To alleviate some confusion for my one anonymous reviewer from last chapter, Kagome wasn't late into her pregnancy so much as solidly in the middle. I've extended the regular gestation period of a normal human pregnancy a bit, but not that much. Kagome conceived in the middle of the fall. Was ousted from Edo in the winter. Sesshoumaru was required to return to his duties in the early spring. His last visit was about mid-to-late spring, it is now summer. We are still within the usual length of a normal pregnancy of 9-10 months. (most pregnancies tend to run a little long unless there are problems, I was incredibly late my mom tells me.) 9 months covers 3 season entirely or 2 seasons partially and 2 season entirely. Now Kagome is late in her pregnancy.

I do not own: 1) Inuyasha, the characters or world therefrom. Those belong to Rumiko Takahashi. 2) the original idea that spawn this specific plot. That was borrowed from the first chapter of Fortunesque's Hot Salsa found on Dokuga.

Warnings: Mature content throughout. Possible Trigger content throughout. I warned you!

From Afar

Sesshoumaru glared at the remaining fools standing around his study. He'd just dismissed the incredibly few members of his advising council which left a couple military leaders, beyond Jaken and his two retainers-in-training. With a sharp nod the soldiers about faced and returned to their regular duties without another word required. Normally, he would return to dealing with the mountains of other claims filed with his court. There was always a stream of mediation requests for clan disputes, territory encroachment and such. The load was especially heavy following the mating season due to certain males somehow managing to violate the arranged mating contracts of other males that held a higher social standing. There seemed to be no honor among the youth anymore.

The two males Sesshoumaru had resurrected were still rough projects in the works. They could barely be trusted to keep their mouths shut in company, not that Jaken had ever quite mastered that art. But Jaken could be trusted to only speak Sesshoumaru's praises without giving away anything his lord wanted kept secret. Jaken would never speak of Kagome, partly because the imp refused to accept her real value to the inu lord. Mostly, the toadie didn't understand politics or policy and what he didn't understand couldn't be bragged about without risk of bragging over something that wasn't good.

Homare, the younger male of his two new retainers in training, had a bad habit of bragging over himself when in the company of Sesshoumaru's highest ranking court. He generally refused to take orders, and when he did occasionally follow them without being forced his manner was sullen. The boy was a full-blooded inu and several years past his first rut. He should have had the self-control to abstain from a female so heavily scented and obviously claimed by a stronger alpha male as Sesshoumaru so clearly was. Arrogance born of personality and youth could only excuse so much. Honor should have driven the revived inu to heel quicker than it was. Loyalty had not yet been allowed the chance to take root as the boy was still on the offensive, refusing to accept his new reality.

The other male, a tanuki named Shogo, wasn't just belligerent, he was sly. The sneaky little bastard had already been caught shirking his assigned responsibilities several times. He tampered with messages, purposely misunderstood directions and generally ran mischief through every set of tasks set him. In the months since resurrecting the sly youkai, Shogo had almost started a war with two of the neighboring cardinal territories.

The tanuki had convinced half the ladies eligible for courting to aggressively pursue the inu lord for amorous encounters by turning up naked in his bed chambers in groups determined to convince him to strip down and fuck them all in turn. Why there wasn't more fighting amongst the females involved Sesshoumaru hadn't completely understood. But he hadn't appreciated having to fight his way out of his personal spaces. That the various female's male kin took offense at his refusal to lay with any of them was an even bigger annoyance. There was little doubt in his mind that, if Sesshoumaru had bedded the gathered singles, even the hand full that were technically underage for the activity, there would have been scads of fathers and brothers showing up to force matings on their lord. The worst part of the fiasco was that not a soul among them blamed the real culprit, Shogo, for he was considered an extension of his liege and therefore spoke on his behalf. Even Jaken didn't find fault with the lad, though Shogo himself didn't really know why. The imp had been positively depressed when Sesshoumaru proved unwilling to look outside his bonded mate for such pleasures.

Kagome may not have been his first and only, but now that she was his mate and breeding, there would be no others. Sesshoumaru didn't care how naked and willing they were. The down side to that was the reality that a lord couldn't just slay all the ladies that presented themselves to him for bedding. Well he could, but then he'd have to kill off their fathers and brothers. Their mothers too if that particular relation wasn't already on his kill list for appearing naked under his bedclothes.

Lusty disloyal bitches, the whole lot of them. Yet another reason to prefer his sweet miko mate. Loyalty was a prized trait when one was stuck dealing with the higher echelons of any given society. Those who made it to this level and stayed were cutthroat, manipulative, and out to fulfill their own purposes rather than a generalized good. All were out to try to weasel a bigger piece of the pie from the rest.

He rather suspected that particular series of catastrophe's was spawned by Shogo's disdain for the orders presented that Shogo and Homare were restricted to the use of the female he'd found using Homare when Sesshoumaru returned to resurrect them. Mitsu was a young bitch displeased with being mated to two males, but if she hadn't tried to seduce Sesshoumaru while impaled by the barely grown pup she wouldn't be in this predicament.

Sesshoumaru was a firm believer in allowing the punishment to fit the crime. Both males had sought to take the female that clearly belonged to another male. Thus he'd arranged it so that both had to share a single female between them. The bitch had yearned for more than the male already buried in her folds, so he had gifted her two males to ride her until their hormones ran their course. That he was enforcing this punishment should hardly set him up as the villain. None of their parents had felt that way about it, not even Mitsu's.

In fact, when Mitsu's family had been apprised of the situation, carefully censored to clear up most of her dishonorable behavior without making the two males seem like depraved devils, they had been relieved. She was old not to have at least conceived once. Many bitches failed to come to term the first few times and conception was often an impossibility the first hand full of seasons after maturity. Mitsu had never conceived, and she was older than both of her new mates.

Shogo's mother was quite pleased to have him out of her fur. Sesshoumaru gave it a few rutting seasons before she started pressing for grandpups. She had apparently been at wits end to bring the male in-line and teach him anything since he'd reached physical maturity. From her perspective, the boy was fit to be tied down to something and disciplined rather strongly for a number of things beyond encroaching on another male's rutting partner.

Homare's parents had dropped in to check that he was alive and congratulate him on his new position. His father had admonished his boy to mind his sass and learn something. His mother had cooed over him, but offered no protest over his being locked into an indentured position until such time as he appeased Sesshoumaru's wrath. Up until that point, Homare had insisted that his parents would never allow him to be stuck in this situation. He'd merely pouted since.

Sesshoumaru was tempted to throw both of them to his generals for training as soldiers until they learned better behavior, but that wouldn't properly serve the purpose he wanted for them. Military training wouldn't teach them the humility or responsibility he felt they needed. They could hide behind the orders that came from above, pushing the blame for failure as high up the chain as they could reach. Not to mention that even the lowest, least privileged soldier took pride in his accomplishments and abilities. All were trained in effective combat maneuvers specific to their species, body type, and cognizant ability.

The two needed discipline, sure, but they needed humility more. Beyond that both could use a good lesson in responsibility and honor. Sesshoumaru had little doubt that Kagome would be capable of making some headway installing a sense of personal duty as no one knew its compulsion better. Her kit had certainly turned out well enough so far, though all her inroads to Inuyasha's better behavior had been countered by the brat's personal stubbornness and tendency to blame all his problems on others.

Besides, he'd rather not subject her to such abuse the process would heap on her. Shogo and Homare both had a mouth reminiscent of Sesshoumaru's halfbreed half-brother. He would not put her in that situation so soon after releasing her from Inuyasha's abuse. He wouldn't have done it even if the two weren't males that had attempted to mount Kagome mere moons ago. Neither male was to be trusted to adhere to the restrictions of their new office without constant supervision. Even if the tanuki and inu didn't go after Kagome, chances were they'd find some willing female in the village near her home.

It took an accurately lobbed empty sake cup to drive the driveling Jaken and the two apprentice retainers from his study to achieve the privacy Sesshoumaru so desperately needed. Kagome's latest missive had just been delivered to his hand upon Jaken's return. Her letters were all that had kept him sane in the months since last he'd been able to see her, scent her, touch her.

The paper he supplied her may be the best that gold could buy, but the richness of its contents belonged solely to his mate. Her calligraphy wasn't much to speak of, the slant to the characters lacking the generally desired balance supposedly linked to character and spiritual state, but what she conveyed meant the world to him. The events detailed were mundane, but amusing and warm. Kagome had a real skill at relating things that normally wouldn't interest Sesshoumaru in ways that left him wishing he had been present as they unfolded without inspiring true resentment towards the obligations that ensured he wasn't.

The political trip to the neighboring lord had gone well and Sesshoumaru had been afforded the privilege of an early return, one he'd spent with his mate. On his trip back to her home, he'd encountered a small group of young hanyou being violently evicted from a village right on the boundary that marked the edge of Sesshoumaru's territory and that of his neighbor. Their efforts to flee lead deeper into the Western lands and within his purview.

Normally, he wouldn't have bothered to investigate the matter. As lord, his day was filled with the sorts of dealings that decided the life and death situations for larger numbers than one village and bunch of children whatever their species. The noise was an annoyance as the villagers shouted invectives and a pair of matched boys took it upon themselves to mouth back for the whole group. Sesshoumaru often had to ignore a lot of noise living close with many members of his court, superior hearing was not a virtue when thirty people lived, ate and slept within listening distance. Ignoring such insignificance wasn't something he had to consciously think about, but the littlest one lamented the absence of an older hanyou that had saved them from danger at some previous point in time.

The hanyou in question sounded rather like Inuyasha.

Attention thoroughly caught, Sesshoumaru had moved in to hear more only to listen as the group scolded the youngest for bringing up Inuyasha and his group. He could only assume that some time during the Shikon quest Kagome had encountered this ragtag gangly bunch of youth and parted with them on good terms. Like Jinenji.

Without thinking further on the subject, Sesshoumaru had escorted the band of hanyou children to Kagome's home and her letters had been rife with their activities ever since.

Every fortnight found Jaken making his way to Kagome. One day following found the cursing imp returning with the messages the miko had prepared for him. Her words sprawled over the surface of several pages and often she enclosed some memento of the events described therein.

When the youngest had lost a tooth, the baby tooth had found its way to him. When Asagi had accidentally gotten her hair tangled in the berry bushes grown up around the edges of Kagome's garden, cuttings had been slipped between the pages. Roku and Dai had finally warn out their tunics in so many places Kagome had been forced to cut them down to one garment handed down to the next in line, the scraps left over had fallen into Sesshoumaru's lap when he broke the seal.

When Jinenji's efforts in the herb garden bore their first harvest, a clipping was pressed into the folds. The girls had thought to strew wildflowers about Kagome's bathing chamber, filling the cavern with their sweet smell, a few chosen flowers had made their way to the absent Sesshoumaru. All of the hanyou children sent him little messages in their childish way, doodles and drawings flirted about the script of Kagome's letters. Amateurish attempts at spelling their own names littered the end of each one, and he refused to share such treasures with anyone else.

That was the worst part. In some ways he was glad all the mementos Kagome sent him were things that were disposable because they all were disposed of. Kagome was a secret, by extension so were the others. The only way to ensure no one discovered the secret until it was unavoidable was to leave no clues. So, after completing a letter, after committing the scent of Kagome's gifts to memory, everything was melted in a burst of his caustic poison.

Sesshoumaru hoped she wouldn't mind, but if she would, he certainly wasn't going to volunteer the information. Humans had a strange attachment to sentimentality. It was bad enough that he regretted having to do it himself. The brats weren't even his children, but Kagome had made them his pack. They were a lively innocent bunch and he was glad his mate had as yet avoided the subject of Inuyasha and his current whereabouts.

There was little reason to suppose the twin males wouldn't go seeking him once they knew of it. Inuyasha was the only hanyou they knew who had been slightly successful. In the void of hanyou role-models, he supposed that Inuyasha was the best of the lot. The only other choices were dead and evil or dead before puberty. There really just was the late Taishou's by-blow. Hopefully, all they ever knew the hanyou by was his past deeds and not his latest personality quirks.

Kagome carefully avoided the subject and fretted to him about their questions in every letter she sent him.

Oh, he missed her. She was probably huge by now, his pup pressing her to strange cravings and general discomfort. Kagome had told him what to expect, then she had faithfully related everything she was experiencing in the pool of words that littered the fancy paper Sesshoumaru had provided her.

He had learned early that there would never be a worry over any of his less trustworthy retainers tampering with Kagome's messages. A bit of reiki and even the scent of the paper was locked inside until Sesshoumaru's youki was recognized. The miko's control was so well established that no youkai carrying it would be zapped unless they attempted to open it. Then, well the prying party was marked quite obviously by significant burns. The Shikon no miko was not someone to be trifled with.

Sesshoumaru expected the scent of dried flowers or one of the hanyou children to waft up when he broke the seal. Kagome's scent was always apparent on the paper, her personality poured over the pages with the ink he supplied her. He had never opened a letter to be greeted by her aroma alone, and never quite this strong. A scrap of cloth fell into his lap, driving an eyebrow to rise above its usual station. There had to be an explanation.

One striped hand closed around the soft weave as his eyes scanned over the words on the page. This letter was shorter than most her others had been. Sesshoumaru quickly learned why. Apparently, there was a side-effect of pregnancy the miko had seen fit to leave out. One that was manifesting just now that he was definitely going to experience with her first hand.

He'd been demanding a break be scheduled for weeks now. He'd warned all concerned that if one was not built in to the schedule, Sesshoumaru would simply disappear for however long he saw fit. Kagome was calling for him and he had absolutely every plausible reason to make a visit. The smirk that crossed his face would terrify Jaken and make Shogo very nervous. It was an expression the tanuki had been warned about but never seen.

Sesshoumaru rose from his low table and brought the scrap to his nose. A deep inhalation proved that his mate wasn't just pulling his leg. She really was "horny as hell", which he worked out to mean she was constantly aroused. Kagome had sent him the scent soaked makeshift garment to prove it. The miko had also shielded it so that he hadn't gotten so much as a whiff of it until he'd raised the cloth to his face.

He missed that scent just as much, if not more than just his mate's natural scent. Sesshoumaru certainly missed the companionship of his female, the calming presence and the peace found in simply watching her sleep knowing his first pup grew within her. It was hardly surprising that he missed the sex even more given that their relationship had been predominantly concerned with the physical carnal interaction.

He'd never rutted a female so pregnant before. Sesshoumaru imagined the experience would greatly differ with the baby bump altering the contours of her body. Perhaps her responses would be modified by her changed body chemistry in the same way that it was now consistently aroused. He wondered what the effect of the pup scent mixed with her own sexually stimulated one would have on his libido. Would it spark an increased need to rut?

Sesshoumaru didn't really need any extra stimulant at the moment. Just the thought of being near his mate after such an interval was enough to make him desirous of humping until neither of them could move.

If he left right now, the inu lord would arrive just after dark. Perfect timing. The hanyou, one and all, would be certainly outside of Kagome's home as the warmer weather had enticed the whole group to camp out under the stars closer to the river with Jinenji to watch over them. AhUn would be the only one left to watch the door on the half hut entrance built into the valley sides.

Kagome still slept in the cave system he had modified for her use. She did so without any interference from Sesshoumaru. He preferred she sleep inside. Her safety was assured with a dragon to guard the only way in. Kagome most likely wouldn't have cared about that, though if he brought it up, she would probably insist that all the kids join her underground. Their safety she cared about, her own didn't seem to register.

Lucky for the escaping Western Lord, Kagome remained in the shelter he provided for other more compelling reasons. With the greater girth and odd proportions the pup induced in her body, she found her sleep was less interrupted when curled up in the confines of a real bed as opposed to a bed roll settled on a precarious perch next to the water. The river that flowed through the valley did swell at times, taking previously solid seeming parts of the bank with it. No matter where she rested, it always seemed as if the river were drawn to moisten her blankets and carry off some part of the ground under her.

It was just better for her to sleep in the bed Sesshoumaru planned to share with her tonight.

Sesshoumaru paused briefly before the sliding screen of the window aside to glance at the door. Should he inform his retainers of taking his leave? A brief review of all that would entail saw him resolutely turning back to the window of opportunity.

He had warned them once already. They'd failed to heed his words, failed to schedule a perfectly reasonable break into the never-ending rounds of duty, mediation, negotiation, and clan dealings. Sesshoumaru had been working nonstop since spring thaw. No other lord worked for such long periods of time without at least a hunt or a prolonged nap. He hadn't even been allowed a full nights sleep since he'd last lain with Kagome.

He may sleep best when curled about the little miko, but Sesshoumaru was fully capable of obtaining rest on his own if given the opportunity. Most of the lesser lords within his territory generally took time to sleep and hunt about once a month. Neighboring lords, cardinals and others, generally took time for one or the other every month, if not both. Some lords took more time, but such habits were generally looked poorly upon by the more stuck up, judgmental members of the upper echelons. The pursuit of much more time to pander to instinct was considered either hedonistic or sign of weakness. Both would be exploited by allies and foes in the struggle to further the interests of respective territories.

Sesshoumaru usually pushed it a bit longer after a rutting season, but never quite this long. Instinct was far too near the surface and Jaken should have realized it even if he was busy training his soon to be peers. It was likely that he hadn't missed it, but had put off Sesshoumaru's needs in effort to keep miko and inu separated. The imp still worked under the mistaken hope that Kagome was not as important to the Western Lord as she appeared.

Well, Sesshoumaru grabbed up and melted Kagome's missive before slipping out the conveniently close window with a burst of determined youki, now Jaken would have to reap the fruits of his ill-advised labors. Let the imp handle the injured pride of all the youkai Sesshoumaru would not be meeting with whilst on this impromptu sabbatical. If the imp were lucky, it would only be a week before duty dragged his lord back to work. Certainly not less.