InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Genuine Desires : Koga's Story ❯ Chapter Three: Forlorn ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

 

Forlorn

 

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Koga awakened his eyes the next morning, his head a little hazy. He glanced around, and not noticing anyone near, he slowly stood up, stripping the now dry clothe from his head and peeling off the sweaty fur that he been wrapped around him. He knew Ayame had been there, and she hadn't left very long. Her scent clung around the small cave, and his sense of panic slowly died down. He took deep breaths, subconsciously taking comfort from her scent and her youki being so near.

 

Moments later she stalked into the cave, smelling like pond water and carrying a bucket full of fish. She smiled brightly down at him and felt his forehead, grinning when he looked at her darkly. “How do you feel?”

 

“Where am I?”

 

“You're in my village,” She told him softly, sitting back across from him and folding her legs. “InuYasha brought you here after finding you on the mountain. You've been in and out of consciousness for four days.”

 

He digested that in silence, staring at his hands balled in his lap. “Was Kagome with him?”

 

Ayame swallowed the lump that form in her throat. At her hesitation, he glanced up to see that she was watching him, a pleading emotion in her eyes that made his heart lurch painfully, and he was flooded with guilt, though he didn't understand why. His gaze skittered away, and he sighed.

 

“You . . . nursed me back to health, then. Thank you.”

 

When she didn't answer, he looked up to see her still watching him, that burning emotion still on her face. “What else would I have done? Koga . . . I . . .”

 

“Ayame,” He said softly.

 

She sighed and nodded disappointment on her face as she snatched one of the fish out of the bucket and began to skin and gut it. Afterwards, she impaled it on a stick and set it aside, doing so with each of the fish. Crawling forward, she began to try and set the fire. “Move back a little,” She warned, biting her lip in concentration.

 

Koga tried to move, but his body froze as he realized her full breasts were pushing against the top of her dress. They moved with each attempt to start the fire, and her scent hit Koga strong---heady and far more womanly than he ever remembered it being. He tore his eyes away and closed his eyes, willing his body not to react, knowing she'll be able to tell the way he was reacting to her. He opened his eyes to stare into her violet ones, her face mere inches from his. Her scent hit him harder and his face flushed with color. He made a noise in his throat that resembled a whimper as she peered closer. “Are you okay?”

 

He could see that her breasts were straining against the neckline of the fur dress that she wore. `Hentai!' He cursed at himself. `How could you? She saved your life and you're staring at her . . .'

 

She reached forward to feel his forehead and his hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist. She glanced at his hand for a moment. “What's wrong?” She whispered, her gaze darkening. She moved closer, concern covering her face. “Koga?”

 

He blushed furiously and shifted so that he wasn't facing her, squeezing his eyes shut. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

 

She looked at him funny for a moment, and went back to trying to start the fire.

 

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Ayame took a deep breath outside of the large hut in the middle of the village before brushing past the bamboo mat and stepping inside. Ten wolf tribe elders---the official leaders of all wolf tribes, sat surrounding the large fire in the middle of the hut. Each were sitting on top of soft mats made of fur and leaves, and she took her place at the head of the circle, completing it.

 

Faces frowned in disapproval as she cleared her throat, looking around at all the faces staring back at her. She bit back the wave of nausea that hit her and she folded her hands, bowing her head respectfully. A few blinked in surprise, but they said nothing.

 

Her grandfather had been elected the grand chief a couple of decades before he died. Because both of her parents had been killed and she was the only child, the title had fallen to her, making her the youngest---and only female council member in the history of the wolf tribe. `I have to make my mark,' she told herself strongly, remember something her grandfather told her.

 

“They'll test you like only wolves can,” He had explained to her, holding her hand as his chest heaved with his last breaths. “But if you win them over---and I know you can---you needn't fret about anything my child. What wolves value most . . . is family.”

 

`Family,' she thought idly, standing and folding her arms behind her back. Her stomach clinched painfully as they sat ramrod, their gazes flicking over her, as if they were looking for something, anything, to discredit her. She took every precaution tonight, and rehearsed what she was going to say hours before she came.

 

“We come tonight to discuss the fate of the Western Tribe, as well as it's Chief, Koga.”

 

Murmurs erupted throughout the hut. One of them stood up, his face twisted into a scowl. “We haven't dealt with the Western Tribe in centuries,” He said, sniffing with disapproval. She bit back a growl. “Whatever befalls them does not concern us.”

 

More murmurs erupted, and she watched as another elder turned and addressed him. “They were once our strongest warriors.”

 

“But they were wiped out by a single demon!”

 

“A demon with over half of the Shikon No Tama,” Ayame bit out, forcing the elders to fall quiet. “I don't know what happened in my grandfather's time, but we're here to discuss what we are going to do now---not whether or not he deserves our help.”

 

One of the elders, her father's best friend, stood up, his old bones creaking as he steadied himself. He smiled warmly at her, and nodded approvingly. “What wolves value most,” He said, echoing the words floating through her mind. “Is family.”

 

Ayame smiled at him and nodded, and he winked at her before he sat down again. The fire illuminated the many people who stared at her with expectation, and it seemed as if she could read every emotion in the room, both negative and positive. It was then that she realized that they were waiting for her final verdict. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together behind her back.

 

Brown eyes so dark they were almost black flashed in her mind, and her mind had been made. “We shall support Koga,” She said aloud, her voice strong with authority. “And we shall meet again when he is healthy enough to return to the Western Lands.”

 

Murmurs softly resonated throughout the hut as they stood, and some rushed out, while others conferred with each other quietly in the corners. She sat down on the mat and fought the urge to drop her hands into her face, instead staring into the fire. Her father's best friend came beside her, and she stood up quickly. He laid his hand on her shoulder and grinned. “Good work,” He whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead as the last of the elders filed out.

 

She smiled sheepishly and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. But deep inside, she worried if she was doing the right thing.

 

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“I don't need any of you!”

 

Ayame flinched as Koga's snarl resonated throughout the cave, and she took a hesitant step back as his youki flared and his eyes flashed. He bared his fangs at her, his angry snarl echoing through the cave, and she wondered if he could hear her heart hammering against her chest. She shook her head, biting back the shook and placed her hand on her heart to steady its erratic beating. “You're our kin, Koga—“

 

“I don't need you,” He said again, biting his words out.

 

Sighing dejectedly, she hurried over, snatching the sweaty fur pelt off of him and tossing it to the side. She dipped a small rag in the small bucket of water and rung it out. “Lay down,” She called to him stiffly.

 

“I just said . . .”

 

“Will you just lie down?” She bit out, irritated.

 

He recoiled for a minute before a stubborn glint flashed in his eyes. She clucked her tongue and sank back on her knees, folding her arms and staring at him through narrow eyes. Seconds ticked by as they squared off, the tension thick in the small cave. “Why won't you let us help you?”

 

“I don't need your help.”

 

“Okay. Just for the sake of an argument, let's say that you don't need my help. But where are you going to go?”

 

“I'm going to stay in the mountains.”

 

She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “Koga, you can't! That's . . .”

 

Slowly he lifted his eyes to meet hers, and she snapped her mouth close. His grief was palpable, cutting so deep that tears sprang to her eyes. His eyes skittered away and she understood. Understood the pain of losing everything, the only thing you've ever known. The pain and sadness of knowing that your life will never be the same; that you were absolutely powerless against it. Her head began to ache as his distress cut her deep, as ever fiber of her being commanded, beg, her to comfort him.

 

He clenched his fists and let his head fall forward, allowing his hair to shield his face, and she dug her claws into the ground with a grimace. With a shaking hand, she reached out and grabbed his hand, not allowing him to snatch back from her. “Koga, I understand more than anyone what you are feeling. But it'll kill you if you go back.”

 

He stayed silent.

 

“You'll die,” She stressed, scooting closer. She felt emotion well within her, and she dashed the back of her hands across her eyes furiously. “I won't let that happen. I won't.”

 

He turned and looked at her, his eyes bright, and yet she knew that she would never see the emotion that he fought so hard. His hand squeezed tightly, before he pulled away, lying back down and turning his back to her. She cradled her hand to her chest, sighing softly and sitting back on her rear, her legs folded around her.

 

 

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