Chapter 14

Inuyasha had wanted to try to keep Kagome occupied while he and some of the other villagers built their new hut up on a hill that overlooked the village. He managed to get Kaede to stall her with some pointless priestess training and "persuaded" Shippo to drag Izuma around the forest. He was determined to make the best hut in the village. When he and the other village men had finished, he thanked them and sighed in satisfaction at their work. It was the size of three huts and each room had a window. Kagome would love it, but he still hoped Izuma would. He barely knew her, but he had missed fourteen years of his pup's life and he wasn't going to miss anymore. He could only imagine what it must have been like for Kagome to raise Izuma on her own. His mate and pup would never be alone again as long as he was around.

He could hear Kagome arguing with one of the villagers to let her by, but the man wouldn't move. He chuckled and headed down the hill to where his love stood. A huge man stood in her way with her yelling at him. "I said move!' she screamed. When she saw Inuyasha, she stopped and just looked at him. The half demon grabbed him by his shirt and threw him aside. He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply and she giggled. "Told you to move." she said bluntly. The man stared at her in hate, stood up and walked away.

Inuyasha smiled at her and led her up the hill. "Wait, close your eyes Kagome." he said.

"Why?" she asked as he helped her further and further up.

"It's a surprise. I'm not showing you until you shut them." he said.

She growled and shut her lids. He took her hand and pulled her toward the hut. He stopped at the front of it. His mate was growing very impatient. "Now can I open them?" she asked with an irritated tone.

"Yeah." he said in amusement.

Her eyes opened and she gasped to the sight in front of her. She stared at him in amazement. "Did… did you build this?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, with a little help from the villagers. I thought they were a lot stronger than they looked." he said.

She smiled and tackled him into an embrace. She kissed him all over his face. "Thank you Inuyasha, it is the most beautiful hut in the world. I love you." she said between kisses.

"You're welcome Kagome. Want to go inside?" he asked. She nodded and he led her inside. He showed her the three rooms and the one that was theirs. Before he could react, Kagome threw herself at him and they fell on to a futon on the floor of their room. They lay there for the longest time and before they knew it had fallen asleep to the gentle sound of the rain hitting the rough wood of the hut.

Shippo and Izuma walked through the woods toward the lake. He had been dying to get her away from everyone else, and Inuyasha had made him. They approached the water and stared into the distance to the snow covered mountains. It was several moments before either of them spoke.

"It's really pretty here, there's nothing like this in Tokyo." Izuma said as a flock of birds flew overhead.

"Tokyo? That's the place on the other side of the well right?" Shippo asked.

Izuma nodded. "I wonder how my friend Koshi is doing." she said.

"Koshi?" Shippo asked as she let out a big sigh.

"I was supposed spend the summer with him, but I fell down the well. It was like something was calling me here. I miss him a lot." she said as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Shippo felt like he had to comfort her but she walked toward the water before he could lift a finger.

She looked back to him with a smile. "Well …no sense in moping around when it does no good." she said. She walked to the lake's edge, stripped down to her two piece red bathing suit and dived into the water. She swam around beneath the surface for a few seconds then poked her head above the water. She wiped hair from her face and looked up at Shippo. "C'mon Shippo, jump!" she said.

The fox demon shook his head. "No, I'll sit up here and keep watch." he said.

"Fine, then I guess I'll have to enjoy this all by myself." she said as she floated back to wet her hair.

Shippo groaned with surrender and leaped. He shivered as the cold water hit his body. He waded over to her and gave her an annoyed look. "There, happy?" he asked.

"Yeah, you never told me why you dragged me all the way out here. So … why did you?" she asked.

"Your dad asked me to, I think he wanted to do something for your mom." he explained.

"You mean he made you." she said and he shrugged. She quickly and tried to change the subject. "Think fast!" she said splashing him in the face. He swiped her back and they disappeared into a mess of waves and laughter. She raised her eyebrows to him and started to trudge with speed to the she shore. He chased her as she hoisted herself out of the water.

She squeezed her hair dry and suddenly felt hands pull it behind her head. Shippo ran his fingers through her hair and he felt her neck burn red from blush. She turned her head to the side and kissed his cheek. He wanted to kiss back, but screamed as she playfully knocked him into the water.