A/N: A slightly longer chapter this time, but hopefully with a satisfying emotional conclusion that's worth the wait! And I hope those who celebrate it have a happy Halloween!

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"These are some of the herbs you can take to Sango-chan if she's still feeling under the weather while we're gone, and the chickens should be fine with grass and whatever you or they can catch. If you get hungry there's lots of boar meat on the drying rack."

Kagome was listing off things for Shippou while Inuyasha waited rather impatiently next to Miroku. The hanyou opened his mouth to snap that the kitsune could figure most of this stuff out on his own, but a light tap on his shoulder by Miroku's shakujou stopped him.

"Let them be," said the monk. "It makes Shippou feel better to know exactly what to do in a situation, and Kagome-sama wants to talk to him for a bit before we leave."

Inuyasha heaved an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, but if we don't get going there's no way we'll have any chance of making it by tonight."

"I understand your anxiety, Inuyasha, but Kagome-sama already promised to set up a barrier for your human night, didn't she? I'll be there to assist her with it, too. You're in good hands, my friend."

"I know, just..." he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I always get antsy. I can't help it."

Shippou, who had apparently been eavesdropping on the conversation, spoke up. "Oh, please. If Kagome didn't look out for you like she does you'd be dead already. Where's your sense of trust?"

Kagome clearly hadn't heard anything from them, and merely looked back at Inuyasha questioningly. The hanyou bared his teeth. "Shut it! Of course I trust her! Not that it's any of your business."

Shippou had changed in the past three and a half years, too. He'd not grown much – just a little leggier like a normal juvenile fox – but with his newfound schooling and discovered pride as a kitsune youkai, he'd become an insufferable know-it-all. He'd heckled Inuyasha sometimes before, but now it was like he'd made it his mission to point out all the flaws in the way the man thought or did things. Kagome had said it's normal for kids to go through that phase and that Souta had, too. Inuyasha wanted this "phase" to be over as quickly as possible. Kitsune were naturally mischievous and proud, but it was already common for full-blooded youkai to look down on hybrids and he didn't need that from one of his friends. Still, he always acted like an angel in front of Kagome, so she made for a pretty good shield.

"Perhaps Inuyasha's head would be able to clear more if we were to set out," Miroku defused. "Are you ready, Kagome-sama?"

Kagome slung her bow over her shoulder. "Yes, sorry to keep you waiting."

Miroku nodded. "Then, Shippou, I leave Sango to you. If you could entertain the kids as much as possible and make sure she eats properly, that would be very helpful."

"Leave it to me, Miroku!"

…

As the village shrank further and further away in the distance, Inuyasha found his thoughts consuming him more and more. It wasn't really just his human night bothering him, but the truth was far more frustrating. He hadn't gotten to kiss or even embrace Kagome since that one morning, and he didn't know how to even approach her for it. It had just happened that time. That day he'd seen her purifying under the waterfall brought out the desire almost viscerally, yet he'd resisted. Why did he want to resist? He was so stupid...

Almost like she was drawn in by his thoughts, Kagome looped her arm around his and smiled reassuringly up at him. His heartbeat kicked up, but he smiled back. Miroku was leading the way, so surely this little moment was okay. His hand came up to hers and squeezed.

Miroku spoke, which made Inuyasha jump, but thankfully the monk had not turned around to address them. "We don't know too much about this job. Just that it's in a remote mountain village called Satori. Apparently the youkai wants maiden sacrifices, but that doesn't narrow down the type much."

"So we're going into the mountains?" Kagome asked. "Are you sure that will only take a day or two?"

"Hmm, quite sure. Inuyasha and I have been to that mountain before for an unrelated event. The paths are clear and there are many bridges closing gaps. The main problem is visibility once we get higher, in which case we may need Inuyasha's nose once he gets it back."

Kagome tightened her grip on her bow marginally. "Are there a lot of youkai up that way?"

"There are more animal mononoke, but many of them serve as guardians to the mountain forests and should not be hostile," Miroku said.

"Why don't I believe you?" Inuyasha quipped back with narrowed eyes.

Miroku gave one of his signature 'you wound me' sighs. "Inuyasha, your own father was a wandering mononoke in the form of a great Tiangou-like beast, was he not? Maybe you should try to feel at home."

"I barely remember a thing about him, and even if I did, I'm not going to run around with beasts like some animal."

Kagome chose that moment to speak up again and break up the banter between the two. "Did they say how many youkai are threatening them? Is it just one?"

Miroku scratched the back of his head. "Well... I don't really know that, either. There wasn't a lot of information. Just that help was urgently needed. If they're that deep in the mountains, I imagine they may be keeping themselves secluded and secret to escape the wars."

They traveled in companionable silence after that, which suited Inuyasha just fine. Kagome was still holding his hand, and her skin felt especially warm as they ascended into the colder and thinner air. Within a few hours, Kagome seemed to be breathing rather hard and he had to walk slightly in front of her to coax her on through their connected hands. He realized for the first time that the high altitude air might be hard on her now that she wasn't used to roaming the countryside with him anymore.

"Can you make it okay?" he asked. Miroku had also turned around in concern, but to his credit said nothing about him holding her hand. Inuyasha had gotten so used to it now that he didn't think to pull away as soon as attention was on them, anyway.

"I'm fine," she panted, waving him off with a hand motion and a smile.

"We may as well take a quick breather," said Miroku. "I think the cold's getting hard on me, too, and it will begin effecting Inuyasha before too long."

"I'm fine," Inuyasha parroted.

"Yes, you are now," Miroku explained with only a moderate amount of patience. "But your body's gearing up to be a normal human like us. The change starts happening before you actually transform, doesn't it?"

He grumbled but didn't disagree to setting up a temporary camp. It wasn't even midday yet, so he wasn't going to allow more than twenty or thirty minutes, but that should be enough time for Kagome to catch her breath and get warm.

The trio moved off the trail to set up a small fire, though it was pretty weak considering most of the plant life was covered in dew. Kagome was discreetly pressed into his side – he was through caring about PDA embarrassment for today – soaking up his body heat and holding out her hands to warm them near the fire.

"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, making Inuyasha's ears instantly prick up to sense for danger, "I know that flower! It's extinct in my time!"

Rising, the miko made her way over to examine the little blueish-purple flower more closely. She touched it delicately, and Miroku approached in interest. "Extinct?" he asked curiously.

"Ah, it means it doesn't exist anymore. It's died out due to natural or man-made causes."

"Fascinating... Perhaps you should take one as a souvenir then, Kagome-sama. There are plenty growing in this area."

"I... guess I could," she said with her hand still cradling the flowerhead.

At her words, Miroku delicately picked one of the flowers, so as not to damage it. The monk extended it, but rather than put it in her hands, he instead placed it in her hair like an ornament. Inuyasha watched the woman giggle, not understanding how a flower could be so engaging to either of the humans.

"I guess Sango-chan's made you a little more suave," Kagome laughed.

"I'll take what compliments I can get," Miroku responded in that long-suffering voice he used when he was being dramatic.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Suave, my ass. He does that with his kids all the time."

"And I think that's sweet," Kagome asserted. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two from it."

"I don't want to learn anything from a lecherous con artist. Also time's up, let's get going."

Kagome sighed. "Slave driver."

"We still have a lot of ground to cover." He felt like bashing his head against a nearby tree. Why couldn't he have Miroku's silvertongue for once and just tell her that the flower brought out her hair and her eyes? Pretty much anything better than just 'let's get going' when she was clearly enjoying something, even if he didn't understand exactly why. He was so bad at this boyfriend thing...

Inuyasha took the lead this time. If the goal was just to get through the mountain trails then Miroku didn't need to guide him. Kagome was behind him now, talking to Miroku and pointing out how pretty the mountain scenery was. It seemed to be distracting both of them from the thinner air and the cold, so he didn't scold them for their resulting slower pace. He could smell a lot of lesser youkai around, but surprisingly they seemed to be rather calm and none of them approached the travelers. Maybe Miroku had been right about higher mononoke keeping things in check.

When they came to the mountain stream, there was no immediate bridge to be seen, though the current was too swift to walk across easily. "Well that's a problem," said Miroku.

"Do we look further downstream?"

"Keh, who do you think you're with? C'mon Kagome, climb on." Inuyasha knelt down, offering the woman his back. Kagome gave a little hop, letting him catch her thighs and hitch her up to stop her sliding down onto his butt. In one fluid motion, he leapt across the rushing stream and had them both safely on the other side. He wasn't really looking forward to carrying Miroku, but evidently he'd forgotten the monk's own agility, and before he could jump back across to retrieve the man, he was already hopping across the zigzaging patterns of river rocks and fallen stumps. His waraji sandals were slicked with moisture from the altitude dew and the stream's bank, but they didn't give out and slip before he joined them on the other side.

"Show off," Inuyasha huffed, though it was good-natured. Kagome was still on his back and he decided to keep it that way. Miroku was much better at keeping up at a quick pace, and he was hoping to get further in before tonight. Plus, he'd never admit it, but he was starting to get a little cold as the day went on. "We'll get past those rocky paths and then break for a quick lunch."

Miroku wound his shoulder in a stretch. "Sometimes I really do miss Kirara..."

A mist that was almost a drizzle wafted over the valley below them as they ascended the thin path that was carved into the mountain face. It was just as well he kept Kagome on his back, because the way was narrow and allowed only for single file movement.

"Hold on tight, wouldja?" he scolded, having felt little tugs at his hair that suggested she'd been playing with it. She better not have braided it...

"All right!" she lilted, happily wrapping her arms around his neck.

He raised a brow. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"It's just really nice to be traveling again. I missed it."

Inuyasha's ears tilted towards Miroku when some loose rocks scattered under the monk's feet. "It is nice to have a travel buddy besides Inuyasha again," said their companion. "Not that I'm opposed to mostly silent walks, but it's definitely refreshing to have Kagome-sama's vibrant personality here once more."

"Well, excuse me for not being good enough company."

"Oh, calm down," Kagome soothed, rubbing his ear for a bit before he pulled it away. "Miroku-sama's just teasing you. Try to enjoy the trip, okay? The mountain is beautiful and we haven't had to fight anything yet."

He had no response to that, but startled a bit when he felt her breath suddenly on his ear. "And thanks for carrying me this far," she murmured so that only he would hear. "I'll do better on the way back."

"Keh. You know I don't mind carrying you."

"I know. But it's still sweet of you." Then louder, she said, "How about I help you catch lunch? I could use the practice before we fight whatever youkai is at this village."

…

Kagome turned out to be a mess at hunting. Inuyasha wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't used to shooting things running away from her, or if she was just too squeamish to kill an animal, but she'd flushed out a rabbit and several birds and hadn't managed to hit any of them.

"Look, it's okay," he said at last. "It takes a lot of practice." Thinking about it, even he didn't want her to kill an animal in the end. He remembered how much he hated it as a kid until he'd been forced to get used to it. But Kagome had him and didn't have to get used to things like that. "I can catch enough for the three of us quickly."

Kagome laughed nervously, a little sweat on her brow that she'd neglected to wipe off. "I'm pretty bad, aren't I?"

"Nah. I need to burn some energy off anyway. Save your arrows for another time."

She nodded and moved to retrieve her lost arrows and check if they were still usable. One was fairly near him, so he picked it up to give to her. Their hands brushed as she took it. He didn't pull away at first, instead splaying his open to hold her hand more securely. Had hers always been that small in comparison? It was weird to think of himself as growing much bigger in the time since their journey. Her hands were different, too. The smoothness was broken up by calluses from her archery and work pulling up plants.

"Inuyasha?"

"S-Sorry," he said, pulling his hand away.

"Don't apologize... What are you thinking about?"

"I dunno. I just never thought about us getting older, I guess."

"Oh..." she said in a small voice. "Does it bother you?"

"Not really."

"Really?" Her voice was apprehensive this time, which confused him. "I mean... I wasn't sure if you thought about..." She trailed off, which confused him even more. She seemed to realize she needed to spell it out, and finally continued, "Well... our life spans don't match up, do they?"

Oh. "Kagome, I age like a human. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"You-... But-... But what about...?"

Inuyasha scratched at the back of his head. "As far as I can tell, my time was completely frozen when I was sealed... I didn't age at all during that, and I don't remember a thing from being pinned on the tree."

"So..." her voice had gone small again, "You won't ever be alone again? You'll always have me, Miroku-sama, and Sango-chan...?"

He blinked. He hadn't really thought about it that far ahead. "I guess I will."

Kagome's arms were suddenly around him, and he panicked as he smelled the first sign of her tears. But all she said was, "Thank god... Thank god. I never wanted you to be alone ever again..."

"D-Don't cry!" he flustered. "It's not something to cry about...!"

"Of course it is!" she asserted, though she did wipe away the few tears that had gathered on her cheeks and eyes. "I told you already, you're my family. I need to know you're happy!"

That humbled him. His next words were soft as a result. "I am happy." She made him happier than he'd ever thought he deserved to be. But saying that out loud was still a little too raw, plus he knew it would make her sad or angry to hear him demean himself.

"I know," she said, then blushed and looked to the side. "Inuyasha? Can I... kiss you again?"

He had to stop himself from sounding too eager, though his surprise at her actually asking tempered his voice. "If... If you want to."

Kagome smiled and leaned in. Inuyasha laid his hand on her cheek, where his fingertips brushed the flower in her hair. "This actually looks good," he mumbled. "Almost matches your eyes."

The compliment seemed to amuse her, since she bit her lip to stop the giggle. But she also seemed pleased, so he didn't take offense. Her hands came to the sides of his own face and pulled him down the rest of the way.

Her lips were as soft as he remembered, her scent rushing up to meet him. His lips brushed hers leisurely, once, twice, before she molded them together. She struck him by surprise when she nibbled at his bottom lip, pulling it between hers to suckle gently. Something about that woke Inuyasha up from the slight daze he'd been in, and he took over with a small noise. Hauling her against him, he nipped at her top lip in return. Kagome released a soft sound that he liked, melting against him in a way that clearly spoke to a long suppressed desire for this kind of intimacy. She gasped when he slowly, carefully, drew his tongue against her, but she did not give him time to worry. Her tongue met his in a wave of sensation, stroking gently and moving to explore his fangs.

They stood there for an unknown amount of time, holding each other and kissing over and over. Some were deep and exploratory, bordering on something exciting and new, some were chaste and savoring. Eventually Inuyasha's mind came back to him, remembering why they were originally there. With great reluctance he finally pulled back, his breathing rough as he rested his forehead against her.

"We should... get back with some lunch. Before Miroku comes looking for us..."

Her breathing was equally ragged, face flushed and lips a little swollen. "Yeah... You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I'll be right back." Unable to resist, he leaned down for one more taste of her, but made sure to keep it brief before either of them could get swept up again. Then he was gone, leaping off into the forest to catch something as quickly as he could before the monk got suspicious.

…

Lunch turned out to be a mortal tanuki, which was makeshift roasted over the open fire. Waiting for it to cook felt like forever to Inuyasha, who kept anxiously glancing up at the sky. Miroku had apparently taken it upon himself to provide the distraction of conversation, though Inuyasha only half-listened at times.

"What's it like being married, Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked him as the conversation had naturally shifted to Sango. "Do you ever get restless, or is it fun being a family man?"

Miroku reached over to rotate the food, making sure both sides cooked well before answering. "Well, in some ways it's what I expected, and in some ways it's not. As you know, I expected to have a child during the battle against Naraku, in case my curse took me. So I always wanted kids, but never thought I'd get to enjoy them like this. I'd be lying if I said settling into a domestic family life wasn't odd at first. I was used to being on my own most of the time prior to our journey. But my appreciation of Sango as a woman has definitely gone up."

Inuyasha glared, but Miroku laughed and waved him off.

"Not like that! I mean seeing her devoted to something other than fighting. I had never really gotten to see that side of her before, but especially when we had our first child, I knew there was nowhere else I'd rather be."

Kagome sighed wistfully. "That's so romantic. Sometimes I don't know if Inuyasha will ever learn to settle and calm down that youkai energy of his. I can barely keep up with him some days."

"Hey!"

Miroku chuckled. "In time it'll come naturally. Especially when you decide to have children."

Inuyasha, who had just taken a leg of the tanuki to sample how cooked it was, choked loudly. Kagome's reaction was less violent, but she was clearly flushed a dark red and fidgeting.

"I don't think we're ready for that any time soon..." she stammered out.

"Jeez, learn to mind your own damn business," Inuyasha muttered at almost the same time.

"Now now, friends, it's a natural part of life. You're both adults now, and the urges you feel around each other are perfectly-..."

"You have three seconds to shut your mouth before I smash it inside your skull!" Inuyasha interrupted, baring his teeth for emphasis.

Heaving a dramatic sigh, and with an equally melodramatic look, Miroku plucked a portion of the food for himself. "Just trying to help break the ice."

Inuyasha growled but chose to continue eating rather than threatening the man further.

They managed to cover several more miles before sunset. Inuyasha felt the change take over him gradually. His hair had already begun bleeding into inky black, and his dog ears slowly morphed to reappear at the side of his head as pointed human ears, already rounding. His fangs and claws blunted.

The group sought out a small alcove in the mountainside to build another fire where it would be less conspicuous. Kagome wanted Inuyasha himself to stay inside of the cave, but he refused, saying it was too cramped. As scary as his human nights were, something about trapping himself in a spot with nowhere to run was more unnerving. Kagome and Miroku had left to set up the barrier anchors. Rubbing his arms slightly, cursing his weak human body for feeling the cold like it did, Inuyasha moved down the incline into a more grassy area sheltered enough by trees to break the wind a little. He felt like he needed the air somehow.

"You shouldn't go too far. We can't make too big a barrier, after all," came Kagome's voice.

Inuyasha turned towards her, but his only response was, "I know. Just needed to breathe. Can't stay in that little alcove."

"Need some company?"

"Okay."

She sat down next to him, and Inuyasha felt some comfort from the way her knee brushed his. She'd never been put off by his human form, but he knew it was anxiety provoking for her, too. So it was somehow soothing that she wanted to be romantic at this time. Suddenly he really wanted to kiss her again.

Following through before he could think about it too much, the hanyou-turned-human reached out to stroke her cheek before leaning in to kiss it, judging her reaction. Kagome turned her face, brushing noses with him before closing the gap between their lips. Inuyasha sighed happily into the kiss, and Kagome clutched at his subjugation beads to pull him closer as they got reacquainted with their intimacy from earlier.

"I want you with me..." he breathed between kisses, "forever."

"I'm not going anywhere," she murmured back.

He nuzzled their noses together, his now-fully human heart beating love through his veins like a new blood. "I mean that I want you with me... Kagome, I want to marry you. Whenever you're ready."

It was unconventional in this time to come out and say it, he knew, but Kagome had often talked openly about proposals and marriage when it came to Sango and Miroku's relationship. He had to assume it was different for her, and he wanted to do right by her. If that meant following her standards, he wanted to do it. It wasn't like he ever did human customs properly, anyway.

Kagome inhaled sharply, but did not pull away. The sense of vulnerability was swift and unforgiving. Then, "Of course I'll marry you, silly... I came back to be with you."

Inuyasha let out the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. Then, he did something he rarely ever did – he laughed out of happiness. "We need to get this goddamn extermination job out of the way now," he chuckled.

Kagome laughed with him and kissed him, which kept them occupied for several more minutes. It was getting harder and harder to pull away from her... But they weren't exactly alone on this trip.

"We'd better get back before that idiot gets lonely," he said reluctantly.

"Be nice. Miroku-sama might be the one to wed us, after all," she replied in amusement.

"Ugh... It's definitely going to be Kaede-babaa, if I have anything to say about it."

Standing, they walked hand in hand back to the camp.

A/N: I personally get a little tired of the drama surrounding Inuyasha's age in fics sometimes, and there's no canon material from Takahashi really saying he wouldn't have inherited human aging, so I took the easy way out. XD (Her response to how youkai characters age was basically "lol idk.") But to be fair I haven't seen this done before, so there's that.

Not to be confused with the Japanese Tengu, the Tiangou (lit; Heavenly Dog) is a flying dog from Chinese mythology that takes on a white or black form and has the ability to eat the sun to cause an eclipse. This is one of the creatures I believe inspired the design of Inuyasha's family in their true forms, hence their regal "cloud-like" appearances. (Note that I have no evidence for this, it's just a fun theory.) Mononoke is just another word for youkai, but usually reserved for ones in animal form. Yay for proposals and mushy human Inuyasha! Next time we'll finally get to see this secretive village and the youkai threatening it.