Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for all of her amazing work.

Chapter 8

It couldn't get any better, Kagome assumed. The sun was shining, the water wasn't too cold and she and Rin were splashing around in a section of river that didn't have too much current. She'd gone home and gotten bathing suits for them; an old one piece for Rin and a bikini for herself. The miko had no other bathing suit that stretched enough around her swollen abdomen so she had to settle for a colourful two-piece. She didn't feel self-conscious about her stomach and felt that that was an accomplishment in itself. Besides, since she'd taken off her elastic-band skirt and her loose t-shirt, Sesshoumaru hadn't stopped staring at her.

Ah, that proud taiyoukai. Too self-important to take his haori and boots off to join them in the water, he settled for sitting under a near-by tree and watching them have fun while making conversation here and there. Rin was just happy that Kagome was with her in the water and that her lord seemed more talkative than usual. The only con about playing with Kagome was that the 10 year old had to be careful around her belly so she wouldn't hurt the pup. Other than that, she thought it was about time that Sesshoumaru did something solely for pleasure and actually spoke up instead of having them guess what was up; not that she'd ever had any trouble reading him like an open book. She was an insightful child indeed.

Everything was well and dandy for the trio, except for that fore-boding feeling little Rin had in her chest. The inuyoukai lord and the miko seemed immune to the feeling but she just couldn't shake it off. Seeing that Sesshoumaru was relaxed though, she forced herself to act as if nothing was bothering her. She wouldn't be the one to mess up such a fun and laid-back day for the older couple. She really wanted them to end up together.

"Hey, wait a minute Rin. I need to use the bushes…again." Kagome excused herself after another half-hour of fun in the river. She loved the soft tan forming on her skin through the sun-screen because of the harsh sun but she wasn't particularly enjoying the amount of bush-breaks she had to take because of the pregnancy. She wished she could just enjoy their escapade whole-heartedly. It must have been the sixth time in the past 3 hours that she had to excuse herself and she was not happy about it at all.

Crawling out of the water, she did on purpose to pass close to Sesshoumaru and flick a few drops of water at him. Surprisingly, he just rolled his eyes at his little miko and flicked a strand of stray hair over his shoulder, his eyes focusing back onto Rin to make sure she was playing safely.

"At the rate you are expanding, I do not think it will be another 3 months." He casually said before she was out of ear shot. Kagome broke her gait and looked back at him over her shoulder, seeing that he was in fact not looking at her as he spoke.

"At this rate, I don't care. The sooner these bathroom breaks diminish the better." She huffed, turning back to finish her journey to the bushes. At least she'd confirmed that it wasn't her imagination; he had been staring at her body!

Kagome took care of business and soon returned to the water, enjoying what was left of their afternoon. Rin was getting tired and they'd soon have to go back to the village so they could eat. The older girl and the inu at their side didn't understand exactly what happened next however. A spear laced with hidden demonic energy whizzed out from between the trees on the opposing side of the river and was aimed straight at Kagome. To their utter surprise, the spear collided with the faintest of barriers and fell right into the water, going around Rin's legs as if repelled before continuing it's descent down the stream. Sesshoumaru couldn't act fast enough before he was face to face with their offender, the man pressed up against a tree by his throat. It was a human male he did not recognise by sight but by smell. It was the human smell that had been all over his mother and her palace. Meanwhile, Kagome pulled Rin out of the water and quickly slipped their dry clothes over their wet swimsuits.

"Rin, you erected a barrier!" She managed to exclaim once she'd calmed a little and their clothes were on. The smaller girl looked up into her eyes with chocolate orbs that shone in wonderment.

"I did? But…I didn't do anything." She marvelled, shyly looking away and toward the trees where her lord had gone off to. So that had been the sense of foreboding she'd felt the whole time they were having fun? A demonic weapon with a concealed aura? Too bad the person wielding it was probably too busy being dead to explain why he'd creeped up on them in the first place, much less attacked.

Sesshoumaru emerged from the tree line a minute later and knelt near the water, rinsing off the small amount of blood he had at the tips of his claws from having his hand around the human's neck as he shoved him up against the tree. Thankfully the threat was gone and his company was safe. He would have never forgiven himself if the spear had actually hit any of them, especially since he hadn't sensed the intruder at all. Paying attention to the smallest details, he studied the girls from head to toe and finally felt relieved as they were both perfectly unharmed.

"Who—I mean what kind of demon was that? I've never met a demon who could hide their aura so well…" Kagome spoke up first after he'd leapt elegantly over the current to reach them. The taiyoukai shook his head and looked down at her rounding stomach.

"It was not a demon. It was a mere human with a weapon not meant for him. He had a concealment spell the likes of which I have not seen in centuries; the kind only found in my father's arsenal." Kagome was puzzled but still started walking ahead of him when he swept his arm forward. Their outing was done sooner than they'd all expected.

"Rin was the one who protected me with her barrier." The teenager spoke up as the younger girl ran up to her and joined their hands almost uncertainly. Kagome squeezed softly to say that it was more than welcome. That added an extra bounce in Rin's step.

"I've been practicing with Kaede-baa-chan lately but I did nothing this time, Kagome. It just happened on its own. Although, I could feel and odd presence the whole time we were swimming." She admitted sheepishly when she felt the inuyoukai's stare at her back. He was kneeling in front of her so fast that she didn't have time to stop and smacked right into him, stumbling back from the impact. Kagome caught her before she could fall and easily steadied her small frame. Sesshoumaru's intense golden gaze fixed itself into hers once he was certain that she wouldn't fall back.

"Why did you not tell me about it? I could have found him before any kind of danger occurred." The demon went from intimidating to comforting when he saw his ward, practically his daughter, cower slightly as she looked away. He stood back up and laid a hand atop her head so she understood that he was not angry with her.

"We were having fun and you were being different. Good different. I didn't want to ruin the day." With the admission, Rin took a guilty appearance as she took the hand Kagome was offering her and they resumed their trajectory home. Deciding to let it go, Sesshoumaru said nothing more on the subject and let Kagome change the topic.

"Your barrier was a pretty blue, Rin. If we used our powers together to make one, it would be purple." Kagome stated proudly as they walked on. She tried to ignore the gaze she felt at the back of her head and enjoy the sun but just couldn't seem to do it. She knew she'd have to speak with him once Rin was occupied doing something else.

"Really? Wow Kagome, you sure know your colours!" Rin praised, amazed that she could tell mixes from the top of her head. She herself knew barely anything when it came to making colours out of two already existing ones, except that blue and yellow made green and red and yellow made orange.

"I could teach you too sometime. I bet you'd love it if I brought you some paints and papers so you could make pretty paintings, huh?" Rin beamed at the prospect and tugged in anticipation on Kagome's hand.

"Oh, very much!" Kagome smiled at the answer, making a mental note to bring some for her next time she crossed over.

In barely any time at all, the trio were back in Kaede's village and Rin practically ran to Kaede's hut to eat. Kagome stayed with the powerful demon and let him come up to her side before they settled on a calming pace toward Inuyasha's forest. She knew the rest of the Tachi were there and wanted them to know what had happened just in case. As they walked, neither of them wanted to speak up so they stayed in comfortable silence, just waiting for the other to say something. When it became clear that they both were keeping quiet, the young miko decided to surprise him by wrapping her hand around his arm and leaning on him slightly. If they were going to be courting, she refused to keep a distance. A healthy relationship included touching; lots of touching. Plus, she was feeling rather touchy-feely as of late.

"It was the human my mother had been with that attacked earlier," he finally said, his right hand coming up to settle on hers that was wrapped around his left elbow. He'd seen couples do this as they walked all his life but had never had the pleasure of being in this position himself. It was strange…and more welcome than he thought it'd be.

"So…he was supposed to be the father of this baby—pup?" She barely remembered to correct herself, often forgetting that she was indeed carrying a pup. A little Inuyasha-like pup who would have Sesshoumaru's strength and her heart. It was still strange to think of it that way though…

"Hn. He took a weapon from my father's armoury and decided that we did not deserve his child. As expected, he is the one who left with his metaphorical tail between his legs. Nobody hurts you or my pup." With a note of growling seeping through his tone, Kagome understood just how serious her date was. The scary inu was just an overly-protective puppy at heart. It felt reassuring to know that he wasn't just strength and terror.

"How sweet of you. But, you know, since we didn't technically make this pup, he sort of has a right to be angry." The pregnant teenager reasoned with a soft squeeze to his arm. In response, he lowered his voice to speak since Inuyasha was now in obvious hearing range.

"Oh, but we could literally make the next one, Kagome." He teased and she choked on her inhale of air, stopping momentarily to cough. Inuyasha was there in a second, having left his perch in the Goshinboku a mere fifty feet away to see if his best friend was alright.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" The hanyou asked once she'd recomposed herself, sending a short glare at the taiyoukai next to her who seemed perfectly content with her flustered state.

"Yeah, I'm good. But you," she pointed an accusatory finger at the elder inu. "If you think this is funny, you haven't experienced what I think is funny. You better watch your back, ya overgrown fluff-ball!"

"I was not trying to be funny, my little miko. I was simply stating a very obvious fact." He teased further, not offended in the least with her method of address. He was getting used to her odd nicknames, no matter how derogatory they sounded. Inuyasha on the other hand was surprised that her head and her body were still connected. Perhaps he did have a soft spot for his dear friend after all.

"I'll just…leave you two to it." The half-demon left his friend in his brother's very capable hands as they continued throwing jibes at each other so he could return to his perch and his conversation with Miroku. He was more interested in Kagome and Sesshoumaru's conversation as it was but didn't feel like imposing on their bonding time. It was still weird that they were courting and would probably end up together, though he supported them fully. He just didn't want his best friend to forget about him once her family was established. He would be her pup's uncle after all and was sure to be a help when it came to the whole hanyou part of the child's life.

"Yeah well we'll just see how factual that is when I'm going through the pain of childbirth. I've never heard a woman confidently say 'I want another one!' It's always just something that happened and it won't be happening if I've already got one toddler latched onto my boobs!" She argued, happily dismissing her friend with a distracted wave. He was already gone far enough to not see or hear her though so her action was in vain.

"So crude, Kagome. Won't you give this old dog a chance?" She could see the mirth in his eyes despite his even voice; his smooth, velvety, deep voice that rumbled so tauntingly at her that she nearly failed at keeping herself away from his lips. Whoa there, she stopped her train of thought like a car colliding with a sturdy tree. Where the hell did that come from? He's talking about knocking me up with a second child for Kami's sake and I'm thinking about kissing him? I'm unbelievable.

"Have you ever been with a woman, Sesshoumaru? Because your courting ways are far from customary, if I may be bold enough to say so." She lifted an eyebrow playfully despite the nature of her own taunt. She could practically hear the harsh reminder that he was basically the embodiment of sex and that women—demonesses probably threw themselves at him left and right all the time. She was almost stupefied when he only chuckled quietly and slid his arm around her back to lead her on toward the rest of their pack.

"I have and it took no wooing to get to her. We rutted and she left, having gained what she was looking for." In a deep part of his somewhat twisted mind, he knew that he'd phrased that badly and that out of context it sounded horrible and wouldn't gain him any favour but he said it as it was. No woman would want to hear that from a man she was courting; he was certain of that. So he ploughed on before she could get put off by his slip of the tongue. "She was a childhood friend who had a preference for women herself. Forced into a mating with the eastern prince if she was still a virgin before the end of the moon cycle, we pretended to like each other that way for a night and then she left to be with her true love. I went on living as if it had never happened. I apologize for having said something so inconsiderate." Kagome however didn't care for his past conquests; they were in the past for a reason. As long as he didn't run to any of them when things were rough between her and him, she would be happy. She'd had enough of that with Inuyasha and Kikyou before.

"Wait, so you've only been with one woman?" She inquired once his words had truly set in. Not just a normal woman either; a woman who was batting for the other team. Ooh, poor guy.

"I've had no need or want for any other intimate relationships. I was helping," the word was close to foreign on his tongue and he tried desperately for it to come out as casually as possible. "If I'd have wanted to be a tramp, I could have easily put all of the other ones to shame. However, I found myself disgusted by those females."

"We don't care about your adventures between the sheets, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha interrupted their talk, having heard enough to last a lifetime. They hadn't realized that they'd reached their comrades, despite the taiyoukai's usually sharp attention to his surroundings. They were both caught up in their private talk.

"Or lack thereof." Kagome couldn't help but tease as she led him further, wanting to finish their conversation more than seeing her friends. It was odd for her to feel this way but she couldn't help it.

"I'll show you my lack of lustful adventures when you are a part of them." Kagome went red at the thought and Inuyasha tumbled over his own words after hearing that come from his normally neutral brother's lips. They weren't far enough yet and all 3 of her friends had heard him loud and clear.

"Oh my…" Sango gasped before putting a hand to her mouth. Her husband simply pulled her close and gave the most conspiring grin at the youkai lord. Kagome paled at the look on the monk's face and turned her wide stare at the male beside her.

"I swear, if you two are having secret lessons about pick-up lines together, I will castrate you both! You shouldn't take anything Miroku says to heart, you damned inu!" The miko practically yelled out before he could quiet her down.

"As if I would be foolish enough to ask advice, especially from that foolish houshi." The dog-demon amended before she could make assumptions so drastic that she'd actually consider doing any harm to his privates. His little teasing game had gone a little too far, perhaps. Maybe he shouldn't open up completely off the bat and let her think that he was a pure soul or something. Too bad these insinuating jibes came naturally to him and once she started playing along, he had to keep going. It was so…fun? Yes, fun.

"You better not or so help me…" Kagome kept on going, mumbling to herself as the distance between the duo and the trio steadily augmented. Sesshoumaru patiently waited until he was sure they were out of earshot before breaking up her babbling monologue.

"Stop rambling, Kagome. I believe we have more important issues to discuss than things that will never happen." He tried to tone down the conversation to a more serious topic but she refused to let their day spoil too much. Instead, she picked a nice spot and pulled him down to sit so they could keep talking amiably before the sun started to go down and she'd have to go eat. She was just happy she hadn't needed another bush-break yet. Oh what she would do for actual plumbing…

"Yeah like the fact that I have a test to study for and instead of doing that I'm confabulating with my date about his imaginary sex life." She leaned her head on his shoulder once they were comfortable settled down and playfully rocked his slightly to the side to make him feel the full extent of her teasing. He was feeling too at ease with this way of communicating to actually feel fully relaxed. He'd spoken more that day with her than he had since he was a pup himself and it felt strangely agreeable. He felt as if he was not himself…Or I have simply fooled myself into being someone I am not. It is almost laughable.

"Might I remind you of your ongoing virginity, little temptress? Or would you like to keep teasing me after I take care of that problem?" On that note, Kagome became silently conflicted. If there was actual truth to his threats, she wasn't sure if she should keep going or stop teasing him. He could get the wrong idea, she worried. But is there really any wrong idea to get? Would I—no, do I want our budding relationship to go that way? It was worrying her how much she was verging closer to yes than no. She was having a child so why not do the actual deed? And who better to ever do it with than a walking, talking embodiment of sex appeal?

"Might I remind you that a lot more wooing will be needed before you get the pleasure of doing that, Fluffiest?" Then she laughed out loud at the nickname she gave him, almost regretting ever getting the idea of using any name that wasn't his own when referring to him. He'll kill me someday; I can just feel it.

Surrounded by tall trees and small woodland creatures, the pair talked as the sun slowly made its way toward the horizon. The scene was serene with a soft scent of wild flowers and a promise of rain the next day. The only sounds they could hear except their voices was the soft songs of the birds in the trees and the other small animals padding around on the forest floor. So they talked. And finally, when Kagome's stomach audibly protested, He escorted her back to Kaede's where she had her meal with Inuyasha as per tradition while the taiyoukai went off by himself to do whatever inuyoukai did.

When the food was all gone and the best friends were left to head to Kagome's borrowed hut, the hanyou place his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She looked up at him fondly to find him looking ahead with his brows furrowed.

"Listen, Kagome, I ain't gonna be with you tonight. There's this village a few miles away that needs help with a demon who attacks after the sun goes down. The bastard'll be watchin' over you from somewhere close instead." He explained, feeling guilty about leaving her alone during the night. She didn't mind however because she needed time alone to concentrate.

"It's fine, Inuyasha. I'll be studying anyway so you don't have to worry about me being bored." She reassured as they reached the small hut and he pushed aside the mat covering the doorway for her. Inside, she quickly lit up a fire so there's be light and he lingered shortly at the entrance.

"If you say so. I'll be back by the time you wake up anyway." He felt the need to add before they bid each other good night and she wished him good luck. Left to her own devices, Kagome opened up the books she needed and sprawled them out in front of her. With a pencil in her hand and a notebook resting in her lap, she got to work on figuring out the pieces of English literature she was supposed to understand for the next test. She took notes of what the story was about; well, at least the parts she thought she understood. She loved learning another language but with all her time in the Sengoku Jidai, she had trouble keeping up at times.

Outside, after making sure that there was no hidden threat anywhere close, Sesshoumaru reclined against his usual tree from where he could hear his little miko mumble to herself as she scribbled down important notes. He would here a page flip here and an eraser scratching against paper there. He let himself relax enough to actually fall asleep, trusting his senses and his instincts to wake him up if any threat was detected. The sun had set and the villagers were gone to sleep, leaving him in near perfect quiet.

Author's note:

I was going to make a lame joke but I forgot it so here's another chapter instead! I was originally planning on having more action happen but in the end I figured I'd leave it for the next one. Just to let you know, none of this story is pre planned; I write off the top of my head and hope that in the end it all makes sense together and follows my original plot. I think I'm bringing Sesshoumaru a little too much out of character in this fic but I'll blame it on him fooling himself into being someone he wasn't for all those years because he was deprived of a normal upbringing or something. Anyway, I'm off to work now! Have a good day/night y'all and smile! –Nat :) ^.^