InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ It Takes Two ❯ Crack in the Wood ( Chapter 15 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Xagzan 
Disclaimer: InuYasha and all its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, so I make no money from this
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.23.2008 | Updated On: 03.05.2008 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: InuYasha and all its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, so I make no money from this
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.23.2008 | Updated On: 03.05.2008 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Hey everybody, sorry for the long wait. For those who've seen my LJ posts, you'll know this has been a week that kicked my ass. And, if you haven't seen them...it's a week that kicked my ass. Midterms, tons of reading, etc. I didn't even get to start thinking about this chapter till Thursday. Anyway, next week doesn't look bad at all, so it should get easier to update quicker. So, here you go, read and review.
Crack in the Wood
The leaves rustled on their branches outside of the Higurashi Shrine. Sunrise had arrived, bringing the new day with it to greet Tokyo. Its rays rose and rose and eventually peeked through the window of a certain house, washing over the faces of two young, sleeping girls. Girls with rather large tummies, lying next to each other on their backs. The one with darker hair turned away from the light, wanting a few more hours of sleep. Sadly, this plan was quickly suppressed by—
“Kagome, Sango! Time for breakfast!”
The call woke up the other girl as well, and she ran her fingers over her closed eyelids, yawning heavily. Kagome sat up slowly and groaned, not opening her eyes. A few minutes passed, and neither Kagome nor Sango moved an inch. A She soon heard her mother's footsteps coming up the stairs, then heard the door to her room being opened.
“Hm? Still in bed at this hour?” Her mom asked.
“What do you want, mom?” Kagome groaned again. Sango sat up next to the miko and slowly opened her lids to adjust to the light of the day.
“Good morning, Mrs. Higurashi,” she said tiredly.
“Sango, dear, I told you, you can call me mom. Anyway, don't you think you two should get up about now? It's rather late—“
“What time's it?” Kagome slurred, not wanting to reach over to check the clock.
“11:30.”
Sango blinked, confused. “Eleven-thirty? Does that have something to do with how you tell time here?”
“Why yes, in fact,” Mrs. Higurashi answered. She walked over and picked up the alarm clock and showed it to Sango. “These numbers here, Sango, tell us that it is 11:30 in the morning, or 11:30 A.M. And in 30 more minutes, it will be 12 o'clock, or noon, and all the times after that will be in the `P.M….'”
She kept talking, but Sango couldn't understand a word of this time-telling clock stuff, or the timezone lecture that the woman moved onto afterwards. Kagome started to get impatient, her hormones kicking in soon after awakening.
“So, anyway,” Mrs. Higurashi said, finally finished, “Get up soon, ok? I have pancakes waiting downstairs.” And with that, she left the room, leaving the door open.
“Pan…cakes?” Sango asked, starting to feel like she was echoing too many words in this futuristic era.
“Oh you'll love them!” Kagome exclaimed, her mood suddenly lifting, making her into her usual chipper self. “So soft and warm and sweet! And especially with syrup! Mmmm…”
Syrup? Sango was about to say, but decided not to. For now, she felt perfectly comfortable just lying next to Kagome, huddling their warm bodies together. “How is yours this morning?” She asked gently, laying a hand on her lover's stomach.
“Well, he's not kicking. Yet.” Kagome smiled fondly. “I wonder how InuYasha slept last night, how Shippo and Kaede are doing.”
“Yeah,” Sango agreed, “and Kirara, too.” They sat there in peaceful, wishful silence for a few more moments before Kagome clapped her hands together loudly.
“Alright! Let's focus on that later! Our food's gonna get cold if we stay here much longer. Come on.”
Sango nodded and let out a groan, slowly swinging her legs to the side of the bed, Kagome supporting her from behind as she eased herself onto the floor, into a spare pair of Kagome's extremely soft, comfortable pink slippers. She turned around and helped herm mate do the same, then both girls made their way down the stairs.
“Hey, sis,” Sota said nonchalantly as they passed. But, when he noticed Sango was trailing his sister, his eyes lit up. “Oh, good morning, Sango!”
The slayer stifled a small laugh. Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed. It was bad enough when Sota got attracted to her non-pregnant, unattached friends… She wondered how long this crush would last. Little boys and their growing hormones. Though, in her condition she wasn't one to talk, perhaps.
“Here you go!” Sota said enthusiastically when they reached the kitchen. He rushed over and pulled out a chair for Sango, telling her, “Your syrup had seeped in, so I poured some more for you. It's great that way, really!”
“Hey, what about me?” Kagome asked, forced to get her own seat, noticing her own pancake was rather dry as well.
“Hm?” Sota asked. “Oh, um…lookin' good, sis!” He said, then quickly scurried out of the room.
“What a kind young boy,” Sango said. Kagome sighed again, wishing she had some prayer beads for her little brother.
They managed to finish their breakfast Sota-free. Sango had had a little trouble using the `knife and fork', but once Kagome had explained it to her, she'd quickly gotten the hang of them. Mrs. Higurashi came in soon afterwards, dressed and washed and purse in hand.
“Going somewhere, mom?” Kagome asked.
“Yes, I just have a little shopping to do. I think you girls should take it easy today. Kagome, perhaps you should give Sango a tour of the shrine while she's here. Just make sure not to disturb grandpa, he's sleeping again. But aside from that, show her around a little, ok?”
“Well, Sango?” Kagome asked.
“Sure, we could do that. But we'll have to walk at a slow pace, of course. Both of us.”
“Right.”
“Well, that's settled then.” Mrs. Higurashi said approvingly and turned to the door. “I'm off, then. Kagome, if there's any trouble at all, give me a call on my cell phone, alright?”
“Alright, mom. See you later.”
The door closed on the two girls. Sango turned her head to Kagome.
“What's a cell-phone?”
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A short while later…
Kagome took Sango's hand and led her outside of the house to start their little “tour.” She first took her to the storage shed, where it turned out that grandpa was sleeping.
“He likes to sleep most places nowadays,” Kagome whispered. They were standing right outside the entrance to the shack, grandpa's loud snores echoing from the room. “Mom and I tell him he should try sleeping in his bed once in a while, but he's pretty stubborn about this.”
“Kind of like InuYasha,” Sango noted, “He'll take a nap just about anywhere, too.”
“Yeah… Actually,” Kagome went on, “InuYasha's given gramps a lot of stress in this shack. He's broken quite a few things that gramps said were `priceless family heirlooms', but they didn't seem that special to me. Oh, and here's also where we kept an ancient Noh mask. That was before I met you, though. The mask sensed the presence of Shikon fragments in my room and came to life. And it took InuYasha and me all night to finally destroy it.” She fell silent, and both girls noticed how their talk kept seeming to involve the hanyou. “Anyway,” Kagome said softly, “Let's move on before gramps wakes up.”
Sango nodded and they left the shack. Kagome led her further across the shrine grounds, occasionally pointing out other small structures that served different purposes for her family's normal, or religious needs. Eventually, though, Kagome led them to Goshinboku, just near the well, at the edge of the shrine. She motioned Sango to the bench across from the tree and they slowly lowered themselves onto it. Sango looked a bit surprised.
“This tree, it's…”
“Yep,” Kagome answered. “It's the same tree that's back in the feudal era, at the exact same spot. It's called Goshinboku, the Tree of Ages. It's…where InuYasha and I first met…”
Sango looked up and down the giant tree. She felt a strange power radiating from its bark, a powerful aura that she had never experienced before, neither from youkai, miko, nor monk. It was a power that was beyond all of her comprehension. Sango felt as though this tree's very existence was able to hold sway over people's fates. She slightly shuddered from the grandeur of it all. Her eyes traveled downwards, and came to rest upon a particular dent in the wood, an indentation not too far above the ground.
“Kagome,” she said, pointing, “What's that spot right there?”
The miko let out a small laugh, remembering what that area was. “That,” she answered, a small smile forming on her lips, “That is exactly where I first met InuYasha.”
“Where you first saw him?”
“Yeah. It was my first trip down the Bone Eater's Well. Well, not a trip, more like an accident. Anyway, after I landed in the feudal era, it was one of the first things I saw. He was sealed to the tree by Kikyo's arrow, and had been asleep for fifty years. And since it had been so long, vines and plants had grown up around him. He looked so peaceful like that.”
“Really? Then what happened?”
“Well, after meeting Kaede and the other villagers, I ran back to this spot when a youkai attacked. I removed the arrow, and then he woke up. Of course, he certainly wasn't peaceful at all once that happened. He even tried to attack me.”
“No!”
“Mmhm,” Kagome nodded. “But, that was so long ago. This is where it all began, though, so long ago…” She was a bit surprised to find a tear forming in her eye. Sango noticed it, too.
“Kagome, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I'm alright,” she answered, sniffling. “I just… It hasn't even been one full day, and I miss him already. And, I'm scared, worried that whatever let us through the well might keep him out forever…”
“Don't think like that,” Sango said, pulling the younger girl to her, letting her use her shoulder as a pillow. “He'll come, don't worry… He'll come.”
“I know, but…how can you be so confident about that?” Kagome asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Because…it's InuYasha. You know that.” Sango gazed up at the tree as she comforted the miko. Even though she had experienced Kagome's fears as well, looking at Goshinboku seemed to be soothing her immensely. She lost herself in the size and shape of its branches, the texture of its bark, and most of all, the spirit she felt emanating from it. And, as she stared, she felt her baby give another kick. Or…wait, she thought, was that really a kick? No…it wasn't… It was something else… Something like…a pulse beat, resonating from within her belly. Sango turned her head to Kagome and saw the same bewildered expression on the girl's face as on her own.
“You felt that, too?” Kagome asked.
“Uh-huh. What could it be?”
“I don't know, it's like…it's almost like the baby was trying to tell me something. That's really the only way to explain how it felt, I think. I felt it right after I realized how much I missed InuYasha…”
“I wonder what it means,” Sango mused, pondering whether it had anything to do with them, InuYasha, or being in the presence of this ancient tree. Speaking of which, a low rumble suddenly caught the girls' attention, a rumble coming from the ground near the trunk. The bark shook gently, creating a loud creaking sound.
“W-What's going on?” Sango asked, startled.
“I…I'm not sure. This has never happened before.”
The two girls watched in awe. They watched a small section of the wood slowly twist and warp itself into a shape, a strange shape. A shape like…
“Is that…a face?!” Sango gasped in amazement. Kagome didn't answer, her jaw hung slack, her eyes wide open. A few moments later, the tree stopped shaking, and they saw that what they were staring at was, in fact, a face.
“Goshin…boku…?” Kagome murmured. The eyes on the wooden face remained closed. Kagome and Sango had to keep themselves from bolting up when a voice issued from its mouth.
Why…have I awakened…this time…?
“It……talked…!” Kagome gasped.
“What does it mean…this time?” Sango asked in a small voice, intimidated by the power of the tree. Its large, wooden eyes slowly began to open, peering at the image of two young females before it.
Who…are you…? It rumbled. Kagome and Sango were too enraptured to answer, or to even hear it address them directly. Goshinboku's eyes opened wider, and his vision became clearer. Well, well…what do we have here…? Two…young females…carrying pups, but the looks of it… I wonder…
“What're you talking about?” Kagome asked loudly, forgetting her surprise in favor of curiosity about the tree's cryptic words. Could it be…that it knew something about InuYasha? “Come on, tell us!”
Hmmm…you, too, are impatient… Just like…a young lad that I met…centuries ago… An impatient one…that hanyou…
Kagome and Sango stood up as quickly as their bodies would allow, walking over to the face of the tree.
“The hanyou,” Sango said, “What was his name? Do you remember his name?”
Goshinboku sighed heavily. Mmmh…the son of that great dog general…Inu…something…
The girls felt their hearts skip a beat. The tree didn't even have to remember the name. Son of the dog general. Inusomething. That was enough for them.
“When?” Kagome asked anxiously. “When did you talk to InuYasha?”
That's it, InuYasha… That was his name… And you…you two must be the two mates of whom he spoke… I can sense his offspring inside of you… Goshinboku's mind wandered back to the last time he had awakened, of the talk he had had with the young hanyou boy. He had…explained something…? Yes, that was it. He had talked to the Bone Eater's Well, made from his bark, and discovered the reason why the boy could no longer pass through.
“Goshinboku!” Kagome tried to regain his attention. “Right before you woke up just now, Sango and I felt a strange sensation from our babies when we missed InuYasha!”
Sango's eyes widened as she realized where Kagome was going with this.
“Do you know why InuYasha couldn't come back with us?” She asked.
Hmmm…it seems…that the time has arrived...once again… for me to explain…
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“I nuYasha, it's daytime, get down from that tree already!”
The grumbling hanyou squinted against the sun and tilted his head down to see who was calling him. Shippo and Rin were standing at the bottom, looking up at him.
“What d'you guys want?” He growled, slowly climbing down, still too tired to jump off.
“Shippo's been showing me some new spots around the village,” Rin said. “I asked Lord Sesshomaru if he wanted to come, but he just said no. Would you like to come with us?” She asked, batting her wide, innocent eyes. InuYasha relented with a sigh, which Shippo took for a yes. As they walked, InuYasha discovered the true reason that Rin had asked him to come along. It wasn't for his company, but rather to throw question after question at him about Kagome and Sango. “InuYasha, how is it that their kids will both have you as a father? Why are there two moms and one dad? Can you tell me? Pretty pllleeaaassseee???”
“Uh, well, you see… It's—Kind of difficult to—It's not—damn…” He couldn't think of how to explain this in a reasonable way for a young girl.
“Rin, I'll tell you about that later, if you really want to know,” Shippo offered.
“What?” InuYasha asked, “What are you talking about. What could YOU know about it, Shippo?”
“Not much,” he admitted. “But Kaede told me a few things about it a while back, so I think I understand enough to tell Rin.”
“Oooh, thank you, Shippo!” Rin exclaimed happily, not noticing InuYasha's horrified face. “Well, we'll see you later, InuYasha,” she said. “Shippo's going to show me a few more spots.”
The hanyou watched the two kids scamper away. “W…Wait, Shippo!” He called after them. “What the hell did Kaede tell you?!” He watched them disappear, laughing happily. He sighed again, and turned his head in the direction of the well. He had thought about it a lot last night. How to get back to his mates. He hadn't been able to devise any complicated, thought out plan, even with Goshinboku's advice. However, upon waking in the middle of the night, he had come up with a plan that was so simple, even though it had no guarantee of working. And, with this plan in mind, he set off on the path, leaping through the trees with great agility, soaring over the branches, into the clearing, and straight down the well, onto the dirt floor.
I'm gonna stay in this damn well until it lets me through, no matter how long it takes!
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Meanwhile…
Wind blew through the silence of the grounds. The noise of the many rustling leaves wasn't enough to break the girls' out of their astonishment. Kagome and Sango stared blankly ahead at the ancient tree. After it had finished talking, its gnarled face folded itself back into its bark, leaving them alone with new realizations. The sun was getting lower in the sky. Goshinboku had had a great deal to say to them, Kagome thought, and its method of speech made it take a very long time for it to relay its knowledge. Nevertheless, they were now aware. Aware that their sadness, amplified through Kagome's spiritual powers, had been the cause of Goshinboku's reawakening. Aware of why it was they had been able to pass through the well when the youkai attacked. Aware of why InuYasha was unable to follow after them. But still, they were unaware of how they were going to fix the problem. Kagome thought about the tree's words. It had told them…that the only way the pups would allow their father through the well again was if they were sure that he could protect Kagome and Sango. Both women knew, without a doubt, that he could, and that the youkai attack had been an accident. But, how would their unborn babies realize this, and give InuYasha another chance?
“What're we going to do…” Kagome asked softly, to no one in particular, fondling the string of beads necklace InuYasha had once given her. It seemed to always calm her down a little.
“I think that the only thing we can do is wait, and hope that our babies let InuYasha come for us soon…” Sango replied.
“Yeah… Say, it's getting late. How about we head back to the house?”
Sango thought this was a good idea, and they set off for home. As they passed the entrance to the shrine, they saw Kagome's mother walking up the steps, grocery bags in hand.
“Hey mom,” Kagome said, “How was your day?”
“Oh, quite busy,” she answered, smiling. “By the way, Kagome, I ran into your friends at the store, and invited them to come here for dinner. I hope you don't mind.” With that, Yuka and Eri came slowly up the steps, supporting a very pregnant Ayumi. Sango was nervous at the thought of meeting these future girls, but bravely stood her ground.
“Kagome!” Ayumi called out, breaking away from the other two and dragged her feet over to her friend, giving her a tiny, stomach-bumping hug. “You're almost as big as me!” She giggled.
Kagome had broken out into a small smile when she saw her friends walk up the steps. “Yeah, we're both pretty huge. Only a few weeks left for you, right?”
“That's right, but you're still months away. Just wait until you're at my stage. The cravings, bloating, and pains, all of them increase. And I can never seem to not sweat!” She exclaimed, taking a tissue and dabbing at her moist forehead.
“I think I'll leave you girls alone,” Mrs. Higurashi butted in quickly, then walked off towards the house and went inside. Ayumi and the others turned back to Kagome, and the other very pregnant girl next to her.
“Kagome, who is this?” Eri asked.
Kagome smiled and put her hands on the slayer's shoulder. “This is my good friend, Sango,” she told them. “She's…from Kyoto, and doesn't get to visit often. But we're both taking…lamaze classes together this week, so she's staying here.” Kagome realized she was making up potentially lame excuses on the spot.
“Ohhh,” Yuka nodded, extending her hand to Sango. “It's nice to meet you. Though it's odd that we never met before.”
“Yes, same here,” Sango replied. She introduced herself to the other two girls, who then began curiously asking her and Kagome lots of questions.
“How long have you known each other?”
“Oh, for a few years now,” Kagome answered.
“Sango,” Ayumi noted, “I see you're pregnant, too. Are you due at the same time as Kagome?”
“Actually, I got pregnant a few weeks before Kagome, so I'm just a bit further ahead,” she answered.
“Oh? Is the father here in Tokyo as well?”
Slayer and miko hid their blushes well. “No,” Sango said, “He's…somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else? Oh, you poor thing, you make it sound like he's run out on you!”
“Eri!!” Yuka scolded. “I'm sorry,” she said to Sango, “She didn't mean to pry.”
“No, it's ok,” Sango reassured her. “He's just back in Kyoto. No, he didn't leave me.”
“Well that's good! Are you and he married?”
Sango glanced quickly at Kagome before responding. “Yeah, you could say that…” The other girls chuckled.
“Then maybe you can help Kagome get married to that InuYasha fellow she's been seeing forever. Especially since he knocked her up!”
Not liking where this conversation could go, Kagome quickly intervened. “Hey, why don't we go inside, you guys? We can cool off in there.” The others agreed and slowly made their way into the house. They were instantly greeted by Sota, who eagerly welcomed them (particularly Sango) back. After Kagome ordered him to his room, the three girls giggled at his obvious crush on this friend from Kyoto.
“So, where is InuYasha, Kagome?” Ayumi asked as they slowly made their way to the kitchen.
“Um, he's staying at his uncle's…” Kagome lied again. “He's kind of sick at the moment…”
“Really? He looked perfectly healthy just the other day when we saw him.”
“You saw him?”
“Yeah, he had just gotten groceries for your cravings,” Eri said. “But, the silly guy, he got you strawberries even though he knew you're allergic.”
“Oh, those were for me,” Sango said without thinking. Kagome's breath caught in her throat.
Uh-oh…
“Huuhhh?” Yuka was confused. “InuYasha was buying things for you, too, Sango?”
The slayer had realized her mistake and was blushing deeply, stumbling over her words as the girls leaned in towards her, frowning slightly. “Oh, yeah, you know, since my husband, he's not here, and, so, I asked InuYasha to, and he did me a favor.” She hoped the trio would take this as the truth. Thankfully, it seemed that they did.
“Oh, that's it? That makes sense, then. Nothing wrong with that. We were afraid he might be two-timing Kagome again,” Eri said, resulting in another scolding from Yuka. Of course, Kagome and Sango knew that this was `technically' true, but untrue as well, naturally. But, they certainly didn't intend on letting the others know that.
Once in the kitchen, they took seats along the floor. Sango listened with interest and confusion at their talk about stuff from their time. `CDs', `boy bands' (Like the Band of Seven? Sango thought with horror), `movies', `cars'… She'd have to ask Kagome what all these things meant later. A short time passed before Mrs. Higurashi entered and announced she was beginning dinner now. But that didn't stop the trio from catching up with Kagome and getting to know Sango while they waited for food. Sango had to make up lots of stories, with Kagome's assistance, about things like her birthplace, school, what she wanted to be, and more. Meanwhile, outside, dark clouds started gathering as warning of a thunderstorm. It came as a relief to Sango and Kagome when Mrs. Higurashi eventually said, “Ok, it's done, girls.”
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Once again, Sango was completely satisfied with the food from this era. Mrs. Higurashi had served them Tendon, or fried shrimp and assorted vegetables over rice. Sango made another mental note to ask Kagome how they `fried' food like that here. The other girls had seemed content as well. It was decided that the trio of Kagome's friends would spend the night, since there were plenty of spare futons and pajamas available. And since the three pregnant girls were too exhausted to make another trip up the stairs, Mrs. Higurashi told them she'd let them stay in the kitchen overnight, and had quickly rushed off and brought them everything they needed. They had taken turns going to the downstairs bathroom, washing up and brushing teeth. Sango still marveled at the genius usefulness of the toothbrush.
“Sango, finish up in there soon, ok?” Kagome called out.
Sango did and went back to the others. By this point, Mrs. Higurashi had gone to bed early, since she had to get up early for work tomorrow as assistant manager at the bank. Kagome and the girls started laying out the futons on the floor, when the miko let out a small gasp.
“What's wrong, Kagome?” Sango asked.
The girl's hand was at her chest, feeling around for something that apparently wasn't there. “My necklace! The one InuYasha gave to me,” she told them. “Oh, damn, it must have fallen off at the tree, Sango! I have to go out and get it.” She made a slow beeline for the door.
“Wait!” Yuka protested. “Look at the weather outside! There's a storm coming right about now. You can't go out.”
“I'm going,” Kagome rebutted firmly, and pulled away from her friend's grasp, walking to and opening the front door. The other four girls looked at each other and quickly followed, crying out for Kagome to wait for them. As the girl stepped outside into the howling wind and slight rain, she was grateful that she weighed far more than usual, or she might have had trouble keeping her balance. The same went for Sango and Ayumi. Eri and Yuka each took the arm of a pregnant girl for support. They slowly made their way across the shrine, towards the tree, flinching as thunder started clapping in the sky and rain began to pour down, soaking their clothes. When they arrived, Kagome's eyes frantically the bench she and Sango had been sitting on earlier, but it wasn't there.
“Damn, the wind probably blew it somewhere,” she growled. “Look around here!” She commanded the others. The girls squinted to see through the wind and water, looking for a bead necklace. After a few minutes, Eri called above another thunder and lightning burst so as to be heard.
“Is that it over there?” She pointed to the edge of the trees surrounding the shrine, pointed to an object on the ground. Kagome moved towards it a bit and shouted back to them.
“Yeah, that's it all right! Thanks a lot, Eri!”
Kagome moved to reach for the necklace, cringing at the flash of a bright lightning strike. After it passed, she opened her eyes and grabbed the necklace, holding it lovingly.
“Kagome, watch out!!!” Yuka screamed.
She looked up and gasped, realizing that the lightning just now had been closer than she thought, and had struck a nearby tree. Kagome was too transfixed to the spot to move, and the tree, now split in two, began to tilt towards her, and then, suddenly, it was falling in the air. She could hear the girls screaming at her to move, and the wind that muffled their cries, and she could even feel the baby's energy surging inside her, but all she could focus on was the looming wood falling down above her.
She was so caught up with fear, she didn't hear or see the cracking and complete destruction of the shack several yards away, the structure that held the old well. Nor did she see the flash of dark silver and red coming flying towards her like a bullet. Only when she heard a loud, aggressive voice call her name did she snap out of her trance.
“KAGOME!!”
CRAACCCCKKKKK
The tree falling towards her was split completely in two, the remaining pieces collapsing harmlessly to the sides of her. Kagome's wide eyes stared dead ahead at the face of the one who had saved her, the face obscured by darkness. But, she knew who it was, and she felt her baby give a small kick inside of her.
“Inu…Yasha…”
To be continued…
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Next time:
Out of mortal danger, the girls look to their heroic savior. What could be the trigger behind the sudden appearance of InuYasha? And how will Eri, Yuka and Ayumi take to what they have just witnessed? Stay tuned.
My notes: Well, I'd been considering having the EYA trio in this chapter, with its more solemn mood perhaps not being as fit for comic relief... But, I included them anyway, tried not to have them act too crazy.
And yes, I made Kagome's mother an assistant bank manager. Random, but first thing that came to mind.
As I've said before, I won't say what the last chapter is until the last chapter, but I will say that I'm going to be winding down a bit from here on. Still some scenes I wanna do, so it will be a short while yet. Hope you enjoyed, and come back soon.
Crack in the Wood
The leaves rustled on their branches outside of the Higurashi Shrine. Sunrise had arrived, bringing the new day with it to greet Tokyo. Its rays rose and rose and eventually peeked through the window of a certain house, washing over the faces of two young, sleeping girls. Girls with rather large tummies, lying next to each other on their backs. The one with darker hair turned away from the light, wanting a few more hours of sleep. Sadly, this plan was quickly suppressed by—
“Kagome, Sango! Time for breakfast!”
The call woke up the other girl as well, and she ran her fingers over her closed eyelids, yawning heavily. Kagome sat up slowly and groaned, not opening her eyes. A few minutes passed, and neither Kagome nor Sango moved an inch. A She soon heard her mother's footsteps coming up the stairs, then heard the door to her room being opened.
“Hm? Still in bed at this hour?” Her mom asked.
“What do you want, mom?” Kagome groaned again. Sango sat up next to the miko and slowly opened her lids to adjust to the light of the day.
“Good morning, Mrs. Higurashi,” she said tiredly.
“Sango, dear, I told you, you can call me mom. Anyway, don't you think you two should get up about now? It's rather late—“
“What time's it?” Kagome slurred, not wanting to reach over to check the clock.
“11:30.”
Sango blinked, confused. “Eleven-thirty? Does that have something to do with how you tell time here?”
“Why yes, in fact,” Mrs. Higurashi answered. She walked over and picked up the alarm clock and showed it to Sango. “These numbers here, Sango, tell us that it is 11:30 in the morning, or 11:30 A.M. And in 30 more minutes, it will be 12 o'clock, or noon, and all the times after that will be in the `P.M….'”
She kept talking, but Sango couldn't understand a word of this time-telling clock stuff, or the timezone lecture that the woman moved onto afterwards. Kagome started to get impatient, her hormones kicking in soon after awakening.
“So, anyway,” Mrs. Higurashi said, finally finished, “Get up soon, ok? I have pancakes waiting downstairs.” And with that, she left the room, leaving the door open.
“Pan…cakes?” Sango asked, starting to feel like she was echoing too many words in this futuristic era.
“Oh you'll love them!” Kagome exclaimed, her mood suddenly lifting, making her into her usual chipper self. “So soft and warm and sweet! And especially with syrup! Mmmm…”
Syrup? Sango was about to say, but decided not to. For now, she felt perfectly comfortable just lying next to Kagome, huddling their warm bodies together. “How is yours this morning?” She asked gently, laying a hand on her lover's stomach.
“Well, he's not kicking. Yet.” Kagome smiled fondly. “I wonder how InuYasha slept last night, how Shippo and Kaede are doing.”
“Yeah,” Sango agreed, “and Kirara, too.” They sat there in peaceful, wishful silence for a few more moments before Kagome clapped her hands together loudly.
“Alright! Let's focus on that later! Our food's gonna get cold if we stay here much longer. Come on.”
Sango nodded and let out a groan, slowly swinging her legs to the side of the bed, Kagome supporting her from behind as she eased herself onto the floor, into a spare pair of Kagome's extremely soft, comfortable pink slippers. She turned around and helped herm mate do the same, then both girls made their way down the stairs.
“Hey, sis,” Sota said nonchalantly as they passed. But, when he noticed Sango was trailing his sister, his eyes lit up. “Oh, good morning, Sango!”
The slayer stifled a small laugh. Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed. It was bad enough when Sota got attracted to her non-pregnant, unattached friends… She wondered how long this crush would last. Little boys and their growing hormones. Though, in her condition she wasn't one to talk, perhaps.
“Here you go!” Sota said enthusiastically when they reached the kitchen. He rushed over and pulled out a chair for Sango, telling her, “Your syrup had seeped in, so I poured some more for you. It's great that way, really!”
“Hey, what about me?” Kagome asked, forced to get her own seat, noticing her own pancake was rather dry as well.
“Hm?” Sota asked. “Oh, um…lookin' good, sis!” He said, then quickly scurried out of the room.
“What a kind young boy,” Sango said. Kagome sighed again, wishing she had some prayer beads for her little brother.
They managed to finish their breakfast Sota-free. Sango had had a little trouble using the `knife and fork', but once Kagome had explained it to her, she'd quickly gotten the hang of them. Mrs. Higurashi came in soon afterwards, dressed and washed and purse in hand.
“Going somewhere, mom?” Kagome asked.
“Yes, I just have a little shopping to do. I think you girls should take it easy today. Kagome, perhaps you should give Sango a tour of the shrine while she's here. Just make sure not to disturb grandpa, he's sleeping again. But aside from that, show her around a little, ok?”
“Well, Sango?” Kagome asked.
“Sure, we could do that. But we'll have to walk at a slow pace, of course. Both of us.”
“Right.”
“Well, that's settled then.” Mrs. Higurashi said approvingly and turned to the door. “I'm off, then. Kagome, if there's any trouble at all, give me a call on my cell phone, alright?”
“Alright, mom. See you later.”
The door closed on the two girls. Sango turned her head to Kagome.
“What's a cell-phone?”
------------------------------------------
A short while later…
Kagome took Sango's hand and led her outside of the house to start their little “tour.” She first took her to the storage shed, where it turned out that grandpa was sleeping.
“He likes to sleep most places nowadays,” Kagome whispered. They were standing right outside the entrance to the shack, grandpa's loud snores echoing from the room. “Mom and I tell him he should try sleeping in his bed once in a while, but he's pretty stubborn about this.”
“Kind of like InuYasha,” Sango noted, “He'll take a nap just about anywhere, too.”
“Yeah… Actually,” Kagome went on, “InuYasha's given gramps a lot of stress in this shack. He's broken quite a few things that gramps said were `priceless family heirlooms', but they didn't seem that special to me. Oh, and here's also where we kept an ancient Noh mask. That was before I met you, though. The mask sensed the presence of Shikon fragments in my room and came to life. And it took InuYasha and me all night to finally destroy it.” She fell silent, and both girls noticed how their talk kept seeming to involve the hanyou. “Anyway,” Kagome said softly, “Let's move on before gramps wakes up.”
Sango nodded and they left the shack. Kagome led her further across the shrine grounds, occasionally pointing out other small structures that served different purposes for her family's normal, or religious needs. Eventually, though, Kagome led them to Goshinboku, just near the well, at the edge of the shrine. She motioned Sango to the bench across from the tree and they slowly lowered themselves onto it. Sango looked a bit surprised.
“This tree, it's…”
“Yep,” Kagome answered. “It's the same tree that's back in the feudal era, at the exact same spot. It's called Goshinboku, the Tree of Ages. It's…where InuYasha and I first met…”
Sango looked up and down the giant tree. She felt a strange power radiating from its bark, a powerful aura that she had never experienced before, neither from youkai, miko, nor monk. It was a power that was beyond all of her comprehension. Sango felt as though this tree's very existence was able to hold sway over people's fates. She slightly shuddered from the grandeur of it all. Her eyes traveled downwards, and came to rest upon a particular dent in the wood, an indentation not too far above the ground.
“Kagome,” she said, pointing, “What's that spot right there?”
The miko let out a small laugh, remembering what that area was. “That,” she answered, a small smile forming on her lips, “That is exactly where I first met InuYasha.”
“Where you first saw him?”
“Yeah. It was my first trip down the Bone Eater's Well. Well, not a trip, more like an accident. Anyway, after I landed in the feudal era, it was one of the first things I saw. He was sealed to the tree by Kikyo's arrow, and had been asleep for fifty years. And since it had been so long, vines and plants had grown up around him. He looked so peaceful like that.”
“Really? Then what happened?”
“Well, after meeting Kaede and the other villagers, I ran back to this spot when a youkai attacked. I removed the arrow, and then he woke up. Of course, he certainly wasn't peaceful at all once that happened. He even tried to attack me.”
“No!”
“Mmhm,” Kagome nodded. “But, that was so long ago. This is where it all began, though, so long ago…” She was a bit surprised to find a tear forming in her eye. Sango noticed it, too.
“Kagome, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I'm alright,” she answered, sniffling. “I just… It hasn't even been one full day, and I miss him already. And, I'm scared, worried that whatever let us through the well might keep him out forever…”
“Don't think like that,” Sango said, pulling the younger girl to her, letting her use her shoulder as a pillow. “He'll come, don't worry… He'll come.”
“I know, but…how can you be so confident about that?” Kagome asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Because…it's InuYasha. You know that.” Sango gazed up at the tree as she comforted the miko. Even though she had experienced Kagome's fears as well, looking at Goshinboku seemed to be soothing her immensely. She lost herself in the size and shape of its branches, the texture of its bark, and most of all, the spirit she felt emanating from it. And, as she stared, she felt her baby give another kick. Or…wait, she thought, was that really a kick? No…it wasn't… It was something else… Something like…a pulse beat, resonating from within her belly. Sango turned her head to Kagome and saw the same bewildered expression on the girl's face as on her own.
“You felt that, too?” Kagome asked.
“Uh-huh. What could it be?”
“I don't know, it's like…it's almost like the baby was trying to tell me something. That's really the only way to explain how it felt, I think. I felt it right after I realized how much I missed InuYasha…”
“I wonder what it means,” Sango mused, pondering whether it had anything to do with them, InuYasha, or being in the presence of this ancient tree. Speaking of which, a low rumble suddenly caught the girls' attention, a rumble coming from the ground near the trunk. The bark shook gently, creating a loud creaking sound.
“W-What's going on?” Sango asked, startled.
“I…I'm not sure. This has never happened before.”
The two girls watched in awe. They watched a small section of the wood slowly twist and warp itself into a shape, a strange shape. A shape like…
“Is that…a face?!” Sango gasped in amazement. Kagome didn't answer, her jaw hung slack, her eyes wide open. A few moments later, the tree stopped shaking, and they saw that what they were staring at was, in fact, a face.
“Goshin…boku…?” Kagome murmured. The eyes on the wooden face remained closed. Kagome and Sango had to keep themselves from bolting up when a voice issued from its mouth.
Why…have I awakened…this time…?
“It……talked…!” Kagome gasped.
“What does it mean…this time?” Sango asked in a small voice, intimidated by the power of the tree. Its large, wooden eyes slowly began to open, peering at the image of two young females before it.
Who…are you…? It rumbled. Kagome and Sango were too enraptured to answer, or to even hear it address them directly. Goshinboku's eyes opened wider, and his vision became clearer. Well, well…what do we have here…? Two…young females…carrying pups, but the looks of it… I wonder…
“What're you talking about?” Kagome asked loudly, forgetting her surprise in favor of curiosity about the tree's cryptic words. Could it be…that it knew something about InuYasha? “Come on, tell us!”
Hmmm…you, too, are impatient… Just like…a young lad that I met…centuries ago… An impatient one…that hanyou…
Kagome and Sango stood up as quickly as their bodies would allow, walking over to the face of the tree.
“The hanyou,” Sango said, “What was his name? Do you remember his name?”
Goshinboku sighed heavily. Mmmh…the son of that great dog general…Inu…something…
The girls felt their hearts skip a beat. The tree didn't even have to remember the name. Son of the dog general. Inusomething. That was enough for them.
“When?” Kagome asked anxiously. “When did you talk to InuYasha?”
That's it, InuYasha… That was his name… And you…you two must be the two mates of whom he spoke… I can sense his offspring inside of you… Goshinboku's mind wandered back to the last time he had awakened, of the talk he had had with the young hanyou boy. He had…explained something…? Yes, that was it. He had talked to the Bone Eater's Well, made from his bark, and discovered the reason why the boy could no longer pass through.
“Goshinboku!” Kagome tried to regain his attention. “Right before you woke up just now, Sango and I felt a strange sensation from our babies when we missed InuYasha!”
Sango's eyes widened as she realized where Kagome was going with this.
“Do you know why InuYasha couldn't come back with us?” She asked.
Hmmm…it seems…that the time has arrived...once again… for me to explain…
------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------
“I nuYasha, it's daytime, get down from that tree already!”
The grumbling hanyou squinted against the sun and tilted his head down to see who was calling him. Shippo and Rin were standing at the bottom, looking up at him.
“What d'you guys want?” He growled, slowly climbing down, still too tired to jump off.
“Shippo's been showing me some new spots around the village,” Rin said. “I asked Lord Sesshomaru if he wanted to come, but he just said no. Would you like to come with us?” She asked, batting her wide, innocent eyes. InuYasha relented with a sigh, which Shippo took for a yes. As they walked, InuYasha discovered the true reason that Rin had asked him to come along. It wasn't for his company, but rather to throw question after question at him about Kagome and Sango. “InuYasha, how is it that their kids will both have you as a father? Why are there two moms and one dad? Can you tell me? Pretty pllleeaaassseee???”
“Uh, well, you see… It's—Kind of difficult to—It's not—damn…” He couldn't think of how to explain this in a reasonable way for a young girl.
“Rin, I'll tell you about that later, if you really want to know,” Shippo offered.
“What?” InuYasha asked, “What are you talking about. What could YOU know about it, Shippo?”
“Not much,” he admitted. “But Kaede told me a few things about it a while back, so I think I understand enough to tell Rin.”
“Oooh, thank you, Shippo!” Rin exclaimed happily, not noticing InuYasha's horrified face. “Well, we'll see you later, InuYasha,” she said. “Shippo's going to show me a few more spots.”
The hanyou watched the two kids scamper away. “W…Wait, Shippo!” He called after them. “What the hell did Kaede tell you?!” He watched them disappear, laughing happily. He sighed again, and turned his head in the direction of the well. He had thought about it a lot last night. How to get back to his mates. He hadn't been able to devise any complicated, thought out plan, even with Goshinboku's advice. However, upon waking in the middle of the night, he had come up with a plan that was so simple, even though it had no guarantee of working. And, with this plan in mind, he set off on the path, leaping through the trees with great agility, soaring over the branches, into the clearing, and straight down the well, onto the dirt floor.
I'm gonna stay in this damn well until it lets me through, no matter how long it takes!
------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Meanwhile…
Wind blew through the silence of the grounds. The noise of the many rustling leaves wasn't enough to break the girls' out of their astonishment. Kagome and Sango stared blankly ahead at the ancient tree. After it had finished talking, its gnarled face folded itself back into its bark, leaving them alone with new realizations. The sun was getting lower in the sky. Goshinboku had had a great deal to say to them, Kagome thought, and its method of speech made it take a very long time for it to relay its knowledge. Nevertheless, they were now aware. Aware that their sadness, amplified through Kagome's spiritual powers, had been the cause of Goshinboku's reawakening. Aware of why it was they had been able to pass through the well when the youkai attacked. Aware of why InuYasha was unable to follow after them. But still, they were unaware of how they were going to fix the problem. Kagome thought about the tree's words. It had told them…that the only way the pups would allow their father through the well again was if they were sure that he could protect Kagome and Sango. Both women knew, without a doubt, that he could, and that the youkai attack had been an accident. But, how would their unborn babies realize this, and give InuYasha another chance?
“What're we going to do…” Kagome asked softly, to no one in particular, fondling the string of beads necklace InuYasha had once given her. It seemed to always calm her down a little.
“I think that the only thing we can do is wait, and hope that our babies let InuYasha come for us soon…” Sango replied.
“Yeah… Say, it's getting late. How about we head back to the house?”
Sango thought this was a good idea, and they set off for home. As they passed the entrance to the shrine, they saw Kagome's mother walking up the steps, grocery bags in hand.
“Hey mom,” Kagome said, “How was your day?”
“Oh, quite busy,” she answered, smiling. “By the way, Kagome, I ran into your friends at the store, and invited them to come here for dinner. I hope you don't mind.” With that, Yuka and Eri came slowly up the steps, supporting a very pregnant Ayumi. Sango was nervous at the thought of meeting these future girls, but bravely stood her ground.
“Kagome!” Ayumi called out, breaking away from the other two and dragged her feet over to her friend, giving her a tiny, stomach-bumping hug. “You're almost as big as me!” She giggled.
Kagome had broken out into a small smile when she saw her friends walk up the steps. “Yeah, we're both pretty huge. Only a few weeks left for you, right?”
“That's right, but you're still months away. Just wait until you're at my stage. The cravings, bloating, and pains, all of them increase. And I can never seem to not sweat!” She exclaimed, taking a tissue and dabbing at her moist forehead.
“I think I'll leave you girls alone,” Mrs. Higurashi butted in quickly, then walked off towards the house and went inside. Ayumi and the others turned back to Kagome, and the other very pregnant girl next to her.
“Kagome, who is this?” Eri asked.
Kagome smiled and put her hands on the slayer's shoulder. “This is my good friend, Sango,” she told them. “She's…from Kyoto, and doesn't get to visit often. But we're both taking…lamaze classes together this week, so she's staying here.” Kagome realized she was making up potentially lame excuses on the spot.
“Ohhh,” Yuka nodded, extending her hand to Sango. “It's nice to meet you. Though it's odd that we never met before.”
“Yes, same here,” Sango replied. She introduced herself to the other two girls, who then began curiously asking her and Kagome lots of questions.
“How long have you known each other?”
“Oh, for a few years now,” Kagome answered.
“Sango,” Ayumi noted, “I see you're pregnant, too. Are you due at the same time as Kagome?”
“Actually, I got pregnant a few weeks before Kagome, so I'm just a bit further ahead,” she answered.
“Oh? Is the father here in Tokyo as well?”
Slayer and miko hid their blushes well. “No,” Sango said, “He's…somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else? Oh, you poor thing, you make it sound like he's run out on you!”
“Eri!!” Yuka scolded. “I'm sorry,” she said to Sango, “She didn't mean to pry.”
“No, it's ok,” Sango reassured her. “He's just back in Kyoto. No, he didn't leave me.”
“Well that's good! Are you and he married?”
Sango glanced quickly at Kagome before responding. “Yeah, you could say that…” The other girls chuckled.
“Then maybe you can help Kagome get married to that InuYasha fellow she's been seeing forever. Especially since he knocked her up!”
Not liking where this conversation could go, Kagome quickly intervened. “Hey, why don't we go inside, you guys? We can cool off in there.” The others agreed and slowly made their way into the house. They were instantly greeted by Sota, who eagerly welcomed them (particularly Sango) back. After Kagome ordered him to his room, the three girls giggled at his obvious crush on this friend from Kyoto.
“So, where is InuYasha, Kagome?” Ayumi asked as they slowly made their way to the kitchen.
“Um, he's staying at his uncle's…” Kagome lied again. “He's kind of sick at the moment…”
“Really? He looked perfectly healthy just the other day when we saw him.”
“You saw him?”
“Yeah, he had just gotten groceries for your cravings,” Eri said. “But, the silly guy, he got you strawberries even though he knew you're allergic.”
“Oh, those were for me,” Sango said without thinking. Kagome's breath caught in her throat.
Uh-oh…
“Huuhhh?” Yuka was confused. “InuYasha was buying things for you, too, Sango?”
The slayer had realized her mistake and was blushing deeply, stumbling over her words as the girls leaned in towards her, frowning slightly. “Oh, yeah, you know, since my husband, he's not here, and, so, I asked InuYasha to, and he did me a favor.” She hoped the trio would take this as the truth. Thankfully, it seemed that they did.
“Oh, that's it? That makes sense, then. Nothing wrong with that. We were afraid he might be two-timing Kagome again,” Eri said, resulting in another scolding from Yuka. Of course, Kagome and Sango knew that this was `technically' true, but untrue as well, naturally. But, they certainly didn't intend on letting the others know that.
Once in the kitchen, they took seats along the floor. Sango listened with interest and confusion at their talk about stuff from their time. `CDs', `boy bands' (Like the Band of Seven? Sango thought with horror), `movies', `cars'… She'd have to ask Kagome what all these things meant later. A short time passed before Mrs. Higurashi entered and announced she was beginning dinner now. But that didn't stop the trio from catching up with Kagome and getting to know Sango while they waited for food. Sango had to make up lots of stories, with Kagome's assistance, about things like her birthplace, school, what she wanted to be, and more. Meanwhile, outside, dark clouds started gathering as warning of a thunderstorm. It came as a relief to Sango and Kagome when Mrs. Higurashi eventually said, “Ok, it's done, girls.”
---------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
Once again, Sango was completely satisfied with the food from this era. Mrs. Higurashi had served them Tendon, or fried shrimp and assorted vegetables over rice. Sango made another mental note to ask Kagome how they `fried' food like that here. The other girls had seemed content as well. It was decided that the trio of Kagome's friends would spend the night, since there were plenty of spare futons and pajamas available. And since the three pregnant girls were too exhausted to make another trip up the stairs, Mrs. Higurashi told them she'd let them stay in the kitchen overnight, and had quickly rushed off and brought them everything they needed. They had taken turns going to the downstairs bathroom, washing up and brushing teeth. Sango still marveled at the genius usefulness of the toothbrush.
“Sango, finish up in there soon, ok?” Kagome called out.
Sango did and went back to the others. By this point, Mrs. Higurashi had gone to bed early, since she had to get up early for work tomorrow as assistant manager at the bank. Kagome and the girls started laying out the futons on the floor, when the miko let out a small gasp.
“What's wrong, Kagome?” Sango asked.
The girl's hand was at her chest, feeling around for something that apparently wasn't there. “My necklace! The one InuYasha gave to me,” she told them. “Oh, damn, it must have fallen off at the tree, Sango! I have to go out and get it.” She made a slow beeline for the door.
“Wait!” Yuka protested. “Look at the weather outside! There's a storm coming right about now. You can't go out.”
“I'm going,” Kagome rebutted firmly, and pulled away from her friend's grasp, walking to and opening the front door. The other four girls looked at each other and quickly followed, crying out for Kagome to wait for them. As the girl stepped outside into the howling wind and slight rain, she was grateful that she weighed far more than usual, or she might have had trouble keeping her balance. The same went for Sango and Ayumi. Eri and Yuka each took the arm of a pregnant girl for support. They slowly made their way across the shrine, towards the tree, flinching as thunder started clapping in the sky and rain began to pour down, soaking their clothes. When they arrived, Kagome's eyes frantically the bench she and Sango had been sitting on earlier, but it wasn't there.
“Damn, the wind probably blew it somewhere,” she growled. “Look around here!” She commanded the others. The girls squinted to see through the wind and water, looking for a bead necklace. After a few minutes, Eri called above another thunder and lightning burst so as to be heard.
“Is that it over there?” She pointed to the edge of the trees surrounding the shrine, pointed to an object on the ground. Kagome moved towards it a bit and shouted back to them.
“Yeah, that's it all right! Thanks a lot, Eri!”
Kagome moved to reach for the necklace, cringing at the flash of a bright lightning strike. After it passed, she opened her eyes and grabbed the necklace, holding it lovingly.
“Kagome, watch out!!!” Yuka screamed.
She looked up and gasped, realizing that the lightning just now had been closer than she thought, and had struck a nearby tree. Kagome was too transfixed to the spot to move, and the tree, now split in two, began to tilt towards her, and then, suddenly, it was falling in the air. She could hear the girls screaming at her to move, and the wind that muffled their cries, and she could even feel the baby's energy surging inside her, but all she could focus on was the looming wood falling down above her.
She was so caught up with fear, she didn't hear or see the cracking and complete destruction of the shack several yards away, the structure that held the old well. Nor did she see the flash of dark silver and red coming flying towards her like a bullet. Only when she heard a loud, aggressive voice call her name did she snap out of her trance.
“KAGOME!!”
CRAACCCCKKKKK
The tree falling towards her was split completely in two, the remaining pieces collapsing harmlessly to the sides of her. Kagome's wide eyes stared dead ahead at the face of the one who had saved her, the face obscured by darkness. But, she knew who it was, and she felt her baby give a small kick inside of her.
“Inu…Yasha…”
------------------------
Next time:
Out of mortal danger, the girls look to their heroic savior. What could be the trigger behind the sudden appearance of InuYasha? And how will Eri, Yuka and Ayumi take to what they have just witnessed? Stay tuned.
My notes: Well, I'd been considering having the EYA trio in this chapter, with its more solemn mood perhaps not being as fit for comic relief... But, I included them anyway, tried not to have them act too crazy.
And yes, I made Kagome's mother an assistant bank manager. Random, but first thing that came to mind.
As I've said before, I won't say what the last chapter is until the last chapter, but I will say that I'm going to be winding down a bit from here on. Still some scenes I wanna do, so it will be a short while yet. Hope you enjoyed, and come back soon.