Instant Mother

A One-Shot by Tifa Tyndal

Summery: Kagome wasn't so sure she liked being an instant mother.

Disclaimer: I shalln't own Inuyasha even if it hath thrust itself upon me. Thee ownership belongeth to Lady Takahashi. (Guess who's been reading Shakespeare?)

Spoiler Warning: I beseech you to please not take any of these events that appeareth in this fic to be thy true fact

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Kagome sighed and tore the foil off the Ramen cup. The package read boldly, "Instant Noodles; ready in five minutes!". Yep, She thought tiredly. Just add hot water and you've got yourself something new. Just like her situation.

It's amazing how incredibly easy it is, Kagome mused pouring boiling water into the foam cup. Becoming a mother that is. One moment of bad judgment and you're stuck with a responsibility for the rest of your life. Her shoulders drooped. She didn't really like Instant Ramen and she wasn't quite sure she liked being an instant mother either. Not if it was so tiring.

So they'd made one little mistake. Small in comparison with all the mistakes they could have made. But it was Inuyasha's and her mistake and it has left a mess behind. Like an oodle of Noodles she had no idea how to untangle it without breaking anything.

Kagome sighed once again and passed the Ramen cup to Inuyasha. He didn't look too lively. Over and over he had claimed that his hanyou body didn't need sleep or rest but apparently he was wrong.

Truthfully, he looked terrible. Dark bags hung under his eyes that were too tired to even try to look alive. His hair was a mess of tangles and twigs and something that smelled slightly of vomit. He slumped heavily and his hands trembled slightly as he brought the Ramen to his mouth. He was obviously in bad shape.

Not that Kagome was any better. She had managed to get a bath that morning so looked cleaner but the worn look encircling her seemed to erase its' effects. She yawned frequently and began to nod off often. Of course anytime that she began to fall asleep a loud wailing awoke her slumber and she had to stumble over to the source. Her hair was also slightly mussed and it almost looked as if wrinkles were trying to form on her face.

No, being an instant mother didn't sit well with her.

Kagome clenched her teeth and muttered tensely to Inuyasha. "Let me see that paper again.. please."

Inuyasha looked up tiredly and handed her the limp paper. Kagome took it and read it once again.

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I, Sesshomaru, lord of the western lands, son of Inu no Tashio do hereby leave this final will:

My land (not including the meadow and valley of Rin) shall go to my servant Jaken to be run on the advice of Myoga.

My swords shall be buried with me as will my pelt, armor, and kimono.

And as for Rin, I hereby give her into the hands of my brother Inuyasha and his female companion, Kagome Higurashi. She is to be treated with the utmost respect and will receive the southernmost part of my land: the meadow and valley of Rin.

This will is to be carried out in the occurrence of my death only.

Sesshomaru

-

Kagome sighed and put the paper down again. The words weren't going to change and neither was Lord Sesshomaru's current state. Rin had been crying for days; the poor girl. They hadn't meant to kill him, it was an accident. Inuyasha was trying his backlash wave and Kagome was seeing how it combined with her arrows... Sesshomaru looked like he was attacking and they... sorta killed him. At least they thought they did. They never exactly found the body but there was so much blood... they figured that if he weren't dead, he'd be dead soon enough.

Another deep sigh shook Kagome as she glanced over at Rin. The young girl had finally cried herself to sleep. No one knew that she would take Sesshomaru's death so hard. She had managed to cling to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru's last living relative, for some sort of support. Miroku said that that type of grief would probably kill an adult but her child-like ability to bounce back would save her.

Kagome saw Inuyasha stand up slowly and noted his grave face. He seemed to be thrust into adulthood by this and was doing his best to take it maturely. In a way, he was an instant father. He would have to provide for Rin and make sure she got engaged to the right type of guy. He had another person to protect and this time the person had no defense of their own. Not to mention he had to keep up her inherited land until she was old enough. Yes, he had many tasks ahead of him.

"Lord... Sesshomaru..." Soft sleep talking caused Kagome to turn to the source. Rin was crying in her sleep again. She was curled up in Kagome's sleeping bag and was clutching the fabric on and off as her dreams progressed.

Inuyasha looked despairingly at Kagome and she nodded slowly, "I got it." She whispered and went to comfort the sleeping girl. Inuyasha disappeared into the woods, presumably to sleep.

Kagome knelt by the girl and gently wiped the sweat off her brow before smoothing out her forehead. Rin's bunched eyebrows slowly relaxed as she began to fall into a deeper slumber. Kagome sang a few songs quietly over Rin to speed the process. In no time Rin's breathing fell even once again and the contortion of her facial features fell into a peaceful rest. Kagome sighed happily. Maybe they could both get some sleep.

Kagome thoughts were interrupted by a tug on her shirt. She turned to see Shippo, his eyes heavy and sad. Seeing a young girl fall apart tugged as his heart and reminded him of losing his own parents. "Ka-Kagome... Is she going to be all right?" His shaky whisper tried not to wake the slumbering girl.

Kagome tried to smile through her fatigue and nodded slightly. "Give her time, honey."

Shippo nodded back and curled into Kagome stomach. "Only if you help her..." Shippo paused before muttering the sleepy word. "Mommy."

Kagome stroked Shippo's hair as he fell asleep on her. Maybe she really had been a mother all along. It wasn't just Rin. It looked like she now had two children to take care of. How she would do it, she had no idea but already motherly instincts were taking over and it was becoming easier.

She lied back on the soft grass and fell asleep.

Kagome awoke to excited whispers. She made out the voices to be Inuyasha and Rin. Inuyasha was saying something about a gravestone while Rin kept talking about flowers.

"-And I will pick lots of flowers to go on it. Can it be on Rin's land?" Rin's voice sounded happy for the first time in days.

"That's a really good idea. We'll make the stone really big." Inuyasha sounded chipper after getting a full night's rest.

"When can we see Rin's land?"

"We can go today if you'd like."

"Oh! Thank you, Uncle Inuyasha!"

Kagome opened her eyes sleepily. Shippo's warmth was gone from her stomach and looking around she saw him busily gathering sticks for a fire. Rin was currently hugging Inuyasha's legs tightly, a bright smile painted her face.

Attention was turned to Kagome as she stood up.

"We're going to see Rin's land today and making a gravestone for Sesshomaru," Inuyasha informed her, patting Rin's head absentmindedly.

"And Rin's going to pick lots of flowers!" Rin finally released Inuyasha and ran over to Kagome, her eager eyes begging for approval.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Kagome smiled gently at the girl. "What can I do to help?"

"Uhm... Rin would like some breakfast," Rin looked down and blushed. She wasn't accustomed to asking for food. She was usually expected to find it herself.

"Coming right up," Kagome shuffled over to her bag and began rustling through it. "How would you like some oatmeal?"

"Oatmeal?" Rin tried out the new word on her lips.

Kagome suddenly realized that Rin would have no idea what oatmeal was so simply pulled out some brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal and smiled. "You'll love it."

After everyone had eaten their breakfast Sango pulled Miroku and Shippo up on Kirara, Inuyasha plopped Kagome and Rin on his back, and they were off.

As Inuyasha ran through the forest sadness overcame Rin again. She as quiet and sullen the entire ride. No one else could find anything to say until they had traveled for about an hour. That's when Kagome had a sudden question.

"Inuyasha, how do you know where we're going?" Kagome asked. He seemed to be taking a precise path.

"You think I don't know my father's lands?" Inuyasha retorted good-naturedly. "I've been to Rin's land many times, before it was named Rin of course." He then addressed Rin herself. "I think you're really gonna like it. I can see why my brother chose it for yours."

Rin gave a ghost of a smile. "Really?" She asked quietly.

"Why don't you just wait and see, we're almost there."

Sure enough in the next five minutes the trees began to thin out and a clearing came into view. Inuyasha smiled when Rin gasped with delight.

The land was absolutely covered with flowers. Every kind you could think of. Sunflowers pointed to the sky, daisies mixed with other flowers filling the air with a sweet fragrance. There didn't seem to be a bare spot of grass anywhere. It stretched for miles in every direction. Every once in a while there was a clump of cherry trees for shade, a rose bush for variety, or a tall nut tree for stature. It was absolutely beautiful. The meadow was right before them and after a few miles the ground fell into a gentle valley.

Rin slid off Inuyasha's back in awe. She had never seen so many flowers. It must have been tended carefully to turn out that way. Knowing that Sesshomaru's hands had been all over the place brought a few joyful tears to Rin's eyes. He had given her the very best.

Kirara landed, unloading her stunned passengers. Shippo walked slowly to Rin's side.

"Well," Kagome breathed. No wonder Sesshomaru left this piece of land for his ward. She never imagined it'd be so big though.

A warm arm wrapped around her shoulder and she looked up at a grinning Inuyasha. "Told ya she'd like it."

Kagome smiled and leaned into the hanyou. "Yeah... maybe your brother wasn't such a bad guy."

They watched Sango and Miroku slowly wander with wonder into the field and Rin's barely contained excitement as she dragged Shippo through the flowers.

"I'm off to find a really big rock," Inuyasha gave Kagome a quick squeeze before disappearing through the trees.

Kagome continued to stand, staring with wide eyes at her future life.

Rin suddenly stopped and looked back. "Aren't you coming, Mommy?"

Kagome snapped back into reality and smiled at the girl. The girl who had lost everything yet still had the strength to smile and call someone she just met, her mother.

"Yes!" Kagome jogged towards her surrogate children.

Maybe being an Instant Mother wasn't so bad after all.

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THE END

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Here we have it! I came up with this idea the same night I came up with 'The Way of a Mother', I suppose I was thinking of mothers that night. The whole thing stemmed from the title. Oh, and for those who love Sesshomaru and can't believe I killed him off, there was no other way to make it progress as such. Plus, I left it to where he could still be alive. I hope you liked this and I really hope it wasn't too cheesy! -The Author