Part 18: Gifts

A/N: Happy holidays dear readers! This might be the last update in 2017, so I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year in advance! This chapter will offer answers to many questions you have been wondering about, and clear up some confusion.

Thank you for reviewing:

Maria-Reynne

Little25victor

AmorPorSiempre

Kagura's #1 fan (I'm so glad to hear from you once again! There is definitely plenty of drama coming next, and I'm sure you will enjoy it.)

M0nkey_L0ve44 (Sorry for your sleeplessness, but I am glad you enjoyed the fic, and hope you keep reading!)

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish for it, I unfortunately own nothing except my plot, and a few OC's here and there.

A small poke woke me up. Considering how Sesshoumaru had kept me up most of the night to make love to me, we had agreed to forego our usual 5 am training session. Sesshoumaru and I could not get enough of each other. It was as if we were making up for lost time. The lack of desire that had plagued me was now a distant memory. I had therefore planned to spend the morning in bed snuggling next to my lover. What I did not want right this minute was more sex.

"Not again Sessh, I'm tired. Let me sleep for a bit more." I felt someone pocking me again. After our last night of passion, all I wanted was to rest and was clearly not in the mood to play with a horny dog demon. We had made love four times the night before. Was the man really that insatiable?!

The next poke turned into a massive shove that sent me sprawling in the middle of our surprisingly empty bed. Now I was awake and pissed. The room was dark, except for the small shard of light coming in from the parted curtains. It allowed me to see what was around me. I sat up and my glare was turned into shock at seeing the person standing next to the bed Sesshoumaru and I shared.

Long silver-white hair, check, demon face markings, check, regal posture and stunning face, check, but this was not my Sesshoumaru... it was rather an older female version of him. The gorgeous inu youkai was standing in an embroidered eight-layer kimono that probably cost three times more than my entire wardrobe put together.

There was no doubt about the woman's identity.

"Hello…" My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I could not say more. It was hard to talk when you were clearly naked and in the bed of the woman's son. "You must be Sesshoumaru's mother… the resemblance is striking… how do you do?"

"You must be his wife. Get dressed and come see me downstairs." She elegantly turned around despite the heaviness of her kimono, and glided out of the room. How did she move so gracefully?

I sighed and fell back against the pillows. As if things could not get any more complicated.

Something told me that just like her son, she was not the most patient person. I therefore jumped out of bed, and took the fastest shower ever. After quickly binding my hair in its usual bun, I was left with a troubling question: what to wear when one met one's mother in-law? Considering she had been wearing a kimono straight out of a period drama, I wondered if she preferred more classical clothes… or maybe if I dressed in too conservative a manner, she would think I was trying too hard… Gah! This was so complicated. In the end I decided to be true to myself and not bother about making an impression. Sesshoumaru liked me just the way I was, and I doubt he would care too much about what his mother's opinion of me might be. Now that I thought about it, I just realized I had never even heard him mention her before. Odd. I wondered if he knew she was here. Who was I kidding, the second she appeared on the threshold, Jaken had probably already informed his beloved Sesshoumaru-sama.

Clad in a sweater and a pair of jeans, my trademark red lipstick on, I marched downstairs in search of the former Mrs. Tashio. Everyone knew about her. She had been the daughter of the right hand man of the former Lord of the West. Sesshoumaru's parents had married in a lavish ceremony, and he was born soon after. It had been a surprise to many when the powerful Lord of the West had set aside his perfect inu youkai wife and mother to his heir, to marry a rich human heiress. Mixed marriages were rare, especially the ones in high circles. It had therefore come as a shock when Inuyasha's parents had gotten together. The two clearly had loved each other, as they had stayed together until the passing of Izayoi in childbirth complications some years after their wedding. Some idiots have even gone as far as saying that Sesshoumaru's mother had caused the death of her replacement with the use of some sort of sorcery or curse. Well the Lady looked as cool and unfeeling as her son, and if she was anything like Sesshoumaru, then there was no way she could have ever caused Izayoi's death. Despite his frosty exterior, my Sesshoumaru was a big softy.

I was surprised at first to find the house empty, but a quick glance at the clock made me realize that the kids were off to school already. Damn, it was later than I thought. Sesshoumaru had truly worn me out last night.

"Mrs. Tashio awaits you in the dinning room." A voice said behind me.

"Thanks Yumi."

I smiled at the shy maid who had informed me. The many weeks I had spent in Sesshoumaru's mansion had made me known to his entire staff. I'd like to think they liked me. Yumi, sent me a large smile in return, yep they did like me. It was a stark change from the fearful people who came in to clean Naraku's mansion a couple times a week. They were mere shadows of people who jumped at the simple fact of running into another person. I was so glad to be away from the oppressive mood in that damn spider hanyou's lair.

I confidently strolled into the dinning room, and was surprised to find Sesshoumaru's mom seated at the table, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Since you were late, I had them bring tea." She informed me dryly. Hum, best as I could tell, we had no agreed on a time to meet, but it seemed Mrs. Tashio was determined to find fault with me. Well, that put things into another perspective. If she thought I was a small flower she would be able to bulldoze, well she had another thing coming.

"Thanks. I'm ravenous." I quipped before plopping myself across from her. I served myself a cup of tea, and refreshed hers before digging into the delicious baked goods my lover's cook was a pure genius at making.

"Tell me about yourself."

Well that was an easy enough question to ask. Maybe Mrs. Tashio wasn't so bad, and she genuinely wanted to find out more about the woman her son was dating. I had never had a boyfriend before, so I had never gone through the 'meet the parents phase'. I therefore had no idea what I had just gotten myself into, but I was sure I could make it all turn all right.

"Well, what would you like to know?" I considered myself a pretty open book, so any question I was sure I could handle.

"Just introduce yourself." The older lady told me, pure distaste clear in her eyes. Okay… I was coming in good faith, and she clearly wasn't. That sucked, but it was not insurmountable.

"Kagura Onigumo." Using Naraku's last name left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I had to bear with it for now. Once we were rid of him, I could petition the courts for a name change. Question was if I would take my mother's maiden name, my biological father's name, or Sesshoumaru's. The thought of the latter brought a nice blush to my cheeks. As of now I was still too chicken to dare ask him where our relationship stood. I loved him, he cared for me, we had signed some sort of matrimonial agreement, but on a legal standpoint we were still in a grey area.

She took some more tea through her pursed lips. The woman looked like she was sucking on lemons instead of sipping on fragrant green tea. "I said introduce yourself."

I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. Ok, I had a hard time figuring out what exactly she wanted out of me, so I decided to do the best I could. "Kagura Onigumo, fashion designer, daughter of Naraku." While I hated it, I still had to claim the former for the time being.

She frowned, sipped some more of her tea and sighed. I heard her mutter something about me being hopeless but chose to ignore it.

"Why exactly are you here?" I wolfed down a buttered scone, and repressed a moan of pleasure. These little breakfast treats were just so delicious. I decided to focus on my food, as I did not want to say something I might regret later. Frankly, I didn't mean to be rude, but the lady was getting on my nerves real fast.

"One such as me should not have to answer to one such as you…but after the debacle of the Council Meeting, I found it opportune to come see what is happening around here. What is this about Sesshoumaru marrying you? How come…"

She never had the chance to finish her question.

"Mother. I see you have met Kagura." Sesshoumaru appeared in the doorway, and I repressed the urge to run to him and hug him.

"My son." She greeted him with a small nod. I was shocked to see how frosty things were between them. My mom and I were used to much warmer displays of affection. By now she and I would be locked in a tight hug, and kisses would have been exchanged… and maybe a few tears shed on her end.

To my surprised delight, he sat next to me, and took my hand in his. The gesture earned a raised eyebrow from his mom; funny how her son had exactly the same facial habit. Sesshoumaru smirked and bent down to press a kiss to the back of my hand. Now I was the one with the surprised look on her face. I did my best to hide it, I did not want his mom to think that I was not used to such attentions from her son.

Sesshoumaru let go of my hand long enough for me to serve him a cup of tea. As soon as I did he interlaced our fingers once more, and placed them on the table, in clear view of his mother. Hum, why was I feeling like we were putting on a show?

"Mother, to what do we owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" He gently ran his thumb along the back of my hand, causing delightful shivers to run down my spine. I picked up my cup with my trembling free hand, and downed the rest of my tea. Damn I hated that he could affect me this easily. Just a few touches of his finger, and I was completely gone. Sigh. I sat up straighter, and stared back at Sesshoumaru's mom. For now, I had to focus on surviving this encounter.

"How could I not come after hearing my only son married?" Sesshoumaru's mom might have been talking to her son, but it was me she was looking at. I had a feeling that if she could, she would have melted me to a puddle of goo with the use of her poisonous claws. Lovely!

Just to piss her off, I snuggled close to Sesshoumaru, making sure our bodies touched, almost climbing in his lap in the process. Sesshoumaru looked at me from the corner of his eye, but did not comment on my unusual behavior. We were not a couple used to PDA. This public show of affection made Sesshoumaru's mother purse her lips even more tightly in clear displeasure. Great, mission accomplished!

"Kagura, let me introduce you to my mother, Sakura Tashio." He nodded his head towards the older inu youkai before gesturing towards me. "Mother, this is Kagura."

"How quaint." Sakura took a long draft of her tea. She was probably wishing her cup contained some sort of alcohol instead of plain old tea. "Now, will someone please explain to me how my only son and heir married Naraku's daughter?!"

I, the ever dutiful daughter in-law refilled her cup, then mine, and decided to answer her question.

"Naraku locked us in a room at his strip club, then produced a marriage license he forced us to sign at gun point." I informed her helpfully. The glare my sort of husband sent me told me he was not happy I had spilled the beans. I simply replied to him with a shrug. Oh well, I intended to start my relationship with my mother in-law on a healthy base, and that entailed complete and total honesty. If she didn't like it, then she could just shove it.

Sakura's eyes flashed red as fury radiated from her. I scooted back in my seat. I doubted she would dare attack me while Sesshoumaru was sitting right next to me, but at that precise moment I was sorely missing my fan. I had left it behind because stupid, gullible, innocent me had expected to have a civil conversation with the mother of my lover, instead I had been greeted by thinly veiled insults and cattiness. Good thing I now knew how to command the wind without the use of my weapon. It would be good to have a way to defend myself just in case. Thanks to being used to sparring with Sesshoumaru, I know knew all too well how to parry claw attacks, that was sure to come in handy too if his mom decided to try to shred me to pieces.

"How could you fall for such a foolish trap?" She hissed angrily at her son. To my shock she crushed her delicate teacup in her angry clenched fist. Damn, tea, blood and porcelain shards were spilling all over the white table linen. Yumi was going to have one hell of a time cleaning up this mess. I'd have to apologize to her for that one as fitting of the Lady of the House.

"Mother, you know better. This Sesshoumaru would never do anything I would not wish to." He retorted, angrily, not seemingly caring that his mother had injured herself.

Said woman grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood off her hand before tossing the ruined linen away. She did not even flinch as the action dislodged the shards stuck in her soft flesh.

"Son, and you wanted to do this… whatever this ludicrous arrangement is?!" She spit angrily. She made it sound like being with me was the worst thing to have ever happened to her son. Ok, no more playing nice girl.

"Oh, I can assure you he does want to do me very much." I quipped. Being treated as if I was invisible and useless to this conversation did not sit well with me, so of course I lashed out.

"Oh don't be crass." Lady Sakura wrinkled her nose in distaste. Well being treated like a pile of undesirable trash sure bit being invisible.

Sesshoumaru gave me a glare, but the small smirk on his lips ruined his pretend annoyance. I winked at him, and his smirk grew wider. It seemed it was getting harder for him to hold on to his Ice Block persona when around me. Good. I loved seeing him melt.

Clearly, based on her deepening frown, his mother did not seem to like the complicity Sesshoumaru and I shared. Oh well, our relationship was none of her business.

"Mother." Sesshoumaru sighed. "All that should matter to you is that Kagura is in my life now." While I was bummed that Sesshoumaru had not outright defined what he considered our relationship to be, I was happy to have him claim me openly in front of his dragon of a mother.

"I see… Well, I will take my leave for now." Sakura gracefully stood up, not even one crease in her gigantic kimono. "Son, I shall see you later." Without even acknowledging my existence, she strolled out of the room.

"Well that was pleasant. Can't wait until we have a reunion with my family." I plopped a finger sandwich in my mouth, and sighed in contentment. The youkai around me might annoy me, but bread and cheese would always be my friends.

"Did you have to antagonize her?" Sesshoumaru finally let go of my hand, to take a sip from his own tea.

"Yep, she was acting like a total bitch… no pun intended." Sesshoumaru sighed, but did not say more, he knew I was right. I buttered another scone, and devoured it. Now that I did not have to play the good daughter in-law, I could eat as I wished, and that meant devouring the breakfast platter. Considering all the calories Sesshoumaru and I burnt last night, I was in need to replenish myself. How else could I explain my persistent hunger? I chose to ignore the little nagging voice inside of me. I would be damned before I told Sesshoumaru about the suspicion that had plagued me for the past week.

"How come you're home at this hour anyways?" I asked after taking another mouthful of pure baked deliciousness. "Not that I mind you coming in to my rescue."

"Jaken told me of mother's visit. I knew she would seek to trouble you, so I changed course and came back home. Thankfully I was not far… I suspect she purposely chose a time she knew I would not be home so as to corner you." Sesshoumaru took the plain piece of toast I handed him, and bit a chunk out of it. I might love him, but seriously, the man's eating preferences were a complete mystery to me. How one could prefer plain toast to a scone slathered in butter and jam was a mystery to me. Oh well what they say must be true, and opposites do indeed attract.

"Well, your diplomatic way was better than me strangling your mother with her own furry boa." I chuckled even if the visual was oh so tempting. "Thanks for the save. It's always nice to see you care."

That comment stopped Sesshoumaru cold. He put down his half eaten toast, and turned to look straight at me. The look on his face made my throat tight. I struggled to swallow what I had in my mouth. I was taken aback by the intensity in his gaze. It reminded me of the look he had before he had killed Sasaki, complete and utter focus.

He paused, and seemed to think about what to say next. "Do you doubt that I do?"

I was surprised by the directness of his question. He was usually one to shy away from conversations about feelings. My comment might have been made in jest, but it did betray how I truly felt. I was still so confused about the status of my relationship with Sesshoumaru. I had however made myself the promise to have it sorted out as soon as we were rid of Naraku.

"No, I just…" I did not know how to end this sentence without betraying my confusion, or hurting his feelings. "Well you're not the easiest person to read..."

He seemed to chew on what I said for a while. Deciding on the best way to reply. After a couple heartbeats, he took my hand in his, mindless of the fact that my palms were wet. He clasped it tight, it felt different from the way he had held it before when he was showing off to his mom.

"People call me cold and unfeeling as I may not speak much, but I thought you knew how I felt. Kagura, you came into my life in a most unexpected way, but I do not regret it." I gasped in shock at his words. I did not think he had ever so openly spoken about his feelings before. "It is true you brought chaos into my life… but along with it came happiness. These past few months you have made me happy. Not content as I have for far too long but genuinely happy."

That did it, I could feel tears pooling in my eyes. I did my best to hold them in, but I quickly lost the battle, and soon enough salty trails covered my cheeks.

"After father's death, I focused on amassing strength and wealth and taking care of our family. I was driven with the thirst to avenge his murder, and the urge to prove myself as a fitting ruler of the Western Lands. I cared for nothing else. For too long, I was resigned to live the rest of my days in this grey fog. Just like a candle, Rin unexpectedly came into my life, and brought light back to my world." His lips stretched in a faint smile as he thought about his daughter. "But Kagura, you… you are like a blazing sun coming in and lighting up everything around you. For the first time in a long time I do not merely think about the present, but I think about my future, and I want you in it."

That did it. The floodgates opened, and tears flowed freely from my eyes. I could feel snot creeping down my nose but I did not care. I wiped it with the back of my free hand. Unsexy as hell but right now I could care less.

"Sessh." I chocked out. "I've never been happier in my entire life than I have since I moved here. I've had a crush on you for years… and never thought I'd ever get to even have a conversation with you, let alone be able to touch you." I squeezed his hand. It still felt surreal.

"Really?" He asked clearly smug. That jerk.

"Yep. It may sound stalker-ish to admit it, but I had an entire scrapbook dedicated to you in tenth grade. Back then I was infatuated with the idea of you… Now I've gotten to know the real you, I love you even more. I admire your strength and the way you care for those around you. You may not wear your feelings on your sleeve, but the way you care for everyone shows in your actions." I cupped the side of his face in my palm and trailed my thumb over the red slash of his lower facial marking. "Getting to share my life with you, is a dream come true. You are everything that I ever wanted, and more. I love you, and I want a future with you."

He was always so strong for all those around him, but no one was there to take care of him, and bolster him up. That is until now. Now he had me, and I was glad I got to be this person for him.

"I never knew your father, but from everything I've heard about him, he was a great man. If he was still here, I know he would be so proud of the man you've become."

I remembered the way he had felt lighter after telling me of the secret of his father's murder, thus unburdening himself of that terrible weight he had been carrying around for years. I saw the same light of relief dance in his eyes at hearing me tell him his father would be proud of him. Sesshoumaru was so hard on himself, he probably constantly doubted himself. I smiled at him, and looked at him straight in the eyes. I wanted him to see in my gaze how much I loved him, how proud I was of him, and how happy I was to share my life with him.

Crimson met gold and we stared silently at each other for a long time. I don't know who reached for whom first but soon enough we were locked in an embrace, our lips fused in a kiss. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and dancing in happiness. His bitchy mom, Naraku and the Shikon Jewel, at that precise moment it was all so far away. The only thing I cared about was the man I loved holding me in his arms. Sesshoumaru cradled the back of my head, and brought me closer to him so that he could kiss me even deeper.

He might not have said the three little words I longed to hear, but I had no doubts about his love for me any longer. I easily slid into his lap and straddled his hips. Our kisses turned passionate, and I ran my hand all along his gorgeous silver hair. Right about now, I could think of no better way to celebrate our love for one another than to slip out of our clothes, and have our way with each other.

"Kagura… Oh!" Kagome stopped in the middle of the doorway. She was beet red, and had covered her eyes with her hand. "Oops, sorry! Carry on, I'll be back." She backed away, still covering her eyes.

I wanted to weep and not in happiness. Not again!

"Why does this keep happening to us?" I buried my face in the crook of Sesshoumaru's neck. "Ugh, Rin, Inuyasha and now Kagome… who's next to walk in on us? I swear if it's Miroku, we will never live this down. From now on we are seriously keeping to our bedroom." Right about now, I considered myself lucky that his mother had come into our room after we had done making love.

Sesshoumaru chuckled. He gently nudged me, making me stand up.

"Just as well. I have a meeting with Kouga in half an hour. Rain check?" He stood up as well, and I noticed readjusted his pants. Nice to know I had such an effect on him.

I rose up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I will see you tonight. I can't wait to light up your whole world."

He glared, I grinned. Something told me he was going to regret being so candid about his feelings for me. I promised myself not to tease him too much, lest he decide never to discuss the way he felt for me again.

Sesshoumaru marched out of the room grumbling about troublesome females. I could not help but chuckle to myself.

"How about this look? It's from a collection I designed two years ago, but it's still quite current. I think it would look great on you." I slid the sketch of the blue romper towards Kagome, and her whole face lit up.

"I love it. This is perfect. How long would you need to make it?"

"With Rin's help, give me about two days." I felt a tingle of excitement. As simple as the design might look, the making of it was going to necessitate a lot of attention to detail. It would be a fun project to take on.

"So, how was your meeting with Sakura?" I could tell Kagome had wanted to breech the topic since this morning, but had kept it in. "I am surprised she's even in town. She tends to drop in once a year, but usually she waits until spring."

"Well the first time she saw me, I was naked in her son's bed, and said 'how do you do?' As if we were in some sort of Jane Austen novel." Kagome and I both chuckled. "Anyways, she told me she heard about Sesshoumaru and I, so she just had to come and see her daughter in-law for herself."

"In other words she huffed and puffed, and hoped to scare you away. Little did she know you're too tough to be scared off..." I beamed at Kagome's praise.

"Well I survived our initial meeting, so I think I'll be good from here on out." I did not add that I was grateful for her visit as it led to Sesshoumaru revealing his feelings for me. That was just too precious to share.

"Just be on your guard, Mrs. Tashio can be quite… colorful. Most inu youkai tend to be reserved…"

"You mean Sesshoumaru's mom is a bitch, pun definitely intended."

That made my human friend dissolve in laughter. Something told me she felt the same way about Sakura.

"Oh well, at least the bitch isn't going to spoil my snack time." I opened up the cookie jar I had swiped from the pantry earlier, and helped myself to a sweet treat.

"How can you still eat after all we had for lunch? You youkai are so lucky. Inuyasha could eat a whole cow and not even gain an ounce." Kagome patted the small paunch of her stomach. "I'm still not back to my pre-baby body, so I try to watch what I eat."

I paused with the cookie halfway to my mouth, but then I decided against it; and I just wolfed it down, causing Kagome to groan in envy.

"If I so much as look at a muffin, I gain five pounds. I don't have the excuse of being pregnant anymore, so I have to be careful now." Even as she spoke the words, she sent a look full of love to cute little Izayoi who was cooing in her playpen.

To be honest, Kagome's last words had made my heartbeat quicken.

"You look just fine Kagome. Frankly, I don't know why I'm so hungry all the time." Even though I said so, I did have a nagging suspicion, but I was too freaked out to really consider it. I was waiting for a few days to have confirmation of the reason why I suspected I was always ravenous these past few days. Trying to keep it from Sesshoumaru had been difficult, but thankfully he had been too preoccupied with trying to work with Kouga that he had not been paying too close attention to me, and my body.

"I'm late." I did not know what came over me, and why I decided to say out loud the thought that had been plaguing me for days. Surprisingly, sharing my burden made me feel lighter. It would be nice to share this secret with someone else, and I knew I could trust Kagome not to talk about this to anyone.

"Oh, did you have an appointment? If you do, you can ask Jaken to take you with the car. Flying around on a feather while it's snowing can't be healthy." She flipped through the sketches all over the floor.

I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. Sometimes she could be quite dense. "Kagome, I mean late, late."

Suddenly her eyes opened wide, and her mouth formed a big O. For once she found herself speechless, and did not say a word.

"Wow, how…" I sent her a glare. Considering she had walked in on Sesshoumaru and I almost getting it on this very morning, I did not think she should be asking this question.

"I mean, I did not know the two of you were trying… Well I'm thrilled for you. Rin will be over the moon. How did Sesshoumaru react when he realized it took?"

I frowned. "Sesshoumaru doesn't know. I haven't told him yet."

"Did Sesshoumaru do this to you without telling you? That asshole!"

I was shocked by my friend's violent reaction. I did not think I had ever heard her curse before, not even when she was in labor.

"Well you can't blame it all on him. I actively participated, and I could have insisted we use protection, or even got on the pill or something… We haven't really discussed this, so I am just not sure how he is going to react…"

"Wait, back up. I'm so confused." Kagome put down the sketch in her hand. "Either you are pregnant, or you are not, and if you were, then Sesshoumaru would know as he would have done it on purpose."

Kagome must have noticed my confusion, because she picked up her phone, and after typing a few things, she handed me her smartphone, a blooming blush on her cheeks.

Inuyoukai. Mating. Knot. Locking. Hours of intimacy. The more I read, the redder I could feel my face becoming.

Suddenly the words Sesshoumaru had said to me weeks ago when I had asked him about us needing to use birth control came back to me: 'Inu youkai choose when to breed.' Now I was the one making the dumbfounded face. Shit, I was really regretting not reading more on inu youkai mating habits. It was bad enough that I had been a virgin; and that he had helped me figure out so much about what my own body liked or disliked, but finding out about youkai mating from none other than a human, that took the cake.

"If I get this straight, whenever a male inu youkai wishes it, he can just stay stuck inside of his lover like a common dog for hours until she's bred."

Kagome winced at my description. She probably did not like that I so crudely described the act that had created her daughter.

"Well the woman does have to be willing too, otherwise it won't work. It's more youkai magic then pure biology. If she doesn't want a baby; then it's not going to happen, no matter how long the tie lasts."

"Ok, so the base of the male inu youkai's thingy swells up and stays stuck inside of his lover for hours?!" Considering that I had only seen one penis up close and personal before I became acquainted with Sesshoumaru's, it was no wonder I had not noticed his had a particular addition at its base, where it was supposed to swell up. Honestly I found the whole process super odd, and off-putting. Well in any case, I was sure I was not pregnant because if Sesshoumaru had swollen up to the point of being stuck inside me for hours, I would have noticed.

"It's actually very pleasant…" She squeaked out, her face beet red. "I mean, it doesn't hurt or anything like that… I can't believe we are actually talking about this." Time to change the subject before Kagome took on a permanent tint similar to the horrendous bright red shirts her husband loved wearing.

"Well since I'm clearly not pregnant, then I guess I'm just getting fat.'" I reluctantly put the lid back on the cookie jar. Time to curb myself, or soon I would not be able to fit in my jeans.

"Oh please, you have gorgeous curves now! You were like a famished wounded kitten when you first came here. That's why I kept throwing food at you."

Now that Kagome mentioned it, I'd been so stressed out while living under Naraku's thumb that food had been the furthest thing from my mind. I had lost a great amount of weight since mom had been locked up, and I guess I was now gaining it back. I could probably explain my late period to the emotional roller coaster I had been put through as of late. Even if a small part of me was saddened I would not be having the baby of the man I loved, I knew deep down it was for the best. Sesshoumaru and I were just not ready to have a baby yet, and I wanted to dispatch of Naraku before I did. There was no way I would raise a child while looking over my shoulder and living in fear of the spider hanyou.

"Seriously, now that you filled up you look even more gorgeous. No wonder Sesshoumaru can't keep his hands off you!" Kagome's sly remark made me blush now. "Personally, I tend to gain weight just in my stomach, so I constantly look bloated… Well, whatever, Inuyasha says he likes my body just the way it is, so screw it! It's almost Christmas, and what's Christmas without eating cookies?!" She snatched the cookie jar away from me, and threw away its lid before picking a sweet treat and tasting it.

"Yep, you're right, screw it!" I followed her lead, and took two cookies before munching on them. Considering all my morning sparring sessions and nighttime workouts with Sesshoumaru, I was burning a ton of calories anyways.

We both dissolved in laughter at our silliness. I had never had a female friend before, one I could talk about boys, sex and just girl stuff. It felt good to have plain stupid fun like this.

"Do you know what would be great with these cookies?" I asked Kagome once we both regained our composure.

"Milk? Laced with brandy." I grinned at Kagome's suggestion. "I have enough milk stored for Izayoi in the freezer, so I don't have to breastfeed until tomorrow. That definitely calls for drinking!"

"I've seen where Sesshoumaru keeps the good stuff in his office."

"Then what are you waiting for? Lead the way!" My new bestie jumped to her feet.

Giggling like two schoolgirls, we picked up my sketches, stopped by the nursery to put down the drowsy Izayoi, and went in search of our drinks.

For the first time in a long time I felt happy, and as carefree as possible. I only hoped this would last. I could now see it all clearly, a happy future with Sesshoumaru and his family, and mom by my side. All I now had to do was get to the bottom of the secret of the Shikon Jewel, and get rid of Naraku. I was more determined than ever to make my happy future a reality.

To be continued…

A/N: Our favorite couple has grown closer, and despite what so many of you thought, Kagura is definitely not pregnant. The big party is next, and I can already tell you things are bound to be explosive! The next chapter will be named Having a Ball. See you next year guys! :)