Chapter 32
Sesshoumaru took in the sight that greeted him. Inuyasha's body lay atop a funeral pyre. The girl he had traveled with for so long, held a lighted torch. And the girl was obviously pregnant, he could tell this by sight and by smell. Noticing the small child beside Kagome, he knew at once that this boy was Inuyasha's son. Rin had not been exaggerating when she had told him all of this. He was not surprised that his half-brother would give his life for the girl he had traveled with for so long. He always considered him foolish in that way. But the fact of the young child and pregnant girl did surprise him. He had never before worried about his status as the one who would produce heirs for his father, for Inuyasha was a simple half-breed and half-breeds were unable to produce living offspring. So why ... or how did Inuyasha succeed in producing a living child? With a second child not far away from being born.
As Sesshoumaru tried to digest all that surrounded him, he felt his sword begin to vibrate. Tenseiga was asking ... no ... demanding to be drawn.
'So, Inuyasha's death was not supposed to be, is that what you are saying, Tenseiga?'
Sesshoumaru had always intended to be the one who destroyed Inuyasha. After all, it was Inuyasha's unusual strength as a half-demon which threatened Sesshoumaru's place in the world. If it hadn't been for Inuyasha and his human mother, his father would have lived a longer life and Sesshoumaru would have been facing his father for domination of the Western Lands. Instead, now Sesshoumaru had to prove himself as a powerful leader and work his way up in power as his father had done in years past. Inuyasha should never have lived past infancy. Most half-breeds didn't. But, Inuyasha was unlike most half-breeds. He had survived and thrived. And Sesshoumaru considered him a threat to his quest for ultimate power. His father had explained to Sesshoumaru before the half-breed was born, that he wanted Sesshoumaru to share power with his sibling. Sesshoumaru had no such desire to share. And now his domination was threatened even more by two more half-breeds that should never have been born.
Tenseiga continued to vibrate ... insisting on being used to revive the dead hanyou.
'I will use you, Tenseiga. Because I will be the one to bring Inuyasha to his knees. I will be the one that Inuyasha begs to spare his life. The thought that he died fighting Naraku's spirit in defense of a human woman is pathetic. Only a pathetic half-breed would protect a human girl pregnant with a his half-breed offspring.'
As Sesshoumaru approached the pyre, with Tenseiga drawn, Kagome could only hold her breath. Would Sesshoumaru really use Tenseiga on Inuyasha? A little voice broke her thoughts,
"Mama? Who dat man?", little Yasha queried his mother.
Kneeling beside her son, Kagome said quietly to him, "That's your uncle. His name is Sesshoumaru. He is your papa's brother."
In the place between this world and the next, Inuyasha's spirit sat beside the spirit of his late father. The two had talked for a very long time. His father finally announced,
"It is time for me to go, my son. Because very soon, you will be leaving too."
"Leaving? Whaddya mean? You said I'm stuck here.", Inuyasha said.
"You will soon be back in the world of the living. Back with your son and your wife. Heed what I have told you and try not to make the same mistakes that I did."
"I don't understand ... how will I be back in the world of the living? The only way that would happen would be if Sesshoumaru used Tenseiga and we both know how likely that will be to happen.", Inuyasha scoffed at the mere thought of his half-brother reviving him.
His father merely walked away and disappeared into the mist that had formed around him. And then, Inuyasha felt himself leaving this area and traveling back to where ...?
Sesshoumaru stared at the lifeless form of his half-brother as he saw the messengers from the netherworld crawling over the body. Swinging Tenseiga, he sliced the messengers in half, forcing them to dissipate. As Sesshoumaru started to walk away and transform into the pinkish ball that would carry him away, Inuyasha woke up, as if from a dream.
Sitting up, he realized where he was as he took in the sights around him. Confused villagers, not understanding what had just transpired, screamed and ran as the formerly dead hanyou stood up and jumped off the pyre. Other villagers knelt and wept in fear, for they believed they had just witnessed the birth of a hanyou god. The ones that did understand, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kohaku, Rin and Kaede gathered around the revived half-demon.
Hugging Kagome desperately, he whispered to her,
"What just happened to me?"
She whispered back, "Rin went for Sesshoumaru and he revived you with the Tenseiga.", she said through tears of happiness.
Yasha, not fully comprehending what had just happened, was nonetheless overjoyed to see his father alive. He jumped up onto his father's shoulder and hugged his father's neck. Wanting only to spend time with his family, Inuyasha picked up Kagome and with Yasha and Shippou, bounded off to their home, leaving the others behind to explain to bewildered villagers that he wasn't a god.
For days, no one saw the little family as they kept to themselves and relished being reunited.
3 months later, Kagome gave birth to a little girl. Shippou and Yasha were thrilled at their new sister. Both boys commented how the new arrival smelled like honeysuckle, and Kagome and Inuyasha agreed she did have a sweet fragrance, which birthed her name, Kaori, or fragrance.