Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et. al.

Her Knight

Ch. 3

Morning dawned as it always did at this time of year, with birds singing and sunlight made watery by dewy clouds. Despite the fact that neither of her children had to go to school, Mama was already up. She sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, staring at the business card in front of her. A dozen times last night she had almost picked up the phone to call the number on it but common sense had reasserted itself each time. As much as she wanted to give the elder "Taisho" brother a piece of her mind, she knew she couldn't do anything to jeopardize the outcome of the battle with Naraku. She understood that if the younger were to meet today's Sesshoumaru, he would demand answers that could change history. Once the whole story played out though, all bets were off.

Slipping the card in her pocket, she made a mental note to file it away for future use. Mama began her preparations for the day, enjoying the quiet time and adding food on her already written grocery list. If Souta became anything like Inuyasha when a teenager, she'd have to double her weekly trip to the store. Although, maybe, hopefully, Kagome would have been married and moved out by then. With a soft sigh she heard her father-in-law get up and knew more explanations were going to be necessary.

Grandpa Higurashi was a traditional Shinto priest who believed in the old ways of herbal medicines and exorcisms. Perhaps it was a good thing too or he would have suffered a heart attack for sure when Inuyasha first appeared. It was the grandfather in him that worried now as he saw how close Kagome had become to the half demon. And it didn't matter if the young man was human or demon, he was still a boy. Boys that age he knew were lechers in his mind. Finding out that Inuyasha was ensconced in Kagome's room and unable to be moved didn't sit well with the old man but he figured if the boy hadn't done anything improper by this point he probably wouldn't.

Joining his daughter-in-law in the kitchen for tea, the old priest sat down at the table and waited for her to stop flitting around. How she had this much energy this early in the day would be an eternal mystery to him. When she finally landed, he straightened his stooped posture as much as possible and cleared his throat. "My dear, about the children…"

"Oh, Father, I know what you're going to say but they've slept in the same room before. I assure you nothing is going to happen that is in any way improper." He missed the twinkle in her eyes as he sipped his tea.

"Yes, I know. One thing I will say about the boy, he's respectful of women in that manner. Very proper." Mama decided not to tell him about the "accidental" glimpses Inuyasha had caught of her daughter in the hot springs. She didn't blame the young man for them. It would be hard not to look at her in such a compromising position if he had come to save her when she screamed. And he was a teenage boy after all. She'd have been worried if he hadn't been interested.

"His mother was a princess; I'm sure she taught him manners. Some of them have been put aside in favor of survival, that's all. When you're all alone, social niceties aren't necessary. Was that your only concern, Father?"

"No, it's about what happened last night. Kagome could have been seriously hurt."

"I agree, as I'm sure does Inuyasha. I'll be forever grateful that he came when he did last night."

"That's what puzzles me. He was on the other side of the well. How did he know she needed rescuing?"

"Instinct, perhaps," she suggested. There was no need to bring up the special bond between the two young people. Sometimes it was just best to leave the old man out of the loop. "There is much we don't know about demons and half demons. They could have abilities unknown even to experts." Not that there were experts in this era or at least no human ones that she knew of. She could hardly tell her late husband's father that demons still populated the earth and walked among them disguised as humans. Some things the old priest was better off not knowing.

"True, true," Grandpa nodded. "What did that woman say when she brought them home? Have the police been told?"

"A special task force assigned for these kinds of incidents has taken charge of the criminals and may come to ask Kagome and Inuyasha some questions but not for a few days yet."

"Good, good. Well, I'm off to tend to the shrine. Let me know if you need anything, my dear."

"All right, Father, breakfast will be in about an hour." She watched him leave and sank back against the chair in relief. The questions hadn't been as bad as she thought they were going to be.

A noise in the doorway of the kitchen alerted her that another member of the household was up. Souta stood there, one hand wiping the sleep from his eyes. He still wore his pajamas and she couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked. Not that she'd voice that opinion out loud. "Mom, are Sis and Inuyasha going to be all right?"

"Of course, dear. They just need lots of rest. Especially Inuyasha so no bugging him for tales of his fights with demons."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Go get dressed. Breakfast will be soon." He wandered out and she got up to begin the meal. While water was set on to boil, Mama decided to check on the two teens.

Inuyasha heard her ascent and struggled to sit up. His external wounds had closed but internally he was still damaged. Kagome was facing him, her injured wrist hanging off the bed as if reaching for him in the night. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept through the night when he was hurt. To do so back home would have been suicide. Lightly touching her arm, he was surprised when Kagome shot up out of sleep. Normally it would have taken a shake and a quick duck to rouse her before she woke on her own.

"Inuyasha, I just had this weird dream. Mama said she was going to talk to Sesshoumaru." He held back a snicker with effort but turned towards the door so she couldn't see his smirk. It wouldn't do to laugh in his condition.

"I am going to talk to that young man. After Naraku's dead. For the moment you two are going to stay in bed and rest."

"Sesshoumaru's still alive?" Panicked, Kagome raised as far as her knees before her mother could push her back down. "And he hasn't tried to kill us?"

"Keh, that would be changing history, wench. He's not about to risk that." The young miko's brow furrowed in confusion.

"How is it that he's even still alive? He was twice your age back in the Feudal Era, wasn't he?"

"About that. Demons with great power live long lives, Kagome. He was the equivalent of a fifteen year old human when I was born. That's probably what made him such a prick about me. Adolescent demons are snot nosed punks most of the time."

"If he lived this long, would you?"

"Sure. My old man was fifteen hundred or so when I was born. Could have lived to be eighteen hundred to two thousand." Kagome's jaw dropped and she turned to her mother who had been silent. Inuyasha had a feeling the older woman was taking this better than her daughter. "I could live as old as a thousand." The priestess sank further back into her bed and stared at the ceiling. No wonder he had been willing to turn human for Kikyo. The prospect of living that long alone must have been too much to contemplate. Growing up alone had been bad enough but to live his whole life while every human around him died…

"I'm sorry."

"Hmm, what are you sorry for, wench?"

"I thought you had the best of both worlds being half demon."

"He does, my dear. He has the strength and power to protect from his father's side and his heart and soul from his mother's to want to love and care for others. Plus he looks like both Lady Izayoi and Lord Inutaisho so he has them with him even if he can't remember what they looked like in life." Kagome sat up to look at her mother, knowing she was right. "And as he doesn't know much about demon history, who says he has to end up alone for his whole life? I bet there's a way for him to keep his friends and wife with him when the time comes."

"Are you sure you're not psychic, Mama?" Mama chuckled, tucking her daughter in again. She did the same for Inuyasha, seeing the gratitude in his golden eyes. She brushed his bangs back, much as she'd done the night before and briefly rubbed his ears. As he didn't protest, she knew he didn't mind her touch.

"No, dear, I'm just a mother." They watched her leave and settled more fully into their covers. Once more facing each other, Kagome continued on with her thoughts.

"I don't want you all alone, Inuyasha. I promised to stay by your side as long as you let me and I meant it."

"I know, Kagome. That means being careful. Of course I can't be with you all day, every day. You got to learn how to defend yourself at least until I can get there to protect you. Until then, you're not going to go anywhere without me. Even back here. You should have been safe in this time."

"I knew you were going to say that." She pouted and reached out to stroke one ear, hoping he'd let her touch the appendage as he'd let her mother. When he flicked it out of her reach, she stretched further and lost her balance. Tumbling down on to the floor, she landed on top of him. His bad leg cried in protest while his chest throbbed and his shoulder wanted no part of the sudden movement.

"Kagome!"

"I'm sorry!" She struggled to move until she was lying beside him, tangled in her bedclothes. Resting her head on his good shoulder, she was surprised when tears came to her eyes. "I was scared, you know. Even after having faced your brother and Naraku, I was still scared of a bunch of gang members. How odd is that? The only reason they didn't hurt me more was because the leader believed me when I told him I was a miko-in-training."

"My brother had no interest in just doing you harm. He would have killed you out right that day. Naraku is a sick bastard but at the moment he's more interested in screwing with our hearts and minds. Do me a favor, if you ever come up against people like that in my time, don't mention the "in training" part. They'll just take advantage of your inexperience." Inuyasha nuzzled her hair, trying to offer comfort without words. Opening his mouth around her usually led to trouble.

"All right." Feeling tired once more she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep. Kagome felt his arm come around her and knew he would keep the nightmares at bay should any come. "My knight in gaudy red Fire Rat."

Both were just about asleep when the door to her room popped open. "Hey Sis, breakfast is ready…" Souta saw the two on the floor together and couldn't resist shouting, "Mom, Inuyasha and Kagome are making out!" Downstairs Mama was the only one to hear the declaration so she was free to say her thought out loud.

"Oh, good. I will have puppy eared grandchildren."