Chapter 9

Early in the morning, Kagome found herself being drawn back to the world of waking by a soft scratching sound coming from nearby. Knowing her son was far too young to have learned to scratch with his claws yet, Kagome wracked her mind for any possible causes for the noise but found her mind coming up blank. Deciding there was only way to get the answer, she yawned before opening her eyes; rubbing the sleep away with the bottom of her palms.

Glancing over toward the noise, she was a bit surprised to find Sesshoumaru hunched over as he wrote on a scroll in front of him; the tip of his quill pen moving across the parchment the cause of the scratching. "Sesshoumaru? What are you writing?" she whispered softly, making sure not to wake the others; whose snoring she could now hear echoing in the room.

"Just something I wish to remind myself about later," he replied cryptically as he blew the ink dry before rolling up the scroll and tucking it away in his clothes before climbing back up on the futon and turning his attention toward her. Seeing she was about to ask him for more information, her curiosity working overtime as usual, Sesshoumaru decided the best course of action would be to distract her with something else. "What would you like to do today?"

"I just want to spend time with my family," Kagome informed him with a slight blush as she looked down at her hands to hide her embarrassment. It still seemed odd to refer to him as part of her family, even if it felt so right at the same time.

Apparently misunderstanding her meaning, Sesshoumaru skillfully hid his disappointment as he wished to spend every moment with her that he had left, but was not about to deny her seeing her family. "I will take you to the well after breakfast," he agreed and was about to get up when her light laughter stopped him. Startled, and wondering if he hadn't hid his disappointment as well as he thought he had, Sesshoumaru turned back to her in question; instantly catching the way her eyes seemed to sparkle as she laughed and the deepening redness to her cheeks.

"Sorry, Sesshoumaru, I meant that I wanted to spend the day with our family. I meant you," Kagome informed him, trying her best to ignore the blush on her cheeks, before thinking about what he had said. "Though it would be nice for you to get the chance to meet the rest of my family, it is just not possible."

As Sesshoumaru watched her in silence, he could tell she was not as capable of hiding her disappointment as he was and realized for the first time that she actually wanted him to meet her family. He had seen them a few times over the years whenever he was watching Inuyasha and Inu-Takeshi watching them, but he had never had the desire to meet them himself. Now, that he knew she did, he was finding that he wanted to; if only to make her happy. "It is possible, Kagome. All it would take is another rosary."

"I can't do that, Sesshoumaru!" she insisted so strongly that Sesshoumaru was momentarily startled by her sudden outburst. "Putting beads of subjugation around your neck would be degrading and I can't do that to you. Honestly I still hate myself for ever using it on Inuyasha when he wasn't actually out of control."

For a moment, Sesshoumaru sat there in silence watching as the emotions played across her face. So easy to read, it wasn't hard for him to figure out she was torn between her desire to introduce him to her family and not wanting to disrespect him. Deciding to make it easier on her, Sesshoumaru suggested, "What if we simply remove it the moment we return? You can activate it as gently as you did for our son and be sure to use a command that you would not accidentally call out instead of something common like sit or stay."

"Are you sure?" she finally asked after a moment and as Sesshoumaru nodded his head that he was, Kagome bit her bottom lip while trying to figure out the right command to use. Her stomach, however, did not want to give her the chance as it decided to take that opportunity to growl. Laughing nervously in embarrassment, Kagome informed him, "I will see if Lady Kaede has another one after breakfast."

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Glancing up the ladder at the bottom of the well, after making sure Inu-Takeshi's carrier was secure, Kagome was about to start climbing up when Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his side before leaping out of the well in one swift movement. Shrieking at the sudden movement, Kagome glared at him for not giving her any warning for a moment before turning her attention toward the audience they had as he stepped out of the well house and finally set her back down on her feet.

"Hi, Mom. I would like you to meet Sesshoumaru," Kagome introduced as she gestured to the demon lord beside her, causing her mother to tilt her head to the side in question for a moment, letting Sesshoumaru know where Kagome got the habit from, before she unsuccessfully tried to point at Inu-Takeshi without him noticing. "Yes, mother, that Sesshoumaru. This is Inu-Takeshi's father and my...," Kagome began only to pause part way through as she turned toward Sesshoumaru for a suggestion on what she was supposed to refer to him as.

Already able to figure out what had caused her pause, Sesshoumaru quickly offered, "Husband," causing her mother to gasp as her hand went up to cover her mouth. For a moment, Kagome just stared at him in question as she tilted her head to the side. "The human term works best; easier to explain. And it is what I am," Sesshoumaru explained before smiling down at Kagome's blushing face. Though the smile did not last long, it was there long enough for Kagome to notice it and return it.

Turning his attention back to his mother-in-law, Sesshoumaru continued, "It is an honor to meet you. Kagome has told me much about you." As Kagome continued staring at him for a moment, she tried to remember what all she had told him about her mother, but couldn't come up with all that much. But after a moment, she figured it was just what you said to be polite and smiled up at him once more; this time for his forethought.

"It is an honor to meet you as well, Lord Sesshoumaru. Please come in and do not pay any mind to my father-in-law, he can be a bit odd," Mrs. Higurashi warned before retrieving her grandson from her daughter and heading toward the front door as she made cooing sounds at the newborn. Taking his hand, Kagome began leading Sesshoumaru into her childhood home; silently praying her grandfather would behave himself around Sesshoumaru instead of acting like he used to when he first met Inuyasha.

Her prayers went unanswered as her grandfather started in the moment they had walked through the door. He was so focused on the demon lord that he didn't even seem to noticed that his daughter-in-law, granddaughter or great grandson was even there. "Demon begone!" he began to chant as he placed one ward after another all over Sesshoumaru's body; moving so quickly from one to another that it actually seemed as though he teleported around. Rolling her eyes at his actions, knowing the wards wouldn't harm Sesshoumaru any, Kagome waited until he had run out of wards, and Sesshoumaru was practically covered from head to toe, to say anything.

"Enough grandfather, Sesshoumaru is here as a guest and besides those wards don't work. Now go play with your great grandson," Kagome instructed, pointing over to where her mother was standing with the little boy in her arms; shaking her head at his antics. Finally noticing the others in the room, he took one look at the newborn, who was currently staring at him, and squealed before running over to him and taking him from his daughter-in-law before she knew what was happening. Kagome watched in silence as he rushed from the room as her mother quickly followed after him; calling for him to give back her grandson.

Sighing audibly, Kagome shook her head before turning back to Sesshoumaru with an apologetic smile."Sorry about these things," she began as she started to peel the sticky papers off of his skin and clothes one by one. "They're completely harmless, but we can't seem to get him to understand that and he did it to Inuyasha quite a few times when he first started coming here." After peeling off the last ward, and adding the crumbled up paper to the pile on the floor with the others, Kagome took his hand once more and began leading him to the kitchen where she could hear her mother and grandfather arguing over who's turn it was to hold him.

"Grandfather, I would like you to meet my husband," Kagome introduced, without stopping for confirmation this time, causing him to stop suddenly and turn to stare at her; giving her mother ample time to take the child from his arms and sit down at the table. "Sesshoumaru, this is my grandfather," she continued, turning back to him with a smile. For the longest time, her grandfather just stood there staring at the demon lord, looking him up and down before finally shrugging and taking a seat next to his daughter-in-law at the table.

"Well at least he managed to do one thing right by making an honest woman out of you, child," her grandfather decided as he played peek a boo with Inu-Takeshi; causing Kagome to roll her eyes. After a full minute had passed without anyone saying anything, he finally prompted, "Well don't just stand there in the doorway. Come in and sit down." Doing as instructed, Kagome waited until she had taken her seat, and Sesshoumaru the one beside it, before asking where Souta was.

"He's out playing soccer with his friends. They are getting ready for a game they have coming up next weekend," Mrs. Higurashi explained before the two delved into a conversation about what his team's chances were of winning and how well he was doing; both of them completely missing the moment of recollection that flashed in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

Too busy playing with his great grandson, even the Higurashi patriarch completely missed the look that passed over his face for a brief moment. Making a mental note to inform his younger self about an future ill-fated soccer trip, Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to the conversation just as it was changing from the younger sibling to what her mother was planning to cook for dinner.

"You two will be staying of course?" her mother question turned from Kagome to Sesshoumaru and back as she waited for one of them to answer her. Hearing Kagome start to refuse, no doubt assuming he would not want to, Sesshoumaru decided to interrupt her before she could; unable to see a reason not to.

"Thank you for the invitation. We would be happy to accept," Sesshoumaru insisted, causing Kagome to stare at him in confusion. As she went to question his decision, Sesshoumaru gently placed his hand over hers; effectively silencing her. Catching her eyes with his, he gave her a subtle hint of a smile that instantly had her relaxing and smiling back at him before she could even realize what he was doing.

Though she could not explain it, there was just something in such a gentle expression on his face that made her completely forget about her apprehension of having him eat dinner with her family and almost look forward to having him there. But as it had many times before, Kagome's mind went back to the void and she found herself wondering why he was so willing to eat human food now when he was so adamant about not eating it before. Confusion clouding her eyes, Kagome couldn't help but ask, "Sesshoumaru, can you even eat human food?" making sure to be too quiet for her mother to hear.

Though apparently it was not so quiet that Inu-Takeshi couldn't hear it as his tiny, black ears began to twitch at the sound of his mother's voice. Hiding a smirk behind her hand when her mother squealed at the sight, Kagome turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru as he answered, "I have grown accustomed to it." Confused for the second time in as many minutes by his answer, Kagome turned to him in question, but his eyes were trained on their son and he did not seem to notice her confusion.

After a while, Kagome gave up on figuring out how he had 'grown accustomed' in just nine months, since it did not seem as though he had any intention of explaining things anytime soon. Hearing a slight whine coming from her son, Kagome's confusion was completely forgotten about for the moment as she turned back toward her son and found him yawning. "Look's like it is someone's nap-time. I promise you can play with him again after he wakes up," Kagome assured them, seeing the disappointed looks on her mother and grandfather's faces as she stood and moved to retrieve her son.

Receiving no further complaints from them, Kagome gently lifted her son from her grandfather's arms before turning back to Sesshoumaru. "Let's put him to be and go for a walk. I would love to show you the rest of the shrine." Receiving his nod of agreement, Kagome called over her shoulder that they would be back in a little while before heading back out of the kitchen and making her way back up to her old room. Opening the door to her childhood bedroom, Kagome headed straight for the crib, that had been bought after her first visit with Inu-Takeshi, and gently placed him down.

Apparently tired out from the travel, he was asleep almost instantly and, for a moment, Kagome could only stand there staring down at him in awe. "He is so beautiful," she whispered softly, a bit startled when she suddenly felt Sesshoumaru's arms go around her waist, but was soon relaxing into his strong embrace with a content sigh. "Can you believe we created something so precious, so perfect?" she questioned, not really looking for an answer and perfectly happy to accept the gentle kiss on the top of her head as his.

For a long time, she refused to let the moment pass by and simply stayed in his arms, until she realized the gentle snoring of their son was putting her to sleep and decided it would best to get some fresh air. Grabbing a hold of his hand, Kagome lead Sesshoumaru back out of the room and downstairs, heading outside into the sunlight without a word. Soon enough they were making their way around the shrine at Kagome showed him all of her favorite spots until they were making their way toward a far corner of the property; overgrown with weeds.

"Oh wow, I haven't been out this far for years. Somewhere out here, there is an old grave. My grandfather says that it predates the shrine, but no one really knows who it belongs to," Kagome informed the one living being who actually knew exactly who was buried there; he had watched Inuyasha digging her grave so many years before. He could remember clearly the smell of the overturned dirt and the tears that his son and half-brother shed as they said their final farewells to the woman beside him.

He had turned and left before the dirt had even settled on top of her, deciding with her death there was no reason for him to stay any longer. She was no longer there to torment, seek his revenge on for the void. He had told himself that there was no reason for him to be around his son anymore, but Sesshoumaru would come back hundreds of times over the next few centuries. Turning his attention back to the present, Sesshoumaru watched as Kagome began to clear dead leaves and weeds off of her own gravestone; finding it to be a strange sight.

Shaking his head and deciding not to dwell on it, Sesshoumaru started to follow after her as she started back toward the main house, mumbling something about her grandfather needing to do a better job keeping it cleared, when something caught his eye. Taking a quick glance at Kagome and realizing she had not noticed it, Sesshoumaru gave it a once over before continuing on after her; giving her no indication that another marker was now there where one had not been before. He could distinctly remember visiting her grave as it had only been a few days ago, even if it was already starting to feel like a lifetime ago, and her grave maker was the only one that was nestled in this corner of the shrine.

The name, though mostly worn away by time and weather, was still barely legible to his superior sight, and he knew that his earlier decision to warn his younger self was not only the correct one, but exactly what he would apparently do. Ignoring the words he remember Inuyasha speaking about not changing the past as the outcome could always be worse, Sesshoumaru followed Kagome back inside knowing he was making the right choice. After all, there was nothing worse than the life he had already subjected her to; subjected himself to.

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Silently opening the door to the room mother and child were still sleeping in, Inuyasha peaked his head inside as he glanced around the room for any sign that anyone was still awake. He was not sure what had drawn him to the room an hour or so before dawn, but he was rather surprised to find a look of sadness etched on his brother's face. Realizing his aura had spiked in anguish, causing a slightly bitter scent to reach his nose, Inuyasha could only stand in the doorway. Unable to come in and make his presence known. Unable to walk away after seeing his emotionless brother in such a state.

Apparently noticing his presence, Sesshoumaru turned glossy eyes toward him and, not sure what else to do, Inuyasha shot him a tight lipped and less than reassuring smile. Try as he might, he could not come up with anything he could possibly say to a demon, he had hated for most of his life, that might help erase the pain he was feeling; the pain he had caused to himself. As Kagome turned over in her sleep, letting off a soft snore, Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to her and Inuyasha found himself making his way into the room.

Silently walking over to the futon, he stood behind his brother as he watched her sleeping face before realizing just how tired his brother's looked. "Did you get any sleep?" Inuyasha questioned softly after a moment, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"No. I wish to watch them for as long as I can. After today," Sesshoumaru began, sighing softly as he glanced from Kagome to their newborn son before turning back to her. "After today, I will never get the chance again."

"True, but after today, if everything goes well, you will never have the chance to miss out on them again," Inuyasha reminded him, nearly gasping when his brother actually smiled at the thought. Deciding not to draw attention to the uncharacteristic display of emotion, especially since he wasn't sure he was actually supposed to see it to begin with, Inuyasha pretended like he had seen nothing out of the ordinary as his brother turned toward him once more.

"I intend to move into the den today. It would not bode well for my younger self to return while in the middle of the human village," Sesshoumaru admitted, both of them knowing full well the destruction the younger Sesshoumaru could rain down on an unsuspecting town. Hearing Inu-Takeshi begin to stir, Inuyasha quickly agreed and assured him that he would start packing before making his way back out of the room. Retrieving his now awake son, who was starting to cry, Sesshoumaru headed back to Kagome; gently shaking her awake so she could feed their son.