InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Surprises ( Chapter 30 )

Disclaimer: The only place where I own Inu & Co. is in my twisted dreams. Damn.

30. Surprises  

Another arbitration case occurred only three days after the visitors returned to their own time. This one was significantly different from the last in that both of the parties to the disagreement were human. Since one of them was the nephew of the village headman, that worthy individual had sent the matter to the hanyou for judgment in order to avoid the slightest appearance of wrongdoing.

This particular dispute concerned the ownership of a basket of dried fish. The headman’s nephew said that he had caught and preserved the fish. The other man, a small farmer who lived on the edge of the village, claimed that the fish had been stolen from his storage room.

Inuyasha asked that the property at the center of the disagreement be brought into the room. This time he wouldn’t need Kanna’s help to learn the truth. When the basket was brought forward, he knew within seconds which of the two men before him was the guilty party.

He fixed the two men before him with a cold stare. “Did you really think you could fool me this way?” He pointed a clawed finger at a spot directly between the eyes of the leader’s nephew. “I can smell exactly what happened. It’s true that your scent is all over the basket, but it’s a newer scent, on top of this other guy’s--and it’s not on the fish inside at all,” Inuyasha snarled. “Not only will you return what you took, but you’re going to work every morning for the next week for the guy you robbed.”

This time the comments overheard from the spectators leaving the room were not universally favorable. Granted that most of the complaints seemed to be coming from a small group of the loser’s closest friends, it was a little disturbing all the same--they had been treated so well by the villagers before this. Kagome hoped that this wouldn’t drive a wedge between their little community and the human village.

“What’s wrong?” The hanyou at her side had noticed the vertical crease that had appeared between her eyebrows as she watched the spectators leave the house.

She looked up at him with a guilty smile. “Sorry. I just hope those guys don’t cause us any trouble--they weren’t very happy with what you had to say.”

Inuyasha looked at her blankly. “What else could I have said? I just told them what happened.”

She sighed, taking him by the arm to lead him back to their room so that she could change into her regular clothes. “I know. I just think that those friends of his expected that you would let him off the hook because of who his uncle is.”

The hanyou was shocked. Even though much of what he had said to her in their first few months together had been either half-truths or outright lies, his inherent honesty meant that he was really never very good at it--that’s why she could always tell. “But that’s the way it happened!”

She reached up and ran her fingers through the long silver hair that hung down over his shoulders. “I know,” she murmured, “But sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth--they want the answer that benefits them the most.” She brightened suddenly. “I know! Let’s go and soak in the pool for a while--I feel absolutely filthy after that.”

As they sat in the water the hanyou found himself unable to relax as he usually did. Something was just the slightest bit…off. As the hot water intensified the scent that had come to represent the reason he kept breathing, he realized that it had become subtly different, even more complex and binding than it had been before. He removed his arm from around her shoulders and moved away slightly, staring down into the water. “You shouldn’t have come back.” His voice was low, barely audible.

Her expression was both surprised and hurt. “What are you talking about?”

“That day--when you found me in the forest. You should have stayed in your world.” He sat in the water, shoulders slumped, looking as utterly defeated as she had ever seen him.

Kagome shook her head. “I couldn’t. Even before Shippou came for me I knew you were in trouble. I saw it in my dreams: you were alone, and hurting. It felt like you were dying.”

He nodded slowly. “At times I almost wished I would. You still should have gone back when I told you to.”

She was growing concerned. What could possibly be causing him to bring all this out now? “Well, I didn’t, so let’s just get past it. Now,” she continued, “Tell me what this is all about.”

The hanyou looked at her in surprise. “Can’t you feel it? I noticed it a little while ago.” He shook his head. “I warned you that this would happen if you stayed with me.”

Suddenly she understood. “You mean, I’m--? But I’ve only been back about a week. How could you tell?”

“I can smell it.” He looked away from her. “You should go and see Kaede right away. Maybe she has some herbs that can help.”

She stared at him in confusion. Even now, she could feel a tingling warmth spreading through her at the thought of their son--or maybe daughter. Then the actual meaning of his words hit her. She didn’t think--she simply reacted. “NO!” She leaped from the pool, grabbing her robe as she fled from him.

Although it took a couple of seconds for her unexpected reaction to register, he was quick to respond when it did. He propelled himself from the water and, unwilling to waste the fraction of a second necessary to grab his own robe, raced after her.

She didn’t have time to get far, and couldn’t move very quickly when she couldn’t catch her breath from crying. In only a few moments he had found her. With a single great leap he was in front of her, too close for her to stop or turn away.

She ran straight into him, and his arms went around to her to absorb the impact in case the force threw them to the ground. He looked down at the girl sobbing uncontrollably in his arms and realized with a profound shock that she must actually want this as badly as he himself did. With claws capable of felling a respectable-sized tree, he raised her chin so that he could look into her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t understand. It didn’t occur that you might actually want this.”

Her near-hysteria chopped off abruptly. “You mean you do?”

He sighed, leading her back to the pool where he proceeded to rub the tension from her back and shoulder muscles. “Don’t you remember Jinenji? I was just worried that any pups of ours would have to go through that.”

She squirmed a little--the very tips of his claws tickled. “It’s not really the same, you know. I don’t know what happened to Jinenji’s father, but our…pups,” she said, smiling at his choice of a word, “Will have two parents to keep them safe from that kind of thing. Besides, the people here have come to trust you.”

He lowered his head, brushing his lips across the back of her neck and enjoying the involuntary shiver he caused. “Yeah. Until I pissed off half the village this afternoon.”

She turned in his grasp, leaning against him. “Don’t worry so much. First of all, a handful of young hotheads isn’t exactly half the village. Second, you can keep your family--no matter what it’s size--safe. You’ve been my hero ever since we began: you’re strong, and loyal, and brave. I don’t have to worry about anything when you’re here.”

He enfolded her in his arms, and she was glad to notice that he responded to her nearness as he always had. She had been a little afraid that his passion would cool now, but the feel of his lips moving against her ear reassured her. “I can’t wait to meet our son,” he whispered.

“He could be a daughter, you know,” she said, laughing. “In any case, you’ll have to. If I’m right he--or she--won’t show up until spring.” She flashed a smile that almost made him forget how to breathe. “Let’s go inside.”

It was only when they returned to their bedchamber that he became aware of a nagging worry. He held her at arms’ length by both shoulders, watching her face carefully. “Are you sure this is all right? What if I hurt you--or the pup?”

She smiled at the depth of his concern--he really was the ultimate protector. “It’s fine. People can continue to be…intimate up until near the very end, as long as they’re careful.”

They embraced, and he murmured, “That’s a relief. I don’t know how I could have survived it otherwise,” into her hair.

Although he had never been rough with her, this was a slightly different experience for her. With a level of restraint she hadn’t thought him capable of, he proceeded slowly, taking her to heights of passion she had never before suspected existed with his gentle touch and soft lips. Only when she was sure that she was going to die of frustration there in his arms did he allow himself to end it.

The hanyou looked down at his mate’s sleeping face, suddenly stricken by how tired she had seemed. It was, he supposed, to be expected: it had been an undeniably stressful day for the human girl. As he indulged in one of his greatest pleasures--watching her sleep secure in the knowledge that no harm would come to her while he lived--he felt powerful and invincible, a sensation he knew was caused by her absolute belief in him.

Although it was nearly full dark, his sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of a disturbance around the front of the house. A low, shivery howl followed by a scream of purely feline rage made it clear that he’d better get out there in a hurry. Grabbing his robe, he raced for the source of the noise.

As he had expected, he’d leaped into the middle of a standoff. “Hold it!” Turning to the human who was still watching the huge wolf warily, he continued, “It’s okay, Sango--he’s one of Kouga’s. They sent him here as a messenger.”

He turned back to the animal. He gestured for it to move closer to the others. “Remember these four, Wolf. They belong here--there’s no need to challenge them again.”

The wolf sniffed each of the humans and the youkai, learning their individual scents. Satisfied that the intruders were in fact acceptable to the leader of this strange pack, the animal curled up on the wide porch and seemed to go to sleep.

The hanyou gestured at the wagon full of tools and equipment. “Don’t worry about that stuff right now--I figured we’ll need to build a shop for it all, but none of us knew exactly what you’d need. We can start working on the plans in the morning. In the meantime,” he said, “I need to talk to you guys.” He looked back over his shoulder at the animal curled up on the porch. “Wolf, go back inside and check on Kagome--let me know right away if she wakes up.”

Sango was immediately concerned for her friend. “Is Kagome-chan sick?”

The hanyou shook his head. “Not at all. It’s just that I’m planning something, and I don’t want her to know about it yet.” The travelers followed him into the kitchen where they all sat down at the large table.

The monk, having noticed the return of Inuyasha’s habitual wariness, was the first to speak. “All right, Inuyasha. I’ve seen that look before--what did you do, and how can we fix it?”

The irritated glare quickly modified to a wry smile. “What I did,” the hanyou said, “Was tell the truth.” He explained the dispute he had settled between the two men in the village and his concerns about possible retribution directed at their household.

Neither Sango nor Miroku seemed particularly worried--there were more than enough defenders in the household to keep Kagome safe from a gang of human ruffians. Kohaku said nothing but made up his mind to keep a discreet eye on things from the background.

Sango, by far the most perceptive, shook her head. “That’s not why you wanted to talk to us.”

“You’re right.” He glanced back over his shoulder guiltily. “Here’s the thing,” the hanyou said, fixing Miroku with a glare that promised slow dismemberment to the first person who dared to laugh. “Kagome told me the other day that her mother was depressed because she began a new life without any of the rituals her people use to handle that kind of thing. Think about it--I dragged her away from her world without giving her the chance to finish school or any real choices at all. I talked to her mother when she was here last week and she agreed to help me with this.” At the blank looks he received, he continued, “I’m going to marry Kagome.”

Miroku’s brow furrowed. “I’d have sworn that you two were already together.”

The hanyou nodded. “We are mated, by youkai custom--all that takes is a mutual agreement and a certain degree of closeness. What I want,” he said, “Is to marry her by the customs of her world, and that’s a lot more complicated.”

Miroku noticed what the other had very carefully not said. “And Kagome-sama objects?”

Inuyasha looked away, ears twitching. “She can’t object--she doesn’t know.”

At the shocked expressions of the others, he went on, “I want to surprise her by having everything ready to go before I tell her. Her mother is helping with the plans, but I need to find people to take part in the ceremony--a man and a woman to be the official witnesses, and

somebody who can perform the ceremony itself.”

The monk shook his head, “I suppose I could do the ceremony, as long as somebody explains it to me.”

The hanyou nodded in gratitude, then turned to the woman sitting across the table. “How about it, Sango? Are you in?”

She considered the matter briefly but seriously. She didn’t like the idea of deceiving Kagome, but she could understand Inuyasha’s desire to present her with a very special gift. She nodded slowly. “All right,” she said, “But somebody will have to tell me what I need to do.”

Inuyasha nodded. “That won’t be a problem. Kagome’s mother will be coming back in a few days, and we can talk to her about it then.”

There was a soft scratching noise at the door. The wolf came into the room, followed by a yawning Kagome. At the sight of her friends, she grinned, “You’re back! I didn’t expect to see you guys for a couple of days yet.”

The hanyou nodded. “That’s what got me up--our new guardian here,” he said, indicating the animal curled up in a corner of the large room, “Spotted what he took for intruders approaching the house. I got there just before a hell of a fight broke out.”

Although darkness invariably signaled the end of the day’s activities in a community without electric lights, the four old friends sat up far into the night, catching up on each other’s news. Kohaku, still a little uncomfortable around the woman he had nearly killed, headed off to bed so that he could get an early start on putting the tools of his new trade into storage until the new workshop could be built.

Kagome listened more than she spoke, not yet ready to share the biggest news of all, at least as far as she was concerned. She had, after all, barely had time to assimilate the news herself--and she also wanted to see what she could do to further cement her odd little community’s relationship to the village and its people. There would, she reflected, be plenty of time to tell everybody before the situation became too obvious.

The nagging little voice at the back of her mind spoke then, “And just hope that they can be at least a little happy about it.”

Suppressing a shudder at the implications, she flashed a smile at the others. “I don’t know about you,” she said, “But I’m going back to bed--I don’t want to spend half of your first day back sleeping.”

The hanyou stood and stretched. “Good idea.” With a look at the others, he said, “We’ll see you guys tomorrow,” and let the room, a protective arm around the waist of the girl at her side.

Miroku and Sango simply stared at each other. Exactly what had just happened here?