A/N: (looks around feeling SUPER guilty) Sorry! Totally drained from school all the time. And (grumble) I had stupid writer's block…

Chapter 10

"Kagome! Come on out so we can see," called my mother.

I groaned to myself. "Come help me button it first," I called back. I heard a sigh and then Sango appeared through the curtain.

She was shaking her head slightly, probably to herself. "Honestly, I don't know how you managed to do this by yourself before," she muttered.

"Just button it already," I snapped, not entirely thinking about the dress when I said "button it."

"There. Now come out here so we can see it in the light."

I glanced once more at myself in the large floor-length mirror before following Sango out of the dressing room. I scowled at the platform I was expected to stand on but said nothing as I stepped up.

"Oh, Kagome," sighed Mom. "You look absolutely stunning in that one. What do you think, Sango?"

I didn't miss how she didn't ask my own opinion first, but that should be no surprise. I generally was negative about my wedding dress opinions.

"I love it," decided Sango after circling me slowly, like I was a statue in a museum or something. She warily glanced to my face, wondering what I thought.

I appraised myself in the massive mirrors in front of me. I titled my head in contemplation, trying to picture myself getting married in it—not that picturing myself getting married, period, was at all easy.

As I turned and examined every angle, I realized I actually liked it. It just seemed…right. I smiled without realizing it, until Sango said, "Really? You like it?"

All I could do was nod as I stared in awe at the dress. It felt unreal, and when I looked in the mirror, I didn't count myself when I looked at the dress. I just looked at the layers of cascading white that surrounded me.

The dress was a soft, pure white, of course. Traditional, in that aspect. It was strapless, fitting close to my upper body down to my hips. It was slightly bunched in spots on the poofy silk that smoothly spread out from my hips, circling me, held with beading that matched the intricate bodice. It fit perfectly, and that made me even happier because it meant no time standing through adjustments would be wasted.

"This is the one," I whispered to myself. "I want this one."

I looked at my mother and she absolutely glowed with happiness. Sango was smiling at me as I stepped down from the platform, and I slowly went to the dressing room, letting the feeling of the silk brushing against my legs last as long as I could make it.

I reluctantly took it off, putting my plain tank top and jeans back on. When I came out the saleswoman went in and got the dress, putting it back into the clear plastic case. She came out, a smile on her face, and led us to the check-out counter.

"So who's the lucky lady getting married?" she asked.

I smiled shyly. "Me."

"Aw," she said, tilting her head. "Best wishes. To both of you."

"Thank you," I said, and I could feel the heat in my cheeks. I didn't like attention that much and being the bride kind of made hiding in the corner not an option. Well, blushing bride as they say.

We paid and decided going out to lunch would be a nice reward for finding a dress. I didn't really give damn if it was a fancy restaurant or fast food place. I just wanted to sit down. But, of course, we were going to go to a nicer place. So now I'd have to deal with waiters and a snooty maître d'.

"Can we go home after this?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course not," said my mother, sounding shocked. "We have to find your bridesmaid dresses yet."

I barely restrained a groan. "But we can do that tomorrow, can't we?"

"Nope." She paused to take a sip of her raspberry lemonade. "We have a meeting with the florist tomorrow. We won't have time to go out looking for dresses."

I said nothing, because I wasn't in the mood to get yelled at again like I was a five-year-old for not taking "responsibility for my own wedding," as she'd put it the other day. So I just sucked my soda through the straw and chewed on the end of the plastic straw, glaring at the napkins in the center of the table.

We ordered, ate and left, and I tried to put myself in a positive mood as we approached the next store. We walked in and any chances at a good mood vanished as a rude-toned saleswoman came up to us, her hair looking cemented into its place in the blonde pile of curls on her head. She wore bright red lipstick and heavy eye make up. She clearly thought of herself as superior; I could tell by the way she spoke and regarded us.

"Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"

I opened my mouth but Sango had been watching me as I assessed this woman and elbowed me in the stomach. The air was temporarily knocked out of me—long enough for my mother to respond first.

"We're looking for bridesmaid dresses," she said, and I cheered inside at the slight edge to her voice. It showed that she hated this woman already too. "For my daughter's wedding."

"Right this way," the woman said, her words almost ringing with such thick audacity. She began to walk towards racks of colorful dresses, much different from the other side of the store that was mostly hung with white, cream, and other pastel shades of wedding dresses.

Well, at least I wasn't the one trying them on this time. But Sango would be all too happy to try on lots of pretty dresses, compared to my martyred view on the idea.

She first tried on simple A-line ones, in various shades of red. We decided against A-line.

It seemed rather unfair that Sango should find the right dress after trying on three. She chose a knee-length, bubble skirted dress, with the top a tucked-tank style (according to Sango and my mother and the sales lady). The color was hard to describe for me…sort of a raisinette dark pink. Whatever it was, it looked very good on Sango. There was a thin tie around the waist that tied off behind a rose on the side.

So, once we were done with all that, I had to wait while Sango chose a pair of heels to go with. She chose reasonable-heighted stilettos that were silver.

As I collapsed into my seat in the back seat of Sango's SUV, I nearly fell asleep immediately. I rolled the window down a crack to let the wind bow against my face, and I leaned my head back against the soft, comfy seat. The next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake by my mother and we were home.

I climbed out of the car and was greeted by a pair of familiar arms. I smiled and hugged Inuyasha back, resting my head against his shoulder. He pulled me up to my house and we went straight to the living room where he sat with me on the couch. He offered me the remote for the TV, but I shook my head. I was perfectly fine with just sitting in the silence.

For background noise, I assumed, he flicked the power button on and flipped through the channels quickly before settling on one that wasn't distracting but not obnoxious, either.

"How was your day?" he murmured into my hair.

"Long," I sighed. I was lying against his chest, my eyes closed, and totally content. My arms were wrapped around him securely.

He chuckled quietly. "So, about the other day…what was it that you were trying to do?"

My eyes snapped open and I frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The way you tried to act like you wanted us to stay and then you suddenly decided you wanted us to leave…why was that, by the way?"

I blushed furiously. I refused to meet his eyes. "I just thought it would be better if you spent some time with Miroku alone, is all. He is your best man and all."

He snorted. "I live with him. I get plenty of time with him, alone or otherwise."

"Still." I was going to stubbornly refuse to say anything more than that, starting now.

To further distract from the topic, I tilted my head and lightly pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back, but I had the feeling the subject would not be dropped. Well, he could go ahead and be that way. See how I react to it.

But, for now, I would just enjoy this moment. Kissing my…fiancée. It was a strange feeling knowing that we would be married in less than a week, but not bad. No, never a bad feeling.

A/N: Check out the dress links on my profile page! They're at the top, along with Rin's! Sorry for the shortness.