Chapter 10: Stray Feelings
Kagome waddles down to the edge of the lake that sat behind the cabin. She sat down on a nearby log that had been set up years ago as a seat. She stared at the bluish translucent water before her as she gently ran her hands over her large belly. "He'll return soon. I know he will. If he doesn't come back by the time the baby is born and if he's not dead, I'll kill him myself." Kagome clenched her fist and bared her teeth.
A tiny kick in the stomach distracted her. Kagome wrapped her arms around her stomach and attempted to hug her belly. "Gomen ne Yuki. I didn't mean to talk about your father that way. I miss him so much. What's taking him so long?" Kagome looked at up the lake through partially opened eyes that were threatening to spring a leak. "A little longer and I'll finally get to met you Yuki and finally find out if I have a son or daughter. Please hurry, but do try to wait for your fath-"
Kagome had been talking aloud to herself when the faint sound of a stick breaking silenced her. She looked around cautiously for the cause of the disturbance. She stared at the tree line suspiciously then she slowly stood up and started to inch her way back up to the cabin. Her eyes darted all over the terrain.
The slow approach of silver coming over the hill caught her eye. With the appearance of dog like ears amongst the silver mass caused her hear to skip a few beats and her eyes started to water as she slowly walked toward what she thought was her husband. As the being came into full view, Kagome's heart sank to the ground.
"ARF ARF."
Kagome stared speechless at the white dog that was now running toward her. The fluffy white dog with golden eyes ran up and sat down in front of her, wagging his tail happily.
"ARF?"
She stared down into the inviting gold eyes of the dog then sank to the ground, resting on her knees. Her eyes were wide as tears started to well up. "Why? Why aren't you Inuyasha? Why? WHY?" She then broke down. Kagome placed her face in her hands and wept. Her whole body shook as she continued to cry uncontrollably.
The dog scooted over and licked her hand gently then nuzzled her cheek. He whimpered in a sympathetic way. "Aruuuuu?!"
With her eyes still closed and forcing out tears, Kagome wrapped her arms around the dog tightly. She dried into the soft white fur. Over the last several months she hadn't heard anything from Inuyasha. Was he ok, was he hurt, was he dead, is he captured, is he eating enough, had he met someone else. Those were the questions she asked herself everyday, though the last one was so far out there and unlikely it would make her laugh.. She knew Inuyasha loved her and would never leave her, so it HAD to be one of the other options, what else could it be. Without Inuyasha around Kagome felt like she was loosing her mind. Several times she had thought she heard his voice or saw him and gave chase. Only to wind up scaring the real person half to death. She had even taken to seeing hallucinations around home, seeing him in the woods, by the lake or even next to her in bed. As her due date drew closer and closer the "sightings" were getting more and more frequent. Most of time after thinking she had seen him, Kagome would quickly waddle home, climb into bed, hug her pillow tightly and cry. 'And now, this white haired dog shows up! Am I being tortured? For what reason?' Kagome released the dog and leaned back to look at the cheerful canine. "So, do you have a home?"
The dog looked at her sadly and laid his head down on her lap with a small whimper.
"I'll take that as a no. Is it ok if I call you…Shiro?" The now happy face of the dog and wag of it's tail indicated he was happy. "Now, how about some food!" Kagome slowly and carefully got to her feet. She then started for the house, followed closely by the white dog. Together they walked up the path to the house slowly.
Kagome watched the white dog that looked a lot like a wolf/husky mix, he was practically prancing as he walked by her right side. She smiled slightly at the dog's enthusiasm. 'He seems happy! That's good…' Her eyes became soft and sad as she watched Shiro. She compared the white fur of the dog with the white hair of her husband, causing several pangs to shoot through her chest. She saw the cabin come into view and she almost dreaded having her friends' faun over her again. Kagome emitted a heavy sigh and continued forward.
Noticing Kagome from the kitchen window, Sango exploded from the cabin toward her friend. She eliminated the distance between them quickly. "Kagome, where have you been? It's been hours!...." Her eyes then fell on the white fluffy dog now sitting at Kagome's right side, Sango pointed and looked curiously at the dog. "Umm…"
"Oh, Sango, this is Shiro. He kept me company…He doesn't have a home……" Kagome's eyes became sad. "He's all alone……So I'm gonna take him in."
Sango recognized the determined look on Kagome's face. Her friend had made up her mind and she wasn't going to change that. Sango Kneeled down and petted the dog on the head. "So, we have a new member of the group, huh. Well, welcome Shiro."
"ARF ARF!" Shiro barked happily and looked up at Kagome with a big doglike smile.
~*~
Over the next few week, Kagome and Shiro were practically inseparable. He slept at the foot of her bed, went with her on walks, and always laid in front of her in the living room. Everyone had warmed up to the dog quickly, especially Shippo. Who had informed everyone that according to his sence of smell, Shiro was half wolf and half dog. They were all surprised with the stray. He was very well behaved and extremely protective of Kagome. Since Shiro had showed up they noticed Kagome smiling more and more. The dog seemed to be cheering her up and pulling her from that dark lonely world Kagome had created for herself.
"Where's Kagome?" asked Shippo from his spot on the couch as he flipped through TV channels.
"She took Shiro for a walk. She should be back shortly." Answered Sango as she looked out the living room window at the nearby forest and whispered. "Any day now. The baby can come any day and no sign of Inuyasha."
"I'm sure he'll make it." Replied Miroku as he sat in the chair reading a book.
"He had bett-"
*KNOCK*KNOCK*KNOCK*
Everyone in the room looked to everyone else surprised and curious.
~*~
Kagome slowly weaved her way through the trees as she watched Shiro run, jump, and attack a few falling leaves. When he became particularly interested in mutilating one innocent leaf, Kagome leaned against a nearby tree. She lifted her head and looked up at the clear blue sky. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun on her face. Then something small, cold, and wet landed on her cheek. Kagome opened her eyes to see small, fluffy white specks falling from the sky. She looked down at the ground and noticed it was quickly becoming white. She held out her hand and caught a few of the white flurries, only to have them melt a second later. "Snow? It's too early for snow. And it's too warm and clear out. What's going on?" Kagome decided she should return to the cabin while she had a chance. "Shiro, come on!"
Reluctant to end his assault on the snowflakes now, he dashed over to his mistress's side.
Before she knew what was happening, Kagome had clung to a nearby tree when a wave of pain washed over her. She hugged the tree tightly for a few minutes until she was sure the strange pain had subsided, she then continued on. Several minutes later another surge of pain raked over her. She grasped for another tree and almost missed. She held onto that tree tightly as the pain got stronger and stronger. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Shiro whimpered as Kagome screamed out in pain. He walked over and licked her hand, hoping to comfort her. Soon his ears picked up the crunching of snow as someone walked. The sound was getting closer and closer. Shiro stood next to Kagome protectively facing the direction of the noise. He was growling profusely, trying to scare off the new comer. The amount of snow that was falling made it hard for anyone to see more than 10 feet in front of them. Shiro flinched at hearing his mistress scream out again, he then went back to protecting her at any and all cost. He continued to growl as the footsteps drew closer and closer. Shiro would not go down without a fight.
~******~
Kagome waddles down to the edge of the lake that sat behind the cabin. She sat down on a nearby log that had been set up years ago as a seat. She stared at the bluish translucent water before her as she gently ran her hands over her large belly. "He'll return soon. I know he will. If he doesn't come back by the time the baby is born and if he's not dead, I'll kill him myself." Kagome clenched her fist and bared her teeth.
A tiny kick in the stomach distracted her. Kagome wrapped her arms around her stomach and attempted to hug her belly. "Gomen ne Yuki. I didn't mean to talk about your father that way. I miss him so much. What's taking him so long?" Kagome looked at up the lake through partially opened eyes that were threatening to spring a leak. "A little longer and I'll finally get to met you Yuki and finally find out if I have a son or daughter. Please hurry, but do try to wait for your fath-"
Kagome had been talking aloud to herself when the faint sound of a stick breaking silenced her. She looked around cautiously for the cause of the disturbance. She stared at the tree line suspiciously then she slowly stood up and started to inch her way back up to the cabin. Her eyes darted all over the terrain.
The slow approach of silver coming over the hill caught her eye. With the appearance of dog like ears amongst the silver mass caused her hear to skip a few beats and her eyes started to water as she slowly walked toward what she thought was her husband. As the being came into full view, Kagome's heart sank to the ground.
"ARF ARF."
Kagome stared speechless at the white dog that was now running toward her. The fluffy white dog with golden eyes ran up and sat down in front of her, wagging his tail happily.
"ARF?"
She stared down into the inviting gold eyes of the dog then sank to the ground, resting on her knees. Her eyes were wide as tears started to well up. "Why? Why aren't you Inuyasha? Why? WHY?" She then broke down. Kagome placed her face in her hands and wept. Her whole body shook as she continued to cry uncontrollably.
The dog scooted over and licked her hand gently then nuzzled her cheek. He whimpered in a sympathetic way. "Aruuuuu?!"
With her eyes still closed and forcing out tears, Kagome wrapped her arms around the dog tightly. She dried into the soft white fur. Over the last several months she hadn't heard anything from Inuyasha. Was he ok, was he hurt, was he dead, is he captured, is he eating enough, had he met someone else. Those were the questions she asked herself everyday, though the last one was so far out there and unlikely it would make her laugh.. She knew Inuyasha loved her and would never leave her, so it HAD to be one of the other options, what else could it be. Without Inuyasha around Kagome felt like she was loosing her mind. Several times she had thought she heard his voice or saw him and gave chase. Only to wind up scaring the real person half to death. She had even taken to seeing hallucinations around home, seeing him in the woods, by the lake or even next to her in bed. As her due date drew closer and closer the "sightings" were getting more and more frequent. Most of time after thinking she had seen him, Kagome would quickly waddle home, climb into bed, hug her pillow tightly and cry. 'And now, this white haired dog shows up! Am I being tortured? For what reason?' Kagome released the dog and leaned back to look at the cheerful canine. "So, do you have a home?"
The dog looked at her sadly and laid his head down on her lap with a small whimper.
"I'll take that as a no. Is it ok if I call you…Shiro?" The now happy face of the dog and wag of it's tail indicated he was happy. "Now, how about some food!" Kagome slowly and carefully got to her feet. She then started for the house, followed closely by the white dog. Together they walked up the path to the house slowly.
Kagome watched the white dog that looked a lot like a wolf/husky mix, he was practically prancing as he walked by her right side. She smiled slightly at the dog's enthusiasm. 'He seems happy! That's good…' Her eyes became soft and sad as she watched Shiro. She compared the white fur of the dog with the white hair of her husband, causing several pangs to shoot through her chest. She saw the cabin come into view and she almost dreaded having her friends' faun over her again. Kagome emitted a heavy sigh and continued forward.
Noticing Kagome from the kitchen window, Sango exploded from the cabin toward her friend. She eliminated the distance between them quickly. "Kagome, where have you been? It's been hours!...." Her eyes then fell on the white fluffy dog now sitting at Kagome's right side, Sango pointed and looked curiously at the dog. "Umm…"
"Oh, Sango, this is Shiro. He kept me company…He doesn't have a home……" Kagome's eyes became sad. "He's all alone……So I'm gonna take him in."
Sango recognized the determined look on Kagome's face. Her friend had made up her mind and she wasn't going to change that. Sango Kneeled down and petted the dog on the head. "So, we have a new member of the group, huh. Well, welcome Shiro."
"ARF ARF!" Shiro barked happily and looked up at Kagome with a big doglike smile.
~*~
Over the next few week, Kagome and Shiro were practically inseparable. He slept at the foot of her bed, went with her on walks, and always laid in front of her in the living room. Everyone had warmed up to the dog quickly, especially Shippo. Who had informed everyone that according to his sence of smell, Shiro was half wolf and half dog. They were all surprised with the stray. He was very well behaved and extremely protective of Kagome. Since Shiro had showed up they noticed Kagome smiling more and more. The dog seemed to be cheering her up and pulling her from that dark lonely world Kagome had created for herself.
"Where's Kagome?" asked Shippo from his spot on the couch as he flipped through TV channels.
"She took Shiro for a walk. She should be back shortly." Answered Sango as she looked out the living room window at the nearby forest and whispered. "Any day now. The baby can come any day and no sign of Inuyasha."
"I'm sure he'll make it." Replied Miroku as he sat in the chair reading a book.
"He had bett-"
*KNOCK*KNOCK*KNOCK*
Everyone in the room looked to everyone else surprised and curious.
~*~
Kagome slowly weaved her way through the trees as she watched Shiro run, jump, and attack a few falling leaves. When he became particularly interested in mutilating one innocent leaf, Kagome leaned against a nearby tree. She lifted her head and looked up at the clear blue sky. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun on her face. Then something small, cold, and wet landed on her cheek. Kagome opened her eyes to see small, fluffy white specks falling from the sky. She looked down at the ground and noticed it was quickly becoming white. She held out her hand and caught a few of the white flurries, only to have them melt a second later. "Snow? It's too early for snow. And it's too warm and clear out. What's going on?" Kagome decided she should return to the cabin while she had a chance. "Shiro, come on!"
Reluctant to end his assault on the snowflakes now, he dashed over to his mistress's side.
Before she knew what was happening, Kagome had clung to a nearby tree when a wave of pain washed over her. She hugged the tree tightly for a few minutes until she was sure the strange pain had subsided, she then continued on. Several minutes later another surge of pain raked over her. She grasped for another tree and almost missed. She held onto that tree tightly as the pain got stronger and stronger. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Shiro whimpered as Kagome screamed out in pain. He walked over and licked her hand, hoping to comfort her. Soon his ears picked up the crunching of snow as someone walked. The sound was getting closer and closer. Shiro stood next to Kagome protectively facing the direction of the noise. He was growling profusely, trying to scare off the new comer. The amount of snow that was falling made it hard for anyone to see more than 10 feet in front of them. Shiro flinched at hearing his mistress scream out again, he then went back to protecting her at any and all cost. He continued to growl as the footsteps drew closer and closer. Shiro would not go down without a fight.
~******~