"Mother, mother!"

A pudgy clawed hand poked gently until her glassy eyes opened. She smiled when she regarded him from where she was propped against the wall, swaddled in the blanket they usually shared. Wet coughs were making it past her lips despite her efforts to at least muffle them, but she still seemed as happy as ever to see him return.

"Inuyasha, dear," she greeted between the wheezing hitches. "You're back already. Was I asleep long?"

He shook his head, bouncing his weight from the soles of his feet to his heels in his body's betrayal of anxiety, but he grinned anyway. "I went to the village."

His mother's face, already gaunt from sickness, fell into borderline horror at his admission. He knew it would. But he was determined to share his good news, too.

"Inuyasha...!" The way her voice that was meant to be scolding spread thinly in the silence of the hut made him flinch. From her anger or how it seemed like the wind could diffuse her voice into nothingness with the slightest breeze, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was both. "You know better! Were you seen? Did you get... hurt?"

"No, mother," he answered her as contritely as he could, looking at the ground. "Nobody saw me. I went for food."

The woman paused in reaching for him, with a sharp intake of breath. But they both knew she was well past scolding him for stealing at this point. It was almost always their only option to eat. Recollecting herself, his mother pressed a hand to the top of Inuyasha's head, smoothing his nearest ear down so it blended into his hair before letting it pop back up. "Okay..." her voice was making an effort to be tender again. "Were you able to get anything?"

His smile came back full force. "Not yet, but the village head said that he was going to get a catfish tomorrow! It's for his wife, because he said that catfish are really healthy and can help you regain strength. I'm going to bring it for you!"

"Oh, my boy... that's so dangerous... I-..."

"Don't worry, I found a crawlspace where I can easily get under the house. It's so big, nobody will notice me." Before she could try again, he continued, "There were some bandits asleep in the woods, though. They had some pretty good stuff. No blankets or clothes that would fit either of us, but there's some roasted chestnuts and mushrooms, and even a little bit of dried meat!"

His mother laughed a little at his enthusiasm. "Go on, then. Build us a fire and we'll eat together."

Evening found them cuddled together under the blanket, Inuyasha in his mother's lap, and sharing the meager provisions. The fire was stuttering – he wasn't very good at making fires – but warmed the ramshackle hut enough to make it comfortable with the addition of the blanket. His mother struggled to eat through her rasping coughs, but seemed in better spirits for it. Inuyasha stayed quiet until a lingering howl broke over the distance. It tightened something familiar in his chest.

"Mother... Do you think that if father were still alive that he'd be able to make you better?"

She laughed. "Maybe he could, who knows. He was very powerful."

"When I'm older, I want to be able to transform and fly like father so I can take you someplace warmer."

A hum. "That would definitely be something. But even if you don't transform, I know you'll be strong."

Inuyasha rubbed at his right eye, the distant memory of his father pulling at him. He'd been told to promise he wouldn't tell anyone about what his father had put there, though even that promise seemed foggy. Maybe a spell to make sure he would keep it a secret even from his mother. The great dog youkai hadn't been above such things.

"Did I ever tell you about the day you were born?" He was broken out of his thoughts.

"No..."

"I suppose his previous son must have been born without a human form, because he was so frightened by how fragile you seemed. You were very small and couldn't turn over or lift your head, like a human baby. I had to convince him it would be all right to hold you."

"My brother must be strong too, right? Am I ever gonna meet him? Was he there when I was born?"

Another coughing fit, and then, "I'm not sure. I've never met him, either. I think he likes his privacy, much like your father."

Inuyasha wiggled his toes under the blanket, not able to dwell on it for too long at his age. "I wish we could go to the village."

"You know why we can't."

"I know. But I wish." His wiggles turned into distracted kicks into the air. "There was a girl with a puppy and I thought maybe someone like that wouldn't mind my ears. And there was an old lady looking for help to sell her herbs. I thought you'd like working there... She seemed nice, and she could cure you."

"Inuyasha," the dark haired woman let out a breath that was half sigh, half wheeze, "promise me you won't go back to the village. Or any settlements. I know they're tempting for you, but they're really too dangerous."

"What if I went on my human nights?"

That put an abrupt end to all debates on the matter. "Inuyasha, don't you dare!" came as much of a shout as she could manage, causing his ears to flatten. "Nobody but me is allowed to know about that, do you hear? Your father isn't around to help hide you anymore, and you're more vulnerable during that time than ever! Do you understand?"

"Yes... I'm sorry."

"Okay..." she calmed, pulling him closer to her chest. "I'm sorry for shouting. I know you're a good boy, but I just need you to be safe. Do you want another story before we go to bed?"

"Yes, please!"

…

His mother was still sleeping when the dawn light filtered in through the holes in their shack. That was normal – she slept most of the time, now. Inuyasha pulled the blanket up to her chin and patted her head before he left. He'd promised not to go to the village, but he'd promised her the catfish first. He'd leave it alone after this one errand.

The noodly fish was swimming lethargic circles in the holding tub it had been placed in to keep it fresh. Inuyasha peered at it, ready to retreat to his hiding spot beneath the house at the first sign of someone nearby. He could hear the muffled voices of the people inside the house, but so far none of them had come back out. The fish was bigger than he'd thought, but he was sure he'd have the strength to carry it. Clawed hands moved as slowly as possible, leaving the smallest ripples they could.

The fish still startled, and then there was a cacophony of splashes and flailing as Inuyasha's hands slipped repeatedly in trying to wrestle the creature into his arms. The bucket clattered to the dirt and he panicked. Digging his nails into the muscly hide, the young hanyou dashed back the way he'd come, hefting the fish over his shoulder. There were some alarmed calls and a rush of footsteps at the noise, but nobody seemed to have seen him. Inuyasha heaved a sigh of relief. Hopefully they'd just think it had been some cat.

The fish stopped moving soon after he crossed back into the woods, making it much easier to carry. He'd already scratched it up quite a bit, but he supposed that was all right if they were going to cook it anyway. He could hear his mother's wet coughs well before he reached their home, and she seemed to still be asleep. Not wanting to wake her and keep it a surprise, Inuyasha kept the fish with him and went to gather some fire wood.

He'd gone pretty far in when the murmuring started. The voices were hushed, but they reached his ears regardless, and he looked around in confusion, trying to pinpoint the source. There were a lot of sounds in the forest, so it took some concentration to realize they were originating from back the way he'd come. Maybe some villagers were out hunting, but they never came deep enough to stumble upon their little shack in the woods. Youkai were very rare this close to such a large human settlement, as well. At least ones powerful enough to speak.

Cautiously, Inuyasha finished picking up the dead branch he'd been reaching for. He was interrupted again almost immediately, this time by a deer thundering past him from the direction of his home. He frowned. It wasn't the only animal coming this way – a quail family and some chattering squirrels also made their way past. A strange smell hit his nose in their aftermath. One that was familiar, but more acrid and suffocating than he'd ever smelled it. It made his eyes burn and his throat pucker, as though every part of his body was trying to keep it out. He dropped his cache of sticks when he saw it – smoke, furling and billowing where it was being carried by the wind. He couldn't see flames, but his heart clenched. His fist clenched with it, digging his claws into the catfish he still had over his shoulder, and he broke out into a run back towards where his mother was sleeping.

The voices got louder as he approached, and he started being able to make out bits of what they were saying.

"-...mountain witch so close to the village-..."

"-...demonic child somewhere nearby-..."

He reached the edge of their little clearing, which was now wreathed in a fire so fierce that he almost gasped from the heat of it on his skin, but he slapped his hands over his mouth when he saw the people standing there, one of them tossing one last burning torch onto what used to be his and his mother's home. Inuyasha ducked behind a tree, his mother's stern words about being seen echoing in his head and overriding his first instinct to rush in.

"We'll have to organize a search party to find the other one. Looks like he got away after he left the village."

The men were turning to leave, letting the fire burn its course on the ravaged little structure. Inuyasha watched them with wide yellow eyes, until he couldn't take it anymore and ran to look for his mother. She was lying in the grass on the opposite side, her arms outstretched like she had been struggling to crawl away from the flames, and she was very, very still. Inuyasha didn't dare call out to her in fear of the men coming back, but the fish finally slipped from his grasp as he staggered towards her prone form and crashed to his knees beside her.

"Moth-..." His hand recoiled from where he'd tried to touch her when he realized that she was rapidly cooling even in spite of the fire nearby. Her scent was tinged with smoke – too much smoke – and something underneath that, that he'd smelled before but didn't want to place right now. When he looked at her face, her eyes were open and glossed over with a foggy sheen. "Aah..." Inuyasha's throat worked convulsively, but all that came out was a small sob. It was quickly followed by trails of coolness down his cheeks, but he didn't acknowledge the feeling enough to realize they were tears.

He could hear people coming back. The search party that would be looking for him. He stumbled several times trying to get to his feet, staring at his mother and already coming to the realization that he wouldn't be able to carry her even if he didn't have to move fast. And he had to go. He had to run. She always told him never to let people find him. A shout indicated that one of the villagers had seem him, and he bolted. He didn't even look back until he'd breached the end of the forest treeline. The smell of smoke was still heavy in his nostrils as he panted, moving to get more distance until the woods were far away and he'd entered a different patch of forest. It wasn't until that night that he broke down.

Someone did find him like that, but it wasn't the villagers. His presence was announced with a sharp sting on the side of his neck. Driven by pure reflex, Inuyasha brought his hand up.

…

Inuyasha snapped awake, grunting as his hand pulled away from the side of his neck. On his palm was a very flattened, very disgruntled flea youkai. "Inuyasha-sama, you are so very cruel to me..." came the elderly voice.

"Myouga-jijii...?" He was still reeling a little with the grogginess and adrenaline of being woken so suddenly. Especially from something he really didn't want to remember. 'Dammit, I thought I was past getting bad dreams like a little kid...'

Noticing a distinct lack of warmth next to him, Inuyasha looked around the room, trying to gauge what time it was. "Where's Kagome?"

Myouga bounced onto his shoulder, but wisely didn't try to take another sampling of blood. "I greeted her in the village. She said she let you sleep in since you hadn't woken up on your own. Are you feeling all right, Inuyasha-sama?"

Shaking the last of the disorientation away, Inuyasha sat up fully. "Keh. Just been busy lately, is all. Why are you here?"

"To give my congratulations, of course!" the flea stated as though he was offended Inuyasha had to ask. "I heard you and Kagome-sama had been married."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're a little late."

"I am ever loyal, but alas ever busy, as well."

A snort. "Yeah right, why are you actually here?"

Myouga gave a long-suffering sigh. "I really did want to check on you. How is Kagome-sama?"

"She's fine. Why wouldn't she be?"

"No problems so far?"

Inuyasha could feel his temper beginning to rise. "What, do not have any faith in me to think I can't go a few months without driving her off?"

"Eh?" Myouga looked up. "It's not that, she-... is she not with child?"

"What? No! We haven't even talked about-... Let alone-..." The hanyou's shocked protests trailed off into a more reined in, but still moody growl. He did not want to have this conversation with Myouga of all people, and it was annoying to have that aspect of their relationship assumed, but sticking his foot in his mouth by saying something even dumber would be worse.

"All right, all right," Myouga placated, seeming to realize his mistake had touched a nerve. "I only wanted to check on you because I thought you might... struggle."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and his nostrils flared with annoyance again. "'Struggle'?"

"I mean no offense, Inuyasha-sama. It's just, as grand as your lineage is, I can imagine you've had... reservations about continuing it."

"Just spit out what you mean," he groaned.

"Your previous reservations about being a hanyou in and of itself aside, the fact of the matter is that you grew up largely without your parents in your life. I wanted to check on you to make sure you were handling the concept of your own potential fatherhood all right."

The annoyance did not fully leave Inuyasha, but his voice did soften a bit as he tried to tell himself Myouga probably had good intentions for once. "Well... as you're now aware, I'm not one."

"Inuyasha-sama-..."

"Did you ask Kagome anything about this?"

Myouga sighed. "No, I didn't."

"Good, because it's our business. But if you must know, we agreed there's no rush on anything."

Crossing his multiple arms, the flea regarded Inuyasha carefully, clearly sensing he was on thin ice. Inuyasha barely had patience for the vassal at the best of times, much less when emotional vulnerability was involved. "Very well. I'll take my leave soon, then."

Getting up to finally get his late start on the day, Inuyasha scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. Running off to somewhere I can't put you in danger..." He strode to the door, leaving the elderly youkai behind, but paused mid-way past the opening flap. "Thanks, though. For... for wanting to check on me." He did not give Myouga a chance to respond before he was gone.

…

"I see. So that's why Myouga-jii-chan was here." Kagome was grinding up some of the herbs that needed to be dried and stored. Inuyasha was sitting nearby, though he kept a slight distance to avoid the pungent smell of the plants.

"Yeah well, he won't be for long. Said he was leaving soon."

Kagome looked at him as she poured the herbal dust into little packets of hemp paper. "I know you're annoyed, but it sounds like he really did just want to look after you. It wouldn't hurt to have him around for a while, would it?"

He gave her a dry look. "He's a pain in the neck. Literally."

His wife giggled, before tucking the packets into her robe to be finished later. "Were you okay this morning? You don't seem like you slept very well. You were sweating a bit when you came to the village, too."

He deflated a little, her observations on his tiredness making it come back full force. "Just... some dreams. Haven't had 'em since I was a kid but for some reason I did last night. I don't really wanna talk about it, but I'll be okay."

She didn't pry further. "Okay... I'll make you some tea tonight that can help you sleep better. Sometimes dreams like that come in cycles unless you break it."

He grunted but said nothing more about it.

"Auntie Kagome! Auntie Kagome!" Twin voices rang out in happy greeting, prompting Kagome to turn her attention toward them and stand up. Kin'u and Gyokuto latched onto her legs with happy squeals and Inuyasha was almost worried her balance would give out under the force. They were getting bigger and bigger.

"Girls, be gentle!" Sango called from where she was catching up with Hisui on her back.

The twins did ease up but broke out in excited laughter. "Guess what, guess what! Mama said that if Kin and Gyo asked nicely, you and Uncle Inu might let us stay the night!"

Sango had reached them by this point. "Sorry about the short notice in asking, Kagome-chan, Inuyasha. But my husband and I wanted to visit my old village with Kohaku and would be gone overnight. It's been a while since we tended to the graves, but we thought it might be too hard of a trip on the kids..."

The girls had moved on to greeting Inuyasha, and he shifted enough for them to settle comfortably in his lap while turning his eyes to Kagome. He already knew what she'd say, but waited for her to say it anyway.

"Of course we can watch them, Sango-chan!" Kagome chirped, taking Hisui when Sango offered him gratefully. "You and Miroku-sama stay safe out there, and say hi to Kohaku-kun and Kirara for us!"

"Of course. Thank you again, you two! My husband is still drying the laundry, so I'd better fetch him. We'll try to hurry back!" Sango turned and started off with one last wave.

"Take your time!" Kagome called after her, patting Hisui's back when the baby chewed anxiously on his fist at his mother's departure. "Say bye-bye to mama!" she cooed, coaxing him to wave with her. Inuyasha almost found it endearing, but Gyokuto chose that moment to tug a little too hard on his forelock.

"Uncle Inu, give us piggybacks!"

He sighed, though there was no real bite to it. "Aren't you getting a little old for that?"

"No!" Gyokuto grinned back.

"No!" her sister echoed.

"All right, then. Kagome, are you ready to head back?"

His wife nodded, adjusting the baby in her arms. "We may as well offer Myouga-jii-chan a place to stay tonight too, if he's still there."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her but hefted the two children onto his shoulders, where they laughed happily. "Right, no tugging on the ears, you two." He didn't move until they'd both promised.

…

Myouga was indeed still there when they returned, and the old flea's eyebrows shot up at the sight of them both loaded with children. "Well... I was not expecting this after the talk we just had."

"Shut it, old man," Inuyasha snapped, setting the twins down to toddle around the hut.

"You don't need to be defensive, Inuyasha-sama. I only meant it's rare to see you entertaining young Kin'u and Gyokuto as such."

"Yeah, well..." he turned to Kagome, "I'm not changing any diapers."

She giggled, but nodded, settling down with Hisui, who was soon doted on by his sisters wanting to braid his hair and make him laugh with hugs. Soon the baby wanted to sleep, though, and the girls started to get a little bored.

"All right," Kagome said then. "Why don't we let Hisui-kun sleep and find something to do, hmm?"

She took one of the swaddling cloths she kept around for when she babysat the village children, securing it around her shoulders for Hisui to be nestled securely inside. The baby's soft snores soon reached Inuyasha's ears, and he tried to ignore the little tug on his heart it caused to see his wife holding a baby in that way and looking so happy about it.

Kagome led them into the meadows that surrounded the river a little ways from their hut, letting the girls run off their energy and entertaining them with some stories about her world. Occasionally they would pick some flowers and bring them to her for identification.

"Auntie Kagome, what's this called?"

"Oh, that's a honeysuckle! Where did you find it?"

Kin'u pointed to the bush covered in little purple and white flowers and took Kagome's hand when she walked over to it. The miko knelt and took a flower carefully by the stem. "You mustn't ever eat the berries if you see them, but... Here, try pinching that part right there."

She showed them how to pull at the stamen to get the nectar to flow, and encouraged them to taste it. The girls squealed in excitement and started picking more. It took them a few tries to really learn how to get most of the nectar into their mouths, but they ended up looking quite cute suckling on the flowers like little furled pacifiers. Inuyasha found himself smiling in spite of himself. Kagome intercepted the look and smiled back serenely.

"My little brother and I used to do this whenever we went camping outside of the city," she explained further. "It's kinda nice to know that some grow nearby."

"Not surprising that not much can grow in that smoke-infested village of yours," he said, wrinkling his nose at the memory. Her actual home had seemed rather pleasant in spite of the modern stink – maybe because it was sacred ground, or because of the god-tree – but most of what he'd experienced there had been stifling at best.

Kagome only smiled further and got up to regard him with a playful glint in her eye. When he opened his mouth to ask what she was up to, she popped the dripping base of a flower into his mouth. He glared at her antics, but didn't spit it out. It tasted pretty much like honey and wasn't unpleasant despite the strong floral scent right next to his nose.

Giggling, Kagome scritched at the underside of his chin, which he would still never admit he liked, even though he always leaned into it. When his ears were subconsciously flapping in pleasure, he felt her remove the flower and replace it with her own lips. She kept it chaste, and pulled away almost as soon as she'd come, but Inuyasha kept his eyes closed while she brought her hands up to cup both his ears and gently direct his head so that their foreheads were touching. His heart thumped a happy beat that warmed his whole chest.

…

Inuyasha's good mood started fading as the sun did, however. It wasn't that his day had stopped being pleasant. Kagome was currently lighting some candles so the kids could play shadow puppets, and any other night her laughter would have put him in even more of a good mood. However, he could feel the transformation coming over him as the night started blackening the sky with no visible moon. He still hated being human, and probably always would. The softer emotions overcoming him were becoming more and more apparent, always making him think about stuff he wouldn't normally. Namely about what his future held now that he could say for certain that he had a future. The emotions weren't unpleasant, per-say, just more overwhelming. Like how he really was lucky enough to have someone who loved and wanted to protect him for the first time since his mother had died. Someone whose biggest happiness was tied to his happiness, and who wanted to give him that future he'd always wanted of peace, happiness, and security. And maybe even things he'd never known he wanted, like children, and...

And...

Since when had he really started thinking about wanting that? It wasn't new, but it was... new. Maybe it was just because he'd been seeing how adorable his wife was with the kids all day, maybe it had started back when they'd had the conversation about her wanting to love any potential children of his at Satori Village. Or maybe it was the knowledge that they were already miles better off than his own mother had been when she'd had him. But whatever the reason, the thought would not leave his head, and he suddenly felt like he'd never wanted anything more.

Kagome caught him staring at her and blushed a little despite the smile she flashed him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked gently, knowing he wouldn't want the kids to start paying attention if he had something to say.

"No reason," he lied, averting his eyes, and then sighed in frustration when the dishonesty stung him. He tried again. "It... It can wait. Nothing's wrong."

"Okay," she accepted quietly, finishing up with her preparations. Inuyasha felt the disquieting pulse of his youki leaving him altogether, and then it was Kagome's turn to stare as his transformation fully completed. He didn't call her out on it, he only sighed heavily at his sounds and smells dulling and making him feel instinctively vulnerable. Kagome caught herself at the sound and blushed a little, but he couldn't be sure what she was thinking.

He didn't feel up to being goaded into shadow puppets, though the twins did try. But he still watched with some amusement and a lot of contentedness as Kagome struggled to remember all the shapes she knew from her own childhood and laughed along with the girls when a lot of them turned out just being disfigured blobs instead of the intended pattern until she or one of the kids figured it out again.

Hisui, who had been surprisingly docile up until that point, chose now to contort his little face up and let out a piercing wail. The sound made Inuyasha tense up a bit, actually glad to not have his normal hearing in that moment. Kagome moved the baby from her back into her arms again, bouncing him a little and shushing him gently, but Hisui would not be soothed.

"I guess that's our cue to stop for dinner," she said. "Someone seems hungry."

The next twenty minutes or so were spent with Kagome trying to get Hisui to eat some rice gruel to no avail. The boy had started solid foods by now, but Inuyasha winced in sympathy as he realized the kid probably just missed his mom. Kin'u and Gyokuto went on babbling to each other in twin-speak while they ate a much heartier meal, obviously immune to the sound of their brother's crying

"Please, Hisui-kun? You'll feel so much better if you eat," Kagome was trying to sound gentle, but obviously approaching her wit's end and sounding more depressed than anything. "Your mama will be back tomorrow, I promise."

Inuyasha couldn't take hearing either party be dejected anymore, and pushed his fingers through his bangs with a loud sigh before holding out his arms. "Here, give him to me."

"Inuyasha?"

"You're too tired to keep that up and he probably will be soon, too. I can at least hang on to him for a bit while he knocks himself out."

Kagome gave him a somewhat surprised but grateful look, and took him up on the offer, helping him adjust his arms to hold the baby more comfortably. Surprisingly, Hisui stopped crying almost immediately and merely gaped up at Inuyasha with dewy cheeks.

"What's his problem...? Did I do something?"

Kagome giggled. "You look different than normal. He noticed. Here, keep him like that for a minute and then maybe we can get him to try eating again."

Hisui remained quiet while Kagome laid out the spare blankets for the girls and went about cleaning out the dishes before re-heating Hisui's meal. The baby stared at him the whole time, sucking on one little fist. He looked uncannily like Miroku in that moment, and it was almost endearing, but mostly a little creepy.

Kagome came back with the warm gruel, but left Hisui where he was. Stirring the food quickly to make sure it had heated evenly, she tried offering the boy a bite again. He took it, though about as messily as he possibly could, much to Inuyasha's consternation.

"Hey kid, this is a priceless garment, y'know, and you're drooling your food all over it."

Getting no sympathy from either Hisui or Kagome, the former having the audacity to burble and smile, and the latter merely handing off another bite. He handled that one with a little more grace, though Inuyasha still wondered how dogs were more cleanly about eating than human babies.

Mood already elevated by the extra attention and the feel of getting a hot meal into him, Hisui flapped his arms and exclaimed a hearty "Buh!" at the adults.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, but it had no bite to it. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"Dah!"

"Keh. You're lucky you're small and mostly nice to me."

Kagome was biting her lip not to laugh at him – obnoxious, but cute – but said nothing as she helped the baby finish his dinner.

"Come to think of it, where did Myouga-jijii go?"

"I haven't seen him since earlier. Maybe he was afraid he'd get stepped on with two rambunctious girls running around."

"Hmph." If the flea still wanted to talk, he'd find them later anyway.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want that tea, now?"

He blinked at her while Hisui pawed at the subjugation beads around his neck, flinching a bit when they were successfully grabbed and tugged on. Hard. "Tea?"

"To help with your dreams."

"Oh..." More tugging, and Inuyasha gently wrestled the beads out of the baby's grip. Hisui immediately latched on to his finger instead, and he let him. For now. "Sure, I guess. I'm not sure if I'll sleep, but I could use the load off."

Inuyasha did indeed end up sleeping. A rarity in his vulnerable human form. But as soon as Hisui had fallen asleep in his arms, he had felt suddenly drained. Kagome had stayed up with him and fallen asleep against his shoulder from where they were both leaning back on the wall. With both charges resting contentedly, he hadn't bothered to move, and eventually ended up asleep with his cheek pressed to the top of Kagome's head.

He didn't even fully wake up when Sango and Miroku arrived bright and early to pick up their kids. He just had a vague memory of handing over the still-sleeping Hisui to an amused Miroku while Sango fetched the groggy girls.

"Now isn't that cute, Sango?" Miroku whispered to his wife.

"Thank you for taking such good care of them," Sango addressed him quietly, not wanting to wake up the woman still asleep against his shoulder.

Inuyasha only grunted out a half-hearted response, rubbing his eye and leaning back against Kagome. Maybe it was the tea, but he didn't wake up for another hour.