Kagome gasped as Inuyasha led her to the garden behind his collapsed home. Although it had been nearly 60 years since the garden had someone to tend to it, it was still as beautiful as he remembered it. Colorful blossoms filled the air with their fragrant scent, taking Inuyasha back to his youth.

Flashback

"Mother, what are you doing?" Inuyasha asked, standing beside his mother. izayol was on her knees, her hands covered in dirt as she reached for the bag of flower seeds. While Inuyasha didn't know much about what a lady should and shouldn't do, he knew they were supposed to remain clean and pretty. While his mother remained as beautiful as ever, she was most definitely not clean.

"I'm planting flowers Inuyasha," she said, smiling at him. Inuyasha was sure his mother had the most beautiful smile in all of Japan, always so warm and happy.

"But why don't you get a servant to do that?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"Because it's good to create things with your hands, to love and nuture and help something grow. Here," she said, placing a few seeds into his little hand. "These are violet seeds. They'll bloom into pretty purple flowers if you take care of them. These can be your flowers in the garden." inuyasha smiled, happy to have a place in his mother's perfect garden. He copied Izayol's actions, digging a hole in the ground, placing the seeds inside, and gently covering it with dirt. "One day these flowers will grow big and strong like you," she said, smiling at her precious son.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, standing in front of him. "Inuyasha, are you okay?"

Inuyasha shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, walking through the garden. He walked to the corner of the garden where his mother was buried. Her grave was surrounded by her favorite cherry blossom trees, providing shade for the visitiors. Kagome stood next to Inuyasha as he seemed to stare into space.

Flashback

It was a cold, rainy day when they buried his mother. He was the only real mourner among the people in her funeral procession. It was only him and the servants of his mother's household. The servants helped bury her out of propriety and respect. Nne of the villagers came to pay their respects. After burying Izayol, the servants went back into his home to pack and leave. No one wanted to stay with him. What did a child know about running a household, much less a half-demon child? As the servants left, Inuyasha sat by his mother's grave, crying tears that would be hidden by the pouring rain. He stayed outside all night. He could juust imagine his mother telling him that he'll catch his death if he stayed outside in the icy rain. 'Good,' he had thought as he fell asleep. 'Better to be with mother than here alone.' The next day he was chased from his home.

Inuyasha was brought out of his thoughts by the sight of Kagome walking toward his mother's grave. She bowed before she set her bag on the ground and began pulling the weeds that surrounded her headstone. Inuyasha took a deep breath before joining her, cutting the over grown grass around her headstone. Inuyasha found his mind oddly quiet as he cleaned with Kagome, the only sound between them were the birds chirping in the trees. This small labor of love was the only thing he could give to his mother.

Kagome rose when she was satisfied with the job they had done, rummaging in her bag for the box of incense she had brought. As she lit the incsense and began to pray, Inuyasha shot to his feet, his heart clenching. "Inuyasha," Kagome said, looking at his tense figure.

"I need space," he said quickly before walking into the thicket of trees nearby.

Kagome sighed, watching his retreating figure. "Sorry about that," Kagome said, looking at the headstone. "You know how hard this is for hi. I'm Kagome by the way. I'm going to be Inuyasha's mate in a few weeks," she said with a smile. "I thought Inuyasha and I should come pay our respects before the wedding. But being back here…it isn't easy for him. You were the only family he knew and he was so young when he lost you. As much as he tries, he's still hurting from losing you." Kagome looked toward the trees where Inuyasha had disappeared, straining her eyes to try and catch a glimpse of him. "Your son hasn't had the easiest life. He's been mistreated and hurt a lot. But things are a lot better now. He has people he can count on to be there for him and help protect him. A family of sorts. He has me and Sango and Miroku and Shippo and Kaede and Kirara. He even has my family there to care for him too. So don't worry too much about Inuyasha; he'll be okay."

Inuyasha watched Kagome carefully, listening to everything she said. Kagome was right; he did have a family to care for him now, people to have his back. Inuyasha took a deep breath before walking out from the trees toward Kagome. She looked up at him, trying not to startle him as if he was a shy deer. He sat next to Kagome, gently taking her hand in his. He took a deep breath, looking at his mother's headstone. "Hey mother," he said softly, barely audible to Kagome. "I'm sorry I took so long to come back and see you; life's been hard since you left. But I'm okay now, I have a lot of friends who are there for me even if they drive me insane a lot of the time." Kagome elbowed Inuyasha gently in the ribs. "And I've found a mate. She's human like you. And I love her a lot." Inuyasha cleared his throat, his voice getting rougher. "I promise I'll visit more mother; I love you," he said before getting to his feet and walking away. Kagome sat there in awe; she had never seen Inuyasha show so much of his emotion before. "Wench, are you coming?" Inuyasha called irritably.

"I'll come back and visit you too," Kagome said before getting up. Inuyasha was standing a few feet away, his back to her. He had had enough of his emotions for one day and was ready to leave his mother's garden. As they walked out of the garden, Kagome paused beside a flower bush, causing Inuyasha to glance back at her. "These are my favorite flowers," she said, smiling as she tucked one behind her ear, "violets."

Author's Note: i have absolutely no knowledge about botany so if i got any facts wrong, i'm sorry. but wasnt that a cute scene? that's one thing that Inuyasha and Kagome can cross off their list but they arent anywhere done, there's still a lot to do and very little time to do it. Can they fit it all in before the wedding?