His Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Why me!

Chapter 2: His Promise

With a sigh, Kagome leaned against the dark green painted bench of Tokyo Central Park (1). She was dressed in a comfortable pair of light tan shorts that went to mid-thigh - they accentuated her tan and long, curvy legs. A silky red, short-sleeved shirt covered her upper torso, hugging her womanly figure. It excellently brought out the small of her waist and the swell of her breasts while complimenting the light tan tone of her arms. The neckline went partially downward at a "V" cut, showing only a little bit of cleavage. Her raven hair was swept up into a cute bun at the back of her head - with it being around noon, almost one o' clock in the afternoon, it was far too hot to have her hair down. A pair of comfortable, pure white Adidas shoes coated her small feet.

The park was a magnificent place: it was large, spacious, and comfortable. Many different play stations dotted around the large sandboxes, monkey bars, jungle gym, and many multiple-colored slides. Hundreds of kids were milling amongst the place, laughing and playing tags or hops scotch underneath the gentle incense of the sakura trees that were littered all of over the place. The park was actually built in a large circle, outlined by a five-foot cement sidewalk that encircled it before sprouting out to sidewalks by the streets that were filled with many cars, buses, and taxis. Just on the outside line of the circular sidewalk were many green-painted benches, just like the one Kagome was on. Mothers, babysitters, even a few fathers had parked their posteriors on the mercifully smooth wood, watching over their children with guarded eyes.

She lifted her own head to glance at the hopscotch area to smile happily. The sun's rays that had managed to filter through the sakura tree branches above her head lighted up her sapphire blue eyes. Rin was excitedly giggling and talking with a few other girls that had invited her to play with them - Kagome wondered if they were classmates from preschool. Finding that Rin was within range if anything happened, Kagome leaned her back against the bench and relaxed her body. She briefly closed her eyes, her head tilted up to the warmth of the sun.

Kagome missed the brief looks of appreciation of nearby college males that were walking through the park. The prestigious Shikon University, the best college that Tokyo had to offer, was only a few blocks away from the park. Her ears could faintly hear the soft drum of the one o' clock tower from the college. It's light melody echoed around the area comfortingly.

Against her better judgment, Kagome's mind wandered to her husband. She could remember that day four and a half years ago when their lives changed for what she thought was for the better. She had been pregnant with Rin at the time. Sesshoumaru thought that she should rest 24/7. It was always, "Kagome rest," or "Kagome, you're pregnant, sit down." As if she didn't know that already. She even had to kick him out of the house for a day, just to get him off her back. That is when she came to the understanding about Inuyoukai nature: they were naturally protective of their intended.

When Rin was born 6 months later, Kagome had believed that she had never seen as much pride as she had in Sesshomaru: his eyes practically glowed.

'Yes,' Kagome thought, a light smile playing on her light pink lips, 'it was all worth it.' Kagome opened her eyes and glanced in front of her to see if her daughter was still within seeing range. It appeared that her and her little friends had gotten tired of hopscotch and had instead migrated to the swing set. They were all giggling and talking to each other with their tiny little legs energetically kicking, striving to get higher and higher.

Kagome stared at Rin with a gentle gaze, a startling realization dawning in her eyes. She looked so beautiful and carefree when swinging in the swing set. Kagome held in a small chuckle when a pair of older women, grandmas by the looks of it as they lovingly tied the shoes to their three-year-old grandchildren, whispered adoringly,

"What a good sister, looking after that pretty little girl. Their parents must be handsome to have such beautiful children."

It always made Kagome crack up laughing when people would often confuse her for Rin's older sister instead of being her mother. It was a rather comforting comment on Kagome's part. Kagome returned to her inspection of Rin when her delighted squeal of laughter reached her ears. It was apparent that Rin's small facial structure belonged to her father's. But, Kagome was proud to announce, everything else about her just screamed, "Kagome's child!" She held the same wavy, midnight locks and sapphire blue eyes - the only difference is that Rin's eyes held a fleck of silver in them. She had Kagome's small button nose and a smile that could brighten anyone's day. Being a product of a miko and inuyoukai gave her two light magenta stripes on each cheek and hipbone, but because she was a female, she didn't inherit the signature crescent moon - that marking belonged to the sons of the family and Sesshoumaru's eventual heir...hopefully. Being only four years brought her to Kagome's knees, but all that did was make her cuter in Kagome's eyes.

But as of late you could tell the difference in her: her aura was always sad. But the only way you could tell was if you looked into her eyes. You could see a great sadness that lied beneath them, mixed with the stirring of longing and seeking of attention. Kagome's mind began to wander to the beginning of all these changes and problems within their little family.

Flashback...

'It's all ready been two years since Rin has been born.' Kagome couldn't help but think in awe. 'It's been so wonderful...'

She was currently sitting in the living room, reading the comics section of the newspaper. Just a few hours ago, Sesshoumaru had been called in by his father for a private meeting. And he, being the ever-considerate husband that he is, took Rin with him to see his father. 'I wonder what the meeting is about,' Kagome wondered, her mind straying from the comics as her she struggled, strived and connived to figure up a reason for the meeting. Many of the ideas were ludicrous and brought endless giggling fits from her. She must have been very deep in thought when she had failed to notice the sound of the front door opening. She was nearly thrown off the couch by a midnight and silver bullet that was in the form of her daughter, Rin.

"Hi, Mommy!" Rin shouted with excitement, her arms simultaneously hugging her mother as tightly as possible.

Kagome gave a light wheeze at her daughter's still growing youkai strength. Even when being human, Kagome had the ability to produce full-youkai children, all thanks to her incredible miko abilities. At such a young age, Rin was all ready showing signs of inhuman strength. Kagome was a little nervous at first, wondering what kind of unconscious damage Rin could cause in public if she ever got angry. She always felt helpless when Sesshoumaru, instead of reciprocating the same amount of concern, had proudly patted their daughter on the head when Rin, angry at some mean boy at the park just a few days ago, had pushed him away from her. Instead of stumbling back a few feet, he had flown a full fifty yards before Sesshoumaru was able to catch him and prevent any body damage. She had spent a good five hours trying to calm down a furious fellow mother and a possible suing charge.

"Hey, how is mommy's little star? Did you enjoy your visit with Grandpa?" Kagome gently asked, stifling a coughing fit and instead rubbed the back of her daughter's back and playing with her long strands of hair.

"Yes, Mommy, but Rin hungry." Rin pouted at her adorably. Kagome laughed at her response. Kagome loved it when Rin talked. Her bad grammar was so cute, especially when she took up Sesshoumaru's bad habit of referring to himself in third-person when they were still courting years ago.

"Well, we'll just have to fix that now, won't we?"

Kagome got up and headed to the kitchen to fix dinner. Kagome had Rin go up and play until dinner was ready, she could still hear Rin's enchanting laughter through the high ceilings of the mansion. Walking into the kitchen, Kagome prepared to set up dinner by getting out the pots and pans first. While in the mist of getting supplies in the refrigerator, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, nearly scaring her. With realization of whom those arms belonged to, she relaxed immediately. Straightening up, Kagome released a happy smile and closed the door to the refrigerator before molding her body against the muscular, taunt figure of her husband.

She gently laid her head back against his chest; she giggled at the light rumble of his soft growl. She felt his pristine nose nuzzle against her neck lovingly. She asked sleepily, his actions lulling her into a light slumber,

"So, how was the meeting?" She inquired.

"Hn," was his reply. Kagome inwardly rolled her eyes. Sesshoumaru never did like explaining himself - it usually took her a few hours to decipher the reasons for his actions or words.

After a moment of silence, he decided to let her know what was to occur in two days.

"Father wanted to talk to me about his retirement on Thursday. He wants me to go ahead and put in my time as new CEO of Moonlight Inc. I'm starting tomorrow." Sesshoumaru paused, as though in thought. Kagome's eyes snapped open in shock before happiness for her husband filled her. However, a small inkling of nervousness and unease began to make its way to the forefront of her mind,

"That great! But..." Realization hit her. Kagome eyed her husband worriedly from the corner of her eye, hislocked arms prohibited her from moving to look at him directly, "doesn't that require you to be at the office more?"

"Yes, about two hours more." He answered almost indifferently; if it wasn't for the way he tightened his arms around her, Kagome would have believed that he was okay with the arrangement. However, she could tell that he was almost just as bothered by it as she was.

"Sesshoumaru, that's a 14 hour shift in the office! You're already there from seven in the morning till six in the evening. Now you'll be there from seven to eight. When will you find time for your family?"

Kagome's frazzled nerves and frantic fears were momentarily calmed by the resounding purr that Sesshoumaru excluded from deep within his throat.

"Kagome, this Sesshomaru (Kagome would have found it hilarious that he referred to himself in third person, just like Rin did a few moments earlier if the moment wasn't so serious) promises that I will always have time for you and Rin. You two come first."

As if to seal the promise indefinitely, he hugged her tighter before turning her around and passionately kissing her. Kagome felt overwhelmed by the sudden scent of his masculine cologne, taunt figure, and the unique taste of him as he plundered her mouth furiously. She panted underneath the ferocity of the kiss, loving the feel of his large hands rubbing against her small of her back comfortingly and the way he hugged her furiously close to his person. Their hips were practically grinding against each other. She felt his long and incredibly hot inu tongue sensually stroke her own, smaller one. It was as if he was telling her that they would get through this no matter what.

When he released her, Kagome fell limply in his grasp. Sesshoumaru always did this. Being an inuyoukai, he could hold his breath a hell of a lot longer than her own human lungs could handle. He would prolong the kiss so far that she almost became light headed, leaving her dizzy. She gave a soft sigh at the light pressure of his arms when Sesshoumaru hugged her tightly. His thin lips caressed her forehead lovingly before he promptly turned her back to the counter that was filled with pots and pans. She giggled when he softly padded her bottom, pushing her gently away to continue her task before he arrived. He was silently telling her to forget the news he just gave her.

Thoroughly satisfied with his answer and the heart-stopping kiss, Kagome all too happily continued cooking dinner, totally convinced that everything would end up right in the end.

End Flashback...

Two months after his promise, everything went down hill. She was brought out of her thoughts by a sudden jerk at her shorts. She realized that Rin was trying to get her attention.

"Mommy, Rin's hot. Can we please get some ice cream?"

Rin gave her famous puppy dog eyes to add effect. How could you say no to that? Kagome silently cursed the child for her power of manipulation with only a smile. She really needed to learn how to say, "no" to the child at times. Smiling gently, Kagome grasped Rin's small, lightly clawed hand.

"Sure, let's go, sweetie." Kagome got and dusted herself. Soon enough, they were off to the nearest Ice Cream Parlor. The pair of old women from earlier stared in shock at the pair - it was obvious that their assumptions were entirely wrong.