Passions, Chapter 26

Kagome was still angry with him. She did not shy away from his touch, yet her eyes did not possess the same radiant adoration that they held before. It was as if her affection was…misplaced, as if she doubted herself. He did not understand the human emotions that plagued her beyond fear, anger, and love.

Guilt and shame were a murky and unexplored territory for a being like him. She was sorrowful over the genocide of the wolves….

This was indeed Koga's fault. He was rash and boastful, a fool to an exponential degree, and yet…

Sesshomaru found himself willing to do anything to appease Kagome, anything to have her smile at him as she once did.

Keeping her trapped in the sky castle was a fool's ploy. Kagome was hardly obedient in any sense of the word. She openly defied his younger brother without hesitation—right in front of him during his and Inuyasha's battle in their father's tomb.

Back then, he told Inuyasha that his patience with Kagome was astonishing, and Sesshomaru meant it. He even tried to kill her, though Tetsusaiga's barrier interfered.

Incidentally, had he been successful, they would not be in their current predicament.

There would be a point in time in the future when Kagome broke away from him, pupped or not, and she would shun him for the choices he'd made.

He wondered when his affairs became so complex. His goals, emotions, and even his life were once simpler. Killing the wolves was a decision forged in common sense and logic, one any demon of his stature would have made. However, the girl's sorrow was suffocating, so palpable within the castle….

She was but a shadow of her former self.

To see her happy again was his own wish, and he would…accomplish that by any means necessary. For once, he understood the strangeness behind his father's last actions. He wanted to save a mere mortal woman whilst severely wounded from battle.

It was ludicrous, and Sesshomaru thought the man eternally tainted by his human mate.

Now however, he understood. Such want, such…love would drive any man, human or demon to do the unthinkable…just as he was about to do. And what bothered him the most? He felt no shame in his next moves.

A few days later, the emotionally and physically crippled Koga would find the unmistakable scent of his kin within the wind. No longer was it contaminated by blood and gore, and the earth underneath his heels trembled with their numbers….

Kaede's village was overwhelmed with the tribe that came to collect their leader, and the tearful reunion began. No longer were they in the jaws of death and the bowels of the netherrealm.

They'd been restored, brought to life by the healing powers of the Tenseiga—all because of Sesshomaru. This would be his offering to his beloved—no treasures, no land, nothing of the sort. Only the meager lives of mangy wolves that dared kidnap her.

Mortals, he would never understand them.

"Sesshomaru, where are we going?!" Kagome asked, his arms around her waist as they both sat on Ah Un. He held the reigns and seemed to be ignorant of her questions. Only when they neared the ground did she see what he had in store.

Koga…

"Koga!" She called, waving her hand as they landed. She was off to him, running into his arms with laughter that Sesshomaru so longed to hear again. They fell within one another's grasps, relieved banter beginning between them instantly.

Of course she scolded him for being so dumb and stubborn in the first place, but all was well between them, if their mutual and friendly affection was observed. Inuyasha intermixed, further dragging Koga down for his impudence and for pissing off Sesshomaru. In short, it led to a small scrap between them. Kagome attempted to break them apart, as usual, whilst Miroku, Sango, and Shippo looked on in incredulity and relief. This was a happy occasion, but the two had to mar it with their childishness!

Around them, wolves that died at Sesshomaru's hands were alive, and they kept their distance from the ominous demon that stood silently as he carefully observed his mate.

Despite the commotion, it occurred to Kagome that….the wolves had been brought back to the land of the living by the healing powers of Tenseiga. It and only it wielded the ability to save one hundred lives in a single sweep. Sesshomaru used it to undo the damage he'd done…and before she could stop them, tears began to flood her vision.

She latched onto him tightly, whispers of 'thank you' rapid upon her lips. This was the man she knew and loved—the face that she'd fallen for. The compassion that resided deep within the demon lord—that was what she sought and clung to.

Whatever vengeance the wolves desired was put to rest. Kagome was Sesshomaru's, and Sesshomaru's only, and she was steadily becoming round with child.

But, the event still served as a warning to remind them and others of what lengths Sesshomaru would go to in order to save Kagome…

That included even spending time in the human village that her friends resided….

Kagome…did have a demon's physiology, and she was at her most vulnerable when pregnant. There was no telling how she would handle the child's demonic heritage when carrying….

So against his better judgement, he allowed her to shy away from his mother and his home. His mother's subjects truly held no sway over him anyway. Whether they accepted Kagome or not was hardly any of his concern.

All the training his mother spoke of would one day be on the agenda, but he did not have the motivation to uproot her. In the clouds, she was so very gloomy, so out of character. Unfortunately for him and his dislike of mortals and their affairs, amongst her people, she was radiant.

He knew that if he did not develop a migraine soon, he would have one by their child's birth.

"…Why do you engage in such subservient tasks?" He asked, sitting back against the trunk of a tree as she hung clothes over a line so that they could dry.

"Because they're mine, and they don't fit because of you." She tsked with mock disdain.

None of the clothing she brought along would fit while she was pregnant, to her dismay. She was actually thankful for the kimonos his mother gifted her, "Besides, who is going to help me dry these, you?" She gave a small shrug as she wrung out one of her shirts and hung it over the line next to her skirt.

"And you wish to remain here where you may be forced to do everything yourself?" He asked as his eyes fell shut. He could not deny the peacefulness he felt in the village. There was something truly serene about this particular establishment the human's possessed. Whether it be Kagome's or Kikyo's aura, the older miko's experience or protectiveness, there was an odd sense of belonging and safety. Such a feeling was foreign to him, even high above the clouds.

He always had his guard up, no matter the circumstance, yet here, Kagome somehow managed to convince him not wear his armor. The scent of so many mortals was not even a bother. They dared not approach him, for good reason, but on the upside, he was no longer the sole keeper of Rin.

Kaede had taken interest in her and cited that it was best that she learned to live amongst humans. She was being taught how to live in a village once more, and the girl loved huddle between he and Kagome when they slept.

He doubted he'd seen his ward enjoying herself so much.

And yet, this small break had to come to an end at some point. The closer Kagome became to term, the more imperative it was to find the ones responsible for poisoning her.

Only then would Sesshomaru truly be at ease….but there was another problem that he'd not spoken of.

Until then, and despite the peacefulness around him, he was nothing short of…moody, or at least moody for the rather emotionally controlled demon lord. It was apparent that something other than Naraku was gnawing at him….

"So, we haven't thought of names." Kagome said as she began to remove the dried clothing from the line and began to fold them up. "I was thinking of a modern name from my era. Or maybe we should wait until we know the sex of the baby."

A small curl of his upper lip would proceed at the suggestion, "A modern name for our daughter?"

"…Daughter?" She blinked, dropping all the clothes neatly folded in her lap, "You mean we're having a GIRL?!"

How, how did he know?! Perhaps he could smell it, but whatever the case, Kagome was upon him with a squeal only similar to the one she'd given to Souten on the discovery of her gender.

Little did she understand the consequences of the birth of a girl to his clan…