Suzu- Error in the last chapters, guys. From a recent reading of a manga translation online, a new occurrence has been brought forth.

Sesshomaru's sword, Tokjin, no longer exists. It was broken in a battle with Mourymaru.

Suzu- Meanwhile, we'll just go on with our lives…

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Chapter 23

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Sploosh!

"INUYASHA!" Kagome squealed when the hanyou decided to kick some puddle water on her. A damp puddle on the ground was hard to resist and she decided to flick some his way too.

The trees had parted and given way to a grassy slope going down at a forty degree angle. Small patches of dampness and collected dew littered the ground new them. Beyond, Kagome could see the hints of stars and a deep blue night.

Rin smiled delightedly at the scene. "Oh! I'm on Kagome-oneechan's side."

Inuyasha's amber eyes widened as both girls dipped their hands in the water and chased after him down the grassy slope. The moon was still out and the fog furled and unfurled around them. A few minutes ago, Inuyasha had agreed to foster Rin, and now, this is how the girl repaid him. Secretly, he was laughing inside. Feh, like he'd ever show it on the outside.

Smirking, Inuyasha bounded down the hill; wind tousling his silken hair back and red robes flying. There was no way they could catch a half demon. He closed his eyes and savored the adrenaline.

"Come back here, Inuyasha!" Kagome skidded down the slope, trying to keep her skirt down at the same time. Rin was running beside her, and pretty fast for a girl her age, Kagome noticed. She must be physically fit to keep up with Sesshomaru, though.

The grass rustled as she made her way down. In fact, Kagome was pretty sure this was the very hill Mistress Centipede had chased her up on that fateful day. It was right beyond this hill that she had met Inuyasha. And here she was, running down along the same hill with Inuyasha by her side.

She loved the Sengoku Jidai. The air smelled sweeter and cleaner than ever, and the faces of the people she loved surrounded her in this era just like in the modern era. Now appointed protector of the land, she would do her best to keep this place beautiful.

"Inuyasha-kun! Watch out!" Rin shouted. Kagome snapped out of her thoughts in time to see Inuyasha jump up, if a little clumsily, and clear a fence and vegetable plots, onto the roof of the wooden cottage. Her breath caught.

"Sango and Miroku's home," she whispered, skidding to a halt as her shoes hit a dirt road.

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Sango was busily patching in the main room. Their guests had left, but she wasn't in the mood to go back to sleep. The night was wearing thin, anyways. The needle got out of position and poked into her thumb.

"Kuso!" she muttered as she wiped the blood off on the floor. Imagine her, a born demon slayer, darning winter clothes in her free time instead of exterminating demons. She sighed. Father had always said that the work which took the least glory, but had to be done, was the most honorable work. Besides…the tajiya stared down at her swollen belly and smiled.

The baby was coming soon. A coat was needed to keep him or her warm. A sense of pride chased all other thoughts away. Footsteps walked up beside her. Sango looked up to see Miroku and grimaced. The baby better not turn out to be a lecher like the dad. But if it turned out to be male, Sango had a pretty good feeling it would take after the Miroku family.

Seeing his wife look at her stomach, then at him, Miroku had a pretty good idea that she was thinking about his family's womanizing gene. He chuckled hesitantly to meet Sango's expression.

"Eh…is it kicking a lot, Sango? Must be a boy, then." The houshi did his best to keep his tone light.

Sango smiled slyly up at him. "I don't know. Female babies that come from the tajiya line are pretty fierce."

Miroku envisioned Sango in her exterminating uniform, brandishing her boomerang. He thought of all the lumps and burning slaps. Okaaayyy, no arguing there.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard on the roof. It sounded like an overly large bird had landed. Only large birds didn't swear or say 'feh'.

Was it possible? Or was it too much to hope for?

They looked at each other knowingly, faces lit up with hope and anxiety. Rushing to the door, they walked out to the crisp night air.

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The door of the cottage swung open a few seconds after Kagome had whispered the words of her friends' names. Behind the roughened wood, two anxious faces appeared. Kagome's legs turned to jelly at the sight, but somehow, she mustered enough energy to run towards them. Rin laughed and ran with her.

"Kagome!" Sango's eyes lighted with happiness. The schoolgirl (maybe not anymore) ran towards the tajiya, suddenly stopping short to glance at Sango's midsection. Rin followed behind, smiling at the contagious joy surrounding the area.

"What?" Sango asked, suddenly self-conscious. "Is something wrong?"

Kagome looked up to reveal happy tears. "Sango, your baby…it's been such a long time…I…" She laughed and wiped her eyes. "It's coming soon."

Sango huffed. She had never imagined the day would come either. She, Sango, the fiercest demon exterminator in the village, almost ready to deliver a life into the world. It was really queer. A thump on the back interrupted her thoughts.

"Yo, Sango, Miroku…going to give me a welcome home?" Inuyasha smirked at them as he tapped his foot impatiently into the ground.

Miroku smiled back, mischievously. "So, how was your trip?"

The hanyou rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you all the trouble I went through to get Kagome to--"

"Eeh? Get Kagome to do what? To what, to what, Inu-baka? Tell me in our man to man talk, starting now." Miroku slung an arm over the flustered hanyou and led him to the back of the house.

"It's not like that! Get your sick little mind out of the--" Inuyasha's voice died down as Miroku dragged him away from where Sango, Kagome, and Rin were standing.

Sango looked at Kagome and a new thought came to her head. She turned to face Rin and Kagome, taking both their hands.

"Kagome, Rin, this is the perfect opportunity for us to talk." She quirked an eyebrow. "You know-girl talk. Rin, this is the perfect lesson for you to learn some feminism, like Sesshomaru wanted you to know. Let's go inside."

"Uh…Sango, you don't have to…" Kagome stuttered out as Sango also dragged Kagome inside the cottage door.

"Well, I think it's the perfect time for me to learn something." Rin chirruped behind Sango as Kagome sighed and moaned in protest, but sat down on the cool wooden floor anyway.

"Kagome…" Sango started. "Has Inuyasha confessed yet?"

Rin's eyes opened wide, and both of the spectators leaned in to hear Kagome's answer.

She blushed. "Uh…" Finally, red with effort and embarrassment, Kagome let her head bob up and down a little, signifying 'yes'.

"Really? I think that's wonderful, Kagome! It took him long enough. I mean, like, it was no secret!" Sango laughed happily while steam poured out of Kagome's ears and her face flushed a deeper red color.

Rin scooted up to pat Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome-oneechan, did Inu-kun propose to you?" she whispered into the little circle the threesome had formed. Ah, the holy circle of girl-talk…

Kagome's head shot up and her mouth opened wide. "NANI?" Immediately, a hand clasped her lips shut as Kagome mumbled incoherent words to herself.

"What, what, Kagome. Speak up!" Sango teased cheerfully.

'Like he ever would…anytime soon, anyway…' Kagome's eyes were downcast and her face fell slightly at the thought. 'Ahhh! Not like I'm desperate for him to make me his mate or anything! Hey! I shouldn't be thinking this way!' Kagome shook her head to clear her thoughts, her face taking on the shade of a tomato for the umpteenth time in…like…a day.

"He didn't?" Sango's face turned mock solemn as her violet eyes twinkled with enthusiasm. "Hmmm….we can arrange it so he does soon enough…"

"Oh yes!" Rin clamored for her say. "I think that Inu-kun really is better off voicing his feelings. It's obvious anyway…" she tossed her silky hair cheerfully.

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At the other side of the cottage, another exciting, intriguing, very beguiling talk was taking place…

"Ah yes, Inuyasha…I can find so many flaws in your approach to Lady Kagome! We're all very glad that you talked to the expert, eh?" Miroku flashed a placid smile.

Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Expert? Expert, you say? This is the perverted guy who got a zillion bumps and bruises before anything clicked! Besides, what happened with me and Kagome is not anything you need to know about." He folded his arms protectively.

Miroku eyes narrowed, and a serious look dawned on his face. "What you need to do is to take your romance above the G-rated level, man…Try something other than risking your hide to save her, not that it isn't romantic or anything…but that it's kind of tiring after a while. (A/N: the fans would all like some extreme sap)"

Inuyasha flinched.

"As I was saying, try setting up a romantic aura. Something to attract her to you-"

Inuyasha's fist made contact with Miroku's head. He didn't know when he'd have the guts to love Kagome openly, but he had a feeling it would be sometime soon. Step number one was to get Sango and Miroku out of the picture.

So much for another interesting talk…

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Kagome's head leaned down as she dozed softly by the wall of the second bedroom. The sky outside was developing a soft gray shade, but she was still exhausted from everything that had happened. The room was cool and damp at dawn.

Actually, she was daydreaming/dreaming about Inuyasha…it was making her go crazy. Sango and Miroku had both gone to make an early trip to Kaede's to tell her and Shippo the good news of Kagome and Inuyasha's return. She was left here to sleep. She didn't know where Inuyasha was.

A soft creak brought her senses to the vibrations on the floor. Her heart pounded with swirling emotions as the steps got closer and closer.

Inuyasha looked down at the sleeping form of Kagome. She looked so lovely, her fair face surrounded by ebony locks as her lashes caressed her cheeks. Her scent was so alluring and gentle…he needed to get closer to smell it better… He bent down to surround her shoulders in his arms and closed his eyes as his mind filled with feeling and affection. Man, she was so soft.

Kagome's heart froze at the same time when strong arms encircled her shoulders and warm breath tickled her neck. Her whole body melted and yielded. It felt so right, having him put his head in the nook of her chin. She could feel the pulsing vibrations as a contented purring sound came out of Inuyasha's throat. Slowly, the rhythm of her own heart grew instep with his, beating in earnestness with all its love.

She shifted her weight so that she was wrapped deeper in his embrace. Snuggling down to his chest, she took in the warm aura pulsating from him to herself, from herself to him.

Inuyasha responded to the movement by nuzzling the top of her head as his grasp slid down to her waist. Comfortable, he fell into a deep sleep, hearing her breathing patterns match his.

The couple slept soundly as they finally got their well deserved rest after all the tears and misunderstandings. A tender blanket of love and warmth surrounded the little cove in the wall as they hugged one another.

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Suzu- (nearly dies from all the sap she wrote a little ways earlier) I have learned that, in fact, sap is well appreciated on this Earth. So, in a desperate attempt to do something nice for the readers, I wrote the above passage and nearly killed myself doing it… I hope you enjoyed it… I will work harder to write better fluff in the future.

So, I did my part…now you do yours and REVIEW! By the way, the fluff increases in the story at this time. How is Inuyasha going to get Kagome to become his mate?