InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The changing of time ❯ An odd encounter and sweet gifts ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. But Ikinezumi is mine.

A/N: I can not even begin to tell everyone how touched I felt to have so many of you run to my aid when my beta dumped me. I read every one of your letters and reviews on it. It is no offence to anyone I didn’t contact on it. I thought it better to write back to the people who seemed they would be a good match as I’m kind of such a goof that some people find me hard to deal with, or difficult to understand. I tend to think way off in left field so… But any way, I wanted every one to know how much it means to me that so many of you were willing to help. It really makes me feel that some of you see my fic as something worth reading. And for some one like me that really means something. I still don’t understand why she felt a FICTION story needed to be so based on reality. I don’t know about any of you, but I haven’t seen any youkai running around. Have you? LOL! Any way, here is the next chapter!

Chapter 8: An odd encounter and sweet gifts

Kagome awoke alone, and to the sound of trees crashing in the woods. She grabbed her little battery operated clock on the small night stand and looked at the time. “3:30 in the morning? *sigh* What on earth is he doing?” She struggled out of the bed and grabbed her solid white sleeping robe and pulled it over her shoulders covering her naked body. She wrapped the matching obi around her waist and tied it at her side. She ran her fingers through her hair as she stepped bare foot onto the cool ground and began to walk toward the clearing where the well and Goshinboku laid, where also the sound of falling trees was coming from. As she entered the clearing she saw Inuyasha nearby, with his back to her, digging his claws into the trunk of a defenseless tree. He cried out as he yanked his claws free, jumped up and shredded several branches. He landed in a crouched position panting. She carefully approached him. “Inuyasha, What are you doing?”

Inuyasha startled, as the wind had been blowing her scent away from him, so he didn’t catch it. He jumped and turned in her direction. Kagome gasped, and placed a hand over her mouth. Inuyasha stood there looking at her with tears, barely visible, streaming down his face. He turned away from her to wipe his face so she couldn’t see. “What are you doing here? You could get hurt or sick or …something.” He said in a calm and dejected voice.

“What’s the matter, Inuyasha?” She asked very concerned. He then suddenly fell to his knees. Kagome ran to him and crouched in front of him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. She laid her cheek on his head. Wearily, he wrapped his arms around her waist. She heard him sniffle.

“It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it?” He finally spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“People and youkai are always going ridicule us. They’ll never understand. I’m nothing but a mistake, and they’ll look at you for being with me as a mistake. I don’t want that for you. And I don’t want that for the pups we’ll have. We may be accepted at this village, but what about everywhere else? Not even your time could they ever accept me. And I’m still not even that sure about these people in this village. I was so scared today. You could have been killed and I can’t help but feel that maybe if I had not been in your life you wouldn’t have had to deal with that. It would kill me if anything ever happened to you.” He reached to finger the jewel around Kagome’s neck. “And this damn thing. It will only be a matter of time before youkai and humans alike will come after it. We’ll always be on the run, just like when I was a kid.”

Though it was making him feel better to get his turmoil off his chest, he still wondered to himself why it was he was so at ease with telling her about his worries. He had never had the feeling that he would be alright if he exposed his inner feelings to another person. But Kagome it seemed, was as if he were simply talking to himself. No fear of betrayal plagued his mind when it came to being vulnerable with her.

“Don’t you understand Inuyasha?” she said breathing into his ear, which made his flesh tingle. “I don’t care what other people think. And you’re not a mistake. I don’t care if we have to fight. As long as I’m fighting by your side.” Inuyasha pulled her hands away, causing her to sit back. He held onto her hands as he spoke.

“I don’t want that for you. I want you to be happy.”

“I’m only happy when I’m with you.”

He grabbed her chin with a clawed index finger and thumb. He pulled her nose to nose with him. “I love you, you wonderful, stubborn, mean wench.” He leaned the rest of the way in and placed a kiss on her lips. They sat lost in that kiss until Inuyasha’s eye’s popped open and jumped to his feet sniffing the air. Kagome jumped up next to him turned in the direction he was looking.

“What is it?” She asked. He put a hand on Tessaiga’s hilt and pulled the fang out of its scabbard. He held it, transformed, in front of him.

“Just stay back!” He said as he ran a few yards away. “How the hell did he find this place?” He thought as he saw a whirl wind approach. Kouga jumped from the dust to land right in front of a growling Inuyasha.

“Oh come now, dog shit! Is all that necessary?” the wolf said flicking the tip of Inuyasha’s sword. “You took my shards. It’s only fair you turn over my woman.” Kouga looked behind Inuyasha to see Kagome hiding in the dark. “Oi! Kagome! There you are!” He, in a flash, ran around Inuyasha to grab a wide eyed Kagome’s hand. He smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her hand. Inuyasha surprisingly didn’t make a move, as he watched the wolf with a shit eating grin on his face. Kouga looked up from her hand, “It’s so nice to see you my…..” He stopped and glared at the woman and began to growl. Keeping his eyes on Kagome he yelled, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY WOMAN DOG SHIT?”

“Wow, it took you longer than I thought it would. What? Don’t like what you smell, do you wimpy wolf?” Kouga let go of Kagome’s hand and lunged at the hanyou. Quickly, Inuyasha sheathed his sword and the two clashed together in a fierce display of strength. They punched, slashed and kicked at each other, as they rolled around in the dirt.

“Stop it right now you two!” Kagome yelled from the sidelines as the two male’s continued to battle.

Somehow, Inuyasha managed to pin the wolf down. His knees rested on Kouga’s arms preventing the wolf from moving. Inuyasha placed the hand he fondled Kagome with earlier over the wolf’s mouth. Inuyasha leaned in to the youkai’s ear. “You smell that Kouga? That’s what she smell’s like when she’s aroused, FOR ME! Do you also smell, how she’s carrying MY PUP!” He said in a tone Kagome couldn’t hear.

Kouga’s eye’s brimmed with extreme anger. He thrashed about trying, with no avail, to get the hanyou off of him. “Give it up Kouga! She doesn’t want you! She wants me! If you had ever listened to her you would have known that! You helped us more times than I can count. There were times I would have considered you a friend. You are strong and honorable, though sometimes stupid, and reckless. I don’t want to kill you Kouga, but I will if I have to.” Kouga stopped struggling. He glared at Inuyasha for a moment then nodded. Inuyasha took his hand off of Kouga’s mouth.

“Get the fuck off of me, dog shit!” Kouga yelled. Inuyasha jumped up and seemingly flew to Kagome’s side. Kouga got up and brushed himself off. He walked calmly to Inuyasha and his mate.

“What did you say to him?” Kagome asked a little worried. Inuyasha smiled and wrapped his arm around Kagome’s waist.

“Just man talk”

“OOOKKKAAAYYY????”

Kouga stopped in front of a stunned Kagome and a smiling Inuyasha. “So, you really want to stay with, dog shit, Kagome?” He asked placing his hands on his hips.

“Yeah. I love him.” Kagome said smiling at Inuyahsa.

“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that. It’s a shame, we would have made a great team.” He said shrugging.

“Yeah, maybe. But I belong with Inuyasha.”

Kouga smiled. “Well, dog shit. I guess she’s all yours. You really are strong for a hanyou. If it were me, I would have killed a piece of dog shit like you in a heart beat for someone like her.” Kouga held out his hand to Inuyasha. The hanyou let his mate go to give the wolf a firm hand shake, acknowledging a silent truce. The wolf held Inuyasha’s hand for a moment. “Take care of her….Inuyasha.” The wolf and Inu hanyou both smiled. Kouga began to run off, but stopped and turned to holler at Kagome. “If he ever fails you, I’ll be there for you!” He waved and ran off.

Kagome and Inuyasha stood there in silence. They both knew the significance in Kouga calling Inuyasha by his given name. Something Inuyasha knew that Kagome didn’t, was the youkai code of conduct for mating. Generally, if the male can prove the female accepted him and the female concurred, then the rival would respectfully back down. This was especially used when mating with humans.(IF that ever happened, which almost never did.) Suddenly Inuyasha hugged Kagome smiling. “We should get you back home. I bet you’re tired.”

Kagome yawned, “Yeah, ok.”

**********

Kagome’s eyes popped open in the late morning. She covered her mouth with her hand and ran out of the room, then out of the main room past a confused Inuyasha and Shippou. She ran down the front steps of the porch then to the side of her hut. She leaned over and emptied the contents of her stomach. Though very little was there. She wiped her mouth off and stood straight. “Kagome? Are you ok?” Inuyasha asked as he wrapped one arm around her waist and his other hand rested on her forehead. She leaned the back of her head on his chest.

“Yeah, I think I’m ok. Maybe some rice will settle my stomach.”

“Ok, Let’s get you inside and sit you down.” He looked over and saw a smiling Kaede on her porch watching them. He looked at her and nodded notifying her he would be by later. She raised her hand letting him know she understood. He escorted Kagome back into the hut and sat her down on the “couch”.

“Inuyasha? Is Okaa ok?” Shippou asked.

“I’ll be fine, Shippou,” a pale faced Kagome said.

Inuyasha stood and turned to Shippou. “Go get her a blanket and a cool wet cloth.”

Shippou smiled and placed his hands on his hips, “Ok! Don’t worry, Okaa, we’ll take care of you!” And he bounced off to his mother’s room for the blanket and cloth as Inuyasha began to prepare the rice.

**********

When Inuyasha was sure that Kagome was settled and Shippou was looking out for her, he made his way to Kaede’s hut.

“Babaa.” Inuyasha regarded as he entered the hut. Kaede was sitting by her fire sipping herbal tea.

“Inuyasha. You wanted to speak with me?” Kaede asked.

“You know, don’t you?”

“Aye Inuyasha, I could sense a layered aura coming from her as soon as she came back from her time. The sickness starting is only proof of my suspicions.” Kaede smiled.

Inuyasha plopped himself down by the fire as well, “That’s a relief! I was worried she was really sick. Is she going to do that the whole time?”

Kaede chuckled, “No Inuyasha. It should pass after she begins to show. Though I do not approve as the two of you are not yet married. However, I do understand that Youkai do not have weddings, and have mating rituals instead. I assume you have performed these rituals?”

Inuyasha blush red as dark as his fire rat haori, and lowered his head so his bangs covered his face. “Yeah.”

Kaede chuckled again, “It’s alright Inuyasha. You two will be married in only six days, all will be fine. This is a wonderful development. A new life is being brought into this world by two people who are deeply in love. I congratulate you.” The old woman placed her wrinkled hand on the hanyou’s.

“Thanks, Babaa.” Inuyasha said giving her a small a smile.

“I’ll shall congratulate Kagome too, when I see her next.”

“NO!”

“Oh? May I ask why not?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Are you planning on telling her when the babe arrives?”

“I have a feeling she would like it better to find out on her own.”

“Aye”

Inuyasha stood and nodded at the miko, who nodded back, and then walked out the door.

**********

A minute or so after Inuyasha left the hut Sango stopped by. The two girls decided to bask in the warm morning sun. They sat on the top step of the porch, while Shippou scampered about in the brush and trees near by.

“So when are you going to take the skins to Kaede?” Sango asked

“I hope some time today. I need to make sure Inuyasha will be out for a while so he doesn’t know what’s going on.” Kagome answered.

“HEY OKAA! Look, I caught lunch. Inuyasha taught me!” Shippou said proudly, holding up a dead rabbit, whose neck had been snapped and was dripping blood. Blood also covered the boy’s arms and chest. Sango and Kagome looked at each other with wide eye’s and green faces. They jumped up and ran to opposite side’s of the hut and vomited. Inuyasha had made his way out of Kaede’s hut and stood next to Shippou with a smirk. “What’s the matter with them? Did I do something wrong?” The boy asked.

“Nah. Women have wimpy stomachs. Common, I’ll take you to the river to show you how to clean it.” Inuyasha said taking the rabbit from Shippou to inspect it. “Wow, good job Shippou! You didn’t rip up any of the meat.” He reached down and ruffled to kit’s hair. Shippou smiled proudly and together they walked off.

Sango and Kagome walked back around to the front of the hut and faced each other. “I woke up early this morning getting sick. I hope I won’t be going through nine months of this.” Sango said.

“That’s it!!” Kagome said holding up a finger.

“What’s it?”

“I got sick this morning too! I’ve heard about this. I’m having sympathy pains for you.”

“What’s that?”

“It means that I feel the same thing’s your feeling because I feel bad for you. The husband can feel it too sometimes.” Kagome answered. ‘And perhaps that’s way I’m later than normal this time.’ The miko reasoned with herself.

“Ha, one could only hope Houshi will feel this.” Sango laughed.

Kagome laughed and looked around. “I guess if Inuyasha is going to be gone for a while we should get the skins taken care of.” Kagome walked up the steps and grabbed the parcel of youkai rat skins. Her face went green and her cheeks puffed out, trying to hold back being sick from the smell of the slowly rotting flesh that clung to the skins. Quickly she ran down the steps and ran to the old miko’s hut, waving for the taijiya to follow.

The girls walked in, and Kagome threw the parcel on the floor and moved to the opposite side of the room. She let out the breath she was holding and she a Sango sat down on the floor. “Ok Kaede, how do we prepare the skins?” Kagome finally asked. Kaede smiled a welcome and reached over to a pile of scrolls and turned back to the girls and sat next to them.

“I can do you one better than to simply cure the furs.” She said smiling at the young miko.

“Oh, what do you have?” Kagome asked.

“I have managed to find some spells that will turn the flesh and fur to cloth and the cloth to the clothing you desire.”

Kagome happily clapped her hands, “Fantastic!”

Kaede walked over to her baskets holding herbs and grabbed a sprig of some kind in one hand, and with the scrolls in the other, she headed to the parcel. She untied the package and folded out the corners of burlap, exposing the bloody flesh. The smell became stronger and filled the room and the two girls covered their mouths. Keade placed the sprig, stem first, into the pile of fur and skin. She unrolled the scrolls and read them over. When she finished reading, she set the scroll down and closed her eyes and placed her two fingers on her forehead and began to chant. A light began to beam from the skins. They rose off the burlap and shone brightly. Keade held out her hands when the chant was finished and the skins landed in her out stretched palms, then the light faded. Left on her hands was a pile of beautiful pure black cloth. And what was more surprising was the fact that the cloth was clean, and smelled clean as well.

Holding the cloth in one arm, the old woman picked up the nasty burlap and threw it into the fire. She stood and washed the dirtied hand in a bucket and picked the scrolls back up and walked over to sit in front of Kagome and Sango. She smiled and held out the cloth for inspection. Both girls reached out their hands and stoked the new fabric.

“Oh, Kaede. It’s beautiful.” Kagome breathed out.

“It’s so soft.” Sango said.

“Now my child, to turn it into the clothing you desire, it must be you who casts the spell.” Kaede said to Kagome.

“I don’t know if I can. Why do I have to do it?” she asked a little wiry.

“Aye child. The one who loves the person the clothing is intended for has to cast the spell, otherwise it won’t work. All you have to do is to pose the fingers of you right hand as I did and clutch the fabric with the other. As you say the incantation, imagine what you want the clothes to look like.”

Kagome looked a little unsure, but memorized the words Kaede told her to say. Kagome then nodded when she was ready. She took the folded cloth and held it tight to her breast, and began to chant. Light beamed from the clothing as Kagome chanted. When the light faded Kagome kissed the two fingers she had held to her forehead and then placed the two kissed fingers to the fabric as Kaede had told her. Energy crackled from the kiss her fingers left on the clothing.

“Let’s see it child.” Kaede said happily.

Kagome held out the garment on the top. It looked just like the fire rat haori, only black, and trimmed in gold instead of purple.

“Ah, child you did a fine job.” Kaede said as she fingered the haori.

Sango touched it in amazement. “It looks just like the fire rat robes.”

“I know, I like the way the fire rat looks on him. I figure why change a design that works?” Kagome said as she lovingly laid the new haori on her lap and touched the gold trim of the sleeves. “I’m really going to love how this looks on him.” She said with dreamy eyes.

“SHIPPOU!!!!!!”

All in the tiny hut jumped as Inuyasha’s voice broke the silence. Kagome rolled her eye’s. “Great! I need to hide this.”

Kaede stood and grabbed a piece of cloth off a shelf and handed it and some twine to Kagome. “Here, Child, wrap it in this.”

Quickly Kagome refolded the haori and tied it up in the cloth and twine right as Inuyasha burst in the hut. “Kagome, tell your SON that ten rabbits are enough! He doesn’t believe me that you don’t need that much and he’s going to kill off all the game.” Inuyasha said with a proud smile. Kagome deposited the package in Sango’s lap and whispered in her ear.

“Watch this for me until I can hide it.” Kagome then stood and rolled her eyes at the hanyou as she stormed out the door. Inuyasha nodded to the other two women and followed suit. Sango turned to Kaede and smiled.

“So. Lady Kaede? I haven’t gotten to tell you I’m with child, have I?”

“Oh Sango! That is such wonderful news. I would believe Miroku is giddy with happiness.” Kaede replied as she hugged the young youkai slayer. Though she already knew about Sango like she did Kagome, she allowed the young youkai slyer the joy of telling her. Sango blushed remembering the night before.

A/N: I wanted to say that the reason Iunyasha was proud of Shippou instead of mad and wasn’t pounding him, was because Shippou only wanted to help take care of his “mother” and little sibling. He was subconsciously proving he would be a good provider as well as the fact that Shippou was doing a good job with the information Inuyasha had given him on hunting. PLEASE R&R!!!!!!

Thanks to my new beta!!! (Karla) And to the reviewers!!!