WARNING: This chapter depicts graphic scenes of sex. Reader discretion is advised.
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One Year Later
Watching his chest rhythmically rise and fall in the early morning light, Kagome walked her pointer and middle fingers up her husband's arm. She'd been staring at him for what seemed like hours, and she was growing frustrated by how peaceful he looked. Not to mention how badly she wanted to rip off his hanjuban and touch every inch of his perfectly tanned skin.
Inuyasha stirred a bit and groaned sleepily as Kagome's fingertips finally reached the exposed V of his chest. She grinned devilishly, biting her lower lip as she delicately traced the divot between his pectoral muscles. She continued south, pushing the tie of his hanjuban aside. She outlined his abs and toyed with the soft silver hairs just below his navel, delighted by the shiver that wracked his body. Inuyasha's brows furrowed momentarily before he blinked his golden eyes open to fix his wife with a tired gaze.
"I'm on to you, woman," he yawned, fangs bared.
A devious giggle sounded from Kagome as she lurched forward and straddled the half-demon's hips, grinding her ass into the hardening cock between his legs. Inuyasha's eyes grew wide then, his mind and body suddenly fully awake and prepared for whatever she wanted to do to him. Dragging her nails along his chest, Kagome leaned down to nibble the lobe of his ear and whisper huskily, "Not if I'm on you first." And that was it. He was at her mercy.
Her lips trailed along his jaw to his mouth where she kissed him hungrily, biting and sucking on his lips and tongue. She tasted like the sweetest honey, and Inuyasha was absolutely addicted. He swallowed a whimper when Kagome pulled away, though they were both desperate for air, and stared in awe as she slipped her nagajuban from her shoulders. Her round, bare breasts bounced slightly upon release from her clothing, her dark brown nipples standing at attention. His fingers itched to touch them.
Cock fully engaged, Inuyasha bolted upright and clasped a clawed hand around his mate's neck. Kagome gasped, startled by his quickness and moaned at the slight pressure of his grasp. The half-demon brought his lips mere centimeters from hers, the low growl in his chest sending vibrations of pleasure straight to her dampening core. "Who's on to who now?" he rasped, taking control.
Kagome, however, was persistent. In spite of his air over her, she reached between them to free his thick cock, tugging gently a few times on the sensitive member. Inuyasha froze, his hot breath momentarily hitching in his throat before unleashing in staccato pants across his wife's lips. "Gotcha," she muttered, positioning his cock at her slick entrance before sliding smoothly down onto it.
Moans of euphoria filled the room as Kagome relished in the fullness of her half-demon inside her. Inuyasha remained still, trying to stifle his overwhelming desire to come right then and there as her sweet heat enveloped him. Fisting the shoulders of his hanjuban in her hands, Kagome set a steady rhythm, riding her mate how she pleased, and Inuyasha allowed it, worshipping her jostling breasts as she went.
"Yes... yes..." Kagome uttered, slamming her hips down harder. Desperate for a quicker pace, Inuyasha planted a clawed hand on her hip to continue guiding her downward even further. Obeying, Kagome pounded her pelvis into his, her sensitive bundle of nerves finally making contact with flesh. She cried out at the friction and ground her hips into his to create more, longing to spring the coil building in her belly.
Slipping his hand from around Kagome's neck, Inuyasha slapped his open palm onto her bare ass. Kagome gasped and squealed with pleasure, shouting his name as a delightful jolt of electricity bolted through to her core. "Say it again," he commanded, growling low in his chest. The sensation nearly sent the woman over the edge, but she steeled herself, tangling her fingers in his silver mane. Inuyasha utilized the leverage to bring her lips closer to his and demand once more, "Say it," with another swift spanking.
"Inu... yasha..." Kagome whispered, the up and down of her hips never ceasing. Growling again, the half-demon moved the hand on her hip between her legs, locating her clit with ease. He circled the delicate bud with the pad of his thumb, his breath catching once more as her hot sheath throbbed around him.
"Like you mean it," Inuyasha urged, nipping her lower lip and slapping her plump ass again.
"Ah! Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha!" Kagome chanted breathlessly. Inuyasha swallowed her cries, needing to taste more of the delicacy that was her mouth as he continued his assault on the nub at the apex of her thighs. "Don't stop, Inuyasha! Oh, yes... Right there. Faster!"
She rode him even harder then, like a horse sprinting through the forest, and Inuyasha followed suit, increasing the speed of his nimble fingers just how she'd told him to. Their hearts quickened, their breaths came fast, their skin dripped with sweat, and... there it was. The mountain's summit had finally been reached.
Inuyasha roared his release as Kagome convulsed around him, their names falling from each other's lips. The half-demon buried himself to the hilt inside his mate, filling her womb with every last drop of his seed though her body had no qualms about wringing him dry. Bodies blissfully sated, the two leaned on one another for support and attempted to catch their breaths.
"Never gets old, does it?" Inuyasha asked after a beat, grinning against the bare skin of Kagome's chest.
His wife giggled in response. "What? Sex? Of course not!"
Having become flaccid and since slipped free from her, blood rushed straight to Inuyasha's groin as he forced Kagome to her back on the mat beneath them. Her laughter continued, encouraged by the nose and lips nuzzling her neck. "Then let's do it again," Inuyasha replied, sitting back on his haunches then to rid himself of his hanjuban completely.
"Mamaaa! Mamaaa!" Muffled cries suddenly sounded from the nursery.
Inuyasha sighed heavily, a sullen expression crossing his features. His previously occupied hands fell to his sides with the abandoned sleeves of his hanjuban. "Why's the kid gotta ruin all my fun?" he whined.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded as she gathered her nagajuban around her leaking breasts and got to her feet. "He's still just a baby." Nonetheless, she was surprised Haato hadn't summoned her sooner. Judging by the beams of sunlight streaming through the shoji screens, his usual morning feeding time had passed some time ago.
"I'm just sayin'," Inuyasha added, pulling his own clothes back on. "Ain't it about time he's weaned anyway?"
"Soon, my love, soon," Kagome smiled, kissing her husband affectionately before padding out into the hall toward her son.
Haato's watery golden eyes and pin-straight black hair peeked over the railing of his wooden crib, his tiny hands clasped around the spindles. He sniffled quietly and reached up for his mama as she approached. "Good morning, my sweet boy," Kagome cooed, hauling her one-year-old son onto her hip. She swept away his tears and used the sleeve of her nagajuban to wipe his little nose before kissing the top of his head. "You must be starving, huh?"
Kagome wandered over to the rocking chair's most recent home in the corner of Haato's room and took a seat, baring her right breast for her son to feed from. Accustomed to the routine, Haato latched instantly and hummed happily as his warm breakfast filled his empty belly. Kagome methodically rocked back and forth, softly stroking her son's fingers that had curled around a lock of her long hair as Inuyasha entered the nursery now fully dressed.
The half-demon reached the pair in no more than a few strides, tenderly kissing his wife before turning his attention to his son. "Mornin', kid," Inuyasha greeted, ruffling the baby's ebony tuft of hair. Haato grinned up at his papa, his sparse teeth visible even around the mound of Kagome's breast. Inuyasha melted then, his typically hard exterior turning to mush as his voice raised several octaves, and he cooed at the boy.
Milk streamed from the corner of the babe's lips as he giggled at his father's playful demeanor. "Papa!" Haato slurred, his mouth full. Kagome winced in pain, her son's aforementioned teeth clamping down on her sensitive nipple as he spoke. Geez! Maybe getting a jumpstart on that weaning isn't such a bad idea, she thought.
"Oh! Sorry, Kagome," Inuyasha apologized, embarrassed. He knew he shouldn't have gotten Haato all riled up while he was feeding.
Shaking her head, Kagome replied, "No need to be sorry. Hazards of the job, you know."
Aimi shuffled into the room then, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she slowly approached her parents. "Mama," she mumbled, tiredly addressing her mother, "I finished packing my bag last night like you told me to." The five-year-old wrapped her arms around her papa's leg and leaned her head against his thigh. Inuyasha ran his claws through her raven hair, the child's eyes growing heavy in response to the comforting sensation.
"Thank you, sweetheart. We'll collect it when we set out after breakfast, okay?" Aimi nodded affirmatively, her eyes completely closed now.
"Speakin' of breakfast," Inuyasha began as he hoisted Aimi onto his side, "whaddaya say we get started on some? I'm famished."
Yawning again, Aimi asked, "Can I have tamago gohan, Papa?"
Inuyasha had already trekked to the door and was proceeding down the hall when Kagome heard his faint reply. "Sure. Long as you get the eggs."
"But papa!" Aimi whined. Inuyasha laughed and so did Kagome. He was always teasing her like that.
A few hours later, breakfast was prepared and served and several overnight bags lay in a heap by the entrance to the hut. "Do ya really need all this stuff, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, grunting and groaning as he strapped a few of the satchels together for easier transport.
"We're staying in Tokyo for the rest of the summer, Inuyasha. We'll need most of our belongings for the trip," Kagome explained for the umpteenth time.
The half-demon scoffed then. "Yeah, yeah, and you'll come back with twice as much, too. Whaddaya think I am, woman? A pack mule?"
Kagome tied the final sash on Haato's onbuhimo, firmly securing him to her back. "More or less," she answered, winking at her husband. Inuyasha rolled his eyes back at her.
"Papa, I brought some flowers!" Aimi shouted as she burst past the reed mat from the garden clad in her pink yukata, a bouquet of stargazer lilies in hand. "Will you put them in my braid? I wanna look my prettiest for my baba."
"Alright, pup. Let's get started. We're headed out soon," Inuyasha replied, taking the bundle of flora from his daughter. He ushered her toward a seat at the table where he pulled her onto his lap and began brushing her midnight hair.
Kagome finished washing the morning's dishes in a nearby basin and watched in adoration as her husband tediously braided their daughter's hair. He worked quickly but meticulously, his long fingers intertwining strands of the child's hair with the lily blooms he'd plucked from their stems. His brow remained furrowed and his eyes focused as though he were crafting a work of art. Aimi sat perfectly still, humming under her breath and playing with the discarded stems as she allowed her papa to mold her like pottery.
Never gets old either, Kagome thought, tears welling in her eyes, but they quickly dried as Haato cackled loudly in her ear and tugged on a handful of her own hair.
"Awfully rambunctious, isn't he?" Rin snorted at Kagome's wail of pain and surprise. She appeared suddenly, lingering under the cover of the reed mat hanging over the hut's entrance.
"Rin-chan!" Aimi shouted, leaping from her father's lap to run into the young woman's outstretched arms.
"Aimi-tan!" Rin greeted as she cuddled the little girl close to her. "Are you excited for your journey through the well?"
"Uh-huh!" Aimi nodded happily, her head bobbing up and down on her small shoulders. "I'm going to see Baba and Hiijiji Higurashi and Oji Sota and Buyo, too!"
"Speakin' of cats," Inuyasha interrupted, approaching Rin. "Thanks for agreein' to take care of Gurē and watch over the hut while we're gone, Rin."
Kagome joined her husband then, wiping her wet hands on a cloth and bowing gratefully. "We do so appreciate it."
"It's my pleasure," Rin smiled, bowing in response.
"You must be so glad to finally return home, Rin. How were your travels?" Kagome chatted idly as she set to the task of helping Inuyasha haul their luggage onto his back.
Rin knelt with Aimi to offer Gurē, who had wandered in from the garden only moments before, a few soft strokes to his back. "Incredible, as always. There's so much to see and learn and taste on the continent," she delighted.
Though Rin had been in Kaede's care for many years adjusting to life amongst humans, she still longed to journey across the land like she had with Sesshomaru and Jaken. She begged Kaede for some time to allow her to venture out on her own, promising not to seek out her beloved lord, but as is to be expected, Kaede was hesitant.
Rin was but a mere adolescent girl. There was much more to be wary of aside from an encounter with Sesshomaru: bandits, famine, injury, hazardous weather conditions. For someone of her age, beauty, and inexperience, danger lurked around every corner. That was when Kohaku came forward, proffering himself as Rin's companion and protector for the duration of her travels.
Like Kaede, Sango was quite leery about allowing her only brother to venture beyond her own scope of protection. After all, he was flourishing here in the village. He was Kagome's brightest pupil, hungrily absorbing all knowledge she had to offer. World history had become his most cherished subject, and he'd grown to be quite the orator, regaling his nieces and newphew and the village children with the many tales he'd read.
But still yet, he and Rin were great friends - possibly more, Sango suspected. He spent nearly all of his spare time with her it seemed. They had bonded throughout their years together in the village - long before, too, and Kohaku couldn't fathom her traveling all alone. Even more so, Kohaku longed to further pursue his own endeavors as a demon slayer, to learn all he could about demons far and wide and how to exterminate them. In the end, Sango and Kaede felt they had no choice. Rin and Kohaku were fast approaching adulthood and would soon do as they pleased regardless. And so the two set out, bound for the continent but with Kirara in tow for Sango's peace of mind.
They returned a year later bearing many spices, fabrics, tools, and trinkets, having gleaned so much from their excursions. The villagers were in awe of their wares and victories, and thus, Rin and Kohaku created a market. They obtained remarkable reputations for themselves: Kohaku, the seasoned demon slayer and Rin, the trader extraordinaire. They became prime resources for the village henceforth, traveling far and wide to trade goods for that which the people of Japan desired and slaying any and all demons in their path. Their reputation preceded them and spread to villages all over, bringing them great honor and fortune.
The couple really enjoyed their adventures together, and soon, they were betrothed to be married. Rin had recently returned from a trip to China with Kohaku to oversee the final construction of their newly erected hut and to complete their wedding preparations. Kohaku was still gathering information in order to defeat an unfamiliar demon before returning home to marry his chosen bride.
"Don't you miss Kohaku-chan, though?" Aimi asked as she shrugged into her backpack.
"Of course I do, but he and Kirara will be along soon," Rin assured her. She turned her attention to the girl's parents then. "You'll be back for the wedding ceremony, won't you, Kagome and Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha straightened his back, his load at maximum capacity. "Wouldn't miss it," he responded gruffly, grumbling under the weight of his pack.
"Great!" Rin exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I'll be sure to take care of things here and enjoy the peace and quiet while I can. There's still much to be done before Kohaku returns."
"Now then," Kagome began, peeking over her shoulder to check on Haato again, "we should be off. We don't want to keep Mom, Grandpa, and Sota waiting."
Nodding, Inuyasha reassured Rin that they would see her soon, and the family began their trek to the forest. Kagome and Aimi waved goodbye to all of the villagers, stopping briefly to bid farewell to Kaede and Shippo. Sango, Miroku, and their children wished them well, too, as they disappeared into the cover of the woods.
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"Let's race, Papa!" Aimi challenged the second her feet met solid ground in modern day Tokyo. She bolted toward the ladder draped over the edge of the well in an attempt to get a head start, knowing full and well that her papa need only make one swift jump to best her.
Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Betcha I'll win, pup."
"Only because you don't play fair," the little girl retorted, halfway up the ladder.
Stomping his foot as though he were five, too, Inuyasha shouted, "Didn't anybody ever teach ya to treat yer elders with respect, kid?! Hmph, guess not considerin' ya get that mouth of yers from yer mama." He defiantly crossed his arms over his chest then and turned his nose up at Kagome.
"Inuyasha," Kagome addressed her husband ever so sweetly. The half-demon stared at her in fear and bewilderment, her tone terrifyingly familiar.
"No, Kagome! Don't say it!"
"Sit, boy!"
The entire shrine trembled with the force of Inuyasha's body crashing to the bottom of the well. Haato gurgled with glee as Kagome huffed and followed her daughter up the ladder, leaving the half-demon behind.
"Was that an earthquake I felt?" Kagome's mother's voice echoed from the shrine doors as she peered inside.
"Hardly," Inuyasha responded painfully, barely lifting his head from the soil when the magic of the subjugation beads subsided.
"Ah! My Aimi-tan!" Mama Higurashi cried as Aimi climbed over the lip of the well and ran into her open arms, completely ignoring the previous plight of her son-in-law. "Oh, my sweet girl! Look how much you've grown!"
"Hey, sis! Lemme help ya out there," Sota said, pushing the shrine doors completely open before bounding down the steps to the well. He'd grown so tall and handsome in his adolescence, and he'd gained quite a bit of strength, too, given that he lifted the weight of Kagome, Haato, and a few of their bags with ease.
"Thanks, Sota. Would you mind taking these for me?" she asked, handing off her bags to her little brother. She loosened the ties of Haato's onbuhimo and swiveled the babe onto her hip.
"In case any of you were wondering," Inuyasha groaned, his breathing labored as he collapsed onto the ground next to the well, "I'm still alive."
"Aye, Inuyasha. What took ya so long?" Grandpa questioned, leaning against his wooden walking cane just outside the shrine. Inuyasha glared over at his mate, growling lowly. Kagome barely acknowledged him.
"And my little Haato-bō!" Mama Higurashi, plucking her grandson from her daughter's arms. "I can't believe it's been a year already! It seems like you were a newborn just yesterday."
Grandpa nodded in agreement. "They certainly grow fast, don't they?"
"Baba!" Aimi exclaimed, tugging on her grandmother's hand. Though she and her little brother got along well, she wasn't very fond of sharing the spotlight. "Can we go inside and have a snack?"
"Why, of course, dear! I've prepared something special just for you," she beamed. "Kagome, Inuyasha, come along, would you?" Without waiting for a reply, Mama Higurashi took Aimi's little hand in hers and moved Haato to her hip before setting out toward the house.
"Sure thing, Mom!" Kagome replied as she proceeded to help her husband lighten his load. Sota shouldered more of the bags, too.
"Good to see you again, Inuyasha," Sota greeted, helping the half-demon to his feet.
"You, too, Sota," Inuyasha responded warmly.
Climbing the stairs once more, Sota turned back to his sister and brother-in-law to explain, "I'm gonna go on ahead and catch up with Grandpa. He's not as light on his feet as he used to be, if ya know what I mean."
Kagome smiled and nodded. "No worries. We'll be along soon." Sota sprinted from the shrine then with his sister's bags in tow, leaving the couple behind to gather the remaining luggage and make the journey to the house on their own.
"Hope yer mom's got that fan thingy on," Inuyasha said to his wife as he stepped out into the sweltering morning heat. The sounds and smells of the bustling city threatened to overwhelm his heightened senses, but he managed to maintain his focus.
Kagome laughed. "The air conditioner, you mean?"
"Yeah, that thing. Greatest invention ever, if ya ask me."
The two exited the shrine at last and walked in comfortable silence for a moment before Kagome stopped under the shade of the Goshinboku. She approached the ancient tree, feeling its rough bark beneath her fingertips. As always, she located the small scar where a sacred arrow had once bound her mate to the trunk and regarded it fondly.
"Can you imagine what this tree has seen, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked her husband, mesmerized by the serenity that surrounded the hardwood.
Inuyasha scoffed. "Considerin' it ain't got eyes, not a whole lot, I'd say."
Oh, brother, Kagome thought, sighing heavily. All this time together, and he still hadn't picked up on figures of speech. "I mean the things that have happened here throughout time, the history it has. It's a living being, after all."
"Yeah, I guess," Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly, adjusting the pack on his back.
"Work with me, Inuyasha," Kagome insisted, glaring in frustration at him. "I'm trying to have a moment here."
The half-demon's eyes grew wide, and he stuttered out, "Uh, yeah... Okay, sure. Whatever you say." He held his hands up defensively, his ears flattening against his head. He really didn't want to be sat again.
Kagome stared up into the branches of the tree then, its reach seeming to stretch beyond the clouds. "This is where it all started. This is where we began. If my family hadn't been deemed the caretakers of the shrine, you and I would never have met. The Goshinboku wouldn't have meant anything to me. And you," she choked, fixing her husband with a teary gaze, "you would've been lost to time, forgotten."
A small smile turned up the corner of Inuyasha's mouth as he wiped his mate's falling tears with the knuckle of a clawed finger. "Nah, that never woulda happened. Naraku'd have slaughtered us all without you. Hell, the whole planet coulda been obliterated without ya." Kagome laughed at that, sniffling while he continued, "As for me... Well, there'd be no me."
With a puzzled expression, Kagome stepped away from the tree to face him and asked, "What do you mean? What about Kikyo?" She couldn't fathom him living a long, happy life with her predecessor, but if she and Inuyasha had never met, it seemed fitting.
"Me and Kikyo..." Inuyasha shook his head slowly, his gaze never wavering from Kagome's. "We were never meant to be. Took me a while to realize that, but I know now that Naraku woulda always come between us. And if there were no you, my bones would prolly be hangin' from that tree today. I woulda rotted there alone, 'cause I was always s'pose to meet you, to be with you. No one else woulda had the power or the stupidity to pull out that arrow."
Kagome let slide the fact that he'd just blatantly insulted her intelligence and chuckled along with him at his own comment. "I'd do it all over again, you know," she said as the laughter died. "Every last second. I'd relive it all. All the pain, heartache - everything, if it meant we'd end up here together again, just like this."
Inuyasha silently reached for his wife's hand and led her from under the canopy of the Goshinboku toward the house. Kagome intertwined her fingers with his, gently stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. "Eh... I'd change a few things," Inuyasha smoothly added.
"Like what exactly?" Kagome prodded, trying her best not to jump to conclusions.
"For starters, I'da crushed this damn necklace with my bare hands if I woulda known Kikyo had 'em that day," he began, rolling the subjugation beads between the fingers of his free hand.
Sighing heavily, Kagome commented, "And we'd both probably be dead now given how many times they saved our hides, but please, do go on."
"Ya coulda picked a better incantation at least," Inuyasha huffed.
Kagome shrugged then. "All I saw were your dog ears. It made perfect sense at the time."
Ignoring her rationale, Inuyasha said, "Anyway, the second thing is I woulda put an end to yer nagging right from the beginning."
"I never would've had to nag you had you not been so stubborn and clueless," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "And we're still working on that stubbornness."
"Tell me about it," he quipped back, earning an elbow jab to his ribs that he barely noticed.
"What's the third thing?" Kagome questioned as the house grew nearer.
Smirking triumphantly, he answered, "If I'da known the sex was gonna be so damn good, we woulda been goin' at it like rabbits a loooooong time ago."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome chided, slapping his chest playfully as a fervent blush spread across her cheeks.
Inuyasha grabbed her hand as it collided with his rock hard body and pulled her close for a deep, passionate kiss. Kagome easily melted against him in the summer heat, and when their lips parted, she leaned back in for more.
Breathless and perspiring, Inuyasha rested his forehead against Kagome's and said, "It's some journey we've been on, and there ain't no one else I'd rather keep going it with than you."
"Then let's keep going," she replied, kissing him again.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Mama Higurashi shouted from the front door, exaggeratedly waving at them. The couple turned to look, finding her there with both of their children in tow. "It's going to start boiling out here if you two keep at each other like that. Come inside and eat already!"
Sufficiently embarrassed, the half-demon and his mate continued on their path. Their journey so far had indeed been long and arduous, but with irrevocable love and relentless determination in their hearts and minds, they still had much journeying to do yet. And they would always, always do it together.
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Key:
• hanjuban - Japanese term for Inuyasha's undergarment
• nagajuban - Japanese term for white or off-white undergarment worn beneath clothing, usually worn by women
• tamago gohan - Japanese term for a hot breakfast rice dish topped with a raw egg
• yukata - Japanese term for knee-length robe worn by women as casual, everyday clothing
• onbuhimo - Japanese term for baby wearing wrap worn on the back
• Baba - Japanese term for affectionately referring to one's own grandmother
• -chan - Japanese suffix for affectionately referring to one's friend, commonly used by children in reference to a young woman
• -tan - Japanese suffix for affectionately referring to a child
• Hiijiji - Japanese term for affectionately referring to one's own great grandfather
• Oji - Japanese term for affectionately referring to one's own uncle
• Gurē - Japanese term for gray/grey
• -bō - Japanese suffix for affectionately referring to a child or infant, commonly considered a form of "baby talk"
• Goshinboku - Japanese name for the ancient tree to which Inuyasha was bound by Kikyo's sacred arrow
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Author's Note
Thank you all so, so very much for reading and reviewing! This fic was super fun to write, and though it's bittersweet that it's coming to an end so soon, there will be more! To read about the continuing adventures of Inuyasha, Kagome, and their family, be sure to follow and favorite my one-shot compilation titled Journey: Continued.