Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but I might own a piece of land somewhere in Spain... who know?

Reviewer Comments:

Lexa- Yeah, I hope it doesn't happen either. I think I'd be really sad. But Takahashi-san always seems to find great endings, so I'm sure we'll all be thrilled with whatever she comes up with! Thanks for the review!

Apri-chan- Glad to hear that! Hehe... Fluffy-sama...

abnormally cool- That was my intention, so don't worry. It's more to surprise Kagome than anyone else. There's a couple of hints here and there.

ShortPoet- That is actually a very good idea for a one-shot or a short story. Thank you for suggesting it! And I will eventually touch of the subject of Rin's life, it might just take a chapter or two. There's a reason.

Nekome- I'm glad you think so! You have no idea how happy that makes me!

To Everyone- Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or read! Hope you like this chapter too!

Chapter 3

Despite her late bedtime the previous night, Kagome woke early and made to busy herself with chores, going to far as to cook breakfast and wash laundry while tidying the house. She hummed as she went with the occasional frown crossing her face as old memories surfaced, one by one; memories she had suppressed for four years. It was not that she had wanted or truthfully tried to forget Inuyasha and the others, but that life had taken over and her body had acted where her heart could not in order to protect her wellbeing. Now, being back in her house after so long, she found the barriers she had raised were beginning to crumble at her fingertips- especially when confronted with Goshinboku or the well. So many memories…

"Onee-san, you're up early- Ah! Breakfast!" Kagome looked up with a smile as Souta entered the kitchen and quickly dove towards the waiting food: scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, just like they often served in the American diners she had visited. The eager teenager spent no time in beginning to devour the meal, grinning through bites at his sister. She could only laugh.

Turning back to the task at hand, Kagome set aside the skillet she had been using and set to work washing dishes from the previous night, stray hair falling into her eyes from a hastily-made bun atop her head. She had often imagined being a wife and mother, standing in the kitchen and cooking for her husband and children, just like at that moment. The thought made her smile foolishly, imagining Inuyasha entering to demand what was taking her so long before dropping into a chair with a huff and a grumble. It would be so like him to do so, no matter if he were married or not: always rude, always impatient, but undeniably endearing. Yes, that was her Inuyasha…

She chuckled gently at her girlish daydreams, picking up a plate from the sink while turning to glance out a window towards Goshinboku. What she saw made her gasp and go still, the plate falling from nerveless fingers only to shatter upon the floor.

"Inuyasha…"

The three men walked towards the shrine together, the two younger companions talking excitedly between themselves while the older simply walked onward with a scowl plastered on his face. The two had yet to shut up for the entirety of the forty-block bus ride and five-block walk they were enduring, Inuyasha balancing on his last nerve. Finally, he had had enough.

"WOULD YOU TWO-"

"Look! The shrine!" Shippou's excited cry was enough to silence the biting reprimand on his tongue, his "brown" eyes snapping upwards to confirm that they had, indeed, arrived at their destination. He merely scoffed to acknowledge the fact and ducked his head down to look at the pavement, but found his eyes could not be torn away from the towering form of Goshinboku in the distance. His chest tightened more with every step, until at last they were standing in front of the ancient God Tree.

Inuyasha could only stare passively up at the familiar sight. How many times had he stood in this spot? How many times had he looked up into the great tree and hoped Kagome was looking too? Now, she was barely yards away, nestled away in her house as he always remembered her. Of course, she was older. He had seen her leave for college in America, and had listened in to many a conversation to discover when she would return. If not for modern responsibilities, he might have followed her even across an ocean- it was not so great a task. At times he had almost done so, so deep was his fear of losing her. He had been missing her for the better part of five hundred years. But now she was there again, a breath away and yet millions of miles all at once.

It was not that he had truly meant to stay away from her, but more the fact that the longer he did, the more assured he felt that he was doing the right thing. He had watched her grow from a baby into an energetic little girl, then to the teenager he had come to know. At times, he had even seen his younger self at the times when he would come to visit the girl. He had watched the fights he had once had with her from a distance, and laughed at them both for the foolishness of it all, and for the tenderness. Even then, he had been blindly infatuated with her. At times, it almost seemed unfair that he see Kagome's life from a view that, by all means, should never have been possible. But he was drawn to her, even now, even after so much time. Somewhere along the way, she had become his lifeline.

"Oji-san, look! I can see the spot where you were trapped by the arrow!" Kotan was looking in awe up at the scar on Goshinboku's trunk; reaching up on tiptoes- he was still a boy by youkai standards- to brush a hand across the scraped wood. Inuyasha merely nodded with an absent scowl, eyeing the pup while still buried in his thoughts. Unlike his father and uncle, Kotan refused to hide his unique hair while out in public. Instead, he looked like just another bleached and dyed adolescent of modern times, the silver of those fine strands shimmering beneath the rays of the sun.

"Inuyasha, why don't-" All three heads suddenly turned at the sharp sound of a crash, Inuyasha's ears twitching beneath the human guise. Shippou looked worried and began to step forward, but the dog-eared hanyou was one step ahead of the kit, half running towards the house with Kagome's name on his lips while the two boys followed close at his heels.

He reached the door of the house in a rush, forgetting to knock before all but throwing himself into the kitchen and looking around. What he found was a shocked Kagome looking at them all with wide eyes, a shattered plate sitting at her feet while her brother tried to snap her from her shock. It did not take long, however, before she stepped forward and walked pointedly to Kotan, Souta looking on in concern and sudden understanding.

The pup looked puzzled, to say the least, as the silent woman began to suddenly poke at his head in multiple places. He frowned, and almost growled, but caught himself before the rumble could sound from his throat. Instead, he simply settled for throwing a withering glare at the dazed girl. Inuyasha guessed at that moment what she was looking for, and almost laughed to himself, his ears twitching again in acknowledgement. Did she really think his nephew looked like him? Then again, it was probably more the fact that Kotan had the trademark hair and eyes of the Inuyoukai.

Finally, he sighed. It was time to step in.

"What are you doing to my nephew?" He stepped forward, quirking a brow down at her while glancing between her hands, her face, and pitiful Kotan who was taking her unintentional abuse. She looked startled when she finally responded.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to be so rude… I was just- …he-" Her face began to turn scarlet with embarrassment as Kagome realized what she had been doing. She bowed fervently, and all three men looked on in bewilderment at the strange antics of the woman. It seemed to Inuyasha that no matter how well he knew her, she would always be able to surprise him. "Please accept my apologies! Y-you see… he reminds me of an old friend, and I was simply… Well, I suppose I just lost my head for a moment." More blushing and bowing, followed by a short, rueful laugh. He could smell the tears forming in her eyes and see the smile begin to drop off her face.

Panicking, he half turned away to look Kotan over, eyeing the confused boy before pretending to shrug carelessly.

"Keh… No harm done."

"…What?" She looked up at him wide-eyed. Shit… In that moment, he feared she might start searching his head.

"I said 'no harm done.' The kid'll live. Kotan, didn't you want to ask about the tree?" He brushed off his slipup by changing the subject, finding no problem in doing so as both the kit and pup were more than excited to join in harassing the young miko to tell them of the enormous God Tree.

With an uncertain smile and a calm nod, she led them out to Goshinboku, Inuyasha trailing behind with a sigh.

Couldn't be…

She blinked, once, twice, but still she saw the boy with silver hair standing in front of Goshinboku, reaching up to touch the very place where Inuyasha had once been sleeping for 50 years. Beside him were the two men from the previous day, black and red hair stark against the silver beneath the sun, but she only had eyes for the boy. Still… she did not see the ears anywhere, though he wore no hat or bandana upon his head. Actually, is was quite peculiar to see that he had his hair pulled up and back in a high ponytail. So very unlike Inuyasha, and yet…

As the plate shattered she watched as they all turned towards the house in surprise, the oldest man taking off at a moments notice. The two boys followed behind, and soon that were at her door, staring at her in puzzlement and concern. Vaguely, she could hear Souta talking to her, but she did not seem to hear it as the silver-haired boy came back into view.

How was it possible? Surely it couldn't… But the ears… Where were the ears?

Before she could think about it she had stepped forward and began to search through that silver hair for any trace of ears. Surely it had to be an illusion, they were there somewhere. Not just anyone had silver hair! There was a connection, she was sure of it; the tingling in her body and her heart confirmed it. Somewhere…

She was so enraptured in finding those ears that she did not notice the older man had moved to approach her.

"What are you doing to my nephew?" She started and jumped back from the boy, looking between the two before feeling her face light like a match. What was wrong with her? The man was looking at her in irritated amusement, one eyebrow delicately quirked while he, too, shifted his gaze amidst the situation. Upon looking at the boy, Kagome found him shifting uncomfortably, causing her to only blush more.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to be so rude… I was just- …he-" How did she explain to a stranger that she had been searching for dog ears on the boy's head due to his peculiar hair color that miraculously matched that of a 500-year-old inuhanyou? Hopelessly, she found it would be impossible, and so settled on the only topic of conversation she could: forgiveness. "Please accept my apologies! Y-you see… he reminds me of an old friend, and I was simply…" Oh dear… "Well, I suppose I just lost my head for a moment." The embarrassment and shade of red reached its peak as she finished, bowing continuously before the trio until her back hurt from the effort, laughing softly at the thought of how ridiculous she must sound. Tears began to form against her will, washing away her smile.

She was relieved when she saw the man shrug haphazardly and turn away.

"Keh… No harm done."

The word froze her to the bone.

"…What?" Was that… alarm? No… No… He looked at her evenly.

"I said 'no harm done.' The kid'll live. Kotan, didn't you want to ask about the tree?" And suddenly she was overcome by the excitement of the red-head and the hanyou-would-be, responding to their commands with a dazed smile while leading them back out towards the great God Tree.

Perhaps it was just a trick of the mind…

Kagome seemed in something of a stupor as Inuyasha heard her talking about the tree and its origin. He was forced to smile as she touched upon the "legend" that spoke of the young hanyou that had been imprisoned against the tree by a mystical arrow for fifty years and his adventures with a miko from another world. He was well aware that she began smiling as well, despite her baffled exterior.

Kotan and Shippou, on the other hand, seemed all but swept away in the story, eyes glued to Kagome as though she might fade if they blinked. He expected as much from Shippou, but Kotan… Perhaps Sesshoumaru had not raised such a bad son after all, whether or not he took up after his father in the worst of times.

He could still remember when the pup had had the nerve to refer to himself as 'this Kotan.' Unlike with Aya, Inuyasha had taken the chance to beat him senseless and tell him never to refer to himself as such again. Of course, he still spoke that way, but simply refrained from using it around Inuyasha himself lest he wished another beating upon himself. It was really quite entertaining to the elder hanyou, though it would be a different matter completely when it came to teaching Aya the same lesson. After all, he was never one to make a girl cry- especially a child.

He sighed, then suddenly realized that Kagome had stopped talking and turned his attention towards her once again. He found her staring at him with a strange expression, as though unsure as if she should speak or not. He blinked in confusion.

Nothing could prepare him for the words that came next.

There was still something odd about the man- she could tell even as she talked mechanically about Goshinboku and the Legend of Inuyasha. Though she loved to tell of the story that had once been hers, and it most certainly brought a smile and fond memories to her, she could not shake the feeling that emanated from the taciturn visitor. Surely, she was not wrong.

The red-haired teenager; the silver-haired boy; the fleeting moment of superimposing the vision of Inuyasha onto the man's body; it was all somehow connected, surely, and she would be damned if she did not find out whether she was right or not.

Eyes narrowing, she stopped talking as she considered her options. What could she possibly do? Certainly, they would not just blurt out anything for her. By all means, they should not be at the shrine at this moment if not for a strong insistence by the two boys, for the man surely did not seem to find pleasure in the shrine. So, then, what was there?

Then, suddenly, she knew. Yes, of all things, that would be the one that would leave no doubt. Her face contorted into an awkward mix of triumph and anxiety, but she felt her jaw move and stared directly at the man. It was him she wanted, most definitely. Oh, yes, she could tell. As she realized this, she grinned maliciously and allowed the words to form in her mouth and rise from her throat.

He would get his for trying to deceive her.

"Inuyasha-" His face instantly went pale. He knew.

"-OSUWARI!"

AN: Hehe. Poor Inu-kun. It's so fun to torture our boy sometimes.But, he'll be fine anddandy and all the better for it, I'm sure.Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-Sar