InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Gods' Opinion ❯ In Sync ( Chapter 12 )

The Gods' Opinion

 

Disclaimer: Almost all characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko.

 

Warning: This is a mature story and I mean that in more than this story only containing sexual situations and bad language. It contains adult themes.

 

Summary: Kagome is trying hard to have a baby. But when things don't work out, she visits the best fertility doctor in the world. She finds her feelings and beliefs challenged as she struggles to hold onto her dreams.

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

Chapter Twelve In Sync

 

“I'm not finding it mama.”

 

“I'm afraid I'm not finding it either dear.”

 

After a small, but filling and quick breakfast, the surviving Higurashi women were ready to tackle the mess left behind the late Higurashi monarch known to Kagome simply as grandfather. The women opted to dress for the occasion; old, holey jeans, worn t-shirts and scarves to keep those pesky creepy crawlers out of their hair.

 

First stop was the bedroom. It was organized, but dark and dusty from the years of rest. Mama Higurashi admitted that she hadn't entered grandfather's or Souta's room since the funeral. It wasn't just out of respect for the dead, but she just couldn't bring herself to pack it all up and planned on getting around to it one of these days. Those days just hadn't arrived yet.

 

After an unsuccessful search in the bedroom, the women ventured out into the dull, gray wet outdoors and into the shed to look through the old boxes saved over the years. Scrolls and artifacts dating back to a time Kagome didn't even know existed were stored in the sturdy shed, as well as a few spider webs that soon met their demise, execution by swatting broom-style.

 

Several hours later, they still couldn't find anything referencing to any of the marriages Kagome's grandfather had performed over the years. Any references to any of the activities and events the Shrine was actually involved in over the years couldn't be found either. This was odd, considering the importance of keeping such a record was about prestige for any shrine.

 

Kagome let out a huff of air inside the dimly lit shed as she sat down on the lip of the Bone Eater's Well, another part of her shrine home that had history, myth and intrigue. Her mother sat down next to her, wiping off the dust that had gathered on the shoulder of her daughter.

 

“Mama?”

 

“Mmmm?”

 

“What … uh, where else can we look?”

 

“There's the garage and the store. However, I've already been through the store. Nothing but the merchandise to be sold is kept in there.”

 

“Gah, another dark, damp, disgusting place,” Kagome sighed at the disheartening thought of more spiders lurking in dark corners.

 

“You mentioned something about dinner a while ago,” her mother stated, trying to make Kagome think of something else, hoping to distract her from the depressed feelings Kagome would start harboring.

 

“Oh yeah. I checked the kitchen and we'll need to go to the store.”

 

“Wonderful. Let's go get lunch, groceries and then we can come back and get started in the garage before dinner.”

 

“Sounds great. Oh wait … I have my injections at two.”

 

“That's fine. We can make it after the shopping.”

 

The women retreated back to the house to grab their purses, finding no real need to change since they were planning to tackle the garage after the trip into town.

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

After a filling meal of Pad Thai at a tiny café that the women had been to a few times, Kagome and her mother went grocery shopping to get the items Kagome needed to make the dish she planned for her mother. This was now a tradition between mother and daughter. Kagome's mother would cook a family dish Friday nights and on Saturday, Kagome introduce her mother to a dish that would later get rated as a keeper or a dumper.

 

The light sprinkle that had strolled by earlier during the mid-morning had departed and a cool breezy wind entered their part of the city, but did little to move the grey clouds still hanging drearily in the sky. The Higurashi women walked down the mostly bare sidewalk toward the clinic. In each hand, they clutched onto a plastic bag full of groceries for the night's feast.

 

The two women shared laughs and light talk as the clinic came into view. It wasn't a small building, but it was no where near hospital sized. Instead, it was a five story beige building with large rectangular windows wrapped around each floor. Some plants and some flowers were scattered around by the front door, which had the name of the clinic decoratively printed on it.

 

Kagome was familiar with the place, for she had been a patient there for as long as she could remember. She was known by several of the nurses, and even remembered the doctor visiting the Shrine for festivals. It was only when the recent baby issue crept up on her did she have to seek out other doctors.

 

What wasn't familiar was the large, newer model pick-up truck parked on the street along the sidewalk in front of the clinic. From what she could remember, Dr. Yamaguchi only rode a bicycle, with a basket and a bell and those streamers flying freely from the ends of the handlebars. And if the weather was really bad, he'd take the train, or walk with an umbrella.

 

“Mama?” Kagome questioned as she grabbed her mother's arm to slow down their walking pace. “When did Dr. Yamaguchi get a truck? I thought he considered vehicles monstrous contraptions that served only to destroy nature.”

 

Mama Higurashi glanced at the black vehicle that was parked. “He didn't,” she calmly replied as they cautiously approached the clinic. The women ignored the truck as they turned toward the doors so Kagome could receive her daily injection.

 

“You're late wench.”

 

Kagome spun around, already angered by the tone of voice used to call her a very unflattering name. Her eyes, narrowed and sharp, stopped on the hanyou that was now casually leaned up against the side of the mysterious black truck. That mystery was now solved.

 

“Wha … how … “she tried to get something out, but couldn't. It was hard to when he was looking like that. It reminded her of the time she caught him casually dressed at the grocery store. This time he wore loose fitting blue jeans, a large hole cut in the bend of the left knee, with an oversized heather-grey hooded sweatshirt and tennis shoes on his feet. What she really, but secretively appreciated, was that his silver hair was flowing freely.

 

Inuyasha pushed himself off the truck and walked toward the stuttering woman and her mother. Mama Higurashi smiled at him, bowing slightly at the man that somehow knew her daughter. Inuyasha, taken aback by the nice smile, stopped and offered the older brunette woman a polite bow as well.

 

Finally Kagome found her voice. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Kagome dear, is that any way to address a friend?”

 

“He's not a friend mama, he's my doctor.”

 

Inuyasha frowned at Kagome's confession. Was that how she really felt about him? In the corner of his eye, he caught the mother glancing at him, so he dropped the comment he wanted to make. He was here for a reason, and it wasn't going to take much time.

 

“Aren't you going to introduce me?” her mother teased her blushing daughter.

 

“Fine. Mama, this is Dr. Takahashi, my fertility specialist. Dr. Takahashi, this is my mother . . . “

 

“Call me Mama, or Mama Higurashi. All of Kagome's friends do,” she replied gently, the smile never leaving her face. Kagome only rolled her eyes at her mother's behavior. Yeah, she was right though as all of her friends did call her mother mama. But Inuyasha wasn't one of her friends. He couldn't be. He just couldn't be.

 

“Keh, call me Inuyasha then,” he replied with a smirk. He noticed the look on Kagome's face, as if she was disgusted, or at least annoyed by the politeness, but yet familiarity in their greetings.

 

“So, Dr. Takahashi, why are you here?” Kagome quickly asked before her mother started up some conversation that would delay them even longer. She had to keep a schedule; her soon to be conceived child depended on it.

 

“Dr. Yamaguchi ain't here.”

 

“What?” Kagome turned and ran to the clinic, dropping her grocery bags on the way over. Grabbing a hold of the smooth metal handles of the door, she violently shook it, only to meet the resistance of locked metal. She tried shaking the doors again before switching tactics to knocking on the glass. Someone inside might hear her.

 

“Kagome dear, perhaps you shouldn't be so rough on the door,” her mother politely advised her. “But Inuyasha is correct. Dr. Yamaguchi isn't around. He's gone on vacation to Kyoto.”

 

Kagome froze before slowly turning around to face her mother. “You knew and didn't tell me. Then why . . . why come here?”

 

“Because you said so,” her mother quickly replied, tilting her head to the side with the smile on her face that never seemed to go away.

 

Inuyasha strolled up to Kagome, sensing her immediate distress. He placed a hand on her upper arm and gently squeezed it to get her complete attention. Her eyes stabbed his insides. She was putting so much of herself into this baby thing, and every time she cried and the other times when she struggle to fight the torrent of tears, he could see everything about her hardships.

 

“Don't worry so much. Why do you think I'm here, to clap? I brought the injection with me.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Keh. I just said so. Better give ya a hearing test while I'm at it.”

 

“Oh, that's good to hear.” Kagome placed her hands on her hips and glanced up at the hanyou. “All right let's get this over with.”

 

“Here?”

 

“Yeah why not … “And then it hit Kagome. She slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned out loudly. “No, not here. Definitely not here.”

 

“Kagome. Inuyasha. I suggest we go back to the Shrine. It looks like another rain shower is headed our way.”

 

Inuyasha glanced up at the darkening sky. He could feel the quick drop in temperature and the change in air pressure, signs of the impending rain that Kagome's mother was already aware of. “Fine. Get in the truck. I'll drive you there.”

 

“Oh, that's so nice of you to offer,” Mama Higurashi replied as she headed toward Inuyasha's truck with Inuyasha just a few steps behind her. Trying to be somewhat of a decent gentleman, he opened the door for Mama Higurashi, taking the groceries from her and helping her up into the cushioned, clean cab. He set the groceries in the tool box screwed down in the bed of his truck.

 

“Oi, you coming?” Inuyasha asked Kagome. It wasn't until he turned to look did he really see what was going on with her.

 

In the time he had walked to his truck, she had walked away from it. Her eyes were wide and lacked any of the life or emotion they held moments ago except one - fear. One didn't need demon senses to see the signs of her fear; trembling lips, a slight shake in her head, the way her knuckles whitened from the over-tightening of her grip on the handles of the plastic grocery bags.

 

“Kagome?”

 

Kagome took another step back. “No. I'll … I'll just, uh, walk,” she rattled the words out, trying to tighten her grip even more. “Mama!”

 

Mama Higurashi sighed as she gracefully slid out of the cab of the truck. She walked up to the confused hanyou and placed a hand on his arm. “I apologize. Kagome doesn't like to travel in personal vehicles.”

 

“I knew. I just forgot.” Still, Inuyasha thought it was foolish for a grown woman to act like this. He walked up to her quicker than she could walk away from him. Taking a hard hold of her arm, he glared down at her.

 

Kagome gulped at the determination she saw swimming in his golden orbs. The longer she stared at them, the more she could somehow feel his determination becoming her own, like a transfer of power, or the like. She didn't think this was some hanyou voodoo. Perhaps this was just his male pride.

 

“I promise I won't let anything happen to you.”

 

She barely had a chance to nod as he roughly escorted her over to his truck before she could change her mind. Kagome's mother took the grocery bags from Kagome and carefully watched as Inuyasha gently helped her petite daughter into the cab. Compliantly, Kagome climbed in, settling for the middle seat. Immediately, she went to work on securing herself safely and tightly with the seatbelt.

 

“Thank you,” Mama Higurashi whispered as Inuyasha took the grocery bags from her and placed them with the others in the toolbox. He blushed some, but hid it behind his bangs. Helping the woman into the truck, he shut the door for her before rushing to his side and climbing in. The engine quietly purred and he drove off into the direction of the Shrine, following the instructions given to him by Mama Higurashi.

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

The drive to the Shrine was mostly quiet except for the moments of Inuyasha yelling and growling at Kagome to keep her nails from digging into his legs from her death grips. Kagome only yelled back at him to `shut up' and `leave her alone'. She couldn't help it if she was scared.

 

After the climb up the stairs in the gentle new rain, they made it inside moments before the onslaught of a harsh downpour started to clean the city. Mama Higurashi carried the groceries bags into the kitchen so the food could be put away until dinner later on. She did this to also give Kagome the time she needed to get her injection.

 

Kagome silently lead Inuyasha up the stairs to the bathroom where Inuyasha insisted on giving her the injection, though he didn't explain why and nobody asked. Kagome closed the bathroom door to give her some extra privacy. Not that she was going to get it.

 

Inuyasha set the white plastic box down on the counter before opening up the lid. Pushing up the sleeves of his sweatshirt, he reached into the box and pulled out a set of latex gloves. Kagome sighed, turning away so she didn't have to look at the needle. She wasn't afraid of them, she just didn't like them.

 

“Ready?” he asked as his glove covered hands tore open the packaged syringe.

 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Kagome absent-mindedly replied. She sat down on the toilet seat and rolled up the sleeve of her shirt.

 

Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome and scowled. “That's not how this is done, remember?”

 

Kagome's eyes widened with the realization of her forgetfulness, again, and the sudden embarrassment. She shot straight up from her place on the toilet seat, her back towards the doctor. The burning of her cheeks flamed out, scorching her whole body.

 

Reaching down, Kagome lifted up the hem of her t-shirt so she could get to the button her jeans. She took a deep breath to steady her nervous hands.

 

“Oi. I've seen more of you than you have,” he teased her.

 

“Hey, I'm trying, okay,” she yelled back. After fumbling briefly with the button, she hesitated for only a moment more before dropping her pants down to her knees. Inuyasha sucked in warm air the moment she bent over, gripping onto the toilet seat for leverage.

 

There, in all of its firm glory, was Kagome's sculpted, white cotton panty covered ass, sticking up, swaying slightly as Kagome worked on keeping her balance. Inuyasha gulped, and then gulped again. It was too tempting. He could so easily just reach out, cup his hand along the sleek fleshy cheek and . . . .

 

Damn, he thought as he jiggled his hips around to readjust a part of him that was stiffly aware of Kagome's position and his demon's desire to pounce on her. His blood was boiling hot, fighting his resisting conscience to stay in control. He was all to glad, and lucky that Kagome was facing the opposite direction, so that she couldn't see the blood sport of gold versus red.

 

Kagome drummed her fingers along the edge of the toilet as she waited to get this over with. It shouldn't be taking this long. Never had it taken this long with the nurses. What was he doing back there?

 

“Hey, what's taking so long?” she called out at him.

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he injected a tiny bit of the hormone out to ride the syringe of any air bubbles. “Excuse me for not wanting to kill you,” he argued back.

 

“Well, aren't you going to just stick it in me or what?”

 

Did she just …? Oh, he had to smirk at that. Nor could he let the opportunity pass him by. Taking a few steps toward her, he positioned his legs up against hers, and bent over so his mouth was next to her ear, his body spooning around hers. He intentionally blew warm air against the sensitive lobe.

 

Kagome shivered from the pass of warm air along her skin. What is he doing? She wanted to turn her head to look at him, but knew she couldn't. Not with his face so close to hers. Something accidental could happen. Accidental could not happen, not if she wanted to avoid embarrassment, guilt.

 

“Oh, I plan to.” His rich, deep, husky voice drawled out the words so that there was no way she could mistake it for something else said. In a strange, perhaps dominating way, he wanted her to know, or at least let have her suspicions about him. He didn't know if it was something instinctual, or just a spur of the moment action, but he knew he wasn't ashamed by it, and wasn't planning on regretting it later on either.

 

Kagome didn't know what to do. She didn't even know how to reply to it either. She didn't think of herself as that naïve. There was definitely some other meaning hiding in his response. Or at least in the way he said it. Damn him. How was she supposed to separate the fantasy from the real thing when he was talking to her in that voice?

 

His low rumble of a chuckle didn't help any. It was as if he knew. He knew about her fantasies and was teasing her. Her mouth parted slightly as she tried her best to analyze the situation. She felt his presence move away from her. But she remained still. This wasn't the time to think about her fantasies.

 

This never happened during the other injections.

 

“Huh?” she squeaked out when she realized that the enigmatic Dr. Takahashi was no longer near her. Standing up, she turned around to see him snapping the tip of the needle off and putting everything away into the white box. “Uh . . . my shot?” she quietly asked.

 

“You want another?” he blankly asked as he worked on pulling the latex gloves off of his hands: first the right, then the left.

 

“An . . . other?” Did that mean . . . She glanced down at her leg, inspecting the skin and sure enough, she noticed the faint red mark that normally appeared after being stabbed by the small gauge needle. When did he . . . ? How did she miss it?

 

Inuyasha looked back behind his shoulder, taking a final glance at the bewildered Kagome with her jeans pooled around her ankles, her oversized t-shirt just barely covering her cotton panties, the way her cheeks were flushed and her dark hair disheveled. To someone passing by . . . yeah, it looked like he gave it to her good. He left with a bittersweet smirk on his face.

 

Kagome fisted hands trembled as her acute awareness of the situation as well as her pants were all too clear to her. “Why you … “she gritted out, her body ready to explode, and maybe not just from anger either.

 

Inuyasha wandered into the kitchen to find Mama Higurashi putting the last of the groceries away. He walked over to the table, setting down the plastic box so he could fix his sleeves.

 

“Is it all taken care of?” she asked from behind the refrigerator door.

 

Inuyasha was surprised that she knew he was in the room at all. He sniffed to make sure she wasn't some youkai in disguise. “Uh, yeah. It is.”

 

“That's good,” she cheerfully replied. Standing up, she closed the door and took a few steps toward the now nervous hanyou doctor. “Thank you,” she said softly, bowing deeply at the hanyou.

 

“Eh?” he asked. It was only an injection.

 

“You've helped Kagome out more than you'll ever know.”

 

“Keh, it's only my job.”

 

The woman shook her head, her kind, satisfying smile never leaving her face. “Not that.” Mama Higurashi took a quick sigh before settling to a seat at the table. She motioned for the doctor to have a seat across from her so she could talk to him.

 

“Do you know how Kagome lost her brother and grandfather?”

 

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably in the chair. “Yeah. A little. A car accident or something.”

 

“That's right,” she replied with a quick nod. “An accident that she blames on herself.”

“But … “Inuyasha started, but snapped his mouth shut to hear Mama Higurashi out.

 

“Her father also died in an automobile accident. One that she was too young to understand. After that, we moved here, and Kagome, her grandfather, Souta and I were a family.”

 

Mama Higurashi's comforting chocolate eyes never left Inuyasha's. The smile remained even as she told the deeply personal and sorrowful story. “Kagome had just graduated from college. We were all so proud of her. She moved back here as she prepared herself for the next part of her life. A friend of hers had an internship at some PR firm and snagged tickets to a talk to be given by the Dali Lama and ended up giving these tickets to Kagome for help she had done for them. For a few weeks, we were devout Buddhists though grandfather was a Shinto priest.”

 

“Kagome was running late on the day of speech. Girls and always wanting to look right for any occasion. Finally, they were ready when Kagome received a call from the culinary school. They wanted to have an interview with her that day. She couldn't turn it down, but almost did until both Souta and her grandfather told her that not only they, but the Dali Lama himself would be upset if she didn't go. Something about walking the path Buddha had lain down upon her feet.”

 

“Souta drove, dropping her off at the school as they made their way to the convention center.”

 

And for the first time, her smile had faded into something grim and her eyes momentarily lost their sparkle. “Grandpa died immediately. Perhaps it was his age. It also helped that he had consumed some sake before the trip, dulling any pain he might felt. Souta though . . . he was a young, healthy boy, played a lot of baseball … he was severely injured. Alive, but barely.”

 

“I was immediately contacted, but I held off informing Kagome until after her interview. For the week Souta was in the hospital, so was Kagome. She never left his side. She talked to him about her dreams, her fears; gossiped with him, even told him that one of the nurses had a crush on him. She read him his favorite manga, even played his favorite video games, which she wasn't good at.”

 

“The doctors said that there was just so much trauma to his body that they couldn't even give us numbers. He was living through a machine. Kagome had described him as a comatose cyborg.”

 

“It was I that suggested to Kagome that we cut life support. At first, she was strictly against the idea, holding out for hopes and miracles. She asked Souta what she should do. What did he want her to do? But she eventually came around, though her reasons for it are known only to her. Maybe Souta did give her his answer.”

 

“After the funeral, she locked herself in her room. She didn't cook; she ignored her friends, everyone and everything. If she didn't have that interview, if she wasn't running late … if Souta had his own car and didn't have to borrow her old car. So many if's … and her only conclusion was that it was her fault. Her selfish desire to go to school.”

 

“The investigation into the crash was quick, but thorough and complete. A man, on his cell with a woman, uh … with him in an oversize delivery truck. Souta did everything correctly.” Mama Higurashi took a sigh as her story came to its conclusion. “That man and woman are in jail now.”

 

“Ever since then, Kagome adamantly believes that cars are the cause for car accidents. In some cases, that is true. Faulty brakes, a blown tire. But, the driver of that truck was responsible. Kagome cannot separate the skills and experience of the driver from the vehicle itself.”

 

“I really don't see how I fit into any of this.”

 

Mama Higurashi's smile returned. “More than you know. Anytime Kagome does ride in a car, she won't talk for hours, moping about and she usually ends up crawling into bed, awake. Apparently, the truck incident hasn't affected her too much.”

 

Inuyasha didn't really know how to respond to her. Hell, he'd only known Kagome for what … a month now. What kind of impact could he have made in her life in that month? And it wasn't an everyday thing. Four scheduled appointments, one happenstance meeting at a grocery store, dinner and her triad against him just yesterday. It was nothing.

 

Mama Higurashi beamed at him. “Don't worry about it. It's something that only I'm probably aware of and if anything were to be said to Kagome, she would flush and deny it.”

 

“Oh, okay,” he said, finding some comfort in her words.

 

“Mama?”

“Ma … oh, Dr. Takahashi. You're still here?” Kagome frowned when she saw the hanyou sitting with her mother. Kagome went to the fridge, opening it up and made a search of the food. “What's going on?”

 

“Nothing dear. Just getting to know Inuyasha better.”

 

“Don't you have somewhere else to be?”

 

“Kagome,” her mother immediately chastised her daughter.

 

“Nah, she's right. I'd best be going,” he replied as he pushed himself up from the chair.

 

“Oh, and I was going to invite you to stay for dinner.”

 

“Mama!”

 

“Well, I was. It was so kind of him to come all the way here to just give you your injection, and to give us the ride. Besides, look at the rain. The streets will be flooded, visibility will be low … you don't want him driving home in that mess.”

 

Kagome sighed as she pulled out the chicken they had bought earlier. She lingered in closing the fridge door. Wet streets meant a decrease in tire traction, as the water lubricated the streets, no friction for the rubber of the tire against the cement. Flooded streets caused water to splash up into engines, which could cause the engine to sputter and seize. Low visibility was just as bad . . . all of these were conditions that made driving dangerous.

 

“No, I wouldn't.”

 

“There, it's decided.” Mama Higurashi stood up. “Now Inuyasha, please sit back down and make this your home.” She walked over to the fridge, gently pushing Kagome toward the sink. “Anything to drink Inuyasha.”

 

“Uh, whatever you have is fine.”

 

“Well, we have water, tea, coffee, soda, various juices, beer, sake . . . “

 

“Beer?!”

 

“Yes Kagome. Beer.”

 

“Why is there beer in your fridge?”

“I had a friend over.”

 

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her mother and lowered her voice. “Male or female?”

 

Her mother laughed out. “I'm a grown woman Kagome.”

 

“Male or female?”

 

“Female.” She grabbed some items from the fridge. “Ayumi's mother to be exact.”

 

“Oh, and how is she?” Kagome asked cheerily.

 

“Excited for her first grandchild. Already conspiring about the many ways she plans to spoil it.”

 

Kagome's shoulders slumped forward. “Right.” Kagome dumped the chicken into the sink so she could wash it. “I'm throwing her a baby shower in a few months.”

 

“What a wonderful idea.”

 

“Yeah,” she replied sarcastically.

 

Mama Higurashi grabbed a bottle of chilled green tea for herself and placed a canned beverage in front of Inuyasha. He took a quick glance at it, reading the label before looking up at Kagome's mother. She grabbed tea for herself and gave him . . . beer?

 

“You'll need it,” she whispered to him.

 

Inuyasha smirked as he reached out for the beverage, cracked open the tab and took a deep drink. Mama Higurashi sat back down across from him and twisted the cap off of her drink.

 

“So, mama, what were you and Dr. Takahashi talking about?” Kagome pulled the cleaned chicken out of the sink and slapped it onto a bamboo cutting board. She ran her fingers over the knife selection and chose one, carefully examining the blade before going to work.

 

“I was just getting ready to ask him how he became a doctor.”

 

Inuyasha set the can of liquor down onto the table. “Well, graduated with a double degree in chemistry and biology, got a Ph.D. in biochemistry before heading off to med school. Wasn't sure what kind of doctor I wanted to be. A friend of mine was going into obstetrics, so I followed. Found out that there were a lot of women that were having trouble conceiving and I was drawn to help them. Started my own clinic and … yeah. That's pretty much it.”

 

Kagome started laughing as she cut away at the chicken, cutting the pinkish meat into cubed chunks. “You are such a liar.”

 

Inuyasha growled at her name calling. She really liked to do that to him. Mama Higurashi turned around in her seat to see Kagome pointing a sharp knife at their guest.

 

“Kagome … “

 

“What? He's lying.”

 

“I know that. But you don't have to point knives at people. It's rude and I know I taught my daughter better manners than that.”

 

“Sorry.” Kagome dropped the knife and turned back to the chicken. “It's just that no one blindly follows a man whose only reason to be a gynecologist is to pick up women and ends up being the so-called best in their field.”

 

Inuyasha glanced down at the table, his fingers idly turning the can around in his palm. She was right. Miroku had nothing to do with his chosen career path. He was a guy he had just happened to meet along the way. Yes, they were friends, good friends, best friends, but Miroku was not the reason for anything.

 

“And another thing, the name of your clinic, Izayoi, isn't typical,” Kagome continued, not once seeing the pain, sadness and loss in his hard golden eyes. Her mother did though. “It's a girl's name. Was she your grandmother, sister, girlfriend . . . “

 

“My mother.”

 

Kagome stopped. His mother. The way he said it, it almost sounded like … he missed her. It was how she spoke Souta's name, softly and with some reservation. Kagome didn't like to speak his name because of the memories and ultimately the reminder of sadness. Despite the good times she had, they were nevermore.

 

“I named it in honor of her. She's the reason I'm what I am today.”

 

There were several reasons why Inuyasha didn't like to talk about his mother. And those reasons stood firm. Nothing at this moment was going to change his mind. He decided that he had explained enough to them. He was a fertility specialist because of his mother and because of that he named the clinic after the only person in the world that deserved that honor.

 

And now, the name Izayoi was synonymous with fertility, sexual health, and a place where most dreams for a healthy family could come true. That was more than he could ask for. His mother's name no longer tainted as a demon's whore but a mother, a godmother to all.

 

Mama Higurashi reached out and took a hold of his hand, gripping it firmly. She offered him a smile that warmed his heart and comforted his soul, and she sent him silent acknowledgement that she understood that it was not a topic to continue discussing. But more than that, she offered him a comfort he hadn't felt in a really long time, a motherly comfort.

 

“That's beautiful,” she replied with tears in her aging eyes. And that was all she was going to say about the matter. “Of course, living on a shrine, we see and hear about all kinds of wonderful things. Do you know much about these grounds?” And that was how she dropped the uncomfortable subject of Inuyasha's mother and swiftly changed it into a safe conversation for all.

 

Inuyasha shook his head, but listened intently as Mama Higurashi described the varied and violent history of the Shrine, interjecting cute and embarrassing stories about Kagome when she could. Kagome missed most of it as she worked on dinner. Kagome had tried to defend herself, but only dug herself into deeper embarrassment. She decided it was best to not listen to her mother at all and instead, work on giving both of them a superb dinner.

 

What was strange about all of this was how relaxing and natural feeling it was to have Inuyasha sitting there sharing stories with her mother, her cooking dinner, and everyone enjoying themselves as if this was a normal occurrence. Kagome had to wonder, what did it mean?

 

Outside of her fantasies, she and Inuyasha could agree on disagreeing. They argued, called each other names … she was with Hojo, and he was most likely with that other woman she saw at his office twice, a woman who was in a class far above Kagome. She was sexy, refined, graceful, and confident and everything Kagome was not. The type of woman Inuyasha deserved.

 

Kagome let out a soft sigh. What did any of it matter? She was with Hojo, Inuyasha was with that woman and that was how it was. There was no need to worry herself over these tiny, insignificant details. Her mother was always like this, polite and caring of anyone who was invited into their humble shrine home. This was just her mother being nice, nothing more.

 

“Oi, wench. Are we going to be eating anytime before the year ends?”

 

“I'm not hearing that,” Kagome sang out, ignoring him as she concentrated on creating a meal that not only looked good, but tasted good as well. Food was about pleasing as many of the senses as possible.

 

“Kagome, leave him alone. He's a male. They think with their stomachs,” her mother explained. “You remember your grandfather and brother both. Food, sake, and ancient relics and stories for your grandfather. Food, baseball, and video games for Souta.”

 

“You forgot girls,” Kagome joked and then turned her attention back to the food before her feelings had a chance to surface. There, it looked done and it looked good. “Okay, ready?”

 

“Of course dear.”

 

Kagome sat down a plate in front of her mother and one in front of Inuyasha. It was a long rectangular shape, deep, white, with three pieces of deep friend chicken, lined up in a row. Above each piece of chicken was a piece of sliced citrus fruit, one lemon, one lime and one orange. Below each piece of chicken was a tiny rice ball.

 

Inuyasha frowned at the dainty portion size. He looked up at Kagome as she eagerly awaited their opinions. “Kara-age?” he questioned. This was the meal her mother was anticipating? Had she never had it before? He couldn't believe that.

 

“Yes,” Kagome answered, still waiting. “You can at least eat it.”

 

“Eat? This? How is this supposed to feed me?”

 

“Please.”

 

Mama Higurashi decided to try the orange first, a citrus fruit she hadn't seen paired with kara-age before. She squeezed a generous amount of the acidic juice on top of the accompanying chicken piece. Reaching for the chopsticks, she picked up the chicken and placed the deep fried meat into her mouth.

 

“Oh, Kagome … this is … “her mother gushed at the taste. Without another word, she tried the lime next, since that too was a fruit not normally used with this dish.

 

Inuyasha followed Mama Higurashi. He squeezed the fruit juice over what he could barely even consider a piece of meat and used his claws to pop the chicken into his mouth. He quickly devoured the other two pieces and finished up the rice.

 

“Well?”

 

Inuyasha shrugged is shoulders. It was decent tasting food, what more did she need to know? Other than that he wanted more.

 

“Kagome, this is … excellent. How did you manage to mix the flavors so well, and so differently?”

 

“I just matched things. I used crushed chives with the orange, some oregano with the lemon and paprika with the lime.”

 

“Fabulous. A definite keeper.”

 

“Is that it?”

 

“Is that … Aren't you going to say anything about its taste?”

 

“Keh, I ate it, didn't I?”

 

“Argh!” Kagome screeched as she stormed off toward the stove. Kagome came marching back to the table, slamming down a tray with three bowls of deep fried chicken, a bowl of sliced citrus fruit and lastly a bowl of rice. “There.”

 

Inuyasha grinned at the sight of the large helpings of food. “Now this is a meal.”

 

“Aren't you going to join us Kagome?”

 

“I have to clean up my mess first.”

 

Inuyasha stood up and walked over to a confused Kagome, grabbed a hold of her shoulders and plopped her down in the empty seat next to his. She tried this before when he was around.

 

“Eat,” he commanded, sitting back down in his chair. “Your mother has been waiting,” was his excuse.

 

“Inuyasha, that's okay. Kagome has never been one to eat her own meals,” Mama Higurashi said, hoping to explain her daughter's strange behavior.

 

“Then she should stop cooking. Kagome needs to eat. If she doesn't, it'll mess up the hormones we've been injecting her with. Second, she needs the nutrients and energy to keep up with all of this.” He then turned to Kagome and pointed a clawed finger at her. “Being pregnant isn't about being a size four.”

 

“I know that,” Kagome argued back, taking out her rising temperament on the poor slices of citrus fruit.

 

“And didn't you say that you were a nutritionist. I shouldn't have to tell you this.”

 

“I know that too.”

 

“Then why don't you eat your own food? It's fuckin' delicious.” Inuyasha popped another handful of deep friend chicken into his mouth.

 

“He's right Kagome. You always want others to eat good food, the same should go for yourself. And your food is really good. You deserve it.” Mama Higurashi smiled at her daughter before turning back to her meal. “Besides, once you become pregnant, you'll be unable to control your cravings. When I was pregnant with you, I always had a craving for pickled sea-cucumbers smothered in thick brown gravy with sprinkled cheese on top.”

 

“You fed that to me? Ew.”

 

“You didn't seem to mind it at the time. So, eat what you can choose now.”

 

Kagome scrunched up her face at her mother's perky attitude about everything. Still, she knew her mother and even Inuyasha were right. She took a class at school about nutrition and pregnancy, as well as the importance of exercise. But she not eating her own cooking had nothing to do with being pregnant, or not wanting to eat.

 

The subject of conversation around the dinner table quickly veered away from any baby talk to lighter subjects. Kagome updated her mother on the lives of her friends and the restaurants they visited. From that, she told her mother as well as Inuyasha which restaurants they should definitely sample if given the time.

 

What was lacking from the conversation was Hojo. Not once did either her mother or Inuyasha ask about Kagome's other half. No one wondered where he was at, how he was doing since no one could ask about what he was doing, or why he hadn't called. Inuyasha didn't ask about Hojo because he didn't care at all about Hojo. Sure, his employment at Bio-Gutchi was of some importance, it did keep his case open with the board of directors, but other than that, the guy had nothing going for him.

 

All of the chicken kara-age had been consumed, thanks mostly to Inuyasha's large appetite. Mama Higurashi served up tea as she told more stories about the shrine, its history and how grandfather always had a skewed sense of its history, but was nonetheless, quite the storyteller. Talks of grandfather lead to the income of the Shrine, how it earned money and that they were looking for a new priest to carry on its traditions, but that the position of Shrine priest just wasn't popular with the younger generations and this made the future of the Shrine unclear. However, Mama Higurashi was willing to concede to the fact that perhaps the time of this Shrine had come to its end.

 

During the middle of that conversation, the party of three had ventured from the kitchen to the living room to be more comfortable. Kagome and Inuyasha sat on the couch, on opposite ends of course while Mama Higurashi sat across from them in a chair. A fire softly burned in the background. It was here that that conversation ended. Mama Higurashi excused herself for the night to retire to bed, wishing Kagome and the doctor with the cute ears a good night.

 

“Your mom's kinda nice,” Inuyasha said when Mama Higurashi was out of hearing range. He had to be sure, even though she wasn't youkai; she still had those damn motherly senses.

 

“She's the best.”

 

Inuyasha stood up, tugging down his pant legs. “Thanks for the dinner.”

 

Kagome stood up as well. “Oh, no problem. I mean, thank you for coming out here for my injection.”

 

“Right.”

“I'll be at the clinic tomorrow, your clinic maybe, so . . . “

 

“It's late. I gotta get going.”

 

“Let me, uh, walk you out.” Kagome hurried in front of him, arriving at the door before he did. He was right behind her, slipping into his shoes and quickly tying up the laces.

 

“I'll have Saori call you this week so we can set up an appointment for you to meet with Dr. Miroku.”

 

“Oh, why is that?”

 

“He's going to be your obstetrician. We'll both be there, along with Sango to explain the technical crap with in-vitro.”

 

“Well I have been through the process before.”

 

“Legal stuff. Plus, I think Miroku just wants to see you again.”

 

“Is it okay for him to do that?”

 

Inuyasha shrugged. “He has his reasons. However, the two you have never been introduced properly, patient to doctor.”

 

“That's true. He probably just wants another bottle of dressing. Okay. Sounds good. Please drive safely and good night.”

 

“Yeah, you too.”

 

Kagome opened the door and together they watched as what appeared to be a sheet of rain blocking Inuyasha's exit. The downpour howled with the wind and it had only gotten worse since the afternoon storm. Not only was it dark out, but with the wall of water, it was difficult to see even a few inches in front of one's own nose.

 

Fuck, it was going to be a hellish drive home, considering he lived on the other side of the city. He wasn't going to tell her that. No need to make her feel bad fro having him drive all of the way out here just to give her an injection.

 

“Ah shit.” He frowned not really worried at the idea of driving in this weather, but the long walk down the steps to his truck. He hated when his ears got wet, especially from the cold rain water. It gave him a chill that took hours to get rid of. “Well … “

 

Inuyasha tried to take a step outside, but was stopped. Turning his head back, he found Kagome right behind him, her head bowed down so that her bangs hid her eyes, and both her hands tightly gripping onto his arm, holding him back. He turned his body around so that he was standing at an angle that didn't hurt his shoulder so much.

 

“Ka … gome,” her name just slipped out. Really, he wanted to yell something else out at her.

 

“Please don't go,” her low, shaky voice pleaded out.

 

“What?”

 

Kagome looked up at him, finding his golden eyes immediately. She was unable to tell him how scared she was for him, so she'd let her eyes do the talking. “Don't drive in this.”

 

“Kagome, this is nothing.” He hoped his words could assure her that he was more than capable of driving in this crap.

 

“I … “Kagome released his arm, her head dropping back down. She couldn't tell him that she feared for his safety, that she didn't want to see anything bad happen to him. A gut feeling, woman's intuition, a sixth sense, whatever it was called, it was responsible for her worrisome feelings. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to … I-I've just got this bad feeling. It's ridiculous really.”

 

He stared at her. What he got from her feelings was that she was truly afraid, that her bad feeling would become true. She truly, honestly believed it. He knew she didn't like riding in cars, but it surprised him that it carried over this far.

 

“We have a guest room you can use.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Hmm-mmm. My mom would prefer it as well. She … she would be worried.”

Inuyasha stepped back inside, closing and locking the front door up. “All right.” He slipped off his shoes and followed Kagome back into the living room.

 

Was it time for bed? What then? He just decided to follow her around until she said something.

 

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” Kagome asked, stopping next to the couch before turning to face him. “I'm not tired yet.”

 

“Whatever,” he casually said, taking his seat back on the couch, getting comfortable in the same spot once again. Glancing around the room, he took more notice of the décor, the little things that created the cozy atmosphere of the living room. It was mostly personal affects, pictures, awards and the artwork that couldn't be bought in galleries.

 

Kagome returned with her arms full of snacks for them to share until someone made a declaration of sleep. She set down a bowl full of assorted rice crackers first, followed by bottles of water and juice. Since she was currently banned from alcohol, anyone else around her would be as well. It's not nice to have someone drink alone.

 

Plopping down into the corner of her side of the couch, Kagome reached over and grabbed a water bottle for herself. The other available drinks on the table were for the hanyou if the doctor decided he was something other than whatever.

 

They sat in silence, listening to the tap dancing of the raining dogs against the corrugated metal eaves. It was calming in some regards, but it pointed out that there was no conversation happening. Kagome grabbed the bowl of rice crackers, sifted through the different types until finding her favorite and stuck it in her mouth.

 

“So …“Kagome spoke out, searching her brain for some safe topic to talk about. “Other than being a doctor, what else do you do?”

 

Inuyasha just shrugged his shoulders. “Depends.”

 

“Depends? Depends on what?”

 

“Time. My current workload.”

 

“Okay. Say you have plenty of time and your workload is small . . . what would you do?”

 

“I dunno. Go to a conference, catch up on my reading.”

 

Kagome frowned. “That's it?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“No golfing or fishing?”

 

“Keh, who does that sort of shit?”

 

“Other doctors.”

 

“Bunch of lazy asses.”

 

“So, it's nothing but work for you?”

 

“Damn right.”

 

“All work and no play will make you a dull hanyou,” she teased.

 

“Doesn't matter. I don't have time for any of that extracurricular shit. I have a job to do.”

 

“Do you do it for you, or your mother?” Kagome wasn't looking at Inuyasha when she posed the question. He looked away from her, having been found out so easily by her. His body tensed as he readied his denial. Kagome didn't give him a chance to reply.

 

“I don't know myself. My whole time at cooking school, I wonder if I'm there for myself and my dreams, my goals, or because I somehow feel indebted to them.” Inuyasha followed her gaze to find her staring at a photo of herself with what appeared to be her brother Souta and her grandfather.

 

“I get confused. Who does my life belong to? Daughter … girlfriend … mother … maybe someday, but what about chef … or sister, granddaughter … I'm no longer any of those. I've had to give it up. No.” She shook her head. “I had it taken away from me.” Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. “Your mother … how did she … ?”

 

Inuyasha let all of his muscles relax. He had never told anyone this, his story. It made him vulnerable, more human that he wanted to feel, to accept. His childhood was sad and lonely, though his adult life wasn't much different. And maybe that was why he felt almost comfortable enough to share his sad story with Kagome. Or maybe it was something else, Kagome's frankness … her own openness with him … his wanting to be completely honest with her.

 

“My dad, he died first.”

 

“Wha … “Kagome carefully watched Inuyasha. He wouldn't cry, not in front of her. However, she noticed the other ways he expressed his grief. For starters, he wasn't making any eye contact with her. So she couldn't she his glossed over, hazy eyes. His body was hunched forward, his shoulders sadly slumped and his ears lying flat, hiding in his thick silver hair.

 

“Suspicious circumstances. I was just a pup … three years old. It's still unsolved … “Inuyasha took a deep breath to steady his nerves. It really had been a long time since he confronted his past this directly.

 

“During the time after my birth, and before my pops death, my mother, she tried to give me a sibling. She knew that I would be lonely. Hanyou are rare … there are few of us … and even then, species don't intermingle. Unless … she wanted another child for me, for her, for my dad, but it wasn't happening.”

 

“She went to doctors, so-called fertility specialists, and they couldn't do anything for her. Many didn't want to. Fuckin' hypocritical bastards. No one knew, no one understood … the science, the knowledge … it just wasn't there yet. Then, it was too late. She couldn't take it anymore. Not the treatments and medical procedures, but the loss of her husband, going at it alone … ah … “

 

When … when did Kagome move? How did he not sense her moving so close to him, her body right up against his, her arms wrapped around him and her head leaning against the backside of his shoulder. What the hell was she doing? What the hell was she going to do to him?

 

“It's okay,” she whispered to the hanyou doctor.

 

Inuyasha closed his eyes, enjoying the moment, even if he was enjoying it for all of the wrong reasons. Very bad reasons. He wasn't playing the sympathy card just to get the girl. It just sorta happened that way.

 

Kagome snuggled her head into his shoulder, hugging him tighter. “I'm sorry for thinking that you couldn't understand me … my struggles … “She then chuckled into his sweatshirt. “Sometimes I'm such an idiot. We're similar … “

 

“Keh,” he thoughtfully responded. Reaching out, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to brush his claws through her hair. He didn't want her to feel bad on his account. The only reason he shared his story was because of her invitation.

 

“Do … do you think it's possible, for those who are damaged, to find happiness?” Inuyasha glanced back over his shoulder to get a glimpse of her. She shook her head, trying to hide from his gaze. “Don't answer that. I shouldn't expect you to.” Kagome pulled away from Inuyasha and she missed his whimper from the unexpected loss of contact. “I can't even answer it for myself.”

 

“Are you saying you haven't found it yet?”

 

Kagome was surprised to hear him ask her that. It was a loaded question. She couldn't answer with a straight no, but she couldn't say yes either. The real question was: what was her happiness?

 

She just shrugged. “I don't know yet. My mother thinks I'm too young to think such things. That I haven't lived enough to know the difference between temporary happiness and the real thing.” Turning to him, she shook her head, a faint smile on her face. “I should be talking to Sango about these things, though I don't. She'll ask me if a child will bring me closer to that happiness or something like that. And I-I just don't know.”

 

Letting out a half-sigh-half-laugh, she fell back into the couch. It was getting late. “Maybe I'll have to ask her if she's happy with her so-called love affair with Dr. Miroku.”

 

“You know?”

 

Kagome looked over at him, a bright smile now on her face. “It's so obvious,” she squealed out like a gossiping junior high student.

 

Inuyasha smirked. He couldn't wait to tease his human friends. Never could he tease the two of them when they were together, but just they wait.

 

Kagome sighed once again. “I think I'm ready for bed.” Standing up, she left Inuyasha sitting on the couch as she made her way to the stairs, stepping up a few. Stopping about two-thirds the way up, she turned. “Are you coming?”

 

Inuyasha found himself unable to move as he was trapped in his own fantasy that bordered too close to reality. Seeing Kagome like that, inviting him upstairs, it could be real. She could be his. This could be his life. A beautiful woman, no, just Kagome, telling him that it was time to come up to bed . . . their bed.

 

“Yeah,” he grumbled as the fantasy broke down in the face of the truth. Kagome wasn't his. She would never be his. That image, it would be nothing more than a poor representation of what his life could be like and a clear reminder of what he'd never have in his life.

 

Pushing himself off the couch, he hurried to catch up to Kagome. He followed her down the darkened hallway, past large displays of more pictures of the family. Kagome opened a door and motioned for him to enter.

 

He found a nice sized room, clean and comforting for the night. It was plainly decorated, but he didn't care. It had a large bed, curtains, blankets and a pillow. He didn't require anything else for sleep.

 

“I hope this works for you.”

 

“Eh, yeah. It's fine.”

 

“The bathroom is just across the hall. You'll find fresh towels on the shelf inside. Uh . . . do you need a change of clothes or anything?”

 

“Not really.”

 

Kagome giggled. “Fine. But to fairly warn you, my mother is up awfully early.”

 

Inuyasha only shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever.”

 

“Shorts, pants, sweats . . . ?”

 

“Whatever, really.”

 

“Okay, I'll be right back then.”

 

Once Kagome was gone, Inuyasha walked over to the bed and sat down. He bounced up and down on the mattress a few times to check out its condition. It was firm, but soft, much like his mattress at home. That would make it easier to sleep.

 

Grabbing the bottom of his sweatshirt, he pulled it off and tossed it on a nearby chair. He took a deep breath which was followed by a yawn. This was a mistake. He knew it was. Being here, being so close to her, he knew better. He didn't want to cause any trouble. He also didn't want to torture himself like this. It wasn't healthy.

 

“Shit,” he whispered as he stood up. He pulled the blankets back and tossed the decorative pillows over to the far side of the bed. What was with women and the need for a mountain of pillows that couldn't even be slept on?

 

Why was he here? Why did he do this to himself? It was only going to make things that much more difficult for him. Why did she have to be so damn understanding? And accepting? Even her mother was too nice for her own good. They were really good at making him feel so welcomed at their home and - gasp - a member of the family. It was a fucked up form of torture.

 

Yeah, sometimes he was a whiny bitch. But it didn't matter. He was here now, and wasn't planning on leaving. Maybe he'd slip out in the morning, leave a note saying he had something to do. Inuyasha just shrugged it off. Hell, he was lying to himself, might as well lie to everyone else too.

 

It was bed time. That was obvious. He was over-thinking every little thing. There were nice people in the world and he just happened to meet two of them. Gah . . . he just needed to sleep. He tore of his t-shirt as he waited for Kagome to return.

 

Kagome held her breath in as she watched her hanyou-doctor-fantasy strip off his tee, shaking his head so that his hair hung down the length of his lean back. Eyeing his back muscles, her fantasies did him little justice. She knew he had some muscles, but she didn't figure him to be in that good of shape.

 

“Sorry,” she said, backing out into the hallway. She didn't mean to walk in on him, but she didn't want to be caught staring - ogling - drooling - over him either.

 

Inuyasha turned around. He could see Kagome standing just outside the door. “It's fine. You can come in.”

 

Kagome walked in, keeping her head down, eyes focused on the floor as she didn't want to see how chiseled his front side was or how low his jeans hung off his hips. Okay, she was curious, but, just couldn't risk it.

 

“Here.” She handed him a folded pair of red hakama.

 

“Thanks.” He took them from her and shook them out. It had been a while since he had worn anything so traditional. Black. The black funeral kimono. At his mother's funeral.

 

“My mom is normally up around seven-ish. Breakfast will be served around nine. That's if-if you are still here.”

 

Inuyasha tossed the hakama onto the bed. “Okay.”

 

Kagome took a deep breath before deciding to look up at the hanyou. Her curiosity however was not satisfied. Oh, he was chiseled nicely - oh so nicely, his chest framed with silver hair and his slightly protruding hip bones. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, the build-up of drool that she couldn't release in front of him. “Uh . . . good night then.”

 

“Keh, you too.”

 

She figured she would with dreams of him. Oh boy, was she in deep, deep trouble.

 

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

roshully's note: Hi. So, a little bit about Inuyasha's background, how he really got into the fertility business. That's pretty much it for now. Postings will continue to happen on Friday's and Monday's for a week or two, but my hours at work are going to increase, so that might put a damper on my writing time. We'll see.

 

Now to the replies to your reviews:

 

@___@ - Yes yes, sex is good and all, but I just can't bring Kagome to cheat on Hojo. Nor could I let Inuyasha do something to her while she is in a relationship. I want to, but I just can't. I suffer along with the rest of you. We all must wait *double pout* Thanks for your review.

 

Seiteki Tenshi - Yes, it must go slow. I'm glad you can see that. Yeah, the lines of Hojo and Kagome's communication are screwed up. With cell phones, why leave notes? A lot of it has to do with disappointment. Who wants to hear disappointment in the voice you're talking to? Notes are safer in a degree, in that you don't want to see or hear the person react to it. Hojo will get a chance to explain to what's going on. But, like everything else with this story, you'll have to wait. But I have addressed it. Yes, communication between couples is hard because we don't want to hurt or disappoint our partner/gf/bf/wife/husband/mate so we hide our true feelings until bad things happen. But that's what Cosmo is for. Thanks for your review.

 

PChris - Wow, such flattering remarks. Thank you very much. Everyone wants Hojo to be in an affair with Kikyou so that Kagome has a valid reason to leave Hojo and run to Inuyasha's arms for comfort (and perhaps some extracurricular comforting). But we'll see. I would like to have some faith in parts of the male population that they don't all have to have affairs, no matter what evolutionary biology says. In fact, due to evolutionary biology, women are more likely to cheat than men, so if I were to go along those lines, Kagome would be the cheater. But, as humans we have morals and a consciousness that allows us to control and hide those prehistoric urges that was once needed for populating the earth. Sorry, I wrote a paper about this once. I definitely plan to finish this story. I have some ideas for an ending, but that'll depend on what happens between now and the end. Happy readings and thanks for your review. (sorry about the wrong turn into evolutionary biology)

 

gillster - Because I told them no. I don't know. I'm just the writer.

 

cwillia - We will be taking it slow because I don't think I could rush it even if I wanted to. Sucks because I too want to see them together. I hope I didn't sound snarkish in my reply. I was not having the best week ever. But it's all good now. You'll get some insight into Hojo in a later chapter, I think its 14, which I'll have posted next Friday when I get it edited properly. We'll finish Inu's time at the Shrine and then it'll be a chapter full of medical procedures. Thanks for your review.

 

Tarzan14 - Can't give everything away. Sango and Miroku have their ideas about things. Those ideas may be shared in a later chapter. I know, everything happens later. But, with me double posting chapters this week and next, we'll all get there sooner rather than much later. I never thought about giving Mama Higurashi a lover. We'll see what happens. Thanks for your review.

 

Axel720 - I know the slow pace is frustrating. Even for me it is. I've got all of these wild n' crazy ideas in my head, but I can't do them. I don't know if I can so Miroku/Sango stuff so I've avoided it. I was planning to make a side chapter with those two and have them discuss their thoughts about Kagome just as Inuyasha said they would during the dinner at Kagome's house. If I have time, I might bunker down and get something out. Also, Kagome isn't the only one who's got things to sort through. Thanks for your review.

 

rini12 - Eh, that hasn't been answered yet. Right now, it's Kagome/Hojo because they are the one in a real relation, but we can't rule everything out, can we? Thanks for your review, hope to hear from you again.

 

Inusbabe - Great, thanks! Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera.

 

And thanks to all of the readers as well. It's my doggie's 3rd birthday this weekend, so I'll be feasting upon a heavenly peanut butter cheesecake. I share virtual slices with all. Have a great weekend.

 

roshully