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 8- The Kiss


Mikhail smiled back and gently reached for her hand and rubbed her knuckles gently with his thumb.

"You deserve nothing short but of the best, Ayame." His words were sweet and she could tell how sincere they were. It brought a smile to her lips and a blush to her cheeks.

"Mikhail, maybe we should head to your territory? We can't very well stay here in the middle of the forest all day and night," Ayame said with a friendly smile. Lyra rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Besides... I think Prince Charming here needs more supervision," Lyra added. A soft chuckle escaped Mikhail's lips. So he still needed to work on having her friend like him as well. He knew it would be easier to gain Ayame's affections, if he had her friend's approval. Ultimately, it was a choice for Ayame to make he knew.

"You're right, how rude of me to keep you both out," he replied. "Please, follow me," he said, still gently holding Ayame's hand, guiding her and the others out of the forest and back to their dens. Thankfully, his little sister wouldn't be running about, he mused with an inward smile. The gods knew he loved his sister, but she could be difficult at times. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure how she would get along with Ayame.

Ayame let herself be led by Mikhail's guidance, her eyes taking in the beauty of the black territory around her. It was very rare, and sometimes dangerous for an ookami to be caught inside a different pack's territory. But since there was a chance that there would be a massive treaty between the alphas, the tension should decrease. At least that's what everyone hoped. Respect was a very strong word to a wolf demon, and clearly it wasn't always practiced. But Ayame was certain things could be worked out with a lot of patience and time.

"Mikhail, how long will Lyra and I be your guests anyhow? And if it's for more than a day or so, where will we be residing?" Ayame asked, looking at the handsome black male. He thought for a moment, and looked at her, stopping momentarily, both his hands clasping around hers gently as he gazed at her.

"Ayame, I don't want you and Lyra to feel like a burden here. You two can stay as long as you like. As for your quarters, I shall show you to them now, if you would like," he answered her. Ayame blushed even brighter as she smiled at him, her eyes riveted to his own. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt herself start to get a little dizzy. What was this strange feeling. She felt... weak?

She shook it off, pushing the thought as far from her mind as she could.

"Mikhail as long as you'll have us, we'd love to stay," Ayame began before Lyra snorted behind her, muttering a sarcastic 'yea right lover boy' under her breath. Ayame shot the blonde a glare, which immediately shut her up, even as the irritated look still remained in her eyes, locked on Mikhail. Ayame herself turned back to him with an apologetic smile.

"Please... do show us where we'll be staying."

Mikhail's smile grew slightly, seeing her flushed cheeks, and felt the rush of macho-ness that wanted to surge through at his body, knowing he had caused it, but he shoved it aside. As flattering as it was to make her be shy about him, he still wanted to be the perfect gentleman. He smiled, hearing her response, opening his mouth to comment, when Lyra spoke. Having completely forgotten about the blonde that was traveling with Ayame, he blinked in shock and turned to see her, flashing Ayame a small smile and nodded.

"Yes, of course. This way," he replied. He carefully went inside the main cave, walking down a well-lit hall, stopping before a couple of doors. Where as Kouga's tribe had lived near water and the habitat reflected it and Ayame's lived in the mountains, Mikhail's lived in the forest. The doors were made of wood, but seemed to almost have a green tint to them.

"The room to the left," he beginning, gesturing to the said door, "shall be Lyra's room. Yours is the one to the right," he finished, gesturing to the other door. Ayame couldn't help herself as she stepped closer to the door, pressing her palm against the cool wooded surface. Her eyes appreciatively took in the fine workmanship, running her hand slowly over its smooth surface.

"This... is absolutely beautiful Mikhail. It truly is," Ayame said. "Your pack has much to be grateful for... such luscious surroundings, and such a great beauty in the nature itself. All we see up north is snow," Ayame said with a laugh.

Mikhail couldn't help but smile in pride. After all, it wasn't very often a wolf's tribe would be complimented by another wolf from another tribe. "Thank you," he replied, bowing his head in respect. "But you have to admit snow can be a beautiful sight," He bit back a laugh as he smiled, shaking his head slightly.

"One we don't get to see too often either." Ayame chuckled to herself as Lyra rolled her eyes.

"It's white. It's cold. End of story." Lyra said, walking over to her room, opening the door slowly before peering cautiously inside. "Hmm, not bad... I suppose," Lyra said before turning around and bowing her head in respect at Ayame and reluctantly at Mikhail.

"I'll bid you farewell for now. I don't know about Ayame, but it was a long journey. I'd like some rest," Lyra said as Ayame nodded, smiling at her best friend.

"Alright. Sleep well my friend," With a nod Lyra shut the door and disappeared inside, leaving Ayame alone with Mikhail in the hallway. Ayame blushed as she looked back at him. "Sorry about her, she just... is doing her job. But snow is beautiful, it really is. I love watching it fall for the first time of the season."

Mikhail inwardly winced at Lyra's cold response. Would it be so hard for her to say thank you just once? He shove the thought out of his head. There wasn't anything he could do to change his mind. At least Ayame seemed to like it here, and that was all that mattered. Granted, he would like to have the approval of the white tribe, but the one person whom he was most concerned with was the White Princess standing next to him. He smiled gently at her.

"It's alright," he replied. "It's going to take awhile I imagine for everyone to get along. It must be nice to see snow every year. I myself, have only seen it twice in my life."

Ayame smiled as she nodded, folding her arms shyly behind her back. "So... I guess Lyra has a good idea. I could use some rest too. I suppose we could talk more later? Maybe go for a walk, just the two of us? I mean... to get to know each other better," Ayame blurted quickly, her face a bright scarlet color. Mikhail smiled and nodded.

"Of course, I would like that..." he said gently. Then, he mentally took a deep breath of courage, leaned forward and kissed her lightly, briefly on the lips. "Sleep well, Princess..." he said gently with a loving smile.

"If you need anything, just ask," With that said, he slowly turned and began to walk down the hall.

Ayame's eyes were still wide and full of the same shock and disbelief as she watched Mikhail walk down the hall and disappear around a corner and out of sight. She brought her fingers to her lips, still in a state of stunned awe as her mind reeled over what had just taken place.

Mikhail... had kissed her.

It wasn't anything he forced upon her, it had been a short, chaste kiss, and it had sent her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. She could feel the heat from the blush, very vividly on her face. Wordlessly, she turned around, opened the door to her room and slipped inside, only to sink against the door once it was closed. Her mind was racing furiously. All she could think about was the feel of Mikhail’s lips shyly pressed against her own, for only the merest second.

But it was enough.

She hardly noticed the way her eyes began to water, blinking in confusion as she lifted her hand to wipe a tear away. Why was she crying? She wasn't offended by Mikhail's kiss, and yet... some part of her heart was breaking.

Kouga had never showed even that much tenderness with her feelings.

The redhead bit her lip, forcing back the tears. She wouldn't think about him, not now, and maybe not ever. He made her choice. She intended to move on and make a choice of her own eventually. Tiredly she dragged herself over to the elegant bedding, and wasted no time settling in and falling asleep, her thoughts still focused on Mikhail and his kiss... and as much as she tried to fight it... her thoughts of Kouga that stubbornly invaded her mind.


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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