A/N: I think I'm the first to do this pairing. I don't think that people give Kuwabara enough credit. Contrary to popular belief, Kazuma is not some useless, senseless dumbass who tags along and gets in the way. In fact, he actually gets quite popular at high schoolin the series towards the end after the Makai Tournament.

So here's to Kuwabara, a seriously under-rated, over-abused character who has earned my respect.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, InuYasha, or marriages. I own an electric guitar-shapedpaperclip and a chibi Hiei keychain, both of which are too cute for words. Smile for the camera, kiddies!

/Believe It

"I still don't believe it."

"Well, believe it. It's happening and it's real."

"…But Kagome's beautiful…and smart! You're both total opposites."

Kuwabara sighed heavily. He loved his friend…platonically…he really did, but Yusuke was pretty much the same personality wise as he was when he was seventeen. In fact, he could recall this exact argument happening several years ago when they were both that age, but at the time it was because he had finally gathered the courage to ask Kagome out, and now…now they were finally married. He smiled fondly at the thought of being with his miko for the rest of his life, which he could live out because of her.

If Kuwabara had the necessary vocal abilities to growl he would. Koenma said the mission wouldn't be that hard. Just find the four demons, kill them if you have to, and report to Botan via communicator when all is done. Finding the demons was simple enough with his senses, but fighting them was harder then it seemed. The youkai managed to separate them into one on one battles. Just his luck that he got the demon with the disgustingly fast healing ability; it was like his skin was putty to be molded back in place on a mere whim.

Standing from his prone position and ignorant to the gash on his chest, courtesy of the enemy, he charged forward again, extending his Rei Ken to plunge it into the demon's stomach. When it was fully through, he had it curve and wrap around over and over again, hopefully binding it. Positive that the demon couldn't move, he plunged the hilt of his sword deeply into the ground.

Falling to lie back in exhaustion a safe distance away, he smirked when he heard Yusuke fire another Rei Gan, and the crack of a whip from Kurama. The clinking of sword against sword was heard distantly and he turned his head slightly to see Hiei and his enemy, who was also skilled in swordsmanship, fighting in a flurry of black and gray. Knowing he should be trying to help one of them, Kuwabara briefly closed his eyes to gather his breath and his depleting strength.

Upon the opening of his eyes, he sat up and quickly realized that his opponent was missing from the bonds of the spirit sword. Standing up quickly, he let his other sword dissipate before summoning another to his hand.

"Foolish ningen. I do not submit so easily." Kuwabara tried to identify where the voice was coming from, but he found it impossible. The voice was coming from everywhere. "None of you will be victorious when we have the shards of the Shikon no Tama on our side."

Beside him, Youko Kurama froze in shock, something quite rare to see, before he smirked. "I see, so you aren't strong enough on your own. You need help," the fox taunted. "Pathetic."

Greatly angered, Kurama's opponent charged at him thoughtlessly, meeting the Rose Whip for all the good it did.

Suddenly, the voice of his own opponent met his ears. "Don't get so distracted, boy!" Kuwabara felt a large hand wrap tightly around his throat, restricting his airways painfully. He swiped pitifully at the arm that held him, but the power of his weakened Rei Ken barely managed to pierce the demon's skin. He could hear his name being called by Urameshi, but it was distant and fuzzy, like over-hearing a CD player across the room. The combined effects of being strangled and the consistent loss of blood made his vision slide and blur until all he could make out were blobs of color. His Rei Ken flickered out just before a twang of taunt string made its way to his ears and a light amethyst light flooded his sight.

Gravity crashed him quickly to the ground, spraining his ankle on impact. The purity that remained in the air was amazing. Realizing that his eyes were closed, he opened them again to see a young woman standing at the edge of the wooded clearing. All battle ceased, and Youko reverted back to the redhead he knew as Kurama while the demon he had been fighting was preparing to attack. Hiei and his opponent were positioned closer then he had originally anticipated and Kuwabara could see that the apparition had summoned his Sword of the Darkness Flame, and Yusuke and his opponent were poised to charge at each other again.

The long, raven hair the young woman had settled back into place from the power behind the attack, but she remained in position, the bow in her hand still reverberating from being fired. A smile lit the eyes of a storm at night; the dark blue irises alight in amusement. She let the smile appear on her face and relaxed her form, bringing the bow to her side. She calmly walked to a pile of dust where his opponent used to be before bending, bringing attention to the fact that she was wearing a pair very worn jeans and a light green pullover to combat the late autumn weather. When she stood straight again, a small shard was held in between her forefinger and thumb, the darkness of evil leaving quickly at her touch and leaving a glowing light pink in its wake.

"You know," she began conversationally, "I was so angry to learn that after the final battle that the it was still incomplete, and then I was sent back home. I couldn't even get back." Kuwabara wondered just what she was talking about, as she wasn't making much sense. A quick glance around him said that no one else knew what to make of this development either. "That was a few months ago, and just when I was beginning to lose hope," she looked at renegade demons happily, "here you are! So tell me, how did you find the Shikon shards?"

The three remaining youkai glared at her before the one fighting Hiei asked, "And what do you want with them?" The young woman laughed before reaching into her neckline and pulling out an incomplete sphere attached to a necklace that glowed the same pink as the shard in her hand. "I just want to finish the puzzle, if you will. I am its Guardian, after all."

"Is…that really…"

"The Shikon no Tama?" she suggested, still smiling. "Why yes, yes it is." She enclosed the shard and the sphere in her hands before starting to…pray? Whatever it was she did, when she pulled back the shard was gone and the crack seemed to be a little more filled. She put the sphere back in her neckline. The smile dropped quickly as she said in a serious tone, "I'll ask you once to give me the shards before you end up like your friend here. May I have the shard?"

"You forgot to say please!" the demons' self-elected spokesman yelled. Before the Reikai Tantei could react, the three demons charged in on the woman. Another twang filtered through the air and the youkai fell victim to the same death as their companion.

Smiling wryly, the woman walked over to the closest pile of ashes. "Please?" she asked as she bent to pick up the shard, the evil vanishing at her mere touch. She confiscated the rest of the shards before standing and walking over to him.

Exhausted, Kuwabara only watched curiously as she knelt down and lay a hand on his chest before letting loose some of her energy to encourage the wounds to heal faster and the pain to leave. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"F-fine…" He was lost in her gaze before she blushed and quickly removed her hand from his chest, having realized that it was there for more time then necessary.

"I'm Higurashi Kagome," she introduced, bowing politely when she stood up again. "Sorry that you had to deal with this. I would have gotten here sooner, but the streets are so crowded with people at this time of year. Are you guys okay?"

"Earth to Kuwabara! Oi, pay attention!" A hand waved dangerously close to his face, causing him to topple backwards off his chair in surprise.

"Damn it, Urameshi! Don't do that!" he scowled from the floor.

"Hn. Twenty-five, married, and still falling all over himself," the familiar voice of Hiei came before the apparition stepped through the door after Kurama. His words ignited laughter from Yusuke and a chuckle from Kurama, who had manners enough to cover his mouth with a stifling hand.

"Everyone's against me," Kuwabara sighed in false forlorn. Yusuke sighed before bonking him on the back of the head.

"Oh come on, Kuwabara. You know that we're all happy for you. Kagome's a great girl," the former team leader stated. The Reikai Tantei was relieved of duty five years ago, but they all managed to stay close.

"Of course," Kurama quickly followed up, patting him on the back. "In fact, it's about time you two got married. Eight years is a very long time to wait."

"Yeah, but it was worth it," Kuwabara replied happily. About a month before meeting Kagome, Yukina had kindly declined feelings for him and it left him heartbroken for a while, but he was glad that they remained friends. She proved to be very helpful when it came to getting with Kagome, readily offering advice when he asked for it. As it turned out, she had a bit of a thing for Kurama, and Hiei was much more content with that after he revealed a few months following Kagome's introduction that he was indeed her brother. It seemed that his wife even had a way with Hiei, one of the few that are able to form a close bond of friendship with him, and she influence his decision. Yukina had been so happy that day.

Further conversation between the men was interrupted by the object of his affection as she ran into the room and quickly slid the door closed, locking it securely. Kagome immediately shushed any questions as she pressed an ear to the door. The sounds of quick footfalls gradually became louder before it stopped and Botan's voice called, "Kagome! Come on! It's just a little book. Kagome! Stop being ridiculous!" The footsteps continued before fading back into nothing.

Kagome leaned against the door and released a sigh of relief. She had changed from her formal kimono into a white dress that hugged her upper body and flared out in a gauzy material to her knees at her hips. Her hair was pulled into an elegant bun but her forelocks as well as some tendrils of hair that fell from the chignon were curled slightly. Her closed eyes revealed silver eye shadow that glittered daintily in the light. A completed Shikon no Tama hung from her neck innocently, the spell she kept on it keeping it from even his senses. She licked the clear gloss on her lips before opening her eyes to look at her surroundings.

"…Hi guys," she greeted artlessly, earning her some strange glances. Kagome simply winked before making herself comfortable on Kuwabara's lap. He grinned like a madman before wrapping his arms around her petite waist. She was so small compared to him.

"You were running from Botan?" Yusuke asked, then he shrugged aloofly. "What was she threatening you with this time?" Kagome blushed a bit, giggling softly while she nervously fixing her bangs.

"Baby names…"

A loud, collective "WHAT!" echoed off the walls from the men in the room while the only woman smiled sheepishly. "That was my reaction as well," she admitted. "I think Botan's more excited about my marriage than I am if she's brainstorming names for my unconceived children."

Kurama checked his watch before saying, "We really need to get to the reception. See you down there?" he asked in regard to the newlyweds. Both Kagome and Kuwabara nodded, not making any move to leave at the moment. The fox unlocked the door and left with a small bow.

Hiei headed towards the door next. "Kagome," he nodded in farewell, "…Idiot."

"Love you, too, Shorty," Kuwabara replied, gaining a light elbow to the gut from the girl in his lap.

"Save me a dance, Hiei?" Kagome asked hopefully, smiling at the apparition. Hiei gave an almost unseen smile in return.

"Hn." He followed his partner out the door.

Yusuke had his hands behind his head in his typical fashion, flashing them a brilliant grin. "I gotta go, too. Keiko's probably gonna bite my head off. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" he called as he walked down the hall.

Blinking at the quick exit of his friends, Kuwabara was brought to reality when Kagome kissed him. She situated herself sideways on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You know, Yusuke gave us a lot of options to exercise with his goodbye," he whispered in her ear, enjoying more than words could say the way she shivered.

"As tempting as that is, Kazuma—and it is tempting—we can't skip our own reception. We have the honeymoon to enjoy ourselves…where no one can just walk in on us," she promised. She kissed him deeply, breaking it after a few moments for breath and standing. Kagome rushed to the doorway. "That is, of course, if you can catch me." She ran down the hall, laughing jovially.

Kuwabara smiled. His wife…his wife…was truly an amazing soul. He couldn't remember a time when he had been so happy, so comfortable with himself. He knew he wasn't attractive, but Kagome said that she found him to be very handsome, that there was something about him she couldn't help but find appealing. He sighed in content before standing and moving to catch up with her. Despite what he told Yusuke earlier, he still had trouble believing it.

Kuwabara Kazuma was married.

A/N: So there it is, one of the first Kuwa/Kags out there, and hopefully not the last. This IS a one-shot, but I might make a different series later with this same pairing.

Some of the attacks are in the original Japanese spelling (Rei Gan is spelt correct).

Review please! (Note that all Flames concerning the pairing will be thrown in the incinerater. I don't know how an incinerater is going to burn flames but I don't really care much about that.)