Umm, no idea how I got this out...I was stuck for-ev-er.

And its long too: waay over 3 Gs.

Bitch, as it is used by Inutaisho (and any other dog demons) is simply another term for woman, no derogation implied. (Is that a word?)

00

Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and Shippo sat around the remains of that morning's fire. There were dishes still needing to be cleaned and sleeping bags to be rolled up and packed away, but no one moved. There was no hurry now. They didn't need to be off searching for more shards. They didn't need to be ready to chase after Naraku or any of his minions. They didn't have an irritated hanyou whining about the slowness of the human race. So instead, they enjoyed the quiet.

One could only guess where the two dog demons were.

But soon the silence became too heavy. All were waiting for someone to break the stillness.

Kagome decided to be that person and she cleared her throat.

"Well..." they turned to look at her with serious faces. So she put on a brisk and nonchalant air.

"Now that this day has come, I don't know what to do with myself. We never really talked about it." Her human counterparts nodded in agreement, or something. Neither had the stomach for theatrics just yet. They had avoided this discussion for a long time. She paused, thinking and making herself more serious, before continuing." Before the whole thing with Kikyo and the well, I thought somehow me and Inuyasha would end up together. After, I thought that I could go back home and maybe go back to school, get a job teaching a new version of the Sengoku Jidai."

That put a smile on all of their faces.

"But now, where do I go? What do I do? Will staying here effect the future? I certainly can't go around changing history. I'm going to have to live out the rest of my life in a tiny, unknown town so I don't get in the way."

She wasn't bitter, just a bit ironic. Miroku ever the diplomat, offered a solution.

"You can come back to Kaede's village. They'll need a new miko or monk when she passes and I'll have my hands full with the children Sango gives me." There was a pause as Kagome and Shippou waited for the taijiya to pummel the houshi, but she merely blushed and looked away. Mouths dropped to the ground.

"You...she...yes?"

"That's right! After all of my hard work, wearing the beautiful Sango down all these years, she has finally relented! Tonight, or perhaps we should begin soon as we will need much time, I shall show..." His exclamatory monologue was cut off by only a slight bonk on the head from Hiraikotsu.

"Finish that sentance and die, monk."

Relieved to see that Sango would not let the married...er, engaged life slow her down, Kagome seriously thought about the lodging proposal. And then she had a revelation.

"Where's Kohaku?" she blurted out, noticing the shocked faces of all surrounding her. Ok, a bit belated, but they shouldn't stare at her like she was crazy; alot had happened! Sango's countenance clouded over with a bit of sadness tempered by relief as she started to explain.

"He...all the horrible things he had to do under Naraku's control shattered his mind." She was quiet for a moment. "I think he would have killed himself were it not for Rin and Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru? Kagome thought. Shippou's face echoed her thoughts. I mean sure, he joined their efforts to defeat Naraku but that was based more on him getting revenge for the kidnapping of Rin...or so Kagome figured. Actually helping someone without personal gain still sounded far-fetched.

"He said something to Kohaku about repaying his debts in a way more honorable than suicide and then he told him he was Rin's caretaker from then on."

"But wouldn't Sesshomaru be better able to protect her? No offense, Sango."

"None taken; I thought the same thing. But Rin apparently took a liking to him when he kidnapped her and in the time with Naraku he had become faster than a normal human...faster as in dodging Sesshomaru himself." She looked to Miroku.

"We think it was a side effect from being so long in a demonic aura, attached to Naraku," he elaborated.

"But...well, what about you?" At Kagome's hesitant question the youkai slayer straightened her spine.

"As long as he is alive, free, and happy, I can accept whatever he chooses. Besides, maybe with her he'll be able to finish the little bit of childhood he had left."

She gave Kagome a soft smile, which the miko returned.

"Then I also accept," Kagome declared. "What about you Shippou? Are you going to go back to your home? After defeating Naraku I'm sure no demon brothers will want to mess with you ever again."

She asked, even though she was ninety-eight percent sure of what he was going to say.

"Nope! I'm going with you Kagome!" She grabbed him and gave him a hug. At least Shippou was always consistent. It surprised her that she hadn't noticed Kohaku's absence; she had been fixated on Inutaisho instead. But a part of her rationalized that it wasn't as if she was used to Kohaku being present in the first place. It wouldn't matter now; she wouldn't be seeing much of Inuyasha's father, if at all. Her mind tried to rationalize that everything between them, her and Inutaisho, had ended. It needed to end.

Without the well, and without the distraction of chasing after Inuyasha's affections, Kagome had the chance to really reflect on what living in the past really meant. If the well was a cosmic accident, then her being in the past was a bad thing. She could change the future just by being alive. She could change the outcome of WWII by killing a butterfly. Hell, she could start World War III by killing a butterfly! That really wasn't a proven scenario, as she herself was the only 'documented' time-traveler, but from what she had read about those grandfather/chaos theory things, Kagome thought it a reasonable fear.

On the other hand, perhaps the reason she was let through the well at all was so that time and the future could go according to plan. That made her feel a bit better, but inevitably, she would wonder whether the well was only supposed to let her through for a certain amount of time before she had to go back, which would lead to the question of whether Fate meant for Kikyo to destroy the well, which would leave Kagome so fed up that she decided she was putting too much stock into the value and importance of her own life. But that only lasted for a little bit until the cycle began again.

In the end, with all of these 'revelations', she decided that no matter which way Fate was working, Kagome herself should try to distance her life from any new entity so as not to disrupt the balance if she was supposed to leave after the Shikon Jewel was completed. And this meant staying away from Inutaisho.

00

Inutaisho watched as she walked away from him once again. He didn't try to follow this time; anger he could deal with, but sadness was a different matter. He laid down on the small hill and watched the stars, as he had done the night before with the miko. Not three days ago he had been dead still. Not three months ago he had still been in Hell.

Hell was boring. Inutaisho had heard of other religions that claimed Hell was a fiery inferno of pain, but in reality it was nothing. Nothingness. A blank, only somewhat fiery-colored void where all you could do was think about your past life. It was to make you repent before you had to face punishment, but Inutaisho had yet to believe that anything he had done while alive was without justification. He had been there years and years, losing track of how long exactly until Sou'unga was unsealed and used Takemaru's soul and body to extract revenge on his sons and open Hell. Inutaisho was allowed a brief moment to speak with them before being sucked back down. It was all very dream-like, and he remembered parts of it only when someone reminded him, like Kagome had of Rin.

It was only a few years later that Benzaiten sent for him. He was actually allowed in her presence, though unable to look at her face due to the ridiculously bright light that surrounded her. Midoriko stood with her; a face he recognized from when they both had been alive. She gave him a slight smile and began to explain the situation they were currently facing. She told him of the wish made on the Jewel and how she was released from her prison. Midoriko recounted how she immediately sought out the Goddess of Happiness. She told him of a girl that traveled with his younger son and how special her soul was. She told him that Kagome's only wish was to find that one person and raise a family with them and then Midoriko asked if he could help them.

Inutaisho was puzzled. He didn't understand how or what he could do to ensure 'this Miko's' chance at finding a good mate. Benzaiten smiled down at him; he still couldn't look at her, but he felt the gesture rather than saw it. In a moment he saw what Kagome's life was like in the Sengoku Jidai, knew how she felt, lived things through her. And then he knew why he was chosen.

Fate obviously had poor timing. She sent Kagome back in time, and yet, not back far enough. It brought her too a place so that no mortal human would ever be enough, know enough to be able to appreciate all the things she had been through. Yes, Fate relieved her from a world that only darkened her spirit, but the companions it gave her to choose from didn't suit her at all. Inutaisho saw that Sesshomaru was too cold, Inuyasha too stubborn, Kouga too flightly, Miroku too flirtatious. Shippou was too young, Jaken too old, Naraku too evil, Kohaku too kind. Any human she would meet would be worse than the ones from her own time.

But he, Inutaisho, could give her what she needed. Yet could he...love..her? He wanted to love her; she was brave and foolish and did things without thinking. She talked back and spoke her mind and cried at the slightest injustice. She was bossy to the point of occasional annoyance but she was also very self conscious. She hated killing and treated all life as precious...unless she was hungry. She was an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in question. But she deserved to be happy.

It is a strange thing, to know someone's soul as intimately as a lover and then meet the owner of the soul for the first time. Had Inutaisho been a lesser being, he might have been afraid of failure, of not being able to fall in love, of being in love with someone that you knew was right for you, yet could not make that person see such a truth. But failure was rarely a word he used in reference to himself and as such Inutaisho planned only on succeeding in the end, no matter what.

00

"Umm, if you don't mind me asking, how did you meet Inuyasha's mother?"

"Izayoi?"

"Yeah."

"You have known her?"

"Oh...er...no. Not really. Its a long story. But no."

"Izayoi ran away from home to protest an arranged marriage. She happened to end up on my lands where I was patrolling."

"..."

"..."

"...And!"

"And that is how we met."

"That's not telling me!"

"...Yes, it is..."

"That's like me saying 'I met Inuyasha when I saw him pinned to a tree'."

"I thought that was how you met my youngest son."

"It is, but...! But then you wouldn't know that I got pulled down a well and travelled hundreds of years back in time and that I was his former love's reincarnation and that I had the Shikon Jewel in me and he woke up when I was fighting Mistress Centipede..."

"You want more details."

"...Um yeah...in a nutshell."

"I suppose then, I will have to start when I married Sesshomaru's mother. It was an arranged marriage, a good one. I cared for her as a proper mate should and protected her from my enemies. She was an adult youkai though, and had made her own foes long before we came together. She was ambushed while I was away and I didn't reach her in time to be of any help. She died soon after I arrived."

"I'm sorry."

"It was an honorable death. It is not something one should apologize for. She gave me a strong heir and that was her purpose. My feelings for her did not extend beyond that of respect."

"You didn't love her!"

"Kagome-san, it was an arranged marriage. Very few turn out like the fairy tales you seem to both like and live in."

"You're right. Its just...well you know that where I come from, when I come from rather, people seldom marry for any other reason but love."

"I remember. It is only natural that you would react that way and my words were not meant to hurt you."

"Oh they didn't. It kinda felt like you were scolding me though. Like a light verbal spankeeyeahnevermind."

"..."

"Uh, continue. Please."

"It was around thirty years later that I met Izayoi. She was a princess of a nearby province about to be married off to an older man. She was of the same mind as you: to marry for love, or at least for lust, I suppose. Young women usually do not find old-looking males attractive, or at least that is what she told me.

"But, technically you're old."

"I am four hundred and eighty six years young and I believe I said 'old-looking'.

"I was just kidding!"

"To continue, she was running away until the old human died and then she would return with the story she was captured by a group of female bandits who thought they could sell her for profit. She chose female bandits so that her chastity would not come into question when she asked to be welcomed back."

"Why would she even go back, if that was how they were willing to treat her?"

"Because Izayoi was a princess, and she also liked being treated like a princess."

"Ahh. She liked the perks."

"Hn. But as I said, she ran into my forest and caused problems with an usagi demon family. She had many ofudas and sutras that would mortally harm many of them, but also wards to keep them away from her. They sent a representative to me, brought it to my attention and asked for assistance. So I did. I expected just to show up and scare her off; most humans won't confront humanoid demons as they are too powerful. Rather she became very upset, as in angry, throwing rocks and shoes and pottery at me.

"Needless to say you were surprised."

"More so when she stopped and burst into tears. But when I asked why a weak woman would be out in the forest by herself she became enraged once more and came at me. The more I thought about it, in years past, the more I believe she didn't care whether she lived or died that night."

"That's horrible!"

"Even worse that she couldn't commit seppuku properly and honorably, instead trying to goad a demon into killing her."

"...Yeah, that too..."

"But she calmed down after a while, first asking me how I got through the wards and then telling me her own problems. That led into her speaking, commenting on some of the most random things: her kimono, my swords, the weather, etc. I realized that she had begun to blush and flirt with me. And that made me remember how boring it is to be alone and how it was much better in the company of a beautiful woman. It was easy to charm her into mating with me that night and I took her back to my home."

"But she was human."

"And many were angry with me for taking a ningen as my second bitch. But I have lived long enough to know that when you meet someone interesting it is uncouth to kill them because they are of a different race or ignore them because your subordinates belive in the former.

"When did she go back? I know she must have, or been captured because that's where you...yeah."

"The old man died a few months later and Izayoi expressed both a desire to let her family know she was safe and also the desire to remain with me for the rest of her days. By then she was pregnant with Inuyasha and I forbade it. She respected my wishes at the time, but when I went to confront Ryuukotsusei about some rumors of his treachery she snuck out and her house imprisoned her when they realized her pup was hanyou. My fight with Ryuukotsusei lasted many days and by the time I heard, which was right after I sealed him, she was due to have Inuyasha. And you know the rest."

"Did you love her?"

"Izayoi reminded me how alone I was, she wasn't afraid of me, and she was a good companion. I know that, in time, she came to love me, deeply, in fact. I felt responsible for her as I did with Sesshomaru's mother but there was something more...an...enjoyment that I don't remember having with my first mate."

00

Kagome relaxed in the hot spring. It was very small, and had an uncomfortable selection of stones to sit on, but it was hot and felt so lovely on a cool night like this one.

She replayed the conversation about Izayoi over in her head. She couldn't belive she had almost said 'spanking' in front of Inutaisho. And when he was silent she sent up a few thousand prayers pleading, 'Kill me now!' to any and every deity that was fortunate (or unfortunate) to witness her verbal diarrhea.

Kagome shifted her weight and winced for the tenth time as a particularly pointy rock found a particularly sensitive, squishy area to poke on her body. Now it was ridiculous. She grabbed her towel and scrubbed herself dry quickly, teeth chattering as she hopped around on one foot, trying to get her clothes on. Panties and pajama pants on she stepped to her right to retrieve her bra and yelled as she stepped on another pointy rock (courtesy of the death spring). Two second later Inutaisho was in front of her with his hand on his sword hilt.

"Where is it?"

Kagome then shrieked and flung her arm across her chest to cover her upper body nudity, flinging the bra at the intruding dog demon and whaping him in the face. He picked the offending (but not offensive, hehe) instrument from its resting place on his shoulder and examined it with interest in the form of a quirked eyebrow.

"Hentai! Sit!"

Inuyasha, who was running full speed to see why Kagome was screaming, did a beautiful sliding faceplant into the loamy forest floor. Inutaisho turned to the miko and held up the scrap of lace and cotton.

"What is this weapon?"

00

:) That whole last scene with Inutaisho just popped out of my fingers and onto the keyboard. When I wrote Kagome into the hot spring I was thinking 'No obligatory hot spring meeting nudity no obligatory hot spring meeting nudity too cliche too cliche'. And then it happened. But hey, he's got to find out what a bra is one of these days anyway. I mean, do you think Kagome would let him just rip them to pieces when he couldn't figure out how to get them off? I would never leave a poor girl standed in the Sengoku Jidai without lots of...support. Lol.