Chapter 16 – Back

Inside the hut, they had all settled down to hear what Inuyasha had to say. They were sitting around the fire while Sango was helping Kaede to prepare the evening meal. They all spoke at the same time as they wanted to know what happened during the last days.

"Where were you?"

"Why are you so late?"

"Where are the others?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

The hanyou tried to calm them down, but they were assaulting him with all those questions.

Kagome's statement froze everyone in the hut: "Inuyasha, you look like, so much like a pregnant woman right now."

Inuyasha blushed a bright red, as everyone was staring at him, with an interrogative look on their face. Feeling attacked, he suddenly answered with a strong frown: "I'm not pregnant, damn it! Where are you all getting that idea?" He sighed harshly; he undid the knot that was holding the sling together, to reveal a newly awoken Takato. He put the belt on the wooden floor beside him.

Everyone gasped.

Kagome laughed nervously: "Oops, heh heh. Sorry about that. It's just that you really looked like it… although you're a guy and can't get pregnant... right?"

"Actually male demons can bare their own child if there is a relationship between two males" Inuyasha answered casually.

Kagome blushed and Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

Shippo, whom had been listening from the start, was the quick one to change the subject; he noticed the absence of someone rather important: "Hum, Inuyasha?"

"Yup?"

"Where's Chikara?"

Miroku added: "Yeah, the last time we saw her was when she went in the woods with Sesshoumaru. Afterward, you guys disappeared and when we heard some screaming, we followed the sound to the battle site. We were horrified when we saw all that blood on the forest ground." Kagome shivered at the memory. "At first, we thought it was yours, Inuyasha, but then Shippo noticed that the blood didn't have any scent on it" he continued.

"That was Chikara's blood" Inuyasha said bluntly and not looking at his friends, playing with Takato's short blond hair instead.

Kagome screamed: "What! She was wounded and you didn't come to get us?"

"Shh! You'll scare the kid Kagome!" Inuyasha said harshly.

Sango was surprised at Inuyasha's outburst, but didn't comment about it.

"Yes, child, I could have healed her if ye would have brought her to me" Kaede added, supporting Kagome' statement. She continued to prepare the meal, while listening to Inuyasha's answer.

"No. Chikara doesn't heal like that; she's a goddess and can only heal when she takes the energy from her elements." Inuyasha sighed, obligated to explain the story all over again. "Being cloudy for two days straight, she couldn't absorb the energy to enable the healing" Inuyasha said, changing his sitting position. He took Takato and shifted it in his other arm. "So I went to summon the water goddess to get rid of the clouds. I came back to the castle and afterward, I traveled to come back here."

Kagome put a finger on her chin: "But, why Chikara isn't here?"

"Yeah, it's not like her to leave her son all alone" added Sango.

"What? You mean I'm no one?" Inuyasha snapped. He let out a frustrated growl: "I decided to take Takato with me since I noticed she wanted to spend some time with Sesshoumaru."

"Why would she spend some time with him? When we saw him earlier, the meeting was not very warm between those two" Miroku pointed out.

Inuyasha was about to reply too rashly when he remembered something. 'That's right, they weren't there to acknowledge what happened during the last days' he thought. "Well let's say that some things have changed…" he simply put it like that. "So afterward, I simply came back here."

"And it took you three days to do all this? Sheesh, you're slow…" Kagome stated.

Inuyasha looked at her; he didn't want to tell her what really happened during that time, so he tried to keep it rather short: "Well, actually, when I parted from the Water goddess' shrine to return to the castle, I was… attacked by a demon."

"So? You killed it right?" Sango asked.

"Actually… yes." Inuyasha took a deep breath. "I killed it, though it had poisoned me, and tried to continue, but let's say that with the moon's absence, it wasn't an easy task." He laughed nervously.

"What are you trying to say!" Kagome said starting to become angry.

Miroku put a hand on her shoulder: "Please Kagome, calm down. He came backing one piece, right? So you don't have to worry."

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like I couldn't be brought back to life heh heh…" Inuyasha said, trying to ignore Kagome's death glare.

"WHAT! Inuyasha! Why you! I- "

Sango put a hand on Kagome's mouth before anything dangerous happens: "She was just worried about you Inuyasha, even more then we were."

The dog demon nodded; he knew Kagome didn't mean to yell. She was only letting go of all the negative emotions she had kept for her in the last days.

"So how did you know we were here? Have you met Koga?" Sango asked, trying to change the subject to calm Kagome.

'Oh crap' he thought. "Huh, yeah, I met Koga. While running, he passed by me and shouted that you guys were here and went away. I guess I should have thanked him" he faked a roll of his eyes, trying to convince the others that nothing else happened between them.

"That's great" Kagome said, changing her mood, while looking outside; the sun was setting and it was getting dark.

As soon as the meal was cooked, they all ate.

Toward the end of his meal, Inuyasha felt Takato shift in his arms and started to whine a bit to gain attention from the adults.

That sound gain Kagome's attention and since she was sitting beside Inuyasha, she leaned over to talk to the baby: "What's wrong little darling?" she asked with a soft tone.

Inuyasha swallowed his bite of food to answer to Kagome: "He's only hungry. Isn't is obvious?"

"Huh, no" Kagome said, a bit upset.

Inuyasha got up.

"Hey, where are you going Inuyasha?" Shippo asked.

The half-demon froze in his steps; what was he going to tell them? He couldn't exactly tell them the truth, so he improvised. "Heh… well I'm going to… feed Takato with ah… something that I will hunt down." He sighed mentally: 'Phew, that was a close one.'

Kagome got up: "Well I'll come with you, I need fresh air anyway." She smiled at him.

"No! I mean- no, I'd like to be alone for a while… and…" he tried to think quickly, "I'd prefer you'd stay here, in case something dangerous happens, I'll have only one person to protect. You understand that?" he tried to say, with one of his nicest tone, so that Kagome doesn't find it suspicious.

She gave him a sad look. "Okay then, I guess that I'll stay here." She sat back were she was a minute ago.

Miroku and Sango frowned to disapprove Inuyasha's behaviour, but the half-demon ignored them.

Before leaving the hut, Inuyasha said: "I'll be back in a few." Then he got out.

Sango looked at the others: "Don't you think Inuyasha looked weird? Why Chikara would leave the care of her child to Inuyasha? It's like he changed; I mean, like he managed to be able to read Takato's mind… and did you guys see how he looked perfectly able to take care of a baby, all by himself? I never thought he would be able to do that."

Miroku nodded: "Yeah, but maybe it's a side effect to the body exchange? He could have somewhat been able to feel the same way Takato does so he can relate to what the baby is feeling."

"That could explain the way he acted toward the infant. I mean, being able to know its needs, he can very well take care of it" Kagome stated, still a bit sad at how Inuyasha had told her to stay in the hut.

°°°

As soon as he had exited the small house, Inuyasha heard comments making themselves about his behaviour. He tried to ignore them as he gets into the forest that is nearby the village.

The half-demon brings Takato to his face and makes all kinds of funny faces to change the baby's ideas during the time he searched for a suiting place to stop.

Inuyasha tried to find a spot where they wouldn't feel the wind and the temperature warmer than in a field.

He finally what looked like the perfect place: it was a very small spot of the forest that didn't have trees. It was also surrounded tightly by the other trees so the wind couldn't pass through.

He sat by the trunk of one of them. He didn't bother to make a fire, thinking it wouldn't take that long.

With one hand he opened his shirts to feed the baby. He entered some kind of trance and got lost in his thoughts.

The problem is he never smelt the demon that entered the area.

°°°

Inuyasha had been gone for an hour and Kagome was getting worried: "It's getting late. Maybe something happened to him." She looked at Miroku. "Could you please go check on him, Miroku? I'd be reassured."

The monk didn't wanted to go, but Sango pushed him to get up, so he had no other choice: "Yes, sure Kagome. I'll be back as soon as I found him, okay?"

Everyone nodded and he exited the hut.


Okay, sorry for the short chapter, but I wasn't able to make it longer. But don't worry, I'll have chap 17 posted today, so everyone will be happy Please review!