InuYasha still hadn't come back for hours after he ran into the forest, though he was still close to the group seeing as Sheumaru could still pick up on his scent. It was when they were settling down for dinner that she started to stand.
"Where are you going?" Jinoku asked, getting up to follow her.
"I'm going to get my brother. He would be sorely pissed if he missed a good dinner." She said quietly, pulling back the curtain to walk outside.
"I'll go with you." Jinoku said.
"No you won't, there is a good chance InuYasha will still be angry with you. It is best I go alone so I can talk him down before we get back." She looked to her mate, after giving her a hesitant nod of agreement she left the small hut to find her brother.
She wondered through the woods, using the almost full bellied moon to help light her way, not that she needed it much due to her half demon eyes. Her hand rested on her stomach as she walked, she still couldn't believe that she was due to have a pup of her own in seven months. Demon children don't take as long as human children to fully develop, seeing as they come out more capable then a human child.
She spotted InuYasha sitting in one of the top most branches of a tree a few meters into the forest. She smiled at his form, his white hair glimmered in the moonlight, as she assumed hers was as well. He looked so serene, even if she couldn't see his face. It was rare that she ever saw him not fuming with anger, that she admired moments like this.
"InuYasha?" She whispered. She saw him freeze even though he probably could smell her inch her way closely towards him the moment she left the hut.
"What?" He asked, his tone irritable, but Sheumaru knew that it was all an act.
"Come down from there. Dinner is bound to be done by now." She tried to coax in a sing-song voice.
"No." Her brother huffed, clearly not convinced.
"Fine, then I will come up." Sheumaru rolled her eyes, and in two jumps she was able to settle herself down on the same branch as InuYasha.
"You should stop doing stuff like that. You'll exert yourself and harm the pup in the process." His eyes shone with concern but his voice portrayed indifference.
"So you're accepting the situation I'm in?" She asked hopefully.
"It's not a situation Sheumaru, this isn't something you can fight off with a sword or an illness Kaede can cure. You're going to be a mother, you need to realize what kind of responsibility that is." InuYasha said, his anger rising with every word.
"I am aware that being a mother is a big responsibilty. I didn't loose my mother young enough that I don't remember the sacrifices she made for my well being." She remarked coldly.
There was a long pause, only for it to be broken by her brother sighing deeply. His clawed hand placed on top of his face. "I know, I know. But even if you do manage to fight Narraku during the pregnancy without getting harmed... you can't possibly think you can keep the pup safe and fight Narraku too, can you?"
"We have seven months to beat him." She pointed out.
"We have been fighting with him for well over a year, Sheumaru! To finish this fight in seven months is preposterous." He scoffed.
"Then I will go at war with Narraku until my pup is born. I'll go into hiding after that, Jinoku is a full demon, he will be there to protect me."
"Why do you trust him so easily?" Her brother suddenly snapped at her blind faith in her mate.
"Why do you trust your life in Kagome's human hands?" She asked snidely. InuYasha froze and dropped his defensive manner.
"Exactly. Love. That is why I trust him. I knew the moment I met him, the way he was different than other males... As you feel with Kagome no doubt. The way she is so different than your past lover and yet she still manages to have the same face. I bet that astounds you." She side-eyed him.
"It does." He admitted quietly.
"Then why don't you tell her?"
"I'm afraid I'll loose her. If, and that is a very big if, she even feels the same way I'm certain Narraku will use her against me, as he has done many times before, but I fear that by admitting it to myself she will only mean more to me. So if I loose her in this battle... I'll have nothing to live for."
Sheumaru chewed on his words for a moment. But then she remembered something Jinoku had said earlier that day when she feared for her pup's life. "But you know you will do anything in your power to protect her? That you would sacrifice yourself for her well-being?"
"Well, yes." He said sounding confused as to where she might be going with this.
"Then brother of mine, no harm will come to her. Over the past year I've learned that you are very stubborn, especially in the cases with Kagome. I doubt that no more than one raven black strand of hair on her head will be harmed in the future."
InuYasha smirked lightly at this.
"Just admit to her before the end of the battle, you two already have been bickering like an old married couple since the moment you met. For now, come down and eat dinner, I know you're starving."
"Okay, fine." InuYasha scoffed, standing up to jump down from the branch, Sheumaru copied him.
"None of that!" Her brother growled and pointed to his back, she rolled her eyes at him but nonetheless climbed onto his back.
XxXx
"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Kagome shrieked in Sheumaru's ear. The half demon girl winced as she heard her ears ring violently.
"I'm with child?" She repeated, but It came out like a question.
"I heard you... but oh my goodness Sheumaru, when I saw you with Jinoku a couple weeks ago I never thought.." The girl kept looking down at her stomach in awe.
"You do know the function of a mating season right?" Sheumaru smirked at her.
Kagome blushed. "Well yeah, but when I caught you I thought you two were cuddling or something."
"Cuddling? Naked?" She couldn't help the smile that began to form at Kagome being flustered.
"Some people do that you know!" Kagome hit her on the shoulder playfully. Sheumaru laughed.
"Anyway, enough about me, what about you? You've been gone three days... InuYasha was growing quite impatient." She remarked.
The girls began to walk away from the well and towards the group, Sheumaru wanted to tell her about the pregnancy in private, and she had gotten just the reaction she was expecting.
"Nothing much. Just studying and tests." She shrugged.
"I see. Why don't you just kill this test demon anyway? You have the power to."
"It doesn't work like that." Kagome giggled.
"It's about time you're back. We've all been cooped up at Kaede's for way too long." InuYasha stated with an irritable huff, when the girls reached the group.
"Well I'm sorry. Why don't you go back to my time and take some of my tests?" Kagome jibbed.
"Not if I come back as irritable as you!" The boy froze the minute the words came out of his mouth.
"InuYasha.." Kagome said sweetly.
"Yeah?" He sounded nervous.
"Sit boy!" Kagome yelled and suddenly InuYasha was thrust hard into the ground, an InuYasha shaped crater formed as he landed.
"Kagome!" He grumbled, his voice muffled by the dirt in his mouth.
"What strange magic." Jinoku said in awe.
"It's very normal for the two of them." Sheumaru smirked down at her brother, as he ripped himself free off the ground.
"So Kagome, we have decided that because of Sheumaru's situation we thought it wise to go to Jinenji's farm, he's bound to have something that will help her in case something goes wrong." Sango said, drawing Kagome's angry attention away from InuYasha.
"Yes, that is smart, plus it would be nice to get that antidote for Narraku's miasma."
"How long would this journey be?" Jinoku asked.
"Four days time or so without stopping." Shippo recalled, from the last trip.
"Very well." Jinoku said, and with a great whoosh of wind, he was towering over all of them in his dog form. When he was like this her mate was easily twice as tall as Kirara when she fought. Sheumaru found it hard not to gape up at him like a fish out of water, she after all had not seen his true form, and never saw her father's either.
He kneeled down beside her, crouching. She looked at him confused.
"What are you doing?"
"You'll exert yourself with four days worth of walking." He remarked.
"So will you, you can't keep this form forever." She pointed out.
"No but I can keep it for long enough. It's not good for the pup for you to be exhausted." He sounded like he was getting irritated.
"Please! I can walk four days! Besides if I'm all the way up there I'll be by myself and wouldn't be fair to the others." She grew quiet.
"It would be smart for us to fly there." Miroku cut in, the couple turned their heads to him, they did not look please. The monk continued nervously.
"Me, Sango, and Shippo can ride on Kirara and you, Kagome and InuYasha can ride on Jinoku. That would easily cut our trip in half."
"I second that." Sango agreed.
"I can agree to anything that makes it so I don't have to spend an eternity walking." Kagome said, yawning.
"As if! I'm not riding on Jinoku!" InuYasha crossed his arms dramatically.
"I didn't ask you to." Jinoku's growl shook the ground. He was still crouched so Sheumaru placed a hand on his head in a calming gesture, scratching behind his large ears.
"InuYasha.." Kagome's voice sounded all sweet again and InuYasha flinched.
"Fine, fine! But only because it's getting us there faster!" He grumbled.
Sheumaru rolled her eyes as they all started to climb on, with equal irritation between both males. She found it hilarious when one would shoot a glare at the other and the recipient would immediately pick up on it, only to make eye contact for a split second and look hastily away from each other grumbling insults.
Sheumaru nestled in her mate's hair behind his head when night began to fall, as it was longer there and warmer. By the time the moon had risen she was listening to his relaxed breathing and steady beats from his heart as she slowly started to drift to sleep.
She woke up late the next morning to InuYasha and Kagome bickering. That was nothing new, but what surprised her, is that they were bickering about her.
"Let her sleep! She's growing life!" Kagome whisper-yelled.
"I know that! But if she doesn't wake up now then she won't be able to sleep at night." Her brother argued back.
Before the conversation could escalate to actual yelling, Sheumaru decided for them, stretching dramatically she sat up from her spot on Jinoku's neck.
"Thanks for this Jinoku." She said to her mate, petting the top of his head.
"Anything for you, love." She blushed, sometimes when he called her 'love' it still caught her off guard.
"How far out do you think we are?" InuYasha asked, turning his attention away from the couple and looking over at Kirara and the others who were flying right next to them.
"I'd say we'll be there by nightfall at the latest, considering it is midday." Sango thought aloud.
"That seems reasonable." Kagome agreed, then looked down at her stomach when it growled loudly.
"Who's ready to stop and have some lunch?" She asked, embarrassed that her hunger was so easily given away.
XxXx
They got to Jinenji's farm just as the sun had started to set, like Sango predicted.
Jinenji was very happy to see them all, especially Kagome, and he welcomed Sheumaru and Jinoku. She found his shy demeanor endearing and adorable.
When they explained the herbal plants that Sheumaru would need and why, the half demon giant blushed feriously, and gave the plants to Sheumaru with shaky hands, along with a few of his suggestions that might help in an emergency. Sheumaru expressed great gratitude as she placed the plants, which were wrapped carefully with bark so they could be preserved, in her hakama.
They also asked for some of the antidote for Narraku's miasma poison in case of an emergency, and then they sat for a good majority of the time chatting and catching up, however when they saw the early morning sun beams peak over the horizon they knew it was time to leave.
So once again the group of travelers continued their journey to hunt and take down Narraku, and to complete the jewel in the process.
A: This ended up being a longer chapter than I expected but nevertheless I hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave a review(I love reading them) bye bye now!