Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its original characters.

A/N: Warning for smuttiness at the end of this chapter, you'll find the abridged version here and the original on AO3, same title same username.

Chapter Ten: The Jewel is finally complete

Inuyasha was up with the unsheathed Tessaiga in the blink of an eye. His body covered Kagome from prying eyes, meaning Koga's, when the wolf demon finally arrived in the meadow with his unfaltering companions.

"What do you what, you mangy wolf?" He growled.

"I see you never change, mutt. I'd have said that being mated to someone like Kagome had somehow softened you," Koga commented while trying to have a view of said girl, but Inuyasha kept moving and getting in his way. "Oi, come on! Move away, dog breath."

"Why should I? What are you doing here? Didn't you know this is my territory?"

"I've matters to settle with Kagome. So now, be a good boy and let me see her," he insisted, crossing his arms and giving away a defiant imagine.

"She is my mate, so everything you have to tell her, you can tell me," Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at his insistence."Are you still trying to challenge me?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, mutt? I give up on her before Naraku's death..." Koga suddenly smirked, "Well, well, isn't the great doggy threatened by my virility?"

"As if! Why don't we talk about my virility?" He sheathed the sword, brought Kagome closer and put an arm around her expanded waist, keeping a firm hand on her belly. Kagome would have sat him right now because of his very immature behaviour, not that she could expect something less from a male born in this era. After all, they still thought that if there were no children in a couple, it was only the woman's fault, while if the woman got pregnant, it was thanks to the man's virility. Kagome sighed inwards. Inuyasha was grinning like the Cheshire cat at the moment and showing her off.

Koga gaped, then noticed that Sango too was very pregnant. "It seems the males in your group work fast, uh? Well, congratulations, dog boy. Even if I couldn't have Kagome for myself, I'm happy if she's happy."

Kagome smiled at him. Koga had just shown much more maturity than she expected from him, at least in this era. "I'm very happy, Koga, thank you." Suddenly she gasped, noticing a tinkling that strangely had gone unnoticed until now. The wolf demon smirked at that, having wondered how long until she took notice of that.

"The shards! You have two shards!" She exclaimed.

"WHAT?!"

"You had the shards all this time?" Inuyasha brought his hand to the sword again, but before he could do anything Kagome grabbed his wrist.

"Wait! Let him talk! Why should he come here if he didn't want us to find out he had the shards?" She reasoned. Kagome was sure Koga had come to them precisely to give them the shards. He knew now that having them on him wasn't so good, after all.

"Always clever, Kagome. One would say she rubbed off on you at some point, mutt face, but evidently, it's still not the case," Koga taunted Inuyasha.

"Shut up, you bastard, and start explaining before I shove Tessaiga up your ass," he said menacingly.

"Inuyasha, please."

"Keh!" he scoffed, but at the same time, his posture slightly changed.

"I met a boar demon two days ago. He said he was coming from the continent, actually, and was looking for other shards. Some other demon who had them before him went there and when he discovered the 'characteristics of these objects' he asked a few questions and then killed him. When I met him, he was going around looking for you; it seems he had heard about the priestess who was protecting the jewel. Unfortunately for him, he also had a big mouth, so I heard that he had two shards and that he was coming for you. When I approached him, I pretended to have information about you and then killed him. I came here as soon as I could," he opened his right hand and showed her two black shards, "I had a lot of demons following me; that's why it took me so long to get here. It seems that the impure shards catch more attention than yours," Koga explained.

"Oh, Koga! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Suddenly she was crying and hugging him, and Inuyasha hadn't even felt her leaving his embrace.

"Oi!" her mate protested.

"Inuyasha, shut up, please. Koga just solved all of our problems!"

"Really?" Koga perked up.

She nodded. "We looked everywhere for three months for these last shards, but then things started getting uncomfortable for both Sango and me," she said, putting a hand on her belly. "Two days ago, we decided to put a hold on the hunt. I was worried about that; I didn't know when we could start travelling again after we had the babies. I'm so relieved right no-" she was interrupted by Inuyasha, who brought her back in his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, we got it. Thanks, Koga, bye Koga," he dismissed him. He put the shards in Kagome's hand, and they immediately turned pink; he made to leave when Kagome stopped him again.

"But, really, Inuyasha! It's not even doing anything this time. Why do you always be so rude to him? He also said that he doesn't have any more interests in me," she looked at him in that way, and he shut his trap. "Now, Koga, I'm sorry for his behaviour, and I thank you again. Ginta, Hakkaku, it's good to see you again," she told them.

"It's good to see you too, sis. You look really good," Hakkaku said, pointing at her growing belly.

"What are you going to do it with jewel now?" Ginta asked.

"I'm gonna destroy it. It caused too much death and grief; it's better this way." Better starting to spread the news as soon as they can. They nodded.

"We're gonna go now, Kagome. We'll come back when the pup is born. I'm curious about any child that will come out from the mutt. Bye!"

Koga disappeared in a wind whirl, leaving two shouting wolf demons behind.

Kagome looked at the others, still shocked by the unexpected outcome of this encounter and then merged the last pieces of the jewel. Finally, it was whole again.

Once they had the complete jewel, they decided to start working at the seal immediately. They figured out the aura it was giving away now that it was whole was much stronger than before.

When they arrived at the little shrine at the top of the stairs, Kaede was already waiting for them. Inside, she had pulled out a little rough box the size of two jewels and arranged it on the small altar.

"Ok, this is it. Inuyasha, Shippo, you have to help us. I'll probably still be able to sense the jewel, so the only way we have to know if the seal works is for you to tell us if you still feel its power," Kagome explained. They nodded. "It is also more advisable if you two do not enter the shrine while we are charging the ofuda. Plus, we can test the effectiveness of the seal from afar too this way."

She came closer and placed the jewel inside along with the chain, then slowly closed the lid. She looked at Miroku, who had a special ofuda prepared for the occasion. They stood for a few minutes working on the seals in a religious silence, their powers manifested on their fingertips. Kagome's was a very light pink, Miroku's was a dark purple, and Kaede's was white. They charged a small amount of their spiritual energy on it, and then Kaede placed it on the box successfully, completing the ritual.

"Did it work? Can you still feel its presence, Kagome?"

"She will probably always do, houshi-sama," Kaede answered for her. "She is strongly connected with the jewel; after all, she's born with it inside of her," explained again.

Kagome nodded. "There is only one way to find out. Let's ask Inuyasha and Shippo."

Meanwhile, on the outside, Sango was patiently waiting near Kaede's hut with Inuyasha and Shippo, who were nervously fretting as if they were the ones currently working on the seal.

"Will you two stop?" She finally snorted, annoyed. "It's not like you have to do so much, just feel. You are making me antsy."

"Sorry, Sango," Shippo was cuddled up in her arms and looked up at her, "It's just... It's a big moment, right? Sure, Kagome's not destroying it yet, but at the same time, she's sorta doing it. I sure hope we won't have any other big nasty demon coming after us for the wretched jewel..." he rambled on with a frown on his cute face. Inuyasha suddenly remembered that Shippo's father's death was one of the many that Kagome had referred to as she was speaking with the wolf demons earlier that day.

Then boh Inuyasha and Shippo feel the flare and immediately after the disappearance of the jewel's powers. They look at each other. It had worked.

"It's ok, Shippo, I understand," she said, her thoughts not very far from Inuyasha's. "The jewel may have changed all of our lives, and I'll always think about my people with regret, but we wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for it. I, for once, couldn't imagine my life without you all or living somewhere else, even in my old slayer village. At least Kohaku came back to me, and for that, I'll always be grateful." She tightened her grip on Shippo. She would always feel sorry for the miserable end her village had met, for the trap they had fallen into, for the way her father had died, for the deaths and the grief Naraku and the jewel caused. But through it all, she preferred to think of the good things that journey full of pain had also brought and of the people who were now her family.

Kagome, Miroku and Kaede chose that precise moment to go and check on them, so they heard her last sentence. Miroku came from behind her and planted a kiss on the top of her head, soothing her; Sango leaned back into him, enjoying his comfort. "If Kagome-sama can learn to live 500 years in the past because of one little jewel, then I don't see why we can't learn to cope with all the changes it caused us, no matter how grievous they may have been." He winked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"So?" Kagome asked, watching the two demons expectantly.

"Kagome! We felt the aura of the jewel disappear. Maybe other demons did too," Shippo exclaimed.

"If we're lucky, they will understand what's the meaning of it. Brainless demons won't be a problem, they are usually too weak, and they wouldn't have come here anyhow, too scared shitless." Inuyasha grinned.

"We did it then."

"You did it." Inuyasha smiled, coming closer and burying his face in her hair.

"Well, my friends. This joyful occasion requires a huge celebration." Miroku stated, already on his way, thinking about the sake he could drink that evening without feeling guilty and about the private celebration he could have with his wife in the sanctity of their bedroom.

That day symbolized for the group another big step in their new life; little mattered that they were already settled in the village, married and with children on their way. That day they had finally completed the jewel and successfully masked it so that demons wouldn't bother them anymore. It was a strange feeling indeed.

Kagome was feeling particularly estranged; she realized that it was the real start of her life in the past. While before she could say she had to come back to hunt jewel shards, now she didn't have that excuse anymore. It was like a whole new weight was planted on her shoulder. The baby chose that moment to slightly flutter inside her and, even if she barely felt it, she felt all the implications. No more sacred jewels; she had someone more important to take care of. And even if she didn't show it anymore, the thought still scared her a lot.

They had been through so much in less than two years, and sometimes she forgot how very young she still was. She was still a sixteen years old teenager who was living the life of an adult. She couldn't compare herself anymore with other teenagers in her era; they had nothing in common, and actually, she couldn't call herself a teenager anymore too.

Lying together on their futon, in the silence of their bedroom, Inuyasha cuddled her tightly from behind, noticing her strange silence. "Hey," he murmured, a clawed hand placed on her little bump. She hadn't grown so much like Sango, and according to both Ayame and Kaede, she wouldn't, even in the last stage of her pregnancy, something Kagome was glad of. Watching her body changing so much wasn't something that settled her fears.

His tender touch made her cry. "Stupid hormones..." she told him as an explanation. He turned her over and gripped her chin to bring her to eye level. "Tell me, koi..." he encouraged her, kissing her tears.

"I...I...I don't know," she finally admitted. The tears were falling freely now, and she didn't even notice. "It's like... now that we're kinda free of the jewel, a lot of other things started to be clearer to me. I was living here, being a wife, a miko, a mother-to-be, but I wasn't, is that clear?"

Inuyasha frowned, "Not really." Was she having doubts? Did she regret something? Did she still want their pup?

Kagome saw the hurt clear in his eyes and cupped his face, kissing him on the tip of his nose, then the lips, and finally, she lowered his head to kiss each of his ears. "No, I'm not saying that I regret anything we did or our life together, or what we will have from now on, for that matter. I still love you so much that sometimes I feel like my heart is gonna rip out of my chest. I'm just saying that until now, I was so focused on finding the last shards that I didn't realize the life I was having here and what it is expected from us. It's a big change for me, and we still have a double life; it will take time to get completely used to it."

"I understand," he said, and he couldn't blame her; he knew that she was young for her usual standards, and she still needed time, "but it doesn't mean you're alone in this. All of this is new for me too. I've lived all my life alone, barely surviving sometimes, and surviving was my only priority. I never thought of falling in love with someone, let alone finding someone who could accept me for who I am, a being stuck between two worlds that keep rejecting each other. If my own brother hated me for my nature, why should have someone else loved me?"

It was new for him too. His life had changed considerably in the last year and a half, even if he usually didn't stop to think about it. "When I met Kikyo, and she offered me the jewel to become human, I jumped at the occasion that fate was giving me because I thought that it was the best I could hope for. Then all the plans were suddenly wrecked, and I found myself tied to a tree looking down a clumsy girl who looked suspiciously like the girl who betrayed me but then she wasn't." He grinned, returning her kisses.

"Hey! I'm not clumsy."

He chuckled, "Yeah, you are, more now that you're pregnant." He flicked her nose. She harrumphed.

"The point is, it may have been 50 years for everyone else, but for me... it was just a matter of seconds. Much like you, who had been thrown down a magic well, I was thrown into a new life that was completely different from what I remembered. Both of us didn't even have time to think about it because suddenly we also had to save the world. Plus, it's not like there was love lost between us at the beginning."

"That was your fault, you know..."

"Yeah, I was a big jerk back then, not that you can blame me if you look back at the whole ordeal from a different point of view. We had two different reactions, and even now, you are reacting differently from me. You are more emotional. I've been taught from life itself that showing my emotions can lead to my demise, so I can also be a cold bastard like Sesshomaru."

"I beg to differ," she interrupted him, "You're anything like Sesshomaru. You think you can hide your feelings, and maybe with someone who doesn't know you, it works. But someone like me, who had spent every waking moment with you in the last two years or less, doesn't let her escape anything."

"Maybe you're right; you've exposed the real me since the very first day of our journey. That's why you don't have to fear anything that fate will throw us from now on. If we survived Naraku, time-travelling, dark priestesses, hideous demon babies and, more importantly, my half-brother, then there's nothing we can't face."

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she snuggled up closer, "I think that's the biggest speech you ever made." She laughed; he shrugged.

"Now, I'd like to celebrate in another way," he said, grinning and making his way through her clothes. "Let's stop talking," he told her before he sealed their lips passionately.

[...]

The following morning the day started like usual. Kagome went back to her studies with Kaede, and Inuyasha brought Shippo with him as he patrolled the forest.

That afternoon, while she was at the river with Sango doing the washing, her friend asked her, "Is everything good, Kagome-Chan? Yesterday evening you seemed a little out of it."

"Everything is good, Sango-chan, really. I just had a moment; I think I just had to let it go," Kagome answered truthfully.

"I'm happy. Now that we won't have so many problems with demons seeking the jewel, life should be easier. Well, at least before these two arrive."

Maybe it would be easier, or maybe not, but in the end, life would always go on despite everything.

A/N: I hope it didn't come out too simplistic. In the end, I reserved a little scene on the effects that the jewel had on their life - obviously since the whole of Inuyasha's story is based on that. I've already written another scene for when they definitely destroy the jewel, but it is still too far from happening.