Softened (Inuyasha)

Chapter One: Sweetheart

Tsukina's POV

I sat in my cave, picking the bones of my last hunt clean. I threw the bones to the side, letting out a low growl of content. "If you are still hungry, you can have my food." my most loyal member of the pack, Kuroi, said. "I am fine, Kur, you should keep up your strength. Hunting is not easy when you're weak, neither is fighting." I said. "You must keep up your strength, who knows if another challenger awaits you tomorrow." Kuroi said. "I'm not worried, nobody can match me. With or without weapons, I am stronger than any of you." I said. "You're right, nobody who has ever stepped in your way has lived to tell the tale." my second most loyal member, Daiya, said. She had one blue eye. She was beautiful in her human form. We all are. We have fair skin, black hair to contrast, and red eyes that pop. We look phenomenal. I also have wolf ears and a tail, which are very mesmerizing. I laid down, curled up snug in my corner of the cave. Kuroi and Daiya laid near me, they would protect me until the day they died. I shut my eyes, falling asleep soon after. I woke up early in the morning, and I shifted into my human form. I was naked. We all have seen each other naked, we just avoid looking at what you use to make pups. I grabbed my clothes and some soap before making my way to the nearby pond. I stepped in, and then went under. I came back up after a peaceful minute of soaking myself, and I saw Kuroi. "Tsukina, you cannot go alone." Kuroi said. "You know that I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, and if any of you hear my howl, you know where I am. You'd be at my rescue in the blink of an eye. I don't even need to be rescued, but all of you are so loyal." I said. "May I come down?" Kuroi asked. "Of course." I said. Kuroi jumped down, I noticed he had his clothes strapped to his back. He changed into his human form, and he put on his clothes. His extremely long hair went all the way down to his lower back, and it was as soft as down feathers. "Let me wash your hair." Kuroi said. "It is hard to reach sometimes." I said. I wet my hair again before coming back up, and then Kuroi began lathering the soap into my hair. He was very gentle, and didn't pull my hair. I then washed it all out once he was done, and I grabbed some more soap. I washed my body, and he looked away. "When was the last time you washed?" I asked. "It was two days ago, I am fine. I won't need to for another week." Kuroi said. "Very well, then. I'll dry off and dress myself, then I'll send off Kataru and some others to hunt. Nishio and Ouki just got back yesterday. They are too tired. Rakune needs her food, she is pregnant after all." I said. "Is she doing well? Seori hasn't said much." Kuroi asked. I got out of the pond, and I shrugged. "Rakune is close, another month and a half and that pup will be here." I said. "Damn. It's obviously not going to be the first pup I've ever seen, but that's my niece or nephew in there." Kuroi said. "She's definitely not having a litter. Her belly is too small. She's having one or two, three at the most." I said. "I was the first litter in twenty years. Six of us. Rakune was the oldest, and I'm the third." Kuroi said. "Your sister was always so feisty. I hope her pup is the same." I said. "It'll be like her. Her personality is the same as my mother's." Kuroi said. I nodded, and I sat in the sun. After a while, I had dried off. I put on my clothes, and I climbed up the cliff that separated the pond from the regular ground. I went back to the cave, and I noticed Daiya was still sleeping. She's normally awake, that's strange. "Let her sleep." Rakune said. "Mama, what are you doing up?" I asked, smiling at her. "Oh, this little one was kicking and kicking, he wants out." Rakune said. "Are you hungry? I will get something for you." I said. "I am hungry, but I want some human food. What are those things that are soft and sweet? They are made with dough and sugar." Rakune said. "Dango. I've had that before. I'll go to the nearest tea house and get some." I said, rubbing her belly. "My brother will watch over things." Rakune said. "I know. If I were to die without an heir or with an heir that's too young, he'd be the new leader." I said. "I know." Rakune said, and I left. "Kuroi, watch over things." I said. I walked through the woods, trying to find the smell of a human. I picked up a human scent, and I followed it. I saw a monk filling up a canteen with water, and I slipped into the bed of his wagon. I hid under the blanket he covered his stock with, and I think his horse noticed my scent. I peeked out from under the blanket, and I pulled a pattered piece of cloth over my ears. I curled my tail up to where it looked like I had a large backside. I slipped out while he was distracted, and I looked around until I found a place. I had taken some of the monk's money, and I ordered some dango. I paid, and thanked the woman. I noticed a man, something was peculiar about him. He had red eyes, and the part of his eye that was supposed to be white was slightly tinted yellow. He looked at me, and I saw a smile curl up on his lips. I glared at him, and he walked past me. "Run home, little dog." he whispered, and I felt a shiver go down my spine. I looked back at him, and he kept walking. I began to go home. I made it home quickly, and I came into the cave. More of the pack was awake, and I gave Rakune her dango, and she ate them up. "Leader! Leader!" I heard the voice of the beginner hunter, Shiki. "Yes, Shiki?" I asked. "I caught a baby boar! Nishio took me to practice hunting and he went to go get a drink, and it came right in front of me! I killed it!" Shiki said, a big smile on his face. In human years, he looked around fourteen or fifteen. He was only one hundred and forty years old. One time, I saved him from a dragon demon. He was very young then. I'm fifty six years older than him. Back when I saved him, he looked around eight, and I looked thirteen. I became the leader of the pack around that time because my parents were killed. Shiki was a sweet kid, he had so much energy in him. "Bring that to your mother, she's going to be very proud of you." I said, patting his head full of black hair. He ran off, smiling. "Kataru, gather some others. The next hunt will start tomorrow, be careful. Take Shiki with you, he needs the training." I said. "Of course, leader. We'll be back within a week." Kataru said, beginning to mingle with the crowd of wolves. "Tsukina, when are we leaving? We've been here for five years, the humans and demons are gaining knowledge about us. I say it's about time we move somewhere new." Kuroi said. "A little longer. Your sister won't make it, it's going to be too much." I said. "I know, but I have a terrible feeling." Kuroi said. "I'll think about it." I said. Days went by, and Rakune's date came closer. The hunters should be back soon. It had been over a week. I saw Kataru in his human form. Kataru, Tetsuaki, Tomoka, Uka, Umon, and Yanagi were all here, but where was Shiki? Kataru came up to me, and he lowered his head. "Where is Shiki?" I asked. "We went to bed, and he was with us, then we woke up, and he was gone. We spent two days looking for him. There was barely any trace of his scent. No tracks, no fur, no blood, nothing. Just gone. We had to keep going, the pack needs food." Kataru said. I felt my heart skip. This kid, was gone. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. His mother, oh my god his mother. "Shiki? Shiki?" Shiki's mother called out, and Kataru's eyes welled with tears. She saw Kataru, and she looked at him. "Where's Shiki?" she asked. "Yukimi, Shiki is gone." Kataru said. "Gone? What do you mean gone? He's dead?" Yukimi asked. "I don't know. He was there with us when we went to bed, he was excited because he had caught a duck, and he plucked a feather from it. We woke up, and he was gone. His scent was gone. There were no tracks. There was no blood. No fur. Nothing. He's gone, without so much as a hair left behind." Kataru said. Yukimi stayed silent, and then she screamed. A scream that I'd never heard before in my life. That was the sound of pain. She had just lost her only son, the only thing she lived for. She screamed again, and then sobbed loudly. Her only family left, which was her grandfather, sat next to her. His muzzle was gray, his eyes were tired. He was old. He sat next to her, cradling his broken granddaughter. I went into the woods, and I walked. I walked and walked. I heard a twig crack, and I pulled out my maces. I turned around, seeing Kuroi. "It's time to leave, Tsukina. Shiki is gone, that means there is danger lurking nearby. We have to go." Kuroi said. "You're right, Kuroi." I said. I walked back, and it was getting dark by the time I showed up. I howled a little, and everyone surrounded me. "My pack, I've decided that this place is no longer safe for us, and we must leave. Shiki is gone, that means that danger is not too far away. We must go. We will leave in two days. Sleep tonight, and begin packing up all of your belongings tomorrow." I said. "But what about Rakune? She's pregnant!" Seori shouted. "I know, and I know all the walking is going to be hard on her, but it has to be done. Eat, drink some water, and get to bed. Tomorrow, we can start packing up. I want us to leave when the sun is at it's peak. Goodnight." I said, walking through the crowd. I went into the cave, undressing. I sat on my bed, which was a pile of animal furs. Everyone had a pile they slept on. When Rakune became pregnant, everyone gave her extras so that she'd be comfortable. I laid down, sighing. Kuroi walked in, standing over me. "You're tired, you feel awful." Kuroi said. "Yeah, I do." I said. "Take this." Kuroi said, handing me a ribcage. It was fresh, not even a piece of meat was stripped off. It smelled so good. "I made it taste better. There's some honey, herbs, and I know you like the taste of snake blood, so I found one and let it drain on there. You haven't ate." Kuroi said. I smiled at him, and I took it from him. "Thank you, Kuroi." I said. I tore off a piece of meat, and I savored the wonderful taste. I kept eating, and the bones were picked clean. I was full, and I went into my wolf form. I curled up, and I shut my eyes as Daiya came in. For the next two days, we packed and packed. When it was the day to leave, I got up at dawn. I woke up anyone who wanted to bathe, and we all got into the pond. I went under the water, and I came up. In front of me was Kuroi, and he smiled sweetly. He picked me up, and put me on his shoulders, and I laughed. I was suddenly thrown back into the water, and I came up. "You're so done!" I laughed, jumping on Kuroi and making him go underwater. Suddenly, all of us were playing. Brothers splashing their sisters, mates wrestling, and mothers bouncing their pups. I laughed, and I swam around. All of us were playing together. I'd make the young ones laugh and smile, and the mothers would watch happily. After a while, we were all finished bathing. We all dried off, got dressed, and grabbed our things before we left. We walked and walked, and then we bedded down for the night and did it all over again. Five days of walking, we made it to a place. "This is far enough." I said. "There's three caves. All of them look big." Daiya said. "We all won't be in one together anymore." Rakune said. "It'll be better this way. If we spread out, then there will be room for the young ones to play when it rains too hard. I know we have all grown used to sleeping next to each other and being close, but this is a chance for us all to have our own space. Human families live in houses, separate from others that aren't their family. We cannot do that, but this is chance for us to get even a little bit of separation from each other. It's going to be okay, because we're all still here." I said. "So, we just pick one?" Kataru asked. "Yes, pick the one you want. I'm taking the middle one, I'll be in the back of it, like our old cave. These caves are like our old one, except a little smaller, we will be okay. We'll all fit." I said, going into my cave. I set down my furs, and I smiled happily. This place was nice and quiet, I guarantee we could make this home. Kuroi, Rakune, and Daiya all followed me into the cave, and then we all began spreading out. After a while, everyone was set up. I ate some food, and then I realized we needed water. "I'm going to look for a pond." I said. I began walking, and I walked for about ten minutes before finding a pond. It was clean, almost like perfection. I undressed and got in, it felt nice. I got out after a while, and I went back. "Did you find anything?" Kuroi asked. "A short walk from here, there is a pond. We might need to have a canteen that Rakune can drink from. She can't make that walk." I said. "I still have one from that time when everyone got sick. When the ones that weren't sick had to bring water to the sick." Kuroi said. "Good. We can get water for her when she runs out in the canteen." I said. "Of course." Kuroi said. Things were going to be good, I know it.