Kagome gives Shoko a sheepish grin as she wrings her hands, not sure what to do with them or why she feels as though she's announcing to her mom that she's been having sex. Shoko, bless her, just stares at Satoru in disbelief. The shock brings some color to Shoko's face.
"Holy shit," Shoko says, after a beat as though it's finally hit her that Satoru is not playing a prank on her. Kagome flushes under the scrutiny. "Let me get this straight." Shoko wets her lips and holds one hand out. "A demon kidnapped you because you're pregnant with Gojo's spawn?"
"Hey!" Satoru speaks up, pouting.
"You want to confirm said pregnancy," Shoko continues, ignoring Satoru's outburst. She takes a step forward and places her hands on Kagome's shoulders, pulling her in closer as though to whisper a secret. There's a hint of nicotine coating Shoko's breath. Kagome tries to hold back the urge to wrinkle her nose, but Shoko is perceptive and raises a brow in response. "Won't the Gojo elders have a field day with this?"
"I don't…" Kagome glances at Satoru, who seems far more interested in the medical tools than Shoko's small breakdown.
"Having a child out of wedlock and to a non-sorcerer at that."
"I bet we would have fewer people going rogue if the higher-ups would back off," Satoru quips, pretending to slice the air with a scalpel. Even though Kagome cannot see his eyes behind that blindfold, she imagines his eyes are lit with mirth. "Besides, I asked Gome-chan to marry me before all of this." Satoru grabs a pair of scissors, some forceps, and juggles the tools along with the scalpel - all while humming, here comes the bride.
Kagome clucks her tongue. So, he was paying attention as she watched a bunch of cheesy romantic comedies. Shoko directs Kagome's attention back to her. She'll address his non-proposal later. No need to have such a serious discussion in Shoko's work area.
"Thank goodness, this child will have half of you. I don't think the jujutsu world could handle a mini-Satoru." Shoko shudders and then squeezes Kagome's shoulders. "Alright, I need you to drop your pants and get up on the exam table," Shoko says. She snaps the blue gloves on, the sound ricocheting in the room.
"Excuse me?" Satoru tilts his head, still juggling the tools.
"It's for the ultrasound," Kagome says, unbuttoning her jeans and slipping off her sandals. Back in her world, she accompanied Eri to her first ultrasound appointment as Eri's boyfriend - if he could really be called that - was too busy to take off work, and stated that Eri shouldn't be getting attached so quickly. She peels off of her underwear, keenly aware of how Satoru's eyes are tracking her every movement.
"Need help getting on the table?" he asks.
"Down," Kagome warns, settling on the exam table. She places the white sheet over her lower half and levels Satoru with a glare. Someone has to rein him in from time to time. The man insisted on cooking breakfast earlier, fretting over her as though she couldn't pick up a spatula. Kagome rolls her eyes.
Satoru is good - great even at a lot of things, but who the heck burns eggs?
"Never thought I'd get to use this," Shoko says as she walks over. She picks up an instrument that honestly looks more like a dildo and the condom she covers it with does not help. "Satoru, could you stop messing with my tools and cut the lights." Shoko turns her attention back to Kagome. "Blink twice if he's holding you, hostage," she whispers.
Kagome snorts, thinking back to how she fell into Satoru's lap, and even back then he wasn't too keen on her walking away. "He's not that bad," she whispers back, leaning towards Shoko while staring at Satoru.
"I don't like this," Satoru says, coming to stand near her. He points at both of them. "You two, ganging up on me." He places a kiss on Kagome's forehead, brushing her bangs back.
"I think I get it now," Shoko murmurs. She gives them a soft smile. "This might be a little cold," she warns as she applies the lubricant. Kagome nods and then looks at the monitor. The room goes silent, or maybe it's because she's holding her breath as the monitor flickers. Her stomach somersaults.
"Is that…" Satoru trails off. Kagome is distantly aware of the rustling from his blindfold.
"Your little sweet pea," Shoko chirps. "A little concerning that demons could sense a pregnancy this early."
"She was a fox," Kagome replies, breathless. Warmth spreads from her chest all the way to her toes. Not that she didn't believe Yumi, but actually seeing her child - even though he or she really did look like a little blob, was something else. Beside her, Satoru goes still. She tears her gaze from the monitor to look up at him. A faint dust of pink coats his cheeks, his mouth is slightly agape, and shining out of his eyes is unfiltered love.
"I can print off copies for your own records, but I will not save anything."
"Thank you," Kagome says, speaking up for both of them. It's not every day that something catches Satoru's tongue. The man has a witty response to everything.
"Hey, Kagome," Satoru says. Kagome hums in acknowledgment. "Does this mean you'll be calling me Daddy from now on?"
"Get out," Kagome and Shoko say in agreement. Satoru huffs.
"So rude."
Shoko cleans up the workspace and turns her back to give them some privacy. "Satoru, don't you have missions today?" Kagome watches him as she slips her underwear and pants back on.
"I always have work," he says, waving his hand. "But I can rearrange my schedule for wifey."
"You didn't tell the kids you would be late," Kagome states, though it comes off more like a question.
"I did not." Satoru takes the ultrasound pictures from Shoko and puts them in his jacket pocket. "Ijichi can drive you back to the apartment. And don't worry about dinner, we can pick up something on the way to the estate."
"We're meeting them tonight?" Kagome groans. "But if we are meeting them tonight, wouldn't it be rude to not eat with them?"
"I don't trust them," Satoru says.
"They might try to poison you since you're not a Gojo," Shoko offers. She twirls the unlit cigarette between her fingers.
"What's stopping them from trying that if I was a Gojo?" Kagome crosses her arms. These elders sounded worse than the demons. At least with them, she knew what she was getting into.
"Don't take it the wrong way," Satoru starts, "but as my wife - in their eyes, you would belong to me. And hurting you would be a personal offense to me and a declaration of war." He walks over and places a finger to her lips, shushing her protests. "That's just an added benefit, not the sole reason why I want to marry you."
"Holy shit, I get it now," Shoko says.
Kagome uncrosses her arms and wraps them around Satoru, resting her head on him. "So, I get to slap some people tonight?"
"I support this." He places a kiss on top of her head. "I'll walk you out, and once you get home, you and baby get some rest." He ushers them out, waving goodbye to Shoko.
"Hey, Kagome," Shoko says, right before Kagome walks out of the door, "thank you."
For what? Kagome thinks. She should thank Shoko for taking the time out to see her. Shoko's gaze is on Satoru, though her message was towards Kagome. A small smile breaks off across her face. With all the pressure resting on Satoru's shoulders, she's grateful that he has friends he can depend on.
"Of course," she replies. She'll always have Satoru's back.
A/N: I'm so glad that you guys are excited about the baby as much as I am :) Thank you so much! We are meeting the Gojo family next week. I'll probably put the gang's reaction in the side stories, so we can focus more on the action. My puppy is determined to go to the vet at least once a week - we just got to rule out some things before I change her dog food. I hope you all have a great week! And look, I gave you fluff for Halloween and not pain *lol*
