InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel of my Heart ❯ Family ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8: Family

Inuyasha ran until the discomfort of bounding over the ground became too much for Kagome.

“Inuyasha, I need to stop!” she cried over his shoulder.

He immediately skidded to a halt and eased her to the ground. Kagome settled onto her knees and leaned forward onto her hands, breathing hard.

“My stomach was starting to hurt,” she said apologetically. “Do you think we've come far enough?”

“Probably.” Inuyasha looked around. The forests in these parts were thick. They would be difficult to spot from the air, even with a small fire. “We need to find Kaede, though. She said she'd come in this direction, but I doubt she covered as much ground as we did, especially since she's carrying the knapsack.”

Kagome nodded and sat back. “That's better. I just needed to rest for a moment. Do you have any water?”

Inuyasha slipped his water skin off over his head and handed it to her. Kagome took a long drink. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and gave it back to him.

Inuyasha scented the air. “I think I smell Kaede,” he said.

“You do?”

“That's why we picked this direction. We figured the prevailing wind would carry her scent to me. Can you walk?”

“I think so.”

Inuyasha helped her to her feet and they set out into the wind. They didn't have to walk far, however. They came upon Kaede after only a short distance, sitting on a fallen log next to a stream and cradling her left arm with her right.

“Kaede!” Kagome exclaimed. “What happened?”

Kaede favored them with a pained smile. “Naraku isn't the only one who knows who to travel vast distances in a short time,” she said with a grimace. “I think he's better at landing, though. I banged into a tree and broke my arm.”

“Oh, no!”

“It's not serious, but I could use some help splinting it and putting on a sling.”

While Kagome located some sticks that would serve as splints, Inuyasha tore a strip off the bottom of his shirt to make a sling.

“I feel like such a fool!” Kaede grumbled as they tended her. But then she grinned at Kagome. “But I am glad to see our plan worked. It is good to have you back, child.”

“Thank you, Kaede. It is good to be back. Ow!” Kagome put a hand on her belly. “Damn! It's hurting again.”

Kaede quickly put a hand on Kagome's stomach. “How often has it been hurting?”

“It just started,” Kagome said. “Oh!” She clasped her belly with both hands and gasped. “Kaede!” she exclaimed. “I think my water just broke!” She shifted to the side and they could all see the puddle where she had been kneeling.

“Inuyasha, build a fire!” Kaede ordered.

Inuyasha dashed away to collect firewood. It didn't seem like he'd been gone that long, but when he returned, Kagome was hunched over and weeping, clutching her belly. Kaede was kneeling beside her, speaking softly. It hurt to see Kagome in pain. Inuyasha busied himself with making the fire as her cries tore through him.

Kagome gasped again. “Owww!!!” she wailed. “It hurts! Kaede!”

Kaede put a reassuring hand on Kagome's shoulder. “It's all right, dear. This is perfectly normal. The contraction will pass in a moment. Just relax and let it happen.”

“Inuyasha, come here!” Kaede called. She beckoned sternly with her good arm. When he didn't move right away, she climbed stiffly to her feet and limped over to him. “Inuyasha,” she said, “Kagome needs you right now. With my arm in this sling, I cannot do what must be done.”

Inuyasha paled. “I can't deliver a baby, Kaede! I don't know what to do!”

“But I do,” she said calmly. “I will guide you.” She clutched his arm. “This is Kagome's first child. She knows no more about it than you do. And do not forget, she is barely seventeen. She is frightened and she needs us. Now, we need warm water and swaddling for the baby. You'd better tear up the rest of your shirt.”

Kaede returned to Kagome's side. Inuyasha took their one and only pot down to the stream to fill it with water. He built up the small fire and set the pot near it to warm up. While he waited for the water, he tore his shirt into strips, some about a hand span in width, others about twice that wide.

“Are you done, Inuyasha?”

“Yes, Kaede.”

“Good, come here and hold Kagome.”

Inuyasha swallowed. He had been trying not to listen to Kagome's cries of pain, without much success. He moved over and knelt beside her, where she was kneeling hunched around her swollen belly. He put his arm around her and she immediately leaned against him, pressing her face against his chest and clutching his waist.

“I love you so much, Inuyasha!” she gasped out. “I never want to be apart from you again!”

Inuyasha stared at Kaede in shock. Kaede smiled and nodded silently.

“Ohh!” Kagome cried. She clung to Inuyasha as another contraction wracked her.

“How long will this take?” Inuyasha asked anxiously. Kagome's suffering tormented him, because there was nothing he could do about it.

“As long as it takes,” Kaede replied with a shrug. “Every woman sets her on schedule. First babies usually take longer.”

Inuyasha hated answers like that.

It was nearly dawn when Kagome suddenly gasped and stiffened. Then she leaned forward slightly with a low moan, clutching her knees. Kaede immediately moved to her side.

“Try to keep breathing, Kagome,” she instructed. “Don't push yet. I need to check the baby's position.”

“But I want to push!” Kagome gasped out.

“Not yet, dear,” Kaede answered calmly. She slid her hand under Kagome's kimono between her legs. “Spread your legs a little, please.”

Kagome grunted as she shifted her knees out slightly.

“Oh my!” Kaede exclaimed after a moment.

“What is it?” Kagome and Inuyasha asked in the same worried breath.

“Ears!” Kaede announced. “I can feel the baby's ears. And lots of hair. But that's good; the head is down and in the birth canal.” She removed her hand. “Now it's your turn, Inuyasha. You'll need both hands.”

“I can't…” Inuyasha began, turning pale.

“You can faint later,” Kaede said sternly. “Right now, you need to deliver your child. Get your hands in there.”

Inuyasha gulped and did as Kaede told him. He guided the baby as Kagome pushed and after what seemed like both an eternity and an instant, the wet, slippery baby slithered into his hands.

“It's a boy!” Inuyasha cried. He looked up at Kagome's exhausted, relieved face, an amazed smile stretching across his own face from ear to ear. She smiled back.

Kaede leaned in with a knife in her hand to cut the umbilical cord.

“Tie that off, Inuyasha, and you can wash the baby. I can help Kagome finish up.”

Inuyasha wasn't sure what finish up meant, but he supposed he didn't need to know. He couldn't take his eyes off his son at the moment anyway. The baby sort of looked like him. At least he had ears like Inuyasha's, only black with pink interiors instead of silver, and he had the same black hair Inuyasha had when he was in his human form. But the baby had Kagome's dark luminous eyes. Inuyasha dipped a bit of cloth in the water and started washing. The baby started crying.

“Kaede! Am I doing something wrong?” Inuyasha asked worriedly.

Kaede glanced at him with an amused smile. “Babies cry, Inuyasha. He'll quiet down when Kagome feeds him.”

Inuyasha was sure he was doing everything wrong as he finished washing the baby and wrapped it in the strips torn from his shirt. But then he remembered his mother telling him once that newborn babies felt better all bundled up, so he tucked the baby's little arms and legs in carefully and made a neat little ball.

“Well done, Inuyasha!” Kaede congratulated him. “If I didn't know better, I'd think you had done this before.”

Inuyasha frowned at her. “Well, how hard could it be?”

She laughed as she helped Kagome settle down next to the fire, leaning against the fallen log. Kagome held out her arms and Inuyasha handed her the baby. He watched as she opened her kimono and settled the baby against her breast.

“What should we call him?” Inuyasha asked suddenly.

“Matseru,” Kagome replied quietly. “His name is Matseru.”

“Matseru, eh?” Inuyasha tried it out a few times. “I like it. It fits him.” He continued to watch as she nursed the baby. “Kagome,” he asked after a while, “did you mean what you said?” He hesitated. “When you said… you love me?”

“Of course I did,” she answered, just as quietly as before. She looked at him and smiled.

Inuyasha didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He got up and took the washrags he'd used on the baby to the stream to clean them.

“Why, Kaede?” he whispered. He knew Kaede was watching him from a short distance away. “Why does she love me? I haven't treated her well at all. I haven't… been a good husband.”

“Tell me, Inuyasha, do you think she would love someone who didn't deserve it?”

Inuyasha digested this in silence.

“Inuyasha,” Kaede said, “I know how you feel about her. I have seen it in your eyes whenever you look at her. But she deserves to hear it from you.”

“But how can I say… that… to her, after some of the other things I've said?”

“Can you think of a better apology?”

Inuyasha went still. Kaede was right. He turned to face Kagome and froze. Why did it take more courage to say something like this to a woman, to his own wife, for heaven's sake, than to face an army of demons? He went back to the fire and knelt down at Kagome's side.

“Kagome,” he began and stopped, flustered.

She glanced at him. “Would you do me a favor, Inuyasha?”

“Of course.”

“Will you kiss me?”

Inuyasha stared at her in surprise.

“You never really have, you know.”

Well, this was certainly easier than talking. Inuyasha cupped her cheek in his hand and pressed his lips to hers.

“Thank you.”

“I love you, Kagome. I'm sorry for all the times I've hurt you.”

Kagome blinked at him. “I never blamed you,” she said softly. She leaned forward and kissed him gently.

Inuyasha put his arms around her. “Let's go home.”

“But what about the Shikon Jewel?”

“Do we need it?” He caressed Matseru's face with a gentle finger and then looked into her eyes. “I have everything I want right here.”

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

Kagome awoke feeling happier than she could remember being for a long time. She felt warm, protected and safe, because Inuyasha was sleeping cuddled against her back with his arms around her. His soft breathing stirred the hair on the top of her head. Matseru was asleep in her arms and she looked down at his innocent little face with a feeling of incredible joy. She had a family!

Then Matseru stirred and a frowning pout stole across his face. He began to whine without opening his eyes and Inuyasha came instantly awake. Kagome could feel the sudden tension in his body.

“It's all right,” she murmured. “He's just hungry.” She opened her robe and cradled the baby against her breast. Feeding her own child filled Kagome with an amazing, wonderful, maternal feeling. Already, she could barely remember the pain and effort it took to bring Matseru into the world.

“I am so happy, Inuyasha,” she whispered. “I am happy to be your wife; happy to be the mother of your son. I want to have more children with you. I want to wake up every morning wrapped in your arms.”

“I want that, too, Kagome,” he whispered back. He stroked her hair gently. “I never expected to have this in my life. I'm still a little astonished.” He shifted very carefully and slid his arm out from underneath her. Moving quietly, he put more wood on the fire and stirred it back to life. He gazed at her thoughtfully. “If you really want the Shikon Jewel back, Kagome, I will get it for you, but I want to take you and Matseru home first, so you will be safe. I've been a fool for risking your lives like this.”

Kagome nodded. “I do want it back, but you are right. We must take Matseru home first.”

When Kaede awoke, she agreed that returning home with the baby was the wisest thing to do. She helped Inuyasha prepare breakfast while Kagome finished feeding the baby. Afterward, Kagome packed the knapsack while Kaede converted part of her old kimono, which she had exchanged for the winter clothes stolen by Inuyasha, to a sling for the baby, so Kagome could carry him and still keep her hands free.

“This is very clever, Kaede,” Kagome said approvingly as she tried it on, with Matseru tucked inside. “It will certainly make travel much easier.”

“He will sleep better, too,” Kaede said. “Bundled close to your heart like this, he will be more comfortable.”

“Get down!” Inuyasha shouted suddenly.

Both women dropped to their knees as Inuyasha leapt past them, drawing his sword.

“Your weapon cannot harm me, Inuyasha,” Naraku said contemptuously. The handsome sorcerer shimmered into being at the edge of the clearing. Dozens of demons hovered in the air behind him.

“Dammit!” Inuyasha growled. “I didn't smell him coming!”

“Kagome!” Naraku called. He held out his hand to her. “Now that you have rid yourself of the spawn of this vermin, come to me. Your power is all I need to make the Shikon Jewel a part of myself.”

Kagome's eyes narrowed angrily. The Shikon Jewel, her Jewel, was hanging from a golden chain around Naraku's neck. “Your offer repulses me, Naraku!” she growled. “The Jewel belongs to me. Relinquish it!”

“Relinquish it?” Naraku laughed. “Do not think you are any match for me, girl. I can command you and you will obey me.” He raised his hand and made a beckoning motion. “Come to me!”

For a moment, Kagome felt compelled to step forward. One foot lifted off the ground and started to move forward, but then Matseru stirred against her chest and the compulsion faded. She dropped her foot back onto the ground firmly. “Not a chance, Naraku. Only I can awaken the Shikon Jewel and its power is for me alone.”

Kagome lifted her right hand and held it sideways in front of her chest with the fingers pointing up. She closed her eyes and began to chant. Her grandmother had taught her the spell, but Kagome had never thought to use it. Now she spoke the words with angry conviction and felt the Jewel respond. She opened her eyes and stared at Naraku.

Naraku's eyes lit up with excitement as the Jewel's power stirred to life. “Yes, Kagome! Awaken it! I shall draw upon it and my power shall increase a thousand fold!”

“What are you doing, Kagome?” Inuyasha shouted.

Kagome didn't answer him. She continued to chant the spell of awakening. Naraku raised his hand to grasp the Jewel. It was the exact moment Kagome had been waiting for. Her hand shot out and she pointed straight at Naraku's heart.

“Destroy him!” she screamed and hot white flame shot from the Jewel's heart.

Naraku screamed as his hand was burned to nothing in an instant. And he kept screaming as the flames twisted around his body and began to consume him. The demons howled and writhed in the air above him, as if they, too, were on fire.

Inuyasha and Kaede backed up as the heat from the Jewel's fire singed the air around it.

The flames continued until Naraku's body was burned away to nothing and his screams ended. Then Kagome calmly walked forward and picked the Jewel up out of the blackened, heat-seared spot on the ground where Naraku had stood.

“Careful, Kagome!” Inuyasha cried.

“It's all right,” Kagome said. “The Shikon Jewel would never harm me.” She brushed it off and cradled it in her palm. “Go back to sleep,” she said, as if she were talking to a child. The shimmering white Jewel immediately faded to its normal hazy pink appearance.

Inuyasha and Kaede stared.

“It really does belong to you,” Inuyasha said in frank astonishment.

“Of course it does,” Kagome said with a smile. She put the Jewel in the pouch with the last of their coins and tucked it away inside the sling next to Matseru. “Shall we go home?”

Inuyasha stepped up to her and took her in his arms, holding her carefully so as not to squish Matseru. He embraced her in silence for a long time. Then he stepped back with his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

“Kagome, will you marry me?”

Kagome blinked in surprise and a happy smile spread across her face. “Yes, Inuyasha, I will gladly marry you.”

He smiled back. “When we get home, I promise you a proper wedding night this time, and it will not be an accident the next time I get you with child.”

Kagome giggled. “I hope there will be lots of practicing first.”

Inuyasha leaned forward. “Count on it,” he whispered and he kissed her very deeply.

 

-o-o-o- The End -o-o-o-