Chapter Ten

To know or not to know

They burned.

All Sesshomaru could do to ease his aching, sleep deprived eyes was to blink…a lot. He was more than sure that his golden orbs were red, making the light bags under his eyes much more visible to others than he had wanted. His little wife had thrown him out the bedroom for being insensitive.

Her hormones were out of whack and they were driving him crazy. Last night her cravings for once seem to be appeased by the strawberry banana boat ice cream he bought for her. After she had finished they watched a movie that she loved, which was 'A Walk to Remember'. Not one to enjoy movies, the Taiyoukai had to calm Kagome down when the girl finally died of Leukemia.

He didn't understand her reasoning for crying, since she has seen the movie many times before and that is was just a movie. When he had told her, he received a glare and angry yell to get out and sleep in one of their many guestrooms. Sesshomaru had tried to reason with her, but the miko was set in kicking him out for the night.

In the end he sighed and left to the guestroom, where he slept for a few hours before being awoken by the person who had thrown him out in the first place. She had apologized with tears brimming in her emerald eyes and had asked for him to come back to bed. When he finally stopped her from crying and put to sleep, the Taiyoukai went to bed to be only awoken by the alarm a few minutes later.

Now, Sesshomaru was in a meeting with several representatives of Law Firms that his business sponsored. The meeting was just a monthly briefing of the well being of the Firms. Glancing at his watch Sesshomaru sighed tiredly. There was still twenty minutes left until the meeting was officially over and done with.

As the voices of the representatives filled the room, Sesshomaru's heavy eyelids began to droop dangerously low. His mind was throbbing from lack of sleep and it wouldn't hurt to close his eyes for a very long blink.

"As you can see from the chart, our Firm is doing extremely well this month as to oppose to Takamaru's Firm." Said the representative of Tokiba's Law Firm. The representative of Takamaru's Firm frowned. "That may be the case this month, but who's to say that it will continue in the next few months to come." Began the man with a smug smirk on his lips. The representative from Tokiba's Firm frowned and tightened his fist in the process.

"Will you two shut up you're giving me a headache." The irritated hanyou's brows were furrowed. The two representatives stiffened and shut their mouths while nodding their heads. Inuyasha sigh in agitation as he glanced on over to his brother, who was slouched over on the table, snoring lightly.

Inuyasha smirk. He knew that Kagome had kept him up late again. The hanyou thought before promptly jabbing the Taiyoukai in the ribs and not all too softly either. Why should Sesshomaru be allowed to sleep while he was left to take care of his meeting? Sesshomaru bolted upright at the contact and glared dangerously at the one who dared to assault him.

"Inuyasha..." The Taiyoukai seethed out while raising his claws, flexing them as they drew near to the hanyou's head. Inuyasha's eyes widen in fear and pulled back into his chair in an effort to get away from Sesshomaru and his blood shot eyes. Just as Sesshomaru was about to strike, the door to the meeting room opened and in entered their Father.

Everyone in the boardroom immediately stood up and bowed deeply to the Takahashi Patriarch, save for his two sons. After calling the meeting to an end, all the occupants exited, leaving only the Takahashi Clan. "Dad." Inuyasha muttered in relief as he sank into his chair. He was saved. Sesshomaru stood from his seat and approached his Father, thinking as to why he would be here.

"What are you doing here, Father?" Asked the eldest son with a raised brow. Toga grinned and patted his son on the back. "Why, Sesshomaru, surely you haven't forgotten what today is. Did you?" Toga asked with bright golden orbs, shining with silent glee.

Sesshomaru stared at his Father.

What was supposed to occur today?

Seeing the confuse look in his eyes, Toga raised a brow. If he had forgotten, which he knew he did, then Kagome was going to be furious. 'Might as well tell him or not this maybe the last time I my eldest son.' At the thought Toga smiled and reminded the forgetful Taiyoukai.

"Today is Kagome's appointment." Toga began, noticing that Inuyasha was now standing up and now standing by his side. "So, Kagome has an appointment every week." Inuyasha pointed out with his arms folded across his chest. "That is true, but this appointment is special." Toga said creating bemused look on his sons' face. "Today we will learn of the pups' genders." Sesshomaru's eyes widen slightly.

Toga laughed at his expression before placing his brief case onto the marble table. "You better hurry or else they will begin without you." Toga said while taking out numerous files. "What time is her appointment?" Inuyasha asked, seeing as how Sesshomaru was still in a daze state.

Why hadn't he remembered?

Toga turned to look at his watch and titled his head slightly to the side. The long strands of silver from his high ponytail swayed over his shoulders. "At three. I suggest you hurry its now two thirty." Inuyasha nodded his head and grabbed Sesshomaru by the arm.

"Come on." Inuyasha muttered grumpily as he dragged his brother to the parking lot. When Sesshomaru came to he realized that he was in front of his car with a very pissed off looking hanyou glaring at him. "Hurry up or you're going to be late!" Snapped Inuyasha as he got into his own car that was besides the older Takahashi.

Sesshomaru opened the driver seat door and glanced at Inuyasha. "Where do you think you're going?" Sesshomaru asked as he got in and started the engine. He noticed the dark coloring gracing the bridge of Inuyasha's nose. There was a scowl on his face as he started his own car as well.

"It's none of your business, but I'm going to visit someone." As he began to pull out the lot, the hanyou turned to Sesshomaru once more before he left. "Let me know how many nieces and nephews I'm going to have." Sesshomaru nodded and was off to this home, where he knew Dr. Tanaka would be examining his little wife.

The way her taunt stomach rippled never ceased to amaze the pregnant miko. It was an odd sensation that always filled her whenever one of them moved. Whenever they moved it was like having butterflies in your stomach, only that it wasn't butterflies, but living beings. With a soft hand, the miko began to run her long finger over the spot where she felt one of them stationed.

She received a kicked.

"So sensitive." Kagome muttered as she rubbed her protruding belly. She smiled as she continued to stare at her stomach in the full body mirror. She was in her nineteenth week and her stomach was that of a woman in the ending of their fifth month. The nausea that had came with her first few months had passed and the miko could now hold down her food.

It was only certain types of foods that would make her nauseous, such as, seafood and onions. Turning to the side Kagome admired the way her belly was growing outwards before her. "Today's the day we'll find out what you all are." Kagome muttered as she turned away from the mirror and walked to the bed.

Dr. Tanaka will be here soon for her exam. The miko could hardly wait as she climbed onto bed, carefully and waited. After watching a little bit of television, the miko noticed that Sesshomaru wasn't here yet. "Megumi." Kagome called out for and no sooner did she end her sentence the Taiyoukai appeared at the doorway.

"Yes, my Lady?" The brown haired youkai asked with her purple cool gaze anticipating her lady's current request. Did she want another bowl of ice cream or a plate of dumplings? Her cravings were unpredictable.

"Does Sesshomaru know I have an appointment today? I could have sworn I've mentioned it to him yesterday." The miko asked saying the last part mostly to herself. Megumi shook her head. "He is not. Do you want me to call him?" The guardian asked with a raised brow. As Kagome thought about it, she laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell him yesterday when we were watching the movie." Kagome mumbled, but Megumi caught every word.

Last night had been very eventful.

"I'll call him right away." With that Megumi left. Kagome sigh and glanced over to the clock. It was ten minutes before three and Dr. Tanaka was due here any minute. She really didn't want to begin without Sesshomaru. This was one of the most important appointments of them all.

It was the appointment that they would learn the genders of their babies. "How could I have forgotten to tell him?" She asked herself while pouting. If she was lucky, he could still make it if he ran here from the corporation. There was a knock at the doorway and there stood Dr. Tanaka with a bright smile on her face. "Hey, there Kagome, how you are feeling today?" Asked the obstetrician as she preps her equipment.

Looking around the brunette finds Sesshomaru missing. "Is Sesshomaru not coming today?" She asked as she plugged in the sonogram machine that was left in the corner of the room for easy access. Kagome felt bad. "I forgot to tell him about today, so he would be a little late." She replied with wary eyes.

Dr. Tanaka frowned lightly. "We could hold it off until the end or at least until he gets." She suggested with a light shrug of her shoulders. Kagome nodded and smiled gratefully. "That would be great." The brunette smiled and took out Kagome's chart. "So, you are currently in your nineteenth week. There hasn't not any problems right?" Mahogany eyes shone the slightest bit of apprehension.

The apprehension was immediately gone when the miko shook her head. "Good." After she had filled the file with the information, the obstetrician went to the bathroom and washed her hands before returning to feel Kagome's stomach. With dainty skilled hands, Dr. Tanaka felt around, pin pointing each baby. She would at times feel them moving away from her the moment she pressed gently on them.

"Well, for one thing, they are very evasive." Kagome chuckled. "They are sensitive to touch, they even kick me when I feel for them." Kagome said with shining emerald eyes. "It would seem so. Now, have you been taking your vitamins everyday this week?" She asked and Kagome nodded.

Dr. Tanaka examines the skin over the miko's taunt stomach. She could see the signs of the beginnings of stretch marks. "You may want to start applying cocoa butter on your skin from now on to increase the elasticity of it as you progress in your pregnancy." Kagome nodded and brought her gaze to her taunt stomach. She hadn't thought about the aspects of stretch marks yet.

It wasn't visible to her now, but Dr. Tanaka could already see them developing. "It not only helps the skin become more elastic, but it would also lighten the stretch marks." The doctor added as she pulled the Coca Butter cream from her bag. She pointed to the image in the front of the bottle. "You would want to get this brand." Kagome saw that there was a woman with a belly on the front and heavily pregnant.

"Okay, got it." Kagome said as Dr. Tanaka placed it on the nightstand besides Kagome. "Now it's time for the sonogram." Dr. Tanaka said as she began to set the machine up and take out the cooling gel from the compartment in the front of the large machine. Kagome frowned worriedly. Sesshomaru wasn't here yet.

As Dr. Tanaka placed the cooling gel on Kagome's stomach, she felt a presence at the doorway. Without having to turn around, the doctor already knew who it was. "So, you made it and just in time." Kagome smiled relieved as she hurried him over to her side to gaze at the screen.

In the screen were the distinct shapes of developing beings. There were four separate amniotic sacs to each baby. Their bodies, arms, legs and heads were distinguishable, they were all moving in one fashion or the other. It never ceased to amaze Kagome each time she saw them.

Sesshomaru's gaze was in awe as he took in each of his children on the screen. They were growing each week he saw them and their progress never ceased to make him awed by their very existence. He felt a tug on his arm and then slim fingers intertwining his own. He knew it was Kagome and clasped his hand over her smaller one.

Dr. Tanaka grinned as she turned to the parents-to-be. She knew some parents wanted to know the genders to their babies and others wanted it to be a surprise until the birth. She wondered what their answer would be.

"So, do you want to know the sexes?" Kagome turned to Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru to Kagome. The miko was biting down on her bottom lip in excitement. He nodded and Kagome quickly turned her head back to the doctor and nodded a 'yes'.

Turning back to the screen, Dr. Tanaka began to scrutinize the screen, looking at each baby with skilled eyes. Kagome waited anxiously for her response and tightened her hold on her husband's hand. Sesshomaru was just as curios and anxious as his wife.

"It looks like you're having…"

Tokyo Hospital was busy as ever and never to ceased to be filled with patients with injuries both minor and major. Waiting for the elevator doors to open, Inuyasha send a text to Kikyo, telling her of his whereabouts. The model was currently in Okinawa doing a commercial and wouldn't be back until the weekend. He had to manage without her for an entire week. The elevator doors opened and the hanyou entered pressing the button to the sixth floor.

Once the elevator doors opened again, he stepped out and made his way down the familiar corridor to the nurse's station. The head nurse smiled when she saw the youngest Takahashi before her. "Hello, Inuyasha, here for another visit, I presume." The bubbly nurse asked, causing the hanyou to blush a deep red. "Yeah." He grumbled out before signing his name and leaving to the room down the hall. He knocked first, not knowing if the person occupying the room was up yet. When he received no answer, he opened the door and walked in. The room was dimly lit, due to the curtains being let down.

In the corner of the nightstand besides the bed was a vase of wildflowers. Inuyasha assumed that one of their friends had come by earlier for a visit. Inuyasha placed his hands into his jacket pocket and stared at the one laying in the hospital bed peacefully. It had been a full three weeks since he had brought her to the hospital and she had yet to wake up. When he stared at her he felt guilt consume him, knowing that he was the cause of her coma.

He shuffled to the chair besides the bed and sat down. He had come everyday since she was admitted, hoping that she would wake up each day that passed. The monitor connecting to her, showed life as the heart meter beat every second. Long hair flowed around her head as the white sheets brought out her pale skin. The ears on top of Inuyasha's head drooped. What if she never wakes up? What if she becomes mentally challenged if she did wake up?

Inuyasha groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. No. He had saved her from getting hit by a car. She would have been in worse condition if she had been hit. Peering through the gaps of his fingers, he stared at the girl. She was a college student, who worked to pay off her tuition by working at a museum. Her name was Rin and she had no living relatives. Her grandmother had died, leaving her all alone. Inuyasha soon began to scowl at her. "If you had been looking where you were going then you wouldn't be in this mess." He muttered with furrowed brows.

He soon calmed down and felt idiotic for blaming someone that didn't ask for any of this. "Would you hurry up and wake up. I can't take the guilt." He said almost pleadingly. He sigh when there was no improvement. His shoulder slacked in defeat as he laid his head back to rest on the wall. He didn't realize that a few seconds later he dozed off.

Three Hours Later

"Mhmmm."

The sound alone made the white ears on the hanyou's head perk up. When the sound came out again, Inuyasha's eyes snapped opened. He turned his gaze to the sleeping woman in the bed and watched as she lifted a hand to her head. She groaned as she did so, rubbing her temples before opening her eyes and furrowing her brows in confusion. "Where...am I?" She asked out loud, not expecting her question to be answered. "In Tokyo Hospital." Inuyasha said stretching his body.

Rin turned her gaze to the silver haired hanyou and her hear monitor began to sped up. Silver hair. Golden eyes. Wait. He had dog ears on his head. He wasn't her Sesshomaru. It was Inuyasha, the youngest son to Toga Takahashi. But what was he doing here? What was she doing here? Her questions must have shown in her eyes for the hanyou began to explain to her what happened.

When he was done with his story, Rin was in a state of shock. She had been in a coma for three weeks! She cupped her cheeks with her hands and nearly screamed in terror. "Oh my Kami! I missed school, my classes, my job. Oh, no! My job!" She said panicked as she began to tear the IV's from her veins and patches on her chest. Inuyasha flinched at her reaction. "What the hell are you doing! You can't just leave!" He told her as she stood from the bed to only fall.

She had been bedridden for three weeks and her legs were numb. Inuyasha quickly caught her and glared at her stupidity. He had waited for her to wake up and now she wanted to risk her life all over again. Rin glared at the Takahashi. "Listen, people like me have to work for a living. I have tuition to pay and apartment that I'm renting." She growled out, trying to wretch herself from his grip. Inuyasha tightened his hold on her waist before placing her down on the bed.

"You're not going anywhere until the doctor clears you." The hanyou growled out, making Rin shiver in slight fear. "Everything has been covered, courtesy of me." Inuyasha began. "You will still have an apartment to return to and a college to attend as well as a job that is waiting for you." He informed her, noticing the relief that passed through her like waves. It was silent for several minutes before a soft voice filled the room.

"Thank you..."

"When the hell is Rin gonna wake up?" Akio asked with narrowed eyes set in agitation. Hojo was leaning against the front desk while Akio looked through the magazine in his hands. "The doctor told me it would be awhile until she woke up." Hojo said with a sigh. He was worried for his friend, but Akio seem interested in Rin-chan's well being for the only reason that she would have to get close to Kagome. They were lucky that none of the tabloids have figured out that Kagome was expecting. There haven't been any new photos of Kagome for several weeks now.

Akio had said that their suspicions were confirmed. They had kept a look out for anything that indicated that Kagome was pregnant in all magazines. There had been none. "We have to get those first shots, Hojo." Akio said with a passion as he closed the magazine, revealing Kikyo's newest photo in the front. The model wore a hot pink dress that slit in the sides with thin spaghetti straps over her shoulders. Her hair was long and straight with her emerald eyes glowing softly.

"Don't worry, Akio, I'm sure we'll get those first shots." Hojo said trying to cheer up his co-worker.

"Let's hope your right." Akio said with a sigh.

The office was large and filled with many antiques. There was a fireplace with swords hanging along the walls. Each one filled with many memories of the past. Toga picked up his phone and dialed his rival's number. It has been awhile since he threw a party to celebrate anything and what better to thing to celebrate than the arrival of his first grandpups.

The other end rang three times before it was picked up and on the other end came a gruff voice. "Takahashi. What a surprise." The voice was filled with sarcasm. Toga smirked. "It has hasn't my old friend." Toga could feel the sneer on the other end of the phone. "I'm throwing a celebration and I would like it very much if you could attend." Toga began while gazing out the window at the city. "A celebration?" The voice drawled out in question. "For what if I may ask?" Toga's smirk grew ten folds. "Why, for the arrival of my grandpups of course. My darling daughter in law has conceive and will be expecting next spring. She will grace the Takahashi blood line with four new members." On the other end there was growl before a smash was heard.

"My congratulations, old friend. I would be honored to attend such a celebration." The Taiyoukai loved every agonized word that filled his ears.

"Great, I'll send you an invite." With that Toga hanged up with his smirk never leaving his lips.

A/N: It's been so long, since my last update, but my computer broke down. :(

So updates will be slow. I'll try my best to keep them going regularly. I would be updating the The Silver Strand next so keep an eye out for that TTS fans.

I know this chapter is short, but I would gradually go back to its normal length. Thank you all for the reviews and your support for this story. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review ;).

...R&R...

Lady Manami