Chapter 17- It Is Done
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story expect Tristis, Astoria, Maaya, Masako, Ikue, Mitsuki, and Tamiko. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them.
Rin knew all about Lady Ikue, she had heard so much about her from the servants of the house, that she felt as if she knew her. The young exterminator also knew that Sesshoumaru had loved her deeply and still carried the pain that his mother's death had caused him. She didn't even think her love could repair the hurt that would always lie there.
She sat in the chair, watching her mate being comforted my slender pale hands. If the demoness hadn't been Sesshoumaru's mother, Rin would have been pissed as hell and would have yanked the woman away from her mate, her possessiveness over the demon lord would not yield in her weakened state. However, the woman was her mate's mother and Rin was still recovering from the shock that the purple light, Sesshoumaru's mother, had been inside her. It did explain a few things but it also confused the pregnant woman even more.
Tamiko looked over at her. She didn't need to use any of her powers to know that Rin and the others were very confused about the events they had seen unfold in front of them. The queen cleared her throat, "Lady Ikue, I believe you should explain some things to your daughter in-law before we proceed."
"Yes, I believe you're right."
Ikue calmly let go of her son and smiled warmly at him as he stood, proud as he had ever been. She looked past him to gaze at her rightful confused daughter in-law. The girl was more than worthy of her son, she was his equal, and now the demoness felt deep remorse for ever thinking during her life that Astoria was the one for Sesshoumaru. Her words had caused so much damage but she hoped to correct that now.
"Please, I would like to explain everything to you."
Once the group had sat down again in Tamiko's chairs, Lady Ikue took her seat in the chair once occupied by the queen. Everything about her screamed of her breeding. Even the slightest mannerism, such as adjusting the hem of her kimono, proved just how proper and lady like she was, and yet, she seemed to do it all without the slightest hint of being snobby. Kagome and Inuyasha had met many nobles, demon and human, during their travels, and none were like Lady Ikue.
"First of all, let me apologize for all the confusion and pain I have brought you all. It was never my intent to do so and I hope my future deeds will act as my repentance."
Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Lady Ikue I'm afraid we don't understand."
The miko was given a sweet smile. "I have been dead for very long time, but my spirit could not rest because there were several things that I regretted in my life. There was also the fact that I knew of the future before it happened, I had to change some things because my knowledge changed them.
"Sesshoumaru, do you remember my rule concerning Andromeda?" When her silent son nodded she continued. "I enforced that rule on you because during my mating to your father, I found this place. I was always very good at masking my presence, my father dreamed of me being his ultimate spy, but I never had any interest in war. Having a family was all I ever wanted in life." A sad smile appeared but quickly disappeared when she smelled Sesshoumaru's discomfort. "Excuse me, no fairies were around and I stumbled on Tamiko watching a vision from that lake."
"I still can't believe a demon snuck up on me," clearly Queen Tamiko was still angry at herself for it. "That stupid incident ruined a few destinies, I'm sure."
"The vision I saw was of a very unhappy Sesshoumaru mated to Astoria."
Rin saw red while her mate actually dropped his mask and looked outright disgusted. "Mother I would never take that lowly bitch as my mate."
Tamiko snorted, "You would have if your mother hadn't seen it, you would have taken her as your mate like the clans would have wanted you to. You are the strongest male they have and she was the strongest female, they hoped the union would unite the clans and your pups would strengthen future litters."
"When I saw that, I demanded that Tamiko show me your future Sesshoumaru, I also saw mine." Sadness once again filtered into her scent, and it took her longer to curb it, it did nothing but pain her son. "Tamiko warned me that it was very dangerous for me to witness any of it because it was natural for me to try and alter it, she knew it would lead to many horrible things. I did not listen, I was desperate to prevent my son's misery."
"This is foolish! I will not sit here any longer and listen to one women want to murder one of my pups, while the other says I was never meant to be Sesshoumaru's mate."
The demon lord laid his hand on one of Rin's trembling hands. She was angry and hurt, she knew people would disapprove of their union, but to have someone tell her that they were never meant to be together... It was too much for her. Rin had always believed they were meant to be mates, Sesshoumaru had told her that for years, it was true. No damn lake or a fairy or even his mother was going to tell her otherwise.
"I never said you were not meant to be with him, dear. Your scent calls out to him, he knows you are his true mate, that is why he saved you when you were a child. You just would have met him under different circumstances if I had not interfered."
Tamiko smirked and bit back a laugh. "Lord Sesshoumaru would have actually done what his father had done. He would have mated Astoria but he would never be truly happy until he met you Lady Rin. You were, however, married with two small boys but that would not have stopped your attraction to your lord. He knew the moment he smelled your scent that you were his but the sins of his father plagued the relationship you two were to have. Your marriage and his guilt ruined what should have been true love, and you both were unhappy in that future."
"Did I exist in that timeline?"
The queen looked at Inuyasha a little surprised but not too much. She figured the half-breed would eventually ask. "Yes, you did, but you were a bit different. Your birth had to happen or Kikyou's soul would have been more bitter than you had known her."
Before Inuyasha could comment on that Sesshoumaru spoke, "Mother if you had previous knowledge to Father's betrayal, why did you not leave him at that time? Why did you stay with him when you knew he would break your vows? Or why did you not stop it from happening? You could have demanded him to stay with you or force yourself along on his journeys."
"Inuyasha was too important. This woman named Kikyou would have gone mad and destroyed everything in her path, if Inuyasha had not been then to balance her out. Eventually she would be killed in a battle similar to the battle Midoriko had experienced when she had made that jewel. I had to let Inuyasha be born, or this girl's soul would have been in torment forever," Ikue gestured to a bewildered Kagome. "I wanted to demand that your father no longer go on his journeys, but I could not deny this young man's life."
The half breed stared at the demoness, "You died to protect me. You knew you were going to die for a half-breed that broke up your marriage."
"I did not know I was going to die in that battle, but I would not change a thing. As a child, you Inuyasha, brought my son great joy, and I would never change that."
Rin pulled her hands away from her mate's and placed then on her belly. One was a boy, she was sure of it. The other pup seemed very docile, making her assume it was a girl. However, knowing her luck it would be the opposite, or she would just have girls. It wasn't that she didn't want a girl, she knew that Sesshoumaru wanted a son. "What happens now?"
The former Lady of the Western Lands, cleared her throat and stood. She was in front of Rin before she could even lift her head. "I beg you for your forgiveness, Rin. I so wanted to change Sesshoumaru's future that I caused you great pain, I did not understand Tamiko's final warning until it was too late."
"What do you mean?"
"I knew he would only be happy with you so I wanted to make sure you met him early in your life. In order to ensure this, I had to let you go through great pains. That is why you had to see your family die in front of you, have villagers beat you, and die by wolves; and to make matters worse, years of abuse are what caused you not to be able to carry a pup full term. A human child is very hard to carry, but a demon pup, especially the pup of Sesshoumaru, was too much strain on your body. I did not realize this until after I died. That is why I refused to move on and demanded to know when and where your birth would take place."
Rin stared into her eyes, eyes that were nothing like her mate's. "You were the purple light in me, the presence that everyone felt but no one knew what it was."
"Yes," a warm smile greeted her brown eyes, "I wanted to protect you as much as I could. You were to be my daughter and I wanted to be with you and see how happy you made my son. So please, I beg your forgiveness for the pain I caused you."
"I could never blame you for anything, because of you, I was able to grow up with my mate and he provided me with a childhood better than my own family could have."
Ikue laughed, tears were in her eyes, but her laughter was of joy. She looked at her son and once again placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "You have chosen well, she will give you strong pups. Well, I think we should do the ritual Tamiko, don't you think?"
The queen folded her arms to rest underneath her breasts. "And what ritual do you have in mind, Lady Ikue? I have already told them of the only ritual I know and they were just about to leave."
"I'm not surprised, when a dog demon feels that one of their pups are threatened they forget logic and just want to attack whatever is threatening their offspring."
Sesshoumaru stood and laid a hand on his mother's shoulder before speaking, "Mother do you know a way to help Rin without hurting our pups?"
"Of course Sesshoumaru, that is why I am here. Rin, dear, stand up and walk over to Tamiko. Kagome, I know you are now a half demon but you do have your priestess powers do you not?" When she was given a positive response, she continued, "Good, then please go with Rin, you will need to form a barrier around us when I begin. Inuyasha, I am depending on you to keep Sesshoumaru away while I am transferring my spirit energy to her. Rin will most likely scream in pain and the pups will react as if they are dying, though they will not be harmed, it will take all your energy to keep him from stopping the process."
"Your spirit? Isn't that what you are now?"
Tamiko gave a wary look at the demoness before saying, "Lady Rin is right, wouldn't your blood do the trick?"
"What you see now is my soul, not my spirit, they are actually quite different. My blood has long since left me, I shed all the blood I had the day I died so I have none to give. It is the demon spirit that makes us demons, not our blood. Once I have done this, I will be very weak and will finally be able to rest."
Sesshoumaru looked at his mother, knowing she would once again leave him but the demon took comfort that she would not leave in pain and regret. He bowed to her and then sat on the floor. "Inuyasha, draw your sword and stand in front of me. Not even this Sesshoumaru will be able stop my reactions to my mate's pain."
The younger brother nodded and reached for his sword. His clawed hand rested at the hilt and found himself unable to unsheathe it, or unwilling, he couldn't think straight. When he had invited himself of his brother's quest he had made a silent vow to never draw his sword or claws against Sesshoumaru, and yet here he was, getting ready to battle his brother. The rationale part of Inuyasha told him that he really wasn't fighting against his brother, he was only protecting Rin and Ikue from him. The other part of the half-breed screamed that it was wrong. Inuyasha took his vows very seriously and being told to go against his older brother was killing him.
Sesshoumaru saw the emotions playing on his little brother's face. He understood what the younger one was feeling, he felt similar emotions when he decided that Inuyasha was dead to him and had to kill the physical form of him to let his little brother rest. He wanted to tell him to snap out of it and do as he was told, and was just about to do so, when sad amber eyes looked up into his own.
His order died in his throat when those eyes locked his and suddenly the demon lord no longer saw his brother as he was at the moment. Instead, the Inuyasha he had helped raised, the one with innocence and happiness coming from him, stood in front of him and Sesshoumaru wanted nothing more than to protect him.
Flashbacks
In his father's study he found the small pup on the floor wailing and pushing his mother aside. Their father stood in front of them with utter rage flashing in his eyes.
Inuyasha noticed his brother immediately and flung himself in his waiting arms. "Sesshoumaru!"
He caught the small bundle and glared at the two adults.
Without another word he carried his brother out of there and into his room. The little pup looked at him with childish worship and jumped around while the older one prepared for dinner. After promising to take him out early tomorrow to explore the forest surrounding their home and telling him of his adventures, Sesshoumaru had Jaken take his beloved little brother to prepare for dinner as well.
"Please don't leave Sesshoumaru! Why do you fight with Father so much? If you didn't fight then we could play all the time and you wouldn't leave!"
"I'm scared Sesshoumaru...."
"Shhh, I'm right here."
"Why did they say that?"
"They're ignorant fools."
"But what did they mean about only being half brothers? We're both Father's sons."
"We have different mothers, the only parent we share is Father."
Inuyasha's little scrunched up in thought and stopped walking. He didn't seem to notice Sesshoumaru had walked back towards him until his older brother's hand rested on his little head. He snatched the clawed hand and rested his hand against it. The sizes were different but that was because Sesshoumaru was older. They both had fangs, they both had silver hair, and they're eyes were the same as well. But they were different, Inuyasha knew that. He never thought the differences were a big deal until that man had said so. He looked at his big brother with a pout and sad amber eyes.
"Listen to me," Sesshoumaru picked him up so that they could look into each other's eyes. "We are brothers, it is as simple as that. No one can ever change that and Kami help the fool that thinks otherwise. Brothers stick together and I, Sesshoumaru, will always protect you."
A baby fanged smile greeted him, "And I'll protect you!"
"As if I would need some puppy to protect me. Knowing you I would end up having to save you."
"No! I'm going to be stronger than both you and Father!"
A small, tiny really, smirk was given to the proud pup, "Not if you can't keep up with me."
The oldest run a short distance away and almost laughed at his little brother's confused face. Inuyasha shrieked with laughter and ran after his brother, screaming that he would catch him.
End Flashbacks
"When this is over I except a rematch with you Inuyasha. That hole I put in your chest could have been done better, I held back too much."
An annoyed look came across the younger brother's face. "Feh, you'll be luck if I don't cut off that arm again!"
A look of understanding passed between the two brothers and Inuyasha too his sword. He looked over at the women of the group, "Ok get it started so we can go spar."
Ikue smiled and then put her hands on Rin's shoulders. "Kagome put up the barrier and Rin, please relax as much as possible."
Thanks to her years of training, the priestess was able to put up the barrier without much trouble. She smiled at her mate's back and gave a thumbs up to her brother in-law. She was sure the demon lord wanted to roll his eyes but felt that doing so would be too much of a human thing, such things were beneath him.
Rin heard Tamiko whisper to her mother in-law that she hoped she knew what she was doing, and Rin more than agreed with that. She became aware of a purple light surrounding the two of them and she assumed that it was Ikue's doing because Kagome's barrier was always white. She had seen it when the priestess had gone into battle and when Sango was delivering her little girl.
A little girl, she should have had two sons and a daughter to join the two pups she had in her now. She knew nothing of religion but if there was a higher being, she prayed to it that this would work. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out when the stinging in her chest began to intensify. There were a few scars on her body, nothing serious, but they had been pain when the wounds had been made, she had even had some poison injected in her before, but this... The Lady of the Western Lands felt as if her soul was being ripped apart.
The pups began to kick at her womb and Kami, or whatever, help her, but she could feel their screams. Perhaps Astoria was right, they felt as if they were trying to claw their way out of her womb. Her body hurt and she feared for her pups. She wanted to scream, and eventually did so when her bloody lip could no longer take the torture she had been giving it. Her screams mirrored the screams Sango had made when giving birth.
Tears ran down her cheeks and her screams just grew louder as Ikue pressed her palms down harder on her small shoulders. A roar filled her ears and she didn't need to open her eyes to know that Sesshoumaru was trying to force himself to where she was standing. He had always promised to protect her, and that's what he had been trying to do.
Inuyasha thought his older brother had been a tough opponent before, but now, those fights were mere spats compared to Sesshoumaru's rage. He knew very well that Sesshoumaru didn't want to hurt anyone there but, his mate was screaming in pain and apparently the pups were crying out for their father as well.
The full blooded demon's eyes had gone red and snarled at the half-breed in front of him. From his scent he knew that the male in front of him was his kin, but he didn't understand why his brother was keeping him from his mate. His mind wasn't so gone that he didn't know who the people were, but he didn't care about them at the moment. His mate was dying and so were his pups, he needed to protect them. Protecting them was tied with producing pups, as his primary responsibility and his little brother was shaming him in front of his mate.
"Inuyasha hold him back! He's not fighting that much because he still knows who you are!"
If Sesshoumaru's poison had almost hit him in the face, the half breed would have snarled at his mate and called her a stupid bitch. He knew exactly what was wrong with his brother and didn't need his mate screaming the obvious at him.
"It hurts.... Make it stop! Sess...."
"Don't!" Ikue was beginning to feel very weak but her voice was still strong. "If you call out for him directly he will kill everyone and everything in this forest. I am almost done, just a few seconds longer...."
Rin swallowed her cries for her mate and hugged herself. A few seconds ... seconds always seemed to last longer. She sobbed painfully and then dug her fingernails into Ikue's arms. Imagine her shock when she felt her claws dig into the noble lady's arms.
Ikue took a deep breath and would have fallen to the floor if Tamiko hadn't grabbed her. Rin looked down at her hands and couldn't stop staring at the claws she now had. She felt, different, stronger ... she no longer felt human. Her hair was still brown, but it was longer and thicker. Everything about her body felt so taunt and her hips and chest seemed to have gotten just a bit bigger. She almost giggled at her thought of Sesshoumaru really liking that part.
The pups began to move within her and she gave a slight cry. They were still alive and seemed much healthier. She didn't know how she knew that but she did. She would have twirled in delight, like she used to when she was a child, but strong arms pulled her up and close to a hard chest.
Golden eyes scanned her and sniffed at her. A small lick and nip was given to her jaw bone and Rin found herself throwing her arms around her mate's neck. Her fingers clutched his silver hair and she whispered, "What color are my eyes?"
"Brown."
She giggled, "I had hoped they stay brown." He gave a grunt and she knew he agreed.
He kept his tight hold on his small, now full demon mate and looked at his panting mother. He wanted to thank her but all the words that came to mind seemed inferior for someone like his mother. Ikue smiled from her position on the ground in Tamiko's arms. "It is done."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, drama, angst, and even a little bit of fluff. First of all Rin is not the reincarnation of Ikue. It would be really gross to have Sess being mated/married to someone that has his mother's soul. What the others saw was her soul and while she was in Rin, she was merely using Rin as a host, Rin has her own soul. The flashbacks that Sesshoumaru had in this chapter are scenes that will appear in the prequel that I'm still kind on iffy on writing. I have it planned out and I will most likely write it, posting it is just something I'm not sure about. Ok the next chapter is the last and is the epilogue. Hope you enjoyed this!
Badgerwolf: Thank you, Rin's response actually comes from my own opinions regarding abortion, so it was very personal to me. I'm so glad you and other's were not bothered by the slight OOC of Sesshoumaru, I just thought it fitted with the mood of the story and the way the flashbacks portrayed the relationship between Sees and Ikue, it was appropriate. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for the last chapter.
anhimals: I'm glad I was able to surprise someone about Ikue. I noticed that! Everyone makes Sess's mother such an evil person and I just didn't want to do that. I thought it would be such a twist to make Sess's mother almost perfect and have Inuyasha's mother kind of the evil one. Though I have shown that the distrust between the brothers was not entirely her fault, I wanted to explore that perhaps Inu's mom isn't as perfect as he claims or as the manga/anime portrays. Thank you, I had hoped this story was somewhat original and I'm glad someone thinks so.
Airen2: You and two friends of mine thought exactly the same thing, that Rin was the reincarnation of Ikue but no she's not. That just has an "ewww-ness" factor to me (almost as bad as the Sess/Kag pairing, I have issues with that). Yes, this chapter show how Rin and her pups are saved and I hoped you enjoyed this.
Dragon Man 180: Yes you were the only one to guess it and I was disappointed about that. I thought I dropped plenty of hints that she was the light. You were almost right about the blood thing, Ikue is sadly dead and has no blood to give to Rin. The whole spirit Vs soul thing might be confusing but the epilogue will explain that.
fireblazie: Hands a tissue Aww, I'm so happy everyone liked the scene with Sess and his mom. I loved how it came out and almost took it out at the last minute when I thought it was just too OOC for him. I'm so glad I hadn't.
angel of darkness flame: Congrats on your grades, some advice: when you go to college, just because you did great the first semester, don't slack off during the second. I had to learn the hard way, I played too much pool instead of going to Sociology class. Anyway thank you for your reviews! I hope this chapter met your expectations.
Also thank you so much to my other reviewers: Arafel2, Kerei Kitsune, and New Fan
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story expect Tristis, Astoria, Maaya, Masako, Ikue, Mitsuki, and Tamiko. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them.
Rin knew all about Lady Ikue, she had heard so much about her from the servants of the house, that she felt as if she knew her. The young exterminator also knew that Sesshoumaru had loved her deeply and still carried the pain that his mother's death had caused him. She didn't even think her love could repair the hurt that would always lie there.
She sat in the chair, watching her mate being comforted my slender pale hands. If the demoness hadn't been Sesshoumaru's mother, Rin would have been pissed as hell and would have yanked the woman away from her mate, her possessiveness over the demon lord would not yield in her weakened state. However, the woman was her mate's mother and Rin was still recovering from the shock that the purple light, Sesshoumaru's mother, had been inside her. It did explain a few things but it also confused the pregnant woman even more.
Tamiko looked over at her. She didn't need to use any of her powers to know that Rin and the others were very confused about the events they had seen unfold in front of them. The queen cleared her throat, "Lady Ikue, I believe you should explain some things to your daughter in-law before we proceed."
"Yes, I believe you're right."
Ikue calmly let go of her son and smiled warmly at him as he stood, proud as he had ever been. She looked past him to gaze at her rightful confused daughter in-law. The girl was more than worthy of her son, she was his equal, and now the demoness felt deep remorse for ever thinking during her life that Astoria was the one for Sesshoumaru. Her words had caused so much damage but she hoped to correct that now.
"Please, I would like to explain everything to you."
Once the group had sat down again in Tamiko's chairs, Lady Ikue took her seat in the chair once occupied by the queen. Everything about her screamed of her breeding. Even the slightest mannerism, such as adjusting the hem of her kimono, proved just how proper and lady like she was, and yet, she seemed to do it all without the slightest hint of being snobby. Kagome and Inuyasha had met many nobles, demon and human, during their travels, and none were like Lady Ikue.
"First of all, let me apologize for all the confusion and pain I have brought you all. It was never my intent to do so and I hope my future deeds will act as my repentance."
Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Lady Ikue I'm afraid we don't understand."
The miko was given a sweet smile. "I have been dead for very long time, but my spirit could not rest because there were several things that I regretted in my life. There was also the fact that I knew of the future before it happened, I had to change some things because my knowledge changed them.
"Sesshoumaru, do you remember my rule concerning Andromeda?" When her silent son nodded she continued. "I enforced that rule on you because during my mating to your father, I found this place. I was always very good at masking my presence, my father dreamed of me being his ultimate spy, but I never had any interest in war. Having a family was all I ever wanted in life." A sad smile appeared but quickly disappeared when she smelled Sesshoumaru's discomfort. "Excuse me, no fairies were around and I stumbled on Tamiko watching a vision from that lake."
"I still can't believe a demon snuck up on me," clearly Queen Tamiko was still angry at herself for it. "That stupid incident ruined a few destinies, I'm sure."
"The vision I saw was of a very unhappy Sesshoumaru mated to Astoria."
Rin saw red while her mate actually dropped his mask and looked outright disgusted. "Mother I would never take that lowly bitch as my mate."
Tamiko snorted, "You would have if your mother hadn't seen it, you would have taken her as your mate like the clans would have wanted you to. You are the strongest male they have and she was the strongest female, they hoped the union would unite the clans and your pups would strengthen future litters."
"When I saw that, I demanded that Tamiko show me your future Sesshoumaru, I also saw mine." Sadness once again filtered into her scent, and it took her longer to curb it, it did nothing but pain her son. "Tamiko warned me that it was very dangerous for me to witness any of it because it was natural for me to try and alter it, she knew it would lead to many horrible things. I did not listen, I was desperate to prevent my son's misery."
"This is foolish! I will not sit here any longer and listen to one women want to murder one of my pups, while the other says I was never meant to be Sesshoumaru's mate."
The demon lord laid his hand on one of Rin's trembling hands. She was angry and hurt, she knew people would disapprove of their union, but to have someone tell her that they were never meant to be together... It was too much for her. Rin had always believed they were meant to be mates, Sesshoumaru had told her that for years, it was true. No damn lake or a fairy or even his mother was going to tell her otherwise.
"I never said you were not meant to be with him, dear. Your scent calls out to him, he knows you are his true mate, that is why he saved you when you were a child. You just would have met him under different circumstances if I had not interfered."
Tamiko smirked and bit back a laugh. "Lord Sesshoumaru would have actually done what his father had done. He would have mated Astoria but he would never be truly happy until he met you Lady Rin. You were, however, married with two small boys but that would not have stopped your attraction to your lord. He knew the moment he smelled your scent that you were his but the sins of his father plagued the relationship you two were to have. Your marriage and his guilt ruined what should have been true love, and you both were unhappy in that future."
"Did I exist in that timeline?"
The queen looked at Inuyasha a little surprised but not too much. She figured the half-breed would eventually ask. "Yes, you did, but you were a bit different. Your birth had to happen or Kikyou's soul would have been more bitter than you had known her."
Before Inuyasha could comment on that Sesshoumaru spoke, "Mother if you had previous knowledge to Father's betrayal, why did you not leave him at that time? Why did you stay with him when you knew he would break your vows? Or why did you not stop it from happening? You could have demanded him to stay with you or force yourself along on his journeys."
"Inuyasha was too important. This woman named Kikyou would have gone mad and destroyed everything in her path, if Inuyasha had not been then to balance her out. Eventually she would be killed in a battle similar to the battle Midoriko had experienced when she had made that jewel. I had to let Inuyasha be born, or this girl's soul would have been in torment forever," Ikue gestured to a bewildered Kagome. "I wanted to demand that your father no longer go on his journeys, but I could not deny this young man's life."
The half breed stared at the demoness, "You died to protect me. You knew you were going to die for a half-breed that broke up your marriage."
"I did not know I was going to die in that battle, but I would not change a thing. As a child, you Inuyasha, brought my son great joy, and I would never change that."
Rin pulled her hands away from her mate's and placed then on her belly. One was a boy, she was sure of it. The other pup seemed very docile, making her assume it was a girl. However, knowing her luck it would be the opposite, or she would just have girls. It wasn't that she didn't want a girl, she knew that Sesshoumaru wanted a son. "What happens now?"
The former Lady of the Western Lands, cleared her throat and stood. She was in front of Rin before she could even lift her head. "I beg you for your forgiveness, Rin. I so wanted to change Sesshoumaru's future that I caused you great pain, I did not understand Tamiko's final warning until it was too late."
"What do you mean?"
"I knew he would only be happy with you so I wanted to make sure you met him early in your life. In order to ensure this, I had to let you go through great pains. That is why you had to see your family die in front of you, have villagers beat you, and die by wolves; and to make matters worse, years of abuse are what caused you not to be able to carry a pup full term. A human child is very hard to carry, but a demon pup, especially the pup of Sesshoumaru, was too much strain on your body. I did not realize this until after I died. That is why I refused to move on and demanded to know when and where your birth would take place."
Rin stared into her eyes, eyes that were nothing like her mate's. "You were the purple light in me, the presence that everyone felt but no one knew what it was."
"Yes," a warm smile greeted her brown eyes, "I wanted to protect you as much as I could. You were to be my daughter and I wanted to be with you and see how happy you made my son. So please, I beg your forgiveness for the pain I caused you."
"I could never blame you for anything, because of you, I was able to grow up with my mate and he provided me with a childhood better than my own family could have."
Ikue laughed, tears were in her eyes, but her laughter was of joy. She looked at her son and once again placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "You have chosen well, she will give you strong pups. Well, I think we should do the ritual Tamiko, don't you think?"
The queen folded her arms to rest underneath her breasts. "And what ritual do you have in mind, Lady Ikue? I have already told them of the only ritual I know and they were just about to leave."
"I'm not surprised, when a dog demon feels that one of their pups are threatened they forget logic and just want to attack whatever is threatening their offspring."
Sesshoumaru stood and laid a hand on his mother's shoulder before speaking, "Mother do you know a way to help Rin without hurting our pups?"
"Of course Sesshoumaru, that is why I am here. Rin, dear, stand up and walk over to Tamiko. Kagome, I know you are now a half demon but you do have your priestess powers do you not?" When she was given a positive response, she continued, "Good, then please go with Rin, you will need to form a barrier around us when I begin. Inuyasha, I am depending on you to keep Sesshoumaru away while I am transferring my spirit energy to her. Rin will most likely scream in pain and the pups will react as if they are dying, though they will not be harmed, it will take all your energy to keep him from stopping the process."
"Your spirit? Isn't that what you are now?"
Tamiko gave a wary look at the demoness before saying, "Lady Rin is right, wouldn't your blood do the trick?"
"What you see now is my soul, not my spirit, they are actually quite different. My blood has long since left me, I shed all the blood I had the day I died so I have none to give. It is the demon spirit that makes us demons, not our blood. Once I have done this, I will be very weak and will finally be able to rest."
Sesshoumaru looked at his mother, knowing she would once again leave him but the demon took comfort that she would not leave in pain and regret. He bowed to her and then sat on the floor. "Inuyasha, draw your sword and stand in front of me. Not even this Sesshoumaru will be able stop my reactions to my mate's pain."
The younger brother nodded and reached for his sword. His clawed hand rested at the hilt and found himself unable to unsheathe it, or unwilling, he couldn't think straight. When he had invited himself of his brother's quest he had made a silent vow to never draw his sword or claws against Sesshoumaru, and yet here he was, getting ready to battle his brother. The rationale part of Inuyasha told him that he really wasn't fighting against his brother, he was only protecting Rin and Ikue from him. The other part of the half-breed screamed that it was wrong. Inuyasha took his vows very seriously and being told to go against his older brother was killing him.
Sesshoumaru saw the emotions playing on his little brother's face. He understood what the younger one was feeling, he felt similar emotions when he decided that Inuyasha was dead to him and had to kill the physical form of him to let his little brother rest. He wanted to tell him to snap out of it and do as he was told, and was just about to do so, when sad amber eyes looked up into his own.
His order died in his throat when those eyes locked his and suddenly the demon lord no longer saw his brother as he was at the moment. Instead, the Inuyasha he had helped raised, the one with innocence and happiness coming from him, stood in front of him and Sesshoumaru wanted nothing more than to protect him.
Flashbacks
In his father's study he found the small pup on the floor wailing and pushing his mother aside. Their father stood in front of them with utter rage flashing in his eyes.
Inuyasha noticed his brother immediately and flung himself in his waiting arms. "Sesshoumaru!"
He caught the small bundle and glared at the two adults.
Without another word he carried his brother out of there and into his room. The little pup looked at him with childish worship and jumped around while the older one prepared for dinner. After promising to take him out early tomorrow to explore the forest surrounding their home and telling him of his adventures, Sesshoumaru had Jaken take his beloved little brother to prepare for dinner as well.
"Please don't leave Sesshoumaru! Why do you fight with Father so much? If you didn't fight then we could play all the time and you wouldn't leave!"
"I'm scared Sesshoumaru...."
"Shhh, I'm right here."
"Why did they say that?"
"They're ignorant fools."
"But what did they mean about only being half brothers? We're both Father's sons."
"We have different mothers, the only parent we share is Father."
Inuyasha's little scrunched up in thought and stopped walking. He didn't seem to notice Sesshoumaru had walked back towards him until his older brother's hand rested on his little head. He snatched the clawed hand and rested his hand against it. The sizes were different but that was because Sesshoumaru was older. They both had fangs, they both had silver hair, and they're eyes were the same as well. But they were different, Inuyasha knew that. He never thought the differences were a big deal until that man had said so. He looked at his big brother with a pout and sad amber eyes.
"Listen to me," Sesshoumaru picked him up so that they could look into each other's eyes. "We are brothers, it is as simple as that. No one can ever change that and Kami help the fool that thinks otherwise. Brothers stick together and I, Sesshoumaru, will always protect you."
A baby fanged smile greeted him, "And I'll protect you!"
"As if I would need some puppy to protect me. Knowing you I would end up having to save you."
"No! I'm going to be stronger than both you and Father!"
A small, tiny really, smirk was given to the proud pup, "Not if you can't keep up with me."
The oldest run a short distance away and almost laughed at his little brother's confused face. Inuyasha shrieked with laughter and ran after his brother, screaming that he would catch him.
End Flashbacks
"When this is over I except a rematch with you Inuyasha. That hole I put in your chest could have been done better, I held back too much."
An annoyed look came across the younger brother's face. "Feh, you'll be luck if I don't cut off that arm again!"
A look of understanding passed between the two brothers and Inuyasha too his sword. He looked over at the women of the group, "Ok get it started so we can go spar."
Ikue smiled and then put her hands on Rin's shoulders. "Kagome put up the barrier and Rin, please relax as much as possible."
Thanks to her years of training, the priestess was able to put up the barrier without much trouble. She smiled at her mate's back and gave a thumbs up to her brother in-law. She was sure the demon lord wanted to roll his eyes but felt that doing so would be too much of a human thing, such things were beneath him.
Rin heard Tamiko whisper to her mother in-law that she hoped she knew what she was doing, and Rin more than agreed with that. She became aware of a purple light surrounding the two of them and she assumed that it was Ikue's doing because Kagome's barrier was always white. She had seen it when the priestess had gone into battle and when Sango was delivering her little girl.
A little girl, she should have had two sons and a daughter to join the two pups she had in her now. She knew nothing of religion but if there was a higher being, she prayed to it that this would work. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out when the stinging in her chest began to intensify. There were a few scars on her body, nothing serious, but they had been pain when the wounds had been made, she had even had some poison injected in her before, but this... The Lady of the Western Lands felt as if her soul was being ripped apart.
The pups began to kick at her womb and Kami, or whatever, help her, but she could feel their screams. Perhaps Astoria was right, they felt as if they were trying to claw their way out of her womb. Her body hurt and she feared for her pups. She wanted to scream, and eventually did so when her bloody lip could no longer take the torture she had been giving it. Her screams mirrored the screams Sango had made when giving birth.
Tears ran down her cheeks and her screams just grew louder as Ikue pressed her palms down harder on her small shoulders. A roar filled her ears and she didn't need to open her eyes to know that Sesshoumaru was trying to force himself to where she was standing. He had always promised to protect her, and that's what he had been trying to do.
Inuyasha thought his older brother had been a tough opponent before, but now, those fights were mere spats compared to Sesshoumaru's rage. He knew very well that Sesshoumaru didn't want to hurt anyone there but, his mate was screaming in pain and apparently the pups were crying out for their father as well.
The full blooded demon's eyes had gone red and snarled at the half-breed in front of him. From his scent he knew that the male in front of him was his kin, but he didn't understand why his brother was keeping him from his mate. His mind wasn't so gone that he didn't know who the people were, but he didn't care about them at the moment. His mate was dying and so were his pups, he needed to protect them. Protecting them was tied with producing pups, as his primary responsibility and his little brother was shaming him in front of his mate.
"Inuyasha hold him back! He's not fighting that much because he still knows who you are!"
If Sesshoumaru's poison had almost hit him in the face, the half breed would have snarled at his mate and called her a stupid bitch. He knew exactly what was wrong with his brother and didn't need his mate screaming the obvious at him.
"It hurts.... Make it stop! Sess...."
"Don't!" Ikue was beginning to feel very weak but her voice was still strong. "If you call out for him directly he will kill everyone and everything in this forest. I am almost done, just a few seconds longer...."
Rin swallowed her cries for her mate and hugged herself. A few seconds ... seconds always seemed to last longer. She sobbed painfully and then dug her fingernails into Ikue's arms. Imagine her shock when she felt her claws dig into the noble lady's arms.
Ikue took a deep breath and would have fallen to the floor if Tamiko hadn't grabbed her. Rin looked down at her hands and couldn't stop staring at the claws she now had. She felt, different, stronger ... she no longer felt human. Her hair was still brown, but it was longer and thicker. Everything about her body felt so taunt and her hips and chest seemed to have gotten just a bit bigger. She almost giggled at her thought of Sesshoumaru really liking that part.
The pups began to move within her and she gave a slight cry. They were still alive and seemed much healthier. She didn't know how she knew that but she did. She would have twirled in delight, like she used to when she was a child, but strong arms pulled her up and close to a hard chest.
Golden eyes scanned her and sniffed at her. A small lick and nip was given to her jaw bone and Rin found herself throwing her arms around her mate's neck. Her fingers clutched his silver hair and she whispered, "What color are my eyes?"
"Brown."
She giggled, "I had hoped they stay brown." He gave a grunt and she knew he agreed.
He kept his tight hold on his small, now full demon mate and looked at his panting mother. He wanted to thank her but all the words that came to mind seemed inferior for someone like his mother. Ikue smiled from her position on the ground in Tamiko's arms. "It is done."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, drama, angst, and even a little bit of fluff. First of all Rin is not the reincarnation of Ikue. It would be really gross to have Sess being mated/married to someone that has his mother's soul. What the others saw was her soul and while she was in Rin, she was merely using Rin as a host, Rin has her own soul. The flashbacks that Sesshoumaru had in this chapter are scenes that will appear in the prequel that I'm still kind on iffy on writing. I have it planned out and I will most likely write it, posting it is just something I'm not sure about. Ok the next chapter is the last and is the epilogue. Hope you enjoyed this!
Badgerwolf: Thank you, Rin's response actually comes from my own opinions regarding abortion, so it was very personal to me. I'm so glad you and other's were not bothered by the slight OOC of Sesshoumaru, I just thought it fitted with the mood of the story and the way the flashbacks portrayed the relationship between Sees and Ikue, it was appropriate. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for the last chapter.
anhimals: I'm glad I was able to surprise someone about Ikue. I noticed that! Everyone makes Sess's mother such an evil person and I just didn't want to do that. I thought it would be such a twist to make Sess's mother almost perfect and have Inuyasha's mother kind of the evil one. Though I have shown that the distrust between the brothers was not entirely her fault, I wanted to explore that perhaps Inu's mom isn't as perfect as he claims or as the manga/anime portrays. Thank you, I had hoped this story was somewhat original and I'm glad someone thinks so.
Airen2: You and two friends of mine thought exactly the same thing, that Rin was the reincarnation of Ikue but no she's not. That just has an "ewww-ness" factor to me (almost as bad as the Sess/Kag pairing, I have issues with that). Yes, this chapter show how Rin and her pups are saved and I hoped you enjoyed this.
Dragon Man 180: Yes you were the only one to guess it and I was disappointed about that. I thought I dropped plenty of hints that she was the light. You were almost right about the blood thing, Ikue is sadly dead and has no blood to give to Rin. The whole spirit Vs soul thing might be confusing but the epilogue will explain that.
fireblazie: Hands a tissue Aww, I'm so happy everyone liked the scene with Sess and his mom. I loved how it came out and almost took it out at the last minute when I thought it was just too OOC for him. I'm so glad I hadn't.
angel of darkness flame: Congrats on your grades, some advice: when you go to college, just because you did great the first semester, don't slack off during the second. I had to learn the hard way, I played too much pool instead of going to Sociology class. Anyway thank you for your reviews! I hope this chapter met your expectations.
Also thank you so much to my other reviewers: Arafel2, Kerei Kitsune, and New Fan