Will You Remember?: Will You Remember?

AN: This was written as a kiriban for my 2500th page view at deviantART. InuHanyou won it, and got to request a oneshot on the topic of her choice. She's already received it by way of email, and didn't mind that I took a few liberties with it.

Kagome… goes to find Inuyasha. Finds Inuyasha sitting by himself in an open field Butterflies flitting around (ear landings...) Kagome approaches. Inuyasha still hurt/upset. They talk. More Butterflies.  They eventually confess they love each other and have Nyummy love scene. 

^~^ Warning: Lemon

 

InuYasha would never admit it, but he was glad they were headed back towards the village. Of course, he had raised a fuss. He had to in order to make them think he was mad that they were going home. He didn't want any of the others to know that he had finally decided to tell Kagome how he felt, and that he had determined the anniversary of when they first met would be the perfect occasion. And the way things were going they would be back in time, with a day or two to spare. The hanyou was excited and scared, all at once. He thought he knew how she felt, but she'd never been able to tell him, either. Something had always held them back; something had always interfered when they got so close. He was definitely going to figure out how to get some time alone with her, if he had to snatch her and run to do it. InuYasha had promised himself that he would find a way to get through to her. His heart was eating him alive, and he couldn't bear the pain of standing on the outside any more.

 

 

“InuYasha!”

 

The hanyou was yanked from his thoughts by the miko he was thinking about. Now that they had arrived back at the village, he was considering the best way to have her to himself when the time came.

 

“What the fuck is it, now?” he asked irritably.

 

“I want to go home for a few days. I'm tired, and I want to see my family. I need to find out if I have any hope of passing to the next grade. I'll be back in three or four days,” Kagome stated.

 

“Fuck no! You said you were going to get supplies and come right back. You didn't say anything about staying!” InuYasha yelled.

 

“Baka! Kagome wants to be with her family! She'll come back when she's good and ready!” Shippou shouted, of course taking the miko's side, even if he didn't want her to be gone any longer than InuYasha did.

 

“No! She said she was going for supplies and she'd come back! I want her back here tomorrow!” the hanyou bellowed in return. “We've still got shards to find!”

 

“InuYasha, you really should be more mindful of Kagome's feelings. We have been on the road for over a moon now. We will likely be gone for as long a stretch when we leave again. Why not let Kagome stay home as long as she likes?” Miroku asked.

 

“Be..be…because she said she wasn't gonna stay gone that long! That's why I agreed to come back here!” the irate hanyou roared.

 

“But we would not mind a rest, either, InuYasha. We are weary from looking for shards again. In fact, I do not know how much longer we will be able to help you do so,” Sango said, rubbing her belly.

 

“It's not my fault the fucking jewel got broken again so your brother could keep his life, and it's not my fault that you two are fucking like bunnies!” InuYasha retorted. “Naraku's dead; you two are married! Why don't you settle down and quit slowing us down!”

 

“InuYasha, sit,” Kagome whispered, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. She didn't know what had gotten into the hanyou lately, but she'd had enough. “I'm going home. Don't come after me. I'll come back when I damn well feel like it.”

 

Kagome grabbed her backpack and ran for the well. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou shook their heads as they watched her dash away, and then headed back towards their hut. In their absence, after Miroku and Sango were married, the villagers had built a hut for them near Kaede's in hopes that they would stay. Miroku no longer had his Kazaana since Naraku had been vanquished, but he still held his spiritual powers. The villagers hoped that if Kagome did not stay and become the village's miko, then maybe Miroku would stay and help with the spiritual duties, and perhaps produce offspring that could continue in the tradition. Kaede had been a good miko, but she was getting old, and they had no other hopes of a replacement if anything happened to her.

 

InuYasha just lay there, plastered to the ground, until well after the spell had worn off. He had just fucked up again, but good. He didn't even know why he said the things he did. But no, that really wasn't true, either.

 

Miroku and Sango had gotten married as soon as they reached the village to tell Kaede of Naraku's defeat and demise. The hanyou was upset because they could now be together as often as they wanted. They frequently disappeared into the brush together, and reappeared giggling, smelling of sex and sweat. And now, Sango was pregnant. She was just barely starting to show, but her growing belly was a constant reminder of what she and Miroku had - and what he didn't. InuYasha slammed his fist against the ground as he finally got up, and headed towards Goshinboku to wait.

 

 

At the bottom of the well, Kagome wiped her tears away before she climbed her way out. Why did InuYasha have to pick a fight now? Why did he have to say those awful things? She could feel a growing frustration from him, but had no idea what was causing it. Was it her? Or was he still upset over Kikyou's death? They had never really talked about it, and had been interrupted the few times that she had tried. She thought she caught him watching her out of the corner of his eye at times, but then decided it was either her imagination, or that he was only wishing she was Kikyou. Well, damn him. She wasn't going to let him ruin her seventeenth birthday. She had missed her last birthday altogether, but she promised her family she would make it home for this one. Silently, she walked across the grounds to her familiar home.

 

“Mama?” she called as she entered the house.

 

“Kagome! You made it!” Souta shouted gleefully as he came from the kitchen.

 

“Honey, you're home!” Mama joined him and gave her a hug. “How long will you stay this time?”

 

“I don't know, Mama. At least for my birthday, anyway,” the miko answered as they headed into the kitchen.

 

“Well, good. We were counting on it, because I invited some of your friends over for a party. I told them I would let them know for sure if you were home. They think you are at a health resort, but that they were supposed to let you come home,” Mama informed her.

 

“Whatever,” Kagome mumbled.

 

Mama looked at her with concern written all over her face. “Something wrong, Honey?”

 

“Same-ol', same-ol'… some things just don't seem to change,” Kagome answered as she sat down at the table.

 

“Well, hopefully a nice bath, good meal, and sleeping in your own bed will help.” Mama lovingly rubbed the top of Kagome's head. “And you can talk to me, if you need to.”

 

“Thanks, Mama.”

 

 

Kagome couldn't help but toss and turn in her sleep the next couple of nights. She was still upset with InuYasha, and with herself for leaving mad at him like she did. The more she thought about it, the more she began to think that those glances in her direction might actually mean something. And there had been several times where she thought he wanted to talk to her, but then one of the others, usually Shippou, would show up and interrupt them. Then, she'd get upset all over again. Tomorrow was her birthday, and the anniversary of the day they'd met; the day she had set him free from the sealing arrow that pinned him to Goshinboku. She was certain that he had no idea what the day meant to her. She didn't know what was worse, being here away from him, alone; or if she were to be with him, only to have her fears confirmed that the day didn't mean anything to him. The lonely miko pulled her pillow to her face and cried, and resolved to herself to push those memories aside.

 

 

InuYasha had stayed away for as long as he could bear, but he had finally gone through the well. However, he had not let anyone know that he was there. He stayed high in the branches of Goshinboku and watched. At night, after all of the lights were out, he would jump lightly to the roof outside her window, and watch the miko sleep.

 

Tonight, he caught the salty odor of her tears as they filled the space of her room, and escaped through the edges of the window. He peered in, and realized her entire body was heaving with her sobs. What was making her cry so? The answer came when he heard, “Baka! InuYasha!” and he knew that she was still upset with him.

 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day when he would tell her everything. Tomorrow he would tell her he wanted her to be with him always, if she would have him. And if she said no, then he would ask her to seal him to the tree again, because he could not bear the pain of living without her. With that final thought, he went back through the well to wait - just in case she tried to sit him in her sleep.

 

 

Kagome tried to put on a cheerful face the next day. Her grandfather gave her an ancient scroll that was rolled up, which she politely thanked him for and then set aside to open her other gifts. Her mother had invited her friends over for her birthday and lunch, so they all started showing up shortly before noon. Kagome groaned when she saw that Hojo was amongst the guests, but again smiled politely as he handed her his gift, and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek before he entered the house.

 

 

Souta was outside, having eaten his lunch early. He had decided hanging out with a bunch of giggling teenage girls was not the best way to spend his Sunday. He was bouncing his soccer ball off of a wall when he saw InuYasha come through the well house door.

 

“Hey! InuYasha! Did you come for Kagome's birthday?” the boy asked.

 

“Birthday? What's that?” InuYasha asked.

 

“You know, the celebration of the day you were born. You get presents and stuff,” Souta responded. “Oh yeah, they didn't celebrate birthdays in your time, did they?”

 

InuYasha shook his head. “No one would ever celebrate the birth of a hanyou, anyway. What the… What's he doing here?”

 

Souta looked over just in time to see Hojo hand Kagome her gift and kiss her cheek. “I guess he's still sweet on Kagome. I don't…”

 

But before Souta finished, he realized that InuYasha was walking slowly away, back towards the well house. The first thought that came to mind was that he looked like a whipped puppy, with his shoulders and ears drooping. If the hanyou had a tail, it would have been tucked between his legs. Souta saw the blue flash from the well house as the hanyou went through the time slip. He didn't hear the long and anguished cry from the other side.

 

 

InuYasha couldn't help it. He knew he had finally fucked up completely, and Kagome was lost to him. The pain that ripped through him escaped in the form of a howl that was heard all the way to the village. He headed towards the clearing in the forest, the one where he had wanted to build her hut if she accepted. Unable to restrain his temper any longer, he destroyed everything in his path. Trees and brush fell to the side as he plowed his way through, until he reached the meadow in the wood. There, he just sat in the middle of the grass and howled with anger and grief until he was hoarse.

 

 

“What was that!?” Sango asked, as they heard the painful cry that filled the air.

 

Miroku looked worried. “If I did not know better, I would say it sounded like InuYasha. But what would make him howl like that?”

 

“I do not know, but why do we not walk out to the well, just to see,” Sango suggested.

 

“All right, my dear Sango,” Miroku responded.

 

 

Frankly, Kagome was tired and ready for her friends to leave. After spending the last few hours with them, she suddenly realized how boring and pretentious they were. As much as she enjoyed things like her hot bath and comfortable bed here, in truth, she was really more comfortable in the past now. She sighed at the thought of InuYasha. She was surprised he hadn't come after her. Maybe he didn't care, after all. But right now, she just had to grin and bear it, and get these people out of her home.

 

The miko was thinking about feigning a fainting spell, when her mother started to catch on that she'd had enough. Together, they thanked everyone for coming to celebrate her birthday, until they finally were all on their way home. She didn't think she'd ever get rid of Ayume, Yuka, and Eri. They just couldn't seem to take the hint that it was time to leave. However, even they finally left, leaving them all alone.

 

Souta came back indoors. “Thank the kami they're gone. I didn't think they'd ever leave. Even InuYasha wouldn't stay and talk to me when he saw them come in.”

 

“What?” Kagome asked, surprised. “InuYasha was here?”

 

“Yeah. He showed up just before that Hojo guy did. He went back through the well when he saw him kiss you,” her brother answered.

 

“Did you tell him what was going on?” Kagome questioned.

 

Souta responded, “Well, I started to. I did tell him it was your birthday, and you get presents. You know they didn't celebrate birthdays back then. Still, I think he wanted to see you - until he saw you with Hojo, anyway.”

 

“Kagome, I think you'd better go and find him. He might not understand,” Mama suggested.

 

“What's to understand? He doesn't care, anyway,” Kagome replied.

 

“I don't know, Sis. I've never seen him look like that. He looked like a puppy that'd been beaten,” Souta offered.

 

“You're sure?”

 

“Oh, yeah. I've never seen InuYasha look so sad.”

 

Kagome sighed. “I guess I should go back and check on him. It's probably nothing, though. I'll try to be back before dinner.”

 

Mama cupped her daughter's cheeks in her hands. “Kagome, I think it's time you actually talked with him. Maybe he hasn't been able to say it, but there's no doubt in my mind that he cares for you.”

 

“But, Mama,” Kagome started. “Never mind. I'll see if I can find him. He's probably sulking by the well or in the tree, anyway. I'll go upstairs and change out of this dress, first. Then I'll go.”

 

 

Miroku and Sango had walked out to the well, and found Shippou rather worriedly pacing around. “I don't believe it! Kagome must have finally said something to him! He must have really made her mad this time! I knew it! Look what he did!” Shippou shouted as he pointed towards the beginning of the path of destruction the hanyou had left in his wake.

 

“Holy Buddha! What would make InuYasha do that?” Miroku frowned as he looked at the trees that had been obliterated.

 

“What if InuYasha upset her and she stays in the future? What if we never see her again? Stupid hanyou,” Shippou muttered.

 

“What in the world are you talking about, Shippou?” Sango asked.

 

“I knew InuYasha had gone to see Kagome, so I came to give him a hard time when he came back through the well. But he didn't even see me. He was howling when he came through, and headed straight for the forest and started cutting down trees with his claws. She must have sat him to Hell, and then made him come back. He was really mad,” the kitsune responded.

 

Miroku worriedly rubbed his chin. “Sango, take Shippou and go back to the hut. I will wait, and hope, that Kagome returns to us. I will inform her of what has happened, and try to find out the cause of InuYasha's anger. However, it is likely something only she can help with. I doubt anyone but she will be able to approach him.”

 

“But what about-” Shippou started.

 

“Just go,” Miroku stated firmly.

 

 

The monk was relieved when he heard Kagome climbing from the well. “InuYasha?” she called as she scrambled up the vines.

 

“I am afraid that InuYasha is not here,” Miroku responded as he leaned over the wall of the well. He offered Kagome a hand and helped her out.

 

“I guess Souta and Mama were worried about nothing,” Kagome said quietly. “I guess I'll go back home.”

 

“No, Kagome,” Miroku said as he grasped her shoulders and turned her. “Do you call that `nothing'?”

 

Kagome gasped as she saw the damage. “What on earth happened?”

 

“InuYasha, but we do not know why. He was howling with such anguish upon his return it made my blood run cold. Kagome, did you send him away? Did you tell him you did not want to see him again?”

 

“No! I didn't even know he was there. But what makes you say that?”

 

“Because I can think of nothing else that would cause him to do something like this.”

 

“Nothing else? What do you mean?” Kagome asked.

 

“I mean that I think the only thing that would make him act like this is if he thought he had lost you for good. Kagome, do you not know that he loves you?”

 

“What?? No, he doesn't.”

 

“Yes, I can assure you that he does. As much as I love Sango, I think he loves you even more. Maybe he has never said the words, but he shows it in his actions every day. Do you not love him, as well?”

 

Kagome blushed at Miroku's directness. “It doesn't matter. It's never mattered.”

 

Miroku pointed at the trail of devastation. “How can you look at that, and think that it does not matter.”

 

Kagome sighed. Maybe Miroku was right. At the very least, she should look for him. “All right, Miroku. I'll see if I can find him, and talk to him. But you know how stubborn he is…”

 

Kagome turned to see that Miroku was already on his way back to his own wife. Facing back towards the forest, she started after InuYasha.

 

There was one thing about InuYasha's temper - it made it easy to follow him. The hanyou had basically just sliced and diced everything in his way to either the right or left, leaving a nice, clear trail through the wood. Kagome drew to the edge of a clearing, and stopped, drawing in her breath.

 

InuYasha was sitting completely still, with his back to her, in the middle of a beautiful meadow full of wildflowers. As she stared, she realized that some of the flowers were moving. Looking again as the lowering sun glanced off of their iridescent wings, she realized that the hanyou was surrounded by Karasu-ageha butterflies. Their wings moved slowly as they fluttered from flower to flower, using only what was needed to float from one blossom to the next. InuYasha had remained so still that several had lighted in his silver mane, with one perched on the tip of his ear. No motion was seen from the hanyou, not even the flicker of an ear to drive the blue swallowtail away.

 

Kagome carefully walked across the field, wondering what she should say. She knew InuYasha must know that she was here, and yet, he refused to acknowledge her presence. He did not move until she went to sit down facing him, and he turned his head away, finally making the butterflies in his hair take flight.

 

“InuYasha?” the miko asked quietly. “What's wrong with you?”

 

The hanyou still refused to look at her, or to speak.

 

“InuYasha, please. Souta said you came to see me today.”

 

“Are you going to sit me to fucking Hell for it? Just do it and get it over with already,” the hanyou spat.

 

“I will if you don't tell me what's going on, and why you're acting like this!” Kagome practically shouted with irritation.

 

“Don't you know what today is?” InuYasha responded so she could barely hear him.

 

“Of course I do! It's my birthday!” Kagome answered. “But why would you care? You don't celebrate birthdays in your time.”

 

“That's not all it was,” the hanyou replied, turning his face away from her again.

 

“What do you mean?” Kagome asked, just as the realization started to dawn on her. She knew it, she really did. But she had pushed the thought out of her heart and mind because she thought he didn't know, and didn't care. “You don't mean…you mean you remember?”

 

“Remember that it was the day you broke my fucking seal? Remember that it was the day that we met? Remember it was the first time I ever caught your sweet scent? No, I'm just a stupid fucking hanyou. Why would I remember any of that?”

 

“InuYasha… I… I… I didn't think you cared. I wanted to go home because I couldn't bear the thought that it didn't mean anything to you…like it does to me…”

 

“What do you mean? I saw you with that boy from your time. You wanted to be with him today,” InuYasha whispered, so that even she could tell he was hurt.

 

“InuYasha, he doesn't mean anything to me. I didn't even know he was coming until he showed up. The girls must have told him and invited him. Mama said he wasn't on the list.”

 

That sent a small thump of hope through the broken heart of the hanyou. “I saw him kiss you.”

 

Kagome reached over and took a clawed hand between her own. “InuYasha, he's never been more than just a friend to me. His kiss on the cheek didn't mean anything more than Miroku groping some girl before he married Sango. Now tell me, why are you so upset? Why did you tear up everything like you did?”

 

“I thought I'd lost you,” he said softly. “I wanted to talk to you, but then everything went wrong.”

 

“Talk to me? About what, InuYasha?” Kagome's heart sped up as she thought of the possibilities.

 

“I was going to ask you to stay with me…” he started.

 

The miko sighed. “I'll stay with you until we finish the jewel again. After that, I don't know.”

 

“I see,” the hanyou said as he stood up and turned away from her. “Then I don't mean anything to you.”

 

“That's not what I said, InuYasha. Was that not what you meant?”

 

The frustrated hanyou clenched his fists and shook his head.

 

Kagome stood to join him, and turned him to face her. “Then tell me, what do you mean?” she asked, as she looked at the eyes boring into hers with such concentration she felt like he was seeing straight through her.

 

The miko was unprepared as his lips crashed down on hers. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. She felt like she would melt, the heat emanating from him was so intense as he held her. When he finally turned her loose, he said, “I meant I want you to stay with me. I want to build a hut for you in this field. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives. That is what I fucking meant, Kagome.”

 

“What? Are you asking me to marry you? You really want to marry me?” The miko couldn't believe what she was hearing.

 

“Marry me in the human tradition, become my mate in the demon tradition. That is what I'm asking you. I love you, Kagome. That is what I wanted to tell you today,” he replied with determination.

 

Kagome responded by wrapping her hands in his mane, and pulling his mouth back to hers. This time the kiss was more passionate, even carnal, as she opened her mouth to invite his tongue in to explore.

 

They sent butterflies flittering everywhere as he lowered her to the thick grass. Kagome laid back on the ground, bare before her hanyou lover. She was flushed from head to toe with excitement, and embarrassment at her own brazenness. But once she felt his hand cup her breast, she started pulling her clothes off, and then his. It didn't take long before their garments were lying haphazardly around them. She smiled as she reached up to take an ear between her fingers, and rubbed it gently. InuYasha's response was to kiss her again as his arousal pressed into her thigh.

 

The hanyou turned loose of her mouth, and started to nip and kiss his way down her throat, stopping to suck at the junction of her neck and shoulder. He then traced his kisses down to her breast, and pulled it into his mouth, earning another gasp. He could not miss the feel of the nipple hardening as his tongue rolled around it, so he started to massage the other breast with his hand, until he released the one in his mouth with a small pop, and moved over to the other.

 

The miko could not help but to writhe under his body. She could not even remember how long she had dreamed of this, wanted this, and needed this. She moaned as he paid his heavenly attentions to her, but she desired so much more. Kagome continued to rub his ears as he stroked and licked her breasts, and almost pushed him down to get him where she wanted him. She was now too far gone with passion to care what he might think, and spread her legs further apart, hoping he would get the hint.

 

InuYasha felt the gentle push on his head, and thought maybe he'd gone too far, but when the miko's legs parted, he realized he had not yet gone far enough. He shifted around and allowed his face to settle between her legs, and took a deep breath of her intoxicating scent. He hoped she knew what she was doing, and what this was probably going to do to him. His youki was starting to surge as the woman he'd chosen for his mate offered herself to him willingly. He reached out with his tongue to taste her, and the reaction was immediate. The hanyou heard her cry for more, and started lapping at her hot center.

 

He licked between her folds of flesh, and drove his tongue deep into her, before he covered that nub that was becoming swollen and hard with his mouth so he could suck at it and thump it with his tongue. When he realized how much pleasure she was getting from it, he started rubbing it with the pad of his thumb as he thrust his tongue up into her.

 

“Gods, InuYasha, don't stop!” she cried out when he found the magic combination. “Oh… Oh… Yes… Yes… InuYashaaaaa… ” she screamed as she came into his mouth, bucking wildly against him while he drank everything that poured out of her. When she finally started to slow down, the hanyou looked up as he continued to lap at her twitching center. The sight of his chosen one, covered in a fine sheen of sweat as the result of his efforts, pleased him greatly.

 

Kagome looked down her body when she finally opened her eyes. She could feel the warm tongue still licking between her folds. The miko was surprised to see the hanyou's youkai markings blazing on his cheeks, and his eyes red with lust, though his irises remained gold.

 

“InuYasha,” she whispered. “What do you want?”

 

“You,” he replied, as he moved up her body. “I want you to be mine. Be my mate.”

 

“Then make me yours,” she answered. “Take me.”

 

The hanyou moved up her body, covering her. His mane draped over them, almost like a curtain of water flowing around them. His arousal was pressed into the crease between her thigh and the fold of flesh that helped to protect her hot slit. “Are you certain? This will be forever if you allow your aura to be bound to my youki.”

 

Kagome's response was to wrap her legs around his thighs, and reach down with her hand to line him up and guide him in. Straining her body, she raised her butt off of the ground enough to slide his head into her entrance. “I'm sure. I want to feel you inside me. I want to be yours.”

 

InuYasha grinned as he thrust into her and filled her completely. He waited until he felt her move against him, and then started to move in long, slow, thrusts as he stretched her to accommodate him. Using his arms to keep his body weight off of her, he continued to look into her eyes for any sign of pain or discomfort. What he found instead was love, and a lust that matched his own.

 

It wasn't long before they felt like they were melded perfectly together, and he heard her whisper, “Harder.”

 

He started to thrust harder, until he felt like he was hammering her, and she just cried out for him to go faster as well. His entire body was burning with desire to fill her, bind her, and make her his, as he hit somewhere deep inside of her. His grunts were matched by her moans, and they both were panting as they neared their completion together. His youki and her aura were swirling and wrapping around each other, twisting to bind them as one for eternity. They merged and sealed as Kagome cried out when her orgasm shook through her, clamping down on the hanyou with such force they were locked together as he came into her. InuYasha howled as he filled her womb with his seed, and the mating was completed. He collapsed on to her, panting, before he wrapped his arms up under her in order to roll her over so that she was on top. He kissed her again as his throbbing member continued to empty into her body.

 

“Wow,” she said when InuYasha finally let her come up for air. She reached down to give him a soft kiss on the lips. Looking into his eyes, which were completely normal again, she rubbed the markings on his cheeks and asked, “So, we're mates now?”

 

“Keh. I hope you don't mind. I really hadn't planned on doing all of that tonight. But when you willingly offered yourself to me, my youki kind of took over to make sure I didn't screw it up.”

 

“I've wanted to do that for so long with you. I love you, InuYasha. I have for a long time.”

 

“I…I… ”

 

“I know. You said it earlier. I never thought I would hear you say that you love me,” Kagome said softly.

 

“I really do. I just could never tell you,” he offered in response.

 

They lay there together until the sun had set, just holding each other, as Kagome lay stretched out over his torso. Finally, she reached down to stroke his cheek with her thumb. “You're back to normal now. Do you want to come home with me? Mama will be worried.”

 

InuYasha nodded, and they proceeded to find their clothing that was scattered around. Butterflies went everywhere when they picked their garments up and shook them out. They fluttered away to find another place to light for the night.

 

 

They walked, hand in hand, back towards the well. Miroku had returned to wait at the edge of the clearing, just in case things had not gone as hoped. He smiled when he saw his friends appear together, and turn to kiss one another before continuing to the well. Satisfied that everything was indeed all right, and that the last howl he heard had been in ecstasy, not agony, he headed along the path to return to his wife.

 

 

Kagome explained to her mother that InuYasha had asked her to marry him, and that she had said yes. Mama hugged both of them, and then suggested that she get him to help her carry her birthday presents up to her room. The hanyou was still blushing over the fuss made over him, and was glad for the chance to escape. Gathering up the items she pointed to, while Kagome picked up the rest, he followed her up the stairs.

 

“What's this?” InuYasha asked, as he set everything down in the corner like she told him. Everything that is, except for the ancient scroll.

 

“Oh, Jii-chan gave that to me. Some ancient nonsense from the shrine, I imagine,” Kagome responded.

 

“I… I don't know Kagome. Why don't you see what it says?” InuYasha suggested, looking at the kanji that was on the outer seal.

 

“Well, if you insist,” she answered, pulling at the ribbon that held it closed.

 

“Oh, fuck,” InuYasha said quietly as he looked over her shoulder.

 

“You can read this?” Kagome asked, since the script was ancient.

 

InuYasha just nodded.

 

“What does it say?”

 

InuYasha took the scroll from her, and carefully unrolled it. He began, “This is the account of the love story between an Inu Hanyou and a powerful miko. This unlikely tale began when the miko, Kagome, unexpectedly arrived in our village, and awakened the hanyou, InuYasha…”