Yet again it's time for your Mahou update. I'm sorry if you wanted it earlier, but this is the first chance I've gotten to be honest. Well, I'm thankful for all your reviews! Dang, I love you guys! (like friends...)
Oh, this is the first chap that doesn't have a 'T' in the title (I could turn it into THE recovery, but I think that 6 T chaps is enough right now).
Dis: Inuyasha owns me, so it's kinda hard for me to own him. Rumiko Takahashi owns him. Get over it and stop asking.
Mahou
Chapter 7: Recovery
Kagome and her family (with a yeah, sure from Inuyasha) decided that the hanyou should have his surgery the next day. During the wait, Inuyasha continued to amaze the doctors (of course, they never met a hanyou before, either).
They hadn't expected him to be up, alert, and talking for days, let alone hours. They also expected him to have difficulty breathing because of his punctured lungs, but he showed no signs of any of that.
Kagome actually giggled a little at their stupidity, but shut up when she remembered how stupid she had been the first time he got hurt. That moment made the most embarrassing moments list. Big time. She almost pulled his shirt off before he explained his healing powers to her.
During the day that followed, Kagome and her family did their best to explain everything about surgery and hospitals. The day of the surgery, Kagome's family left about 15 minutes early, and took Mahou home with them so Kagome had time purely for her and Inuyasha.
"Nervous?" she whispered to him.
"Not really."
"Not even a little?"
"Oh…the thought of being asleep while someone is hurting me to help me doesn't make me even slightly nervous."
"So you are?"
"Yeah." He looked down at the bed as Kagome put her hand on his shoulder.
"Inuyasha…I haven't known you for more than a year…but at least you're honest. That's all that matters." She looked up as the doctors came. "See you when you wake up." The miko gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.
The doctors gave Inuyasha some sort of medicine, but Inuyasha just let them do what they had to. If Kagome trusted them, so could he. But he suddenly felt a bit light headed…well, more sleepy and ditsy than dizzy.
"Rate your pain on a scale of one to ten," one of the doctors said. Suddenly, Inuyasha thought he lost it. He had no control over what was coming out of his mouth.
"Well…My mom died when I was 5, my brother poked me in the eye…then I got a sword. Then we met this guy who was evil and he wore purple stuff on his eyes…and he tried to kill me…and then this one girl gave my girl a potion and then my girl was pregnant…I always wanted to ask her to have my pup…"
He went on like that for a good 5 minutes before they gave him the sleep medicine that made him shut up. That he was grateful for. As he shut his eyes, he almost said "And if I die, tell my girl that I love her even though she had to carry my pup because she was pregnant from a drink," but it came out more like "It will die, I love my girl, and she had a puppy."
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Inuyasha woke up, but kept his eyes shut. The light was getting through and giving him a big headache. A quick sniff told him that the entire Higurashi family was there. And Kagome was holding Mahou and sitting at his bedside…And it was at that moment he realized Kagome was also holding his hand.
"Those damned doctors didn't tell you what I was babbling, did they?" he mumbled.
"Nice to see you to," Kagome replied. "The medicine?"
"Yeah…" He opened one eye and looked at her.
"And why do they always make the fire so bright…and how?"
"It's called fluorescent light bulbs. Not a fire. That's how and why…who knows why. They just like giving people headaches when their sick, I guess." He could hear the sarcasm in her voice.
"Yeah." She squeezed his hand before moving hers to his face.
"So you're feeling better?" Sota said, almost jumping up and down with excitement.
"Yeah kid." Inuyasha rested his other hand on the kid's head. He was still tired. With a little help from Kagome and Sota, he managed to sit up. After a quick growl at the cast on his leg, he turned his attention to the baby in Kagome's arms.
"She missed you," Kagome whispered as she put Mahou in the hanyou's arms.
"How long was I out exactly?"
"About 9 hours…you sleep a lot." He put his hand up to his daughter's face and she grabbed his finger and stared at it like it was the most amazing thing in the world. "Hey…Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"Do you think she'll grow fangs and claws?"
"When her baby teeth come in, her baby fangs will join them. And the claws should grow in after about two or three months…small, weak claws…but claws."
"Ah." She leaned over and he blushed just from her closeness as she giggled over the little girl that was now sucking on Inuyasha's pinkie finger. "It's amazing how a baby can turn a normal acting adult into a bumbling idiot."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not stupid…I've heard you talking to her…" Then Kagome lowered her voice so only Inuyasha could hear, "And my mom and gramps." He smiled as they both watched the little girl.
Mrs. Higurashi shooed the reluctant boys in her family out before following so Inuyasha could have some alone time with his family.
Kagome's comment was proven as Inuyasha became an instant wide-eyed child as Mahou hiccupped. She took the baby back in her arms and Inuyasha watched with pure innocence in his eyes.
That was something she didn't see often, but it told her that, inside, he was still just a child himself. Sure, he was considered an adult. And sure, he acted tough and strong. But it was in moments like these that he showed what was deep inside.
Mahou Akumu burped, and Kagome laid her back in Inuyasha's arms. Again, the little child looked up at her father in awe.
"She really likes you," Kagome whispered into his ear.
"Yeah…" Kagome sat and watched the hanyou with stars in his eyes. This was all it took to take down the almighty Inuyasha. Just a small baby girl with black puppy ears.
He watched as she played with his two fingers for a good 10 minutes before she began to fall asleep. "And now is when you should sing to her…"
"Sing?" Inuyasha blinked a bit stupidly as Kagome started gently singing.
"Sleep, little baby, don't say a word…Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird…" Inuyasha closed his eyes and found the simple lullaby putting him to sleep as well.
"…You'll be the sweetest baby in town…" Kagome finished. She smiled as she brushed the hanyou's hair out of his face and made sure that the baby was safe in his arms while the two slept. "And you've always been the sweetest demon around," Kagome whispered to the hanyou.
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The doctors only kept Inuyasha at the hospital for two days after his surgery. When he was allowed to go 'home', Mrs. Higurashi found the old car (that hadn't been used in forever) so he wouldn't have to walk all the way home.
Even though the doctors insisted on crutches to help him, he refused them. Instead, he just balanced his weight carefully on Kagome so neither of them had too much to handle.
"Inuyasha," Kagome started as her mother held Mahou and they headed for the car, "You are the smartest dumb person I have ever met." Inuyasha looked at her and (like always) didn't get it.
"You saying I'm stupid?"
"Most of the time. But you're smart, too." Kagome smiled as she helped him into the backseat of the car so he could prop his leg up before getting into the front and taking the baby.
"Drive slow just in case?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.
"Yeah…slower than normal…but not to slow…" Inuyasha blinked in confusion, but realized what they were talking about as she drove out of the parking lot. With each stop and bump, he felt his stomach lurch. The noise of the engine and the stench of the gas made him feel ready to faint…But he was strong.
Until he got home.
As Kagome helped him out of the car, he pushed away from her and crawled over to the bushes (as best as he could…making him look horribly stupid) and let out his car sickness.
"You alright?" Kagome whispered as she helped him back up, now balancing more of his weight than before.
Once in the house, she had Sota help her help him upstairs to her room and he laid down on her bed and closed his eyes. His head was pounding and the disgusting stench of gas wouldn't leave his nose. Not to mention his leg was aching and he was finding it slightly hard to breathe.
"What the hell was that thing?" he finally managed to say.
"A car…" Kagome laid their sleeping child in her crib before turning her attention completely to Inuyasha. "You feelin ok, though?" She sat at the edge of the bed and carefully brushed his hair out of his face.
"I guess…" He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She hadn't been getting much rest since he woke up, but she was still so full of energy. "You should be resting…"
"Me? Why?" He glared at her.
"Mahou Akumu." She blinked before realizing that he wanted her to get rest because she hadn't gotten much of it since she gave birth.
"Inuyasha…I'm fine." She smiled at his concern, but felt her mother's hands on her shoulders.
"He's got a point, Kagome. You need to get some rest," he mother scolded. Kagome sighed as she waited for her mom to set up a temporary bed on the floor so Kagome could sleep there (because Kagome made sure Inuyasha had the bed).
"What's for dinner?" Kagome asked as she laid down.
"Ramen…" Kagome shook her head with a smile on her face as she rolled over and fell asleep. They were spoiling the hanyou.
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Sota took it into his own hands to make sure Inuyasha was always comfortable, which gave Kagome time to rest and take care of the baby…even though she was slightly jealous. Her mother taught Kagome a lot about being a mother, and her gramps gave the child his blessings.
About 3 days after Inuyasha came home, Kagome walked up to her room with his lunch, but stopped outside. There was a deep, gentle voice singing. Inuyasha was singing to their baby…Kagome smiled as she leaned against the wall and just listened. It was his own lullaby…
"Sleep…sleep tight, little one. Sleep all through the night…Let your dreams take over, let them take you places you'll never go…Sleep…sleep little Mahou…"
He was sitting with his back against about 4 soft pillows and his leg was propped up by two.
His head snapped up as the door slowly opened and Kagome peeked in. "You…You were listening…" He looked ready to faint.
"Yeah…sorry…I was bringing your lunch up…" She walked in sheepishly and set the food on his lap before picking up the little girl.
"Don't…apologize…" She sat on the floor as he blushed and dug into his lunch.
"You put her to sleep…" He glanced down at Kagome and Mahou.
He couldn't stop his thoughts. She was beautiful…and she was holding their pup…Sure, the baby was only there because of a potion, but she was theirs…and if Inuyasha never got the guts to ask Kagome to carry his pup the normal way, Mahou was good enough for him.
"You said singing would work."
"I know…" She turned and looked deep into his golden eyes. "You're turning out to be a really good dad."
"Feh." Inuyasha blushed deeply at her comment. He couldn't help it…this was bringing him closer to her than he wanted to get. He couldn't ruin her life. That was what was keeping him from confessing how much he loved her.
But now he couldn't just tell her to leave…Before the baby, it would've been easier…but he would suffer horribly. He expected she would be going through her own pain, but she'd get over it, find herself a human husband, and have a nice family. He wouldn't weigh her down.
Now, they had a baby. It wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy to let her go. Even if they could accept it, their daughter would never understand. Kagome's life was completely ruined…and it was all his fault.
Why did he have to drink out of the damned river anyway?
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she looked up at him. She could see his face was tense…She was worried about him.
"What?" he said, trying to sound cold, but failed. She had interrupted his self-bashing time.
"Are you ok?"
"Fine…"
"What's bugging you?" He looked straight at her.
"Nothing." He felt the butterflies in his stomach and his heart beating faster than normal. But he had to lie to her. She couldn't know what he was planning. It wouldn't work if she knew.
"You're lying."
"Am not."
"Are to."
"Not." Inuyasha twitched his ears as he heard a faint 'their parents and they still fight like their 3…' from downstairs.
"Are to."
"Stop it already…They can hear us downstairs." Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.
"Ok…But you're still lying." He glared at her as she laid Mahou in her crib. The miko then set the empty bowl to the side and sat at Inuyasha's side.
"What makes you say that?"
"I know you to well." She smiled and looked deep into his eyes. "Now…tell me the truth. What's on your mind?"
"NOTHING! Can't you get that!" He looked away from her in an instant, a blush conquering his face from how close she was. That's when the scent of her tears met his nose.
"Don't you trust me yet?" He looked right at her and held her hands up.
"Yeah…Nothing is wrong…ok?" She looked hurt that he wasn't talking to her, but Inuyasha didn't want to ruin the next year or two he had with her. After that, he'd never see her again. He didn't want her to leave on bad terms with him.
"I thought you trusted me…" She pulled her hands roughly away from his and dropped to the floor. Inuyasha looked down…He couldn't tell her…He didn't want to lose her…
That was two things he couldn't tell her. I love you and I want you to leave. If you loved someone, you let them go, right? He couldn't…he wouldn't. "I do trust you…"
"Prove it." His ears went straight up. Prove it? How could he prove that he trusted her…his deepest secret was that he loved her and they were in her era, so he couldn't let her…protect him…That sounded so weird…
"I…" He sighed and closed his eyes. "Look…There is something I want to say…I just can't…I've tried before…I can't…"
"Like what?" He felt the bed move, meaning she was sitting on the bed again.
"If I could tell you…you would know…"
"Why can't you?"
"Whenever I try…I just can't…" He smelled more tears. 'He wants me to stay here…' she thought. 'He really doesn't love me…' "Stop crying already!" She looked straight into his eyes as he grabbed her shoulders.
"You can't tell me if I can cry or not."
"I…" He sighed as a thought crossed his mind on how to stop the crying. Suddenly (probably a bit to sudden for her), he pulled her close to his chest before tilting her head up so he could look into her eyes.
"Inuyasha?"
"Just stop crying…You…you might wake Mahou…" Both of them flinched at bit at his words. To her, he hadn't said that he cared about her and that was why she should stop…He flinched because he hadn't meant to hurt her.
"Right…Mahou has your sensitive hearing…" Her eyes turned away.
"Yeah…" He knew she was hurt at his words. In an instant, he decided to take a chance. "You're a good mother to her…"
"What?" She looked straight back at him.
"Always thinking of her…and you're strong…She'll grow up to be strong to…I'm sure of it."
"That's because she has your…" Her eyes went wide as she felt his warm lips on hers. Even though it only lasted a few seconds, it felt like forever to her.
"No…She'll be strong because her mother is strong." He opened his eyes and looked away. She was probably really mad at him now.
"What was that about?"
"What?"
"You kissed me…"
"I did?" He pretended to be stupid and not know what he did.
"It was a mistake…wasn't it?"
"Y…yeah…" He blushed deeply. She wouldn't figure it out…at least not today. But he would always know.
"I'll be back…I have to go take a bath." She got up and left as he pushed himself down so he was flat on his back.
"I'll be asleep when you get back." She nodded and closed the door as he closed his eyes.
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The next few days were a bit uneasy for the two, but they soon forgot the 'mistake' (and by forget, I mean put way in the backs of their minds…but there to haunt them for a long time). After a whole week (with big complaints on Inuyasha's part), they took him back to the hospital to get the cast off (though the doctors had declared it a check up because one week was unreasonable for getting the cast off).
He grumbled as he limped on his stiff leg as they walked home ("No way in HELL am I getting in one of those 'car' things again"). "Could have gotten a ride," Kagome said in a sing-song voice.
"No." He whimpered slightly as she had to catch him from tripping because his leg was almost too stiff to walk on.
"We're definitely staying here one more day."
"Why?"
"So you can get that stiffness out of your leg." She smiled as they walked past the fast food place. "Hey…dinner?"
"Here?"
"Why not?" She smiled as she pulled him into the joint and got them a booth before going to order. He stared at the burgers and fries for a few moments.
"Whats this?" He poked the straw in his drink.
"Here…" She took the top off it and the straw out.
"Better." They ate their food a bit quietly until Kagome heard three familiar voices.
"Kagome!" Yuka called.
"No…not now…" Kagome muttered as the three came over and unwelcomingly sat down in the booth with them.
"How you been?" Eri asked. "And who's the Hottie?" she whispered.
"I'm fine…Guys, this is Inuyasha." Inuyasha was looking out the window, mostly because Eri and Yuka had both crowded in on his side.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Ayumi whispered.
"Uh…ye…yeah…" Kagome blushed at that, and Inuyasha didn't get it (he didn't get the Hottie comment either…).
Suddenly, the girls who were giving him happy puppy eyes were backing away. Not to mention the nasty looks they were throwing him…
"Conference!" the two called as all three pulled Kagome into the girl's bathroom (not knowing Inuyasha could still hear them there).
"Kagome…" Yuka started.
"That hot boy is your jealous, possessive, two-timing boyfriend?" Eri almost yelled.
"He's not…possessive. More like…protective…" she whispered.
"Break up with him!" Yuka and Eri said.
"NO!"
"NOW!"
"I won't do that!"
"Guys!" Ayumi yelled at them as she rested her hands on Kagome's shoulders reassuringly. "Kagome cares deeply for him…He can't be that bad if Kagome is with him."
"Right," Yuka said.
"Let's review," Eri added. "He's two timing you for his ex, he gets jealous whenever you talk to that other boy that likes you, and he is way too possessive. I mean, he comes to get you if you're late, you and him are almost always fighting…"
"ENOUGH!" Kagome yelled, barley managing to not knock her friend's head off. "He's nice; he cares about me, and…and…" She stopped herself short of saying 'I love him.'
"And what?" Eri and Yuka said. "You should break up with him, honestly."
"It's her life!" Ayumi scolded them. "Let her live it how she wants and learn her own lessons…"
"All of you, leave my life alone!" Kagome scolded all three. "He isn't as bad as you think…" Her voice dropped so Inuyasha wouldn't hear. "I love him…truly…and I think he's a keeper."
The three looked at her sympathetically as she walked out and sat back down with Inuyasha.
"I bet you heard all of that…"
"Yeah…what did they mean by 'break up with him'?"
"They think you're my boyfriend…"
"Still not making any sense." She crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them.
"Kind of like lovers…but not quite…Dating is sort of like trying on new cloths…It's trying on people to see if you love them enough to someday marry them…"
"That's stupid."
"Yeah…but that's where the whole boyfriend/girlfriend terms come from. As for the breaking up bit…That's what you do when you don't like your date anymore. You tell them you don't like them…then that's it…"
"And how does this work into you and me?"
"They think you're my boyfriend and they don't like you so their trying to tell me that I don't like you…But that's not really working. Basically, their telling me to ditch you and never speak to you again."
"What did I ever do to them!"
"Nothing…But people around here tend to judge other by what people say about them…" She looked at the floor.
"So…"
"Sorry…"
"What for…?"
"They wouldn't think like that…if they had just met you…But I accidentally started talking about your bad traits when I was mad at you…So they don't know how good you are…"
"They wouldn't understand anyway…They'd think you were insane if you told them the truth."
"Yeah…" He took her hands as she sat up.
"So…dating is like trying out lovers? That's kind of…"
"Messed up. But not everyone meets one person and falls in love instantly."
"Yeah…" 'It took me twice…' he thought. He looked right into her eyes. "Shouldn't we be getting out of here soon? Mahou might miss her mom."
"Maybe she's missing her daddy…" Kagome smiled as they stood and linked hands before leaving.
When they got home, Mrs. Higurashi was rocking the baby sweetly on the couch and the boys were doing their chores with scowls on their faces. "Hey mom…what happened?" She helped Inuyasha to the couch so he could sit down.
"The boys were bothering my granddaughter. So…I gave them extra chores to do." She winked at Kagome as the two girls broke out in giggles. Inuyasha rolled his eyes before stumbling out the door to stretch his leg. Last thing he wanted to hear was more girl talk.
Dating was like testing lovers…and Kagome's friends thought that they were dating…That meant Kagome didn't correct them. He smiled and blushed at the thought that Kagome loved him.
But he was going to stick to admiring from afar. He couldn't ruin her life worse than it was now.
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The next day Kagome jumped down the well with her supplies and Inuyasha followed with Mahou cradled in his arms. "You're finally back!" Shippo cheered as the ball of fur landed on Kagome's shoulder.
"Yeah…Inuyasha's all better now," she replied.
"So what did you name her?" Miroku said as he and Sango walked up.
"Mahou Akumu." Inuyasha glanced up from the child for the first time as Kagome took the girl into her arms.
"Mahou Akumu…Magic Nightmare?" Sango asked. Inuyasha nodded as he slung the new backpack over his shoulder.
"Ninja food for dinner," he muttered as he led the way to their hut.
Ok, seeing as this is only one chapter, I'm only going to ask you for 3 reviews. See? I'm simple (bows). But I hope you like it so far. The really REALLY important part doesn't come until near the end, but I'm trying to keep this pretty interesting.
Ume Hajime