Death and Transfiguration
Promises
They were still waiting for Izayoi when the sun began to sink in the west. Shippou was sitting cross-legged on the ground, a nearby tea-kettle whistling merrily over a small fox-fire stove. Kirara in her kitten form was purring contentedly in his lap, and Miroku was looking concernedly towards the forest.
"I hope she's OK," he said thoughtfully.
"How can she not be OK?" asked Sango. "I mean, considering what Shippou told us about what happened to her...I can't imagine that any of us ever really have to worry about her again. If anybody's going to be OK, it's Izayoi."
"That's not what I meant," said Miroku. "But you're right...if anyone can make it through this, it's Izayoi. She's got her mother's courage and her father's strength. She'll make it through anything."
There was a rustle of leaves. "Someone's coming," said Shippou. Emerging from the forest was a flash of white hair and red kimono; Shippou gasped, "Inuyasha?"
But it was Izayoi. She wore her father's red robe; she carried his swords in her belt, and her own sword on her back. "It's ... what my father would have wanted," she said to their unspoken questions.
"It most certainly is," said Miroku, nodding approvingly. "And you wear it well."
"Well, I guess it's time to be going," Izayoi said. "Thank you for coming to ... to see my father off. I know it meant a lot to him."
Sango nodded and smiled. "Of course, Iza-chan... And remember, it was for you, too, you know."
"I know," Izayoi said. "Take care! I love you, Aunt Sango... Uncle Miroku. I'm sure we'll meet again... if not soon, then with my father and mother, just like Mom promised."
Sango threw her arms around Izayoi, and kissed her cheek. "Don't wait that long, Iza-chan." She ruffled Izayoi's hair, just like she did when Izayoi was a child. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"That...thing that got my father. It's still out there. I can feel it. I've got...unfinished business with it," she said grimly. "I'm going to go take care of it."
"No, you're not," said Shippou.
"What?" said Izayoi.
"You are not going to take care of that thing. You are not going anywhere. I won't have it," he said sternly.
"Uh, Shippou," Miroku said out of the side of his mouth, "Trust me...that doesn't work."
"I mean it," said Shippou, stamping his foot angrily. "I absolutely forbid it. You are not going anywhere."
"Shippou..." said Izayoi cautiously, "You don't think you can...stop me, do you?"
"Yes, I can," he said firmly. "YOU are not going anywhere...because WE are going."
"Po-chan?" said Izayoi, confused.
"That's right," said Shippou, "YOU are not going after that thing. WE are going after that thing. Inuyasha helped me avenge my father...and yes, I know that Inuyasha's not exactly dead, so I can't exactly avenge him...but still, I owe him. And I can't imagine facing your mother or your father in the next world and explaining to them that I had abandoned their little princess."
Shippou took Izayoi's hands in his, and he smiled broadly, and he said, "So I don't have a choice... and neither do you. I'm going with you, and that's all there is to it. And besides, you have a promise to keep. You remember, something about a home, a family...?" Suddenly, he laughed, and he gave a great shout: "With our friends, and the whole world, as my witness...I swear that I love you, Izayoi Higurashi, and that as long as there is life within me, I swear that I will never, never, leave your side."
"And I swear that I love you, Shippou," said Izayoi, her eyes glittering, "And as long as there is life within me, I swear that I will never leave your side."
"So we're swearing now?" laughed Miroku. "I don't know why I didn't do this long ago. You two, get over here, right now!" Puzzled, Izayoi and Shippou walked to where Miroku pointed, and looked at him quizzically. "Sango!" Miroku barked, and when she looked confused, he nodded towards a clump of wildflowers growing at her feet. Suddenly understanding, Sango quickly picked three flowers, and gave one each to Izayoi and Shippou, and put the third into Izayoi's hair.
"Kneel and join hands," ordered Miroku; Izayoi and Shippou complied. Miroku took their hands in his, and suddenly gentle, he said quietly, "Love and honor each other; be faithful, patient, and steadfast in times of trial. Rejoice with each other in days of joy, and comfort each other in days of sorrow. And if you are blessed with children...which, I am sure, you eventually will be," he said with eyebrows raised, and all three of them snickered, "teach them the meaning of honor, and courage, and faithfulness, and love that endures all things. Will you promise to do all of these things, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," they each said.
"Then rise," said Miroku. Izayoi and Shippou stood, and for a long moment they simply stared into each other's eyes. "Well, don't just stand there, you idiot—kiss her," growled Miroku.
Shippou laughed, and took Izayoi in his arms, and bent down to kiss her; but she said, "Wait a minute!" Shippou looked hurt and confused, but Izayoi said, "No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is, if we're making it official..." she reached into her kimono, and from it she withdrew a ring. "Mom's wedding ring," she explained. "I know that she'd want me to do this."
Izayoi handed the ring to Shippou, who looked utterly confused. "Ahem," coughed Izayoi, waggling the third finger of her left hand.
"Oh. OH! I get it," said Shippou. "I remember Inuyasha and Kagome doing this." He started to put the ring on her finger, then stopped. "I think I'm supposed to say something, but I don't remember what they said..." He looked into the distance for a moment, then he smiled, and looked into her eyes, and said, "Izayoi...please be mine forever."
Izayoi watched him put the ring on her finger, and said softly, "I will." Then she reached into her kimono again, and withdrew the prayer-bead necklace that Inuyasha had worn.
"Ah...Izayoi..." said Shippou nervously, "You don't ... need to make me ... ah, 'sit' like your mom used to do to your dad, you know..."
"I know," laughed Izayoi, "And I promise...I promise, Po-chan... that I'll never do that." She bowed her head over the beads for a moment, and they shimmered with a pink and blue glow. "See? The old magic...it's all gone now, Po-chan. Don't worry."
"Oh—OK," he said nervously.
"Trust me," she whispered. Then she raised the necklace over his head and gently lowered it onto his neck, and said, "Shippou...please be mine forever."
"I will," he said firmly. They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, smiling; then he asked, "Am I supposed to kiss you now?"
"Yes, you idiot," she said, grinning; and they kissed in the light of the setting sun, and Miroku and Sango clapped happily, and Kirara roared with approval.
Sango hugged Izayoi, and admired her ring, and Miroku clapped Shippou soundly on the back and congratulated him heartily. Suddenly, Izayoi barked, "Shippou! SIT!"
Shippou squealed in terror and covered his face; but nothing happened. "I'm... I'm OK," he laughed nervously.
"Of course you are, silly," laughed Izayoi. "I promised that I'd never do that to you."
"Ah...does this actually do anything?" Shippou asked, nervously fingering the necklace.
"Of course it does," grinned Izayoi evilly. "But you'll find out all about it...later."
Sango giggled. Miroku put his arm chummily around Shippou's shoulders and said, "Today, you have learned what it truly means to be a married man." He patted Shippou consolingly. "I'm so very, very, sorry." Shippou and Miroku sighed heavily and together hung their heads in sorrow, and Izayoi and Sango roared with laughter.
"Goodbye! Goodbye! Thanks for everything!"
Izayoi stood tall and proud in her canine form, and Shippou sprang lightly onto her back. He waved one last time and shouted, "Goodbye! We'll see you soon!"
With a happy roar, Izayoi soared into the air, and Miroku and Sango both smiled as they watched Shippou rest his head tenderly on Izayoi's broad neck as the two of them sailed away.
"Didn't Inuyasha and Kagome say exactly the same thing when they left for their honeymoon?" asked Sango.
Miroku nodded. "Pretty much," he laughed.
They climbed onto Kirara for the journey home, and the great cat soared gracefully into the air. She circled the forest once before heading for home, and Sango and Miroku looked down upon the top of the Goshinboku's regal canopy.
Even though it was not yet midwinter, the Goshinboku had burst into beautiful and glorious flower, and they could easily smell the fragrance of its many blossoms. The leaves rippled, and one last time, they heard Kagome's voice.
"Inuyasha," Kagome said, giggling like a schoolgirl, "sit."
They steeled themselves for the inevitable "thud;" but instead, they heard Inuyasha first giggling, then laughing, louder and louder, rippling through the entire forest, across the fields, and even unto the distant hills. And Miroku and Sango joined in, and so did Kirara, with an eerie but jovial meowling; and for a time, the entire land joyously rang with the merry sound of Kagome and Inuyasha's laughter.