Hi there! I'm really sorry about the delay! But hey! I said June 18th and it's June 18th! Lol And it's 8:37 at night! Teehee, when I said I'm a procrastinator, I really meant it! I apologize for the long delay! Anyways, after this chapter, I'll be working on Pure Snow and then back to this story! Hopefully, I can finish these fics this summer! Cross your fingers! I got into Gundam Seed fics too…so that's another one of my excuses! Lol

Also, I won't be doing review responses anymore, they're just really time consuming and taking up my writing time. I honestly want to respond all of them, but there's not enough time! But I thank you ALL for your positive and kind reviews! I love reading all of them!

Special Thanks to my Beta reader: Inugurl617

Also, a TON of thanks to:

Naomi (happychild107 (at) yahoo. Com)

Inumel

Inulova4lyfe

Miara Rigawa

Chantel314

Addam

Lost Taijiya

Alejandra

Inuyasha19912

Sarah (LilKoreanGurl (at) yahoo. Com)

Binky

Amethysttears

Amanda

Sunrider22

Waffles! Tasty Waffles! With lots of Syrup! (I haven't figured out who you are yet…)

Sakuralee4ever

Jioruji

InvictusCanisDeus

Izayoi

Jurneyo

Thanks for all your awesome reviews! I'm really sorry that I can't respond to them personally! But if you want me to email you when I update, I'll be glad to! Just say so in your review!

Kagome awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing. Rustling her covers aside, she groaned as she pressed the receive call button.

"Hello?" She said groggily. The miko glanced at the clock to find that it was twenty minutes past eight.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, to make sure that the groggy person was the person he wanted to talk to.

Kagome's eyes flew open, "Yeah! It's me!" she rubbed her eyes as she folded her legs beneath her to get into a comfortable position. Her chocolate depths wandered to the window sill. It was flurrying outside and she hoped that spring would come soon. However, that wouldn't be in a long time since the climate where she lived was unpredictable. Her attention then drifted to Inuyasha when he spoke.

"Have a nice sleep?"

"Yeah, and thanks for inviting me over yesterday to meet your mom, I had a fun time."

"I'm glad you did. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out today, you know, just go and have fun." Inuyasha asked. Kagome smiled,

"Of course! Want to pick me up at around nine thirty?"

"All right, see you then." Inuyasha quipped. They both hung up and Kagome headed to the bathroom to get ready, which included taking a nice warm shower.

At about 9:15, Inuyasha grabbed his keys on the counter and headed towards the door.

"Inuyasha?" a feminine voice called from the stairs. Inuyasha's hand removed from the doorknob and turned around to find his mother.

"Yes mom?" Inuyasha asked politely, taking a quick glance at his watch; he didn't want to be late to pick up Kagome.

Sakura hesitated, "Could-could we talk to tonight, I'm afraid we have some important things to discuss." Her golden eyes traveled to Inuyasha, looking for a sign of acceptance. He nodded, his golden tresses stirred from the movement.

"We'll talk when I get home in a few hours." Inuyasha said, turning around once more. He opened the door and slipped out. But his sensitive hearing caught whispered words from his mother that puzzled him,

"I'm sorry…."

Kagome finished tying her shoes and as soon as she straightened up the apartment, the doorbell rang. She rushed from her room to answer it. Unfortunately, Sango wasn't there to answer the door….it seemed like she had another demon slaying job. But Kagome thought it was strange that she kept on stuttering when she told her room mate what her plans were for the day, there was more than that, Kagome thought. Perhaps it had to do with Miroku….

She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. With a grin, she greeted Inuyasha.

"Hey! Come in for a sec, I need to grab my coat first!" she said, as she rushed into her room, leaving Inuyasha in the living room. He looked around the apartment; this was actually the first time he got a real look around.

Not surprisingly, it was clean; the residents were sort of neat freaks after all. And the walls were painted a lilac pink, giving it a soft feel. The kitchen, living room and dining area were conjoined in one room, with walls separating it into the sections. Pictures were hung accordingly and other decorations gave the apartment a cozy feel.

"Ready?" Kagome asked, slipping on her coat over her forest green turtleneck sweater. Inuyasha nodded with a grin. He held his hand out and waited for Kagome to put on her hat, covering her ears.

"Shall we go milady?" he asked in a chivalrous manner, making Kagome giggle…his face expression was priceless. She nodded and laced her fingers in his. She didn't like to wear gloves anymore…which reminded her of something, but anyway, she liked holding his hand, sharing warmth. The miko closed the door behind her and both walked into the frosty air.

Their breaths were seen as they entered Inuyasha's car; the heater making their cold cheeks sting and turn bright red. Flurries continued to fall, but the temperatures were near 10 degrees Fahrenheit. To others, it might have seemed….a bit insane to go out in this kind of weather, but the young couple loved it. It was probably because it reminded them of their kiss in the park that day at Cerulean Lake.

Houses passed by as the comforting silence hung over the two.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said out of the blue.

"Hmmm?" Inuyasha said, his golden eyes not leaving the road. Kagome thought that she liked him better this way, in his half-demon form. Fortunately, new spells have been developed to eliminate his whole demon side completely…since that side of him was a blood thirsty demon. She remembered their conversation of the particular subject. It was completely his choice since he admitted that he didn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

"Where did you put my gloves, you know the ones I let you borrow?" Kagome said, awfully curious. Inuyasha laughed,

"You mean you still remember them?"

"Of course baka! They were my favorite!" Kagome stubbornly said, pouting a bit since he laughed at her.

He thought for a minute and then remembered where he had put them.

"Do you really want them back?" he asked, as he slowed down for a red light.

"Of course!" Kagome said, nodding her head, determined to get them back. Inuyasha smiled,

"All right, let's go back to my house then." He turned the car around in a U-turn and went the opposite direction they were heading. The half demon didn't mind really, he just enjoyed the time he spent with her and that was enough. And somehow, on the way to his house, their hands became intertwined.

The key turned the lock and Inuyasha pushed the door open, taking his shoes off.

"Mom? Are you home?" the hanyou asked, seeing nor hearing anyone in the house.

Kagome also took off her shoes and then followed him upstairs to his room.

As soon as he opened the door, she sucked in a breath; it was twice the size of her room! Kagome mentally smacked herself, of course, she shouldn't have been that surprised; he did partly own half of one of the most prominent companies in the world. But she smiled to herself, Inuyasha wasn't one to lavishly spend his money, he just bought a regular sized house in a suburban neighborhood. It was a bare room though, just a TV and a bed, with a small table next to it. She then went to where the hanyou was currently situated, inside his walk-in closet.

The miko watched as the hanyou dug through his closet, particularly through some boxes. He scratched his head wondering where he could have placed it, but then his eyes lit up and he grabbed a shoe-box sized box hidden behind a couple boxes and took it to his bed, with Kagome trailing behind him. Both took a seat beside each other and comfortably settled in.

"Open it already!" Kagome urgently pushed, only waiting for a few seconds; she was dying of curiosity.

Inuyasha lightly smiled at her naivety. His clawed hands lifted the cover to reveal her blue gloves, but there was much more in the box, things that made Kagome gasp.

Underneath her favorite gloves were pictures; pictures of her and sometimes the both of them together. She had almost forgotten that day, when the pictures were taken; which was also a few days when she had "lost" Inuyasha forever.

They were bored of being cooped up inside, so both decided to go out to do something other than stare at the TV. As they passed the drug store, Kagome jerked Inuyasha inside on a whim. An idea had popped into the teenage miko's head; that idea was to buy a camera and go out to make memories. After that, the day was full of giggles and laughs.

Kagome picked the stack of photos up and began looking at them. Most of them were candid shots of each other, seeing that the person who had their picture taken wasn't looking. Her fingers flipped through the stack, but on the last one, her lips formed a soft smile.

The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" described the picture. There they were, under the Goshinboku at Kagome's shrine. Inuyasha had Kagome in his arms, with Kagome leaning back against his chest. The hanyou's arms were draped loosely around her shoulders, with his head leaning forward over one shoulder, beside her head. The shot was taken vertically, since they wanted the tree's gnarled trunk in the background also.

Kagome loved how Inuyasha's honey gold eyes turned out. They had a soft look to them, clearly displaying emotions that Kagome couldn't decipher to her disappointment. The snow that built up from the storm from days before surrounded them. Around the edges, an odd natural effect from the reflection of the snow created a blurred effect, making the illusion of a glowing frame around them. Words could not fully describe the emotions emitting from the photograph.

Kagome snapped out of her daze, finding Inuyasha staring at the picture also.

"Keep it, I have another one," Inuyasha said suddenly.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, tucking it safely in her purse. Inuyasha nodded, his attention turning back to the gloves.

"Ready to go?" he asked. Kagome nodded. Grabbing the gloves, he slipped them onto her hands.

"Don't want you getting cold out there." Inuyasha said, a bit gruffly. A light blush appeared on his cheeks at the caring gesture. Kagome smiled, her Inuyasha has finally returned to her after so many years.

They walked out of the house, their gloved hands tucked into each other's. Kagome had finally convinced Inuyasha to wear his gloves after many "Feh, demons don't get cold woman". But with her charm and maybe a peck on the cheek or two, he slipped them on. They slid into Inuyasha's car and headed to an unknown location for Kagome. Inuyasha refused to tell her where they were heading, despite the many begging attempts.

Kagome gave up on convincing Inuyasha to where they were heading, after many countless futile attempts. Thus, she sat back and enjoyed the passing scenery. But after awhile, everything started blurring as drowsiness began to take over. Her chocolate brown eyes closed and she drifted off into the sea of sleep.

Sesshoumaru and Rin arrived at the hotel after an uneventful drive. Both being workaholics, they decided to see how the project was progressing…on the day that no one was working. Kagome and Rin had miraculously finished their task on designing the rooms, despite the many discoveries. Now, their only job was to check in on the project every few days to see that everything was going properly.

After many checks, Sesshoumaru and Rin decided everything was satisfactory. They walked outside for fresh air since paint fumes still remained inside of the building. The couple walked up a worn path, unknowing that it was the same path that led Inuyasha and Kagome to the lake days ago.

The silence of the woods was calming; their footsteps were muffled in the deep snow. Rin pushed her scarf a bit further as a gust of wind stung her cheeks with bitter cold air. Her brown eyes drifted from staring at her boots to the demon next to her. His beautiful silver hair whipped behind him, and his golden eyes stared ahead.

"Like what you see?" Sesshoumaru said in his stoic voice. Rin jumped, not expecting that at all. Her face flamed up in embarrassment when she had realized that she had been staring for quite a bit of time now.

"Um no! No! I was just staring at that tree right there!" Rin made up, as she tried to cover her embarrassment. Sesshoumaru's eyebrow rose,

"What was so interesting about that tree anyway?" he said slowly. Inside, he was shaking with mirth; it was funny and adorable when Rin was flustered. He froze, okay….he had just used the word adorable, was something wrong with him? He quickly ignored that thought and turned his attention to Rin. She clearly was struggling on how to respond to that. He felt a little sorry for her because of his teasing, so he quickly saved her.

"Ever been here before?" He said, his eyes looking at the lake. Rin looked where he looked and gasped, it was breath taking. The trees surrounding the lake had snow dustings on them, while the lake's waters were as clear as a polished diamonds. Sesshoumaru moved to a tree right by the lake side and sat down. Rin then followed him and sat beside him, their arms touching.

Moments later, Rin leaned her head on his shoulder. Sesshoumaru stiffened at the sudden movement, he didn't experience his heart beating this fast very often…more like never. Her floral perfume made his attraction to her stronger, now she was closer than she had ever gotten. He then relaxed, he had fought to not fall in love; he thought that he was too strong for that. But there was something about this human girl that made him feel…so relaxed, she was so comfortable with his personality. Sesshoumaru then placed his arm around her petite waist; she surprised him back when she leaned into him.

The pair shared each other's warmth and enjoyed each other's company. Sesshoumaru then whispered into her ear,

"Ready to go?" Rin nodded, and got up with Sesshoumaru's help. The pair walked back to the car, their hands together with Rin's help. Sesshoumaru drove her back to her apartment and dropped her off. However, Rin stopped him.

"Do you want to come in and watch a movie?" Rin asked. Sesshoumaru nodded and parked the car. Rin waited until he got out of the car and reached her on the sidewalk. She huddled against him and they entered her apartment.

Rin unlocked the door and unbundled herself from her coat and scarf.

"Just leave your scarf and jacket on the couch. You can pick the movie while I make the popcorn." Rin said as she went off to the kitchen.

Sesshoumaru took off his coat and headed to the DVD stand. He widened his eyes at her selection of movies; they were all action and some comedy, ones that he enjoyed….even though to other people, comedy wouldn't seem to be his thing. He then chose a DVD with a well worn cover, as if it had been watched and handled quite a few times…his eyebrows lifted, Rumble in the Bronx with Jackie Chan? He shrugged, it was fine with him, it was a classic.

Rin walked in and noticed the movie he chose, her smile widened.

"That's one of my favorites!" She said, as she settled next to him. The movie started and the two got closer and closer as time passed. As the fight scenes progressed, Rin cuddled against Sesshoumaru, taking in his scent of cologne and the wilderness. She buried her face into his shoulder and then peeked out from behind to watch the movie. Her mind was then getting drowsy, she was getting sleepy and she knew it, but she didn't want to move. So, she opted for the next best option, she just fell asleep right there.

Just as the credits were rolling, Sesshoumaru looked down to find Rin asleep beside him; no wonder there was no movement from her in the last thirty minutes. He shifted and carried her in his arms. Her weight was nothing to his demon strength. The dog demon then carried Rin to her bedroom and put her down. But when he put her down, her arms were still around his neck. His attempt to pry her hands off was futile. He sighed, then decided to do something he hoped he wouldn't regret later, he laid on the bed next to her. Surprisingly, she snuggled up against his chest. The corners of his mouth twitched, she was so innocent. He relaxed and let her scent soothe him into a deep slumber.

Kagome gasped, it was like the moment she first saw it. Cerulean Lake was exactly the same, despite the ten years that had passed. She then felt a tug at her hand and looked at Inuyasha.

"You gonna stand there all day?" Inuyasha smirked. Kagome shook her head and allowed the hanyou to drag her to the ferry.

The two adults then left the ferry and decided to walk around the island. Inuyasha's arm wrapped around her waist and rested his cheek against her head. Kagome leaned in and also wrapped her arm around his waist. The two silently walked, until they got to the very same picnic bench where they made the miniature snowmen and where they kissed. Kagome led Inuyasha to the bench and both sat down, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Do you remember?" Kagome whispered. Inuyasha nodded,

"Of course." He said. Kagome contentedly sighed; she relaxed against Inuyasha's strong frame.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha said. Kagome opened her eyes and looked up to Inuyasha. Suddenly, she felt his lips on her own. She had never been kissed by anyone else before, so she's not very experienced, but Inuyasha's kisses were…special. They made her feel like she was floating and feelings of their relationship were being poured into that very kiss. It was bliss, pure bliss. The kiss broke and the two embraced.

"Come on, let's go," Inuyasha said, "It's getting late."

Kagome nodded and the two left.

"Mom! I'm home!" Inuyasha called, as he hung up his coat and scarf.

"I'm in the living room." His mother called out. Inuyasha walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of tea. He carried it into the living room and sat across from his mother.

"How was your day with Kagome?" Sakura asked unexpectedly.

"It was…eventful." Inuyasha said, not wanting to talk about his private life to his newly found mother. "What did you want to tell me, remember? You told me you wanted to tell me something."

Sakura nodded and took a deep breath.

"I was in high school when I fell in love, he was my first love. But he loved another, and I was naturally heartbroken. But one night, we had a couple drinks and one thing led to another and I had you. But no one knew but me. Inuyasha…..your father is Kagome's father.

Inuyasha's teacup shattered

O.o Cliffie! I know I'm evil! MUAHAHAHA! Lol I'm sorry once again for the delay! Till next time!
-animemistress419