Back in Edo-
Miroku had been speaking with his wife about the matter of starting to have children while Shippou sat a few feet away with Kirara and Kaede, eating their afternoon meal of rice, miso soup and grilled fish caught fresh from the stream in the woods when they heard Inu-yasha's howl.
Shippou, being the only one closest to an Inu in race, understood the howl and all but tripped over his little feet trying to get up and get out the door as his three human companions all looked at him curiously. Wondering what it could be to have caused such a rush in the little kitsune while Kirara took a moment to stretch her body out before following him to the door and then pausing to look back at the humans and chip in her insistent way.
Trying to get the humans to follow before taking off after the fox.
After all, Kagome's return was something to be celebrated as a group. Or at least the two tailed feline thought so.
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Sesshomaru stepped back from Ah Uh with a gentle pat on each of the dragon's two heads, indicating that he could go graze while his Alpha took care of business in the human village.
And waited for the great lumbering beast to go off to do as he was bid before lifting the large and heavy saddle bags loaded down with his gifts for the miko, and the new kimono for his Rin and slung them over one of his shoulders and begun to walk towards the village when he picked up the scent of something oddly familiar and sweet coming from the bone eaters well.
Pausing for a moment in mid step, he weighed the pro's and con's of greeting the miko at the well. On one hand, she would have an escape route if she became scared. On the other... The damn saddle bags were heavy. Not that he was complaining or anything. After all, he had carefully and meticulously chosen each gift for the miko from his private treasury...so of course the gems and gold bars would be heavy.
Along with some of the other items.
And then there was the commissioned bolts of silk for both the miko and his Rin to make clothing from. He had designed and chosen each color- each flower- and infused them with his demonic power as an extra bonus. So that the silk would be as strong and impenetrable as demonic armor.
Because he loved his Rin, in his own weird way. And it was in that same way that he- over the past three years- managed to come to grips with the fact that he, the killing perfection; Lord of the West- also loved the miko that had destroyed Naraku.
And while he may occasionally attack his brother now (let's face it, he enjoyed his sibling rivalry a bit too much. And Inuyasha was just so entertaining) he had also come to acknowledge that his half brother was a part of his pack. Someone who despite their differences, was someone to protect.
Even if he was a pain in the neck.
Moving closer to the well, he picked up the somewhat subtle movements of the person within and wondered for a brief moment if the miko was unable to climb out for some reason and began to set down the saddle bags so that he could go to assist her when the top of a dark head popped up out of the well.