†{ A Rose by Any Other Name… }†
x{ 25: Balsamine}x
-•°•°•-

It was nice to see Kouga and Ayame having a life that seemed to make them happy. It was great that they got a child but… at the risk of making a deal with Azazel? Kouga didn't know what he was getting himself into, hell, even Kagome didn't know what Azazel was up to. Obviously, he still wanted to open that portal to get the leader of Hell over or whatever.

But what did making deals with people throughout time have to do with anything? How did that help? Did he just want their souls? What could he need them for…?

All those thoughts ran through her head, but none of them were comforting so she wasn't about to share them with Kouga. He had a mate and child to look after now. Somehow, her and Inuyasha would find a way to solve his problem so that he wouldn't have to worry about it. At least that's what she was hoping.

She just… wanted it to be over with finally. Her brother was possessed, her father dead, and her life constantly screwed with, and all for what? To fight an enemy that seemed to be endless in supply? If they were able to kill Azazel, to stop the assault that he was preparing, would that really be the end…?

She doubted it. Then what? She was supposed to fight the battle forever? She groaned at the very thought, it was all so hopeless…

"Kagome?" caught her attention, finally snapping her mind from the endless circle it had been travelling. With a smile she looked over her shoulders to see Inuyasha standing there, stretching rather, as he walked out of the cave to join her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she assured him once he sat down next to her. She took that opportunity to wrap her arm around one of his then rest her head against his shoulder. "I was just thinking about something. Nothing important."

"Alright then," he replied as his golden gaze shifted around the entrance of the cave. Some of the pack was already awake and wandering around. "So, I think we should probably get a move on. Mushin's place is not even a day's trip from here. We could get there by night fall if we leave now."

"Sounds good," Kagome assured him as she pulled away to stand up, "let's just say goodbye to Kouga first."

"You two leaving already?" The wolf pack leader questioned which got them both to look behind them.

"We need to go see Miroku," Kagome answered while Inuyasha got up, too. "Kouga… the whole thing with Azazel… you don't need to worry about it, okay? You won't ever have to keep your word. We'll kill him."

"I have faith in you guys," Kouga assured him, giving a nod of approval even to the hanyou he had always been at ends with.

"You should," Inuyasha insisted before he knelt down some, "get on, Kagome."

"We'll see you later, Kouga," she said as she did as Inuyasha told her. When she had her arms around his neck he stood up and leaped off the cliff side in the right direction. At his speed it would probably take less time to get there but he never really did enjoy spending time with the wolf demon. He liked it even less when he was around Kagome.

It was an irrational jealousy, he knew it, Kouga's life belonged to Ayame now - the mother of his child, the love of his life, and mate. Still… all those times he tried to steal Kagome away annoyed him. Better safe than sorry, not that Kagome would ever leave him. He knew better than to think that. They had he had been through so much together, there was simply no way anyone could steal her from him.

"What are you thinking so intently on?" Kagome teased as she held him a little tighter.

"Me?" he inquired, "nothing… it's nothing."

"If you say so," she hummed back.

x-•°•°•-x

It was a long while before sunset when they actually arrived in Mushin's. Which meant that he was right, at his speed he'd be able to get to the temple before he had originally predicted. Kagome seemed to notice that, too, when she got off of him so he could stretch.

"I thought you said it would take us longer," Kagome pointed out as she turned around to look at him at him. "Or did you just want to get away from Kouga?"

He just grinned at that, an answer in and of itself, as he finished the short walk to the front of the temple where he could knock to try and get someone's attention. Kagome followed him up to the porch, it took a short while before the old, bald, drunkard Mushin opened the door. His small eyes widened some at the sight of them.

"Well, this is surprising," Mushin declared, "I did not expect to see you two in the near future. Miroku told me that you went back to Kagome-sama's land to fix a problem there. Have you already succeeded in doing so?"

"Uh," Kagome dragged out as she glanced to Inuyasha before returning her hazel gaze to Mushin, "no, not really, we are just taking a break. We wanted to come see how Miroku was doing."

"Oh, yes, well, he's in Michio's room I believe, come in," Mushin requested as he stepped aside to allow them to walk in.

"Lead the way," Kagome asked as she looked to Inuyasha. He was the one with the good nose, the one that could find Miroku's scent and follow it, which is exactly what Inuyasha seemed to do. She just had to follow him through the place to find the right room. He was ready to just open the door but Kagome grabbed his wrist to stop him from doing that. Instead she knocked.

In nearly no time, Miroku opened the door, giving them much the same surprised reaction as Mushin had.

"Kagome… Inuyasha?' he said with puzzlement spewed across his face, "what a surprise, I thought you two would be longer in your world. Have you fixed things already?"

"No, not yet," Kagome answered with a bit of a frown, "but we wanted to come and see you and Sango-chan."

"That's very nice of you," Miroku assured as he stepped aside so that the two could enter the room. That allowed them entrance into Michio's room, which meant Kagome got to pick up the happy baby boy and visit with him again. "Sango is not here, since Naraku is apparently dead… her and Rensei returned to what is left of their demon slaying village to repair it. Last time I checked, they planned to wed there."

That was saddening news to say the least, if Sango returned with Rensei to their village then that meant… Sango and Miroku never talked about their feelings like Kagome would have hoped. Her friend was still going to get married to the man that didn't deserve her, not like Miroku did. No one could love her like he did, that's what Kagome tended to think.

"You two are welcomed to stay the night," Miroku offered with a smile as he watched Kagome sway Michio to his gleeful enjoyment. "You are very good with him, Kagome."

"He's so cute," she cooed in reply, "are you going to be a lady's man like your daddy, Michio-kun?"

"Oh, haha," Miroku countered while his violet gaze shifted over to his hanyou companion. "How are things going, Inuyasha?"

"Fine," he replied with a shrug of his shoulder. "Kagome is better now… but there are still things going on her world that she needs help with. We're only going to be back for a short while before we have to return. I'm not sure… how long it'll take or even if I can be much help to her."

"Inuyasha," Miroku murmured as his gaze returned to the girl that was still giddily playing with his son. She apparently was out of hearing range or else she would be arguing with Inuyasha's statement herself. "I am sure you are a great asset to her."

"I don't know… her world is confusing, the battle over there is really different," he quietly complained, "I want to help her, I need to protect her but… I just don't know, Miroku."

"You are always too hard on yourself," his friend countered. "Just… at the very least, savor the time you have together then. To be able to be with the woman you love… it's a very precious thing, Inuyasha."

"I know that," he asserted as his golden gaze shifted back to Kagome, "I'm not stupid."

He knew, even with all the hellish things they had to endure, the mere fact that they were still together was a blessing. That he got to be with her was a lucky thing. He just hoped, more so than anything ever before, that in the end, they could still be together.

"Are you hungry? I could start dinner," Miroku offered.

"I'm starving," Inuyasha inserted with a grin.

"You always are," Miroku chuckled with a small shake of his head.

x-•°•°•-x

They were in a rush, things had to get done in her time, so as much as it pained them they couldn't stick around in the feudal era forever which meant they didn't have the time to actually linger at Miroku's for as long as they pleased. They got to see him, tell him that they were alright, and Kagome even got to play with Michio some but the next morning they had to leave.

It would take maybe a day or two to get to the slayer's village that Sango was apparently at, even at Inuyasha's speed, so they said their fond goodbyes and parted ways so that they could start on their way. Again, Kagome got to hitch a ride on Inuyasha's back, which meant they would get to the village as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, the farther they went the farther they were from Kaede's village and the well. Which meant that in the end, they would have to take even more time to get back. Maybe Minoru and Remie were right.. maybe it was foolish of them to go back in time and see their friends. But it had been important to Inuyasha, he was feeling so homesick, that Kagome felt the need to appease him. To take her back to the world that he loved, that he knew, that he felt right in.

It was only for her that he lingered in her world. The world that made no sense to him, but he did it… so for him, she thought that going back in time was necessary. They would have lost a week, maybe, but probably in the end it was work it. Inuyasha would feel less edgy, better, and they might even be able to get more work done.

"Is that the village?" Kagome questioned as she pointed forward to the fenced off area ahead.

"Probably, a slayer's village would want a barrier that high," Inuyasha replied with a nod of his head before he slowed down at the front of the walls. He knelt down to let her off so they could walk together to try and find the entrance.

"Sango!" Kagome called out, "it's Kagome and Inuyasha! Are you here?"

A creek answered them as the gates slowly began to open up until they could see two men there. They were in Rensei's slaying group but Kagome couldn't remember which one was which, apparently, Inuyasha could.

"Hey, Takashi, Muro," he greeted with a nod of his head, "is Sango here?"

"Yes," Takashi answered as he waved the two in. Once they were past the gates' door they manually had to push them shut. "I'm not sure where, you'll just have to look around. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you two."

"Great," Inuyasha replied before him and Kagome started their search around the still being rebuilt village. Through the efforts it appeared a majority of it was repaired. It probably wouldn't take much longer to fix up what was left. "I can smell her this way."

"They got a lot of work done already," Kagome commented before Inuyasha led her to one of the huts, he didn't both to knock before he opened the door to find Sango inside, apparently making a meal. When she looked up shock coated her face first before she smiled.

"Inuyasha, Kagome-chan, what a surprise!" she declared as she stood up to walk over to her friends. "Have you sorted everything out in your era already, Kagome-chan?"

"No, unfortunately not, but I'm better now and we've got a lot of the problems sorted out," Kagome answered while she closed the gap between her and her friend so that they could give each other a hug. "Inuyasha and I just came back to visit with you and Miroku. We just came form Mushin's."

"Oh," she chimed before forcing a smile and asked, "so… how is Houshi-sama?"

"He's fine," Inuyasha inserted while he glanced over the pot that was above the flames, "so what are you cooking?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome said with a sigh.

"A stew, and yes, Inuyasha, there is plenty for you, too," she assured him, "but it won't be ready for a while."

"In the mean time, why don't you go see if you could help the others fix up the place?" Kagome inquired, "with your strength I'm sure you could be a great help."

"Yes, that's true," Sango concurred, "Rensei and the others could really use another able bodied man."

"Fine," Inuyasha grumbled with a roll of his eyes before he turned around to exit the hut. He hardly wanted to help rebuild the village but… whatever. If it meant he got some stew later, he'd do it.

"How are things, Sango-chan?" Kagome asked as the two sat down around the cooking stew.

"Things are going well, I think."

"So… this is what you want?" she just had to inquire as she looked over the area, "to get married to Rensei here? To be the good wife that cooks for all the hard working men…?"

"You made that sound awful, Kagome-chan," Sango countered. "I help rebuild the village some, too."

"I'm sorry but I don't get it… I don't get why you guys think that rebuilding the village will somehow bring it back to life. How can it? Just because the buildings are fixed doesn't mean that you'll have anymore slayers. It'll still just be you, Kohaku, Rensei, and the ohters."

"Yes, only until Kohaku and the rest find wives that will submit to this way of life, then we would be the five founding families. In a couple of generations things will be back to the they used to be," Sango answered, "that's how it worked the first time. That's how it'll work this time."

"But… Sango-chan," Kagome muttered, "in a couple of generations there will be no demons to slay. The demons you know will be gone. That's how it works so… why even bother?"

"Because demons are still around that need to be slain, people need help," Sango snapped. "You just don't understand."

"I don't…" Kagome admitted with a small shake of her head as her brows bent together. "Do you really want to center your whole life on something so tedious? Don't you want a better life? A happier one? Don't you deserve that after everything you've been through…?"

That gave her pause as her mahogany gaze shifted over to the stew. For a long while, they just sat in silence until, she finally spoke again. "I… I don't think I do… but I must honor my father's word and marry Rensei. And… this is what Rensei wants to do. He's a good man, Kagome-chan."

"I believe you," Kagome assured him, "but… so is Miroku. Miroku would give you a different life, a better one, whatever one you wanted."

Again, Sango was silenced for a short time before she answered. "If I was willing to raise another woman's child. I don't know… if I have the strength to do that."

She supposed she could understand that, Kagome didn't know if she had that type of strength, either. Thus, she didn't press the issue any further and Sango didn't bother to speak of it anymore. They just waited, silently, together for the stew to finish.

A/N: Here's an update to A Rose. I hope to finish the story in the near future. I hope that there is still an interest in the story. I appreciate all the reviews to this story and all the reviews that will come. I appreciate them all regardless of length.

This chapter was hardly more eventful than the past two, for that I'm sorry. I promise the next chapter will be more interesting.

Balsamine: Impatience