Shadow sat atop a hill, the pale colors of the full moon making her already perfect skin glow like porcelain. Slowly, a single tear made its way down her fragile cheek, leaving a slight trail of glistening water in its wake. She did not bother to wipe away the speck of water as it cascaded down her face, because she knew there would be many to follow. Kagome looked over at the unconscious body gently resting by her trembling hand. The form cast in the dark of the night slowly breathed in and out, unaware to their surroundings. Unaware to what had just happened.

How different the two seemed to be, one in a state of unconscious bliss, in a realm of infinite possibilities, while the other was trapped in this godforsaken hellhole where dreams were shattered like glass. Another crystal like tear fell onto the dirt ground where she rested. It wasn't often that she cried, but tonight was an exception. Tonight she was honoring a fallen warrior who laid her life down for those she loved. Tonight was the night that for the first time in years, the crying woman on the hill truly felt alone.

Kagome shot out of bed, sweat making her face glisten as the moonlight hit her. She immediately looked around at her surroundings, trying to clear her frazzled state of mind. Before she could stop herself a name slipped from her lips.

"Widow."

Rin glanced around the room once more looking for something of the utmost importance. In a frustrated manor she shut the door and headed to the next room. Without realizing what she was doing, or where she was going, Rin opened the door and peered inside. Without registering what she was seeing, since what she was looking for was not in the room, Rin sighed, stomped her foot and shut the door again. As she was walking away the scenario she had just witnessed played out in front of her.

Taking a few steps back she walked over to the now closed door and reopened it once again. Inside sat her father and her Uncle Inuyasha, each still staring at the door from where she was peering. They both looked very similar with their silver hair and wide eyes. The only difference was that Uncle Inuyasha's mouth was open like he was about to eat a cherry flavored Popsicle, her favorite, while her dad was blinking repeatedly, something he did when he did not understand a situation.

"Can we help you Rin?" asked her father curiously. Rin usually never interrupted him when he was working.

Rin frowned and crossed her arms defiantly, "I cannot find Auntie Kagome anywhere! Do you know where she is?"

Inuyasha slowly closed his mouth, "Um…no."

Rin huffed again, "Why not?"

Her father spoke this time, "Is there a particular reason you need her?"

"I-" but she was cut off by the door once again opening. Quicker than Rin could register a woman with long black hair briskly walked into the room. Her back was turned to the onlookers as she silently closed the door and placed her ear on the wooden panel. With a sigh of relief she moved away from the door and turned around, only to catch her breath in her throat.

"Kagome! There you are, I have been looking for you everywhere!" said Rin excitedly. The girl immediately ran up and hugged the woman.

Kagome took a moment to respond before she gave Rin a hug back, "Sorry Rin, I guess I have been moving around a lot today."

Rin, without letting go of Kagome, looked up at her idol, "Why where you walking so fast?"

Kagome closed her eyes and sighed, "I," she stopped mid sentence and took another look around the room, locking eyes with Inuyasha, "no reason Rin." She looked back down at the girl, "I was just avoiding something I didn't want to have to deal with, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, ok," said Rin excitedly, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be questioning the woman before her. All the girl knew was that Kagome was back by her side again, and right now, that was all that mattered. "So can we go outside and work on the garden today?"

Kagome looked over at the clock, contemplating her answer, "I don't know Rin, I was supposed to do a few things for Kaede today-" but Kagome stopped herself before she continued with her sentence. Her delicately trained ears picked up footsteps, heavy ones that were on the carpet outside. They were coming down the hall from the north entrance. Damn, why couldn't he leave her alone? She was not in the mood for this right now.

"Auntie Kagome? Are you ok?" asked Rin quietly.

Kagome refocused her attention onto Rin, "I'm fine, actually, working in the garden sounds great. I haven't been there today. How is it looking, has Shippo been watering the roses like he said he would?"

Rin smiled, "Yes, I checked the dirt this morning, just like how you taught me to."

Kagome smiled, "Good job Rin, why don't you get on some gardening clothes and meet me out there. Let's say, five minutes? Can you get ready that fast?"

Rin gave a smirk very similar to the ones her father tended to give. It was triumphant and arrogant. Finally she spoke, "Of course I can."

Kagome smirked as well, "Then you'd better start running, you've just lost 23 seconds while you stood there smirking like that."

Rin's face dropped as she looked at the clock. Before saying goodbye to her father and Uncle she sprinted out of the door and down the hallway. She was losing precious time.

Inuyasha stared at the woman before him as his niece ran out into the hallway. Something was different, she seemed…worn out. He had lightened her load considerably since when she first started working here, so it couldn't be work, could it? Maybe Kaede was pushing her to hard, but Kagome seemed like the kind of girl who could handle stress. She put up with him easily enough, not to mention Kouga. So what was going on? "Hey wench, pour me some coffee."

Kagome slowly turned around, her eyes drifting from the doorway, to Inuyasha, and then to the coffee pot sitting on the other table. Without resistance she walked over to the table grabbed the coffee pot and walked over to Inuyasha's mug. But not a second before he had the chance to tell her that was enough she stopped pouring. Without hesitation she reached over to the cream and poured in a slight amount, no more than a couple of teaspoons. With the tongs she put one sugar cube in and gave the mug back to him. Without moving her feet, Kagome turned her attention back over to the doorway, tuning out everything else.

Inuyasha had no idea what was going on. One, Kagome had listened to him. Two, she hadn't commented on him calling her wench. Three, when she walked into the room she had looked at him funny. Four…he looked down at his cup…she had subconsciously accounted for the amount of coffee that was already in the mug and refilled all the ingredients to the appropriate measurements so everything would come out to how he preferred to drink his coffee.

He took a sip of his drink. It tasted perfect, but hadn't she only poured him coffee once? Did she really have that good of an eye for detail?

Kagome's head turned back around to face both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Whatever it was she had been previously listening to was obviously not interesting any more. "Excuse me, I should probably meet Rin outside now," and with that said she daintily walked over to the door and pulled it open. Within a flash she was gone and walking down the hallway.

Sango sat in the shade, admiring everyone's handy work. The garden was really turning out to be something beautiful. Maybe someday, if they really had time to finish it, it would look like it did when Inuyasha's mother tended to it, not that she knew what it had looked like then, but she could guess. Sango smiled as she glanced around.

Shippo and Rin were really having fun with this whole gardening thing. Shippo was amazing with plants and Rin…well maybe she'd grow into it. It wasn't that she was bad, it was just she preferred to pick the flowers rather than plant them.

Oh, and some of the other kids were here too. They all really seemed to enjoy it, though, Kagome probably had something to do with that. Her homemade cookies combined with all the children loving her to death anyways, there wouldn't be much anyone could to do try to keep them away. Playing outside in the dirt was just a bonus.

Kagome…now that was a whole other issue. Something was bothering her leader. Though it should have been expected. But it was hardly noticeable, even to Sango. Kagome had always been good at keeping things to herself, so at first, Sango and Ayame didn't notice anything. Sango turned her attention over to Kagome. The woman was sitting with Shippo on her lap as they planted some strawberries.

Thankfully, there were some spare gardening clothes hanging around the house, they didn't have to work in their maid's uniforms. Now that just would have been awful. So she wore a white T-shirt with a pair of already extremely worn out gardening pants. To match, Kagome wore her hair up in an exceptionally messy ponytail and a pair of oversized gardening gloves. She really looked the part that she was supposed to playing here, if it wasn't for her quietness Sango would have said Kagome liked living at the manor.

Kagome had just been out of it lately. It was undoubtedly where they were that was causing unrest in her leaders mind. Old memories were without a doubt surfacing.

"Sango, are you going to sit there like a slug or help me and Shippo?" yelled Kagome from across the dirt patch that separated them.

Sango stared at the expectant Shippo sitting on her leaders lap. Only, the glint in his eyes wasn't in hope that Sango would come over, it was more along the lines that she wouldn't. It wasn't that he didn't like Sango, quiet the opposite, it was just he really liked Kagome. Sango had to guess that since the boy's parents died he was looking for someone to fill that void, hence Kagome. But it wasn't just that, her and Shippo, they had a connection that was hard to find among most parents and their children.

Sango looked at Shippo's pleading eyes. She could practically hear his request, 'please let me stay with her a bit longer'. Sango sighed, "No, I rather like being a slug today. You two work hard for me, okay?"

Kagome gave a slight frown, and mumbled something about lazy people who refuse to pull their weight, but Sango saw what Kagome didn't. It was a smile so bright that it lit up Shippo's tiny face like the sun does to a mirror. It almost made her want to say her declaration all over again.

Together Shippo and Kagome picked up their tools and started working once again in the moist dirt where they were planting bulbs. Shippo's smile just grew wider throughout the day as he sat there on Kagome's lap, while she asked him which colors he thought would look good next to each other.

Sango dialed a number on her cell phone as she bit her bottom lip. Should she be doing this? It kind of seemed like mutiny in a way. She had never had to do anything even remotely similar to this before, but Kagome was starting to worry her. The phone rang a few times until a sweet and bubbly voice answered, "Hey, Ayame like totally speaking."

"Drop the act Ayame, it's me," said Sango quietly.

The tone and hyper ness of the woman's voice immediately changed. It was calculating and firm now, "What's up?"

"It's…its Kagome. Maybe we should cancel this mission Ayame. We knew this was going to hard on all of us, especially Kagome, but the fact that we can tell is a whole other problem. If there is any outward turmoil you know she's really struggling on the inside Ayame," said Sango with a long sigh.

There was silence on the other line, then, "How are you holding up?" asked the previously bubbly voice. Now the voice was deflated, flat and emotionless.

"This isn't about me Ayame," said Sango with slight hesitation.

"Yes it is Sango. Let me tell you something. I am having a hard time with this mission. I can't concentrate, I can't focus, I can't even gather enough of my thoughts in order to break into Sesshomaru's security codes. I should have been able to do that within two day's that Kagome was first there. We knew this was going to be hard Sango, if you want to back out, you need to talk to Kag's about it, not me. If it is really something that you want then she will immediately have us pull out. Of course this mission was going to be difficult. This family was Widow's downfall. It is going to hit all of us hard in it's own way, the way that will hurt each of us the most. But don't do what you are doing, don't project your own fears onto Kagome," came the voice on the other end.

Sango slid down on her bed, desperately trying to hold herself together. "I'm supposed to be the strong one here," she whispered.

Ayame sighed, "Kagome is the strong one Sango. We have our strength, but Kagome is the one who holds us together Sango."

Sango scrunched herself up into a ball, "I know that! That's why I didn't want to talk to her about it. I didn't want to put any more pressure on her than we already have."

There was silence on the line one again. There wasn't much either one of them could say. Sango listened as Ayame took in another deep breath of air, and then slowly let it out, "I know Sango, but we have to trust her. We have to trust that she can handle it."

Kagome sat outside on the porch, watching the sunset. If felt nice to not have to do anything. No scheming, no jumping off of rooftops while trying to avoid stray bullets, no fake identities and no lies. Right now she didn't have to have her senses on high alert incase some enemy was watching her in the shadows, waiting for a moment to strike. Even if it was just for a moment, she could let everything go.

"Didn't know you liked the outdoors," said a gruff voice from behind her.

Kagome immediately turned around, eye's wide. She had been so lost in herself she didn't even hear the sliding glass door open. Now that was just plain sloppy. What was she, a civilian?

Inuyasha stood behind her, his hands hanging limply in his pockets. The first three buttons of his shirt were undone while his hair was blowing slightly in the wind. He was looking directly at her; there was no falter in his gaze. Damn, she couldn't hold it. She couldn't match his stare.

As soon as her eyes fell to the floor, then back over to the sunset she heard his shoes shuffling on the wood. He was walking towards her. Without a moments hesitation he threw his legs over the same wooden railing she was sitting on. It might have looked romantic to any onlookers, the two sitting there, watching the sunset together, but Kagome knew better.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked her.

Kagome continued to look at the sunset, her eye's not blinking once, "Doing what?"

"That. You refuse to look at me, and when you do, you get a weird look in your eye's and then drop your gaze," he spoke while looking strait at her.

Kagome continued to avoid his direction, even though she knew he was staring at her, "I don't know what you are talking about Inuyasha."

"Bullshit," he spoke suddenly.

Kagome's mouth dropped, almost. She turned her furious gaze over in his direction, "You pompous arrogant ass. How dare you talk like that in front of Shippo!"

Inuyasha looked down to the sleeping bundle in her hands. There was a little kid with vibrantly orange hair, wrapped in a blue blanket laying down in her lap, "He's asleep," he said nonchalantly.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Maybe you didn't know this but ears still work when you are sleeping. You are such an idiot. I pray to god that you never reproduce."

"Oh yes, because you're not teaching him a colorful vocabulary or anything. What, do you think he can hear me and not you?" he replied back sarcastically.

"This is why they shouldn't teach monkey's how to speak," said Kagome while rolling her eye's once again.

Before another comment could make its way out of Kagome's mouth, she heard something that was the very last on her list of things to expect. Laughter. She turned her head once again to the side and watched as the man before her broke down laughing in front of her. He was holding his sides as his body shook with mirth. He leaned over slightly to try to catch his breath but obviously couldn't find it in himself to stop laughing, seeing as how he was still laughing like an idiot. Kagome corrected herself, no, like a high idiot. His head now rested against Kagome's shoulder as his hysterical laughing fit started to die down.

Kagome wasn't sure what to do, maybe Inuyasha had lost it. He certainly seemed to be heading down that road. Or maybe it was just…nope; he had to of lost it. That was the only explanation. She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder and watched as he settled down, "You okay?"

Inuyasha lifted his head and sighed, a smile still on his face, "I'm fine. I haven't laughed like that in a while. I don't know what it is about you, but you make me angry, frustrated and annoyed all at the same time, yet I find myself laughing harder then I have in years."

Kagome looked back over at the sunset, "You are weird."

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, "Am not. You're weird."

Kagome smirked, "And you're a child."

Inuyasha jumped up on his feet and off of the porch balcony while pointing at her, "You're a child!"

"You're lucky I find you amusing," said Kagome as she giggled.

Inuyasha was about to throw the insult back at her when he realized that he couldn't. He also realized that he was still pointing at her, and pretty much acting like the child she had accused him of being. Damn her, how did she do this to him?

"Whatever, you're lucky I find you amusing or your sorry ass would have been kicked out of here long ago," he said while jumping up onto the porch railing once again.

Before he could land gracefully like he planned on the wooden beam he was pushed off it, and into the mud, "What the hell was that for wench?!"

He looked up to see Kagome covering the orange haired kid's ears with her hands, "Language," he was about to say something back when she cut him off again, "and don't call me wench."

"Fine, bitch works too," he said while dodging a plastic flowerpot that she threw at him. Unfortunately for him it hit him in the arm, causing him to immediately loose his balance and fall face first back into the mud. Damn the woman had good aim, and all this time he thought his reflexes were better than average. Deciding he didn't want to get hit again he stayed down on the ground, moving over to the somewhat muddy glassy area to sit.

Kagome's left eyebrow rose, "Is there a reason you are sitting on the ground?"

"Can you blame a guy for not wanting projectiles thrown at him?" he answered back smoothly.

"Can you blame a girl for not wanting an impressionable little boy to hear your favorite four letter words?" she answered back just as effortlessly.

He crossed his arms, "It is extremely wrong when you are reduced to sitting on the ground cause you're worried your stupid maid might kill you."

Kagome smirked, "Yeah, you're right, that is pretty pathetic."

He glared at her, but the glare quickly turned into something else. He just couldn't stay mad at her, it was just impossible. He didn't know how she did it but she did. "How do you do that?"

Kagome looked down and brushed the orange haired kids hair with her fingers. She smiled as she combed out the little boy's hair, "Do what?"

Inuyasha lifted himself off the ground and dusted off his pants. Slowly he jumped back onto the railing, cautious of house close he was to Kagome. He didn't want to get pushed off again. He watched as she brushed the kid's hair, "How do you make me forget everything that is going wrong in my life?"

Kagome pulled her hand away from the small form in her lap, "Inuyasha, you are rich beyond comprehension, you have a company that is skyrocketing past everyone's expectations, you can have any woman you want, you have a niece that loves you to pieces and the support of those that love you. From where I am standing you have pretty good life."

Inuyasha pulled his bangs out of his face, "You wouldn't understand."

He listened as Kagome sighed, "You know, this kid in my lap, his name is Shippo. He's lost both his parents. The only reason Kaede lets him stay here is because both his parents used to work for you. But he has nothing, he doesn't have any type of money saved up for when he is older, he doesn't have parents to tuck him into bed at night, he doesn't have someone to tell him they love him…he doesn't have anything, but he still smiles. He smiles every hour of the day."

"Are you comparing me to a kid?" asked Inuyasha sarcastically.

"No," she laughed as she looked up at him.

He scrunched his nose, "What are you laughing at? Cause whatever it is it's not funny."

Kagome just laughed a bit harder, "Come here," she grabbed her sleeve with her fingers and moved her wrist up to Inuyasha's face. With a few strokes she managed to brush off the now dry mud that was stuck on his face with the sleeve of her sweater. She moved her hand away and looked at him again, now mud free. "I'm saying, life sucks, but there is always something to smile about. The problem is remembering to smile."

Inuyasha just continued to look at her in befuddled way. He just didn't know what to make of her. One minute they were at each other's throats and the next…there were moments like this. Moments where all he wanted to do was sit and talk with her. To sit and talk with the woman who drove him nuts. With the woman who he couldn't stand; the woman that always left him hanging.

What was going on with him?

"I'm going to go take Shippo here inside, he was so tired after today. I'm surprised it took him this long to fall asleep," said Kagome as she gracefully swung her legs back onto the porch. She turned around to Inuyasha before she stepped through the sliding glass door, "Hey, thanks for the talk, I guess I had been forgetting to smile too."

Before Inuyasha could say anything back, she stepped into the house, vanishing before his eyes. Inuyasha continued to sit there on the wooden beam of his back porch. As he watched the sunset he thought over what Kagome had said. It was true; he had everything most people dream of, so why couldn't he be happier?

Meanwhile, in the back of his mind, the place where his thoughts were forbidden to venture, a sudden thought sprung forward. She was wrong, he couldn't have any woman he wanted, because he had never actually wanted any of them. The woman he wanted had never existed before. At least, not till now.

But that thought did as it was told, and stayed in the back of his mind, where it could grow into something that Inuyasha would eventually have to pay attention to.

Firevixen73-

It has been forever, and I am incredibly sorry about that. And sorry about constantly changing the spelling of Kaede's name, I keep getting different ways to spell it, but I'm pretty sure this is the right way this time. Hopefully anyway. So I hope everyone liked it, I really tried to jam pack it with a lot of emotion since it has been so long. I'm hoping that in the next chapter I can introduce a very important character, a very important character.

So please, review because knowing that I have people who actually read this stuff, and like it, makes me want to write. And I had so many reviews last chapter! Thank you so much! And the vote is still open for whether I should fire Hiten or not, though I think I know how I'm going to handle it, but I might change my mind. Input is always appreciated. And Kikyo does have a somewhat large role in the story, so yes, she will be in it some more, don't worry. Thanks again, you all are great. Hope everyone is having a great day! Thanks again for reading! And any questions or comments I will try to answer without giving the story away!