Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
Author's Note: This piece is a continuation that fits in the third position of a story arc that is not in one place. If you want to read the entire arc-which takes place the first new moon after Kagome returns permanently to the feudal era, you will need to read chapters 24 and 32 of Little Bits, then this chapter, and finally chapter 35 of Little Bits.
Happiness Is…
Kagome stretched her arms above her head, arching her back. Bringing her hands back down, she rubbed her upper arms, feeling cold. The fire had faded to dulling embers, and the chill night was creeping inwards.
His head still pillowed in her lap, the human Inuyasha whimpered in his sleep. Looking down, Kagome saw that he was shivering. Biting her lip, Kagome dithered. She didn't want to risk waking Inuyasha, but how else to get him warmer? Perhaps she could wriggle out of her white hakui and use that for additional cover. Though she was already could enough, without shedding her jacket—
"Psst!"
She looked up, to see Shippo peering in through the bamboo curtain. Smiling in relief, she beckoned him, following up the gesture with a finger across her lips, for quiet. His bare feet were nearly soundless against the floor boards. "Can you get another cover?" She asked, in a barely voiced whisper. "Inuyasha needs it."
The kitsune nodded, and pattered towards the side of the room not lit by the candle lamp. Presently, he returned, dragging a bundle of folded cloth. Unfolding and tugging the first cloth over the prone hanyo, he then offered a second to Kagome.
She felt warmer, with the new layer over her clothes. "Thank-you, Shippo," she whispered, smiling, before letting her expression turn mock serious. "But shouldn't you be sleeping?"
He clambered up to her shoulder, ignoring her question. "How's dog-boy?" he asked, instead.
"Feverish, but he should be all right in the morning." She combed the black hair with her fingers.
"Miroku said, if the ofuda had been stronger, or the samurai a better shot, Inuyasha could've been killed."
She swallowed, and looked away from the kitsune. "I know."
"Are you still happy you came back?" he asked, after a few moments. "I mean, if Inuyasha had died, you would've come back for nothing. I mean, you haven't even been in bed with him yet, and it's not even been a moon..."
Kagome closed her eyes for a long moment, wishing that the kitsune had not decided to ask that question. Not now, not when her beloved hanyo was so injured and vulnerable. She didn't want to think about the alternative.
Still, she would not refuse the inquisitive kitsune an answer. "I do not regret—I will never regret coming back to him, Shippo," she whispered, threading her fingers through Inuyasha's black hair to touch his human ear. "I might never truly be happy again, if he had died … but I was never truly happy those three years without him." She kept her eyes on Inuyasha's pale, pain-scrunched face.
"'Happiness' can mean so many things," she mused, continuing after a pause. "I was 'happy' when I made a perfect score on a math test. I was 'happy' when mother cooked my favorites for my birthday. I was 'happy' when Eri thanked me for the help I gave her. But, true happiness … true happiness is being with the one you love more than life itself, whether it is for a day, or a lifetime. So, yes. I am happy I came back. I will always be happy I came back."
"Even if he had died?"
Her eyes stung for a moment. "Even if he'd died."
The kitsune shifted on her shoulder, but said nothing. Kagome reached up and rubbed her aching eyes, suppressing a yawn. Oh, she was tired! But, she was determined not to sleep. Not until her beloved was returned to his hanyo form again, all white hair and fangs and claws and doggie ears.
She smiled to herself.
Happiness was tweaking Inuyasha's ears.
"You know what makes me happy?" whispered Shippo.
"What?"
He giggled. "Pranking Inuyasha!"
Kagome bit down on her own giggle. "Well, don't get too happy—prank him too much, and he'll find happiness by bopping you on the head."
"Keh!"
"Shouldn't you go back to bed?" she asked, finding no counter to that familiar expression.
"Not sleepy. Want me to tell you about the new tricks I played, last contest?"
She considered, and decided that listening to a prattling kitsune would be one way to stay awake. "Just keep it quiet."
"Oh, sure! Last time…"
And the usual post notes: This was written for the LiveJournal community FirstTweak, for the prompt "Happiness Is...". It was originally published on June 5, 2011.
