Chapter 9

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Kagome sighed aggravated, every herb she needed was here except one, something called a transeart whatever that was. Giving up on searching the herb garden for the elusive plant, she went to see Midoriko figuring the older woman would have at least an idea of what it looked like. Walking through the halls was a normal affair, it was a little quiet but that was alright, she needed time to think anyway.

'Transeart, huh? I never heard of it though, which is odd considering before Aunt Naniko passed away she had literally the biggest herb garden in Japan and would spend hours talking about each one' Kagome thought

'Maybe it is extinct in the future or perhaps she just never heard of it' her beast added her two cents in

'The first ones a really good possibility but the second one not so much; Aunt Naniko went to Herb conferences around the world, heck she took classes at a college on the subject! What do they call that anyway Herbology or something like that…? I think' Kagome replied

'I believe the term you are looking for is herbalism, the study of medicinal plants' her beast replied

'Smarty pants' Kagome huffed a bit embarrassed

'Don't go getting mad at me now, anyway we've arrived at the gardens' her beast said

'Sorry' the miko demoness apologized

'No problem, now go ask that question'

'Right'

Entering the Gardens, she looked around, spotting Midoriko sitting on a hill watching the children by herself. Kagome found that odd, normally Kamaru would be sitting with her. Making her way over she sat next to her sister.

"Is something wrong sis?" Kagome asked concerned

"No, just a little lonely, Kamaru had to go to an important lords meeting for the upcoming ball" Midoriko answered

"Now that you mention it I think Sesshomaru said something about that last night" Kagome told the other softly

Midoriko opened her mouth to reply when suddenly…

BAM!

CRASH!

BOOM!

"GET BACK HERE, YOU FILTHY CANINES!"

"That was Inukimi's voice" the two females said

Moments later Inuyasha and Kouga ran by screaming, both males were splattered with mud. Soon after Inukimi ran by a scrub brush in hand, yelling at them to just get in the tub and get it over with. While the girls were watching, Kamaru had come out and sat on Midoriko's other side, pulling his intended close. Kagome laughed at Midoriko's startled look.

"Hey Kamaru, what's up with your mother anyway?" Midoriko asked

"She's a clean freak if you will, I can remember her chasing father through the halls every time he came back from a battle, yelling for him to take a bath and stop dirtying up the castle." Kamaru answered "If you won't take a bath, she'll bathe you herself, she doesn't seem to care about who so long as they get clean" he added as an afterthought

The women nodded going back to watching the scene before them. Rin and Shippo ran over and sat with them giggling mischievously, for they had set a trap so Inukimi could catch the two mud covered canines. A pair of startled shouts echoed as Inuyasha and Kouga tripped on a hidden branch, the males screamed frightened when Inukimi grabbed them and dragged them off towards the baths…

"WE CAN TAKE A BATH OURSELVES" Kouga yelled dramatically

"WE AIN'T THAT DIRTY!" Inuyasha screamed

The two flailing men however were ignored by Inukimi as she continued walking back towards the castle. Inuyasha and Kouga started yelling for Kagome to save them but she just pretended she couldn't hear them and started braiding Rin's hair. Once the three disappeared inside, the small group burst out laughing, falling over in the process. After their laughter calmed down, they laid in the sun for a bit enjoying the beautiful summer day. Rin and Shippo soon ran off to play a game of tag, laughing as they ran about the field. Kagome smiled at the kids before wondering where Jace was. Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft meow, sitting up she smiled at Kirara who had come out to the gardens.

"Hey sis, do you know what a transeart looks like" Kagome asked Midoriko as she started petting Kirara

"No I don't, sorry, but I have heard they're powerful spell herbs, why?" Midoriko asked

"There's something I want to do that requires one" she answered softly remembering her dream

Midoriko nodded, deciding not to question it; if it was dangerous she knew Kagome would have told her.

(Earlier with Inukimi)

Inukimi hummed to herself as she straitened up some flowers near the back entrance of the castle. She wanted everything to be perfect for the ball. She still couldn't believe her pups were getting mated, it seemed like just yesterday she was rocking them to sleep as newborns. She wished Mattaki could be here for all of this. She didn't blame her mate for falling in love with a human and then dying for her and the newborn they had together. She still loved and missed him dearly; she hoped the afterlife was treating him well.

Giving the flowers a once over to make sure they looked beautiful enough for such an important event. Nodding when she found their appearance satisfactory, she was about to leave when the door opened. Turning to look, she froze at the sight of a mud covered Inuyasha and Kouga. If there was one thing Inukimi hated more than anything in the world it was dirt, filth, grime… you get the point. Her eye twitched…

"You do plan on taking a bath, right dears?" She asked, trying not to go into cleaning mode

"Hell no, we're trying to see who can get the dirtiest" Inuyasha said, the wolf nodded in agreement

Inukimi's eyes narrowed, just the thought of all the filth that would cover her lovely castle was enough to cause her to leave the room, she came back moments later with a scrub brush. Taking a threatening step forward, she spoke…

"You WILL take a bath, even if I have to bathe you myself" She growled

"You can't make us" Kouga said confidently

"We shall see about that" she replied "Now Come HERE!" she snarled lunging

The men who just barely dodged her, started running like their lives were on the line. Inukimi chased them into the kitchen where Kouga slammed into the table causing it to slide and hit the wall, after that Inuyasha tripped and knocked over a vase in Sesshomaru's study, and as they ran towards the garden they bumped into a spell caster causing some liquid to go flying thus making a mini explosion. By this time Inukimi was truly mad, the whites of her eyes went red…

"GET BACK HERE, YOU FILTHY CANINES!" she and her beast roared outraged

(Now with Inukimi)

Inukimi sat on a chair in the bathing room with some tea, wanting to make sure the males cleaned up properly. Sitting in the bathtub side by side was Inuyasha and Kouga, both very unhappy that their 'who could get dirtier' bet was ruined. Inuyasha scrubbed at his hair with shampoo, while Kouga used the scrub brush to clean his back. The only thing the two were happy about was all the bubbles in the bath, as it hid a certain part of their anatomy from Inukimi, that didn't mean they were any less red faced though.

"Are we clean enough yet" Inuyasha growled washing the soap from his hair out

"Did you get behind your ears and between your toes" Inukimi asked glancing at them

The two groaned and started doing just that.

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Author's Note: Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter, I tend to get writer's block real easy. I hope this one was worth the long wait, reviews help keep me motivated to finish my stories. I appreciate the reviews that kindly explained what they thought was wrong or needed work, I am going to try and make my chapters longer and not rush things like I have been. In a previous chapter when Kagome found the pup, it had been pointed out to me that in the note the word "her" was there in reference to the pup, for those of you who have noticed and wish to know about this small mistake, the pup was originally going to be a girl but at the last moment I changed it and must have missed the word.

Thanks for all the support and encouraging reviews, you readers/reviewers are the best!