Once Upon a Time...

Ayame felt something solid hit her body as she ran, still crying she looked up and saw Shinki. Reminded that Kouga cheated on her with Shinki's girlfriend she wraped her arms around Shinki and cried. "K-Kouga cheated on me with R-Ranka....I saw them!"

Kouga finally caught up to Ayame, "Wait Ayame!" As he ran out he saw Shinki. He inwardly cursed, "Shit." It was getting messier by the minute. He was starting to regret sleeping with Ranka.

Shinki felt his blood run cold as he saw Kouga and Ranka run up and freeze when they saw him. He stared at Ranka in shock, eyes running over the tell-tale lovebites along her neck and the ruffle in her normally pristine hair. He saw the mused clothes and the swollen lips and set his mouth in a thin, straight line as he stared right at her, eyes boring into her in quiet anger.

"Shinki?" she asked, wide-eyed, her eyebrows shooting straight up.

He ignored her and looked at Kouga with the same expression. "..." He looked down at Ayame. "Let's go somewhere before I do something I'll probably regret in hindsight."

"W-wait!"

Ayame nodded in agreement still crying, she looked back and gave Kouga a heartbroken look, "......."

Kouga's heart started to race as the reality of what he did stared him in the face. He didn't want to lose Ayame, she was supposed to be his future mate. She was supposed to help him expand their wolf clans. She was his ticket to reclaiming his family's former glory "Ayame I'm sorry, please give me a chance to explain. I love you."

Ayame gave him an angry look, "Yeah right, Kouga." She looked to Shinki, "Let's go please."

With one last piercing stare at Ranka, Shinki walked off with Ayame, holding her shoulders with an arm and digging into his pocket for something for her to wipe her tears away with.

Ranka fell to the floor, a shocked expression on her face.

Ayame silently cried as she walked away wih Shinki, "I feel so betrayed...I can only imagine what you're feeling..."

----

Kouga growled and punched a nearby tree angrily, "Fuck!"

He sighed and admitted, "It took about every fiber of self-control that I have to not punch Kouga in his fucking face, but I think it would've made things worse." He stopped and stood in front of her, tilting her face up and wiping her tears away with his sleeve after he deterimined he didn't have anything. "In Ranka... I'm... Disappointed," he answered with a genuinely heart-broken look before sighing and wiping at his eyes. "No need for those," he told himself in a mutter.

Ayame moved his hands and wiped his tears for him, "They're idiots...idiots who deserve each other for hurting the ones they claimed to love." She sniffled.

A knot formed in his throat. "Y-yeah."

---

Sesshoumaru sighed and called Kikyou outside, leaning against the car and looking down at his shoes.

Seeing Shinki cry made her want to cry even more, "Don't worry, you're a good guy. You'll find a girl who will treat you right."

-----

Kikyou stepped outside of her house and gracefully descended upon her date. Her hair was up in an elegant updo, she wore very little make-up that brought out her grey eyes, andn her dress was not too casual, but not too much. Just perfectly classy for a dinner date.

He humorlessly laughed, making a hallow sound compared to his usual laugh. "I don't even want to think about other girls right now." He looked down. "I just feel so stupid... But I guess it's the same for you."

---

He nervously looked away and held the door open. "You look..." He coughed. "Presentable."

Her lip trembled, "We planned this whole future together...it's gone now...ruined. He's ruined me, I love him so much. Even now..." She wiped her tears, "I wish I didn't because then it wouldn't hurt so much and I wouldn't feel so stupid."

------

Kikyou looked at him cooly, "You look handsome as always."

Shinki simply reached and hugged her tightly, holding her to him. He trembled just the slightest bit, his arms shaking in grief. "I'm sorry he did that to you," he choked out, fighting to keep his voice even. "I'm sorry she had to be involved in that way." He buried his face into her shoulder. "It sucks..." he breathed. "You spend all this time and all this effort piling trust into someone and thinking about everything you could be and they don't even think twice about throwing it all away."

---

He nodded and closed the door before getting into the other side.

Ayame held onto him desperately as if he would leave her at any time, "I'm so sorry Shinki. I'm sorry this had to happen like this."

----

Kikyou idly wondered where it was that they were going to eat. She hoped he had good taste in fod. Kikyou was a very particular picky eater. It was either a hit or miss with her.

He simply held her for a while before he pulled away and wiped his face. "We... We should get moving. I don't think I can handle running into either of them right now and we're not far from where you found me."

---

Sesshoumaru drove silently.

"Oh...alright." Ayame replied with a sigh. "You're right, we should go."

----

Kikyou noted that he didn't bother trying to talk to her, she was beginning to wonder if this date was even his idea at all.

"Do you know of any place nearby where we can go...?" he asked.

---

He cleared his throat. "We are... here."

"I actually live over that way." Ayame pointed, "It's why I walked over here instead of driving. Unless you'd like to go somewhere else."

----

The restaurant they arrived to was one Kikyou actually liked, "Nice choice." She commented.

"No.. That's fine." He sighed and got some hair off of her face that stuck on with the tears. "I definitely can't go home myself right now."

---

He got out and let her out through the other door. "I hoped it was to your liking..."

Ayame nodded, "Alright, I'll lead the way." She led him back to her house.

----

Kikyou smiled, she could literally feel his nervousness. She felt she'd make it a little easier on him by doing something she rarely did. And so she talked, "This is actually my favorite restaurant. My father takes my sister and I here on our birthdays and other special occasions. It's a really lovely place."

He held her hand, not wanting to be alone at that moment.

---

He blinked in surprise. "It's... My favorite too."

Ayame gripped onto his hand tightly, she didn't want him to leave her like Kouga had.

-----

Kikyou smiled one of her rare smiles, genuinely impressed, "You seem to be a man with good taste Sesshoumaru. That certainly gained you a few points."

Shinki smiled wearily at her and held it a little tighter in reassurance.

---

"Thank you," he said as he opened the door for her and led her inside.

Ayame pulled out her key and unlocked her door, pushing it open she lead him into her house. "Here it is.Don't worry about making any noise. My sister is staying at a friend's house for the weekend and my grandfather isn't home either." She said as she took off her shoes.

----

Kikyou followed him inside.

"You're here alone?" he asked with a frown.

---

He gave his information to the host and followed as they were lead to their table.

"Yes...my grandfather is in the hospital. He's extremely sick and my sister is almost never here. She tries to escape from the fact that our grandfather is dying..." Ayame replied sadly. "I'm normally the only one here."

---

Kikyou followed Sesshoumaru and the host to their table.