InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ A New Kind of Adventure, Part 2 ( Chapter 59 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.16.2010 | Updated On: 03.01.2011 | Pages: 8 | Words: 9.1K | Visits: 2.6K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.16.2010 | Updated On: 03.01.2011 | Pages: 8 | Words: 9.1K | Visits: 2.6K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
A New Kind of Adventure, Part 2
“Oh, crud. I forgot to call Ayumi last night!” Kagome exclaimed.
“Whoops,” Inuyasha replied; he had forgotten as well in all the excitement. It was a lazy Saturday morning at the Higurashi household, and the family had just finished eating breakfast. Kagome got up and strode over to the house’s only phone, then picked it up and dialed the number. She was expecting one of Ayumi’s parents but instead a familiar voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Ayumi?”
“Hey, Kagome, is that you?”
“Yep. How are you?”
“Good. How is life five hundred years in the past?”
“Never better.”
“That’s nice. So what’s up? I know you didn’t call me trying to get notes from school,” Ayumi joked.
“Haha, definitely not. I was actually wondering, are you still going out with Kenji?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Inuyasha and I need to meet with him. Can you give me his phone number?”
“Well, he’s here if you want to talk to him. We were planning to go to a movie later.” Ayumi paused, then spoke again in a much softer, more conspiratorial tone. “Kagome, what’s this about?”
Kagome grinned, recognizing the curious, gossipy teenager tone instantly. There was really no reason to keep any of her friends out of the loop.
“Tell you what, Ayumi. Why don’t the four of us meet at WacDonald’s before your movie? I’ll call Eri and Yuka and see if they can come too.”
“O-okay!” Ayumi stuttered, even more curious now that Kagome didn’t want to discuss the matter over the phone. “How does noon sound?”
“Noon it is. We’ll see you then, Ayumi.”
“Alright, Kagome. Later.”
“Bye.”
Kagome hung up and dialed her other two modern friends. Both readily agreed to attend the gathering once the miko insinuated that she had news. In fact, all four of them were already there waiting when she and Inuyasha made it to WacDonald’s at five of twelve. Kagome led a very interesting life; it was like listening to a fairy tale when she told them about it. They also hadn’t seen her in awhile.
“Hey, guys,” Kagome greeted. “Hi, Kenji-kun.”
“Nice to see you again, Kagome. You too, Inuyasha,” the inu-youkai replied, the add-on not quite as genuine as the first part.
“Keh, the feeling’s mutual,” Inuyasha said with a smirk. They might not like each other very much, but there was a common respect between them. They were definitely allies rather than enemies. At least Kenji didn’t flirt with his woman like some of his previous allies had done. He didn’t even mind the new ‘-kun’ honorific for that very reason.
“Come on, guys, let’s eat,” Kagome interjected, her mouth watering at the smell of fried food and grease. “I haven’t had a good cheeseburger in ages.”
Ten minutes later, Kagome leaned back in the booth and sighed contentedly, picking at mini-fries at the bottom of her container. Everyone else was still working on their burger, even Inuyasha, who appeared to be savoring every bite. Now, she hadn’t inhaled the thing, but neither had she spent much time chewing. I wonder, does ‘eating for two’ make you eat twice as fast?
“Wow, Kagome,” Yuka observed. “I guess you were hungry.”
“I guess so. Actually,” she began, seeing a perfect segue into the real reason why she was here. “My news is kind of related to my big appetite.” She waited until she had everyone’s complete attention, then continued as calmly as possible. “Inuyasha and I are having a baby.”
Her friends were momentarily stunned into silence, but not the same silence as Miroku, Sango, or Kagome’s family exhibited. Her friends knew nothing of the miscarriage; they were merely surprised that someone as young as Kagome would want to start a family. Getting over that quickly, they realized the uniqueness of Kagome’s situation, and expressed their genuine happiness for the couple. After a few moments of heartfelt congratulations, Kenji spoke up.
“I suppose the reason you called me out here is to ask if I could connect you with a youkai physician, correct?”
“How did you know?”
“I’m a smart man,” Kenji replied with a grin.
“A wise guy, more like it,” Inuyasha muttered.
“Will you help us?” Kagome asked.
“Of course! I know just the person: Hayashi Etsuko. She was my mother’s doctor when I was in the womb. I’ll call her today. You’ll like her; she’s really nice, and she’s also one of the finest doctors in Tokyo.”
“Thank you so much, Kenji-kun.”
“Don’t mention it. Even though you are living mostly in the past, I think it’s a very good idea to see a modern physician. Problems with youkai or hanyou pregnancies are rare, but they do happen. At least you’ll have peace of mind, even if you do decide to deliver in the past.”
“What about money? I don’t know if my mom’s health insurance will cover this.”
“Don’t worry about that; the Council will take care of it.”
“Really? I don’t want to be too much trouble.”
“Trouble? Kagome, three of my comrades are being paid to stand watch on the rooftops outside as we speak. The Council is fully committed to the safety of the Shikon no Tama and its bearer, and will spare no expense. I’m sure they will gladly pay for your prenatal care, especially since Inuyasha is rel—urk!” he suddenly choked, cutting himself off. His eyes darted back and forth rapidly between the two hanyou, the look of a man who feared he had said too much.
“Since Inuyasha is what?” the male hanyou demanded, but Kenji only shook his head in response.
“So, uh…yeah, the Council will pay Dr. Hayashi’s bill. In fact, I’ll go call her right now!” Then, faster than anyone could think to protest, Kenji slipped from the booth and sped out the door. Inuyasha and Kagome shared a suspicious look, at least the former considering following Kenji and beating the answer out of him.
“That was odd,” Eri observed.
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Ayumi asked, willing to try to persuade her boyfriend to spill the beans.
“No, we’ll let it go,” Kagome replied. “I’m sure Kenji-kun had a good reason for not wanting to tell us.”
“My ass,” Inuyasha snorted under his breath, but he would respect his wife’s desires. Perhaps it was something they were better off not knowing. Kenji returned a few minutes later appearing much more composed. He said he had spoken with Dr. Hayashi’s secretary, who would give the doctor the message when she finished seeing patients later that afternoon.
“So go home and wait by the phone,” he told them.
“I just can’t believe her office is open on a Saturday.”
“Well, she’s in high demand, especially among youkai. I think you’ll see why when you meet her.”
The gathering broke up once everyone was done eating, and the friends went their separate ways. Inuyasha and Kagome started back toward the shrine, but Kagome suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him off down a different street.
“Where are we going, Kagome?”
“Shopping.”
An hour later, Inuyasha had officially developed a hatred of shopping. In part because they were shopping for bras, but mostly because he had not been invited into the changing room to ‘help’ Kagome try them on. It was just standing there looking at the inside of the same store, waiting for her to come out and hoping it was for good. But she always returned to the racks, picked a few more selections, and went back inside. Still, he reminded himself that this was for Kagome’s comfort, so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t know it, but Kagome had sought her mother’s advice that morning about her discomfort, and was now following the older woman’s recommendation of buying a variety of different types and sizes of bras to make sure she found a few that were truly comfortable. Finally, she led Inuyasha to the checkout aisle and purchased six of them.
“Thanks for being so patient, Inuyasha,” she said sincerely.
“Keh.”
“Just one more quick stop I want to make.”
They went into a bookstore, and after the clerk pointed them in the right direction, Kagome began perusing the small selection of pregnancy-related books. She picked one of medium thickness, then flipped through it for a few minutes.
“What do you think, Inuyasha?” she asked, knowing this purchase was for him as well.
He shrugged. “Whichever one you want.”
Decided, Kagome took the book to the register. They arrived back at the shrine shortly before two o’clock, and her mother told them that Dr. Hayashi hadn’t called yet. They cuddled together on the couch to watch TV until she did.
The phone finally rang at about quarter after three, and Kagome leapt up to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m looking for Higurashi Kagome,” said a smooth, professional female voice. It was a pleasant sound, registering on the low side of the feminine voice range.
“This is she. Is this Dr. Hayashi?”
“Yes, it is. So I hear you’re a friend of Yamato Kenji?”
“We only met a couple months ago, but yes, I consider him a friend.”
“A couple months…he wouldn’t happen to be the baby’s father, would he?”
Kagome nearly giggled at the sound of her husband choking behind her. “No, no, he’s not the father.”
“Oh, good. His mother would kill him. We go way back, so you know I’d have to be the one to tell her. Are you married, Ms. Higurashi?”
“Yes. Please, call me Kagome.”
“Very well. Your husband is welcome to come to our meetings. I’m going to put my secretary on, and she’ll schedule your first appointment. I look forward to meeting you.”
“Likewise, and thank you.”
“Take care.”
The secretary came on the line, and the earliest they could make the appointment was two Saturdays from now at one o’clock. That was fine with Kagome; it would give her and Inuyasha time to go back to the feudal era and maybe collect a shard or two. The faster they completed the Shikon no Tama, the better. The baby certainly wasn’t going to wait for them to finish their mission.
They waited in the small but stylish lobby, Kagome absently flipping through a magazine. Not much had changed in the past fourteen days. She had stopped going to the bathroom so much, which the book explained as her uterus shifting out and upward, alleviating pressure on her bladder. That was definitely a positive development. She had also noticed that she had been a bit moody lately. Some days she wanted to fill with conversation, while others she didn’t want to talk at all. A couple times she had even been on the verge of tears for no apparent reason. Stupid hormones. Unfortunately, the book said those little insanity-inducing chemicals would only grow more powerful as the pregnancy progressed. To his credit, Inuyasha usually just went with the flow, allowing her to dictate their interaction. His confidence and calmness grounded her, kept her hormones from influencing her too much.
“Higurashi?”
They looked up to spy an assistant standing in the doorway to the interior of the office. She smiled and held the door for them as they passed.
“Right this way, please.”
She led them down two short, perpendicular corridors and into a fairly small examination room, saying the doctor would be with them shortly. There was the standard bed along one wall, and three chairs along the other, in addition to a larger one with wheels which Kagome assumed was meant for the physician. The room felt cozy and welcoming for a doctor’s office. They felt a little nervous and out of place as they sat in the chairs, but only from the newness of this experience. Kagome imagined most pregnant women were somewhat anxious at their first prenatal appointment.
The door opened after about ten minutes, and in strode a tall, slender woman dressed in a dark skirt, a yellow blouse, and a white lab coat. Her face was rather angular, but her blue eyes were friendly and bright. Long dark hair cascaded down to her waist in the back, with thin forelocks hanging on either side of her face. She wore little makeup, probably just enough to make her appear more feminine. She was a striking woman, her height making her an imposing figure, but Kagome found her not the least bit intimidating. She returned the doctor’s easy smile, already liking the other woman.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Hayashi. You must be Kagome,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Pleased to meet you,” Kagome replied genuinely, shaking the proffered appendage.
“And you must be her husband,” the doctor observed, turning to Inuyasha with the same gesture. The hanyou hesitated for a moment, then clasped her hand and shook it firmly.
“Inuyasha.”
“Inuyasha? That’s a nice name, very old school. And I bet I can guess what kind of hanyou you are.”
“Inu.”
“That was my guess. And you, Kagome? I’m sorry; I can sense your youki, but I don’t have a very good sense of smell.”
“I’m a neko hanyou.”
“Ah, a dog and a cat. Interesting,” the doctor remarked, sitting in the desk chair and spinning to face them. “Please, sit down. Pull the chairs into a circle; I just want to talk for a little while.”
The doctor stared at Kagome for a few seconds, chewing on the end of her pen. She seemed to be surprised about something, and the miko could guess what it was. Finally, Inuyasha cleared his throat, jolting the doctor from her stupor.
“Forgive me. I was trying to decide whether I was sensing things or not. Are you…”
“Yes, I am a miko.”
“A hanyou miko,” Dr. Hayashi breathed, her tone one of awe. “Now that is interesting. I’m sure there’s a fascinating story behind that. Or were you born that way?”
“No, I was born human,” Kagome said, not seeing any reason to withhold the information. “I became a hanyou later because of the rebirth spell.”
“The rebirth spell? Ancient magic, that is. Interesting. Well, thank you for satisfying my curiosity. Now, I’m just going to ask you a few standard questions—”
“Um, excuse me,” Kagome interrupted, “but are you a youkai?”
Dr. Hayashi grinned in response, slipping a dull gold ring from her finger. A dramatic transformation rolled over her, dark hair shifting to deep cerulean to match her eyes, subtle facial markings appearing in a lighter shade of blue. If she was striking before, she was doubly so now. She radiated a powerful but benevolent aura, and a mysterious scent which neither hanyou could quite place.
“If you’re wondering about my heritage,” she stated, as if reading their thoughts, “my ancestors were youkai of many different races. I trust you have no problem with mixed bloods?”
“Oh, no, of course not.”
“Good. Most people don’t, but of course there are still those who insist upon marrying within their own race, to keep the ‘pure’ blood alive,” the doctor said with an edge of derision. Then, she slipped the ring back on her finger, and once again her appearance became that of a normal human.
“I would leave it off,” she told them regretfully, “but my secretary has a bad habit of entering without knocking. I almost envy you; it must be nice to be able to leave your home without concealment charms.”
“Eh, it ain’t so great,” Inuyasha replied. “The stupid hat is a pain.”
Kagome smiled at him; it was good to see Inuyasha warming up to a stranger so quickly. He was a pretty good judge of character as well, and both of them seemed to agree about Dr. Hayashi.
“You can take it off if you want,” the doctor said. “If my secretary barges in, it will be to talk to me, so she probably won’t even notice. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
They did, removing hat and headband. Truth be told, Inuyasha was tempted to take off his shoes as well, but figured that would be a little much. This was a doctor’s office, after all.
“Now, back to those standard questions,” Dr. Hayashi reiterated, picking up her clipboard and readying her pen. Then she put the implement down and folded her hands in front of her. “But before that, why don’t you tell me a little about yourselves.”
Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other, an uncertain glance passing between them. Some aspects of their lives needed to be kept secret, no matter how much they liked the doctor. Inuyasha nodded, trusting his wife to know where to draw the line.
“Well, my name is Higurashi Kagome, and I grew up in Tokyo at a shrine my family owns. I met Inuyasha on my fifteenth birthday, and we got married shortly after I turned seventeen. Soon after that I became pregnant. Right now, we’re living an active lifestyle in a very…rural part of the country.” Kagome turned to Inuyasha, passing the torch.
“I grew up in that rural part of the country,” he began. “I was orphaned as a child, and I don’t remember my family name. I lived mostly alone for many years. When I met Kagome, everything changed. Not overnight, but slowly. Now, I look back and wonder how I ever survived without her.” He closed his eyes at the feel of Kagome’s hand on his shoulder, moved as he always was whenever he thought of how much his life had changed since that fateful day over two years ago.
“Oh, how sweet,” the doctor mumbled sincerely. Then she sobered, sensing a serious issue. “Can you tell me anything else?” When the two hanyou only shifted uncomfortably, she continued. “You don’t have to. I take doctor-patient confidentiality very seriously, but it’s fine if there are certain things you don’t want to discuss with me. I just need you to tell me enough so that I can help you bring a healthy baby into this world. Okay?”
“Okay,” Kagome agreed, relieved that the doctor wasn’t going to pry. Too many people already knew about the well and their lives in the past, and she believed they could accomplish their objectives here without adding the doctor to that list.
“I’m sorry we can’t be more forthcoming.”
“Don’t be. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with patients who couldn’t reveal certain aspects of their lives. We youkai live in a state of perpetual concealment; it’s only natural to keep secrets. Now, what do you know about pregnancy, specifically hanyou pregnancy?”
“Not much, actually. Kenji said complications are less common than they are for normal humans.”
“That’s partly correct,” the doctor replied. “In humans, both mother and child are at risk. But in youkai or hanyou, the danger is faced mostly by the fetus. Take, for example, ectopic pregnancy. If left untreated in a human, this condition can cause the death of both mother and child. If you had an ectopic pregnancy, however, you would most likely survive no matter what. Your youkai blood makes you much more able to recover from damage that would likely kill a human woman. Your child, on the other hand, is nearly as vulnerable as a human fetus. Its hanyou blood will not offer much protection until well after it is born.”
Kagome grimaced, trying to conceal how close to home the doctor’s explanation struck. Dr. Hayashi paused, studying them for a moment before continuing.
“The same things which can cause defects in human babies can also cause them in youkai and hanyou babies. Do you smoke or drink, Kagome?”
“I don’t smoke, and I only drink very occasionally. Definitely not while I’m pregnant.”
“I believe that’s for the best. It’s impossible to tell how much even one drink can contribute to fetal alcohol syndrome, so I advise my patients to refrain from drinking altogether. Are you currently taking any medication?”
“No.”
“Are you allergic to anything, including medication.”
“Not that I know of.”
“Okay, do you have any chronic health conditions?”
Kagome nearly laughed at that. It’s a good thing she doesn’t have a list of all the illnesses Jii-chan made up for me.
“No.”
“Good. It seems like you’re a fairly healthy person. Do you know when the date of your last period was?”
“Um, sorry, but I didn’t keep track. I became pregnant about two and a half months ago.”
“That’s good enough for a ballpark delivery date. We can refine that as you get farther along. Is this your first pregnancy?”
Kagome cringed, obviously surprising the doctor, who chose to remain silent and wait for an answer. The miko sighed, knowing this was one thing they could not keep secret.
“She had a miscarriage,” Inuyasha interjected solemnly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the doctor replied, her condolences genuine. “Forgive me, but when did this happen?”
“About half a year ago.”
“How far along was the pregnancy?”
“A couple weeks.”
“And do you know what caused the miscarriage?”
“Blunt force trauma,” Kagome answered, grateful that Inuyasha had taken over for a few seconds.
“Blunt for—to your abdomen, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“I see. I apologize for asking these questions, but miscarriages can cause infertility problems in some women. Did you have any trouble conceiving this time?”
“No.”
“Good. It seems your hanyou body healed itself completely. I’ll know more after the examination.”
“Examination?”
“Standard procedure, I assure you. I need to take a pap smear and perform several other tests to check for abnormalities and make sure everything is going smoothly.”
“Oh. That sounds reasonable to me.”
“Shall we?” Dr. Hayashi said, standing and motioning toward the door. When Inuyasha and Kagome both stood, the doctor addressed the male hanyou. “I’m going to ask you to stay here for this part, Inuyasha.”
He opened his mouth as if to protest, but a pleading look from Kagome stilled his tongue. She apparently wanted to do this ‘examination’ one-on-one with the doctor. Perhaps she had done this before? He didn’t like it, but he sensed no ill will from the doctor, nor any sign of danger in the surrounding area. Nodding, he reluctantly reclaimed his seat.
Dr. Hayashi led Kagome down another short corridor and into a small examination room, complete with that special chair no woman enjoys sitting in. But the doctor was good at what she did; the actual exam was short and not all that uncomfortable. She said she would call the shrine when the results came in.
“Alright, Kagome, I just have a few more questions,” the doctor said as the miko resumed a normal sitting position. She then went on to question Kagome about her menstrual cycle, finishing with an open-ended inquiry.
“Was there anything you didn’t feel comfortable telling me in front of your husband?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, like with the miscarriage for example. Did anyone…cause the trauma?”
Kagome’s eyes narrowed. “Just what are you implying?” she snapped, bristling. “If you’re saying that Inuyasha hit me, you’re insane!”
“Please don’t be angry,” Dr. Hayashi pleaded. “I didn’t get that vibe from the two of you, but I have to ask.”
Kagome took a deep breath, trying to let her irritation dissipate. Calm down, girl. She was just doing her job.
“The only way Inuyasha has ever hurt me is emotionally,” she declared, still a little upset.
“I believe you, but…how did it happen?” When Kagome only shook her head, the doctor tried again. “Kagome, if the person who did this is still out there, you need—”
“Don’t worry; that beast has been dealt with.”
The doctor nodded, naturally and incorrectly assuming Kagome used the term ‘beast’ figuratively. She also supposed that she knew what her patient meant by ‘dealt with.’ Youkai society was remarkably self-policing, and though the Council tried to maintain order, many disputes were still settled the old fashioned way. It was not all that surprising to the doctor that Inuyasha and Kagome had taken the matter into their own hands. Fortunately for the secret the two hanyou were trying to keep, their actions made sense from a modern perspective, so the doctor had no inkling that the events had taken place five hundred years in the past.
The examination concluded, the two women headed back to the room where Inuyasha was waiting. He could sense Kagome’s lingering distress, and wished he had been able to hear the conversation. He didn’t know it, but Dr. Hayashi had designed the examination room to be virtually soundproof, to guard against eavesdropping by sensitive ears. Kagome assuaged his concerns with a small smile and a subtle shake of the head, letting him know she was fine. The trio went on to discuss symptoms Kagome had or was currently experiencing, as well as what she could expect in the coming weeks. They also talked about family history; to the extent of either hanyou’s knowledge, no relevant hereditary problems ran in their genetics. Inuyasha was thrown for a loop by the whole discussion, but tried not to show it. He was supposed to be from the modern era, after all. He would get Kagome to explain it to him later.
The meeting ended positively, with Dr. Hayashi telling them to call her with urgent questions, and write down the others in a notepad. They made their next four-week appointment with the secretary and left feeling much more knowledgeable than they had a few hours ago. They returned to the shrine and spent one more night in Kagome’s time before going through the well the following morning to continue their journey.
Kagome’s first instinct was to intervene, but she held herself back. She cringed at the smell of Inuyasha’s blood, but reminded herself that he had only suffered a cut on the arm—a flesh wound by his standards. Five serpentine youkai had attacked them a few minutes ago, and two of them had been vaporized by his initial Kaze no Kizu. The other three had managed to get close enough to force hand-to-hand combat. As she watched, Inuyasha ducked under the snapping jaws of one, spinning and lopping off its head as he passed. He leapt over the writhing corpse to avoid another of the youkai. Then he turned and used Sankon Tetsusou to slice the creature clean down the middle all the way to its midsection. The final youkai made a sudden dash for Kagome, perhaps seeing her as easier prey, and hoping that once it consumed her jewel shards it would be able to deal with the male hanyou.
Inuyasha’s first instinct was to chase after it, but instead he leapt to the side to give Kagome a clear line of fire. Rather than forcing her to dodge the youkai, he would get out of the way so she could defend herself. The ensuing arrow was immensely powerful, obliterating the youkai before passing over the spot where he had stood moments before. Kagome shouldered her bow, then turned and beamed at him. He grinned back, quite pleased with how their recent battles had been unfolding. Most of the time he didn’t need any help, but Kagome had been more than up to the task when something did slip past him. They both appreciated the unwavering faith of the other.
Inuyasha didn’t protest as Kagome bandaged his wound, even though they both knew it would be fully healed by this time tomorrow. After a quick lunch, they continued on their journey. Sometime later, Kagome stopped in her tracks and gasped. Inuyasha’s initial thought was that she had sensed a jewel shard, but that didn’t explain the way her hands hovered over her midsection.
“What’s wrong, Kagome,” he demanded, more than a little alarmed. But she continued to stare straight ahead, gently touching her stomach as her lips slowly curled into a joyous smile.
“I think I felt the baby move,” she finally whispered, again sensing fluttering movements within her. Before she knew it, Inuyasha’s hands had joined hers, and her grin turned wry.
“Remember, the book said you wouldn’t be able to feel it yet.”
“Oh…right,” he replied, trying not to show his disappointment.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. You just tell me when you think I’ll be able to feel it.”
“Deal.”
Inuyasha was engaged in his favorite pastime again, lying with his head near Kagome’s belly, listening to the sounds his child made. Its heartbeat was constant and comforting, but now there were other noises as well. The book said their baby was doing a lot of things now, such as practicing breathing motions, sucking its thumb, and hiccupping. Yet, his hearing remained the only sense he could detect the child with. Kagome could feel it getting more active inside her with each passing day, but he remained out of the loop. It was frustrating to say the least. He was almost tempted to knock on Kagome’s belly to see if anyone was in there, but instead he settled for running his palm slowly back and forth across the surface. Her talented fingers massaging his ear helped lighten his mood. This wasn’t so bad, even if he couldn’t feel his child. It would happen eventually.
The sensation was so sudden and fleeting that Inuyasha thought he had imagined it. But then it happened again, the faintest push against his fingers. He raised himself onto his elbow, bringing his face mere inches from Kagome’s skin, staring in wonder at his hand. He couldn’t see the movement, but it was there. Oh Kami, it was there.
“You feel that, don’t you?” she asked.
Inuyasha made no response, stunned speechless as he was. He was lost in a separate world, awestruck by the tiny life they had created. For a few blissful moments, it was him and his son or daughter, just the two of them.
Later, when he regained the capacity for rational thought, Inuyasha would reflect that feeling his child for the first time had been everything he could’ve hoped for.
“Do you wanna take a break, Kagome?”
“No, I don’t,” she snapped angrily. “Why must you keep asking me that?!”
Inuyasha sighed, knowing when it was best to shut his mouth. Kagome had been fairly moody over the past few weeks; this wasn’t the first time she had snapped at him for no reason. At first he had argued with her, but that only made things worse. Several times they had not been on speaking terms and once she had wound up in tears. That was the last time he had argued with her. Once he decided to try keeping his mouth shut, he quickly discovered that it was the much better option. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t talk to her, or ask her if she wanted a break when he thought she could really use one.
Of course, he couldn’t really blame her for her mood swings. She was showing now, watching her once girlish figure shift into what she had once called a ‘flabby melon shape.’ She hadn’t been in the most rational state of mind when she said that. In addition, she had sporadic back pain and swollen ankles. Her hanyou body prevented either from really hindering her, but they were still uncomfortable. Inuyasha tried to do little things to make her feel special, like rubbing her feet when they were sore, and washing her hair for her in the hot springs which he went out of his way to find at every conceivable opportunity. He also tried to broadcast with his intimacy and closeness that she was still beautiful, even when she wasn’t interested in sex. That wasn’t difficult because his attraction to her had only waned slightly, probably because her growing belly made him nervous about intercourse. Logic—and the baby book—said that normal sex was safe, but that didn’t assuage his subconscious fears.
Kagome was usually relatively happy if not overjoyed at her physical situation. But she had her moments, when those damn hormones spiked and turned her into a borderline lunatic. Then afterwards she would feel guilty and apologize, and probably want to cuddle for awhile. At least life was never dull.
Fortunately, he had a surprise in store for her today. They were returning to the village a few days early for their next prenatal appointment, intending to rest and visit with friends and family on both sides of the well in the meantime. He would need a little help to get the surprise together, but it could be done.
They were walking toward Miroku and Sango’s house when they caught a familiar scent leading off to the side and decided to follow it. They found none other than the monk sitting with his back against a tree, facing away from the village. His eyes were closed, but he opened them when they approached.
“Ah, Inuyasha, Kagome-sama, how are you?”
“Fine,” Kagome said curtly. Inuyasha recognized her tone; while still irritated with him, she was now angry at herself as well. Her mood was slowly shifting toward reconciliatory, but it wasn’t there yet. Miroku reacted to her demeanor, favoring Inuyasha with a very ‘what did you do this time’ look.
“Keh!” the hanyou grunted dismissively. “What’re you doing out here, bouzu?”
“Meditating,” the monk replied a little too innocently. It quickly became clear that neither hanyou was buying it. “Hiding from Sango,” he admitted.
“And why is that?” Kagome demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I can’t imagine.” Again, way too innocent.
Kagome rolled her eyes. “That faded hand print on your cheek says different. I guess Sango-chan didn’t feel like being groped today,” she observed dryly.
“Funny, she usually doesn’t mind.”
Kagome nearly smacked herself. Were all men just plain stupid? She opened her mouth to lecture the insensitive monk but Inuyasha spoke first.
“Don’t bother, Kagome,” he said, starting toward the village again. “If he hasn’t learned his lesson by now, he ain’t never gonna learn it.”
“Hey, I think I’ve done very well handling my wife’s first pregnancy. Ask her yourself.”
“Whatever. I’m gonna go check on something,” Inuyasha told his wife. “I’ll be right back.” Then he sprinted toward the village, satisfied that Kagome was not following. It wasn’t the smoothest exit, but he didn’t think Kagome would grill him about a little suspicious behavior right now.
“Yo, Sango!” he called as he approached her home.
“Inuyasha? What the hell do you want?”
She appeared in the entryway, leaning against the frame and glaring at him. Inuyasha grimaced. She’s not in a very good mood either. Thanks a lot, Miroku.
“I need a favor. Could you take Kagome for a bath?”
“Right now? What, does she stink or something?”
“No, I just…need her out of the way for a little while.”
Sango’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What are you plotting?”
“A surprise for her,” he admitted, knowing it was the only way to get the stubborn taijiya to cooperate.
“What kind of surprise?”
“If you don’t know, then you can’t accidentally tell her.”
Sango growled, and for a moment Inuyasha thought she would refuse out of spite.
“Fine. Bring her over here and I’ll ask.”
“Thanks,” he replied, turning to leave before something else occurred to him. “Take Kirara with you.”
“Hm.”
“And we never had this conversation.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“And—”
“GO, Inuyasha!”
The hanyou didn’t wait a second longer before beating a hasty retreat.
A few minutes later, he approached Miroku and Sango’s home again, this time with Kagome by his side. As he’d hoped, she had not questioned him about his mysterious excursion. In fact, she hadn’t said a word to him. For the first time in awhile, he considered that a good thing.
Sango emerged from the house a completely different person. She warmly greeted both of them, saying how nice it was to see them again. She acted well, not revealing any hint of something shifty going on.
“You know what I feel like, Kagome-chan? A nice hot bath. You wanna join me? It’ll be just like old times.”
“But Sango-chan, there aren’t any hot springs around here.”
“That’s okay. I’ll get Kirara to fly us to the nearest one.”
“Oi, wait a minute!” Inuyasha exclaimed. This wasn’t what he had in mind! “Why can’t you just bathe in the river?”
“Because, Inuyasha,” Sango explained, as an annoyed parent might to a naughty child. “The river is cold. We want a hot bath.”
Inuyasha looked to his wife for help, only to see that she was now glaring at him too. Ah, crap.
“Kagome, you can have a hot bath in your…time…” he tried, trailing off as the air around him suddenly chilled.
Sango smiled at him, an expression which sent a matching chill down his spine. “Oh, so did you find a way for me to go through the well so I can have a hot bath too?” she asked, her voice deceptively sweet.
“Uh…”
*Bonk!*
“Ow ,” he mumbled, rubbing the fresh lump on his head, courtesy of hiraikotsu.
“Thanks for nothing, Inuyasha! We’re going. Kirara?” she called, bending down to scoop up the fire-cat as she trotted over. “Can you please take Kagome and me to the closest hot spring?”
The feline’s response was to leap down and transform into her larger form. Inuyasha watched helplessly as the two women climbed atop the fire-cat, one of them with more difficulty than the other due to her larger belly. He couldn’t just let the two of them fly off by themselves, could he? No, he would follow them, staying out of sight just to keep an eye—
“And don’t even think about following us,” Sango ordered, shooting him her fiercest glare yet. Inuyasha gulped, torn between self-preservation and concern. The problem was that he completely understood why Kagome wanted to get away for awhile. Sometimes they just needed space, some time apart from each other. On their journey, this usually happened after an argument, when one of them would go off on their own to clear their heads. But Inuyasha always made sure to stay within hearing distance of her, for three main reasons. First, he worried about her. Second, she was alone. And third, she carried the Shikon no Tama. At least now she wasn’t alone; Sango and Kirara were capable fighters in their own right, as was Kagome. Perhaps he could take care of another of those reasons as well.
“At least leave the jewel shards here,” he demanded, unwilling to back down on this. If they were going to go off by themselves, they could at least make themselves less attractive targets for youkai.
Kagome thought about it for a moment, then lifted the string holding the bottle of shards over her head and tossed it to her husband. He caught it, watching as the two women soared off into the distance. He sighed, already worrying about them. But he felt it was something they needed to do, for their mental well-being. Being constantly stuck with just her husband for a companion was probably not good for Kagome, or their relationship. They needed some independence once in awhile to keep from being at each other’s throats over stupid little things, like what happened today. He certainly didn’t like the fact that Kagome was beyond his protection, but with the precautions taken, she was relatively safe. Following her and getting caught, Kami forbid, would only lead to another fight, probably worse than any they’d had in a long time. He did trust her to take care of herself, and he needed to show it. In short, he almost felt he could do more damage than any youkai could.
Inuyasha examined the bottle of jewel shards in his hand, noting that they seemed to be as bright pink as they always were with Kagome. He didn’t feel any effects from holding them, so he shrugged and slipped the string around his neck. They would be safer with him than they would be with Kaede, though if he did notice something wrong he would certainly take them to her.
“Inuyasha,” came the monk’s voice, tinged with some level of urgency. “Am I imagining things, or did I just see my wife and Kagome-sama fly away on Kirara?”
“Keh.”
*Bonk!*
“Ah! Son of a—you ass!” Inuyasha exclaimed. Miroku’s staff had somehow managed to hit him in the exact same spot as Sango’s hiraikotsu.
“I’m the ass? How could you let them leave by themselves? Where were they going? We have to go after them!”
“Calm down, bouzu,” Inuyasha ordered. He had never seen Miroku quite this frazzled, even in the middle of battle. “They went to take a bath in that hot spring we’ve been to a few times before,” he said, pointing in the general direction of the spring. “Leave ‘em alone.”
“Inuyasha, I’m surprised at you. I thought you’d be worried—”
“You think I’m not? Of course I’m worried, you idiot! That’s why I made Kagome give me the jewel shards. But you gotta let them be by themselves for awhile, or they might go crazy.”
Miroku opened his mouth to respond, then shut it quickly. His gaze turned contemplative, and Inuyasha could tell he was seriously considering his words. Finally, Miroku sighed in defeat.
“Sango and I have been grating on each other’s nerves lately. We spend so much time together…perhaps I am a bit overprotective. But it’s hard not to be, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. Kagome and I have been fighting too.”
“What about?”
“Stupid shit. Stuff we shouldn’t be arguing about.”
“I know what you mean. And it would be easy to blame it all on our wives’ pregnancies, but I believe the stress is getting to us as well. We could probably both stand to be a little less overprotective.”
“Keh.”
Miroku chuckled. “Glad to see we are in agreement, my friend. Well, I guess we can give the ladies some time alone.”
“Speaking of,” the hanyou hedged, grabbing a startled Miroku by the back of his robes. “You’re coming with me.”
“Why do I have a feeling this is going to involve a lot of work?”
Inuyasha smirked.
Kagome moaned softly in agreement. “Yeah, it’s so nice to get away from—” She cut herself off, gasping at what she had been about to say.
“Get away from Inuyasha?” Sango finished for her.
“Ugh, I’m a horrible person,” Kagome declared miserably.
Sango chuckled at her. “If you are, then so am I.”
“Sango-chan?”
“Do you think I haven’t wanted to get away from Miroku at times during these past few months?”
“…”
“Look, Kagome-chan, I’m guessing that most of the time you love being alone with Inuyasha. You love that it’s just the two of you on a whirlwind adventure. But sometimes he comes off as too overbearing, and you just want to tell him to take a hike for awhile. Am I right?”
“When did you get so wise?”
“I’m a few months ahead of you, remember? Everything you’re dealing with, I already went through.”
“Hm. I just feel so bad about snapping at Inuyasha. He really doesn’t deserve it.”
Sango sighed. “Neither does Miroku, at least most of the time. But I still tear him new ones on a regular basis. Pregnancy…puts stress on relationships. We just have to try to keep our heads. Don’t worry; the four of us will get through this. I have no fears whatsoever of either Miroku or Inuyasha backing out because their wives are a little cranky,” Sango finished, grinning in amusement.
“Yeah, our men certainly do try hard, don’t they?”
“That they do. But they’re men, so they have no idea how to act around pregnant women.”
“So you’re saying the spirit is willing but the mind is ignorant?”
“Or just plain dumb. Maybe we should figure out a way to magically make them pregnant with our second batch of kids.”
“The poor children!”
Kagome and Sango spent another half hour relaxing in the spring, laughing, making fun of their husbands, and generally having a good time. Each left feeling completely refreshed, ready to resume their normal lives.
The sun was halfway between its peak and the western horizon when they returned to the village. A very strange gathering was waiting for them: a couple dozen men from the village with woodworking tools and plenty of wood. Several were already cutting logs into flat boards. Kagome slid off Kirara as she landed, turning to face her husband, who was standing there looking very pleased with himself.
“Inuyasha, what are all these people doing here?”
“Getting ready to start building our house,” he replied with a huge grin.
“Our…house?”
“Yep. We just need you to tell us where to build it and what design you want.”
“Oh…” she breathed, moving to embrace him. She leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek, all smiles.
“Come on,” she said, “let’s go pick out a spot together.”
A/N – If the second half of the chapter seemed rushed, that wasn’t my intention. I just never had much content planned for this part of the story. And I don’t want to overwhelm you (or myself) with details, which is why we’re periodically skipping ahead.
I would like to thank the following websites which I used for my research (because I’m an ignorant male who didn’t know jack about pregnancy):
-pregnancyguideonline.com (symptoms & biology)
-babypartner.com (prenatal visits)
-webmd.com (prenatal visits)
-pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com (prenatal visit schedule)
Converting /tmp/phpM6e2ko to /dev/stdout
A New Kind of Adventure, Part 2
“Oh, crud. I forgot to call Ayumi last night!” Kagome exclaimed.
“Whoops,” Inuyasha replied; he had forgotten as well in all the excitement. It was a lazy Saturday morning at the Higurashi household, and the family had just finished eating breakfast. Kagome got up and strode over to the house’s only phone, then picked it up and dialed the number. She was expecting one of Ayumi’s parents but instead a familiar voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Ayumi?”
“Hey, Kagome, is that you?”
“Yep. How are you?”
“Good. How is life five hundred years in the past?”
“Never better.”
“That’s nice. So what’s up? I know you didn’t call me trying to get notes from school,” Ayumi joked.
“Haha, definitely not. I was actually wondering, are you still going out with Kenji?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Inuyasha and I need to meet with him. Can you give me his phone number?”
“Well, he’s here if you want to talk to him. We were planning to go to a movie later.” Ayumi paused, then spoke again in a much softer, more conspiratorial tone. “Kagome, what’s this about?”
Kagome grinned, recognizing the curious, gossipy teenager tone instantly. There was really no reason to keep any of her friends out of the loop.
“Tell you what, Ayumi. Why don’t the four of us meet at WacDonald’s before your movie? I’ll call Eri and Yuka and see if they can come too.”
“O-okay!” Ayumi stuttered, even more curious now that Kagome didn’t want to discuss the matter over the phone. “How does noon sound?”
“Noon it is. We’ll see you then, Ayumi.”
“Alright, Kagome. Later.”
“Bye.”
Kagome hung up and dialed her other two modern friends. Both readily agreed to attend the gathering once the miko insinuated that she had news. In fact, all four of them were already there waiting when she and Inuyasha made it to WacDonald’s at five of twelve. Kagome led a very interesting life; it was like listening to a fairy tale when she told them about it. They also hadn’t seen her in awhile.
“Hey, guys,” Kagome greeted. “Hi, Kenji-kun.”
“Nice to see you again, Kagome. You too, Inuyasha,” the inu-youkai replied, the add-on not quite as genuine as the first part.
“Keh, the feeling’s mutual,” Inuyasha said with a smirk. They might not like each other very much, but there was a common respect between them. They were definitely allies rather than enemies. At least Kenji didn’t flirt with his woman like some of his previous allies had done. He didn’t even mind the new ‘-kun’ honorific for that very reason.
“Come on, guys, let’s eat,” Kagome interjected, her mouth watering at the smell of fried food and grease. “I haven’t had a good cheeseburger in ages.”
Ten minutes later, Kagome leaned back in the booth and sighed contentedly, picking at mini-fries at the bottom of her container. Everyone else was still working on their burger, even Inuyasha, who appeared to be savoring every bite. Now, she hadn’t inhaled the thing, but neither had she spent much time chewing. I wonder, does ‘eating for two’ make you eat twice as fast?
“Wow, Kagome,” Yuka observed. “I guess you were hungry.”
“I guess so. Actually,” she began, seeing a perfect segue into the real reason why she was here. “My news is kind of related to my big appetite.” She waited until she had everyone’s complete attention, then continued as calmly as possible. “Inuyasha and I are having a baby.”
Her friends were momentarily stunned into silence, but not the same silence as Miroku, Sango, or Kagome’s family exhibited. Her friends knew nothing of the miscarriage; they were merely surprised that someone as young as Kagome would want to start a family. Getting over that quickly, they realized the uniqueness of Kagome’s situation, and expressed their genuine happiness for the couple. After a few moments of heartfelt congratulations, Kenji spoke up.
“I suppose the reason you called me out here is to ask if I could connect you with a youkai physician, correct?”
“How did you know?”
“I’m a smart man,” Kenji replied with a grin.
“A wise guy, more like it,” Inuyasha muttered.
“Will you help us?” Kagome asked.
“Of course! I know just the person: Hayashi Etsuko. She was my mother’s doctor when I was in the womb. I’ll call her today. You’ll like her; she’s really nice, and she’s also one of the finest doctors in Tokyo.”
“Thank you so much, Kenji-kun.”
“Don’t mention it. Even though you are living mostly in the past, I think it’s a very good idea to see a modern physician. Problems with youkai or hanyou pregnancies are rare, but they do happen. At least you’ll have peace of mind, even if you do decide to deliver in the past.”
“What about money? I don’t know if my mom’s health insurance will cover this.”
“Don’t worry about that; the Council will take care of it.”
“Really? I don’t want to be too much trouble.”
“Trouble? Kagome, three of my comrades are being paid to stand watch on the rooftops outside as we speak. The Council is fully committed to the safety of the Shikon no Tama and its bearer, and will spare no expense. I’m sure they will gladly pay for your prenatal care, especially since Inuyasha is rel—urk!” he suddenly choked, cutting himself off. His eyes darted back and forth rapidly between the two hanyou, the look of a man who feared he had said too much.
“Since Inuyasha is what?” the male hanyou demanded, but Kenji only shook his head in response.
“So, uh…yeah, the Council will pay Dr. Hayashi’s bill. In fact, I’ll go call her right now!” Then, faster than anyone could think to protest, Kenji slipped from the booth and sped out the door. Inuyasha and Kagome shared a suspicious look, at least the former considering following Kenji and beating the answer out of him.
“That was odd,” Eri observed.
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Ayumi asked, willing to try to persuade her boyfriend to spill the beans.
“No, we’ll let it go,” Kagome replied. “I’m sure Kenji-kun had a good reason for not wanting to tell us.”
“My ass,” Inuyasha snorted under his breath, but he would respect his wife’s desires. Perhaps it was something they were better off not knowing. Kenji returned a few minutes later appearing much more composed. He said he had spoken with Dr. Hayashi’s secretary, who would give the doctor the message when she finished seeing patients later that afternoon.
“So go home and wait by the phone,” he told them.
“I just can’t believe her office is open on a Saturday.”
“Well, she’s in high demand, especially among youkai. I think you’ll see why when you meet her.”
The gathering broke up once everyone was done eating, and the friends went their separate ways. Inuyasha and Kagome started back toward the shrine, but Kagome suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him off down a different street.
“Where are we going, Kagome?”
“Shopping.”
An hour later, Inuyasha had officially developed a hatred of shopping. In part because they were shopping for bras, but mostly because he had not been invited into the changing room to ‘help’ Kagome try them on. It was just standing there looking at the inside of the same store, waiting for her to come out and hoping it was for good. But she always returned to the racks, picked a few more selections, and went back inside. Still, he reminded himself that this was for Kagome’s comfort, so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t know it, but Kagome had sought her mother’s advice that morning about her discomfort, and was now following the older woman’s recommendation of buying a variety of different types and sizes of bras to make sure she found a few that were truly comfortable. Finally, she led Inuyasha to the checkout aisle and purchased six of them.
“Thanks for being so patient, Inuyasha,” she said sincerely.
“Keh.”
“Just one more quick stop I want to make.”
They went into a bookstore, and after the clerk pointed them in the right direction, Kagome began perusing the small selection of pregnancy-related books. She picked one of medium thickness, then flipped through it for a few minutes.
“What do you think, Inuyasha?” she asked, knowing this purchase was for him as well.
He shrugged. “Whichever one you want.”
Decided, Kagome took the book to the register. They arrived back at the shrine shortly before two o’clock, and her mother told them that Dr. Hayashi hadn’t called yet. They cuddled together on the couch to watch TV until she did.
The phone finally rang at about quarter after three, and Kagome leapt up to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m looking for Higurashi Kagome,” said a smooth, professional female voice. It was a pleasant sound, registering on the low side of the feminine voice range.
“This is she. Is this Dr. Hayashi?”
“Yes, it is. So I hear you’re a friend of Yamato Kenji?”
“We only met a couple months ago, but yes, I consider him a friend.”
“A couple months…he wouldn’t happen to be the baby’s father, would he?”
Kagome nearly giggled at the sound of her husband choking behind her. “No, no, he’s not the father.”
“Oh, good. His mother would kill him. We go way back, so you know I’d have to be the one to tell her. Are you married, Ms. Higurashi?”
“Yes. Please, call me Kagome.”
“Very well. Your husband is welcome to come to our meetings. I’m going to put my secretary on, and she’ll schedule your first appointment. I look forward to meeting you.”
“Likewise, and thank you.”
“Take care.”
The secretary came on the line, and the earliest they could make the appointment was two Saturdays from now at one o’clock. That was fine with Kagome; it would give her and Inuyasha time to go back to the feudal era and maybe collect a shard or two. The faster they completed the Shikon no Tama, the better. The baby certainly wasn’t going to wait for them to finish their mission.
* * *
**Week Ten**They waited in the small but stylish lobby, Kagome absently flipping through a magazine. Not much had changed in the past fourteen days. She had stopped going to the bathroom so much, which the book explained as her uterus shifting out and upward, alleviating pressure on her bladder. That was definitely a positive development. She had also noticed that she had been a bit moody lately. Some days she wanted to fill with conversation, while others she didn’t want to talk at all. A couple times she had even been on the verge of tears for no apparent reason. Stupid hormones. Unfortunately, the book said those little insanity-inducing chemicals would only grow more powerful as the pregnancy progressed. To his credit, Inuyasha usually just went with the flow, allowing her to dictate their interaction. His confidence and calmness grounded her, kept her hormones from influencing her too much.
“Higurashi?”
They looked up to spy an assistant standing in the doorway to the interior of the office. She smiled and held the door for them as they passed.
“Right this way, please.”
She led them down two short, perpendicular corridors and into a fairly small examination room, saying the doctor would be with them shortly. There was the standard bed along one wall, and three chairs along the other, in addition to a larger one with wheels which Kagome assumed was meant for the physician. The room felt cozy and welcoming for a doctor’s office. They felt a little nervous and out of place as they sat in the chairs, but only from the newness of this experience. Kagome imagined most pregnant women were somewhat anxious at their first prenatal appointment.
The door opened after about ten minutes, and in strode a tall, slender woman dressed in a dark skirt, a yellow blouse, and a white lab coat. Her face was rather angular, but her blue eyes were friendly and bright. Long dark hair cascaded down to her waist in the back, with thin forelocks hanging on either side of her face. She wore little makeup, probably just enough to make her appear more feminine. She was a striking woman, her height making her an imposing figure, but Kagome found her not the least bit intimidating. She returned the doctor’s easy smile, already liking the other woman.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Hayashi. You must be Kagome,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Pleased to meet you,” Kagome replied genuinely, shaking the proffered appendage.
“And you must be her husband,” the doctor observed, turning to Inuyasha with the same gesture. The hanyou hesitated for a moment, then clasped her hand and shook it firmly.
“Inuyasha.”
“Inuyasha? That’s a nice name, very old school. And I bet I can guess what kind of hanyou you are.”
“Inu.”
“That was my guess. And you, Kagome? I’m sorry; I can sense your youki, but I don’t have a very good sense of smell.”
“I’m a neko hanyou.”
“Ah, a dog and a cat. Interesting,” the doctor remarked, sitting in the desk chair and spinning to face them. “Please, sit down. Pull the chairs into a circle; I just want to talk for a little while.”
The doctor stared at Kagome for a few seconds, chewing on the end of her pen. She seemed to be surprised about something, and the miko could guess what it was. Finally, Inuyasha cleared his throat, jolting the doctor from her stupor.
“Forgive me. I was trying to decide whether I was sensing things or not. Are you…”
“Yes, I am a miko.”
“A hanyou miko,” Dr. Hayashi breathed, her tone one of awe. “Now that is interesting. I’m sure there’s a fascinating story behind that. Or were you born that way?”
“No, I was born human,” Kagome said, not seeing any reason to withhold the information. “I became a hanyou later because of the rebirth spell.”
“The rebirth spell? Ancient magic, that is. Interesting. Well, thank you for satisfying my curiosity. Now, I’m just going to ask you a few standard questions—”
“Um, excuse me,” Kagome interrupted, “but are you a youkai?”
Dr. Hayashi grinned in response, slipping a dull gold ring from her finger. A dramatic transformation rolled over her, dark hair shifting to deep cerulean to match her eyes, subtle facial markings appearing in a lighter shade of blue. If she was striking before, she was doubly so now. She radiated a powerful but benevolent aura, and a mysterious scent which neither hanyou could quite place.
“If you’re wondering about my heritage,” she stated, as if reading their thoughts, “my ancestors were youkai of many different races. I trust you have no problem with mixed bloods?”
“Oh, no, of course not.”
“Good. Most people don’t, but of course there are still those who insist upon marrying within their own race, to keep the ‘pure’ blood alive,” the doctor said with an edge of derision. Then, she slipped the ring back on her finger, and once again her appearance became that of a normal human.
“I would leave it off,” she told them regretfully, “but my secretary has a bad habit of entering without knocking. I almost envy you; it must be nice to be able to leave your home without concealment charms.”
“Eh, it ain’t so great,” Inuyasha replied. “The stupid hat is a pain.”
Kagome smiled at him; it was good to see Inuyasha warming up to a stranger so quickly. He was a pretty good judge of character as well, and both of them seemed to agree about Dr. Hayashi.
“You can take it off if you want,” the doctor said. “If my secretary barges in, it will be to talk to me, so she probably won’t even notice. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
They did, removing hat and headband. Truth be told, Inuyasha was tempted to take off his shoes as well, but figured that would be a little much. This was a doctor’s office, after all.
“Now, back to those standard questions,” Dr. Hayashi reiterated, picking up her clipboard and readying her pen. Then she put the implement down and folded her hands in front of her. “But before that, why don’t you tell me a little about yourselves.”
Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other, an uncertain glance passing between them. Some aspects of their lives needed to be kept secret, no matter how much they liked the doctor. Inuyasha nodded, trusting his wife to know where to draw the line.
“Well, my name is Higurashi Kagome, and I grew up in Tokyo at a shrine my family owns. I met Inuyasha on my fifteenth birthday, and we got married shortly after I turned seventeen. Soon after that I became pregnant. Right now, we’re living an active lifestyle in a very…rural part of the country.” Kagome turned to Inuyasha, passing the torch.
“I grew up in that rural part of the country,” he began. “I was orphaned as a child, and I don’t remember my family name. I lived mostly alone for many years. When I met Kagome, everything changed. Not overnight, but slowly. Now, I look back and wonder how I ever survived without her.” He closed his eyes at the feel of Kagome’s hand on his shoulder, moved as he always was whenever he thought of how much his life had changed since that fateful day over two years ago.
“Oh, how sweet,” the doctor mumbled sincerely. Then she sobered, sensing a serious issue. “Can you tell me anything else?” When the two hanyou only shifted uncomfortably, she continued. “You don’t have to. I take doctor-patient confidentiality very seriously, but it’s fine if there are certain things you don’t want to discuss with me. I just need you to tell me enough so that I can help you bring a healthy baby into this world. Okay?”
“Okay,” Kagome agreed, relieved that the doctor wasn’t going to pry. Too many people already knew about the well and their lives in the past, and she believed they could accomplish their objectives here without adding the doctor to that list.
“I’m sorry we can’t be more forthcoming.”
“Don’t be. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with patients who couldn’t reveal certain aspects of their lives. We youkai live in a state of perpetual concealment; it’s only natural to keep secrets. Now, what do you know about pregnancy, specifically hanyou pregnancy?”
“Not much, actually. Kenji said complications are less common than they are for normal humans.”
“That’s partly correct,” the doctor replied. “In humans, both mother and child are at risk. But in youkai or hanyou, the danger is faced mostly by the fetus. Take, for example, ectopic pregnancy. If left untreated in a human, this condition can cause the death of both mother and child. If you had an ectopic pregnancy, however, you would most likely survive no matter what. Your youkai blood makes you much more able to recover from damage that would likely kill a human woman. Your child, on the other hand, is nearly as vulnerable as a human fetus. Its hanyou blood will not offer much protection until well after it is born.”
Kagome grimaced, trying to conceal how close to home the doctor’s explanation struck. Dr. Hayashi paused, studying them for a moment before continuing.
“The same things which can cause defects in human babies can also cause them in youkai and hanyou babies. Do you smoke or drink, Kagome?”
“I don’t smoke, and I only drink very occasionally. Definitely not while I’m pregnant.”
“I believe that’s for the best. It’s impossible to tell how much even one drink can contribute to fetal alcohol syndrome, so I advise my patients to refrain from drinking altogether. Are you currently taking any medication?”
“No.”
“Are you allergic to anything, including medication.”
“Not that I know of.”
“Okay, do you have any chronic health conditions?”
Kagome nearly laughed at that. It’s a good thing she doesn’t have a list of all the illnesses Jii-chan made up for me.
“No.”
“Good. It seems like you’re a fairly healthy person. Do you know when the date of your last period was?”
“Um, sorry, but I didn’t keep track. I became pregnant about two and a half months ago.”
“That’s good enough for a ballpark delivery date. We can refine that as you get farther along. Is this your first pregnancy?”
Kagome cringed, obviously surprising the doctor, who chose to remain silent and wait for an answer. The miko sighed, knowing this was one thing they could not keep secret.
“She had a miscarriage,” Inuyasha interjected solemnly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the doctor replied, her condolences genuine. “Forgive me, but when did this happen?”
“About half a year ago.”
“How far along was the pregnancy?”
“A couple weeks.”
“And do you know what caused the miscarriage?”
“Blunt force trauma,” Kagome answered, grateful that Inuyasha had taken over for a few seconds.
“Blunt for—to your abdomen, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“I see. I apologize for asking these questions, but miscarriages can cause infertility problems in some women. Did you have any trouble conceiving this time?”
“No.”
“Good. It seems your hanyou body healed itself completely. I’ll know more after the examination.”
“Examination?”
“Standard procedure, I assure you. I need to take a pap smear and perform several other tests to check for abnormalities and make sure everything is going smoothly.”
“Oh. That sounds reasonable to me.”
“Shall we?” Dr. Hayashi said, standing and motioning toward the door. When Inuyasha and Kagome both stood, the doctor addressed the male hanyou. “I’m going to ask you to stay here for this part, Inuyasha.”
He opened his mouth as if to protest, but a pleading look from Kagome stilled his tongue. She apparently wanted to do this ‘examination’ one-on-one with the doctor. Perhaps she had done this before? He didn’t like it, but he sensed no ill will from the doctor, nor any sign of danger in the surrounding area. Nodding, he reluctantly reclaimed his seat.
Dr. Hayashi led Kagome down another short corridor and into a small examination room, complete with that special chair no woman enjoys sitting in. But the doctor was good at what she did; the actual exam was short and not all that uncomfortable. She said she would call the shrine when the results came in.
“Alright, Kagome, I just have a few more questions,” the doctor said as the miko resumed a normal sitting position. She then went on to question Kagome about her menstrual cycle, finishing with an open-ended inquiry.
“Was there anything you didn’t feel comfortable telling me in front of your husband?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, like with the miscarriage for example. Did anyone…cause the trauma?”
Kagome’s eyes narrowed. “Just what are you implying?” she snapped, bristling. “If you’re saying that Inuyasha hit me, you’re insane!”
“Please don’t be angry,” Dr. Hayashi pleaded. “I didn’t get that vibe from the two of you, but I have to ask.”
Kagome took a deep breath, trying to let her irritation dissipate. Calm down, girl. She was just doing her job.
“The only way Inuyasha has ever hurt me is emotionally,” she declared, still a little upset.
“I believe you, but…how did it happen?” When Kagome only shook her head, the doctor tried again. “Kagome, if the person who did this is still out there, you need—”
“Don’t worry; that beast has been dealt with.”
The doctor nodded, naturally and incorrectly assuming Kagome used the term ‘beast’ figuratively. She also supposed that she knew what her patient meant by ‘dealt with.’ Youkai society was remarkably self-policing, and though the Council tried to maintain order, many disputes were still settled the old fashioned way. It was not all that surprising to the doctor that Inuyasha and Kagome had taken the matter into their own hands. Fortunately for the secret the two hanyou were trying to keep, their actions made sense from a modern perspective, so the doctor had no inkling that the events had taken place five hundred years in the past.
The examination concluded, the two women headed back to the room where Inuyasha was waiting. He could sense Kagome’s lingering distress, and wished he had been able to hear the conversation. He didn’t know it, but Dr. Hayashi had designed the examination room to be virtually soundproof, to guard against eavesdropping by sensitive ears. Kagome assuaged his concerns with a small smile and a subtle shake of the head, letting him know she was fine. The trio went on to discuss symptoms Kagome had or was currently experiencing, as well as what she could expect in the coming weeks. They also talked about family history; to the extent of either hanyou’s knowledge, no relevant hereditary problems ran in their genetics. Inuyasha was thrown for a loop by the whole discussion, but tried not to show it. He was supposed to be from the modern era, after all. He would get Kagome to explain it to him later.
The meeting ended positively, with Dr. Hayashi telling them to call her with urgent questions, and write down the others in a notepad. They made their next four-week appointment with the secretary and left feeling much more knowledgeable than they had a few hours ago. They returned to the shrine and spent one more night in Kagome’s time before going through the well the following morning to continue their journey.
* * *
**Week Fifteen**Kagome’s first instinct was to intervene, but she held herself back. She cringed at the smell of Inuyasha’s blood, but reminded herself that he had only suffered a cut on the arm—a flesh wound by his standards. Five serpentine youkai had attacked them a few minutes ago, and two of them had been vaporized by his initial Kaze no Kizu. The other three had managed to get close enough to force hand-to-hand combat. As she watched, Inuyasha ducked under the snapping jaws of one, spinning and lopping off its head as he passed. He leapt over the writhing corpse to avoid another of the youkai. Then he turned and used Sankon Tetsusou to slice the creature clean down the middle all the way to its midsection. The final youkai made a sudden dash for Kagome, perhaps seeing her as easier prey, and hoping that once it consumed her jewel shards it would be able to deal with the male hanyou.
Inuyasha’s first instinct was to chase after it, but instead he leapt to the side to give Kagome a clear line of fire. Rather than forcing her to dodge the youkai, he would get out of the way so she could defend herself. The ensuing arrow was immensely powerful, obliterating the youkai before passing over the spot where he had stood moments before. Kagome shouldered her bow, then turned and beamed at him. He grinned back, quite pleased with how their recent battles had been unfolding. Most of the time he didn’t need any help, but Kagome had been more than up to the task when something did slip past him. They both appreciated the unwavering faith of the other.
Inuyasha didn’t protest as Kagome bandaged his wound, even though they both knew it would be fully healed by this time tomorrow. After a quick lunch, they continued on their journey. Sometime later, Kagome stopped in her tracks and gasped. Inuyasha’s initial thought was that she had sensed a jewel shard, but that didn’t explain the way her hands hovered over her midsection.
“What’s wrong, Kagome,” he demanded, more than a little alarmed. But she continued to stare straight ahead, gently touching her stomach as her lips slowly curled into a joyous smile.
“I think I felt the baby move,” she finally whispered, again sensing fluttering movements within her. Before she knew it, Inuyasha’s hands had joined hers, and her grin turned wry.
“Remember, the book said you wouldn’t be able to feel it yet.”
“Oh…right,” he replied, trying not to show his disappointment.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. You just tell me when you think I’ll be able to feel it.”
“Deal.”
* * *
**Week Eighteen**Inuyasha was engaged in his favorite pastime again, lying with his head near Kagome’s belly, listening to the sounds his child made. Its heartbeat was constant and comforting, but now there were other noises as well. The book said their baby was doing a lot of things now, such as practicing breathing motions, sucking its thumb, and hiccupping. Yet, his hearing remained the only sense he could detect the child with. Kagome could feel it getting more active inside her with each passing day, but he remained out of the loop. It was frustrating to say the least. He was almost tempted to knock on Kagome’s belly to see if anyone was in there, but instead he settled for running his palm slowly back and forth across the surface. Her talented fingers massaging his ear helped lighten his mood. This wasn’t so bad, even if he couldn’t feel his child. It would happen eventually.
The sensation was so sudden and fleeting that Inuyasha thought he had imagined it. But then it happened again, the faintest push against his fingers. He raised himself onto his elbow, bringing his face mere inches from Kagome’s skin, staring in wonder at his hand. He couldn’t see the movement, but it was there. Oh Kami, it was there.
“You feel that, don’t you?” she asked.
Inuyasha made no response, stunned speechless as he was. He was lost in a separate world, awestruck by the tiny life they had created. For a few blissful moments, it was him and his son or daughter, just the two of them.
Later, when he regained the capacity for rational thought, Inuyasha would reflect that feeling his child for the first time had been everything he could’ve hoped for.
* * *
**Week Twenty-One**“Do you wanna take a break, Kagome?”
“No, I don’t,” she snapped angrily. “Why must you keep asking me that?!”
Inuyasha sighed, knowing when it was best to shut his mouth. Kagome had been fairly moody over the past few weeks; this wasn’t the first time she had snapped at him for no reason. At first he had argued with her, but that only made things worse. Several times they had not been on speaking terms and once she had wound up in tears. That was the last time he had argued with her. Once he decided to try keeping his mouth shut, he quickly discovered that it was the much better option. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t talk to her, or ask her if she wanted a break when he thought she could really use one.
Of course, he couldn’t really blame her for her mood swings. She was showing now, watching her once girlish figure shift into what she had once called a ‘flabby melon shape.’ She hadn’t been in the most rational state of mind when she said that. In addition, she had sporadic back pain and swollen ankles. Her hanyou body prevented either from really hindering her, but they were still uncomfortable. Inuyasha tried to do little things to make her feel special, like rubbing her feet when they were sore, and washing her hair for her in the hot springs which he went out of his way to find at every conceivable opportunity. He also tried to broadcast with his intimacy and closeness that she was still beautiful, even when she wasn’t interested in sex. That wasn’t difficult because his attraction to her had only waned slightly, probably because her growing belly made him nervous about intercourse. Logic—and the baby book—said that normal sex was safe, but that didn’t assuage his subconscious fears.
Kagome was usually relatively happy if not overjoyed at her physical situation. But she had her moments, when those damn hormones spiked and turned her into a borderline lunatic. Then afterwards she would feel guilty and apologize, and probably want to cuddle for awhile. At least life was never dull.
Fortunately, he had a surprise in store for her today. They were returning to the village a few days early for their next prenatal appointment, intending to rest and visit with friends and family on both sides of the well in the meantime. He would need a little help to get the surprise together, but it could be done.
They were walking toward Miroku and Sango’s house when they caught a familiar scent leading off to the side and decided to follow it. They found none other than the monk sitting with his back against a tree, facing away from the village. His eyes were closed, but he opened them when they approached.
“Ah, Inuyasha, Kagome-sama, how are you?”
“Fine,” Kagome said curtly. Inuyasha recognized her tone; while still irritated with him, she was now angry at herself as well. Her mood was slowly shifting toward reconciliatory, but it wasn’t there yet. Miroku reacted to her demeanor, favoring Inuyasha with a very ‘what did you do this time’ look.
“Keh!” the hanyou grunted dismissively. “What’re you doing out here, bouzu?”
“Meditating,” the monk replied a little too innocently. It quickly became clear that neither hanyou was buying it. “Hiding from Sango,” he admitted.
“And why is that?” Kagome demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I can’t imagine.” Again, way too innocent.
Kagome rolled her eyes. “That faded hand print on your cheek says different. I guess Sango-chan didn’t feel like being groped today,” she observed dryly.
“Funny, she usually doesn’t mind.”
Kagome nearly smacked herself. Were all men just plain stupid? She opened her mouth to lecture the insensitive monk but Inuyasha spoke first.
“Don’t bother, Kagome,” he said, starting toward the village again. “If he hasn’t learned his lesson by now, he ain’t never gonna learn it.”
“Hey, I think I’ve done very well handling my wife’s first pregnancy. Ask her yourself.”
“Whatever. I’m gonna go check on something,” Inuyasha told his wife. “I’ll be right back.” Then he sprinted toward the village, satisfied that Kagome was not following. It wasn’t the smoothest exit, but he didn’t think Kagome would grill him about a little suspicious behavior right now.
“Yo, Sango!” he called as he approached her home.
“Inuyasha? What the hell do you want?”
She appeared in the entryway, leaning against the frame and glaring at him. Inuyasha grimaced. She’s not in a very good mood either. Thanks a lot, Miroku.
“I need a favor. Could you take Kagome for a bath?”
“Right now? What, does she stink or something?”
“No, I just…need her out of the way for a little while.”
Sango’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What are you plotting?”
“A surprise for her,” he admitted, knowing it was the only way to get the stubborn taijiya to cooperate.
“What kind of surprise?”
“If you don’t know, then you can’t accidentally tell her.”
Sango growled, and for a moment Inuyasha thought she would refuse out of spite.
“Fine. Bring her over here and I’ll ask.”
“Thanks,” he replied, turning to leave before something else occurred to him. “Take Kirara with you.”
“Hm.”
“And we never had this conversation.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“And—”
“GO, Inuyasha!”
The hanyou didn’t wait a second longer before beating a hasty retreat.
A few minutes later, he approached Miroku and Sango’s home again, this time with Kagome by his side. As he’d hoped, she had not questioned him about his mysterious excursion. In fact, she hadn’t said a word to him. For the first time in awhile, he considered that a good thing.
Sango emerged from the house a completely different person. She warmly greeted both of them, saying how nice it was to see them again. She acted well, not revealing any hint of something shifty going on.
“You know what I feel like, Kagome-chan? A nice hot bath. You wanna join me? It’ll be just like old times.”
“But Sango-chan, there aren’t any hot springs around here.”
“That’s okay. I’ll get Kirara to fly us to the nearest one.”
“Oi, wait a minute!” Inuyasha exclaimed. This wasn’t what he had in mind! “Why can’t you just bathe in the river?”
“Because, Inuyasha,” Sango explained, as an annoyed parent might to a naughty child. “The river is cold. We want a hot bath.”
Inuyasha looked to his wife for help, only to see that she was now glaring at him too. Ah, crap.
“Kagome, you can have a hot bath in your…time…” he tried, trailing off as the air around him suddenly chilled.
Sango smiled at him, an expression which sent a matching chill down his spine. “Oh, so did you find a way for me to go through the well so I can have a hot bath too?” she asked, her voice deceptively sweet.
“Uh…”
*Bonk!*
“Ow ,” he mumbled, rubbing the fresh lump on his head, courtesy of hiraikotsu.
“Thanks for nothing, Inuyasha! We’re going. Kirara?” she called, bending down to scoop up the fire-cat as she trotted over. “Can you please take Kagome and me to the closest hot spring?”
The feline’s response was to leap down and transform into her larger form. Inuyasha watched helplessly as the two women climbed atop the fire-cat, one of them with more difficulty than the other due to her larger belly. He couldn’t just let the two of them fly off by themselves, could he? No, he would follow them, staying out of sight just to keep an eye—
“And don’t even think about following us,” Sango ordered, shooting him her fiercest glare yet. Inuyasha gulped, torn between self-preservation and concern. The problem was that he completely understood why Kagome wanted to get away for awhile. Sometimes they just needed space, some time apart from each other. On their journey, this usually happened after an argument, when one of them would go off on their own to clear their heads. But Inuyasha always made sure to stay within hearing distance of her, for three main reasons. First, he worried about her. Second, she was alone. And third, she carried the Shikon no Tama. At least now she wasn’t alone; Sango and Kirara were capable fighters in their own right, as was Kagome. Perhaps he could take care of another of those reasons as well.
“At least leave the jewel shards here,” he demanded, unwilling to back down on this. If they were going to go off by themselves, they could at least make themselves less attractive targets for youkai.
Kagome thought about it for a moment, then lifted the string holding the bottle of shards over her head and tossed it to her husband. He caught it, watching as the two women soared off into the distance. He sighed, already worrying about them. But he felt it was something they needed to do, for their mental well-being. Being constantly stuck with just her husband for a companion was probably not good for Kagome, or their relationship. They needed some independence once in awhile to keep from being at each other’s throats over stupid little things, like what happened today. He certainly didn’t like the fact that Kagome was beyond his protection, but with the precautions taken, she was relatively safe. Following her and getting caught, Kami forbid, would only lead to another fight, probably worse than any they’d had in a long time. He did trust her to take care of herself, and he needed to show it. In short, he almost felt he could do more damage than any youkai could.
Inuyasha examined the bottle of jewel shards in his hand, noting that they seemed to be as bright pink as they always were with Kagome. He didn’t feel any effects from holding them, so he shrugged and slipped the string around his neck. They would be safer with him than they would be with Kaede, though if he did notice something wrong he would certainly take them to her.
“Inuyasha,” came the monk’s voice, tinged with some level of urgency. “Am I imagining things, or did I just see my wife and Kagome-sama fly away on Kirara?”
“Keh.”
*Bonk!*
“Ah! Son of a—you ass!” Inuyasha exclaimed. Miroku’s staff had somehow managed to hit him in the exact same spot as Sango’s hiraikotsu.
“I’m the ass? How could you let them leave by themselves? Where were they going? We have to go after them!”
“Calm down, bouzu,” Inuyasha ordered. He had never seen Miroku quite this frazzled, even in the middle of battle. “They went to take a bath in that hot spring we’ve been to a few times before,” he said, pointing in the general direction of the spring. “Leave ‘em alone.”
“Inuyasha, I’m surprised at you. I thought you’d be worried—”
“You think I’m not? Of course I’m worried, you idiot! That’s why I made Kagome give me the jewel shards. But you gotta let them be by themselves for awhile, or they might go crazy.”
Miroku opened his mouth to respond, then shut it quickly. His gaze turned contemplative, and Inuyasha could tell he was seriously considering his words. Finally, Miroku sighed in defeat.
“Sango and I have been grating on each other’s nerves lately. We spend so much time together…perhaps I am a bit overprotective. But it’s hard not to be, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. Kagome and I have been fighting too.”
“What about?”
“Stupid shit. Stuff we shouldn’t be arguing about.”
“I know what you mean. And it would be easy to blame it all on our wives’ pregnancies, but I believe the stress is getting to us as well. We could probably both stand to be a little less overprotective.”
“Keh.”
Miroku chuckled. “Glad to see we are in agreement, my friend. Well, I guess we can give the ladies some time alone.”
“Speaking of,” the hanyou hedged, grabbing a startled Miroku by the back of his robes. “You’re coming with me.”
“Why do I have a feeling this is going to involve a lot of work?”
Inuyasha smirked.
* * *
“Oh, Kami,” Sango groaned as she sank deeper into the steaming hot water. “This is nice.” Kagome moaned softly in agreement. “Yeah, it’s so nice to get away from—” She cut herself off, gasping at what she had been about to say.
“Get away from Inuyasha?” Sango finished for her.
“Ugh, I’m a horrible person,” Kagome declared miserably.
Sango chuckled at her. “If you are, then so am I.”
“Sango-chan?”
“Do you think I haven’t wanted to get away from Miroku at times during these past few months?”
“…”
“Look, Kagome-chan, I’m guessing that most of the time you love being alone with Inuyasha. You love that it’s just the two of you on a whirlwind adventure. But sometimes he comes off as too overbearing, and you just want to tell him to take a hike for awhile. Am I right?”
“When did you get so wise?”
“I’m a few months ahead of you, remember? Everything you’re dealing with, I already went through.”
“Hm. I just feel so bad about snapping at Inuyasha. He really doesn’t deserve it.”
Sango sighed. “Neither does Miroku, at least most of the time. But I still tear him new ones on a regular basis. Pregnancy…puts stress on relationships. We just have to try to keep our heads. Don’t worry; the four of us will get through this. I have no fears whatsoever of either Miroku or Inuyasha backing out because their wives are a little cranky,” Sango finished, grinning in amusement.
“Yeah, our men certainly do try hard, don’t they?”
“That they do. But they’re men, so they have no idea how to act around pregnant women.”
“So you’re saying the spirit is willing but the mind is ignorant?”
“Or just plain dumb. Maybe we should figure out a way to magically make them pregnant with our second batch of kids.”
“The poor children!”
Kagome and Sango spent another half hour relaxing in the spring, laughing, making fun of their husbands, and generally having a good time. Each left feeling completely refreshed, ready to resume their normal lives.
The sun was halfway between its peak and the western horizon when they returned to the village. A very strange gathering was waiting for them: a couple dozen men from the village with woodworking tools and plenty of wood. Several were already cutting logs into flat boards. Kagome slid off Kirara as she landed, turning to face her husband, who was standing there looking very pleased with himself.
“Inuyasha, what are all these people doing here?”
“Getting ready to start building our house,” he replied with a huge grin.
“Our…house?”
“Yep. We just need you to tell us where to build it and what design you want.”
“Oh…” she breathed, moving to embrace him. She leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek, all smiles.
“Come on,” she said, “let’s go pick out a spot together.”
A/N – If the second half of the chapter seemed rushed, that wasn’t my intention. I just never had much content planned for this part of the story. And I don’t want to overwhelm you (or myself) with details, which is why we’re periodically skipping ahead.
I would like to thank the following websites which I used for my research (because I’m an ignorant male who didn’t know jack about pregnancy):
-pregnancyguideonline.com (symptoms & biology)
-babypartner.com (prenatal visits)
-webmd.com (prenatal visits)
-pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com (prenatal visit schedule)
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