InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Twenty ( Chapter 20 )

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 Twenty

"Tadaima," Kagome said wearily, pushing back the shoji and stepping into the genkan. She was carrying Yukio because his sling was still broken, and he was sleeping peacefully.

Inuyasha closed the doors behind her and they both entered the house. Suddenly he sniffed loudly, began to growl and raced towards the kitchen. She barely had time to register what was happening before she heard his angry snarl and a woman's scream. Running to the kitchen, she found Inuyasha crouched on the table, his hand around the throat of the good doctor who had hurt her. Her mother was standing up, her eyes wide and frightened; a set of photographs of a damaged car were scattered on the table.

"I told you I'd kill you if you came anywhere near Kagome or my son again, bitch!"

"Inuyasha!" she cried.

Yukio, who had begun to awaken the moment his father started growling, came to full consciousness and wailed in terror. He'd been extremely on edge and sensitive since the incident with Kouga, and Kagome feared he'd been traumatized by it. He'd clung to her and started crying at the slightest upset from either her or Inuyasha. It made for some very long and sleepless nights of rocking and comforting him when he went into one of his fits. Both she and Inuyasha were exhausted and on edge. Another altercation with the doctor her mother had taken her to was the last thing they needed right now.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Inuyasha, let her go!"

He ignored her and shook the woman roughly by the neck. "Answer me, bitch!"

"Inuyasha, don't make me subdue you! Let her go right now!" she threatened.

Still snarling, he let the woman go, dropping her back down to the chair she had been seated in. The doctor grabbed her throat and gasped for air.

"Kagome," her mother said worriedly.

"What's going on Mama?" she asked, bouncing Yukio to calm him. He sniffled and let out a whine. Inuyasha barked something back in inu-youkai and the baby quieted, his golden eyes red and watery.

"Dr. Ishimoro came by with some photographs she wanted you to see," her mother answered guardedly.

There was something in her eyes, a warning, and Kagome grew cold.

"What?" Inuyasha growled, still on the table, his hackles still raised.

"You damaged my car," the doctor replied, picking up a photograph of a white car with huge gashes across it.

"Keh! You're lucky I didn't do that to your…"

"Inuyasha!" she yelled warningly, and amazingly Inuyasha heard the note in her voice and stopped, his head coming around to face her.

"What?"

"Don't say another word," she told him seriously.

He looked at her, confused. "Why?"

"Please, just trust me on this. Just stay quiet and don't say anything else, okay? Please, it's very very important that you not say another word," she pleaded.

He blinked at her but stayed silent.

"Here, why don't you hold Yukio. You can talk to him and keep him calm, alright?" she said, offering him the baby.

He hopped down from the table and took Yukio from her, still quiet. She smiled and realized he was taking her seriously about not saying a word.

"You can talk. It's okay. Just don't talk to her and don't answer any questions she might ask you, okay?"

"O… okay," he agreed but she could tell he was confused. She put a hand on his arm to reassure him and also rubbed Yukio's ears to comfort the still worried and whimpering baby.

She turned to the doctor. "What do you want?"

The doctor held up a picture. "Your… thing did this to my car."

"I don't know anything about that," she answered honestly. `I don't. I had no idea he'd done that. He must have done it after I went back to class.'

"And he's not a thing, as you put it, he's a hanyou," she added angrily. `Oh well, she's already seen them so there's no use in trying to lie about it. Besides, truth is stranger than fiction, right?'

"Hanyou? Hanyous don't exist," Dr. Ishimoro scoffed.

"Seeing that there are two of them right here, I'd say you're wrong about that."

The doctor looked in the direction of Inuyasha and Yukio.

"The infant is one of them too?"

She gave the woman a tolerant look. "Isn't it obvious? I would think the ears'd give it away."

The doctor looked at Mama Higurashi. "You let your daughter cavort with these things?"

"You yourself told me Kagome is still a virgin so that means her honor is safe with him. As for letting her be with him, I don't have much say in the matter," her mother answered coldly.

"What kind of a mother are you?"

"One who understands that sometimes things happen that you can't control, and that you can make matters much worse by trying. I trust my daughter and I trust this boy. I know Kagome is safe with him. "

"Safe? He's threatened to kill me twice and nearly destroyed my car!" Dr. Ishimoro argued.

"You hurt my daughter. She came home sobbing from her visit with you. Inuyasha is extremely protective of Kagome. I would say you were lucky to have escaped your first encounter with him at all," Mama replied matter-of-factly.

Throughout all of this, Yukio kept sniffling and whining, and his noise was an unwelcome distraction. Finally, Kagome turned to Inuyasha and looked at him holding Yukio. The adult hanyou looked as irritated and frustrated as the baby.

"Inuyasha, what's wrong with him?" she asked.

"He can't help it. It's that damn noise," Inuyasha complained.

"What noise?"

"The noise coming from that black bag. It hurts his ears."

"Coming from the black bag…" she repeated, then grabbed the doctor's purse, zipping it open.

"Hey!" the doctor protested.

`Just as I thought!' A digital tape recorder with an extended microphone sat nestled in the purse, recording light flashing. She grabbed it and tossed it to Inuyasha who caught it in one hand with his superior reflexes.

"Give that back. That's my property!" the doctor exclaimed.

"Inuyasha, smash that," she said calmly.

"Smash it?"

"Yes. Destroy it."

"O… Okay."

He took it in one hand and crushed it easily, the plastic snapping and the internal circuits shorting out.

"Be careful you don't get shocked," she warned just as it zapped him.

"Ow! Shit!"

He dropped the recorder, drew Tessaiga with his free hand and rammed the tip into the piece of equipment.

"Watch the floor!" she said.

The sword pierced the recorder and the tatami as well.

`Too late…' she thought sadly. "I'm sorry, mama."

"It's okay, honey."

"There! Take that!" Inuyasha announced proudly, sheathing the sword.

"Has it stopped making noise?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now rip it up and make sure there is nothing of it left."

Inuyasha obeyed, stomping on the recorder until it was in very many tiny pieces.

"You can't do that. That belongs to me," Dr. Ishimoro complained.

"You also have no evidence. You think anyone will believe you when you tell them a hanyou destroyed your tape recorder with his hand and sword? Do you think they'll let you keep your medical license once you start telling stories like that?" she replied coldly.

The doctor had no answer.

She sighed heavily. She was tired and stressed out. She wanted a bath, a hot meal, her bed and her man, not necessarily in that order. She put a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry about your car. I didn't know he was going to do that or I would have stopped him. But you really need to consider yourself lucky that he didn't use his claws on you. Inuyasha is my protector, and he doesn't live by the same moral code we do. His world is simple and violent. You hurt me, you die. He's very straightforward that way," she explained patiently.

"You really need to go away and not come back because I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to stop him from seriously hurting you. In fact, if you keep bothering us there's a good chance I won't be able to stop him because he'll see you as an even bigger threat than he already does."

"Are you threatening me?" the doctor sneered.

She sighed again. "No. I'm explaining how things are to you. Inuyasha is my protector. Inuyasha's morality is different from ours. Inuyasha would not think twice about killing you, ripping up your body and feeding it to the crows." `Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, but I really want her to go away!'

"She's right," her mother confirmed. "I've seen what he can do. You're taking your life into your hands if you pursue this."

"I can't believe this! First he threatens to kill me, then he gouges my car! Now he threatens me again and destroys my recorder!"

"Which you no doubt intended to use to gather evidence to take us to court," Mama noted.

`Ah so I was right about that,' Kagome thought.

"Don't make killing you the easiest way to get rid of you. He'll do it without a second thought," her mother went on, reinforcing Kagome's earlier words.

The doctor stood up abruptly. "This isn't the end of this," she warned.

"For your sake, I hope it is," Mama replied.

"You'll be hearing from me and my lawyer!" she threatened.

"Again, don't make trouble for my daughter. It can only go badly for you."

The woman snorted, but kept a good distance from the hanyou. "I'm not afraid of that!"

"You should be," Inuyasha growled. "There's nowhere you can hide, bitch. I've got your scent now. I could track you through a blinding snow and still rout you out of whatever rock you crawled under."

`Okay, now he's exaggerating, but she doesn't need to know that.'

"Hah! You think I don't know a few priests? Things like you can be banished!"

"I'd like to see any of your modern priests try, woman!" he countered.

"And you, little girl, I'll be talking with your high school administrator about your illness," the doctor sneered.

Kagome blanched but did not reply. `If she gets me kicked out of high school, my future is ruined. But… aside from telling the truth or killing her, I don't know what to do.'

"I warn you again. Don't make trouble for my daughter," Mama said very seriously and very calmly.

Kagome looked at her mother and saw something in her eyes. There was peace about her, and she was completely unruffled by the doctor's accusations and threats.

`She knows something I don't,' Kagome realized.

"We'll see about that. I'm not someone who takes threats lightly."

With that, the doctor stormed out. No one lifted a finger to stop her. When she was gone, Kagome let out a heart-broken moan and dropped down into a chair.

"What am I going to do? If she talks to my school administrator, I'm done for!"

"Kagome, I know you wouldn't like it, but the only way to deal with her is to kill her or… or I could give her a head wound. Head wounds can make a human forget. I could thump her right on the back of the skull…" Inuyasha offered tentatively.

"That won't be necessary," Mama replied calmly.

"What are we going to do then?" she asked.

Mama turned her head to look towards the dining room and they looked to see Jii-chan standing there, a serious, unhappy expression on his face.

"You heard?" Mama asked.

The old man folded his arms and nodded.

"You know what to do then."

Jii-chan nodded again and turned away, headed for the alcove with the telephone.

"Mama?"

"You are about to witness the power of the Higurashi name, Kagome. Your grandfather's ofudas and seals might not work as well as those of priests and mikos in the Sengoku Jidai, but I think that has more to do with people's lack of faith in this time than an actual loss of spiritual power. What we do have is connections in some very high places. The Higurashi shrine is very well respected, and Jii-chan knows many, many people who would be more than willing to intercede on our behalf. We do not like to abuse this power and we don't ask for favors often, but in order to protect you and Inuyasha we will do what we have to do. I would not be surprised if the good doctor finds herself out of a job very soon, but I hope it does not come to that," her mother answered seriously.

`Wow. I never knew my family had that kind of power!' she thought, stunned.

"At the very least, you will not have to worry about her bothering you at school or damaging your chances of getting into college. Nor will we have to worry about her trying to get to us through the police or the courts. As for Inuyasha, I doubt any of the priests she knows would be able to do anything to him, especially since you have a great deal of spiritual power and he is under your protection," the woman went on.

"Me? Inuyasha's under my protection?"

Mama gave her a calm look. "Of course. You protect each other. If someone tried to seal or banish him, I have no doubt that you'd prevent that from happening. You'd probably even throw the seal back at the caster and hit him with it."

`A counter-curse! I did that with the black miko Tsubaki!'

"Keh! Kagome's already done that!" Inuyasha said before she could speak.

Her mother blinked at her and she blushed.

"You have?"

"Ummm… yeah. It was a long time ago. A… umm… a black miko cursed me."

"Cursed you?"

She looked away uncomfortably. "Um, yeah. She cast a curse that corrupted the shikon shards and made them go into my neck. I… I couldn't move and then she tried to make me kill Inuyasha by shooting him with a miko's arrow."

Mama stared at Inuyasha, aghast. "She tried to kill you?"

The hanyou shrugged. "Well… she did miss…"

"I was trying to fight it and that, thankfully, affected my aim," she explained sheepishly.

"But when that bi… uhh… black miko sent her Shikigami after Kagome while I was fighting a youkai, she just swung her bow and slapped it right back. It flew right into Tsubaki's eye," Inuyasha said proudly.

`He just loves telling my mother how I've escaped certain death,' she thought worriedly. `But he always sounds so proud when he tells her how I survived.'

"Back in her eye…" her mother repeated, fixing a serious gaze on her.

She smiled shyly.

Finally, Mama sighed and rolled her eyes. "This is why I never ask you about your adventures over there."

Inuyasha looked at her, then at her mother, his face confused. "What? Why? What'd I do?"

"Inuyasha, if Yukio was risking his life and almost dying, would you want to know?" she replied reasonably.

"Keh! I'd be right there with him! Besides, it doesn't matter. You've lived so far haven't you?"

Mama shook her head helplessly, trying to hold back a chuckle. "Inuyasha, there are just some things a mother doesn't need to know."

Inuyasha blinked then snorted. "Right."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "While you regale Mama with stories of my near-death, I'm going to go take a bath."

Yukio burbled at her, making the noise for `mother-female' and reached out one little hand. She nuzzled him and replied in inu-youkai.

:Stay with Leader-male.:

He flicked his puppy ears, looked disappointed, and shrank back against his father's shoulder.

:Mother-female.:

:Be a good pup,: she added, giving him a kiss.

Then she turned to her mother. "Thank you, Mama, for everything."

Mama smiled gently. "You're welcome, Kagome."

"Okay, bath time!" she enthused, leaving the room, but not before she heard Inuyasha's serious voice.

"I'll always protect her."

She paused and stood just out of sight, listening.

"I know," her mother answered.

"If ever there is a time when Kagome does not live; you will know it is because I am dead."

"I know that too, and that frightens me because I know that it means if I lose one of you, I'll probably lose both because Kagome will do the same for you."

"She shouldn't. She has to take care of the pup."

"I don't think she could ever make that choice."

`She's right. If I had to choose who to save? I... I couldn't. I'd probably die with them. Please, Inuyasha, don't ever let it come to that.'

Sighing, shaking away the dour thoughts, she headed upstairs. The hot bath was calling.

********

Kagome greeted the next day with no small amount of trepidation. While she trusted her mother's assurances that the doctor would not be a problem, she was still worried. What if the doctor came to her school while she was there? What if she brought people up to the roof during lunch time to see her feeding Yukio? She made a mental note to tell Inuyasha that they had to meet somewhere else.

She yawned and stretched, jostling her bedmates slightly which caused both to wake. One made a noise of protest and nuzzled his nose into her shoulder. Inuyasha always hated to be roused out of a warm bed when he was cuddled with her. The other made a very clear sound.

:Hungry.:

She sighed.

:Mother-female. Hungry.:

She shifted to give him access to her breasts and opened her nightshirt for him.

:Yes,: she answered.

Snuffling at the nipple, Yukio latched on and began to feed.

:Gently,: she admonished, tapping him on the back of his neck when he sucked a little too hard.

:Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.:

She patted his back and soothed him. :Forgiven.:

Yukio resumed nursing but more gently and slowly this time.

Behind her, Inuyasha chuckled softly. "Good pup. The longer you take, the longer we get to keep her here with us," he murmured, licking the back of her neck. :Hungry too,: he growled in inu-youkai.

Yukio stopped feeding and looked up towards his father, making a sound Kagome didn't recognize, but Inuyasha laughed outright.

"What did he say?"

"He wanted to know if I wanted the food. He knows he's low in the pecking order compared to me and when I said I was hungry, he thought he had to give up the milk to me," he answered.

"Don't even think about it," she warned.

He barked a response to Yukio that told him it was okay to eat and licked the back of her neck again.

"He doesn't know it isn't milk I'm hungry for," he whispered, nibbling at her earlobe.

She sighed. "Insatiable."

"Your fault."

"So you keep reminding me. Don't I satisfy you?" she teased.

He growled softly. "Always, but then I just hunger for more."

"Well, you're gonna have to stay hungry because I have to get ready for school in fifteen minutes."

"That's enough time, isn't it?" he whined.

"Ah... no." `Horny pig.'

"Damn," he said with a sigh. "Are we going back tonight?"

"Tomorrow."

He sighed again. "Okay."

She reached a hand behind her to pat him comfortingly. "I'll make it up to you tonight."

Inuyasha brightened. "Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Even if I want it four times?"

"We'll see if I'm still conscious." `FOUR times?'

He chuckled. "I'm kidding."

`Thank god.' "Good."

"I'll want it five times," he corrected, snickering into her hair.

"Horny dog," she chided.

"For you, always."

Yukio asked to be switched and she put one arm under him to lift him up so he could reach the second nipple. She found that if she let him try to do it himself when she was on her side, he would scrabble at her ribs in order to lift himself up and he'd scratch her with his claws. She already had several healing wounds from his previous attempts, and she found it easier, and less painful, to just prop him up herself.

"You know I am kidding, right?" Inuyasha said, a hint of concern in his voice.

She smiled. "I know."

"I love what we do together, even if we only do it once."

She nodded. "Maybe twice."
He nuzzled her ear. "I'll make them both good for you."

She sighed, wishing she could stay in bed with him. "You always do."

"I do my best."

She tangled her fingers with his and held his hand in silent response. He sighed and cuddled up, resting his forehead against the back of her neck. It was amazing how important touch was to him; even the slightest, simplest caress could make him shiver.

`No one has ever touched him like I do. Even before we... were lovers, I would touch him all the time. He's never said it, but I know he isn't used to anyone being willing to touch him because he is a hanyou. Horrible, prejudiced people. Makes me so mad...'

"Oi, what are you thinking about that's making you all tense?"

"Just how touch means so much to you and how I'm the only one who's ever really done it, and how horrible the people of your time are to shun you because you're a hanyou. They really don't know what they're missing."

"Keh! Why bother yourself with that? They aren't worth your time. Besides, you said it yourself, you touch me. That's good enough," he answered, licking her neck to soothe her.

"But it's so wrong. There's nothing wrong with you. You're good and kind and strong and loving. It's not right for them to hate you because of how you were born."

"It's just how they are. No sense in worrying about it."

"But..."

He stilled her with a light nip at the nape of her neck. "Kagome... if they hadn't hated me, and if I hadn't been shunned, and if things hadn't happened the way that they did, I would never have met you, and as hard and lonely it was, I wouldn't change a thing because I wouldn't give up knowing you for the world."

"But you and Kikyou..."

He sighed. "I would have become human for Kikyou, given up my hanyou powers and my strength. And I would never have known what it's like to be loved as I am, as a hanyou. No Kagome, I don't ever wish things had been different... no, that's not true. I wish I hadn't said Kikyou's name when Urasue made her clay body. I wish I hadn't done that."

"But then you wouldn't have her now," she said.

"I don't have her now. Sometimes I think I never really did."

"You have me." `For as long as we can stay together.'

He nuzzled her ear. "I know."

Yukio finished and she sat up to burp him, ignoring Inuyasha's whine of protest.

"I'm sorry. I have to get ready for school. I'm just going to change him then go get washed. You'll bring him at lunch right? We need a different meeting place because I'm worried Dr. Ishimoro might try to ambush us."

"I'm worried about that too. That's why I'm coming with you."

"Coming with me? To school? Oh no, no, no."

"Oh yes, yes, yes. You think I'm going to give that bi... wench a chance to corner you when you're away from me?"

"But you can't come with me. What about Yukio?"

"I'll have him with me."

"What?!"

"I'll just put him in that new carrier your mom bought yesterday and keep him with me."

"All day? He'll go crazy!" she argued.

"He's spent all day in his sling before. He'll manage just fine."

"But where will you stay?"

"On the roof."

"The roof?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? I can sit right above your classroom and listen for you."

"But... but..." `It's too dangerous! Someone might see you!'

"No buts. I'm coming. I'll wear one of those cap things over my ears."

"What if something happens?!" she cried.

"What if something happens to you and I'm not there? I'm not willing to take that chance. It's not that I don't trust your mother and the old man, but I'd rather not take the risk," he countered.

"I don't like it."

"You think I do? All day out in that noise and stink, with the pup no less? But I'd rather that, than have something happen and me not be there to protect you. Please Kagome. I need to be there to protect you."

His sincerity and heartfelt plea made her give in. "All... alright. But you run at the first sign of trouble coming at you."

"I promise. I'll smash through your glass window, grab you and go. We'll be through the well before they have a chance to even think about chasing us."

`That isn't quite what I had in mind but... Oh it's useless arguing. He'll just follow me anyway.'

She sighed and changed Yukio, who batted at her hands and burbled at her, chattering away in inu-youkai, three-quarters of which she didn't understand. She cuddled him and blew raspberries on his belly, making him giggle, then gave him to Inuyasha with a :Stay with leader-male.: and went to take her bath.

True to his word, Inuyasha went with her to school. In fact he carried her the majority of the way there, dropping her off three blocks away. She kissed both him and Yukio then told him to meet her in the basement of her school for lunch rather than on the roof.

"There's a door at the bottom of each staircase. Go through it and wait for me to come down. I'll call for you. Don't come into the school unless there's no one in the hall," she told him.

He had agreed then bounded off with Yukio while she walked the rest of the way to school. Her friend Ayumi was walking in at the same time and the other girl saw her.

"Kagome-chan!" Ayumi greeted.

"Ayumi-chan," she replied.

The girl came close. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. I've come in to get my assignments and to turn in my homework," she answered as they walked into the school together.

"You're looking very well. Much better than before. I remember when you were so sick. You looked so tired and worn out."

`Yeah because Naraku was trying to kill us, and almost succeeding, on a regular basis.' "Yeah, the new treatment and this new attendance schedule have really helped."

"How is your aunt in Sendai?"

She nodded, well familiar with the "cover story." Her grandfather had told everyone that she spent the majority of her time at her aunt's house on the outskirts of Sendai.

"She's doing very well. I think the fresh air and the closeness to the ocean are really good for both of us."

"Well, you certainly have benefited from it."

"Thanks."

"I'm glad to see you. When do you have to go back?"

"Tomorrow."

Ayumi looked disappointed. "Oh."

"But I'll be back in two weeks for five days because of our exams," she offered.

Ayumi smiled. "We should study together like we used to, Kagome-chan. I miss spending time with you. Since Yuka and Eri went to Waseda and Hojou went to Tokyo Metropolitan, you and I are the only ones left from our group."

"I know. I miss you too Ayumi."

"How is Inuyasha?" the girl asked suddenly.

"He's doing well."

"Still two-timing you?"

"Not as much."

"That's good. He seemed okay the one time I met him at your house."

She nodded, remembering the day Ayumi, Yuka and Eri had come over to meet Inuyasha, and he had made a good impression on them.

"Yeah, he is. And he's getting better."

"I'm glad. You deserve to be happy, Kagome."

She gave her friend a fond look. "Thank you, Ayumi. That means a lot to me."

Ayumi just smiled and shrugged.

They went into their homeroom class together and took their seats. Kagome turned in all of her homework and made arrangements with each of her teachers to pick up her assignments after school. At lunch, she slipped out of the room and headed quickly for the basement.

"Inuyasha," she called when she reached the bottom of the basement stairs.

It was dim and cool down there and reminded her a bit of the den- without all the metal and machine noise. Inuyasha materialized out of the gloom, his bare feet making no sound on the concrete floor.

"Kagome," he greeted as she hugged him and gave him a kiss.

Yukio gurgled at her and smiled.

:Mother-female,: he said.

:Pup.:

:Hungry.:

:I know.:

:Food?:

:Yes,: she confirmed, taking him from Inuyasha as he draped his haori over her shoulders before she settled down with her back against the wall.

She lifted up her shirt and pulled down the nursing flap on the bra, giving him the nipple.

:Food,: he said happily, beginning to nurse.

"How is your day going?" Inuyasha asked as he crouched down next to her.

"Okay. I have to see all my teachers after school to pick up my assignments."

He nodded.

"How is yours?" she said as he handed her one of the two small bento boxes her mother had made for their lunches.

He opened his lunch box and started eating. "I'm bored. Nothing good happening and all your teachers talk about is stuff I don't understand."

"I haven't even heard a rumor that Dr. Ishimoro caused any trouble," she admitted, opening her own box.

"Hmm. I guess the old man did his job then."

"I guess so," she agreed.

"Kagome-chan?" a female voice called from the top of the basement stairs, followed by tentative footsteps heading down. "Kagome, are you down here?"

She froze, her heart lodging in her throat. `Ayumi-chan…'

Before either of them could do anything, the girl had reached the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner where they were. Her eyes searched and then found them sitting against the wall.

"Kagome? What are you doing down in the basement?" Ayumi asked. "I saw you come down here and… Oh Inuyasha is here. Inuyasha-chan what…"

The girl stopped dead in her tracks when she realized what Kagome was doing. She gasped, her eyes opening wide and took a step back.

"Kagome…"

"Ayumi-chan, it's okay…" she tried, but the girl was already backpedaling.

"I… I'm sorry. I'll… I'll get out of here..."

Ayumi spun and ran for the stairs.

"Inuyasha, stop her! Quickly!"

Inuyasha obeyed, leaping over the girl and blocking her path to the stairs.

"Oi. Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

Ayumi collapsed at his feet, terrified. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Huh? Why would I hurt you?" he asked, blinking at her.

She stared up at him. "Be… because Kagome says you're reckless and violent and…"

He gave Kagome an angry glare and she shrugged sheepishly. `Oops.'

"Hey. I'm only violent to those who hurt Kagome. Are you gonna hurt Kagome?"

"N… no."

"Then you got nothing to worry about. Kagome just wanted me to stop you, that's all."

"How'd you move so fast?" the girl asked, starting to overcome her fear.

"Keh! You thought that was fast? You haven't seen anything."

"Inuyasha," Kagome warned and he quieted his boasting, then she turned to her friend. "Ayumi-chan."

`She's seen that I have a baby. She'll see he's not human. Ayumi may not have gotten into Waseda, but she's not stupid. Of all my friends, she was the one that was the most sympathetic to Inuyasha. Maybe she can be trusted now. And even if she can't, it's too late isn't it,' she thought sadly.

"Kagome-chan," Ayumi answered, sitting up and facing her. "I… I didn't know you had a baby. If the high school administrator finds out…"

"Exactly. So you're not going to tell him, right? Or anyone else, right?"

Ayumi shook her head. "No. Of course not. You'll be expelled!"

The girl came over and knelt by her as Inuyasha returned to his place next to her and resumed eating his lunch. Kagome blushed and Ayumi stared.

"When… when did you have him… her? I never even knew you were pregnant."

"Him, and I wasn't. This baby is an orphan."

"But…"

"A woman can make milk and not be pregnant. It's called induced lactation and you can find out about it on-line," Kagome explained.

"Induced lactation. But how… why?"

She shrugged. "I wasn't actually planning it. It just kinda happened."

Ayumi looked away. "Oh."

"Anyway, you won't tell anyone, right?"

Ayumi shook her head again. "No. I won't tell anyone. I promise!"

"Good. Thank you."

Yukio asked to be switched so she moved him over, giving Ayumi a good look at him. The girl gasped.

"Kagome… the baby…"

"Has puppy ears, yes I know."

She saw Ayumi gulp and knew her friend was just itching to ask. She smiled to herself as Yukio took the second breast, mumbling a happy :Food.: in inu-youkai. She barked back a soft, :Good pup.: to him and he sighed.

"Where did you get him?" the girl asked timidly.

"About nine ri from Edo."

"Nine ri from Edo? What?"

She chucked. "It's a long story."

Ayumi bit her lip and stared at the baby. "Does he have a tail too?"

Inuyasha nearly choked on his food and coughed. "A tail??"

"Well… yeah, if he has dog ears couldn't he have a tail too?"

The hanyou sputtered and Kagome held back a laugh.

"No, he doesn't have a tail. He does have claws and fangs though. Fangs he'd better be careful not to use on his mother when he feeds," she warned gently, tapping Yukio on the back of his neck when he grazed her nipple with a canine.

:Sorry! Sorry!:

She cuddled him and rubbed his back. :Forgiven.:

"Kagome…" Ayumi began uncertainly. "Kagome… is he… is he human?"

"No. Not exactly. But that's obvious isn't it?"

The girl tittered nervously, but nodded. "Yeah."

"Yukio is a hanyou. An inu-hanyou to be exact."

"Inu-hanyou?" Ayumi repeated.

"His mother was human, but his father was…"

"A dog demon?" the girl finished. "But Kagome… demons don't exist…"

"Inuyasha, will you take off your cap, please?" she asked.

"My cap? Why? You spend all this time making me swear to always wear it when I'm here in your blasted world and now you want me to take it off?" he complained.

She gave him a tolerant smile. "It's okay, really. Go ahead and show Ayumi your ears."

He gave her a confused look, but obeyed, taking off the hat. Ayumi squealed when she saw his dog ears.

"OW!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Inuyasha is an inu-hanyou too," she explained.

"Are they real? Can I touch them?"

"Inuyasha?" she asked.

The hanyou bent his head so Ayumi could inspect his ears and the girl rubbed them lightly.

"Be careful. They're really sensitive," Kagome warned.

"They're so soft…"

"Keh. What were you expecting?"

"Is this why he's so angry and violent all the time, Kagome?" Ayumi questioned.

"Hey! I am not," he snorted, offended.

"No. He just puts up a front so no one will figure out he's just a big fluffy puppy inside," Kagome teased.

"Fluffy puppy!? I'll show you fluffy puppy!"

Ayumi giggled then sobered. "Hey wait a minute! If you're an inu-hanyou and so is the baby… is this baby yours? Are you two-timing Kagome again you big jerk?! And then you ask her to raise it for you after you had a baby with your old girlfriend? You've got some nerve buster!!"

"Eh?? What??!!" Inuyasha scrambled.

"Ayumi. Ayumi!" Kagome tried, but the girl was off on a roll of indignant rage.

"You better treat her right! Kagome's too good hearted to tell you to stuff it, but I know how much you made her cry!"

He looked at her, aghast. "You've been talking about me?"

"Of course she's been talking about you! I'm her best friend. Who else is she going to cry to when you cheat on her again? And now you bring her your illegitimate half-demon baby to raise. You… you… Oooooo YOU HORRIBLE, TWO-TIMING, VIOLENT, SELFISH JERK!" Ayumi yelled.

Inuyasha cringed and tried to hide behind Kagome.

"Kagom-e-e-e-e-e," he begged.

She patted his hand comfortingly.

"Kagome! How can you defend him after what he's done to you?!" Ayumi demanded.

"Because the baby's not his," she said calmly.

"He's not?"

"No. Yukio's parents are dead. Inuyasha and I adopted him after his mother died."

Ayumi deflated, all her earlier ire disappearing and she blushed with embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry, I just thought…"

Inuyasha snorted. "That's right. You should be sorry to think I would do such a thing to Kagome."

"Inuyasha…" Kagome warned.

"What? I'm not allowed to defend myself?"

"Of course you are, but Ayumi doesn't understand about you and me. She made a wrong assumption, but now we've fixed it. It's okay."

"Keh!" he sniffed, but didn't say anything more.

"I really am sorry," Ayumi apologized. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"Feh! I've been called worse. Don't worry about it."

Ayumi looked away, ashamed, but Kagome saw Inuyasha soften and had to smile. `He's so forgiving. He wants everyone to think he's hard and cold, but he isn't. He's so sweet. I love him so much.'

Yukio finished eating and she burped him, giving him a few extra cuddles because the yelling had upset him.

"How much time is left for lunch?" she asked.

Ayumi blinked then looked at her watch. "Umm… eight minutes."

"That's enough time," she commented, taking one of the clean diapers Inuyasha had brought with him and a cleaning cloth. It always amazed her just how much he could carry stuffed in his haori.

She laid the haori on the concrete floor and put Yukio on it so she could change him, taking care not to dirty the red cloth. Then she put him in the clean diaper and re-dressed him in his snap-on sweat pants, giving his belly a little tickle. He giggled and kicked.

"It looks like everything is quiet here. You should take him home," she said, giving his haori back.

"I'm not leaving you," he refused, putting the garment on.

She handed him Yukio when he was ready for him.

"I don't think anything is going to happen. Really, it's okay."

"I'll say when it's okay, woman, and I'm not convinced. I'm staying and that's final."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. Ayumi looked to them.

"Is something wrong?" the girl asked.

"Someone else knows about Yukio and we were worried she would make trouble for us today, but it doesn't look like it."

"Who?"

"A doctor who examined me when my mom found out I was lactating. She came to the house yesterday and caused a scene," she explained.

"Oh how horrible!"

She nodded. "But it's okay. My mom and grandfather took care of it."

"Oh."

"Anyway, we need to get back," she said, eating the last of her lunch quickly, then standing up.

Ayumi and Inuyasha stood with her. She leaned over and kissed Yukio.

"I love you," she told the baby. He burbled back at her.

She kissed Inuyasha on the cheek. "I love you too."

He blushed but gave her a small smile.

"I'll pick you up after school and take you home," he told her.

"Okay. Be safe, put your cap back on and stay out of sight."

"Yes, yes, wench, get going or you'll be late."

"And stay out of trouble," she warned as she and Ayumi headed for the stairs.

"Me? You're the trouble maker!"

"Be lucky you're holding Yukio or I'd `s' you."

"Feh!"

She giggled as she and Ayumi went up the stairs.

"'S' him?" her friend asked.

"Long story."

"Oh."

The rest of the day passed without incident and Inuyasha was true to his word. He met her as soon as she was out of sight of the school and carried her home on his back; leaping from building to building and making her laugh with the rush of excitement and joy she felt whenever she was with him. That night she did her homework, ate dinner with her family, played with her son and made love with her man- twice as promised. In the morning they returned once again to the Sengoku Jidai and resumed their hunt for the Shikon shards.