Alright everyone here is the first chapter finally! I know it is shorter than my usual work, but I since it was merely an update to see how everyone was doing it was a little limited, however I promise the next one will be better!

Everlasting Love

Chapter One

One Year and Three Month's since the well sealed (around May 1549)

The branches of the God Tree swung gently in the calm spring breeze with the sun shinning brightly in the blue sky, not a cloud could be seen for miles. Inu-Yasha took a deep breath and sighed softly at the smell of the fresh air surrounding him. The grass had finally turned all green instead of the usual brown color at the beginning of the spring, and could now be seen as far as the eye could see from the half demons position in the god tree. Closing his golden orbs for a moment, he stretched his clawed hands above his head, yawning softly. Scratching his head softly Inu-Yasha gracefully jumped down from his branch to the luscious green grass below him.

"Daddy!" cried a small voice.

Smiling softly Inu-Yasha turned his head to the left to see Natasha slowly toddling over to him. Even though Sesshoumaru had been wrong about how fast his pup would grow, he had been kind of right in a way. She had grown very fast, and according to Kagome she was about the size of a three year old human, and was only fourteen month's old right now. Kneeling down on one knee, his smile widened as she toddled all the way to his open arms and scooped her up onto his shoulder.

"Daddy," Natasha sighed softly, hugging his head and grabbing onto one of his ears.

"Hey pup, did you get away from your mother again?"

Natasha didn't answer since she was preoccupied playing with his right ear and silver hair. Smiling softly Inu-Yasha slowly made his way down the hill where Kagome was sitting in the grass chatting with Sango. Deciding to leave the two women alone, Inu-Yasha walked by them briefly just to let Kagome know that he had their daughter. She waved at him, giving him one of her many brilliant smiles. Sango gave him a small wave before carrying on with her story. Making sure Natasha was securely on his shoulder; Inu-Yasha took off into the air, and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the wind flow through his hair and tickling his ears. He winced slightly as the pup on his shoulders gave a particular loud squeal of excitement.

Bounding from tree to tree Inu-Yasha made his way over to Kaede's village, wondering briefly if Miroku was doing alright watching the twins by himself since Sango needed a break. Inu-Yasha waved at Kaede who was working in the field with the other women, and continued on his way over to the monk's hut.

Reaching his destination, he found Miroku sitting outside under one of the trees surroundings his home, and both twins were fast asleep in his arms.

"Unkie Miroku," called Natasha as they landed in front of the monk. Inu-Yasha chuckled softly since his pup couldn't say 'uncle' yet.

Miroku gazed up at the two half demons from his spot in the shade, "Good afternoon,"

Inu-Yasha glanced at the two sleeping children curled up against Miroku's chest. Even though they were two month's older than Natasha, she was still bigger than them.

"Have you seen Sango at all?" asked Miroku as Inu-Yasha leaped into the tree, and chose the lowest branch to lie on.

"Yeah, she's chatting in the woods with Kagome. Kirara was with them so I left them alone," sighed Inu-Yasha, setting Natasha on his lap. The pup was currently playing with a butterfly that had tried to land on her nose.

Miroku nodded and sighed softly, staring out over the village and watching the usual everyday events, "It's been so peaceful this past year hasn't it?"

Inu-Yasha looked down at the monk, "It sure has . . . the first three month's after the well had close were he . . . difficult," said the half demon, correcting his language just in time so Natasha wouldn't hear. After the well had closed, Inu-Yasha finally came to realize why Hiroshi had wanted the well to close as soon as possible. Even though the magic had stopped working, demons had some how heard of a time traveling well and had come to try and use it. At first Inu-Yasha and Miroku had slaughtered all the demons that had made the attempt to try to go through the well, but after the first month Kaede had suggested that they just let the demons pass. Inu-Yasha had thought that the plan was insane, but Kaede had pointed out that if he and Miroku were guarding it, then the demons would think that the rumor about the well was true. So far the remaining two months, they had let the demons pass to get to the well, but made sure they didn't destroy it or go after any of the villagers in their frustration since the well wasn't a time traveling one after all.

Once that had passed, everything had pretty much turned back to normal . . . well as normal as it could be anyway. Kagome and Inu-Yasha were busy with their bundle of joy, and so were Sango and Miroku with the twins. Inu-Yasha had first complained that he would make a terrible father, however as the time passed and with a few good arguments with Kagome; he had come to realize that he had been wrong. While he did have a 'run away' mouth, Inu-Yasha had managed to stop his cursing in front of his daughter, and had tried to stop acting rude to others, especially when Sesshomaru and Rin came to visit. Other than that, being a father had become really easy to the half demon. Natasha on the other hand had grown a lot in the past year, and was becoming more like her mother everyday, except that she would say the odd curse word which some how she had heard from her father. Recently she had learned something new from Inu-Yasha when Myoga had come to see them a few month's ago. When the flea demon had jumped onto Inu-Yasha's nose he had swatted the flea like he usually did. However when Myoga had landed on Kagome's shoulder for safety, Natasha swatted the flea demon this time, repeating the action like her father and in her small voice saying, "Go away old flea," That earned Inu-Yasha a face plant into the dirt. Of course other than that, parenting was going along good for Inu-Yasha and Kagome as they tried to keep up with their little pup who seemed to have more energy than the two of them put together.

As for Sango and Miroku with their two children to care for, things weren't so great at first. Sango was at first having difficulty since she had never had experience with children before, unlike Kagome. The demon exterminator found that she lacked the patients for taking care of a child and had said it would be easier fighting a thousand demons. However Miroku had helped her a lot since he loved children and was great with them. Since he was after all a monk, he did have the perfect patients and tolerance when it came to dealing with children. Raising their children and trying to be good parents seemed to be on the group's top list of things to do.

Shippo was still living with Kagome and Inu-Yasha and had become a reliable baby-sitter when the two wanted some time alone. The same went with Kohaku and Kirara who would watch the twins for Sango and Miroku. On another note, Sesshomaru had once again started to travel around Japan with Rin and Jaken following faithfully behind him. Once a month they would receive a letter from Rin as she told them about where they had traveled and how they were doing. At the bottom of each letter Rin would sign her signature, along with Jaken and Sesshomaru's, which made Inu-Yasha wonder how she had convinced the two demons to sign the letter.

"So . . . are you coming to the feast tonight?" asked Miroku, causing Inu-Yasha to drift away from his thoughts.

"There's a feast tonight?" asked the half demon, his eyes glancing to his daughter for a moment to see that she was still preoccupied with the butterfly.

"Yes, didn't you hear? The headman's wife has given birth to another son,"

"Oh yeah . . . I completely forgot about that. So how many pups has that guy got anyway?"

"This would be his second child,"

"So how old is the first?"

"He's two month's older than my children," sighed Miroku, staring down at his daughter.

Inu-Yasha also gave a sigh and looked up at the sky, giving the monk a moment to think. Four months ago, the headman had approached Miroku, wondering if he would be interested in an arranged marriage between his son and Miroku's daughter. The monk had said he would think about it . . . and even now he didn't have an answer for the headman. Sango was completely against the idea, and Inu-Yasha had a feeling that the monk was too, however, knowing Miroku, he would want what was best for his children, and being married to the headman's son would be beneficial in some ways. Looking down at the pup in his lap, Inu-Yasha frowned, wondering if he could make the choice of an arranged marriage for his daughter. The answer came to him in a few seconds, no. He would let his daughter fall in love and marry someone on-her-own, but that was his choice. Miroku's problem was his and Sango's, and they would have to find an answer on their own.

Natasha had finally snatched the butterfly in mid air and put it in her mouth, "Bleh!"

Inu-Yasha chuckled as she pulled the butterfly out and watched it fly away, "Doesn't taste good eh pup?"

Natasha shook her head and crawled further onto her father's lap, snuggling her small form against his chest. The action caused Inu-Yasha to smile as he watched his pups eyes begin to droop, and he growled softly under his breath which lulled her into a dreamless sleep. Inu-Yasha kept one protective arm around his pup, while the other hand gently ran over her small tiny puppy ears and through her silver hair. As the breeze changed directions, Inu-Yasha caught onto the scent of Kagome and Sango. Turning his gaze towards the forest, he would just see them coming down the hill into the village with a transformed Kirara by Sango's side.

"The girls are coming back," said Inu-Yasha quietly, not wanting to wake his daughter. Miroku looked up, nodded softly, and stood up, not disturbing the children that slept soundlessly in his arms. Inu-Yasha also stood up and jumped down from his perch on the tree and started to follow the monk.

"So Miroku still hasn't given the headman an answer yet?" asked Kagome as she and Sango made their way into the village.

"Not yet . . . I don't like the idea at all,"

Kagome nodded, not really knowing what she could say to help the matter, so she replied, "I'm sure things will work out in the end,"

Sango said nothing, but a small smile did appear on her lips once she saw Miroku and Inu-Yasha heading towards them, both of the men carrying their sleeping children.

"Did you ladies have a nice chat?" asked Inu-Yasha, handing over a sleeping Natasha to Kagome.

"Yes we did," replied Sango, taking Misa from Miroku.

A familiar scent tickled at Inu-Yasha's nose, his eyes darting to the sky, "It's gonna rain,"

"What? But there isn't a cloud in the sky," said Miroku.

"Not now, in a few hours it will start to get cloudy," said Inu-Yasha.

"Well in that case I'm going to finish the gardening before it starts to pour," said Sango, heading towards her hut, "I'll see you tomorrow Kagome,"

Kagome nodded and waved good-bye as Miroku and Sango headed inside their hut. Smiling softly, she turned to her husband who was looking at the sky, "Shall we head home too?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged, but wrapped an arm around Kagome's shoulders and started to walk in their direction of their home.

"So, are we going to the feast tonight?"

The half demon scratched his chin, "I guess we could go, I'm sure Shippo wouldn't mind watching over Natasha,"

"Wow, and here I didn't have to argue with you about the matter,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Usually you don't like going to the social gatherings,"

"Keh, it's the headman's son, if it was anyone else than I would put up a fight,"

Kagome giggled softly and leaned her head against her mate's shoulder, "Well if the rain lasts until the night, I guess it will be canceled,"

"That is what I'm hoping for,"

In two and a half hours the rain that Inu-Yasha predicated finally came early in the evening. Shippo watched the small shower of rain from his seat by the window with Natasha sitting on his lap. The small fox had grown a lot over the past year in both body and mind, but still loved to tease Inu-Yasha when ever he got the chance.

"Ain," sighed Natasha softly.

"That's right Natasha . . . that's rain out there . . . isn't it pretty?" asked Shippo.

"Shippo! Natasha! Supper is ready," called Kagome from the kitchen.

Sniffing the air, Shippo could tell that they were having rice, dumplings, and ramen for supper. "Coming Kagome!" called back Shippo, getting up from his spot by the window and carrying Natasha into the dinning room to eat.

Inu-Yasha was already sitting at the table and held his arms open so Shippo could pass him Natasha.

"Daddy," sighed Natasha, snuggling into her fathers lap.

"Hey there pup, you hungry?" asked Inu-Yasha.

Natasha nodded, her little clawed hands reaching for the small bowl of ramen that was for her, which was beside her father's big one. Kagome entered into the dinning room with the bowl of rice and then took a seat beside her husband. They all ate in comfortable silence, lost in their own thoughts. Kagome couldn't help but smile as she watched Inu-Yasha feeding Natasha her ramen and rice since the pup was still too young to use chopsticks on her own.

Once dinner was done Kagome cleared the table and washed the dishes while Inu-Yasha headed into the sitting room, and took a spot by the fire. Lying down on the black fur in front of the fire, Inu-Yasha rested Natasha against his chest, his golden eyes watching the flames dance across the wood. Shippo soon joined them and was using Inu-Yasha's right leg as a pillow and not long after Kagome came into the sitting room and laid down beside her husband, resting her head on his shoulder. Once again they fell into comfortable silence, just watching the fire burn.

"The rain will stop soon," whispered Inu-Yasha, his clawed finger tips gently running up and down Natasha's ears.

"We still going to the feast?" Kagome whispered back.

"I suppose so . . . hey Shippo,"

The fox looked his way, "Yeah?"

"Can you watch Natasha for us while we go to the headman's feast?" asked the half demon.

"Sure," sighed Shippo, his eyes turning back to the fire.

Rin gasped softly as she watched the stars shinning brightly in the sky above her. There had been a light rain before the night hit, and now the sky was clear with not a cloud in the sky.

"Rin . . . supper is ready," called Jaken.

Rin didn't need to turn around to know that they were once again having fish for supper. Gazing one last time at the stars, Rin turned her attention to their small camp and took a seat by the fire. Sesshomaru was sitting by a near by tree with his back rested against he trunk and Ah Un close by to the demon lord.

"Fish again?" asked Rin.

Jaken just gave the girl a glare, "If you don't like it go get something else then,"

Rin sniffed the air, sighed, and grabbed one of the fish's that was cooking on a stick. There was no good prey to hunt in the area they were currently in, so it seemed that fish would once again be their meal.

"My lord, if I may ask, when are we heading back to the castle? We've been traveling around for almost seven month's," asked Jaken.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes and looked at the imp, who immediately coward at his cold gaze.

"Are we going to be heading back soon Lord Sesshomaru?" asked Rin.

The demon lord turned his gaze to Rin, "Soon . . .and Rin?"

"Yes my lord?"

"What have I told you to do when speaking to me?"

"Oh . . . just to call you Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru gave a single nod and closed his eyes once again.

Rin sighed softly and continued to softly much on her fish. Her eyes drifted over to Sesshomaru, and onto his left arm. After the incident with Mashai,Sesshomaru had taken off Akihiro's left arm and used it for himself. She briefly wondered how the dog demon was doing since right now he was chained up in the dungeons below the castle. Deciding she didn't like that thought she erased it from her mind and continued to eat her fish.

Once supper was finished, Jaken and Rin cleaned up the camp and prepared for bed. Jaken took his usual spot by the fire with his staff close by his side. Rin made her way over to Sesshomaru since she had been sleeping with him the past few nights. Even though his eyes were closed, he removed his arms from his lap, allowing her to sit down. Then once she was seated, he brought the fur scarf around to act as a blanket for her. His right arm came up holding Rin close to him with her face snuggled against his chest. Rin yawned softly and was soon asleep along with Jaken, Ah and Un, however the demon lord remained awake, and his eyes finally open to stare down at the girl in his arms.

The rain had finally come to a stop and for most this was a good thing, but Miroku had been praying to Buddha that it would keep going to cancel the feast. For the past few weeks he had been avoiding the headman, and tonight there was going to be no escaping him. Sighing softly, Miroku continued to watch the feast preparations starting from his position by the window. Sango soon entered into their room, "The twins are fast asleep, and Kohaku said he would watch over them while were out,"

Miroku nodded. Sango sighed at the look on her husbands face and came up to stand behind him, her arms wrapping around his waist. "You have to face him tonight, and he's going to want an answer," whispered Sango.

"I know he is,"

"Have you decided? You know that I'm against it,"

"I know you are . . . but . . . I just want what's best for our daughter,"

Sango nodded softly, arms tightening around the monk as they fell into silence, with the only sounds being the crickets chirping and the voices outside preparing for the feast.

TBC . . .