InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fang of the Father ❯ Recovery ( Chapter 19 )

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

LES: Well, here we go with Chapter 19 of Fang of the Father! I hope that you enjoy it! Oh! You ever can guess which line in this chapter is from some other famous American comic (Which line and which comic) will get a hug from the Inuyasha character of your choice!

Inuyasha: And what makes you think any of us would go along with this?

LES: Because I'll make you guys go even further than a hug if you don't do what I say.

Polls Closed! This mini-contest is over!

Chapter XIX: Recovery

By the next morning, most of Inuyasha's wounds had healed, with the exception of his stomach and ankle. Kagome sat on the futon with him, carefully inspecting his right ear, which had been torn in his battle with Sesshomaru. Inuyasha kept perfectly still, knowing that Kagome, for some odd reason, would be completely devastated if his ear were permanently disfigured.

“Good. It seems to have healed well.” Kagome said, softly petting the listening organ.

He flicked his ear in annoyance. “Well, at least my ears are okay.” He said sarcastically.

“But I love your ears!” Kagome said, rubbing the left one.

Inuyasha's eyes drifted shut and he began to purr.

Kagome giggled. “There you go, purring again!”

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and the deep rumbling stopped. “Hey! Dogs don't purr!”

“Oh really? Then what do you call this sound?” She rubbed his ear again until the purring resumed.

“Growling, friendly-like.” Inuyasha said with a silly grin.

“In other words: purring.” Kagome laughed.

“You're gonna get it when my wounds heal, you know.” Inuyasha grumbled.

“Oh really? Whatcha gonna do, huh? You wouldn't do anything to your pregnant bitch.”

“Nothing I haven't done before.” Inuyasha pointed out with a wicked grin.

“Oh no! Whatever will I do?” Kagome gasped with mock horror.

“Give in, cause you know you can't win.” Inuyasha tried to pull her into a kiss, but the moment was interrupted by the entrance of Miroku and Sango.

“So, you are recovering well?” Miroku asked.

Inuyasha growled. “Yeah. It's only my damn ankle and stomach.”

“We would like to talk… about what happened.” Miroku said. “You said that Sesshomaru went after Kagome, and that triggered your Inu transformation.”

“Duh. I won't learn how to do that myself for years.” Inuyasha said.

“But transformations don't happen instantly. How is Kagome safe? She said herself she didn't shoot him with an arrow and didn't have the time to protect herself.” Sango said.

“I don't know. It looked like he had been thrown back off her. Those seconds are kinda fuzzy.” Inuyasha said.

“I think… it was Chouin-taken.” Kagome spoke up. “At the last second before Sesshomaru attacked, I was surrounded by a barrier made of both miko spiritual energy and Yokai energy.”

“But… how is that possible? Human spiritual energy and Yokai energy cannot mix.” Sango said.

“Actually, they can mix.” Miroku said. “And we have five examples of such a mixture right here in the village.”

“Hanyous.” Inuyasha said. “We carry a perfect merger of human spiritual energy and Yokai energy.”

“The Chouin-taken…” Kagome said, reaching for the dagger at her hip. “It was shaking during the ordeal… like Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga and Sesshomaru's Tenseiga will do sometimes.”

“My… fang?” Inuyasha asked.

“Yes. It was like your fang carried with it your desire to protect me.” Kagome said. “So, when I was in danger, it reacted and protected me.”

“It makes sense. After all, Lord Inutaisho's Tetsusaiga absorbed his desire to protect mortals.” Miroku said.

“So… could that be the dagger's hidden ability?” Sango asked. “That's definitely a useful ability.”

“Indeed.” Miroku said. “If you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation and we aren't around to protect you, your Chouin-taken will protect you.”

“That's defiantly a good thing.” Kenji's voice called from outside the hut. “Considering that she's pupped and all.”

“Pupped?” Miroku asked, unfamiliar with some of the more uncommonly-heard Yokai terms.

“It's the Inu-Yokai way of saying `with child'.” Sango glanced at her best friend. “Kagome, is that true? Are you really going to have a pup?”

Inuyasha carefully moved closer to his mate, and wrapped his arms tenderly around her, to give her the support she might need. Kagome smiled brightly at their friends. No further answer was needed.

Sango embraced her friend warmly. “Congratulations! I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you two!”

“Man… I can't believe this…” Miroku said, sounding depressed.

Sango whacked him over the head. “You could at least pretend to be happy for them!”

“I am happy for them!” Miroku insisted, rubbing the large bump on his head. “I just couldn't believe that Inuyasha managed to reproduce before me.”

“Feh.” Inuyasha snorted. “Nice to see that my `friends' have confidence in me.”

“We have the upmost confidence in you!” Miroku insisted. “In your battle skills, that is.”

Inuyasha growled, but Sango stepped in. “What he means is that while you are normally very instinctual and decisive, that is not so for matters of the heart. After all, you spent almost three years swinging back and forth between Kagome and Kikyo.”

Sango's comment didn't help, judging by how Inuyasha's growl only grew in intensity. “Would you guys drop it already?! Kagome's my mate, not Kikyo! Kikyo's dead and at peace! Stop bugging me about her!”

Miroku opened his mouth, probable to press their case, but Kagome jumped to her mate's defense. “We appreciate your concern…” (“Feh!”) “But Inuyasha and I are mates now, and that sort of bond will last as long as we live. And we have a pup on the way now. Even Inuyasha isn't foolish enough to be able to ignore that sort of bond.”

“Oi!” Inuyasha hissed indignantly, like he did every time someone insulted his intelligence.

“She's right.” Kenji said from outside. “I don't know what's going on with this Kikyo woman, but no Inu-Yokai or hanyou would disgrace himself by abandoning his mate for any reason excluding death. It would mean the ultimate disgrace: banishment from the pack.”

“Exactly!” Inuyasha said, glad that at least one person was on his side. “I didn't keep returning to Kikyo because of any old feelings, but because I could never overcome the guilt of having caused her premature death. I was responsible for her loss of powers and her death, and when she was resurrected…”

“She was undead?” Kenji asked. “I've only heard of such things. Well… then you would do good to know that no Inu would mate with the undead.”

“Even if…?”

“Never.” Kenji said. “You humans have no idea how much scent means to us, especially when choosing a mate. Any Inu with a brain would smell that an undead would smell of death, corpuses, and graveyard soil. Not to mention that they lack the smell of fertility. Why would an Inu mate with one whose smell offends them and cannot bare their pups when there are much more eligible mates around?”

“It's true.” Inuyasha said. “I never said it, but her resurrected smell made me gag. Not to mention the fact that undead are sterile. It was… well… a major `turn off'.”

Too much TV. Kagome thought.

“Kikyo's smell compared to Kagome's is no comparison.” Inuyasha continued. “Kagome smells of… life and fertility. It put the odds majorly in her favor from day one.”

“So… then the problem was that you acted too much like a human and not enough like a dog?” Sango laughed.

Inuyasha frowned, but he couldn't help but agree. “I guess.”

“So… how long has it been?” Sango asked. “Your pup?”

“Over a month.” Kagome said.

“Well, we certainly cannot wait until we are blessed with the presence of the next generation.” Miroku said, sending the Buddha a small prayer for Kagome's unborn pup.

“So… what about you two?” Inuyasha asked.

“What about us?” Sango asked.

“When are we gonna have some miniature lechers or Yokai Taijiya running around?”

“What makes you think that?” Sango asked, blushing.

“Well, you're married now, ain't ya? You promised Miroku ten or twenty children, and you two decided to stay her rather than go with me, Kagome, and Kenji to the Western Lands.” Inuyasha said. “Despite what you may all think, I'm not a complete fool.”

Sango blushed even deeper. “It's too early to tell such things.”

Inuyasha laughed. “I believe I've made my point.”

Several minutes later, Shippo came running into the hut, and leapt at Kagome, who caught the little kitsune easily. “Kagome! You're back!”

“I was only gone for a short amount of time, Shippo.” Kagome laughed.

“Yeah, but you haven't been spending time with me, cause you're off with Inuyasha all the time!” Shippo complained.

“Hey, runt, Kagome is my mate, and I can spend as much time with her as I want!”

“But I wanna play with Kagome!” Shippo complained.

“Me too.” Inuyasha growled, though his meaning was entirely different from Shippo's. “But as Alpha-Male, I get first dibs.”

“You aren't her owner, Inuyasha!” Shippo commented.

“Runt, you're lucky my ankle's broken…” Inuyasha began to threaten, but Kagome stepped in.

“Shippo, do you see this mark?” She showed the little kitsune the mark on her throat. “This mark means that Inuyasha does own me. But I am willingly his. I have a duty to my mate that comes before the pack. And that same duty is essential to Inuyasha as a Yokai Lord. But it's not just a `duty'. I want to do what I can for my mate.”

Everyone blushed as Kagome touched upon `The Talk'. No one seemed to want to discuss the Birds and the Bees with the young kitsune.

“What duty?” Shippo asked.

“Someone will tell you when you're older.” Inuyasha said shortly.

“Did my parents…?”

“Yes.” Kagome said. “All mates do it. It makes them happy.”

“Then why is Inuyasha so grumpy?”

“I'm grumpy because you annoy me with your questions.” Inuyasha growled.

Miroku took his cue and whacked the kitsune over the head with his shakujo. (Translation: Miroku's staff.) “Ow!” Shippo complained. “Miroku, why'd you do that?!” Shippo demanded.

“Because Inuyasha cannot discipline you at the moment, and you are getting in on inappropriate topics of discussion.” He said. Inuyasha and Kagome stared at him, as he unwittingly took the role of beta-male within the pack.

:Pack-brother acts like beta.: Inuyasha growled, sorely for Kagome's benefit, even though Shippo could understand them somewhat.

:Pack-brother second male to join pack.: Kagome pointed out.

“Um… what's going on?” Sango asked, when Inuyasha and Kagome started barking and growling at each other.

“Oh? Don't mind us.” Kagome said. “Shippo, I can still play with you. Inuyasha?” She glanced at her mate, silently asking permission to go with Shippo.

Inuyasha growled. “Just be careful, bitch, and take the Chouin-taken with you.”

“Thanks, Inuyasha.” Kagome gathered up the young kitsune and walked out.

“So… Kagome's family on the other side of the well… do they know of Kagome's… state?” Sango asked.

“Yeah, Kagome told them. She said that they're fine with it. Kagome's mother just wants the pup to have our ears. Kagome's brother is excited about being an uncle, and her grandfather is happy in his own strange way, I guess. I don't think he expected his grand-daughter to become the mate of a hanyou. After all, Yokai and hanyous are just myths in her time.” Inuyasha said. “It's… the first time I've ever seen a family happy about the coming birth of a hanyou pup.”

“Well, Kagome is the product of an unusual time.” Miroku commented. “Tell me, Inuyasha, is her era as strange as she makes it sound?”

“Even stranger.” Inuyasha said. “If I hadn't seen some of the stuff with my own eyes…”

“So things like flying machines…?” Sango asked, recalling how Kagome once said that humans found a way to fly through the air.

“Yeah, they fly, all right. They're really loud too. It hurts my ears.”

All three shook their heads. “Unbelievable.”

Kagome was busy teaching Shippo how to play a simple card game: Go Fish. After a disastrous attempt to teach the rest of the group how to play Poker, she stuck to simple games like Rock, Paper, Scissors and other `elementary' games.

“… so, if we don't have the card the person asks for, we say `Go Fish' and they draw a card?” Shippo asked.

“Exactly. And if they do have the card, they have to hand it over, and you can make a pair.” She demonstrated with two `fives' and set the pair aside. “The first one to get rid of all their cards wins.”

“Wow! That sounds like fun!” Shippo said.

Kagome laughed. “Okay, let's play.” She dealt out some cards to herself and the kitsune kit.

The game proceeded for several minutes without any distractions. But, suddenly, Shippo asked: “Kagome? Do you still love me?”

Kagome looked up from her cards in shock. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

“Well… you're mated to Inuyasha, and you're spending so much time with him. You don't play with me anymore.”

“Shippo, of course I love you.” Kagome said. “It's just a different kind of love. I love Inuyasha as my mate, but I love you like a son.”

“But you spend so much time with Inuyasha.” Shippo began.

“That's because he's my mate, and I love spending time with him.” Kagome said. “Shippo, your parents were mates, do you think they loved you any less because of it?”

“No.” Shippo said. “I know that my mom and dad loved me. But I don't want that idiot to make you cry again.”

“Inuyasha only makes me cry when he isn't with me.” Kagome said. “But I'm much happier now that we're mates.”

“Well, if he ever makes you cry, promise that you'll sit him into oblivion for being a jerk.” Shippo said, and Kagome sighed.

“You know I can't do that.” Kagome said. “Subduing him may not hurt him, but it embarrasses him. It's degrading to subdue my mate… our Alpha. That spell should only be used for his own safety, not as punishment.”

“But isn't that what it was meant for?” Shippo asked.

“No.” Kagome said. “Inuyasha only had the rosary put on him because he tried to kill me. It was meant for protection. At first, it was for my protection, but now it is for his. I'll only use it in life-threatening situations.”

“But…”

“No, Shippo. Inuyasha's the Alpha, and that probably won't change any time soon.” Kagome said. “You know that Inuyasha has a hard time showing that he cares because humans and Yokai express their love in different ways. We have to help him by learning to recognize when his brashness and rudeness comes from his love.”

“Kagome…? Can I ask one more question?” Shippo asked.

“Of course.”

“You smell a little different.” Shippo said. “It's a small difference, but I can still smell it. What's happening? Are you sick?”

Kagome smiled. “No, I'm not sick. In fact, it is a smell to be celebrated, not worried over. Inuyasha and I are going to have a pup of our own. Do you understand?”

“Kinda. A pup is like a kit, right?” Shippo asked, and Kagome nodded. “Where are you going to get one?”

Kagome laughed. She had a brief mental image of going to a store and shopping for a baby. “The pup is all ready growing inside of me, and will arrive in eight months.”

“Inside you?” Shippo asked. “How?”

“Have you seen Kenmaru's wife around the village?” Kagome asked.

“Yes. She's getting really fat.”

“She's not fat. She has an infant growing inside her. Soon, I will look like that too.”

Shippo seemed to understand more. “But how does the pup get there in the first place?”

Kagome blushed. There was a place in this discussion that she wasn't ready to explain to the kitsune. “That's a discussion for another time.”

“Ahh! Kagome!”

“No, Shippo! You are too young!” Kagome said.

“Why?”

“Because a Yokai has to be mature and have a mate before it is even an issue.” Kagome said. “When you are older and closer to maturity, you'll understand.”

Shippo pouted, but didn't argue any further.

“So, did you discover why Sesshomaru seems to be after the Jewel shards?” Miroku asked.

“He didn't say.” Inuyasha answered. “Not that I really expected him to answer. He could be trying to get back his old strength.”

“I don't see Sesshomaru making himself dependent on the strength of the Shikon no Tama.” Sango commented. “He's always praised his own strength, was openly contempt about those who would use the jewel to gain false strength, and when he was offered the jewel shards in the past, he turned it down. Why would he be after the Shikon no Tama now?”

“There are several ways for a Yokai to gain strength.” Inuyasha said. “The longer, but easier, way is to strengthen oneself through training. The shorter, but harder, way is to destroy a Yokai stronger than yourself and steal their Yokai power.”

“Like your Tetsusaiga? The ability to steal the abilities of those it defeats.” Miroku commented.

“Yes.” Inuyasha said. “I guess it's possible that he is only going to use the shards until he destroys some powerful Yokai and builds up his own strength once again.”

“That sounds more like Sesshomaru.” Sango said. “Raising his power artificially until he can raise his own powers. After that, he'll probably toss the jewel shards aside.”

“It's possible.” Inuyasha said. “He ran away. He must've realized that his own power wasn't enough to defeat me when I have my old man's power.”

“The surest way to defeat a Yokai Lord is to have the power of a Yokai Lord yourself.” Sango said. “Could he be after the other Yokai Lords?”

Inuyasha shrugged. “Could be. After all, three of the four original Yokai Lords are dead. The blood is weakened, and the Lordship has been left to weaker, younger, and less experienced heirs.”

“So… it would be within our best interest to make sure that nothing happens to the other Yokai Lords.” Miroku commented, glancing at Inuyasha.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Inuyasha demanded.

“Well, who better to safely gain an audience with a Yokai Lord than another Yokai Lord?”

“Feh! Yeah, like that will go off well! Yokai Lord or not, I'm still a hanyou! And which Yokai Lord should I approach first? The proud Tiger Lord, the last of the original Yokai Lords; the damn Cat Lord; or the heir to the Dragon Lord that I killed with my own blade?”

“The Dragon Lord.” Sango said instantly. “I doubt he feels sorry for the death of Ryukotsusei, because he became a Yokai Lord because of it. Also, Dragon Yokai are the most powerful of Yokai. If Sesshomaru killed him…”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand. But that doesn't mean a meeting would go my way.” Inuyasha said.

“But, still, we should try.” Miroku said. “If any of the Yokai Lords fell to Sesshomaru, it could be a disaster.”

LES: I'm going to stop right there, even though the next chapter starts up right away after this. You'll have one week to guess which line is from something else and from what it's from. Remember, the prize is a hug from the Inuyasha character of your choice!

Polls Closed! This mini-contest is over!