Oh...My God. I am so frickin' damn sorry I haven't updated in so damn long:cries: I've had a serious case of writer's bloc for all three of my damn stories...But I am overcoming them tonight dammit! I'm going to listen to Nightwish all night if I have to...Which isn't much of a feat because I love Nightwish...But whatever. I am going to update probably two of my fics if it kills me! Which it had better not 'cause I have plans for the weekend!

Frick, my laptop is busted, too...The left side is coming apart. Damn thing. Anyways...I shall let you go now...Read on!

The battle was waged in all parts of the new world, the Dark Lord's army spread wide and far, drawing breath as soon as the deathblows were struck. There was no end to the madness; no way to stop the bloodshed. Naraku's army, even though they were only mortals, was far too strong. For all the magick of the world, the beings who faught against the new gods army could not come up with a way to defeat those Naraku controlled.

Unless they destroyed the God controlling them. But such a thing was unfathomable, even by the strongest warriors and magick crafters.

And so the old gods intervened in the hopes that they could alter the balance and so help their world to defeat the Dark Lord.

Thick clouds gathered from the heavens and formed above the new world, and a magickal rain fell from the sky.This rain cleansed all pure beings of their wounds, and Naraku's miasmic breath was drowned, suffocating his body because there was so much inside him. He couldn't keep it inside his ghastly body or even he would succumb to its toxins.

He expelled the miasma from his body in a powerful burst, shooting it forth into the Universe in all directions, heedless of any and all consequences. His desire to live was so strong, he didn't stop to think about the energy it would require for him to rid his body of the miasma.

For one day and night, Naraku was as weak as the beings he controlled. It was only too late that the Dark Lord realized this.

Combining all their magickal strengths, Akiratou, Sumishuru, Nanewa, Koso and Torun sought out Naraku in his weakened state. The old gods stripped Naraku of complete immortality and many of his godly gifts, condemning him to a life on the world he so wanted to control.

He could no longer hold giant quantities of miasma within his body, and so could not control an endless army or raise it from the grave. Humans were given a choice; to fight and die as a part of his army, or to die by his hand. Some resisted, but most followed...Not wishing to seek Death's bed without tasting the fruits of life. His strength was decreased exponentially, and he could no longer sustain a god's body. He was forced to take on a human body and infuse it with whatever strength he could steal from the demons he was made to consume. And once every month, Naraku's strength and energies were expelled and he became weak once more.

But even with such interference from the gods, Naraku was still a very formidable enemy, and the pure beings of this world could not defeat him...On the one chance they might have to destroy him, his weak nights, the Dark Lord was hidden, using whatever strength he could to barr his scent from demons and keep well out of sight.

It would have seemed that Naraku would continue to live no matter how the pure ones tried.

Until the gods interfered once more...

Sesshomaru was laughing as hard as he'd ever laughed in his life, very nearly rolling around in the grass. Just recently, the little Kagome had decided it was a lot of fun tugging on InuYasha's ears, much to his false-chagrin. His scent betrayed nothing, and though he put on a frown, Sesshomaru knew that inside his brother was very happy.

He was slightly jealous that Kagome wasn't tugging on his own ears, but he knew she liked him best...She was always smiling at him and running to him whenever she saw him. It was really no big secret that many times he had gone running to her. It was difficult for him to keep his eyes off her. Her big blue-white eyes so bright and her hair so thick and black...Chubby cheeks that made her a picture of perfection. She was growing every day into a very lovely little girl.

It seemed she spoke her own language, often times going into such rapid bouts of noises that once sound was melded with the next. Here and there he thought he could tell what she was trying to say, but it was difficult to discern much from her speech. Even so, she was all the more adorable for it. He made it a point to talk to her as much as possible, to the surprise of many of the people around him. It was important to him that she know every part of him. His voice, the specific texture of his hair, his scent, his eye-color...

It may have seemed silly to anyone else, but it felt important to him. He needed her to know him.

Through the heavy jumble of words that stumbled through her mouth, "S'sh'mawu," was all he heard. And all he saw was the tiny girl running at him with the biggest smile he'd ever seen plastered to her face. He held out his arms and threw her up in the air when she reached him, catching her on the way down. He held her in his arms for a moment, snuggling her against him...Rather reluctant to let her go.

InuYasha was looking at her as if she'd sprouted horns and a tail, but his expression softened and he was smiling and spinning in circles around his brother and the little girl.

"Good girl," he whispered in her ear. He'd have let her go if she wanted, as it were she stayed where she was, tightening her grip when he made to let her down. If he'd tried really hard, he may have been able to conceal the flush that was rising in his cheeks...But he couldn't, and when Hakira saw Sesshomaru and her daughter as she walked across the field towards them, she smiled and laughed.

Which most certainly didn't make matters any better. If anything, the flush became a much deeper shade of blush-pink.

When he heard her voice very clearly once more, he knew he'd heard her say his name. It made him proud...And almost unbearably happy. His name had been her first word; not mother, mama, father, papa...It was his name and no one else'. He'd never forget it.

Neither would she.

She couldn't seem to get enough without him, and if he were as conceited as most people believed, she couldn't seem to live without him. Hakira had had to bring her to his chambers in the night because she couldn't sleep. He'd never seen Kagome with bags under her eyes and he couldn't bear to see her like that. Or her mother...They were always so full of life and joy.

"She lies in her bed with her eyes wide open like she's afraid to sleep...And when she does she cries out and screams from nightmares or the like," she whispered, quite obviously met with quite the challenge. She was pacing, like she didn't know what to do or whether what she was doing was right. "When I take her from her crib she's quiet as a lamb and when I lay her beside me to sleep she...Doesn't! I thought you might have better luck than I."

He didn't quite know what to say, but he accepted the growing girl from the mother. Kagome latched onto him so tightly he had to hide the surprise he felt. He said, "I'll try..." He asked the mother if she'd noticed anything especially odd about when her daughter slept, but there was nothing she could recall.

When Hakira left, he wrapped his arms tighter around Kagome and lay down on the thick mattress of his bed with her lying atop his chest. Her eyes scrunched up but she remained quiet and clutching tight to his bedclothes. Sesshomaru moved one of his arms and he felt Kagome cringe, almost like she was trying to get away.

She was afraid.

But Kagome was never afraid...Not with him. She had no need to be afraid with him. Didn't she know he'd protect her from anything?

He pulled the furs up around them and wrapped his arm around her again. She relaxed, closed her eyes and held on to him tighter. Sesshomaru held her closer and kissed her hair. He didn't know why she was so afraid, but he wanted her to know she was safe...That she would always be safe with him.

So he did the only thing he could think of to soothe her, he spoke to her, hoping against hope that the sound of his voice would calm her.

"You're safe, you know? I don't know why, but you're the most important part of my life...I'll always protect you. You'll never have to run away from anything as long as I'm there. And I always will be." He knew he was rambling, but he was so worried about her it didn't seem to matter... "I'll always keep you safe. You can sleep with me as long as you want to and I'll make sure no one can ever hurt you. Just as long as you're okay I'm happy. I need you to be okay, 'Gome...Did you know that? You're so special...You make everything okay, you make everything more than okay...But now you're not and I don't know how to make it better. I need to know what to do to make it okay, 'Gome..."

He could smell the salt of tears, and he wasn't sure if they were his or if they belonged to Kagome. He sat up in his bed and held her away from his body, gazing deep into her eyes.

"I can't live with you scared like this, Kagome. You're too important to me...I can't...I can't stand it. I need you to be happy..." He stopped when he saw a tiny teardrop sliding down her cheek. He leant forward and kissed it away, kissing her forehead before he moved away to look at her again. "I can protect you from anything, anyone that tries to hurt you...I'll keep you safe...I promise I will, just as long as you're with me and you're happy."

He kissed her on the mouth before drawing her tiny body close to his. He held her tight against his chest, well aware that his tears were falling into her silky black hair. He didn't care.

He heard her say his name. "Sesshomaru..." It was her voice, but the clarity of her speech was astounding. That he could understand her perfectly even more so. "Sowwy, Maru...I'm sowwy we're so scared."

He'd have pulled away from her if she hadn't been holding on so tight. He wasn't even sure he'd heard her right and it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. It didn't matter...He held her tighter, kissed her hair once and then again before settling them both back onto his bed.

Her grip loosened and her breathing evened out, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep. Her scent held nothing that might mean nightmares, and she was still and quiet, a picture of serenity. It wasn't long before he too succumbed to the depths of slumber.

Okay...There you go! Any mistakes you find you have to let me know...I haven't reread the fic so I don't know if I screwed anything up or not and I have to know so I can fix it. I know how this fic is going to end...Just not the details of how it's going to get there.