Disclaimer: I -DO NOT- own the Inuyasha characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shounen Sunday, Shogakukan and a whole bunch of Japanese people, so please don't sue me. Boy, I swear this is the last time I say that on this story!

Random Reader: Of course, this is the last chapter of the story, after all....-.-;

Ruby: Well... That means I'll remain true to my oath, then....;

Forever My Bellflower

By Sweet Ruby Moon

Epilogue

Rushed steps. Muffled whispers. Smell of blood. Sesshoumaru shifted positions many times, in futile attempts of becoming oblivious to the frenzy that had befallen his abode. He folded his arms and neared the doomed chamber, wondering when that torment would finally come to an end.

Minutes of agony flew by, and silence ruled. The raging storm had seemingly subsided, as did Kikyou's cry. Sesshoumaru's senses became alert: something had gone terribly wrong. That sudden, eerie quietness could only be considered as bad omen. If not, how come no one had had the decency to come out and give him the good news?

A lithe hand reached out for the shoji and pushed it aside, revealing the figure of Rin. Her gaze was focused on the ground and her head hung low, letting her features hide underneath her bangs. "S-sesshoumaru-sama..." She lifted her glance to meet the demon lord's as she noticed his shadow on the floor. The young teenager fished for proper words, but her face dismissed the need for any; all the grief stamped on her expression could deliver the sad message she was the bearer of.

Sesshoumaru gave a brief nod and walked in the room, though his steps came to a halt when he felt that burdened atmosphere falling upon him. Blood left its vile stain on the sheets and wooden floor, and filled his nostrils with its sickening scent. His amber oculars narrowed in concern and ran into Kikyou; she was at the far end of the chamber, half-laying on her futon. Her head was held low and her raven bangs shadowed her exhausted features.

His heart lost the will to beat for a second.

Taking a few steps forth as to get a better glimpse of his beloved, the taiyoukai realized she was not alone; her arms held a tiny, lifeless cargo, wrapped in several layers of sheets that were stained with that nauseating crimson fluid. Their child had been sacrificed in order to spare Kikyou's life. It had been his decision, and his mind was aware of that. His heart, however, clenched with sorrow.

"We apologize, Sesshoumaru-sama…" The elder of the human doctors spoke in a low tone, bowing in a respectful fashion. "We tried our best to…"

"You are done here, ningen." Came Sesshoumaru's ice-cold voice. His façade was kept emotionless, though he was inwardly crying. "Be gone… otherwise my talons will bid you farewell."

"Yes, milord…" The man restrained from further talking and left the place, sparing one last apologetic glance at the former priestess.

Sesshoumaru's attention was turned to Kikyou once again. He could sense it... the sad smell of her tears. The taiyoukai watched with a numb gaze as she lulled the inert baby in her arms, salty droplets now flowing freely from her eyes. He could only begin to imagine how hard that blow had been to her, for even his own grief, sharp as it might be, could not compare to the pain of a mother who loses her child. Hopefully, he could make that dreadful feeling fade away.

His claws reached for his waist and fingered the hilt of Tenseiga. In past eras, he would have little, if any, regard for that sword, though time, as well as a certain miko, taught him otherwise. In Kikyou's own words, 'any fool can take lives away, but it takes the gifted to restore them.' Inutaisho's legacy gained new meaning and importance since then, and Sesshoumaru finally understood how far the will to protect could take him.

Sesshoumaru let out a deceptively low sigh. Tenseiga most certainly had the power to force life back into his beloved ones, but it could not erase from their minds the unpleasant memories of the time they spent in the world of the dead. Rin, Kikyou, and even that useless toad creature he had for a servant… He knew they all tried to keep those recollections locked away in a safe place, but he also knew those vile scenarios could return to haunt them anytime. He did not wish for his child to bear that sort of memories at such a young age, but it could not be helped.

The healing fang was slowly drawn out, exposing its shining blade. He paused before the tip of Tenseiga could come out of its sheath, though. His acute sense of hearing picked on a familiar sound, weak at first, but steadily increasing. A baby's cry… It could not be… He hadn't used his sword yet… He was positive that he had heard a baby's cry, though, and his ears had never deceived him before…

"She's alive?!?" Rin's chocolate eyes went wide and she cupped both hands over her mouth, in a display of sheer surprise. She dashed towards the former miko and knelt by her side.

Sesshoumaru held his breath for an instant. She? He had a daughter… and she was alive? His eyes sought Kikyou and, much to his shock, she was smiling widely at the baby in her arms, whispering soothing words with her melodic voice. The newly born hanyou girl moved clumsily in her mother's lap, crying as loud as no other had done before, yet it did not seem to bother Kikyou in the slightest; happiness was the only emotion distinguishable on her face.

Releasing his grip on Tenseiga and letting it slide back into its sheath, the taiyoukai moved closer to the trio of females. Amber oculars were fixed upon the baby, examining her every detail; her complexion was burning pink, and her ears were pointy, much like his own. Very little hair could be found on her skull, though anyone could see the silvery shades of those strings, trying to hide the mark of the crescent moon underneath their softness.

"She's so pretty, Kikyou-sama…" Rin held both hands to her heart, smiling in amazement. "I'll tell Kotai-kun he has a little sister!!" She rose to her feet in a jump, bowed briefly and nearly frolicked her way out of the room.

Kikyou nodded in consent and turned her attention back to her daughter, letting her index finger run softly on the child's puffy cheeks. The taiyoukai knelt by her side and placed a tender kiss on her forehead, whipping a few droplets off her beautiful face with the back of his hand. She smiled at him. "Kotai-kun will be asking for a name when he comes to see her…"

"I'm sure you'll find a proper name for our daughter, koishii." Sesshoumaru snaked his arm around her waist, attempting to fit her in a more comfortable position. He had named their first-born, so letting her do the same for their new child would be just fair.

"Well…" She pulled herself closer, resting her head on his chest. "I had one in mind… How about…Aya?"

"Aya…" He let the name slowly roll out of his tongue, examining the way it sounded. "It entails power and respect... It's a beautiful name for a child, also."

"I'm assuming you like it, then?"

"You know me well, koishii."

"Aya-chan…" She lovingly poked the baby's nose and smiled, holding her closer to the taiyoukai. "Meet your otou-san…Come on, say hi to him…" She took Aya's petite hand in hers and performed gentle movements with it, making her wave at her father. He just stayed there motionless, having no clue as to how to respond. "Don't worry, he'll reply eventually."

"You've been through enough for today, Kikyou." He gently stroked her raven locks, resting his head atop hers. "You must rest now."

"But I feel fine…"

"You just gave birth to our child, and your blood is all over the room. I strongly believe you are in no condition to argue with that."

"Alright…" A soft sigh escaped her lips as she sunk between her shoulders. Truth be told, her strength had diminished considerably, and the mere act of talking required some effort. "Will you take Aya-chan?"

In one rare occasion of his life, Sesshoumaru was unsure of his own skills and hesitated. Parenting was not one of his best traits, especially when it came to babies. The newly born seemed to need special attention, the sort he did not think he would be able to give. In spite of his faltering, the taiyoukai held his arms out and took the baby girl from her mother, carrying her with clumsy awkwardness. "Now get some sleep, koishii. I'll take care of our daughter meanwhile."

"Thank you." Kikyou let her lips meet his for a second and gladly complied, fluttering her eyes closed. Sesshoumaru observed in mute admiration as his mate plunged into much-needed slumber and turned his attention to the child in his lap. Apparently, the former miko never lost her talent with children, for Aya's deafening cry had subsided and the only sounds he could hear from her were incomprehensible baby-babbles.

Tension at long last abandoned the demon prince's spirit, and his softened gaze was focused on his daughter. Even he had to admit, she looked awfully cute with her arms over her squinty oculars. It would take a while until she got used to the light and unveiled the mystery her eye color had become, although he had the gut feeling they would be golden like his. Personality-wise at least, she had already inherited much from her mother: the strong will to live. Hopefully, she would grow up to be as sweet and caring as his bellflower.

Her small body shivered. It was natural for her to feel cold after spending so much time in the warmth of Kikyou's womb. Hesitating yet again, the taiyoukai added an extra layer to the already large amount of sheets wrapped around the child, careful enough not to drop her as he did so. Tiny hands suddenly reached out and grasped a much bigger finger, clutching to it with all their little might. Sesshoumaru's glance grew tender and a wide smile naturally came to his lips. As senseless as that might sound, Aya's strong grip on his finger somehow made him truly feel like a father.

Vigilant earth-brown oculars were secretively open, finding enormous delight upon seeing the indifferent inuyoukai so merrily playing with his child, moving his finger to both sides with graceful gentleness as Aya tried to keep her grasp on him. All the pain and long hours of suffering had finally paid off; his smile was there, beautiful as ever. She sighed in blissful reverie and let her eyelids flutter down, falling asleep nearly instantaneously. Only now she could rest.

Sesshoumaru rose to his feet and made his way to the window, his baby still held firmly in his arms. The once furious storm had given place to a gentle downpour, melodious breezes carrying the scent of night flowers. Nature seemed to have given up its rampant battle and created a new, soothing atmosphere, made especially to greet the newly born hanyou. He let out a small chuckle at the cute sneezing sound Aya made and gently rubbed her flushed nose with the back of his hand. Once she had calmed down, he tightened his embrace around her petite form and took a step forth, as to proudly display his child.

The new heir to the Western Lands was finally born. And it was time for her underlings to offer proper welcome.

-- Owari --

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Author's Notes: Waah! It's finished!! Finished!! Finally finished!! Yay! Ahem... Sorry, I'm a tad hyper... Anyway...o.o

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who read 'Forever My Bellflower', and especially the nice people who were kind enough to leave me reviews with comments and their thoughts on my story. Thanks, you guys! You are the best readers this Ruby could have! :D

Also, I wanna thank Tori-chan for helping me with the title for this fanfic! If it hadn't been for her, I'd probably have used some crappy name...; As for Kotai's name, I got it from an RP I had with Shia (Sadistic Shadow, on ff.net). It was her idea, so credit goes to her. Aya-chan was my own creation, though, so if anyone steals her or Kotai-kun without my permission, I'll chase after you with my trusty pointy stick... Oh, and I have a picture of what she would look like in a few years, just drop an e-mail or send me an instant message if you want to see it, alright?

Last but not least, very special thanks go to my friend Debby for challenging me into writing this, and my unofficial beta-readers, Naki-chan, Pri-sama and MikoSun for not letting me give up on my story when I felt I could not do it. They always trusted my skills way more than I did, so I kinda owe them a lot. Thank you so much, girls!! I wouldn't have made it without any of you!

I honestly hope you have enjoyed my fanfic. Any grammar errors or spelling mistakes, well, keep in mind English is not my first language, so...x.x; In spite of that, I do think I wrote a decent ficceh, ne? This Ruby now bids you farewell, hoping you all will keep checking her work! See you next time!

-- Ruby