Chapter 13 – That!
Inuyasha was running for a few hours. It was now almost night. Jumping from time to time, he tried his best to find, even a small sign, of his friends. He smiled, at the thought of seeing them; it's been three days. Three days, since that awful accident. But now everything was back to normal, at least, looked like it.
He slowed down a bit, feeling somehow, a bit out of breath. In some way it was strange, since he had to stop earlier twice, for the same reason and he was at his top shape. Being part demon, he shouldn't have to stop that often.
He finally halted beside a big tree and took a quick look at Takato, whom was fastened to his mid-section. At his last stop, he took the opportunity to attach to his body the baby with the long belt-like tissue that Chikara had given him before going, so he wouldn't have to always hold him. He couldn't put Takato in his back, because of his hair. He couldn't on his chest either, because it was perturbing his movements, and he couldn't use his arms like when he needed to keep his balance while running. Also, being a bit cold for a baby like Takato, he had covered him entirely with the belt, to keep him warm. Being fully wrapped, the baby had fallen asleep earlier.
Inuyasha took some time to check on Takato and he was still sleeping soundly. Happy with that, he tried to sit down, but with a weight on in front of him, he couldn't bend; it was pretty hard and it was doing some pressure on his already aching back.
As he straightened to find another way, a whirlwind was coming in his direction. With his nose, he smelled that it was only Koga. He will probably be able to shoo him off easily. But, the thing he didn't know is that with Takato attached to him like that, he actually looked like a heavily pregnant demon. So, Inuyasha wasn't waiting for some kind of reaction from Koga…
As always, Koga arrived in a hurry, with a mocking smile on his face: "So, mutt face, where's Kagome? Why is the poor dog-breath alone? Huh? You haven't found- Hey. When did this happen?" he said, taking a quick glance at Inuyasha's bumped abdomen.
Inuyasha frowned: 'What is he talking about?' Koga continued with his bombardment of questions: "Who did this to you? Huh? I don't smell any trace of a mating mark on you. Was it consensual? Did he abandon you? Who is the one that forced himself on you? Tell me, and I'll kick his butt! Damn it, Inuyasha! Why did this have to happen, while Naraku could attack at any moment? I thought that even for a half-demon you were strong…"
And so he went on about those questions and Inuyasha still didn't understand a single thing; for him it wasn't making any sense. So he decided to stop the wolf: "Koga." No answer and he continued with his nonsense speech. 'Okay, that didn't work too well…' Inuyasha groaned. "KOGA!"
The wolf stopped in mid-sentence. Then he regained his senses. "What?" he snapped.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand a fucking thing that you're saying!" said Inuyasha, scratching his head.
"THAT is what I'm talking about", the demon said, pointing the bulge that was Inuyasha's stomach.
The said dog demon looked at the direction the wolf was pointing and then realized. The half-demon started to laugh so hard that it was making him cry.
Koga, who was standing beside him, was utterly confused: "Okay, why are you laughing like that? Are you trying to hide the fact that you're pregnant? Because it's not working" he said proudly, his tail swaying from side to side. "I saw it all along...!" Koga glanced at Inuyasha. "Huh, Inuyasha... are you okay?"
The half-demon still continued to laugh; then Koga was starting to lose his temper and his face was reddening with anger: "Enough mutt face! I'm trying to talk to you. Can't you be serious for a second?"
Inuyasha tried to stop, and calm down a bit, but he received a small kick in the guts, as Takato was awakening. He then ceased completely to laugh, eyes wide opened, as it caught his breath and surprised him.
"Oww! Hey that hurts you know, little one", Inuyasha said, trying to rub where it hurt.
"Oh my god! Inuyasha, are you okay? Is it time? Wait! I'm not ready for-"
"KOGA!"
"What?" answered the wolf demon.
"Shut up, will ya!" said Inuyasha, shaking a fist.
"But, aren't you going to… to… ya know, pop up, blow up? Call it like you want" Koga said, uncertain to have chosen the correct word.
"Huh?" Inuyasha blinked. "NO WAY! KOGA, I'M NOT PREGNANT!"
"But why is there a bump in your stomach? Don't say that you've eaten too much, it won't work; I'm not stupid" he said, crossing his arms.
"Ugh…" Inuyasha smacked a hand on his forehead. "Well right now, you are acting stupid. I'm not pregnant, it's only Takato, see?"
As he finished his sentence, he untied the belt-like fabric and revealed a slightly angry Takato. The baby was shaking his little fists to show that he wasn't happy to be woken up this way.
Inuyasha took the baby and brought it closer to his face and snuggled him. Koga, curious, approached carefully to see it more clearly. Inuyasha moved the small blanket that covered Takato's face to get it out of the way.
Koga seemed a bit regretful of his previous actions, as he looked up to face Inuyasha: "Oh…" he said sheepishly. "Hum, I didn't know. Sorry for panicking."
"It's okay. I would have done the same thing." Inuyasha shrugged.
"Yeah right... you would have done worse" Koga smiled mockingly. "Anyways, who's his father?"
Inuyasha frowned quickly at Koga's first comment, but looked at the wolf in the eyes and smiled. "Isn't it obvious? It's Sesshoumaru."
As a matter of fact, nobody could deny that, as Takato was almost the same as his father; his golden eyes and the forehead marking were the same. Instead of having pink markings over his body, they were a dark blue. He had blond hair, just like Chikara's day form, and her sun/moon marking on his left shoulder.
Koga approached his nose to smell the baby: "Strange. The baby has only Sesshoumaru's smell. Who's the other parent?" He looked at Inuyasha: "Is it you?" A hint of jealousy could be seen in his eyes.
Inuyasha's eyes widened at that sentence. "What? HELL NO! He's Chikara's son. Not mine. Being a goddess, she doesn't have a smell. That way, she can pass without being noticed."
That jealousy in Koga's eyes disappeared instantly. "Oh. I thought it was weird too; last time I checked, you hated your brother… So you couldn't have gotten that close." He chuckled nervously.
Inuyasha frowned again to rectify the wolf lord: "Half-brother. It's that difference that makes him a full-demon" Inuyasha said, with a sad tone.
A weird silence installed itself, as Inuyasha sat at the feet of a tree and rested his back against its trunk. He tried to lull the baby back to sleep and sighed.
Koga sat beside Inuyasha, but not too close, and felt a bit uneasy, because he knew Inuyasha was sensitive about his human heritage. So he changed the subject rapidly: "So, what were you doing here all alone with that little buddy? Isn't his mother supposed to be here to take care of him… or did something happen to her?" he asked carefully.
Inuyasha answered, gazing at the ground: "No, Chikara is fine…now."
Koga was puzzled. "Then what's the problem?" he asked.
"Well, it's a long story."
"Then go ahead, I'm curious!" Koga smiled.
Inuyasha took a look at his rival; he sure looked sincere about what he was saying. So he made himself comfortable and then yawned: "Okay, if you insist. A few days ago, we were going east, as Kagome sensed a jewel in that direction. It was getting late, so we made camp. But during the night, we were attacked by an old sorceress and her slave demon. At first, she looked weak, but she trapped me. She threw me an exchanging body spell, but I didn't know it. The closest person to me was Takato, as he was in my arms. I blacked out after that. Chikara told me that afterward, Sango attacked the witch and then she vanished saying that she would be back. When I woke up, I was in the baby's body. I was trapped. Then, it all went very fast. Sesshoumaru arrived, they found the sorceress. She changed us back… but at a high cost." Inuyasha swallowed hard, as the memories were hard to forget.
"Before shifting us back, she threw an energy blade at Chikara. She protected the two of us the best she could, but at the maximum of her strength, she couldn't hold very long. So she protected me, in her son's body, and let go of her shield. I saw the energy blade pass trough her. I was horrified. She fell down. Then she looked at me, and said that she was happy that I was okay. Then Sesshoumaru went mad and the sorceress saw that she had no chance, so she reversed the spell and Sesshoumaru killed her in a fraction of a second."
Inuyasha was shaking softly and Koga put a hand on his shoulder; he felt uneasy about all this: "You know, Inuyasha, if it's too hard for ya, feel free to stop."
Inuyasha wipes a lonely tear and shook his head: "No, I'm fine. Anyways, after the incident, as I was back into my body, Sesshoumaru and I had an argument about Chikara's wounds. We finally set to go to his castle. There, Chikara couldn't heal because the sky was clouded, and she couldn't use her powers to cure. So, I went to go and search for the one who could help her. But it was the night of the new moon, so I turned human. After I got what I needed, I got attacked by a snake demon and it poisoned me. I killed it, but still, I was in bad shape. It was great luck that Chikara found me. She brought me back to the castle and tended to my wounds. But, in the morning, apparently I died and Sesshoumaru sent her back to take some rest, making her believe I was still alive. He then revived me with Tenseiga and I was back onto my feet. Today, after the mid-meal, she wanted to stay with her husband, for some time to spend alone, so I offered her to take care of Takato, while I try to get back to the others. The story ends here, when you found me."
Koga is a bit shocked at what Inuyasha had told him. But there is something bugging him: "Who took care of the baby while she was out?"
Inuyasha looked at the ground, a faint blush on his cheeks. "It was me. I didn't have the choice. No servant wanted to take good care of him. They were afraid because I," he chuckled a bit, "threatened the head servant."
Koga made the equation; Inuyasha equals male. Nothing came to his mind. "But how?" He looked at Inuyasha then saw the answer in the dog's eyes. "You fed him… by yourself?"
"Yeah, at his age, he still can't eat normal food." Inuyasha blushed furiously: "He has to be breast-fed."
"And you're okay with that? I mean, it's a women's job" Koga said in a sexist way.
The half-demon tensed a bit: "Well, yeah, it doesn't bother me much. It's because of the bond we have; I think since we exchanged our body, in some way, we know how the other feels. Maybe it's also because Chikara has been with Kagome and I, since his birth. Feh. I think he's been more often with me than with his own father…" a bit of jealousy and anger could be felt in his voice and Koga's sharp ears caught that.
So the wolf continued the other's sentence: "…And sometimes you feel like he's your own son, right?"
"Yeah…" the half-demon admitted, a but ashamed.
The conversation was cut by Takato, who had woken up, being hungry. Inuyasha knew what he wanted, but was a bit shy to do it in front of Koga, as they are not what could be called 'close'.
Koga was aware of what Inuyasha wanted to do, so he offered: "You know, if you're too shy, I can turn around."
Inuyasha was happy that Koga had sensed his problem, but he answered: "Nah, it's okay. Thanks anyway." Now he knew that the wolf tried to make Inuyasha comfortable, it made the half-demon less shy.
So Inuyasha opened his kimono and started to feed Takato. The baby was content and ate greedily. A small smile took place on Inuyasha's face. Koga noticed that and a weird feeling invaded him; it was weird to see him smile. Inuyasha looked up and asked: "What's wrong, wolf prince?"
Koga smiled: "Nothing." Inuyasha yawned again and returned his attention to Takato.
After a few minutes, a loud grumble was heard, coming from Inuyasha: "Oops. Feh, sorry little buddy," he said looking at the baby, "but I have to get something to eat myself; or I won't have enough strength left." He then took the baby away and the young demon started to protest by scrunching his little nose and whining.
As he straightened his shirt, Koga got up, looking confident: "Stay here and finish what you've been doing, Inuyasha. I'll go hunt something to eat. I was starting to get hungry anyway."
A bit irritated about what Koga said, he answered: "No, thanks anyway. I can go by myself."
Koga lifted a brow: "Honestly Inuyasha, you're not strong enough; you haven't stopped yawning since I arrived; you must be tired."
Inuyasha frowned, determined to win this little battle: "But -"
Koga cut the dog by saying: "No buts! Don't worry, I'll be quick."
As he finished his sentence, he ran into the thick forest.
With this, Inuyasha reopened his shirt and continued to feed Takato. Then he took off into his own thoughts: 'What has taken him? Koga can be so strange sometimes.'
How did you like this one? Please leave comments! Also, I'll post the next chapter in a few days, since this one too is already written.
