Chapter 8
~ The Course of the Wind Changes Things~
Kagome sat on the bank of a river, far away from the cave she'd come to call home over the past two months. She had practically ordered Koga to take her with him when he left a month earlier to gather food, enough to last for some time after he fought Naraku. He hadn't wanted her to comke, of course- in her current condition, he was even more protective of her than usual, and that was saying something- but Kagome had altenately pled, threatened, and cajoled him into it. They were on their way back, now, headed toward Kaede's village; Koga did not want to be in the woods when Kagome went into labor.
Kagome had seen the old miko just weeks before- she'd wanted to ask Kaede if she would help her when she had the baby, and the old lady had of course agreed. Kagome hadn't, however, seen Inuyasha or any of her other friends; it niggled at her, though she did her best to concentrate on Koga and their child, and to tell herself that the other's were still after the Shikon No Tama, after all, and she was sure they weren't avoiding her...
Her gaze swept the river, and she put her worries firmly out of her mind and instead turned her eyes on the wolves. They were all near the river, taking relieved advantage of the rest break Kagome had talked Koga into. She wouldn't let him carry her, so it was slow going, but it didn't much matter, their trip was nearing the end.
They had reached a dearing when the air changed; Koga sniffed, snarled, and turned to his friends. "Ginta, Hakkaku, protect Kagome."
Hakkaku took a drag of the air himself, and his eyes widened in dismay. "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" Ginta asked, sniffing. "Gaah, it's that girl with Naraku.
"Sister, let's get you to safety." Hakkaku said nervously, trying to shepherd Kagome onto the path to the village.
"What's going on, you two? Why did Koga tell you to protect me?" Kagome demanded, planting her hands on her hips and her feet on the ground; she wasn't going anywhere until she get some answers.
A huge gust of wind interrupted them, and when it cleared Kagura stood before Koga, who growled and looked over his shoulder to make sure Kagome was a safe distance away.
"Yo; Koga. We meet again." Kagura smiled, then looked over the wolf's shoulder. "What are you doing with that human? Doesn't she belong to the Hanyou?''
"Errgh..." Kagome growled, starting forward belly-first; Ginta and Hakkaku latched onto her shoulders and dug their feet in. " I don't belong to Inuyasha and it isn't any fo your business what I do!" Kagome shouted.
Kagura just laughed. "No matter, human. My business is not you." Her red eyes went to Koga. "Naraku has once again sent me to get the shards from your legs." Kagura readied her fan. "Fuujin No Mai!"
Koga dodged it easily. "When will you learn? You;re not getting my shards, bitch!"
Koga then ran at Kagura. Kagura didn't even flinch as the wolf demon ran at her. "Shikabanema!" she yelled, laughing; an army of dead soldiers rose at her command.
Koga punched and kicked his way through. 'I can't keep this up forever; I have to end this.' He spun in a whir of winds and was about to make contact with Kagura when she closed her fan, sending a small taste of wind right back at him. 'This is just like the last time we fought.'
"Stupid wolf. You can't escape the tornado of swords; you can't jump out the top like last time. The winds will get smaller and smaller till they cut you to pieces."
Kagome gasped. 'We're close to Kaede's village. Maybe if Inuyasha or someone is there, I can get help!' She knew neither Inuyasha nor Koga would be happy about it, but she'd just have to take that chance.
"Ginta, you come with me. Hakkaku, stay here and help Koga, please don't let her kill him!" Kagome ordered, running as fast as she could toward the village.
"Where are you going, sister?" Hakkaku yelled after her.
"I'm going to get help. Come on. Ginta." Kagome hooked her hands under her belly, cursing herself for not bringing her bow and arrows. When the village came into view, she stopped short, and Ginta skidded to a stop, just barely missing hitting her. ' Shikon shards, but are they Inuyasha?' She looked to Ginta as she started running again.
"Ginta, do you smell Inuyasha?"
"Hai, sister. He's up ahead." Ginta didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't about to let something happen to Kagome. Koga would kill him.
"Ginta, please don't worry about me. Just stay here. I need to talk to him alone." She slowed to a walk, and Ginta merely nodded as he watched her go, knowing it would be pointless to argue.
Kagome pressed on in the direction of the shards dreading it; bu there was no other way. Asking Inuyasha for help was nothing compared to raising a baby without a father.
He was in the clearing with the Bone Eater's Well, sitting with his back against it; it looked as though he was asleep, and Kagome tiptoed up to him.
"You don't have to walk softly. I can already smell you.' he said, not bothering to turn and face her; she stood in front of him.
"Inuyasha." she said, feeling slightly as though she were in a dream and wincing inside as she remembered the depth of the hole she'd sat him in when they'd last met.
"You scared of me? I can smell the fear on you." he observed, staring at the ground.
"I'm not scared of you. I'm scared for another reason...that's why i'm here." She gingerly lowered herself to the ground. "Do you hate me so much you can't even look at me?" she felt like she was going to cry, but she had to be strong. She needed his help; that's why she was here.
"I don't hate you. I never did. I was just angry; I wasn't thinking." He finally looked up at her, and couldn't help but stare into her eyes. She was so beautiful, and he couldn't help herself; he was hugging her before he realized what he was doing. "Gomen. I guess I just..." he didn't want to tell her he missed her, she would just get angry and yell.
He didn't care. 'Now or never.' he thought. "I missed you." he admitted, his gaze skittering away from hers.
"Inuyasha, things ended badly last time we saw each other." Shelooked down at her hands. 'KOGA, BAKA!!' "I came here to ask for your help, but I'll understand if you say no."
"He didn't seem to be listening to her; his eyes were on her stomach. "You're going to have the pup soon?"
She was losing patience. She didn't come to talk about this, she had to save her mate! "Inuyasha, did you hear me?" she asked as patiently as she could.
"Yes, I heard you. I just haven't seen you for so long, and now you're asking for a favor." He jerked his eyes away. 'How dare she come back looking all pretty and ask me to do something for her!' "So what's this favor you need? And where isthe wolf?" He'd only just noticed that she was alone; although there was the smell of a wolf nearby, it wasn't Koga.
"Well the favor has to do with Koga. I need you to save him." Tears welled up; if only things had been different, she wouldn't have had to ask him! But there waas no use crying over it now, she reminded herself.
"Why does he need to be saved?" Inuyasha sulkily asked the ground, unable to bring himself to look at her anymore. She'd come back to ask him to help her mate. The nerve! 'Stupid wench. I thought she came to see me... I'm such a baka.'
"We were walking to Kaede's and Kagura showed up and started attacking him. He can't handle it alone, he'll be killed! I don't want to have a baby with no father. Please, Inuyasha. I know you hate him, but just please, help him!" Despite her previous resolve, the tears broke free.
"Why were you going to Kaede's?" He knew he'd wind up helping the wimpy wolf. She knew before she came he would help. He couldn't stand to see her cry.
"She's going to help me when I have the baby. Please, Inuyasha, he could be..." more tears escaped her eyes, and Inuyasha finally stood up.
"Just tell me where and get on." He turned and bent for her to get on.
"Inuyasha, the baby!" she scolded.
'Stupid baka baka baka!' he thought, nodding and picking her up in his arms instead and running in the direction she pointed, blowing past Ginta.
"KAGOME SISTER!!! WAIT!!" Ginta yelled, pounding after them.
Inuaysha put Kagome down and looked at Kagura, who was walking toward a motionless Koga. He gently kept Kagome back with an arm before unsheathing Tetsusaiga and charging.
"Get away from him asshole!"
Kagura leapt back, laughing. "Angry because the wolf stole your bitch?" she queried archly, swinging her fan at Inuyasha. "Fuujin no Mai!"
Inuyasha used Tesusaiga as a shield; Kagura looked speculatevely over at Kagome and swung her fan towards her. "Ryuuja no Mai!"
Tornadoes twisted toward Kagome, and Inuyasha ran as fast as he ever had, Throwing himself and Tetsusaiga between her and the deadly winds. He felt them rip past, tearing his skin as they went, and slipped to a knee, holding himself upright with the sword.
"Inuyasha, are you okay? You're bleeding pretty bad."
He backed away from her attempt to lightly touch his shoulder. "Feh. I'm fine but I don't think the wolf would like you touching me." Inuyasha looked away from her and dragged himself to his feet, raising Tetsusaiga above his head. "Kaze no Kizu!"
The wind sorceress deflected the attack with her fan. She knew she wouldn't be able to get Koga's shards with Inuyasha there, and so she pulled a feather from her head and flew up above them.
"I'll be back for those shards in his legs; he can keep them for now." she called condescendingly, gusting away on the huge feather.
Kagome ran to Koga's side, kneeling next to him. "Koga?"
At the sound of her voice, he stirred a little and opened his eyes.
"Kagome, what happened?" he asked, trying to sit up. Kagome looked away from her mate towards Inuyasha, who had stopped bleeding and was putting his sword back in its sheath.
"Kagura tried to take your shards. I got help."
He looked around to see whose help she got, and saw Inuyasha near Ginta and Hakkaku.
"What's he doing here?" Koga pointed. Kagome looked towards Ginta.
"Ginta, can I please have my bag." She fished the first aid kit out of it and returned her attention to Koga. "I went to get Inuyasha to help you. I was so scared she would kill you..." Kagome's tears fell on the bandages she was wrapping around her mate. 'What would I do if he died?' she shook her head and turned to Inuyasha. "Come here, I have to bandage your wounds."
He turned away. "Feh. I'm fine. Worry about your mate." He started to walk away, but whipped around when Kagome screamed; she was clutching her stomach and breathing heavily.
Everyone ran except Koga, who was already there; he put an arm around her and gazed worriedly down at the top of her head. "Are you all right?"
"I think I'm going to have the baby." she grated out, but Koga just stared.
"Kagome, of course you're going to have a pup." He stood up and stretched.
"NO, BAKA! I'M GOING TO HAVE YOUR BABY RIGHT NOW!!" Kagome screeched, face bright red.
"Oh. Well. Oops." Koga picked Kagome up and raced towards the village.
"KOGA!" Ginta and Hakkaku yelled, taking off after him.
Inuyasha started running as soon as Koga took off as well, but not toward the village; he knew there was no reason for him to go.
Koga burst through the door with Kagome in his arms to find Miroku and Sango sitting on the floor, Kaede mixing something in the fire, and Shippo pouting nearby. The Kitsune cub was the first to react, bouncing up and down.
"Kagome, you've come back!" He wanted to jump on her but could tell something was wrong.
Sango, being the smart one knew exactly what was wrong. She shooed Shippo and Miroku out of the hut and directed Koga to lay Kagome on a futon. Kaede came over and placed her hands on Kagome's stomach.
"Koga, get me some water to boil and some cold water. Sango just hold her hand while I get some blanket's Kaede directed, leaving the hut as Koga hastened away to do her bidding, and Sango picked up her friend's hand.
"It's been a while. I can see you're doing well. "Sango didn't want to force her friend to talk, but she missed her. "I'm sorry for making you talk. I guess I'm just glad to see you."
Kagome squeezed Sango's hand but didn't say anything; she only breathed. Kaede reentered the room as Kagome yelle out.
"Where the fuck is Koga? How dare he leave me! He's the one that did this to me!!" Kagome attempted to get up bu Sango and Kaede made sure she didn't.
"My child you shouldn't move, just breathe. Koga went to get water. He will be right back." Kaede soothed, getting down to business (A/N: I don't think I need to describe what she is doing XD ) Koga walked in the room with two large buckets of water, putting the contents of one bucket in the pot over the fire and giving the other one to Kaede. Sango gave him Kagome's hand.
"Ite, Kagome, you're going to break my hand." he protested, moving closer to her nonetheless.
"Shut up! You can't leave me while I'm having your baby! You did this, your ass is staying right here." She gripped his hand.
"I didn't leave. I went to get water." he pushed some of the sweat stuck hair from her face, then leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
After a lot of screaming from both Kagome and Koga, a new cry joined them. It was a beautiful boy, with big blue eyes and little brown ears on top of his head. He had a little bit of curly brown hair, but favored his mother. Kaede cleaned him off and wrapped him in a blanket, handing Kagome the bundle.
"What are you going to name him?" Sango asked, marveling at the beautiful little thing.
Kagome looked at the baby. "Aizuka. I always liked that name." Koga merely nodded in agreement. "Aizuka is a good name." He took one of the baby's tiny clawed hands. 'Clawed hand...' "He has claws."
Kagome looked at her son's hands. "He's a hanyou. Of course he has claws, he even has little wolfy ears. I'll bet when he gets teeth he'll get fangs." Kagome smiled at her little son. "Hold him, Koga. I need to rest." She handed the baby to her mate and turned over to sleep.
Sango ran outside but stopped short and swallowed hard when she saw Inuyasha sitting next to Miroku. "Umm, Inuyasha, do you want to hear about the baby?" she asked a bit anxiously, waiting for his answer before blurting anything out.
"Feh. Whatever, I don't really care about the pup." he snorted, smaking Shippo in th head. In s turnaround since Kagom'es departure, he'd started spending more time with the little kitsune, and Shippo had (mostly) quit crying and incessantly blaming him for her absence.
"Well, it's a boy. They named him Aizuka." Sango divulged, taking a seat next to Miroku right on top of his waiting hand.
SMACK
Miroku sighed as Sango slid away from him with a hissed, "Hentai!"
"Can I see it?" asked and excited Shippo.
"You should wait. Kagome-sama is probably sleeping." Miroku advised, rubbing the red mark on his face.
The next day, Kagome woke to find Koga lying next to her with Aizuka in his arm. Kagome wished she had a camera. Deciding to get some fresh air, she stood and went outside; Inuyasha was sitting with his back to the hut.
"What are you doing here? she asked, walking next to him.
"Just sitting. How are you doing?" He stood up to face her.
"I'm surprisingly good, considering having the baby and all. I was just going to take a walk. Would you like to join me?" Kagome knew she probably shouldn't be asking him this. She hadn't really spoken to him since she left.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Koga won't like finding you and me together."
"No, he'll understand. Plus, it's been a while since we talked. We were really good friends before any of this happened."
Inuyasha nidded and followed Kagome into the forest. They walked in silence before finding a dearing, where Kagome sat down and motioned for Inuyasha to join her. They stayed that way for a while, neither of them saying a word, before Inuyasha decided this was the perfect time to tell her how he felt.
"Kagome?" she asked, still nervous. 'Don't sit me, please!'
"Hmm?" she asked, eyes on the sky.
"I have to tell you something. It-it's not something I'm good at, telling people things... but just hear me out." he asked softly.
Kagome turned her attention to the hanyou sitting next to her. 'What could he possibly have to tell me?' she wondered, waiting for him to finsih.
"I... should have told you this before, but I didn't know how to..." he let himself trail off. "This is probably selfish of me, because you're happy now... but I've been trying to tell you for so long."
Now Kagome was really confused. 'What is he trying to say?'
"You know that day I came to get you from Koga after I told you to leave?" She nodded. "Icame to talk to you. I didn't go that day to fight with Koga."
"What are you trying to say, Inuyasha?" she asked, unconsciously moving closer to him. She was so close she could feel his breath on her face.
"I...wanted to tell you...that I...." He moved closer to her, and their noses were almost touching. "I love you. I've been in love with you for a while. I pushed you away because I felt betrayed." He could see the tears in the corners of her eyes, wanted to kiss them away, but knew he couldn't. 'If I had told her earlier things could have been different.' He sighed and looked into her eyes.
"Inuyasha..." He pressed his lips to hers and held her closer to him ignoring the little voice screaming in his head. 'Get back!!! She's Koga's mate!!! She has a pup!!!!!' Sense finally burst through and he pulle away, looking at her intensely.
"Kagome, just tell me how you feel about me. I need to know." He kept her body close to his.
She knew she should put some distances between them. 'BAKA!!!! Hello, are you a retard? AIZUKA AND KOGA!!!' Nonetheless, she felt she should listen...
"Inuyasha, I've always loved you. I thought you knew that. If things were different..."
Inuyasha kissed her again , unable yo hear her tell him what he already knew. If only-if only...
He would never let her go again. All he had, now, were her lips pressed against his, this one moment in time; it would never be enough, but it was the only thing let to him.
Disclaimer: I will never own them.
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Wow, I finally finished this chapter XD...its finally new years, and its a new year....for this years resolution I am going to finish this story because it has taken forever to finish!!!!! almost 4 years!!!! so this year I am planning to finish it....Im still planning how many chapter i should write but so far im thinking of finishing it in the 15th chapter or higher ~...also im not gonna say when i am going to have the next chapter cause then once i say it, i get lazy and let the due month pass and then take 7 months to update so yea ~ Happy New Years!!!!!
