Nothing Is Ever Easy by omizumaru

Chapter 1

This is written for my beloved Steven. Thank you for being my beta. With 6 fics now going, I'm going to need all the help I can get. I adore you, and can only hope that I do your plot justice.

It had all started on her fifteenth birthday when she had been pulled into her family's old shrine well by a demon called Mistress Centipede. That had been seven years ago. Seven years, and what felt like a lifetime ago, she had been forcibly pulled back into the Warring States era. On her first day there, she had been accused of being a demon, a reincarnation, and a miko. She had also met the boy with the koinu ears. He had been pinned to the God tree by a decrepit arrow, and upon being verbally assaulted by him, she had removed said arrow, allowing him freedom after fifty years of confinement.

It was strange to think back on it all now, all these years later. How foul tempered Inuyasha had been. The way he had refused to even use her name for over a week; refused to look her in the eyes for almost a month. For years, while they plotted against the evil hanyou Naraku, he had refused to acknowledge any real feelings for her. But that was a time from long ago. Inuyasha was different now.

Kagome sighed and snuggled back into the warmth at her back and a strong arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her close. She felt a warm nose nuzzle into her hair, and she giggled at the irony.

The boy who wouldn't say her name, who had tried to make her leave on so many occasions, was now naked in their shared futon, nuzzling into her hair in his sleep. The boy who never slept, but only perched in trees, the boy who never removed his fire rat garb, was here, with her, asleep and nude on a futon. Kagome giggled again.

"Oi wench! I'm trying to sleep ya know!"

Some things changed, and some things stayed the same.

Another lilting giggle broke through the quiet morning, but was quickly silenced by a set of lips pressing down upon them.

"If you're going to keep me awake, we might as well do something interesting...." Inuyasha told her as he began to trail soft kisses down the side of her neck. "And what's so damned funny anyway?"

"You are." Kagome told him seriously.

Inuyasha growled playfully at her before nipping at her neck. "I'll show you just how serious I can be."

Grabbing her gently by her hips he flipped her over and did exactly that.

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Kagome walked out into the fresh morning air, enjoying the burst of sunlight on her face. It was a beautiful fall day, and the little village of Edo was bustling with activity. Heading down a path that she knew all too well these days, she stopped in front of a simple, but tidy hut.

She heard a familiar voice yell, "Houshi!" and then came the sound of a loud smack. Kagome laughed lightly before knocking on the building's doorframe lightly.

The tatami door pulled back, and Sango's face split into a grin at the sight of her friend. "Kagome-chan!" she said happily "ohiyoo!"

"How's Miroku?" Kagome asked, a small grin lighting up her features as she peeked around the mat.

"He'll be fine" Sango told her exasperatedly. "Anyway, come in Kagome." Sango held the mat back for the little miko to enter.

The first thing to meet Kagome's pretty blue eyes was the sight of Miroku, holding the little baby girl that Sango had given birth to almost 8 months before. He was sitting on the floor, cradling the infant, while a bright red mark began to fade from his cheek.

"I see you're still up to your same old tricks Miroku." Kagome chided him gently while taking a seat next to him and stealing the infant from his hold.

"And how is my little Anzu this morning?" Kagome cooed softly to the little girl. Though Miroku had told her that he wanted his daughter to have a name similar to her mother's, Kagome saw quite a bit of humour in the girl's name. Yes, Sango meant coral, and yes, Anzu meant apricot, but Kagome knew that the name also meant "feminine love." She found this appropriate for Miroku's firstborn.

"She is well Kagome, though it appears that she has missed you during the evening." Miroku told her as her watched his little girl smile and run her tiny fingers through Kagome's thick hair.

"Well, I missed her too." Kagome told Anzu before giving her a small kiss to the forehead.

"Kagome, when are you and Inuyasha going to make it official and have some children of your own?" Sango asked her softly as she took a seat beside the miko.

"I don't know, Sango" Kagome sighed as she handed Anzu over to her mother for her breakfast.

"Well, he should be more than ready. You've come to live her with him, rarely visiting your time and you've been sharing a hut for almost 2 years. Don't you think that it's time for the engagement to end and your life to begin?" Sango loved Kagome as a sister, and she could sense that something was amiss in the miko's relationship with the hanyou. They had loved each other for years, and each had made great sacrifices for the other. She just couldn't understand why they weren't moving forward.

"I don't want to press him on it Sango-chan."

"Sometimes, our dear Inuyasha needs a little push Kagome," Miroku told her quietly. "I love his as my own brother, but the guy can be stubborn and resistant to change."

Kagome laughed. "Believe me Miroku-kun, no one knows that better than myself."

And so her morning began, in typical fashion. But as the friends sat around discussing their plans for the day, Kagome found that her mind was suddenly ill at ease.