Shivers

Six months later…

Disoriented and beyond exhausted, she raised her hands to her face to halt the onslaught of tears. The chilled air laid gentle kisses on her exposed skin unmercifully, the invisible fingers of the wind teasing the locks of her ebony hair. Her body trembled at the sudden decrease in temperature, and she wrapped her arms around herself as if to insulate heat.

The grave marker that loomed over the burial ground of the great miko Kaede never ceased to bring tears to Kagome’s eyes. At night, when most of the village were deep in sleep, she would find herself here with her tears slipping down her cheeks. Kaede had been a wonderful friend, and she had been like a grandmother to Kagome during her stay in the feudal era. Her last words still echoed in the future miko’s mind, and Kagome could still feel the ghost of contact between their hands when Kaede was rasping her final words. An awful sob wrenched from her throat at the memory.

“Kagome,” she had said, her voice softer than a whisper. “Kagome, I…want ye to be happy. I’m sorry…I won’t be there to comfort ye when ye need me most, but…everything must return to Mother Earth when it is their time; my time has come, child.” She gently squeezed Kagome’s hand. “I want ye and Inuyasha to be…happy here. I want ye to grow and love and never change, and to have many…children running around here. I want your legacy to live on as the….future priestess who…fell in love with…the hanyou…” She had heaved one final breath before falling still, and her hand had become limp in Kagome’s.

The memory was still tender to Kagome’s heart, and her last words had been excruciatingly painful enough to rip through her soul. Kaede was always here for me, she thought. It’s only been two weeks since her death, but it feels as if it happened yesterday. She wished me well, and…she wanted me to have many children…so that my legacy will go on and never relinquish. I vow to you, Kaede, that I will do whatever possible to achieve that goal in your memory; thank you for always believing in my capabilities; I miss you so much…

“Kagome?”

Kagome didn’t turn to acknowledge the voice that addressed her, but simply stood where she was and whispered, “I really miss her.”

“I do, too, koi,” he agreed. She felt warmth on the upper half of her body and realized that he had draped his robe of the fire rat over her shoulders. “It’s cold out tonight, and rainy. You should consider coming inside before you catch a cold; I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.”

She grinned. “Since when do you express emotions such as worry, Inuyasha?”

“Keh. Since I mated you, and you agreed to be my wife.” He paused and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Through the material covering her shoulders, she could still feel the warmth of his touch. “Kaede wouldn’t want you to be this sad over her death; she would want you to be more vibrant and outgoing, like in the old days.”

“You act as if it’s a thousand years since Naraku’s defeat, not six months.”

“Maybe because I miss the smile on your face; it’s been gone for two weeks, koi, and I want to see it on your face again; I love your smile.” She didn’t have to turn around to know that he was blushing.

Kagome curved around to embrace him. He buried his nose in her hair which made a giggle slip past her lips; she knew that he thought of her aroma as an intoxicating drug, and he was almost drunk on it now. She found it sweet that he was trying to comfort her, and reached up with one hand to scratch the base of his ear. It twitched under her finger and she giggled again.

She was drenched by the blankets of rain that caressed her body, and she found herself shivering against his body. This simple act didn’t slip past Inuyasha’s attention, and he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to their hut despite her protests. He settled her onto the futon and wrapped a blanket around her to retrieve the warmth that was lost. Then he, too, laid beside her and gathered her into his arms, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Kagome,” he assured as she nestled into his embrace. “Just get some sleep.”

Kagome shut her eyes and, after breathing in a lungful of his musky scent, fell asleep in his arms.

..:::OO::..

The pleas that poured from Kagome’s mouth went unheeded as the restrictions on her arms and legs became more concentrated. The hands that held her were dirty and reeked of decay, as if they had killed some sort of demon before capturing her; the words that came from their mouths were just as dirty, and their hold on her increased as each word rolled off their tongues. The men pointed accusing fingers at her stomach, and when she glanced down, she noticed how swelled her stomach had become.

I’m…pregnant! the rational part of her mind conveyed. Is that why they are attempting to capture me? Inuyasha, where are you?!

She struggled against the iron grips that held her back.The man nearest to her slapped her across the face with the back of his hand, the ring on his finger causing a deep incision to form on her cheek. Blood dripped from the wound and Kagome cried out at the sudden pain.

The man smiled at her discomfort.He tilted her chin so that she would gaze into his lustful eyes. “Struggling is useless, honey; take it from an expert.” He chuckled before adding, “Where we’re taking you, you can struggle all you want, but nothing will come out of it besides the death of your child. Tell me: does the hanyou leave you alone like this often?”

Shock numbed her struggles.

He chuckled darkly again and released his hold on her chin. “I knew it. You understand that hanyous deserve nothing more in life than death, correct? And any mate of theirs is an enemy of ours. Now, imagine if a hanyou’s child comes into the picture; can you imagine the outcome, little priestess? Aren’t you sad and angry now that he has defiled you with his child? Have you come to your senses yet?”

No, she raged mentally, fearing that if she spoke aloud that it would harm her baby’s safety. Inuyasha loves me! He only left me alone to speak with Sesshomaru; he’ll rescue me like he always does. He didn’t want to part with me, but he promised me that he would be back. He promised! He would never defile me so dishonorably; it’s totally out of his character. Inuyasha has more honor than all of these men combined!

“Nothing to say, huh?” the man said, admiring her through narrowed eyelids. “I see.” He turned to his men and yelled in a mocking tone, “The girl still has faith in her hanyou! Pathetic, don’t you agree? Don’t you think that we should show her just how much her hanyou has a distaste for her company? He probably used her body for his enjoyment, and once his child is born, I guarantee that he will steal it away and leave her alone. Shall we teach her a lesson, men?

”The men laughed and agreed in yells and shouts.

“Kill the child!”

“Let the hanyou learn a valuable lesson!”

“Show the world that hanyous are not meant to have a family!”

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and willed the darkness of her mind to take her; she wanted to faint now and allow her mind to conceal her from the insults that the men offered about her beloved husband. When the darkness came, she didn’t resist.

“Kill the child!”

“Let the hanyou learn a valuable lesson!”

“Show the world that hanyous are not meant to have a family!”

..::OO::..

Kagome’s eyes flashed open and she bolted into a sitting position, her hand flying to her chest. Newfound tears glistened in her eyes as the reality of the dream set in, and she glanced down at her stomach. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she realized that she was not pregnant.

“Kagome? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” came Inuyasha’s timid voice from beside her.She could feel his hands on her forearms, burying his nose in her hair in an attempt to calm her.

She wanted to tell him that she was fine, but the words would not come, and she could only remain silent as the tears strolled down her cheeks. Inuyasha noticed this and wiped her tears away with his thumb, planting kisses on her forehead and whispering words that were meant to calm her; she anything but soothed.

Inuyasha’s lips were at her ear, saying, “Koi, you have to tell me what is wrong; I don’t like to see you this afraid. What’s going on inside your head?”

“I…I had a nightmare,” she whispered.

He stiffened. “What happened?” She shook her head. “It was nothing.”

“Kagome-”

“It was nothing, Inuyasha! Drop it!” she yelled, suddenly infuriated. She instantly felt sorry for her words when Inuyasha recoiled from her and laid back down on the futon, his back to her. Her shoulders sagged and she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Keh…”

“I know you were just trying to comfort me, but…I guess that nightmare kind of made me feel intimidated. I’m such a jerk…”

He rolled over and pulled her to his chest. “You’re not a jerk. I was prying, and you didn’t want to talk. Plus, I’m the jerk, remember?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Hey, Kagome?”

“Yeah?”

He blushed. “I’m…glad you’re smiling again.”

Her smile widened; her hanyou would never change. He would always be as shy and awkward as a blossoming flower, but she loved him nonetheless.

“Me, too,” she agreed and hugged him closer.

After all, he was her blossoming flower.