A/N: It's a new month and so here we are; enjoy this month's chapter! As always, I'm delighted you all are continuing to enjoy the story!

Kagome waited with her family in the dining room, trying to contain her anxiousness as they waited for Hamasaki-sama and Noriko-sama to join them.

This time, however, she was determined to not allow Hamasaki-sama to leave the room without giving her the answers she sought.

InuYasha sat next to Shippo, both of them picking up on her tension, as did Sesshomaru, who kept a calming hand on her shoulder. Even Hikaru seemed keyed up, fidgeting in her lap and squirming as though he planned to dash off if she let loose her attention and grip for even a second.

"It will be well, Kagome," Sesshomaru rumbled to her quietly, his voice soothing.

Just then, the doors opened and a servant showed Hamasaki-sama and his daughter in.

"Good morning, Sesshomaru-sama," Hamasaki-sama greeted them loudly, his tone jovial though his tone was bellied by the seriousness in his eyes. "Good morning, Kagome-sama."

Sesshomaru offered his own greetings in turn.

Kagome decided she'd had enough of propriety and enough of secrets. As Hamasaki-sama sat down with his daughter, Kagome lifted her chin. "I want to know what you know about my son, Hamasaki-sama, and his family."

Hamasaki-sama turned to face her and Sesshomaru in surprise. "Sesshomaru-sama," he began, his expression concerned, "you must know that this breaks—"

"This involves my son," Kagome said, lifting her chin as she stared down the other daiyokai. "You'll have to forgive me if my impatience overcomes my propriety, but I'm sure you would do the same if it involved your daughter, Hamasaki-sama."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sesshomaru's expression shift to one of pride.

Some of the tension left her body. Sesshomaru is supporting me, she noted with relief.

"Father," Noriko-sama said gently, laying her hand on her father's arms. "If you know something, please. If we are to unite our two families," she added with a level look at InuYasha, who flushed, "we should be willing to aid them as though they are already our own."

Well said, Kagome noted, filing that away for later. It appeared that Sesshomaru was right that Hamasaki-sama had been instructing his daughter likely as well as his son in politics.

Hamasaki-sama was silent for a long moment as Kagome's anxiety spiked.

What if he decides not to? She bit her lower lip. What if he decides to just pack up and leave? What if—

Sesshomaru's hand tenderly cupped her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze and she found the calm she needed to take a breath.

She kept her shoulders square and took another breath. She would resort to begging if she had to, but she wanted to present a united front with Sesshomaru if she could.

Finally, Hamasaki-sama sighed. "I can only speculate, Kagome-sama, so I wished to know more before I hazarded a guess." He held up a clawed hand as his daughter opened her mouth. "However, in good faith for the union of our two families, I will tell you the little I know."

Kagome unconsciously cuddled Hikaru closer to her, only aware of it when her son squeaked out a protest.

She loosened her grip and gave him an apologetic hug. "Please," she said to Hamasaki-sama, well aware that he could probably hear every nuance of every feeling she had then.

"I had hoped to present information on your son with the formal exchanging of gifts," Hamasaki-sama continued with a light cough and, to Kagome's surprise, a light blush at his cheeks. "As you are no doubt aware, my pack has a territory to the south. It is a respectable territory, though it in no way compares to that of your mate and his father before him."

Hamasaki-sama settled back on his cushion. "However, along with our ties to your noble house, we have ties with a pack to the east of us, following the recent mating of my eldest, Chimon, to the youngest daughter of that pack, Hiromi-sama. She has only resided with us since winter and we were never close with her pack until the mating." He inclined his head. "However, Hiromi-sama has occasionally spoken of an elder sister, Hayami-sama, who no longer resides with the pack."

Kagome felt a shiver up her side.

Sesshomaru immediately reached out and pulled her to his side, wrapping one arm around her waist.

"Her father apparently refuses to speak of Hayami-sama, so I can only speculate—" Hamasaki-sama continued, only to be interrupted by his own daughter.

"She left the pack," Noriko-sama said in a soft voice. At her father's surprised look, she shrugged. "We females speak, Father."

"What else do you know, Noriko-sama?" Sesshomaru prompted.

"As you know, Sesshomaru-sama, it is not uncommon for males of our kind to wander," Noriko-sama said, giving Kagome a reassuring smile. Kagome was abruptly aware that Noriko-sama was explaining this for her benefit and suspected it was not the first time Noriko-sama had deliberately chosen to explain the ways of her kind to humans.

She's considerate, Kagome noted, pleased, and all the more in favor of a marriage between her friend and the inuyokai. There was a lot Noriko-sama could teach InuYasha, and the gentle way she explained left no room for offense.

"It is even more common for those males without strong pack ties of their own," Noriko-sama continued and suddenly Kagome wondered if that, in part, was why Sesshomaru himself had wandered after his father's death. "They may wander for decades until they find land or a pack of their own."

Sesshomaru inclined his head in a nod of understanding, though he did not relinquish his hold on Kagome.

Hamasaki-sama for his part, settled back, allowing his daughter to continue.

Noriko-sama shrugged. "I should have put the facts together myself," she said apologetically, giving Kagome a short nod of her head. "But according to Hiromi-sama, one such male arrived in their own territory. He was young, but no so young he did not understand what it entailed when he challenged their father for Hayami-sama's hand after meeting her."

"Hiromi-sama claimed it was love at first sight," she said with a small smile. "But her father refused to entertain the challenge and refused the mating as well. He stated the such a mating had no value for the pack or for his daughter." She sighed. "As Hiromi-sama tells it, Hayami-sama defied her father and left to be with her lover, mating him anyway. Her father disowned her after that, but Hayami-sama simply took her new mate with her and they left to start a pack of their own."

"Do you know the male's name?" Kagome asked when Noriko-sama fell silent.

But Noriko-sama shook her head. "I apologize, Kagome-sama, but I do not. I'm not even sure if Hiromi-sama knew. Her father was quite adamant about expelling the male from his lands."

"As is his right," Hamasaki-sama said, raising a sardonic brow. "Unrelated males do not often intermingle within an established pack well and if her father was opposed to the mating, he would have no choice but to expel the male to prevent disruptions to the pack."

"Even if they were in love?" Kagome asked, her heart clenching for the young couple.

Hamasaki-sama gave her an apologetic look. "Especially then," he said quietly. "It is a father's duty and joy to ensure his children are happy and content, both while they live within his pack and once they leave to join or form their own. I can only assume her father found some fault with this male that we ourselves are unaware of."

Kagome looked up to Sesshomaru, wanting to see the truth in his eyes.

Sesshomaru gave her a short nod.

She then looked down at her son, a surge of protectiveness welling within her. Was she really so different, she wondered. Would she have done differently if she had to protect her own son?

No, she promised herself. She would not let anyone, herself and Sesshomaru included, stand in the way of her own son's happiness.

"I'm sorry I don't know more, Kagome-sama," Noriko-sama added apologetically. "I can write to Hiromi-sama—"

"It would be better if I wrote to her father," Hamasaki-sama said, his voice reverberating through the room. "If your son is indeed Hayami-sama's child, he has the right to know what has happened to his blood and kin."

InuYasha snorted. "Does he?" he demanded, his ears twitching. "He kicked his own daughter out. Doesn't sound like a caring father to me."

"And what would you know?" Hamasaki-sama demanded in return. "You are half-human and possess none of our instincts."

"Father!" Noriko-sama rose to her feet, glowering at her father. "That is enough. I will not sit here and allow you to mock the male I intend to mate."

Kagome honestly was not sure who was more surprised at that pronouncement: InuYasha, Hamasaki-sama, or Kagome herself.

Sesshomaru, however, began to chuckle, ignoring Kagome's nudge to his side.

"It is not too late to change your mind," Hamasaki-sama said after a moment, coughing lightly to hide his conflicted expression.

Noriko-sama raised her chin as though daring her father to defy her. "He is honorable," she challenged as though daring her father to disagree. "He may be clumsy at times," InuYasha flushed at that, "but his heart is sincere. He desires to protect those around him."

"Furthermore," she continued loudly, "he is connected to the most powerful inuyokai pack in Nippon. His alpha is the Inu no Taisho and is mated to the famed Shikon Miko who banished the Shaken jewel with naught but her own will. His brother also possesses the Fang of Heaven and InuYasha-sama possesses a famed fang of his own. What reason, Father, could you think of to deny me my right to suit?"

Kagome's own face flushed; her own story was evidently becoming something of a legend already.

Hamasaki-sama gaped at his own daughter and then turned to Sesshomaru as though expecting Sesshomaru to do something about his daughter's willfulness.

Sesshomaru simply shrugged as though to say I have no concerns.

"This is not how I wished to hear of your acceptance," Hamasaki-sama said finally with a tired sigh. "Rest assured, daughter, that I have no concerns with such a mating so long as InuYasha-sama himself does not."

InuYasha himself was bright red and could only shake his head no, he had no objections.

Hamasaki-sama clapped his hands. "Then we must celebrate this union—"

"No." Noriko-sama did not sit down and instead gave Kagome a reassuring smile. "Kagome-sama wishes to know of her son, Father. My mating gift to my new alphas will be to find out the truth of Hikaru's parentage myself. If," she added with a light flush, "InuYasha-sama would be willing to accompany me?"

InuYasha somehow managed to blush even brighter, to Kagome's own amusement.

Kagome herself was touched by Noriko-sama's offer and she wasn't entirely sure the protocol. She didn't want to offend Noriko-sama by insisting to find the truth herself, nor did she want to interfere in InuYasha's new relationship.

At a loss, she turned to Sesshomaru, who was inclining his head. "If this is what InuYasha wishes as well, this one would be honored by such an offer, Noriko-sama, and would be proud to call you both pack and sister."

Noriko-sama herself flushed but nodded herself. "Father," she said with a respectful nod to her own father, who seemed a bit dazed by the turn of events. "InuYasha-sama and I will leave this afternoon to investigate this for Kagome-sama and Sesshomaru-sama, with your blessing. We will use the time to get to know one another further in preparation for our mating upon our return."

She extended a clawed hand to InuYasha, who took it, and to Kagome's amusement, he had no qualms about letting Noriko-sama pull him to his feet. They left the room and Hamasaki-sama took the silence as an opportunity to stand and give a short bow of his own.

"I look forward to the inevitable mating and union," Hamasaki-sama said, his tone light. "My daughter has always been one to know her own mind and I hope you will find no fault in her for that."

"My mate is something of a similar being," Sesshomaru returned with a small smile of his own.

"I had noticed," Hamasaki-sama said with a small chuckle. "If you will excuse me, I wish to provide my daughter and her mate-to-be a gift for their departure."

Sesshomaru inclined his head again in agreement and Hamasaki-sama left the room, leaving Kagome, Shippo, Hikaru, and Sesshomaru alone in the dining room.

"I was going to offer my own help," Shippo suddenly spoke up with a chuckle of his own, "but Inubaka beat me to it. Man, what a show." He laughed harder at Kagome's pointed look for the old nickname. "Don't worry, K'gome. They'll find out the truth about your son."

She sighed. "I still can't believe InuYasha agreed so easily," she murmured. "I had thought—"

Shippo began laughing harder. "You missed all the pheromones wafting off of them, then—"

"Shippo," Sesshomaru interrupted, raising a brow. "Be quiet."

Shippo's mouth snapped shut and he laughed awkwardly. "Maybe now would be a good time to show Hikaru some of the tricks I learned in school?" he said with an awkward cough.

"You may," Sesshomaru agreed calmly, "outside."

"Right," Shippo said slowly, standing up and moving to collect Hikaru. "Just you wait," he said once Hikaru was in his arms. "Uncle Shippo is going to show you all of the best tricks."

"We may wish to limit the kitsune's impact," Sesshomaru noted dryly once Shippo had left, "or our children will likely as not be playing tricks on the guards."

Kagome laughed. "I doubt there's anything too crazy he can teach Hikaru. Right?"

Sesshomaru raised a brow.

Kagome tried to rise, suddenly filled with mental pictures of Shippo's old tricks. What if Hikaru fell off Shippo in balloon form—

Another servant threw open the door with a panicked expression and dropped to the floor in a frantic bow. "Forgive me, my lords, but the Honorable Lady Mother has arrived—"

Honorable Lady Mother?

Sesshomaru let out the deepest sigh she'd ever heard. "Hello, Mother," he greeted as the most beautiful inuyokai Kagome had ever seen sauntered into the room, wearing so many layers that Kagome was impressed she could move at all.

"My beloved son," the inuyokai greeted in turn, flashing a vibrant and large fan. "How you have hurt your mother so. I hear I have a new daughter and a grandson and," she sniffed loudly, "you did not even bother to notify your own mother. Truly, there is no greater betrayal."

Sesshomaru simply sighed again and Kagome let out a sigh of her own, eying the untouched breakfast table. Evidently, she noted, the kami simply have something against my enjoyment of breakfast today.