Chapter 7: Overcoming Bravo Fear, Part 1


The morning after everyone escaped Seiren, Miharu started making breakfast in the kitchen. Buttered toast, cooked scrambled eggs, miso soup... Despite the new house guests from the two other dimensions, she seemed in good spirits. Humming, she raked the yolk around the skillet as Miroku woke and reached the kitchen. "Bright and early, Miharu?" he greeted. Eyes closed with a smile, Miharu shot a happy look to the monk.

"Good morning, Miroku," she welcomed. "I'm just cooking breakfast for everyone. It's been sometime since we have had a huge gathering such as this." For the monk, seeing all these people needed sometime to break in.

"I'll say... Meeting people from the future seemed overwhelming to me but... I now know what it holds, and defeating Naraku might guarantee a future of sorts." The pink-haired from Seiren widened her smile to his wishing.

"Well, with you making your say, I'd say our future's looking brighter by the day." Not missing out of breakfast was Pikachu who could smell the sizzling yolk.

("Is it ready?") Pikachu squeaked, hungry for food. Miharu smiled before giving an apple to the creature. ("Saving the food for the humans, I gotcha.") Miroku petted Pikachu while eating the offered apple.

"Pikachu was pretty worried about Ash when he was still on Seiren," he brought up. "But hearing from Kagome, I'd say he's more cunning than InuYasha is and probably wouldn't be too surprised if she prefers him instead of our half-demon friend." Pikachu wasn't sure about Miroku's proclamation.

("I don't think Ash would take the offer.") The monk decided not to answer Pikachu's doubts. Just then, the door opened and closed in mere seconds. To Miharu, something was off.

"Yukinari would never skip breakfast since I moved in with him," she guessed. That's when Yukinari came to the kitchen, debunking her guess.

"You say something about me, Miharu?" he asked. Spinning heads to the boy, Miharu sighed in relief knowing it wasn't Yukinari who left the house.

"Yukinari?" Miroku gawked slightly. "If you're here, who..?" Clarified, Yukinari nodded to what the deal happened to be about.

"Tomoka wanted to show Ash and Shippo around the city. I told her not to go around alone, considering Fukuyama could jump out at any moment to... you know." Early fears mounted with Miroku about what Fukuyama could do to the kids.

"I thought Fukuyama and Tomoka get along without a problem," Miharu remembered. This new information gave Miroku some relief.

"At least if Tomoka is familiar with Fukuyama, I could rest assure he'll be proper," he hoped. Meanwhile, Ash, Shippo and Tomoka stopped by a cafe in the city. Ash enjoyed some orange pekoe tea, Shippo with green tea, preferably Oolong and Tomoka had a latte.

"We appreciate you taking us out to see the town," Ash praised. "But don't you think Koyomi and Yukinari will be upset by this move? You didn't really tell anyone." Shippo nodded to Ash's claim.

"I agree," he sided. "After all this talk about Fukuyama could really put us in danger." All Tomoka did was scoff.

"Fukuyama and I seem to be good enough friends that we try to help Short Stuff and he doesn't do his 'stuff' on me," she explained. To the boy and demon child, as long as Tomoka was with them, they didn't need to worry about someone like Fukuyama.

"You know, what happened last night bothered me what Yukinari's allergy flared up," Ash recalled. "I mean, you don't that kind of allergy at birth. I'm no expert but that's what I think." Tomoka sighed from Ash's query to how Yukinari developed the rash, thinking that he wouldn't understand.

"From what I've been told, Short Stuff's had it rough. All the girls bullied him because he couldn't mature physically." The blinking of confusion left those wondering what Tomoka meant.

"What exactly do you mean 'mature physically'?" asked Shippo.

"Well, Short Stuff's a little older than he appears but that's why the girls hated him. It was a hard life trying to grow up from all his turmoil. Sure, Kirie stood up for the Small Fry but the emotional damage was done. Now with the exception of Miharu, any girl who comes into contact with him triggers the Girl Rash." The explanation forced Ash to slump back on the chair, nudging the front legs up. He didn't look happy from the story.

"So he didn't grow up on time," groaned him. "That doesn't give anyone an excuse to torment him. Sure, Yukinari isn't as tall as Brock or Mirkou or even InuYasha. All I can say is that Miharu's given him the support everyone else wouldn't offer." Tomoka and Shippo awed the words from the trainer. Ash was upset with how the girls treated Yukinari due to his looks.

"Ash..." gulped Shippo. Finally, Ash slumped the chair back on all fours.

"Who am I to argue? He's got you, Kirie, Miharu and Koyomi helping him. He needs friends if only to get over the hardships of his past." Ash's words hit home for the fox child and the young Seiren seeker. As they absorbed the rant, Koyomi spotted the youths while hiding from Ash's sight. Tomoka caught a glimpse of her partner and waived her over to join. This forced Koyomi back behind the wall.

"Come on, Koyomi!" she urged. "Have some tea!" Apprehensive, Koyomi didn't move away from her corner. The boy was her main concern. She finally came out and joined the table with Ash and Shippo watching on.

"Tomoka, you know better than to leave the house without my knowledge!" she yelled. Tomoka figured she didn't deserve the shout.

"I just wanted to show these two around. Who knows how long they'll be here while the Bureau finds those new Star Children?" Her intentions were meaningful...

"Hey, why not have some tea with us?" offered Shippo. Koyomi hiccuped at the idea. From talking to InuYasha, Koyomi didn't like men despite being from that planet full of women who're in need of one.

"Don't worry... They're totally understandable. They're not like Monk boy or the Breeder, let alone Fukuyama." It still wasn't enough to convince Koyomi to join the table.

"Look, if it helps," Ash tried his luck. "I put Brock in his place after getting misty over some girls who were all sisters and even a daughter of a supposed superhero." Was it possible for Ash to discipline his older friend, in her mind anyway?

"Would you..." she fidgeted. "Would you do it to Fukuyama?" The name tossed around, Ash realized Fukuyama wasn't trustworthy.

"I can come up with a few ways." Still reluctant, Koyomi finally stepped to and sat at the table, across from Ash. Still, her nerves seemed wrecked. The face of potential panic, Ash felt needed to ask. "Is something wrong?" She feigned to reply.

"I told you that she's afraid of men," reminded Tomoka. The purple-haired jerked her head away while Ash sighed, trying to wonder how to help her.

"How long has she had this problem?" The answer came with shoulder shrugs from the blond girl. "I guess longer than you've known her, huh?" Remembering that Ash had been with Brock for sometime, Koyomi wondered about their past.

"Brock helped out with cooking and cleaning Yukinari's clothes, not to mention Miharu's and mine as well." Even though trapped in this land, Brock helped with whatever the household needed. A good friend, this was no surprise to Ash.

"Well, considering he helped raise ten brothers and sisters, it's not that big of a deal." The rest gasped at the new information of Brock's family.

"Whoa, really?" awed Shippo.

"I didn't know Brock had siblings, let alone that many," Tomoka gulped. Now Koyomi started understanding Brock's desire for a girl.

"I think Brock wants to start a family," she pondered. "Perhaps have a child of his own." An interesting theory, one Shippo's heard a lot.

"Sounds like he'd be a better dad than Miroku," he compared. "He's been after anyone with hills to bear a son for when he passed away and Naraku is still alive." Both guys chasing tail for different reasons, one suggested and one as an emergency. Ash pondered about Miroku's reason to have a boy of his own and the connection to Naraku.

"He and Naraku... related?" thought Ash.

"Well, not like that. It started with Miroku's grandfather being seduced by Naraku disguised as a woman before his hand was pierced. It was a curse that would swallow any man born under Miroku's family. When Naraku is dead for sure, Miroku's curse will lift." In a sense, Miroku was part of a cursed legacy.

"I feel bad for Miroku, having a cursed lineage," Tomoka mulled, sipping her drink. The group finished their beverages when Ash wondered about anymore plans.

"Other than Tomoka, any reason you came out?" he asked Koyomi.

"I wanted to get some grocery shopping done for Miharu," she answered. The other three glanced to each other before nodding.

"We can come, too," Shippo offered. "Easier to carry the food, right?" Koyomi groaned at the addition of the errand.

"I suppose I could use a little help." Paying the bill for the drinks, the group headed out to shop. Tomoka couldn't help herself about Shippo wearing a bow in his hair, even though Shippo's a boy.

"So why does the fox kid wear a ribbon?" she wondered. "Aren't you a boy?" Shippo groaned to the topic.

"It's to keep my hair from getting in my eyes," he huffed. This had Tomoka digging in a pocket and pulled a hairband from it before snatching Shippo from Ash's shoulder. "Hey!" Ash and Koyomi turned around to see Tomoka remove the ribbon from Shippo's hair, letting the mane drape his body. His hair was actually longer than his body. Despite the demon's protest about his hair, the blond child combed Shippo's fur before scooping the long locks and applying the band through. When done, Shippo didn't look any different. The new hairband was a nice substitute for the ribbon.

"Done!" Reaching, Shippo didn't feel his ribbon anymore.

"Weird... I don't feel anything off." Humored, Ash knelt down to let Shippo back on board.

"It looks good on you," he chuckled. After jumping back on, they continued for about a few more feet when Ash spotted a girl with her head down, not paying attention to what's in front of her. "Whoa, look out!" The blond girl didn't seem to react to his yell and Ash caught her by the shoulders. Only when her shoulders got latched did the blue eyes shoot at the boy stopping her.

"What-" she gasped as a car passed behind Ash at the corner. She gawked at how close she came to getting a car grill at 40 miles an hour.

"Close call," Shippo sighed. As the blond tried to piece together the ordeal, Tomoka and Koyomi reached the corner just as Ash removed his hands.

"You okay?" he asked. The bewildered blond darted her eyes to the one who kept her from harm.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "Trying to figure out where my brother is." The two other girls gasped at the blond's appearance.

"Lisa?!" Koyomi identified. With a twist of her head, the blond spotted the two from Seiren.

"Hey, Koyomi. How are you and Tomo doing this morning?"

"Well, at least Big Bro isn't with any of us," Tomoka breathed in relief. Lisa looked somewhat defeated by the notice.

"Hopefully, Hayate and Kosame find him before he finds my soul-mate's house." Hearing the name of someone he came across, Ash gawked at his chance encounter with "the mistress."

"Wait, you're the mistress?" he questioned. Lisa slightly chuckled with the title he brought up.

"Yeah, I guess you could say so." Koyomi opted to inform Ash about Lisa.

"This is Lisa Fukuyama," she named. The name of Fukuyama made Ash do a double-take. All this time, he thought Fukuyama was a guy.

"You mean you're the one who..?" Ash tried to understand but Lisa shook her head to deny she's the one doing the problems.

"That would be my brother, Kazaharu," Lisa corrected before knowing the current issue at hand with Koyomi and Ash being together. "Anyway, aren't you afraid of men, Koyo? What are you and Tomo doing with him?" Koyomi cleared her throat before offering an explanation.

"I found Tomoka with Ash at a cafe after Yukinari brought up what she was doing," she pointed out. "I was planning to go grocery shopping and they volunteered to help bring the food back. Besides, he's from a different plain of existence, as is Shippo who's on his shoulder." Intrigued, Lisa wanted to know more about the new boy.

"Really?" Shippo bobbed his head to confirm Koyomi's words.

"There are more of us back at Yukinari's household," he added. "But I'd stay clear of Miroku. He'd be after your tail before you can blink." Lisa jumped at the demon speaking.

"Y-You can talk?!"

"Of course! I'm a demon! It comes with the territory." Now rather bewildered, Lisa wasn't sure to believe Shippo's claim.

"No way! You're too tiny to be a demon! You're hardly a threat." Shippo gawked aghast at the disbelief.

"I am a demon! I can prove it!" Grabbing a leaf, he pressed it on his head before a plume of smoke billowed. When it cleared... he looked just like Ash. The original Ash balked a response to the demon's transformation.

"You can transform into me?" he gasped.

"Well, not just you. I've done Kagome, Miroku and even a balloon to name a few." This impressed Ash, frightened Koyomi but didn't phase Lisa.

"Please, I'd be impressed if you transformed into me and close in on Yukinari," she grumbled. Shippo sported a deadpan look to Lisa.

"Would you believe me if I told you I transformed to Kagome and Miroku patted my tail? He took a Fox Fire attack in his butt from me!" This stunned Ash and Lisa to know he could change gender but it came with a risk.

"I'm shocked and Pikachu's not with me," Ash gulped.

"Yeah, sorry I asked," Lisa backed away. Shippo removed the leaf, reverting himself back to the tiny fox. "Any who, why not let me come along? We're all heading back to Yukinari's house anyway." She raised a good point.

"Better with the Big Sister than the Big Brother, especially with Koyomi around," Tomoka cheered as they resumed their walk just as Kirie, Kagome and Pikachu spotted them from across the street.

"That can't be good," Kirie mulled. Kagome and Pikachu glared back at the brunette with concern.

"You and Yukinari told us about Koyomi's fear of men but... this is Ash," Kagome reassured, Pikachu squeaking as backup.

"Well, if Lisa is around, her brother can't be far off." Her concern wasn't about Ash but Fukuyama. If Ash was cornered by Lisa's brother, how could he confront them?


TO BE CONTINUED...