Dinner

Kagome and her friends sat down at the table. Kagome's grandfather and little brother were already there. Kagome's mother filled the table with food.

Inu-Yasha and Hojou remained outside. Inu-Yasha slowly stood up and turned toward Kagome's house.

"Come inside Inu-Yasha." Kagome's mother called out the door.

Inu-Yasha slowly made his way toward the house.

"How long…" came an echo from behind him. "How long have you and Kagome been together?"

"To-geth-er…" Inu-Yasha sounded out the word. It sounded odd.

"How long?" Hojou whispered.

"A while… I suppose." Inu-Yasha answered thinking of how long it had been since Kagome had first freed him from the tree.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome's mother called. "I made your favorite."

Inu-Yasha sighed and walked toward the house.

"Take care of her." A request whispered.

That sentence froze Inu-Yasha in his tracks. Inu-Yasha glanced back over his shoulder to notice no one there almost as if the wind had whispered to him. For a moment, he had wondered if he actually had the blessings to be with Kagome.

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome's voice bellowed.

"I'm comin, ya wench." He answered.

"Why do you keep him around?"

"Yeah Kagome. He's so rude."

"But his ears are kind of …cute."

"Guys…" Kagome blushed.

"I'll be outside." Inu-Yasha stated with irritation.

"I'll go with you." Souta stated blandly. He was also annoyed with Kagome's friends but moreover, wherever Inu-Yasha went he would follow.

Inu-Yasha and Souta sat on the porch with Inu-Yasha bluntly explaining their last adventure. Souta was absolutely mesmerized by Inu-Yasha's voice.

Inu-Yasha's ears had twitched at dainty feminine footsteps but Inu-Yasha did not fitchet. He thought Kagome was coming to persuade him back inside. Instead her mother brought them food, set it down, and then snuck away. Inu-Yasha did not even create a break in his story.

Kagome had started to come but the sight of the two on the porch, she stopped her dead in her tracks. Inu-Yasha sat with his back to the doorway obviously comfortable with her family. He sat with one leg under him and the other over the ledge. His arms crossed beneath his hatori; Inu-Yasha slightly smiled at Souta's interest and endless questions about his power. Souta's hero spoke fluidly as an elder brother would. With all the times Kagome had compared Souta to Shippo in her head, this scene was what separated them. Souta would worship Inu-Yasha if Inu-Yasha would let him. Shippo, on the other hand, stood up to Inu-Yasha as much as she did or plotted against Inu-Yasha more than Miroku does with women. If only…

"Kagome…" one of her friends called out from behind her.

Kagome jumped. She ran into her friend and pushed her into the next room over before her friend had a chance to know what was going on. Kagome pinned herself against the wall and peered around the corner. Inu-Yasha turned his head with confusion but Souta begged him to continue the story. Once Inu-Yasha turned back to the outside world Kagome released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Kagome…" Her friend asked again.

Kagome placed her hand over her mouth and waited a moment before freeing her.

The other girls gathered behind the two suspicious characters as Kagome continued to spy on her brother and Inu-Yasha.

Inu-Yasha closed his eyes in conceit as Souta inched closer. Souta asked, "So what happened after that?" "After what?" Inu-Yasha asked a bit confused. "After you saved Kagome…" Souta added in. "Oh…" Inu-Yasha stated surprised. Inu-Yasha sat up straight and made himself look untouchable almost godlike. "Once Kagome was out of danger. I slay the demon. But as you know demons are not easy to slay and this demon was no exception. He was another of Naraku's creations. With a human body, I knew he was powerful but I failed to realize how quick he really was. The demon child looked up from Kanna's arms. At that moment, I knew that Naraku's evil did not run through this child. The child is what Origumo has become. Anyway you look at the situation, the child was not our major threat. Our major threat was the new demon Naraku had created. The demon flew around me. He was headed for Kagome. I did not even realize she was in danger until she screamed. He was only a few paces from where Kagome stood and he was closing in on her, fast. Terror shot through me as I realized I couldn't reach her in time."

"I pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath and swung my mighty sword. The demon diverted its path and tried me on for size. I swung my sword with on hand and attacked him with the other. My claws ripped right through the demon and he vanished in a cloud of poisonous smoke. My coat protected me but it did not protect Kagome. She was too far away from me. Kagome collapsed. I raced Kagome back to Kiada's. Kiada assured me she would be fine and pushed me out the door. A week later I had not heard word of Kagome's well being. By this point, the others had returned from their expedition. Miroku and Sango gathered herbs while Shippo, Kiarra, and I remained outside. Shippo snuck in and out depressed every time he emerged. Kiarra was allowed inside but she chose to stay with me. We lounged around waiting for word about Kagome. An annoying moth demon appeared out of the woods. It's wind blast knocked the three of us from my tree. It was a rude awakening that I swore to make it pay for. An arrow flew by piecing the demon. It yelled in pain and disintegrated. Surprised by the arrow, I was frozen in my tracks. I turned to where the arrow had come from and there was the most beautiful site I'd seen in days. Kagome was standing in the doorway, her bow in her hand." "Kagome did that?" "Kagome does a lot. She does more than her fair share for us all. The elders of the village believe that when Kagome dies her soul will become another jewel. Since she is so powerful now it is not a far stretch. The only problem is if Kagome dies before the jewel is taken back from Naraku then the world as we know it will not exist." "But he world does exist…" Souta added confused. "Then I guess your sister helps us win the war." Souta looked at him with pleading eyes. Inu-Yasha smiled before continuing. "I'm not going anywhere." He stated with loving confidence. "Inu-Yasha… Will you make me strong …like you?" "Sure runt" Inu-Yasha stated rubbing the top of Souta's head.

"That's why I keep him around." Kagome's voice whispered. Inu-Yasha's ear twitched. "I know you're there Kagome." Kagome blushed. "I was hoping you were too involved in your story to notice me." Kagome pushed herself off the wall and wandered over to him. He closed his eyes pretending her presence made no difference. She knelt down and her friends followed. Kagome's mother brought the remains of their dinner to them. So they finished their dinners in silence.