InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ As Fate Would Have It ❯ Chapter 24

Chapter 24- Gomen nasai, minna. I was told that I might have cancer and needless to say, my mind has not been focused on my fanfictions. I will do what I can though, because your reviews and comments mean so much to me. They truly inspire me to continue writing. Arigatou!

 

Kagome sat outside under Goshiboku, the shade of the great god tree obscuring the bright sunshine illuminating the shrine. With Izayoi and Inusouta sleeping peacefully in their crib inside the house, she had a moment to relax and reflect on the events of the past few weeks.

 

Once it was clear that Kagome had finally recuperated from the birth, Inuyasha had relented slightly on allowing her to resume her normal activities of taking care of the children, with her mother's delighted help, and catching up on missed schoolwork.

 

He still refused to let her through the well.

 

It's not like I'd be gone for long. I just want to see Sango and see how her pregnancy is progressing. Not to mention visit with Miroku, Shippou, and Kaede again.

 

She sighed. She really missed her friends.

 

“Hello! Kagome, are you home?” a friendly voice called out hesitantly from the vicinity of the back door.

 

Kagome blinked. Surely not…She glanced at the house and froze. Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka from school had come to pay her a visit.

 

Eri glanced over at Goshinboku and smiled as her eyes found Kagome. “Kagome! You must be feeling much better if you're outside instead of in your room recuperating.”

 

Ever wary, Kagome smiled hesitantly at her friends as they walked over to where she was sitting. “Um… hai, hai I feel… much better.” What did Grandpa tell them this time?

 

Yuka glared at her friend. “Your grandfather said you were pregnant, Kagome.”

 

Her face turning bright red, Kagome winced. “Um, well… Hai. I was.”

 

Ayumi looked nervous. “Er… Kagome… was it… is it…” she sputtered, obviously distressed. Kagome blinked. “You… and… Hojo…?” Ayumi managed to finish, looking very upset.

 

The poor miko's eyes went wide in shock. “No! No no no no! Absolutely not!” she cried as she frantically waved her hands negatively.

 

Eri leaned in closer to eyeball her friend. “So… were you really pregnant or not?”

 

Blushing, Kagome stood up. “Well, hai. I… I had twins- a boy and a girl.”

 

Yuka raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You don't look like you were pregnant. You look the same as before.”

 

“Except for her chest- she's really gotten bigger,” Eri added, pointing to the aforementioned attributes. “Maybe she really was.”

 

Absolutely mortified at the current turn the subject had taken, Kagome headed for the house, her three friends following closely behind. “Look… let's go in the house, and you can see them for yourself.” Thank Kami it's not after sunset…

 

Mrs. Higurashi looked up from the evening meal she was preparing. “Oh, hello girls! I see you found Kagome with no problems.” She smiled merrily. “I was busy changing Inusouta's diaper before and couldn't come to the door right away.”

 

Kagome's three friends blinked in unison. “Inu… souta?” they echoed.

 

Kagome nodded. “Inusouta. And his sister's name is Izayoi.” She turned back to her mother. “Are the twins awake, Mom?”

 

She smiled as she turned back to the food. “Hai. I put Inusouta in the bouncer and Izayoi is in the swing. As long as they can see each other, they're happy.”

 

“Who's watching them?”

 

“Grandpa.”

 

Kagome winced. Inuyasha wasn't going to like that. She led her friends into the living room that looked as if it had been taken over by baby equipment. Looking carefully around the corner, she half expected to see her grandfather chanting and putting o-fudas on her children.

 

Instead, much to her surprise, her grandfather sat on the floor between the twins, regaling them with one of the endless number of stories about the shrine and its history.

 

Much relieved, she stepped around the corner with her friends. “Hi, Grandpa. How are you holding up?”

 

The old man beamed up at his granddaughter. “Marvelously! These two will make fine heirs to the Higurashi shrine!”

 

Smiling, Kagome reached down and plucked her daughter out of the swing. She turned back to her friends. “Guys, this is Izayoi, my daughter.”

 

Izayoi stared up at the three newcomers with her bright gold eyes.

 

The three girls leaned in closely, staring at the little girl. Eri glanced up at Kagome. “She's got some really… unusual… eyes, doesn't she?”

 

Kagome mentally sighed. “She gets her beautiful eyes from her father.” She turned and indicated Inusouta, who was now being held by his great-grandfather. “Inusouta has the same eyes.”

 

Three gazes snapped to the little boy's identical golden eyes. Ayumi straightened up, looking confused. “If… Hojo isn't the father… then… who…?”

 

“Oi, Kagome! Wench, where are my pups? That senile old man better not be near `em!”

 

Wincing, Kagome turned toward the sound of the grumpy hanyou. “The twins are in here, and my grandfather has been taking very good care of them!”

 

“Nani?! Woman, I know I didn't hear you right.” Inuyasha stormed into the living room, clad in his “modern” clothes consisting of a red t-shirt (naturally) and a pair of normal blue jeans. His feet were bare as always, and a red baseball hat covered his ears.

 

Eyeing her mate coolly, Kagome spoke quietly. “Did you get the groceries for Mom like she asked?”

 

“Don't go changing the subject! Why is that old geezer holding my pup?!”

 

Mrs. Higurashi poked her head around the corner. “Don't worry, Kagome. He got everything I needed.” Smiling once more, she disappeared again.

 

Inuyasha turned back to Grandpa and Kagome, barely taking note of the three ningen females staring at him in mute fascination. “See? Now, gimme my pup, old man, before I Kaze no Kizu your ancient ass!”

 

Kagome glared at him. “Inuyasha! Don't talk to Grandpa like that! He took very good care of the twins so I could relax for a minute and Mom could start dinner. Why do you have to be like this?”

 

Ayumi snapped her fingers. “Inuyasha! I knew it! I thought he looked familiar! Those lavender stripes really threw me off.” The three girls turned to Kagome. “He's the two-timer, right? The violent one that has the other girlfriend?”

 

Inuyasha choked.

 

Eri leaned in close to stare at the flustered hanyou-in-modern-clothing. “So when did you two get married?”

 

Inuyasha made a whimpering sound as he tried to back out of the room.

 

Yuka looked at Kagome. “Why didn't you tell us? We would've come!” She stole a glance at the panicking hanyou. “Even if you did marry a make-up wearing two-timer…”

 

Inuyasha looked around frantically, spied his son watching him from Grandpa's arms, raced over and snatched the baby from the old man's embrace, and escaped out of the room before anyone could blink.

 

“Hey! You don't race off with a baby like that, young man!” her grandpa yelled as he cased after the hanyou and the baby.

 

Kagome stared after her mate. What was up with that? “Um, guys? We… Inuyasha and I… we didn't get married.” Izayoi whimpered, noticing that her brother wasn't around.

 

“What?!” came the collective shout.

 

Yuka looked angry. “So Mr. Violent-Two-Timer knocked you up and wouldn't even marry you!”

 

Eri shook her head. “Wonder if his other girlfriend got pregnant too…”

 

Kagome blinked in confusion. “Um… the other… girl… is kinda… dead.”

 

Immediately they looked contrite. “G-gomen…”

 

The young mother smiled uncertainly. “D-don't worry about it.” No need for them to know all the details… “Anyway, Inuyasha and I are… well, mated… which I think means we're married according to his family's laws.”

 

Ayumi looked very much relieved. “I knew he wouldn't do anything bad to you, Kagome. It's obvious he loves you and your babies very much.”

 

Kagome smiled, genuinely at ease for the first time since her friends had stopped by. “Arigatou, Ayumi. It feels good to hear that from someone other than my mother.”

 

Her friends giggled. Izayoi, who had remained silent all this time, managed a tiny giggle of her own.

 

The four girls gazed at the little baby in amazement. Kagome held up the tiny girl at eye level, regarding her with motherly pride. “Wow… that's the first time she's laughed…”

 

Ayumi sighed happily. “I wish Hojo and I could…” she trailed off, blushing furiously at the sudden attention from Kagome.

 

“Ayumi! You and Hojo are a…?” she exclaimed. The curly-haired girl blushed deeper.

 

“Hai… well, he asked me out a while ago… since he hadn't seen you in so long. We started out as friends, but now… we're a couple.”

 

Fixing her other two friends with a stare, Kagome looked shocked. “And you two knew? And didn't tell me?”

 

Yuka raised an eyebrow. “You didn't tell us about your `mating' or your pregnancy.”

 

Kagome chuckled. “Touché.”

 

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

 

Her three friends bid their farewells to Mrs. Higurashi, Kagome, and Izayoi (the menfolk were still AWOL) as they left the shrine.

 

“So Ayumi and Hojo are an item now… that's wonderful,” Mrs. Higurashi said cheerfully. “I was really worried how he would take the news about you and Inuyasha.”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes at her mother. “I'd be more worried how Inuyasha would take me telling Hojo the news about me and Inuyasha.”

 

Her mother chuckled as she lifted Izayoi from her daughter's arms. “He's just overprotective because he loves you so much.”

 

“Hai, wench, and don't you forget it!” Inuyasha jumped down from Goshinboku with Inusouta held tightly in his arms.

 

Kagome glared at her mate as Mrs. Higurashi took Izayoi inside the house. “I know I did not just see you jump down from a tree with my son!”

 

“Keh! He's my pup, woman. And he likes being in trees just like I do.”

 

“My son is barely a month old and is not going to be in a tree, period!”

 

“My pup is much stronger than you and will be in a tree with me as much as he wants!”

 

Kagome reached over, snatched Inusouta out of his father's arms, and whirled away, yelling “osuwari!” at the top of her lungs.

 

WHAM! The grumpy hanyou was eating dirt for dinner yet again.

 

Of all the dirty… Inuyasha managed to pry his head out of the ground to glare after his retreating mate and son. “You better run, wench! When I get out of this hole…!”

 

“When you get out of that hole, you still won't be taking my son into any trees!”