Chapter 32

Kagome stomped her foot, little hands fisted by her side. Sesshomaru looked down at the woman with a raised eyebrow. It did not bother him that her anger was directed towards him. He would not budge when it came to her safety.

"There is no way I am going to stay here locked away." She walked up to him, pushing her finger into his chest, and he growled, grabbing her wrist, firmly but gently. "I am going with all of you, and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

InuYasha, who had been allowed into the castle with the promise that he would behave, was stunned. He didn't realize his brother had a soft bone in his body but watching the way he allowed Kagome to act told him otherwise. Miroku and Sango sat beside him, still not used to the sight of Sesshomaru being so lenient with anyone.

"You will do as I say, Miko. You w-"

"You don't own me Sesshomaru. I may be your mate, but that doesn't put me below you. I have a say in what I am going to do as well." She refused to back down on the subject. She wasn't going to be locked away with the children. She may be pregnant, but that didn't make her weak.

"You test me, Miko." Sesshomaru reached up, trailing his hand threw Kagome's hair until he fisted it at the back of her head. He was gentle, causing no pain, and only forcing her to look at him. "I am your mate; your protection is of the utmost importance. You will stay in the Shiro with my mother and the children."

"I have as much fight in this as the rest of you. Plus, I am the only one that can see the jewel shards." Reaching up, she pulled his hand from her hair, and then looked to the others, who were looking anywhere but at them. "What do you guys think? You think I should be thrown away as well?"

"Not thrown away, but protected." Sango smiled sadly at her friend, wincing when Kagome looked away with defeat in her eyes.

"You are in a fragile state, Dear Kagome. It is a guarantee that fighting will happen. We simply wish to protect you." Miroku tried to be soothing, but he didn't miss the tears that escaped from her eyes.

"Keh. She's pregnant, not broken." InuYasha shrugged his shoulders, and she looked at him with a hopeful gaze. "She can stand away from the battles and use her arrows as a long-distance weapon. Not to mention, here the only protection she has is the castle. Wakanda can't see past her breast, and Satori is too scared of Sesshomaru to come anywhere near any of us right now. If she came with us, she would be more protected than if she stayed."

"Thank you, InuYasha." Kagome looked back to Sesshomaru, her eyes pleading. She rubbed her hands over his chest, twisting her fist into his haori. "In my time, pregnant women are just as active as those who don't carry. They do sports, work, and keep up with their normal daily activities. I'll stay by you or InuYasha, and I know I will be safe. Please Sesshomaru, I don't want to be left behind. I don't want to be weak."

She gave him that look. The one with the wide watery eyes and he growled, hating that damned gaze. He looked away in defeat, and she squealed, wrapping her hands around his neck. He rumbled, closing his arms around her, and holding her tightly. "You do as I say, Koneko. I will keep you safe, but you must obey."

The truth was, he didn't want to leave her behind anyway. The thought of being gone for long periods of time didn't sit well with him. She had died, and now she carried his heir. He wanted her by him, wanted her scent to engulf him. He worried for the safety of his mate and pup, but InuYasha was right. The safest place for her was with him.

She nodded, leaning up onto her tippy toes to kiss him. He growled once more, and the others looked away with a blush. It was going to take a lot more time getting used to seeing the two like that. Especially seeing Sesshomaru being affectionate. That was a new one completely.

"We rest tonight. Dawn we will begin our travels once more."

…

"What are your plans for when you rule the East?" The council member who spoke tossed a grape in his mouth. He looked to his brother, a fellow council member. "I know when I take the North, the first thing I'm going to do is make a harem. The women in the north are beautiful don't you think?'

"Perhaps you should think with another part of your body." The oldest member scowled; his wrinkled face scrunched up in disgust. "There is more than a used cunt to worry about. Lords we may be, but you must care for your lands. If you do not, soon you won't have any at all."

The youngest, the original speaker scoffed. "I'll be rich and surrounded by beautiful women. I'll just hire whoever I need to care for my lands and live off of the money earned. I wouldn't have to lift a finger. It will be perfect."

"Only if our plan succeeds." A different council member jumped into the conversation. He smacked the backside of a priestess, watching as she crawled to the next council member. She was completely naked, wiping away the tears and cum off of her face. "I think you are both correct. We should stick our noses in matters enough to be known as Lord, but not so much that we can't enjoy the riches of our labors." He tucked himself back into the robes and then leaned back on the cushion.

"Will we keep the slaves?" The youngest who was eagerly pulling his cock out smiled wicked at the woman. She wasted no time beginning to pleasure the male. She wanted to live, or not feel the biting pain of the collar around her neck.

"Of course. They are our weapon. Ours to do with as we please." The member who had just finished closed his eyes, relaxing in his post-orgasmic bliss. "We need to make sure this is going to happen. Sesshomaru is strong, as is his mother."

"We cannot discredit InuYasha either." The fourth council member had a hand to his chin, looking out the window.

"The hanyou. He-" The youngest let out a groan, finishing quickly into the woman's mouth. He panted, waving her off when none of the other members showed an interest in her. "Anyway. He is a half breed. We can take care of him easily."

"Do not be fooled by his human blood. He still carries the blood of the Inu no Taisho. He carries his father's fang and has killed demons that should have been able to do away with him easily. According to our sources, he also travels with a demon slayer, Monk, and Miko. All of which could cause a problem." The oldest once again looked to the youngest with a scowl. "You must think, you fool."

"Fuck you. By the time we get Japan to ourselves, you'll be nothing but dust you old bastard." The youngest stood, fixing his robes from when he had been pleasured.

"Calm down, both of you." The last council member lifted his head, hating that they seemed to never get along. His relaxed peace didn't last long. "We sent Lyra to target the Miko. Perhaps we can send another. If Lyra should fail, we will have a backup plan."

"I know just the person. The lord will never see them coming."

…

Kagome was bent over, heaving the lunch she had just eaten into the bushes. Tears ran down her face as Sango held her hair, rubbing her back. Sesshomaru was standing beside her, a little unsure of what to do in this situation.

It was the first time Kagome had experienced morning sickness. Or at least a weaker stomach. She had been feeling unsettled all day, but when Sesshomaru killed a demon that had attacked them and literally left the fool in pieces, Kagome had been unable to hold her food down.

"Looks like your going to have to kill those bastards prettily." InuYasha scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The thought of killing had Kagome heaving once more, and Sesshomaru smacked his brother with his whip on the chest.

Miroku knelt beside Kagome, an herb on one hand and a water skin in the other. "Here, Lady Kagome. Rinse your mouth with the water, and the eat the herb. It will help with nausea. I will be sure to pick plenty, so you do not have to suffer so much."

"Thank you, Miroku." When Kagome leaned back onto her knees, she took both from the monk. He gave her a kind smile and then stood, digging through his robes for something else. Finding what he was looking for, he handed her an herb she recognized. Mint. Blushing she took it and ate it as well, making sure to rub it all over her teeth and tongue to get rid of the vomit.

"Perhaps you should retu-"

"Do not finish that sentence, Sesshomaru." Kagome glared up at her mate, noticing the way his lips thinned in both aggravation and concern. She sighed, and then stood on shaky legs. The moment she stepped towards him, he grabbed her up, pulling her to his chest. "I'll be okay, Sesshomaru. This is just apart of pregnancy. Right now, I can't watch you kill. Eventually, I may not even be able to handle certain scents. Every woman is different."

"Hn, Indeed. However, I am still concerned about your safety. Yokai females do not have the same symptoms." He grabbed her chin, making her look up at him. "Teach me all there is to know about human pregnancies."

"You better know about demonic pregnancies as well." InuYasha wagged a finger at both Kagome and Sesshomaru. "As far as I know, mother's pregnancy with me was harder than normal. It was like a combination of the two. I sapped her energy because I was a yokai, plus she had the normal symptoms that humans do."

"There are many things we will have to watch out for." Miroku had a hand to his chin in thought. "However, as Kagome has mentioned, there is no way of knowing what symptoms she will suffer from until they occur. So, we watch and prepare as best as we can."

"And don't rip out people's throats." InuYasha sent a pointed glare at Sesshomaru. Kagome's face paled again, and the daiyokai rubbed her back, growling lowly to calm her.

"This Sesshomaru will try to kill more… discreetly." That was not something Sesshomaru ever thought he would say. Fighting the urge to sigh, he placed a large hand over Kagome's belly as she leaned into him. It was worth it. Picking her up bridal style, he let her rest against him, and then turned, knowing the others would follow him. They would continue their journey while he let Kagome rest.

…

Lyra's eyes widened in shock. The little Miko was pregnant. The lord of the West had an heir on the way. As shocking as that was, she was still reeling from the entire encounter she just saw. A pregnant Miko and an affectionate Sesshomaru.

This was turning out to be completely different than she thought.

With a scowl, she turned away, jumping from limb to limb to put some distance between her and the group. Had she gone any closer Sesshomaru would have sensed her. She needed to think about what she just learned and decide what to do from here. She also had to make sure the council didn't find out about the baby. If they did, they would want it killed before it could be born. With a sigh, she accepted that her task had just gotten a lot more difficult.