The Shikigami user & the Gorgeous Goddesses

by Uruz 11

Michiru is forced to stay at a relative's house which is occupied by heavenly goddesses, will romance bloom amidst the humor and chaos during his stay? Will all of them visit Feudal Japan as well? Michiru/Peorth as the main pairing, other pairings will also exist pairing Michiru with other female characters from Inuyasha and Oh My Goddess. Warning: Steamy scenes in chapter 16.

15. Michiru's heart being pulled apart

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Oh My Goddess, or anything associated with either of them. This story is being written just for fun and enjoyment.

Chapter #15: Michiru's heart being pulled apart

Feudal Japan, far to the north where one of the four Wolf demon tribes resides…

It was a calm and beautiful morning, the old and wise Wolf demon who led the Northern Wolf Demon Tribe was presently deep in thought while relaxing on the edge of a wide rocky ledge sticking out from the mountain overlooking the rugged rocky terrain below covered with trees and bushes which was located within their territory and hunting grounds. The calm breeze blew gently against his gray fur coat and helped keep him cool as the bright sun in the morning sky touched everything with its warm sunlight. Being old and elderly as he was, the Great Elder no longer had the strength, stamina or appetite that he once possessed during the prime years of his youth which seemed like an eternity ago. Nevertheless, he still ruled over the wolf demons of the north and had earned enormous respect along with their loyalty and trust, those qualities were now more valuable than ever to any leader or ruler whether they be human or demon. His old age had given him many many years of knowledge and experience which he intended pass on to a worthy successor when the time came for him to one day step down, however, the old wolf demon chief hoped that there would still be a place for him beside who the next ruler of the tribe happened to be so he could share his wisdom and counsel his successor in order to maintain the peace and prosperity that his own tribe had enjoyed thus far. He also hoped that the arranged marriage between Koga and his granddaughter would cement the bonds of brotherhood and friendship between his own tribe of wolf demons here in the north and Koga's tribe in the south, this in turn would serve as an example of cooperation while also acting as a deterrent to keep the other tribes in the east and west from fighting among themselves or from seeking to expand their own borders by intruding or invading the territories of others.

Contrary to what most wolf demons believed, it was mutually beneficial to both humankind and demon kind that all four tribes of wolf demons presently lived far apart from one another so that each individual tribe had its own territorial boundaries without coming into any unwanted confrontation with each other, especially when it came to hunting and killing prey for food sources, it would be almost too easy for war to break out between any of the four tribes if one were to accuse another of stealing food sources by deliberately intruding on another tribe's territory to hunt for prey which was considered a very serious breach of trust and violation of peace. Even if such a conflict could be limited to just two warring tribes of wolf demons, one or both of the other tribes would surely be tempted to take full advantage of the situation by seizing other territories for itself or worst of all, threatening to vanquish those who remained once that war had ended in order to acquire the lands of the other tribes along with all the food sources and power for itself. Another reason to keep all four tribes spread out far and wide was to allow enough space between the borders of their territorial hunting grounds so that human beings, animals and other demons could freely roam at will, live and thrive. For if that didn't happen, there would be no more animals or prey to hunt for food which would inevitably lead to starvation, then the tribes would be forced to abandon their hunting grounds and search for another more populated place to live where food was more plentiful which would inevitably bring them into conflict with either humans or other demon races.

While many wolf demons prided themselves for their superior strength and speed over other weaker beings, especially humans, very few were willing to openly admit out loud that they were actually at a disadvantage, for many humans didn't need to hunt for food in order to feed themselves, they had learned the value of tilling the earth and growing a lot of their own food so that they didn't have to hunt for it themselves. Farming was just one of the many invaluable skills and accomplishments that human beings had gained and achieved over time, while humans were physically weaker than wolf demons were, they were nevertheless capable of adapting and improving themselves along with their quality of life while living in peace and prosperity when ever they weren't fighting or at war with each other. Any humans who had neither the skills for farming or any farmland of their own learned to acquire food from those who did by trading other commodities or by paying them with money, labor or other such means to earn a share of food for themselves. The Feudal Lords also acquired portions of any grown food as an alternate form of payment since most peasant farmers didn't have enough money or any money to pay taxes to their Lords who ruled over the lands and protected the people living in their domain against foreign invaders and other internal dangers. The many problems humans faced were no concern of wolf demons and therefore, none of the wolf demon tribes had any need for the skills or knowledge and experience that humans required, though it was terribly obvious that wolf demons depended entirely on hunting prey for their very survival and took it for granted as well without thinking of any alternative solutions if they suddenly had no more food to hunt or if they were prevented unable to hunt for food again.

"Good morning Grandfather!" A young female voice called out, breaking the silence and interrupting the ancient wolf demon from all of his thoughts, causing the Chief to turn his head around and smile as he saw his young and precious granddaughter sitting down next to him.

"Good morning Ayame." The elderly wolf demon replied, smiling affectionately at the young, beautiful wolf demon woman who was his granddaughter.

Ayame had green eyes, her long orange colored hair was tied into two ponytails, she had grown up and blossomed into a very pretty wolf demon woman with a pretty face along with an attractive figure to match. Being the granddaughter of the northern wolf demon tribe's Leader had put pressure on her and made Ayame train and work hard to live up to the standards and expectations that were required of her, staying physically fit, training to become stronger in body and tough minded so she could act as a leader herself or at the very least, an envoy or emissary in order to mediate on behalf of her own tribe or any of the four tribes if the need should ever arise. Unlike most or all of her brethren who normally wore brown furs for clothing, Ayame had chosen to wear clothes made of white fur in order to distinguish herself from others, she wore a white fur cape which wrapped around her shoulders and hung down behind her back along with a short white fur skirt below her waist which wrapped around her hips and bottom, it was short and loose enough to show off her long athletic legs while also allowing them more freedom of movement since mobility and speed were essential for hunting and chasing down prey. Ayame also wore armor around her chest and waist along with a sword and sheath at her side both as a means of personal protection and also to show that she was equally capable of fighting in battle or handling herself in any kind of danger that might arise. Like most wolf demons, she also wore fur around her lower legs below the knees and above her ankles, these provided just enough warmth and comfort so she could walk and run barefooted which was normal for most full fledged demons.

"I've interrupted you from all your thoughts again haven't I?" Ayame pointed out after noticing a familiar look in her grandfather's eyes.

"I am always delighted to be interrupted when ever you visit me or choose to keep me company Ayame, you are my granddaughter after all, one day when you have children of your own, you'll feel the joy of parenthood and when your children grow up and have children of their own, you'll also feel the same joy of being a grandparent like I am." Grandpa replied, smiling happily at his precious granddaughter whom he was so proud of, Ayame provided him with enough joy and happiness that any grandparent required, her long orange hair gently flowed back and forth as the morning breeze blew all around the pair of wolf demon relatives. The wise wolf demon's old eyes quickly spotted the beautiful purple Ayame flower in the wolf demon woman's orange hair which also shared the same name as Ayame.

"I hope you'll still be alive when I do, then you'll become a great grandfather." Ayame remarked, smiling joyfully as her thoughts recalled the promise Koga had made to her back when she was just a young child and he had saved her from being killed and eaten by one of the many demon birds of paradise that terrorized the territory long long ago. On that same night when the two of them were talking while Koga carried Ayame on his back, they both saw a beautiful rainbow which was revealed by the bright light of the full moon shining in the night sky after the rain had stopped falling, it was a wonderful sight which the wolf demon girl had always remembered along with the promise Koga had made to marry her once she had grown up and come down from the northern mountains to see him again. Ever since that night, Ayame had kept those memories along with her feelings of affection deep within her heart for all time, for they gave her hope along with the strength she needed to get through all of her tough training which prepared her for life as a female wolf demon warrior.

"Ahem." an elderly brown wolf called out from a far to announce his presence before approaching the two relatives. "Please forgive my intrusion, my lord and my lady. We have visitors from our neighboring tribe far to the southwest of us, they arrived just a little while ago."

"Visitors you say?" Ayame asked curiously as she and her grandfather turned around and stood up to see what was going on.

"From the tribe to the southwest of ours?" The old wolf demon asked aloud, his ears detected the sounds of voices talking from afar.

"Yes my lady, yes my lord. Two young wolf demon children have traveled here from the southwest and they've come here seeking an audience with both of you." The elderly four legged wolf replied after bowing his head respectfully while verbally delivering his message. "Both of them were spotted entering our territory by wolves living in their dens and burrows in the forests near our southwestern border, they were guided the rest of the way here by our fellow wolves and then accompanied here under guard by some wolf demon warriors. Some of the wolves who guided the two wolf demon children here have chosen to accompany them so that they may also listen to what both children have to say and why they've come here, its been a long time since any news was heard from the other three tribes after all."

"Very well, inform the wolves and the two children that Ayame and I will receive them in the Council Cavern, inform our bodyguards to watch over them until our arrival." The wolf demon Elder ordered as he stood up on all four legs and prepared to walk back to the cavern with Ayame. "Both children must be hungry after having traveled here over such a great distance, prepare food for them at once and also for any wolves who have accompanied them here to our home, see that all of them are treated courteously and respectfully as guests."

"Yes my lord, at once my lord." The elderly wolf replied before departing quickly to carry out his master's orders.

"Why would two wolf demon children travel all the way here by themselves seeking an audience with both of us Grandpa?" Ayame asked curiously as she walked beside her grandfather back towards the cave entrance to a tunnel inside the mountain where their tribe lived.

"I don't know Ayame, but it must be a matter of great importance which is why we must talk with them so we may find out for ourselves." The old wolf demon leader replied while walking slowly with Ayame at his side, moving one leg in front of the other one step at a time.

After entering the cave in the mountain, Ayame and her grandfather walked down a long dark tunnel until they arrived in a large cavern at the other end, one of many inside their mountain home, there were many wolves and wolf demons of varying age scattered throughout the cavern which was brightly illuminated by burning torches along the walls. There were beds of straw and fur blankets all along the walls where families could sleep and rest, a very large cooking fire was also burning on the floor in the middle of the cavern, the headless corpse of a giant wild boar which had been skinned and skewered was presently being roasted over the hot flames of the fire and the black smoke rising from the flames rose up and ascended through a small hole in the roof of the cavern which then rose through a narrow shaft rising straight up until it breached the surface of the mountain and allowed the hazardous fumes to escape outside where it wouldn't suffocate or harm the wolf demons living inside of the mountain's cavern. While the Council Cavern wasn't being used by the council, it also served as a common room for all wolves and wolf demons to gather where they could relax and eat together, but it could quickly be vacated and made available to the wolf demon elders once the time came to debate and discuss important matters. Although most wolves and their wolf demon brethren normally ate the raw flesh of their prey which was uncooked and soaked with blood, there were those who had developed a taste for cooked meat, cooking it and smoking it also preserved it so that the meat would be kept edible and last longer which was also another benefit to everyone in the wolf demon Clan. The Great Elder stepped forwards and sat down on top of a large flat stone placed on a mound of earth to elevate it from the floor so it would serve as a seat of power for the Clan Leader, a big pile of straw sat behind where he stood and a large fur coat belonging to a giant bear demon was laid out on top, covering over most of the flat surface of the stone so it would be soft and comfortable for the Great Elder to sit on, stand and lay down on.

Ayame stepped forward and positioned herself so she could stand next to her grandfather while observing and addressing the two wolf demon children who had traveled all the way here seeking an audience with the two of them. Her eyes instantly identified the two young wolf demons and four wolves standing about thirty feet away hungrily eating the cooked meat they had been served while being surrounded by half a dozen wolf demon bodyguards. Both wolf demons were younger in age than she was, the youngest looked even younger than Ayame had once been during that fateful day long ago when Koga had saved her life and later made his verbal promise to marry her after she had grown up. The older wolf demon looked to be in his very early teens by wolf demon standards, he was hungrily devouring the last mouthfuls of cooked meat held in his hands, but upon noticing that Ayame and her Grandfather had now arrived in person, he suddenly sprinted over to see them without warning. Several wolf demon bodyguards reacted quickly and seized the young wolf demon lad before he could get any closer, they instinctively thought that he was attempting to assassinate their Great Elder or Ayame who was his granddaughter and took a moment to examine him for any weapons he might have had hidden on himself.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" The blue haired wolf demon boy shouted, shaking violently in order to break free from the wolf demon bodyguards restraining him. "Argh! I have to speak with the Great Elder and his granddaughter Ayame! There isn't any time to waste!"

"No! Don't hurt my big brother!" The younger wolf demon boy responded after rushing over to make sure his older bother wasn't harmed by the wolf demon warriors, he halted a few feet away and watched nervously as he waited to see what would happen to both of them.

Ayame's grandfather watched closely without saying a word and waited patiently for the wolf demon warriors to quickly finish their search for hidden weapons, a moment later, the wolf demon warrior turned around and respectfully bowed to their Clan Leader so that they could simply stand guard now that it was clear that the pair of wolf demon children weren't assassins as they had first feared.

"Both wolf demon children are unarmed and have no concealed weapons or poisons hidden on themselves my lord." The leader of the bodyguards concluded before stepping back and standing aside. "Though I still caution you to keep your distance while you speak with the two of them, especially this older one here, he has an attitude and doesn't like to obey orders even though he's now in our domain."

Ayame's grandfather turned to glance at his granddaughter, giving her a familiar look that he wanted her to take charge so she could speak on his behalf even while he was still present in the cavern, this gave her the opportunity of acting as Clan Leader in order to gain knowledge and learn through experience what it was like dealing with problems and engaging in diplomatic negotiations and such. One of the most important lessons he had taught Ayame was to remain calm even in the face of danger or death and above all, when receiving insults or threats from someone. Acting with patience or showing restraint were essential for a Clan Leader in order to lead by example while also demonstrating to everybody how capable he was at responding to any situation that might arise since the whole wolf demon tribe looked to him and counted on him for guidance since the fate of the tribe's survival depended on his actions and decisions.

"Very well, now release both of them at once so that we may speak with our guests." Ayame ordered, feeling a little sorry for the pair of youngsters who had traveled all the way here over a great distance only to be mistreated and regarded with suspicion simply because they had acted impatiently out of urgency. "How much harm can they possibly do with you and your bodyguards around? Let them be."

The tall and muscular wolf demon warriors who served as bodyguards for Ayame and her grandfather obediently released the pair of wolf demon children and stepped a few paces backwards to give their guests some space, but stood ready and alert just in case action was needed again. The commotion had drawn the attention of many other wolves and wolf demons presently inside of the cavern and those who weren't busy with daily chores or nurturing their children gathered around to observe and listen to what these visitors from the tribe to the southwest had to say for themselves. The oldest wolf demon child had short light blue hair while the younger wolf demon child had short black hair, both of them were dressed in clothes made from brown furs like most wolf demons normally wore, neither of them carried any weapons or wore any armor since they were obviously much too young for fighting in battle and wouldn't be old enough until after they had grown up first.

"Would the wolves who guided both wolf demon boys here please step forward and present yourselves?" Ayame's grandfather asked in a commanding voice, the four wolves in question obediently stepped forward, two standing on either side of both wolf demon children. The Great Elder then smiled politely while making eye contact at each of them in response. Although he had given Ayame the opportunity of addressing the pair of wolf demon youngsters, he still chose to address the four wolves himself since the words of his voice would have greater impact given that he was the Great Elder who ruled the northern wolf demon tribe and receiving his own gratitude would also be more appreciated. "You've done us a great service by maintaining a continuous watch on our southwestern border and also for guiding both wolf demon boys here so that they arrived safely without incident, please stay for the morning and accept our hospitality. When you return to your homes in the dens and burrows, please convey our sincere gratitude and deep respects to your comrades and wolf packs."

"You honor us even though we were only doing our duty Great Elder, we thank you for your kind words and your hospitality, we will pass on your respects to our comrades and wolf packs back home upon our return." One wolf replied while all four of them bowed respectfully.

Ayame and her Grandfather then turned their attention to the pair of wolf demon children who were presently waiting patiently for their chance to speak so that they could introduce themselves and present their tidings and concerns to everybody present in the cavern.

"It has been a long time since we've had visitors from any of the other wolf demon tribes, on behalf of the Northern wolf demon tribe, we welcome you to our home and we hope both of you will feel at home while you stay with us." Ayame stated after turning her attention to both wolf demon boys. "Step forward and introduce yourselves so we may know your names before hearing all that you have to tell us."

The blue haired wolf demon boy stepped forward and knelt down, bowing his head respectfully, the younger wolf demon boy then did the same a moment later.

"Great Elder of the wolf demon tribe in the north, ruler of the northern mountains, my name is Kai and this is my little brother Shinta. We have traveled a great distance seeking an audience with you and your granddaughter Ayame." The blue haired wolf demon explained while introducing himself along with his little brother. "Please pardon our intrusion into your territory, for we have come here to warn you that Koga's wolf demon tribe to the south will soon be attacked in a month or so by a powerful army of humans who are determined to seize the sacred jewel shards Koga presently holds in his possession unless Koga is willing to hand them over peacefully without a fight."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" A tall muscular wolf demon named Danjo laughed loudly, rudely interrupting Kai. "Humans attacking wolf demons? And all for a few sacred jewel shards? What a ridiculous load of nonsense! I don't know which is more funny, your story or that you traveled all the way here just to waste our time with your wild imagination about humans threatening to attack Koga's Clan! Ha!"

Before Ayame and her grandfather could verbally respond or any of the wolf demon bodyguards could react, Kai turned around really fast and quickly spotted the wolf demon who had interrupted this diplomatic meeting with his outburst of laughter and rude remarks.

"Clearly, I wasn't talking to you, loudmouth!" Kai verbally responded out loud after turning around to glare and shout at Danjo. "If you had paid any attention, you would have seen I was talking with the Great Elder and his granddaughter Ayame! When I'm talking to them, I'm talking to them! When I say you smell like a dung heap, then I'm talking to you! And by the way, you really do smell like a dung heap!"

The immense mountain cavern suddenly echoed with the sounds of suppressed laughter and chuckles exchanged among wolves and wolf demons presently gathered together after hearing Kai's verbal response directed at Danjo which then angered the wolf demon.

"Why you little…" Danjo angrily replied after being insulted and made a fool of in front of the entire tribe, by a wolf demon child no less.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"That's enough from you Danjo!"The Great Elder angrily cut in after grabbing a large stone with one of his fore paws and striking it down on the stone slab several times to maintain order just like how a courtroom judge would do with a tiny mallet in the modern human world.

Kai then turned around so he would be facing Ayame and her grandfather once again, already thinking of what to say next in order to turn the tables along with the opinions of others in his favor. Since Kai had traveled all the way here with his little brother only to have his tidings met with laughter and disbelief, the wolf demon lad saw no need to bow or kneel and chose to remain standing until he was shown the respect he felt he and his brother both deserved. Furthermore, Kai hated being looked down on just because he was still seen as a child so he knew that he needed to act and talk like how an adult would if his tidings were to be believed and taken seriously.

"Perhaps my brother and I made a mistake traveling all the way here, if no one is willing to believe us or take us seriously, we'll both be leaving! But remember this, I assure you that if the other tribes find out that your Clan was forewarned of this crisis in advance and chose to do nothing, the lot of you will all look like fools and lose all trust and respect from all three tribes!" Kai verbally continued. "If you want to avoid such a shameful disgrace, I suggest you avoid acting like the loudmouth standing behind me and take this crisis more seriously!"

There was a moment of silence as many wolf demons whispered their concerns and opinions back and forth so that their voices didn't disrupt Kai and Shinta from speaking with Ayame and her Grandfather. The Great Elder smiled slightly, it wasn't everyday that he saw a wolf demon child standing up to a wolf demon adult and cleverly swaying the opinion of the whole Clan in his favor, Danjo now looked like an idiot for foolishly interrupting this diplomatic meeting and the angry glare on Danjo's face made him look very infuriated. He inwardly hoped that Ayame had paid close attention and learned this lesson herself so she was prepared to put down anyone who dared to defy her authority or question her decisions once the time had come for his granddaughter to act during his absence or in his stead.

"Don't tell me you actually believe that little runt?" Danjo interrupted again, unable to believe or admit that a mere wolf demon child was serious about an army of humans threatening to attack Koga's Wolf Demon tribe to the south simply to acquire two sacred jewel shards.

"Leave this cavern at once Danjo and don't return until sundown!" The Great Elder demanded, his own patience was now at an end just as Kai's had been. "You have shamed yourself for insulting our guests with your unwelcome outbursts of laughter and rude remarks!"

Danjo glared angrily while showing his fangs in response for a moment until the wolf demon bodyguards turned around with their weapons drawn, ready to use brute force and remove him if he refused to depart. After a moment of hesitation, an angry Danjo reluctantly obeyed the Great Elder's command, turning around and walking out the tunnel which lead in the opposite direction to the main entrance of the mountain cavern which was the home of the northern wolf demon tribe. Ayame breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this unforeseen incident hadn't gotten out of hand.

"Ayame." The Great Elder called out softly.

"Yes Grandfather?" Ayame answered, turning her head just enough to one side so she could glance at her Grandfather and make eye contact with him while he spoke to her.

"We will continue this diplomatic discussion in private, somewhere outside and away from the prying ears of others." The Wise old wolf replied. "Bring Kai and Shinta with you before following me through the tunnel to my outside quarters, if both of them are still hungry from their long journey, they are more than welcome to bring more food with them so they can eat while they accompany us outside."

"As you command." Ayame respectfully replied before turning to address the pair of wolf demon children standing before her. "Please help yourselves to more food if both of you are still hungry and then follow me through the tunnel so we may continue this talk outside in private where we won't be rudely interrupted again."

"Thank you." Kai replied gratefully, before bowing respectfully once again.

"Thank you." Shinta replied with a light tone of voice since he was younger than his brother Kai and even more younger than Ayame.

"Wolves from our southwestern border, please make yourselves comfortable and enjoy our hospitality while Ayame and I speak privately with Kai and Shinta." The Great Elder replied politely. "Upon our return, we will discuss this crisis in detail with you all along with the rest of our elders so that we can decide what actions to take and how to respond to this threat. Afterwards, the four of you may go and return to your homes so that you may inform your wolf packs and comrades of this crisis and what our wolf demon tribe intends to do about it."

"Very well, thank you again Great Elder." The wolf leader replied respectfully while he and the other three wolves politely bowed their heads a second time before wandering over to the cooking fire in the middle of the cavern followed by Kai, Shinta and finally Ayame.

After taking a brief moment to gather more cooked meat for themselves, Kai and Shinta then accompanied Ayame who lead them through the tunnel behind the Great Elder's seat of power until they all arrived outside on the rocky mountain ledge which served as the Great Elder's outside quarters. By the time the three of them arrived to join Ayame's grandfather, Kai and Shinta had both eaten their second helpings of food and satisfied their hunger so that they wouldn't have to eat again until midday or early in the afternoon later on. Ayame sat down comfortably beside her grandfather on his left, Kai sat down in front where he would be facing the Great Elder while his little brother Shinta sat down to his right where he would be facing Ayame, allowing the four wolf demons to carry on their talk together.

"Before we discuss this matter any further, I must ask both of you some questions that need answering first." The Great Elder responded curiously. "I know for a fact that neither of you have ever met my granddaughter Ayame until this morning and yet, you already knew her by name and you recognized her after we came to the Council Cavern to meet you after being informed of your arrival. How do both of you know of Ayame?"

Both wolf demon boys then flinched in response, they then paused nervously while pondering what answers they should give.

"Its...difficult to explain, but the person who informed us of the human army planning to attack Koga's wolf demon tribe far to the south provided us with a description of your granddaughter, green eyes with orange hair, clothed in white fur while wearing armor and a sword." Kai answered. "It was easy to identity Ayame after seeing her in person, and seeing her standing beside you was also proof that she's your granddaughter."

"Here's a flower, just like the flower in your hair." Shinta added, producing a small purple flower he had carried on himself, holding it out in the open palms of his hands for Ayame to take from him. The wolf demon woman took the flower and held it in front of her, staring at it in the palm of her hand and instantly recognizing that it was indeed the same kind of flower as the one she wore in her orange hair without having to remove it and look at both of them side by side.

"This Ayame flower grows in the southern territory where Koga's wolf demon tribe lives, it has the same name as mine." Ayame pointed out before asking. "This mysterious person must have visited Koga's territory before traveling northwest to inform the two of you about the human army preparing to attack Koga's tribe. Would I be correct?"

"Yes, Ayame, you are absolutely correct." Kai replied while nodding in agreement. "The mysterious stranger claimed to have visited Koga as well before traveling to see Shinta and I, he obviously couldn't persuade Koga to hand over both jewel shards because if he had, then he wouldn't have needed to travel northwest to see us or ask us to travel here to inform you of everything he warned us of in advance."

"If we are to belief this stranger's story, I still think he would have sought out the two of you anyway because regardless of whether or not Koga was willing to hand over his sacred jewel shards isn't what we should be worrying about, the crisis is that a large human army still intends to make war on Koga's wolf demon tribe to the south which is why the stranger has requested our aid to mediate so that a conflict of arms between wolf demons and humans can be averted." The Great Elder verbally summarized after carefully thinking things through. "Its also possible that Koga's jewel shards are merely an excuse to hide or disguise their true motives for wanting to wage war, perhaps that's why this stranger has gone to such lengths to meet with us in secret so that we can all prepare for the worst of what is to happen."

"But how does this person know who I am if I've never met him before or heard of him until today?" Ayame asked curiously. "Can you give my grandfather and I a description of this person who sought you and Shinta out? That might help both of us to identify who he really is."

"The person was hooded and cloaked in a bright glowing cloak, it shined green like fireflies and looked like magic." Shinta described, he then paused for a moment until his mind recalled another thought. "And he reeked of garlic."

"Garlic?" The Great Elder replied curiously.

"He must have wanted to conceal his scent with the odor of garlic so it would be impossible for any demon with a keen sense of smell to determine his identity, if he once belonged to the human army he warned us of, then he would also be labeled as a traitor by his own people which is all the more reason to hide his identity." Kai explained. "He also covered his head with a veil and a hood so we couldn't even see his face, but judging from the sound of his voice, he might be about the same age as Ayame is. He might also be a half demon though, I happened to catch a brief glimpse of one of his hands, they were green with sharp fingernails and covered with scales. That might also explain why he tried to conceal his scent with the odor of garlic, half demons are despised by both humans and demons alike and are often hunted down and preyed upon by full fledged demons, he obviously needed to take precautions in order to protect himself."

"Hmm...how very interesting." The Great Elder remarked while processing all this information along with his own thoughts on the matter.

"I've never met any half demons or humans for that matter either." Ayame replied, feeling rather confused. "Would you please explain everything that happened when you and Shinta first met this mysterious half demon? Tell us word for word, don't leave anything out."

"Before we tell you..." Kai responded before turning to Ayame's grandfather. "What other questions do you need to ask us Great Elder?"

"My last question is obvious." The old wolf wisely replied. "Why didn't this stranger come with you to speak with Ayame and I in person?"

Kai and Shinta each flinched a second time, both brothers then glanced briefly at one another before bowing their heads towards Ayame and her Grandfather once again, their fingers twitched a little from their clenched hands which also betrayed their hesitation.

"Great Elder, I ask that my brother and I be allowed to speak with just yourself from now on." Kai asked reluctantly. "Regardless of how serious this crisis happens to be for us all, I don't want to say anything in front of Ayame that might hurt your granddaughter's feelings."

Ayame and her grandfather both glanced at one another momentarily before turning their attention back towards Kai and Shinta.

"I appreciate your concern for my granddaughter, truly I do, but I'm afraid Ayame also needs to hear what you have to say no matter what so both of us understand the whole situation for ourselves." The Great Elder politely pointed out while asking Kai to explain everything.

"As you command, Great Elder." Kai replied, turning to glance apologetically at Ayame for a moment before he looked back at the Great Elder. "Shinta and I were both playing together by ourselves one evening, we lost our parents years ago and are both being raised by another family in our tribe so we don't fit in well with the other wolf demon children even though we are still cared for and looked after. We've always been fascinated by fireflies and take the opportunity to watch them glow at night in the bushes a short distance from our home, we were so captivated by the sight of them that we both failed to take notice of anyone or anything that might be approaching us."

Kai's flashback…

"Wow...look at how those fireflies glow." Shinta said while pointing at the glowing fireflies silently and slowly flying around while their tiny bodies glowed and illuminated the bushes where they lived, completely unaware of the two wolf demons who watched them from afar.

"They're like tiny stars from the sky above, but they're down here on the ground instead where they're close enough for us to see and touch." Kai remarked while staring at the tiny illuminated insects with awe and fascination. "Its nearly bedtime Shinta, let's return home."

"Good evening." A voice called out politely, belonging an unknown stranger who had sneaked up on the pair of wolf demon youngsters.

"AHHHH!" Kai and Shinta cried out after being suddenly surprised and momentarily frightened until they both quickly calmed down.

"Quiet Kai! Quiet Shinta!" The stranger demanded, not wanting to raise an alarm or draw unwanted attention to the three of them. "I'm sorry for accidentally frightening both of you, but I am in great need of your help. Koga's wolf demon tribe is in danger of being attacked."

Both wolf demon youngsters quickly calmed down and kept quiet for a moment while observing the stranger who had suddenly scared them, from the sound of his voice, they could tell he was older than themselves. As for his appearance, this stranger was taller than Kai was which told them that he was still young and not a fully grown adult. He wore no furs like they did which told them he wasn't a wolf demon, he gave off no aura which meant he must be a human, though Kai and Shinta didn't know for sure since they couldn't see his face which was hidden behind a veil and a hood pulled over his head which completely concealed his identity. He wore a kimono like most humans did along with a sword on his left side which also revealed that Kai and Shinta were talking with a warrior, but what got their attention was the mysterious cloak he wore over his other clothes which glowed bright green like the fireflies flying and flickering around at night.

"Hey! Hold on! How do you know both of our names?" Kai asked curiously, although he and Shinta were captivated by the bright glowing green cloak made of phosphorescent moss worn by this unknown person, the wolf demon lad still kept his head and verbally responded.

"I know more than just your names." The stranger answered, taking notice that the pair of wolf demon brothers were interested in the glowing green cloak he wore. "If both of you agree help me, would each of you like to have your own phosphorescent cloak in return?"

"Yes!" Shinta replied excitedly in response, it was easy for a child to overreact without thinking the whole matter through from the start.

"Tell us what kind of help you need from us first before we decide whether or not we'll agree." Kai asked with concern and suspicion until he and his brother Shinta both covered their noses and backed away from the mysterious stranger all of a sudden. "Ugh! What on earth is that terrible stench? You smell so awful who ever you are. Are you trying to poison us or something? What's going on here anyway?"

"My apologies, I neglected to warn you beforehand that I've covered myself with garlic before traveling here to meet both of you tonight." The stranger answered apologetically, feeling badly for causing both wolf demon youngsters to suffer. "I use it to hide my scent and also to ward off or discourage any dangerous demons from attempting to hunt me down, I'm sorry for disrupting your keen sense of smell."

"Ugh!" Shinta replied, covering his nose with both hands. "I...can't...breath."

"Breath with your mouth instead of your nose from now on Shinta, that will help you ignore the garlic odor." Kai instructed, taking a short moment to recover himself before carrying on. "You were telling us that Koga's wolf demon tribe is in danger of being attacked? Why?"

"An army of humans is preparing to attack Koga's wolf demon tribe in the south so that they can take both sacred shikon jewel shards that Koga presently has in his possession, unless Koga willingly hands them over without a fight, war will break out and much bloodshed will occur." The stranger explained. "Do both of you know what the sacred shikon jewel shards are and have you ever seen them before?"

"Yes, we know what they are, they're tiny crystal shards capable of enhancing the strength and power of who ever wields them." Kai answered, after processing everything he had been told up to now, he then replied back. "Even if we both believed you and agreed to help you, Shinta and I are just boys and don't wield any authority or power. But you still want our help? What could the two of us do?"

"I ask that both of you travel with me far to the north and request an audience with the Great Elder who rules over the wolf demon tribe in the northern mountains, he has a granddaughter named Ayame who wears a flower that looks just like this one you see here." The stranger explained, pulling out a small purple flower hidden underneath his phosphorescent cloak and holding it out for Kai who took it and then passed it to Shinta to look at. "That flower shares the same name as Ayame herself, it grows in the lands were Koga's wolf demon tribe resides. Ayame has green eyes, long orange hair and wears white fur along with armor, she's also armed with a sword so she'll be easy to spot in a crowd of fellow wolf demons. Long ago, back when Ayame was a lot younger like the two of you are now, she was in danger of being attacked and devoured by demon birds of paradise that hunted the lands. Koga rescued her and saved her life, while carrying her to safety one night during the full moon, both of them saw a rainbow together and during that moment, Koga promised Ayame that he would marry her once she had grown up and come down from the northern mountains to see him again many years later."

"Wow." Shinta replied, totally caught up in the story that the stranger was telling.

"Don't stop now, tell us more." Kai asked while taking notice of the demonic looking appearance of the stranger's hand which was colored green and covered in scales with sharp fingernails while the stranger handed the purple Ayame flower to him, but he was more interested in what this mysterious stranger had to say and decided not to ask him about his abnormal appearance even though he now suspected that this person might indeed be a half demon.

"Both of them are arranged to marry each other and therefore, Ayame has some influence over Koga and might be able to persuade him to hand over both sacred jewel shards willingly without violence in order to prevent a terrible war from breaking out, Ayame's grandfather also has influence and respect so the two of them together should be able to mediate on my behalf and do what I couldn't do by myself." The stranger verbally continued.

"You mean you already saw Koga and asked him to hand over his jewel shards by yourself?" Kai pointed out. "How did you manage to walk away unharmed after attempting such a foolish errand? Why didn't Koga kill you or beat you up with his bare hands in response?"

"Yes I did, though as you can already deduce, my efforts were in vain." The stranger replied while momentarily reflecting on his recent encounter with Koga before he traveled here to meet with Kai and Shinta. "I didn't stay at his lair long enough to give Koga the chance of harming me, I departed as swiftly as I could after giving him fair warning that there would be a war whether he believed me or not. But before leaving, I told him that I would do all in my power to prevent the human army from attacking his territory in order to avoid causing unnecessary bloodshed while also proving my honorable intentions to preserve the peaceful existence between wolf demons and the Pentacle Alliance which the human army belongs too, but unfortunately, I don't think he cared or paid much attention to all that I said."

"What's the Pentacle Alliance?" Kai asked curiously.

"Its an Alliance made up of many Clans of humans, half demons and full demons, demonslayers and Shikigami warriors. If neither of you know what a Shikigami warrior is, its a warrior that possesses magic Shikigami powers who can fight with magic, against magic and also cast magic spells like this if you watch closely." The stranger answered before summoning his own magic Shikigami powers so he could cast a spell in order to give Kai and Shinta a demonstration. "Oh flame burning bright! Turn into a sword of wrath! Raging Flame!"

A magical orange light appeared as the Shikigami familiar took on the form of a lion as the Shikigami stranger cast his spell, he then directed the raging fire so it descended upon a fallen tree trunk laying nearby on the ground, it suddenly caught fire and began to burn fiercely. Both wolf demon youngsters were momentarily alarmed, but they need not have worried because fortunately for them, the lone tree trunk was located in a small clearing where the burning flames were confined and unable to spread and start a dangerous forest fire. However, just in case, the mysterious stranger decided to cast another spell to put out the fire he had created to be absolutely safe.

"Oh clouds in the sky! Douse this fire with your rain from up high! Falling Rain!" The stranger commanded, casting another spell with his magic Shikigami powers. This time a magical blue light appeared as another Shikigami familiar different from the first one, a red fish surrounded by water which soared straight up toward the sky at tremendous velocity until it reached the clouds above where he and the wolf demon brothers were presently standing. The magical light then vanished and rain started to fall directly over the small clearing where the burning tree trunk lay on the ground, Kai and Shinta watched in awe and wonder as they watched the rain slowly douse the flames of the burning tree trunk until the fire was extinguished, leaving its charred surface covered in water which slowly absorbed into the wood. "How did you like seeing my demonstration of Shikigami magic? I hope that I didn't alarm you while I cast both spells just now."

"Wow!" Shinta exclaimed in astonishment, Kai was silent until he recovered his thoughts once the fire was out and the rain had stopped.

"If that human army you warned us about has demonslayers and...Shikigami warriors capable of casting magic spells like those two that you just did, Koga's going to have a serious battle on his hands." Kai verbally deduced, fully understanding how serious this crisis was.

"Yes, if a war breaks out between Koga's wolf demon tribe in the south and a human army of Shikigami warriors and demonslayers, it could also spread throughout the lands and endanger many more lives as well which is a crisis I and many of my friends and allies would want to avoid." The Shikigami warrior replied. "Now that you know what's going to happen Kai, you and Shinta have a decision to make."

"May I ask another question before we answer?" Kai asked.

"Ask all the questions you'd like." The stranger replied.

"I fully understand your desire to prevent a conflict from breaking out between Koga's wolf demon tribe in the south and the human army you warned us about, saving the lives of many others along with those of your family and friends is normal in every respect." Kai replied. "But you still haven't said how you found out about Koga's promise to marry Ayame, if she was as young as you say, then that event must have happened long ago before you were even born. So how did you find out or learn about it if you weren't there to see it for yourself?"

"That's a very good question Kai, and I'm afraid my answer is going to sound very strange and confusing to you. Are you sure you want to hear it?" The stranger replied, waiting for Kai and Shinta to both nod so he could continue, he then pulled out a piece of paper which he unfolded before handing it to Kai who held it in both hands so he and Shinta could both look at it together. "Shikigami! Please Help!"

A small ball of fire was magically summoned and held in the left hand of the Shikigami warrior who held it close so that its light would allow he and both wolf demon brothers to see the unfolded map more easily in the dark, he then used his right hand to point at certain locations on the map while he spoke to Kai and Shinta.

"We are presently located at your territory belonging to your wolf demon tribe here in the west, down here in the south is where Koga's wolf demon tribe is located. If you look closely, you'll see that there's a human village just beyond the border of Koga's domain." The stranger pointed out, allowing Kai and Shinta to follow along while they watched and listened carefully. "What do both of you see there?"

"Ayame Village." Shinta responded while trying to read the name of the village out loud, causing Kai's eyes to widen in astonishment.

"You mean that there's a village named after Ayame herself?" Kai replied in astonishment. "But how do you know its not named after the Ayame flowers that you said grow in the territory belonging to Koga's wolf demon tribe? This could just be a coincidence could it not?"

"Yes...and no." The stranger explained. "You see, Ayame Village was named after Ayame by a Shikigami warrior long ago before I was born as you pointed out earlier, the village was to be a place of trade for merchants and travelers while also marking where the boundary exists between the territory belonging to Koga's wolf demon tribe in the south and the humans residing in the towns and villages spread out all over the lands to west. Furthermore, the Shikigami warrior hoped as I do, that naming the nearby village after wolf demon Ayame would help Koga to remember her name along with the promise he made to her long long ago so that he wouldn't forget about Ayame."

"Wow, what a wonderful story." Shinta said softly.

"Did you mention Ayame's name or remind Koga of his promise to marry Ayame when you asked him for his jewel shards?" Kai asked.

"Yes I did, but like I said before, I don't think he cared or paid much attention to everything I said to him." The stranger replied regretfully. "Now, if I've answered all of your questions, I'd like to know what each of you have decided. Will both of you agree to help me or not?"

"Yes we will, won't we Kai?" Shinta said excitedly, turning to his older brother and hoping Kai would also say yes to this friendly stranger.

"Yes, we'll both help you, but before we leave, I'd like to tell my family everything you've told us if that's alright with you." Kai replied.

"Whether they believe you or not, would they still be willing to let both of you go with me on my journey to the north?" The stranger asked.

"If they won't listen, Shinta and I will just have to leave without their consent, Koga's wolf demon tribe is in danger of being attacked and many other innocent lives will also be at risk if we don't do something to stop a war from breaking out." Kai declared. "We'll have to go in order to seek an audience with the Great Elder and Ayame. They're the only two people who could possibly influence Koga aren't they?"

The Shikigami warrior sighed in response which Kai took notice of, the older wolf demon then sensed something else was wrong.

"Well aren't they?" Kai asked again. "You said that only the two of them together could possibly influence Koga and persuade him to hand over his jewel shards willingly without a fight. Is that not true?"

"There is one other who also has some influence and could persuade Koga to hand over both of his jewel shards, a young human woman named Kagome. She possesses the powers of a priestess so she can see, sense and detect sacred jewel shards." The Shikigami warrior reluctantly explained. "I had hoped to ask for her aid as well, but I cannot find her and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to bring Kagome with us to see the Great Elder and Ayame without putting Kagome's own life at risk. You see, Koga is just as eager to hold on to his two jewel shards as he is to acquire more of them so he can increase his own power which is why he's become...infatuated with Kagome."

"Poor Ayame." Shinta replied as he caught on to what the Shikigami stranger had hinted at once he had finished with his explanation.

"We've wasted enough time talking, we'll go home to tell our family where we're going and why." Kai stated, folding up the map he had been given and stuffing it inside his brown furs where it would be kept safe. "Come on Shinta, we'll have to say goodbye to everyone too."

End of Kai's flashback…

"Shinta and I went home and tried our best to tell our family everything we had been told, but unfortunately nobody was willing to believe us, we were laughed at and treated as though we had just made up the whole story." Kai reluctantly explained as he concluded his story.

"After being laughed at, made fun of and insulted, Shinta and I left our home and returned to the Shikigami warrior who waited where we had been watching fireflies before he suddenly startled us with his unexpected appearance. The stranger summoned his magical powers to cast a spell which allowed him to fly through the sky like a bird, Shinta and I grabbed hold of his arms and held on tight while all three of us soared across the sky high above the trees and hills below. As much as we both enjoyed the view, we were uneasy and sick from the odor of garlic along with the speed at which we were traveling, it was early morning by the time we all arrived at the southwestern border of your territory. Once we had landed and were standing on the ground again, the Shikigami stranger wished us good luck and expressed his thanks before he traveled off to seek out and meet with some of his allies who he claimed would help us with our task to prevent a war from breaking out between Koga's wolf demon tribe in the south and the Pentacle Alliance that he and his allies all belong too. He let us keep his map and said that he would acquire two glowing green cloaks made of glowing moss to give to Shinta and I as gifts for agreeing to travel here and speak with you on his behalf since he reluctantly couldn't see you himself. The stranger claimed that he didn't have time to travel here himself because he needed to meet with some of his comrades in order to make arrangements to return swiftly to the lands far to the south where Koga's wolf demon tribe resides. He would wait for us at a place called Hijiri Island, its located on a lake if you look on the map we were given. Now that we've told you everything, you have to decide whether you believe us or not and if you're able to act as mediators in this crisis, Shinta and I have both agreed to help the Shikigami stranger however we can, we both have to go to Hijiri Island anyway if we want to receive the cloaks he promised to give us in exchange for our help. That's the whole truth."

Everyone took a moment of pause to collect their thoughts, the Great Elder sat still while silently processing everything that Kai had told him, but the silence was suddenly broken by Ayame who grabbed the map laid out on the ground in front of her grandfather. The young wolf demon woman looked at where Ayame Village was written on the map, marking where the boundary existed between Koga's domain and the lands which bordered it along with the names and locations of the other towns and villages scattered everywhere as well.

"I'm sorry Grandfather, I-I need some time to myself so I can be alone for a while, I'll return once I feel better again." Ayame replied softly, she placed the map back on the ground before standing up and walking away, her pace quickened with each step she took and within moments, the female wolf demon was running rapidly without any sense of where she was going so long as she just got away from here.

Kai and Shinta were left behind with the Great Elder, both wolf demon boys quickly bowed their heads to express their sincere apologies, knowing that they had been the cause of Ayame's sadness.

"We're very sorry Great Elder, please forgive us for upsetting Ayame with all we had to tell you, we didn't want to hurt her feelings." Kai said apologetically with regret and guilt all over his face.

"Raise your heads, both of you." The Great Elder replied softly, Kai and Shinta slowly responded and did as they were commanded. "That must have been very difficult for you, telling us everything on behalf of someone else, especially since you already suspected beforehand that Ayame would be upset after listening to all you had to say. There's no reason for you or Shinta to feel any guilt, both of you did what needed to be done, you traveled all the way here with a stranger you had only just met during the night and you agreed to help however you could because you cared about the lives of others whether those others happen to be fellow wolf demons or human beings instead."

"But what about Ayame?" Shinta asked with concern.

"Ayame's much stronger than she looks, on the outside and the inside. Like she said, she just needs some time to herself so she can be alone and cope with all that she's going through right now." The wise old Wolf demon Leader replied reassuringly. "Once she's recovered, then she'll return to see us again, I know Ayame well enough to assure you of that, she is my granddaughter after all. Now, if both of you will accompany me back to the Council Cavern, we shall discuss this matter further with the other elder wolves and warriors of my tribe."

While Kai and Shinta both followed the Great Elder to walk through the tunnel back to the Council Cavern inside of the mountain, Ayame had finally found a place where she could be alone without anyone to disturb her, she had run off and scaled up the mountainside until she had found another rocky ledge like the one her Grandfather used as his outside quarters. This one was much higher up and also much smaller in size, so small in fact that there was only enough room for two or three persons to occupy it without falling over the edge. Ayame sat down with her back to the mountainside, tucking her legs in so her knees were pulled close to her chest before crossing her arms in front of her so she could pull her white fur cap tightly around her shoulders with both hands.

Finally, now that she was sitting comfortably alone somewhere she knew no one would see her or disturb her, the sad wolf demon woman let out all the watery tears threatening to flow from her eyes which felt sore since she hadn't cried in such a long time. Her body trembling and shaking uncontrollably as she cried continuously, her face was so wet, the wolf demon warrior woman eventually had to remove her cape and use it to wipe her face, hands and knees which were now wet from so many tears. Then Ayame placed her white fur cape over her knees and held it from underneath with her hands so she could cry into it until all her tears had fallen, its fur was thick enough to absorb her tears without getting too damp and it also kept her legs warm from the wind which felt colder than normal since she was high up on a mountain. The female wolf demon knew she would feel somewhat better once she eventually stopped crying, but that still wouldn't undo the pain she now felt inside her heart, all the feelings she had kept and held on too for all those years had grown over time just as she had grown too. Ayame was no longer a helpless child who needed saving or protecting, she grew up to become an adult and had blossomed into a beautiful female wolf demon, she was ready and willing to marry Koga which had been arranged as a political marriage to bring two wolf demon tribes together. But after finding out from Kai that Koga had evidently forgotten his promise along with the fact that Koga had recently become infatuated with a young human woman, poor Ayame's heart felt shattered just as the Sacred Shikon Jewel had literally been shattered by an arrow Kagome had loosed from her bow with the claw of a demon crow tied to it long ago during that fateful day when all the broken shards and fragments were simultaneously scattered to the four winds all across the lands.

How? How could Koga forget his promise to marry me? I held on to those feelings and his promise for all these years waiting for when I would become a grown up so I could return to him one day! But now… How could Koga become infatuated with a human woman? I can't believe it! I won't believe it! He's not thinking properly! If it wasn't for the sacred jewel shards...the jewel shards! Kai, Shinta, Grandfather."

Ayame's mind suddenly recalled all her recent memories of talking with Kai and Shinta who had traveled all the way from their home in the southwest to seek an audience with her along with her Grandfather, both of them had been very brave to leave home with only the words of a stranger to go on, but they both did their duty so that they could help to prevent the serious crisis threatening to turn into an all out war between wolf demons and humans armed with strange magical powers. The brokenhearted wolf demon woman then realized that she needed to put her own feelings and personal problems aside and just deal with her pain no matter how difficult such a burden would be or how heavy it would feel deep inside of herself, especially when it added to the weight of responsibilities and duties she already had on her shoulders as she was the granddaughter of the Great Elder who ruled over the northern wolf demon tribe. Ayame had desperate need of a distraction, she looked down at the lands far below from her high vantage point which were covered with forests where she and her fellow wolves and wolf demons would hunt for prey until her watery eyes lifted up so she could watch the fluffy clouds slowly moving across the blue sky along with the sun which bathed everything it could touch with its warm and bright rays of sunshine.

Meanwhile, back in Modern Japan...

Lind, Sango and Michiru had started their early morning activities with a short run followed by doing chin ups and other physical exercises. Next, all three of them took turns sparring against one another with their weapons, some sparring matches were one on one while others were two on one which allowed each warrior the opportunity of fighting against more than one opponent simultaneously. Needless to say, Lind lasted the longest and outfought both Sango and Michiru in the two on one matches while the shortest matches involved Michiru sparring against Lind and Sango. This was mainly because Lind was a Valkyrie war maiden with divine power while Sango and Michiru were both mortal humans, Michiru also had less training and battle experience than both of his female friends, but he still managed to perform well enough while sparring with hand held weapons. Finally, the trio of friends took turns wielding each other's weapons as an extra workout and also for more fun. Lind threw Sango's massive Hiraikotsu and given her strength and stamina as a divine Valkyrie, the giant bone boomerang spun faster and traveled farther through the air than it normally did when Sango threw it. Michiru's eyes followed the weapon until it returned to Lind who caught it as easily as he had seen Sango do on many occasions when the two friends had fought in battle against hordes of demons during their travels throughout Feudal Japan.

"Wow! Excellent performance Lind!" Sango commented while sheathing her sword now that Lind was finished wielding her Hiraikotsu.

"Likewise Sango." Lind replied as she approached Sango in order to return the bone boomerang to its rightful owner. "Here you are."

"Thank you Lind." Sango said gratefully before both warrior women turned to watch Michiru who was presently holding Lind's halberd.

The Kururugi boy hurled the halberd with his arm like it was a javelin and watched it strike the very same tree that Lind had thrown it at earlier this morning when she had used her weapon to return the beehive where it belonged during Miroku's brief intrusion which had interrupted the trio of warriors from their early morning run together, the tip of the spear stabbed the tree trunk just enough so it remained fixed without sliding out and falling to the ground. Michiru was trying to throw it as he had seen Lind do earlier today, while he didn't have her level of strength or power, at least he had struck the base of the tree as he intended to do.

"Well done Michiru." Lind commented.

"Thank you Lind." Michiru replied, turning to go and retrieve the weapon only to see that it was no longer there. "Hey! Where did it go?"

"Right here." Lind stated with a grin, lightly tapping Michiru on the head several times with her halberd after having summoned it back with her magic, making sure to use the flat side of the ax blade to avoid injuring the Shikigami user who then turned around with a playful glare on his face.

"Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Sango laughed loudly in response to Lind's little prank, Michiru eventually burst out laughing as well until their combined laughter finally died down a brief moment later.

"Nice magic trick Lind." Michiru commented while looking at Lind with a humorous smile on his handsome face. "You should try it on the battlefield sometime."

"I'll keep it in mind." Lind replied.

"Would you like to try throwing my Hiraikotsu Michiru?" Sango asked curiously, hoping to see if Michiru could wield her huge weapon.

"No thanks Sango, I'm not strong enough or skilled enough like you and Lind both are." Michiru answered, recalling the incident when he had once offered to carry Sango's giant bone boomerang only to loose balance and fall backwards on to the ground with the weapon pinning him down so he couldn't even get back up again. "Remember what happened when I offered to carry your Hiraikotsu for you?"

Sango's cheeks turned red as she also recalled that very same incident, causing her to snort out a laugh in response until she regained her composure so that she could verbally counter Michiru's answer by bringing up another incident involving the two of them.

"That was a long time ago Michiru, we both know you've come a very long way and gotten a lot stronger since then." Sango pointed out while wearing a wonderful smile on her beautiful face, paying her Kururugi friend a high compliment to give him some encouragement. "You said so yourself while we were both alone together after being thrown by that explosion on Asagiri Island. Or don't you remember?"

Michiru suddenly went silent as he also recalled that very same incident which had occurred on Asagiri Island, he and Sango had both been separated from the rest of their companions by an explosion which carried them away to the far end of the island, leaving both of them bruised and injured. Suddenly, Utsugi and Kagura both appeared on the scene, catching both wounded warriors while they were hurt and vulnerable. Sango didn't want Michiru to be taken prisoner or killed by the dangerous duo and told him to run away so that he could save himself even though that would mean having to leave her behind, but instead of running away, the Shikigami user chose to stand and fight. Kikyo also arrived a few moments later, having shot a sacred arrow from her bow at both of their foes, causing Utsugi and Kagura to withdraw from the area. With both enemies now gone, the resurrected priestess then offered Sango some medicine to heal her injuries before saying goodbye and departed as quickly as she had arrived. The concerned Kururugi boy didn't want Sango overexerting herself like she had during a failed attempt to stand up just before that close call with Utsugi and Kagura so he lifted the female fighter off the ground and held Sango closely in his arms in order to carry her until Kikyo's medicine had taken effect and healed Sango's injuries. During that brief moment of tenderness and tranquility, Sango praised Michiru's bravery for choosing to courageously stand and fight Utsugi and Kagura all by himself in order to protect her. She also expressed her admiration for him after witnessing his improved strength and stamina when he had picked her up and held her in his arms while standing up and maintaining his own balance.

"Yes..." Michiru answered softly with a handsome smile while looking into Sango's eyes, all the feelings he felt from that event now resurfaced and combined with those from this present moment, filling up his heart with warmth and affection. "...I remember Sango."

In that moment just before Michiru answered Sango's question, the warrior woman met Michiru's gaze and locked her eyes with his, it was as though she was extracting those very same feelings from him and transferring them into her own heart which caused both young warriors to smile warmly with admiration and affection at one another. So wonderful was this inexplicable connection between them that both Michiru and Sango had all but forgotten that they weren't alone, Lind was silently watching them with admiration and fascination, the Valkyrie didn't want to ruin or interrupt this unexpected event since she knew how admiration and affection transformed the bonds of friendship between two companions into something above and beyond anything that Michiru and Sango had ever felt before. Although Lind also had her own feelings of affection for Michiru just as Peorth and Urd both had, the divine warrior woman knew how fragile and sensitive the human heart truly was and had no desire to cause a confrontation by pouring fuel on the fire which would only cause a flaming inferno of raging emotions. Lind viewed Sango with almost as much admiration and respect as she had for Michiru because all of them shared the same moral beliefs and traditional values that true love, loyalty and respect were all born from and built with. Finally, just like that very incident which had happened in the Feudal era on Asagiri Island, this present day moment of tenderness and tranquility also came to its inevitable end.

"Good morning everybody!" Inuyasha/Shippo shouted simultaneously after suddenly arriving on the scene to say hello to their friends, both of them had spent the early morning at the temple with Urd, watching many videos and photographs on Kagome's camera until the second class goddess suddenly decided to return to the house. Being bored with nothing else to do at the present moment, the half demon and the fox demon both decided to come over to see how Michiru, Sango and Lind were all doing with their training and early morning exercises.

"Good morning Inuyasha, good morning Shippo." Michiru replied after being brought back to reality by two more Feudal era friends.

"How have all of you been doing with your exercises?" Inuyasha asked curiously, verbally expressing concern for all three of his friends.

"We've all been doing well." Sango answered happily. "Thank you Inuyasha."

"Glad to hear that from you Sango." Inuyasha replied kindly with a friendly smile.

The half demon was pleased to see Sango was in a much happier mood after spending time with Michiru and Lind which had evidently lifted her spirits and taken the demonslayer's mind off of Miroku who had hurt Sango's feelings earlier this morning by mumbling Urd's name in his sleep when both warrior women had come to wake Michiru up for early morning exercises and other physical activities.

"Are any of you about to spar or perform any spectacular attack that would be worth recording with Kagome's video camera?" Shippo asked curiously, holding the digital device with both hands for everybody to see.

"We'll soon see Shippo." Sango explained. "Before you and Inuyasha arrived, I was waiting for Michiru's response after I offered him the chance to try throwing my Hiraikotsu, but he hasn't quite made up his mind on whether to accept or reject this opportunity."

"Really?" Shippo replied excitedly. "Well I'm glad we both showed up when we did, we definitely wouldn't want to miss watching that."

"Well Michiru?" Lind added. "Won't you reconsider Sango's offer and take the opportunity of trying to throw her Hiraikotsu?"

Michiru took a moment to carefully reconsider Sango's offer, although all four of his friends and companions had confidence in him and were eagerly looking forward to see how the Japanese student performed with such a weapon, the Kururugi boy was still a bit hesitant and nervous since he knew how heavy and dangerous Sango's Hiraikotsu was no matter who happened to be wielding it.

"Come on Michiru!" Inuyasha said excitedly while trying to change Michiru's mind since the half demon eagerly wanted to watch his Kururugi friend wielding Sango's massive weapon. "You've been training with Sango for a long while and spent countless times fighting hordes of demons back in the Feudal era during our travels together, therefore you should try wielding it too! Imagine how impressed all of the goddesses would be after witnessing such a show of strength. Just think of putting your enemies to shame by showing them how much stronger you've become."

"Alright, I'll try it." Michiru responded, reluctantly giving in since he didn't want to disappoint his three feudal era friends or a Valkyrie."But first, I'd like to see Sango demonstrate how she throws her Hiraikotsu so I know what to do before I attempt such a challenge myself."

"That's the spirit Michiru." Sango replied encouragingly with a wonderful smile as she held her Hiraikotsu vertically with one hand by grasping the yellow strap made of fabric on the end pointing upwards high above her head. "First I position myself with the Hiraikotsu held in hand like this, then using my arm, I swing the weapon slowly in order to create enough momentum so it can spin around and around above my head. Once I've gathered enough speed after repeatedly rotating it around with my hand and wrist, I wait for the precise moment when I can release my grip and hurl the weapon where ever I want whether I'm batting a demon or just training."

Sango then threw the Hiraikotsu and all three friends watched it flying through the air until it eventually retraced its path and returned to the female fighter a couple of seconds later. The warrior woman carefully eyed the oncoming weapon so she could correctly anticipate the precise moment when she could reach out and catch the Hiraikotsu by grasping the yellow handle made of fabric without being accidentally injured or struck in the process, a moment later, Sango successfully caught and retrieved the big bone boomerang.

"Well done Sango." Michiru commented after watching Sango's demonstration from start to finish. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Thank you Michiru." Sango replied, smiling with pride after hearing Michiru's compliment which caused a light blush to momentarily appear on the cheeks of the warrior woman's face for the second time already. "Now its your turn to try throwing my Hiraikotsu."

Sango always makes wielding or throwing her Hiraikotsu look so easy! I hope I don't embarrass myself in front of her or the others when I try throwing it!

The Kururugi boy stepped forward and took the Hiraikotsu with both hands before assuming the same stance he had Sango doing prior to performing her demonstration, holding the big bone boomerang vertically by grasping the yellow fabric strap on the end held up above his head with his right hand since Michiru was right handed. Michiru also spread his feet apart and extended his left arm out to maintain his own balance in order to properly prepare himself for what would arguably be the next and most difficult step, lifting the weapon into the air and spinning it around before being able to throw it without falling over. Although Michiru managed to balance the weapon with just one arm, he wasn't quite as strong as Sango which is why the other end of the Hiraikotsu was still touching the ground a few inches behind where his right foot was positioned. Nevertheless, Sango and Lind were still impressed and waited patiently to watch the Shikigami user attempting to wield Sango's favorite demonslayer weapon, Shippo and Inuyasha also watched and waited with expressions of excitement on their faces while they recorded the Shikigami user's performance with Kagome's digital camera.

"We'd both better back away and give Michiru some more room, just to be safe." Lind suggested, grabbing hold of Sango's shoulders with both hands to gently pull the female fighter further away from the young teenager in order to stay out of harm's way just in case anything went wrong. Sango obeyed and stepped backwards, allowing the Valkyrie war maiden to pull her away from their Kururugi friend until Michiru was done, Shippo and Inuyasha also backed away while watching Michiru preparing himself mentally and physically by gathering his strength and taking a few breaths of air before moving on to the more difficult phase of this combat training exercise.

Okay! This Hiraikotsu is still really heavy, but at least I can balance it by holding it like Sango does. Now I just need to lift it off the ground and gather enough momentum to spin it around like she does before attempting to throw it. Stay calm! Focus! I can do this. I can do this.

Michiru slowly raised his right arm a little higher and slowly lifted the other end of the Hiraikotsu off the ground, to make up for his lack of strength, the Kururugi boy carefully rotated his whole body by turning left and moving around in a full circle to start the swinging motion. Once he stopped moving his legs and suddenly halted after turning a full circle over and over again, enough momentum had been created to temporarily reduce the weight of the weapon so that Michiru could finally lift it and rotate it around and around above his head with one hand, paying close attention to his hand and wrist movements. If only Michiru could have taken a couple of seconds to steal a glance at each of his friends who surrounded him while maintaining a safe distance from him, he would have seen their eyes filled with awe along with expressions of excitement on their faces, but he was too preoccupied to do so. Finally, the Kururugi boy had created enough momentum to rotate the big boomerang around continuously above his head until he was ready to throw it just like he had seen Sango and Lind do just a few minutes ago.

Okay! The hard part's over, now all I have to do is throw the Hiraikotsu and catch it again, provided it stays airborne and flies back to me.

Michiru swung Sango's Hiraikotsu around one last time before he finally swung his arm forward, releasing his grip from the handle and hurling the massive weapon forwards, it spun around flying threw the air just he had seen it do on many occasions when Sango had hurled it to strike a demon foe during a battle in the Warring States Era.

"Wow!" Shippo said with excitement as he stood on Inuyasha's shoulder to capture this incredible event with Kagome's digital camera.

"Keep this up Michiru, and you'll eventually be strong enough to take me on in a one on one sparring match!" Inuyasha commented with a grin, feeling proud and happy for his Kururugi friend, Michiru was possibly one of the few humans that the half demon could call a true friend since friends were all too few given how half demons were looked down upon by both humans and demons alike back in the Feudal era. Michiru had no flaws or vices as far as Inuyasha could tell, nor Sango for that matter either, Miroku and Kagome were another matter however, but Inuyasha wisely kept such views and opinions to himself since he didn't want to risk offending or upsetting any of his human friends which is exactly what Michiru had chosen to do as well since he also didn't like confrontation either.

"Well done Michiru, very well done." Lind stated proudly, verbally expressing how impressed she was with Michiru's performance, the Shikigami user had evidently demonstrated how capable he was at wielding the weapon of a demonslayer even though he himself wasn't a demonslayer by trade, all of this was thanks to training with Sango and fighting numerous battles during his first adventure throughout Feudal Japan.

"That was amazing Michiru!" Sango responded with an immense amount of pride and joy as she stole a glance at Michiru before returning her gaze to her Hiraikotsu which was presently flying threw the air and was just moments away from retracing its path back to the young Japanese student who had thrown it only a moment ago. "Prepare yourself now, its coming back to you, be ready to catch it."

"Thank you Sango, coming from you, that means a lot to me." Michiru replied gratefully while watching the Hiraikotsu like a hawk.

Even though he could hear the voices of his friends who surrounded him and paid him high compliments on his performance just now, Michiru reluctantly had to keep his eyes and attention on the giant bone boomerang which was still hurling threw the air if he was to have any realistic chance of successfully catching it before it eventually descended and crashed to the ground. By now, the giant bone boomerang had retraced its course and was hurling towards the young human warrior who stood ready, awaiting the weapon's return.

Oh no, its lower than it was before when I had thrown it, I'll have to crouch down to get lower so I can see the handle in order to catch it without being hit in the head. A minor set back, all I have to do is catch, Sango's done this lots of times so I should be able too as well.

Michiru crouched down to lower his upper body to avoid being struck and accidentally injured, he then caught sight of the handle and waited for that end of the Hiraikotsu to get close to him before he reached out his hand really fast and grabbed the fabric strap so he could catch the weapon and turn just enough so that the other end of the Hiraikotsu would strike the ground and come to a halt. However, what actually happened in the next couple of seconds isn't what the Shikigami user had expected or hoped would occur, nor was he or any of his companions prepared for what was about to occur either.

The Kururugi boy reached out and seized the fabric handle of the Hiraikotsu with his right hand and retracted his arm accordingly to recover the weapon while maintaining his balance and using the weapon's own momentum to turn it just enough so that the other end of the bone boomerang would swing downward behind him and hit the ground which would bring it to a sudden halt. However, by a very narrow margin, the other end of the massive weapon missed striking the ground by an inch or two and kept rotating instead. The Hiraikotsu which still had plenty of momentum kept moving until it completed one more circular rotation even though Michiru had grasped hold of the handled end with one hand, as a result, the fabric suddenly wound around the teenager's hand and tightened itself so much that caused some bruising and nearly caught off the blood flow to Michiru's fingers. The Shikigami user suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand and swiftly reacted, bringing the bone boomerang down so that the other end struck the ground, making the whole weapon motionless as he had originally planned even though he was a couple of seconds too late.

.

"Yeah!" Inuyasha cheered out loud, clenching both hands into fists and raising them triumphantly in the air, it was a miracle that Shippo hadn't fallen off of his shoulder when the half demon suddenly reacted without any warning. "For your first try, that was really well done!"

"Impressive performance Michiru." Shippo complimented while he kept the digital camera aimed at Michiru, the young fox demon then turned his attention to Sango so he could give his female friend a compliment as well. "Well done Sango, with all of your training, you'll make Michiru a demonslayer just like you before summer has ended."

"Thank you Shippo." Sango replied happily before turning back to look at Michiru again, the female fighter's imagination suddenly got the better of her and went wild when she paused momentarily to picture herself and Michiru living together with Kohaku and Kirara back in demonslayer village, the Kururugi boy was dressed in the traditional clothes and wore the armored pads and gauntlets which the young woman had made and given to him as gifts following her arrival here at this house in the modern era. Now that Naraku was gone and Kohaku had been rescued, it was easy for Sango to envision such a fantasy of spending her whole life with Michiru and perhaps living the life of an ordinary young woman who was finally ready to settle down and start a family with children of her own one day.

Sango and the others were so impressed and proud of Michiru's performance that all of them failed to notice that he had injured his hand and were continuously cheering with excitement and smiling proudly and admirably at the Shikigami warrior who kept holding the heavy Hiraikotsu steady while also trying to stay still and balanced to avoid causing himself further pain and discomfort to his injured right hand which remained tangled up.

"Could I try throwing your Hiraikotsu as well Sango?" Inuyasha asked, not wanting to be left out of the fun, the half demon always liked having a good fight, but since there were no foes around here, sparring and training for battle was the next best activity in his opinion.

"Of course you can Inuyasha." Sango replied, watching the half demon step forward to take the massive bone boomerang from Michiru.

"Wait a moment Inuyasha, my hand accidentally got tangled up while I caught the Hiraikotsu, I need to free it first before you can take Sango's weapon." Michiru warned, hoping that everybody would wait patiently until he had freed his hand, but sadly, that didn't happen.

"Don't worry Michiru. I'll help you untangle your hand." Inuyasha offered as he grabbed the other end of the giant bone boomerang and lifted it off the ground, not realizing he was doing more harm than good since this caused the weapon's handle to tighten even more.

"No! Don't!" Michiru suddenly yelled aloud in response to the sharp pain suddenly felt by the overwhelming pressure tightening around his right hand, causing Inuyasha to retract his hands from the Hiraikotsu and back away with an apologetic expression on his face.

"Hold on Michiru!" Lind instructed, rushing towards Michiru after the other end of the weapon hit the ground with a thud to see if she could assist the Shikigami user who was in serious need of help right now, Sango also rushed over just a second later to help as well.

"Stay still Michiru! I'll free your hand!" Sango shouted as she revealed a curved blade hidden beneath the sleeve of her combat attire which was attached to her right wrist, useful as a concealed weapon for any emergency like this one. The female fighter raced towards her Kururugi friend in an attempt to sever the fabric handle with her blade in order to free Michiru's injured hand from the massive weapon which had unexpectedly caused this accident.

"No Sango! Stay back, that's too dangerous!" Michiru replied loudly in response once his eyes saw Sango's hidden blade, causing the Japanese student to grab hold of her right wrist with his left hand out of instinct to protect himself regardless of Sango's intentions. "No!"

"Wooah!" Sango cried out loud after colliding with Michiru and causing both of them to lose balance and fall over without any warning.

Michiru suddenly fell backwards, pulling Sango down with him since he was holding the young woman's right wrist with his left hand, the poor young man hit the ground and lay flat on his back with Sango's body pressed down on top of him and the Hiraikotsu pinned to the ground underneath both of them. Since Michiru's right hand was still tangled up in the handled end of the Hiraikotsu, only his left arm was free for him to move, the same could also be said for Sango since her hidden blade had now stabbed itself into the green grass along with the soft earth beneath it during the fall and remained firmly fixed in position, causing the warrior woman's right arm to be fully extended and pinned to the ground. Miraculously, no other injuries were sustained by anyone, aside from Michiru's injured right hand of course. Everyone else presently here who had seen the whole accident from start to finish were relieved to see than neither of their friends were badly hurt or seriously injured from the unexpected fall with had just occurred, on the other hand, all three of them were a little slow to respond afterwards.

As a result of being so slow to respond, Sango and Michiru were both staring into each other's eyes with their faces and lips just inches apart from one another. The world around them had once again left their minds for a brief moment and they were both entirely focused on no one and nothing else but each other, a red blush appeared on each of their faces as the realization of their compromising position had at last come to their attention. Sango's lips begun to tremble as her mouth opened and closed silently since she had momentarily lost her voice and couldn't utter even a single word of apology to the young man beneath her, this was her own fault for colliding with Michiru after rushing over suddenly with her hidden blade drawn out in hand, it was only natural for the Kururugi boy to act out of instinct since he had no idea what her intentions had been. However, the Shikigami user was a kind person and a forgiving friend, especially to her which she soon found out once he smiled calmly after he had finally recovered from his own embarrassment just now.

"I-I'm sorry Michiru." Sango mumbled apologetically in a cute voice along with an equally cute and adorable look on her face right now.

"Its alright Sango, you were only trying to help me and couldn't have foreseen that this accident would happen, none of this is your fault so don't feel bad about this accident." Michiru replied calmly, trying to show his forgiveness in order to dispel any guilt that Sango might be feeling so she would feel better and move on. "Too bad Kirara's not here with us right now, she'd help me cheer you up in no time."

Michiru's mention of Kirara who was Sango's faithful two tailed feline had the desired effect and made Sango's face light up with a smile, the young warrior woman's body relaxed against his own and was no longer tensed up like before which made Michiru wonder whether Sango intended to stay on top of him for a little while longer instead of asking the others for help since both of them were still pinned to the ground so to speak. The Kururugi boy wanted to give his female friend a warm hug, but since his right hand and arm were unavailable, he had to do without. After removing his left hand from Sango's right wrist, Michiru repositioning it on the lower side of Sango's waist, making sure to move as slowly and gently as possible just in case the warrior woman was injured as well even though she had landed on top of him during their unfortunate fall. Sango's eyes and smile slightly widened after feeling the young teenager's tender touch, causing Sango to inch herself closer to the Kururugi boy so that she could return the favor and embrace him as well. Since the recent accident had led to this unexpected moment, Michiru decided to capture it with his cellphone so he removed his left hand from Sango's waist in order to pull out the communication device from his pocket which he then held out to his left side with his left arm.

"Sango?" Michiru asked softly while still smiling handsomely at the beautiful and equally wonderful warrior woman laying down on top of him. "Please turn your head to the right and keeping smiling so I can take a few photographs of us together."

"Alright Michiru." Sango answered sweetly before turning her head to the right while Michiru turned his to the left so both of them were now looking at the Kururugi boy's cellphone with their faces only inches apart from each other. Sango felt so happy and at peace while in her compromising position on the ground with Michiru that she had temporarily forgotten that the two of them weren't alone since Lind was standing close by along with Inuyasha and Shippo as well, not only that, but the young fox demon was still filming both of them too.

Finally after a moment of inaction, Lind decided to take charge and make sure both of her human companions were alright.

"Michiru? Sango? Are both of you alright?" Lind asked out of concern, crouching down to closely examine her friends with her eyes.

"EEEEK!" Sango yelped suddenly after her mind returned to reality, her eyes suddenly widened with embarrassment once she saw Lind along with Inuyasha and Shippo watching her and Michiru while both of them were still stuck in this very compromising position. Sango's knees were presently positioned on either side of Michiru's waist which effectively trapped the Kururugi boy between the thighs of her legs as she was preparing to remove herself from the young man so she could stand up, until she quickly discovered that her right arm was presently stuck where it was because of her hidden blade which was fastened around the wrist of her right hand. "I...I'm alright! I'm alright! B-But I c-can't move my right hand or arm, my hidden blade is still stuck in the ground a-and needs to be pulled out!"

Sango suddenly attempted unsuccessfully to free her hidden blade from the ground in a series of quick pulling and yanking movements, unfortunately these actions only resulted in slightly twisting or loosening the weapon which was still stuck in the ground and since her right arm was fully extended, she didn't have the strength or mobility needed to free it easily by herself either. Michiru's face began to blush really red again because every time Sango made another failed attempt to lift her arm up in order to pull the blade out, her chest was bouncing a little while her beautiful body was pressed down against his, fortunately nobody else seemed to notice this or so he thought which would hopefully spare Sango and himself from this additional embarrassment.

"Yes Lind, I'm alright for the most part, aside from my right hand though." Michiru answered after turning briefly to glance at the Valkyrie warrior maiden while staying still to avoid causing further injury to himself, he then turned back to look at Sango since the poor woman was being a little impatient in her efforts to free her right hand and hidden blade from the ground right now. "Calm down Sango, let Lind and I help you, just stay still and relax for a moment."

"Inuyasha?" Lind instructed, turning to look at the half demon who was carefully observing everyone from the sidelines along with the young fox demon standing close by. "Come over here please and help me lift Michiru and the Hiraikotsu up from the ground after I pull Sango's blade out."

"Be right there Lind." Inuyasha replied before wandering over to assist his Kururugi friend who was in need of being hauled up right now.

Inuyasha crouched down and made sure to grab hold of the Hiraikotsu with one hand and Michiru's right upper arm with the other, the half demon could clearly see Lind preparing to lift their Kururugi friend from the other side after she pulled Sango's blade out from the ground and paid close attention to ensure that Michiru and Sango were both brought back on their feet without further injuries.

"Ready Inuyasha?" Lind asked.

"Ready Lind." Inuyasha replied.

"One, two, three." Lind counted, drawing Sango's blade out of the ground with ease before preparing to lift both young warriors up. "Lift."

In one carefully coordinated effort, Lind and Inuyasha pulled Michiru off of the ground along with Sango and the Hiraikotsu using their combined strength and good teamwork. Once Michiru and Sango were both standing on their feet again, Inuyasha turned the bone boomerang the correct way in order to loosen the fabric handle, allowing the Shikigami user to finally free his right hand from the giant weapon.

"Sorry for causing you that injury Michiru, I was in a rush and wasn't thinking ahead." Inuyasha apologized while holding the Hiraikotsu.

"That's alright Inuyasha, accidents happen, thank you though for helping me to my feet and for freeing my hand from the Hiraikotsu." Michiru replied gratefully, putting the incident behind them. He then turned to Lind to express his thanks to her too. "Thank you for your help as well Lind."

"Your very welcome Michiru." Lind replied, she was relieved that Michiru and Sango weren't badly injured from this unforeseen accident.

"I'm glad to see you're not seriously injured Michiru." Sango stated with gratitude and relief after taking hold of Michiru's right hand with both of her own hands in order to examine it for injuries which were luckily only minor, just a couple of bruises were visible on Michiru's hand and fingers. "I shouldn't have asked you to throw my Hiraikotsu, perhaps this accident would have been avoided if I hadn't pressured you to reconsider after you recalled that other incident from our day off together in the Feudal era."

"Don't blame yourself Sango, I'm the one who kept driving Michiru to change his mind and I was also in such a hurry to have my turn at throwing your Hiraikotsu that I grabbed hold of it without knowing Michiru's right hand was tangled up in the handle." Inuyasha replied.

"Alright, that's enough, let's all just forget about this accident and get on with the day." Michiru suggested, eager to put the matter to rest.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Shippo laughed quietly, drawing the attention of his four friends who had forgotten about his presence until this moment.

"What are you laughing for Shippo?" Michiru asked curiously, eyeing his young fox demon friend suspiciously. "Is something funny?"

"No! Nothing at all! Don't mind me!" Shippo replied in denial, trying to contain his laughter and more importantly, hide the fact that he had also filmed the accident on Kagome's camera without any interruptions which caught Michiru and Sango in their compromising position until the two of them were finally brought back to their feet by Lind and Inuyasha. "Are you going to throw Sango's Hiraikotsu Inuyasha?"

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me Shippo." Inuyasha replied, cleverly redirecting everybody's attention to himself and away from Shippo who still held Kagome's camera in his hands. With his half demon strength and speed, Inuyasha was easily able to lift the giant weapon and spin it around and around above his head, everybody moved out of the way and watched from the side where it was safe.

"Ready when you are Inuyasha." Michiru stated, waiting for his half demon friend to throw the Hiraikotsu and then catch it afterwards.

"Ready or not, here I go!" Inuyasha yelled excitedly, hurling the giant weapon in a flash just like Sango had demonstrated, only faster.

"Too bad you never took the opportunity to throw it at Naraku when we were battling against him in the Feudal era." Shippo pointed out.

"Now that would have been something to see, especially with his strength and speed." Michiru added in agreement. "In addition to that, Naraku would have been distracted and injured by Sango's Hiraikotsu which would have given Inuyasha the opportunity to follow up that attack by attacking again with his Tetsusaiga while the Hiraikotsu was still in motion before he needed to catch it after it returned to him."

"Good idea Michiru." Inuyasha said in response to Michiru's suggestion, the half demon was always ready for a fight and equally eager to do all that he could to become a better and stronger fighter as well so he could battle against stronger opponents such as Naraku or his older brother Sesshomaru. "I'll have to try it next time we're fighting against any dangerous demons once we revisit the Feudal era."

"Okay Inuyasha, get ready to catch it, its coming back to you." Sango warned, not wanting Inuyasha to injure himself like Michiru had.

"I'll be perfectly fine Sango, besides, it'll take a lot more than your spinning Hiraikotsu to hurt someone like me." Inuyasha stated, before reaching his hand out with lightning speed and retracting his arm after grabbing hold of the Hiraikotsu and bringing it to a halt behind his back like he and his friends had seen Sango do many times during their battles against demons and other foes in Feudal era of Japan.

"Sango?" Shippo asked curiously. "Do you think it would be alright if I could try throwing your Hiraikotsu too please?" Shippo asked.

"I'm sorry for saying this Shippo, but you're way too small, you wouldn't be able to throw it or even carry it." Inuyasha pointed out, saving Sango the trouble of telling their young fox demon friend the disappointing news. "Even though you're a full fledged demon, Sango's Hiraikotsu would be too heavy and too massive for someone of your size to handle, try choosing another of Sango's weapons instead."

"Actually Inuyasha?" Michiru thought out loud. "That's not entirely true. Shippo's transformation powers enable him to change his size and appearance if he so chooses. For example, when we were climbing up Mount Houoh to acquire a fruit from the Magatama Tree, Shippo transformed himself into his giant floating balloon form. And not only that, he carried all of us down from the Mountain so we wouldn't have to climb back down the way we came, the Hiraikotsu couldn't possibly weigh more than the lot of us did so I'm positive Shippo could try throwing it while he's transformed into his balloon form. Just in case something happens, I can heal him with my Shikigami powers, I haven't needed to use my magic this morning so my energy level should be adequate for a situation such as this."

Sango and Inuyasha were both shocked, but both of them couldn't deny the Kururugi boy's argument either, no one had ever taken Shippo's fox demon magic very seriously or saw how it could be used to the fullest advantage. Needless to say, Shippo felt very moved by Michiru's words, it was rare for one of his friends to praise him for his magic and transformation abilities. Not wanting to throw away this golden opportunity which had unexpectedly been given to him, the young fox demon jumped at the chance to prove himself.

"Please Sango? Michiru thinks I can do it as long as I'm transformed." Shippo pleaded, eager to show he wasn't just a kid in the group.

"Very well, its alright with me as long as you only lift or throw my Hiraikotsu while you're transformed in your giant balloon form." Sango reluctantly agreed, although she was concerned for Shippo's safety, Lind and Michiru were both here so her worries were put aside.

"Hand me Kagome's camera Shippo, I want film your performance." Inuyasha asked, receiving the digital device from the young fox demon before Shippo transformed himself into his giant pink round balloon form. "Okay Shippo, here's Sango's Hiraikotsu, its all yours."

"Out of the way everybody, here I go." Shippo verbally warned while he levitated off the ground, holding Sango's Hiraikotsu with one of his tiny appendages. Shippo had paid close attention watching each of his friends take their turn throwing the Hiraikotsu and made sure to use all that he had seen and learned to his fullest advantage, although the massive weapon was still heavy, he employed the same method of generating momentum as he had seen Michiru do by rotating his whole body in a full circle over and over again. This had the desired effect of creating momentum and because he was levitating above the ground, he could move much faster while also swinging the Hiraikotsu around at the same time without having to lift it high above his head like each of his other friends normally had to do. A moment later, Shippo hurled the weapon and watched it fly through the air, Inuyasha followed the flight of the Hiraikotsu with Kagome's camera until this memorable event came to its conclusion.

"Wow." Inuyasha said with a surprised expression. "That was pretty good Shippo, looks like you can throw Sango's Hiraikotsu after all."

"Thanks Inuyasha." Shippo replied happily, feeling very proud of himself for his performance and also for impressing all of his friends.

"Great job Shippo." Sango stated impressively with a proud expression on her face.

"Very well done Shippo." Lind stated admirably.

"Excellent performance Shippo, you rotated the Hiraikotsu around your whole body without having to lift it above your head like the rest of us had to do." Michiru stated proudly, giving his fox demon friend some well deserved praise. "Now get ready to catch, here it comes."

"Okay." Shippo replied just before he lowered himself and reached up to grab the handle of the spinning Hiraikotsu, then after a faint popping sound followed by a puff of smoke, the fox demon summoned a heavy stone with a seal around it and used its weight to pull himself and the Hiraikotsu to the ground a moment later with a big loud landing which brought a successful end to the young and resourceful fox demon's performance. "I caught it! Sango? You may retrieve your Hiraikotsu. Inuyasha? Did you film my performance?"

"I sure did Shippo, everything from start to finish, now you can show it to Kagome and Miroku if neither of them believe that you threw Sango's Hiraikotsu and then caught it again afterwards." Inuyasha answered with an excited grin, this was a great morning so far. "I think I'll go inside and see if anybody else has woken up yet, and besides, I'm starting to feel hungry after throwing Sango's Hiraikotsu."

"You're always hungry Inuyasha, you have the biggest appetite out of everybody, except for maybe Mara." Shippo pointed out until his own stomach begun to groan and growl, revealing that the young fox demon was also starting to feel hungry which caused Lind to smile humorously in response while everybody else burst out laughing. "Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Let's go inside and find some snacks."

"Sounds good to me." Inuyasha agreed, following the young fox demon who was now walking towards the house, leaving Michiru behind with Lind and Sango.

"Lind?" Michiru called out, drawing the attention of the Valkyrie maiden. "Thank you for letting me train and exercise with you and Sango this morning, I had lots of fun and enjoyed spending time with both of you, it was also fun when Shippo and Inuyasha joined in too."

"Your very welcome Michiru, I enjoyed spending time with you as well." Lind replied politely before deciding to go inside as well. "I'll go inside as well just to make sure Shippo and Inuyasha don't eat all the food in the whole house while everybody else is still asleep."

"Good idea, enjoy the rest of the morning Lind." Michiru said, saying farewell to Lind who then followed after Inuyasha and Shippo.

"Sango?" Michiru said, turning his attention to the demonslayer as he took both of her hands in his own. "Thank you again for letting me have fun with you just like we did during our days off together in the Feudal era, I enjoyed every moment of it and would do it again and again whether we're training together or just relaxing, you're always worth spending time with and I hope you also enjoyed yourself too."

"Thank you so much Michiru, that means a lot to me, I enjoyed training and spending those days off with you as well even if something unexpected happens to us from time to time." Sango stated happily with a lovely smile on her face which Michiru always enjoyed seeing.

"Like that time you found me after I had fed Kirara?" Michiru verbally recalled while smiling handsomely, making Sango smile even more than before. "Or the other time when I went looking for you at the river to help you with your laundry and you were...you know..."

Michiru expected Sango to suddenly blush red in response to his recalling of that incident given how embarrassed both of them were during that day off when the Kururugi boy had unexpectedly walked in on Sango while she was bathing in the river after having wandered over to help Sango carry her laundry, but in addition to blushing red, Sango also responded with a sudden eruption of laughter followed by a couple of goofy giggles instead. Caught off guard, the wonderful warrior woman grabbed hold of Michiru's shoulders with both hands to steady herself until all the laughter and joyful giggles had been vented out of her system, Michiru reacted by placing his hands around Sango's waist so he could hold her gently until his female friend could calm down. Seeing Sango blushing was cute and adorable by itself, but seeing Sango laugh and giggle was both funny and wonderful to watch from Michiru's point of view, the warrior woman had been through so much in the months before he had first met her and after many more months of journeying together and battling many dangerous demonic foes such as Naraku, it was truly a miracle to witness Sango enjoying life and being at ease in this peaceful outdoor setting.

"I never did apologize for calling you an idiot." Sango stated softly while reflecting on that fateful day off long ago in Feudal Japan. "I was the real idiot that day for neglecting to tell you beforehand that I also intended to bathe in the river, not just to wash all of my laundry."

"Yes...you were." Michiru said sarcastically, looking Sango in the eyes while he wore a funny grin on his handsome face, eagerly trying to get a reaction out of her since he always enjoyed seeing Sango's competitive side which she only revealed to him and him alone.

Sango's soft and caring expression then changed to a competitive and tough girl look, even though she already knew Michiru had long since forgiven her, she was still trying to give her Kururugi friend a sincere and long overdue apology and now he had ruined it. Sango then let out her competitive side which she normally only did when ever she and Michiru trained or sparred together, but since he was being a tease and trying to taunt her in an effort to draw it out, the female fighter couldn't resist taking the bait he had given her. The formidable female fighter then balled both of her hands into fists and playfully hit the Shikigami user in the chest a few times to vent her inner wrath out on him.

"It takes one to know one." Sango countered cleverly with a humorous smile on her face, hoping to turn the tables against Michiru.

"Well you ought to know." Michiru suddenly replied before laughing triumphantly. "Ha. Ha. Ha Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ow!"

"Michiru?" Sango said with a pout after punching the ill prepared teenager in the side with her fist to stop him from laughing. "I'm finding it more and more difficult to believe that you've earned the favor of many goddesses, here I am giving you a long overdue apology for calling you an idiot and yelling at you when you walked in on me at the river and you're being a tease instead of accepting my apology."

"You don't have to apologize Sango, I already forgave you for what happened, but I'll accept your apology all the same and show my forgiveness if that's what you want from me." Michiru explained, adjusting both of his hands around Sango's waist in order to give her a warm hug to express his forgiveness. "The only reason why I acted like a tease was because I always enjoy seeing your competitive side and listening to any and all of your sarcastic remarks, I'm the only person who's fortunate to have seen this other side of you and you've only ever shown it when ever we train or spar together. I feel very privileged to have earned the right to witness this other side of you Sango, and I eagerly look forward to each and every moment of our lives when you decide to share your feelings or express yourself in any way that you so choose regardless of the consequences that follow afterwards, I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Sango gasped in surprise and stood still without taking her eyes away from Michiru's, her heart skipped a beat as she relaxed in the tender embrace of the young man who held her gently in his arms. After the brief teasing episode between them, Sango only wanted to receive the Kururugi boy's forgiveness and acceptance after expressing her apology, she wasn't expecting an explanation or any compliments from the tenderhearted teenager. Nevertheless, she could plainly see that Michiru hadn't yet finished bringing all of his thoughts and feelings out in the open for her like this and so she patiently waited for the Japanese student to carry on where he had left off before she said anything in response.

"I understand that you're shy around everyone else, I'm really shy as well, but it takes time to open ourselves up to all the people in our lives and also to the world around us as we grow older." Michiru continued on. "I'm sure even Kirara's like that too, you said so yourself that you've rarely seen Kirara like anyone other than yourself or your brother Kohaku. I'm glad to have met and befriended you Sango and I'm so happy that you've been able to travel to my world in order to visit me like this, I want to be of help to you in this era or in your era in any way that I can just as you've been for me when you agreed to train and spar with me during our adventures together while we searched for Naraku. You've helped me become a stronger person than I was before I met you or before I was magically summoned to the Feudal era, I couldn't have accomplished such a challenge without your aid and guidance so thank you Sango, thank you so very much. Thank you for being my friend, thank you for being my trainer as well as my teacher. Thank you for all that you've given me and for all that you have yet to give me throughout the rest of our lives together in this modern era or the Feudal era where you come from. I may have found myself blessed with the favor and the company of many goddesses from heaven, but you were the one who helped me become a better person which made me worthy of their favor. I want to help you in return in any way that I can. Will you let me Sango?"

Sango felt immensely moved and truly touched after having received so much gratitude and appreciation from the kindhearted Kururugi boy held in her arms. The demonslayer was only trying to help Michiru become a stronger and better fighter so he could protect and defend himself from dangerous demons and other formidable foes that were found in the Feudal era, since she had lost her entire family except for Kohaku and Kirara, Sango wanted to do all in her power to ensure the safety and survival of her companions who she regarded as close friends and not just allies. Looking into Michiru's eyes, Sango would plainly see just how happy and sincere the brave Shikigami user was right now, this in turn caused Sango to feel happy for making such a tremendous difference in the young man's life.

"Y-Yes Michiru, I'll let you help me." Sango answered shyly as warm feelings of joy flooded into heart and made her body heat up as a result, especially her cheeks which turned slightly red. Michiru only smiled even more and wore a delighted expression on his face, he felt so great for making Sango happy and he wanted to do everything he possibly could to help the warrior woman have a wonderful life filled with love, joy and happiness. "I know you're such a busy boy and have many responsibilities to bear, but...would you also let me help you out as well?"

"Yes, I will Sango." Michiru answered sincerely before a funny thought entered his mind, he then added. "But only on one condition."

"What condition is that?" Sango asked curiously, watching the Shikigami user's smile change to a goofy grin in response to her question.

"Never call me an idiot ever again." Michiru replied quietly with a commanding voice while he eagerly waited for Sango's verbal reply.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha." Sango laughed softly in response much to Michiru's delight since the Japanese student always enjoyed seeing her smile and laugh. Even though Sango didn't want this moment to end, she knew that the two of them had to return to the house now that she and Michiru had finished training and exercising with Lind this morning and so she reluctantly removed her hands and arms from the handsome young man in front of her. It would soon be time for breakfast which meant that the two of them needed to bathe and change clothes to prepare for the new day ahead before everybody else eventually woke up to do the same. Nevertheless, this special moment between the female demon slayer and her Kururugi friend had been one of the happiest and most wonderful experiences in Sango's life, one which she would always remember and treasure forever for as long as the warrior woman lived. "Why don't we return to the house Michiru? We both need to prepare for the new day ahead of us and eat breakfast soon once everybody else wakes up."

"Sounds good Sango." Michiru replied, releasing the attractive woman from his embrace. "I'll see you inside the house then."

Michiru then walked towards the stairs leading up to the porch deck where the side door was located which led in and out of the house, Sango needed a moment to gather her Hiraikotsu and followed after him just a few paces behind. After arriving at the door, the Kururugi boy kindly held open the door for Sango to enter since she was carrying her huge Hiraikotsu with both arms and horizontally to avoid accidentally striking the interior of the house.

"Thank you Michiru." Sango said appreciatively as she walked through the doorway while carrying her huge weapon horizontally to avoid accidentally bumping or hitting anything as she moved along.

"Your welcome Sango." Michiru replied, meeting Sango's eyes with his own and smiling warmly at one another one last time before they both went their separate ways, Sango returned to where she had spent the night with Kagome and Shippo while Michiru went to the kitchen to see if Lind was there with Inuyasha and Shippo. After arriving at the kitchen, Michiru was surprised that none of his three friends were here as he had anticipated, Belldandy and Kagome were both presently here instead, both women were wearing cooking aprons. They had both just finished setting the table and were busy preparing breakfast judging from the aroma of foods cooking on the stove in the pots and pans right now.

"Good morning Michiru." Belldandy said warmly with a kind smile on her lovely face. "Did you enjoy exercising with Sango and Lind?"

"Good morning to you too Belldandy, yes, all of us had a great time together." Michiru answered politely before turning his attention to Kagome. "Good morning Kagome, I was expecting to find Lind along with Shippo and Inuyasha here in the kitchen. You haven't seen any of them have you?"

"Funny you should ask Michiru, Belldandy and I arrived shortly after they did, Inuyasha and Shippo were both looking around in the fridge and cupboards for some food to snack on." Kagome explained, causing Michiru to smile humorously in response as she carried on with her story. "Once we arrived, Lind along with Belldandy and I gave both of them the boot so we could set the table and prepare breakfast for everybody. Lind returned to her bedroom, Inuyasha and Shippo left to go spend time with Urd until breakfast is ready."

"I see." Michiru stated, however his train of thought was then interrupted when he suddenly remembered Miroku was also back inside of the house and that the lecherous monk had an unfortunate accident involving an angry swarm of bees which ended badly for the poor, misbehaving monk. "Have either of you seen Miroku? There was an incident earlier this morning and Miroku requires some attention."

"No, neither of us have seen Miroku, not since yesterday evening after dinner." Belldandy answered, shaking her head from side to side.

"What was this incident and what kind of attention does Miroku require?" Kagome asked curiously with a look of suspicion on her face.

"Miroku claims that Troubadour visited him earlier this morning sometime after I left to go exercising with Sango and Lind, the Plum Tree Spirit woke Miroku from his sleep and then used his bug summoning song to summon a beehive which somehow ended up in Miroku's robes." The Kururugi boy explained. "Troubadour must have departed after Miroku fled the Temple in an attempt to run away from the attacking swarm of angry bees, the monk ran to the three of us for help while we were out jogging and after interrogating him for answers, Lind used her halberd to cut a hole in Miroku's robes so she could separate the beehive from Miroku's body. Lind relocated the beehive to a tree outside and the swarm of bees thankfully returned to their home, we told Miroku to go inside the house and have a bath so that the three of us could continue our exercises without any further interruptions or disturbances. Hopefully Miroku took our advice and went to have a bath so he could get cleaned up and isolate himself for a little while before everybody else wakes up."

"Troubadour must have wanted to exact his revenge on Miroku for his offenses yesterday evening before and after dinner." Belldandy deduced. "Although, its strange that he used a beehive with bees instead of the giant scaly insects he normally would have summoned."

"That's true, its also strange that Troubadour didn't encounter Inuyasha at the Temple when he visited Miroku or that Inuyasha didn't sense Troubadour's presence like he did yesterday evening when Troubadour used his bug summoning song on Miroku for the very first time." Michiru pointed out. "Inuyasha normally detects the scent of any demon or demons that are nearby. So why couldn't he this time?"

"That pathetic pervert got what he deserved, Miroku always has his mind in the gutter." Kagome commented before asking. "What were Miroku's other offenses? I only recall his actions before dinner when we were all introducing ourselves to each other and getting acquainted with one another, he asked Urd if she would bear his children and got kicked out of the house before being cursed with that bug summoning song shortly before Troubadour made his appearance yesterday evening. Did Miroku do something else later on too?"

"Lind and Sango came to wake me up at the Temple so that the three of us could exercise together, before we left to start off with an early morning jog, Miroku mumbled Urd's name in his sleep so its possible that Troubadour could have overheard him had he been nearby." Michiru reluctantly pointed out while concealing his anger inside, Kagome's anger was fully displayed by both of her clenched fists accompanied by the furious expression on her face which Michiru and Belldandy took notice of, it didn't take a genius to realize how hurt and betrayed Sango must have felt after hearing Miroku calling out Urd's name in his sleep while having dirty daydreams about her.

"Hang on, Miroku mumbling Urd's name in his sleep happened early this morning." Kagome pointed out, suddenly becoming confused, she then glanced back and forth at Michiru and Belldandy with a look of confusion. "Did Miroku do anything else after dinner yesterday?"

Michiru was suddenly overcome with fear for having to tell Kagome about Miroku's encounter with Urd late last night which had occurred just outside Urd's bedroom following that very long and eventful evening involving himself and the second class goddess along with World of Elegance who was Urd's Angel, but luckily for him, Belldandy was able to spare him the trouble by telling Kagome herself.

"I was in the kitchen and heard my sister scream loudly, I also heard a loud lightning bolt descend upon Miroku which is why he also screamed a moment later. I rushed over to see what had happened, but Michiru had already arrived ahead of me to go to her aid so I stayed back to watch and listen in from the other end of the hallway since I knew he would resolve the matter by himself." Belldandy explained with an innocent smile, causing Michiru to go wide eyed with shock while the first class goddess continued. "Urd told Michiru that Miroku had asked Urd if she would share her bed with him and that's why she cast a bolt of lightning on him in response. After making sure that Urd was alright, Michiru left while dragging Miroku away, the commotion also alarmed Lind and Peorth since they were sharing a bedroom nearby, but they needn't have worried since Michiru handled the situation. Michiru finally let Miroku leave by himself while he came to talk briefly with me before both of us said goodnight to each other and went our separate ways to turn in for the night."

Although Belldandy was a first class goddess who was bound by the divine laws of Heaven and couldn't tell lies or verbally reveal classified information which was magically guarded and protected with absolute secrecy, she still managed to tell Kagome the truth without revealing the fact that Michiru had spent the evening in Urd's bedroom which had occurred just before Miroku's unexpected encounter with the second class goddess who had unfortunately opened her door at that very moment Miroku was standing outside while poor Urd wasn't wearing any clothes. While Kagome's face was once again filled with fury and rage for the second time, Michiru looked at Belldandy questioningly, not realizing that Belldandy had seen and heard everything that had passed between him and Urd following his arrival on the scene with Miroku.

Is that true Belldandy? You saw and overheard everything between the three of us shortly after you returned home from delivering that container of food to Sayoko? Then you returned to the kitchen and waited for me once Miroku and I both left Urd's bedroom doorway?

Belldandy simply winked an eye at the shocked Shikigami user while smiling innocently to put him at ease and cheer him up since he had nothing to fear or worry about from her, she was so happy now that her older sister's painful burden had at last been lifted and that Urd had finally found someone who accepted the second class goddess for who and what she was including Urd's half demon heritage. That someone was Michiru and Belldandy would do anything to aid this young man who had already done so much and more for Peorth, Urd and Skuld. There were only a few people who were worthy and blessed to find themselves in the company of a goddess or many goddesses from Heaven, and there were even fewer who had done good deeds to make those goddesses feel truly happy.

EEEEEEK!" shrieked a loud female voice, echoing from inside of the house and interrupting Michiru's talk with Belldandy and Kagome.

"Don't tell me, Miroku again!" Michiru cussed aloud before leaving the kitchen to go investigate what the trouble was inside, since there were only two bathrooms in the house, it was obvious that Miroku was hiding in the one closest to the kitchen judging from how loud that sudden scream was which had come from the unlucky female who had unfortunately encountered the lecherous monk just now. "If Miroku's said anything inappropriate or put his hands on someone without their permission, I am going to kick his butt to kingdom com."

"Wait for me Michiru, I'm going to help you." Kagome added angrily before turning to Belldandy, making sure to replace the furious look on her face with a kind expression while she addressed the first class deity. "I'll be back Belldandy, hopefully, this shouldn't take long."

"I'll handle everything here until you return Kagome, no need to worry." Belldandy replied understandingly, before Kagome departed.

Michiru arrived at the washroom and swiftly slid open the door before walking inside to look around with Kagome arriving right behind him a moment later. Upon their arrival, both teenagers were surprised to see Mara standing before them with only a white towel wrapped around her beautiful body, but there was no sign of Miroku which meant he must be hiding somewhere else or so they thought.

"Good morning M-Mara." Michiru mumbled uncontrollably as he beheld Mara's fabulous female figure from head to toe with his eyes even though she had a towel held around her body with only her legs exposed at her thighs along with her head and arms visible as well. Once his eyes met with hers though, both Michiru and Mara suddenly went red in the face from embarrassment until the Kururugi boy suddenly turned around to avert his eyes and give the poor demon woman some privacy. "What brings you here so early?"

"I-I...ahem." Mara replied, taking a moment to recover her voice before she explained herself. "My apartment has some problems with the plumbing so I decided to come over here to have a bath, I met with Urd shortly after my arrival and she suggested that I have a bath while the bathroom was vacant before everybody else eventually woke up. But the bathroom wasn't vacant because Miroku was inside!"

That sneaky second class goddess! Urd knew Miroku was inside the whole time and set me up! Argh! I'm going to make her pay for this!

Meanwhile in Urd's bedroom…

Urd was back in her bedroom with Inuyasha and Shippo, all three of them were laughing their heads off after having heard poor Mara scream loudly from the bathroom just a short distance away. The sneaky second class goddess had very cleverly set Mara up by suggesting that her female demon friend go take a bath before someone else did since everybody in the whole house would eventually wake up and start the new day by having a bath to clean up before breakfast. However, Urd left out the fact that Miroku was already inside of the bathroom and once Mara wandered over to the bathroom, the second class goddess then told Inuyasha and Shippo about her prank before all three of them quickly went to Urd's bedroom where they waited quietly to listen for Mara's loud scream to be heard.

"Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Urd laughed loudly while levitating in the air. "Who's got the last laugh now Mara? I do! Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Inuyasha laughed before saying, "Poor Mara, she completely fell for that one! She had no idea Miroku was in there!"

"Mara's going to be really mad and after she's finished having a bath, she'll try getting even with you Urd." Shippo commented worriedly since this rivalry between Urd and Mara went on endlessly. "Still, that was pretty funny, almost as funny as the prank that Inuyasha and I pulled on Miroku earlier this morning. That guy honestly thought I was Troubadour, I'm getting really good at transforming into others."

Back to the bathroom where Michiru, Kagome were with Mara and Miroku…

"Well excuse me! I was inside of here first Mara! Its not my fault that you didn't check to make sure that the whole bathroom was vacant beforehand!" Miroku stated defensively after sliding the door open from inside where the bathtub was located in its own separate room. "Michiru told me to go have a bath and I've been hiding here since I came back into the house after being attacked by an angry swarm of bees which Troubadour summoned with his bug summoning song! If anyone's to blame, its that Plum Tree Spirit Troubadour, not me!"

"Alright, enough." Michiru stated, he was relieved that Mara was alright, but he was also angry at Miroku even though Miroku himself was also a victim of circumstance just as Mara was. "Miroku? If you've finished with your bath, please get out so Mara can have hers."

"Alright, I'll leave." Miroku replied, the monk then stepped out holding a towel around his body with one hand while carrying his torn robes with the other, then the lecherous monk walked passed Mara and headed for the doorway when Michiru suddenly stopped him."

"Don't you have something to say to Mara before you leave Miroku?" Michiru asked angrily with an an impatient expression on his face.

"No? I was here first so she invaded my privacy, not the other way around." Miroku blurted out, only to see Michiru's face turn angry.

"It would appear you're forgetting that this is my Uncle's house Miroku, which means I'm in charge while he's not around, so apologize and then go hide yourself in the other washroom downstairs." Michiru declared before turning to Kagome. "Kagome? Would you be able to mend Miroku's torn robes with a needle and thread please?"

"Huh?" Kagome replied, caught off guard by Michiru's unexpected request. "Why should I mend Miroku's clothes? He can do it himself."

"Because if Miroku finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time again, he won't be able too and besides, Belldandy will have breakfast ready soon and Miroku won't be able to sit with any of us until his clothes are repaired." Michiru explained. "Please Kagome?"

Kagome was about to protest, but she suddenly had a thought and then decided to change her mind, much to the surprise of Michiru and Miroku since it was difficult to convince Kagome to do any task unless she had something to gain or benefit from doing it.

"Alright, hand me your robes Miroku and follow me downstairs." Kagome ordered, grabbing Miroku's robes from him before leaving.

"I still haven't heard your apology yet Miroku." Michiru remarked, reminding Miroku to apologize to Mara before leaving the bathroom.

"I'm sorry Mara." Miroku said apologetically, he then felt Michiru releasing his hold of his right arm which meant he was now free to go.

"Thank you Miroku, I'll see you at breakfast if Kagome manages to mend your robes in time." Michiru replied as Miroku walked out of the bathroom and left, leaving the Kururugi boy alone with Mara. "I'll leave now Mara so you can have your bath in private, see you later."

"Uh...wait Michiru." Mara responded suddenly. "I have something to give to you first."

"Really? What's that Mara?" Michiru asked, although he was curious and would normally have turned to face Mara while they were both talking together, the teenager had to remain facing the other way out of respect for his female demon friend who still needed her privacy.

"Please shut the door." Mara ordered, the Kururugi boy kindly slid the bathroom door closed so both of them couldn't be seen by anyone wandering by in the hallway, saving both of them from any embarrassment while they talked alone together inside. "Thank you Michiru."

"Your welcome Mara." Michiru replied politely, wondering what the female demon lady had to give to him.

Mara took a moment to steady her nerves since she was still wearing only a bath towel around her naked body with a young man standing only a few feet from her even though he was looking the other way, but now that Kagome and Miroku were both gone and only the two of them were left in the bathroom together, the full fledged demon woman wouldn't find a better opportunity than she had at the present moment to give what she had brought with her to the Shikigami user who was her friend and who also saw her as his friend.

"Stay still and close your eyes for a moment." Mara instructed she quickly turned around and picked up some items to give to Michiru once she got close enough to present them to him, in order to keep the Kururugi boy from having to turn around, the demon lady closed the gap between herself and Michiru before snaking both arms around and in front of Michiru's body so she could hold the items in front of him at waist level. Ordinarily, Mara wouldn't be as calm as she was now, but since she and Michiru were both alone together without anyone else watching them from afar, the demon lady was spared from feeling embarrassed even though Michiru wasn't. The Japanese boy suddenly tensed up as he could feel Mara's body gently pressed against him from behind, especially her firm breasts, he could also feel Mara's arms slightly touching his own and had to stay still while trying to keep his mind along with his hormones under control.

What's Mara doing? I-I can feel her body gently pressing against me from behind! A-And she's only wearing a bath towel right now too!

"Alright Michiru, you can open your eyes now." Mara said calmly, Michiru then opened his eyes and looked down to see Mara's arms around his sides while she was holding a large object with both of her hands with a much smaller object sitting on top of the larger one. The large object was the plastic food container which Michiru had used to give his female demon friend some left over food to take home with her after the two of them had finished eating dinner together with everybody yesterday evening, it was now empty and had evidently been washed and dried before Mara brought it back which led the Kururugi boy to believe she had already eaten all of the food he had given her. Given the fact that Mara was a full fledged demon who's appetite rivaled Inuyasha's, it came as no surprise to the young man that the demon lady had finished off the left over food so quickly. "Thank you for giving me that left over food last night, it was very considerate of you, I brought your container back along with an extra copy of Hell's mail order catalog just like I promised."

"Your welcome Mara, we're friends after all and friends look out for each other." Michiru replied politely as he recollected that moment between the demon lady and himself after he had caught her just as she was about to depart and return home to her own apartment.

Flashback...

"Wait a moment Mara, don't leave just yet." Michiru called out, catching the demon lady before she could leave so he could hand her a large plastic container which contained some left over food inside. "We all had a lot of fun with you today, if you don't visit us tomorrow, here's some left over food for you to take with you in case you get hungry and you haven't any free time to cook anything for yourself."

"Oh, uh, thanks a lot Michiru." Mara replied, caught off guard with a hint of embarrassment since she wasn't used to receiving such generosity before, taking the large plastic container from the Kururugi boy before a thought crossed her mind. "As a full fledge demon, I've purchased lots of various products from Hell's mail order catalog, there's lots of cool stuff available for a limited time only so I could give you a copy of it if you would like to look through it."

"That's sounds great, I'd like very much, if it wouldn't be any trouble for you of course." Michiru replied, making Mara smile since the demon lady had succeeded in catching young boy's curiosity and interest; this could be the start of a business relationship for them.

"No, no trouble at all." Mara casually remarked before she leaned in closely to look him in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. "But you have to promise me you won't say a word of this to any of the goddesses, especially Urd, she'll be mad at us if she finds out."

"When have you ever been worried about Urd being mad at us?" Michiru asked curiously until he suddenly recalled that Mara and Urd both had a history of pulling pranks and practical jokes on each other using any and all means each of them had and their disposal.

"That's not the point, just keep your promise to me and I'll get you a copy of Hell's mail order catalog." Mara replied seriously.

"Alright, I promise, but I don't see the harm in looking through a catalog if I'm unable to order or buy anything." Michiru stated.

"Goodnight Michiru, until we meet again." Mara waved goodbye before darting off into the night like a lone super villain or super hero.

End of flashback…

"Thanks very much for bringing me a copy of Hell's mail order catalog, I'll look through it when ever I have some spare time and I'll be sure to tell you if I see anything that catches my interest." Michiru said gratefully, he felt badly for not being able to face Mara while he was expressing his thanks, but he didn't have a choice since he was turned the other way given that Mara was still clad in only a towel.

"Sounds good Michiru, just remember to promise that you won't tell Urd or any of the goddesses about this though okay?" Mara replied.

"I promise Mara." Michiru said sincerely, causing Mara to smile happily for a moment until he changed the subject. "I'm surprised you brought back the empty container so quickly, I wasn't expecting you to return it until tomorrow. You must have been really hungry, I hope that all of the food was to your liking."

"I regret to say that I wasn't the one who ate all of that food you gave to me yesterday." Mara reluctantly explained, feeling nervous for having to speak about her master who was the ruler of all Demon kind as well as the Netherworld, hoping that Hild wouldn't punish her for revealing the fact that she shared her apartment with Hild while her master visited Earth where mortal humans lived. "My roommate ate all of it instead so I didn't get the chance, but thank you for your kind gesture all the same and for letting me have a bath here too."

"I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune Mara, last night's involving your roommate and this morning's too, you definitely need a break after going through so much in such a short time." Michiru replied, expressing his sympathies for the full fledged demon woman who he regarded as one of his friends. "Since you've come over here for a bath, would you like to stay for breakfast and spend the day with us?"

"Well um...that would be nice, if you and your friends wouldn't mind." Mara replied nervously, not being used to receiving so many acts of kindness, especially from a mortal human who was as young and considerate as Michiru was, but then Michiru hadn't known Mara for very long or seen all that she was capable of like Keiichi and all of the goddesses had. Nevertheless, Mara was inwardly grateful that the Shikigami user was still willing to be her friend and show her some mercy even after she had caused trouble by tampering with Urd's potions and for temporarily trying to exact her revenge on Michiru by allying herself with that Toshiyuki character which turned out to be one of her biggest blunders since that scheme had also put Urd and Skuld in danger as well as Michiru which Mara especially regretted.

Although Mara was presently on good terms with all of the heavenly goddesses, she was nevertheless a full fledged demon who was still regarded with suspicion given that deities and demon kind were constantly competing for greater shares involving contracts with mortal humans by granting them wishes which is how both Heaven and the Netherworld coexisted peacefully for such a long time. This coexistence was not without its fair share of minor conflicts or clashes of interest however, Mara had stirred up plenty of trouble and given the goddesses many messes to clean up or deal with in her attempts to increase the number of demon contracts by seizing control of the human world or disrupting the goddesses from creating more contracts of their own with humans who were deemed worthy of receiving help or assistance from goddesses by having their wishes granted. All these events had put a strain on the relationship that existed between Mara and each of the goddesses who lived here on earth with Keiichi, especially with Urd since both of them were best friends and had known each other for a very long time despite their history of pulling pranks and practical jokes on each other as well as the unavoidable fact that both women served different masters and resided in different worlds when ever they weren't living on earth among humans. It was a shame that Mara found herself on the opposite side, otherwise she could freely coexist with the goddesses without business rivalries, mistrust or racial differences getting in the way of everything.

"Surprise!" Urd shouted excitedly, appearing suddenly after sliding the bathroom door open in a flash. "Well look at who we have here?"

"M-Morning U-Urd, I-I swear that this isn't what it looks like, I was just about to leave so Mara could be alone and have her bath." Michiru mumbled uncontrollably as both he and Mara begun to blush with embarrassment, the Shikigami user had intended to leave right away so that his female demon friend could have her bath, but because Mara had asked him to wait until after she had handed him the empty food container along with a copy of Hell's mail order catalog, the delay had given the second class goddess the perfect opportunity to surprise both Michiru and Mara who now found themselves caught in a very awkward and embarrassing situation right now, especially since Mara was undressed with only a bath towel to cover up her naked body. Urd knew that the Kururugi boy was telling the truth, but that still didn't stop her from taking advantage of the situation in order to tease Michiru and Mara at the same time inside the washroom.

"Oh really?" Urd replied sarcastically with an evil grin, glancing briefly at Mara who then backed away from Michiru in order to put a little space between herself and the young man once Urd saw them standing so close to each other. "Were you just finishing or just starting?"

"Just starting." Mara answered while blushing furiously, keeping her sentence short and to the point. "Now leave so I can have my bath!"

"Oh wow! So you're going to have a bath with Michiru? I never saw you as the naughty type Mara, nor Michiru for that matter either!" Urd teased, causing Michiru and Mara to blush even more than before while their eyelids opened even wider so that the naughty deity could see the whites of their eyes, this was too much for Urd to take and she eventually burst out laughing. "Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"N-No! That's not what I meant Urd!" Mara blurted out in denial, wanting her humiliation to end so she could bathe in peace and quiet.

"But you only asked me to leave Mara, you didn't ask Michiru to leave which leads me to believe that he's staying inside with you." Urd teasingly pointed out, she then turned to Michiru and smiled humorously. "Michiru? Did you get a good look at Mara's hot naked body?"

Not since yesterday morning when I entered the washroom so I could have a bath, not knowing Mara was inside having a bath herself.

"No." Michiru replied, keeping his answer short and simple while trying to maintain his sanity and keep his hormones under control.

"Would you like to get a good look?" Urd teased, giving Mara a fright even though Michiru still stood between both women. "Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"That's not funny Urd." Michiru responded, trying to be the voice of reason here even while his face turned even more red than before.

"I'm not hearing a denial Michiru." Urd said teasingly, she was surprised and impressed that the Kururugi boy was still able to somewhat recover from his own embarrassment and talk with her even though he was standing between Urd and Mara, but he was more fortunate than Mara was since he was dressed in his exercise clothes while poor Mara was naked with only a towel to cover up her body with.

"No, but I do recall Miroku getting a look at your hot naked body before I dragged him away by his ear last night. Don't you Urd?" Michiru replied, cleverly turning the tables on Urd who now wore a look of disgust on her face after recalling that unfortunate incident herself.

Unfortunately for Michiru, Urd wasn't so easily discouraged just because he had momentarily turned the tables against her when he brought up that incident involving the lecherous monk, she needed to show him that she was still in control and not even he could get in the way of Urd's prank. This was the perfect opportunity, the second class goddess wouldn't find another like it for a very long while.

"You're so eager to defend Mara, even from me who happens to be her best friend." Urd pointed out teasingly, the second class goddess then spun the Shikigami user around so he was facing Mara instead of herself, allowing her to embrace the Kururugi boy from behind in a big bear hug, she then used her ability to levitate and very slowly moved Michiru and herself closer towards Mara. "You must think she looks really sexy don't you Michiru? If you want, I'll let you see Mara's whole body, the only thing protecting her is that fluffy white towel."

"What are you doing Urd?" Mara asked nervously. "Let go of Michiru at once so both of you can leave me to have my bath in peace!"

"But Mara, I can't help myself! Your body is so sexy and beautiful! I want to touch it and feel it with my own hands like Miroku would want to do! Would you like me to help you wash every inch of your female figure? I'll make you feel like a real woman!" Urd said teasingly as though she was speaking for Michiru who suddenly went even more red than before, frantically shaking his head worriedly in response.

"N-No! No! No! No! Stop it Urd! You're going to get me killed!" Michiru verbally protested with wide eyes and reddened cheeks, he extended both arms out to touch the inside walls of the bathroom with his hands in a desperate, but vain attempt to stop Urd from closing the distance between himself and Mara who also went wide eyed and really red in the face as the space between them got smaller and smaller.

Even though Michiru couldn't deny that he found Mara to be very attractive, he would never ever think of doing anything inappropriate to her seeing a how she was a valued friend of his. More importantly, the Kururugi boy was fully aware that Mara was a full fledged demon who could very easily kill him or inflict painful injuries on him if she so desired and the last thing he ever wanted was to do was infuriate the demon woman, even his magic Shikigami powers might not be enough properly protect himself from Mara's wrath.

"You must be feeling wound up from all the responsibilities on your shoulders Michiru, you really should give into your deep desires and enjoy the pleasures of the flesh so that you can relieve yourself of all that unwanted stress, keeping it contained isn't very healthy." Urd whispered flirtatiously before she proceeded to press and rub her fabulous female figure against Michiru's body from behind in an effort to turn on the blushing and panic stricken Japanese student held in her arms. "If Mara's not in the mood, you can always ask me to look after all of your needs, I am the goddess of love after all. Then again, you can have Mara after you've had me, or you could have me after you've had her or you could have both of us at the same time! What about you Mara? Would you like to make love with Michiru?"

"A-Absolutely not!" Mara shouted angrily, having had more than enough of Urd's antics for one morning. "Now let Michiru go already!"

"Very well then." Urd replied teasingly, releasing the Kururugi boy from her embrace before pushing him from behind with both hands.

Michiru stumbled forward and would have collided with Mara had she not reacted quickly by reaching both of her arms out to grab his shoulders with her hands which prevented a head on collision between both friends just as Urd had planned out which would result in another unfortunate accident just a couple of seconds later.

"I'm sorry Mara, thank you for stopping me from colliding with you." Michiru said gratefully, giving Mara an apology followed by expressing his thanks in the same sentence since both he and her found themselves at the mercy of Urd's crazy antics right now.

"Your welcome Michiru." Mara replied politely just before the white bath towel suddenly unfastened itself and fell on the floor, revealing the female demon's beautiful body for Michiru and Urd to see with their own eyes, causing poor Mara and Michiru to blush even redder than they were already much to the delight of the sneaky second class goddess who was standing close by smiling humorously at them.

"Oh my, what an exquisite female figure you have there Mara, you should show it off more." Urd said teasingly, waiting in anticipation for a loud scream to erupt from Mara's open mouth which was only moments away. "If you've got it, flaunt it. Wouldn't you agree Michiru?"

"EEEEEEEEK!" Mara shrieked loudly before Michiru suddenly reached both arms up to silence the poor demon woman by placing both his own hands over her wide open mouth, he didn't want to become deaf or more importantly, draw everyone's attention in the house.

"Quiet Mara!" Michiru demanded loudly with a commanding tone of voice, even though he could hardly blame Mara for screaming loudly after having her beautiful body fully exposed for him to see as result of a wardrobe malfunction which Urd was responsible for causing.

Mara's body seemed to be frozen with embarrassment since she was now fully naked in front of the blushing Kururugi boy who stood before her while her mind was still her own even though her sanity and temper were on the verge of snapping as a result of Urd's recent joke. Mara's firm breasts, attractive waist, etc were all on display for both Michiru and Urd to see up close. However, against all expectations, Michiru's eyes and attention remained firmly fixed on Mara's eyes which miraculously kept Mara's emotions in check while his hands prevented her from screaming loudly again, stopping Mara from giving the Japanese student a painful slap in the face. Mara held back until Michiru's eyes wandered on their own to take in the full view of her beautiful body which was completely exposed and vulnerable to all eyes in the washroom, then she'd be partially justified for reacting angrily in response to this embarrassing episode, but Michiru miraculously managed to resist all temptations and didn't look down as both Mara and Urd had expected. Although the blushing teenager didn't lower his eyes, he still got a very good look at Mara's upper body from standing as close as he was right now, and he very wisely kept this fact hidden from Mara in order to avoid being pummeled and beaten up by the formidable female demon standing before him. After a moment of uneasy silence, Michiru finally recovered himself and decided on how he should respond to the situation.

"Mara? I'm sorry for what has happened so far, please forgive me and let me make amends." Michiru said calmly with a quiet voice even though his face was still blushing red while he kept looking Mara in the eyes with his own, he then removed both his hands from Mara's mouth once he realized she wouldn't scream or shout again. "If you could turn around for just a moment, I'll retrieve your towel for you."

Mara's voice was unable to function so she did as the Kururugi boy had instructed and turned around to look the other way which allowed Michiru to kneel down to retrieve her towel and also reduce the embarrassment she felt now that both of them were no longer facing each other. Although Michiru seemed calm enough, his hormones were straining to free themselves from Michiru's mental control, a fact which would soon make itself evident to all three people presently inside of the upstairs washroom. It only took a moment to stand back up again once he retrieved the white towel, but while he did that, Michiru got a very good look of Mara's body from behind, starting from her shoulders at the top going down to the curves of her waist before arriving at her backside or bottom depending on what words popped into the Shikigami user's mind which suddenly shattered all of Michiru's mental concentration.

That was way too close! Urd almost unintentionally got me killed! Damn! Mara sure has a hot and sexy body just like all the goddesses and their angels even though she's a demon, just looking at her sexy... Oh no! Stop it! This is not the time for having a hard on! Not now!

"Here's your towel Mara, sorry again for everything." Michiru replied nervously as the nervous teenager wrapped the towel around the demon woman's upper body from behind, Mara grabbed both ends of it with her hands to fasten it securely enough so she could move both her arms freely without having another wardrobe malfunction. Afterwards, Michiru then turned around to face Urd and also to hide the stiff sword in his shorts from Mara's view, he didn't care if Urd noticed so long as Mara didn't harm him like she had threatened to do to Miroku if he ever violated her privacy which had occurred again even though she had technically invaded his privacy on this occasion.

"Thank you Michiru." Mara said gratefully with a polite voice before turning around herself, finding Michiru had already turned around to face Urd, much to her own relief since she didn't feel as embarrassed as she did a moment ago now that she had her towel back again.

The gap between Michiru and Mara was now only two feet when the full fledged demon woman finally regained control of her voice along with her composure, both of them were now turned around and facing Urd who was watching both of her friends while giggling hilariously in response to their priceless red faces after getting to have such a good laugh at their expense since they were both way too easy to tease. Since Urd had been both at fault as well as the evil mastermind behind everything that had happened in the bathroom thus far, Mara wisely decided to suppress her anger and made a mental note to exact vengeance only on the scheming deity and give Michiru a break since he was just as much of a victim as she had been, not to mention that he had chosen to behave respectfully while also acting as a mediator between both women right now.

"You missed an opportunity Michiru, you could have put your hands on Mara's beautiful body and made out with her." Urd said teasingly.

"Perhaps, but that would have been wrong and I would have been beaten up or killed so I made the right decision." Michiru countered, verbally acknowledging how strong and formidable Mara was which was smart on the Shikigami user's part in addition to showing her respect by behaving himself, besides, its not like he hadn't seen Mara naked before after being tricked by Inuyasha when he had gone to the washroom to bathe while also preventing Miroku from peeking in on the full fledged demon woman on that very same morning.

"Hmm..." Urd responded while her eyes wandered down to Michiru's exercise shorts. "Your mind might be under your control Michiru, but clearly your body isn't. Looks like you're feeling a little hard and have the hots for Mara if you know what I mean. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Michiru quickly put both hands in front of himself as he tried calming himself down in order to suppress his hormones until this embarrassing episode had come to an end. Finally after a few minutes which felt like an eternity to the young teenager, he was relaxed once again even though the second class goddess was still lightly laughing at him and Mara until she had finished entertaining herself at their expense. Although Mara was still red in the face with embarrassment just as Michiru was, she was inwardly thankful that Urd's attention had been redirected towards the young man standing between her and the naughty minded deity so she could recover herself.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Are you done letting out all of your laughter yet Urd?" Michiru responded after recovering himself. "Good, now please kindly step out of the way so I can exit the washroom and leave Mara to have her bath, others need to bathe as well once they wake up soon."

"Alright, you've made your point, Belldandy's preparing breakfast as we speak." Urd agreed, it was time to tone down the teasing and make amends with her friends who she considered irreplaceable. Mara because of their long lasting friendship despite their equally long and funny history of pulling pranks and practical jokes on each other. Michiru for accepting Urd and treating her respectfully even after the discovery of her half demon heritage which he had confessed to Urd in her bedroom late last night, an event Urd would never forget. Still, both Mara and Michiru were so easy to tease. "But before I go, would you like for me to take a photograph with the two of you in it?"

"A-A photograph?" Mara mumbled with embarrassment since she wasn't dressed like Michiru was and had only a towel to cover up with.

"No need to be so embarrassed Mara, you're still wearing a towel and you can stand behind Michiru just as you were doing before you backed away following my intrusion and besides, I can take a photo with just your faces if that'll put you at ease." Urd pointed out teasingly with a humorous smile on her face as she tried not to laugh at both of her friends who were still blushing red. "Well Michiru?"

"I'm fine as long as Mara doesn't mind Urd, but you'll have to use my cellular phone so only I have access to the photographs, I wouldn't want you to blackmail both of us afterwards which I'm sure you can understand." Michiru answered, pulling out his cellphone but waited to hear Mara's consent before he handed over the communication device to the deity just in case the full fledged demon woman said no.

"V-Very well Urd, b-but no tricks or jokes." Mara reluctantly blurted out before stepping forward so she could stand behind Michiru again.

"Come on Mara, you can get closer than that." Urd said teasingly, eagerly taking full advantage of the situation since she knew full well how embarrassed Michiru and Mara would both be right now for being so close with their bodies touching each other. "Looking good."

"Shut up Urd." Mara replied quietly, reluctantly keeping her voice down for fear of drawing the attention of anyone wandering around in the house right now, especially Inuyasha and Shippo who she had last seen in Urd's bedroom before she came here to have herself a bath, the female demon could faintly hear both of them quietly laughing among themselves right now but decided to ignore them since they had chosen to stay in Urd's bedroom rather than join in on Urd's scheme. Both of them knew better than to get caught between Urd and Mara like Michiru had while both female friends were trying to best one another and have the last laugh at the other's expense.

"Hurry up Urd." Michiru demanded, he could feel Mara's body pressed against his own from behind while Mara wrapped her arms around him to hold him close, being taller than the Kururugi boy in front of her, Mara's shoulders and head were both easily seen and Urd reluctantly had to hold back her own laughter so she could catch this priceless image on some photos with Michiru's cellular phone.

"Smile for the camera and say cheese please." Urd instructed while aiming the cellphone at both of her friends.

"Cheese." Michiru/Mara replied simultaneously, staying perfectly still with smiling faces while Urd took a photograph every few seconds.

"Perfection!" Urd stated happily before darting forward to reposition herself beside both of her friends, pulling Michiru close to her body with her left hand while she fully extended her right arm out in order to take some more photographs which included all three of them. "Let's take some more! World of Elegance? Come out and join us please!"

Upon Urd's command, World of Elegance emerged from the deity's body and positioned herself beside Michiru's left side while Urd stood on his right and Mara hugged Michiru from behind, surrounding and sandwiching the shocked Shikigami user on several sides so that the second class goddess could include her Angel in some more photographs which also included Michiru together with Mara and Urd. Eagerly wanting to get this experience over and done with, Mara reluctantly wasn't going to argue with the determined deity and kept her mouth closed just as Michiru was doing. Although Michiru was smiling handsomely, the poor teenager was tensed up even more now that he was in such close proximity with three very attractive female friends whom he was also being photographed with, Mara was still clad in just a bath towel while World of Elegance was showing off even more of her beautiful body than either Urd or Mara was right now much to her own delight as well as her goddess Urd.

"All done, here's your cellphone Michiru, I hope you and Mara like how the photographs turned out." Urd replied happily, handing the cellular device back to its rightful owner, Mara released Michiru from her embrace but remained standing behind him so she could look at the photographs which Urd had just recently taken. World of Elegance took the opportunity of pulling the unprepared teenage boy into a hug, the Angel then gave Michiru several quick kisses, first on the lips followed by another on each of his cheeks before waving goodbye and returning to Urd's body.

After recovering himself, Michiru viewed each of the photographs Urd had taken with Mara watching from behind him while Urd stood by his side smiling happily, both of her friends were smiling happily in each photo even while their faces were heavily blushing red with embarrassment and nervousness. Michiru was glad that Mara managed to smile, he was worried she wouldn't be able too because of Urd's teasing as well as being even more embarrassed than he was since she was clad in only a bath towel, but the female demon had put on a brave face and gotten through the whole ordeal without trouble and he was glad that Urd had made amends like this.

"Wow, these turned out great, thank you Urd." Michiru stated while expressing his thanks to Urd, he then gave Mara some compliments as well. "You have a wonderful smile Mara, you should smile more often, you look really happy and beautiful in these photographs. Well, Urd and I had better leave so you can have your bath."

"Before both of you leave, I should be allowed to take some photographs with the two of you, that only seems fair." Mara pointed out, seeing how delighted this made Urd feel even though Urd and Michiru already had lots of photographs of each other and with World of Elegance which they had taken together late last night, something Mara wasn't aware of. "World of Elegance can join in again too Urd."

"Come on out World of Elegance, smile for the camera everybody." Urd stated happily, pulling Michiru to hug him closely from one side while World of Elegance emerged again to do the same on the opposite side, sandwiching the Shikigami user between themselves.

"You heard Urd, smile for the camera Michiru." Mara instructed after snatching Michiru's cellphone from him. "Alright then, say cheese."

"Cheese!" Urd and World of Elegance said simultaneously, Michiru was too nervous to reply and could only manage a smile even while blushing red as Mara captured this priceless moment on several photographs, hugging the handsome young man tenderly in their arms.

"How well did they turn out Mara?" Urd asked curiously now that Mara was all finished or so she thought at first.

"You'll have to wait until after I've had my bath and besides that, you'll also have to wake up from having a nap." Mara replied casually.

"What nap?" Urd asked in confusion as World of Elegance saw herself out and levitated down the hallway to return to Urd's bedroom.

"This nap!" Mara answered, pressing a button on Michiru's cellphone with the volume turned on. "How about some enka music Urd?"

"No! N-Not enka..." Urd suddenly replied, releasing Michiru from her embrace to try and cover her ears to drown out the enka music, the deity slowly swayed back and forth from side to side until she fell on her knees and lay down on the floor of the bathroom, quiet and still.

"Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Mara laughed triumphantly with an evil grin on her face, she then took a photo of Urd laying asleep on the floor and another of herself standing proudly in triumph, momentarily forgetting the fact that Michiru was still present in the bathroom with her. "That'll teach Urd for teasing me and thinking she could get away with it! Never underestimate a full fledged demon like me!"

"Really Mara?" Michiru commented, feeling badly for Urd after the deity had gone to such lengths to make amends for teasing both of them, especially after getting to have some wonderful photographs together, but the teenager had to accept the unfortunate fact that both of his female friends would never end their feud or stop playing pranks on each other. "You just had to ruin a wonderful moment by getting back at Urd, mark my words, she won't let you off the hook so easily so you'd better be careful and keep your guard up or else you'll live to regret your actions just now."

"Oh, fear clutches my breast." Mara said sarcastically, the only good thing which resulted from this was that getting even with Urd had apparently cheered up Mara's mood. "Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Looks like I have the last laugh this time Urd! Clearly I'm superior to you!"

"Alright Mara, you've had your fun, now please give me back my cellphone so I can leave you to have your bath." Michiru cut in, he had been here for long enough and every moment of delay prevented Mara from having her bath which also denied everybody else the chance of bathing and getting cleaned up for the new day ahead, Miroku was presently occupying the only other bathroom downstairs so it wasn't available, nor would it be available until after Kagome had mended Miroku's robes with a sowing needle and thread either.

"No can do Michiru, as long as this device plays enka music, Urd will stay asleep and won't cause me any trouble." Mara pointed out, still grinning triumphantly while holding Michiru's cellphone high above her head and out of reach so that the Kururugi boy couldn't get it.

"Your still my friend Mara just as I'm your friend, but I'm also friends with Urd and I have to do what's best for all three of us regardless of the fact that both of you have a long history of pulling pranks on each other." Michiru said sincerely, trying to mediate and come to some form of compromise with the female demon who he was friends with. "You've been delayed from having your bath long enough so hurry up and get on with it, everybody else in the house is probably awake or waking up by now and this is the only bathroom available until Kagome finishes mending Miroku's torn robes as you recall. Since this is my Uncle's house and I'm in charge while he's not around, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you so you'd best get a move on unless you want to risk having Urd getting back at you while you're bathing."

"Fine. Go wait outside with Urd while I have my bath, I'll give you back your cellphone once I'm done and fully dressed." Mara instructed.

Michiru knelt down to lift Urd's body up from the floor so he could carry her outside or drag her outside which ever method was easier, he placed his arms around her upper body and slowly lifted Urd from the floor, using one hand to balance her head and neck while the other held her back between both shoulders. Urd's face was just a couple of inches away from his own and her sizable chest was even closer than her face was, so close in fact that the blushing teenage boy suddenly got a very good view of Urd's cleavage even though she was fully dressed. Both of Urd's arms and legs hung lifelessly as Michiru managed to stand back up to his feet, carefully holding the unconscious deity in his arms, he took a moment to shake his head in order to rid himself of any naughty thoughts or images before glancing at Urd's face. Michiru then became drawn to Urd's lips and found himself inching closer and closer until he suddenly stopped at the last second before his own lips made contact with hers. Michiru's eyes widened with worry, he had very nearly lost all mental control and taken advantage of the second class goddess who lay asleep in his arms right now, something Mara also observed.

"I saw you checking out Urd's boobs!" Mara teased, drawing Michiru's attention towards herself and away from Urd, causing the poor teen to blush red with embarrassment which was absolutely priceless. "Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Not that I blame you Michiru, Urd's a divine goddess after all and its practically impossible for any mortal human being to resist the gorgeous beauty of a heavenly deity like her!"

"When you've stopped laughing at my expense Mara, would you open the door for me please?" Michiru replied softly with a hint of anger in his voice since Mara was laughing at him while he was trying to maintain his friendship with both Mara and Urd. "My hands are full."

"Alright, wait right there, I'll open it for you." Mara replied before strolling over, but then she paused to take some photographs of Michiru while the poor young man was holding Urd unconsciously in his arms. "But first, I'll think I'll take some photos of you two lovebirds."

"Alright Mara, I'm going to count to three." Michiru declared, his patience was at an end. "And if you don't open the door so I can leave with Urd, I'm going to put her down before I relieve you of that bath towel you have wrapped around your beautiful and butt naked body."

"You...would...not...dare." Mara sarcastically countered with a grin, calling the Kururugi boy's bluff since she knew Michiru would never ever do anything this disrespectful and risk tarnishing his name and reputation, especially while staying in this house with many deities. Even if Michiru wasn't bluffing, both of them were inside the bathroom right now with the door closed so no one else would see Mara if the Shikigami user was seriously intending to try removing the bath towel from her body. In addition to that, Mara knew Michiru wouldn't dare use his magic Shikigami powers in such a confined space and risk causing damage to this house which belonged to his Uncle so the female demon believed she had the upper hand against the young teenager, even though she had underestimated him before just as others did in the past. "As long as you're holding Urd so closely in your arms Michiru, maybe you should give her a big steamy kiss."

"One." Michiru replied, doing his best to ignore all of Mara's teasing remarks while keeping his eyes and attention on the demon woman who stood where she was staring back at him with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"I'm impressed you're able to hold Urd in your arms like that, you're stronger than you look even though you're still only a young mortal human." Mara commented, complimenting the Kururugi boy for his strength and stamina even while things were about to get physical.

"Two." Michiru continued without taking his eyes away from Mara's, even though he was being very serious right now, he reluctantly couldn't prevent a goofy grin from spreading over his face right now. After all, here he was in the bathroom holding an unconscious Urd in his arms while Mara stood just a few feet away from him clad in nothing but a bath towel, his female demon friend had obviously recovered herself and wasn't embarrassed like before now that Urd could no longer tease them like she had earlier. Michiru could see that as his friendship with Mara grew more and more, perhaps they would also have a history of pulling practical jokes on one another just as Mara had with Urd even though the Japanese student hoped that wouldn't happen since it would only do more harm than good.

"What's with that big goofy grin you have on your face Michiru?" Mara pointed out. "You won't be able to take my towel away while you're busy holding Urd in your arms, even if you put her down on the floor, your strength and speed are hopelessly weak compared with mine because I'm a full fledged demon! Even with your magic Shikigami powers, you're no match for me, just admit it and give up!"

"Three." Michiru finished before bending his knees so he could lower himself down and gently place Urd's unconscious body on the floor, in order to make sure he didn't accidentally cause the deity any injury, the young man turned away from Mara to look at Urd's face.

"Do you want to take a moment to look at the photographs I took with the two of you together?" Mara asked suddenly as she moved closer so she could give Michiru his cellphone back, causing Michiru to pause which is what the demon lady wanted, now the Kururugi boy was caught in a dilemma and unable to make up his mind. "Take your phone and I'll open the door for you so you and Urd can go."

"Thank you Mara." Michiru replied gratefully since he didn't want to tarnish his name and reputation or ruin his friendship with Mara even though his own naughty hormones would have gladly taken control over himself and given into temptation so he could put his hands on Mara's beautiful body, however, he needed to stay behaved and avoid doing anything to make his female demon friend angry with him.

Perfect! Now that I've given Michiru a way out and offered to open the door just as he wanted, I've called his bluff and come out on top!

Michiru's cellphone was suddenly snatched from Mara's hand in a flash before the female demon woman could see what had happened and as if that wasn't an unexpected surprise on its own, Mara was suddenly stunned when she saw Michiru being pulled into a very steamy kiss by the second class goddess who had unexpectedly awoken in the Kururugi boy's arms. Michiru was experiencing another exquisite and breathtaking kiss with the gorgeous goddess, Mara's eyes went wide while her face went really red since she was witnessing Urd making out with the young man who's lower waist was now trapped between Urd's long legs and thighs, though the deity made sure to be gentle enough after wrapping her arms around him and placing her hands behind the teenager's neck to keep his lips in contact with her own until she finally finished and allowed the surprised Shikigami user to break away so he could look at her face.

"That's the best kiss I've ever had the pleasure of sharing with you Michiru, I hope you'll agree with me." Urd stated flirtatiously with a very happy look on her face, resisting the urge to laugh at teenage boy's blushing red face before she turned her attention to Mara who was just as equally stunned and shocked as Michiru was to see the second class goddess awake as well as acting so forwardly. "What's wrong Mara? Michiru got your tongue?"

"Huh?" Mara mumbled uncontrollably while staring wide eyed in disbelief. "H-How can you possibly have regained consciousness Urd?"

"Earplugs." Urd answered with a grin, causing both Michiru and Mara to widen their eyes even more, the enka music didn't take effect.

"You were awake the whole time and only pretended to have fallen asleep?" Michiru deduced, releasing Urd from his arms and allowing the second class goddess to release him from her embrace as well. "You had this planned out from the very beginning didn't you Urd?"

"Guilty!" Urd verbally confessed with a cute smile while winking flirtatiously at Michiru before turning her attention towards Mara who now wore a look of worry and fear on her face. "I suspected that Mara would try putting me to sleep with enka music, but I thought I would give her the chance to hold back while I made amends for teasing both of you and also for setting her up to have a bath while Miroku was hiding in here earlier. I guess Mara really enjoys being punished, clearly she's more of a masochist than she thinks she is. That would also explain why she continuously causes trouble for the other goddesses and I during our absence from work back in heaven."

"I am not a masochist Urd!" Mara angrily declared. "I only cause trouble so I can increase demon shares by creating more demon contracts with humans! Disrupting goddesses like you is just as effective, the ends justify the means after all, you should know that!"

"Okay, now you're just being a tease Urd, let's both leave so Mara can have her bath." Michiru pointed out before heading for the door.

"Very well then." Urd replied in agreement, watching Mara and Michiru sigh with relief, they both thought this was finally over. The deity slid the door open, revealing her Angel who had been waiting outside, World of Elegance then handed Urd what looked like a karaoke machine. "Since breakfast will be ready soon, we'd better wake up the whole house so anybody who's still asleep won't be arriving late!"

"No! No! No!" Mara yelled pleadingly just as the loud sound of hard rock music erupted from Urd's karaoke machine, the poor demon woman began dancing wildly out of control, her legs and arms moved on their own against her will and caused the white towel around her female figure to unravel itself and fall on the floor once again, leaving Mara's beautiful and butt naked body completely exposed for all to see for the second time this morning. "Stop it! If you don't stop, I'll wear myself out and fall down from exhaustion! I won't even be able to stay awake or stand up again! Help me Michiru! I can't have my bath while I'm at the mercy of Urd's karaoke machine! I'm sorry for teasing you earlier! Please be merciful!"

Fortunately for Mara, Michiru was still looking in the other direction and had his back towards her just as he did when they had both been alone which allowed the demon woman to give him the empty food container along with a copy of Hell's mail order catalog.

"Truth or dare Michiru?" Urd asked unexpectedly as World of Elegance waved farewell at Michiru before vanishing back into Urd's body.

"Urd, this isn't the time or place for games, you've had your fun at Mara's expense so please turn off your karaoke machine and cut her a break." Michiru demanded, this was clearly getting out of control since he had asked Mara to show mercy towards Urd just a short while ago even though he hadn't realized that the second class goddess had only been pretending to be asleep as a result of hearing enka music from the Shikigami user's cellphone which Mara had played after using it to take some photographs as Urd had also done.

"Truth or dare?" Urd verbally repeated, grinning evilly as she darted passed Michiru who tried without success to grab hold of the karaoke machine in order to turn off the hard rock music, she then darted back to where she had been standing before, holding Mara's bath towel in her other hand which Michiru clearly saw.

"Turn off the music and I'll decide." Michiru declared, forcing Urd to do as he asked, Mara then fell down on the floor now that she had been physically exhausted from dancing against her own will and was breathing irregularly in order to catch her breath. "Thank you Urd."

"There, now choose, truth or dare." Urd demanded, knowing that Michiru would be setting himself up no matter which choice he made.

If I choose dare, Urd will probably order me to turn around and look at Mara right now, looks like truth is the only alternative I have left.

"Truth." Michiru reluctantly answered, causing Urd to smile teasingly at him since he was already doomed for answering either way.

"You looked at my boobs while you held me in your arms didn't you?" Urd pointed out, Michiru's blushing red face confirmed the truth. "And you also looked at Mara's beautiful and butt naked body after her towel fell on the floor and that's why you felt so hard. Am I right?"

"WWHHAATT?!" Mara shrieked angrily even though she was out of breath which frightened Michiru who suddenly feared for his life.

Before anyone could do or say anything else, Urd was suddenly restrained from behind by a series of long green vines which entangled themselves around the deity's body and fastened together tightly, thereby preventing Urd from escaping. Lind along with Peorth and Gorgeous Rose all arrived on the scene, coming to Michiru's aid as well as Mara's in their time of need. Lind took Urd's karaoke machine away while Gorgeous Rose used her long green vines to bind and secure Urd's arms and legs together, Peorth removed both of Urd's earplugs, allowing for Lind to put Urd to sleep by playing enka music on the deity's karaoke machine which finally brought an end to Urd's scheme. Michiru took advantage of the situation to recover Mara's towel along with his cellphone which Urd had dropped on the floor, after putting his cellular device into his pocket, he held the towel above his head with one hand for the female demon to take while he kept facing the opposite direction to give his female demon friend her privacy.

"Here's your towel Mara, you can come and take it now, we're both finally free from Urd's practical joke." Michiru said politely.

"Looks like Mara's still worn out and exhausted from having to dance against her will from that hard rock music." Lind pointed out, this made Michiru worry for his female demon friend since Mara was in no condition to stand properly or do anything after being drained from dancing. "I'll take Urd back to her bedroom Michiru, Peorth and Gorgeous Rose will both stay here to watch over you and Mara."

"Thank you Lind." Michiru replied gratefully, he then spotted Peorth along with her Angel Gorgeous Rose who hovered beside the first class goddess. "Good morning Peorth, good morning Gorgeous Rose, thank you both for coming to my aid with Lind, Mara and I would have been stuck in here all morning with Urd had it not been for the three of you working together as a team the way that all of you did."

"What would you do without us Michiru?" Peorth humorously pointed out with an affectionate smile on her pretty face, her attractive Angel Gorgeous Rose also wore a similar expression of affection on her lovely face right now too. "You really need to be more careful about where and when you pick your fights, especially if you find yourself stuck in the middle between Mara and Urd of all people. Those two troublemakers have such a long history of trying to one up each other, its a miracle that they can both coexist here on earth at all."

"Duly noted, but Urd and Mara are both my friends so its up to me to set the example and try to mediate on their behalves." Michiru explained in an effort to defend himself and his actions even though he reluctantly had to admit that he had been in over his head here.

"We all admire you for your bravery Michiru along with your sense of loyalty and many other fine qualities, but that doesn't mean you can solve everything all on your own, you have your feudal era friends and you also have us to rely on should you ever feel the need to ask any of us for help." Peorth added, trying her best to help Michiru see things from her perspective. "As a first class goddess who's been assigned to stay by your side until you've decided on what wish to ask for, I'm always available to be of use to you in any way that I possibly can and that also includes my Angel Gorgeous Rose so always remember that Michiru because you are never ever alone."

"I'll try to remember that Peorth, thank you again." Michiru replied politely with a handsome smile while looking at Peorth, he then took a moment to glance at the first class goddess's Angel. "Thank you for your aid as well Gorgeous Rose, its very nice to see you again."

Gorgeous Rose waved hello to Michiru while smiling happily at the young man she also harbored feelings of affection for, the Kururugi boy then regained his train of thought and remembered that he could use his Shikigami magic to help Mara make a full recovery just as he had helped Peorth on another occasion when the first class goddess had her energy supply drained as a result of Yggdrasil malfunctioning for a brief period of time two days ago. But before casting a spell on his drained and worn out demon friend, Michiru first needed to walk backwards in order to reposition himself so that he would be standing close enough to Mara without turning around and alarming her since she was physically drained and too exhausted to grab the towel herself, though she was still conscious and could see and hear everything that was presently going on inside of the washroom.

"Oh flowing mighty river, give me your blessing!" Michiru recanted, using his magic Shikigami powers in order to cast a healing spell.

The star shaped pentagram appeared beneath Michiru's feet and spun around, glowing brightly red while a magic blue light radiated from Michiru's body before rising above him and transformed into the form of a red fish. This underwater familiar then hovered over to where Mara was positioned on the floor and bathed the exhausted demon woman in a magic blue light while Michiru's Great River Offering spell did its work at fully healing Mara's body which also restored the female's strength and energy levels. Once the spell had completed its task, all the magic light then faded away and vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving Michiru's female friend fully recovered. While Mara along with Peorth and Gorgeous Rose were all momentarily distracted by the healing spell Michiru had cast, the Shikigami user used the opportunity to hide Hell's mail order catalog inside of the empty food container so no one else would see it, he then draped the towel over Mara's body in order to cover her up appropriately before saying his farewells and seeing himself out.

"Here's your towel Mara, I'm leaving now so you can finally have your bath, better hurry before breakfast is ready." Michiru said simply with a handsome smile while he tried his best not to blush at the beautiful demon woman who was still laying on the bathroom floor. "I'm going for a walk outside to get some air, you should do the same after you've had your bath. I had fun taking photographs with you while you and Urd weren't teasing or tricking each other, thank you again for the catalog and take care until we meet again later today Mara."

Mara kept quiet and was unable to decide what to say or do until after Michiru had departed, she was finally free from Urd's teasing and the intervention of the other goddesses had prevented Urd's prank from continuing any further, the demon woman finally stood up from the floor and proceeded to the bathtub so she could wash her body and get cleaned up for breakfast as the Kururugi boy had repeatedly suggested. Before she could go in the tub however, the water would first have to be drained and replaced since Miroku had already taken a bath here earlier, but that would be quick and easy to do now that the demon woman had the washroom all to herself and could carry on without fear of being interrupted or disturbed. Urd was now asleep in her bedroom and being watched over while Miroku had been ordered to hide himself in the downstairs washroom where he was to remain until after Kagome had mended the monk's torn up robes, everybody else could be trusted and relied upon to respect Mara's privacy and leave her alone to bathe in peace and quiet.

Whew! I'm finally free from that sneaky second class deity! I'll have to tread carefully if I want to get back at Urd and I might have to ask Michiru for help since he was also a victim of her evil schemes too! But that's for later, having my bath and eating breakfast come first!

Meanwhile in Urd's bedroom…

Michiru wandered over to Urd's bedroom to check on the second class goddess and make sure that Urd was sleeping peacefully, Peorth and Gorgeous Rose accompanied him since they both wanted to spend time with the Shikigami user who they deeply cared for. Upon his arrival, Michiru saw Lind along with Inuyasha and Shippo who had both been waiting here laughing from afar while wisely maintaining their distance and keeping out of the scheme which Urd had cleverly devised since they both didn't want to find themselves trapped between Urd and Mara like Michiru was when everything had occurred. By now, both Feudal era friends had let out all of their laughter together and were just waiting here patiently for breakfast to be ready, they didn't bother to ask Michiru what had happened since they could easily guess for themselves even though they didn't know the full details of the conversation that had passed between Michiru and both women while all three of them were inside of the bathroom together.

"Urd is sleeping peacefully Michiru." Lind stated after Michiru glanced at the sleeping second class goddess for himself, Urd laid on her bed and the karaoke machine was set to play enka music to keep the deity asleep until breakfast was ready. "Inuyasha and Shippo have both agreed to watch over her and will wake her up once breakfast is ready, I'll stand watch outside the bathroom and will come and get you once Mara has finished bathing so you or Peorth can also have a bath to get cleaned up and ready for the new day ahead of us."

"Thank you very much Lind, I'm sure Mara will appreciate your aid just as I do." Michiru expressed gratefully before turning his attention towards Inuyasha. "Inuyasha? Miroku claims Troubadour showed up early this morning shortly after I left to go for a jog with Lind and Sango, after being woken up, Miroku then found himself attacked by bees from a beehive. I'm wondering why you weren't able to sense or detect Troubadour's presence when he came to cause trouble for Miroku this morning. Would you care to explain yourself please?

Uh-oh! Looks like Michiru's managed to figure out that I had something to do with Miroku's misfortune this morning, oh well, no big deal.

"Troubadour never showed up this morning, Miroku only thought that Troubadour was at the Temple because he was looking at Shippo who had disguised himself as Troubadour." Inuyasha reluctantly explained with a goofy expression of guilt on his face, causing Michiru to glance at his fox demon friend for a moment before turning his attention back to his half demon friend. "I was angry at the stupid monk for calling out Urd's name in his sleep because of how hurt Sango had felt before you and Lind went with her on your early morning run together. In order to teach Miroku a lesson and hopefully discourage him from any further incidents, I asked Shippo to disguise himself and we both pulled a prank on Miroku which made him think that he had been cursed with Troubadour's bug summoning song again."

"So that explains what happened and how Miroku ended up with a beehive inside of his robes." Michiru responded, shaking his head disappointingly for all the trouble that had been caused as a result of Inuyasha's prank which he had staged thanks to Shippo's help. "I'll let both of you off the hook just this once, both of you should know that Miroku's still a well trained spiritual monk with impressive talents and abilities even though he's also a lecherous idiot as well. The only reason why he didn't see through your scheme was because you woke him up from his sleep and he was completely taken in by your combined teamwork, you'd both better stick together so you can defend one another in case he eventually finds out that Troubadour wasn't responsible for summoning those bees that attacked him."

"We filmed it too with Kagome's camera." Shippo replied, holding the recording device in his hands. "Would you like to watch it Michiru?"

"No thank you Shippo." Michiru declined. "Besides all of us, does anyone else know what really happened to Miroku this morning?"

"Only Urd, we showed her the recorded video this morning while you were busy having your early morning run with Sango and Lind, nobody else outside of this room knows what really happened." Inuyasha answered while watching his Kururugi friend sigh with relief.

"That's the way this matter will stay, the last thing we want is for Miroku to get angry at both of you and I'm sure Kagome would also be angry as well now that I've had to ask her to mend Miroku's torn robes with a sowing needle and thread." Michiru stated. "From now on, please don't pull any more pranks or practical jokes on Miroku without consulting me first, I'm already in over my head trying to keep Urd and Mara under control when ever both of them cause mischief and trouble. I understand that both of you acted for Urd's benefit as well as Sango's, but that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get away without getting caught or without causing any long term consequences."

"We understand Michiru." Shippo stated.

"Very well, I think I'll go outside for a walk since I can't have a bath yet until one of the washrooms is vacant, I'll see all of you later." Michiru replied before turning to Peorth and her Angel. "Peorth? Would you and Gorgeous Rose like to accompany me for a little while?"

"Yes Michiru, we'd like that very much." Peorth replied happily while smiling with Gorgeous Rose, both divine women were delighted.

"Very well then, let's go outside, goodbye everyone." Michiru replied, saying farewell to his friends before leaving the bedroom followed by Peorth, Gorgeous Rose and Lind. Once they were gone, Inuyasha and Shippo were left to watch over Urd until breakfast was ready.

Before going outside, Michiru instructed Peorth and Gorgeous Rose to wait for him at the front gate so he could quickly return the empty food container to the kitchen where Belldandy was still busy cooking a bountiful breakfast for everybody. The Shikigami user also informed the first class goddess that Kagome would be preoccupied mending Miroku's torn robes with a needle and thread which is why the modern era woman hadn't returned yet, Belldandy simply nodded understandingly with a wonderful smile and told Michiru to go outside so he wouldn't keep Peorth or her Angel waiting any longer, leaving Michiru to quickly take the catalog that Mara had given him and hide it inside of his backpack which he did after racing over to the Temple where his belongings had been left while Peorth and Gorgeous Rose were both distracted by the wonderful view from the front gate. Now that both items had been dropped off where they belonged, Michiru's chores were done and he could go meet up with both beautiful women presently waiting for him to join them.

Inside of Urd's bedroom...

"I didn't know that Goddesses had Angels for lifelong companions, that's really something." Shippo pointed out after seeing Urd's Angel World of Elegance followed by Peorth's Angel Gorgeous Rose moments later when Lind and Peorth went to aid Michiru and save Mara.

"Yes it is, we'd both better watch what we say or do from now on while we're with Miroku or Kagome so we don't let either of them find out about what really happened earlier this morning." Inuyasha stated. "Not that I'm afraid of Miroku, Kagome's the one I'm more worried about since she has a short temper and easily gets mad at me, especially when I'm fighting or arguing with that scrawny wolf Koga."

"That reminds me Inuyasha, now that Naraku's gone, we'll have to collect all the remaining Shikon jewel shards including the two shards that Koga has in both of his legs." Shippo pointed out, knowing that such an unavoidable matter would eventually cause confrontation between his friends and Koga's Wolf demon tribe. "How do you think we'll be able to handle that? I doubt Koga will just give them to us."

"I'll fight him for them, even if I also have to fight the whole Wolf demon tribe too." Inuyasha declared proudly with an excited grin on his face, eager to beat up Koga for his many insults and also for frequently flirting with Kagome which Inuyasha especially hated most of all.

"On the other hand, we could always offer Koga a trade, he gives us the jewel shards and we give him Kagome. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"That's not funny Inuyasha, Kagome's our friend, not an object to be bargained with." Shippo said angrily since he was close friends with Kagome despite the fact that she was an ordinary human girl and he was a full fledged demon even though he still looked like a little kid.

"Relax Shippo." Inuyasha replied after he had finished laughing, Kagome was almost like a big sister to the young fox demon even though they weren't related by blood, but they were still friends and companions which Inuyasha recognized. "I was only joking around."

"Don't say that too loud Inuyasha, you don't want anyone to overhear you, especially Kagome." Shippo warned, recalling Kagome's hold over Inuyasha due to the subjugation beads which were fastened together around the half demon's neck as a necklace or a dog collar.

"I know, don't worry, I won't cause any trouble, unless of course Koga starts making trouble first." Inuyasha responded, knowing that the reborn priestess was always too quick to judge or misjudge and point fingers which is why the half demon had to tread carefully in order to show that Koga was the aggressive troublemaker instead of himself as Kagome had often accused him of being when ever the three of them were with each other after having an encounter. "Oh, speaking of trouble, Kagome still has all of her homework to work on so I don't think she'll be able to accompany us back to the Feudal era for a while so it looks as though searching for shards will have to wait."

"Then what are we supposed to do if we can't find the rest of the jewel shards?" Shippo asked. "How can we do that without Kagome?"

"Perhaps Kikyo could help us during Kagome's absence." Inuyasha suggested. "She's the only other person besides Kagome who has the spiritual power for seeing, sensing and purifying sacred Shikon jewel shards. Now that Naraku is gone, maybe she could join us."

"But doesn't Kikyo keep to herself and travel alone Inuyasha?" Shippo pointed out. "We only encountered her very briefly while traveling with Michiru, once or twice at Botan Village and then later during our trip to Asagiri Island where she helped us in battle against Naraku."

"That's true, Kikyo usually doesn't come to see us unless we're in danger or she has something important to tell us." Inuyasha added while his mind suddenly became filled with concern for the resurrected priestess along with feelings and questions he also had for her.

She also appears when she wants to meet me while I'm alone or away from Kagome and the others. How have you been doing Kikyo?

Meanwhile in Feudal Japan…

Kikyo was presently wandering through a wide field of tall green grass and after a long walk came upon a large mound made of earth and rock with plants growing on the top, some vines hung down the face of it and just below them was the narrow entrance way leading downwards into a small cave. The resurrected priestess was no stranger to this mysterious hiding place, for she had frequently visited it in the days leading up to that tragic day which resulted with her unfortunate death following her battle against Inuyasha roughly fifty years ago in an attempt to protect the sacred Shikon Jewel, this was where Kikyo had harbored the mysterious human bandit who went by the name of Onigumo, Onigumo's body suffered from severe burns and many broken bones which rendered him completely immobile which is why the former priestess had taken pity on him and hidden his body inside the remote cave where she could feed him and tend to his injuries. Fate had truly been unkind to Kikyo even though she wouldn't know it until after her death, for the very person she was caring for would one day forge an evil pact with a horde of demons to regain mobility and strength, transforming Onigumo and all the demons into one powerful foe named Naraku. The undead priestess walked inside and descended down into the dark depths of Onigumo's cave, she then halted at the bottom and stood quietly while looking at the bare spot of ground where Onigumo's body once lay, severely burned and badly broken, covered from head to toe with bandages. Kikyo could sense the evil spirit of Naraku since this was where he had been born, no vegetation of any kind could grow on this spot of ground, not even a single blade of grass where evil had truly left its mark even though Naraku and Onigumo were both gone from this place and from this world.

How strange, its been fifty years since Naraku was born from Onigumo inside this cave and even though Naraku's finally dead and gone from the world, the presence of an evil demonic entity still remains. How can this be possible?

The presence of Naraku's evil entity which still continued to haunt this place left an uneasy feeling in Kikyo's heart and mind, it was a very bad omen from her viewpoint considering all that Kikyo had experienced, before and after Naraku's treachery which had turned her and Inuyasha against each other until Inuyasha was sealed to a tree and Kikyo died from her mortal injuries five decades ago. Kikyo blinked momentarily to try holding back the tears which threatened to water in her eyes as her feelings of sadness, anger and regret suddenly resurfaced from deep within her broken and overly burdened heart. She felt so terrible for wrongfully accusing Inuyasha of betraying and harming her just to get his hands on the sacred Shikon Jewel, any and all verbal remarks which had hurt his feelings along with sealing him to a tree and finally, for everything else that she had said and done ever since she had been brought back from the dead by the demon witch Urasue.

If only I had minded my own business and left Onigumo to die, then Naraku would never have been born in the first place, a-and Inuyasha and I wouldn't have…

Although Kikyo still felt a huge amount of guilt and regret, she could take comfort from the fact that Naraku was now dead and gone, all that remained for her to do was to apologize to Inuyasha and try to move forward from there. With Naraku being vanquished by Inuyasha and his companions, Kikyo's long and lonely journey for revenge had finally been achieved, but she now found herself in need of another goal to pursue. The task of recovering all the scattered shards of the Sacred Shikon Jewel still remained to be done and in addition to that, Kikyo also needed to ask Michiru some questions about Utsugi's involvement with Naraku in the hopes that some light could be shed on some other mysteries which presently remained unsolved. Kikyo eventually managed to recover her composure after a couple minutes of silence and decided that it was time to leave this place, in an effort to take her mind off those painful events and her tragic death, the spiritual woman turned her thoughts on some pleasant memories from her more recent past following her resurrection.

Flashback from a few months ago…

Kikyo was busy preparing a medicinal potion using herbs she had gathered early this morning in the forest which surrounded the ruined remains of Botan Village, despite its rotten state of appearance, the village still looked somewhat lively because of the inhabitants who were still living here even though most of them were old and elderly people. Botan Village was quite small compared with other towns and villages which also meant its population was small as well, its location was out of the way and off of the main roads which travelers would regularly take to go from one village to another, making it go almost unnoticed to traveling merchants, bands of mercenaries or bandits. However, about two years ago, Botan Village found itself attacked and almost destroyed during a brief war fought between two feudal lords and even though peace had returned to the lands soon afterwards, the villagers who had survived the conflict were divided about how to move on with their lives. A few had chosen to remain in Botan Village since they were deeply attached to their home regardless of its rugged condition while many others, especially families with young children decided to move to Minamo Village which was nearby and within a short walk in the hopes of rebuilding their lives somewhere that wasn't ravaged by war and was hopefully a safer place to live. Fortunately, only a short distance separated the two villages and both inhabitants could freely visit each other when ever they wanted too.

The spiritual woman had decided sometime ago to make a home for herself here in Botan Village since its small size and remote location along with its poor state of appearance made it a perfect haven for someone like Kikyo to dwell at since she wanted to hide herself from the rest of the world around her. Being brought back from the dead with Urasue's witchcraft unfortunately caused Kikyo's resurrected body to become dependent on energy from gathered souls of the dead in order to maintain her own existence, such an unavoidable fact drew the unwanted attention and wrath from traveling monks and spiritual priests who happened to encounter Kikyo which is why she chose to seek sanctuary here. She could also put her knowledge of medicine and healing skills to good use in order to help those who were injured or in a poor state of health, as she treated those in need of aid, the resurrected priestess had earned the gratitude and respect of the village inhabitants and her reputation eventually spread to Minamo Village as well. Plenty of people came from there to visit Botan Village, some to see their friends and relatives and others to see Kikyo, though not everyone who visited Kikyo did so because they required medical aid, Kikyo's kindness and reputation had even spread among the children and many came over just to have fun and spend the day with her. To the eyes of an innocent child, Kikyo's body which had been made from her cremated ashes and graveyard soil didn't appear to be any different from that of any other living person, but the resurrected priestess wisely told her soul collectors to stay far away and distance themselves from her throughout the day when ever she was at home alone, treating patients or interacting with children in order to avoid causing panic among the people who came to visit her. Only during the late hours of the night between sunset and sunrise, would the soul collectors silently enter Botan Village from the remote corner where Kikyo's house was located in order to deliver their cargoes of spiritual entities to Kikyo while the other inhabitants were fast asleep and unaware of this.

Speaking of visitors from Minamo Village, Kikyo's ears quickly recognized the voices belonging to two young boys who frequently came here to play while their parents were both busy with daily work and other laborious tasks, the priestess left her work and emerged from her house which caught the attention of both boys who stopped their bickering and raced over to see the resurrected woman. Kikyo instantly recognized their faces and smiled to herself, she was inwardly grateful for being interrupted from her own daily chores and enjoyed spending time with the children of Minamo Village, such experiences made her happy and reminded the resurrected priestess of her days spent with her little sister Kaede more than fifty years ago before Naraku's treachery caused the tragedy that had ended her mortal life and shattered her relationship with Inuyasha. Although Kikyo had been resurrected by the demon witch Urasue and didn't have a real body of flesh and blood, the children she spent time to play with took no notice of her condition and treated her as any other living person which was all the more reason why she enjoyed being with them, she couldn't have any children of her own after all no matter how deeply Kikyo longed to experience the life of an ordinary young woman happily married with a handsome husband.

"Good morning Kikyo!" Shota and Umekichi said in unison after having walked all the way from Minamo Village to visit Kikyo once again.

"Good morning Shota, good morning Umekichi." Kikyo replied politely with a cheerful smile on her face as both boys halted in front of the priestess, taking a moment to catch their breath from arguing loudly among themselves and from sprinting over to the house after having seen the resurrected woman come outside to greet them and welcome them to her home. "What brings both of you here today?"

"Hey Kikyo, can you do me a favor?" Shota asked after he and Umekichi both recovered their breath and could speak without difficulty.

"A favor?" Kikyo replied curiously. "What is it?"

"Could you please demonstrate your archery skills with your bow and arrow?" Shota asked, an evil grin appeared on his face before he added. "My friend says you're not very good."

"What? I never said that!" Umekichi blurted out defensively, the boy then looked at Kikyo with an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Kikyo giggled momentarily in response, even though Shota had just lied about Umekichi accusing Kikyo of having poor archery skills, the young priestess still enjoyed the humor of the moment even if it was at Umekichi's expense, it was normal for children to play games or pull pranks and fib so long as nobody was hurt at the end of it all. "Alright, now where would you like me to shoot at?"

"Over there Kikyo." Shota answered, pointing in a direction away from the house. "Aim for that lone tree stump right over there."

"Very well then." Kikyo replied, turning to return to the house for a moment. "I'll just retrieve my bow along with my quiver of arrows and I'll be right back."

"Okay!" Shota and Umekichi both said simultaneously.

The female archer returned a moment later and took a position before locking an arrow to her bowstring, after drawing it back, Kikyo carefully took aim to make sure that the arrow she was about to launch would fly accurately enough to reach its intended target. The priestess then loosed the arrow from her bow and waited patiently to watch its flight until it eventually landed, both Shota and Umekichi were awestruck and captivated by the flight of the arrow, but both boys were short in stature and couldn't see over the bushes close to the house which the arrow had flown over and undoubtedly landed somewhere far behind of.

"Did you see where the arrow landed?" Umekichi asked curiously. "I can't see the arrow from here."

"Then let's go see for ourselves, it couldn't have flown very far." Shota suggested before he and Umekichi ran off to look for the arrow.

"No! Don't go over there!" Kikyo warned loudly to stop the two boys. "There are poisonous bugs over there!"

Fortunately for Kikyo, both boys heeded her words and came to a halt before they got close to where the poisonous bugs were nesting, they could see the tree stump from their new vantage point and were now glancing around for the whereabouts of Kikyo's arrow which needed to be retrieved. Kikyo breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't want any of the children who visited her to be hurt or harmed, such an incident would fill her with guilt and reflect badly on her if they were stung or bitten just because she didn't watch over them properly while they were here in her charge and away from their families. The spiritual woman had lost everything including her own life when she had died following Naraku's treachery fifty years ago and being brought back from the dead in an animated body made of cremated ashes and graveyard soil denied Kikyo the opportunity of experiencing the normal life of an ordinary young woman so getting to spend time with children like Shota and Umekichi was one of the few things that brought some joy and happiness to Kikyo's lonely existence. The last thing Kikyo wanted was for something bad to happen to the children which would ruin the poor priestess's reputation and incur the wrath of the parents and families, for if that were to happen, then Kikyo would no longer be trusted to watch over any children or treat anyone who was ill or injured. The resurrected woman would then be viewed as an outcast or someone that everybody would distance themselves from which would hurt Kikyo's reputation and feelings, luckily for her, such a tragedy wasn't going to happen.

"She missed hitting the tree stump with her arrow." Umekichi pointed out after seeing that the tree stump was untouched.

"See? I told ya!" Shota stated. "Kikyo told us not to come over here because she didn't want us to know she's a bad shot."

"Hold on, take a look at this!" Umekichi said excitedly, bending over to pick something up from the ground.

"What is it Umekichi?" Shota asked curiously, he soon had an answer when he saw Umekichi holding the arrow Kikyo had launched from her bow just a minute ago, at the end of the arrowhead was the body of a poisonous insect which had been impaled and skewered.

"Wow! The arrow that Kikyo loosed from her bow struck the insect right in the center of its body! Umekichi pointed out with an excited tone of voice. "Kikyo wasn't aiming for the tree stump! She was aiming for this poisonous bug instead! She hit a different target, a smaller target and a moving target too!"

Both young boys immediately raced back to Kikyo, Umekichi quickly handed the arrow back to the priestess who flung the object around to shake off the dead bug from the tip of the arrowhead so that the arrow could be cleaned and reused a second time.

"Kikyo? Would you please teach me how to use a bow and arrow? Shota asked pleadingly before apologizing for his earlier misdeeds. "I'm sorry I offended you by judging your archery skills without seeing them beforehand. Please Kikyo? Please say you'll teach me!"

"Me too please! I'll come over everyday early in the morning if I have too." Umekichi added, he wanted to learn archery from Kikyo too.

"I will follow you until you teach me Kikyo!" Shota declared, hoping that Kikyo would give in since he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Me too!" Umekichi added, both young boys eventually quieted down and waited for the resurrected priestess to verbally respond.

What to do?

Before Kikyo could give both boys an answer, her eyes suddenly spotted another young boy rushing towards them from a short distance away. The child's identity was easy to remember ever since he started wearing a samurai's helmet on his head which had once belonged to the boy's father, it was colored red and decorated with a pair of yellow horns shaped almost like a sideways crescent moon on the front which protected the forehead of who ever was presently wearing the helmet.

"Good morning Ishimaru." Kikyo said kindly as the young boy came to a halt and took a moment to catch his breath after he had run all the way over here from his home in Minamo Village, she resisted the temptation to laugh at the young boy since the samurai helmet he was presently wearing was obviously too big for someone of his age. Luckily for Ishimaru, he secured the helmet firmly to his head by adjusting the chinstrap fastened on either side of the helmet which he had tucked under his chin so he wouldn't lose his father's helmet.

"Good morning Kikyo." Ishimaru replied before he turned to face Shota and Umekichi who were both his friends. "Sorry for being late."

"You missed Kikyo demonstrating her skill with using her bow and arrow Ishimaru!" Umekichi pointed out. "She's the best archer ever!"

"Yeah! Kikyo shot an arrow at a big poisonous bug a few moments ago, and we've just asked her if she'll teach us how to use a bow and arrow so that we can train to become archers just like she is!" Shota explained so Ishimaru would know what he had missed earlier.

"Wow!" Ishimaru exclaimed with excitement, he then turned to look up at Kikyo along with the other two young boys. "Could you please teach me how to use a bow and arrow too? I'd really like to learn how even though I'm not big enough or old enough yet. Please Kikyo?"

At first, Kikyo was concerned about how the families of all three boys would respond if they found out she taught them how to use a bow and arrow, but her worries quickly went away once the former priestess remembered that she and her sister Kaede had also been taught archery from a very young age. Using a bow and arrow wasn't just useful for slaying enemies or dangerous demons, it was also a necessary skill used to hunt and kill animals for food, especially for those who lived in the wild and had no money to purchase food and lodgings like wealthy merchants and other travelers could. Archery skills took a very long time to learn and perfect so it was best that the three of them learned early on during their childhood years so that they would be highly qualified and experienced by the time they grew up to become young adults. Training the three boys would provide both villages with several young archers which would give some measure of protection to the people living in the area, especially while Kikyo was away traveling and in addition to that, perhaps Ishimaru along with Shota and Umekichi could also provide the lone priestess with some much needed company and support should she require them to assist her while she traveled from place to place a couple of years later once all three boys had grown a little older. The spiritual woman's train of thought was eventually brought to an end by the trio of young boys standing in front of Kikyo who were patiently waiting for her verbal response, the moment of silence Kikyo had used to collect her thoughts before making a decision must have felt like an eternity to the three young lads judging from the pleading expressions on each of their faces.

"Please Kikyo?" Shota and Umekichi asked pleadingly with puppy eyed looks on their innocent faces, causing Kikyo to eventually agree.

"Its alright with me as long as each of you promise that you won't fool around and start carelessly shooting at anything or anyone, a bow and arrow is a dangerous weapon that can still injure or kill someone even when they are poorly handled." Kikyo explained, hoping to drive her point across so all three boys would take her training seriously and act responsibly while handling such dangerous weapons.

"We understand, we'll promise we'll all obey your instructions while we train hard together." Umekichi responded in understanding.

"Very well then, I can purchase a quiver for each of you, but it will take a couple of days to make some arrows and three bows built for three little boys as young as each of you are." Kikyo stated. "Once each of you have your very own bow along with a quiver of arrows to go with it, always remember to use them as weapons or tools, not toys, treat them with caution and care just like a samurai would treat a sword because your own lives along with the lives of your families and friends may one day depend on them for survival. Understand?"

Each boy nodded quietly in understanding to demonstrate how dedicated they would be to follow all of Kikyo's lessons and instructions.

"Alright, now which of you would like to try loosing an arrow from my bow just for fun?" Kikyo asked curiously with a cheerful smile.

"I would!" Shota and Umekichi shouted simultaneously in excitement just as Kikyo had expected, they then turned to glare at each other.

"I asked Kikyo to teach me first so I should shoot first." Shota stated.

"But you lied about me saying that I didn't think Kikyo was any good!" Umekichi countered angrily. "Liars go last!"

"Alright, that's enough, each of you will get a turn so there's no need to argue." Kikyo declared while trying not to laugh at both boys for being so impatient, she needed a solution to resolve their feud and fortunately, Ishimaru was it. "Ishimaru? Would you like to try first?"

"Aw." Shota and Umekichi both whined disappointingly, reluctantly being forced to wait their turns since Ishimaru was offered to try first.

"Oh, yes I would please." Ishimaru replied excitedly before giving Kikyo a quick hug to show his gratitude. "Thank you very much Kikyo."

"Your welcome." Kikyo said as she returned the hug, holding the young boy tenderly for a brief moment before they released each other.

End of flashback...

Throughout the time Kikyo's mind was occupied with cheerful thoughts of that pleasant experience from her more recent past, she had long since left Onigumo's cave behind and was presently retracing her steps which would eventually take her back to Kaede's Village so that she could warn her sister Kaede about the lingering presence of Naraku's evil entity which mysteriously remained even after Naraku's death. Kaede could then inform Inuyasha and the others when they returned from the modern era where Michiru and Kagome lived so that everyone would be aware of its continued existence while Kikyo could continue her journey seeking out sacred jewel shards, slaying dangerous demons and investigating other matters which also needed looking into. But before the resurrected priestess would arrive back at Kaede's Village, her footsteps were brought to a halt as she suddenly sensed she was being watched from someone nearby who had been following her, Kikyo turned to look at a tree and spotted the shadows of two humans thanks to the sunlight which betrayed the location of the persons hiding behind the tree just a few paces ahead of where she was presently standing.

"I know that you're there." Kikyo declared. "Though I am armed with a bow, I will not harm you so come out and show yourselves."

A moment later, two monks wearing traditional kimonos and straw hats stepped out into the open directly in front of Kikyo, the resurrected priestess recognized them from a couple of months ago since she had encountered them before near another village. The older monk who carried a staff moved closer to confront the spiritual woman while the younger monk cautiously remained where he was to listen and watch as events unfolded, the monk suddenly produced a scroll which he unrolled in front of Kikyo so that she could see what was inscribed on its paper surface, but one glance at the scroll showed that it was completely blank with no inscriptions on it at all.

"Do you remember me priestess?" Seikai asked, demanding an immediate reply. "We met a couple of months ago near another village where you had once resided, on our first encounter, you had kindly picked up and handed me this scroll I had dropped on the ground in front of you. As you can clearly observe, this scroll is now completely blank because your sinister powers erased the inscription which had been painted on it. I don't know how you managed to counter the sutra spell for warding off evil or how you caused the scroll's power to backfire on me, but we both know that you do not belong in this world or among the living, so I have come to exercise you."

"If I recall correctly, you said that you didn't know what binds me to this world and then you demanded that I return to where I belong." Kikyo responded, looking sternly at the old monk for speaking so harshly to her while looking at Kikyo as if she had committed a crime. "Kaede's Village was once my home, therefore, I have returned where I belong which means you've no reason for pursuing me like this."

"The young priestess has a point Master Seikai, this means that she must be the very priestess who was tragically slain fifty years ago." The younger monk deduced, trying to mediate in the hope of resolving this matter peacefully even though it was clear that Master Seikai had no intention of leaving Kikyo to do as she pleased in peace which is why they had been traveling across the lands in search of her.

"Silence! This priestess is no longer a living person, she is dead or to be more specific, she is undead!" Seikai declared angrily while he rolled up and put away the blank scroll he had produced a moment ago before turning back to stare at Kikyo with a look of disgust on his face. "When I demanded that you return to where you belong priestess, I meant the Netherworld, not your former home where you once lived while you were alive. Though you may be able to fool commoners and peasants with your charade, we both know that you're only able to maintain your existence by gathering and harvesting the souls of the dead with the aid of your soul collectors, you've committed a grave sin and now you're going to pay for it...with death."

"I don't expect you to accept the fact that I was resurrected and nor do I expect you to understand my reasons for wanting to live again, however, I must respectfully ask that you leave me alone so I may try to live peacefully with others in the world of the living." Kikyo replied while remaining calm. "As I was once the former priestess of Kaede's Village, I know who is a person of manners and who is a man of the mouth. And you Master Seikai, are a man of the mouth, take my advice and shut it before somebody else shuts it for you."

"How dare you insult a high ranking monk such as I you wench!" Seikai angrily blurted out before declaring. "Very well, if words won't put you on the path to where you rightfully belong, then I'll have to send you back to the Netherworld myself. Don't bother to resist or you'll only delay your own death by bringing more pain and suffering upon yourself, there's no way for you to escape my demon binding spell."

Kikyo's curiosity overcame her caution since it was only a monk who threatened her existence instead of a dangerous demon, nevertheless, she wasn't about to underestimate the monk who stood before her. Seikai then produced what looked like a round stone orb in his right hand which had a serpentine dragon beautifully carved on its surface, surrounding the orb as though it was constricting it like how a giant snake would entangle and crush prey with its own body. Tiny sparkles of golden light appeared all over the orb as the monk used its power to cast a spell which he obviously intended to attack Kikyo with, then a bright magic light shot out and struck the priestess a moment later, the spiritual woman found herself being entangled in the body of a dragon which grasped her neck with its claws to strangle and choke the life out of her. The spiritual woman mustered all her energy in order to free herself from this dangerous spell, gathering up and concentrating her spiritual power even while being choked to death, but fortune was about to turn in Kikyo's favor.

"Ow!" Seikai cried out suddenly in pain, dropping his staff and the stone orb from both hands in a flash, the magical golden light along with the presence of the serpentine dragon quickly vanished now that the spell had been disrupted which meant that Kikyo had been freed and was now safe. A quick glance revealed that the monk's right hand had been shot and skewered by an arrow launched from a bow belonging to someone who had targeted him, fresh blood was now flowing freely from the terrible wound in his hand and some of his own blood even splashed on to his orange kimono as Seikai attempted to remove the arrow from his injured hand by slowly pulling it out, causing additional pain to his injured hand which also bled even more once the arrow was finally extracted from it a moment later.

"Master Seikai!" The younger monk loudly shouted out of concern for his injured master, he wanted to attend to Seikai, but his caution prevented him from doing so for fear that he himself would be shot at next and so he reluctantly kept away until he knew it was safe.

Kikyo glanced around until she spotted who had fired the arrow at her attacker, it was none other than her sister Kaede, and Kaede wasn't alone. The wise old woman was accompanied by an equally wise old demon carrying a very long handled mallet and both of them were sitting on the back of a huge three eyed cow demon levitating in the air until the gentle beast gracefully landed on the ground between Kikyo and Seikai. Kirara suddenly appeared a moment later, though she had taken the lead to track down Kikyo using her keen sense of smell as Kaede had instructed so that Kaede and Totosai could simply follow the giant two-tail in order to find the resurrected priestess as quickly as possible. Kirara had detected Kikyo's location, but decided not to rush in until after she had first seen that there were no other enemies in the area other than the pair of monks who had been spotted from the air.

"Don't move!" Kaede shouted loudly while aiming her bow and arrow at both monks, drawing their attention along with Kikyo's in the process. "My next arrow will be shot at your head instead of your hand if you ever attempt to harm my sister Kikyo again monk!"

"Your sister?" Seikai exclaimed in disbelief given the fact that Kaede was an elderly woman while Kikyo still retained the appearance of a young woman even though she was technically Kaede's older sister who had been resurrected and brought back to life. "But priestess Kikyo died fifty years ago at the hands of a filthy half demon! No human has the power to bring anyone back to life! How could she be..."

"That is no concern of yours, now do as I command and leave these lands never to return." Kaede demanded. "Do I make myself clear?"

Before either of the monks could even utter a reply in response to Kaede's demands, Kirara landed right in front of them.

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Kirara growled menacingly while she bared her fangs at the pair of monks, frightening both men half to death in the process.

"Aw! Just what I needed to start the morning, not quite as delicious as Master Inuyasha's blood, but good enough." Myoga humorously commented before and after the tiny demon flea sucked in a fair amount of blood directly from the open wound of Seikai's injured hand.

"Argh! Stop sucking my blood you disgusting demon flea!" Seikai cringed painfully before he instinctively clapped his hands together to squish the flea who was sucking his blood, causing additional pain to the monk's injured hand even though anybody else would also have tried squishing Myoga in response for having their blood sucked by him, especially Inuyasha on many occasions. "Away vermin!"

"Roar!" Kirara roared angrily in response, causing both monks to turn and run away for dear life with their tails between their legs.

"Ahh! Run for your life Master Seikai!" The younger monk cried out before turning around to run away in order to save his own life.

"This isn't the end priestess! I shall return!" Seikai angrily declared out loud before following after the younger monk who served him.

Although the threat from monk Seikai was now over, the demon feline remained in her giant fighting form just in case any dangerous demons were suddenly drawn to the area by the scent of freshly drawn blood from the injured monk who was now departing after having been banished and driven away only moments ago by Kaede's intervention along with Kirara, Myoga, Momo and Master Totosai. Myoga's paper thin body floated down like a leaf until he safely landed on Kirara's big nose where he lay still for a moment until he recovered himself once his tiny body returned to its normal state of appearance, Kirara then turned around and positioned her body so that she could face Kikyo and allow Inuyasha's tiny bodyguard to speak with the spiritual woman now that she was safe from harm. Kikyo moved a few paces until she stood directly in front of both demon beasts so she would be able to talk with Kaede along with Myoga and Master Totosai who had all evidently sought her out, being fortunate to have arrived on time when Kikyo needed their aid.

"I'm glad to see you safe Kikyo, it looks as though all of us arrived just in time." Myoga commented politely with his tiny tone of voice.

"Just in time for what? To come to my aid or to drink some fresh human blood for breakfast this morning?" Kikyo remarked humorously.

"To aid you of course, drinking some fresh human blood was merely an opportunity that I took full advantage of." Myoga answered.

"What are you doing here Kaede and why are Myoga and Totosai both with you right now?" Kikyo asked curiously with some suspicion.

"Is that how someone should express their thanks to their rescuers my dear sister?" Kaede countered with some sarcasm in her voice before she explained herself. "Master Totosai and Myoga both arrived a little while after you had departed, both of them wanted to say congratulations to Inuyasha and his friends for defeating Naraku after traveling throughout the lands together for so many months. Since you came here earlier this morning to discuss some important matters with Michiru and Inuyasha, I thought that all of us could talk together in order to determine what to do next, seeing as how both Inuyasha and Michiru haven't yet returned from Kagome's world."

"Very well then, let us return home to your village where we can all talk privately in the comfort of your home." Kikyo said in agreement. Everybody starting walking back to Kaede's village with Myoga riding Kirara beside Kikyo on one side while Totosai and Kaede rode Momo and followed along on the other to protect Kikyo on both sides just in case Master Seikai kept his word by returning even though that was unlikely to occur considering that the monk couldn't fight Kikyo or her companions and still needed to tend to his injured hand.

"Who were those two monks and why would they want to harm you Kikyo?" Kaede asked curiously with a concerned look for her sister.

"I once resided in another village far away from here many many months ago, those two monks happened to encounter me while I was with some children, they deduced that I wasn't alive with a normal human body and so I was forced to leave and seek a safe haven far away somewhere else." Kikyo reluctantly explained. "I should have known that returning here would be risky since I might cross paths with Master Seikai and his follower again, I thought he had given up searching for me, but I was wrong. That's all I know Kaede."

"I'm sorry to hear that Kikyo, but I'm glad we all arrived in time to come to your aid even though we had no idea that you were in danger." Kaede replied. "Hopefully Seikai and his servant won't come looking for you again and promise to leave you alone from now on."

"You heard him shout that he'd return again soon, but he could have just said that out of spite, you shot him in the hand with your bow and arrow after all Kaede." Totosai pointed out.

"I doubt that he'd be foolish enough to return again, especially since he'd find himself facing Master Inuyasha which I'm sure he'd really regret." Myoga added.

"Then let us hope that both of them never meet, it would be terrible if such an encounter took place, I wouldn't want Inuyasha to inflict harm on another human being regardless of the circumstances." Kikyo stated. "Please promise me you won't tell him about Seikai."

"Very well Kikyo, I promise." Kaede said reassuringly. "Totosai? Myoga? Can my sister and I count on both of you to keep your word?"

"Yes, yes, we promise not to tell. We both care about Master Inuyasha too even though we don't see him as often as you do Kaede." Totosai replied reassuringly. "Right Myoga?"

"Right you are Totosai." Myoga answered.

"Thank you for promising me this, I appreciate it, and thank you for coming to my aid also even though you were only looking for me and weren't aware of my predicament until you found me when you did." Kikyo said gratefully. "By the way Kaede, I was just heading back to the village after visiting Onigumo's cave, the presence of Naraku's evil entity still remains even though we all know Naraku is now dead."

"Really?" Myoga replied. "That is most suspicious, I would have thought that every trace of his evil presence would have died with him."

"Alas, there are some evils that will still leave their mark on this world even after they've been dead or long gone." Totosai commented.

"That's true, I remember visiting that cave when I was with Inuyasha and Miroku, we all sensed its presence as well." Kaede recalled.

"Well whether that entity remains or leaves, we can all be thankful that its still staying put which means we should all be safe so long as it stays inside of Onigumo's cave and doesn't come out to cause us any trouble. Myoga pointed out. "Would you agree with that Kikyo?"

"Yes, I would, but perhaps we should erect a spiritual barrier outside the mouth of the cave just to be safe to keep out and ward off any unwanted intruders who would venture inside or use it for shelter." Kikyo suggested.

"That's an excellent idea Kikyo!" Myoga said in agreement. "After all, Midoriko's cave has its own protective barrier which keeps out any undesirable intruders, I myself was once prevented from going inside as well and I had to resort to borrowing some shikon jewel shards in order to force my way through the powerful barrier."

"When you said borrowing some shikon jewel shards, don't you mean stealing the shards that Inuyasha and Kagome had gathered up?" Totosai humorously pointed out.

"Who cares about whether I borrowed their jewel shards without their permission? They got them back without a fuss after all!" Myoga blurted out defensively before carrying on. "After passing through I was able to visit Midoriko's grave deep inside the cave so I could pay my respects along with Kirara, Sango's faithful two-tailed cat demon, but then we were struck with misfortune since I had forgotten that the power from inside the jewel shards resurrected the entities of some demons which weren't fully subdued. Their vengeful entities took on spiritual form and attacked both of us, but thankfully, we were then saved by the Priestess Midoriko who's own spiritual entity was also mysteriously summoned as well. Inuyasha appeared inside to see what was going on and after a brief argument which ended with me being thrown by him into a stalagmite, Inuyasha made his way outside and I fell unconscious, everything was peaceful once again."

"That was a very interesting story Myoga, we'll have to ask Inuyasha to tell his version of it once he returns back to our world just so we can compare any differences that might have occurred in order to figure out the whole truth since only you and he were there with Kirara." Totosai commented humorously. "That ought to give Michiru and his friends some entertainment once they return too seeing as how none of them were present to see all that had occurred while you were inside of that cave with Kirara. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Are you implying that I'm not telling all of you the truth Totosai?" Myoga replied angrily before jumping from Kirara's nose, flying in front of Kikyo so he could land on Kaede's right shoulder before jumping again and landing down on Totosai's right knee since the old demon blacksmith always sat cross-legged even when mounted on Momo's back. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Why shouldn't I? You've already admitted to stealing some jewel shards that you needed to use in order to penetrate through the protective barrier inside of Midoriko's cave haven't you?" Totosai replied, catching Myoga in a trap of words. "Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"I am Master Inuyasha's bodyguard!" Myoga whined infuriatingly, jumping up and down on Totosai's right knee while making a very funny bouncing noise each time he jumped, much to the amusement of everybody who was with him. "Show me some respect!"

"Why should we?" Totosai replied. "You always flee when ever Inuyasha's about to fight in battle against any dangerous foes don't you?"

"He who flees and runs away will live to flee another day." Kaede teased. "He who flees and takes to flight will live to flee into the night."

"Not you too Kaede." Myoga whined, not wanting to be teased any further, but at least Inuyasha and the others weren't here to join in even though Kikyo and Totosai had some important matters to discuss with Inuyasha and Michiru. "I'm just a poor old demon flea."

Kirara had been listening in quietly along with the others while Myoga told his version of that story which she also recalled, after he had finished and Totosai begun to tease the poor demon flea much to his own amusement and that of Kaede, the faithful cat demon blocked out their voices so she could focus on her own thoughts and feelings. All of her companions knew that Kirara was a two-tailed cat demon who lived with Sango and Kohaku in the village of the demonslayers and Myoga's story about being in Midoriko's cave was more or less true, but what none of the others knew was that she had stayed inside the cave to spend the night at Midoriko's grave and not only that, she was once a very close friend and faithful companion of the legendary priestess from that long forgotten distant past.

Please be patient for a little while longer Midoriko, the time has come to gather all the jewel shards and when the sacred Shikon jewel is at last made whole again, your soul will finally be freed from its eternal imprisonment. Its been so long and so lonely without you beside me, I have so many stories to tell you, so many stories about many people who I have lived with and fought many battles together. Alas, if only I had a voice of my own, such a thing would give me an invaluable advantage. Imagine how many lives I could help, imagine how many stories I could tell, imagine how much joy I could bring to each and every precious person in my life! It hurts so much being unable to express how I truly feel inside or being unable to aid or comfort those who I deeply care about and love with all my being! I have to remind myself that no matter how much I'm hurting or how heavy my painful burden feels with every passing year, all of my suffering is nothing compared with yours.

But there is cause for hope, Inuyasha has been awakened from his fifty year sleep ever since he was sealed to the Tree of Ages during the tragedy involving himself and priestess Kikyo, Kagome and Michiru have both been summoned back to our era, though a couple of months apart from each other as you and I were forewarned about. Fox demon Shippo, monk Miroku along with Sango and Kohaku have also made their appearances at last. One by one, throughout these many months, all of them have finally joined Inuyasha's side.

All of them have proven their worth as allies and skilled fighters in combat, though I would strongly advise you to be on your guard while Miroku is present, that misbehaving monk is such a lecher who can't keep his hands to himself. I've wanted to sink my teeth into his foul being every time he inappropriately touches Sango or any other young woman for that matter! Sadly, I would get into trouble if I did that so I've had to resist all temptations out of respect for all of my fellow companions, perhaps I could slap Miroku in the face and yell at him if only I had my own voice or if I could transform into a human being like how Shippo could do with his fox demon magic! Though I don't know when, your soul will be free and we'll be together again someday. Until we meet again Midoriko, from your friend and feline, Kirara.

Back in Modern Japan...

Michiru had just finished taking a long and leisurely walk with Peorth and Gorgeous Rose who accompanied him, the three companions met at the front gate of the property where they took a moment to enjoy the wonderful view of the landscape below the heights where they stood, the lush green vegetation combined with the paved roads and innumerable houses and other modern buildings which were all part of the city stretched out before their eyes as far as they could see until the very edge of the land made contact with the ocean just beyond the distant horizon. Next, they walked alongside the edge of the property in order to take in the view of the outdoor setting which surrounded the house and the temple, Michiru took turns holding hands with Peorth for a brief period of time before letting go and holding hands with Gorgeous Rose. They'd look up at the blue sky watching the fluffy white clouds slowly moving along as the wind blew gently, taking the opportunity to point out any clouds that were shaped like an animal or something else entirely. The teenage boy and each of the divine beauties beside him also kept an eye out for any aircraft or birds that were presently flying high up above them. Since everybody else was presently still inside the house, the three of them had the whole outdoor property along with the Temple entirely to themselves, much to their delight, especially to Peorth and her Angel Gorgeous Rose.

After completing their walk, all three companions arrived at the front gate once again and there, they took a brief pause to watch the cars and other vehicles driving by. Gorgeous Rose stood just behind Michiru and Peorth who were once again holding hands for the second or third time now, but this allowed the Angel to rest each of her hands on the shoulders of the two people she deeply cared for and loved with all of her heart. The sun was rising rapidly since it was summer when the days were longest, it was also the hottest part of the year too and the daily temperature would gradually increase with every hour that went by until sunset had arrived. The Kururugi boy had asked to take some photographs with each of them together using his cellphone, causing both heavenly women to squeal with delight, making the teenager smile handsomely in response. Michiru instructed both divine beauties to take a couple steps toward the house so that they would be standing inside of the yard and wouldn't be seen by anyone driving by just as an extra precaution and as a result, the house got to be included in the background of each photograph. After a couple of photographs featuring Peorth and her Angel together, Michiru traded places with Peorth so he could stand beside Gorgeous Rose while the first class goddess took the photographs. Then Gorgeous Rose rotated positions with Peorth so that her goddess could stand next to the Shikigami user. Peorth finally handed the young man his cellular phone, but then she quickly pulled him in for a tight hug from one side causing Gorgeous Rose to do the same from the other side so that together, both heavenly females could sandwich the unprepared Shikigami user and keep him between them.

"Hold out your cellphone again with your hand Michiru, this time, you can take some photographs with all three of us in them." Peorth said flirtatiously while gently rubbing her female figure against Michiru's body from one side, her very attractive Angel did the same from the other side after using her divine powers to make sure all the sharp thorns had vanished from all the green vines circling around her body, placing their lips just a few inches away from Michiru's face. "Smile for the camera so we can immortalize this special moment in time with all three of us together forever. We promise you we won't misbehave, that's for another time, just tell us when you're ready."

It was a miracle that Michiru could still manage to smile handsomely even while he was blushing a lot, it was also a miracle that his hormones hadn't gone out of control since it took every ounce of mental energy to keep them in check right now. Peorth and Gorgeous Rose had their faces just inches away from Michiru's and although the Japanese student couldn't turn to look at them since he needed to face his own cellphone while he took photographs, he could still feel the breath from their mouths on his cheeks and ears. Thankfully however, this experience wasn't anywhere near as dangerous or embarrassing as the earlier one which had occurred inside of the bathroom when Michiru had found himself trapped trying to stop Urd and Mara from causing trouble for each other. Firstly, because Peorth and her Angel were both cooperating instead of pulling pranks and secondly, Michiru was gradually getting used to being in close physical contact with all of these beautiful heavenly women as time went by. Then there was also the fact that the three of them were all outside with nobody else around to see or hear them so they had all the privacy that they needed to enjoy this wonderful experience along with each other while the peace and quiet lasted.

"I-I really...regret to tell both of you that I'm not quite ready for that kind of...fun right now, but I promise to let each of you know when I am." Michiru responded softly, feeling very turned on right now due to the fact that he presently had two very hot and very sexy women standing on either side of him with their arms around his upper body right while he took photographs with all three of them together. The handsome teenager suddenly remembered the small package of condoms he had purchased from the grocery store which was hidden inside of his backpack along with the catalog he had received from Mara, it was out of instinct that Michiru's memory had recalled that small item since he had purchased it as a precaution because even though his relationship still had a very long way to go, he already deduced that some of the divine goddesses and their attractive angels were fully prepared to go all the way and fully express their love by...making out and making love as bedroom fun is sometimes called. "I hope that I haven't upset or offended either of you right now."

"We both understand Michiru, thank you for your honesty and also for trying your best to be bolder just like you promised me while we were talking together yesterday afternoon." Peorth replied affectionately, she then decided to turn her head and rest it against Michiru's right shoulder while she just held him gently in her embrace, Gorgeous Rose then followed her example and did the same on the other side. Michiru took a few more photographs with his cellphone before holding it closer so that the three of them could look at all of the photographs together. "Wow! They all turned out perfectly! Thank you again Michiru, you've made Gorgeous Rose and I very happy."

"You're right, these photographs look great, I'm glad to know that both of you had fun and enjoyed yourselves...even if some of your fun was at my own expense." Michiru replied humorously with a grin until he suddenly remembered the tree where Peorth had summoned her divine powers to made a pair of swings out of vines from two days ago, he thought Peorth would like to go there again and felt sure that Gorgeous Rose would like that too. "Peorth? Why don't we go to our special spot where you made both of those swings out of your vines from two days ago? I'm sure Gorgeous Rose would like to see it, the three of us can sit down and relax in the shade of the trees."

"That's a wonderful idea Michiru!" Peorth agreed, releasing the Kururugi boy from her tender embrace before she took hold of his hand again and turned to walk over to the Temple, pulling Michiru along the way while Gorgeous Rose followed closely behind them using her divine powers to levitate.

After a few more minutes of walking, Michiru and his two female companions arrived in the clearing near the big tree where both swings hung from the overhanging branch which Peorth had made out of plant vines using her divine powers.

"Would both of you lovely ladies like to sit down?" Michiru asked politely, still holding Peorth's hand in his own while gesturing with his free hand, offering Gorgeous Rose the other swing to sit in.

"Thank you Michiru." Peorth said appreciatively with a grateful smile, her Kururugi client was always a gentleman even though the world only viewed him as an ordinary shy young man.

"Aren't you going to sit down too Gorgeous Rose?" Michiru asked once he noticed Peorth's Angel hadn't yet sat down in the other swing, Gorgeous Rose simply shook her head while smiling sweetly since she could easily levitate in the air, she then put her hands on both of Michiru's shoulders, guiding him over towards the other swing with a gentle push so that he could sit next to Peorth. "Alright, I'll sit in the other swing then, just let me know if you decide to change your mind."

As soon as Michiru sat down in the other swing on Peorth's left side, Gorgeous Rose then surprised the young teenage boy by sitting herself down on his lap with her body upper body positioned closely to Michiru and slightly to his left while her legs hung down over Michiru's right upper leg. After resting her right upper arm on Michiru's left shoulder, Gorgeous Rose positioned her right arm around the back of the teenager's neck so she could gently link the fingers of both her hands together around Michiru's right shoulder which allowed her to sit comfortably without losing her balance. However, just to be safe, the attractive Angel kept levitating just enough to avoid any unwanted accidents that might occur if Michiru accidentally fell off of the swing, backwards or forwards. Now that Gorgeous Rose was positioned very closely to her goddess's Kururugi client, she could easily tell Michiru was feeling very nervous and aroused even though he did his best to remain calm and hide these facts from her. Their faces were barely two or three inches apart and in addition to that, Michiru now had a very close view of Gorgeous Rose's beautiful body which was almost completely naked for him to see had it not been for the green plant vines wound around her chest along with her bottom, leaving her waist and the thighs of her legs completely exposed for Michiru to see and also to touch.

"Um, G-Gorgeous R-Rose? Would you kindly get off of my lap please?" Michiru asked nervously as his face begun to blush really red, the attractive Angel merely shook her head teasingly in response before widening her flirtatious smile at the Kururugi boy. "This isn't the time or place for this...kind of...physical activity. Breakfast will be ready any minute now so somebody's bound to come out and summon us back to the house and I don't want to get caught or seen by any of my Feudal era friends while I'm in this...compromising position."

The nervous teenager tried to ride the swing back and forth really fast in an effort to force Gorgeous Rose to remove herself from Michiru's lap, but unfortunately, his efforts were in vain since the attractive Angel could use her powers of levitation to maintain her own balance and in addition to that, she could also rely on both of her heavenly white feathered angel wings protruding from her back to steady herself when ever she wasn't flying in the air. Only after a full minute of swinging back and forth did Michiru finally figure this out for himself, forcing him to admit defeat and reluctantly give in to Gorgeous Rose's advances, much to her delight as well as Peorth's who sat nearby while watching both of them. Peorth would normally have intervened on Michiru's behalf, however, an Angel was the reflection of the goddess she was paired with and therefore, Gorgeous Rose also harbored her own feelings of love and affection for the Shikigami warrior as well so it was only natural that Peorth allow her Angel the opportunity to interact with her Kururugi client so Gorgeous Rose could express herself. Besides, Peorth was interested in seeing Michiru's reaction, he was gradually getting used to more physical contact with the fairer sex and since he had promised to try being bolder, Peorth and Gorgeous Rose were both equally curious to see how far Michiru would go in certain situations like this one.

"Alright, I'll let you sit on my lap while I ride the swing, but only for a few minutes." Michiru reluctantly declared while blushing really red, he then slowed down so that the swing would move gently back and forth at a nice relaxing pace instead of really fast like it had been before he had given up, allowing Gorgeous Rose to relax herself while embracing the Shikigami warrior tenderly in her arms.

Just keep calm! Its only Gorgeous Rose getting comfortable while sitting on my lap! I wonder why Peorth hasn't said or done anything?

"Peorth? I don't mean to be rude, but shouldn't you be jealous of another heavenly woman coming on to me like how Gorgeous Rose is doing right now?" Michiru asked curiously as well as out of concern since he valued the relationship he was trying to build with Peorth.

"No need to worry Michiru, Gorgeous Rose is part of me, so of course she likes you every bit as much as I do." Peorth replied sweetly with a wonderful smile accompanied by an equally exquisite expression on her lovely face which Michiru took notice of with his eyes.

Although Peorth and Gorgeous Rose both had very strong feelings of affection for Michiru, the first class deity wisely chose her words carefully so that she didn't reveal too much since she wasn't yet ready to reveal all of those feelings, nor was she ready to confess her love for the Shikigami warrior seated in the other swing beside her until after they had both reached a new level in their relationship together which was probably a long way off in the future of their lives. Although Peorth eagerly awaited that next stage of their romantic relationship, she knew that Michiru had many responsibilities on his shoulders and that he was still a shy and reserved young man even though he promised her to try being bolder. Since she was a divine goddess, her lifespan was infinitely longer than that of a mortal human being so Peorth could easily be patient and wait for everything to fall right into place as the love that she and Michiru shared for each other eventually grew and blossomed throughout the time that they spent together on earth whether they were in the modern era or the Feudal era if they were fated to visit Inuyasha's world by traveling through the Bone Eater's well at Higurashi Shine where Kagome's family lived.

"Thank you for your understanding, I apologize if my words have worried you Peorth..." Michiru replied gratefully before turning his eyes and head away from Peorth so he could look at the first class Goddess's Angel presently seated on his lap. "...or you Gorgeous Rose."

"No apologies needed Michiru." Peorth answered sweetly as she caught a glimpse of her Angel giving Michiru a quick kiss on the cheek before leaning in to get more comfortable as well as closer to the Kururugi boy.

Perfect! Little by little, Michiru's gradually getting used to physical contact with the fairer sex and sooner or later, he'll finally be ready to experience the pleasures of the flesh! With Gorgeous Rose helping me out, it won't take too long for our relationship to reach that level!

Gorgeous Rose then removed her upper right arm from Michiru's shoulder and allowed it to fall behind the Japanese student's back so she could rest her head against Michiru's left shoulder instead, in response to the Angel's actions, Michiru let go of the left vines attached to the swing he was sitting on and gently placed his left hand around Gorgeous Rose's waist, much to her own delight which made the attractive Angel widen her wonderful smile even more in return after feeling the Shikigami user's gentle touch on her body. The two of them spent the next few minutes gently and slowly swinging back and forth on the swing together while enjoying each other's company along with the gentle breeze, the rustling of the leaves from tree branches along with the sounds and singing of birds high above them in the trees surrounding this small clearing where Peorth and Michiru had made this peaceful spot their special place to briefly get away from everything and everyone.

Even though Michiru felt very happy and enjoyed spending time with Peorth, Gorgeous Rose along with the other Goddesses and their Angels, plus all of his Feudal era friends and Keiichi, the Kururugi boy was nevertheless burdened with many responsibilities and other more pressing concerns on his mind which needed addressing. Sad as it was, even he couldn't put off the inevitable or avoid certain problems whether they were from the Modern era or the Feudal era. Now that he was alone with Peorth and Gorgeous Rose, this was as good a time as any to discuss some of these matters with both heavenly women so that they could tread down this path together in the hope of overcoming each and every obstacle that reality placed before them. But before Michiru had a chance to speak, Peorth got his attention by suddenly standing up from the other swing to his right. The gorgeous goddess then stepped over so that she now stood just in front of Michiru and Gorgeous Rose, but before Peorth could say anything, Michiru spoke first.

"I'm sorry for having to bring this very special moment between us to an end Gorgeous Rose, but I think Peorth wants to trade places with you right now." Michiru verbally deduced before turning his eyes and head towards the attractive Angel seated comfortably on his lap while being gently held by the waist with the Shikigami user's left hand and arm. "I hope you enjoyed yourself and had fun with me."

Gorgeous Rose smiled affectionately at the Kururugi boy and looked into his eyes with her own before slowly pulling Michiru's right shoulder towards herself with both hands, closing the distance between their faces until their lips made contact. The attractive Angel tenderly kissed the kindhearted young man's held in her arms and although he had been caught off guard, Michiru managed to kiss Gorgeous Rose back, he also let go of the vines with his right hand in order to place it around Gorgeous Rose's waist so he could hold her with both hands. The teenage boy's gentle touch combined with their continued kissing caused bees and butterflies to buzz and flutter around inside of her belly as Michiru's fingers interlocked together to secure his hold around the Angel's waist, unknown to Michiru, Peorth could feel the same sensational feelings inside of her own beautiful body since she shared a special connection with her Angel who was a reflection of her self. While Michiru was temporarily distracted, Peorth suddenly had a thought and lowered her voice so she could whisper quietly into Gorgeous Rose's left ear. After a wonderful minute, the need for air caused the Kururugi boy to reluctantly withdraw his lips from the heavenly angel held in his arms, bringing this blissful and breathtaking experience to its final end.

"Okay Gorgeous Rose, you've had your turn, now its time for mine." Peorth politely pointed out, Gorgeous Rose then removed herself from Michiru's embrace before repositioning herself behind the young man so she could hold him tenderly while her goddess got to have fun, wrapping her arms around Michiru and gently grasping his shoulders in the palms of both her hands while pressing her chest against his back similar to how Urd had embraced the Shikigami user when the second class deity responded after hearing Michiru's confession regarding her half demon heritage late last night.

Peorth then sat on Michiru's lap and embraced the young man just as Gorgeous had done earlier, but since her Angel was hugging Michiru from behind, the first class deity had to link the fingers from both her hands to hold Michiru's waist instead of his shoulder. Michiru responded by placing both hands around Peorth's waist just like he had embraced Gorgeous Rose earlier and since Peorth's Angel was presently behind him, he didn't need to hold either of the swing's vines to balance himself right now. Gorgeous Rose used her power of levitation to hover with her feet just off the ground before using her own momentum to slowly move the swing back and forth at a nice relaxing pace while tenderly clutching the Kururugi boy in her embrace, Peorth rode by sitting comfortably on Michiru's lap with her arms around him while he also held her. All three companions were able to enjoy their peaceful surroundings as well as each other's company while being in close physical contact and they stayed this way for a short while until one of them finally decided to break the silence by striking up a conversation.

"Michiru? Please pardon my curiosity, but I'm wondering why you haven't decided on what wish to ask me for yet. Not that I'm in a rush or anything, I've enjoyed each and every experience we've had together ever since you summoned me down to earth and having fun with everybody else or just relaxing by ourselves like we're doing here right now have been truly wonderful." Peorth asked politely. "However, I am worried that you're still suffering from misfortune and also from all the responsibilities that you've been burdened with. If you need help, Gorgeous Rose and I are both willing to aid you in any way that we can even if you only need someone to talk too who will listen to what ever it is that you have to say, you need only ask because each of us will always be ready to assist you at any time."

The first class goddess chose her words carefully in order to express her concern for the Kururugi boy, for she didn't want to pry and risk harming the relationship she had worked so hard to build with Michiru throughout these passed few days, she could also correctly identify what some of the teenager's troubles were even though she wisely kept the knowledge of such a discovery to herself for the sake of their relationship as well as for Michiru's own sake since she didn't want to rock the boat or add more weight to his burden of responsibilities which was already heavy enough at it is. After a moment of silence, the Shikigami user smiled back at the gorgeous goddess, gently adjusting his hands around Peorth's waist to feel her smooth skin and also to make her smile widen even more in response to his tender touch while their eyes were focused on each other's faces.

"I very much appreciate your concern for me Peorth and also for being patient with me since I know I'm very shy and reserved when it comes to interacting with wonderful women like you and Gorgeous Rose, sharing and experiencing all that we have these passed few days has made me truly happy and given me so much fun which is why I'll always be thankful for these precious moments between us. I'll cherish them and remember them for as long as I live, just being with you and having you by my side is an eternal blessing." Michiru replied, deciding to begin by expressing some of his own feelings along with his thanks before diving into the responsibilities weighing on his mind and heart. "One obvious reason why I haven't asked you for a wish yet is because there are so many wishes to choose from, if there's one lesson that I've learned in life as a human, its never rush into something you're not ready or prepared for. I don't want to be hasty and make a wish only to regret it later on in life since I still have to grow up and find my way in the working world as all adults have to do. I also don't want to waste a wish on something that I can achieve or earn on my own with hard work, patience and time."

"You're so much more mature than your age and appearance both suggest Michiru, those are all very valid reasons for postponing such an important decision, you're probably the only person in all existence who has put in so much time and thought unlike most clients who end up making their wishes in a few seconds or minutes after having summoned a goddess such as myself from heaven." Peorth said softly in a kind voice, taking the opportunity to respond and give Michiru a moment to relax and think of what to say next. "Please go on."

"Another reason why I haven't made up my mind on what to wish for is because I'm afraid to see you leave after you've granted what ever that very wish turns out to be." Michiru confessed nervously, causing Peorth gasp in response as a chill suddenly went up her spine, the very thought of being forever parted from each other simultaneously entered the minds and hearts of the young man and the gorgeous goddess along with her angel which forced the trio to slowly tighten their embraces in order to prevent such an unbearable event from happening even though the three of them were safe together at this special place of peace and tranquility with no one to disturb or interrupt them at the present time. "You once told me that while you and your fellow goddesses can't grant wishes for everyone who happens to be suffering from misfortune, you ensure that those fortunate few who are worthy enough get to earn the right to ask for at least one of their wishes to be granted to them, you also said that bringing a human joy also gives joy to the goddess who granted their wish since that same goddess made a tremendous difference to that person's existence. You've already done that for me Peorth and so much more even without granting me a wish and all that we've shared and experienced together on earth has taught me that each of us has to follow our own path or go on a journey to build our own future with our own hands and find our own happiness along the way. I still can't decide on what wish I want most of all in this world and even if I had already chosen, I don't feel that I'm worthy enough yet to have earned such a precious privilege."

"I'm afraid of being parted from you too Michiru, yesterday evening during dinner while you were outside with Belldandy trying to settle a dispute between Kagome and Inuyasha, I begun to reflect on all of our experiences together ever since we met each other following me being summoned down to earth." Peorth quietly confessed, resting her head against Michiru while also getting closer to him so she could draw more warmth and comfort. "Sango, Shippo and Miroku all mentioned that they would eventually have to return to the Feudal era in order to recover the remaining shards of the sacred Shikon Jewel now that Naraku's dead and gone. They would miss your company even though they understand that you have to stay here to watch over your Uncle's property until your father comes home from his business trip."

"Speaking of all my friends from Feudal Japan, what you've said is true about needing to recover the jewel shards and also looking after my Uncle's home, but those aren't the only responsibilities that I have to deal with I'm afraid which is why I needed to discuss some of them with you here and now." Michiru replied, carrying on where he had left off. "One reason why I don't feel worthy enough to have my wish granted yet is because you were summoned down to earth after my first adventure in Feudal Japan, all my experiences during that visit made me a stronger person, a better person than I was before being summoned back in time to Feudal Japan which tells me that I wasn't worthy before those events had happened in my life. Each and every one of my companions whom I met one after another and fought beside in many dangerous battles gave me help and befriended me during my hour of need when I was most vulnerable, lost and alone in another world far away in the long gone distant past. That was when my magic Shikigami powers first awakened from deep inside me and it was also on that very same day that I first encountered Kakuju, a Shikigami master who was one of my distant relatives and also a priestess to Kururugi Village. I know I've already told you and the other goddesses of my adventure from Feudal Japan which finally ended with me returning safely home again, but I feel like I've left something behind, a part of me that needs to be recovered or a mystery that needs to be unraveled. I'm positive that the path I have to follow is back in Feudal Japan where Inuyasha and all my other Feudal era friends live, summer vacation will eventually be over which means that I'll have to go back to school again just like Kagome and neither of us can afford to wait, especially her since she's behind in her homework assignments as a result of her long absence."

"Gorgeous Rose and I both understand the importance of these matters and we will fully support you where ever your journey takes you, even if that means going down the Bone Eater's well so you can return to Feudal Japan." Peorth stated with sincerity and determination. "Why do you say that you need to travel back in time to Feudal Japan with such worry in your voice and sadness in your eyes Michiru?"

"Because I need to have permission from my parents if I want to return with Inuyasha and the others, but before doing that, I have to tell both of them about how I was summoned back there by Utsugi and Naraku." Michiru answered worriedly. "Its been almost a full month since I was magically returned home to the present time during the Doll Festival of Wishes, I still haven't told either of my parents a word of everything that had happened during my travels throughout Feudal Japan. I also haven't told them the truth about you and all of the other goddesses from heaven, or that I accidentally summoned you down to earth from heaven because you've been assigned to grant me a wish. How will either of them react? Even if both of them believe every word of what I tell them, that doesn't guarantee that they'll give me permission to go, nor will they see me the same way that they always have and even if they do, I'm still a child in their eyes."

"I know why you're afraid of how your parents might react Michiru, especially to your magic Shikigami powers which could be extremely dangerous if used for destructive ends, merely possessing them would put your own life and your family in danger and attract unwanted envy and hatred from those who fear or desire those very powers and abilities." Peorth replied understandingly. "When fate decides for you to tell your parents everything, I have no doubt that Inuyasha and your other friends will all stand together with you to watch your back during that difficult time, Gorgeous Rose and I along with the other goddesses and their angels will also fully support you too."

"Thank you, both of you." Michiru replied gratefully with a handsome smile before moving on to another problem. "Do you remember that morning when I threatened to drag Miroku all the way back to Kagome's house so I could hurl him down the Bone Eater's Well in order to return him to Japan's Feudal era if he caused any more trouble for everybody at my Uncle's house here in the Modern era?"

"How can anyone forget that?" Peorth answered humorously as a goofy giggle erupted from her throat, causing her body to momentarily stir which forced the Kururugi boy to adjust his embrace around the gorgeous goddess once again. "You borrowed Lind's halberd so you could hit Miroku square in the face really hard, breaking the lecherous monk's nose and temporarily changing the tone of his voice too."

"I'm glad you remembered every detail of that event Peorth..." Michiru continued with a humorous smile on his face, giving the first class deity and her angel something to laugh about while he kept talking. "...because I may have to carry out that promise in the event Miroku does something else which threatens our safety or exposes all our identities, origins and abilities to the modern world around us. That's a risk none of us can afford to take, let alone to lose, I'm sure that's also one of the reason's why Lind has chosen to stay with us here on earth instead of returning to heaven after she found out I'm your client along with the fact that I haven't chosen what to wish for yet."

"Miroku isn't just your responsibility Michiru, Kagome and all your Feudal era friends also share that responsibility as well." Peorth stated in order to remind Michiru that the matter of Miroku wasn't his problem alone to deal with like all of the others were which he had shared with the gorgeous goddess. "I can understand how you and Kagome are effected even more than the others are since both of you live in the modern era instead of the feudal era, if Miroku uses up his third strike, its down the Bone Eater's Well and back to Feudal Japan."

"Unless of course someone else beats me to it and drags Miroku back to Kagome's house instead, you or Gorgeous Rose could do it." Michiru sarcastically remarked with a grin, causing Peorth and Gorgeous Rose to smile in response. "Inuyasha, Mara or the other deities and their Angels could too."

"You know Michiru, we've been sitting and talking here together for a very long time now while enjoying each other's company." Peorth pointed out, before withdrawing her right hand from the right side of Michiru's waist so she could examine Michiru's upper body in order to see how much muscle he had developed as a result of all the combat training and battle experience he had gained from his first visit to Feudal Japan. "I only just noticed that you've managed to put on a little muscle, looks like sparring with Sango, Lind and Inuyasha has begun to pay off. You still have a long way to go, but if you keep on exercising and training over the next decade, you'll be quite a catch."

"Alright Peorth, now you're just being a tease, please stop moving your arm like its a snake." Michiru politely pointed out, he felt himself blushing red as a result of Peorth's teasing, both verbal and physical. Although Peorth was a first class deity who was incapable of lying to anyone, the nervous teenage boy had unfortunately failed to recollect that fact at the present moment and was unaware that Peorth was telling him the truth. Not that Peorth was bothered by this, she was more interested in being a flirtatious tease so she and Gorgeous Rose could both enjoy more laughter and fun even if the price of those were at Michiru's own expense by embarrassing him once again.

"No wonder Sango, Urd and Lind enjoy spending so much of their time with you Michiru. Your athletic physique along with your maturity and many other fine qualities make you truly worthy and exceptional in the eyes of many heavenly goddesses and Valkyries." Peorth commented before altering her voice to take on a more flirtatious tone, slowly trailing her hand on Michiru's chest and moving it around in a circular motion. "I'm glad that Gorgeous Rose and I both have you all to ourselves, especially here at our special meeting place."

"Please stop Peorth, you're moving to fast, hey!" Michiru pleaded politely while tensing up from feeling Peorth's hand moving up and down in an attempt to examine the teenager's lean muscle that he had managed to acquire from all the training and feudal era fighting.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about Michiru, stop being so tense! You should be proud of your athletic physique, you've evidently gotten a lot stronger than you were before you had been summoned back to Feudal Japan." Peorth pointed out until she realized what the real cause was for Michiru's uneasiness. "Oh, now I see. You're ticklish aren't you Michiru? Well isn't this an unexpected surprise!"

Peorth suddenly assaulted Michiru's waist with both hands, Gorgeous Rose momentarily released Michiru so she could wrap both her arms around the poor teenager's waist while also trapping both his arms in place with her own to prevent the helpless young man from retaliating against her goddess. However both heavenly women were careful enough to make sure Michiru didn't fall off of the swing even though he was frantically shaking in a vain effort to free himself from their assaults, as Peorth's torturous tickling continued, poor Michiru begun to breath in and out at an accelerated pace which would eventually make him exhausted and out of breath.

"Mercy! Mercy!" Michiru begged until the use of his own voice was temporarily lost, he even began to laugh so much that all the noise was trapped inside of his stomach which only increased the pain and pressure on the inside and as a last desperate attempt to beg for mercy, the Shikigami user used one hand to tap Peorth's leg while lightly tugging on her long ponytail with the other...all in vain. "..."

"And I thought I was ticklish, apparently so are you Michiru." Peorth said teasingly until she suddenly noticed that Michiru had stopped tugging on her hair which made her finally cease her attacks since she wanted to hear his verbal response. "Have you nothing to say?"

"I...I'm...I'm sorry...Peorth." Michiru mumbled uncontrollably as he slowly recovered from the deity's tickling attacks, however, Peorth was suddenly concerned once she saw that the exhausted young man was trying to apologize for something. "Your ponytail...is on fire."

"Huh?" Peorth responded with a clueless tone of voice accompanied by an equally clueless expression on her lovely face which was cute to see, but Michiru wasn't laughing which told the first class deity that he was telling the truth which she soon discovered once she examined her long ponytail with both her hands. "EEEEEK! My hair is on fire!"

Peorth quickly backed away and levitated over to where the big pond of water was located in the big back yard so she could put out the tiny fire, Gorgeous Rose reacted by releasing Michiru, allowing the Shikigami user to stand up from the swing and stagger forwards only to lose his balance and fall to his knees before turning and laying flat on his back in total exhaustion. The attractive Angel then moved close to the Kururugi boy to see that he was alright, apparently Peorth had taken things just a little too far given how fragile and vulnerable mortal humans were compared to divine goddesses and their angels. However, when she hovered directly above him to take a closer examination with her eyes and hands, the Angel was putting herself in the perfect position for Michiru to exact his revenge.

"So you thought you could restrain me while Peorth tickled me to death did you?" Michiru verbally responded once he had recovered his voice and the pain from Peorth's assaults had finally ended, using the opportunity to swiftly grab Gorgeous Rose by the waist with both his hands before turning over so he could pin her to the ground. He then grabbed Gorgeous Rose's wrists and pinned them behind her back so he could secure them with his left hand before he proceeded to tickle her with his right hand just like Peorth had tickled him earlier. Since Gorgeous Rose was very nearly naked with only her green plant vines to cover her chest and bottom, her waist and stomach were completely exposed and vulnerable to Michiru's attacks. "Just because you're gorgeous doesn't mean that you can go unpunished, now its my turn to tickle you...Gorgeous Rose."

Gorgeous Rose could easily have escaped by levitating away or using her plant vines to stop Michiru and remove him from her body, but since she was being distracted by the Kururugi boy's tickling attacks, she was almost as helpless as Michiru had been a few moments ago. Besides, she was still enjoying herself even though she was being tickled without mercy and she was also laughing just as how Michiru had been just a couple moments ago, uncontrollably and silently with all the noise trapped inside of her stomach. Michiru grinned triumphantly and let out a few laughs of his own now that he had turned the tables on the very sexy Angel who lay beneath him on the soft green grass beneath the shade of the trees, however, he made sure to keep his right hand only on Gorgeous Rose's waist and belly in order to avoid touching her inappropriately elsewhere on her beautiful body which was vulnerable and nearly exposed to his eyes and hands. After two minutes of torturous tickling, the triumphant teenager was about to cease his assaults on the attractive Angel so he could stand up and go check to see if Peorth was alright since he had unintentionally used his Shikigami magic to create a tiny fireball in his left hand which had lit Peorth's ponytail aflame, but he was about to find out that there was no need once Peorth returned.

"Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Peorth burst out laughing uncontrollably with reddened cheeks accompanied by widened eyes which had both lightly watered up with a few tears of joy in them as a result of laughing way too hard after having held in all of her laughter for too long.

"Peorth?" Michiru called out, suddenly ceasing his tickling assaults on Gorgeous Rose once he looked up to see the first class goddess return after hearing the sound of Peorth's laughter. Michiru paused momentarily with a puzzled expression on his face as he beheld Peorth clutching her waist and belly with both her hands while trembling uncontrollably and laughing hilariously at the same time. It was only then that the Kururugi boy eventually deduced that the deity in distress had been responding to the very same tickling assaults that Gorgeous Rose was experiencing and that Peorth felt Gorgeous Rose's inner pain as a result of the special connection that the Angel shared with her gorgeous goddess.

Well I'll be...so Peorth and Gorgeous Rose feel each other's pain and joy, no wonder an Angel and a goddess share a divine connection with one another. That would also explain why an Angel also feels the same affection that her goddess does, which means that if Peorth and Urd both have very strong feelings toward me, then that means Gorgeous Rose and World of Elegance also feel the same way too.

Michiru was so mesmerized by Peorth's present predicament that he had taken his attention away from Gorgeous Rose who was still restrained and pinned underneath him, the attractive Angel raised a leg to rub her knee against Michiru's body to redirect his attention back towards her and after succeeding, Michiru's eyes met with hers which caused both of them to smile affectionately towards each other. The Shikigami user released the Angel's wrists from his left hand and used his right hand to brush a few strands of her long blond hair away from her pretty face in order to look her in the eyes more easily, afterwards, he then tilted Gorgeous Rose's chin while deciding whether or not he should kiss the heavenly Angel laying beneath him. Gorgeous Rose in turn raised both arms to place her hands together behind Michiru's neck in order to slowly pull the young man's head down towards her until her lips made contact with his, but she waited for him to make the next move, prolonging the wonderful sight of staring into each other's eyes for as long as possible.

"I'm so sorry for tickling you Gorgeous Rose, I had no idea that you and Peorth felt each other's pain because of the special connection that both of you have." Michiru apologized sincerely, a goofy grin then spread over his face a moment later, much to Gorgeous Rose's delight since she smiled humorously in response once she saw it for herself. "Could you forgive me if I try to make amends with a kiss?"

Gorgeous Rose quickly nodded as the hilarious look on her lovely face changed to an affectionate expression before the Angel gently pulled Michiru's head down towards her face with both her hands until the Kururugi boy's lips touched her own, causing a sudden sensational surge of affection to erupt within the hearts of the three beings including Peorth who also felt the same inexplicable feeling within herself as a result of the special connection which she shared with her Angel combined with her own feelings of love and affection that she also harbored towards the young Shikigami warrior. The attractive Angel instinctively wrapped her legs around Michiru's waist and then used her powers of levitation to lift both of their bodies off of the ground until the Kururugi boy was standing with his own feet on the ground, Gorgeous Rose then removed her lips from Michiru's so she could smile lovingly at him once more as she decided that now was an appropriate time to bring this special experience to its end. After releasing each other, Gorgeous Rose then took hold hold of Michiru's left hand to lead him step by step until he walked over to Peorth, the heavenly Angel then waved farewell before vanishing into the body of the first class deity. It took a moment for Michiru to recover his train of thought so he could focus his attention on Peorth now that Gorgeous Rose had departed, leaving the Japanese student with the gorgeous goddess so that they could finally be alone together.

"Looks like Gorgeous Rose has decided to leave both of us alone together for a while, I guess she enjoyed everything that she wanted for the morning." Michiru verbally pointed out as he focused his attention on the first class goddess standing before him, the feeling of bliss and affection building up within his heart then vanished once his mind suddenly recalled how he had accidentally endangered Peorth with his Shikigami powers when his left hand had unintentionally summoned a small ball of fire which had lit Peorth's ponytail on fire earlier a few moments ago. "Are you alright Peorth? I-I didn't mean to light your ponytail on fire like that! My magic Shikigami powers must have reacted out of self defense while you were tickling me a little while ago! I'm really sorry! Please accept my apology for causing you harm."

"No Michiru! Please don't apologize!" Peorth countered, wrapping her arms around her concerned Kururugi client in order to express her forgiveness, he still hadn't learned how to fully control his own Shikigami powers, nor had he learned all the magic Shikigami spells yet which existed either so there was no reason for Michiru to feel sorry or worried since Peorth was an immortal goddess with divine power protecting her. "I should be saying sorry for tickling you without thinking that your powers might respond even though you weren't in any physical danger, you were begging me for mercy after all and when I didn't stop tickling you, your powers reacted out of self defense. I guess your Shikigami powers have a will of their own, after all, they were awakened when your own life was in danger from being killed by that cyclops demon that threatened to devour you following your arrival in the Feudal era long ago."

Peorth and Michiru both took a moment of pause to embrace one another and relax in each other's arms to draw some warmth and comfort like they did earlier while sitting on the swing as they talked together. Michiru used his left hand to quickly examine Peorth's ponytail and he was relieved to see that there was no sign of harm from the fireball he had summoned, the first class deity had managed to extinguish the tiny fire thanks to the water from the big fish pond in the middle of the yard. Afterwards, Michiru wrapped both his arms around Peorth's body so he could hold her by the waist with both hands while the gorgeous goddess embraced Michiru in response.

"I'm also sorry for causing you to feel pain when I was tickling Gorgeous Rose, it never occurred to me that both of you felt each other's pain even though the two of you share a special connection with one another." Michiru added apologetically, moving both of his hands in order to gently stroke the soft skin of Peorth's waist for a brief moment to make the goddess feel better which he could clearly see as his eyes saw Peorth's wonderful smile widening at the feeling from the teenager's tender touch. "I hope you can forgive me for that as well."

"I'll forgive you if you're willing to make amends by giving me a kiss." Peorth replied, taking the opportunity of setting Michiru up since she had seen and overheard him interacting with Gorgeous Rose just moments ago while the gorgeous goddess had been laughing out loud from feeling the effects of Michiru's tickling assaults while the Kururugi boy had been tickling Peorth's Angel. Michiru in turn smiled in response with a goofy look on his face as he tried not to laugh since Peorth was clearly trying to make him take the initiative right now.

Michiru suddenly withdrew his own right hand from Peorth's waist and grabbed hold of the female deity's right hand, but instead of forcefully removing Peorth's hand from his chest, he guided her hand so it now sat between his right shoulder and the right side of his neck. The Shikigami user then gently grasped hold of Peorth's left shoulder with his right hand and pulled the goddess towards him as he leaned over to plant his own lips over hers, although this wasn't the first time that Michiru had kissed Peorth before, the Kururugi boy was in just as much awe and bliss as before when he had seized the initiative and was giving the gorgeous first class goddess a long lasting kiss. Peorth was so overcome by the sensation within herself that her Angel emerged once again from her body to observe the two lovers as they carried on once the long lasting kiss had ended. Gorgeous Rose was smiling happily with joy at the wonderful sight of seeing a bolder Michiru actively participating in such physical interaction while experiencing the pleasures of the flesh which Peorth herself had long since desired and dreamed of sharing with the Shikigami user presently secured in her embrace. Although they were appropriately dressed with their clothes on, that didn't mean this episode didn't count for nothing since Peorth and Michiru still had their hands on one another, this special romantic session could also escalate and lead to the later level of love which required both romantic participants to remove and discard all of their clothing before carrying on in the privacy of the bedroom behind closed doors during the night or the day. After a moment, Gorgeous Rose sighed happily in response which caught the attention of Peorth and Michiru who both turned to glance at the attractive Angel, the heavenly woman then waved her hands apologetically telling them not to mind her presence and that she was sorry for interrupting them from their kiss, but this only caused all three of them to laugh hilariously and joyfully at one another, beginning with Michiru who broke out laughing first.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Michiru verbally responded. "No need to be sorry Gorgeous Rose, in fact, I'm glad you interrupted us so I could tell you how much I enjoyed spending the early morning with you and Peorth. I hope that both of you enjoyed yourselves too."

Gorgeous Rose hovered over and snaked both arms around Michiru to give him a quick hug before stealing one last kiss from the Kururugi boy, the heavenly Angel also used this as an opportunity to distract Michiru so she could tickle him momentarily, causing him to shake in response before she laughed at him. After backing away to avoid Michiru's retaliation, Gorgeous Rose kissed the tips of her fingers before she waved goodbye and then departed by vanishing back into Peorth's body like how a ghost would travel through a wall. Peorth then turned to look at Michiru and smiled with delight at her Kururugi client now that the two of them were alone once again, Michiru smiled at Peorth in response and held the gorgeous goddess gently in his arms so he could give her more comfort and warmth.

"I've also enjoyed spending the early morning with you Michiru and so has Gorgeous Rose, I can tell you've made my Angel very, very happy." Peorth replied happily with a tender smile on her lovely face while enjoying Michiru's embrace.

"I'm glad to hear you say that Peorth." Michiru responded, Peorth's words suddenly reminded the Kururugi boy of that day off in the Feudal era when he had fed Kirara some dried fish and had been occupied for a short while until Sango arrived on the scene and expressed her gratitude by thanking him for feeding Kirara before the female fighter picked up the cute two-tailed kitten and gently held Kirara in her arms. Although Kirara and Gorgeous Rose were two different female beings, Kirara cared very much for Sango and vice versa which was similar to how Peorth and Gorgeous Rose cared for one another as well. Sango was a goddess in Michiru's eyes after all so it was only natural that the Shikigami user's imagination briefly ran away with itself which caused him to laugh lightly to himself since he was imagining the adorable two-tailed feline as being Sango's Angel if the female fighter ever had her own Angel. "Ha. Ha. Ha."

"Is there something funny Michiru?" Peorth asked curiously after noticing Michiru's humorous state.

"I-I was just thinking to myself, my imagination just ran out of control for a moment and I was suddenly reminded of a very fond memory from my Feudal era adventure, that's all Peorth." Michiru answered once he had recovered himself and could speak normally again.

"Michiru? Peorth? Gorgeous Rose?" a female voice called out from someone approaching the first class deity and the Shikigami user.

"That sounds like Lind." Michiru pointed out, reluctantly releasing himself from Peorth's embrace so that both of them could meet Lind.

"We're over here in the clearing by the big tree Lind." Peorth responded, the Valkyrie war maiden then appeared a few seconds later.

"My apologies for disturbing both of you, the upstairs washroom is finally vacant again, though not for long so one of you should go have yourself a bath to get cleaned up for the new day while you still can." Lind stated politely after halting in front of Peorth and Michiru following her arrival. "And Belldandy says that breakfast will be ready within the hour as well, both of you had better get bathed and ready or else you'll arrive late and most of the food will have been eaten by everybody else."

"Thank you for coming out to remind us Lind, I was having so much fun with Peorth and her Angel Gorgeous Rose that the three of us lost track of time this morning." Michiru mentioned while wearing a handsome smile which showed how happy he was right now.

"The fun doesn't have to be over just yet Michiru, I can accompany you in the bath and help you wash your hair or your back if you'd like, its my duty as a first class goddess to provide you with the best customer service after all." Peorth suggested with a very flirtatious tone of voice accompanied by an equally flirtatious expression on the deity's beautiful face. "Gorgeous Rose could join us in the bath as well."

Both Michiru and Lind began to blush really red after hearing Peorth's words, though Lind was the lucky one since Peorth and Michiru were both looking at each other instead of at her so the divine warrior woman was spared from any additional embarrassment.

"Uh..." Michiru mumbled uncontrollably while his eyes were locked with Peorth's, completely unable to deliver a proper verbal response.

"Michiru?" Lind asked, redirecting the Kururugi boy's attention towards herself while taking the opportunity to save Michiru from Peorth's flirtatious invitation by providing him with an escape. "Would it be alright if I could talk with you briefly while Peorth goes to have a bath?"

"Yes, of course Lind." Michiru answered. "But don't you want to take the opportunity of having a bath too?"

"I already had a bath after Mara finished having hers." Lind replied. "Its been over an hour since we last saw each other in Urd's bedroom following that fiasco in the upstairs washroom when we had to rescue you and Mara from Urd and World of Elegance."

"Very well then Lind." Michiru said in agreement, accepting Lind's suggestion before turning to Peorth. "You can go have yourself a bath Peorth, we'll see each other again at breakfast and then we'll have the whole day ahead of us to have fun with everyone. Sound good?"

"Alright Michiru, I'll see you later then." Peorth replied while leaning in to give her Kururugi client a quick peck on the cheek, the first class deity then backed away so she could say her farewells to him and to Lind. "Goodbye Michiru, goodbye Lind, see both of you later."

"Goodbye Peorth." Michiru and Lind both said simultaneously in unison as they watched Peorth depart until the two of them were left alone together which is when they turned to face one another.

Lind suddenly paused for a moment while hiding something behind her back with both of her hands which made her nervous.

"What is it that you wanted to talk with me about Lind?" Michiru asked curiously, he then noticed Lind's shyness and nervousness which was betrayed by a faint blush on the divine woman's cheeks which made the Valkyrie look very cute, momentarily distracting Michiru.

I never saw Lind as the shy type, she looks so cute when she's shy though, just like Sango did long ago during our first day off together.

"Oh, um...I-I wanted to return something of yours." Lind answered hesitantly after trying to overcome her shyness and nervousness.

"Return something of mine?" Michiru replied in confusion. "I'm afraid that I can't recall ever loaning you or giving you anything of mine Lind. What do you have that you want to return to me?"

"Its this." Lind answered, bringing her hands in front of her to hold out what ever it was she had hidden behind her back. "Here you are."

Michiru looked at what appeared to be a T-shirt held in both of Lind's hands, after retrieving the article of clothing from her so he could examine it more closely, his mind eventually remembered what had happened on the day when he had last seen it. This was the shirt he had worn when he had been injured in the side of his waist by Toshiyuki's sword cane that afternoon when he and Skuld had been the playboy's prisoners. Later on in the evening just before bedtime, his wound had reopened and left another bloodstain on the T-shirt for the second time, Lind along with Peorth and Urd had taken Michiru to the washroom so he could remove the torn T-shirt in order for his injured waist to be tended too and then the incident finally ended with him taking Urd's medicine before everybody said goodnight to each other and went to sleep. Afterwards, the Shikigami user had completely forgotten all about the T-shirt, but Lind had not which is why she was now presenting it to him.

"This is my T-shirt isn't it Lind?" Michiru asked softly even though he had already guessed the correct answer to his question, both of his eyes widened in awe and fascination as he examined the article of clothing with both hands, unable to find even the slightest sign of wear and tear or blood on the T-shirt which he had last seen after removing and discarding it on the evening of the night before last. Lind had obviously used a combination of divine magical powers and her skills with a needle and thread in order to clean and repair the T-shirt.

"It took me a lot longer to mend than I thought given how it was cut and bloody from that incident almost two days ago." Lind explained while observing Michiru until the Kururugi boy was ready to verbally respond once he had finished examining his mended T-shirt. "Given that so many events took place between then and now, both of us didn't have much free time since we were so busy having fun together with the others and experiencing other activities and so on, I hope I did a good job on it and that it still fits you properly like it did before."

"Good job would be an understatement Lind, you did a magnificent job! There's no trace of blood, wear or tear on it at all! One could be misled to believe that this isn't even the same shirt!" Michiru replied before redirecting his eyes and face on Lind in order to give her his full attention while he expressed his thanks and gratitude for the Valkyrie's act of kindness. "I had completely forgotten all about it after that night when you along with Peorth and Urd gave me first aid treatment before we said goodnight to each other and then went to bed. But you clearly remembered and not only that, you took the time and the trouble to clean and repair it on my behalf. You're far more talented and skilled than I could have imagined, you truly are spectacular and that makes you very special. Thank you so much Lind."

"Your very welcome Michiru, and thank you for your kind words." Lind replied in response, feeling very happy and pleased for receiving Michiru's praise along with his gratitude and appreciation for having done such a good job on something as simple as cleaning and mending an article of clothing. In addition to that, the Valkyrie warrior was also complimented for something else other than just her skills with weaponry or her performances during combat training, a fact which also made Lind feel satisfied, something which nobody else had ever given her until this moment. This meant that Michiru didn't just see Lind as a warrior or a deity from heaven, he also saw her as one of his most trusted friends and allies which made Lind happy since she also desired to build a special bond with the Shikigami warrior.

Both friends took a moment of pause to silently gather their own thoughts before trying to carry on their conversation together.

"Lind? You said earlier that you already had a bath after Mara finished having hers while I was busy spending time with Peorth and her Angel Gorgeous Rose." Michiru verbally recalled after having remembered an event from earlier this morning involving Lind and himself.

"Yes I did." Lind replied, wondering where this conversation was going. "What about it though?"

"That means the sunscreen I applied on your back earlier this morning must have been washed off, your back will get sunburned again like it did yesterday if you don't put some more on, its going to be another hot and sunny summer day today after all." Michiru deduced.

"No need to worry Michiru, I didn't forget this time." Lind replied before turning about to show the concerned Kururugi boy that she had already put on more sunscreen to avoid being sunburned, after a quick pause, she then turned around again so she could face Michiru.

"Looks like I was worrying for nothing. Sorry Lind." Michiru pointed out while feeling like an idiot, but luckily Lind still appreciated that he was just concerned for her well being, friends needed to look out for one another after all and doing what was right is always important.

"Thank you anyway though, it was very thoughtful of you and clever of you to attach that sticky note on my halberd with a fridge magnet, I didn't notice it at all until later on during my brief trip back to heaven." Lind pointed out with a cheerful tone of voice accompanied by a kind expression on her face which did the trick to redirect Michiru's eyes on her while also causing the teen to smile handsomely again.

"I'm glad to have been helpful to you Lind, just like you were for me when you cleaned and mended my torn T-shirt." Michiru replied politely until he suddenly became curious as to who had helped Lind put sunscreen on herself. "So who helped you put sunscreen on?"

"Oh, um..." Lind mumbled with hesitation, she had completely overlooked the obvious fact that she couldn't have applied it on her back by herself, now she was forced to answer the Kururugi boy's question which caused her to worry about what would happen next once she finally replied with an answer. "I asked my angels to apply more sunscreen on my behalf once I had dried off and gotten dressed after I had finished having my bath."

"You said angels, not angel." Michiru pointed out after hearing Lind's answer, he was even more curious than before after hearing this discovery. "The other goddesses each have only one angel Lind. Does that mean you have more than one because you're a Valkyrie?"

"No, Valkyries and Goddesses each have only one Angel as a companion." Lind answered, reluctantly recalling all the memories from her past as a child along with the agony and sadness from having been viewed and treated with scorn as a result of having her first Angel being born with only one wing instead of two like all other Angels were commonly born with. The same unfortunate fate also awaited her second Angel as well once it emerged later in life. "However, fate decided that I was to have two Angels instead of just one."

Fortunately for Lind, she was very good at hiding her inner feelings from most people, such a skill was just one of the many reasons why she was able to remain calm and maintain her discipline throughout her later years as a highly accomplished Valkyrie thanks to all of her training along with the many challenging trials she had faced throughout her career as a Valkyrie war maiden.

"Would it be alright if I got to meet your Angels Lind?" Michiru asked curiously, not knowing how Lind's painful burden had just been awakened from deep inside her, something which the Valkyrie had long wanted to bury and forget about.

If I refuse to introduce both of my Angels, Michiru will think I have something to hide and I'll look very suspicious to him. But if I agree…

"Angels, come forth." Lind commanded, a heavenly light suddenly shined as two beautiful beings emerged from Lind's upper back, both of them hovered together on either side of the Valkyrie war maiden and stood by waiting for Lind to introduce them to the Kururugi boy.

"Wow..." Michiru whispered softly to himself as he stood still, completely captivated by the sudden appearance of two attractive Angels.

"This is Spear Mint…" Lind carried on as she introduced each of her Angels, beginning with Spear Mint who levitated on Lind's left side before turning towards Cool Mint on her right side. "...and this is Cool Mint. Allow me to introduce both of you to Michiru Kururugi."

Both of Lind's lovely Angels appeared very similar to Belldandy's Angel Holy Bell at a first glance since they were both clothed with small white tank tops around their chests and matching white garments covering their bottoms and legs like a cocoon, they also had short golden blond hair and white skin. However, there were a few differences which the Kururugi boy immediately noticed as he closely examined Spear Mint and Cool Mint with his eyes, both Angels looked to be slightly younger in age and appearance. In addition to that, both Angels each only had one white feathered wing on their backs instead of two in comparison with the other Angels who were paired with the other goddesses Michiru had met and befriended a few days earlier. Spear Mint and Cool Mint also had two unique differences between themselves as well, Spear Mint had red eyes and had her one white wing protruding from the left side of her back while Cool Mint had blue eyes and had her one white wing protruding from the right side of her back. Taking their present positions on either side of Lind made both beautiful beings look like a pair of twins who were ready to support Lind as teammates and comrades.

"H-Hello Spear Mint, hello Cool Mint, its very nice meeting both of you." Michiru said politely while bowing briefly towards each of Lind's Angels as he spoke to each of them one at a time, being introduced to two more heavenly beauties made Michiru feel a little nervous.

Spear Mint and Cool Mint waved hello while smiling sweetly at the brave Shikigami warrior standing before them, both of them then moved closer so that they could show off their female figures while also taking a closer examination of the young Japanese student with their own eyes, causing Michiru to blush red in response to their close proximity which they especially enjoyed seeing. After a brief moment of batting their eyes and smiling sweetly at the young man, Spear Mint and Cool Mint returned to levitate on either side of Lind.

"Please pardon me for asking Lind, but were Spear Mint and Cool Mint both injured in battle?" Michiru asked politely out of concern after noticing that both of the Valkyrie's Angels each only had one wing instead of two like all the other Angels he had met in the last few days. "I could try using my Shikigami powers to cast a magic healing spell on both of them, if that's okay with the three of you I mean."

"I appreciate your concern for Spear Mint and Cool Mint, but there's no need for you to worry, neither of them were injured in battle." Lind reluctantly replied while turning her gaze to the side to avert eye contact in an effort to conceal her inner sadness and pain from Michiru until she could recover herself, she hoped that the Kururugi boy would leave the matter alone so that they could move on.

Michiru suddenly realized what was troubling the emotionally vulnerable Valkyrie who he admired and respected, so in order to avoid adding insult to injury, the Shikigami warrior had to choose his words carefully before saying anything further if he was to carry on his conversation and move forward with Lind and her Angels. While Michiru took a moment of silence to gather his thoughts, Lind was worried about what he thought about her now that he had met and seen each of her Angels in person for the first time with his own eyes.

There's no escaping it, Michiru must have figured out by now that this was how Spear Mint and Cool Mint were both born and nothing can be done to change or alter the fact that each of them have only one wing instead of two which most Angels are normally born with.

"Spear Mint and Cool Mint still look truly beautiful just as you do Lind, having only one wing instead of two doesn't change that." Michiru stated, causing Lind's eyes to widen in surprise as she turned to meet Michiru's gaze with her own while Spear Mint and Cool Mint both stood still and silent, waiting until the compassionate Kururugi boy had finished saying everything on his mind first. "Who cares whether Spear Mint and Cool Mint each have only one wing instead of two? They can still fly and levitate like all the other Angels I've met so far and both of them look capable of assisting you when ever you have need of their support. Please don't let anybody's rude remarks or insulting words hurt your feelings because they're probably just jealous that you have two Angels to aid you instead of only one, you said so yourself that all other goddesses and Valkyries are paired with only one Angel as a companion. That makes you very unique and very special Lind, the same can also be said about Spear Mint and Cool Mint as well. I know that I'm merely a mortal human and can't fight or defeat a deity in battle, but if anyone should ever attempt to hurt you or either of your Angels with cruel insults or violence, I'll do what ever I can to defend and protect all three of you regardless of the dangers that I may face and I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Spear Mint and Cool Mint both held their hands to their mouths to gasp in surprise momentarily before repositioning their hands over their chests in order to contain their inner joy and warm feelings bursting within their beautiful bodies while smiling happily with joy and affection while they waited for their Valkyrie war maiden to respond verbally to the kindhearted Kururugi boy standing before them.

Lind looked as though her eyes were going to water with tears which made Michiru wear a concerned expression on his face since his full attention was now directed at her instead of Spear Mint and Cool Mint, but she managed to recover herself in time. Instead of crying like how Urd had done during that evening when Michiru had confessed discovering Urd's half demon heritage, Lind quietly responded with a truly wonderful smile which completely captivated the surprised Shikigami user, his eyes were locked on hers and all senses such as hearing and touch had shut down. This was the first time Michiru had ever seen Lind smiling with the same level of joy and happiness as he had seen in all the other goddesses, Lind had never let down her guard or revealed her pain, nor had she shared any of her innermost feelings until this moment. The Shikigami user was still and silent as he was completely captivated and drawn towards Lind's wonderful smile, everything else was blocked out of his mind except for the presence of the Valkyrie and her two Angels.

For the longest time since her young childhood, the Valkyrie had been emotionally hurt similar to how Urd had been although Lind's painful burden had been slightly worse since she had no sisters or relatives to give her any support or comfort. Only her own Angels were there for her, but their pain was the same as hers and as a result, Lind only summoned them when ever she was alone so that they would be spared from unwanted stares or hurtful words from other deities who would have seen them. Although this precaution protected Spear Mint and Cool Mint, it still left Lind feeling all alone like someone who felt like they were unwelcome or who didn't belong with others. This was one reason why Lind trained hard to become the most formidable Valkyrie in Heaven's Battle Division so she could earn a place for herself and her Angels despite the scorn of others and this was also why she had become so interested in Michiru Kururugi ever since she had become aware of the Shikigami warrior's legendary status which was kept classified and safe guarded for so many centuries. But now that Michiru had expressed his admiration for her Angels and didn't see them as a pair of deformed freaks or weaklings, Lind's painful burden was finally gone forever, she along with Spear Mint and Cool Mint would be forever grateful for that.

"Thank you so very much for your compassion along with your kind words and sincerity Michiru, no one on earth or in heaven has ever shown or expressed such kindness towards either one of my Angels...until this moment." Lind replied happily while smiling wonderfully at the Kururugi boy, the Valkyrie reached out to grab hold of Michiru's hands and hold them tenderly with her own so she could further express her own joy and happiness with her gentle touch along with her words of appreciation and gratitude. "You've made Spear Mint and Cool Mint very happy, we're all truly blessed and honored to have met you and befriended you here on earth with the other deities."

Wow! I've never seen Lind smile with such joy and happiness before, she looks so lovely. I wonder if her lips feel as soft as they look?

"I'm truly blessed and honored to have met and befriended you Lind, a-and the same for your Angels Spear Mint and Cool Mint." Michiru replied politely, although he still held eye contact with Lind, his attention was now drawn towards her other attractive features and his inner conscious which he normally kept in check took control of his own voice in order to confess his inner thoughts. "You truly are lovely to look at Lind, your hair is as blue as the sky and your eyes are as blue as the sea, I feel drawn into the depths of those eyes of yours."

Lind was suddenly blown away by the Kururugi boy's compliments and felt herself lose control of her own body, she was also drawn into his eyes as her hands slowly pulled the Shikigami warrior towards her, closing the distance between them inch by inch until both pairs of lips gently touched each other. It all happened in the space of thirty seconds or less, Lind and Michiru had kissed each other and after backing up to look into each other's eyes, each of them could faintly see the fires of affection burning within the depths of their eyes while their bodies generated physical warmth and attraction along with bees and butterflies inside of their stomachs. Since their emotions had taken over their minds and their bodies, all rational thoughts of logic and reason were kept in check until these fires of passion had cooled down. Lind and Michiru were lightly panting as though they were afraid that the very sound of their combined breathing would shatter the peace and quiet all around them and alert the unwanted attention of their friends and companions presently inside of the house. Michiru was just about to recover his own train of thought just as Lind had done, but Lind wanted this truly special moment of her existence to last a little while longer and dove in for another kiss, she also let go of the Kururugi boy's hands and placed her own hands around his neck to hold him even closer which caused the Japanese student to automatically place both of his hands around the Valkyrie's waist in response. They kissed more fiercely this time as their combined inner feelings burned more intensely, but their hand movements were still slow enough to remain gentle and tender in order to avoid causing any unwanted pain or discomfort. Spear Mint and Cool Mint who were both witnesses to this wonderful event watched with joy and awe as they were also overwhelmed with the exact same feelings and fire of affection burning brightly and fiercely within their own bodies thanks to the special connection to the Valkyrie war maiden they were paired with. Out of respect and politeness for both Lind and Michiru, the two Angels reluctantly had to hold back and remain where they were while keeping their own feelings of affection and joy in check and under control...for now anyway.

Finally, after a full minute or so, Lind and Michiru at last pulled apart so that they could face one another even tough they still held one another in each other's arms. Both of them begun to blush lightly with affection still displayed on their faces, causing Lind to smile wonderfully again while Michiru wore a big goofy expression on his priceless face. Not wanting to ruin or spoil the moment, Michiru stepped back to give the wonderful deity her own personal space, his mind was still clouded with joy and emotion so it would take a full minute for his train of thought to fully recover. Spear Mint and Cool Mint both giggled lightly together while waving at a blushing Michiru, this caused Lind to sigh happily as she relaxed now that the wonderful episode of fiercely kissing the Kururugi boy had come to an end.

"I was right, you look so lovely when you smile Lind. And your lips really are as soft as they look." Michiru declared with sincerity, hoping that his compliments would make Lind even more happy, but then his rational state of mind suddenly rebooted itself along with his brain. In an effort to make amends just in case he had offended her, he quickly apologized and tried to change the subject. "Uh-Ahem! Please pardon me if I said or did anything wrong Lind! Would you, Spear Mint and Cool Mint like to take turns having your photographs taken with me?"

A small giggle suddenly escaped from Lind's lips after witnessing Michiru's sudden attempt to desperately change the subject by asking her if she and her attractive Angels wanted to have their photographs taken with him, but once it was over, she was able to reply.

"That sounds wonderful Michiru." Lind answered sincerely, smiling happily again while her angels smiled as well while nodding excitedly.

Meanwhile in the Feudal era…

After fleeing for their lives and running rapidly until their strength had finally ran out, monk Seikai and his fellow servant had at last stopped by a river to rest themselves, catch their breath and quench their thirst. Both men placed the palms of their hands together to gather fresh water and swiftly swallow the cool clear liquid down their parched throats, this took a short while since the two men were also out of breath and were panting heavily while they weren't drinking, but their breathing eventually slowed down as they relaxed and they now felt better.

"We were fortunate that we got away with our lives and that they didn't pursue us Master Seikai." The young man servant said gratefully.

"Yes we were, though I am disappointed that I wasn't able to send that resurrected priestess back to her grave where she belongs." Seikai replied bitterly with anger, clenching his uninjured hand into a fist while holding his staff with his injured hand which would take time to heal from the arrow he was shot with by Kaede's bow. "Nevertheless, at least we accomplished one important part of our mission which was to determine the whereabouts of the village where priestess Kikyo once lived before she was slain about five decades ago."

"And did you?" A sinister voice called out, frightening monk Seikai and his fellow servant while causing both of them to turn around and look at the man dressed in a dark black cloak with his bald head covered in a hood. His skin was somewhat pale and he had a large jagged scar running diagonally down one side of his face nearly cutting over his left eye which had been from an old stab wound long ago. His left eye had now clouded and appeared to be translucent, but he could still see with it thanks to healing his injury with his magic Shikigami powers and he had deliberately healed his left eye just enough so it would keep its injured appearance which made anyone mistakenly think he was blind in his left eye while also adding more ugliness and terror to his already scarred facial features. In addition to the scar on his face, this man also had the tattoo of a snake deliberately painted all around the outer edge of the scar running down his face as if to include the scar as part of the snakes body, the tail at the top and the head barring its fangs at the bottom. This gave this cruel man an even more hideous looking appearance which frightened almost everyone he happened to be speaking face to face with as was undoubtedly the intention of the cloaked man standing before Seikai and his fellow servant. "Answer my question monk Seikai."

"It was Kaede's Village, located west of Tsuzumi Village and north of Kasasagi Town." Seikai answered, his blood ran cold and he also felt a chill run up his spine as he looked at the Shikigami serial killer standing before him. "Must you always terrify everybody Gishuu?"

"I was taught not to be seen or heard when I approach others, that's how I ensure I catch them by surprise while they're vulnerable." Gishuu replied humorously, until he suddenly took notice of Seikai's injured right hand. "How did you happen to injure your hand Seikai?"

"I was just about to send Kikyo back to her grave when I was shot with an arrow by the dead priestess's sister! Seikai angrily explained, holding his injured right hand aloft. "The old woman along with a bunch of demons stopped me before I could accomplish my mission!"

"I see…so you let a wrinkly old hag get the better of you eh?" Gishuu deduced sarcastically before stepping forward and reaching out to grab Seikai's injured hand and deliberately squeeze the monk's injured palm between his thump and forefinger, reopening the wound so that it bled freely once again. Monk Seikai's body twitched and trembled from the unbearable agony as a result, though he dared not say anything in protest or response for fear of angering his superior even more than he already had, reluctantly enduring the pain for as long as it lasted until Shikigami Master Gishuu released his injured hand. "It was wrong of me to expect so much from a lowly monk like you."

"What are you doing? S-Stop torturing Master Seikai!" The young follower protested, stepping forward to try and aid his master only to be grabbed by the neck and lifted off the ground with one hand and arm. "W-What kind of monstrous human being are you anyway?"

"I'm the kind of human being who will do anything to survive..." Gishuu replied quietly with his sinister voice, looking the poor young man in the eyes with only inches between their faces, he then released Seikai so he could use both hands and arms against the monk's fellow servant who had made him angry. "I proved my unwavering loyalty to my master time and again by killing and torturing all his foes no matter who they might be, I placed absolute trust and faith in my master by allowing myself to be captured and convicted for many murders knowing full well that death was unavoidable and that even my own lord and master might not be able to prevent my execution. But...against all expectations, my own life was spared, men who are as rare and fearless as I am will always be of use in a world filled with war and violence. For my obedience, I was able to defy death while many other ordinary men could not, that is what I gained by becoming a monstrous human as you call me. That is what makes me different from you, the strong survive and the weak die, that is the law of nature even for a Shikigami warrior such as myself. Let me give you a demonstration so you'll always remember this lesson."

Seikai watched in horror as the Shikigami warrior stepped into the shallows of the river and lowered his fellow servant into the water until his whole body was submerged, holding him in place even as the helpless man struggled to free himself, moving around violently and splashing the water around him until his lungs inevitably filled with water and he eventually slowed to a stop after being drowned. Gishuu then retraced his steps and raced over to Seikai who was about to use his staff to defend himself out of fear that he was now going to be killed as well, he purposely stepped on Seikai's injured hand with one foot, applying additional pressure by putting all his body weight down which kept the poor monk down on his hands and knees with his head lowered down so he could only look at the ground unless he turned or raised his head. Seikai braced himself, thinking life own life was about to end, his body trembling uncontrollably with fear.

"Your servant failed his test of trust and obedience, unless you want to join him Seikai, I suggest you improve your skills so you aren't so easily defeated by a wrinkly old hag." Gishuu remarked, before pulling out a sharp dagger and lowering the blade so that Seikai could see it with his own eyes, its metal shined brightly as the morning sunlight reflected off of it. "Now pay attention if you value your own life, I want you to go to Kasasagi Town, there is a brothel where I want you to visit, there are...valued clients who often visit such lowly places and I need you to pass on some letters for me. I still have other tasks to attend too and won't be able to go there myself unfortunately."

"How...How will I know who these clients of yours are?" Seikai asked, he suddenly clenched his teeth in response after feeling Gishuu pressing the heel of his boot down on his injured hand even more before slighting twisting his foot to the left and the right. "Answer me."

"They are nobles belonging to the royal court, though they've been residing in Kasasagi Town ever since Castle Town was destroyed a couple of months ago, they enjoy living in luxury and surround themselves with wealth and women." Gishuu explained before producing the letters which were neatly folded and fastened together with two ribbons that crisscrossed over each other to secure them together. "When you arrive, announce that you've come bearing these important letters for the court nobility, this royal insignia on each of these papers should help you find who they are. And take heed, my master doesn't forget or forgive those who fail him, and nor do I either."

"What about priestess Kikyo?" Seikai asked curiously, worried that he might encounter her along with her friends and allies again.

"Leave Kikyo to me, so long as she knows nothing about me or my master's plans, she's not a threat." Gishuu answered before putting away his dagger, much to Seikai's relief. "But if she becomes a threat later on, I will end her life unless my master decides otherwise."

Gishuu then released Seikai and stepped back a few paces, allowing the terrified monk to finally stand back up on his own feet.

"Seikai?" Gishuu asked, drawing the monk's attention to himself once again. "Aren't you going to drink any water before you depart?"

"Water?" Seikai replied in confusion.

"You have a long journey ahead of you, you must still be thirsty, there might not be another river for you to drink from between here and Kasasagi Town." Gishuu pointed out, smiling evilly, fully aware that the dead body of Seikai's former servant was still floating in the river.

"I already refreshed myself before your arrival, if that's all, then goodbye." Seikai replied before he strode off with a quickened pace.

The Shikigami serial killer stayed where he was while he watched monk Seikai wander off heading south for Kasasagi Town, once he knew he was entirely alone, he pulled out what looked like a crystallized rock from inside his robes hidden underneath his cloak. After using his magic powers to activate it, the crystallized rock glowed and projected what looked like a magic orb of light, inside the orb of light, the image of another man hooded and cloaked took form and a voice was heard which revealed that they could talk to each other using these magical devices which had been created with their mysterious Shikigami powers.

"What is it?" The voice of the man in the orb of light asked quietly.

"Seikai is presently on his way to Kasasagi Town, and I have discovered that the location of Kikyo's home resides in Kaede's Village." Gishuu explained. "The priestess Kikyo is alive again, though how she was resurrected and by whom still remains to be answered."

"Did you give Seikai the important letters I addressed specifically for those court nobles who have agreed to aid us?" The man asked.

"Yes Master, he should arrive at Kasasagi Town and deliver them without fail or delay by sunset tonight." Gishuu answered reassuringly.

"Excellent, your next tasks will prove to be most risky for you, but once you've accomplished all of them, the time will arrive to put our plans in motion. Time will be on your side so long as you remain anonymous and stay one step ahead of the Kururugi Clan and its allies, so long as the Pentacle Alliance remains fractured and divided, the easier it will be for us to seize power and hold on to it afterwards." The cloaked man explained. "But be warned, now that Kakuju is dead, all eyes will turn to her son and heir so that they will see how well he performs in her stead once he takes her place after undergoing the ceremony which will grant him a seat on the Council of Naobi."

"What of the Vipers of Vengeance or the League of Longevity?" Gishuu asked curiously. "What of the contents of Kakuju's will Master?"

"The Vipers of Vengeance and the League of Longevity are both just as divided as the entire Pentacle Alliance is, once our plans are put in motion, we shall see the support of the people shift in one way or the other and that will be our chance to seize power for ourselves." The Cloaked man replied. "As for the contents of Kakuju's will, I already have a way to reveal what those are so we can determine what plans our rivals have made before we need draw our swords or spill any blood when the time comes for war to be waged on our foes."

"Understood Master, my first task will be completed before sunrise tomorrow as you are already aware and by the time the sun sets, the race will have already begun before the Kururugi Clan even knows what's going on, I'll contact you at nightfall tomorrow." Gishuu replied before deactivating the crystallized rock, the holographic image of his Cloaked Master vanished along with the magic light as well. "So it begins, the race for the seizure of power over the Pentacle Alliance, and the war to wipe out our foes and draw the people to our cause."

Back in the modern era...

Over the next ten or fifteen minutes, Michiru was taking photographs of himself with Lind and each of her Angels, the Shikigami user began the photographing session by taking photos of Lind with Spear Mint and Cool Mint together. The first few photos were nice and simple, but the next couple had the three of them taking positions for combat with disciplined looks on all of their faces. Afterwards, Michiru got to stand side by side with Lind, he held his right arm around her and placed his hand on the Valkyrie's war maiden's waist while she held her left arm around him and put her hand on his shoulder. Both of them smiled cheerfully together while Spear Mint and Cool Mint each took turns taking photos using the Kururugi boy's cellular phone, then the divine warrior woman and the Shikigami user both took battle stances, Lind magically summoned her halberd and Michiru drew out his Flower Bloomer sword. For another photo, Lind and Michiru stood back to back to protect each other while facing down imaginary opponents as though the pair of combatants were surrounded on all sides, they held their weapons in order to block an attack or to deliver an attack of their own for another photo after that. Finally, the last photo they took together was charging fiercely as though the two of them were chasing down their foes who had fled the battlefield, eager to hunt down as many as possible before each of them had spent the last of their energy and strength.

Once Lind and Michiru were finally finished, the divine warrior woman took over photographing duty and allowed Spear Mint and Cool Mint to pose for photographs with Michiru, both attractive Angels positioned themselves on either side of the kindhearted Kururugi boy while smiling joyfully together. However, as each new photo was taken, Spear Mint and Cool Mint both closed the distance between themselves and the Japanese student standing in the middle of them. The second photo had Michiru holding a hand on the waist of both Angels, then the third photo had Spear Mint and Cool Mint sandwiching the Shikigami warrior in a tight hug while he held a hand on the shoulder of each divine being. For the final photo involving the three of them, both Angels hugged an unprepared Michiru more closely and tightly then before, snuggling up to him with their faces resting on his shoulders while their hands were on his chest and around his back. Spear Mint and Cool Mint were smiling affectionately with joy and delight while a nervous Michiru was blushing red in response to their combined advances, however, there was no indecent behavior so the teenage boy survived this minor episode of embarrassment.

A few more final photographs were taken involving all four friends, Lind joined the trio and stood behind Michiru while Cool Mint and Spear Mint stayed on either side of the Shikigami user, Lind was able to reach her arms out underneath Michiru's outstretched arms in order to hold the cellphone to aim the camera at the four of them in order to capture all their faces together which was easy since Lind was taller than Michiru and also because the four of them were presently standing so closely together too. Afterwards, Lind handed back the cellular device to its rightful owner so that the four of them could observe all of the photographs taken with one another right now.

"Wow! All of these photographs turned out to be great!" Michiru exclaimed excitedly as he along with the three heavenly ladies looked at all of the photos one after another on his cellphone.

"You're right Michiru, they turned out beautifully." Lind added in agreement.

"Well, that's because I had three lovely ladies of heavenly beauty to take part as subjects for photographing." Michiru commented, giving Lind along with Spear Mint and Cool Mint a compliment about their beauty which made them even more happy than before. "Well, now that we've finished, I should probably go inside the house to see if I can bathe and get dressed for the new day ahead, Belldandy will have breakfast ready really soon after all. Thank you again for cleaning and mending my T-shirt for me Lind, it was very thoughtful of you and thank you as well for allowing me to meet Spear Mint and Cool Mint, I had a lot of fun getting photographs taken with all of you."

"Your very welcome Michiru, I had a lot of fun too and so did Spear Mint and Cool Mint." Lind verbally replied, rewarding the young teen with her wonderfully exquisite smile once again to express her sincerity and happiness. "Its an honor, a privilege and a pleasure being able to spend time down here on earth with you. Many Valkyries, goddesses and their angels would also say the same if they could too."

A tender moment of silence followed as Michiru simply smiled handsomely in return at the lovely Valkyrie warrior and both of her Angels.

"Well, enjoy the rest of the morning, I'll see you at breakfast Lind." Michiru stated before turning to look at the two heavenly Angels. "Spear Mint? Cool Mint? It was very nice meeting both of you, I hope that the two of you had as much fun as I did taking photographs together, perhaps we'll see each other later today when another wonderful opportunity arrives for all of us to have fun together again."

Before either Lind or Michiru could say anything further, Spear Mint and Cool Mint charged at the unprepared Kururugi boy and sandwiched him between their beautiful bodies as the pair of Angels tenderly cuddled up to him so they could hug him tightly, they also took turns expressing their affection by attacking Michiru's face with their lips by rapidly and repeatedly kissing the Kururugi boy. Spear Mint would lean in to plant her lips on Michiru's while Cool Mint kissed one side of the Shikigami user's face, then Cool Mint would take her turn kissing Michiru's mouth with her own while Spear Mint kissed the other side of Michiru's face. Needless to say, for every kiss that Michiru received, the young teen's face blushed redder and redder than before, much to the delight of the two attractive Angels who were expressing their affections so forwardly. Afterwards, Spear Mint and Cool Mint adjusted their positions so that they were both in front of Michiru, allowing them to look him in the eyes with their own as they smiled lovingly at the blushing teenager until they couldn't contain their giggles building up in their bellies which were all let out a moment later. The sound of their giggling caused Lind to recover her train of thought and verbally respond to the unexpected actions of her two Angels who had crossed the line by acting just a little too forwardly towards the Shikigami user standing given that both heavenly Angels had only just met Michiru Kururugi less than half an hour ago.

"Spear Mint! Cool Mint!" Lind called out, causing both of her Angels to extract themselves from Michiru and return back to levitate on either side of the Valkyrie. Before Lind could discipline either of them or say anything else, Spear Mint and Cool Mint quickly vanished back into her divine body after each of them waved goodbye with one hand while blowing a kiss at Michiru with the other hand. "Please accept my apologies Michiru, I should have instructed my Angels to behave and respect your personal space now that we've all finished taking photographs together, I wasn't expecting them to act so forwardly as they did. But before today, its been so long since I had need to summon them and this is the first time that Spear Mint and Cool Mint have been able to have fun together, especially with someone who treats them with kindness and respect regardless of their appearances."

"I understand Lind, and please don't worry, I accept your apology even though there's nothing that needs forgiving." Michiru replied with a kind smile even while his face was still blushing red, but now that Spear Mint and Cool Mint had both departed, it was easier to look Lind in the eyes during his conversation with the Valkyrie war maiden. "Please don't scold Spear Mint and Cool Mint, they just got overly excited, I'm sure that's all that happened. I'm glad that all of you enjoyed yourselves this morning, hopefully the afternoon will be full of fun for everybody as well."

"I'm sure it will, having fun is what summer vacations are for after all." Lind agreed before saying her farewell to the Kururugi boy. "You should be going back inside the house if you want to have a bath and change clothes before breakfast is ready, I'm going to stay outside for a little longer until everybody sits out to eat together. Thank you again for your many kindnesses Michiru, I will cherish all of them."

"Your welcome Lind, thank you for all of your kindnesses too, especially for mending my T-shirt and also for the hatchet you made for me as well." Michiru replied, smiling back at the wonderful Valkyrie before slowly turning away to walk back towards the temple even though he would have liked to spend more time with Lind and her Angels, he reluctantly needed to head inside to prepare himself for the new day ahead of him.

After arriving at the temple, the Japanese student grabbed a bag containing some soap, shampoo and a face cloth along with a towel and a change of clothes including his T-shirt mended by Lind, he then retraced his steps and left the temple heading back towards the house. Lind was no longer in sight which led Michiru to believe that the Valkyrie was enjoying a walk somewhere else outside, he felt very pleased with himself since he was rewarded with seeing Lind smile so wonderfully along with meeting Spear Mint and Cool Mint followed by that entertaining photo session involving all four of them together in addition to being kissed by all three divine women of heavenly beauty. However, once Michiru approached the stairs leading up to the poach located on the one side of the house, the Shikigami warrior paused momentarily as a thought suddenly entered his mind which made him aware of a new reality he was now confronted with and one that he could neither ignore or escape from.

Oh no, now I have several divine goddesses and...four heavenly angels romantically interested in me! Oh boy, am I in big trouble now! My parents would ground me for life if they discovered I'm in a relationship with so many wonderful female companions! What an earth am I going to do now? How can I get out of this? I should have another talk with Belldandy about this mess now that its gotten bigger!

Meanwhile, Lind descended from the rooftop using her divine powers of levitation and entered the temple now that Michiru had departed, leaving the whole place to herself. The lovely Valkyrie landed softly on the wooden floorboards without making any noise and walked towards the statue of Buddha located in the middle backed against the wall of the temple, although this wasn't the temple or the shrine which had been built and dedicated to honor Michiru Kururugi back up in Heaven, this temple dwelling down on earth would still serve as a place for praying. Besides, breakfast would be ready almost anytime now and Lind didn't want to miss having a morning meal with Michiru and all of their other friends and companions. Furthermore, Lind remembered how she had been delayed after having a run in with many of her fellow Valkyrie war maidens and didn't want a repeat of that which is why she chose to remain here to pray instead. Lind knelt down to show her respects and placed both palms of her hands together while bowing her head, smiling again with her eyes closed as warm feelings blossomed and bloomed within her heart and body to accompany her inner thoughts as she prayed quietly.

"Thank you Michiru for all of your many kindnesses towards me and also to Spear Mint and Cool Mint, you're the first person to treat both of them with kindness and compassion regardless of their strange appearances, you've made both of my Angels feel happy in ways not even I could have ever done. They no longer need to hide inside me like they've done for so long while up in heaven, they can finally be beside me out in public and feel happy and proud because you showed them that beauty isn't just on the outside, its also on the inside." Lind stated softly with sincerity while smiling wonderfully with happiness, affection and gratitude. She paused for a moment in order to let her heart build up with more warmth and affection before carrying on, this also caused both of her Angels to emerge from her body so that they could join her in prayer on either side of the Valkyrie.

As Lind tried to think of what words to say next, she suddenly remembered some of Michiru's compliments when he had talked with her before and after they had both kissed each other, recalling that exquisite experience made Lind's cheeks blush lightly red which caused her heart to momentarily skip a beat as her beautiful body shook in response, heating up with fires of passion like never before.

Flashback…

"You truly are lovely to look at Lind, your hair is as blue as the sky and your eyes are as blue as the sea, I feel drawn into the depths of those eyes of yours."

"I was right, you look so lovely when you smile Lind. And your lips really are as soft as they look."

End of flashback...

Something stirred inside of Lind which she had never ever felt before, desire for the Kururugi boy who had given her all of these precious compliments. Unlike other deities from heaven such as Peorth and Urd to name a few who chose to act very flirtatiously while also showing off their hot, beautiful bodies, Lind was much more conservative and reserved. However, Lind had just shared a very special moment with Michiru which began with him complimenting her beauty and ending with both of them kissing each other, and all it took to tempt the Shikigami user was Lind smiling as wonderfully as she did. Who would have thought that something as small and simple as a smile was all that was necessary to awaken such desire within the young Japanese student? Lind's smile widened even more as the fires of passion burning within her grew more intense, fueling her feelings of affection as she prepared to carry on where she had left off.

"On my honor as a divine Valkyrie war maiden, I vow from this day forward to aid Michiru Kururugi in any way that I can for as long as both of us shall live in the modern era or the feudal era regardless of what fate awaits either one of us in the uncertain future." Lind verbally continued. "I am bound to Michiru by honor, duty and…love. Even though I am not the only woman who has fallen in love with him, I will cherish each and every experience that we have and share together while our paths and fates are intertwined on earth or in heaven and if Michiru declares his love for someone else instead of me, I will still be forever grateful for all that I have received and have yet to receive from the brave and noble Shikigami warrior that I know him to be. May Michiru Kururugi always be blessed, on earth and in heaven, amen."

"Amen." Spear Mint and Cool Mint both added simultaneously in unison as the three heavenly women rose to their feet now that they had finished praying together, causing Lind to glance at each of her Angels as they simply smiled wonderfully with affection and joy, the pair of attractive Angels then shared a tender hug with their Valkyrie before vanishing back inside of Lind's body and left Lind by herself.

Although Peorth, Urd along with their Angels and Sango each have very strong feelings of their own for Michiru, Lind and both of her Angels still stood an equal chance of earning an equal share of Michiru's love which was enough for all three of them for the time being. Besides, it was perfectly normal for Goddesses and Valkyries along with their Angels to share lovers with one another even though Michiru would undoubtedly be shocked and embarrassed to learn of such a thing. But the Kururugi boy didn't need to be told any of that yet, all that mattered was for the Shikigami user to follow the path he was destined to tread while treating all of his female companions with same kindness and respect he had shown so far, figuring out his own feelings just as all of them were doing as time moved forward.

When the right moment arrives in the distant future, I should ask Peorth if she would be willing to share Michiru with Sango, Urd and I.

While Lind was praying with Spear Mint and Cool Mint inside of the temple which the three heavenly women presently had all to themselves, Michiru had now entered the house and made his way to the kitchen to see Belldandy once again since it was only a matter of minutes until the first class deity had finished cooking a fabulous feast of delicious food for everybody and the Kururugi boy needed to hurry if he was to have a bath and change into clean clothes without missing out on eating breakfast this morning with everybody today.

"Hello Belldandy, Hello Holy Bell." Michiru said politely as he entered the kitchen where the gorgeous goddess and her attractive angel were both busy with their final preparations for breakfast, Belldandy and Holy Bell both turned around to greet the Shikigami warrior.

"Hello Michiru, I hope you enjoyed having fun with Peorth and Gorgeous Rose this morning." Belldandy replied while she and Holy Bell both smiled sweetly at the Kururugi boy who now begun to blush red in response after remembering every single event that all three of them had enjoyed together from beginning to end until Peorth departed with her angel so Michiru could spend a short time with Lind.

In an effort to take his mind off of being embarrassed from all the physical interactions that he had experienced with Peorth and Gorgeous Rose, the teenager's attention was momentarily drawn to all of the delicious foods served on the dinner table along with those still cooking in the frying pans on the stove.

"Wow, that's quite a feast you've cooked up there, I'm amazed Inuyasha, Shippo and Mara haven't showed up to dig in right here and now given the delicious aroma coming from all the different dishes you've prepared for everybody." Michiru verbally thought out loud. "I'm sorry that Kagome was unable to return to help you out, I imagine she's still mending Miroku's torn robes with a sowing needle and thread since he doesn't have another change of clothes. Hopefully, Kagome will be finished on time so she and Miroku can eat with us."

"That's alright, there's no need for you to apologize, Holy Bell and I have everything under control in the kitchen." Belldandy said politely in response, then she noticed that Michiru was still wearing his exercise clothes which meant he hadn't yet had a bath to prepare for the new day ahead and time was running out. "You'd best go have a bath to clean up and then get dressed before breakfast is ready."

"I was just about to go have a bath, but I needed to see you first since I rarely get to see you alone given how busy both of us are and that we're both presently living together with so many friends and deities on the same property." Michiru pointed out before he reluctantly explained that he needed to see Belldandy so he could speak with her again. "Its okay Holy Bell, you don't have to leave us alone, you are Belldandy's angel and heavenly companion after all. Since you're Belldandy's reflection, you're just as kind, caring and warmhearted as she is which also means I can trust you as much as I trust her regardless of what we're discussing together. We're friends aren't we?"

Holy Bell smiled tenderly with joy and happiness as she floated over and gave the Kururugi boy a warm hug, a blushing Michiru gently hugged the attractive angel in return, Belldandy simply smiled happily in response since Holy Bell got to interact with the young teenager who had given so much joy, kindness and happiness to many goddesses including Urd and Skuld who were both her sisters. After a brief moment, Holy Bell released herself from the blushing young man standing in the kitchen with her and Belldandy so that the two heavenly women could listen to what the Japanese student needed to say to them. Michiru hesitated for a second as he recovered his thoughts after being hugged by the very beautiful Holy Bell, but then remembered that breakfast would be ready very soon so he had to speak now and get this matter over and done with in order to hurry off to the washroom and have a bath to get clean and dressed.

"Do you remember that talk we had in the kitchen together after I drank those four cans of pop?" Michiru asked. "I told you I was worried about the possibility that Peorth and Urd are both attracted to me and you advised me about what to do and how to solve the matter."

Belldandy recalled that talk she had with Michiru, there were a couple matters they discussed, but she had to focus on one in particular.

Flashback...

"I see, for the time being, I believe the best thing you can do for yourself and for everyone as a whole is to keep moving forward and paying equal attention to all of your friends including Peorth and Urd. That will allow you the time you need to figure out your own feelings and also allow them to do the same, so long as you keep being yourself and fulfilling your responsibility to watch over this house as your parents wanted, then you'll be just fine until the summer break is over." Belldandy suggested, deciding to give Michiru a simple solution for the time being which would benefit everybody and then further down the road, another solution would eventually present itself once the time arrived for the Kururugi boy to come to terms with his own feelings and so on. "I hope I've been of help to you Michiru. Is there anything else you'd like to ask me or talk with me about?"

End of flashback...

"Yes, I remember Michiru." Belldandy answered after recalling that talk along with the Kururugi boy's concerns at the time, she could tell from looking at the Shikigami user's face that Michiru was more concerned than before which is why he needed to speak with her again.

"Even though I'm trying to pay equal attention to each of the goddesses and their angels, I still feel afraid and almost ashamed for what my actions are leading towards, I feel like a cheater even though Peorth and Urd haven't accused me of being one." Michiru explained. "In addition to that, Lind and both of her angels have also taken a liking towards me, a-and I also still have a very close relationship with Sango who I met and befriended months ago during my Feudal era adventures before I ever came to this house where I met you along with Keiichi Morisato and all of the other goddesses. Its only been a few days, but I don't know how long I can keep following this path, its not going to be an easy experience, nor is it going to be fair to any of my female friends who have developed strong feelings for me."

"Love is never easy to understand or bear, especially when more than two people are involved." Belldandy replied before she embraced the vulnerable Japanese student in a warm hug so she could comfort him and try to lift his spirits, Holy Bell also gave Michiru a second hug, but this time from behind. "Being afraid or worried about the feelings of others who are also involved is nothing to be ashamed of Michiru, that just shows how much you genuinely care for Sango along with the other goddesses and their angels. I have no doubt that most or all of the girls feel the same way as you do which is why they've chosen to keep their feelings to themselves until they're ready to confess their love. Being afraid of hurting others or of being hurt in return is perfectly normal which is likely why all of them are taking their time to figure out their own feelings while building a relationship with you as time goes by. The stronger the bond is, the easier it will be for all of you to resolve this dilemma, that also explains why all the girls are cooperating while each of them get to spend an equal amount of time having fun with you. If you want proof, look back on all those sparring matches or exercise sessions that you've had with Lind and Sango, or that time when Peorth and Urd both asked you to join them while they did some dirty dancing yesterday morning."

"That last experience was unexpected because of Miroku serving that magnet fruit to everybody, Peorth and Urd weren't responsible for what had occurred." Michiru disagreed while blushing red yet again, not just because of that embarrassing experience, but also because that same memory was similar to this present event in which he was being sandwiched between two attractive women of divine beauty.

"Are you sure about that?" Belldandy asked with a teasing tone of voice as she smiled, causing Holy Bell to giggle in response until the first class deity cleverly brought up another event from the Shikigami user's recent past. "What about that other experience when Peorth and Urd both asked you to apply suntan lotion on their backs? Neither of them expressed any jealousy or anger, if I recall correctly, the only jealous person present at the time was Miroku. Kagome and Sango only expressed their anger or disgust later on after Miroku's scheme with the magnet fruit was discovered thanks to Inuyasha's deductions. Well Michiru? Do you agree with me or don't you?"

"Yes, Belldandy, you are absolutely correct." Michiru reluctantly agreed, the worried look on his face went away and changed to a goofy expression, causing Belldandy to smile humorously at the Kururugi boy who was still blushing red with embarrassment even though he now felt better thanks to the kind words and combined efforts of Belldandy and Holy Bell. "Thank you for your words of wisdom and also for giving me a big warm hug, same to you Holy Bell. May I please use my cell to take some photographs with all three of us together?"

"Of course you may Michiru, be sure to smile handsomely for the camera now." Belldandy replied joyfully while she and Holy Bell smiled.

Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!

"Thank you again, both of you." Michiru said appreciatively after the three friends took a moment to observe the photographs on his cell.

"I hope you didn't come to see me just because you needed to discuss all those worries weighing heavily on your mind." Belldandy said.

"I had originally at first, but I also wanted to check in on you to see how you're doing, its unfair for you to do all of the cooking, cleaning and housework by yourself even with Holy Bell helping you out." Michiru replied with a look of guilt given that he and so many of his friends and other deities were all residing here together for a couple of days or weeks. "Let me help you two tidy up afterwards okay?"

"Thank you Michiru, that's very kind of you." Belldandy replied while she and Holy Bell both smiled sweetly at Michiru as they accepted the Kururugi boy's kind offer. "Now run along and go have your bath, otherwise you'll be late for breakfast and won't get to eat any food."

"Duly noted, but if I arrive late and find that neither of you stopped everybody else from eating everything, both of you will answer to me." Michiru warned while wearing a goofy grin on his face before deciding to exit the kitchen. "Do I make myself perfectly clear Belldandy?"

"As clear as water Michiru." Belldandy replied understandingly as Michiru turned around to leave the kitchen and go to the washroom.

Splash!

"Ahh!" Michiru shrieked in response to a sudden chill which resulted from some ice cold water deliberately being splashed on him from behind, causing the Kururugi boy to turn around and see which of the heavenly women had just pulled a prank on him. "Who did that?"

"Holy Bell!" Belldandy responded while also answering Michiru's question, the first class deity was presently still standing where she had last been seen before Michiru turned around to leave, only now she was shaking a little after moving a moment ago which was evident from the plastic container full of water she was now holding in both of her hands, making poor Belldandy look like the guilty culprit along with the unmistakable expression of guilt she wore on her lovely face. Holy Bell was hovering just behind the deity and slightly higher in the air so she could look over Belldandy's head, she was also using both hands to point fingers at the first class goddess right now too.

Michiru strode over to both heavenly women in order to determine who was guilty and who was innocent, after halting just a few feet in front of Belldandy, the Kururugi boy then humorously grinned at Belldandy and Holy Bell while using his eyes to carefully examine both heavenly women with a suspicious look on his handsome face until he had thought everything through in his mind and was ready to verbally reveal the identity of the culprit like how a detective would do. The Japanese boy took the plastic container of water away from Belldandy so he could place it back on the dinner table, but not until after he had brought the gorgeous guilty wrong doer to justice.

"I'll give you credit, you managed to splash water on me without being seen and you quickly withdrew afterwards, giving you just enough time to toss the plastic container full of water at the only other person present in the kitchen knowing full well that she would catch it to avoid making an even bigger splash of water all over the kitchen floor. Framing Belldandy to look like the one responsible, the guilty look on her face is an added bonus because that also makes her look like the guilty culprit." Michiru deduced before he started loosening the lid of the plastic container so he could hurl its remaining contents of water at the attractive angel hovering behind Belldandy. "You were clever, but not quite clever enough, you clearly forgot that all first class goddesses can't tell lies which also proves you're guilty since Belldandy replied to my question and answered truthfully. Am I right Holy Bell? How would you like being splashed with ice cold water?"

"Alright Michiru, don't waste more cold water, we wouldn't want to make a big mess on the kitchen floor just before breakfast." Belldandy ordered, grabbing hold of the container with both hands to prevent a water fight from breaking out between Michiru and Holy Bell, trying not to laugh even though the tone of her voice and her smiling face both revealed how hilarious she found this enjoyable experience. "Besides, you need to go have a bath and change clothes, you can splash water around in the tub if that makes you feel any better."

"What's the point of splashing water around in the tub if I can't splash Holy Bell with it to get even with her?" Michiru replied humorously.

"Well then, perhaps Holy Bell should join you in the bathtub." Belldandy said teasingly, causing Michiru to blush red and widen both his eyes in response. "Just kidding, now hurry up and go have your bath or Holy Bell and I won't stop everybody from eating all of the food."

Holy Bell filled a glass with water from the kitchen tap and held her arm out as if she was about to swing it really fast so that the water inside would hurl out and splash on Michiru, causing the Kururugi boy to panic and point alarmingly at the attractive angel with one hand which made Belldandy turn around only to see her heavenly companion hovering innocently after hiding the glass behind her back with both hands while acting like she was totally innocent. Once Belldandy turned her head back again to face Michiru, Holy Bell waved bye bye to the Kururugi boy with one hand while lightly shaking the glass of water around with the other to taunt Michiru again.

"You'd best be on guard while Holy Bell hovers behind you Belldandy." Michiru politely advised before turning to playfully grin at Holy Bell for pretending to be innocent even though she was acting like a tease, similar in a way to how Urd liked to act when the second class deity was pulling her pranks on either himself or Mara or both of them at once. "Laugh while you can Holy Bell, I'll be back."

"If you don't leave by the time I count to three Michiru, you won't be eating anything at all until lunchtime." Belldandy stated as if she was Michiru's guardian or a big sister while trying not to laugh even though a huge amount of laughter had now built up inside of her belly.

"She started it." Michiru countered before turning to glare again at Holy Bell who was now smiling as innocently as possible while trying to contain her own inner laughter too since she shared a special connection with goddess Belldandy and also because the attractive angel still triumphed even though she had been found out for splashing cold water on the Kururugi boy with the plastic water container.

"One...two...three." Belldandy counted out loud with a humorous smile while watching the teenager reluctantly depart in defeat, she then glanced at her angel and saw the glass of water held in one hand. "Behave yourself Holy Bell, Michiru is presently burdened with many responsibilities on his shoulders, I understand that you're only trying to have fun with him to take his mind off his troubles, but there are better ways to do that. Besides, Michiru already has to deal with Urd and Mara pulling pranks on each other, he doesn't need you pulling pranks too. You could try acting as his guardian angel or as a big sister, he's still a young teenage boy after all so please remember that."

Michiru arrived at the upstairs washroom and was presently lost in his own thoughts which somewhat dulled down his attention along with his sense of hearing since he didn't realize that the washroom was presently occupied, he opened the door and walked inside before closing and locking it so no one could open it again from the outside, ensuring that he would be undisturbed while he had his bath to prepare for the new day. Before removing his clothes, the Kururugi boy decided to fill the bathtub with warm water first so it would be ready by he had finished undressing himself or so he hoped. However, upon opening the door, he was suddenly astonished to see Sango waiting inside. At first, the shocked Shikigami user was about to apologize for intruding on the demonslayer's privacy, but a closer look showed that his female friend was in a state of sadness as he could also hear her quietly crying and sniffling a moment later.

"Sango?" Michiru called out in surprise, the sound of his voice drawing the attention of the depressed demonslayer who then turned around to face him with tears in her eyes, rushing towards him and grabbing hold of him out of desperation as though her life depended on him as she buried her face against his shirt on the right side of his chest between his neck and shoulder. "What's the matter Sango?"

Sango felt so sad and hurt that she couldn't verbally reply or answer any of Michiru's questions so all that the concerned young man could do was embrace his fragile female friend and hold her in his arms to give her comfort and support until her worries and pain were both gone. As her concerned Kururugi friend tried to console her, Sango's body shook and trembled lightly while she sniffled and cried, letting out all the tears from her eyes until they had run out like water from a tap. Seeking sanctuary in the washroom was a wise move since no one would dare enter while it was presently occupied or so Sango had hoped and while having Michiru enter inside was unexpected, his presence was a blessing and a godsend for the poor young woman who now needed support from the Shikigami user.

"Sango, I can't bear to see you sad, hurt or harmed, please tell me what's wrong so I can do more to help you." Michiru asked softly. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want too, just take your time and say what ever you decide when you feel you're ready."

"Just...hold me a-and...don't leave me a-alone...or let me go." Sango mumbled quietly in between breaths, although Michiru's voice had calmed her a little, she nevertheless tightened her embrace around the young man so he wouldn't let go or leave her. The Kururugi boy would never abandon his friend at a time like this even though breakfast was nearly ready and waiting for everybody, Michiru's mind was made up and he would stay here with her for as long as Sango needed him.

The shy Japanese student was now tremendously worried about Sango, she had been so happy and cheerful just a few hours ago when the two of them were sparring and training with Lind. After Michiru's accident with Sango's Hiraikotsu, he and Sango got to share a truly tender moment alone together where they laughed and shared their thoughts and special feelings with one another, both of them were happy and hopeful for the future that lay ahead of them for the first time in a very long while. But now, poor Sango felt so hurt that she had been reduced to the shattered state of sadness Michiru saw before him and embracing the fragile female here in his arms merely kept her from falling apart even further, it didn't do anything to help heal or mend her. Feeling powerless to do anything else other than hugging Sango, the Shikigami user slowly rubbed the palms of his hands around in tiny circular movements to provide even more comfort for the depressed demon slayer standing before him. Michiru was well aware that every individual person had their limitations along with their own breaking point where they had suffered enough and couldn't endure or hold back any longer, the point of no return when one just lets go and snaps. The Kururugi boy could already guess that Miroku must have had something to do with this matter, but he needed to learn everything first before taking any action and he needed to find out by letting Sango tell him what had happened using her own words, this would also give Sango a chance to free herself from this burden by venting everything out one sentence at a time.

"Sango, I told you earlier this morning that I want to help you in any way that I can, I also told you that I look forward to each and every moment of our lives when you decide to share your feelings or express yourself in any way that you choose regardless of what ever the consequences that follow afterwards." Michiru responded while verbally recalling some of his remarks from when he and Sango had last seen each other earlier. "I meant that from the bottom of my heart and I still do even though you're feeling sad and hurt right now without any hope of what to do next or how to move on, let me go get you a facecloth so I can wipe away all the tears from your eyes and face."

"N-No." Sango said pleadingly, withdrawing her hands from Michiru's chest and shoulders before wrapping her arms around him to hug him tightly in order to make certain that he stayed here with her, not wanting to be parted from him even for one moment. "Please stay."

Michiru reluctantly surrendered to Sango's pleas, he really hoped he had the strength and the confidence within himself to give Sango everything she needed in order to carry on, although that remained to be seen after Sango finally told him what had happened. The troubled teenage boy was also overwhelmed with all of his own painful burden of feelings, fears and worries, if Sango had reached her own breaking point, it wouldn't be long before Michiru reached his as well. At least Sango now had all the time in the world to build a new life for herself while dealing with simple day to day problems that fate tossed her way, but in the modern era where living was far different and much more complicated, there were certain troubles and responsibilities which a person couldn't ignore or run away from.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Michiru and Sango were both alarmed by the sudden knocking which disturbed the peaceful silence along with their thoughts.

"Sango?" Kagome's voice called outside from the hallway on the other side of the bathroom door. "Are you inside? Please answer me."

Sango raised her head up and backed away just enough so she could look Michiru in the eyes with her own, shaking her head back and forth which told Michiru that she didn't want Kagome or anybody else to know she was hiding here. Michiru nodded silently in understanding and cleared his throat so he could verbally respond to Kagome's voice, turning his head to reply to the reborn priestess.

"I'm getting ready to have a bath Kagome, Sango's not here." Michiru reluctantly replied, feeling badly for fibbing to Kagome just now.

"Oh, sorry Michiru, I thought Sango was inside." Kagome said apologetically before leaving to go look outside for her female friend.

The Kururugi boy breathed out a sigh of relief and relaxed a little while Sango squeezed just a little closer against him with her own body for more warmth and comfort now that the two of them could be alone for a little while longer, but only for a very short while. A quick look at Sango's face revealed that she had finally calmed down and stopped crying, though there were still plenty of sniffles to let out along with a few tears still clinging to Sango's eyelashes, feeling Sango's body relax in his arms was another good sign as well so it appeared as though the fragile female fighter had gotten through the worst of her pain and was ready to recover herself at long last.

"Are you feeling even a little better Sango?" Michiru asked quietly while he still held the delicate demonslayer tenderly in his arms.

"Yes, I am now, thank you Michiru." Sango answered, finally finding her voice so she could talk once again, she turned her head to one side so she could rest her cheek against the young teenager's chest while drawing as much warmth and comfort as she needed.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Michiru asked quietly with a soft sounding voice, hoping that Sango would explain everything.

"After you and I went our separate ways, I went downstairs to leave my Hiraikotsu behind with all my other weapons and belongings." Sango began, trying to find the courage deep within herself so she could tell Michiru the truth without breaking down into tears again. "I was just gathering some soap and a towel so I could go bathe in the washroom downstairs when Miroku and Kagome suddenly arrived, Kagome explained that you had asked her if she could mend Miroku's robes with a needle and thread while Miroku hid himself in the bathroom until she had finished so he could get dressed and walk around normally like he had before that incident with the beehive."

"I remember the beehive." Michiru verbally recalled, reluctantly feeling some disappointment about the prank Inuyasha and Shippo had pulled this morning which had started a domino effect that eventually led to this unfortunate incident even though neither of them could possibly have known or foreseen that their actions were partially responsible for leading up to Sango's suffering, but at the end of it all, Miroku was undoubtedly to blame given his long history of misdeeds and abuses thus far. "Please continue Sango, don't delay yourself."

"Kagome also said that Belldandy was preparing breakfast for everybody and that she needed to hurry and mend Miroku's torn robes in time so that neither he nor her would be late, she asked me if I could help her speed things along in order to finish on schedule." Sango verbally carried on. "I hesitated at first, but then I agreed and both of us got to have a nice friendly talk together while we both aided each other with the task in front of us. I held the torn fabric in place while Kagome carefully used her needle and thread to fasten the torn edges together again until Miroku's robes were properly mended so he could wear them again. Kagome expressed her gratitude and thanked me for my help before we both wandered over to the other bathroom where Miroku was hiding with only a towel to cover himself in. All I needed to do was give Miroku his mended clothes and then I could go, leaving him behind to get dressed, but Miroku..."

Sango's flashback…

"Miroku? Your robes are mended and ready for you to try on." Kagome called out before lowering her voice so she could turn to Sango and give her thanks once more. "Thanks again for your help Sango, I couldn't have done this by myself before breakfast this morning."

"You're welcome Kagome, I'm glad that we both got to enjoy a nice quiet talk together without anyone else around while we were both busy mending Miroku's robes." Sango stated, holding Miroku's robes which had been mended and also nicely folded up so she could present them to the Buddhist monk who had been harassed and stung by furious bees earlier this morning.

"I am too, it feels like forever since the two of us got to spend time together without any of the guys around to disturb or bother us, we should do this more often now that Naraku is dead and gone." Kagome happily agreed. "Girls like us need time to ourselves after all."

"Morning Kagome, morning Sango." Miroku replied after opening the door with one hand while holding a towel around himself with his other hand. "Are those my robes by any chance?"

"Yes they are Miroku." Kagome replied. "Now hurry up and get dressed, breakfast will be served soon and none of us want to be late."

"Alright, I will, don't worry." Miroku said reassuringly, taking his clothes from Sango before he unfolded them to inspect them first before trying them on. "What a relief, I was worried I would miss having breakfast with Urd and everybody else, but those worries are all gone."

"Ahem!" Kagome cut in angrily, already aware that Miroku's mention of Urd and the goddesses had hurt Sango's feelings just now even without having to glance at her female friend standing beside her on Kagome's left. "Shouldn't you be saying thank you Miroku?"

"Thank you Kagome, I was about to say thank you if you hadn't interrupted me." Miroku replied before he verbally defended himself.

"I'm not the only person you should be thanking Miroku!" Kagome stated angrily while hinting that Sango needed to be thanked as well.

Miroku turned to look at Sango, staring into the eyes of the warrior woman with his own and suddenly feeling afraid for himself since he had messed up by mentioning Urd's name yet again this morning, it was now plain that the second class goddess had become the object of his infatuation permanently occupied in the mind of the perverted monk and that it would be next to impossible for Miroku to forget about his infatuation or his lecherous desires which was all it took to finally drive the female demonslayer over the breaking point.

"Thank you Sango for helping Kagome to mend and repair my robes." Miroku replied, but even he could see from the look in Sango's eyes that his words had no effect, it was too late to say anything out of politeness or do anything to make up and apologize for his flaws.

Without saying another word in response, Sango turned around and ran away, not wanting Kagome or Miroku to see her break down and cry. There was only one place she could seek sanctuary and that was the other bathroom upstairs in the house, once inside, she could stay there where she could have all the privacy and time that she needed to let out all her tears and amend her heart which was hurting inside like never before. After arriving at the upstairs washroom just moments later, the fragile female fighter went inside, shutting the door behind her before she went into the other room where the bathtub was located. Seeing that the tub was empty, Sango turned on the tap to run the warm water like she had seen Kagome do on another occasion and waited for the level of the water to raise up to the height she desired before needing to turn off the tap. The sound of the running water and the warmth from the faint steam rising from its surface helped to make Sango relax while she knelt down, but that couldn't help her to deal with the agony she now felt raging inside heart. This was a new and different kind of agony because in all her life, Sango had never felt the pain of losing a man to another woman until now and even though Miroku's infatuation was one sided, that alone was enough to show Sango she had no hope in the world of ever competing. How could any human woman possibly compete with a divine goddess like Urd? Urd had a very beautiful body in addition to divine immortality which was something Sango didn't have and could never possess since she was a mortal human being.

Sango felt no hatred or anger towards Urd, but she couldn't help but feel envious since the second class goddess had only met Miroku a few days ago and now she had become the object of his desires without doing anything while Sango was now being ignored as an afterthought even though Sango had spent many months traveling throughout the lands with Miroku along with Inuyasha and the others during their search for Naraku along with the secret shikon jewel shards and so on. And just like that, all of the experiences that they both had together as well as the relationship that they had shared now felt as though they had amounted to nothing as if they were worthless and lost their value. Although Sango had an attractive female figure of her own which unfortunately drew the unwanted abuse from Miroku's uninvited hands, Sango knew that own beauty was limited and would slowly fade away with time as she aged and grew older which each passing year, that was why young women normally married and had children while they were attractive enough to find an attractive husband for themselves while they still could until that short window of opportunity was gone forever. So consumed by her own thoughts and feelings battling out from inside her lonely heart, Sango failed to hear or notice the sound of the door opening close by. Only after hearing her own name being verbally called out did the depressed demonslayer turn around and see Michiru standing before her which caused Sango to stand up and rush over to him so she could feel safe in his embrace and draw warmth and comfort from her Kururugi friend which is what she so desperately needed more than ever right now.

End of Sango's flashback...

"I can't remain here, I-I want to go h-home." Sango said sadly in between sobs and sniffles while clutching her Kururugi friend desperately as though she was afraid he was about to disappear suddenly like how he had just moments after she and Michiru had buried Utsugi's body at the Kururugi Cemetery which had been caused by the magic Shikigami spell transporting the Japanese student forward through time all the way back home to the modern era. "I can't stand being around Miroku while he flirts around with other young women and asks them to bear his children! I can't stand watching helplessly from afar knowing that he's always going to be the same, disgraceful and deceitful minded monk that he's been his whole young life! I really thought...I really hoped...that Miroku would finally change himself and his ways for the better so that we could take our relationship to the next level now that Naraku's dead and Miroku's wind tunnel is gone for good. B-But I was wrong...wrong about him and wrong about everything! There's no point in staying at his side if he only sees me as an object to flirt with or a toy to play with and then discard once he's become bored and looses interest in me! I don't want to stay here any longer!"

"Sango...please hear me, I understand how you feel." Michiru replied reassuringly, eager to say anything that came to mind if it helped to heal Sango from all the hurt and agony she was presently feeling and suffering from inside, holding her close and embracing her gently with his arms for as long as she needed him too regardless of everything that was going on outside the walls of the bathroom they were in. "Now that Naraku's gone for good and you have your brother Kohaku back again, perhaps you should return to the Feudal era and go traveling with Kirara so you can get away from Miroku for a while, for as long as you feel you need no matter how many days that takes."

"But what about you Michiru?" Sango asked curiously. "What about Kagome and gathering all the remaining shikon jewel shards?"

"I don't care about the jewel shards Sango! I care about you!" Michiru replied frustratingly, momentarily frightening his female friend with his loud tone of voice until he calmed down, tenderly rubbing his hands in circular motions on Sango's back to help her feel at ease. "I'm sorry Sango, I didn't mean to sound angry with you, I'm angry at Miroku for all the inexcusable things he's done to you and to Urd and the other goddesses as well. I also hoped he would finally make a serious attempt to become a better person so he would be worthy of a wonderful woman like you, but that's obviously not going to happen. That leaves you with only one alternative Sango, you need to go home where you can spend time with Kirara and Kohaku and be far away from Miroku until you're fully recovered and feeling better again. That lecherous idiot doesn't deserve a woman who's as wonderful and beautiful as you are, nor do you deserve to be abused or mistreated by him any longer. You deserve better Sango, you deserve to be treated with the respect and kindness that you've always shown towards others, I know because I was once one of those others when we met each other for the first time at Kaede's village."

Sango had temporarily lost her voice and couldn't say anything in response to Michiru's words and remarks so all she could do was wait patiently while listening to him say everything on his mind, perhaps her voice would return once he had finally finished talking.

"Have you ever wanted to know why I always chose you when we all agreed to pair up together while we took a break from our travels and spent a whole day off?" Michiru asked curiously, causing Sango to nod silently in response. "Because out of all my new friends, you were always the kindest and most well behaved person Sango, I've rarely ever seen you lose your temper or get upset and angry, and when ever you did, you always had good reason for doing so. You've always been patient, supportive and encouraging towards others, you never once abused my trust or made me feel uncomfortable during all of our experiences together, I enjoyed spending each and every one of those days off with you beside me Sango. I would give anything to share more of those days with you and Kirara again."

"You looked pretty uncomfortable while you were standing on the bridge looking away from me while I was bathing in the river." Sango verbally recalled, causing Michiru to blush lightly in response which gave the warrior woman some joy and happiness at his expense.

That was an unexpected situation Sango, one we both know you were at fault for if I remember correctly. Oh well, I'm glad to see that I can make Sango happy even if I have to pay the price by being embarrassed in front of her and at my own personal expense right now.

"My very first day off was before I had met you, Kirara or Miroku, I spent it with Kagome since she was only person from the modern era who I could relate and feel close too." Michiru carried on, changing the subject to keep Sango's attention fully focused on himself right now. "When we agreed to spend the day off together, I asked her what she had planned to do for the whole day, and she answered…"

Michiru's flashback…

"We'll nobody's been eating really well lately given that we've been fighting demons constantly during our travels together while going back and forth from Kaede's Village to Akebi Village, so I thought I would make a good, healthy home cooked meal." Kagome answered.

Kagome's a really nice person, she's always thinking about everybody's well being.

"However..." Kagome added with a hint of disappointment. "...I can't cook anything too fancy though since we're in Feudal Japan without any tools or other modern luxuries that you and I are familiar with. Could you gather some potatoes and onions from the garden please Michiru? I'll get ready and prepare everything else inside Kaede's house while you do that. Do you know where to look in the garden?"

"Sure Kagome, I'll go to the garden right now." Michiru replied before heading off to go to Kaede's garden beside the mysterious fields.

After a very long while, Michiru's laborious task was finally finished and he carried several heavy baskets of garden vegetables back with him on the walk back to Kaede's house where he expected Kagome to be ready and waiting to receive all he had gathered up.

Whew! That took a lot longer than I thought, working in a garden is much more demanding than it appears, oh well, it can't be helped.

The Kururugi boy entered the wooden house with all three of his baskets which were overflowing with vegetables and hoped that the worst was over and cooking could be a little less laborious and easier to do, he looked around and spotted Kagome wearing a bright yellow cooking apron which she had obviously brought with her from her home back in the modern era where they both originally lived.

"I'm back Kagome." Michiru called out as he set all three baskets overfilled with vegetables down on the ground, drawing the young high school girl's attention as she turned around. "Here are the potatoes and onions that you asked for, I also brought you some carrots too."

"Perfect timing!" Kagome replied. "Do you think you could help me a little bit?"

"Sure I can." Michiru answered politely, he looked around and eventually deduced what Kagome's big plan was for today. "Oh, you're making a bento box!"

"Yes, I think we're going to be traveling a long way tomorrow." Kagome deduced, holding a long handled wooden spoon in her right hand as the big pot of water boiling over the crackling fire began to bubble and release lots of hot steam from underneath the rumbling lid.

Look at Kagome cooking, its great that she's really good at it. I wonder why Inuyasha's not here? He's got the biggest appetite out of all of us, I would have thought he'd like to spend the day with Kagome and help her cook a wonderful meal, but he's having a nap instead.

"Hey! What are you staring at me for?" Kagome asked all of a sudden, ending Michiru's train of thought and bringing him back to reality.

"I'm sorry Kagome, I was just admiring your cooking skills." Michiru said apologetically, trying to think of what to say next to avoid looking like an idiot or to take Kagome's mind off of him staring at her just now so he hopefully wouldn't be labeled as a creep. "I'll help you out."

"Of course you will, that's why I called you." Kagome replied before ordering Michiru around like a boss would an errand boy just starting the first day of his first job. "Now take those radishes. No Michiru! Not those! Those are carrots! Put those down, I don't need those yet!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Michiru apologized frantically before grabbing the other basket filled with radishes. "Oh, you mean these Kagome?"

"If you have time to say you're sorry, you have time to work!" Kagome verbally pointed out before giving Michiru more orders and tasks to carry out. "Next, you can chop up some firewood outside to put in the cooking fire for the oven, then you can go get some fresh water from the river. Oh, and wash all the dirty pots and pans and..."

Huh...Kagome sure likes to boss people around, no wonder Inuyasha didn't protest when I decided to spend the day off with her today. Instead of having a relaxing day off as I had hoped, I'm running errands for Kagome while she cooks and everybody else gets to relax. This reminds me of what my Uncle and Dad both told me a long while ago before I started high school. Never volunteer for anything.

End of Michiru's flashback…

"Kagome's not a bad person, but she can be a bit bossy at times so after spending one day off with her, I choose to spend the other day off with somebody else instead." Michiru finished, feeling just a little guilty for sharing his disappointment about Kagome who was still a friend to Sango and himself along with everybody else for that matter as well. "Anyway, getting back to what I was trying to say earlier Sango, you deserve someone better. Miroku's been a fool for mistreating you for so long and also for not appreciating you for being the wonderful woman that you are, any man that gets to marry you or spend their life with you, he would be forever blessed. Now if Miroku can't or won't see how much of a good person you truly are, then he definitely doesn't deserve you at all. You offered me your friendship even though we only just met while we were still strangers in Kaede's Village, you agreed to spend each and every day that we had off with me even though you could have spent it with someone else instead. You agreed to help train me to become a stronger person and a better person so I could fight and defend myself from dangerous demons in a world I didn't live in or belong too. You're not just a brave and wonderful woman Sango, you're a goddess and while you might not have any divine powers or the immortality of a goddess, you still have the heart of one because you're kindhearted, brave and beautiful on the inside and on the outside. Anybody would be blessed to know you and call you their friend, I know that I do Sango. I'm not telling you these things just to make you feel better, I'm also telling you because I believe them to be true and I believe in you Sango. I believe in you so much, in all that you are and all that you can become."

Sango was overwhelmed by everything that Michiru had just told her, but at the same time, recalling Miroku lusting after Urd and remembering that she no longer mattered to him only made her doubt the Kururugi boy's words no matter how much she wanted to hear him sharing his feelings about her and bringing them out in the open for her to find out and so on. Sango honestly didn't know what to do or how to move forward and as much as she wanted to stay here in the Shikigami user's arms right now, she knew she couldn't forever.

"I...I am not as beautiful as you say Michiru." Sango replied regretfully, still sniffling and feeling hurt all over, both inside and out, burying her eyes and face against Michiru's shirt so she could cry again while wiping the tears from her eyes. "Nor am I a divine goddess either."

"Sango..." Michiru replied, removing his right hand and arm from Sango's trembling body so he could gently touch her chin and tilt her head back in order to look at her eyes and face once again. "You're beautiful to me and you'll always be a goddess in my eyes Sango, now and always, for as long as both of us shall live on this earth and in the modern era where I live or in the Feudal era where you live."

Sango's eyes widened in shock and astonishment even though she knew she was still an ordinary mortal woman, there was no lie in either one of Michiru's eyes, she could see that he truly felt that way about her which is what Sango so desperately needed during this painful period of her young life. After processing everything, she managed a weak smile, a smile that Michiru still noticed even while Sango's lovely face was still sad and red with tears from her watery eyes. Seeing that all his words and remarks had finally made Sango feel better after breaking through all the fear, pain and doubt torturing her poor soul and hurting her fragile heart which was in great need of love and happiness, the Shikigami user chose to add a bit of advice which he hoped his female friend would consider listening too.

"I meant what I said earlier, any man that gets to marry you or spend their life with you, he would be forever blessed." Michiru added before making a suggestion which he hoped Sango would consider, he wanted her to be happy and find love for herself after all. "I think its time that you start putting yourself and your happiness first for a change Sango, you should go traveling across the lands with Kirara for as many days as you decide you need. While you're traveling, you ought to try and find yourself a good man, I mean that too Sango."

This time, it was Sango's turn to surprise the Kururugi boy with some words and feelings of her own, Sango's sad expression softened a little as she gathered up every ounce of courage that she could before she stared into Michiru's eyes with her own before she spoke in the softest and most sincere tone of voice the Shikigami user had ever heard before in all the times he had shared with Sango.

"But Michiru, I already found a good man." Sango said sincerely as she and Michiru slowly drew closer until their lips touched together.

Without warning, Sango lips touched Michiru's and both young warriors kissed each other, the world around them along with all the people in their lives were all blocked out for as long as their mouths and lips remained in contact with each other. Since Michiru and Sango were alone together inside the upstairs bathroom which was also locked from the inside, there was no way anyone could walk in on them, nor could anyone spy on them either. After a truly wonderful and memorable experience, Sango and Michiru reluctantly pulled apart from one another, panting softly since they both went without any air while they kissed during that brief moment in time, they both looked into each other's eyes where they could see and feel the warmth of their feelings that they each possessed for one another. No more words needed to be said, the feelings in their hearts along with the looks in their eyes and the tender touch of their lips proved all that both young warriors had already felt and suspected for a long while now, Sango and Michiru had both fallen in love with one another.

However, while their eyes and hearts were filled and overflowing with love for one another, there was also pain and hurt which accompanied that love as well. For the Kururugi boy had also earned the love and affection of several divine goddesses along with all four of their heavenly angels as well. Michiru was already fully aware of this and Sango had suspected such a possibility after she had seen Peorth and Urd flirting and interacting with the Shikigami warrior, Lind was still a mystery to Sango, but the unavoidable truth was now confronting both young warriors and there was no escaping from this. Sango knew it and Michiru knew it. But what were they to do?

Sango's eyes widened with shock, guilt and horror now that the truth had finally entered into her mind and upon seeing Michiru widening his own eyes in response, she knew the same fears and realizations had entered his mind as well. Unable to think of anything to say or do next, the Japanese student simply hugged Sango again in his arms, using one hand to pull her head against his chest and gently hold her close once again like he had to comfort her while she recovered after having been hurt by Miroku's remarks earlier. Although Sango was grateful for Michiru's embrace, she could tell that he was now hurting far more than she had been and this time he was the one who was in need of support, the warrior woman returned his embrace by hugging him in return.

"Its alright Michiru, I'm here for you and now its my turn to help you if you'll let me." Sango stated, trying her best to reassure him with her own words while giving him all the comfort and warmth that he needed even while her eyes threatened to water up with more fresh tears all over again. She knew Michiru was also burdened with many responsibilities that he had on his shoulders, many of which someone from the Feudal era couldn't even begin to understand or imagine. Not wanting to let him down or see him fall apart like he had seen her earlier, Sango decided to say anything that came to mind to try and keep her Kururugi friend in one piece. "I don't know how Michiru, but I promise you that we're going to work this out, we're going to work this out together no matter what happens afterwards. You and I, Urd, Peorth and Lind. We all care for you and we all need you very much, just try to stay strong. Keep it together just like Shippo says to do."

How can I think of such a thing? Let alone say it? Michiru knows as well as I do that we can't be together no matter how deeply we both care about each other. But at least we can still be close friends so we won't be completely parted and all the feelings that we both have for one another will always be ours to hold and cherish in our hearts forever. No matter what happens to us, we're going to work this out.

Unfortunately for Sango, Michiru felt so overwhelmed that he couldn't say a single word, his heart felt as though it was being pulled apart in four different directions. As soon as he had pulled away from her lips once their kiss had ended, something had stirred and awakened deep within Michiru's tortured heart, a very painful memory he had tried to bury within himself long before his Feudal era adventure had been concluded once he had been magically returned home again to the modern era. The troubled teenager's body now trembled with fear and pain just as Sango's had earlier, Sango gently tightened her embrace around the young man held in her strong arms in order to counter the pain he was plagued with, she had run out of words to say and feelings to share so she reluctantly had to wait until he had finished battling out what ever it was he was fighting within himself as she could hear him sniffling lightly as he cried.

Michiru had suddenly recalled that horrible memory of taking a walk outside in Minamo Village which he had used as an excuse in order to distance himself from Miroku after seeing the monk receive Sango's care and attention, the Kururugi boy was overcome with jealousy and needed to get away temporarily since he didn't want to see the two of them together. Later on while he was walking on the outskirts of Minamo Village, Michiru unexpectedly ran into Sango and what was even more unexpected, was that she confessed that she liked him and wanted to know if he liked her in return. Needless to say, Michiru was unprepared and hesitant to give her his confession, although he had developed strong feelings of affection and admiration for the female demonslayer, he was still a morally minded person who was aware that Sango still had some feelings left for Miroku even though he believed that Miroku didn't deserve Sango's affection or was even aware that she had any for him either. Nevertheless, Michiru wasn't going to throw away what looked like his one and only opportunity to confess his feelings for the formidable female fighter he had come to care for and cherish throughout the course of his adventures here in Feudal Japan. This was his chance, it was now or never, all or nothing as far as the Kururugi boy was concerned. Even though this had been a few months ago, it still felt fresh in Michiru's memory as though this event had happened only yesterday.

Michiru's flashback…

"So this is where you've been." Sango said after walking up to speak with Michiru, her beautiful chocolate brown hair blowing in the wind.

"Huh? Sango." Michiru stammered, stopping in his tracks as he was interrupted from his thoughts and brought back to reality; a look of hesitation and uncertainty clearly written on his face since he obviously wasn't ready or able to talk with the beautiful girl at a time like this. "I…actually have to go somewhere right now, I just remembered I need to get some water; we can talk later back at the inn when I return."

"Wait!" Sango replied, her voice sounding serious which forced the Shikigami user to remain where he was standing so that he wouldn't attempt to leave. "I need to talk to you about something, I followed you out here where we could be away from everyone else; it's very important so please stay."

"Something important?" Michiru asked. "What about?"

"I hate beating around the bush, so I'm just going to say it." Sango replied. "Michiru…how do you feel about me?"

"What do you mean?" Michiru asked curiously, not quite understanding what the question was.

"Well…what I'm trying to say is…" Sango stammered uncontrollably as a light blush appeared on her cheeks which eventually made her face pink with embarrassment as she tried to continue in front of the boy who waited patiently for her to finish what she had to say. "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but…I like you Michiru; more than just as a friend. Do you feel the same way about me?"

Michiru's eyes widened as he was completely unprepared for hearing those words from the beautiful young woman whom he lost his heart too, the hesitation and uncertainly on his face proved that his mind was now split in half; two sides nagging at him to respond one way or the other even though he couldn't afford to look foolish or afraid in front of her right here now that he finally had a chance to let her know how he truly felt about her and while they were both alone in privacy away from all of their friends as well. One half of his mind was urging him to take this one chance in a life time opportunity which would never come again while the other advised him to rethink everything first, for he already knew how this would affect everyone as a group afterwards; and especially Miroku who had also become attracted to the beautiful demon slayer. There was nothing else for it, he had already lost the chance of finding someone special whom he could call a girlfriend by staying quiet in order to avoid causing any further pain to himself and to others; he didn't want to make that same mistake a second time even though he knew he would be coming between Sango and Miroku by declaring his feelings openly like this.

"I…I….like…you…too." Michiru slowly replied until he regained enough mental control to speak normally. "It's been so hard to keep this to myself all this time, but I really like you Sango; you've become a very special person and you're more than just a friend to me as well."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner if you felt that way about me?" Sango asked with a look of concern as she moved closer to the boy.

"I couldn't tell you how I felt because…I was afraid of rejection and also because I didn't want to cause any pain for each of us by coming between you and Miroku." Michiru answered nervously. "Miroku's a friend of mine just like Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo, but despite the way he sometimes acts; I know that you and Miroku are…you know…"

"Don't worry about any of that." Sango replied, closing the distance between them both and surprising the unprepared teenage boy by embracing him in a tender hug as she held him gently to ensure that everything would be perfectly alright and there was nothing to worry about anymore from this point onward. "I've put you through a lot of grieve and I can imagine how hard it was for you to keep your feelings bottled up inside of you for so long, but no matter what happens now; we're both going to be together from here on in."

After being held in the arms of the attractive athletic beauty for nearly a whole minute, Michiru's mind had become lost to everything else around him; this was truly a romantic experience he could only dream of which he never believed he himself would get to enjoy with a beautiful girl like Sango. He felt like he was in heaven, so long as the tender moment lasted anyway; at least all his fears were finally behind him now that the girl he loved also felt the same way about him. Just as things were looking up and Sango closed her eyes and inched forward in an effort to plant a gentle kiss on the boy's soft lips, she spoke again; but her words were never heard since the Kururugi boy was focused entirely on Sango's face instead of her voice. Wondering what she had said, Michiru let himself out of the young woman's arms and backed up a pace or two before asking her to repeat her last remark; but her response was entirely unexpected. Laughter erupted from inside of her and it stung him painfully as he desperately tried to figure out why she was doing so, for it didn't make sense to laugh at someone after telling them how you feel in person; there had to something else going on here.

"You fell for it! Honestly, young men are so gullible; so easy to fool and manipulate." She finally said after she had stopped laughing, her harsh choice of words stabbing into the Kururugi boy and inflicting an immense amount of internal emotional agony on him as he listened.

"Sango…what are you…talking about?" Michiru replied softly as his eyes watched the beautiful woman vanish in a cloud of black smoke which had engulfed her, but when the smoke lifted and eventually cleared; there was a large dangerous looking demon standing in her place.

Michiru tried to ignore his emotional pain in order to protect himself from this opponent who was obviously a threat to his life, the demon was an over sized orc looking creature and was dressed in an assortment of colorful clothes that either a trickster or rich person would wear; his feet were hoofed and his over sized head was round with two tiny ears at the top and a long horn protruding from each side of his face which made him look a bit like a cow. His ugly pig like snout stuck out from his face, making it difficult for his tiny eyes to be seen from a mere glance; he stood upright and moved around like a human being would normally do which was plain enough to see from his stance and also from the staff like weapon he was armed with.

"I'm not Sango, my real name is Mahoro; and I have the unique ability to transform and disguise myself as a person's object of affection." The demon boasted, revealing what had actually happened and thereby proving what had occurred only minutes ago was just an illusion.

"You mean that everything I thought I had experienced was all nothing but a lie?" Michiru asked, even though he already knew the answer; his heart already beginning to feel the sting and overwhelming burden of internal agony which made his body tremble slightly.

"Precisely! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Mahoro replied with a laughter, watching Michiru shake his head in disbelief as fresh tears poured out of his eyes and ran down his handsome face; the emotional pain clearly taking hold over him and making him hurt and vulnerable. "Aw, are you crying? Now that's an expression I especially enjoy seeing, and here you thought you were finally in the arms of the person you loved; such a pity it wasn't real like you wanted it to be even though you were having second thoughts because you'd be betraying your friend."

"That means you're the one who's responsible for all the disappearances, all the young people who's been spirited away were lured into a trap like this just as I've been…" Michiru deduced after piecing everything together, staring back at Mahoro and waiting for a response, not caring that his own life was still in danger since his heart felt like it had been broken already and that death meant nothing at this point.

"Well aren't you a smart one, too bad you didn't figure this out sooner; you could have avoided being in such pain as you're in right now." Mahoro replied, wielding his weapon and preparing to deliver a killing blow to his human victim before his advantage was lost. "But don't worry, I shall kill you here and make your death a quick one; that should be mercy enough seeing as you're already in so much pain."

"Take that!" a voice shouted as a magic paper sutra shot passed from behind Michiru and struck Mahoro square in the face, the impact along with the spell being cast on him causing him to lose balance and stagger backwards; long enough for the unknown attacker to arrive. "Get away from him demon!"

The Shikigami user had managed to regain his composure once the outsider who had made his appearance was in fact his friend Miroku, the two of them could now combat this demon together; and it seemed as though the situation had turned around in their favor. After the two friends defeated Mahoro together, Michiru reluctantly still felt that he had to get away and raced off in the direction of Botan Village, leaving Miroku behind. From there, the Kururugi boy would encounter Kanna, Utsugi and the resurrected priestess Kikyo later on as well. More battles still awaited the Shikigami warrior at Botan Village before he was able to finally recover and move forward with his life while he continued his journey with all of his Feudal era friends and companions, other battles also would have to be waged later on which pitted Michiru and his friends against their dangerous demonic enemy Naraku before Michiru was magically returned to his home again back in the modern era using the same Shikigami powers which had mysteriously summoned him to Feudal Japan all those months ago.

End of Michiru's flashback…

Michiru wanted more than anything else to confess his deep feelings for Sango ever since he had become close friends with her over the course of his adventures, sadly however, he was still haunted by the pain of that tragic incident involving the demon Mahoro in Minamo Village. When he realized he was finally being returned home again to the modern era, he had only a brief moment to say his farewells to Sango, his courage had sadly deserted him and he couldn't tell her how he felt about her for fear of rejection along with the fact that he didn't have the means to return to Feudal Japan where he could reunite with the wonderful warrior woman again. However, less than a month later, other unexpected events were going to happen which would also change the course of the Kururugi boy's life. One day, his parents had informed him that he needed to stay and keep watch at his Uncle's house during the old priest's long absence, neither Michiru or his own parents knew at the time that his Uncle's house was currently occupied by Keiichi Morisato and three divine goddesses from heaven. Then on the morning of his arrival after being driven there and dropped off by his mother, Michiru encountered Mara followed by each of the goddesses; Skuld, Urd and Belldandy. Finally, Michiru ended up summoning Peorth down from heaven by accidentally dialing a wrong number. The biggest surprise of all was Michiru finding out that he had earned the rare privilege of receiving assistance from a heavenly goddess and was allowed to ask for a wish which first class goddess Peorth was assigned to grant him once he had chosen on what he wished for the most in this world. Being more cautious, patient and responsible than most other humans are, Michiru postponed the matter of deciding what to wish for while taking the opportunity to get to know Peorth along with all of the other goddesses as friends and people first before doing anything else. However, Michiru couldn't have foreseen that such a course of action would have unexpected consequences later on in the days ahead.

To begin with, Michiru had started to develop feelings with Peorth and she also developed feelings for him as well, though there were a few incidents when she had gone a little too far with her flirtatious advances in her attempts to awaken his desires such as when the first class goddess had sneaked into his sleeping bag and woken up in bed with him one morning. But beyond that, the relationship that they were building together was progressing well enough and they were becoming closer as companions in only a few days time. Then came an unexpected surprise when Inuyasha and Kagome had shown up for a surprise visit and that later led to Belldandy using her divine blessings on the Bone Eater's well which allowed all of Michiru's other Feudal era friends who were normally trapped on the other side in Feudal Japan to travel through time here to the modern era where all of them could see his world and visit Michiru while at his Uncle's house. Seeing Sango again in person was like a dream come true, though as happy as Michiru felt after reuniting with her again, he was sad that he couldn't be with her now that he had just started a romantic relationship with the goddess Peorth who he had summoned from heaven. On the morning of the same day that Michiru had received a surprise visit from Kagome and Inuyasha, Peorth's best friend Lind had descended down to earth out of concern for the first class goddess since the Kururugi boy still hadn't chosen what he wanted to wish for which kept Peorth at his side until he had finally made up his mind, by the time that day had ended and midnight had passed by, so many other events had occurred which included Urd falling in love with him as well since he accepted Urd's half demon heritage and still wanted to be friends with her regardless of that unexpected discovery. On the morning of the following day before even having breakfast, Michiru and Lind had shared a brief moment together after exchanging compliments, confessing feelings and getting to meet both of the Valkyrie's angels as well.

How? How did it I get myself into this romantic mess? All I've ever done my whole life is act responsibly while working honestly and treating others with the dignity and respect that I want to be treated with in return! Why have Sango and several gorgeous goddesses and four heavenly angels fallen in love with me? I don't understand it! Argh! If only Miroku and Troubadour weren't such rotten, self centered idiots! Then Sango and Urd wouldn't have felt so hurt or been abandoned! That still leaves Lind along with Peorth who also have feelings of admiration and affection towards me, but Lind is disciplined and strong as well as tenderhearted, she'll understand if I decide to remain faithful to Peorth. This is all such a heart wrenching nightmare! I need to go back to the Feudal era just like Sango does too, that's where I became a stronger and better person and that's where I need to go looking for answers in order to find a way out of this painful dilemma!

Author's Note: Its been four years and eight months since I had uploaded the previous chapter before this new one and much has happened since then, both good and bad I'm sorry to say. Firstly, real life always gets in the way which none of us can control, nor walk or run away from unfortunately. Secondly, I was at a standstill not knowing how to carry on this story from where I had left off, like how one would cross over a river without a bridge so to speak. Thirdly, we all have our own limitations, I can imagine many wonderful ideas, but I have trouble accurately describing them into words and bringing them to life on screen while in the correct chronological order which is an overwhelming challenge as well. All that aside, I would like to thank each and every one who has read all that I've written thus far even after nearly five whole years of inactivity, its difficult to find the motivation and strength to carry on in the face of reality. I'd also like to give thanks for J4RRE77 for all his supportive suggestions and personal encouragement to keep this story going no matter how difficult and slow writing out this fifteenth chapter has been.

Also, it is with great sadness and regret that I recently found out that OrionPax09 had passed away recently, though I don't know any details regarding exactly when or how. He was among my favorite authors and one of the best and most talented writers that I have ever known, his wonderful drawings of artwork, creative ideas and memorable reviews for other stories along with all of his own stories (completed or unfinished) brought joy, hope and inspiration to me along with many other fellow authors, readers and fans alike for many years. Though he may be gone, all of them remain for us to admire, read and remember in our minds for as long as fans like us shall live. I wish to dedicate this chapter in his memory, the real world and the wonderful realm of fiction and imagination will never be the same without his presence. Everyone please take a moment of silence to honor him along with all his wonderful works, drawings and stories which stemmed from such a creative and inventive imagination. Even all his encouraging words from personal messages and from all of his detailed reviews should also be well remembered as well. Every person has a limited time to earn greatness and perform many deeds whether they are immense or small and once their existence has ended, those deeds along with that greatness they achieved will remain.

We have lost an artist, an author and a friend.

His life on earth has sadly reached its end.

While we all feel sad and miss him so.

We pray, hope and believe he's in a better place

even though we'll never truly know.

Where ever you are now, we all hope you're doing just fine.

We'll remember you now and always, OrionPax09

From Uruz 11

OrionPax09: Well, after all the loneliness and ridicule Urd has suffered throughout her whole life as a result of being half goddess/half demon, it was the least she deserved after being accepted by Michiru and enjoying an eventful evening with him in her bedroom. Urd needs more joy in her life so it seemed like the best way to start the new morning for her along with the new chapter as well, though it may have been naughty for her to steal a quick kiss from an unconscious Michiru, at least the incident was quick and harmless. As tempting as it was for Urd to cast a lightning bolt down on the unconscious monk which he justly deserves for such lecherous thoughts after his many misdeeds, the second class goddess reluctantly had no choice but to hold back lest she wake everyone up and get caught, something she wanted to avoid.

Unfortunately, Sango has to endure many hardships including Miroku's which she's willing to put up with in order to have a relationship with him regardless of the fact that such a price is unfair for her to pay in exchange for a deteriorating relationship with an unworthy man like Miroku. No person of Sango's quality should ever have to put up with such abuse from someone as ill mannered and immoral as Miroku, the same can also be said for any young man who has the misfortune of becoming Kagome's partner in life, especially in the modern era when traditional values and family values aren't respected or followed. Thank heavens that Sango was given the opportunity of meeting a young man (Michiru) who's worthy of her and respectful towards her in the Inuyasha SOTCM game, I always get a kick out of Miroku's jealousy when ever Michiru chooses to spend each day off with Sango even though he's had many more opportunities (both in the game and the main Inuyasha anime) than Michiru ever had to be with the female demonslayer and develop a relationship with her over a long period of time.

Inuyasha's certainly matured a lot over the many months that he's spent with Kagome and the others (though Kagome doesn't have the wit to see it, let alone admit it) so he knows that each of his friends have their flaws or ups and downs, (call them what you will) but at least he's willing to accept them and tolerate them so long as no one is seriously offended or harmed by someone else's words or actions. Being a half demon himself, Inuyasha also understands how Urd must feel to be looked down upon or treated unfairly by others even though living in heaven amongst many deities is still different from living down on earth among humans and demons, he also needs more joy and friends in his life like Urd does so getting to have a laugh with Urd was fun for both of them and no harm was done by it.

You said it, that's the hard undeniable truth right there when it comes to Miroku and his reputation for committing thievery, blackmail and physically harassing Sango, etc. Its unbelievable to think he could get away with such actions for such a long period of time throughout the monk's life, but like all individuals who act without thinking of the long term consequences that their actions have towards others, eventually the lucky streak runs out. While Miroku's reputation has certainly been tarnished both on earth and in heaven, he hasn't yet suffered any long term punishment or physical injury which is also a surprising miracle, hence why he repeatedly misbehaves to achieve his lecherous desires despite the fact that the pleasure he gains only lasts for mere moments in most cases. This is a lesson he'll have the misfortune of finally learning long after its far too late to erase the damage done to himself and to others as a result, one that we as readers are waiting to witness with anticipation since we're as displeased with Miroku as Sango and many others are. I deduce that Kagome's willing to tolerate Miroku's bad behaviour not just because she occasionally benefits from it, but also because Sango's the person who suffers Miroku's unwanted harassment instead of herself and also because its part of the unfortunate relationship between Sango and Miroku which Kagome watches as though it's a piece of live entertainment for her own enjoyment.

Yes, Peorth is very naughty and flirtatious, but at least she's finally learned to be patient and take things slow for Michiru's sake in the relationship that she shares with the Shikigami warrior.

Sango has always been vulnerable, not just because she's the only person amongst the group without any magic powers or half demon strength, especially during situation when Naraku holds her younger brother Kohaku as a hostage or uses him to toy with her emotions and keep the female fighter at bay in case she's a threat to him. Nevertheless, Sango's still a very capable combatant thanks to her training and battle experience as a professional demon slayer, she's also a highly moral person (just like Michiru) who tries to treat others respectfully and act honestly unless a person or persons don't deserve her kindness which is why she's considered very attractive and desirable both as a person and as a woman. I like to think that Lind is looking out for Sango (along with Michiru) because she recognizes how much of a good person Sango is along with the fact that both of them are highly trained warriors women even though Sango's a mortal human and Lind is a Valkyrie. Lind undoubtedly knows how much emotional pain Sango's going through because of how she's had to put up with Miroku amongst other things and since the Valkyrie doesn't know how much time she'll be staying on earth, it only makes sense for Lind to offer words of advice, comfort or encouragement to anyone in need of them like Sango or Michiru.

I've also thought of having Inuyasha temporarily transformed into an ordinary human (either with Michiru's Shikigami magic or the divine powers of the goddesses) so he can train and fight more effectively without just racing into battle since he'll understand the need for caution and discipline and not just courage or brute force. Of course, I very much doubt that Inuyasha would be pleased with such a predicament despite the long term benefits he'll eventually gain, mainly because he'll feel weak and become a laughing stock for everybody around him, especially his enemies; Naraku, Sesshomaru, and Koga even though Koga's just a rival for Kagome's affection.

Lind didn't appear very much in the Oh My Goddess anime so I'm forced to use my imagination on how she's act during certain situations, unlike Peorth and Urd, she's more conservative and not as flirtatious or forward when it comes to showing off her beautiful body or revealing her deep feelings. I get my inspiration for Lind's shy behaviour from Sango's shyness since both warrior women are so similar, I wonder how many times Michiru will have to apply sunscreen on Lind's back until she eventually remembers to put some on each morning. J Its so fun to write out scenes and situations with Lind or Sango interacting with Michiru since all three characters are mature, moral minded and kindhearted.

Yes, Miroku is a despicable, disgusting disgrace of a human being who gives all monks around the whole world a very bad name and he doesn't know it, nor will he realize this fact until long after its far too late to erase his misdeeds or his reputation.

I'm pleased you're concerned about Alastor's actions along with his attitude, he's obviously scheming something sinister, what that happens to be won't be revealed for sometime I'm sorry to say. You definitely nailed Alastor's personality and you're right to have your alarm bells ringing, seeking to test Michiru's loyalties and moral beliefs are serious cause for concern, selecting the same person as an expendable pawn or target is also of serious importance since its already been revealed that knowledge of the Kururugi boy's Shikigami powers have been highly classified and closely guarded with great secrecy.

I'm glad you're looking forward to Miroku finding out that many gorgeous goddesses and voluptuous Valkyries harbour great admiration and affection towards the young Shikigami warrior, he's going to have a priceless look on his face among other things once the bubble finally bursts in the upcoming future. Of course, Michiru himself would naturally state that he doesn't deserve such special attention or treatment from many deities, but his modesty is only one of many reasons why he's earned such high status and respect.

It was a minor incident and besides, the goddesses employed throughout heaven are eager to find excitement or joy throughout their own divine lives and since many of them have been wanting to learn Michiru's identity ever since his adventures and achievements came to light during his first journey throughout Feudal Japan which was rough five hundred years ago, its understandable that the young goddesses would briefly lose focus for a moment and become overly excited or overjoyed which is why Odin wasn't cross with the three goddesses.

Glad to know that you were surprised for a brief moment until it was revealed that Miroku was being plagued by Shippo disguised as Troubadour instead of Troubadour himself, although Inuyasha had to disturb the bees to pull this prank on Miroku, the bees were able to return to their home once Lind used her halberd to hurl the beehive back to the tree from whence it came just before Miroku was driven away.

I know, its so sad and unfortunate, Sango's lost her entire family and has had her brother Kohaku taken by Naraku and put under the demonic foe's control. Then there's the abuse she's had to put up with because of Miroku, she truly needs someone to love who will love her in return and help her to heal from all the hurt she's suffered from thus far. At least Sango has friends like Michiru and Kirara to give her comfort and companionship, her recently formed friendship with Lind has also given Sango another female friend to confide in for advice seeing how Kagome isn't entirely reliable or dependable in certain matters, especially since the reborn priestess still fantasizes on seeing Sango and Miroku become a romantic couple despite all the evidence which shows that such a relationship simply isn't possible.

Lind, both a female warrior as well as a deity with knowledge of Feudal Japan and Modern Japan fully understands Sango's predicament as well as how Miroku's managed to get away with committing his ever lengthening string of crimes and misdeeds which he wouldn't be able to do or erase from his reputation had he lived in the modern era as Michiru does. Sango and Michiru also don't like offending or hurting others since its morally wrong and also because such actions would threaten to destroy friendships and relationships with the people they've come to know and care for in their lives which is also what make them hesitant to take action immediately unless something serious happens first which warrants harsh action to be taken afterwards. Since deities judge humans differently than humans judge themselves, Lind can also see in between the lines so to speak and understand how Sango and Michiru each feel or think about a certain situation and give them guidance in order to help them along when ever the need arises, she can also keep an eye on Miroku too.

That's a nice idea you put forward which I like and agree with, as difficult and challenging as it would be for Sango to adjust and adapt to living in modern Japan, she can at least put her skills to good use without having to actually fight anyone or anything by becoming a physical fitness/self defence instructor which would not only give her a job to earn a living, but also to pass on some of her demon slayer heritage from her family even though demons don't exist in the modern era and I'm sure she'd be pleased to help others learn how to defend and protect themselves against any unwanted enemies they unexpectedly cross paths with in the modern world. Glad you liked the brief bit with Urd getting a laugh from seeing the recorded video footage of Miroku being attacked by bees thanks to the prank Inuyasha pulled on the lecherous monk with help from Shippo, Urd needs more joy and laughter in her life just as Sango does. Hopefully as the story progresses, Michiru can provide more of both for the two of them and for others as well even if some of the laughter happens to come from his own expense.

Kikyo's also been forced to suffer tremendously like Sango has, though some of her problems are different from Sango's apart from having her life shattered by Naraku's treachery, being brought back from the dead is namely the biggest difficulty she has to bear. I know Kikyo's character is neglected throughout most of the Inuyasha anime and that she's easily hated by many fans for one reason or another, but I like to think she has justifiable reasons for some of the actions and decisions that she made. Despite her best efforts to live with other humans and treat them with kindness even though she's no longer a living person herself, Kikyo's eventually been treated as an outcast time and time again, forcing her to walk down a long and lonely path until she reaches its end or until her own life is ended. Kikyo's unfortunately going to have to endure the painful task of explaining herself to Inuyasha and Michiru about many matters of great importance once she meets either of them again, she's also going to discuss the tragedy which tore her and Inuyasha apart fifty years ago and attempt to amend the relationship that once existed between them despite Kagome's presence which won't be an easy or enjoyable experience for the three of them.

In regards to the important matters relating to Michiru, those will be closely linked with why Michiru's Shikigami powers have been carefully guarded with grave secrecy by the deities in heaven throughout the passed five hundred years, all those answers I'm sorry to say will have to wait until some time after Michiru and his friends have returned to Feudal Japan to continue the story. Sadly, that is when the meat of the story will arrive so until that time, all I can do is move forward while providing more comedy at Miroku's expense along the way. Something big and sinister is on the horizon, I'm dying to get to that point in the story myself and I hope you enjoy what I cook up as I reveal everything one course at a time, hopefully we'll reach that stage by the 20th chapter at the very latest since Michiru and most of his friends are still in the modern era right now.

That's also a very good idea, not only would that prevent Kagome from abusing her powers over those blasted subjugation beads, then the option of using the sit commands for justifiable reasons would still be available which is what Kikyo originally created them for in the first place. Kikyo needs to talk with Inuyasha about his experiences with Kagome and then she needs to give Kagome some disciplinary action of some sort for abusing Inuyasha as well as for neglecting to use her purification powers to their fullest potential, etc. I'm also amazed that Naraku never tried taking advantage of every opportunity that came when ever Kagome and Inuyasha argued with one another, but perhaps he was too busy planning his evil schemes or he deduced that if he suddenly arrived on the scene, they'd then stop arguing in order to fight against him so there wasn't anything that he could gain from interfering while they argued. I feel badly for Mara since she's an evil character created for comedic relief, she enjoys having fun with Urd and the goddesses and its only because of her place under Hild's authority along with the fact that deities and demon kind are business rivals that prevents her from having fun and being friends throughout the course of her long life as a proud demon.

I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter even though most of the humour was once again at Miroku's expense,

Anyway, hope to see the gang visit Nekomi Tech in the near future. I can only imagine the kind of chaos that will ensure when they encounter the various members of the Auto Club and the kind of trouble they get into.

J4RRE77: Thank you again for all your helpful support and encouragement, I wouldn't have been able to finally finish writing this fifteenth chapter without it. I hope you enjoyed the short little poem I wrote just above, since he left me a review for my fourteenth chapter and he won't be able to review this one or any more afterwards, I still felt I had to include my written response which I had typed out three and a half years ago out of politeness as well as to honour the memory of OrionPax09 who was kind enough to read and review my stories too.

Moving on to your review for chapter fourteen.

I suppose so, but I was thinking in military and political terms since Demons and Deities are both different beings as well as business rivals. Manipulating people (namely humans) to submit to their will or support their cause through fear, intimidation or use of demonic contracts won't work on everybody. While appeasement makes the aggressor more aggressive than before, deities are powerful enough to rival demons and would never budge from such actions which is why Alastor was thinking and saying what he said, he's really unsatisfied with the current state of affairs along with the terms of the current peace agreement which was set and is being upheld by both Heaven and the Netherworld in order for both worlds to coexist peacefully and benefit equally from making contracts with human beings on earth. Alastor's also a villain so its easy to overlook the whole truth when there's a lot to be unhappy or unsatisfied with as well.

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading this long chapter along with all the events contained in it whether they were dramatic, comedic, happy or sad and so on. In the weeks leading up to this chapter's final completion, I suddenly had an idea to include Ayame into the story (and also into Michiru's romantic harem) since her character wasn't included in the Inuyasha: Secret of the Cursed Mask game, I originally wanted to get the wolf demon tribes involved once Michiru along with his friends and the goddesses travel back to Feudal Japan and that's also how the idea came about as well. I'm sure you have many questions which I hope I can answer without giving any spoilers away, we can discuss them along with other ideas and suggestions once Monday's work and exercise have both ended for me which will be sometime early this evening since I have to go to the gym after work is finished today. Thank you so very much again for all your help, patience and encouragement during these passed four years and eight months, I couldn't have finished writing this chapter without you.

Greymon Leader Batz flashpoint: I also like Kikyo as well, it's a shame that most of the screen time she gets portrays her apart from the rest of the main characters or Inuyasha or Kagome, I felt she was overlooked and didn't get the chance to act openly or freely like everybody else does which is why I'm going to give her the opportunity to play a more major role in the story. It was only briefly in the past that we got to see many sides of Kikyo's character before and during the tragic incident which Naraku set up to pit her and Inuyasha against each other, sadly for her as well as us as fans, we never got to see Kikyo's character develop any further afterwards which is also something I plan to change.

Yes, Miroku's misfortune is never going to go away, primary because he has it coming as a result of his bad behaviour and also because he got away with so many inexcusable incidents in the anime which won't be the case in my story since he deserves a long and lengthy punishment equalling the total amount of his misdeeds instead of a break which isn't fair or just. There are many reasons for Michiru's fame and favour which he's recognized for among many deities in Heaven, more so than I've let on or mentioned so far, including the necessity for having his identity being recently revealed after being kept secret for so long. The other and arguably the more important reasons will have to wait until other events have occurred during the story once other equally important secrets and mysteries have been revealed also. I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter even though not much really happened despite how many months it took for me to type it all out, I hope that this following chapter was somewhat of an improvement compared with the previous one, thank you again for your rewarding review and your encouragement.

Bucio: Your very welcome, and thanks you again. No problem, I often write reviews or private messages which get cut off because of the space limit for words and letters so I understand where you're coming from. I'll make sure to watch season 2 of Familiar of Zero in order to see how the story continues and to meet more characters to see how to develop a worthwhile cross over story when I feel I'm ready for that venture even though that's far off in the future and I'll also take the opportunity to share any ideas for events or pairings should I require any assistance or opinions from you as well when that time comes.

I agree that Skuld and Shippo have many similarities, age, childhood innocence, humour, curiosity, etc. Kohaku and Rin are more quiet and also down to earth since they're both human, but also because they've both experienced plenty of hardship, loss, and pain. Although Michiru already has his hands full, I'm still toying with the idea of having a one shot with him and Skuld just for a bonus since the young second class goddess doesn't get much attention compared with the other goddesses and also because Skuld herself still has many admirable and desirable qualities as a character and as a possible love interest despite the differences in age, maturity along with the important fact that Skuld's a goddess and Michiru's a young mortal human being.

Yes, Urd and Inuyasha have a lot in common, pride, confidence in their strength, being half demons apart from the differences you mentioned. There's actually an Inuyasha/Oh My Goddess cross over already which features Inuyasha and Urd together so I'd recommend you read it and any others which have been written if any more exist, I can't promise that I'll include another one shot since Michiru is the main protagonist in this story and the main focus for many possible romantic pairings, but I'll keep your suggestion in mind if I feel up to writing it.

I didn't think Kagome was all that bad when I first started watching Inuyasha as a teenager many years before I even learned about the Inuyasha SOTCM Game or even played it, but as I grew older and learned more as an adult, my opinion of her inevitably changed for the worse because of how easy of a life she has compared with other characters (from Feudal Japan and Modern Japan) from the Inuyasha realm. She frequently abuses her powers over Inuyasha's subjugation beads, flirts with Koga and accepts gifts from many possible love interests instead of being honest with herself and choosing Inuyasha or someone else as a romantic partner for life. She skips out on school, homework assignments, and returns home for a break just because her ego and pride won't allow her to make amends with Inuyasha whom she wronged or argued with, she's always pointing out his flaws and never her own. Heck, she gets away with more than Miroku would get away with, even her mother and grandfather cover for her instead of properly lecturing or grounding her for failing to devote her energies towards school and homework which she clearly needs if she wants to succeed in the modern era. As far as I can see, Kagome wants the best of both worlds without willing to work or take on all of the responsibilities that are required of her, especially when it comes to school work in modern Japan and improving her capabilities as a priestess along with recovering all of the Shikon jewels in Feudal Japan. She gets jealous of Kikyo so easily even when Inuyasha mentions Kikyo's name or when he merely spends time in order to talk with her, I'd go so far as to label Kagome a feminist, its no wonder why Sango's more admirable and desirable than Kagome is.

Sorry for ranting on and getting carried away like that, I haven't yet made up my mind about what will happen to the love triangle which exists between Inuyasha, Kikyo and Kagome, but I'm considering writing another alternate ending which pairs Kikyo with Michiru since no romantic couple involving those two characters has ever been done or considered before and also because those two characters have so much potential which was never shown in the main anime, Michiru's character only exists in the Inuyasha SOTCM Game after all which is a tremendous disappointment to myself and many other fans as well. Because of the romantic complications that Inuyasha is faced with along with the fact that he's spent most of his screen time trying to hunt down and defeat Naraku among other issues, he hasn't had time for romance even under favourable circumstances and the same can be said for Kikyo as well which is why it will take a very long time for both of them to rebuild their relationship together or to strike up a new romantic relationship with someone else in mind as the story progresses. Once I reach the end and write out the alternate endings involving Michiru with the various love interests in his life, than perhaps one or more similar solutions will present themselves or it will be easier to address that subject as well.

As I've mentioned previously either in the Author's Notes or in other review response, I already have plans for Kikyo in mind since I want to give her a more major role in this story so she isn't overlooked like how she was in the Inuyasha anime along with the possible pairing I mentioned in the above paragraph involving her and Michiru together. Crossovers are always fun to write because of the possibilities of doing something different or unexpected along with the possible character interactions and pairings along with the chance to have different characters go through an entirely different experience than what they would normally encounter inside of their own genre whether its anime or something else entirely.

Considering a lot happened in the bedroom between Urd and Michiru, I thought it was only fitting that I start the new chapter off by focusing on the second class goddess for a while, that's going to be the biggest challenge for me to write, how to address the dilemma of Michiru having many love interests all yearning for him. Urd definitely had to stay calm and in control to avoid waking everybody up despite the temptation to cast a lethal lightning bolt down upon an unconscious Miroku who deserves such a punishment for always having his mind in the gutter and for not being able to keep his lecherous thoughts to himself, though talking in one's sleep is hardly a bad thing even though we can all understand Urd's disgust and frustration for the perverted monk. Although Urd was still caught by Inuyasha thanks to the guy's sense of hearing and smell, at least he addressed the issue with ease while he talked with her about the matter of Urd sneaking into the temple to give the Kururugi boy a kiss along with giving advice to help Urd and the other goddesses find a diplomatic way to resolve the issue of being in love with the Shikigami warrior which won't be easily dealt with when the time comes to face it. Inuyasha's matured a lot more than most people admit or are willing to give him credit for so it would make sense for him to draw on his own experiences along with the complications that he's encountered and seen within them as well. It also goes to show how much he values his friends enough to look out for them and care for their well being even though Inuyasha wouldn't normally offer relationship advice since socializing isn't one of his areas of expertise along with the fact that he wouldn't intrude into the relationships of others like how Kagome would do.

Yes, that quick scene between Lind and Peorth was filler, but I wrote it just so Peorth could appear briefly before Lind and Sango both wandered out to go meet Michiru in order to start the morning with some exercising, stretching, etc. Lind and Sango are both formidable female fighters with other similarities even though Lind is a goddess and Sango is a human being, I intend for both of them to become friends since they're both going to be training with Michiru together so there's potential there along with the fact that all three of them can learn other lessons from each other and not just anything combat related.

Perhaps Peorth might, but she was too comfortable to rise so early in the morning and such a move would have inevitably conflicted with Urd's which could have lead to verbal confrontation among the two which wouldn't be good and which isn't desirable at the present time either. Although Lind secretly harbours romantic feelings of her own towards Michiru, she's not as forward with advertising such feelings like Peorth and Urd both are, nor is she ready too until after she's had the opportunity to interact with the Kururugi boy in order to build a relationship with him over a long period of time since love takes time to grow and developing a close friendship must come first. In addition to that, Lind's smart enough to deduce that her close friend Peorth and possibly Urd are already romantically interested in Michiru just as she is so its better to wait a while and see where their paths go until the Shikigami warrior finally decides to choose who he loves out of all of them or if he'd be willing to devote an equal amount of time, effort and love to all of them which is also a possibility even though having a harem goes against all the moral values and beliefs that Michiru's been raised and taught to respect and uphold. Although its possible that Lind's imagined the thought of kissing Michiru, she'd never do so without having his consent and since she highly admires and respects him, she'd put her own temptations and desires aside for the greater good just like he also does even though Peorth and Urd frequently flirt around with him and would welcome the opportunity of having Michiru make a move on either one of them.

Lind forgets to put some sunscreen on her back again which forces her to rely on Michiru's help to apply the liquid substance to her feminine figure on her behalf, causing both of them some brief embarrassment yet again, but at least it wasn't anything like the incident involving Peorth and Urd since both of them were acting way too flirtatiously for Michiru to handle along with the equally inescapable fact that both of those two goddesses were only clad in bikini swimwear with their beautiful bodies nearly exposed to view.

While its true that Miroku couldn't help himself(nor could anybody else while they're asleep either), he still doesn't deserve anyone's defence considering his long list of total misdeeds committed to date, especially since most of those have been directed towards Sango. It truly is a shame that the creator's decided to pair her with Miroku instead of allowing Sango the opportunity of seeking a romantic relationship with someone who is truly worthy of her affection such as Michiru who sadly wasn't given the chance to be part of the Inuyasha anime or manga and remains only part of the Inuyasha SOTCM game. Despite Sango being emotionally hurt, she still harbours feelings for the lecherous monk even though he doesn't deserve her affection, Inuyasha therefore enlists Shippo's aid in order to punish Miroku for unintentionally hurting Sango while discouraging him from making more unwanted advances on Urd who is also unhappy and disgusted with the perverted monk for his lecherous fantasies and misbehaviour. Although it would be funny to have Miroku figure out that Shippo and Inuyasha had pulled this prank on him only to encounter the real Troubadour later on and mistake the plum tree spirit for the disguised fox demon before suffering the wrath of Troubadour's bug summoning song, I'm not going to have Troubadour appear again simply because he's already made the mistake of choosing his dream of finding the Golden Nightingale over Urd whom he abandoned long ago and having him leave again after acknowledging his choice along with the consequences left the plum tree spirit to follow his own path which was different from Urd's since Urd's path is obviously intertwined with Michiru's from now on. As a result, it wouldn't make sense for Troubadour to briefly appear again in the story, I apologize if that's not what you were hoping for.

I like that you labelled Troubadour and Alastor both as morons (laughs) and glad that your "Spidey Sense" is warning you in advance because your fears are justified, however, I can't go into detail without revealing any spoilers or secrets which must be kept under guard until later. One thing I can say however is that many obstacles await both villains which will force either one of them to carry out their sinister goals in a particular order and unless every objective is met, then neither of them can move on to the next without involving more risks or raising the stakes even more than they already are. This is primarily of course because Alastor and Naraku will inevitably be making enemies from all three worlds (earth, heaven and the netherworld) instead of just one world (earth) which is viewed as somewhat of a chessboard or a playing field for demons and deities to compete against each other over human contracts from a business point of view of course. Also, the Shikon jewel shards will still be of great important even though it will feel as though they'll take a secondary role or position of importance over the goals of the villains, heroes, heroines and their allies.

Since Lysander has only just appeared in the story along with the fact that he's also another made up character like Alastor, its really too early for anyone to think much of him or know him well enough to deduce which side he's on and what his views are, etc. Nevertheless, I'm glad he's also caught your attention and interest, I hope to give you more insight into his character along with his back story as the story progresses so you'll have more to see and experience as you normally would with all the other characters of the story. You're certainly correct about Lysander wanting to avoid the subject of Michiru which has become a distraction amongst many of the goddesses throughout heaven as any teacher, supervisor or boss would for the sake of the students, subordinates or employees under their supervision. Ex, Ere and Chrono are much younger than the main goddesses from the Oh My Goddess realm so its natural for them to show more interest in the famous Michiru Kururugi since they're also employed in Heaven and don't get to spend time down on earth like Belldandy, Urd and Skuld get to do even though Belldandy's stay on earth is entirely due to the contract she has with Keiichi once he wished for "a goddess like her to stay by his side forever" and both of her sisters are also on earth for neglecting their work in heaven or because of being bored with their living their lives in Heaven since earth gives them more freedom and opportunity for fun.

Funny how Miroku only regrets his misdeeds once the consequences drastically outweigh the benefits or gains he thought he'd possess by committing them beforehand, especially when there are long term effects which can't be undone or avoided afterwards even though the lecherous monk was eventually rescued and spared from further attacks by the furious horde of bees thanks to Lind's efforts. Unfortunately, Lind along with Sango and Michiru were still interrupted and annoyed by Miroku's unwelcome appearance and while the Valkyrie managed to solve both problems of saving Miroku (even though he didn't deserve saving) and then sending him on his way, the lecherous monk still caused some annoyance, anger or emotional stress to all three individuals who were present to see his troublesome state of misfortune.

While its true that Michiru admires and to some extent, envies Miroku for possessing more confidence than himself, its very important to remember that Miroku and Michiru are two very different individuals who have lived and grown up in two very different eras along with the specific circumstances surrounding various situations that either of them happen to encounter or experience throughout their lives as mortal human beings. Nevertheless, its still good for Lind to talk about such matters with Michiru and Sango who are both in need of encouragement and to some extent, guidance since both of them are uneasy and reluctant to take actions which might result in accidentally hurting or offending others which is always an unfortunate consequence that all well mannered people would want to avoid. Both Sango and Michiru may have uncertainties and inexperience at socializing, but at least they're willing to try getting through life without hurting or hindering the lives of others, especially their friends which is certainly something to give them praise for which only deities are aware of unfortunately. After sharing some advice and other words of wisdom with Michiru and Sango, it was good for Lind to get the three of them back on track by resuming their early morning activities together, which also served to take the minds of the two human warriors off of Miroku and the anxieties he had caused them.

Having Urd appear again sometime later after having finished her bath and changed for the new day was fun since she couldn't con Inuyasha into having Michiru walk in on her during her bath (which would have been funny for her even if it was at Michiru's expense) since he was looking out for his best friend as he himself mentioned earlier during his conversation with Urd, but at least the second class goddess still got to have something else to give her a good laugh this morning by watching the recorded video footage of Miroku being terrified by Shippo disguised as Troubadour and being attacked by angry bees followed by being driven away and nearly speared by Lind a few moments later. Now that there are three gorgeous goddesses each harbouring affectionate feelings for Michiru, it only makes sense to allow each of them an equal opportunity to spend time with the Shikigami warrior in order to build a relationship with him while developing those same romantic feelings along the way and also have fun when ever they aren't interacting with him as well. Urd's been through quite a lot in her long and lonely life as a half goddess/half demon and even though Michiru's accepted all of her along with healing all of her emotional pain and so on, she now has to deal with the unwanted advances of Miroku since the lecherous monk has become infatuated with her, plus she and the other interested persons will later have to deal with the dilemma of resolving with the inescapable fact that all of them have fallen deeply in love with the Kururugi boy which won't be an easy or painless task to address.

Since this Inuyasha cross over also involves deities who dwell in and come from heaven, it only makes sense for Kikyo to learn or to have been told about Naraku's treachery and how he manipulated her and Inuyasha against each other along with a great many other events and matters of importance as well. Such a thing will inevitably give her great insight to future events and happenings later on in the story, but as I have mentioned more than once already, I want to give Kikyo a more major role since her character was overlooked in the main Inuyasha anime and rightly deserves one since its also true that her character was overlooked in playing a major role in the Inuyasha SOTCM game. Kikyo's resurrection was planned out and executed by the evil demon witch Urasue, because Yggdrasil monitor's people's lives along with all their feelings and events that they experience from the day that they're born until the day that they die, this would have given Kikyo advanced warning to know about her resurrection and ample time to prepare for it as well as what to do with her life after being brought back into the world of the living despite being without possessing an ordinary mortal body of living flesh and blood as she would have hoped to have.

If I had to lay responsibility about Kagome's trip to Feudal Japan on someone or something else, I'd pick the sacred Shikon jewel since it emerged from her body shortly after her arrival in that era at the start of the Inuyasha series, but that event isn't as important even though it was still an event which occurred about fifty years after the tragedy surrounding Inuyasha and Kikyo. However, you are correct in claiming that Kikyo's role along with all the knowledge she's accumulated in Heaven over the last fifty years will be of great importance and use to Michiru and the others in the many days ahead if Naraku is to be stopped and eventually defeated before his sinister plans are put into action which would endanger many innocent lives. Although Kikyo learned a great deal during the fifty years or so that she spent in heaven, she wasn't able to find out the truth about everything that she needed to know about in order to use later on after her resurrection, this is primarily because she doesn't have security clearance that high ranking deities would possess and also because she can't be entrusted with precious knowledge which could be discovered and taken advantage of by dangerous enemies such as Naraku or Alastor to name a few.

I'm glad you brought up the relationship between Inuyasha and Kikyo which was tragically shattered by Naraku's treachery fifty years ago, she's suffered a great deal and has had to accept a great many things which she can't change no matter how strongly she wishes she could, Kikyo deserves sympathy since she's had to sacrifice her own happiness for the greater good on more than one occasion which tragically brought her more pain and hardship instead of joy and happiness which such generosity and devotion on her part should have rewarded her with later on in life. In addition to the tragedy she and Inuyasha experienced along with the difficult challenge of defeating Naraku which is far off in the future, the love triangle which now exists is another serious problem which can't be avoided for too long and it will be difficult for all three of them to resolve amongst themselves when the time comes to address that dilemma. I intend to give Kikyo a happy ending even though the road is a long one with the end uncertain and unknown to her and Inuyasha, this will also be affected by the multiple alternate endings I have planed for this story with different romantic couples made up of different characters paired together, yet another difficult problem that can't be avoided for too long either.

I'm glad that you were satisfied with the previous chapter considering how long you had to wait for it along with the fact that not much happened in terms of events and not much time passed by either since it started and ended in the early hours of the morning. I already have plans for Kagura and Alastor even though I can't say what those are at this time, they won't be a couple though, nor will Kagura and Sesshomaru simply because Sesshomaru is too full of himself and is uninterested in seeking romance or companionship as a result of devoting his time and energies entirely to the sole purpose of battling against only the most powerful beings he can possibly encounter on earth in order to enhance his renown reputation as a formidable full fledged demon. Although I've seen one episode of UFO Princess Valkyrie, that anime isn't really my cup of tea (I'll admit I'm rather picky when it comes to watching certain anime and writing stories based on anime because the characters, setting, plot, full potential, number of episodes are all important to me) so I respectfully decline your suggestion of writing an Inuyasha cross over with that anime series. Thank you again for your patience, encouragement, thoughtful ideas and rewarding responses in your reviews thus far. I hope to give you more entertainment as the story continues, thanks again and take care.

Raidentensho: I'm not sure I follow all that you said in your review, you may have mistook this chapter for another belonging to a different Inuyasha story written by someone else entirely, I apologize for being confused or misunderstood. I hope you still enjoyed that chapter.