Disclaimer: I own nothing. Still.

Author's Note: One night, before I went to sleep, I was thinking about Guardian Angels, and how I wondered what mine was like.

And inspiration struck.

Enjoy, and please R&R! ^_^

*

When I was five, my mother first told me about Guardian Angels.

Right after my father died.

"Guardian Angels watch over you during bad times," she told me as she dried my tears.

I nodded and sniveled.

Guardian Angels' didn't sound so bad.

"Do you know mine angels name?" I asked innocently.

"Why?" my mother replied curiously, smiling a watery smile.

"Well," I explained, standing on her lap and spreading out my arms like wings, "then I could find them, of course! An' we could play games an' I could thank them!"

My mother hugged me. "Only you know your angel."

"Don't you know them at all?" I asked, my head cocked.

She shook her head and cuddled me. "So why don't you tell me about yours?"

"Well," I replied excitedly, thinking up an angel on the spot, "my angel is a girl. An' she has long yellow hair and big white wings!"

I giggled proudly, beaming up at my mother, who smiled and down at me and laughed at my excitement.

I was glad my "angel" and I could make my mother laugh

It was the first time she had done so since father died.

*

When I was 10 and Christmas time rolled around, I was always the first one to take out the ornaments.

My favorites were the sparkly glass angel girls that we hung on the tree.

This led me, one day after baking cookies, to ask my mother, "Mama, are all angel's girls?"

She looked down kindly at me from her cook book. "No, not all angel's are girl. Why, your daddy's an angel in heaven right now."

I pushed a chair over to the counter where she stood and kneeled on it, resting my head in my hands and looking thoughtfully up at her.

"Does that mean," I asked after a moment, "that my Guardian Angel can be a boy too?"

"Of course," she beamed, before looking back down at her cook book.

After a moments silence, I pushed the chair back under the table and walked outside, pulling on my coat.

I climbed the god tree in the back yard.

I sat there for a long time, thinking, and watching the first stars appear in the sky.

'Mama says boys can be angels too, but all the angels I see at Christmas time are girls,' I thought, my 10 year old mind processing this information. 'Well, I want to be different then the others. I want my Guardian Angel to be a boy!'

I smiled at the thought, and as I looked up to the sky, a star winked back at me.

A good sign.

*

When I was 15, I was pulled through the well for the first time.

While running from Mistress Centipede, I briefly was able to think about Guardian Angels.

My mother said they protected you during bad times.

Where was mine now?

Before I could think of an answer, Inu-Yasha saved me. . .

Then tried to kill me himself.

*

When I was 16, my friends and I decided to take a break from gathering shards and stopped for a picnic.

Miroku and I had the job of gathering water for lunch.

"Miroku?" I asked as I sat on a warm, sun-kissed rock by the river, my feet in the crystal clear water, "Do you believe in angels?"

He glanced over at me and jingled his staff while picking up the bucket. "Yes, of course, Lady Kagome. Don't you?"

I nodded and splashed my feet in the water.

"Angels watch over you and protect you and care for you from heaven" I replied. "My mother told me when my father died."

"Ho," Miroku chuckled to himself. "Is that so?"

"Isn't that right?" I asked, my brow furrowed.

"No, it is true," he replied, scooping up water into the pail, "But tell me- do angels need to live in heaven? Do they need wings?"

I looked at him oddly. "Isn't that the definition on an angel?"

"Yes and no."

I was very confused. "What do you mean?"

"You said that an angel is an entity that protects and cares for you, am I not correct?"

"Yeah. . ." I replied slowly, not really following, "What about it?"

Miroku smiled and glanced over at the bushes, where I suddenly saw Inu- Yasha spying.

"Inu-Yasha!" I cried, making the haniyou jump and look over. "What are you doing over here?!"

"Feh!" he cried, turning around and stomping away angrily. But did I see his cheeks look slightly pink?

"Seems he's making sure I'm not trying anything funny," Miroku said mildly, picking up the full bucket and walking after Inu-Yasha, leaving me alone.

I watched the two leave, silently kicking my feet in the cool water.

'What was that all about?'

*

When I was 17, I finally understood what Miroku had tried to tell me.

It was twilight on a new moon night. Shippo, Miroku, and Sango were out gathering wood, and I was making sure Inu-Yasha remained "civil" after his transformation.

He tended to get a little touchy when anyone else talked to him.

Not that this was much different then any other time, but still.

He had disappeared before the sun set, most likely up his favorite tree.

However, after the last of the light had faded out, he returned, his human form evident, even in the starlight.

Sighing, he sat down on a log next to me.

"I hate this time of the month," he grumbled, looking at his clawless hands in disgust.

"It can't be that bad," I replied, though I secretly missed his cute ears. "It's only one night."

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered, looking at the sky. "But it's harder to protect you in this damn form."

He said this so casually, I looked at him in surprise.

His gaze left the stars as he glanced curiously over at me, feeling my eyes on his face. "What are you staring at?"

I looked away, hoping he couldn't see my pink cheeks in the dark. "It's just. . . you said. . ."

"What? That I'd protect you? Kagome, I'd protect you during anything, no matter what the form. You know that."

"It's just. . . I've never heard you *say* it before. . ."

He chuckled softly and his gaze returned to the sky.

"Did I need to say it out loud for you to believe me?" he asked.

Visions of all the times we had ever had together, all the times he had protected me, and all the times he had said he cared in different ways- passed through my head as I watched him watch the sky.

I had already known in my heart.

But his telling me made all the difference.

"No," I whispered, "It's not that. . ."

He smiled a small smile. "Well, either way. Now you know. I'll always be there for you, Kagome. To protect you and otherwise."

Then he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek before walking off casually.

I sat in a stunned, blushing silence.

I looked up to call out for him, but when I saw him, my voice got stuck in my throat.

For when I saw him up in his tree, silhouetted by stars and fireflies, I swear I saw a halo around his head.

It was gone when I blinked. . .

But I finally understood.

*

So over the course of my life, I've learned many lessons.

Never trust a man in a monkey suit comes to mind.

However, my greatest lessons learned were about angels.

Generally, I have been discovered:

Not all are girls.

And angel's don't need wings.

They don't even need to be in heaven.

Some of the best angels are the humans that inhabit this world right now.

Some aren't even human.

Personally, I've leaned many things about my guardian angel, the one that must have one hell of a job, keeping me safe in such unfriendly environments.

I've learned things about my angel my mother never would have guessed when I was five.

My angel isn't a girl with flowing blonde hair and wings.

My angel is a boy.

A silver haired and golden eyed haniyou boy who's hair isn't always silver and eyes aren't always gold.

And he cusses.

And fights.

And gets on my nerves.

Who watched over me.

Protects me.

And cares for me.

He may not have wings, but he can still fly.

His claws are much more useful then a harp.

And has the cutest ears in the world!

And though he is far from a saint,

I don't think I've ever met anyone more heaven sent then him.

And now that I've finally found him,

my 5 year old wish to know his name is fulfilled.

With his kiss still warm on my cheek, I don't think I could be happier.

He is my friend,

My love,

My Guardian Angel.

He is my Inu-Yasha.