Say Goodnight

a/n: I do not own Inuyasha. Okay, we are not allowed to give individual replies to reviews in here, but I wanted to clarify one thing: Inuyasha is around 700 years old in this fic. 200 when Kagome comes to the feudal era, and then add another 500 years. He is an adult. He will be acting a little more mature, a little more mellow, and he certainly will not be dressing like some teenager. Someone said in their review that Inuyasha was dressed as a dork in the last chapter. No, he was dressed as an adult. Actually, he was dressed as a casual adult. Nice relaxed khakis and a green sweater and dress shoes are actually what most fashionable males I like wear. If you do not like what I have characters wear, then do not read the story, okay? I am 27, and I am not going to have a 700 year old Inuyasha dress like a teenager. End of story. Also, some of you were wondering what happened to Inuyasha's dog ears. All will be explained believe me. And also, I want all of you to know that usually I write replies to every single review. Well, I have been getting so many reviews that I cannot really respond to them all. So, if you say something that warrants reply, and your review is signed, then I will respond. Otherwise, thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Chapter Three: Back In My Arms Again

Mei watched as the young priestess tossed and turned. She was whimpering and occasionally talked in her fitful sleep. She had been sleeping all day, and it was time for dinner. Shippo stood next to her and held out a tray. It held a cup of tea, and a steaming bowl of oyakodon.

"Do you think you should be here?" Mei asked her husband and mate. They had been together for at least three hundred years now. She had been a lonely little half fox demon when she had met Inuyasha. She had taken refuge in a hollowed out tree during a storm when a silver haired half dog demon had peered in to the tree, lured by her smell. She must have smelled like fear and tears.

"Hey, what's your name?" the half demon asked her.

"Mei," she had answered softly.

"You are half fox demon, right? I could smell you a mile away. Where is your den? Your mother and father?" he had asked while looking around.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Why would I do that? You haven't done anything to me. My name is Inuyasha, and this is my forest. I just hate seeing girls cry is all. Where are your parents?" Inuyasha looked around again.

"Dead. All dead. A snake demon came and…," Mei's lip quivered and she started to cry harder. The clawed hand came down into the tree trunk and scooped her little form out.

"Hey, I have a friend who is a fox demon. He lost his parents at one time. I am sure they would be glad to meet you," Inuyasha had told her. They took off towards the village nearby.

Jungo and Akana, Shippo's parents, had welcomed her with open arms once Inuyasha had explained the situation. And about one hundred years later, she and Shippo had finally fallen in love. Actually, they had been in love for some time, but it took them a long time to finally get on with it. They did not have children yet, because they had always been so busy traveling and then trying to set things up here in Tokyo. But now, Kagome had been found. Now she and Shippo could have the kids they had been dreaming of.

"Why shouldn't I be here?" Shippo asked his wife.

"Baka. She does not know yet. I think she needs to hear it from me," Mei told him.

"Okay, but I will be in the next room. Kagome is like my second mother, and I have been away from her too long," Shippo said solemnly, and left the room. Mei heard the computer keyboard clacking and knew Shippo had gone back to work on his latest article. Since they had traveled so much, he wrote freelance articles for travel magazines. He had been so worried. When Mei and Inuyasha had brought Kagome here, he had cried. He had even climbed onto the bed with her and spent a good long time inhaling her scent and stroking her hair.

"Kagome, wake up sleepyhead. You have been asleep all night and all day. You have to eat something," Mei said as she shook Kagome's shoulder. The priestess opened her brown eyes and Mei saw them swim into focus.

"Mei?" Kagome asked, confused.

"Yeah, it's me," Mei said as she helped Kagome sit up. Then Mei fluffed the pillows behind Kagome so that her friend could sit up in bed. Then she sat the tray on Kagome's lap and sat back in a side chair.

Kagome stared at the rice bowl in front of her. It smelled heavenly. She took an opportunity to look around the room before she picked up her chopsticks. The walls were a pleasantly light aqua, and the trim was a creamy white. The bed she was in was made of maple wood, and the sheets and blanket were the same creamy white as the trim in the room. A maple wood curtain rod on the window held gentle white gauze curtains. On the maple nightstand there was a remote for the silver television in the room, as well as an alarm clock that read 6:00 PM in red lights. There was a floor length mirror in one corner, and a small closet on another wall. Kagome noticed that the floor was made of maple wood also, and there were creamy rugs sprinkled here and there. It was a room that spoke of care, and of a love for the sea. It was obviously western influenced in design.

"Mei, who decorated this room?" Kagome asked.

"That is something that I think is not important right now. Eat your food," Mei skirted the subject.

Kagome began to eat reluctantly. There were a lot of questions, and no answers as of yet. She sipped her tea and chewed thoughtfully. How had she ended up here? Where was here? She could hear someone using a computer in another room, who were they? Mei had said she did not have a roommate, so who was that? It occurred to Kagome that she did not know much about Mei.

"Mei?" Kagome caught her friend's attention.

"Yeah?" Mei answered chipperly.

"Who's typing on the keyboard in the other room?" Kagome asked.

Mei froze.

"Ah ha! You are hiding something from me! I knew it!" Kagome stated with confidence.

"There are a lot of things I have been hiding from you. But it was for your own good. Do you know how you got here, Kagome?" Mei asked. Kagome shook her head, "Well, last night you went home by yourself. On the way you were attacked. Luckily the attacker was stopped before he could give you more than a bump on the head. You have great evasive skills even when you are drunk, where did you learn that?" Mei asked.

"Judo. So, I was attacked. How did you come to be there?" Kagome asked.

"One of us has been following you everywhere for a couple of months now. Ever since I met you at the coffee shop. We had been looking for a chance to get to know you, and you just appeared right there, close enough to become my friend," Mei smiled gratefully.

"One of who?" Kagome asked, growing suspicious and starting to look for a way out.

"Kagome, you need to know, before I show you, that I am your friend, and I always have been, okay?" Mei twiddled her thumbs and stood up. Kagome nodded. Mei reached up to her ear and undid the tiny golden hoop, taking it out of her ear. All of a sudden Mei grew a bushy red tail, and she grew small claws on her petite hands. Her ears grew a little pointy, and she had paws instead of feet.

Kagome gasped and her jaw hit the floor, "Mei?"

"Yes, I am still Mei. And, I am a half fox demon," Mei told her.

"Do you know Inuyasha? Do you know Shippo? Please, tell me you know them! I have been waiting three years, tell me you know them!" Kagome burst into tears. Mei rushed to her bedside and enveloped her friend in a hug. Mei looked over her shoulder and noticed that Shippo had edged the door open. He took off his golden hoop and placed it in his pocket. His tail came back, as well as his other features. His hair stayed short however. That was not part of his disguise. He just liked it that way. Mei nodded and he came to the bedside. He sat on the other side of Kagome and wrapped his arms around her. Mei let go, and Kagome nestled into Shippo's chest, still crying like a newborn. So much hurt, grief, and loss was in that cry. It hurt Shippo to hear it.

"Kagome, it's me. Shhh," Shippo whispered. Kagome sobbed and hiccupped as she lifted her head.

"Shippo?" Kagome asked tearfully. He nodded and smiled at her.

"Hey Mom," he told her as he hugged her tightly. Kagome wept tears of joy as he held her, so thankful to have at least one person from the feudal era back with her. After crying for quite some time, Kagome asked for a tissue. Mei came back with a boxful, and not only for Kagome. They all blew their noses and wiped their eyes. Shippo did not let Kagome go, but he brought her into his lap and held her for a long time.

When Kagome had finally cried all she was going to cry, she lifted her head and looked at the fox demon she had known when he was only a child. His hair was short, and the blue ribbon was gone. Those eyes still sparkled blue. As always, there was a hint of mischief in there also. He wore simple relaxed jeans and a white t-shirt. His paws were bare, "You look so grown up!"

"Well, it has been five hundred years, Kagome," Shippo laughed. His voice had deepened, but there was still that playful undertone to it. Then Kagome noticed the gold band on his left hand. And then she looked at Mei. Mei also had a gold band on her left hand. Kagome brought a hand up to her mouth to conceal her shock.

"You two?" Kagome asked. Mei nodded with a grin, "How long?"

"Three hundred years or so, Kagome," Shippo answered.

Mei was watching Kagome's eyes. Sadness, regret, mourning, anger, and hope passed over those brown eyes in the matter of seconds.

"And…." Kagome trailed off, not knowing how to phrase the next question. Shippo kissed the top of her head.

"Sango and Miroku?" Shippo guessed. Kagome nodded, "You would have been so happy for them. We still have all her letters, and Miroku even wrote some too. They lived to be very old. They stayed together until the end. When Miroku died, Sango did not last much longer. They had four children: Atsumi, Tatsumi, Yasumi, Minoru, and the last girl they had, the baby, they named Kagome"

"I'm honored," Kagome whispered. Two of her best friends, gone. She had known that they would go, but part of her had always hoped that maybe they had found a way to give them longer lives, "And their descendents?"

"They still work for the extended family. They all know the tale of the demon slayer and the monk. They know all the details. You will meet them eventually," Shippo smiled.

There was one last question Kagome had to ask, even though she partially dreaded to answer. She looked at Shippo with her dreams glittering in her eyes.

"Yes, he's alive, and here in Tokyo," Shippo told her.

Kagome cried until she passed out, so thankful for everything. She had so many questions, so many things to say. But for now, she would sleep. Sleep and dream.

&&&

"Keito? It's Inuyasha. I think I will be bringing Kagome home tomorrow. She fell back asleep and I do not want to disturb her. Yeah, I will make sure to have her call in the morning. Arigato," Inuyasha closed his cell phone and stared at the woman lying on the soft bed. She was so beautiful, even with an abrasion on her forehead. Inuyasha brushed a stray strand of hair away from the wound and then trailed a finger down her cheek. Her skin was as soft as he remembered it. Five hundred years he had waited for this woman. No one else would do. He had tried, many times, to find someone else, someone to fill the void Kagome had left, but it was to no avail. No one made him feel the way she had, and no one made him care like she had. There had never been a day he had not thought of her. Inuyasha opened his cell phone and called someone who would want to know about these recent developments.

"Hello?" the deep voice said on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Dad," Inuyasha took a deep breath, "We have her"

"About time Inuyasha. Sesshomaru will be pleased," Inutaisho Kimura told his son. Inuyasha let out an involuntary growl at the mention of his older half brother. While they did not fight, they did not get along either. It was all for the sake of the father they had once lost. Inuyasha also got a few more years with his mother, Izayoi, before she had passed on again.

"I want you to meet her, Father. Soon. I will call you when I know," Inuyasha told him.

"Certainly. Goodbye Inuyasha," the elder dog demon said as he hung up the phone.

Inuyasha took off his sweater and sat down on the bed next to Kagome. His t-shirt was white underneath the sweater. He kicked off his dress shoes and folded his legs. Mei and Shippo walked into the room and looked at him with interest.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"You can wake her Inuyasha. She has been sleeping forever," Mei assured him. She and Shippo turned around and left the room. Shippo had told him how hard she had cried, and the things she said. It hurt him deeply, but it was all the truth. It was a stupid excuse, but that was what had happened. He had overestimated the time needed to fill five hundred years. Considering the length of time overall, he did not think three years was all that bad.

Inuyasha stared at Kagome for a few moments before reaching out and shaking her shoulder, "Kagome, it's time to wake up wench," he said softly. The figure stirred slightly but did not wake.

Inuyasha had changed a lot over the years, that was for sure, but not everything about him had changed. It was that side of him that shook Kagome roughly and said, "Oi! Wench! Get up!"

That woke her! Kagome sat up in the bed and opened her eyes, "Just five more minutes Inuyasha…"

As she said the name, Kagome's eyes opened wide as saucers.

That silver hair, those amber eyes.

Inuyasha reached up and removed the gold hoop at his ear. The human ears disappeared and were replaced by his dog ears that Kagome liked to tweak. His human fingernails became claws, and then he was the same Inuyasha he had always been.

"Inuyasha?"