Kagome didn't need a demonic sense of smell or even her own spiritual powers to know when she was being watched. It came naturally, as if she were capable of hearing the slightest wisp of breath nearby.

Of course, she didn't possess superhuman hearing either. That was someone else's domain.

She sighed, stretching an arm over her head as the dappled sunlight filtered through the trees. The sweet smell of grass was thick in the air, warm and inviting, the leaves overhead rustling merrily in the breeze. If someone had chanced into the clearing at that exact moment, all they would have seen was a lone priestess in the flush of youth, soft black hair settled in waves around her pretty face, her bright white kosode and brilliant red hakama the very picture of a miko. She was settled on the ground, legs tucked neatly to one side, a small worn book on her lap as she picked a few scraggly looking plants from the grass around her feet. Every so often she would turn the pages of the book, comparing old sketches to the plants that were steadily piling up in her woven basket.

Without warning, she spoke, loudly and clearly, breaking the idyllic atmosphere.

"I know you're there, you know."

No one answered. The branches swayed overhead nervously, expecting a reply, and a bird chirped nearby, as if to break the tense silence.

"Jeez," Kagome continued, a little sulkily. "If you were going to follow me around anyway, you should've just agreed to come with me in the first place," she said, pointedly tugging a stubborn weed from the soil.

"... Shut up."

The voice came up from the branches of a tree, a low growl of a sound, but the speaker remained out of sight.

"Really," Kagome huffed irritably, counting out a handful of seeds. "You're not still mad about this morning, are you? I told you I was sorry."

"And you didn't mean a single word of it, did'ya?!"

"Neither did you," she said. "You said you definitely wouldn't come today. What was it..." She lowered her voice into a surprisingly passable imitation. "'Don't come cryin' to me when you get eaten by a boar yokai,' right?"

"..."

"If you were worried you could have said so," Kagome sighed again, turning back to look up at the tree. She couldn't see anything but she could sense him there, watching, as he had been all morning. "Well? Are you going to come down or do you plan to stay up there until the sun sets?"

"Keh!"

A man dressed entirely in red hopped down from the tree with inhuman agility, landing neatly on his haunches a few feet away from her. His pretty golden eyes and handsome face were marred by a scowl, a pair of soft white ears on the top of his head twitching with irritation.

"I hate when you use my aura to find me," he growled, crossing his arms at her grumpily. "It ain't fair."

"You're one to talk!" Kagome scoffed, pointing a long stalk at him accusingly. "Sniffing me out everywhere I go! Besides, I didn't need to read your stupid aura to know you were there. It was plenty obvious."

"You callin' me stupid?!"

"So what if I am?!"

"You...!"

The pair of them glared at each other for a full minute, an angry, rumbling growl echoing from Inuyasha's throat. When Kagome did not back down, he made another "keh!" sound and turned his face away from her.

"Whatever," he muttered. "Obviously I'm not gonna let you go by yourself; If I look away for even a second, you somehow manage to end up in some ridiculous situation."

"How nice of you to care," she said flatly, turning a page in her book. "Mm, the roots of this are supposed to be... no wait, leaves..." she said to herself in an undertone.

"Oi, we aren't done here!" said Inuyasha. "I'm still waiting on that apology!"

Kagome felt her patience snap.

"Alright, fine!" she said, slamming the book shut. "I am so sorry for not watching where I was going, okay? I'm just so dumb, I saw the rock and thought 'Ah, yes, perfect, I'll just trip right here and give Inuyasha an aneurysm because why the hell not?! It's not like he's irrationally wound up every second of every day!' Oh wait, you are!" Kagome was practically yelling now; she'd been bottling up her annoyance for the last few days and she'd had enough. "I can't control everything, you stupid, overbearing moron! As if I need the added stress of you yelling at me for every tiny little thing!"

Inuyasha visibly bristled.

"I'm giving you stress?! You're the one going around as if there's no problems at all, just throwing yourself into danger at every damned opportunity. Would it kill you to be careful for once in your damn life?! I'm literally losing hair over you, dammit!" he shouted, running a hand through his fluffy white hair and holding out a handful of loose strands at her like an accusation. "Look! You're going to be the death of me!"

"Well maybe then I could get some damned peace and quiet, like I'm supposed to!"

"Or maybe you'd get yourself killed at the first opportunity!"

"SIT!"

The argument was abruptly cut off as Inuyasha hit the ground violently and a loud thud echoed through the clearing.

"Ka-go-meeeee..." he snarled. But Kagome simply huffed and hid her face pointedly behind her book.

"Go home for all I care," she said coldly. "Maybe you'll get lucky and I will get eaten, so you won't have to worry about me ever again."

He twitched with fury. "This damned woman..." he cursed under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Keh! None of your business."

A second thud startled the nearby birds right out of the trees.

"Kagome-chan!"

"Oh, Sango-chan! Good evening!"

The two women slowed to a stop on the village road, falling into a friendly, natural cadence.

"The twins?" Kagome asked.

"Miroku has them," Sango explained, tugging the straps of the baby wrap on her back. Hisui gurgled happily at the rocking motion.

"Ohhhh Hisui-kun, you're absolutely precious," Kagome fawned, and Sango smiled at her doting expression.

"Want to hold him? I could use a break."

"Really?!"

"Of course!" Sango said, carefully undoing the wrap and handing the child over. She sighed contentedly and stretched as Kagome eagerly took the baby and immediately bundled him in her arms.

"Alright, it's alright," she cooed, bouncing him gently against her chest. "Oh, I could just eat you up!" she squealed, nuzzling his soft black hair.

"Er, Kagome?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there any particular reason why Inuyasha is giving us a death glare from behind that tree?" Sango asked, pointing behind her. Kagome made an irritated tsk sound.

"We don't care about that idiot, do we Hisui-kun?" she said in a soft, childish voice that almost managed to hide her anger. "No, we don't need him, that's right, no we don't."

Sango scratched at her cheek, looking mildly exasperated.

"Fighting again, huh?"

"He's driving me up the wall, oh yes he is," Kagome replied, still talking at Hisui. She scrunched her nose up and when he laughed she looked back up at Sango, her tone returning to its regular cadence. "All day long, he's following me everywhere, acting like I'm doing something wrong. If I so much as look at a fish knife, he's telling me off as if I've committed the most outrageous crime of all time. So help me, I swear; I am this close to purifying the hell out of him, Sango-chan."

"Ah," said Sango curtly, nodding as Kagome held her son back to her. "That sounds like him, alright."

They picked up their belongings and began walking home together, the sun dipping over the horizon and casting the dusty old road with a bright orange light. Kagome couldn't hear him, but she knew Inuyasha was following just out of sight. Knowing he wouldn't understand the gesture but not caring anyway, she raised her middle finger over her shoulder at him.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" his voice thundered in the distance. She ignored him.

"Ever since the other day, he's just been a constant and very loud pain in the ass," she complained. "One little accident and all of a sudden I'm a walking bomb to him."

"Well, in fairness to Inuyasha, it was a rather worrying incident," Sango said, bemused. "You could have been seriously hurt."

"I know that, but nothing bad happened in the end. I just got a few scratches."

"You could have been trampled. If Rin-chan hadn't been nearby to tackle you out of the way..."

Kagome frowned, annoyed that her friend was taking Inuyasha's side.

"It was just a runaway horse, it happens," she huffed. "That Inuyasha wasn't there doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."

"I'm just saying," Sango shrugged. "He wasn't there and you could've been hurt; it's natural for him to be worried. I'm sure he's overreacting, but I can understand where he's coming from."

"Yeah, yeah," Kagome said moodily. "But it's not like it was my fault."

Sango came to a stop outside her home and patted Kagome understandingly on the shoulder.

"Welcome to marriage, Kagome-chan," she said. "You'll never be able to assign blame properly again."

Kagome made a very Inuyasha-like "keh!" noise, and Sango burst into laughter.

"Okay, I'll admit that was pretty good," she said, waving Hisui's chubby hand playfully at her friend. "Say bye bye, Hisui. We'll see Kagome-chan tomorrow, won't we?" Hisui gurgled his agreement. "Well, I have a ravenous horde to feed," Sango said apologetically. "I hope things get better with Inuyasha. Good night, Kagome-chan."

Kagome sighed for the umpteenth time that week and waved half-heartedly. "Good night, Sango-chan. Bye bye, Hisui-kun."

As soon as Sango was inside, she grimaced in Inuyasha's direction and stuck her tongue out at him.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

She turned away and marched home, her basket held to her waist a little tighter than she meant to.

Dinner passed in terse silence, the two of them refusing to look at each other the whole time, and when it came time for bed, Kagome tugged her futon as far away from his as she could manage.

"Don't even think of crawling in with me while I'm asleep," she warned.

"As if I want to!"

"Good!"

It took a long time to fall asleep, anger seething in the space between them, but at some point Kagome managed to drift off.

At some point in the middle of the night, she woke from a restless dream, though she couldn't remember any details. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach, irrational but no less real, and she turned to seek comfort from Inuyasha's warmth next to her. It took her a moment to remember they were fighting, but the argument seemed so pointless in the ominous darkness that she couldn't rekindle the fury that had driven her all day. Some minutes later, she quietly got up and tugged her futon back to its usual spot at his side. Carefully, she slipped under the covers and lightly draped an arm over his waist, burying her face in the familiar heat of his back.

"I thought you said we weren't sleeping together tonight," he said pointedly, clearly fully awake.

Kagome made a muffled sound. "Shut up."

He turned over to face her, rearranging their position so his arm pillowed the curve of her cheek.

"Bad dream?" he asked.

She gave a small nod.

"It's okay," he said, tugging her close. "You're not alone in that darkness anymore. Naraku and the Jewel are gone. I'm right here."

She allowed his words to settle over her, a spell against the scars that remained tucked away in a corner of her soul. Slowly the fear was replaced with his voice, until the darkness was no longer a threat.

"...I'm still mad at you," she lied stubbornly once her heartbeat had calmed down.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, sounding slightly amused. "Be as mad as you want. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna be right here."

"Inuyasha..."

"Hm?"

"...You'd look awful bald."

He gave a start. "Seriously?" he asked irritably. "That's what you wanna say while I'm over here trying to comfort you?"

"Yep," she replied flatly.

"You're absolutely the most infuriating person I've ever met, Kagome."

"Listen to the pot call the kettle black."

"The hell does that mean?"

"Nothing."

He grumbled under his breath, but Kagome was tired enough to pretend she couldn't understand. She snuggled into his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

"Say, Inuyasha..." she started again as his breathing started to even out, nose pressed to her hair.

"Hmm? What now?" he asked sleepily.

"I'm not going to die."

His breath caught for a moment.

"You don't know that."

"I get it, you know," she continued. "Why you're so afraid. And why you think I'm being careless."

"You are being careless," he murmured.

"Back in my world, it was actually really safe. Complications were rare. Almost no one died from it anymore."

"... That doesn't mean you're safe here. You could still have an accident, or get hurt, or-"

"I know," she admitted. "I won't lie and say I'm not a little scared too. But the things you're worrying about? The stuff you keep fighting with me about? They could happen even if I wasn't pregnant."

"... You're doing a terrible job at convincing me you're gonna be fine," Inuyasha groaned.

"That's not what I mean," she said, pulling away so she could look him in the eyes. He looked so vulnerable and worried, she couldn't help reaching up to stroke his hair. "I'm saying, there's no point in panicking about things you can't control. Life is just like that sometimes. You have to trust that I know how much I can handle on my own."

"But if you trip or-"

"So I fall a little bit, maybe skin my knee," she shrugged. "You'll catch me from any height more dangerous than that."

He nodded tersely. "Of course I will."

"See? Nothing to worry about. Besides, the women in my family have always had easy births," she grinned. "We're a pretty healthy bunch."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And I trust Kaede-obaachan to handle the rest, when the time comes. She's never lost a mother yet."

"... Fine. I'll try not to freak out about the little things."

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she said softly. He reached down to kiss her in response, and she could taste the unspoken concern and quiet affirmation of his feelings for her in the sincerity and gentleness of his lips.

"At least I don't have to worry about the kid too much," he sighed contentedly against her hair.

"Wait, what?" Kagome asked, slightly alarmed.

He gave a bark of laughter at her reaction.

"Seriously? You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?!"

"Close your eyes," he grinned. Frowning, she obliged. "You know my demonic aura, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, there's another one in this room, and it's not mine."

Brow furrowed, she tried to focus on her own body, looking for any speck of demonic presence. "I don't-"

It took her a second to process what she'd sensed.

"Is that-?!"

"Yep," he said, obviously pleased with himself. "That kid has some serious spiritual abilities. It's put up something of a barrier around itself, so you can't always feel it, but once in a while the aura peeks through."

"But I thought... I've never heard of a second generation half-demon," said Kagome, confused. "Didn't you say it was unlikely that you could pass down enough demonic blood for it to matter?"

"I said probably," he corrected. "And that was just a guess anyway. It's not like a lot of hanyou go on to have their own kids. It made more sense to me to assume we could only have a human kid, especially since we didn't feel any aura for a good while there."

"But, wait, hold on, I didn't even know demons could have spiritual powers," Kagome said, confused.

"Oh, they can't," he said, settling in against her, his arms wrapped protectively around her. "But a shihanyou? Who the hell knows? All I know is what I can see with my own senses, and that's definitely not your barrier." He gave a loud yawn. "I'm just relieved the kid can take care of itself for now; spiritual power or not, part-demons are just built stronger than the average human. It's you I'll have to keep an eye on."

"Somehow I feel even more tired knowing that," she said wearily. "Just no more yelling, please. I really don't need the extra stress."

"... I'll try."

"You'd better, because a quarter demon might be able to handle purification, but a hanyou is a whole other story," she said seriously. Inuyasha gave a slight shiver at her tone.

"You're evil, Kagome."

"Excuse me?!"

"Nothing," he said hastily, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head and ignoring her protests as he feigned falling asleep.

Good thing I decided to hold her close, he thought with no small rush of relief as she gave in and grumpily quieted down. He was sure if she could extract herself from his embrace, she wouldn't think twice about grabbing the nearest arrow and purifying him into next week.

Notes: I've been in a creative slump for a few months, but with Yashahime airing (I will purify the hell out of anyone who tries to pry my precious daughter Moroha from my cold dead hands), how could I not go back to one of the classic ships of my youth for a little nostalgia? (You know you're old when you read the entire Inuyasha manga while it was still in serialization, yikes).