The Tattoo

Disclaimer: I don't own any members of the Inu cast. This was an idea I actually came up with based off a drawing my fiancee did for me. It was a picture of Ayame, looking over her shoulder, her hair down, and in the middle of getting dressed. Her backside was exposed, and a pretty green tattoo was decorating the small of her back. Since no one ever really sees Ayame naked, let along her back, who's to say a tribal tattoo couldn't exist? This fic was actually written by both myself, Lilz(aka White Wolf Ayame)and my really good friend B-chan. With later contribution from my fiancee YourouzokuAlpha. Enjoy ^_^


Chapter 1- The Tattoo


The evening was dancing lazily in the sky, the air held a chilled atmosphere to it, as the red head shed her armor and short skirt off her body, sliding the last peice of her traditional attire down her shapely legs. She folded the fur and put the armor away as she lifted the long white dress from her bedding. It was long, nearly knee lenth on her, and would keep her body very warm and cozy for the rest of the evening. Plus it would serve her purpose well, simple but nicely dressed for when she and her Grandfather spoke to the other elders.

All the alphas of the packs and their heirs had been summoned to the White territory to discuss the matter of the pack disputes. The Black Elder and his oldest son, The Gray Elder and the mate of his only daughter, the Red Elder and his unmated daughter would be attending the meeting, as well as Ayame and her Grandfather. It was her duty as the White Princess to sit in the meeting as well, since it affected not only the packs now, but their outcomes in the future.

A message had been sent to Kouga, but there was no guarentee that he would have received it. Rumor was he was traveling... wandering around searching for the demon Naraku and his incarnations. It was a well known fact as to why, but respectfully, it was never talked about out of honor and respect among the other packs. If anyone else had problems with it...they kept it to themselves.

Ayame shivered as she brought herself back out of her reverie, realizing she was still undressed and she still had to fix her hair. The soft breeze crept into her den, drifting her red locks lightly behind her, the tresses brushing softly against her bare back.

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Kouga rolled his eyes, still wondering how in all the Heavens he got talked into this meeting in the first place. Lazily and bored, his eyes scanned over the den where the meeting was to be held at, looking at the different Elders with their respective offspring. However, one was still missing... Ayame. That silly girl, where could she be? He watched as the White Elder looked around for her, obviously having not expected her to be absent either. The Elder smiled graciously, looking to the others.

"Well, I suppose we might have to start without Ayame," he began when Kouga cut him off.

"Nah, I'll go get her," he replied, finding any excuse to leave the meeting which he had deemed unimportant and without letting the White Elder tell him differently, he got up and left.

He had only been to her room once long time ago, when the Elder was showing him around the tribe, but he still remembered where it was. He sighed. 'She better be in here and not off exploring again dammit,' he thought, and without giving a knock for a warning, he stepped inside.

The brown prince opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out as he just stood there, gaping in shock. The young princess wasn't dressed, but was completely bare, with her back to him. He had never noticed how smooth her skin looked or how toned her legs were, but now he did. Suddenly, something else caught his eye that was on her back. It was a small green tattoo that he had never known about. It was intricately designed and had such a simple beauty to it he couldn’t help but stare. A green leaf in the design, with closed buds of a small flower on the small of her lower back. Silently, Kouga crept up behind her, staring at it curiously. Finally, he spoke what his mind wanted to say.

"Ayame, what is that?" he said.

Ayame jumped slightly as the sudden sound of a male's voice, her reflexes springing to life as she looked over her shoulder at the one that had spoken to her. Her green eyes widened, a flush spreading like wildfire over her nose and cheeks as she whirled around to face him, her fur dress clutched tightly to her bosom. Since she had been in the process of stepping into the dress, it was still around her legs, but at least he couldn't see her bare backside anymore. Ayame blushed furiously, thoroughly embarrassed and surprised to see him. Apparently he had gotten the message about the meeting.

"Huh? Kouga? What are you doing in my room? What are you talking about? What is what?" She asked confusedly, the fur dressed clutched tightly over the swell of her chest. Somehow, deep down he was a little disappointed she had ruined his view, but he shoved it aside and sighed, rolling his eyes, folding his arms.

"Keh, I came here because your Grandfather didn't want to start the meeting without you.... And I asked about that tattoo you have," Kouga asked again, as Ayame blinked, scooting away from him slightly, before looking back over her shoulder at her ass.

"I forgot I had it... it was so long ago that I had it done..." She murmured to herself. Then she blinked, and looking at him, her red bangs falling over her eyes. "Why were you staring at my ass anyway?" She challenged.

Kouga blinked, startled slightly by her comment and almost took a half-step back. As he did so, his face was tinged a faint pink as he growled defensively at the female.

"I wasn't staring at your ass!" Kouga snapped, almost too loudly, not wanting her to think him a pervert. "I was staring at that tattoo!" Ayame blinked as she looked at him before raising an eyebrow carefully, suddenly curious.

"Right...." She shook her head as she turned away from him, not caring if he did see her ass again. Besides, unless it was Kagome's backside, why should he care? And she had nothing to be ashamed about. "If you don't mind.... You interrupted me when I was getting dressed. And I don't think it would be polite if you saw me completely naked either."

He cleared his throat and scoffed, folding his arms, turning his back to her.

"Keh... Just hurry up," he growled and walked out, determined not to look back at her or to think about her nearly nude body. Ayame blinked as she stared after him before letting out a soft sigh, and going back to getting dressed the moment he was out of sight. She was embarrassed that he had seen her naked... but then again... all he really got a glimpse of was her bare backside, and it wasn't like he saw anything... important.

She blushed furiously at the thought.

Besides, what would Kouga care? Male or not, he loved Kagome, and he made sure to repeat that fact whenever possible. Ayame was just a fellow wolf demon to him, nothing more. She sighed as she slipped into the white fur dress, picking up her brush and brushing her long red hair out. She decided to leave it down, tucking her hair behind her left ear and putting the iris there. She smiled as she brushed off her white fur dress just out of habit. She hoped she would be presentable for this meeting... She thought she looked nice at least.

Kouga waited outside her room, his arms folded as he leaned against the wall, looking down at the ground with a scowl on his face, deep in thought. In the dark corners of his mind, he still couldn't forget the image of Ayame's backside. Nor could he forget how his male youkai instincts wondered if that's what her BACKSIDE looked, how did the rest of her measure up. After all, Kagome was going to be his mate; he shouldn't be thinking of other females, especially not Ayame. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering why things kept making themselves more complicated.

It didn't take very long at all before Ayame was finally dressed and ready to go. Since she had, after all, been in the middle of pulling her dress on, she didn't need more than a few minutes to finish brushing her hair and make her way towards the front of her den, and out the doorway, glancing at the brown male positioned impatiently in front of her den. She blushed as she tucked her red hair behind her ear, leaving her long wavy red locks down to where they cascaded down the length of her back to nearly her waist. She'd grown her hair out in the last year, very proud of it's beauty and length.

"About time," Kouga growled, and stood up straight, only to see that she had left her hair down, and it had grown some. He blinked, unable to hide his shock. With her hair down, somehow it brought out the green in her eyes more. And it helped to show out her great bone structure. She had grown up. However, he mentally shook the thoughts away and looked at her.

"Well, come on," he replied. "We're late as it is," Ayame ignored Kouga’s comment as she followed after him, folding her arms over the front of her bust, frowning slightly.

"Well I wasn't late until a certain someone barged into my personal room without so much as a knock. What if I had been completely naked?" She asked in frustration. Kouga's eyes shot up in surprise, the brief mental image flashing through his mind, and he furiously shoved it aside, hoping it wouldn't pop up again any time soon.

"Keh," he scoffed. "Well, if you weren't late in the FIRST place... I wouldn't have had to come and get you."

Ayame stared at him confusedly for a few moments, having noticed the way his eyes had widened in what appeared to be surprise. What was going on in that male mind of his? Men were so confusing sometimes, so hard to figure out... and they say women were the difficult ones. She looked at him, cocking her head to one side, her hair spilling over her slanted shoulder like red water.

"Kouga? What was that look for?" Ayame finally asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing," he growled, almost snapping the answer at her as he began walking, not wanting to talk about it... and in the back corner of his mind the teasing image of her was still there, laughing at him.

Ayame was confused to his reaction, but if he was going to be so hard headed and keep to himself about it, then so be it. Besides... the cold hard truth was that there really was nothing between Kouga and herself. He'd been quite adamant about that. It was another reason her Grandfather had been insistent on her making herself presentable as a Princess should at this meeting.

He usually didn't mind the evidence she carried on her fur and armor through all her adventures and explorations... but in the presence of the other pack leaders and more importantly, their unmated sons, she would have to play the part of the lovely white princess. Kouga might have withdrawn his declaration to marry her, but she was still young. And couldn't remain unmated forever. As her Grandfather had lectured her about this very morning.

Kouga kept silent as he walked down the hall, finally reaching the room for the meeting, and trying to keep the role as a gentlemanly prince, he opened the door for her, being that around the other leaders, he needed to still keep up a good image as well.

Ayame passed by him and into the room, bowing her head apologetically to the other wolf demons around the room. "My apologies Grandfather. I was getting ready as quickly as I could. I apologize for the delay," Ayame said in a sweet voice like warm honey. She decided it would be best for both of them if she didn't mention Kouga's interruption into her room when she'd been in the middle of said changing.

The Elder smiled at Ayame and nodded at his granddaughter. "It's quite alright Child. Please, take your seat," he insisted. The red head nodded as she folded her hands beneath her seat, smoothing her dress out as she sat down at her Grandfather's right side, glancing around the room. She didn't recognize the young gray male seated beside the Gray Elder, but if the rumors were true, he was the new mate of the Gray Princess. She didn't recognize the black male in the room, nor the red female either.

Mikhail looked over from his seat at the newcomer, his dark brown eyes widening slightly in interest as he watched her walk in the room. She looked beautiful with her long red hair, her emerald green eyes, and her trim figure.

Kouga twitched slightly, seeing that the black male had taken notice to Ayame, and was even more confused and aggravated with why he was feeling jealous. He had let go of Ayame, it was only natural that another would take an interest in her. Yet, still...

Ayame caught the eyes of the black male, a blush spreading across her nose and cheeks as she tore her gaze away, and was surprised by the look on Kouga's face. She'd only caught a glimpse of the brown male out of the corner of her eye, not wanting him to think she was staring at him, but he seemed tensed about something. She was curious but shrugged it off. It wasn't any of her business after all.

Mikhail smiled at the red head kindly, biting back a chuckle, seeing her look away. He hadn't meant to embarrass her, but she was quite cute when blushed. He would have to remember that. Kouga's glare at Mikhail didn't soften, despite the nudges he kept getting from his beta Ginta, while Hakkakku was the one paying the real attention to the meeting.

Ayame looked up, glancing back and forth between the black male and Kouga, blinking in confusion. She had yet to learn his name, but apparently, he had yet to notice the icy glare Kouga was giving him. Her Grandfather seemed to notice as well, as he listened to the Gray Elder speaking of the issues involving his concerns about the dwindling numbers of the wolf demon tribes.

"Yes... yes I agree. As I'm sure the rest of you are aware, there have been many many sad losses... no tribe excluded... browns, blacks, grays, reds and even us whites have not been left out. Many different reasons of course, but we are merely helping to crush our own numbers as we continue to fight among ourselves," Ayame's Grandfather spoke up.

"We must focus as a unit... our numbers are precious... the spring season will be fast approaching. We must ensure many of our females are pupped and new mating bonds and ceremonies spread between the packs. If we do not do something now, while there is still a chance for us... we may die out within only a few years."

Mikhail broke his gaze at Ayame, feeling a pair of eyes on him and he turned to find Kouga glaring at him coldly, his arms folded as if in annoyance. Mikhail's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked back at him as if silently asking ‘What the hell is your problem?’ Kouga didn't answer but growled softly, only really loud enough for his betas to hear. Ginta mentally sighed, seeing that his alpha male was not going to stop and looked to the others.

"We will be willing to help," Ginta spoke up on behalf of both him and the brown tribe, hoping that this might snap Kouga out of his glaring contest with Mikhail, but to no avail. The brown prince knew he should stop, but somewhere the ookami in him wanted to keep going, stare down Mikhail until he backed off, but backed off from what?

Ayame was completely and thoroughly confused. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the other ookami, the Elder's seeming to have noticed the brown betas as Ginta replied to Ayame's Grandfather's speech. The Black Elder looked from his son to the brown prince, raising an eyebrow and scowling lightly.

"Prince Kouga? Is there something you and my son would like to share with the rest of us, instead of glaring and growling at each other like a pair of pups?" Kouga stopped and rolled his eyes as if he was bored.

"Keh... first off, it's not any of your concern nor business. And if you want to talk about pups... make sure your PUP over there has his mind on the meeting, instead of mating," he snapped.

"Um, Kouga-sama?" Ginta whispered, poking at him, TRYING to get his alpha male back on track.

Mikhail's eyes just about flashed red with fury as he growled at him. "WHAT?!" he demanded. "You have some nerve Kouga!"

"Boys... boys! Enough. Neither of you are setting good examples," Ayame's Grandfather scolded, shaking his head.

"Like I said... we can not afford to fight among ourselves... there is no reason to start needless civil wars between the clans. Now... Kouga... Mikhail... is there something wrong, or do you two know each other and this is just... a simple "friendly" rivalry?" The White Elder asked, emphasizing the "friendly" part. Ayame remained silent, her jade colored eyes darting back and forth between the black male and Kouga. Mikhail... that was what her Grandfather called him. Maybe Kouga and this Mikhail did know each other, but she didn't think Kouga would be this... childish about it... they both were as a matter of fact.

"You should be setting a better example like Dakian is," The Gray alpha added, nodding at his new son who bowed his head slightly in embarrassment being so formally addressed. "Especially in front of these lovely young ladies, gentlemen."

Mikhail hung his head as if in shame. "I apologize everyone. I did not mean to interrupt the meeting," he said, his gentle voice actually sounding mournful.

"Keh..." Kouga growled, rolling his eyes. "I don't have time for this," Without another word, he stood up and began to walk over to the door. "You settle this on your own," he said just before walking out. His two betas gaped in shock, looked at each other, mumbled an apology to the group and followed their leader.

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AN: To check out the cover art for "The Tattoo", specifically the image that inspired this story, please visit my fiancee's deviantArt page at the following link below. I want to thank YourouzokuAlpha for the time and patience put into this work. It's beautiful.

http://yourou.deviantart.com/#/d2qdp3f