Okay, before you start this chapter let me say one thing:

I couldn't resist.

No, despite the marriage, there will be no children, except Shippou, at this point. It would feel too...cliché and overused. Besides, I don't think they could really deal with a kid on the way when they can barely handle being married while on the hunt for the Shikon no kakera. Let's just say I took pity on their poor souls...

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Kikyou would have gotten over her useless grudge and be happy that she's being avenged. And allow Inuyasha to be free to love again, instead of keeping up her damn guilt trip.

Last Time: "Thank you," Chitose smiled gently at him.

"For what, Higurashi-san?"

"For taking care of my Kagome," she replied, "And please, call me Okaasan now."

"Right," she looked at him expectantly, "...Okaasan."

Chitose beamed ecstatically.

"Oyasumi-nasai, Inuyasha."

'I may just get my grandchildren before I'm too old to enjoy them.'

This Time:

Kagome sat next to Inuyasha, thoughts racing through her head. It was her wedding day, and she had no idea what to think. Her best friends, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, had been ecstatic, and slightly jealous, that she was having her wedding first. All three had their own men, but hadn't had their actual wedding take place yet. Her suitors had been disappointed, but had offered their best wishes despite that. Houjo however...

Poor Houjo was a mess. Somehow, despite Kagome's constant refusal of his marriage proposals, he had convinced himself that she was deeply in love with him. How this logic worked out, Kagome couldn't quite figure. But, there were other nice girls in the village, and certainly hundreds of thousands better than herself in all of Japan, so it was safe to hope that Houjo would get over her. Soon.

'Yeah,' Kagome snorted mentally, 'and that old half-dead horse of Ojiisan's will suddenly sprout wings and fly off into the sunset.'

She glanced back at the man sitting next to her, wondering if he was as nervous as she was.

'Of course he is, you dolt! He's getting married to a girl he barely knows and likes because she broke something important and isn't allowed to help fix it otherwise,' Kagome mentally berated herself. If not for her, they wouldn't even be in this mess. According to Kaede, in Inuyasha's time, most people didn't get married until their twenties or even thirties! Those people, however, also had longer life spans, never having to worry about famine or war or bandits. Must have been nice.

However bad she felt about cutting Inuyasha's bachelorhood short, she couldn't change the past. Kagome had to fix her mistake, no matter the cost to herself. Not that she minded this particular cost, she reminded herself. After all, just whom had she been daydreaming about having children with just a day before? And, here she was, marrying that same man. In being stuck with someone for the rest of her life, Kagome didn't think she could have gotten much luckier. And who knew? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...

Inuyasha stared blankly at the floor in front of him, appearing respectful while at the same time spaced out until he heard something that required him to actually pay attention. He couldn't really tell what exactly he was feeling at the time. Emotions had never been Inuyasha's strong point, and, right now, there were too many of them, almost all unfamiliar, for him to deal with. Usually, when something happened, he could find something to get angry about. Anger he could deal with, dozens of other emotions at the same time he couldn't.

'I can't believe I actually agreed to this,' Inuyasha groaned in his head, 'There's gotta be something other than this, but...'

Higurashi-san had been adamant about this marriage, and they didn't have time to waste arguing. Although he had to doubt that Chitose's only concern was her daughter traveling with an unmarried man.

'Probably just wanted to see her daughter have children before she got too old. People don't live as long in Kagome's time, do they,' his thoughts were silent a moment before the sarcastic part of him commented, 'And me, like a fool, barely put up a fight about it.'

He couldn't help it though. Chitose reminded him so much of his own Ofukoro that he just couldn't refuse her. Inuyasha's thoughts took a sharp turn towards thoughts of his Ofukoro, Izayoi, who had died so long ago.

'Hahaue would have wanted to be here for my wedding, whether or not me and the bitch really decide to take this seriously.'

Trying desperately to keep his mind occupied with thoughts of anything but the ceremony currently going on, he turned his thoughts to the memory of a phrase brought on by the word 'bitch'.

'If I'm a bitch, then you're a bitch, your mom's a bitch for having a bitch, your dad's a bitch for fucking a bitch, so, who's the bitch now, bitch?'

The phrase rolled around in his head for a while before Inuyasha decided to attempt to make a song out of it. Never having been much of a songwriter, he knew that would keep him busy, at least until the end of the ceremony. Who knew? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...

The feast after the ceremony was held in the center of the village, with every villager in attendance. Inuyasha and Kagome merely stayed nervously at each other's side while cup after cup of sake was pressed on them by what seemed like every person coming up to offer congratulations or lewd comments on the night to come. That being the entire village. The newlyweds thought they had seen several people more than once, but chalked it up to the excess of alcohol they were being forced to consume.

As Kagome began swaying lightly on her feet, forcing her to rest her weight on Inuyasha, the amount of sake offered her decreased to one or two cups for Inuyasha's every eight to ten. Things continued until Inuyasha was just as drunk as his new wife and the village deemed them fit to be released. Barely conscious, and requiring the help of several villagers, the new couple was shoved off to a hut on the shrine grounds that, had they been sober, the couple would have sworn had not been there that morning. In the morning, amidst two massive hangovers, Inuyasha and Kagome would be faced with a horrible truth.

They had just been so tricked by the village.

And there would be hell to pay.

Hee. Not-so-subtle hint of what happens. Meow. Fight with Yura is next, Shippou soon after that! Shippou is just so damn cute.

Japanese Words Used: (in order of use)

Ofukoro: Mother, respectful.

Hahaue: Mother, respectful.

Review and tell me your thoughts on this! Tell other people too...I like reviews; they make me feel more appreciated.

Much love,

Miji