1773
The ringing sound of metal striking metal travels through the air, followed by laughter and grumbling.
"Oh, come on! Every time!" InuYasha huffs as his katana flies through the air, landing a few yards away, blade down in the grass, making the rest of the group burst out laughing again.
"You did really well, considering." Kagome says sweetly, bouncing a small, silver haired golden eyed boy on her lap. InuYasha scoffs as he retrieves his katana from it's landing site from the spar against his brother.
"She is correct, little brother." Sesshoumaru remarks as he walks to his mate and son.
"Papa!" the little boy squeals as his father scoops him up before tossing him into the air and catching him deftly, his bright laughter bringing a smile to everyone's face, even the stoic inu lord.
"Hello, Daichi. Were you good for your mother today?" Sesshoumaru queries his now 50 year old son.
"I still can't get over the fact that you guys had a full youkai pup." Kouga tosses out from his spot in the grass, laying out on his back in the sun, arms tucked behind his head.
"It is what it is. I assume it's something to do with the jewel, but regardless, he's perfect." Kagome grins. "And, yes, he was very good today. Did all his letters and sums without issue, once he was promised that he could watch you spar."
"Hn, is that so." The daiyoukai settles next to his mate, his son on his lap, his eyes tracing the crescent moon on his forehead and the bright blue stripes on his cheeks, his own father's markings.
"Hey, you guys hear about the attack on the Southern Lord? The whole family's dead now, apparently." InuYasha comments, sitting, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his hands.
"There was an attack?" Kimiko blinks at them, as Kagome, Sesshoumaru and Kouga all tense. "You knew, didn't you? How did you know before I did?" she exclaims.
Kagome erects a barrier over them all. Kouga sits up, face grim. "Because it was us that did it, Kimiko." the miko announces quietly.
"What?!" Kimiko and InuYasha blurt simultaneously.
"We've been planning it since the attack that broke your leg. The assassins we captured confirmed they had orders from the Southern Lord to go after the pack. So, we started watching, gathering information, and waited for the perfect moment to strike. That moment was when the Dutch brought a sickness that started affecting not only the humans, but the youkai as well." Kouga explains, pausing when the hanyou and inu female gasp.
"Don't worry, we're fine. No one's at risk here. I know what it is, and I can heal it. None of our troops who went are infected, I made sure." Kagome quickly assures them.
"The sickness hit the Southern Shiro, and that's when we attacked. We disguised ourselves and used some nifty magical concealments to make us untraceable. So, as far as anyone is concerned, in their moment of weakness, bandit youkai raided them, made off with a bunch of food and some valuables that have now found their way into random Southern villages." Kouga flashes a fanged grin. InuYasha stares wide eyed and mouth open, while the Lady Mother flicks her gaze to the three Alphas, before settling on her grandson. Her eyes harden, and she nods once.
"Very well. Well done." she accepts, her eyes meeting her daughters, and understanding passing between them. Whatever it took to protect their pack, heir children, they would do it, without hesitation.
InuYasha whistles lowly, before shaking his head lightly. "I don't know why I'm surprised, Sesshoumaru's a master tactician. This is exactly the kind of thing he'd do."
"It was not my plan, brother."
"Then, Kouga…" trailing off when the wolf shook his head, looking at the miko. InuYasha turns and stares at the girl as she reaches for her son and traces a finger down the stripes on his cheek, her mouth set in a grim line, her eyes hard. When she turns to look at him, he sucks in a breath. He's seen her fight, Kami, he's seen her spar hundreds of times over the years now. But, he hasn't seen her look like that in two centuries. Not since he first arrived at the Western Shiro. And, even then, the look on her face now, compared to what it was then, he's never seen her look as downright deadly as he sees her now. Now, she is a mother who would do whatever it took to protect her family. Regardless of who got hurt in the process, and Kami have mercy on anyone who did to hurt her family, because there would be no where in heaven, earth or hell that they could hide from her.
InuYasha nods his head once, turning away, unable to stand the weight of her eyes any longer. Kagome looks back at her son, feeling Kouga's hand on her shoulder. "Masaru is dead, as is the rest of his family and his administration. That doesn't mean the threat is gone, but his threat is. The humans are spreading, hunting youkai more and more every day. Soon, we're going to have to abandon the Shiro. In about eighty years, the Americans are going to force the country out of isolation, and by then, youkai are gone from the records." she informs them. "I want to start moving to the Sky Castle. We can't protect everyone, but I'll be damned if those that are ours are caught in whatever extermination is coming. We've been distributing the illusion charms, and kitsunes are setting up places for youkai to acquire more if needed, but eventually, something is going to happen and the youkai are going to disappear. I don't want us caught up in it." she whispers, hands gathering her son to hold close to her, as he plays with her hair, oblivious to the heavy topic of conversation.
"Of course, little one. My home is yours. There is room for hundreds, not including servants quarters and guard houses."
"It's still not gunna hold everyone, even everyone from the Western Shiro." InuYasha points out.
"I know." Kagome breathes. "We'll figure something out. Maybe, I'm panicking over nothing..." She gives a small wavering smile to them all, combing her fingers through Daichi's hair before pressing a kiss to the moon on his forehead. Her bond tugs at her, as waves of comfort and love radiate through her, drawing her eyes to her mates. "Anyways! Little Daichi is 50 this year. Isn't that right, honey?" The miko beams brightly at the tiny silver inu that was now clapping in her lap.
Setting him down, Daichi races for his uncle, intent on climbing up to rub his ears, much to InuYasha's blustering faux chagrin. Kagome rises, as does her mate, and she feels him slip an arm around her waist. "We're gunna let him play with you guys for a bit, keep an eye on him." the miko tells them, a faint warning to her tone, as the mated pair walk away back indoors.
"Sess..." Kagome whines, "I don't want to rush perfection, but we don't have a lot of time, please... Stop teasing me!" she nearly wails as her back arches sharply.
"I do not tease, koi." Sesshoumaru chuckles against her apex, fingers rubbing her inner walls as he bends down to attack her bud again, refusing to not get to taste her release before taking her. He brings her to a quick climax, his eyes rolling back in his head at her taste, before slipping his fingers from her and crawling up her body, giving her no time to calm before he impales her. He groans as her walls flutter around his member, then slides out and slams back in.
Kagome cries out, reaching to clutch at his shoulders, her legs hooking around his waist as she arches, her next orgasm already building, as her mate plays her body like the virtuoso he is. Over a century of taking her at least once nearly daily, he is the foremost expert on what elicits every sound, what causes every movement, what feels best and what overloads her mind.
Over a century, and he still can't get enough of her. He loves her just as much today as he did when they first mated, hell when he first asked her to court him. If anything, he loves her more. And, her body, Kami, her body sings for him. He dips his head to nip at her throat, getting his rewarding mewl and deep scratches down his back that make him groan. Sucking on her pulsepoint earns him a moan as she arches into him, pressing her cheek against his head. Tweaking her nipples elicits a strangled gasp and has her inner walls clenching tightly. Lifting her by her waist to tilt her hips so that when he slams into her, his head grinds across her upper wall and pounds into her cervix and she releases gasping cries, bucking sharply against him. Turning her over on her hands and knees and grinding down slowly, and his mate's inner walls clench so tightly, it's like a vice. Rolling onto his back and sliding her on his member, grinding her clit into his groin and she melts against him, moaning, scratching down his chest and biting his neck. He loves his mate, loves being the one to bring her to such pleasurable peaks, and Kami, he loves how she feels on him. She's the best he's ever had in his bed, and he never intends to let her leave it.
His arms wrap around her, holding her lithe body to his chest as he thrusts into her from below, his nose pressed to her mark as he nips and kisses her throat, groaning as his release nears, feeling her tightening on him again, preparing for her own. Just as his thrusts start to jerk, he sinks his fangs into her mark, feeling her do the same to his, as they do nearly every coupling, and spiralling in the overwhelming feelings flooding through them.
They release each other with a gasp, each groaning lightly as they shift to get comfortable without disconnecting, and then laying quietly in each others arms. His claws rake through her hair gently as her fingers trace patterns on his chest.
"One of these days, you're gunna send me over so far that my mind won't come back." she whispers against his skin, smirking as he laughs, jostling her slightly.
"If you are unable to recover, I will be as well." he informs her.
"What a pair we'll be then." she snarks at him. "You think we could get a nap in, or is that hoping too much?"
"It would take a miracle for one of the idiots not to come find us if we do not reappear in the next half hour." he answers, making her sigh.
"You're right. I miss day naps. Especially post sex day naps. Those were the best."
"Indeed. When Daichi is older, we may get to experience them again." He nuzzles her temple, kissing her forehead. "We should get dressed, before they come banging on the do-" A sharp knocking on the barrier over the door interrupts him and he groans quietly. "Is it the wolf or the hanyou?"
"Neither. It's your mother." she notes curiously, brows pinching slightly before she sits up and they both moan softly as his member slips from her. Standing, she walks to their private hot spring and cleans herself up quickly before slipping her mates haori over herself and answering the door.
"Is everything okay?" Kagome asks, looking around the hallway.
"Oh, everything fine. The boys have taken Daichi to his playroom to entertain him while you two were... indisposed." Kimiko looks behind the miko and sees her son walk up, clad only in his hakamas, his hand settling on his mates shoulder.
"Mother, what do you need?" he queries, a tinge of concern in his voice.
"Oh, nothing to worry about, I merely wished to spend time with my daughter today. I do believe I waited long enough to give you both time to... finish." she teases, laughter spilling from her at the faint blush and shifting gaze of the miko before her.
Clearing her throat, Kagome turns to Kimiko again, "Yeah, we can hang out a bit. Just let me change into proper clothing."
"Very well, I shall meet you in my rooms for tea shortly. My son may go and spend time with the boys, as I believe Shippo has joined them with Daichi."
"Okay!" Kagome smiles brightly, stepping back and sliding the door closed when Kimiko turns to walk away.
"Do you know what she wishes to speak to you about, mate?" Sesshoumaru sits on the edge of the bed, catching his haori when Kagome tosses it to him, watching her as she moves about the room.
"Nope. Well, couple of ideas, but with your mother, they're probably unlikely, since they're normal ideas, and she's anything but normal." Kagome reaches for a new haori and hakama set for herself from her wardrobe, deciding on a dark blue top to match her mates, intricately stitched designs of ivy and stars travelling up the left sleeve. A pair of white specially made hakamas with slits along the seams along her calves that fold over each other to hide, yet give her access to, leg guards she wears that hold her custom made shuriken's. She grabs a pale yellow obi to wrap around herself, small orange suns stitched across it, and then ties her blades to it. Checking that her arm and leg guards are in place properly and hold all the knives they should, she turns back and sees her mate watching her intently, a ghost of a smile on his lips.
"What?" she cocks her head.
"It is entertaining to watch my mate go from sultry minx to goddess of war, strapping her instruments of death to herself, even if only to have tea with my mother." he muses aloud, making her roll her eyes.
"Hardly. Just don't want to be caught without anything. Had enough of that when I was a kid."
"Hn, indeed," he nods, eyes shifting to look out the window for a moment, before returning to her. "You still are a bit overprepared for tea, however." He chuckles at her scoff, rising to redress himself, then grabbing his little mate and kissing her. "You are my goddess of war, if no one elses, koi." he murmurs with a light nip to her bottom lip.
"Well, I guess that's okay." she giggles, pulling away. "I gotta go though, or she'll come back and scold you for keeping me. And then I'll have a grumpy puppy to deal with." Kagome winks and then skips from the room towards her mother 'in law'.
After poking her head in to check on her male pack mates and her son, she wanders down the hall to Kimiko's rooms, slipping inside quietly when she reaches the door. Kimiko is sitting against her window, gazing out over the garden, golden eyes so like her sons seem hard and guarded.
"Kimiko? You wanted to talk to me?" Kagome inquires quietly, sitting at a small table holding a pot of tea and pouring a cup for herself and the Lady Mother.
"Yes. Please put up a barrier, little one." Kimiko replies, moving to sit across from the confused miko as she complies. "Good. You are aware of your condition, correct?" Kimiko's eyes pierce through Kagome with the implication of her statement.
"I…" Kagome sucks in a breath before letting it out slowly. "I wasn't completely sure, won't be until about next week, that's when I'll feel its aura and Sess will be able to scent the change on me. You're sure?" Kagome's voice is small and soft, her hands having moved to her stomach.
"It was a guess, I will admit, but you were displaying some of the same symptoms and behaviours as last time. So, it is new then." The silver inu's lips quirk in a soft smile as she eyes her daughter's abdomen.
"As I said, Sess and I wouldn't be able to tell until next week, so at most it's two weeks old." the miko whispers, eyes wide, staring at the table before her.
"Hm. Let my son find out on his own. What do you plan to do now that the Southern Lord is gone?"
"What I said in the garden. I want... No. I need to find a way to insure everyone's safety. I just don't know how." Kagome laments in a quiet voice.
"We will begin with moving everyone into the Castle. It will be sad to leave this place, though. I have never had somewhere feel as much like home as being here has." The elder female glances around her room fondly.
"We'll manage. It's just a place after all." The miko says this, but her heart is heavy with her sorrow for leaving the beautiful Shiro where she had made her home for the last two centuries, where she made her life with her mate, her pack, her son. It's just a place, though. The people are more important. The thought crosses her mind before she remembers that Sesshoumaru would hear it, and waits for his inevitable question, only to be surprised when he merely sends her his feelings of love and contentment. Smiling to herself, she closes her eyes for a moment before looking at her mother 'in law' again.
"We'll start moving everyone to the Castle as soon as possible. I don't trust that with the Southern Lord gone, that there still won't be attacks, especially as I still haven't felt those two auras again since then." Kagome's voice is firm, decision made, as she stands, wishing to go find her pack and pretend for just a little while longer.
"Indeed, little one. Come, let us find my son and tease him about how soft he has become since my grandpup was born." A wicked glint flashes in the silver inu's eyes as she links her arm with her daughters and leads them both to the pack.
"Kagome? Daddy? Are you guys in here?" Rin's voice calls from the study door.
"Yeah, honey, come in." Kagome replies, setting down the report she'd been reading, Sesshoumaru doing the same at his own desk.
"Oh good." Rin sits on a cushion before them, her hands twisting in her sleeves. "Matsu wanted to be here, but with the announcement, he's been really busy with the troops. I... well..." Rin stops and takes a deep breath before looking up at her adoptive parents. "I guess, you guys are going to be grandparents." Rin says quietly, her eyes shifting from one person to the next and back, waiting for their reaction. Both inu and miko stare at their daughter for several moments before a squeal escapes Kagome and the miko launches herself at Rin.
"Congratulations! How far along are you, do you know? Can I check it's aura? How are you feeling?"
Giggling, Rin wraps her arms around Kagome. "Thanks. I think about a month, of course you can, and so far I feel okay, though it's still early, isn't it." A bright beaming grin is plastered to the girls face as she looks to her father and sees a small smile on his own features.
"Congratulations Rin." He nods, pride and joy streaming through his bond.
"It's aura looks good, strong for being so small still, that's a good sign, I'd say it's probably right at a month along. So, about five more to go for you!"
"What? But you only got 4!" Rin cries, wide eyed.
"Yeah, but Daichi is full youkai, and that's how long a full youkai pregnancy lasts. You're having a hanyou, so it'll take a little longer, silly." Kagome chuckles, before her smile slips a bit and her voice grows serious. "I want you at the Castle as soon as possible, though. Matsu can finish up what he's necessary for and then follow you. You've been attacked far too many times to risk leaving you down here in this state." Rin scowls lightly before nodding.
"Yeah, I kinda figured you'd say that. Matsu did as well, which is why he didn't take a break to come with me to tell you. He wants to get as much done as he could as fast as he could so we wouldn't have to be separated for too long."
Sesshoumaru hums his appreciation for his son 'in law's foresight and planning. Both men are very quiet, but they adore Rin and would move the heavens for her. Then, he looks at his mate an errant thought crossing his mind, that he wouldn't mind having a second pup. He would have to talk to Kagome about such at a later date, now is hardly the time to plan for another child. He shakes his head minutely and turns his attention back to the two tittering females.
"Oh, we have to tell Kimiko. She's going to be equal parts excited and horrified." Kagome laughs loudly, Rin joining in, and making even Sesshoumaru chuckle.
"She will indeed be appalled at the thought of being old enough for great grand pups." he chimes in.
"Oh, let's go do it now, I wanna see her face!" Kagome jumps up, hauling Rin with her and drags the girl out down the hallways towards the lady mother.
"I still can't believe she's having a baby." Kagome whispers into the darkness while curled in bed with her mate. "I feel old now."
"You are hardly old, mate. Maybe by human standards, but hardly by youkai's. You would still be a barely matured pup yourself were you youkai." Sesshoumaru replies before stilling for a moment and then scowling a bit at the thought.
"Talk about cradle robbing, eh?" she giggles, feeling the mild disgust flicker from her bond.
"I do not wish to think on that further. You are not a pup, and you are not old. It has been over two hundred years that she has been mated. It is time for her to have progeny."
"I guess it has been that long hasn't it." She rolls onto her back to look at the ceiling, listening to her mates even breaths. "Hey, Sess?" she murmurs.
"Yes, mate?"
"What do you think of having another pup?"
"It is not the ideal time, but if it happens, I will be just as pleased as I was with Daichi, koi."
"Hmm, okay." She rolls onto her side again and presses a kiss to his shoulder, sliding her hand across his stomach, feeling him begin to rumble, and lets the gentle hum lull her to sleep.
She awakens several hours later to a strange feeling making the hairs on the back of her neck and arms prickle. Sitting up, she nudges her mate, whose eyes open immediately and he spreads his senses out, checking for any danger.
"What is it?"
"I dunno. Just... a weird feeling. A bad weird feeling. I'm gunna go check on the pack…" she trails off, standing mechanically and grabbing Sesshoumaru's haori again to slip into the darkened hallway. She uncoils her own reiki and spreads it out, checking for any anomalies. She pauses at each room to count the auras within, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Sesshoumaru catches up to her, clad in his hakamas, and touching her shoulder gently.
"I will check on Daichi, you check on Rin." he murmurs to her as she nods, each turning to head to their destinations. Peeking her head into Rin's room, she calls out softly, not wanting to wake her or her mate if they are sleeping. She pulses her aura and finds them both asleep when she feels a spike of her powers, followed, after a moment, by her bond yanking sharply and then going silent, as a searing pain rips through her, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Eyes wide, Kagome wobbles on her feet, catching herself barely against the door jamb, and turning as if submerged in molasses, slowly stepping towards her son's room. Her ears fill with the sound of her own rushing blood and pounding heartbeat, a distant keening wail echoes somewhere as she trudges down the hall, wondering who made such a soul crushing sound. Her throat burns as her vision tunnels. She can't seem to move faster and she just needs to move faster. Someone is hurting, she can hear them sobbing, but she doesn't know from where. She doesn't care. Sesshoumaru is with Daichi and something happened. She has to get there.
She shoves off the hands that are pulling at her, pushing forward until she comes to the door, and collapses on her knees, falling forward on her hands. Crawling forward, her eyes focus solely on the large form of a silver haired man, sprawled on the floor. Bubbling sobs come from a small boy off to the side, but all she can seem to do is watch a dark puddle spread from under the man. Her vision starts to blur and she curses as it's blocking her from seeing him. Finally, she reaches the man and her hand stretches out, shaking, to brush away his hair. An echoing scream surrounds her when magenta stripes are revealed, and her hands clutch at the man, shaking him. She can hear someone screaming for him to wake up, that he can't be dead. She feels hands on her shoulders, and then suddenly her cheek is stinging, and she thinks she's gone deaf in the silence following.
Turning her head, she sees Kimiko crying, eyes hard as she stares at Kagome. "He is not dead! You will snap out of it, and heal him. He is not dead but he will be soon. Now, get ahold of yourself and do. Your. Duty." the Lady Mother snaps at her, shaking Kagome's shoulders for good measure. Nodding, Kagome squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, realizing the screams she has been hearing all this time must have come from her with how raw her throat feels. Turning back to her mate, she rolls him onto his back. She wills herself not to look at his bleeding chest, and begins to pour her reiki into him. She closes her eyes as she feels his heart struggling to pump, his lungs having given up breathing, suddenly begin working overtime as the muscles and organs all knit together quickly. Cataloguing any other injuries, she finds none save for his youki having been drained severely, so she begins pouring her reiki into him to shore up his reserves. A sudden gasp tells her that he's breathing again, and his hands find her wrists. As she pulls back her reiki from him, collapsing on his chest, the bond flares back to life and overwhelms her for several minutes.
"Don't you ever fucking do that to me again. Do you hear me?" she scolds him, her voice hoarse and painful to use.
"I promise to try not to." he whispers, gathering her to himself and burying his nose in her hair. "Where is Daichi?" He sits up suddenly, searching, and finding his son in his mothers arms, relaxes immediately, falling back onto the floor.
"What the fuck happened?" Kouga growls out, InuYasha and Shippo standing beside him, as Rin clutches at her mate behind them.
"I woke-" Kagome starts before stopping to lift a glowing hand to her throat to heal it. Clearing her throat when it's done, she tries again. "I woke up feeling something not right. I didn't know what it was, but I just had a feeling I had to check on everyone, so I did. My senses didn't feel anything at all, and when Sesshoumaru caught up to me, he told me to check on Rin, and he'd check on Daichi. I'd just opened Rin's door when..." she trails off, unable to say it, fresh tears coming to her eyes as she tries to press herself further into her mates chest.
"Well, your screaming woke us all up, you looked like you were in a trance, stumbling down the hall." InuYasha comments.
"I was screaming the whole time, wasn't I? I could hear someone, I didn't realize it was me." the miko murmurs into Sesshoumaru's chest, knowing everyone would be able to hear her regardless.
"Yeah, fucking scary, if you ask me. I've never seen you look like that, Kags." Kouga crouches next to her and runs his hand over her head gently. "So, I guess we can assume someone came to attack either Daichi or one of you two when you came to check on him." His voice dropping to a low growl.
"He is safe, as are we all now. I would like to know how the attacker got through Kagome's barrier to attack Sesshoumaru, however." Kimiko states, her own voice icy as she looks at her son, knowing exactly what her foolish pup had done that nearly cost him his own life and the life of his mate when she self destructed from her bond being cut off.
Kagome sits up then, and looks at her mate for a moment, her brows knitting together in confusion as she thinks on it before her cobalt orbs blaze and she slaps her mate, hard, making him grunt as his head whips to the side.
"How dare you! You stupid youkai, how dare you do that! Do you have any idea how it just felt having the bond cut off? Do you have any idea what that just did to me? What it would've led to?" the miko screams at the inu lord, making everyone, even Rin, wince at the painful pitch.
"It was a choice between myself and our son. I can defend myself, he can not."
"He has a barrier! Same as you! Why didn't you trust it!"
"I intended to hold the assassin, though, when I released the barrier and he attacked again, the resulting reiki blast from me appears to have rendered him to dust." Sesshoumaru says as he looks behind him.
"You! UGH!" Kagome stands, grabbing her son from Kimiko and storms out of the room to her own, the sound of the door slamming shut echoing down the hallway.
"Man, you really fucked up." Kouga whispers, as InuYasha whistles. Shippo merely shakes his head and moves to follow his mother.
"Daddy, that was really stupid. You could have put a barrier around them and waited for Kagome to get there." She shakes her head as she walks over to hug her father. "I'm glad you're okay now, but you really scared us all. Please don't do it again. Not just for her sake, but for all of us." the girl says softly before standing again and collecting her mate to go to their room.
Sesshoumaru sighs loudly, falling back to the floor and draping his arm over his eyes, now realizing how Kagome felt after the last attack and he'd been angry at her for, admittedly, something much more trivial than this. Steeling himself, he sits up and prepares to follow his mate, when his mother stops him.
"Your father and I were not mates, not like you and the miko. I have never experienced what she just did, but if someone as strong as her can break so easily, learn from tonight and do not repeat the same actions that led to her shattering like that again. I have seen what happens when mates are killed, and we can not afford to lose even one of you, let alone both, pup." Kimiko tells him, before she gathers him into her arms and hugs him tightly. "You scared us all, my pup." she mutters before standing quickly and leaving to her rooms.
"Mama?" Shippo calls as he opens the door to Kagome's room. He walks in and finds her on her bed, curled up with her son, staring blankly at the wall as her fingers card through Daichi's hair. Shippo sits on the edge of the bed and places a hand on her ankle. "Mama. Do you remember when we were last attacked, how mad Sesshoumaru was because you didn't tell him every detail of what was going on? What did you tell him then?" he asks her quietly.
"That I was busy and had to make split second decisions. But, that was different. We were all fine. And no one nearly died." Kagome clips out.
"Yes, that time. This time, he made the same choice you did, only this time, something happened. He made the same choice you did then, only this time, the assassin had a new trick to use. Yes, he could have just put a barrier around them, like you could've then, and waited for back up, likely leading to them killing themselves to prevent being captured. Yes, the consequences this time were nearly much much worse, but can you really be mad at him for making the same decision you did?" Shippo looks at his mother, seeing her squeeze her eyes shut and pull Daichi closer to herself.
"No, I guess not, I can however be mad at him for nearly dying. Shippo, I don't ever want to feel the bond disappear again. It felt… it felt worse than when I had a chunk of my soul ripped away from me to give to Kikyo." her voice was so quiet that even Shippo had to strain to hear her.
"Well, I'm not mated, as you know, or had my soul taken apart, so I can't even begin to imagine what it feels like, but he didn't do it on purpose, and he didn't die. He's upset as well, and now his instincts are clamouring to comfort you as well. Plus, if he hasn't figured it out yet, he will soon, Mama." The kitsune smirks, as Kagome's eyes open wide and turn to him.
"How is it everyone knew before us? Before me?" the miko whines, flopping onto her back and stretching her legs out.
"Cuz." He shrugs, turning his head to see Sesshoumaru standing in the doorway, his usual mask gone, a look of anguish in it's place. "I'll take Daichi with me and leave you guys to talk." Shippo collects the sleepy inu pup and leaves, winking at his Alpha as he does.
Sesshoumaru stands, watching his mate as she sits up, tears still falling from her beautiful eyes. His bond is a maelstrom of fear, anger, pain, sorrow, relief, and a miriad of other lesser emotions. The only constant is the underlying love that is always there. "Mate," he hesitates, before stepping to the bed and grabbing the miko, clutching her to himself. "I am sorry, mate." he whispers into her hair.
"I know, I'm sorry for lighting into you, you just scared me so fucking badly. It was awful." she whimpers, nails digging into his shoulder and scalp as she pulls him closer. He begins to rumble, stroking her back and running his claws through her hair, rocking her gently as they both just hold each other, eyes closed.
After a while, Sesshoumaru takes a deep breath, nuzzling her temple. "What did the kit mean that if I didn't know now, I would soon?" He feels her tense and a flicker of... anxiety almost... flits through their bond. He pulls back from her just enough to look down at her face.
"Do I smell different?" is all she says, and his eyes grow wide, before lunging to bury his nose against her pulsepoint. Then laying her back and pressing his nose to her stomach, before looking up at her, shock clear on his face.
"You're..." He's so stunned, his speech has slipped from it's usual formal tones, making her giggle slightly through her tears, nodding. "That's why you asked about pups last night."
"Mhm. I had a feeling I was this past week, your mother told me I was displaying the same signs as I had with Daichi, which apparently Shippo picked up on as well. I'm betting so did Kouga, maybe even your brother." she admits. He looks back down to her stomach before pressing his face to it again, inhaling deeply as he pushes a tiny bit of his youki towards the fetus. He turns his head and lays his cheek against her, wrapping his arms around her waist as her fingers thread into his hair.
"We need to talk about some things and plan, but honestly, I'm too fucking tired right now, so we'll do it tomorrow."
"Hn, tomorrow, koi." he replies, nuzzling his nose to her stomach as they settle. "Aishiteru, Kagome." he whispers before drifting off, hearing her grunt a reply, and her emotions settles into a gentle pulsing of love.
"Ugh, this so isn't fair. I've still got at least a month, and you're having yours already!" Rin gripes as she walks Kagome around the room.
"I'm more upset at the fact that she decided to arrive while I was at the Shiro rather than the Castle, where everything is prepped, and all the healers and midwives are." the miko growls out before gasping and stopping as a contraction ripples through her.
"Hm, well, yes, that would be annoying, but it'll be okay. Daddy knows and he's coming back, he'll bring them with him." Rin reassures the miko, wincing slightly at the grip Kagome has on her hand.
"He needs to get here faster. She's gunna start coming soon."
"I doubt he's dawdling, you know how he-" A scream travels down the hallway to the room they're in, before an explosion is heard. Rin pales, dropping Kagome's arm as she runs to the door and bolts it, then checking all the windows and the door to the garden. Kagome throws up a barrier before doubling over in pain again.
"Fuck. This is the worst timing!" The miko spreads out her aura to see who is nearby, finding no one until something dark slithers against her reiki. "Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck. It's them." Kagome stumbles back against the wall.
"What, what is it? Is it the baby?" Rin rushes back to her side.
"No, though that'll be a problem soon, too. It's those auras. They're here. And, we're alone. They're the only ones alive outside this room."
"Shit." Rin turns and drags a futon flat on the floor, and then grabs as many clean kimonos as she can from a nearby wardrobe to begin cutting them up. Thankfully, they're in Kagome's old room, which has a private bathing spring, meaning fresh water. Rin moves to collect it using any pitchers, buckets and bowls she can find in the room, as Kagome waddles to the futon and lowers herself carefully.
Sess, they're here. Please get here quickly. The baby's coming and I only have Rin. A small sob escapes her as she tries to fight off the fear that is trying to envelope her.
"I am close, I am bringing Mother. Stay in the barrier until we get there, koi."
Okay. Hurry. A sudden pain ripples through her abdomen forcing a sharp cry from her. "Rin, she's coming. They're close, but she's coming now. I can feel her." Kagome whimpers.
"Fuck. Shit. Okay. Damn." Rin scrambles to put everything near the futon quickly, as Kagome laughs.
"You've spent far too much time with Yash, Kouga and I."
"Yeah, well, you're my family, makes sense I'd spend a lot of time with you, doesn't it. Now, lets see where we- oh, fuck, she's crowning. You gotta start pushing, Mama." Rin says, face set firmly as she gets to work, ignoring Kagome's screams. After about half an hour, Rin places the baby girl in Kagome's arms and starts cleaning up, waiting for the afterbirth.
"Sayua. If I fall asleep, tell Sess her name is Sayua." Kagome mumbles from her spot against the pillows.
Rin chuckles, "Swift one. Well, she certainly was." They both turn towards the door when a hammering sound begins. "They're trying to get in. Will the barrier hold even if you pass out?"
"Yeah, it will, they won't get through. I think I can feel Sesshoumaru close by, too." the miko slurs slightly in her exhaustion, her new daughter burbling against her chest.
"Well, we better hope they get here quickly and that Daddy can deal with the-" a roar rocks through the building, making both girls smile.
"I'm gunna try something..." Kagome starts, closing her eyes. She concentrates on the two auras outside their door and erects a barrier around them, then begins to fill it with her aura. Her brows pinch slightly as she feels them try to push her reiki away with their youki, before smirking when she feels the magic talismans they have on them start to burn away.
Sess, I've got them in a barrier and their charms are purifying now. she tells her mate before she feels her exhaustion take over her and she slips into oblivion.
Outside the door, Sesshoumaru finds the two youkai, dragons, kneeling on the floor inside a barrier, surrounded by a pink fog, their faces contorted in pain, making him grin wickedly.
"You are the ones responsible for the attacks against This One's pack these many decades." he growls out so lowly that it vibrates the very air around them.
"Sesshoumaru, I need to get into the room to check on Kagome." his mother says from behind him. He nods, touching his finger to the barrier to release it before turning back to the two dragons before him.
"This One will enjoy you in our dungeon, wretches." He summons reiki bindings for the dragons, not wanting them to kill each other now that their suicide charms are gone. He has questions for them, and several ways he wishes to torture them for all of the fear and worry they have inflicted upon his pack over the past two centuries. Once sure they won't be moving anytime soon, he steps into the room, finding his mate sleeping while his mother checks the pup, and Rin cleaning up.
"The pup? Kagome?" he whispers, slowly padding towards Kagome.
"Kagome is fine, she is just exhausted. She will wake later after she rests. Your pup is healthy. Beautiful." Kimiko's replies warmly.
"Mama said her name is Sayua." Rin chirps.
"Swift one?" he questions, reaching for his pup, smoothing the tuft of black hair and tracing a finger down her magenta stripes as he tucks her against his chest.
"Kagome was only in labour for about 5 hours total." Rin shrugs.
"That is very fast." Kimiko murmurs as she begins helping Rin clear away soiled cloths and shifting Kagome to dress her in a clean kimono.
"Sayua, swift indeed, then." He smiles widely when the pup opens her eyes and they are his same gilded irises reflecting back at him. "Kagome will be pleased, she has my eyes." He chuckles, allowing only a tiny flicker of disappointment that his daughter does not have her mothers sparkling sapphire orbs. "Beautiful." he whispers as he leans down to press his nose to his daughters forehead, eyes closing as he inhales her scent, memorizing it.
"Here, Kagome already had it made, put it on the pup." Kimiko steps up to him, holding a small chain with the customary moon and sun medallion and slipping it over the childs head, watching as a small flash of pink flares.
The inu lord moves then to sit next to his sleeping mate, placing a hand on her head as he leans back against the wall behind them, holding his daughter to his chest, and waits for his mate to awaken so that they may travel back to the Castle, new captives in tow.
A soft squeal chimes throughout the room. Kagome looks up from her desk, where she is sitting with her daughter in her lap, attempting to work her way through some of the paperwork she's let pile up. Sesshoumaru strides towards her, smile on his face.
"Hey there." she greets with a smile.
"Hello, how are you? Sayua?" he inquires as he sits next to her, reaching to take his daughter and hold her up to nuzzle her belly, eliciting another soft squeal.
"Good, recovered, and she's perfect. She's quiet, like Daichi was, happy to just play with my hair while I work. Definitely you're kids. I was a nightmare when I was that small."
"Then I am glad they do not take after you." he teases her, smirking when she swats his arm.
"They say anything yet?" Kagome asks him, almost wishing she hadn't when his smile vanishes, replaced with a scowl as he settles their daughter in his lap.
"No. I am becoming more and more convinced they will not ever say anything. And, while there is a chance that they are not the masterminds behind it all, it is unlikely that there will be any further attacks. "
"It seems too easy." She shakes her head lightly, watching her daughter tug on locks of Sesshoumaru's hair, smiling and burbling.
"Naraku was an anomaly, his use of covert and subversive tactics are rarely ever used to the extent that he utilized them. As I said, it is unlikely, however, there are of course still risks that they are not the head of the proverbial snake."
"There's still risk regardless really, with the humans. The Shiro's been fully emptied though, and all the protections we can put up, without drawing suspicions, are up. Now, we just have to survive, and help as many youkai that we can do the same. Once youkai are forgotten about, I think it'll be a little easier, as backwards as that may sound." She sighs quietly, leaning against her large inu and smirking as her her daughter giggles, shoving a lock of his hair into her mouth.
"I believe you may be correct. Already we are being forgotten, which leads to less humans hunting to exterminate us. Having hidden villages and talismans given freely has helped immensely." he confides, watching Sayua with her for several minutes before a commotion in the hall draws their attention.
"Daichi! Get back here! Where are you-" The door slams open and a silver blur barrels towards the mated pair, stopping when it collides with Kagome, earning a grunting 'oof' from her.
"Kami, sorry guys, he got away from me." Kouga grunts, bent over, hands on his knees as he pants. "Gods, fastest wolf alive, and I can't keep up with a fifty year old inu pup. I must be getting old." he grouses as he straightens and stretches his back, scowling at Kagome's peel of laughter.
"You're only what… six hundred? Maybe you are old then." she smirks.
"As if. I'm only half the age of your mate there." Kouga grumbles.
"Oh, but I know he's old. We've already established just what a cradle robber he is." She laughs again as her mates face twists.
"I have asked you not to say such things, mate." Sesshoumaru glares at her.
"You have, but I never agreed, old man." Kagome's eyes sparkle with amusement when Kouga doubles over laughing, gasping for breath.
"Oh, oh, I didn't even think of that. Oh, that's too good. A thousand year age difference, and she was only 100 and change. Oh, Kami." Kouga stumbles back against the wall, howling with laughter.
"What's wrong with the wolf?" InuYasha asks as he steps into the room, seeing said wolf now crumpled on his side on the floor, tears streaming from his eyes and his arms locked around his middle, his brother's face is contorted in disgust and irritation, and Kagome is laughing, clutching her son in her lap, trying not to fall over like the wolf did.
"It is nothing, they have merely lost their minds." the inu lord growls out.
"Well, I doubt that..." the hanyou says, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh... Yash, oh Kami, it's, Sess, Kags, only a hundred, old man, Kami..." Kouga stutters out before giving up, collapsing into a heap again, howling once more.
"I was only about 100 when we mated, and Sess is nearly a thousand years older than me." Kagome chokes out, pausing to laugh again before gulping air down to finish. "If I were youkai, he would've mated a pup." she manages, falling against her very irate mate.
InuYasha blinks once. Twice. Three times, before erupting into raucous, belly splitting laughter and falling over next to the wolf, guffawing. Sesshoumaru stands up, nudging his mate over, making her fall onto her other side, shifting his daughter against his chest and striding from the room, seeking company that is less insane.
"Do not forget that you were sleeping with her before I mated her, ookami." he growls as he leaves the room, only succeeding in making them all laugh even harder.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Rin queries, holding her own daughter, Emica to her chest.
"Your mother and the two idiots have lost their minds." He glowers, continuing down the hallway. Rin stares after him for a moment, confused, before searching out her pack, meeting Kimiko at the door to her parents office, and seeing InuYasha, Kouga and Kagome all laying on the floor, in tears as they laugh, Daichi is the only one behaving normally as he sits next to his mother and plays with her hair.
"What in the world is going on?" Rin wonders aloud. The three laughing pause momentarily before erupting again. Kagome forces herself to sit up a bit and tries to calm herself enough to explain again, which she accomplishes, though it takes a few attempts.
Kimiko and Rin exchange glances before erupting in their own giggles. "Oh, no wonder he looked so upset." Rin remarks.
"Indeed, the poor pup has never been able to handle being laughed at, and this. This certainly is cause for a good laugh. My poor put upon son." Kimiko's chuckles echo down the hall as she turns to leave.