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Worth Waiting For
By : inumom
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 6484 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 15
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- 17
Disclaimer: Still don�t own �em. Damn.

A bit lime-scented, but nothing particularly offensive.

16. Another Woman

As summer drew to a close, the village men hunted more and more often, usually every four or five days, in order to store enough meat to keep the population fed through the long, unforgiving winter. As he had agreed, Inuyasha led those hunting parties, his hanyou senses and intimate knowledge of the forest that bore his name showing him exactly where the game would be. Although he was entitled to a large portion of the meat taken in these community hunts, he rarely accepted any, usually settling for hides prepared by the villagers or the occasional bag of rice or some other commodity they did not produce themselves.
When he was not hunting with the village men, he hunted for his own family or worked on a new project in his workshop, which had taken over the vacant chamber between Miroku�s room and the storage rooms at the rear of the cave complex. Since Rin had become relatively proficient with the bow, she would accompany him occasionally to learn the stalking skills that might one day make the difference between life and death. Since she had spent years following Sesshoumaru through the woods of his territory, she was naturally silent moving through the underbrush. After only three trips into the forest with her teacher, she made her first kill, a young wild boar that she shot through the ribs, killing it instantly.
She also spent a great deal of time watching the hanyou in his workshop. She was, for example, the only one who knew that he was working on a special surprise for his mate. She was dying to let the secret out, but had been sworn to secrecy and would never consider violating that agreement.
Autumn was a very busy time in the small community. Food was harvested, gathered, and stored for the upcoming winter. Medicines and vitamin-rich supplements were compounded and prepared for use. Additional supplies of fabrics and modern medicines were brought back from Kagome�s home on the other side of the well. Plans were made for long-term projects to fill the time when poor weather made traveling impossible.
It was on one particularly lovely autumn afternoon when a small voice spoke behind Kagome as she worked on removing some of the dead plants from the vegetable garden. By doing so now, not only would the earth warm up faster in the spring, but it would also help to prevent any diseases or insect pests from surviving in the dead plant material over the winter. All such material was chopped roughly and put into the compost bins.
�Kagome-sama?�
Something about the girl�s voice made her turn around. One look at her pale, frightened face, and the older woman rose slowly to her feet. �What is it, Rin-chan? Is something wrong?�
�I don�t know. Could you come with me?�
Following the child into their home, she couldn�t imagine what the problem might be. Once inside the girl�s room, she soon learned what had been distressing her so. A quick glance at the sheet covering the girl�s futon told her the entire story. Stripping the sheet, she smiled at the girl who was now just bout her own height. �There�s nothing at all wrong. You�re becoming a woman.�
At the confusion on the girl�s face, she sat down, patting the surface next to her. �I should have guessed--Sesshoumaru wouldn�t think to mention any of this to you--but weren�t there any human women at the palace who could have told you to expect this?�
She shook her head. �There are a few humans at Sesshoumaru-sama�s palace, but they�re all men. I don�t think that any of the youkai women would even know about something like this.�
Kagome shook her head, trying not to laugh at the image of Sesshoumaru trying to explain human reproduction to the girl. �First of all, this is nothing to worry about--it�s perfectly normal. This will happen every four weeks or so throughout your life except for when you become pregnant.� She explained briefly that the bleeding was the result of the normal workings of the female cycle. After showing the girl how to keep herself and her clothing clean for the four or five days that it lasted, she took the sheet out to wash to show her how to get blood stains out of fabric--always a useful skill in this world.
Later that night, Kagome brought the matter up to her mate. �You�ve obviously noticed --Rin-chan has become a woman.�
He nodded slowly, wondering where this conversation was heading. �I noticed, but it doesn�t bother me, if that�s what you�re worried about. It doesn�t bother me when it happens to Sango, either--not even when she�s in heat.�
Her brow furrowed as she thought about that. �That�s something I�ve wondered about--why don�t you react when Sango is in heat? You certainly had a strong enough reaction when it was me.�
He smirked at the naïve question. �Of course I react to you--you�re my mate. I just don�t really pay attention to Sango or any of the other women we�ve met that way.�
She nodded slowly. �I think I see. I don�t really notice much about the men we meet, either. What do you suppose will happen when she goes back to Sesshoumaru?�
He shrugged. �He said he�d find her a mate. I don�t know where he plans to look--he doesn�t associate with humans if he can possibly help it.�
She looked at him with wide eyes. �Do you really think he�ll try to find her a youkai mate?�
�I don�t know. He doesn�t think too much of youkai and humans mating, in case you hadn�t noticed. The only other options he has are to either deal with humans or keep her with him. Since he�s already said that he�s going to find her a mate, I can only assume that he�s got some kind of plan in mind.�
His mate shook her head slowly. �I just hope she doesn�t get hurt.�
The hanyou sighed. He had been thinking about what he had to say for several days now, and had reached the unappealing conclusion that there was no safe way to broach the subject. �There�s something I need to talk to you about.� Unable to think of a good way to bring it up, he decided that the direct approach was best. �I think it�s about time you stop going through the well until after the pup comes.�
She sighed in response. �Can I at least go back for one more visit, tomorrow or the next day? I don�t want to just stop going there without a word.�
He considered briefly, then agreed. �You can go, but you�re not jumping into that well yourself--I�ll take you there. If we need anything from there after this, I�ll take care of it. Now,� he said, pulling her closer and settling in for some well-earned sleep, �Go to sleep. If we�re going to go and visit your family tomorrow, I want you to be rested.�

*

Naturally, Kagome�s mother was quite disappointed to learn that she probably wouldn�t be seeing her daughter--or her new grandchild--until spring, but she understood the problems involved. She had always known that the hanyou wouldn�t risk allowing his mate to become injured by continuing to jump down the well. She had, in fact, expected that he would have halted the process before this. Even after the arrival of the �pup�--gods, she loved the way they looked when they said that, so very much in love--winter weather would make it nearly impossible to reach the well, especially with an infant.
So, in the manner of mothers everywhere faced with a difficult situation, she smiled, went about the business at hand, and said nothing. It was not, after all, as though they hadn�t tried to bring her through the well so that she could visit. They had tried a number of different possibilities, including having he son-in-law carry her through and giving her a fragment of the Shikon no Tama. No matter what they tried, she still found herself at the bottom of the well looking up at the roof of the shrine�s well house.
For some reason they still hadn�t discovered, only Inuyasha and Kagome themselves could go through the well between the times.
She had been very busy in her role as grandmother-to-be, shopping for all of the necessities an infant needed while carefully weeding out things that would be useless in her daughter�s home. With the hanyou�s hearing, there was no need for a baby monitor, even if they�d had electricity with which to run it. A stroller would be useless on the forest trails and rutted paths that passed for roads where they lived. After a brief consultation with the child�s father, she had refrained from purchasing the usual sort of infant furniture, being content with her choice of a folding nylon-mesh playpen as the largest item in her extensive inventory. She did, however, make it a point to get the largest diaper bag she could find, as there were no disposals in the Sengoku Jidai, as well as dozens of cloth diapers and a sling-type carrier that would allow her daughter to carry her child while keeping her hands free to attend to whatever she had to do.
Although she had never met any of the other people with whom her daughter had chosen to spend her life, she had been hearing about them for more than three years now, and felt as though she knew them well. She was happy to learn that the fox youkai kit they seemed to have inadvertently adopted was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his younger sibling--things could have been difficult if he had decided to resent the new arrival. She greeted the news that the little girl who had been staying with them to learn their various skills had begun to mature with mixed feelings: she couldn�t help but wonder what kind of life the child would have ahead of her. She was glad to hear that the youkai taijiya and the houshi seemed to be finally resolving their differences and might actually admit their feelings to each other in the near future. Even though she knew little about the old woman who acted as miko and healer in the village that would one day become Tokyo, she was glad to hear that she was in vigorous good health and a strong supporter of the odd family that her daughter seemed to have accumulated.
She had a nice long talk with her daughter while the hanyou began ferrying all the new gear through the well. She had, of course, had her reservations about the entire situation, ever since Kagome had been dragged through the well by the centipede youkai for the first time. Still, she had to admit that she had never seen her daughter so blissfully happy.
And that, as a mother, was good enough for her.
After she had gone, she looked with wonder at the small object the hanyou had pressed into her hands before leaving. The item, a small wooden box made of maple with a design of flying birds inlaid in cherry wood on the top, held a beautiful silk scarf in a creamy ivory shade covered with rosy sakura blossoms and a note saying that this was an early Christmas gift, and that others would be delivered before the holiday.

*

As she might have expected, Inuyasha, burdened with the fruits of his mother-in-law�s generosity, griped and grumbled the entire way home. Still, any inconvenience was worth it if it meant keeping peace with his mate.
About halfway between the well and their home, the hanyou sniffed the air, detecting a very familiar scent. �What the hell do you want this time,� he snarled.
The cool voice came from the trees behind them. �The same thing I have wanted on each of my previous visits, brother: news of Rin. Is she well?�
Kagome, who had only been permitted to carry a few light bundles, set them down and eased herself down onto the ground next to them--her feet were killing her. �She�s coming along nicely. She�s turning into a pretty good cook, and has been making herself a wardrobe--including a very elaborate wedding kimono for when you find her a mate. She�s learned to hunt well enough to feed herself should it ever become necessary. She�s learning healing and a little basic carpentry. Still,� she said, not entirely sure she wanted to bring up the matter that had been bothering her.
The youkai looked impatient. �What is it, woman?�
She shook her head. �I just don�t know if leaving her with us was the right decision. You said that you wanted her to be able to fit into decent society, but she�s been doing things that no woman of the upper classes would ever consider--running around the forest hunting, preparing and serving food, gardening�I don�t see how any of this will make her any more acceptable to a potential human mate.�
�It won�t.� At her glance of curiosity, Sesshoumaru continued, �I have decided that there are no humans--at least in this region--nearly good enough for her. Her education as you have described it will make her suitable as mate for a youkai of high rank.�
�She�s worried about that, you know. She�s afraid that she might not like the mate you choose for her.� She watched him carefully, waiting for his answer.
He shook his head. �I would not do her such a disservice. She will never be forced to accept a mate she doesn�t want, and I will be very selective about the candidates--they will be of my own rank at the very least.� He paused briefly. �I think that I should begin the search even before she returns to the palace, since she has already become a woman.�
�You noticed?�
�I pass this way frequently. I know her scent as well as I know my own--is it surprising that I could detect the changes as soon as I came into the area?� He fixed his brother with an icy stare. �You are a truly worthless creature--how could you permit your mate to walk such a distance in this condition?� Before the enraged hanyou could reply, Sesshoumaru stepped forward, lifted the mass of infant gear, and turned in the direction of the couple�s home. �Tend to your mate, baka.�
Lifting the human woman carefully, he whispered into her hair, �You know, I�m almost starting to like that bastard.�
Since he didn�t want to be seen by the young woman he had left in their care, he carefully deposited his burdens in the forest near the entrance to their home before fading away into the growing darkness of the autumn evening. It was a simple matter for the others to bring the things the rest of the way from there without arousing suspicion in the rest of the household.
Since Kagome became uncomfortable if she ate too much at any one time, she had changed her pattern to a number of small meals over the course of the day. After a light salad with a few strips of meat in it, she headed to the hot spring with her mate. Looking down, she realized with a shock that she could only see the tips of her toes. �You don�t have to stay here.�
�Nani?� Although he didn�t have the faintest idea what she was talking about, her tone of voice did not bode well for his happiness in the immediate future.
She flared suddenly. �Look at me! I�m not exactly a vision right now.�
�You are to me.� Grabbing her suddenly so that she couldn�t fight back, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around the growing bulge extending in front of her. �You�ve always been beautiful. Right now you look the way you do because you�re carrying our pup. Nobody could ever be more beautiful than you are right now.�
�What about Kikyou?� It was a vicious thing to say, but at that moment she didn�t care--she had had a long day: she was tired, her back ached, and her feet hurt, and she had just realized that she was beginning to take on the proportions of a small building.
�What about her? She was the first friend I can remember--the first person to even talk to me after my mother died. Of course, I wasn�t much more than a pup then myself. I thought that what we had was love, but it was just a case of two lonely people who didn�t have anything else. Hell, I didn�t even know what love was. Not until you came along.�
She collapsed against his chest, sobbing into his haori. �I�m sorry,� she whispered. �I don�t know what�s wrong with me.�
His arms went around her, and he gently stroked her back. �There�s nothing wrong with you, love,� he whispered, pressing his face into the side of her neck, looking for the sensitive place below her ear. �You�re perfect.� He was immensely glad that her mother had told him to expect this kind of thing: he didn�t even want to think about the size of the crater he would have found himself in if he had acted on instinct and said something stupid.
They helped each other undress, getting into the steaming water. They lathered each other thoroughly, taking their time, so that they could make the experience as pleasant as possible. They had pretty much decided to forego any regular mating for the duration, as the woman found her growing bulk becoming more awkward almost daily. In any case, they had decided, there were plenty of other activities they could engage in to pleasure each other.
For the time being, they stored all the gear they had received from Kagome�s mother in the empty room next to their own. In time, they would arrange things to advantage, but that would wait for another day. On this night, there was no time for anything but each other.
There would be no violent passion this night. Instead, they traded quiet words and gentle touches, bringing each other slowly to a soft fulfillment somehow different from anything either of them had ever experienced before. As his eyes slipped slowly shut, the hanyou thought contentedly that his life couldn�t possibly get any better.
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- 17
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Worth Waiting For	By : inumom Category: InuYasha > General Views: 6484 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Worth Waiting For