As Nura held her close and stroked her hair, she felt as if the pain and burdens of the past decades heaped on her soul, disappeared. With that came the knowledge that she didn't have to pretend to be anything or anyone other than herself.
A tingle shot down her spine, and apparently Nura felt it as well. Pulling back slightly, his eyes widened. The box containing the rings that had fallen to his lap was shining faintly.
With a 'clink' it opened.
Yohime caught her breath. Two rings were sitting on the wooden bottom, as different as night and day. Nurarihyon smirked.
"Well, what perfect timing."
Reaching inside he carefully picked up a beautiful ring. Covered with tiny sakura petals on a silvery band with a distinct gold hue, it looked delicate and fragile. It hummed with the combined auras of the two individuals.
Likewise, picking up the other, she smiled at how it perfectly suited Nura. Black in color with finely etched branches of amber reaching and stretching around, embracing the darkness. Like it's counterpart it held the reiki of a miko and the Fear of an ayakashi.
Brushing aside the box, Nurarihyon reached for Yohime's hand.
"With this ring, I vow my love and faithfulness to you, my hime, for eternity."
And he slid the ring onto her slender finger. He then offered his hand to her.
"With this ring," she breathed, "I thee wed and give you my body, heart and soul for eternity."
The instant the ring settled into place on his finger, they both gave a resonating pulse. And Nurarihyon, Lord of Pandemonium, bent down to kiss his wife, Yohime, Miko no Mao, who once bore the name Kagome, sealing their vows.
"Supreme Commander!"
At the sound of Karasu-Tengu's voice, Nurarihyon poked his head out the window.
"It seems we've reached Edo."
"Ah! I wonder how much it's changed in the past century!"
Pulling his head back in he smiled at his exuberant wife.
"Well, we're about to find out."
As the cart came to a stop, Nurarihyon helped his wife down the step. Looking up she quickly took in her surroundings.
They were in the courtyard of a fairly large mansion, already temping with youkai and ayakashi.
"We're back!"
"We've returned!"
The joyous cries of many small demons quickly filled the air as they ran around the yard celebrating.
"Welcome to our home," Nura whispered in her ear.
"I didn't know you own a mansion," she said looking at him, slightly impressed.
He quietly hummed, his lip curling up, before scooping her up bridal-style.
"Gah! Nura, what are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious, wife? I'm carrying you over the threshold," he smirked, taking in her red cheeks.
Her blush grew at the sound of the whoops and hollers of his Clan.
Our Clan, I should say now.
As Nurarihyon stood on the deck, he turned.
"You lot, I've been informed by my hime that where she comes from the wife of a Lord is always called a 'Lady'. So," he said a gleam shining brightly in eyes, "I present you the Lady of Pandemonium."
There was stunned silence for a millisecond, before Gyuki bowed his head.
"You have my enduring loyalty, My Lord and Lady."
His declaration was quickly repeated by the Hyakki Yokou.
"Nura?"
At the quiet whisper in his ear, he returned his eyes to her.
"Hm?"
"Would it be okay if I told them who I was?"
His face turned serious.
"Yohime. To me, you are my wife. To them, you are a human woman with slight powers. It is not a matter whom you were, it is a matter of who you choose to be. Even if you retake your former name, you will always be my Yohime."
A brilliant smile lit up her face. She gestured for him to set her down and he complied.
With Nurarihyon at her back, and a hundred ayakashi and demons at her front, she spoke.
"Although most of you think I am a simple human with the power to heal, I'm afraid you're mistaken."
At her words, she felt a tension enter the air.
"I was once a powerful miko but due to an event that I could not control, I was reborn as Yohime. To put it into terms you can understand, I am a miko at the level of a daiyoukai. My name was once 'Kagome'."
Mouths dropped, there were gasps and shouts of disbelief. She noticed several began to stutter calling her a liar. Her control snapped when the one eyed ayakashi, Hitotsume, shouted, "She's deceived our Commander! She's lying!"
A quick burst of highly controlled reiki infused her body, moving her inches in front of him in a blink of an eye. Yanking the belt from her dress (which was specifically designed for such) she channel a great amount of energy into it, turning it into a sword, covered with gold.
"You wanna repeat that, Hitotsume?"
Those around him, scattered. Save for Gyuki whom, she was beginning to suspect, already knew something about her was different.
"I have been many things in my life," she said in a dark tone, "but a liar was not one."
"Yohime-sama, Hitotsume is thick headed and stubborn. As such he often says offensive things. Please do forgive him."
At Gyuki's words, her reiki vanished, and she turned to him with a gentle smile.
"Okay!"
He blinked in shock. She paid no heed and her smile widened.
"Gyuki, correct? I'm never spoke with you properly before. I'm glad you think so highly of me! Feel free to call me Yohime."
"H-hah."
Gracefully swirling the hem of her hakamas, she returned to her place by Nurarihyon's side. He placed a hand on her lower back, guiding her into the mansion.
"Get lost for awhile, guys. I have things to take care of."
Recognizing the tone as an order, the court yard was cleared of everyone in the next minute. And so, that night, Yohime officially became the wife of the Lord of Pandemonium, Nurarihyon.
A/N Okay! There's the base story! Due to the pain in my brain (and fingers) I will be updating about once a day. Or two. Or three. As several have asked I continue this to all the way to the defeat of Nue, I am unsure how long this fic will be. For all I know, it might end in the next 10 chapters. Or 20, or 30, I have no idea. I'm planning to keep it as canon as possible, but there might be a few tweaks here and there. And so, until next time!
To Guest Reviewer, Professor: Because of the message I sent you a day and thirty minutes ago.
To Guest Reviewer, nana: Thank you! I've posted 20 chapters in 4 days so I'm taking a little bit longer to decide what to do next.
Thank you for reading, reviews are like a restaurant with a recipe.