InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Future Past ❯ Ch 2: Decisions Decisions ( Chapter 2 )

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

 

Chapter 2: Decisions, Decisions

 

 

Kaede solved the problem of housing for Kagome and Inuyasha by announcing that she had to go to another village to train a young girl in herbal lore. Kagome suspected that Kaede just wanted to give them a little privacy even though she made it sound as if the other village couldn't wait one more day.

 

“But who will take care of our village?” asked Shippo.

 

“Kagome can take my place until I return,” replied Kaede.

 

“She can?”

 

I can? Kagome thought to herself. Upon reflection, she guessed that she had learned quite a lot about herbs and medicines from Kaede over the years. And she still had her first aid kit from home. In a pinch, she supposed she would do. She reasoned that there probably was little chance she would be needed anyway, otherwise Kaede wouldn't have left. No, she was pretty sure Kaede had arranged this little trip for her benefit—and Inuyasha's, of course.

 

The first thing Inuyasha did after seeing Kaede and her escorts to the edge of his forest was to air out the old woman's house. “No offense,” he said to Kagome, “but I want it to smell like us in here, not the old lady.”

 

The second thing he did was sweep up Kagome in a tight embrace and murmur in her ear that he couldn't wait for night when everyone else would be sleeping. Kagome giggled, as she glanced down through the space near the bottom of the screen that covered the door opening and counted villager's feet as they went by.

 

Inuyasha had wanted to chase after Sesshomaru immediately, but he changed his mind when Kaede made her announcement. They had a few weeks. He would patrol the surrounding area and keep his ears open for rumors of his half-brother. If that didn't work, he'd scare up some of the local youkai and get them to tell him. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation. That should be fun. And chances were, if he made enough noise, Sesshomaru would hear rumors about him, and he might come calling himself.

 

He was torn between wanting to go out alone on these little excursions in order to protect Kagome, and wanting to stay by her side because he felt uneasy when they were apart, as if this idyllic life they had together would disappear if he didn't watch over it constantly. So he waited until Kagome was busy doing girl things with Sango or playing with Shippo before he headed out into the woods, keeping his absences brief and making every moment count. The smaller youkai soon knew of his return and word spread. Still, there was no sign of Sesshomaru. The nights were worth it, however.

 

“Isn't it time for a bath or something?” he asked Kagome about a week later, thinking that it wouldn't be a bad idea for the group of them to travel a bit farther afield. If they went to a hot spring, he might be able to pick up some sign of Sesshomaru in the area.

 

“A bath?” Kagome blushed, remembering their baths at school. Inuyasha, catching Kagome's reaction, blushed too. That wasn't what he had meant. He explained about the hot springs.

 

Sango thought it was a good idea. Kaede was due back soon, so now would be a perfect time to get away for a few days. It would be a fair distance to travel, but then again, they hadn't really done much traveling since the days of tracking Naraku. And she and Miroku could ride on Kirara who was just as swift as Inuyasha. Who knew when she would be able to go on such a journey again. “Let's do it!” she said eagerly.

 

Miroku frowned. He knew Inuyasha was probably combining business with pleasure, and this trip might not be as peaceful as Sango seemed to think. But if that's what Sango wanted. . . . He shrugged his shoulders. “I'm in,” he said.

 

Later he stopped Inuyasha as he was heading back towards Kaede's house. “You mean to search for Sesshomaru,” he stated. “I know you said you'd look for Kohaku too, but please, do not do anything that will distress Sango.”

 

Inuyasha looked at Miroku in surprise. Of course he wouldn't do anything to distress Sango, not on purpose anyway. “Don't worry,” he told Miroku. “I won't lose my temper and do something stupid.”

 

“Kagome is a good influence on you,” Miroku remarked.

 

Inuyasha grunted. Admittedly, she was a good influence on him, but he liked to think he had something to do with it too.

 

 

As they ran through the mountains, Inuyasha wished he could show his friends his new transformation. He and Kagome had both agreed, however, that it was better not to reveal that particular secret. He trusted Miroku, Sango and Shippo with his life, but just because he couldn't find Sesshomaru now didn't mean Sesshomaru wasn't watching him. He knew the Sesshomaru he had met in the future was not aware of his ability to change to spirit form, and he didn't want to take any chances that this era's Sesshomaru would accidentally find out and thereby change history. Besides, he gently squeezed Kagome's thighs as she rode on his back, Kagome would probably fall off. He wondered idly if that would really happen if he transformed while carrying Kagome. He decided they would give it a try once they got back. If they went back. Although it was looking more and more like they would.

 

Sango had donned her slayer gear, but she wore Kagome's present underneath. It worked really well to keep her warm. Miroku helped, too, with his arms wrapped around her from behind as they rode Kirara in the air above Inuyasha. Shippo spent his time alternating between riding with Kagome and riding with her and Miroku. Whenever one couple got too mushy, he'd go visit the other couple for a while. Sango smiled as she thought about how much things had changed.

 

The area was full of hot springs, but the weather was too cold for the women to camp outdoors, so they stayed at a bath house. Since it would be too hard to explain the presence of youkai at the bath house, the three humans went on ahead and got two rooms. Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara simply jumped over the roof and met them on the inside. Once they were settled, the girls went off for a soak while Miroku followed Inuyasha to one of the more remote hot springs out of sight of the human patrons. Shippo trailed after them, casting his eyes longingly back towards where the girls had disappeared.

 

“Get over it,” Inuyasha told him. “You're with us.”

 

“But I'm just a little kid!”

 

“There will be no more bathing with the women for you. Sango is my wife now,” said Miroku.

 

“Yeah, and Kagome's my—my Kagome,” added Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha leaned back against a rock and sighed in contentment. If they ended up going back to Kagome's time, then Inuyasha definitely planned to build his house up on the hill—once Sesshomaru got the land for him—and he would put in a hot tub, the modern world's answer to volcanic hot springs. This was the life. The only thing that would make it better would be if Kagome was here with him instead of Miroku and Shippo. Shippo paddled happily in the shallows a few feet away from where Inuyasha and Miroku were soaking.

 

“Would it really be so bad if youkai disappeared from this earth?” asked Miroku softly.

 

“What?” Inuyasha sat up, water cascading off his shoulders. Was Miroku serious? “I'm youkai,” he said slowly. “So is Kirara. And Shippo. “

 

“First of all, you're hanyou,” began Miroku.

 

Inuyasha smiled his crooked grin and his eyes glinted. “There is no such thing,” he replied. “I'm youkai. Don't forget it.”

 

Miroku's eyes widened. What had happened to Inuyasha in Kagome's future to make him believe that? “I'm not talking about you, or Kirara or Shippo. I'm talking about that future you told us about. Would it be so bad if it came true? If youkai eventually disappeared for good? They're evil—“

 

“You don't believe that youkai are evil.” Inuyasha stated flatly.

 

“No, I guess I don't, not all of them,” admitted Miroku. “But you must admit they don't have human's interests at heart.”

 

“Why would they? They're—we're--not human. We don't think the same. Truth is, youkai have their own sense of morality, neither good nor evil as humans see it.”

 

Miroku raised his eyebrows. “Since when did you start thinking like that?”

 

“I knew it the whole time. I think my human part helped me to see youkai as good and evil, but deep down I always knew it wasn't exactly right.”

 

“What about all those youkai that attacked us? You can't tell me they weren't evil.”

 

“It's hard to explain. You're human. They weren't good either, and they have no pity for humans. They might copy humans or imitate physical forms taken from their dreams and nightmares, but they aren't human. They don't think like you. They don't care like you. Humans might call that evil.”

 

“Are you saying we shouldn't fight evil youkai—er, ones who do thing that we humans consider evil, I mean?” Miroku was trying to follow Inuyasha's reasoning.

 

“No, you protect what's yours. That's not the problem, the way I see it. If a youkai threatens me, I'll take him out. I have no problem with that. Who cares about the reasons behind it?”

 

Inuyasha sank back into the water up to his neck. His hair floated around him. He flicked his ears to remove water droplets and continued speaking. “We're connected. Youkai and humans. As much as we don't want to admit it, we need each other. That's what I learned in the future.” Inuyasha gestured all around him. “We share this earth. If all the youkai disappeared completely, the earth would lose our spirit force.” He grinned suddenly. “You have to admit, your average human doesn't have enough spiritual energy.”

 

Miroku nodded. “That's true. I see your point. I'm just surprised that you're the one making it! You're not exactly known for your deep thoughts.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Inuyasha agreed. “And I don't like it.” He shrugged. “Ok, I'm cooked. Let's go back. Come on, Shippo,” he called. The kitsune scrambled out of the water and joined them.

 

 

There was a closer pool for the women where Sango and Kagome soaked contentedly. “This is so good for my skin,” remarked Kagome. “I'm glad we came here.”

 

“So am I,” answered Sango. “Inuyasha didn't even give us a hard time about it this time.”

 

“No, he likes baths now,” said Kagome.

 

“He seems to have calmed down somewhat, become more responsible,” commented Sango. “Is that because of you?”

 

Kagome blushed. “No, not really. A lot of things happened to us when he followed me back to my time. You could say we both grew up.”

 

Sango eyed her. “So you are really together—that way. Tell me, was it true what you told Kaede? You have a medicine that prevents you from getting pregnant, and it won't harm you? I mean, you can still have babies later?”

 

“Yes. I don't want to take a chance on getting pregnant while I'm still in school. But if we decide to have children later on, then I can just stop taking the pills.”

 

“You can decide if you want to have children?”

 

“Well, yes. I mean, Inuyasha and I haven't really talked about it, but I think that someday I'd like to have kids.”

 

“Aren't you worried about having hanyou children? You know what kind of life Inuyasha had. . . .”

 

Kagome grimaced. Then she put on a cheery smile and replied. “It's different in my time. People don't know about youkai. I suppose I would have to hide what the child was from the doctors and the schools …” She was going to have to think about how to accomplish all that. “…but Sesshomaru is there, and he will know what to do.”

 

“And if you don't go back?”

 

“Then there's no problem. I have all of you to help us.” Kagome thought about it. If it ended up that they remained in the Sengoku Jidai, she would run out of birth control pills anyway, and school wouldn't be an issue anymore. She got a little thrill as she thought about having Inuyasha's child. “I'm really looking forward to having a family some day,” she said quietly.

 

Sango looked down. “Me, too. In fact,” she turned to face Kagome. “I am going to have a baby.”

 

“WHAT!” Kagome stood straight up in the water, then sank back down as the cold air struck her body. She reached over and touched Sango's shoulder. “What? You're pregnant?”

 

Sango smiled. “Yes. The baby should come in early summer.”

 

“Are you sure you should be soaking in the hot water? Is it safe for the baby? Let's get out now!” Kagome stood again, pulling Sango up with her.

 

“It's fine,” Sango assured her. But she let herself be led out of the pool. Once they were dressed, Kagome gave her a big hug. “Congratulations,” she whispered. “I'm so happy for you.”

 

Both women had shiny eyes when the boys returned. “You told her, didn't you?” asked Miroku. Sango smiled and nodded.

 

 

Later, Kagome lay snuggled against Inuyasha in their room while Shippo slept on a mat in the corner. Inuyasha thought about what it would be like if Kagome were pregnant. He hesitated to bring it up. What if Kagome didn't want to have children? Kagome twisted around in his arms until she lay facing him. “Inuyasha, you do want to have kids some day, don't you?” she asked him, seeming to read his mind. “I want to.”

 

He stroked her hair away from her face. “Yeah, I want to have kids, as long as you are Ok with it.”

 

“Of course I'm Ok with it. It will be different for our kids. They will have both of us and all our friends to love and protect them, right?”

 

“Right.” It would be different for their kids. He would make sure of it. Too bad he had to wait until they were both finished with school. He wondered if Kagome would change her mind about school now that she found out Sango was going to have a baby. He shifted his eyes to the corner where Shippo slept. “Kagome,” he whispered in her ear, speaking English just in case the little runt was still awake, “want to go in the hot springs with me right now?”

 

Shippo popped his head up. “Can I go too?” he asked.

 

Inuyasha blinked. How did he understand what Inuyasha had said? Inuyasha had been speaking English. He growled softly under his breath. That stupid thing where youkai could understand each other no matter what languages they spoke. “NO,” he growled.