Convergence

A/N: A new chapter already. You all must think the world is coming to an end... This one just begged to be written and I hope you like it. Sorry no lemon but one will come soon. And for those of you who missed it. I did add more to the last chapter and it does have a lemon...

I don’t know when the next chapter will be up but I will try to have it as soon as I possibly can. I know, I know, I’ve said that before but I really do try... If you are looking for something to read check out my pseudonym inufan625.

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As they sat in the elderly miko’s hut around the small fire Kagome noticed that InuYasha seemed distracted and that he had been since sunset. She wondered what could be bothering him, but knew better than to ask when others were around.

She frowned when he didn’t move from his place against the wall to be near her when she laid down to sleep. Even if he never joined her until after the others were sleeping he always sat close to her and often rested his hand on her hair, smoothing it to lull her to sleep.

Had she not been so tired she would have made him leave the hut with her to talk, but as it was she could barely keep her eyes open. The tea might help her live more normally but it didn’t erase all her lethargy. Despite her mate’s troubling behavior she drifted off to sleep.

~ * ~

InuYasha knew that Kagome suspected something was going on. He felt a slight pain as she frowned, clearly confused that he hadn’t moved nearer to her. He wanted to. He wanted to lay behind her and hold her in his arms, but he had something to take care of before he could do that.

Only when he was certain that she was sleeping did he rise and exit the hut. Silver serpents flew above the trees just outside the village, beaconing him to come to their mistress. He knew that Kikyou must be tired of waiting for him since she had first arrive just as the sun was setting several hours ago.

Things had changed between him and Kikyou, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to speak of it to anyone, not even Kagome. He was afraid she wouldn’t understand and didn’t want to cause her anymore pain. Tonight though he would tell Kikyou that he and Kagome were officially together and that she was with child. It would hurt the miko from his past, whom he knew still held out hope that they could be together, but it had to be done.

He thought back to their last meeting after the battle with Naraku, but before he had mated with Kagome.

He was relieved when he saw her soul stealers. Relieved because he needed answers only Kikyou could provide and because Kagome had gone to see her family. He left in the dead of night and met her under the Goshinboku. She turned to face him and offered him a small smile.

“InuYasha, I feared you were not coming.” Kikyou said.

“Keh.” He replied.

“I have heard nothing of Naraku. It is my belief that he waits to assemble more of the jewel before attempting to gain your shards.” She told him.

InuYasha just nodded his agreement as she came near. “Kikyou I... We need to talk.”

“About what InuYasha?” She asked wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head on his chest.

He was surprised that he didn’t feel the same stirring in his body that he used to when near to her, the one he now felt for Kagome that was so much stronger than anything he ever felt for Kikyou, even when she was alive, but still he held her.

“Kikyou I know you don’t want us to go to hell together anymore, but what do you want?” He questioned.

She looked up at him. “I simply want the life we were denied. With the jewel I can live again and we can be together.”

“I’m a hanyou.” He reminded her. “And Kagome has your soul.”

“That is why she must return to her time before we use the jewel. Then I will be able to live my life with our soul. I will die before her birth and it will be as if all this never happened.” Kikyou told him. “In this body, what I am has taught me to accept you as a hanyou.”

With that she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. InuYasha kissed her back, ignoring the taste of earth and ash. It felt wrong and still he did not push her away. Her kiss was cold and dry, but he felt compelled to give her this, to see if he could feel any of his Kikyou from her kiss.

When she at last pulled away her eyes were alight but her face remained pale.

“I... I have to.” He stammered and ran.

Kikyou was dead. He was kissing nothing more than clay with a fraction of the soul that she once held. He had been able to feel nothing of her true spirit when he kissed her and in his heart he knew that the jewel would not grant her wish to live again. Nothing good could from using the Shikon no Tama. All who came in contact with it received only pain.

His Kikyou had died over fifty years ago and it was finally clear to him. He may not have kissed Kagome but he had felt her soul, her spirit, the very essence of her inside him, something he could never fell from the shell that looked like his former love and held her memories but not her true heart. It was time to let her go.

Naraku would die. That he owed her, but even if Kagome was forced back to her time, if he was never allowed to be with her, he couldn’t not be with Kikyou either.

~ * ~

Shippou sat up and saw InuYasha leave. He didn’t know what to do. If he woke Kagome and told her that InuYasha left to go see Kikyou she would be sad, but what if Kikyou tried to take him to hell. Kagome would be even more upset then. He crawled over to her and woke her gently.

“Kagome?” He said quietly.

She opened her eyes. “What is it Shippou?”

“InuYasha left.” He replied. “He went to see her.”

Kagome sat up and her heart clenched painfully in her chest. She forced herself to take a deep breath. He was her mate and he loved her. They were going to have a family. Surely it wasn’t what she thought, but what if Kikyou still wanted to take InuYasha to hell. She stood up.

“Stay here. I’ll go make sure she doesn’t try and take him from us.” She told Shippou. The kitsune nodded and she grabbed her bow and arrows before leaving the hut and heading toward the soul gathering youkai in the distance.

~ * ~

“Kikyou.” InuYasha said as he approached.

She turned smiling and he frowned. “I was afraid you would not come after the way we last parted, that I had offended you somehow and lost your affections.”

He winced and her smile fell. He didn’t have to speak as her eyes widened.

“You share her aura, my reincarnation.” Kikyou said quietly. “That can mean but one thing.”

“Kikyou I’m sorry.” He told her. “I didn’t mean for things to happen this way. Kagome’s my mate and she’s carrying my pups. I transformed...”

Kikyou raised her hand to silence him and approached, aware that they were being watched while InuYasha was not, thanks to the barrier she had erected when she sensed her reincarnation. She put a hand to his cheek before embracing him. “That is easily remedied. I can purify the bond you created when you were not yourself. The children are yours by right and we can raise them together.”

Kagome fled from her hiding place and ran for the well leaving her bow and arrows behind. Had she waited but a second longer she would have seen InuYasha pull Kikyou’s arms from his waist and step away.

“It ain’t like that.” InuYasha said firmly. “Kagome is my mate. I love her and I want to be with her.”

“What is it about her that would make you forget what we shared?” Kikyou asked sadly.

“Kikyou I’ll never forget you and I’ll always care about you, but we weren’t meant to be together. We didn’t trust each other.” InuYasha replied. “I will kill that bastard for what he did to you, and I’ll do everything I can to protect you, but I can’t be anything more to you than a friend. Please believe me, that I never intended to hurt you.”

“I know.” Kikyou admitted. “You may be many things, but you would never lower yourself to be so deliberately cruel. I wish you well InuYasha. I will only return if I have news of Naraku to bring you.”

She turned her back on him and called her gatherers so that she could flee before he noticed her distress. Part of her had come alive when her reincarnation healed her and she did not want him to smell her tears. Now she held onto this life only to see the end of Naraku and the restoration of the jewel. There remained no hope for her beyond that.

~ * ~

Kagome ran as fast as she could and jumped into the well. Her vision was blurred by her tears and it was hard to breath. Her heart ached. She ran into the house and straight to her mother’s room.

Asami came awake instantly and took her sobbing daughter into her arms. “What is Kagome? Please tell me.”

“He went to her mama.” Kagome sobbed, gasping between hiccups. “He going to take my babies and raise them with her.” She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach “My babies. I don’t want to lose my babies. Oh mama...”

“Shh...” Asmai soothed rocking her daughter. “No one is going to take your babies. Are you sure that you aren’t mistaken in what you heard?”

What her daughter was saying just couldn’t be true. The young hanyou she knew would never hurt her daughter in such a way, not now. Before he had inadvertently hurt her in his confusion, but surely he wouldn’t take away her daughter’s children.

“She said she could purify our mating bond and then raise the babies with him. She hugged him and I ran.” Kagome managed through her tears. “You have to help me mama...”

“I promise darling, we’ll figure this out.” Asami said. “Just rest. No one is going to take your babies from you.”

Slowly Kagome’s tears subsided and she went to sleep. Her mother laid her down and went to her room to lock the window before going down to the kitchen to await InuYasha, who was sure to be arriving soon, one way or another.

~ * ~

InuYasha headed back to the village. Several times he thought he detected Kagome’s scent but he knew that she was sleeping back in the safety of the hut and decided he must just be anxious to return to her now that the situation with Kikyou was no longer plaguing his thoughts.

Before he could enter the hut Shippou jumped on top of his head and bit his ear. He yelled loudly waking the hut’s occupants as he pulled the fox youkai off him and held him by the tail growling fiercely.

“You idiot.” Shippou yelled.

Miroku, Sango, and Kaede stepped outside to see what the commotion was.

“What the hell was that for?” InuYasha growled.

“Why are you such an idiot.” Shippou cried. “Fox fire.”

InuYasha threw the fox as his blue fire singed his face and hair. The runt was getting more powerful by the day. “What the fuck is going on?”

“InuYasha, where is Kagome?” Sango asked quietly.

His eyes darted to the three human faces and then to the small youkai. That was a good fucking question. That stupid bitch.

“He went to see Kikyou.” Shippou announced. “Kagome went after him to make sure she didn’t try and take him with her to hell and Kagome never came back. He smells like Kikyou too.”

InuYasha barely had time to realize what that meant before Sango came at him with her hiraikotsu. He jumped out of the way. “Oi bouzo get your woman under control.”

“Why?” Miroku asked. “I thought your kind were loyal, but I guess I was mistaken.”

“Fuck.” InuYasha growled jumping out of the way again. “It ain’t like that. I had to tell her about me and Kagome.”

Sango paused in her attack. “If that’s true then why didn’t you take Kagome with you and why didn’t she come back?”

“I didn’t want to upset her.” InuYasha replied. “She must have gone through the well.”

“Why would she have done that?” Sango demanded.

InuYasha groaned. “When I tried to tell Kikyou, I said that I transformed and she thought that meant I didn’t want Kagome. Kagome must have seen her hug me.”

“And you let her.” Sango yelled, unleashing her giant bone again.

InuYasha growled and this time instead of dodging he kicked the weapon away and it stuck in the ground well out of the taijiya’s reach.

“Calm the fuck down.” InuYasha bellowed. “Kagome must have left before I pushed her away and told her that I wanted Kagome and that I loved her. I don’t have time for this shit. I have to go after her.”

InuYasha picked up her scent as he raced toward the well. He found her bow and arrows in a place that would have given her a clear view of himself and Kikyou. Inwardly he cursed and jumped into the well. He jumped out the other side and was overwhelmed by the scent of her tears.

He jumped up to her window, only to find it locked. He peered inside. Kagome wasn’t in her bed.

He went to the kitchen shoji and slid it open. Her sadness filled his every breath and inside him his youkai raged. He had hurt his mate and he had to fix this, to get her to accept him back. In his worry he missed the scent of the small woman sitting in the dark at the table.

“Turn on the light.” She said evenly.

InuYasha jumped and was thankful she hadn’t been able to see him. He turned on the switch.

“Sit down.” Asami ordered.

InuYasha did not dare disobey. He knew that tone. Kagome’s mother was not happy. Keh and why should she be as often as you send her daughter running home in tears. His shoulders and his ears drooped as he sat and waited.

“I want the truth.” Asami told him.

“I went to see Kikyou and tell her about me and Kagome.” InuYasha said looking her mother right in the eyes. “She did put her arms around me but I removed them and told her that I am with Kagome, that I love her. I didn’t know Kagome was there. That’s the truth I swear.”

Her mother sighed. “I know my daughter has a tendency to run from things that hurt especially when it comes to you. She said she ran as soon as she saw Kikyou put her arms around you. I believe you. Go to her. She’s sleeping in my room.”

InuYasha got up and went to where Kagome lay curled up in a ball on her mother’s bed. He sat against the top of the bed and lifted his sleeping mate into his arms. The melancholy in her aura was so heavy, so strong that it was making it hard to breath. He nuzzled her neck and she stirred.

Her eyes opened and he was taken aback by the sheer panic that sprang to life in the m as she recognized him. Fear poured from her and she scrambled out of his arms so quickly that he had no time to stop her. She pressed her self in the corner of the room, grabbing a letter opener off the desk and wrapping one arm protectively around her belly.

He stood up and she growled, actually growled.

“You can’t have them.” She said her voice shaking. “I won’t let you take our babies and raise them with her. I... I kill you or die trying before I let that happen. They’re mine and I won’t give them up... not even for you.”

InuYasha stepped closer and she growled again pointing the thin metal at him. She didn’t want to hurt him, he knew that but he also knew without a doubt that she would if he made her, that she would do anything to keep him from taking her children.

He fell to his knees. This was his fault. He had made his mate fear him, fear that he would try and separate her from her babies, their babies. It didn’t matter that she was wrong. He never should have gone to see Kikyou alone, or at the very least he should have told her what he was going to do and trusted her to understand.

Their eyes met and she wavered, her hand lowering as she saw him on his knees. Kagome was beyond shocked as he crawled toward her head down, very much like a dog would. When he reached her he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“InuYasha?” She questioned.

“I’m sorry.” he told her. “But it’s not what you think koishii. I went to Kikyou to tell her we were together that you are having my pups. I know you saw her hug me but I swear to you I pushed her away and told her that I wanted to be with you, that I love you.”

“You told her that you love me?” Kagome asked, trying to let go of her fear.

He nodded and she slipped down onto her knees, joining him on the floor. “I told her that I would kill Naraku, but that I couldn’t offer her anything more than my friendship. I was stupid. I shouldn’t have left like that. I’m sorry, and I would never try to take our pups from you. You are their mother and no one else.”

Kagome started to cry yet again and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry too. I knew you wouldn’t... But I was so scared.”

“It’s okay.” he said as he nuzzled her neck and smoothed her hair. “Please don’t cry anymore. I hate it when you cry.”

Asami finally made her presence known. InuYasha helped Kagome to her feet. She smiled at them. “I knew it could not be as you thought. Now I suggest you get some rest, both of you, before returning to the past. It’s been very tiring night.”

Kagome nodded and hugged her mother on her way out of the room. She started up the stairs only to be lifted into InuYasha’s arms. Normally she would have protested, but tonight she wanted him to hold her, to take care of her so she simply wrapped her arms around his neck.

He settled her into bed and curled up behind her. She put her hand over his as he rubbed the swelling of her stomach and drifted off into a contented sleep.