Chapter 2 - The Party
When Shido arrived with his family, the Princess herself greeted him. Their relationship had grown very strong over the years; she had helped rescue her first mate, Liho, and had helped rescue his children. Shido had personally rescued her from Naraku's attack and had saved Raizen and protected Sesshomaru's Western Lands during the Three Worlds War. If the circumstances of their lives had been different, she would have taken him as one of her males. She was very fond of the Blood Demon Lord and he was half in love with her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, always amazed at the strength in his slender form. His golden eyes twinkled with delight as she hugged him.

Then Aara hugged Shilo, grown from a small boy to a young man of 23, still very handsome with large blue eyes and long golden hair. Then she turned to Shido's daughter, whom she had met only briefly after her rescue sixteen years ago. Lido had the same lavender hair as her father and looked very much like him, except her eyes were blue like her mother's. Lido introduced her mate, Findal, a very good-looking and rather gentle-mannered Blood Demon. Aara liked him immediately. 

Shido had never traveled with his partner before, but Breal had begged to go with them to this special event and Shido had relented. He introduced Breal and Chaal with a small blush. Because of the scarcity of female Blood Demons, it was the custom to have a male partner in his world, but Shido knew that it was not the custom in Otherworld. But Aara made them feel right at home. 

Breal was absolutely beautiful - there was no other word for him - he was fair like all Blood Demons, with ruby-red eyes and long silken black hair. And it was obvious that he adored Shido. Chaal was a younger version of his brother, but his hair was the short, messy style that seemed to be favored by the younger generation like Tekki and Kiri.
During the next couple of days, Aniki and Shilo became friends. Aniki had not been born during Shilo's capture, but he remembered it - but it was his past life memory as Bankotsu. Aniki could mentally picture the child version of Shilo as he clung to his sister, his eyes full of terror, watching Bankotsu die at the hands of the Blood Demons that used to be his friends. But Aniki felt no pain or discomfort watching his own death - he was standing outside of himself, seeing with a detached feeling as if merely watching a movie. Shilo cultivated Aniki's friendship, fascinating that this boy was the same demon he had seen die, and also because he was the youngest of Aara's males.

The day after Shido arrived, the other two Demon Rulers arrived. Raizen and Sesshomaru were almost complete opposites of each other. Raizen was a bit crude, completely male, exuding an aura of masculinity around himself that intoxicated every female that came near. He soon had all the maids and female guests giggling like school children whenever he was in the room. Sesshomaru was cultured, elegant and reserved. He did not like to be around people and it showed. He was cordial to Rin, whom he had rescued as a child, but even towards her, he was distant. Only once had he let his guard down -- and that was when the Princess had bound him -- accidentally losing control over her own power. During the Three Worlds War, he was freed from his binding and the Princess left him free -- as he should have always been.

The day of the party was perfect! Warm sunshine filtered through big fluffy white clouds. All through the morning, the cooks were bringing food into the tents and all the guests looked forward to sampling the fare. Everyone was busy dressing in their finest; light silks and satins for the daytime and velvet gowns and brocades for the evening.
Princess Aara came down at noon, the official start of the party, dressed in red velvet trimmed with gold.  She was stunning and a murmur of appreciation fluttered through the guests. 

Walking behind came her males. Kurama was dressed in white silk -- a Chinese style which he favored -- a long tunic over loose slacks and a top. His red hair gleamed in the sunlight. 

Hiei was dressed in black, as always, but this time his black trousers and shirt were topped with a long embroidered silk coat. 

InuYasha was also dressed in black silk and looked wonderful, the black setting off his long white hair and fair skin. Bakura was wearing a long gown instead of his usual tight-fitting armor; it was a rich ivory that complimented his light blue skin. For once he did not wear a headpiece or hood, and his long black hair flowed loose down his back. Aara certainly had a hand in his dress! 

Birthday boy Aniki was last, dressed in pale blue silk. His hair was in its usual braid, but a matching ribbon had been braided into it.
Vara followed her mother's group, dressed in ivory lace and dark red brocade. She looked every inch like the Queen of Suzaku that she was.  On her forehead was the dark red rune that had been given to her by the protector god, the Red Phoenix.

Souten followed as her first male, in a loose white silk shirt and trousers, his long black hair flowing loose down his back rather than in its usual braid. Toyna was also in white silk and his dark blue hair was beautiful against it, and Tekken wore black silks that set off his red-gold hair to perfection.

Then came the birthday guests of honor (except for Aniki who preferred to be with his Princess). Hiya was in a rich blue silk gown, almost the exact color of her eyes, and set off her snow white hair. Her parents, Yukina and Toya, followed, both dressed in icy white.

Taiki was in eggshell white, offsetting his dark eyes and black hair with a wide smile that lit up his face. Rin was in ivory and Kaiba was in a pale gold. His long dark purple hair was braided down his back while Rin's hair was piled high.

Murmurs came from the guests when they saw Tala -- dressed in a creamy ivory silk, her  black hair framing her face and her vivid blue eyes bright. She was so beautiful it was breathtaking! Mirago was so proud of her daughter and Shippo beamed with happiness; Tala was more than they could have ever hoped for.

Everyone had dressed for the occasion. Even Kouga and Kome forsook their furs and dressed in dark green silks. Ayala was in a lighter color of green that went well with her red hair. Kagome was dressed in a pale peach and her hair was piled on high on head with decorative hairpins holding it in place.

Shido and his partner, Breal, were dressed in white silks. His lavender hair was tied with a red ribbon that was almost the same color as Breal's eyes. Lido and Zindal both wore matching burgundy colored silks embroidered with intricate flowers. Shilo was dressed in simple black, but his long blond hair was free and framed his fair face and blue eyes.

There was no special format to the party - tonight there would be a formal dinner - but today everyone was free to come and go, as they liked. Food and drink flowed freely as people walked in and out of the tents. Little groups formed and changed as people drifted around the gardens. Chairs and pillows were on the lawns under the trees and people sat down when they got tired or wandered from group to group. On one side of the garden were four tables piled high with gifts, one for each of the birthday children. Sixteen was the most important age - the coming of age birthday - and many gifts had been hand made - and some had taken months in their creation.

At the dinner, the birthday children were toasted one by one -- long ceremonial toasts that almost put everyone to sleep -- but finally the dinner was over and everyone adjourned to the gardens again. There to the delight of everyone, fireworks lit up the sky for miles. Bakura and Suzuki had been working for long hours on this display, using their magic combined with fireworks brought from the Human World. Castles and dragons spread across the sky, ships sailed an invisible sea, and knights slew demons to the oh's and ah's of the guests. A tree grew and then blossomed into a cherry tree -- a tribute to Kurama. There was much applause and accolades when the fireworks ended. Bakura blushed deep blue in embarrassment and Suzuki took a small bow for the both of them.

After the fireworks, each of the birthday guests was taken to their gift table and given free rein. Soon a mountain of gaily-colored paper and bright ribbon surrounded each table as wonderful gift after gift was unopened. Soon after this, the party began to break up, everyone tired from a long day. Aniki went to his bedroom to await his Princess, since spending the entire night with him was part of her gift. Hiya, Taiki and Tala said their thank-you's and goodnights and went contently to their bedrooms, to dream of wonderful gifts and spectacular fireworks.

Just before midnight, Tala got up, gathered up the male clothes she had been sewing and silently walked to the farthest end of the garden. She put down a small blanket and then took off her clothes and waited.

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