A/N: There are a lot of people that I want to thank for their reviews: Perminately Lost In Thought, IchigoandInuyashaFan, RedWingedAngel002, impulse960, KagomeGirl021, ShadyAngel, Rubymuto, xxdarienchibaloverxx, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, Inugirl's4ever, LogicalGoth, PrincessSakura220, and LoVe23. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapters. I apologize for not getting this out sooner. The keyboard of the computer I was working on today died so I had to wait until I got home to finish this.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.

Her Knight

Ch. 20

Kagome and Sango left the boys near the well, either to fight with Sesshoumaru or to talk with him. Of course they were more likely to do the former, but the miko and demon slayer could always hope. The two girls, along with Kirara, walked slowly down the path back to Lady Kaede's. Heads bent together, Kagome whispered furiously into Sango's ears.

"Something incredible happened, Sango!" The taijiya looked at her friend's glowing face.

"Inuyasha confessed."

"Yes!" Doing a jig would have hurt her rib, so the young priestess did the next best thing. She picked Kirara up off of Sango's shoulder and swung her around. The nekomata's slight weight didn't bother her wrist, leaving Kagome free to lift her high.

The demon cat allowed the miko's antics, giving the school girl a kiss on the cheek once she was level with Kagome's face. She even accepted the tight hug she was given. It was only when it became apparent that the miko was going to repeat the process that she objected. With a protesting "Mew," Kirara jumped to the ground and went ahead of the girls.

"Sorry, Kirara!" Kagome called. She rocked back on her heels, too excited to stay still.

Sango observed her friend with open affection. The glow radiating from the priestess was a tangible light. The slayer wouldn't have been surprised if her purification powers were at an all-time high. "That's great, Kagome. Miroku and I knew he'd get around to it, sooner or later."

"You did?" The school girl stopped briefly before continuing on. "Of course, you did. And instead of you, Miroku and Shippou spying on us, it was my family. I just had to come tell you as soon as possible. I didn't even think about how I was going to climb out of the well. I guess it was a good thing Sesshoumaru was there to help me out, huh?"

Sango was about to reply when the demon lord's voice came floating back to them on the wind. "What the hell are you wearing?" Both girls turned back towards the well, laughter bubbling up.

"He must have seen Inuyasha's new clothes."

"What I wouldn't give to have seen his face." Both felt the demonic aura move away from the clearing, a distinctly perturbed quality to the energy. Unable to help themselves, they began snickering. It was several minutes before they could resume their discussion. Wiping tears from her eyes, Kagome exhaled loudly.

"Sango, he wants me to be his mate, just like you said. Says we are promised to each other already. And that's why he knew I needed him that night."

"Shippou mentioned something about that shortly after you were hurt. Demons can tell when their mates are in trouble no matter where they are. For you and Inuyasha, Time wasn't a problem either." The slayer put her arm around the younger girl she'd come to think of as a sister. "I'm glad he knew, Kagome. I know the dangers here in the Feudal Era, I don't know them there. A great many things went through my head about what could have happened."

"I'm sorry we couldn't come back sooner to reassure you guys. I sent Inuyasha as soon as he was able to leave the hospital."

"There's no need for you to apologize. You're safe, that's all that matters. Miroku reassured me you'd be all right because Inuyasha was with you." Sango smiled at the memory, a small blush gracing her cheeks briefly. Between the time Inuyasha came back to tell them what had happened and the first opportunity that Kagome had had to visit since her attack, Miroku had comforted her in a way quite unlike his normal perverseness. She had found it rather sweet.

Kagome saw the blush and zeroed in on it like the dedicated romantic she was. "Did something happen between you and Miroku, Sango? I think you've been holding out on me." High on love, she wanted her friends to experience the same exhilaration. In that moment, she felt as if nothing could defeat her.

"I'll tell you some other time, Kagome, I promise. Inuyasha and Miroku are catching up to us." The miko knew she had to be content with that. She nodded and returned Sango's hug.

"All right. I'm looking forward to it." Looking over her shoulder, it was to find one very irate dog demon. "Did you have a nice talk with your brother? You look nice in that t-shirt. Red really does suit you." Kagome watched as both boys lost all seriousness and began laughing hysterically.

"I guess the look on Sesshoumaru's face really was priceless."

"I have never... Never heard that kind of language come out of his mouth." The half demon drew in a breath, the very thought of his aniki's reaction leaving him speechless.

"I guess that just goes to show that anything is possible." Kagome looped an arm through her knight's and started down the path once more. "Let's go see what our little mischief maker is up to. We all know anything really is possible when it comes to him getting into trouble."

The group found Shippou sitting on the fence bordering Kaede's garden, eating a lollipop. He smiled at the four shard hunters and waved. "Kagome, I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

"I'm not really; I just had an impulse to talk to Sango about something. I have to go back home but didn't want to leave before checking on you and saying hello to Lady Kaede." She picked him up, hugging him to her as tightly as she dared. Her abdomen was still sore from the removal of the sutures and from being held by Sesshoumaru's pelt. The taiyoukai had been surprisingly gentle holding her aloft although she hadn't told him she'd hurt anything but her wrist. The sudden thought made her wonder just how close to the village he had been keeping and for how long. There was little doubt that rumors of her attack, or at least of her injuries, had circulated in the village. He wouldn't have had to get very close to find out what they were.

"Kagome?" Miroku was looking at her worriedly.

"Sorry, I was just wondering. When Sesshoumaru picked me up out of the well, he was unusually gentle. Like he was holding Rin in his pelt, not me. The only reason I can think of is that he knew I'd hurt something besides my wrist."

"He did what? Miroku, you didn't tell me he touched her." Inuyasha's expression darkened. The thought of his brother even grazing her with his fur upset him.

"I saw no point in worrying you, my friend. Kagome handled him just like an experienced priestess." The monk put a hand up to still his friend's aggression. "Indeed, if it had not been for your brother, Kagome would have been standing in the well until you arrived."

"Keh," was the half demon's comment, knowing he didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to the subject. One ear canted to the left when he heard the elderly miko join the shard hunters. "Babaa," he greeted.

"Can you not respect your elders, Inuyasha?" The complaint was an old one and a bit on the ironic side since he was really older than she was, at least in years.

"Kagome wanted to come say hello before we went back to her time. Foolish wench took off without me again."

"Ah, I knew there was a reason you were wearing clothes from her era. Everything is fine here now. Go on and bring her back home." Kaede smiled at the four teenagers and with Shippou on her shoulder, returned to her hut.

Taking a gentle grip of Kagome's arm, he turned back the way they'd just come. "C'mon, wench, your mother's worried. You can't just take off like that. What if it had been Naraku instead of my brother who was there to greet you? Che, Sesshoumaru was bad enough."

Miroku and Sango stayed where they were, listening to Inuyasha lecture Kagome on safety. They waved when the miko looked over her shoulder, not bothering to hide their amusement. "Well, my dear, Sango, shall we go tend to dinner? The hour grows late." The sun had set while the girls had been talking. No doubt Kaede was ready to settle down for the night.

"Yes, but it was worth the delay to see Kagome's happiness. Things will be much calmer now, won't they, Miroku? At least between those two." Sango tilted her head towards him so she could look at him when he answered.

"Yes, my dear. I'm sure they will be," he replied, not believing it for a second. Having confessed their love or not, Inuyasha and Kagome would never have a "calm" life together. He doubted either of them would have wanted one.

"Liar," she accused but there was no heat in the word. He merely smiled in return.