A/N: chapter bomb part 3 of 3!

Sorry for the wait guys! My birthday was awesome, though.

Rin woke with the dawn, careful to stifle her yawn. She noticed her bed was still empty and cold, meaning Sesshomaru had stayed up all night doing whatever-it-was in his study. He seemed to still be there, if the candlelight was anything to go by. Rin got carefully to her feet and tied her clothes for the day on, a plan in her head. She had to go find Jaken and ask him a few things…

Rin found the little imp in the kitchen, enjoying a bowl of breakfast before he had to begin his work for the day. He jumped up at the sight of her, bowing happily. "Rin-Sama! What can I do for you?" he asked her with a little smile. She returned his smile rather distractedly.

"I want to ask you a few things, Jaken," she told him, settling herself on a cushion, her smile fading to a concerned frown. "this may sound like a strange query, but, is it possible for a human to carry a youkai child?"

"well, of course it isn't, milady—a human can't conceive a youkai child, only a hanyou."

"I know that," she said patiently, "but I mean, is there a way to change the child, or the mother?" Rin's stomach growled and Jaken took the opportunity to get her food so he could hide his expression.

"well…I suppose something like that has happened, or at least I heard of something like that. The human was on the brink of death, and a spell changed her from human to hanyou. Somehow, I guess this made the humanity of the child disappear, because supposedly they were born as a full youkai." He brought Rin a large bowl of food and a set of chopsticks so she could eat and she dug in eagerly, surprised how much hungrier than usual she was.

"that…doesn't sound pleasant."

"I don't imagine it was, milady. But there would be a safer way, if the Shikon no Tama still existed. Unfortunately, since that miko had it years ago, it's been lost, perhaps destroyed. No one knows, not even her. All you would have to do is wish, then. But, as I said, it's long gone."

Rin nodded seriously, not bothering to correct him when he implied she was the one she was asking about. She didn't know if he knew she was pregnant, but he was sure to find out soon if he didn't know already. She kept munching her breakfast, glad he'd given her almost a double helping. She was starving.

"there must be some way, jaken. Perhaps the Lady Mother might know?" she suggested. He shrugged his tiny shoulders.

"she seems like a very knowledgeable woman, indeed, and the palace is sure to have a massive library. But she is unlikely to take unexpected visitors kindly, milady." He hummed thoughtfully. "she is rather like milord in that way, I suppose."

Rin finished her food and set the bowl aside with the chopsticks across the top. "she threatened me, Jaken. She said if I wasn't Sesshomaru's mate she'd have killed me where I stood, right then." She couldn't stop a slight shiver.

He nodded matter-of-factly. "as I said, she does not take unexpected visitors kindly. And I doubt she likes humans after what happened with milord's father, you know." Rin hummed thoughtfully and stood.

"thank you jaken. One last thing. You are to say nothing to milord about what you told me."

"what?" he balked. "but, Rin-sama, I can't do that!"

"you can, and you will, Jaken. That is an order. You mustn't tell him what we spoke of. I will talk to him myself."

"but I—" he sighed. "all right. But milord is not here. He left just before dawn."

Rin straightened a little more in surprise, turning back to the little imp. "what?! But I thought he was in his study, still, with his candles, doing paperwork…" she hurried off to the study, throwing open the door and finding a single candle lit and a note in flowing script on the desk. She picked it up with a worried frown. She read aloud, "my beloved, it is unlikely I will be able to return before you wake. Fear not. I have simply gone to ask my questions of someone wiser than I about such things. I shall return before the sun sets again." She sighed and flopped onto the cushion beside his desk. "Sesshomaru…"

Sesshomaru stopped by the well that sat out in the middle of the field near old Kaede's village, frowning. It took only seconds once he reached there for his brother to appear, hand on their father's sword and a suspicious frown on his features. "what do you want?" he barked sharply.

"I need information. You seemed the best place to start." That surprised the hanyou man, and he relaxed slightly.

"what do you want to know, big brother? I didn't think you thought I knew anything." The moon-marked man shut his eyes for a moment. This was going to be quite a blow to his ego, and he knew it. But he had to know.

"it's…Rin."

"what about her? Is she still a hanyou? Is that what this is about?" InuYasha was almost shocked when his brother shook his head. "she's not a hanyou anymore? I guess that's a good thing—"

"shut up. Rin is…she's…pregnant, InuYasha."

InuYasha's golden eyes widened in shock. "…oh. Uh, congrats, I assume? It's yours, huh?"

This time he nodded. "there are a few things I need to know. I know already she is going to have a hanyou child. But how is that going to affect Rin?"

"well, it's not like my mom told me anything about all that, y'know." InuYasha sat heavily on the side of the well with a sigh. "Kagome and Kaede did research on that kind of thing, though. Let's see…" he thought for a moment. "well, they get really hungry because they have to give extra energy to turn into youki. Like, sometimes an insane amount, depending on the youkai father. Sometimes later on they get weak, too, for the same reason. But they don't get sick, so that's good."

Sesshomaru sat down next to his brother, listening intently, worries at the front of his mind. "did you do any research on InuYoukai particularly?"

"yeah, of course. Tons."

"well?" he was getting impatient.

"I'm getting there." He cleared his throat. "I guess with InuYoukai, the…what's the word?...the time they carry the kid, is a little shorter, like 8 months instead of nine. And they get milk before they deliver, which is weird for humans."

"there is one thing I must know," Sesshomaru said, looking away. "will she deliver safely?" he knew InuYasha's mother, Izayoi, had died the day of his birth, and was revived by tenseiga. Had InuYasha been the cause of both his parents' deaths?

"yeah. Quicker and easier than a human birth, actually." He saw his older brother's shoulders slump slightly with relief and realized where the question must have come from. "it wasn't me who killed her, Sesshomaru," he growled.

"what was it, then?"

"you remember that bastard Takemaru we fought years ago, with the old man's sword?" Sesshomaru nodded. "he did it, and the old man brought her back. Too bad he wasn't around to save her later, when she got sick." His ears drooped. Close to two hundred years and he still missed his mom. He looked up as Sesshomaru stood. "are you really okay, big brother? You're okay with following our old man's footsteps and having a kid like me?"

Sesshomaru shot his little brother a glare and didn't bother replying, just walking away, leaving InuYasha even more confused than ever. He stared after him, concerned, not even knowing the scope of Sesshomaru's problems or worries, with the laws and the court…

It was late afternoon when he returned to his manor to find Rin munching on a fried fish. She put it down guiltily, knowing how much she'd already eaten, a bit embarrassed. At least she wasn't craving sweets or anything. Actually, she had a bit of an appetite for meat, but refused to indulge it. He settled beside her and pulled her over into his lap, wrapping her in his arms gently and nuzzling her, smelling her hair. "go ahead and eat, love. You need it."

She giggled at the feeling of his breath on her head, tilting her head back to look up at him. "so, where did you go?" she asked him, earning herself a kiss on the moon on her forehead.

"nowhere in particular." Rin knew he was lying but didn't much care. He was back and seemed a little happier. She went back to her fish, then paused. "have you eaten today, my love?" she asked him, moving to offer him the rest of her food or call for more.

"I'm fine. Eat." He tightened his arms slightly around the bottom of her ribs and she sighed, finishing the fried fish quickly and leaning back against him. Sesshomaru frowned as he scented her tears and heard her sniffle. "what's wrong, Rin?"

She suddenly shifted in his arms so she could bury her face in his chest, going from sniffling to sobbing almost instantly. He patted her back carefully, frowning worriedly, wide-eyed. Was this normal? He hadn't exactly ever been around pregnant women before, but surely if it was normal it was too soon? She just sobbed into his chest for a few moments before she managed to start speaking.

"when your mother said I was pregnant, I was overjoyed," she told him. "but then, I realized what a mess I'd made, and now all I feel is despair." She sobbed again and wailed, "I have ruined everything!"

Sesshomaru's golden eyes widened again with surprise. "no, Rin," he corrected her quickly, trying to comfort her. "you have ruined nothing, I swear."

"I did!" she shouted, striking the bottom of her fist against his shoulder in frustration. Why wasn't he listening to her? "if you hadn't found me that day and let me follow you, your life would be simple. Now you're going to lose everything because of me! It's all my fault!" she had her eyes closed and was surprised at gentle fingers under her chin. She looked up, opening her cinnamon eyes to meet his warm gold.

"my darling, none of this would have happened without my decisions. It was my choice to save you, and let you follow me. It was my choice to come back for you two years ago. It was my choice to make you my mate. And I do not regret a single choice that led to the moment I learned I was to be a father." He let go of her chin and gently let his hand drop until it reached her stomach, still flat for a while yet, where he knew by her warm scent his child was growing. She sat back a little, looking down and covering his large hand with both of her smaller ones, offering a faint, reluctant smile. She sniffled. What a thought, that in less than a year, she would be a mother. He shifted again and pulled her against him in a tight embrace, letting her rest her head on his shoulder, hugging him back.

"how about tomorrow we get up early and go shopping, just have a day to relax? Does that sound good?" Rin nodded to answer his questions, keeping him hugged tightly to her for a long time while he gently rubbed her back to comfort her.

The next morning, they took Ah-Un to a village much farther away from the manor, which was much larger and better suited for a full-day shopping trip. She chattered about the wares as she kept a tight hold on his hand, and Sesshomaru was relieved to hear her happy, carefree voice once again. She paused in the middle of a sentence and he looked at her in concern. "I have to…go…I'll be right back!" she squeaked, letting him go and hurrying to the tea house just down the street. He chuckled softly and watched her leave before turning his attention back to the wares he'd been examining.

Rin felt much better after a moment and started back toward her beloved when she was grabbed from behind, a hand over her mouth and a too-strong arm around her small body. She struggled briefly, shedding her outer jacket in the tussle until the arm wrapped around her throat, making her fall unconscious.

Rin stirred and blinked feebly, her head aching. She had no idea what had happened or where she was. "so, you're finally awake, Girl," commented a very familiar voice as Rin struggled to look up, her vision clearing…