InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fang of the Father ❯ Miroku and Sango's Wedding ( Chapter 16 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

LES: Okay… I've got a couple of notices: Number 1: This chapter is REALLY long! I just couldn't seem to find a place to stop. See, I decided to have Miroku and Sango's wedding this chapter, but the pre-wedding stuff happened to drag… a lot! So expect this one to be the longest chapter yet! Number 2: Um… sorry, I have no knowledge of a Buddhist wedding ceremony since I am only familiar with Western weddings. So, unless something changes in the near future, the wedding will be omitted. If I end up actually studying Buddhist weddings, then I'm… err… just talking to myself.

Muse: You are a sad person.

LES: No! I'm a natural loner who is perfectly happy to be left alone in real life!

Muse: That's called anti-social behavior. That's one of the signs of a serial killer.

LES: Then I only have two signs…

Muse: (face-palm)

Chapter XVI: Miroku and Sango's Wedding

The night before Miroku and Sango's wedding, Kagome was back in her own era, visiting her family. For once, however, Inuyasha opted to stay behind. He was going to spend the night patrolling the valley. Firstly, he would kill any Yokai who might decide to gate-crash the wedding; and secondly, he would hunt down Miroku on the off-chance that he discovered marriage meant no more flirting and became a run-away groom.

“You won't let him get away, right?” Kagome asked Inuyasha as they parted at the well. The monk had gone paler as the wedding approached.

“Feh. Of course not! Sango would kill me if I did! Kenji and Megumi are all ready keeping an eye and nose on him. With three hanyous on alert, there's no way he'll set one foot out of this valley.”

“He could fight back, you know.” Kagome reminded him.

“Heh! I ain't scared of him! He's just a regular monk without his Wind Tunnel!”

“He's still got his sutras.” Kagome pointed out. “You've got to admit they have more power than my Grandfather's.”

“A lot more power!”

“Inuyasha, is it fine with you if I tell my family about our pup?” Kagome asked.

“I guess.” Inuyasha said, confident that Kagome would be fine as her mother seemed to approve of their mating. “Remember, if anything happens…”

“Come straight back through the well and fall into your strong arms.” Kagome finished with a smile.

“Exactly.” Inuyasha said, and embraced her lovingly. “Be safe.”

With those parting words, Kagome lowered herself into the well. There was a flash of blue light and Kagome was gone.

Inuyasha sighed and turned away from the well. Then he howled loudly to his fellow hanyous. :Where's pack-brother?:

:In Den.: Kenji howled back.

Satisfied that Miroku hadn't run for it, Inuyasha ran deeper into the forest. It would take the rest of the day to clear out the valley, so he knew that he might as well get started.

Kagome took her time climbing out of the well more slowly than usual. Her hanyou body would brush off a fall like nothing, but she was more concerned about her and Inuyasha's pup. Inuyasha had mentioned that hanyou babies were very resilient, but what of when they were still in the womb?

If she lost the baby… she didn't even want to think about it…

Thankfully, she didn't stumble, and she soon had both her feet back on the ground. She climbed out of the well-house and was greeted by her mother.

“Oh, hello, Kagome. Um… you might want to hide those…” She indicated her daughter's ears.

Kagome covered her ears with her hands. “Why? Does the shrine have visitors today?”

“A couple of your friends are here.” Kagome's mother said.

“Oh! Then I'll just go in Inuyasha's way really quick.” Kagome quickly took off and leapt for her window. Once she was in her room, she quickly located the baseball cap that she often forced Inuyasha to wear and jammed it on her head.

She instantly realized why Inuyasha hated that cap and why he fought tooth and nail against having to wear it. The cap dreadfully restricted her dog ears. Normally, they honed in on interesting sounds immediately without her even realizing it, unless she actually concentrated on it. Now it flattened her ears to her head and deadened her sense of hearing. It was like being half-blind. Now all she had left was her scent and eyesight.

Once she calmed herself to the sudden blindness, she leapt back out the windows and came into her house the normal way. Sitting in the family room were her three modern girlfriends: Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka. Also, there was Hojo, a boy who never seemed to realize that Kagome just wasn't interested in him. It didn't help that her friends kept trying to set them up behind her back.

They had only really heard about Inuyasha when she was mad at him for one thing or another. So they did all in their power to get her to break up with the `violent, two-timing jerk'.

“Kagome!” All three girls shouted happily and hugged her. Hojo hung back with a shy smile. “Are you all right? We heard you had myocardial infarction!”

Kagome sighed. Great… now Grandfather is making me have heart attacks.

“Oh, um… I feel a lot better now.” Kagome said. “What are you doing here?”

“Why else? We haven't seen you in weeks!” Yuka said.

“Yeah.” Ayumi agreed. “We miss you, Kagome.”

“I'm fine. Really.” Kagome said.

“Oh, really? That's wonderful!” Hojo said. “Kagome… since you're better… it's kind of short notice, but do you want to go to the fair tomorrow?”

Ah-ha! Thanks Miroku and Sango! Thanks! Kagome thought happily. “I'm sorry, Hojo…”

“She'd love to…” Eri began to interrupt.

Oh, hell no! “Eri!” Kagome hissed. “I can't really. I have a wedding to go to tomorrow.”

“A wedding?” Yuka asked. “Whose wedding?”

“My… favorite cousin from out-of-town.” Kagome said, thinking quickly. “I'm sorry; Hojo, but I can't miss her wedding.”

“Oh. It's fine. I understand.” Hojo said. “Your family does come first. Well, I guess I'll see you around.” He left.

Once he was gone, Yuka spoke up. “Are you crazy, Kagome?!”

“Guys, I can't just ditch my cousin's wedding! I promised I'd be there, and she's my favorite cousin.”

“We weren't trying to suggest that you ditch the wedding.” Eri said. “But you could have invited Hojo along. Girl, he's eventually gonna move on!”

It's been three years, and he hasn't moved on. Kagome thought. “That would be awkward.”

“People take dates to weddings all the time!” Yuka insisted. “Who knows, the romance in the air might spark something between you and Hojo!” She finished with a romantic sigh.

Not likely. I'm in love with Inuyasha. Not to mention that Hojo probably can't travel through the well in the first place. Also not to mention what Inuyashamight to do him if he ever met him. “I'm sorry, but I have no interest in Hojo. If I had, I would have started dating him ages ago.”

“This is about Inuyasha, isn't it?” Ayumi asked quietly.

“That two-timing bastard?!” Eri gasped. “Kagome, the `bad-boy' type is all well and good for a fling, but that's not the type of guy you want to bring home to your family!”

“Inuyasha's a lot better now! My family loves him. Mom trusts him, Grandpa… tolerates him…” And tries to plaster him with sutras at every opportunity. “… And Sota hero-worships him.” Kagome said.

“Sota hero-worships him?!” Yuka gasped. “Don't you think he's a bad influence?”

“Maybe at first, but Inuyasha's done a lot of growing up. He's a lot mellower, has finally revealed his tender side, and resolved things with his ex. I couldn't be happier!” She wasn't about to tell them that she was Inuyasha's mate or that she carried his child. Ayumi had a gentle soul and might understand, but Eri and Yuka might explode.

“Are you in love with him?” Ayumi asked.

Kagome had never given her friends a straight answer when asked that question before. Mostly they had guessed her answer by reading her face. But she knew now where her heart was, and it was with Inuyasha. “Yes. I love him.”

“Bet he doesn't…” Eri tried to whisper to Yuka. Unfortunately, even with her hearing muffled by the hat, Kagome could hear her easily. She forced herself to bite back a harsh reply. She knew that she wasn't meant to hear that. Just grin and bear it!

She smiled, but no one noticed her claw-like fingernails digging into the tender flesh of her palm, just hard enough to draw a trace of blood. “Tea, anyone?” She asked as she stood up, desperate to leave the room, if only for a second.

Kagome's mother watched the concealed pain on her daughter's face. She figured that her friends had been speaking ill of Inuyasha. It was one reason why Kagome and her school friends had grown apart over the last three years. They just couldn't see how deeply her love for Inuyasha truly was.

She didn't completely understand how their `mating' worked, but she knew that Inuyasha suffered no insults about Kagome. She figured it might work in reverse too.

It was one thing for her to call Inuyasha an unreasonable, jealous, violent, and self-centered jerk, and quite another for others to call him that.

She noticed the drops of blood on Kagome's hands. “Kagome, you're bleeding.”

Kagome glanced at her hands in surprise. Then she licked the small wounds and they stopped bleeding almost instantly. They would probably heal fully within the hour. “I… err… forgot about my fingernails.” She wasn't going to say the word `claws' with her friends in the next room.

“Kagome, I could always send them away.” Kagome's mother said.

“Don't worry, Mom. They don't know the Inuyasha I know. And, speaking of Inuyasha, I have to talk to you later.”

“Of course.” Kagome's mother said. “If you need me, I'll be right here.”

Kagome embraced her mother. “Thanks, Mom. I know you'll understand.” She released her mother and went back to her friends, tea in hand.

The rest of the night, thankfully, pasted with little incident, and no more mention of Inuyasha or Hojo. Kagome's mother, however, eventually did interrupt, saying that Kagome needed to get up early for the wedding.

All three told her to have fun at the wedding, but Kagome could tell that only Ayumi meant it. Eri and Yuka were just angry that she kept denying Hojo advances. But she waved them all off cheerfully.

However, as soon as they were gone, she removed her cap and wiggled her ears freely now that they were free of their confines. She sighed, feeling free once more. “Much better.” She glanced at her mother. “Can we sit down?”

“Sure.” Kagome's mother said. She sat on the couch, and Kagome rested next to her, with her head on her mother's lap. The older woman could not help but stroke her daughter's ears.

After several seconds of growling with contentment, Kagome opened her eyes. “Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“How do you feel about being a grandmother?”

Kagome's mother stared down at her daughter. A minute passed, and no one said anything. Then Kagome's mother gasped. “Are you serious?”

Kagome nodded. “Inuyasha can smell it.”

She waiting a few seconds for her mother's reaction, and then it came. “Oh, Kagome! I'm so happy for you and Inuyasha! Will the baby have puppy ears too?”

“Um… probably.” Kagome said. “After all, both Inuyasha and I have dog ears now.”

Kagome's mother squealed in typical teenage-girl fashion when one of their girlfriends reveals that they have a crush on a guy. “That's going to be so cute!”

“Wow. Um… you're taking this really well considering you were trying to talk me out of having a baby only a few weeks ago.”

“I was just concerned for you.”Kagome's mother said. “Any mother would be concerned. But… you have unconditional love, infinite patience, and a caring heart. That's what you need to be a mother. I know in my heart that you'll be wonderful to your child. So, where is Inuyasha now? Why isn't he here now?”

“Inuyasha? Oh! Miroku and Sango are getting married tomorrow. Inuyasha and the other hanyous are making sure he doesn't run away.” Kagome said.

“Other hanyous?” Kagome's mother asked, confused.

“Oh! I haven't told you. We've been joined by three more Inu-hanyous! Kenji, a male; Megumi, a female; and an unnamed pup.”

“Really? More Inu-hanyous? Are they like Inuyasha?”

“Well, Megumi is like a female version of him, and the pup could have been a younger Inuyasha. But Kenji is colored darkly like a human. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and brown dog ears.” Kagome said. “He's a little weird for a natural Inu-hanyou. Inuyasha says that most Inu-hanyous are born with silver hair and golden eyes like Inu-Yokai, but he inherited more from his human father than his Yokai mother.”

“I guess that makes a little sense considering that females are the submissive ones in a relationship.” Kagome's mother said. “So, do you think you'll have your baby in your own time, or back in the Feudal era?”

“The Feudal era.” Kagome said. “My pup will probably have puppy ears, and modern doctors would think that it is deformed. Not to mention that I, myself, am a hanyou. But I will bring the pup here as soon as I can.”

“I… I suppose you are right.” Kagome's mother said. “You'll have a good mid-wife?”

“Of course.” Kagome said. “Priestess Kaede has delivered babies for many years. And I'm no longer an ordinary human female. I'm a hanyou, and unless something truly terrible happens, I should be just fine.”

Kagome's mother embraced her daughter. “I'm sure you'll be just fine. Are you staying the night?”

“Yes. But I have to leave early.” Kagome said.

“Can I inform your Grandfather about his great-grandchild and Sota about his nephew or niece?”

Kagome smiled. “Yes.”

So, the rest of the night was spent with Kagome's grandfather trying to plaster her with sutras in an attempt to seal the growing pup. (But she knew that he was really happy and just acting `priestly'.) Sota took his turn by exclaiming about how he couldn't wait to be the `Cool Uncle'.

Kagome laughed. “Unless Sesshomaru for some reason steps up, you are going to be the only uncle.”

“Sesshomaru? Isn't he Inuyasha's crazy half-brother who tries to kill him all the time?” Sota asked.

“The same.”

“Then I'll definitely be the cool uncle!” Sota exclaimed. “Sis? Can I feel?”

“Sota! I'm only a month pregnant. The only reason I know is because Inuyasha could smell it.” But still, she allowed him to press his hands to her lower abdomen that would be showing in a few months.

“Hey there, little one. I'm Uncle Sota! I'll be the uncle not trying to kill your Dad!” The group laughed, save for Kagome.

The next morning, Kagome came back to the Feudal era to find the whole village in an up-roar, which was perfectly understandable considering the up-coming wedding. Weddings always involved whole villages, especially a village as tightly-knit as this one.

Almost as soon as she set foot in the village, she became surrounded by an expanse of red… Inuyasha's fire-rat haori. “Inuyasha!” She breathed in relief as her mate embraced her. She kissed him quickly before settling into his chest. “How was Miroku?”

“The Lech is fine.” Inuyasha said. “He made it as far as the hot springs before Kenji caught up to him. He said he wanted to bathe. Well… whether it was the truth or not, Kenji took care of it.”

“What did he do?”

“Tossed him into the hot spring.” Inuyasha answered. “He smells just fine now.” Suddenly, he seemed slightly apprehensive. “How did your family…?”

Kagome laughed. “As long as our pup has puppy ears, Mom will be fine with it. Sota can't wait to be an uncle. Grandfather tried to plaster me with sutras, but I know that he's happy about it.”

“Oh.” Inuyasha sighed, but Kagome could see the confusion written on his face. “That's good.”

“Inuyasha? What's wrong?”

Back before they had grown closer as mates, she would have expected the hanyou to snort with disdain and say `Nothing, wench'. But, now she found her questions getting answered… in full sentences, no less!

“It's just…” Inuyasha paused. “Every morning, I wake up expecting to find out that all of this is a dream. To wake up alone somewhere and realize that none of what we have is real. But everyone morning I wake up and you're still here and telling me you love me. I never expected to find this sort of happiness in life.”

“Inuyasha…” Kagome embraced him again, resting her head against his chest. “You grew up thinking you were worthless because you are a hanyou? You're not worthless! You're father knew it, and that's why he chose you to become the Lord of the West.”

Inuyasha laughed. “Maybe Sesshomaru is right. Maybe my old man was crazy.”

“When we saw him after the `Sounga Incident', he didn't seem crazy to me. He seemed to be extremely intelligent and wise.” Kagome said. “Besides, I haven't seen a powerful Yokai in my era. Maybe you will be the one who helps the Yokai go into hiding, like your father hoped.”

“Do I look like the kind of person who would help Yokai go into hiding?” Inuyasha laughed.

“Not really. But I don't want to think that all Yokai are gone, either.”

A moment of silence passed between the two, before Megumi bound up to them. “Kagome, welcome back.” :Welcome, Alpha-female: She said and barked out in a duel greeting. “Sango asked me to tell you to take care of getting Inuyasha ready.”

“Ready?” Inuyasha asked as Megumi left. “What do I need to get ready for?”

“Follow me.” Kagome said, heading off into the woods. “It's the compromise. Sango said that she'd let you wear your fire-rat kimono, but you have to look presentable for a wedding. So I'm going to give you a bath.”

“A bath?! I smell just fine!” Inuyasha grumbled.

“Maybe for a shard hunt, but not for a wedding.” Kagome said. “Complain all you want, you're going into that hot spring.”

“But Kagome!”

“You are getting a bath!” Kagome said firmly. “Don't worry. I've washed dogs before. I'll make sure that you don't get soap or water into your ears and face.”

“I'm not a dog, Kagome!”

“You could have fooled me.” Kagome said playfully. Once they made it to the local hot spring, Kagome rounded on Inuyasha. “Okay, off with it.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, you have to!” Kagome said. “Take it off.”

Inuyasha frowned as he began to strip off his kimono… as slowly as possible.

Needless to say, like some dogs, Inuyasha hated baths! It was almost painful when water got into his sensitive ears, and he usually pinned them down tightly to his head before allowing himself to go underwater for any reason. Besides, his memories of baths had been anything but pleasant! When his mother was still alive, baths had been a near-impossible chore. His puppy instincts gave him a terrible fear of water. All of his instincts screamed `danger! Stay away!' After his mother had died, his human relatives hardly gave him the care necessary when it came to something as delicate as baths, and it ruined the stage were enough care would have made him used to such treatments. When he got too filthy, they would dump a bucket of freezing water over his naked body and `leave the dog out to dry'. He had been forced to stand outside for hours, naked, and shivering until someone decided to return his clothes to him.

Even after he had escaped the cruelty of his human relatives, he only forced himself to bathe when it was necessary for his survival. When his smell became too strong and easy to track, he bathed, but never more often than that.

Both Kikyo and Kagome had insisted on his bathing, and that was the one thing he compulsively lied to them about. Like human noses could really tell if he had bathed or not! He would assure them both that he was off to bathe, head off somewhere else, wait an appropriate amount of time, and then return. And no one would be the wiser!

But now Kagome was standing right there. So no getting out of this one.

He grudgingly handed Kagome his haori, and his undershirt, and then loosened the knots of his hakama. He had no modesty at been seen naked by Kagome. They were mates, and had seen every inch of his body. But even if he had been modest, his apprehension at the coming bath overwhelmed it. He stepped out of his hakama and also handed it to his mate. But he hesitated about stepping into the hot-spring.

“Inuyasha, the sooner you get in, the sooner it will be over.” Kagome said.

Easy for you to say… Inuyasha growled low in his throat, voicing his extreme displeasure at the situation to his mate as he stepped into the hot spring.

Geez, Inuyasha, baths aren't that bad! Kagome thought as she pulled out special shampoo from her bag. (Dog shampoo with the label ripped off.) Its lack of scent would probably be better on his nose than floral shampoos that she loved so much. She started to undress too, which would make it easier to wash him.

While she undressed, she took a moment to just stare at her beautiful hanyou. To Kagome, he was a work of art. His lean muscle betrayed his inhuman strength. His hair cascaded down his back like a magnificent silver waterfall. His amber eyes, while currently narrowed his discomfort, was the only part of him that spoke of his age. Kagome could see a century and a half of experience in his eyes. Experiences that, despite his attempts to hide it, gave him more wisdom and practical intelligence than human wise-men… all tempered by the conflicting immaturity of his youth.

Every day it pained Kagome that the people of his time saw him only as a filthy half-breed, a dirty hanyou, who didn't deserve to live… much less find happiness. When she looked at Inuyasha, she saw a God in flesh.

Funny… in some cultures, he would have been a god.

One she too was naked, she stepped into the warmth of the hot spring. Inuyasha's ears twisted in her direction, followed by his eyes. “Kagome? What are you doing?”

She held up the shampoo. “You have so much hair. Let me help you.”

“No way I'm letting you put that flower smell in my hair!” Inuyasha growled. “I told you that it bothers me!”

“Then it's a good thing I got shampoo with no smell.” Kagome said. “I thought it would be easier on your nose.” She moved over to him. “Now, knell down.”

Inuyasha stiffened. If I do… the water will be up to my chest! “Why?”

“Because you have to get your hair wet, silly.” Kagome laughed. “The water's not going to hurt you, you know.”

Stupid water… Inuyasha thought as he lowered himself into the wetness. His ears were pinned to his head in preparation for either being dunked or having a bucket dumped over his head.

What he didn't expect was Kagome's hands on his ears, gently keeping them closed against any water invasion, and for her to lean him back into the water. At first, he almost freaked out, but then he realized that there was no water in his face or in his ears, and Kagome was holding him securely.

She only held him there for about five seconds before she lifted him up. “See? That wasn't so bad, was it?”

Inuyasha grudgingly admitted silently that she was right.

She poured a lot of the shampoo into his hair and began to massage it in with modern practices ease. Inuyasha had to admit also that this was his very best experience with water in his whole life. He felt like he was in heaven instead of water as Kagome massaged his scalp. She was just as careful with the soap as she was with the water. She made sure that no soap went into his ears to irritate the sensitive skin.

It took Kagome quite a while because his hair was so long, and she ended up using about half of the bottle of shampoo. But once he was lathered up, she repeated what she had done earlier and washed out his hair.

Then it was done… the first painless bath he had ever experienced in his whole life. And Kagome was right. The shampoo that she had used smelled like nothing, so it didn't irritate him.

“There. Did I torture you, Inuyasha?”

Yes and no. Inuyasha thought. On the one hand, the bath was painless. And on the other, the grooming had aroused him. Not enough to give him an erection, but enough that if any more happened, he could have one in a second. “It was fine, I guess.”

“Man, what is it with dogs and baths?” Kagome asked. “You'd think water was a torture device!”

“It is when you use it right.” Inuyasha grumbled shortly, thinking back on the baths his human relatives gave him. What else could one call that but torture? The physical torture of being left wet, freezing, and naked to the unforgiving elements, or the emotional torture of having passerby's laughing at the dog-beast, taunting him, and throwing rocks at him?

He ignored the look she was giving him as he leapt out of the hot spring and began to shake off his wet body like a dog.

“Ah!” Kagome cried out at the resulting spray of water. “Inuyasha! Stop! That's what these are for!” She tossed him a towel from her bag. “Crazy dog!”

Inuyasha accepted the towel, staring at it with a look of shock on his face like he had been given some rare treasure. He had never, in his life, been allowed to dry off like a human, which was why he was forced to shake like a dog. “Kagome…”

“Man, for a guy who hates being treated like a dog, you sure do act like one.” She laughed, using her own towel.

“Kagome, thank you.” Inuyasha said suddenly, holding the towel like a treasure that he would never let go of. “You don't know what this means to me.”

Kagome blushed. “It's only a towel.” And a cheap one, at that…

It may be `just a towel' to you, but to me its permission to stop behaving like a wild animal. Inuyasha thought to himself. Without saying a word along those lines, he resisted the old instinct to shake, and toweled himself off.

They both dressed again, Inuyasha in his fire-rat kimono, and Kagome in one of her formal kimonos. Kagome quickly ran a brush through his hair, which magically seemed to remain tangle-free no matter what happened to it.

Inuyasha was used to this part, as she often developed the urge to brush his hair, even before they had become mates. He knew that she would be careful around his ears. She realized only recently how painful it was not to be careful. Soon after she was turned into a hanyou a month ago, she brushed her hair and forgot about her new dog ears. This resulted in her raking the brush over her ears. And while it didn't make her cry, it did cause her eyes to tear up. It was a feeling she would never inflict on Inuyasha.

Once he looked presentable… (If only we could convince him to wear something other than his fire-rat kimono, then we'd be in business!) she led him back to the village.

They found Miroku, pacing under the tree that he and Sango would be getting married under. (Kagome had suggested the Goshinboku as a wedding site, but Sango said that she and Miroku didn't have the emotional connection that Kagome and Inuyasha had to the tree. She was determined that it remain `their tree'.)

“Hey, Miroku, how are you doing?” Kagome asked. Inuyasha thought her question was unnecessary. He could smell his nervousness, and see that he was wringing his robes in his hands. Hell, he could even hear the monk's faster-than-normal heart-beat. And that was saying something because of the approaching beginning of the lunar month and his dulled senses.

Miroku looked up at them. “I'm perfectly fine, Lady Kagome, thanks for your concern.” Liar. Inuyasha snorted. “I must say, you look quite lovely in that kimono.”

Inuyasha growled possessively. “Eyes off my mate, monk! Sango would probably exterminate me if I killed her mate.”

“Surely you know that I am not serious.” Miroku asked. Inuyasha simply growled again, showing that, joke or not, he took all challenges to his mating with Kagome seriously. “I guess that settles it.”

“Well, I'm going to check on Sango.” Kagome said. “See you boys later. And, Inuyasha, don't you dare do dog things like rolling in the mud or something!”

“Oi, bitch, I've never rolled in mud!” Inuyasha yelled after her.

Miroku leaned towards him. “Bad karma, Inuyasha. That Kenji tossed me into the hot springs, and you're forced to get a bath.”

“Actually, Miroku…” Inuyasha said, leaning up against the tree. “It wasn't half bad.”

“Wow! Sango! You look pretty!” Shippo exclaimed as she dressed in the kimono that Kaede and Kagome had slaved over for weeks.

“Yes, it is really pretty.” Sango agreed. “It's like Kagome poured her heart into it.”

“I did.” Kagome said, stepping into the shade of the hut. “I have my own wedding dreams, but I can't expect Inuyasha to be coaxed through a human ceremony.”

“Why not?” Sango asked. “He's already married you by Yokai standards. Why not allow you to have the formality of a human ceremony?”

“Are you kidding? Inuyasha thinks that all human ceremonies are stupid. He says that it's just a bunch of pretty words that lack the true bonding of a Yokai mating.” Kagome said. “And, in a way, I agree with him. Marriage doesn't stop some from being unfaithful. But a Yokai bonding is a true commitment.”

“Well, I assure you, it's gonna stop Miroku's wandering eye.” Sango said.

“I thought it was your Hiraikotsu that stopped him.” Shippo asked innocently.

Kagome laughed. “Well, one thing's for sure… Miroku will shortly be developing a permanent case of `Hiraikotsu-head' if he doesn't.”

“Stupid monk.” Shippo commented.

So, luckily, the actual wedding went off without a single hitch. Mostly because Kagome had threatened to sit Inuyasha if he even made one comment about how stupid human notions of marriage were. And, before they knew it, Miroku and Sango were man and wife.

But there was obviously no love lost between them, because Miroku shortly developed Hiraikotsu head after he offered the hanyou Megumi a drink.

Inuyasha was quite interested in this event. Not because of any interest he might have in the monk's lecherous habits, but because of Kenji's reaction.

The young male hanyou glanced over at the two from where he was keeping the silent pup company and Inuyasha watched as his lip curled, baring his fangs in a way that quite obviously said :Mine!:

Kagome, who also understood Inu body language, caught it. She quickly moved over to her mate. “Hey, did you see that?”

“Feh. Of course I did!” Inuyasha hissed back.

“Do you think he's in love with Megumi?” Kagome asked.

“He was pretty much staking his claim to her.” Inuyasha said. “He'll definitely go into heat next spring, judging by his behavior.”

“Well… Kenji did come here saying that he was in search of a life like the one you had.” Kagome said. “Perhaps taking a mate is part of that life.”

“Well, their mating will be a little less sensational than ours.” Inuyasha said. “After all, hanyous are expected to join with other hanyous.”

“Well, I'm a hanyou now.” Kagome said.

“Not for long.” Inuyasha pointed out the swiftly lowering sun.

Then Kagome remembered. Tonight was the night of the new moon, exactly one lunar month since she and Inuyasha had become mates. Her own time of weakness was yet to reveal itself, but they figured that since she shared Inuyasha's Yokai power, her monthly weakness would fall on the same time.

By unspoken consent, no one spoke up when each of the new hanyous disappeared into the forest for several hours. It was so engrained in them to hide during their times of weakness that it would take some time to breach the subject.

“Let's go.” Inuyasha said, leading Kagome away. No one said anything, and Miroku and Sango probably had… `other things' on their minds.

LES: Whew! Okay… so the next chapter will be a human Inuyasha/human Kagome LEMON! As always, once again, if you are not a minor or you are mature enough to handle LEMON, go ahead. But it's not like I can stop you. Just don't complain to me.