InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mating Season ❯ War and Peace ( Chapter 98 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Blanket Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.


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Chapter 98 - War and Peace




In late July of 1945, tension was growing thick between the youkai civilians who were getting tired of following Alliance orders, but fortunately, the ruling council remained undivided regarding decisions they knew simply had to be made, despite the protests. Nobody liked the fact that Sesshoumaru seemed to be the one running the show by himself, because it was his “seers” that had predicted the supposed danger yet to come, but fortunately, nobody was foolish enough to oppose Lord Sesshoumaru Taisho, despite their personal opinions on the matter.

The North was their greatest supporter, as Kouga and Ayame had each long ago been trusted with the truth behind Kagome’s origin, and therefore, took her word regarding things yet to come as fact, without question. Both the East and the South were left in the dark regarding the details of Kagome’s origin, but both lands had also joined in league with the West in exchange for the aid their realms had desperately needed at the time, and therefore, were not in a position to dispute whatever Sesshoumaru claimed to be true. While the residents of the West listened to the word of Lords Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha without hesitation, the civilian population of the other three compass lands were more reluctant, but eventually complied because of the unanimous decision expressed by their own resident Lords.

Thanks to the cooperation of the Spiritual Sect, several “safe havens” had been constructed across southern Honshu to escape the firebombing for those with human members of the family, who could not relocate to more remote locations quite as easily. Other youkai, those with fairly rapid means of energy-based transportation, were granted “special circumstances” permission to use their youki to escape, so long as they did so while remaining unseen by the humans. That ruling resulted in a lot of late night evacuations, while the humans slept, or at least, had their terrible night-vision horribly impaired by the surrounding darkness. A blur of something zipping by you, that you failed to see again as you squinted, would not cause a mass panic the following morning. As far as most youkai were concerned, humans were literally blind at night.

It wasn’t long before the northern realm of Japan’s main island became a gathering point for most youkai, getting instructions from the Alliance’s northern headquarters there, before heading further north across the sea into central Hokkaido, one of the safest places to be in regard to what was yet to come.

Not all youkai thought to relocate, however, as Totosai was perfectly happy to remain exactly where he was. Kagome knew that even in her time, that old cave of his was left unaltered, as he lived in the heart of an active volcanic region, where humans simply couldn’t survive. He was relatively safe from firebombing as he was nowhere near human civilization, but even if they did somehow manage to bomb the old coot, Inuyasha snickered that he’d probably just make use of the bombshells to create more weapons of his own. When you thought about it, it would have to be pretty hard to injure the old fire-youkai with non-purifying weaponry, considering the geographic conditions he thought of as home-sweet-home. They were happy to know that despite the situation at hand, it didn’t appear as though the aging sword-smith would be leaving their family any time soon.

As for Bokuseno, the youkai tree from whose wood their sword sheaths, and Kagome’s bow, were comprised, he too was under constant protection from members of the Spiritual Sect, who had been ordered to protect the ancient youkai with their lives, if need be. It was sometimes unfortunate being a tree, Bokuseno had said, because were he capable of movement, he would have no qualms with relocating to a more secure environment. But at least he had nothing to fear in regard to the progression of humans in general, were the land he lived upon ever desired for “modern” construction. That parcel had been legally purchased by the Taisho clan long ago.

While Kouga and Ayame did not flock to Hokkaido either, instead remaining in the northern region of Honshu, in Tohaku, they too were relatively safe from the firebombing that was happening across the more southern regions of Japan. Still, two higher members of the Spiritual Sect had also been sent to their residence for throughout the duration of the war, just in case. After all, the Ookami no Taisho must be protected. Hence why he and Ayame’s pack had eventually moved into the human-like castle they now resided in, having finally abandoned the mountain caves that had served as their homeland for generations. It was simply no longer safe to be a wolf in Japan, they relented, as they too adopted mild concealment charms which made them appear fully human.

Ayame’s pack-mates were actually decedent from demonic Ezo wolves, native to the island of Hokkaido, but they had migrated south in an attempt to avoid the slaughter that was befalling their people long ago, from enemy youkai, which was what lead to her grandfather’s eventual desire for a merger between their tribes, in the first place. A decision proved even wiser as humans became the next threat, and their mortal brethren faced mass hunting during the Meiji period, along side the remaining mortal Honshu wolves. It was a sad day for the North when, only forty years ago, it was “officially” declared that both species of Japanese wolves were “extinct”…though granted, mankind’s technology for determining such things was still rather primitive at the time. The ookami knew that there were undoubtedly still a few survivors scattered about here and there, but surely not many, and it would only be a matter of time before the last of the mortal wolves did die out.

At least most of their lower-level demonic wolves were still alive and healthy, existing in hiding among their humanoid comrades as pets; the concealments they wore in the presence of others making them appear like mortal Akita. It was a side-project of Noboru’s that the raven-haired kitsune-hanyou had taken to developing upon his desire to assist their pack, encouraged by his brother’s success with concealment charms for “people”. While he lacked the talent necessary to create charms with flawlessly human appearances, himself, manipulating the appearance of animals had proven remarkably easier. Kouga and Ayame’s wolves hadn’t much liked the uncomfortable feel of collars around their necks, in the beginning, but it was either that, or risk being hunted as the demons they were. It was unfortunate that most of the earliest wolf hunts were based on the fear humans had regarding the demonic nature of the beasts, resulting in the death of thousands of innocent, mortal wolves, while the youkai they’d intended to hunt remained alive and well. Fortunately for themselves, however, with the official standing on wolves being extinct across Japan, so too came the general belief that the youkai wolf was no more. It would serve no purpose for the human population to ever learn otherwise.

The two priests living among them knew the truth, however, and could easily sense their demonic auras through the concealment charms they wore. All members of the Sect knew that several ookami-youkai still existed in the north, and it was somewhat unsettling for the two men who had been taught their entire lives not to directly interact with youkai, to suddenly find themselves living among them so closely. What was almost even more unsettling, though, was the fact that the wolves didn’t seem unsettled by the spiritually powerful humans in their midst.

“I’ve known Kagome for centuries.” Kouga explained with a shrug, when the younger of the two priests had gathered the courage to ask him point blank why he seemed so calm, when in theory, they could turn on, and purify him, should they choose to. “If you two weren’t trust worthy, she never would have agreed to your being stationed here.” he expressed logically.

While Kouga knew that he had to protect the secret that Kagome was actually from the turn of the 21st century, he knew that the Sect knew that she and Inuyasha had shared in the blood-bond, and that they had been mated since the warring states era. Thus, the wolf-youkai hadn’t revealed anything that the men hadn’t already known, that Kagome was a centuries old miko, rivaling the power of the legendary Midoriko herself with the strength of her bonded aura. Should any rouge individual of the Sect take it upon themselves to do something against the treaty they’d just signed with the Alliance, they would experience rousing their own personal “sleeping dragon” with the wrath that would befall them shortly afterwards. Kouga understood that there was a feeling of unease for the two priests currently living in their guest quarters, though, as ookami had been viewed by many as some of the nastier youkai of Japan’s history, and he did his best to assure his two “visitors” that he meant them no more harm than they did him. Their entire purpose there was for protection via spiritual barrier, after all, should something war related suddenly threaten their dwelling. In the mean time, they were guests of the North, and per Kouga and Ayame’s orders, were to be treated as such.

The men were at least more comfortable than they otherwise would have been, Kouga was sure, since he and his pack had long ago also taken to wearing human clothing, having abandoned the furs they once wore when they abandoned their cave. With their standard kimono, and human concealment rosaries, it was only their auras that seemed out of place to the two priests, as visually, they were living in a modern-day castle, filled with modern-day people.

It was actually relatively easy for Kouga and his pack to assimilate themselves into everyday human lives. While Inuyasha had jibed in the past that, despite their human-like appearances, ookami were nothing but a bunch of wild animals, it was quite comical, Kouga snickered to himself, how many times said “wild animal” had kicked a certain somebody’s ass in Dai Hin Min. Inuyasha’s response had been to shift the blame to Kagome, who had taught the wolf the game in the first place, but she’d found a way to make it up to her mate when she’d offered to teach him how to play Strip Poker. Kouga had laughed outright at the hanyou’s eager reaction to his mate’s words, and had promptly asked Kagome if she’d teach that game to Ayame as well, as it sounded rather…interesting.

Boy was it ever… Kouga remembered with a rare blush. That had been nearly eighty-five years ago, when Kagome and “mutt-face” had first returned home from their travels. They’d visited for a time, as they’d understandably had some catching up to do, and while they were there, Kagome had busted out some Western style playing cards that they’d acquired in America. He still remembered the first game of Strip Poker that he and Ayame had played together, after Kagome and Inuyasha had left. He still remembered the prize he’d won for having lost that game.

Speaking of, it was at that moment, in another room, that Akiaka glared daggers at her eighty-four year old “baby” brother.

“Do you mind?” she finally snapped, “I’m on the phone!”

“I can see that!” Kenichi snapped back. “Other people would like to use the phone too, you know.”

She merely stuck her tongue out at him, and turned her back, continuing on with her phone conversation.

Women… the younger sibling thought, as he turned and stomped away.

“Sorry ‘bout that, annoying little brother, you know how that goes.” she said into the device.

For someone having been born and raised during the sengoku jidai, Akiaka had adapted remarkably well to the ever-changing world around her, technological advancements being no exception. The same could easily be said for the person she was currently speaking with, as well.

“Tell me about it.” Noboru replied, rolling his eyes as his own younger brother could be heard doing something foolish in the background, though he tried to pay him no mind.

The friendship between Noboru and Akiaka had developed gradually, over the course of a couple centuries. At first they only associated with each other as the children of dignitaries that they were, visiting only whenever a meeting of the Alliance was held, causing the other three lands to gather at the Western castle. They would visit and play for a few days, until Akiaka once again left with her parents to head home. It was logical that Akiaka would wish to flock to those close to her own age while visiting the West, as there were no other wolf cubs anywhere near her age back at the den.

While it was true that Akiaka hadn’t wanted to play with “an annoying little four year old boy” back when she’d been nine, those few years between them meant less and less as time itself continued to move forward. Suddenly, Akiaka found herself getting along with the various kitsune-hanyou that littered the castle grounds much better than the demi-inu that had been her first childhood friend. Suishoukaze was just too… “Sesshoumaru’s daughter”…in the personality department. Nah, the crazy, wild-child of the northern wolves much preferred the company of prankster kitsune, and as soon as she’d been old enough to do so, she’d started traveling to the West of her own accord, simply to visit with her friends. She had even volunteered to be one of Hikaru’s first test subjects, back when he’d still been perfecting the art of concealment for those of pure youkai blood. All he had to do for her was turn her fiery hair black, her ice-blue eyes brown, and remove the tips of her pointed ears, claws, and fangs.

That experiment had been what’d first lead Akiaka to pay more attention to Noboru, generally speaking, when she’d commented rather politely to Hikaru’s efforts how “beautiful” she thought she looked while concealed, and had afterwards somehow managed to catch Noboru’s near silent whisper of how he thought, in his humble opinion, that she looked perfect just the way she was…before.

Nobody had ever complimented her like that before.

She didn’t think he’d meant for her to hear it, either, as it was so quiet that his hanyou brother apparently hadn’t caught it, and she’d quickly figured that he might’ve been unaware of how much more acute her full-blooded youkai hearing actually was.

While there were several other people around her own age at the castle, Akiaka ended up spending the majority of her time with Noboru more and more often. She still remembered the first time she’d encountered his human night…

He’d been there to greet her upon her arrival that morning like always, but then had suddenly and rather mysteriously disappeared just before sunset. Nobody seemed to know where he went, or were at least reluctant to tell her, so she’d resorted to secretly sniffing him out, until she followed his trail all the way back to his bed chamber. She was only surprised for a moment to find a human’s scent, before she’d figured out what was going on, and had proceeded to have issues over him not having had the balls to at least tell her “bye” before he decided to go hide out until dawn. She’d stood right outside his door letting him know it, too, until he reluctantly slid the shoji open, and she ended up staying up with him all night talking about whatever, simply because he hadn’t felt comfortable falling asleep. She’d enjoyed teasing him in his overly emotional state, getting a blush out of him when she’d told him that he was actually pretty cute…for a human.

Their friendship had only continued to grow from that point on, but although it quickly became apparent to those around them that their feelings for one another went even deeper than friendship, neither Noboru nor Akiaka appeared ready to admit it to themselves. Still, it was clear that they cared deeply for one another, always trying to spend as much time in each other’s company as physically possible. It was getting harder and harder for Akiaka to return to the North at the end of her visits, even if they were ‘just friends’.

Observing their repeated melancholy behavior upon parting, Kagome often felt sorry for the kids, as it was obvious to her that they were simply meant to be together. It was like witnessing a real life retelling of Romeo and Juliet, sort of. She got the feeling that Akiaka was more worried over her ‘secret’ feelings than she really needed to be. After all, their packs were allies now, and Kagome couldn’t imagine Kouga ever standing in the way of his daughter’s happiness. There was also certainly nothing to worry about when it came to disapproval on their end. While Kagome smirked to herself that Inuyasha would probably grumble over letting one of his own sons court a daughter of Kouga’s, Shippo had no such reservations when it came to the ookami pack, wanting only for his son’s happiness. Even Rin couldn’t be happier that her son had finally found his true love. Kagome also knew that even Inuyasha wouldn’t truly stand in the way of his child’s happiness in the end; such being easily proven by their daughter Michiko, who was happily mated to a full-blooded neko-youkai.

Still, they knew enough not to interfere. From personal experience, both Inuyasha and Kagome knew that those two would have to come to grips with their feelings on their own. Anything that anybody tried to say in encouragement would only be met with avid denial, followed by more awkward visits between the friends as they attempted to ignore the subject that had been brought to the surface without their consent.

While Rin was a little more reluctant to comply with her family’s wishes that her son be left to admit his feelings for the she-wolf on his own, she too had to admit that there was nothing quite as wonderful as the moment you first confessed your feelings to your love, as they confessed their love for you in return. She would never rob her son of that moment, which sitting them both down and blurting out their obvious desire for one another would surely do. She also understood that while Akiaka still lived with her pack up in the North, and Noboru lived at home with them in the West, nothing could truly progress along the lines of a more intimate courtship, regardless. It seemed an issue that the rest of the family was overlooking, as they merely cooed to themselves how cute it was that those two were acting like nervous teenagers, despite their age as mature adults, even by youkai standards. Somebody, at some point, would have to breach the subject of where those two would actually live, should they ever get together. There would simply be no way that they could keep them apart after that. They weren’t even mated yet, and already everyone could clearly see the drop in Noboru’s demeanor whenever Akiaka returned to her family’s home in the North. Long-distance relationships were hard.

It was no wonder they had started talking on the phone every day once the things were invented…

“How are you holding up?” Noboru asked her, genuinely concerned. He knew it had broken her heart when Kiba, a stray mortal wolf cub she’d miraculously found out in the forest, recently died of old age. She would have bred him had she ever found a female, but all of her countless searches had proven futile. Was he truly the last?

“I’ll be all right.” she answered, touched by the sound of concern in her friend’s voice. “How are you holding up?” she asked him next, “Ya know, what with the whole ‘bombs being dropped on your head’ thing.”

He chuckled. “They’re just bouncing off the barrier now, so we’re all right, although it’s taking quite a toll on the two miko that were sent to switch off in maintaining the barrier. Kagome’s helping by taking turns herself, relieving the girls, although their powers are truly amazing.”

“They’re as powerful as Kagome-sama?” Akiaka asked disbelievingly. Nobody was as powerful as Kagome.

“No…” Noboru confirmed, explaining, “But their barriers are just about as powerful as hers. Instead of being powerful with every aspect of being a miko, modern-day miko are trained in one specific field, honing their skills to reach top potential in that area, alone. While these girls could definitely hold their own against most weaker youkai, they could never pull off a purification stunt like my Obaasan.” he explained with pride.

Kagome sure had come a long way, from the days when her arrows nicked Sesshoumaru’s armor, and the Taiyoukai could catch them midair with a countenance of annoyance, to the night she had literally obliterated an ancient Taiyoukai equal in power to that of the late Inu no Taisho himself.

“I wish I could be with you.” Akiaka expressed sadly, but Noboru’s shushing quieted her sniffles.

“I know…I know…but nothing in or out, remember? If I tried to force my way through the barrier, I’d probably zap myself, and you’d get nothing but a puny ol’ human until my youki came back.”

She hissed through her teeth in empathy before saying “Well don’t go purifying yourself on my account, that’s gotta be hella painful.”

“I’ll take your word for it on that one. The only one I know who’s been through something like that is Inuyasha-jii, and I don’t think I could stomach hearing the details.”

He could hear Akiaka’s agreement, but then whatever she said next he didn’t quite catch, as he was momentarily distracted when Hinata came towards him from down the hall.

“Mother said to fetch you, it’s time for dinner.” she informed her brother.

“Okay…” he told her, before redirecting his speech into the device he held, “I gotta go, duty calls.” he said with an exaggerated sigh, earning a sarcastic chuckle and a quick “Goodnight.” from the other end of the line before hanging up.

Hinata shook her head at her brother for a moment, an amused smile playing at her lips as she followed him towards the dining area. Even she wasn’t blind to the fact that he’d finally found his match. Hinata remembered quite well how worried their father had been, for a time, regarding his son remaining unhappy in that aspect of his life. He was still on her, as a matter of fact, to “get back out there”…but she just wasn’t ready. Noboru, on the other hand, had never found and lost the love of his life; he’d never found love to begin with. She was pretty sure that there was some kind of expression out there about how it was better to have loved and lost, but she used to think that she would gladly trade places with her brother, except that she didn’t want to inflict her pain upon anyone else. It was true though that her pain was finally lessening as time went by, and she was no longer opposed to the prospect of love finding her once again, but right now…she shook her head…with all that was going on around them, it just simply wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things.

Hinata was happy for her brother, however, if love had truly smiled upon him. Akiaka was a good match for Noboru. He was naturally a little on the shy side, and a more docile female wouldn’t get the attention she deserved, because he wouldn’t have it in him to be that assertive. He needed somebody like Akiaka, to bring that part of him out into the open. She could truly see the difference in him whenever the she-wolf paid them a visit. How his eyes instantly lit up, and how his quiet, relatively polite disposition, seemed to morph into something that perfectly matched with what you would expect from Kouga and Ayame’s daughter. Ever since Hikaru moved to America, the boy seemed even more closed in, as if missing his other half, even though he and Hikaru were only fraternal twins. It was as if his human side was dominating him, and in a way it was true, in that he seemed to have gotten a few more of Rin’s genes, as the boy was the only one out of the entire litter, so far, who’d been graced with raven hair. Still, Akiaka brought out the kitsune in him, and it was a change that everyone was happy to see. It was thanks to her family, and their “pet” lower youkai wolves, that he’d started dabbling in concealment charms of his own, his desire to help her and her pack quickly expanding to include helping all remaining lower youkai. While the wild, unruly, man-eating lower youkai of the past were long extinct, several species of friendly lower youkai still existed, as pets, although “lower” was a relative term, used mainly to refer to those who bore no humanoid form, and did not refer to their intelligence. Kirara would be quite insulted.

Thinking about everything that had happened in such a relatively short period of time, for youkai, Hinata knew she would need to call and tell Hikaru the latest news on their brother…as soon as she could find a minute to use the phone, that is.

Thinking of her other brother, the one currently living in America, she couldn’t help the smile that graced her lips at the memory of how he’d found his mate, the demi-vixen literally being dropped in their laps, or so it would seem. Finding another kitsune-hanyou surely was rare, or at least, it’d been rarer, back then. Slowly but surely, hanyou were becoming more and more common, and Hinata had since heard rumors of a few other kitsune out there taking human mates for themselves. Still, several other kitsune were also remaining loyal to their own kind, so it wasn’t as if the race was in any danger of dying out. They were one of the few remaining youkai breeds that would not be placed on the ‘endangered species list’ any time soon.

Maybe with the exception of their younger brother, though, she snickered. That brat seemed to have a knack for getting on people’s nerves. Why couldn’t Sora just act his age? The kit was nearly ninety years old, for crying out loud. Her younger sister, Kotone, wasn’t much older at only ninety-five, but yet she seemed centuries older than Sora when it came to behavior. Now that she thought about it, Hikaru’s twin daughters, Natsuko and Natsuki, had always acted rather maturely, as well, especially when it came to the decision their parents had made to stay in America indefinitely. They were happy for their parents, their father especially, knowing how important his duties were to the youkai community as a whole, and never once did either of them express a selfish desire for him to return home, understanding that he was where he needed to be.

Snickering to herself, Hinata wondered briefly if it wasn’t a natural trait of all kitsune… that the females simply matured faster than the males. She remembered her own childhood, and how while her brothers were busy being pranksters, racking up points in Kitsune Youjutsu, she had been assisting her mother in the gardens, learning about flowers. Of course, if such a thing were true, then she also knew that their father was an obvious exception to the rule. Perhaps it was because he was full-blooded kitsune, her brothers’ human blood being a factor in their personalities, or it could also be stemmed from the cultural differences her father had experienced from having been raised by inu when he was a child. Shippo had learned to fight in the inu style, and had sprouted his second tail at a remarkably young age thanks to a very inu-like protectiveness towards his future mate. He had also sired both she and her elder brothers at a remarkably young age, as well, Hinata knew, the age difference between herself and her parents being centuries less than the age difference between herself and her two younger siblings. Shippo was, in fact, just about the most inu kitsune that anyone had ever seen, but she loved her father, just the way he was.

He’d done Inuyasha proud.

In fact, all of the inu-hanyou’s children had proven themselves rather mature and well behaved, something Sesshoumaru commented on repeatedly under the sarcastic pretense that such an outcome seemed truly remarkable, and blamed its happenstance solely on Kagome’s influence. Inuyasha took the insults in jest, though, knowing that Sesshoumaru never would have approved of two of his most loyal female guards mating with two of his hanyou nephews, had they not proven themselves worthy in his eyes.

Katsuo and Tarou had both proven their loyalty to the West at remarkably young ages, themselves, desiring to join the castle guard; a decision in which Inuyasha gave his full support. Despite the age differences between themselves and their mates, they were each living happily with the full-blooded bitches that had deemed them worthy, and were each proud fathers of their own strapping young boys. Both Tarou’s son Haruto, as well as Katsuo’s son Masaru, were currently in their late seventies, and had both chosen to become members of the castle guard, as well, like their fathers before them.

The three-quarter-inu cousins in question were on duty the following morning, along side their parents, as all six guards stood proudly beside Lords Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, as well as Daichi - the overgrown pup had to learn sometime - as the trio greeted the human dignitaries who’d arrived seeking council in regard to the war.

The Alliance stood by their non-interference policies, but always agreed to meet with the humans whenever they sought such meetings, which were honestly few and far between, as most humans “in the know” still feared youkai with a passion. Which was fine with them.

While Inuyasha knew he had to be careful not to reveal certain details, it was with Kagome’s compassionate heart in mind that he and his brother had agreed it wouldn’t hurt to offer their opinion in regard to what course of action the Emperor should take, but it wasn’t their advice that the human military was seeking, regardless.

“With your forces on our side, Japan would become unstoppable.” the lead military man attempted to negotiate. “America would surely surrender when faced with such wondrous powers.”

Inuyasha snorted, and gazed down at his claws in a rather bored fashion. Because these government officials already knew they were youkai, Sesshoumaru and Daichi were not wearing their concealments, nor was Inuyasha sporting his human appearance. Finally, it was the hanyou who spoke first.

“Why should we help you? You wouldn’t come rushing to our aid if we were in the middle of a youkai war.”

“But surely you can see how aiding Japan would be aiding your own people, as well.” the man argued. “Look around you, you have not remained impervious to the attacks of the Americans. You are just as much the victims as any other Japanese civilian to these horrible bombings.”

Inuyasha’s ears lowered momentarily, knowing how many civilians were yet to become victims. But he quickly spoke up with “And just how do you expect us to help you guys without the American government finding us out? There are youkai in America that we have to think about, too. Exposing ourselves means exposing all of the youkai of the world.”

Sesshoumaru nodded in approval of his brother’s words. The human before them was unimpressed.

“Who cares about the youkai in America? They are Americans, they are the enemy.”

“We do not share in your war.” Sesshoumaru spoke up then, “We have an agreement with the American youkai, not to interfere with the affairs of mankind, internationally.”

“So you shall continue to just sit back and watch, saving your own kind while the Americans seek to destroy our lively hood? Were Japan to fall, you would fall along with her.”

“Japan and America will eventually sort out their differences, it is not our place to interfere with human affairs.” Daichi stated, standing proudly beside his father.

“You would continue to condone such unnecessary deaths?” the man tried, addressing Inuyasha directly. He could tell that the hanyou had a little more compassion towards the human casualties than the two full-blooded youkai standing beside him. If only the human man had known just how many “unnecessary deaths” he was actually talking about. But in the grand scheme of things, when you considered the intricacies of flowing timelines and temporal paradoxes…those deaths actually were necessary.

“I’m sorry…” Inuyasha stated in a moment of sincerity, earning a side-glance from his brother and nephew. “…but we cannot interfere.”

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“D idn’t your father say we couldn’t interfere?” Emi teased, as she and Kazuki ran the streets of Tokyo.

“He meant the Youkai Alliance could not interfere with the war. You’re not a member of the Alliance, you’re a miko, and besides, we’re not interfering with the war directly.” he explained, as they each tried to rationalize their actions in their minds.

But it was true that Emi was a seer, and what good were her visions if she could not utilize her knowledge to save as many people as she could? She wasn’t interfering with the “time line”, she was from the past, and she would know what she knew with or without Kagome’s knowledge. Her mother-in-law had just helped her make heads and tails out of everything, was all. Besides, who’s to say that they weren’t meant to offer the assistance they were now offering? After all, were it not for Kagome having contacted the Spiritual Sect in the first place, none of the shrines that were currently being protected would have any barriers around them, and that included the Higurashi shrine.

It was funny how quickly humans could forget, Kazuki mused for the umpteenth time. Of course, it was true that they were the ones who had eventually separated themselves from the shrine and its people. It simply wouldn’t do for the Higurashis to continue to live generation upon generation with the personal knowledge of Kazuki and his mate being their neighbors. According to his mother, her family had “legends” of the time of youkai, and her grandfather had always believed that they existed, and proudly kept watch over the storage shed that was filled with centuries of whatnots…most of which they had actually collected over the years…but it was also true that they did not personally know of any youkai, and besides her grandfather, the rest of the family, to her knowledge, had always believed the stories to be merely that - stories.

Generations back, several…in fact, members of the Spiritual Sect had been in contact with the ancestors of the Higurashi shrine, because they still bore dormant spiritual powers from the miko they were descendent from. At that time, the man that had been in charge of the shrine had still been aware, personally, of Kazuki and Emi living within their village, and had declined acquiring membership within the Sect for that reason. Although he hadn’t told them that. He had known that it was their destiny to merely maintain their humble family shrine, and not to get involved with anything on a grander scale. While the Higurashis had not been informed, directly, of the time paradox involving their long-off descendent actually becoming the centuries old and powerful “miko-in-law” to the current Inu no Taisho, they had been aware of the history of their shrine, regarding the stories of a powerful miko who had arrived from “somewhere”, who mated the secondary Lord of the West. Though they didn’t know why, they knew that it was imperative that their shrine, and especially the well and Goshinboku, remained taken care of. As far as they were concerned, it was about protecting history, not ensuring the future, but still…they had no desire to become involved with a Sect that, at that time, had still deemed themselves enemies against those possessing demon blood.

Thus why Kagome had not been raised to know the truth behind the concealed youkai around her, and why the man who had performed their wedding was unaware of who she and Inuyasha really were.

Thinking of his mother’s family gave Kazuki a sense of nostalgia as he and his mate continued with their secret mission. While they knew they could not interfere with the war on a military level, that said nothing to still any efforts they could possibly give to lower the civilian human casualties, even if only by a few dozen here and there. Kagome obviously had no giant list for every individual who had lost their life during the war, so who’s to say who was meant to die, and who was meant to be saved? Sometimes, history actually depended on Kagome’s interference, if Van Gogh’s famous Sunflower paintings were any indication. It was simply meant to be that she had fallen into the past, and so it was easily decided, while dressed in their protective demonic clothing from centuries back, that Kazuki and Emi would roam the streets of Tokyo, dodging bombs, as they assisted any humans they found with either escaping unharmed, or getting to a hospital if they were injured.

Thankfully, with their children’s assistance, everyone demonic had long ago been cleared away from the two “ground zeros”, along with a few humans here and there that could be swayed by their friends’ insistence. Since then, the Sect - as they did not share in the Alliance’s “non-interference” policy - had constantly been seeking council with the Emperor to insist that he approve of a human-wide evacuation of the cities, and while the Japanese government had shown disbelief in the Sect’s claims, in the beginning, their warnings were finally taken to heed when the American government started to make their own threats, should Japan fail to surrender. While the Emperor ignored America’s offer of surrender, evacuations had at least been started in both cities, as he reluctantly realized that the Sect’s seers might have very well been telling the truth.

Even with knowing what was yet to come, Kazuki and Emi both could not bring themselves to feel hatred towards the Americans. They understood that it was a war, and that when at war, it was really the rulers of each land that made the ultimate decisions, not the civilian population. Besides, his own people had a history of war, themselves, as he’d been told on several occasions the details surrounding the historic purification his mother had pulled off against the East, while she’d been seven months pregnant with himself, no less. Thinking of his mother being forced to do battle while carrying a child reminded Kazuki of the night that Emi had confessed her love for him. The night her kiss had pulled him back from his first transformation. His mother had been carrying Kenta during that battle.

Thinking of Kenta reminded Kazuki once again of the current war, and how his eldest younger brother was temporarily held captive by the very Americans he vowed not to hate. He knew the details of the future yet to come just as well as any of his siblings, from their mother’s countless stories, and so he knew that Japan and America would eventually become friends, in a manner of speaking, the youth of each country becoming infatuated with the cultural fads of the other. America, especially, would come to love all things Japanese, as they would become obsessed with their music, anime and video games. They would drive their cars, listen to their radios, and watch their televisions. They would wear t-shirts featuring images of dragons and koi, and tattoo random words in their language upon their bodies. It was a two-sided coin, of course, as certain things American, such as Baseball, had already been popular in Japan since the late 1800s, but the cultural friendship would only continue to grow from there, once the dust from the current war was finally settled. Japanese children would be taught English in school, and everyone would wear Western style clothing, and eat at American owned fast-food restaurants.

It was a time he was actually looking forward to. Kenta had said once in one of his letters home that French Fries were delicious.

In the mean time, though, there was nothing they could do except to continue to offer whatever assistance they could for the humans they were pulling from the rubble, as they stumbled upon yet another demolished apartment building. Several people were saved that night, that surely would have burned to death in the fire, had Kazuki and Emi not been there to free them prior to the human emergency services showing up. Every little bit helped.

Unable to clear thoughts of Kenta from his mind, Kazuki found himself wondering how things were going for him back in America. He knew that while America wasn’t being attacked on a daily basis like they were back home, life was certainly no picnic for those of Japanese ancestry.

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It was sometimes hard to believe that they’d been living there, like that, for three years now. While time usually had a tendency to fly by less noticed by those with near millennium life expectancies, Kenta easily found himself counting, and cherishing, each and every day spent in such close quarters with Aki and her mother.

While he’d been out of contact with his family during all that time, he still knew, from memory of his mother’s warnings, what was happening back home. First, America had managed to take over some of the smaller islands, one at a time, earning themselves bases from which to bring the main island within firebombing range. He was sure that’d happened by now, and he knew that his home in Osaka was not going to be spared from the disaster completely, although the castle itself would still survive. It was his grandfather’s castle, after all, built and ruled for centuries by the legendary Inu no Taisho, General Toga. Nothing the humans could dish out would be strong enough to defeat their fortress. Except maybe a nuke, he shuddered, but they were not set to be dropped in Osaka, fortunately for them. He wondered idly what would happen to a youkai in the surrounding areas when the bombs were dropped, and hoped that his family, and the Alliance, had thought ahead to clear out however many youkai that they could, without arousing the suspicion of the general human population, of course. Kenta didn’t imagine that even a fire-youkai would be able to survive temperatures nearing that of 7,000ºF.

In a way, he felt terrible that he was stuck there, in America, when his family could certainly use his help back home, but at the same time, he knew that he was where he was supposed to be. Aki and her mother needed him to protect them, especially since they had no other man of the family, besides himself. He didn’t regret his decision to claim himself as being Kiku’s son, knowing perfectly well that that’d been the only way he could accompany them, but at the same time, he was starting to find it rather annoying how many “suitors” he constantly had to chase away, that were interested in his “sister”. Because of being her “brother”, he obviously had no way of courting her, himself, so she remained available in the eyes of the men that had their eyes on her. Every young man in the entire camp thought that Aki had the most overly protective brother in the entire world, but that was fine with him. Let those horny little bastards think whatever they wanted to think, they weren’t getting anywhere near her. He wasn’t stupid; he could smell their lust. It wasn’t as though any of them were truly in love with her. If they were, then he’d permit them to court her, with her mother’s approval, of course.

Yeah right, just keep telling yourself that.

The truth was, Kenta knew that he was attracted to Aki, himself; had been for years. But he also knew at the same time that nothing would ever happen between them, could ever happen between them, unless he somehow found the courage to come clean with regard to what he was…and then presuming she and her mother didn’t completely freak out and condemn him to the sixth layer of hell for his deception…he’d be fine. Yeah, that wasn’t a conversation he planned on having with them any time soon. In the mean time, he planned on continuing to long for Aki in secret, while cherishing the close friendship he had developed with her over the years. He’d seen her grow, mature, from the innocent nineteen year old girl she’d been on moving day, to the radiant twenty-seven year old woman she was now. She was definitely approaching “old maid” status as far as the human world was concerned, even though things still weren’t quite as liberal in the 1940s as he’d come to understand his mother’s time would be, but either way, he appreciated her mother’s efforts, which had obviously paid off, in regard to how she’d been raised. Aki had been brought up very traditionally, in that in order to maintain her honor, she was to wait until marriage, end of discussion. Considering that the ways of the inu-youkai basically added up to the same tradition, with the only real difference being that the “wedding night” was the wedding, he respected their beliefs tremendously.

Although it was somewhat surprising, Kenta would admit at least to himself, that the girl’d never even had a simple boyfriend, who could then eventually lead to that future husband. As far as he knew, Aki’d never even been on a date…unless you counted the few times he’d met her for lunch himself, at the diner she used to work at. But those times didn’t count…did they? Had Aki considered those meetings…dates? Although the thought was anything but unappealing, but still…he knew he wasn’t the one for her, no matter how badly he might wish otherwise. Still, he did find it oddly relieving that she apparently hadn’t ever been interested in anybody else during the five years they’d gotten to know each other as neighbors, and then friends. He knew Aki felt attraction for him, but perhaps it was because she had been brought up so traditionally, that she’d merely been waiting all that time for him to approach her mother to ask her permission to court her? But if that was the case, then Aki would have a long wait, he was afraid.

Damn it all…

He knew he wasn’t making very much sense, and suddenly found himself sympathizing with his father’s early dilemma regarding his mother, and that ookami-youkai who used to be a rival for her affections. Kenta had heard a few stories growing up, fortunately told with an air of lightheartedness, as his parents and the wolves had long since put their differences aside, but he knew that there’d been a time when his father had hated the current Ookami no Taisho, with a passion. He hadn’t had any intentions of approaching Kagome with his feelings for her, himself, believing she was too good for him - he was only a poor hanyou after all, unfit to be her mate - but then at the same time, he had turned around and fought off any other possible suitors, not wishing to see the woman he secretly loved being paired up with anybody else. Damn…that sounded too familiar.

Do I…love…Aki?

Deciding to ignore his own question for the time being, Kenta told himself, and rightfully so, that what he was doing, scaring away the “suitors” (insert air-quotes here) at the camp, was for her own good. Those boys - yes, they were boys - were not truly interested in her romantically. They were Americanized Japanese, born and raised there, having grown up without learning the traditions of their homeland, their people. Most of the Japanese that fled to America in the early days were Christian, seeking the land of religious freedom as countless others before them…although that was a poor excuse for wanting to get Aki in the sack when you considered that the Christian religion supposedly taught no sex before marriage, as well. Shrugging, he knew it pretty much boiled down to the age-old expression “boys will be boys”, which made him ever so grateful, yet again, that he was half inu-youkai. While he had been born early enough to clearly remember the days when hanyou were still hunted and killed without second thought, he had also witnessed the revolution, for lack of a better word, that had taken place amongst youkai-kind since those days, so now…Kenta didn’t hate, nor fear, being hanyou.

What he hated and feared, much like his father before him, was his night of vulnerability, when his human emotions came out to play.

He was always paranoid on those nights that something would happen, anything, and he wouldn’t be able to sense it, or stop it in time. He also had to fight double-time to prevent himself from acting on his feelings for the woman whom everyone around them thought was his sister, and he found himself almost sympathizing with the youths who approached her with that friendly smile and twinkling eye on nearly a weekly basis. Yes, Aki was attractive, she was downright beautiful, and he was ever so grateful that she did not have his sense of smell, for he was sure he reeked of desire on his human nights, just like the other single men around her always did.

At least it was finally well into summer, which meant that springtime was long over and done with. Although, even though it was - and rightfully so - more difficult to control himself while in her presence during the spring, it was almost as if his human nights were even worse. It was his heart that he had to keep in check during those nights, instead of his body. Not that he took any unnecessary risks during mating season, of course, every member of the Taisho clan knowing the story behind how his parents had finally gotten together…or at least the more edited version. It was actually Shippo who’d told him about the box of pocky and the “wrestling”…the kit having long ago figured out for himself what the adults had thought to keep from his innocent mind at the time. Kenta thanked the gods that he and Aki very rarely engaged in any manner of physical contact, because he was quite sure that should a similar event take place between the two of them, he would lose it, quite thoroughly. But because they almost never touched one another, even innocently, he was more able to keep his inner beast under control while in her presence. There were a few times, though not too many, during the last three years, that he’d had to find a secluded spot outside in the middle of the night to…take care of things…but most of the time his worry over leaving Aki and her mother alone for too long overrode his desire for privacy. Usually…he just dealt with it, and took out his frustrations on her wannabe-suitors the following morning.

He knew he didn’t really have the authority to regulate whom Aki could or couldn’t become familiar with, but considering her mother never seemed to much appreciate those men and their persistence, either, he then felt perfectly justified in his actions.

He had also grown remarkably closer to Kiku over the last three years, almost considering her like an aunt, or perhaps even a second mother. He did address her as “Okaasan”, after all, although that was strictly for keeping up appearances. He’d feared, for a brief time, that such misplaced familiarity would disturb her, but she had been nothing but grateful for everything he’d done for both her and her daughter. Once, she’d even told him that he was all she could have ever hoped for in a son. He’d actually blushed at that.

Kiku was not blind to how protective Kenta was over her daughter, and it was greatly appreciated. She knew he had feelings for her, and perhaps, had they not been forced to live in such conditions for the last three years, he may have decided to act on said feelings by now. She new perfectly well that nothing could ever hope to work between the two of them while they had to keep up the pretense of being siblings, but she did not miss the look in his eyes whenever he’d gaze at her daughter, nor did she miss the look in Aki’s eyes whenever she’d gaze back. Those two, especially, had grown remarkably closer during their time there, not that she didn’t approve. Far from it, actually. Slowly but surely, Kenta was opening up more to them about himself, in general, and Kiku liked what she saw. He had revealed, eventually, that he was born in Japan, although he wouldn’t give any details regarding when, or why, he had moved to the states, except only to say that he had wanted to see the world for a time, and that he still considered Japan to be his true home. He had a certain mannerism about him, a way he carried himself, that spoke of old-world honor and discipline. She got the distinct impression that, were true harm ever to befall either herself or her daughter, he would gladly give his life, or take the life of another, if it would ensure their safety. It was clear to Kiku that, even in Japan, such young men were few and far between, as Kenta sometimes struck her as an almost human version of Baby, with his loyal protectiveness. She chuckled quietly at the comparison, wondering how far from the truth it actually was.

What Kenta didn’t realize, with how close he’d grown to them over the years, was how much of himself he truly revealed on a daily basis. While he wore his concealment rosary around the clock, and constantly made sure he never acted on any of his baser canine instincts, such as sitting on his haunches rather than cross-legged, there were still some little things here and there that both Aki and her mother had noticed over the years. While Aki always brushed off his strange behavior, and had convinced herself that the howling she’d heard that night over two years ago had been her imagination, her mother wasn’t quite so quick to dismiss what she saw…and heard.

Yes, Kiku, too, had awoken that night, to hear what she distinctively could swear sounded like Kenta’s voice, howling along with the coyotes. Her effort to prove to herself otherwise was foiled when she’d glanced in the direction of his cot, only to discover that he wasn’t there. Although she’d never discussed her suspicions with her daughter, and had no idea that Aki had also been awake on that night, she too had been collecting a mental list of little oddities about Kenta here and there. It had not gone unnoticed to her, either, how he’d seemed to have much less difficulty than he should have, carrying some of their heavier boxes. Also, while she had not been privy to the incident Aki had witnessed with him seemingly speaking to Baby with barks, she had most certainly not been blind to the fact that their paranoid mini-guard dog had taken an instant liking to him, often rolling onto his back in what she knew was a canine posture for submission. She was also very familiar with the legends and myths of her people, and also knew magatama beads when she saw them. Who else would have taught such things to her daughter? Curiously, Kiku’d often wondered where he’d acquired his antique rosary, and if he knew what sort of magical properties it was foretold to possess, although she knew it was not her place to ask such a personal question. His sword, too, had struck her curiosity, as it appeared to date back all the way to the warring states period, a time period she was familiar with, historically, from some of the legends her parents had taught to her as a child.

She’d shared those legends with her daughter, although she had the sinking suspicion that Aki, like most young people of that day and age, believed those stories of old to be merely that…stories. Kiku knew otherwise. Her parents had been historians, and while they’d had no documented proof, it had been their belief that the youkai of their people’s legends were, at least at one point in time, very real.

If that were true, if youkai really had ruled over much of Japan at one point in time, then what had happened to them all? Again, her thoughts drifted back to Kenta’s necklace…

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Kazuki unconsciously tugged nervously on the beads around his neck; it was already August, time was running out.

Thanks to the massive list of current slayers and other descendants that Hachiemon had provided them with, Kazuki and Emi had both sought out to make sure that all of her long-lost family members not currently Taijiya would be among those saved from the disasters yet to come. While the Alliance had informed their human loyalists of the visions their seers had witnessed, there were a few descendants of the original slayers whose ancestors had chosen another line of work, and as a result, those individuals were currently “out of the loop” as it were. But thanks to the assistance of the Spiritual Sect, whom Emi easily appealed to, being one of the seers in question, most of those family members were currently safe, as well.

Of course, there were a few exceptions to the rule, as while they were going through the family scrolls, they’d discovered, with foreboding, that some of her distant and far removed nephews were currently members of the Japanese military. Some of them had already met their fate during the war, and as for the current survivors, there was really nothing they could do for them, except pray.

With only a couple of days left before “it” happened, and firebombing still being a regular occurrence in other cities across southern Honshu, Emi and her mate avidly continued in their work to scour the rubble of Tokyo for survivors only their youkai senses could find. Kazuki’s nose and ears could easily pick up the faint signs of struggle that a human rescue crew would undoubtedly miss, and as a result, they unearthed many survivors who otherwise would have remained buried alive. While their children had offered to help them, they had already provided more than enough assistance for their cause by spreading the original warnings to the youkai community in the two red zones. Now, their parents insisted that they returned to the support of their own families, as they traveled further north along with the majority of the youkai community.

Kichiro, on the other hand, was avidly assisting his sister and her mate with their last ditch efforts at saving any other individuals that they could, and his assistance was greatly appreciated. He and Chouko had no young children, for the moment, and therefore, felt they could devote themselves 100% to the cause, their living adult offspring having already moved to safety with their own families, as well. Emi sympathized with her brother when it came to the idea of being forced to watch others around you die, while you remained the same. While it was true that it was a fate both she and her brother had accepted with open arms, the love they felt for their mates being enough to sustain them as they witnessed the world around them continue to change over the years, nothing, Emi would imagine, could ever prepare a parent for witnessing their own children growing old and dying before them. It was something she was not looking forward to experiencing. But while her own pups were aging much faster than she and Kazuki, being only one quarter youkai, they still carried within their veins the blood of the Inu no Taisho, and as a result, they still aged much slower than most other quarter-youkai children. Kichiro and Chouko had already witnessed, several times over, their quarter-butterfly children growing old and leaving this world, as Etsuko’s family blood was simply not as strong as Inuyasha’s. Kichiro and Chouko themselves were also aging faster than Kazuki and Emi, though the effects became apparent on a more gradual scale. But as they worked together to pull humans from the rubble, Emi could not help but to notice how her younger brother appeared at least a decade older than herself.

Kazuki’s thoughts were currently running along similar lines, as he thought about his two eldest, his daughters, and how Izumi and Mayu, neither of whom had reached a full 300 years of age yet, both already appeared much older than himself. Kazuki, at approx. 443 years old, only appeared to be in his late 20s, or perhaps early 30s. His daughters, on the other hand, both already appeared to be approaching their early 40s. His parents currently appeared to be in their mid 40s. While his mother wasn’t that much older than himself, as she’d had him at only 19, her aging had been bonded to his father, who had already been pushing two centuries at that time. Still, Kagome wasn’t aging that fast. Kazuki’s daughters were easily going to die of old age before their grandparents did, or at least Izumi, for sure. While his eldest was mated, she had mated a fellow quarter-inu of a different clan, thus eliminating any hope he may have had that her lifespan could somehow be increased. His other daughter, Mayu, was actually not yet mated, and even more than he hoped he could see her lifespan increased, as he had done with his own mate, he sincerely hoped that his daughter would at least find love before her time was over, as her three siblings all had. His two boys, Riku and Shin, were both mated and married to human wives they had met in the city. The blood flowing through their veins was still strong enough to perform the blood-bond, something most quarter-youkai were not strong enough to accomplish, thus ensuring that their wives would age at the same rate as themselves. His sons both still looked fairly young for the time being, but that was because they were still fairly young, both of them just a little over a century old. It wouldn’t take them that long to match, and then surpass, their parents in the aging department. But they were still blessed with life expectancies far greater than that of the average human, and both boys looked upon their time on the world as a blessing, rather than a curse. Their human wives too, especially, had no room for complaint. Nobody of demonic blood ever felt shortchanged in the long-life department, when you took a moment to consider the alternative.

Back in Osaka, similar thoughts ran through the minds of both Inuyasha and Kagome, as they too prepared to “batten down the hatches”, as it were. Manami had already been moved back into the castle when the firebombing first started, along with her human husband Haru and their son Junrou. It was somewhat unsettling to our favorite couple how much their quarter-inu grandson had aged, in such a relatively short period of time. Not to mention Miyako’s three children, Sachiko and her brothers Hideyoshi and Daisuke.

While Sachiko had eventually found love, it was in the form of a human husband. Although Miyako was mildly saddened to continue to witness her daughter growing older at a rate beyond her control, the widowed hanyou at least found comfort in the knowledge that, as Sachiko was also powerful enough to bond her husband to herself, and he had agreed to the bonding, she would at least be blessed with the ability to grow old with her mate, rather than having to watch him growing older even faster than herself. Hideyoshi, on the other hand, though he had aged before his mating, had managed to eventually increase his life expectancy to that of a full-blooded youkai, having fallen for, and mated, a panther youkai. Nobody Inuyasha knew personally from the battle he’d had with the tribe way back when, though apparently, the girl was actually the offspring of one of them. They too had joined the Youkai-Alliance, eventually, knowing how powerful the Inu clan actually was, considering they had defeated their own clan…twice. Daisuke, not really finding interest in those of the opposite sex, was currently not yet mated - officially, anyway. His current partner was human, and had no desire to share in the blood bond, as their relationship was more…casual. As a result, he too had aged tremendously over the years, and also appeared to be pushing his mid 40s. It saddened Kagome to learn that even among her demonic family, she would eventually be forced to witness those she loved die before her, but Daisuke did a good job to cheer up his Obaasan, insisting with a smile that he’d had a good life so far, and still planned on squeezing out as many more centuries as he could. “Don’t cry for me.” he told her, “Smile for the time I had in this world.”

Remembering her grandson’s words, and how they near paralleled the advice of her mate, spoken to her shortly after Kaede’s passing, Kagome did indeed permit a small smile to grace her visage, even as she then wrinkled her nose in mock disgust over her own reflection. Coming up behind her in the mirror, Inuyasha’s eyes met his wife’s through the reflective glass, as his own smile adorned his aging, yet handsome features.

“I had hoped my mother would still be able to recognize me, when the time came.” Kagome muttered, examining the few whisks of gray among her raven locks with mild curiosity. “I look more like her sister than her daughter…her older sister.”

“You are still her daughter, no matter what, and I’m sure she realized that we were bound to age a little after so long.”

“I suppose that’s true.” she agreed thoughtfully. “I mean, if you predicted we could maybe live nine hundred to a thousand more years, well then…around five hundred years time would be middle-aged, wouldn’t it?”

His response was in the form of a kiss, as he leaned over her frame, and gently placed his lips upon her temple.

“Mmmm…” she moaned happily, “What was I talking about?” she asked with mock confusion.

“Something about how I’m the greatest lover in all the world.” he answered distractedly, as he moved to her throat.

“Oh yeah…” Kagome agreed, as she wrapped her arms around him.

The following evening, outside in the stables, Rin tended to a concealed Ah-Un, the intricate charm Noboru had made for him/them making the two-headed Ryuu’uma appear like two standard horses standing closely together. It was a different kind of illusion, one meant only to fool those observing from further away, as Rin, with her wire brush, could easily see through the illusion upon each stroke of her arm. It was the same as the visual spell that concealed Jinenji’s monstrous form; easily shattered if the mind became aware that what it was seeing was not truly real.

It was a spell that became more commonly used as time went by, and more hanyou such as Jinenji were born. Just as his mother had once told Inuyasha, some hanyou were born “beautiful”…and some were not. While youkai did not discriminate against those of altered appearances, it did become apparent that they would require more specialized treatment when it came to concealing their existence from the human world. Fortunately, there was no shortage of concealment charms that day and age, as other kitsune had eventually taken up the practice which Hikaru would forever be famous for having originally founded. It was his daughters who first sought to continue the practice that, thankfully, several full-blooded kitsune later adopted as well. While Hikaru, still being hanyou, had not been powerful enough to fuse his magic into the beads without Kagome first preparing the rosary for accepting his spell, it quickly turned out that full-blooded kitsune were in fact powerful enough to transfer their illusions into the magical magatama beads on their own. It was also quickly realized that the white, comma shaped beads did not need to be strung with other beads in the form of a rosary, and as the practice became more popular, it eventually lead to concealment charms in the form of earrings, bracelets, or even small hair clips and clothing pins, so long as they possessed the required amount of magatama beads, which varied from illusion to illusion. That new discovery ensured that every single living being of youkai blood did not walk around wearing identical rosaries, though most members of Kagome and Inuyasha’s family kept the original rosary design, as their necklaces held a somewhat sentimental value to them. Of course, with Natsuko and Natsuki being kitsune-hanyou, they, like their parents, stuck with the more conventional, “kitsune” method of transformation. They didn’t need jewelry made from magic beads when their bodies naturally possessed the ability to create illusions on their own.

As for hanyou such as Jinenji, while they still possessed concealment charms, they were also protected by the Alliance in the form of geographic separation. Several of the smaller, previously unpopulated islands, became sanctuaries in the form of humble farming and/or fishing communities. The misshapen hanyou were by no means banned from the mainland, hence their possession of concealment charms should the need to return to Honshu arise, but those islands were merely and truly a sanctuary, provided for them by the Alliance, with the Emperor’s consent. A place where they could live in peace, and not fear on a daily basis what would happen should a neighboring human ever discover them. There were no neighboring humans in those communities, or at least, none that were unaware of their youkai neighbors. While Kagome had disliked the idea, at first, believing that they were merely being shipped off to “the island of misfit youkai”, as it were, she too had eventually come to understand the underlying necessity of such an action. As for the hanyou who lived there, with their youkai and human family members, they couldn’t be happier. Jinenji, specifically, had a wondrous herb garden, and had promised to share his medicines with anyone, youkai or human alike, who may be in need of something not available at a standard, “modern” hospital. As for the invading Americans, the tiny landmasses were protected by cloaks of invisibility, barriers that were youki in nature. Though members of the Sect could see through the illusion, they too had no desire to disrupt the lives of those who lived there, even before the current treaty was signed, as they had realized that those individuals meant the world no harm, wishing only to live their lives in peace.

Not all oddly shaped youkai relocated to such sanctuaries, though, as it was not a requirement, but merely an option. Jaken, for one, chose to remain in Osaka, forever serving under the Inu Lord that had struck his fancy all those centuries ago. While other surviving kappa did indeed relocate to those islands, many of whom were originally members of the tribe Jaken himself was ruler of prior to his abandonment in favor of following Lord Sesshoumaru, the loyal imp choosing to remain in the West was provided with a concealment charm that gave him the appearance of being a human dwarf. Unfortunately, just as Jinenji’s larger size could not be physically altered, neither could Jaken’s shrunken physique. But at least human beings of that height did exist, though the occurrence was rather rare, but it still meant that Jaken did not truly stand out that badly. Nobody would gaze upon him and immediately scream “Youkai!”, at least. His place was beside his Lord, no matter what the ‘modern’ times threw at them. Everyone admired his determination.

If only other vessels were as loyal. They had to literally trap Myouga within the barrier at the castle to keep the cowardly flea from fleeing to the North, the tiny servant’s natural instinct for avoiding dangerous situations causing the poor guy to go into panic attacks at the various sounds of destruction all around them. At least Myouga had nothing to worry about when it came to the need for concealment charms, the tiny insect easily being able to hide when he did not wish to be seen. He’d proven that ability time and time again, especially when they needed to speak with him about something important.

Rin was pulled from her thoughts when she was suddenly joined outside by her eldest daughter, Hinata, as the demi-vixen informed her mother that she’d finally managed to get in contact with Hikaru. They had desperately wanted to contact him to let him know that everyone was okay back home, and also to check in on himself and his mate. Hikaru and Hoshi were still living relatively comfortably in New York, using their powers as kitsune to disguise their Asian appearances, rather than the other hanyou of the world who could only use their charms to display their natural human forms. They were currently using the American names Christopher and Elizabeth, though they told their family to just call them Chris and Liz. Hikaru, or Chris, was pleased to learn that his daughters had started a campaign to get more kitsune involved in the “concealment charm wagon”, as they playfully called it. Apparently, quite a few young kitsune…especially male kitsune…were drawn by his daughters’ cause, and readily joined in the efforts. Hikaru had smirked to himself at the thought. He wasn’t stupid, but the end result was most certainly a positive one, and he knew that his daughters could handle themselves. If they received any unwanted attention, those boys would be running for their lives, with their tails on fire. He also wasn’t upset that those kitsune were stealing his thunder, or that they may in fact surpass him when it came to technique. After all, he certainly couldn’t be in two places at once, and new hanyou being born in Japan would definitely be in need of concealment charms. And if somebody actually did improve upon his design, as it sounded like they were doing, well, that was only a compliment, that his genius had inspired others to take his idea and run with it, like the light bulb.

Having finished tending to Ah-Un, Rin and Hinata went back inside. Everyone knew what to expect the following morning, and everyone dreaded it. While a little over one hundred thousand humans had successfully been evacuated from Hiroshima, so far, in the grand scheme of things, it would be too little, too late. Still, they at least found some comfort in the knowledge that the Japanese government had eventually pulled through, and at least some people would now be saved. An evacuation was also currently in place in Nagasaki, the residents there getting spooked after a few firebombs were suddenly dropped back on the 1st.

As dawn breached the horizon, everyone waited with baited breath. Kagome refused to get out of bed, as she stared numbly at their bedside clock, Inuyasha’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he held her silently, refusing to comment on the scent of her tears.

Sesshoumaru took a moment to uncharacteristically kiss Kagura on the cheek, in full few of his children and servants, as they prepared for that morning’s meal. He could tell his daughter, sitting at his left, was having a bit of difficulty controlling her emotions, so a tender hand was placed upon her shoulder, as well, his left arm and hand having fully regenerated long ago by that point.

“It is okay to feel remorse for that which we could not change.” he told her quietly, and muffling a sniffle, she nodded. They may have had their differences from time to time, but she was still daddy’s little girl, and near silently whimpered her thanks for his comfort in the back of her throat.

His other daughter was not present for breakfast, as Rin, too, allowed her mate to hold her, as she mourned for her fellow humans. Shippo had a small radio dialed to a local Hiroshima station, and the instant the signal went silent, she exploded into a barrage of sobs that broke his heart more powerfully than the day he saw his father’s pelt wrapped around Manten’s waist.

In a display of destruction that easily paled the night Kagome had eliminated Lord Daikomaru, all manor of life and construction within a one-mile radius was instantly annihilated.

Japan still refused surrender.

Kagome knew they would.

Three days later…the seaport where Inuyasha had once acquired the Chinese jade necklace and earrings that she still wore even to that day, was destroyed.

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In a quiet region of the Arizona desert, a lone figure sat by himself in the early evening sun, as far away from the internment buildings as was permitted, the “do not cross” signs along the chain-link fence glaring him in the face as he sat, contemplating.

Kenta knew what had happened in Japan. Nobody else knew yet; the guards most certainly weren’t boasting the incidents, lest they start a riot. But he still knew what had happened, nonetheless. In the long run, he tried to argue with himself that the decision probably had actually saved lives, as was the United States’ reasoning for the decision, if the estimated casualties should they have invaded the main island by foot were anywhere near accurate. He knew that the Japanese people would only have continued to fight to the last man, woman and child of at least thirteen years of age. Many were likely ordered to commit seppuku before surrendering. Should a full-scale invasion truly have taken place, the death toll would have undoubtedly climbed much higher. Still…he couldn’t help but to envision the literal Hell on Earth that his mother had described to him many years ago.

The only thing he could find to think about at the moment that brought his soul any measure of peace, was that soon enough, in a few more months, they would be released from the “relocation center” to go about their lives as free people. He never had, even to that day, pledged his loyalty to America, and while he knew that such an act of defiance landed other Japanese descendants in the maximum security camps, he and his “family” had been left alone thanks to the trick he’d pulled shortly after their arrival. The various Navajo soldiers at the camp still all looked at him wearily, word having apparently spread regarding what he was, at least among their own people. Which was fine with him; it guaranteed their safety.

A gentle sound from behind him caused an invisible ear to swivel, easily recognizing the delicate footsteps of his “sister” as she made her approach.

Silently, Aki sat down beside her dear friend, knowing that his silence meant that her presence was accepted. He looked so regal, sitting there cross-legged, his hair loose from the ponytail he used to wear prior to their relocation. She preferred his hair loose and flowing, the gentle breeze she felt tickling her skin causing his raven locks to dance about his shoulders. Kenta turned to her and smiled gently, then, before apparently once again focusing his thoughts on whatever it was that had troubled him that day.

“Is something the matter?” she finally braved asking, knowing that if he did not want to answer her question, then he simply wouldn’t, but he also wouldn’t be angry with her over having asked.

“Just thinking.” was his reply.

How could he tell her what was really on his mind? He couldn’t share his thoughts regarding the destruction in Japan when he knew that he should not be in possession of such knowledge. But that was truly not the only thing that was bothering him, he relented. What would happen once the war was officially over, and they were released? Would she and her mother be moving on, without him? He supposed that scenario was actually fairly unlikely, as they had all grown so much closer over the years - so like family. Odds were good that they would once again become neighbors in some apartment building somewhere, and that his friendship with her would continue. He hoped. He prayed.

“What happens when we’re finally let out of here?” he whispered, desperate to hear her thoughts on the matter, yet afraid to, as well.

Aki stared at the man who had become so precious to her, scooting herself over slightly in order to address him more easily, as she turned to face him, the dipping sun sparkling in his eyes. He seemed so nervous all of a sudden. Had he been worrying over the same things that she had? Over what would become of the two of them, once they were released? That thought in and of itself brought her joy, to know that he too was apparently thinking of their future together, beyond life at the camp. Staring at him now, it amazed her how he still didn’t look a day older than when they’d first met, all those eight years ago. Some people were simply graced with youthful appearances, she supposed, having suspected for some time that he was at least somewhat older than he’d lead the American officials to believe, upon his claim at being her older brother. He only appeared to be in his late twenties, or perhaps early thirties, and since her mother and father had waited a few years before having her, needing to first settle themselves into their new lives in America, the age difference between herself and her mother did leave room for there to have been an older brother born before her. Still…how old was he, really? Sometimes, as Aki gazed into his eyes, especially when he was giving her advice, she got the distinct impression that he carried within himself the wisdom of ancient sages.

Finally realizing that she had yet to answer his question, she offered him one of her truest smiles, as she gently placed her hand upon his knee. A gesture that was very familiar, and very bold, on her part. He did not appear to object.

“When they finally release us…” she began, wetting her lips nervously, “…I presume we will need to find a new place to live.” she finished, deliberately failing to exclaim who all “we” consisted of.

Mentally, Kenta groaned at the implications, in a torturous, yet good way, all at once. Damn her. She knew he wanted her, didn’t she? He would literally have to be blind to miss the way she looked at him from time to time. But it wouldn’t work. It couldn’t work. She didn’t know him half as well as she thought she did. True, he was never deceitful with his personality, but he was a different species from herself. That was bound to throw a monkey wrench into things, he was sure.

Almost as if the gods had heard his fears, and thought that destroying his hopes would be amusing, nothing could have prepared him for what Aki did next.

As she continued to gaze at him, clearly seeing the longing that he failed to hide from her deep within his eyes, she wondered why he would torture himself so. Surely he was aware of her feelings for him. In all the time she had known him, she had also known that she would never want another. But Kenta was the type of man, she could tell, who would never approach her with dishonorable intentions. Did he truly not love her as deeply as she loved him? Was he merely attracted to her, and nothing more, denying his feelings of lust in order to preserve her own honor? But surely, even his desire to maintain her honor in and of itself proved that he must have feelings for her beyond mere physical lust. Didn’t it?

As the wind blew a few strands of his hair forward, nearly blocking his eyes, she reached forward, almost on instinct, merely wishing to see those deep brown eyes of his without obstruction. He seemed frozen in place by her bold maneuver, as she reached forward to brush his disobedient locks securely behind his ear.

She froze.

No…this couldn’t be.

She knew what she was seeing, what she wasn’t feeling, and she knew she wasn’t crazy. His eyes widened in panic, confirming he realized it also. Quite clearly, where his ear should be, where it looked as though it was, she felt nothing but the smooth plain of his temple, as her finger tips passed right through what appeared to be a false, projected image of an ear. His hand flew up to grab her wrist then, as if in a delayed reaction to try and stop her, although they both knew it was already too late. Her eyes slowly drifted to where his hand gripped her tightly, as she felt the pricks of what seemed to be claws poking against her skin. Just as quickly as he’d grabbed her, he released her wrist, as they both stared at each other in varying degrees of shock and fear.

“What…” she muttered slowly, her brain trying to catch up with her, as she gazed down at her wrist and saw five little pink pinpricks in the pattern of fingers, although they hadn’t broken the skin. Her eyes slowly rose back up to meet his own.

In that moment, as she stared at him, she thought for the briefest of seconds that his eyes appeared lighter, like deep brownish amber, before she blinked and they were once again their darker chocolate brown. Suddenly, another breeze blew his hair yet again, and as her eyes automatically lowered to follow the movement of the dancing locks, she suddenly focused her vision on the beaded necklace that she had almost completely come to ignore, until now.

“What are you?” she asked him then, fear, hurt, and betrayal all clearly portrayed in her whispered words.

Though she still couldn’t see them, his ears lowered woefully upon his head. No… That wasn’t how he’d envisioned one day telling her. Not. At. All. Still…what was done, was done.

“Inu-hanyou.” he whispered, knowing she would hear him from her close proximity.

Aki continued to stare at him in some manner of shock for a few moments longer, and then, much like he had feared she would, she ran.

Kenta could do nothing but continue to stare at the innocent patch of soil she’d previous occupied by his side. No no no no no…

Yes… he sighed, there was no denying what had just happened. There was no denying the stench of fear that had been growing in her so strongly that it damn near gave him a headache. He’d braved entertaining a few fantasies in which he’d told her what he was, and she’d accepted him for it, but while he had known enough to realize that they were merely fantasies, nothing hurt worse than to have those hopes and dreams singed to death so brutally, like the over hundred-thousand dead back home in Japan. It was only in that moment that he finally realized how deeply he truly did love her, now that he was quite certain she was out of his life forever. With the evening coming to a close, and nobody else remaining outdoors besides himself, there was nothing to stop him from releasing the mournful howl that ripped from his throat.

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Nothing ran through Aki’s mind as she bolted like a frightened child, as she made her way “home” to their designated compartment within the camp, and to her mother’s embrace.

“Aki! Musume, what is it?” her mother asked her frantically, never before having seen her daughter in such a state of distress.

“Kenta…” she managed to sob against her mother’s shoulder, her tears falling more from confusion and fright than sadness. “He…he…”

“What’s the matter, child? What happened to Kenta?” Kiku asked, dreading that the lad had perhaps been brutalized or something of the sort.

Shaking her head against her mother, Aki finally managed to mutter “Not human…” and Kiku’s previous halfhearted suspicions instantly rushed back to her, as she realized what this meant.

Pulling her daughter away far enough to meet her eyes, Kiku commanded gently, “Aki, look at me.”

Obeying, while wiping at her sniffly nose, she met her mother’s eyes, only to find a knowing smile gracing her aging visage.

“Okaasan?”

Kiku proceeded to explain to her daughter how she had suspected something wasn’t quite standard with that young man, for quite some time now. She revealed the various oddities that she had kept track of over the years, and Aki reluctantly admitted that she too had noticed many of those occurrences, but had merely never thought too much about them. Kiku quickly reminded her daughter of the very real sacrifice that Kenta had made in order to protect them, allowing himself to join them in camp under the guise of being their family. She reminded her daughter also of the time he had spent much of his savings on the medicine she’d desperately needed at one point, when she had gotten sick and had feared leaving Aki alone. She made sure her daughter understood that not all youkai were evil, but that many, especially inu, were fiercely protective, and honorable. While Aki continued to mumble how she’d always thought the stories of youkai were merely fantasies, her mother assured her that the stories she’d been told as a child were all quite real. She also started to get Aki to think of things from Kenta’s point of view. Of how he obviously couldn’t risk revealing what he was to the humans around him, for fear they would believe him nothing but a monster.

“But why didn’t he tell us?” she asked, feeling betrayed and manipulated.

“Probably because he feared you would run away from him, and he had grown to care for you so much, that he couldn’t risk destroying your friendship, even if it meant you two were never more than friends.” she expressed knowingly, making her daughter feel quite guilty over her reaction outside in the field.

But she’d been shocked!

Who could honestly come to learn that a close friend of theirs, whom they’d secretly been in love with for nearly a decade, was in truth a being of mythology, and not become shocked and frightened by the realization?

It was in that moment that they both heard the distinctive cry of a mournful howl, everyone but themselves believing it a local coyote who had ventured too close to camp. Even Aki could hear the sadness in his voice, and realized regretfully that it was her doing.

Perhaps he would have one day found the courage to tell her. Perhaps he had intended to tell her all along, when the timing was right. What she had done, discovering his disguise like that, was purely accidental, and just as her mother had expressed, Kenta probably believed that he had now lost her friendship forever. That was especially true if she could put any human emotions into the howl that she knew damn well had come from his own throat. Aki understood the term hanyou, what he had called himself, to mean that he was in fact half human, and so she knew that the emotions she could always read so clearly in his eyes were truly his own. Nobody could fake such devotion, such compassion, and such fierce protectiveness. According to the legends her mother used to tell her, hanyou were brutally hated by both youkai and humans alike, being a part of both worlds, yet belonging to neither. The various stories she had heard, some of which involving inu-hanyou, like he had called himself, included heartache, betrayal, and death, and dated back several centuries.

Now she really wondered how old he was, as she again remembered the rather ancient looking katana that he had hidden away among their belongings packed in storage. Had he been one of those hanyou? Had he suffered from such unfair prejudice at one point during his life? Aki tried to put herself in his shoes, and quickly discovered that if she’d had the type of early life she was starting to believe he’d had, then she too wouldn’t be so quick to share with those around her what she truly was, now that there was a way to hide it. She was fully convinced now of the purpose of his rosary, and suddenly, a slight smile dared to show itself upon her lips, as she found herself wondering what he looked like without the spell. Her tiny smile was quick to turn back into a frown, however, at the thought of how upset he must be. She didn’t even need to explain to her mother, as Kiku clearly saw her daughter’s intentions in her gaze, as she looked to her mother in anxious realization. With a warm smile, and a soft nod, Kiku told her daughter without words that she trusted her to do the right thing. Smiling once again, and nodding back, Aki turned on her heels and headed back out the way she came.

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Kenta was so absorbed in his sorrow that he almost failed to sense Aki’s approach. Almost. Frantically rubbing at his eyes, he cursed under his breath as the holder of his heart proceeded to plop herself back down right in front of him, the outdoor lighting providing more than enough illumination for her to clearly tell that he had been crying. The only thing preventing him from bolting to his feet and running away in pure humiliation was the tiniest sliver of hope that had washed through him over what her return could possibly mean.

Aki, for her part, cried on the inside at the sight of him. While he had obviously tried to hide it from her, his effort was too little, too late, as she could plainly see how puffy and red his eyes had become. Her heart broke for him in that moment, all of her original love for this man rushing through her, despite her newly acquired knowledge regarding his species. Softly, she was quick to place her hand once again upon his knee, and other than jumping slightly at her touch, Kenta made no move to show that he wished for her to remove her hand.

Aki knew that Kenta was undoubtedly waiting for her to break the silence between them, so hesitating only a moment longer, she did just that, whispering in a sincere plea “Forgive me.”

His eyes widened slightly.

“Forgive…you?” he whispered back, confusion and hope colliding in his aura. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” he quickly assured her.

“I should not have reacted the way that I did.” she murmured humbly.

Shrugging, while trying desperately to keep from smiling like an idiot, Kenta replied “It was a perfectly understandable reaction.”

Even though there was no one around, that she knew of, Aki switched to Japanese. Even though most of the older detainees were familiar with their native language, the soldiers most certainly would not be, and she did not wish to risk their conversation being over heard by any of the Americans. Fortunately, though, Kenta could easily tell that they were in fact alone, or he wouldn’t have risked having such a conversation in any language.

“Are you really an inu-hanyou?” she asked him, not in an accusing manner, but with a sense of wonder.

Nodding, he answered “I am.”

Exhaling, she slowly developed a look of acceptance, as she eventually responded with “You are still Kenta to me.”

Relief flooded him at her words, as he pulled her forward into a tight embrace, letting his heart pour into her at her confession. Aki wondered why she’d never noticed it before that evening, as she could now clearly feel the tiny telltales of claw tips delicately pressing into her clothed back, just as they had pressed into her skin when he’d gripped her wrist before. Although, she did realize that they very rarely touched one another so intimately, and perhaps, on a subconscious level, the feel of his claws had just been yet another one of his oddities that she had simply “overlooked” until now.

Admitting to herself that she also felt relief fill her heart at the obvious display of his feelings for her, it wasn’t long at all before Aki securely wrapped her arms around Kenta’s back, as well, as she snuggled into his warm embrace.

They held each other like that for several minutes, until Aki was suddenly pulled back into reality upon noticing the tiniest of rumbling growls coming from Kenta’s chest. Somehow, she knew the sound was one of contentment, but it still reminded her of the conversation they needed to have without delay.

“I have so many questions.” she mumbled quietly, unsure if expressing her curiosity would disturb him, but honestly figuring that he owed her one at that point.

Kenta was unfazed as he pushed her back only far enough so that they could meet each other’s eyes, as he told her happily “Ask away.”

Starting with the basics, Aki asked him how old he really was, and was amazed to learn that he was over four centuries old. “You don’t look a day over two-hundred.” she told him with a playful touch to his shoulder, and he grinned in a manor that would have shown off his fangs had he not still been wearing the rosary. After some basic Q and A regarding what life was once like for him, what it was like to see the world change around him, and admitting that that sword of his was in fact a demonic blade with magical powers, the topic of his concealment charm came back into the forefront.

“So those beads around your neck give you a false human appearance?” she asked, although she already knew that was true from the fiasco that had started it all.

“Not really false…” he answered vaguely at first, before answering her question with one of his own. “How familiar are you with the concept of hanyou, generally speaking?”

She scrunched her face in confusion, and he realized that such information was likely kept more on the down-low, at least for humans outside of the Spiritual Sect. No matter, he quickly explained to her what he was getting at, and her eyes widened in shock as she repeated for clarity “There are times you turn human?”

He nodded, and then proceeded to demonstrate just how deeply he truly trusted her, by telling her exactly when his night of monthly transformation was. The gesture of complete trust was not lost on her, and was also greatly appreciated. She knew that he would never make such a decision rashly, and had undoubtedly already trusted her with his very being long before that evening, for him to so readily trust her with…in a sense…his very life.

While Aki quickly came to understand that what she was seeing was Kenta’s genuine human appearance, during his times of mortality, she was starting to become very curious as to what he really looked like under normal circumstances.

“Tonight is not the waning half-moon.” she expressed matter-of-factly, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. Answering his unasked question as to what she was getting at, she quickly asked him “What do you look like without your beads?”

He hesitated, only because he wasn’t sure how she would react to his natural appearance. He did understand that she had a right to know, though, and decided it would probably be better to at least tell her, first, before just up and removing the rosary.

“My face looks the same, except my eyes are a lighter, amber-brown.” She nodded in acceptance of that, recalling that she actually saw his eyes flash to that color momentarily, and contributed it to her mind having attempted to counteract what she’d realized was an illusion.

“I have fangs and claws.” he added, and she nodded in acceptance of that information, as well. It only made sense that he would have fangs, and she’d already felt his claws on two occasions that evening. She did not fear him.

“Instead of black, my hair is actually a very pure white.”

She blinked a couple of times at that one, only because she was attempting to visualize the difference. It also didn’t take her long to realize that he was hesitating in his continued description, and knowing very well that at least one other thing (or technically two) was different about him, she thought to spare him his nervousness by asking point blank “And your ears?”

Seeing him visibly gulp, Aki was starting to second-guess whether she really wanted to know, before she caught his hesitate whisper confessing “They are erect, triangular dog ears…upon the top of my head.”

She couldn’t help it. She grinned. She was a woman, after all.

Kawaii!!! she screamed in her mind, knowing better than to voice such a childish thing aloud.

Glancing around herself, even though she realized his night vision was undoubtedly much better than her own, Aki determined the best she could that they were alone, before hesitantly asking him “May I…see you?”

Biting back a reserved sigh, Kenta gave a single, curt nod, before he backed himself away from her slightly, allowing her time to disentangle herself from his embrace, as she once again sat herself cross-legged on the ground before him.

There was really no way to prepare her for what she was about to see, even with the foreknowledge of what he would look like. When Kenta removed the rosary from around his neck, the action did not trigger a slow transformation. There was no pulse in his demonic aura. It was literally as abrupt a change as removing a wig, in regard to the shocking difference in hair color. That white hair of his was what drew her attention for quite some time, too, as she truly paid no mind to his claws or fangs. Of course, it really wasn’t long before her eyes were drawn upward, and Kenta could recognize the exact instant her eyes focused on his fuzzy audio appendages.

She gasped.

The sound automatically caused his ears to lower upon his head, an action she apparently found quite adorable, as immediately following her initial gasp, she released the sort of sigh/moan “awww” that most women usually reserve for kittens and puppies in pet store windows.

That of course caused his ears to perk right back up again, as he quickly realized that she was not disgusted by him.

Then she giggled.

Definitely not disgusted. he concluded happily, as he sat there quietly, letting her ogle him to her heart’s content. His senses were on full alert to the world around them, and while they were in a somewhat well lit area, there was simply nobody around to see them. Security cameras obviously weren’t an issue, either, and besides, now that she knew what he was, if he had to, he’d simply grab her and her mother and bust out the nearest wall.

He was quite certain that she had explained to her mother what he was, and the way she’d returned to apologize for her actions lead him to believe that Kiku hadn’t been quite as shocked by the news as Aki originally had been. While he had thought he’d done a good enough job keeping what he was a secret, he knew that Kiku had been raised very traditionally, in Japan, and by historians, no less. She was undoubtedly very familiar with the ancient legends of her people. She also had that sort of “knows everything” air about her, though in a good way, like a motherly sage of worldly advice. Aki’s return in and of itself spoke volumes of Kiku’s own acceptance regarding what he was, and that meant more to him than he wondered if the older woman even realized. Although knowing her, she probably did.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Aki hesitantly licking her lips. Focusing his eyes on her own, he could see her sudden nervousness, although if he had to pick a variety of nervousness to describe what she appeared to be experiencing, it would be giddy nervousness.

Quickly realizing she’d been found out, Aki cleared her throat, as she managed to find her voice, and while hoping she wasn’t overstepping her bounds, asked her friend and secret love cautiously, “May I…touch them?”


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Slowly, very slowly, life was returning to normal.

While Kagome hadn’t been sure what kind of long-term effects, if any, radiation would have on a full-blooded youkai, she was relieved that the youkai community as a whole had taken her “visions” seriously, with regard to how large of a radius had to be evacuated from each target city. Her grandpups from Kazuki’s side had done much of the legwork, she knew, and for that, she would forever be grateful. After all, even if a full-blooded youkai could withstand such a thing, that didn’t guarantee the survival of those with mixed heritage.

Hanyou were much more common in that day and age; a side-effect from Sesshoumaru having long ago declared the West a safe haven for inner-racial couples. Haha, “inner-racial”…if only the world at large really knew…but with the increased hanyou population soon came a multitude of quarter-youkai, and even eighth-youkai people. People whom Kagome was fairly certain would not have been able to survive a nuclear attack.

To walk the streets of Hiroshima or Nagasaki now, it looked as though you were standing in the middle of some sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare. Sesshoumaru’s youki was certainly strong enough to withstand any residual radiation, and thanks to the merging of his youki within their weapons, to withstand poisons, Kagome had wanted, no…needed…to see it for herself. Of course Inuyasha went with her, holding his sleeve over his nose the entire time. The scent of chard flesh still polluted the air, and both knew that it would take a long time before these wounds on their country would fully heal. The bandages were already being applied, though, as Japan finally announced their surrender, and the war was declared officially over. Kagome knew that Japan would now become occupied by the United States for a time, but that too was nothing more than history fulfilling itself.

It also looked as though her missing baby would be returning home soon, and to be perfectly honest, the news of Kenta’s planned return to Japan was occupying more of her thoughts than the details of the human world’s post-war cleanup efforts. Her second-born son, not having access to a phone himself, had written a quick letter to his nephew in New York, who had been more than happy to pay the outrageous charges for an International phone call to pass the joyous news along to his mother, who then promptly informed the rest of the castle. Hikaru had told Rin to be expecting a rather large shipment to arrive in the next few weeks, consisting solely of Kenta’s various personal effects. Rin had promptly squealed joyously, and demanded to know the details.

Kagome was overjoyed to learn that her son and his future mate had successfully been kept together during their time in camp, and that she had apparently been made aware of what he was, accepted him for it, and was planning on joining him on his journey back to Osaka. She had heard so much about Aki over the years that she was truly looking forward to meeting the women who had captured her son’s heart so thoroughly, that he invited imprisonment upon himself in order to keep her in his life. While they weren’t mated yet, that was only a formality, she had been told, as Kenta wished for his parents to officially meet the girl, first. But both Aki and her mother now knew that Kenta was a hanyou, and Kiku had already granted her permission for Aki to become his mate. Even though Inuyasha put on his classic tough-guy routine of declaring that he would need to determine whether or not she was worthy, Kagome could see it in his eyes that he was just as happy for their son as she was.

As for Hikaru and Hoshi, the pair still planned on residing in America on a permanent basis, although Hikaru, or “Chris” as he was now called, did promise his mother that he and his mate would return to Japan for a lengthy visit. He could easily understand how his human mother would wish to be in the company of all of her children after the recent horrors she had just been forced to live through.

Honestly, he also missed his daughters, and wanted to meet the pureblooded kitsune males that his mother had informed him had since taken his daughters as their mates. They had apparently met while working to increase the popularity of concealment charms, these kitsune being among those who were the most eager to assist the second-generation hanyou twins with their plight. In Hikaru’s absence, Shippo had granted permission for the reynards to court his granddaughters. While “Chris” was a little upset that the matings had already taken place, he trusted his daughters’ judgments, and knew that it had obviously been their desire to mate with their current partners. He would also admit that part of him was looking forward to the day his first grandkits made their appearance, although neither vixen was with-child…yet.

While Kagome and Inuyasha prepared for the arrival of Kenta and Aki, as well as her mother Kiku who would also be warmly welcomed into the pack, Rin and Shippo were simultaneously preparing to welcome yet another “Aki” to the family. Although, Akiaka much preferred the full-length version of her name, she muttered with a scrunched up nose. To her, the shortened version made her feel like a cub, and she was hardly a cub, she protested.

It had taken an abnormally long period of time, but with the war around them providing a sort of reminder that not even youkai were truly immortal, both Akiaka and Noboru finally decided to admit their love for one another. As it would turn out, Akiaka confessed, a great deal of her hesitation had indeed come from the fact that ookami packs were female dominated, and as the first-born daughter of the Ookami no Taisho, she had believed that her parents would insist that it was her place to one day take an ookami mate, as the heir to the Northern lands.

Of course, Kouga had quickly squashed that notion upon his realization that his daughter was in love with the kitsune-hanyou.

While he had obviously been aware of how frequently his daughter visited the castle in Osaka, it had always been her claim that she wished to visit with her “friends”…in plural…naming all of the various inu and kitsune hanyou of around her age. It wasn’t until her little brother Kenichi inadvertently tattled on her, thinking to get on her nerves with his repeated rendition of “Akiaka and Noboru sitting in a tree…” that their parents became aware of just who Akiaka was truly leaving to see on such a regular basis.

Instead of being angry with her over her deception, though, Kouga and Ayame had sat her down for a fairly brief, fairly heartfelt conversation. In short, they had reminded their daughter that they were no longer living in the sengoku jidai, that it wasn’t so much that times were changing as they had already changed, and that those of mixed heritage were simply no longer looked down upon as they had once been. It was true, she realized, that while most of the older, rowdy wolves of their pack used to pay no heed as to what they said in her presence, thus polluting her vocabulary as was discovered all those many years ago - she looked back on Hikaru biting her with a nostalgic smile - those insults had become less and less frequent over the years until they virtually disappeared altogether. The last time Inuyasha and his human mate had paid their tribe a visit, under the guise of official business, he had been greeted with respect by the entire pack, and something akin to brotherly friendship by her father. Though something resembling insults had been thrown back and forth between the two alpha males throughout the duration of the visit, it was clear to anyone who knew them that it was all in good fun.

And so…it was with open arms, and open hearts, that both Kouga and Ayame embraced their adult daughter in a loving hug, as they told her to follow her own heart, and that if she truly wanted the kitsune-hanyou, that she had their blessing. It was partially from mild concern that some of the elder wolves might still dare to whisper the occasional insult, and partially from her own fondness for the other members of the Western household, but it was quickly decided that Akiaka would be the one to make the move, living with her mate in Osaka.

Kagome smiled at the thought, as she fancied up Kenta’s old bedroom in anticipation of his arrival. While the maids had ensured that the vacant chamber never became overly covered in dust, it still lacked a mother’s touch. It wasn’t long before her thoughts began to drift away from Kenta and his newly extended family, however. Thinking of Noboru and Akiaka getting together reminded her of the time, way back when, when Noboru had shown interest in Minako. She stifled a chuckle at the memory, and how her daughter had sought to let the kitsune down as gently as possible, which was quite the accomplishment, for her. As though her ears were burning, though Kagome had kept her thoughts to herself, she was quickly pulled from her musings as said hanyou stuck her head in through the doorway.

“How are you holding up?” Minako asked her mother, having returned home from her explorations of the countryside prior to Japan’s involvement in the war, at her mother’s insistence.

“Just fine, dear.” Kagome answered, pausing afterwards in amusement of how she caught herself sounding more and more like her own mother everyday. “How are you holding up?” she asked her daughter next. “Pacing the halls yet?” she teased, knowing that Minako had never been one for staying still for too long. Her father used to be like that, Kagome remembered with a fond smile, but Inuyasha had happily settled down once he’d had someone to settle down with.

“Don’t the nights get lonely?” Kagome asked out of the blue, surprising both herself and her daughter, who had been about to comment on her mother’s previous question.

“I…I’m just not the mating type; you know that.” Minako answered truthfully.

Sure, she would admit that there were nights, several in fact, where she’d wake up and wish for the warmth of someone lying beside her. But of all the men she’d ever allowed to court her over the years, youkai and human alike (despite her previous insistence of never even considering a human mate), she simply never felt that any of them were “the one”. Mating was a big responsibility. It wasn’t taken as lightly as it was in the human world, as she witnessed the cultural viewpoints of intimate activities among humans “evolve” over the centuries. For youkai, at least those from species who mated for life, to mate was to select your life partner, and none of the men she’d considered as prospects so far had ever struck her as someone she could spend the rest of her life with.

“Still, I worry about you.” her mother commented, and her ears lowered.

“I cannot help what my heart tells me, mother.” Minako answered in a soft tone, hoping that her mother would understand.

Kagome actually understood a little too well.

“Does your heart tell you things you try to ignore?” she asked her daughter cryptically, earning a confused furrowing of her brow.

“Mother?” she asked, confused, “I’m not sure I-”

“Daisuke isn’t the mating type, either.” Kagome interrupted, and her daughter’s eyes widened in realization.

Her mother was comparing her to her nephew? But Miyako and Yoshi’s youngest son was…was…

“Mother?”

“Minako, you’re a good person.” her mother answered with a loving smile. “If you truly wish to remain on your own, if you simply don’t have it in you to tie yourself down to anyone, then you have my blessing to live the life of your choice. However, if there is ever…someone…with whom you would like to share your life, but youkai mating is not an option, well…don’t let a detail like that stand in the way of your happiness, all right?”

She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to feel. She didn’t know how to behave. Should she act offended, or relieved? Happy, or disgusted? Should she put up a “tough-guy” routine in avid denial, or whimper her submission to her omniscient mother?

Finally, Minako settled for the quiet lowering of her ears, as she gazed up at her mother with moist doe-eyes.

Now there’s a ‘precious moments’ look if I ever saw one…Kagome mused with a caring smile, as she placed her hand upon her daughter’s head with loving affection.

“Did I ever tell you the story about my friend Eri?” Kagome asked with a wink, while roughing up her daughter’s hair.

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Elsewhere in the castle, another raven-haired, mateless hanyou was currently being coddled by her own daughter. Sachiko was worried for her mother. Her father would never have wished for Miyako to remain alone all these years. Even youkai custom dictated that it was within her rights to take on another mate, but Miyako claimed to be content in her role as widow, as she watched her children start families of their own. Still, Sachiko had a plan. She’d heard from her uncle Kazuki that a male inu-hanyou of a different breed had recently lost his own human mate during the war. While the woman had not been injured as a direct result of the bombings, her elderly heart had given out on her as they’d attempted to flee in the middle of the night. It had simply been too much of a strain for her, as she saw the destruction all around them. Just like her father, Sachiko thought in comparison, this hanyou’s mate had not wished to participate in the blood-bond, and while they had had many happy years together, he had been forced to watch her slowly succumb to old age.

While his wounds might still be too fresh to consider ever mating another, they definitely could not leave such a damaged soul to wander the world alone, as his own children had grown and moved away long ago. So, as she’d heard it from her uncle, it was with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder that her grandfather had invited the red-haired inu-hanyou to relocate to Osaka. Sachiko wasn’t sure if Inuyasha’d had any ulterior motives himself when he’d offered his assistance to the lost soul, but she was definitely going to make use of the opportunity. He and her mother would be perfect for each other. They could heal each other. After all, nobody could truly sympathize with the pain of losing one’s mate, except for somebody who had experienced the same thing.

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As the weeks turned into months, it appeared as though Benten was truly smiling upon our favorite (and growing) family.

Although Miyako appreciated her daughter’s efforts, she was not ready to consider taking another mate. Still, she and Hotaka had become good friends; Sachiko had been right in that they were the only ones who could truly comfort one another. Perhaps…one day…

It also appeared as though other people who had previously been lonely were finally finding their soul mates.

Mayu, Kazuki’s second-born and only unmated child, finally met her match during their family’s cleanup efforts. She was working with her parents, assisting the city as volunteers to help clear away the remaining rubble in parts of Tokyo, when she met a young fire-hanyou who was also working as a volunteer for the cleanup efforts. It turned out that he had been working as a volunteer firefighter in Tokyo for several decades, and had also been assisting the humans during the war by rescuing whomever he could from the firebombing. Mayu wondered how they’d managed to avoid meeting one another until that day. When he’d learned what house she belonged to, he was honored that a Taisho would find him a worthy mate, and never once did her over abundance of human blood factor in as an issue.

Those descendent from human women were not the only ones finding their matches, either, as even Sesshoumaru’s daughter Suishoukaze was currently being courted by a chief of guard. Sesshoumaru had known this particular inu for centuries, but that still did not stop him from having “father’s eyes” whenever he observed those two interacting. Still, both knew that if the Taiyoukai truly did not approve, he would do much more than glare.

His son Daichi had also had his eyes on an inu-bitch at the castle for quite some time, but had feared saying anything because her rank was much lower than his own, and as the heir to the Western lands, Daichi also feared, like Akiaka, that his opinion on the matter would not be honored. His worries were finally put to rest when he somehow managed to muscle up the courage to speak of his feelings with his uncle, knowing that Inuyasha, as a hanyou, would be more likely to understand the ways of the heart than his full inu father. His uncle had pointed out, not in a rude way, the status (or lack there of) of his own mother, Kagura, prior to her becoming Sesshoumaru’s mate. If Mr. High And Mighty himself could find an incarnation of Naraku worthy of being his mate, then Daichi had nothing to worry about with regard to the kitchen server. The demi-inu was not insulted by his uncle’s reminder of just who, technically, his “grandfather” was, but rather, he took Inuyasha’s words in the way they were meant to be taken, as he thanked the hanyou profusely.

Fortunately, not everyone was still stuck in the giddy “teenager” stage when it came to finding one’s mate. Certain people had already claimed their new mates, and had been living happily for several months now.

While Kenta had been mildly upset, at first, that he couldn’t plug in his trusty turntable, a new turntable made for Japanese outlets soon had the hanyou serenading his loving mate to his favorite albums. Aki was adjusting well to life in Japan. Not only was it a culture shock to the poor girl who had been born and raised in America, but she had also suddenly been thrust into a world of “mythical” creatures. All things considered, the laughing girl currently being chased around the gardens by a gaggle of kitsune-turned-geese was adjusting remarkably well.

Tossing away the remains of her sandwich to make her escape, Aki squealed in surprise when a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, and she no longer felt her feet upon the ground, as she was hoisted swiftly into a nearby tree. Getting her bearings, she turned to glare at the unconcealed, grinning visage of her mate, as Kenta wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

They had agreed to start a family while Kiku was still young enough to enjoy her grandchildren, as Aki’s mother had no way of sharing in the blood-bond that had prolonged her own life. That being said, Kenta had also stated that he’d wanted to allow Aki time to adjust to her new life in Osaka, first, as he could understand how drastic a change the girl had just experienced in her life. So, for the first several months, Kenta diligently ignored his mate’s fertile time, but as winter melted into spring, it looked as though his willpower was disappearing as quickly as the mountain snow. After all, resisting your animal urges when you were not mated, and did not want to risk scaring away the girl who thought you were human, was a lot easier than resisting your animal urges when you and the girl of your dreams were already mated. When you had already tasted her flesh; already had her naked imagine permanently branded to the inside of your eyelids.

Fortunately, Aki seemed to know exactly what Kenta was going through, as she lovingly rubbed the base of his left ear, smiling to herself at how his eyes drifted shut, before a low rumbling vibration started in the back of his throat. She did not act surprised in the slightest when she suddenly felt something poking at her from where she sat in her husband’s lap.

“Bitch…” he growled low, and she knew he had not meant it as an insult.

“Your bitch.”

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Translations…

Kouga’s son…

Kenichi, or as it’s sometimes written, Ken’ichi, is most often translated as meaning “strong first son”. This can seem confusing when you consider that, in actuality, the word for “son” that appears at the end of any given name, rou, is not directly a part of this name at all, although it is implied as it is still an unquestionably male name nonetheless. Literally, the name can be broken up with ken in this context meaning “healthy, strong” and ichi literally meaning the number “one”. So, one could argue from an English perspective that the name actually means “Strong one”, and doesn’t necessarily mean first anything. But in actuality, “one” is used in the implied context of meaning “first”, so the more loose translation of “strong first son” is accurate, even if it isn’t a direct word-for-word translation.

Oh, and remember Kiba, Akiaka’s mortal wolf? Anyone who ever watched “Wolf’s Rain” probably knows this, but for the rest of you, the word kiba literally means “fang”.

Shippo and Rin’s latest children…

Kotone comes from koto meaning “harp, lute” and ne meaning “sound”. I thought it was a beautiful enough name for their second daughter.

Sora, according to ‘behindthename.com’, can be either a male or female name, and literally means “sky”.

Tarou and Katsuo’s sons…

Haruto can actually have several different meanings. The name is broken up as haru which, depending on the kanji used, can mean either “sun, sunlight”, “distant” or “clear up”, which is combined with either to that means “soar, fly” or also to which refers to the constellation Ursa Major. The meaning I’ve decided his name reflects, that his parents chose, is “sun, sunlight” paired with “soar, fly”.

Masaru is remarkably easier, in contrast. While I’ve previously stated that the word Katsu means “victory”, the name Katsuo chose for his son, Masaru, also means “victory”. This name was selected on purpose, when I discovered this. It is a fitting name; like father, like son.

Miyako’s children…

While I’d previously named her eldest, her daughter Sachiko, whose name means “child of happiness”, her two sons, Sachiko’s younger brothers, were previously unnamed.

Hideyoshi comes from hide meaning “esteem, excellence” and yoshi meaning “good” or “good luck”. This name was chosen on purpose for Yoshi’s first born son, as an almost sort of “Junior” type of name. Again with the “like father, like son”, if you will.

Daisuke comes from dai meaning “large, great” and suke meaning “help”. There’s really no grand significance behind his name other than I was simply trying to find a nice, strong, decidedly male name.

As for Ah-Un, the “Ryuu’uma”…I was actually rather lazy with my creativeness regarding his species type. I was an avid follower of the story “The Phoenix Blade: Time Lapse” and actually caught myself wanting to refer to him as a “Tenbaryu”…before I remembered that that word was personally coined by Fenikkusuken, and is not canon. So I threw together something else, which basically means the same thing, just not quite as “heavenly”. Ryuu is the word for “dragon”, and uma is the word for “horse”, so the term Ryuu’uma simply, and quite literally, means “Dragon-Horse”.

The endearment I had Kiku call Aki at one point in time, Musume, means “girl” or “daughter”.

“Benten” is the Shinto goddess of love, wisdom, and good fortune, among other things.

As for Hotaka, the male inu-hanyou who lost his mate and befriended Miyako, his name is derived from ho meaning “grain” and taka meaning “tall”. It is actually the name of a mountain in Japan.