Chapter 22: SURPRIZE!
The morning officially began with the return of Inuyasha to the camp. The sun was barely lighting up the sky when he had his brief interlude with his icicle-ass half brother and now the it was showing signs of soon cresting the horizon. Knowing that Kagome would probably take a few extra minutes to get herself in order because of the early morning events, he decided to wake the rest of the group only to find that they were already stirring.
Rin woke and took Shippo with her to gather fresh wood for the fire, and Miroku began his day with meditation like always. It seemed to take longer for the Slayer to rise than was usual but Inuyasha didn't say a word. It didn't matter too much since Kagome would be getting back a little later anyways.
'Kikyo...wherever you are, please be ok. I couldn't take it if something happened to you. We'll be able to make it to Edo by sundown if we haul ass. Which we will. Once I know you're ok we'll head out in search of Naraku once again.'
Coming away from his thoughts, the inu-hanyo saw that Rin was already preparing the miso and forcing the kitsune to help her cut up what was left of the tofu. Jaken was leading AhUn out to graze but not before saying something that earned him a good kick into the dirt by Sesshomaru's ward. Scratch that, his daughter.
'Does that make her my niece? Hell...'
Just then he could smell Kagome getting closer to camp. It was coming pretty rapidly so she probably thought to rush so he didn't go looking for her. Stupid. He was gonna wait a little longer for her. Give her some time to recover from that kind of embarrasment cause Kami knew she had to of been mortified. Closing his eyes he let them prepare breakfast, mentally counting down the minutes until they were able to leave.
Bleary eyes tried to make sense of all of the nosie surrounding her. Was it morning already? Sango thought with a groan. She sat up and rubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes trying to rub the sleep out. Goodness she felt like trash. For the last few days she'd been having the hardest time waking up, and wondered if maybe she was coming down with some kind of illness.
Seeing everyone already packing up she stretched and began to put away her traveling bed. The smell of fresh hot miso made her practically salivate and with the promise of a good meal to break her fast she came into full wakefulness. It wasn't until Kagome started making the eggs for their omelets that the morning went sour for her. It was their scent that made her recoil she absolutely couldn't handle it. Scrambling up she ran into the nearby bushes and violently emptied her stomach.
Miroku awoke feeling relaxed and comfortable. Ever since he and Sango had been together they had shared a sleeping roll and he woke to a mess of dark hair sleeping soundly upon his chest. It made his soul sing to have finally caught the strong independant woman that he'd had his eyes set on and gave him the motivation to defeat the evil Naraku. He desperately wanted a family, and once the kumohanyo was desposed of he could live out his life in peace with the woman he loved.
Slowly as not to wake her just yet, he slid from beneath her and went to relieve himself and wash up before he began his morning meditations. When he returned he noticed that his bride, for she was his bride regardless of them not visiting a shrine as of yet, still slept on. Taking a seat beside her he carefully moved her bangs from her peacefully resting face and marveled at the fact that she was his. Truly humbled he gave thanks to the kami almost every morning.
Today he saw what appeared to be the beginnings of dark circles around her eyes. Was she not getting enough rest? He hadn't noticied if she had been waking during the night. He would ask when she woke up. Deciding to let her sleep a little while longer he looked around the camp and realized that Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Kagome were absent from camp. The monk remembered been woken by a distant crash, and looking to his right just beyond the clearing there looked like a broken tree stump.
'Seems as if our friend has once again proven that he cannot control the words of his voice. Perhaps their interlude woke Lady Kagome up.'
Shaking his head in exasperation Miroku folded his legs and began his morning meditation. Sometime into it he felt the aura's of his companions one by one waking and returning to camp. Sesshomaru's was still further out in the distance but that was just as well. He'd know if they left or not without having to be told. Taking a deeper search into Sango's aura he realized that it was a lot weaker that usual. Almost as if were slowly depleting. He wondered if maybe she was becoming ill. He'd have to ask Lady Kagome to have a look at her.
He was just coming back out of his trance when he felt his Slayer leap up rapidly. Shooting his eyes open he saw her lunging for the bushes and emptying her stomach of last nights meal. Concerned he followed quickly after her. The only thing he could think to do was to hold her hair back because it was still loose from sleep. Being ill is one thing, getting it in your hair was a recipe for a bad day.
He rubbed her back as her heaves settled and looked up to see Rin holding a small cup of water towards him. With a greatful nod he accepted it and offered it to his wife. With a rough thank you she accepted it and washed her mouth out.
'What in the world could have made her so ill? Did we eat uncooked food last night? No, else more of us would be sick...' the monk thought to himself
"Sango my love, are you alright?" he asked.
With one last rinse of her mouth she turned and looked into worried violet orbs and with a sigh she answered.
"I don't know. I think I'm ill. For the last few days I've felt sick, but this is the first time that this has happened."
"You have been more tired lately, perhaps that may have something to do with this? We should ask Kagome, maybe she has medicine that could help." he offered.
"You're right. The sooner I can get over this, the better." she replied.
Taking her hand, Miroku gently lifted her up and moved her back over to where they were camped. All eyes seemed to be on them but he wasn't concerned. He just had her lay back down while he spoke to Kagome. Inuyasha had come down from his tree and had a furrow in his brow. If he hadn't known any better he would have assumed it was from agitation but because he did he knew that his friend was concerned.
It was indeed very rare for Sango to be sick at all. Kagome had been ready to run to Sango's side when she saw that Miroku had beaten her to it. She looked up at Inuyasha and he returned her worried glance before he jumped down from the tree.
"Keep cookin' 'Gome. Looks like loverboy has it handled. 'Sides, she might need ta eat after pukin' like that." he said.
Giving him a flat stare the priestess looked back at the two and sighed. Her sister-friend didn't need everyone fawning over her. She'd really hate it when they did that. Looking at Rin it was certain that she was also slightly worried about the other woman, so she called the youth to her.
With a smile the miko put water and mouthwash into a cup and handed it to Rin.
"Could you hand this to Miroku please? She'll want it when her spell ends."
"Of course, Lady Kagome." Rin smiled and went on her way to deliver the package.
As Kagome finished up the omelets she started having thoughts about the cause of Sango's sudden illness. Thinking that she'd also been so tired lately an idea began to form in her mind. She'd also been complaining of strong scents the last few days...and that some smells were absolutely foul when she had no complaints before like the wild boar from a few days ago. She'd never once before declined meat because of the smell...
'Oh...my...GAWD! Could it be possible...could she be...I need to talk to her!' the priestess thought frantically.
It was almost as if Miroku had read her mind when he began walking towards her.
"Lady Kagome, I would like it if you could take a look at Sango for me. She seems to have taken on an illness of some sort. Do you think that you have medicines from your time that could help?" he asked with worry.
"Sure thing. Let me get her a bowl of miso..."
"I'll prepare it, please go to her. I apologize, but I can't help but fret about her health." he said with a sheepish smile.
"Ok then." She smiled back at him before she made her way to her friends side.
It was completely irrational, but the monk couldn't help but worry over his Sango. Dozens of scenarios flew throught his minds eye and he couldn't help but, as Kagome put it, "freak out". It was Inuyasha though who thankfully put an end to his worry.
"She 'aint dyin' bouzu. I'd of smelt death on her. So I wouldn't worry too much about it." the inu-hanyo said ofhandedly.
"Thank you my friend. I suppose...now that I have finally have the love from her I've always saught, I am irrationally fearful of her being taken from me." Miroku said quietly with his head bowed down as he poured a small portion of miso into a bowl.
"I...I know how you feel about it. I've been there, and have gone throught it. I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. But you gotta think monk...since when does she catch sickness like this? Has she even had any problems?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well, she's been more tired as of late. It's been taking longer for to rise, and I've noticied that she's being more selective of her meals. She keeps saying that they stink and wont eat. Her moods have also been effected as well I assume. She's also quicker to wrath the past few days." Miroku thought outloud.
"So what you're saying is she's been moody, sensitive to smells, and now she's sick in the morning. Now tell me what you think is wrong monk." Inuyasha said with a knowing grin.
"What do you..." In an instant the dots connected and his eyes widened impossibly wider. Clenching the small bowl of miso so he didn't spill it he snapped his head to look at Sango who also appeared to be in shock.
"Keh, ya'll been goin' at eachother like animals and you're surprized? Dumbass." Inuyasha said with a small smile. He wasn't going to say anything, but he had already picked up on her new scent during the night watch but wasn't for sure about it until this morning. It's not like he even knew how to break the news even if it were his job to.
With shock still painting his features the monk slowly made his way over to Sango still holding the bowl of soup and took a seat at her side. He had to know if it were true.
Sango felt at a loss when Kagome sat down next to her. Why in Kami's name was she so damn sick? She was always in top condition, rarely did she come down with some sort of illness. WIth a greatful smile she took Kagome's hand and told the young priestess her symptoms. She was a little confused when the miko had a face of exileration and excitement, and a little bit annoyed at the same time. Since when does she delight in someone elses misery?
"Sango, do you mean to tell me you dont understand what's going on here?" Kagome asked with an incredulous smile.
"If I knew I wouldn't be asking for help in the first place, Kagome." the slayer said with a bit of a huff.
Seeing her friend obviously becoming upset she remembered one key thing: Sango's mother had died when she was very young and was raised by her father to be a warrior, not a wife. She probably had no vague idea what could be wrong with her. With a sympathetic smile she decided to break the news carefully.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, but I do have one more question for you. Have you by chance missed your cycle?" she said carefully, hoping that her friend would figure it out with that clue.
"Well, I dont...wait...K-Kagome?" Eyes wide and fearful she looked to her friend and now understood why she was smiling. Could it be true? Is she...
"I can't really do a check out here, but I feel that it's safe to say that there's a good chance you have the next generation of Miroku's line growning inside you." Kagome said with her heart in her eyes.
Surprize and wonder filled her eyes as her hands reached down to cover her womb. She saw a darker and larger hand cover hers and looked up into the eyes of her beloved and her heart melted.
"Sango...is it true?" he asked with such hope that she actually began to cry.
She couldn't get past the lump in her throat and just nodded her head in the affirmative.
Everyone in the clearing watched with joy in their hearts as Miroku lunged into Sango and held her close. Apparently the monk didn't care that they had company because he kissed her so deeply it made everyone blush.
It was a great morning. Full of hope, full of promise. They soon ate very quickly and packed up, all very eager to get Sango to Kaede to be seen. The trip that was once filled with trepidation for Inuyasha had actually turned out to make even him brighten up. To see his friends could find that kind of happiness, no, his family, he felt at peace and it made the road ahead that much more bearable.
A/N: And here's some fluff for you! - Mindlessmina