InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ As Fate Would Have It ❯ Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

“Dammit! It's been four months now! How much fucking longer is she going to mope around in her own time, while here there are still jewel shards to find??”

 

Miroku glanced at his friend. The hanyou's irritation had grown with each passing week, as he continued to visit Kagome's era to try and see her. Her mother had claimed that Kagome still couldn't see him- catching up on her studies, she said. Inuyasha didn't really believe that, but he didn't argue. Her bedroom window was now locked and the shades always drawn. Inuyasha hadn't seen her is well over four months now and the separation from his mate was really starting to make him edgy.

 

Minako, however, he got to see during his weekly visits through the well when he would try to see Kagome. The little hanyou was now about 9 months old, by his reckoning, and toddling like a pro. Her speech was coming along as well, with her first word, for some reason, being “baka.”

 

Miroku and Sango knew perfectly well how Minako could've learned that word so easily. Inuyasha tried not to think about it.

 

“She's obviously got more important things on her mind than coming back here and dealing with your baka behavior, Inuyasha,” Miroku said as he took a cup of tea from his new wife. True to his promise, he had married Sango almost immediately so that they could formally claim Shippou as their son. Sango had wanted to wait for Kagome so that the miko could be at the wedding, but Miroku had pointed out logically that she might not return at all.

 

“Keh! She needs to get her scrawny ass back here where it belongs!”

 

“Who's got a what?” Shippou ran into the room, looking at him in confusion. The little kitsune had grown quite a bit in the last few months, the top of his ponytail now reaching Miroku's hip. His short little legs had lengthened out a great deal, adding to his height and making him not appear quite so childish. It was all Sango could do to keep the kit full- he was like a bottomless pit.

 

“Never mind, Shippou,” Sango replied as she handed him a cup of tea. He took it and bowed respectfully in thanks, sitting next to his adoptive father and mimicking his pose. “Inuyasha's just worried about Kagome.”

 

“I am not! She's made it perfectly clear that she doesn't care that we're mated!”

 

“I'm sure that is not the case, Inuyasha,” Miroku responded politely. “She always did have a lot of homework to do, and she gave a lot of it up to be here with us. Now she is probably just catching up.”

 

Inuyasha was about to snap back a retort when his whole body did a noticeable shiver. His ears perked up and his golden eyes went wide. He jumped to his feet and was out the door in a blink.

 

“What got into him?” Shippou asked, staring at the door where the hanyou had disappeared.

 

“Miroku,” Sango asked, raising an eyebrow at her husband, “you don't suppose…?”

 

“Kagome.” The monk nodded. “I would guess that she has returned, finally.”

 

Shippou set down his teacup and jumped up in excitement. “Then let's go see her! I've really missed her!”

 

Sango smiled. “I've missed her too, Shippou. Go get Kirara and we'll hurry.”

 

“Okay, Youbo Sango!” The little kitsune raced out the door to find the twin-tailed cat youkai.

 

Sango sighed. “I'd be happy if he wouldn't place so much emphasis on the fact that we adopted him.”

 

“He'll come around someday, Sango,” Miroku replied, standing up and taking her arm to lead her outside. “Perhaps if we gave him a baby brother or sister…”

 

“Stop that! I told you- there's nothing I can do about it. It's all up to Fate and nature. If we're supposed to have a child, we will!”

 

Miroku sighed in mock dejection. “Then I guess we'll just have to keep trying.”

 

Sango raised an eyebrow at him as Shippou and Kirara ran into view. “Like that's such a horrible task.”

 

The ex-monk grinned lecherously. “Keeping my hands off of you is a horrible task. Trying for a baby is heaven.” He happily stroked her backside.

 

“Shhhh!” She blushed as Shippou and Kirara slid to a stop in front of them, Kirara changing to her full-size form.

 

They all mounted the cat youkai and flew off, with Kirara following Inuyasha's scent as best she could. Sure enough, he was headed straight for the Bone Eater's Well. Sango and Miroku exchanged a glance, and then Sango guided the fire-cat to land in the grasses nearby. They wanted to be close in case anything bad happened between Kagome and Inuyasha after all this time.

 

---------------

 

“Oooof! Minako, you're getting heavy!”

 

“Mina heavy! Mina heavy!”

 

Kagome lifted the little hanyou up over her head so that she could reach the edge of the well. Minako grasped the wooden plank at the top and dug her little claws in. Suddenly she squealed as two clawed hands reached over the edge and pulled her out.

 

“Minako!” Kagome cried out in terror.

 

“Relax, wench. It's just me.” Inuyasha's voice floated down into the well, making her anything but relaxed.

 

“Baka papa!”

 

Inuyasha groaned. Wonder who taught her that one? He smiled at the little hanyou, taking note of how much she had grown in a week. “Hi, pup. How's my girl?” She giggled.

 

Her black hair was shoulder-length and she probably came up past his knee now. She wore a cute red pleated skirt- much like Kagome's school one- and a white short-sleeve sailor shirt with a red collar, trimmed with navy blue stripes and a navy blue bow on the front. White knee-socks and little navy blue loafers were on her feet. She had little red bows in her hair settled right behind her cute little black ears to complete the ensemble.

 

Deliberately ignoring the ex-monk and taijiya landing nearby on Kirara, Inuyasha looked at the well, wondering why Kagome wasn't getting out yet.

 

“Oi, wench! You coming out of there or you gonna stay in there all night?”

 

An irritated growl emerged from the well, making Inuyasha grin despite himself. “If you keep that up, I'd swear you were the inu-hanyou, not me!”

 

A familiar yellow backpack got tossed over the edge of the well, landing with a thump on the grass. Inuyasha assumed a relaxed stance, holding Minako on one hip, as he waited for his first glimpse of his mate in four long months. Inside he was impatient as ever, but he didn't want to scare her away. Not again. Not ever again.

 

A hand grasped the edge of the well, followed by the other. Soon Kagome's beautiful face emerged. She pushed herself up shakily as Shippou shrieked in delight.

 

Inuyasha's gaze turned to the kitsune, who jumped off his adoptive father's lap and ran to Kagome, who managed to swing her legs over the side of the well. Shippou stopped suddenly, refraining from pouncing on her like he usually did.

 

Inuyasha was confused. Why didn't he jump on her? The annoying kit always flung himself at Kagome- why was he hesitating?

 

He looked at Kagome, wondering what was different about her. She sat on the edge of the well, somewhat out of breath. She wore a pair of khaki shorts and a spring green shirt that was stretched over a slightly swollen stomach.

 

Inuyasha blinked several times. Miroku and Sango gasped and exchanged understanding glances. Shippou cocked his head and gazed at Kagome. Minako wriggled to get down, managing to release herself from Inuyasha's grasp. She giggled as she ran to her mother, who reached down to pick up the child. Inuyasha's eye twitched.

 

“Kami, woman! How in all the hells did you get fat?”

 

Sango and Miroku both winced. Not the best way to start a reunion.

 

Kagome looked at him calmly, yet her brown eyes radiated fire. “Some baka made me fat.”

 

”What baka?”

 

“Baka papa! Baka papa!”

 

Kagome smiled at the child, who was clinging to her neck in a sweet hug. “That's right, Minako. Papa is the baka who made me fat, huh?”

 

Inuyasha blinked several times again. “I did this to you? How?”

 

Sango and Miroku both fell off Kirara. Talk about your dense hanyous….

 

Kagome walked past Inuyasha, not bothering to answer him. Her scent, that familiar wildflower scent that was uniquely Kagome, caught his nose, as did Minako's- baby powder and soap. Yet there was another scent- like Kagome's scent, yet unlike as well. It was more like a mixture of Kagome's and… his?

 

It hit him like a blast from Sesshoumaru's Souryuuha. She wasn't fat.

 

She was carrying his pup.

 

He froze, staring after her, dumbfounded. How could she be carrying his pup and not tell him for four freaking months??

 

Sango ran up to Kagome and hugged her and Minako tightly. “Kagome! I'm so happy for you! And jealous! Miroku and I…” She trailed off, blushing. Kagome probably didn't know that they had married.

 

Sure enough, Kagome looked at Sango in shock. “You? And Miroku? You…? Married?” At Sango's nod, Kagome shrieked in delight, causing Inuyasha to flatten his ears against the high-pitched sound.

 

“Oh, Kami! When? How? I mean, I know how, but…!” Kagome giggled and put Minako down on the ground to give Sango another hug. “And you're trying already?”

 

Sango rolled her eyes and blushed again. “You know Miroku. I had promised him I'd give him twenty children and he wants to start right away.”

 

Kagome groaned. She looked at Miroku who was standing nearby, staring at her slightly swollen stomach thoughtfully. “I hope you're treating her good, you hentai.”

 

The ex-monk's gaze snapped up to her face. “Of course, Kagome. She deserves nothing but the best.”

 

“Enough of this!” Inuyasha roared. He stomped up to Kagome and turned her to face him. He got down on one of his knees and pressed a furry white ear to Kagome's belly.

 

Kagome blinked. “Um… Inuyasha? What… are you doing?”

 

“Quiet, wench! I'm trying to hear my pup!”

 

Kagome looked at Sango, who shrugged. Miroku shook his head.

 

“Um… I don't think you can hear it yet. It just started kicking me last week.”

 

“Keh! I can hear it just fine!”

 

All three adults blinked. “You…can hear it?” Miroku asked, stunned.

 

“Of course! I can hear my pup's heartbeat. Fast little sucker.”

 

Kagome's eyes filled with tears. He was grinning just like the proud father she had always hoped he would be. He looked up at her, his cheek still on her belly.

 

“What? What's with the crying?”

 

“Mama cwying?” Minako put a finger into her mouth and looked up at Kagome with a worried expression on her cherubic little face.

 

She shook her head, unable to speak. Miroku and Sango exchanged a smile.

 

“Shippou! Come on! Let's leave them be for now.” Miroku called to Shippou, who was standing quietly, observing his beloved Kagome with confused green eyes. He shook his head as though rearranging his thoughts, and then turned and ran to Miroku and Sango.

 

“Hai, Youfu Miroku,” he said as he jumped on Kirara's back. Miroku sighed. He helped Sango mount the large cat (not that she needed it, but he needed to touch her, if nothing else) then sat behind her. With a nod, Kirara jumped into the air and headed back to Kaede's village.

 

Kagome watched them go. “Youfu? So they really did adopt him...” she murmured to herself. She felt two hands resting gently (gently?!) on her stomach, and she remembered Inuyasha was still kneeling in front of her. Minako climbed up on his back and clung there just as Kagome had countless times before, yet she didn't think Inuyasha noticed her slight weight.

 

“Inuyasha?”

 

“I said be quiet! I'm trying to feel for him now.”

 

“Him?”

 

“That's right. What else would I father except a boy?”

 

“How about a girl?”

 

“Keh! Not this hanyou!”

 

She almost smiled. They were acting like they had before… before he had taken her and hurt her so badly. “Inuyasha…”

 

“Baka papa!” Minako squealed in delight.

 

“Don't you know how to shut up, wench?”

 

“Have I ever?”

 

He grinned up at her. Her sweet face looked down at him with none of the fear he worried might be there. The smile left his face as he stood up and looked deep into her eyes.

 

“Kagome… Gomen. Gomen nasai.”

 

“For what?”

 

He lowered his head in shame. “For hurting you like I did. I would never… I couldn't… but I did. And for that, I…”

 

He shocked her with what he did next. He, Inuyasha, grumpy ornery hanyou, got down on his knees in front of Kagome and took her hands in his. Minako slid off his back and stepped back, looking at her adoptive parents in confusion.

 

“I beg your forgiveness. Please.”

 

She didn't speak for a long time. When Inuyasha looked up at her, his eyes were bright with what couldn't possibly be tears. The only thing she could choke out was a strangled “Why?”

 

He stood up and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go again. She blinked in surprise as he held her, stroking her hair and nuzzling her neck.

 

“Because you're my mate, Kagome. I'm yours and you're mine. I can live without you by my side, but I sure as hell don't want to.”

 

He pulled back to look at her, his face soft and gentle, two expressions that she couldn't remember ever seeing him have. He gently stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles.

 

“Aishiteru, Kagome.”