As the young hanyo prince continued on, seeking to race the setting sun, the tops of the burned weathered castle towers came into sight. He let out a sigh of relief as it became evident that not much, if anything, had decayed any worse since he'd last been there fifty years before. He hadn't exactly had a plan b if the remaining shelters and supplies stored under them were diminished to rubble.

Inuyasha's wounds ached, his muscles extremely sore from multiple strikes of the Thunder Brothers' attacks, but he didn't show it as he continued on. He knew the woman currently sleeping on his back was far too weak to reach the castle a mile off yet on her own legs, whether she thought so or not. Not to mention, he knew the sooner he just got her and the kid she insisted on dragging along somewhere safe, the better.

Today had been too close, way too close. She'd been taken from him and the things that could have happened to her, that that bastard Hiten had insinuated would have happened to her, made him feel sick. She seemed okay, but he hadn't really gotten much of a chance to ask her what those creeps had done to her, what happened to her clothes and so on. He didn't really want to ask, but at the same time, didn't want to keep running in circles wondering either.

Knowing Kagome, she'd probably just chatter on about it anyway so he wouldn't have to figure out how to approach her about what she went through, and what was done to her.

As he slowed down upon approaching the most intact of the ruined castle buildings, said woman started stirring a little, lifting her head from his shoulder with a soft noise. Her blue eyes looked up at the shadowy, heavily weathered building and Inuyasha felt her hand grip onto his shoulder tighter.

"Is this the place?" she asked softly, and he nodded, crouching to set her down. Shippo, who had fallen down between them as he dozed off tumbled to the ground, grunting.

"Stay with the runt while I check it out," Inuyasha says, not looking at her and she nods, crouching down and picking up the grumbling child.

"Okay," She replies, looking at Shippo and brushing her fingers through his hair, "Just be careful."

"Anything stupid enough to take shelter here would probably hardly be a challenge," He says gruffly, and she just watches silently as he steps into the shadows of the ruined castle.

"Maybe so, but you're hurt a lot worse than last night," She thought as Shippo looked up at her.

"Where is this place, Kagome?" he asked, and she looked around before settling on the trees on the horizon. just below the setting sun staining the sky a brilliant red.

"I think just east of the Musashi," She says, "If I'm right, that thick forest below the sun is where the castle is, though I don't know for sure. I came from the south and I think the Thunder Brothers' stronghold was a ways off from where Inuyasha and I were originally heading home."

Shippo was about to ask another question when a grunt and loud thud caused them both to look back at the building. There was a string of curses uttered and Kagome slowly walks up towards the vaguely creepy building.

"Inuyasha? Are you okay in there?" She asks softly, stopping at the doorway and looking in. She saw him crouched on the ground; several beams pulled up from the floor. He was sniffing around and then looked up at her.

"I told you to wait outside," he grumbled, and she just looks at him. Standing up, he sighed, "I was just making sure everything is still where I left it."

"Left it?" She asks looking around and noticing in the fading light that the ruins of the charred palace quarters were relatively well furnished, with a gathering of clay pots along one wall and a large, mud-covered trunk sitting next to them. A tattered silk screen created a private corner, and she could see a large pile of dusty covered, deteriorating furs sticking out from behind it "Inuyasha, did you used to-"

"I'm going to go try to find something to eat," he says, cutting her off and completely disregarding the slight tremor in her voice, "See if you and the kid can get a fire started in the pit. There should be enough dry wood laying around outside. There's a drinking well out back in the garden next to the dry pond, so go ahead and fill some of the jugs and wash up." He started to push past her, but she grabbed his arm. "What? That too hard for you, Princess?

"Of course not! What do you take me for!" Kagome snaps back before looking away from his face, tracing her finger over the blood-soaked fabric of his suikan, "It's just, you're injured a lot worse than last night. You don't need to go running after something on my account. I'll be okay not eating for one night. I'm not that frail." She looked back up at him and he carefully picked up her hand, pulling it away from his coat.

"And I'm not so helpless that I can't go track a couple rabbit wrens and get something to eat for all three of us," he snaps back at her, "I'll be back before the rain starts." He shrugged her off and she just blinked at him as he ran away.

"I know you aren't helpless," she thought, "But you aren't invincible either, Inuyasha. Especially not exhausted and wounded from such a battle."

Shippo jumps out of her arms and walks over to the pit Inuyasha had been digging in and sniffed around, "Hey, he was right! There's a fire pit here!"

Kagome smiled at the endearing little child. He had lost his whole clan just that morning, and she knew from her own experience of losing her father that tonight would likely be a very long, rough one for him once they settled in and the excitement of the day faded away.

He would need a distraction, however brief it may be until she could figure out some way to comfort him.

"Do you think you could use your kitsune magic and build up a nice fire to cook the meat when Inuyasha gets back?" She asked, crouching on the edge of the drop off from the edge of the old, crumbling floor.

He looked back up at the mortal princess and stuck his hands on his little hips, standing tall. "Don't you worry, Kagome. I'll start you a fire in no time, just as soon as I find some good tinder and firewood." He hopped up out of the pit and scurried past her before peaking back in the doorway, "You will be alright while I'm gone, right?"

"As long as you don't go too far," She says, standing back up and nodding to him. "I'll go back to the garden and gather some water."

"Okay!" He says excitedly. He scampered back out of the building, leaving her alone in the shadows once again. She looked around a moment, taking in the dust covered objects long the wall.

The mud-covered trunk was once very elegant, edged in gold plating and inlaid with carvings of inu-yokai and Sakura branches. It was ancient, a family heirloom of the castle's former masters no doubt. She ran her fingers across it and realized that the mud was still wet.

Was this what that loud noise was? Why had Inuyasha bothered digging something like this up under the pretense of making sure everything was where he left it? What on earth could be inside it?

Thunder boomed overhead and she quickly shook her head of the curious thoughts. She felt like she hadn't bathed in ages and her feet stung from the unwashed cuts and scrapes. The trunk could wait. She was thirsty and wanted to clean up. Even if she didn't have anything to change into, she could still wash off some of the dirt and grime of rolling around in a stony gorge.

Grunting, she bent down and picked up two of the large jugs that were lined up along the wall. They were tied together with a sturdy rope, which she easily slung around her shoulders, carrying the water containers outside. 

She followed a small footpath of bare earth around the side of the small building. As she walked, she noticed large sheets of leather patching over holes in the charred, once, elegantly constructed quarters.

Someone had definitely been lived here since whatever fire destroyed the rest of what she was quite sure, was once a beautiful, grand castle. As she came to the back corner, the sight of the so-called garden took her breath away.

You'd never know by looking at the desolate sight that was the side of the ruins they had approached from that such a beautiful, lush place lay hidden behind it. The plants that had obviously once been planted in a grand domestic display had reclaimed their wild spirit, overgrowing and flourishing in the marshy ground. Fragrant flowers bloomed in an array of colors, and butterflies fluttered through the green ferns and tall grasses.

It was gorgeous.

Staring for a few heartbeats, just taking in this beautiful, peaceful place, she noticed the wood of the small well Inuyasha spoke of. Stepping over to it, she sat down on the edge and began drawing water from the convenient rope and wooden bucket.

Yes, someone had lived here after the fire, scrounging together things to repair the least touched chambers and using what hadn't been destroyed, like the grand, once beautifully painted terracotta vases she carried, for much more practical features than their intended use.

And Kagome had a feeling she knew who.

Standing up, Kagome carefully balanced the now dense, heavy weight across her tired shoulders. She turned to head back inside when she noticed something reflecting the fading orange sunlight, gleaming among a dense bed of star lilies.

Carefully allowing the makeshift water jugs rest upon the ground again, the young mortal woman ducked out of her yoke and approached the patch of pale greenish white flowers. Her hand tentatively reached into the long leaves, feeling cool stone against her fingers. Kneeling down, her fingers gently brushed the long silken leaves to the side and glimpsed a large granite marker sticking up, out of the soil.

It was the most peculiar thing she had ever seen. Not only because it was a grave in the middle of a castle garden, but because it wasn't just a simple grey stone. That wouldn't have caused the glimmer in the sun beam. Instead, it was full of veins of crystal, stone flower she thought it was, running like tiny rivers down a mountain.

The crude, but clearly lovingly carved characters read:

Gekkō Izayoi
1st Hime of the Gekkō Clan

"Izayoi?" Kagome whispered, "The woman Myoga compared me to?" But what on earth was a human princess' remains doing in the middle of an overgrown palace garden.

Her fingers gently traced over the characters of the woman's name, feeling faint traces of something, an echo of the one who had laid her to rest and etched the words in a beautiful stone. As she came to the bottom of the longest line, she noticed something else, another inscription written just above the small mound of dirt.

"Mother," She whispered before looking up at the technicolor sky, feeling the wind rustling in her hair. The energy, the youki that was left as a faint trace was quite obvious to her, familiar.

Myoga knew this woman, would refer to her beauty in passing to Inuyasha right in front of his wife for one reason, and one reason only, which was confirmed as soon as she revealed the small word that he wrote where it wouldn't be seen by a passerby.

Gekkō Izayoi was Lady Taisho. The mortal woman taken as a bride and as the mate of Lord Toga, the Inu no Taisho.

Inuyasha's mother, who died when he was still a child.

Adjusting her position, she carefully removed her hand from the stone and folded her hands in prayer, offering up her genuine respect for the long dead woman. In that moment, she expressed her regret that she had no offering for her husband's mother, not even in the form of a sweet incense. Even more so that she present herself in such an immodest way, dressed as she was.

She didn't know how long she sat there, silently conversing about the man the deceased woman hadn't gotten to see grow up. Telling her about what a beautiful soul she had come to find, how strong and kind he was beneath the rough exterior he put up. How proud she must be of who he was, and wonders of if what Kagome saw in this woman's son was what had drawn another mortal princess to a different inu-yokai.

She was bowed, gently kissing the ground as she heard soft footsteps coming up on her. Carefully sitting up, she kept her eyes on the shining stone, gently running her fingers along the velvet petal of one of the lilies. As she felt the brush of his youki against her, she stopped, resting her hand in her lap again as the footsteps stopped.

"I know I asked you not to push yourself on my account, but I didn't expect you back quite so soon," She says softly, "I barely had time to fill two water jugs."

Inuyasha blinked at her, letting a deep breath from his nose, unsure what to say. When he had returned, the hunt hardly taking him outside what was once the castle grounds, and looked in the old palace chamber, the kitsune runt had told him Kagome had gone outback some time ago for water and not yet returned.

When he saw her, he had momentarily been angry at her intrusion, the implication of her crouched in front of his mother's grave. But he had stopped when he saw her gentle hand caress his mother's name, her eyes glowing with faint recognition. The small murmur as she voiced the inscription he had hidden to try and protect her honor, but she had made him promise to put upon her marker.

And then, he watched as she prayed, her posture calm and peaceful. He was in a sort of awe in the beauty of the scene. Her messy black curls fluttered softly in the breeze, the star lilies, the far inferior star flowers in his opinion, dancing with her aura. She was so serene, and his momentary anger was washed away as he just stood at the edge of his mother's former chambers, taking in her show of respect.

As she bowed down, the spell over him was seeming broken and he found himself slowly approaching her once again, noticing when she felt him, and a small smile came across her gentle face.

"Keh," He scoffed, folding his arms in his sleeves, "You were just dilly-dallying too much to notice how much time had passed." She looked up, as though suddenly realizing that the dark clouds of the yokai induced storm had covered the rainbow of colors brought forth by the sunset. "You really zone out sometimes, don't you?"

Sighing, she bowed to the grave once again and stood up, turning and walking past him to pick the water containers, laying the coarse rope across her shoulders and rising. As she tried to pass him, he slipped a finger beneath the rope and lifted it, placing it on his own shoulder. She blinked at him noticing the slight twinge on his face as his injured shoulder moved.

Inuyasha glanced in the direction of the lilies and Kagome noticed a look of actual pain cross his face. He was frozen as he stared at the moving flowers, save a slight lowering of his ears.

"Inuyasha, I can take the water if you want to-" She started but he just turned his back to her, walking to the corner of the old royal chambers, "Inuyasha?"

"Just leave it, Kagome," He says, "Come on. I can smell the rains starting to fall. I don't need you getting sick on me." With a passing glance at the small piece of stone that stuck up over the flowers, the mortal princess followed her husband into the burned palace.

Kagome entered the room, smiling as Shippo hopped up to her, climbing on her chest. "Kagome! There you are! What took you so long?"

"Damn wench had her head in the clouds, as usual," Inuyasha grumbles, setting down the water jugs and plopping himself down against the wall. His wife frowned and crossed her arms around the child.

"Inuyasha, sit!" she said tartly, turning to the fire with a pair of small carcasses split over it. The injured hanyo let out a sharp yelp as his face collided with the cracked wooden floor.

"Gee Kagome, how'd a kind lady like you end up married to such a meanie?" Shippo asked and she just kind of shrugged, setting him back down.

"He's not so bad once you get used to him," she says, walking to the back corner and kneeling down by the old, musty smelling pelts in the corner.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha asks and she glances at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Sit, boy," She says, making him let out a groan as he was smashed back into the floor, "Oh hush up, Puppy. You know exactly what I mean. Your bark is far worse than your bite."

"I'm not a Dog, Wench!" He growled and she looked at him again, making him flinch before crossing his arms and huffing, making her smirk as she turned back to the array of furs piled in front of her.

Most of the ones on top were destroyed by time and poor care, turning to dust in her hands. However, the ones above had protected the other soft furs and she lifted them up, pulling them out to begin making bedrolls.

She could tell right away there weren't enough for three beds. In fact there were barely enough left for one sleeping place. She could sacrifice a couple small ones for Shippo, but what was left over, even spread out in one layer was in no way large enough to make sleeping places for two adults.

"I'm staying up to keep watch, so you don't need to worry about a place for me," She heard Inuyasha grumble and Kagome glanced back at him, her storm blue eyes telling him that she would not allow him to sit upright all night.

"It's the beginning of the waning claws," She softly reminded him, her voice barely above a whisper, hoping the child in the room would not hear it. "You may stay up all night in a few days' time, but I will not let you spend another night sitting up and not getting a good night's rest. Especially when you're trying to heal injuries."

A pair of golden eyes glared at her and before his ear flicked and he turned back towards the fire. Shippo looked at the two, tilting his head a little.

"Waning Claws?" He says making them both look at him, "What's the disappearing moon got to do with staying up? Is it some sort of dog demon thing?" Inuyasha glared at Kagome and the child continues, "And why would you need to make a separate nest for Inuyasha? Wouldn't you sleep better cuddled together? Mama and Papa always shared a nest, even in summer." Kagome felt her cheeks growing hot and Inuyasha turned his grumpy glare to the kitsune child.

"None of it is any of your business, runt!" he barks and Shippo boldly steps closer.

"Oh I get it! You must not have gotten very far with Kagome, huh?" He says, "I used to always hear the adults talking about that during romping season, though I never really knew what it meant." Inuyasha growled, leaning over him, "So, what does it mean? Is that why she's your wife but not your bitch, Elder Brother?" Kagome stares at the child, slack jawed to hear such language out of him.

"Shippo! I don't want to hear you using such language!" She says and he just looks at her.

"What do you mean?" He asks, "It's just what a dog demon's female is called, like vixen." Kagome sighed, her cheeks still red.

"Yes, I know but well, I'm human, Shippo," She says earnestly, one of Inuyasha's ears twitching as he listened to her while still frowning at the kitsune, "I wasn't raised among demons and humans tend to use it as a very nasty word for a woman they don't like very much."

"Humans use it as a mean word?" the child asked innocently and she nodded, standing up.

"A very mean word," Kagome confirms, "So I'd really appreciate it if you tried not to use it around me, okay Shippo?" The red-headed demon rapidly nodded, his green eyes wide.

"Okay Kagome, I promise," He said softly, and she smiled, gently stroking a couple fingers through Shippo's fur soft hair as she walked past him.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked and she just pauses a moment in the doorway.

"I have some business to take care of," She replies, and he just narrows his eyes at her, "I need to go before the rain locks us inside for the night."

"Go?" He asked and he noticed the way she was kind of subtly crossing her legs, "Kami Wench. If you have to take a piss, just say so and go." He felt her reiki flare with her anger and he kind of shrunk back a little at the angry look she shot him.

"Inuyasha sit!" She snapped out, stomping away as the hanyos face was smashed into the wooden floor, causing it to crack and board to snap with the force of it all. Grumbling under his breath as he raised his head to be met with a pair of pale fox paws standing right in front of his head.

"Humans must not think very much of 'wench' either, seeing how mad she got with you," Shippo says and Inuyasha let out a frustrated groan, looking up at the brat from beneath his tussled white hair, "You never did answer my question. What does it mean by how far you get with a female?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," he grumbles, getting up and walking over to stoke the fire.

~~~~

Notes:

Gekkō: Moonlight. I decided to make the castle where Izayoi was a hime (princess) as well as Inuyasha was born in called the Moonlight Palace for a couple reasons.

1. It is a good thematic contrast for Inuyasha's 'technical' clan name to be related to the moon since Higurashi means sunset.

2. Inuyasha's power revolves around moonlight. When the moon is black, he isn't comfortable, feels like he's missing a part of himself. So having another part of his name be another literal definition of who he is clicked really well for me. He's literally, in the canon I'm creating, Dog Forest Spirit of Moonlight, and thus no moon, no dog spirit.