I'm trying to finish up my RK story, but I know that a lot of people wanted to see this story continue as well. I'm going to do my best to advance it further. However, I didn't have this story as well fleshed out as the RK one. I start grad school again Jan 5th. I'll try to get through as much of this as I can (especially with no comp access Dec 20-29th.)
'…' thoughts
"…" dialogue
The Ties That Bind
Chapter Four
Kagome came through the time slip and sat at the bottom of the well crying. She couldn't believe that she had given herself to Inuyasha and he wasn't sure how he felt! She'd disgraced herself and her family. Who would want her after that? She cried harder thinking how she'd ruined her future over one magical night.
'Stop it. You've got to pull yourself together. It was a mistake. You've got to go in there and face your family. They don't know and if you walk in there like this, they'll know something's wrong.' Standing up, Kagome wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew she looked a mess, but she tried to paste a smile on her face. Climbing up out of the well, she paused at the doors. 'You can do this.' Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped out of the well house.
Kagome's mother was in the kitchen putting away groceries when she heard the back door open. Turning she saw Kagome. Kagome pasted a bright smile on her face, but her mother could see it didn't reach her eyes.
"Welcome home dear! We've missed you," she said crossing to her daughter and wrapping her in a hug.
"Hi Mom," Kagome croaked out.
Holding Kagome at arm's length her mother asked her, "Can I get you anything?"
"I'm really just tired. We've been traveling for the past few weeks. Would you mind if I just went to bed?" Kagome asked, trying to avoid her mother's eyes.
"Alright dear," her mother said, understanding that something had happened, "if you need anything just call alright?"
"Thanks Mom." Kagome pulled out of her mother's reach and ran upstairs to her room. Closing the door she leaned against it as she felt the strength leave her legs. Once again she was powerless to stop the tears. Crawling across the floor she pulled herself into bed and curled up into a ball. After crying her heart out, sleep finally overtook her.
In the morning Kagome slowly awoke to a knocking at her door. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she rose from bed and answered her door. Sota stood there waiting for her. "Mom asked me to wake you up and let you know breakfast is ready. I'm glad you're back. Is Inuyasha coming?"
As Kagome opened her mouth to answer, the smell of the omelets her mother was cooking wafted up to her nose. A sudden wave of nausea overcame her. Pushing past Sota she ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. Sota ran over to the door but backed up as he heard retching sounds coming from the bathroom. He heard his mother's voice and turned to see her coming up the stairs.
"Sota is everything okay? I heard a door slam."
"Kagome's in the bathroom, getting sick."
Kagome's mother walked up to the door. Knocking, she asked, "Kagome? Is everything alright?"
Listening she heard her daughter continuing to get sick. Turning to her son, she gave him instructions to ask his grandfather to finish with the omelets. Making sure he was on his way downstairs she turned back to the bathroom door.
"Kagome, honey, I'm coming in." Opening the door, her mother entered the bathroom. Kagome was bent over the toilet, still trying to empty her stomach. Her mother kneeled down and pulled her hair back. She reached around and felt Kagome's forehead. She didn't have a fever. A frown crossed her mother's face.
As Kagome's stomach calmed, she took deep breaths. Turning to her mother, she had tears in her eyes. Her mother said nothing, but helped her up and led her to the sink so she could wash her mouth out. Helping Kagome to her room, her mother stayed silent until the door was closed and she'd joined her daughter on the bed.
"Kagome, is everything alright? You don't feel as though you have a fever."
"I don't know what happened Mom. I just all of the sudden didn't feel well."
Her mother stared at the floor for a moment. "Kagome, I don't want to push you, but is everything alright? I could tell something was bothering you yesterday. You know I'm always here to listen to you."
Kagome felt another rush of tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to speak. Instead she collapsed against her mother and cried. "Shhh, Kagome, it's alright. Whatever it is, everything is alright. I'm here." Kagome's mother continued to hold her and console her daughter while she cried.
Kagome finally pulled herself together. Looking at the floor she tried to think of what to say to her mother. Her mother lifted Kagome's chin and made her look into her eyes. "Kagome, what's wrong? Please tell me."
"Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, it just happened and then he wouldn't talk to me and when he finally did he wasn't sure how he felt."
"Kagome, calm down. Please, tell me, what happened?"
"I….I…." Kagome mumbled the rest.
"What was that honey?"
Kagome whispered, "I made love to Inuyasha."
Her mother's eyes widened as understanding dawned. Wrapping her arms around her daughter she pulled her tight against her. "You love him, don't you?"
"More than anything," Kagome began to cry again, "but he's not sure how he feels. He told me that before I came through the well."
"Oh, honey." Her mother squeezed Kagome. "Honey, I need to ask you this. Did you take any precautions?"
Kagome's body went stiff as she thought to how long it had been since that night. She realized her period was late. Taking a deep breath she whispered, "No."
Her mother closed her eyes and continued to hold Kagome. "Kagome, no matter what, I'm here for you. We'll get through this together. How long has it been?"
Kagome sat and thought for a moment. "Five weeks."
"Have you had your period?"
"No."
Kagome's mother nodded her head and looked at her daughter's face. All she could see was a young girl, one who had enormous responsibilities, but who was still only a young girl. "Kagome, I'm going to go to the store and get a test. We need to know for sure."
Nodding, Kagome watched her mother leave her room. Laying back down on her bed, she stared at the ceiling. 'Could I really be pregnant? What am I going to do? What about school and how will my friends react? What about the shards and fighting Naraku? What about….Inuyasha?' Laying there, Kagome felt her body go numb as she thought of Inuyasha.
In the Fedual Era, Inuyasha finally got up after the spell wore off. Approaching the lip of the well he stared into the depths. 'You are such an idiot! Why can't you just tell her? You've seen how much she loves you. She's stayed by your side even though you have a responsibility to Kikyo. Why is it so hard? You know why, because you don't deserve her. You're just a half-breed and she's…she's perfect.' Sinking down beside the well Inuyasha tried to sort out his feelings. He knew she'd be upset. 'It's probably for the best to let her cool down for awhile.' He slowly drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Inuyasha was still waking up when the scent of Miroku hit his nose. "What do you want lecher?" he ground out.
::THWAP:: Miroku's shakujo came down on Inuyasha's head. "What are you still doing here? Why haven't you gone after Kagome?"
"Ouch! Damn lecher! I haven't gone because I wanted to give her some time to calm down. Now why'd you hit me?"
::THWAP:: The shakujo came down again. "You idiot. Do you have any idea how badly you've hurt Kagome? You should have gone after her immediately to apologize! If I'd known you were going to stay here I wouldn't have pulled Sango away. I would have let her smack you into the ground."
"Maybe you should let her." Inuyasha mumbled.
Sinking down next to Inuyasha, Miroku sighed. "Inuyasha self-pity is not going to fix this. You need to be a man and apologize to Kagome."
"You were listening yesterday, weren't you?" Inuyasha asked.
"If you must know, yes both Sango and I overheard. We've been concerned for the both of you. Kagome hasn't been acting like herself and we'd noticed the strain between the two of you."
Inuyasha stared at a leaf on the ground in front of him. "I never meant for this to happen. I don't even know how it happened. The whole thing, it was strange. I just, I know I don't deserve Kagome. She can't be with me. I'll bring her nothing but trouble."
Miroku sighed. "You really are an idiot Inuyasha. She loves you. She chooses to be with you, even in light of your flaws. Whether you deserve her or not, you're the one she wants. Besides, have you thought about the possible consequences of your actions?"
Inuyasha's brow furrowed and he looked at the monk. "What do you mean possible consequences of our actions?"
Miroku's brow quirked. "I don't know what exactly happened between the two of you, but from the way you were talking I would assume you and Kagome had se…."
Inuyasha growled cutting the monk off. Miroku swallowed and rethought what he was going to say. "I would assume you two had…relations…which could result in Kagome becoming pregnant."
Inuyasha's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. "P-p-pregnant?" His mind turned over the possibility. Shooting up he turned and jumped in the well.
Miroku stood and looked down into the well. Shaking his head he muttered, "Stupid hanyou, it's a miracle she ever fell for you to begin with." Humming, he turned and made his way back toward Kaede's village.
Woohoo! An update! After 6 months! I'm soooo sorry folks. Grad school turned out to be a whole lot more difficult than I expected. I'll try to update this one in tandem with my RK fic. However, I can make no guarantees as I have to figure out where exactly this story is gonna go. Suggestions are always welcome. Also please let me know about spellings. I'm usually pretty good about it, but I just finished my final 20-page paper for school today and I'm pretty burnt. Let me know what you thought of this! Til next time!