Chapter 8

Kagome heard the soft crunch of her foot on the snow as she stepped on it. The frozen water grabbed at her sandal covered feet as she continued to the village where her friends stayed at. It had been a hard year, and she could not wait to see some familiar faces. She trudged her heavy bag and continued on to the place where she grew up in that time.

Not even ten feet into the small, but growing city, the young woman was surrounded by the people; all of them were excited about the return of their priestess. She was all they had left after Kaede had died the previous winter. It had been a hard time, and they had a couple apprentices, but they still did not know enough.

Kagome watched as the crowd parted, and loved faces appeared. "Sango! Miroku! Mesha!" she smiled at the small family. Sango had a girl, who was a full of energy and life, almost always with Kagome when she was around.

"'Ome, 'Ome!" The little girl cried, as her parents brought her closer to the woman. Her name was the first words out of the child's mouth, as she waved her arms around as an infant would.

"Hey!" Kagome placed her hand on the girl's heard, ruffling her hair a bit.

Miroku placed himself in front of Kagome. "Why are you back so soon?" he questioned. It was known that she would come and go from this village, stopping to see her family. She had been there just a few weeks earlier, and stayed for three days. "Did something happen between you and Sesshoumaru?"

She smiled and shook her head. No, she and Sesshoumaru rarely got into fights, and when they did, they were usually small and easily made up. She loved him too much to leave him, no matter what. Their relationship had grown immensely over the past year, and both were known for their inseparable bonds.

"I am here to visit my family for Christmas. Sorry, but I can't stay long. Sesshoumaru gave me four hours, and I really need to talk to my mom. If I have extra time, I will see you later, 'kay?" the couple smiled and let her pass to the well.

As she got to the well, excitement and nervousness surrounded her heart and mind. What she was about to do was not that easy.

oOo

The sun was being blocked by the clouds, not only in Feudal Japan, but in modern times as well. It is odd how both worlds, without even realizing, resemble each other.

Kagome looked at the pictures on the mantel of the warm fire. The first one was a photo of her and Sesshoumaru sitting in a tree. Miroku had taken the picture while neither was looking, and ended up being punched by the demon lord. The next picture was one of Miroku after being punched. The next on was her lover looking to the moon. Because he did not really like the camera, Kagome had to sneak this picture. It was hard to convince the people at the film place that it was a party, but the effort was well worth.

"Thanks Kagome!" The young woman looked to her brother as he opened his present. Both she and Sesshoumaru gave the boy a wooden sword, her mother some soft silks, and her grandfather a mummified kappa hand. In return, the couple received a set of bath robes (just in case they wanted to 'get intimate', so said Kagome's mother), a new bike for the girl, and some various spiced meats for the demon.

Kagome's mother picked up the plates in front of the woman, and the teen moved to help out. "I've got it. How often does my daughter stay?" The older woman smiled gently.

'How funny of her to say that.' "I want to help. I need to talk to you anyways." Both females moved to the kitchen after removing the plates from their living room.

As they washed the dishes, Kagome thought to herself. 'How am I going to say this?' It was probably going to be the toughest thing she would ever ask her mother, but she was sure that there would be little problem.

"You wanted to tell my something." Her mother always knew when she was distressed, so it was no surprise when she heard the voice.

Kagome smiled a weak smile as she tried to figure out how to tell her mother the news. "You know about my relationship with Sesshoumaru, right?" She did not wait for her mother to nod. "He and I…well…we…we…we want to become mates; get married, but we wanted to ask you first." She paused for a second, trying to think of a way to say the next part. "To become mates, me and Sesshoumaru have to, uh, you know, get intimate." 'Now the hard part is over' She sighed out her nervousness.

Looking up into her mothers face, Kagome waited. She gave a smile and nodded in agreement.

oOo

Sesshoumaru was not one to pace, but when he met Kagome, he seemed to do it a lot. Constantly he worried about her, not just physically, but mentally. She was so emotional that he was surprised she was not pregnant, even though they had not started a relationship like that due to her innocent mind.

The night he had proposed had been really beautiful. The full moon was out, the type of night that dog demons do propose, and fireflies were dancing about. They sat under a tree (he had remembered what her favorite place was), and asked her to become his mate. Immediately she said yes, but wanted her mother's permission before anything. He had agreed to, as long as she came back as soon as possible. He wanted to have at that very second, but wanted her to be happy as well.

Over the past year he had to do so much to gain her, but it was well worth it. The wolf demon Kouga had come and claimed that Kagome was his. This pissed Sesshoumaru off greatly, and they fought for her. Being the great lord he was, the dog demon won, not only that, but the one he wanted took care of his wounds. If he had not been so strict with his mind and body, he might have taken her right then and there, but he restrained himself. Inuyasha was not a problem. The half-demon had left and was rarely seen. Though this did upset Kagome, it did not stop her from loving Sesshoumaru.

The pleasing smell of honey had reached his nose, pulling the demon lord out of his thoughts. Dashing over to the well, he saw the female of his thoughts climbing up. Helping her over Sesshoumaru gave her a smile reserved only for her. She gave a smile ten times as big and darted into him, hugging his waist. She started rubbing her head against his stomach, not knowing the affect that it was having on him.

"She said yes!" Her muffled voice came out, almost not understood.

Sesshoumaru grabbed her body and crushed it with his own. Kagome gave out a laugh and brought her hands to his face. She gave a soft smile at the relaxed and loving look in his eyes. "I love you my Kagome."

Okay! Since so many of you wanted two more chapters, I will write one more. It might take me a while because I want to get started on one of my other stories. Remember patience is a virtue, but I will try to get it done soon. So yeah. Anyways I thank anyone who has reviewed, and if I could I would make you a cookie.