"A Bundle of Joy"
An InuYasha fanfic
By Paperkut-98
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor am I affiliated with the InuYasha franchise. I am making no profit from this story. You may not reproduce this fanfic without the permission of the author. Thank you.
Chapter Seven:
"Who Needs Enemies? (Part 1)"
Enough was enough.
Sango had spent the past three weeks with Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippou at the cabin. Yet, the past three weeks had felt more like three years.
Every night as Sango tried to sleep, she couldn't stop herself from trying to figure out who Kagome's baby's father was. Could it be a stranger? Someone she knew? What was he like? Did Kagome love him more than Inuyasha?
There were so many unanswered questions… Sango knew that who it was that impregnated her best friend was probably none of her business. However, she had a strange, unexplainable feeling that it was her business; like she could know the man who had slept with Kagome but she didn't realize it yet…
'There's no reason to believe that though,' Sango told herself, as she lied on her sleeping bag. She was outside, by the beautiful lake that Kagome had told her so much about. The moon was shining brightly overhead in the illuminating night sky. Its bright reflection gave sparkle to the brilliant, tranquil lake below, which offered peace to Sango amidst all her confusion. It was a beautiful place to sit and think... which Sango assumed Kagome had been doing plenty of, ever since she discovered she was pregnant.
Sango fidgeted on her sleeping bag, feeling restlessness claim her mind. 'Kagome hasn't told me that the father is a bad person or anything…'
However, she had another reason for wanting to know. The reason was…
Sango pursed her lips together as she thought of him. '…Miroku.'
Lately, Miroku had been acting strangely. Sango first noticed it a few days ago when Miroku had announced his desire for a serious relationship with only one woman. That one statement alone had completely shaken every opinion Sango had ever formed of Miroku.
'Of course, it's great that Miroku has changed,' Sango told herself. 'But it's all so… sudden. It's too quick, especially for Miroku.'
Therefore, Sango had been thinking about both Kagome's pregnancy and Miroku's shift in personality recently. She had the strange suspicion that... perhaps, the two were linked.
However, she knew this was stupid. 'Kagome and Miroku are friends, but they're not really close. Why would they be involved with each other's problems, then?'
On her sleeping bag, Sango sighed and rolled over. She forced her eyes shut. 'Fine. Tomorrow, I will try to learn whatever I can.' With that, Sango drifted away into sleep.
The next morning, Sango found herself holding Kagome's shaking body once again.
"W-WHAT IF THEY HATE MEEEE!" the young teenager blubbered, her tears falling onto Sango's violet top.
Sango gulped. She felt awful for the girl. It was a heart breaking thought that Kagome's own family would hate her for the pregnancy, but it was a very real possibility. It sickened Sango!
"Sshh! They won't hate you, Kagome," Sango whispered, letting the young girl sob against her chest. However, Sango wasn't sure about what she had just said.
Kagome had asked to speak with Sango privately after they had finished eating breakfast with their friends a few minutes ago. The two girls had walked out to a green clearing--the same area where Shippou liked to nap in the afternoon--and Kagome had confessed to Sango that she was going to return to the "Present", and admit her pregnancy to her family.
Still sobbing, Kagome wailed, "You don't… know… that!" Kagome's slender frame continued to shake in Sango's arms, making Sango feel like crying too.
'The fear she's feeling… she can't handle this! I want to make all of her problems go away!' Sango thought, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid crying in front of the younger girl. 'It's not fair that other people have to go through problems like this! Like mine with Kohaku! It's not fair that Kagome can't fix things, just like I can't! It's not fair that people have to go through so much pain!'
Kagome cried silently for a few more moments. Sango held her, realizing that all she could do was comfort her friend. But what could she do in the future? There had to be something. Sango had to do something to make things easier for the girl…
Finally, Kagome finished. She tiredly pulled away from Sango's body, and looked up at her with her weak, puffy eyes.
"Sango, I feel so… sick," Kagome whimpered. She took an uneasy step backwards, and Sango heard the girl's stomach rumble.
"I—I feel like I'm gonna… g-gonna… UUURRRGGGHHH!"
With that, Kagome hunched over and spewed up her first round of Morning Sickness.
'That's pleasant!' Sango shuddered.
After comforting Kagome, Sango decided to investigate Miroku. It was obvious that Kagome was unfit to talk about her secrets today, but Sango hoped that that Miroku would say something!
Therefore, while Kagome did some house cleaning with little Shippou, and Inuyasha went to catch fish for supper, Sango located Miroku in the woods. He was scraping bark from a tree with a knife that he had borrowed from the kitchen.
"What are you doing, Miroku?"
Miroku turned his head and saw the lean, stunning Demon Slayer dressed in her battle suit, watching him with curiosity. He smiled.
"I'm scraping bark for my spiritual Spell Scrolls," he explained. He gestured to the tree with his knife. "It's hard to scrape the exact layer of bark, but this particular type of tree is most beneficial to my purposes."
Sango watched as Miroku went back to his work, picking at the tree's bark with the kitchen knife, giving his full attention to his duty.
"Why are you doing it by hand?" Sango questioned. "I thought that the temples donate those types of scrolls to needy monks."
"They do," Miroku replied. He bit on his lower lip, for a second, as he cautiously slid the knife through the bark and managed to produce a finely sliced leaf of wood, "...but doing it by hand gives me a greater rapport with the scroll itself, and when I key it with the spell later on using ink, this type of wood will work much better than the temple's offerings."
Sango paused to watch the Monk as he struggled some more. It was fascinating, she thought, to see him work hard, despite his past negligence to his duties as a monk.
'I wonder if he will return to the temple one day?' Sango thought.
Finally, Miroku broke the silence. "I see you're wearing your Demon Slayer's outfit, Sango. Are you going to practice with Haraikotsu today?"
Sango smiled. "No, Miroku. Actually, I was considering taking a walk today and I wanted to know if you could accompany me."
Miroku stopped what he was doing and turned to face Sango once again. He hesitated.
Sango cleared her throat. "Miroku, it's okay if you're too busy to go walking today… It's just that I heard of a tea hut nearby, ran by some maidens, and I was going to visit it myself, but…"
Miroku's eyes shifted, and Sango smiled.
'Yes!' She thought happily. 'My plan worked! Miroku may have changed, but he's still perverted! There's no way he could pass up the chance to see all those women...'
Sango could damn near see the dirty thoughts forming in the perverted Monk's head. However, her hopes died quickly as he suddenly frowned.
"Hmm… Not today, I think. Sorry, Sango," Miroku apologized. He turned back to the tree and carefully removed the strip that he had previously cut, using all the care in the world to ensure that it would not splinter.
Sango's mouth dropped. 'His will is really strong enough to withstand the idea of all those women!' she thought, awed. 'Amazing… Miroku has changed even more than I thought!'
Sango hesitated, standing there in the forest. 'What should I do now?' she asked herself, feeling worried. 'It's not like I can question him about his new personality while he's so busy with scraping trees, and I can't ask him to stop because that wouldn't be subtle enough…'
"Sango, are you feeling well?" Miroku suddenly asked.
The female Demon Slayer froze as she realized that while she had been thinking, Miroku had turned around again and was studying her with a concerned look on his face.
"I—uh—yes!" Sango exclaimed. "I—I'm just… Well, I should go now! I suppose Kagome has some chores for me back in the hut!"
Sango hesitated once more, waiting for Miroku to say something. Instead, he fixed her with a stare. It was a calculating, chilling stare.
A stare that told Sango that he knew she was up to something.
A few hours later, Sango was sitting outdoors with Shippou. She was slumped against the hut's side, feeling distressed, and Shippou lied by her feet, staring up at the azure sky. The weather was so incredibly perfect, ideal for sky gazing. There were even puffy white clouds floating around that reminded Shippou of his balloon transformation.
"Aaah," Shippou sighed, smiling euphorically. "It's such a beautiful day… Oh, Sango! Do you see that cloud over there?"
Shippou urgently pointed to a cloud towards the west. Sango looked and when she saw it, she smirked.
"Yeah, it looks like it has dog ears!" Sango giggled.
"Just like Inuyasha!" Shippou laughed. He sat upright, and beamed at Sango.
"Oh Sango, don't you think it's great that he and Kagome don't fight anymore?" he buzzed. "Now it's like we're a real family!"
Sango smiled. 'Shippou really does look up to Inuyasha and Kagome like parents.' "That's right, Shippou!" she smiled.
Shippou looked at her with an element of concern on his young face. He cocked his head to one side. "Sango, what's wrong? Your face is all smiles, but your eyes are all worry!"
Sango raised an eyebrow due to the young demon's startlingly accurate description of her sentiments. She hesitated and then sighed lamentedly. She moved away from the side of the hut and lied on the ground, her eyes searching the sky as she spoke with Shippou.
"I'm not really unhappy or anything, now," Sango said, the words flowing simply from her heart. "It's just that… Well, Miroku has been acting differently, Shippou, and I'm afraid that if he doesn't tell me why, we won't be close anymore. Do you understand?"
Shippou scratched his ear and giggled. The youngster then sprung up onto Sango's sternum, where he stood and looked her straight in the eyes with a gleam of mischief in his pristine brown orbs.
"I didn't know you worried about Miroku like that, Sango!" he smirked, devilish mischief flashing in his eyes.
Sango scowled playfully at the little demon, and then picked him up by the waist as she sat upright.
"It's not like that," she lied, pretending to be angry about Shippou's remark. She squeezed gently on Shippou's sides, causing the fox demon to squirm with bittersweet tickle-pleasure.
"I'm only concerned because I'm curious! That's all!" Sango scoffed, doing her best to put on an air of apathy.
Once Shippou stopped jittering with laughter, he stuck his tongue out at Sango. "You're such a liar, Sango. I can tell you're scared that Miroku may not want to be close with you!"
Sango's eyes flashed with annoyance. Shippou's honesty could be too accurate sometimes.
She rolled her eyes. "What makes you say that?"
"Miroku has told you all of his secrets up until now," Shippou said, a smug look on his face as he donated his vast knowledge to Sango, "...and he knows all of your secrets, too. Now there's something he isn't telling you, and that makes you feel insecure."
Sango was silent. She gently placed the child down on his feet, and she lied back against the grass and stared into the sky. The relaxed, enjoyable mood she had felt some mere seconds ago had vanished.
'Shippou is right,' she realized, as her fingers played with the blades of grass on the ground. 'I suppose… I really do care for Miroku, as more than a friend.'
But… Sango let out a deep breath, and rubbed her fingers anxiously.
'I CAN'T. Not after what I've done…'
THE END!
AUTHOR: Hello again, everybody! I'm very happy that you've read this chapter! I appreciate everyone's attention very much. I tried to work hard on this chapter, so I hope you have enjoyed it!
I have decided to not revise "Bundle of Joy" upon its completion because I have re-read the whole story and I'm actually quite proud to have penned such a piece! I'm going to continue with my work, and the story will only keep getting better and more interesting… hopefully!
In the next chapter, Sango will confront Miroku. Who will survive, and what will be left of them? (LOL!)
I love you all so much! Please keep reading, and Happy Holidays!
Bye!
Paperkut-98
