Chapter Nine

Sesshomaru stepped off of his Longma and staggered when Inuyasha slammed into him. He put his arms around the trembling hanyo and tried to sooth him. "Come now, Inuyasha. I wasn't gone for that long."

"Don't leave me again." Inuyasha clung to Sesshomaru's clothes. "I'll let you in with the pups, just please don't leave me alone again."

"I'm not going to leave again. And I don't want you to let me near the pups as a bribe, Inuyasha. Just calm down." Sesshomaru peeled the dirty hanyo off of him and sneered at the filth left behind on his clothes. "You need to bathe."

"I know. I'll go." Inuyasha turned and headed toward the creek. "I'll go. Just don't leave. Watch my pups."

"Inuyasha." The hanyo kept going. "Come back here. I brought a tub so you don't need to leave." Sesshomaru lifted a wooden tub from the Longma's back and set it near the fire. He handed Inuyasha a bucket. "Start filling it."

Inuyasha did as Sesshomaru said. "You left to bring me a tub to bathe in?"

"That was the main reason, yes." He started taking wrapped bundles from the packs. "Bathe now please."

"I'm filling the tub. I know I stink."

Sesshomaru took the bucket from Inuyasha. "Get in. Start scrubbing." He handed the filthy hanyo a scrub brush and a bar of soap.

Inuyasha got into the tub. The water was freezing and instantly turned murky just from the dirt on his feet. "This is going to take a while. We're gonna need to empty this thing a few times."

"Just get the dirt off of your skin, then we can worry about getting you completely clean."

As Sesshomaru continued to fill the tub, Inuyasha started to scrub. As he washed the dried blood from the inside of his legs, he couldn't help but remember how it got there.

Almost ten months had gone by since that day he was raped. He had known as soon as his heat had ended that he was pregnant. Demon markings had appeared over his hips and his instincts made him feel panicky every time he left the cave. Also, the overwhelming need to build some sort of nest had driven him to rip the furs off of everything he killed for food.

Now, he was pacing the cave. His belly was heavy and full of fitful movement. He had been having mild contractions for the last few hours. He did not want to have pups. But he didn't have much of a choice. It was going to happen. And judging by the way the contractions were coming faster and stronger, it was going to happen soon.

Inuyasha hissed and put a hand on the wall of the cave as a sharp pain shot through him. He looked down as wetness ran down the inside of his legs. Another contraction rode on the back of the one that just ended. He felt the need to push and squatted, bearing down as his muscles tightened painfully. He put his hands between his legs as he felt something pass through him.

Lifting the tiny pup, Inuyasha felt his chest tighten. It was so small. Was it normal to be so small? Why was his belly so big if all that was in there was this tiny little thing? He sat on his pile of furs and used his thumbs to wipe the baby's face clean. It was squealing very loudly. And it was a girl. He held it to his chest and wasn't surprised when it latched onto his nipple. It quieted and fell asleep as it nursed.

He had just laid down to rest when the pain started again. Over the next hour he had two more pups, another girl and a boy. It explained why his belly had been so large. He sat looking down at the tiny pups. What was he going to do with three pups? He didn't know how he would handle one. How was he going to do this alone?

Distressed, heart broken, and lonely, he curled around his babies and cried. He didn't want to lose them. He didn't want to watch them die. But he was terrified that that was what was going to happen. He wouldn't be able to care for them alone. And they would starve. Or something would find them and eat them while he was out looking for food. Or another demon would come along and kill them.

Over the following weeks his distress only grew. Every sound made him jump. He viciously attacked anything that came near the cave. He was feral in his ferocious need to protect his pups. And desperate in his need to find a way to truly keep them safe.