InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Lifetime Loving You Part 1; Seasons in Owari ❯ Lullaby and Visitor ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter 20; Lullaby and Visitor

(Inu-yasha's POV)

Lunch was at its end as I ate the remained of my rice with Kagome at my side on the stone bench in the garden. To be completely honest, for a young girl at twenty-six weeks, she looked incredibly well.

She was sewing, or at least working on her stitches on a scrap piece of cloth. I swallowed my food and looked to see what she was going, finally realizing it was not a scrap cloth in her hands anymore, but something more. I climbed to the free end of the bench and looked at her handy work while she hummed a small melody.

"What is that?" I asked, curious as to why this was a sudden change in her rag to a yellow cloth.

Kagome secured the needle and held it up for me to see. "It's a tiny kimono for the baby. I want it to stay warm in the winter months until it's time for spring."

I touched the cloth. "Feh, fire rat fur would do much better than this in the winter."

Kagome pulled it back and continued her stitching. I looked at slightly surprised at her reaction. "There's no cloth like that made here, Polaris told me. The best she has is this made from treated wool to make it softer on a baby's skin."

I looked at the cloth, knowing I would have much rather seen Kagome's baby with some form of protection that some treated wool. I snorted and looked away, not exactly pleased.

When I turned back, I realized I had hurt Kagome's feelings and I immediately took action by pressing up against her shoulder with my arm and then touching my forehead against the side of her head. It was a silent apology, and when her head went under my chin and she allowed me to embrace her, I knew I was forgiven.

Kagome looked at the tiny kimono and continued to sew as I soothed her.

She began humming again in a sweet soft tune. A lullaby that sounded strangely familiar to my ears. Kagome hummed the tune before opening her mouth and speaking words. I knew those words; that song.

"As the earth reclaims its due

"And the cycle starts anew

"We'll stay, always

"In the love that we have shared before time"

I pulled her away for a moment and looked at her for a moment. She looked at me and found me in my perplexed state. "Who...who taught you that song?"

Kagome looked at me a little surprised. "Polaris was teaching it to me. She said it was a love song once, and then became a mother's lullaby to help her baby to sleep. I find it comforting."

I turned away and crossed my arms and sort of sulked sadly. Kagome looked at me, still curious to the whole reaction. "How do you know the song?"

I closed my eyes and rested my chin on my locked arms. I opened them again slowly and looked out into the gardens. "My mother sang that song to calm my father...and then, it became my lullaby once I was born and grew restless."

Kagome was surprised and went to comfort me, but the bell rang signifying the mid-day meal was over. She looked at me and gripped my arm a little, before struggling to her feet only to fall back again. "Oh, it's too early to behaving trouble with getting on my feet."

She tried again and got to her feet for a moment before suddenly loosing her balance. I jumped to my feet and caught her underneath her arms and helped her stabilize as we laughed at the whole thing for a moment.

Kagome fixed her hair and placed both hands over her large belly. "Look at me! I can't even stand on my own two feet any more, let alone even look at myself the same way in the mirror." I looked at her face as she rubbed her womb. "I must be such an eye sore looking like this."

I narrowed my brow and lifted her chin and let her eyes meet mine. I saw tears wanting to form and wanted them to stop before they appeared. I whispered soothingly, "You are a sight for sore eyes, but you would heal them rather than make them sorer."

Kagome's mouth opened just slightly, taken by the worlds I hadn't even thought through before saying. It was as if my human emotions had cracked through my demon side and delivered a message she so needed to hear. I smirked a little. "Don't stop singing that song just because of me. Your voice makes it just as soothing as it was when my mother sang it to me."

Kagome then leaned into my chest and I embraced her, holding her as tightly to me as I could without worrying that I would harm her or her baby.

Suddenly, the horses whinnied and the sheep bleated outside the garden. Both Kagome and I looked at each other and ran out into the grassy field to find the sisters calling out to each other. "Wild wolf demon among the sheep!"

I gripped Kagome's hand and looked at her. "Stay in the garden for cover."

I dodged to the house and grabbed Tetsusaiga and came to Polaris's side with my blade fully drawn and at the ready. I gripping it with both hands I got ready for the demon scaring the sheep to appear.

It only took a second for something to spring out of the white balls of fur and into the sky with a super speed that I almost lost sight of the intruder. It was only until I followed his path and watched him as he landed in front of me, that I finally realized who it was. I growled at the mere sight of him.

"Well, well, Inu-yasha! You really went out of your way to hide Kagome from my nose this time, didn't you?"

Koga

I snarled as Polaris and her sister looked him over carefully. "You're not allowed here!" I snapped.

Koga crossed his arms and snorted. "You honestly think you can keep Kagome away from..." his voice trailed, and he began to sniff the air. He then brought his nose to my shirt and shoved his face away.

"Go find someone else to sniff if that's all you want." I yelled.

Koga growled, "Where is Kagome? What have you done to her?"

I got in his face, "Me? You're the jerk who thinks you own her? If she's your woman then why don't you take care of her? Believe me, I'm the only one who sticks by her enough to keep an eye on her instead of you, you wimpy wolf!"

Koga pushed back, "You know Kagome's better of with me, a full demon who doesn't loose his powers at anytime of the month. At least I can protect her all day and all night!"

I got ready to throw words back at him, but they died on my lips when I heard Kagome's voice come to our sides. "Stop it! Both of you just stop fighting!"

I looked at Kagome and took a step back, but Koga looked at Kagome in complete shock. His eyes fell upon the only thing his eyes could see that wasn't right with Kagome's figure. Koga's eyes were wide and glazed as he stared at Kagome, finding it hard to believe so much had changed during the summer, fall, and first frost.

"Kagome...you're...you're with a child?" he willed himself to say.

Kagome placed her hand over her belly and then looked down at it almost ashamed. My heart broke just looking at her face. It wasn't heartbreak, it was shame. Koga had made her feel shameful of what had happened to her.

Koga stood up and glared at me. "This...this is your doing?"

"No," Kagome said on the verge of tears. "The child's father is his elder brother, Sesshoumaru, with the help of a spell cast by Naraku. Inu-yasha wasn't the one who made me pregnant."

Koga still stared at me with anger in his face, before turning his eyes to the ground. "Inu-yasha, you've failed to protect her from this curse, and so I will blame you for all of it."

I grit my teeth and watched as Koga turned his head the other way. He didn't even look at Kagome as he spoke. "You are cursed with another demon's soil, and there for I cannot live my life out with you, Kagome. It would be shameful...I'm sorry!"

Kagome gasped and clutched the top of her robes the shield the cold as the wind blew around us. Koga didn't even look at her, and bent his knees to jump off into the sky and out toward the mountains. I ran after him with my sword raised and sneered, "Get out of here, and if I see your face again, I'll kick your hide all the way back to the mountains."

I sheathed my sword and took a hard swallow trying to not let the words Koga said to Kagome get to me. It wasn't the words that made me snap, it was Kagome as she broke down in tears and fled to the house ignoring any of the sisters' hands that tried to comfort her.

Aki came to my side. "He's shamed her. He's made her feel guilty for all that has transpired."

I felt my heart sink into my chest as I watched Kagome close the door to the house behind her. "That wolf had no fucking brains. Kagome's child is not something to be ashamed of. It's still Kagome's!"

~~~~

I looked at my rice and the two piece of meat on top of it, and then glanced over at the woman's table to find the only untouched bowl of food at the table. I frowned and cleared my throat as I picked up my food and rose to my feet. I scooped up the lone bowl on the table and left with it in my hands to head down the hall to the bedroom where all the female's slept. Dotomi went to stop me from leaving with the food, but Polaris held up her hand. "Eat your supper, Sister. I trust Nephew has good intentions and is not breaking the rule in this house for any poor reason. Let him go to the girl...she needs someone she can trust whole heartedly right now."

Dotomi huffed and continued to eat her food.

I slipped down the hall following the sound of weeping and sniffling. I placed one bowl down on the floor and knelt down on one knee as I opened the door only a crack before entering and closing the door with the two bowls of food in my hands.

Kagome was on her side with her robes and blankets to keep her warm. I sat down behind her and placed her bowl of untouched rice as she whimpered. I took my bowl and paced it on my knee as I sat down on the wood floor and folded my legs. "Come on, you can't sit there and cry forever. You need to eat something to keep your strength up. Winter months can be very unforgiving on a mother-to-be."

Kagome sniffled and curled up into a ball even more. I snorted and crawled over her with her bowl of rice in my hand, leaving mine on the other side. "Sit up. I won't let you do this to yourself or your baby."

Kagome wrapped herself in the blankets and sat up slowly and tried to make her tears scarce. I held out the bowl to her and she refused it. I finally got made with it. "Fine if you won't hold the bowl I'll feed it to you."

Kagome bowed her head. "What's the point? There's no point in living if you know you'll be alone for the rest of your life."

I looked at her wide eyed, and then picked up a clump of rice with the chopsticks. "You're talking about what that stupid wolf said, aren't you?"

Kagome looked at me. "Inu-yasha, is it true?"

"Open your mouth!" I fed her, and went back down to the bowl.

"Inu-yasha?"

I looked at her and sighed, "I depends on the type of demon. Wolf demons live to mate for life, once they claim you you're theirs even after death. Wolves only mate with females in their pack and no others."

I picked up a piece of meat and rubbed the meat against her lips to make her open her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. "What about your kind?"

I placed the tip of the sticks into the rice. "We...Dog demons mate until one mate dies. Once that happens they are free to mate with another. My brother and I are prefect examples of that."

Kagome opened her mouth again so she could eat the rice I delivered to her lips. She looked at me and then to the side. "So, I am bound to Sesshoumaru."

I looked at her wide eyed. "You're wrong!"

Kagome looked at me as I placed the bowl of rice down beside me and took her hands. I held her palms up and held them that away. "No man, human or demon, can take away your virginity. It's what binds us to our mates, that or the death of one. There is a saying for all of us about things like this. Virginity cannot be taken; it must be given of ones free will."

Kagome looked at her hands and I raised them to the locket that she had worn for so long now, and encased it in her hands. She looked at me, and I found her soft eyes. "You choose who you know is worthy of that kind of gift."

I released her hands and she looked at her locket as it shimmered in her palms. The silver locket her mother had given to her the night of her dance.

She placed it back into her kimono, tucked away safely and yawned. "I'm so tired."

I caught sight of her sleepy eyes and curled up beside her and lay down beside her. It only took a moment before I felt Kagome spread some of her weight over my chest and soothed herself with the sound of my heartbeat.

I sat up then only a moment after I became comfortable, and placed my back to the wall as Kagome watched. "Polaris wouldn't want to find you and me like that."

Kagome then crawled up to me and placed herself between my legs and lay on her side against my chest again. "I don't care for these rules anymore," she said as she snuggled into my chest. I couldn't help but admit in my head that I had missed this.

Kagome pulled at a small piece of my hair and wove it through her fingers. She watched it for a moment very carefully, and then saw the silver lock darken into a black lock of hair. "I didn't know it was a new moon tonight."

I groaned feeling even more tired now that my demonic strength wasn't keeping me from holding it back. "Just sleep!" I whispered throatily.

Kagome stirred and felt my hand comb through her hair. "I can't fall asleep," she whined.

I snorted in laughter for a second and put my arms around her as I pulled her closer to my body. She was so warm. I had missed her body's warmth.

Kagome rested her hand over my heart and let her circles make little circles over my breast. I closed my eyes and cleared my head.

"If the sky...opened up for me,

And the mountain disappeared,

If the seas ran dry, turned to dust

And the sun refused to rise"

I found those words of that lullaby coming back to me, and Kagome looked off into the distance. "Inu-yasha?"

I hushed her and continued sing my mother's lullaby with pictures of her rocking me in her arms to sleep.

"I would still find my way,

By the light I see in your eyes

The world I know fades away

But you stay

~

As the earth reclaims its due

And the cycle starts anew

We'll stay, always

In the love that we have shared before time

~

If the years take away

Every memory that I have

I would still know the way

That would lead me back to your side

The North Star may die

But the light that I see in your eyes

Will burn there always

Lit by the love we have shared before time

~

When the forest turns to jade

And the stories that we've made

Dissolve away

One shining light will still remain

~

When we shed out earthly skin

And when our real life begins

There'll be no shame

Just a love...that we...have made...before...time..."