InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Nineteen ( Chapter 19 )

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 Nineteen

"Oi. Kagome. I thought I'd caught your pretty scent," Kouga greeted, blowing right past Inuyasha and grabbing her hands the way he always did.

She stammered nervously. "Kouga-kun…"

The next series of events happened so quickly, she barely had time to register what was going on. Almost simultaneously, Inuyasha grabbed Kouga to rip him away from her and Kouga took a surprised sniff.

"Bastard, you let go of her!" the hanyou ordered, throwing Kouga across the clearing.

"Dog-shit, what have you done to my woman!?" the wolf youkai roared, leaping up and coming at Inuyasha with both fists.

Inuyasha was ready for it and dodged, swiping at Kouga's back with his claws.

"What? Smell me on her? Can't stand the idea that you lost?!" he taunted.

`Oh no. Kouga knows Inuyasha and I have mated! They're going to fight over me!'

The two angry males faced off, and Kagome was suddenly all too aware that the fight would most likely end in the death of one or the other.

"Inuyasha…" she tried.

"You stay out of this!" he demanded, unsheathing Tessaiga.

"You worthless pile of dog-crap, how dare you touch Kagome?!"

"Kouga-kun!" she begged.

"Don't worry, Kagome, I'll kill this fucking half-breed and take you with me. He won't touch you again."

"Over my dead body!" Inuyasha countered, attacking.

Kouga leaped out of the way. "No problem!"

Inuyasha roared and came at him again, brandishing Tessaiga. He missed when Kouga used his superior speed to dodge the blow while managing to land a punch to Inuyasha's upper body, throwing the hanyou backwards.

"I'll kill you for touching my woman!"

"She's not your woman. She never was! Get that through your simple head, you pathetic wolf!" Inuyasha seethed, picking himself up and preparing to attack again.

"Inuyasha!" she cried.

"I said stay out of this!" he ordered.

"Kagome-sama…" Miroku said, putting a hand on her shoulder and urging her out of the battle zone. "There is nothing you can do. Long have they been rivals. They must decide this in their own way."

Shippo hopped onto her shoulder. "Yeah. They're both simple-minded guys who have to settle everything by fighting."

"But…"

`But Inuyasha could be killed. Or he could kill Kouga…'

Kouga slammed Inuyasha with a kick to his chest when the hanyou rushed him, knocking Tessaiga out of his hands and sending him crashing into a pair of trees. Kagome saw the trunks splinter and crack.

"Heh, take that, dog-crap. You never were any match for me. I should have killed you years ago and claimed Kagome."

"What, you think I need a stupid sword to kick your sorry ass?" Inuyasha snapped back, leaping to his feet and preparing to fight.

"You don't have a chance, fucking hanyou!"

"Shut up and die already, stinking wolf! Sankon Tessou!"

Inuyasha struck and Kouga dodged. However, Inuyasha had predicted that the wolf would try to feint to the left and kicked off with his left foot at the last second, throwing himself directly into Kouga's path and landing a raking blow down the wolf youkai's side. Kouga screamed in pain and rounded on him, slashing out with his own claws and ripping open Inuyasha's shoulder. Both landed crouched on the ground, bloodied and panting heavily. Kouga put his hand to the wound in his side and licked his bloody fingers.

"I'll get you for that, dog-crap."

"Keh, I haven't even begun to hurt you."

They both sprang at the same time, lashing out at each other with fists and claws, snarling and growling as they fought in earnest. Kagome had never seen them go at it with such intensity, and she was sickened by the ferocity and brutal violence of their combat.

`They're ripping each other to pieces!' she thought, horrified as each landed another blow to the other.

They were both bleeding freely now from numerous wounds and were obviously equally matched. She had no idea who would win, and she feared the consequences of either being the victor. Then Inuyasha missed a strike and gave Kouga an opening. The wolf youkai slammed his fist into the hanyou's abdomen, sending him crashing to his knees.

"Inuyasha!!" she screamed, and her shout was joined by a frightened cry from Yukio in the sling around her shoulder.

The cry stopped the fight for one tense moment as both fighters looked her way, and a new terror seized her as she remembered Inuyasha's warning: `Kouga is very dangerous to this pup.'

`He'll kill Yukio…'

She glanced around frantically. The original plan had been for Shippo to take the baby away to safety on Kirara, but the firecat had stayed in the village with Sango.

`And Miroku doesn't have his Kazaana anymore.'

The houshi looked at her and she swore he could read her thoughts because he reached for the baby. "Give him to me. I still have my ofudas."

"And I'll protect him too, Kagome," Shippo added, his small face serious.

"What is that caterwauling?! And that stench?!" Kouga demanded.

She gasped, knowing she only had a spilt-second to decide what to do.

"He unbalances you with his weight. You can't use your arrows effectively," Miroku reminded urgently.

She quickly handed Yukio in his sling to her friend, trusting him to guard her infant with his life. Kouga saw her do it and his eyes narrowed.

"What's this? Another stinking dog-turd?"

Inuyasha picked himself up despite his belly wound and punched Kouga in the back while he was distracted.

"Don't turn your back on me, bastard. I'm your opponent!"

Kouga spun and let out a kick, but Inuyasha predicted the move and rolled out of the way.

"It's not yours. I can tell. Your stink may be all over it, but its blood smells different," the wolf youkai sneered.

"It's none of your fucking business!" Inuyasha replied, taking another swipe with his claws. He grazed Kouga's thigh, drawing more blood.

"He's an orphan! Both his parents are dead," Kagome answered, hoping to play on Kouga's sympathies and commitment to his pack. "I'm taking care of him."

"I tell you, Kagome, once you are my woman, I won't let you pick up garbage someone else threw away!" Kouga responded, sending out another kick, which telegraphed off of a tree next to Inuyasha. He missed, but did prevent Inuyasha from reaching Tessaiga.

"Garbage?! He's a baby! His mother carried him all the way to the village with three arrows in her back! She stayed alive long enough to bring him to us and then she died!" Kagome yelled, her fists clenched in anger.

"Why didn't you just drown it?!"

Kagome thought she was going to be sick. `Drown… drown him?!'

"Drown him? How can you say such horrible things?!"

"He's a hanyou. Hanyous don't deserve to live. Look at the weak assholes they grow up to be!" the wolf youkai taunted, ducking under another swipe from Inuyasha's claws, spinning around and kicking the hanyou in the small of his back.

"Inuyasha!!"

Inuyasha hit the ground with a groan, but he was up almost instantly and back into the fray.

"Sankon Tessou!" he roared, claws slashing down.

Kouga jumped, narrowly missing getting sliced in half. "Heh, still slow as ever, dog-turd, but I may have to let you live. It sounds like Kagome has affection for that half-breed whelp. That filthy thing will have to stay with you when I take Kagome as my woman."

"How many times do I have to tell you?! She's not your woman!"

"How can I be? I'm a human! Our children would be hanyous!" Kagome added, her voice desperate and angry.

"I wasn't going to breed with you! I would never bring a hanyou taint to my tribe. I would have gotten pups on a wolf youkai bitch, and killed any pups of ours," Kouga explained, dodging another near miss. He was keeping himself between Inuyasha and the sword, refusing to allow the hanyou to get his blade.

"K… Killed them? Killed them? You would have killed our babies?!"

"Of course. Hanyous are filthy half-breeds. If I had sired dog-turd, I would have slit his throat before he drew his first breath!"

`Killed them. He would have killed them without a second thought,' she realized, the nausea rising up in her throat, only to be replaced by rage. `And he would have expected me to let him! What kind of a woman does he think I am? That horrible beast!'

"Shut up and fight you wimpy bastard!" Inuyasha howled, slamming himself into the wolf youkai and sending them both sprawling.

They were both up immediately, but now Inuyasha's back was to Tessaiga and he could easily reach it.

"Heh, why should I? You're not worth my time, dog-shit. I'll just take Kagome and go!"

Kouga made a move towards where Kagome and the others were. Yukio was still crying and his howls could easily be heard. The wolf youkai set eyes on the baby in Miroku's arms. Inuyasha grabbed Tessaiga and rushed to put himself between his pack and Kouga.

"Bastard, you're not getting anywhere near them!" he warned.

"Heh, that's what you think!" Kouga sneered and jumped over the hanyou to land right in front of Miroku, slapping a protesting Shippo away and sending the kit flying. The ex-monk didn't even have time to throw a single seal before the wolf youkai had slammed him to the ground and snatched Yukio in his sling, ripping the handle cleanly in two. Then he leaped away, crossing to the other side of the clearing. It happened so fast, Kagome didn't even have time to react, and her heart lodged in her throat when she saw Yukio in Kouga's grasp.

"Yukio!" she cried.

Inuyasha was paralyzed. If he attacked now with Kaze no Kizu, Yukio would get hit by the blast too.

"Fucking bastard! Using a helpless pup as a shield against my Tessaiga!"

Kouga shrugged. "If you want him back, dog-shit, come and get him!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, her voice terrified.

`Oh, oh my god. He's got him. He's got Yukio. He's going to kill him. He's going to kill my baby.'

"Kouga-kun, please! Please don't hurt him!" she begged.

"He stinks of you. Do you actually feed this thing?" Kouga commented with disgust.

Yukio, realizing that he was in the hands of a male who did not smell familiar, upped his cries to full wails and he wailed like he did on the night his mother died, only louder because his lungs were bigger now. His howls grabbed Kagome's soul and pulled, snapping something inside of her. Suddenly Kouga was no longer the wild, naïve suitor who wouldn't give up on her or the uneasy ally and friend who protected her and fought with Inuyasha for her attentions. He was a threat to her child and she was the protective mother who would do anything to save her infant.

"LET GO OF MY BABY!"

Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed her bow and fired, heedless of her interference in the fight between them. She no longer cared about their petty rivalry; she was going to protect her child. The arrow severed his arm where it met his shoulder, and it was only the fact that any closer would have risked Yukio that kept the shot from being fatal. With the arm hanging useless at his side, held on only by a flap of skin and thin muscle, the wolf youkai was forced to release his captive, and Yukio fell, blood from the spurting wound on Kouga's shoulder splattering on his sling. Inuyasha moved faster than she'd ever seen him move and snatched the baby in mid-air, then immediately brought him to her side. She took him, clutching him to her chest, stilling his cries as best she could.

`Yukio. You're safe. Thank god, you're safe. My baby, my baby, I thought I'd lost you.'

She raised her eyes to see the damage that she had done to the wolf lord. He was down, his arm dangling by a few tendons and some skin. The bone looked like it had been shattered. He was staring at her in shock, his eyes full of horror and betrayal. His lips formed her name but she didn't hear him. She could barely hear anything over the pounding of her own heart.

"Now we end this, you sick bastard!" Inuyasha was snarling, Tessaiga at the ready.

`I… I almost killed him. I almost killed Kouga. I almost killed someone in cold blood. Oh my god. Oh my god…' she gasped to herself, realizing what she had just done. She'd just attacked someone she had thought of as a trusted friend.

She started to shake uncontrollably, her legs going weak, and she collapsed. Miroku was by her side instantly as was Shippo.

"Kagome!" "Kagome-sama!"

`He took Yukio and I almost killed him. If he hadn't been holding Yukio, I would have aimed for his heart…'

"I wasn't going to hurt the damn thing!" the wolf youkai insisted.

"Eat this, you fucking piece of shit! Kaze no…" Inuyasha snarled.

`He's going to kill Kouga while he's helpless. No… No, don't Inuyasha. Don't. You're better than that.'

"No… don't kill him," she whispered hoarsely. "Please don't kill him…"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled. "Inuyasha, wait!"

The adult hanyou halted his swing and whirled around snarling. "WHAT?!"

"Kagome-sama…"

Inuyasha saw her collapsed on the ground and was by her side in a heartbeat.

"Kagome. Are you alright?"

Inuyasha was wounded and covered in blood. Yukio was still crying and whimpering. Miroku was bleeding from the head wound Kouga had given him when he knocked him down. Shippo had blood on his face too. Everywhere there was pain and destruction. She couldn't take it. She began to rock, a keening cry catching in the back of her throat and coming out as a heart-broken moan.

"I think she's going into shock," Miroku said, using the term he had learned from Kagome during the years they had been together.

`Don't, please. No more bloodshed. No more… no more fighting…'

"Inu… Inuyasha… the baby…" she stammered, staring blankly ahead.

His arm came around her. "It's alright, Kagome, the pup's safe."

She gripped the sleeve of his haori tightly in her fist. "Please… no more bloodshed…" she begged.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a second before he nodded and kissed her brow. "Okay."

Then he stood and faced the injured wolf lord, Tessaiga in his hand and ready to strike.

"I wasn't going to hurt the pup," Kouga repeated, holding his dangling arm. "I was just going to take Kagome."

"Keh, like I fucking care what you planned to do. You took my pup, you stinking asshole. I should kill you right here, but Kagome doesn't want you dead. So run, you wimpy bastard. Run and get out my face. You have your life for now, but the next time you see us, we'll be coming for your shards."

She heard Kouga pick himself up and go, but she did not turn her head to look at him. All her attention was focused on the sniffling infant who clung to her and turned huge golden eyes her way. It was all over and relief flooded through her, but with the loss of adrenaline came the horror of how close she had come to losing her son.

`Yukio. I was so scared. My baby. My poor hanyou baby.'

Gathering the precious bundle to her chest, she buried her face in his silver hair and began to cry. She cried with relief and sorrow at what had happened. She cried for herself, for what she had almost done and the remorse she felt. She cried for her friends who had risked their lives to protect her baby and bore wounds from their battle. And she cried for her son who was despised by both worlds and forever stuck between them, for the senseless hate and prejudice this time held for all those who were different, and the overwhelming relief that they had saved him and that he was safe.

Then she was struck by the terrible realization that for every hanyou that lived, dozens died: their brief lives snuffed out before they had a chance to live, and she began to cry for them. She cried for all the hanyou babies who were drowned and slaughtered at birth. She cried for all the ones orphaned and left to starve. She cried for those who were hunted down and killed by humans and youkai alike. All those little lives cut down for no reason other than that they were born.

`It's horrible. So horrible. I hate this world! I want to go home!'

"Kagome," Inuyasha called to her, but she could only hug her baby and shake her head.

"Kagome," Shippo said, sitting beside her and touching her leg timidly.

`Shippo, sweet Shippo, you don't hate him do you? You won't try to kill him, will you? You've learned that hanyous aren't worthless and deserve to die.'

She knew she was crying like she did the afternoon when she got back from the doctor's: great gasping sobs that wracked her thin body and made Inuyasha feel helpless.

`Inuyasha…'

She looked at him. He was looking lost, his ears down, his eyes wide and concerned.

`My beautiful Inuyasha.'

"You're injured…" she managed, focusing briefly on his bloodied clothing.

"Bah, these scratches are nothing. That wimpy wolf's a weakling. I'll be healed by morning."

`He's lying. He could have died too. I could have lost both of them…'

She cried harder, crying for him. Crying with sorrow and gratitude that he had lived. Not just that he had survived his fight with Kouga, but that he had managed to reach adulthood despite all the obstacles that had been in his way. He'd lived to maturity; lived so that she could meet him and fall in love with him.

`My beautiful, brave, wonderful, strong, courageous, loving Inuyasha.'

How many hanyous who had died had been born with his heart? How many could have loved and been loved if they had been given a chance? How many had so much to offer both worlds but were forever denied because they belonged to neither?

`So much useless waste of life. Why? Why does it have to be this way?'

Inuyasha's arms came around her and Yukio, pulling her close and she could hear the infant and adult hanyous talking to each other in soft yips and whines, but she couldn't do anything except weep for the senselessness of it all and the hard life her poor son was doomed to live.

"Kagome… Kagome, please stop crying…" Inuyasha pleaded softly.

She couldn't obey and it seemed the heavens agreed with her because a storm had clouded the previously clear sky and rain began to fall as the clouds cried with her.

"Shit! Where the hell did this come from?" Inuyasha growled.

"We need to find shelter. Kagome-sama and the infant should not be out in this," Miroku said worriedly.

"I smelled a human village not far from here before we set up camp," Inuyasha replied, putting his haori around Kagome and the baby.

"I smelled it too," Shippo added.

"Let's break camp and head for it then. With luck I can secure lodgings for at least Kagome and Yukio for the night."

Inuyasha gave a grunt of agreement, but left the breaking of camp to the houshi as he picked up Kagome, who was still holding Yukio close to her chest, and began walking towards the scent of the village. Miroku and Shippo, carrying the packs, caught up with them just as they were reaching the settlement. It looked to be a decent sized town and Miroku thought he saw what looked like a guest house.

By now night had fallen and the rain was coming down in sheets, the wind howling like a lost soul, and all of them were soaked, except for Yukio because both his parents shielded him with their bodies. Kagome had him tucked underneath her as she turned her back to the storm, her head resting on Inuyasha's shoulder. She'd stopped crying, but was now still and silent in her lover's arms.

Miroku led them to the place he thought was an inn and they were relieved to see the sign welcoming travelers. The houshi stepped up to the doors and knocked, calling out to the proprietor. After a few anxious moments, the shoji pulled back and a middle-aged man holding a lantern peered out. Miroku bowed deeply.

"Greetings sir, we are weary travelers in need of shelter for the night. We have a woman with an infant. If there is no room for us, might there be a place for her?"

Inuyasha set Kagome down gently as the man looked them over, his eyes darting over him and Shippo.

"We're all full. Look elsewhere," he said gruffly.

Miroku sighed and bowed. "Thank you for your time. We are sorry to have disturbed you so late in the evening."

The man grunted and shut the shoji with a firm slam. They turned to leave, Inuyasha scowling as he picked up Kagome again, and were walking away when there was the sound of someone being struck and a sharp cry of pain. Then the shoji slid open again and a woman called out to them.

"Wait. You said there was an infant with you?" she said.

They turned back and Inuyasha carried Kagome to the door. There he put her down on her feet and stepped away. She stood there in the rain, her eyes downcast, clutching Yukio close to her and trying to keep him dry.

"Oh Kami-sama. Come in, you poor thing," the woman said, beckoning.

"My baby's a hanyou," she answered faintly, knowing that the male proprietor had refused them lodgings because of Inuyasha and Shippo.

"It doesn't matter. It's not fit for man or beast out there tonight. Come in all of you and forgive my husband's rudeness."

"Oi, woman! I told them we had no room!" the man shouted, holding the growing lump on his head.

"Shut up! We're empty and you know it, and I for one will not force an infant to stay out in the rain and cold."

"Thank you, kind mistress," Miroku replied, urging Kagome into the building.

They entered, Inuyasha being the last to step through the doorway, his golden eyes casting the man a withering glare.

"Come in, come in, my dear and sit by the fire. You're soaked to the skin. I'll get you some hot tea and a dry yukata," the woman told Kagome, guiding her to the common room with its central firepit.

"Thank you. I have clothes…"

"No matter, I'll still bring tea and warm soup. Sit down, all of you and rest." She took in Inuyasha's bloodied clothes. "It looks like you have met with trouble this evening."

"A little. We had an altercation with one of the wolf youkai tribe." Miroku answered.

The woman nodded. "Yes, we have had trouble with them before, but not recently. It's rumored that they have stopped hunting humans."

`Because Kouga wanted to please me. Will he now return to his old ways?' Kagome thought with a heavy heart.

"Keh! I doubt that one will be bothering you anytime soon," Inuyasha replied.

"You appear to be injured. Do you need a doctor?" she asked him.

"Feh, I'm fine," the hanyou scoffed.

"I'll fetch water for the tea and bring the soup," the woman told them, leaving the common room.

Inuyasha knelt next to Kagome, bringing her bag with him. "Kagome, are you alright?"

She nodded, still barely speaking, and held Yukio closer. He was being quiet, but she saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes when she looked at him. Inuyasha took his drenched haori from her and opened the bag, pulling out a towel and patting her hair with it.

"You're soaked, woman. You should change out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold."

"You're wet too," she answered.

"Bah, I said I'm fine. Stop fussing over me."

"Now, now, Inuyasha. Kagome-sama is only concerned for your welfare," Miroku chided.

"What about you, Miroku-sama? Did Kouga hurt you?" she asked.

"I hit my head on a tree root when he knocked me down. It's just a bump and nothing serious."

"I'm glad."

"I'm okay too!" Shippo added.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad, Shippo."

She was silent for a few moments, then spoke again. "Do you think Kouga and his tribe will go back to killing humans?"

"There is no way of knowing until they do," Miroku responded reasonably.

"I… I hope not," she said.

"I as well."

"No matter what… I still don't think he's bad at heart."

"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed.

"He said he wasn't going to hurt Yukio," she noted softly.

Inuyasha snorted. "And you believed him?"

"I don't know what to believe. You said he would kill Yukio outright, but he said he would let you live because you would have to take care of Yukio after he took me away. And… and he didn't kill him right away. Maybe he didn't mean him any harm."

"He still took the pup. Does it matter why?"

She remembered Yukio's terrified wails and clenched her jaw, the protective mother instinct rising up in her again. "No."

The proprietress returned with the water and soup, and placed both on the newly kindled fire.

"There. They'll be ready very soon, then you can eat and retire to your rooms."

"We need only one room, kind mistress. We are well used to sharing space, and I do not think my companions wish to be separated," Miroku answered.

The woman nodded. "As you wish, houshi-sama. I'll put extra futons in our largest room."

"Thank you."

After the tea and soup were served, the woman left briefly to prepare the room and returned to tell them it was ready. Wearily, they followed her through the inn to a large room with three futons separated by a single privacy screen. Each futon had blankets, a pillow and a clean yukata on it. Miroku bowed deeply to the woman for her kindness and handed her several coins from their string of money.

The woman counted the coins, smiled and gave three back.

"This is more than enough, houshi-sama. Thank you."

He bowed again and she bowed back, then left them alone, closing the room's shoji behind her. They spread out, Kagome going to the single futon on the other side of the privacy screen. There she placed Yukio down on the mattress while she undressed and put on the yukata. Then she knelt down and brought Yukio to her breast to feed him his dinner. In all the commotion and upset, she hadn't had any opportunity to nurse him. It was proof of his confusion and uncertainty that he hadn't started crying. He was wet too, and she made a note to change him as soon as he was done eating.

For the first time, she wasn't wearing Inuyasha's haori as a nursing blanket. The fire rat garment was soaked and draped across the screen to dry. It didn't mean, however, that Inuyasha wasn't close by. He was in his usual place right next to her, and she didn't care if he saw her breasts because he'd seen them many times before.

"I was scared," Inuyasha admitted softly as he watched Yukio feeding. "When Kouga grabbed him, I was scared."

She nodded. "Me too. I'm… I'm glad we're all okay." She looked at Inuyasha's bloody kimono and Yukio's blood splattered sling.

"He needs a new sling. This one's covered in blood and it was getting too small for him anyway," she commented.

"Heh. Pup grows well on your milk."

She agreed, flushing slightly, and fell silent as the baby nursed. When he was finished, she burped him and changed him, then convinced Inuyasha to let her treat his belly wound. Shortly thereafter, they were ready to retire for the night. Inuyasha took one of the futons from the other side of the privacy screen and put it next to Kagome's, combining them to make a single large bed that they could both sleep in comfortably. Then she, Yukio and Inuyasha cuddled together under the blankets while Shippo shared the remaining futon with Miroku. There was no love making or even a hint of sexual activity between them, merely sweet kisses and caresses of love and reassurance until they both fell asleep still holding each other with Yukio snuggled between them.

The following morning hunting down and killing the boar youkai seemed like child's play compared to the challenges of the previous day. One swing of Tessaiga and the `impossible to kill' monster was laid to waste, and its shard taken.

They were back on the road towards home by the middle of the afternoon.