A/N: I know you've all been waiting patiently for it, so here it is, New Moon. In the prequel, Wolf Cry (which if you haven't read, I highly suggest you do before reading this), we saw Sayomi and Kouga go through trials that tested their love, their separation and reunion, and finally their mating, and now the story of their life together begins! But what twists and turns will they encounter now? I warn you all now, this story is mainly going to focus on Sayomi, and you'll get to see sides of her that weren't really shown in Wolf Cry.
I hope you all find this story as interesting, if not more so than, as Wolf Cry, and I hope to read reviews from my awesome fans that supported me in the first story. Oh, and KeikoHayasaka? You better be among the reviewers! If not, I'll seriously cry...
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, with the exception of the characters found here that I myself created.
Sayomi sat on the edge of the cliff over looking the lake below the den of the Eastern tribe, the sun shining in her violet eyes and making her ivory skin glow, the breeze blowing through her long ebony hair. She was the alpha female, new mate to Kouga, leader of the Eastern pack, and she was pregnant with his pup.
It had been a three months since Sayomi had discovered she was pregnant, and her belly was now quite swollen. After her discovery she went back to the den and screamed at Kouga for a good half hour for not telling her what was going on. Eventually it ended with her sobbing about how she thought that his cautiousness was because he no longer wanted her. Kouga had no idea that she had felt that way, and lead her to their bed to show her she was quite wrong about that.
Her smile disappeared as she thought about her predicament. Having lost her mother at a very young age, and being raised by a pack of males ever since, she had no clue about how to go about being a mother. She supposed that much of it would be instinctual, but she was still uneasy. 'If I only had a clue, if only I knew what to expect.'
Suddenly she knew what she had to do. She stood quickly, and rushed back to the den to find Kouga. She found him lazily lounging on their bed. Seeing the anxiousness in Sayomi's face, he sat up quickly, immediately concerned.
"What's wrong Sayomi? Are you hurt?" he asked, scanning her body for any possible injury. Not only was he concern for his mate, but also for the pup she was carrying.
"No, I'm fine," she told him quickly. "I need to do something, I have to leave. I'll be back in a few days."
Kouga gaped at her for a second before regaining his composure.
"No way, Sayomi. If you need something, I'll get it. If you need to go some where, I'll escort you. There's no way I'm letting you go off by yourself unprotected." He stood and took her hand, intending to keep her there.
She looked at him, somewhat amused. "Kouga, love, aren't you forgetting that I'm one of the most skilled warriors in the land? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
Kouga shook his head vigorously. "Not while you're carrying my pups you aren't. You are not allowed to do anything that would put you in harms way. Besides, you look like you could give birth any day now."
Sayomi sighed and pulled her hand away from him, giving him a sad smile. "Kouga, this is something I have to do alone, for my peace of mind. Besides, you need to stay here protect the lands. And if you refuse to let me go by myself, I'll have to take measures into my own hands."
Kouga eyed her warily. "The men can look after the lands just fine. There's no way that I would let you go off alone. I'll tie you up if that's what it takes to keep you here."
Sayomi smiled at him suggestively. "Tie me up, huh? Then maybe I should stay..." She growled playfully at him as she trailed her hands over his chest, slowing moving to position herself behind him.
"Oh yeah," Kouga breathed, smiling like a fool as Sayomi wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. He heard her giggle. She stood on tip toe to whisper into his ear.
"I'm sorry, my love," she whispered just before Kouga's world went black and he sank to the ground. She had used a pressure point to render him unconscious. Takehiko, having used it on her before, had taught it to her. Seeing as Kouga was her mate, she thought it a little to brutal to use the usual method of just hitting him on the head. The few members of the pack that were in the den gave her shocked looks, but when she glared at them they quickly made to act as if they had seen nothing.
She bent down and kissed his forehead with a sigh. "You should have just let me go. But don't worry, I'll be fine, and I'll be back in a few days."
She straightened and headed out of the den. She paused at the entrance to look back at the unconscious form of her mate.
"I love you, Kouga," she murmured, just before she slipped silently out of the den.
xxxxxx
She had been running at full speed all the way here, and now she paused beside the waterfall to splash her face with water and to slow her ragged breathing. Running with a bulging belly took a lot of work, but the exercise made her feel good. Once she caught her breath she made her way to the nearby cave entrance. Standing there she called out, "Chika? Chika, are you there?"
There was the sound of light footsteps inside, and then the healer stood before her.
"Sayomi!" Chika exclaimed, embracing her. "What a surprise! And you're with pup, too? My, my, this is some day!"
Sayomi smiled at the demon healer and embraced her affectionately.
"My dear, you are practically glowing with motherhood! It suits you," Chika told her.
Sayomi rolled her eyes, and then smiled. "Well, actually Chika, that's what I've come here to talk to you about."
"I thought so," Chika said, nodding knowingly. She gestured for Sayomi to join her in sitting on the mats that covered the floor. She did so somewhat awkwardly, her protruding stomach getting in the way.
"I'm sure you have many questions, and I will try to answer them the best that I can. What would you like to know?"
Sayomi thought for a moment. "How much longer before I whelp my pups?" she asked eagerly.
Chika smiled at the woman's enthusiasm. "Well, being that you are a wolf youkai, and your features and attributes descend from those animals, you should have a fairly short pregnancy. From what I've witnessed in the past, pregnancy in wolf youkai generally lasts about four months. By the looks of you, you're pretty far along now."
Sayomi nodded. "About three months now," she said.
Chika nodded. "I thought so. Oh, and don't be surprised if you have a litter, either."
'A litter!' Sayomi thought. 'I could have more than one!'
She shook her head, feeling a little out of sorts. "But I can only hear one heartbeat," she told Chika.
Chika eyes opened wide in shock. "You can hear the heartbeat?"
Sayomi looked at her, puzzled. "Yes, that's how I knew I was pregnant in the first place. Why? I am not supposed to be able to?"
Chika grew thoughtful. "You can only hear one? Are you sure?"
Sayomi closed her eyes and tried to focus on the sound as she had before. The heartbeat came through clearly, but wait...
"There are two now!" she exclaimed, clutching her stomach. She hadn't paid attention to the heartbeat since she had discovered her pregnancy. The sound had become background noise. She had never imagined that she was missing a second one!
"Two?!" Chika grew serious, and then amazed. "Well, Sayomi, it looks like you'll be having a litter."
'A litter?' Sayomi thought. 'Oh my gods, I'm having a litter!'
A huge smile spread over her face, and then it disappeared as her joyful mood was interrupted by an unanswered question.
"But you seemed shocked that I could hear the heartbeat in the first place," she said. "Why?"
Chika smiled. "It's nothing to be worried about, Sayomi, dear. I've only heard of female wolf youkai being able to hear the heartbeats of their young a few times, and only in instances where they were carrying females. The mothers are unable to hear the heart beats of males, but can apparently hear the heartbeats of their female pups because they have a stronger heartbeat."
"Oh," Sayomi said, the smile returning to her face. She sat smiling at Chika for several moments before the womans words hit her square in the chest.
"Oh!" she gasped, now fully understanding what Chika had said. She was going to have a daughter! Then another realization washed over her. She could hear two heartbeats. "OH!" she exclaimed. "I'm carrying two female pups! That's never happened before! Females are almost always born as a single pup rather than a litter, and there has definitely never been a case of two females being born at the same time!" Her head was spinning at this point. "I think I need to sit down," she told Chika, her voice faint.
"You are sitting down," Chika pointed out to her with a chuckle.
"Oh, right," Sayomi said, shaking her head to clear it. She was silent for several moments.
"What does it mean?" she asked the healer, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I don't know," Chika confessed. "But I have a theory."
Sayomi perked up. "Let's hear it then."
Chika seemed to the think for a moment before she spoke.
"The wolf tribes have been in a period of decline for some time now," she stated. "You're numbers are dwindling, and with the loss of the Northern tribe, you're numbers are dangerously low. I think survival has kicked in, and in order to keep the packs for decimation, two females have been produced. Your daughters will be the ones to begin the packs recovery in sixteen years or so."
Sayomi let this information sink in slowly. It seemed a logical explanation, but it didn't make the shock any less intense. She let the information drift to the back of her mind as she focused her attention on the matter at hand. She was having two daughters! She felt her heart swell, as well as her pride. She saw Chika smile at her, and knew that she must really be glowing right now.
"What about mothering?" she asked Chika anxiously. "I don't know how to be a mother. I was raised among males."
Chika laughed. "Of course you know how to be a mother! You just don't know it yet. As soon as those pups are whelped everything will become clear to you."
Sayomi nodded. Then it would be instinctual like she thought. That was one worry out of the way.
"What about the whelping? Would you come? I don't want a bunch of males hanging around while I've got my legs in the air giving birth. Besides, I doubt they would know how to help me once I'm in labor."
Chika burst into laughter at the bluntness of Sayomi's words. For several moments she sat gasping for air like a fish out of water. Finally she managed to calm herself, and still chuckling slightly, she answered, "Of course I will come for your whelping. Just send for me when you go into labor, and I will be there as soon as I possibly can."
Sayomi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much Chika, you have no idea how much that means to me. And thank you for easing my fears about my pregnancy." She rubbed huge belly affectionately. "And thank you for for giving me the gift of knowing I will have daughters."
xxxxxx
Sayomi thanked Chika profusely for her help and bid her farewell, promising to send for when she went into labor. The sun was setting as she departed, and she didn't reach the tribes lands again until well after nightfall. As soon as set foot on her lands though, she was instantly surrounding by her anxious pack mates, Ginta and Hakkaku among them.
"Jeeze sis!" Ginta exclaimed. "We've been looking for you all day. You gave us a scare when we realized that your scent trail went out of the tribes lands."
Hakkaku nodded. "Not to mention Kouga is furious, Sayomi. I can't believe you actually knocked him out to get away. That was pretty drastic."
Sayomi laughed. "It was girl business, guys. And Kouga won't be mad once I tell him the amazing news."
Ginta and Hakkakiu stared at her as her face light up at the mention of good news.
"What good news?" they asked in unison, curiosity consuming them.
Sayomi wiggled a finger at them. "You'll just have to wait to find out. Kouga gets to be the first to know anyway."
Ginta and Hakkaku's shoulder's slumped in disappointment.
"Alright then, we better get you back to Kouga as soon as possible anyway. Takehiko is the only thing keeping somewhat calm at the moment," Ginta told her, signaling for the pack to move out.
xxxxxx
They reached the den around midnight, and Hakkaku and Ginta had to help Sayomi with the climb up to cave because her feet were so sore and swollen from her trip that day. Once they reached their destination though, she insisted that they let her walk on her own, which they allowed. She limped into the den, her eyes scanning for Kouga. She spotted him sitting with Takehiko by the fire, their backs to her.
She could see from where she stood that Kouga's entire body was tense, and she knew he was highly upset. She called out to him softly.
"Kouga, love... I'm back."
He had stood and spun around to face her in a split second, and she made to go to him. But as she made to take a step, her swollen feet and ankles gave out beneath her, and she started to fall. In an instant Kouga had caught her. He carried her bridal style to their bed without a word and laid her down.
Straightening, he began to pace back and forth in front of her, eyes narrowed in rage.
"What we're you thinking?!" he demanded. "Look at you! You shouldn't have strained yourself like that! You can't even walk! What about the pup? You could have put it in danger too!" At the mention of his pup his voice grew soft, worried more than angry.
He stopped pacing and knelt beside Sayomi, taking her hand in his. "I was so worried, love."
She stroked his face with her free hand, trying to soothe him. "I know, I know. And I'm sorry I knocked you out."
Kouga rolled his eyes. "Yes, that wasn't the nicest thing to do to your mate, but I'm more worried about you than I am the fact that you did that."
Sayomi smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Kouga, I have something to tell you, something I found out today."
Kouga cocked his head to the side. "What is it, love?"
Sayomi struggled to sit up, and Kouga fetched a pile of blankets and placed them behind her so she could sit up and still lean against something.
Resuming his place beside her, she looked him directly in the eye and spoke softly. "I went to see Chika today," she told him, and he nodded.
"So that's where you went."
Sayomi nodded in return. "Yes. Kouga... We're going to have daughters."
Kouga felt the wind go out of him. "D-D-Daughters? How do you know? And what do you mean, daughters? Daughters as in more than one?" His head was spinning.
Sayomi explained to him what had transpired between her and Chika earlier that day, and why Chika thought was the reason that Sayomi was having two daughters instead of one.
Kouga couldn't believe it. I huge grin spread over his face. "I'm going to have daughters," he murmured to himself. Suddenly he swooped down and laid kisses over every inch of Sayomi's face, and she giggled.
"I'm going to inform the pack," he told her, placing one last kiss on her lips. She nodded and watched him exit their little cornered off area. On the other side she heard hoots and hollers go up as Kouga informed the pack of the new information.
The sound of Kouga's fist connecting with someone's face rang out along with a yelp of apology when one of the pack members jokingly asked if they could have dibs on courting his daughters when they came of age. Another yelp rang out when Takehiko apparently decided that the remark offended him as well; he was just as protective of Sayomi and her pups as Kouga was.
Sayomi, although she tried no to, couldn't help but laugh.