InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips. ❯ Hoping Beyond Hope. ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: Now, ladies and gents (mostly ladies, I fear), we arrive at the next major plot twist. Have fun! *evil smirk*

 

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Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

 

Chapter Twelve: Hoping Beyond Hope.

 

Rin and Kagome both stopped at the top of the stairs. Rin had tried to talk Kagome into taking the elevator, but the Miko-turned-housewife was stubborn - quite possibly even more stubborn than her hanyou husband. The older woman just shook her head, recalling her own pregnancies; inu pups were just not very much fun for humans such as themselves to carry.

 

“When is Inuyasha going to be back?” Rin wanted to know as Kagome took in deep breath after deep breath.

 

“In about three more months,” she answered after another minute, using the shiny, metal banister to hold herself up. Her hand automatically flew to her stomach as she paled suddenly, turning to the side and vomiting on the marble floor. Rin grimaced and dashed forward, her hand rubbing Kagome's back comfortingly. The other woman shuddered as her stomach emptied, and Rin felt sick herself at the choking sounds emitting from her friend. “I told you we should take the elevator,” she murmured gently, her tone low and worried.

 

Kagome groaned, straightening and wiping her mouth. “Blah, blah, I know,” she shot back grumpily as her chocolate eyes met Rin's. She immediately felt bad for being so gruff when she saw the storm of concern in Rin's bright, hazel eyes. Kagome sighed, holding her aching head with one hand and placing her other on her sister-in-law's shoulder in apology. “I'm sorry, Rin-chan,” she told the petite woman. “You know that I'm not myself lately.”

 

Rin nodded, her expression still grim with worry. “I know, Kagome-oneesan,” she replied quietly, still rubbing the Miko's back gently. “I know. Youkai pregnancies are rarely fun for us ningen.”

 

Kagome sighed, turning her head and spying the door at the end of the narrow, brightly lit corridor. She gestured toward it. “That must be the door to her office,” she told Rin, who nodded in agreement. Slowly, the two of the started down the metallic hallway in silence, Kagome feeling too ill for conversation and Rin too worried for words. Hopefully this kumo will be able to tell us why this pregnancy is so hard on Kagome-chan, Rin thought as she reached forward and turned the knob. She held the door open for her pregnant companion and followed her into the doctor's office.

 

They both walked into a rather large waiting room. Linked, wooden chairs sat in rows on top of seafoam green carpet. The walls were painted a very simple off-white, and the only person they could see was a rather pretty young woman sitting at the receptionist's desk, which was set into the far wall to the left of the entrance, beside another door. She had shiny, ebony hair pulled back into a very long ponytail, and she watched them with solid black eyes that stood out against her remarkably china-pale, oval-shaped face.

 

“Hello,” she called to them in a slightly bored tone as they approached. Despite her slightly alarming appearance, this woman radiated good, kind energy, Kagome realized.

 

“Hi,” Kagome replied, coming closer. “My name is Kagome Taisho. I have an appointment with Dr. Ishida.”

 

The woman nodded, her eyes darting over to a short stack of papers on the far right of the desk. “Are you here to see Dr. Ayana Ishida or Dr. Kensei Ishida?” she asked as she dug through the stack. Kagome's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the kumo woman's claws; they were completely black and at least two inches long, making up the entirety of her fingertips.

 

She tried to swallow her fear and answered, “Dr. Ayana Ishida.”

 

The kumo nodded. “Aha!” she cried out enthusiastically as she plucked a sheet of paper out of the middle of the stack; her outburst surprised the two women, causing them both to jump. The kumo giggled before disappearing; after just another moment, the door beside them opened, and there she was. “I am Ayana Ishida, OB. It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Taisho.” She bowed her head, holding out her hand to shake Kagome's.

 

Kagome just stared at her lengthy claws.

 

Dr. Ishida followed the young woman's gaze and pulled her hand back, laughing heartily. “Oh, I'm so sorry!” she said. “I realize that they are rather frightening, but there's really nothing that I can do with them. The cloaking spell most youkai and hanyou use won't get rid of them, and they're not retractable. They only secrete venom when I want them to, if that helps any.”

 

“Not really,” Kagome mumbled, blinking.

 

“Dr. Ishida-” Rin started, but the kumo doctor held her hand up to stop the young woman. “Please,” she said to them both, “call me Ayana. Dr. Ishida is my brother. And my sire.” She turned and started to walk away, leading them both through the door and into a network of examination rooms. “And my grandsire, and my great-grandmere…” She winked at Kagome and Rin as she opened the door to Exam Room 4. “Well, you two get the idea.”

 

They both nodded as they entered the surprisingly large exam room, closely followed by Ayana. The spider shut the door and went straight to the counter, setting the paper down and opening up one of the white cabinets that hung against the wall. Kagome took her place on the edge of the paper-covered exam table, while Rin took a seat in the chair beside it.

 

“So where is your darling inuhanyou?” Ayana asked, smiling at Kagome as she snapped on a pair of latex gloves; her undoubtedly sharp claws tore right through them. “He should be here with you for your first prenatal appointment, shouldn't he?”

 

Kagome looked at Rin, who shrugged her shoulders. “How did you know my husband is an inuhanyou?” she asked the doctor, whose smile only widened.

 

“Your general practitioner didn't tell you?”

 

Kagome blinked in puzzlement. “I'm not quite sure what you're talking about,” she answered, “so I'm not sure. What is it I'm missing?”

 

Ayana's smile turned genuine. “Kumoyoukai are very adept at sensing vibrations,” she answered. “As such, my species have a very easy time with what other species call telepathy. We merely sense the vibrations made by the synapses firing in the brain, and they translate quite easily into thoughts for us.”

 

Kagome and Rin both blinked. Ayana sighed. “I can read thoughts.”

 

“And?” Kagome asked. “What does that have to do with knowing that my husband is an inuhanyou? How did you know that?”

 

She smirked. “Lie down, Mrs. Taisho,” she said simply.

 

“Kagome,” she shot back, ignoring Rin's smirk as she laid back on the exam table. The paper rustled beneath her, and she closed her eyes as Ayana bent forward, bringing her face closer to her still flat tummy.

 

The doctor smiled. “I can hear them,” she murmured, her breath hot against Kagome's skin.

 

“What?” Rin asked sharply, flying out of the chair and darting closer to the doctor and the patient. She pressed her ear right up to Kagome's stomach for a few moments before pulling away, looking accusingly at Ayana. “Why can you hear `em and I can't?”

 

Ayana smirked knowingly. “Because, dear, you are not kumo,” she answered, placing her clawed hands on Rin's shoulders and guiding her back to the chair. The human sat, pouting, and Kagome laughed.

 

“You have a bright pair there,” Ayana told Kagome in a conversational tone, running her sharp claw along Kagome's stomach. The former priestess blinked at her, stunned by her words. “P-pair?” she asked.

 

Ayana nodded. “Yes, my dear,” she answered in a sweet voice, tapping the spot just above her belly button lightly with the tip of her claw. “Here is your daughter,” she told Kagome before moving her hand to the lower region of Kagome's belly. “And here is your son.” She gently prodded the spot just below her belly button, still smiling. “Funny how that worked out for you. Your daughter is a quarter-inuyoukai; your son is fully human. He's got a bit of your Miko powers, too. She's the one who caught your spunk; he seems fairly quiet and reserved, laid-back even.”

 

Kagome and Rin both stared at the spider obstetrician, speechless. Ayana grinned proudly, yanking off the gloves and throwing them away. As she wrote on the paper she'd set down on the counter, Kagome and Rin shared a stunned look.

 

“This is an awesome doctor,” Kagome told her sister-in-law.

 

“No lie! I wish she'd been around during all my pregnancies!” Rin gushed quietly, causing Kagome to chuckle.

 

“Oh, you can sit up now, Kagome,” Ayana told her patient, who complied. “I won't do anything invasive if I can help it. They are perfectly healthy for eight weeks along, and the entire reason that you're so tired is that one of them is a quarter youkai. She'll be taking a lot out of you.” She turned, ripping a sheet off her prescription pad and handing it to Kagome, who was now standing. “This is a prescription for a strong batch of prenatal vitamins. They're specially designed for the needs of inuyoukai pups such as that precious little girl in there.”

 

Kagome stared down at the prescription, then looked up into Ayana's gently smiling face. “I just have one question,” she said.

 

“Yes?”

 

Kagome smirked. “Do you ever stop smiling?”

 

All three women laughed; a kumo man poked his head out of one of the exam room doors, giving them a very strange look.

 

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The dark-haired man leaned closer to her, placing a light kiss on her cheek. “Are they asleep?” he asked her.

 

She nodded, knowing instinctually that he meant the hyperactive girls and reserved little boy in the next room of the small house. He shed his robes at the bedside, and she shivered slightly at the sight of his muscular, nude body.

 

“How do you still elicit that reaction from me after all these years?” she asked him quietly as he slid into the bed beside her. She scooted closer to him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She laid her head on his chest and sighed contentedly as he twined his fingers with hers.

 

“Proud that this hand hasn't dared to wander in years?” he asked, musing.

 

She shifted a little, looking up into his big, violet eyes, eyes filled with warmth - warmth reserved only for her, she knew.

 

“Yes,” she answered before kissing him deeply. “I am very proud of you.”

 

Suzume woke with a start, bolting upright in her bunk on the bus. She was wearing only a large, white t-shirt, and it was covered in sweat. Her legs were freezing, and they were wet with her sweat as well. She was panting, her chest heaving, and she grabbed it, brushing her hair roughly out of her way.

 

“Bad dreams?”

 

She jerked in surprise, whirling around in her bunk to face a pair of golden eyes illuminating the dark bus. Inuyasha was also sitting up, staring at her… watching her.

 

Suzume shook her head. “No,” she answered, recalling the dream. She licked her lips. “It was actually…” She sighed. “It was actually a very good dream. I just…” She groaned, choking back a confused sob. “I just wish that I understood it!”

 

“What was it about?” he asked softly, still watching her.

 

She held her face in her hands for a moment, thinking. “I was - I was happy. I was married, and I had children that I loved, who loved me, and -” She swallowed audibly, shaking her head. “I don't know. It didn't feel as if it was taking place in this time, you know? It was like I was someone else, and he was someone else - But, oh Kami, I loved him, I loved him so much!” She broke down into thick, wretched sobs right then, and the musician darted forward, gathering her into his arms and holding her close as she cried for her loss - a loss that Suzume didn't even fully understand.

 

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Next:

 

Chapter Thirteen: Formerly a Friend.

 

A/N: I am not a leading expert on spiders, of course, so the part about them sensing vibrations is just plain made up. And the telepathy... basically, when a person forms a thought, the synapses in your brain are firing to create that thought. What Ayana is saying is that kumo can sense the vibrations caused by those synapses firing, and their instincts automatically translate that into formed thoughts that they can choose to hear.

Also: I am a (fairly) devout Catholic, so I am of the belief that children have a mind of their own long before they are born. If this is not your belief, that is fine; however, for my story to work, I have incorporated my belief into it.