Lies, Letters, and Calloused Fingertips.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Little by Little

Kagome smiled as Minoru entered the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. "Inuyasha's down at the cafeteria, I presume."

The former miko nodded, trying her best not to be affected by his grim expression. The doctor came forward, taking the seat right beside her bed; it was still warm from Inuyasha's use. "I swear," Minoru went on as he crossed one leg over the other, opening the manila folder in his lap and flipping through the pages. "Is it just me, or does he eat twice as much when he's human than when he's hanyou?"

Kagome giggled at that. "I think you may be right," she said. "Which isn't at all what you'd expect."

Minoru grinned as his eyes scanned the papers below. "No," he agreed. "No, it's not."

A few more minutes passed the two in silence, Kagome listening closely to all of Minoru's huffs and sighs; for a while, all she could really hear were the pages shuffling, and her nerves built up, the air in the room beginning to run thick with tension.

Finally, Minoru uncrossed his legs, sitting up in the chair. Kagome swallowed, a bit paler than the minutes prior, and she tried her best to settle the butterflies swarming in her stomach. It wasn't working so far. "Just come out and say it," she said breathlessly, her fear catching up with her. Minoru watched her closely as she stared down at the knitted, off-white blanket covering her naked legs; her fingers twisted in the fabric, clutching at it as a way to deal with her stress.

The doctor cleared his throat. "All right then," he said quietly, his eyes returning to the sheet of paper in his lap. He sighed, a final hesitation meant to help clear his thoughts. "It's… not looking good."

His violet eyes darted upward, catching the slight movement of her jaw clenching for but a moment. It was a fleeting signal of her distress, and Minoru decided right then that the decent thing to do would be to go on, to just give it to her straight. Kagome was the straightforward type of woman that needed the information upfront, and he couldn't deny her that.

"The, uh… The scans came back this morning, and…" Why am I having such a hard time saying this? he wondered, unable to look at Kagome any longer. I've told this same sort of bad news to hundreds – no, thousands of other patients in the past, and I've never had this sort of bad feeling in my gut. Granted, it always sucks to tell someone bad news like this, but… Finally, he looked up from his paperwork, meeting her eyes directly. Tears had started to well up in the corners of them, and the brown was becoming milkier and milkier as they moistened and narrowed.

But this is Kagome. "The purification of the venom from Inuyasha's body basically overloaded your entire body." She's different from all my other patients. "As you already know, your appendix ruptured on the spot, and we were forced to take emergency action in the form of a surgery to remove the organ." Kagome's different from anyone I've ever met. "The rest of your body underwent the same stress as that one organ, but, thankfully, you stopped before the rest of your system could break down as well." She's so stubborn and determined, so thoughtful and thoughtless at the same time… "Your heart is in a permanently weakened state – something like a heart attack." How Inuyasha could have ever thought of being with someone else eludes me. "One of your lungs collapsed, but we re-inflated it, and your entire respiratory system has been responding well to both treatment and therapy these past few days."

He stopped, slightly startled, and looked up when a barely audible sniffle reached his ears. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Kagome was crying – again. His heart clenched at the realization that she'd been doing it a lot lately. "I-I said to give it to me straight," she said in stern, quiet voice, not at all betraying her tears.

The doctor just stared for a moment, then nodded. "Basically," he went on, "your body's in bad shape. Someday, it's going to give out – it'll just collapse right under you, with no warning, no signs, nothing. You'll be just fine one minute, and the next – boom." He hiccupped, coughing softly to settle the negative feelings gathering in his chest. "Of course, it won't be as sudden as I've made it sound – the collapse'll be brought on by one of your and Inuyasha's many frays that seem to find you no matter what era you live in."

At that, Kagome finally managed to crack a slight smile; she even giggled when she looked over and met Minoru's eyes. Wiping the tears away, she sighed, leaning back against her pillow. "So… About how long can I expect to continue leading this dangerous life of mine?" More than a little about her tone was teasing, and it stirred a defensiveness in Minoru that he hadn't known existed – nor was completely necessary. The duo had taken on a familial feel; Minoru felt now as though Kagome were a younger sister that needed to be watched over and taken care of. He didn't agree with her marrying Inuyasha – the man just didn't seem to want to take care of her the way she needed to be taken care of. He knew, though, that it wasn't his place to voice these opinions; Inuyasha was Kagome's choice in a lifemate, and he needed to at least try to respect that.

It would be hard, though. "There's not really any certain time limit that I can put on something like this, Kagome-chan. It could be tomorrow – or it could be seventy years from now. Maybe centuries – no one can be sure. It'll be real sudden, though." He sighed, looking to the door. "How're you going to break the news to Inuyasha?"

There was only silence at first. Then: "I'm not."

Her words were simple and full of that strange determination that Minoru had learned long ago – as Miroku – not to ever argue with; it did no good. But these two very uncomplicated words caused a very dramatic reaction within Minoru. He physically jolted when he heard them leave her mouth in such a foreboding context. Slowly, he turned in his seat once more, looking her directly in the eye. I don't approve of her being with Inuyasha… but this seems to be a bit cruel.

"Why?" he asked timidly, his eyes searching her face for the answer.

She just sat there for a moment, staring down at the blanket again, fiddling with its notched trim. "The way I figure it, Inuyasha is going to be heartbroken either way I play it. If he knows about it, that'll just cause him to worry over me constantly – which would hinder me more than help me. I'll live my time allotted by the Kamis, and I'll die when they plan for me to die. I'm human; Inuyasha already knows that, someday, it'll happen. I'm much more fragile than he is, despite the whole soul-bonding thing we did."

Minoru licked his lips. "But, Kagome! Don't you think you should at least let him prepare… or something!"

Her eyes darted upward, meeting his suddenly. Their gazes locked, she just stared, her brown eyes emotionless and half-lidded. "If any sort of 'preparation' is enough to keep him from hurting over my death… than he's not the lifemate that I thought he was." She inhaled deeply, exhaling silently as she released her head back, looking up at the bright ceiling. "No, this is the better way – for us both. This way, he doesn't have to dread something that could be centuries away, and I don't have to deal with his overprotective craziness."

The young doctor smiled slightly at her word choice. "You're the boss, Kagome," he said as he stood, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the forehead before walking away from the bed. Unlocking the door, Minoru twisted the knob, exiting the hospital room – but not before pausing to listen as Kagome's tears began anew.

Outside the door, he walked away, wondering if she would ever be through crying.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha came walking down the hallway, dressed once more in blue jeans, white sneakers, and a simple red button-down. Waving to Minoru, who stood close by with a nurse, he disappeared into Kagome's room, closing the door gently behind him. Minoru just sighed, glowering slightly at the closed door before turning his attention back to what the nurse was telling him.

Inside the room, Kagome smiled at her husband as he approached, a full-fledged grin on his face once more. There was no sign of her tears, and the pair shared a light peck on the lips before Inuyasha slouched into his chair, sighing. "Hospital food sucks no matter what you are," he said, his eyes on her constantly. "It sucked when I was hanyou, and it sucks now when I'm ningen."

Kagome snorted. "I would have thought you wouldn't care as a hanyou – you've always been ravenous when I cooked, even when it was absolutely horrible!"

"Well, that's because even when your cooking sucks, it's still amazing." Flashing her a brilliant grin, Inuyasha basked in the light of her resulting smile. She reached forward, the soft palm of her hand lightly cupping the left side of his jaw, her thumb rubbing gently against his cheek. Slowly letting his violet eyes slide closed, he leaned forward so she wouldn't have to stretch so much, and he let himself drift off into memories and daydreams of her lips and his lips, the wonderful smell of her cooking wafting across brightly-lit clearings, and a certain pair of gurgling, cooing voices…

Starting a little, he sat up straight, pulling abruptly away from Kagome's still outstretched hand. She blinked, surprised, as her smile faded, and Inuyasha coughed meaningfully. "Oh, that reminds me," he started. "Your mother said she's going to be by our house later tonight with the babies. She, Souta, and Jii-chan'll be staying with us through the holidays."

Kagome's head fell into her lap; Inuyasha smirked, amused by the sight of his wife folded into herself. "Oh no! I forgot – Christmas is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yes, dear, it is."

"And I haven't bought the stuff needed to cook anything!"

"Well, your mother gave me the impression that she had that under control."

Kagome stayed frozen in the same position, her head popping up to give her husband a surprised – yet pleased – look. "Oh. But I haven't been able to finish any of the shopping – you know! For the gifts and everything!"

He chuckled, patting her head. "Rin and Ko are taking care of the shopping and the gifts and the wrapping, and all the rest of that womanly mess; they're actually working together on it, for once!" He laughed, shaking his head. "It seems that our craziness has prompted the rest of the family to overcome their differences and issues, and everything's fixing itself."

Kagome's expression turned slightly perturbed. "Well… Well, what about the decorations?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply but stopped short when his cell phone rang, abruptly interrupting their conversation. Holding up a finger to hush his wife, he reached to his hip and pulled the damned thing from its holster; it lit up when he mashed the TALK button, and he spoke briefly to whoever was on the other line. Hanging up after barely a minute with a wide smile on his face, Inuyasha shoved it back into its place at his hip. "That was Sesshomaru; he recruited Souta and his boys to help set up all the decorations at both the Western Palace and our place. He was just calling to let me know they're now finished."

Kagome just collapsed back onto her own lap; Inuyasha burst out laughing.

The next evening, everything went just as planned.

Kagome and Inuyasha sat side by side, both handing the twins back and forth; Moriko, for some reason, was completely unsettled by Inuyasha's human-ness. When Kagome gave him a questioning look, it was Sesshomaru, sitting across the coffee table from them, who answered, "She does not recognize his scent."

Inuyasha nodded, still attempting a smile, though Kagome knew better. His daughter's upset was just another form of rejection to him, no matter how idiotic it seemed to anyone else. She sighed, holding her daughter close and shushing her. Inuyasha played with Kaji, who was finally starting to grow at a healthy rate alongside his sister, and he and Sesshomaru watched as Moriko continued to fuss, even in Kagome's arms. Finally, the taiyouaki reached forward. "Give her to me."

Kagome blinked, scooting back in her seat instinctively, but Inuyasha touched her arm comfortingly. "Don't worry," he said. "Sesshomaru can calm her."

Swallowing, the new mother nodded before handing Moriko carefully over to her brother-in-law, who took the infant into his arms. From across the room, Kagome watched as the baby quieted slowly, and she could swear she heard a very faint noise. "Sesshomaru – are you… purring?"

Rin barked out a laugh, and Aiko smiled, genuinely amused. "No, no, Kagome-chan," the small woman said. "Sesshomaru is just growling from his chest for her; he used to do it for our pups when they were tiny like that as well. It especially helps when their human time is drawing close."

Suddenly, Kagome understood; she'd seen Inuyasha do it once or twice right after their birth, when he thought she was asleep. He must not be able to do it right now, she thought, watching as his expression fought against his pent-up emotions. Her heart sank as she realized that he was fighting a losing battle. I never dreamed it could hurt him this much to be human.

Finally, he handed Kaji over to Kagome's mother, standing up and leaving the room in silence; everyone else just watched him leave.

For another minute or so, Kagome just sat there, feeling unusually uncomfortable as everyone in the room stared at her. Chewing her bottom lip anxiously, she finally stood, quietly saying, "Excuse me," before disappearing after her husband.

She made her way quickly through the hallways until she found him on one of the many balconies upstairs; it was the one in the twins' nursery, she entered behind him very slowly, cautiously even. She felt as though he was very volatile as of that moment, and she wasn't quite sure what would cause him to strike out. Swallowing hard, she reached out to touch his shoulder. "Inuyasha?"

The ningen jumped, thoroughly shaken by her sudden appearance; it occurred to Kagome just a few seconds too late that, in this form, he was unable to fully utilize his senses – which, everyone knew, he'd come to rely on almost completely.

Inuyasha stared at his wife a moment, wide-eyed and startled. Reaching forward slowly, with slightly shaking hands, he ran his fingertips along her jawline, tracing her outline.

His chest heaving, he stepped forward, forcing Kagome back; the young woman found her back pressed against the wall just inside the balcony, staring up at her husband. The expression in his eyes told her, above everything else, that she was perfectly safe, and the intensity also held in them made her knees knock just a bit.

"Inuyasha…" she murmured, her tone almost pained as her eyes slowly slid closed.

Without a single word, he leaned forward, taking her lips with his own; the sensation stirred something deeply seeded within him, something that he wasn't sure would be entirely recognizable to him as a hanyou. It wasn't really the emotion itself that surprised him, Inuyasha reasoned with himself as he pressed his body against Kagome's, relishing the speckling of goosebumps that rose along her forearms. He was more impressed by the power of the emotion – which he had held for Kagome a very, very long time.

Devotion.

As he grasped her hips firmly in his hands, sliding her up along the wall and settling her against him, Inuyasha struggled to find the correct words for what this woman meant to him. As he unbuckled her slacks, allowing them to slide down her legs of their own accord, he moved his mouth from hers, pressing lips against the warm base of her neck. She was the other side to him that he wouldn't let others see – the side that was still good and innocent and everything that an honorable person is. She was what he craved and what he was, deep down. She was what he needed to keep safe, at all times. If anything ever happened to her…

Inuyasha bit down lightly on her shoulder as this agonizing thought crossed his mind; he whimpered slightly at the idea of waking up one day without Kagome beside him. It seemed like something that would never happen, that could never happen…

If only that were the case, he thought as he entered her, slowly and tenderly. She gasped against him, uttering his name in the most profound and beautiful whisper he had ever heard.

"Inuyasha…"

He moved against her, within her; his chest still heaved with unused breath, with unspoken words, with untold emotion. There was no way he could continue on as he was for much longer – everything that was inside of him was forcing its way out all at once, and his human self couldn't contain it any longer.

"Inuyasha…"

He was afraid, he knew, as frightened as a lost pup; he knew that he'd be completely useless if he ever had to face the day that she wasn't here against him anymore – that she wasn't here, right here, breathing into his hair, sighing at every touch, moaning at every buck of hips.

Why, Kagome? he questioned without ever saying a word. Why did you have to come down the well? Why did you have to set me free?

He looked down; when he did, he caught the slight movement beside his knees. He stared downward, in awe, as he watched her toes curl, and he felt her orgasm overtake her in the next moment. "Inuyasha!" she cried out, no longer whispering, but still as profound and stirring. Her body tensed against his own, and they both released simultaneously, their climaxes hand in hand.

After another moment, Kagome's breathing hitched, and she whispered into his chest, "You called me."

His eyes widened, and Inuyasha pulled back so he could look her in the eye. She released her head back, smiling up at him. Leaning down, he kissed her once more.

Next time:

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Conquistador