The Planning Stages

Another new moon darkened the night sky as the young couple sat side-by-side, propped against the side wall to pass the hours. Kagome's eyelids were drooping readily by now as her husband stroked her arm. He noticed her eyes close fully and he sighed softly. He straightened his back against the wall and leaned his wife's body closer, letting her head rest against his shoulder.

"Don't," she protested, "I'm going to fall asleep like this," although she didn't bother to open her eyes.

"You really don't have to stay up with me every time. It's just a few hours until dawn, you should sleep." The temporarily human man began to stroke down the back of the lovely, and very sleepy young woman who leaned against him, trying to lure her into unconsciousness. It seemed to be working, since she hadn't protested further. He turned his head to yawn, himself. It was unlike him to even feel tired during the new moon but, he had to admit, he felt real!y comfortable in the warm night. The heavy rain that marked the start of summer had arrived and with it came warm air and a feeling of safety. Probably false, but tell that to his amygdala, which was well at ease and he was nearly ready to fall asleep with his little wife wrapped around him, if he let himself. If. That wasn't going to happen though. The rain had eased off during the night and so he listened for every small sound he could pick up with his muffled human ears. There was always the possibility that there could be danger, and for that reason, he remained awake.

An hour or so after Kagome's breathing had evened out, he heard footsteps outside his door before a quiet knock came. Wholly human footsteps, and a small human at that. A woman? Sango? But hadn't he told her..?

Kagome stirred as she felt herself being maneuvered around her warm pillow and sitting against the wall once again. She opened her eyes, peering out into the darkness to where a single spot of light streamed in through her screen. Blue-green, much like foxfire. Was Sango coming to get Inuyasha for a sparring session again? Sometimes on new moons, Shippo would accompany them to light the training field. Kagome heard them talking outside her door, however, which was unusual. Usually Inuyasha would head down to meet Sango with Shippo in tow, although it wasn't unusual for Sango to come up here. But she'd usually knock, then they would leave without any ado. Sometimes Kagome was invited, to watch how Inuyasha's skills in fighting as a human had improved.

Curious, Kagome crawled to the door to watch and listen.

"It's not a good idea, don't you think, Sango?"

"You just don't want your ass handed to you again."

An annoyed growl issued from Inuyasha's throat.

"I mean it. Ya gotta be careful with this."

Sango sighed.

"I know my body a lot better than you do, which is why I'm just giving you a round while you're human. You're my best sparring partner. After that it's just Miroku, and he goes too easy on me because I've had his kids."

There was a pause.

"Plus, I got really out of shape when I was carrying Ichiro, and I'm determined not to let that happen again."

Inuyasha growled again, in his human way.

"Eugh. Why does it feel like you're guilt tripping me? Alright let's move on."

Kagome's brow scrunched, trying to decipher what she had just heard. Was Sango injured or something?

Suddenly the corner of her screen was lifted and a little kitsune poked his head in, face illuminated by blue-green fire. He offered to let her come along, and she agreed, yawning and slipping her sandals on. She would be sure to ask about it after Inuyasha and Sango were done.

Of course she had forgotten to ask Sango. Of course. She only remembered now as she leaned against Kaede's fence with Rin. It seemed like it had been a while since she had gotten a chance to catch up with the little girl, so she dismissal it for now. Rin had finally grown used to Hana and had bonded with Hana's youngest daughter, who came to stay with her husband and their new baby. Kagome was glad to learn that Hana's daughter had finally managed to give birth. Kagome would have to ask again what her name was, but she knew that the poor woman had two prior miscarriages. She was glad she had gotten to start her family with the addition of a healthy baby girl.

Rin talked a lot about the kinds of foods Hana was teaching her to make and suggested that Kagome ask for a recipe or two, since Hana's baking was the best. At least in Rin's opinion. Kagome and Kaede were testing a dish that Rin had made when Inuyasha wandered in. He had, no doubt, been drawn in by the aroma. He ate with Kaede, Kagome and Rin then the four of them headed off in their respective directions.

Inuyasha followed Kagome around the village for a while, having nothing better to do. It had started drizzling on and off but Kagome made her way up the shrine steps. The young miko had just left from tidying up around the shrine when Inuyasha's ears twisted to the side. Kagome noticed by his suddenly stiff form after he whipped his head in the direction his ears had caught some sound. At first she thought it was just raindrops on his ears, but his posture...

"Inuyasha, are you-"

"Shh..." He gave harshly. His ears twitched for a second more before he shook his head.

"I thought I heard Sango's..." He said, trailing off.

His ears flicked again, and this time he was certain of it. Kagome watched concern cross his features, then she blinked, and he was gone. Kagome was hit with a sudden bout of anxiety, calling after her husband.

"Koyuki!"

"Koyuki?!"

"Koyuki, baby, please come here!"

Inuyasha came to a hault in front of his friends, their voices becoming increasingly desperate as they called for their child. Sango had not seen Inuyasha, grabbing Miroku's shoulder.

"Why weren't you watching her?!" Sango just about screamed at her husband.

"Sango, Sango, please. I turned my back for maybe five seco-" Miroku tried to defend himself, cut off by Inuyasha.

"Where's the other two?" Inuyasha asked, holding Sango's shoulder lightly, quite unlike the death grip she had of her husband's shoulder.

"They're...they're at a neighbor's."

"How long has Koyuki been missing? Where'd you see her last?"

Sango's eyes immediately welled up with tears as she released the monk's shoulder.

"It's been...oh god it's been an hour or more and it's raining..."

"Miroku," Inuyasha interrupted, "where'd the kid go missing at?"

"Miroku's little one has wandered off somewhere," a woman told Kagome as she approached the area her husband has run towards. She heard some of Sango and Miroku's neighbors calling for Koyuki as they searched around the fields and forest. It wasn't the first time a child had gone missing, but when it was such a young child, it was a very big deal. Kagome joined the search then, after hearing that the woman herself had been out for a half hour looking for the little girl.

She dove headfirst into searching the forest, knowing that as the worst case scenario given the muddy terrain after all the rain they had been having. She flew past trees and roots, getting snagged on gnarled branches, reaching out like little claws to tear into skin and cloth. She hoped the little one hadn't been through here. Inuyasha was no doubt searching as well, Kagome knew. She hoped to all hope that he found her soon, before that baby girl got hurt.

Kagome called little Koyuki and searched under bushes and in little gullies, trying to think of every little space a three-year-old could fit. She didn't think she was old enough to climb trees, but she looked up as well. She noticed that although there were several hours until dusk, it was so so dark in the forest, the shadows long and deep. She had spent a year living in a clearing in the forest, but she had never really noticed how dark it was. She had slept with a nightlight until she was eleven years old, she hoped that poor baby wasn't too scared.

Koyuki had always seemed to be the more talkative of the twins, braver, more excitable. She knew Koyuki had a habit of fussing about holding hands. She had always wanted to do everything by herself, but Kagome never thought she would get into trouble because of her independent streak. At least not for a few years.

Twins smelled exactly alike. It was because of this Inuyasha had always had an even harder time telling the two little girls apart, purely because of how much he relied on his nose for information. Now, he knew the girls' scent and had just accepted that twins were a weird anomaly. Right now the scent he knew as Sango and Miroku's daughters split off two ways, one towards the village to a neighbor's and the other into the forest, where the hanyou dreaded.

Even him with as surefooted as he was knew that the forest debris and mud was slick from the rain earlier in the afternoon. Inuyasha could hardly smell anything besides wet leaves and muck. Tracking the girl through the roots and around puddles left Inuyasha wondering how far such a small child could have gone. The trails crossed over one another, looped around and around, indicative of a child without a developed sense of direction trying to find their way in a confusing, scary situation.

He lost the trail around the edges of a small pond that had grown from water runoff from the couple weeks of on and off rain. Inuyasha was mildly annoyed by the sounds of frogs which had chosen this pool of water for a place to breed and lay their eggs. He walked around the edge of the pool, trying to pick up the little girl's scent again.

"Koyuki? Kiddo?"

It wasn't particularly cool that day, but there were so many dangers in the forest. So, when Inuyasha jumped over bushes, boulders and fallen logs and he heard the tiny voice his thoughts came back to whether or not the temperature should be a concern.

"Doggy?"

Inuyasha ducked his head under an overturned long, left to rot and grow moss over the years. Beneath it he spotted a pair of tiny, mud-encased feet. Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief as a pair of chubby hands then came into view, followed by a little face.

"Doggy! Has the rain stoppeded? I don't like it when it rains," she sniffed and big tears rolled down her face.

"Yeah, kiddo," Inuyasha pried the log up to uncover the little girl. Instantaneously she crawled up to him leaving muddy handprints on the doggy's chest.

"Hey, hang on kiddo," Inuyasha pried the sniffling sobbing little girl away from him. He balled his hand into a sleeve and used it to wipe off Koyuki's arms.

"Are you cold at all, squirt?"

The girl shook her head, as all she seemed to be able to do at that point was hyperventilate. He set a hand on her shoulder, but it was apparent to him the kid wasn't calming down.

"Hey kiddo, tell you what. You can wear my magic coat. How'd you like that?" He pulled off the Robe of the Firerat and found that the girl shushed up besides hiccups and sniffles. He wrapped the little girl in it, more like a big blanket cocoon than a proper coat. She said she wasn't cold but the little thing was still covered in mud, and would need a proper warm bath when he got her home. He bundled her up and pulled her to his chest as he made his way back towards her parents. The little girl was still crying and Inuyasha, not knowing what else to do, tried to get Koyuki to talk a bit instead.

"Koyuki, why were you all the way out in the woods?"

The little girl sniffled, big globs of snot sucked back into her nose.

"I don't like the rain so I hided under something."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. That explained why she was under the log.

"Okay kiddo. Why did you leave your daddy and sister on the road?"

"Huh?"

Inuyasha sighed in annoyance. They were just a small kid, conversation was still a struggle sometimes. Inuyasha couldn't think of how else to phrase the question though, in any simpler way for a toddler to understand. He felt her squirming and looked down, thinking he had, perhaps wrapped her too tightly.

"I caught the froggies!" She declared sniffling only slightly. Inuyasha's brow lifted as the little girl wriggled her hand out of the Firerat bundle to hold her fist up to the hanyou's face, two kicking amphibious legs sticking out from between her chubby fingers.

"Oh. That's...you were chasing the frogs? That's why you left your dad on the road?"

The little girl seemed to understand the situation then, as the smile melted away and she looked away from Inuyasha, expression almost guilty.

"That wasn't a very good idea, was it?" Inuyasha asked, spotting his opportunity to let her know she had done something wrong in running off.

"It was scary out there huh? And now you're all covered in mud," he continued.

"Are you mad?" The girl asked defeatedly.

Inuyasha chuckled.

"Nah, I ain't mad."

"Am I in trouble?"

Inuyasha tilted his head to the side. He wasn't sure how to let her know that she had screwed up, without upsetting her and making her cry again. He really didn't want to hand her back to her parents having made her cry again.

"Uh, that's really up to your mom and dad, y'know?" Swerve. Put all the parenting on the kid's actual parents. Inuyasha didn't need that crap. He was just the weird dog uncle.

The little girl did something unexpected then, asking Inuyasha to hold out his hand. Inuyasha shifted the girl's weight to his left arm and held out his right hand, realizing something slimy was coming his way.

"You can have this. I don't want it anymore," the three-year-old said, shoving the frightened, squirming frog into her hanyou uncle's palm. The kid wore a pout as she tucked her hand back into the Firerat blanket.

"Thanks," he said, discreetly tossing the frog. He sped back towards the village, hearing the calls of neighbors for the little girl. When he got into what he figured was human earshot, he called back to the people just along the edges of the forest.

"I've got her!"

He ran out past the treeline and spotted Sango as she was lead along by a neighbor who had heard Inuyasha. Sango's eyes grew wide and tearful as she spotted her friend and her little daughter peering over the edge of the red cloth.

"Oh, Koyuki, Koyuki," Sango wimpered as Inuyasha handed the little girl over.

"I'm sorry mama," Koyuki attempted, but Sango shushed her and pet down her muddy hair. Inuyasha looked around, seeing the relief on the face of a neighbor couple, the wife calling down the road to let everyone know the little one was safe.

"She's gonna need a bath, found her playing with frogs in a mud puddle, basically."

Sango looked down at the little girl, the smile on her face small and unsure whether or not she was in trouble. Sango decided to save chastising the child for after she had her cleaned up, looking back up to her hanyou friend, thanking him, and promising to return the robe as later that night after she rinsed the mud off.

"Nah, it'll be dark here soon, give it back tomorrow."

Kagome was relieved to hear that Inuyasha had found little Koyuki when they called off the search. A few of the people who had helped search decided to call it an early night, finishing up their chores quickly. Kagome stayed out a while longer as well, telling Kaede why she had disappeared so suddenly, that end of the village having no clue that a child had gone missing at all, since she was only gone a few hours. The younger Miko stayed another hour with Kaede, them both noting Inuyasha resting back on the roof, without his outer layer.

When Kagome walked home with him just before dusk, she asked him about it, though she might have already guessed.

"Eh, left it with the kid."

"Are you sure that's alright?" Kagome asked, tucking her arms behind her back. Gold eyes shifted down to brown. He gave her a brief half smile before returning to a neutral expression and shrugging. Kagome would go retrieve it in the morning, she supposed.

Come morning, Inuyasha left at dawn to patrol the forest, and Kagome left for Sango's house to retrieve Inuyasha's Firerat robe, which was most likely still drying if Sango had washed it at all. Kagome knew that the cloth didn't technically require washing, it didn't stain and it repaired itself by just coming into contact with Inuyasha's demonic aura, but it helped to rinse it off every so often. Like if it was covered in mud like Inuyasha had said.

She wandered down to the house, where Sango and Miroku were standing with their children in the garden, the girls pulling up weeds and Ichiro set against Miroku's hip. Kagome approached cautiously, waving when Miroku caught sight of her. Sango's head lifted, then she turned back to her daughters.

"Stay. With your dad," Sango told them. The little girls both nodded, then went back to playing in the dirt. Kagome was waved to the back of the house, where a short clothes line was strung. It wasn't a large enough space to hang more than one or two items, but it worked for a space to dry Inuyasha's robe, which was still a little damp as the older woman handed it back to the younger.

"Tell Inuyasha, again, how thankful I am that we have him around. He was so good with Koyuki too, I expected her to cry but when he came back with her, Inuyasha had her calmed down...I'm so glad," Sango said, wearing a neutral expression at the end, as her volume lowered. Kagome tilted her head, recognizing the soft tone of her friend's voice was not entirely normal for the woman.

"Is there something wrong? I mean, I know it must have been scary for you, for Miroku-"

"I yelled at him. I mean I've yelled at him before, but he really didn't deserve it this time." Sango sunk away, resting against the back of her house.

"He's really a good father, you know? He remained calm and started getting the neighbors together while...I just panicked."

"Oh, Sango..."

"I know what you're going to say, but yesterday really scared me. I was taught how to track, and I should have remained calm and just...I'm...I'm doing a terrible job of it, aren't I?"

Kagome's brow scrunched in confusion.

"Wait, what job?"

"Mothering my children. Kagome, my mother was trained as I was and she would have-"

"Sango, Sango," Kagome started, resting both hands on Sango's arms. Sango rolled her eyes and huffed, already knowing what the Miko was going to say.

"You know as well as I do not to compare yourself to anyone else. You can learn from the lessons she gave you, but you shouldn't compare your mothering to anyone else's."

"Kagome, you don't...well...with Koyuki, it just felt like a reality check. That all this is real, that I have these three little people that rely on me, and I couldn't keep track of them."

"Oh stop that. You're not alone. You have Miroku, and me, and Inuyasha. Shippo and Rin are old enough to babysit, and I would gladly do it if you were ever feeling like you needed a little break. Back home, we always say that it takes a village to raise a child and that's true. It doesn't all have to be on you and Miroku."

"That doesn't make me feel better, you know," Sango replied, crossing her arms. Kagome sighed. She stepped to the side to lean against the wall beside Sango.

"Koyuki is okay, isn't she? She learned a lesson, too, I think. She knows not to do that anymore..." Kagome watched Sango nod slightly. "And besides, in ten years she'll be more prone to getting crushes on boys you'll hate, so that's...that's how it's going to be..." Kagome chewed her lip, realizing she actually had no clue what to say. She was thankful Sango seemed to take it in good humor, laughing lightly.

"I'm probably looking too much into this." Sango pushed away from the house, stepping forward to take down the clothes line. She looked at her arms, away from Kagome as she wrapped the line around her forearm.

"I'm pregnant, Kagome."

Kagome jumped up then, clasping her hands together. She wasn't-she didn't. Pregnant! Was she really pregnant? Was this, ewere concerns about how well she was taking care of the children because of...?

"Are you really?" She asked, continuing when the young mother nodded, "are...are you happy?"

Sango chuckled, telling Kagome that she was. She had always wanted a big family, after all. Although, she hoped to have a break from toddler hell at some point.

"After this one, I'll become celibate for another five years if that's what it takes," Sango told her friend. Kagome asked how far along Sango was, a little surprised to hear she was already four months, and this was the first the Miko was hearing of it. Sango had told no one else, besides Miroku of course, though she supposed she would begin to show soon enough. It wasn't really a secret.

"I'm happy for you too. Like I said, should you ever want a little break, I'm sure I can convince Inuyasha to let us watch the kids." Kagome smiled at this, but...there was this thought that passed through her mind then. The last time she had offered this, she had thought about it as sort of practice for when...it seemed kind of hollow now. No, not hollow, because she loved her friends and she loved their kids, too. That would make it sound like babysitting was pointless, when its purpose was to spend time with the kids and help out her friends.

The young Miko met her husband at the forest's edge where she handed back his outer layer. It was still damp, not that it mattered with the rain Inuyasha smelled not far off. He sat to watch the people working in the fields as he often did when he finished his check of the inner perimeter, surprised when his wife sat beside him to watch the crowd work.

"Got any more bowls for the market?" Kagome asked.

"Not right now," Inuyasha replied, reclining back into the grass. He told her Miroku had managed to get his last three sold when they went on a demon-slaying mission the last time. There was a long silence then. Inuyasha looked over to find Kagome chewing her lip and staring into the fields with this...undiscernible expression on her face.

"Hey, somethin' eatin' you?"

Kagome straightened her back. She pulled out the comb he had made for her.

"Sango wanted me to thank you again, for finding Koyuki," she said quietly, dragging the ribbon from her hair.

"Eh, ain't the first kid that's run off for a couple hours."

"It's a pretty big deal for a village of this size. A single missing child can effect the balance." The infant mortality rate had somehow taken a dive since the Shikon jewel had gone out of existence, and with Inuyasha's protection of the forest, a strong demon slayer residing within, a second Miko, not a single child had been lost to demon attacks, when before, such things were common, albeit no less terrifying. Memories of that time were thick still, and Inuyasha had a habit of locating children who had wandered off or weren't home on time. Most often, kids weren't aware of the time, was all. Older kids, though, over six or so, a three-year-old getting lost was another story altogether.

"And Sango... She told me you were really great with Koyuki. Like really good. She wasn't even crying..." She started to comb the tangles out of her hair. Inuyasha sat back up, holding his crossed legs.

"I know you say you're not good with kids...and maybe your discipline is a bit harsh...but...you'd make a great dad, you know that?" She picked at a snag in her hair before dragging the comb through it again.

"I know."

Kagome's eyes widened slightly, trying to confer with her own brain whether or not she had heard him right. She remained facing forward as she began to braid her hair over one shoulder. There was no hint of protest in his tone. Nothing in it to suggest there was a 'but' that would be added to that statement. It was just simple agreeance. He agreed with her without any strings attached, accepting her statement as truth.

"Sango's pregnant again..." She finished the last three folds of braid in her hair.

"I know." His statement was just as finite as the last. Kagome's brow furrowed as she looked back to her husband, who was staring forward just as she had been.

"You know? How do you know? She told you before me?"

Inuyasha inhaled deeply through his nose.

"I'm the one who told her, a few months back."

"Oh." Kagome pulled her knees to her chest. Well, that explained the conversation she overheard the previous morning. Inuyasha hadn't wanted to push Sango while she was this far into the pregnancy.

Inuyasha scratched his head. He sighed again, straightening one of his legs. He looked over at this wife. She had made herself small again, curled over her legs like that. Small and...

"Kagome... Uh...do..." he struggled, "you want a baby, right?"

He watched Kagome make herself even smaller, even tucking her toes.

"I'd...I think. I'd want a kid, if you would."

Inuyasha swallowed thickly, looking back out towards the field. The folks working must have caught sight of the black clouds rolling in and decided to pack it in for a few hours. He heard adult voices calling various names, and little children scurrying home before the rain came. Siblings still playing tag as they ran off towards their parents and grandparents. He closed his eyes and sighed again.

"If we had one now, it wouldn't be too much younger than Sango's. They would grow up together, and y'know probably play together and - "

Inuyasha's words were interrupted by a pair of blessedly warm palms against the sides of his face. His eyelids opened to brown eyes, wide and searching. His wife blinked.

"I don't need convincing." Her nose was barely five centimeters from his own. She wanted his full attention.

"I just need to know that you want that kind of life. It's not something you decide on a whim."

Inuyasha blinked leaning forward enough to touch his forehead against hers. Neither could actually see the other's face from this distance but it got the feeling across.

"I know."

Kagome sat back. Her hands dropped away from her husband's face.

"You want that 'kind of life' then?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome nodded.

"Then let's do that. Let's have a baby." Kagome set her hands in her lap with a soft smile forming on her lips as she swayed a bit, appearing a little giddy. She looked off to the side somewhere, so Inuyasha reached out with a firm hand holding her jaw as he leaned forward to kiss her.

When they parted, Inuyasha was met with glittering brown eyes again, watching him with a question behind them.

"What made you change your mind?"

Inuyasha smiled, a slight shrug pulling him back to lean against his palms.

"It wasn't really one thing, it's just that I been thinkin' about it a lot...what got me thinkin' I guess...was somethin' Shippo said to me a while back."

"Shippo?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

"Yeaaah. That little punk says sometimes says somethin' that makes sense. It'd take a while to explain and I couldn't even do it right so..."

Another kiss fell on Inuyasha's lips. He held Kagome's shoulder as she pulled away after a few more kisses.

"You'd better head to Kaede's before the rain gets here...or we end up gettin' started on that kid right here on this hill."

Kagome's cheeks felt a little warm as she swatted her husband's shoulder.

"Sure you won't change your mind?"

"Uh...well, it'll be hard to change my mind once you're pregnant, so let's work on making that happen soon." Inuyasha's own cheeks felt a bit warm now, despite his wife's lighthearted giggle.

They got to their feet, Kagome off towards Kaede's house and Inuyasha back into the forest for an exterior perimeter check of the forest. Both felt butterflies flopping around in their guts, but at the same time, it excited them. They were going to officially expand their family soon.

...

woof. Finally got this one out of the way. Sorry the last one was pointless anniversary themed filler. So...they've decided to have a baby! Haha, well anyways with this rather large decision n any couple's relationship, I hope it somewhat makes up for whatever the last chapter was. I got it in within a few days of the last one I hope that also makes up for the two month wait between 32 and 33.

Also, guest reviewer, yeah, you're 100% correct about the quality of my writing as of late, since I started uni basically and more so with my stress since summer. I agree with you and I wish I could respond to you privately. I cannot do anything for it that doesn't involve massive overhaul so it is what it is.