Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor am I making profit from this story. All rights belong to their proper owners.

When they first woke up, the little boy clung to Kagome with a death-like grip and wailed the tiniest noise she had ever heard any time she made a motion to put him down. Kagome finally had a chance to look at him in the sunlight. He was small enough that he almost didn't cover her whole chest with his whole body.

He was boney and small, but his hair glowed in the light that peeked through the treetops. His hands were nearly white from the effort of holding onto her, and he kept his face pressed harshly against her chest. His clothes were tattered to the point Kagome half way thought that they must be the last remaining existence of a time when he had someone to love him.

She lifted a hand to pat his back and kissed the top of his head.

She finally asked Inuyasha, "What will we do?"

Inuyasha sighed deeply but didn't give an answer to his wife. Neither of them knew exactly what was the right thing to do, nor what their next steps should be.

Feeling a slight rumble in his own stomach, Inuyasha finally spoke, "Keep him close, Kagome. I'll find you two some food."

Inuyasha smoothly moved away from the pair who had spent the night in his embrace. The child turned his head enough to watch Inuyasha get up, following his every move with watery brown eyes – eyes that bore into Inuyasha and brought back memories he had long since sworn to never think of.

Inuyasha extended one of his large hands and placed it tenderly on top of the little head. He tried to ignore the twitch that was his heart breaking a little bit when the boy flinched as if expecting a blow instead of a gentle caress.

He could remember what it felt like to be afraid like that. He could feel the bitter burn in his chest of expecting nothing but harm and rejection to come towards him.

Inuyasha could empathize more with this child that he had ever imagined possible.

He abruptly moved to fetch food for them; Kagome barely had time to register the interaction between her husband and the boy before he was gone.

Kagome looked at the spot where Inuyasha had been just moments before and took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself.

She wondered if he was reliving his childhood, and if he would be alright. She could tell that the castle town had brought back memories as soon as they had stepped foot into it. It must also be eating away at him to have found a child just like him.

Kagome looked down at the boy in her arms. He still clung to her, but he was also looking around for Inuyasha. Although his facial features and coloring was completely different from her husband, Kagome could see Inuyasha in this child. She could see the horrors that he sometimes slipped into reliving still fresh and tormenting this child. Kagome knew that Inuyasha would struggle with his own past while helping this child, but she also knew that there was not a single better person in the universe for this boy to have in his life.

She knew that Inuyasha wouldn't vocalize anything about what he was feeling to her, but she promised herself to try to get him to talk. After all, if Inuyasha went through what she saw happening to this little boy...

She dared not think much further than that. She couldn't risk becoming too emotional when she was alone with a baby.

The boy, realizing that Inuyasha was gone and not just hiding from his sight, shuffled his head as deep into her chest as he could. Kagome stroked his back and whispered to him, hoping to get him to associate her with good things, such as love and affection. She ignored how her heart ached at the feeling of his spine and ribs against her fingers, and told him that he was safe with her.

He was clearly a toddler- a very malnourished and horribly abused one, but still a toddler. He had showed signs of cognitive recognition when he was looking around for Inuyasha, and he had enough strength in him to maintain a strong grasp on her.

She remembered from her high school days learning that it was an imperative time in a child's life, where most of the developing happened. She prayed that they got to him in time – that he would be able to learn to trust and love them.

He let out little sighs that Kagome took as a good sign, eventually relaxing enough in her arms to slouch into her chest.

His ears drifted to a low relaxed position and his eyes closed slightly in trust.

Kagome wanted to cry from joy at the child's reaction to her, but she didn't dare in case he misinterpreted her tears.

Kagome lost track of time as she snuggled the little boy in her arms. It could have been moments or hours for all she knew. Inuyasha came as swiftly as he had left, with a fresh rabbit in hand. He wasn't sure he could even stomach eating anything, and doubted Kagome would be able to either. But the boy had to eat – and he would make sure that boy never went hungry again.

Inuyasha revived the small fire, cleaned the rabbit swiftly, and set the meat to cook. Once he was done, he sat next to his wife and looked at the child in her arms, who had taken on a relaxed and submissive pose in her arms.

The child looked at him with a soft gaze, indicating to Inuyasha that he believed no harm would come to him.

It surprised Inuyasha that this boy had come to trust Kagome just as easily as he had all those years ago.

Kagome snuggled and planted gentle kisses on the young child in her arms while the meat was cooking. The smell made her stomach churn, but the little guy in her arms perked up quite a bit at the smell.

Slowly, his ears took on a standing position and his nose started to wriggle furiously. He removed himself just enough to watch Inuyasha lean forward to turn the meat by the fire. Kagome could hear his nose taking in air faster than normal, and he guessed he was excited because he could smell meat.

Inuyasha heard it as well. He heard things Kagome couldn't, like how the boy's stomach let out a small grumbled, and the soft – barely audible to him even – whines that were coming out of the boy's throat.

Finally, the boy turned himself entirely around in her embrace so that he was facing the fire and the food, and leaned just out of her lap to plant his hands on the forest floor.

Removing the rabbit, Inuyasha pivoted on his heels to face his wife and the child. He remembered the foolish mistakes hunger made him make when he was young, and only offered little bits to the boy. He didn't want the child to eat too much too fast and make himself sick, like he had done many times in his youth.

Big brown eyes gazed longingly at the meat Inuyasha was holding out, but the boy kept his hands planted on the ground and made no motion to take the food.

Kagome couldn't figure out why the boy wasn't taking it, and reached to grab it from Inuyasha's hand. The child's eyes immediately went elsewhere, looking at the grass, perhaps a leaf, apparently disappointed and trying to not convey he had any hope that the meat was meant for him. Kagome's heart sunk into the ground when she realized he wasn't sure if he was going to be allowed to eat.

Choking back a sob for what felt like the hundredth time, Kagome carefully pressed the meat against the little boy's lips, saying, "Go ahead, sweetheart. It's for you."

He turned his head, the meat still pressed lightly against his lips, and looked over his shoulder at Kagome. As soon as they made eye-contact, Kagome nodded and repeat, "For you, sweetie."

He opened his mouth slightly, just enough to let the meat pass his lips. He closed his eyes and chewed slowly on the meat, as if savoring the taste of it and trying to make it last as long as possible. Kagome bit back sobs that threatened to overtake her, knowing that if she made any sudden movements or sounds, the boy might stop eating out of fright.

Once he had chewed and swallowed the meat, he shifted his body back into Kagome's lap, resting his back against Kagome's chest. He slumped his hands into his lap and tucked his chin away into his chest and looked at the ground.

Inuyasha pulled another small piece from the leg of the rabbit, and handed it to Kagome. This time, when she placed the meat under his nose, he was much more eager to eat it, and took it willingly.

So little by little, Inuyasha handed her pieces of the meat and she gave it to the little boy in her arms.

Eventually his slow chewing turned from savoring to him not having enough room in his small stomach to take anymore. Inuyasha recognized the difference when Kagome had failed to, and handed her some meat with a gruff "Time for you to eat. Then we'll get going."

Kagome looked confused up at him, and before she had a chance to ask any questions, he answered her, "He's full for now. It's better to feed him small meals a couple of times a day right now, until he isn't so starved."

While she nodded her understanding of what her husband was telling her, her stomach wouldn't handle eating at all, not while the boy in her arms was still eyeing the food in her hand. She took a small bite to appease Inuyasha, but then held it out to the child. He mimicked her by taking his own small bite, and as he worked on it, he looked to Inuyasha. Kagome held out the meat to Inuyasha and he took his own bite, and together, they each took turns eating a little of the meat.

Inuyasha recognized that the likelihood of them finishing the whole rabbit by themselves was nonexistent, so when Koji was distracted by a few kisses from Kagome, Inuyasha tossed the rabbit into the woods for a smaller animal, perhaps a fox kit, to find and have a feast.

Koji didn't immediately recognize that the food was gone, being so entranced by the affection he was receiving on top of a full stomach, but once he did, Kagome could feel the small trembles rack the boy's body as fear that the food was gone seized him. "It's okay, baby," she stroked his hair and cooed at him. "There'll be more. I promise."

Glistening brown eyes locked eyes with her, as if to question what she was saying, but Kagome couldn't even be certain that he understood her language. Still, she repeated her promise to him.

"You'll always have food now, baby boy. We'll always make sure you have food."

Inuyasha patted the little head in his wife's arms, not knowing how to comfort the child, even though he had once felt the same insecurities.

As Inuyasha stomped out the remains of the fire, and Kagome finally rose to stretch her legs to get ready for walking.

"How far are we from home?" she asked her husband, shifting the toddler from one side to the other as she worked out kinks from the last two days.

Inuyasha took the boy from his wife so she could get a few forward bends in, replying, "Maybe a day, probably less."

Kagome winced as her back popped loudly, but rose with less tension and tightness, so she called that a win. "Well, we should get going then, I guess."

Inuyasha huffed audibly, before handing the boy back to Kagome, as he had started to lean heavily towards her.

They walked slowly, Kagome holding the little boy almost the whole time. He would fuss any time Kagome passed him along to Inuyasha, clearly preferring to being held by her. Inuyasha tried to take no offense from the child's behavior, thinking that if he was the boy, he would also want to be held by a mother figure who coddled him.

But it still stung that the child was more affection with Kagome than him.

It was slow process, because Kagome was feeling so exhausted, emotionally and physically, and carrying another person. Inuyasha was thankful for the slower pace, however, because he had the opportunity to stop when he saw something edible on the side of the road, mushrooms or wild vegetables, and feed the little child some more food.

The rest of the day went on in relative silence, even when they all went to the river to clean up as best as they could with a child who was reluctant to be cleaned or pulled away from Kagome.

The child clung with all his might to Kagome when she stepped into the river bank, afraid to go in, but terrified to let go of her. Kagome tried to wash up with him in her arms, but the task proved to be too difficult even for her.

Eventually, Inuyasha had to take the boy in his arms and hold him firmly so Kagome could clean up a little bit and improvise a new outfit for the child. He did his best to ignore the small wails erupting from the tiny body in his grasp, but he felt his heart break a little bit at every gasp that escaped the child.

Kagome washed up faster than she had ever before in her life, quick to jump in, rinse off, and jump out. She just wanted the dirt off of her feet and hair.

As soon as she shook off the water, she beelined over and took the toddler from Inuyasha's grasp.

She stopped once she saw the heartbreak dance across his face when he saw how relieved the child was to be back in Kagome's arms. "Inuyasha," she breathed out, but he had already risen and started walking back towards the path.

Kagome looked at the red-headed child in her arms. "He's a good man, little one. You are safe with him. We all are."

Inuyasha had heard Kagome's words, but it brought little comfort to him at the moment.

Together they walked, side by side, Kagome trying to get the toddler to interact with Inuyasha more by taking his hand and putting it on Inuyasha's arm. It took a couple of tries before the toddler grasped onto Inuyasha's sleeve.

But once he did, there was no way he was going to let go of it.

Inuyasha found himself relaxing at the interaction, going so far as to tease the toddler with a gruff, "What do you think you're doing?" that caused the boy to look up at him.

But this time, there was no fear or confusion in the brown eyes looking into his golden ones. Just peace and hopefulness resided there.

Inuyasha swore he felt his heart stop looking into those eyes.

Inuyasha stepped in closer to Kagome so the boy wasn't extending his arm too far, and they walked, a little wobbly and crooked, but happily.

As soon as it was night fall again, Inuyasha told Kagome, "I guess we weren't as close as I thought we were."

Kagome laughed, making the child in her arms look up at her in wonder. "No Inuyasha, we're just moving at a snail's pace."

Inuyasha shrugged, not wanting to agree with Kagome since why they were traveling so slow was understandable, before responding, "I think we'll be there tomorrow."

"That's good enough for me." Kagome blew a few kisses at the child in her arms, who only then removed his hand from Inuyasha's sleeve to wrap his arms around her neck and nuzzle closer to her.

Inuyasha reached his arm around Kagome's shoulders to pull her close to his side, and to be able to put a hand on the child's head as they walked.

Once they had found a suitable clearing, Inuyasha and Kagome worked on getting the toddler to relieve himself before they settled down for the night. Since this may have been the first day in who knows how long that he received consistent food and water, Kagome reasoned that his bodily functions may be starting up.

Although there was a chance he wasn't able to quite yet, neither of them were too keen on finding out in the middle of the night if he could.

It took a few tries, and a lot of coaxing from both adults, but Koji was able to relieve himself.

Kagome cleaned him up while praising him, beyond grateful that the boy was having normal body functions, and that she wouldn't have to worry about making sure he didn't have lasting impacts in that department.

Inuyasha smothered a laugh when he saw the absolute confusion and bewilderment on the boy's face at receiving praise. He knew why Kagome was so keen to tell him he was such a good boy, but Inuyasha figured that this must have been the first time that the child had ever received such attention.

As they settled down in front of the fire that Kagome had built while Inuyasha was hunting for more meat, Kagome breached the subject of what their future suddenly held. Kagome was nestled in her husband's lap, the baby boy curled tightly into her chest, sleeping happily away, humming to himself.

He had a small fist pressed tightly against his mouth, but he radiated contentment.

"What will we call him?" Kagome's voice was raspy from fighting tears at the sight of the little one in her arms. She had only had him for one day, but she knew he was her little one now.

"Whatever we want. He's ours now." Inuyasha kept his eyes trained on the fire burning bright before them.

"What if he had a name before? But he can't tell us it?"

"We're his new family. His new name will be a way for him to know he has a new life."

"Will he call us 'mom' and 'dad'?" Kagome patted the boy's back when he snuffled in his sleep and nuzzled closer to her.

"We are his parents now, so of course he will." Inuyasha reached up and stroked the side of Kagome's face as best as he could. He fought of the worry that Kagome wouldn't want this – she wouldn't want to be a mother to this child. It wasn't logical at all that he would even think that, because here she was, cradling the child close to her and nurturing it right away.

Kagome was silent, and thought closely about what she would call her new-found son. She pulled herself a little bit closer to Inuyasha, closing the little gap that there was between them. Inuyasha used his hand to cover her face and tilt her head onto his chest.

It felt natural to both of them, sitting there holding the small child who had entered their lives when they least expected it. While they couldn't tell what the future held, they knew they would face it as a family. While the words remained unspoken, both Inuyasha and Kagome knew in the last few hours, they had found themselves with a family of their own.

The silence that had surrounded them was broken by one simple word.

"Koji."

"Hmm?" Kagome looked up at him as best as she could with his hand still resting on her face. "What was that?"

"As his new father, I name him Koji." Inuyasha dropped his hand to the boy's head, finally pulling his eyes away from the fire to look at the messy dog-eared head in his wife's arms. "He's our little one. He's now our Koji."