General Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inuyasha character. They are owned by Ms. Takahashi and all the other companies.

I do however own any of my own characters.

This is a whole new story where I am going from what is happening in the manga at the current time.

Love, Interrupted

Kagome sat on a large boulder at the edge of the lake, dangling her toes in the water. Sango sat beside her, her kimono pulled up to her knees, as she had her legs in the water. Shippou happily splashed in the warm water, like any child would, as Kirara lay beside her mistress, curled in a ball, as Sango stroked the demon cat's soft fur.

Kagome turned her face up towards the sky enjoying the warmth of the summer sun on her face. Kaede's village nearby, hummed with the normal day to day activities of the villagers going about their afternoon routines. Kagome sensed motion out of the corner of her eye and turned. Miroku was walking down the path towards them. He wore a huge smile on his face. Kagome lifted her head to the tree and saw a small bit of red amongst the green. Inuyasha was high up in the branches relaxing. Although she couldn't see his face, she knew he was keeping close tabs on her.

Miroku sat beside Sango and put his arm around her,

"My dearest. Hachi has returned. Master Mushin will arrive here in four days to perform our wedding ceremony. We will finally be wed."

Sango leaned into her beloved. She couldn't believe her level of happiness,

"Oh Miroku. I can't wait. Will the house be ready by then?" she gushed.

"Yes. I promise. Isn't that right Inuyasha?" Miroku yelled up to the relaxing hanyou.

"HMPH! Yea, yea, whatever." was his response, which started his friends giggling.

"I am so happy for you two!" Kagome said, happily.

"I wasn't about to wed Sango until Naraku was dead. And after that final battle, I wasn't sure if any of us would survive." said Miroku.

Another "HMPH!" came from the tree, "Speak for yourself, Monk! My body's made differently than yours."

Miroku smiled, "Maybe so ... but you were badly injured my friend."

The only response was another, "HMPH!".

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha's typical attitude. Shippou joined them on the shore and Kagome opened up her bag and began spreading out the food. She had returned home to find out how well she had done on her high school entrance exams. To her amazement, she had passed and was accepted in the same high school as her friends Hojo, Yuri, Eri, and Ayumi. In celebration of her victory over the exams and their victory over Naraku, she had prepared a huge feast. Her friends were anxious to partake in the spoils,

"Inuyasha. Come on down. I have your favorite ... pickled radishes." Kagome announced happily.

She recieved no response. Instead, the group heard a barely audible, "damn!" and then the tree rustled and shook, a signal indicating Inuyasha was gone,

"There he goes again." said Miroku, shaking his head.

Kagome frowned. Inuyasha had been pulling these disappearing acts since shortly before they had defeated Naraku. All she could do was wonder what was going on. Sango broke into her thoughts,

"Kagome? Are you listening?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Sango, what were you saying?"

"I said I hope I can locate Sesshoumaru and get Kohaku to come to the ceremony."

"Inuyasha should be able to locate him with no problem. You know his nose!", Kagome smiled at the thought.

"Yes, I do. I am so happy that Sesshoumaru's mother revived Kohaku after the shard was removed. At least Naraku didn't succeed in taking my younger brother's life!", Sango said, as Kirara mewed in agreement.

"I am too. Naraku killed to many people. I'm glad his reign of terror is finally over.", said Kagome, as she took a bite of her omelet.

"I agree." said Miroku, looking at his now whole right hand, "The bastard is finally dead!"

"Kagome ... now that the jewel has disappeared ... do you have all your powers now?", asked Shippou.

"I don't know Shippou. Apparantly, it was the Shikon Jewel that was sealing my powers. I was told that making the "right wish" on the jewel would get rid of it and release my powers. I just wish I knew what I had wished for that had made it all happen.", said Kagome thoughtfully.

"Kaede says that whatever you wished for will become evident to you when the time is right.", added Miroku.

"I know. But, I am still curious!" Kagome said with a wink, then turned to look into the forest when Inuyasha had bounded into, 'Inuyasha, what's wrong?'

In the forest ...

Inuyasha ran as fast as his legs could possible take him. Arriving at a clearing, he jumped into a tree on the edge of the meadow. His member ached with an unsatisfied need and his demon blood raced through his veins, threatening to take over his very core.

'Why? Why did I feel like this?' he thought.

The final battle with Naraku was electrifying to Inuyasha. Kagome had become incredibly powerful ... more powerful than Kikyou had ever been. Watching the young maiden warrior excited him but, he didn't understand why. He was in awe of what she had become when her powers were finally released after the disappearance of the sacred jewel.

The days and months leading up to the final battle had been unusually difficult for him. He had tried to get Kagome to stay back in her era, for her safety. He had no desire to see her meet the same fate as Kikyou. He feared Naraku would succeed in destroying another woman he cared about. No. he would rather live alone in this world and have Kagome safe in her own time than to have her die at the hands of his archenemy.

But, after he had requested this of her, she had refused to stay in the future. She wanted to stay with him. He had looked at her, surprised. Through it all, she still wanted to stay with him. Right then and there he had vowed to protect her with his very life. He had always protected her but, he had never vowed it to her like he had vowed his protection to Kikyou. That day in her bedroom, if her damn little brat brother Souta hadn't walked in, they would have shared their first kiss. After that day, his body had started acting strangely.

Now, as before, his body demanded a release. Why her scent was affecting him this way now, he didn't know. As he attended to his body's demands, his mind thought of Kagome. The beautiful, hard-headed, powerful, demanding, miko warrior who refused to leave him, appeared in his thoughts. His mind recalled her naked body from times when he had seen her bathing, which had become more often after his vow of protection. He found himself sneaking away from camp, saying to Miroku he needed to run off some energy, but instead he would find himself near the hot spring, spying on her. He had been blaming it all on being around Miroku too long but, that didn't explain the reaction of his demon blood.

Sweet release finally came and Inuyasha sat back and closed his eyes and sighed. He could never let Kagome know his dirty secret. She may have agreed to stay by him, but, she had never agreed to mate with him. While Sango and Miroku made wedding plans, Kagome worried about her tests. He didn't know why she needed that school thing. She knew how to battle, she was learning how to heal from Kaede, she was a pretty decent cook and she was great with kids. Everything she needed in the Feudal Era she knew and was good at. No. It just proved that she wasn't interested in becoming his mate, his life-partner. She had no desire to remain anything more than friends. Why would she? He had nothing to offer her ... he owned nothing but his Fire Rat clothes and Tessaiga. Plus, he was a filthy, disgusting half-breed, who, by all accounts, would never even be able to create a child. Even Kouga would be able to offer her more, but the thought of that flea-bitten wild animal laying a hand on the pure miko made his blood boil. Even if they remained nothing more than friends, he would accept that. At least she would be by his side.

Their friends, however, saw things differently. Miroku, Sango, Kaede and, even Shippou, kept encouraging the hanyou to let Kagome know his feelings. He scoffed at their suggestions, but that didn't stop them from trying. His friends even kept insisting that Kagome loved him, truly loved him, but he could never believe them. He sighed at his thoughts. Jumping down from the tree, he raced back to his friends. Now that his need had been satisfied, he could return to the group. Return to Kagome.