Chapter Nine.
"Hiraikotsu!"
Sango hefted the large boomerang at the beast and watched in satisfaction as it split in two. True, the centipede had already been weakened by Inuyasha's Sankontessou, but it was still satisfying to do the one thing that linked her to her past; even if it was killing.
Catching the large weapon gracefully, she lowered it to the ground and quickly turned toward the bushes where Kagome had fallen, fear replacing her brief interlude of pride. "Is she okay?"
"Yes, barely," Inuyasha ground out, watching the blood seep from the gash on her arm. Fortunately she'd only been thrown a short distance, and landed on her back instead of her stomach. Shippou had confirmed that the baby's heartbeat was as strong as ever, putting their most pressing concern to rest.
"Perhaps it's time to consider retiring Kagome-sama from our battles for a while," Miroku sagely observed, ripping a strip of fabric from his cloak to wrap around her arm as a bandage.
Blinking against the pain, Kagome began to stir, "no, really, I'll be okay."
"Don't be an idiot," Inuyasha barked back at her. "Keep this up and you'll be birthing a corpse."
That shut her up immediately, but she continued to pout. After the monk finished wrapping the miko's arm, Inuyasha lifted her up, grunting under the extra fifteen pounds she'd managed to gain in the last six months. Unwilling to crush her stomach between them, he settled her onto Kirara's back, waiting until Sango came to sit behind her before stepping back.
"We'll get her back to Kaede for a checkup, and then go after Akureiketsu."
"I want to come with you," Kagome weakly pled, already feeling her eyes slip closed in fatigue.
"Kagome-chan," Sango gently rubbed the girl's back avoiding the abrasions she could see through her shirt, "I have to agree with Inuyasha. You're in no condition to be traipsing about, much less chasing after demons and witches."
"But we're so close," the miko sighed, finally succumbing to sleep.
"She out?"
"Yeah, I doubt she'll wake up before we get back to the village."
"Good." Jerking his head to the north in an indication they should follow, the hanyou took off at top speed, his heart racing in fear for the life growing inside Kagome's body.
* * * * *
The hut was bathed in silence while Kaede wiped the girl's brow with a wet cloth. It would have been preferable to get her to the hot springs for a real bath, but Kagome had been deep asleep since before she'd arrived.
As if on cue, her eyelids fluttered, and she moaned. "My back… it hurts…"
"Aye, child. Ye took quite a spill from what Sango described."
Her eyes suddenly completely open Kagome shot up, then fell back onto her arms when dizziness overcame her. "My head, too…"
"Lie down, Kagome," Kaede warned her sternly. "Ye are less than three months away from giving birth. This is hardly the kind of behavior an expectant mother should be engaging in."
Coming into the hut with a fresh bowl of water, Sango caught the end of Kaede's words. "She's awake?"
"Hai, and already trying to get up."
"Kagome-chan, please."
"I'm pregnant, not broken."
"Why are ye so eager to jump back into action, my child? Never before have ye acted with such recklessness while injured."
Hiding her face beneath her hair, Kagome turned away from the women's inquisitive stares. "I just don't want to lie around all day, is that so hard to understand?"
Sango bit her lip, and caught Kaede's attention. With an apologetic look, she motioned for the older miko to leave the room. Perhaps Kagome wouldn't answer Kaede, but she was damned well going to tell Sango what was bothering her.
When the old woman left, Sango came to sit down before Kagome's futon and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, shaking lightly to get her attention. "All right, enough of this. I can tell you're hiding some worry and I want to know what it is."
"I just don't want to be trouble," she answered meekly.
"You never have been before, and you aren't now."
Kagome snorted. "Before, a scratch was just a scratch. Now, every time I so much as trip you guys make a huge to-do about it and if this keeps up Inuyasha—" she stopped herself quickly, knowing she'd said too much.
"Inuyasha what?" Gritting her teeth in frustration Sango shook her again, wary of using too much force but thoroughly exasperated with the young woman's apparent lack of self-preservation instincts.
Realizing it was pointless to fight the taijiya, Kagome whispered her fears. "Inuyasha might make me go home."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because," Kagome began to cry, hormones on the loose again, "he told me the first time my pregnancy caused an inconvenience, I had to leave."
Rolling her eyes, Sango gently lay Kagome back onto her futon and sat back. "That was six months ago, Kagome-chan; and besides, it's not like we're only worried about the baby. We want you to be healthy too!"
"If I can't keep up, and you have to leave me behind, then I'll be all alone," she pointed out sadly. "I can't go home, Sango-chan. I'm as big as a house!"
"This is all about what Inuyasha said earlier? About us going after Akureiketsu later?"
Kagome nodded, the tears still streaming down her face.
"Oi Kagome-chan, it's not like we were going to leave you here completely alone! You'll have Kaede and Shippou. We can send for Kouga, too, if you'd like."
"Kouga won't come," Kagome insisted. "I think I pretty much scared him off that one time. He's only dropped in once since then, and it was just to tell us about Naraku's reappearance."
"You're afraid of being abandoned," Sango realized with empathy. She wondered how she would feel if she were a young pregnant woman, away from her family and with friends who constantly found themselves in mortal danger. It certainly wouldn't be comforting.
"Baka!" Inuyasha burst into the hut, having eavesdropped on the conversation from the roof ever since she'd woken up. "You're not alone, and you're not going to be alone. I promise. So stop whining."
"Inuyasha!"
"Sango, go tell Miroku to get ready. We don't all need to go on this trip, so I'll stay behind with Princess Kagome here." He watched Kagome's eyes flicker with relief, joy, and annoyance at his words before plopping down to sit next to her.
"Hai, we'll be back by tomorrow evening."
"Fine."
When the taijiya exited the hut, Kagome's expression took on a deadly glare. "Princess Kagome?"
"I've never known a pregnant woman to be so high maintenance," he countered, a smirk on his face.
"And I suppose you've spent a lot of time around them?"
"Feh. Don't have to, I know when you're being a baby."
"Inuyasha?"
He peered at her warily, recognizing the tone in her voice.
"Osu—OHH!"
Flinching, Inuyasha awaited the painful slam, but it never came. "Kagome?"
She was sitting straight up again, an expression of confusion painted on her face as her hand came to rest upon her distended belly. She rubbed it lightly, and after a few moments her lips rose into a bright grin and she squealed in delight.
"Daijouka, Kagome?"
"The baby kicked!"
"Nani?"
Grabbing his hand she placed it, palm down, where her's had been and held it there, waiting patiently. Again the little one moved, prompting yet another squeak from its mother. "Can you feel it?"
"That's the pup?"
"Hai!"
Inuyasha sat in silence, absorbing the movement of eager life growing inside Kagome and forgetting all thoughts of their argument in his wonder. "Spirited little thing, isn't it?"
She smiled, finding a place for her hand next to Inuyasha's so she could share in the moment. "I'm not surprised," she concurred. "I've always believed this little one would be a handful."
The baby settled at last, leaving the two to sit in silence once again. Inuyasha suddenly realized his hand was still on her stomach and quickly withdrew it, blushing wildly. "Does that happen a lot?" he asked, hoping to draw her attention away from his embarrassment.
"Supposed to, but this is actually the first time I've noticed it."
"Too bad Sango and Miroku missed it."
"Yeah," she agreed. "But… I'm glad at least you were here."
"So am I," he said. The blush returned with a vengeance and he began to sputter, "I- I mean, just that, I wouldn't want to hear you complain about being alone again."
"Of course."
"Feh."
Wanting to spare him further embarrassment, Kagome pushed herself up onto her knees and reached for her backpack. "Hungry?"
Damn girl was going to give herself a hernia. Inuyasha pushed her back down and grabbed the bag for her, placing it in her lap.
"Thank you." She pulled out the remains of her travel ramen and set them out on her blanket. "I thought I could make us some dinner."
The hanyou's stomach grumbled, answering her question quite loudly. Kagome laughed. "Sounds like a yes to me. If you go fill the pot for me, I'll put some more kindling on the fire, deal?"
Eager for a good meal of ramen – beef tonight, praise Kami! – Inuyasha nodded and got up to run his errand. When the hanyou had left, Kagome took a second to close her eyes and remember last few minutes.
It's almost as if we were a family, she reflected, her heart warming at the notion. When it's just the two of us, getting along… I can almost believe that he'll always be there and that this whole situation was on purpose.
Sighing again, Kagome shook her head. No point in going down that path. In three months she'd be back in Tokyo, raising a baby as a single mother. Still, she supposed she could be thankful for days like this, and reminded herself to write about it in her diary. One day the little pup would want to hear all about her father, and Kagome wasn't going to leave out a single detail.
