I'm late again, eh? Sorry folks. School's taking up most of my free time. But on a happier note, I GOT MY COMPUTER BACK! Yes, just when I thought that my computer had died and gone to hell(It's evil I tell you!), my cousin managed to revive it for me. I have such a love hate relationship with my computer...

I changed my sn to FrozenSpark. I just really like that name...

Well, I haven't tallied up the votes yet, but I'm positive that so far the majority wants that baby to be a boy. But there are still a good few rooting for a girl too, so if you want baby to be a girl, speak up!

Oh, have any of you seen the first dubbed Inuyasha Movie? Oh my! It was so good! The animation seemed totally different though...But not in a bad way.

I went back through all of my chapters (which took like 3 hours!) and edited them. I have made so many mistakes! And now, since I lost my wonderful beta(I love you! Thanks for helping me!), I need someone else to edit my work. So if anyone out there has a knack for editing, I could sure use the help.

The only things that I've changed are- Inutaisho is now officially Inuyasha's dad's name. And Izayoi is his mom's name.(I never knew that. A reviewer just told me...) Inuyasha lives in a palace, not a castle. That's all I think.

I've decided that unfortunately, I won't do review responses anymore. I'll just answer some questions that were commonly asked.

-Isn't Kirara's name Kilala?

Well, that all depends whether you watch the japanese version or Adult Swim's dubbed version. It really doesn't matter. I just stick with the Japanese version because some people get a bit touchy when people use Kilala.

-Shouldn't Inuyasha and Kagome be spending more time together?

Be patient! Their time will come!

-Is Shippo going to be in this fic?

Yes, he will probably appear in the fic.

-Will Kuro be in the fic again?

Most likely!

-Why didn't you let Inuyasha kill Naraku? Why!

(-: If Naraku died, then there would be no plot! Silly people...

-Why don't you kill Kikyo?! She needs to die!

Alas, another person in my story that has to be there in order to have a plot.

Thanks for all of the reviews! I read and reread every one of them, and they really do inspire me! I love you guys! You are the greatest! I haven't had one flame yet! (Though I'm sure that I'll get some eventually...) I especially want to thank the reviewers who have reviewed nearly every chapter of my stories. Hugs reviewers

The Shikon Child-

Chapter 7- Sesshomaru (nice, eh? :-) I'm too tired to come up with something creative!)

-

Miroku patted his horse affectionately as he let it drink some water from a creek. He then walked towards his companion and flicked him on one of his soft, white ears.

"Ow!"

Miroku smiled pleasantly at the hanyou. "Quit whining." Inuyasha gave him an irritated glare, which would send even some of the bravest men back a step. But Miroku was immune to it from having to see it almost every day. He just continued smiling. "You know that your parents aren't going to be happy about you leaving for so long without telling them, especially with all that's been going on around the castle. You didn't even stay long enough to bid Kikyo farewell.

Inuyasha rubbed his offended ear. "There's too much going on. Too much stress."

Miroku's smile wilted a bit. "Yes. And instead of handling it like a man, you run away with your tail between your legs. How responsible."

Inuyasha grumbled as he led his black horse over to the creek to drink with Miroku's horse. Normally, Miroku enjoyed randomly leaving the palace with him for even weeks at a time. But ever since Inuyasha had told him that he wanted to get away from the palace for a while, Miroku had been reluctant. He acted like Inuyasha was abandoning Kagome for selfish reasons. And he wasn't! He just needed to get away...

"And you did promise to protect Kagome and your baby. Did you forget about that?"

"She is protected!" yelled Inuyasha. "Why do you think my parents hired Sango? To play tea-party with Kagome? And we have guards stationed all around the palace! That's what they're there for! To protect!"

Miroku rolled his eyes at Inuyasha's childish outburst. Instead of continuing the argument, he lifted himself up onto his horse's saddle and kicked its sides, making the horse start trotting away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" huffed Inuyasha.

"I'm going to the palace, Inuyasha. Where we should have been for the last couple of days."

Inuyasha let out a string of curses, and got on his horse too. Miroku always managed to make him feel guilty about the stupid things.

He didn't really want to be away from the castle. He mainly wanted to be away from Kikyo. He didn't hate Kikyo, but he still didn't want to marry the woman. Though he had tried to be respectful in the beginning, she had started grating on his nerves. She hated imperfection. When she saw anything out of place, or something that was dirty, she would order the nearest maid or worker to fix it. She was also constantly straightening his clothes, trying to subdue his fizzy, flyaway hair, and she even attempted to make his ears lie flat, which had made Inuyasha extremely angry. No one, except Miroku, dared touched his ears, knowing that it set Inuyasha off on a tantrum.

When Inuyasha caught up to him, Miroku sighed and turned to him. "Inuyasha, I know that life has gotten a little hard for you lately-."

"That's the understatement of the century."

"But," Miroku pressed on, his eyes boring into Inuyasha's "you can't run away from your problems. Kagome needs you now. And so does Kikyo. If you two are to be married, you're going to have to start getting along better with her."

Inuyasha grunted in acceptance.

A smile once again formed on Miroku's lips, giving him the charming look that he was known for. He leaned over towards Inuyasha and patted him on the head. "Good boy!"

-

Sango pushed herself off of the wall that she had been leaning against when she saw Kagome emerging from Kaede's room. "So, What'd she say?"

Kagome closed the door silently behind her. She turned to her protector, a small smile gracing her lips. "The baby is fine." She didn't tell her about how it was her fault that the baby had the jewel inside it, thinking that it was best to keep that bit of information secret.

"Well, that's good. What do you want to do now? We have a whole afternoon to waste."

"We could...." Kagome looked around, looking for something that would keep her and Sango entertained for the rest of the afternoon. She peered out of a nearby window, and caught sight of the garden that circled the palace. "We could walk in the garden and pick some flowers for our room."

Since Sango was constantly at Kagome's side, not even leaving when they slept, Kagome's room was basically both of theirs. Kagome didn't mind much. She rarely had anyone to talk to before she had come to the palace, and she enjoyed the company.

Sango nodded approvingly at the idea. "All right. I wouldn't mind getting out of the palace for a while. It'd be nice to get some fresh air."

They headed outside, Kagome in the lead.

Kagome was finally starting to memorize the maze of halls and rooms. Though she still didn't know how to get to half the places in the palace, she was still proud of herself for finding the places that she needed to go without much trouble. But if she did manage to get herself lost, Sango was always right behind her to point in the right direction.

The palace workers were beginning to warm up to Kagome. Unlike all of the other people of high stature, Kagome would chat with the maids, cooks, gardeners, and even the guards when she found the time. Though Kagome could tell that her actions were frowned upon by the Inutaisho family and their royal visitors, she still associated with the commoners and workers.

Kagome smiled at Sakura, a young lady who had managed to make her way to being head gardener by her hard work. She was ridding a small patch of pink flowers of the weeds that were threatening them.

Sakura, looking up from her work, managed to return the smile. "Hello, Lady Kagome."

"Hello Sakura. Having fun?"

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her glove. Her large, beautiful blue eyes glared at the giant weed that she had just pulled out of the soil. "Nothing to complain about...Except these damn weeds. They've been popping out of the ground nonstop. I can hardly keep up with them!"

"I'm sure that you'll be able to kill them all," said Kagome, her smile widening.

Sakura grunted. She looked at the seemingly never-ending patches of weeds spread all throughout the gardens. She glared daggers at them all, as though thinking that she could scare them away. "They may have won the battle, but they won't win the war!"

Kagome and Sango giggled at the young woman's antics. Sakura could sometimes take her job a little too seriously.

"Who's that?" asked Sango as she pointed down the road leading to and from the castle.

Shading her eyes from the bright afternoon sun, Kagome looked in the direction that Sango was pointing in. She saw two people riding horses, coming up the road towards the palace.

Sango squinted. "I think the one with the black horse has white hair."

"Inuyasha?"

"I think so. It's probably him and Miroku, coming home to tell of their great adventures from the outside world," muttered Sango disapprovingly. "I'm going to club Miroku for letting Inuyasha leave the castle again!"

They both jogged towards the road, awaiting the two men.

Sango had a frown on her face, and her arms crossed. Kagome just stood there pleasantly, smoothing down her new dress that the palace tailor had made for her. It was a simple, yet still elegant, yellow dress with a square neckline. A silky, white bow wrapped around her waist, showing off her curves.

When Miroku and Inuyasha spotted them they trotted their way.

Miroku, who had arrived ahead of Inuyasha, gave Kagome his most charming grin. "You look lovely, Lady Kagome."

Kagome blushed slightly and brushed away the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress. "Thanks."

"Doesn't Lady Kagome look wonderful today, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha finally made his way over.

Inuyasha's face turned a darker shade than Kagome's. The yellow dress that she was wearing seemed to hit her curves in all the right places. He turned away, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I see that you've packed on a few pounds."

Miroku covered his face with his hands and shook his head. Leave it to Inuyasha to say something like that. No woman liked to be told that they were gaining weight. Obviously Inuyasha didn't know that unvoiced golden rule.

Kagome's smile instantly faded into an irritated frown. She clenched her fists and barred her teeth. Yes, she had gained weight, but she had thought that she had looked better for it. By Inuyasha's tone, it sounded as though he thought that she was turning into a whale.

Sango, sensing an argument coming on, stepped back a little, not wanting to be included in Kagome's wrath.

"You're such a jerk!" Kagome yelled, stamping her foot on the ground. She could feel her blood boiling. "You leave me, not telling anyone where you went. Then, two days later, you come back and tell me that I'm fat!"

Inuyasha looked taken back by her outburst. "I never called you fat, girl! All I said was you've packed on a few pounds! And you have!"

Miroku made a cutting gesture across his throat, trying to warn Inuyasha to stop before he got himself in more trouble.

Kagome's eyes narrowed into slits. She knew that she was letting her emotions get out of hand for such a small thing, but her raging hormones wouldn't let her back down. Her voice came as a hiss. "Well, at least my body has some shape to it! You're as scrawny as a twig. I bet that you couldn't even fight off a crippled child!"

Sango's eyes widened. She hadn't seen this side of Kagome before. Inuyasha seemed to always bring out the worst in people...

"What!?" yelled Inuyasha. "I hope you know, little girl, that I could fight off the most powerful-,"

"I don't want to hear your lies, you conceited dog!" Kagome screamed. Then she instantly shut her mouth with an audible pop. She had just called the prince of the land a conceited dog...oh crud. She stared at the enraged hanyou, her eyes widening in fear.

Inuyasha blinked owlishly, his mouth hanging slightly open. No woman had ever talked to him that way.

But before his shock could turn to anger, Inuyasha's ears perked at the sound of horns being blown from not far away. They were the horns announcing that someone of high rank was coming.

Miroku jumped at the chance to end their conversation. "I don't remember seeing someone behind us." He squinted down the road that he had came from only minutes ago.

Inuyasha stood perfectly still and sniffed the air. Then a low rumble seemed to be coming from his chest. He was growling.

Miroku looked at him in concern. "Who is it, Inuyasha?"

"Sesshomaru and at least a thousand men from his army. I can't believe that I hadn't smelled them before..."

"What's Sesshomaru doing here?" asked Sango. "We're not supposed to be getting a visit from him for a couple of months."

"The stupid bastard..." Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

Kagome's heart, which was pounding furiously in fear of how Inuyasha was going to react, slowed down a bit. She was relieved that Inuyasha had been distracted from their earlier conversation. "Who's Sesshomaru?"

"He's Inuyasha's older brother," said Sango.

Inuyasha huffed indignantly. "Half brother."

Kagome arched an eyebrow. "You don't seem to like him much."

Inuyasha grunted angrily. "No one would be proud of having a brother like him. He's heartless. Everyone knows that he's always going to be single and heiress because he doesn't want to have to bother with the emotions of having a wife and children."

"I'm sure that's not true," Kagome said soothingly, as though speaking to a child who was throwing a fit.

Sango shook her head. "Trust me Kagome, he's right. I knew Sesshomaru when he lived at the castle. He's as coldhearted as they come."

Miroku nodded. "That's why Lord and Lady Shima haven't had a grandchild until now, even though Sesshomaru is well past the age of having a mate.

Inuyasha's eyes instinctively darted to Kagome's stomach, as though ready to see his child pop out at any given moment. He noticed Kagome's questioning look and quickly darted his eyes elsewhere.

"Well, we'd better get inside. My parents will be getting a big ready for him," he said dully.

Kagome, who was about to leave with Sango, felt a clawed hand wrap around her wrist. She turned up to see Inuyasha gazing at her intently.

"You're coming with me." He motioned towards the palace with his free hand. "You'll be eating with me and the rest of the family."

Kagome had to stop her mouth from falling completely open. She mouthed wordlessly, not able to vocalize her astonishment.

Inuyasha's cocked his eyebrow in questioning. "What's wrong? Have you turned into a fish?"

"No!" said Kagome when she finally found her voice. She chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I-I can't eat with you and your family. I'm not good enough to eat at your royal table."

"Of coarse you're good enough to eat with us. Why wouldn't you be?" He easily pulled her onto her horse with him, ignoring her panicked yelp. "And it's not really a royal table. It's just a place where we eat. Nothing special."

Kagome rolled her eyes and blushed as she felt Inuyasha's arms touch her shoulders as he held the reigns, steering the black horse towards the stables. "Nothing special? The dining room is beautiful. The table is gigantic. The food is exquisite. It seems special enough to me..."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess that I'm just so used to it that it doesn't seem so great."

When Inuyasha had put his horse in its stall and made sure that he had food and water, he guided Kagome toward the castle. But instead of continuing the conversation, he stared ahead unseeing, his eyes slightly glazed over.

"You seem preoccupied," said Kagome softly, struggling to keep up with his strenuous pace.

Inuyasha slowed down a little, realizing that Kagome was practically jogging to stay in pace with him. "I just don't know why Sesshomaru's getting here so early. It's not like him to get here at a different time than he originally wanted to."

Kagome tucked some of her flyaway raven locks of hair behind her ear. "He's probably come to say something important then."

Inuyasha grunted agreeably. "Yeah. He wouldn't have come if it wasn't important. I just wander why he's brought over one thousand men from his army with him. He's ususally too arrogant and cocky to accept help from anyone most of the time. He usually just travels with his creepy little toad servant."

"Why doesn't your brother live at the palace like you? Isn't he the heir to the throne?"

Inuyasha snorted. "It'll be a while before my dad snuffs it. He'll be alive for at least one hundred more years, and probably much longer. My great granddad lived to be almost six hundred years old.

Kagome's eyes went wide. "Wow..."

"Sesshomaru wanted to get out of the palace and go out on his own." Inuyasha continued. "So my dad gave him the Western Lands to govern and protect."

"Your dad just gave him the Western Lands to do what he pleases with?"

Inuyasha frowned. "No, not exactly. My dad still has rule over the whole country, and can overrule Sesshomaru any time he wants. He still makes sure that the Western Lands are running smoothly. I think that he let Sesshomaru have the lands to give him some training for when he becomes the king."

Kagome nodded. "So, since your brother is heir to the throne, then what are you going to be?

"The war and army manager."

"War and army manager?"

"Yep. My dad has made me learn battle tactics since I was three."

"Really?"

Inuyasha nodded proudly.

Kagome followed him the rest of the way to the palace silently. She didn't know if she liked the idea of Inuyasha being the country's leader in battle. It sounded too dangerous.

Inuyasha led her in through the kitchens, which were so crowded with people preparing food that Kagome was ran into repeatedly. She noted, annoyed, that everyone seemed to naturally avoid hitting Inuyasha, as though he had an invisible barrier around himself.

Inuyasha stood in front of the door leading to the kitchen for a while, looking as though he was trying to collect himself. Then with a firm nod, he twisted the golden handle and opened the door.

Kagome gasped at what she saw beyond the open door.

-

Yes, I know. Too short! It really is. I was planning on writing more, but I really wanted to get this chapter out to you! You guys have been so patient and waited so long!

Oh, don't forget to vote whether you want the pup to be male of female!