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 4- The Discovery


Ephiny quickly hurried back to her den. She had completely forgotten about dinner! She knew Takkun wouldn’t yell or beat her or anything like that, but it was the principle of the thing. She had said that *she* would make supper, so *she* was going to. Finally, she made it, and she opened the door, shutting it behind her as she came to the living room area. "I’m sorry I’m late," she apologized.

"I wanted to check up on Ayame."

Takkun smiled as he looked up at his mate. "Ephiny-chan, it’s not a problem. Although, you’re going to have to make dinner for three..." he replied.

"What?" she asked, looking up in surprise,until she saw the person sitting across the small table from Takkun. The dark haired male smiled at her, and she almost gasped in shock, mentally cursing herself for not have noting his scent earlier.

"Kouga-sama!" she exclaimed with a quick bow. "This... This is a surprise!"

"Well, since I was in the area, I decided I’d check up on this old flea bag," Kouga teased, smirking at both her and his old friend, who shook his head, chuckling. Then, Kouga’s face went softer a little. "If it’s too much trouble, I won’t eat. I’m not that hungry anyways."

The she-wolf shook her head. "No, of course not. You’ll just have to wait longer for me to cook, I’m afraid," she assured him. Takkun burst out laughing.

"Ephiny, I’ll wait a whole year if it means I get to eat your cooking!" he exclaimed, and she faintly smiled before bowing and going off to the kitchen. As soon as she had gone from sight, he turned back to his old friend. "So, Kouga, what did you want to talk about?" he asked in a low curious whisper.

"Do you know the black tribe?" Kouga asked, catching Takkun by surprise.

"Yeah, I'm familiar." Takkun said, raising an eyebrow.

"The Elder’s son?" Kouga asked.

"I think I've seen him once... Yes! It was today, in fact! For the meeting," Takkun said with a frown. "But it's the first time I've met him. Why, Kouga?"

"Well, he... he asked for Ayame’s hand," Kouga stated evenly. Takkun’s eyes bulged almost out of his head from the shock.

"What?!" Takkun declared, forgetting to keep his voice low. At that moment, Ephiny came out, holding a tray with a bottle of sake and three saucers.

"I thought I would bring some sake out for you two. The stew will be ready in a couple of minutes," she replied calmly and bent down to place the sake and the saucers down. She felt her mate’s eyes on her, and she turned to look at him confused. "Takkun, is there anything wrong?"

Her mate merely smiled at her slyly.

"Ephiny-chan... Kouga just told me that the black heir proposed to Ayame-sama," he answered. Ephiny’s eyes shot up in fake surprise.

"Oh?" she asked, trying to act as though she hadn’t heard the news only minutes earlier. The smile on her mate's face grew slightly, seeing her reaction.

"You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this... *would* you?" he inquired curiously. A quick, wide, almost nervous grin formed itself on her face as she held onto the tray and began to stand up.

"I know nothing of this," she answered innocently and began to walk back to the kitchen, when...

"Ephiny..." Takkun’s voice came. "Ephiny, come back here," he ordered, his voice deep but gentle. She froze in place, gnashing her teeth together as though she was caught in the act and hissed a curse under her breath. With all her will power, she turned and smiled sweetly at her husband and walked to him.

"Yes, Takkun? What is it?" she asked, coming to his side.

"Ephiny, I know you’re lying to me," he stated, still looking at her with the same sly, curious expression on his face. "Now, please tell me the truth."

"About what?" she stalled. However, Takkun kept his calm. If she wanted to play that way, he would let her... for now. Kouga decided if anyone could get something out of Ephiny, it was Takkun, and he would let Takkun do the work. Besides, it was amusing to watch the two of them.

"Ephiny, what do you know about the black heir proposing to Ayame?"

Ephiny stood there, almost literally frozen. Now her loyalties were being tested. She was deathly loyal to both the young white princess and her beloved mate. She couldn’t deny them or lie to either. So this was quite an impossible situation for her, one that she had prayed for so long she would never be caught in. Silently, she closed her eyes and mentally took a deep breath. Finally, she opened her azure eyes and looked at her mate.

"Mikhail-sama did *not* out right propose to Ayame-sama, but merely had talked with her today after the meeting," she answered.

"What did they talk about?" Kouga finally spoke up. Ephiny looked at him shock, finding herself even more trapped.

"I..."

"It’s okay, Ephiny-chan. Go ahead, tell us," Takkun encouraged her. The white she-wolf looked down, clutching the tray close to her.

"I got to go check on the stew," she excused herself softly and left for the kitchen. Kouga and Takkun looked at each confused, before the white male got up to follow his mate. The brown prince remained in his spot, knowing that this was between the two of them.

"Ephiny, what’s wrong?" Takkun asked, coming up behind her in the kitchen. "All I did was ask—" He stopped when Ephiny turned to look at him, her face racked with pain.

"Ephiny?"

"Takkun... Takkun, you know my love and loyalty to you is undying," she began, looking at him. Her pallid blue eyes almost shimmering with tears, pleading with him to understand.

"You are my husband, my mate, my friend..." She paused and looked down. "There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for you." The blond she-wolf stopped again and took a deep breath, obviously gathering her thoughts together.

"But Ayame-sama is my leader, and more she's my dearest friend..." Her eyes slowly went back to her mate as she lifted her head up. "She trusts me. I’m her confidante! I can’t tell her secrets..." Her voice trailed off as she looked down again.

"Even for you... Please, don’t make me have to choose between the two of you ever again," Ephiny said painfully. Takkun gently lifted her chin so her eyes would meet his, and he silently nodded. He knew that deep down Ephiny loved the white princess as a daughter, even though they were only friends.

"Ephiny... Ephiny, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to..." he apologized as her eyes softened slightly.

"I know you didn’t," They stared into each others' eyes, gray locked onto blue, and he gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand as she faintly smirked in response. Suddenly, she snapped out of her trance and stepped back. "I have to check on the stew," she explained. He smiled, nodded his head, and left to join Kouga again.

A couple of minutes later, Ephiny came back with a tray with three bowls filled with the stew. She sat down and handed everyone their bowls, and they began to eat and talk, the atmosphere much more calm and relaxed than it had been earlier. However, it wasn't long before the topic trailed back to the white princess, and Kouga scowled deeply.

"Mikhail had *no* right to do that..." he growled absentmindedly. Ephiny looked over at him, her eyes shot up in shock, yet she said nothing and kept silently eating. Takkun cocked an eyebrow at his friend, confused.

"And why do you say that, Kouga?" the white male asked.

"She was mine," he answered simply as if he was answering "blue" to the question what color is the sky.

"Did you not give her up? I mean, it’s not like you own her, like I own Ephiny," Takkun countered, smirking, not noticing how his mate was slightly glaring at him at the corner of her eye. Kouga growled in response, obviously displeased with his friend’s comment, but Takkun merely laughed. Ephiny cleared her throat to get their attention, and they looked at her puzzled.

"If I may be allowed to speak..." she began in a formal tone.

"Go ahead," Takkun said, confused on why she was asking for permission to talk. She stared coldly at them.

"Ayame-sama, nor any female, *belongs* to any man. And the sooner you both, as well as the rest of the men, realize that, the better off we’ll all be," she finished sternly. "Now, if you’ll excuse me."

And before either male could utter a single word, she got up, took her bowl, and left.

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AN: I apologize for it being short, I couldn't fit enough for this chapter to make it a good hefty length. But it was still good. This entire chapter was written by B-chan.

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