Inuyasha sat on a branch of the Goshinboku, taking a break after putting up another wall of his hut. He was just about to fall asleep when his favorite scent reached him on a breeze. 'Kagome,' he thought, fighting his exhaustion. He jumped out of the tree, walking to the clearing where the well was.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled as she saw him enter the clearing. She dropped her bag by the well and ran towards him, a radiant smile on her face. "Inuyasha I did it! I passed my tests!"

Inuyasha froze, his mind tripping over itself as he processed what she said. 'Did she say she was done?' he thought. Inuyasha caught Kagome as she ran into his arms, spinning her around to keep her momentum from knocking them both over.

"I did it Inuyasha; I passed all my finals!" she said excitedly, her eyes shining with joy.

"Congratulations Kagome," Inuyasha replied, setting her down. "So you don't have to go to school anymore?"

"Nope I'm finally finished. I just have to go back one afternoon for graduation and I'm finished for good. Come on, let's go tell everyone," Kagome said, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward the village.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome from the corner of his eye. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her so completely happy, with nothing to worry or upset her. She had seen so many horrible things since she started coming to the feudal era that Inuyasha worried it would ruin her natural happy spirit. But even with everything that she had seen, she was still able to laugh and smile and he thanked kami for that.

"Everyone I'm back!" Kagome said as she entered Kaede's hut.

"Kagome, I missed you!" Shippo said, launching himself at her knees. Kagome laughed and picked up the kitsune, hugging him tightly.

"I missed you too; I missed all of you," she replied.

"We haven't seen you in so long Kagome-chan," Sango said, smiling at her best friend. "I've been bored here without you."

"How did your tests go Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

"I passed all of my tests; I don't have to go to school anyone," she replied with a smile, unable to hold back her happiness.

"So you don't have to leave anymore?" Shippo asked, looking up at her.

"Well I'll still have to go back sometimes to see my family and stock up on supplies, but I won't have to be gone for as long anymore. I can spend more time here with everyone," she said, smiling toward Inuyasha.

"We should celebrate then," Miroku said, getting to his feet. "Let's go to the market and have a big dinner tonight in Kagome's honor."

"Yeah, let's go," Shippo agreed, trying to push everyone out the door.

Inuyasha walked through the forest, the moonlight shining between the tree branches, lighting his way. Kagome's dinner had gone amazingly, everyone talking and laughing and enjoying Kagome's return. Everyone was sleeping in Kaede's hut but Inuyasha found himself too restless to sleep. He quietly snuck out of the hut and was now walking through the forest in order to clear his mind. 'Kagome's done school now,' he thought as he arrived at the Goshinboku. This was the tree that started it all, where he first met Kagome as she pulled the arrow out of him. 'I can ask her to be my mate now. But how? Her mom said to do something romantic but I don't know how to do that!' Inuyasha sighed, sitting at the base of the tree. 'I need help,' he thought, looking up at the moon. He thought back to the afternoon he spent in Kagome's kitchen with her mom.

Flashback

"So Inuyasha how are you going to propose to Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, sipping her tea.

"Huh? Propose?" Inuyasha asked confusedly.

"How are you gonna ask her to be your mate?"

Inuyasha sat silently for a moment. How was he going to ask Kagome to be his mate? He couldn't just blurt it out; Inuyasha didn't know much but he knew that was not the way to do it. "Umm I'm not sure actually."

"Could I make a suggestion?" Inuyasha nodded, open to any help he could get. The last thing he wanted was for Kagome to reject him because he did it the wrong way. "You have to do something romantic, something Kagome would love. You have to show her how much you care about her and how important she is to you."

"But Kagome knows that already," Inuyasha said.

"Does she really?"

"Keh of course she does. I've gotten hurt tons of times protecting her; I wouldn't have done that if I didn't care about her," he replied.

"Well that is true, but you have to show her you care about her in a more romantic way. You have to do something that shows you've been paying attention to what she likes, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, I think I get it now."

End Flashback

'I have to do something Kagome would like; only problem is what would she like?' Inuyasha stared up at the night sky, hoping the stars would give him some help. 'Keh stupid stars don't even give enough light to see by, let alone give me an idea.' Inuyasha leaned his head against the tree, closing his eyes. 'Wait, I know what she would like!' he thought, jumping to his feet and running back to Kaede's hut.

What's Inuyasha planning? Can he pull it off? Will Kagome suspect anything and ruin his surprise? Let me know what you would like to see :D