The moment Isabo and Akina confirmed that they had destroyed the entity, Aara and Vash went to visit their grandson.  Jin-Kensi was a month old already and they had yet to even see him.  It had just been too dangerous to travel beforehand.  Vash lifted the little boy high into the air and the baby laughed with joy.  He swung Jin around the room, much to the dismay of both Aara and Vara.

"Be careful!" Aara admonished.

"I'm not going to drop him and besides, he loves it!" Indeed the baby was gurgling with joy.

"Don't blame me if you make him get sick all over you," Vara warned.

"How are you doing?" Aara asked her daughter.

"I'm so happy, Mother!  I never believed I could love anyone so much!  From the moment I held Jin, I loved him with all my heart." Vara smiled at her son, still laughing in Vash's arms.

"And Tekken and Kyo?"

"They're being wonderful!  They both are helping so much with the baby and they're not squabbling any more.  I guess since neither one could claim him as theirs, they both decided to make peace.  It has been so wonderful since his birth."

"How are your other males dealing with it all?" Aara asked.

"They're doing fine.  They never had the problem with jealousy that Kyo and Tekken did; I guess they just accepted their lot.  They know I care deeply for them and that seems to be enough."

"I'm glad that everything is going so well for you."

"Mother, I want to thank you for handling things."

"Handling?"

"Between Kyo and Tekken.  I'm not sure what you did to make them both terrified of angering you, but it did the trick.  You made them figure out a way to live with each other."

"Oh, that.  Well, I just gave them a little sample of our power.  Something apparently we should have done a long time ago." Aara smiled.  "You're coming to the Celebration aren't you?"

"ACK!!!" shouted Vash.

Both women looked toward the man and burst into laughter.

Vash was standing there, holding his grandson at arms length, drenched in spit-up.

"I tried to warn you.  He got Kyo and Tekken the same way earlier this week." Vara informed him, barely controlling her laughter.

"You didn't tell me that!" Vash exclaimed.

"She shouldn't have to," Aara reminded him.  "Did you forgot about the time Ashara did the same thing to you -- for the same reason?"

"I don't remember that!"

"Well, you better get the both of you cleaned up.  We have a party to go to.  I think Tekken has some clothes that'll fit you until you get home."  Vara said, refusing to take her now very messy and fussing son.

Vash frowned, cooed to his grandson and walked out into the hall heading toward the bedroom areas.  They heard laughter in the hallway as Vash encounter Tekken.  Unbeknownst to her father, Vara mentally gave Tekken a heads up.

"UH OH, he got you too, huh?" Tekken said smiling, patting the man on the back in the one and only clean spot.  "Come on.  I'll show you to the cleaning room and fetch both you and Jin some clean clothes.  Fortunately, Jin loves baths."

"So you're my little sister," Sesshomaru said. She smiled and waved her hands reaching for him.

"That means she wants to be picked up," Shinjou said watching the two. 

"She'll settle down if you hold her close to your body," Shinjou advised, a little surprised at the Demon's reluctance to hold the baby. He showed the Dog Demon how to hold his sister. Lukana grabbed on to her brother's silk kimono and long hair for balance and looked up at his face.

"Isabo said you're the oldest of ten children. Didn't you have a hand at raising any of them?" Shinjou asked.

"I usually didn't hold them as babies. I was only ten when Akina was born. I think I got to hold her maybe once or twice. I was considered too young for the others."

"Are you ready for this?" Shinjou said as Isabo rescued her eldest son from the loving attack of his sister, and freeing his hair from her tight fists.

"About as ready as I'll ever be." She settled her daughter on one hip and gripped his arm in the other. Shinjou gave her a kiss, then they walked out of the room

Sesshomaru extended his arm to his sister.  She smiled and accepted it.  He escorted her out of the room. Kai, feeling a little left out. started to clasp his hands behind his back until stopped by Hiya.

"I guess it's you and me this time." she said with a smile.

He laughed as they both followed the others.

Aara, seeing and feeling their discomfort, stepped up and waved the people silent. "I think we've made our point," she said. Turning to the two women, with Vash at her side and all her Demon males arranged behind her, Aara said, "Isabo, Akina, we just want to express our gratitude at vanquishing the entity Shinashi.  We also request that if you ever consider doing something as reckless again, that you pass it by us first?"

"We'll definitely consider it," the two of them said in unison.

Aara looked at Shinjou and he just shrugged.

"Hey!" Hiya said, pushing forward, "I thought this was a party! Didn't someone just get mated?"

Everyone looked at the little Ice Demon, and then laughed and clapped in agreement. Hiya elbowed Shinjou.  "I think, now would be a nice time for that song you've been rehearsing, Shinjou," she said as she handed the new couple her present. 

Akina took Lukana from her mother, kissed her cheek, and left with Hiya.

"A song?" Isabo asked, turning toward her mate.

Shinjou smiled, reached up and released Isabo's hair from her tie.  Then he took her hands in his, kissed them, and started to sing.  The crowd suddenly quieted to hear the song.  Shinjou's beautiful voice carried along the night breeze and suddenly Isabo was lost in it.  She looked into his eyes and saw love equal to hers, pure and true. Love tested by time and hardship to become even stronger. This man in front of her was the last one.  What a gift the fates had given her!  She had finally found the place where she belonged.  Her sweet voice joined his song.

All the couples were drawn to each other. Aara found herself in Vash's arms.  Kyo and Tekken each placed a loving hand on opposite shoulders of Vara who was sitting on a bench holding Jin-Kensi in her lap.  Kouga found Kagome and embraced her.

Tekki and Kenru; Kenshin and Kaoru; Yusuke and Keiko; all of them! It was like a wave as every mated or married couple at the party joined together to share the emotion pouring out of Shinjou and Isabo through their song. 

Kiri smiled as he watched it.  He wished his father and grandfather could have seen this.  This was the true power of Unicorns, the sharing and spreading of love.  He and his herd had only a remnant of this power he was witnessing.  It made him sad to think of how much power his species had lost.  What was the world like when the Protector Unicorns were numerous?  The worlds don't even realize how much was lost with their demise.  He looked at the two singers.  At least Isabo is still with them, Kiri thought, and it's probably thanks to her love for Shinjou that she was.  If she had obeyed her father's wishes, she would be dead too.  She loved Shinjou so much that she left them and even after his death, she didn't return.  Thus she survived.  She suffered many hardships because of who she was but she survived again and became stronger because of it.  She was a hero among her brethren. Now she has come full circle to be with her first love again.  After all she has been through, her love for him has become even stronger.

"What was it that Father said? 'When first love shatters there is no greater pain. When first love gets a second chance there is no greater flame.'"  Kiri quoted.  He watched the crowd around him embracing, some even kissing, bathing in the aura of love.

"She probably doesn't even know she's doing it." He said softly to himself.

At the end of the song, Shinjou and Isabo expressed their undying devotion in a kiss, as did every other pair at the party.

The crowd recovered from the emotional song and started clapping in appreciation.  Isabo and Shinjou didn't even hear them at first.  They were lost in their own little world.

"Why did you undo my hair?" asked Isabo as it floated around her in the breeze.

"I like your hair down," Shinjou said with a smile.

He embraced her close, nuzzled her neck, and then lead her into the crowd.

"Hiya's quite a firecracker.  She reminds me of you were when we first met." Shinjou teased and then ducked the playful punch directed his way.

A young woman appeared at her elbow. "That was a beautiful song!  I was wondering if you would you like me to care for Lukana while you enjoy your party?"

"Kamara, right?" Isabo asked. The girl smiled at being remembered and nodded. "Lukana's with Akina right now. Where's your daughter?"

Kamara pointed at the black wolf pup at her feet.

Isabo knelt down. "Hello, Kara." The pup walked up to her and then sat, staring up at the woman. Isabo petted her and Kara licked her hand with a soft tongue.

"Thank you, Isabo, for stopping Shinashi and giving us our children back." Kamara said. "If you ever need anything from me or my family, just ask."

"I think that goes for all of us," Miroku said.

Isabo rose and turned to face him.  Behind Miroku stood all the families that entity affected.. They all took turns hugging the woman.

During the distractions, Kara slipped away.  She loved her wolf form. It was much easier to run and also to catch scents.  She wandered through the crowd, smelling various scents.  She practiced following them to their source.  Everyone knew Kara, even in her wolf form, and they indulged her actions. The first scent she tracked down led her to the Princess and Vash.  After receiving affection from them, she went sniffing around for a new scent to hunt.  Suddenly she stopped.  She caught a faint whiff of a scent that tugged at a faded memory.  She wasn't sure who it was that she smelled but it was something she remembered from the Village.  She just had to hunt it down.

She followed it and found InuYasha.  She curled in his lap for a while, but she decided he was related but not the one she was hunting so she was off again.  She tracked down Kai and Sesshomaru next.  She sat at their feet waiting for attention.  Sesshomaru looked down at the precocious Wolf pup, but it was Kai that picked her up.