• 1-The Lucky Ones
• 2-Chapter Two
• 3-Chapter Three
• 4-Chapter Four
• 5-Chapter Five
• 6-Chapter Six
• 7-Chapter Seven
• 8-Chapter Eight
• 9-Chapter Nine
• 10-Chapter Ten
• 11-Chapter Eleven
• 12-Chapter Twelve
• 13-Chapter Thirteen
• 14-Chapter Fourteen
• 15-Chapter Fifteen
• 16-Chapter Sixteen
• 17-Chapter Seventeen
• 18-Chapter Eighteen
• 19-Chapter Nineteen
• 20-Chapter Twenty
• 21-Chapter Twenty-One
• 22-Chapter Twenty-Two
• 23-Chapter Twenty-Three
• 24-Chapter Twenty-Four
• 25-Chapter Twenty-Five
• 26-Chapter Twenty-Six
• 27-Chapter Twenty-Seven
• 28-Chapter Twenty-Eight
• 29-Chapter Twenty-Nine
• 30-Chapter Thirty
• 31-Chapter Thirty-One
• 32-Chapter Thirty-Two
• 33-Chapter Thirty-Three
• 34-Chapter Thirty-Four
• 35-Chapter Thirty-Five
• 36-Chapter Thirty-Six
• 37-Chapter Thirty-Seven
• 38-Chapter Thirty-Eight
• 39-Chapter Thirty-Nine
• 40-Chapter Forty
• 41-Chapter Forty-One
• 42-Chapter Forty-Two
• 43-Chapter Forty-Three
• 44-Chapter F-Fou-Four
• 45-chapter Forty-Five
• 46-Chapter Forty-Six
• 47-Chapter Forty-Seven
• 48-Chapter Forty-Eight
• 49-Epilogue

The Lucky Ones

By Terri Botta

Disclaimer: I don’t own
Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I’m poor so don’t
sue.

Rating: R for later chapters.

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome,
Miroku/Sango

Summary: Sometimes Fate hands
you a gift you never thought you’d ever get, and it’s up to you to accept it
for what it is.

Feedback to:
tci100@psu.edu

Website: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta

A/N: This one is kinda short
because there was so much happening that I decided to split it into 2 chapters.

*******

Chapter Forty-Three

All was
quiet in the waiting room when he and Eri returned. While he was gone, Jii-chan
and Souta had arrived as well as Ryoukan. Thankfully this time the wolf-hanyou
had come alone. He didn’t know what he would have done if Kouga
had come with him. He also noted that Mama-baachan was missing.

‘Did she go in to see the pup?’

“Has there
been any news?” he asked, hoping it was nothing. He’d only been gone for twenty
minutes.

“Nothing. Miroku filled us in on what is going on. We are
currently trying to piece together what happened with the doctors,” Aunt Rin explained, nodding to where Uncle stood on the far side
of the room, speaking into his cell phone.

“I know
Okaa-san has Dr. Maggiano’s number in her address
book. I was going to send someone to get Tessaiga. I can have whoever it is
pick that up too,” he offered.

“Tessaiga
is a good idea, but we already have Dr. Maggiano’s
number. Sessho got it from global directory
assistance. He’s on the phone with the lawyers right now. They’re going to pull
both Hattoris’ medical files and see if anything like
this has ever happened before. We’re also petitioning the Medical Board to
suspend Hattori Taro’s license to practice medicine pending further
investigation. The hospital has already suspended him, and may suspend his
father if it’s discovered that he had anything to do with this,” she told him.

He shook
his head. “I don’t think he knew anything about it. I smelled fear and
embarrassment on himn hen he was talking to us.”

Aunt Rin nodded. “The police have been called and they have
Hattori Taro under arrest. As far as I know, they are interviewing and taking
statements from the staff members who were in the delivery room. That’s where
your grandmother is right now.”

“You’ve
been busy,” he commented with a nod.

Aunt Rin shrugged. “You know your uncle. He threatens and
postures, but when push comes to shove, no one endangers the Family.” She put a
hand on his arm. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

“Just let
me know who I have to shred,” Ryoukan said, coming over to them. He brandished
his claws and growled.

‘Hates humans, but loves Okaa-san. I don’t
think that baboon-youkai has a prayer.’

“I don’t
think it’s come to that quite yet,” Aunt Rin replied.
“Besides, Sesshou has already claimed him as his
prey. You won’t be able to touch him.”

Ryoukan
scowled. “All I would have to do is tell the Pack and he wouldn’t live to see
another sunrise. Kouga is waiting for me to call back
once I have more details. They’d capture him and save the killing blow for us.”

“I would
relish the chance to cause him pain. I hated him the moment he came into
Okaa-san’s hospital room,” Miroku added, joining them.

They both
looked at him expectantly as if waiting for him to say something. After a
moment, he realized why.

‘You’re the Alpha, idiot. They’re
waiting for you to tell them what to do!’

He cleared
his throat and tried to gather intelligent thoughts together.

“It’s too
soon to spill blood,” he said. “We don’t know what happened. There could be
others involved. If we kill him, we’ll never know if this was a plot to kill
Okaa-san and Otou-san or if he’s just incompetent. However if they die, he
dies.”

His
brothers nodded gravely, accepting his decision.

“He may die
regardless,” Ryoukan amended, cracking his knuckles.

“At the
very least, he will lose his license to practice medicine,” Aunt Rin interrupted, halting their conversation.

Uncle
snapped his cell phone shut and strode over to them. “None shall touch him. He
is my prey. This Sesshoumaru will deal with him,” he announced coldly, making
them all shiver.

He bowed
and nodded. “As you wish Uncle.”

‘Never, never,
never, never get on Uncle’s bad side.’

Ryoukan
scowled but eventually lowered his eyes under Uncle’s intense, cold gaze.

“I should
send someone to get Tessaiga,” he said.

“I’ll get
it!” Kitarou offered.

‘I should have known...’

“Okay, Kitarou, go back to Tokyo House
and get Tessaiga. Also bring some clothes for Otou-san and... and...” ‘ “I know the
nurse on duty. I can probably sneak you in for a minute or two.”

“Could
you?” Miroku questioned hopefully.

She nodded.
“Yes. Come with me.”

They
eagerly followed as she led them around the corner to the nursery room door.
She knocked lightly and the nurse who had been in the room with Mama-baachan
opened it.

“Come in
quickly,” she whispered, motioning them into the first room of the nursery.
More pups were in here but there was no observation window. “Don’t leave this
room.”

“You would have
us try to cut the cord that ties them together.”

He put his
hands up in surrender. “Only... only if there was no hope. Only
if it was sure that both would die.”

She gave
him a soft, tender look. “There is always hope. But we will look and see what is
to be seen, and do what is to be done.”

He bowed
deeply. “Thank you, Miko-sama.”

The miko nodded and placed her hand upon Inuyasha’s chest.

Tessaiga
did not react to her touch but Tenseiga responded by flaring and letting out a
burst of protective energy that whipped around Midorikyou and made her hair fly
up. They watched as the miko instantly put up a
barrier to deflect the blast and a moment later the sword settled down.
Midorikyou closed her eyes and her face went slack as she slipped into a trance.

They
waited. Yukio noticed that he was holding his breath when his brain suddenly
started screaming for air, and he had punctured his palms with his claws when
he clenched his fists. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as they watched the miko working, and no one spoke until she drew a deep breath
and her eyes snapped open. Yukio gasped and swallowed the lump in his throat as
he watched Midorikyou take a step back, one hand on her head as she shook off
the disorientation.

“He has
found her,” she told them.

Yukio took
a step forward. “Found her?” he repeated.

“Yes. He
holds her now. He has used his own life to support hers. To separate them now
would mean certain death for both, so tightly has he wound their souls
together.”

Midorikyou
looked weary and Mariko immediately brought her a chair to sit in, which she
did with a grateful sigh.

“Your
sword, taiyoukai, is a magnificent thing,” she said
to Uncle. “It made it possible for him to find her in the gap between the
worlds, and even now it creates a barrier that prevents them from being sucked
to the Other Side. And it had power enough to attack us when it thought we were
an enemy. You did right in giving it to him. You saved their lives.”

“Hmmph. Tenseiga chooses its own path,” Uncle replied
stoically.

“Your
father’s love lives in both blades. We knew him when we were alive. He was a
proud and fearsome creature, but his heart was good. Never did he attack the
weak or feed upon death and destruction. His sons have inherited this heart and
for that we are glad,” she admitted.

Uncle
snorted and turned away. “My father was a fool. I strive not to repeat his
mistakes.”

“Hmph,” Aunt Rin breathed softly
and Yukio looked at her in askance. “Don’t worry. I’ll make him pay for that
later,” she whispered to him.

He blinked
and thought he saw Uncle flick his eyes to his aunt and flinch just a tiny bit.
He shivered. He knew his mother’s wrath was terrible. He had no doubt that Aunt
Rin would make Uncle cower, although never where
watching eyes c see see.

“So you are
telling us that Dad has found Mom and is now holding her,” Eri asked, voicing
the question they were all thinking but were afraid to ask.

Midorikyou
nodded. “He holds her close and tightly. He will not let her fail. He has given
her the time she needs to heal herself.”

“So...
they’re going to live,” he pressed. He had heard it before from the doctor and
the midwife, but he trusted the miko’s judgment over any of the medical
professionals in the building. Midorikyou knew his parents well, and she knew
what the Shikon no Tama had done to them. If she said his parents were going to
live, then they would live.

“Barring
any unforeseen catastrophes, yes, they will live.”

The relief
that flooded through him made his legs go weak, and he
slumped to the floor as tears threatened to fall from his misty eyes.

“Thank
you,” he choked.

“Do not
thank us. We did nothing.”

“When can
we expect Okaa-san to wake from the coma?” Miroku asked.

“With eclampsia the body often suffers a terrible imbalance of
electrolytes. Once our reincarnation’s system is balanced, her return to
consciousness hinges solely upon her ability to recuperate and recover on her
own,” the miko replied.

“And I am
sure that Otou-san is helping her as much as he can,” Yukio added. He had the
utmost confidence in his father’s ability to keep his mother alive. He’d been
doing it for over 450 years.

Midorikyou
looked at him and nodded.

“So it’s
just a waiting game then,” Eri commented.

“Yes. At
this point, there is nothing else to be done,” the miko
confirmed.

“Several of
us have been to see Okaa-san up in ICU. I have heard that some comatose
patients canr. Wr. We’ve been talking to her and telling her about the new pup.
Do you think we should keep doing that? Would it help her come back to us?”
Miroku asked.

“Anything
that will help her return to herself would be worthwhile.”

Miroku
looked at his watch. “It’s been forty minutes. They’ll let two of us in to see
her now. Aniki, do you want to go? You haven’t been yet.”

He looked
at Shippou. “Shippou, did you want to see her?”

The kitsune
nodded. “Yes. I’d like to see her.”

“Why don’t you
and Miroku go up then? Eri and I have resolved to go last so we don’t mind if
the two of you go up before us,” he said.