A/N: LOOK WHO'S BACK, BITCHES! Perceptions has officially been finished, so I can start posting on it again! I'm SO sorry to have been gone for such an abominably long time, but a lot has happened including me having to go to the CSU (Crisis Stabilisation Unit) because of guess what, more hallucinations. Really, acutely, horrribly terrifying ones. I just got back two weeks ago, so yeah. The fact that I managed to get three chapters done since I got back is something I'm pretty proud of. I'm not currently on my own laptop - it died and I have to send it back to the manufacturer to gwt it fixed - but my mother is kindly letting me use hers, so I'm still good. (Yay for hgosting every last one of my documents on Dropbox or I would have lost everything, gah.) I will be doing my best to publish once a week, although two chapters will be published this week because I still intend on publishing on Saturdays although because of circumstances beyond my control, it will no longer be at midnight but instead some time else on Saturday. Okay thank you guys SO much for waiting for me, and I hope this chapter pleases!


Sango: Conspiracy

Sango shot a smile to Miroku as their new alpha walked off with their previous alpha – no matter what Inuyasha had thought, Kagome had been the leader of the group before Sesshōmaru-sama came along, and was now the co-leader, as the daiyōkai clearly was intending to mate her. His intentions had been blatantly obvious for well over a moon now (which, considering how held back he was, meant he had probably been courting her from near the very beginning of their acquaintance), and Sango and Miroku had subtly – but insistently – been drawing Kagome into thinking and talking more about Sesshōmaru-sama ever since his intentions towards her became clear. Once Shippō noticed what was going on, he had joined in as well – all three of them strongly approved of the match: Sesshōmaru-sama and Kagome just fit together absolutely perfectly. They balanced each other out, suited each other, and clearly cared deeply for each other.

Miroku had been the one to inform Sango that Kagome was becoming more than merely infatuated with the daiyōkai that she claimed as a best friend, and had also informed her that a confession of said deepening feelings was soon to come. Sango had appreciated the forewarning: it gave her the opportunity to think upon what she wanted to let Kagome know, what she wanted to keep from informing Kagome of, and how to bring to her heart-sister's attention that this was a potentially life-changing match that she should take advantage of and not take for granted.

The next day had been immensely amusing for the rest of the pack – even Inuyasha had found it hilarious how Kagome couldn't even so much as look at Sesshōmaru-sama without blushing furiously. Their sneaky little children had noticed and promptly taken advantage of the fact to provide more hilarity as well, drawing Kagome's attention towards their alpha more and talking about him incessantly to the point that the poor miko could barely string a sentence together without stammering. The only problem was that everybody in the pack had been forced to work incredibly hard to keep their amusement under wraps so as not to force the normally-composed heart of their pack into hiding from embarrassment, instead of just reacting in a flustered and amazed manner.

None of them wanted to cause her pain, after all. That was not the point of the conspiracy between the members of first the tachi and now the pack. The point of it was to bring happiness to the two people most deserving of it probably on the planet. Some might say differently about Sesshōmaru-sama, that he didn't need happiness, but from the way he had so intensely latched on to Kagome it was blatantly obvious that he had led a desperately lonely existence before her unexpected entrance into his life, and that no matter how at ease he seemed to have been with the situation, deep down inside he had not actually been happy with the situation.

Once their alpha male and alpha female were out of hearing range, Miroku asked Sango, "So what do you think, Sango? Will we have a happy couple coming back from this or will it take some more wooing to achieve that outcome?"

Rhetorical question, that. And one with a blindingly obvious answer. "Oh she'll try using her being a ningen to save him from heartbreak but once he dashes that notion into the dirt where it deserves to stay she will happily accept. Our alphas will come back a couple, for sure."

He chuckled softly and nodded, "I thought as much."

Miroku was someone Sango considered to be a good friend – with the distinct possibility for more, in the future. Not until Naraku had been defeated, but after their rather disastrous first impression, it turned out that the presence of Sesshōmaru-sama visiting them tempered the monk's perversions, and now that Sesshōmaru-sama was their alpha, nearly completely ceased them. Of course, he was still an outrageous flirt, but he was actually respectful of women now, instead of being such a lecher. Granted, from what Sango had seen, most women found his attentions – lecherous or just simply flirtatious – to be amusing at the very least and attractive at best, which Sango just could not wrap her head around, really. Then again, Sango was raised differently to normal ningen females, so her inability to comprehend them made sense, really.

She rather thought that her not falling for his charms straight away had been what attracted Miroku to her to begin with.

Not that she minded much, any more.


Shippō: Parents

Shippō loved his father. His father had single-handedly raised and taught him – having not been mated to his mother (because while they had loved each other, it had not been a Claiming, and so they did not mate each other; kitsune liked variety and because of this they only ever mated when they met their ideal other halves) her dying during Shippō's birth had not killed his father – and showered him with praise, attention, and affection. So losing his father had left an indelible impression on the young kitsune. He probably would not have recovered from his father's death and would have gotten himself killed were it not for meeting his mama, Kagome.

Mama was the biggest blessing Shippō could ever possibly hope to experience. Especially when she arranged for Sesshōmaru (who Shippō was also dreadfully attached to) to teach him the things that, being ningen, she could not instruct him in. However, despite being unable to teach him certain things, she had still raised and taught him much like his father had. Playing games, bringing treats, teaching him strategy… it was wonderful and his mama was perfect. Right now, however, a change was happening. Mama had been being courted by Sesshōmaru for ever-so-long now, and they were cementing things even as he sat and played a strategy game with Rin.

When Sesshōmaru and Mama finally returned, holding hands and looking immensely at peace with the world, Rin nodded to Shippō, and he nodded back to her. Right. Time to set their plan into motion! Simultaneously, Rin ran up to Mama, and Shippō ran up to Sesshōmaru, and they asked – in sync with each other, of course, because that was adorable and even Sesshōmaru could not resist adorableness, much less Mama being able to resist it – if their respective adults would be their other parent. For Rin, it had been asking Kagome, "If you're together with Papa now, does that mean you will be Rin's mama, Kagome-sama?" (Rin had been calling Sesshōmaru "Papa" for several sennights now.)

In Shippō's case, it meant asking Sesshōmaru, "If you're together with Mama now, does that mean you will be my papa, Sesshōmaru?"

Their parents had looked at each other, smiled, laughed (well, Mama laughed, Sesshōmaru had just huffed in amusement), and each nodded to the child asking them their question.

Shippō had a papa now! He would still always love his father, but he was so glad that he had both a mama and a papa to love now.