InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Through your Heart ❯ The Gathering ( Chapter 26 )

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Through your Heart

Chapter 26: The Gathering

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*Somewhere*

Usagi raised a hand to block the sun's shining rays, her eyes squinting to see the landscape around her. She was lying in a flowerbed in some unknown field, seemingly undamaged by the harm of evil. She propped herself on her elbows to get a good look around her and the only thing that entered her line of vision was said field. Kilometers and kilometers of flowers all around her and she couldn't help but sigh and close her eyes when a light breeze passed by her.

But she felt so empty all of a sudden that it made her heart jump. "Where am I? For how long was I unconscious? I feel so at peace here even thought I know it's not a place I should be…"

"What you said is true to some extent, Hime-sama."

Usagi jumped on her feet at the new voice seemingly coming from nowhere and looked around with a frown. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

But no one showed up. Instead, a small light descended slowly from the blue sky and hovered in front of her. Usagi let her guard down; the feel of this light was strangely familiar. She gasped when the light subsided. There stood a see-through version of the Ginzuishou. "But. How?!"

"You've been out for quite a number of days, Hime-sama. It is only normal that you feel disoriented and confused. Do you remember what happened in the Sengoku Jidai?"

The speechless rabbit slumped on the ground, her eyes still trained on the crystal that followed her movement to be at her eye level again. "Wha?" Was the only response she could give right now. Then she looked around uncomfortably and fidgeted. 'Ok, so the Ginzuishou spoke to me. Now what do I do?!' She thought in a panic. Nothing made sense!

"But it does, our Highness." The Silver Crystal 'spoke up' again. It wasn't really speaking; it was more as if the wind transported the words to her since the voice seemed calm and ever flowing.

Usagi was surprised as it read her thoughts but kept quiet since she wanted to know more.

"I am appearing before you like this because you are presently inside me, Hime-sama. When I cracked during the end of the battle, your body died and your soul flew into me to stay in a preserved state. Someone tried to use another Star Seed to revive you but with me out of your body it was impossible. I immediately pushed away the invasive force and went back inside you to prevent such a thing happening again. For the others, you are dead."

Usagi cut the crystal's ranting by putting her hands in front of her in a stopping motion. "Woah there! I'm actually INSIDE the Ginzuishou? And I'm dead?! And how come you cracked in the battle? I thought the Ginzuishou…YOU were more powerful than that other Star Seed! I've never had so much trouble handling you before!" The confused princess exclaimed.

If it would have been a living being, the crystal would've nodded to her. "True, I am more powerful than any other Star Seed, except the Holy Cosmos Seed you aren't supposed to wield in a long time. But in order to fulfill your wish I had to strain more than usual and lay dormant in your body until I am needed again."

Usagi blinked. "A wish? What wish? I never wished for anything!"

The crystal actually chuckled. "Oh? But if I recall correctly, your thoughts tilted in the direction of that demon, didn't they?"

Usagi froze for a moment and seemed to search for the memory. Her eyes widened when she remembered and she gaped. "WHAT!? You mean THAT wish? But it was just a passing thought!"

The Ginzuishou seemed to vibrate and it twirled around her as if it was teasing her. "Oh? But from my point of view, you really seemed to want that since you even made me crack with the force of that wish."

Usagi opened her mouth but closed it when no words came out. The ghost image of the Silver Crystal waited patiently while she sorted her thoughts. "So… Am I going to be reborn and have a new body since mine is dead?" Usagi sighed and surprisingly made herself accept the idea pretty fast.

The Silver Crystal pulsed a little. "Yes and no; I will have to stay hidden within your heart for this to work since your blood will not be the same. You will be reborn but with the same body; it will only transform to accommodate the changes. It should be happening very soon and you will have to get used to it. But even without me, you should have the same kind of power to defend yourself, only modified to your new body." The Ginzuishou finished and it started to fade away.

Usagi was in shock and her head swam with so much new information she didn't even noticed it disappear. She just put her hand on her mouth and shook her head, disbelief flooding her blue eyes. "Well isn't this going to be interesting?"

………

"Come on InuYasha! You have to get Sesshoumaru out of his bedroom! The guests will be coming any minute now!" Kagome urged the apprehensive hanyou to walk faster by pulling at his sleeve insistently.

InuYasha truly didn't want to go in there but the miko had a death-grip on his arm and an unshakable iron will when she wanted. "Remind me why I have to be the one to do this again?" InuYasha deadpanned when they arrived in front of Sesshoumaru's door.

Kagome gave him a stern look, her hands placed on her hips. "Because you don't want your brother to waste away! He needs something to change his mind, to entertain himself!"

She opened the door and all but flung the yelping silver haired hanyou inside. "It's his castle so HE will have to be the one to greet his guests! Or at least be present! I'm getting Rin and I don't want to see your face until you get that brother of yours out of this room, you hear me?" she ground out fiercely.

InuYasha recoiled and nodded. He watched Kagome walk away with a happy smile and his eye twitched. InuYasha mumbled a silent "And you better prepare the infirmary for my arrival while you're at it" and turned to his brother hesitantly.

The room was a mess; angry scratch marks on the walls everywhere, even bits of melted walls, probably caused by his poison, pillows and sheets thrown everywhere in disarray, the complete opposite of his always so organized brother.

A deathly silent reigned over the bedroom, creating a rather unsettling atmosphere. But Sesshoumaru wasn't facing him. Apparently his older brother had decided, in his messy thoughts, to take a chair and make it face the window. Sesshoumaru was sitting there and he didn't even show a sign of recognizing InuYasha.

The hanyou shuddered and racked his nerves. He walked slowly in front of his brother and looked down at him. Sesshoumaru didn't even blink or move; he was death still, just gazing in front of him now at InuYasha's red fire-rat haori as if he was able to see through him and outside.

'Jeez, for him to behave like this… He's letting himself die, as if he had lost his mate! For youkai to do that when they loose their mate is normal, but Sesshoumaru wasn't even mated yet with Usagi! He must've really cared for her. I shouldn't be the one to talk, though. I think I would do the same thing if something would happen to Kagome…' InuYasha thought sadly.

He gulped and poked his brother on the shoulder with one clawed finger. Nothing. The hanyou's eyes twitched in irritation and he poked a little harder; still no response. 'Damnit! He's breathing, isn't he?' InuYasha glanced down and yes, Sesshoumaru was indeed still alive.

'So, you're playing hard to wake, huh? Let's see how long you'll last through this!' After cackling mentally, InuYasha started to poke him repeatedly on the shoulder hard enough to make said shoulder back away slightly with the movement.

He was getting to the 14th poke when a clawed hand gripped his in a death grip, effectively making InuYasha yelp in surprise. With bared fangs and a dangerously low growl of warning, Sesshoumaru tossed InuYasha aside with one shove of his arm.

InuYasha regained his balance and smirked. "So you're still conscious, huh? Listen Sesshoumaru! We prepared a party for you and you're going downstairs to greet your guests whether you like it or not! The 3 other cardinal Lords are going to be there plus some lesser Lords from other territories, if you don't greet them personally they will take it as an offence! So move your butt, get dressed correctly and go downstairs!"

InuYasha waited in silence to see if his brother would move and he growled slightly when it didn't even faze Sesshoumaru, as if his brother could care less about being attacked in his own home. Never had Sesshoumaru adopted such a cold and indifferent façade before and now InuYasha was truly worried, but he pressed the matter even more.

"And Rin will be there! You don't want Rin to be hurt by lesser youkai do you not? A small human child in the care of the great Sesshoumaru? I know a couple of youkai who would love to get their hands on her!"

'Waiting…waiting…There!' InuYasha thought victoriously when a flicker of life passed through his brother's dull golden eyes. Sesshoumaru got up stiffly and by the looks of it he was seething. InuYasha shrugged. 'Oh well! Seething is better than no emotions at all.'

Without a word, Sesshoumaru went to take a bath and prepare himself in the bathrooms attached to his chambers. InuYasha just stood there, looking around the room, until his brother finally got out.

He looked perfectly normal, except for the fact that he didn't have the same kimono on. Instead of the usual white and red kimono with his spikes, he had put on a dark blue one that looked pretty expensive. The sleeves and the base had light golden embroidery on them which consisted of crescent moons and the usual flowers on his old kimono.

"Well that's better!" InuYasha said proudly, but as Sesshoumaru passed beside him the older youkai moved swiftly to grip the hanyou's neck. InuYasha sucked in a breath as his brother gave him a chilling glare.

"Rin better be alright when I arrive, InuYasha, or it will be your head" Sesshoumaru said with his emotionless voice. Then he was out the door and out of the relieved hanyou's line of vision.

"Well at least he's got his old tone of voice back" he deadpanned, while massaging his bruised neck. He could feel it starting to heal already so he shrugged the incident off and went after Sesshoumaru, safely keeping his distance just in case.

……………

Rin automatically brightened when she spotted the Inu Taiyoukai and hurriedly pushed Kagome's hand away to run to Sesshoumaru. She attached herself to his leg like usual and she waited for him to pat her head before letting him go.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she started with admiration, yet her tone of voice wasn't as bubbly as before. "Rin didn't want to get out of her bedroom but Kagome nee-chan said you were going to be there for the big gathering. Ne, ne Sesshoumaru-sama? Why did you plan this gathering? Rin doesn't think she wants to have fun." The little girl finished dejectedly.

Sesshoumaru eyed her little pink kimono before answering her, his eyes turning towards InuYasha with a detached look. "This Sesshoumaru did not plan anything. Ask 'uncle InuYasha' for more details."

The Lord smirked mentally went he glanced at the face-faulting hanyou. He sobered up, however, when Jaken came in hurriedly and bowed down to his Lord.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! The guests are starting to arrive! They are waiting in the room next to the ballroom for you to greet them!" Jaken finished, taking in his Lord's heavenly appearance.

Sesshoumaru did not look impressed by all of this and stayed impassive to all the commotion. When he started to walk towards the adjacent grand door, Kagome and InuYasha looked at each other with triumphant smiles. The door was opened for the Lord and all noise immediately stopped when Sesshoumaru made his grand entry.

All youkai present, and there was a lot, looked at him with awe and expectantly. However, they started to fidget when all Sesshoumaru did was stare at them without saying anything.

Ryuu, Kurama and Kouga glanced at each other in the crowd uncomfortably. It looked like Sesshoumaru hadn't been the one to plan this gathering and that he was still heartbroken. In the back, Jaken, Kagome and InuYasha were all bickering.

"What is he waiting for to greet them?! They're getting restless out there! Jaken! Do something will ya!!!" InuYasha hissed to the poor toad.

Jaken looked furious and bonked InuYasha on the head with his staff. "Idiot hanyou! I told you my Lord doesn't like too many people in his castle! It's your own fault and now YOU have to be the one to correct it!" Jaken hissed back.

InuYasha took a step backwards. "ME?!" He almost yelled and put his hands on his mouth. "Me? Are you crazy?! Why should I be the one to greet them?! It's Sesshoumaru's castle, not mine!" The hanyou argued.

Kagome caught on and started to push InuYasha in the direction of his brother. "InuYasha, Jaken is right! You're still the prince of this castle because you and Sesshoumaru have the same father! So it would only be natural for you to greet some guests! Come on!"

With one last push, InuYasha was left facing the impatient crowd. Their gaze all transferred to him and he gulped before opening his mouth. "Um. Hello and welcome to the Western Land's castle. I am InuYasha, Prince of the Western Lands and half-brother to Lord Sesshoumaru. I will be the host for today and I am happy you all came to this gathering to celebrate the end of the war with Naraku. So now if you will all follow the servants, they will lead you to the main ball room."

InuYasha then let the servants take care of the rest and stood in-between the door to greet the people as they passed. He stood on shaky legs, him not being used to be the center of attention. Ryuu and Kurama nodded to him knowingly when they passed beside him and the hanyou nodded back meekly.

Kouga just raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when he spotted Kagome in a stunning violet kimono in the background. "Hey Kagome!" The Ookami greeted loudly to the miko and it broke the tension in the atmosphere when he acted as if the place belonged to him. He really wasn't shy so why restrain himself?

InuYasha growled slightly when the wolf Lord approached HIS Kagome and he was about to march there and show the Ookami his place when a hand gripped his arm. He wanted to snarl at whoever dared to stop him but blinked when it was Miroku who stopped him. "Great saved back there, InuYasha! Sesshoumaru's still pretty out of it, isn't he?" The monk said while glancing at the stoic Lord who had taken his place on his 'throne'.

Rin was beside him and fighting hard not to touch Shippou's fluffy tail. The little Kitsune was trying his hardest to make Rin get up and talk more. No such luck for now.

InuYasha nodded back to Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Kirara. Sango looked around nervously and was clutching Kohaku close to her. "I must admit I was happy to receive an invitation but I'm still nervous about being here, InuYasha. My brother and I are Taijiya and some youkai kept giving us weird glances."

InuYasha shook his head. "Don't worry. You may be humans all of you but they won't dare say a thing while being in the Western Lord's castle. I don't want they want to anger any one of their hosts. I may be a hanyou but now they all know that I am in Sesshoumaru's family. I battle with some of them and I'm sure they recognized me but now they won't dare to do anything against me."

They all nodded and went in the beautifully decorated ballroom to join Kagome and Kouga. Servant youkai of Sesshoumaru were playing music on a stage with some instruments Kagome had never seen before but the music was great so what the heck!

A long table full of food was bordering the immense room and Sesshoumaru was seated completely in the back. The youkai didn't waste time to start talking animatedly to each other.

Ryuu and Kurama, who were talking to some other Lords, quickly spotted the hanyou again in the crowd at some time during the evening and made their way through to meet them. "Hello again friends! InuYasha, we must admit that this is the most interesting gathering I've been in in a long time!" Ryuu said with an amused voice.

InuYasha chuckled to both Lords and pointed at Kagome who became flustered when the attention diverted to her. "Actually Lord Ryuu and Kurama, Kagome was the one to prepare all of this." InuYasha admitted.

Both Lords raised their eyebrows but smiled nonetheless. "Well then, I must congratulate you for a job well done, Lady Kagome. And I must stay you look simply stunning tonight! That kimono suits you well!" Kurama said charmingly and bowed to the miko, kissing her hand as a gentleman would.

Kagome eeped and a giggle was heard in the background. A demoness, obviously Kitsune by her looks, swatted Kurama on his shoulder playfully. "You should stop it, dear! The girl's cheeks can't possibly become redder than this!"

Kurama laughed and introduced the nice demoness. "Everyone, I present you my mate, Lady Jade! We've been together for 400 long but happy years!" Everyone greeted the demoness happily and Jade looked around curiously. "By the way, Lord Ryuu, where could your mate be? I haven't seen her in a long time!"

Ryuu laughed and looked around while talking; "She must be around here somewhere with our son. She always have to talk to everyone she meets so we probably won't see her for a while."

Jade nodded and continued to look around in awe. "I must admit I have never seen such decorations before! They are beautiful!"

Kagome nodded to her proudly. "I brought them from my time period. I'm sure Lord Kurama told you that I come from 500 years into the future?" The miko said and Jade nodded. "He sure did. There must be some extraordinary things in your time! I wish I could see them!"

Kagome smiled. "I'll bring pictures next time we see each other, it's a promise."

Jade looked very happy to hear that and everyone laughed when both Ladies started to talk animatedly to each other, completely ignoring the others. "I never thought my mate could befriend someone so fast!" Kurama chuckled while talking to InuYasha.

The hanyou smirked and Sango giggled behind him. "Kagome can befriend almost anyone without even trying! She's a good friend!" Nobody could contradict that!

Kouga looked around while they were all talking and mentally winced when he spotted Sesshoumaru. He poked InuYasha on the shoulder and the hanyou grumbled at him until the Ookami pointed towards Sesshoumaru. "Eeep! Excuse me for a moment, will you?"

Everyone stopped to see InuYasha walking swiftly towards his brother. They understood why; demonesses were almost grovelling at his feet and by the looks of it Sesshoumaru was becoming more and more irritated.

"Don't you see he doesn't care about you?! Stay away from his Lordship!" Jaken tried and tried to make them back away but the demonesses were really pushing it.

"Oh go away you disgusting creature! We only want to talk to Lord Sesshoumaru!" One of them hissed to the angry Jaken.

"Yeah! And what's that puny human girl doing beside him anyway!? Why don't you come with us, Lord Sesshoumaru? We'll 'take care' of the human later!" A second one said slyly.

Rin looked frozen on the spot and Sesshoumaru gripped the armrest of his chair with a death grip. His eyes started to become pinkish until InuYasha forcefully intervened. "Go away all of you! You're acting like bitches in heat, and I mean that in a horrible way!" The hanyou spat dangerously.

They started to argue fervently against him. "Oh! And what can a mere hanyou like you can possibly do?" They taunted.

InuYasha smirked darkly and cracked his clawed hands seriously. "Do you want to find out?"

The wenches humphed and walked away with their nose in the air, muttering about stupid half-breeds. Still, they didn't stay and find out, so InuYasha smirked at his victory. He glanced at Sesshoumaru and noticed that his brother was back to his usual calm self. The hanyou didn't wait for a thank you and went back to the group. Sesshoumaru never opened his mouth to stop him.

"That was a close one!" Kagome exclaimed while patting InuYasha on the back.

The hanyou breathed out a sigh of relief. "He was about to transform. I swear he's like a bomb just waiting to explode!" Kagome only rolled her eyes at his response.

About an hour later- Kagome's watch indicated 9pm-, the musicians stopped to rest and eat a little. The atmosphere thickened again. Ryuu's mate and his son Raijuu had long ago joined them but the conversation became difficult to start so Kagome called Jade over. "Jade-san, I have a surprise for you! You said you wanted to see something from my time and I kept it just in case something like this happened."

Jade and the others looked on curiously. They were all wondering what Kagome was doing until she retrieved a weird box full of buttons from under one of the food tables and brought it on the stage.

Other youkai came closer to examine the box more closely. Kagome giggled and took something from another bag; it was round and shiny and the miko put it in the big box. The gasped as the box closed on its own as if it was eating the thing.

"What can that be, Lady Kagome? What does it do?" Jade asked as if she had a toy right in front of her.

Kagome smiled. "It's called a stereo and what I put in there is called a CD. I just have to push a few of those buttons and we'll have all the music we want! The musicians will be able to rest for a while." Kagome didn't wait for the questions to pour and she pushed play (she had brought a lot of batteries since she didn't have the necessary electricity to make it work).

When music came out of it, many yelped and jumped backwards in awe and fear. Jade, however, looked delighted and approached further. "Unbelievable! It's as if the musicians were trapped in the machine!" She closed her eyes to listen better and soon some started to dance to the classic music.

Kagome looked at all the demons happily and mentally sweatdropped. 'I'll stick with the classic music for the moment. I don't think they'll like some of the types of music we have in the future! Maybe I'll introduce them to something a little noisier if they insist. Pop music can't hurt…' she thought while pushing the volume up a notch when someone asked for it.

………

While the people were partying downstairs, the soul of a certain someone was getting more and more restless as the time passed. A faintly shining crescent moon started to pulse brightly, enveloping the young woman's body in a blanket of light. It was finally starting.

………

Another hour passed slowly and Kagome pushed the stop button. Many started to protest but Kagome swatted them off with a mysterious smile. "Please everyone! May I have your attention?" She said loudly while getting up on the stage.

InuYasha eyed her with a look that said 'What are you up to now?' while the youkai and Inu-tachi came closer to the miko. Kagome then got down the stage and asked for them to follow her on the huge balcony. "I have a surprise for you. You don't have to be afraid of what will illuminate the sky, it won't be dangerous."

Kagome waited for InuYasha and Ryuu to 'bring' Sesshoumaru and Rin on the balcony before she took a piece of cord that was dangling from the balcony rail. She took out a matchbox, lit one and soon the cord was on fire. Everyone just watched as the fire crept away on the rope until the small light was in Sesshoumaru's garden.

They all heard a small whizzing sound and looked around to see what was going on until something exploded in the sky. Most of the people on the balcony yelped in fear or growled but soon enough they watched in awe as a multitude of colors illuminated the sky as Kagome predicted, taking many shapes and forms.

Many explosions followed and now they weren't afraid, only excited to see what was going to appear next in the sky. InuYasha gasped as a dog started to form after one of the explosions and Kagome silently thanked her mom for giving her those fireworks. She didn't know how her mom got them and she wasn't sure she wanted to know; either way they surely cost a fortune!

………

In a bedroom 2 stories higher, Usagi's eyes snapped open at the loud sound. She slowly sat up and clutched her head a little; the room was spinning madly and she felt weird. She got up shakily and looked around. "Where am I?!" But no one answered.

She tried to get an answer from the Ginzuishou but it was already locked up in her heart; that's why she felt weird. Her hair was down and when she tried to push some offending locks of hair away, she held her breath and searched for a mirror hurriedly.

Her eyes widened at her reflection and she gasped at the changes. Some moved behind her and again she gasped. 'How could I NOT notice THAT before?'

She gazed some more at her reflection and noticed the clothes she was wearing. Luckily she could still open her subspace pocket and took out the Luna pen; she didn't want to touch anything in the foreign bedroom she was in.

Seconds later she was wearing a dress similar to her late mother Queen Serenity, yet it wasn't the exact same. It was long and followed the curves of her body closely with a slit down her long legs. It was sleeveless and the edge near her chest area was made of a fluffy white fur, as was the end of it. It seemed to make her stand out in the small bedroom because of its devil red color. It wasn't an official dress but it was enough for the moment. *(look at the end of the chapter for more details)

Her train of thoughts was broken when another explosion reached her ears. She ran on the balcony to gaze outside and it was a surprise for her to see fireworks in the Sengoku Jidai. 'That must mean that Kagome is here somewhere!' Her eyes widened and she ran out of the room, her unbound hair following her in soft waves of pure gold with tints of silver when the light permitted it.

Now she just had to try to find her way through this maze to find her friend, easier said than done. Usagi's eyes became determined and she stopped for a moment. 'Let's try to follow our nose, shall we?' And the search was on again.

………

Rin was watching the pretty lights in awe with Shippou and Sesshoumaru's eyes softened for a short moment. The people were so concentrated on the fireworks they didn't notice when the Taiyoukai closed his eyes and turned back to exit the ballroom.

He pushed his way threw the thick crowd and when he finally arrived at the end of it, a new, heavenly smell got is attention. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door of the ballroom where a shadow stood still.

He faintly heard a heart starting to beat faster and wondered why, until said shadow slowly moved away from the door and took a few steps in his direction, stopping in the middle of the huge room.

All sounds were just cut off from the room as he gazed at the breathtaking view in front of him with his eyes wide open. 'Could it be her? She looks so much like her, but she was…her heart wasn't…' He thought, completely baffled.

He just couldn't believe it. All of this had to be a dream, or just a prank! It was impossible for her to just come back like this as if nothing had ever happened! His mind was still reeling when she looked at him with a hesitant smile.

"Hey! Miss me?" Usagi almost rolled her eyes and slapped herself on the forehead at the words that came out of her mouth.

The sounds around the room came back to his ears when she spoke to him. More so the lack of it; the fireworks had stopped quite a few minutes ago and now all youkai and humans present were rooted on the spot behind Sesshoumaru as they gazed at the newcomer, the very familiar newcomer.

Usagi giggled at their faces and that seemed to help Sesshoumaru snap out of it. Instead of running to her in an unmatched speed like many thought he would, he walked slowly, tentatively, towards her. He stopped in front of her and she raised her head so she could gaze into his eyes.

She may have changed, but her height was no match for his. With his new hand he stroked her cheek softly, his eyes warm and loving, but only for her. Those eyes and this love, only for her. Always for her.

He was still so unsure that he did the only thing he knew she liked more than anything else; he caressed her cheek again but with his fluffy tail. She immediately inclined her head to lean better in its warmth and sighed in contentment.

Sesshoumaru was only aware of her face, her smell, until he felt a soft touch on his cheek. His eyes widened again when he noticed what it was - a tail, just like his- and she giggled at his expression again.

"Surprise." She smiled softly. "It's a long story, but to make it short here I am in front of you, transformed into an Inu youkai. I'm back, and I'm here to stay." When she uttered those words, Sesshoumaru felt so elated that his body moved without his own accord and he crushed her warm body against his possessively.

He took advantage of her squeak of surprise and kissed her soundly. Her squeak transformed into a tiny moan as his tongue imitated his idea of what they would be doing in bed.

"Holy shit! And here I thought she couldn't become more gorgeous, here she is as a demoness, and looking like a goddess!" Kouga cursed out loud and everyone approved fervently, their ability to speak still out of order.

Kagome was crying in relief and happiness on the still stunned InuYasha and a few tears made their way down Sango's cheeks while Miroku patted her shoulders comfortingly. Mind you, only on the shoulders. They had gotten closer when they had started to rebuild Sango's village but they were taking it easy.

Ryuu and Kurama's mates cooed and awed at the lovely couple, more so at the person who had succeeded where many had failed; to melt Sesshoumaru's heart of ice.

The Lords of the Southern and Northern Lands were looking at each other puzzled at how she had come back but they shrugged it off for the moment; Sesshoumaru didn't seem to mind her return at all.

Ryuu glanced at his son curiously when Raijuu began to fidget on his spot. He called him on it and Raijuu's only response was to tense and turn around, his cheeks flaming red. Ryuu raised an eyebrow.

Apparently his son was still pretty much taken with the blond human turned demoness, but at least he understood the meaning of 'taken', especially when the word 'Sesshoumaru' was involved in the matter.

Rin was in the middle of the thick crowd and looking at them funnily when they all turned their attention on the same point in the room. The little girl frowned a little and pushed her way as best as she could; nobody really paid attention to her as they were all glued on the spot.

Her curiosity was great and she was becoming frustrated of not being able to pass through. Yet, with one last grunt of effort she managed to pop out of the crowd and almost stumbled on her knees.

Her eyes got impossibly bigger as she gazed at her Sesshoumaru-sama, her father figure, and… She took an immense and loud intake of breath before… "USA-CHAN!!!" she yelled and then she ran as fast as her little legs could allow and almost jumped in the surprised Usagi's arms.

But the rabbit, not really a rabbit now with her new attributes, shook off the surprise quickly and twirled Rin around happily while the girl was giggling and laughing. Rin hugged her so hard Usagi would've suffocated if she had still been a human.

"Rin-chan! I'm so happy to see you again! I hope I didn't worry you too much!" Usagi said as silvery tears marred her flushed cheeks. Rin buried her head in her dress and shook her head negatively. "No! Rin always knew Usa-chan was alive!" was the muffled response.

The blonde demoness patted Rin's back and she looked warmly at Sesshoumaru, who still had a look of reverence on his face. He couldn't help it; his family was back- his family. It was weird for him to say this but the more he said it, the more he liked the words coming out of his mouth.

'MINE!' Was the prominent word in his head as he crushed her to his body again, trapping a giggling Rin in between. "I am not letting you get out of my sight ever again." He said in a half growl, half purr.

Rin giggled again and he remembered he was crushing the little girl a little too much, not that she seemed to mind. "Sesshoumaru-sama's voice is funny!"

Usagi's face began to grow pink as the Taiyoukai stepped back just enough to let the girl down. Rin giggled again and started to run around them playfully so Sesshoumaru used this moment to bend his head down and whisper in her now pointy ear so lowly the other youkai could not understand what he said.

"We will continue this 'talk' later, preferably in my quarters."

Usagi's breath caught in her throat when his hot breath caressed her sensitive ears. She barely held down a moan when he spoke to her with his silky, husky voice. 'Selene help me! I won't last long if he continues to talk like this! It's a complete turn-on!' She thought silently, her legs barely holding her weight.

Sesshoumaru stepped back and smirked at his handiwork. She looked flustered all over already and he had only spoken to her! He licked his lips hungrily. 'I'm also torturing myself, but seeing her like this makes my blood boil. I'm going to make you scream for me, koiishi!'

Needless to say, when he backed away people started to flock around her asking questions and hugging her. Sesshoumaru allowed this for tonight, but tonight only. Usagi looked so happy to see everyone again he wasn't about to cut her fun.

And of course, the rest of the party was unsurprisingly cheerful and lively. No longer had they to mourn over the loss of a dear friend and for a certain Inu Taiyoukai; lover.

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Eternal Cosmos ^_~