InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Collected Works ❯ A Cost Too Great ( Chapter 25 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Title: A Cost Too Great
Author: LuxKen27
Genre: Drama
Universe: Canon (post manga)
Rating: T
Warnings: Angst
Word Count (250 max): 250
Summary: A sequel to “A Dream Deferred” : Kagome is ready to try again. Can Inuyasha say the same?

Entry for: iyissekiwa prompt #66, “Cost” (1st Place)

Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.

~*~

It had been eight months.

Eight months since she’d lost her baby.

Eight months since her world had come crashing down around her.

But…

…she was ready to try again.

She’d know what to expect this time. From the depths of her grief and sadness, a new determination rose up. Her loss was also his loss, and that she could not abide.

He was taking it harder than she expected.

He hadn’t laid a finger on her since then…

As the weather grew colder, she managed to convince him to hold her at night, but even then, there was a certain fragility in his touch, as if she would break if he held her too tightly.

“Inuyasha,” she murmured one evening, wrapping her arms around him and pressing a kiss to his neck. “I’m ready. To try again.”

He didn’t respond, merely returning her embrace.

She was at a loss. “Your silence scares me,” she whispered, withdrawing from him.

He stared at her for a long moment, swallowing convulsively as emotions flitted across his face. “I’m not ready,” he finally said, his voice gravelly.

Her heart dropped. “You don’t want to have a baby with me?” she choked out, tears threatening behind her eyes. Had she truly disappointed him so much?

“No,” he replied fiercely. “Not if it means losing you.” He drew her close, so close she could feel the race of his heartbeat in his chest. “It’s a price I’m not willing to pay. Not now. Not ever.”