think we could… not with the music you write anyway.”

 

Sango reassures her with a bright smile and light laugh. Though Kagome still doesn’t look convinced. 

 

“She’s right, you know.”

 

Kagura says, moving to crouch to her sister’s eye-level and point at her chest. 

 

“Your songs are full of heart and emotion. And, as long as we keep conveying those feelings through our music, we’ll never end up with an empty tune like that.”

 

She reassures her sister, getting a small smile in response. 

 

“Now that that’s been cleared up… What do you guys want to do about these?”

 

Kagura asks as she stands up again and holds up her scholarship invitation. 

 

The room is quiet with considerations, risks and worries flitting through everyone’s minds. 

 

When no-one says anything for a number of minutes, Kagura breaks the silence with a long and loud sigh. 

 

“Ok, let me reiterate… Do you guys WANT to study music?”

 

Their responses are instantaneous. 

 

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

“you bet cha!”

 

Sango, Kagome and Ayame all burst out at once. 

 

Kagura gives them a meaningful look as their answers sink in. 

 

“Heh… I guess our hearts know what we want before our heads are clued in on the decision.”

 

Ayame pips up with a shrug. 

 

Everyone blinks when they realise how the red-head had just hit the nail right on the head. 

 

Soon after, three of the four girls find themselves giggling in little, barely controlled, fits of laughter. 

 

Eyes shining as Ayame moves to sit next to Kagome and Kagura sits upon her sister’s bed next to Sango, the four girls support one another’s weight as they finally succumb to the boisterous laughter they’d tried to hold in, though Kagura merely smiles and helps to keep Sango upright. 

 

The whole day had just been SO bizarre. 

 

From their first official performance as Cat Stars, to their peers reactions to their music, to the Shiroichi scholarships to Mélodie Academy, to all those things they’d learned about the young Shiroichi princess, to The Fangs surprise concert at the end of their prom…

 

There’s only so much a person can take in a day! 

 

Straightening her posture, Kagura clarifies Cat Stars decisions. 

 

“So, we’re going to keep making awesome music as Cat Stars.”

 

Three nods acknowledge her words and urge her to continue, the other girls slowly reigning in their laughter, though still smiling brightly. 

 

“We’re going to look through the options our scholarships offer us.”

 

Again the girls nod, all three heads turned to look to the end of the bed, where Kagura sits. 

 

“We’re going to stay true to ourselves and our music without turning into conceited snobs.”

 

That gets another round of chortles out of Sango, Kagome and Ayame. 

 

“And…”

 

Kagura pauses a moment to let the girls collect themselves. 

 

“We’re going to aim to become the best band we can be!”

 

She finishes, taking a mock bow as her three friends whistle, cheer and clap for her. 

 

“Thank you, thank you…”

 

Kagura says sarcastically. 

 

“But first…”

 

The girls immediately quieten down when Kagura speaks up in a slightly louder voice. 

 

“Let’s get some dinner from Marjorie and Aline!”

 

She says, hovering for a second and flying out the door a moment later, calling as she flew. 

 

“‘cause I’m STARVING!”

 

Sango, Kagome and Ayame share a look, their stomachs seemingly wanting to create their own harmony as all three of them growl simultaneously, and burst out laughing as they too rush out of Kagome’s room and into the Kumoiro’s kitchen. 

 

After a delicious meal of lasagne and salad, the girls retire back to Kagome’s room, lying down in a four-point star formation on the floor, as they settle down to read the text messages they’d been sent by Inutaisho himself, regarding their scholarships. 

 

For a couple of minutes the room was silent, save for a few quiet comments noted under one of the girl’s breathes and a repeated tap and slide of nails of touch screens. 

 

“Everyone read through it?”

 

Kagome asks, looking up to see three mirthful expressions turned on her. 

 

“Oh… I guess that answers that.”

 

Kagome mumbles, her cheeks flushing when she realises that the girls had been quietly waiting for her to finish reading her text. 

 

In her defence, the contents of said text were easily three full A4 pages! 

 

“So… where do we start?”

 

Sango asks, running her fingers against one another in a tapping wave that made her look very much like a scheming genius who had just stumbled upon some amazing inspiration. 

 

“Dorms?”

 

Kagura says, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

 

“Oh, definitely.”

 

Ayame says loudly. 

 

“I mean, I love my grandfather and my pack, but, I’m SO ready to get out of the cabin and enjoy University life.”

 

She explains. 

 

“Understandable.”

 

Kagura nods. 

 

“What are you going to do about… you know?”

 

Sango asks, gesturing to her entire body, though all the girls knew what she meant by it. 

 

“I could teach you Kaede’s method to repress your aura, if you like. I’m certainly not about to shout out my status to the entire campus, but, it’s up to you.”

 

Kagura offers. 

 

Ayame puts a finger to her chin as she takes a moment to ponder. 

 

“I don’t think I’ll do anything about my aura, but I won’t say anything unless someone asks me directly.”

 

She decides… 

 

“Oh, but I DEFINITELY want to take the roommate option!”

 

She adds, looking at the other three girls with hopeful green eyes. 

 

“No need for the pleading look, I’m pretty sure Kagura and I were going to do the same.”

 

Kagome says with a light laugh. 

 

Kagura huffs softly. 

 

“Yeah… no way we’re staying here when the academy scholarship offers free dorms, food and classes, so long as we have a near perfect attendance and give at least two performances a year. 

…We’re definitely taking the shared dorm option.”

 

She confirms. 

 

“You’re more than welcome in our dorm, of course.”

 

Kagome tacks on, she and Ayame looking to Kagura, who nods her approval, before grinning at one another. 

 

"It makes perfect sense for the band to board together. Makes practice and planning a hell of a lot easier for starters... What about you, Sango?”

 

Kagura asks, wanting to wrap up the dorm discussion and get on to a few other topics. 

 

The brunette was being unusually quiet, which meant that there was something holding her back. 

 

“Well… I mean, I’d love a shared dorm with you guys, but, I live alone with my brother, since dad’s presence is almost always mandatory, considering his job. So, I don’t know if I can just leave him alone.” 

 

Sango explains uncertainly. 

 

“Oh, and how old is your brother now?” 

 

Ayame asks curiously. 

 

“Fifteen.”

 

Comes the automatic answer, making the other three girls each give Sango a weighty look. 

 

“What?”

 

Sango asks warily as the girls exchange exasperated glances. 

 

“…I think he’s old enough to take care of himself if he’s FIFTEEN.” 

 

Kagura says blandly, emphasising the age at the end. 

 

“and it’s not like you’d been gone forever. Uni has a similar structure to school after all, so you could always visit him on the weekends and on holidays and stuff.” 

 

Kagome reminds her gently. 

 

Sango merely blinks, having not thought that far ahead yet. 

 

“and who knows, it might do the kid some good to gain a bit of independence from his overprotective sister.”

 

Ayame muses, grinning and shielding her face with her arms as Sango raises a pillow threateningly. 

 

“I’ve seen the two of you over the fence plenty of times, and you’re always fussing over him, although he seems quite capable of handling himself.”

 

The red-head throws in with a shrug. 

 

An admission, as it turns out, that gives Sango pause. 

 

She knew that her brother was a capable individual, despite his soft-spoken nature. 

 

Sighing, Sango decides to put herself first for once. 

 

“Alright, I’m in.”

 

The confirmation makes Ayame and Kagome squeal happily as they throw themselves into a group hug around Sango, who casts a pleading look at the one person not caught up in the sandwiched embrace, but Kagura merely has a soft gleam in her eyes as she watches her three friends. 

 

“Right then, I’ll specify that we want a dorm room for the four of us.”

 

Kagura notes, typing a quick text message back to the number that had first sent her the scholarship details with her group’s request. 

 

“SO… Different topic.”

 

Sango says slowly, turning to look at Ayame, as she and Kagome went back to their original positions on the floor. 

 

Ayame sweat drops at the knowing look in Sango’s eyes. 

 

“…What was up with your reaction to the Reimei name?”

 

If it was possible for a girl as pale as Ayame to have the colour drain from her face, it undoubtably would have at Sango’s question. 

 

“I was wondering that myself. The Reimei are a wolf youkai family that rule the eastern forest provinces. How come Rin made it sound like you knew them personally?” 

 

Kagura ponders aloud, also turning her eyes to the unusually quiet wolf demoness. 

 

“Uh… Well… It’s a bit of a long story.”

 

Ayame sighs softly, a tender emotion in her eyes which just serves to make the girls even more curious. 

 

Kagura shrugs slightly. 

 

“We’ve got all night.”

 

She urges, Kagome and Sango giving her small nods of encouragement as well. 

 

So, taking a deep breath, Ayame takes a trip down memory lane. 

 

“I met the Reimei family when I was just a cub, about four or so.” 

 

She chuckled ruefully. 

 

“I’d made up this game where I threw a pebble as far as I could, used my tracking skills to locate it, since it had the faint smell of my hand on it, and repeated the process indefinitely.” 

 

Ayame pauses a moment when she sees her friends confused expressions. 

 

“I was the only cub born to my pack in a long time, so I didn’t really have anyone my age to play with… and everyone else had their own jobs to do.”

 

She explains briefly, before continuing. 

 

“Anyway, it got to the point where I wandered from the cliff sides and mountain paths to forest fringes and thicket, just throwing my pebble, finding it, and throwing it again. I was so immersed in my game that I didn’t really notice that my surrounds had changed so drastically. I only realised that I was lost when I threw my pebble and heard a startled yelp, followed by a loud voice. 

 

… 

 

“Who threw that!?”

 

A young voice yells, making a four-year-old Ayame jump in fright, breaking her concentration too. 

 

Her eyes grow wide when she realises that she has no idea where she is, her legs shaking and her head turning every which way to try and determine where she’d come from or where she could hide from the stranger who’d been hit by her rock. 

 

While she’s helplessly faffing about, a brown wolf cub suddenly jumps into the clearing she’s standing in. 

 

“Didn’t your Mama ever tell you it’s dangerous to throw rocks where you can’t see?”

 

He accuses her with narrowed eyes and a pointed finger which pokes her chest repeatedly. 

 

Ayame looks up then, though she still shrinks in on herself as she dares a peak at the boy through watery eyes. 

 

His own eyes grow wide at the two balls of dewy moss looking up at him. 

 

Most wolves had brown eyes.

 

A rare few, such as himself, had blue. 

 

He’d never met a wolf with green eyes before… and the cub cowering in front of him was definitely a wolf. 

 

Ayame also, carefully, proofed the scent of the cub in front of her, and she soon found that he too was a wolf youkai. 

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Ayame whispers, holding the boy’s gaze, but still keeping a timid posture. 

 

“Huh?”

 

The boy says, seemingly snapped out of some sort of a daze by Ayame’s voice. 

 

“I apologised. I’m sorry.”

 

The young wolf said again. 

 

“I’ve never met another cub before. My name’s Ayame, you?”

 

She adds. 

 

“Kouga.”

 

He answers instinctually, clamping his mouth shut a second too late and narrowing his eyes at the young cub suspiciously. 

 

He knew a few other cubs besides himself, but none of them were girls, though that wasn’t the only reason he found the cub odd. 

 

She was a wolf, sure, but, her scent was slightly different to that of the other timber wolves he knew. Not to mention that she was wearing white wolf furs. Add to that her oddly orange hair (it was lighter when she was younger) and rare green eyes and Kouga had plenty of reasons to distrust the young cub in front of him. 

 

Ayame remains oblivious to the boy’s inner turmoil. Grinning up at him as children were won’t to do as soon as they made a new friend. 

 

“Cool name! I like your eyes too!”

 

Ayame compliments, her body language slowly opening up and relaxing as she let her guard down around Kouga. 

 

She misses Kouga’s blush at her words, not used to such praise from people outside of his family. 

 

“Thanks? Ayame’s a pretty name too.”

 

He offers, which makes Ayame’s smile widen, showing off her little fangs. 

 

Deciding to give the girl the benefit of the doubt, Kouga puts on a smirk and gets into a playful position. 

 

“You wanna play wingcatch?”

 

He proposes, waiting for Ayame’s response with an impatiently swishing tail. 

 

Yes, TAIL. When they’re young, youkai can’t control their powers very well, so they spend the first few years of their lives in their true forms, before learning how to repress their powers and attributes when they want a more humanoid appearance. Though the success rate of such a feat is strongly dependant on the type of youkai and the size of the individual’s aura. 

 

“What’s that?”

 

The young Ayame asks, one hand coming up to rub her arm sheepishly. 

 

Kouga blinks, taking a moment to process the girl’s words. 

 

Then, he grins. 

 

“Oh, this is going to be FUN.”

 

He murmurs to himself, rubbing his hands together as he walks over to Ayame and explains the basic principle behind wingcatch. 

 

It was a surprisingly simple game. 

 

You sat back to back with everyone else who was playing, honing your hearing to try and pick up on the fluttering wingbeats of any animal with wings. 

 

As soon as you were sure of its position, you had to try and catch it. 

 

The catch to the game though, was that your opponent was allowed to follow you when you took off to collect your quarry, and the first person to catch a winged creature, won. 

 

Ayame nods once Kouga finishes his explanation. 

 

“Sounds good. You ready?”

 

She asks, a spark of challenge in her green eyes that Kouga honestly doesn’t dislike. 

 

He barks a short laugh at her confidence. 

 

“You’re talking to the pro here shorty. I was born ready.”

 

Ayame smirks at the boy’s self-confidence, turning away from him and sitting herself down with her back to him without another word. 

 

Only the crunch and rustle of the grass and twigs behind her let her know that Kouga did the same.

 

Taking a moment, Ayame focuses her attention on her hearing, travelling through the forest by sound. 

 

She hears the leaves dancing with the wind, a river winding its way downstream, scampering paws scratching the earth, all manner of intermingling bird calls… AHA! 

 

Her eyes snap open as soon as the sound of definite wingbeats registers in her ears, the mental path she paved via sound imprinted in her mind as she jumps to her feet and starts running. 

 

In real time, only a few seconds have passed since the two cubs sat down. So, when Kouga hears the light scrape of claws on dirt, as Ayame gets to her feet and rushes off, he feels his eyes widen at the speed with which she’s found a winged being. 

 

Though he quickly gets to his feet to follow the sharp-eared demoness, safe in the knowledge that he’s the fastest cub in his entire pack. 

 

It doesn’t take Ayame long to find the winged being she’d heard, but, she wasn’t expecting it to be a raven beast! 

 

Beasts being underdeveloped youkai who had a youkai’s strength, senses and lifespan but the mentality and appearance of the animal counterpart. As it was, the raven beast was almost thrice Ayame’s size: Black wings gleaming in the late afternoon sun as it regards it’s next meal option. 

 

Now, even as a cub, Ayame has already been training since she started to walk, so she isn’t about to go down quietly. 

 

“Don’t go getting any ideas Mr. Bird!”

 

She yells at it, her ears flattened to her head as she flexes her claws and bares her fangs. 

 

The raven beast seems to take her threat as more of a dinner invitation, swooping down from the sky with open claws and a victorious caw. 

 

Bracing to jump up and give the stupid creature a firm kick to the chest, Ayame can only blink with wide eyes when the raven beast is side tackled out of the sky by a solid kick from Kouga. 

 

“Didn’t you ever learn not to celebrate before a win?”

 

Kouga growls as he lands next to Ayame, some of the tension going out of his shoulders as he ascertains that his new friend is unharmed. 

 

Ayame giggles as Kouga addresses the raven beast. 

 

“You know he can’t understand you, right?” 

 

She asks, her eyes full of mirth as she looks at Kouga’s rueful expression. 

 

“So what? It’s still bad manners.” 

 

He defends himself, looking over Ayame’s shoulder and fully relaxing when he sees that the stupid bird is down for the count. 

 

“…Do you expect a thank you?”

 

Ayame says slowly, making Kouga raise an eyebrow at her. 

 

“Why does that sound like a question?”

 

He asks, the slight furrow of his brow the only indication of his genuine confusion. 

 

“Because I could’ve taken care of him just as easily without your help.”

 

She replies, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

 

Kouga’s jaw drops at her statement. 

 

“Nu-uh. You would’ve been bird-feed if I hadn’t stepped in when I did.”

 

Ayame actually snorts at that remark. 

 

“He was a slow poke, I had plenty of time.”

 

She counters deftly, turning her head to the side with a swish of her hair in a mocking manner. 

 

“Yeah, plenty of time to become his dinner.” 

 

Kouga points out, smirking, even as his eyes widen when Ayame’s hair suddenly takes on a startlingly red sheen. The sun was starting to set. 

 

“Ugh… I’ll prove it to you next time.”

 

Ayame growls in a voice full of promise and confidence. 

 

“But… thanks for your help anyway.”

 

She adds with a small smile. 

 

Kouga’s expression brightens at her remark. 

 

“Any time.”

 

He replies, finding, surprisingly, that he genuinely means it. 

 

“Uh… Kouga?”

 

The sudden intrusion of the unfamiliar voice sets off a rather unforeseen chain reaction. 

 

Ayame reacts instinctually, moving in front of Kouga, only to crouch down with her fur bristling and fangs bared protectively. 

 

Kouga, who wasn’t expecting Ayame’s speedy reaction, is set off balance when she pushes him behind her. 

 

Now, this wouldn’t be a problem, if the two of them weren’t perched at the top of a boulder by the river side. 

 

Feeling himself start to fall backwards, Kouga grabs the nearest thing he can, which, unfortunately, just so happens to be Ayame’s tail, and not a moment later, the two of them tumble into the chilly water of the river. 

 

Kouga makes it back to shore fairly quickly, taking a moment to catch his breath before turning his head to check on the little wolf… The little wolf that is still splashing around in the water! 

 

Eyes wide with both worry and fear, Kouga doesn’t even think twice before jumping back into the water and swimming over to Ayame’s side. 

 

Grabbing her by her arm, he hauls the two of them back to shore, a little out of breath from the unusual exercise. 

 

“What… The HELL!” 

 

Kouga says angrily, his eyes flashing as he turns a worried look to Ayame’s shuddering form. 

 

“Hey! It’s not like I asked to be pulled into the stupid river!” 

 

Ayame snaps back at him, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened, and get her breathing back to normal. 

 

“Who cares about THAT, why can’t you SWIM!?” 

 

Kouga counters incredulously, awaiting her answer with impatiently clicking claws on the pebbles on which the two of them were laying. 

 

Ayame shakes her head a little, a confused expression crossing her face.

 

“Why can’t I do what now?” 

 

She asks, making Kouga’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. 

 

“Swim. You know, move through water, even when you can’t stand in it?” 

 

He explains slowly. 

 

“You can DO that?” 

 

She asks, shock and excitement mingling in her expression. 

 

Most sources of water in the mountains were too cold to swim in, so it wasn’t really necessary to know how to swim… Let alone know what swimming is. 

 

“Yeeaaah, you can.”

 

Kouga affirms in a deliberate, slow tone, struggling not to laugh at Ayame’s expense. 

 

Ayame pouts when she see’s the laughter in Kouga’s eyes though. 

 

Before either of the two can continue their banter, someone clears their throat, making the two look up to see another cub standing above them. 

 

“Sorry about that Kouga.”

 

The boy says, offering Kouga a hand up. 

 

Kouga grins at the boy, which makes Ayame’s muscles relax again, having tensed the instant she’d been made aware of someone else’s presence… again. 

 

“Don’t worry about it Ginta. I’ll just throw you in the river sometime this summer.”

 

Kouga says with a laugh. 

 

The cub called Ginta shakes his head helplessly at that, moving to offer Ayame a hand up as well. 

 

“…Thanks.”

 

She says timidly, immediately moving to stand, half hidden, behind Kouga. 

 

“No problem.”

 

Ginta says with a boyish grin, though her view of the dark haired demon is soon blocked by Kouga. 

 

“The idiot who’s good at sneaking around is called Ginta, and the one failing to hide behind that tree over there is Hakkaku.”

 

Kouga says, introducing the two cubs with whom he regularly hangs out. 

 

“Aw man, I was SURE you wouldn’t notice this time.”

 

Hakkaku complains as he joins the three other cubs by the river side. 

 

“Doesn’t he realise that his mohawk was sticking out every time he glanced around the side of the tree?”

 

Ayame whispers to Kouga, making the brown haired demon chortle at her observation. 

 

He’d actually known that Hakkaku was there because he’d sensed the boy’s nervous aura, but, if he was still failing at hiding from sight, he at least had a legitimate reason to be nervous. 

 

“I like you.” 

 

Kouga states suddenly, grinning as he slings an arm around Ayame’s shoulders and pulls her closer to better familiarise himself with her scent. 

 

Ginta and Hakkaku can only stare, their jaws hanging open at Kouga’s behaviour. 

 

Though they’re equally surprised at Ayame’s calm acceptance of their friend’s behaviour. Knowing only their mothers as female examples, they know how feisty and strong-willed females can be. 

 

“…Like me enough to teach me how to swim?” 

 

Ayame asks as she looks up into Kouga’s sky blue eyes. 

 

“Sure, if you come by more often. It’s getting warmer anyway, so we may as well make the most of the weather while it’s this good.”

 

He shrugs, smiling down at the girl who’d wriggled her way out of his grasp and into his heart in such a short amount of time. 

 

She grins, suddenly jumping a good few meters into the air and landing back in her original position with a little robin caught in the cage of her claws. 

 

“Awesome!”

 

She says as she lands. 

 

“Also, I win.”

 

She tacks on proudly. 

 

“Anyway, I have to go home now, or they’ll start to worry about me. Till next time!”

 

The final call is shouted over her shoulder as Ayame releases the little robin back into the air and makes her own way back home, using the trick she’d learned from Kouga’s game to hear her way back to her mountain. 

 

… 

 

“I met up with Kouga and his friends as often as I could after that. 

But, as I got older, my duties started to take up more and more of my time and the same held true for him. We met up again once I moved out of the mountain caves to attend middle school, but lost touch when high school started up.”

 

Ayame finishes, slowly returning from the realm of her memories. 

 

“…and, just to clear this up, the Kouga you’re talking about…”

 

Sango starts slowly, stopping when Ayame nods slightly. 

 

“is Kouga Reimei, prince of the eastern wolves and member of The Fangs.”

 

She finishes. 

 

“Holy…”

 

Kagome breathes, her eyes wide. 

 

Kagura chooses to simply whistle an impressed, low note. 

 

“Have you talked to him at all since middle school?”

 

Kagome asks, the thought suddenly popping into her head. 

 

Ayame blinks at the sudden question, though her expression soon morphs to one of bittersweet remorse. An expression that speaks louder than any answer she could have spoken aloud. 

 

‘I’d take that as a no.’

 

Kagura says softly, using the telepathic link she shares solely with her little sister. 

 

“Well, term starts in a fortnight. So, I suggest we take some time to get ready and practise as much as possible before orientation.” 

 

Kagura says aloud, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little, though her statement is met by three puzzled expressions. 

 

“…You guys didn’t read your actual scholarship letters, did you?”

 

Her shoulders slump and she gives an exasperated sigh when she’s met by three synchronically shaking heads. 

 

“We got the scholarship for ‘most promising young talent’.” 

 

Kagura waits a moment, but, when she isn’t met by any enlightened looks, decides to do the enlightening for them. 

 

“Honestly… ok, the ‘most promising young talent’ has to perform a piece at the university’s opening ceremony, after the head master’s welcome speech.”

 

Kagura sighs, before explaining what their letters told them. She has to press her lips together to keep from laughing out loud at the three wide-eyed, shell-shocked expressions on her friends faces though. 

 

“Come on, let’s get some sleep. No school means we have plenty of time to prepare a song and go over the terms of our scholarships.”

 

Sango pips up, getting up and heaving Ayame to her feet, before taking her through the sister’s wall door into Kagura’s room. 

 

Since they were planning to have a sleep over after prom anyway, they’re already decided to let Sango and Ayame take Kagura’s room, while Kagura slept in her sister's room with Kagome. 

 

“Good night you two. See you in the morning.”

 

Kagome calls softly. 

 

“Good night.”

 

The other three chorus, before each hitting the hay for the day. 

 

- - - - - 

 

Author's Note 

 

Hello again to my lovely readers, 

 

I hope you're all ok and still enjoying CaD! 

I know I LOVED writing that lengthy first meeting scene between Ayame and Kouga when they were kids! 

(Yes, they are one of my favourite couples, how DID you know?)

 

Anyway, I RUSHED to finish this up JUST before my online university courses started up again, which they did yesterday, so... there may be some longer breaks between updates now. Meaning, I will be ECSTATIC if I get up another chapter before Christmas, but I PROMISE to do my best to give you at least one more chapter before the new year! 

 

As always, thank you for reading my fanfiction and feel free to leave me your comments! 

 

Tora

 

PS. The song that The Fangs sung was their own cover of Kiss You by One Direction. I do not own the song or the lyrics!