A/N: Thanks for your reviews! Here is Chapter 37…three more to go. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks.

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My Only Hope
Chapter Thirty-Seven

Sesshoumaru kept quiet during the day of the burial, and for most of the day following. Inutaisho swore to the group that the proud Sesshoumaru had quietly come to terms with the reality of the girl's death…that he would soon be fine, but it took Yuka nearly two days to get him to talk to her.

"I'm all right now," he promised her, putting on the fakest smile she had ever seen.

She sighed. "It's okay if you aren't okay, Sesshoumaru. Rin was like your daughter. It is completely understandable if you want to grieve…but holding it in like that is only going to make it hurt more."

"I know that, Yuka." He frowned.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yuka asked, probably for the hundredth time that day.

He nodded. "I'm fine." He growled.

Yuka sighed and nodded, wrapping him in a hug. "You can talk to me if you need to, okay? I'll always be here for you." She whispered, leaving him alone.

Yuka came out of the forest looking defeated. Sango frowned, but Shippo was the first one to speak. "So, he won't talk to you, either?" he asked.

Inutaisho took a deep breath. "This happened when his mother died. You just have to leave him alone, and let him deal with it in his own time. He will. He is strong." He nodded in confidence.

Kagome smiled. "I hope so."

Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't know, dad." He frowned. "Sesshoumaru's 'own time' could be a long time…"

"You'll see…" Inutaisho nodded.

Yuka plopped down on a nearby log and took a deep breath. Kagome looked sadly to her distressed friend, and wrapped her in a hug. "I know how he feels about me…he told me himself…but now, I don't know…I feel like I can't help him…"

"It's okay." Kagome smiled to her friend. "When he needs you, he'll come to you for help. Right now he probably just wants to be alone. He was really attached to Rin, as you know…and not being able to help her has shocked him a little bit."

Yuka nodded. "I know. I've figured that much out already."

"Mommy!" It was Shippo. Kagome looked over, and couldn't help but laugh. Taka had a death grip on Shippo's tail, and Toku had a good hold on a tuft of Shippo's hair. "Help, mommy!"

Kagome chuckled. "Inuyasha…" she pointed.

"Taka…Toku…" Inuyasha had only to look at his children cross-eyed, and they let go of their brother. "Thank you!" Inuyasha smiled, sweeping both of his twins into his arms. He nuzzled their cheeks, kissed their foreheads, and placed them back down to play with Shippo.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome nodded.

"Hot spring?" Inuyasha suggested.

Yuka's eyebrow rose. "Okay…I definitely don't want to know the details of that one…" she frowned.

Miroku had a lecherous grin on his face.

"Don't even think about it, Miroku." Inuyasha growled. "Sango, keep him away from the edge of the forest." He demanded, and Sango nodded in determination.

Akira and Jin blushed, shrugged, and retreated into the nearest hut. Izayoi laughed, whispered something to Inutaisho, and silently followed Akira and Jin into the hut.

Sesshoumaru sighed, finally deciding to join the rest of the group in the village. He took a seat next to Yuka, smiled, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Feeling better?" she whispered.

He nodded slowly. "Now I am."

"I'm glad." She smiled.

"Dad!" Sesshoumaru called.

Inutaisho poked his head out of the entrance to Kagome and Inuyasha's hut. Taka was sitting on his shoulders laughing. He smiled. "Yes? What is it, Sesshoumaru?" he asked inquisitively.

"Dad, I am going to take Yuka to see the castle." He announced. "We will be back in a week or so…. or we can wait if my presence is needed here?" his expression went blank.

"No, it is not." He shook his head. "Go and have fun." He waved.

Sesshoumaru nodded, took Yuka's hand, and walked into the forest.

"Where are they going?" asked Izayoi, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"To the castle." Inutaisho nodded. "Sesshoumaru said they would be back in a week…"

Izayoi blushed. "A week? It doesn't take that long to…"

"I know that!" Inutaisho laughed. "I say we just let them be. I'm just glad that he isn't off somewhere being all depressed. That Yuka has a good influence on him. I'm glad that the two of them are going to be together. I think he has made a wonderful choice."

Izayoi smiled. "Yes, I agree…and ironic, he would have never met her if she hadn't come here from Kagome's time."

"True."

"Miroku!" A cracking noise could be heard, and the monk suddenly emerged into the hut with a large red handprint on the side of his face. He sat without a word and smiled at the group. Shippo came in after him, glaring at the monk in fake hate.

"Miroku, why do you do that to Sango?" he demanded. "It isn't very nice!"

"I am merely misunderstood," the monk explained. "I saw a bug…"

"No you didn't!" Sango growled. Kohaku jumped back, afraid of his sister's temper. "I hope our children take after me and never listen to a word you say!" she added, fuming.

Miroku's eyebrow rose.

Kagome and Inuyasha did not return until later that night. Horribly pruned, the two sat outside around the fire and talked with Inutaisho and Izayoi. By the time they returned, Akira and Jin had retired to their own hut, and Shippo and the twins were asleep with Kohaku, who was curled up with Kirara inside what was soon to be Miroku and Sango's hut.

"Have the two of you thought about having any more children?" asked Inutaisho in a passing sort of tone.

Kagome blushed like a mad woman, and suddenly found the leaf at her feet very interesting. "Well, we um…"

"We are going to have one more eventually." Inuyasha spat. He hadn't meant to say it. It had just popped out.

Kagome glared at him. "How do you know that?"

Inuyasha averted his eyes. "I just do."

"I'm not…" Kagome gasped. "…Am I?" she gulped.

"No. Not yet. I just know. I can't tell you how." He smiled. He had swore to Mine that he would not reveal anything she had told him, and this had been one of those things that should not have been said but managed to pop out anyway.

Kagome put on her best angry face and stared at Inuyasha. "There are ways of making you talk, you know…"

"Kagome…"

"Yes, Inuyasha?" Kagome smiled sweetly.

"That's scary…" he shivered.

Sesshoumaru and Yuka returned a week and a half after they had left. By this time, the twins were already running around camp, Inuyasha had started teaching Souta how to use a sword, Miroku and Sango's hut was nearly done, and Kagome was feeling very ill.

"I hate you." Kagome growled at Inuyasha.

"No, you don't." Inuyasha retorted.

"Are you sure?" she smirked. "I still don't understand how you knew this was going to happen? Oh…I hate you."

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow rose as he walked back into camp with Yuka. "Little brother, don't tell me Kagome is having another pup?" he smiled. "Congratulations, Kagome!" He paused. "Has father talked to you about it yet?"

"He asked us about it the night that you left, but he didn't say much." Inuyasha shrugged. "The conversation kind of got a little sidetracked…"

"You need to talk to him again. Trust me. It will be very beneficial to you and Kagome."

"What does that mean?" demanded Kagome, confusion etched in her features. "Inutaisho!" she called. "Where are you?" She paused. "Daddy! Someone! I need explanations!" she whined.

Sesshoumaru laughed. "I'll tell you, Kagome. Sit down." He commanded, and she did. "Okay…you and Inuyasha are both hanyou, which means that you are half human and half demon…"

"Tell me something I wasn't already aware of." Kagome smirked.

"I was getting to that. Since you both are hanyou, it is very possible that one of your children could be full youkai…or even a human…"

Inuyasha, who was picking up a piece of firewood, dropped it. "What?" he yelped. "Are you serious?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Genetically, it is possible, yes…"

"Either way, I don't like the sound of it. If the baby were to come out full youkai, that would be awesome…but then it would be relentlessly teased because of what Inuyasha and I are…but then again, if it was human…" Kagome shuddered, thinking automatically of the stories Inuyasha had told her of his youth living with his mother in their village.

Jin wrapped her in a hug, and smiled. "It's going to be all right, Kagome. We will just wait and see. You have to remember, the baby could also be exactly like Taka and Toku. However it turns out, we aren't going to let anything bad happen."

"Thank you, daddy…"

Kagome turned. Mine, the demon they had met in the future, was again standing in the clearing near the forest.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru demanded. "Every time we've talked to you, it has been about something bad…so, what kind of horrible news do you bring with you today, huh?" he growled.

"Do not jump to conclusions." Mine frowned. "I do not come bearing any bad news whatsoever…" she sniffed the air and smiled. "I see you have mated, Lord Sesshoumaru….and Lady Kagome is with child once again…"

Kagome nodded slowly. "Why do you care?"

"May I suggest a name?" Mine asked.

Kagome frowned, and Inuyasha's eyebrow rose in interest. After a moment, Kagome sighed. "Inuyasha?" she whispered. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Name the child Kaname." She nodded.

"Kaname?" Kagome repeated. "It's a girl?"

Mine nodded. Kagome opened her mouth, but Mine cut her off. "That is all I can say about it, Lady Kagome."

Kagome closed her mouth and nodded. "So, why exactly are you here?"

Mine shrugged. "I wanted to make sure things were going as they are supposed to go."

"Why in the hell are you so curious about it all?" demanded Sesshoumaru.

"It is my future as well, Lord Sesshoumaru. I am merely trying to protect it, is all. Do not take offense."

Sesshoumaru blinked. "I would still love to know what in the hell is so important about the next five hundred years that you seem to think we are going to mess up." He smirked. "Because you seem to be checking up on us a lot lately. It makes me wonder about you."

Mine took a deep breath. "Fine. If you must get suspicious of my motives, then I shall have to reveal my purpose to you. Shippo is correct. I once knew his parents. However, in the future, I play the role of head of your security. That is the reason why I was sent to speak for you and your family when you visited the future. You could not have met with yourselves, could you? I was sent to make sure things in this time were going as they were supposed to go. However, we didn't expect you to show up in the future like that, and we did not anticipate all of the problems that were going on in this time. I was to gather information, and then fix whatever was out of place…"

Sesshoumaru blinked. "You were sent by us…to spy on us…to make sure that our future wasn't compromised?" he whispered.

Mine looked slightly confused for a moment, but then nodded. "Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru. That is correct."

"I see." Sesshoumaru nodded. "Well then, I suggest you leave. I do not wish to know anymore, and I am almost sure that you aren't willing to sit here and talk that long."

Mine nodded in agreement. "You guessed correctly there as well, Lord Sesshoumaru." She smiled, bowed, and headed back into the forest. "Take good care of the children!" she called over her shoulder as she disappeared behind the trees.

Kagome blinked in confusion, glanced at Inuyasha, and shrugged.

"What the hell just happened?" Inuyasha frowned.

"Don't look too much into it, Inuyasha." Inutaisho advised. "It will raise far too many questions that none of us can answer properly."

Inuyasha nodded. "That's all right with me." He agreed.

Yuka opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "Err…Kagome?" she whispered.

"Yes?" Kagome answered.

"If…If I was born in the future, then how was I in two places at once? I don't get it. I was going to school with you and our friends, but from what Mine just said, I obviously was also somewhere other than school. How is that possible? Wouldn't I have ran into myself? That would have been weird…"

"I…I never thought of that!" Kagome realized. "How did that work? Oh, wow! How confusing!" Kagome blinked.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Two of you in the future at once? Gee…I don't think I could handle two of you…Maybe that is what Mine meant. One of you had to come back here to live, because the other you was already mated to me in the future…"

"Quit talking!" Shippo whined. "I'm so confused!"

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A/N: I meant this to be a funnier chapter, considering I am nearing the close of this fiction. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think, okay:D Thanks a bundle for your interest in my story!