Inuyasha’s ears flattened. Next to him, Kagome paled.

“Half-nephew then, you arrogant prick,” the hanyou grit out, as Sesshoumaru resumed his departure without another word. Scowling, Inuyasha turned back to her. “What an asshole.”

Kagome swallowed slightly, recovering. Only her own hand was pressed to her belly now. At the tractor beam of enmity radiating between Inuyasha and his demon warlord of an older sibling, the villagers had warily withdrawn, Rin included. A frown of consternation was on her face as she watched her guardian disappear beyond the next rise. When Rin’s brown gaze strayed back toward her, Kagome discreetly avoided it.

Now that her first shock had passed, she found herself reeling in the wake of her second—

“The baby,” she said faintly, looking to her husband. “It’s a boy.”

“Well, yeah,” Inuyasha blustered, crossing his arms. “I’d figured as much, just didn’t see the need to make some big proclamation about it.” His silver hair rippled as he shook his head. “Sesshoumaru…just when I think he’s started to come down off his high horse a little, he pulls some stunt like that. He’s never gonna stop lording his pedigree over me.”

“Maybe it was just bad timing,” Kagome hedged. “Maybe he was just feeling sore over something else.”

“Like what?” Inuyasha snorted. “He’s youkai royalty, as purebred as they come. He’s had power and privilege since the day he was born. What could his highness the Lord of the Western Lands possibly have to feel sore over?”

Kagome shrugged, knowing she should let the subject slide. There was nothing to gain from pressing Inuyasha on it. His heels were too dug in where Sesshoumaru was concerned. Pointing out that he was being kind of snobby himself would only end up starting another fight.

She was treading in too much hot water as it was. Sesshoumaru’s callous remark had been a dangerous one. A disaster avoided only because of the very close-minded pettiness she’d bitten her tongue not to criticize.

From the way Inuyasha was eyeing her now, she could only hope she hadn’t yet said too much.

“What?” she asked him, frowning.

“Just thinking,” Inuyasha muttered, frowning back before his narrowed eyes cut across the square. “Let’s go home.”

It was all Kagome could do to contain her nerves as she followed him back to their hut. Inuyasha wasn’t one for introspection. His silence scared her. As anxious as she was for him to break it, she was even more anxious of what he might say when he did.

She was trying to keep her hand steady stirring the kettle when he spoke at last, “I never told you this before, but Sesshoumaru said something like that to me once, after we were married.” Spine tensed, Kagome turned to meet his darkly glinting stare. “I was trying to be civil with him, told him it was good of him to come to the marriage ceremony, even though I knew he only did it because Rin must’ve begged him to. And you know what he said to me, after all that?” Slowly, Kagome shook her head as he cracked his claws. “He said, ‘What marriage?’”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Revised 1/12/23