1Ok um some of my friends asked me who Yumi was from InuYasha. She's nobody. I made her up. She is a completely fictional character created for the use in my two stories that I have her in. She is in my other story Summer Camp from hell as Kagome's best friend. And in this one...Well if you read the story I think you'll know by now. Yeah so just to clear some things up. Also I did not base Yumi on anybody. Some people told me that she is like me, and that I over flatter myself. Well she isn't me, cuz frankly I can't fight. And my math grade isn't the best. The rest of my grades are ok. Yumi in the story, has really good grades. So yeah big difference. Also someone said she has no flaws or something like that. I actually made her some flaws, she isn't perfect ya know. In case anyone noticed she was scared shitless in the last chapter by Ayame. And there was only one person who I took offensive, you know who you are. Don't worry my only reviewer I was cheered on and helped by your review thanks! Yeah that's about it. I kind of had a melt down on my other story, well I'm ok now. ADHD runs in my family so I blame it on that. I finally bought the 1st InuYasha movie! YAY! I watched it a million times, but I was really sad my favorite character Kouga wasn't in it. Oh well, On to the story!

Disclaimer: Roses are red violets are blue, I don't own so boo hoo hoo.

Everlasting Wishes

Maru

Ok the search for food wasn't going great. It had been two days sinceYumi had first set off from her room. She had met an extremely grumpy wolf demoness, and to top it all off, Yumi had wandered around into an unfamiliar part of the forest. She had no idea where she was. It was already well into the afternoon. Wistfully, she thought that right about now, her family would be having dinner. Not that she wanted to go back. Life completely sucked in her era. Here, it was very laid back. If she wanted to, she could do just about anything. But it wasn't all peaches and cream here either. No food for two days. Her stomach was really grumbling. It practically screamed in pain. It took most of her energy just to keep walking.

Yumi plopped down under a low bush, because she was tired and it would conceal her from view of anybody else. So tired, so hungry, and truly exhausted, Yumi slipped into an uneasy sleep.

Not too far away...On a rocky bluff, surrounded by trees.

Kouga slashed at a demon that was bent on tearing his legs off, along with the jewel shards. More came in dozens, most of his pack was here fighting them all off. Frankly he didn't know how all those demons got there, and he really didn't care. The hole in his heart from losing Kagome still had not healed and fighting was one way he didn't have to think about it.

Tearing his way left then right, he glanced at the new wolves. They were only just pups and needed some experience. So, deciding now was as good a time as ever; he brought them along. It was an ok idea, some of them fared well, but there was one wolf, Maru. He was not going so well. He was already injured and disoriented. Maru swung wildly at anyone nearby. A demon leaned close to Maru preparing to swipe at his head. Maru turned and gave a weak swing, which missed by several feet. Behind the demon, another young wolf pounced on it, and began shredding it's scalp. Maru was saved...for the moment. More demons surged out of no where. A group of the ugly beasts headed to pups. Some of them panicked and scattered, others stood their ground, preparing for battle. Maru of course, was out of his mind, deaf to the screams, blind to the enemy. His nose was clouted making him unable to smell the blood that everyone, wolves and ugly demons, wore.

Kouga decided it was enough so he started to travel over through the battle to the little demon. Just then, a large grotesque demon sprung from the trees, and slashed at Kouga. The wolf leader only just dodged out of the way in time. By the time he looked up again, Maru was gone. It seemed he completely vanished. The battle raged on, oblivious that a fighter was missing.

Maru stumbled unconsciously through the forest. Although his feet took him on, believing he was still in the fight.

Maru whose own usually soft, furry, brown tail was matted with dirt and blood, making it look black with grime. The armor he wore to protect his chest, just like all the bigger wolves, was made so he could grow into it. So it swung on his thin, small frame. His beautiful black hair which was normally, short and spiky clumped to his head in dirty groups. His head was the most bloody out of all his wounds. A slash traveled up behind his ear through his hair. Maru's body finally collapsed, right under a low bush. As his armor clad body came down a yelp was heard from under the bush. There was no movement as the forest settled down around them. Night was coming on fast. There was no way that either Maru, or the person he landed on, could go home without getting more lost. Yumi nervously eyed the little being on her legs, as the sun finally set shutting them into darkness.

Morning dawned tense and quiet. Yumi had stayed awake the whole night, watching the demon that had curled onto her legs for any sign of danger. So far, the little guy just slept. But he was also panting and the blood on his face was dried, giving him a nasty war like look. It was a shame for someone so young to get hurt. He could not be over eight or nine. With the light; she could find water and clean him up. He was already showing signs of infection and blood loss. Pale, and a high fever.

Ever so gently, Yumi slid one leg out from under the demon, ever so carefully she then removed her other leg. The weary girl sat under the bush staring at him. He was a wolf demon! Maybe he was part of Kouga's... No with the luck she was having he was probably part of another pack. Yumi stood unsteadily, wondering whether her numb legs would give out. She should take one step at a time. But with the first step, came searing pins and needles. Her legs felt like something fat, and unmovable. Yumi waited for the pain to subside, then set off in the direction of what sounded like water. Her own hunger was forgotten, because the little demon seemed very sick.

Yumi arrived at the source of the sound of water. It was a quaint little pond, with small lilly-pads, and water flowers. Silver fish darted among the rocks, and a toad somewhere croaked. It would have been a kodak moment, but the sense of urgency was over powering Yumi, so she pulled off her socks, and tore the bottom half of her shirt.

She soaked her black shirt, and socks in the water and wobbled back to the little demon. Sighing, she began the tedious job of mopping up blood, then wrapping wounds. A dull ache was growing her stomach, she ignored it as she cared for the small wolf.

Starting at the top, Yumi, wiped away the caked blood and dirt off the little boys head. In a matter of seconds the socks and shirt she had used were heavily soiled. Yumi realized it took more than the few scraps she could conjure up to clean this little wolf demon. Why is this so difficult? Yumi sighed and dragged the boy to the ponds edge. It's a good thing it wasn't very far away. She wiped, soaked, scrubbed, and rubbed till all the blacked signs of battle were gone.

Hours later, the little wolf demon lay clean and bandaged. He looked a sight more healthy than when he first came upon Yumi. His hair was it's natural black, and his furry tail gleamed with cleanliness.

His clothes produced a bit of a problem. After tossing around the idea of just leaving them dirty, the smell beat out Yumi's decision. Firmly closing her own eyes, she pulled the fur wrap from around his small hips, and replaced it with a large leaf. It would do as covering for now.

Yumi finally had his clothes clean, and armor polished. It was about now that he started to stir. He moaned and tried to get up. "Ugh my head. Mnnugh."

"Don't get up! You're wounded." Despite Yumi's protest, he sat up and looked uncertainly around.

"Where am I?" he questioned her directly. "And who are you?"

"My name is Yumi. And to tell you the truth, I have no idea where we are." Yumi sat across from him so she could look at the little wolf, and speak to him. He rubbed his head in pain.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened if you tell me who you are."

"My name is Maru." He looked in surprise at his chest, as if just now remembering he was wearing armor. "And I'm a warrior!" Ah little boys, and fighting... Who will ever understand?"Now what happened!" He said with a pout.

"Well I was in the forest, and I fell asleep under a shrub. All of a sudden you come out of nowhere and practically flatten me. You were all bloody and hurt. So I patched you up."

"Did I really flatten you? I'm sorry, I must be pretty heavy if I squished you so much your ribs show." He was openly staring at her stomach, at the part where she had ripped her shirt to make a bandage for him. It was true, her ribs shown as clearly as the stars on a cloudless night. But it was not from Maru, it was from everyday having a lesser and lesser amount of food to eat. Then running on empty for the past three days.

"And why were you in the forest alone? Why weren't you with your pack? " Yumi bit her lip at this statement from the innocent, wide, eyed youth. How could she explain being upset at her parents, then waking up the next morning in a whole different era? It was something he wouldn't understand. So Yumi decided to tell half the truth.

"I got lost, and I live by myself, not in any village." she stared at her lap, unable to look into those curious orbs.

"Why do you live by your self? Is it because no man likes you? I have a cousin your age and she's mated five times already!" His remark caused Yumi to blush and stammer.

"No it's not-Well see-I-"

"I think your pretty." The little boy blushed and finally turned his gaze away. "But you're a girl, and you have cooties, maybe that's why?"

For the first time in a long time, Yumi burst out laughing. She rolled over and gasped for breath, tears leaking out of her eyes. The small wolf looked completely bewildered, as if cooties weren't common knowledge to everyone. Her laughs subsided, replaced by coughs, that tore from her chest...

Kouga sat among his wolves in a victory feast. There was no doubt they would defeat the demons, but it was nice to celebrate once in a while. He stared blankly across the large bonfire they had constructed. His eyes roamed over laughing fighters, who told brave stories of the battle, even if they weren't true. Such as, "I fought 100 of those ugly demons all by myself" "Those brutes chopped and left my arm useless, but I still killed a ton of them" "Once I arrived they took one look and fled". These were the stories his experienced fighters told, they were as bad as the pups at telling extravagant tales.

Something nagged at the back of his mind though, as if he forgot something. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't remember what he had forgotten. Hmmmm... Were all of his wolves present? Somehow the thing he had forgotten tied in with all of the wolves being here right now. He took a swift head count. All the females were here, all his males, the younger ones... Wait there was one missing from the youngest fighters. Who could it be?... Maru!

He needed to find him. Silently Kouga got up from the cave. He left the shouts, the roasted boar, and all the questioning looks his wolves gave him.

Yumi's coughing fit had increased, making Maru nervous.

"Are you ok? What's wrong?"

All of a sudden, her stomach rebeled, and she coughed up blood, and the green mucus lining of her stomach. Not eating for about three days was making her sick. Yumi coughed up the blood, oblivious that her charge was shouting things to her. Her stomach doubled in pain, and Yumi screamed from the torture of it. She weakly slumped over just as a whirlwind lifted her hair.

Two sets of eyes watched the girl, in her pathetic attempt to stop vomiting blood, and green gunk. One of them scared and frantic, the other cold and emotionless, toward the girl.

Maru piped up "Kouga, she helped me! She caught me when I fell and she healed me up! We have to help her!"

"Leave her Maru, she is a human, nothing good comes from humans." Kouga briefly thought about Kagome, then snapped his attention back to Maru.

"But Kouga! She saved me! She was kind and I like her and I don't want her to die!" Maru was bright eyed, fearfully watching as the girl who saved him, had quieted her stomach, but was giving dry coughs instead. Kouga watched Yumi without any emotion, then gave a slight shake of his head,

"Fine then we can take her back to the cave. And Maru don't get too attached. Humans have a tendency to hurt you powerfully. " Kouga heaved her up on his shoulder, wondering why she weighed less than Maru.

"Maru what happened? Are you sure she isn't dead already?" Maru innocently shook his head side to side. Kouga then sniffed her in curiosity.

"She must have not eaten in a very long time. Can you run Maru?"

Maru tried lifting himself up from the ground, but immediately fell back down again.

"I can't get up Kouga." Maru said looking up at his leader. Kouga sighed, then scooped up the small wolf demon on his other shoulder. In a whirlwind of leaves and dirt, Kouga left with the human and fellow wolf demon.

Yumi awakened but her eyes remained shut. Noises all around her proved she was not alone. In fact things were poking into her sides. They felt like... snouts? Maybe noses. It was as if many creatures were all pushing and shoving to get a whiff of her. Her guess wasn't very far off...

Yumi's eyes flickered open, and for a moment, there were faces, some looked like animals and some looked a little human. They all drew back at once though. Unsteadily Yumi propped herself up on one arm and examined the curious faces around her. A voice spoke up somewhere around her waist. It was Maru, the wolf she had patched up.

"You're awake! You slept an awfully long time. It was a whole day!" he smiled at her in all his child like innocence. A motherly figure at once pushed herself through.

"Maru! What have I told you about bothering the human? Now take your friends outside right now!" She barked at him, with the classic hands on hips, and stern expression. All the little demons around Yumi left. Maru looked disappointed, but nevertheless exited with his tail between his legs.

"Now dear, how are you feeling?" She came over, and plopped herself on a nearby rock. "We gave you an old remedy passed down through the generations, it's supposed to cure just about anything." She smiled in an understanding mother sort of way.

"I-I feel fine, really hungry, but fine. Um where am I? And how did I get here?" Yumi was lost and confused. One moment she was barfing out her organs in the middle of the forest, with an injured wolf demon, the next she wakes up to find pee wees playhouse staring at her, and a mother acting like this was normal.

"You were half starved, poor thing. It looks like you haven't eaten in days." She lifted herself up and walked to a corner of the cave. She returned with a small bowl filled with some kind of sloshing content. Soup presumably. "Here now eat this and I will explain everything to you." She rested back on the rock, neatly folding her fur wrap as she sat.

"Now you saved Maru. He has never been in a real battle before, and somehow he got separated. He was injured pretty badly because between you and me, he's really not much of a fighter. So he stumbled upon you somehow, and for whatever reason you cleaned him up. It is the custom of the wolves to repay all debts, never to swindle someone. You help us, we help you. It doesn't happen very often, heck it hasn't ever happened that a human helped a wolf from this pack before. With the exception of Kagome of course." Yumi froze upon hearing Kagome's name. But the motherly woman kept going.

"Kouga has decided-" Yumi dropped the bowl and all it's contents on the floor. She said Kouga's name. Could it be? Was this his pack? "Oh now here let me clean that up." She grabbed a cloth from an inside pocket, and began mopping up Yumi's lap. "I take it from your reaction you know Kouga? He's the leader of our pack if you want to-"

She was cut off from whatever she was just about to say because at that exact moment, Yumi screamed. Long and shrill, she screamed for minutes, and it was so loud the woman wolf demon, pressed her hands on her own pointed ears, to muffle the noise. A voice from outside the cave said in a low, deep and very annoyed voice "Hey! What the hell is going on in there?" Yumi turned, she could only guess whose voice that could be. Her scream stopped but her mouth remained wide open in shock. Standing in the entrance of the cave was Kouga, looking pissed as hell.

A.N. YAY! They finally met! I'm so happy! I was planning this whole story around them, and their fateful meeting. OK well tell me what cha all think! And don't forget to review!