InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicles ❯ Small Blessings ( Chapter 91 )

~~Chapter 91~~

~Small Blessings~

 

InuYasha glowered at the door with narrow-eyed calculation. `What the hell . . . she's been in there for hours . . . she could have birthed ten babies by now,' he thought with a menacing glare directed at anyone stupid enough to garner his attention.

 

Sesshoumaru glanced up from the infant girl in his arm and inclined his head at the hanyou as Nibori and Miroku sat down on either side of him.

 

“What?” InuYasha growled, staring at the two.

 

“Just to make sure you're not going to try breaking into Aunt Kagome's room again,” Nibori said with a chuckle.

 

Leikizu shifted the baby she held up to her shoulder. “Be easy, InuYasha. These things take time, and the first one normally always takes longer.”

 

InuYasha snorted as he leaned forward to straighten himself up in his chair. Miroku and Nibori leaned forward, too, ready to restrain InuYasha if need be.

 

InuYasha glared as Sesshoumaru chuckled. Of course he was enjoying this. He'd done nothing but give InuYasha grief since he'd had to escort InuYasha from Kagome's side. He hadn't meant to growl at the doctor. He hadn't meant to dig his claws into the bed beside Kagome—and get the shock of his life when he had inadvertently dug said claws into one of the wires that were hidden in the mattress. The worst of it, though, was the drawing of Tetsusaiga as he had demanded that someone do something about the incredible pain he could smell coming off Kagome in waves. Sango had run to get the only person who could physically remove InuYasha from the room, that double-damned bastard of a brother of his.

 

It had amused him, though, when Sesshoumaru had come back into the waiting room, pale-faced and shell-shocked, to announce to those assembled that Leikizu had given birth to twin daughters. Identical twin daughters, one of whom had a temper that InuYasha just knew would one day rival his own. Keiko and Kumiko were now close to three months old, and they were promising to be quite a handful already, and since Sesshoumaru only had one hand to start with . . . InuYasha grinned to himself, not feeling sorry for the poor bastard in the least.

 

“Mr. Inotaishou?”

 

“Yes?” three voices answered. InuYasha shot the other two dirty looks. The nurse looked duly befuddled as InuYasha stood. “Is it Kagome? What's wrong? Is she all right?”

 

The nurse nodded and smiled. “Mother and baby are fine . . . You have a lovely little boy.”

 

It took a moment for the nurse's words to sink in, and when they did, he frowned. “Oi! `Lovely' and `boy' ought not be used in the same fucking sentence,” he growled. “Are you sure he's not a girl?”

 

The nurse's befuddled look morphed into one of concern that perhaps InuYasha was losing his mind. “Never mind,” he grumbled as he pushed past the nurse.

 

“But your wife has been taken to her room!” she called out.

 

“Keh!” Sniffing the chemically cleansed air, he made quick work of following Kagome's scent to the threshold of her room. Drawing a deep breath, he started into the room only to be stopped by the thin sound of a very unhappy pup.

 

Kagome's voice, soft and tired but happy, drifted to him. Singing the lullaby he'd taught her so long ago, he leaned against the doorframe with a slight smile lending a brightness to his gaze. Sango noticed him lingering in the doorway and she came over, taking hold of his arm, and led him into the room. Mrs. Higurashi was putting some of Kagome's things in the small closet. She stopped long enough to smile at him before resuming her task.

 

Kagome trailed off as she smiled at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Cradling the pup to her breast, she was glowing, absolutely content. “Come meet your son, InuYasha.”

 

He wrinkled his nose. “Did you double check? Wouldn't want my daughter thinking—”

 

“InuYasha!” Sango scolded.

 

He relented as he sank down on the bed beside Kagome. Leaning toward her to get a better look at his pup, he felt the curious sting of tears rising behind his eyes. He hadn't stopped to think about how small the pup really would be. Everything about him was , well, tiny. Fingers that weren't even as long as InuYasha's claws with perfectly formed little claws of his own, miniature lips that were busy rooting out his first meal, unruly mane of silvery hair . . . even his tiny triangle-shaped ears were minute. So far, the only `big' thing InuYasha had noticed about the pup was his ability to cry . . . . “He'll do, wench,” he said, clearing the gruffness out of his throat.

 

Kagome pushed him playfully. “He's beautiful, baka . . . he looks exactly like you.”

 

InuYasha blushed. “Ain't a damn thing about me that small,” he griped.

 

Kagome shot him a sidelong look as her cheeks reddened, too. “I get to name him, remember?”

 

InuYasha made a face. After being unable to reach any sort of compromise over potential names, they'd decided that if the baby was a girl, InuYasha would choose the name, and if the baby was a boy, Kagome would. InuYasha was set to argue that now, though. “That's not really fair, wench. I didn't get to name Shippou—”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Because Shippou was already named.”

 

“—and I obviously didn't get a say in the baby's sex.”

 

“Oh, kami . . . .”

 

Sango laughed. “We'll leave you two alone now,” she announced as she and Mrs. Higurashi kissed Kagome's forehead and the still-unnamed baby and quietly left.

 

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, InuYasha shook his head slowly as he reached out to touch the pup's hand. The tiny hand opened only to curl around InuYasha's finger. He grinned as the strange prickling sensation behind his eyes grew a little worse. “All right, wench. Let's hear it.”

 

She smiled as she stared at the pup. “I want to name him Inuakamori.”

 

“Dog of the Red Forest,” InuYasha mused as he stared at the squirming bundle that held fast to his finger. Words couldn't make it past the suspect lump that rose in his throat. He nodded as he leaned over to kiss Kagome's temple.

 

“Let's see him.”

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes as the magic of the moment disappeared. Sesshoumaru strode into the room with Leikizu. Shooting to his feet, InuYasha glared at his brother. “Back off, bastard. You can't just walk in on my mate when she's nursing the pup.” Glancing back over his shoulder, InuYasha snorted. “Cover yourself, wench!”

 

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. “Baka. I've come to see your son, not your mate's . . . . parts.”

 

Kagome pulled the pup off her breast and closed her gown. Furious that his meal was disrupted, the pup screamed. InuYasha flattened his ears and carefully took Inuakamori from his mother. Opening his great golden eyes to stare at his father, Inuakamori blinked in surprise to find InuYasha staring down at him.

 

“Good,” Sesshoumaru commented as he inspected the child over InuYasha's shoulder. “Alert. Must be the miko's influence.”

 

“Keh! Not even you can piss me off right now,” InuYasha pointed out. Sesshoumaru reached over and pulled the pup out of InuYasha's arms. “Oi! Don't touch my pup!”

 

“Sesshoumaru!” Leikizu scolded as she reached over to run the back of her knuckle over Inuakamori's downy cheek. “You'd better give him back . . . .”

 

“In a minute,” Sesshoumaru assured his wife. “Did you name this young one yet?”

 

“Inuakamori,” Kagome answered quietly, her eyes shining as she gazed at the baby in Sesshoumaru's arm.

 

“All right, give him up before your stench rubs off on him,” InuYasha growled. Sesshoumaru let him take the squirming bundle. “See that, Inuakamori?” InuYasha asked his infant son, tilting him up just enough to let the pup look at the tai-youkai. “That's a bastard. Remember that, all right? I'll get a sword for you so you can beat on the bastard, I promise.”

 

“InuYasha!” Kagome gasped. “Don't teach him that word! And stop calling your brother a . . . stop it!”

 

“And your mama has a hella nasty temper . . . watch out for that.” Turning his tiny head to root around for the rest of his dinner, Inuakamori whined when he couldn't locate what he wanted. InuYasha chuckled and handed him back to Kagome. “All right,” he remarked, turning his attention back to his brother. “Show's over. Get the hell out. My pup's hungry, and you ain't watching.”

 

“Come, Lei. Nibori is likely panicking with both his sisters. Congratulations, miko, though I have serious reservations about your choice of a baka like InuYasha to sire your pup. You'd do well to keep him as far away from the infant as possible just in case ignorance rubs off.”

 

Leikizu rolled her eyes and hugged Kagome before kissing InuYasha's cheek and following her mate from the room.

 

InuYasha stood back, watching as Kagome helped the pup find the rest of his meal. With a small grin, he sat down and leaned toward her, his arm supporting her back. She shot him a bright smile. He kissed her cheek. “I should call the runt. He stayed with Souta at the shrine so he could finish up his homework, or so he claimed. I think your mother bought more pocky for the brat.”

 

Kagome giggled. “Let's hope he doesn't try to give Inuakamori pocky for awhile.”

 

“Keh! At least not until after he'd had his first cup of ramen.”

 

Kagome groaned as InuYasha reached for the phone.

 

Souta answered after three rings. “Higurashi Shrine. This is Souta.”

 

“Souta? Bring Shippou to the hospital, will you? He needs to meet his brother.”

 

“All right,” Souta agreed happily as InuYasha heard Shippou hollering in the background. “Bye!”

 

With a chuckle as the phone line went dead, InuYasha shook his head and dropped the receiver back into the cradle.

 

“Is he coming?”

 

“Keh. I give him five minutes.”

 

A very disapproving frown engulfed Kagome's features. “It had better take longer than five minutes. He's got to learn to be more careful! Just because he's a kitsune doesn't mean—”

 

“I should get the lecture, does it?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.

 

She sighed. “Still . . . .”

 

Snatching the drowsing infant out of her arms, InuYasha lifted him up to eye-level much to Kagome's chagrin. “He's not a doll, InuYasha . . . . .”

 

“Keh! You think I don't know that? He's tough, just like me, aren't you, Inuakamori?”

 

In answer to his father's question, the infant's face screwed up in a scowl as he let out a huge, terrified howl. InuYasha hurriedly brought him to his chest, which immediately silenced the baby.

 

“Look at you, making your son cry,” Kagome grumbled as she tossed back the covers and slowly dropped her feet over the side of the bed. “Ugh.”

 

Pushing herself to her feet, Kagome's eyes widened as she looked down and groaned softly. Preoccupied as he was, InuYasha didn't notice right away until Kagome called his name. “InuYasha?”

 

“What's wrong?”

 

She made a face and sank back down for a moment. “The nurse warned me to be careful the first time I tried to get up, though she didn't say why,” she said, unable to keep the hint of reproach out of her voice. “Can you help me?”

 

He nodded, concern evident in his expression as he shifted the baby into one arm and reached for her with his free hand. “What's wrong? Do I need to get your doctor?”

 

Kagome forced a smile. “No, I just have to go to the bathroom, and when I got up, it felt like everything below my waist was trying to fall out.”

 

Eyes flashing wider in alarm, InuYasha uttered a sound suspiciously close to a whine. “I'm going to get your doctor.”

 

“Wait!” she called after him, “I really have to go! It's fine . . . I just wasn't expecting it, I promise!”

 

He wanted to argue with her, but judging by the way she was squirming around just a little, she was serious about having to go to the bathroom. In the end, he sighed and leaned over, carefully wrapping his arm around her while she leaned against him to stand. Her legs seemed a little shaky, and she made a face full of distaste as she shuffled slowly toward the bathroom that was, mercifully, just across from the side of the bed.

 

“Thank you,” she called as she closed the door behind herself.

 

InuYasha scowled. “You tell me if you need me, wench!”

 

“I will,” she assured him through the closed door. “I think it's okay now.”

 

InuYasha heard the kitsune barreling down the hallway in search of him and Kagome and checked his watch. `Six minutes,' he thought with a slight nod, `so more than five, no tweaking necessary. Not bad, for a kitsune.'

 

Shippou gasped as he skidded to a halt inside the room. “Is . . . is that . . .?”

 

“Come on, runt. Meet your brother.”

 

Shippou scampered over and hopped onto the bed as InuYasha sat down. Hopping up on the hanyou's shoulder, Shippou giggled. “He's really little . . . are you sure he's yours?”

 

“Oi, runt!”

 

“Joking!”

 

InuYasha grinned. “I know . . . your mama named him Inuakamori. So what do you think?”

 

Shippou screwed up his face as he regarded the baby with a good dose of speculation. “He'll do,” he finally agreed with a nod. Inuakamori opened his eyes wide and stared at Shippou. “He likes me!”

 

“Sure he does. He don't know any better . . . yet.”

 

“Baka!” When InuYasha stuck his finger out in the general direction of Shippou's nose, the kitsune let go of his shoulder and covered his nose with his hands. Digging into his shirt, Shippou pulled out Baka, his stuffed dog. “I brought this for him,” he said quietly, holding the toy out to InuYasha.

 

InuYasha frowned at the toy. “You don't want him anymore?”

 

Shippou shrugged. “No . . . I still do . . . but I don't need him anymore. He took care of me before you and mama adopted me, was all. But Inuakamori is just a baby. He needs more protection.”

 

InuYasha grinned. “Keep your toy, runt. We'll go to the store and pick one out for your brother later.”

 

“Okay . . . can I hold him?”

 

InuYasha helped Shippou adjust the baby on his lap. Inuakamori contented himself by staring at Shippou's wide green eyes.

 

The bathroom door opened, and InuYasha hurried to Kagome's side. She looked as though she felt much better, and for that, InuYasha was thankful. “There,” she commented as she sat back down on the bed, “I washed my face and brushed my hair . . . wish I could have a shower . . . .” Staring at Shippou with a tender smile, she shifted her happy gaze to InuYasha before reaching over and touching Shippou's shoulder. “So what do you think?”

 

Shippou shrugged. “He's fine, but I want a sister now.”

 

InuYasha laughed.

 

Kagome just groaned.

 

 

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A/N:

 

Inuakamori (Inu :Dog --- Aka: Red --- Mori: Forest) Dog of the Red Forest .

Keiko: Adored One .

Kumiko: Eternal Beautiful Child .

 

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Final Thought fromInuYasha:

… He was supposed to be a GIRL …

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Chronicles): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~