Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me

Chapter Sixteen: Rejection

Day Twenty – Seven

Babies, I've noticed, tend to make everyone think of starting their own families. It doesn't matter if the baby is someone else's or even if it's an electronic doll. Holding a baby makes you think of what it is going to be like holding your own baby. It has been on my mind almost every minute of the day for the past twenty-seven days. But then again, I guess that was the whole point of this experience.

I think I've decided that I want to wait until I have more patience and energy… and stamina… and have had all the sleep I could possibly want. It couldn't hurt to wait until cloning was perfected either so one of me could sleep while the other watches the baby.

The responsibility is staggering, not to mention the long term commitment involved. At least eighteen years! Sometimes more! Plus if I want the kid to go to college… I can't even think about the amount of money that is going to take. I probably should have already been saving for it.

The anxiety is making me break out in hives.

Kagome sighed. This project was going to be the death of her yet. She looked up, hoping to find Inuyasha up on his usual tree limb, but was disappointed. Now where did he run off to? Shippo said he saw him headed towards the well... but that just didn't make any sense at all.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Sixty-Five more days, he chanted silently, sixty-five more days.

Fighting monsters isn't a big deal. In fact, it kinda fun. Plus it is a great way to get rid of extra stress. Like when you want to tear a pervert to shreds for standing a little too close to the girl you unofficially claimed and he KNOWS IT and you knew she'd be ticked off if you sliced him up even the teensiest bit. So tearing up a few demons instead of friends kept you out of trouble. Mostly. Not that it's possible to ever be completely out of trouble, but you learn to dodge the big fights when you can. If you happen to be in the mood to dodge fights. Sometimes even that is a little fun, depending on who you are fighting with and what/who you are fighting about.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, there were no demons for him to fight that morning to deal with his stress. Sometime during the middle of the night he had come to a very big decision. He was about to do something that was scarier than anything else he had ever faced before.

But where was his courage? Where is the man who shrugs off a hole in the stomach and refers to almost having his arm cut off as a flesh wound? Where is the man who jumps fearlessly into battle without a second thought? Who is this person sitting… no… HIDING in the branches of a tree too scared to face one girl? Okay okay, so she has strong miko powers and could purify him to sparkly dust… and sure she has a temper that can make even the bravest warrior cower… but she was still just one measly mortal girl.

Inuyasha wiped his sweaty hands on the fire rat robe. Sweating? I'm sweating? It was ridiculous, really. It wasn't like he hadn't been planning on doing this for a long time. It wasn't like he hadn't planned the speech a thousand times a night, complete with a list of good arguments why she should agree if she got it into her head to be uncertain.

1. I will always protect you. So you'll always be safe. You won't have to worry.

2. I'm a good hunter and can provide for you.

3. I'm a good leader. I've kept our weird pack together pretty well. Who else could have led a group of two demons, a half demon, a demon slayer, an untrained miko, and a lecherous monk?

4. You won't have to go to that school thing anymore. You can stay here and we can visit your family if you want.

5. We make a good team. We fight well together.

6. Shippo needs a mother and if you leave he will feel like he has lost his family all over again.

Okay, he admitted to himself, that was might have to be a last resort. He knew it was emotional blackmail, but he didn't care. He'd use every weapon he could think of to get Kagome to agree to stay with him. All's fair after all.

7. You promised you'd stay with me for as long as I wanted.

8. I'm a lord, so technically if you mated me you'd really be Lady Kagome. Titles are good, right?

Okay, he admitted again, so I don't have lands or money to go with the title of 'Lord Inuyasha'. Big deal. It still counts. He didn't figure that one would be a deal breaker with her, so he mentally shoved it farther down the list.

9. I'm strong and fast, which make for a good protector.

10. I have a good sense of smell that can find us food, water, shelter, and detect danger.

11. We trust each other. And trust is really important. The most important. Well… maybe not 'most'… but its up there.

12. I can… hey… where is that girl going…?

The internal list was temporarily put on hold as the miko waved to Sango, who was now holding a crying Mikomi, and walked down the path. She had her towel and her little bag of bathing junk. He growled in Sango's direction. It was the demon slayer's job to protect Kagome when she bathed. Inuyasha was furious! Didn't she know what kind of dangers were out there for a woman bathing alone?

"Oi, Sango!"

The demon slayer didn't bat an eyelash as the red clad half demon appeared behind her. She focused on checking Mikomi to see if her diaper was dry. It was. She ignored the growling as she continued to look for a reason for the doll's mood. In fact, it almost looked like the demon slayer was amused.

"Sango!"

"Oh, hi Inuyasha."

Growl. "Where is Kagome?"

Sango bounced the electronic doll and patted its back. "Oh, she was tired and went to go soak in the hot spring."

Snarl. "Alone?"

The woman actually smirked. "Someone had to watch the baby. Miroku went to go meditate and Shippo went to make sure that meditation did not involve young lady's bottoms. They promised to bring back lunch though."

"You let Kagome go ALONE?"

Sango shrugged. "She needed some time away from the baby. Mikomi has been very fussy lately." And that was an understatement. "If you are worried about her YOU should go keep watch over her."

Grrrrrrr. "I ain't no pervert."

She rolled her eyes. "I did not mean that you should watch her, you idiot. I meant that you could go and keep an ear out. Be close by in case she needed protection."

As he gave her a disgusted snort and bounded off in the direction he knew Kagome had gone he could have sworn he heard her say "sucker". The comment didn't make sense so he shrugged it off. Sometimes it was best not to try to understand women.

Inuyasha knew he had two choices. He could sneak around and hide while Kagome bathed. That way she wouldn't know he was watching… er… protecting. However, if he got caught… again… things were not likely to be very pleasant. Visions of an Inuyasha shaped hole in the ground filled his head. The other choice was to call out her name and hope she didn't 'sit' him as he explained why he was there.

"Kagoooome!"

No answer. He cursed the lousy human hearing she had the misfortune to be born with. He hoped that their pups would inherit HIS hearing. For the first time, Inuyasha felt comfortable with the direction his thoughts were going. She would say yes. They would be mates. And they would have pups.

They would.

Really.

At least… he hoped so. His palms started sweating again as he realized that there was a teeny tiny miniscule chance that he might not be able to convince her. He wondered how long she would be mad at him if he 'accidentally' destroyed the well…

"KaaaaGoooooMeeeeeee!"

Abruptly, Inuyasha skidded to a stop and sniffed the air. No doubt about it, there was the stink of wolf in the air. The dog demon cursed violently and took off, desperation making his feet fly.

With his sword drawn, Inuyasha leapt into the clearing next to the hot spring. His eyes bled red as he saw Kouga holding Kagome's hands close to his chest. It was absolutely the last straw. Not even Kagome's soft heart would be able to stop him from killing the wolf this time. The demon refused to learn, so it was up to him to teach the wolf a very permanent lesson.

He opened his mouth to scream.

"INUYASHA!"

Alas, Kagome was quicker. And that tone of voice meant only one thing. The hanyou braced himself for impact, his war cry dying in his throat. He landed a couple of yards away from them.

Inuyasha waited for the rosary to pull him to the ground. She's so stupid! I'm protecting her! Why won't she let me protect her? Does she have any idea how it makes me look? Of course Kouga is going to keep coming after her if he doesn't think that I'm a weak mate! She just doesn't get it! Why the h… wait… she never said 'sit'…

Confused that his inner dialogue had gone on so long without being slammed into the ground, he looked at the miko. Her eyes were begging him. Begging him to be still so she could talk with the wolf demon. Begging him to stand down. Something inside of him died. She wants him… she really wants him… Her eyes were much more effective than the rosary ever was.

The dog demon sat where he was, his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. He would let her have her say, but he wasn't letting her go without a fight. She wasn't meant to be with Kouga.

So what if the wolf had a flattering tongue, surely girls weren't swayed by pretty words. So what if the wolf brought her gifts sometimes, surely that wouldn't win her heart. So what if he told her since the day he met her that he loved her. That one was the dumbest of all. The guy only knew her for a few hours, and had only taken her because she could sense the shards. He doesn't know a single thing about her! Nothing important and real, anyhow. Nothing that made Kagome… well… Kagome. Surely she wasn't stupid enough to think he could have possibly have honestly meant that he loved her. Please don't be stupid, Kagome.

Inuyasha was too busy trying to send telepathic messages to the miko to pay much attention to what the wolf was saying to him. It wasn't like it was important. Probably just the same old insults. He watched as Kagome finally took her eyes away from his and focused back on the wolf. She took a deep breath, like she usually does when she's about to make a long winded speech. Though he doubted this one was an explanation of a homework assignment or a list of reasons why she needed to back to her time or needed to stop and take another confounded bath.

"Kouga."

She waited until she had the wolf's attention before continuing. "I'm flattered that you care about my welfare. I am. But you have to understand that I don't belong to you. I'm not your woman. Nor am I your mate, or even potential mate. I'm sorry, but I don't feel that way about you. I don't love you."

He opened his mouth to try and change her mind, but she put her finger on his lips, silencing him. Inuyasha growled fiercely. No part of her should EVER be touching his lips. The cocky look he got from Kouga made him want to explode.

"You are our ally in battle. You help us in our fight against Naraku. And believe me when I say that your help is greatly appreciated." Inuyasha chose to ignore the glare she sent in his direction that threatened death if he spoke his mind. Stroking the rotten lousy demon's ego wasn't improving Inuyasha's mood.

"I like you. I consider you my friend. And I would like to keep you as my friend. But I can't if you keep saying things like that to me." Inuyasha wished he had been here for the conversation she had with him that brought this on. Though, he realized, he might have killed the wolf and missed the show. "You can't call me your woman. You can't call me your mate. As much as I would mourn the loss of our friendship, I can't continue to let you try to claim me. I can never be yours, and when you say those things it only makes things more difficult."

She gave the demon a stern look. "I also happen to know that most of the time you say these things to intentionally make Inuyasha mad. I'm afraid I can't let you keep doing that. It has to end, Kouga."

"Kagome…"

Taking another deep breath, she said, "I apologize if I ever led you to believe that there could ever be something between us other than friendship." She sounded a bit too sincere for the dog demon's taste.

"But… Kagome…"

"It's best that you go now."

The wolf's jaw was set, and his icy blue eyes were glaring at Inuyasha. "I won't give up on you, Kagome."

"You have to."

"I can't. And I won't."

Kagome inhaled slowly. It was one of the new temper controlling techniques that Inuyasha had seen her experimenting with for the past several months. So far it was working pretty well. Silently he counted to ten slowly as she let out her breath and opened her eyes back up.

"You don't understand, Kouga. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. It will end."

For a moment Kouga seemed speechless. Suddenly Inuyasha's whole day seemed infinitely brighter. Heck, this little scene would keep him amused for many many years to come. He didn't even bother trying to feel sorry for the wolf.

"I will fight him for you."

Kagome's lips quirked. When did she start smirking? "You really don't want to do that. Inuyasha won't be pulling punches anymore. And after today, I won't ask him to. I'm very serious about this."

Even if he had wanted to, Inuyasha couldn't have stopped the greedy grin on his face. Kagome was giving him the 'okay' to take down Kouga if he tries to claim her again. FINALLY he was going to be able to do this the right way. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation. It was really too bad she said 'after today'.

With relish he watched as Kouga finally understood. He was defeated. Rejected. HA! If he had any sort of compassion towards the miko stealing wolf he might have offered a word or two of comfort. But that wasn't gonna happen! It was taking all of his self control not to jump up and gloat. And he only wasn't gloating because he wanted to keep Kagome in a good mood. Having her all ticked off would completely ruin the wonderful moment he was having.

"Ayame loves you, Kouga. And she has been waiting for you for such a long time." Of course she had to ruin the moment anyhow. Stupid soft human heart. "Give her a chance. Give both of you a chance at happiness."

After a couple more pathetic looks, Kouga finally turned to leave. He made the heartbroken lovey dovey eyes at her before speeding away.

"You meant that, right?"

Kagome picked up her bathing supplies where they had been dropped earlier. Her cheeks were a little pink as she turned from him. "Of course I did."

"About time."

She sauntered over towards the water and kicked off her shoes. Bending down she started rolling one of her socks down her leg. Inuyasha was frozen to his spot. Is she going to… here… in front of me…? Should he stay? Should he look away? Would she 'sit' him if he didn't? Was he supposed to?

Noticing she had an audience, Kagome turned her head to give him an amused look. She stood up, placing on hand on her hip and gave him another smirk. She was getting pretty good at smirking.

"You aren't going to watch are you?"

Backing up hastily, Inuyasha began to sputter. "I AIN'T NO PERVERT!" He became nothing but a red blur as he leapt across the clearing and into the tree. He opened his mouth to tell her that he wouldn't want to be watching her anyhow, but decided that wouldn't be in his best interest.

"I can't see you," he assured her, "I'm just listening."

"Listening?" He blushed at the amused tone of voice she used.

"In case there's trouble. And since you're always getting in trouble, I thought I'd save myself the long trip from camp," he huffed. "Besides, Sango isn't here to protect you."

"Ooohhh."

Surprisingly enough, she didn't 'sit' him or try to make him leave. In fact, for most of the bath she ended up talking to him. They didn't talk about important things, but they just talked. And it felt good. It felt right. Inuyasha was glad that Sango was taking care of Mikomi. It was a great day.

A perfect day.

Only one thing could have made it more perfect, but the dog demon decided that maybe he shouldn't press his luck. After all, he had sixty-five more days to wait. Then again...

Of course, the option was taken away from him when the perfect moment was broken when they heard a baby wail. Inuyasha sighed. Then he heard Kagome's name being called. He wasn't sure if he should throttle Sango for taking away his chance, or thank her. Once the woman made it to the hot spring he gave her a look and took off.

"Kagome! I can't get Mikomi to stop crying!"

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Sometimes doing the right thing is a pain in the keister. Life was easier when I could wave things off or ignore them. I hate dealing with the yucky stuff. Not yucky as in guts laying around that you have to dig around in while looking for something, but yucky as in telling someone something they don't want to hear while trying not to hurt their feelings.

I took a nice long bath today. Yeah, I know you probably don't care or see how it's relevant to the assignment, but it was the highlight of my month. It was nice and warm and very relaxing. Lucky for me that a friend offered to watch Mikomi for me. I've always loved hot baths, but I don't think I've ever enjoyed one quite this much. The only thing missing was some relaxing music and maybe a few candles. Aaah. I wonder if my long bath days will be numbered when I have a real baby.

By the way, did you program my baby to have colic? Do all the babies cry non-stop? Do you hate us all or just me specifically? Is it possible to get addicted to aspirin?

Kagome Higurashi