Chapter Twenty-Two

Koga

The next day was unseasonably cool for August and Kagome found that she enjoyed the cool breeze blowing on her face gently.

"Kagome are you okay?" Sango asked as she walked next to her friend. "Do you want to ride Kirara for a while?" Kagome smiled and shook her head. "No I'm fine Sango."

"Don't over do it Little Bird." Megumi said as she appeared at the Miko's side as if out of thin air. For some reason InuYasha's aunts and Uncle Raiden had taken to calling Kagome 'Little Bird.'

"I won't." Kagome said as the demoness looked at her sternly. "I promise."

Megumi smiled when she was sure that Kagome knew that if she did over do it she would be answering to the older woman.

InuYasha was walking in his usual place at the head of the group; Raiden and Miroku were walking at his side and the women were behind them with Kagome and Shippo. Dai was at the rear of the group glaring all the while.

Suddenly Kagome stopped as a familiar pull at her consciousness caught her attention.

She turned to around looking back the way they had come.

"InuYasha I sense two jewel shards coming in fast."

That was all it took for InuYasha to be at Kagome's side in an instant. The hanyo became even more hostile as the scent of the one that carried the jewel shards reached his nose.

"Damn mangy wolf." He growled. As he moved so he completely hid Kagome from view. It wasn't long before the whirling dust tornado that signaled Koga's presence came into view.

As usual the cloud went straight for InuYasha leapt into the air and landed on the angry hanyo then continued on to Kagome.

Once the dust cleared Koga stood dressed in his fur kilt and armor, his raven ponytail blowing in the wind. His ice blue eyes locked onto Kagome and he smirked arrogantly until he noticed her pregnant belly.

"Ka-Kagome?" He stuttered. He could seem to take his eyes from the damning evidence that she was no longer, had never, been his woman. "Wha- how?"

Kagome bit her lip as the wolf demon stared at her belly and stuttered. Aiko and Megumi watched the Yokai closely as they brought their heads together and whispered among themselves.

"Isn't that-?" Aiko started.

"I believe so." Megumi answered.

Suddenly a smug chuckle came from the hole that Koga had stomped InuYasha in as he pulled himself painfully out of the crater.

"What's wrong you flea bitten wolf? Cat got your tongue?" the pure pride and sheer joy at seeing his old romantic rival completely speechless.

Koga turned stupefied eyes to the silver hanyo currently grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in wonderland and as he stared at InuYasha everything clicked from the underlining scent of the tropical floral scent of the miko's pregnancy all the way to said priestess's physical condition.

"You!" Koga snarled as he lunged at InuYasha who gracefully dodged the angry demon. "You touched my woman!"

"I think the pup in her womb would beg to differ you mange ridden idiot!"

Kagome rolled her eyes as she took a seat on a fallen log deciding that now would be the perfect time to take a break and rest her swollen ankles. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara followed their friend and all got comfortable to wait out the two feuding demon men.

Raiden and the others looked from the two fighting men to the group that were currently sitting a talking about whatever came to mind in confusion.

"I take it InuYasha and Lord Koga fight like this often." Raiden said as he watched the boys grappling on the ground as they kicked up dirt and hurled insults at one another.

"Must be, Kagome seems completely at ease. If this was serious she would be yelling for them to stop." Megumi said.

"Then I guess we can chill out too then." Aiko said as she walked over toward a shade tree to layback and take a catnap, or rather a dog nap.

The two older siblings shrugged and followed the other's example and sat back and watched the two males make fools of themselves.

"Stupid, woman stealing cur!"

"Smelly, cocky, flea infested, idiot wolf!"

"Am Not!"

"Oh yes you are!"

It was late afternoon by the time the half demon and wolf demon exhausted themselves and were lying side by side and weakly hitting one another.

"Give up you stupid wolf." InuYasha murmured.

"Never you- Oh forget it!"

And then they were both still.

Miroku got up and went to check on their friends to find that they had quit literally beaten each other to sleep.

"Well I guess this is where we'll be camping tonight."

Sango sighed as she stood. "I'll get a fire started. Kagome do we have anymore Ramen left?"

"Yeah since InuYasha and the guys have been hunting so much we still have lots of food."

"Alright then," Sango then turned to Miroku who was standing over InuYasha and Koga with a mischievous smile. "Monk!" Sango called. "Whatever you're thinking of doing don't! Go get some fire wood instead."

Miroku looked over to Sango to see a very dangerous look and his plans of defacing InuYasha and Koga with one of Kagome's permanent markers was out the window.

"Come Shippo." Miroku said as he and the little fox on his shoulder headed into the woods to find wood as requested.

Raiden stretched and yawned before he stood up too. "Dai and I will do a perimeter check."

Then the two males disappeared as well.

By the time the two sleeping men woke from their fight induced sleep camp was set and dinner was ready.

InuYasha's nose twitched as the smell of ramen reached his nose. The hanyo pulled himself up painfully up into a sitting position.

"When did I fall asleep?" he wondered out loud.

"About an hour or so ago." Kagome answered making his ear twitch toward her.

InuYasha looked over to see Kagome comfortably sitting on her sleeping bag reading a book while the others doing their own things.

InuYasha stood and walked over toward his mate and eyed the book in her lap.

"What are you reading?" he asked as she handed him his share of the ramen.

"A baby name book." The mother to be answered as she looked back at the book.

"I've already got a list going from Akane to Yumi."

InuYasha glanced shyly at Kagome as she read the book.

"Kagome?" he asked earning a hum of acknowledgment. "Would it be okay if we named her after my mother?" he asked.

Kagome looked over at her husband with wide eyes and blinked.

"Of course we can," she said. "You are her father InuYasha you have a say in her name just as much as I do."

InuYasha sighed. He had been worried that Kagome would be against the idea of naming their daughter for his mother. Not many would blame her for not wanting to name her child after a disgraced princess.

"Okay so Izayoi it is." Kagome said as she closed the baby name book and smiled as she caressed her stomach. "Our little Izayoi."

"That's a very beautiful name. Well done InuYasha." Miroku smiled as Sango and Shippo nodded in agreement.

"Your Lady Mother would be very happy." Megumi offered as she smiled serenely at the couple.

"I always did like Izayoi." Aiko added. But Dai only growled as he turned away and marched into the forest.

InuYasha watched as the back of his 'uncle' faded into the early evening shadows but the hanyo refused to allow the unhappy male ruin this moment for him.

"Uhhh What happened?" the whole group looked over at Koga as he sat up. "You and InuYasha beat each other to sleep Koga." Shippo said as the wolf prince stood up and stretched. He then turned to the group and put his hands on his hips.

"Okay now someone explain ho my woman ended up pregnant with the mutts pup."

With Dai

Dai stormed through the forest as the light of the sun faded beyond the Western horizon. He hated that half demon brat, he hated his human pack and his whore priestess and he hated that little abomination growing inside said whore.

A hanyo with spiritual powers is beyond natural and everyone is just fine with letting the runt live. They make me sick.

He stopped and punched a sturdy oak tree and felt a grim satisfaction when it splintered beneath the abuse.

"My so much anger."

Dai turned to glare at the one who had spoken. Behind him he saw a man dressed in a white and blue baboon pelt.

Instantly Dai recognized the demon as Naraku. He was the one that had insulted Sesshomaru and the Silver Inu Clan but the demon man's first instinct wasn't to attack but something much worse.

"Naraku I presume." Then Dai smiled as he stepped forward. "I believe we have business to discuss."

A/N: Who else hates Dai? I know I do and I created him. Please review and let me know what you all think!

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha!

P.S. I did some research on the customs on naming babies in japan and found it is extremely common for a baby to be her grandparent's namesake.

I found this information at

www. betibeta .com Under name giving. I also learned a lot of interesting things I will be incorporating into the story for Izayoi's birth.

Thanks for all of the reviews so far I really appreciate it.