InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unfettered ❯ Unions and Reunions ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: inufan625 
Going home to the Feudal Era
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.14.2006 | Updated On: 11.21.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 2.9K | Status: Work In Progress
Going home to the Feudal Era
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.14.2006 | Updated On: 11.21.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 2.9K | Status: Work In Progress
A/N: Here’s another chapter. This one does have a LEMON so consider yourself warned and possibly excited...lol. Seriously though I hope you enjoy this chapter as it took me a long time to get parts of it how I wanted.
And please review... You will have my most esteemed gratitude.
“It’s perfect,” Kagome assured him. “Do I get to go inside?”
In the house Kagome was met with a great room. One side held a stove for cooking and a low table. The other contained a fire pit and several mats, and on either side of the main room there was a shoji. InuYasha pointed to the left. “That’s the pup’s room,” he told her. He led her to the other door and slid it open. “This is your room.”
Kagome was surprised to see that he had built her a bed. It was only about a foot off the ground but it looked really soft and had pillows and blankets from her time. “Don’t you mean our room?”
He shrugged. “Could be, if you want.”
“Are we going back for Taro tonight?” she asked.
“If you want.”
“I know what I want, InuYasha. What I don’t know is what you want," Kagome told him. “Tell me, anata. What do you want?”
He growled softly and pulled her to him. “You.”
His lips crashed and he kissed her forcefully with five years of pent up desire. When he pulled away they were both panting lightly. “Be my mate Kagome. I want you with me always. Let me bind us with my youki, so that nothing can ever part us again.”
“You really want me as your mate?” she asked.
He nodded. “I wanted to do it before. Will you be my mate, Kagome?”
She smiled. “Yes. I want to be yours. I always have.”
He removed his haori and undershirt and pulled Kagome’s shirt off over her head. She unzipped her skirt and it fell to the floor.
She sat on the bed and laid back. Almost instantly he was on top of her, kissing her and tracing the contours of her body with his claws. She bit her lip and tried to stave off her fear as his hand settled between her legs. She didn’t want him to know how nervous she was, but of course her InuYasha noticed right away.
“What’s wrong?” he asked gently. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
“I do... I mean it is what I want... I just.” Kagome blinked away her tears. “It’s me. I’m afraid.”
Kagome blanched at the broken look in his eyes.
“I see,” he said softly trying to pull away.
Kagome held him tightly. “Not of you,” she told him. “Never of you. I just, after Taro was born, I think it changed me. Whenever he... It hurt.” Kagome felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. “It hurt so much and I... that time with you, it was wonderful and beautiful and... It’s me.”
“Shhh,” he soothed. “Kagome, look at me. I won’t hurt you, and if it does, we’ll stop, I promise. Okay?”
She nodded. “I trust you.”
This time InuYasha moved slower with more tenderness. “Take this off,” he said softly, slipping one claw under her bra.
While Kagome sat up to do that, InuYasha finished undressing. Then he slipped her panties off of her as well. Kagome felt herself flush as his eyes roamed over her body. She tried to cover her breasts, but clawed hands gripped her wrists.
“Don’t Kagome,” he said. “Don’t hide from me. You’re beautiful.”
Kagome stiffened again as his hand slipped between her legs, but this time he didn’t stop. She moaned as he began to suck gently on one of her nipples. She began to tense in a completely different way as he continued to rub her in small circles. She gasped as he slipped one finger inside her and used his thumb to stroke her while he pumped it in and out.
“Inu...Yasha...” she moaned as her back arched.
InuYasha growled softly and abandoned her breasts, kissing and nipping his way down her body. He urged her legs apart and his hands held her hips firmly to the bed. He wasted no time delving his tongue inside her. He relentlessly sought to bring her to her release.
Kagome cried out a broken version of his name as something broke free inside her and left her trembling and breathless. She couldn’t open her eyes, but she could feel his body hovering over her, his arousal pressed against her opening. Slowly, she realized he was waiting for her permission. She looked up at him and found him staring intently at her.
Carefully InuYasha began to join with her, watching for any sign that he was causing her even the slightest discomfort. When he was fully sheathed inside her, he rested his forehead against hers, and exhaled softly. “K’gome,” he breathed. “My Kagome, I’m finally home.”
She wrapped her arms around him and clutched him tightly. “Make love to me, InuYasha.”
He pulled away from her only to return. InuYasha kissed her deeply as he moved in long tender strokes. Soon, Kagome wrapped her legs around him and she began moving to meet his thrusts. That’s when she felt it, something changing inside her, around her. She felt his youki flare and wrap around her aura, asking her to submit to his will. She gave herself over to him completely, willing to allow herself to be utterly consumed by him, if he so desired. A soft light surrounded them and she could see the violent red of his youki and the gold of her aura merging, wrapping tightly together, never to be separated. She felt the truth of his heart and it healed her.
“Kagome, my mate,” he said from above her.
That’s when she knew that he felt it too, that from this day forward they would belong only to each other. He moved faster, driving her higher, closer to her peak.
“Inu...Yasha,” she cried as she reached her climax.
He growled loudly and a few quick thrusts later he collapsed on top of her. It was only seconds later when he smelled the pungent odor of her salty tears. He raised himself off of her. “Kagome, did I hurt you?”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t me,” she said softly as her tears fell. “He said it was my fault, that there had to be something wrong with me... that I should just shut up and quit whining about the pain because it was my fault, but it wasn’t... It wasn’t me... It was him...”
InuYasha rolled off of her and pulled her to his chest. “What did that bastard do to you, Kagome?” he said gently as he stroked her hair. He growled softly to soothe her and slowly her tears stopped.
“I love you so much,” she whispered as she clung to him. “I really was lost without you.”
“So was I,” he replied. “You know how much you mean to me, don’t you?”
“I know,” she told him.
“Good,” he said. “Kagome, you also need to know that there definitely ain’t a damn thing wrong with you. I should kill that bastard for ever making you think that there was.”
“Does that mean you enjoyed making love to me, and want to do it again?” Kagome asked.
InuYasha could hear the smile in her voice. “Of course it does. In fact, I think now would be a good time to prove it, if you’re up to it, pathetic human wench.”
“I’ll show you pathetic, dog boy. Bring it on, if you think you can handle me,” she challenged.
“There’s my Kagome," he said with a smile. “I knew you were in there somewhere, and remember, you asked for it.”
“Something funny, wench?” he asked.
Kagome pulled her hand away. “I didn’t think you were awake.”
He grabbed her hand and put it back up to his ear. “Even if I hadn’t been awake, your laughing would have woke me up. Now, keep going. It was just starting to feel good.”
“I thought you hated it when I played with your ears,” she said, but started rubbing them affectionately.
“I lied,” he told her. “What was I supposed to say, ‘Stop touching my ears wench before I jump you and have my way with you? Keh, don’t think so. I’d have ended up with a broken back and a face full of dirt. Ahhh...Just like that.”
Kagome giggled as he pressed harder against her hand. “InuYasha?”
“Hmmm...” he replied. His face was serene and his eyes were closed.
Kagome shifted a bit and blew softly against the very tip of his ear, and then ran her tongue along the edge of it. His eyes flew open, and in a breath he was on top of her, pinning her to the bed.
“You shouldn’t start something unless you are willing to finish it,” he breathed against her ear.
“So it worked then?” she replied. “I was hoping...”
He looked at her clearly shocked. She was smiling shyly at him, her eyes dark and sparkling. She had been trying to get him to react this way. “Sneaky wench,” he said. His lips fell over hers roughly and her hands again found the furry appendages on top of his head. That was all it took.
“I’m glad you think so, since it’s gonna happen a lot,” InuYasha replied.
Kagome laughed softly. “I guess we should go get Taro now. We didn’t tell mama we’d be leaving him for the night.”
“Might as well get the pup before we go see Kaede-baba,” InuYasha agreed. “She’ll want to see him, and I don’t want to have to make two trips.”
InuYasha watched his mate and the woman he loved beyond all reason get up and head for her clothes. He was simply admiring the view when she bent over. He couldn’t help the low growl that welled up inside him. Kagome looked back at him and a blush crept over her cheeks, but she was smiling. As she began to pull on her clothes, he got up and did the same.
They arrived on the other side of the well and found Taro playing under the Goshinboku. He got up and ran over to them. Kagome hugged him and when she released him he looked at her strangely.
“Mama, you smell like papa,” he said. “I like it.”
“Taro, baby, run on inside and get your bag, and tell grandma we’re here,” Kagome instructed. He nodded and ran for the house. Kagome looked to InuYasha. “Do I really smell like you?”
“Damn right you do, and that is how it should be,” InuYasha told her. “Even the kid knows it’s right, even if he don’t know why.”
They talked for a few minutes with her mother, and then Kagome packed a bag with some of her things and some supplies. Then they headed back to the past.
InuYasha was first to enter the elderly miko’s hut. “Oi, baba, I brought you some visitors.”
Kagome entered with Taro holding her hand. Kagome smiled. “Hi, Kaede. Thank you for telling InuYasha I needed him.”
“You are most welcome, child,” Kaede replied. “Though my motives were not entirely selfless. I have missed you, and I also need someone to take my place in the village.”
“I would be honored to learn from you,” Kagome told her.
“Now who might this handsome boy be?” Kaede asked.
“Keh, you ain’t blind yet, baba,” InuYasha replied. “You should know my pup when you see him.”
“Mama, you told me to always be respectful to my elders,” Taro said. “But papa is bring rude to the nice lady.”
Kaede’s raspy laughter filled the hut. Kagome glared at InuYasha. “Keh, I’m older than her, and I don’t see her showing me no respect,” InuYasha scoffed.
Kaede’s laughter finally died down. “Aye, it is true. Mayhap you would like me to call you InuYasha-jiji.” Kagome laughed. “It does this old soul good to have laughter filling her home once again. Kagome, child, your presence has been greatly missed.”
Kagome knelt down. “Taro, baby, sometimes your papa forgets his manners,” Kagome explained. “Just remember what I have taught you, okay?”
“Okay, mama,” Tara replied.
“So you named the child Taro?” Kaede questioned.
“That’s what mama calls me, Kaede obaa-san. I am named after my papa,” the boy said proudly. “My real name is InuTaro.”
“A fitting name,” Kaede replied. “I sense the best of both of you within this child. I assume that you will be journeying to the exterminator’s village to see others, who have no doubt felt your absence.”
Kagome nodded. “We just wanted to stop by first and see you before we set out for the exterminator’s village.”
“Thank you for thinking of this old woman,” Kaede said. “I wish you a safe journey, and will see you when you return.”
“Mama, where are we going?” Taro asked between bites of rabbit and rice.
“We’re going to visit some very good friend of your papa’s and mine,” Kagome replied.
“Oh... Will there be kids there?” he asked.
Kagome looked to InuYasha. “Keh, the bouzo got Sango pregnant about a month after you left. Her name is Kimi and she looks just like the pervert. I haven’t been to see them in more than a year though, so they could have another little lecher by now, for all I know.”
“Papa, do you think she’ll play with me or will she... Never mind,” Taro said quietly.
InuYasha and Kagome shared a concerned look and the older hanyou made a strange sound between a growl and a bark, which caused Taro to raise his head. The young miko had no idea what was going on as the two looked at each other. She watched her son look at her and then shake his head, and then her mate nodded and stood up.
“Come on, pup. You can help me get more wood,” InuYasha announced.
Kagome could only watch as her little boy followed his father out of the cave. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were going to talk, or that Taro hadn’t wanted to say whatever he was going to in front of her, for whatever reason. She just wished she knew why.
He had never been afraid to talk to her before, and though it did seem only natural that there were some things a little boy would want to talk to his father about, she couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Kagome shook her head and pushed such thoughts aside. What was important was that he was going to tell at least one of them. It was stupid to be jealous of InuYasha. After all, she had Taro completely to herself for nearly five years.
InuYasha grabbed his son and jumped up into a tree a short distance from the cave. “Now, what were you going to say.”
“When me and mama were waiting for you to get mama’s sleeping bag from home, I saw some other kids and I heard them... One... one of them....” InuYasha growled soothingly, even as his youkai raged at his son’s tears. “I heard one say that I was a freak... He called... he called mama a... a whore. I pretended that I didn’t hear him so mama wouldn’t be sad. Why did he say that about me and mama?”
InuYasha hadn’t expected to have to explain such things to his son so soon, and now he understood exactly how his mother must have felt when she shed tears for him. He wanted to find the little bastard that had stolen a piece of his child’s innocence and beat the shit out of him, and it frustrated him not to be able to do anything to get it back.
InuYasha held Taro just a little more tightly. “Listen, most people aren’t like your mama, and uncle Souta, and baa-chan, who don’t care what we are, and care about who we are instead. There are some though, good people, like the friends we’re going to visit, who accept us, and the fact that we’re hanyou, but not too many.
“Most people are afraid of what we are, of what we represent. It scares them to think a youkai and a human could be together. When humans are afraid of something, they get angry at the source of their fear, and say shit that isn’t nice and isn’t true to make themselves feel better, stronger, like they have power over their fear. It don’t matter that they’re wrong. All you have to remember is that you’re better than they are, stronger because you ain’t afraid of things you don’t understand, and you don’t judge people by what they are, but who they show themselves to be.”
“Papa, did... did people ever say mean things about you?” Taro asked.
InuYasha swallowed hard and nodded. “All the time, pup, and I didn’t have my mama or papa there to tell me that they were wrong, and so for a long time I believed them, but they were wrong. Your mama taught me that. There ain’t nothing wrong with being a hanyou.”
“How... how do you know?” the little boy pressed.
“How do you feel about your mama?” InuYasha questioned.
Taro chewed on his lower lip just like his mother often did when she was thinking or nervous and then spoke, “I love her. She’s the best mama ever. She pretty and smart and strong... She’s brave and she takes good care of me, and I know that she loves me, too.”
InuYasha nodded. “That’s how I know. If a woman like your mama can love us, then there can’t be anything wrong with being hanyou. All the bravest and most honorable people I know don’t think being hanyou is anything to be ashamed of. Just because most people think something, don’t mean they’re right. Do you understand?”
“I think so,” Taro said seriously. “Like when mama showed me where we live on her globe, and told me that once upon a time people thought the earth was flat, and laughed when one person said it was round. But it really is round, so those people who laughed were wrong.”
Now InuYasha had no idea what a globe was, or half the other stuff his son had said, but if Kagome had told him that, it must be the truth. The important thing was that Taro understood what he had been trying to tell him, so he nodded. “That’s right. Now, let's go back and see your mama before she starts to worry.”
“Keh, mama always worries,” Taro snorted, crossing his arms.
InuYasha barked out a laugh. “Yeah, she does.”
Kagome looked up as her two favorite hanyou entered the cave. Both were smiling and she relaxed. Taro came over to her and gave her a hug before returning to InuYasha and curling up in his lap. Once the little boy was asleep, InuYasha settled him in the sleeping bag, and then offered Kagome his hand. They didn’t go far, just far enough as not to wake Taro when they spoke.
“So are you going to tell me what was going on earlier?” Kagome prompted.
To her surprise, InuYasha crushed her against him and held her tightly. “Some fucking bastard called him a freak and you a whore.”
“What?!” Kagome demanded, jerking her head up from its place on his chest. “When? Where? Who was it?”
“One of the village children while you waited for me to get your sleeping bag,” InuYasha replied.
Kagome’s brow furrowed. “I saw them but I didn’t hear anything...”
“He’s a hanyou, Kagome, remember. He can hear a lot better than you can, but he pretended not to so you wouldn’t get upset,” InuYasha explained. “But I talked to him about it and he’s okay now, so don’t worry.”
“How can I not?” Kagome asked. “He’s just a baby.”
“Keh, he’s smart and he’s tough,” InuYasha snorted. “He’ll be fine.”
Kagome sighed and leaned into her mate. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth, that there’s going to be a lot of people that won’t accept him, but that don’t make them right, or anything they say the truth,” InuYasha told her. “That they were just afraid because they don’t understand us. I think he understood. He said something about a gl-obe and people laughing at a guy who thought the ear-th was round or something, but he said you told him so I just went with it.”
Kagome giggled. “He understood.”
“So what the hell was he talking about, anyway?” InuYasha asked after a long moment.
Kagome smiled and spent the next ten minutes explaining to InuYasha what he wanted to know. When she was finished InuYasha nodded, and was confident that their son had in fact understood what he had been trying to tell him. They returned to the cave hand in hand, and InuYasha sat dozing against the wall above the heads of his mate and son as they slept.
And please review... You will have my most esteemed gratitude.
~ * ~
InuYasha led Kagome to the house that he had built in their time apart. “I know it ain’t much compared to what you could have in your time,” he said quietly.“It’s perfect,” Kagome assured him. “Do I get to go inside?”
In the house Kagome was met with a great room. One side held a stove for cooking and a low table. The other contained a fire pit and several mats, and on either side of the main room there was a shoji. InuYasha pointed to the left. “That’s the pup’s room,” he told her. He led her to the other door and slid it open. “This is your room.”
Kagome was surprised to see that he had built her a bed. It was only about a foot off the ground but it looked really soft and had pillows and blankets from her time. “Don’t you mean our room?”
He shrugged. “Could be, if you want.”
“Are we going back for Taro tonight?” she asked.
“If you want.”
“I know what I want, InuYasha. What I don’t know is what you want," Kagome told him. “Tell me, anata. What do you want?”
He growled softly and pulled her to him. “You.”
His lips crashed and he kissed her forcefully with five years of pent up desire. When he pulled away they were both panting lightly. “Be my mate Kagome. I want you with me always. Let me bind us with my youki, so that nothing can ever part us again.”
“You really want me as your mate?” she asked.
He nodded. “I wanted to do it before. Will you be my mate, Kagome?”
She smiled. “Yes. I want to be yours. I always have.”
He removed his haori and undershirt and pulled Kagome’s shirt off over her head. She unzipped her skirt and it fell to the floor.
She sat on the bed and laid back. Almost instantly he was on top of her, kissing her and tracing the contours of her body with his claws. She bit her lip and tried to stave off her fear as his hand settled between her legs. She didn’t want him to know how nervous she was, but of course her InuYasha noticed right away.
“What’s wrong?” he asked gently. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
“I do... I mean it is what I want... I just.” Kagome blinked away her tears. “It’s me. I’m afraid.”
Kagome blanched at the broken look in his eyes.
“I see,” he said softly trying to pull away.
Kagome held him tightly. “Not of you,” she told him. “Never of you. I just, after Taro was born, I think it changed me. Whenever he... It hurt.” Kagome felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. “It hurt so much and I... that time with you, it was wonderful and beautiful and... It’s me.”
“Shhh,” he soothed. “Kagome, look at me. I won’t hurt you, and if it does, we’ll stop, I promise. Okay?”
She nodded. “I trust you.”
This time InuYasha moved slower with more tenderness. “Take this off,” he said softly, slipping one claw under her bra.
While Kagome sat up to do that, InuYasha finished undressing. Then he slipped her panties off of her as well. Kagome felt herself flush as his eyes roamed over her body. She tried to cover her breasts, but clawed hands gripped her wrists.
“Don’t Kagome,” he said. “Don’t hide from me. You’re beautiful.”
Kagome stiffened again as his hand slipped between her legs, but this time he didn’t stop. She moaned as he began to suck gently on one of her nipples. She began to tense in a completely different way as he continued to rub her in small circles. She gasped as he slipped one finger inside her and used his thumb to stroke her while he pumped it in and out.
“Inu...Yasha...” she moaned as her back arched.
InuYasha growled softly and abandoned her breasts, kissing and nipping his way down her body. He urged her legs apart and his hands held her hips firmly to the bed. He wasted no time delving his tongue inside her. He relentlessly sought to bring her to her release.
Kagome cried out a broken version of his name as something broke free inside her and left her trembling and breathless. She couldn’t open her eyes, but she could feel his body hovering over her, his arousal pressed against her opening. Slowly, she realized he was waiting for her permission. She looked up at him and found him staring intently at her.
Carefully InuYasha began to join with her, watching for any sign that he was causing her even the slightest discomfort. When he was fully sheathed inside her, he rested his forehead against hers, and exhaled softly. “K’gome,” he breathed. “My Kagome, I’m finally home.”
She wrapped her arms around him and clutched him tightly. “Make love to me, InuYasha.”
He pulled away from her only to return. InuYasha kissed her deeply as he moved in long tender strokes. Soon, Kagome wrapped her legs around him and she began moving to meet his thrusts. That’s when she felt it, something changing inside her, around her. She felt his youki flare and wrap around her aura, asking her to submit to his will. She gave herself over to him completely, willing to allow herself to be utterly consumed by him, if he so desired. A soft light surrounded them and she could see the violent red of his youki and the gold of her aura merging, wrapping tightly together, never to be separated. She felt the truth of his heart and it healed her.
“Kagome, my mate,” he said from above her.
That’s when she knew that he felt it too, that from this day forward they would belong only to each other. He moved faster, driving her higher, closer to her peak.
“Inu...Yasha,” she cried as she reached her climax.
He growled loudly and a few quick thrusts later he collapsed on top of her. It was only seconds later when he smelled the pungent odor of her salty tears. He raised himself off of her. “Kagome, did I hurt you?”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t me,” she said softly as her tears fell. “He said it was my fault, that there had to be something wrong with me... that I should just shut up and quit whining about the pain because it was my fault, but it wasn’t... It wasn’t me... It was him...”
InuYasha rolled off of her and pulled her to his chest. “What did that bastard do to you, Kagome?” he said gently as he stroked her hair. He growled softly to soothe her and slowly her tears stopped.
“I love you so much,” she whispered as she clung to him. “I really was lost without you.”
“So was I,” he replied. “You know how much you mean to me, don’t you?”
“I know,” she told him.
“Good,” he said. “Kagome, you also need to know that there definitely ain’t a damn thing wrong with you. I should kill that bastard for ever making you think that there was.”
“Does that mean you enjoyed making love to me, and want to do it again?” Kagome asked.
InuYasha could hear the smile in her voice. “Of course it does. In fact, I think now would be a good time to prove it, if you’re up to it, pathetic human wench.”
“I’ll show you pathetic, dog boy. Bring it on, if you think you can handle me,” she challenged.
“There’s my Kagome," he said with a smile. “I knew you were in there somewhere, and remember, you asked for it.”
~ * ~
Kagome tried to stretch but found that difficult to do with a naked hanyou draped across her body. She smiled and began to scratch softly behind one of his ears. She laughed as a low contented rumbling spilled forth. He sounds almost like a cat.“Something funny, wench?” he asked.
Kagome pulled her hand away. “I didn’t think you were awake.”
He grabbed her hand and put it back up to his ear. “Even if I hadn’t been awake, your laughing would have woke me up. Now, keep going. It was just starting to feel good.”
“I thought you hated it when I played with your ears,” she said, but started rubbing them affectionately.
“I lied,” he told her. “What was I supposed to say, ‘Stop touching my ears wench before I jump you and have my way with you? Keh, don’t think so. I’d have ended up with a broken back and a face full of dirt. Ahhh...Just like that.”
Kagome giggled as he pressed harder against her hand. “InuYasha?”
“Hmmm...” he replied. His face was serene and his eyes were closed.
Kagome shifted a bit and blew softly against the very tip of his ear, and then ran her tongue along the edge of it. His eyes flew open, and in a breath he was on top of her, pinning her to the bed.
“You shouldn’t start something unless you are willing to finish it,” he breathed against her ear.
“So it worked then?” she replied. “I was hoping...”
He looked at her clearly shocked. She was smiling shyly at him, her eyes dark and sparkling. She had been trying to get him to react this way. “Sneaky wench,” he said. His lips fell over hers roughly and her hands again found the furry appendages on top of his head. That was all it took.
~ * ~
Kagome had her hand on his chest, idly tracing her name as it appeared on his skin in a deep red. “I could get used to this. Being pounced on by a hanyou, bent on having his way with you, is quite an enjoyable experience.”“I’m glad you think so, since it’s gonna happen a lot,” InuYasha replied.
Kagome laughed softly. “I guess we should go get Taro now. We didn’t tell mama we’d be leaving him for the night.”
“Might as well get the pup before we go see Kaede-baba,” InuYasha agreed. “She’ll want to see him, and I don’t want to have to make two trips.”
InuYasha watched his mate and the woman he loved beyond all reason get up and head for her clothes. He was simply admiring the view when she bent over. He couldn’t help the low growl that welled up inside him. Kagome looked back at him and a blush crept over her cheeks, but she was smiling. As she began to pull on her clothes, he got up and did the same.
They arrived on the other side of the well and found Taro playing under the Goshinboku. He got up and ran over to them. Kagome hugged him and when she released him he looked at her strangely.
“Mama, you smell like papa,” he said. “I like it.”
“Taro, baby, run on inside and get your bag, and tell grandma we’re here,” Kagome instructed. He nodded and ran for the house. Kagome looked to InuYasha. “Do I really smell like you?”
“Damn right you do, and that is how it should be,” InuYasha told her. “Even the kid knows it’s right, even if he don’t know why.”
They talked for a few minutes with her mother, and then Kagome packed a bag with some of her things and some supplies. Then they headed back to the past.
~ * ~
InuYasha was first to enter the elderly miko’s hut. “Oi, baba, I brought you some visitors.”
Kagome entered with Taro holding her hand. Kagome smiled. “Hi, Kaede. Thank you for telling InuYasha I needed him.”
“You are most welcome, child,” Kaede replied. “Though my motives were not entirely selfless. I have missed you, and I also need someone to take my place in the village.”
“I would be honored to learn from you,” Kagome told her.
“Now who might this handsome boy be?” Kaede asked.
“Keh, you ain’t blind yet, baba,” InuYasha replied. “You should know my pup when you see him.”
“Mama, you told me to always be respectful to my elders,” Taro said. “But papa is bring rude to the nice lady.”
Kaede’s raspy laughter filled the hut. Kagome glared at InuYasha. “Keh, I’m older than her, and I don’t see her showing me no respect,” InuYasha scoffed.
Kaede’s laughter finally died down. “Aye, it is true. Mayhap you would like me to call you InuYasha-jiji.” Kagome laughed. “It does this old soul good to have laughter filling her home once again. Kagome, child, your presence has been greatly missed.”
Kagome knelt down. “Taro, baby, sometimes your papa forgets his manners,” Kagome explained. “Just remember what I have taught you, okay?”
“Okay, mama,” Tara replied.
“So you named the child Taro?” Kaede questioned.
“That’s what mama calls me, Kaede obaa-san. I am named after my papa,” the boy said proudly. “My real name is InuTaro.”
“A fitting name,” Kaede replied. “I sense the best of both of you within this child. I assume that you will be journeying to the exterminator’s village to see others, who have no doubt felt your absence.”
Kagome nodded. “We just wanted to stop by first and see you before we set out for the exterminator’s village.”
“Thank you for thinking of this old woman,” Kaede said. “I wish you a safe journey, and will see you when you return.”
~ * ~
They traveled at a comfortable pace most of the day, stopping to eat, to let Taro play, and whenever else one of them wanted to. Most of the time Taro rode on his father’s shoulders, and Kagome had to admit that traveling with InuYasha to see their friends was a lot more pleasant than their shard hunts had been. When night fell InuYasha led them to a small cave, and Kagome started the fire while he caught them something to eat.“Mama, where are we going?” Taro asked between bites of rabbit and rice.
“We’re going to visit some very good friend of your papa’s and mine,” Kagome replied.
“Oh... Will there be kids there?” he asked.
Kagome looked to InuYasha. “Keh, the bouzo got Sango pregnant about a month after you left. Her name is Kimi and she looks just like the pervert. I haven’t been to see them in more than a year though, so they could have another little lecher by now, for all I know.”
“Papa, do you think she’ll play with me or will she... Never mind,” Taro said quietly.
InuYasha and Kagome shared a concerned look and the older hanyou made a strange sound between a growl and a bark, which caused Taro to raise his head. The young miko had no idea what was going on as the two looked at each other. She watched her son look at her and then shake his head, and then her mate nodded and stood up.
“Come on, pup. You can help me get more wood,” InuYasha announced.
Kagome could only watch as her little boy followed his father out of the cave. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were going to talk, or that Taro hadn’t wanted to say whatever he was going to in front of her, for whatever reason. She just wished she knew why.
He had never been afraid to talk to her before, and though it did seem only natural that there were some things a little boy would want to talk to his father about, she couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Kagome shook her head and pushed such thoughts aside. What was important was that he was going to tell at least one of them. It was stupid to be jealous of InuYasha. After all, she had Taro completely to herself for nearly five years.
InuYasha grabbed his son and jumped up into a tree a short distance from the cave. “Now, what were you going to say.”
“When me and mama were waiting for you to get mama’s sleeping bag from home, I saw some other kids and I heard them... One... one of them....” InuYasha growled soothingly, even as his youkai raged at his son’s tears. “I heard one say that I was a freak... He called... he called mama a... a whore. I pretended that I didn’t hear him so mama wouldn’t be sad. Why did he say that about me and mama?”
InuYasha hadn’t expected to have to explain such things to his son so soon, and now he understood exactly how his mother must have felt when she shed tears for him. He wanted to find the little bastard that had stolen a piece of his child’s innocence and beat the shit out of him, and it frustrated him not to be able to do anything to get it back.
InuYasha held Taro just a little more tightly. “Listen, most people aren’t like your mama, and uncle Souta, and baa-chan, who don’t care what we are, and care about who we are instead. There are some though, good people, like the friends we’re going to visit, who accept us, and the fact that we’re hanyou, but not too many.
“Most people are afraid of what we are, of what we represent. It scares them to think a youkai and a human could be together. When humans are afraid of something, they get angry at the source of their fear, and say shit that isn’t nice and isn’t true to make themselves feel better, stronger, like they have power over their fear. It don’t matter that they’re wrong. All you have to remember is that you’re better than they are, stronger because you ain’t afraid of things you don’t understand, and you don’t judge people by what they are, but who they show themselves to be.”
“Papa, did... did people ever say mean things about you?” Taro asked.
InuYasha swallowed hard and nodded. “All the time, pup, and I didn’t have my mama or papa there to tell me that they were wrong, and so for a long time I believed them, but they were wrong. Your mama taught me that. There ain’t nothing wrong with being a hanyou.”
“How... how do you know?” the little boy pressed.
“How do you feel about your mama?” InuYasha questioned.
Taro chewed on his lower lip just like his mother often did when she was thinking or nervous and then spoke, “I love her. She’s the best mama ever. She pretty and smart and strong... She’s brave and she takes good care of me, and I know that she loves me, too.”
InuYasha nodded. “That’s how I know. If a woman like your mama can love us, then there can’t be anything wrong with being hanyou. All the bravest and most honorable people I know don’t think being hanyou is anything to be ashamed of. Just because most people think something, don’t mean they’re right. Do you understand?”
“I think so,” Taro said seriously. “Like when mama showed me where we live on her globe, and told me that once upon a time people thought the earth was flat, and laughed when one person said it was round. But it really is round, so those people who laughed were wrong.”
Now InuYasha had no idea what a globe was, or half the other stuff his son had said, but if Kagome had told him that, it must be the truth. The important thing was that Taro understood what he had been trying to tell him, so he nodded. “That’s right. Now, let's go back and see your mama before she starts to worry.”
“Keh, mama always worries,” Taro snorted, crossing his arms.
InuYasha barked out a laugh. “Yeah, she does.”
Kagome looked up as her two favorite hanyou entered the cave. Both were smiling and she relaxed. Taro came over to her and gave her a hug before returning to InuYasha and curling up in his lap. Once the little boy was asleep, InuYasha settled him in the sleeping bag, and then offered Kagome his hand. They didn’t go far, just far enough as not to wake Taro when they spoke.
“So are you going to tell me what was going on earlier?” Kagome prompted.
To her surprise, InuYasha crushed her against him and held her tightly. “Some fucking bastard called him a freak and you a whore.”
“What?!” Kagome demanded, jerking her head up from its place on his chest. “When? Where? Who was it?”
“One of the village children while you waited for me to get your sleeping bag,” InuYasha replied.
Kagome’s brow furrowed. “I saw them but I didn’t hear anything...”
“He’s a hanyou, Kagome, remember. He can hear a lot better than you can, but he pretended not to so you wouldn’t get upset,” InuYasha explained. “But I talked to him about it and he’s okay now, so don’t worry.”
“How can I not?” Kagome asked. “He’s just a baby.”
“Keh, he’s smart and he’s tough,” InuYasha snorted. “He’ll be fine.”
Kagome sighed and leaned into her mate. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth, that there’s going to be a lot of people that won’t accept him, but that don’t make them right, or anything they say the truth,” InuYasha told her. “That they were just afraid because they don’t understand us. I think he understood. He said something about a gl-obe and people laughing at a guy who thought the ear-th was round or something, but he said you told him so I just went with it.”
Kagome giggled. “He understood.”
“So what the hell was he talking about, anyway?” InuYasha asked after a long moment.
Kagome smiled and spent the next ten minutes explaining to InuYasha what he wanted to know. When she was finished InuYasha nodded, and was confident that their son had in fact understood what he had been trying to tell him. They returned to the cave hand in hand, and InuYasha sat dozing against the wall above the heads of his mate and son as they slept.