InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Begin Again ❯ Scroll Fourteen: Family ( Chapter 14 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Note: This is the last chapter and then there'll be an Epilogue. You guys are so totally gonna hate me.


Scroll Fourteen: Family


Inuyasha was happy for some reason. He had been smiling to himself all morning long. Miroku had even caught him whistling at one point and had received just a shrug and a smirk when he called the hanyou on it. It was unnerving to see the usually sulky and brooding inu so…chipper. He hadn’t even really gotten on to Shippou when the kitsune had started annoying him - or trying to anyway.


“Of course,” Kagome commented, looking rather sulky herself. “I’m feeling like crap and he’s walking on sunshine.” She sat in Sango and Miroku's hut, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. “It makes perfect sense.”


Sango laughed and reached over, putting a hand on the other girl’s forehead. “Well, you don’t have a fever. Perhaps you ate something that didn’t agree with you?”


Kagome scrunched up her face and moaned, lying her forehead on her knees. “Do me a favor and don’t mention food anymore, please?” She kept her head down and didn’t see when Miroku and Inuyasha walked in with an overly excited Shippou at her heels. “I think I’m gonna go through the well and see my doctor. I think I might have a stomach flu or something.”


“You ain’t got the stomach flu,” Inuyasha told her, startling her and making her jump, which in turn made her grimace at the sudden movement that caused her stomach to lurch. “There ain’t nothing wrong with you.”


“I’m just dying, that’s all,” she muttered. “You just don’t care about me anymore.” She gave a pathetic whimper in hopes for sympathy.


“Sango, would you come with me?” Miroku questioned with a suspicious smile. He knew what had made the hanyou so happy. A red haired kitsune had blurted it out while they were out, much to Inuyasha’s dismay. Sango stood up and looked at him curiously. “I have something I need to show you. You too, Shippou.”


Kagome looked up, finally, as everyone left her and Inuyasha alone in the hut. He had sat down next to her. “You ain’t dying and you ain’t sick,” he said confidently. “And you better have been joking when you said I didn’t care about you anymore ‘cause you know damn well that I do. If you were really sick I’d have you on the other side of that fucking well and half way to the hospital by now.”


A light smile tugged at her lips. She knew it was true, but was just looking for some pity - not something often dealt out by her hanyou, even to her. “Yes, I was joking, koishii. But pray tell, how do you know I’m not sick. I could be.”


He gave her a look and tapped his nose. “Trust me, you ain’t sick.” That cocky grin he’d been wearing all morning was back. “You’re carrying a brat.”


“Inuyasha, don’t tease me about something like that,” she scolded, looking at him with a deadly serious expression. She hadn’t had any clues that she was with child…except the queasiness, but that could have been anything. “If you’re going to tell me that, you’d better be telling the truth.”


He glared at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Of course I’m telling the truth.” He frowned as she looked up, reading his eyes to make sure. “You really think I’d lie about a thing like that? You’re gonna have a kid, Kagome. Our kid.”


At that she did something he had not been expecting. She launched herself into his chest, toppling him backwards onto the wood plank porch of Sango and Miroku’s home, her arms snaking around his neck. “Oh! Inuyasha!” She was laughing, but there were tears in her eyes and she stifled a sob with her giggle.


This was probably one of the most confusing moods his wife was ever in, Inuyasha thought. The times when she was laughing and crying at the same time were the most mind boggling for him because he didn’t know if he should be happy or comfort her. Mixing two emotional outlets like that left him scratching his head over what to do. So, he put his arms around her and held her to him, lying on his back with her on top of him. “That’s good news then?”


She tugged at a handful of silver hair. “You baka, of course it’s good news!” She laughed and kissed him, nipping at his lower lip and pulled back. “We’re having a baby, Inuyasha.” She kissed him again and then nuzzled his neck and shoulder. “I love you, Inuyasha.”


He chuckled and rubbed her back. “Ashiteru, Kagome.”


He’d never dreamed that he would one day be a dad. Then, he never dreamed he’d be part of a family either or have a wife or be accepted by anyone. But here he was. He had Miroku and Sango and Shippou who were his family as well as Kagome’s family on the other side of the well. He was married to Kagome, who he loved more than life itself and who he knew loved him and would do anything to be with him. Their home, their village, accepted him as a part of their community. They included him in festivities and even asked him to aide them in their farming or building new homes or whatever else and paid him for his assistance in goods if not in money. It was how he was able to take care of his wife and keep his home (a small hut near Kaede’s) running.


Kagome was almost finished with her training and would work alongside Kaede for a few years before the older woman retired and Kagome became the sole miko for the village. That had helped the people’s acceptance of him; that and the fact that Kagome had always rallied for him, even in the beginning.


He was one happy pooch.


She wiggled on top to get a better position and raised her head to look at him. “I’m going to have to go back to Mama’s and get a doctor’s appointment to make sure everything is okay with the baby and get started on some prenatal vitamins,” she stated, still smiling.


“And I’m also going to start shopping for some things that we’ll need. You know, some stuff that it won’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl, like furniture. We’re going to need a crib for Mama’s house and one for here. She might have one from when Souta was little…it’ll be good if I don’t have to buy two of everything, but I will have to have two strollers, one for here and one for over there…”


He laughed and sat up, situating her so that she sat across his lap and then put a hand to her lips to stop her rambling. “I think we have a time to get all this stuff, Kagome.” He laughed harder when she blushed, realizing she was making plans for months and months in the future. “You’re excited, aren’t you?”


She rolled her eyes. “Well, aren’t you?”


That was a silly question. If he’d had a tail, it would have been wagging.


“Inuyasha…we need to get to my era,” Kagome said, her voice sounding strained. She stood at the door of their cabin, one hand gripping the door frame, the other braced on her back. “Now.” She bit her lip, knuckles turning white from the death grip on the door jam.


He had been chopping wood for Kaede and for their supply and threw the ax into the last log before jogging to her side. “You okay? Will it hurt if I carry you?”


“No worse than it already does,” she gasped out as yet another contraction hit. They were still pretty far apart so she probably didn’t have to make it sound as urgent as she had, but she wanted to get to modern Tokyo (and epidurals) before it was too late. He swept her into his arms, bridal style, and started towards the well, going quickly but carefully as not to jar her. She fisted her hands into his haori and then relaxed when the pain subsided. “We have to tell someone we’re leaving or they’ll worry.”


He nodded and turned directions, headed towards Kaede’s hut. Someone was always there.


Sure enough they found both the monk and slayer sitting outside the hut, talking. “Oi, I’m taking Kagome to her era. We’ll probably be gone awhile.”


Sango looked up, startled. “Oh? It’s time, isn’t it?” She smiled brightly. “Good luck, Kagome!”


“Thanks,” the miko answered, pursing her lips and grunting as another spasm of pain hit. “Go, Inuyasha.”



Kagome panted, trying to catch her breath after her most recent bout of torture. Keiko dabbed a wet cloth at her forehead and smiled gently, trying to relax her and untwist the sheets from her fists. “Dr. Keioh will be right back and they’ll give you the epidural. It won’t be so bad after that and then you’ll have that beautiful baby to admire.”


Kagome nodded and tried to take a deep breath. “Hey, Inuyasha?” He took her hand and she looked at him, almost cracking a smile. Every time she had a pain, he whimpered and generally looked like a beaten puppy. Even now his face was drawn and his ears were lain back. He’d taken the shower cap off for a bit while the room was empty saying it made his ears sweat.


“I’m supposed to be the pitiful one, you know?” He grinned and brushed the hair out of her face as her features contorted once more. He stroked her arm and hand, trying to soothe her. When she finally relaxed again, he moved away to replace the hair cap just before the dark haired doctor and nurse returned.


“Still hanging in there Kagome?” The woman questioned as she read over a printout from the monitor. “Another hour or so and it’ll be all over.”


“Any way we could convince him to hurry up?” Kagome was being propped up by Keiko and the short haired nurse who parted her gown in the back and rubbed a cold solution over her spine at the small of her back.


Dr. Keioh laughed. “I’m afraid not.” She glanced at Inuyasha who was watching Kagome’s ‘handlers’ with wide eyes. “Inuyasha-san, you may want to focus on the window or something,” she told him gently. “Now, Kagome, don’t move - don’t even breathe. This shot goes into your spinal chord.”


Kagome held perfectly still while they worked on her from behind. Finally she felt something pressed against her back bone.


“Ready?”


She nodded again.


“One…two…three.”


At first it was just pressure and then it stung and then liquid fire seemed to be traveling all along her spine, burning her from the inside out. “Nngh…Gah!” She couldn’t help it. She tried not to make any sound, but the cry was ripped from her throat before she could stop it. And then the tears pooled in her blue gray eyes as she clenched them shut.


The hands that had been holding her up gently eased her back down and, as she gasped for breath, a cooling numbness took the place of the fire that had been traveling through her moments before.


Inuyasha growled at Dr. Keioh and the nurse, shooting them a warning glance. Wasn’t she in enough pain as it was? How was that epi thing supposed to help her when it hurt so bad? He had tried to go to her when she cried out, but Keiko’s warning glare had held him in place. Woman was lucky he respected her so much. No one, no one, hurt his mate.


Dr. Keioh chuckled and patted his arm. “It hurts for a moment. It is the easiest and fastest way to relieve the pressure of her contractions and the pains of birth though you will still experience some pain.” The last part was directed at Kagome. She smiled at him. “Just ask Kagome. Was it better than having to feel your hips breaking?”


“I’d rather not feel any of it,” Kagome muttered.


Keiko laughed and stroked her daughter’s hair. “It would be nice, but I’m afraid we have to sacrifice our comfort to be mothers, dear. Once it’s over, you’ll have forgotten all about the discomfort.”


“Keh, not likely,” Inuyasha and Kagome both stated in unison. “Kagome don’t forget nothing.”


“Gee, thanks, Inuyasha.” Kagome made a face at him, her voice holding a sour note. “Make me sound like a witch, why don’t you? It’s not fair. I carried the baby for nine months. Why can’t he have it? Why do I have to do all the work?”


All three women laughed, glancing at the now scowling Inuyasha. Keiko, knowing he was taking them much too seriously, tried to calm herself. “Inu, dear, don’t worry so. All women have these spells. Why, when I was in labor with Kagome, I threatened to dismember Haruki if he ever touched me again.”


Kagome looked up at her mom. “You threatened to hack up Dad?”


“Well, not all of him, just the parts that caused my situation in the first place.” Even Kagome laughed at Inuyasha’s wild eyed expression.


“Tomoe-san will call me when it’s time. I have a few patients that I need to check on for the moment,” Dr. Keioh told them and patted Kagome’s leg. “Try and relax and rest a bit. The tough part’s coming.“


“I’m going to tell Souta and Jii-chan we’re still waiting and make sure they’re okay,” Keiko informed them and followed Dr. Keioh out.


Kagome shut her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing, forcing her body to relax although the baby had other plans. She could feel Inuyasha next to her and felt the bed move slightly as he sat on the edge, taking her hand. Without opening her eyes, she could still see him, could see the pensive look in his golden eyes even though his expression gave nothing away and just knew that beneath the cap, his ears were plastered to his head in worry and fear. Where he was from, giving birth was a matter of life and death. More babies and mothers died from the birthing process than lived. She had tried to explain to him that such was no longer the case due to advances in medicine and technology, but she had not quite been able to dispel his fear.


“Hey?” His voice was quiet and gruff, but his fingers were gentle as he brushed the drops from her eyes and cheeks. “Is it still that bad?”


“No,” she started to shake her head, but stopped, feeling another tear escape and get brushed away. “Not as much, really."


“Kagome -”


“Is it a boy or a girl?” The nurse asked, reading the print out once more. “Or do you know?”


“Eh? Oh,” Inuyasha looked up, distracted. “We decided to be surprised.”


The paper fell from the nurse’s hands and she moved the sheet that had been covering Kagome off of her legs and spread them, making sure they went into the stirrups. “Well, you’re about to find out,” she informed them with a smile and pressed something on the pager beofre guiding Inuyasha out of the way to lift Kagome and prop another pillow behind her.


“Inuyasha,” Kagome gasped out, “go get Mama - tell the others. Hurry, before Dr. Keioh gets here.”


“One more time, Kagome. Come on! You can do it!” Keiko encouraged from one side of the bed, while Inuyasha supported her from the other.


“Push, koishii, push.”


“I am pushing, damnit!” Kagome shrieked through clenched teeth. “You try having a kid!” She fell back against the pillow and gasped for breath, swiping at the hair that was plastered to her forehead and cheeks.


A loud wail filled the room, drawing their attention to the foot of the bed where the dark haired doctor stood, wrapping a tiny, messy baby into a blanket. “You have a daughter,” she said, smiling. “A beautiful baby girl.”


Kagome smiled, raising up slightly to see the bundle that they were placing on her chest.


“Say hello Mama and Papa, then lets get her cleaned up so the three of you can spend some time together.”


Kagome bit her lip, trying not to cry, knowing tears now would worry Inuyasha since she was supposed to be happy and he still hadn’t quite grasped the concept of tears of joy. “My baby…she’s so beautiful…”


“Yeah, she is.” Inuyasha touched the baby’s cheek with a clawed finger, being careful of his claws. “Kami-sama, Kagome, it’s real.” He stared at the squirming child for a moment until they took her away and then looked at Kagome, absolute shock on his face. “I’m a father.”


He had never expected to reach adulthood when he had thought Naraku would be his doom, knowing he would never survive the battle, but somehow he had. Since Kagome had come into his life, he had accomplished things he had never thought possible and been given those gifts he thought were not made for him. He was alive. He had a family, friends, acceptance, a home, a wife...and now a child, a daughter, who would carry his name.


“What? Did you think you’ve been dreaming for the past nine months?” Kagome smiled and reached up, touching his cheek. “Baka, Inuyasha. Of course it’s real.” She tried to sound scolding, but could not. His entire life he had never expected anything good to happen to him. Despite the situation, he always searched for something to go wrong, believing he wasn’t deserving of good things because he’d never gotten them before. Now, when something this wonderful was happening, he was thrown for a loop. I wish I could undo all the bad things and make him understand he deserves to be happy just as much as anyone else.


“Ahem.” Dr. Keioh stood, having handed the wiggling bundle to the nurse to be looked after. “I hate to interrupt, but we aren’t done yet.”


Inuyasha sat in the chair by Kagome’s bed. She had been moved from delivery to recovery and the baby had been fed and left in the room with Mama and Papa. Keiko had delivered the news to Jii-chan and Souta that there was a black haired, golden eyed, eight pound, nine ounce new bundle of joy in the family and everyone had gone home for the evening after meeting the child for the first time.


The swaddled new born yawned in his arms, squirming a bit, opening her golden eyes slightly to look at him and then settled down once more seeming to sigh contentedly as she drifted back to sleep. He carefully moved the blanket back away from her head to get a better look at her now that everything was quiet.


Her eyes had startled everyone in the hospital and all the nurses in the maternity ward had stopped by the nursery to look at the amazing child with amber eyes. This had worried him until Keiko had explained that most babies were born with dark blue or black eyes and didn’t change color until days later. So, the baby had his eyes and was not like normal ningen children.


Her hair was a dark gray, much darker than his, but lighter than Kagome’s black tresses. Of course, this was prone to change according to Keiko, who insisted that after a few months babies lost their downy new born hair and that it could possibly grow in a different shade. Souta, for instance, had had the same rusty brown color as his father at birth and had gotten black hair later.


It was the baby’s ears that had most concerned him, though. Hair and eye color would make her unique, but it was the most obvious traits that would determine if his daughter was doomed to his childhood as an outcast. He had spent nine months worrying over whether or not she would be born half transformed as he had been, the ultrasounds having done little to quell his anxiety. Upon discovering that she had ningen ears and not puppy ones, he had breathed a sigh of relief, even after he saw that they were shaped like his brothers, pointed like other youkai in human form. It would not make her an obvious target in either world.


Very lightly, he ran his finger down the tiny lobe, tracing it and then caressed her pudgy cheeks. “Hey there,” he said in a gruff whisper. “I’ll always protect you, okay? You and your mom. I ain’t going nowhere.”


“You’d better not.” Kagome’s tired voice surprised him. He’d been so intent on the baby he’d not noticed she was awake. “You’re not allowed to leave me.”


“Keh, wench, you’re supposed to be resting.” He was smiling and had been since the baby was born.


She shrugged. “Hospital beds aren’t made for sleeping in. They’re uncomfortable.” She shifted, as if to prove her point, and then turned her heavy lidded gaze to him. “Do I get that same promise? That you’ll always protect me?”


“I told you that when we were married.” He stood up, careful of the baby he carried, and messed with the bed switches till it reclined a little less. “Hell, I’ve been telling you that for years. Scoot up and sit.”


When she’d complied, grimacing at the movement, he handed the swaddled bundle to her and positioned himself so that he sat behind her, leaning against the head of the bed and brought her to lean back on him, one leg on either side of her.


“Besides, I always have, haven’t I?”


She yawned and closed her eyes. “You most certainly have.” Her smile widened when she heard him keh. “Did you come up with a name?”


He idly caressed her stomach, making sure his touch was light and gentle as not to cause any discomfort. “I kinda like Hana. What about you?”


She nodded. “Inutaishou Hana. I like it. Is that what you wanna call her?”


He nodded and kissed her hair. “We’ll tell everyone tomorrow. Get some sleep, wench.” But she was already sleeping once more. Cradling the baby again, he kissed Hana’s cheek, unable to take his eyes off of her. His child.


Kagome and Inuyasha wrapped the baby as snug as they could in the baby carrier and made sure she was secure before making the jump through the well to the Sengoku Jidai. The little girl was still fast asleep when her father set the carrier in the bottom of the well and grabbed Kagome, making the leap to the grassy hill before coming back for her.


Even when they got to Miroku’s home, she still slept on, although everyone cooed over her and said how pretty she was with her dark hair and smooth skin. Inuyasha grinned proudly and unhooked the buckle that kept her securely in the carrier, lifting her out in one smooth gentle motion and bringing her to rest in the crook of his arm. She yawned and turned her head into his haori, taking a deep breath before drifting back to sleep.


“Like father like daughter,” Kagome muttered and kissed his cheek. “She scents everyone when they pick her up.”


Inuyasha grinned and looked down at the tiny thing in his arms. She would always be protected and loved and accepted. She would learn everything that he could teach her and everything that Kagome could teach her and the schools in Kagome’s era so that no one could ever take advantage over her. She would never want for anything. He would make sure to give her the life growing up that he never had. She would have a father and a mother to love her and keep her safe. She would never go hungry for any reason.


No, she would never suffer the things that he had. She would never know lonely days filled with people who despised her because of her lineage. She would never be forced to fend for herself because everyone who loved her was gone. His daughter would never suffer from malnutrition or hunger. He would make sure of that. No child should have to suffer those things.


Especially not his child.


Kaede chuckled when Inuyasha knelt down to show off his daughter to Shippou and Kirara and to herself - she was considerably shorter than the hanyou. “May I, Inuyasha?” She questioned, a smile still gleaming in her eyes.


He did not want to hand her over, but he submitted and allowed the old miko to cradle the child who yawned again and barely opened her golden eyes, curious about who had her now. She managed to get one arm out of her blanket and reach it towards Kaede’s face while the old woman laughed heartily. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a babe as tiny as you, little one.”


In response, the baby let her arm fall back on top of the blanket while the miko rubbed her arm before the child grasped the wrinkled finger in her fist. “Ah, little one.” She often wondered what it would be like to have had children of her own, but she knew that her place was as miko and guardian of these five. Never once did she regret taking her sister’s place as the village miko.


If Kikyo and Inuyasha had not been tricked as they were, I wonder if you would have been born to them? She caressed the fingers that were still wrapped around her one. No, probably not. It is best that things happened as they did. She glanced up at the two young adults who had created the wonder in her arms. Inuyasha stood with his arm around Kagome’s waist, supporting her while she leaned against him.


“Kaede-obaa, what are you telling my daughter?” Kagome questioned, grinning. “I can see that concentration in your face. You’re telling her something the rest of us can’t hear.”


Kaede laughed. “I was speaking to her. I was just giving her the words of advise that I have learned over my long life.”


“You’ll have to share them with me one day. Especially if they have anything to do with training a spouse,” Kagome giggled when Inuyasha’s hold on her tightened and he growled playfully. “Let me hold her know. Inuyasha hardly lets me have a chance.” She smiled up at her possessive husband.


“I can’t believe she’s real…she’s really mine…” he muttered an explanation as a light pink tinged his cheeks when her smile softened and she reached up to caress his jaw before taking Hana in her arms.


“Hey there, koi,” Kagome muttered quietly as the baby tried to snuggle closer to her chest. “Hana.” She brushed the blanket away from her face so that the baby’s face was fully exposed to her. “How’s my sweet baby?” Golden eyes slit open to look at her before sliding closed once more and Kagome giggled quietly as Inuyasha’s arms snaked around her waist again.


She caressed the pudgy cheek and lifted her gaze to Inuyasha’s golden depths. “I love you,” she whispered as he captured her lips in a light kiss.


“I love you, too.” His breath blew across her ear and cheek, tickling her hair. “Both of you.” He put his hand over Kagome’s on the baby’s cheek, just barely brushing across her skin.


“Do you want to hold her, Miroku-sama,” she asked looking over at him as he was the closest and he was staring intently at the blanketed bundle.


Miroku grinned and shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He came over and frowned, realizing that he’d never held a newborn before. “How?” His voice was a whisper of uncertainty. “I’ve never…”


Kagome smiled gently. “Bend your arm like mine to support her back. Make sure her head’s in the bend of your arm so that it’s supported. She can’t hold her head up on her own yet.” She positioned the sleeping child in his bend arm and made sure that he had a steady grip on her before letting go. “Now bring this arm around to hold her close to you.” She brought his other arm around so that it hugged the child to his chest. “There you go. Just like that.”


He didn’t even realize he’d been holding his breath until he let it out and chuckled lightly. “I haven’t been around babies much…” Considering all the women he’d asked to bare his child, one would have thought he some experience with kids, but it turned out that he had not planned on being around when those women bore those same children…in fact, he’d have been long gone by the time the pregnancy was discovered. He and Sango had yet to conceive, which was alright. They were still adjusting to married life.


“Taishou Hana…That’s a beautiful name,” he murmured. “Just like you and your mother.” He grinned when Kagome blushed.


He rocked her slowly and smiled to himself. “I think that one day I’ll write down a series of short tales about our adventures together. That way our children will know where they have come from.”


Sango put an hand on his shoulder and wrapped her other arm around the ones that held the baby. “I think that’s a good idea. Alright, it’s my turn.” He frowned, but carefully handed the baby to her.


Sango readjusted the blanket to cover Hana’s bare arm and smoothed the dark curls on her forehead. "I want a baby Miroku…”


“I thought we were working on that.”