I do not own Inuyasha. Not mine. Never will be. Unfortunately.
(Vienna Teng's Eric's Song)
strange how I fit into you
there's a distance erased with the greatest of ease
strange how you fit into me
a gentle warmth filling the deepest of needs
and with each passing day
the stories we say
draw us tighter into our addiction
confirm our conviction
that some kind of miracle
passed on our heads
and how I am sure
like never before
of my reasons for defying reason
embracing the seasons
we dance through the colors
both followed and led
strange how we fit each other
The gardens had changed immeasurably in two hundred and fifty years. She sat quietly on a cushion near the door leaning her head on the jam as she watched her beloved sparing with their son. The boy had long black hair and chocolate eyes. He was nearing twenty years old and, over the past fifteen years that they had sheltered him, he had overcome the nightmares that had plagued him. Sesshomaru had found him, the only survivor of a human raid on a human village during another pointless conflict between rulers, and brought him home to Kagome.
It had been the same story for them that replayed every few decades. The boy was alone as every child they had raised had been alone. They needed them and so they were sheltered. The youkai population, with the exception of the few children that Sesshomaru and Kagome saved, had become victims of their own foolishness and lack of care. Humans, as they mastered the power of black powder, had discovered ways to kill youkai and steal their land and power. Sesshomaru had been spared along with their adoptive youkai children because of Kagome's knowledge of history and the uncanny ability she possessed to hide her family's preternatural features with her powers. Sesshomaru had also bartered much of his land and power for relative seclusion from those who would take his birthright and life.
Their first adopted human daughter, a girl they named Miya, had ensured a mask for her parents in the form of a family line who effectively ruled the lands that were actually the possession of the immortal Taiyoukai. She had passed into the next life over a century before, however her children, like all of their mortal children and descendants, remained close to Sesshomaru and Kagome with a kind of devotion only love can forge. With the help of their mortal family, Sesshomaru and Kagome had managed to create a sanctuary for their youkai family and any other youkai who needed a safe haven from the encroaching power of the humans.
It had not began as such an easy compromise, she remembered. Her mind slipped back to the evening her beloved had decided to name her as his mate. The council and court had obliged his relationship with the human miko. After a century of her being his acknowledged consort and raising several children together, they were forced to by virtue of the fact that the great Western Taiyoukai had done nothing that would be considered against the youkai court's law and social order. The human children were tolerated more because they were protected by Satori. Kagome felt her lips curl as she recalled the day that Miya had been brought into the court. She had been so small and fragile. Barely able to walk. Completely innocent and yet taken from such anguish and pain. Her family had been murdered in a youkai attack which Sesshomaru had stumbled upon just in time to save the tiny girl, toddling toward her birth mother's broken and cooling corpse.
The council had looked upon Kagome where she held Miya with dangerous and threatening glares.
"What makes you think we will stand for this palace to be sullied further by mortal, human blood, Sesshomaru? To appease your consort you have committed an act which is a slap in the face of this council and your court." His name was Ryu. He was a serpent youkai and currently the leader of the council. As much as he was hated, everyone with the exception of Kagome, Sesshomaru and Satori respected him.
"You have no right to question who I bring into my home. The girl will not be an heir to me. She is here only to bring my consort joy that we may not find together."
"Praise Kami for that." Ryu snarled and smiled as he saw the hurt in Kagome's eyes and the rage building even further in Sesshomaru. If he could goad the icy Taiyoukai into breaking and attacking him, he might make a lesson out of the act and have reason to usurp Sesshomaru's power.
"Ryu, you have been out of line in this council for far too long. I refuse to sit and watch you make my son out to be weak when we all know taking such a child into his court is more a sign of strength." Satori said icily from her place beside Kagome. Her hand rested comfortingly on the woman's shoulder, but it was also a show of her position in the whole matter. "Or is it you question his decision that he need not ask your permission? He is not a pup any longer who needs a council judging his every movement and decision. Your place is only to provide information and advice in time of war and strife. That you would call him here with his consort and the child they have decided to raise together speaks more to your own weaknesses rather than his. Are you honestly so insecure?"
"Next his consort will deign to speak to us! He is weak if he lets them fight his battles." Ryu said haughtily, attempting to hide the waver in his voice. Sesshomaru was terrifying but Satori… The woman had no scruples or fear. At least Sesshomaru feared the loss of the child and his consort.
"Enough." His voice was icy and calm. The tones were barely above a whisper, forcing the council to silence in order to hear him. He stood and approached Ryu. His eyes did not flinch their piercing gaze into the serpent youkai's countenance. He stopped only a few feet away from him and smiled. The room stilled its breath. "Ryu, you have only two options open to you. Either you silence your words and protests along with the rest of the council, leave my sight and resign your obligations to me as my advisors or you continue this tirade. If you do the first, I promise your deaths will be with honor. You will see them coming. You will have the ability to say goodbye to your beloveds. All your families will remain intact and unharmed. However, if you choose to continue and later I must console my consort further than I will once you are gone otherwise, I will order Satori to kill you all slowly in the night. You will not see your end coming. You will die without honor. Your families will follow you and I will take everything you have and give it to the child Kagome and I have claimed to raise as our own. That is your choice, Ryu. You choose for the council. Make your choice wisely."
Ryu choked and took a step back. "You would not kill your advisors! Not even your father would have dared. He knew we were his greatest strength! We gave him what he needed to rule."
"I am stronger than my father, Ryu. He bent to your wills in every respect except when he decided to call Izayoi his mate and love. Even then he tried to appease you in order to keep that one happiness he knew. It was the end of him. You will not be the end of me. Kagome is my consort. Miya is my daughter. If Kami be willing, one day Kagome will give me my heir and she may be called my mate properly. I know what I want and I know what I will have and I know without any doubt that I do not need you to succeed. Make your choice, Ryu, or I will make it for you."
The council had bowed to him. From Kagome's vantage she knew that both Satori and Sesshomaru would have rather they not chosen an honorable death. However, it was that decision which had enabled Sesshomaru to hold Kagome as his mate and Miya, along with every other mortal child they raised, as his family and closest to his blood Kami was willing to give him presently.
Kagome smiled as Sesshomaru disarmed their son. The boy chuckled with his father as an arm was wrapped around his shoulder.
"Well done. In time you might best me, Akira."
Akira chuckled and nodded. "If I had a few more centuries, perhaps. I can only hope for a fraction of your prowess, Father."
"Still you could defeat any mortal man on the battle field. You are a great warrior, do not doubt yourself." The Taiyoukai smiled and then looked up to his mate, finding his smile deepen so that his eyes shimmered in pride.
Akira smiled knowingly and patted his father's arm. "I am going to find my sisters. No doubt they are flirting with the guards again."
"Yes, protect their virtue from themselves, Son." Sesshomaru replied and looked to his son as he retrieved his sword and sheathed it. He turned his gaze back onto his mate once their son had left and approached her slowly, allowing his eyes to drink her whole form in before capturing her deep azure gaze.
He sat beside her with the doorframe between them. He caressed her face and smiled as she leaned into his touch. He leaned and kissed her deeply, drawing her into his arms and then into his lap. She sighed and trembled, clutching as close to him as she was able. His hand moved to slowly from her side to rest at the heavy swell in her abdomen, feeling his child kick from within her. He smiled and slowly pulled his lips from hers so he could meet her eyes again. "How are my mate and heir?"
"We are well." She breathed and curled against him, covering his hand at her belly with one of her own. "She is eager to meet you."
He chuckled and leaned to kiss her abdomen softly, then held her tightly against him. "You are so beautiful. I thought I had won the greatest treasure when it was only you, but to see you so radiant as you carry our daughter… I believe I will have to ensure you are heavy with child rather quickly once she is born."
Kagome laughed and caressed his jaw tenderly, meeting his eyes. Their amber was so perfect and warm in the sunlight. She felt as if she were some unassuming insect that had been embraced by his eternity. A butterfly welcoming her golden prison, never wishing to escape. "Kami willing, I'll give you as many children as I am able."
His eyes danced with a kind of happiness she'd ached to given him for centuries. He rested his palm over her chest, between her breasts. Deep within her flesh rested the Shikon no Tama. It had been a happy accident, their child. The jewel had been placed within her less than a year before for the sake of her own safety.
Her name was Hitomi. She was a kitsune of considerable power and had begged sanctuary in Sesshomaru's home. She had befriended Kagome and the two, after a short time, had become confidants.
"So you were the Kagome of legend? The guardian of the Shikon no Tama?" The woman's green eyes widened in disbelief. She was so like Shippo in her expression and features. She disarmed Kagome without having to try.
"I was and am." Kagome responded softly, her hand resting on the jewel that she had pulled from the silk of her kimono to show the kitsune. "It is mine to protect."
"So you have the power to help save all youkai…"
"Hitomi, it isn't that simple. I know that youkai are in danger, but as the keeper of the jewel, I cannot intervene in history or what is to come. My place is beside Sesshomaru."
"You protect him, though."
"I love him, and yes, I do. I protect everyone who lives within our sanctuary. But I cannot and will not influence the human world. I have walked away from that path and place. I am as separate from them as I am from youkai." She replied, not enjoying where their conversation was headed. Once, years before, she'd had a similar one with Satori. Her beloved's mother had understood and not pressed the issue. She still remained their closest and greatest ally and friend, however she was not so certain about Hitomi even though the two were confidants. "There are many things you do not understand and I cannot explain to you."
Hitomi's face began to change. Its placid friendliness morphed into something that frightened Kagome. "You are a coward." She thrust her hand out and grabbed the Shikon no Tama, ripping it off of Kagome's chest from its chain. "You don't deserve this."
Kagome cried out, feeling as if a portion of her self had been torn away. Her eyes widened as she felt the jewel begin to taint. She hadn't been ready. She hadn't been prepared. She hadn't anticipated well enough the draw of the jewel or the true motives of the woman she'd thought was her friend. "Hitomi, don't! You don't know what you're doing or what that really is! Give it back to me now!"
"No! You weak, pitiful, pathetic creature! You don't deserve this or the man you call your love. You are too weak to deserve him." She snarled and lashed out, slashing Kagome across her abdomen, leaving the girl bloodied for the first time in centuries.
Sesshomaru had found her nearly dead. He gathered her into his arms, frowning deeply as he yelled for the healers. "Kagome… Love, what happened?" He asked as he tried to rouse her.
Her eyes fluttered open and she whimpered. "Hitomi… Attacked me and took the jewel… Sesshomaru, I feel so weak."
He could smell her mortality and it worried him far more than he would ever allow her to know. Her wounds should have been healing but weren't and her hair… Those treasured ebony tresses were beginning to fade into grey. "Hold on, Love. I will go and bring it back to you." He whispered and then left Kagome to the care of the healers and the protection of his mother.
He raced in the direction of her scent. She was easy enough to follow. She was young and weak and inexperienced no matter how clever or manipulative she might also be. When she was in view, he sped up and tackled her, forcing her lithe form to the ground. He pinned her with one hand by her throat and took the Shikon no Tama with his other, holding it tightly as it throbbed with his beloved's waning life. "You will die." He snarled, tightening his grip at her throat.
"She isn't worthy of you! I could be your mate! She can't even give you a child! Sesshomaru, great Taiyouakai, we could take back Japan together! Please…"
"Enough." He didn't have time to parlay with her. Kagome's life was ebbing away and she was infinitely more important. He surged his acid through his palm and severed the kitsune's head from her shoulders in a burst of acrid, burning flesh. He didn't stay even long enough to watch her disintegrate.
He raced back to Kagome's side, finding her slowly fading from her youth to become a grey crone. His heart panged and he moved beside her, pressing the jewel to her chest, between her breasts. The jewel did not react. He snarled and ignored the eyes that were on him. He leaned and pressed his brow to hers, whispering huskily against her lips. "Bring her back, Midoriko, or I swear I will destroy this jewel if only so I may rend your soul. She is mine. She has always been mine and always will be. I will set this world on fire if you let her leave me."
The jewel pulsed and began to sink into the fading miko's chest. She arched weakly and cried out in agony as her age was reversed with the power of the jewel. Her flesh knit. The ebony returned to her long, glossy hair. She shook and he wrapped his arm around her torso as his other hand continued to press where the jewel had merged with her flesh. "Shhh… Breathe, Love. Stay with me." He whispered, feeling wet course from his eyes onto her cheeks. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't imagine eternity alone, without her beside him. His heart could not mend from that loss.
The rending pain that was coursing through her began to ebb away in pulses. She felt a shift in her aura, but it was ignored instead so that her attention could fall on the cool tears of her lover falling on her face. She arched and brushed her lips against his, whimpering in pleasure as he kissed her with fever and need. She wrapped her arms around him weakly and felt him grip where the jewel had slipped into her body, fusing with her entirely. He growled softly and embraced her fully, pinning her gently with his weight.
Satori felt a blush kiss her cheek. She looked to the healers and growled. "We will leave them now." She said, barely raising her voice. The healers nodded and left with Satori close behind. She closed the doors and sealed them, smiling faintly as her mind reeled in understanding.
He tore away her already ruined kimono and kissed along her throat and chest, breathing in the sudden change. Before, always, her fertility had spoken of humanity and her miko power. Something was different now. Vaguely, only enough that he could detect it as her arousal grew, her scent held the promise of fertility and her aura rippled faintly with youkai energy from the jewel fused in her body. His hands roamed along her with fevered need before he too disrobed and captured her gaze. When their eyes met, he knew easily what their pairing would produce and he realized how unaware she was. He kissed her deeply and thrust into her ready embrace, issuing a sigh and moan of delight from his beautiful Kagome. He growled softly with territorial need and proceeded to take her heatedly, ignoring everything aside from his mate and the musical sounds she made into his ears as he sired their first child together.
He had almost lost her. However, had he never come so close to her dying in his arms, the jewel would never have fused with her and the child, their daughter, who grew so easily and with such strength deep in her womb, would never have come to be. He leaned again and kissed her deeply, his hand tracing the curve of the swell where his daughter rested and he smiled when Kagome covered his touch with her own. From within the tiny girl pressed to their united touch and he felt his pride gather once again. He would not take this happiness for granted. Neither would she. After so much mourning, it was time for joy and peace and a single moment of untouched bliss.
