Hello everybody! Long time no see! I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long. . . Dodges some tomatoes being thrown at her . . .okay maybe I have. I am sorry it's taken me so long to update, even when I said I'd be able to. Some things are way out of my control. Anyways, thank you to all
of my loyal readers and reviewers, even when I do pull off cliffhangers that leave them hanging. The support given to me really helps! I dedicate this chapter to all of the patient ones (and even the not-so-patient ones, because they get on my case and give me the nagging I need to get moving).
Let me rephrase this: this chapter, and many more to come, are all dedicated to the readers, who inspire me to write even more. I have some more ideas, from Ranma, to Rurouni Kenshin, to Inuyasha stories, so you can expect those up as soon as I type them up. Well, enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I, uh, own this Inuyasha story, but I don't own Inuyasha.
Bummer.

Inuyasha:
Birthday!

Part III: Gift Panic

"SIT! I'll be back tomorrow, so I can bring you all to the party, okay? Bye!" And Kagome was off, leaving a flattened Inuyasha in the dirt. She was excited. Sixteen! She skipped happily all the way from the well to her room. Kagome sighed contentedly as she flopped down on her bed. "Ahh! I CAN'T wait!" She frowned. "Inuyasha had better NOT mess this up if he knows what's GOOD for him!"

"Kagome! You have a visitor!"

She hopped to her feet. "Okay, Mama!" Kagome ran down to greet her guest. "Hojo! What a surprise," she gasped.

He smiled. "I came to see how you were doing after your great-aunt's funeral."

"Oh. . . thanks, Hojo," Kagome said, chuckling nervously. "I'm all right. Honest!"

"If there's anything you need. . ." Hojo trailed off.

"Oh! Won't you come in?" Kagome offered politely, sort of hoping he'd decline.

Decline he didn't. "Sure, thanks," he said as he entered. "I won't stay long."

Three hours was his definition of only spending a little while at her house. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Hojo? I think I'm going to bed soon."

Finally, he nodded and said, "Yes, I guess I should be leaving. I'll see you at school tomorrow, before the party."

"Yep," Kagome said. "Bye, Hojo!"

In the meantime, Inuyasha was pacing back and forth. "What should I give her?" He was driving himself nuts with the question. He couldn't figure anything out. Kagome wasn't one who really seemed to desire a lot. And Kaede had told him to give something from the heart. "AAAGH! I'll never figure this out!" Inuyasha roared. "Stupid wench! Why did you have to have a birthday!?"

"That's a rather foolish question to ask," Miroku said as he came up from behind Inuyasha. Sango was with him. "Everyone who lives had to have been born on a day."

The hanyou growled in frustration. "That's not what I meant! Aagh you stupid monk! You piss me off!" And with that, Inuyasha dashed out of sight.

Sango knelt down to allow Kirara to jump up on her shoulder. "I don't think THAT went too well. . ."

The monk shook his head. "It's as expected, however. How can you expect someone such as he to change his stubborn ways?" His hand began a wandering journey, until it found Sango's rear end and gave it a squeeze.

"Oh, I don't know," Sango snapped as she slugged him in the cheek with her fist. "Just like we can't expect someone ELSE to change his PERVERTED ways, either!"

"Ugh," Miroku groaned as he lay sprawled out on the ground.

The demon-exterminator shook her head. "Shameless, aren't you? Come on, Kirara!"

Her little furry friend meowed her consent.

"I can't wait until tomorrow!" Sango said giddily. "I only hope that Kagome's friends will like me!" She came across Shippo, who was busy hunched over a drawing. "Hey there, Shippo! Drawing again?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I'm coloring a picture for Kagome's birthday! I've been working on it all day. There! I'm done! Do you think that Kagome will like it?" He held up his drawing for Sango to see. It was a rather life-like portrait of everyone together. Kagome was holding Shippo, Inuyasha had his arm around Kagome, as did Miroku, who had his other arm around Sango, who held Kirara in her arms and stood next to Kagome.

'That IS pretty typical of Miroku,' Sango sighed inwardly when she saw his pose in the portrait. Still, Shippo had done a very good job. "That's amazing, Shippo," she praised. "I know Kagome will love it!"

The little demon jumped into Sango's arms. "Really?! You think so? That's great! So, what are you going to give her?"

She sighed. "I don't know. . ."

"I'll help you if you want," Shippo offered.

"Thank you, Shippo," Sango said, smiling. Then, she brightened up at an idea. "Maybe I could ask Kaede for help. . . or I could give Kagome a sacred keepsake from the demon slayer village. It could be a memento, for her to remember our friendship. I know just the thing, too!"

"What's that, Sango?" Shippo asked.

The demon slayer smiled wistfully. "Well, I have a few small knives, which have never shed blood. They are special, being handed down generations, because they haven't killed. They are only to be used as keepsakes. You see, people from my family long ago carved the wood on the handles into beautiful sculptures. I would gladly give one of my family keepsakes to Kagome, because she IS my family, Shippo."

"It looks like you don't need Kaede's help after all, does it?" Shippo said.

She grinned at him. "Nope!"

"Shippo!" Miroku appeared from a clump of nearby bushes. "I have written a poem for Kagome's birthday. Oh, hello again, Sango. This is even better! I'll read it to the both of you!"

"Okay," said Shippo.

"Oh, brother," sighed Sango.

He started. "It's called 'An Honor to Kagome.'" Miroku cleared his throat and began reading:

"Dearest Kagome,

Sixteen is a wonderful thing!

Almost like a feeling of spring.

Everything is so fresh and new,

Especially your bosom, too."

He was interrupted when Sango smacked him in the head. Then, he continued.

"Sweet Kagome,

Sixteen means that you've grown older,

With your beauty I've grown bolder.

I must ask you now if you don't mind;

I hope that you will be so kind.

You are very sweet and mild.

Would you like to bear my child?"

"I liked it! It rhymed," Shippo declared.

"You. . . aren't actually going to give Kagome THAT for her sixteenth birthday, are you?!" Sango demanded.

Miroku thought a moment. "Well, yes. I was very critical on myself to write the perfect poem to dedicate to Kagome," he said. "Why do you seem so upset by this poem?"

"Because it's as PERVERTED as you are!" Sango snapped, taking her hiraikotsu and whacking him over the head with it. Then, she whirled around and stalked away.

Shippo blinked, stunned by her reaction. "Hey, Miroku, I think she's jealous. Maybe she wants you to write her a poem like the one you're giving Kagome."

"Women are so unpredictable sometimes," Miroku noted. "It's hard to tell what goes through their minds. However, I don't like making a beautiful woman angry. I will write Sango a poem so she doesn't feel left out." He rubbed the sore bump on his head and winced.

"Well, I'd say you'd better get writing on that poem, Miroku," Shippo said, cringing. "From the way that Sango was stomping off, she looked really mad!"

Wandering alongside a shore of a lake, the priestess Kikyo was wondering the very same thing as everyone else: what to give Kagome? She didn't want to give the girl a present, really, but if it would catch the girl off- guard, that would be the perfect time for Kikyo to strike. She noticed a dirty-looking shell washed up in the sand. "It would be rather lovely if it was cleaned," she said to herself. So Kikyo went to the trouble of washing it in the water. Soon, it began to show its shiny texture and she stopped in awe, admiring the shell's hidden beauty. If Kikyo hadn't been so determined to get so close to Kagome in order to kill her, she would have kept the shell for herself. Kikyo carefully rubbed it against her robe, polishing it. "It will do," she decided. "It's time to meet them at the well." She made her way as quickly as she could to the well, and when she got there, she saw no sign of Inuyasha. She did, however, see Kagome, and Kagome saw her.

"Kikyo! What are you doing here?!" Kagome gasped.

Her smile concealed her resentment for Kagome, barely. "I was coming to your birthday," she replied simply.

"B-birthday? Who told you it was my birthday?" Kagome demanded.

"Inuyasha invited me," Kikyo answered. "I have brought a gift for the occasion."

Kagome sighed. Inuyasha had invited her? "Okay. . ." 'I guess I would like a chance to make amends with Kikyo. I can always get Inuyasha back for this later!"

A/N: I'm back! How has everyone been? Thank you to all the readers! It's your reviews (and e-mails) that encourage me, even when I've got a dozen projects hanging over my head. LOL! I hope you enjoyed this long-awaited chapter. And, yeah, it's kind of a cliffhanger. I'll just have to fix that with a quicker update. You can expect it SOON. Most definitely sooner than this update came. 'Till then, take care everyone.

--halliegirl--