InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Bind a Soul ❯ Not All is As it Seems ( Chapter 37 )

Chapter 37- Not All is As it Seems

The cave Morio led them to was perfect in Inuyasha's mind. It was high up in one of the many mountains that dominated the area, carved into the cliffs. The path leading to the cave was, while easily assessable, time consuming, leaving the cave well guarded.

Kagome had left her bag in the hut, and was now probably no more than ashes, which left Inuyasha to hunt for the night's dinner. As soon as the hanyou had seen his mate and companions settled in for the duration, Inuyasha had left the cave, intent on searching for food. However, since he could not be far from Kagome, he had to limit himself to waiting for his prey and not searching it out like he would have preferred. Sango had left on Kirara with Shippou to the river in an attempted fishing expedition, though she would never catch enough to feed everyone, which was why Inuyasha was presently sitting on his ass waiting for something edible to walk by.

Inuyasha sighed and picked a blade of grass from the ground, rolling it between his fingers. He couldn't go much farther than where he was now, but he could smell the animal trails that were interwoven in the forest scent and summoned up all the patience he had to wait for dinner to present itself.

He could hear Kagome above him, comforting Morio and his mother while at the same time arguing with Miroku. He could tell that the young miko was feeling stressed just by the tone of her voice, and prayed to whatever gods there were for something to come his way soon so that he could get back to Kagome.

Ears twitching, Inuyasha raised himself into a crouch and waiting for an opportunity to present itself. A fawn appeared before Inuyasha and he wasted no time in bringing it down. The animal gave one cry of protest before submitting itself to the hanyou's claws.

As soon as the deer stopped breathing, Inuyasha set to the task of skinning and cleaning his prey before collecting the edible meat and throwing the remains into the forest where other animals would appreciate them.

Kagome looked up and smiled brightly when he entered the cave, immediately standing to help him relieve the meat he held on his back. When Inuyasha shook his head and waved her away Kagome went back to what she had been doing when Inuyasha entered, arguing with Miroku.

"Really Kagome-sama, I had not meant to offend you," Miroku replied for maybe the seventh time. All he had done was make a barely offending comment on finding a woman to bear him an heir and Kagome had jumped at the chance to bite his head off.

"That's not what it sounded like, Miroku-sama. You know, most women do have minds of their own and while I understand this time is very different from my own, I don't like to listen to people criticize the female gender. And further more-"

"Kagome," Inuyasha interrupted. "He didn't mean nothing by it. Leave Miroku alone. He already apologized."

"But Inuyasha-"

"But nothing, Kagome. Let him have a little peace and quiet. I get the feeling there won't be much of it these next few days."

Kagome huffed but did as he said, moving to help him with dinner. Miroku shot Inuyasha a grateful look before the hanyou turned away, then returned to meditating.

"I don't need help Kagome," Inuyasha said when she moved to lit the fire.

"But I don't have anything else to do."

"You could get some sleep."

"I'm not tired," she replied stubbornly.

"But you will be, and there's still the pups to consider. Go lye down. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Kagome muttered a few choice curses under her breath before standing up to find a comfortable place to sleep. Inuyasha sighed relief when Kagome closed her eyes and within minutes was asleep.

Miroku moved to sit next to Inuyasha, quietly so as not to wake Kagome. "I think she was more exhausted then she let herself realize," he commented.

Inuyasha snorted but nodded his agreement. "She's been tired all day, just didn't notice it."

"But you did."

"I'm her fucking mate. I have to know if she's okay or not so I can take care of her."

Miroku shook his head slightly in disbelief. "If anyone asked me last month where we'd be today, I never would have said here," the monk replied, leaning against the cave wall.

"A lot has happened," Inuyasha admitting, his face bearing a far off look.

This time it was Miroku that snorted. "Let's see; Kagome's hanyou, pregnant and engaged by human standards. You're going to be a father in six months not to mention that fact that your personality has gone through an overwhelming transformation and that you've forever bound your soul to Kagome's. Did I miss anything? Oh, and I kissed Sango. I'd say that qualifies as a fucking lot!"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the monk's choice of language but didn't say anything, just nodded in reply.

Miroku sighed. "And now we have more to face than just Naraku."

Inuyasha's face became pensive. "If it's the price that has to be paid for Kagome to live, so be it."

Miroku nodded in agreement, but his mind was far from settled. He only wished there had been a way to save Kagome's life other than using The Sharing of Blood spell. But it was too late to change things now, and he wasn't sure he would, given the chance. He liked all the `perks' of the spell too much.

^_~

Morio watched as the human and monk fell into a companionable silence. The hanyou miko had quickly fallen asleep, thanks to his mother's subtle spell.

The boy looked towards his mother who shook her head. They would have to wait.

^_~

"Shippou-Chan, you have to be patient or you'll never catch anything," Sango chided the kit.

They had been fishing in the freezing cold ice water for maybe an hour and Sango had only caught enough to feed maybe three people. Hopefully Inuyasha had come across something, though she doubted that the little distance the hanyou could put between him and Kagome would allow him to hunt properly.

Sighing, the demon exterminator collected her catch and moved to pluck Shippou from the waters. "Come on," said Sango. "Let's go back to the cave and see if Inuyasha caught anything."

"Okay," nodded Shippou, jumping onto a transformed Kirara.

Sango sighed again. This week was fast becoming a living hell.

^.^

Miroku looked up as Sango returned with what she had caught at the river. Surprise was evident on her face when she saw a meal already in the process of being cooked. "So you caught something," she muttered, setting down the fish.

"Feh," was Inuyasha's reply as he moved to wake Kagome from her nap. "Come on, bitch. Time to eat."

Kagome groaned softly in protest before she shifted herself closer to Inuyasha and than fell back to sleep. Growling somewhat to himself, Inuyasha picked up the sleeping miko in his lap and motioned for Shippou to collect Kagome's dinner.

"Come on, Kagome. Just eat this and I'll let you go back to sleep," prodded Inuyasha.

Grumbling, Kagome awoke enough for Inuyasha to feed her, and when she was done, snuggled into the hanyou's chest and yet again falling asleep.

Inuyasha sighed and tucked her head under his chin, stroking his hand down her back. `Maybe the day really did exhaust her.'

"Inuyasha?" Miroku said questionably.

"I think, after this trip, that I'm going to have Kagome staying close to the village."

"But what about Naraku?" asked Shippou, climbing into Kagome lap, intent on sleeping.

Inuyasha sighed. "I guess we're just going to have to wait a few months."

Miroku nodded, understanding Inuyasha's predicament. "Don't worry, my friend. I'm sure the lovely Sango and I could search for shards until Kagome-sama has had the children."

Inuyasha nodded and smiled a bit before settling himself against the cave wall. "Thanks," he said, closing his eyes to announce the end of the conversation.

^_^

Morio watched as the last of Inuyasha's pack fell into a deep sleep, their slumber helped by the faint spell that hung in the air.

"It's done," his mother said, standing to move in front of Inuyasha.

"Don't you think we should wait until their first test is completed before initiating the second?" the boy asked.

The woman smiled slightly. "No. Kami-sama wanted us to finish the testing quickly so we could address other matters elsewhere."

"I just think it's a little much," Morio admitted.

The elder woman snorted. "You're getting soft. Maybe you have been in that form too long. You forget you're not human."

"I forget nothing."

"Then let it begin."

^_^

Okay, I know my updates haven't been as constant as before, and there's a good reason for that. My excuse is that I have a job now, so I can't lazy around the house all day and type. But, I'll still manage to get something out every few days. Laters~ fire_goddess