InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ JOURNEY ❯ Chapter 16 ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: All characters pertaining to the show InuYasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I am not making any money from this...the only thing that I am getting out of this story is the satisfaction of knowing that other people enjoy my writing. All original characters are my creation and belong to me...as does the plot and storyline.

 

 

Chapter 16

 

On May 1st, Kagome was at a pow-wow in Lodge Grass, Montana. She was on the Crow Indian Reservation. Eric, one of the ranch hands, went with her to help her out while she danced in the shawl dance competition. At around two-thirty, Kagome went out to dance. She noticed that there was a big storm approaching and that the air had gotten unusually warm. She could feel the electricity in the air as if it were surging beneath her skin. After the shawl dance was over, a handsome Crow man asked her to join him in the couples' competition. He took her hand and led her out into the arena. It felt strange having another man's arm around her and subconsciously she let a couple of tears escape before she blinked them away. But her feeling of loneliness was gone in a flash. Her water broke and her body began to cramp. She cried out and fell to the ground as her knees went weak. She was not sure what was happening and it frightened her. Her dance partner scooped her up in his arms and quickly carried her to the tent of a medicine man named Charlie Black-Feather.

 

“Where is your husband?” the healer asked.

 

“I have no husband,” Kagome replied, ashamed.

 

“Are you here alone, child?”

 

“No. One of my brother's employees is here with me. He is tending to my booth for me.”

 

“Well, he has no business in here, but I will inform him that you are having your baby.”

 

“Please tell him to bring Lakota to me,” she said as she watched him leave the tent.

 

He returned shortly with Lakota on his heels. Two Crow women followed him closely.

 

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A storm blew in off the desert where Sesshomaru was imprisoned in Arizona. The inmates were forced to go inside. Sesshomaru returned to his cell and stared at the ceiling. “Where is she?” he thought, “and what is she doing?” He knew somehow that she was in pain. He decided to paint to take his mind off of her, but when he was finished drawing the outlines, it was a portrait of her with two wolves by her side.

 

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Lightning split the sky and thunder rolled across the reservation. A woman screamed in pain as she fought to bring her child into the world. The tent smelled of sage and the rain drizzled down its sides, forming bizarre patterns in the flashing light. A wolf pup whined nervously as its master cried out. Four hours later, a child's cry brought the suffering to an end.

 

“You are the mother of a baby girl,” the healer told Kagome. “What will you name her?”

 

“Kirei Arashi Parker.” Kagome replied as she drifted off into the blackness of sleep.

 

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When Kagome awoke sometime later, she saw Charlie Black-Feather sitting across from her, smoking a pipe. Lakota was curled up beside her. She could see through the open tent flap, that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again. She was covered with a beautiful robe of bearskin. Then she noticed the absence of the women, and her daughter.

 

“Where is my daughter?” Kagome inquired weakly.

 

“Fear not, little one,” he replied calmly. “She is with my wife and daughter. They are seeing to her so that you may rest.”

 

“I want to feed her,” Kagome protested.

 

“You can not. Do you not see that there is no milk for her?”

 

“Is there something wrong with me?”

 

“I think not. It is just one of those things that happens occasionally. Do not worry yourself over why. Be patient. I will see that she is brought to you shortly.”

 

“Thank you, sir.”

 

“What is your name, little one?”

 

“I am Kagome Gray-Eagle, of the Lakota.”

 

“You are the granddaughter of Raymond Gray-Eagle?”

 

“Yes, sir. How do you know my grandfather?”

 

“He is a good man who has done much for many of the People. He turned my own son from a path of self-pity back to the ways of our people. He is a good and honorable man.”

 

“Yes sir, he is.”

 

About then, Eric poked his head into the tent.

 

“It seems that you have a visitor,” Charlie said.

 

“How are you, Kagome?”

 

“A little tired,” she replied sarcastically.

 

“Look, you don't need to worry about your things. I have everything under control. You just rest a while.”

 

“Eric,” she said as she squeezed his hand, “thank you for being so good to me.”

 

“Anytime, sis,” he said as he left the tent.

 

As Eric left, another man entered. It was her dance partner from earlier. He was still dressed in buckskins. He knelt down beside her.

 

“This is my son,” Charlie introduced them, “Nathan Black-Knife.”

 

“You gave me quite a scare earlier,” Nathan said as he looked at her affectionately.

 

“Gomen ne,” she apologized and then noticed his confusion at her words. “I'm sorry. May I please hold my daughter?”

 

“I will bring her to you,” Nathan said as he left the tent.

 

He returned quickly, carrying Kirei in his arms. He knelt down and placed the child in Kagome's arms. She held her child and began to cry as she looked at her tiny finger and her soft dark skin. Her hair was a dark, like her own. She had a tiny birthmark on the inside of her left arm that strongly resembled a wolf's paw print. Her eyes were a light and golden like honey...like Sesshomaru's. She was beautiful. Kirei grasped at the red beads and the oval shell on Kagome's necklace until Nathan took her away again.

 

“How long have I been in here?”

 

“Four days. You had a difficult delivery and lost a lot of blood. You need to rest,” Charlie instructed her, and she really didn't feel like arguing. Nathan returned and rested Kagome's head in his lap as she fell asleep.

 

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Through the next two days, the festivities continued. Eric handled her stand for her. Her strength was returning gradually. Nathan waited on her hand and foot, always with a warm smile. Nathan's sister, Dawn, talked with Kagome about feeding Kirei. Kagome was extremely grateful for all the help and advice.

 

On Sunday, Eric and Nathan packed up all of Kagome's things into the truck. Nathan helped her into her truck. Charlie handed Kirei to her. Kagome thanked them all for the kindness that they had shown her. Eric pulled out of the parking area and headed back toward the ranch. They arrived back at the ranch late in the afternoon. Souta's jaw almost hit the ground when he saw Kirei curled up in Kagome's arms.

 

 

TBC...

 

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