Chapter 38

Miroku twirled Kagome around, smiling as she laughed, her head thrown back. She really was beautiful, a goddess that he got to claim was his. His wife. The mother of his child. He really was lucky. Had anyone asked him when he was a child if this is how he thought his life would turn out, he would have laughed.

Then again, he never really had hope for a happy life until Kagome came into the picture. She changed everything around for him, and he would cherish her for the rest of their lives together. Until the day he died.

Touga was watching his youngest son, smiling at how in love Miroku was. He worried, if he was being honest, for some time that Miroku would have ended his own life prematurely. The boy had been through so much, seen things that he just couldn't come back from. They all knew that if Kagome hadn't come into the picture, Miroku might not be here with them.

A knock on the door had Touga standing, taking his attention off of his youngest. He kissed Izayoi's cheek as he walked by, heading to the door. When he opened it, he was shocked to see Judge Saito standing there, looking grim.

"Mr. Taisho. I am Aito Saito. I was the Judge at your daughter-in-law's trial." Aito bowed slightly, and then motioned to the box he held in his hands. "There is something I need to talk to you about. It is dire." Laughter could be heard coming from one of the back rooms, and Aito tensed. He had hoped he could get Touga alone.

"It is family night for us, but you may come in." Touga opened the door wider, letting the male walk through. "Come to my study. We will talk there." Leading the way, the laughter fell silent as everyone realized who their visitor was.

Aito, kept his gaze down, hating that he was going to have to ruin this family night. He refused to look at Kagome at all. Sesshomaru moved Naomi off of his lap, following his father and the judge to the office. When they were inside, Touga shut the door, locking it. He knew Miroku would be busting in any second.

As expected, the door handle shook, and then they heard frantic knocking on the other side. Touga sighed, closing his eyes. "Let us speak to him first Miroku. Then we will-"

"You can't be serious. If he is here, then Kouga is up to something. If Kagome is in danger, then I need to know. Immediately." Miroku paused for a second, and then spoke again, his voice lower. "It's not just me and Kagome anymore."

Touga let his head fall back, thinking of his grandbaby. Miroku was a father scared for his wife and child. Looking to Aito, the judge nodded stiffly. Touga unlocked the door, and barely had time to step out of the way before it swung open, letting Miroku, and everyone else in.

The only one who waited for permission was a nervous Kagome. "Come in, Kagome. Everyone else has already invited themselves to this meeting." Kagome tried to smile, but it was a failed attempt. She was nervous, her stomach in her throat.

Leaving the door open since there was no point in closing it, Touga walked over to his desk, giving Sato an apologetic look. Aito shook his head, smiling warmly, though he was still nervous about why he was there. "You have a large family, Touga. You are lucky. I am alone and seeing everyone worried about a single person…it is endearing."

"It's what family does." Touga motioned to the box, narrowing his eyes as Sato pulled it closer to him. "What brings you here today, Aito. I assume I can call you that?"

"Aito is fine. I wish I was here for a friendly visit. However, I have grave news." Aito took a deep breath, glancing at Kagome, and then back to the box. "There had been an investigation opened against me. I am suspended until further notice."

"What is it that we can do for you? We can not reinstate your license to practice law." Sesshomaru was standing behind his father, also fixated on the box that Aito was holding on to protectively.

"I don't expect you to do anything. I came to warn you. If they find me guilty, which I foresee them doing, then any court rulings I made can be questioned. Kouga can go to retrial, and there will be nothing I can do to stop him from getting out of prison." The entire room was silent when Aito finished speaking.

Miroku was holding onto Kagome tightly, refusing to let her go. This was a day he thought they had ten years to wait for. Kouga had barely been in prison for three months, nowhere near the break Miroku thought they were going to receive.

"What the fuck does that mean?" InuYasha was holding Sango's hand, her free one clutching Naomi's. They were just as worried about this situation as everyone else was.

"It means, InuYasha, that Kouga can claim his trial was unfair. He can ask for a retrial, a way out of jail. If he wins, Kouga is free, and the restraining order is null and void." Sesshomaru was stiff, jaw tight. All that work he had done, all the investigating, and he never thought to look into the judge.

"So, he gets out of jail, and can just waltz right up to Kagome?" Miroku was shaking in his rage. He refused to let Kagome be hurt again. For a moment he remembered the fake identities Sesshomaru had created for them before the divorce. Worst case scenario, they would still have to run.

"Unfortunately, yes." Touga narrowed his eyes at the judge, trying to contain his own anger and worry. "What did you do, Aito? You yourself admitted that you expect to be named guilty. Why is that?"

Aito pushed over the box to Touga, letting the other male look inside. When Touga and Sesshomaru's eyes widened at what they saw, Aito began to explain. "I was married once. She was a cruel woman, but I still loved her. I knew she only wanted the life and money I could provide for her, but it didn't matter to me. We had a daughter together. She was so beautiful, the light of my eye. I loved her dearly. But then one day, when she was just a child, my wife filed for divorce, packed herself and my daughter up, and left. She was pregnant with my son, though at the time, I didn't know what she was having."

Aito took a deep breath, not looking at anyone. "I tried to get visitation, even took her to court for it, but she placed a restraining order on me, claiming that I was stalking her. For ten years I couldn't see either of my children. After that time, I finally went to see them again. My daughter was a beauty, in high school while my son was in middle school. I learned that she told them I had died. Could you imagine how that feels? Not being able to see your children for ten years, and when you finally can, you still can't because they think you're dead?"

"You didn't confront her." It was a statement, not a question. Touga knew how this story ended. As he continued to flip through the pictures of a child Kagome with her loving father. Kagome couldn't have been more than six or seven, but she had been happy with the man who sired her. It didn't set well with Touga. He thought of Kagome as his own daughter, and now… now he had competition.

"No. How could I? If I did, they would have realized that their mother was lying. Their lives would have been turned upside down. So, I left, and I never looked back. Not until the case." Aito finally looked up, eyes haunted. "I knew who she was immediately. I should have passed on the case, but I didn't want to take the chance of a judge that was bought by Kouga getting it. I thought if I kept who I was a secret, everything would be okay. But somehow, Kouga found out."

"Hitomi." Sesshomaru raised a hand to his forehead, furious with himself. "I have been keeping an eye on Kouga since he was placed in prison. He has spoken to three people. One of those times was a phone call to Hitomi. She told him."

"What does this have to do with me? Why is my mother a part of this?" Kagome tore herself from Miroku, marching up to Touga's desk and snatching the box away. She flipped through the photo's eyes going wide as she realized what she had been missing. "It can't be. You're dead. You died in a car crash."

"I didn't." Aito stood up, his multicolored eyes meeting hers. "I have been alive this entire time, Baby Bird."

At his old nickname for her, Kagome inhaled sharply, sounding like a hiss. Her face paled, her stomach rolling. She tried to cover her mouth, but it didn't matter. Bending over, she vomited right on the floor, coughing as the bile burned her throat.

Both Miroku and Izayoi moved, one holding her hair while the other rubbed her back. Breathing heavily, she sat up straight, her vision blurring as the room spun. "I'm sorry, Touga." Her words slurred, the black void claiming her.

Miroku cursed, catching her in his arms, and slowly placing her on the floor. "Mother?" He was scared, frightened for his wife and baby.

Izayoi checked her over, making sure her vitals were okay. A long time ago, she had been a nurse, and she was ever so grateful for it now. "She is okay. It was too much, her body is already under a strain with the baby, and now she learns of all of this. Let's get her to bed, Miroku. Naomi, Sango, will you help me to clean this mess and then make some soothing tea?"

"She's pregnant?" Aito was clearly worried, eyes glued to Kagome. He hadn't meant for all of this to happen. He just wanted to give them some warning. He had been too close to the case but didn't pass it on. Now, it was coming back to haunt him.

"She is. Let's move this somewhere else. We need as much information from you as possible. Then we can decide where to go from here." Touga stood, stopping as he watched Aito pick up the pictures and gently, almost as if they would break, put them back into the wooden box.

Aito noticed the stare and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. It's all I have left of my daughter." Aito spared a glance at Souta, giving him a sad smile. He had no memories with his son. He would hold onto the memories of Kagome he had, making sure they lasted the rest of his life.

…

Miroku sat in a chair, facing the bed Kagome was lying on. His elbows were on his knees, his hands holding his chin. Fear coursed through him. Kagome still hadn't woken up. They had changed her clothes, rinsed out her mouth, and cleaned her up, and she had been unconscious through all of that.

She was okay. He trusted his mother's judgment, but the fear was still there.

Underneath that fear, was terror. Aito Sato was Kagome's father. Because of his blood relations to Kagome, he should have passed on the case to another judge, but he didn't. Kouga is going to claim that Sato was unable to remain unbiased and get out of prison .

He would once more be a threat.

Miroku had no idea how he was going to protect his family, but he knew he would. No one would hurt Kagome or his baby if it was the last thing he did. He would die for them, and if that is what it came down to….

Closing his eyes, he took a second to calm himself, and then opened his dark blue orbs once more. He watched Kagome's breathing, making sure it stayed even and strong. He wished he had a better way of checking on the baby, but he didn't. He would have to wait on Kagome to wake before he would know if their child was okay.

Finally, she groaned, eyes squinting, and he knelt by the bed, grabbing her hand. When her eyes opened, she looked at him, and her eyes filled with tears, the salty water falling down her cheeks. He opened his arms, and she fell into them, sobbing against her safe place.

"We will figure it out Kagome." He placed a hand on her belly, his other in her hair. "Together."