Chapter 2 – We missed you
It was a cold autumn night; Miroku and Inuyasha were sitting by the fire inside an abandoned hut that they had found during the day. The girls and Shippo were fast asleep, cuddled in warm blankets.
The half-demon was gazing at the fire, lost in thoughts. A month and a half passed since the mating between Inuyasha and Koga. Strangely enough, Inuyasha forgot all about that special night; but he still felt something happened. He was also wondering why Koga hadn't visited him since a while.
Miroku looked up to notice his friend's worried expression: "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" he said, almost whispering not to wake the girls.
The dog demon shrugged and started to play with a hair strand.
Miroku knew Inuyasha wasn't the talking type, so he improvised. He was aware it was a risky terrain, but he had to know: "Is it because Koga hasn't came to see you since a while?"
Inuyasha looked away and growled lightly.
Miroku frowned, looking around to see if Inuyasha hadn't woken up the others in the hut: "Shush! Do you want them to know your secret… especially Kagome?" He knew those words would be enough to calm his friend.
"Yes."
The monk showed a surprised look on his face: "What do you mean 'yes'? About the secret or- "
"-About Koga" Inuyasha cut in, not wanting to talk much about it. He stared again at the burning fire, trying to evade the subject, but Miroku didn't intend to let go.
As the monk opened his mouth to say something, Inuyasha's ears perked up on his head.
"What's wrong, Inuyasha? A demon? Is it Naraku?"
Inuyasha didn't answer immediately, but held his hand in the air, showing he was trying to listen, a troubled look on his face. As he put back down his hand, he got up and told Miroku: "Listen, I'll be back soon."
The monk stopped him: "But what did you hear?"
The half-demon turned around: "It was nothing, only the wind tricking my ears. I think… I just need fresh air…" He tried to hide the emotions in his voice.
Miroku felt rejected as the dog demon got out of the abandoned hut.
°°°
Inuyasha was shocked when he had heard his name carried by the wind from inside the small house. He was now walking fast toward the source of the voice and his breath could be seen because of the cold temperature outside.
He hadn't told Miroku because he was sure it had been Koga's voice, although it was weak.
He tried to use his keen nose to find him, but his scent seemed a bit different. 'Strange. But still, I have to find him if he's actually here.' He frowned, wondering why the wolf had taken that much time to come back.
"Inuyasha…"
It was barely whispered, but Inuyasha had heard it again. This time, he ran toward the source. He stopped at about ten meters from a standing figure in the cold night.
He saw someone he hadn't seen in a least a month and a half, maybe more: "Koga!"
Koga fell on his knees. "Inuyasha…" He sounded so troubled… and lost.
The dog demon approached the wolf demon, not too sure of what to do since it wasn't like him to show his weaknesses; Koga was too proud for that.
"Okay…" Inuyasha said, unsure of what to say. He helped the other to get up from his knees. He cleared his throat: "What are you doing here? And what's with the strange garments?" Koga was dressed in a long cape with a large hood. It was covering all his body and it was closed, as if he was hiding something.
"I… huh, Inu-" He stopped there, trying to keep the knot in his throat from blocking his voice, without shedding some tears. He soon realised that he wouldn't be able to talk, so he moved toward Inuyasha and clutched his fire rat coat, setting his head on Inuyasha's chest.
Inuyasha, surprised by this move, automatically encircled Koga with his arms. The wolf was crying softly and tried to speak: "Oh, Inuyasha. I… we missed you so much. I couldn't make up my mind and come to see you again…" He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand and sniffed.
Inuyasha took a moment to realise what Koga had told him: "We? Who is 'we'? What are you talking about?" The hanyou was confused.
"I'm talking about this." He pressed his mid-section on Inuyasha's. "It's in here" he simply added. Inuyasha felt Koga's hard rounded stomach on his flat and muscled one. He didn't really understand until something softly hit him. He looked down in Koga's eyes; tears were blurring the wolf's vision.
Inuyasha's eyes widened. He backed away from the other demon: "No! It can't be. But why? What- No! How?"
Koga approached the backing demon, trying to calm down Inuyasha, while holding his belly with an arm protectively: "It's okay Inuyasha. If you want, I'll… I'll go away, and you won't ever see me again. I'll take care of the pup myself. I'm sorry…"
That didn't sound like what the wolf prince would normally say. The said demon turned to go away, but Inuyasha put his hand on the pregnant demon's arm: "No. Don't go. I- That's not the way I wanted to react, I was just surprised… that's all."
Inuyasha brought the wolf closer to him, barely an inch separating them. Waiting the other to calm down, he helped him to sit down; with Koga sitting between his legs and leaning against his chest, he rubbed his back, soothing him: "Ssshh, it's okay, now. I'm sorry I reacted that way…"
Koga sniffed, still surprising Inuyasha with that strange behaviour: "I'm so sorry Inuyasha, when I learned that I was pregnant, I couldn't believe it myself. I have been hiding all this time."
The half-demon gasped: "What! You've been hiding? Damn it Koga, you could have been seriously hurt because of your condition. Why didn't you go at least to your den? They could have helped you if you didn't want to come to me in the first place."
Koga buried his face in the other's clothes and mumbled something.
"Sorry Koga, but I didn't understand clearly, even with my sensitive ears" Inuyasha said softly.
Koga repeated: "I said, that if I would have gone to the den, they would have rejected me as the leader of the pack since I mated without actually completing a mating bond. They would have treated me like dirt... and probably would have wanted to kill my pup."
With that sentence, Koga started to cry again, feeling awfully alone, even though he was in Inuyasha's arms.
The half-demon, getting a bit annoyed by the crying, decided to change a bit the subject: "So… how far are you?"
Koga looked up at Inuyasha and sniffed again: "Well… I'm a month and nineteen days along." He smiled at the other, proud to announce his lover this information.
"Oh." Inuyasha didn't know what else to answer.
They sat there for a while when, out of the blue, Koga asked shyly: "Inuyasha?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you… kiss me?"
Inuyasha blinked; he was a bit surprised at the wolf demon's question, but still, he answered: "Sure, why not?" So he bend his head toward the other and captured Koga's lips slowly and he poured a lot of emotions in it, showing the pregnant demon he wasn't alone anymore and that everything would be fine…or so he thought.
°°°
Miroku had been fixating the fire for a while and yet, he still couldn't fall asleep. He sighed and yawned out of boredom. He poked at the fire with a stick, wondering what Inuyasha was doing outside at this time of the night; after all, he had said that he would be back soon.
For a split of a second, he blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Chikara was in front of him, smiling at him.
He jumped a bit backward, but caught himself just in time from yelling; he surely didn't want to wake anyone. "What are you doing here?" he whispered at the goddess, quickly looking around to check if everyone was sleeping peacefully. He then returned his full attention to the goddess.
'Well, I'm not actually here; this is only a projection of myself that I created with my powers. I simply came to visit you guys, to see if everything was okay. I'm sorry if I scared you.' She smiled widely, happy to see him and the others.
Miroku was stunned because she hadn't moved her lips, and yet, he had heard her talk.
Upon seeing he didn't give a reply, Chikara added: 'You can speak through your thoughts not to wake the others' she said, smiling at the monk.
He nodded and tried to answer: 'Okay… can you hear me?'
She nodded.
'Wow, that's amazing! Did you learn that recently?' he asked.
'Yes. While living at the castle, I now have all my time to concentrate on developing my powers. I lost a bit track of time; I'm sorry I didn't visit earlier.' She looked around the small hut. 'Where's Inuyasha?' she said, changing the subject.
The monk shrugged: 'He's outside, in the forest. Earlier, he said that he had heard something and he went to look for it. Buddha is sending me strong vibes about that thing; I'm pretty sure it's Koga.'
'What's wrong with him?'
He shrugged: 'I don't know. He hasn't visited since more than a month and that got Inuyasha preoccupied.'
'Oh. I'll go check on him. Good bye and may all the Gods bless your journey.' She slightly bowed and disappeared in thin air.
'Good bye, Chikara.'
°°°
Back into the dept of the forest, Inuyasha was still sitting on the ground with Koga cuddled against his chest.
They were talking when out of nowhere Chikara appeared in front of them. She both surprised them, like they had been caught while doing something terrible. "Chi-chi- Chikara?" Inuyasha stuttered out.
"Greetings to you two." She was about to continue when she noticed something that wasn't pleasing her one bit. She frowned at the two demons: "What's going on here?" she asked sternly.
Inuyasha got up, as to defend his point; he helped the pregnant demon to get up. He cleared his throat: "Firstly, hi to you too. Secondly, we were simply… talking."
She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips together, showing that she wasn't in the mood to joke around: " Don't insult my intelligence Inuyasha. What Koga is doing here, definitely pregnant… and why was he cuddled with you? Should I assume you are the father?" Her blood red eyes scanned the wolf demon.
"I… well… yes. I am the father of the pup" Inuyasha said, dropping his shoulders, like he had been defeated.
She hummed, showing she acknowledged what he had said.
With swift movements, she approached closer to Koga, her black hair flowing in the air. She stopped in front of him: "So… you're pregnant…" she said, more to herself than anyone else.
As she stood there, all sorts of thought passed through her head, but what she did next hadn't been expected by any of the two demons. She huffed and walked furiously toward Inuyasha; as she was close to him, she brought a hand in the air and slapped him.
Inuyasha had closed his eyes, not because he was afraid it would hurt, but simply because out of instinct. As the demons waited for a slap sound, noting happened.
"The-the hand pa-passed right through you, Inuyasha! Chikara's a ghost!" Koga said, not believing his eyes.
Chikara clenched her teeth and ignored Koga's comment: "Be lucky this is only a projection of myself, because I swear you would have felt my anger through this slap." She took in a breath, trying to calm down. "What did you think!"
Inuyasha was stunned at the question, not really knowing the answer himself.
Koga soon realized if nothing would be said, the goddess might get angrier, so he gave her a shy reply: "Well… if you wanna know… it's all my fault." He gave a quick glance at Inuyasha, whom was shaking his head to tell Koga to stop. "I'm the one who offered my body to him. Don't blame him, please Chikara" he added.
Chikara rolled her eyes: "Koga, I understand you want to defend Inuyasha, but you must remember that to create a life, two are needed." She looked at both demons and said: "Haven't you thought of all the consequences this child – or children – will bring? Naraku is still very alive; what if he decided to come for you?"
The demons looked at each other; Inuyasha noticed that Koga was on the verge of crying again. He took his lover in his arms and tried to soothe him.
Chikara was lost in thoughts again, trying to find some solution, when she came up with something: "Listen Koga: I offer you- no I want you to come back at the castle with me. You'll pass the few months you've got left inside the secured castle walls." She paused to let the males take in the information.
Koga was the first to react, although it wasn't much of a reaction: "I can't stay."
Chikara frowned, not liking 'no' as an answer: "Yes you will!" she said, determined. "How many months have you left? Huh? Will you stay hidden all this time, with the fear of being found pending over your head?"
She looked deeply into the wolf's eyes, waiting.
Koga saw he had no choice, so he answered to her: "I still have about another month and ten days, more or less. And no, I don't want to hide to protect my unborn child. But I won't feel comfortable at the castle" he said, lowering his head.
Chikara was about to say something when Inuyasha finally spoke up: "Do you honestly think Sesshoumaru will be okay with having Koga in his castle?" he said, sarcastically, crossing his arms on his chest.
She chuckled; she knew Inuyasha wouldn't give in so easily. "Whether he likes it or not, he won't have much choice."
"We're not mates, Chikara. He won't accept this pup in his castle; it hasn't been conceived between two bonded demons." The half-demon didn't like the idea of have Koga far from him.
"He will because Koga's tribe is one of the most reliable alliances the Western Lands have since a hell lot of time. Count on me to remind him that important notion." She smiled. "Don't worry about it, you'll be in good hands, Koga."
Inuyasha still didn't like Chikara's decision. He was about to protest when Koga gently pat his shoulder and said: "Inuyasha, please, stop arguing. I'm tired and cold."
The half-demon looked into the other demon's eyes. He saw Koga was indeed tired and that he needed his sleep for the sake of their pup. "Fine," he said with a loud sigh, "but still, I don't approve." He turned to look at the goddess: "So, in which direction do we need to go to find the castle?"
Chikara immediately corrected the half-demon: "No, you are not going. You are going to stay with the others; they need your protection, Inuyasha." She turned toward Koga: "As for you, tomorrow morning, I will arrive with a cortege of soldiers to escort us back to the castle."
Again, Inuyasha was ready to argue, but remembered Koga's words, so he kept it down. He took a deep breath: "Can you promise me you take good care of him?" he asked calmly, encircling his arms around Koga protectively.
Chikara only nodded. "But there's one detail that's been left out, though."
With a questioning look on his face, Koga asked: "And what would it be?"
She gave the demons a sad look: "What do you intend to do tonight?"
Inuyasha blushed: "What do you mean, Chikara?"
The goddess laughed: "Gods, Inuyasha, that's not what I meant… Are you going back to the camp?"
"Yeah, sure. Or else they're gonna ask questions about that nightly escapade… damn. Now I know what we forgot." He turned toward Koga: "What are we going to tell the others about… you?"
The wolf demon didn't have an answer so Chikara, whom had been thinking about it, spoke up: "Well maybe I have something." She paused, waiting for the others' approval: "Inuyasha, let's say that during the night, you couldn't sleep… and-"
"Actually, I heard Koga calling my name from outside, in the forest. Then I followed the sound and there I found him" Inuyasha cut her sentence.
"Okay, but you mustn't mention the fact that you two are… intimate. So instead, let's pretend that having no one to turn to for help, Koga came to you, Inuyasha." She tapped her finger against her chin: "If they ask about Koga's mate, we'll answer them that he didn't want the pup, so he… abandoned Koga."
Koga, whom had been listening, said: "Well, don't you think that the others will find this a bit… suspicious? I mean, won't Kagome feel hurt or something… after all, I always said that I loved her and that I wanted her, no? How is she going to react to the fact that I had a mate?"
The half-demon and the goddess agreed; to prove to the gang that the story was true, they had to act properly. Inuyasha spoke up: "Well Koga, anyways, you do have me, so it doesn't make a major difference in that lie."
"This will certainly be a bit hard emotionally for both of you, but you two must act like there's nothing between you; no touching, always arguing and name calling, and so on. You think you'll be able?" Chikara asked, determined.
Inuyasha nodded immediately, but Koga hesitated a bit before nodding his answer.
Chikara smiled, satisfied with the outcome of all this. "Good, now I'll get going if I want to get here in the morning." She approached Koga and placed her ghostly hands on his shoulders: "Don't worry, your pup will be fine. Now go to sleep, tomorrow will be a big day and you need all your strength." She turned to Inuyasha: "As for you, take good care of him… and no naughty things tonight because I want him to be fresh and alert for the journey." She smiled: "And take care of you too; I hope you can do that."
Inuyasha was about to reply when a hand gently grabbed his arm: "Let's go to sleep… mutt."
The half-demon sent Koga a playful glare.
"What? I'm practising for tomorrow" he chuckled.
Inuyasha took hold of the wolf's chin: "You'd better be." He leaned in, placing a small kiss on the other's lips.
Chikara cleared her throat: "I'm still there, you guys. It seems that I'm not needed here anymore." She bowed slightly: "See you soon." And she vanished in thin air.
Both canine demons decided to sleep in the woods, even on the cold weather. Inuyasha build a small fire and they snuggled closely, to keep themselves warm.
As they fell asleep, Inuyasha put a hand on Koga's swollen stomach and dreamed of his future little family, a smile tugging at his lips.
Hi guys, sorry for the wait. I hope this chap is not too bad, I think it's boring, but meh... Anyways, I'm not much into writing these days. I've been drawing a lot, trying to submit something at DeviantArt. So, please leave reviews and it will make me happy!