Disclaimer: I am not Rumiko Takashi…Though I'm sure that if I was I wouldn't be sitting here writing FANfiction…that is how you know that I am not her…unless of course she is a fan of herself…which if that's the case then that's just weird. Therefore, if I am a FAN then I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters or plot. Only the plot of this story. Thank you. *bows*
Love Me as I Am
Chapter 23- Don't Be Mad
He nodded slightly.
"When I was young, Kuneau would hang around with the other village kids. The girls mostly. As you know…" and this was painful for him to say, "they all called me a half-breed. The girls, boys, their fathers and mothers and their forefathers and mothers. I was the laughing stock of the village."
There was a pause.
"It's alright. You can continue." Kagome whispered soothingly.
"Kuneau defended me. She was feisty and she definitely stood up for what she believed in. We became friends. She was the only friend I hate besides my mother. The only one."
Kagome was afraid to ask.
"What happened?"
"A bunch of demon exterminators, not unlike Sango's family, came to the village and found me. They went after me, though I was young. They had no moral principles at all. One of them had a chain scythe like Kohaku. She went after me and…and she missed. She hit Kuneau instead…Kuneau had come to defend me."
"Oh…Inuyasha."
Inuyasha held his hand up to silence her.
"The villagers got angry and chased the exterminators away because they had now killed a person of their village. I was forced to bury her myself, though my hands were so small I could barely hold a shovel."
"Forced?"
"I wouldn't let anyone near her. Her grave lies east of the village in which I was born. I'm not even sure if the village still exists."
Kagome leaned more into Inuyasha and tilted her head up to look him in the eyes.
"You'll be alright tonight…won't you?"
She blinked, noticing he no longer had fangs, white hair, dog-ears, or claws.
"Inuyasha. Why didn't you--"
"Didn't want to worry you."
Kagome finished nursing Kuneau and laid her down in the crib.
"So…this baby's mission in life…is to live out the life your friend Kuneau never had."
Inuyasha nodded slowly.
"Then may it be so." Kagome whispered, climbing once again into bed with Inuyasha and laying on top of him. She ran her finger slowly down his cheek.
"I'm sorry you had to think of your childhood. Curiosity got the best of me this time. I hope you'll forgive me love."
"As always."
Kagome smiled and kissed his forehead.
"We're a lot safer here than in the Warring States Era."
Inuyasha nodded.
"No demons."
Kagome smiled.
"Right. And this time, you don't have to stay up all night to keep a lookout. You can sleep."
She moved her head up and kissed his hear.
"Ya know…dog-ears or not, they're still cute." she teased.
Inuyasha smirked as she put her arms around him, exhausted.
"Now…I think you should go to…sleep…" she yawned again as Inuyasha pulled the covers up around them.
She was out like a light before he had even reached over to turn out the lamp.
~*~*~
Suki sat on the end of her grandma's bed. She was done with her feeding for the night and just waiting for her grandma to come out of the bathroom.
She crawled in, taking Kuno with her.
A couple of minutes later Mrs. Higurashi got into bed.
"Good night grandma." whispered Suki.
"Good night darlings."
~*~*~
Trinity and Kanaye slept in the living room on the floor while Sango and Miroku slept on the couch, Kilala curled up on Sango's stomach.
Sota slept on the floor of his room and Kara got the bed. After only a couple minutes, everyone was asleep and the house was quiet.
~*~*~
Scrambled eggs and bacon smell filled the air as everyone woke up. Mrs. Higurashi had gone all out and make a huge breakfast for everyone.
Kagome and Suki ate quickly so they could excuse themselves and feed the babies.
Suki was finally getting used to the whole 'being a single mother' thing. She had been woken up at least 3 times during the night due to Kuno being hungry.
Inuyasha was the last to wake up and he sauntered out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes.
Kagome noticed he was still in human form even though the sun was rising.
"Inuyasha? How come you haven't changed back yet?"
Inuyasha blinked and felt for his ears.
"Oh yeah. At about my age the weak periods get longer. I don't know when I'll transform back. Sometime within the week most likely."
"Oh. I see. Well, it's a good thing we don't have Kikyo to worry about then because we'll be having to go back soon." Kagome said as she got Kuneau settled against her chest.
Inuyasha nodded.
~*~*~
Through the air flew Ah and Un, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken, and Kunara seated on their backs.
"Where are we going Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked curiously, glancing at Kunara who smiled.
"To see Inuyasha."
Kunara's smile faded. She had heard his name mentioned in battle by her mother. She had called the man with the white hair and the dog-ears by that name. That was the man she had been ordered to kill.
"What's wrong?" Rin wondered.
"N-nothing. I just…I don't want to see him…"
"You know him?"
Kunara nodded slowly.
"He killed my mother."
Sesshomaru shook his head.
"No. That was not the work of my younger half brother. That was the work of his son. His technique was nearly identical except for one thing…"
Kunara blinked, remember that Inuyasha had left the battle with the two women and that a substitute had come in. She though about it and confirmed to herself that that must have been his son.
"He did not use the windscar. It was not the work of Tetsusaiga."
~*~*~
Inuyasha took a seat and started to eat. For once he was the last one finished.
"Inuyasha? Is there something wrong?" Mrs. Higurashi wondered.
Inuyasha shook his head and stood up.
"No. I'm fine. Thank you." he mumbled, leaving the table and going back into the bedroom.
"What's wrong with him? He doesn't seem like himself. I mean…other than the fact that he doesn't have dog-ears and stuff. Either he's really tired or something's bothering him."
"Perhaps it has something to do with him not knowing when he'll change back. Maybe he feels helpless and is mad at himself because he's afraid he might not be able to defend you if something goes wrong." Miroku inquired, speaking to Kagome.
"Heh. Miroku. Maybe you should be a psychiatrist. Hm…maybe I should go talk to him."
"I would wait till you're done feeding. I'll watch the baby for you if you'd like."
Kagome nodded sweetly.
"Arigatou (thank you)."
Suki sat up straight against the wall behind her grandmother's bed and fed Kuno
"You like to eat, don't you little one?"
She smiled and tickled his chin.
"You eat like that and you won't be for long."
He was still a fairly small baby but he sure wasn't stunted in growth. He had grown a lot already in the past few days.
Kuno sighed contentedly in between gulps and wrapped his fingers around the dangling jewel.
"Arigatou sweetie. I had almost forgotten. We were going to give uncle Kanaye a surprise later." She whispered, smiling.
"It's not time yet though. We'll have to wait until the time is right. You'll have to be patient."
Kuno closed his eyes and stopped sucking, falling asleep immediately.
Suki laid him down flat on the bed beside her and covered him up with an infant's blanket Kagome had bought for him.
~*~*~
Kagome finished the feeding and handed Kuneau to Sango who smiled.
She rushed off into the bedroom to talk to Inuyasha.
"Miroku?" Sango asked, cradling Kuneau in her arms.
"Hm?"
"I miss having a baby."
Miroku was surprised.
"But I thought you said--"
"I lied. I do want another. I just wanted to wait a while. Miroku. You have NO idea and you never WILL have an idea of how much childbirth hurts."
"I guess not."
"But in the end…it's all worth it." Sango said smiling.
"Miroku. Let's have another."
Miroku smiled.
"Whatever you wish. You KNOW you have me wrapped around that finger of yours." He teased.
Sango nodded.
"Yes. And there you'll stay."
Miroku brought Sango into his lap. They now sat on the couch together, Sango still holding Kuneau.
~*~*~
"Inuyasha. Please tell me what's wrong? I want to know."
"It's nothing really." Inuyasha muttered stubbornly.
"Come on. I'm not THAT naïve. You know you can't hide it for long, not when your heart and mind are so vulnerable in this form.
Inuyasha's eyes widened then closed as he crossed his arms and turned his head, refusing to say another word.
Kagome sank onto the bed behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, laying her head on his back between his shoulder blades.
"Please tell me. Why are you so against me all of a sudden? I though you lo--"
"Kagome…"
"No. I understand."
A single tear slid off Kagome's cheek and down Inuyasha's back.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.
Kagome stood up to leave.
"C'mon Kagome. You think that just because I don't tell you something I don't love you? How dumb is that?"
"Well. That's really nice of you. I try to comfort you and now you say I'm dumb." Kagome snapped.
"I didn't say that!"
"That's the last time I--"
'Is she having PMS or what?!' Inuyasha thought.
He stood up and walked over to her, noticing then that she was crying.
"Kagome…please don't…" he pleaded, taking her wrist in his hand.
She pulled away and left the room, leaving him there alone, bewildered and confused.
He walked back over to the bed and pulled a little box out of his haori.
"Is it my fault she forgot today was our anniversary?" he wondered, glancing at the calendar on her wall and sighing.