Oh…the end is here! The end I tell you, the end! IT'S DONE!!! Oh…I feel like I should do my thank you's! Oh, Jade, do you remember the first story I ever finished on fanfiction.net? Remember those thank you's? Ah, those were the days. I was in serious need of therapy. Okay, now, for all of you who don't want to hear me thanking everything from that fascinating light on my web cam to Agent Willow's extra cool Kagome figure, I suggest you just skip the rest of the intro. If you think you might be in here for some reason, or if you like to read what happens when Teresa decides that since she can't have birthday cake she'll just finish off all the Easy Cheese and a box of Nilla Wafers, then go right ahead:
Ahem. Now, I'd like you all to note that these are not in any particular order, just…um, how I thought of them, so yeah. Anyways, I want to thank Jade a.k.a. Agent Chousoku for several reasons: First of all, you were my beta reader, and although I have a sneaking suspicion that you weren't so much concerned with typos and editing as you were with reading the next part as fast as possible, I'm still thankful to you! Oh, by the way, I got that song we talked about…oh, it's bad. But I'll send it to you to see how you feel. Also, you're the one that led to the huge stack of CD's (blanks, originals, and copies) sitting all around my mouse pad and effectively making typing a lot more simple than anything using a mouse. And also, I think it was mostly because of you and Agent Willow that I brought Rin in, and I think that went over really well. Speaking of Agent Willow, I must thank you for being the best boyfriend ever to exist only in the figments of our devious imaginations and I'm thanking you for the sushi you're gonna buy me on Sunday or Monday or whenever ahead of time just cause I can. Oh! And thanks for taking care of Dilly and Harry and me and always feeding us and making me buy food so that I wouldn't starve this week and for giving the longest, silliest reviews and for teaching me the pure, innocent joy of hitting things for three hours every Wednesday night! And then I'd also like to thank Agent Kodama for sticking to it and NOT reading this story until I told her that it was finished because I admit it wouldn't have helped me right if she'd been after me day and night like a rabid fan, nagging for the next part, even though I've kind of gotten used to that type of thing. But still, it's harder when the person begging you won't go away when you just turn off the computer. And I want to thank all three of the Secret Agents for whatever they got me for my birthday! Yay 19! And yet I still act like a five year old. No wonder my best friend is a boy. And I want to thank the Jelly Bellies in my top drawer that I like to eat when I'm stuck in the middle of a chapter. And of course, my computer, Goad, as my best friend has dubbed it, for putting up with all my misuse of it and still working and never swallowing chapters whole. That would be upsetting. And yeah, that little light on my computer's web cam for letting me stare at it when I'm trying to think and not causing any further damage to my already weak eyes. And all my pictures that are sitting over my computer of all my friends and family for cheering me up and not making me just be really homesick all the time. Hmm…and I want to thank Winamp and Kazaa since those two programs have brought me hours of musical enjoyment and anyone that's seen me write knows I have to listen to music while I do it. I want to thank everyone who's ever reviewed this story, especially Inuyasha-loves-Kagome and Lightning and Jezunya and Pengesan-chan and…oh, who am I kidding, everyone who was really good about reviewing, which is a lot more people than I can figure out to list, so yeah. I want to thank me for thinking this whole thing up, because from the depths of my twisted mind, a few good things eventually emerge (like someone as conceited as me could resist thanking themselves). I want to thank all those bags of chips that sacrificed themselves to my hours in front of the computer. Oh! And I wanna thank Elijah Wood for being hot. Not that that really contributed to my writing or anything, but he's totally hot. So yeah. And I can thank whatever I want to. Oh! And I have to thank my blanket for being allllllll mine! I love my blanket with a love that cannot be matched! Okay, I feel done now.
*****
To Finally Let Go
Part 12
*****
Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
This moment she's been waiting for
The angel opens her eyes
Pale blue colored iris,
Presents the circle
And puts the glory out to hide, hide
-Live Lightning Crashes
"Dig in everyone!" Melissa hurriedly began devouring her ice cream cone, somehow managing not to get it all over her face. "Mmm, ice cream."
"Mm, yeah, this was a great idea, Mel." A girl with a short brown bob nodded enthusiastically, sipping her milkshake. "I missed all of you so much during winter break!"
"I'm sure Kagome didn't miss us though, Tracy." Another girl with short curly black hair teased the girl next to her. "All alone in the dorm with that man of yours? Ha, I wonder what they did during Christmas break?"
"Shut up, Alex." Kagome blushed. "He's coming back." She nodded to her husband who was headed toward their table with two sundaes precariously balanced in his hands. He set one in front of Kagome and sat next to her, his purple eyes lighting up before he began to devour his own ice cream. Kagome patted his free hand. "Thank you Inuyasha."
"Hey, Kagome, I've been meaning to ask you." Tracy smiled maliciously. "Does Inuyasha have a brother?"
"Or two?" asked Alex. Melissa laughed before turning her full attention back to her dessert. Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was so involved in his dessert that he hadn't noticed. Fine, she could deal with this.
"Actually, he does have one older brother." Kagome smiled slightly. "A very beautiful man. Would you like to see a picture?" Kagome asked, digging the wallet out of Inuyasha's pocket. He smiled at her through his ice cream covered face, but otherwise didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah, let's have a look!" Alex clapped her hands in excitement. Tracy giggled and even Melissa turned from her ice cream to have a look.
"Let me see…I know we got some pictures of the group at the wedding…hmm…there's Shippo and Rin…Sango and Miroku. Oh, here we go!" she pulled out one of the many pictures she herself had placed in Inuyasha's wallet. At times it seemed like it was her wallet. Sure, he worked hard in a restaurant to get the money to fill that wallet, but she was the one who filled it with pictures and used it most of the time. Not that she spent all his money on herself, it was just that she still had a better understanding of money than he did. Kagome recalled all the trouble of getting Inuyasha established so that he could work. She'd never thought it could be that much trouble to get documents for someone who technically was born before birth certificates existed. Her mother had somehow been able to get all of the needed papers taken care of back before the wedding, but Kagome wasn't sure if she wanted to know how. The girls were oohing over the picture of a rather ambivalent looking Sesshoumaru that she had found for them.
"Look at his hair! And those tattoos! Ooh, he looks so exotic!" Tracy exclaimed.
"He has such a pretty eye color too! Almost yellow…" Alex pointed to the picture.
"Who's that?" Melissa pointed to the overexcited looking girl next to Sesshoumaru, waving and tossing petals at the same time.
"That's his little girl, Rin." Kagome had to fight a malicious smile. "She's simply adorable with him. She can get him to do anything she wants."
"His…little girl?" Alex's face fell.
"Oh man…not fair." Tracy sighed.
"All the good ones are taken." Melissa went back to her ice cream while Kagome continued showing wedding pictures to Tracy and Alex.
"Hey! What are you doing!" Inuyasha finally noticed Kagome's actions as the girls sat giggling over a picture of Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and Miroku. "Don't show them those things! I thought you said you wouldn't!"
"Oops." Kagome innocently began eating her ice cream. "I must have forgotten."
"I look like a fool." He pouted.
"Are you kidding?" Tracy balked, looking up. "Kagome, tell Inuyasha that he's hot."
"Yeah, reassure him." Alex didn't even bother to look up.
"I thought you looked wonderful." Kagome told him. Inuyasha blushed and looked at his empty bowl, playing with the spoon.
"You're just saying that." He argued halfheartedly.
"Inuyasha," she leaned over to whisper in his ear before kissing his cheek lightly. "I love you, and I think you're beautiful."
"Kagome…" he sighed as she kissed his jaw softly.
"Uh oh! See what happens when they aren't supervised!" Melissa laughed, having finished her cone. "Kagome, Inuyasha, you two stop necking!"
"Yeah, come on. This is a public place." Tracy sighed in mock exasperation.
"You two just can't keep your hands to yourself, can you?" Alex shook her head, handing the wallet back to Kagome.
"You two just…" Kagome stopped mid-sentence, dropping the wallet to the ground. Alex picked it up, looking at Kagome in curiosity.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha had definitely noticed it as well. "Kagome, are you okay?" he asked, near panic.
"We need to go." She told her husband firmly. "We need to go to the hospital right now." Inuyasha made a sound almost like a yelp as he leapt to his feet, leading his very pregnant wife out of the ice cream shop as he was followed by the three girls who were squealing excitedly.
"Oh, it's time!" Melissa was saying.
"I'm so excited! I bet their baby will be sooo cute!" Tracy opined.
"I was thinking it would be any day now! I'm just glad we didn't miss it!" Alex added. "I mean, can you imagine…"
----------
"I got everyone," Inuyasha rushed to Kagome's bedside. She'd been in labor for almost five hours. Inuyasha looked around the room as though something was missing. "Did I miss it? Or is it still not ready?"
"It's not going to be ready quite yet, dear." Kagome smiled at his concerned examination of her features. "The first child…you usually have to…ungh." Kagome grunted as a contraction hit. Inuyasha, who had already been beside her, began hovering over her as though he could ward off attacks. "Inuyasha, calm down. It's just another contraction."
"I don't like those things." Inuyasha pouted. "What's the point of them?"
"Inuyasha, it's all part of the process." Kagome smiled warmly at him. "You can't protect me from everything you know." She reached up to caress his face, knowing that it was difficult for him to hear things like that. "Anyway, what took so long?"
"That Ginny girl. Fucking took forever. I thought she was having a baby, took her so damn long to get ready. And then all the girls wanted to go up to the room and get more stuff for you. They didn't think the bag we packed had enough. I swear, they were so worried about how many pairs of underwear you'd need…dammit, it took so long." Inuyasha pouted. "Woulda been better if you didn't have so many damn friends."
"I bet you threw a fit." Kagome smiled as he blushed and muttered under his breath. "Oh, Inuyasha, I know you too well."
"I just…didn't want to miss it." He explained sheepishly.
"Well, like I was saying, the first child typically takes the longest. Mama told me that she was in labor for ten hours before she had me." Kagome explained.
"Ten hours? That's bullshit!" Inuyasha's lower lip jutted out in a stubborn scowl. "And you're just gonna keep having those damn contractions?"
"Of course." Kagome winced again as another contraction hit. "I know you don't like it, but you can't change a natural process to make it easier on me."
"That's stupid." Inuyasha sighed in disappointment. "At least…at least I can be here with you though. I just…I hate being so helpless like this."
"Oh, Inuyasha. The fact that you're here, that helps more than you could possibly know." Kagome smiled at him. She noticed something in his hand. "Hey…is that…a teddy bear?"
"Yeah, I forgot." Inuyasha handed her the stuffed animal hurriedly. "Melissa wanted you to have this. She said to squeeze on it so that I didn't have to suffer so much." Both of them laughed at the idea that Kagome could seriously injure Inuyasha.
"Oh, I'm definitely squeezing you. Who do you think got me this way, you or Mr. Bear here?" Kagome teased.
"Well, it better be me or I'm gonna have to kick the shit out of Mr. Bear." Inuyasha cracked his knuckles threateningly and they both laughed again. Kagome pulled Inuyasha closer and kissed the back of his hand softly, gesturing for him to sit in the chair. Squeezing her hand softly, he sat and reached over to move her bangs out of her eyes with his free hand.
"Did you call my mom then?" Kagome asked as he started stroking the side of her head softly. She smiled, knowing what he was doing. Whenever Inuyasha was tense, she rubbed his head to get him to relax, and he was trying to do just that for her. It was sweet, and besides that, it worked.
"Yeah, she's real excited, but she knows she won't get to see the baby until May." Inuyasha gave a slight smile to indicate that she had been nagging him again.
"Told you to take lots of pictures, huh?" Kagome laughed sympathetically. It was strange for Inuyasha to suddenly have someone who acted like his mother now after so long. He was getting used to it, but the loss of utter independence was a bit trying on him sometimes. Although, really, he wasn't entirely independent now that they were married anyway. But that never seemed to make him uncomfortable. Probably since they'd been working toward it for so long. The addition of a mother had been very sudden, and Mrs. Higurashi took it very seriously. Kagome felt sorry for him at times, but she knew that really, he liked it.
"She gave me a ten minute lecture on changing a diaper." Inuyasha sighed. "Might've even been a bit useful if she hadn't already given me that lecture about twenty times."
"And the ever popular 'How to prepare a bottle' lecture." Kagome reminded him. She bit her lip as a contraction hit, but barely squeezed Inuyasha's hand. He continued to stroke her hair.
"And the stroller talk." Inuyasha made a face.
"And 'How to properly hold a baby.'" Kagome added.
"And the talk about which baby foods are best and why." Inuyasha continued.
"And the lectures about how to breathe during birth." Kagome said.
"And the one all about feeding a kid and burping it." Inuyasha sighed.
"I can't believe all the stuff she's told us." Kagome shook her head. "And so many times…"
"She cares about you." Inuyasha told her seriously.
"And you too." Kagome told him, smiling. "And the baby, of course."
"I can't believe how upset she was when we told her the kid wouldn't have dog ears." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as well. "You humans…just so fascinated with that kind of thing."
"They were cute." Kagome answered, cringing again at a contraction. "Not that you aren't still completely adorable…"
"Don't talk like that!" Inuyasha pulled a face. "It makes me sick."
"I bet." Kagome stuck out her tongue but stopped her teasing when Inuyasha leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. "What was that for?" she asked, her voice quiet.
"Do I need a reason?" Inuyasha teased gently, smiling at her adoringly. "It's just…right now…you're so beautiful. I think…I think it's because of this." His hand left her hair momentarily to touch her swollen stomach. "I know, I heard you and Sango at the wedding going on about how hard it is to be pregnant cause you get all fat…but I don't think there's anything that makes me feel the way you do, sitting there with my baby inside you. It's like…it makes you even better."
"Does this mean you're going to lose interest after the baby comes?" Kagome teased, but there were tears in her eyes. Inuyasha kissed her again.
"We could always have more." Inuyasha teased back.
"Yeah, that'd be great, being eternally pregnant." Kagome rolled her eyes, smiling lovingly at him, then another contraction hit. "Man, these things…getting pretty annoying."
"Does it hurt a lot?" Inuyasha was instantly worried.
"It hurts more than before." Kagome admitted, "I think…I think I'm getting close."
"You mean the baby's coming soon?" Inuyasha looked at her stomach as though it was going to suddenly release the infant.
"Not that soon, but soon, yeah. I think." Kagome gave him a little smile. "I've never done this before. I don't really…know how it's supposed to be."
"Neither do I." Inuyasha admitted. A doctor entered the room suddenly and smiled at them both brightly.
"I'm back, Ms. Higurashi." She spoke brightly. "How have the contractions been?"
"I think they might be getting closer." Kagome told her before turning to her husband. "Inuyasha, this is Dr. Henrow. She's the one that's going to deliver the baby."
"Inuyasha? I take it that you're the father?" Dr. Henrow asked politely. Inuyasha looked her over suspiciously, as though deciding whether he could trust this woman with Kagome.
"Yeah." He answered, shaking the proffered hand, but still glancing at her doubtfully. Kagome wasn't surprised. Inuyasha seemed to think sometimes that no one but himself should be allowed near Kagome. At least the doctor wasn't a man. Kagome didn't even want to imagine that disaster. He was a human now, but sometimes, it was all too obvious to Kagome that he'd retained a lot of his youkai instincts. He was very protective and very jealous of other man even looking at her. It was reassuring, but at times it caused trouble.
"I'm glad to meet you." Dr. Henrow smiled warmly at him, and Kagome was suddenly glad that the doctor was so friendly. It seemed to be putting Inuyasha at ease. Just for extra measure, Kagome squeezed his hand and smiled at him. Inuyasha still looked a bit nervous, but Kagome knew that he was always going to be nervous about any stranger taking care of her.
"Yeah, me too." He answered, offering her a small smile. It was a lot, from Inuyasha, so Kagome decided that she could be satisfied with that. Dr. Henrow was looking over her charts carefully and scribbling something down on her chart while Kagome grunted under the arrival of another contraction.
"Kagome…it's all right if I call you Kagome, right?" she asked smiling as she put down the long piece of paper and let the machines continue as they were. Kagome nodded and Dr. Henrow looked back down at her chart. "You seem to be coming along very smoothly. And not bad time, either! Not too fast, not too slow for the first time…very good. Everything looks good, so I'm just going to check your dilation…"
"Her what?" Inuyasha picked up the unfamiliar word immediately. He was very good at English these days, and he always asked about unfamiliar words.
"We're going to see how open she is for the baby." Dr. Henrow explained simply. Inuyasha nodded, but kept a careful eye on the doctor as she examined Kagome.
"So how long until the baby comes?" Inuyasha asked as she stood up.
"Well, we can't say for sure, but she seems to be closing in on the end of labor." Dr. Henrow assured him. "And she seems to be holding up well under the contractions, especially with how close she is. I think I'll go grab a couple nurses and we'll be back in no time. This birth should go very smoothly."
----------
"Dammit!" Kagome screamed, squeezing Inuyasha's hand so hard he winced. "Hurts!" she growled through the contraction, falling back against her pillow and panting. Inuyasha was nearing panic.
"Why does it hurt her so much?" he asked desperately.
"Think about it, Inuyasha, sir." Dr. Henrow spoke from where she was poised between Kagome's legs. "She's pushing something roughly the size of a watermelon through a hole the size of a pea. Of course it hurts."
"Yeah…well…isn't there a better way?" he asked.
"I don't know, really." Dr. Henrow spoke as Kagome started screaming again. "You'll have to take that up with whoever made us how we are."
"Inuyasha…Inuyasha." Kagome panted as she came down from her contraction.
"Love," Inuyasha wiped the sweat from her brow, kissing her forehead. "I'm here."
"I…this hurts Inuyasha." Kagome told him.
"I'm going to need you to push now, Kagome." Dr. Henrow told her. Kagome laughed breathlessly.
"Are you serious? Push?" Kagome rolled her eyes. "Sure, yeah, here goes." Kagome's face became red as she squeezed Inuyasha's hand, every muscle on her body clenched as she pushed with all the force she could.
"Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked her, wiping away more sweat.
"It hurts, that's all." Kagome panted. "How was that, doctor?"
"Do it again."
"No way!" Kagome growled, complying and squeezing Inuyasha's hand tighter than ever. True to her word, the teddy bear lay forgotten on the bedside table. "Dammit!"
"Kagome…" Inuyasha was worried since Kagome rarely cussed and almost never did so in front of other people.
"God damn you, Inuyasha!" she screamed as she pushed once more. Inuyasha's eyes went wide.
"But I love…" he tried, but on her next push, she squeezed his hand so hard he was cut off.
"Damn you!" she screamed. "You're the one that did this to me!"
"I didn't mean…"
"Don't worry, sir." Dr. Henrow assured him. "This is normal. She's not really mad at you. Just go with it."
"Go with it?" he squeaked as Kagome pushed again, more curses pouring out of her mouth. Inuyasha tried to believe the doctor, but Kagome kept telling him how much she hated him and how she wished they'd never met and how she was never going to touch him again. It was worrying him a great deal. Then suddenly, her screams mingled with a strange, new sound. The sound of a baby crying. Kagome fell back, looking extremely happy and extremely tired, panting and sweating. Inuyasha ginger reached over to wipe her face, and she smiled up at him, as though she had not just told him to go to hell.
"I love you, Inuyasha." She told the confused man.
"Uh…okay." He answered, glad that she seemed to be back to normal, but still a bit shocked by some of the things she had said. It was all very well and good for him to say words like that, but this was Kagome. She was different.
"It's a healthy baby girl." Dr. Henrow's voice had changed yet again. During Kagome's labor, she'd been very sweet and friendly. During the birth, she had been very authoritative. Now she sounded very gentle and kind. "Would you like to hold her?" Inuyasha looked up and eagerly took the pink bundle from the doctor, holding it carefully as Kagome's mother had explained.
"So little." He murmured, looking down into his daughter's yellow eyes. Wait… "Uh…Kagome…um, the baby…" Inuyasha looked around to be sure everyone had left the room. "She has my eyes."
"Let me hold her." Kagome asked, her voice tired yet eager. Inuyasha's eyes didn't leave his daughter's face as he handed her over.
"Look…I'm there, in her eyes." Inuyasha pointed, wanting a confirmation from Kagome.
"Definitely your eyes." She smiled at how excited he was to see this one tie between his child and himself. "I'm surprised that you could pass that on, since you aren't…you know…anymore."
"I guess…some things are still there. Just kind of hidden." Inuyasha's face was pressed next to Kagome's cheek in his effort to continue staring at the baby's unique eyes. "I just…I mean, I knew that this was my baby, but seeing her…it's just…"
"Unbelievable." Kagome sighed happily as the baby closed her eyes, but still didn't lose Inuyasha's interest. "That's you and me, put together into another person."
"She's beautiful. I just never thought…I could make something like that." Inuyasha continued to stare at the baby in utter fascination.
"What should we name her, do you think?" Kagome asked.
"I…I don't know." Inuyasha screwed up his face in confusion.
"Hmm…let me think." Kagome stared at the baby, brushing her thumb over it's peaceful little pink cheek. "How about Haruka?"
"Haruka…" Inuyasha tested it. "What made you think of that name?"
"I don't know…I think…I mean, I know it's winter, but having her here, and you…it feels like spring to me." Kagome blushed.
"I think it's a good name." Inuyasha confirmed. "Haruka. My daughter, Haruka." They stayed like that for some time as Kagome fell asleep. Eventually, Inuyasha had to move so that he could rest his head next to them. His mate and his child. His family. It was strange, but for a long time, he'd never thought he'd have such things. And here they were. Everything he could hope for and more.
----------
"Aren't they adorable!" Kagome clapped her hands together as she watched her three-year-old daughter playing with Miroku and Sango's twin boys, Sekatsu and Tsuyo, who were just a year younger than her. Mostly, their play consisted of chasing each other and falling down in the grass, squealing with pleasure. Haruka was proficient enough on her feet, but the boys were still getting the hang of running.
"I know. I can't believe how fast they've all grown." Sango sighed happily. Miroku and Inuyasha didn't say anything, but they were watching the children as well. Shippo seemed extremely bored though. "Shippo, why don't you play with the kids?"
"They're babies." He explained. "They're boring."
"Oh boy." Kagome smiled and Sango and Miroku chuckled.
"I thought you were excited to see us, Shippo." Inuyasha reminded the kitsune.
"Yeah, but only cause that means that you'll talk to Sango and Miroku." Shippo explained. "That way they don't sit around kissing all day. It's disgusting." All the adults laughed at this, but Sango and Miroku flushed slightly.
"I'm sure they just…" Kagome suddenly stood up with a curious expression on her face. "Wait a second, do any of you feel that?"
"What?" Inuyasha was immediately on his feet.
"Youkai!" Shippo replied, his green eyes going wide.
"Youkai?!" Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, obviously forgetting he had no claws.
"Wait…that youkai…it's…I know it…" Kagome frowned. "But there's more than one…it's hard to get a sense of which…Kouga!"
"Kouga?!" Inuyasha didn't sound reassured.
"Calm down." Miroku rolled his eyes at the other man. "You know he's not going to try anything."
"He could." Inuyasha sat back down, crossing his arms and pouting. Kagome sat next to him again, kissing his cheek comfortingly as they felt the youkai come closer.
"They're here!" Shippo announced.
"They?" Inuyasha was on his feet again. Kagome sighed as she stood and walked toward the children, trying to get Haruka to calm down and be good.
"All of these…are yours?" a familiar voice asked. For once, he didn't really sound angry or jealous. Just surprised. There was a woman behind him, and Kagome had a strange feeling she knew her from somewhere before. She was holding a baby, and Kagome immediately understood why Kouga had changed. She straightened and hugged the wolf youkai, ignoring the disapproving noise from her husband. Sango was nearby trying to get Sekatsu and Tsuyo under control
"Kouga, it's so good to see you! It's been almost four years you know! I thought you'd just…after…ah…that is…" Kagome blushed. Kouga shook his head to indicate that it was okay. "Anyway, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Haruka. Haruka, honey, say hello to nice Mr. Kouga."
Haruka tugged shyly at her pale silver hair, blushing up at the man with the intense blue eyes. "Hi mister." She finally managed. Kouga smiled, but somehow, the fangs weren't exactly reassuring to the little girl. Kagome picked her up so she'd relax.
"Sorry, she's not really used to strangers or…um, youkai." Kagome smiled apologetically. "Those other two are Sekatsu and Tsuyo, Sango's twins, not mine." Kagome laughed slightly and Kouga joined her.
"Oh, sorry about that…couldn't really tell, you know." Kouga looked closer at Haruka. "This one though, I knew she had to be yours. It was a girl, after all. I could smell it on you, once you said that you were carrying a child." Kouga explained. "I felt stupid for not noticing before you said it, though." Inuyasha had been approaching them slowly, and now that he was beside his wife, he put a possessive arm around her waist. Kouga chuckled. "Feh, you think I'm here for that? Inuyasha, don't worry."
"I wasn't!" Inuyasha answered quickly, but he loosened his arm around her waist.
"Actually, I brought you something." Kouga turned around to take something from the familiar looking woman. Kagome noticed her pointed ears. She was a youkai as well then, but who was it? Kagome was sure she'd seen this woman before. "Kagura made it, actually." He admitted, "We thought…maybe Haruka would like it."
"Kagura?!" Inuyasha stood in battle stance and Kagome gasped.
"Oh, yeah, sorry." Kouga rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Don't worry about her. She's my mate. Things have kind of…changed since you guys left, you know?"
"I guess." Kagome arched an eyebrow at Kagura, who only smiled back, looking extremely pleased that they hadn't recognized her.
"Yeah, anyway. I kind of thought this would be nice…you know, to show that there's no hard feelings or anything." Kouga blushed slightly and produced a cute little doll. It looked curiously like Inuyasha. Kouga noticed how Kagome was staring at it and said, "It was Kagura's idea."
"I thought it was cute." Kagura spoke up hopefully.
"Haruka, that nice man wants to give you the doll." Kagome set her daughter down and urged her forward. Haruka blinked her big golden eyes up at Kouga, blushing shyly. Kouga lowered himself to her eye level, holding out the doll.
"Hello." Haruka greeted him again, tugging at a silver forelock nervously. "You mommy's friend?"
"Yeah, I am." Kouga smiled at her as reassuringly as he could with his fangs. "My name's Kouga."
"My name's Haruka." She held out her tiny hand and he shook it, his smile widening.
"Nice to meet you." Kouga told her. "I wanted to give you this. It's a present." He extended his arm so that she could take the doll.
"Looks like me." She giggled in delight as she took the doll. "But I don't have ears like a doggy!"
"Do you like it?" Kouga asked, his smile still wide. Kagome couldn't believe how gentle he'd become. Becoming a father must have really changed him. And then there was Kagura…
"It's pretty! Thanks Mr. Kouga!" Haruka, suddenly forgetting her shyness, lunged forward and hugged Kouga, giving the surprised youkai a kiss on the cheek before running over to show her doll to her father, who seemed either amused or embarrassed by the doll's appearance. It was hard to tell which.
"And I also wanted you guys to meet someone." Kouga beamed with pride as Kagura stepped forward, looking extremely pleased as well. "This is our son, Yuki. He's eight months old."
Kagome turned to the porch to see how Miroku and Sango were taking all of this, but they seemed too interested in each other to notice. Shippo was rolling his eyes at their display, but the twins didn't really notice. Smiling, Kagome stepped closer to look at the baby youkai. "Yuki?"
"There was a snow storm when…um…it's a long story." Kouga and Kagura both blushed.
"Would you like to hold him?" Kagura asked. Kagome nodded and the youkai woman handed the baby to her carefully. He was cute, with little pointed ears and black hair. His eyes were a bright red, just like his mother's. He chortled when Kagome held him, and seemed to be a very happy baby altogether.
"What a sweetheart he is." Kagome smiled down at him.
"He's very quiet." Kagura told the other woman. "Barely ever cries."
"Wow, now you're making me jealous." Kagome and Kagura headed to the porch as though they were old friends. "Mine was almost as loud and obnoxious as her father."
"Hey!" Inuyasha looked up from his daughter, who was using the doll to talk to him. He had been explaining to her that it needed a sword. When her father looked away, she ran around looking for the perfect twig that her doll could use as a sword. Inuyasha watched her, not bothering with the women who were deep in discussion about babies, likely.
"Hey," Kouga was suddenly beside him, and Inuyasha stiffened out of habit, expecting the youkai to attack or at least insult him. Instead, the wolf was watching his daughter. "She really looks like you, ya know?"
"Yeah, but the shape of her face makes her like Kagome." Inuyasha answered, comfortable talking about his daughter. "She's really smart too. Already learning to read."
"Really?" Kouga asked, interested.
"Yeah, I teach her while Kagome's at work." Inuyasha explained. The bond that had kept them confined to the same building had given considerably more leeway after she had become his mate. Almost as though that invisible force had forced them together when their relationship was shaky, but loosened up when they committed to each other. "We spend all day together, Haruka and me."
"That must be nice." Kouga nodded. "What's it like with a girl?"
"They're not as quiet as you'd think." Inuyasha commented. "But they know how to control you even at that age." He pointed to Haruka.
"Damn women." Kouga sighed, sounding defeated. "Not fair."
"I know, we never knew it, but we never had a chance." Inuyasha spoke, turning to follow Haruka inside the house. Kouga walked with him. Somehow, over the years and all the things that had happened, the two of them had gone from bitter rivals to easy friends. They didn't really think anything of it, but as they sat, talking together, Kagome and Kagura exchanged knowing glances. Men were so simple. But those were their men, and they loved them for every little flaw they harbored as well as all the rest. In the end, isn't that what love's all about? Letting go of your reservations and learning to trust with your whole heart.
*****
THE END!!!!!!!!!!
I'm serious this time. Really. Although I am planning a story to explain how Kouga and Kagura got together. I'm sure that raised a few eyebrows. Also, I may write a sequel, but we'll see.