InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cheating Fate ❯ Quality Time ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kagome held her new born daughter tightly to her chest as she and her mother walked into the house. It was Ami’s first day out of the hospital and Kagome, being the paranoid new mother that she was, was more determined than ever to make sure her new baby was safe.

“Sis, you’re home!” Souta, her little brother, called as he ran into the room to greet his sister. He stopped in his tracks as he watched his sister sit down on the couch. He gazed at the bundle in her arms. “Is that her? Is that my niece?”

Kagome smiled up at him and nodded. “You want to see her?” she asked and Souta slowly walked toward them. As he peered over the mass of blanket that was around the baby’s face, a smile appeared on his face.

“What’s her name?” Souta asked quietly as if he were afraid talking too loud would frighten the baby. Kagome shifted the baby in her arms so that Sota could get a better look.

“Her name’s Ami.” Kagome replied with a small smile as Souta’s gaze never left the baby’s face. “Do you want to hold her?” Souta nodded enthusiastically and Kagome patted the seat next to her on the couch. He sat down and Kagome maneuvered the baby into his arms. Kagome watched as Souta stared down in awe at Ami.

“Be careful dear.” Mrs. Higurashi advised. “Mind her head.”

Kagome felt so relieved knowing that her younger brother wasn’t nervous about holding a new born. Souta was usually so tense whenever he tried something new, but as he held Ami, Kagome could tell he was a natural at it. “Don’t worry Mom. Souta’s got this under control.”

Souta looked over at his sister with a serious expression on his face. “I think you should tell InuYasha about her.” Kagome’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. Just the thought of telling InuYasha made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “I mean it Sis. She’s his daughter too. He has a right to know. No matter how big of a jerk he is. Besides, I don’t think you should have to go through this alone.”

How could a twelve year old know so much about a situation that he wasn’t even a part of? Even if, deep down, she knew he was right, there was no way she could tell him. Kagome’s eyes softened toward Souta. “Oh come on Souta, you know I’m not going be going through this alone. I’ve got you and Mom. Anything InuYasha could do for me I know you and Mom could do better.”

Souta shook his head. “You need to tell him.”

Kagome rolled her eyes at him, then looked over at her mother as if to say ‘Can you believe this?’. Only to find her mother looking guiltily down at the ground. “You think I should tell him too! Don’t you?!” Kagome accused hotly.

“Well dear, it would be in Ami’s best interest to have a father in her life.” her mother said and Kagome couldn’t help but feel as if she’d been betrayed by her own family.

“And I suppose it would be in my daughter’s best interest if InuYasha and I were to get married too, huh?” Kagome asked angrily as she felt tears welt up behind her eyes. “Perhaps you both don’t remember the fact that he cheated on me!”

“Darling, please, you’ll upset Ami.”

Kagome closed her eyes in hopes of keeping her tears at bay. “But you know, who cares right?” she said sarcastically as she got up and went over to the phone. “After all I’m sure InuYasha would willingly drop everything to come and be a devoted father to Ami.” Kagome picked up the phone and dialed InuYasha’s cell phone number. She patiently waited for him to pickup as she tried to keep her adrenaline running.

Her voice was caught in her throat when she heard his voice for the first time in over seven months. “Yeah, hello?”

“Uh.” Kagome started. “InuYasha?”

“Yeah.” he said slowly. “Who is this?”

“Kagome.”

“Oh . . . Hey Kagome. What’s up?”

“Um, we need to talk.” she said nervously. “Do you think we could meet someplace?”

She heard InuYasha sigh on the other end. “Look Kagome, I’m a little busy right now, so if you have something to say you might as well say it now.”

Kagome tried to avoid the looks her mother and Souta were giving her, so she turned and faced the opposite wall. “Uh, I really don’t want to say this over the phone.” she said and when she didn’t receive an answer, she said his name.

“What?” he answered distractedly and it was then that Kagome heard the female’s voice in the background. Kagome felt the tears cascade down her cheeks. She felt like she was back in time, seeing him with Kikyo again. Although, that had happened months ago, the pain was still just as strong.

“You know what InuYasha, never mind.” Kagome said, carelessly brushing away her tears. “I’m sorry I bothered you. I’ll let you get back to your friend. Carry on with whatever you were doing.” She waited a moment before saying goodbye and then hung up. She collapsed beside the end table with her face in her hands while sobs convulsed from her.

“Oh Kagome.” her mother said when she was by her daughter’s side. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Come sit on the couch dear.” She helped Kagome to her feet and led her over to her former seat. “I’ll go make you some tea.”

As her mother left the room, Souta leaned over and placed a hand on top of his sister’s shacking shoulder, while balancing Ami in his lap with his other arm. “I’m sorry too Sis. I shouldn’t have provoked you into doing that.”

Kagome wiped some of the tears off her face and attempted to smile. “That’s alright Souta. It just wasn’t meant to be.” she said as she took Ami out of his arms and held her gently to her chest. “We’ll make it through this without him. We’ll be fine.”

Souta looked as if uncertain. “Will you, Sis?” he asked but Kagome ignored him as she got up and left the room to join her mother in the kitchen.


Ami was crying. Never a good sign when Kagome was running late . . . Again. Ami had lost the hat Sango had bought her the day before and Kagome was close to losing her mind. “Are you sure you’ve checked everywhere? Where was the last place you had it?” Kagome asked her daughter in an exhausted voice.

“O-on m-my he-head!” Ami wailed as she collapsed to the floor in a heap. “I want it Mommy, but I ca-can’t fi-find it!”

Kagome sighed to herself. Days like these never turned out well, but she couldn’t say that the night leading up to it was any better. Her date with Hojo had been completely boring. When she arrived back at the table, their food had arrived and Hojo had already half finished his. They hadn’t talked much either. Considering the first conversation didn’t really work in Hojo’s favor. The only good thing that happen that night was running into Koga. Oh, and the fact that Hojo hadn’t tried to kiss her when he brought her home.

The next morning was sure to be a doozy and so far it was looking that way. “Ami please, we’ll find it when we come home. Mommy’s going to be late for work.” Kagome said as she reached for her daughter’s hand, but Ami wrenched herself out of Kagome’s reach.

“No!” she wailed as she started throwing various toys laying about. “I have to wear it! Aunt Sango got me it!” Kagome was on the verge of pulling her hair out. She hated it when Ami pulled her little tantrums. They always seemed to put Kagome in the worst mood and it lasted all day.

“Look Ami, Mommy doesn’t have time for this.” Kagome stated and pulled Ami up into her arms. She headed toward the door as Ami pounded on her shoulder crying. Kagome got her in the car and was strapping her in, when a light blue piece of cloth laying under the backseat caught her eye. “Of course it’s already in the car.” she exclaimed to herself as she pulled Ami’s hat out from under the seat.

Ami stared at the hat for a moment before a smile broke out over her face. Instantly drying her tears. “Mommy found it!” she yelled happily as Kagome placed it on her head. Ami pulled the hat farther down on over her head. “I love you Mommy!”

Kagome halfheartedly rolled her eyes and smiled. Her daughter sure knew how to get her blood running one moment and melting her heart the next. She finished strapping Ami in then headed off to work.

When Kagome arrived, she barely had enough time to clock-in. She maneuvered Ami over to her over hip so she could scan her time card. When she was finished, she made her way to her mother’s office. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. Which was strange considering her mother never locked her door. At least not in the morning when she knew Kagome came to visit before her shift. She knocked on the door. “Mom?” she called through the door.

“Just a second Sweetie.” she heard her call, and then heard a muffled voice. Someone else was inside. Kagome hoped she wasn’t interrupting her mother and a patient. She watched her mother swiftly open the door just enough so she could step outside. “Hello Dear.”

“Grandma!” Ami shouted when she saw her and started to reach out for her, but Kagome pulled her shoulder back so that Ami couldn‘t reach.

“Shh, Ami.” her grandmother told her before winking at her, which seemed to distract her from her mother‘s antics.

“I’m sorry Mom. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Kagome apologized. “I’ll just take Ami up to the nurses and let you get back in there.” Kagome was about to turn around, but her mother quickly grabbed her free wrist. Kagome looked over at her to find her mother glancing between her and the door.

Her mother sighed. “I don’t have a patient inside. I was just finishing up some last minute details with a student about his internship.” she replied and Kagome stood silently staring at her mother before looking over at the door.

Suddenly it all clicked. The locked door and her mother slipping out the door before she could see inside. Kagome let out a shaking breath before saying, “Please tell me it’s not who I think it is.” When her mother didn’t deny it, Kagome’s expression turned from denial to panic. “Oh my gosh.” she whisper/yelled. “He probably heard Ami!”

“Settle down Kagome.” her mother told her calmly. “There’s no point overreacting. These walls are pretty thick and even if he can hear, there’s no way to tell who Ami was talking to.”

Kagome was glaring at her mother. “Would you please keep your voice down.” she murmured before dragging her mother a short distance down the hall. “Look, I don’t need to be going through this today. Yesterday was a close call and it was only his first day here. I don’t think I can keep this up if things like this keep happening.”

“Sweetie,” her mother consoled and then looked over at Ami, who was just watching them talk. “we were talking and it turns out it’s not going to be a long internship. Just eleven weeks. They’ll be over before you know it.” Kagome sighed. She knew eleven weeks was considered a short internship, but the thought of InuYasha staying for that long just made her want to break down and cry. “Besides,” her mother continued. “even if he does find out . . . Would it really be the end of the world?”

Kagome stared at her mother like she didn’t even know who she was. If InuYasha ever found out . . . She couldn’t even picture what would happen. Probably total chaos. “Yes.” she finally answered. Keeping the truth from him was his punishment. Keeping his daughter away from him was the only way she could protect herself from all the pain he caused her. She really didn’t like to think of it that way, but deep down she knew it was partly true. “It would be.”

InuYasha had just been talking to Dr. Higurashi about his internship, when he heard Kagome knock on the door and call for her mother. “Just a second Sweetie.” she called back before addressing him. “Please excuse me a moment InuYasha.”

“Yeah sure.” he replied as he watched her unlock the door, which she had said was for privacy, and barely open the door so she could slide through it, as if to shield him for Kagome. InuYasha didn’t know what to make of this when he heard a little girl call out “Grandma!”

InuYasha looked at the door in confusion. ‘Grandma? That’s weird. Dr. Higurashi’s not a grandmother.’ he thought to himself. The girl could have been talking to someone else he supposed. InuYasha decided to shrug it off then he heard their footsteps walk away from the door. After a few seconds, InuYasha rose out of the chair and walked over to the bookshelf. Amongst the books where a bunch of picture frames.

A couple of the pictures were of Dr. Higurashi and what InuYasha assumed to be her belated husband. InuYasha had never met the man since he had died before he had met Kagome, but as he studied the picture of him InuYasha realized how much Kagome looked like him. She had his eyes. The same eyes that when they we together he had allowed himself to get lost in.

He moved on to another picture frame that held the image of Kagome standing behind her little brother, Souta, with her arms around him. They looked to be around the age of fifteen and eight. InuYasha felt a small smile come onto his face as he gazed at Kagome’s young face, still full of innocence.

“I’m sorry InuYasha.” Dr. Higurashi said as she walked through the door causing InuYasha to fling himself from the bookshelf. “That was Kagome. She was just dropping in . . . “ She drawled off when she noticed InuYasha’s abrupt attempt to get away from the bookcase. “You don’t have to look so guilty, InuYasha. You can look at my pictures. It’s not like you don’t know who any of them are.”

InuYasha felt like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “. . . I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“Think nothing of it.” she replied with a warm smile, then made her way to the bookcase and took down what appeared to be a recent picture of her, Kagome, and Souta. She walked over to InuYasha and handed him the picture. “Hasn’t Souta grown up so much InuYasha?” she asked, pride filling her voice. “He says he wants to go to college and play soccer.”

‘Figures.’ InuYasha thought. There wasn’t a time when he came over that the little squirt wasn’t kicking around a soccer ball. “Sure is. How old is he anyway?” he asked as he placed the picture on her desk.

“Oh he’ll be turning sixteen in December.” Dr. Higurashi replied. “You know when my father was alive, he wanted Souta to become a priest like him, but Souta wanted nothing to do with it. Said he wanted to play soccer . . . And this was back when he was six. Father wasn’t too keen on the idea, but I guess he let it go eventually.”

InuYasha nodded along with her before he decided to ask about Kagome. “So, why didn’t Kagome go to college? I mean, you seem excited about Souta going. Why didn’t she?”

Dr. Higurashi remained silent for a moment before answering. “. . . Kagome’s life isn’t nearly as simple as Souta’s.” she replied, then suddenly switched the topics. “Alright. We’re not going to start you off on anything too big today. So, how about you start with organizing paper--”

“What do you mean it’s not as simple as Souta’s?” InuYasha asked cutting her off. He wanted to know too much to let it go, but instead of answering Dr. Higurashi just sighed.

“Listen InuYasha, it’s not my place to be telling you about Kagome’s decisions.” she started with a sad expression on her face. “If you want to know why Kagome didn’t go to college and why her life isn’t as simple as most then she‘s going to have to be the one to tell you.” Dr. Higurashi made her way over to her desk and picked up the file that she and InuYasha had been looking at earlier, and then handed it to him. “There’s a lot of papers that have yet to be filed in the lab. Tomorrow I’ll assign you to a doctor so you can start forming relationships with patients.”

InuYasha nodded as he gripped his papers harder than he meant to, causing them to wrinkle. “Thanks for the help, Dr. Higurashi.” he said as he turned and make his way out the door.

Dr. Higurashi sighed. Perhaps she didn’t know why Kagome felt so keen on keeping InuYasha in the dark about Ami, but she knew one thing for sure. If InuYasha didn’t find out about Ami today then it would only be a matter of time before he did. No matter how hard Kagome fought it.

Her mother had just left her with the nurses when Ami felt a wave of boredom wash over her. She hated always having to stay with them because they only paid attention to her when she was crying. She also hated playing with the same toys everyday. Maybe she could go and find her mother or her grandmother or even Aunt Sango and they could play tag or something.

She stood up and started walking toward the door and since the nurses where too busy fussing over the newborns, no one noticed when Ami slipped into the elevator. She looked at the numbers and decided that two was the best out of the six numbers. She pressed the number then felt the elevator make its way down to the floor that its inhabitant selected.

When the doors opened, Ami rushed out and looked around her. There were nurses walking around. Some of them were pushing carts and others were entering and exiting patients rooms, but none of them seem to notice her and if they did they didn’t say anything to her.

A man in a white jacket caught her eye and a smile broke over her face. ’Grandma and Auntie Sango have coats like that! He can show me where they are.’ Ami thought as she rushed to keep up with the man in the white jacket. She followed him into room where everyone was wearing gloves. In an instant Ami knew she wasn’t supposed to be there. She hurried and ducked under a table off to the side.

“Well Meuse, what have you got for me today? Any improvements from yesterday?” the man in the white coat asked the man behind a table that had beakers and test tubes on it.

The other man shook his head. “Nah. We’re back to square one. The cure we thought we developed only temporarily kept the cancer cells at bay. After a couple hours the cancer just fought it off.” the other man replied.

“Damn.” was all Ami stayed around to hear before she quickly darted off, deeper into the room. She slowed to a walk when she was far enough back and the scenery changed from bubbling water to file cabinets. Ami sighed in relief until she saw a man digging through one of the cabinets.

Ami instantly recognized him seeing as he was the only man she’d ever seen to have ears like hers. “You’re the napkin man!” she exclaimed and pointed an accusing finger at him.

InuYasha had been grumbling to himself about having to sort files in a room that smelled like burnt hair, when the sound of a little girl’s voice drew him out of his thoughts. He was surprised to see the same girl, wearing the same sunflower hat, he had helped in the cafeteria standing in front of him. “What are you doing back here?” he asked in a firm voice.

Ami stared at him as she contemplated whether or not he was a stranger. People where only considered strangers if she didn’t know their names. So Ami smiled up at him and said, “What’s your name?”

InuYasha sighed and rubbed his forehead. Why was everything happening to him? All he wanted was a normal internship with normal coworkers. Now he was stuck with one of his exs, that he for some reason couldn’t stop thinking about, and her mother. He sometimes thought that the internship wasn’t worth it, but damn him if he didn’t need the experience.

“I’m Ami.” the girl replied as if InuYasha’s silence hadn’t affected her. InuYasha stared down at the girl who continued to smile up at him. Her name sounded familiar, but InuYasha couldn’t place where he’d heard it before.

After a moment of thinking, InuYasha determined that he better get the girl back to her parents. “Well, Ami, you really shouldn’t be back here. Do you know where your mom or dad is?” he asked her gently and she shook her head. “Well, why don’t we go look for them?” Ami shook her head again causing InuYasha to sigh in frustration.

“What’s your name?” she asked again.

“InuYasha.” he replied and Ami giggled. InuYasha looked down at her with a confused expression. “What’s so funny?” He squatted down to her level and narrowed his eyes at her, which caused her to giggle more.

“I like your ears.” she said as she reached forward and petted them. It was strange that InuYasha didn’t flinch. Usually when children touched his ears they’d pull on them, but the little girl didn’t. She just continued to pet them.

“Feh.” he managed to say before standing up. “So, why are you back here?”

Ami pondered a moment before she spoke. “I was looking for my Auntie Sango.” she replied. Her mother would probably be mad at her for leaving the nursery and her grandmother was probably busy. Aunt Sango would most likely be willing to play with her.

“Well, let’s go find Auntie Sango then.” he said as he picked her up. When she didn’t complain, InuYasha figured she didn’t mind. He walked back the way Ami had entered when the man named Meuse called, “Hey new guy! I don’t know if you know this, but you’re not allowed to bring kids in here.”

InuYasha looked over at him. “Well, if you had been paying attention then you would have noticed her walk into the room, now wouldn’t ya.” he said and then continued out the door. He looked at Ami and asked, “So, does Auntie Sango work here or is she a patient?”

Ami looked to be deciding which was the right answer. “Umm. . .” she hummed as she tapped her finger on her chin. “I don’t know.”

‘Of course she wouldn’t know.’ InuYasha told himself in frustration. “Well is she a doctor?” he asked trying to gain some information.

“Yes!” Ami exclaimed.

“Alright. Half way there.” he said and only managed to go a couple of steps before he heard someone say, “Oh my god. Ami!” InuYasha turned toward the voice and recognized the woman from yesterday. She had been the one to tell Kagome about . . . A girl named Ami. That’s where he’d heard the name.

As the woman approached, Ami shouted, “Auntie Sango!” as the woman took her out of InuYasha’s arms. He was relieved that they had found the woman she was looking for.

“Well, I got to get back in there.” InuYasha said and was about to turn around when he felt a small hand on his arm. He looked over at Ami who was smiling. “Thank you InuYasha.” she said only she had difficulty pronouncing his name and it came out like “InuWasha”.

InuYasha smirked and ruffled the hat on her head, causing her to giggle. “No problem kid.” he replied then made his way back into the lab.

Sango looked from the lab’s door then down at Ami. This couldn’t be good and Kagome was going to flip when she heard about this. “Ami.” Sango said gently as Ami looked up at her patiently. “Why were you with that man?”

“He helped me find you.” she said as she twirled her hair. Sango sighed. There was no helping the situation.

“Well, let’s go find Mommy then.” Sango said as she made her way to the nurse’s central office. When she caught Kagome’s eye through the glass window, she waved for her to come out. Kagome pushed the door open and walked over with an uncertain smile on her face. “What’s up?” she said as she smiled at Ami.

“Hi Mommy.” Ami said bouncing in Sango’s hold.

“Hi Baby.” Kagome replied before meeting Sango’s gaze and waiting for an explanation why her and her daughter were there. “What’s going on?”

Sango sighed and took Ami into the nurse’s central office. She asked one of the nurses to watch her for a second and when she agreed, Sango walked back over to Kagome. She was a little nervous when Sango still hadn’t said anything, but when she started speaking Kagome wished she hadn’t. “Guess who your daughter’s been with.”

“You.” Kagome answered uncertainly. Sango shook her head and furrowed her brow in confusion. “Who?”

“InuYasha.” she answered and Kagome eyes widened. How in the world did she end up with InuYasha? Of all people. Kagome stared at Sango in shock and Sango started to worry when her breathing became irregular. “Kagome?”

“Does he know?” Kagome asked in panic-stricken voice.

“I don’t think so.”

“Do you know how long he was with her?”

“Not too long I don’t think.” Sango answered, then her face held a grimace. “But they do know each other’s names.” Kagome let out an unnatural laugh. “And he thinks I’m her aunt.”

Kagome closed her eyes and counted to ten. This all had to be a dream. This couldn’t be happening. It was way too close. All InuYasha would have had to have done was say his last name and then Ami would have told him that it was her last name as well. Then it would have went down hill from there. Something had to be done. “Sango, do you think it would be restricted for Ami to be with me all day?”

Sango knew what her friend wanted to do, but there was no way the superintendent would allow it. He barely allowed the nurses to watch her. “Kagome you know she can’t.”

Kagome sighed. “I know. I know. I’ll just have to hire a babysitter.” Kagome compromised.

“You know as well as I do that you can’t afford one. That’s why you have the nurses watch her in the first place.” Sango told her and watched reality hit Kagome. “Look, Souta watches her on weekends, so that only leaves five days out of the week that she’s even in the same building as InuYasha. So, why don’t you just pray that this doesn’t happen again and thank your lucky stars that he didn’t find out?”

Kagome nodded. “You’re right. I’ll just be thankful that he didn’t find out.” she said more to herself than to Sango. “Alright. I can do that.”

Sango smiled in relieve when her friend didn’t have a panic attack. She decided to change the topic for her friend’s benefit. “So how’d you’re date go last night.”

“Argh! Terrible.” Kagome replied, but then a sly smile appeared on her face. “But I did get someone’s number.” Sango looked at her with an ’Oh my gosh. Are you serious?’ look on her face. “Uh huh. That’s right.”

“Man how lucky can you be? You go on a date and get another man’s number.” Sango said, her voice full of envy.

“I hardly call it luck.” Kagome said with a snort. “Hojo was a nice enough guy, but definitely not for me. And the only reason I got the other guys number was because I went to school with him.”

Sango looked at her uncertainly. “You sure that’s the only reason?”

“Well, he might have said he’d like to hook up as well.” Kagome said cautiously. Sango let out a squeal of delight causing Kagome to laugh.

“Have you called him yet?”

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” Kagome asked and when Sango shook her head Kagome ran back into the office. “Um, Argonne, I’m taking my break now.” she yelled into the office and then she grabbed Ami’s hand and rushed out of the building to use her cell phone. Sango was on her heels, wanting to know what would happen.

Kagome listened to the ringing sound and then heard Koga’s deep voice. “Hello?”

“Hey Koga, it’ Kagome.”


“Oh Kagome, how are you? Is there something you needed?” he asked and Kagome couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face.

“Um actually yeah.” she replied. “I was wondering if your offer still stands and if you were free tonight?”

InuYasha was just about finished organizing the first file cabinet when his cell phone started to ring. He knew that people weren’t supposed to use cell phones in a hospital, but he was in the back and no one would notice. He brought his cell phone up to his ear and answered. “Yeah, hello?”

“InuYasha.”

“Miroku?̶ 1; InuYasha asked and he heard him wince in pain. “Are you alright?”

“No I think my leg’s broken.” he answered pain etched in his voice.

InuYasha ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “How did you break your leg?” he asked testily. He left him alone eight hours out of the day and he either throws a party or he’s breaking his bones.

“I was on my way to the toilet to throw up, thanks to the nasty hangover I have.” he winced out. “When I slipped on the floor and fell into the bathtub. I can move it without shear pain jolting through it.”

“Hold on.” InuYasha said tiredly. “I’ll call an ambulance for ya.”

“Thanks InuYasha.” Miroku said before InuYasha hung up. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” he mumbled before dialing nine, one, one.