InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

The Lucky Ones

By Terri Botta

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I'm poor so don't sue.

Rating: R for later chapters.

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango

Summary: Sometimes Fate hands you a gift you never thought you'd ever get, and it's up to you to accept it for what it is.

Email feedback to: tci100@psu.edu

Webpage: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta

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Chapter Nine

Kagome held Yukio close to her chest as they approached the house. Inuyasha, feeling her distress but not really understanding it, stayed close to her as they walked across the shrine grounds. Just as they were approaching the doors, they slid open and Souta ran out, almost hitting them.

"Ittekimasu!" he was calling, then skidded to an abrupt halt in front of them.

"Nee-chan! Inu-no-niichan!! Mama! Nee-chan's back and she's brought Inu-no-niichan with her!!"

Kagone gulped, knowing her mother would now be waiting for her inside.

"Souta," she greeted, managing a strained smile.

"Nee-chan. It's good to see you!" her little brother enthused, then he noticed that something had moved in his sister's arms, something with ears, and his eyes narrowed. "What's that? Did you bring a puppy with you?"

Kagome blushed. "Ahh... no, Souta... Weren't you on your way out?" she said, trying to distract him.

"I was just going to Yugi's house. What have you got, Nee-chan?"

"Ah, Kagome, Okaeri," her mother greeted, coming to the doors.

"Mama," she breathed, her heart catching in her throat.

Yukio took that exact moment to let out a cry in response to her sudden fear. She saw her mother's eyes open wide and her face go pale. Kagome cringed, gripping Yukio even tighter against her.

"Mama, I can explain."

"Kagome, what have you done?" her mother demanded softly, disbelievingly.

Inuyasha chose to make matters much much worse by saying matter-of-factly, "Kagome's mother, we have a pup now."

If her mother's face could have gotten any paler, Kagome didn't know, but she saw her reach out to grip the edge of the door to keep herself standing.

"Mama, it's not like that..."

"Come inside, Kagome," her mother interrupted in a voice that brooked no argument.

"Oh, nee-chan, I think you're in trouble," Souta said, edging away. "I'm gonna go to Yugi's house now. Bye!"

The fifth-grader dashed off as fast as his legs could carry him.

`Sheesh, what a coward,' Kagome thought, then steeled herself to face her mother's wrath.

Mama had already gone into the house and was waiting for her in the kitchen. Inuyasha stayed close to her as she took off her shoes and slowly walked to her fate. Yukio was fussing and fretting, and not making the situation any better.

"Here, give him to me," Inuyasha offered. "The scent of your worry is just making him worse."

Reluctantly, she handed the baby over and he settled into Inuyasha's arms, quieting somewhat.

They entered the kitchen and Kagome waited, her eyes down, for her mother to speak.

"You have two minutes to explain yourself, Kagome."

"He's an orphan. Both his parents are dead. His mother lived long enough to bring him to Kaede's village. He's a hanyou like Inuyasha. Inuyasha and I... we've adopted him," she blurted.

The older woman looked at her, then at Inuyasha. "So he's not yours and he's not Inuyasha's," she said.

"No. He is an inu-youkai hanyou like Inuyasha and looks just like him, but Inuyasha is not his father," Kagome replied honestly.

"I see."

"We've taken him in. His name is Yukio," she added.

"Yukio," her mother repeated.

There was a short silence, then her mother sighed. "Kagome, how do you intend to care for this child?"

She looked up at her mother, feeling some small measure of relief. "It's not that hard. Back in the Feudal Era, I have lots of help, and Inuyasha hunts for me." She lowered her eyes, pensive. "It's here that will be difficult. Back there, it's easy."

"What do you feed him?"

"I..."

"Kagome makes milk for him!" Inuyasha answered brightly.

He said it with such pride and enthusiasm, as it if were the most amazing thing that had ever happened, but Kagome felt her whole world come crashing down around her at sight of her mother's face.

"Makes milk? Kagome, are you nursing this baby?"

Kagome blushed and cringed and Inuyasha gave her a confused look.

"Yes, Mama."

"But you said he's not yours," her mother said, her voice dangerously soft.

"He isn't! But... I'd sleep with him and he'd crawl under my shirt at night and try to get milk. A few days later, I started leaking milk. Kaede-obachan said it happens sometimes when a woman lets a baby nurse from her..."

"You let the baby nurse from you when you didn't have any milk?"

Kagome was really starting to panic now. She could tell her mother was furious and she didn't know how to make it any better.

"Y... yes. He was hungry and it would wake me up so I would feed him his gruel, and I thought he was missing his mother so much and I didn't mind and after a while I..."

"STOP!"

The woman said it with such force that even Inuyasha jumped and put himself protectively in front of Kagome.

"You are going to a doctor," her mother said coldly.

"Doctor? Mama, I can't take him to a doctor! He's a hanyou like Inuyasha. They'll think he's deformed!" she argued.

Beside her, Inuyasha made a choked sound but she ignored him.

"I didn't say the baby was going to the doctor. I said YOU are going to the doctor. I will make the appointment and take you."

Kagome blinked. "Why?..." she began, then stopped, her heart growing cold. "You... you don't believe me. You think I'm lying about Yukio..."

Her mother turned a hard gaze to Inuyasha. "And you. You are no longer permitted to be with my daughter unchaperoned, and you are forbidden to sleep in her room."

"Huh? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means we're not allowed to be alone together anymore," Kagome explained.

"Why? We haven't done anything wrong! And the pup..." Inuyasha argued, getting upset.

"As for the baby, Kagome you will give him to me and I will watch him..."

"NO," she replied immediately. "No, I will not. I will go to the doctor with you and I will make sure Inuyasha and I are not alone together, but Yukio is mine and no one is taking him away from me."

"Kagome..."

"I'll leave and never come back. I swear I will! I'll go through the well and stay there on the other side. Don't think I won't! Inuyasha would take me out of here in a heartbeat and no one would be able to stop him," she threatened, meaning every word.

Her mother's eyes narrowed and Kagome could tell she was assessing her daughter's sincerity. She tried to put her conviction into her eyes and the stubborn set of her jaw. Beside her, Inuyasha began to growl, deep and low in his throat, and Yukio grew still and quiet, very very quiet. Inuyasha passed him to her and put an arm around her waist. His body was tense, ready to spring. All she had to do was say the word and he'd leap right through the wall of the house if he had to, or blow a hole with Tessaiga. Kaze no Kizu would waste the entire building, but she knew he wouldn't think twice about doing it if he thought they were in danger.

It was a tense stand-off and Kagome wondered who would give in first, then her mother dropped her eyes and sighed.

"Alright. Keep him for now."

"For now?" Inuyasha repeated, his voice almost a snarl.

"If this child is detrimental to my daughter's health, I will do everything in my power to keep it from her," the older woman replied. "Now I am going to call my OB/GYN and see if I can get you an appointment for tomorrow."

It was a clear dismissal and Kagome took the opportunity to grab Inuyasha's arm and back him out of the room.

`Oh God, that was horrible. What… what am I going to do?'

She was close to tears and nauseous with upset, her hands shaking. Inuyasha was fuming, his hands clenched into tight fists.

"Baka," Inuyasha grumbled. "Foolish woman to think he is yours. And just when would you have carried and birthed him? We return to this wretched place twice a moon, and even youkai pregnancies last longer than that. Breeding bellies are hard to hide. She's not making any sense. And to make you feel so poorly and to threaten to take Yukio..."

`You've never see my mom like that, have you? Your only memories of her are of when she is happy and pleased and helpful. You've never seen her when she's mad. I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I should have warned you,' she thought sadly.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha. If it comes to it, we'll leave and not come back. I meant what I said," she assured. `I'm not giving up my baby.'

"You'd... you'd really sacrifice your life here to keep the pup?" he asked, his voice soft and laced with wonder.

She looked sharply at him and saw the open, touched look on his face. `What is this? He's been like this ever since my milk came in...'

"Absolutely," she replied with conviction. "No one is taking Yukio away from me."

If anything his face softened even more and she swore his eyes grew watery, but he looked away too fast. Boldly, she took his hand, feeling the rough callused palm close tentatively over her own.

"No one is taking the pup away from us," she amended.

He met her gaze, his eyes as serious and determined as hers, and nodded once. Yukio fussed, drawing their attention and Inuyasha crinkled his nose.

"He's dirty."

Kagome nodded. "And I should feed him as well. C'mon."

Knowing that there would be Hell to pay if she tried to go up to her room, she went into the living room instead. She lowered herself down to sit on one of the floor cushions and Inuyasha draped his haori over her shoulders the way he always did when she was about to nurse the baby. He sat next to her, putting himself into a protective position against anyone or anything that might come through the doors.

As she reached for her bag to get a clean diaper, movement from the side caught her attention and she looked up to see her grandfather sitting on the other side of the room. The look on his face told her that he had heard everything she and her mother had argued about. Flushing, and feeling very exposed, she lowered her gaze and returned to what she was doing, her hands trembling.

Jii-chan came to sit in front of her as she laid Yukio on the floor on his spread out blanket and took off his soiled diaper. She could tell he was watching her intently, following her movements as she wiped the baby clean and dried his tender skin. When she turned to pick up the clean diaper, she saw him stretch out a hand to touch the baby. Her first instinct was to slap it away, grab Yukio and run, but oddly, Inuyasha placed a gentle hand on her wrist. She looked at him and saw that he and her grandfather were staring at each other.

After a few tense moments, Inuyasha gave a very small nod and Jii-chan picked Yukio up. He was still naked and Kagome wanted to warn her grandfather that the baby might soil him, but the look on the man's face stopped her. He was looking to the infant's eyes, holding him lightly under the arms with his wrinkled, wizened hands. Yukio, to his credit, didn't fuss, but looked up at the man who held him and raised a grasping hand.

Jii-chan closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. He placed Yukio in his lap, reached up and pulled the charm he had around his neck over his head. He used the knots on the cord to shorten its length, ignoring the baby that grabbed at the stone and batted it with clawed hands, then he gently slipped it over Yukio's head, letting it rest on his small chest. Yukio looked at it and played with it, then stuck it in his mouth. Jii-chan gently pulled it out, running one finger over the baby's lips, before placing a hand on Yukio's forehead and making a small prayer.

"Jii-chan..." Kagome breathed with gratitude and surprise, recognizing the blessing.

"Forgive your mother for behaving badly. She is very worried about you," he told her as he gently placed Yukio back on his blanket.

"Hai, Jii-chan. Arigato," she replied, quickly putting on the clean diaper and wrapping him back up. `I'd wanted to get new diapers and new clothes for him while I was here, and maybe a new carrier but...'

She picked him up, tucking him under the haori, preparing to feed him. He knew what was coming and started to gurgle happily as she lifted her shirt and raised him to her breast. He found the nipple on his own without any prompting, and she sighed with relief at the feel of him nursing, the tension running out of her shoulders and back. Inuyasha came close and put an arm around her, and she relaxed in his loose embrace. This was normal. This was her world: Yukio and Inuyasha's arms.

`He likes to be close when I feed the baby. There's something there. Something deep and old. It comes into his eyes when he sees me with Yukio. Whatever it is, it softens him and brings out his tender side. Yukio has brought us so much closer together.'

Yukio brought out her tender side too. She was gentler with Inuyasha, more patient and tolerant. She hadn't `sat' him in three days- not since the morning her milk came in and they'd had that awful fight over the liver. Speaking of liver...

"Inuyasha?"

"Hm?"

"Where's the liver?"

"In your bag."

"It needs to be put in the refrigerator... the cold box in the kitchen."

"Now?"

"Soon."

"Ok."

He didn't move and she was content to let him stay there. Another twenty minutes wouldn't make a difference. A few moments later a shadow fell over them and Inuyasha tensed. She looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway with an unreadable expression on her face as she watched her nurse the baby.

"Your appointment is for eleven `o clock tomorrow morning. We'll leave here around ten to get there on time," her mother told her, her voice neutral.

Kagome nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Hai, Mama."

Jii-chan stood up and brushed off his hakama. "Mama. I would speak with you," he said quietly, walking over to her.

"Hey old man," Inuyasha interrupted. "Could you take the two pots of liver from Kagome's bag and put them in the cold box?"

"Of course," Jii-chan replied.

Moving without dislodging Yukio, Kagome retrieved the two clay jars full of liver and gave them to her grandfather with a word of thanks. He gave Kagome a reassuring smile and led her mother away.

`Well… we weren't alone until he left us alone, so I'm not going to worry about it,' she thought to herself.

"At least the old man has brains," Inuyasha commented.

She gave a small grunt in acknowledgement but otherwise kept quiet. Yukio made his `next please' noise and she switched him, giving his bottom a pat as she did so. He snuffled and latched on to her breast, sucking noisily.

`It sounds like he'd be a messy eater, but he never spills a drop.'

A particularly hard suck made her wince a little. `Never leaves a drop either. Little pig.'

"He's growing," she said, just for something to say.

"Yeah. Youkai and hanyou pups grow fast."

She nodded, remembering how much Shippo had grown over the last two years.

"He'll be walking by the end of summer, I'd bet. Maybe talking too," Inuyasha predicted.

"That soon? He'll only be six or seven months old by then," she replied.

"Yeah. I can see it already."

"When will he begin to teethe?"

"I'm not sure. Soon though. Another couple of weeks maybe."

"Hmmm. That's too soon to wean him. I was hoping to have him on solid food before he cut teeth, but if he is going to start growing them that soon…"

"If he bites you, scruff him, but I think he's learned his lesson there," he said with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah, he learned that quick."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Must take after his mother," he teased lightly. "I'm just the stupid hanyou."

"Don't say that. I know you're one of the smart ones. You try to hide it, but I know. You're a lot smarter than you let on," she replied, unhappy that he'd put himself down.

"Humans don't expect animals to be intelligent. My human grandfather told my mother I'd never learn to read and not to bother trying to teach me, but she didn't listen to him, and I learned pretty fast."

"I remember when you stole my maths study guide," she recalled fondly. "I was so mad at you."

"Now that I couldn't read; all those weird signs and symbols."

She snickered. "That's okay. I couldn't read it either."

"You've often said that math is hard for you."

She nodded. "The higher math, yes. Algebra, geometry, calculus…"

"Calc-u-what?"

She gave him a fond look. "Math with weird signs and symbols."

He snorted. "Dunno what you need it for. If you can add and subtract, it should be enough. Seems stupid to me."

"Me too. I know I'll never use it once I graduate."

"Then why bother with it at all? Isn't it a waste of time then?"

She sighed but did not get angry. Inuyasha had never really understood the importance of her school work.

"Because in this time education is very important, and if I want to pass my tests and do well, I have to learn the things they want."

"Hmmph."

Yukio made his `all gone' noise and she drew him from underneath the haori, pulling down her shirt to cover her breast again. She'd stopped wearing her bras because they'd gotten too small for her lactating breasts. New bras were on her list of necessary supplies to get while she was in the modern era. Gently, she draped him across her shoulder and burped him, giving him an extra cuddle once he'd belched.

"You'll teach him, right?" Inuyasha asked her suddenly, reaching over to rub the pup's ears. "You'll teach him all your learning from all your books?"

She looked at him and smiled. "Of course." `He's not even considering the possibility that we might not be together to see him grow up. I wonder what that means.'

He gave her a pleased smile. "Good."

She yawned. It was too much to think about: her mother, the doctor, Yukio growing up, her and Inuyasha's future, her tests… oh yeah, the tests she hadn't studied for. Her head hurt.

"I'm tired," she sighed.

"Then you should sleep."

She shook her head. "I don't want to be alone."

Inuyasha looked around, then pulled them both with him as he moved to the wall, placing his back against it and drawing her into his arms. They assumed the familiar sleeping position they adopted when resting this way and curled together. She tucked Yukio against her chest and snuggled him under the haori that was now draped over both of them like a blanket. Inuyasha nuzzled her hair then rested his chin on top of her head. She fell asleep feeling warm and safe.

Jii-chan woke them when it was time to eat, and dinner was a quiet affair full of tension and unspoken words. Kagome refused to look at her mother, and Inuyasha made sure that he was seated in the most protective position possible, with Kagome closest to the door. She had Yukio around her chest in his sling and he was sleeping quietly after having just been fed. Poor Souta tried to start conversations to lighten the mood, but none of his cheerful anecdotes worked, and he finally gave up. After dinner he went up to his room to study.

In keeping with the new rules, Kagome chose to study in the kitchen with the shoji open so anyone could see that she and Inuyasha were doing nothing more risqué than sitting at the table. He kept hold of Yukio, entertaining him when he wanted attention and giving him to her for feeding and changing when necessary until she closed her books and said she was headed up to bed. She changed and fed Yukio once more before talking him into her bedroom. Inuyasha gave her a sad, longing look that broke her heart, and she gave him a little nuzzle and a comforting stroke on his cheek before closing the door on him, leaving him in the hall. He sat with his back to her bedroom door, Tessaiga draped across his lap and tried to doze.

Kagome found sleep elusive for her as well, the lack of Inuyasha's comforting presence making it hard for her to relax. Knowing he was right outside her door helped a little, but even Yukio was fussy without the scent of his adoptive father nearby. Still, she knew she should at least try to get some sleep. Tomorrow she was going to the doctor.