Extra 19: Change the World (52)

"That is not my intention" - Ayame said with a frown.

"That may be the case, but that doesn't matter to us, we, the members of the northern mountain wolf clan, don't want to follow someone from another clan, we have a pride we want to keep" - said the young Yokai while looking at Ayame with annoyance - "Now if you excuse me, I have some work to do".

Ayame tried to stop the boy, but the words got caught in her throat - ". . ."

"Ayame-sama?" - A clan girl said as she looked at the granddaughter of their current leader.

"Oh, it's you, Rika" - Ayame said as she sighed regretfully.

"Is something wrong, Ayame-sama?" - Rika asked as she frowned.

"Yes, there's something I want to ask you, and I hope you'll be honest with me" - said Ayame seriously.

"I understand, you can ask whatever you want" - nodded Rika as she raised an eyebrow.

"I want you to tell me what you think about Koga" - said Ayame seriously.

"Koga?" - Rika repeated as she started to think - "He was a very handsome wolf."

"Only that?" - Ayame asked in surprise - "And what do you think about the fact that he would be the leader of our clan when he married me?"

"I hate it" - Rika replied with a frown - "Why should a stranger be our leader, even if he has the potential to unite all the clans that are scattered around the region?"

"Why do you hate the idea?" - Ayame asked with annoyance.

"That doesn't matter, after all, Koga is no longer alive" - Rika replied, ignoring the great sage's granddaughter's growing irritation - "Please, don't expect me to feel empathy for that man, more so when he was about to end the tradition that has been present since the creation of our clan."

"Is it that important that I am the leader?" - Ayame asked with a frown.

"It's more important than you think, Ayame-sama" - said Rika seriously - "Your grandfather sacrificed a lot to keep us safe, your father did the same and your mother supported him, instead, you're not doing anything to protect us, you're just putting us on a silver platter for another wolf to control us."

Ayame was silent while biting her lip - "But our son would be the new leader of the clan, and he would be from my family's bloodline for obvious reasons."

Rika just smiled without answering, which annoyed Ayame - "Did I say something funny?"

"Nothing" - Rika replied before retreating.

Ayame was silent for a few seconds before biting her lip and walking around the city, asking about her opinions on Koga, only to hear the same thing over and over again.

"Why!" - Ayame exclaimed angrily as she bit her lip in helplessness because no matter how hard she tried to defend Koga, her clanmates were still adamant about the idea of him as clan leader.

"I think you get the point," a serene voice said.

"Grandfather?" - Ayame asked as she looked at the source of the voice, only to see the old wolf looking at her with a complicated expression - "What are you doing here?"

"I came because I heard you were bothering our clan members" - replied the old sage as he shook his head.

"Bothering?! I was trying to ask for an opinion" - replied Ayame with a frown.

The old sage let out a sigh before he shook his head as he watched his granddaughter stomp off

* * * * *

"I see things didn't go the way you thought they would" - Kurama said as he watched Ayame walk back into his home - "What was it that left you so upset?"

"Why do you ask when I'm sure you know why?" - Ayame asked neutrally.

"Don't try to take your anger out on me, because the situation won't be favorable for you" - Kurama said neutrally - "That's why I recommend you to think better before you speak."

Ayame blushed before letting out a sigh - "I'm sorry, it's just that I don't know what to do or say, I mean, I knew that my clan wasn't happy with the idea of Koga taking control of the clan."

"From their perspective, I can understand it" - Kurama said as he gave the girl a blank look - "Think about it, would you like an unknown person to take control of your life for the sole reason that he's in a relationship with your leader?"

"Isn't that normal?" - Ayame asked as she cocked her head to the side - "Subordinates have to follow the alpha of the pack."

"And who decides who the alpha is?" - Kurama asked with disdain - "The alpha, or the subordinates?"

Ayame's expression froze when she heard this - "Oh..."

"You can't force your people to follow a leader they don't want, just because of a simple whim of yours" - said Kurama while giving her a neutral look - "That's not the attitude of a good leader, and if you kept pushing your people like that, I'm sure that the moment that happened, they would leave you without a second thought."

Ayame was silent as she bit her lip - "Are you saying that I shouldn't follow my heart?"

"In the least, you can do whatever you wish, but don't expect others to follow your wishes to the letter, just because they have respect for your ancestors" - replied Kurama as he let out a small laugh - "I mean, you haven't given them reasons for them to accept your decision, and you've done your best to tell them that you don't give a shit about their wishes."

"N-No, I don't feel that way" - Ayame said in panic.

"Really? Because that's what it looks like" - replied Kurama as he snorted in disdain - "I just see a girl who thinks about what she wants and ignores the wishes of her people, which from my point of view is a shitty leader's attitude."

Ayame was silent before letting out a sigh - "I thought my wishes aligned with the revival of our clan, after all, Koga is the most powerful and talented wolf Yokai seen in recent years."

Kurama didn't say anything about it, he just closed his eyes in boredom.

Ayame noticed the disinterest in the Kitsune Daiyokai's attitude, so she quickly let out a sigh before silently retreating.

Kurama's eyes opened before he sighed because if he was honest with himself, Ayame was acting similar to his daughter, even though she didn't seem to want to see the damage her decisions were doing around her - "Am I projecting my frustration onto this girl?"

The Kitsune Daiyokai was silent before frowning as he felt the memories of the clone that had been protecting his daughter come back to him, showing him in the process that his daughter had been reunited with the dog boy - "And the good news continues, though I suppose this was bound to happen sooner or later. That doesn't change that this situation is a masterful pain in the ass."

Kurama was silent as he pondered whether this was a good time to intervene, though he quickly shook his head and decided to see how it all played out.

* * * * *

Izumi slowly raised her head and noticed how Sango was sleeping with a small smile. She slowly got out of her bed and walked out the window as quietly as possible, after all, she didn't want her roommate to wake up.

Leaving the room, Izumi quickly ran in the direction where she felt Inuyasha's presence, though she stopped halfway when she felt another familiar presence - "Are you going to stop me?"

"Why should I?" - Yura asked as she stepped out from the shadows.

"You're basically my father's slave, so I was sure you'd go out of your way to try and stop me" - Izumi replied with a frown.

"I repeat, why should I try to stop you when Kurama-sama hasn't made his move?" - Yura asked while cocking her head to the side.

"Tousan?" - Izumi repeated in surprise - "He's here?"

"You seriously think he's not watching over you from the shadows?" - Yura asked with a frown - "I feel like you're underestimating too much the love he feels for you."

Izumi was silent because she didn't think about this during her trip - "Oh... that makes sense, although it doesn't explain why he hasn't done anything now that we're meeting again."

"I don't know what's going through Kurama-sama's mind, but if he hasn't done anything so far, I guess he approves of you two talking" - Yura said as she shrugged her shoulders before turning around.

"Wait! I want to ask you a question" - Izumi said seriously as she noticed how the hair demon gave her a quick glance - "Have you ever been in love?"

"No" - Yura answered neutrally - "As was my life, I was lucky not to be constantly abused because of my looks..."