"For those of you who follow the stars, this might be of interest to you." The meteorologist for the evening news clicked his remote to change the display on the green screen behind him. Instead of the weekly forecast – a scorcher no one wanted – it was a graphic of the night sky with markers dotted across it, labeling planets. "Scientists are expecting Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn to line up in the night sky later this month. You won't need special equipment to witness this marvel; keep your eye to the western skies after sunset –"

"Where do you get off saying that?!"

"That's rich! You're the one yelling!"

"I'M NOT YELLING!"

Souta turned up the volume on the television as the arguing upstairs continued to drown out the weather segment. It's not like he needed to know how hot it was going to be. Hot was hot, and it was either dry hot or wet hot, and both sucked.

Sort of like listening to his sister and his idol yell at each other about how they weren't yelling.

He couldn't believe they were still doing this after five years. Five…long…years filled with panic over her safety, watching her stress herself into actually being sick, listening to Grandpa's outrageous excuses for her absences, and covering her ass when her friends would stop by to bring over the makeup work. Thank the gods that she managed to graduate without any demons barreling into the ceremony.

Still, Kagome was almost twenty years old and would somehow revert back into that fifteen-year-old girl any time Inuyasha barged into the house.

The cat perched next to him on the couch rolled over onto his side, lazily demanding belly scratches. Souta obliged, giving up on hearing the news. "I really wish they'd get their act together Buyo," he muttered. "It's obvious they love each other. Just get it out already, you know?"

Buyo let out a half-assed meow in response.

The teenager snorted, leaning back on the couch. Buyo got up and crawled onto his chest, seeing the slouched form as an invitation for a new resting place. Souta started to protest, saying that it was about time that he got started on his homework, but the arguing became louder, distracting him.

They were close.

He tried not to groan because, while he didn't want to miss his favorite program that followed the news, he knew better than to get caught in Kagome's line of fire. She was already annoyed with Inuyasha, and while the half-demon might be ballsy enough for that suicide mission, Souta was not. He'd already made plans to go to the movies on Friday with Hitomi and two of their classmates as a double-date. No way in hell would he miss the next franchise installment by going to the doctor for a concussion.

So maybe Buyo squatting on his sternum was a good thing. It was like the cat had anticipated that he was stupidly considering stirring the pot and decided to run interference before he could try anything.

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

As much as he wanted to believe it was Inuyasha coming down the stairs in a huff, he knew it was his sister's tiny feet that were making such a racket.

"Souta! Will you tell Inuyasha that I'm not a child that has to be ordered around, because he's under the impression that I am!"

If he had a guardian angel, that ass had gone MIA because it should have been there to stop him from saying what he said next. "I mean, if what I heard upstairs was any indication, you both were acting like you're my age again, so…"

Inuyasha appeared seconds behind Kagome, arms crossed with his hands hidden in his sleeves. "I ain't acting like nothing, kid. Your sister is the one with the attitude problem –"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

The shriek that echoed in the living room was so loud that if Souta had ears like Inuyasha and Buyo, they'd have pinned backwards too. His sister certainly made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The cat on his chest wasn't budging, instead digging his claws into the shirt material and making Souta thankful he hadn't gotten any chest hairs yet. He wanted to hightail it out of the danger zone, but the cat was as heavy as a brick whenever he decided he wasn't going to move.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Inuyasha to apologize for whatever the hell it was he'd said, but the half-demon was already backing up with each step Kagome took towards him.

If Kagome was merciful, it would be quick. If not, well…maybe if Souta were quick enough, he could make it to Shinji's house to catch their program.

There was a thump as Inuyasha's back hit the wall, and still Kagome kept moving, a finger jabbing at his chest with force. From his vantage point on the couch, he could glimpse the look of fear in Inuyasha's eyes. They both knew what was coming.

"You are such a… such a… such a jerk sometimes!"

Did Kagome's voice just…break?

It must have? Because the next thing Souta knew, his sister was turning on her heel and running back upstairs. He winced at the slam of her bedroom door. If she kept this up for much longer, she was gonna break that doorknob, and then he'd get stuck replacing it. He didn't mind, exactly – he'd gotten pretty good at repairs around the house – but he'd rather it had been a better reason than a high-pitched hissy fit.

"I'm surprised you didn't get sat." Souta huffed and wheezed as he pried Buyo off his chest. When he could turn fully around to see Inuyasha, he was watching the staircase with apprehension, like he expected her to come back downstairs and use the command.

It'd happened before.

"Y-yeah, me too," came out in a shaky breath.

"What were you two even fighting about this time? Do I want to know? Is it some kissy face couple's argument?"

Inuyasha's face brightened like a cherry tomato. "Who the hell said anything about a couple?!" he sputtered. "We ain't nothing!"

He was going to regret this, but the window of opportunity was open. "But you want to be, right?"

The thwack with the throw pillow wasn't as hard as he knew it could've been, but it had been worth it to see Inuyasha's expression shift from embarrassment to longing to annoyance in half a second. Once he was certain that Kagome was staying upstairs, he came around the couch and sat down next to Souta.

"Not that it's any of your business, but…I…em…"

"You can just nod, Inuyasha. I really don't want to hear what you want to do to my sister." There was more sputtering, but also the briefest nod Souta had ever seen in history. "Dude. You do know that if there's ever gonna be anything between you two, you need to say something, right?"

It wasn't like it was breaking news. Everyone around Inuyasha and Kagome that knew the pair for five minutes knew there was something there. Souta had even heard from Kagome about how some random innkeepers in the feudal era would mistake them for a married couple. He'd listened to her go on about all of Inuyasha's bad traits, but then the next time he showed up at the house, there'd be that fleeting moment of being happy to see him. Fleeting, because the moment he started barking orders, she was barking back.

"It ain't that easy, if you'll remember. You were struggling to practice telling me that."

Oh yeah, he remembered. He had barely reached Inuyasha's hip and was trying to tell a girl that he was in love with her – something he had no business doing at that age really. There was a big difference between then and now, however. Inuyasha and Kagome were adults. Adults talk – boy do they talk – but that was a whole other matter. They'd have to figure it all out on their own, and he reminded the half-demon of that, only to be met with a scoff.

"Okay well, whatever it was, you did something to make Kagome upset, so you gotta make it right. Cause if you try to drag her to the well right now, she will sit you."

Inuyasha muttered under his breath, and it suspiciously sounded like "don't I know it". "What's your sister's problem anyway? She's been extra moody all week. I thought she'd cheer the hell up when we came back, but she's still sniping at me like I called her cooking shit."

"You mean you can't tell?"

"Tell what?"

Souta knew Inuyasha wasn't that stupid. He knew that in the five years that his sister went back in time, there had to have been moments where her "moodiness" happened. "You do know what happens to girls each month, right?" He prayed that it was common knowledge in feudal Japan because if Kagome hadn't said anything in five years, he did not want to be the one to give that lesson. Plus Inuyasha was a dog demon; if his nose could pick up the smell of Souta's three-day old sweaty socks that got lost under his bed all the way from the well house, he should've been able to smell blood whenever Kagome got her period..

He'd sooner replace her bedroom door entirely after locking them both in there before he'd tell Inuyasha about how periods and hormones worked.

Inuyasha bit down on his tongue to keep from sighing as he waited at the well house. It had been about two days since their argument and that horrifying talk with Souta afterwards. Of course he knew what had been going on with Kagome! He wasn't nose blind! He could smell the blood while they were still in the feudal era! But her scent had changed on the day they argued, and his body knew that she was in prime season to be pupped – and it was driving him crazy.

Five years ago, the change hadn't bothered him nearly as much. It was just something natural that happened, like how he became human once a month. He'd bluntly announce she was due, she'd shriek and sit him, and that was that. But in those five years, he'd grown closer to Kagome, and they'd become friends. He cared about her, a lot. When this time of the month came around though…it was like none of that mattered. All he wanted was to get her alone and do anything he could to make sure she was comfortable until her bleeding cycle ended. His human side had good intentions, but then came the urge to not let her leave his arms until she was carrying his child.

That terrified him almost as much as it excited him.

It had to have something to do with his demon instincts. He was certain of that because it's not like his thoughts were completely pure even on his human nights. They just didn't scream at him to get Kagome pregnant. He would've been satisfied with her naked and underneath him. Or above him.

Fuck.

If he didn't shake that image soon, he'd have to go off "to get dinner" once they got on the other side of the well.

Even if they had actually admitted that they cared for each other that way – 'cause he was pretty sure his feelings were returned – they hadn't done anything that could justify him hauling her off into a secluded cave like a feral demon and – The point was, they had too many obstacles between them and before them to even consider the idea of children being created.

Like finding the last of the jewel shards.

Letting Kikyo get her eternal rest.

Talking about their feelings.

Telling her about the home he'd built.

Learning about what she wanted to do once the jewel was destroyed.

The half-demon let out a groan as he remembered the argument and dropped his head back against the well house, creating a hollow thunking noise from within. None of this was fair at all! He'd been trying to be good when he followed her back to the present days. She'd been going through some older things and sorting out what fit and what didn't. He hadn't meant to make that comment about her old school uniform looking kind of tight, but she was starting to smell so fucking good…

Okay so maybe he'd noticed that the top fit tighter, but damn! It wasn't like that was a bad thing! He thought women were supposed to grow and fill out in places as they got older! But that evening, in that moment, to Kagome it very much was the worst thing that he could've said.

He'd dodged the trash can that time, at least.

It had been a poor choice of words, but she kept bending over in front of him, and he nearly whined like a dog more than he wanted to ever admit. So he'd picked a fight, and she'd fed into it. She had already reached the end of her cycle, so he thought she wouldn't be as moody as she was days before. When she backed him against the wall in the living room, Inuyasha was prepared for the beads to make him kiss the floor. He knew good and well he wasn't going to get to kiss anything else…

The mood shifts were something he hadn't expected, and if this was something he'd witnessed for years, it wasn't nearly as wild as what he saw that night. She'd always been really bitchy when she was due to bleed, but after? This was new territory for the half-demon, and he wasn't prepared for the backlash about his comment on her figure. Kagome's face had fallen, and he could smell the tears and hurt in her scent more than he could the delicious one that had started to call to him up in her room. The slamming of her bedroom door only confirmed what he knew.

He'd fucked up and made her cry.

It had taken all evening to get her to talk to him again, and he hadn't flinched when she began to hit him with the pillow as she told him he was a jerk over and over. He let her get it out of her system before she'd fallen against him in tears, and he'd held her until she'd calmed down once more. Then he'd apologized, and then she'd apologized. She'd explained why his words had hurt, because she'd felt like she'd gotten fat with the bloating she had been dealing with, and in true Inuyasha fashion, he'd told her point blank she was anything but. He hadn't meant it to come out that way, and with a clearer head she understood. He felt it was safer to simply not mention that he'd been resisting the urge to get behind her whenever she bent over, because she was in possession of that damn metal lantern and she was sitting right next to him. There would have been no time to duck.

And that had been that. He'd suggested, as an apology for being an ass, that they could stay in the present for a couple of days, since it had everything she'd need, and she could rest more comfortably than she would in the feudal era. The way she had hugged his neck after that? That had been nice. Feeling her body pressed against his in the hug had been even better, 'cause when Kagome gave him hugs, she didn't half-ass it.

So yeah, he was pretty sure the feeling was mutual, even if they were equally stubborn.

'I'm not going to go back in there after her. I told her I'd be waiting out here.' He sighed, fighting the urge to go against his word and haul her back out of her family's home. He'd already proven himself to be an asshole in their last argument; he wasn't about to go back on their extended stay and start another fight. But the restlessness in him wanted to get back on the road to complete their mission. There were only a handful of jewel shards to find.

Naraku's body rejecting the chunk of the jewel he had absorbed had created a new set of problems. While it had a hand in destroying the half-demon at last, it had also been shattered again. Where the fuck it all went was anyone's guess. That hadn't been in the plans when they had combined their attacks and hit his weak spot, but…it is what it is, as Kagome told him once before.

And just like she'd been telling him for five fucking years to have patience, that they'd find the jewel shards, he was having to dig down deep for patience to wait on her. She had no reason to be dragging her feet. He had the big ass backpack resting next to his feet. This was some bullshit, and he was about two seconds from going back and –

"Inuyasha! I'm sorry you had to wait!"

Kagome was running towards him, and he couldn't remember why he was irritated. The wind had shifted, and her scent had slammed into him before she'd even stopped next to the backpack. He couldn't comprehend what it was that she was saying to him as he collected the bag and stepped inside. Something about needing to help her mother with an errand before she left? Or was it her grandfather? He had no idea. How was that scent still lingering? Her body was no longer in heat anymore. The demon within him was disappointed with this, but its interest was still piqued by this change. It was weak, but it continued to tease his urges.

And therein lay a big problem, because they needed to return to their mission. The jewel needed to be fixed before it could be destroyed, and any desires he held couldn't take priority. Kagome continued to talk his ears off, but he still wasn't catching a word of it.

All he could think about was how delicious she smelled still.