AU:I'm baaaaa-aaaack! And just so's you knows… remember those good ol' days when I would update like… every day? Yeah… not gonna be happening so much. I mean I have school and other things, plus an occasional writer's block is bound to happen every now and then. Okay. Let's go!
Disclaimer: Everyone knows that if I owned the characters of Inu Yasha that Dogman would be going steady with Kagome by now, Sesshomaru would have adopted Rin and would be more appreciative of Jaken's work and dedication, Sango would be pregnant and happy with Miroku who worships his wife like a goddess, and Kikyo would forget about Dogman and go hook up with Naraku. But since I don't own it, I just sorta have to settle for this.
Chapter One: It's A Baby!
"Is everything ready?" Sesshomaru asked Jaken, who had been supervising the event all morning.
"Yes, milord," Jaken said with a nod, "Everything is in place for when our guests of honor come."
"Good… good," Sesshomaru said gazing past the doorway and into the decorated courtyard one last time, seeing all of the guests that had gathered to celebrate. It was a beautiful day for winter. But it was also a very important day as well; it had to go perfectly.
"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called as she raced towards her master dressed in one of her best kimonos, "They've arrived!"
"Already?" he questioned, worry striking through him, "They weren't supposed to be here for another half an hour." Then, he turned back to the party and raised his voice so that everyone could hear, "Everyone! They have come! Quiet down and get ready!"
Everyone instantly obeyed the host and stopped their chatter. Then, the dog demon closed the large doors to the yard and made his way across the Entrance Hall to the castle's entrance, opening those doors and stepping outside. "Sesshomaru!" Yuki called as she made her way to his side, "Sesshomaru, honey, these are my parents: Kazuhiko and Ayame Miyamota."
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Sesshomaru nodded towards them, then looking over at Mr. Miyamota and instantly seeing the resemblence that he shared with his past self and with Sesshomaru's present friend that was waiting just inside with the others, "Again."
"Lord Sesshomaru," Mr. Miyamota smiled, "It's nice to see you again."
"Please, father, we are related now. There are no need for titles."
"Of course… son," Mr. Miyamota replied, then paused, "After having known you for so long, it feels strange to call you that… but it could grow on me."
"Well, let us not simply stand here," Sesshomaru said, "Please, come in."
And so he turned, Yuki on his arm as he lead everyone back through the doors and across the Entrance Hall. "This castle is amazing!" Mrs. Miyamota commented as she looked about, "I'm impressed."
"Thank you, mother," Sesshomaru replied laconically.
A few moments later, they had reached the doors that the party lay just on the other side of. Slowly Sesshomaru pulled them back so that his wife and in-laws could see the guests as they all yelled, "Surprise!"
Yuki's hands went to her mouth as she gazed around with her violet eyes at the smiling faces off all of her friends and acquaintances. "Sesshomaru…" she said, "Is this all… for me?"
The devoted husband went behind his bride and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her stomach which had just a small mound forming. "You and the baby," he answered, just before kissing her cheek, "Are you pleased?"
"I love it," she replied, setting her hands on top of his, "Thank you."
"Let's go," he told her, "They're waiting for us."
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Mimi called as she made her way to the couple, "Lady Yuki!"
"Hello, Mimi," Yuki greeted as the maid-in-waiting reached them, "How are you today?"
"Oh, how I feel is nothing compared to how you must feel today!" she replied, "It is a beautiful day, regardless of the wind, and you have a wonderful party going on."
"I agree," Yuki smiled, "My husband does a good job."
"But I shouldn't take all of the credit," Sesshomaru said, "Everyone helped in one way or another."
"Well, whoever did it, it is amazing," Yuki replied, "I like it a lot."
"Then shall we go mingle?" Sesshomaru offered, even though usually it was his least favorite thing to do, but he knew Yuki liked to do it, so he would endure.
"Yes, let's," Yuki replied as she took his arm and they went off into the crowd. But it was only moments before someone else approached them. "Yuki!" Kagome greeted, a disgruntled Inu Yasha right behind her, "I can't believe it! You're… pregnant!"
"I know!" Yuki replied, "Isn't it wonderful?"
"It is!" Kagome answered back, then after a pause, elbowed Inu Yasha in the ribs to make him at least try to make an effort. "Congratulations, Sesshomaru," he said indifferently to his brother, "You knocked her up."
"Inu Yasha!" Kagome fumed, "Sit boy!"
With that, the necklace around the hanyou's neck began to glow, then it pulled him down to the ground in one loud THUMP! Sesshomaru glared down at his brother, only thinking how he must have deserved it. Then another thought came to his mind; Yuki could do something very similar to him with one word, and with her temper he had suspected that she wouldn't wait too long to say it… and that was only because they would be married! After all, many married couples squabbled… anything Sesshomaru disagreed with could set Yuki off. But now that she was pregnant which increased the chances tenfold…
"I'm REALLY sorry about him, Yuki," Kagome apologized as she pulled up her fallen comrade by his lily-white dog ear.
"That's alright," Yuki replied, even though it was with a tone of awkwardness, "But I hear a congratulations for you both is in order as well. I was so happy when I heard that you two finally got engaged!"
"Oh," Kagome blushed with embarrassment, "Yeah. Well, we decided with Naraku gone and all…"
"Well, I'm really happy for you," Yuki went on, "I was wondering when you two would get it together."
"Thank you," the other girl replied as she gave a small incline of her head, "But we should let you go. C'mon, Inu Yasha."
With that, the couple walked away, leaving the couple of the party alone again. "You know…" Yuki began, not looking to Sesshomaru as she talked to him. That was a bad thing for the husband; he must have done something wrong! Here it comes… "You know… I think I should be hearing a better effort coming from you when we talk to our guests from now on," she told him, "After all, I want you to have your say as well."
The demon lord had to check himself to not let out a sigh of relief that it was not something horrible. So it wasn't too serious after all. "Well, I just didn't feel any need to," he explained, "And it seemed to me like you were having a good chat without me."
"Sesshomaru... I want you to at least try and socialize today," Yuki said with a sigh, "It's your baby too, after all."
This time, Sesshomaru did let a small sigh out, but then he looked down to his beloved and smiled for her. "If it will make you happy… then I will try," he replied.
"Thank you," she told him as she reached up and planted a kiss on his lips, just before hearing one of the cold and smooth tones that could only belong to a demon.
"My dear Sesshomaru… and his darling bride," the female voice sounded. The couple slowly turned their heads to see no one else but Sesshomaru's mother coming towards them, her arms crossed and in plain sight as her silver hair hung over her back. "Hello, mother," Sesshomaru greeted with a respectful bow of his head. Yuki performed the same gesture.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't stop by and visit until now," she told them, an expression on her face that mocked begging forgiveness, "But I just couldn't quite believe that my beloved son had chosen a human as his mate. Even now as I look at her, I still can't see why he would choose a pyrotechnic human over the elegance and nobility of one of his own kind."
"Mother, please do not take up this behavior," he requested as a son instead of as a lord, "I have made my choice and I am happy with it. I have no regrets."
Inu Kimi said nothing else to that. She only gave a defeated sigh and said, "Maybe one day you will understand what this woman has done to you." Then she turned and left, right out of the party.
Neither of the couple said anything for a few moments, feeling negative in one way or another. There was Sesshomaru, who was feeling embarrassed and ashamed of his mother for the first time, and then there was Yuki, who just felt ashamed of herself. "Sesshomaru…" she said, her voice quiet and hurt, sounding as if she had taken every dagger thrown at her by her mother-in-law. "Pay her words no heed," he stopped her before she could say more, "I am sure that, in her eyes, no woman could ever be good enough for me. It is simply easier to bring you down than it would be a demon."
He then stepped in front of her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Do not let spoil any joy that you might have today because of the lack of approval that no partner of mine could ever get."
Yuki smiled at this, however faintly the grin might have been. "Okay," she said, "Let's get on with the party."
From then on, it was an assortment of fun and games, making the mother-to-be forget her previous worries as she once again began to enjoy herself at the baby shower. Then, as the closest of friends sat in a circle, the serious questions began. "What do you think that you will name the child?" Sango asked as she sat a little to the left of the couple.
"We… haven't really discussed that yet…" Yuki replied, suddenly realizing all of the things that she and Sesshomaru had yet to decide, "We've been so busy with preparing for the arrival that we haven't thought about anything else."
"Really?" the demon exterminator questioned, "Well then… what gender are you hoping for?" But this answer, they still couldn't agree on.
"Male," Sesshomaru said.
"Girl," Yuki answered, the two replies overlapping each other.
The two spouses looked at each other while the other occupants of the circle chuckled. "Well, maybe the one of you whose wish does not come true will be made a reality with the next child," a woman who was a good acquaintance of Sesshomaru's commented.
"Next child?" Yuki repeated, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Of course, my love," Sesshomaru smiled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I think that we should have many children."
"But Sesshomaru…" Yuki said in an almost hushed tone, "Don't you think that it's a little soon to be thinking about that? I mean… we haven't even had this one yet."
"Strange… even though you were made for each other, you can't seem to agree on anything!" another unfamiliar friend to Yuki commented as he chuckled at the irony.
"Yes," Yuki smiled, trying to hide her worry over the true fact, "Strange."
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That night, after all of the guests had come and gone, Sesshomaru and Yuki were now laying in their bed, staring out the window at the rising moon. "I hadn't even noticed how little we have planned for our child," Sesshomaru sighed as he wrapped his arm around his wife.
"I know…" Yuki agreed, "But we have time now. What do you want to talk about?"
"A name," Sesshomaru answered, "What could we name it?"
"Actually…" Yuki began, not wanting to disappoint Sesshomaru but wanting to voice her opinion more than anything, "I think we should wait till the baby is born to name it. Then we can have a name that will suit it."
"Names hardly have to matter when it comes to defining a person," Sesshomaru protested, "After all, mine categorizes me as 'The Killing Perfection' and I know that you can't believe that."
"I suppose…" Yuki agreed, "And there is my name as well. 'Snow'… quite the opposite in my case."
"Then can we choose a name now?" Sesshomaru asked, seeming a little anxious to do so.
"No," Yuki said simply, "I still think that we should wait."
At hearing this, Sesshomaru tried his best to suppress a grumble, not wanting to let Yuki know how much he disliked the idea. What did it matter what name it was? Just as long as they liked and agreed on it… wouldn't that be enough? However, Yuki did pick up Sesshomaru's irritation as he rolled his eyes. "Well I'm sorry if I'm a little concerned about a name," Yuki snapped, "But I don't want to be naming our baby something that they can't live up to. Like… if we named them Jun for obedience and it turns out that they grow up to be a teenage rebel!"
Sesshomaru flinched as Yuki's hormones began to act up again and he could feel her body temperature rise because of a combination of them and her fire gift. "You're right… you're right," Sesshomaru submitted, not wanting Yuki to set something on fire like last time when they had disagreed on whether to give the baby a nursery or put a crib in their room, "The child should have a name that befits them. But let's have a compromise… If the baby is a boy, then I will name him. If it is a girl, you will name her."
Yuki seemed to consider this for a few moments because she said nothing and her skin began to cool again. "Okay," she replied, "That's fine with me."
Giving a sigh of relief, Sesshomaru snuggled his head against Yuki's before settling and closing his eyes to sleep. So many decisions… so many arguments. That guest was right when his said that they couldn't agree on anything… Who knew what would happen once Yuki became REALLY emotional. Somehow, Sesshomaru knew that what had happened lately was just a taste of what was to come. He gave another sigh. This was going to be a looonng pregnancy.