CHAPTER THREE

x.

"Inuyasha?"

Large golden eyes blinked up at her. A pointed dog ear twitched behind a tuft of silver hair. And Kagome's stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot as she pulled away the folds of Inuyasha's red clothing. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming.

There was a silver-haired, dog-eared baby lying under Inuyasha's clothes.

"I-Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered. "Is that... YOU?"

The baby blinked at her again, then raised a small chubby fist over his head. He made an odd, high-pitched noise. And a look of sheer horror crossed his tiny face as he looked at his tiny, naked body in the full sunlight, without the clothes draped over him.

An earsplitting wail cut through the quiet forest.

"Inuyasha? It IS you!" Kagome cried, scooping up the hysterical baby. "Inuyasha, it's gonna be okay. I'll figure out something. Just calm down!"

Inuyasha would not be calmed. He just howled louder, twisting in Kagome's arms. Tears were trickling from the corners of his eyes, but he didn't look unhappy -- he looked enraged. Kagome rocked him awkwardly, trying to think of what to do. But what COULD she do? What had happened, to make him transform into a little baby?

Then a horrible thought came into Kagome's mind. Inuyasha freaked out when he saw himself, she thought. Does that mean he's still got his adult mind inside a baby's body? His outraged expression and howls of anger made her think that he did.

Kagome quickly grabbed the folds of Inuyasha's clothing and wrapped them around his tiny body, even though he definitely didn't fit them anymore. The half-demon stopped howling long enough to stare at her, and hiccup tearfully. Kagome cuddled him against her shoulder, resisting the urge to rumple his head. This is awful, she thought. Poor Inuyasha...

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something else -- a dark mass of cloth. Miroku's robes. Kagome felt her heart sink as she used her free hand to pull the robes away. Underneath was another naked baby boy, blinking at the sudden burst of light. He had solemn dark eyes, rumpled dark hair... and rosary beads wound loosely around one clenched fist.

"Miroku?" Kagome asked in disbelief.

Miroku stared at her in equal disbelief. Inuyasha just made a muffled growling sound, before starting to shriek again.

As Kagome reached over to touch Miroku, her hand caught on something. It was another one of those thin threads, with little pieces of paper tied to them. Talismans, or barriers or whatever. Kagome's shocked brain couldn't remember exactly what they were called. What were they doing here in the middle of the woods?

Inuyasha's shrill yells interrupted her thoughts. "It's gonna be okay, calm down," Kagome said, patting him on the back. It only made Inuyasha shriek louder, apparently letting her know that he would NOT calm down and that it was NOT okay. His little clenched feet were kicking her in the stomach, and his face was turning bright red.

"Kagome?"

Kagome glanced back. Two figures were stepping out of the woods -- Sango and Shippo. "Sorry I took so long. Shippo got lost in the w--oh!" One of the strings caught at Sango's leg, almost tripping her. She grabbed a tree trunk and regained her balance.

"Be careful," Kagome warned her. "They're all over the place."

"What was all that noise just now?" Then Sango saw the little silver head and flushed face, peering angrily over Kagome's shoulder. "Is that... that can't possibly be... Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha made a noise between a squeal and a snarl.

"Miroku too," Kagome said, pointing at the second baby. "We have a serious problem on our hands!"

Inuyasha snuffled in agreement.

TO BE CONTINUED