Rin tripped on the doorstep and, going too fast to stop; hurtled forward and gasped as her puppy went flying from her arms. She stopped her fall with her hands on the ground and looked up fearfully, worried that the dog had been hurt. Instead she found Kagura standing in front of her, her arms filled with squirming, yipping black fur, amusement in her eyes as she looked down at the sprawled eleven year old.

"I'm glad I was never a gangly kid. What is this thing supposed to be?"

Rin gathered herself up, not at all fazed by her clumsiness or Kagura's amused teasing.

"It's a puppy! His name is Baka…it's not very nice, but InuYasha called him that so much that now he won't come if we call him anything else."

"This is a dog? Looks like a living rug if you ask me. Where the heck is its face?" She pushed back matted fur until she found twinkling brown eyes and a rather adorable, grin-like expression on the creature. "Oh, there you are. Poor thing, buried in all that fluff." She laughed as it licked her face heartily, and spent a moment petting it and rubbing its ears before handing it back to Rin. "So, are Kagome and InuYasha around?"

"InuYasha went to Granny Kaede's house to get some herbs to make Kagome feel better. She's sick."

"Is she alright? What's the matter with her? She got a cold or something?"

"No, she's sick to her stomach, and all tired and stuff. I'm scared…I don't want anything to happen to her…"

Kagura noted tears welling up in Rin's eyes and felt suddenly very affectionate towards the girl. She wrapped an arm around the human's thin shoulder and tussled her hair.

"It's all right, I'm sure she'll be just fine. You humans are always getting little sicknesses, but she'll probably be up and about before you know it."

Kagome suddenly ran out the door, surprising Kagura and Rin, who jumped out of her way as she rushed by and emptied her stomach among some bushes. Kagura instantly noticed something odd. As a demon, she had heightened senses, though not so much as animal demons like Sesshoumaru or Kouga did. She was also able to sense auras, and, to some small degree, human life forces as well. She could sense Kagome's normal life force, though it seemed mildly weakened; not in any frightening or life-threatening way, simply as an indication of her illness. However, Kagura could also sense another force; what seemed at first an unbelievably tiny human life, but upon closer inspection also contained traces of demonic aura. Suddenly, Kagura realized just what was going on here. It would appear that Kagome was carrying InuYasha's child.

Kagura had always had an understanding of life, from beginning to end. Thank heavens Naraku seemed to have created her with all the knowledge of a full grown woman. She momentarily had a ludicrous mental picture of Naraku explaining to her life's origins. The thought made her snicker. It would have been enjoyable to watch him squirm. Because she had been created with a fully intact knowledge of such things, she easily understood what was happening to Kagome, and that there was probably nothing to fear; many human women suffered from stomach upsets and weariness during pregnancy.

Kagome rose up and blinked, obviously surprised at Kagura's presence. The miko was pale and had circles under her eyes; her hair was a mess and she was wearing odd clothing in some soft pink material.

"Oh, Kagura…it's so good to see you again…won't you come in? I'm sorry I'm not up to getting tea or anything…"

"Rin will do that!"

The girl bounded into the house, puppy at her heels, and Kagura found herself smiling after her. It seemed impossible not to be drawn to the awkward, gangly, and yet pretty little girl, with her adorable character. With the girl gone, Kagura turned to Kagome.

"Seems congratulations are in order."

Kagome groaned and rubbed her still flat belly.

"Yeah, but at the moment it sure doesn't feel worthy of being congratulated about. Sheesh, it's impossible to keep a secret around here. All you youkai with your extra senses; first Sesshoumaru guessed, now you…"

Kagura was glad Kagome wasn't looking at her, for she had the annoying feeling that her whole being had just lit up. She tried to keep her voice casual.

"Is…Is Sesshoumaru here, by any chance?"

Kagome headed into the house, shaking her head in the negative.

"No. He was here a week ago, but he took off again. I really must get around to telling InuYasha about the baby…He and Rin are so worried about me…but to tell the truth I'm a bit afraid that InuYasha might not be happy. He hasn't mentioned anything about wanting children right away…Oh, but I don't suppose you're interested in all that…I don't mean to bore you."

Kagura shrugged, disappointed that Sesshoumaru was not present, and followed Kagome into the kitchen and dining area, smiling at the sight of Rin fussing with a kettle, looking the part of a little woman with an apron tied on and her hair pulled back.

Kagome sat down with a heavy sigh, obviously exhausted.

"Say, Kagome, why don't you go to bed? What's keeping you from just resting?"

"Well, Rin is a good girl, but Shippo still may as well be three for the way he acts, and the puppy…well I never know what he might do next. I need to keep an eye on things."

"No problem. Go lie down, I'll watch over the brats and the living rug."

"Really? Thank you so much…I really do need a nap…"

……….

Sesshoumaru could hear Rin's lovely little laugh from a good distance aware, the puppy's yipping, the kitsune's annoying voice. The wind was drifting in the wrong direction to bring their scents to him from this distance, but that was of little matter. He enjoyed the sounds of their play, along with the calming birdsongs and the sound of the breeze drifting through the leaves in the forest he was walking along the edge of.

They were in the field where the Bone Eater's Well stood. He took in the picture presented to him with surprise and a sudden rush of emotion. Kagura sat with her back against the well, more beautiful, it seemed to him, than she had ever been before. Her hair was in his favorite style on her; draped over one shoulder, long and wavy, glinting in the sunlight. She had her head tilted back, leaning against the rim of the well, exposing her long, graceful white neck; a position which awakened in him a sort of raw, feral, instinctual need which he quickly pushed aside; and he could see that her crimson eyes were open, watching clouds go by above her. The fox kit sat in her lap, and she was idly stroking his head with one hand. Rin sat beside her making chains of daisies, and the puppy was chasing a butterfly around, barking occasionally in its high pitched little voice. It was a picture of utter happy contentment and tranquility; and he was filled with a sudden aching longing for this to be something he saw every day; but in another place, with a slightly different cast of characters. So easily, he could picture Kagura sitting on the stone bench beneath the blossoming cherry tree in the east garden of his home; surrounded by children; their children. His pups. Rin would be there too. He would even endure the presence of that black thing if it meant he could make that mental picture a reality. Shaking away the sentimental nonsense his mind had conjured up, he stepped from the trees into the field.

"Look, it's Sesshoumaru-sama! Hi, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Rin waved enthusiastically, but did not run to greet him as she used to. Again he realized with a bittersweet pang that she was beginning to grow up, if only a little. Kagura's gaze snapped rather abruptly from the sky to him, but though he could sense her surprise, she hid it well, smiling coyly and waving at him casually.

"Come join us, Sesshoumaru."

He eyed her suspiciously. There was a strange tone in her voice, and he felt as if she were scheming, plotting some mischief. Shippo had skittered around to the other side of the well and was watching Sesshoumaru rather nervously. He knew the Dai-youkai did not like foxes. The puppy ran over to claim the place Shippo had left, nuzzling its head into Kagura's lap, and Sesshoumaru felt a sudden ridiculous rush of jealously and annoyance. Their scents would be on her; the puppy's and the fox's. How dare they leave their scent on her? Forcing the nonsensical possessiveness aside, he approached her, watching the fluid movements of her beautiful body as she gracefully unfolded from the ground and approached him, cradling the puppy in her arms. It licked at her neck and she laughingly kissed its soft head, and again he was angered by its presence. She was his; how dare some mere animal; not a demon, not even a lowly human, get so close to her?!

As he fought his traitorous emotions and his inner demon growling; my mate, my mate, my mate;she moved to his side and glanced over at the children. Shippo was off on the other side of the field now, sniffing around, tracking a rat or something probably. Rin appeared totally absorbed in making daisy chains. So Kagura moved around in front of Sesshoumaru and leaned up to brush her lips over his. He was surprised by the gesture; after all, he had not seen her in three months. Still, he responded, breathing in her delicious scent as he lightly touched his tongue to her lips, asking entrance. She opened for him and let him explore her warmth for a few short, but blissful seconds before she pulled away, suddenly shoved the puppy into his arms, and jumped away from him.

He growled; at her, but more particularly at the creature she had deposited in his arms. It looked up at him and whimpered sweetly, submissively. Its hair had grown down all over its face and he suddenly felt the urge to laugh…laugh?! Heavens help him; he must have finally gone completely mad. But the little mutt looked downright funny, and just the fact that he, a great Dai-youkai…ironically of the Inu variety…was holding this ridiculous creature, was enough to bring a smile of pure amusement to his normally tight set lips. Still, despite that he found the little monster somehow amusing, when it licked his face he had a hard time resisting the urge to throw it across the field. Instead he set it down rather hurriedly and then glared at the black hairs it had left all over his white sleeves, before turning to narrow his eyes threateningly at Kagura, who went from snickering quietly to laughing out loud at the look on his face.

She approached him again, reaching to brush dog hair off his sleeves, and he was suddenly struck by how natural it felt, having her this close to him. Normally, he never got close to anyone, other than Rin, Jaken, and anyone he had intentions of killing with his claws. Kagura had always been an exception. He remembered, during her first life, always trying to get closer to her; close enough to separate her sweet scent from Naraku's. The closest he'd ever gotten, in his remembrance, was the day she'd led him to the Gateway between worlds. When she'd shown up on the cliff behind him, he'd gotten far closer to her than he ought to have, jumping up onto the cliff in such a way so that he had her within his reach, had he decided to reach for her. Later that day, in the cave leading to the Gate, she'd been close enough that their clothing brushed, before she moved away. It had taken everything in him not to snatch her into his embrace then, but he'd resisted. Now, he saw no cause to.

She shrieked at the suddenness of the way he grabbed her, but then laughed happily in the instant before he claimed her mouth.

……

Shippo stood next to Rin, his mouth hanging open and his eyes looking as if they were about to pop out of his head. Rin smiled hugely as she watched her master and the wind user. She may be a child, but she was still a female, and her woman's intuition was in full working order. She'd known there must be something between Sesshoumaru-sama and Kagura. Kagura had her hands tangled in Sesshoumaru's long hair, and he had one hand cupping her face, the other arm tightly wrapping her to him. They seemed melded together, like two pieces of a puzzle, perfectly fit. Rin couldn't help but feel her eyes go slightly wide, though. She'd seen plenty of kissing; Miroku and Sango, InuYasha and Kagome, and any number of various young villagers. But she'd never seen anybody kiss like that. Normally it was brief, light pecks on the lips. She wasn't quite sure what Kagura and Sesshoumaru-sama were doing, but it sure didn't look the same as anything she'd seen before.

The puppy ran in circles around them, and suddenly ran too close to Kagura's feet. She tripped on it and fell over backwards, dragging Sesshoumaru with her, the puppy yelping as it dashed out of the way. Kagura's pretty laugh filled the field, but when Sesshoumaru laughed as well, Rin's jaw joined Shippo's on the ground. Never before had she heard Sesshoumaru-sama laugh. His laugh was like his voice; rich and deep and smooth. He rose and helped Kagura to her feet, still smiling as she brushed grass off her kimono. Suddenly Kagura's eyes landed on the two gaping children, and she burst again into laughter. Sesshoumaru approached the well in a few long strides and snatched Shippo up by his tail, giving him his best death glare.

"Not one word to anyone, fox, or the tail will make a nice hat for Rin."

Shippo nodded, looking genuinely terrified, and Sesshoumaru dropped him, watching rather unsympathetically as the kitsune fell the several feet to the ground. Kagura sat down beside Rin again and wrapped a daisy chain around the little girl's head.

"You won't tell anyone anything either, will you Rin-chan?"

The girl shook her head solemnly, then suddenly wrapped her arms around Kagura and beamed up at her.

"Rin is very happy that Sesshoumaru-sama likes you, Kagura."

……..

InuYasha headed towards the meadow, his brows drawn low in worry as he walked, staring at the ground. He was frightened by Kagome's illness. Logically he knew she'd probably be alright, but something kept worrying him, as if there was something he was missing, some fact escaping his attention; it certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd failed to process something that might otherwise be obvious.

He'd come back to the house from Kaede's place to find Kagome fast asleep and a note telling him that Kagura had shown up and offered to look after the kids and the dog. He wasn't entirely sure he trusted Kagura enough to let her babysit, but then, she'd done her best to take care of Kohaku when he'd been Rin's age, so maybe it wasn't so bad.

He certainly wasn't expecting the scene he came upon. Sesshoumaru and Kagura were sitting on the edge of the well, so close their shoulders touched. Kagura had the puppy…Baka, he thought…in her lap, and Rin sat at their feet, picking flowers to put in the basket at her side. They looked like…like a family. InuYasha blinked, trying to decide what to make of it. Suddenly he felt something clutching his leg and glanced down into the eyes of an absolutely horrified looking Shippo, the hair on his head and the fur on his tail all standing on end.

"Shippo, what the heck happened to you? You look like you've just been visited by the ghost of Naraku."

Shippo just hugged InuYasha's leg tighter and shuddered visibly.

"Scarier than that…but I can't tell you, or Rin'll have my tail as a hat."

The hanyou's dark brows disappeared into his hair, and he eyed the fox as if the young youkai had gone completely mad.

"I'm not even going to ask what the heck you're babbling about." InuYasha easily leapt across the field to stand in front of Sesshoumaru. "Hey, Sesshoumaru, what are you doing back here so soon?"

Kagura shifted to that she hung into the well with her feet on the edge the only thing keeping her up. Sesshoumaru glanced down at her with a vaguely amused expression while InuYasha began to suspect there was something in the air making everyone act odd. Sesshoumaru spoke, not seeming troubled by his brother's presence.

"I caught the scent of a bear youkai in the area, and tracked it into the forest here. It was probably planning to attack the village, but I disposed of it, and being near here thought I might as well stop here for a time."

InuYasha shrugged, walked over to the well, and looked down at Kagura, who grinned up at him, looking ridiculously happy for no reason, as far as he could see, unless she was very impressed by her own ability to hang upside down by her feet.

"What about you, Kagura? What are you doing here?"

"I was bored. And you people are just so interesting…what could be more fun than living rugs and sick humans married to stupid hanyous?"

InuYasha growled at her, annoyed not so much at her insults towards him as the fact that she made light of Kagome's sickness.

"Shut up, Kagura! I don't need any of your stupid sarcasm!" A low growl sounded from InuYasha's side, and the hanyou turned to stare in puzzlement at his older brother. "What're you growling about?!"

Sesshoumaru just glared without response, thoroughly puzzling InuYasha.

The puppy, which had wisely scrambled from Kagura's lap when she tipped herself into the well, suddenly began jumping up InuYasha's legs, and he reluctantly picked it up, petting it until it settled. He was surprised to find it had Sesshoumaru's scent on it, as if the Dai-youkai had held it as well. The idea was laughable.

"Well, if you guys are taking care of the brats and the Baka here, I think I'll go sit with Kagome…See ya."

Sesshoumaru just nodded. As soon as InuYasha was out of sight, however, he turned and ran his claws lightly up the bottom of Kagura's foot, smiling as she squealed and fell to the bottom of the well, landing, as he had known she would, on her feet, and began shouting playful insults up at him.

Today, he decided, was a very good day.