In the last chapter:
Well now, isn't this a surprise, Kagome finds out the truth through a dream that she has. And what is more surprising is that Sesshomaru doesn't go and kill the two who are responsible. Has he changed that much? Is the love that Kagome has given him, changed him from a cold killer to a marshmallow? Both Kagura and Cracko has guilty feelings and they are starting to eat away at them. Was it true that Cracko sent the images to Kagome or was it that Kagome could feel them? Christmas Day has arrived and the spirits of the Royal families have decorated the hall. Cracko and Kagura come clean with their deception and for once, forgiveness will prevail for the two. Presents were passed out and opened, food was served and drink was guzzled down quickly. Everyone was happy and for once, the Tashido house was filled with laughter. After everyone was gone, the royal families were allowed to open their gifts from each of their respectful spirit. Each gift given was different from the other but they were all special. Sota grows stronger as well as his feelings for Rin; the families all notice this and worry about the upcoming challenge. All of them gather around for the birth of the new babies and the surprising show of love from Kagome to Sango. Oni and Shellene were brought into the world and Sango is now a true blood sister with Kagome. Sesshomaru and Sota have a heart to heart talk about Kagome and her inner fears.
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha but I do have my words! Muhahahaha!
After that fateful day, Kagome was ordered to stay in bed for the rest of her pregnancy. Normally for full demons they have a gestation period of 5 months at the most. Kagome had surpassed that and they thought that it was because she has more than one inside of her. So instead of taking their chances, they made her stay in bed and only walk around for three hours during the day. She of course was not agreeable to that but knew that they were right in this matter.
Kanna healed up nicely after giving birth to Shellene. And Shellene was starting to become more of an outgoing personality than Kanna would have liked but knew that it was still ok. Kohaku was constantly running around making sure that she wouldn't break things around the palace while he was supposed to be on break from the construction of their home.
Sango had taken on some of Kagome's more amusing personality traits while her body got used to having deadly poison in it. Oni was growing like a weed and there were many times that Miroku caught her sleeping curled up next to Kirara when she was in her demon form. Sango told Miroku to never worry about Kirara because she will protect her while they are in that form. But he still worried. Sango took her time healing from Kagome's wound that she made. The poison still ate at her flesh at times after she licked it clean but Sango didn't mind. She knew that the poison was just making its way to that part of the flesh that still did not contain any of it.
Sesshomaru grew more and more worried about Kagome's prediction that she was going to die during childbirth. Sota was making sure that he kept Sesshomaru's mind off of the matter by training harder than he was before. Making Sesshomaru mad and sometimes making mistakes so Sesshomaru made him do them repeatedly. Rin knew that it was to keep his mind busy because she tried to keep Kagome busy all the time that she was alone. Kagome was now teaching Rin things about taking care of the house and cooking while she was on bed rest. Even though she could not go into the kitchens and show her things for very long, she still tried and Rin made her think on some of the questions that she would ask.
Kikyou during this time was eating massive amounts of food and was getting larger with each week. InuYasha was worried that they were going to be having more than one as well because of her size. She was like Kagome in a way because she would yell at him one minute and then ask for forgiveness the next. InuYasha had to be reminded that it was the hormones that were working against him right now. And that she will become normal afterwards. But he still worried at times because some of the things that she would yell at him for were so dumb. But he loved it when she would let him curl up next to her and fell her belly as it got bigger and tighter with their baby.
Cracko finally got up the nerve to ask Sayla if she would court him. And she let him worry for a time and then finally accepted. They formally went in front of Sesshomaru about it and Sesshomaru had to admit that he was worried about it since Sayla was so innocent in the whole manner of courting. Cracko agreed to Sesshomaru's rules during their courting because he did care for her a lot and he wanted to show her that he did. Cracko has been trying his hardest in the ranks to get to where he was before and he was the butt of many jokes when the others found out that he was at the bottom again. Sesshomaru also noticed that Cracko was getting closer with his family once again and was happy about that. So he accepted the courting under his rules and so far things were going fine between the two.
Then he was again confronted with another request of courting by another couple. Kagura and Fitzu. Except the difference with these two is that they were requesting that they courted under law for a short time because they wanted to get married and live here in the Western Lands with everyone else. Sesshomaru was surprised that Kagura was doing things right for the first time and that Fitzu was happy. He agreed to the courting but he told them that they have to court for at least eight months to make the elders agree to the marriage. They agreed to those terms and Kagura was allowed to start planning her house. She was going to live by Kanna, Kohaku and Shellene. All of them have grown close now and they wanted to stick together so they could be an actual family.
Sesshomaru had to admit that things were going great. Kagome has been in a good mood thanks to Rin and Sheila keeping her busy. And Kanna and Sango coming with their daughters every once in a while. But the lingering thoughts of her dying were burned into his head. Would the Tensiga do what I wanted on the same person that he cared for? Would the Tensiga even work? Thoughts like that played upon his mind when he was alone. He talked with Miroku about his worries one day in the study. Jaken was in his corner that now had a desk and a formal pillow for him to sit on.
"Miroku I am worried about Kagome. Is there anything that I can do for her to make her feel better?"
"Sesshomaru I am going to tell you something that she made me promise not to tell you."
"There are secrets in this palace again?"
Jaken sat in his corner scared. He knew that the secret was coming out.
"Sesshomaru she did this before Sango and Kanna had the pups. She came to me when we arrived and gave me her will."
"What is a will?"
"That is a document that showed everyone what her final wishes were after she arrived in the afterlife. It was signed by the counsel in Edo."
Sesshomaru looked down at his desk and sighed. "She was so worried that she wrote out this will and had it approved by the counsel?"
"Yes and she made me and Jaken promise that we wouldn't tell you about it until the time was right."
"Sesshomaru I am sorry that you had to find out this way. I know that her reasoning for this is justified since it seems like she can see the future. But I am sorry."
"Is there any way that I can look at the documents before she is brought into the afterlife?"
"No, she has it sealed in a special way to where you could see if it was opened before or not."
"So even after all is said and done, there is still something that reveals how much of a puzzle she is."
"Yes My Lord. I do wish that there was another way of doing this but there isn't."
"Do you know what type of things were included in this will of hers?"
"It contained information on what each person was going to get of her things when she died. And that if there was conflict, that it would be decided by me."
"Then I would like for you to take care of mine then as well." Sesshomaru said as he went into his desk and pulled out his parchment that contained everything that he wanted to be done. He stood up and handed it to Miroku and then walked back at his desk.
"Sesshomaru how long have you written this?"
"I have always had one but I have had to change it since taking Kagome into the house and now the children that we are bringing into the world."
"I will make sure that yours are put next to hers."
"Thank you Miroku."
"You are welcome Sesshomaru, now are you going to come with me and play with Oni and Shellene while the ladies do their things?"
"Yes that would be fine Miroku."
For the rest of the day Sesshomaru, Miroku, Kohaku and Sota played with the two little ones and discussed what they were going to do with the challenge that was coming up within months. Sota kept telling Sesshomaru that he was scared because he never would have thought that he would have to fight to keep the woman that he loved. It was then that Sesshomaru gave all of them some of the Tashido family history on what things happened. It was not until later that night that Sesshomaru confronted Kagome on the will.
"Kagome, I heard that you have a will in your name and didn't tell me about it." Sesshomaru said as he changed into his night pants.
Kagome stopped what she was reading and peered over the book. "I did a while ago. Was it wrong that you were not told?"
"I think that you should have discussed with me on what is going where and such."
"Well I guess that I thought that I could do it on my own." Kagome said as she watched him come over to the bed and get in.
"I know that you thought that. But don't worry I am not mad about it. I just thought that it was odd that you did not discuss it with me first. That is all." Sesshomaru said as he cuddled up to her.
Kagome put her book down and rolled on her side to look at him. "I love you so much Sesshomaru that I was worried that you know. That I am not going to live after the birth of our pups."
"I know that you have those fears and your mother said that it was something that every woman goes through. But I will not accept not being told of such things any more. Any time that you feel that you need to do something like that, you should talk it over with me."
"Well you are one to talk. I heard that you had one as well."
"It was done before you were at the palace Kagome. So do not pin this one on me. You know that you should have talked to me about it but you didn't. It is all said and done at this time."
"Sesshomaru you are playing unfair. I know that you keep things from me even to this day. Besides, there isn't a law set in place that says that I absolutely have to discuss every thing in my life with you!"
"Well maybe I should do that. Now you have to calm down now. For our pups sake."
"I will certainly not calm down. What you are saying is that I should just sit here like a damn dog and do whatever her master tells her am I right?" Kagome said as she sat up and looked at him.
"Kagome please. You are still two weeks from your delivery date and your mother told you that you have to keep your anger under control."
"Well no you should have been the one to remember that you bastard! I can't believe that you are acting this way to me. I just can't believe it." Kagome said as she laid back against the headboard and closed her eyes.
"Kagome you know that there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you. But for now I would just like for you to calm down. Please." Sesshomaru pleaded with her.
"Whatever Sesshomaru." Kagome said as she lowered herself onto the bed again and rolled on her side. She closed her eyes and got to sleep without even saying good night to him.
He looked at her and wanted to reach out for her and hold her but he knew that she wouldn't allow him to. So he just laid back down and closed his eyes. He was worried for her but he didn't know how to let her know that all he was doing was showing her that he cared. But he understood that she got angry with him easily because all she has been doing is sitting here in bed and she isn't allowed to do much now that she is having difficulty walking. The pups inside of her are growing quickly and getting stronger the longer that they are inside of her. But he had to admit that he really wanted to have them outside so he could touch them and hold them. He loved playing with Oni and Shellene. It was like they were his but he knew better than that.
Sheila grew more and more worried as time went on. Her daughter was growing very large with her pups inside of her and her anger was rising faster than it had before. But what worried her the most is that she was not talking with many people anymore. She would sit in her room and read various books but would not take many visitors. For the longest time she thought that Kagome might be one of them that would get very depressed after giving birth. But the more that she saw her daughter, she knew that she was going to go wild again after giving birth. She was not going to let anyone or anything get in her way of having fun or doing what she wanted on her own. She tried to talk about it many times with her but Kagome would not let her know what was going on in her mind.
Kagome, the one that was worried that she was going to die was lying in bed alone. Morning had come upon her fast today. She thought that she had just closed her eyes to go to sleep five minutes before. But here she was well rested and ready to go and do nothing. She was getting sick and tired of having to stay in bed just because her waddling was worse than it was before. Here it was the seventh month into her pregnancy; two months longer than it should have been. Lavonia has been checking up on her progress and she keeps telling her that according to her future books, Kagome was right on schedule with a human gestation period. But with Kagome being a full demon now, why would her pregnancy go the full nine months when Kanna's was five months. To her it was not making sense but yet, nothing has been lately for her. Her thoughts have been rather jumbled and she can't seem to really concentrate on anything. She would try and try to read a book but found that it was rather boring and that things in the books now did not fascinate her like they used to.
But here she was trying to read another book and trying to get into the plot of the story when really the only thing that was on her mind was Sesshomaru. She was worried about him and the upcoming birth. It was true that she was scared that she wasn't going to survive the birth but now after seeing herself grow and feel the things that she does, she knows that she is going to live just fine after the birth. But Sesshomaru with him going behind her back at times to do things, it was something that was not like him. So she grew worried and hoped to Kami that it was just something that she made up in her head and that was it. She embellished her worries about dying to Miroku and made it seem like she could see the future and that she was going to die when in reality, she most likely was not. But in order for this to work, she needed to make him think that. So she wrote some things down on a piece of parchment for Jaken to bring to Edo and to give to her. Kagome was sure that they were not happy of the deception but she needed to know. So she wrote them just a small note saying hello and to sign the paper even though there was no reason for it and then give it back to her servant. When Jaken came back with the parchment, she immediately went to Miroku and told him of her fears and then dealt with it from there. She was hoping that Miroku was going to mention it to Sesshomaru and alas he did. To find out whether Sesshomaru was doing things correctly was the only thing that she wanted to know. And he did. Because later he told her that she should have discussed things with him.
Well if you think about it, why would any sane woman tell her husband exactly was going through her mind? Kagome knew that she really couldn't tell him. She knew that if he learned that she deceived him by using the counsel in Edo just to find out if he made the will was something that he would not tolerate. And she knew it. She knew that there were some things that you told your husband and some things that are to remain hidden in the layers of one's own mind. And that is where she was going to keep this secret. Kagome knew that in her younger days she would not have been like this. She would have been very open with Sesshomaru about her feelings on the matter and hoped that he would forgive her for her bluntness. But for some reason with the pregnancy going the way that it is, she couldn't be blunt anymore. She knew that her pups could hear her in her tummy, the things that she felt, talked about, listened to. And she also knew that they were getting more and more used to hearing Sesshomaru's voice as well. Even though they could not feel or hear his heartbeat like they could with her she still knew that he was their father.
It was a stormy night when she sat on the veranda thinking. She fell asleep long enough for Sesshomaru to and then she got out of bed and sat down on her chair on the veranda to think. She knew that she had tons of time to do this during the day but for some reason, this night she wanted to be closer to nature than anything else.
What am I doing out here in the storm? Is there a reason for me to sit out here without the rain hitting me? I feel like I am being overprotected against anything that might harm me in life. But how do I tell Sesshomaru of this? Is he going to feel offended if I told him how I felt? What do I feel anyway? Is there something in this life of mine that is missing? I have defeated and destroyed Naraku, I have released the ones that I feel are the good people in their lives, I have gotten over InuYasha, I have gotten to love Sesshomaru and I have experienced loss of a loved one with my first daughter. What is it that I am missing? Could it be that I am not truly happy to be here with Sesshomaru? Or is this something that is caused by my long pregnancy? Kikyou is due soon as well. She has grown rapidly in the last month or so and soon she is going to be giving birth. Is that the reason why I am feeling like this? Because she has InuYasha and is bearing his child instead of me? How could I think of such a thing when I have found the greatest love that I could ever ask for in Sesshomaru?
I had once thought that I loved InuYasha with all my heart and soul when we were traveling together and fighting side by side. And when I heard him tell me that he was always going to be there for me and to protect me was the one thing that I knew I wanted. But with each kiss that he gave me or each hug that he embraced me with, did not seem like it was true to heart. It seemed like he was forcing himself to do such a thing because he knew that I wanted it or that I needed it. Then there is Shippo, my adopted pup. The one that I had saved from starvation and death. And now I barely get to see him because he is now training so hard for Rin's love. I can still see the mornings that I would wake up and he was curled in a small ball near me. He needed comfort and caring touches to get him through what he was doing. He tried his hardest to fight with us when we came upon anything dangerous. I don't know if it was because he wanted to or because he wanted to show himself that he could do it. And now my first little baby was all grown up and getting ready for a challenge for another's hand in marriage. How the times have changed since the first day meeting InuYasha at the sacred tree. I still cannot believe all of the things that we have gone through. I can still see the pain that we all went through just to get this far in life. I know that I love my husband with all of my heart but not my soul. For some reason I cannot accept him in my soul just yet. Is it because of what happened with Shaka? With her being conceived without me knowing and then losing her soon after she was conceived? I wish that I had the answers to all of my questions and I know that I shouldn't have to go through all of this now. I have all that I could have ever wanted in life. Finding a man that truly loves me for me, having children with that man, and being with my family that is still ever so close to me now.
Kagome sat outside on the veranda for most of the night. The storm was lessening as it moved on throughout the lands. But the lightning that was following the storm was very beautiful. As it reached across the sky to find nothing in it's grasp. Then the loudness of the thunder that was created when the lightning reached it's hands out once again in the darkness. Kagome sat out there for most of the night wondering what she was missing in her life and soon was asleep. Sesshomaru woke up after he found that she was not in bed. He first thought that she went to the bathroom but found that her scent was so near to him. So he went about the room and found that the doors to the veranda were slightly open and that is when he found her sleeping in a pool of her own birth fluid. He took her into his arms and laid her down on the bed while he went and fetched the women. The sun was starting to come up in the east and the birds were already singing their happy song for the day as Sesshomaru ran about the palace.