“Kagome, MOVE!” She ducked and rolled as a tentacle filled with miasma shot toward her. It just missed. Inuyasha leaped in front of her and she readied her bow and arrow.
“Yes, Inuyasha. Protect your precious hanyou mate. I overestimated you. I thought you would be smarter.” Naraku laughed and quickly flung Inuyasha to the side. A blow like that would have killed a human, and Inuyasha would be very winded at the least. To see Inuyasha like that…It made her see red. She shot her arrow at the same time Naraku’s tentacle shot out and went straight through her chest. The last thing she heard was Inuyasha scream her name.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Earlier….
It had been about a month since my birthday and Inuyasha and I frequently visited my family, traveling back and forth through the well. Not a lot had happened, but we managed to collect a few jewel shards from demons that were terrorizing surrounding villages. We were set to start out in a week to pursue a lead on Naraku, but were enjoying a relaxing break until then. Kaori and Shippou were sitting next to Kaede’s hut coloring with the crayons and markers I’d brought from my time. Sango was brushing out Kirara’s tail with some things I’d found at the pet store, and Miroku was simply sitting and watching.
“Hurry up, wench!” Inuyasha yelled at me.
“Inuyasha, it takes three minutes! I can’t speed time up! Be patient!” The hanyou sat and crossed his arms muttering angrily to himself. As soon as I handed Inuyasha his ramen, he beamed and began eating. “Dinner’s ready!” I called to the others. Everyone sat down to eat as Inuyasha started on his second cup. I took one bite of my ramen and started feeling queasy. I grabbed a bottle of water and some crackers from my back pack hoping that would help, but it didn’t. “Here, Inuyasha.” I gave him the remainder of my dinner.
“What’s wrong, Kagome?” Inuyasha became concerned.
“Nothing, I’m just not feeling too well. I just need to sleep it off.” I said, going to where my sleeping bag was set up. As I bent down to unzip the sleeping bag, something in my stomach went wild. I ran to the nearest bush and emptied my stomach. Inuyasha appeared behind me in an instant and held my hair back as I puked once more.
“Kagome are you ok?” Inuyasha was worried now.
“I’m fine Inuyasha. I probably just caught the stomach flu. A little rest and I’ll be ok.” I huddled up in my sleeping bag and tried my best to sleep, but my stomach was not having any of it. I groaned, turned over, and began silently counting, a trick my mother had taught me when I couldn’t sleep. After counting to almost 1200, Inuyasha crouched down next to me.
“Kagome, drink this. Kaede said it should help.” Inuyasha gave me a hot cup of tea and when the smell of it hit my nose, I almost threw up again. I braced myself for the taste and drained the cup easily. A few minutes later I finally began to fall asleep.
“Inuyasha, what did you give me?” I asked drowsily before snuggling further into my sleeping bag.
“Keh, just some herbs to help with nausea and sleep. Now scoot over.” Inuyasha joined me in the sleeping bag and draped an arm protectively over me providing extra warmth and the comfort of his scent. I sighed happily and almost immediately fell asleep.
The next morning I awoke to a peaceful hanyou running his hands through my hair. I opened my eyes and smiled when he leaned down to kiss me only to stop him when our lips almost touched. I leapt out of the sleeping bag and bounded quickly for the forest, Inuyasha following close behind. He held back my hair as I once again retched.
“Ugh,” I leaned into Inuyasha’s protective embrace. “I think we should go get some medicine from my time.” Inuyasha agreed, willing to do anything to make me feel better. We decided to spend the night with my family and had informed the others that we would be back in the morning. Inuyasha hoisted me up and we leapt into the well. When we entered on the shrine grounds I leaned into Inuyasha trying to calm my spinning head and upset stomach. Another wave of nausea hit and I dry-heaved into a bush nearby.
“Kagome? Are you alright?” My mother called making her way out to us.
“I’m fine Mama. I just caught the stomach flu.” I leaned into Inuyasha for support and we made our way into the house.
“Kagome, if it’s the stomach flu, maybe you should go see a doctor.”
“Oi, What is this ‘Stomach Floo’ you keep talking about?” Inuyasha asked.
“It’s a sickness. It usually doesn’t last long and can be treated easily.” I answered.
“A sickness? Then it ain’t no ‘floo.’ Hanyou don’t get sick.”
“Kagome…Can I speak to you…alone?” My mother glanced at Inuyasha and he took that as his cue to leave. He wouldn’t go far. As usual he’d go sit in the Goshinboku. With a deep sigh, The older woman recalled the conversation she and her daughter had a little over a week ago. “You said the first time you had sex was on your birthday, correct?” I nodded. “Kagome, when was your last period?” I thought long and hard, but I couldn’t remember. The month was almost up and I hadn’t gotten it yet. Realization dawned on me what my mother was suggesting.
“Last month Mama, but I couldn’t be-”
“There’s only one way to find out. In the bathroom in the medicine cabinet are some pregnancy tests I bought after you told me that you and Inuyasha were being…intimate.” I made my way up the stairs in a daze. There’s no way. Absolutely no way that I could be pregnant! I peed on the stick of death and waited three minutes like the box said. A knock on the door startled me as I stared intently at the pregnancy test.
“Kagome? What’s wrong. Your mom said you’d be up here.” Inuyasha called worriedly. I unlocked the bathroom door and cowered against his chest, not ready to say anything until I knew for sure. He pulled me protectively into his arms and held me. What if..what if he doesn’t want kids? What if he rejects me? What if he wants me to get an abortion? I don’t want to kill a child! After three of the longest minutes of my life, I checked the pregnancy test. On the instructions, it said one line means no, and two means yes. I looked at the test and….
One line. I let out a breath that I didn’t even know I was holding, threw the test onto the counter and threw my arms around Inuyasha’s neck and kissed him.
“Are you gonna tell me what all this worrying is about now?”
“Mama though since hanyou don’t get sick, I might be…pregnant.” Inuyasha’s eyes widened. “I took a pregnancy test. You’re supposed to pee on the end and wait three minutes.” Inuyasha picked up the stick, carefully avoiding the pee-end, and studied it carefully.
“So two lines means you’re not pregnant?” He asked.
“Yes, I’m no- Wait…what!?” I grabbed the stick from him. Sure enough, there was a second line, barely there. I threw the test in the trash and grabbed a different brand from the cabinet. This one was digital and would spell out the word ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for me. I shut the door behind Inuyasha and received a wide-eyed look from said hanyou. I ignored him and began the test. Inuyasha sharply turned to look at the wall or…anywhere other than the girl on the toilet. Once the test was finished, I replaced the cap and set it flat on the counter. I shut the lid to the toilet and slumped down in defeat. Inuyasha kept looking at the screen on the stick, but all it showed was a timer indicating that it was still deciding their fate. Inuyasha sat on the floor beside me and tenderly grabbed my hand.
~*~*~*Inuyasha’s POV*~*~*~
Pregnant? I thought back to our first night together. That was a little over a month ago, but that wasn’t the only time they had enjoyed each other. Oh, certainly not. Kagome could be pregnant…I could be a father. But…what if Kagome doesn’t want a baby? Will she reject me? I’ve always known I wanted pups someday, but that thought always left as soon as it came. I never thought someone would accept me, but Kagome has and now she might give me the greatest joy of my life. I want to be a father. But does Kagome want to be mother? Are we even ready for this kind of responsibility? Naraku is still out there… Our pup would be in danger.
~*~*~*
Beside her, Kagome could smell different emotions coming from her mate. Uncertainty, sadness, and anger. She heard a low growl come from deep in his chest.
“Stop.” She said, shooting up from her seat. She had trouble holding back the tears threatening to fall. “You can leave. I won’t hold you down anymore.” Inuyasha looked at her, confusion spread across his face.
“What?” Was all he said. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. Is she breaking up with me?
“I can smell your emotions, Inuyasha. It’s obvious that you don’t want this. However, I do. So I won’t hold you down. You can go back to the feudal era and I’ll stay here and raise my baby.” Inuyasha moved towards her and grabbed her hand tightly, refusing her when she tried to pull away.
“Kagome, you don’t understand. I want this. I want our baby with every ounce of my soul. I wasn’t sure if you wanted it. I would do anything for you, Kagome. You’re the only person who has ever accepted me for who I am; the only one that’s loved me for me.” Kagome’s eyes widened.
“But…you were angry…why?” Kagome wouldn’t look into his eyes.
“That damn Naraku! He has to die! I won’t let him harm our pup!” Inuyasha growled and smashed his fist on the counter. Unfortunately, his fist landed on top of the test, thus smashing it to pieces. They both looked at the mess with wide eyes. “I..I’m sorry!” Kagome wrapped her arms around her mate.
“It’s ok. We’ll just schedule an appointment with the doctor. If we call early enough we might get in later in the afternoon.” However, that was not the case. There was, in fact, a stomach bug going around and quite a few people had it. Kagome scheduled an appointment for the next morning and they decided to spend the night in the feudal era with their friends.
“We’ll be back tomorrow, Mama!” Kagome called as she made her way to the well house. Inuyasha had managed to convince her to bring more ramen, even though they had plenty, stating that she was going to have to start eating for two.
They returned in a good mood, only telling their friends what they needed to know. Everyone was having an all-around good day, laughing with each other over lunch. Their good moods were dampened, however, when Kagome abruptly stood, looking off into the distance.
“Inuyasha, There’s a jewel shard coming this way.” Their friends all formed a fighting stance.
“Kagome, stay out of this one, ok?” Inuyasha said in a voice low enough so that only Kagome’s enhanced hearing could pick it up.
“No, Inuyasha! I can help!” Inuyasha gave her a sharp look, his eyes flashed to her stomach and back up catching the realization in Kagome’s. She curtly nodded and shrunk into the entrance of Kaede’s hut. A few children that were playing close by were already huddled inside with Kaede. Kaori and Shippou were ready to protect them if it was needed. Kagome kneeled in the opening of the hut and readied her bow and arrow, already aimed at the spot where she sensed the jewel shard. The sky, though it was mid-afternoon, darkened, and the vegetation at the edge of the forest died as their worst fear stepped out.
“Dammit!” Inuyasha yelled. This was the real deal. Not a puppet. Naraku stopped a fair distance from the group and laughed his famous ‘kukuku.’
“Hello Inuyasha. It’s been far too long.” Naraku said. His eyes grew wide with surprise for half a second before going back to normal upon looking at Kagome. “I see you’ve mated your miko. Or should I even call her that? You’ve soiled her. Now she is but a mere un-pure hanyou like yourself.” Kagome gasped. It never occurred to her that by having sex and mating Inuyasha should have caused her to lose her miko powers, and if that didn’t do it, the youkai blood in her veins should have. She could feel her miko energy coursing through her veins, assuring her that it was still there. Naraku didn’t need to know that yet, though.
“So what! I still love Inuyasha and he loves me! That’s something you’ll never know, you bastard!” Inuyasha knew for a fact that one, Kagome still had her miko powers, and two, she never swore. So why…He then caught on. Naraku thinks she lost them. They have the element of surprise on their side! He saw something out of the corner of his eye. Kagome knocked an arrow and let it fly. There were no miko powers attached, just a plain arrow. Naraku easily swiped it aside and moved towards Kagome.
“Stupid, stupid girl. You’re no match for me any longer. I should kill you now that you’ve ruined the fun.” Naraku launched toward the hut, and Inuyasha quickly cut him off before he could take ten steps with a wind scar attack. Dammit Kagome! Now you’ve put yourself and our pup in danger! He sent a mental message to his mate just before placing himself between Kagome and her attacker. Naraku shot a miasma filled tentacle toward Inuyasha at the same time he shot one for Kagome. Inuyasha quickly took care of those two and a few more with his wind scar. Sango jumped in with Hiraikotsu and Miroku started flinging sutras at the demon. The only thing Kagome could do was look on feeling helpless.
Inuyasha was beginning to slow down and become tired. Before, he jumped cleanly away from attacks, now they were missing him by a hair. Finally Naraku had finished toying with them. He knocked tetsusaiga from Inuyasha’s grasp and wrapped his tentacle around the hanyou. Inuyasha struggled to break from Naraku’s grasp and Kagome saw that as her chance to help. She ran for the sword. Naraku however, caught on to her plan. Inuyasha used Iron-reaver Soul-stealer and got loose from Naraku’s grasp just in time.
~*~*~*~*~
“Kagome, MOVE!” She ducked and rolled as a tentacle filled with miasma shot toward her. It just missed. Inuyasha leaped in front of her and she readied her bow and arrow.
“Yes, Inuyasha. Protect your precious hanyou mate. I overestimated you. I thought you would be smarter.” Naraku laughed and quickly flung Inuyasha to the side. A blow like that would have killed a human, and Inuyasha would be very winded at the least. To see Inuyasha like that…It made her see red. She shot her arrow at the same time Naraku’s tentacle shot out and went straight through her chest. The last thing she heard was Inuyasha scream her name.
“What!?” Naraku cried incredulously. “You…You’re still a miko?!” For the first time ever, fear shone in Naraku’s eyes. No one paid attention to him, however, all eyes were on the enraged hanyou-turned-youkai, her miko powers purifying the miasma in her chest. Kagome adopted the red eyes that Inuyasha had when he turned youkai, however, she had two stripes on her cheeks, one purple, much like Inuyasha’s usually were, and one pink. She jumped into the air as high as she could and landed a foot from Naraku, then lunged toward the stunned demon and put one hand around his throat.
“Where is it.” Kagome growled out, not as a question, but a demand. Naraku laughed.
“I thought you were able to sense jewel shards, bitch.” Kagome sent a burst of miko energy through her hand, scorching the demon’s thoat, and sliced off one arm with a claw fill with that same miko energy.
“The heart. Where.” Naraku gulped, truly scared, but did not say a word. He was becoming nervous and it was obvious. His eyes darted around the clearing searching for an escape, but kept landing on the same spot each time. Kagome had a firm hold on the demon, and whipped around, confirming her suspicions. Bits and pieces of Moryomaru’s skin could be seen through the trees, but only if you knew what you were looking for. Kagome shot purifying miko energy, much like Sesshomaru’s light whip, toward the spot and Moryomaru stood to his full height writhing in pain. “Go.” was all Kagome said before Miroku, Sango, and Kirara went to kill the protector of Naraku’s heart.
The field was silent; all that was heard was the sound of battle in the distance. Suddenly Kagome began mumbling under her breath.
“What are you doing?” Inuyasha asked. He stood with his sword still raised, ready to attack should Naraku try anything. It was unlikely at this point, however. Kagome continued mumbling, only slightly louder. “Are you…are you praying for this bastard!?” Kagome continued mumbling and the stripes faded from her cheeks and her eyes returned to their normal color.
“You can’t even keep your demon side in check for an hour!” Naraku shouted raising a tentacle of miasma to strike Kagome. She continued muttering; however she was fully aware of the tentacle coming towards her. Inuyasha shouted her name just as the tentacle should have passed through her. Inuyasha watched in disbelief as the tentacle was purified upon touching Kagome. Now they saw it. Pink energy encompassed her entire form, giving her strength as she forgave her most evil enemy. A flash of light brightened the sky. Kagome leaned forward a placed a kiss on Naraku’s forehead as he was purified and banished from the world forever.
“You did it, Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted as he rushed to take his mate into his arms. He was stopped, however, by a disturbing sight. She stood, unmoving. Her mouth was slack and her eyes… where there should have been a pupil surrounded by the most beautiful shade of brown he had ever seen, there was nothing. Simply an eyeball covered in red veins. Inuyasha could feel the miko power rolling in waves from her body, but pushed through anyway. Their friends entered the clearing to see a human Inuyasha crying for his beloved mate.
Chapter End Notes:
Cliffie!!! Reviews make me not want to kill everyone off. :)