Hey everyone! This week seemed to just fly by. I figured it would drag on due to all the rain we’ve been receiving, but no such luck, lol. Tuesday, I went to a graduation dinner for my step brother, who graduates high school next Friday. Heh, I’m kind of happy for him, because that means in the near future, he gets to leave home, thus saving him from my dad and step mom, lol. Hmm, nothing else really happened this week.

Writing wise, I’ve gotten lots done on this story this past week, and have plans for more stuff on it as well, as well as Minutes to Midnight. Both are moving along nicely, but neither are done. Heh, I’m probably not even close to finishing either story, lol. Oh well, I’ll get there, eventually…

Alright, moving along, time for the reviews!

Mitsukai – Lady of Gryffindor: Lol, glad you like Iya. He is a bit of a smartass I suppose, hehe. Iya’s definitely fun to write about. Yeah, I thought having Sesshomaru hanging back and just smirking would be a nice touch. You never know, we could see Kagome go into heat, or any of the others, but like Iya said, half demons rarely go into heat. It’s kind of just by random chance when one does. Not like the mages purposely give their half demons’ heats. After all, too much work to take care of their own heats plus their slaves. But that would be very nice to see Inuyasha turn into a puddle of white and red due to Kagome having a heat, lol. Thanks for the review!

Micah Rapp Cullen: LOL! I don’t blame you too much for not logging in. It’s so troublesome sometimes. Glad you liked the chapter and was pleased with Sango and Miroku mating. Lol, yes, Iya kicks ass like always, hehe. Thanks for the review!

Kattana: Thanks, I’m glad you liked the chapter. It was my first lemon, so I was kind of conservative with it, plus I tried to keep it toned down. This fic is rated T, although I’ve seen far worse lemons in T rated fics, lol. But like I said, it was my first lemon, and I was mostly testing the waters more or less, trying to get a feel for it and find out if anyone cared. Lemons don’t bother me myself either, but I know it does some people, so it’s all about balance, I suppose, lol. Glad you liked Iya beating Raal up, lol. I thought about having Sesshomaru stepping into the fight, but I figured I’d have him stay out of it. After all, showing favoritism to his brother would probably ruin his reputation, lol. But true, Sesshomaru normally don’t allow stuff like that to happen, but I figured he allowed Iya to handle it, to assert his own authority, hehe. Thanks for the review!

Well, that’s it for the reviews. Thank you, all three of you, for your reviews! I truly appreciate all of them and your feedback on this story. Btw, if anyone has any feedback, comments, or questions on this story, please feel free to post a review or PM me about them. I am more than happy to answer them, so long as it’s not about giving away the plot. I have to have some secrets, hehe.

Again, thanks to my three reviewers. I hope everyone likes this chapter, so enjoy!

Chapter 23

At long last, dawn finally broke over the hills guarding the Western Stronghold. The sunshine slowly filtered into Iya’s room, instantly waking the half demon. Twitching his ears, he cracked open his muddy colored eyes at the window and softly smiled.

Taking in the scent of his room, he closed his eyes once more and enjoyed the multiple scents that assaulted his senses. He could smell the flowers his mother had grown so long ago, along with the numerous things that gave his room it’s own special scent.

Turning over from his stomach to his back, he softly smiled at the feeling of the softness of his own bed and the feeling of being in a world he hadn’t lived in for so long. Surrounding him were things from his younger life that he had enjoyed and treasured dearly. Many of these things were ones he had collected, while some where gifts from his father, his mother’s former possessions, or things Sesshomaru had given him.

Cracking his eyes open once more, he heavily sighed. Staring up at the ceiling, he thought of all the years he had lived here, only to have to give it up and go chase the mages.

Pushing his memories aside, he got out of bed and put on his nearby silk robe. Quietly, he made his way out to his private hot spring and disrobed. He immediately went into the warm water and let out a contented sigh.

Closing his eyes, he sank deeper into the water till it was up to his chin. “I wonder if I’ll ever be able to return home and just enjoy everyday life that I left so long ago...”

Deciding to push the thoughts out of his mind, he opened his muddy colored eyes and sank all the way into the water. Coming up for air after a minute, he pushed his hair back out of his face and moved till he was only shoulder deep in the water.

“We will succeed. I know we will. I swore to Lilly I’d save her, and I meant my words. I won’t allow any harm to come to her, no matter what happens.” he silently vowed.

Thinking of Lilly, his cheeks lightly heated up. “I wonder what she does think of me. If only we didn’t have these damn mages to deal with, I’d consider asking to court her, but with the mages on the loose, I can’t be bogged down with such thoughts. I care for Lilly, there is no doubt about that in my mind, but I must remain in control of my feelings while with her. If the mages found out I like her, I’m sure they’d step up their advances in trying to take her.”

Growling lightly, he remembered how Ichigo had reacted when Kenshin had nearly taken her away. He knew Ichigo had told him about how he had nearly lost Rukia, his former mate, to the mage when he had cast his spell on her. The pair hadn’t mated yet, but Kenshin had defiled her with his spell. In the end, Ichigo had killed his mate, breaking his heart and putting him on the path to avenge her death against the mage. The thoughts of Kenshin taking Lilly now infuriated Iya even further, knowing how sweet a girl she was and how evil Kenshin truly was.

“I must not fail her. If it’s the last thing I do, I will free Lilly, at any cost, even if I must lay down my own life.”

Dunking his head under the hot steamy water once more, Iya finally came up for air and shook the water out of his ears. Getting out of the water, he shook his body like a dog would, sending water all over the floor of the room. Grabbing a terry cloth towel nearby, he wrapped it around his body, using it to dry off the water. Slipping his robe on over top of it, he exited the hot spring and went back into his room.

Rummaging around for his hair brush, he finally found it within his dresser and began to brush out his wet long black hair. Finally finishing up, he grabbed a nearby ribbon that he always used to tie it back into place and pulled his hair into a large ponytail.

He originally had begun doing this when he was much younger, somewhat mimicking his father and Sesshomaru. Both had pulled their hair back into ponytails, with his father braiding his hair as well, but Iya refused to do this. Sesshomaru eventually let his flow freely after beginning to court Kaoru, for she liked running her fingers through it. Iya had chosen to keep his hair pulled back still, mostly due that in battle, it would fly into his face, causing momentary blindness, which could give his enemy an advantage.

Grabbing his nearby freshly washed clothing, he quickly shed his towel and robe and slipped into his pants. Slipping on his inner white kimono, Iya reached for his black outer one and slid it on over top of his inner one and tucked the excess into his pants. With a simple motion, he tied his obi sash and tucked Ketsaiga into it.

Fully finished, he glanced around his room for one more look. Noting the painting on his wall, he walked over to it and stared longingly at it. In the picture was of a young female half dog demon with calve length black hair, black dog ears, a black fluffy tail sticking out of her backside, and beautiful muddy colored eyes, much like Iya’s. She wore a fine silk kimono with a skirt that was the color of blue and had pink sakura flowers embroidered into it, with a sword on her hip that had a pink hilt. The woman had a lovely smile on her face, and was very beautiful.

Staring longingly at the picture, Iya lightly touched the portrait’s face and mumbled “Mother, I wonder what you were like. Did you feel the way I do about things? I ponder also if you even loved father…”

Sadly smiling, he shook his head and answered his own question. “No, I know you loved him. You wouldn’t have been willing to help calm his heat that night if you hadn’t. You gave so much to be there for him, but asked nothing in return. I’m so sorry you didn’t get to watch me grow up. I can only hope that if you’re watching me, you’re proud of what I’ve accomplished in life.”

Stroking the portraits face once more, he felt hot tears starting to slide down his cheeks. Removing his hand from the portrait and wiping away his tears, he sadly smiled and said “I promise you mother, I’ll continue to make you proud. No matter what, I will save all of the people that the mages attacked. If I must give my life to do that, I will then.”

Resting his forehead against the portrait, he softly said “For now though, know I love you and miss you terribly. Hopefully I’ll be able to return home one day. Till then, know my thoughts are always with you. Farewell for now.”

Moving away from the portrait, Iya wiped his eyes with his kimono sleeve, effectively drying up his tears. Glancing around the room for one final time, he heavily sighed.

“I’ll miss this place…” he mumbled while his ears drooped lightly. Sadly smiling, he added “I suppose I’ll return, one day.”

With those words said, he opened the door to leave his room and quietly shut it behind him, leaving the world that he had known for only fifty years once more.

--

Waking at the break of dawn, Sango eyes slowly opened, revealing her golden eyes. They slowly adjusted to the sunlight coming down through the nearby trees, making it harder to focus her vision. After a moment, she saw she was clearly in the clearing that her and Miroku had moved to the night before.

Letting out a contented sigh, she felt Miroku’s warm body behind her, holding her close to him with his arms encircling her waist. Snuggling in against him, she closed her eyes once more, with memories of the night flooding back to her.

Once they had marked one another and became mates, she had been unable to hold her heat back any longer and allowed it to take over fully. Miroku had helped her throughout the night, with the pair joining bodies multiple times till both were exhausted. This was a bit before dawn, but about that time, Sango’s heat had finally subsided, allowing her to relax and sleep at long last.

Warmly smiling at the memory of the pleasure Miroku had given her, she shifted lightly so she was facing him. He was still fast asleep, with his breathing very even. Burrowing her head into the crook of his neck, she inhaled his scent, allowing her to always identify him with her nose. In his arms, she felt safe, secure, and well protected, not to mention loved. It was as if she had finally found the peace she had always been looking for in her life upon the two becoming mates.

Letting out a small sigh, she felt herself slowly being lured back to sleep, but suddenly felt Miroku shift. Opening her eyes, she saw his breathing had become normal to what how he always breathed when awake. Looking up, she saw his eyes were open and fixed upon her.

Smiling down at her, Miroku kissed her on the forehead and softly said “Good morning Sango.”

“Good morning Miroku.” she warmly replied.

“Sleep well?”

“Yes, I did. How about you?” she curiously asked.

Smirking a bit, he looked up at the sky for a moment before looking down and saying “Once you let me sleep, I slept rather well.”

Blushing a bit, Sango apologetically mumbled “I’m sorry…”

Hushing her, Miroku shifted so that he could lean down and kiss her lips. He gently kissed her, making Sango relax a bit and smile inside. After a moment, the pair broke apart and stared at one another.

Heavily sighing, Miroku mumbled “I suppose we should head back.”

“I guess so.” Sango dejectedly added.

Pulling the blanket off of their nude bodies, Miroku rose up and stood and stretched his lean body. Sango watched intently, staring longingly at him.

Noting her stare, Miroku gave her a mischievous smirk. “The others won’t be ready to leave for a while…”

“We should get back though.” Sango quickly cut in.

She stood up as well and stretched her own body, giving her tail a swish. She padded over towards the pile of clothes, only to be tackled from behind and pulled to the ground with Miroku turning her so he was on top of her body.

“I think they can wait a little longer…” he purred.

--

Breakfast for the group of half demons and the demon lord was filled with quite a bit of chatter, mostly with it being between the girls. Iya was rather surprised at the amount of chatter the four girls had, with each talking about things, mostly feminine things, that he knew nothing or cared nothing of.

Like Iya, Inuyasha, Shippou, Ichigo, and Sesshomaru ate in silence, with Inuyasha scowling most of the breakfast at Sesshomaru. Iya had simply chose to ignore it after a while, not wanting any part of the two’s personal hatred of one another.

Once breakfast came to an end, Sesshomaru turned to Iya and asked “Where are the monk and demon slayer? We must be off soon.”

“Yeah, where are Sango and Miroku? I didn’t see them at all last night at dinner, and none at all night.” Kagome added.

Sighing, Iya smoothly said “They’ll be along, I’m sure of it.”

“They had better brother, for this Sesshomaru shall not wait for them.” Sesshomaru stoically responded.

“The hell you won’t wait for them!” Inuyasha snarled. “They’re a part of this mission also, so don’t think you can leave them behind!”

Heavily sighing, Iya calmly said “Inuyasha, no one will be left behind, even if I must stay behind to get them. They will return soon enough, I’m sure of it.”

“If they are not back at midday, we shall set out.” Sesshomaru stated.

Growling lowly, Inuyasha was about to snap an answer back when Iya shook his head, making Inuyasha slowly back down. “Very well, we shall leave at midday brother.” Iya remarked.

Wordlessly, Sesshomaru left the table and headed towards his study, where Iya knew he would immerse himself into his paperwork. Softly sighing, he silently prayed that Sango and Miroku would return before time to leave.

--

Midday was about to break, with the half demons meeting at the front gate. There was still no sign of Sango and Miroku, worrying Kagome very much, along with Shippou and Kohaku. Inuyasha tried to pretend not to worry, but the group could tell by his irritable mood that he was concerned too.

At long last, Sesshomaru calmly said “Let’s move out. The sooner we can arrive at that troublesome mage’s home, the better.”

“But Miroku and Sango haven’t made it back yet!” Kagome quickly declared while moving to behind Sesshomaru.

Turning towards her, Sesshomaru icily responded “The monk and demon slayer shall be left behind then.”

“Hold on Sesshomaru, who died and made you leader!?” Inuyasha snarled.

Glaring at Inuyasha, Sesshomaru stoically remarked “This Sesshomaru is trying to ensure that this Sesshomaru’s ward is saved. If you wish to strike out on your own, this Sesshomaru will not stop you.”

Growling loudly, Inuyasha clutched the hilt of Tetsusaiga tightly and prepared to draw it when suddenly Iya appeared between him and Sesshomaru. Turning a glare from one to the other, Iya snarled “Enough! This bickering between the two of you is pointless! We’re brothers, so let’s act like it!”

Not backing down, Inuyasha accusingly replied “Keh, I’m not the asshole who thinks only of himself before everyone else and has his own agenda in mind.”

“You shall not slander this Sesshomaru, you foul half breed!” Sesshomaru replied with a touch of anger in his voice.

“ENOUGH!” Iya yelled, making most of the half demons flatten their ears. Turning an angry glare towards one and then the other, he snarled “This bickering is not helping!”

Calming down a small bit, he turned to Sesshomaru and strongly said “Sesshomaru, I know you wish to save Rin, but you must remember there are four others who need the same help. We should wait for an hour more on Miroku and Sango.”

Noting Iya’s serious voice, Sesshomaru wordlessly began walking back towards the Stronghold. Passing by Iya, he lowly whispered “Brother, I shall do this only for you this time.”

With that said, he continued onward towards the Stronghold. The group stared in shock at the seemingly retreating figure of Sesshomaru and turned to Iya.

“I’ve never seen anyone talk to Lord Sesshomaru like that and live before.” Rin commented, instantly breaking the silence and shock of the group.

Chuckling, Iya replied “Me and Sesshomaru have always had talks like that since we were kids.”

“Keh, that asshole needs to learn that Rin isn’t the only person who needs help here.” Inuyasha nonchalantly stated while picking at his ear with a clawed finger.

Heavily sighing, Kagome muttered “Sit boy.”

Inuyasha’s prayer beads immediately glowed to life and sent him plummeting to the ground, creating a small crater. The entire group, other than Inuyasha, all chuckled at his position.

“Sorry Inuyasha, but you shouldn’t be so brash towards Sesshomaru.” Kagome lightly said while kneeling down next to his fallen figure. “He’s only trying to do what is right, much like you.”

“Damn it Kagome, quit saying that word!” he snarled while slowly getting up once the spell wore off.

Sighing lightly, she replied “Not until you can behave yourself.”

Grumbling to himself, Inuyasha stood up and stomped off to fume. Watching him leave, Shippou muttered “Idiot…”

--

Nearly an hour had passed, with Inuyasha staying far away from the group in a tree, seemingly sulking. With the time fast approaching to leave, Iya began pondering what had happened to the happy couple.

“Her heat should have subsided last night. Damn it you two, get back here quick before the others have to head out and I have to wait on you.”

Hearing someone approaching, he glanced over to see it was Sesshomaru at his casual pace like always. Arriving at the group, he looked to Iya and said “It has been an hour brother, and this Sesshomaru will no longer wait. It will take a whole day to reach Ryo of the Wildfire, and this Sesshomaru will waste no more time.”

Sighing in defeat, Iya nodded and replied “I understand. I shall wait for Sango and Miroku myself. We should hopefully catch up before too late tonight or tomorrow.”

“Very well brother, this Sesshomaru shall proceed ahead.” Sesshomaru stoically remarked. Turning to the others, he calmly said “Those who wish to follow, come. Those who don’t wish to follow, stay.”

Most of the group looked to Iya for guidance, who sighed lightly and was about to respond when he picked up two familiar scents coming towards the group. Scanning the area with his sharp eyes, Iya saw the pair of half fox demons that the group had been waiting on rushing towards the Stronghold.

“WAIT FOR US!” Miroku cried out, earning everyone’s attention.

Seeing them coming, Kagome smiled brightly and ran to the two. Hugging Sango, she said “I’m so happy you made it! We were about to have to leave you behind.”

Apologetically smiling, Sango replied “We’re sorry for being late.”

“What were you two doing anyways?” Inuyasha asked while sauntering up.

Sango instantly blushed a bit, but Miroku quickly cut in and said “If it’s time to go, we must quickly get some things we left at the Stronghold. Is that alright Iya?”

Iya simply nodded, much to Sesshomaru’s chagrin. Rushing off towards the Stronghold, Miroku dragged Sango along, leaving the group to watch them go.

Moving only close enough so Iya alone could hear, Sesshomaru lowly said “They have mated.”

Smirking back at Sesshomaru, Iya nodded lightly, only to earn the group’s look of curiosity. Frowning while sitting on Kagome’s shoulder, Shippou leapt over to Inuyasha’s shoulder and whispered in his ear “Why are Sango and Miroku’s scents different?”

“Feh, why you asking me runt!?” Inuyasha lowly grumbled in reply.

“Well, you’re older and should know.” Shippou sharply remarked.

“Feh, leave me alone runt!”

“But I’m…”

Without another word, Inuyasha grabbed Shippou by his tail and threw him off into the distance with Shippou loudly screaming before crashing into a nearby tree. He quickly fell to the ground with spiral eyes and lightly moaning. Lilly, Rin, and Orihime were quick to rush to him while Kagome clenched her fists angrily. Her eyes filled with fire and she stalked over to Inuyasha and jabbed a clawed finger into his chest.

“WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!? YOU COULD HAVE HURT SHIPPOU!” she snarled, making Inuyasha flatten his ears.

Not one to back down, Inuyasha gruffly replied “The runt had it coming. He wouldn’t leave me be.”

Growling loudly and putting her hands on her hips, Kagome heatedly shot back “He didn’t deserve to be thrown into a tree! You could have seriously hurt him!”

“Feh, the great fox demon Shippou wouldn’t ever get that hurt.” Inuyasha mockingly replied.

Clenching her hands, Kagome loudly shouted “SIT BOY! SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!!”

The prayer beads suddenly activated around Inuyasha’s neck and slammed him into the ground. With each command, he slammed harder and harder into the ground with a large yelp while creating a large hole in it.

Still furious, Kagome glared down into the hole and yelled “SIT!” once more, for good measure, making him yelp out once more in pain. Satisfied, she angrily stamped off over to where Shippou was while the others watched in a bit of shock.

“Miss Kagome is very scary when she’s angry.” Kohaku lowly muttered to Iya, who could only chuckle at the comment.

Sesshomaru lips lightly twitched at the comment, making Iya softly smirk inwardly. Seeing that the carnage was over, Iya walked over and checked on his younger brother and softly smirked. “That looked painful…” he softly mumbled into the hole.

“FEH!” was the only response to come from the hole.

After a few minutes, Inuyasha slowly rose up out of the hole, covered in dirt and dust. Shaking it off of him, he glared in Kagome’s direction and gnashed his teeth together in fury. He began to move in her direction, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder Glaring to see it was Iya, Inuyasha was about to yell something when Sango and Miroku came running back to the group.

“Sorry we held you guys up, but Sango left her Hiraikotsu behind, plus I decided to carry this staff instead of my old one.” Miroku explained.

Noting that the girls were all checking on Shippou, Miroku frowned and asked “What happened?”

Standing up with Shippou in her arms, Kagome emotionlessly said “Nothing. Let’s go.”

Raising an eyebrow, Miroku looked to Inuyasha for answers, only to find the half demon with a scowl on his face. Deciding not to ask at that moment, the group gathered up and prepared to leave.

Moving out, Iya and Sesshomaru took the lead with Lilly, Rin, and Kagome, who carried Shippou in her arms, falling in behind them. Sango and Miroku, with Kirara on Sango’s shoulder, fell into line next. Behind them, Ichigo, Kohaku, and Orihime followed, leaving Inuyasha, who was still fuming, in the rear of the group.

--

For nearly six straight hours, the group ran in formation. It was nearly dark now, so Iya decided to stop for the night and setup camp. Sesshomaru was somewhat against the idea, but after hearing Rin saying she was somewhat tired, dropped the issue.

After gathering up some fish for dinner and building a fire to cook them, the group went off and began their evening training. Things went well till exactly at dark, when suddenly something happened.

Without warning, in mid-sparing, Miroku’s body pulsated and forced him to fall to one knee, alarming Sango immediately. The others close by, Orihime and Kohaku, instantly came running to his side while Sango quickly fetched Iya. The pair soon returned to the former monk’s side.

“What’s happening to him Iya!?” Sango worriedly asked while holding her mate’s hand.

Sniffing Miroku, Iya frowned and took another sniff. Inhaling Miroku’s scent, Iya frowned once more till finally he deduced the problem.

Watching Miroku’s form pulsate once more, Iya softly said “It’s his night.”

Confused, Sango was about to ask when suddenly the sun finally sank from the sky completely, leaving nothing but the night sky with a quarter moon. With the sun completely gone, Miroku’s body pulsated again and again, till suddenly his hair color changed to black, his fangs shrank back to normal human teeth, and his fox ears vanished while human ones sprouted out the side of his face. His claws were next to shrink back to normal fingernail length. Lastly, his tail was sucked back into his body and his eyes changed from an emerald green to violet.

Looking at his hands in shock, Miroku stared up at Iya in confusion. “I’m human again?” he questioned.

Lightly chuckling, Iya softly said “It’s your period of weakness Miroku. In other words, the night you lose all your demonic powers and become a human.”

Looking up to the sky, he added “Tonight’s moon phase is the Quarter Moon. Interesting…”

“Why is that interesting?” Sango asked with a bit of worry.

Softly chuckling, Iya warmly said “The very few half fox demons I’ve met have always transformed into a human during a crescent moon. Heh, they say that it’s due to the lure the crescent moon has on fox demons.”

“Lure?” Miroku questioned while standing up.

Smirking, Iya replied “Foxes, much like wolves and dogs, are very fascinated with the moon, but only the crescent one. It’s due that they think so much of it was stolen.”

“Oh…” both Sango and Miroku replied lightly.

In a serious tone, Iya calmly said “Stay close to camp tonight Miroku. I don’t want anything to happen to you while you’re human, understand?”

Getting a nod, Iya softened his expression and said “Good. I guess for now, Sango, just relax and protect Miroku. We’ll quit our training in the next hour or so.”

Nodding in reply, Sango pulled the monk behind her to a nearby tree and the two sat down at the base of it. Satisfied that they’d be fine for the time being, Iya got back to working with Lilly in her sword training.

--

With training finishing up, the girls found a hot spring nearby and begged the others to let them go to it. Iya simply shrugged and warned them to keep their senses open in case they were attacked like recently, which Orihime agreed to do. With that decided, the five girls left the camp and went to the hot spring.

One by one, the girls disrobed and lowered themselves into the hot steamy water. Each let out soft moans from the warm waters reaction to their skin and relaxed against some rocks.

Noting a set of twin dots on the juncture of Sango’s neck and shoulder, Kagome curiously asked “Sango, what’s that?”

Knowing Kagome had spotted the mark, Sango smiled and remained quiet. Not getting an answer, Kagome decided to ask another question. “Where were you and Miroku last night?”

“We went out for a while.” Sango softly remarked.

Frowning, Kagome finally asked “What happened?”

Lightly smiling, Sango warmly said “We mated last night.”

Hearing those words, Kagome accidentally slipped and fell deeper into the water. She soon came out of the water sputtering and coughing. “You two did WHAT!?”

“We mated last night Kagome.” Sango repeated. “You know what mating is, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know, but I didn’t expect you and Miroku to do it.” Kagome remarked. “I thought the two of you were going to get married instead…”

Frowning, Sango softly said “We wanted to, but something arose that made us mate instead…”

“What?” Rin asked, making Sango blush a bit.

“What it was doesn’t matter really.” Lilly cut in. “We should just be happy for her.”

Looking to Lilly with a bit of shock on her face, Sango warmly smiled when Lilly winked at her. “Thank you for the save Lilly.”

“I guess so.” Kagome mumbled. Smiling great big, she moved to Sango and embraced her in a hug. “Congratulations Sango!”

Moving forward, Lilly did the same, followed by Rin and Orihime. Finally done with the hugging, Sango leaned back against the warm rock and closed her eyes.

“So, when are you two going to start having pups?”

Opening her eyes immediately to stare at Orihime in shock, Sango slowly asked in shock “Pups…”

“Yeah, you know, what you get from having sex? Tell me you know where pups come from.” Orihime replied.

Blushing deeply, Sango sank into the water deeper to hide her face while Rin frowned a bit and asked “Where do pups come from?”

“Very good question Rin!” Orihime chirped with a smile. “You know about having your monthly, right?”

Lightly blushing a bit, Rin nodded. She remembered that Momo had sat her down during her first time and explained to her what was happening, although it was a condensed version due that Sesshomaru had instructed Momo on what to say exactly.

Kagome, Sango, and Lilly each grimaced at the thought of where the conversation was going. Getting her response, Orihime smiled and said “Well, right after your monthly, you’re fertile, meaning if you have sex, you run the risk of getting pregnant! Once you’re pregnant, you carry the pup around in you for five months if it’s a full demon, seven if it’s hanyou, and nine if it’s human. Eventually, the time comes and you have the pup, which comes out between your legs!”

Rin looked in shock, fear, and grimace back towards the other girls while Orihime kept on smiling. The three other girls each heavily sighed, pondering if Orihime had any modesty at all.

--

“I take it things went alright?” Iya softly asked.

Turning his glance to Iya, Miroku nodded and pulled his collar down a bit on his tunic to reveal a mating mark on his lower neck. “Yes, everything went alright.”

Seeing the mark while sitting in the nearby tree, Shippou leapt out of it and onto Miroku’s shoulder. “Miroku, where were you and Sango last night, and what is that mark?”

“Well Shippou, last night, me and Sango had wild, crazy …”

Earning a glare and a loud growl from Inuyasha, Miroku gulped at the wordless threat and slowly said “We became mates.”

“Mates!?” Ichigo quickly questioned with a raised eyebrow. Smirking, he added “That explains a lot.”

“Feh, a whole lot. No wonder you two were late and your scents were different. Here I thought I was just losing my mind.” Inuyasha commented.

Kohaku remained quiet, but took in the conversation. In his mind, he was smiling, for he was happy for his sister, but sad at the same time that he seemed alone now.

Smiling at the former monk, Iya calmly said “I congratulate you on your successful mating. I wish you a long life with her.”

“Thanks. I’ll need it with the way she reacts whenever I grab her…”

Without warning, Miroku got walloped on the head by Inuyasha, causing a small bump to form. “OW!” Miroku quickly yelled out and held his head. “Damn it, I’m not used to this much pain.”

Softly chuckling at Miroku, Iya said “You’ll get used to it. Besides, it only happens once a month.”

“I guess…” Miroku muttered while rubbing his lump.

Smirking with mischief in his eyes, Ichigo asked “When are you two going to start having pups?”

Miroku blushed lightly at the question while Shippou frowned. After a moment of silence, he asked “Miroku, where do pups come from?”

Instantly, Ichigo, Inuyasha, Kohaku, and Iya burst out into fits of laughter, with Inuyasha falling to his side while laughing so hard. Miroku could only heavily blush at the question while selecting his words carefully.

After a minute, he finally smirked and retorted “Well Shippou, where they come from is…”

Before he could say a word more, Inuyasha bonked the monk on the head hard, making him yelp out in pain and cradle his new lump.

“You’re too young to know yet.” was the only response Inuyasha gave, effectively ending the conversation.