Shades of Night

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

Thanks to my friend Bailey for helping with the title!

She thought she was going to be ripped in half.

"I'll kill the bastard that did this to me," she hissed in between her teeth as another contraction forced her body to convulse, trying desperately to push the baby out. Nobody had ever told her labor was this excruciatingly painful.

"You're doing great, Sakura!" her best friend and moral support, Izayoi shouted at her. "Keep it up! Breathe like we practiced! He he hoo." Sakura did the Lamaze breathing with Izayoi, yet she didn't feel like it was working at all. She fell back, her ebony hair plastered onto her forehead in ringlets.

"Give me drugs!" she groaned. Sakura had wanted to do natural childbirth but it just didn't seem worth it at this point in time.

"Push!" the doctor cried. "We're almost there!" Deciding to forego the drugs, she pushed with all her might, hoping that her child would get the hint and get out already. It was great and all that she felt so compelled to stay in the womb for awhile longer, but it was paining her mother to no end. Luckily for Sakura, she seemed to understand. Moments later, the screams of a baby girl with very healthy lungs cried out to her, and her heart nearly broke with compassion for the little dear; however, she was too exhausted to do much of anything about it. The nurse cleaned her off and handed her back to her mother.

"Here you go, ma'am. What are you gonna name her?" A smile lighted up Sakura's face, reaching all the way to her bright blue eyes.

"Kagome." She fell backwards clutching Kag to her chest, and fell into a blissful sleep while a doctor, a nurse, and her best friend watched with tender smiles.

Two weeks later, Sakura sat patting Kagome on the back, trying to burp her. Kag's downy soft black curls smelled sweetly like baby powder, and her small face was peacefully smooth.

"I don't know how you did this with InuYasha," Sakura said to Izayoi, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. Izayoi just smiled over at Inu, her two year old son, who was waddling towards them across the yard.

"Nobody ever said it was easy, but there's no doubt about the fact that it can be the greatest feeling sometimes. If you think you have it bad now just wait till they get older!" Inu had finally reached them, his dark eyes staring intently at the small bundle as she finally burped.

"Wassat Auntie Sakura? Some kinda funny animal? It smells," he declared, scrunching his small nose. Sakura looked slightly offended but Izayoi just laughed.

"Yasha, sweetie, that's a baby. Her name's Kagome."

"Mommy, wassa baby? Where do they come from? Why'd ya name her Kag…Kag…?" Cole tried desperately to get the word right but he couldn't seem to pronounce it correctly. Finally, Sakura laughed.

"I'll let your mother tell you where they come from, but you, young man, were a baby just two years ago. And I named her that because." Her eyes glazed over in memory, a slightly sad expression managing to show through.

"Cause why?"

"Cause."

"Cause why?"

"Cause."

"Cause why?"

"Alright you two! That's enough!" Izayoi cried jokingly. "Remind me never to get into a verbal spar with you!"

"Wassa-"

"Ask me when you're older."

"Why?" Abruptly cutting the argument short, Kag let out a feeble yawn. Inu's eyes grew wide, the golden irises growing larger as they dilated.

"Can I pet it?" he asked timidly. Laughing, Sakura nodded, sitting down so that Inu could reach her. He gently reached out a slightly unsteady, slightly sticky hand and ran it over her head. "She's so soft."

"Yeah." He continued his search until he reached her hand, which reflexively reached out and grabbed his finger. Startled, he tried to back away but was afraid to hurt the baby, so instead stayed put. For the first time, she opened her eyes and focused straight in on InuYasha. Her eyes, a bright, beautiful blue like her mother's, glowed brightly, branding into Yasha an image he would never forget. It was the first time but certainly not the last. After a few moments her eyes closed again, but she didn't let go of his hand.

"What's her name?" he asked breathlessly. Both mothers, slightly confused at the child's reaction, stared at each other for a moment. Sakura spoke.

"Kag."

"Kag…" It was the first time he said it, and for some reason, he felt himself shiver. Then, because he wasn't old enough to understand much about her, he asked more questions.

"Why's her hair that color? Mine's really light, but hers is all dark and black." The mothers patiently answered his questions until Kagome started fussing.

"I gotta go put her down for a nap, Inu."

"Can I come with you?"

"Sure sweetie, as long as it's okay with your mother." Izayoi nodded and Inu bounded off after Sakura.

"Can I be her friend, Auntie Sakura? I really, really wanna be her friend. Will she let me? Can she talk?" Sakura smiled.

"Yeah, Inu, you can be friends. The best of friends if you want. And she won't be able to talk for awhile."

"That's okay," Inu stated determinedly, "I'll wait for her until she's ready." And wait he did…

Wahoot! I'm back, didya miss me? Once again, this was an original fic before I turned it into a fanfic, so sorry for any odd names! Unlike the last story, I don't have all of this reading, so I won't be updating as fast this time. Have fun reading!

Kaa-san