February 28

Inuyasha has gone to another village with Miroku to exorcise a demon. They left a couple of days ago and it's been extra hard to be away from him this time.

This is the first time we've been away from each other for an extended period of time since Moroha was born. Since we had her, him and Miroku have just been going nearby and have gotten home by the end of the day. He's been gone for two days already and I miss him terribly.

He was certainly reluctant to go. Miroku said he had gotten a letter asking them to go and that it would be a few days journey to take care of it but the village was willing to compensate them well for it.

"I don't know…" Inuyasha had said that day. He was also still very shaken up from the demon attack on us just a couple of days before. He had been clinging to me a lot since then and I could tell he was afraid to leave us alone thinking something bad would happen to us.

"It's whatever you want to do, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "I'd love to have you come but I understand if you want to stay home with Kagome and Moroha."

Inuyasha looked at me as if contemplating whether he could stand to leave me alone or not. I knew it would be hard for both of us to be away from each other but I didn't want to keep him from going just because I would miss him.

"You should go," I said.

He still looked reluctant as he looked down at Moroha sleeping in my arms and ran his fingers through her hair. "Will you be okay?"

I gave him a reassuring kiss. "We will. Don't worry about us."

"Keh, I'll worry about you anyway."

"I promise we'll be okay."

Finally, he sighed. "Alright, I'll go."

"Think of it this way, if you two are away from each other for a few days, that just makes the reunion night even more fun," Miroku said. "Right?"

Inuyasha and I, however, were not as amused.

"You're such a pervert," Inuyasha said, glaring at him.

Miroku shrugged. "Just trying to look on the bright side."

The morning Inuyasha left was definitely hard for us. I made him a special breakfast that morning and ensured that he would have everything he needed for his trip. While we waited for Miroku to come by, he held Moroha walking back and forth across the main room, rocking her in his arms while she played with his hair and giggled. It was such a heartwarming sight.

"She's going to miss you," I said as I came over to them.

"I'll miss her too. These are going to be a long few days without her little smile lighting up my life every day."

I put my arms around him and kissed him. "We're going to be very happy when you get home."

"You just be safe while I'm gone," he said. "Take your bow and arrows with you when you go out. Don't go too far away from the village. Stay away from anything that looks dangerous…"

I placed another kiss on his lips to calm him. "You're a worry wort, you know that?"

"Can you blame me, considering how the last few weeks have been?"

"Well, you just make sure you get back safely too. I don't want to have to go out on another life-threatening journey fighting crazy demons to try to find you."

He laughed a little bit. "I promise that won't happen. We'll get there, do what we have to do, and come straight home."

There was a knock on the door and we knew it was Miroku.

"Ready to go?" he said when we opened the door.

Inuyasha and I locked eyes. We certainly weren't but we had to let go of each other at some point. "I guess so," he replied. He then leaned in and kissed me very passionately. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Yasha."

He then hugged and kissed Moroha. "I love you too, sweetie. Be good for mommy while I'm gone."

I took her in my arms and we waved goodbye to him and Miroku as they headed off. I felt like my heart was leaving with him as I watched him go and I desperately hoped that everything would go smoothly and he would make it back to me okay.

Moroha and I have been holding up okay in Inuyasha's absence though. At first, I was nervous to have to take care of her without him. The most I'd ever been on my own with her has been only a day and I worried I wouldn't be good at being her only parent for longer than that. But Moroha has been very happy so I think I've been doing a good job. Although I'd much rather have Inuyasha here too. There are just some things that would be better if daddy was here.

Taking care of Moroha has been a lot of work and that has kept me distracted enough. I've also done a lot of miko things so Moroha has been my little buddy and has accompanied me for them.

I brought her with me to the shrine yesterday morning and had her strapped to my back while I did the morning ritual. As if I weren't an unusual enough priestess already, I'm sure most don't have their infant with them while they're doing shrine rituals. However, she was perfectly well-behaved the whole time and the people who came to the shrine loved her.

"Wonderful work this morning as always, Kagome," Takero said as he and his wife, Ayana, came up to me as I was putting items away.

"Moroha is such a cute baby. And she's gotten so much bigger since the last time I saw her," Ayana said.

"Thanks," I replied. "She's two months old now and she's growing very fast."

"And she looks more like you and Inuyasha every day."

"She's also so well-behaved and quiet. We would have been hard-pressed to get our girls to be quiet for that long when they were little," Takero said with a laugh. Ayana and I laughed as well.

"Let us know if you need anything, Kagome," Ayana said. "And keep up your great work as always. We're all very fortunate to have you as a priestess in our village."

"Thank you, Ayana. I really appreciate that."

They two walked off and I continued finishing up my work at the shrine. I glanced over my shoulder at Moroha who was resting comfortably with her thumb in her mouth. "Look at that Moroha, you make an impression with everyone you meet here."

This morning after feeding her, I spent some time sorting out the latest set of herbs I'd gotten and put them into bundles to give to a few villagers. Moroha was sitting in her baby chair at the table next to me. She's a sneaky little girl. She had picked up one of the herbs while I wasn't looking and the next time I looked up she was trying to put it in her mouth.

"Oh no you don't," I said as I took it from her. Moroha was always trying to eat something she shouldn't. She became upset and so I replaced it with a toy and she was smiling again. I kissed her forehead. "You're mischievous just like your daddy."

At the mention of him, I sighed. I missed him so much.

Soon after I had her strapped to my back again and we took a walk through the village meeting up with people to give them their herbs.

On my journey, I spoke with my friends Kimi and Kiara. I happened to have Moroha in the dress they had made her. They loved it and squealed over how cute she looked. I also spotted Reyna outside her uncle's candy shop. She gave me a dirty look as I passed by her; I guess she's not over the whole thing with Miroku. I resisted the urge to glare back at her or even say something to her. I wasn't one to start conflicts and I needed to set a good example for my baby anyway.

This afternoon I found myself at Sango's house. We sat outside in the yard while the kids ran around and I had Moroha sitting on my lap.

"How are you holding up without Inuyasha?" she asked.

"We're doing okay, although it's just not the same with him gone."

"I understand. It always feels like there's something major missing in our house when Miroku isn't here," Sango said with a sigh. "Although these kids keep me very busy so I don't have much time to worry about him."

"I'd imagine. She's kept me busy as well," I said as I kissed Moroha's forehead.

Then Mieko ran over to me and handed me a flower. "Auntie Kagome, Moroha needs a flower. It's going to bring her good luck."

"That's sweet of you," I said. I handed Moroha her flower. "Here you go, my love."

Moroha stared at it for a moment trying to figure out what it was then smiled happily.

"I think she likes it!" Mieko said with excitement.

"Yes, she does. She's very happy you have it to her, Mieko."

"Yay! I'll try to find more." She ran off with her brother and sister while Sango and I laughed a bit at Moroha's fascination with her new flower.