InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Enlightenment ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter Eight

Inuyasha's eyes shifted to his side to glance at Kagome. They were now on the road driving to the park. Tai was excitedly chatting with Teddy from what he could tell glancing at the rearview mirror and Kagome was sitting beside him on the passenger seat. It was safe to say that she was still thinking about his little wardrobe malfunction back in her bedroom that morning. He smirked as he continued to drive. They had decided to take his car since Tai's car seat was already it.

“Will you stop that?” hissed Kagome from beside him.

“Stop what?” he asked innocently.

Kagome gritted her teeth. That was absolutely the most embarrassing thing that happened recently between them and he was gloating about it! Damn him and his cock- She shook her head profusely. What the hell was wrong with her! She meant cockiness! Damn word just had to be in there… Her blush reddened even more at remembering exactly what she saw that morning.

“You know exactly what I'm talking about,” she said glaring at him.

Inuyasha chuckled and kept his focus on the road. It was just so funny how she was taking this so seriously. Why was she blushing like a fifteen- year- old? Not to mention the fact that they were married and she saw him unclothed in more than one occasion. What was the difference about it happening this morning?

“And I thought you were the mature one out of the two of us…” he said teasingly. “Look at you! You're red!”

Kagome kept silent the whole way to the park. Instead on giving Inuyasha the pleasure of seeing her infuriated and further fuelling his smugness, she directed her gaze at her window. Fall had just begun and the trees they passed were slowly turning yellow. She loved autumn. The weather was absolutely perfect today and her fears of it raining were put to rest when she switched on to the weather channel. It had been a while since she'd gone on a picnic. The last time she'd gone was a couple of years ago when Inuyasha's company had held a family picnic for its workers. It was a few months before Tai was born so this would be the first time that her son would be going on a picnic.

Her heart clenched without warning. She felt a twinge of guilt at the fact that Tai had such few memories of all three of them being a family. Inuyasha had finally pulled into the parking lot and she couldn't wait to get out. She grabbed their rather large picnic basket out of the trunk and followed behind Tai, who was running ahead of her after Inuyasha had unbuckled him out of his car seat. She noticed Inuyasha slightly walking passed her and the fact that her picnic basket was making her lag behind. Okay… maybe she did pack a few too many things. Without much warning, Inuyasha had surprisingly taken the basket from her and carried it with ease.

“Thanks,” she said grudgingly.

“Keh. You always pack too many things…” he replied without looking at her.

“Listen… about this morning… I'd really appreciate it if you kept,” she had to stop to clear her throat awkwardly, “… Little Inu well hidden… from now on.”

“Keh! It was an accident!” he exclaimed. He had no problem now bellowing out his frustration since Tai seemed busy running through the park. Damn it. “Tai! Don't go too far!”

“Yeah! An accident waiting to happen!” Kagome said poking his arm sharply.

“Okay! I won't walk around with just a towel on ever again…” he grumbled in defeat.

“Good.”

Inuyasha remained quiet as he watched Kagome walking beside him. He was quite content with how their day was going. He and Kagome never took Tai out on picnics when he was younger. He couldn't understand why since all three of them loved the outdoors. It wasn't until he decided to bring his work during weekends even if it wasn't necessary to do so, just to get ahead. He had become more irritable more than usual. Kagome had learned to stay out of his way and made sure Tai didn't make too much noise whenever he was home, which wasn't often because he preferred the privacy and silence of his office. He winced. And that was the beginning of his affair with Kikyou. She was easy company when he needed it and it was only once that he had slept with her. He was such an asshole.

He had left his wife and son simply because he felt there were far more important things that required his undivided attention. How had he missed Tai's second birthday without a thought and just a quick trip to the toy store, and not even bothering to give him his gift personally? It made him wonder what all three of them would've done together during Tai's last birthday. He frowned remembering that he didn't even spare his son time during that last year and a half. He felt like the worst father ever. But he was confident to make it up to Tai… and possibly Kagome. And for now… he was going to have a picnic with his family and make sure Tai has a good time.

Guilt was finally catching up with him and that didn't sit well at all with him…

The two continued to walk side by side with Tai still running around excitedly. Kagome sighed happily. For the first time in almost two years… they were actually going to spend time as a family. It was a perfect day for a picnic and she still couldn't get over the fact that her baby boy was now three! And both she and Inuyasha were here to celebrate it with him. And of course, try as she might, that feeling at the pit of her stomach was back. Not butterflies. Definitely not. But that nostalgic feeling again… She wished that just for today that things didn't end so tragically between her and Inuyasha because right now it felt as if the time they're spending together doesn't fit in with how much their worlds have changed. It was like everything just picked up from where they left off…

She looked towards Inuyasha and wondered if he ever thought or noticed this. He looked like he had brain freeze at the moment not to mention he had lost the ability to blink. He only had this expression on when something was on his mind. She slowly reached a hand up to his shoulders and gently shook him.

“Inuyasha?” she asked sounding a bit concerned.

Inuyasha lost the glazed look that had overcome his eyes and blinked them away. He noticed that he and Kagome had stopped walking and she was now facing him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

He looked down at the worried expression on her face and couldn't help but feel more guilt engulfing him. He hated being alone with his thoughts…

“Keh! I'm fine…” he said sounding a bit harsh than he intended.

Kagome snorted and removed her hand from his shoulder to start walking again. Inuyasha mentally slapped himself. He jogged after her wincing slightly when the edges of the picnic basket would hit or scrape against his legs. Kagome looked at him once he reached her side again and had adjusted to her pace. She looked away to and kept her gaze on Tai who was now under a large tree waving at them to hurry.

Kagome laughed and waved back to Tai reassuring him that they were coming. She hadn't noticed that she was walking very close beside Inuyasha until she felt her hand brush his. She blushed and pretended she hadn't felt anything. What was wrong with her! Why was she blushing again? This was Inuyasha. She had known him since high school, was married to him, and has a son with him! Why was she acting as if she was experiencing everything for the first time again by simply being with him? Kagome was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt her hand being enclosed in his larger one. She blushed furiously and dared a peek at Inuyasha. He wore the same expression as her and was looking at her from the corner of his eye as well. Kagome gasped and quickly looked away. She heard Inuyasha `keh' as he tightened his hold on her hand.

“Inuyasha?” her voice finally returned after a couple seconds from shock and snatched her hand back as gently as she could.

“Keh… I told you we shouldn't have gone so early,” he answered gruffly with his nose slightly wrinkled. He noticed confusion crossing Kagome's features at his comment. “Too much people taking their dogs out for a walk at this time. It stinks…”

“Well aren't you slightly related to them anyway? You're just lucky you're trained to use the potty. I mean you are half dog,” she teased hoping to lighten the mood.

“Half dog demon, Kagome,” he corrected.

She giggled at his reaction as they finally reached the shade of the tree Tai had chosen for their spot.

Ten minutes later Kagome had started to lay the food on the picnic blanket. Inuyasha was teaching Tai how to fly a kite that he had bought especially for today. She stopped for a moment and took in the scene before her. A gorgeous day in the park to spend her son's birthday and with a special picnic he had requested. His father was teaching him how to fly a kite a couple of meters away from the spot where she sat. When she had gotten married, this was everything she had hoped for. And for a while she had it…

“Mommy look! I'm flying it all by myself!” yelled Tai.

Kagome could only smile and wave happily to him. She had to admit… Inuyasha sure was making up for lost time. Her mind wandered back to how he had held her hand briefly on the way he used to before. She was still confused about how to feel about Inuyasha. She wondered what could have possessed him to do such a thing. At first she thought that she could only put up with him for Tai's sake because of their agreement to not argue in front of him. Tolerating Inuyasha was not a problem when Tai was around. She still hated him for betraying her and leaving them for work and leaving her for another woman. Maybe hate was too strong a word?

Kagome soon found herself walking towards Inuyasha and Tai who were laughing and pointing at the kite.

“Do you wanna try mommy?” asked Tai offering her rolled up string (I don't know what it's called okay!) attached to the kite.

“I think I'll pass…” said Kagome.

“Come on Kagome. I'll teach you how,” said Inuyasha carefully taking control of the kite and stepping closer to her.

“Really Inuyasha. It's okay. I'd rather watch you two fly the kite,” she said hesitantly.

Inuyasha ignored her and stepped behind her and put his arms effectively trapping her. The hair on her neck slightly bristled from his warm breath but kept her eyes down on the long string attached on the kite.

“Okay now I'm gonna pass it to you carefully and make sure to hold on tight,” said Inuyasha.

She nodded and did as she was told. She felt the slight pull of the kite and noticed it was slowly descending. Inuyasha manoeuvred his hands to rest on top of hers to steady the kite. Kagome blushed at the close contact with Inuyasha and only served as a reminder when he used to hug her from behind. She sighed. How was she supposed to feel about this whole thing? What was he doing with her? One minute he's having an affair and the next it's as if he's still… No, she didn't want to go there. Ever again. Instead of thinking furthermore of the subject, she focused her attention to the kite. She was quite impressed when she noticed the kite was even higher than it was before.

“Inuyasha look! It's even higher than before!” she said turning her head to look at him.

“Yeah it is,” he replied smiling back at her.

For a moment the kite hovering above them was forgotten as they were both locked in an intense gaze. Everything just felt right, like the way they were supposed to be. It had been a very long time since they spent time neither with each other nor as a family of three. They were a family again. And it was as if the two of them still loved each other…

“Mommy?” Tai tugged gently on the hem of Kagome's shirt.

Kagome blinked away the dreamy look in her eyes as she stepped away from Inuyasha's embrace. He still had a bewildered look on his face probably similar to the one she was sporting at the very moment. She handed him back the roll of string and met Tai's expectant gaze.

“Mommy I'm hungry. Can we eat now?” he asked rubbing his stomach.

Kagome laughed at his adorable expression and reminded her of Inuyasha's expression towards ramen. And knowing Inuyasha, he was probably hungry as well. “You really are a growing boy aren't you?”

“You two go ahead while I bring down the kite,” said Inuyasha. “Just don't eat all the food.”

Kagome rolled her eyes at him and picked up Tai. “Come on Tai. Lets start with dessert before daddy finishes bringing the kite down.”

“Hey!”

Three minutes later all three of them sat on the picnic blanket with a variety of food spread in front of them. As usual, Inuyasha and Tai were digging in, while Kagome ate and chewed her food slowly.

“Since when did you two not have your shoes on?” she asked noticing that both Inuyasha and Tai were bare footed.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak only to splatter food everywhere. Kagome looked at him dryly and wiped a grain of rice of her chin. Inuyasha gave her an apologetic look before swallowing.

“Since you turned your back to lay the blanket,” he said wiggling his toes.

“Inuyasha! That's very unsanitary. You've been walking around bare-footed and you bring your toes near the food! Oh for the…!” she exclaimed in disgust.

“What? You of all people should know how my toes hate confinements!” he yelled in defence.

“Whatever. Just get it away from the food. Same goes for you Tai,” she warned.

Both Tai and Inuyasha crossed their legs tightly to hide their toes from Kagome's gaze. Kagome noticed Inuyasha wink at Tai and Tai grinning back at his father.

“Why do you two always have to gang up on me? Just because I'm the only girl…” she grumbled.

“Well I always wanted a girl. Oh well. Better luck next time for your sake,” he said before belching rather loudly.

Inuyasha felt Kagome's gaze boring holes into him as he ate. Okay so he forgot to excuse himself and cover his mouth. Damn manners. He slowly raised his head to look at her and watched her stare at him. Why was she looking at him that way? “What?”

“D-did you just say… er… suggest that we have another one?” Kagome asked trying not to stutter.

Inuyasha froze. He suddenly remembered just what he had said to her. He had only meant it in a teasing manner. And for some non-apparent reason, he hadn't realized that it sounded more of an insinuation than a joke. At the moment that sentence slipped out of his mouth, he felt that he wasn't stepping over any boundaries. Maybe it was because of all three of them. Just the fact that they were all bonding as a family had caused him to block out the fact that there was no longer a marriage. “No! Of course not!”

“Am I really going to have a brother or a sister?” asked Tai. He had been keenly listening on his parents at the mention of `another one.'

Both Inuyasha and Kagome gulped. What mess have they had gotten themselves into. He looked expectantly, waiting for a response. He looked towards Inuyasha for an answer, but all Inuyasha could do was stay tongue-tied. Tai turned his head to Kagome whose jaw seemed to have slightly dropped open. Inuyasha quickly felt relief flooding him as Tai turned his attention over to Kagome. All too soon, Tai turned his head once again to Inuyasha, and he still felt at a loss for words.

“Tai! Why don't I get your cake out so we could sing happy birthday and blow out your candles?” said Kagome coming to Inuyasha's rescue. She saw Inuaysha heavily sighing in relief while Tai excitedly jumped up and down. At least it worked. Kagome dug into the huge picnic basket and slowly pulled out a white box.

Inuyasha had helped clear the center of the blanket to make room for the cake. Good thing Kagome remembered about the cake. It was a good distraction. Any three-year old would fall mercilessly to the sight of cake.

Pretty soon Kagome had lifted the lid to reveal a beautifully decorated chocolate cake with three candles, which Inuyasha was now lighting with a match, while Kagome had whipped out her camera. Tai was squashed in between his parents grinning at his cake. Kagome and Inuyasha had sung `Happy Birthday' and Tai had puffed his cheeks to blow the three small candles after making a three minute wish. Kagome had hugged and kissed him half to death before Inuyasha had his turn to hug Tai and then ruffle his hair. More pictures were taken before Tai got terribly impatient for his piece of chocolate cake.

Half an hour later, and six pieces of chocolate cake were eaten, Tai and Inuyasha were running around Kagome chasing each other. Tai had his serving of three, Inuyasha two, and Kagome one slice of cake. She sat on the blanket watching Inuyasha and Tai run around. Inuyasha could be such a kid sometimes… But she had to admit it was amusing seeing him running around bare-footed with Tai as if he were his age.

“Inuyasha! Slow down a bit would you? You two just ate!” yelled Kagome.

“Relax!” he laughed lifting Tai to sit up on his shoulders. He began to spin rapidly, but not in full speed for Tai's safety. He heard Kagome's yells of protest but ignored them as he laughed along with Tai, who seemed to be having the time of his life.

“Inuyasha! You'll make him sick! He just finished eating three slices of cake! Three slices!” she said walking up to them and picking Tai off his shoulders.

“Awww… mommy…” protested Tai.

“Don't worry kid. Mommy just wants a turn don't you?” he smirked at Kagome.

“No,” she answered plainly. She was about to argue with him when she noticed the dangerous glint in his eyes. Oh no… she knew that look. It was the same look from this morning… Before Inuyasha could grab her, she had started running for her life. Of course he had no objections for a little game of cat and mouse. It was funny watching her run and screaming her lungs out at him all at the same time. All too soon, Kagome felt his arm wrap around her waist and let out a shriek.

“Stop struggling or I might drop you,” warned Inuyasha. He quickly hoisted her up on his shoulders as he would a sack of potatoes and started spinning. Tai had caught up to them laughing with his parents. Inuyasha winked at him and he decided to step it up a notch. By then, Kagome was begging for mercy to be let down, claiming that she was feeling sick. Inuyasha decided that he would continue his torture until… SPLAT. Tai's `eeewws' could be heard in the background as he pulled Kagome off his shoulders to examine the damage.

Kagome was seen falling back on her behind beside and laughing her ass off. Inuyasha lifted up his right foot to see what he had stepped on. Gross and utterly disgusting.

“Eeeww… daddy stepped on poopy…” said Tai with one hand pointing at Inuyasha's foot and the other covering his nose.

“YUCK!” screamed Inuyasha hopping on one foot. “If I find out who left this… It's still warm!”

“Could you please put your foot down? It's attracting flies… not to mention unwanted attention,” murmured Kagome noticing that people were staring.

“What are you looking at!” yelled Inuyasha at the onlookers.

Kagome let out another fit of giggles. Inuyasha just happened to remind her of a crazy hobo. With his her tussled, his bare-feet covered in dirt and one in manure. It was just too hilarious. She couldn't help but whip out the camera yet again and snapped a couple of pictures, all which had Inuyasha coming at the camera looking ready to kill.

“Will you quit laughing! It's not funny! How am I supposed to get this off!” he exclaimed.

“I don't know. Wipe it on some grass?” that got Kagome laughing again. Without warning, Tai had regurgitated on Kagome's shoulder.

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to laugh and point. Kagome had a shocked expression on her face while Tai looked innocently at his mother's soiled shoulder. Kagome obviously hadn't expected that. Maybe he shouldn't have spun Tai around after having a large meal? But the look on Kagome's face was priceless.

“Give me that,” he grinned and yanked the camera away from her.

“Stop that!” threatened Kagome. Random flashes either directly in front of her or was currently blinding her, to the side of her face to her shoulder.

“It's only fair!” he laughed.

“I told you that you shouldn't have twirled him around like that! You've made him sick!” she cried yanking her camera out of Inuyasha's hands.

“Whatever,” he said with a roll of his eyes and a smirk. “Good job buddy!” Inuyasha was laughing and ruffling Tai's hair at the same time. “Give me five!”

Tai made a gagging sound as his head began to bow low and emptied the remaining contents of his stomach on Inuyasha's clean foot. Kagome and Inuyasha both watched in shock as Tai finished, what Inuyasha hoped to be the last of his lunch. Tai cautiously stepped away from Inuyasha who was giving him an incredulous look.

“Inuyasha! What have you done to my son!” cried Kagome instantly slapping a hand on Tai's forehead. “Are you sick? Does your tummy hurt? Nice shot by the way…”

“HEY! Both my feet are dirty!”

“Come on sweetie… Mommy will get you some crackers and juice to make you feel better,” she cooed. Kagome pushed herself up off the ground to her feet and took Tai's hand. “Come on stinky.”

“KEH!”

It took Inuyasha a while to get to the picnic area since he tried his best to avoid getting more of the stuff covering both feet, to get stuck in between his toes. Kagome had demanded that he sat on the grass to avoid getting his `gunk' on the picnic blanket. And of course he wasn't too happy about that. But at least he found out why Kagome had packed such a huge picnic basket. She had packed a change of clothing for everyone and some wet wipes. Those came in handy when it came to cleaning his feet.

An hour and a half later (the hour was used by Inuaysha cleaning his feet), Inuyasha drove up Kagome's driveway. He was still too busy grumbling about his feet. Tai had given him the explanation that the smell of the manure only added to his dizzy feeling from being spun around like crazy. Kagome had tsked at him and left him with an `I told you so' look. At least they were home and he could finally take a bath. All three of them filed in the house and unfortunately for Kagome, Inuyasha had won the race for the bathroom.

Tai had settled himself on the couch to watch tv and Kagome was preparing a pot of ramen. She didn't feel like cooking anything and since all of them were starving already. Inuyasha of course, would be more than grateful for her choice of meal.

Half an hour after arriving home, Kagome had set up the table while the ramen cooled on the stove. Inuyasha had come down the stairs whistling happily at the smell of his favorite dish and waltzed into the kitchen with a smug look. Kagome gave him a warning glare and began to fill Tai's bowl. Kagome took her time filling up Inuaysha's bowl as torture for locking her out of her own bathroom…

Dinner was filled with laughter about the day's activities. Well… mostly about Inuyasha's feet being soaked with vomit and dog manure that is. They had all helped themselves to a fair amount of ramen but Inuyasha always had the most. When Inuyasha had finished every last drop of ramen, Kagome had shooed them out of the kitchen so she could start washing the dishes without Inuyasha griping about how he wasn't the only one who had been vomited on.

Once the dishes were done, Kagome had taken a quick bath and found Inuaysha and Tai watching tv. Tai was lying on his stomach on the floor while Inuyasha's body was lazily thrown over the couch. She had to do a serious amount of poking just to get him to move so that there would be room for her. She rolled her eyes. Men. They were currently watching a Disney movie, when Tai had decided to crawl and settle himself on Kagome's lap.

The movie ended two hours later. Inuyasha had dozed off during the movie and woke up to find that Kagome and Tai had fallen asleep snuggled on the couch. He sighed and got up to turn off the tv. He looked back at Tai and Kagome who were sleeping so soundly. He hated to wake up either of them whenever they were sleeping so peacefully. Inuyasha grinned dumbly and sank down to his knees to get a closer look at his family. He walked quietly to their unpacked picnic basket and pulled out the camera. There was a few frames left before the end of the film and decided that now was as good a time as ever for pictures. He sat as gently as he could beside the mother and son and held the camera out at arm's length, closed his eyes to make it seem he was sleeping right along with them, and took a couple of shots.

Today was great. No… it was better than great. He hadn't spent time like that with Tai and Kagome ever since he had began to immerse himself with work. Inuyasha reached out a clawed finger to move a lock of Tai's hair away from his face. It was like looking at a younger version of himself … He watched as Tai snuggled closer to Kagome and tightened his grip on her shirt. Kagome only responded by tightening her arms around Tai and nuzzled the top of his head with her cheek. Inuyasha reached a hand up to caress her cheek, careful not to wake her. He couldn't have asked for a better day. Kagome had taken the day off to spend it with him and Tai… How come he never did that for her or Tai?

He sighed heavily. Once again he was left with his thoughts… He hated not having anything to occupy himself with. Usually it was Tai who would break him out of his thoughts but he was sleeping now. Inuyasha decided that he wouldn't wake either of them and that he'd just have to be careful. He very gently removed Kagome's arms around Tai and slowly lifted Tai off Kagome. Inuyasha tried to hold in a laugh as Tai gave a loud snort while he climbed the stairs. He eventually made it into Tai's room without waking him and began to change him into his pajamas. After that, he laid him under the covers with Teddy and plugged in the nightlight. Tai must've been really tired if he hadn't woken up the slightest bit while he changed him.

"Thanks for giving me a second chance buddy… Goodnight…" he whispered before he kissed him tenderly on the forehead. He really loved the kid to death.

Inuyasha made his way quietly down to the living room to get Kagome. He had to do this carefully. He made sure to turn out the lights first so he wouldn't have to do it while he was carrying her or come back from upstairs. Inuyasha remembered how touchy she was when it came to personal space before they started dating. And sometimes it got to the point where every limb he had on his body was severely bruised. Inuyasha took a deep breath before he took Kagome into his arms. He lifted her off the couch and slowly made his way to up the stairs once again.

The last time he had carried Kagome like this was on their wedding night. When he had ceremoniously carried her across the threshold of their new house… He looked down at her face only to see her cuddle closer to his chest. Confusion and emotion's he hadn't felt in a long time bombarded him all at once. He remembered too clearly what this feeling was... But why now? Why after everything was all over?

Sometimes he felt like running to her and giving her a hug or a kiss the way a husband would a wife. But then he had cheated on her. He was willing to have an affair with Kikyou and sneaked behind her back to get away… Didn't that mean that he didn't have any feelings for her when he did it without hesitation?

Without realizing it, he was standing beside Kagome's bed in her room. He gave her one last look before settling her under her covers. Inuyasha gently sat down on her bed cautiously, careful not to disturb her. He remembered moments like these… mostly from the first year of their marriage. When he had sometimes come home late and he would find her asleep on the bed… Inuyasha ran a hand through her hair… just like he used to. How could he hurt her? She was always the one who encouraged him to keep going after his dreams, whether it was earning a place in his father's company or to gain his employees' respect. How could he do that to her? He growled. He really hated himself right now…

Inuyasha gave out a very sleepy yawn as his hand came to rest on one of her soft pillows. Why did she get better pillows? The pillows in his room were like rocks compared to the ones on her bed… He wondered if it would be okay to maybe rest his head on it for a little while, which he did. Inuyasha let out a lazy sigh. Maybe he'll just take a quick nap…