InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Oops ❯ Kagome Can't Win ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any characters there in.

Chapter 11: Kagome Can't Win

(Day 27)

"I don't care!" Kagome's voice could be heard raising from the well early the next morning.

"I do!" InuYasha's voice joined hers a moment latter.

"Then why make me come back here? Why not just leave me at my mothers! I could at least study there!" Kagome yelled.

InuYasha landed on the rim of the old well with Kagome in his arms and her pack on his back, "I don't trust the well-"

Then he noticed the others were standing around the well, all wearing sour looks on their faces.

"Hi guys." Kagome smiled.

"InuYasha you jerk!" Shippo yelled from Miroku's shoulder, "We didn't know if Kagome was alright, or coming back, or anything!"

"We were all worried, InuYasha." Miroku said calmly.

"You should have come back and told us that Kagome was better." Sango frowned.

"Feh." InuYasha put Kagome on the ground and released her, "She's here now isn't she."

"Better?" Kagome asked Sango as they started back to the village, "When was I… worse?"

Sango looked at Kagome uncertainly, "You left kind of suddenly the other day. You even said something about sealing the well?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry Sango… guys." Kagome began to remember how she had acted yesterday, "I kind of lost my head for awhile there."

InuYasha snorted.

Miroku nodded, "That's alright Kagome, we understand."

Kagome stopped as they entered the village, "What? What do you understand Miroku?"

"Uh…" Miroku stepped back and looked to InuYasha for help.

"You know don't you?" Kagome narrowed her eyes and advanced on the frightened monk. "Who told you? Sango?"

"I didn't tell anyone Kagome," Sango acted quickly to avoid Kagome's wrath, "Miroku and InuYasha were-"

"I told him Kagome." InuYasha butted in, choosing the lesser of two punishments, "I smelled it on you and… asked Miroku for advice on how to talk to you."

Kagome turned to InuYasha, "You asked Miroku for help?"

InuYasha nodded carefully.

"That's so sweet!" Kagome beamed, "You asked for help for me."

InuYasha scowled and crossed his arms, "Your still staying here." he stated.

Kagome's smile disappeared in an impressive scowl, "No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!" InuYasha ignored the dangerous look in Kagome eyes in order to make his point, "It's too dangerous for a pregnant bitch to march around the country side fighting youkia! You should stay put where it's safe."

"Safe? You think it's safe here?" Kagome stood on her toes and took a step towards InuYasha, "Here, where a youkia could attack at any time? What about Naraku?" Kagome took another step forward, forcing InuYasha to retreat one step farther into the village, "What if he found out I was here? Alone? What if he found out about the baby? Do you think we'd be safe then?" Kagome, and subsequently InuYasha, took another step.

Villagers were beginning to stare openly as the argument progressed.

"And don't think for a moment that I'll go home either!" Kagome jabbed her finger into his chest as she forced him to retreat another step, "I'm not going to be some poor village wife sitting around waiting for her husband to come back from war, never knowing what really happened to him! I may not be a warrior InuYasha, but I am important to the quest and I must see this through! How many times have my abilities been all that saved us?"

"That's not the point!" InuYasha yelled back at her, his argument was quickly loosing steam. He had to find a way to calm her down before she decided to go back home. So, he mustered his up to last night, untapped intelligence, bit back on the reply "How many times have you been what got us in trouble in the first place!" and instead said quietly, so the villagers wouldn't hear, "I don't want you to get hurt, either of you."

Kagome's wrath lost some of its momentum and she sank back to her normal height, "I don't want you getting hurt either. But you guys do need me! And it's dangerous for me anyway you look at it. SO I'M GOING WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

Kagome marched by InuYasha, and the rest, on the way to Keade's hut.

InuYasha remained still. It had almost worked. "Shit."

The others passed him, following Kagome, Miroku paused to pat InuYasha on the shoulder, "At least she's back."

"But she doesn't have my mark. How the hell am I going to pull that off now?" InuYasha grumbled. This thought had been bothering him since last night. He couldn't be with Kagome in her home, and his time was too dangerous for him to take her away into the woods. Because of the jewel shards. And their luck. InuYasha was certain that something was setting him up for a fall, big time. Kagome may be mad at him now, but she was his. Sort of. And of course Kagome could get into trouble cooking dinner.

Miroku laughed as they joined the girls, and Shippo, at Keade's.

"I know, I know." Kagome was sitting near the fire with her head in her hands, Sango was kneeling next to her, "But, I'm right too, Sango, and… I'm not really mad, I just want to be near InuYasha. I want us, all of us, to be safe. As long as Naraku is alive that can't happen."

"What's going on?" Shippo asked. So what if he already knew, he liked to see them squirm. "Why is everyone telling Kagome to stay here?"

All eyes were on the young fox. "Shippo!" Kagome exclaimed, "How long have you been here?"

"… The whole time." Shippo pouted, she forgot about him!

"Oh! I'm so sorry Shippo!" Kagome grabbed him up and held him tightly, "I'm so sorry. So much has happened-"

"L-lady Kagome?" a timid voice came from the door.

The group looked up to see an oldish woman watching Kagome give Shippo the cuddling of his life.

"Yes?" Kagome released Shippo.

"Kagome…" the woman approached her. "There have been rumors today… I don't want to ask but… did you fight with our hanyou, InuYasha, today?"

"Uh, yes." Kagome answered hesitantly.

`Our hanyou?' InuYasha thought.

"Is it true?" the woman asked, "What you said, are you his mate? Do you carry his child?"

"Yes." Kagome paused. "Why are you here?"

The woman relaxed and smiled, "To find out, and thank you."

`Our hanyou?' InuYasha thought again.

"Thank me? For what?" Kagome looked thoroughly confused.

"You have healed the village." The woman said, "If the reincarnation of Kikyo can forgive InuYasha, then so can we, and many have. You have banished a dark shadow from our memories and given us a new perspective. InuYasha is not evil, just young and stupid, like most men his age."

Kagome and Sango laughed at that.

"InuYasha is has a good heart." Kagome agreed, "You just have to find it."

"Also," the woman paused again, "the other things you said. There is not a woman here that has not wanted to say the same thing, it did us good to hear you say them." here the woman frowned, "Are you sure it is wise to travel in your condition?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I broke the sacred jewel, I'm one of the few that can purify the sacred jewel, it is my sacred quest to reassemble the stupid thing, the rest of them are just after revenge. Mostly."

"Does InuYasha no longer seek the power of the sacred jewel?" the woman ignored her unmiko-like behavior, as she always did.

"I don't know…" Kagome thought for a moment, "I can't remember the last time he talked about it."

"Again, Thank you lady Kagome, and the best of luck in defeating that bastard Naraku." The woman left the hut quickly.

"What the hell do you mean `our hanyou'?" InuYasha demanded to the empty doorway. "Damn it."

"They like you, InuYasha." Miroku replied for the absent woman.

"Yeah," Shippo jumped onto InuYasha's shoulder, "you're like the town mascot." He laughed, before being roughly shoved to the floor.

Sango picked him up, "I'll remember that next time they ask after `our kitsune'."

"Aw, man!" Shippo went into another pout.

"But Kagome," Sango said, "we are not just after revenge."

"I know that, Sango." Kagome sighed, "It just seemed too complicated to go into right now. I'm Sorry."

Kagome stared forlornly into the glowing coals of Keade's fire pit. InuYasha sat next to her, he wanted to comfort her, but was uncertain how, or why she was sad.

Keade entered her hut to see the group gathered, as they always seemed to be. Except that InuYasha seemed to be nearer to Kagome than usual.

"Welcome back Kagome," She said as she moved on to organize her herbs. "I was certain that you would return once you calmed down."

Kagome blushed, "Yes, Keade."

"On my way back I was approached by several people, who asked me if it was true that you and InuYasha had indeed mated, and were expecting your first child." Keade joined the others by the fire pit.

"Uh, yes," Kagome shifted nervously, "actually we have, and we are."

"Congratulations." Keade smiled, "I'm surprised InuYasha managed to behave long enough to convince you. I didn't think you had it in you, InuYasha."

"It wasn't easy," InuYasha grumbled. He had put more energy into behaving that night then he had in his whole life. Thinking before he spoke turned out to be more difficult then he had originally thought. But it was worth it. He had almost lost his resolve to behave when Kagome told him he couldn't come into her room, but he hadn't wanted to get her mad again, so he obeyed. But now they were back in his time, his forest. Now he could be himself.

"When will you be leaving?" Keade asked.

"As soon as possible," Kagome announced glaring at InuYasha, "we have to leave again in a couple of weeks for my school, and the wedding, and we were going to leave today anyway. Um, Sango? Did you bring my pack back from the river yesterday?"

"Of course I did Kagome." Sango stood to retrieve it. "What did you put in here any way? It almost weighs as much as my Hiraikotsu!" Sango was exaggerating, but not by much.

"Food, mostly," Kagome frowned in thought, "first aid supplies, drinks, some clothes… and books. I managed to bring my schoolbooks this time. That's probably the added weight."

Kagome tried to take her pack from Sango but InuYasha intercepted her and tossed it at Miroku. He wasn't expecting it and was knocked over.

"You haul that on Kagome's bike." InuYasha ordered.

"Ouch." Miroku replied from under the overstuffed pack.

"InuYasha! I always carry the pack!" Kagome admonished.

"And we always eat your food." InuYasha took his I won't be budged pose, "The pack wouldn't be so heavy if you didn't feed us. He eats your food, and uses your bandages, he should take a turn carrying the damn thing."

"InuYasha-" Kagome began warningly, but was interrupted by Miroku.

"It's alright Kagome." He said hefting the bag to his shoulder, "he's right. And besides, using your bike as a cart it hardly weighs anything."

"I'm not an invalid!" Kagome raised her voice to reach Miroku as he left the hut. "You do realize that if it wasn't for InuYasha's nose or my technology, we wouldn't even know yet, right?" her voice resumed indoor proportions as she addressed those around her, "So why don't we treat it like we don't know? What would the difference be?"

Sango looked at InuYasha before answering, "We know, Kagome. That's the difference."

"Well, why isn't InuYasha carrying the pack?" Kagome changed tactics, "InuYasha's Ramen takes up as much space as your food. And he uses at least as many bandages."

InuYasha growled quietly.

"What?" Kagome and Sango asked.

"Miroku knows how to ride the bike." InuYasha gritted his teeth.

*

Kagome yawned, "Can we take a short break?"

They had been walking for most of the day and she was hot, tired and hungry.

"Are ya hungry Kagome?" Shippo asked from her shoulder.

"Not rea-"

"Are you tired?" Sango asked from her side.

Kagome scowled, "A little but, -"

"InuYasha! Kagome's tired." Shippo shouted ahead, to where InuYasha had already stopped.

"I'm fine! Really!" Kagome tried to assure them, "I was just wondering about you guys. I could walk all day!"

InuYasha walked back to the group, "We're not stopping until we reach the boarder of my forest." He announced.

"I don't want to stop!" Kagome insisted, then yawned. She was tired, and hungry, but she really, really hated the way they were treating her. She was about to insist that they all get moving again when she found herself on InuYasha's back.

"Hang on, Kagome." InuYasha barked, "I'm not doing all the work."

Habitually, Kagome grabbed his shoulders, "I'm fine." She hissed.

"Feh." InuYasha closed the subject. He was distracted. He had been keeping one ear on Kagome and one on the forest, and most of his attention was spent on the burning question of how to get Kagome alone.

He always set a slightly faster pace when Kagome was riding something then when she walked. It seemed that she liked to "enjoy" her journeys, while InuYasha just wanted to get there. So Miroku quickly rearranged the pack on the bike to allow him to ride, and Kirara transformed for Sango.

It wasn't long before Kagome's weight settled on InuYasha's back, her hands loosened their hold on his shoulders and her breathing became deep and steady.

"Feh," InuYasha cursed affectionately, "stupid girl."