A/N: Hey, we're here with chapter 2, which came out a lot more naturally than chapter 1 since I was really looking forward to some events of this one. A little unplanned angst, but that's fine, right?

Enjoy!

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If you had told Kagome four years ago that she would fall in love with Inuyasha and give up her modern life for him, she... well, she probably would have gotten mad at the insinuation. Even with his nice side becoming more apparent after a few days together, her initial relationship with him was quite rocky and it had been hard to let go of the idea that he'd remain a stubborn, selfish, and wild boy who had no idea how to make friends, let alone love someone.

But he was more than that. And she did grow to love him for it. So much that a world without him was more than she could bear.

She had once reassured herself that it was no accident she and Inuyasha had met. When the Well responded to her wish and re-opened, she knew it was the truth. She was born to meet him, and he was born for her.

"What are those?" her hanyou demanded.

Kagome hugged the box to herself, ignoring how Inuyasha could obviously very clearly hear the peeping coming from inside. "Uh... I went to the market, today."

He raised a brow and gave her a look that had her giggling nervously. "Yes, you did," he said. "For seeds and some eggs."

"Oh, uh... But, see," she stammered around her apprehensive giggles, seizing the opening, "What's better than just buying eggs? Having fresh ones, right? And, uh... I thought they could help with keeping insects out of the garden!"

Inuyasha sighed heavily. "How many did you get?"

Biting her lip, Kagome answered quietly, "Three."

"Three?! Do you know how much mess and noise those birds are going to make, Kagome?!"

"But they're still little! We have lots of time to make them a space. We can build them a little shed for when they're adults!"

Inuyasha peered into the box, making a face at the three hen chicks huddled together inside. Kagome really hadn't expected to find chickens of all things for sale, knowing they must be pretty rare and precious in these times. Not as rare as a horse or cow, perhaps, but definitely limited in that they weren't native to Japan. A grizzled old man had been peddling a box full of his latest clutch, claiming that he couldn't raise any more and was hoping to sell them to a samurai or farmer working close to a lord's castle. Since she was a famous miko, he'd been willing to let her pick out a few females. She'd been hoping Inuyasha couldn't be too mad when he saw how cute they were, but maybe that had been wishful thinking.

"Where are you planning to put them in the meantime?"

"Uh..." She'd been thinking about this the whole way back, but had eventually had to concede she knew next to nothing about chickens. "Keep them in the box with supervised exercise?"

Again, Inuyasha let out a heavy sigh.

In the end, they pulled the small shouji screen Kagome usually used to change behind or separate patients with, and turned it into a crude pen against a corner of the hut. The box stayed to serve as a hidey-house, and a small sakazuki sake cup to hold their water. There were a lot of those little peep, peeps for a while as the girls adjusted, and Kagome was starting to get worried they'd drive Inuyasha crazy due to his advanced hearing. But blessedly, they quieted down after a while.

Kagome had begun planting her new garden addition (bamboo shoot) and scanning for the first potential signs of weeds. The fence was nearly finished by now and Inuyasha was perched on top of it, watching her. She'd have to wash both of their clothes after this. The newly turned dirt had made them filthy.

"Hey Inuyasha, do you want to come down to the river with me?"

He blinked. "Are we out of water already?"

Kagome shook her head, gesturing to their clothing. "Bath."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Together?"

"Yeah! We can stay dressed, but I really need one and both our clothes need a good washing."

He looked down at himself, seeming to notice for the first time that his pant legs and feet were so messy. "I guess so..."

Kagome had to give credit where credit was due, though. He'd been able to focus more on his hygiene now that they weren't traveling, and after seeing her clean up his dirty footprints once, he'd started being conscientious of what he tracked in to their home. He'd probably never had to think about that before, and Kagome counted it a miracle that it had stuck in his brain so quickly. The last thing she wanted was to have to argue over basic etiquette.

"Great! I'll need to ask some of the villagers what chickens eat, too. I'm about done here and then we can go rinse off."

This was ridiculous, Kagome thought. Since when did Inuyasha get so shy? It was true he'd never really exposed his legs to her before, but she'd never thought on it long enough to wonder if it was due to bashfulness. He'd simply never gotten hurt badly enough there for her to have to fully strip him, and bloodstains and damage usually repaired themselves from his clothes within a day or two.

"C'mon, Inuyasha," she sighed. "I'm going to have to give them a good scrub eventually. When was the last time you washed them, anyway?"

For her part, Kagome was already stripped down to her hadagi undershirt and susoyoke skirt, and floating leisurely in the river. It felt nice to rinse off the sweat and dirt after the day she'd had, but it was a little spoiled by the awkwardness of having Inuyasha merely staring at her from the bank, hesitant to reach a similar state of dress. She knew fundoushi weren't the prettiest things, but for god's sake, they were a couple now! Lots of men did their farming work in less!

"I said you could leave your hadagi on," she tried again. Then smiling, she added, "I'll turn around."

He glared, and she giggled. "Okay, do it then," he grumbled out.

Obeying, Kagome swam a little further out, where she could give him some space to get in and the privacy he requested. She heard him shuffling, and the drop of cloth where he'd likely left the sashinuki pants and his suikan next to the temporarily abandoned washboard. She expected only a few ripples signifying his entry into the water, but instead there was a large splash behind her that sloshed a mini wave against the back of her head and caused her to look back in surprise.

"You said you wouldn't look," the hanyou said almost playfully from where he'd just resurfaced.

"That was before you decided to cannonball in! This river's not all that deep, you know!"

He scoffed. "Well you got me in here. Now what?"

Kagome really wished he'd stop making it out to be weird. It was putting her own mind into some indecent places concerning how the water rolled through the grooves defining his biceps through his plastered down hadagi. She was able to push the thought aside though, in lieu of her bubbling excitement over what she hoped he'd let her do.

"I was thinking I could wash your hair," she chirped, brandishing the soap and comb she'd brought out with them and left sitting on a river rock.

Inuyasha groaned, which she'd expected, but he didn't say anything directly discouraging the idea. She took that as permission.

"I don't hear a 'no'," she said, sloshing over to where the man was giving her a sour look.

He heaved an exaggerated sigh, but obediently turned around. "What is your obsession with my hair, nowadays?"

Kagome gathered the snow white bundle to make sure she wouldn't miss any, running her fingers through it in a once-over for any tangles. His hair looked quite smooth but was actually a little shaggy to the touch, especially when wet. She remembered being surprised by this the first time she'd rode on his back and gotten a face-full of it.

"Well it's so pretty, but you never take care of it!" she complained. "It's such a waste!"

He snorted. "It doesn't need to be pretty. It just gets messed up again as soon as I run around or fight."

She answered patiently, "Well now you have me to clean it up for you again. Lean back."

He did, and she scrubbed at his hair while wetting it, scratching his scalp gently to ease off any dander. For his ears she just massaged the water into the fur, until they were pink and fluffy under the attention.

"Dunno why you bother," the hanyou argued again, though he seemed to be visibly relaxing under her hands.

She noticed and smiled. "Well, isn't this nice, though?" Lathering up the soap to put first into his scalp, she could almost meet his eyes and leaned forward the extra few inches until she could. "You don't have to feel all those tangles and dirt, and I get to indulge in giving you a little spa day."

"Spa?"

"Never mind. Lean forward again, so I can get the back."

Kagome wasn't sure if there was enough soap in all of feudal Japan to properly wash his mess of hair, but she was determined to try. Working up another lather, she stroked it through the thick locks, trying to work out any tangles her fingers got snagged in. The soap itself smelled of varying herbs and flowers, though not too strong to overwhelm Inuyasha's nose. Since he said he liked her scent, she tried to purchase one that used similar ingredients to the modern shampoos she had used.

"There," she said. "I think I got it as best I could. Let that sit for a bit so it has a chance to soak in, and then we'll rinse it out."

Inuyasha merely grunted in response, but she could tell he wasn't actually annoyed. With him seemingly relaxed, Kagome got to work on her own hair – which was much easier since she washed it regularly. When Inuyasha's fingers came up to touch a few floating strands, playing with them idly, she shot him a questioning smile.

"I like yours pretty, though," he offered quietly. "It means you live comfortably and don't have to fight so much."

She wasn't entirely sure what to do with that compliment. "The same goes for you now, though."

"Keh, pretty features don't fit someone like me. They should be on someone like-..." he seemed to catch himself there, letting his sentence trail off with a blush. She understood, anyway.

"Thank you..."

The moment stretched between them like a magnetic force. Kagome saw him lean forward, slow enough that she could pull away if she wanted, but with clear purpose. She put a hand on his shoulder and moved closer. His breath on her lips. It made her shiver. Her breath mixed with his made her head feel warm and fuzzy, like she'd had a little too much sake. Their noses brushed.

"Augh, dammit!"

Kagome's eyes snapped open at the abrupt exclamation. When she saw the cause, she couldn't help her giggle. Some soap had slid down his bangs to catch in his eye, and he was now rubbing it grumpily.

"I guess we should wash that out now," she said.

Grumbling, Inuyasha took a big breath before dunking under to submerge himself. All Kagome could see was white suds floating to the surface before he reemerged a little ways away. She followed suit, swimming a little away from the upsurge of pale bubbles before surfacing.

The two seemed to reach an unspoken agreement not to look directly at each other as they moved back on to the bank. That is, until Inuyasha dropped to all fours out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't you dare-...!"

Too late. Droplets pelted her, and she had to put up a hand to shield herself as Inuyasha shook himself dry. She could only sigh when he blinked big golden eyes up at her, clearly not understanding what the problem was.

"Never mind," she huffed out. "I'm going to get started on the laundry. Though it seems you already got it wet for me..."

"Keh."

Since she was wet herself, it was a lot easier to get down and dirty with the washing. She still hadn't mastered using a washboard, so there was some unnecessary splashing or slips. She and Sango usually did this task together, but the youkai exterminator was feeling a little under the weather today. Kagome suspected she was just exhausted from being a full-time mother to three young children, but she had made a mental note to check on her friend after her chores. Still, it was nice to spend this time with Inuyasha, so she wasn't complaining.

Once the clothes were hung on a low tree branch to dry, Kagome set about getting herself and Inuyasha dry. Running the comb through his hair was a little easier than she'd expected, though there were more than a few snags and tangles. The bottom side close to his nape had a veritable rat's nest, but it wasn't as stubborn as she feared thanks to the texture of Inuyasha's hair. She was beginning to wonder if dog youkai had naturally detangling hair. After all, Sesshoumaru's always looked immaculate, and even Inuyasha who had only inherited half of those genes seemed easy enough to groom.

Speaking of Inuyasha, he seemed to be deep in thought. She was about to question him about it, when he suddenly spoke. "I haven't really had my hair combed since my mother."

Surprised that he was bringing her up so casually, Kagome almost paused in her brushing before catching herself. "Tell me about her," she prompted gently. The subject hadn't come up since that awful Blank Woman incident involving Sesshoumaru.

Thankfully he seemed okay with her request and hadn't gotten defensive or withdrawn like he had back then. They were immeasurably closer now, after all. "What do you wanna know?"

"Hmm, I dunno. You just never mention her. All I know is that she was a very beautiful lady, and that she seemed to love your father." She thought about what to ask for a second, before continuing, "What was your favorite thing about her?"

Inuyasha was silent for a few minutes, and she was starting to worry he wouldn't answer, after all. Then, "Her laugh. I don't think she got to do it much when she was a noblewoman, but she loved to laugh, and always used to say I was funny like my father. After her family fell into ruin, he brought her a lot of things like fine kimonos and tortoiseshell combs apparently. So that she could still have some of her old life. Old Myouga says that he brought her the Fire-Rat suikan shortly after she conceived, which she passed to me. I don't remember much of him, though." He paused, like he was trying to sort through his memories. "The earliest I can remember clearly was when we lived in the abandoned shack."

Kagome again had to stop herself from pausing in her combing, though she did slow down at that. She'd always known Inuyasha had a bad life, especially as a child. It was painfully obvious in the way he acted and in the few words he'd spoken to her about it when coming back from meeting Jinenji. But it was different to actually hear about it and have to stomach the idea that he and his mother hadn't even had proper shelter for the better part of it. She didn't interrupt him, though.

"Even when we couldn't sleep because it was cold, or couldn't find anything to eat, she still laughed a lot. I guess now it's easy to see it was for my sake, but it was still my favorite part of her. She was always so strong, and she'd brush it off by saying I kept her laughing. She always said she loved how I would try and make her laugh, too, but it's kinda hard to remember that part clearly."

Kagome tried to picture this Inuyasha from his story. A young child hiding around the corner to surprise his mother or telling her exaggerated tales. It hurt more than she thought it could to think about how that child who was funny like his father had that trait beaten out of him by a harsh life. She wasn't sure when exactly his mother had died, but she got the impression it was far too soon. If her own experiences with him were any indication, then she knew no one would have taken him in as an orphaned hanyou. He wasn't accepted by either humans nor youkai. His own identity torn in two until rather than being able to be proud thinking of himself as both, he'd grown up thinking of himself as neither; a detestable existence. A mistake.

She decided to speak, then. "Myouga-jii-chan talks about your father a lot. It seems you took after him in a lot of ways. But..." She set the comb down to trace a finger over his cheekbone. He jumped, but she continued. "From what I remember of that time, you have a lot of your mother in you. Like here, you have her cheekbones, which give you a softer face. Your eye shape is a lot like hers, too – and the color, when you're human. Your hair grows in a similar shape to hers, as well."

Inuyasha had taken the hand on his cheek to hold it in his, and he was idly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. She leaned over to wrap her arms around his shoulders, draping herself over his back.

"You have a lot of pretty features to you, too, Inuyasha. Don't be so hard on yourself." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you for telling me about her."

"Yeah..."

"Do you want to try combing my hair, too? I don't remember my dad, but I still have stories about him from mama, if you want to hear."

Inuyasha took the comb with a small smile. "Sure."

The answer to "what do chickens eat?" turned out to be "everything".

Kagome had asked several villagers and Kaede herself on her way to sweeping the shrine. It hadn't taken long to clean out the old incense and place fresh flowers at Kikyou's grave, so Kagome was back home already. She'd gathered a basket of grass clippings for the chicks and Inuyasha had caught them a mouse. They seemed very pleased in their makeshift pen now that they had both to pick at. There already seemed to be a pecking order forming between the three – literally, since they would peck each other away from favorable bits of grass or the juiciest parts of the mouse.

"We should name them," she said to Inuyasha, who was lounging against the wall, happy not to be in just his underwear anymore.

"I ain't naming them."

Kagome gave him a sour look. "Why not, grouch?"

He opened an eye to peer at her. "You said it yourself. They're for eggs and pest control. They're not here to be our pets."

Kagome let out a frustrated sigh. "Don't listen to him, little peeps. One day you'll show him what great pets you make, and then you'll get names."

"Not likely."

"You were a big softy with Buyo."

"That was different."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure it was."

"Don't you have dinner to make?" He glared at her.

Kagome rolled her eyes again, but got up and headed outside to pick some fresh vegetables and seasoning herbs from the garden, only to find the vegetables already picked and ready, as well as a fully cleaned and skinned rabbit lying on the wood pile. Grinning, Kagome brought them back inside, to also find the fire now going.

"Softy," she said, tweaking one of Inuyasha's ears.

"Keh!"

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A/N: Remember this is manga canon, so there have been no proper kisses yet. ;) The poor things are working on it.

Once again I'm using Rumiko Takahashi's notes from the Profiles book to shape certain aspects. In that book, she mentions that she imagined Inuyasha's mother as part of some noble family that fell into ruin, and lived a miserable life with him in some abandoned shack in the woods. As for his father, well... I'm 100% ignoring any of the 3rd movie's ideas of him, as I've never been fond of the idea that he died before Inuyasha was born. (Plus they messed up his dog form by making it a Sesshoumaru clone...) Otherwise... how did he hide his tomb and Tessaiga in Inuyasha's eye? Much less how was Inuyasha able to remember the event enough to get it extracted by the Blank Woman? So I just went with him dying when Inuyasha was too small to remember him much.

I hope you enjoy the idea of Inuyasha being surrounded by cute chicks, huehuehue.