Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

The Guardian	By : whirleeq Category: InuYasha Crossovers > General Views: 5845 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
"Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up". - Joseph Barth

~*~

Mrs. Higurashi sat next to her daughter�s bed with a basin and a wash cloth, and silently cried.
Her daughter who was normally so full of life was now laying before her pale and asleep, her countenance that of utter exhaustion. She had been so run down this time when she returned home. That, combined with the injury she had sustained had Mrs. Higurashi going nearly insane with speculations as to what had actually happened on the other side of the well.
Kagome was lying on her side with the uninjured part of her face against her pillow, and her long, raven hair fanned out above her. The large, crimson gash that she had received stood out in bold contrast to the pale hue of her skin. She was also shaking and sweating, and from her lips the names of her companions would occasionally fall in a despairing whisper.
What had happened to her precious little girl this time?
Mrs. Higurashi knew that her daughter faced many dangers in the Sengoku Jidai, but she had always had faith that the hanyou who so obviously loved her would keep her from harm. Why had Inuyasha let this come to pass? Was Inuyasha himself injured? Mrs. Higurashi shuddered at the thought. Over time, she had come to love the hanyou like a son. No, Inuyasha would never have allowed her daughter to be injured so if he could have prevented it.
This time something bad had happened. Something very bad, and as much as Mrs. Higurashi knew that her daughter needed her sleep, she needed Kagome to tell her what had happened, and more importantly, that everything was going to be okay.
Mrs. Higurashi used the warm wash cloth to gently cleanse the cut along the side of Kagome�s face, freeing it of anything that might cause an infection, being particularly careful not to wake her daughter in the process. Kagome was very low on spiritual energy � Mrs. Higurashi was no miko, but after many years of raising one, she had learned how to recognize the times when her own daughter�s spiritual energy was depleted. And this was as low as it had ever been. No doubt Kagome expended most of it in whatever battle they had fought against that enemy of theirs, and the rest of it was lost to whatever spell was used to close the well for good and bring Kagome home to her.
Kami, she desperately wanted answers for once � but she could not bring herself to wake her daughter to ask the questions. She knew that Kagome had hidden much about her duties and responsibilities in the past, and Mrs. Higurashi as a rule had not asked. For there had been legends and stories told for generations in her late husband�s family which spoke of a miko from the future who would save them all. She had known since that very day Inuyasha had shown up at dinner time that Kagome was the one the legends had spoken of. It had been a great burden for her to carry at first, knowing that her daughter was responsible for battling evil in the past so that they could live a life of peace in the future. But she had accepted it and never asked questions.
Of course, her daughter had never before come home like this.
Mrs. Higurashi took in a deep breath, as she used the warm wash cloth to gently wipe away the beads of perspiration that had collected over Kagome�s brow.
Even though she had been injured so drastically, Kagome was home now, and that was something to be thankful for. It was a big weight off of her shoulders to know that her daughter was home and safe and no longer had the fate of the world resting on her shoulders. Now maybe Kagome could have a normal life, free of demons and the manipulations of fate.
She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Kagome�s forehead. Blue eyes fluttered open and looked at her with some surprise.
"Okaa-san? Daijoubu?" Kagome asked, as she took in her surroundings with sleep-filled eyes. She was in her room, and she was thoroughly and utterly exhausted. A quick glance at her alarm clock indicated that it was almost evening, and she had been sleeping for hours. She probably could continue to sleep for the next few days, but her mother�s aura was so filled with anxiety that she forced herself to sit up. Kagome then looked at her mother with concern.
Instantly, the anguished look upon her mother�s face melted into a false, happy smile. "Oh, I�m fine, Kagome dear. I am just concerned about you, that�s all. How are you feeling?"
"Fine, Okaa-san. No need to worry." Kagome lied. She really was about as far from �fine� as possible, but she truly didn�t want to worry her mother anymore. In fact, she was getting very concerned with her mother�s odd behavior as it was. Her mother had always been supportive and understanding and filled with confidence that everything would turn out for the best. Now her mother was looking at her as if she might disappear if she left the room for even a moment.
The cut on her face was stinging for some reason, so Kagome raised her hand to her face and tenderly prodded the swollen gash. The look of pain and guilt upon her mother�s face as she did so was palpable, and Kagome finally understood what was bothering her.
"It�s okay, Okaa-san. Like I told you, I won�t be going back anymore. I can�t � the well is closed."
Mrs. Higurashi sat on the end of the bed and sighed. She crossed her hands before her, and gave her daughter a searching look.
"Kagome, will you tell me what happened?" She finally asked.
Kagome carefully considered her mother�s question. Should she tell her? Wouldn�t her new responsibilities only cause her to worry even more? Did she really want to put all that on her mother right now, after she had come home so weak and permanently scarred?
After a moment of consideration, Kagome decided that for now, she�d tell her mother the abridged version of what had happened. So she told her how the final battle with Naraku went, but she made sure to leave out any details about her wish upon the Shikon no Tama and her new responsibilities. Not that she didn�t think her mother could handle them, but since her okaa-san was so obviously distressed with the little bit of information that she had revealed so far, Kagome felt it would be better to bring it up after things settled down a bit.
And besides, how could she explain her new responsibilities to her mother when she didn�t even know what they were herself? She assumed that at some point some higher being or another would contact her, but until then she would consider herself on a much needed and well deserved vacation.
Of course, as soon as that thought went through her head, she felt the tell-tale pulse in the back of her mind that indicated to her the presence of youkai in the vicinity.
Kagome shot straight up and jumped out of her bed, seemingly unconcerned about the state of her mind and body. She was very aware of her mother�s confused eyes on her, as she tore apart one dresser drawer after another looking for clean and suitable clothing. Finally she threw off the light yukata that her mother had helped her put on in order to sleep and hastily threw on a dark blue sweater and an old pair of jeans.
"Kagome sweetheart, mind telling me what the sudden burst of energy is all about?" Mrs. Higurashi asked her daughter. After the story she had just heard, she would have expected her daughter to stay in bed a few days at the very least so that she could give her tired and probably injured muscles time to heal, but instead Kagome was jumping around, agitated and excited, as if Inuyasha was just about to burst through the window while she was in her current state of undress. Which, given how sad her daughter had been about the permanent closing of the well, she knew was completely unlikely to happen.
"It�s nothing." Kagome answered. Her mother raised one eyebrow in silent inquiry, and Kagome finally relented with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Well� I� I feel the presence of youkai on the grounds."

"Inuyasha, you mean?" Mrs. Higurashi asked without thinking. After all, who else could it be?
A look of bleak sadness and devastation washed over Kagome�s face for a moment before she schooled her expression into something neutral. But Mrs. Higurashi had seen it, and it tore at her heart. Her daughter loved the hanyou - she had known that for years. How cruel were the fates to manipulate them both like they did, only to separate them at the end?
"No." Kagome said finally, softy. "No, it�s not Inuyasha." A look of intense concentration passed over her face before she continued. "There are four of them� the energy of one of them is soothing and completely benign� a female youkai� perhaps an elemental. The other three are male. One is very, very strong, but I don�t think he�s malevolent. All I�m sensing from him is a feeling of� joy, of contentment. The other two are also very strong. Both of them seem to be a bit agitated. One of them seems almost� familiar? While the other one� he is also an elemental, much like the female, but his energy is conflicted and dark." Beads of perspiration appeared upon her forehead as Kagome focused on the four different sources of youki that she was sensing. The effort quickly exhausted her. She was pale and sweating when she opened her eyes and turned to her mother. "I need to get out there, okaa-san. I need to know what�s going on."
Kagome looked pleadingly at her mother, even as she began to waver. She was feeling quite dizzy from the slight bit of energy she had just used, reminding her of just how very much she needed to rest in order to recover the massive amounts of energy she had expended in creating the barrier.
Privately, she was astonished at what she had just been able to do. Kagome had never been able to detect youkai so distinctly like that before - that had been a skill that Kikyo had perfected and Kagome had always envied. But now, not only could she sense them as clear as day, she was able to determine type, gender, and intent.
"Youkai! Don�t worry, Kagome-chan � I will exorcize them off our property!"
Kagome�s thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice cracked with age, and both Kagome and her mother turned with wide eyes to see Jii-chan � who had apparently been eavesdropping � walk hurriedly away from Kagome�s doorway.
Mrs. Higurashi looked at her daughter with concern, and then rushed over to Kagome�s window, throwing it open in a hurry.
"Oh Kami, it looks like Jii-chan is about to exorcize the wedding party that is here for photographs." She mumbled under her breath, before turning worried eyes back towards her daughter.
"Kagome, go back to sleep. There is no one outside, except the wedding party � and they have permission to be here." Mrs. Higurashi said reassuringly. It wasn�t that she doubted her daughter�s ability to sense demons, but her daughter�s energy levels were definitely low after what she had been through, and she was very, very pale. It was quite likely that her head was playing tricks on her. In her opinion, what her daughter needed most was sleep.
"But� but mother� I� they� Kami, I am so very tired." Kagome admitted as she sat back down on the bed. It was obvious that her mother was unconcerned about her revelation, and no wonder � she probably thought that she was hallucinating. Yet even with her power levels as low as they were now, Kagome knew that she was not. The energies were definitely demonic. They were not currently hostile, but�
She had to get out of there. She dragged herself back off of the bed and got about three feet before falling to her knees.

Mrs. Higurashi helped her back up to her feet.
"Kagome, go lay down." She ordered, before glancing once again out the window. Jii-chan was fast approaching two members of the wedding party with ofudas in his hands. "Oh dear� listen, I�ll be back in a moment. You go back to bed, and don�t worry about a thing."
Kagome wanted to protest, but she couldn�t. Every muscle in her body ached. Instead, she waited until her mother left the room, and fell to her knees so that she could reach under her bed. Her hands tightened around the small, portable crossbow she had underneath it � an item that Inuyasha had swiped for her from the local Sports Emporium about two years ago, after Kagome relayed a particularly disturbing dream she had had to him about Naraku attacking her in her own time. Inuyasha had wanted her to keep the weapon in her room, just in case her dream turned out to be prophetic. Inuyasha was understandably paranoid when it came to Naraku.
At the time, Kagome had been furious about his theft and had sat him repeatedly, but in retrospect he had only been looking out for her. But regardless of her personal reservations, she kept the weapon under her bed as a �Just In Case�, considering that her own bow was nearly seven feet in length and wouldn�t fit through the doorway.
Now she was very glad that he had obtained it for her, because she was not about to allow her mother to confront several unknown youkai without having her back.
Kagome loaded a bolt into the small crossbow and made her way over to the window and threw open the shutters. She kept the crossbow just out of sight, but still close enough to her so that she could use it at a moment�s notice. Her sapphire blue eyes narrowed, as she watched with great concentration the figures on the shrine grounds.
~*~
Hiei was not having a good day.
His small, tapered hands tugged repeatedly at the dark knot of fabric whose sole purpose seemed to be to cut off one�s air supply. He was about to just slice through the damn thing and discard it, when the green eyes of the fox met his red ones imploringly. Hiei scowled briefly before allowing his arms to fall back against his sides, and tried to ignore the truly demonic piece of ningen attire that was wrapped around his neck like a noose.
The flash of the camera went off once, twice, and Hiei was again ordered to change position. This time, he was placed directly behind Yukina on the old shrine steps, giving him the illusion of being tall for once. Although that illusion was quickly shattered when Kurama flanked him on the right, and Yusuke and Kuwabara took their spots to his left.
The girls were all standing on the lower step and smiling cheerfully, as the man with the camera took one picture after another.

~ Fox, how long must we endure this torture? ~ Hiei asked mentally to the far too cheerful red haired kitsune standing besides him. Hiei was getting increasingly aggravated. After all, they had been standing on the shrine steps for over an hour, subject to each and every whim of the ningen with the camera.
Kurama only turned to him and smirked. He did not say anything, but his expression certainly conveyed his thoughts on the matter.

�If I have to suffer through this, so do you.�

Hiei sighed almost imperceptibly, as he resigned himself to the unpleasant task of being �photogenic�. He briefly shot a dark look in the direction of the dark haired Toushin and his bride. Why did they insist upon involving him in their boring, ningen mating rituals anyway? And it had been a western ceremony to boot � boring, and exceptionally long, without any sake to take the edge off. Hiei had very nearly fallen asleep because of the monotonous tone of the minister�s voice. If it wasn�t for Yusuke constantly promising him that there would be cake and ice cream later, he�d have been long gone. But instead of going directly to the so-called �reception� where the sweet treats would be served, Yusuke and Keiko had insisted upon first dragging the lot of them to this shrine for �pictures� of all things.
As if he wanted permanent physical evidence of him being dressed the way he was now. In fact, if any of the resulting �pictures� made their way into the Makai, Hiei just might have to murder a certain former spirit detective.
Ningens were definitely strange. In the Makai, the taking of a mate was a private affair, and not an event that you invited everyone you have ever come in contact with to attend. Also, such an event definitely did not require scratchy, stuffy clothing that served no purpose other than to irritate the wearer. As a matter of fact, when it came to the taking of a mate, clothes were not required at all.
He supposed that he could understand Keiko�s desire to turn their mating into such a grandiose affair. Onna�s in general tend to be needy and demanding, and ningen onna�s were the worst of the lot. But Yusuke? He�s a demon now � an alpha male. He should have never allowed his intended mate to force him to succumb to this torture, Hiei thought. If it had been his intended mate, he would have certainly put her in her place. Not that he intended to take a mate any time soon � possibly never, for that matter. And certainly not a ningen one.
Yusuke, however, had capitulated to Keiko�s whims and in doing so, dragged the rest of them down with him. And like a good little friend � Hiei thought with a shiver � he had agreed to play a part in their ridiculous (and in his opinion, completely over the top) ningen ceremony. Of course, had he truly understood what it had meant to be a groomsman when Yusuke had asked it of him, Hiei would have told him exactly what he could do with that idea. So as far as Hiei was concerned, both Yusuke and Keiko owed him for this, and he idly began to think of unpleasant ways that they could pay him back for the sheer amount of patience he was exhibiting just by allowing all of this to happen.
"Hiei-san, stop slouching, and straighten up a bit � I can barely see you behind Yukina-san." The photographer ordered, drawing Hiei out of his reverie.
He was standing as straight as possible. He shot a dark look towards the photographer � one that did not go unnoticed by the bride, since he heard Keiko draw a shaky, anxious breath � and automatically reached for his katana.
The katana that was not there.
Damn Yusuke! He should have never listened to the baka detective � despite the toushin�s reassurance to the contrary, Hiei just knew that weapons were going to be required at some point during the day.
Still, even without his katana, Hiei had� other ways of making the ningen pay for his insolence. Hiei scowled and raised his hand with the intent of removing the dark green bandana that had been hand picked by Keiko to coordinate with his demonic �tie�. �Hn. Let�s see what kind of instructions that baka photographer is capable of giving after this!� Hiei thought to himself as he prepared to uncover the Jagan. Unfortunately for Hiei (but very fortunate for the clueless photographer), he was stopped by a soft hand closing over his arm.
Yukina looked at him with her big, red eyes � so very like his own, except hers were filled with faith and compassion as opposed to malice and distrust � and smiled softly.
"It is okay, Hiei-san. I will just go down one more step." She said with a smile, and Hiei relaxed. He forced himself to ignore the verbal slight from the baka photographer, and instead concentrated on his surroundings.
The Sunset Shrine was a popular place for wedding photographs, and even Hiei could see why. The scenery was truly spectacular. The steps leading up to the shrine seemed to go on forever, and from where they were standing � four steps from the top � the pictures were guaranteed to contain a part of the tall, bright red arch and the ornate pillars of the old shrine that had been erected behind the arch. And true to its name, the shrine was illuminated by the rays of the setting sun from behind. The warm glow of the sun cast a myriad of warm reds, pinks and oranges into the early evening sky as it began to descend beyond the horizon. The overall effect was spectacular, even to his discerning eyes.
Farther back on the property was a small shrine house which Hiei assumed served as a home to the keepers of this particular shrine. The shrine was definitely a peaceful place, and one that Hiei wouldn�t mind visiting � that is, under any other circumstance. As long as it was a situation that didn�t require a damned tie.
Hiei continued to survey the area, as the photographer pulled Keiko, Yukina, Botan and Shizuru to the side to take a few snapshots of �just the girls�. The photographer led the four girls towards a very large tree, and Hiei�s eyes widened when he saw it. The tree was so very ancient that Hiei was more than a little surprised to see such a thing standing tall in the middle of a shrine in modern day Tokyo. The presence of the tree was completely incongruous to everything else he had seen within the Ningenkai. In fact, even Genkai�s forest did not contain any trees of its age and size, and many of the trees upon her property had existed well before the barrier between worlds had been erected.
Unfortunately, most of the ancient trees that had once existed within the large cities of the Ningenkai had long since been cut down to make way for more ningen dwellings. In fact, one of the main reasons he hated the Ningenkai � apart from all the ningens of course � was because of their complete and utter disregard for the natural beauty of their environment. Certainly, in the Makai a tree like the one at the top of the hill would not be standing alone. It would be surrounded by many of its equally ancient brethren
The Makai may be a dangerous place, but at least the denizens of the Makai weren�t destroying their own environment by bulldozing through the local plant life in order to make way for facilities that existed only to poison the air that they breathed with various toxins. In many ways, Hiei could not wait to go home. In fact, if it weren�t for Yukina�s insistence on staying at Genkai�s temple, Hiei would have taken Mukuro up on her offer to help her maintain her third of the Makai, and left the Ningenkai for good.
But he could not possibly return to the Makai and leave Yukina without adequate protection (Hiei did NOT consider the obsessed ningen fool �adequate protection�). After all, it was only a matter of time before one of his adversaries found out exactly who she was to him. And if there was one thing that Hiei never wanted to see, it was Yukina used as a tool to get to him. Plus, there was also the matter of her tear gems being priceless commodities. She had already been held in captivity once because of them. Hiei needed to stay close to her so that he could ensure that such a thing would never happen again.
The photographer was done with taking pictures of the girls, and had ordered �just the guys� to stand directly underneath the red arch. Hiei shrugged, and climbed the rest of the way up the shrine steps with the rest of them, until he was standing on the spot that the ningen with the camera had indicated. The girls had taken a seat on the bench that sat in front of the impressive tree, and were giggling among themselves over the large gemstone that now adorned Keiko�s left hand.

�Sickening�, Hiei thought as his gaze shifted from the tree towards a small, non-descript building a few hundred feet away from it. His first thought was that the building was a storage shed of some sort, but upon closer examination, he noticed that there was a distinctly demonic energy pattern emanating from within. It wasn�t anything active � more like a shadow of something that had once been there � but it was enough to well and truly engage his curiosity. Not a hard thing to do, under the circumstances. In fact, Hiei thought that he�d find rain far more interesting than his current activity. Hiei subtly backed away so that he could investigate the strange energy signature he had detected. He�d barely got one step away from the group before he felt the long, nimble fingers of Kurama grip his shoulder in a silent reprimand.

~ Have patience, Hiei. I believe the photographer is almost done ~ Kurama said to him mentally with a barely repressed smirk.

~ Hn. ~ Hiei answered, as the ningen with the camera repositioned him once again. A few more clicks of the camera, and the girls were kneeling in front of them. This time, the photographer directed him to gently grasp Yukina�s shoulders from behind. Yukina was the only female in the wedding party who didn�t tower over him, so she had been paired with Hiei as his escort for the ceremony and reception. Not that he minded � he could barely tolerate Botan, and Shizuru was more like a man with breasts than a woman. Also, pairing him with Yukina had the added benefit of keeping her away from Kuwabara. He looked askance at the tall red head, and had to repress a smirk at the dark look the ningen was sending in his direction.
Hiei found it both pathetic and amusing that the baka had not yet realized that he was the brother Yukina was constantly looking to find. Of course, Yukina still didn�t know either, and it had been almost seven years since they had rescued her. But in Yukina�s case, Hiei did everything in his power to ensure that she would never find out, never suspect.
He did not want to see her burdened with the knowledge that the brother she had long sought was him � The Forbidden Child; the fire-ice demon hybrid with a sordid past. Yukina was much too pure, much too innocent to be associated with him in any way.
"Thanks everyone � you�re all doing great. I would like just the bride and the groom to remain for the next few shots, and then we�ll head over to the reception hall." The photographer said with a large grin after one, final blinding flash of the camera.
Hiei breathed a sigh of relief, and without even looking back, he started to walk over to what he assumed was a shed. About halfway there, he heard soft footsteps fall in behind him. He didn�t have to turn around to know who was there.
"Hn. Why are you following me, fox?" Hiei asked in a disinterested tone.
Kurama�s grin went unseen by Hiei, who was still facing away from the red haired kitsune.
"I am merely curious about the strange energy signature emanating from that building, as I assume you are." Kurama admitted. He had picked up on it by watching Hiei. The half koorime had been very distracted during that last set of photographs, and Kurama, having the soul of a spirit kitsune, was naturally curious about what had engaged the attention of his little friend.
The two of them didn�t get very far before they were suddenly cut off by an old priest, who happened to be even shorter than Hiei. "Demons, be gone!" The old man said loudly, before tossing ofuda�s at each of their heads. The old man was no threat � his ofuda�s were ineffective, and they merely fell to the ground, but the fact that the old man had recognized the two of them as demons and had reacted accordingly was enough to give both Kurama and Hiei a start.
But before they had a chance to react, the old man was pushed firmly out of the way by an attractive onna in her mid forties.
"Jii-chan! That is no way to welcome guests to the shrine! These young men are part of the wedding party here today." The onna said gently, with an apologetic look in their direction.
Both Hiei and Kurama calmed down some at her words, but Hiei continued to look warily at the old man. After all, the savvy old priest was still glaring in their direction.
Finally, the old man took a deep breath, and walked off with a harrumph, mumbling under his breath the whole time.

"Fine. No one listens to me, I say. Not even my own daughter anymore. I swear, you young ones have no respect for your elders, nowadays. I know a demon when I see one and those two are demons� what�s this shrine coming to, anyway? First we welcome a hanyou with open arms, and now we allow demons to take wedding photos here� Kami forgive us�"
Kurama�s eyes widened at the old man�s rant, and he shot Hiei a look.

~ A hanyou on the grounds? The old man must be mad � there have been no hanyou in the Ningenkai for centuries. ~ Hiei commented mentally.
Kurama picked up the thought and nodded. ~ I agree. However, he did recognize us as demons and that � combined with the strange energy emanating from that shed over there � leads me to believe that there is something going on around here. It is certainly worth looking into - especially after that strange burst of spirit energy we felt earlier. To me, the energy patterns seem very similar� and oddly familiar ~. Kurama answered.
Meanwhile, the lady nodded to them both and gently took their elbows, in an attempt to lead them away from the shed that had gained their interest.
"Gomen, gentlemen, for Jii-chan�s behavior." Mrs. Higurashi said with a small, comforting smile. "He tends to see demons everywhere. He�s on occasion tried to exorcize his lunch!" She said, before throwing a nervous glance back in the direction of the well house. Why were these gentlemen headed there?

~ Hn. Fox � this onna is leading us away from the shed. ~

~ Yes, Hiei, I realize that. But I think we should play along� for now. We can always come back and investigate further, after the wedding and when the family who lives here is asleep. It is obvious that she doesn�t want us near the shed, and we don�t want to do anything to jeopardize� ~ Kurama�s thought abruptly trailed off as he glanced over towards the house and caught a glimpse of a face peeking out of a window on the second floor. For an eternal moment, sapphire blue eyes met emerald green ones, and Kurama shivered.

~ So� familiar. Where have I seen eyes like that before? ~

Hiei caught the stray thought, and followed Kurama�s gaze. He too saw the onna staring out the window, but unlike Kurama, he also saw the distinct shape of a crossbow bolt pointed directly at them and held level with the window sill. Hiei�s eyes narrowed, and for the second time that day, he raised his hand in an attempt to remove his bandana.
And for the second time that day, he was stopped by someone else putting their hand on his arm. Although instead of the soft, gentle grip of Yukina, this one was strong and urgent.
"C�mon man! We�re ready to go! The girls are already down the steps and in the limo� Kurama, you too!" Yusuke ordered with a hint of aggravation, before turning towards the woman who was steering them away from the shed.
"Thank you, Higurashi-san, for allowing us to use your property for our wedding photos. I�m sure that they are going to turn out great." Yusuke said. The woman blushed and nodded.
"You�re welcome, Urameshi-san. May you and your bride be blessed with good fortune and long life." She said, before turning away. Hiei watched her for a moment as she took hurried strides towards the house, before turning his attention once again to the window on the second floor.
The blue eyed onna with the crossbow was no longer there.
Kurama was staring at Yusuke.
"When did you learn how to be so polite, Yusuke."
The newly married toushin simply smiled.
"Keh � Keiko� she said I better go say thanks to the old lady, or else."
"Or else what?" Kurama asked with one perfectly groomed eyebrow raised in amusement.
Yusuke suddenly found his shoes very interesting.
"Or else I�d be spending my wedding night with only Puu as company."
"Hn. I imagine that would be a fate worse than death for your spirit beast, detective." Hiei said drolly, as he reluctantly followed the two down the hill.
"Whaddya mean? Oh, that�s just � sick, Hiei� " Yusuke said with a shudder, once the full meaning of Hiei�s comment kicked in.
Hiei had already tuned out. He was already thinking about how and when he would return, and as he stole a glance over towards Kurama, he knew that the kitsune�s thoughts were headed in the same direction.
~*~
Koenma had been quite anxious when he was told of the location that Yusuke and Keiko had chosen for their pictures. And his anxiety only grew with every minute that they were late to their own reception. He kept having disturbing visions. The visions began with The Guardian using her powers to force the lot of them back into the Makai, and then got worse from there. Certainly, she would have been able to detect them, and since he hadn�t had the chance to talk to her yet like Enma-sama had ordered him to do, it would have been his fault if anything had happened to Yusuke and his team.
Thankfully, however, the wedding party finally appeared without incident.
"I told you, you were worried about nothing." Genkai said. Koenma had wondered about how the old psychic had known of the presence of The Guardian, but somehow she had, and had read his anxiety like a book. It had been most disconcerting. "She�s too weak yet to engage in any kind of confrontation. Besides, she would have been able to tell that they were not hostile. You forget that that particular miko is historically known for befriending youkai. I doubt she would have shot first and asked questions later."
"That may be true, but I think I was quite justified in my concern." Koenma answered. Genkai merely smirked, and started walking towards the bar.
Koenma shook his head and followed her, thinking that for once, she had the right idea.
Several hours and a ton of sake later, Koenma found himself dancing with Botan. Which wasn�t so bad, except for the fact that the room was spinning, and he needed to sit down, and why was he here anyway when he had work to do?
"Koenma-sama, you�re drunk." Botan said, concerned.
"No <hic> no, I�m not. Kami do not get <hic> drunk. We have a higher conservation than <hic> ninjas�" Koenma answered, appalled.
Unfortunately, it was at that point when Kurama approached them with the intent to cut in.
The kitsune avatar took Botan into his arms, and turned his head to look at Koenma. Koenma�s face was flushed, his eyes were dilated, and he was having trouble standing up. Overall, Kurama found the sight highly amusing.
"Don�t you mean that you have a higher constitution than ningens, Koenma-sama?"
"Yesh� that�s what I said. <hic>. Now go �way."
~*~
Hiei watched the proceedings through bored, red eyes. So far, the reception had been only marginally more interesting than the rest of the wedding. Of course, seeing the Prince of the Rekai drunk off of his ass was moderately entertaining, and the cake and pastries served had been very good, but Hiei was tired and beyond done with all of it. He just wanted to get into his normal, comfortable clothes and leave, so that he could head back to the shrine.
In fact, he decided that if he slipped out now, no one would notice. So Hiei surreptitiously got to his feet with the intent of slipping out the back door, when Kurama and Botan approached his table with a very inebriated demi-god between them.
"I am telling you, you musht <hic> stay away from that shrine�You musht! I order you to shtay clear of it� consider it a mandrake�"
"Mandate?"
"Whatever."
The trio suddenly had Hiei�s complete attention.
"Why?" Hiei asked with no preamble.
The inebriated kami turned his bloodshot golden eyes in his direction.
"Why what?"
Hiei rolled his eyes in irritation.
"Why must we stay away from the shrine?"
"Becaush I said so� and besides, do you really want to <hic> get purified?"
"So, that was the energy we felt� miko energy� Hmm� I wondered what it was� why did it seem so familiar though?" Kurama mused aloud.
Koenma�s eyes went wide, and he stumbled over to the kitsune.
"Pleash, Kurama� stay away from there� for now. You too <hic> Hiei."
"If you say so, Koenma-sama." Kurama said. Meanwhile, he met Hiei�s eyes, and Hiei could tell that the kitsune was only trying to pacify the demi-god. Apparently the curiosity of the formidable Youko Kurama had been raised as well, and there would be no �staying away� from the shrine for either of them. Hiei nodded in silent agreement.
"OOOH! Keiko�s going to throw the bouquet!" Botan said suddenly, as she jumped up and clapped her hands, effectively drawing their attention away from the drunken Reikai prince for the moment. Hiei saw Yukina join the fray of giggling girls and his eyes narrowed.

~ Fox, what are they doing? ~
~ The girls? Oh, the bouquet toss is a custom borrowed from western weddings. Apparently, the one who catches the bouquet will be the next one to marry. ~

Hiei�s eyes narrowed as Yukina caught the bouquet. Kurama noticed his expression and laughed. "Don�t be too concerned Hiei, it is merely a custom, not a prophecy."
The diminutive fire apparition relaxed slightly, until he saw all the men � including Kurama and the wobbly Koenma � stand up and get in line behind Yusuke.

~ Hn. Now what is this? ~

Kurama merely smirked and refused to answer him.
Of course, he eventually got his answer after Kuwabara caught the flimsy piece of material that Yusuke tossed into the air. After that, the entire dance floor was cleared except for Yukina, who was sitting in a chair and blushing, and Kuwabara, who was kneeling before Yukina with her foot in his lap and �
Kuwabara must have a death wish.
That oaf was NOT putting his hands on Yukina�s leg. He was not, because if he was Hiei would have to kill him on principle.
And then Kuwabara placed the small bit of fabric over Yukina�s foot and started pushing it upwards.
Hiei�s complexion turned as red as his eyes with rage as he automatically reached again for his absent katana. This time, when he discovered it wasn�t there, Hiei sent a sudden, violent thought to Yusuke, who was looking in his direction with no small amount of amusement.

~ BAKA NO YUSUKE! IF YOU EVER ASK ME TO GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY KATANA AGAIN, I WILL EVISCIRATE YOU AS SOON AS THE WORDS LEAVE YOUR LIPS. ~

Yusuke laughed heartily, and Hiei snarled murderously.
This would be the last ningen wedding he would ever attend � ever. He made that one small promise to himself before seeking out Kurama�s green eyes through the crowd. Once he was sure he had the kitsune�s attention, Hiei motioned towards the door.

~ Fox. It is time to go. ~

~*~

A/N: There! Finally chapter 4, and it�s a long chapter too! Unfortunately it will continue to be about three weeks between updates on this story, since I�ve got another mammoth epic that seems to be occupying most of my muse. At any rate, I hope that this chapter meets everyone�s expectations. Thank you, everyone, for reviewing, and please continue to do so! It keeps me motivated! Some people have questioned how powerful I�m going to make Kagome� well, let me tell you that if there is one thing I hate above all things, it�s a �Kagome-Sue�, so don�t expect her to suddenly become more powerful than Sesshy, Yusuke & crew, or God � it�s just not gonna happen. One of the things that I love about Kagome is that what power she has pretty much responds to her emotional state, and isn�t something she can control. That will be how I portray her here� Kagome is going to have faults and big ones, because if she didn�t, then I�d just be writing another �mary sue� with Kagome�s name.
Another reviewer asked about how old Yusuke and Keiko are� they are both 20/21ish. So old enough to get married� but maybe not for Yusuke, hence the quote at the beginning of this chapter!
Pairing is still heavily leaning towards Kag/Hiei, and I will definitely not do anything to change her character to make this happen (someone was concerned about her becoming �dark�). I think it will work better overall with the direction I�m planning on taking this story. Don�t get me wrong, I love Kurama, I just think that in my story, Kagome�s going to be friendly with him, but wary � as if he�s a beautiful Miroku. ;) They will, however, develop a strong friendship and possibly lean towards more before a jealous Hiei makes his move. We�ll see what the muse decides when we get to that point, which isn�t going to happen for several chapters anyway.
As a side note, I'd like to extend a great big 'thank you' to my beta, Diane. Without her
assistance, this chapter would have been rough indeed!

Again, thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming!
Japanese Words:

Sengoku Jidai � Japan�s Feudal Era

Hanyou � half demon

Miko � shrine priestess

Okaa-san � mother

Daijoubu � are you okay

Shikon no Tama � Jewel of Four Souls

Youki � demonic energy

Youkai � demon

Jii-chan � old man (in this case, I�m using it to refer to Kagome�s grandfather)

Kami � god/gods

Ofudas � these are papers with japanese characters on them that are used by people with holy powers for traditional blessings, or to ward off evil. Miroku uses them as well as Kaede and Kagome�s grandfather � although Jii-chan�s never work ;).

Kitsune � fox

Onna � woman

Koorime - Ice demon
Ningen � human

Katana � Japanese sword

Toushin � Type of demon that Yusuke becomes after the Chapter Black sagabr>
Baka � idiot

Ningenkai � the human world

Makai � the demon world

Reikai � spirit world
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