InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Hopes ❯ Chapter 9

Thanks: Thanks you Linda, you are the best beta ever!

Chapter 9

Inuyasha sat in his usual branch, a little distance away from the hut and his friends, glancing up at the moon quietly and sighing. This seemed to have become his usual pastime, except for when he was not in the hut, with Kaede fussing over him like an overworked mother. Two more weeks have passed and Kagome was back from her world, happier than ever. The miko had constantly badgered him with question when she found out about his illness and that Kaede had restricted his journeys and made him rest all the while. She grumbled, blaming him constantly for delay and finally lost her nerve, for not even being allowed to punish him for his behaviour and left for her world. However Shippo had later mentioned that she was to come back soon and truly she returned yesterday yet remained aloof from him, something he was thankful for. It seemed Kagome too was hiding secrets of her own, something, which was evident to even his fading senses. However, the hanyou chose to remain silent at that matter overlooking even the guilt or slightly irritated looks that Kagome often bestowed upon him, from time to time.

He shifted, laying down and closed his eyes, one foot dangling from the branch, swaying lightly. He loved this place; this sakura tree (which he had discovered not far from the hut) gave him refuge from the questions of his friends and their discontent, from not being able to know the truth. Yes, he was yet to divulge his peers of his condition, the little life growing inside him.

‘I have to tell them sooner or later,’ yet the mere idea of talking to them, made him tremble. He didn’t know how they would react to him, especially Kagome. He knew she was holding on her “SIT” commands, merely as Kaede had strongly advised against them, saying that it could harm Inuyasha in more than one way, in his ‘illness’ but he was not sure what she’d would do once she learned of his pregnancy. He was thankful to the old priestess for coming up with a bizarre, but a logical illness, which helped him to hide his real condition. Although he was sure, that Sango did not believe one word of what the miko had said.

He turned on the branch uncomfortably and slowly, making sure he didn’t fall and began to rub the hardly visible mound. He was starting to show. Kaede had informed him, that inuyoukai pregnancy, normally lasted 9 weeks; yet there may be some delay due to his human heritage. He smiled; the idea was his own pup taking away all that he had suffered for the last few weeks. Though he was yet to recover from the nausea and the dizziness and was fighting with the growing weakness and his lack of power and sense, he was happy.

However, he was a little unnerved by the urges, most embarrassingly, sexual urges he was having. His body was craving Kouga’s touch more than ever and he was becoming more and more helpless, as the days passed. The urges were so strong, that he couldn’t even stop himself from howling pitifully one evening, non-stop for half an hour, startling his friends. He snickered, the looks on the faces of his friends were priceless, he had not even realized what he had done, but Shippo had began to cry at the pain he emanated through the call, while Sango, just stared curiously at him. But Kouga never came, his ears drooped at the thought and he fought even harder to stop the urge to cry. Boy, he was becoming such a girl. He had discovered that he was having lesser and lesser control over his emotion these days and to his utter horror, would begin to cry at silly things. Kaede had explained that it was common, when one was expecting, but it was embarrassing nonetheless.

‘Damn that bastard, he is probably laughing his ass off on his victory somehow. Damn you Kouga,’ he cursed. He sat up on the branch shifting uncomfortably before jumping onto the ground and sat against the trunk, brooding, as tears found their way out of his golden orbs….

“Inuyasha?”

The said hanyou almost jumped up, wiping the tears off his face quickly. ‘Damn it, I am slipping again’ He didn’t sense her coming this way.

He turned to see the taijiya looking down at him. “Hai?”

“What are you doing here sitting alone?” Sango inquired, squatting down to sit beside the hanyou.

“N-nothing, just not feeling well,” was the short reply.

Sango sighed. Ever since the hanyou had retuned from the forest, he had somehow changed. Usually brash and arrogant, he seemed to be more docile, something which didn’t settle with her. Then there was this so called sickness. She was certain that Kaede and Inuyasha were hiding something form her. She could see Inuyasha getting more and more worse each day, his skin seemed paler than usual, and he was becoming weak, he had even fainted a couple of times. She was growing worried and decided to watch the hanyou’s every move and the things she had found surprised her, the morning sickness, the dizziness, the sluggishness and the strange food habits, all pointed to one thing… but could that be possible? She was a slayer and so had heard of rare male pregnancies occurances, but for Inuyasha to be expecting, much less submitting to another demon, seemed like an absolutely absurd idea. She glanced sideways at the her subdued friend. The hanyou had stretched himself on the ground beside her, his eyes closed as if relaxing; yet she could sense the tension in his body, something was eating away at her friend. She had seen those eyes staring at the forest, as if searching, waiting for someone, the forlorn and defeated look that he always wore when he was sure no one was looking, even the innumerable quiet sighs that escaped those lips. She wanted to help the hanyou, but the stupid inu never confided in her…. What was she to do? Unconsciously, her hands strayed to the hanyou’s head, scratching softly behind his puppy ears. A shuddering breath, followed by a low nearly inaudible whine, startled her and she looked down gasping silently, to see tears stream down his close lids.

“Inuyasha?”

“…..”

“Inuyasha, are you alright?”

A long pause before a choked whisper was heard. “No.”

To be stunned would be an understatement, she had never seen Inuyasha cry and now, as hanyou lay beside her, fighting to composed himself; yet failing miserably… But why? What had caused him so much pain that he was left so vulnerable… she had to know.

“Inuyasha, tell me what is the matter?” she asked again, moving slightly before pulling his head to rest on her lap. She didn’t know whether it was a wise decision, but at the moment it seemed right.

“I am your friend Inuyasha, tell me,” she urged, trailing her finger through his locks in a soothing way.

“C-can’t,” came another whimper. “You’d hate me.”

“No Inuyasha, I could never hate you,” she soothed. “I am your friend, besides, if not for you I never would have gotten Kohaku back.”

More muffled sobs followed, the stubborn hanyou refused to answer; so she decided to take the matters into her own hands. “Inuyasha are you…” she took a deep breath, gathering her courage. “Are you pregnant?”

The body on her lap stiffened instantly, a straggled hiccup escaping the inu’s lips.

“Inuyasha,” she urged again. “Tell me, it will help.”

“Yes,” Sango waited for the hanyou to quiet down a bit before she began again, her hands never stopping to caress the ears or to run through the ivory mane.

“Who is the father?”

“…. Please, Sango, please don’t force me, you will only hate me.”

“Tell me Inuyasha, I swear I will not hate you.”

“It’s…” she could see Inuyasha struggling “It’s…It’s Kouga.”

“Kouga?!” a variety of emotions passed over her face, but she quickly masked them, lest the hanyou who was now glancing up apprehensively at her, would misunderstand her. She nodded, urging the hanyou to continue. So Inuyasha began relating all that had occurred from his being in heat, to meeting Kouga, them coupling and to the time he found himself pregnant alone. He even tattled, of how his brother treated him. He didn’t want to, but it felt good to finally let his friend know what was troubling him.

Sango was seething by the time Inuyasha had finished. How dare that wolf do something to her friend and what was worse, that Inuyasha still loved him?! Why? Why was Kami-sama to cruel to this person, she knew enough about past of the hanyou to understand his loneliness and his behaviour and secretly respected him, for his bravery. However, what the wolf lord had done to the inu was atrocious. If she could just get her hands on that bastard….

She growled, unknowingly, startling the hanyou. “Sa…Sango?”

Sango immediately calmed herself and smiled, though it was a sad smile. “I understand Inuyasha and no I don’t hate you, you did what your heart told you to; yet…”

“Yet, I was deceived again,” Inuyasha completed, a rueful smile himself. “But Sango, I am strong. I can do this and now with Kaede helping me, I don’t need anyone.”

“Not even a friend?” Inuyasha’s head shot up, before a small smile graced his lips, mirroring Sango. He picked himself up from his position and sat beside the taijiya, both silent, as Sango tried to lend the hanyou some of the warmth their friendship could offer, without interfering with his thoughts. They gazed at the dark forest, each lost in their own thoughts.

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~*~ Meanwhile, in the Wolves’ Caves~*~

“Kouga,” Ginta called, suspiciously eyeing the wolf leader, perching on the broad boulder staring off at the forest, with an unnamed emotion plastered on his face. Kouga had been like this ever since his return from the forest. Even Kaiya was getting extremely worried, not to mention a bit mistrustful of her younger brother. The female healer had tried all means to get Kouga to talk about his future ‘mate’ but he always seemed to freeze, unable to utter more than two syllables, looking immensely guilty for no reason. At first she assumed her brother was merely shy, but as the days wore on she began to doubt Kouga’s behaviour. He would spend most of his time lost in his thoughts, either confused or angry, had lost his voracious appetite and would stay awake for long hours at night, pacing and muttering under his breath. Kaiya had begun to worry about his sanity and was beginning to question his so called future mate’s intentions. However, by no means could she get Kouga to talk about anything. Finally, she placed her trust in one of Kouga’s closest friends, Ginta. Even Hakkaku could have done the job, but he was currently away with his mate to visit his in-laws at the mountains. So here stood Ginta, in front of the seemingly lost wolf, trying to coax him out of his dream world or whatever he was in.

“Kouga,” He called again, a bit agitated and concerned when Kouga didn’t answer. This would call for drastic measure, so he moved closer to the wolf leader, bent down and took a deep breath, then shouted in his pointy ears with all his might.

“KOUGA! Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga, Kouga,”

The said wolf almost ‘eep’ed in surprise, jumping up as his hand went to his sword hilt before he lost his footing and landed on his rump with a great thud. “Oof! What the hell?” He snarled, glaring at his friend who was looking down at him with an amused expression on his face.

“What do you want?” Kouga snapped, as he stood up, rubbing his sore globes. He hated when Ginta did that to him, even in his childhood.

“Nothing,” Ginta answered; trying to suppress his laughter. “Just wanted to talk to you.”

“Hmmm.” Kouga ignored the expression, as he rearranged himself on the boulder, staring at the forest. “What about?”

Ginta moved to sit beside his friend. “Just want to know whether my friend’s feeling all right?”

“Why? What’s wrong with me?” Kouga knew where this was going and knew that there was no escape now. Ginta could be very stubborn when he wanted to and very cunning, in drawing answers from him. He decided to stall his friend for as long as he could.

“Nothing and everything,” Kouga turned to look at him; raising an eyebrow in question. Ginta sighed. “Have you noticed that you have been a bit distracted these days?” Kouga opened his mouth to protest, but Ginta cut him off. “Is something or “someone” bothering you?”

“Someone?”

Ginta was getting tired off this, but he knew his friend and decided to play along.

“Yep. You seem to space out a lot and have that dreamy look on your face. Are you in love?”

“What?! L-love,” Kouga spluttered. “O-of course I am in love, idiot. I am in love with Kagome.”

Ginta smiled, he was getting nearer to his goal, Kouga was nervous and it meant something was cooking for sure. “Uh-uh. You have been in love with Kagome, for a long time or so you say,” He ignored the glare directed his way. “However, you never seemed to sport the lost puppy look, or lose your appetite; sleep was never hampered; yet now… Oh don’t give me that look; I knew you did not spent the mating season with Kagome. So spill, who was it that caught your attention Kouga…” He teased “… and left you all lost and craving.”

Kouga was sweating. Ginta’s word had caused the visage of an canescent haired angel to appear in front of his face, the flash of their time spend together, the figure writhing in pleasure beneath him as they made love again and… no, wait, that was no love making, that was sex. He didn’t love Inuyasha, he loved Kagome, Inuyasha was jut a …. Kouga stiffened.

Ginta, who was watching him intently, smiled widely. He had hit the mark.

“Ah, so I was right. There ‘is’ someone else.” He smirked. “Pray tell, Lord Kouga, who is the fortunate person and when do we get the privilege of meeting them.”

Kouga stood up abruptly, with a frown on his face. He was still confused, “I told you Ginta, I have no one besides Kagome,” Yet, he was not so sure this time. “I love Kagome. That’s all and today I’ll prove it. I will bring her here and proclaim her as my mate.” With that, he dashed off in full speed towards his intended, leaving a stunned Ginta behind.

“No one eh? We will see about that little prince. If I know you, you have fallen hard for this person.” He reflected and sighed, “I could only hope you don’t do anything stupid friend. True love is rare to obtain and from what I saw in your eyes today… I just hope you understand it’s value, before you loose something precious, my friend.”

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~*~Kaede’s Village~*~

“Damn that Inuyasha, what does he think of himself?” Kagome muttered under her breath as she sat by the stream, near the hut, washing the dishes after breakfast. The hanyou was getting on her nerves. How long has she been gone from this era, one, maybe two weeks at the most? And now Inuyasha was a complete alien to her. “It’s as if he is some kind of a prince or something, just lying around all day, we have to serve him hand and foot. Even Kaede-sama is taking his side. Hmph.”

“We can’t even go for the search of the shards.” She glared at the hanyou, sitting against the tree with his eyes closed and arms wrapped around his abdomen protectively. “Kaede-sama says he is sick. Sick my ass; he looks absolutely fine to me. He is probably faking it and from Kaede-sama’s reaction, doing a great job at it,” she mused, as she set one dish above another with a bang.

“Just let me get him alone for a while, a few “S” words will bring him right back to his senses. However…” She sighed, trying to ignore her growing ire. “… I should not be concerned about him. After all, I am going back home today and I get to see Houjo. Hah,” she sighed happily, gathering the dishes to make her way to the hut. “Oh Houjo, I just can’t wait.” She had already planned the week ahead and convinced her friends, that she needed to return to her time, to take some pretty important ‘tests’. Shippo was quite reluctant to let her go, but she had successfully managed to bribe her way out. Shippo now had enough chocolate to last him a year.

‘Thanks to Houjo of course,’ she giggled. ‘I didn’t know what to do with all the chocolates and sweets he keeps bringing for me.’ She moved quickly, gathering her belongings, she had an interesting week ahead and nothing would keep her here.

“Oh Inuyasha.” She called, in her usual chipper voice. Houjo made her so happy. “Let’s go.”

“…”

She growled. The hanyou had spaced out again. She stomped over to the inu and kicked him on his side. “Inuyasha! Stop daydreaming and take me to the well.”

Inuyasha jerked and looked up questioningly, to see Kagome glaring down at her.

“Get up quickly, I don’t have time for your antics. You promised to accompany me to the well, remember? Or have you forgotten about it. I have to get out of here before Shippo returns, so get you lazy ass up and help me with these things.”

Inuyasha was quite hurt at her harsh words, but hid it quickly. He didn’t blame her; he knew she was angry because he had never talked to her about his earlier confession. He deserved those words. He sighed quietly.

"No Kagome, I do remember, I am sorry for zoning out on you again.”

“Yeah, yeah, now hurry.” She turned, picking up her bag gestured Inuyasha towards her cycle. It needed some repairing, so she was taking it back.

“Hai,” came a quiet reply, as Inuyasha got up, grunting slightly from the effort, thankful that the dizziness and nausea wasn’t worrying him at the moment. He had to admit, he did not have the heart to accompany her, something was urging him to stay in the village, something was going to happen today. He could feel it in his bones. However, he had promised his friend and no matter what, he was not going to keep his word. He picked up the cycle and a few bags she handed him; followed her quickly.

Kagome was almost running at full speed. They had to leave before the kitsune pup got back. Sango had taken him some place, so Kagome would saved from dealing with the whining, temper tantrums and sobbing of the pup.

Miroku and Kohaku had accompanied Kaede, to deal a patient in a neighbouring village, early morning. However, the old miko had fused relentlessly over the inu and Inuyasha had a hard time, to convince her that he was well enough to go with Kagome.

They had cleared the village area, when Inuyasha stopped suddenly. His ears flicked, trying to catch a sound, a familiar sound. His nose twitched, as the scent of the one he craved came floating on the air, evading his weakening senses.

Kagome noticed this.

“Now what Inuyasha?” She asked exasperatedly.

Inuyasha’s face lit up with joy, however it was quickly replaced by panic and fear, as the familiar whirlwind was spotted coming their way.

“Inuyasha what is it?” Kagome still hadn’t spotted the wolf coming her way.

Inuyasha looked on, a slight shiver ran down his spine, as one word dropped off his lips.

“Kouga.”

Sure enough, seconds later the whirlwind stopped in front them and Kouga materialised, in all his glory, the usual smirk settled on his lips.

“Hey Kagome,” he smiled brightly, ignoring the pale hanyou completely.

“Hi Kouga.” The miko smiled in her cheery voice.

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Author Notes: Oh, I am so sorry but I couldn’t resist. *Snickers* This was such a good chance for a cliffy, so how could I let it go. Yeah, yeah, I know I am evil but what to do… guess you will have to wait to see what happens next…. Muahahahahaha I love being evil.