Chapter Eight: Hojo Sees Inu-yasha's Ears, And Miroku Moves Out.
While Miroku and Eri went on their over night honeymoon at the motel down the street, Inu-yasha and the other guys took a little trip down the local bar where they had a bachelor party in Miroku's honor.
(Too bad he couldn't have attended.)
"Can you believe those girls acting the way they were about weddings and stuff like that?" A drunken Inu-yasha asked from his bar stool.
"Yeah, it's like they've got some kind of fever or something." An inebriated Hojo said from the bottom of his ninth bottle.
"I don't know you guys, it's kind of nice if you think about it." Shippo said sipping his soda. "I mean if Miroku can find someone he wants to be with for the rest of his life then maybe we all can." Inu-yasha, Hojo, and Grandpa all looked down at their sober little friend.
"Trust me boys, you're lucky keeping your freedom." Grandpa said. "I know. I was married for a long time myself and I hated it. I mean I loved my wife, but let's face it, I'd a whole lot rather had both my woman and my freedom. You know the more I think about it Inu-yasha, the more right it seems that you won't marry Kagome. Don't make the same mistake that I did. Don't let go of your freedom boys, not matter how attractive the girl. And Hojo, that Sango has it in for you now you've banged her pretty little brains out. She's going to pester you to get married for as long as the two of you are together. You can't let her beat you into it though." The old man belched then, loudly, and ordered another round.
"You bet gramps, I won't let those women get me down." The young alcoholic said before passing out.
"Hey are you alright down there?" Inu-yasha said looking down at the floor where Hojo lay. "Come on man, don't just tumble over like that, you gotta have another round with us before you pass out." Inu-yasha leaned over and fell from his stool on top of Hojo. His hat had fallen off.
"Okay…okay…I'm gonna get up, just give me a minute mom." Hojo said stirring. Then he opened his eyes up to see a pair of funny white ears under his nose.
"What!?" Grandpa cried when he realized what was going on. "Inu-yasha, your hat!" The Han-you raised up and with one hand he reached for his hat. It was then that Hojo noticed his fingers were clawed like a dog's paw.
"Say, if I didn't know better." Hojo began to say. "I'd say you're starting look an awful lot like a dog, Inu-yasha. Say now that I think about it. Doesn't Inu-yasha meand dog forest spirit?" Hojo asked. They both raised up then.
"Yeah, that's what it means." Inu-yasha admitted.
"Kind of strange that your folks would name you that, huh." Hojo laughed. "Now why would two people name their child after the dog forest spirits?"
"Cause…" Inu-yasha began to laugh as well. "Cause I am a dog!" He began to cackle wildly.
"Because you are a dog, good one man!" Hojo laughed and slapped Inu-yasha on the back. It was then that Inu-yasha's cackling began to attract the other bar patrons' attentions.
"Tone it down you two, you'll get us tossed out on our rears, and last call's not for a few more hours yet!" Grandpa said to them.
"So you're a dog?" Hojo asked, still believing it all to be a joke. He climbed back up to his bar stool and sat down. Inu-yasha did the same. "Can you howl like a dog?"
"Aawwooooooooo!" Inu-yasha howled.
"Can you bark like a dog?"
"Woof." Inu-yasha barked.
"That's totally awesome man, but can you slurp like a dog?" Hojo asked him. When the next round came down the bar towards them, Inu-yasha lapped it up like a wild dog at a water hole. "I can't believe it, you are a dog, man!" Hojo exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm a dog demon!" Inu-yasha declared.
"Uh, a dog demon?" Hojo asked, no longer finding the jokes funny.
"Yeah," Inu-yasha said laughing. "My father was a demon dog and my mother was human princess! Can you believe that, and you know what else? They weren't married either. Can you believe that? I'm about as illegitimate as you can get!" He began to cackle again then Hojo did something very strange. He lifted up Inu-yasha's hat and looked at his ears again. Then he looked at Inu-yasha, then at Shippo who strangely enough had a fox's tail. He'd never noticed before but they were both so very different.
"What are you looking at?" Inu-yasha asked in a drunken stoopper
"Yeah, you're acting really weird." Shippo agreed. Hojo just blinked and stared.
"You two…" He stuttered, "You two…are demons!" Hojo cried realizing what company he was keeping. He nearly fell out of his seat again and that's when Grandpa threw his hands up over Hojo's mouth.
"Hey, is that kid okay?" The Bartender asked.
"Oh, yeah, he's just fine. Had a little too much to drink that's all." Grandpa said. "Inu-yasha, Shippo, let's all go home now. Sorry for the interruption everyone. This round's on me!" The old man promptly declared and then paid his way out. Inu-yasha took hold of Hojo who was too drunk to fight back and they left the bar for the open air of the streets. It was well after dark and so forcing Hojo back home with them wouldn't take very much.
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Kagome sat at home with her mother and Sango waiting for the guys to get back. Naturally they came straggling in with Hojo passed out over Inu-yasha's shoulders. He was completely wiped out from all the strangeness in the bar.
"So I see you've gotten my boyfriend drunk enough." Sango said takinig him. "My dear Hojo, what have they done to you?"
"We didn't do anything to him." Inu-yasha hiccupped. "He drank himself under the table then had a fit when he saw my ears." He flopped down on the couch beside Kagome and smiled a drunken smile.
"He saw your ears!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Calm down." Grandpa said. "I don't think he'll remember too much when he wakes up. For all we know he's so drunk that he'll probably forget everything he saw tonight." "How could you do that to the poor boy?" Kagome's mother asked.
"We guys needed to unwind after such a hectic day. We had a wedding here today for goodness sake and rushed one at that. These old bones of mine need a little break after performing my duties as a Priest."
"Father, you know that you're too old to go out drinking." Kagome's mother said to him sternly. "Now take your old bones up to bed and sleep off the sauce." The old man frowned and obeyed his daughter's command.
"Good night, Kagome, Sango, and tell Sota goodnight for me." The old man moped up the stairs and went to bed. Meanwhile, Kagome and the others had the perplexing situation with Hojo. First there was the problem of what to do with him. They couldn't send him home in the condition he was in. His parents would freak.
"He could stay in my room." Sango suggested.
"Absolutely not." Kagome's mother said. "He'll just have to sack out here on the couch until he sleeps off this drunken stooper he's in. Right now though, I'm wondering what to do about his having seen Inu-yasha's ears."
"There's nothing that we can do." Kagome said, "We'll have to wait till he wakes up in the morning and see what he remembers." Kagome sighed. If Hojo did remember anything after tonight then it would a miracle. From the smell of sake on Hojo's breath, he'd drank quite a bit. The way that he slumbered on the couch it seemed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. If he had seen anything he surely would right it off as an intoxicated hallucination. Still the only thing that any of them could do now was wait and see what developed in the morning. That night, Kagome doubted that any of them would be getting much sleep. Then she looked around and saw that she and her mother were the only ones left in the room. "Where did Inu-yasha go?" She asked.
"Probably up to bed." Her mother said. "You know, I have to talk to you about something else, Kagome." They went into the kitchen and sat down to talk. "Kagome, do you really think that it's a good idea for you and Inu-yasha to be sharing a room together?" Her mother asked.
"Oh mom." Kagome said. "I know it must seem such a sordid thing to you but it's really not. Back in the Feudal Era people did this all the time without getting married. Why I've seen some stuff that would put the magazines grandpa reads to shame." Somehow this didn't make Kagome's mother feel any better.
"Well, if you two are determined to make this relationship work then go ahead. I just hate to see my baby girl living this way when no good can come of it. Living in sin this way can't be good for the baby either. What's he going to think when he's old enough to realize that his parents aren't married?" She asked her daughter. Kagome didn't know what to think or say in reply. She knew deep down inside that her mother was right but she also knew very well how Inu-yasha felt about the idea of getting married. He was totally against it because of what happened to Kikyo. In some ways it was sweet of him but in others it was totally wrong. She sat there thinking for a long time.
"I don't know." Kagome finally said. "I suppose I always thought that Inu-yasha and I would wind up together, I just didn't know how, or when. Now we are together and it's the most wonderful thing that I've ever felt for anyone. I mean, it's sad to think that this is as far as our relationship is ever going to go but it's comforting too. Comforting to think that it's always going to be this way in that Inu-yasha and I will be together for the rest of our lives."
"You mean the rest of your life, don't you. I mean Inu-yasha is half immortal isn't he?" Kagome's mother asked her. "He'll stay young and strong and fit for many years. I mean he's already over 60 years old. What is he going to do when you die?" Kagome had never thought about that. She was so busy making plans for the baby and her new life with Inu-yasha that she had totally forgotten that he would out live her by a lifetime. It was something that neither of them had ever really discussed. What would her Han-you do if he ever lost her? Knowing Inu-yasha he'd just wait around for Kagome to be reincarnated again and start all over again like he had with Kikyo. After all, what was a couple of life times compared to a love that had lasted through death and the ages?
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Early in the morning Hojo awoke and found himself lying on Kagome's couch. His head felt like someone had dropped a two-ton weight on it. Everyone was still in bed, he thought as he ventured into the kitchen to find some aspirin. Everything was kind of blurry still and his eyes hurt from looked so closely at everything. Finally he found a bottle containing the precious pills. Two would have to do because he wasn't a very large person, and taking anymore would make him sick, even though he felt like taking the whole bottle. He chocked the dry pills down then poured himself a glass of water to wash out the bad taste in his mouth.
"Damn I wish that they had made some coffee last night. Even a cold cup would be better than just water." He stumbled around to the table and sat down with his head in his hands. His head was swimming. He couldn't remember a thing about the night before but he was sure that there was something important that he needed to remember. Just then Inu-yasha came down stairs without his cap on. He was feeling about as half dead as Hojo when he came wondering into the kitchen.
"Morning sunshine." He joked as he put on a pot of hot java.
"Good morning Inu-yasha." Hojo said not looking up.
"Sleep that juice off or are you still about as hammered as I am?
"No I'm feeling kind of hung over." Hojo replied.
"Well, Coffee's brewing, soon enough you feel like a million bucks." Inu-yasha pulled up a seat and sat down right across from Hojo. Neither of them looked at the other for a moment. Then both Hojo and Inu-yasha raised their heads up and looked straight at each other. Hojo gasped.
"You!" He cried. "Your ears! That's it! You're a demon!" His shouts and cries woke the entire house up and soon everyone was piling into the kitchen to see what was going on. "Someone help me!" Hojo cried. "Keep that thing away from me!"
"Hey what's the big deal?" Inu-yasha said rising up. "My head feels like a bowling ball fell on it and you're yelling like it's something important. We went over this last night in the bar, remember?"
"That's right we did, but I thought that was just some weird dream!" Hojo shouted with a look of utter horror upon his face. "Sango, Kagome, tell me I'm dreaming." He pleaded with the girls. They both hung their heads.
"Sorry Hojo." Kagome told him. "It's no dream. Inu-yasha is a half demon. The baby I'm carrying is one third demon. We've all known this for a long time now." Hojo couldn't believe his ears. This was all so totally incredible. Yet there it was right in front of him, the real Inu-yasha that he'd never before seen. It was astonishing to him that a simple thing like a ball cap could cover up something so huge.
"How is any of this even possible?" He asked them.
"Well, it's a long story." Sango said as she took the poor boy's hand.
"Let's start from the beginning." Kagome suggested then sat down to tell the entire story of hers and Inu-yasha's adventures together. She went over everything in detail, omitting only the gory parts, and making Inu-yasha out to be more of a villain at first. She started with when they met in the forest and went from there. She told the tales of their many confrontations with dangerous demons to when they met Shippo, Miroku, and Sango. She talked about strange and far off tales which turned out to be true and some legends which they had proven to be false. Kagome told the story so well that Hojo almost felt that he was experiencing those things with them.
"Wow, and then what happened?" He asked as he stuffed his face with hot rice and eggs. Kagome had talked all morning long and now breakfast was just getting done with.
"That brings us to here." Kagome said. "Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi followed me down the well and the rest you sort of know. Inu-yasha and I moved back here to get away from Naraku and raise our baby where it's safer."
"That's a beautiful story!" Hojo exclaimed. "It's so romantic, it almost makes me sad that I kept interfering with you two getting together earlier."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked.
"Well, you kind of have to admit that you and Inu-yasha would have wound up together sooner if I hadn't always been there to distract you. I mean, all those times that I asked you out at school, and my always bringing you things for your fake illnesses. I never thought for the life of me that I was standing in the way of true love." Kagome and Inu-yasha both blushed. True love? Was that what they were always fighting about back then? Were that really so in love with each other from the very start that they had actually made life so miserable for each other?
"Yeah well, you're forgetting about what a pain it was for me to see Kagome more interested in you than she was in me." Inu-yasha said then. "I mean, I was always in love with Kagome, but she wasn't always in love with me."
"Oh you were not." Kagome said then, raising up from her seat with her breakfast dishes in hand. "Don't you remember that when we first met that you tried to kill me?" She asked him.
"If I had wanted you dead there was no way of stopping me." Inu-yasha bragged. "Come on, I mean look at how many demons I've killed. You really think you're so good that you could have stopped me from ripping your pretty little head off?" Everyone there was stunned at Inu-yasha.
"How can you say such a thing to my daughter?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Inu-yasha." Kagome began. "Do you really think I'm pretty?"
"Sure do babe." He said putting his arms around her. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, for better, or for worse."
"Oh, Inu-yasha." Kagome clung to him like a girl clings to her first love.
"It's a weird, twisted relationship, but it seems to work to them." Shippo said looking over at Hojo.
"I see." Hojo said taking Sango into his arms and setting her firmly on his lap. "Inu-yasha you are certainly no gentleman and definitely not a nice guy. You do however have Kagome's heart. That one redeeming feature has earned you my respect. Besides, I'm much happier being with Sango. She puts out." They both smiled.
"Isn't he just like Miroku?" Sango asked them all. "Why you're probably his reincarnation." They rubbed noses and kissed.
"Now that's a twisted relationship." Inu-yasha sighed. "Speaking of that dirty lecher, shouldn't he and Eri be getting back from their honeymoon right about now?" Almost as if on cue.
"Good morning everyone." Miroku and Eri came wondering in with their arms draped around each other. It was a sickening sight to some and quite romantic to others. "What's everyone been up to?" Miroku asked.
"Oh nothing, we've just been filling Hojo in about how we all really met." Shippo said.
"So you decided to be honest with him, Sango. Good idea. Relationships should be based on the truth. That's why Eri and I are so fortunate." He bragged. They all just looked at him with a concerned eye. Miroku and Eri weren't exactly the model couple everyone wanted to look up to. But the sad truth was that they were indeed in love and making quite a display about it.
"And what are the new husband and wife going to do today?" Grandpa asked.
"We thought we'd go to school and brag to everyone about our wedding day yesterday." Eri said. "Every girl in school is going to be so jealous!" She was so excited herself that she leaped into Miroku's arms and they kissed passionately.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Sango said.
"I've got the bathroom first." Kagome replied.
"Oh, I've got to call my folks first." Eri said. "I want you to come over tonight my darling and meet them while I get my stuff."
"Stuff?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Yes, Eri and I are moving in together. Right now we're going to stay at a hotel down the street while I work and she house hunts." Miroku explained.
"That's actually not a bad idea." Grandpa said.
"Grandpa!" Everyone exclaimed.
"What? It's one less mouth to feed and one less person under my roof." He told them all. "Not that it hasn't been fun Miroku, but let's face it. I'd rather have you as my apprentice than as a grandson."
"No offense taken Grandpa." Miroku said. "I'll report for work this afternoon after classes."
"Good I'll see you then." Grandpa said then left to open the shrine for business. Everyone else went upstairs to change clothes and get ready for school. It was going to be long and strange day for everyone. In the days to come though things would get even stranger as an unexpected visitor would soon be making a call on them.
The End? Not really, just the end of this chapter. Next is Sesshomaru down the well and Kikyo's farewell. Read this separate short story and the best is yet to come. The Death of Inu-yasha is coming.
While Miroku and Eri went on their over night honeymoon at the motel down the street, Inu-yasha and the other guys took a little trip down the local bar where they had a bachelor party in Miroku's honor.
(Too bad he couldn't have attended.)
"Can you believe those girls acting the way they were about weddings and stuff like that?" A drunken Inu-yasha asked from his bar stool.
"Yeah, it's like they've got some kind of fever or something." An inebriated Hojo said from the bottom of his ninth bottle.
"I don't know you guys, it's kind of nice if you think about it." Shippo said sipping his soda. "I mean if Miroku can find someone he wants to be with for the rest of his life then maybe we all can." Inu-yasha, Hojo, and Grandpa all looked down at their sober little friend.
"Trust me boys, you're lucky keeping your freedom." Grandpa said. "I know. I was married for a long time myself and I hated it. I mean I loved my wife, but let's face it, I'd a whole lot rather had both my woman and my freedom. You know the more I think about it Inu-yasha, the more right it seems that you won't marry Kagome. Don't make the same mistake that I did. Don't let go of your freedom boys, not matter how attractive the girl. And Hojo, that Sango has it in for you now you've banged her pretty little brains out. She's going to pester you to get married for as long as the two of you are together. You can't let her beat you into it though." The old man belched then, loudly, and ordered another round.
"You bet gramps, I won't let those women get me down." The young alcoholic said before passing out.
"Hey are you alright down there?" Inu-yasha said looking down at the floor where Hojo lay. "Come on man, don't just tumble over like that, you gotta have another round with us before you pass out." Inu-yasha leaned over and fell from his stool on top of Hojo. His hat had fallen off.
"Okay…okay…I'm gonna get up, just give me a minute mom." Hojo said stirring. Then he opened his eyes up to see a pair of funny white ears under his nose.
"What!?" Grandpa cried when he realized what was going on. "Inu-yasha, your hat!" The Han-you raised up and with one hand he reached for his hat. It was then that Hojo noticed his fingers were clawed like a dog's paw.
"Say, if I didn't know better." Hojo began to say. "I'd say you're starting look an awful lot like a dog, Inu-yasha. Say now that I think about it. Doesn't Inu-yasha meand dog forest spirit?" Hojo asked. They both raised up then.
"Yeah, that's what it means." Inu-yasha admitted.
"Kind of strange that your folks would name you that, huh." Hojo laughed. "Now why would two people name their child after the dog forest spirits?"
"Cause…" Inu-yasha began to laugh as well. "Cause I am a dog!" He began to cackle wildly.
"Because you are a dog, good one man!" Hojo laughed and slapped Inu-yasha on the back. It was then that Inu-yasha's cackling began to attract the other bar patrons' attentions.
"Tone it down you two, you'll get us tossed out on our rears, and last call's not for a few more hours yet!" Grandpa said to them.
"So you're a dog?" Hojo asked, still believing it all to be a joke. He climbed back up to his bar stool and sat down. Inu-yasha did the same. "Can you howl like a dog?"
"Aawwooooooooo!" Inu-yasha howled.
"Can you bark like a dog?"
"Woof." Inu-yasha barked.
"That's totally awesome man, but can you slurp like a dog?" Hojo asked him. When the next round came down the bar towards them, Inu-yasha lapped it up like a wild dog at a water hole. "I can't believe it, you are a dog, man!" Hojo exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm a dog demon!" Inu-yasha declared.
"Uh, a dog demon?" Hojo asked, no longer finding the jokes funny.
"Yeah," Inu-yasha said laughing. "My father was a demon dog and my mother was human princess! Can you believe that, and you know what else? They weren't married either. Can you believe that? I'm about as illegitimate as you can get!" He began to cackle again then Hojo did something very strange. He lifted up Inu-yasha's hat and looked at his ears again. Then he looked at Inu-yasha, then at Shippo who strangely enough had a fox's tail. He'd never noticed before but they were both so very different.
"What are you looking at?" Inu-yasha asked in a drunken stoopper
"Yeah, you're acting really weird." Shippo agreed. Hojo just blinked and stared.
"You two…" He stuttered, "You two…are demons!" Hojo cried realizing what company he was keeping. He nearly fell out of his seat again and that's when Grandpa threw his hands up over Hojo's mouth.
"Hey, is that kid okay?" The Bartender asked.
"Oh, yeah, he's just fine. Had a little too much to drink that's all." Grandpa said. "Inu-yasha, Shippo, let's all go home now. Sorry for the interruption everyone. This round's on me!" The old man promptly declared and then paid his way out. Inu-yasha took hold of Hojo who was too drunk to fight back and they left the bar for the open air of the streets. It was well after dark and so forcing Hojo back home with them wouldn't take very much.
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Kagome sat at home with her mother and Sango waiting for the guys to get back. Naturally they came straggling in with Hojo passed out over Inu-yasha's shoulders. He was completely wiped out from all the strangeness in the bar.
"So I see you've gotten my boyfriend drunk enough." Sango said takinig him. "My dear Hojo, what have they done to you?"
"We didn't do anything to him." Inu-yasha hiccupped. "He drank himself under the table then had a fit when he saw my ears." He flopped down on the couch beside Kagome and smiled a drunken smile.
"He saw your ears!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Calm down." Grandpa said. "I don't think he'll remember too much when he wakes up. For all we know he's so drunk that he'll probably forget everything he saw tonight." "How could you do that to the poor boy?" Kagome's mother asked.
"We guys needed to unwind after such a hectic day. We had a wedding here today for goodness sake and rushed one at that. These old bones of mine need a little break after performing my duties as a Priest."
"Father, you know that you're too old to go out drinking." Kagome's mother said to him sternly. "Now take your old bones up to bed and sleep off the sauce." The old man frowned and obeyed his daughter's command.
"Good night, Kagome, Sango, and tell Sota goodnight for me." The old man moped up the stairs and went to bed. Meanwhile, Kagome and the others had the perplexing situation with Hojo. First there was the problem of what to do with him. They couldn't send him home in the condition he was in. His parents would freak.
"He could stay in my room." Sango suggested.
"Absolutely not." Kagome's mother said. "He'll just have to sack out here on the couch until he sleeps off this drunken stooper he's in. Right now though, I'm wondering what to do about his having seen Inu-yasha's ears."
"There's nothing that we can do." Kagome said, "We'll have to wait till he wakes up in the morning and see what he remembers." Kagome sighed. If Hojo did remember anything after tonight then it would a miracle. From the smell of sake on Hojo's breath, he'd drank quite a bit. The way that he slumbered on the couch it seemed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. If he had seen anything he surely would right it off as an intoxicated hallucination. Still the only thing that any of them could do now was wait and see what developed in the morning. That night, Kagome doubted that any of them would be getting much sleep. Then she looked around and saw that she and her mother were the only ones left in the room. "Where did Inu-yasha go?" She asked.
"Probably up to bed." Her mother said. "You know, I have to talk to you about something else, Kagome." They went into the kitchen and sat down to talk. "Kagome, do you really think that it's a good idea for you and Inu-yasha to be sharing a room together?" Her mother asked.
"Oh mom." Kagome said. "I know it must seem such a sordid thing to you but it's really not. Back in the Feudal Era people did this all the time without getting married. Why I've seen some stuff that would put the magazines grandpa reads to shame." Somehow this didn't make Kagome's mother feel any better.
"Well, if you two are determined to make this relationship work then go ahead. I just hate to see my baby girl living this way when no good can come of it. Living in sin this way can't be good for the baby either. What's he going to think when he's old enough to realize that his parents aren't married?" She asked her daughter. Kagome didn't know what to think or say in reply. She knew deep down inside that her mother was right but she also knew very well how Inu-yasha felt about the idea of getting married. He was totally against it because of what happened to Kikyo. In some ways it was sweet of him but in others it was totally wrong. She sat there thinking for a long time.
"I don't know." Kagome finally said. "I suppose I always thought that Inu-yasha and I would wind up together, I just didn't know how, or when. Now we are together and it's the most wonderful thing that I've ever felt for anyone. I mean, it's sad to think that this is as far as our relationship is ever going to go but it's comforting too. Comforting to think that it's always going to be this way in that Inu-yasha and I will be together for the rest of our lives."
"You mean the rest of your life, don't you. I mean Inu-yasha is half immortal isn't he?" Kagome's mother asked her. "He'll stay young and strong and fit for many years. I mean he's already over 60 years old. What is he going to do when you die?" Kagome had never thought about that. She was so busy making plans for the baby and her new life with Inu-yasha that she had totally forgotten that he would out live her by a lifetime. It was something that neither of them had ever really discussed. What would her Han-you do if he ever lost her? Knowing Inu-yasha he'd just wait around for Kagome to be reincarnated again and start all over again like he had with Kikyo. After all, what was a couple of life times compared to a love that had lasted through death and the ages?
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Early in the morning Hojo awoke and found himself lying on Kagome's couch. His head felt like someone had dropped a two-ton weight on it. Everyone was still in bed, he thought as he ventured into the kitchen to find some aspirin. Everything was kind of blurry still and his eyes hurt from looked so closely at everything. Finally he found a bottle containing the precious pills. Two would have to do because he wasn't a very large person, and taking anymore would make him sick, even though he felt like taking the whole bottle. He chocked the dry pills down then poured himself a glass of water to wash out the bad taste in his mouth.
"Damn I wish that they had made some coffee last night. Even a cold cup would be better than just water." He stumbled around to the table and sat down with his head in his hands. His head was swimming. He couldn't remember a thing about the night before but he was sure that there was something important that he needed to remember. Just then Inu-yasha came down stairs without his cap on. He was feeling about as half dead as Hojo when he came wondering into the kitchen.
"Morning sunshine." He joked as he put on a pot of hot java.
"Good morning Inu-yasha." Hojo said not looking up.
"Sleep that juice off or are you still about as hammered as I am?
"No I'm feeling kind of hung over." Hojo replied.
"Well, Coffee's brewing, soon enough you feel like a million bucks." Inu-yasha pulled up a seat and sat down right across from Hojo. Neither of them looked at the other for a moment. Then both Hojo and Inu-yasha raised their heads up and looked straight at each other. Hojo gasped.
"You!" He cried. "Your ears! That's it! You're a demon!" His shouts and cries woke the entire house up and soon everyone was piling into the kitchen to see what was going on. "Someone help me!" Hojo cried. "Keep that thing away from me!"
"Hey what's the big deal?" Inu-yasha said rising up. "My head feels like a bowling ball fell on it and you're yelling like it's something important. We went over this last night in the bar, remember?"
"That's right we did, but I thought that was just some weird dream!" Hojo shouted with a look of utter horror upon his face. "Sango, Kagome, tell me I'm dreaming." He pleaded with the girls. They both hung their heads.
"Sorry Hojo." Kagome told him. "It's no dream. Inu-yasha is a half demon. The baby I'm carrying is one third demon. We've all known this for a long time now." Hojo couldn't believe his ears. This was all so totally incredible. Yet there it was right in front of him, the real Inu-yasha that he'd never before seen. It was astonishing to him that a simple thing like a ball cap could cover up something so huge.
"How is any of this even possible?" He asked them.
"Well, it's a long story." Sango said as she took the poor boy's hand.
"Let's start from the beginning." Kagome suggested then sat down to tell the entire story of hers and Inu-yasha's adventures together. She went over everything in detail, omitting only the gory parts, and making Inu-yasha out to be more of a villain at first. She started with when they met in the forest and went from there. She told the tales of their many confrontations with dangerous demons to when they met Shippo, Miroku, and Sango. She talked about strange and far off tales which turned out to be true and some legends which they had proven to be false. Kagome told the story so well that Hojo almost felt that he was experiencing those things with them.
"Wow, and then what happened?" He asked as he stuffed his face with hot rice and eggs. Kagome had talked all morning long and now breakfast was just getting done with.
"That brings us to here." Kagome said. "Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi followed me down the well and the rest you sort of know. Inu-yasha and I moved back here to get away from Naraku and raise our baby where it's safer."
"That's a beautiful story!" Hojo exclaimed. "It's so romantic, it almost makes me sad that I kept interfering with you two getting together earlier."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked.
"Well, you kind of have to admit that you and Inu-yasha would have wound up together sooner if I hadn't always been there to distract you. I mean, all those times that I asked you out at school, and my always bringing you things for your fake illnesses. I never thought for the life of me that I was standing in the way of true love." Kagome and Inu-yasha both blushed. True love? Was that what they were always fighting about back then? Were that really so in love with each other from the very start that they had actually made life so miserable for each other?
"Yeah well, you're forgetting about what a pain it was for me to see Kagome more interested in you than she was in me." Inu-yasha said then. "I mean, I was always in love with Kagome, but she wasn't always in love with me."
"Oh you were not." Kagome said then, raising up from her seat with her breakfast dishes in hand. "Don't you remember that when we first met that you tried to kill me?" She asked him.
"If I had wanted you dead there was no way of stopping me." Inu-yasha bragged. "Come on, I mean look at how many demons I've killed. You really think you're so good that you could have stopped me from ripping your pretty little head off?" Everyone there was stunned at Inu-yasha.
"How can you say such a thing to my daughter?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Inu-yasha." Kagome began. "Do you really think I'm pretty?"
"Sure do babe." He said putting his arms around her. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, for better, or for worse."
"Oh, Inu-yasha." Kagome clung to him like a girl clings to her first love.
"It's a weird, twisted relationship, but it seems to work to them." Shippo said looking over at Hojo.
"I see." Hojo said taking Sango into his arms and setting her firmly on his lap. "Inu-yasha you are certainly no gentleman and definitely not a nice guy. You do however have Kagome's heart. That one redeeming feature has earned you my respect. Besides, I'm much happier being with Sango. She puts out." They both smiled.
"Isn't he just like Miroku?" Sango asked them all. "Why you're probably his reincarnation." They rubbed noses and kissed.
"Now that's a twisted relationship." Inu-yasha sighed. "Speaking of that dirty lecher, shouldn't he and Eri be getting back from their honeymoon right about now?" Almost as if on cue.
"Good morning everyone." Miroku and Eri came wondering in with their arms draped around each other. It was a sickening sight to some and quite romantic to others. "What's everyone been up to?" Miroku asked.
"Oh nothing, we've just been filling Hojo in about how we all really met." Shippo said.
"So you decided to be honest with him, Sango. Good idea. Relationships should be based on the truth. That's why Eri and I are so fortunate." He bragged. They all just looked at him with a concerned eye. Miroku and Eri weren't exactly the model couple everyone wanted to look up to. But the sad truth was that they were indeed in love and making quite a display about it.
"And what are the new husband and wife going to do today?" Grandpa asked.
"We thought we'd go to school and brag to everyone about our wedding day yesterday." Eri said. "Every girl in school is going to be so jealous!" She was so excited herself that she leaped into Miroku's arms and they kissed passionately.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Sango said.
"I've got the bathroom first." Kagome replied.
"Oh, I've got to call my folks first." Eri said. "I want you to come over tonight my darling and meet them while I get my stuff."
"Stuff?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Yes, Eri and I are moving in together. Right now we're going to stay at a hotel down the street while I work and she house hunts." Miroku explained.
"That's actually not a bad idea." Grandpa said.
"Grandpa!" Everyone exclaimed.
"What? It's one less mouth to feed and one less person under my roof." He told them all. "Not that it hasn't been fun Miroku, but let's face it. I'd rather have you as my apprentice than as a grandson."
"No offense taken Grandpa." Miroku said. "I'll report for work this afternoon after classes."
"Good I'll see you then." Grandpa said then left to open the shrine for business. Everyone else went upstairs to change clothes and get ready for school. It was going to be long and strange day for everyone. In the days to come though things would get even stranger as an unexpected visitor would soon be making a call on them.
The End? Not really, just the end of this chapter. Next is Sesshomaru down the well and Kikyo's farewell. Read this separate short story and the best is yet to come. The Death of Inu-yasha is coming.