Welcome back one and all to another chapter! As I said last time this is the very late birthday chapter and it's a hecking long, sorry... Whatever, on with the chapter!
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After spending a bit more time together, the wolf demons decided to finally part ways with Inuyasha's group once again. Just as he went to leave, however, he was stopped by Kagome. "Koga-kun wait you a sec!"
"Hm? What is it Kagome-chan?" He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.
"I have a small favor to ask of you." The school girl chuckled nervously as she prepared herself to ask her important question.
"And that is?" The dark haired male raised an eyebrow at her.
"Please stay here in the village for one last day!" She pleaded.
"Huh? Why? You know I don't have time to waste when I'm hunting for Naraku-san." He explained.
"I know but... Tomorrow is Okami-chan's birthday." Kagome replied.
"Wait- Are you serious? I had no idea." His eyes widened in shock as he realized that she had never shared her birth date with him.
"Yeah, that's because she usually doesn't like to talk about it. Since for most of her life she thought she was born to her parents on the other side of the well she's hated her birthday. She hated the fact that she had to be born into such a family, but then she came here and found out her real parents lived on this side. I wouldn't say that now she loves her birthday or anything, but now she is more open to the idea of accepting her birth as a day to be celebrated. Every year since I've met Okami-chan I've forced her to participate in a little birthday celebration at my house with my family, and her guardian Ozu-san has forced her to do the same with her when she got back home, this year is no exception. Of course she'll be expecting us to have our own celebrations planned for her, but what she won't be expecting is another little surprise party waiting for her on this side of the well! I've informed everyone else of the plan and even brought some decorations from my era for you all to use... I just- I think it would mean a lot to her if you helped plan something special like this for her, especially since she doesn't think anybody but me knows about it." She twiddled her thumbs as she awaited a response from the wolf demon tribe's leader, glancing up at his face to see a thoughtful expression. She smiles slightly when she saw the soft and caring glint in his eyes as he opens his mouth to speak.
"... Fine, we'll stay, but only for one more day!" He finally agreed to her terms, imaging the happy look on Okami's face when they surprised her later.
"Hooray!" Kagome, Ginta and Hakkaku cheered, the two boys standing behind them quietly the whole time. All three of them grabbed Koga and pulled him into a group hug which caused him to sigh and at their behavior.
"Well men, it sounds like we're going to have a lot of work to do. I expect you both to do nothing less than your best work for Okami-chan. She deserves it for looking after you two half of the time." He said sternly as both of his men saluted him with a grin.
"Right! Sir, yes sir!" They called out.
"What's all the commotion about out here? It's late and Shippo-kun's trying to sleep." Asked a familiar voice as the four turned to the entrance of Kaede's hut to find Okami standing there with her arms crossed, packed and ready to leave with Kagome that evening.
"Uh-" The wolf demon tribe leader started before Kagome put a hand over his mouth to keep him from saying something he'll regret.
"We were just talking about how Koga-kun and his the boys are going to stay for one more day, isn't that right guys?" She asked and they all nodded as Okami raised an eyebrow at them.
"I thought Koga-kun said he had to go-" The raven haired female started.
"He changed his mind obviously, now quit asking questions! We have to go back and study for our test tomorrow!" Her best friend waved her off before grabbing her by the arm and pulling her off in the direction of the well.
"Yeah, yeah, quit nagging me will you?" She rolled her eyes as she turned back to look at the wolf demon tribe, waving her free hand at them.
"See you when we get back then!" She exclaimed while Koga just gave her a sweet smile and wave back. The boys however had anime tears in their eyes as they hugged one another and waved her off, not wanting her to leave yet. Their leader glanced over at them and noticed their sad reaction to the lack of Okami's presence and sighed, patting both of them on the head. This shocked Ginta and Hakkaku who have almost never received such kind gestures from their leader before. They expected him to hit them and call them weaklings for crying so easily.
"She'll be back before you know it, so stay strong for her sake until she gets back, and help create a party for her worth remembering for the rest of her life... Both of you will do great, I'm sure of it." He gave a simple speech and the two looked at each other before tackling their boss to the ground in a hug.
"Thanks for trying to make us feel better Koga-kun, you're the best! We'll do our very best for you and Big Sis!" The two boys ironically were crying even harder from the compassion they had received from their leader. An irk mark appeared on the wolf demon tribe leader's head as he wrapped his arms around either of his men.
"The point of that was to get you both to stop crying, damn it!" The blue eyed male exclaimed.
"Can you all shut the hell up out there! Some people are trying to sleep you pesky wolves!" A certain mutt called from inside the hut, causing all three of them to go quiet as they realized how loud they were being.
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The next day Inuyasha's group as well as Koga's got to work on putting together a little surprise party for Okami in Kaede's hut. Kaede and the half breed went off together in search of the proper ingredients for a nice and small dinner for the group to feast on later. Sango, Miroku and Kirara were out fetching their last minute gifts. That left the wolf demon tribe and Shippo to do most of the decorating for the party. Ginta and Hakkaku were putting up balloons on one side of the room while the fox demon child and the wolf demon tribe's leader worked on the streamers on the other side. "So these are streem-urs?" Koga asked himself as he investigated the item in his hand, even going as far as sniffing it to try and get a better understanding of the object.
"They're called streamers, Kagome-chan told me all about them before she left. They usually decorate the walls of a room being used for a party." Shippo piped up from beside him, the wolf demon glanced over at him.
"Streamers huh? Interesting... Well Shippo-kun, do you wanna help me put them up?" Koga asked as the boy's eyes widened in shock, confusing the dark haired male.
"Why're you looking at me like that? He asked.
"I didn't think you'd remember my name, let alone ask me for help." The fox child replied.
"How could I forget your name? Okami-chan talks about you all the time when she travels with me so it's sort of hard to forget it." The male explained with a sigh.
"She does?" Shippo asked, surprised that she actually talked about him to others.
"Yeah, you're very important to her." He nodded with a small smile.
"So are you. She's thinks about you a lot, about how you guys are doing and when she'll see you next. I can always tell when she's thinking of you because her eyes have this weird far off look in them when she does." Shippo said bluntly, not really thinking about what he was saying since he was a child who didn't understand much about love and relationships.
"I didn't know she thought about me..." Koga trailed off.
"Yeah, and sometimes she gets extra snacks just in case we run into you so she can give it to you guys. She's very thoughtful and cares a lot about you. It hurts her to know that you sometimes value her best friend over her, and when Okami-chan is hurting, so is Kagome-chan because she knows she's partially the cause for her suffering. I care for both of them and it hurts me to see them both in such pain all the time, but I know you can't make that decision right now. I understand, Inuyasha-kun is going through something similar with Kagome-chan, and it's hard to come to a concrete decision... But... I just want them all to be happy and right now it doesn't seem like they are." Shippo gave Koga a skeptical look.
"I see... Does this mean you don't approve of me? You don't think I can make them happy?" The blue eyed demon wondered, a little worried that Shippo didn't like him since the boy was one of the closest people to Okami and making a good impression on him was crucial if he wanted to spend more time with her.
"I personally don't know if I approve of you yet, but because you make Okami-chan happy, I'm willing to give you a chance. Just remember that I'm watching you and if anything happens to her you won't hear the end of it from me." The kid warned as his eyes narrowed at the man in front of him.
"You're so protective of her, almost as if you're her father or something." He chuckled lightly.
"Well her dad isn't around to protect her from bad men anymore, so someone has to take that responsibility for themselves, and if it has to be me then so be it." The boy crossed his arms.
"I promise Shippo-kun, I'm not a bad man for her, and I'll prove it to you." Koga nonchalantly said as he held out a hand to the boy.
"Now, how about we finish up decorating for the party? We're losing daylight." The wolf demon tribe leader suggested as Shippo nodded and scurried up his arm and stood on his head. Surprisingly the two of them worked together rather well, Koga passing the streamers up to Shippo who placed and taped them to the walls. On the other side of the hut Ginta and Hakkaku were grinning at each other from ear to ear when they saw them bonding. They knew that Koga wanted to get the child's approval considering how close he was to Okami, and that he wanted to get to know the kid that she seemed to hype up all the time. The boys were so proud of the improvements their leader was making in his behavior for her that they had to hold in more anime tears that were threatening to fall from their eyes.
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Meanwhile on the other side of the well Okami and Kagome were getting their test scores back from earlier in the day. As she had her test handed back to her she began sneezing uncontrollably. "Hm... Is someone talking about me or something? Ugh, seventy-five percent? Not bad I guess considering how long I've been out for." Okami muttered under her breath as she turned to her best friend to see how she did. When she saw Kagome sulking in her desk she sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Remember, it was one test, not a final exam, just a minor test. You'll do better next time." She reassured her and her best friend just nodded in return, looking a little defeated until the bell rang to indicate that the school day was coming to a close. Their friends had some teacher to talk to so they stayed behind when Okami and Kagome left. As the two girls walked home together Kagome began to ask her about her plans.
"Okami-chan, since it is your birthday and all, what's the plan for tonight?" She pondered aloud.
"The usual, I'm going to visit Ozu-san because she refuses to not celebrate my birthday. Then I'll go over to your house and we can hang out with your family for a bit and when we're done we'll head back to the feudal era." The amber eyed female sighed once she finished telling her the plans for the rest of the night. Okami didn't exactly like her birthday, but promised Kagome to open up to the idea of at least celebrating it. The half-demon was just glad that her friends in the feudal era had no idea that today just so happened to be her birthday so she could at least relax a little on that side of the well. Eventually Kagome and Okami had to part ways to go to their separate homes. The raven haired girl wanted to visit Ozu first so she could pack up any last minute items for her trip back in time later that night.
When she used her spare key to open the door she called out to her guardian. "I'm home! Ozu-san? Where are you?" She asked as she closed the door and stepped further into their apartment. Suddenly the woman that she had been looking for jumped out from behind a nearby wall to surprise her.
"Happy birthday kiddo!" She exclaimed with a bright smile, her hands behind her back for some reason.
"Thank you Ozu-san." Okami chuckled.
"I know you don't really care much for your birthday because of what happened in the past, but now that things have changed, I think it's about time we let go of what happened all of those years ago and start over better than ever! Which is exactly why I got you this instead of a gift since I knew you'd want to start small." Ozu said as she finally revealed her hands, also exposing a cute chocolate cupcake with yellow frosting on it. In the center of the cupcake was a black and white candle that had already been lit beforehand.
"Now make a wish dear." The bubbly woman was practically bouncing in excitement as she waited for Okami to blow out her candle. The teen rolled her eyes and did as she said, blowing out the candle and making a wish. 'I wish to avenge my parents and defeat Naraku-san.' She thought as Ozu cheered for her and let the schoolgirl eat her cupcake.
"Shouldn't I have dinner first?" Okami asked with a small smirk.
"Tonight is a special occasion dear, besides I know you can't stay long because you have to meet up with Kagome-chan and go back to the feudal era later... I don't know if I'll ever get used to saying that." Her guardian waved her off.
"Right, well I'll get to packing then. Thanks again for everything Ozu-san." She said as she took the candle out of her cupcake and bit into it while she walked off towards her bedroom.
"You're welcome. Also someone named Hana-kun and his friend Hojo-kun stopped by and dropped off some gifts for you!" She heard Ozu utter those last few sentences before she entered her room, ate her cupcake, and packed up all of her necessities. As she did she noticed the gifts that Ozu was talking about on her bed. 'They must've asked Kagome-chan where to find me and told them to go straight to Ozu-san, great. Now Hana-kun can come by and bother me whenever he pleases.' She thought as she opened the two gifts on her bed. The one that said "From: Hojo" was some kind of therapeutic shoulder massager. He always did care for other people's health, especially Kagome's. Then she opened the one that said "To: Okami" with the words "Love, Hana" underneath them. She rolled her eyes when she saw a bracelet with a date engraved in it. After a moment of thinking she realized that the date on the bracelet was the exact date of their first date, the double date that Kagome forced her to go on! She couldn't help but facepalm and put both gifts away for the time being as she finished packing. When she came back out of her room she went straight to the pantry.
"Is it alright if I take a few snacks with me for my friends on the other side of the well? Back in those days they didn't have these kinds of treats so they love it when I bring them over." Okami asked as she began her s̶e̶a̶r̶c̶h̶ raid of the pantry.
"Of course, are you giving them to Koga-kun?" Ozu asked curiously.
"Uhm, w-why do you ask?" The teen blushed faintly and glanced over at her as she pulled something out of the pantry.
"You picked out some chips and you told me he seems to like them." She said with an all knowing smirk.
"Yeah these are for him, but I'm also taking some lollipops, cookies, and instant ramen for the others." She replied as she placed each item into her bag before closing it up and swinging it over her shoulder.
"I think that's about it. I guess I'll get going now, see you later Ozu-san!" The tan female waved Ozu off as she exited the apartment, her caretaker smiling sweetly at her as she left. In all honesty her guardian was proud of her progress, before she only cared about Kagome alone, and now she was caring for Ozu as well as her friends in both eras.
"Tell Higurashi-san I said hello!" She called to her as the teenager closed and locked the door behind her and rushed off towards the Higurashi shrine.
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When she arrived at their house she knocked on the door and waited a minute or two before she was greeted by Sota. "Hey Sota-kun! How've you been?" The black haired girl asked as Sota jumped into her arms and she picked him up, placing him on her hip as she took him back inside.
"I'm really good! Oh, and happy birthday Okami-chan!" He exclaimed as she smiled.
"Thanks Sota-kun, I appreciate it. Anyway has school been treating you well?" The female made her way towards the dining room where she assumed most of the family would be right now, eating dinner.
"It's boring sometimes, but I manage." He explained with a smile as they reached the dining room. It was a little dark at first so she reached along the wall and found the light switch before flicking it on. Just then the rest of the Higurashi family along with Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi were standing there, popping party poppers in her face.
"Happy birthday Okami-chan!" They all exclaimed and she sighed.
"How'd I know you would do something like this Kagome-chan?" She asked as said schoolgirl gave her a hug.
"Because we're best friends obviously." The female said as she pulled away from her.
"Of course. Now since I know I won't be getting out of here without celebrating, down you go Sota-kun." Okami said as she set down a disappointed Sota back onto the ground. When she saw how sad he looked she couldn't help but take her bag off of her shoulders and dig into her bag for something. In moments she was handing the kid his favorite flavor of lollipop and a cookie along with it.
"There, happy now?" She asked as she ruffled his hair up. He beamed and nodded.
"Sota-kun it's her birthday! You should be giving her a present, not the other way around!" Kagome yelled at her brother from beside them as Okami got in front of her and tried her best to calm her down. Luckily Ms. Higurashi cut in before things got serious.
"Please don't argue! We still have cake and presents to get too!" Her melodic voice rang throughout the room as she walked off into the kitchen.
"Cake? Kagome-chan, don't tell me you guys made a cake for me? That's way too much!" The raven haired girl started as the roles reversed and now Kagome was trying to calm Okami down. Soon enough her mother came back into the room with a cake full of lit candles and set it down on the table in front of Okami. Everyone then began to sing Happy Birthday to her and she felt her cheeks flush pink, she doesn't really like being the center of attention nor does she know what to do when people sing to her, it's sort of embarrassing for her. Which was why when they finished singing she sighed softly in relief that it was over, in turn accidentally blowing out the candles, realizing she had another wish to make. 'I wish... That Kagome-chan and I will always be best friends.'
Everyone cheered and got a slice of cake, as they all sat around the table and ate they laughed and talked happily together about the good old days. Okami looked down as she went to take another bite of the cake and noticed Buyo, the Higurashi family's cat, rubbing himself up against her leg. She knew that Buyo didn't exactly like to be touched, nor did he like dogs or wolves of any kind, so she cautiously reached a hand down to pet him. As she pet him softly she saw him get agitated quickly, already done with the affection he was receiving. Just as he swiped at her hand she moved it away, narrowly avoiding getting scratched up. The teen chuckled as Buyo gave a sassy look and walked away. "I'll take what I can get, thanks Buyo-kun." She muttered under her breath.
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In time it came for presents and each of them handed her something no matter how much she tried to refuse them. Kagome's grandfather gave her one of his ancient relics that he held onto, Sota gave her a couple of hair clips since he knew how much she struggled keeping her hair out of her face sometimes, Kagome and the girls gave her a friendship bracelet that matched the ones that they had gotten for themselves, and Ms. Higurashi got her a new backpack in case her old one ever were to break. She thanked them all for being so kind to her throughout the years as she slipped on her brand new bracelet and they finally decided to finally wrap up the party because her best friend seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere, which most of them knew where she wanted to go. 'Is she really this excited to see that mutt again?' She asked herself as the two girls saw their friends from school off as they began their walks home. Kagome then quickly ran to her room and grabbed her bag, also putting the presents that Okami couldn't fit in her bag up in her room to take back to her apartment when they came back. Then they both said goodbye to the Higurashi clan. "By the way, Ozu-san says Hi!" Okami called out as the went through the door and made their way towards the well house.
"C'mon Okami-chan, hurry up! I wanna get back to the others as soon as possible!" Kagome exclaimed as she sped up in her pacing. She quickly followed to catch up with her.
"I've never seen you be so eager to get over there before, what's up with you?" She raised an eyebrow at her friend as she looked up in the sky and noticed the sun was setting.
"I'm just in a hurry because I know if we don't come back soon Inuyasha-kun is going to get upset and come through the well to get us. I just don't want trouble!" Kagome quickly explained, laughing nervously as she took her friend by the hand and dragged her to the well, not even hesitating to jump in and pull Okami with her. The two landed on the other side and Kagome let go of Okami to climb up and out of the well before reaching a hand in to help pull her out. The amber eyed female just rolled her eyes at her friend and took her hand and climbed out with her help. The two of them sighed before the schoolgirl once again became excited and started running off towards the village.
"Race you there!" The teenager called back at her friend as the half demon's competitive nature took over her and she began to run after her friend with a wide smirk etching across her face. She chased her friend all the way to Kaede's hut without either of them stopping once, so by the time they got there Kagome was a little winded, and in the end because of Okami's enhanced stamina she managed to pull ahead of Kagome and win their little race. The dark haired teen chuckled at her friend as she panted beside her.
"Not to brag, but I think I just won." Okami smirked, gleaming with pride as her friend pouted at her.
"No fair, you have demon powers so you have increased stamina!" She whined as Okami shrugged.
"You were the one who challenged me even though you knew that. Now c'mon, we shouldn't keep the other waiting any-" The teenager started as she waltzed right through the door of Kaede's hut to see all of her friends standing there with party hats on, they even managed to convince Inuyasha and Koga to set aside their pride and wear one.
"Longer... Um, hey guys, what's with all the decorations and stuff?" She finished her sentence as she slowly glanced around the room in confusion.
"Isn't it obvious flea bag? We're throwing you a birthday party." Inuyasha huffed as Kagome came in with an annoyed look on her face.
"Inuyasha-kun, that is no way to speak to the birthday girl! Sit boy!" She exclaimed as the mongrel fell face flat on the floor with a groan. Okami snickered at his misfortune.
"I think that's the best gift I've received all day, speaking of my birthday, how did you guys know today was my birthday? I made sure not to tell anyone because I didn't want to make it a big deal." She started as her eyes trailed towards the only person in the room that would've known about her birthday prior. Said friend only smiled at her apologetically, Okami choosing to let it go since there was nothing she could do about it now, plus they all had good intentions so there was no need to be so uptight about it.
"Kagome-chan told us! The wolf demons and I decorated the place, I hope we did a good job?" Shippo asked nervously as he climbed up to sit on her shoulder. She smiles softly and pets his head as she nodded.
"You did great, it looks amazing in here. Thank you for doing this for me... You really didn't have to." Okami replied.
"But of course we did, the day you were born is meant to be celebrated!" Sango piped up.
"Sango-chan is right. If not for you we might not have lived to see this day together. You're always there for us when we need you and for that we're eternally grateful." Miroku said as the others agreed, and suddenly Okami felt an annoying sensation on her cheek so she lightly hit her cheek as she heard someone cry out in pain. The teenager held out her hand in front of her as the flattened creature drifted down into her hand. She raised an eyebrow at the familiar flea that just gave her a sheepish smile.
"So you're here too are you Myoga-san? The least you could've done was greet me before you decided to suck my blood." She sighed as the old man quickly apologized and gave her thumb a hug to apologize.
"I'm so sorry Okami-chan I wasn't thinking! I just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy birthday!" He exclaimed as the female sighed and raised her other hand over his head. The flea feared for dear life as he saw the large shadow of her hand cover him, which caused him to brace himself for impact and squeeze his eyes shut. After a couple of moments he opened his eyes again to see Okami using her index finger to gently pet his head.
"You too Myoga-san? How many people did Kagome-chan tell about my birthday?- Never mind that, thank you for coming, it means a lot." She smiled softly at him as the male started hugging her thumb tighter as he began to cry tears of joy.
"You're an angel among demons! You're too kind for your own good! Thank you!" For a moment she was confused by his words only to realize what he meant. Inuyasha is usually a brute when it comes to anything so most of the time when he comes around he gets squished and yelled at so when the teen did the opposite it made him extremely happy. She chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand that wasn't holding Myoga.
"It's not the big of a deal, really." She started as Kaede cut in and told everyone to sit down so they could all have a nice birthday dinner together. 'Right, I almost forgot that I haven't had any real dinner yet. I'm glad though because I'm not in the mood for anymore cake...' She thought as everyone took their seats on the floor. Inuyasha and Kagome sat together and chatted amongst themselves. As did Kirara, Sango and Miroku who sat nearby the two. Kaede and Koga's men sat together by the food talking about what Kaede made for dinner. Which leaves Koga, Okami, Shippo, and Myoga sitting together with Shippo in Okami's lap and Myoga on his shoulder as Okami talked with Koga.
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"So, about what Shippo-kun said earlier..." She started as Koga raised an eyebrow at her curiously.
"Yeah what about it?" He asked.
"He said you helped him decorate around here. Did you really do all of this for me?" She questioned in response.
"Of course I did! Why wouldn't I? I-I mean after what happened the other day I thought I should make it up to you and prove to you that I do care about you... and besides this is an important day. I don't know what I would be doing if you weren't born, if I had never met you... I wouldn't have learned how to care and be considerate of others. You were the one who taught me that and even now I'm still learning from you- Uh, anyway, what I'm trying to say is today is a day meant to be celebrated." He rambled.
"I honestly don't like my birthday nor do I like to celebrate it, but Kagome-chan convinces me every year to let her do something for me, and after a while I gave up trying to fight her on it... But now, things are different. I've met so many new people to call my friends and I'm not the same as I used to be, so now I'm kind of trying to have a better attitude towards this day." She explained as Kaede and the boys gave everyone their own serving of noodles, allowing everyone to dig in.
"How'd you guys know I like noodles so much?" Okami bluntly asked as she realized that out of any meal they could've prepared they decided to make her noodles specifically, which happened to be one of her favorite foods.
"Okami-chan we've been traveling together a while now. Don't you think we might've noticed what foods you like and dislike since we eat together almost every night?" Inuyasha said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes as Kaede chuckled at his behavior.
"What's so funny?" She prodded.
"I think he's embarrassed because he knows it was his idea to make noodles for you. He specifically came with me in search of ingredients to get the proper spices and such that you seem to like." Kaede replied as her eyes widened slightly and she glanced over at the mutt in question.
"I'm surprised you actually pay attention to what I enjoy..." She smirked at him as he scoffed.
"It's not a big deal, so shut up and eat it already before it gets cold!" He yelled at her as the whole hut burst into laughter.
"Alright, alright, I'm eating!" Okami said and began eating her meal. The night was a blast, everyone laughed and had fun together for once, Okami even saw Inuyasha actually attempt to get along with Koga for a bit! Eventually everyone began to hand over any presents they might've had for Okami. First up was Shippo who handed her some sort of piece of paper that she took a moment to analyze.
"It's a drawing I made of the two of us! Do you like it?" Shippo asked nervously as Okami beamed at him.
"Of course! I'm definitely going to have to hang this up in my room on the other side of the well when I go back!" She told him as the boy started jumping up and down excitedly. Next up came Sango and Kirara who gave her a bracelet made from some of the bones leftover from a demon in her old village. 'Of course the demon slayer would find a way to make something out of old demon bones.' Okami thought as she smiled, placing the bracelet on her free wrist and thanked Sango for the sweet gesture as Kirara climbed up to her shoulder and rubbed herself up against the amber eyed female's cheek to try and give her own extra special gift.
"Thank you too Kirara-chan." She pet the kitten before she hopped off of her shoulder and Miroku came up to her. This was the one she was kind of dreading, surprisingly he only gave her a small slip of paper.
"Kagome-chan told me about these things in your era called cou...pons, yes coupons, and so I thought I would give you a special one for your birthday!" The female shrugged not thinking anything of it until she read what the coupon said.
"One free child? What the hell is this Miroku-kun?"
"Well that's a coupon to grant you one child free of charge. C'mon Okami-chan-" He started as he grabbed her hands within his own.
"Wouldn't you please consider bearing my child? I mean you do have a coupon for it now." The dark haired lech finished as an irk mark appeared on three people's heads, Okami's, Sango's and Koga's. She pulled away from him and denied his request as Sango hit him over the head with her Hiraikotsu. Then Koga came up behind her and took the coupon out of her hand before ripping it to shreds.
"Like hell I'm gonna allow that. You alright Okami-chan? He didn't touch you anywhere inappropriate right?" Koga went from having venom dripping from his voice to being sweet and concerned for her. She was a little shocked by his reaction to the gift but shook it off before nodding.
"Yeah, he didn't touch me anywhere other than my hands. I'm alright Koga-kun, so please calm down, he's always like this and he's only messing around." She explained as Miroku piped up from the floor.
"Who said I'm messing around my offer still stands~" He cooed causing Sango to hit him again and prompting Okami to hold Koga back from going over there and killing the monk.
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In the end Kaede gave her a few medicinal herbs that she could learn to use on her travels, Ginta and Hakkaku gave her a giant group hug that she almost didn't escape from, and Myoga came empty handed since he wasn't planning on staying for the whole party like he did. Then there was only two people left if they had anything, Inuyasha and Koga. Inuyasha pulled Okami aside to get his spiel out of the way. He held out a charm to Okami and she carefully took it and saw that it was in the shape of a wolf.
"While I was looking for ingredients with the old hag earlier I happened to find this charm... And it reminded me of you so- Happy birthday flea bag." He spoke softly, most likely embarrassed by having to say such mushy things.
"Aw, who knew you could be so thoughtful Inubaka? First making my dinner preparations and now this? You're too sweet!" She teased him.
"Shut up will you! Anyway, that's what friends do right?" He asked, clearly embarrassed as Okami's eyes widened at his words.
"Huh?"
"We're friends aren't we? So getting you a birthday gift with thought put into it is only fair..." The half demon continued.
"How cute~ You think we're friends." The teen continued to tease.
"What!? Are you saying we're not!?" He exclaimed, actually sounding offended by the statement.
"Yes and no." Okami replied.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" The male asked and she shrugged in response.
"I consider us frienemies." She stated and he gave her a look, clearly lost and not understanding what the word meant.
"A frienuh-what now?" He raises an eyebrow at her as she sighed.
"Are you seriously telling me you don't know what a frenemy is? You really are hopeless." She sighed in disappointment at him.
"Just explain it to me already!" The amber eyed male shouted.
"Fine. A frenemy is someone who is undoubtedly your friend, but at the same time you treat them as if they were your sworn enemy. Friend and enemy put together into one word is frenemy and that's what I think sums up our relationship the best." Okami explained as a smirk slowly etched itself onto Inuyasha's face.
"Yeah that actually does sound about right, I like it." He grinned as she rolled her eyes playfully and ruffled his hair up much to his annoyance before going outside for some fresh air.
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The female began walking along the river stretching along by the village and as she got farther away a familiar voice got louder and louder behind her. In moments she was stopped in her tracks by a whirlwind that came out of nowhere. Once it dissipated she saw that it was Koga who had been speeding after her. "Oh hey Koga-kun, what's up?"
"Why'd you leave the party?" He asked and the school girl shrugged.
"I just wanted a bit of fresh air. Why is something the matter?" She pondered.
"Well, me and the boys have to get going soon if we ever want to find Naraku-san, so I wanted to come and say goodbye." He said with a heavy sigh.
"I see, then here. I wish you luck on your journey and please try not to get yourself killed." For a moment a look of disappointment flashed across her face before she pulled her backpack off of her shoulder and pulled out the chips she brought for him and his men.
"Shouldn't I be the one giving you a gift? It is your birthday after all." He asked as she shrugged in response.
"Yeah, well I didn't want you to leave empty handed after staying an extra day here when you could've been hunting for Naraku-san. I'd feel guilty knowing you wasted your time on me without getting anything in return." She explained as he shook his head in response.
"It ian't wasting my time if I wanted to be here with you, spending even just a little longer with you made it worthwhile." He told her sincerely with a soft yet serious expression on his face. Okami blushed faintly as she handed him the bag of chips, and that was when she noticed one of his hands was behind his back as he used his free hand to grab the chips. The male pulled his hand out from behind his back and handed her something in return as a blush spread across his face as well. She looked at what he put in her hands and realized that it was a pretty bouquet of yellow daffodils and blue balloon flowers.
"Shippo-kun told me that you seemed to really like those flowers so I thought it'd be a nice birthday gift... Happy birthday Okami-chan." He smiled sincerely at her as she took a hold of the bouquet and sniffed the flowers.
"Koga-kun... Thank you, this is very sweet." The female smiled down at the flowers in her hands.
"I know lately I haven't been treating you right, and I know it's been difficult lately having to put up with me, but I want you to know that nothing matters more to me than you. No matter what happens or who I choose in the future I would never want anything to come in between our relationship. I want you by my side teaching me to be better no matter what... I can't afford to lose you and what we have." Koga explained and her eyes widened as he continued.
"Which is why I am giving a second gift to apologize for treating you wrongly, as well as make sure that you don't forget my words. I stand by what I say so it's important to remember what I say." He reminded her of how much words meant to him, every word he spoke was like a promise that he refused to ever break. Just then he leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead. Okami gasped softly as her entire face flushed red. He pulled away slightly so that he could look her straight in the eye.
"Until we meet again, Okami-chan. I'll miss you." He spoke as she began to crack a smile.
"Until we meet again, Koga-kun... I'm gonna miss you too." She replied as the boys and running towards them, finally having realized their leader disappeared. Koga turned to them and told them that they were leaving which prompted the boys to give Okami another hug before smiling and waving at her as they ran off after their boss who already had begun running off.
"See you around Big Sis!" The boys called out to her.
"Later!" She replied, not noticing a figure approaching her from behind.
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"I'm sorry, did I come at a wrong time?" A very familiar voice spoke from behind her, she slowly turned around to find a woman surrounded by soul collectors standing before her.
"Kikyo-san? What're you doing here?" She asked in shock, wondering if she was dreaming this up.
"I came to wish you a happy birthday. It is your birthday, is it not?" She asked curiously.
"It is, but how did you know that? You died before I was born didn't you?" The teenager questioned.
"Yes I did die beforehand. That Naraku character came and found me earlier and told me that he recalled your birthday was today. I think he must've overheard it when he was secretly watching over your mother and father back in the day. Knowing who he is I don't doubt that Onigumo-san's heart must've made sure to hold that information close, that and it was the date of birth of the only other person he failed to kill. Which I assume must be why Naraku couldn't seem to get it off his mind." She explained as Okami raised an eyebrow at her.
"What? So... Are you trying to tell me that Naraku is trying to wish me a happy birthday in his own twisted way?"
"Sort of. Remember that Onigumo-san's heart still resides within Naraku-san and sometimes one part of him can overpower the other. Onigumo-san probably feels close to you because he was close to your mother. He almost considered her a sister sometimes, as did I, so to the both of us we see you as a niece-like figure. We will always be on your side and always want to protect you, we'd never hurt you. Onigumo-san was most likely trying to take control of his actions and tried to wish you a happy birthday, but since Naraku knew he could be killed if he actually faced you himself he took it upon himself to give his heart part of it's wish by telling me in an attempt to get me to pass on the message to you as well. You see Okami-chan, Naraku wants both of us dead because deep down Onigumo-san has a soft spot for both of us and we're holding him back from his goals. He currently can't bring himself to kill either of us which prevents Naraku from following through with his plans because we get in the way. So in turn Naraku wants to find a way to overcome the weaknesses of that bandits heart and kill us both so he won't have any more trouble." Kikyo explained simply as Okami thought over everything the pale woman had told her. 'Is that why Naraku chose to put the defiled jewel shards in me? So that he wouldn't have to kill me with his own hands because he knew he wouldn't be able to bring himself to go through with it?'
"I see, thank you for telling me all of this Kikyo-san. I'm glad I got to see you again without being in the midst of a battle, now I feel like I can actually talk to you normally. It's nice this way." Okami said with a small smile.
"I agree, but I cannot stay for long or else Inuyasha-kun will catch wind of my scent and come looking for me. I must be going now, enjoy the rest of your birthday for me." Kikyo replied and turned on her heel to leave.
"Wait a minute, why don't you want to see Inuyasha-kun? I'm sure he'd at least like to say hello." Kikyo stopped in her tracks when Okami said such things before turning back to look at her with a small smile on her face.
"I didn't come here for him this time, I came here for you. Besides this won't be the last time you see me, Inuyasha-kun and I will undoubtedly meet again, it just won't be tonight. Farewell Okami-chan." With that Kikyo left into the dark of the night on her own mission in this world that Okami didn't quite yet understand.
"See you later, Kikyo-san." Just then Inuyasha and the others came running up to her, Inuyasha ranting about how he smelt something familiar nearby.
"It's Kikyo-san is it not? That's got to be who you're smelling." She sighed as she saw the knowing look on Kagome's face when she revealed who he was going on about this entire time.
"So she was here, what do you know? What happened? What did she say?" Inuyasha pestered her with questions.
"She came to wish me a happy birthday and nothing more. She already left so it's pointless to go after her now when she has no intention of having a run in with anyone else for now. Even though I know you want to mutt face, you can't go after her." She shot down the male who was seemingly getting very heated with her for having the nerve to deny him from seeing her as if she were his mom.
"Why the hell not!?" He exclaimed in annoyance.
"I asked her myself to stay behind and at least say hello to you, but she told me that you two would meet again just not tonight. Would you really go against her wishes and chase after her even when she already said she plans to see you again eventually? Let's just calm down and go to bed for now okay? I'm tired after all this partying." She said as Kagome and the others began dragging the mongrel off back to the hut, Okami following close behind. That night even when she thought the birthday stuff was over and she fell asleep, she was taken to the lands between heaven and hell where her actual parents wished her a happy birthday as well. That was when Okami realized that her birthday isn't so bad of a day if she spends it with the right people who actually care about her.
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Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys in the next one?