The Lucky Ones
Chapter Eighteen
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The Lucky Ones
By Terri Botta
Disclaimer: I don’t own
Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I’m poor so don’t
sue.
Rating: R for later chapters.
Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome,
Miroku/Sango
Summary: Sometimes Fate hands
you a gift you never thought you’d ever get, and it’s up to you to accept it
for what it is.
Feedback to:
tci100@psu.edu
Website: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta
*******
Chapter Eighteen
Kagome pulled aside the reed mat
that served as the door of Miroku and Sango’s hut,
and quietly entered. Then she pulled the door closed behind her, taking extra
care to make sure that no one could peep into the dwelling. The hut itself was
cozy and had two rooms: the main room and a separate room for sleeping that
Miroku and Sango used while Kohaku had his futon in
the main room. Shippo slept in the main room too when
he wasn’t with Kaede or Inuyasha and her, but he
curled up on blankets piled in the corner.
All four of
the hut’s primary occupants were there, but it was the visitor to the hut who
brought her through the door. Inuyasha sat on the far side, furthest away from
the entrance, holding a human Yukio in his lap, his black hair and dark eyes
clearly visible even in the dim light. She came over to sit beside him after greeting
her friends and rubbed her son’s back comfortingly.
“He’s
confused,” Inuyasha told her as Yukio made little noises of distress.
She nodded.
“It’s only the second time he’s been with us on a Full Moon.”
“He’s
better this time than last. This the dhe didn’t start bawling at sunset,” he
replied, even as Yukio turned to look at his mother, reaching for her.
Kagome
lifted her son into her arms, cooing to him.
“It’s okay,
baby. I know you smell and feel different, but you’re still you. Someday you’ll
understand all about hanyous and how they have human
times.”
“Have some
dinner, Kagome-chan,” Sango offered, handing her a
bowl of fish and rice.
“Thank you,
Sango-chan,” she replied and accepted the food with a
grateful nod.
Her friend
gave her a questioning look, and she replied with a silent signal that meant
‘later.’ Since her and Inuyasha’s return to the Sengoku Jidai
late that morning, she hadn’t had any opportunity to talk to Sango and tell her
what had happened between her and Inuyasha. Sango had been out with
reacquainting herself with Kaede and spending time
with Shippo. Then Miroku had come to find her and
Inuyasha to remind them that Yukio’s human night was that evening, and to offer
his hut as sanctuary.
Since
the closest thing they had to a doctor, Inuyasha could not be assured that no
one would discover his secret if he stayed in her hut on the night he lost his
hanyou power. Miroku had been offering his and Sango’s
home as a safe place for Inuyasha to wait out the New Moon since the hut had
been completed. When he found out that Yukio’s night came when the moon was
full, he extended the offer to those nights as well.
So by the
time Sango had returned with Kohaku, Kagome had
already been back in the village for several hours and Inuyasha was sitting in
her hut talking with Miroku, hiding Yukio from the eyes of the villagers.
Kagome knew the pregnant woman must have dozens of questions, and she was happy
to answer them… just not in front of Inuyasha. In truth, she suspected that
their ‘girl talk’ would have to wait until morning because she was fairly
certain Inuyasha would want to go to the den tonight.
building a house for her, she had
making what amounted to a private love nest in the forest. Since she refused to
engage in any sexual activity in Kaede’s hut, and
making love out in the open forest left them vulnerable and exposed, not to
mention distracted from any approaching threats to them or Yukio in his sling,
they needed a safe place for their trysts. Inuyasha had provided that place in
the form of a den.
It was a
true den, dug out of the earth. He had carved it into a small hillside in the
forest, close to the stream where she liked to bathe. The entrance was almost
completely obscured by brush and foliage, and he lined the front with rocks to
keep out the rain. Inside it was spacious enough for the two of them to move
around comfortably but not quite high enough for them to stand. There was a
small fire pit by the door, and a built-in bassinet molded from the earth for
Yukio at the very back. The floor was pounded smooth and the ‘sleeping space’
was covered with a thick layer of buckwheat straw which he kcleaclean and fresh
so it always smelled of sweet hay. Blankets and a couple of old futons he’d
scrounged by calling in a couple of favors from villagers who owed him for
saving their lives, or in trade for firewood or game, lay on top of the straw-
creating a thick, comfortable, sweet-smelling bed.
His design
of the small space gave her a number of insights into what any house he built
would be like, and she knew that if she ever did let him build it, it would be
the equivalent of a modern marvel. He’d taken elements from her house in
and incorporated them into the den, creating what could only be described as
built-in larders and cubby hole dressers- all formed from packed earth and
rock. There were spaces for everything: wood, tinder, clothing,
light was let in through the main entrance and five ledges were carved into the
walls for lamps if it was too dark. There was even a tiny spring that seeped
fresh water into a stone-lined basin that then shunted the excess out of the
den via a bamboo tube that served as a drain.
Because it
was underground, it maintained a steady temperature and was readily warmed by a
small fire and their own body heat. Air vents were
strategically placed to reduce drafts while providing ventilation, and a door
made of branches and leaves attached to a reed mat could be placed over the
entrance to keep in the warmth. In fact a space Kagome had been worried would
be quite cold and damp had proved to be anything but; creating a warm, cozy and
intimate place where she and Inuyasha could be alone without threat of being
disturbed.
The den was
an architectural wonder, and a testament to his skill and intelligent mind. It
was no mere hole in the ground, but a tiny efficiency apartment a little larger
than about half the size of her bedroom in the Modern Era with all the
amenities of home- well, most of them anyway. There was no indoor plumbing and
no hot running water, but she was sure if he’d been given enough time, he would
have figured something out.
Everything
was geared to provide for her comfort and safety, and that of their son’s.
Inuyasha had done his best to anticipate her needs and address them outright
while also satisfying his need to create a secure and easily defensible haven
for his ‘family.’ Without smoke from the fire to give away its location, the
den was almost invisible simply by virtue of being right out in the open. Few
would give the hillside with its cover of brush and scrub trees a second
glance. In fact, although the villagers knew Inuyasha would take his lady into
the forest on a regular basis, only Kaede,
She and
Inuyasha spent at least every third night in the den, and she was pretty sure
he’d snuck away sometime during the day to make sure no interlopers had tried
to lay claim to it, and also to freshen the buckwheat and air it out from being
empty while they were in her time. She fully expected him to take her and Yukio
there as soon as they were finished eating dinner.
“Ah,
Kagome-sama, now that we are all here, I have news of
a possible shikon fragment,” Miroku announced,
bringing her out of her thoughts.
“Eh? Why
didn’t you say something earlier, bouzu?” Inuyasha
grumbled.
“Because
Kagome-sama was not here, and because you could do
nothing until tomorrow unless you wanted to put your infant at risk,” the
ex-monk replied mildly.
“Where did
you hear there was a fragment, Miroku?” Kagome asked.
“Two days
ago some travelers on their way to
As always, I am eager for news of other places outside of this village so I
went to see them. They spoke of a boar youkai
terrorizing the lands east of here that was proving exceptionally hard to
kill.”
“Hmmm.
Sounds like a shikon shard to me,” Kagome agreed.
Inuyasha
slapped his palm with his fist. “Right. We’ll go in
the morning.”
“I’ll be
staying here,” Sango said regretfully. “It’s time for me to stay close to home.
I don’t want to risk the baby if I get into a fight.”
“I think
that’s wise, Sango-chan,” Kagome answered
sympathetically.
The taijiya
nodded and let out a wistful sigh. “I know. But I will miss all of the
excitement. You must tell me everything when you get back. I’ll be so bored
here knowing you’re out there.”
Kagome
patted Yukio and smiled. “Just wait until you have one of these. You won’t have
time to be bored.”
Yukio gave
a burble and snuffled at her. She cuddled him and rubbed his head, missing his
puppy ears.
“Somehow I
don’t think it’s quite the same,” Sango commented.
“I’ll be
going with you,” Miroku said.
you sure?” Kagome answered.
He nodded.
“It is still four months before the baby comes. It is safe for me to leave. Besides,
Kohaku is more than capable of protecting Sango.”
Kagome
looked at the troubled teen and wondered if Miroku’s
decision had less to do with searching for a shard and more to do with him
trying to coax the boy back to the land of the living. Kohaku
hardly spoke and his haunted brown eyes were windows to his tortured soul.
Maybe having his sister and unborn niece or nephew to look after would give the
young m pur purpose, and help him start to overcome the horror he had lived
through.
“
like I can’t protect myself if I have to. I just don’t want to go looking for
trouble.”
that she understood. Part of her didn’t ltakitaking Yukio on the shard hunts
with them, but Inuyasha refused to leave him behind and with good reason.
didn’t trust anyone but himself and Kagome to protect their son. Besides, being
a hanyou actually made him a much better traveler than a normal human baby. He
was stronger, less vulnerable and he knew when to be quiet and still.
“It’s
decided then,” Inuyasha announced. “We’ll leave as soon as Kagome and I get
back from the den.”
“You’re
going there tonight?” Sango asked, casting a glance at her.
Inuyasha
snorted. “Of course.”
She nodded
to Sango, telling her that she was fine with going to the den for the night.
The taijiya gave her an incredulous look as if to say that she was far more
tolerant and forgiving than Sango herself would be.
by now. But I’m not you, and I love this man. And I know how badly he feels. If
you’d seen him cry in my arms two nights ago, you’d feel differently too,’
she thought, giving Sango a soft look.
refused him until his balls fell off before I’d let him touch me again.’
She gave
her dear friend a knowing smile.
Inuyasha complained, looking at the two of them.
“Nothing,”
Kagome replied innocently.
He frowned.
“You were looking at each other strangely. Is it some weird woman thing?”
“Yes,”
Sango answered. “I was asking her how she could accept you back into her bed so
quickly when I would have made you wait until your parts turned blue before I
let you back in.”
Inuyasha
blushed furiously and stammered an unintelligible response. Kagome giggled.
“Woman,
what’s made you so bold!” the adult hanyou demanded.
Sango
shrugged. “Those hor-oh-moan things Kagome-
is your woman getting away from you? You’re letting her run her mouth
everywhere. What kind of a man of the house are you? You ought to rein her in
before she thinks she’s the leader here,” Inuyasha scoffed.
Miroku gave
him a patient look while Shippo just gaped and shook
his little head in disbelief.
“You really
are simple minded,” the kitd.
“Sango has
her own mind and I love her for it. I did not expect her to give up her
opinions and become a typical wife when we married. Don’t tell me you do not do
the same with Kagome-sama,” the houshi
replied.
Inuyasha
cast her a guilty glance and she returned it with a
look that said very clearly: ‘If you ever want to have sex with me again, you
answer appropriately.’
“
“Thought
so,” Miroku commented.
know what Kagome sees in you,” Shippo sighed.
“Inuyasha,”
she warned, stopping him in mid-swing as he tried to pound the kit on the head.
He snarled,
but dropped his hand, grumbling. She gave him an approving nod and turned to
her dinner.
When they
were finished eating, she helped Sango clean up the remainder of the meal and
the soiled bowls, ignoring Inuyasha’s impatient looks.
comment like that, I am gonna make
you wait. Chauvinistic jerk.’
Then she
gYukiYukio his dinner, taking Inuyasha’s suggestion and supplementing her milk
with a little bit if rice and fish that she’d saved for hhen hen he was done
nursing. She let the infant take his time, not rushing him as he fed and
letting him eat at his own pace. He didn’t suck as heartily when he was in
human form and he had a little more gas so it took him longer to finish his
meal. She cooed and rocked him, patting his bottom and offering her breasts a
couple of times to make sure he was completely finished before she even
about leaving the hut.
she finally was ready to go, Inuyasha was huffing and fuming, but she was
fairly certain she’d gotten her point across. When they left the hut, he took
hold of her firmly but not roughly and she pinned him with a warning look that
had him flattening his ears and backing off. She gave him the cold shoulder all
the way into the forest and by the time they finally reached the den, she had
him making all the gestures she’d come to recognize as submission.
you know your place.’
He went
ahead of her, sniffing the entrance of the shelter and giving her a nod that it
was safe. Crouching down, she passed through the low hanging opening and waited
for Inuyasha to light a fire so she could see. The flames illuminated a den
that had obviously gone unused for several days. Even with the fresh straw and
fluffed bed, she could easily tell that this was the first time anyone had been
there for a while.
“I… I
couldn’t stay in here,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “This is our
place and… and you were gone. I slept in my old tree and stayed as far away
from here as possible.”
She nodded
to him and took off her shoes, placing them in the cubby by the entrance made
just for footwear. Then she knelt down on the bed as Inuyasha pulled the door
over the entrance, leaving a hole for the smoke to escape, and watched him as
he went through his ritual of settling into the den, sniffing the perimeter,
checking the air vents, inspecting the lamps and fixtures, and finally coming
to join her on the bed. His other ritual was to undress and place his clothes
in one of the cubbies for clothing, and he watched her in askance as he removed
his haori. When she did not give him any reason to
believe his actions were unwelcome, he stripped the rest of the way and came to
lie beside her on his stomach with his head pillowed on his arms as he blinked
at her in silent apology.
Kagome had
half a mind to give him one good whack across his bare backside as punishment
for being such a male chauvinistic pig, but decided that he’d groveled and
begged forgiveness as much as she could expect from him. Besides, naked
Inuyasha by firelight was a true sight to behold, and she wouldn’t mar that
perfect flesh for anything. She put Yukio down between them on the bed. Even
without his heightened senses, he recognized the den as a place of comfort and
safety, and he relaxed immediately. Within minutes he was asleep and she moved
him to his bassinet.
She waited
until the den was warmed up from the fire before removing her own clothes and
putting on a nightshirt. She wasn’t about to sleep in the nude when Inuyasha
was still ‘in the doghouse’ so to speak. The object of her affections snuggled
up and nibbled at her throat, humming happily as she settled down next to him
and got under the blankets.
“You’re not
mad then?” he asked suddenly, breaking the silence of the space with his
uncertain voice.
“Oh, I’m
mad, but I think you’ve gotten my message.”
He
flattened his ears and dropped his head. “I’m sorry.”
She sighed
and rubbed his ears affectionately. “I know. You’re just a product of this era.
You think women are just useful for breeding more sons.”
He gasped
and reared back in abject disgust. “I do not!” he spat vehemently. “I would
He trailed
“It’s
alright, Inuyasha. But I am a product of the modern era and in my time women
have their own minds. If you’re going to be with me, you’re going to have to
accept that,” she scolded gently.
He sighed.
“I know. I shouldn’t ask you to stop being yourself any more than you should
ask me to stop being me. People who care about each other don’t ask the other
person to chato sto suit them. You taught me that.”
“Inuyasha,”
she breathed with pride. ‘Okay, you’re
getting back into my good graces. The chances of your getting laid tonight just
doubled.’
He gave her
a questioning look. “But, Kagome… in your time… you said that women don’t ask
their men to build them houses. Is that good? If men know they don’t have to
build a house what’s to keep them from using several women at once?”
“Some do
just that, and some women don’t mind. Most do though, and if they find out
their man is two-timing them they will leave him. As for the other, a man will
offer to build a house when he wants the woman to have his baby. In my time, a
woman can keep from getting pregnant until she is ready for a baby,” she
explained.
“Your birth control.”
She nodded,
pleased that he remembered the term. “Exactly.”
She saw him
puzzling it out, his face intent with concentration. “So… when they are ready
to have pups, the man will build a house.”
it’s what both he and the woman want.”
He gave her
a sidelong glance. “But you don’t want me to build a house.”
She closed
her eyes and sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want you to build a house,
Inuyasha. It’s that I want you to be free to live in it with me for as long as
we both shall live, and I want that to be longer than the end of our quest.”
He sighed
too and gave her another look. “Kagome… Kagome can we talk
about this?”
She
swallowed hard and nodded, and she wasn’t sure if he was relieved or
disappointed by her answer. After a few moments of pensive silence, he began to
speak.
“I know
that I promised to protect Kikyou and yes… go to Hell with her…”
Her heart
sank and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep in the cry that
gathered at the back of her throat. He saw her do this and hurried to continue.
“But only
that was our fate. I always thought that my life was hers because she
died for me, however… I died for her too, and… and
nowhere near here. She hone one off on her own.”
He paused,
thinking again. She waited, holding her breath.
“I know… I
know that she comes back sometimes and she wants me to meet with her, but she’s
had many opportunities to drag me to Hell and she hasn’t. I don’t know, but…
she’s been different since you healed her. I… I think you healed more than
heart too or part of it at least. What I’m saying is I don’t think Kikyou wants
to die anymore.”
She
released the breath she’d been holding and nodded. Then she spoke from her
heart.
“If that is
so, then I am glad. I am happy to have been able to help her. I know there were
those who thought I would be petty and not save her because she is in the way
of you being with me. That made me angry because I’m not like that, and I would
never let someone die because I was jealous. But if she no longer wants to die,
what does that mean for me and you?”
He looked
away, his face uncertain. “I don’t know.”
“What is to
keep her from coming for you and making you keep your promise?”
He began to
look flustered so she cut him off before he could voice his thoughts. She
really didn’t want to get into a fight with him, and she knew that was what
would happen if he got irritated.
“I’ve heard
you tell her that her life is yours, and I know that she’s said your life is
hers. In the end, she has a claim on you I can’t challenge. Unless you break
that claim by telling her that you no longer honor it, you aren’t free to be
with me. I don’t even know if she’d accept that even if you did tell her. And I
know you still have feelings for her. She comes within sight of you and...
every single time regardless of my feelings and our circumstances.
“For two
years, I have lived in her shadow, knowing full well that I have no right to
complain because I chose to stay with you even though I knew how you felt. I
couldn’t forget you and I wanted to be with you so I made this choice and I
live with it. But things have changed drastically between us and our
relationship has progressed so much. If you leave me now, I will lose… all that
I have managed to create with you.”
She
shivered, closing her eyes and felt Inuyasha’s arms hug her tight, his warm
breath on her neck.
“Kagome…”
“I’m… I’m
terrified of what she will do, what she will think. When she sees Yukio and
finds out that we’re sleeping together, she’s going to think I’m using the baby
and sex to win you from her. I just know it. But I’m not. It… it just happened
that way. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t ask that poor woman to carry her baby here
and give him to us. I didn’t plan to seduce you into my bed. Making love to you
was the most natural thing I’ve ever done, anwoulwouldn’t change a single thing
about that night. It was beautiful and perfect. And I didn’t do it because I
was thinking that I’d be one up on Kikyou if I did. I did it because I love you
and I wanted to share myself with you in a way no one else ever had.”
“I didn’t
feel seduced. In fact I thought I was the one pushing you that night. After
you… let me nurse from you, I just… I
She covered
his hands with her own as he pressed them to her abdomen. “I know. I needed you
too.”
She rolled
to her back and he propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. His
eyes held all the love he had never voiced aloud, and
she felt tears welling up in her own.
“But I
think… I think we may have made a mistake when we did this,” she whispered
softly. “I think it has made things so much more complicated and difficult for
the both of us.”
Hlattlattened his ears and gave her a distressed, horrified stare.
“Kagome… do
you… are you saying… are you telling me you want to stop?”
He looked absolutely
bereft and her heart cried out to him. “No. No I don’t want to stop, and that’s
the worst of it. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. But… that will make
things so much harder in the end.”
“Why are
you assuming that I’m going to leave you?” he asked suddenly.
“Because…
because you said… you said you’d go with… her.”
“Maybe I’ll
go with her.
certain.”
Hope
blossomed in her chest, small and fragile, but there. ‘Is he saying…what I think he’s saying?’
“Inuyasha,
are you saying that… you’ll choose me?”
He looked
seriously at her as if trying to decide on the right words. “I am saying that,
when I am free, I will choose you.”
“But
Kikyou…”
“Kikyou is
dead.”
His words
shocked her, and to be honest, he looked a little shocked himself, as if he was
surprised by his own admission.
He finally said it. He acknowledged that Kikyou is dead.’
“But you
love her…”
“I do,” he
confirmed, and his answer confused her.
“But…”
“What? I
can’t have room in my heart for you and her? She was my first love. I will
always have feelings for her and want to protect her. She was and is very
special to me. Does that mean I care for her more than you? No.”
Is he finally going to say it?’
“Inuyasha…”
He stroked
her hair tenderly. “I don’t want to go with Kikyou. Kikyou can’t be mother to
the pup, and she can’t have pups of her own. Now that I know what it is like to
have a mate and a family, I won’t give that up without a fight. I’ve made
promises to you too Kagome, and to Yukio, and I intend to keep them.”
say.
“My biggest
fear is that I won’t be able to choose one without sacrificing the other. I
couldn’t live knowing one of you had died because of me,” he admitted softly,
holding her hand. “But… but Naraku
is dead and Kikyou has gone off on her own. I don’t think she needs me
to protect her anymore. Her greatest enemy is gone and she is free to live. I
think that is what she’s doing, and she’s doing it without me.”
“And are
you okay with that, Inuyasha?”
A small
smile graced his lips. “Yes. Because it will mean that you will let me build
you a house, and I will live in it with you and the pup, and pups of our own.”
She smiled
back and grabbed the opportunity to change the subject. ‘I’m tired of talking about this. Inuyasha has said he will choose me
if he can. I have to be happy with that because it’s all he can give me right
now. Everything is in Kikyou’s hands. But will she
set him free? I don’t want to think about it anymore. I just want to love him
while I have him and not worry about the rest. It’s how I’ve lived the past two
years, there’s no sense in trying to change it now.’
He gave her
a heated look and a sexy smile. “Oh… two or three.”
“Not ten or
twenty like Miroku and Sango?”
wouldn’t have to worry about… what is it?...
“I’m sure
there’s birth control here. Women have always found ways to prevent pregnancy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Sango or Kaede knew about
pregnant,” she told him.
You wouldn’t need it if your weak noses could tell you when not to mate.”
“Like with
us?”
His sexy
smile turned into a sly grin, and he made a show of sniffing her. “Yeah,” he
replied, a low rumble of pleasure escaping his throat. “And right now, you’re
not in heat and won’t be going into heat for at least another eight days.”
His nose at
the juncture of her neck and shoulder sent little shivers of anticipation
through her and she shuddered.
“Inuyasha…”
‘Yes. This. I’ll
keep this as long as I can, and the rest doesn’t matter.’
His hand
rubbed her abdomen just under her breasts. “So… am I forgiven?”
“Hmmm?” she
answered, sinking into his seduction willingly.
“My runaway
mouth, rem reminded.
“Oh, that.
Yes, you’re forgiven. Provided you don’t stop what you’re doing.”
He shifted
even closer and she could feel his fingers deftly undoing the buttons on her
night shirt.
“Is that my
punishment?” he asked huskily. “To not stop?”
“Then I
won’t stop. I’ll keep going until you tell me you can’t take any more.”
“Don’t
forget we have a shard hunt tomorrow and we’ll need to rest sometime.”
don’t need rest,” he cooed in her ear, his hands slipping into her opened shirt
to caress her naked skin.
“Yeah, but
I do,” she replied, arching into his touch.
“Don’t
worry. I’ll carry you and you can rest on my back,” he told her, moving to
cover her with his body. “I’ll have to because you won’t be able to walk.”
“Is that a
promise?”
“Good.”
********
Morning
came and Kagome woke to the sound of the forest birds singing in the trees
outside the den. The fire had gone out making the two lamps Inuyasha had lit
the only light or heat in the den, but she was cocooned in warmth because
Inuyasha was spooned behind her, holding her possessively against him. Sometime
during the night Yukio had crawled out of his earthen bassinet to cuddle with
them under the blankets, and his little body was now tucked against her
stomach, his head resting just under her breasts. He was a hanyou again, his
hair silver and his puppy ears back on his head. Dimly she wondered if he’d
nursed during the night. If he had, she hadn’t been aware of it.
Inuyasha’s enthusiastic lovemaking. Her body was still tingling from the
pleasure he had given her, the thrill of their joining and the ecstasy of being
one with him in every way possible. At one point he had lifted her legs and
curled her body up, driving so deeply into her she swore she could feel him
hitting the back of her throat. She mentally
felt down to her nether regions and winced at the soreness there. ‘
keeps his promises. I know he does. That’s what I’m afraid of.’
Not willing
to allow herself to slide down into thprespression she often felt whenever she
thought about Inuyasha, Kikyou and her, she pushed the thoughts from her mind
and concentrated on enjoying the feel of the two most important beings in her
life snuggled next to her.
her nose: the scent of sweat and sex. ‘Now
if onl was was heaven with a hot bath. Now that
would be paradise.’
The movement woke both her hanyous. One responded by
nuzzling her neck and nibbling at her earlobe. The other just grabbed
breakfast.
Inuyasha
let out a low growl. “Meddling whelp,” he grumbled, but there was no real anger
in his voice.
She patted
her son’s back. “Good baby. You saved me from the evil sex fiend.”
“Evil sex
fiend am I?” he repeated, giving her another light nip
on her throat.
“Yes, you
are and I’m mad at you.”
He pulled
back and peered over her shoulder to look at her, his eyes showing true
concern. “Mad at me? Why? What’d I do?”
“You said I
wasn’t going to be able to walk. I didn’t think you meant I wasn’t going to be
able to walk for a week.”
He gave her
a lascivious grin, his eyes twinkling. “Hey, you can still feel your legs can’t
you?”
She stuck
out her tongue at him.
“Tease,” he
huffed.
The grin
got wider. “I am what you made me, woman.”
“Oh, so
your overactive sex drive is my fault now?” she asked, incredulous.
a sex drive until you came into my life. Now I have all those years of denial
to make up for.”
“And you’ve
decided to do all your catching up in two months?”
She rolled
her eyes. “I’m doomed.”
He chuckled
and kissed her, sighing happily. “Kagome. I’m glad.
For a moment, I thought you really were mad at me.”
“
He snuffled
into her hair and licked her neck. “Isn’t that whelp done eating?”
“No. He
just started. He hasn’t even asked for the second breast yet.”
Her lover
responded with a frustrated growl.
“Besides,
we have to get up anyway. We have a shard hunt, remember?”
He gave a
suffering sigh. “I remember. I’ll just have to wait until tonight.”
“So?”
“So?
He
shrugged. “Tree?”
“We’ll just
find a tree, or some other good place away from the others.”
“Oh we
will, huh?”
“Hey woman,
I’ve got eight days before you go into heat. I’m not about to waste them.”
“You
worry about it.”
“What kind
of birth control?”
“Well, I
could go back to my time and buy some condoms.”
“Um…” She
stopped, trying to figure out a way to explain prophylactics. “Well, they’re
these… sheaths that you put on before you make love and they catch the seed.”
He blinked
at her. “Sheaths that catch the seed,” he repeated, then
his eyes opened wide. “Oh! You mean something I put on my…”
He blushed
furiously and she snickered.
“Yeah,” she
confirmed, making him blush more.
He
sputtered and she snickered again, letting him off the hook. “Never
mind. I’ll ask Kaede if there’s
Yukio asked
to be switched; actually he asked then switched himself. He’d been doing that
for a few days as his upper body strength increased. Now Kagome just had to
make sure the nipple was available and he moved himself over.
“You said
he talks,” she mentioned, changing the subject so he’d stop blushing.
He blinked
at her, then nodded. “Uh, yeah.
Inu-youkai
language. He’s talking pretty clearly these days.”
She frowned
slightly. “I can’t understand him. It bothers me that I might be missing out on
something.”
“He’ll be
talking in human words soon enough. Inu-youkai speech
is pretty simple. Our sounds don’t say words as much as they convey ideas or
emotion. The pup has no sense of place or time other than the pack and the
present.”
She
listened eagerly, always fascinated by his knowledge of his demon half and its
characteristics. He knew much more about his youkai
side than he did his human one. It made her sad because it meant that
considering how often he had said he was a target until he was old enough to
start fighting back, said a lot about humans’ treatment of him.
destroy his heart and soul. Sometimes she shuddered at how close they had come
to succeeding.
sweet, brave, wonderful, compassionate being,’ she thought sadly.
“Can you
teach me?” she asked suddenly.
“Eh?”
“Can you
teach me your language so I can talk to him?”
“I could,
well, mostly. Your human voice and ears can’t make or hear some of the sounds.
But why would you want to learn inu-youkai speech?”
She gave
him an irritated glare. “Because he’s my son and if he’s talking I want to be
able to understand him.”
He flinched
but blinked at her. “Oh. Okay. Umm…”
“Tell me
how to say his name.”
“He doesn’t
have a name.”
“Yes, he
does.”
“Not in
are the individual’s scent and their title is one’s place in the pack. He calls
me leader-male and you mother-female. He recognizes Sango and Miroku as
pack-female and pack-male. Shippo he sees as
pack-brother because he knows Shippo’s a pup too. It
isn’t until we learn spoken words that we start to acknowledge names,” he
explained.
“So, what
do I call him?”
“Pup,” he
said simply, shrugging.
“Okay, how
do I say that?”
He made a
low noise in the back of his throat. She repeated it. Yukio stopped eating and
looked at them.
“See,
you’ve gotten his attention now.”
The baby
made a noise, and Kagome looked to Inuyasha. “What did he say?”
She smiled
and answered with the sound she’d just learned. Yukio blinked and replied with
a small whine.
“He said
he’s hungry,” Inuyasha translated.
Kagome
giggled. “Always thinking of food aren’t you, my baby. How do I tell him he can
go back to eating?”
The adult
hanyou made the noise and she repeated it. Yukio must have understood because
he burbled and resumed nursing. Kagome gave Inuyasha a fond look.
“Thank
you.”
He flushed.
“It’s nothing, really.”
“It means a
lot to me.”
He gave her
a happy smile, preening under the praise, and she smiled.
“I love
you,” she told him.
He gulped
and kissed her. “Kagome.”
For a
moment she thought he’d say the words, but he didn’t and she let it go, not
bothering to be angry about something she couldn’t change. For some reason, he
felt he couldn’t tell her that he loved her and she had to respect that, even
if she didn’t always understand his motives.
They waited
for Yukio to finish eating, then Kagome changed him
and left him in Inuyasha’s care while she went to bathe in the stream. When she
came back, she saw that Inuyasha had already freshened
the den, airing it out and discarding some straw that had been crushed by their
bodies overnight.
“Ready?” he
asked her.
She nodded,
picking up Yukio. “All we need to do is get the packs from Kaede’s
hut and we’ll be able to go.”
“Let’s go
then,” he said, offering his back.
She
her, then she got on and he took them back to the village. Miroku, Sango and
“Good
morning,” she greeted as Inuyasha set her down.
“Good
morning, Kagome-chan,” Sango said,
“Good
morning, Kagome-sama,” Miroku answered as
“Kagome!”
the kit said happily. “You’re late. We’ve been ready since dawn.
dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “What were you and Inuyasha
doing?”
“
from Inuyasha’s angry fist.
next to Yukio. The baby blinked at him and burbled.
A gurgle
was his answer.
Inuyasha
picked up the packs and handed Kagome her bow and arrows. Then they said their
good-byes. Miroku hugged and kissed his wife, and Sango gave her a hug and told
Inuyasha to behave himself on the trip. Shippo
switched to Miroku’s shoulder, Kagome got back onto
Inuyasha, and they set off to the east at a quick pace.
They
stopped around
to take care of Yukio. Inuyasha gave her more lessons in inu-youkai
with Miroku picking up some of it as well, and Kagome was surprised to learn
that Shippo already knew most of it because kitsune
was similar. All in all, the day went quickly in pleasant company with
everyone, Inuyasha included, in good spirits. Kagome mused on how much sex
softened and settled the usually volatile and irritable hanyou, and decided
that if she’d known how much it would improve his disposition, she’d have
bedded him years ago. Miroku made a comment similar to her own thoughts and
Inuyasha only thumped him once.
Close to
nightfall they made camp by a stream and Inuyasha fished for their dinner. He
was still insisting that Kagome eat liver because she was still making milk,
and fish liver was the easiest to come by. They were eating the fish he had
caught when Kagome suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of a
and was on his feet.
“What is
it?” he asked, one hand on Tessaiga’s
hilt.
Terror
seized her and she gasped, realizing who it was.
They had
only a moment to brace themselves before the whirlwind that was the