Small update about this chapter: I decided to restore Shippo to his rightful age of 28 rather than 20. I reread my fic again from the beginning and realized it was rather odd to be almost Myori's age. I have no idea what I was thinking back then and I apologize for any confusion. I don't usually do things like thing, but it was somethingI couldn't ignore.
"I need your help on a mission today." Bankotsu opened his eyes to find Myori hovering over him. He was currently lying on a grassy hill trying to take a nap in the cool breeze. He sat up, intrigued by her vagueness.
"What exactly is this mission about?"
"We're getting Yumi and Shippo together." It had been a month since Myori had visited Sesshomaru's family for the first time and since then, she had noticed Shippo and Yumi growing fonder and fonder of one another, even if they wouldn't admit it to each other. Bankotsu shook his head in protest.
"No way! I'm not helping you lead my woman into another demon's arms!" Myori raised an eyebrow at her friend, squatting down next to him.
"Your woman? She still denies your advances."
Bankotsu smiled. "She's just playing along but I know deep down that she feels something for me."
Myori shook her head in pity. "Sorry buddy, but she already told me that she likes Shippo so you're gonna have to let this go." Bankotsu's jaw dropped.
"Then I'm challenging him to a battle to win Yumi's heart!"
Myori chuckled. "If I can't even beat Shippo in a fight, then you don't stand a chance." She replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's time to move on Bankotsu, and tell you what, I'll help you find someone once we've accomplished this."
Bankotsu thought about it for a minute, then ultimately shook his head. "Yumi will be mine, and you're not going to stop me." With that, he got up and began to walk back to the village.
"Why must he be so stubborn?" Myori sighed. "I guess I'm on my own since I can't ask Kisho to help me either." She made her way into the village and found Shippo and Yumi sitting in front of her hut. An idea hit her and she grinned. "This is going to be way too easy."
"Hi Myori." Yumi said, waving at her friend. Shippo whispered something to her and she began to giggle, a light blush creeping over her cheeks. Myori bit her inner cheek to keep herself from smirking.
"I'm going fishing in the forest. Do you guys wanna come?" Yumi nodded.
"What happened to Kisho and Bankotsu?" Shippo asked.
"Kisho's taking a nap in a tree somewhere and I have no idea where Bankotsu went. He was with me not too long ago."
"Did you ask Sango and Miroku if they had seen him?" Yumi asked.
"I was on my way over to their home to ask them, but I stumbled upon you two instead and I figured I didn't need Bankotsu." Myori replied. "Anyways, what were you doing before I got here? Sharing secrets?" She couldn't suppress her facial expressions any longer and gave them both a cheeky grin.
Yumi blushed, placing her hands over her cheeks to cover them. "No, not at all. We were just chatting about life and how different things have become recently."
Shippo nodded. "What she said."
Myori shrugged. "Alright, if you say so. Now let's get going. This is the perfect time to catch fish." She quickly ran into her hut and and grabbed three fishing poles lying on the floor in the main room. Once she had returned, the two demons sitting on the grass stood up and followed Myori into the forest. Myori made sure to stay ahead of the pair so that they would feel comfortable enough to continue talking to each other privately. Once they had reached the river, Myori turned back around to them. "Alright, here are your poles. You two can stay here and I'll sit up on my favourite fishing rock."
"Sounds good." Yumi said, taking a seat near the water, Shippo sitting down right beside her. Myori jumped and sat on a large rock that was sitting in the river. Some time had passed and occasionally, she would sneak a glance over at Yumi and Shippo, noticing them joking with one another and splashing water at each other.
"Hey!" Myori said loudly, catching their attention. She intended to actually catch some fish for dinner. "No splashing water at each other. It'll scare away the fish." Yumi gave her a sheepish smile.
"Sorry." Things were quiet for a while and Myori knew her plan would fail if she didn't do something quickly. After thinking for a minute she came up with an idea. She applied enough pressure on her stick to cause it to snap. She noticed Shippo and Yumi look up at her and she groaned.
"Ugh, I broke my stick."
"How did that happen?" Shippo asked.
"You know how tense I get when I'm fishing." She got up and jumped off her rock, landing on the ground next to the pair. "I'll go grab something to fix this with in the village. I'll be right back so keep fishing without me." She walked away from them and back into the forest, climbing up a tree far enough away from them where they wouldn't be able to hear her. From there, she sat and watched them.
"This is so relaxing." Yumi said, basking in the sun's warmth and cool breeze. Shippo nodded.
"I bet you don't have many rivers where you used to live, huh?"
Yumi shook her head. "We used to live in the mountains, so all the water was on the ground. We'd occasionally go and grab some fish from there, but it'd get pretty tiring."
"Are your mother and father not fond of each other? Since they live so far apart?" Shippo asked.
"Oh, gosh no. They're madly in love but since the clan had gotten far too large for one person to rule over, my parents decided that they would split it into two, each of them in charge of one." She replied.
"That's makes sense." The two sat in a comfortable silence.
"Look at how many fish we've caught." Yumi gushed, staring down at the pile between them.
Shippo grinned at her. "We make a great team, don't we?"
Yumi smiled warmly back. "We really do."
Myori sighed from her spot up in the tree. "This is going perfectly. Just a little longer and those two will finally say what's in their hearts." Since she was focusing all of her attention on the couple before her, Myori didn't notice Bankotsu below her, heading towards the river. He acted as though he didn't notice the pair fishing and stood next to the river. Since Shippo and Yumi were wrapped up in their conversation, they didn't notice Bankotsu either. Myori, having finally seen Bankotsu, widen her eyes. "No, no, no! This is not good! What is he doing?!" She got up and was about to jump off the tree to stop him when she lost her footing and fell. Bankotsu took a deep breath and threw himself into the water.
"Ahh!" The pair jumped up once they had heard the yell. Yumi looked ahead into the water and gasped.
"It's Bankotsu!" Not bothering to take off any of her extra clothing, she jumped into the water and swan after him. Shippo ran after them on the land, following the current. Yumi had finally caught up to Bankotsu, who was pretending to be unconscious, and threw him onto the ground next to them. Shippo knelt down next to him.
"Bankotsu, are you alright?" He asked worriedly. Bankotsu sat up and began to cough violently. Yumi managed to get herself out of the river and made her way over to them.
"I'm fine. I must've hit my head on a rock or something when I slipped and fell into the water."
"What were you even doing near the river?" Yumi asked.
"A little girl in the village was upset that she lost a shiny pebble that she had found here earlier today. I figured I would come and take a look around for it, but I guess I slipped." Yumi placed a hand over her chest.
"Aww, that is such a sweet thing you did for her. It's just too bad you got hurt in the midst of it." She wrapped her arms around Bankotsu, embracing him. Bankotsu, surprised, wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her close. Myori hobbled over to them while holding the basket of fish, slightly limping.
"Wow, what happened to you?" Bankotsu asked with a cheeky grin. Her hair had a ton of leaves and twigs in it since a bush had managed to break her fall from the tree. She spat out some dirt that was in her mouth and growled lowly. She nodded knowingly at him, accepting his challenge.
"Don't cry later when you lose to me monk."
x-x-x-x
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Yumi asked as she, Shippo and Bankotsu wandered around the village.
"Something that my mom would really like." Bankotsu replied. He had convinced the two demons to accompany him into the village to find a gift for Sango, but in reality, he wanted to keep an eye on the pair without them realizing it.
"Hang on, I've found something." He ran over to a nearby field and returned a few minutes later with a bouquet of colourful flowers. Yumi clapped.
"They're beautiful." She looked over at Bankotsu. "Sango will love these." Shippo picked a white flower out of the bunch and placed it in Yumi's hair.
"It compliments you really well." Yumi blushed and looked down, avoiding Shippo's eyes.
"Thank you. You're so sweet." Shippo grinned while Bankotsu frowned behind him.
"I'm losing her. I need to think of something quick." He thought. He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned around to find a gentle old man standing there. He bowed his head at Bankotsu.
"Greetings, Monk Miroku. I'm in dire need of your help. My inn is infested with a demon and it's too strong for my men to handle."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not-"
"Please, Monk Miroku. I'll pay you generously." Bankotsu thought about it and sighed, giving in.
"Well, I guess I can't let your inn succumb to the likes of that demon. I'll help you and the others. Now, lead the way sir." He began to walk away with the old man, forgetting about Shippo and Yumi. "Now, about my pay.."
Shippo facepalmed. "Like father, like son." He turned to Yumi. "Come on, we should help him."
"Doesn't he know how to exterminate a demon?" She asked.
"The largest thing he's ever exterminated was a fly." Yumi sweatdropped.
"Then why would he agree to do this and deceive the poor man?"
"I think a part of him didn't want to let the innkeeper down, but the other part was also sucked in when he heard that he would be paid a large amount of money." He replied. They began walking behind Bankotsu while Yumi shook her head.
"One day he's going to bite off more than he can chew, and we won't be there to help him."
Shippo chuckled. "I can't wait for that day to come."
"You know I can hear you both." Bankotsu said without turning around.
"Well, we weren't exactly whispering." Shippo said, causing Yumi to chuckle. Once they had arrived at the inn, the trio were led to the main hall.
"That's where the beast resides." The innkeeper said. Bankotsu nodded.
"You should probably wait outside. We wouldn't want you to get hurt." Shippo rolled his eyes at him.
"Of course Monk." He exited the inn, leaving Bankotsu, Yumi and Shippo there alone. Shippo stepped forward.
"I'll have this thing killed in no time." As he was about to walk in, Bankotsu placed his hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"As much as I would love to see that old friend, the old man recruited me so I think I should handle this." Shippo stared at him blankly.
"It'll kill you."
"We'll see about that." Bankotsu opened the door and walked in with his head held high, closing the door behind him. A loud roar could be heard from inside.
"How long should we wait?" Yumi asked.
"He'll be defeated in two seconds flat." A few moments later, the main door was opened and Bankotsu was hurled out of the room, flying past the demons and crashing into the wall behind them. "Well, at least the thing spared him his life." Yumi rushed over to Bankotsu and knelt down beside him.
"Are you alright?" She asked. Bankotsu felt far beyond dizzy.
"Shippo, you can have a go at it now." He said, closing his eyes to relax his head. "I warmed it up for you." Shippo smirked.
"About time." The young fox went inside the room and closed the door behind him. Yumi put Bankotsu's arm around her shoulders and led him outside.
"What's taking them so long?" Myori asked, tapping her foot against the grass. She was sitting on a rock nearby the inn waiting for the others to come out.
"Now Myori, you need to learn to be more patient." Myoga said, sitting on her shoulder. He had appeared there when Myori had first arrived at the inn and had since then been keeping her company. "This is no doubt a trait you've inherited from your father."
"Patience doesn't get you anywhere any faster Myoga." She put her finger on her neck and poked herself with her claw, drawing blood. "Help yourself."
"Oh, you're too kind Myori." Myoga praised, rushing over and began feasting on her delicious blood. Myori spotted Yumi dragging Bankotsu out of the inn and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What a lightweight." Yumi spotted Myori and brought Bankotsu over to where she was sitting, placing him on the grass next to her. "How fast did that demon beat him up?"
"He was in there for less than 30 seconds." Yumi said with a giggle. Myori chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go check up on Shippo. Keep an eye on him, okay?" With that, she ran off back into the inn.
Myori looked down at her friend. "So, how's your plan working out?" Bankotsu shot a glare at her.
"Shut up." He then remembered something. "How did you find us anyways?" Myori pointed to her nose.
"You're forgetting about Myori's very sensitive nose." Myoga said, taking a break from his mean. Bankotsu looked over at him.
"When did you get here?"
"Before you got your behind handed to you by that demon." He replied. Myori laughed, giving the flea a high five with her index finger. Bankotsu rolled his eyes and lay back down on the soft grass.
"I have to say Bankotsu, you're effortlessly doing my work for me." Myori said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look over there." Myori pointed to the display in front of her. Bankotsu looked as well to see Yumi and Shippo standing in front of the innkeeper as he thanked Shippo for his act of heroism while he placed the head of the monstrous demon on the ground before them.
"He effortlessly took down that demon. He barely even broke a sweat." Yumi gushed, holding onto his arm. "Shippo has to be one of the strongest demons I've ever met."
Shippo chuckled, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck with his free arm. "Oh, it was nothing, really." Yumi and the residents of the inn began to cheer for Shippo. Bankotsu's head dropped while Myori grinned.
"I practically led her into his arms." He said.
"I love how all of this is playing out. Thanks for the extra muscle Bankotsu. You sure do know how to help a girl out." She got up and walked over to the happy pair, congratulating Shippo. She glanced over at Bankotsu and gave him a smug smirk, showing him that she was far from done.
x-x-x-x
"You and Bankotsu have really taken a liking to us today." Shippo said. Myori had led the pair to an empty field after rushing back home to grab her new sword. She shrugged.
"Dad said I needed to have a spotter when I tried this out otherwise I wouldn't be allowed to use it. You guys can train while I practice getting the hang of using this sword." She pulled Sessaiga put out its sheath and it transformed from a plain, rusty piece of metal to a polished, large fang. It was built the exact same way as her father's was, only this sword was forged from her grandfather's lower canine tooth, making it thinner and shorter than Tessaiga and had black fur at the base.
"It looks amazing." Yumi said. Myori grinned.
"I was worried that I would have to learn how to make it transform like my dad did, but thankfully that's not the case."
"Maybe it has the same techniques as Inuyasha's sword." Shippo said.
"Only one way to find out." Myori took a deep breath and held the sword up high, letting it reach behind her head. "Wind Scar!" With a single swoop downwards, the blade unleashed a powerful blast, destroying the grass before it for miles. Myori grinned from ear from ear.
"Yes! It works!" She turned to her friends. "You two can spar amongst yourselves. I'm going to keep playing with this." She distanced herself from the others and began practicing different moves with Sessaiga while Yumi and Shippo began their mock fight. After a short while, Bankotsu came running over to the group.
"Myori!" She turned around to find her least favourite person at the moment calling her. "Kisho's looking for you."
Myori raised an eyebrow, placing one of her hands on her hips while she held her sword in the other one. "Really now?" Bankotsu nodded. "I was at the village not too long ago and he was still fast asleep."
"He does take really long naps. I doubt he'd be awake this early." Yumi added.
Bankotsu sweatdropped. "Yeah, well… He, uh, he woke up early for some reason and was asking if Myori was around. I don't think it's very nice to keep him waiting so why don't we go and tell him that Myori would rather stay here and play with her new toy than go and see him?" Before he could grab Yumi's arm and walk away with her, Myori placed her out of arm's reach.
"Dammit Bankotsu, can't you aid my plans instead of plotting against them for once?!"
"What are you talking about?" Shippo asked.
"Can't you aid my plans?! Why is it so important for you to help Shippo and not me?! I thought we were friends Myori!" Bankotsu fired back.
"We are but he's actually has a shot whereas helping you would get us nowhere!"
"Has a shot at what?" Yumi asked, completely lost.
"What makes you think he has a shot?! My chances could be just as successful!"
"Because she already said that she likes him, not you so just do us all a favour and let this go Bankotsu!" Yumi's face grew red in a matter of seconds, finally understanding what their argument was about.
"Myori!" She exclaimed.
Shippo growled and stood between the bickering pair. "ONE OF YOU EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW!"
Bankotsu sighed. "Myori's been trying to set you and Yumi up all day."
"While Bankotsu kept interfering and trying to steal Yumi for himself even though he doesn't stand a chance." Myori added while shooting a glare at the young monk.
Shippo was silent for a few moments, surprised. "I didn't actually think you were serious about doing this Myori, but this is by far the craziest thing you've ever done."
Bankotsu looked over at him. "What about me?"
Myori scoffed. "You've dragged me into worse stuff than this, never mind what you do alone."
Yumi, whose red was still red in embarrassment, approached the others. "Um, can Shippo and I have a moment alone?" Myori nodded and dragged Bankotsu away to another part of the field. She turned to the kitsune and sighed. "Well, I guess my secret's out." She said with nervous chuckle, clearing her throat after. "Look Shippo, just because you know how I feel about you doesn't mean you should feel pressured in any way to return it." Shippo closed the small space between them and took Yumi's face into his hands, kissing her passionately. Surprised at first, Yumi gave in and placed her hands on his arms, melting into his touch.
Myori jumped up. "Woah! Yes! Finally!" She turned to Bankotsu and pointed at him. "In your face!"
Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in." Myori continued to jump around in glee.
"Yes, they do make a cute couple, but you're forgetting a key factor in this Myori." She stopped and looked down at Myoga.
"You're so tiny that I keep forgetting you're there." She said. "Anyways, what key factor?"
"You're forgetting who her brother and father are." Myori's eyes widened while Bankotsu laughed evilly.
"Shippo's gonna die." He said, getting up from his spot on the grass. Myori facepalmed.
"I completely forgot about that." They watched as Shippo and Yumi walked over to them.
"We want to thank you, Myori." Yumi said with her arms wrapped around Shippo's torso.
"You won't be thanking her after he dies." Bankotsu muttered, causing Myori to elbow him in the ribs.
Shippo raised an eyebrow. "What's he talking about?"
Myori sighed. "We forgot about how Kisho and Koga are gonna react to this." Yumi's eyes widened.
"They'll kill him!" She exclaimed, tightening her hold on the kitsune. She paused for a moment then an idea hit her.
"Myori, you tell Kisho first. Maybe if he comes around to this, he'll be able to help me persuade my father."
Myori nodded. "That's a good point. One estranged wolf is better than two. Leave it to me." With that, she took off back to the village where she last saw Kisho. She found him in the same tree that she left him in, although this time he was awake.
Kisho grinned when he saw her approaching him. "About time. I was wondering when you'd come back." He jumped off the branch and landed swiftly in front of her, placing a kiss on her temple. Myori smiled warmly at him. "What have you been up to today?" She then remembered her task.
"Listen Kisho, I have to tell you something but I want you to try and remain calm." His facial expression dropped.
"What did you do?" She waved her hands frantically in front of her.
"I didn't do anything!" She exclaimed. "Um, okay, here goes." She took a deep breath. "Shippo and Yumi have feelings for each other." She said quickly, hoping that he didn't quite catch what she said. When she noticed his eye twitching, she knew that he heard every word.
"They what?" She looked down to see his hand balling up into a fist. Her eyes widened in worry.
"Kisho, remember you said you would try to stay calm?"
"I'm trying and it's not working." He replied. "Let me guess, she wanted you to tell me because she thought it would soften the blow?" She slowly nodded. "I was in such a great mood after waking up from my long nap and this completely ruined it."
"It's not like it's a huge deal Kisho. Besides, you should be happy that she found someone like Shippo. He's a great guy."
Kisho shook his head. "A guy like Shippo is is my problem completely." Myori gave him a puzzled look.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Have you forgotten that he's older than me?" Myori began to grow nervous. She had completely forgotten about their age difference.
"You're older than me as well."
"By a year, which is nothing when you compare it to an age gap as large as theirs." He began to walk away. Myori ran ahead and stopped in his path.
"What are you doing?"
"To put an end to this." He tried walking past her, but she blocked his path.
"I can't let you do that. You should see how happy they are together Maybe that'll make you change your mind." Kisho shook his head. "Well, if you want to be stubborn then I can play along." He tried going past her several more times to no avail until he grew frustrated and threw her over his shoulder, taking off after his sister's scent.
"Put me down! This isn't fair and you know it!"
He smirked. "What, me overpowering you because I'm stronger than you, or me breaking up the shortest relationship in history between Yumi and Shippo?"
"Both!" When she realized that he wasn't intending on letting her go, she pouted and crossed her arms over each other in defeat. Since the field they were at wasn't far from the village, he made it there in record time.
"This isn't good." Bankotsu said once he noticed that Kisho was carrying Myori, meaning that she tried to put up a fight and lost. He lay Myori down on the grass and turned his attention back to the others.
Myori got up. "You could've placed me on my feet you know." Kisho shrugged. She then turned to the others. "So, as you can tell by the scowl on his face, I didn't exactly get through to him." Kisho was scowling at the fox before him, causing Yumi to gulp.
"Kisho, listen-"
"Don't even try it Yumi." He replied harshly, cutting her off. "Your poor, clouded judgement has actually willed you to overlook the age difference between you two."
"Age is nothing but a number!" She protested. Kisho rolled his eyes at her.
"I don't wanna hear it and as for you," he pointed at Shippo, "either you'll leave my sister alone or I'll have to force you to."
"There's going to be no fighting Kisho." Myori said.
Shippo smirked. "Whether you want to believe it or not, I have genuine feelings for Yumi and if you refuse to allow it, then I guess I have no choice but to go ahead with your second option." Myori stood in between them.
"Guys, no fighting!"
"I'm out of here!" They watched as Myoga jumped off Myori's shoulder and fled towards the village. Myori sighed.
"Great, if Myoga's spooked then I guess this fight is really happening." Shippo turned his attention to Myori. "You might want to get out of the way. I'm sure neither of us want to hurt you." She looked over at Kisho.
"Do as he says Myori." He added. Myori, realizing her efforts were futile, stepped back and allowed the fight to proceed.
x-x-x-x
"Aw, Kisho and Shippo are sparring." Kagome said as she watched from outside her window. Her and Inuyasha's hut has the best view of the field since it directly faced it. Miroku got up and took a look for himself.
"Um, that doesn't exactly look like sparring Kagome." After hearing that, Inuyasha and Koga rushed over.
"What could they possibly be fighting about?" Kagome asked in worry. They saw Yumi try and interfere, but was kicked in the head by Kisho, knocking her out cold. Myori caught her before she went flying into the trees and looked to be yelling at Kisho.
"Those two look like they want to kill each other and if Yumi wasn't able to slow them down, then I can see why Myori and Bankotsu aren't getting involved." Inuyasha said.
"That's because they're in the middle of a serious fight and aren't going to stop until the other is down for good." Myoga said, hopping onto Inuyasha's shoulder.
"What are they fighting about?" He asked.
"It's best if you find out once we get there." Myoga replied, not wanting to be the one to tell them about Yumi and Shippo.
"He's right. We need to head over there right now and stop this before it gets worse." Sango said, opening the front door. They rushed over to the field to find Shippo deflecting every one of Kisho's attacks, Bankotsu nursing an unconscious Yumi and Myori unsheathing her sword as a last resort.
"I don't want to have to do this," She exclaimed, holding a fully transformed Sessaiga in her hands, "but I guess you guys are bringing this upon yourselves! Either stop now or I'll blow you to bits!" The pair fighting didn't seem to be calming down so Myori took a deep breath and as she was about to use her weapon, Koga placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"I'll handle this." He said. He then jumped into the air and performed the same kick to Kisho and Shippo that Kisho had done to Yumi, knocking them out as well. The two landed harshly on the ground. "Now one of you better tell me what the hell that was about." Koga said, looking over at Myori and Bankotsu. Bankotsu gave Myori a look, suggesting that she should be the one to tell him. She took a deep breath.
"Shippo and Yumi have feelings for each other and when Kisho found out, he lost it." She said. Koga stared intensely at her, blinking several times.
"Yumi and Shippo?" She nodded. "My Yumi? And Shippo?" She nodded again. He exhaled, bringing his hands up to his face. "Why was Kisho angry?"
"He didn't approve of their age difference."
"And how much is that?" Koga asked. Myori didn't answer, making him grow even less fond of the answer he was preparing to hear. "How much?"
"Think about it, Koga." He turned to Inuyasha. "Shippo was a kid when we were looking for the shards of the Shikon jewel all those years ago, years before we even got married, never mind had kids." Koga's left eye began to twitch.
"So the gap we're talking about is almost ten years?!"
"Well, technically 11 since that's how old Shippo was when Myori was born." Kagome added nervously. Myori facepalmed.
"Not exactly helping Kagome." Inuyasha said, shaking his head.
"Look, Koga, I think you should let them be together." Myori said, approaching him.
Koga crossed his arms over his chest. "And why's that Myori?"
"Because Shippo's the kindest, bravest, and most loyal person I know. I've known him my entire life and I guarantee you that no other person will care for Yumi the way that he will. He wasn't fighting with Kisho right now because he was angry; he did it because he wanted to prove himself to Kisho even though he's ten years older than him. He gave him the respect that the older brother of the girl he adores deserves. It'll be hard for you to find someone else that will do all of that and more so may as well stop searching because you've already found it all in him." Koga thought it over for a moment.
"I'll take my chances. This isn't happening." Myori's face dropped as Koga began to walk away. Sango walked over to comfort her.
"Don't worry sweetie, you did everything you could." Myori shook her head.
"I'm the reason that they got together and I'll be damned if this is the reason they break up." She began to unsheathe her sword as she walked over to Koga, although Inuyasha stopped her before she could do anything, holding her back.
"Easy there, feisty pants." He lifted her up and placed her in front of the others. "You can't even take on Kisho. What makes you think you'll be walking at the end of a fight against Koga?" She sighed, seeing that he had a point. "Now you had a good plan, but it was executed wrong." She looked up at her father.
"What do you mean?"
"Koga will only listen to one person besides Ayame and that's your mother." He looked over at Kagome who had already begun walking after Koga.
"Koga, wait." He continued walking.
"I don't want to hear it Kagome."
"Please stop for just for a moment." He sighed and stopped walking, allowing Kagome to finally catch up to him. "Now, I absolutely agree with everything Myori said but there's one thing she forgot to mention."
"And what's that?"
"That you know Shippo. You've known him for years, back when we were all searching for the Shikon jewel and when you've helped us more times than I can count. We've all watched him grow from a scared, young orphan who was all alone in the world into the brave young man you see before you today. I can honestly say that Shippo doesn't have one bad bone in his entire body and he'll never give into any temptation nor evil. So if you want someone that's pure of heart and as brave as a warrior to cherish and protect your little girl, then Shippo is exactly that. Don't let age be the only reason denying them from being together."
Koga sighed. "You really love that kid, don't you Kagome?"
She smiled. "He's practically my younger brother and I've personally seen the way he's protected Myori over the years. Not a single thing harmed a pretty little silver hair on her head when she was around Shippo. Besides, you've see how gutsy he was as a kid, imagine him now as an adult." Koga chuckled.
"I guess you've got a point there. The kid used to challenge me back when he was up to my knees." He exhaled, taking another moment to think. "Alright Kagome, I'll give them a chance. Besides, I guess I do owe you and Inuyasha since you let Kisho and Myori be together, but don't tell him I said that. He'll never let me hear the end of it."
Kagome smiled, placing her hand on Koga's shoulder. "You're doing the right thing, Koga." The pair walked back to the group in time for Kisho, Shippo and Yumi to regain consciousness.
"Look," they all looked up at Koga, "I'll allow you two to be together, but remember that I'll cut off your head and feed it to my wolves if you ever harm my daughter Shippo."
Yumi grinned, jumping back onto her feet. "You really mean it?" He nodded. She embraced her father tightly. "Oh, thank you so much Daddy."
Kisho got up and walked over to Shippo, holding his hand out to him. "I'm sorry about before." Shippo grabbed his hand and let the wolf help him up.
"It's fine, I get where you were coming from. I would've done the same thing if it was Myori in that situation."
Meanwhile, Myori walked away from the others and sat down next to Bankotsu who was taking in everything. She gave him a pat on the back, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry buddy. I'll help you find another girl, but you can't try to snag someone that wants to be with someone else." Bankotsu nodded sadly.
"I know, it's just.. It still hurts." Myori suddenly felt something groping her backside. "I really liked her, but in the end she chose Shippo over me." Myori gently took his head off of her shoulder so that he could face her, him still groping her. She suddenly stuck him hard across the face, sending him flying, although he was caught before he fell hard on his head. She growled.
"You perverted creep! To think I actually felt sorry for you! You're never getting a shred of sympathy out of me again pal!" Bankotsu looked up to find that Kisho was the one who caught him and after hearing what Myori said, Kisho put the pieces together and understood what she was upset about. Bankotsu gave him a nervous look while Kisho simply stared back at him.
"You know what, I think Myori should be the one to beat you up this time. I've fought enough for one day." He tossed Bankotsu in front of her. "He's all yours." She grinned at him and unsheathed Sessaiga. Bankotsu gulped, quickly rushing up to his feet.
"Say hello to a new friend of mine. I've been dying to try her out." Bankotsu, without uttering a single word, ran off into the forest, not even bothering to look back and see that Myori wasn't following him. She happily skipped over to Kisho and planted a kiss on his cheek, wrapping her arms around him. He smiled warmly and draped his arm over her shoulder.
Kagome grinned. "This is great! Our families are bonded now more than ever before!"
Inuyasha and Koga groaned. "Great…"
Epilogue
"You're going to do what?"
Kisho smiled. "I'm going to ask Myori to be mine forever." It had been a little over a year since Kisho and Myori had first met and Kisho finally felt ready to ask her to be his mate.
Shippo shook his head. "You want to die young."
"Inuyasha likes me, whether he wants to say it out loud or not. However, there's only one problem."
Shippo raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"
"If I ask Myori to be my mate, we'll inevitably have to leave the village and take over as rulers of the Wolf Demon tribe when the time comes." He replied.
Shippo thought for a moment. "I think that's something you should tell only Myori and not mention to Inuyasha." Kisho nodded, agreeing with his idea. "Where would you and Myori live? It's not like you can live with us."
"That's true." Kisho said. "I guess Myori and I will have to find our own place. I'm not exactly good at socializing with humans. They're too scared of me so she'll have to do most of the talking."
"So when are you gonna ask Inuyasha?"
Kisho smirked. "Now. Bye" With that, he took off to Inuyasha's hut. Luckily for him, he entered to find that neither Kagome nor Myori were home. "Hey, Inuyasha?"
Said demon looked up from his napping position to find Kisho hovering near him. "What's up kid?" Kisho took a seat next to him.
"You might want to sit down for this." Inuyasha, already feeling uneasy, sat up to face the young wolf demon. He took a deep breath, but before he could speak, Inuyasha butt in.
"What did you do?" He raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't tell me you fell in love with someone else and my daughter is contemplating on ending her life or something."
Kisho waved his hands frantically. "No, that's not it at all! In fact, it's the opposite!" Inuyasha eyed him up and down, not sure if he should believe him then it hit him.
"You're here to ask me for my blessing, aren't you?" Kisho slowly nodded. Inuyasha sighed. "I always knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to come so soon." He looked Kisho straight into his eyes. "You and Myori have been together for a long time now and you haven't done anything to her during that time. Based on that, and only that, I give you my blessing to ask Myori to be your mate."
Kisho's eyes widened. "You really mean it Inuyasha?" He nodded. Kisho jumped up, shaking Inuyasha's hand. "I promise not to let you down." He was about to leave the hut when he was stopped.
"Kisho, I'm going to give you two orders to follow." Kisho turned back around to Inuyasha. "One, my previous threat from time ago still stands so if you hurt Myori, I'll come for you and two, don't even think about calling me Dad."
Kisho chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it Inuyasha." He left the hut and went off to find Myori. After searching the village and Miroku and Sango's home, he found her in the forest resting in a tree. "Myori!" She looked down to find him staring back at her. She smiled and hopped down.
"Hello Kisho." He scooped her into his arms and ran off. Myori was taken aback by this. "Where are we going?"
He smirked. "You'll see." He finally stop when they were next to the river. Since it was nearly sunset, the sight was truly astonishing. Myori smiled warmly at him.
"It's beautiful. Is this why you brought me here? So that I wouldn't miss this?" Kisho shook his head.
"That wasn't the only reason Myori." He exhaled. "I brought you here so that I could tell you how madly in love with you I am and how I never, ever want to lose you. You're my everything and I'll never find a love as pure as the one we share." He took hold of both of her hands. "Myori, will you be my mate?"
Myori's jaw dropped. "Are you serious Kisho?" He nodded. "Yes! Yes, I will!" She leapt into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him lift her off the ground, twirling her around. She then realized something. "You did ask my dad for his blessing right?"
He froze. "I was supposed to do that?" Her facial expression dropped, causing him to laugh. "Of course I asked him Myori. I have morals you know." She laughed and hugged him again.
"We have to go back and tell everyone." Kisho once again took hold of her in his arms and ran off into the village. Once they arrived back at her home, she was grateful that everyone was already gathered there. Kisho placed her down and she cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "We have something to tell you guys."
"Please let it not be that you're pregnant or I'm killing him." Sango said.
"Don't worry Sango, it isn't that and after hearing you say that, that'll never be our announcement around you." Kisho said, making Sango chuckle.
"So what is it?" Kagome asked, curious since Inuyasha hadn't told her because wanted her to be surprised.
Myori grinned. "Kisho asked me to be his mate." Kagome's jaw dropped along with the others in the room.
"You're kidding! Oh my gosh!" She jumped up and ran over to her daughter, tightly embracing her. "My little angel's getting married!"
Myori smiled as Kagome let go of her and embraced Kisho as well. "Actually mom, I don't want a big, extravagant ceremony or anything."
Kagome pouted. "I never even thought to have one with your father and now you don't want one either? Who will I ever plan one for?"
Shippo chuckled. "You can plan ours Kagome, that is if Yumi wants one."
"Sure, I love anything extravagant." Yumi replied with a grin. She and Shippo had been together for about six months and the young wolf honestly couldn't be any happier. Kagome smiled widely.
"Yes, finally!"
Koga scoffed. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it kid."
"Well, at least have a get together of some sort, for my sake." Kagome said to Myori. She thought for a moment and nodded.
"Alright, but don't go too crazy."
x-x-x-x
The next afternoon, everyone was gathered once again at Inuyasha and Kagome's home to celebrate Kisho and Myori's union.
"Aunt Kagome really went all out." Keisha said as she looked around. Earlier that day, Kagome and Sango were hard at work decorating the main room while Shippo distracted Myori since Kagome knew that her daughter would protest to her efforts. The room was also filled with tons of food which the two worked hard to make as well, with help from Kaede and several other women that the elderly priestess recruited.
Myori nodded, shoving some of the delicious food into her mouth. "I should find a mate more often if I get rewarded with food like this." She had invited Keisha and her entire family over for the special occasion, including Sesshomaru. It was a bit rocky at first between him and Inuyasha, but they eventually grew to tolerate each other as the hours went by.
"Attention everyone!" All the attention was turned to Kagome who stood near the door. "I want to thank you all so much for coming on this special day and to follow Inuyasha and I to where we'll present the happy couple with one more amazing gift." Kagome walked over and put blindfolds over Myori and Kisho's eyes and let Yumi and Shippo guide them out the door and through the village. They walked for a bit and stopped somewhere near the other side of the village. "Okay, you can take off the blindfolds." The pair took it off and their present almost brought Myori to tears. Inuyasha and Kagome had gifted them with a brand new home to call their own. Myori, finally realizing that she would be living away from her parents for the first time, leapt into their arms and began to sob uncontrollably. Both Inuyasha and Kagome were taken aback by this and knelt down on the ground with her. "What's wrong sweetie? Don't you like your gift?"
Myori nodded. "I just realized how much I'm going to miss living under the same roof as my mom and dad." Kagome and Inuyasha's eyes softened, hugging their daughter tighter. Kagome eventually couldn't hold back her tears any longer and began to cry as well, burying her face into Myori's hair.
"You won't be living far from us and you can come and stay with us whenever you want , for as long as you want. Our doors will always be open to you and Kisho." Inuyasha said, attempting to calm down Myori and now a hysteric Kagome. It took every fiber of his being to not yell at them to stop crying since tears made him highly uncomfortable.
"Aww, what's with all the tears? I thought this was a joyous occasion." They all turned around to find Ayame, Ginta and Kakkaku standing behind them. Kisho's eyes widened.
"Mother?" She grinned.
"I heard my son found a mate. How could I miss ever miss this?"
"Mom!" Yumi exclaimed, rushing into Ayame's arms, Koga and Kisho following her. Koga wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder and gave her a deep kiss.
"How I've missed you."
"Oh hush. You were just with me not too long ago." Ayame said jokingly, hugging Kisho. Koga had made it a habit to return to Ayame and stay with her and the tribe whenever he could, which was usually for about a month or so every few months. Yumi would occasionally accompany him, however Kisho never went with them since he didn't want to leave Myori behind."
"Uncle Ginta! Uncle Hakkaku!" Yumi embraced them as well, both of them wrapping their arms around her.
"We've missed our favourite niece." Hakkaku said, rubbing her head. "It sucks not having you around with us in the tribe."
"And we definitely couldn't miss our favourite nephew's celebration." Ginta added, grinning. The two looked up and saw Kagome who had recovered from the overwhelming emotions from earlier. "Lady Kagome." He bowed at her.
"It's a pleasure to see you again Lady Kagome." Hakkaku said, bowing as well. Kagome smiled and bowed her head at them both. "So who did Kisho find to be his mate?" Kagome smiled.
"My daughter." Inuyasha cleared his throat loudly, causing Kagome to roll her eyes. "Inuyasha and I's daughter." Myori walked over to the family of wolves, stopping in front of Ayame. She bowed her head at her.
"It's an honour to meet you Miss Ayame." Ayame cooed at her, grabbing hold of Myori's ears.
"She's absolutely adorable and her ears are to die for!" She grinned at Myori. "You can call me Mother from now on sweetie." Myori chuckled, nodding her head. Ayame looked up and saw that Shippo was avoiding her gaze. "Is that the one you've told me so much about?"
Yumi nodded and took hold of Shippo's hand, dragging him over to her mother. "He's sort of like Myori's older brother." Ayame stared at him for a moment then sighed.
"Kagome, Inuyasha, where do you keep finding these adorable children?" She asked, pinching Shippo's cheeks. He groaned.
"I'm not a kid. I was when you first met me, but not anymore." Ayame ignored him and kept cooing at him.
Kagome giggled. "Inuyasha and I can only take credit for Myori's adorableness. Shippo did that all on his own."
"I should be taking more of the credit though." Inuyasha muttered. Kagome's eye twitched.
"Sit!" Inuyasha went plummeting into the ground. Myori flinched, thinking that she would go down as well, but thankfully she didn't. She let out a sigh of relief. Kagome turned to her. "Since you were getting married, I got Kaede to remove the spell bounded to your necklace."
"About time!" Myori exclaimed happily.
"Is the celebration being held outside?" Ayame asked, looking around. Kagome shook her head.
"Let's all head back to the original destination of this celebration." All the attendees returned to Inuyasha and Kagome's home to continue on with the festivities.
"I'm surprised you haven't tried to hit on Keisha." Shippo said to Bankotsu with a sly smirk. Bankotsu chuckled.
"Oh Shippo, I'm already seeing a maiden that lives in the village and don't get me wrong, Keisha is beautiful but she terrifies me." Shippo chuckled at his response as well. "At least now I can sleep over at Myori's place whenever I don't feel like going home."
"I don't think you'd want to do that." Yumi said, approaching them.
"Why's that?" Bankotsu asked.
"As much as it makes me sick to think about it, since Myori and Kisho are mates, you never know what they'll be doing in that hut, if you know what I mean." Shippo, automatically understanding what she was referring to, began to gag while Bankotsu realized it after a few moments of hard thinking, nearly throwing up as well.
Meanwhile, outside the hut, Kisho and Myori sat wrapped in each others' arms as they stared out into the field. Myori sighed happily.
"I'm happy everybody's having a great time and that your family were able to attend."
Kisho nodded. "Speaking of them, I have to tell you that us being mates means that whenever my parents decide to step down, I'll have to take over as ruler of the Wolf Demon tribe and I want you there right beside me." Myori sat up to look at him in his emerald green eyes.
"Kisho, no matter where you go, I'll always be with you. We're never going to live apart."
Kisho smiled. "I'm so grateful to be able to call you mine. I love you so much Myori." She smiled warmly back, laying her head down on his shoulder.
"I love you too Kisho. More than you'll ever know."
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Annnddddd that's a wrap people! Woo, it only took me six and a half years, but I finally finished this fic! I want to thank everyone who's been with me since the beginning and pushed me to continue on with this story through all the times of writer's block and just flat out laziness. This may have been my first Inuyasha fanfic that I've written, but I poured everything I had into it and I'll have so much love for this story. I'm currently tearing up as I'm writing this so I'll make this short or else I'll end up getting my keyboard wet. I don't feel as though this story needs a sequel so this is where I bid you farewell, until next time.
TheShadowedRose