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 ^_^

On a side note, I hope everyone enjoys the long awaited update to this chapter. I want to thank Viz for airing new episodes of Inuyasha for me to find my love of writing again. IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, I'D NOT HAVE BEEN INSPIRED TO UPDATE


Chapter 12- The Tree


Her head was a jumble, a mess of thoughts, emotions, fears and wistful thinking. The past was the past, and no matter how much she tried to put it behind her, she was haunted by it still. Why couldn’t her heart cooperate with her mind, just this once? Couldn’t it see that she was trying, for both of their sakes? She was trying to spare herself the heartache, by moving forward with her life. Wasn’t that for the best? There was no use clinging to a silly, empty dream that would never come true, and only putting herself threw more pain, and more suffering in the end. Until she died sad, miserable, and lonely.

This was why she was trying so hard to move on with her life, to set a new course for her destiny. One that didn’t involve the handsome, brave brown ookami. But every time she closed her eyes, his icy blue eyes haunted her, following her, sinking themselves deep in her thoughts, her memories, and she was so exhausted fighting it. How could she ever move on and give Mikhail a proper chance, if she was still head over heels in love with someone who didn’t return her feelings?

"Ancestors... please..." The red headed wolf princess pleaded, lifting her chin skyward as her eyes searched the stars above. "Guide me... help me... I don’t know what more to do." She all but whimpered. The stars didn’t answer her, though she knew they wouldn’t.

Ayame had fully intended to return to the safety and comfort of her den after the confrontation between Kouga and Kaito, but her heart was still too troubled, and she decided to take a walk to try and clear her thoughts. However, that didn’t seem to be helping either. Instead of helping her sort out the mess that was her feelings, her heart kept flashing back to her time with Kouga. Memories had plagued her thoughts, memories of her past, her childhood. Meeting Kouga, the day he’d rescued her... brought her home that night. The night she’d found him again, along the stream bed, him and his betas. And then later the following day, when she’d found him with that human miko... the woman he claimed was his fiancée... his intended mate. Not her. And then, memories of the Oni attack. When she’d followed her heart, following the brilliant glow of the Shikon no Tama, and found Kouga in peril. A peril he managed to find himself out of, of course, but still.

"Why do you continue to plague my thoughts?" She asked the imaginary Kouga in her head, but all she got in response was a confident, and albeit arrogant smirk. A usual expression on his usually handsome face. She sighed defeatedly, running her hands through her long, wavy red tresses. The walk at least had given her plenty of time for her hair to dry, and her furs were no longer uncomfortable from where they’d previously clung to her damp body.

But, it seemed fate was in a particularly teasing mood this night, she found herself in an eerily familiar patch of forest. She hadn’t even realized she’d traveled so far from the northern territory, and the feeling of familiarity temporarily chased away the fear of being so far from home.

There was indeed something familiar about this place, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Whatever it was, it both made her heart sink and it made her body shiver in something akin to fear. Though for the life of her, she couldn’t pin point the cause. She wrapped her arms around her trembling form, sharp green eyes searching... for something... anything that would explain why this place felt so...

And then she saw it. Her heart skipped a beat, her green eyes widened, and she stared in open mouthed shock at the gnarled tree not more than 50 paces in front of her. There was no mistaking it. Her eyes stared in disbelief as she approached the tree, until she was standing directly in front of it. She reached out, her hand softly trailing over the weathered and worn bark, fingertips gracing over soft patches of moss along the inside hole.

She remembered this tree...

"It can’t be..." She murmured to herself. How could this be? This place was so very far away from the her mountain home, but then... her heart clenched painfully. No, that wasn’t entirely right. This place was indeed far from her previous mountain home, the one her Grandfather had taken her to so long ago. But this was before the Oni attack, and before the Northern Tribe had been forced to relocate. "Who knew... that this was always so close..." She murmured.

"What was?" A familiar male voice inquired, and the red headed demoness whirled around, her green eyes wide in shock as she stared at the male who’d interrupted her musings. Shock quickly gave way to joy, as she cried out happily, and raced towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck, the male chuckling as he received the hug and returned it fiercely.

"I missed you too Ayame-neesan." Areku said as he hugged his Princess, the female more like a sister to him than any other member of the pack. Only a few years older than the Princess, Areku had always felt it his duty to look out for, and protect his Princess. But where Kaito’s fondness was out of deep seated admiration, loyalty, and love, Areku’s was pride, loyalty, and friendship. Ayame was family, even if she wasn’t related to him by blood.

"I knew you had returned, the moment I saw Kaito!" Ayame exclaimed, pulling back as she smiled at him, the first genuine smile in a very long time. For the first time since being around Kouga, her heart warmed happily. Areku was her best friend, her most trusted confidant, even more than Lyra, a confidant equal to Ephiny even. The simple truth of the matter was that Ayame trusted Areku’s calm, mature outlook on all things, and gave her the best unbiased opinion he could whenever she came to him. She knew she could trust him, and he only wanted her to be happy.

"So you already ran into Kaito did you?" Areku asked, raising a silver-white eyebrow. At the question, Ayame blushed and nodded, and the fidgeting she was doing was not lost on the other white male either. "Ayame? What happened exactly?" He asked curiously.

"It’s a bit of a long story... and an embarrassing one..." She admitted with a blush.

"I see. Is that why I faintly can smell another on you?" Areku asked softly. At the inquiry, the red head’s eyes widened, her blush rivaling the shade of her hair as she held up her hands, shaking her head furiously.

"It’s not like that... I mean, it’s complicated Areku," Ayame confessed.

"Define complicated," He said with a chuckle.

"Well... I needed some fresh air, and a dip in the hot springs near the territory. Only, I wasn’t alone." She paused as the male remained quiet, letting her continue. "Kouga was there."

"Kouga?! As in... your intended Kouga? Ayame... you two didn’t...?" He asked curiously. At his implication, Ayame’s face grew even redder, though Areku wasn’t sure if that was possible. Still, he nodded as he smiled at her, and urged her to continue and clarify what she was getting at.

"Yes Kouga, and no we didn’t... you know." She muttered with a blush. "Things have been rather complicated since you’ve been gone," Ayame said as she glanced over her shoulder at the familiar tree. Areku looked up, following his princess’s gaze.

"Ayame?"

"This place brings back a lot of painful memories. That’s all,” She said with a timid smile as she turned back to face the wolf that was like a brother to her.

"What about it? What is this place? How do you know it?" Areku asked curiously, glancing back at the tree that had first drawn her attention.

"This was where he rescued me," Ayame began, as Areku tore his gaze from the tree, to look into the pained expression deep in those jade colored irises. "This was where I was hiding from the Birds of Paradise that day. There were only two of them, but I was still a young pup. Had Kouga not come to my rescue when he did... I would have died."

"I see... I guess it would be painful for you to be here, especially now. Do you want to leave?" Areku suggested. Ayame smiled as she shook her head.

"No, I’ll be alright. It’s just a tree, nothing more," Ayame lied. Areku frowned at her, but didn’t push the matter, instead waiting for her to continue in her story.

"So, what happened with Kouga at the hot springs?" Areku clarified as Ayame blushed again, and this time Areku smirked at her knowingly. She could try and fight it, hide it, lie to herself, but Ayame was still head over heels in love with Kouga. Now, if only that stubborn bastard would come to his senses, he’d see what a wonderful mate he could have in Ayame.

"I didn’t realize he was there. Nothing happened... but we were intimate... in a way," She admitted, quickly continuing as she cut off Areku’s question, blushing at his wide eyed expression. "It was just a hug, I was saying my goodbye to him, that’s all. But since we were both in the hot springs, we were..."

"Naked," Areku stated for her. The red head blushed and nodded, and Areku chuckled in amusement. "I can see the dilemma. Please, Ayame, continue."

"Well, that was kind of how Kaito found us."

"Well, shit," Areku said, rolling his eyes. "I imagine that didn’t go over very well, did it?"

"No, not exactly," Ayame sighed softly. "They started arguing, and then they started fighting with each other. It got so bad I had to get in the middle to break them up. Had I not... I don’t know how bad things could have gotten. And I’m sure Kaito is pissed at Kouga and feels betrayed by me," She confessed painfully.

"Why would Kaito feel betrayed by you? That stubborn idiot is in love with you, Ayame. Has been for years," Areku said.

"I know... but I didn’t stand up for him. I didn’t stand up for either of them, not entirely. But I was hard on Kaito because he was... so... So... !" Ayame muttered in frustration.

"Acting like himself? You don’t have to explained yourself Ayame, I spent months with him, on business from your Grandfather. I know exactly how he can be," Areku said. "I can imagine things were only worse because he found the woman he loved in the arms of the man SHE loved."

Ayame blushed furiously, turning her back on the other male as her eyes found the tree once more. She didn’t know what more to say. She wanted to deny what Areku was saying, but she couldn’t lie to him as well as she could lie to herself. She let out a slow, troubled sigh as she slowly began walking towards the tree once more, her hand yet again finding itself on the soft moss covering, and the rough bark exterior.

"The truth is, Areku..." Ayame said softly, not turning around. "I don’t know what to do anymore. I am trying so hard to get over Kouga and move on with my life. The son of the Black Elder, Mikhail... asked for my permission to court me, and I accepted," She said.

"So I’ve heard... he’s a good man, Ayame, but is this really what you want?" Areku asked with genuine concern.

"I think so..."

"You’re not sure?" Areku asked softly. Hesitantly, Ayame shook her head.

"No, I’m not. I knew this would be hard, but I never expected it to be this hard," Ayame admitted as she turned around to face him finally. "I still love Kouga, as much as I keep trying not to. But Mikhail actually has feelings for me. He wants to make me happy, he wants to take me for his mate. And he’s a good ookami, I can feel it. But my head is telling me one thing, while my heart is telling me another. Not to mention the business with Kaito..." Ayame said exasperatedly.

"I understand how difficult it must be for you Princess." Areku said softly as she looked up at him. "You have many fine males competing for your affection, your heart... your love. I understand you only want to do what is right, for your pack as well as for your heart. But is duty really worth being miserable for the rest of your life, Ayame?"

"I’d rather try and be with someone who loves me, that I may one day grow to love... than spend my life lost in a fairy tale, living my life lonely and miserable because the male I do love, will never feel the same way." Ayame said softly, in a broken tone. "But I know it’s my duty to find a mate, and unite the tribes. In the very least, to produce strong heirs," Ayame said.

"Hmm..." Areku pondered to himself, catching Ayame off guard as he began to rub at his chin thoughtfully. "How long has Kouga been around exactly?"

"What?"

"Kouga? How long has he been around?" Areku asked again.

"Since the meeting I think, but that was days ago. He left briefly but came back soon after. Why?" Ayame asked curiously.

"What about the others? The other Elders and their heirs who were also in attendance at the meeting?" Areku asked. Ayame blinked, frowning lightly at her companion, though she couldn’t fully follow where he was going with this.

"They left soon after. All of them had departed by the following evening for their own territories for now. Why?" Ayame asked again, still puzzled.

"But not Kouga?" Areku asked again. Yet again, Ayame blinked and shook her head.

"No, not Kouga. Granted I went to visit Mikhail myself not long ago, and I think that was when he left during that time, but returned, and he’s still here now. He was here when I returned at least." Ayame muttered in confusion.

"Interesting don’t you think?" Areku said with a teasing smile. "The only one who's still sticking around, and the one who’s making the biggest ruckus over the whole thing."

"Huh?" Ayame blinked.

"I didn’t get much information from your Grandfather or the others, but it’s my understanding that Kouga’s made something of a nuisance of himself, ever since he got here. But... more so... ever since Mikhail showed interest in you, am I right?" Areku pressed. Ayame blushed, but hesitantly nodded at the silver-white haired male.

"I guess you could say that... he has been acting strangely lately..." She mused softly. "And he did get into a fight with Kaito. It was so unlike them... I didn’t know how to handle it, so I did the only thing I could. I made them both stop." Ayame stated.

"Interesting." Areku chuckled, as Ayame stared at him blankly. "I wonder if Kouga even realizes what he’s doing."

"What do you mean?" Ayame asked.

"Ayame... don’t you see it?" Areku asked, as she shook her head in confusion. "Kouga’s acting possessive and jealous of you. Whenever anyone else shows interest in you, he acts out in some way, doesn’t he? It’s simple territory, I hate to say it. You know I don’t think of you as territory, but you have to think about it from a different point of view. He might not be willing to admit it, hell he might not even realize he’s doing it... but Mikhail... and Kaito... I’m sure if I expressed interest in you too, Kouga would react much in the same way,” Areku said with a smirk.

"That doesn’t make any sense." Ayame said, shaking her head adamantly. "He revoked his promise, he took it back. Why would he do such a thing if he felt differently... about me?" Ayame said softly.

"No, I think he just... I don’t know what to think, honestly. But whatever you’re suggesting, I don’t think it’s that. It can't be."

"I think you’re both too stubborn to see what’s right in front of you," Areku stated matter of factly as Ayame stared at him in surprise. "You both care about each other, and if Kouga’s been acting the way you say he’s been acting, I’m sure of it. Kouga might not even be aware of the interest he has in you, but if he’s getting jealous over other males, and possessive of you... whether that stubborn brown wants to admit it or not, he cares about you. He might even love you."

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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