Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me

Chapter Nineteen: A Promise in Silence

In Conclusion:

It's so quiet without Mikomi around. I didn't get any sleep last night because I kept thinking that I could hear her crying. Please tell me this is temporary. I'd like to be able to sleep through the night again one day.

I have to wonder how bad it is for my mental health to always be concerned that I may be insane. Is that a sign of insanity?

I actually learned a lot with this assignment. I learned that it's very difficult to balance school and babies. I learned that it is possible to survive on a half hour of sleep a week, though I wouldn't recommend trying it. I learned that I can change a diaper while shooting an arrow through a demon's skull. Ha! Caught you on that one. But I seriously did learn to multi-task a little better. Though it probably isn't a good idea to do it for long periods of time. I learned that I can count on my friends and family no matter how crazy I become thanks to extreme sleep depravation.

I also learned that I really do want a baby of my own. I'm sure the lack of sleep will be worth it. But I also learned that as much as I want a baby, I don't want one just yet. I'd like to wait a few more years.

Kagome Higurashi

P.S. When we have another population explosion, I plan on letting it be known it is all your fault.

Kagome smiled down at her paper. It probably wasn't her best paper she had ever written on any assignment, but it had been her best work as a project. She set the notebook aside and gathered up the rest of the materials that she would be turning in the next day. Her scrapbook lay at the bottom. She lay her hand on top, remembering the activities of the past month. Remembering what it felt like almost being a mother.

Inuyasha frowned as his nose twitched. It was far too familiar of a smell for him. Why was she crying?

"Oi, wench, why are you cryin?"

"I'm…" sniffle "Going to miss Mikomi." To be truthful, it wasn't so much the doll that she was going to miss, it was the feeling of family. Her own family. The doll had seemed to tie Inuyasha to her in some inexplicable way. And now it was gone.

"It was just a toy, wench." He cringed, fully expecting to come crashing down from his branch above Kagome.

"I know."

Watching as she opened the scrapbook, Inuyasha sat up straight. He reached into the next of his fire rat robe, clutching his prize in his fist. Maybe now was the right time. Maybe not… but it felt right… so he took a deep breath.

He thought of his list of reasons of why she should accept him as her mate. He thought of the speech had given to her mother to prove he was worthy. He knew he had lots of very good reasons, reasons she couldn't possibly say no to, but sitting there… actually facing her (sort of)… none of it seemed to be the right thing to say.

"You graduate soon." It wasn't the opening line he had planned on. Unfortunately it popped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Uh… yes… I do. In two months."

"In sixty one days."

Kagome was speechless, so she nodded. He counted the days?

"Your mom said you didn't have to go to college. She said you would be an adult and could make your own decisions. She said you don't have…"

Kagome blinked in surprise as she looked up at him. He was fidgeting. Inuyasha never fidgets. "What kind of discussions have you been having with my mother, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou turned red and began to sputter. Several times it looked like he might say something, but ended up growling and swearing instead. Kagome was getting a little worried about him. He was just acting too weird for words.

Thud.

"Did you just throw something at me?" Kagome cried indignantly.

She looked down at the scrapbook where the object fell, intent on throwing whatever it was back at the infuriating dog demon. His behavior was getting stranger by the moment! Her fingers reached down to pick the projectile up and froze. There was no breath left in her body.

It was a ring.

"Inuyasha…" Gingerly she picked up the ring. It was silver with diamonds inlaid in the band. It was an anniversary band, she had seen them before in jewelry stores.

"It's not silver," he said as if reading her mind. "It's white gold. Gold is supposed to symbolize purity because of the process of making it, you know, how they melt it and all the impurities rise to the top and get skimmed off." He cleared his throat self -consciously. "The guy at the place that sells that stuff said gold is traditional, but that the melding of two metals makes the ring stronger since yellow gold is so soft." He jumped down from the tree and put the ring in the palm of her hand.

She saw the hesitation in his eyes. The mixing of metals was important to him. "The one they thought I should get you had one big stone on it. They said it was traditional too, but it was too dangerous. It could cut you. In a fight it would just get in the way, so I picked this one. It still has the diamonds. More of them… see?"

"It's… beautiful…"

He visibly relaxed and let out a breath. "Much better than that other one. It won't snag on anything. You won't have any problems wearing it while using your bow. The surface is smooth. I told them you like it." He paused for a moment before looking at her with eyes that bordered on anxious. "You do like it, don't you?"

"Yes." She wasn't sure how she got the word out considering her lungs didn't seem to be working.. "I love it."

"Keh, I was right."

He watched her intently. She struggled to breathe and to swallow. She prayed she wasn't reading the signals wrong. But this was Inuyasha, so anything was possible. What if he didn't understand? What if one of the others tricked him into it.

"I think you're supposed to put it on your right hand." He waited, but she didn't move her fingers. His chest began to hurt. She's not taking it. She doesn't want me. He flexed his claws in the grass and tried to recall his list of reasons why she should accept him. Though it was difficult to remember it with his heart being torn out of his chest. She won't even look at me!

"Inuyasha…" She took a deep breath without taking her eyes off the ring. "Do you know what this is?"

"The ring?"

Kagome nodded, unable to risk looking up at his face. She was terrified of hoping. She was terrified of making a fool of herself, or worse, running him off, because she thought he meant something that he didn't really mean.

"It's a promise."

Blinking back tears, she finally looked up at him. He looked so sincere. And he was still watching her with those unwavering eyes. She bit her lip to try to keep the trembling under control as he took the ring from her hand. Sitting in front of her he took her right hand, placing the ring at the tip of her fourth finger.

"They say it's this finger because the vein goes directly to your heart."

He dropped his gaze from her eyes to her finger, unsure if he should proceed. Was her hand always this small? So fragile? Why do humans have to be so fragile? But he would protect her for as long as he lived, regardless of if she became his mate or not. He had to. His instincts demanded it. But oh how he wanted this. He wanted her to want him too. He needed it.

"Do… do you know what it promises?" Her voice was raw and raspy. It felt like she had swallowed a glass of sand. If it wasn't for his exceptional hearing she doubted that he would have even heard her. And her hand was trembling! She was embarrassed to notice that it was sweating a little too.

Her heart nearly stopped at the answering smirk. He does know. He looked down at the ring, then back up to her, asking for permission. She nodded, this time watching him instead of the ring. She felt it slowly slide across her skin.

"I promise to always protect you, Kagome. I promise that you will always have food and shelter. I promise to always put your needs and desires above everyone else's. I promise that I will always be by your side, that you will never have to fear anything for as long as I live. Ever. I promise that you will be the only one for me until the day I die. I promise to be the best mate to you that I can possibly be. I promise to be a good father to our pups." He took a deep breath. "I can't promise that I won't make mistakes or that we won't fight, but I do promise that no one could ever try harder than I will."

The ring was a perfect fit. Somehow she knew it would be.

"Oi wench! You're not supposed to cry!" He was horrified to see the tears streaking down her face.. He had messed up after all. I should have asked Miroku for help. He knows the right way to say these things!

At least that's what he thought up until Kagome launched herself at him, knocking him to the ground, pages of her homework assignment scattering unnoticed. When her lips met his, Inuyasha thought that his heart just might explode. Once the shock wore off, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. The moment he felt Kagome's lips he knew that he had never been kissed before, not really. Not like this. Her lips were soft, and they moved achingly gentle over his. His brain and his body felt like they were going into sensation overload.

Was it possible to die of happiness? He hoped not. He wanted this feeling to last forever. And best of all, he knew that he would never be alone again. Kagome would always be with him. She's mine. She's really mine.

Suddenly the girl in his arms began squealing with joy, pulling her lips away from his, and hugged him tighter. She turned in his arms and looked at the ring on her hand. Inuyasha took the opportunity to close his eyes and breathe in her scent. Reminding himself that she was now his, or would be soon at any rate, he allowed himself to lean in closer enough for his nose to almost brush against her skin. Kagome giggled when she felt his warm breath on her neck.

"Your mom said I'm supposed to give you another ring at a ceremony. She said you human wenches want those fancy ceremonies."

Kagome turned her head up to her hanyou and laughed gently. "I don't need a fancy ceremony, Inuyasha."

"Yes you do."

"Mmm… no, I really don't." The diamonds sparkled with oranges and reds in the light of the sunset. They were like fire.

Inuyasha sighed and leaned in a little closer so that his lips skimmed her shoulder. "Your mom says we can have the ceremony after you graduate high school."

Kagome's brain stopped working, barely registering the words.

"In sixty one days…" Inuyasha lifted his head, much to the miko's dismay. "Your brother says that the ceremony is to make promises in front of witnesses."

"We only need two witnesses, Inuyassha." She leaned back into his arms and laid her head back, savoring the warmth.

"All your friends and family and the males in your time would see that you are taken and belong to me. We should have a ceremony here. When it is over we'll go have a ceremony in my time. We'll invite everyone… even that stinking wolf if you want."

Ah, now she was beginning to see why he wanted the ceremony.

He smirked, she could feel it. "Your grandpa says you'll be promising to love, honor, and obey."

"Oh he did, did he?" Her grandpa too? Her entire family knew? "Obey?"

"Yeah."

"I think I'll be writing my own promises, thank you very much."

His ears drooped. "You can do that?"

She grinned up at him. "Yeah." Once again she studied her ring. "It really is beautiful. How did you get it? I mean…" Of course it's bad form to ask where a guy got the money to buy you a ring, but considering the guy, she just had to ask.

"I bring things to your mom sometimes, and she sells them. But the money is mine." Kagome raised an eyebrow at his sudden possessiveness over money. He, naturally, noticed. "I didn't take money from your family for the ring," he explained. "It's mine. Ours. I earned it." He cringed slightly over his stumbling. Not the best description he could have made on showing he was a good provider.

Scowling, he decided to try explaining himself a little better. But Kagome was quicker. She reached up to kiss him on the nose, thanked him, and told him he that he was absolutely brilliant.

"'Bout time you noticed, wench."

They sat together under the tree until nightfall. When the first star peeked out Kagome had to smile. She didn't have to make a wish on the first star of the night. Her wish was already granted.

When it got too late Kagome's mother flickered the lights. Taking the hint, they gathered up the pieces of her assignment and quickly put them together in a large binder so that they could go back inside. Then with one last brief kiss, Inuyasha deposited his mate-to-be in her bedroom and he leapt to his spot in the tree where he could watch over her.

Kagome let out a joyous laugh and spun around happily before dropping to her bed to look at her ring. It really was beautiful. Better yet, he had really thought about what kind to get her. Even when choosing an engagement ring Inuyasha was looking out for her safety. Kagome couldn't wait to tell Sango when they returned to the past after school the next day.

He loves me! He wants to marry me! He loves me! I can't believe he really loves me! Sleep was going to be impossible, so Kagome settled for basking in happiness instead. Just as she was snuggling down into the covers, a thought struck her.

"Inuyasha, you rat," she grumbled as she punched her pillow.

Somehow he had managed a proposal and a declaration of love (sort of) without technically asking her to marry him or actually saying the words'I love you"' to her. The rat! Throwing back her covers she stormed over to her bedroom window and ripped open the curtains. It was surprising that the glass didn't shatter with the force that she opened it up with.

"INUYASHA!" Wishing that she had as good of night vision as the hanyou she glared into the night. "You better promise to LOVE me in BOTH ceremonies!" The dire threat of S-I-T was understood by the tone of voice.

Before she slammed the window shut she could have sworn that she heard a chuckle.

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Author's Note:

Thank you so much for nominating this story to the Inuyasha Fanfiction Guild. It means a lot to me. You guys are great! You should have heard me squeal.

One last chapter to go and then the teacher's response. So I guess technically that it two more chapters. There will be at least one additional chapter about "The Talk" about you know what that will be a one shot, and possibly a one shot of Inuyasha's asking Kagome's mom to take Kagome as his mate. Since those will be able to be read as free standing stories, they won't be added as chapters to this story.

Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews!