His Light

by EmberFalcon

He could feel his heart plummeting into the darkness of Kaguya's mirror. Kagome could save him the first time...but can it happen again? NOT what you think...I just suck at summaries.

15. Mating Season, Inuyasha style!

Now…I present to you the week of mating season, Inuyasha style! But I'm warning you, Inuyasha will be waaaaaay the hell outta character because…well…it's mating season! Prepare for funniness! (Warning: this chapter is really long…I mean REALLY long!)

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"Hey…Inuyasha?"

"Hm?"

"Is it okay if I leave for one day? I should be back by midday tomorrow." She looked up at him, and despite the darkness of night, she could still see the horrified look on his face, his bright amber eyes wide with shock, glistening in the moonlight, his mouth agape, his jaw finding itself a comfortable spot on the grass.

"Midday…and you're sure it'll take that long?" She giggled as he stared at her frantically, knowing that he'll be absolutely tortured during mating season if she's not by him. Reaching up and stroking his ears, she compromised,

"Tell you what, if I'm not back here by midday's end, you can come and get me, okay?" The feeling of her soft, delicate hands caressing his ears calmed him enough to pry his jaw from the dirt floor and hinge it back into its proper place, but horror was still evident in his amber irises. She stopped stroking his ears as she let her hand fall back to his chest. He thought about it…thought about how he will be acting for the next week, how long he'd be able to manage without her here, and then reluctantly came to the difficult conclusion that love is partially about sacrifice, after all, and so he could wait half a day.

"Well…alright…as long as you promise to hurry back as soon as possible!" He added desperately, hugging her close. She smiled at the hanyou, kissing him goodbye. He brought his arms closer around his beloved miko and quickly melted into the kiss, but just as he was about to deepen it more, she pulled away.

"I have to go now, but it's like I said: if I don't come back, come get me." She smiled at his sad puppy dog face as his ears drooped. He nuzzled her neck, letting out a low whimper like a puppy begging to go with you when you leave the house.

"Stay a little while longer? Please?" She giggled again as he placed a few light kisses just below her ear, sending shivers crawling up and down her spine.

"Sorry, I really want to, but I need to get going." She regretfully pushed herself slowly, gently out of his embrace as she began to turn in the direction of the well. Poor Inuyasha could only let his hands slide slowly from her hips as she walked away, looking back at him longingly one last time before disappearing down the dark depths of the well.

"Well…tomorrow's gonna be a living hell…Sango, Miroku and Shippo won't make it much better with my luck." He sighed as he leapt up the great branches of Goshinboku, fingering the locket Kagome gave him.

"At least I still have this." And with that, he closed his eyes and let his thoughts about Kagome drag him into sleep.

(Next morning…dun dun dun)

Inuyasha woke up in a cold sweat as his hands frantically searched in the dark of the early morning for his mate. In his frenzy, he nearly fell out of the tree branch he was perched upon, fear overcoming him at the frightening fact that Kagome was nowhere in sight. Realizing that she had left yesterday night, he groaned, leading back against the tree.

"Dammit, she's not even gone a few hours and I already want her!" He pouted, crossing his arms as he slumping against Goshinboku. His pout quickly melted into a depressed and broken look. His uptight shoulders hunched in defeat as he uncrossed his arms to let them rest on his stomach, letting his back slump even lower against the tree.

"Kagome…" He whispered sadly…longingly. He could feel this intense longing and passion for his mate burning fiercely within him, clawing at him from deep inside, trying to surface through his cloaked emotions. What if something happened to her? Or what if the well closed, preventing them from seeing each other ever again? What if she's hurt, crouched in a dark place, laying in a pool of blood, calling out for him? These were all routine questions that always ran through his mind while she was gone, but they worried him even more than usual now that Kagome was officially his mate.

"Inuyasha!" His head snapped up so fast it might have fallen off his neck and plopped to the ground if it went any faster. He crouched in order to get a better view of the well, leaning over the side of the tree branch slightly.

"Kagome…Kagome where are…?" He whispered, but couldn't finish the thought, because he already knew that his mind was playing one of its evil little tricks, making him imagine that Sango's voice was Kagome's.

"We're back from Kaede's errands…hey…where's Kagome?" Miroku and Shippo asked as they hopped off of Kirara, Sango following suite. At the mention of the said miko's name, Inuyasha went into a sort of daze…almost as if someone was waving a watch in front of his face. Miroku snapped his fingers together a couple of times in between his eyes, causing him to blink and shake his head slightly.

"She said she needed to take care of something in her time." He answered quickly, diverting his gaze from everyone to stare at a random tree. Miroku nodded, but then noticed how very…different Inuyasha had become since a few days ago. Everyone else seemed to notice as well, seeing as how they were all looking at him like he was Superman and had just woken up from that space ship he crashed to earth in.

"Inu…yasha? You okay? You're kinda…I dunno…twitchy…" Sango questioned as she noticed Inuyasha's hanyou ears twitching at an almost constant pace, as his bright golden eyes darting all over the place. 'He's really tense…really…strange. His sudden change of behavior reminds me of a bird.' Sango mused as she watched him twitch and fidget. He snorted as he crossed his arms, trying to act as normal as possible when his entire being ached for Kagome to be in his arms (that, and his ears twitching uncontrollably wasn't helping him much, either.)

"Kami are you people annoying! There's absolutely (twitch) nothing (twitch) wrong (twitch) with me (twitch). Why would you (twitch twitch) even think something (twitch) like that (twitch)?"

At this point, everyone was trying very…very hard not to laugh.

"Is this not the beginning of mating season for demons?" Miroku asked Inuyasha suspiciously.

"Yeah (twitch)…why?" The hanyou asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I was simply wondering. Come Sango, Shippo. Let us leave Inuyasha in 'peace.'" Sango stifled a laugh at how sarcastically Miroku said 'peace,' knowing full well that Inuyasha was never at 'peace' unless he was with Kagome…and with it being mating season and all…things will get even more entertaining, she thought to herself as the group left the hanyou without another word.

"Will you damn ears quit twitching so fucking much!" He shot an evil glare at his ears, which only caused them to twitch again. Growling in frustration, he leapt up into Goshinboku again, his eyes never leaving the well.

Two hours later…

"She'll come back… (twitch)." The desire to go and get her was almost unbearable, the sensation of having…no, needing her burning throughout his entire body as he stroked his claw deeply through the rough textured wood of the branch he was on. He entertained his other hand with fingering Kagome's locket just to keep himself somewhat busy. His legs ached to jump into the well, his foot twitching every now and then. He somehow managed to stay on the tree branch, but if someone who never knew him took one look at the hanyou perched up in the tree, they would think he was schizophrenic or something.

Another Hour later...

"Come on, Kagome! Midday's almost through for crying out loud!" His ears gave up on twitching for what seemed to the hanyou like hours ago (in reality it was only half an hour) and simply dropped as he moaned agonizingly. His hand was clawing so deep into the wood of the branch he'd almost…

crack…

"Huh…what the…?"

craaaaaack…

"Uh-oh…"

SPLIT!

BAM!

"$#&!"

…he'd completely…severed the branch off of the tree.

He peeled himself off the ground, grumbling foul curse words under his breath. He placed his hands underneath the fallen branch, heaving the branch into the trees spread all around the clearing, and then he walked back and sat on a thicker branch. His eyes snapped back to the well just as a light blue aura glittered at the bottom of it. He sat up hopefully as Kagome began to climb out of the ancient time portal.

"Hey guys…I'm b-" Before her feet ever touched the ground, all she saw was a flash of red and white just before Inuyasha swept her off her feet (no…seriously) in a tight embrace, kissing her like he hadn't seen her in a hundred years.

"Inuyasha, I was only…mmmph!" He kissed her again, more fiercely as his arms tightened around her slender waist. She relaxed and began kissing him back with equal force, figuring that if this was what was going to happen every day for the next week, then hey…that was perfectly fine by her!

"Kagome…" He whispered lightly on her lips as they connected once more. Parting, he brought his arms even tighter around her waist…so tight that Kagome actually felt her face turn purple. He buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Inu…yasha…" She whispered hoarsely in between short gasps for air.

"I missed you so much! Where in seven hells were you that took so long?" He whispered into her neck, hugging her tighter, if that was at all possible. He looked at her curiously when there came no response.

"What's wrong, Kagome?"

"…Can't…breathe…" She felt her entire body go all tingly and numb. It finally occurred to him that his arms were just a little too tightly wrapped around her tiny waist.

"Oops! Sorry!" He loosened his arms just enough for her to be able to breathe again. She let out a sigh as her face gradually returned to its normal shade of ivory.

"I had to go to school and take an exam. I promised that I'd be back, and I am, aren't I?" She resisted the urge to laugh as Inuyasha simply kissed her in response. She gladly kissed him back, clenching his haori with her fists slightly. One of his hands slid up her back, her neck, and stopped to bring her head a little closer while her arms eventually snaked around his neck as the kiss deepened.

"HAH I knew it! Pay up, Shippo!" Miroku exclaimed a little too loudly from his hiding spot in the bushes. Inuyasha and Kagome broke off the kiss as they heard his exclamation. Kagome blushed furiously, about to slap the hentai houshi, but Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing her back into his chest. She gasped as he rested his head into her hair, looking down at her through her bangs.

"Forget about him, let's just enjoy the rest of the day, alright?" She froze completely…this wasn't like Inuyasha… not at ALL…but then again…neither is him making out with her the moment she comes out of the well, either. She leaned backwards into his chest as she said jokingly,

"Who are you and what have you done with Inuyasha?" He laughed as he picked her up bridal style, ignoring her little "eep" of surprise as he swung her around and began to head for the lakeside. Miroku and Shippo sat there, absolutely in awe at the fact that Shippo didn't have any lumps on his head, or have his face stretched, or his ears pulled, and Miroku…he was just glad his head didn't sport any bumps or that his face didn't have any handprints.

"So…where are we going?" Kagome asked Inuyasha as he practically flew through the forest with her in his arms.

"A place, you'll just have to see for yourself." Inuyasha grinned as he came to a lakeshore, the sunset glistening over its glassy surface. His grin only widened as he heard Kagome give a small gasp in his arms. He felt her grasp his haori a little tighter.

"It's…beautiful!" She whispered in awe at the hues of red and orange that seemed to blend perfectly against the shimmering water's surface.

"I'd hoped you'd like it." He stopped at the shore, setting Kagome down in a sitting position as he took a spot next to her. She yawned, leaning on his shoulder. He smiled as he placed his head on top of hers, but then lifted it again as he turned to let her head fall gently on his chest.

"Inu…" She whispered, but stopped as he placed a clawed finger to her lips. Taking off his haori and enclosing the both of them in it, he slid his hands back under the haori to hold her close as his head returned to the top of hers.

"I just figured that my shoulder wasn't very comfortable, and besides, I thought you'd like to watch the sunset, seeing as how you always say that you love taking in the scenery."

"Thank you, Inuyasha…it's amazing." So the two of them remained in each others arms as the bright sun faded into a hue of blue shaded into black, by then both of them contently asleep in the warmth of their embrace.

(Day Two)

Kagome opened her eyes as she listened to the sound of the gentle waves kissing the shore. She smiled at the hanyou whose chest she was nestled in as she snuggled up closer to his frame, his arms automatically drawing closer in his sleep. His haori slid a little off of her shoulders from her movement, but she ignored it. She raised her head up to press her lips to his.

Snapping out of his deep slumber at the feel of his mate's lips, Inuyasha instantly awoke fully, kissing her back with equal force.

"G'morning…my Kagome." He whispered as he breathed in the scent of her hair deeply, nuzzling her jaw line with his nose. She yawned sleepily, starting to stand up, but stumbled as a tingly sensation crawled up her legs (you know, that walking-on-pins feeling you get when your feet fall asleep) which caused her to trip. She tried steadying herself, but the tingly pain caused her legs to give under her weight, so she somehow ended up laying right on top of (yup, you guessed it) Inuyasha.

"Uhh…I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I just…umm…what's with the face…?" She caught him staring at her somewhat longingly. 'Don't do it…don't do it…don't even dare to say a word about it…even though…she feels so…DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT! Oh gods…this isn't helping at all…not at all…STOP IT!' Inuyasha coached himself mentally as he felt the desire to…cough cough (hint: wow chicka wow wow) clawed at his insides once more, this time with more of a burning force and almost succeeded…had it not been that at that point he felt the enchanted beads roll off his shirt and gently rest upon his neck, and remembered that she still had the power to control him with the subjugation spell. He rested his arms on the small of her back, her body heat coursing through his entire body.

"Kagome…" He wanted to court her, gods how he wanted to court her, but he simply settled for the sweet taste of her soft lips. He kissed her longingly, feeling her body heat rise up even more. She pressed her lips to his as well, his arms bringing her a little closer. They parted, each panting softly. Kagome sat up, careful to move her legs around some to wake them up so that this wouldn't happen again…no matter how much she might have liked it.

Uhh…where'd that come from…?

"Well…now that you two are done making out, can we get going? It'd be nice to try and find some rumors of the Shikon shards." Sango said as she loomed over their heads, her shadow shading their eyes from the sunlight. Kagome blushed so red Inuyasha's haori looked faded in comparison.

"We didn't…we wouldn't…Inuyasha, help me out here!" She cried frantically at our favorite hanyou, but he just shrugged and said "Why lie about it?"

She never stared at him so incredulously in all the time she'd known him.

"Now I know something happened to you, Inuyasha." He shrugged again, but said nothing to argue (yeah, right…the day he doesn't argue is the day of Armageddon n.n). He stood, holding out a hand to her. Blushing again, she took it and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as she turned her back to Sango and Inuyasha.

"What is it, Kagome? Something wrong?" Inuyasha said, reaching out to place a hand on her back as he stepped beside her.

"Two jewel shards coming this way…I think it's Koga." Inuyasha growled, no surprises there, but that's not what bothered Kagome…it's how intensely that he growled that made her shiver. Normally, even if it was Koga or some other random guy from a village that they were passing checking her out, he'd just give a plain, angry growl and/or tell them to back off if they knew what was good for them…but this growl…he'd never given even Naraku a growl this deadly. The growl only grew even more sinister as Koga's signature swirl of demonic dust and debris in a twisting whirlwind steadily approached them.

"Well, there's my beautiful woman! My dearest Kagome, when will you just leave that half-breed mutt out to dry and come live with me?" Koga asked, revealing himself out of a twirling vortex of pure demonic wind.

"BEAT IT, WOLF SHIT!" Inuyasha made a move to rip the wolf prince into confetti with a good old Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, but Kagome placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back. He stared at her as though she had seven heads.

"Kagome, he's-" She cut him off with a look that calmed him down enough to stop the attack, but his growling only increased as she walked up to Koga, never taking his glinting amber eyes off the wolf demon. Kagome made her way up to Koga, but made sure to keep her distance from the wolf.

"Koga, there's something that I need to show you." Instantly, Koga got an even more perverted glint in his eye than Miroku (impossible, I know), but that gaze turned into one of curiosity as Kagome turned her back on him. She lifted her hair to reveal Inuyasha's mark on her neck, and the half-demon couldn't help but grin at Koga's response. His face fell, his shoulders hunched, and he looked as if he were about to just drop dead right then and there. He began to stutter, flailing his hands around in a frenzy as if he were some gay dude on a soap opera (a/n: that is an insult at its ugliest, that is n.n).

"B-b-but…you…you're…you're M-MY w-w-w-woman! H-he c-c-can't j-just m-m-mark you like that!" He cried out desperately. Kagome sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Koga…I was never yours. I never planned on being yours. I've been wanting to tell you that I could only consider you a friend, but one of the many things that I never did like about you was that you never once stopped to listen to me so that I could explain myself." She walked back over to Inuyasha's side, placing her head on his shoulder. He responded by wrapping a protective arm around her waist, giving Koga that "just-admit-your-defeat-and-go-away" look. Koga stared at the couple in absolute heartbreak.

"I…I don't…but…" In his depression and denial, he realized that there was simply no purpose in keeping the jewel shards because he mainly held on to them to keep Kagome coming to him. He plucked the shards out, pressing them into the palm of Kagome's hand. She blinked but said a polite thank you before he took off running, not nearly as fast as before, but he was still pretty quick on his feet.

"Well…that wasn't so bad…and here I thought that I'd have to stop you two from fighting again." Kagome kidded, but then sobered at the look Inuyasha was still shooting at the disappearing form of Koga's whirlwind as he hugged her tighter with one arm.

"I wouldn't let him touch so much as a single hair on your head. The very thought makes me wanna hurl." He said in a low, deadly voice as he continued to give a dark look in the direction that Koga had disappeared in. Kagome smiled at his protectiveness of her, leaning into his chest.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He looked down at her while she placed Koga's jewel shards with her own in the bottle dangling around her neck, smiling along with her. Sango walked up to the pair, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara following close behind.

"So…should we keep going, then?" He turned to the others as his hold on Kagome's waist tightened a little.

"Yes, I think it would be ideal if we are to continue looking for the jewel shards." Miroku commented as his hand swept casually over to Sango's behind, only to have him get knocked in the head with her bone boomerang.

"Forgive me, my dear Sango. I just don't seem to have any control over this hand of mine." Sango's eyebrow twitched in anger as she applied a bit more pressure on the taijia weapon resting on the houshi's skull.

"You just keep that hand of yours to yourself, hentai."

(Day Three)

Inuyasha yawned sleepily as he opened one eye towards the brilliant sunlight. His arms were gently resting on his mate's middle, who was currently snuggled into his chest, sleeping contently in his arms. He couldn't help but smile at the beautiful girl as he ran a claw through her silky locks of ebony. His eyes swept over to the rising sun as he watched its ascent, wondering how in the world he was going to make it through the rest of mating season without even asking Kagome if he could court her.

"The sunrise is really pretty, isn't it?" He looked down, a bit surprised that he hadn't sensed Kagome arousing within his embrace.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't…it's the sunlight, that's all." She sat up in the tree branch that they had occupied the previous night. Stretching her arms high above her head, she sighed in content as she ran her fingers through her slightly tangled bangs in an attempt to straighten out the twisted mess of hair. She smiled at Inuyasha, who was currently trying to itch behind his ear with his foot. Letting a tiny giggle pass her lips, she reached up and scratched him behind the ear that he was trying to itch with his foot. He looked at her gratefully, letting his leg dangle over the edge of the branch as a low purr began to emit from deep in his chest. Kagome stopped scratching his ear and stretched again.

"Will you help me get down, Inuyasha?" She turned her head in his direction, but found that he wasn't there anymore. She looked down and almost fell from laughing so hard. In Inuyasha's little "daydream" he was having from being pet behind his ear, he'd completely forgotten that he was up in a tree, and subsequently ended up right in the bush below, only his right leg sticking out of the bush that was twitching in aggravation to suggest that he was even there, albeit his loud cursing and complaining that his ass was sore.

"Are you alright, Inuyasha?" Kagome called down from her perch on the branch. He pulled himself out of the forest bush, plucking out a few leaves and tiny twigs that had been entangled into his hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Jump down, I'll catch ya."

"Are you absolutely insane? I'll just mess it up!"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do. I trust you with my life."

"Then jump and don't worry about it; I'll catch you." He repeated a bit more firmly. She sighed in defeat, knowing that he really would catch her, but still worried a bit because she's just a chicken like that. It's kinda funny how she could stare a demon in the eye and not have to worry about it, but she's afraid to fall out of a tree. Taking a deep breath, she let herself fall right into Inuyasha's awaiting arms. The force of the impact caused him to swing her around once before he managed to regain his footing and stand still.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" He kidded her at the absolutely horrified look she had on her face. He set her down, but supported her still with one arm wrapped around her waist, even though he knew she could stand on her own.

He looked up at the sun, just rising to midday. Shippo hopped over to them, a little Kirara at his side just as Inuyasha kissed Kagome rather deeply.

"Uhh…I shouldn't be watching this, should I?" The two love birds (In Inuyasha's case, lovesick puppy) stopped kissing and looked at the little kitsune.

"Umm…no…I don't think that this is…kid friendly, Shippo." Miroku said before either of them could answer. Shippo shrugged as Miroku looked at Kagome's bosom (put politely). This didn't go unnoticed by our favorite hanyou, who stalked past Kagome and stared the monk down (no, literally…he's like…three inches taller than Miroku.).

"And I'm not very perverted monk friendly, either, just to let you know." He growled dangerously at the houshi. Miroku immediately tore his eyes from a very confused miko and hastily ushered Shippo away, him following very closely. Kirara gave Inuyasha a little meow before trotting off after the two disappearing back to the campsite.

"Umm…why is it that he and Shippo are always looking at us?" Kagome asked as she watched the three disappearing figures.

"I dunno…beats the hells out of me." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, turning to follow the others back to camp.

"Come on, we better get back…don't want them getting anymore perverted thoughts about us, now do we?" Kagome laughed lightly as they walked side-by-side. The couple could only roll their eyes at the familiar sound of Sango's hand striking the bouzo's face and her loud, yet foul cursing ringing through the forest. Yup, it was just a perfectly normal day for the six individuals in the land of the Sengoku Jidai…nothing out of the ordinary there. –Sigh-

(Day Four)

THWACK!

"YOU DAMN PERVERT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO HIT YOU WITH MY BOOMERANG UNTIL YOU GET THE POINT?"

"And…the point would be…?"

THWACK!

Do I really have to tell you who said what?

"Uhh…hi…?" Kagome said awkwardly to the taijia and the houshi. Sango stopped in the middle of choking Miroku. Miroku stopped in the middle of a plea for mercy. Both of them looked over at Inuyasha and Kagome, Sango's hands still around Miroku's neck, but not choking him anymore, while Miroku's arms were frozen in the air from flailing them out in mercy.

"Oh…hi Kagome, Inuyasha…we uh…we didn't hear you two come back from getting the firewood!" Sango smiled as she let Miroku go, causing him to crumble on the floor anime style.

"Not like we really WANTED to watch that…but…yeah." Inuyasha said as Kagome looked over at the evening sun. Gasping, she hastily stole a glance at her watch.

"Oh no…I'll be late! Mom's gonna kill me if I don't hurry!" Inuyasha turned to her, absolute horror written across his face. How could she be torturing him like this? This was just plain cruel to do to an Inu-hanyou…especially during mating season!

"You're going back there AGAIN? ARE YOU FREGIN' KIDDING ME?" He flailed his arms around in the air as he cried out frantically. She nodded as she picked up her yellow backpack. Once she slung it over her shoulder, she turned back to him, touching his face with her hand. He leaned his head a little into her hand, but not enough for anyone but Kagome to notice. She smiled.

"Look, I know it won't be fair to you if I left you here, so you can come back with me, okay?" He sighed in relief and nodded gratefully, his tense muscles softening at her invitation. Thank the gods that she wasn't leaving AGAIN…at least…not without him.

"Yeah…thanks, Kagome." He walked in front of her and kneeling down so she could get on his back. She climbed on, and once she was properly positioned, he wrapped his arms around the bends of each of her knees to keep her from falling. Once he made sure that she was ready, he broke into a quick sprint towards Kaede's village so they could get to the well.

Sango and Miroku blinked at them while they left, then looked back at each other.

"So…where were we…?" Sango asked.

"I think we were at the part where you were choking me and calling me a pervert while I was screaming like a girl for mercy."

"Oh yeah." The looked at each other for a second, then Sango started choking him, calling him a pervert while he flailed his arms in the air and pleaded for her to not be so rash.

"So, why would your mother be so pissed if you didn't come home today?" Inuyasha asked as he leapt above the trees to see how far they had to go. Not very…only a few more minutes and they'll be in the clearing.

"She's throwing a party for couples and she wants me to help her get the house ready."

"That damn 'hobo' guy ain't gonna be there, is he?" He asked, a tinge of depression in his voice.

"Why would he be there? I'm yours, Inuyasha. Don't ever forget that." His heart practically leapt at that, a huge smile spreading across his face, but then he had a thought.

"Does he know about us?"

"Yeah, I kinda wish you were there, though."

"Why?"

"The look on his face when I explained that I was engaged was priceless." She smiled as she looked down at the ring she had on her left hand, watching the heart-shaped diamond glisten in the sunlight. He grinned, and though Kagome couldn't see it herself, it was evident in his voice when he responded.

"I kinda wish I was there, too." She smiled, leaning more into his back while she rested her chin on his shoulder blade. He got a sudden extremely perverted thought (he's been hanging around Miroku for a little too long if you ask me Oo)…one so perverted he couldn't help but try it to see what she would do (Beethoven's fifth cue: DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNN! DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNN!). He came to a stop at the edge of the clearing that led to the well, but kept his arms wrapped around the bends of her knees.

"Uhh…Inuyasha…we're here, ya know." His perverted grin only widened, and he couldn't help but be glad that she couldn't see it.

"Yeah…I know." He slid his hands up from her knees to her thighs, giving them a little squeeze…

(Meanwhile, by Miroku and Sango…)

"I wonder what it was that was so urgent that Kagome had to leave…" Sango pondered while polishing the Hiraikotsu as she and the houshi-sama sat by the fire. Miroku shrugged, not opening his eyes from the meditative state he was currently in.

"I have no clue, but I can't help but wonder when they will be back."

"YOU PERVERTED CREEP!" His back stiffened at the sudden outburst.

"I didn't do anything, Sango!" His eyes shot wide open as he held up his hands in defense. Sango just turned her head to look at him in surprise. It was clear that she hadn't been the one to initiate the scream (for once).

"Miroku…I didn't say anything. It sounded more like…Kagome…" He opened his mouth to say something, but turned his head in the direction of a noise he knew all too well…

SMACK!

"Oh, come on, Kagome! You know I can't help it during mating season-"

SMACK!

"YOU'RE GETTING TO BE AS BAD AS MIROKU!"

"Am not!...well…maybe a little bit this week…"

"AUGH…SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM!

"Got anything to say to THAT one?"

"…oww…" They both heard Inuyasha faintly mutter from the clearing. At this point, Shippo had been awoken, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he looked from Kirara to Sango to Miroku, and back to Kirara (he's so confused n.n), Sango was on the floor laughing hysterically, and Miroku was sitting Indian style, utterly amazed that it wasn't him for once.

(Meanwhile, by Inuyasha and Kagome…)

"What's gotten into you lately?" Kagome shrieked into the twenty foot deep Inuyasha-shaped crater in the ground. He brought his hand up slowly to grip the edge of the crater, slowly lifting himself out of the hole, cringing in pain.

"Gee…you've never said 'sit' like that before…"

"Well you've never done something like that before!" She cried out, her face reminding Inuyasha of a tomato. She looked a bit afraid of him now, and that's what hurt him most. He had tried to fight the urge to do it…really he did! But…it could have been worse! He bowed his head and let his ears droop 'She knows she can't resist the sad face…she knows she can't.'

"Kagome…I'm sorry…it's just that…I can't help it you're like that!" He jabbed a thumb into his chest.

"You can't help that I'm like what?" She stopped blushing to raise an eyebrow.

"Well…it's not my fault you're drop-dead gorgeous!" (Like I said people; he's way out of character o.o) She blushed even more at his compliment.

"You mean it…really?" He walked up to her, lifting her head and kissing her softly on the lips.

"That a good enough answer for you?" He asked. She smiled and nodded, walking past him towards the well. He followed, sure to make a mental note that if he valued having his spine in tact then he'd have to keep a better control over himself for the rest of the week. He extended his hand to her, letting her take it to better balance herself on the lip of the well before she hopped in, Inuyasha close behind.

"Kagome, you're home! I see you brought your other half as well!" Kagome's mother called from the other side of the yard as they stepped through the shrine doors. Kagome blushed as Inuyasha looked at her with curiosity, sniffing her a couple of times.

"Your "other half"…but you look completely whole to me…" He said. Kagome smacked her forehead, completely forgetting to tell him about slang in her time.

"She means you; we're two halves of a whole couple, so you're my other half and I'm yours." He nodded, getting the main point but not bothering to ask anymore questions about the details.

"We're here to help you get ready for the party, Mama." Her mother smiled at the two.

"I see you remembered to be back for that. Arigato, Kagome, Inuyasha." She nodded once to each of them, then beckoned them to follow them inside. They silently agreed, entering the Sunset Shrine.

"Kagome, could you please pull the dishes that are wrapped in foil out of the refrigerator and put them out on the table for me to get ready for tomorrow please?" Kagome nodded, going into the kitchen and doing as her mother had instructed. Her mother then turned to Inuyasha, who was currently busy watching Kagome's every move, completely breath taken at her movements, no matter how small they were they seemed to be performed with the utmost grace.

"And I need you to help me set up the decorations because you're the tallest one here, alright, Inuyasha?" He tore his gaze from his mate and nodded, following Ms. Higurashi into the living room. Kagome watched him until he disappeared around the bend and into the hallway and sighed.

"He really is cute when he's confused." She said to herself. He poked his head into the doorway.

"Hey I heard that!" She smiled at him, making his insides turn to pure mush (again).

"Good, 'cause it's true, ya know." She playfully jabbed a finger at him, causing them both to blush at least ten shades of pink. He shrugged and went back to Ms. Higurashi, who had been babbling about the party that she holds every year for couples and how she just loved romance and yadda yadda yadda, and remained completely unaware that Inuyasha had taken leave for a moment.

"…So Inuyasha, are you ready for the decorations?"

"Umm…yeah, just tell me where I need to put everything…and HOW I put it up…or whatever I need to do." The woman laughed and handed him a bunch of different colored hearts with strings on them.

"I need you to tie these all around on the ceiling. When your done I'll have Kagome come in here to help you with the next thing."

"Oh…okay!" He said, happy at the thought of being around Kagome. He hung the hearts around the room's ceiling in completely random places. The hearts were all either red, pink, or white, and there were about thirty of each color, so it took him a while to get done. He hopped off the couch that he'd used as a makeshift stepping stool and made his way back to the kitchen. When he got there, he found Kagome walking around the main dinner table, setting up plates, napkins, and utensils at each of the chairs. She turned to him and smiled.

"Done with hanging the hearts?" He nodded, walking over to the miko and casually leaning against the counter top, tucking his arms in his sleeves.

"So, now what do we do?" He asked, his stomach roaring at the smell of some of the food on the table, even though it wasn't cooked yet, the spices still smelled good (except the curry, Inuyasha thought to himself). She walked over to a box that held all the decorations for this sort of occasion in it and began rummaging around, looking for a specific type of party quirk. Inuyasha poked his head over her shoulder to see her gathering tiny colored cards in her hand. A quizzical look crossed his face as she sorted them out, powder blue ones for the boys, and soft pink ones for the girls.

"What are those for?" He asked, giving each stack of cards a sniff without picking any of them up. She laughed a little as she set the stacks by a tiny coffee table beside the kitchen counter.

"They're for a game that everyone will be able to play at the party. You ask the person you're a couple with one of the questions on the card and if they answer it correctly, they get a kiss." She blushed, wondering just how much Inuyasha knew about her. She knew quite a bit about him, but whether or not he could say the same for her was left uncertain. She sighed, knowing that she'll just have to wait and see at the party tomorrow evening (a/n: the party will take up most of day five, just to let you know). She stretched her arms above her head as she yawned, exposing a little bit of her toned stomach to Inuyasha's golden hawk-like eyes. He took the opportunity to reach a hand to her stomach, gently swirling his claws over the silky surface of her skin.

"Eep! Inuyasha that tickles!" Kagome squealed, brushing his hand away. He grinned mischievously.

"Oh…does it, now?" He began to tickle her mercilessly. Instantly, she doubled over, falling into a spiral of laughter as Inuyasha tickled what he knew perfectly well was her most ticklish spot.

"Inuyaaaaaaaahahahaha…Inuyasha-a-a-a…s-s-stop it! Muh…mercy! Mercy p-p-p-p-please!" She begged in between fits of laughter. She leaned back, trying to wiggle out of Inuyasha's tickling wrath. He wrapped his other arms around her back, keeping her from escaping the inevitable.

"Not until you say I'm the strongest, smartest, fastest, most handsome half-demon alive!" He said, knowing she would just to get him to stop…even though he didn't plan on it.

"You'rethestrongestsmartestfastestmosthandsomehalf-demonalivenowlemmego!"

"What was that, Kagome? Did you say something?" Inuyasha said as he leaned in more, tickling her even more mercilessly.

"…HA! Gotcha!" She reached up and began tickling the insides of his ears, instantly, he stopped tickling her, trying desperately not to cave in and laugh. He bit his lip, tiny hints of laughter escaping his throat. The hand that was tickling her was now resting on her stomach, trying to push her away enough to save himself from her tickling of doom. His strength failed him through the resistance to laugh, so he was paralyzed, falling helplessly in Kagome's spell of tickling evilness. 'That's just plain mean…she's cheating!' He thought as her light touch enveloped him in a light, bubbly feeling.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha? Not ticklish in your ears, are you?" She said jokingly to the shaking hanyou. The force on his bottom lips only increased as she found the center of the insides of his ear- his most sensitive and ticklish spot. He squinted one eye half way in an attempt to keep his mind off the fluttering feeling he was getting from his mate's fingers dancing lightly across the insides of his velveteen dog ears as he shook his head slightly, his shoulders shaking with the laughter that he tried forcing down.

"N-n-n-no f-fair…you ch-cheated…y-you don't h-h-have d-dog ears…s-s-stop it…come on, K-Kagome!" He clutched at his stomach as he doubled over, his face turning red from trying so hard not to laugh.

"Come on now, Inuyasha…just give in and laugh so I can let you go." She stated as she lightened her touch on his ears to make it more ticklish. He finally couldn't stand the tickliness and burst into a huge fit of laughter.

"O-okay…I…HAHAHAHA…lemme g-g-go…we had a deal!" He forced through his laughter. Kagome acted like she was considering it, but then said,

"Well…okay…but first, tell me who you love."

"Y-you…and you know it!" At this point, poor Inuyasha had to clutch his stomach harder as he felt it giving out sharp pains every now and then from laughing so hard. His eyes shut tightly and his laughter only increased.

"Who's that? I don't have any idea who you're talking about."

"Y-y-you…K-Kagome H-H-H-Higurashi!" Satisfied with his answer, she released his ears as he stumbled back on the couch, trying to regain his composure from laughing so hard. He shook his head violently in an attempt to try and shake off that light fizzy feeling you get after someone tickles you in your most sensitive spot. Kagome laughed, flopping on the couch next to him so they were sitting next to each other. She rested her hands on her knees, letting a smile spread across her face at the sight of all the decorations.

"Nice work with helping my mom with the decorations and everything." She turned to Inuyasha, who was finding the floor very interesting at the moment. She leaned her head slightly in towards the hanyou, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hm?" Gee, that floor must have been awfully fascinating, considering his eyes still haven't left it. He must be checking out all that wood…shiny, polished wood…with the occasional dust bunny here or there…bet those were really amazing to see.

"What's wrong? You're all…shy now all of a sudden."

"No, no…it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Trying to keep another "feeling" from actually turning into a "happening" if you want the truth." She leaned her head back slightly. What was it that he had a feeling to do? Was it just another perverted idea…or…did he…?

"Tell it to me." He lifted his head, giving her one of those "you-sure-you-really-wanna-know" kinda looks.

"Are you sure that it's something that you think you can handle without sitting me into the oblivions of hell for it?" She laughed, but then sobered and nodded. He leaned his head down to her ear, cupped a hand in front of it, and whispered what it was that he was trying not to ask of her (I'm NOT saying…you'll find out later, but it WON'T be a lemon). When he finished talking, she looked thoughtful for a moment, a soft pink blush creeping across her face (yeah…that bad…).

"You sure that's what you want with me?" he nodded shyly, turning away to hide the fifty shades of red that were on his face, expecting the next thing that he felt was that amazing hard wood floor that he'd found so fascinating against his face.

"Well…why not wait until the last day of the season?" She asked, knowing that it was something that they had both secretly been wanting for the longest time. He turned to her in absolute shock, figuring that she would have told him that he was getting WORSE than Miroku for even thinking about something like that.

"Seriously?" She smiled and nodded.

"But…" He sighed inwardly. He knew there would be consequences to doing something like that.

"…there's something that we need to take care of first." She said as she turned in her seat towards him.

"We do…? And what would that be…?" He asked, kinda scared at what it might be. She smiled again.

"Close your eyes."

"Ohhhhh no you don't! This happened once before!" She rolled her eyes at his stupidity. She flipped and twirled the beads a second as if to remind him that they were still on.

"You already have the Enchanted Beads on, idiot." He looked down at his collar bone where the beads dangled, his eyes widening as if he just remembered they were there.

"Oh yeah…almost forgot about that…heh." He gave a nervous laugh as Kagome sweat dropped.

"…Right…now close your eyes." He sighed and did as he was told. His eyes shot open as he felt her soft lips against his own. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her closer to his muscular frame as the kiss deepened.

"Can we close on it?" She asked as she rested her head on his shoulder. He nodded, kissing her hair lightly.

"EEW INUYASHA YOU'RE BEING GROSS WITH ONESAN!" (a/n: "onesan" is Japanese for "older sister" and is pronounced 'oh-nehh-san') Sota cried as he ran out of the room, screaming "Ah…my eyes…I'm blind!" but then started running around the house. Inuyasha blinked at Kagome's ototosan (younger brother, pronounced 'oh-tohh-tohh-san'), who was now running around singing "Kagome and Inuyasha sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" He turned back to Kagome, who was blushing about a hundred different shades of red and looked about ready to knock her ototosan senseless.

"Umm…what is it that he's singing?" He asked his miko, who blushed a few shades darker at his question.

"It's a childish song that kids sing when they see someone kissing. Only little kids sing it, though." He nodded, making a mental note to never let Shippo know about that one. Ms. Higurashi came in through the kitchen doorway, a little surprised that everything was done so quickly.

"Done already? And it's only ten-thirty…I figured we'd be up all night putting this stuff up. Thank you two for helping me."

"Sure mom, no problem!" Kagome smiled at her okasan (mother, pronounced 'oh-kahh-san') while Inuyasha just sort of gave her one of his trademark grins.

"Yeah…sure thing, Ms. Higurashi." Inuyasha tucked his hands inside his sleeves, giving out a little yawn and he cracked his neck.

"You don't have to call me "Ms. Higurashi," a simple "mom" would be just fine, dear." Ms. Higurashi said sweetly. Inuyasha pulled his hands out of his sleeves and scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh…uhh…yeah…sure…" He felt a little awkward calling her "mom," since he hadn't had a mother figure in his life since his childhood.

"Come on, Inuyasha. It's late and we've got to get ready for the party tomorrow." He shrugged and followed her upstairs without another word. She opened the door to her room, side-stepping to let Inuyasha in. She grabbed a pair of pajamas out of her dresser and left to go change in the bathroom.

Inuyasha blinked, wondering why Kagome had to leave the room. She didn't say exactly where she was going, and that worried him a little.

Maybe I should just go after her…

'No way, man! Do you remember just how many times you've gotten yourself into trouble around here because you shoved your nose where you shouldn't have?'

Well…true…but I'm worried about her!

'Dude…it's. Her. Own. House. What could go wrong?'

True…

The door opened as Kagome walked in wearing a red cami top and tight black shorts that came up to her thighs.

"I'm back…uhh…hello in there?" She waved her hand in front of his face to try and pull him out of his thoughts. She blushed when Inuyasha didn't take his eyes off her. He shook his head a little and yawned, saying that he was kinda tired so he'd just turn in. He sat down and leaned against the wall across from her bed and closed his eyes. He slid the Tetsusaiga out of his hakama belt and rested it against his shoulder as he tucked his hands in his sleeves.

"G'night, Kagome." She smiled as she slid into her bed, lying on her side facing him and pulling the covers up to her chin.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha." She said, resting her head against the pillow. Within a few minutes, she was sound asleep in the warm cocoon of her blankets…

"Inuyasha!" She called as she wandered around Goshinboku Forest (a/n: I know it's called Inuyasha Forest, but I like the sound of Goshinboku forest better) looking for her mate. A little hanyou girl with black hair and silver tipped dog ears, who was cradled in her arms, only a small infant, gave a tiny yawn in her sleep. Kagome smiled at Shigatsu, their daughter, sound asleep in her powder blue baby blanket. (a/n- Shigatsu is "April," pronounced "She-got-tsoo") Inuyasha walked through the hut they now lived in that was just at the edge of Kaede-sama's village. He trotted over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he stood behind her, staring at their beautiful daughter.

"We finally did it…we're finally a family now, Kagome." He nuzzled her hair a little bit, kissing the mark on her neck lightly. She smiled warmly at the baby, then at her husband, her mate.

"I know…and I'm loving every moment of it." Sango and Miroku walked out of the hut that was right beside theirs, their two-year-old daughter closely in tow.

"Well, aren't you two looking awful happy?" Miroku said as Sango rocked a three-month-old baby boy in her arms. Inuyasha growled softly but didn't object anymore.

"Oh, looks like someone's awake." Kagome smiled as Shigatsu opened her bright golden-brown eyes and gave out a tiny baby gurgle. The couple smiled at their baby, knowing that now their lives were complete.

Kagome opened her eyes and sat up, the blankets falling to rest on her stomach. She turned her head towards Inuyasha, who had awoken as well, and was gazing at her with bright amber eyes that seemed to shine like that of an owl in the darkness of the night.

"I just had the strangest dream, Inuyasha…" She said, but Inuyasha cut her off.

"Don't tell me, I think I can guess; did you dream that giant cockroaches took over the world with their demonic green boogers of evil that turned into offspring and ate all the ramen in existence and then turned all humanity into slaves and all the demons were eradicated into the oblivion of the hells?" He panted slightly from saying everything all in one breath. Kagome stared at him wondering where THAT dream came from…

"Uhh…-blink blink-…no."

"Oh…then…what did you have it about?" She scratched the back of her neck as she averted his eyes.

"That we…uhh…s-started a…a family." She felt her face grow considerably hot as she stared down meekly at her hands, which she was wringing in her lap. Inuyasha shifted a bit in his seat, crossing his arms in thought.

"Started a family…as in…having kids?" He looked up at her, curiosity sparkling in his eyes. She nodded, the heat on her face only intensifying. Inuyasha placed a thumb under his chin in thought for a moment, but then stated,

"Well…what's so bad about that?" He asked. She waved her hands in front of her innocently.

"Absolutely nothing…it's just…I've never had a dream…that seemed so real…" She turned her head back over to Inuyasha, who was staring out the window. Before she even realized what it was that she was doing, she found herself walking over to Inuyasha, sitting down in between his legs, resting her head on his right shoulder, her hand resting on his left. He looked down at her in surprise.

"Aren't you a little uncomfortable down here on the floor?" She smiled as she shut her eyes half way.

"Not when you're here…unless you don't want me to stay down here." He snorted as he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, currently relaxing as she leaned more against his muscular frame.

"You kidding? The moment I laid my head down I knew there was something missing…but now…I don't feel that anymore." No response came from his beloved miko.

"Kagome…?" 'Must have fallen asleep…she looked really tired earlier.' He relaxed his hold on her a little (and I mean a VERY little) so that they would both be comfortable, resting his head in the crook of her neck again, leaning the side of his head against hers. 'So…she DIDN'T dream of world dominating cockroaches that have ramen-eating boogers…' With that thought, he fell asleep right along with her.

(Day five)

Inuyasha awoke early in the morning, so early in fact that the sun hadn't even risen yet…it was still pitch black outside, albeit a few stars dotting the sky. He turned his eyes over to the digital clock on Kagome's nightstand. '1:22 a.m.…whatever the hell that means…' His eyes swept over to Kagome, snuggled in his arms. He remembered the dream he had, and he couldn't help but feel retarded for dreaming it…mainly because it was absolutely random and that he wasn't slow enough to actually believe that cockroaches hawked up lugies that ate ramen. He shook his head a bit as he looked down at Kagome's angelic face. He watched her shift a little to get more comfortable against his chest, causing her hair to sweep to the side, revealing the mark Inuyasha had made on her only five days previous. He nuzzled it with his nose slightly, resting his head beside hers and letting the side of his head lean into her hair as his arms wrapped around her a little tighter to keep her warm. 'She's so soft…' He rubbed his hand up and down her back gently for a few minutes, but knew that if Kagome happened to forget that SHE came down HERE, he would pay the consequences.

He sighed lightly in defeat as he carefully swept his miko off the floor bridal style, quietly walking over to her bed. He slid her feet under the drawn-back blankets first, then rested her head gently on the pillow. He picked up the end of the covers that was folded over and straightened the blanket out so that it spread across Kagome's body, stopping at her neck. He stood for a moment, watching her slow, even breathing, inhaling her sweet scent through his sensitive nose.

"Well…it's still early…might as well rest." He walked back over to the wall he was sleeping against and took a seat. He shut his eyes and tried his best to get to sleep, but that feeling like something was missing was back again…like he was incomplete. Just to test a theory, he opened his eyes and stood up, walking back over to Kagome. He knelt beside the bed so that his head was level with hers. He crossed his arms, placing them on the mattress beside her. He rested his head into his arms and shut his eyes once more, and he was out before he even realized it. 'Well…looks like my theory was right…zzz…'

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

"Gyaaa!" Inuyasha yelped as quietly as he could when he'd just been pulled out of a deep sleep from something that he'd never seen before, bolting from his deep slumber as he shot into a sitting position…or at least…tried to. From moving so fast, he fell backwards so that he was staring at the ceiling, legs propped up against the edge of the bed, sticking straight up.

"Sigh Inuyasha, you never learn, do you?" Kagome's laughter pulled him out of his thoughts as she pressed a button on her digital alarm clock and made the beeping stop. He sat up, his ears twitching a few times. She giggled at his juvenileness as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She began to hum a tune while she got her things ready for the party tonight (a/n: mating season started on a Saturday, so this is Thursday).

"What're ya humming?" Inuyasha asked, tilting his head to the side out of curiosity. She smiled at him as she went out the door.

"Oh, I was just humming a song from this time period, that's all." She said as she shut the door behind her to go change. Inuyasha stretched his arms above his head, sighing lightly as he heard Sota walking around downstairs, asking his mother what exactly they were doing while he went with his friends to the "arch-aid…" whatever the hells that was. He turned his attention to the Tetsusaiga, left behind and down on the floor. He walked over and picked it up, sliding it back into the left side of his hakama belt.

"I was wondering when you'd pick that back up." He turned at the sound of Kagome's voice, about to respond to her, but any sense of intelligence to produce any sound other than "duh" or "uhh" or "umm" left him. She was wearing a navy blue spaghetti strap tank top that exposed half an inch of her stomach that was skin tight, a black mini skirt with a little wave on the bottom, black wedges (shoes), and her hair was pulled back half way with a navy blue barrette (if you don't know what to picture, think of Ayume's hair).

"How do I look?" She asked, doing a slow little spin around to give Inuyasha an eyeful. He blushed a deep crimson red that seemed to blend perfectly with his fire rat haori. 'Come on, just tell her she's beautiful…tell her the truth!'

"Uhh…duh…uhh…umm…gulp" He scratched the back of his neck, feeling like a complete retard for the second time today. 'Way to go, Inuyasha. You just officially made an idiot out of yourself yet AGAIN. So much for telling her something INTELLIGENT.' He thought, mentally kicking himself for being so stupid. Kagome just laughed and spared the hanyou more embarrassment.

"I'll just take that as a yes." She turned and began walking out the door, giving Inuyasha an eyeful of her backside. He whistled quietly to himself, but unfortunately for him, Kagome heard it. She wheeled around, but because she was wearing wedges, lost her balance. Inuyasha managed to catch her right in the nick of time, but rather than help her stand, he swooped her upward, slinging her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes.

"EEEEEEK! INUYAHSA PUT ME DOWN!" He grinned, but disobeyed.

"Nope…sorry, but I've got the upper hand this time!" He lifted his head triumphantly, a huge smirk planting itself on his face.

"Oh really…and how so?"

"If you say 'sit,' then we'll both come crashing down, and I really don't see any other way that you can subdue me, so I'm safe!"

"You sure about that?" She asked, knowing full well that she could think of at least three different ways that she could get him to put her down.

"Absolutely sure, otherwise you'd be on your feet right about-"

"NOW!" She cried as she hopped down and began reaching for his ears, but he flattened them to his skull, tucking their peachy insides in his hair.

"Ohh no you don't, I'm not falling for that again!" To prove his point, he walked over to her dresser, plopping the navy blue hat on that he always kept in her time as a disguise (well…for his ears, anyway). Kagome snapped her fingers.

"Oh! That reminds me- Inuyasha, I got you some clothes from this era so that you can blend in better at the party!" She handed him a bag of clothes, walking behind him, guiding him by the shoulders to the bathroom.

"You try those on and we'll see how you look!" She walked into her room as Inuyasha walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

Three minutes later, Inuyasha poked his head into her room, not revealing what it was he was wearing.

"Err…Kagome…I don't think that this is such a good idea…"

"Come on, Inuyasha! Come out here and let me see the clothes on you!"

"I think you gave me the wrong bag…"

"And why would you think that?"

"Because…I highly doubt that any man that isn't like Jakotsu would wear this…"

He stepped into the doorway, and Kagome couldn't hold in the laughter that erupted from the pit of her stomach. She HAD given him the wrong bag of clothes…she gave him HER clothes from the last time she went to the mall with her friends…so…

he was wearing a pale pink mini skirt and a white tight t-shirt that looked like he stole it from Simon Cowell (ouch).

He dove into the bathroom, quickly shedding himself of the feminine clothing and poking his head out the door.

"Uhh…yeah…do me a favor and let's just NOT mention that again, shall we?" She nodded, handing him the RIGHT bag of clothes. He even looked at them this time before putting them on (wow…what a retard . ).

Another three minutes later, he walked out wearing baggy black jeans and a black hoodie that had a silver outline design of a dragon breathing silver outlined fire that didn't have any of the design colored in on the front. Kagome blushed at him. 'Why didn't I get him to wear that sooner? He looks HOT!' She thought, her blush darkening. Inuyasha took this the wrong way, seeing as how his ears started to droop.

"Do I look that bad?" He lowered his head slightly. Kagome walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He placed his hands on her hips, pressing her a little closer to his muscular frame.

"I think you look…really…really good. I always think that, but this is definitely a new look. I really like it on you." He grinned, the tip of one of his fangs sticking out from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, I'm the same height as you are!" She squeaked happily. He rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Yeah…and you know how big those heels are on your shoes?" He said as he pointed to them. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but then rested the side of her head in the crook of his neck.

"Still, can't a girl feel tall every now and then?" She teased as there was a knock on the door.

"Kagome, honey, the guests are all here!" Her mother called from the other side of the door.

"Okay, we're coming, mom!" Kagome called back. She turned to Inuyasha, giving him a soft kiss on the lips, which he more than gladly responded to.

"Let's go, otherwise the others will start to worry, especially mom…" Inuyasha nodded, reaching for his hat, but Kagome handed him a plain black bandana hat instead.

"It'll match your outfit better than the hat." He nodded, tying the cloth underneath the silvery locks of hair he had so that the top of the cloth was over his ears to hide them well enough that they went unnoticed, even though, try as he might, his bangs still popped out from under the bandana.

They came downstairs to the sound of loud chattering and gossiping and whatnot as everyone was socializing at the party. All the girls were practically leaning on their boyfriends, and the guys looked somewhat awkwardly at each other, kinda like saying "yeah…I know how ya feel, man."

"Ohh, Kagome is this you're groom-to-be?" Yuka called as she walked up to the couple, Eri and Ayume closely in tow. Eri giggled, batting her eyelashes as she blushed, covering her lips with one hand lightly.

"Ooooh…he's cute, Kagome. Nice choice!" Eri whispered as she started looking at Inuyasha flirtatiously, to which he simply nodded a hello, tucking his hands in the front pocket of the hoodie and shuffling his feet, keeping his eyes on Kagome.

"Aww, he's shy, too…gee why can't you be more like that, Taki?" Ayume jabbed a finger at her boyfriend, who rolled his eyes.

"The dude's probably only in it for her body…" He then turned his eyes over to Kagome, looking where he shouldn't have for a second too long.

"You'd better keep your eyes…and your hands…on YOUR girlfriend, if you know what's good for you." Inuyasha said in a low, deadly voice, narrowing his eyes at the teen. The boy took one look at the hanyou and immediately knew that he meant business. He tore his gaze from Kagome and focused on Ayume a whole lot more than what seemed necessary.

"Uhh…I really like your hair up like that, Ayume, it looks great!" He smiled a smile that looked a little bit too forced. Ayume slapped Taki on the face, spilling her punch on his white shirt as she stormed out the door, a pleading Taki following close behind. Inuyasha blinked after the two as the door was shut by someone from the party.

"Do they always do that?" He turned to Kagome, who sighed and nodded.

"They've been like this for the past…what has it been, Yuka? Two months, would you say?" Yuka nodded, then turned back to her boyfriend and walked away. Ms. Higurashi handed out the cards that Kagome had arranged earlier. She handed a blue one to Inuyasha and a pink one to Kagome.

"We're starting the game, so take a card!" She told them each with a smile. Inuyasha blinked at the card, reading over the three questions that he had to ask Kagome and see if she knew about any of them. 'She should know at least two of these…' He thought to himself, glancing over at Kagome, who was reading over her card as well.

Everyone sat in a circle on the couches and chairs, but there wasn't enough room for everyone, so some people had to sit on the floor, Kagome and Inuyasha included.

"Okay, Eri and Suri will start, and we'll go around in a circle." Suri looked at his card, and Eri looked at hers, then she asked him,

"What's my favorite color?" She asked, knowing that, because she was wearing nothing but pink, that he couldn't possibly get this wrong…

"Orange, right?"

…then again…maybe not…

"Umm…no…your turn!" She said. He blinked at his card a moment.

"What's my favorite TV show?"

"Uhh…WWE wrestling?" She offered. He shook his head.

"Nope, Kagome it's your turn." She nodded, turning in her seat to face Inuyasha as she looked down at her card.

"Okay, Inuyasha, what's MY favorite color?" She sighed, knowing that he couldn't possibly get this one right…nope, there would be no way in-

"That's an easy one, you like blue." She gaped at him for a second.

"Actually…yeah…that's right!" Everyone else started giving out a chant of "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Inuyasha shrugged and kissed her heatedly. Everyone began doing a bunch of coyote whistles and dog noises the whole time they kissed, which lasted about five seconds.

"Okay…your turn…" She blushed. Inuyasha looked down at his card before picking a question.

"Am I a virgin?" He asked. Kagome thought about it, wondering if he ever "did" anything with Kikyo…he probably did, but it can't hurt to say…

"Yes."

"Yep, you're right!" 'Thank Kami-sama that I asked Ms. Higurashi what a 'virgin' was!' He thought as they kissed again, this time Inuyasha couldn't help but notice how much more intensely Kagome kissed him back. 'I can't believe it! He's really a virgin!' She thought happily as they broke apart.

"Okay Yuka, your turn!" Kagome said happily as she sat back down in her proper place. Basically, the game continued like this and the scoring was:

Yuka & Hereon- 16/20 kisses

Eri & Suri- 4/20 kisses

Ayume & Taki- never showed up

Kagome & Inuyasha- 20/20 (no surprises there n.n)

There were others that played, but couldn't even get on the board for points. Needless to say, they all said they should be seeing new people…names withheld to let them cling to what little dignity they have left.

"Wow…I never thought you knew that much about me…" Kagome blushed as they waved goodbye to the last guest that left. Inuyasha simply shrugged, a slight streak of pink visible across his face.

"Well…I tried to listen to you as best I could whenever you talked…even though I never really showed it." He tucked his hands back into the hoodie's pouch as he stared out the window.

"So that explains why you always had a headache!" Kagome kidded as Inuyasha rolled his eyes, tempting himself to ask her if he could get his "wish" a little early. He shook his head clear of those thoughts, knowing that he was bordering the line where being romantic ended and the realm of Miroku's perverted ness began as it was this week. He shuddered inwardly at the thought of him being like Miroku…now there's a disturbing thought for ya. He shook his head a little as he pulled the bandana off his head, letting his ears pop up to get some much needed air from being stuffed under a cloth for three hours straight.

"Hey, your ears are acting up…you okay?" Kagome asked as his ears darted and swiveled this way and that. He nodded as they finally relaxed to rest atop his head like they usually do. But then he remembered one very important fact about mating season…and it had to do with his ears. He shrugged it off, not like he'd HAVE to lie to Kagome or anything…

"I wonder why all those single guys left so quickly after I talked to them…"

…crap.

"Uhh…I don't know…maybe they just…got tired…yeah! They must have been exhausted!" She nodded, but turned to look at Inuyasha and her eyes instantly went up to his ears, which had turned a bright scarlet red and were vibrating almost as if they were those chairs that you put the coins in and they vibrate for a few minutes.

"Umm…what's up with your ears?"

"I lied."

"What did you lie about?"

"All those creeps left so fast because I threatened them when I heard them talk about you." Instantly, his ears relaxed and returned to their normal smooth silver color. However, it appears that all the red that was in his ears had flooded down to his cheeks, or was streaked across his face. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"You're so overprotective."

"And that's a BAD thing? Kagome, if you heard HALF the stuff they said about you, you wouldn't blame me as much!" Kagome laughed as she walked out of the room to change into her pajamas.

"Who ever said that I was blaming you?"

(Day Six)

Inuyasha popped one eye open, letting it rest on Kagome's sleeping form. It must have been either late night or very early morning, because he could still see the pale moonlight spilling into the room from Kagome's window. He had been awoken when Kagome's usually sweet scent had become sharp, saturated in the smell of sweat and tears. At first he thought she was physically hurt, so he hurried over to her side, sniffing her a few times. 'Must be having a nightmare…I don't smell any trace of her blood.' He thought as he remained knelt at her side. She was indeed cringing her usually peaceful and angelic face, tears streaking her creamy ivory skin as she mumbled incoherently in her sleep. Inuyasha slid a hand from his side to caress her cheek (unlike Miroku, on her face!) gently, brushing her tears aside as they stained her light skin.

"It's alright, Kagome, it's alright…I'm here…" Her cringe seemed to soften slightly, but it was evident that she was still upset. Before he realized what he was doing, he was beside her, literally sitting beside her on top of her covers as he lifted her torso and pulled her into his gentle embrace, resting her head on his shoulder as he brought the blankets around them both.

"…shh…it's okay…nothing's wrong, Koi." He whispered into her midnight ebony hair. Her tears slowed as her cringe melted away. He felt her tense body relax in his arms as she smiled in her sleep. He blushed at how they were but did nothing to move. Ms. Higurashi wouldn't complain…after all…they had their clothes on and everything, so it's not like they DID anything…but if she woke up…ah well. It would be worth it, he figured as he shut his eyes and let himself drift to sleep…

"Inuyasha?" He opened his eyes just as he was getting comfortable and was instantly met with Kagome's bright hazel eyes gazing at him groggily.

"Oh…uhh…you were having a nightmare, so I thought-" She rested a hand on his lips to stop his babbling, smiling at him sleepily.

"Thank you." She nestled more against him, burying her face into his thick mane of silver locks as sleep overtook her. He grinned, bringing his arms closer around her to keep her a little warmer.

"You're welcome, Kagome."

That morning, Inuyasha woke up to find his arms very empty…strange…he could have sworn that Kagome was asleep against him…

…and then he smelled her cooking.

He could always tell when she cooked; the house smelled absolutely wonderful when she did. Granted, her mother was an excellent cook as well…but Kagome's cooking…there was just something about her food he couldn't explain. He walked downstairs, there was a strong aroma of eggs and rice with…some sort of herb…maybe garlic, he wasn't sure. He poked his head around the corner to see Kagome wearing an apron over her light blue jeans and red spaghetti strap tank top as she hovered over the stove, mixing and stirring something in a pot. He walked over to her side, telling her good morning. She smiled and said good morning as well, then returned to her cooking.

"Have you ever eaten egg drop soup before, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked him as she poured it into two bowls. He shook his head, confusion evident on his face.

"What's that? I didn't see you drop an egg in there." Kagome laughed a little.

"No, no, egg drop soup doesn't have anything to do with dropping eggs; it's just called that because it has egg in it."

"Oh…okay." She handed him a bowl along with a plate of rice with some vegetables cooked in herbs on top of the rice. He smiled and said thanks, picking up a pair of chopsticks. The rice was really, REALLY good, especially with the vegetables and herbs (not curry powder, that episode made me laugh .) and the soup reminded him of ramen, only there were no noodles to slurp loudly. Bummer. He always liked slurping the noodles. He practically inhaled the food the moment he tasted it, finishing his food within two minutes. He wiped his mouth, a huge smirk clearly evident on his face.

"I take it you liked it, then?" Kagome asked as she cleared the table. He grinned and nodded, his ears tweaked up once to show just what a happy puppy he was. Kagome laughed as she put away the dishes in the sink.

"Are we going back to the feudal era today?" She asked him, turning from the sink to look at him. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her middle.

"Well…I am, but if you don't want to, I'll just-"

"Of course I want to go! That's why I asked, silly Inu-kun."

"Inu…kun…?"

"Okay, That's why I asked silly INUYASHA. Happy that I didn't give you a nickname?"

"Much, thank you." He stated bluntly as he swept her off her feet bridal style and walked out the door. Jii-chan burst out of the storage room with a bunch of ancient sutras, a vile of "exterminating dust," and was wearing priest robes. He ran over to Inuyasha as he set Kagome down, flicking the "exterminating dust" in the hanyou's eyes.

"DEMON BEGONE! I COMMAND YOU TO RELEASE MY GRANDDAUGHTER FROM YOUR HIDEOUS MARK!"

Inuyasha sneezed a response.

"Uhh…Grandpa, he didn't mark me until he had okasan's AND his half-brother's permission, then he asked me right before he did it, so I willingly took his mark." She cuddled closer to Inuyasha's side, who wrapped an arm around her waist and rested his head on top of hers in response. The aged monk wannabe blinked at the couple, then shrugged and went on his usual daily routine. Inuyasha and Kagome blinked at each other before choosing to just forget about it and go about their business.

"KAGOMEEEEEEEEYOU'REBACKIMISSEDYOUSOMUCH!"

Three guesses who that was.

A tiny orange puff ball knocked the wind out of the poor miko's stomach as he buried his small form into her school uniform.

"I needed you to save me! Kirara keeps licking me to death, Miroku's perverted ness is scaring me and making Sango-"

"AUGH…DAMN BOUZO!"

"…angry." Kagome sighed as Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched in irritation…boy, was it going to be a very…very interesting night…

"Sango, you know that I can't help-"

"If you grope me ONE MORE TIME, monk…"

"Must you call me 'monk' still, Sango? After all we've been through together, and now you must resort to calling me 'monk'?" He stated calmly, yet his voice was tinged with hurt. Sango stopped in the middle of her rant, her expression softening.

"Miroku…"

"No, I'm far from done, Sango. You know that I can't help my behavior, and that you also know that I've been trying to stop hurting you by trying not to hit one so many women, so why is it that you still insist on calling me 'monk' whenever my hand wanders?"

"Why must you do that in the first place? You know that it makes me feel uncomfortable!" A look of shock passed across his face.

"It…makes you…uncomfortable…? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Her eyes widened as she brought a hand to clutch her chest.

"You mean…you didn't…know…?"

"Then that settles it; I, Miroku, do hereby give up groping you for as long as it takes." He held up his right hand to signal that he swore earnestly. Sango blinked at him, but then smiled.

"Thank you, Miroku…that means a lot to me." He smiled at her as well as they linked arms and walked away to talk. Kagome sighed lightly as she turned to Inuyasha, who she was currently leaning on while they sat at the campfire.

"I'll give him a week."

"Not me, I'm pretty sure he'll blow it sooner than that."

"How soon?"

"Well…in about…three…two…" Off in the distance, they heard a faint SMACK of flesh connecting with flesh. Inuyasha sighed heavily as he shut his eyes and shook his head, wrapping his arms around her waist again.

"…one."

(Day Seven)

Inuyasha paced nervously in Kaede's hut, occasionally shooting a glance or two at Kagome's sleeping form. This was the day Kagome promised that she would mate with him, but he was beginning to have second thoughts, not about her, but himself. Would he hurt her? Gods, he hoped not. The desire to mate with her that instant was like a scorching fire in his heart (and his pants, but that's a whole OTHER story itself) that refused to die off. He knew that he would never hurt her, but he was worried that she would doubt him, or something bad would happen, or…or…

And then he looked back at her.

Any worry or fear he had previously thought of dissolved at the sight of her. He knew right then and there that she had never once doubted him, and that he had never of her. He knew that when they became one, it would be something he would hold dear in his memory for the rest of his long life. He walked back over to her sleeping figure as she turned in her sleep. He stroked her hair as he lay down beside her, pulling her sleeping bag closer around her as he lay on the floor. He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead, causing her to arouse from her sleep. She propped herself up on her elbows, rubbing her eye gently.

"G'morning…" He said awkwardly. She raised an eyebrow at his strange behavior.

"Right…morning." She said as she sat up. At that very instant, the wind randomly picked up through the window, causing her skirt to lift a little…'Holy shit! Okay, stay calm, stay calm. Relax, don't let it get to you…oh gods, why does the last day have to be the worst?' Inuyasha was having a mental war with himself over whether he should just flat out ask her to ahem now or later (not to wander off of the subject, but I like those candies 'Now and Later' they're yummy n.n).

You know you want to ask her now.

I have to wait until we're both ready for this!

You know you want to…

Shaddup about it…grr…stupid conscience…

Hey! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be the person you are!

And if it weren't for me, you wouldn't even EXIST.

Good point…

Ha! I win!

…but I still say you should ask her.

At this point, he shut off his communications with his inner conscience and decided that if Kagome was interested in backing out, then she would have talked to him about it. He figured it was best not to mention it until it seemed that she did not want to love him like that for the time being. She hugged her knees to herself as she smiled at him, staring into his molten amber eyes like they were the most beautiful things that she had ever seen.

"You remember what I promised, right?" She asked, almost as if she was able to read his very thoughts. He nodded, a streak of pink running from cheek to cheek.

"Yeah…I was thinking about that…" He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Is that what you want still?" She asked, kinda sad that it seemed that he was no longer interested in that with her. He stopped scratching his neck, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her directly in the eye.

"Kagome, you have no idea how long I have been wanting to with you, but I just wondered if you still wanted the same thing I did."

"What are you two talking about?" Shippo hopped onto Kagome's lap, breaking their moment. Kagome and Inuyasha started staring at him in a nervous anime style.

"Uhh…we were talking about…umm…"

"Ramen!" Inuyasha broke in. Kagome and Shippo looked at him, sweatdropping anime style.

"We were talking about ramen, Shippo. She asked me what kind of ramen that I'd like and I was telling her that I didn't care what kind it was, as long as it was what she wanted, too."

"Oh…okay then! I thought you were talking about mating or something, but…okay!" Shippo hopped off Kagome's lap and walked out of the hut to find his coloring book and crayons Kagome brought from her time. When he was out of the hut, Kagome looked at Inuyasha, raising an eyebrow.

"Ramen…? The best thing you could come up with as a cover was ramen?"

"Hey, he bought it, didn't he?" He kidded as he crouched like a dog beside her, sobering quickly when he began to talk about their future.

"So…should we…?" She smiled warmly at him.

"We should…tonight, though." His only response was to crush his lips against hers, which, she thought, would be very rude to deny.

(Later, that night…)

"Kagome…" He whispered into her hair as she rested her head on his chest.

"Hm?" She asked, stretching across the grass beside him, her cheek resting up against his haori gently. He had his arm wrapped around her waist as they watched the stars shimmering brightly in the dark abyss of the night sky. He turned on his side to face her, reaching his other hand up to caress her cheek lightly with his claws. He stared longingly into her eyes as a lock of his silver hair slid off his shoulder and intertwined with her ebony locks resting on the grass.

"Inuyasha...when should we…?" He smiled softly, the tip of one of his fangs poking out slightly on one side of his lip.

"Whenever you're ready, Koi." She smiled at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, unknowingly revealing Inuyasha's mark.

"I'm ready." His smile softened as he wrapped his other arm around her waist as well. He turned over so that his torso was on top of hers, their faces dangerously close to one another's. Each stared into the other's half lid eyes as Inuyasha brought a hand up to caress her face once again as their lips crushed against each other's. His hand stopped stroking her creamy skin and simply rested on her cheek. They parted lips a moment, giving the hanyou an opportunity to speak to his miko.

"Kagome…" He whispered into her lips as his thumb moved back and forth on her light ivory skin, careful not to harm her with his claw.

"I love you…so much. Always remember that, Koi." He pressed his lips to hers once more, sealing their destiny…sealing their fate. A love ignited, a meeting of two hearts, for all eternity.

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Phew! There ya go, people. Sorry for those of you who are interested in reading about them actually doing it, go to the M section for that, but I hope this one wasn't too bad, either! Okay, "His Light" is officially done, but please check out my upcoming stories!