InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Torrent ❯ Ache ( Chapter 44 )

~~Chapter 44~~

~Ache~

 

`Ow.'

 

Kagome's first thought as coherence returned was that she really hurt. The second though was that she was nice and warm. She shifted and made her third realization. She was nestled in InuYasha's arms. Cracking open an eye, Kagome saw that he had removed his haori and it was blanketing her, keeping her warm, and as comfortable as she was otherwise, certain parts of her were . . . just not. Her breasts were so full of milk that she really thought she might be dying, and every time she breathed in, she felt like she was going to scream.

 

She shifted again and groaned as her body protested the movement. InuYasha leaned to the side to look at her. “Something wrong?”

 

“Nope, not a thing,” she said, careful to keep her tone as normal as she could. Given the circumstances, she wasn't surprised that he saw right through it.

 

“All right. Now suppose you tell me what is wrong then?”

She sighed. “It's nothing. I'll be fine.” He leaned over more, which caused unwelcome movement on her part, and she gasped as a new round of pain shot through her breasts. “At least, I'll be fine if you'd sit still.”

 

“You're not making a damn bit of sense.”

 

She couldn't stop the soft whimper that came out when he moved yet again. Her arms smashed against her chest didn't help. They hurt when she breathed. With a grimace, she remembered that Tajiko had been too tired at lunch time and hadn't done a good job nursing. Kagome had thought that Tajiko would make up for it when she had her supper. She'd forgotten all about that.

 

“Did you eat?” she asked, hoping to change the subject and get her mind off of her current predicament.

 

InuYasha sighed. “Yeah. You didn't eat enough, though.”

 

“I did,” she argued. “I ate all I could.”

 

“Feh! You have to think about yourself and Taji. You know that.”

 

Silently cursing the hanyou for reminding her, Kagome stifled a sigh and tightened her arms over her chest. He looked almost amused as he stared at her. She forgot for the moment that her breasts were near screaming as she gazed back at him. She reached up slowly, smoothing the hair out of his face. He leaned into her palm, and Kagome blinked back relieved tears. “I'm so sorry,” she said softly. “You'll never know how sorry. I've wished I could go back and undo it all. I never wanted to hurt you.”

 

His eyes glowed brightly. She saw the tears standing in his eyes though they didn't fall. “I believe you.” He turned his head enough to kiss her hand before nudging his cheek against her again. “I believe in you.”

 

She sat up and kissed his cheek. He pulled her close, hugging her tight. She gasped and jerked away as her sore chest pressed against him. “We have to go back,” she said through gritted teeth.

 

“We will, as soon as the sun comes up.”

 

She shook her head then moaned. “No, InuYasha. We really have to go home.”

 

He didn't answer right away. When he did, there was a note of worry in his tone. “It's the middle of the night, Kagome. Why don't you go back to sleep, and we'll go back as soon as the sun comes up?”

 

“I've got to go home!” she pleaded, ignoring the tolerant tone in his voice. “I didn't feed Tajiko!”

 

He frowned. “She's fine. She's with your mother, and you're the one who always tells me---”

 

“I hurt!”

 

“Did something bite you?”

 

Narrowing her gaze as she glared at her mate, Kagome had to wonder if he was being dense on purpose. “From not feeding Tajiko!”

 

Sudden understanding seemed to dawn on InuYasha, and with a sharp curse, he leaped to his feet and dragged Kagome onto his back. She yelped, unable to help herself as her breasts flattened against his back. With a wince and a whimper, she flinched as she felt milk seep through her bra and blouse and into InuYasha's shirt. He either felt it or smelled it because he let her down gently and turned. “You can't travel back like this, can you?”

 

She was near tears. Stumbling to her feet, she hurried into the darkness near the stream. Uncaring as to what InuYasha was thinking or even if he had followed her, Kagome tugged at her blouse and then her bra. She leaned forward and splashed the cold water against her breasts. It did nothing to alleviate her ache. Too sore to apply any pressure at all, she crossed her arms over herself and rocked slowly back and forth, biting back tears as she berated her own stupidity in not remembering to grab her breast pump.

 

InuYasha's hands slowly rose to rub her back. Though his touch soothed her, it didn't help her pain, and she whimpered softly. “Is there anything I can do?” he asked, his voice concerned, almost panicked.

 

“Get Tajiko?” she responded, only half-joking.

 

“I can't leave you here alone,” he said sadly.

 

“I'll be all right,” she assured him, closing her eyes as she tried to will her mind off of her discomfort. “I just hope this doesn't make me dry up.”

 

“Dry up?” he echoed. “What do you mean?”

 

She sighed. “In the books, it says that if your body thinks it's making unnecessary milk, it could dry up.”

 

“What will you feed Tajiko then?”

 

“Well, I hope it doesn't come to that,” she remarked dryly.

 

“Come back over to the fire,” he coaxed gently. “You're getting cold over here.”

 

The idea of moving wasn't one that Kagome welcomed. But she supported her chest with one arm and retrieved her clothing with the other hand before InuYasha lifted her to carry her back to the camp. She made a face as she stared unhappily at her bra. The idea of putting it back on was enough to make her want to sob. InuYasha dragged his haori over her, and she settled herself against him, thankful that he seemed to understand.

 

“Get some sleep?”

 

Kagome made a face. “Okay,” she agreed though she doubted she'd be able to do anything of the sort.

 

He ran his claws lightly through her hair. She loved that he was trying to soothe her. Closing her eyes, she tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work. She didn't even have to move, she realized as another twinge hit her, drew a whimper from her.

 

To her surprise, InuYasha whined softly. She opened her eyes to find him gazing down at her, an agitated expression etched into his features. “InuYasha?”

 

“You're in pain,” he whispered. “I can't . . . .”

 

She forced a smile. “It's okay,” she tried to reassure him. “I'll be fine.”

 

“Damn it!” With a low growl, InuYasha pulled the haori off of her. She only had a moment to wonder just what he thought he was doing before his mouth fell onto her breast, gently drawing out the milk and with it, the pain the engorgement had caused. There was too much comfort behind his touch, too much tenderness, too much of a purpose to the movement of his lips and tongue. It wasn't a sexual touch, and Kagome slowly relaxed as he drained her.

 

When he finally pulled away, Kagome was nearly asleep. She could feel his gaze on her, and she made herself wake up enough to say, “Thank you.”

 

“You don't hurt anymore, right?”

 

She shook her head just a little. “I'm fine now.”

 

He sighed. “Good. We'll get your pump-thing tomorrow.”

 

She couldn't help the drowsy smile that surfaced as he pulled the haori up and tucked it around her. “You didn't like my milk?”

 

He grunted but didn't answer.

 

Sleep drifted over her. Welcoming and friendly, she reached out to embrace it. Somewhere in the darkness, she heard InuYasha's whisper as he wrapped her more securely in his arms, “I loved it.”

 

She was smiling as she fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

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A/N:

 

Unfortunately I have to admit to knowing exactly what I'm describing here, as far as the overly-full breasts. If you've never had children or you've never had this problem, then consider yourself lucky, because it isn't pleasant, and it makes you want to just cry. Been there, done that, and, at least here, it is an example of `write what you know'. All I can say is that I'm so glad my kids are past this particular stage. LOL!

 

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Review Q & A

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Akihanah (FFnet) & Flames101 (FFnet)

 

The flower is not forgotten ::wink::

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w_j (MMorg):
Sesshoumaru sure is a bastard, isn't he? Technically he tells the truth, but he tells it in such a way (leaving out key facts, such as Kagome being under the influence of a plant/drug at the time of the kiss) that it changes the listener's perception of the situation. What a jerk! Well anyway, please keep the chapters coming! Thanks! ------Note: I have to dump my temporary internet files before each visit to MM.org, otherwise the latest chapters of any story will not show up for me. Even with my IE preferences set to update the page every visit, it still doesn't work unless I dump my temp files. 'Just thought I'd pass that on in case someone else asks again.

 

Sesshoumaru is a real stinker…. He actually does have a point in what he's doing. It's just up to him to actually tell what it is he's thinking…

LOL, I do that, too, but only if I'm reading through new reviews. Honestly, and probably only because I'm uploading said chapters, I've not noticed a problem with them… But I do believe y'all!

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Silverwolf Guild (FFnet):

I think that that was actually pretty honorable of Sesshoumaru, to take the fall. I also like how you added in the bit alluding to how Fluffy protected InuYasha (sort of) in the past. Nice.

 

I thought it was honorable, myself. Sesshoumaru has a very distinctive character, and I love toying with him because you're never quite sure what is going on in his head (even as a writer). There will be a bit more clarification on his reasons for behaving this way in Torrent to come . . . Can't wait to see what he has to say for himself!

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anime fan  (MMorg):
this is a great story , I can't wait for the up-and-coming chapters!, I feel so bad for Kagome. It wasn't her fault! plus InuYasha had smelt the flower on her- *lifts fists to sky* "why can't he put 2 and 2 together?! ARGH! Please don't leave up hanging!

 

I don't plan on leaving anything hanging! I can't stand loose plot ends or things that aren't explained. I love the `review' feature for this reason, because even if I feel I've explained something, if anyone feels that I haven't, then I ask that they drop me a line so I can see where the problem might be. InuYasha isn't stupid . . . then again, he can't `remember' what sort of flower it was, either, so therein may be the problem . . .

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Torrent): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~