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Fade to Black

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Inuyasha yawned and snuggled a little closer to his woman - his arm flexing subtly from where it lay draped across he waist. All that time they could've been doing this. He could've been holding her like this and kissing her senseless. Maybe if he had been doing this they could've advanced to a fully physical relationship by now too. But he hadn't. Like the idiot he was, he assumed that...that...

He sighed softly as he buried his nose just under her ear. To be fair, how was he supposed to know this was within the realm of possibilities? Sure he believed they were married but public displays of affection weren't really common in this era. And it wasn't like he was a touchy person. Sure they'd cuddled - not like this of course but it'd happened - and he made it clear that they were a thing. Kinda. Okay so maybe he'd royally screwed up here but honestly how the hell was he supposed to know what he was doing? How things were supposed to be like? If he has any weaknesses it was in the socialization department. Their quest was the first time he'd ever hung around with humans since he was a child. And a young child at that.

Inuyasha ran one foot against the bottom of hers and let out a happy sigh.

Okay and he knew most men at least made proclamations of love but...but he wasn't...he always thought...he didn't think he needed to do that. Kagome knew he was a man of action. His actions screamed love and devotion dammit. Every moment of every day revolved around her. Time and time again he showed god and everyone that her well-being and safety always trumped everything else. But that apparently caused problems. He didn't do and wouldn't've done things like cuddle or kiss because her ability to see shards already made her a target. Their enemies would use her against him. Hurt her to hurt him. They knew he'd do anything - including die - for her. So, he'd held himself back. Every time he thought about kissing her fear that someone would see and know terrified him. Even when they were in the future he worried that maybe, just maybe, Kagome wasn't the only one who could travel back and forth. Sure, the well sent Kagome to his era but that didn't mean in a hundred years it couldn't send someone else to a different point in time. Before or after didn't matter. Maybe there were dozens, if not more, time traveling beings who just came and went as they pleased. Beings who hated him or hated her. There was no way to know if someone was watching. Absolutely no way.

All of which was stupid in retrospect. All reasons for keeping Kagome at arms-length completely and utterly idiotic. All that line of thinking had gotten him was a woman who had no idea he loved her and who left him behind thinking he'd be happier without her in his life. It wasn't like Kagome had left him to hurt him. She'd done what she did to save him and everyone else who…who…

No that couldn't be right. Not everyone who had been brought back had a jewel shard. How many times had Koga's tribe been attacked by the birds of paradise these past two years? Inuyasha was pretty sure they'd killed all the birds way back when and that raised a whole bunch of other questions that had no answer. Was there a degree of separation from a jewel shard that made some people saved and others not? If so, how many degrees were they talking about here? Running down a list of every villain he could think of that was in any way related to a shard, Inuyasha felt his stomach churn at how many of them Miroku, Sango and him had encountered just within the last year. Some of which had to know about the jewel shards. There was no way they didn't. And if so many of their enemies were brought back, did that mean Naraku had been brought back? What were the rules here? Were there any rules? What the hell had Kagome actually wished for?!

"What's wrong?" Kagome yawned as she snuggled deeper into his embrace and gently trailed her fingers up and down his arm.

"What exactly did you wish for?" Inuyasha tried to ask as neutrally as he could – his arm tightening around her waist as he tried to stay calm.

"You mean when I brought you back?" she tried to clarify and he nodded.

"I wished that…" Kagome sighed and furrowed her brow, "I don't remember exactly what I wished for. It was so long ago."

"You mean you don't know?" Inuyasha scoffed as he pulled away and stared down at her in mild horror, "How can you not know?"

"I was distraught. You had just died, remember?" Kagome replied exasperatedly with a roll of the eyes, "But I think I wished for anyone Naraku had killed to come back."

Inuyasha's eyes widened before a soft swear escaped his lips. Kagome watched the physical manifestations of a mind going a mile a minute - his face strangely blank as he stared slightly to the side eyes moving through images unseen.

"You still have band aids and crap, right?" he breathed shakily as he began to glance around the hut like he honestly thought she might've pulled those things out her ass and put them on display, "All the stuff you had back then?"

"I mean…I didn't bring it with me," she began slowly as she tried to figure out what on earth he was thinking.

"And I can't let you go back. Fuck," he muttered barely above a whisper as he glanced at the remnants of the miko's soiled clothes, "Okay. Okay okay okay. So maybe we can braid that into something."

"Why are we suddenly concerned about Band-Aids?" Kagome asked curiously as she propped herself up and Inuyasha uncharacteristically bit his lip in a blatant show of nerves.

"Naraku killed a whole lotta people," Inuyasha replied after a long moment as he got to his feet and anxiously looked around, "Powerful people we couldn't defeat on our own. Like Kaguya for example."

"We could've beaten Kaguya and we don't know that she was brought back," Kagome muttered before sighing and following his gaze, "But you want to have a failsafe. Just in case."

Inuyasha nodded and quickly crossed the room to gather up what was left of her ruined modern kimono.

"Not just for her. For everyone," Inuyasha muttered distractedly as he began to rip long thick strands out of the fake silk, "We know who they are. We know their fighting style. We can prepare ahead of time. Before its an issue."

"If they haven't caused problems in the last two years…"

"Oh, some of them have definitely caused problems," Inuyasha chuckled shakily as he continued ripping apart the modern outfit, "We've killed some while you were gone but not all."

"We can deal with it in the morning," Kagome sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm sorry that I didn't narrow it down, alright? I realize I could've been more specific."

"I'm not mad," he reassured her as he held up the pieces he'd been making in turn to compare lengths, "You did what you did because you loved me. Can't complain about that. I'm just saying we've got to be prepared."

Trying not to make light of the situation, Kagome merely opted for giving him a patient look. She wanted to say that ever since he remembered who he really was, Inuyasha honestly didn't care who'd been brought back. All he cared about was having sex and making sure she couldn't leave him again. That was literally the only thing on his mind. His number one priority. That and trying to convince her she was stupid. Inuyasha cast her a quick glance and a somewhat anxious half-smile.

"I know what you're going to say but I didn't realize then what I realize now and now I want to be prepared," Inuyasha shushed her before separating some of the longest strands into two, "We need to be wearing something from your era just in case Kaguya is out there and tries to stop time again. Do you know how to braid?"

"I mean yeah," Kagome sighed as she extended her hand and quickly half the pieces of fabric were deposited in her hand. Much to her surprise, the remainder was kept by Inuyasha who quickly began sorting the pieces out in threes.

"Wait do you know how to braid?" she asked before her eyes widened in surprise when he quickly and nimbly began to do just that. In a much neater and tight pattern than she could ever hope to achieve. After he finished the first braid with a perfect knot on one end and a loop on the other, he paused and blushed under her gaze before clearing his throat and picking up the next bundle.

"I was on my own for a long time," he explained as his blush deepened, "Sometimes I had to make my own rope."

"You're making bracelets," Kagome commented with a soft smile and Inuyasha shrugged.

"Bracelets are just tiny ropes with knots at the end," he replied dismissively – blush still present and in full force, "That's all."

Glancing up at her, his heart melted slightly at the adoring look she was giving him. While his eyes maintained that view, his fingers moved on their own as he quickly completed a second bracelet and set it down before moving onto the next one.

"You could make money selling those," Kagome opined as she got started on her first while he finished his third, "Make them with pretty colors and people would line up to buy them."

"Maybe in your time but not here. There are better things to spend money on," Inuyasha chuckled before flat out snorting and plucking the cloth from her hand, "Give it here. You're not doing that right. Its too loose."

Holding up her hands, Kagome watched with a somewhat bemused smile as he continued his work. In less than five minutes, they had roughly ten bracelets. Ten pretty much identical bracelets. Surprisingly enough, his work was impeccable.

"I'm very impressed," the miko laughed softly as she picked the prettiest one and began to fasten it around her wrist. It was a little loose but not overly so.

"We just need to be prepared," he muttered as he fastened his own and averted his eyes. Kagome still knew him well enough to read between the lines. It still wasn't about saving the world. This sudden panic was about making sure she survived. That he didn't lose her for good this time.

"I've been shit at deciding what goes without saying recently," Inuyasha sighed as he crawled over and pushed her back down on the futon. His body spooned her a moment later and he wrapped one arm tightly around her waist, "So I'm going to say it right now. In the event I die this go 'round, when you bring me back you are not allowed to leave. No matter what stupid deal you make."

"How are you so sure I'll bring you back?" Kagome asked half-teasing, half-serious as she snuggled into him. A happy sigh escaped her as he buried his nose into her neck and pressed a kiss at the base.

"Because you always save me," Inuyasha mumbled tiredly against her skin, "Always."

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"You really think Inuyasha might leave her?" Sango whispered excitedly as she did a happy wiggle underneath the light blanket while her husband gave her a slightly chiding look.

"I will not presume to know what Inuyasha may or may not do," Miroku laughed softly as he tucked a stray hair behind his wife's ear, "All I know is that he believes this girl may be the one he sees in his dreams."

"So what's this girl like?" Sango asked with a slightly inappropriate grin, "Does she have a heartbeat? A soul?"

"Sango," Miroku huffed in a chiding tone, "Lady Kikyo has been nothing but amiable."

"If you call treating our friend like dirt amiable then yes, she has been so kind," the slayer scoffed, "If I have to hear her give another lecture about phrases she's too stupid to understand, her head may become amicably acquainted with my Hiraikotsu. "

"She is not as well traveled as we have been. These phrases that bother her are not common in this area," Miroku argued gently, "Regardless, as of this moment, Inuyasha is betrothed to her and for that reason, we must..."

"But he doesn't want to be," Sango interrupted before letting out a frustrated groan, "Inuyasha just...he gets these ideas. Gets it into his head that things are a certain way and never questions it. Do you know he once told me he doesn't even remember how their relationship ended? That he barely remembers their relationship other than there was one and that it ended badly. For all we know she betrayed him and he simply forgot the details. Got it into his head that it was his fault or something and marrying her is how he thinks he can make up for his mistake. That would explain everything."

"Perhaps. That explanation does make a morbid amount of sense. Kaede confided in me recently that Kikyo wishes for him to become human and Inuyasha didn't deny it," Miroku admitted thoughtfully, "Guilt would..."

"Excuse me?" Sango breathed in mild horror as she searched her husband's face, "And you're still defending her?! You told him that would be an insane thing to do, right?"

"Inuyasha isn't a fool. Its most likely a misunderstanding. Surely Kikyo would never do such a thing," the monk countered uneasily, "That would be madness."

"You're always like this," Sango accused playfully as she lightly bopped his shoulder, "You always want to assume the best in people."

"To be fair I am a monk," Miroku interrupted defensively and Sango gave him a skeptical look that had him biting his tongue.

"Kaede is a child but Inuyasha would not make something like that up. If it wasn't true he'd deny it outright," she continued as she gave him an imploring look, "He is many things but a liar is not one of them."

"It is far more likely Kaede misunderstood and Inuyasha...Inuyasha would never agree if it is true. It could all just be a child's ramblings," Miroku argued weakly, "After all, the process would likely kill him. No one would be foolish enough to attempt such a thing on someone they loved. I was merely thinking out..."

"Unless she doesn't actually love him," Sango countered, "Which is what I have been saying this entire time. There is something wrong with her. With their whole relationship."

"All the more reason to stay," Miroku replied, "Until Inuyasha had made up his mind, in whatever way he makes up his mind, we need to be here for him."

"You defend her and condemn her in the same breath," his wife teased as she gave him a curious look, "I don't know how you do it."

"I do not pretend to hate her as you do," Miroku hummed, "But I do value commitments and Inuyasha has made a commitment. I will defend his decision until he tells me otherwise."

For a moment, the slayer was silent as she idly played with a loose thread and chewed the inside of her cheek.

"So this girl he's accompanying. You met her?" Sango yawned and the monk nodded as his lips twitched upwards, "What does she look like?"

"You'll be upset if I tell you," Miroku laughed and Sango snorted.

"She could be a three eyed green toad and I wouldn't care."

"Ah but what would you say to a woman who looks exactly like Lady Kikyo?" Miroku asked and Sango's smile faded.

"Please tell me you're joking."