I don't know where this came from, since it's been a while since I've written an InuYasha fic. I know the premise has sort-of become cliché since the end of the manga, but inspiration struck me today, and it wouldn't shut up.

Just a warning; this is NOT for Kikyou-haters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything associated with it. All rights to Inuyasha and affiliated products belong to Rumiko Takahashi-sama.

Summary: Post-Manga. Even after knowing her for all that time, Kagome always managed to floor him. Seeing her now, it all made sense to him. All of it.

Rating: K

Pairings: InuKag

Genre: Family / Romance

Likeness

Even after knowing her for all that time, Kagome always managed to floor him. Even after nearly a year of travelling, three years of separation, and nearly a year of marriage, she still managed to stun him in the best of ways.

InuYasha sat by the futon, watching his wife and the small bundle she held with open and uncontained awe. He barely noticed as Kagome asked Sango and Kaede to step outside for a little while, while she and InuYasha shared a few moments of quiet as they welcomed their small daughter into the world.

InuYasha watched as she traced the infant's small puppy ear, smiling softly. InuYasha's own ears lowered at the thought of the taunts that she would likely suffer in her time because of them – but not even those kinds of thoughts could dampen his happiness entirely. This was a day of celebration in the village, and he knew that the people that lived there were honestly accepting of him and had been eagerly (but not as eagerly as InuYasha and Kagome) awaiting the birth of their first child. InuYasha was one of them, in their eyes, and his child would be protected by the people like any other village brat, should danger ever strike.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't realise that Kagome was speaking to him.

"…you okay?" She was asking, looking up at him with tired eyes.

InuYasha stared at her incredulously. "You're—I—Keh! Kagome, I should be asking you that!"

She gave him her special smile. "I've never been better."

"Liar. You're exhausted." InuYasha rumbled, no real accusation behind it. The smell of birthing fluids and sweat and the tiniest amount of blood hung in the air, but it was not altogether unpleasant. What had been unpleasant had been hearing his wife crying out in pain as the labour had taxed her body, knowing that he was unable to help her in any way. This – the aftermath – only served to remind him how lucky he had become over the last year.

"I'll be fine after some sleep." She assured him, looking back down at the infant. "She's so perfect…"

He rumbled his agreement, watching the dozing infant. She definitely had the markers of being part-youkai – the ears were obvious enough, and she also had silver fuzz for baby hair. Kaede said that her eyes were too pale and uncanny for a human baby, and would likely darken to a golden-honey colour over time. She'd even managed to (bravely) ask how a hanyou could father another true hanyou, and not a quarter-youkai, as one would expect, but all she'd received was some mumbling about the full moon and instinct.

He idly wondered when her time of the month would be, and whose eyes she'd have; he found himself hoping that they would be brown, like her mother's.

"…name her?"

"Huh?" He came back to himself, giving a little shake.

Kagome smiled knowingly. "I said, did you have anything in mind to name her?"

InuYasha looked blank. "I… uh…"

Kagome smiled. "That's okay… it doesn't have to be right now." She yawned. "Can you go get Kaede? I think I need some sleep, and she and Sango took the bassinette with them."

Two days later, InuYasha had the answer to one of his questions. On the day of the waning quarter moon, the baby's scent started to change, gradually shifting from hanyou to human. He told Kagome as soon as he noticed, and she'd sighed, setting herself up for a long night.

The baby still didn't have a real name; they'd thrown a few suggestions into the air –Sango and Miroku, and even Shippou and Rin and Kaede had offered a few possibilities, but Kagome and InuYasha hadn't felt that any were right. Until they could find her a suitable name, they simply called her 'Pup'. It wasn't ideal, but they were honestly stumped. Nothing seemed special enough for her.

They both exhaled nervously when the sun disappeared, and Pup's silver hair faded to black, her puppy ears morphing down the side of her head. InuYasha, who had been staring out the window nervously, as if waiting for an attack, had missed whatever it was that made his wife gasp so suddenly. Jerking his attention to her, he barked "What? What is it?"

Kagome looked up at him, smiling softly. "I just realised – looking at her when I woke up yesterday, I knew she looked like someone that I knew." She said gently. "Now that she's human, I know who."

"Who?" InuYasha asked warily. It would be cruel for Kagome to see the face of her mother or someone else she was related to in the face of their daughter forever.

"I think I have the perfect name for her." Kagome was looking back down at the squalling baby – who was panicking without her youkai senses for the first time in her extremely short life – with a smile and lifted her to her shoulder, gently rocking her a little.

"What is it?" He all but demanded, not getting the cryptic act.

"I think we should call her…"

Kagome looked up at him with shining eyes. Even after all those years, the warmth of her heart never ceased to amaze him. The depths of her compassion and understanding were beyond his comprehension. How she could take an unpleasant memory and turn it into something pure and good was beyond him. But seeing her now, like this…

She took a breath.

"Kikyou."

And he understood. Everything.

THE END

Thanks for reading.

Until next time,

Sparkly Faerie