InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beauty and the Beast ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

A/N: I'm baaaaaack! ::smiles happily and waves:: Happy New Year everybody, I hope you all had a happy and safe one. And may I just say, I loved writing this chapter. ::grins happily:: Soak up the luff and WAFF while you can, the bad is about to hit. Damn evil people. ::gets pitchfork::

Disclaimer: Don't own InuYasha, mores the pity. Don't own Beauty and the Beast. I do own this piece of fiction, and if I find anyone else who has it...I'll maim you. Slowly. ::points to Fluffy-chan who glowers and snaps whip::

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip, looking at Kaede with large, glittering eyes. Nerves erupted in her stomach, and she wanted nothing more then to run out of the room. She was happy in her life here, and it fit her perfectly. She had her friends, she had little Shippou who she was coming to love as if he was her own son, and, most importantly, she had InuYasha. She wished she could hide them all, keep the world away from them.

She didn't want anything to intrude on her new life. Yes, she missed her Jii-chan, and she knew he was worried for her, but she also knew that her dear Jii-chan was fully aware of the fact she could take care of herself. Sooner or later she would have been forced away from him, and maybe in time she would be able to at least send him a message, letting him know she was okay, and happy.

InuYasha, who could sense the nerves building inside her, pulled her tighter against his chest and let out a low, soothing growl. It was low enough that no one else could hear it, but it rumbled through his body and into Kagome's, making her smile and relax against him.

Kaede leaned back in her chair, tilting her head and eying InuYasha and Kagome for a long moment before she spoke.

"I'm sure that you, by now, know about InuYasha and the castle." Kagome nodded, "Then you know that there are...forces...who are not happy with InuYasha, and, therefore, not happy with you." InuYasha, it seemed, did not take a liking to those words and turned a harsh glare on Kaede.

Kaede, for her part, chose to ignore it.

"By now Naraku knows that you have come to InuYasha. His spies are everywhere, and I have no doubt in my mind that he is more then a little unhappy with the fact that the two of you have found each other." Kagome shot a look at Sango, who sent her a wide-eyed look of horror.

"Lady Kaede, you do not think he will attack us, do you?" Kaede looked at Miroku, who had his ever calm air about him, and sighed.

"You know full well he will, Miroku. He has gained strength and allies, and his ultimate goal is to destroy InuYasha and Kagome." InuYasha growled violently, causing Kagome to twist in his arms and look up at him. She watched as his eyes flashed a blinding scarlet before returning to their normal golden color.

"Who is Naraku?" Kagome knew she had heard that name somewhere before, but the memory was simply refusing to come to her. But then suddenly it hit her, and her eyes widened before she turned to look at Sango.

"He's...he's the demon who slaughtered your village." Sango gave a tense nod, eyes glittering with hatred and sorrow. "But...but why would he attack us?"

"He was mated to Kikyou." Kagome blinked at Kaede.

"And I killed Kikyou. He wants revenge." Kagome felt numb at InuYasha's words, and she leaned against him again, chewing on her bottom lip. No one spoke for a long moment, the silence tense and heavy. It was broken when Kagome lifted her head and let out a long breath.

"Then we'll fight him."

InuYasha lay awake in bed with Kagome sleeping peacefully next to him, tucked against his side. Anger swirled inside InuYasha at the thought of anyone wanting to harm his Kagome. He clinched his jaw, but then forced himself to relax, least he wake the sleeping woman beside him. He turned his head and looked at her, running one clawed hand through her dark hair.

He would kill anyone who dared to even think of harming his Kagome. Even if it meant him dying, he would make sure she was okay.

Before Kaede had left, he had taken her aside and asked her if she was sure that Naraku knew that Kagome was with him.

"I have no doubt of it, InuYasha. Keep a close watch on her, don't let her out of your sight." Kaede sighed heavily. "I'd hate to see anything happen to her, she is so young and sweet." She paused for a moment, then looked up at the hanyou that towered over her.

"He'll be after her, there is no doubt. You must protect her, and the babe she carries." InuYasha blinked in shock at the old woman.

"How the hell did you know that?" Kaede let out a dry laugh, smiling.

"I am a miko, InuYasha. I know these things." In truth, InuYasha shouldn't have been surprised. He had known Kagome was going to whelp not two weeks after he had first taken her, though he had decided to keep it to himself. However, Kaede had always known things others had not.

It was imperative that he, along with Sango and Miroku, keep a careful watch over Kagome. Even more so now that she was with pup. He would never be able to live if anything happened to Kagome or their unborn child.

InuYasha was pulled from his dark thoughts when the one of the doors to his rooms cracked open, and little figure appeared there. Shippou's wide green eyes glinted at him in the faint moonlight, his tiny body trembling.

"Can...Can I sleep in here? I had a...a nightmare." InuYasha feh'd, but nodded, and Shippou raced across the room and clambered into the bed. He tucked himself under the covers, curling against Kagome's side, his head resting on her stomach. He was silent for a moment, then he began sniffing. His head popped out from under the covers, and he looked at InuYasha with startled eyes.

"Is she-" InuYasha cut the kit off.

"Yes." Shippou stared at him for a moment, then gave him a tentive smile.

"Can...Can I be its older brother?" It was InuYasha's turn to have a startled look. He had never thought that Shippou would look at the pup that way. But after a moment he nodded, and Shippou beamed a smile in return, nightmares forgotten. He dove back under the covers and rested his head on Kagome's stomach beside InuYasha's hand, his own tiny hand coming up to rub his adoptive mother's belly.

A warm feeling that InuYasha had never felt before filled him when Shippou began to hum an old song to Kagome stomach, and a smile stretched across his face.

Kagome was highly confused. She had woken up with Shippou practically sprawled across her stomach and whispering excitedly. It almost seemed as if he was talking to her belly. She arched an eyebrow and looked at the kit, causing him to shut up though he was bouncing and beaming in happiness.

"Shippou...what are you doing?" The small kit chirped out an innocent "Nothing!" and bounded out of the bed before running out of their room and into the hallway, shouting for Miroku and Sango.

"What was he doing?" She asked, looking up at a smirking InuYasha. He shrugged and let out a "Keh!", before climbing out of the bed himself and pulling his clothes on.

Kagome came down to breakfast to by greeted by a teary-eyed Sango, and a happily grinning Miroku. Sango at once wrapped Kagome in a tight hug, sniffling into her shoulder, while Miroku wiggled his eyebrows and nodded at InuYasha. She sent a rather desperate and questioning look to her mate, who once again let out a "Keh!", this time rolling his eyes.

Through all this, his chest was puffed out and he was fairly strutting.

"Sango, are you okay?" Sango sniffed and nodded, backing away, shooting Kagome a watery smile.

"I'm fine. I'm just so...so..." She nearly broke into a fresh wave of tears and fled into the kitchen, muttering something about getting breakfast. Kirara, who had been sitting beside her Mistresses chair (Kagome had no clue that Kirara was back again from the forest), leapt into Kagome's lap the second she sat down and rested her head against Kagome's stomach, purring.

She blinked and looked around in confusion, but before she could say anything was engulfed in a warm hug from Miroku, who kissed her cheek, smiling at her like a fond brother.

"...What was that for?" She asked. Miroku chuckled and shook his head, patting her stomach before moving to his place at the table.

Shippou was literally bouncing in his seat, eyes bright with excitement as he watched everyone.

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