The Lucky Ones

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

style='font-size:10.0pt'>888888888

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Once most
of the guests had arrived and the food was ready to be served, they took their
seats at the long table and the meal began. In keeping with Inuyasha’s poor
opinion of pomp and protocol, it was a self-serve buffet which suited the
majority of the guests just fine. A few thought they shouldn’t have to serve
themselves and wait staff had been provided for them to fetch food from the
buffet, but none of them were a part of Inuyasha’s brood. Growing up in a
household with so many family members, granted there had never
been more than six of them living in their parents’ house at one time, they had
learned the necessity of grabbing for the food while there was still some left.
They did try, however, to practice at least some rudimentary table manners for
the benefit of their mother- at least while she was looking.

Kagome and
Inuyasha were seated at the head of the table, flanked by Mama, Souta and
Jii-chan on Kagome’s side and Yukio, Eri and Tetsukazu on Inuyasha’s side.
Everyone else grabbed seats where they could and sat in no particular order
except that mates and families sat next to each other. Unlike the normally
reserved and quiet mealtimes favored in Japanese
culture, this one was lively and full of heated conversations. Many of her
adopted children had spread out over the globe and some hadn’t been in their
native Japan
for many decades. They had taken on the language and customs of their adopted
homes and left much of their Japanese
habits behind. It was also safe to assume that the Japanese culture as they
knew it back in the Sengoku Jidai and Meiji Eras bore only a token resemblance
to the odd mixture of traditional Japanese and Western culture that now
represented life in the Modern Era.

Having not
been in Japan
for nigh on eighty years, Kagome felt a bit like a fish out of water. She’d
been living in Canada
for so long that she no longer had the tolerance for noise and crowds that she
once did. Taking the bullet train from Osaka
to Tokyo that morning had proven
that with glaring certainty. The train had gotten uncomfortably crowded and hot
the closer it got to Tokyo as
people headed to work jammed onto the train. The noise and close proximity of
so many people had made her head spin, and she couldn’t imagine what Inuyasha
was going through with his hanyou senses. Stubborn to the last, however, he
refused to admit that the decision to stay in Osaka
had been wrong.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Rigid. Stubborn. Infuriating…’

< sty style='mso-tab-count:1'> “Kagome.
Here’s more Oden for you, koi,” her mate said gently, placing a bowl of the
stew in front of her. He’d run back to the buffet three times for her without a
word of complaint. Her plate hadn’t stayed empty for more than a few minutes,
but he’d been keeping the portions small because he knew she didn’t want to
gorge herself.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Sweet, loving, wonderful…’

“Thank you,
Inuyasha,” she said.

He gave her
a smile and kissed her temple.

“Anything
for you, koishii. Do you want more tea?”

“No, just
water. And I’m going to have to go to bathbathroom soon. You know the baby is
putting pressure on my bladder these days.”

“Just let
me know when and I’ll help you.”

“I can pee
by myself, Inuyasha,” she reminded.

“I know
that. I meant let me know and I’ll help you walk to the bathroom.”

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Overbearing, rude, violent…’

A glass of
water with three slices of lemon joined the bowl of Oden.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Three slices of lemon. Just the way
I like it. Beautiful, perfect, caring…’

“And then
the bull, he did to charge!” Isato’s voice rose above the din and she turned
her head to see her bull-hanyou son animatedly telling a story to Shippou’s
grandkits, his large hands waving as he recounted his tale.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘He loves kids. It’s a shame half the time
I’m terrified he’ll trample them before he realizes they’re there. His temper
is worse than Inuyasha’s.’

The
familiar pressure in her lower abdomen signaled it was time for her to make a
pit stop.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘Damn, my Oden will be cold by the time I
get back,’ she thought with a heavy sigh.

“What is
it, koi?” Inuyasha asked, hearing her sigh.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Attentive, accommodating,
considerate…’

“I have to
go to the bathroom. Kid just decided to move and practice his kick boxing on my
bladder.”

He was
standing beside her and pulling out her chair before she could even ask. Then
his hand was lightly grasping her arm and helping her rise to her feet.

“Oooffff,”
she breathed. ‘And it’s only going to get
worse. I’ve only just begun to put on the serious weight. God and I already
feel like a beached whale.’

She took a
step, lost her balance and was immediately caught by her mate steadying her.

“Careful,
koi. Did you trip over your own feet again?” he teased.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Offensive, chauvinistic, piggish…’

“I wouldn’t
trip if my ankles weren’t so swollen,” she complained.

“I could
always carry you.”

“No
thanks.”

“Kagome, is
everything alright,” her mother asked.

“Yeah, just
have to go to the bathroom.”

Her mother
gave her a knowing smile. “Ah. I remember having the same problem when I was
pregnant.”

“Good, I’m
glad to know I’m not the only one who’s suffered,” she replied dourly as the
pressure on her bladder increased. “Inuyasha, we have to hurry before I have an
accident.”

Without warning,
he swept her up into his arms and sprinted to the house.

“What are
you doing?!”

“Carrying
you. What does it look like, wench?”

“Put me
down!”

“In a
second. We’re almost inside.”

He set her
down right outside the bathroom door. “There. Fast enough for you?”

“Yeah.
Osuwari.”

“Gah!” he
gasped
as he hit the floor. “Bitch!”

“Never
get on the wrong side of a pregnant lady,” she warned, shutting the bathroom
door in his face.

To make
matters worse, after all the rushing and worry, all that came out was a little
trickle.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘I left my Oden for this?’ she huffed
irritably.

She stayed
in the bathroom longer than she needed just for good measure, then washed her
hands and stepped out. She found Inuyasha sitting on all fours just outside the
bathroom looking dejected.

“What did
you sit me for, Kagome?” he asked, giving her ‘soulful puppy-dog eyes’.™

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'> ‘I
will not cry or feel bad. He embarrassed me in front of the children…’

style='mso-tab-count:1'> He added ‘droopy ears’™ and her
resolve wavered.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> “What did I do wrong?”

“You
embarrassed me in front of everyone by picking me up and carrying me like a
little child,” she explained, trying to hold onto her anger in the presence of
‘that face.’

“You said
you were going to have an accident. Would it have been less embarrassing for
yo I’d I’d let you piss yourself?”

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘He was only trying to be helpful and you
sat him. You’re an awful, horrible bitch, Kagome.’

At the
sound of the first sniffle, ‘soulful puppy-dog eyes’ turned into wide-eyed
‘deer in headlights’ and he sputtered.

“Kag…
Kagome, are you crying? D-don’t cry!”

The sniffle
turned into a sob and she covered her face with her hands.

“K-Kagome-e-e.”

His hands
came up to grip her arms and she realized that he must have stood up when she
started crying.

“I’m
sorry,” they both said in unison and his apology for something that wasn’t his
fault only made her cry harder.

“Oh! I’m
such a bitch! How can you stand the sight of me?” she sobbed, burying her face
in his shoulder.

His arms
came around her and he held her carefully as he stroked her hair and crooned
under his breath.

“Shhhh,
there, there. Please don’t cry. I love you. I never get tired of looking at
you.”

Somehow his
tender words only made her horrible treatment of him worse.

“I’m so
horrible to you. I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself. I don’t know what’s wrong
with me!”

“Ummm,
you’re pregnant?” he offered, his voice slightly teasing.

She
sniffed. “I am aren’t I.”

He patted
her belly very gently. “Feels like it.”

She
snickered and pulled back, wiping her eyes. “I’m still sorry that I’m being
such a bitch.”

“You’re
just being pregnant. At least you aren’t puking up your guts every morning like
you were two months ago.” He blinked and gave her ‘innocent wide-eyed look.’™
“Are you going to break a bucket
over my head now?”

Another
small laugh escaped her lips. “I don’t think so. Maybe next week?”

“I’ll be
sure to schedule a root canal on that day just to make sure I’m out of the
house.”

She laughed
a little harder and he smiled at her, giving her a little kiss. “I love you.”

She sighed.
“I love you too.”

“Is
everything alright?” Yukio’s voice asked and she turned to see him standing in
the hallway, looking concerned.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘My baby all grown up. He’s so
beautiful.’

“Yes, just
pregnant lady mood swings and small bladders,” she explained.

“Oh good.
When Otou-san picked you up like that I got worried.”

She gave him
a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. But I’m ing ing my Oden is cold by now.”

“Bah, I’ll
just get you a new bowl and give the cold one to Isato. He won’t know the
difference,” Inuyasha replied, taking her by the arm.

“The sad
thing is, you’re probably right,” she admitted as she was flanked by the both
of them and they headed back out to the shrine.

True to his
word, Inuyasha brought her a fresh bowl of Oden and her old one was parceled
off on Isato, who ate it in-between telling more of his fantastic tales. The
bull-hanyou might not be the most intelligent of her children, but he was
vibrant and lively, and could tell a great story. She’d often tried to steer
him towards a career that suited his talents, but he seemed to prefer racing
cars and dating multiple women at once. She figured he would be her playboy
son, the one who never really made anything of himself and depended upon his
parents for support. Considering the rest of her children were all either in
careers or studying for one, if Isato was the only one who never realized his
potential, she considered herself lucky.

Once the
meal was over the harpist was replaced by a live band, which was a shame in
Kagome’s eyes because she really enjoyed the harpist’s music. Eri had hired a
spider-hanyou to play and, considering that she had four arms, she was able to
do things with the instrument that normal humans simply weren’t physically able
to. She also had six eyes and that was a little unnerving.

In that, she had also been lucky.
Of all of her hanyou children, only Sai had ever looked almost non-human, and
even then he hadn’t sported any extra limbs or other extremities. She couldn’t
imagine what life must have been like for a spider-hanyou growing up in a
family where one side had two arms and the other had eight, but she supposed
the girl must have had a very understanding family since she seemed relatively
well adjusted.

The band
that replaced the harpist was good, however, and played many differentes oes of
music. She noticed immediately that they had dropped everything down an octave
to accommodate inu-hanyous’ intolerance for high pitched noise and for that she
was very grateful. Inuyasha was on edge enough as it was. She didn’t need him
to be dealing with a headache on top of everything else.

After
dinner, she turned the chair around again so that it was facing out and
Inuyasha brought her another so she could prop up her feet. He was hovering
close by but thankfully giving her some breathing room. Currently he was
engaged in serious conversation with her grandfather and Yukio, and she briefly
wondered what they were talking about. During dinner, she and Inuyasha had
explained what had happened when Inuyasha made the wish on the Shikon no Tama,
and told them how she and her mate were now pretty much immortal unless one of
them was killed. She talked about all the hanyous they had raised over the
years and their struggles with Inuyasha’s infertility. Her mother had almost
started crying when she heard that her daughter had suffered through four miscarriages
before finally carrying an infant into the third trimester. Mama expressed deep
regret and sadness for not being able to be there for her through such a
difficult time. She smiled and said it was enough that she was there for this
pregnancy, especially since it was almost guaranteed to end in a successful
birth.

The
afternoon passed happily, except for her near constant trips to the bathroom.
Her family was all around her, she was reunited with her mother, brother and
grandfather, and she couldn’t have asked for a better day. Sesshoumaru showed
up with Rin and he and Inuyasha didn’t try to kill each other; in fact they
didn’t even go through the pretend motions the way they usually did. She could
only guess that her ‘delicate’ condition had made the taiyoukai err on the side
of caution. That and she had no doubt that Rin had threatened him with serious
bodily harm in tender places if he tried anything.

“Mama? How
are you feeling, Mama?” Tetsukazu asked her as he came over to stand beside her
chair.

“I’m fine,
sweetheart,” she replied, smiling up at her youngest.

He was
almost 215 years old, but in dragon years that made him barely out of
adolescence. In many ways he was still very immature and she worried about him
all the time. His Sight was so strong, and his Gifts still went wild every now
and then. She was never more grateful for the sword at his side than any other
gift Inuyasha had ever given any of their children. Jyu-shi-Kenshuga had saved
Tetsu’s life more than once, and he had his hand on it now; a clear sign that
he was trying not to See.

He had
gotten better with it since the gift of the sword and an extended visit to his
dragon relatives. The surviving members of his father’s line had found him some
150 years ago, and he’d been living with them on and off over the years. In the
early 80’s however, he’d relocated to New York
to follow a career on Wall Street, a profession where his Sight gave him a
clear advantage when trying to predict market fluctuations. She hadn’t seen him
since the 1997 reunion.

Tetsu
crouched down next to her and reached out a hand.

“Mama, do
you want me to…”

She took
the hand before it could touch her abdomen. “No, honey. We don’t want to know.”

He seemed
relieved then sat on the concrete and rested his head against her thigh.

“Headache?”
she asked.

He nodded
and she began to rub his scalp and neck with one hand, knowing her touch would
soothe him. Soon the low rumble of the dragon purr was coming from his throat.

“Ah,
Kagome,” her mother sighed. “I had always worried about what we were going to
do about your future.”

“You’re
looking at my future, Mama,” she replied, still rubbing Tetsu’s scalp. “My
children, my mate… I did become a pediatric doctor and specialized in hanyous,
but I’ve been semi-retired since we started the fertility treatments. I
couldn’t keep up the hectic schedule and still be available for all of the
things that needed to be done. I still see patients every now and then, if the
case is special or unique.”

Tetsu
looked over his mother’s thighs to his grandmother. “Mama has forgotten more
about hanyous than most youkai doctors ever learn in medical school.”

“Ah,” Mama
answered.

“Remember
that pig-youkai hanyou that came in with an infection and got so sick in the
hospital?” he reminded her. “No one knew what was wrong with him and he wasn’t
responding to treatment. Everyone thought he was going to die, but then you
realized he needed low-sodium fluids because he didn’t have sweat glands so he
couldn’t sweat out the salt the way a human could. No one else even thought
about that but it was so simple.”

Kagome
blushed but her son just beamed with pride.

“My
daughter the doctor,” Mama said happily.

“Semi-retired
doctor,” she corrected.

“Still, I’m
glad that you followed a career. I always wanted you to make something of
yourself and be happy.”

She
shrugged. “I kinda fell into the hanyou pediatrics because I had so many. Soon
people realized that I kmoremore about hanyous and their unique problems than
just about anyone else. I liked being a doctor, but I liked being a mother
more. After 1785, we didn’t get anymore hanyous because the ones that were
being born were planned and prized, and I really missed having children. Tetsu
was our last one, and I don’t think we even would have gotten him if his dragon
family had known about it.”

Tetsu gave
her an adoring smile and rested his chin on her knee. “I’m glad they didn’t. I
don’t think I could have asked for a better mom.” He stroked her abdomen with
his free hand, making sure he didn’t touch her with his claws and spoke to his
unborn sibling, “Mama’s the best mom. You’re so lucky.”

Suddenly
the baby kicked and she could tell that Tetsu felt it because he broke out into
a grin.

“Well,
hello in there. I’m your brother Tetsukazu, but you can call me Tet…” he said,
bringing his other hand up to cup her abdomen on both sides, letting go of
Jyu-shi-Kenshuga in the process.

“Tetsu,
no!” she cried, but it was already too late.

She saw the
Sight come upon him, saw his eyes roll back into his head as a low groan
escaped his lips.

“Tetsu!!”

Inuyasha
was there in a heartbeat, pulling her youngest away and shoving the hilt of the
sealing swordo hio his hand. Tetsukazu hit the ground and rolled, hugging the
sword to his chest and shaking.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘What did he See?’ she thought,
terrified.

It took
several long moments before he stopped trembling, and a small crowd had
gathered. Her daughter Izayoi, who had formed a particularly close bond with
Tetsu, knelt beside him and talked him through it while his father further
pressed Jyu-shi-Kenshuga against him, all the while muttering curses under his
breath. When he finally uncurled himself, he looked shattered and
shell-shocked.

“Tetsu? Are
you alright, honey?” she pleaded.

His violet
eyes fell on her and she saw them dilate for a moment before his expression
closed off.

“Yes, Mama.
I’m fine. It’s just that birth is a… traumatic experience.”

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘He Saw the baby being born. Oh…’

“Oi, was
that all you Saw, pup?” Inuyasha asked, his eyes narrowed.

She watched
her son swallow under her mate’s scrutiny and knew he was choosing his words
carefully. “Yes, Papa. I Saw the baby being born.”

“And was
it… was it born alive?” Inuyasha asked leadingly.

She shook
her head slightly, not wanting to know, but Tetsu would never refuse to answer
a question put to him by his father.

“Yes,
Papa.”

Inuyasha
looked at her, his face an expression of pure joy.

“Thanks,
pup. That’s all we needed to know.”

Izayoi
helped Tetsu get to his feet, but he still seemed a little shaky and he was
still holding his sword close to his body in a death grip. Izayoi was looking
very concerned.

“Tetsu,”
she whispered.

“I’m fine
Izzy. I’ll be fine.”

“Why don’t
you come over here by Goshinboku and lie down to rest for a little bit?”

Kagome saw
Tetsu nod, and his sister led him away. She frowned. Tetsu would never lie
about his visions, but something told her that he wasn’t telling the whole
truth. Part of her was curious and intrigued, but the rest of her still did not
want to know. She was brought out of her thoughts by Inuyasha kissing her, then
kissing her belly.

“Alive,
Kagome. Our pup is born alive,” he said.

Yes, Tetsu
had insisted that he’d Seen the baby born alive, and that was welcome news
indeed. Still she could have lived without the sudden panic and upset that had
flooded through her when she saw him huddled on the ground. The adrenaline rush
had left her worn out.

“Okaa-san,
are you sure you’re alright?” Yukio asked her.

“I am a
little tired,” she admitted.

Inuyasha
huffed and looked at her critically. “Why didn’t you say something? Didn’t you
promise me that you were going to take it easy and not overtax yourself?”

She
shrugged. “I just noticed it.”

He sighed
and reached down to take her arm. “Here. Why don’t you go upstairs to your old
room and lie down for a while? This party’s far from over. The band hasn’t even
started its second set yet. You can take a nap and still not miss anything,
okay?”

“Is it
okay, Mama?” she asked.

Mama
nodded. “Of course, dear. Go on, you need your rest.”

“O…okay.”

She let
Inuyasha help her to her feet, her back suddenly aching and her body exhausted.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘God I hurt all over. I knew pregnancy was
no picnic, but I had no idea it was so uncomfortable.’

“Kagome?”
her mate questioned, sensing her discomfort.

“My back
hurts,” she said as she toddled slowly towards the house.

“Hmm, maybe
I can do something about that,” he offered with a tender smile.

She gave
him a grateful look. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.” ‘How I love this man.’

Both he and
Yukio flanked her up the stairs and escorted her to her old room.

“It still
smells like us,” Yukio told them. “I was in here earlier to change clothes.
Your scents are still on the bed and my pup scent is still in the crib.”

Inuyasha
nodded as she opened the bedroom door and paused in the doorway.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘My room. My old room.’

Everything
was just as she had left it, right down to the teddy bear on her pillow and the
plushy toy in the crib. She gave a deep sigh of relief and headed right for the
bed as Inuyasha took a deep sniff and nodded.

“He’s
right. It does still smell like us,” he confirmed.

“Mmmm,
that’s so odd.”

“I’m going
to go back down and make explanations if anyone asks,” Yukio said.

“Okay. I’m
going to stay up here with your mother. At least until she’s asleep.”

Yukio gave
them a nod and left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Here, lie
down,” Inuyasha told her softly and helped her lower herself to the mattress.

She
positioned herself on her side, facing the room and he sat next to her, leaning
over to rub the small of her back in little comforting circles.

“How’s
that?”

“Mmmmm.
Good.”

“Yeah, but
I know what makes it feel even better,” he added huskily.

He was
hiking up her dress before she could even say another word, and his fingers
were lowering her panties carefully. Then his tongue touched her secret spot
and all thoughts of pain and discomfort left her completely.

“Ah,
Inuyasha... Don’t… don’t neglect yourself…” she panted as he licked her. “We…
we haven’t been able to be with each other in weeks...”

“I’m fine,”
she heard his soft whisper from between her thighs.

“No… if… if
you… come up here I can…”

“You’re too
tired, koi. It’s alright.”

“It’s
not... It’s... let me...”

“Shhhh,” he
whispered, his warm breath tickling her sensitive place as he began to love her
with his fingers and tongue. “Let me take care of you koishii. Let me make your
pain go away.”

“Ahhhhhh,
Inu-y-a-a-a-s-s-h-h-h-a-a-a-a...” ‘God,
he is so good at this....’

“Hand me
some tissues please, koi?”

She came
out of her pleasure-filled haze long enough to do as he asked and wrenched a
wad of tissues from the box next to her bed.

“Wh-what are you... doing?”
she gasped as he returned his attention to the task at hand.

“Something
I’ve gotten very good at, koi,” he answered between strokes to her heated
flesh. “All those times I had to come in a cup in some doctor’s office. I’m an
old hand at this.”

“You...
you’re...”

“Shhhh. At
least this time I have you right here to stimulate my imagination. All those
times it was just me and a dirty magazine... half the time I wanted to ask for
a copy of Dog Fancy just because I was so bored.”

She
chuckled then groaned as he started up again, faster this time, more
determined.

“Dog
Fancy... Oh to be a fly... on the wall...”

“If you’re
still talking, then I must be doing something wrong, koi. The only thing you
should be capable of doing is moaning my name.”

“I-n-n-n-n-u-u-u-u-u-u-y-a-a-a-a-a-s-s-s-s-s-h-h-h-h-h-a-a-a-a-a-a-a...”

“Just like
that.”

He brought
her to climax and she heard his little grunt of completion so she knew he’d
joined her in the last moment. In the aftermath of her orgasm, her back pain
dulled to a low ache and a heady sense of lethargy came over her.

“Ooohhh,
Inuyasha...”

“Shhh,
koishii. Go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake. Just sleep,” he told her,
kissing her sweetly. His lips still tasted of her.

“Thank
you.”

“You’re
welcome, koi. Anytime. You know it. I love pleasing you.”

“Me too.
Love you.”

“I love you
too, koi. Sleep now.”

“Mmmph.”

The last
thing she felt before sleep claimed her was his lips kissing her temple
tenderly.

888888888

Yukio
checked his watch. It had been an hour and his father was nowhere to be seen.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Hmm, still in with Okaa-san,’
he sighed to himself. ‘Mate guarding
again. I can just see him sitting there with his back against the mattress and
Tessaiga in his lap.’

A new scent
tickled his nose and he was growling before he could stop himself. Whipping
around to face the entrance of the shrine, he watched as his brother Ryoukan
arrived, right on time after dinner. It wasn’t the wolf-hanyou that made his
hackles stand on end and his body vibrate with irritation, however, but the two
full blooded wolf-youkais who accompanied him. Well, one of them.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Kouga. Ryoukan brought Kouga.
Otou-san is going to go through the roof.’

The
wolf-youkai and his mate sniffed around and homed in on him immediately.

‘style='mso-bidi-font-stylemal'mal'>Shit,’ he thought, bristling but
standing his ground. The wolf had once tried to take his mother away, and
learned a very painful lesson in the process. He was once Inuyasha’s chief
rival for his mother’s affections, and the two still had a mutually
antagonistic relationship.

“Yukio,”
Ryoukan greeted, offering a brief hug.

Yukio
hugged him then stepped back, taking in his brother’s casual jeans and
long-sleeved shirt. The two looked much like each other. Both were
half-transformed with animal ears on their heads and claws for nails, but where
Yukio’s hair was silver, Ryoukan’s was black as were his lupine ears.

“You look
well,” Ryoukan said formally. He was always formal and reserved, even around
his family.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘He never really fit in. Mom and Dad
hated sending him away but they did the right thing. From all accounts, he’s
much happier with the wolf pack.’

“You too, Ryoukan.
How’ve you been?”

“Fairly
well. I just returned from a trip to Scandinavia. We’re
opening up a new office there.”

He nodded.
Ryoukan had followed in Kouga’s footsteps and become an investment banker
specializing in ‘acquisitions.’ The job suited his predatory nature, but his
ruthless tactics often made his parents shudder. Ryoukan still had no love for
humans and cared little for their fates in a merger.

“Where’s
Mother?”

“Sleeping.
She gets tired easily so she went down for a nap.”

“Heh, is dog-turd
with her?” Kouga asked.

Ayame
slapped her mate. “Be nice, dear.”

He glared
at the wolf-lord. “Yes, my father is with her. He’s been… extremely protective
of her lately,” he replied, putting emphasis on the word ‘protective.’

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “As well he should be. Kagome always found
trouble wherever she could. Now that she’s breeding, I’m surprised he didn’t
lock her in a room for her own good.”

He looked
to his brother, one eyebrow raised. “You told them about Mom’s pregnancy?”

Ryoukan
shrugged. “You didn’t tell me I couldn’t.”

“True.
Still, we wanted to keep things quiet until after the pup was born to keep down
the number of non-family members sniffing around. Dad has been really uptight
and he doesn’t want a lot of strangers coming to see Mom.”

Kouga slapped
him on the arm and gave him a wolfish grin, making him grit his teeth.

“Heh, pup.
We’re not strangers. We’re practically family.”

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘You will never be pack, you stinking wolf…’
he thought, but swallowed his anger and held his tongue.

“I’ll go
see if Mom is going to be coming down soon. In the meantime, there’s lots to
drink and I think there’s still plenty of desserts left.”

Ryoukan
crinkled his nose. “Human food.”

Yukio just
shrugged and gave his brother a tolerant look. ‘All those years Otou-san would bring him raw rabbits and fish, and
Okaa-san would turn green having to watch him eat them.’

“I’ll be
back soon,” he said, heading for the house.

He found
his parents in exactly the positions he’d imagined. His mother was asleep on
the bed, curled on her side, and his father was seated on the floor beside her,
back to the mattress and Tessaiga resting against his shoulder. He gave
Inuyasha a smile that quickly turned into a frown when smelled the room.

style='mso-tountount:1'> ‘I don’t believe it…’

“What have
you been doing to my mother?” he demanded, snarling as he slammed the door
closed behind him.

The noise
woke Kagome and her eyes shot open in alarm.

“Can’t you
keep it in your pants for one fucking day?” he seethed, advancing on his
father.

“Yukio,”
his mother said softly, but her tone was a warning. He ignored it.

“She’s
exhausted for fuck’s sake! You’re so fucking protective of her that you won’t
let her walk ten feet without you, yet you’ll wipe her out further by rutting
on her like some mindless dog!”

A growl
began to build deep in the back of his father’s throat, but he was too angry to
pay any attention.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘How could you be so selfish? How could you
endanger her and the pup with your petty base needs?’

“How could
you be so selfish?! After everything the two of you have been through to get
this far, how could you risk her health and safety, and the pup’s health and
safety, for the sake of a quick fuck?!”

The hand
that grabbed him by the throat whipped out so quickly he didn’t even see it
coming. All he knew was that suddenly his father’s enraged face was a breath
away from his and claws were pressing dangerously into the soft flesh of his
neck.

“Do not
even hint that I would intentionally and willfully cause harm to my mate or my
unborn pup,” Inuyasha snarled, baring his teeth.

He clenched
his jaw and stared his father down, and the longer he refused to submit the
tighter Inuyasha’s hand gripped him until he was being practically lifted off
of his feet. He flicked his eyes briefly to his mother to gauge her reaction to
what was happening. She was still lying on her side, watching them. Her face
was concerned but she was otherwise calm. That meant two things: 1) she trusted
Inuyasha not to harm him, and 2) he was in the wrong. His mother had no
reservations about siding with him against his father if she thought his cause
was justified, but when she sided with her mate, that meant she believed that
Inuyasha was in the right. That above all else was what made him submit. He
trusted his mother and if she thought he was wrong, then he was wrong.

Growling,
he turned his head and flashed his throat in submission. He was immediately
released and he rubbed the sore places where his father’s fingers had dug into
his skin.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘I’ll probably bruise…’

“Good. For
a moment there, I was actually worried that you were going to try to challenge
me,” his father said, his voice hard and full of threat.

“I am only
interested in the well-being of my mother,” he replied.

“That makes
two of us. Don’t pretend to know what we are doing or why. It’s none of your
business what goes on between us when we are behind closed doors.”

Another
sniff revealed that his initial assumptions had indeed been wrong and if he’d
bothered to keep his temper in the first place, he would have thought to track
the semen scent, and he would have found it in the waste basket and not on his
mother.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘Shit, I jumped to conclusions…’

“I’m sorry.
I walked in and I smelled the scent. I just assumed…”

“You
assumed wrong, pup.”

He winced.
Inuyasha never called him pup outside of inu-youkai unless he was really angry.

“I realize
that now,” he admitted.

“Good, now
that we’ve settled that you wanna tell me why you came barging in here in the
first place? You knew your mother was sleeping.”

“Ryoukan is
here,” he answered.

“I already
knew that. His scent is all over you.”

“He brought
Kouga and Ayame with him.”

Inuyasha’s
eyes darkened and he began to growl. “What did he bring that stinking wolf here
for?”

“Apparently
he told them about Okaa-san’s pregnancy.”

“Shit.”

“My
thoughts exactly.”

“Alright,
you stay with your mother. style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I’ll go deal with the wolf.”

“Don’t be
rude and mean to Kouga, Inuyasha,” Kagome reminded.

Inuyasha
snorted. “I won’t kill him. Or start a fight. Or do any damage to your
grandfather’s shrine,” he promised when Kagome fixed him with an incredulous
look.

“And don’t
chase them away before I get a chance to see Ryou. I see him so rarely…”

“Understood.”

“I’ll be
down shortly.”

“I wish
you’d stay in bed. You haven’t gotten enough rest. If I thought he’d do it, I’d
tell him to come up here, but I doubt I could get him to set foot in the
house,” his father sighed.

“I agree.
He hasn’t gone into a human dwelling other than our home since we sent him to
live with the wolf tribe,” she confirmed.

“For what
it’s worth, he looks good. He told me he just got back from Scandinavia,”
Yukio offered.

Inuyasha
gave him a short nod and turned for the door, hooking Tessaiga back into the
loop on his waistband. “Look after your mother,” he said.

“You know I
will.”

His father
didn’t reply as he walked out of the room. When the door closed, he flattened
his ears and went to make reparations to his mother. He knelt next to her as
she struggled to sit up and nuzzled under her chin in submission.

:Sorry.
Sorry.:

She
responded with a sigh and a tender rub to his ears. :Forgiven. Impulsive pup.:

“I know.”

“You hurt
him more than you realize,” she told him, lying back down again. Apparently she
was still too tired to get up. “We haven’t been making love because the doctor
advised against it due to my history of miscarriages, and the past few weeks
have been very difficult for him.”

Yukio
nodded sadly. “I guessed that when I stopped walking in on you so much. I used
to interrupt you at least once every couple of weeks, but recently you’ve been
napping and he’s been out back chopping wood.”

She
chuckled softly. “I think we have enough firewood to last us the winter already
and it’s just June.”

“And you’ve
replaced all but one of the wood fireplaces with gas ones,” he reminded.

“He’s so
offended when all of his hard work gathering and splitting wood is replaced by
the simple flip of a switch.”

He
snickered. “Can’t take away his primary method for venting frustration, can
we.”

She winced
and rolled to her back. “That wouldn’t be a good idea, no.”

“Are you
alright, Okaa-san?”

“Yeah, it’s
just my back. The latest ultrasound showed this kid likes to use my spine as a
backboard. It’s putting a good deal of pressure on my lumbar vertebrae.”

He moved to
sit on the bed beside her.

“Is there
anything I can do?”

“Not
really. Your father knows what helps the pain. What we did here earlier is part
of it.”

He drooped
his ears. “Oh.”

His parents
had always been very open and frank with him about their sex life; his father more
so than his mother, but she had been relaxing about the subject in recent
years. Gods knew he’d intruded upon them enough times when they were making
creative use of the public rooms in their house. After a while it was just
taken as the norm. His parents had been made immortal at the height of young
sexuality, and they didn’t seem to be slowing down any with the passing
centuries.

He would
never forget the one time they had walked in on him and Miaka. His father had
cackled about it for weeks and offered suggestions on improving his technique.
Poor Miaka had been mortified until Kagome had taken her aside and smoothed
things over. Still, from that day forward Miaka refused to do anything sexual
whenever they were visiting his parents’ house.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘We had good times though. Even in the later
years when her passion for me waned because she was old. She never refused a
cuddle, even if she couldn’t offer me anything more than that.’

Kagome’s
hand brushing against his arm brought him out of his memories and he raised his
eyes to smile softly at her. She had a knowing look on her face, as if she knew
where his mind had been.

“Almost 40
years and I still miss her,” he admitted.

She nodded.
“Inu-youkai mate for life.”

He bowed
his head. “I... I keep thinking that she would have kept on living if she
hadn’t refused the infusion of my blood.”

His mother
frowned, but said nothing. In truth she had very little to say about Miaka’s
death, and none of what she did have to say was good. Towards the end, she’d
had a different opinion of his mate than she had previously held. To her, her
mate was everything and she needed nothing else. Inuyasha was her alpha and
omega just as he was hers, and she would never dream of leaving him- not even
for Death.

Miaka was
different. His hanyou blood had sustained her for over 200 years, but he could
see she was getting tired and the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Japan
had sealed her fate. They’d known it was coming, and that there was nothing
they could do to stop it. Even Uncle admitted defeat in the face of history and
fled Japan with
his family before 1930. Miaka, however, refused to leave her homeland no matter
how much he begged and pleaded.

He couldn’t
understand. He loved Japan,
but he loved his mate more. She was his country, his motherland and
sovereignty. Wherever she was was home to him, whether it was in Japan
or France or Canada,
and being with her was good enough for him. It was not so for Miaka. In 1935,
he’d literally dragged her out of Japan
by force before the majority of the aggression and fighting began, and in many
ways she had never forgiven him.

When the United
States dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan
in 1945, something died in Miaka as well, and she refused the infusions of his
blood that had kept her alive for so long. She’d lived for another seventeen
years, but in those scant years she’d aged considerably. He’d watched it all,
his heart breaking to see her dying before his very eyes and being helpless to
stop it. He might have forced her from her homeland, but he would never have dreamed
of forcing his blood upon her.

Of course style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>now
he knew that she’d been clinically depressed and probably would have responded
to treatment if there had been any at the time. But back then who knew?
Everyone blamed a woman’s moods on ‘female problems’ and left it at that. His
mother knew better and had once tried to tell him about it, but after he’d
taken Miaka from Japan, she’d become so paranoid about Kagome ‘meddling’ in
their marriage, that she threw fits every time Yukio mentioned her. As a
result, Yukio made a choice he never thought he’d have to make: his mother or
his mate, and with his mother’s blessing, he chose his mate. He didn’t see
Kagome for more than ten years, although he did talk to her on the phone,
unbeknownst to Miaka, and he did see his father at least twice a year when he
would go on a “business trip” which was actually a trip to Denver.
Inuyasha would come down from Alberta
to meet with him and they would visit for a couple of days.

Kagome never
joined his father on those trips for a number of reasons, The first was that
she was still practicing medicine and was in high demand within the youkai and
hanyou worlds. She had a private office in Calgary
where she saw patients and also traveled all over North America
to treat sick hanyou children. The second reason was that she felt Yukio was
stretching the truth about his trips enough as it was and she didn’t want him
to have to outright lie to Miaka. If she didn’t come, then he could honestly
say that he hadn’t ‘seen’ her.

Kagome knew
what Miaka had done, and knew that she was choosing to die rather than live and
stay with her son. She had heard Miaka’s arguments about not wanting to live in
a world where thousands were slaughtered on a whim and weapons could murder millions
in a single strike. She had countered them with tales of the late 1900’s, of
how the world was better and there was peace and prosperity in Japan.
But Miaka would have none of her arguments, and Kagome was forced sit idly by
while her son suffered through the agony of witnessing his mate die. She was
furious with the woman for not loving her son enough to live for him, for
leaving him bereft and alone, and he knew she had never forgiven Miaka for the
pain she had caused him or how difficult she had made life for him in the last
decades of her life.

After her
death in 1962, he’d moved back in with his parents and spent the next decade
crying. His parents allowed this, even when his siblings would tell him to
‘snap out of it.’ All they would say was, “Leave your brother alone.” whenever
one of his sibs pushed too hard or criticized him too harshly. They knew all
too well what it felt like to lose someone close to them and they didn’t
begrudge him his grief. In fact, they’d buried their daughter Takako in 1949
and their grief was still fresh when everything was happening with Miaka and
him.

They had
been remarkably accommodating of his temper and moods. The only thing they ever
insisted on was that he not take his anger out on them, and he did his best to
comply. In response, he had received the wealth of their comfort and love to
help him through his mourning; giving him just about anything he wanted. They
drew the line at allowing him to sleep with them as he had done as a child, but
Kagome would often make herself available to him and his father often found
them snuggled in a hammock together in the backyard, her arms around him as he
let the steady cadence of her heartbeat lull him to dreamless, nightmare-less
sleep.

He lived the
next twenty or so years in a kind of grief-tainted haze. He went to work for
his father, assisting in the acquisition of more assets and real estate, rendering
of some of his father’s drawings into formal drafts, and overseeing some of the
rental properties they owned. He greeted each day, did his job and tried to
recover from the blow Fate had dealt him, but there was a huge hole in his soul
where his mate had once been and he felt hollow and empty without her.

Then in
1979 they heard about a new technique in the treatment of infertility called in
vitro fertilization. It was a new method being pioneered in England
at the time and showed much promise. Years ago, they had determined that
Inuyasha’s problem lay with low sperm count and motility issues, but there had
been no recourse until then. Youkai embryologists and gynecologists seized upon
the new technology and worked on retro-fitting it for youkai purposes because
infertility was a much more serious problem in youkai than it was in humans,
with several lines facing extinction if progeny were not produced. By 1985 they
were ready to start experimenting.

His parents
had been one of the first in line.

The first
time his parents announced that they were pregnant, there had been much
excitement and joy in the family. Everyone was notified and preparations were
joyfully made as they eagerly anticipated the arrival of their new sibling.
Then Kagome had miscarried and the world had ended. He vividly remembered
coming home from work one afternoon to find his mother standing in the doorway
of the nursery Inuyasha had designed for the new pup. She’d been clutching a
little white stuffed dog she’d bought as a joke on one of their extravagant
baby shopping trips. The late afternoon sunlight was pouring through the open
windows of the room and spilling out into the hallway where she stood holding
the toy close to her chest. The light had bathed her in gold that shimmered
with the waving shadows of the trees outside, and he’d stopped to stare at the
almost heavenly vision of his mother illuminated by the soft light. Then she’d
looked his way and he saw her face. He would never forget that shattered face
for as long as he lived.

From that
day on he’d pulled himself out of his own pain and suffering, and dedicated himself
to helping his parents weather the coming storms. His mother needed him and her
pain gave him something to focus on outside of himself. Over the next fifteen
years, he would ride the roller coaster of expectation and disappointment with
them, a third witness to what they went through and the trials they endured to
have a pup.

After the
second miscarriage he’d started asking why. Why did they do it? Why did they
put themselves through the heartache and pain only to lose the pup before the 5^th
month? His father would only reply that Kagome wanted a pup. She missed being a
mother and there were no hanyou orphans up for adoption anymore. If they wanted
a new pup, they had to have one themselves and Inuyasha was willing to go
through it if it would make her happy.

Looking at
her now, he had to agree that, although she was having a very difficult
pregnancy and his father was a nervous wreck half the time, their overall mood
was joyful, and there was a contented light shining in his mother’s eyes that
hadn’t been there before. He smiled at her and nuzzled her to chase the frown
from her face.

“But I’ll
have a new little brother or sister to shower affection on soon enough,” he
said, changing the subject. “I’ll be Aniki again.”

She smiled
back. “You’re still Aniki.”

“I know,
but they’re all grown up. There’s no one to play with anymore.”

She slapped him lightly. “You
get this pup hooked on motorcycles and I’ll castrate you myself.”

He gave her
a wide-eyed look and made the motion of skittering away from her, protecting
his crotch. She laughed and sat up.

“I should
go down to see Ryoukan. If I wait too long, it will be too late,” she said,
swinging her legs off of the bed.

He was
there immediately to help her to her feet. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

She sighed
and rolled her eyes. “style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Yes. I’m pregnant, not terminal.”

He kept one
hand under her elbow to steady her as she made her way to the door.

“I have to
go to the bathroom. Again.”

“That’s
funny. Your father said the same thing.”

He waited
until she was finished in the bathroom then helped her down the stairs and back
out to the reunion. She was swamped immediately by at least four of his
siblings inquiring about her, and his father came tearing over to glower and
stake his claim before Kouga could get to her. He snickered and shook his head
at his father’s antics, even if he agreed that his mother was better off being
kept a hundred kilometers away from the wolf-you

Things
reached a bit of a head and his mother got angry with Inuyasha for being so
overbearing. She almost, style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>almost sat him in front of Kouga but
he acquiesced at the last minute and avoided punishment. He stood and fumed
silently, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Kagome walk a short
distance away from him to visit with Ryoukan, Kouga and Ayame.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>‘I guess now’s a good time to go make up,’
he thought.

He
approached his seething father from the left, keeping his ears and chin down in
submission. When he was a half a meter or so away, he stopped and waited to be
acknowledged. Inuyasha cast a brief glance at him, then lifted his chin
slightly and turned his head away.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> ‘There. He’s given me the
opening...’

Closing the
distance between them, he licked his father’s chin and gave a soft whine of
apology. :Sorry. Sorry. Pup stupid.:

Inuyasha
sighed and turned his head to nuzzle him briefly.

:Forgiven.:

:Leader-male,:
he confirmed, making suis fis father knew he wasn’t being challenged.

:Beta-male,:
Inuyasha replied, reaffirming his firstborn’s place in the pack.

It was an
attribute of dogs and inu-youkai that once the proper reparations were made,
all was well within the pacain.ain. He’d displeased the pack leader, but now
that he’d groveled and shown his contrition, he’d been forgiven and accepted.
He now stood at his father’s right shoulder, mimicking Inuyasha’s crossed-arm
stance as they both watched Kagome with the wolves.

Inuyasha
crinkled his nose. “They still stink,” he complained.

Yukio nodded.
“But she hasn’t seen Ryou in three years. We should let her have her visit
without the pissing contest.”

“Feh, maybe
I should
start marking territory. The smell might actually keep that wimpy wolf away.”

“If you
start pissing on trees, youw Okw Okaa-san will sit you until you make a crater
the size of China
in the ground.”

“Yeah, but
if it would make him go away...”

“Don’t do
it. She’ll make you suffer. Besides he’s no match for us and you know it. If
Kouga so much as tou her her inappropriately, we’ll take him down so fast he
won’t know what hit him.”

“If he style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>looks
at her funny,” Inuyasha corrected.

“Deal.”

As it
turned out, Ryoukan only stayed long enough to visit with his mother for a
couple of hours, then he left, taking Kouga and Ayame with him, much to his
father’s relief. Once the wolves were gone, his mother went to lie down again.
They were getting her settled in her bed when there was a scratch and plaintive
mew at the bedroom door. Yukio opened the door and Buyo came waddling in,
meowing.

“Buyo,”
Kagome said as the camecame over to her and hopped up on the bed, purring.

“I was
wondering where you were. I missed you so.”

Buyo mewed
again then shimmered, her shape altering until the kitten form of Kirara sat in
her place.

“Kirara!!”
Kagome gasped.

The firecat
mewed happily and rubbed up against Kagome’s hand.

“Is style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>this
where you’ve been all these years? We lost track of you after Kaemon died. We
had no ideare yre you’d gone! We were so worried!”

Kirara
mewed and purred. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and saw that he didn’t look
particularly surprised.

“You knew
Buyo was Kirara?” she asked.

Inuyasha
shook his head. “I had my suspicions. Every now and then I’d feel a hint of
youki off that cat, and after we found out that the Higurashis were the descendants
of Sango and Miroku, it made sense that she’d stay to protect them. She was
also the only cat that never ripped me to shreds no matter how much I teased
her.”

Kagome
hugged the firecat. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”