Disclaimers: I do not own Inu-Yasha or the characters contained within the works.

Chapter Eight: A Little Shopping Goes A Long Way

"Is this some sort of a joke?" Inu-Yasha spluttered, giving Kagome an incredulous look.

He could not believe what he was hearing. The woman actually said she was giving him custody. After what he heard from her last night, he had readied himself to go through seven kinds of hell and back for Hiro. Now he was very confused at the new development. He had never imagined Kagome to be a quitter.

"No, no joke. I want Hiro to go with Inu-Yasha," Kagome let out solemnly, a weak smile gracing her features. Seriously, Kagome just wanted the situation to be over with, why was Inu-Yasha creating such a fuss; he was getting what he wanted anyways.

"Are you sure about this?!" Her lawyer shouted, not at all pleased with the twist.

"Yes, are you sure about your decision Miss Higurashi?" Yura implored a little disappointed that her fun would have to come to an end. "Because once I give the word, I'm afraid you won't be able to change it."

"Yes . . . I'm sure," Kagome let out, smiling more confidently to prove that her decision was final. "I believe that Hiro should live with his biological father."

"You can't do this Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted, looking over at her.

'What is she trying to get at? This is insane! She was talking about how Hiro was her world and she's just handing him over?! What is she really up to?'

Inu-Yasha was at a complete loss for words and actions.

"I can do whatever I so chose, because I am an adult, and so it's my choice to let you take Hiro."

"But –"

"Mr. Hazuki, is it correct in me assuming that you are not pleased with this arrangement?"

"No!" Kagome yelled, but she was overpowered by Inu-Yasha's resounding yes.

"I see . . . we have conflicting interest here. Well, I hereby announce that Mr. Hazuki will take the child into his custody . . . however, I will leave the case open, and when you decide to appeal it, we'll cross that bridge." With that said Yura banged down her gavel and stood to take her leave.

"No!" Kagome yelled out, yet once again was drowned out by Inu-Yasha's shout of elation.

'No . . . he was supposed to get Hiro and that's it. There wasn't supposed to be options left. That just causes problems in the end. A clean break will heal but this opening . . . it'll always leave me with 'what-ifs'.' She looked over in time to see Inu-Yasha give her a smug look, and she just felt a deep urge to kill the half-demon for bringing nothing but problems into her life after she met him. 'What's he so happy about anyways?'

"I'll come to pick Hiro up around noon!" Inu-Yasha hollered as he exited the courtroom. Before Kagome even had the time to think of a comeback, she was interrupted by the voice of her lawyer.

"Well, I hope you're pleased with yourself. I don't know if you made this decision because you were unsure if we would win or not. But I'll tell you one thing Ms. Higurashi, and it's that I would've fought tooth and nail for you. You just need to have more faith in people. Well . . . when you so choose and decide to retry the case, I'll be waiting for your call." With that said, Miss Kimiachi took her leave.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Kagome whispered as she let out a long sigh and threw her head back to look up at the ceiling, trying to find answers to her questions while replaying the bad turn of events in her mind.

X.X

"Mama, are we going on vacation?" Hiro's cheery voice vibrated throughout the hall. His eyes watching excitedly as Kagome placed his possessions into the open suitcase on his bed.

"Not quite," Kagome replied with a laugh. She'd attempted to explain everything to Hiro, but she just couldn't find the right way to word things. So, she decided to take her mind off the situation by packing his belongings. Leave it to an inquisitive three-year-old to not allow things to be that easy. "You're going to be staying with your daddy, and Mommy needs to get your things ready."

"Yay, a sleepover at Daddy's!" Hiro cheered, starting to wave his arms and jump around excitedly.

'Not quite . . .' Kagome thought wryly as she gave him a weak smile.

"Will you be sleeping with us too?!" Hiro stopped his actions long enough to ask.

Kagome too stopped what she was doing; a little shocked by the question. Hiro was living proof that kids could say some pretty strange things.

"Well, will you, Mama?"

"Yeah, will you, Mama?" A second voice chimed in. Kagome whirled around, ready to attack whoever it was that dared to enter, only to find a smirking Inu-Yasha leaning against the doorway with crossed arms.

"What are you doing in here?" It was the only reply which came to mind.

"I said I'd pick Hiro up at noon . . . and right now it's 12:30," Inu-Yasha replied in a nonchalant way, behaving as if it had been the most obvious occurrence on the planet.

"Well . . ." Kagome was at a loss for words, getting frustrated at his relaxed pose in her house . . . then a realization hit her. "How'd you get in?!"

"The front door was unlocked," Inu-Yasha replied a little coolly, stepping away from the door so he could see her more clearly. Once he knew he had her attention his playful tone left and he turned serious. "You really shouldn't do that, it's dangerous you know. Anyone could have just come off the streets and hurt either you or Hiro."

"I . . . well . . . you aren't dangerous." Kagome let out lamely, turning a bright shade of red at the chastisement.

Inu-Yasha didn't bother to reply to that, knowing he got his point across. In response he just raised an eyebrow up and gave her a look clearly stating that he believed her to be crazy.

"I'm . . . almost done packing," she muttered, looking away to hide the brighter shade of red gracing her face from the look he gave her. He really had a gift at making her feel bad about things she normally didn't care about before.

"It doesn't matter," Inu-Yasha broke the silence, crossing the room and pulling the suitcase away after zipping it up. "I did intend on Hiro coming back once in a while," he whispered softly so that Hiro wouldn't hear. "Well, time to go, Hiro!"

"Yeah! Sleepover at Daddy's! Fun fun fun!" Hiro cheered racing out of the house before either Kagome or Inu-Yasha could even bat an eye.

"He sure is excited," Kagome understated as she followed Inu-Yasha out of the room. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he's glad to get away from me . . ." Her words trailed off as she stared at the arm blocking her way from exiting the house and putting distance between Inu-Yasha and herself. Her eyes followed up from the hand and up the appendage to look questioningly at Inu-Yasha's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah . . . why?" Inu-Yasha breathed, his eyes burrowing into hers, in a feeble attempt to extract the answers he had been seeking all day.

"Why what?" Now it was Kagome's turn to attempt a feeble action. She knew what Inu-Yasha wanted to know, she just didn't know how to explain it to him.

"Don't joke around. You know what. Why did you give up?"

"I didn't give up," Kagome started, growing a little angry at him, as her eyes left his face to look at anything except him. "I did what I thought was right. Everyone knows that a little boy needs his daddy. Besides, I'm still young enough that I'll be able to snag another kid. You however," Kagome let off so as to allow Inu-Yasha to fill in the blanks, even if the joke was completely lame.

"Come on!" Hiro shouted, interrupting Inu-Yasha's retort. "The man at the car said he needs to go back!"

"Coming!" Inu-Yasha shouted. "I'll get an answer from you sooner or later," Inu-Yasha growled at Kagome before he turned and hurried after Hiro.

"Whatever," she muttered, hesitant to say anything else because she would prefer Hiro to remember her on a good note and not the fact that she fought with his father before he left. As she watched them climb into the car, she started moving towards the house after waving her final good-bye.

"Wait!" Hiro shouted as he ran back to the house just as Kagome came to the open doorway. "Bye Mommy! I'll see you soon and miss you a lot!" He shouted, hugging her legs as tightly as he could.

"Bye, baby! I'll miss you too," Kagome said as she knelt down and pulled him into his arms for her own embrace; attempting to fight off the tears all the while.

"I love you," Hiro said as he planted a small kiss on her lips. With that done, he raced back to the car. He gave a last wave before climbing into the car. Inu-Yasha in turn gave a nod of the head as he too climbed in.

Kagome numbly stood on the porch, watching the car pull away. It was the second time she watched it take her son away, only this time it wasn't going to bring him back. This time Kagome didn't stop the tears as they came. She let them flow freely as she went back inside and closed the door. She looked blurrily at her surroundings and saw reminders of Hiro everywhere. The stains he made to her carpet, the cracked vase from his first attempts at walking, he seemed to have left his presence everywhere. Pverwhelmed by the pain of losing Hiro she slowly slid to the floor and started to hug herself, venturing in an effort to give herself what little comfort she could.

X.X

It had been a week since Hiro had moved into the Hazuki mansion. For Hiro it was like going to a carnival and never having to leave. Nevertheless, as day by day passed, Hiro was growing restless. He wanted to go home and he wanted to do it now. Yet, whenever he mentioned the idea to his daddy, Inu-Yasha would get a funny look on his face and change the subject. The lack of response just continued to frustrate the child, to the point where he acted all morose and began to worry all the adults with his sad attitude. Therefore, to try and cheer him up, Rin suggested taking him shopping.

"Absolutely not," Inu-Yasha commanded in a firm tone, crossing his arms in a no way manner. "Shopping is for pansies!'

"Excuse you," Rin crossed her own arms in an indignant fashion and raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction.

"You know what I mean," Inu-Yasha said in an off hand manner, not wanting to take the bait and get into a fight with Rin . . . she always won because Sesshoumaru sided with her.

"No, I'm afraid I don't," she replied jovially, bouncing on the balls of her feet in delight. She knew exactly what she was doing. However, she frankly did not care. Who could really blame her in actuality? She finally has a child in the house and he was miserable. To Rin it felt like a duty to make Hiro feel better. If she couldn't do that, then how could she raise her own child?

"Now you listen here," Inu-Yasha growled, pointing a sharp claw in her face, "my son is not going –"

"What are you doing?" A stoic voice rang from the doorway. Two pairs of eyes moved to see Sesshoumaru standing there.

"Nothing!" Inu-Yasha declared, pulling his finger away form Rin. As much as he hated the idea of shopping, he knew he could not take getting into another argument with Sesshoumaru.

"Hi honey," Rin greeted cheerfully before setting forth her plan. Naturally, Sesshoumaru agreed with what Rin was saying; yet Inu-Yasha could tell that Sesshoumaru didn't like the idea anymore than Inu-Yasha himself did.

"Then it's settled. Hiro and I are going shopping today! I can't wait!" Rin cheered, bustling around the kitchen in such joy that it was disgusting Inu-Yasha at how much she was showing off her victory, yet for all the show, Inu-Yasha almost believed it to be a good idea. But Hiro had his mind set on seeing his mommy and nothing was going to deter from that train of thought.

"Well, while Rin takes Hiro out, you are to have lunch with me, Inu-Yasha," Sesshoumaru commented. "Attempt to find something appropriate to wear," he added as his eyes swept the baggy jeans and hole-filled shirt Inu-Yasha was wearing.

"Why, what's wrong with my clothes," Inu-Yasha looked down thoughtfully to find some flaw in his outfit. To him it was a great choice, because instead of the regular orange he was used to, he got to wear his favorite color of red. In addition, the clothes were comfortable as hell. Then the reality of the situation hit him.

"The hell! I don't want to go out to lunch with you!" Inu-Yasha roared, giving his older brother a disgusted look.

"Too bad, you have no choice," Sesshoumaru replied, giving Inu-Yasha the faintest hint of a smirk as he looked at him, "be ready at noon." With that said, he swept out of the kitchen.

"Drama queen," Inu-Yasha muttered, completely annoyed by the fact that he got played by not only his brother but also by his sister-in-law. "I don't want my son coming home in any frills, ruffles, sequins, the color pink or in a skirt," Inu-Yasha growled out as he turned his attention back to Rin, trying to salvage some of his pride from this debacle.

"Okay, Inu-Yasha!" Rin cheered, jumping up and down in excitement, ecstatic at the fact that she'll finally have a one-on-one with Hiro. Rin gave Inu-Yasha a grateful hug before bustling out of the kitchen.

"Oh, and also, Inu-Yasha," Rin added, poking her head around to see him, "of course I would never buy Hiro a skirt; those are for little girls. However, I think a kilt would be great for him."

With that said Rin rushed out of the room and made a run for it. Inu-Yasha stared blankly at the spot before the full meaning of what she said sunk in. Inu-Yasha felt the veins pulsing in his forehead as he let out a feral roar.

X.X

"Hiro, sweetie, how about this?" Rin questioned, holding up a brown shirt with blue stripes. "Isn't it just adorable?"

"Yuck." Was the only response she got as Hiro gave the shirt a disgusted glance.

All in all, Hiro was very bored and he wanted to just go home and see his mommy. He could not put up with any more. At first, it was fun when they had gone into the toy store and Rin had bought him a lot of the toys. Yet, now they were in the clothes store and Hiro felt like they had been there all day. It doesn't help that his Auntie Rin didn't have taste in good clothes. His mommy always picked out clothes that he liked.

"I want my mommy," Hiro whimpered as he was reminded once again of the fact that he hadn't seen her in a long time.

"Um . . . let's see what's over here," Rin let out nervously, attempting to once again avoid the subject of Kagome. Of course, they had been foolish to forget the fact that Hiro would take the separation from her horribly. He'd grown in her house since he was a baby, so naturally a bond would have formed, to think they could sever that bond had been very selfish and foolish on the Hazukis' part.

Rin moved closer to the entrance and pretended to be looking at the clothes selection there. Hiro begrudgingly followed behind, sulking as he looked from one outfit to another.

"Rin!" A cheery voice called out. Rin looked behind her to see a familiar face.

"Franco!" Rin delightedly yelled out as she rushed to meet the young man. The tall boyish-cut, brown-haired man met her halfway. His muscled body wrapping around her tightly as they exchanged kisses on one cheek and then the other. His green eyes shining with excitement while Rin's own green orbs were sparkling as well.

"How are you, my darling?" He questioned, pulling her away so that she was an arms length away. "You look absolutely fabulous!"

"Why thank you, as do you!" Rin exclaimed, gushing to finally see a happy face. Since her and Hiro had left the toy store all she saw were frowns.

"How long has it been?" France asked, his strong, French accent taking over.

"I believe since my last party," Rin answered with a thoughtful look "You are the best party coordinator after all."

"Oh, stop, I'm blushing," Franco waved his hand at her, trying to appear embarrassed. "But, it is true."

"Indeed." Rin gave him a knowing smile, expecting him to behave in such a manner.

"So Ms. Fabulous, how have you been? Has your husband lightened up any since my last visit? He is one frisky little dog demon, Lord of Japan or not."

"Sesshoumaru is doing just fine," Rin let out with a light smile, her eye twitching at the way Franco was so easily speaking of her husband. However, she was use to that side of Franco also. "However, I believe he's still recovering from our last fantastic party. He wasn't too fond of the peacocks. But, I do have some great news!"

"What? You're having another party?" Franco arched an eyebrow, intrigued by the excitement which Rin was exhuming.

"No, it's even better!" Rin let out with a giggle, anticipating what Franco would do. Once again, he did not let her down, as his mouth opened agape and his eyes widened to the size of golf balls. To Franco there was never anything better than a party.

"I'm having a baby!" Rin cheered, bouncing a little from the happiness that was rushing in her.

"Why, that is fabulous!" Franco proclaimed, embracing Rin in a bear hug and soon both were jumping with elation.

While all this occurred, Hiro was standing off to the side, his eyes watching with little interest at the strange interaction which was taking place. He really didn't understand why they kept laughing and hugging. Moreover, now, it appeared that the man was crying. If his daddy were here than he wouldn't have to watch such weird things. Hiro was about to call out to his aunt to find out what was going on when all of a sudden his nose picked up a familiar scent. Hiro turned his head to follow the scent and his whole composure changed to one of happiness as his eyes landed on the one person he'd been longing to see.

"Mama," Hiro breathed as he dashed out of the store to go to her.

X.X

Kagome had been one miserable person since Hiro left. The light that seems to always be burning within her appeared to have extinguished. She hardly smiled anymore. She held a surly attitude which she'd begun to take out on the customers. Now Sango had always believed Kagome to be too sweet towards some people that didn't deserve her kindness and Sango was glad to see her finally give some people what they deserved. Yet, when she saw Kagome go off on old Grandma Haru, a woman who'd supported their business since they started it, well Sango knew something was wrong with her best friend. Therefore, Sango gave Kagome some tough loved, and kicked her out of the door and told her to get a manicure or something to cheer her up and not to come home until she felt somewhat better.

So Kagome did just that and went to the mall. Now, she was never a woman who used shopping as a way to cheer herself up, but she found some benefits to it. Especially since Hiro wasn't there, so she was able to shop as long as she wanted and where without hearing a "Mama, I'm bored" every ten minutes once they left the toy store. After the first hour of shopping Kagome found some nice outfits on sale; some t-shirts, a lovely skirt and that little black dress that a girl always loves to wear. After the second hour, Kagome regretted the way she treated Grandma Haru. After the third, she felt calm and was ready to get a facial. So she swiftly carried her bags of clothes and shoes and headed to Madam Chou's where they held a mini spa in the idea of a hair salon.

"Hello, I'd like to get the works," Kagome said with a smile as she approached the receptionist.

"Do you have an appointment?" The young woman asked, not even glancing up from the magazine she was reading.

"Um . . . well, no I don't . . . is that a problem?" Kagome grew a little nervous, forgetting that Madam Chou's was quite a busy place and they didn't take in many walk-ins. But Kagome really wanted that facial.

"Of course not darling!" A loud voice boomed. Kagome looked up to see a rather large Chinese woman heading towards her. The woman was quite old but used her make-up in such a way as to look twenty years younger. Her graying black hair was pulled back into a loose bun and her authentic Chinese garb held the embroidery of dragons with lotus blossoms.

"Madam Chou!" Kagome cried out happily; glad to see the grandma like figure.

"Kagome!" The woman engulfed Kagome into a fierce hug. "I haven't seen you in such a long time. Look at you, you look completely beautiful. Still as cute as ever," Madam Chou cooed, pinching Kagome's cheeks. "How is your mama? Souta? Oh and Hiro? . . . and that playboy?" With the mention of the last person, a dark shadow covered Madam Chou's face.

"Mama is just fine as is Souta. He's graduating this year and we're all so happy for him. Also . . . grandpa is doing fine. As is the shrine, though he's a little weary of the people who are continually coming to disrespect the shrine.

"I see . . . is he dating, dear?" Madam Chou tried to take on a look of mild curiosity, yet Kagome knew better. Ever since Madam Chou and her grandpa broke up, the two just didn't act the same.

"No, no lady friends what-so-ever. Yet he has appeared a little depressed as of late," Kagome told her with a coy little smile.

"Oh, really," Madam Chou appeared to be intrigued by that notion. "I see, I see. So, you forgot to mention Hiro. How is the little angel?"

"He's living with his daddy now," Kagome replied with downcast eyes, losing a little of the light she had gotten back.

"His dad?" Madam Chou blinked her eyes in confusion. "Hiten's back in your life? Honey, that is a completely horrible move on your part. That bastard gave up a good thing and he doesn't deserve a chance to get you back!"

". . . Thanks . . ." Kagome was flabbergasted by the outburst. She didn't really expect that response. "But Hiro isn't with Hiten. Hiro's with his real . . . I mean biological father, Inu-Yasha Hazuki . . ."

"Oh . . ." Madam Chou was thoroughly confused. "So . . . he's no longer . . ."

"Yes, Hiro now lives with his father . . . but it's okay. He's really happy with him and I want Hiro to be happy."

"Of course you do," Madam Chou cooed, hugging Kagome tightly, smoothing down her hair. "You poor thing, you're probably dying inside. I know exactly what would cheer you up. A nice massage!" Madam Chou smiled brightly, especially after she saw the slight nod from Kagome. "You wait here and I'll go get a room ready for you."

With that said, Madam Chou ushered Kagome over to a group of chairs surrounding a table piled with magazines. Madame Chou gave her a quick peck on the cheek and bustled off into the back. Kagome took a seat and started to get comfortable.

'I do miss Hiro.' Kagome thought as she looked at a magazine with a little boy that was Hiro's age on the cover.

"Mommy!"

'Yeah . . . I really do miss him!' Kagome shook her head in disbelief. 'I'm hearing his voice in my head.'

"Mommy!"

'Maybe I should see a therapist or some –' Kagome looked down as something collided with her legs. As her eyes focused on the person before her, she felt her heart skip a beat as she saw her little boy.

"Hiro . . ." Kagome couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. Yet she could definitely feel him in her arms and she could feel his tears through her pants. "Oh, Hiro!" Kagome felt her own tears flow as she gathered him into a tight hug.

"Mama, I missed you! I wanted to see you but everyone said no!"

"Oh, my baby!" Kagome was too elated to really hear what was going on, but she really didn't care at the moment.

X.X

"Hiro!" Rin called out once again, running around the store for what felt like the hundredth time. "Hiro, this isn't funny! Oh, your daddy is going to kill me," she added softly to herself, already picturing the scowl that would grace Inu-Yasha's face as he yelled every curse word known to man at her.

Rin was ready to kill somebody, because that would be the only thing to keep her from going crazy. She didn't understand how this could've happened. One minute Hiro was there and the next he was not. If she doesn't find that little boy then she's going to be a dead woman herself. But she was only one person and she didn't have that sensitive nose which could track anything down.

"Hiro!" Rin shouted one last time before collapsing onto the floor. She could not fathom what to do and each ticking second wasn't helping her.

"Rin, Rin darling!" Franco called out, rushing over to her side. "Did you find the child?"

"No . . ."Rin wailed, tears starting to fall. "I have no idea where he could be!"

"Well darling, did you tell security that he was missing?"

"I've looked everywhere and . . . what?" Rind looked up, her eyes widened in surprise.

"I asked if you've notified security."

"That's it! Oh why didn't I think of that!" Rin held renewed hope, realizing that Hiro could be found.

"I knew it," Franco said with a headshake. "I've already told security and they've gone off in search for the little dear."

"Oh, Franco, you're the best!" Rin exclaimed, tackling him with a hug. "You're always able to make me sane when I'm ready to lose it."

"I know darling, it's what I do best, now give Franco a kiss."

X.X

"Where's your daddy?" Kagome asked Hiro, after the two had calmed down with help from Madam Chou.

"He's at home. Auntie Rin took me shopping," Hiro told her as he wolfed down the ice cream that Madam Chou had provided.

". . . Where's your Auntie Rin then?" Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion at the situation before her.

"I don't know . . . I left her so she can talk to scary man."

"So . . . your auntie doesn't know that you're here?" Kagome began to worry, knowing what Rin was probably going through because Hiro had done this to her time and time again.

"Nope!" Hiro gave her a toothy grin with ice cream wiped all over his face.

"Oh no, oh no!" Kagome wanted to pull her hair out because she could just feel trouble heading her way.

"Excuse me ma'm," a deep voice sounded from behind Kagome.

'Here it is . . .'

"Yes," Kagome answered nervously, turning around to see a pair of mall security guards. One was tall and muscular while the other was scrawny. Kagome knew who was the leader of the two.

"I believe that's not your child. We're going to have to take you into custody," the tall one said.

"I don't think so!" Madam Chou pronounced, stepping forward while pushing Kagome behind her.

"Listen Madam Chou; if you continue to hinder our job then we will have to take you into custody as well."

"Fine by me! Don't you dare think I'll let you touch my babies!" Madam Chou growled, pounding on her chest for an emphasis that she meant business. Kagome was like a daughter to Madam Chou, and Madam Chou was not about to let a pair of flippity guards take her in for something that wasn't her fault. She'd protect her even if it meant closing down her shop . . . hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

The little guy appeared to be frightened by Madam Chou's threat while the big guy remained unfazed.

"Listen Madam Chou, we have orders to follow and we need for you to respect those orders and not obstruct our business."

"I don't care –" Madam Chou started, yet stopped when Kagome held out a silencing hand of warning to Madam Chou.

"It's okay . . . it's just a misunderstanding and I'll have it straightened out. Please don't get into trouble because of me," Kagome explained, giving Madam Chou a confident smile.

"Are you sure?" Madam Chou gave her a look of concern, not at all pleased with what was going on.

"Yeah. You know me, when I have my mind made up I can be one stubborn person."

"Be careful then," Madam Chou watched Kagome give a curt nod before being marched off by the mall guards.

X.X

"I'll ask you once more, what were you doing with the boy?" Officer Hatake repeated.

"I told you," Kagome shot the tall guard that had been disrespecting her since they left Madam Chou's a very sour look, "that he is my son and he followed me into the shop without my knowledge."

"Look you, I know you're lying so why don't you cut the crap and start telling the truth."

"But that is the truth!" Kagome shouted in an exasperated tone, wishing she could beat the crap out of the rent-a-cop standing before her.

"It isn't! That boy is the son of Mrs. Rin Hazuki!"

"He is not! Hiro is her brother's-in-law son!"

"So he isn't yours then?"

"I never said that!"

"You just said the child is Inu-Yasha Hazuki's and Inu-Yasha has never been married and so the boy can't possibly be his. So it is therefore Mrs. Hazuki's son and I know that you were kidnapping him for ransom and I want you to admit it!"

"Listen you moron! First, you don't need to be married to have a baby so that obviously means you've never had sex to believe such a notion. Secondly, you do know who Rin Hazuki is married to don't you?"

"Of course, to the all powerful Lord Sesshoumaru," Officer Hatake answered proudly.

"Good," Kagome nodded her head in a way someone would when their pet performed a trick correctly. "So don't you think that since he is so powerful, when the time came for him to have an heir, all of Japan would know?"

"What are you implying?" Officer Hatake gave her a suspicious look, not at all liking the sound of what was going on.

"I'm telling you that logically Hiro isn't her son. He is mine! I think that the only reason you wish to hold onto that idea is because you feel pathetic about yourself and your sad excuse of a job you hold. I think you were viewing this as a way to become a real cop because you figure if 'I solve this then who'd even think of standing in my way.' Problem now is that you were completely wrong so there goes your dream out the window. Now you're trying to hold onto your petty –"

"Shut-up!" A resounding smack reverberated throughout the tiny room.

Kagome stared in shock, her hand reaching up to soothe the offended eye. Officer Hatake was equally shocked and could only stare at his hands in horror.

"What the hell is going on?!"

X.X

Inu-Yasha stared blandly at his surroundings, not sure as to why his brother told him to have lunch. However, he did as Sesshoumaru said and once again borrowed a suit to look appropriate in the high end restaurant.

"Inu-Yasha," Sesshoumaru greeted curtly as he approached the table and took a seat across from the half-demon.

"Yeah, yeah, hi to you too. What the hell do you want?" Inu-Yasha had always detested formalities.

"Fine, if you insist on getting to the point before lunch, then I shall. You need to start providing for your own son. If you do not get a job then you are no longer welcomed to live under my roof. So get a job or you will start living on the streets . . . or better yet, go back to prison and lose Hiro."

A/N: There we go! The long awaited chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks to everyone who continue to read this and especially to the reviewers who keep the story going. Preview: Inu-Yasha is hell bent on getting a job, but how can he possibly do that while trying to get Kagome out of mall jail?