Well I must say that I'm rather depressed as I write this next chapter. My boyfriend broke up with me, so I'm writing this to make me feel better. Anyways! I'm still getting complaints that the pearl is in Inu-Yasha's right eye. Well whether you believe me or not, I don't care anymore, I have the manga, I know what I see and it's on the left. When you look at it, it does look like it's on the right. Anyways, the story is taking a jump ahead to the beginning of December where the gang is ready to go on the Christmas vacation back to the mountains. Now as how far Kagome and Sango are with their pregnancy, in the last chapter the month was about mid July, Kagome is about seven months pregnant, and Sango is around eight and a half. With me so far? All right, let's begin then.
Chapter Forty-Five
Winter Wonderland
The full mooned shined brightly before the dark clouds covered it once again. Snow softly fell from the sky into the silver mane of the half demon outside. Inu-Yasha closed the door to the small shed and walked back into the house carrying more firewood into the house. Shippo was waiting at the front door, ready to open it for the half demon and then close it once he was inside.
"It's starting to get cold out there," sighed Shippo, locking the door.
Inu-Yasha simply nodded and immediately headed over to the fireplace where Kagome was sitting. The half demon had grabbed the most comfortable chair in the room for her to sit in, and a stool to put up her swollen ankles up on. Throwing a few logs into the fire, Inu-Yasha set the rest down and knelt by Kagome's side. She was asleep and had a warm blanket wrapped around her. She was wearing a red cotton nightgown, and a black furry robe. Her hair hung loosely down her shoulders, and on her feet made Inu-Yasha chuckle slightly since they were white dog slippers.
"When did she fall asleep?" asked Inu-Yasha, his eyes still on his mate.
"Just when you went outside to get the fire wood, she kept mumbling something about over protecting, pig head mate," smiled Shippo, ready to run if he needed to.
Inu-Yasha ignored the comment and rested his head softly on Kagome's swelling tummy. He could hear the pup's heartbeat beating along with Kagome's, and smiled as he heard it move within her womb.
"So are we all going to the cabin?" asked the fox.
Inu-Yasha turned to the fox and shushed him before whispering, "Yes . . . were all going. Kagome wants to leave sometime tomorrow,"
"Where will I be sleeping?" asked Shippo.
Inu-Yasha held back his growl since this was the fourth time today he would be telling the fox this, "Kagome and I will be sharing a room, Sesshoumaru and Rin will also have a room, Sango and Miroku will have the room across from ours, and Kohaku, Souta, and you will be sharing a room as well,"
Shippo nodded, "Well, I'm heading to bed, "The fox headed to the small stair case and scampered up to his room.
Inu-Yasha smiled since the fox was finally gone and went back to what he was doing before.
After the incident with his mother's soul, they had returned back to Kaede's village and started working on the houses again. Inu-Yasha had made a fairly large house for him and his mate. There was a small upstairs that had Shippo's small room, and another for storage, but most of the rooms were down stairs. The front door led right into the sitting room, which had a few chairs and couches from Kagome's time. Inu-Yasha had a lot of fun getting all that through the well. Then there were two doorways, one led into the kitchen, and the other led into a long hall, which led to the other rooms. Kagome's and Inu-Yasha's room was at the very end, then the nursery for the baby, next was Kagome's private room where she would do some sewing, but mostly she kept pictures and made plenty of photo albums. The next two rooms were spare bedrooms for when they had company.
As for Sango and Miroku's house, the monk had really out done himself since the house was bigger than Inu-Yasha's. There were a lot of bedrooms, a hug kitchen and sitting room. When Sango learned that there were over ten bedrooms, she grew a little nervous since Miroku had actually meant he wanted a lot of kids.
Inu-Yasha stared at the old grandfather clock and realized it was almost midnight. Even though he hated some of the modern day tools, the clock he didn't mind as much. Making sure the fire was fairly low so it wouldn't burn the house down, Inu-Yasha carefully picked Kagome up and carried her to their bedroom. The king size bed was covered in layers of fuzzy blankets and furs to keep them warm on the winter nights. Setting her down on his side of the bed, he pulled back the covers and fluffed her pillows to make her more comfortable. Going back to his side, he removed her black robe and dog slippers before sliding his mate on her side of the bed and pulling the covers back over her. Nodding his head in satisfaction, he left her for just a moment to make sure all the lanterns and lights were out before returning to his room. Pulling off his clothes and setting them on the chair near by, he went to the window first to make sure the blind and window was completely closed. Inu-Yasha crawled into the bed, snuggling closer to Kagome to keep her warm. He prayed silently that he wouldn't be forced to sleep on the couch again if Kagome started moving in her sleep, but for now she was still, breathing softly. Kissing Kagome softly on the temple, his hands moved to her swollen womb, "Better not do a lot of kicking tonight . . . I don't feel like sleeping on the couch again," the half demon whispered to the unborn pup. His hand remained on his mate's stomach as he buried his face into Kagome's soft silky hair. Inu-Yasha's ears twitched slightly as he heard the wind start to blow harder, and could hear the wind chimes outside. Closing his eyes, Inu-Yasha's last thoughts of what would happen tomorrow.
Sesshoumaru stood leaned against the horse carriage as Jaken put some of their traveling bags into the back.
"I'm leaving you and Jarlarg in charge while I'm gone," said Sesshoumaru.
Jaken simply nodded, but the lord could smell that the imp was rather excited he would be looking over the western lands for a month. Rin came walking out of the castle with Jarlarg by her side. Sesshoumaru noticed that the old demon was moving slower that he usually did. Must be because of the weather thought Sesshoumaru.
"Are we ready to go?" asked Rin, glancing at the castle and then back at Sesshoumaru.
"I believe we are,"
Rin smiled and climbed into the carriage, with Sesshoumaru right behind her.
"What should we do if there if there is any sort of trouble we can't handle?" asked Jaken.
"You will ask for the north wolf tribes help, ask for Kouga," said Sesshoumaru through the small window. Giving a nod to the driver and closing the curtain on the carriage window, they were off. Rin sat close to Sesshoumaru with her head resting on the lord's shoulder.
"Tired?" asked the lord.
"A little," yawned Rin.
"Then sleep . . . we'll reach my brothers village by tonight,"
Rin nodded and snuggled more into Sesshoumaru's shoulder, using it as a pillow. Sesshoumaru let a smile slip as he glanced out the window, they were moving at a fast speed since of course demon horses moved faster than normal horses. Feeling sleep tugging at his eyes as well, Sesshoumaru leaned against the soft velvet cushions of the carriage and fell asleep as well.
Inu-Yasha trudged through the snow as he carried Kagome in his arms. Shippo was sitting on his left shoulder and making sure none of their traveling bags fell in the snow. The half demon had a rather large bump on his chin for being sat so many times by Kagome. Inu-Yasha had made a big fuss of her walking in the snow and wanted to carry her to Miroku's hut, but Kagome had screamed back at him that she was fine and he was making to big of a deal out of this. After being sat seven times and not giving up, Kagome finally gave in and allowed her mate to carry her. Shippo had had a laughing fit over the whole incident, but now things had calmed down. The snow had stopped falling and the wind had stopped blowing earlier in the morning. They were now heading over to Sango and Miroku's to stay there until Sesshoumaru and Rin arrived sometime during the evening. However, Sango and Kagome would be going through the well around noon so they could rest at Mrs. Higurashi's house. Of course Sango and Kagome had made a big deal over the situation saying they were perfectly fine, but after ten sits that time and Miroku's persuasion, they agreed that they would leave earlier. As they followed the familiar path, Kagome was softly grumbling under her breath.
"I love you too," said Inu-Yasha, since his sensitive ears had picked up the 'insensitive jerk' comment.
"Oh . . . you heard that?" asked Kagome.
Inu-Yasha smiled, "You've been calling me names ever since we left the house,"
Kagome frowned and snuggled closer to Inu-Yasha's shoulder, "I'm sorry,"
The half demon chuckled and kissed Kagome's forehead, "Don't worry about it, your pregnant so you get mood swings. At least your not puking all the time like you were a month ago,"
"If you weren't carrying me right now I would say the 's' word," hissed Kagome.
"Hmm, maybe I should carry you all the time then," chuckled Inu-Yasha.
Kagome lightly slapped Inu-Yasha's shoulder and closed her eyes. She was quite exhausted from yelling at Inu-Yasha this morning, and her whole body hurt as well, which didn't make matters any better.
"Am I going to go with Kagome and Sango too?" asked Shippo, talking for the first time in minutes.
"I suppose runt, and Kohaku and Kirara will be going with you," sighed Inu-Yasha.
"Yeah! I'll get to play with Souta,"
Inu-Yasha just simply nodded his head and turned at the fork in the path to get to Sango's faster. He could tell that Kagome was starting to get angry again, and didn't feel like getting sat again, although he was getting pretty used to be sat at least once a day. After a brief explanation from Kagome's mother, he found out about her mood swings, and how pregnant women could be a little touchy about certain things.
Inu-Yasha was rather happy that they were going back to the cabin for Christmas, and couldn't wait to teach Miroku how to ski or skate. Watching that monk fall on his ass would be quite entertaining. Walking past a couple of trees, they finally saw Miroku's large house near by. Inu-Yasha started to walk a little faster before Kagome could decide how many times she would sit him when he would set her down. As they neared the house, Miroku stood on the porch and waved to them, walking towards them in his usual monk clothes.
"Can I help you with anything?" asked the monk.
"No, I got things under control,"
Miroku glanced at Kagome and giggled, "How many times did she sit you before she would let you carry her,"
"Can it monk," growled Inu-Yasha.
Once they reached the house, Kagome was set down and Inu-Yasha's back was spared form being sit as Kagome marched into the house.
"Did she sleep well last night?" asked Miroku, walking inside.
"She did for most of the night, but early in the morning the pup started to do a little kick boxing. I swear, only a boy would be that much trouble,"
Miroku paused and turned around, "You mean she hasn't told you?"
"Told me what?" asked Inu-Yasha.
"That you're having a girl,"
"How the hell do you know that monk?"
"I can't believe she didn't tell you. It happened when you were going to your old village and . . ." the poor monk was cut off as a bucket was smashed over his head by his wife. Sango looked angrier than ever with Kagome standing by her side. Sango's womb was a bit bigger than Kagome's, and laughter could be heard from the kitchen, which was obviously Kohaku's.
"You jerk! It was supposed to be a surprise for Inu-Yasha, now you've ruined it!" screamed Sango, stomping into the kitchen with Shippo following her. Instead of tending to his injured fried, Inu-Yasha crossed over to Kagome.
"Is it true? We're really having a girl?"
Kagome nodded, "I told the doctor I didn't want to know, but she accidentally let it slip,"
Inu-Yasha smiled and kissed his mate on the forehead, "As long as the babies healthy, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl,"
"So what are you going to name her?"
"What?"
"Well you get to name her, so any ideas?"
Inu-Yasha thought for a minute, "I'll think about it while were at the cabin,"
Kagome nodded and then headed into the kitchen to look after her friend. Inu-Yasha then helped Miroku to his feet, "You alright there?"
Miroku simply nodded, his hands firmly on his head as he dealt with the pounding pain throbbing in his skull.
"You might want to get used to it, you would not believe how many times Kagome sits me in a day,"
"However you deserve it half the time," hissed Miroku.
Inu-Yasha simply growled at the monk before heading into the kitchen.
The rest of the morning was quiet as Miroku packed his and Sango's things for the trip to the cabin. Inu-Yasha had managed to borrow one of the carts from the villagers since Sango and Kagome refused to be carried by their husbands this time. Inu-Yasha then carried Kagome and Sango safely through the well and made sure they were comfortable in the Higurashi house. They were greeted by hugs and kisses from Mrs. Higurashi, and the baby conversations began of clothes and how they planned to do the nursery. Inu-Yasha of course made sure Sango and Kagome were comfortable and safe before he himself was dragged into the conversation. Traveling back through the well, Inu-Yasha grabbed Kohaku, Shippo, and the remaining luggage before heading back. Souta was happy to have Kohaku to play with, and Shippo immediately headed for the video games. Inu-Yasha made it strictly clear that Kagome and Sango could not go outside or upstairs, but that just earned that half demon a belly flop to the flour, and as the spell started to wear off, Inu-Yasha made a mental note that maybe he should shut up half the time.
When he returned to the past, Inu-Yasha and the monk returned to Miroku's home to make sure everything was all right before they left the place for a month. It was now later in the afternoon, and the two decided to take a small nap since they doubted they would get much sleep tonight.
As the sun started to set, Sesshoumaru's carriage finally arrived before dark.
"About time you got here," grumbled Inu-Yasha.
Sesshoumaru just rolled his eyes and grabbed the bags from the carriage. Rin gave instructions to the driver on when they would be returning before the carriage took off back towards the west.
"Are we ready to go?" asked Inu-Yasha, tapping his foot in the snow.
"Yup, were ready to go," chirped Rin, pulling Sesshoumaru by the arm as they followed Inu-Yasha and Miroku to the well.
As they traveled through time Inu-Yasha warned Sesshoumaru that Sango and Kagome would be a little moody during the trip, however the lord didn't seemed worried at all by this news.
When they entered to Higurashi house, Kagome and Sango were fast asleep upstairs while Souta, Kohaku, and Shippo were still playing video games. Mrs. Higurashi took the men aside and explained she had already bought all their Christmas gifts today from the women, however they would have to go shopping some time on the trip to get their gifts for their mates. Sesshoumaru and Rin at first weren't quite sure why they needed gifts in the first place, but after a quick explanation from Miroku they caught on quickly.
When ten o'clock rolled around, everyone headed to bed since tomorrow was going to be quite the busy day. Mrs. Higurashi had rented them a van to take to the cabin, and had packed all their clothes and supplies into it as well. She also gave Inu-Yasha some money for them to buy food since there wasn't any room left in the van. Soon everyone was fast asleep, and there thoughts of tomorrow playing in there minds.
TBC . . .
I'm sorry this chapter was a little short, but hey it's better than nothing right? I'm afraid with school ending the updates are going to be a little slower. That is unless we get a new computer. You see I can update from my house, but it takes me forever to type, but I guess It's better than no update at all. Well just review and tell me what you think
Lynns