Disclaimer:
InuYasha, Kagome and anyone else you saw in the manga or anime does
not belong to me. Yukio does. If I saw so much as a shiny penny for
this story, you think I’d be writing fanfiction still? Okay, I
would… Damn other authors and their more interesting universes…
Patches at translated dialogue from the manga.
Genre:
Angst, Romance
Rating: M
Codes: Inu/Kag
Feedback: Keeps my
muse talking and the stories coming! Do tell. But if you have a
flame, use it for something more productive, like setting your
clothes on fire.The Boyfriend
Chapter 29
Kagome was using every ounce of her willpower to
remain sitting. The rest was entirely her mother’s hand holding her
in place. It was so hard not to go running into the operating room
where her fiancé and daughter were currently undergoing a
dangerous procedure. She wasn’t worried about InuYasha, she knew he
would heal, but Tama was just a little girl. A tiny little girl. Her
only baby…
“They will be just fine,” Mama said, giving
Kagome’s hand a reassuring squeeze before putting her hand back in
her lap.“How do you do this?” Kagome asked softly.
Mrs. Higurashi turned to look at her. “Every time I go through the
well, you must feel like this. You must wonder if I’ll come back.
How do you do it?”“That’s not the same,” Mrs. Higurashi
answered. “I know that it’s dangerous, but I also believe that
you wouldn’t be able to go there if there wasn’t a reason you
were supposed to. And I believe that when you’ve fulfilled your
purpose, you’ll come safely back to me.”“But when I was gone, you—”“I’m sorry about that. I know InuYasha was
doing his best, but it was right after… And it took so long that
I…” Mrs. Higurashi looked down. “I always believed you would
come home. I was just afraid of what was happening to you in the
meantime. I don’t like the thought of you in pain.”“I can understand that,” Kagome agreed. “I
just don’t understand how you were okay with me going back again
after that.” Her mom smiled.“I trust you, Kagome. And I trust InuYasha. I
have to let you do what you must do. It’s part of being a mother.
Yes, part of it is keeping you safe, but a bigger part is helping you
to grow up,” Mrs. Higurashi told her. Kagome’s eyes brimmed with
tears and she threw her arms around her mother and hugged her,
crying. Mrs. Higurashi stroked her hair and patted her back. After a
few minutes, Kagome pulled herself back together and wiped her eyes
on the back of her arm. Kagome smiled back at her mom, thinking how
different she looked now that she, herself was a mother. She thought
more about what her mom thought of her than she ever had.“I hope that I’m as good a mother as you were
for me,” Kagome told her.“I’m sure you will be,” Mrs. Higurashi
reassured her. “When you were first born, I worried all the time
about what kind of mother I would be and what kind I wanted to be. I
was always worried that I would do the wrong thing.”“When did you stop worrying?” Kagome asked.“I’ll let you know when it happens,” her
mother answered with a wink.“Higurashi-san?” the doctor called from the
doorway. Kagome stood up immediately.“Yes, sensei?” Kagome responded, walking over
to him.“Tama and Taji-san are out of surgery,” he
told her. “Everything went fine and they’re recovering now. You
may see them if you like.”“Are they in the same room?” Kagome asked.“No, Tama is in the pediatric ward.”“InuYasha will probably wake up first,” Kagome
said softly. “Can you take me there? Can my mom go to Tama?”“Of course,” the doctor agreed and guided
Kagome to InuYasha’s room. A nurse was sent to take her mother to
Tama’s. Kagome bowed slightly to the doctor as he left, then went
to sit next to InuYasha, whose hair and ears were stuffed together
into a plastic cap that she had put on him earlier to hide his true
nature. No one had seemed to notice that he didn’t have ears under
the rim of the cap, but she supposed that maybe some people liked it
down that low.She reached out and had to stop herself from
removing the cap and tweaking his ears, but satisfied herself with
tweaking the plastic instead. She glanced around to make sure no one
was watching her, then she lifted the sheet off his torso and looked
down, blushing and dropping it immediately. She hadn’t realized he
was totally nude underneath! Well, except for what she had been
looking for—the bandages on his hip, where they had removed a
section of bone for the marrow that was now benefiting her daughter.“Get a good look?” InuYasha whispered, making
Kagome jump. She blushed furiously, having just stopped right before
he spoke and let her bangs fall into her face, covering her eyes. She
heard a cough and looked over to realize InuYasha was laughing at
her! She started to get angry and then smiled instead.“Well, it’s only fair, considering how many
times you’ve peeped at me,” she teased him. He coughed a little
more and she leaned over to kiss his forehead. “You’re not
supposed to be awake yet,” Kagome told him. “But then, the stuff
they gave you was intended for a human, after all.” InuYasha made a
soft sound of agreement.“How is Tama?” he asked, his voice barely
audible.“They said she’s doing fine. I wanted to come
here first, though, since I knew you would wake up first and I could
be in the room with you when it happened,” Kagome answered.
InuYasha smiled, his eyelids drooping. Kagome could see that he was
tired. “It’s going to be hard not being able to touch her for
weeks. Even when she was in the NICU when she was born, I could still
touch her.”“Don’t want… make her… sick,” InuYasha
trailed off and Kagome smiled when she heard his louder breathing. He
had fallen back to sleep. She slid the plastic cap off now and pulled
out the red bandanna she had brought with her, tying it over his
ears. They had told the doctor it was for luck and that’s why
InuYasha wore it at every meeting before the surgery and would wear
it after. She stroked his hair down against the pillow and smiled
softly at him, then stood up to leave.It didn’t take her long to find a nurse to take
her to her daughter, though it took longer to actually get to Tama’s
room. Mrs. Higurashi was standing at the glass window, looking in at
Tama lying asleep in the bed. Kagome stood next to her and wondered
at the tiny little girl lying in a room all by herself, where she
would be until her immune system kicked back in. Until then, Kagome
couldn’t go in for fear of killing her with a stray germ. There was
an IV running into her arm that the nurse pointed out to Kagome.“That’s the transfusion line,” she told
Kagome as a doctor adjusted it. “It’s giving her the cells from
Taji-san. It will take about two hours.”“When will I be able to visit her?” Kagome
asked.“When her absolute neutrophil count is greater
than five hundred for three days,” the nurse answered. “Usually a
week or two.” Kagome nodded.“Will she get the breast milk I pumped?”
Kagome asked. The nurse nodded.“After it’s been treated. It will be good for
her recovery,” the nurse agreed. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.
It was one of Tama’s favorite things and the only thing of hers
that she could give to her while she was recovering. She felt so bad
that Tama wouldn’t even be with her mother during this separation.
She would be with the nurses and doctor she had only just started to
get to know over the past couple weeks. Kagome wiped away a tear
discreetly as she remembered how scared Tama had been when Kagome had
to leave the room so she could receive anesthesia.“Thank you,” Kagome told the nurse. She stood
silently next to her mother and watched the doctor finishing
adjusting Tama’s central line and leave.InuYasha healed perfectly and there was no mark
where they'd drilled into him within a week. Tama, on the other hand
barely looked alive when Kagome visited her and eventually, she just
went down the well. She couldn't handle the wait, she needed
something to distract herself. Whenever Tama saw her, she became
hysterical, so her doctor had suggested it would be best if she
stopped coming for a while anyway.It was to be the biggest mistake she had made in a
long time.Kirara wasn't there, so she ran into the middle of
the fray with no one prepared for her to be there. They were fighting
a possessed Kohaku and as Kagome ran onto the field, he flung himself
at an outcropping of sharp rocks, trying to destroy his body and
Magatsuhi at the same time.InuYasha grabbed Kohaku, saving him at the last
minute and Kagome was surprised to see a bright spot of light still
shining from his tainted shard. She realized that he had succeeded in
ejecting Magatsuhi from his body entirely. But she sensed Naraku's
tainted shikon no tama in the area and knew that meant he had to be
here. But where, she couldn't tell.“InuYasha, be careful!” Kagome yelled and
every head swung towards her. “Naraku is here!” And then a
tentacle formed from the air, smashing into InuYasha and stealing
Kohaku from his grasp.“You lose!” Magatsuhi laughed. But it was a
short-lived victory for him as a voice turned everyone's attention
again.“Naraku's body... hn. Bakusaiga!” An electric
wave tore from the sword in Sesshomaru's hand and Kagome gasped when
her skin crawled from it and the sharp scent of ozone burned her
nose.Kohaku fell.Sango screamed and pushed Kirara, who barely swung
down to get below him in time before he would have been crushed.
Kagome barely heard the commentary that followed, but she caught the
gist of it. 'Tenseiga is
all that can kill Magatsuhi,' she thought to herself, feeling
hope surge into her heart. 'If Magatsuhi is destroyed, my powers
will return.'But her hope was crushed when after taunting
Sesshomaru, who responded simply with the information that the first
blow was to declare that he could kill him, he spoke words whose
meaning didn't instantly sink in.“It's not over? What does that mean?” Kagome
asked. Sango understood, when InuYasha thought it was just a bluff.“Houshi-sama sucked up part of Magatsuhi,” she
reasoned. “And Rin was also hit with Magatsuhi's toxic aura and has
been unconscious ever since!” She had barely finished her words
when Sesshomaru spun and disappeared in the direction of the village.
“We should also return to the village, I'm worried about
houshi-sama and the others.”“Right!” InuYasha agreed. “Let's go Kagome!”“Right...” Kagome started to take a step when
InuYasha's face filled with horror.“Naraku!” he shouted. Kagome felt hard limbs
wrap around her torso, crushing her and she screamed. Naraku laughed.“Kagome, I don't even need to hide behind a
barrier, since you couldn't even tell where I was. It looks like your
spiritual powers haven't returned yet.”“Naraku, you bastard!” InuYasha snarled,
brandishing Tetsusaiga. Kagome struggled to escape, suddenly
panicking against the feel of being trapped against the evil hanyou's
chest. His limbs tightened and she ceased being able to move at all
as he used her as a human shield.“What's wrong, InuYasha?” he taunted. “Don't
hold back. Kill me.” InuYasha growled, but it was clear he was
helpless to do anything. “Don't worry. I won't kill her. Not until
I take Kohaku's shard.” Tentacles flew into Kagome's vision on a
path towards Kohaku and Sango, still flying on Kirara.“Have you forgotten about Hiraikotsu's powers,
Naraku?” Sango challenged, hacking away at him. He laughed and
Kagome shuddered.“Sango—the part of my body that you're
currently destroying is a part I don't mind throwing away,” he told
her. “The part that Sesshomaru cut away earlier was just as
useless. My body is limitless.” Kagome's fear faded for a moment
and she was able to think rationally, despite being trapped as she
was.'If I can just find where the shikon no tama is
in his body, he should be defeatable,' she thought. 'Where is
it? His head? His neck? Or maybe his heart?' She sent out all of
her power into him and finally...“InuYasha! Sango-chan! The shikon no tama is in
Naraku's right shoulder!” It was the last thing she was able to
communicate as his limbs tightened around her throat until the
pressure was unbearable and she lost consciousness.When she woke up, she had the strangest feeling of
sinking into something. Her eyes flew open as she realized what was
happening.“I'm being sucked in!” she called out,
terrified. Naraku gloated and Kohaku asked for his word that a trade
could be arranged.“Stay away, Kohaku-kun! There's no way Naraku
would spare me! Plus, if the shikon shard that binds your life is
removed, you'll die!” Then, to her horror, Kohaku agreed to
Naraku's terms, to trade himself for her. She knew it was a trap, but
there was nothing more she could do or say. She was afraid for
herself, but even more so for Kohaku as he surrendered and Naraku's
appendages grabbed hold of him.But the fear only lasted as long as it took Naraku
to drop his barrier, then Kohaku pounced, pulling out a sacred arrow,
still full of the purity of both Kagome and Kikyo and plunged it into
Naraku's shoulder, where it had already been torn open, though Kagome
had missed when or by whom.Kagome leaned as far away from Naraku as she could
manage as Naraku dug the arrow in deep. She looked and realized she
could see the light flowing through the arrow from Kohaku's shard. “I
can see it!” Kagome declared as the jewel started to be revealed.
Then Naraku shook Kohaku off and started to flee—with her still
wrapped in his grasp. “InuYasha!” she screamed.“Kagome!” he screamed back, leaping after
them, Tetsusaiga already transforming. “Kongousouha!” he yelled
as he released thousands of diamond spears at Naraku's head,
shredding it and freeing Kagome. “Kagome!” he yelled as she fell.Kagome wasn't scared, though. All she felt was
relief that Naraku was no longer confining her. That, and the air
rushing past her as gravity pulled her down. A moment later, just as
she knew would happen, she was nestled in InuYasha's arms.“Kagome, you're not hurt are you?” he asked,
looking into her eyes with concern.“No,” she answered, just relieved to be back
in his arms. She looked up and frowned. “He's run and hid in that
cloud.”“Damnit,” InuYasha muttered, glaring up at the
black sky above. He carefully set Kagome down and they turned as
Sango landed with Kohaku.“Did Naraku escape?” Sango asked.“Yeah, but he must have been pretty shaken up by
Kohaku's attack,” InuYasha confirmed.“Thank you, Kohaku,” Kagome said. He smiled.
“We were all saved, thanks to you.”“Thank goodness,” he said.“Kohaku, everything's all right now.”“Yes, ane-ue,” he replied, looking peaceful
for the first time that Kagome had ever seen him. Then he looked
surprised and Kagome saw the small spray of blood from his shoulder.
She felt cold as his face went blank and he fell. She watched in
horror as his shard flew out of him, towards Naraku above them.“Kohaku!” Sango cried out.“Kohaku-kun...” Kagome whispered. 'He's
dead?' It didn't want to sink in. It was so sudden—no warning
at all. Just like Tama's falling spells. Kagome felt shocky.“Kohaku? Why? WHY?!” Sango cried and
InuYasha's face twisted with pain and anger.“Kagome—Naraku... where is Naraku?!”
InuYasha demanded.Kagome looked up. 'I can see it,' she
thought, 'Naraku's completely black shikon no tama.' Kagome
clutched the bow she had carried this whole time, taken from Kaede's
hut on the way. 'My holy arrow... Even if my spiritual power
hasn't returned, I can still show InuYasha the way!' She drew the
string back and fired, straight for the jewel.“There! Meidou zangetsuha!” InuYasha yelled,
releasing the power he had taken from Sesshomaru in their last
battle. Black funnels formed a sphere of night where Naraku was only
a moment before, but the bastard just laughed as he escaped.“InuYasha, you can't even save even a single
small life like Kohaku's. The priestess's light has died out and now
even Kohaku's shard is tainted with my darkness.” Kagome was
shocked to find that it was true. The light was gone from the shard.
She stared as Naraku retreated, unwilling to turn to the soft crying
behind her.Suddenly, InuYasha punched the ground with all his
strength and slumped over on himself, defeated.“InuYasha...” Kagome whispered, unable to help
him. She couldn't help anyone. She had failed even more than he had.
All that she was had been taken from her and now she was just a
useless bystander. 'I'm sorry, Kohaku-kun. I'm sorry,' she
thought, tormented, tears slipping from her eyes.She glanced back at Sango clinging to her
brother's body and was shocked at what she saw. 'Light! Kohaku-kun
is being wrapped in light. What is this?' Then Sango opened her
eyes and sat back, disbelief on her face as her brother opened his
eyes as well.“Kohaku-kun!” Kagome exclaimed in surprise.
InuYasha's head shot up and whipped around and she saw the taint of
pain still in them.“Ko... haku?” Sango whispered.“Ane... ue,” he replied, weakly. Kagome
couldn't believe what she was seeing.“The purification light let go of the shard and
remained in Kohaku's body,” she said softly. “It saved Kohaku
instead of destroying Naraku...”“Why?” Sango asked softly, looking to Kagome.
“Not that I'm complaining...”“It's what I would have done,” Kagome said.
“Saving a life is more important than destroying one.”“Thank you,” Sango whispered to Kohaku's
shoulder. Kagome nodded her agreement and decided that maybe it
wasn't such a huge mistake to come back after all. Now all that was
left was waiting for Naraku to use the jewel and to destroy him
entirely.______________________________________________________Kagome closed her eyes as she fell, still
hearing Sesshomaru call her an idiot. But there was nothing she could
do now. She had dropped Tetsusaiga and her bow and she was falling to
her death. Well, maybe she was an idiot, but she refused to believe
that InuYasha was a lost cause and she had only wanted to bring
Tetsusaiga to him so that he would awaken from Magatsuhi's hold on
his mind.
Then she grunted as she was caught by strong arms
and she could feel that it was a youkai who held her. She opened her
eyes, confused and surprised that Sesshomaru had caught her, only to
see InuYasha's youkai eyes watching her as they descended.“InuYasha... you saved me?” she asked softly.
“Do you recognize me?”“I heard your voice, Kagome,” he answered. He
seemed dazed and confused and looked tired.“InuYasha,” Kagome asked, realizing that he
hadn't caught his sword, “Where's Tetsusaiga?”“Dunno... it fell...” he muttered, still
appearing lost. Then Sesshomaru spoke and his eyes narrowed
dangerously.“What will you do, Magatsuhi? It looks like that
hanyou is harder to control than you though.”“Sesshomaru,” Kagome said softly, realizing
that he was very close. In fact, she guessed that he had been about
to catch her himself when InuYasha interfered. But his words brought
back the memory that it was not just InuYasha behind those red eyes.Magatsuhi's voice came from all around her.
“Sesshomaru, do you wish for me to leave InuYasha?” Kagome braced
herself. 'He's probably going to try to possess me next.' She
met Sesshomaru's eyes and watched them narrow, but then the air
around her became charged and thick and she turned to InuYasha, who
was leaning in towards her.“Release her!” Sesshomaru commanded as Kagome
thought 'can't move!' Fear welled up inside of her as it
appeared InuYasha was trapping her in place. Flashed of helplessness
years before overwhelmed her. But before she could even truly get
upset, InuYasha had kicked off the ground—away from her.“InuYasha...” Kagome breathed, feeling like
she was choking against the mind pressing hard into hers. Then
everything was static and she couldn't hear or see. She heard
Magatsuhi taunting InuYasha, telling Sesshomaru he'd have to destroy
her... all from inside her own mind.And then the world came back.'Magatsuhi... left my body...' she
realized. 'He's being
drawn towards InuYasha?' She was confused by what was happening
as Sesshomaru taunted his enormous visage and wondered why he wasn't
reentering InuYasha.“Regretting who you possessed, huh?”
Sesshomaru spoke, then he was flying through the air, Tenseiga drawn
against Magatsuhi, whose noncorporeal head was floating in front of
InuYasha. Kagome watched in mingled hope and fear as Sesshomaru
slashed through him.“Impossible... how could I lose to a mere
hanyou's youki...” Magatsuhi's voice faded as Sesshomaru sheathed
Tenseiga as the fluid end of the attack. The feeling was
instantaneous and caught Kagome off guard. Her eyes widened and she
gasped. It felt like a haze had just lifted. A curtain she hadn't
known was in front of her was simply drawn back.“Kagome...” InuYasha said and she turned to
him. His expression was no longer dull and listless, but concerned
and surprised. Unable to contain herself, she ran to him and embraced
him. Her lips found his without a second thought and she ignored the
sharp press of his longer, youkai fangs. He kissed her back after
only a second's hesitation and she felt her power flood into him. He
gasped and she opened her eyes to meet his.They were golden again, just as they had been that
time when she'd saved him from the shard he'd embedded in Tetsusaiga,
though he was still a youkai. She was startled by the resemblance he
suddenly had toward his brother, though their stripes were colored
differently. She looked over at Sesshomaru, who was steadfastly
looking away. Blushing, she stepped back and dropped her hands to her
side.“If you two are done, we still have to defeat
Naraku,” Sesshomaru said, still refusing to look at them.“Sorry,” Kagome said, embarrassed by her
public display of affection. Sesshomaru made a dismissive sound.“Where is the jewel?” InuYasha asked and
Kagome felt herself smile at the old question. It had been so long
since InuYasha had used her as a jewel detector, even though she'd
kept acting as one, even without her powers. “I know it's close, I
can still feel it.”Kagome looked up at InuYasha's eyes, surprised to
see that they were still golden. Just her presence was purifying the
jewel's effects on him. Kagome heard a familiar scream off in the
distance and she turned to find the source, but Miroku was nowhere to
be seen.“More importantly, where is Rin?” Sesshomaru
asked quietly. Kagome looked at him and noticed his nose twitched
ever so slightly.“Can you smell her?” Kagome asked. She could
tell by his silence and inaction that he couldn't.“All I can smell right now is
Naraku—everywhere,” InuYasha growled. “Is that Miroku?” he
asked, looking in the direction Kagome had a moment ago.“I think so,” Kagome said. Suddenly, a
horrible thought occurred to her. “We have to hurry!” she shouted
and started running towards where she felt the jewel the strongest.
If Miroku were about to be pulled into his wind tunnel, she had no
idea what that would mean for all of them inside Naraku with him. And
she had no doubt that Sango was right at his side—she would be,
were it InuYasha instead.Before she'd made it ten meters, InuYasha had
grabbed her and slung her onto his back so fast she squeaked in
surprise. He ran in the exact path she'd set and when she looked
over, Sesshomaru was easily keeping pace. 'No doubt, just glad to
have a goal,' she thought. Then he froze.InuYasha skidded to a halt and turned in unison
with his brother. They were going away from the jewel, but Kagome was
sure of where they were going to.“Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama! Help!”
Rin's voice was faint, but even Kagome could hear her calling.
Sesshomaru picked up speed and InuYasha was clearly hard pressed to
keep up. Kagome could feel him breathing heavier and when they
stopped in front of a disgusting, pulsing wall, he was panting.“She's here,” Sesshomaru declared before he
started hacking away at the fleshy wall.“Come on,” Kagome said to InuYasha, tugging on
his sleeve. “We have to get to the jewel. He doesn't need our help
here.”“Right,” InuYasha said, nodding once. He
turned to where she pointed and they ran full speed ahead. As they
approached, the wall separated in front of them and Naraku stepped
out. Or rather, the image of Naraku's previous form. Kagome ignored
him and continued searching for the jewel as InuYasha shrugged her
off onto the ground to fight with him.She glanced over from time to time as she tried to
find anything she could use as an arrow. She had her bow again,
InuYasha had picked it up before catching up with her, but she still
had nothing to shoot from it. InuYasha tore through clones of Naraku
as they came, seemingly endlessly and Kagome knew that time was
running out.Then she found it. A single arrow, embedded in the
flesh wall furthest from the jewel. She suspected it was a trap, but
she didn't have the luxury of not falling for it. So she ran to it,
ignoring InuYasha's calls and grabbed the tail. Immediately, the wall
softened and tentacles burst forth, engulfing her arm. Kagome
screamed and planted her feet against it, but they just sank in. He
was absorbing her!“Kongousouha!” InuYasha exclaimed and Kagome
tried to turn to see what he was attacking, but a part of the wall
reached out and grabbed her throat. Suddenly, she was fighting to
breathe and black spots danced before her eyes. Then she was free and
gasping for air with her prize clutched firmly in her hand.“Got it!” she shouted, standing up, even
though her legs felt like rubber. She didn't waste a second. She
turned, aimed and prayed. “Strike your mark,” she whispered. Then
she released.She saw the armored core as the flesh was stripped
away from the area surrounding the jewel. The arrow didn't stop
there, though, it blasted through it and hit exactly where she had
aimed—the center of the jewel.“NO!” she heard Naraku scream as InuYasha
screamed her name. Pain exploded in her brain and blossomed into
agony only for a second before everything went black.To be continued…
A/N: Again, I have to thank scanlators with all my heart—for
both content and my continued interest in this series. I hope that
this chapter was more satisfying than the last. I'm sorry for the
cliffhanger, but I'm going to try my hardest to get the next chapter
out before the next chapter of the IY manga. It's hard to find time
to write with a toddler always needing me to play with and nurse her,
but I'm doing my best. Thanks also to all the bands that feed my muse
so that he can continue to inspire me—top of the list for this
story being Seether, Evanescence, KoRn, A Perfect Circle and Three
Days Grace. Also, please excuse any errors or inconsistencies in
spelling—I lost Word and am now having to write in Open Office.
While it's a wonderful clone, the dictionary leaves something to be
desired and does not have my personal modifications totally updated
to it yet. And, as always, I am beta-free. Ja ne!