A/N: I know someone asked if the twin shrine familiars were named from kingdom hearts and I can't recall at the moment who, but the answer is no. I just wanted names with water related meanings. I try to keep my made up names in relation to what their demon type/clan is. for instance, the new name here in this chapter! Google if you're interested.
ALSO, quick PSA from your local, loving, neighborly healthcare worker weeb: GO GET VACCINATED ALREADY. My hospital, and every single other one, is packed with unvaccinated covid patients. please do it. AND YOU STILL NEED TO WEAR A MASK IN PUBLIC, INDOOR PLACES. LIKE THE GROCERY STORE.
thank you, love ya
sploosh
"But!" Rin was being escorted by her shoulders into Kaede's home when Sesshomaru arrived in Edo.
"No buts!" Sango shut down the teen's excuses, pushing the gangly girl inside. "There you are, Lord Sesshomaru." She greeted him with a slight bow.
"Hn," He acknowledged her, his eyes still on the doorway of Kaede's home. "What has transpired?" This only elicited a sigh from the young mother, which worried him further.
"Caught her and my brother kissing a minute ago. I heard Kirara nearby and went to welcome them back, only to find," Sango glowered at Kohaku behind him, "This idiot and Rin sucking face!"
"Sucking face?" Kohaku blushed, flabbergasted by the crude phrasing. "Gross!"
Sesshomaru eyed the siblings with a pensive stare. Both were far too comfortable in his presence to strike fear into. Despite Kaede caring for Rin in his stead, it was Sango who mothered her. He often sought her out when he would come to visit, just to hear the things Rin wouldn't readily divulge.
"It's a Kagome term." Sango explained, rolling her eyes. "Now you," Sango grabbed her brother by the collar of his slayer attire, "Go hunt some dinner for your nieces and nephew. You want to act like an adult? You better get used to the idea of hunting to feed the multiple mouths you apparently are so eager to start making." She shoved him away, smacking the back of his head for good measure.
"Ow!"
"Oh, hush," She bit out before turning to the ever stoic Lord before her, "I think it's best you deliver her into town yourself from now on. I don't like the thought of them sneaking around."
"Agreed."
"What's with the basket?" Sango pointed, just now recognizing that he'd been carrying anything at all. Before he could reply, she put two and two together. "Oh, it's Kaede's. Kagome and Shippou were out foraging."
"Where is the priestess?" Sesshomaru knew he could follow his nose, but as he'd learned with Rin, sometimes asking a close friend before approaching the person in question could give better insight as to what to expect from them.
"Try the river beyond the rice fields." Sango absently rubbed at her pregnant belly, "Shippou often leaves for that fox academy and follows the river back. Kagome went to see him off."
"Hn," He nodded his thanks, offering the basket to her, "See that this gets back to the elder priestess."
"Of course." She accepted the basket, "I'll keep an eye on Rin in the meantime."
Sesshomaru headed off in the direction of the river, ignoring Sango's husband and her tribe of children as they approached. He didn't mind the monk, but he did mind their children. Inuyasha was frequently mauled by their twins, so he kept his distance just in case.
"Ah, good seeing you, Lord Sesshomaru!" Miroku knew to steer his children onward, passing him by with a nod. He bounced Hisui gently as he walked with his twin daughters running circles around his feet. He managed the chaos of fatherhood well.
Miroku kissed his wife and offered her the baby. They ignored the prattle of their toddlers as they both watched Sesshomaru depart in the direction of the farming fields.
"What was that about?" Miroku asked, scooping up both twins under his arms to stop them from making themselves sick with dizziness. They giggled harder, thinking the intervention was a game.
"He must have finally heard about Kagome." Sango frowned, absently bouncing her youngest for comfort.
"I can't imagine the man she described him to be." Miroku recalled the bits of information Sango had shared with him. Of course, she only told as much as she felt necessary. This dilemma was still Kagome's alone to share.
"Weirdly enough, I can see it." Sango's strange alliance with the great Lord of The West was one made by common ground: parenting. Without their children, she couldn't see herself swapping tips on how to talk to teenage girls, or what to expect from a human menstrual cycle. "Now he's just got two kids."
"Mm," Miroku saw her point, "Perhaps our children will marry as well?"
"Oh shut it," Sango rolled her eyes, heading back into Kaede's home, "You know Kagome is going back the first chance she gets."
"Kagome is here?" Rin perked up from where she sat on the corner, warming herself by the cooking fire.
"That she is." Miroku entered close behind his wife, hauling his two daughters like luggage under his arms. He plopped them down next to Rin to make her their next victim.
"Well I've got to see her!" Rin fought to keep the twins from climbing up her torso and onto her head.
"When she comes back from seeing Shippou off to school." Sango and Miroku sat close against the adjacent wall, huddling their bodies together to warm their baby at a safe distance from the fire.
"Shippou is here, too?" Rin managed to get one girl off her back, but the other was still yanking her free arm. "I'm gonna miss seeing him!"
"Maybe you shouldn't have been kissing boys in trees, then you wouldn't have missed Shippou and Kagome." Sango reprimanded the teenager. They often got along, and Rin was usually respectful, but she'd gained a rebellious streak since falling in love with Kohaku.
"Maybe I'll just go get more firewood!" Rin shot across the room quicker than either highly trained fighter could react, unable to drop their kids in order to chase after her.
"That girl," Sango didn't even try to chase after her, "I swear."
"I could go after her," Miroku was tempted to, but his preference was clear, "But she won't beat Sesshomaru there, and he'll know she's approaching far before she sees him."
"True." Sango sighed in resignation, relaxing into her husband's embrace once more, all while keeping a watchful eye on her tussling twins.
"I'll come back at the end of spring, I promise." Shippou pleaded with Kagome, "You swear you won't leave before then?"
"You have my word." Kagome hugged the tiny foxling harder. "I'll just miss you in more ways than one while you're away."
"I'll train my hardest, Mama!" Shippou's eyes flooded with determined tears. She had told him how strong and powerful he would become. He couldn't let her down.
"I know you will." She released Shippou as he leapt towards the ground. He was already running full speed along the riverbank, leaving tiny paw prints in the snow.
Kagome turned back toward the village eagerly. It was far too cold out, and Sesshomaru was still nearby. She could sense it. In fact, it seemed he was coming for her. She tried to prepare herself for his arrival. It was hard to remember him presently when all she had come to know was his future self. His long hair, icy stare, and rigid frame somehow tore down any resolve she had managed to salvage.
He must be just beyond the hill, she realized. Once she cleared the top, she'd have a nice wide view of the snowed over rice fields that framed the West end of Edo. She tried to remember how many times they had crossed paths on this side of town, with him scouting the borders of his lands, and her either coming from or going to the well. He hadn't killed her in any opportunity presented prior to this moment, including seeing him just an hour before when he found out she was pregnant.
"Priestess."
She took a deep breath. As long as she stayed in control of herself, she'd be able to harness her new ability to see his emotions. It would be her greatest asset in handling him at his current age.
"I knew you were nearby." Kagome feigned a polite smile, coming down the hill to greet him.
"Why did you come here?" He was curious, and it showed. Ripples of a hazy aqua curled over his shoulders. It was barely visible, but she could recognize it.
"Truthfully?" She was embarrassed to admit it, "I actually fell in. I was trying to prevent someone from coming in through the well, but he faked me out and I dove after him," She rushed her words, and reminded herself to breathe. Much more slowly, she added, "Only he ducked, and I went in."
"Would he have been capable?" Sesshomaru was familiar with the basics of their well's functions. Only Inuyasha and herself had ever traveled through time via the dry well's portal.
"I," Kagome stammered, "I really don't know, but I do know he intended to change the past. Or, that's what he had me believe."
"Perhaps this was his plan." Sesshomaru was speaking to her civilly, she realized. She scanned his form as he spoke, "You are here, already changing history with your presence, and that one's, alone." His eyes had dropped to her belly. She blushed, and crossed her arms.
"You're probably right. Maybe he thought you would kill me." Kagome joked nervously, still waiting for a new color to enter his aura.
"I do not do what others expect of me." Sesshomaru admitted, "I will bring you no harm, but your life, and it's, are not my responsibility."
So that's what this all came down to. Only a foggy morning gray floated around him. He truly didn't care if she lived or died. He was removing himself entirely from the equation. It made sense to her, if she were choosing to think from a third party view. However, if she chose to think of his situation, as if it were her in his shoes, she would pick differently.
"I see." She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Her eyes cast down, and she subconsciously fiddled with the hem of her sleeves. She struggled with an idea she'd been mulling over for since she'd arrived back in the past. "Unless," Kagome eyed him carefully, taking sure steps closer to his person. He would never step back from someone as small as her, even to preserve his personal space. It would make him look weak. She was betting on his stubbornness. He was so close now, he was towering over her head, craning his neck down to maintain mildly hostile eye contact. "Unless you would be interested in knowing about the future?"
"I do not seek what I already know." He meant her, and their relationship, but she meant so much more.
"I was thinking more along the lines of this war." Kagome saw spikes of a more solid teal strike through his aura. He was interested. "I need help in turning the tides."
"What do you know?"
"Kagome!" Rin barreled into Kagome's back, knocking the pregnant woman into Sesshomaru's chest. The intent had been rambunctious affection, but the result was rather awkward.
Kagome looked up from where she'd clung to his armor, her face taking on many shades of red for many different reasons. It seemed even in this time she couldn't prevent ending up face first into his torso.
Rin released the older girl, but the warmth of another's body didn't leave her person entirely. Sesshomaru had a single arm around her shoulders. Kagome regained her footing, no longer bracing the weight and impact of one tiny Rin. He removed his arm once she was standing independently.
"Rin," Sesshomaru's tone was scolding enough, "Apologize."
"Oops!" Rin bowed at the waist to Kagome, "I'm so sorry Lady Kagome, please forgive me." She rose from her bow, and her eyes sparkled, "This Rin missed you." She spoke in third person for old times' sake.
"Look at how you've grown!" Kagome gushed over her, "I can't believe how tall you are. You're almost as tall as me!"
"You should see how tall Kohaku is," Rin's beaming smile told her everything she needed to know; she was already smitten with the boy, "I barely reach his shoulders."
"Barely? How would you know?" Kagome teased, and Rin flushed prettily.
"Lady Kagome, please, come to Kaede's. I have so much to show you. Lord Sesshomaru brought me to the West to gather supplies and I have much that needs unpacking." Rin grabbed her hand, ready to venture off together, but Kagome resisted the pull, feeling a stare at the back of her head.
"Priestess," Sesshomaru's voice was like a wave of calm through the exuberance between the two girls. "Tell me, who was it?"
"Lord Kaito Shi." Kagome knew who he meant. Her eyes read him like an open book now. There were waves of blackened hatred now, swirling into the very same color his eyes turned when he'd lose control. His anger shook her to the core.
Rin could feel the tension in the air over their discussion and remained quiet, holding onto Kagome's hand patiently. The name was familiar to her, in a way that adults often whispered it like it was the plague.
"I accept." Kagome held her breath. He hadn't even heard the terms of their agreement.
"What an honor." She regained composure, bowing to him.
Rin eyed the two precariously. It had been a few years since she'd felt this unsettling feeling over a name. Just hearing Naraku's name from afar could make every muscle in her body tense. Only it wasn't quite Kaito Shi that she could recall recently.
"We hunt Shinkai Shi at sunrise." He wasn't negotiating, but that was fine with Kagome. She didn't have much time before she grew too big to be of any help.
"I'll see you at dawn." Kagome's hand was tightly clasped with Rin's. The smaller girl's eyes widened at the name spoken. This was the one she'd heard whispered lately. Not so much out here in the countryside, but in the Western Fortress. His name was around every corner, at every meal, from every adult in earshot. Fear sank her gut. Rin tightened her hold on Kagome, which brought her attention back to the child latched onto her. "Come on," She put on a brave smile for Rin, "Let's go see what you brought back from the West."
