InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Boyfriend ❯ Hello and Good-Bye ( Chapter 31 )

Disclaimer: InuYasha, Kagome and anyone else you saw in the manga or anime does not belong to me. Yukio does. If I saw so much as a shiny penny for this story, you think I'd be writing fanfiction still? Okay, I would… Damn other authors and their more interesting universes…

 

Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: M
Codes: Inu/Kag
Feedback: Keeps my muse talking and the stories coming! Do tell. But if you have a flame, use it for something more productive, like setting your clothes on fire.

 

 

The Boyfriend
Chapter 31

 

Kagome finally held her daughter in her arms again and wept with joy. Tama was crying and clinging to her and Kagome felt even worse for leaving her. She had almost died and taken herself away from her little girl. Kagome clutched Tama closer until she heard her squeak for being hugged too hard, not that she complained.

 

“I'm sorry I couldn't be with you, Tama-chan,” Kagome told her. “I'm so glad to have you back.”

 

“Mama!” Tama whimpered, clutching Kagome. Then she patted Kagome's chest, “Bonyuu!” Kagome heard InuYasha laugh.

 

“She still remembers her favorite words,” he teased as Kagome found a chair and sat down to nurse Tama.

 

“You're just jealous,” Kagome teased back. InuYasha sat on the floor next to her and grinned.

 

“Yeah? Well, I don't have to be any more, now do I?” he pointed out and Kagome blushed scarlet. She stared fixedly down at her daughter and refused to meet his leer and he laughed again.

 

“Higurashi-san?” a male voice called her name and Kagome looked up.

 

“Yes?” Kagome replied and saw it was Tama's doctor. She wanted to stand up to thank him, but Tama was having nothing of her trying to move. She'd been separated for over a week from her mother and now she was going to sit there and make up for lost time.

 

“I see Tama's happy to have you back!” he commented when he saw the death grip the toddler had on Kagome's shirt. “I just wanted to talk with you about her follow up care.”

 

“Of course,” Kagome said. The doctor explained that Tama still needed to take it easy and that her immune system was still going to be damaged. There were follow up medications to take but he was impressed with how well she'd healed.

 

“Honestly, I'm amazed at how fast she healed. Really, she could have gone home a few days ago, but we wanted to make certain her neutrophil count was stable. Her T cells are higher than we were expecting, too, so her immune system looks like it will make a full recovery quicker than expected.”

 

“You sound like that's a bad thing?” Kagome said, looking down at her daughter and stroking her hair.

 

“It could be. We'll have to watch more closely for rejection, but so far, there has been absolutely no sign of it. With a six point match like Taji-san was, the chances of rejection are fairly low, but her immune system came back up so fast, we were afraid she was going to crash. Instead, it appears just the opposite—like her body has accepted the tissue as her own.”

 

“So... should I be worried?” Kagome asked.

 

“We don't believe so. Just be vigilant. At her next checkup, though, she should be two, so make sure you tell them about her compromised immune system. They should run a check to make sure she is up to full immunity before starting her vaccinations. She may need to wait until she's three to begin.”

 

“Yes, Sensei,” Kagome said as the doctor bowed away. She bowed the best she could and he smiled as he started to leave.

 

“Oh, and keep doing that. It will help.” Then he turned and left as she repeated herself.

 

“Well, are you ready to go home?” InuYasha asked.

 

“Tama-chan?” Kagome asked and Tama unlatched and grinned up at her. “Are you ready to go home?” Tama nodded and slid out of Kagome's lap to stand on her own. Kagome took the onbuhimo from InuYasha and Tama laughed and danced, stomping her feet in excitement.

 

“Guess she is,” InuYasha said, smiling broadly. Kagome looked back down at Tama and froze.

 

“Her eyes,” Kagome whispered.

 

“I noticed,” InuYasha replied. They both looked down at Tama's excited eyes, which were no longer just golden-flecked, but a dark gold. Not quite InuYasha's color, but much closer than before. There would be no trouble believing she was his.

 

Kagome shook her head and smiled at Tama, then draped the body of the carrier around the toddler and swung her up and over her shoulder with practiced ease. She leaned forward and slipped the straps through the rings and tied them back under themselves in front in less than a minute. Then she stood up and bounced on her feet a little, eliciting a laugh from Tama. She spread the straps better across her shoulders so that they weren't digging in and took InuYasha's hand. Finally, her little family was back together again.

 

 

InuYasha and Kagome barely had any time to themselves the next week. Tama was traumatized from being separated from everything and everyone she knew and was intensely clingy. At night, if Kagome tried to get up to use the bathroom, Tama woke up and followed her. During naps, Kagome had to sit right next to her the whole time or she wouldn't stay asleep.

 

Kagome was just glad to have her healthy little girl back. She was amazed at the difference. Tama no longer had weakness spells, no longer fell down and was even more active than Kagome had known she could be. She started climbing everything and despite just having learned how to walk, she was walking and even running, as though she hadn't waited nineteen months to do so.

 

She was twenty months now and Kagome could barely keep up. InuYasha had no problem and thought it was the greatest thing ever. Kagome was so glad to have him, because Tama would exhaust her and he could just take over and play four times as long.

 

After a week, though, Kagome knew it was time to go back, that Sango and Miroku would be going through their wedding ceremony any day. Even if she couldn't be there, she wanted to be there when it was over, to congratulate them. And as an added bonus, Kagome and InuYasha would have time to themselves afterwards.

 

She had told Tama about how they had defeated Naraku (“Mama itai?” Tama had asked and Kagome showed her that she was all better, to which Tama replied “yokatta!”) and that her friends (whom she had taken pictures of to show Tama after realizing what a good idea it was when she showed Sango, Miroku and Shippo) were going to get married. So now it was just matter of convincing Tama that it was okay for her to go.

 

“Noooooooooo!” Tama cried, throwing herself on the ground. She laid there, limp and crying her eyes out. “Mama not go! Mama, no! No go! Noooo!” Tama shrieked and cried and Kagome was totally at a loss until her mother stepped in. Tama had never had the strength or inclination to throw a tantrum before, even though her mother had warned her that she was at the age for it, being in her second year and all.

 

“You want to go with Mama?” Mrs. Higurashi said to Tama who banged her head on the floor nodding. “You want to go with her now! You don't want Mama to go!” Tama stopped crying and sniffed, looking at her grandmother. She nodded. “But Mama has to go. Just for now. Tama gets to have Obaasan all to herself! And Oji. Oji will be home soon and will play with Tama! But Mama needs to go right now. Yes?” During this, Tama had looked over at Kagome and InuYasha tearfully and sniffed a few more times, then sat up and rubbed her eyes.

 

“Mama back soon?” Tama asked.

 

“Of course!” Kagome said, kneeling to hug her daughter. She looked up at her mother with tremendous gratitude. Her mother winked at her.

 

“Be safe,” Tama said seriously and Kagome nodded as she stood up.

 

“Of course!” Kagome agreed and waved. Tama waved back and InuYasha ruffled her hair as they walked out towards the well.

 

“She'll be fine,” InuYasha said, unexpectedly. Kagome looked over at him, surprised.

 

“Of course she will,” Kagome said, not having any doubt. Then she realized that InuYasha was worried and she took his hand and squeezed it. “Mama knows what to do if anything goes wrong.”

 

“Keh. I know that,” InuYasha grumbled. Kagome smiled and leaned her shoulder against his arm. It was times like these that she remembered just why she loved him so much.

 

 

“Congratulations!” Kagome yelled as Sango and Miroku came out of the shrine. They grinned and waved at her and InuYasha and they waved back, though InuYasha's wave was much shorter than Kagome's. They had come just in time, since Sango and Miroku had already gone into the shrine when they arrived in the feudal era.

 

Kagome ran up to Sango and gave her the gifts that she had brought from herself, her mother and grandfather. InuYasha was claiming the gifts from her with her, which amused Kagome. He had no idea what to give someone for a wedding.

 

Kagome wasn't sure what was given in the sengoku jidai, so she brought a few things from her own time, since she knew her money wasn't going to work in theirs. So she brought a few symbolic things, like a silk fan and her grandfather had given her konbu tangles to give to them, to encourage fertility. Kagome had refused to touch them and they were wrapped three times so she wouldn't be so 'blessed'. When she had seen them, she had refused to touch anything with seaweed in it after.

 

In total, she (and InuYasha) had three gifts, her grandfather had sent three and her mother had sent three. She was happy with the number—nine gifts was lucky, after all. She knew that Miroku and Sango didn't have family to give them gifts, so she was making up for it. She was happy to see that at the very least, Sango had an obi and Miroku had on hakama.

 

It was strange seeing him out of his monk's clothing, but he had disrobed as a monk in order to marry Sango. He said he had no regrets, as that path was no longer necessary for him, but Kagome still wondered what he would do now. Sango told Kagome that they planned to move to her old village and rebuild. A few of the boys from Kaede's village wanted to go with her and she and Kohaku were going to train them to be taijiya and in a few years, she hoped to be able to take over where her father had left off.

 

They bade each other farewell and Shippo left with them. Kagome felt that it was finally time. She had some sense of closure, knowing what the future should hold for her friends and while she had prayed by the well each night that it wouldn't close to InuYasha and herself, she knew now that if it did, she would be able to let go.

 

“Let's go home,” Kagome said.

 

“Right now? But we just got here. I thought you wanted some time to ourselves?” InuYasha replied, confused.

 

“I'm ready,” Kagome explained. InuYasha's eyes widened and he looked to the well.

 

“Do you think it will still work?”

 

“I hope so,” Kagome said. “But if it doesn't, that's okay, because I like to think that everyone here will be fine now and happy.”

 

“Can I go punch Sesshomaru in the face one more time?” InuYasha asked. Kagome laughed and pulled on his hand. But he wasn't able to take a step before a rock hit him upside the head. “What the hell?” InuYasha yelled, looking around. Sesshomaru was standing at the edge of the forest, smirking. “You son of a bitch, what was that for?”

 

“You wanted to punch me in the face. Again,” Sesshomaru explained.

 

“And now I get the chance!” InuYasha growled.

 

“Why are you here, Sesshomaru?” Kagome asked, ignoring the brothers' bickering. InuYasha stopped his charge to look back at her. Sesshomaru was looking at her as well.

 

“You aren't from this time,” Sesshomaru stated bluntly. Kagome's mouth dropped open. Everyone else had said 'this world' or 'this country' when referring to her home time, except Kaede and it had taken some explaining to her.

 

“How did you figure it out?” Kagome asked.

 

“When InuYasha lost his mind and attacked me,” Sesshomaru said and InuYasha dismissed him with a 'feh', “he said that my many-times-great-grandson would hurt you. While skeptical that I would have human offspring, I can't ignore that perhaps one of my future children may share my father's perversion. You dress strangely, you talk strangely and I've been from one end of our world to the other,” ('Japan, Maybe China,' Kagome corrected in her head, knowing that Sesshomaru was very unlikely to have crossed the ocean) “and no one dresses or speaks as you do. However when InuYasha was born, people spoke differently. And the language had changed then from when I was a child.”

 

“Just when were you born?” Kagome asked InuYasha, wondering how old InuYasha was if there was a language change since his birth.

 

“I don't know,” InuYasha grumbled. “Do you count the time I was pinned to that stupid tree?”

 

“Uh...” Kagome thought for a minute.

 

“No,” Sesshomaru answered for her. “Since you did not age and were not alive, that fifty years is lost to you. You were born around two hundred years ago. That makes you around one hundred and fifty years old.”

 

“Hn,” Kagome made a surprised noise. Sesshomaru moved his head slightly in question. “I just didn't think you were that smart,” Kagome explained and then clapped her hand over her mouth as she realized who she was talking to. Sesshomaru stared at her and she found herself in the familiar situation of not having a clue as to what was going through his mind. He was constantly surprising people with his responses lately. When he had forgiven Sango for nearly killing Rin (which Kagome found out about later) when she had offered up her life, by simply dismissing the incident, they had all been stunned.

 

“How do you know that I have a descendant in her time?” Sesshomaru asked InuYasha, apparently deciding to ignore Kagome's low opinion of his intelligence.

 

“They have tests they can run on blood in her time that tell you if you're related to someone. And I'm related to him,” InuYasha answered.

 

“Why would you test if you were related?” Sesshomaru persisted. He looked at Kagome and then his eyes widened. “That is how he hurt her?”

 

“Shut up,” InuYasha warned his brother.

 

“Her child is not yours then,” Sesshomaru continued, undaunted.

 

“Yes, she is,” InuYasha growled dangerously. Sesshomaru stared at his brother for a while and then nodded and turned to leave.

 

“I hope you at least had the decency to kill him,” Sesshomaru called back before he disappeared entirely into a ball of light. InuYasha flinched.

 

“Let it go,” Kagome said and InuYasha nodded.

 

“I'm not him,” he told Kagome and turned and hugged her for further proof.

 

“I'm glad,” Kagome said, closing her eyes and hugging him back. They stepped apart and she smiled up at him. “Now let's go, if you've finished your good-byes as well.” InuYasha nodded and took her hand as they looked at the land around the well in the sengoku jidai for what might be the last time. She squeezed his hand and he scooped her up and jumped into the well, feeling peaceful as the time vortex enclosed them.

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

A/N: So, long time, no Japanese lesson, ne? New words: onbuhimo—a soft baby and toddler carrier like the popular mei tai, only with rings instead of waist straps, specific to Japan. Itai—“it hurts”, ouch, ow, hurt, etc. yokatta—typically used in anime to mean “I'm relieved”. Obaasan—grandma. Oji—uncle, younger than parent. konbu—devil's apron, a type of kelp like seaweed. Obi—belt (you should know that!) Important in this case because, like the hakama, it's supposed to be one of the nine gifts given for good fortune in a marriage before the wedding. hakama—a type of pants worn in formal occasions, during sword fighting including iaido, and what InuYasha and Sesshomaru wear, though hakama are not normally 'bloused' at the ankle as those two do—that's an even older style than the sengoku jidai.

 

Now, onto the controversial issues: InuYasha's age—since I add in elements of both manga and anime, the manga is the primary source of 'canon' I draw from, but when a question goes unanswered, I draw from the anime if it's possible and doesn't contradict. According to Takahashi's official guide, InuYasha's age in human years is unknown, but he is the equivalent of fifteen. I liked the evenness of the anime movie's addition of his birth being 200 years ago—making him 150, meaning that he ages a year every ten. It would make my author's notes far too long to debate this with myself (as I've already done and deleted, lol) so let's just run with it. Maybe he grew like a dog and the first few years happened at human speed and he's actually aging slower than 1-for-10, but... I'm shutting up now. Ja ne!

 

Vaccines: In Japan, they were started at age two for decades and when Japan did this, SIDS nearly vanished from their country. When they returned (very recently) to the 'first year' schedule (no one over-vaccinates like the US) their SIDS rate skyrocketed. I'm not sure when the change happened, but Kagome gets to be in the pre-change Japan.