AN: Well, this is it, folks! Just wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to all of you for reading - and especially to those of you who've provided me with support and feedback along the way. This is by far the longest story I've ever written, a labor of love over 5 years in the making. Hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have, and looking forward to more adventures to come. :)

Btw, for those of you who are so inclined, head on over to my blog (ficaholic dot com) and check out the smutty "Transgressions Bonus Chapter," which you can find under the Blog Fics section of the Fanfiction page.

...Enjoy!

Epilogue

Two Years Later

Stretching out luxuriously in her futon, Kagome yawned, taking a moment to revel in the crisp slide of the sheets over her naked skin. It was turning out to be a rather chilly spring, but after how frigid the winter months had been, she couldn't complain.

Rolling over, she toed half-heartedly at her discarded clothing. Snagging her underwear eventually, she tugged it on before finally leaving the warm cocoon of her bed and dressing in full. After a quick late breakfast/early lunch, the young miko took up her bow and quiver and walked to the door.

Peeking out through the noren curtain, she peered around quickly with her sights and her senses. Grazing not far from the porch, Entei slanted a questioning look at her as she slipped outside with a conspiratorial grin.

"Now's our chance," she said, her voice hushed with excitement as she descended the steps, the horse youkai returning his attention to the grass with a snort.

A little miffed at his lack of enthusiasm, Kagome scowled as she made her way over to him across the yard. She was about halfway there when a hook to the back of her shirt collar halted her in place. Smiling sheepishly, the miko glanced back.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru," she said sweetly, cringing inwardly at the flat look he was leveling at her. "...Entei-san and I were just going out for a little stroll."

His dispassionate stare flicked to her bow and arrows. "With your weapons?"

"One can never be too safe in these dangerous times," she said over-brightly.

"Indeed," the daiyoukai agreed, folding his arms into his sleeves as he fixed her with a stern expression. "Which is why you should remain in the village."

Kagome pouted. "Oh, come on, Sesshoumaru, give me a break here—I'm going stir-crazy!"

"You must not overexert yourself in your condition," he stated woodenly.

"Condition," Kagome spat, stamping her foot. "You make it sound like I'm an invalid—I wouldn't even know I was knocked up if you hadn't told me!"

In hindsight, that last batch of red clover she'd scrounged up had looked a little on the green side. Still, nothing could have prepared Kagome—or Jakken and Kohaku for that matter—for the moment when Sesshoumaru had stopped them all in the middle of the wilderness, turned to her, and announced with absolutely zero inflection, "You are with child."

Totally unfazed by her hysterics then and now, Sesshoumaru simply stared. Fuming, Kagome turned away from him with a huff.

"High school dropout, hitched at eighteen...my only consolation in all this is that at least I didn't end up becoming yet another statistic."

"It is remarkable," Sesshoumaru said after a moment of pause, "how so much of what you say remains unintelligible to me."

"I'm talking about being a teenaged mom! Anyway," she groused, crossing her arms over her—admittedly—tender chest, "you're being completely unreasonable. Evil demons aren't going to stop attacking just because of my so-called 'condition.'"

Now examining his claws, Sesshoumaru blithely said, "If you are referring to the oni raiders, I have dealt with them."

Some of the wind went out of Kagome's sails. "...Well, what about the wasp demon outbreak to the south?"

"Kohaku will contain it."

"...The cursed well the next village over?"

"The monk is investigating it."

Kagome deflated further. "...The sap needed for the unending-nightmare remedy?"

"The old woman can collect it," Sesshoumaru responded succinctly.

"Argh! Fine," the miko snapped. "I'll just go find Sango-chan then, and we can both sit around together and be useless for the better part of a year..."

As she started to stalk away, Sesshoumaru pulled her into his arms, the smooth surface of his armor feeling pleasantly cool against her heated cheek. Equally cool and pleasant lips pressed to her furrowed brow.

"Is it so difficult to respect the wishes of your lord husband?" he spoke against her skin.

"Don't you 'lord husband' me," Kagome grumbled, twisting her fingers into his sleeves nonetheless.

"Your devoted mate then," he amended, cupping the side of her face as he tilted her gaze up to meet his, "who loves you beyond all else."

"Oh, well," Kagome flustered, her face going red all over again at the warmth that softened his sharp, handsome features. "When you put it that way..."

Sesshoumaru smirked as he pressed his mouth to hers. Irked as she was at this shameless exploitation of her weakness for him, Kagome melted into his kiss all the same, the Husband Effect hitting her full swing.

"If you are bored," he murmured as she broke away for air, the clawed hand at her hip circling around her with a squeeze, "I can think of several ways to pass the time."

Jumping a little at the Miroku-esque grope, Kagome dipped her lashes coyly. "I thought you said no 'overexerting myself'?"

Sesshoumaru parried the glance as he drew her closer still. "I will be the one exerting."

"Mm," Kagome said intelligently, feeling the rise and pulse of him even through his heavy armor.

More than ready to be exerted upon, she began to lead him back toward the hut as a couple of brightly-clad figures hurtled toward them.

"Kagome-chan!" Shippou said excitedly, skidding to a halt as a panting Rin drew up beside him—both kids perfectly oblivious to their guardians' current distracted state. "I need your help—come on!"

"Whoa, easy," Kagome laughed as the young kitsune started dragging her away, Rin tugging Sesshoumaru along as well. "We're going, we're going!"

The children led them around the wooded perimeter of the village, to a clearing not far away. Drawing to a dramatic stop, Shippou looked confidently ahead, Rin beaming at his side. Smiling broadly as well, Kagome waited patiently for Shippou to demonstrate what she could only assume was his latest kitsune magic mastery.

Birds sang in the branches overhead. Wind whistled through the bright green grass. Somewhere in the woods, a lone cricket chirped.

"Er..." Kagome said uncertainly after a full minute ticked by, glancing down at her adopted son.

"Well?" the fox kit prompted, his chest and tail still puffed proudly. "What do you see straight ahead of you?"

Squinting, Kagome looked around once more, desperate not to burst his happy little bubble. At her side, Sesshoumaru sighed in impatience.

"Trees," he answered tonelessly.

As Shippou did a flip in midair, Rin hurrayed.

"Yes! It really worked!"

"Even Sesshoumaru-sama can't see them!"

High-fiving one another, they turned back to the confounded adults.

"Um, sorry," Kagome said, looking between them, "what are we missing here?"

With a snap of Shippou's clawed fingers, the air in the clearing shimmered, Ah-Un's hulking form materializing before them.

"Waa!" Kagome exclaimed, clapping her hands. "That's quite the accomplishment, Shippou-kun!"

"Thanks, Kagome-chan." Blue eyes glinted with determination. "I should ace the vanishing test for sure!"

Crossing over to the dragon youkai, Rin gave each head an affectionate pat. "Thanks for your help, Ah-Un!"

The gentle dragon rumbled, nuzzling her in return. As the exuberant kids led the way back to the village, the adults followed in their wake.

"...Ah-Un's scent was far from invisible," Sesshoumaru remarked dryly to Kagome.

"Shh!" she said, grinning as she linked her arm through his. "Don't spoil the fun! Besides, not everyone has as keen a nose as yours."

"An understatement," he replied.

"Oh no!" Rin cried as they drew close to Kaede's hut. "Jakken-sama started without us!"

"That pesky toad," Shippou growled.

His back to them beneath the shade of an oak tree, the imp was wrapping up yet another rendition of 'The Tale of the Shikon Miko and The Lord of the Western Lands.' A crowd of both children and adults were gathered around for the afternoon story-hour, a barely-showing Sango raising her hand from around her daughter Airi's shoulders to greet Kagome and the others. Returning the wave with a smile, Kagome led the reluctant daiyoukai over with her—curious to see how Jakken would twist the story this time.

"...And so, feeling his heart helplessly claimed by the priestess, the lord's demonic nature overwhelmed him at last! In a fit of rage and despair, he struck down the very woman he had come to love so completely. Yet, when his blood had cooled and he saw hers strewn upon the ground, he was desolate with grief and remorse.

"For many long days, he wandered the earth in inconsolable misery, until at last he encountered their mortal foe. The battle between the humbled lord and his loathsome enemy waged fiercely through seven days and nights, yet though it cost him his own heart in the end, the great demon defeated his arch nemesis and went gladly into the afterlife, reunited at last with the souls of his beloved priestess and their unborn child."

The audience's expressions ranged from vague disappointment to mild disgust—Kagome herself siding with the latter. Vein throbbing in her temple, she strode forward, clocking the imp soundly on the head.

"You baka! Isn't it enough that I always get murdered in your stories?! LEAVE MY BABY OUT OF IT!"

As Rin shook her head toward Jakken, Shippou crossed his arms over his chest. "What an idiot."

The imp's eyes streamed, a sizable welt skewing his hat to one side. Before he could answer, or Kagome could clock him again, Sango's voice rose in question.

"What on earth is that?"

Glancing over, the miko followed her friend's pointing finger toward a cloud-like figure streaking toward them through the sky. As the cloud's shape became discernible, the taijiya looked back and forth between it and Sesshoumaru in consideration. The daiyoukai's expression was as bracing as Kagome's, Jakken recovering instantly at the sight with an excited wail.

"It's...!"

"...My mother-in-law," Kagome finished, paling.

Shippou gaped. "Sesshoumaru has a mom?"

"Indeed!" Myouga answered, jumping up and down atop the fox kit's shoulder. "Unlikely as it may seem, even the most cold and violent demons have mothers as we do."

Golden eyes slanted sharply toward him, the flea quailing as Shippou plucked him up in his claws. "...When did you get here, anyway, Myouga-jii?"

Glossy white fur and ruby red eyes gleamed blindingly in the sunlight as the female inu daiyoukai soared into Edo, alighting in the outlying fields to the shock and awe of the unaccustomed villagers. Licking daintily at a paw, she transformed into her human-like self in a burst of radiance, the men's jaws dropping at the sight of the unearthly gorgeous platinum-haired woman standing before them. Full red lips quirked in a fetching smile, the dowager Lady of the Western Lands delicately adjusting her velvety tail around her shoulders as she sauntered toward them.

Barreling past Kagome and Sesshoumaru both, Jakken threw himself at the lady's sandaled feet. "Kimi-sama!" the imp hailed in tearful joy.

"Jakken," she returned with perfect feminine smoothness.

The sound of her speaking his name was apparently too much for the besotted imp to bear. Nearly catatonic, he watched after her with moony eyes as she strode straight past him.

"Wow," Kagome muttered aside to her husband. "I never thought I'd see Jakken fawn over anyone more than you..."

Sesshoumaru made a noncommittal sound, but to Kagome he seemed just the slightest bit put out. Covering her mouth to hide her grin, she bowed respectfully as her mother-in-law drew to a regal stop before her.

"...Kimi-san," the miko greeted a little nervously, "what brings you to Edo village?"

"An interesting rumor," the lady replied slyly, her brilliant eyes flicking from Kagome to Sesshoumaru. "I hear that I am to be a grandmother."

"Ah..." Kagome began awkwardly, looking desperately toward her husband.

"Of course," Kimi continued, hurt suffusing her tone as she looked to Sesshoumaru as well, "as wounded as I was to receive this news second-hand, I resolved to ascertain the truth for myself." The daiyoukai tensed uncomfortably beneath the force of his mother's reproving stare, the corners of her lips lifting pleasantly as her gaze finally shifted to Kagome instead. "It would seem that the rumors are true!"

"Who told you these 'rumors'?" Sesshoumaru asked lowly, recovering.

"Oh, dear," his mother purred, her golden eyes cutting pointedly to the side nevertheless, "what ever does it matter?"

Following the slant of her gaze, Kagome felt her blood begin to boil anew as her eyes fell on Myouga's tiny retreating form. "You little..."

"What matters," Kimi said sweetly, placing a restraining hand on her daughter-in-law's shoulder, "is that I will be here to welcome my first grandchildren into the world."

"You are staying," Sesshoumaru stated warily.

His mother arched a wry brow. "Why, of course. How often does one become a grandmother for the first time?"

"But, Kimi-san, I'm still months away from—" Abruptly, Kagome blanched, her eyes going wide. "Wait. Did you say...grandchildren?"

"Three pups," the lady answered matter-of-factly, gazing at Kagome's belly, "to be precise."

"T-THREE?!" Kagome's jaw unhinged. "I-I—I'm having a whole LITTER?!"

Terrified, she stared up at Sesshoumaru, who seemed infuriatingly unaffected by this news of what his daiyoukai super-sperm had done to her.

"It is not unheard of," he said to her at last, his tone decidedly smug.

"You," Kagome seethed, gripping him by the front of his armor. "Don't sound so proud of yourself! And why didn't you tell me?!"

"Males' senses are hopelessly blunt," his mother sighed, her platinum hair rippling as she elegantly shook her head. "All the more reason for me to remain. Now, where are those layabouts?"

As if on cue, a series of dark rectangular shapes appeared on the horizon. Flying well ahead of them was a much smaller, shaggily-furred inuyoukai, who took on the form of a shaggily-haired, anxious-looking young man as he landed near Kimi's side.

"Kazuma!" the Western Lady said in a clipped voice, making her retainer visibly start. "Have you made the necessary arrangements?"

"Y-yes, my lady," the inuyoukai answered, claws twitching as he pushed his dark silver hair out of his eyes. "I have informed all vassals, allies and dignitaries of note that until further notice they may be received by your ladyship..." The attendant trailed off, glancing uncertainly around at the humble human village. "...Here."

"Excellent," Kimi said, a devious smile curving her lips. "I cannot wait to see the expression on Kiromaru's pompous face..."

This is like a game to her, Kagome thought faintly as her mother-in-law's eyes glittered with devilish intent.

"Haha-ue," Sesshoumaru asked narrowly, "you intend to hold court in this village?"

"Certainly," Kimi replied, fixing her son with a look which Kagome now knew to be inherited. "Someone must continue to see to the 'tedious' diplomatic responsibilities which you yourself shirk."

As Sesshoumaru looked away in lofty disdain, the boxy airborne shapes drew near at last. Still in mild shock after learning she was carrying hanyou triplets, Kagome stared dully ahead, her mind slowly working out that the flying boxes were in fact flying carriages—not unlike the one Sesshoumaru had used to transport the impostor Izayoi some years ago. A retinue of imps drove the carriages on, Sesshoumaru's own love-struck retainer not noticing the rectangular shadow falling over him until it was too late.

"Ah," the Western Lady observed, glancing briefly toward the flattened imp. "My luggage has arrived. Kazuma, help Jakken see to it."

"...Hai, Kimi-sama," her young retainer replied with a frown, staring over at the dazed imp and the small crowd of others who were attempting to pull him out from under the carriage's axle.

"So, son," Sesshoumaru's mother said warmly as she stepped forward, looping one arm through Sesshoumaru's and the other through Kagome's. "Daughter. Why don't you show me to your home? I would like to get settled in before the evening hunt."

"S-settled in?" the miko stammered, going somehow paler still. "You mean you're...staying with us?"

"Naturally," her mother-in-law replied without missing a beat. "From what I understand, humans often house with their close relatives—and I must admit, after both Touga's and Sesshoumaru's fascination with your kind, I am quite curious to witness the human experience first-hand."

As the demoness dragged them cheerfully on, Kagome and Sesshoumaru shared a heavy, commiserating glance behind her back, each of them wondering what in the gods' names they had ever done to deserve this.

But one thing was for certain—Edo village would never be the same.

.

.

The End