A New Path

When they reached camp again, without the firewood, everyone was a little suspicious. Miroku was the most suspicious of all of them. He decided that he and Sango needed to have a private talk, but he wouldn’t have a chance until later that night. Sango, Kagome and Litara all clustered together around the fire, with Sesshomaru hovering close by of course. Litara sat to the right of Sesshomaru, with Kagome to her right and Sango to Kagome’s right. Shippo sat on the ground in front of Kagome. Miroku, Kilala and Inuyasha sat on the other side of the fire. They ate stew and talked. Well, the girls talked and the boys listened.
“I’ve always wanted a spring wedding, but it is almost the end of summer and I don’t think Sesshomaru will want to wait that long.” Kagome said.
“Well, there are advantages to a late summer wedding. You said that you wanted it to be at your family’s shrine right?” Litara said.
“Yes, the well is there and so is the ancient Inuyasha tree. I want to be married under the tree, and near the well house.” Kagome replied.
“Since you need time to plan, the wedding will be at a perfect time. It will be at just the right time for the leaves to begin to turn to beautiful colors, and it will still be warm enough to be comfortable, with a breeze to keep it from being too warm.” Litara said.
“That’s right! The weather should be just about perfect, and since your grandfather is a priest and the guests are going to be limited you don’t have to have a definite day! You can wait for the perfect day.” Sango said.
“I see what you mean. It’ll only be you guys and my close family. You have to stay at my house while we are in my time anyway, and my mother wont begin the feast until the morning of the wedding anyway. This IS perfect!” Kagome said. She turned to Sesshomaru and smiled happily at him. Her wedding, and their mating, was going to be wonderful! She thought of something then.
“Litara, do you think it might be possible to combine the wedding and mating ceremony instead of having two ceremonies?” She asked.
“It could be. I’d have to learn more about the wedding ritual, and tell you about the mating one. Then we should be able to find a way to combine them, if not too many things conflict.” Litara said.
Kagome looked at Sesshomaru questioningly. She knew that she didn’t have to voice her request; he could tell what she wanted to ask. He nodded at her, and then smiled one of his rare smiles, just for her to see.
“This Sesshomaru would not be opposed to combining the rituals, if it will make you happy my mate. Also, I believe that it will result in a sooner fulfillment than the other plan.” He said.
Inuyasha kept spooning up stew, almost angrily. Even if he had decided to search for his true soul-mate, he still felt pain at the loss of Kagome. He would always love her, and only time would ease his suffering, time; or the emergence of his soul-mate. Litara noticed the violent way he was eating, and decided to goad him about it.
“You know Inuyasha; if you continue to eat in that manner people will start to think that you are more a common animal than a demon.” She said disdainfully. This enraged him even more, and began a fight.
“Look woman, just because you are Kagome’s maid/protector or whatever you are doesn’t mean that I can’t pound you for being rude!” He yelled.
“My, aren’t we testy this afternoon. Aren’t you being slightly hypocritical Inuyasha? It seems to me that you quite frequently manage to make everyone present wonder whether you have any manners at all.” She replied calmly.
“I don’t have to sit here and listen to this! I’m going hunting, Shippo if you want to come along you better be able to keep up!” He replied, downing the last of his lunch in almost a single gulp and glaring at the young kitsune. Shippo hurriedly finished his stew and looked to Kagome for permission to go with Inuyasha. She smiled at him and thought of something.
“Shippo, I’m going to be very busy with this wedding and mating. Do you think it would be alright if Litara took care of you for a while? Whatever she tells you to do you should do, and you should ask her for permission for things. Also, you know that you are allowed to go off with Inuyasha, just make sure Litara knows that you are with him so that she doesn’t worry.” She said. Shippo understood that she wasn’t abandoning him, just making sure that he would be taken care of while she was busy. He nodded, said thank you and ran off after Inuyasha. Litara smiled at Kagome. She spoke when Inuyasha was out of earshot.
“Thank you Kagome, you just aided me tremendously with my plan. Inuyasha sees Shippo as a young protégé, and being near him all the time will keep me near Inuyasha. And I don’t mind looking after him.” She said. Kagome smiled.
“I’m glad that you are keeping Inuyasha from his grief, and I hope that your heart’s desire is fulfilled by him. I wish you the best of luck and my blessing.” She said.
Sesshomaru gasped. He suddenly realized what his mate was referring to. Litara was in love with Inuyasha, and Kagome just saved a lot of trouble by giving her blessing, and by making him aware of the situation. Since Inuyasha was a former suitor of Kagome, and a former love, she was telling Litara that she didn’t mind her being with him by giving her blessing.
“My mate is very perceptive, for I did not see this. I also extend my blessing Litara, if he consents to give it to you, my brother’s heart is yours.” He said. Litara blushed. Then she remembered the strange smell coming off of Sango and the lack of firewood.
“Miroku, since Inuyasha is gone and Sango already went for wood, perhaps you would like to go and get some firewood. Sango should stay here so that we can talk about the wedding some more.” She said.
“Alright.” Miroku said. He walked off into the forest, for he had no desire to sit idly listening to girls gush over a wedding. Sango smiled and spoke when he was out of earshot.
“Thank you Litara. Earlier Inuyasha made me aware of my strange scent, and of the cause for it. I am pregnant, and I would appreciate it if all of you demons would keep it a secret for a while.” She said. Kagome squealed.
“Of course Sango! I can’t wait for you to tell him, this is so exciting!” She said.
“We will keep your secret Demon Slayer.” Sesshomaru said.
“I thought that’s what Inuyasha told you. Don’t worry, the Monk will not learn of this from us. I imagine that you will make the moment special when you tell him. Litara said.
“Yes, I want it to be very special. Don’t worry Kagome, I have a feeling that it will be tonight. Miroku is sure to be very suspicious by now.” She said.
Miroku came back into camp a few minutes later, carrying firewood. He put the wood down onto the woodpile, then motioned for Sesshomaru to come speak with him. Sesshomaru nodded and they walked out of earshot.
“We may want to stay around the well for a while, since Kagome will need to go back and forth to her time to prepare for the wedding/mating. You have preparations to make as well however. What do you want to do?” Miroku said.
“I believe that I will leave Kagome here in the care of Litara and Sango. They will all be safe in Kaede’s village. I would like for you and Inuyasha to come with me back to my castle to make my own preparations. You and Sango should talk about it before making any decisions however. I believe most of the time they will be in Kagome’s time, so they will be safe. Inuyasha must come with me however.” Sesshomaru said. Miroku looked at him a little funny then shrugged and nodded. They returned to the girls. Kagome was in the middle of explaining the wedding customs to the others.
“There is this amazing white dress, specially made just for the bride to wear to her wedding. It can have all sorts of jewels and decorations on it, and it is usually made of the finest satin.” Kagome said.
“That may be a problem. During the mating ceremony the female always wears the color of her family, and the kimono is silk.” Litara said.
“Well, can’t I wear a dress instead of a kimono? Also, it is alright if I wear a different color, white is just supposed to represent purity of the bride.” Kagome said.
“I’m sure that will be alright. Now, what about vows? Is there room for them in your wedding ritual?” Litara asked.
“Of course, that is the most important part. The bride and groom make up vows of love and loyalty to recite to each other. It is one of the binding parts of the ceremony.”
“Well, I’m afraid you won’t be able to make up your own vow. There is a ritual vow of your family, which I will look up for you, that you must say to bind the families together. Those will have to take the place of the vows you mentioned.” Litara said.
“That’s fine. We have other ways to express our loyalty and love anyway.” Kagome said.
“It looks like this will work. The ceremonies seem very similar and everything can be amended to fit together. Kagome’s mother wants to and has to give her away, which fits the mating ceremony, Kagome’s grandfather will be the priest, which fits both ceremonies, and her brother is her oldest male relative other than the priest, so he fits as well. Sesshomaru has Inuyasha, and since he is the Lord of the Western Lands, he doesn’t have to ask for permission. What’s left to prepare?” Sango said.
“We have to find the dress and modify it, then decide what food to have, how to decorate and make sure that we have everything we need to make it binding. We can’t leave anything out.” Litara said.
“This means that we will be spending a lot of time in my time period. Litara, can you alter your appearance to look human?” Kagome said.
“Yes, it is a simple matter for a full demon.”
“Then all we need is to find Sango some modern clothes that fit, and to go shopping!” Kagome said.
“I am looking forward to finally seeing your time Kagome.” Sango said. Then Sesshomaru spoke up.
“If the monk and demon slayer agree, then the men and I will go to my palace to prepare my part of the ritual, and you ladies will stay here in Kaede’s village and in Kagome’s shrine to prepare your parts. I trust that Litara is up to protecting that which needs it here.” He said.
“Oh Sesshomaru! I will miss you, but thank you for allowing me the time and space I need to prepare. We should probably head back to the village before it gets dark.” Kagome said. They packed up camp and called for Inuyasha. Litara yelled what was going on to him, so that when they were done hunting they would come to the village not the campsite. They headed back to the village, with Litara in the lead, followed by the two couples holding hands.


Ok guys. Sorry but that is it for tonight. The next part will be a lemon, and I’m not very much in the mood to write that right now. I’ll work on it asap though, and I’ll write all the non Lemony stuff while I wait for lemon inspiration. The wedding isn’t really that far away, and things will start to speed up once I get the preparation out of the way. Goodnight!