Inuyasha:

Blessed Child

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Story and OCS © Me

Summary- Tsukihime knew it wasn't her fault...so why did it feel like it was?

WARNING: The following story may contain subjects that might be too touchy for some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.

"You're really lucky, Ichi."

Ichiro, holding Yamako in his arms, turned his head to look to Tsukihime, who was holding his infant sister, Sanka, in her lap while playfully holding her tiny hands in her own. The two friends sat on the grass while watching Kagome do the laundry. Inuyasha was off with Miroku again, but he wasn't too far away. They just had to deal with some demons in the forest.

"Why am I lucky?" asked Ichiro.

"You have a baby brother and sister to take care of," Tsukihime replied.

"Well, it's okay, I guess," said Ichiro as he bounced Yamako up and down. "I mean...as long as I don't gotta change any diapers...plus, sometimes, they'll cry all night long and keep you awake."

"I don't mind it," Tsukihime said. "Yama and San are both so sweet and cute."

Sanka cooed and giggled as the little wolf demon kissed her cheek.

"Well, you shouldn't say I'm lucky," said Ichiro. "I mean, after all, isn't your Mom having a baby?"

"That's right!" answered Tsukihime. "My Mom said the baby's gonna be born in about a month, by now. I can't wait to see if it's gonna be a boy or a girl!"

"Knowing you, you probably hope it's a girl," Ichiro muttered.

"Wouldn't you?" asked Tsukihime.

"I'd rather have another baby brother," said Ichiro, "but San's okay...I guess."

Tsukihime only giggled.

"You're so funny, Ichi," she said.

"I'm back!"

Ichiro gasped excitedly before he picked up Yamako and ran over to his father, who was soon greeted by Kagome with a kiss.

"Hi, Inuyasha," said Kagome. "That didn't take too long."

"Hi, Dad!" Ichiro exclaimed while he held Yamako like a puppy.

"Ichi, how many times have I told you not to hold Yama like that?" Inuyasha asked as he gently took the 1-year-old in his arms. "You cradle his head, like this, see?"

"Oh, yeah," said Ichiro. "Sorry, Dad."

"That reminds me," said Kagome as she walked up to Tsukihime, who was still holding Sanka. "Tsuki, can I have San back?"

"Sure, Mrs. Higurashi," said Tsukihime as she handed the infant quarter-demon back to her mother.

"...You excited to be a big sister?" asked Kagome.

"Yeah," Tsukihime replied, "but...I'm nervous, too."

"Well, that's to be expected," said Kagome. "I was the same way when my younger brother, Sota, was born." She then kissed the wolf demon's forehead, where her scar was. "I just know you'll make a great big sister, Tsukihime."

"Thanks, Mrs. Higurashi," Tsukihime smiled.

"Tsukihime!"

Tsukihime turned to see Ginta and Hakkaku, as well as several wolves.

"Come on, Tsukihime!" called Ginta. "It's time to come home, now!"

"Your mother and father are waiting!" Hakkaku added.

"Okay!" Tsukihime replied before she got up. "Bye, Mrs. Higurashi. Bye, Ichi!"

"Bye, Tsuki! See you tomorrow!" Ichiro replied.

"Bye, Mr. Mutt!" Tsukihime called.

"Enough with the Mr. Mutt, already!" Inuyasha barked. "I have a name! It's Inuyasha!"

Too late. She was already gone.

"Ugh...Ichi, you're lucky that Tsuki's your best friend," Inuyasha muttered.

XXX

The crescent moon gave barely little light that night...and yet, despite the darkness, that did not stop the miracle that was about to be born.

"That's it, Lady Ayame! Just a little more!"

"AAAAARRRGH!"

"...That's it! That's enough!"

After just a few moments, Ayame's cries were replaced with a shrill wailing. In the arms of one of Ayame's midwives was an infant with a tuft of black hair on her head and a little black tail curled up between her legs. She was covered in what looked like blood and water, but other than that...she was the most beautiful thing that her mother had ever seen.

Ayame's one regret was that her grandfather did not live long enough to see the birth of his second great-granddaughter.

"It's a girl," said the midwife as she began to wash off the baby, while Ayame lied on a bed of straw and leaves. At that moment, Koga was lying at her side, holding her gently in his arms and kissing her forehead.

"You did it, Ayame," he said, soothingly. "You did it."

"...Oh, Koga," Ayame whispered with tears of joy, relief, and exhaustion in her eyes.

"Here you are, Lady Ayame," said one of the midwives as she handed Ayame the infant, who was wrapped up in a light blue kimono.

"...Koga, where's Tsukihime?" Ayame asked. "I want her to see her new baby sister."

"...Tsuki!" Koga called. "Come here!"

Tsukihime approached her parents, somewhat cautiously, as if she were afraid to even look at the infant. Koga chuckled before he took Tsukihime into his arms, allowing her to come closer.

"Say hi to your new little sister," said Koga.

"...Wow...!" Tsukihime whispered in awe while the newborn cooed, softly. "What's her name?"

"...Keiko," Ayame whispered.

"...Keiko," Tsukihime repeated as she looked at her newborn. "...Hi, Keiko. I'm your big sister, Tsukihime."

Keiko seemed to smile a bit at her older sister, who smiled back.

"She likes you, already," said Koga.

"Wanna hold her?" asked Ayame.

"Uh-huh," Tsukihime nodded, which prompted her mother to gently hand the infant off to her. Tsukihime held the baby's head with one hand while cradling her body with the other, her eyes seeming to shine in wonderment as she stared at this tiny newborn in her arms. How could there be something so small, yet so beautiful at the same time? And to think, this came from her mother's belly.

"Keiko..." Tsukihime whispered as she gently rocked Keiko in her arms. "...You're my little sister, now, Keiko...and I promise that I'll take care of you...okay?"

Keiko cooed as she put her hand against her sister's cheek, causing Tsukihime to laugh a bit while Koga and Ayame smiled, proudly.

"...Our two little girls," whispered Ayame.

"Yeah," Koga agreed. "...I love you so much, Ayame."

"I love you, too," replied Ayame as she kissed her husband, who gently caressed her cheek. Nearby, Ginta and Hakkaku sniffled with tears welling up in their eyes.

"That's just so sweet," said Hakkaku.

"Yeah...just look at 'em...!" Ginta replied. "They're so beautiful...!"

"All right, give it a rest, you two," said Koga.

As for Tsukihime, she lied in between her parents while still cradling Keiko. Ayame smiled as she took both her daughters into her arms, kissing them both lovingly on their foreheads before she took Keiko back into her arms, allowing the newborn to nurse from her. It wasn't too long before the wolf demon family all fellow asleep, basking in the afterglow of this newborn life.

XXX

"So her name is Keiko?"

"That's right! It means 'blessed child'."

It was the next day when Tsukihime went to go visit Ichiro and Roku at their village and told them about her sister's birth. The three children sat on the hill that overlooked the village, as usual when they wanted to chat.

"That's amazing, Tsukihime!" said Roku. "You better watch it, though, or you might end up like my family."

"Don't be dumb, Roku!" said Ichiro. "Tsukihime's parents aren't like your parents!"

"Just saying," shrugged Roku.

"So, how do you feel, Tsuki?" asked Ichiro.

"I feel so happy!" said Tsukihime. "This must've been how you felt when Yama and San were born! I finally have a baby sister to take care of!"

"My advice," said Ichiro. "If they ask you to change diapers, plug up your nose. Trust me, it's not fun."

"And don't be surprised if Keiko cries a lot," said Roku.

"My Mom, Dad, and the rest of my clan pretty much howl at the moon almost every night," said Tsukihime. "Babies crying isn't that much different. I'm used to all the noise."

"If you say so," said Ichiro. "Maybe you can come and bring your sister down here so my Mom and Dad can meet her."

"Yeah, and maybe Sanka can have herself a little friend, too!" added Roku.

"My Mom needs to rest for a couple of days until she's ready to move around, again," said Tsukihime. "She was really tired after giving birth to Keiko. When she's all better, though, I'll talk to her about it!"

"Great! Sounds like a plan to me!" Ichiro replied, but then he heard his stomach growling. "Uh...oops. Scuse me. I guess it's almost lunchtime."

"Come to think of it, I'm kinda hungry, too," said Roku as he got up and left. "See you guys later, okay?"

"See ya, Roku," said Tsukihime.

"Ichiro!"

Ichiro turned to see Kagome, who was carrying Sanka in her little pouch on her chest.

"Come on, honey!" Kagome called. "Your dad has lunch ready at home!"

"I'm coming, Mom!" Ichiro replied before he looked to Tsukihime. "Gotta go. Bye, Tsukihime! Have fun with Keiko!"

"Bye, Ichi!" Tsukihime called back as the young quarter-demon ran to his mother's side.

"So, what were you and Tsuki talking about?" asked Kagome.

"Tsuki's baby sister was born, last night," said Ichiro. "Her name's Keiko."

"Keiko?" asked Kagome repeated in amazement. "Well, that's wonderful!"

"Yeah, and when her Mom's rested enough, she's gonna bring her down here to the village so we can meet her!" Ichiro replied.

"Well, I look forward to seeing her," said Kagome as she walked alongside her eldest son. "I want to congratulate Koga and Ayame, too."

"Tsuki sure looks happy," said Ichiro. "She told me she always wanted to be a big sister. I really don't get what the big deal is, but if she's happy, then I'm happy for her."

"That just shows how much of a good friend you really are to her," said Kagome. "In fact...I'd almost say you had a crush on her~!"

"Ew!" Ichiro exclaimed in disgust. "Mom, don't be weird!"

All Kagome could do was laugh.

XXX

After about 3 days, Ayame had gotten enough rest and she and Tsukihime had taken Keiko down to the village so they could meet her. Needless to say, Kagome and Sango instantly adored the newborn, and Miroku, the twins, Shiratsuki and Haruhana also shared this sentiment. Inuyasha gave his congratulations to Ayame while Ichiro congratulated Tsukihime.

During the stay at the village, the young wolf demon princess showed just how committed she was to keeping her promise to her sister. She didn't let anyone so much as hold baby Keiko. Not even her own best friend was allowed to so much as touch her!

The parents just couldn't help finding it adorable, however, particularly Kagome and Sango.

"Someone's taking her job as a big sister pretty seriously," said Kagome.

"I know the feeling," Sango replied. "When Kohaku was born, I wouldn't let ANYBODY touch him except for me or our parents."

"It was the same thing with me and Sota!" Kagome added, causing the two mothers to laugh.

"...Isn't it beautiful?" asked Ayame. "At first, I was worried. I almsot thought that Tsuki wouldn't love Keiko very much and she would be jealous of her...but look at how protective she is of her."

"Just goes to show you," said Kagome. "It'll be amazing, watching them grow up."

"Don't be surprised, though, if they have their squabbles," said Sango. "Shiratsuki and Haruhana are the same way, but they make up in the end."

"That's good advice," said Ayame. "Thanks, you two."

"From one mother to another," said Kagome.

As the day slowly turned to dusk, Ayame and Tsukihime decided it was time to take Keiko back home...and the latter was still carrying her baby sister.

"Aren't your arms getting tired, Tsukihime?" asked Ayame.

"Uh-uh," Tsukihime shook her head. "I'll carry Keiko."

"...You love her so much, don't you?" asked Ayame.

"Yeah," said Tsukihime. "I never wanna let her go...she's my baby sister."

Keiko only cooed as she looked up at her older sister with bright blue eyes, causing her to smile and kiss her cheek while Ayame smiled down at her two daughters.

XXX

It had been 5 days since the birth of Keiko. Just as Ichiro had warned Tsukihime, the infant would often spend nights crying...and Tsukihime found it more grating than the howling of the wolves at night. Despite that, though, she did her best to try and console her infant sister. She would curl up next to her while holding her in her arms and whisper softly, and that would seem to have the desired effect. Before anyone knew it, Keiko would be sound asleep in minutes flat.

Koga and Ayame grew even more proud of their older daughter for tending to her sister like she did...

However, as the days went by...things started to take a rather unexpected turn.

For some reason, Keiko wouldn't nurse from Ayame, very much. When she tried to, she'd just spit up whatever milk she got, and then she'd go into a coughing fit. Sometimes, there were nights where Keiko also seemed to have trouble breathing.

Koga and Ayame were very confused...not to mention scared. The rest of their clan shared their worry, wondering if there was some sort of omen going around, or even a disease. However, the one that was the most worried was Tsukihime. She would often ask her parents what was wrong with her poor baby sister, but they didn't seem to have the answer. All they said to her was that hopefully, Keiko would get better...

...But she didn't. Her breathing got worse and there were times she would cough so much, she'd almost choke on her own saliva. Koga was getting frustrated by the day while Ayame would try and urge- no, more like plead- her daughter to nurse from her.

It was almost a week-and-a-half when Tsukihime went down to the village again, standing at the front door of Kagome and Inuyasha's house, panting heavily.

"Mrs. Higurashi," she said, between breaths, "do you...have any herbs...that I can use?"

"What kind of herbs are you looking for?" asked Kagome.

"Well...herbs that can help people breathe," said Tsukihime.

"What's wrong, Tsuki?" asked Ichiro.

"...There's something wrong with Keiko," Tsukihime replied. "She's very frail...so frail, she won't nurse from my Mom...and she's not breathing too good, either. She coughs a lot...and recently, she started getting a fever."

"Oh, dear," said Kagome as she got up and walked away. "Wait here, Tsuki! I might have something!"

Tsukihime whimpered as she sat down on the floor, prompting Ichiro to walk over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Tsuki," he said. "I'm sure my Mom can help."

"...I hope so," said Tsukihime. "I don't know what I'll do if something happened to Keiko."

"I understand," said Ichiro. "I worry about Yama and San, sometimes."

"Okay, Tsukihime, I'm back!" Kagome called as she entered the room with a bundle of herbs. "Here, take these to your parents, have them burn them. The vapors should help Keiko breathe better and maybe they'll invigorate her a bit. She might even be able to nurse from Ayame properly."

"Thank you, Mrs. Higurashi," said Tsukihime before she headed out. "Bye! See you later!"

"Bye, Tsuki!" Ichiro called after his friend as she disappeared beyond the hills.

"...I hope Keiko will be all right," said Kagome, worriedly.

"...Tsukihime looked so scared and sad," said Tsukihime. "I've never seen her that way before."

"...She is a big sister, now," said Kagome. "She probably feels like she's responsible."

"...I guess," Ichiro spoke as he held his mother's hand, causing her to tightly grip his.

'Tsuki...I hope you and Keiko will be okay...'

XXX

The following day, Kagome was out with Ichiro, collecting water from the river. Inuyasha was left at home to watch Yamako and Sanka while they were out.

"You think we'll get a few fish, too?" asked Ichiro.

"We'll see, Ichi," said Kagome, but as she looked up, she suddenly stopped upon seeing Tsukihime, sitting on the riverbank.

"Oh, hey! It's Tsuki!" exclaimed Ichiro as he ran to go greet her. "Hey, Tsuki! What are you doing here-" He then gasped upon seeing the wolf demon's face: her cheeks were covered in tear stains, and her eyes were dark and just filled with sadness.

"...Hi, Ichi," she said in barely a whisper.

"Tsuki?" Ichiro asked. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"...Tsukihime?" asked Kagome as she also came over. "What's the matter?"

"...Keiko," Tsukihime replied. "Keiko's dead."

Kagome and Ichiro both gasped in horror...while Tsukihime bit her lip as her eyes started to well up, again.

"Just when I got back home with the herbs, last night," she started, "she had already died from her fever!" She then broke down sobbing, prompting Kagome to drop the bucket she was going to collect the water in before she pulled Tsukihime into a hug, looking like she was about to burst into tears, herself.

"Oh, Tsuki, I'm so sorry!" the priestess said. "I'm so very sorry, honey!"

"I'm sorry, too, Tsuki!" Ichiro said as he also hugged Tsukihime, who just kept crying her eyes out.

"It's not fair!" she cried. "She was only a baby! Why did she die so soon?!"

"Oh, Tsukihime," Kagome said. "I know...I know it's hard...but it wasn't your fault, you know!"

"...Then why does it feel like it is?" asked Tsukihime. "Why does it feel like I could've done something to save her?!"

"...Because you were her sister," said Kagome. "You still ARE her sister...and you wanted to make sure she would be okay."

Tsukihime sniffled as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Tsukihime," said Kagome as she gently stroked her head.

"...She was...my sister," said Tsukihime.

"...I know..." Kagome whispered.

XXX

3 days later, life seemed to relatively return to normal...well, except that Tsukihime was sitting at the edge of the cliff that led to the wolf clan's den, staring out at the horizon. She hugged her knees to her chest while the wind blew up her hair...then she sighed as she hid her face in her arms. In her hand was a tiny lotus flower...an ornament she was going to put in Keiko's hair.

At that moment, she heard footsteps approaching her, but she didn't look to see who it was. She already knew.

"Hey," came Koga's gruff voice as he came and sat next to his daughter.

"...Hi, Daddy," said Tsukihime, solemnly.

"...Tsuki," Koga spoke. "Your Mother and I are gonna try again...one day. We'll try again to have another baby."

"...I'd...rather you not try at all," said Tsukihime. "...I don't wanna be a big sister...not again."

Koga felt his heart sink. He couldn't blame her, though. Anyone would probably feel that way after she had been through. After all, even if it was for a short time...Tsukihime dearly loved her baby sister.

"...Tsuki," Koga said, causing his daughter to glance up at him. "I know it's hard...I know you feel like it's your fault...but that's the thing: no one is to blame here. Not me, not you, not your Mother...nobody. These things...they just happen. We just have to pick up the pieces and move on...and hopefully, our hearts will heal enough to try and have another baby."

"...I don't think I'll ever love another baby like I loved Keiko," said Tsukihime.

"Nah, that's not true," said Koga. "You may say that you won't love someone like you loved Keiko, but I'm telling you now...the moment you lay your eyes on that kind of face again, you'll feel it...you'll feel that love coming back into your heart, once again...because you know that Keiko would want you to."

"...You...really think so, Daddy?" asked Tsukihime.

"I know so," Koga smiled...which caused his daughter to smile back.

"...Well...okay," said Tsukihime. "Maybe not now...but one day...I would be like to be a big sister again."

"...That's my girl," Koga praised as he pulled his daughter into his embrace. "I love you, Tsuki..."

"I love you, too," said Tsukihime.

'Keiko...even if I was only your big sister for just a little while...I'll never forget you...'

THE END

...Hits you right in the feels, doesn't it?

Review, please.