InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel of my Heart ❯ Barrier ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Barrier

“I'm getting fat,” Kagome stated flatly. She looked down at her plump belly with an expression of faint dismay.

Kaede chuckled. “What did you expect? You're pregnant. You'll get a lot bigger before you're through.”

Kagome leaned back against the warm stone behind her. Water swirled around her and Kaede as they relaxed in a pool formed by a river tumbling down a stony bank. Brightly colored leaves blanketed the stones around them and danced in the water. It was delightfully warm for a fall day. The sky had that brilliant blue color it could achieve only during a heat wave in the fall. Kagome sighed. Given their present situation, it was ridiculous to feel this relaxed.

They had not encountered bandits or demons for weeks, but they had been doing their best to stay out of sight. They were almost out of money anyway, so Inuyasha had resorted to stealing supplies in the dead of night when they needed them. All these precautions had slowed their progress to a snail's pace, but Inuyasha didn't seem to care. He seemed far more concerned about taking risks that might expose them to attack.

But the natural pools formed by the waterfall were too good to pass by, even if they were in the open. It had been Inuyasha's suggestion that they take the day off to relax and bathe, and the women were only too happy to follow his orders. He was somewhere out of sight now, having already taken his bath.

Kagome put her hands on her plump belly. “It's ten moons, right?”

“It would be, for a human child,” said Kaede, “but demon children gestate faster than human babies. However, your child is only part demon, so I would have to guess that your pregnancy will last somewhere between seven and ten moons.”

“What?!”

“I think you'll be able to tell when you're getting close, but I'm afraid it's hard to be any more accurate than that, given your child's heritage.” Kaede pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Of course, once this child is born, you'll have some idea what to expect for any subsequent children.”

Kagome stared at her for a moment and then began counting on her fingers. “Kaede, I am past five moons now! And you're telling me I may have less than two moons to go?!”

“It could be more.”

“But it could be weeks before we reach Naraku's castle!”

“We are not too far away now, I think,” Kaede said. “You said the pull of the Shikon Jewel has become very strong.”

“Yes it has, but still…” Kagome frowned. “If we are close, Naraku is likely to attack us again.”

“That is a possibility, but we have survived all of his attacks so far. There is no reason to assume we will not continue to survive. Inuyasha is a powerful man and his determination is great.”

Kagome nodded. The last attack, by a band of boar-demons, had brought out the full power of Inuyasha's sword. He had destroyed them all with one powerful stroke of his blade. With so much power, Kagome couldn't help but believe that Inuyasha could defeat Naraku, despite Kaede's misgivings.

“I notice that Inuyasha seems much more solicitous of your welfare,” Kaede said with a crooked smile. “No doubt it was for your sake that he called a halt today.”

Kagome grinned. “I have noticed that, too. I do begin to believe that he does care for me a little.” She shifted lower down in the pool and closed her eyes. “It would be nice if he said so, but I think I will not be too demanding.” Then her eyes flew open. “The baby's moving!”

“Indeed?” Kaede reached across and put a hand on Kagome's belly.

Kagome shifted Kaede's hand slightly to one side. “Here.”

Both women sat still and then Kaede smiled.

“Ah, I feel it,” Kaede said. “A little kick.”

“It is such an odd sensation,” Kagome said. “It makes the baby seem more real, though.”

“Have you told Inuyasha the baby is moving?”

“No. It didn't seem like something he'd care about.”

“Men will surprise you, Kagome. The life they create touches them in ways new mothers frequently do not expect. You should give him the opportunity to feel the baby move.”

Kagome thought about that as she felt the baby's little kicks against the inside of her stomach. Inuyasha still did not talk about the baby very often, but sometimes she would notice him watching her with an odd expression, and she always wondered if he was thinking about his child.

“Oh, I could do this all day!” Kagome exclaimed. “But my fingers are starting to wrinkle. Besides, we should get out while it's still warm. It cools off quickly once the sun sets.”

“Very true,” Kaede agreed.

The two women climbed up the rocks to where they had left their clothes.

“I don't see Inuyasha,” Kagome said when they were dressed. “The knapsack's right there, though.” She pointed to where it rested a short way off under the trees.

“We should wait there for him,” Kaede said. “Perhaps he went to scout the way ahead.”

“I'm hungry anyway. Let's collect some firewood and I'll start dinner.”

Inuyasha returned just after sunset.

“Sorry I took so long,” he said. “I went to have a look around.”

“That's what we thought,” Kagome said. “Did you find anything?”

He dropped down into a crouch. “I talked to a couple of shepherds. There's a big castle a few days south of here. They were reluctant to talk about the lord. It seemed like they were afraid of him.”

“Sounds like Naraku,” Kaede said.

Inuyasha nodded. “I don't know if we should go much closer together.” He glanced quickly at Kagome and looked away. “It might not be safe for you.”

“We're safer with you,” Kagome replied calmly.

“For now, but he'll have a lot of guards at his castle, both human and demon. It may be too many for me to protect you.”

“Why don't we get a little closer first and see? We can hide some place close by while you retrieve the Jewel.” Kagome put a hand on Inuyasha's knee. “I promised I would not take risks and I meant it. But I would feel better if you didn't leave us alone for more than a few hours.”

Inuyasha looked at her hand resting on his knee for a moment, and then looked up to meet her eyes. “All right. But we have to be careful.”

“I will do as you tell me, Inuyasha.”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Inuyasha left Kagome and Kaede in an abandoned shrine to wait while he scouted Naraku's castle. From the top of a tall tree, he could see the castle where it stood on what looked like a man-made mound overlooking the surrounding fields and the huts of his serfs. Inuyasha was vaguely shocked by the amount of earth represented by that mound. It would have taken a generation of serfs to move, build up and pack that much earth in order to build the castle. Perhaps demons had been used to build it. In either case, it took someone of great power to order that kind of construction.

There were hundreds of serfs toiling in the fields around the castle and on the terraced slopes of the mound. There was no way to approach the castle unseen during the day. But Inuyasha did not plan a daylight assault. He would go late at night, when everyone was asleep, to locate Naraku and retrieve the Jewel.

Inuyasha studied the castle. There were about a dozen buildings in the structure, surrounded by a high wall. The largest and most elaborate of the buildings would be the residence of the castle lord. It looked like a fairly typical layout. Inuyasha was confident he would be able to find his way around. He slithered back down the tree and returned to the shrine.

“Did you see the castle?” Kagome asked as soon as he entered.

“Yes. It should be easy. I'll go tonight.”

“You must be very careful, Inuyasha,” Kaede said. “Do not underestimate Naraku.”

Inuyasha frowned. “I'm not some weak human, Kaede. I can take care of myself.”

“Nevertheless…”

Inuyasha waved a hand. “Give it a rest, Kaede. I can handle it.”

Kaede fell silent with a scowl.

Inuyasha sat down with his back to the wall. “We may as well get some sleep. There's nothing to do until after midnight.” He closed his eyes.

He didn't sleep, but he listened to the two women settling down to rest. Kaede was muttering to herself, but low enough that he could not quite make out the words. Kagome was silent. But after a while he could hear the steady breathing of sleep coming from both of them.

Inuyasha waited until close to midnight before waking them.

“I'm going now,” he told them quietly. “Stay here until I return. You should be safe as long as no one sees you.”

He started to go, but Kagome put a gentle hand on his arm. “Please be careful, Inuyasha,” she said. Her dark eyes regarded him gravely. She looked incredibly beautiful. For a moment, he could think of nothing to say.

“I will be careful,” he said finally and was rewarded by her magnificent smile.

He returned to the castle swiftly. As he had expected, no one was in sight as he bounded across the fields and up the side of the mound. He leapt over the wall onto the roof of one of the outbuildings and dropped into a crouch. He could see guards moving along the top of the wall, but he could not see anyone inside the courtyard. There was no indication that anyone had seen him enter. Inuyasha moved quietly to the edge of the roof and dropped into the courtyard. He crept through the shadows toward the main building, his senses strained for any signs of activity.

He had almost reached the main building when the door of an outbuilding on his left suddenly banged open and a host of demons poured out.

“Dammit!” Inuyasha snarled as he snatched the Tetsusaiga from its sheath. How had he not sensed them? The stench of the demons was so bad now his nostrils burned with it, but an instant before, there had been nothing. The demons swarmed him and he had no time to use the wind scar. He slashed at them furiously, hacking demons apart as fast as he could.

“Fool!” a deep masculine voice shouted. “Did you think my castle so easy to violate? My demons will devour your soul!”

“I've come for my property, Naraku!” Inuyasha shouted back. “Hand it over and I'll spare you!”

“Your property?!” Naraku laughed. “Marrying that fool of a girl does not make the Shikon Jewel yours! Only someone of power has the right to possess such a precious item!”

Inuyasha caught a glimpse of Naraku, standing on the steps before the main entrance. He was a handsome man, with long black hair spilling down around his shoulders. Inuyasha disengaged from the demons and leaped backward. With a shout, he swirled Tetsusaiga through the air to invoke the wind scar and slammed the power toward Naraku. A startled look crossed Naraku's face and he waved his hand, directing the flow of power away from himself. The wind scar slammed into the castle and exploded, sending showers of debris high into the air. Naraku was thrown to the ground.

The demons descended on Inuyasha again and he was too busy for a moment to keep track of Naraku. When he looked again, the man was gone. Inuyasha swore furiously and swept the Tetsusaiga through the air, blasting the demons with the wind scar. Savage screams burned away to nothing and silence fell.

Inuyasha looked around. The guards on the wall were gone and he couldn't smell anything over the lingering stench of the demons, but he could hear people in the castle. Inuyasha dashed into the smashed and smoking building, following the barely heard sound of muffled crying. He burst into a room near the back and found a handful of servants huddled against the far wall, weeping in fear.

“Where's Naraku?” he shouted.

More terrified crying was the only response. He sheathed his sword with a snarl.

“Where is Naraku?” he repeated, trying not to sound like he was ready to rip their heads off.

“He's gone!” one frightened girl finally wailed through her sobs.

“Where did he go?”

“To the secret castle!”

“Where the hell is that?”

She shook her head fearfully. “I don't know, sir, I swear! He never takes us, only his special servants go there!”

Inuyasha glowered at them, but he could smell their fear. They were drenched in it. At this moment, they were more afraid of him than Naraku. They weren't lying. He turned and stalked out of the castle. He bounded over the wall and raced back toward the shrine, but just as he reached the trees, Kagome's scent jerked him to a halt. She was standing at the edge of the forest, peering out into the open fields from behind a tree.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

She started. “Inuyasha! The Jewel moved!”

“I know! I saw Naraku but I lost him!” He glared at her, trying to control the seething anger that had him ready to lash out at anything.

“It's far away!” Kagome said. She sounded bereft. “It was so sudden!”

The hurt look on her face cooled Inuyasha's anger in an instant. He clasped her shoulder gently. “It will be all right. The servants said he went to his secret castle. We just have to find him again, that's all.”

“Secret castle?” Kaede questioned. She was standing a few paces behind Kagome with her bow in her hands. She had an arrow knocked.

“That's what they said. But we can find it just like we found our way here. Kagome can track the Jewel.”

Kagome nodded, but she looked forlorn and unhappy.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Inuyasha was tired, which made him wonder how exhausted Kagome must feel. She did not have his strength and she was pregnant as well. But she showed no signs of being unduly tired. She kept up a steady pace, following the inner pull of the Shikon Jewel. The sudden jump in the Jewel's location had disoriented her at first, but once she had re-established her link to it, she had recovered her confidence.

But despite her determination, Inuyasha wouldn't let her push herself. She was getting very big and he worried about the effect all this traveling about was going to have on her and the baby.

“I think we should stop,” he said. It was not yet sunset, but they had come to a clearing close to a small stream and it looked like a good spot to make camp.

“I'm not tired,” Kagome said immediately.

“We'll stop anyway,” Inuyasha said. “We've come pretty far today.” He took off the knapsack. “I'll get some firewood.”

He returned with an armload of branches and kindling to find Kagome and Kaede kneeling on the ground side by side. Kaede had her hand on Kagome's stomach and they were both smiling. He dropped the wood.

“Is something wrong?”

Kagome smiled at him. “No. Come and feel. The baby is moving.”

Inuyasha blinked uncertainly and Kagome beckoned to him. Not quite knowing what to do, Inuyasha squatted down beside her and put a tentative hand on her stomach. Kagome put her hand on his and gently slid it over to one side, to where Kaede's had been. He immediately felt a tiny thump against his palm.

“Did you feel that?” Kagome asked with a wide smile.

“Yes!” Inuyasha was astonished. Another little thump rapped against his palm, followed by another. He looked up at her in amazement. “Does it always move like that?”

“Not all the time, but it's really active tonight,” Kagome said.

Inuyasha kept his hand there for several minutes, feeling the little kicks. It was by far the most amazing thing he had ever experienced.

“Does it hurt?”

“Only when it hits a nerve,” Kagome said with a laugh. “Well, we should get the fire going and start dinner.”

Inuyasha removed his hand from her stomach reluctantly. For the first time, the baby truly seemed real to him. Kagome was carrying his child inside her. He turned away quickly to build up the fire. He didn't want her to see his face because he didn't trust his own expression. He was going to be a father. He was quite sure he was not ready for that.

After dinner, Kaede and Kagome stretched out on either side of the fire, huddled close to it for warmth. Fall was advancing into winter and the nights were getting cold. Inuyasha sat cross-legged near the fire as well, sitting a little closer to Kagome than he normally did. He dozed without going completely to sleep.

Kagome's anguished cry brought Inuyasha to his feet in an instant, his eyes scanning the darkness for some threat, but nothing was there. But Kagome was curled up around her plump belly, weeping and gasping for breath.

“Kagome! What's the matter?!” Inuyasha crouched down at her side, afraid to touch her.

“I can't feel it!” she choked out. “It's gone!”

“The baby?!” Inuyasha felt a terrible panic and a crushing sense of loss.

Kagome shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut. “The Jewel… I can't feel it!” she wailed. “It's not there anymore!”

“Kaede!” Inuyasha shouted, but she was already there, shouldering him aside so she could wrap comforting arms around the weeping younger woman.

“Do not fear, Kagome,” Kaede said in a level voice. “Naraku does not have the power to destroy the Shikon Jewel, no more than he can awaken it. He has put up a barrier to block your sense of it so Inuyasha cannot find him.”

Inuyasha glowered, the fingers of his right hand curling instinctively around the hilt of his sword.

“But how can he do that?” Kagome wept. The pain in her voice tore at Inuyasha.

“He cannot destroy it, but he is still very powerful,” Kaede conceded. “It will be all right, Kagome. You lived most of your life without an awareness of the Jewel. You can adjust to this.”

Kagome nodded, but she continued to weep.

“Inuyasha,” Kaede said, “bring Kagome some fresh water.”

Inuyasha nodded, scooped up one of their water skins and trotted toward the stream. He looked back once. Kagome was sitting up now, but it seemed as if she was having trouble keeping her balance. He looked away, angry and troubled. Kagome didn't deserve this. She was only out here, risking her life and their baby's life, because he had insisted. But she never complained. At least not to him. More and more, he wished he dared be a husband to her. But her humanness dismayed him. He was still a little shocked, even now, that he had had the courage to couple with her on their wedding night.

The memory of that night made him stop in his tracks. He had been gentle with her because he knew the first time could be traumatic for a maiden. Would he have done that if he had really had no feelings for her? Inuyasha turned around slowly and looked at Kagome again. She was leaning against Kaede with a wounded, heartbroken look on her face. Watching her, Inuyasha suddenly realized he wanted to be the one she turned to for comfort. He wanted to be the one who could hold her and make her feel better.

“I'm in love,” Inuyasha whispered to himself. “I'm in love with Kagome.”