Winter Wonderland
Epilogue
An uneasy feeling started to turn in Kagome's stomach as she stared around her cold darkened room. Natasha was fast asleep in her bassinet, still in her human form the half moon shining outside her window. When the sun had set today, Inu-Yasha had felt very relieved that his daughter's 'time of the month' wasn't on the same night as his, which was a week away. Speaking of the half demon, Kagome glanced her eyes up to see him still in a deep slumber. She shifted slightly on his bare chest, which caused Inu-Yasha to grunt softly and wrap his arms around her tighter, a smug smirk still on his lips, which caused Kagome to smile. Snuggling closer to the half demon caused the butterfly in her stomachs to ease a bit, but it didn't disappear. In the corner of the room were two suitcases of things she would take back with her to the past that she would need since at the end of the week, Inu-Yasha would be closing the well for good.
The incident with Mushai had shook everyone to the very core, and for something like that to happen again was just out of the question. Everything now was starting to make sense of what Hiroshi had tried to warn them about. However there was still the big question of whether her or Inu-Yasha would live until this time. It was of course obvious that Sesshoumaru and Rin would, but their future had not yet been revealed to them. Her mind started to wonder of the possibilities that would prevent them from living to this time. The feeling did not sit well with her so she decided to stop thinking about it for the time being. Sighing softly, Kagome closed her eyes and attempted to get some sleep.
After an hour passed, it seemed impossible that she would fall asleep easily tonight, unlike her mate and daughter. The thought of her family caused her thoughts to wander to different topics that had been plaguing her mind lately. Last week when she had been shopping for groceries and other supplies, Inu-Yasha and Natasha had gone with her. She had gotten a lot of uneasy glances from people passing by them, clerks and cashiers. To them in their eyes, her life was a complete disaster. For in this time, to be married and have a child at eighteen would be considered wrong by everyone. However, back where Inu-Yasha was from, a woman at eighteen would already be married and probably already have two kids. It was amazing how the aspect of marriage and having children had changed over the centuries. In the present . . . where she had grown up, it had been taught to girls for them to get an education with College or University, and find a career. Once you accomplished that, then you were free to perhaps marry and have children. In the past . . . where Inu-Yasha had been raised . . . it was completely different from his point of view. Of course he was different from some of the men in the feudal era that found woman as just sources for producing more sons and not letting them have a mind of their own. The half demon was different from them, but he was the same in some aspects. He had been very determined and booked no argument in building her a house as soon possible, which would show to many people, that he would be able to provide for her, and that he was honorable. Kagome giggled softly at some of the arguments they had had over the house being built. For her there had been no rush, but the half demon had argued otherwise. She had eventually given in and let him build the house.
Kagome mentally slapped herself for even thinking about the differences between this time and the past. Even if in the eyes of others it was wrong to be married and have a child at eighteen . . . she was completely happy. What more could she want anyway? She had the man of her dreams sleeping underneath her, a beautiful daughter slumbering nearby in the bassinet, and her whole life ahead of her. Even if perhaps she and Inu-Yasha didn't live until this time, she was sure that they would have many happy years together. Now that her head was cleared of most of her thoughts, one still remained . . . which was leaving her family. Even though the thought of leaving them caused her to cry and think the worst of never seeing them again, Inu-Yasha had been their every step of the way.
Yesterday after having a fun filled day with just her, Natasha, Ayumi, and Hojo, she had gone to her room and cried about leaving this time behind. Inu-Yasha had left their daughter with Mrs. Higurashi and gone to her room to comfort her. For perhaps an hour of least she had been curled up in the half demons lap as he rocked her softly, whispering different promises that he would make sure she would be happy with him in the past, and tried to convince that they would live till this time to see her family again.
Inu-Yasha shifted slightly from underneath her, which caused Kagome to snap out of her thoughts and lift herself up slightly. Even though the room was completely dark and she couldn't see a thing, Kagome could tell that Inu-Yasha was awake and was staring up at her.
"And why are you still awake Kagome?" whispered the half demon.
Kagome was about to respond, but she felt him shift again and his lips were suddenly on hers, cutting off her answer. Kagome closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his lips on hers before he pulled away, his hand cupping her cheek.
"I was just thinking . . ."
"About the well closing?" interrupted Inu-Yasha.
" . . . Yes . . ."
Inu-Yasha sighed and pulled Kagome down to lay on his chest as he rolled onto his side, "Kagome I . . ."
He was now cut off as Kagome placed her finger to his lips, shushing him softly, "You don't have to say anything Inu-Yasha. You have promised me more than I could imagine to make me happy . . . I just can't help but feel sad about leaving my family,"
She could feel Inu-Yasha nod and shift again on the bed as he snuggled closer to her, his lips coming to lightly suck on her ear. Kagome giggled softly at first, but the action caused her body to relax and soothe her, "Hmm, that feels nice,"
Inu-Yasha chuckled softly before whispering, "Well that book is becoming really useful you know,"
Kagome nudged him softly, "You pervert,"
"For you, always,"
Kagome opened her mouth to make a comment, but a small cry from the bassinet caused both parents to turn their attention elsewhere. Kagome moved to get up, but Inu-Yasha placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay . . . I'll get her,"
The bed creaked softly as Inu-Yasha climbed out and retrieved their pup from the bassinet before crawling back down beside his mate. The half demon moved to lie on his back with Natasha lying on his chest. He then reached his arm out to pull Kagome closer so that she could use his shoulder as a pillow. When Inu-Yasha had gotten up, she had glanced at her alarm clock to see that it was almost three in the morning.
"Is she okay?" whispered Kagome, her hand reaching up to touch her daughter's face.
"She's fine, I think she just missed being near us,"
Kagome smiled softly and snuggled her face closer to Inu-Yasha's chest as another thought entered her mind.
"I think you were over exaggerating when you said she would be able to talk in two month's," whispered Kagome.
"Keh, I was just telling you what Sesshoumaru was telling me. I guess he was wrong though,"
"Well maybe full demon pups grow faster,"
Inu-Yasha shrugged his shoulders, "Feh either that or he just doesn't know,"
Kagome giggled.
"Now, why don't we try to get some sleep?"
Kagome nodded softly and closed her eyes, but this time she really did drift off to sleep while being surrounded by her family.
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The afternoon sun shined down brightly, raising the temperature to make it a perfect day for a snowball fight. Inu-Yasha watched amusingly as Kagome, Souta, and Grandpa were in a snowball battle with Hojo and Ayumi who had come over for the afternoon. Natasha was sleeping soundly in his arms as she was resting against his shoulder. His golden eyes glanced down at the sleeping pup. Her eyes were peacefully closed, hiding her silver eyes, the puppy ears on her head twitching slightly, and her right hand forming a fist as it was tucked near her mouth. Smiling softly Inu-Yasha shifted his ears to see where Mrs. Higurashi was in the house. Kagome and Souta had tried to convince her to join the snowball fight, but she had declined saying she needed to get the chores done. His senses revealed that she was downstairs in the kitchen, and the smell of coffee reached his nostrils as well. Closing the curtain to Kagome's bedroom window, Inu-Yasha walked out of the room and down the stairs. Heading into the kitchen, he saw Mrs. Higurashi sitting at the table with a cup of coffee at her right and a photo album sitting in front of her. Kagome had shown him lots of the photo albums in her room that had mostly pictures of her friends in this time, and of everyone in the past when she had brought her camera that one day. However the pictures that Mrs. Higurashi was looking at he didn't recognize. Moving closer silently, he peered over top of the woman, trying to get a better look at the pictures she was looking at.
"Would you like to sit down Inu-Yasha?" asked Mrs. Higurashi.
Inu-Yasha jumped slightly, not realizing that she knew that he was there, but then noticed that his shadow had been on the table.
"Sure . . .what are you looking at?" asked the half demon.
"Hmm? Oh just some old pictures," sighed Mrs. Higurashi, taking a sip of her coffee.
Inu-Yasha leaned over to take a look, but found that he didn't recognize the people in the pictures, "Who are these people?"
Mrs. Higurashi giggled softly, "I suppose you wouldn't know would you," smiling, she moved the photo album over for Inu-Yasha to have a better look at it.
The half demon stared down at the pictures, trying to at least guess who the people were. Most of them were of a young woman with long black hair that he could of sworn could be Kagome, but she had chocolate brown eyes and instead of silver, and also a young man with short black hair and silver eyes. Realization dawned upon him as he mentally cut off the woman's hair, "Are these pictures of you?"
Mrs. Higurashi giggled again and nodded her head, "Yes, they are,"
"And of Kagome's dad?"
"Correct again, that is Daisuke Higurashi,"
Inu-Yasha stared closer at the picture, and came to the conclusion that Souta looked almost exactly like his father, except without the silver eyes. The half demons eyes shifted over to Mrs. Higurashi and noticed that there was a certain sadness in her eyes, and by her scent he could tell that she was upset too.
"You miss him don't you?" whispered Inu-Yasha.
Mrs. Higurashi nodded, "I do . . . I miss him very much . . ."
"It must have been very hard for you when he passed away,"
"Yes . . . yes it was . . . I had two children to raise all by myself,"
Inu-Yasha nodded softly, and couldn't think of anything to say that could comfort her, but an idea popped into his head as he gently took Natasha off his shoulder and offered the sleeping pup to Kagome's mother. Mrs. Higurashi smiled softly and took the sleeping pup from his arms, resting the pup against her should just like Inu-Yasha had done.
"So . . . you and Kagome will be returning to your time at the end of the week?"
Inu-Yasha nodded and stood up from the table to grab a class of water, "Yeah . . . the sooner we close the well the better,"
Kagome's mother gave a soft nod as she held her granddaughter a little tighter, "Will I ever see you again?"
Inu-Yasha sighed and took a sip of his cold water, "I . . . I don't know,"
Mrs. Higurashi stood and closed the photo album she had been looking at before heading into the living room. Inu-Yasha didn't follow; knowing that she would probably want some time alone with the pup. Sighing softly Inu-Yasha moved to the closest window, and continued to watch the snowball fight that was raging on outside. It appeared to him that Kagome's team was winning since it was three against two.
Glancing over his shoulder at where Mrs. Higurashi had disappeared into the living room, Inu-Yasha could feel his ears flatten at the sorrow his mother-in-law was facing at this moment. While she had been upset at the memories of her dead husband, he could also tell that she was sad that Kagome would be leaving at the end of the week. In fact, everyone in the family was upset one way or another that Kagome would be leaving, and there was a chance that they would never see her again. Souta was taking it rather well since he had set his mind on that Inu-Yasha and Kagome would definitely live until this time. Grandpa on the other had just made him promise to keep Kagome and safe, which he had promised to.
A few days after the incident with Mushai, Inu-Yasha had offered to Kagome and her family that they could close the well on this side and live in the present. He had made the offer over a year ago when their relationship had just began, but this time it was different . . . this time Kagome wouldn't be able to visit her family through the well. It was a great sacrifice to him since he loved his home in the past with the open fields and green grass, but he was willing to do anything to make Kagome happy. Kagome's family had been happy at the offer, but Kagome had refused, and taken him upstairs to their room to have a little chat. She made it very clear to the half demon that they would return to the past since she knew how much he loved it there, and as long as the two of them were together, she was going to be okay about leaving her family.
Closing his eyes, Inu-Yasha tried to stifle a yawn. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night since Kagome had been upset. He had pretended to be asleep and tried to comfort her as best as he could without revealing that he was really awake, but it hadn't worked as well as he had hoped. Inu-Yasha debated whether he would slink off to Kagome's room to take a nap, or into the living room where he could be with his pup. Deciding on the living room, Inu-Yasha rubbed the back of his head as he followed after Mrs. Higurashi.
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Inu-Yasha's eyes darted back and forth between the two cards in Kagome's hand, wondering which one to pick. The half demon's hand remained still over the two cards left in his mate's hand, pondering which one was the joker. Mrs. Higurashi, Grandpa, Hojo, Ayumi, and Souta watched amusingly from their seats at the table as Inu-Yasha tried not to be the 'old maid'. According to Mrs. Higurashi Kagome had an excellent 'poker face' . . . what ever the hell that meant, but he was starting to guess that her expressions on her face was what they were referring to. But in his opinion she was just playing a 'Sesshoumaru', due to the fact that his older brother always had a straight, emotionless face that you couldn't read and tell what emotions he was feeling.
Finally deciding on the card on his right, he pulled it from Kagome's hand . . . brought it to his face . . .and opened his eyes . . . then sighed with relief as he had the ace of spades.
"Yeah! I'm not the old maid this round!" hissed Inu-Yasha with victory.
Kagome groaned softly as she placed the joker card on the table and Souta gather all the cards up, starting to shuffle them.
Ayumi giggled softly and glanced down at the sleeping pup in her arms, "She sure does sleep a lot doesn't she?"
Hojo nodded in agreement as he reached his hand forward to rub the pup's silver ears.
"Keh, you don't hear me complaining," said Inu-Yasha, "She'll get more noisy and energetic once she gets older,"
Mrs. Higurashi smiled and headed into the kitchen to grab more drinks.
"So what are we going to play next?" asked Souta, "Another card game?"
"I've had enough of cards, let's try something else," suggested Hojo.
"I agree," added Ayumi.
"Well . . . how about Monopoly?" asked Souta.
"Definitely not! I'm terrible at that game!" whined Inu-Yasha.
"Well we are not playing Clue, I've played that game enough times to last me a life time," sighed Kagome, leaning back into her chair.
"Scategories?" asked Hojo.
"I don't think Inu-Yasha would have much luck with that game either," said Kagome.
"What about Twister?" asked Mrs. Higurashi, returning to the table.
"Inu-Yasha will definitely win at that one with his flexibility," said Hojo.
"Well what can we play then? I'm out of idea's," sighed Ayumi, cuddling the pup a little tighter.
Hojo glanced at the clock to see that it was almost ten in the evening, "Well, I have to head home. Were opening the shop at an early time tomorrow,"
Kagome stood and escorted Hojo to the door while leaving everyone else in the kitchen.
"I guess this will be the last time I see you," sighed Hojo, pulling on his mitts and coat.
Kagome nodded, "Yeah . . . I guess It will be while till I see you again," whispered Kagome.
"Or never again . . . Inu-Yasha said that you might not live until this time," said Hojo sadly.
"Were not 100 sure about that yet,"
Hojo pulled on his toque before moving close to Kagome to give her a hug, "I'll miss you,"
"I'll miss you too Hojo,"
Pulling back, Hojo gave her a small nod before opening the door, and disappearing into the snowy night. Sighing softly, Kagome returned to the kitchen where everyone was arguing about what to play next. Not being able to make a decision, they all went to the living room to just chat with one another while Inu-Yasha and Souta would play video games. Reminiscing old memories and laughing about the past, their conversations lasted far into the night. Around midnight, Ayumi had to head home and Souta had to go to bed, which left the adults in the living room. Natasha was still sleeping softly against her mother's chest as Inu-Yasha and the others chatted casually amongst themselves. All in all it turned out to be a wonderful evening. When the clock finally chimed that it was two in the morning, everyone then decided it was time to hit the sack. After saying good night to everyone, Inu-Yasha and Kagome headed into her room for the night. Natasha was placed into her bassinet while her parents changed into their nightclothes. Kagome slipped into a cotton nightgown, but Inu-Yasha crawled into the bed naked as he usually did, placing himself by the wall. Getting Natasha from the bassinet, Kagome then crawled into the bed beside her mate, pulling the thick covers over them with Natasha snuggled between the two of them.
After a few moments of just being content with each others presence, Inu-Yasha finally spoke, "So that was the last time we'll see Hojo?"
Kagome nodded softly, "Yes . . . unless we make it until this time,"
Inu-Yasha tightened his grip around Kagome, "Can we . . . not talk about that anymore?"
Kagome glanced up at the half demon, noticing that whenever the topic about the well closing or about them living to this time or not caused her to become upset, which made him upset, "Okay . . .I won't bring it up again,"
Sighing with relief at her promise, Inu-Yasha began another task, which was to convince Kagome into some nightly activities that didn't involve sleeping. His arms wrapped tighter around her form as he leaned his head down to nip at her ear.
"Kagome . . ." breathed Inu-Yasha, his leg coming forward to rub against hers
Kagome whimpered softly, but then placed a hand on his chest, which caused Inu-Yasha to stop.
"What is it?" asked Inu-Yasha, wondering if he did something wrong.
"Just hang on a second," said Kagome as she got out of bed.
Sniffing the air Inu-Yasha realized that Natasha needed a quick change before they began their nightly events. Placing Natasha into the bassinet, Kagome returned to her lover who was waiting for her patiently in the bed. Growling softly Inu-Yasha pulled Kagome in for a passionate kiss, his hands already starting to make work to remove her nightgown.
" . . . Uh . . . Inu-Yasha . . ." whispered Kagome softly, her hands on his shoulders as he kissed her neck.
"Did I do something wrong?"
Kagome shook her head, "No . . . I just . . ." a blush stained her cheeks as she stuttered at what she wanted to say, "I . . . was wondering . . .wondering if we . . . we could try something . . .different tonight,"
"Uh . . . okay . . . like what?" asked the half demon, pulling slightly away from her so he could see her face.
"Well I was taking a look at your book today . . ."
"You were? When were you doing that?"
"Well after the snowball fight, you were still sleeping so I went to my room to get a blanket and saw it on the floor,"
Inu-Yasha chuckled softly, then leaned down to pick the book up from underneath the bed, and passed it to Kagome. Flipping through a few pages, Kagome blushed softly as she found the illustration, making it much easier for her to just show Inu-Yasha what she wanted to do instead of explaining it. Usually when the two of them made love, it was always in the missionary position with Inu-Yasha on top of her or the 'doggy style' as she liked to put it. But ever since Inu-Yasha had gotten the book, they had been trying to make their sex life a little more interesting. At first it was just Inu-Yasha trying out different places to pleasure her, but tonight she wanted to try something different.
"So . . . you want to be on top?" asked Inu-Yasha, looking down at her after glancing at the book.
Kagome nodded softly.
Inu-Yasha chuckled again and leaned down, wrapping his arms around her before rolling onto his back with her lying on top of him.
(I'll most likely write a small lemon one-shot for this part)
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(A few hours later into the night)
Inu-Yasha inhaled deeply into the crook of Kagome's neck as she continued to shiver above him. His arms were wrapped tightly around her back as he tried to gain control of his breathing from his own climax that was still shivering through his body.
"That was pretty amazing," whispered Inu-Yasha, kissing her ear softly as he reached one hand down to pull the covers back over top of them so they could keep warm.
Kagome simply nodded, her breath still coming out in small pants as she rested against his chest.
Natasha was still peacefully sleeping in her bassinet and hadn't awoken from their nighttime fun, but then again with Kagome's family home and sleeping in the rooms next to hers, they managed to keep the noise volume to an absolute minimum.
Kagome shifted on top of Inu-Yasha's chest as she leaned up to kiss his lips softly before crawling off him to retrieve Natasha from her bassinet. As Kagome crawled back into bed Inu-Yasha pulled her tightly to him having his pup rest between them. Kagome almost immediately fell asleep, but he remained awake as he watched his sleeping mate and pup. He recalled a conversation with Mrs. Higurashi about when she lectured him and Kagome about having the pup sleep with them at night. Even though she had said they could accidentally roll on her, or Natasha would get tangled in the sheets. 'But Kagome and I only use the bassinet if we want to . . . engage is some other things that don't involve sleeping' thought Inu-Yasha, pulling his mate closer to him so he could kiss her forehead, 'I know that Kagome's mother was just trying to help, but I guess she doesn't know that pups always sleep with their parents until their old enough to have their own bed'
Feeling his own eyes start to drift shut, Inu-Yasha decided to get some sleep as well, since tomorrow he was taking Kagome's stuff back to the past, and then there would only be three days left for her to spend time with her family.
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Landing safely on the other side of the well, Inu-Yasha inhaled deeply the fresh air of his time. Tightening his grip on the two suitcases of Kagome's, the half demon leaped out of the well and headed towards his house. Taking another deep breath, Inu-Yasha could tell that there had not been any trouble while he had been away. Running through the snow covered trees and through the small clearings, Inu-Yasha finally made it to his house to see it was still the same as they had left it. Passing by the hot spring and up to the front steps, Inu-Yasha opened the shoji door.
"Shippo!" called Inu-Yasha, dropping the suitcases onto the floor.
There was a fire blazing in the fireplace keeping the house nice and warm from the cold weather.
"Inu-Yasha your back!" cried the small fox, leaping down the stairs and onto the half demons shoulder, "Did Kagome not come back with you?"
Inu-Yasha shook his head, "No, she's still back in her time,"
Shippo nodded, "The wells going to close soon?"
"How do you know about that?" asked the half demon. Neither he or Kagome had passed through the well since they went first went to visit Kagome's family almost a week and a half ago.
"Sesshoumaru told us. Miroku saw him walking through the village and asked what he was doing here. Your brother told us everything what happened with Mushai, Natasha, and Hiroshi,"
Inu-Yasha gave a nod, "I see . . . so has everything been alright while I've been gone?"
The fox nodded, "Nothings happened since you left, only a few people have been sick so far,"
"No one's died though right?" asked Inu-Yasha.
"Nope,"
Sighing with relief Inu-Yasha headed into his and Kagome's bedroom to drop off the suitcases. She had mostly packed her clothes, a few books on Japanese history, and some pictures of her family.
"So when is the well going to close?" asked Shippo, jumping onto the bed.
"In a few days,"
Shippo sighed softly, "Kagome's really going to miss her family,"
Inu-Yasha nodded silently as he unpacked Kagome's things and found a home for each item, "I'll be heading back this evening,"
"Can I come along?" asked Shippo.
Inu-Yasha glanced at the fox, "I don't know if I like that idea,"
"What? Why not! I really like Kagome's family and I want to say good-bye to them too!" whined Shippo.
"I suppose that's true, but usually you just ending up annoying me, then I end up hitting you, and then Kagome sits me. I'd rather not get sat this week,"
"Well just because you can't grow up and hold your temper doesn't mean I can't come see Kagome's family," said Shippo.
"What did you say!?" snarled Inu-Yasha, reaching to whack the fox.
Shippo escaped the half demons claws and darted out the room. Inu-Yasha ran after the fox but stopped as he heard a voice.
"Inu-Yasha! Are you here?"
Sighing softly and deciding to get Shippo later, Inu-Yasha headed towards the door where Miroku was.
"Yeah I'm here monk," called back Inu-Yasha. Walking into the main part of the house he saw Miroku standing by the door.
"So you and Kagome have finally returned?" asked Miroku,
"No, I just came back to drop off a few of Kagome's things," informed Inu-Yasha.
"I see, so then you both will be returning when?"
"In about two days, Kagome's just spending time with her family before she has to say good-bye,"
The monk nodded, "We heard from Sesshoumaru what happened,"
"That's what Shippo told me,"
"Natasha is fine?"
"Of course she is. Kagome had a dislocated shoulder, but Ayumi managed to fix it up with no problem. Her arm is still a little sore,"
"Well I'm glad to hear that Natasha is safe,"
"I'm just glad that the bastard who took her is dead,"
"Sesshoumaru told us it was Hiroshi that killed him,"
"Keh, I would have attacked him if I'd a known someone was going to catch my pup,"
"Who did catch Natasha anyway? Sesshoumaru didn't give us a name or who it was,"
"Her name was Michiko, and she's another one of Sesshoumaru's future pups," sighed Inu-Yasha.
"Did she look a lot like Hiroshi?"
"No, she had silver hair that was cut just above her shoulder and dog ears like mine. The only thing that was the same between the two was the crescent moon on their foreheads,"
"Sounds like it was an interesting night,"
Inu-Yasha just sighed and shook his head, "So . . . you and Sango getting much sleep with the twins?"
"Hmm, some nights we do, although we are up most of the night doing . . ."
"I don't even want to know monk, your sex life is not something I'm not greatly interested in,"
Miroku chuckled, "And what about you and Kagome?"
"What about us? The baby or our sex life? Cause I am not going to even whisper a word about our intimacy,"
"I was talking about the pup,"
"Well in that case, Natasha sleeps fine through the night, she only wakes up if she's hungry or needs a change which is usually in the morning,"
"Ah, for a child to sleep all through the night would be nice,"
Inu-Yasha sighed again, "Well enough of that, I'm going to head back,"
"I am coming right Inu-Yasha!" called Shippo from the top of the stairs.
The half demon growled softly, "No!"
"Oh but wait, since the well just doesn't work for you and Kagome now I don't even have to ask if I can come or not,"
"Don't even think about it you little brat,"
The fox smiled and ran down the stairs, darting passed Inu-Yasha.
"Get back here Shippo!" snarled Inu-Yasha, heading after the fox who was heading towards the well.
Miroku chuckled, "I'll see you in a few days you two!"
"Shippo come here right now!" yelled Inu-Yasha, disappearing into the forest.
Miroku merely shook his head and headed into the house to put the fire out in the hut since no one would be staying there for another few days.
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The sun shined brightly in the afternoon sky as Kagome walked around the shrine grounds with Natasha in her arms. Big snowflakes had started to fall from the sky, which would cause the small pup to giggle if one landed on her nose. Kagome smiled down at her daughter and started to wonder when Inu-Yasha would be returning. Deciding to take a walk to make the time go by faster. She walked around most of the shrine, passing by the buildings and fountains that had been there for as long as she could have remembered. After walking around most of the shrine, Kagome decided to head inside . . . but then a strange thought dawned upon her. Walking towards the sacred god tree, she started walking in the direction of where her house in the feudal era was. It wasn't in the same spot as her house in the time, and she started to become curious if perhaps there was any sign of her home in the past. Continuing to walk in the same direction, she came towards the edge of the trees. They were rather close together so you couldn't see a long distance ahead of them. Curiosity getting the better of her, Kagome started to walk through thick forest while having a very good tight hold on her daughter who was trying to catch snowflakes with her tiny clawed hands. After a few more steps, the trees were becoming less close to each other, which made it easier to walk. Her eyes then caught onto the familiar path that she usually took in the past when she headed home, and decided to follow that instead. The scenery around her was starting to seem more familiar; she recognized some of the trees, and even the small stream that passed by her and Inu-Yasha's house. As she got closer and closer to the spot where her home was, she started to feel excited and scared at the same time. Would it still be standing in this time? Or did something awful happen and she would find it lying in ruins? Kagome stopped on the snowy path and looked straight ahead where she was heading, 'do I really want to know if Inu-Yasha's house and mine is still standing? What' if it's not?' thought Kagome as she started to have second thoughts about her decision. After a few moments of debating with herself, she decided to just take a peek. Wrapping her arms more securely around her daughter, Kagome continued on her way down the path. There were butterflies in her stomach as she found the last bend of the path and then it would lead her to the clearing where her home was. Taking a deep breath, Kagome closed her and made the last bend of the path as she entered the clearing. Her eyes remained shut for a few more seconds before she opened them and gasped.
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Shippo jumped out of the ancient well and scurried towards the Higurashi, "Kagome! Kagome help me!"
"Get back here Shippo! I'm going to beat the shit out of you!" snarled Inu-Yasha as he exited the well and onto the shrine grounds.
Shippo immediately ran into the house and Inu-Yasha was hot on his heels, but then the scent of Kagome caught his attention. Taking a deep whiff of the air, he could tell that she was outside somewhere with their pup.
"I'll get you later Shippo," hissed Inu-Yasha as he walked towards the sacred god tree.
The half demon stood near the god tree before trying to figure out where Kagome had gone next which he discovered was the forest. He started to wonder why she would head in that direction and instead of following her scent; he tracked Kagome's footprints. Making his way towards the trees, realization started to dawn upon him that this was the way to their house in the past.
"Did she go to see if it was still here?" Inu-Yasha asked himself as he found the small trail like Kagome had.
Sniffing the air he could tell that she was just ahead and started to walk a little faster to catch up with her. Finding the final bend in the path, he could see her standing at the edge of the clearing with their pup in her arms.
"There you are Kagome, what are you . . . looking . . . at?" asked Inu-Yasha as he came to stand beside and took in the scene that she was looking at.
Standing in the middle of the clearing was their house . . . or what was left of it anyway.
"Is that . . ."
"Our house . . .I think it is," whispered Kagome, taking a few steps forward and was soon followed by her husband.
The effects of time had taken its toll on the house and the evidence was the rotting wood at the base. Half of the house had collapsed and some of the inside rooms could be seen from where they stood. Kagome and Inu-Yasha took a few more steps toward the old and broken house that they were now living in, in the past. Inu-Yasha poked his head through the front shoji door. All of the surroundings were rotten from the passage of time. The house looked like it would collapse any minute if it were caught in a storm, but since it was surrounded by trees it was still standing. There was no furniture or belongings of theirs that could be seen, but Inu-Yasha dared not enter the old house since it would most likely collapse. As Inu-Yasha examined the old house some more from the outside, Kagome started to look elsewhere. The hot spring that they would bathe in had dried up, and with all the snow she couldn't tell if her garden was completely ruined either.
"I wonder what happened to our house . . ." whispered Kagome, staring back at the old building.
Inu-Yasha just merely shrugged, I guess it just got too old . . . but it doesn't really matter,"
Kagome gave him a questioning look, "How does it not matter?"
"It's just a house Kagome, I mean . . ." Inu-Yasha stared back at the old building, "Maybe we just left this one because it was too small, or we left because there was danger, or whatever reason we left the house . . . it doesn't matter . . . because I'll just build you a new one," smiled the half demon, wrapping his arm around her.
Kagome smiled softly and leaned against her husband, "I . . . I guess your right,"
Inu-Yasha leaned down and kissed her temple, "Besides, there's nothing in it anyway, which probably mean we moved,"
Kagome's smile widened as Inu-Yasha tried to cheer her up. 'He's right though . . . him and I will live long through time . . . so maybe this one did become to old for us to live in . . .' thought Kagome.
"Shall we head back? I still have to give Shippo a beating for following me here,"
"Shippo's here?"
"Yeah, he wanted to say good-bye to your family before the well closed," sighed Inu-Yasha as he and Kagome started to head back to the Higurashi house.
"Well at least he will keep Souta entertained,"
"I guess you're right on that part, I'm starting to get sick of playing those racing games,"
Kagome giggled softly as they followed the all too familiar path back towards the shrine. Both of them only looked over their shoulder once to glimpse one more time at the house before heading into the forest.
When they reached the house, Souta and Shippo were outside having a snowball fight, which was soon joined by Inu-Yasha. Kagome sat against the god tree and cheered her mate on since the match was two against one, but Inu-Yasha was definitely winning by a long shot.
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Kagome sighed softly as she entered into the old well house for her final time travel through the well. Turning around Kagome leaned in and hugged her mother, then Souta, and then her grandpa. Inu-Yasha and Shippo then took his turn to hug everyone good-bye while Kagome retrieved her pup from her mother's arms.
"We'll miss you Kagome," whispered Mama Higurashi, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"I'll miss you all very much," Kagome whispered back as she petted Buyo who was in Souta's arms.
Inu-Yasha grabbed the bags of groceries and started to head down the stairs towards the well with Shippo on his shoulder, and waited for Kagome at the bottom.
"I hope we'll see you again," whimpered Souta, putting the cat down so he could wipe the tears from his eyes.
Kagome kneeled down and hugged her brother again with one arm, "I hope so too,"
Looking at her family one last time, Kagome turned and headed down the stairs where her mate was waiting for her at the bottom. Wrapping her arms around Natasha, Inu-Yasha snaked one arm around Kagome's waist.
"Good-bye everyone," said Kagome, not wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Good-bye," they whispered back, waving from the top of the stairs.
Inu-Yasha tightened his grip on her waist as they both turned around and jumped one last time through the time traveling well. After a few moments, they landed safely on the other side.
"You okay?" asked Inu-Yasha softly.
"Yeah . . . I'm okay," whispered Kagome wiping the tears from her cheek.
"Are you sure Kagome?" asked Shippo.
Kagome gave a teary nod, "I'm really okay guys,"
Inu-Yasha smiled and then tightened his grip around her once again as they leaped out of the well and landed on the soft snowy ground of the feudal era.
Setting the grocery bags down, Inu-Yasha turned towards the well, "I guess I should close it then,"
"The sooner the better," said Shippo, hopping onto Kagome's shoulder.
Inu-Yasha nodded and placed his hands on the edge of the ancient well, "I . . . I wish that the well would close," whispered the half demon.
Kagome could feel the power from the well slowly starting to disappear, "It . . . it's working,"
"I know . . . I can feel it as well," whispered Inu-Yasha.
A few seconds later the power from the well was completely gone.
"Did it work?" asked Kagome, coming up to stand beside Inu-Yasha.
"Well . . . there's only one way to find out," said Inu-Yasha, placing a foot on the edge of the well he dropped down and touched the bottom.
Kagome gave a small gasp since she could still see Inu-Yasha.
"I guess that answers our question," sighed Inu-Yasha, jumping back out of the well.
Kagome nodded, "Well . . . what now?"
Inu-Yasha smiled, wrapped his arms around his mate and kissed her lips softly, "Let's go home and have bowl of nice delicious Ramen,"
Kagome giggled, "I guess that sounds like a nice idea. You'll probably want to have ramen every day,"
"Hmm, I don't know if I like that idea, I want to savor that delicious food . . . for it might be another five hundred years until I taste it again," sighed Inu-Yasha.
Kagome giggled some more, "I guess you have a point,"
Inu-Yasha chuckled and started to head towards the house with his mate by his side and Shippo on his shoulder.
They headed back to the house for a few minutes to get changed into proper clothes before going down to the village to see everyone. Miroku was already waiting for them at the edge of the village holding Keitaro and Sango holding Misa. They greeted them cheerfully before all heading down to the village together to see Kaede.
When they reached the old miko's house, she was making a hot pot of stew, which they all enjoyed instead of the instant ramen, much to Inu-Yasha's whining.
While enjoying the meal, Kagome and Inu-Yasha told of what happened while they were away and how they spent the last few days with Kagome's family. Shippo would throw in a comment now and then, but that only gave him a thump on the head from an irritated half demon.
After eating it was early into the evening and the sun had already started to set. Saying good-bye to Kaede the two families left. Kagome and Inu-Yasha walked with Miroku and Sango back to their place, wishing them a good evening before heading back to their own home.
The walk home was rather quiet, and remained that way as they walked into the house, which was freezing cold. Inu-Yasha immediately started up a fire while Kagome started to light some candles around the house. Soon the house was warm and they started to settle down for the evening. Shippo was the first to go to bed as he climbed the stairs to his room, wishing Kagome and Inu-Yasha a good night, and requested that they wouldn't be too noisy. Kagome had blushed at the comment and Inu-Yasha had yelled at the fox to mind his own business. Shaking her head Kagome headed towards her and Inu-Yasha's room, placing Natasha into her crib while she changed into her nightgown. Inu-Yasha soon followed after her, but was first to get into the bed since he didn't need to change into anything other than his birthday suit.
Kagome crawled into the bed with Natasha in her arms and snuggled closer to her mate. They stayed like that until the bed was warm and cozy before depositing Natasha into her crib for their usual evening activities. Much to Shippo's dismay, they voiced their lovemaking as loud as they could since their joinings at the Higurashi house had to be quiet.
After a few untold hours Inu-Yasha got out of bed to get Natasha so she could lay with them under the warm covers.
Kagome immediately fell asleep since she was so tired, but Inu-Yasha remained awake staring at the ceiling. Many thoughts ran through his head and most of them were of what he would think about sometimes. . . the events that had led him to this moment in his life. He would often think what would have happened had he not gone with Kagome and her family to the cabin. At times he didn't even want to think what their relationship would be like if he had not gone with her. Smiling softly he closed his eyes to fall asleep and remembered the night they had admitted their feelings for each other. It had almost been the perfect setting for the moment . . . the sky clear and glistening with stars . . . a light snow falling from the sky . . . and each of them holding a mug of hot chocolate . . . to him it had seemed to perfect to be real . . .almost like . . .a winter wonderland . . .
The End
'Steps away from the computer and takes a deep bow' well my most faithful reviewers . . . this is it . . . the end of Winter Wonderland. I would like to thank you all for sticking with my story and for all the reviews you sent me. I'm not sure of whether I'll reach the 3000 mark with reviews, but hey you never know.
Now I am going to write a continuation to this, but I can't really say when since I will most likely be working on another lemon one shot for Miroku/Sango. I was of course thinking of this is my retirement story to fan fic writing, but I changed my mind.
Also on another note, some of you can't seem to find my lemon one-shot of Inu-Yasha and Kagome. It is very easily to find. First if you go to the top of the story you can see my name 'Lynns', if you click on that you will be brought to my personal page where you can find a direct link to the lemon one-shot of Kagome/Inu-Yasha, and also to my live journal. I usually update that often to let everyone know what's happening in my life and how the progress of the story is coming.
I am also looking for an editor for my sequel and lemon one shots, so if you would like this position please let me know in your next review and leave me your e-mail address so I can contact you.
Well I guess that is all I have to say; once again I want to thank everyone very much, it has been a pleasure writing for you this past year, and keep your eyes peeled for more of my work.
Lynns