Protecting You
xxredemption-love-and-liesxx
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Chapter 2
Discussions and Questions
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The words replayed over and over in her head, and automatically, her hand was securely wrapped around her stomach, ready to protect herself from him if need be. Her body was numb, and she could not believe his cruel words. How could he just say something like that, without feeling?
Right, he was Sesshoumaru; the cold, seemingly heart-less yokai.
However, something like this… should he not discuss the situation with her?
Or, did he think that she was stupid to not be able to choose what she wanted? However, she knew her mate, and he was nothing like that.
Then, it came to her.
He hated hanyou.
And her child was sure to be a hanyou; she was a human and he was a full-fledged yokai.
Rin was not idiotic; she knew of his hatred towards half-yokai, but she did not expect such a reaction from their child. This being that was growing inside of her at that moment was made from the both of them. The human heart with a yokai exterior. She saw him reach a clawed hand towards her, but instinctually, she slapped him away. His hand dropped, as did his expression, but she was too far gone into her thoughts.
… And she was too observant of anything he was doing right now. They knew that he could pin her down and tear away at her stomach, destroying the life there.
"Why…?" she uttered out, taking the time to speak now. "How could you just say something like that? This is our child, correct? Why would you—"
"I do not wish to have a child," Sesshoumaru interjected, rather rudely.
Rin paused and thought of her options. She then realized what needed to be done. She stood up, keeping her hand on her stomach. She looked around for a kimono; one that was not some light night dress. She needed to go; to leave. If the woman stayed, her child could be in danger from its own father.
However, he stopped her, grasping tightly onto her wrist. He was standing behind her, pressing the small brunette against his chest. Rin yelped, trying to break free from his grasp, but he used his strength to keep her still.
"You do not understand what this Sesshoumaru is thinking," he snarled out, yet able to keep his voice low.
"No, you're the one who does not understand," she pulled away from him, jumping back. "I am leaving. I cannot stay."
Sesshoumaru nodded his head, allowing her wish. "Do what you want. I have no right to stop you."
Rin felt tears prick, but she did not allow them to fall. This was no time to cry; it was no time to break down. She needed to be strong in front of him; to let him know that she was being serious. That she would not be swayed by his words, but it seemed, that unless she got rid of it, he would not stop her. He did not care that she stayed. That was what she thought, and it really, really hurt. All over it being a hanyou; it made her think whether or not he was sorry for mating himself unto a ningen.
The thought really made her heart hurt.
"Why?" she whispered, referring to his want to kill their child.
"It will harm you, possibly kill you," he answered.
Rin pursed her lips before shaking her head, "I can't let you get rid of it."
The yokai did not respond.
The brunette knew that she had angered her mate, but she was furious with him as well. She would leave, for now. Rin wanted there to be no risk for the infant in her womb. Even though Sesshoumaru himself had said that it could kill her, she did not care.
It was hers and Sesshoumaru's, making it something worth protecting. He should be happy, like she. But no, the yokai had reacted the way he had, and really, gave her no chance to give her opinion.
She stood around, finally finding a kimono made of the finest materials and slipped it on.
"I'm… going to stay with Kagome-chan," Rin ushered, not sparing her mate a single glance.
His golden eyes focused on her back. "Take Ah-Un."
Rin hesitated before nodding, somewhat thankful that he cared enough for her to take him. She knew it would anger Jaken, but she needed something to travel with; something that would keep her safe.
The brunette slipped out the door, not saying another word to him; no goodbye, no nothing.
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When his mate had left, and he felt her presence disappear, his thoughts fell onto her anger on the situation. The way she had reacted was something he had not expected; he had expected her to understand him, as she always did.
What did it matter if the child was gone? It was barely developed; only being a few weeks old. He was sure that she had conceived just after he had left, as he did not pick up on the scent of her body beginning its change. This gave him no time to think out his options.
The one thing that got him, however, was that he went as far as telling her that the infant could harm her, or even cause her death, yet, she did not bat a lash. Most ningen would; fearful of their own deaths. He had never seen anything like it. He also did not understand why she did not listen to him. She was the one that often listened to everything he had to say, but this time, it was different.
The yokai had given his mate the right to leave, as it was simply her right. He would not force her to stay if she did not wish to. He also hoped that she would think of this, and make a decision which would not end up killing her. It also gave Sesshoumaru time to think about everything, but he was sure of his own answer.
He needed to rid her of the foetus growing in her womb. It needed to go, so that she was sure to survive. He would not—could not lose her. His brunette mate was the most important thing in his life, no… she was his life. He had waited for her for hundreds of years, having not felt love, no matter the kind of love, for another being before. Not even his mother nor his father. He had fallen for her; a ningen.
If he lost her, and he survived, he would not know what to do with himself.
As it was, it was easily seen that she had gained her sickness from carrying the hanyou. She had said it was theirs, and while that was completely true, he did not care. She was a ningen, and as it was, it was rare that humans live through the later stages of pregnancy whilst carrying a hanyou, lest the actual giving birth. While there were a few that had survived, it does not automatically mean that she would live through it; all demons have a nasty habit of ripping apart their yokai mothers, so if it happens to a ningen… While, there was a chance that it would not happen, it was still something he did not wish to think of.
If Sesshoumaru was some weak demon, it would not have been as bad. However, he knew he was powerful. He was one of the ones who had defeated Naraku, and he was also the owner of the Western Lands. He was also a daiyokai; automatically allowing anyone to assume that he was powerful. Lastly, he was the son of Inu no Taisho. His father was a powerful demon in his own right, but Sesshoumaru—and by default, his half-brother—had surpassed his father. It had been a strain on his father's ningen mate to birth Inuyasha, so he wondered just how much it would affect Rin.
At the end of everything, she really knew nothing of birthing a hanyou.
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Rin had arrived hours later to her destination upon the flying, dragon-like beast. Ah-Un landed, allowing Rin to dismount, and shook its leathery body. The brunette allowed her fingers to meet the dragon, and gently stroked one of its heads. The beast purred lightly.
She had to stop a few times during her trip from sickness. Already, her stomach was playing up worse from being away from home. She guessed it had to do with her nerves towards leaving Sesshoumaru the way she had, and maybe the baby noticing her distress.
Slowly, she walked over to the house that she knew belonged to the priestess that lived in the area, but the door had already opened.
Kagome was a lot like a real priestess now; she wore the red and white robes that all miko wore, and her hair was extremely lengthy. The raven locks reached down to her hips, and she was absolutely stunning. After her mating with Inuyasha, she stayed the same age of twenty, and she looked extremely young. The blue-eyed miko ran up to Rin, hugging her.
"It's good to see you, onee-chan!" Kagome sighed happily.
The miko pulled back and looked into the hazel eyes of the younger woman, and gasped at what she saw. However, this surprise was short-lived as Rin had collapsed into Kagome.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out, as she held the passed-out Rin against her.
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"What's Sesshoumaru's mate doin' here?" Inuyasha asked, gently laying Rin against the animal furs, "and why is she sleeping? Is he not looking after 'er or something?"
Kagome was yet to answer his questions, only tending to Rin first. She noted almost instantly that the young girl had a fever, and she seemed to have lost weight. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, and noted that he was watching Rin in an odd way.
Ichiro, hers and Inuyasha's son, was on Kagome's lap, playing with his mother's hair. The little boy, only being three years old, had the same length of hair as Inuyasha's, but was a shiny raven colour. He was practically a mirror image of his father; ears and all, and Kagome had once joked that Ichiro looked a lot like Inuyasha's human form.
Of course, Inuyasha was not very impressed with that statement.
Inuyasha sighed, leaning down, "Oi, mate, she's with-pup."
The miko glanced at her mate, confused, "Why would Onii-san—" the silver-haired hanyou winced, "—let her leave? He would know, right? I mean… he's really protective of her."
Inuyasha frowned, "I dunno. Though, he's made it clear he hates hanyou. But you'd think it'd be different with his own pup."
Kagome nodded her head in agreement, "But… he's so protective of her, and we all know she's literally his only exception. So why would he allow her to leave, especially like this?"
"Maybe they got into some fight," Inuyasha offered, pulling Ichiro out of Kagome's lap, and allowing the boy to stay on his own lap.
"Papa," Ichiro whined, glaring up at his father, "I wanted to stay with Mama!"
"Mama is doing work," the hanyou reasoned, glaring right back at his son.
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A few hours later, Rin's hazel eyes opened. She looked around, and noticed that the ceiling was nothing like the one in her own chambers. She guessed that she was really with Kagome, and what had happened prior was not a dream.
Sesshoumaru… She thought sadly, hoping her thoughts and feelings would reach him, but she guessed he would have turned off his connection to her; something that she was unable to do.
Rin's ears picked up on the sound of bare feet hitting wood, and she cautiously sat up and looked around. Straight away, she noticed her mate's half-brother seemingly resting. Tessaiga was next to him, and he had his son in his lap. The raven-haired boy was in a small ball, and sleeping heavily. Inuyasha, on the other hand, seemed to still be conscious, but Rin uttered no sound.
"Are you feeling better?"
Rin jumped when she heard that voice, and saw Kagome in the doorway of the small hut the family lived in. She was carrying a bowl, and moved to the fire in the centre of the room, keeping the occupants warm. Kagome placed the bowl on top of the fire, and placed a few ingredients inside of it.
"A little," Rin lied, pulling up her legs, "Thank you, by the way."
"For what?" Kagome asked, stirring the mixture in the pot.
The brunette nodded her head, "Just… for letting me in. I know how hard it is right now."
"It's fine," the miko said, taking a wooden cup to, what seemed to be tea, and handed it over to Rin, "This should help with the morning sickness, and it'll allow you to eat better."
Rin took the cup and blew into it, taking in the scent. It somewhat smelled like flowers, and made her stomach churn a little. She wondered if this would really work, but she knew better than to drink it right away, lest she wanted to burn her tongue.
"So, why'd Sesshoumaru let you go like that?"
Rin glanced over at Inuyasha; his eyes were open and he was watching Rin, seemingly judging her. The silver-haired hanyou was then bopped on the head by Kagome, as she stared him down. Inuyasha let out a whine and pulled at her, trapping her beside him. She let out a gasp before giggling at his behaviour, and nuzzled in close to him.
"Don't answer him, Rin," Kagome said softly.
"I'll… tell you about it soon, but I just…" Rin sighed, leaning into her knees and hiding her face from the couple.
Kagome nodded her head, understanding automatically, "We'll go for a walk, tomorrow. And we'll talk."
The brunette nodded her head, but did not peek out of her hiding spot.
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When Rin had awoken again, she was given another cup of the tea that had actually served to make her feel better. The serving alone was enough to allow her to eat some rabbit which Inuyasha had hunted down earlier. Inuyasha and Ichiro ate the serving raw, while Kagome had cooked it for herself and Rin. It was a different sort of meal for Rin, as she often ate the finest of foods. It somewhat reminded her of the time when she ate whatever she saw before she met Sesshoumaru.
The young woman had watched the three person family speak of events. It seemed that Ichiro and Inuyasha would go fishing later, and meet up with Shippou after that. Kagome, on the other hand, would watch over Rin and do some miko duties. Of course, Inuyasha had made it clear to call for him if she needed help.
Like Sesshoumaru and herself, Inuyasha and Kagome had a similar sort of connection. However, instead of direct thoughts, it was more emotions. Rin had supposed it was due to Inuyasha being a hanyou, and therefore, slightly weakened their connection in a way. However, while Kagome could only sense Inuyasha's emotions, Inuyasha could pick up on her thoughts. It was an odd thing, really.
"Come on, Rin," Kagome said after she finished cleaning up after dinner; Rin had helped with drying the dishes.
Inuyasha and Ichiro were already gone, looking for their food for the night. Kagome had once said that it was annoying that there were no fridges in this time, of course, Rin had not really understood what a 'fridge' was. But, from what Kagome had said about them, they would be really helpful.
Rin followed Kagome through Bone Eater's village, and watched her interact with the villagers. They were very respectful towards her, and of course, knew who Rin was. It was known very well that Rin was the Lady of the Western Lands, and therefore, made her very high up in position. Of course, this meant that she had some enemies which were ningen. On multiple occasions, she had nearly been killed by assassins. Sesshoumaru had intervened, slaughtering the assassins easily. However, whoever had tried to kill her, just sent out more.
While she was sure that she would not be attacked, as it was highly possible that Sesshoumaru and her relationship troubles would have spread, even overnight. However, the one thing she was scared of, was that people would hunt her down to kill off Sesshoumaru's first child.
Though, if Sesshoumaru did not accept the child as his, then there was a lower chance of there being people after her.
"I need to help out this old onna before we do anything else," Kagome said, stopping in front of a diminished hut.
She and Rin slipped inside, and Rin stood aside, watching her sister-like friend help out the elderly woman with a few tasks.
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Rin and Kagome were finally free, and after Rin had explained her story, Kagome was absolutely bewildered by what had occurred.
"He really did something like that?"
Rin nodded, cradling herself with her arms wrapped around her legs. Tears had fallen, and her eyes were red. There was a pain in her chest, and she felt absolutely saddened after she told what had happened between herself and her mate.
Kagome allowed her hand to reach Rin's, and gently held it. She stroked her fingers in a soothing way, and Rin closed her eyes, relaxing slightly.
"He's worried, I think we both know that…" Kagome murmured softly, "but he should have allowed you to discuss the subject with him. I'm sure he might have understood…"
Rin shook her head almost instantly, pulling her hand away and covering her eyes, "No, he wouldn't have… he's so set on…" she trailed off and closed her eyes tightly, willing for all of this to go away.
"I think… that's he scared you'll die because of it."
"I know… but I'm willing to die for this child."
"He… does understand that you aren't going to definitely die, right?" Kagome asked, unable to stop herself from asking the question.
Rin looked away not agreeing with this, "It's… probably because the baby is a hanyou. He hates hanyou."
Kagome could not help but feel sorry for her sister; she knew that Rin absolute loved the daiyokai, but it had to have been absolutely painful for her to have been told that she cannot have the child. The miko wanted to see Sesshoumaru herself, and demand what the hell his problem was. However, she was not foolish—she knew better then to become a nuisance to the yokai of the West.
The miko took a heavy breath, dropping her head, "I'll ask Inuyasha about birthing hanyou; he is sure to know more. It might be different to me, because, while we consider our children hanyou, they really are only a quarter of a yokai."
Kagome decided that she needed some information on this, and it was probably best to ask Inuyasha. While he was not a full yokai himself, he was sure to know of the effects on his mother. Kagome knew that his mother had passed when he was young, but she was sure it had nothing to do with her carrying him. It just could not. If she was to be killed by birthing a hanyou, it would have been before or right after.
"I'll… ask Inuyasha about it," Kagome breathed, glancing at the whimpering Rin.
The pregnant lady nodded, understanding that they needed more information to make sure that Sesshoumaru was not lying to her. However, she had a feeling that he was not. He was not the sort to lie about something like that, he might have exaggerated, but he would not lie completely. Rin reached for the bowl again, taking another gulp of the substance, hoping that she would not feel sick again for a while.
Rin nodded her head, but did not look up. She lowered her hands and legs, instead crossing them. She fingered a curl of hair before glancing at Kagome, silently thanking her for all of this.
The priestess reached for Rin, and she slowly rested her hand against the pregnant woman's stomach. A light blue light appeared, and the young woman stiffened. Rin watched her, caution flitting into her eyes. She knew that Kagome could purify the baby instantly if she wanted to. That was something she did not want. However, Rin did not shift away. She watched Kagome, of course, but she trusted the ravenette.
"It's good," Kagome said softly, a smile flitting onto her lips, "the baby will be pure of heart."
"You… can tell, already?" Rin asked, glad for the subject change.
"Mmhm," the miko grunted, pulling her hand away and resting it on her lap, "the soul can be seen by a miko's powers. Of course, hearts change, and most children are innocent in the womb, but this child is likely to be very human in nature, if that makes any sense."
Rin smiled again, stroking her belly and then looking at Kagome, "Thank you…"
"It's fine."
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Sesshoumaru, whilst not needing sleep, felt absolutely exhausted.
When he had returned home, the rest he had was none. Rin had been gone for two weeks now, and he wanted to see her. His thoughts on the child growing in her womb were still the same. However, all he wanted was for her to come home. The yokai of the West needed her home. He did not think that he could miss her as much as he did, so he decided it was time to visit her, and leave her behind something, because he knew that she was sure to have the same problem that he had.
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Inuyasha's ears stuck up, he could hear something. He sniffed instinctively and could pick up the scent of his elder brother. The hanyou glanced at Rin, who was asleep, and nodded at Kagome. The miko knew what was going on, and looked worried. She did not particularly want a fight between Inuyasha and his brother. However, knowing the two of them, it might have been impossible for one not to occur.
The half-yokai headed out the door, following the scent of his big brother.
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"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru drawled, glaring at his surroundings.
His younger brother emerged from the tree-line, "Sesshoumaru."
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tbc
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So yes, an early chapter. Uhm, mainly because I won't be able to update in two weeks (maybe more due to the fact that I do have an exam right after the holidays, and I want to focus on that). I would have normally given the chapter out Tuesday or Wednesday, but I'm sure you guys wouldn't have been too happy if I had of taken a long time to update.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the next chapter.