The Day of Thunder

Naraku was nervous. He had been calm while facing the Dream of Jigoku, he had been calm when he brought Ai back to life, he had even been calm when he escaped the collapsing village, slaughtering the enemies with methodical precision.

But now at this moment he was not calm. The words of Ai before they had entered the shrine still echoed in his head and it had just dawned him.

He was to marry the child of a God.

Ai stirred, she was not exactly fully recovered but she was alive. It was weird to consider that for a brief moment she didn't exist, one moment she was being reckless and next she was feeling her very body and soul being torn apart.

Traumatic.

She blinked and then recognized who it was and felt sheepish as she tried to clean herself up for her erstwhile guest. She cleaned her face and said with small smile, “Morning… Naraku-kun, it’s… really morning right?”

His nervousness melted away as his eyes set on Ai. He nodded and smiled, happy to hear her voice again.

"It is," he spoke in a soft tone. "We truly won."

He reached for her hand and gave it a tender squeeze.

"I thought I had lost you"

"You did," she said calmly. "But I was not afraid, only sad that I could not see our future through."

"I am thankful for your gift, and I do not envy your choice."

His expression does grow a bit somber at her words as his mind drifts towards Kenji.

"I choose you because you made me into what I am now. You were that catalyst" he admits. "I do admit I was partially selfish... I did not wish to imagine a future without you."

The words make him blush as soon as they escape his mouth.

"If you still want it."

“I am not judging you, my husband to be,” she said honestly. “You abided by Honor and Love, and if the roles were reversed I would do the same. But we can Honor Kenji, for the name is strong and deserves to live on.”

“In our future he died to make possible. A samurai cannot have a higher calling than that.”

His smile widens when she calls him husband to be.

"When I saw you die I nearly regressed to what I was," he admits, slightly ashamed. "But at that point, even when the future was uncertain I remembered your words and how you guided me. To regress would have been to spit on your memory."

He grows silent as he ponders on how to approach the next subject.

"Do you wonder what happened to me during our fight against the Champion? When I channeled my dream?"

"I am not sure I understand, so much happened," she said honestly. "My mind is still... death and rebirth have left me rattled. But I want to know if wish to share."

"I want to know it all."

He nodded and sat, the weight of everything that had happened pushing heavily on his shoulders.

"I don't know the whole details," he admits, gauging her reactions. "When I managed to obtain the ability to dream lucidly I started seeing something clearer. A consciousness older than the humans, older even that the Nezumi, that beckoned at me. It... was me but at the same time it wasn't"

"This consciousness had already fought against Jigoku thousands of years ago and had won, only then it had been a giant Abomination. Different but similar in the end."

"I intend to research more into this. The Crab are securing lands and the Shinomen seems to be key for this. I intend to," he shakes his head. "for us, to see this through."

He grows silent.

"Speaking of which... my father is in the camp."

“Then you have my sword,” she offered without hesitation.

“I planned to head to the South with Kichi-san, and explore the Corruption in the Nezumi lands, and of course see my family.”

She smiled and said, “I will clean myself up and present myself to your Honored Father,” she said happily, a Crane always enjoys a chance to preen for nobility.

He smiled at her words and nodded "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Could I join you? I'd also like to see it and I wish to see your lands," he laughed softly. "After all we are to marry in your lands, near the ocean."

“I would be honored to have you and we could see the lands of the Nezumi with our own eyes,” she responded warmly.

“As long as we are together.”

"Yes," he smiles and squeezes her hand. "Always together."

"I also have another thing to say," he blushed. "After I channeled the dream against the Champion my body... suffered another change. As if my own body was purified by communing with the consciousness. Made whole if that makes any sense."

"I do not think my blood and my body are poisonous any more."

"Well that is great news... for the both of us," she said warmly. "Destiny brought you to the right place and time, Naraku-kun. I am forever thankful for that."

Boldly he moved his hand to her cheek and caressed it. "Just be careful Ai. I can not do what I did again. I would prefer to spend many years by your side," he said in a tone that conveyed both worry and tenderness. "You are one of the fiercest warriors I have ever seen."

He stared into her eyes. He was finally happy.

"I live for us now, and our future family," she said giving her commitment.