Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the character thereof.

So I'm writing this because I am having an amazing bought of writers block when it comes to my Avatar: the Last Air Bender fic, My Sword, which no longer fits with the storyline of the show. This is actually a combination of concepts from two different fics I began but never finished, one about searching for Kagome's father and another about Rin coming through the well and getting lost in modern day Japan. I hope you all have as much fun reading this as I plan on having while writing it. XD

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"Kagome," he said softly. He sounded nervous, but not like he did when he thought he was going to get 'sat'. It was more the anticipatory kind of nervous, equally full of hope and fear. She'd heard that tone only once before, when he asked her whether or not she had decided to stay in her time the day they'd completed the jewel.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she said, turning to look at him. He looked every bit as nervous as he sounded.

"I... well, um... I want to show you something," he said, slipping his clawed hand into hers. She followed him out of the village to the edge of the forest. She thought perhaps he was taking her to the Goshinboku, but she was surprised when they walk right past in into the forest beyond. She might have been nervous except that Inuyasha kept glancing at her with a happy light in his eyes.

"Inuyasha, is it much farther?" she asked. It was pretty late in the day, and she was pretty tired already. As nice as a stroll through the forest with her hanyou was, she needed a break.

He stopped and looked at her, then looked in the direction they were heading, as though he were carefully considering something. After a long pause, he nodded and knelt, signaling that she should get on his back. Within moments, they were sailing from tree to tree. She was immediately glad she'd spoken up, because even at their new speed, it took several minutes to reach their destination.

When he came to a stop in the clearing, she gasped and stared in awe. In the center of a small field was a tree that rivaled the Goshenboku in size, it's branches spreading out in a wide umbrella of pink blossoms. It was back lit by the soft pink and purple glow of the setting sun, and the whole scene had an unearthly beauty. It didn't hurt that a stunningly handsome hanyou stood to one side, smiling that soft smile he reserved just for her, looking like the magic prince from some fairytale.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, unable to look away.

"Yeah, spring is finally here..." he said, suddenly looking nervous again, "You know, Kagome, you and I have been together a long time..."

She frowned and looked at him, searching his amber eyes for clues as to what was going on in his head. What was he getting at? Should she be worried?

"Yeah."

"... and well... now that the Shikon no Tama is complete and safely hidden in your time... and with Naraku gone, well... you're duty has been fulfilled, right?" he asked, running a clawed hand through his hair nervously.

She gave him a puzzled look, "I guess so..."

"And you said in your time that once a girl finished highschool, she has to decide what to do with her life?"

"Yeah..."

"And you decided not to go to that college thing... You decided to stay here with us... and... well, it's spring..." he trailed off. He seemed suddenly unable to look her in the eye.

He stopped and sighed, turning away, "Nevermind. I'm just being stupid."

"No, wait!" she said, grabbing his hand before he could run off, "I'm listening. You were saying I had fulfilled my duty..."

He nodded.

"So?..." she said, walking around him so she was facing him again.

"Well... that was why Kikiyo couldn't have a normal life... a family. She had a duty to protect the jewel. You were the same way, I guess. Couldn't live your normal life cause you had your duty, but now..." he trailed off.

Kagome held her breath, hoping she was right about where he was going with this, "Uh-huh."

"I guess what I'm saying is... would you..."

She couldn't take it anymore. She launched herself into his arms, gleefully proclaiming, "Of course I'll be your mate!"

He wrapped his arms around her, but he seemed stiff. 'Oh Kami... that was what he was going to ask wasn't it?' she thought, pulling away and looking into his eyes. He looked startled and utterly baffled.

"Mate?" he asked. He said the word like one might say the word "rat".

"Um..."

A wicked grin spread across his features and bit his lip, but the laugh came out all the same, "For goodness sake, Kagome, you can't be serious! Mate? Who've you been talking to?"

"Well, don't youkai... mate?" she asked, covering her face with her hand to hide the blush. What a weird – and horrible - conversation this had turned into.

"Inu-youkai don't take mates!" he said between barks of laughter. Kagome felt like running into the woods and hiding while she cried her eyes out, but her feet wouldn't move.

'Just let the ground open up and swallow me...' she though, closing her eyes tight against the tears. She opened them just in time to see him collapse onto the ground in a fit of laughter.

Suddenly she was boiling with rage, "Well how was I supposed to know?! The only other inu-youkai I've met is your brother, and I he's practically emotionless, and Kouga wanted me to be his mate, so I assumed it was a youkai thing... you know what, nevermind! Ugh! Osuwa..."

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, cutting her off just in time, "I'm sorry. You're right, you didn't know. Still..." he chuckled again, "Wolf youkai mate for life because it's in their wolf nature. Not all youkai take mates, and besides, I wasn't raise as a youkai. I'm the son of a noble-woman remember. I was raise in human traditions... my mate," he said snickering again, "I was going to ask if you would marry me!" he said, smiling, "You sure know how to make a guy stop being nervous."

Kagome gasped.

Inuyasha seemed to take her silence as a bad sign, because he suddenly began rambling, "So... um... like I was saying... Spring is the season for weddings... so it would... I mean, would you... um... you know?" he asked, his face turning a very deep shade of red, "I mean I know I don't have much to offer you, being... what I am, but..."

She sighed and put on hand on her hip. 'So much for a romantic proposal. Baka,' she thought, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face, "Of course, Inuyasha."

He looked at her for a long moment as though he didn't know exactly how to react, and then she was being swept up into his arms and spun around while the young man laughed happily.

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"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" screached kagome's grandfather, "I STRICTLY FORBID IT!"

"What?" asked Inuyasha. This was not what he'd expected.

"You are not under any circumstances running off with my granddaughter," said the old man, poking a finger into the shocked and angry hanyou's chest.

"Why not, old man? What's your problem?" he asked, but inside he was thinking, 'Oh man, what am I gonna do? I didn't think it would matter to them. They never minded it before, but I guess having a hanyou for a son-in-law is a little too much. Kagome, say something.'

He glanced at her and lost it when he saw Kagome and her mother nodded in agreement, "Hmm... he's right. It wouldn't be proper," said the miko. He swore he felt his heart breaking.

"You listen close, boy. You will have the ceremony here, in the family shrine, and it will be a proper Shinto ceremony. None of this 'the old woman can do it' nonsense. If you want to marry my granddaughter, you will do it properly!" said grandpa, "And Kagome is to be allowed to come back for regular visits, particularly after she has children."

Inuyasha just stared at him, trying to process what had just happened. Meanwhile, the old man aheaded into the living-room muttering under their breath about kids having no respect for tradition.

"Did that just happen?" asked Inuyasha, turning to look at Kagome.

Kagome just laughed.

Mrs. Higerashi took that moment to step up to Kagome and Inuyasha and give them a hug. When she finally pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.

"Kagome," she said, smiling at her daughter and then at the young hanyou, "Inuyasha, I have a favor to ask."

"Ok," said Inuyasaha, figuring she wanted them to run to the store or something.

"I want you to help me look for my husband. He should be at the wedding."

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It was Kagome's turn to look shocked and confused, "Your husband? Do you mean Daddy?" she asked, her voice quivering. She hadn't seen her father since... well since Souta was born. She'd only been four years old then. She didn't even remember his name, because no one ever talked about him. No one outside the family seemed to have known him very well... but hadn't he died?

Mrs. Higerashi nodded.

After a long silence, Inuyasha turned his back on the two women and crossed his arms, gazing out the window, "Ok, so where is he and how do we find him?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure where he is, but he should be pretty easy to find for the two of you. His name is Ran..." she said. She seemed to want to say more, but didn't. Instead she placed the nuckled of her finger in her mouth and nibbled it nervously.

"Ran..." said Inuyasha softly, "Wolf."

She gasped and looked at him, her eyes wide and sparkling with a strange emotion, "How did you know?" asked the woman in a quivering voice.

"Know what, Momma?" asked Kagome, suddenly curious. She hadn't quite made out what Inuyasha had said, but her mother seemed shaken.

"That Ran was a wolf..."

The silence was so thick, Kagome felt like she was choking on it.

"You mean that his name means wolf, right, woman?" asked Inuyasha.

"No... I mean, yes, it does, but... Oh!" she pulled a chair out from the table and sat, gesturing for them to do the same. They sat down and waited for the woman to continue.

"Kagome, did you ever wonder why when you brought a hanyou home that I acted so calm, or why grandpa accepted Inuyasha so quickly after his initial fit?" she asked.

The girl shook her head. It hadn't actually occurred to her to ask why. She'd just been relieved that they took it all so well.

"It's because he's not the first hanyou we've seen... Ran...your father was half wolf-youkai," she said quickly. Kagome and Inuyasha stayed quiet, the latter because he was thinking this over very hard and the former because she'd suddenly forgotten how to think.

The woman continued quickly, "He actually looked a lot like you, Inuyasha, only he had red hair and blue eyes... and he usually went for blue jeans and a t-shirt," she said with a small smirk.

"Ok..." said Inuyasha, "So where is he, why did he leave his wife and family behind, and how do we find him?"

Mrs. Higerashi sighed heavily before responding, relieved that he was taking this so well, "I don't know where he is, but I can tell he's somewhere to the west, and not in the city. When wolf youkai and hanyou bond, a sort of link is formed, so they can find one another. Ran said it was something to do with keeping the pack together. As for why he left, he said something about birds and a mountain and helping his grandmother, so wherever he is, it's likely with his grandmother's pack. I don't know why he hasn't returned, but I know he's alive... somewhere."

"Do you know his grandmother's name or the name of her tribe?" asked Inuyasha. Youkai lived a long time. Maybe his grandmother was someone they'd known back in his time.

"Not her tribe, but I think her name was, Ai-oh-mae or something," said Mrs. Higerashi softly.

Kagome had been staring at her lap, but when she heard this, her head snapped up and she stared at her mother, her heart in her throat, "Do you mean Ayame?"

"Oh yes. That was it," said the woman with a smile.

Inuyasha and Kagome just stared at each other.