InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Seventeen ( Chapter 17 )

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

********

Chapter Seventeen

"SANKON TESSOU!" he screamed and another tree fell victim to his claws.

At this rate, the village would not only have enough firewood to last the winter (which was still a number of months away) but enough logs to build eight new huts... or four huts and a house. He sliced up the tree into human-manageable parts, cursing and snarling the whole time, then he stopped, slammed his fists into the ground with earth-shuddering force and let out a howl that ripped its way right out of his soul. He was sure it shook the trees all the way to the village, but he didn't care.

Four days. It had been four days. There was no breath, no word, no hint of when Kagome would return and he was afraid to follow her. The futon was cold and her scent was fading. He'd taken to shoving his face deep into her pillow just to catch a whiff of her, and he had it stuffed into a hollow of the dead tree he now slept in because there was no welcome for him in the village. Everywhere he went the people looked angrily at him, not because he was a hanyou, but because he was the heartless bastard who had hurt the Lady Kagome and made her run away. Even Kaede who he knew loved him, looked at him with sad eyes and shook her head. Sango wouldn't speak to him, and Shippo would scream and cry. Only Miroku would look at him with something other than disgust or disappointment. No, the houshi looked at him with pity.

"ARGHHH! KAGOME-E-E-E-E!!!!!!" he cried to the sky, but what he really wanted to say was: Please come back to me. I'm lost without you. I'm sorry. Forgive me! Please forgive me!

Growling, he returned to his work, dragging the cut up logs and throwing them forcibly onto the huge pile he'd already amassed at the edge of the village. He turned back to the forest, but paused as he looked up. The rains were coming and soon the clouds would open to weep the tears he could not cry himself.

Miroku found him huddled by the well later that night, out in the rain and drenched to the skin. He glared up at the monk through dripping bangs and saw him standing there under one of Kagome's umbrellas. A second one was in his hand, along with a blanket.

`Huh? Came to tend the pathetic loser, did you?'

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"Isn't it obvious?" came the calm reply as Miroku opened the second umbrella and offered it to him.

He growled and slapped the gift away. "Don't need it, and I don't need your pity, bouzu!"

Anger flashed in the other man's eyes briefly. "Your behavior is unbefitting for a man of your character, Inuyasha."

"Keh! What do you know about my character, monk?"

"I know that you are torturing yourself when you should be going to see Kagome-sama."

"And tell her what? I'm sorry I'm a pathetic, good-for-nothing bastard who made you feel like you and the pup were a burden?" he snapped.

"That's a start."

He snorted. "Keh! She'd sit me into oblivion."

"And it would be no more than you deserve, but you don't know what she will do until you go there."

"How can I? After what I've done? She's better off without me." `She is. I'm a burden to her, not the other way around.'

"I doubt Kagome-sama would agree. She loves you with all her heart. I am sure she would find a way to forgive you."

"I don't deserve it."

"That goes without saying, but seeing as whether or not she forgives you is not your choice, your worthiness of that forgiveness is irrelevant."

He growled and huddled further into his soaked clothes. Miroku retrieved the umbrella and offered it again along with the dry blanket. He glared at it angrily.

"Inuyasha, please stop this. We are all worried about you and Kagome-sama. It is obvious that you are in terrible pain. No doubt Kagome is suffering too in her country. Pull yourself together and go to see her."

He was losing it and he knew it. It was all he could do just to keep his emotions in check, but he knew his agony must have been reflected in his eyes because his friend's face softened and the monk crouched down next to him.

"Inuyasha."

"How can I? How can I, Miroku? How can I?"

"You just do, because Kagome-sama is more important than a petty argument or a slip of the tongue."

"What if she tells me she never wants to see me again? What if I've really lost her this time? And the pup? What if she keeps my pup?" he asked, heartbroken.

"Then that is her decision and the choice between Kagome-sama and Kikyou-sama has been made for you."

`But I'd already chosen Kagome in my heart…'

"I'm afraid," he admitted.

"I know. I'm sure Kagome-sama is frightened too. She fears you have gone to Kikyou and left her behind."

He shook his head. "I promised to never leave her side again. I know I haven't kept that promise, but I've always returned to her."

Miroku nodded and put a hand on his wet shoulder. "And you must do so again; if only to hear what she has to say to you."

He closed his eyes in defeat and looked away. Miroku positioned the umbrella over his shoulder, bracing it against the well so the wind wouldn't blow it away and placed the dry blanket in his lap. The action struck him as funny because his hakama was soaked, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll pray for you, my friend."

With that, the monk stood and slowly walked away, leaving him alone with his pain, but at least a little bit drier. A moment later a warm bundle settled between his knees and he looked down to see Shippo huddled there. The kit looked and smelled like he'd been crying but his green eyes were dry now. He half expected him to start his usual admonishments, but no recriminations or accusations came. Instead, Shippo merely hunkered down into the dry blanket and tentatively rested his head against his chest.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and shivered, the small gesture doing more to break him into pieces than any shouts or cries ever could. Somehow the kit knew that once you'd held a warm life in your arms, you felt forever bereft if it was taken from you. He missed Kagome and their pup more than he ever thought he possibly could. He missed them like he would miss the use of a limb. But they were not here and Shippo was, and the kit needed comforting as much as he did.

Slowly, he raised his arms and wrapped them around the young kitsune. Small hands came up to hug him, and they both sighed. He nuzzled his nose into the flaming red hair and gently stroked the kit's back with one hand. It felt good to hold someone again, to feel loved and wanted instead of outcast and alone.

"I'll go get her in the morning. I promise," he whispered.

Shippo's cheek nodded against his chest. "Good."

********

Morning dawned and it was dry, the rain having passed sometime during the night. Shippo was still asleep against him, but woke immediately the moment he moved. No words were spoken between them, but there was a silent understanding. The kit hopped off his lap and he stood up to stretch, then he gave the kitsune a measuring look. Shippo nodded to him, and waited, the umbrella and damp blanket tucked under his little arm, as he peered over the edge of the well. With a final glance to Shippo and a nod, he gathered his courage and jumped in.

The time slip accepted him, relieving one of his fears that Kagome had managed to seal the well behind her, and he emerged on the other side. It was early and he hoped that he had arrived before Kagome left for school. He crossed the shrine grounds and leaped up onto the roof above Kagome's window, peering down over the edge to peep into her bedroom. He sighed with relief to see her still in bed, a little tuft of silver hair sticking out from under the blankets to mark where the pup was nestled against her instead of in the rocking `bassinet' her mother had purchased and put in her room one day. The only time the pup didn't sleep with them was when they wanted the bed to themselves for activities that didn't involve sleeping.

Silently, he pulled open the window, grateful that it was unlocked and taking it as a sign that she wasn't trying to keep him out, and slipped in. Her alarm clock was set to go off at any moment, so he turned it off because he wanted to be the one to wake her. He crept up to the side of the bed and just looked at her sleeping face, his heart pounding with fear and joy.

`Kagome. My Kagome. My beautiful Kagome.'

Her scent filled his nostrils and he breathed deep, drinking it in like a man dying of thirst. The missing pieces of his heart fell back into place the moment her smell soothed his soul, and he relaxed for the first time in four days. His ease did not last long, however, because Yukio caught his scent and roused with a questioning burble. The pup's movements woke Kagome and she opened sleepy, brown eyes. He froze.

She stared at him for long moments, perhaps wondering if he was a dream, then her eyes filled up with tears and she whispered his name.

"Inuyasha."

He laid his head on her mattress in a move that any inu-youkai would have recognized as a gesture of submission.

"Kagome. I'm so sorry, Kagome," he whispered, wanting desperately to wipe away those tears and never see her cry because of him again.

"You came for me. I was so scared that you wouldn't ever come."

"I didn't know that you wanted me to. I was so awful to you and I didn't know if you would still be mad at me."

She just looked at him, her eyes so sad. He broke.

"Please forgive me," he begged.

One hand snaked out from under the covers and stroked his cheek and face.

"I forgive you."

He sighed, all the tension leaving his body in one huge rush, and nuzzled into her hand. Under the covers, Yukio was moving and he pulled aside the blanket to see his pup. Golden eyes and puppy ears and a big smile greeted him and he nuzzled the pup too, making little noises of reunion that inu-youkai made after being separated. The pup responded by grabbing onto his hair and gurgling. Kagome moved back, making room for him on the bed and he moved to climb in beside her. She put a hand on his arm and frowned.

"Your haori is damp."

He shrugged. "I got stuck out in the rain," he explained.

"You should get out of your wet clothes then and let them dry."

"Oh. Okay."

In one of her drawers was a set of pants that she had bought for him a long time ago. They were grey and soft and she called them `sweat pants.' He wore them very rarely, usually when his own clothes weren't wearable for one reason or another. He retrieved them now and slipped into them as he removed his haori, kimono and hakama spreading them over her curtain rod and the back of her desk chair to dry. Then he joined her in the bed, snuggling up with Yukio between them.

`I'm home. Thank the gods, I'm home.'

"Inuyasha," she murmured into his hair.

"Kagome."

His lips sought hers and found them, kissing her carefully, seeking reassurance more than anything else. She responded, pressing close to him and the sweet scent and warmth of her body ignited the fire in his loins. He was amazed when he smelled her own faint arousal wafting up to his nostrils, and he kissed her a little more urgently.

`It's been four days. Her bleeding time is over,' he thought with elation.

Yukio was deposited into his bassinet without too much fuss other than needing a quick diaper change, and they returned to her bed.

Their joining was tentative and reverent, and more a reconnection than a wild, passionate tryst. He took her with gentleness and no small amount of awe that she would accept him back into her body so soon. He had been prepared to wait a good long while before she let him make love to her again, and the fact that they were doing it within an hour of being reunited was mind-boggling to him. Not that he was about to refuse. No, not at all. For him, it was the clearest evidence of her forgiveness, and he wasn't about to pass it up.

They made love quietly, keeping the noise to the absolute minimum because they knew that the rest of the household would be rising to start the day. When he slid his tongue between her thighs, she stuffed her pillow into her mouth to muffle her moans, and he bit her blankets to stifle his when he mounted. They climaxed together, each swallowing the other's cry in their mouths as they kissed in the final moments of their coupling.

When it was over and they were resting in each other's arms, and Kagome was stroking his hair and telling him she loved him, he was struck with an overwhelming rush of love, humility and relief. It took him over, making him tremble in her embrace, and she drew him close to rest his head on her breasts. And he did something he hadn't done in decades, since he was just a little orphaned whelp and his brother had beaten him. He cried.

"Nee-chan, are you getting up?" Souta's voice called some twenty or so minutes later, just before he entered the room.

The boy barged in, saw them cuddling in bed and his jaw dropped.

`Oh shit,' Inuyasha thought, realizing that Souta could tell Kagome's mother and grandfather everything.

"Nee-chan. Inu-no-niichan…"

He leaped out of the bed, heedless of his nakedness and grabbed the child, covering his mouth as he closed the bedroom door hastily.

"Be quiet," he hissed in the boy's ear.

"Mmmmm-mmmmm-ppppphhhhhh!!!"

Kagome sat up in bed, looking guilty and shocked, holding her covers up to her chest to hide her own nudity.

"Listen to me, boy. I'm not here and you didn't see this. Got it?"

Souta blinked at him with terrified eyes.

"I'm going to get dressed and come in through the shoji. You will pretend to be surprised to see me. Right?"

Souta agreed, eyes wide and head bobbing up and down so fast Inuyasha thought it was going to fall off.

He let the kid go, fully prepared to have to deal with the repercussions of him running out and calling the household. What Souta actually did shocked him.

"Inu-no-niichan," he whispered loudly, hugging him around the neck. "I am so glad to see you. Nee-chan was so sad!"

"Eh?" `What the fuck? Does this kid not have eyes?? I'm fucking naked here!'

"She cried and cried and said you were never coming back."

"Yeah, well, she should know by now that I will always come back," he told the boy loud enough to make sure Kagome got his emphasis.

Kagome had the good grace to blush.

"Okay. I'm gonna get dressed and come in through the shoji."

"And I'll pretend to be surprised to see you," Souta reiterated, pulling back.

"Right."

"Okay. See you downstairs nee-chan!"

The boy ran out of the room and he turned to Kagome.

"Think he figured out what was going on?"

Kagome shrugged and gave him a shy smile. "I'm not sure. He's in fifth grade. I'm not sure how much kids his age know these days."

He looked at her and the humor in their situation struck them, and they both started to laugh softly.

"The look on Souta's face when you jumped out of bed," she said, snickering.

He nodded. "Yeah. Gave him quite a view, didn't I."

"Well, now he knows what greatness looks like."

He snorted, but inwardly he was very pleased. `Greatness, eh? Tell me again what I have done to deserve this woman?'

He stood and retrieved his clothes, glad that they were mostly dry.

"I'll see you downstairs, then?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded. "I just have to feed Yukio and get dressed."

"Okay."

Once he was dressed, he gave her a quick kiss and hopped out of the window. He counted to twenty, then strode in through the shoji finding Kagome's mother and grandfather in the kitchen with Souta.

"Yo," he said.

"Inuyasha," Mama greeted.

"Inu-no-niichan! It's been so long since I've seen you!" Souta exclaimed loudly. "Where have you been? Kagome has missed you soooo much!"

He froze, eye twitching. `Okay, kid, that's enough!' "Eh? Where've I been? Where I always am," he replied testily.

"I must admit I was rather curious when Kagome returned with Yukio and you were not with her," Mama commented leadingly with thinly veiled ire.

"Bah! I can't be with her all the time," he scoffed. `Shit. Shit shit shit! How much did Kagome tell her?'

"Hmmm, and you're sure it has nothing to do with a former love of yours who happens to still be walking around?"

He swallowed hard as Mama came close to him.

`Shhhhhiiiittttt... I'm dead. Kagome will find me in little pieces at the bottom of the well.'

"Let me give you a little advice, Inuyasha," Mama whispered sweetly.

"Eh?"

"Stop hurting my daughter."

He gulped and managed a small nod. The woman gave him a wolfish smile and moved away, returning to her preparation of breakfast.

"Ummm, I'll go see about Kagome..." he stammered and made a hasty retreat out of the room.

`Whew. She can be scary...' he thought as he hurried up the stairs.

"Kagome," he said, entering the room and walking in on her feeding Yukio.

"Hmm? I thought I was going to meet you downstairs."

"Yeah, well, your mother..." He trailed off.

Her eyes opened wide in understanding. "Oh. Yeah. I'm sorry about that."

He sat next to her, smiling to himself at her lack of modesty around him. `Well, it's not like I haven't seen all of her, repeatedly.'

"She's your mom. It's her job to protect you. Even from heartless, cruel bastards like me."

Her face fell and grew sad. "You aren't heartless and cruel. In fact, it's because you're not heartless and cruel that you're having so much trouble choosing between Kikyou and me. You don't want either of us to be hurt."

He took her hand and looked into her eyes. `Don't you know that it's you I love, Kagome? And my trouble is I don't know how to choose you without breaking my promise to Kikyou or abandoning her.'

"Kagome, I'm sorry about what happened in Kaede's hut. I didn't mean it. You and the pup... you're never burdens to me."

The pup made his `switch me now' noise and Kagome put him to the second breast. He smirked. `Pup's got her trained already...'

"But we are burdens to you, Inuyasha. I know it. Yukio is loud and he slows us down because we have to stop and feed him all the time, and I can't fight as well with him because his weight throws me off balance. And Sango has already said she is going to stop traveling. Miroku will probably stop coming with us the closer it gets to the baby's birth time. Hunting shards is going to be a lot more difficult with us from now on. Maybe you should go with Kikyou."

`What?! And leave you? Leave the pup? I could barely stand to be away from you for four days!' "Stop saying stupid things. I'm not going with Kikyou. I'm staying with you and that's final."

"But the shards..."

"Naraku is dead. Any youkai left are small fry compared to him, no matter how many shards they might manage to get. We'll just find them, kill them and take their shards. I'm not worried about the shards," he replied truthfully.

She blinked at him. "Really? Then why?..."

He sighed. "I just don't like being idle. I like having something to do. Without something to occupy my time, I get bored."

She giggled and looked down at Yukio. "I think you're going to regret ever saying that once he gets older. I can tell that life is never going to be boring with him around."

"Keh. Life's not boring with you around."

That earned him one of her brilliant smiles and he grinned.

"But just because I'm not worried about the shards doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for them. When can we go back, Kagome?" `I'll give her the option of telling me when she wants to go back, and give it to her... as long as it's not too long a stay...'

She blinked at him. "Ummm... tomorrow?"

His grin widened. `One more night alone with her in her bed... during her most infertile time.' "Okay."

"Can you watch Yukio while I'm at school?"

He nodded. "Sure. Should I bring him to you at lunchtime?"

"Yes, if you would. I've been pumping my milk and leaving him and a bottle with Mama, but she says he doesn't like it much and he cries a lot."

`Pumping? I wonder how she does that?' "Well, he would. Your mother is still a strange scent to him."

She nodded. "I know, but it wasn't like I had any choice. I couldn't bring him to school with me."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But I'm here now and I'll take care of the pup."

She leaned against him. "I know, and I'm so glad."

He put his arm around her and held her close, nuzzling into her hair. `Not nearly as glad as I am.'

He held her until Yukio was finished eating, then waited for her to get dressed so they could both go down to breakfast. She put Yukio in a new blue `t-shirt,' his diaper and a pair of socks, which he hated and kept trying to kick off. He silently promised the pup that he would remove the horrible torture devices from his poor feet as soon as Kagome had left for school. Then they went downstairs to eat and joined the rest of the family in the kitchen.

In short order, Kagome and Souta went off to school, Mama left to do her daily shopping and Jii-chan went to tend to his shrine duties, leaving Inuyasha alone with the pup. Overjoyed at being back with his family again, he decided to take Yukio for a little trip into the Goshinboku, leaping up into the high branches and taking them as far as they could safely go. There he sat with Yukio in his lap, surveying all of Tokyo that they could see, and enjoying the swaying motion of the branches in the breeze. Together they took off the hated socks and tossed them into the wind, and Yukio laughed as they watched the little white tubes of cloth fly away.

He even played a game of `toss the pup;' lightly flinging him into the air and then leaping up to catch him. Yukio was scared the first couple of times, but soon learned to appreciate the feel of the wind in his ears and began to laugh with glee. Inuyasha tossed him until he squealed once too loudly and killed his poor hanyou hearing.

`Pup, you have got to learn that something that high-pitched hurts!'

Dutifully, he took Yukio to Kagome's school at exactly lunchtime, and she came up to the roof to nurse him. She noticed the missing socks and gave him a look, but he feigned innocence. Afterwards, he took Yukio building hopping, tucking the pup to his chest with his head sticking out of the carrier and facing forward so he could see ahead as they leaped from rooftop to rooftop.

"See this, pup. This is your strength. You'll be able to do this when you're older. All these weak, slow humans, they can't even see us. You'll be able to jump higher and move faster than any of them could ever dream of doing without one of their damn mash-eenes."

By the time they got back to the shrine, Yukio was falling asleep so Inuyasha took him upstairs to Kagome's bedroom and settled down with him on Kagome's bed. The pup snuggled close to his chest, one fist grabbing a handful of his father's red haori and went to sleep. Inuyasha followed him into dreamland not long after.

A few hours later, he was the first to wake, his internal body clock telling him it was almost time for Kagome to return from school. Next to him, Yukio snuffled and made rousing noises. For an inu-youkai pup he was fairly vocal, giving more credence to his belief that the pup would be talking soon. Technically, however, the pup was already talking, just not in a language understood by humans. The guttural inu-youkai tongue of growls, yips and barks was instinctual, and Yukio was speaking it more and more clearly.

He made a noise that could best be translated into human words as `leader-male' which was the pup's term for him, as well it should be because he was the alpha male of their little pack and the pup knew it. Knowing one's place within the pack hierarchy was essential to survival, and pups learned early on where they fit in the pecking order. They were close to the bottom, although protected by the blanket of `pupness' which earned them forgiveness for almost any transgression provided they groveled sufficiently. Knowing who needed to be groveled to was also essential to survival, and Yukio had learned very quickly that `leader-male' was the supreme grovelee.

Pups, of course, were also protected by their mothers, who were usually higher in the pecking order than even the alpha male, and some of those mothers could be downright vicious. Kagome, he had seen, would sooner wipe an enemy off the face of the earth than tolerate anyone who threatened her pup.

On their last shard hunt two weeks ago, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara had joined them to follow a lead on a serpent youkai with a shard. The serpent youkai made the mistake of targeting Kagome because she carried a hanyou infant, and she had single-handedly ripped it to pieces with three over-powered purifying arrows fired in quick succession. Really, he hadn't even gotten the chance to get a swing in with Tessaiga before the damn thing was dead, and Kagome had its shard in her little jar. It was all very anti-climactic for him. All those weeks of nothing and the promise of their first fight in over a month, and he hadn't even been able to get one good whack in before it was all over.

Miroku, however, had been impressed with the strength of Kagome's arrows.

"Ahh, Kagome-sama. I am glad to see that you still have your miko powers," the houshi had commented as they traveled back to the village.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I have them?" Kagome had asked from her place on Inuyasha's back.

"Because of your relationship with Inuyasha," Miroku had replied.

Of course everyone knew about the change in their relationship. The whole damn village had known they were sleeping together within the first day.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well... you are no longer a shrine maiden," had been the answer, with the emphasis on `maiden.'

"Huh? Oh… Well, that's stupid. Kikyou still has her powers and she's dead. Are you trying to tell me you thought my powers had more to do with me being a virgin and less to do with say… me actually breathing?" she had snapped peevishly, making her `ride' lower his ears.

"Well, I suppose if you put it that way… Perhaps it is not true purity but purity of heart then," Miroku had tried valiantly.

It hadn't worked.

"Uh huh. Yeah right. And Kikyou's got such a pure heart. I mean, she's only tried to kill me… and drag Inuyasha to Hell… and helped Naraku by giving him all those Shikon fragments. And don't forget she stays undead by filling up her fake body with the souls of dead girls. Now me, I've never tried to kill innocent people, never tried to drag anyone to Hell. I certainly didn't willingly help that bastard Naraku, resulting in his being able to spawn detachments and causing the deaths of god knows how many people. And I'm still among the living. But hey, I've had sex, so that makes Kikyou soooo much purer than me. You are joking, right?"

Inuyasha had grimaced and kept his head down, offering a tentative sniff. `Yep, just come out of heat. She'll start bleeding any day now. Monk, you should read the signs and stay out of her way before she tears you to pieces with those claws,' he had thought, not for the first time wishing that stupid humans had noses that could smell these changes and know when to shut the fuck up.

"Inuyasha? Do you have any insights?" Miroku had asked.

`Oh no, bouzu. I am not helping you. I want my head and my balls to stay right where they are, thank you very much.'

"How about: Kagome is strong and grows stronger every day, and her power has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with the strength of her heart," he'd said.

"Good answer," Kagome had praised, snuggling her cheek into the back of his shoulder.

`Heh. I know my woman, bouzu.'

Miroku had wisely stayed quiet about the subject for the rest of the trip home.

:Leader-male,: Yukio said again, bringing him out of his memory.

He grunted back what amounted to a, :Yeah, what?:

The pup snuffled into his chest. :Mother-female?:

He knew Kagome wasn't there, but ought to be. Pups had no real sense of the passage of time. Like human babies, their world existed of only the `now' with no past or future.

:Soon,: he answered.

:Hungry.:

:Yeah, I know.:

:Food?:

:Mother-female comes soon.:

:Hungry.: He added an extra whine for emphasis so Inuyasha would know he was starving. Considering he was quite plump and well-fed, `leader-male' wasn't buying it.

:Wait.:

Another snuffle and whine, and a little squirm. :Hungry. Wet.:

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Yes, the pup needed to be changed but he was hoping if he held out long enough, Kagome would get home and do it.

:I know.:

:Hurts. Wet. Cold.:

With a sigh, he got out of bed and changed the pup, trying very hard not to inhale until he'd dropped the soiled diaper out the bedroom window. Let Kagome deal with it when she got home.

:There. Dry,: he told the pup, putting him a new diaper.

:Hungry.:

`This again...' :Wait.:

:Mother-female?:

:Soon.:

:Hungry.:

:I know.:

:Food?:

:No! Quiet!: He added an extra growl just to prove he meant business. Yukio immediately groveled.

:Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.:

Inuyasha sighed again and cuddled him. :Forgiven.:

A minute later...

:Hungry.:

`Aww, damn...'

:Food?:

He caught the scent of Kagome and knew he was saved. The bad part was Yukio caught her scent at the same time he did.

:Mother-female? Mother-female! Mother-female! Mother-female! Food! Hungry! Hungry! Food, food, food!:

:Yes, okay! Mother-female comes.:

:Food! Food! Food!:

:Will you shut up!:

:Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. FOOD!:

He picked up the pup and carried him down the stairs to meet Kagome as she came in the door. When Yukio saw his mother, he went into full cry.

:MOTHER-FEMALE! HUNGRY!!:

Kagome, of course, was unable to understand the words, but the message was loud and clear. She gave Inuyasha a dour look and held up the dirty diaper by one dry corner, then she took the sniffling, grasping pup from his hands.

"I'll deal with you later," she threatened, and took Yukio into the family room to feed him, dropping the soiled diaper into the laundry tub on the way.

He followed her and gave her his haori as she sat down to nurse the pup. Yukio was already scrabbling at her shirt, trying to hurry things along.

"Boy, he's pushy today."

"You should think about weaning him, or giving him some solid food. I don't think milk is enough for him anymore. He needs to start eating meat."

She nodded and gasped when Yukio started nursing.

"Ouch."

"Did he bite?"

"No. Just... he's a little overeager."

"He's been fussy since he woke up from his nap," he explained.

"That would explain it."

He thought a distraction might help her get her mind off the pup's enthusiasm.

"So, how was school?" he asked.

She gave a deep sigh and began to tell him.

After the pup was fed and quiet, she made him clean the dirty diaper as punishment for tossing it out the window. Then he took hold of Yukio while she started on her homework until dinner time. After dinner, they sat with the rest of the family in the family room to watch some moving pictures on the TV-box, and later he played some `video games' with Souta. Sometime during the evening, Kagome went back upstairs to finish her homework, and he joined her in the bedroom after he was finished playing with Souta.

In anticipation of engaging in some non-sleep related activities, he put Yukio in his bassinet, telling him to stay and be quiet. The pup obeyed after only a token protest. Both his and Kagome's scents were all throughout the room so Yukio knew they were in the `den' and perfectly safe. Once the pup was secured out of the way, he began the seduction of his lover, coaxing her into bed with him. After a few half-hearted threats to `sit' him if he didn't let her finish her homework, she finally put her books aside and moved to studying his body: a subject he was more than willing to allow her to continue educating herself in.

Two hours and five climaxes later: two for him and three for her, they were ready to settle down and sleep for the night. Kagome retrieved Yukio from his bassinet on her way back from cleaning up in the bathroom, and brought him to the bed with her where Inuyasha was already waiting. She fed him and changed him, then put him in a one-piece sleeper which he hated because it had feet. She ended up taking him out of it and putting him in just a long t-shirt.

Ready for bed, they snuggled together under the covers with Kagome's head on his shoulder and Yukio tucked against her side but laying on top of his ribcage. Exhausted from her long day, Kagome was the first to drift off, a murmured `I love you' on her lips. He, however, stayed awake, still wound up from their lovemaking and the fact that they had made up after their fight. Being without her those four days had been agony and he still wasn't entirely convinced that he wasn't dreaming her forgiveness. If he closed his eyes and slept, he might find himself still back in the Sengoku Jidai: Kagome and pup-less when he woke up.

Sometime after Kagome fell asleep, Yukio woke and started crawling upwards until his little head was tucked under his chin and his body was draped on his chest.

:Leader-male,: the pup snuffled sleepily.

:What?:

One little hand reached out to touch Kagome's sleeping face. :Mother-female.:

:Yeah, she's here too.:

Yukio nuzzled into his neck, sniffing and curling his hands into the locks of his long, silver hair. He reached up and placed one hand across the pup's back, cuddling him.

:Mother-female. Leader-male. Pack. Den. Safe. Home,: Yukio mumbled.

:Yeah.:

Under his chin, Yukio sighed contentedly and went back to sleep.

`Pack. Den. Safe. Home. Yeah, pup. You got that right.'

TBC...