I am tired of writing disclaimers. I don't own anything damnit!

Midnight Interlude...

Chapter five.

Kiyoshi blinked, his childish yet elegant face graced with confusion. 'Sit boy?' He looked at the strange girl from head to toe, taking in her awkward clothes that did not cover anything much. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he asked, "Hey miss, are you crazy or something?"

Sesshoumaru raised an amused eyebrow, his lips twitching as he looked at Inuyasha who was desperately trying to control his laughter. He had to admit, his son's question was indeed very amusing. "A very appropriate question Kiyoshi. I have been thinking along the same lines for a long time now," the stoic lord said. Inuyasha beside him burst into laughter.

Kiyoshi looked over at his fathers and said, "You guys know these ningen?" Disgust was very much evident in his voice. "I thought you did not like ningen, father," he asked Sesshoumaru.

Their human guests where quite a sight to behold, their expressions shifting between angry to confused to offended. Kiyoshi was a tough boy to handle but Sesshoumaru had observed that he was a surprisingly disciplined boy. Although he had his bouts of mischief, he followed Inuyasha's commands wordlessly. There was no doubt of Inuyasha's authority in Kiyoshi's mind. Sesshoumaru realized that Inuyasha was indeed an ideal father. He wished that Rin was as easy to control as Kiyoshi but then he knew that only Inuyasha could control the boy. Sesshoumaru doubted he would ever manage such a feat.

Inuyasha winced beside him. The bout of weakness seemed to be returning for now. Sesshoumaru could not help but feel a little guilty for his earlier actions even thought he had no memory of it. He supported Inuyasha with an arm around his waist and discretely kissed his forehead and smiled when Inuyasha seemed to relax a little.

"Kiyoshi, get them settled while I go put Inuyasha to bed." Kiyoshi nodded. Sesshoumaru left before any of them could question him.

Kiyoshi turned to his guests and said, "This way please."

He led them politely to a large room. On the way he asked a maid to get some refreshments for the guests.

Miroku was the first to open his mouth when they all were seated, Kagome was just silently fuming. She refused to talk to the insolent boy. Kiyoshi could feel his lips twitch at that. "So, Kiyoshi . . . how old are you?" The young youkai raised an eyebrow at the question. It was foolishly obvious that the man was trying to beat around the bush. He smirked and said, "I'll be eight in a week's time. Feel free to ask me anything, Houshi-sama. You needn't be cautious around me." They looked at him slightly dumbfounded.

Miroku's face melted into an easy smile as he said, "Well, your tongue is more dangerous than Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. I have every reason to be cautious."

Kagome snorted at Miroku's comment and said, "He's too arrogant for his age. He doesn't know how to treat his elders."

Miroku groaned and so did Sango when they saw Kiyoshi's eyes harden and turn into angry slits. His expression was dangerous as was the frosty smile on his face. It was the same expression Inuyasha had when he was really, very angry. That sharp tongue again responded, making every one in the room freeze in shock, "Well, miss, I would not have been so . . . impolite . . . if you had not said something that was like a slap on the face for a dog demon. As a ningen, you should know you station and as a guest you should have followed basic manners." Kiyoshi shrugged and he looked at the fuming girl.

"You brat! Who do you think you are? This is a personal matter between me and Inuyasha."

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow at that. 'A personal matter?' He titled his head to one side and observed the ningen woman with sharp eyes, his bright gold gaze shimmering with intelligence as he bored into her eyes. "Hmm . . . interesting. Am I wrong to assume that you were just friends?" Kagome flushed and Miroku looked at Kiyoshi in wonder.

Sesshoumaru walked into the room silently.

"True, you can say that this ningen had some affections for Inuyasha, though he did not return them," he said as he settled beside his son.

Kiyoshi frowned at that and asked, "That command she said earlier, is that of some significance, father?" Sesshoumaru nodded, somewhat pleased that Kiyoshi had started referring to him as father rather than Lord Sesshoumaru. He ruffled his hair and spared an emotionless glance at the guests. "Yes, Inuyasha was cursed by her with a rosary. Whenever she said that command, he would plunge to the ground." Kiyoshi's eyes widened in wonder as his father continued to speak, "But he was a child. His demon powers had not developed fully as he lost fifty years of growth period. Now he has fully matured. Such petty ningen attempts would not bother him."

Kiyoshi had such an innocent expression of confusion on his face that Sesshoumaru had to resist hard to not to smile. "But father, dad never bowed to anyone. Much less humans. He isn't the lord of the largest demon village in all lands just like that." There was obvious pride in those little golden eyes. He would not for once believe that his dad would allow himself to be controlled by a human. Sesshoumaru looked at their guests calmly before answering, "I should imagine it is so. Your dad was never weak. He just has a soft spot when it comes to humans."

"Hey! Just hold on a minute here! Why is he calling Inuyasha 'dad'?" Kagome screeched. And screeched loud enough for Kiyoshi to cover his ears.

Sesshoumaru looked at her blandly and said, "He is Inuyasha's son."

Kagome's eyes twitched as she comprehended the given information, "You mean to say that Inuyasha left us to get hooked with some demon bitch!" OK, now that was a wrong thing to say, judging by the growls that rang throughout the room. Miroku took a step back, and Sango hissed, "Way to go, Kagome. With Inuyasha not here, how do you hope to survive two angry Inu-youkai?"

Kiyoshi caught that conversation and hissed lightly, "What makes you so sure that dad will stop us? He would have probably slapped her to her senses for that comment."

Kagome crossed her arms ad glared defiantly at the two demons. Sango sighed and said, "Inuyasha would never hurt Kagome. Please . . . forgive her. Inuyasha leaving so suddenly rubbed us in the wrong way. We thought he was our friend and he left without even a good bye."

Sesshoumaru looked at his son and then back at the humans and inquired, "What makes you think you are entitled to his friendship? To you, he was more of a guard dog than a friend."

Sesshoumaru's accusation caught them off-guard. Miroku was the first to protest, "That's not true! He was the one who left! He betrayed us! Do you have any idea how much we struggled to collect the rest of the jewel shards?"

"Exactly." Sesshoumaru said calmly, "Your words itself prove you wrong. The first thing Kagome said when she saw her lost love was that command. The first thing you say now is how much trouble you faced, not that you were worried about him, or that you were missing him. As for betraying you, he had only promised that he would kill Naraku, nothing more. He did that and there his responsibility ended."

Kagome banged her fist on the table and exclaimed, "Responsibility ended! Are you crazy? I don't care what you say, Inuyasha should not have left us like that."

Kiyoshi realized that someone had to neutralize the situation. All this yelling would awaken his dad and that would serve to ignite Inuyasha's anger. Which was something Kiyoshi did not want anybody to face. Therefore he stood and silently walked over to Kagome and knelt in front of her.

"I realize that you had strong feelings for him Kagome-san. However, dad has a life outside yours now. As you can see, he is the Lord of this village and my father. He has gotten over his past, and, even though he faces a few enemies every now and then, his life is peaceful. I can see it in his eyes that he respects you and your companions but you are not as important to him now as you once were. Please, I request of you to leave. Dad is already weakened. He does not need you to increase his pain."

The room fell silent. Sesshoumaru marveled at his son. Not for the first time, he found himself extremely proud of the boy. He had realized that exchanging accusations would get them nowhere and was trying to defuse the situation. Not that it worked.

"What would you know?" Kagome hissed through her teeth. "You're just a kid trying to be an adult. You don't know what Inuyasha and I have been through together. You mother stole him from me, that bitch stole him from me!"

As Kiyoshi did not have a mother, he did not get offended by the strange girl's remarks, but he was a little frustrated by this stupid woman who refused to see reason in his statement. There was only so much he could stand before he snapped. "Geez woman, you are a lunatic. Dad was never yours so get over it, there is no use. He made a choice. Are all of you so stupid. Idiocy seems to run through your race."

Sesshoumaru looked at the scene calmly. He could understand his son's irritation with this woman. But her gall surprised even Sesshoumaru, his eyes widened marginally when she raised her hand to slap Kiyoshi.

"I'll cut that arm right off if it lands on my son." Kagome froze in mid sweep. Inuyasha was at the door. His golden eyes were angry and his voice left them in no doubt that he was carry out his declaration. Kiyoshi stood to his feet and calmly went back to sit beside Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha somewhat stumbled forward and sat clumsily beside Sesshoumaru as well, his mate's presence giving him a little more comfort. He straightened as he looked at his former companions icily before his chilling gaze landed on Kagome.

"You are the same senseless bitch you were all those years ago. You never saw anything beyond yourself, did you? How dare you even think that you can touch my child? I have killed everyone who has tried before and I will kill anyone who tries again. So be wise." Kagome gritted her teeth by remained silent. Sesshoumaru was about to speak when Kiyoshi gripped his hand and shook his head. The daiyoukai raised an eyebrow at his son's actions. Kiyoshi leaned forward and whispered in Sesshoumaru ear, "Dad is angry. You won't like it when that anger is turned on you." Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to chuckle at his son's comment.

Inuyasha looked emotionlessly at his friends and said, "I know Kouga was the one who told you. Apparently he didn't go into detail. And as you have brought your asses here, I might as well tell you. Kiyoshi, as you know, is my son. I am the demon lord here because I overthrew the ruthless one the ruled before I came. I outrank Sesshoumaru in these parts because they are not under his territory." Inuyasha smirked when he saw Sesshoumaru's eyebrow rise and twitch.

He then directed his gaze back to his friends and said, "I left in haste because I did not want that kind of life for me or my son. I was tired of fighting."

Kagome scoffed at him matching his cold gaze, "So you just run? I didn't know you were capable of that, of being a coward."

Inuyasha shrugged and looked over at Sesshoumaru. His mate did not say anything but he could see he was angry and so was Kiyoshi. "If that is being a coward than so be it. Gods, Kagome, I'm surprised you survived. If Sesshoumaru did not strangle you, Kiyoshi would have."

He leaned his head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder and said, "I only promised that I would help kill Naraku. That was my only responsibility. The Shikon No Tama was never my responsibility. It was Kikyou's at first before it befell upon you. You came to this time, and you shattered it. Kaede said that only by working together we can get the shards but I was no longer able to so I left. I have a life, you know. You expect me to risk my son's life just to collect some troublesome shards?"

Sango stayed quiet throughout the entire conversation. She was a demon slayer and knew best of demons. In her mind, everything had fallen into place. The similarity between Kiyoshi and Sesshoumaru was startling but the bits and pieces of Inuyasha's nature in the boy also pointed Inuyasha as the father. The room had fallen abnormally silent when Inuyasha's challenging glare settled on them. His personality had gotten a lot more stronger.

Then Miroku chose to ask the question that was everybody's mind, "So where is Kiyoshi's mother?"

Inuyasha blinked and then turned to Sesshoumaru amused, "Didn't I say Kiyoshi was my son? He has no mother."

Kagome looked at him and asked, "Is she dead?"

"You gave birth to him didn't you?" Sango asked with a small smile on her face. Inuyasha countered her smile with one of his own and ruffled Kiyoshi's hair saying, "Yes I did."

That declaration stunned Miroku and Kagome. Shippo just jumped onto Inuyasha's lap and murmured, "I cannot believe it! Then Kiyoshi is like my brother!" Inuyasha chuckled when he saw Kiyoshi's eyebrow twitch, 'Yes, like father like son..'

Kagome finally got her wits together and asked, "Hold on a sec here! How can Inuyasha give birth to Kiyoshi, he's a guy!"

Inuyasha groaned at the declaration and his shoulders sagged, "I am so not up to this. Why do you guys have to descend on me all of a sudden? Leave all questions for later. I am tired." He stood up and was about to leave the room when Kagome stopped him by standing in front of him.

"There is no way you are going anywhere before you answer my questions, you get that, jerk!"

Before anyone could even register what was happening Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's chin in a bruising grip, making everyone but Kiyoshi gasp in shock. He ignored her whimper of pain as he said, "Listen to me and listen to me good for I am going to say this only once. This is my fucking house and I am the one who gives orders around here. I am not the love sick, insecure puppy I was years ago so you can stop thinking you can intimidate me. When I say we talk in the morning then we talk in the morning. I am not taking any shit from you. Get that straight." He released her chin and shoved her out of the way, saying, "Kiyoshi, it's past your bedtime. Return to your chambers."

Kiyoshi stood up and smirked at the horrified ningen and then turned to Sesshoumaru with a look that clearly said, 'I told you so.' He stood in front of Inuyasha and waited for his dad to kneel. All anger seemed to drain from Inuyasha's body. He smiled softly and knelt in front of Kiyoshi to receive his good night kiss and hug. Kiyoshi leaned into Inuyasha and whispered in his ear, "Shh dad, I love it when you get angry at others."

Earlier mood forgotten, Inuyasha chuckled and walked towards his own chambers, giving orders to the servants to show their guests to guests chambers when they were ready to rest for the night.

There was tense silence in the room which Inuyasha and Kiyoshi just left. Kagome was rubbing her sore chin, barely managing to hold back tears. Sango looked like she was trapped. On one hand, she thought Inuyasha was too harsh while the other she thought Kagome had it coming. Miroku seemed to be in a similar position.

"What has he become? He was never like this . . ." Kagome whispered.

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms and looked at her. "He has become a father. He has become a man. A demon. A man who is living his own life. Whatever he has achieved, he has done it on his own. His honor and pride is only second to his son, and if you offend him he is bound to show you your place, ningen."

Large tear-stained brown eyes looked at him. "You turned him into this monster, didn't you!"

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to sigh, 'This woman is relentless!'

He countered her gaze evenly and said, "I, too, have not seen him in eight years. I did not know of his whereabouts. He hid himself well this time."

"If he would have been with me . . . he would not have been so ruthless. With me . . ." Kagome was stopped by Sesshoumaru.

"Stupid girl." Sesshoumaru stood up and looked at the servant that had just arrived, "Lord Inuyasha has not dined yet so have something light sent to his chambers. I am with him. Get some servant to escort these imbeciles to their guest chambers." The servant bowed as Sesshoumaru left the room, saying, "Inuyasha is my mate . . . you hurt him in anyway, I will kill you."

Sango finally understood the connection here and smiled. She looked at Miroku's stunned expression and said, "I think I know what is going on here."

Kagome swiftly turned to her and said, "Than please explain Sango! I can't understand anything."

Sango smiled as she caressed Kirara behind her ears and said, "Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are the last of the Inu-youkai clan. Not a single one is left besides them."

Her expression turned thoughtful as she said, "Inuyasha was the clan's last born. Even though his blood is tainted with that of a human, he is an inuyoukai pure-bred. No other demon blood taints him. That means if he were to mate with an inuyoukai, his children will be pure-breds. Human blood will thin as generations pass. I believe that Inuyasha's parents saw the end of the clan as Inuyasha was a male."

Miroku processed the information with a small frown, murmuring, "It still doesn't explain things, Sango."

Sango giggled in excitement and said, "Have patience and listen or you won't understand. Inuyasha's father was a very powerful demon so it is not surprising that Inuyasha was able to bare a child. It is a very complicated ritual. The only way that males can bare children is when they are that powerful, in will and physical strength. Inuyasha's will cannot be rivaled, not even by Sesshoumaru. And his strength is immense. So he was able to follow through the stages of pregnancy even though he was not emotionally equipped to handle it as females are."

Sango looked at her companions to see if they were paying attention, only to find their rapt interest. "However, Inu no Taishou could not possibly know that it was dangerous to perform the ceremony. You see, if he had to enable Inuyasha to get pregnant, he had to mate his son with a male on the day of his birth. All it required was a small amount of the mate's blood. He might have taken blood from Sesshoumaru. The blood has to go directly into the Inuyasha's blood stream. I am guessing he punctured the poor little boy's skin and let the whole amount of blood dissolve into the stream. As his body then had hardly matured it was easy for it to accommodate the transformation. Over the years, his body developed as females develop naturally. Outwardly male, capable of baring and seeding young."

Miroku looked very pensive with the information and said, "His father forced a blood bond without consent? For demons, that's very dangerous."

Kagome, to her credit, had listened without a word, but she asked, "You mean it was a conspiracy to force Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to mate?"

Sango shook her head and said, "That's just it, you cannot force two demons to mate. Demons, unlike humans, mate not for power, not for lust, only for love. That is where Inuyasha's father took a great risk. He had no idea whether his sons would even like each other, much less love. Blood bonds cause no pull, or attraction. It only links one's life to another. However, it also means that Inuyasha cannot mate anyone else. It is risky, risky enough to cause Inuyasha's death. But they mated, and the result was Kiyoshi and he is perfect. They will have many more, if only Inuyasha chooses to allow it."

Kagome looked at Sango in the eye and asked, "I never had a chance, did I?"

"No, sweetheart. Neither you nor Kikyou ever did," was Sango's reply.