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Recap: Sesshoumaru helped InuYasha to conquer his fear of oral sex and the pregnant hanyou discovered that he liked broccoli, couldn't stand the smell of Ramen, and begged for ice cream.
Author's Note: Thanks to the movie Look Who's Talking for an inspired line.
Dedication: This is for Inumaru900, Pink Dragon Pudding, and Nikkie23534. I love all my readers. Personally, this isn't my favorite chapter, but I hope you like it.
Prophecy of Brothers
By Scarlet Willows
Chapter Ten – The Prophesized Birth
Rin had been so happy that Sesshoumaru-sama had married his half-brother. Sesshoumaru had told her, on the eve of his wedding, that InuYasha was now her guardian as well and that she had to do as he said and respect him. Well, that wouldn't be too hard for her. She adored InuYasha, who was always so open and easy to read; he accepted all her flower necklaces with a large grin and even wore them (something Sesshoumaru-sama had never done), he brought her sweets and strawberries (which were her favorite), and he even played with her and Shippo sometimes, teaching them how to spar with wooden weapons. He gave her big hugs, read to her the stories that Kagome brought from her era, and tucked her in at night. When everything was winding down in the evenings, she especially loved to curl up beside him because he had this unconscious habit of petting her hair. Her little head would lie in his lap and his clawed fingers would gently weave in and out through her dark locks as her eyelids became droopy.
So it was with a smile on her face that Rin found herself skipping down the hall to her adopted-parents' room. She knocked on the door softly and waited for an invitation into the room…the last time she had opened the door suddenly, Sesshoumaru-sama, her chichiue, had been a little…upset and flustered, so she didn't want to repeat that experience.
A few moments later she heard some rustling and a groggy voice that said, "Come in."
She opened the door a crack and saw InuYasha snuggled into the bed, barely awake. "I'm sorry to disturb you, otou-san. I'll just come back later." She made a move to shut the door, but was halted when InuYasha insisted that she should come in.
"It's alright, sweetie. You didn't wake me. I couldn't sleep anyways with all this kicking that this little brat's been doing," he said sarcastically, indicating his rebellious womb. "Not even born and already making trouble. What am I going to do with you?" He patted his belly fondly.
"Can Rin touch?" the little girl asked with a gleam in her eyes, the gleam that all little girls seem to get around babies or pregnant women, imagining their own future.
"Sure, sweetie," he scooted over on the bed to make room for his adopted-daughter and patted the spot next to him. Rin had gotten so excited at the prospect of feeling the active tyke inside InuYasha that she had forgotten what she had come to show him. Said forgotten object reminded her gently when it licked at her fingers. "What do you have there, Rin?" InuYasha asked kindly in a very maternal tone. Whoa, that just came out naturally, he thought…he'd have to get used to that. Damn hormones!
"Oh, I found him," she squealed, presenting the little animal before InuYasha, practically shoving the little ball of fluff into the hanyou's face. "Isn't he cute!"
InuYasha took the little pinstriped hairball into his considerably larger hands, making the tiny kitten seem even smaller. The hanyou could practically feel his heart melt as the infant feline rubbed its back against his palm and nuzzled its face against his thumb. It mewled up at him, a high-pitch and pitiful sound that made its listeners gush with affection. "Where's this little guy's kaa-san?" he asked Rin, scratching the kitten between its ears and extracting a purr.
"I think he's lost…or maybe his kaa-san died." Rin looked sad at the notion of the little kitten being an orphan.
"Well, then you'll become his mother, Rin." The youngster brightened up immediately.
"Really?"
"Really. So take him to the kitchen and ask for a saucer of milk. He's too young to drink the milk from the saucer, so just dip your finger into the milk and let him lick it off."
"I will. Thank you, otou-san." She kissed InuYasha on the cheek and scooped up her purring orb of fuzz and skipped off to the kitchens. The hanyou smirked at his little daughter.
Since his own ball of fuzz…er, joy, had decided to stop squirming inside his womb, InuYasha snuggled further into the warm cover with the full intention of sleeping.
…
About an hour after the kicking woke him up, he stood in front of the gilded mirror, half naked, inspecting his abdomen and turning from side to side to make sure his body was still proportionate. He was such a light sleeper and he would not be able to go to sleep if his unborn baby was fidgeting. This was one of those days that he would complain about his (minimal) weight gain. His smooth tummy had only expanded three or four inches at the most and he was almost at the end of his pregnancy, but being the sensitive being that he was (and the extra hormones gave way to this thought process), he didn't quite see this growth as a few extra pounds.
As he looked into his reflection, he saw a very pregnant and pudgy, silver-haired hanyou, pouting and poking at an inflated belly. If it had been one of his "good" days, he would have seen his reflection through eyes unclouded with hormones and insecurities; he would have seen a slender, beaming hanyou that was carrying the future safe inside his body. InuYasha was so focused on his slightly protruding abdomen that he didn't hear his mate enter the room.
The sight that greeted Sesshoumaru's eyes warmed his heart and filled his chest with a desire to chuckle at his little hanyou's cuteness. He forgot what he had originally come to tell his mate as he slid out of his obi and kimono, intent on sliding up behind the hanyou and encircling his brother's waste in strong arms. When there was no longer a molecule of space between them, InuYasha looked into Sesshoumaru's eyes through the mirror, then glanced at his uncovered tummy. "Sesshoumaru, can I ask you a question?"
"You just did."
"Keh, you know what I mean," said InuYasha, rolling his eyes as his mate smirked and lazily dragged his claws over the hanyou's belly.
The hanyou shivered before continuing. "I want you to answer me honestly."
"All right, as long as you promise my answer won't upset you…. We've had this discussion before, I don't want you to get mad at me for telling the truth."
"Fair enough. Do you…do you think I look fat?"
Sesshoumaru almost lost it. InuYasha had asked him this question several times and had always received the same answer and would continue to receive the same answer. He fought his urge to laugh or sigh and said with a perfectly calm, straight face, "InuYasha, you are not fat…quite the contrary. You are carrying my child and you are expected to gain a few pounds, my love. You want our baby to be healthy, do you not?"
"Yes, nii-san."
"Then do not fret over such trivial things. Look at yourself," he lifted InuYasha's chin to face the mirror where their reflections stood, shirtless and casual, InuYasha leaning against Sesshoumaru's chest while the older youkai drew phantom designs on his brother's belly. "You're so beautiful, my love. At the risk of sounding cliché…you're glowing."
InuYasha smiled shyly, his mood lightening considerably as Sesshoumaru continued to caress his abdomen. "How's Jin doing?" They had decided, after much arguing, to call their child Jingo Kogo, which roughly translated to "human proverb", but they would use Jin as a sort of short nickname. InuYasha didn't know why, but he was partial to the name. It sounded strong.
"Fidgeting a lot. Little brat's keeping me from sleeping."
"Kagome returned with some more baby supplies from her time," Sesshoumaru said, remembering his original reason for finding his mate. "She said that she also researched child-birthing and ways that she could help you deliver the infant. But I think that I would trust Sango and Kaede more in that area because they have more experience, don't you think?" They had invited Kaede, the old miko, to stay at Sesshoumaru's castle while InuYasha was in his last term.
"Hm," muttered the hanyou, leaning into Sesshoumaru's fingers. "Rin called me 'otou-san' today."
"Did she now?" Sesshoumaru smiled as his mate nodded.
They stood like that for a few more minutes as Sesshoumaru gently massaged his brother's belly and nipped at his neck until InuYasha spoke again. "You know, I'm surprised there hasn't been any demon attacks or signs of Naraku. It's kind of making me nervous in a way. It's like he's lulling us into a false sense of security and then BAM, he'll pop out of nowhere and steal our baby away to exact his revenge."
"Well…once you deliver our child and become strong again, I shall call upon the alliance I have with the wolves and any others that are willing to fight, and with their strength…we will obliterate Naraku once and for all. I will not raise a child in a world where Naraku runs free."
InuYasha sighed. "It sounds like a good idea. We can only hope…."
Sesshoumaru smoothed back his brother's hair and nuzzled his neck, "Don't fret about this now, just concentrate on resting and staying healthy, otouto." He didn't know why, but Sesshoumaru always found it erotic when he called InuYasha his otouto…perhaps because he had a bit of a perverted side that cackled with twisted glee when the very word "otouto" acknowledged that he was fucking his little brother.
The hanyou shuddered as he felt his brother's fingertips drag lower to his sensitive underbelly. Sesshoumaru slid his hand down InuYasha's slim hips to cup the bulge between his legs. He smiled when his little brother moaned, hardened, leaned his head back, and exerted a scent of arousal.
Their hakama were off and pooling around their ankles like snakes as he pushed InuYasha towards the mirror, spread his legs, and angled his hips. InuYasha gripped the sides of the full-length mirror. The hanyou was half excited and half nervous because they had never done it like this; he had never had his back to Sesshoumaru while they made love.
It was turning him on as he watched Sesshoumaru through the mirror with lust-lidded golden orbs…and Sesshoumaru watched in return as his brother mewled and moaned. InuYasha's breathing was so heavy as he clutched and clawed at the mirror, feeling his mate surge inside of his body.
Sesshoumaru dragged his claws up and down InuYasha's flanks and kissed the juncture between shoulder and neck, purposely going for the spot that would drive his otouto to the brink and beyond…the Mating Mark.
In the next moment, the constricting of InuYasha's insides increased ten-fold and his breath hitched with the sensation. He shuddered and Sesshoumaru, still enveloped inside his mate, felt liquid spill over his organ and leak out from their joined bodies. The youkai was just wondering if his mate had had another orgasm when InuYasha said in a frantic voice, "Sessh, that wasn't cum, that was amniotic water! Oh gods, Sessh, you fucked me into labor!"
…
At hearing those words, Sesshoumaru had never moved so fast. He'd thrown on his hakama, wrapped InuYasha in a yukata, and flew out the door in a blur of white. He'd taken his mate to the Birthing Room, placed InuYasha on the bed and called for Kaede. After that, the miko had taken over, ordering servant girls to fetch warm water and rags, among other things.
Sesshoumaru, who had defined the term "cold as ice," was almost on the verge of hyperventilating when the wise miko, with an air of complete authority, forcefully told him, the most powerful youkai, to sit down and breathe. She handed him a cup of sickly sweet smelling fluid and told him that it would calm his nerves. She wouldn't let him into the Birthing Room after that. Sesshoumaru felt horrible, thinking that it was his entire fault that his brother was in that room now, suffering. He was so afraid that he'd inflicted damage upon his unborn child by making love to InuYasha like that.
Meanwhile, pretty much all the females in the castle had gathered into the tiny and cramped Birthing Room and InuYasha was feeling a little claustrophobic, not to mention anxious, nervous, and scared. Kaede sent them all out except for Sango, who was there to assist the miko, and Kagome, who was there for emotional support, taking it upon herself to be the one that held the hanyou's hand and told him everything was going to be okay.
The contractions had become so intense and close together. It was hard to breathe through them, but Kagome walked him through the Lamaze patterned breathing steps, trying to relax him as she placed a cold, damp cloth on his forehead and wet his chapped lips with ice cubes. InuYasha felt like it was all going too fast when Kaede announced he was fully dilated and ready to push.
"You're going to be okay, InuYasha. Just keep pushing. You're going to be okay," said Kagome over and over like a mantra.
"Kagome, imagine pushing something the size of a watermelon through an opening the size of a lemon and see how 'okay' you feel!" he yelled at her. Of course, she didn't take it personally because, if she were in his place, she would have said the same thing.
He was in a daze throughout the whole process as he pushed and screamed and cursed. The pain was unbelievable. He thought he was going to split in two and pass out…until he heard a tiny high-pitched cry as his baby entered the world. He slumped back onto the pillows, exhausted but relieved his baby was alive. Thank the heavens, he prayed before he fainted. Kaede delivered the afterbirth and cleaned InuYasha, checking for tearing or internal bleeding but was satisfied when she found none. He'd be fine.
She then turned her full attention to the baby.
"I thought all youkai and hanyou were born hermaphrodites," said Kagome to Kaede as she cleaned InuYasha's baby and severed the umbilical cord.
"They are. But every few centuries or so, a youkai with a single gender is born. Single-gendered youkai borne from a hanyou are held in high esteem. They are usually made into priests, priestesses, powerful warriors, or leaders of some sort."
Sango and Kagome gazed at the little pink, all-too-female babe who was currently crying for her host's milk. "She has Sesshoumaru's ears," said Sango as the baby wrapped her tiny hand around Sango's finger. "And InuYasha's loud mouth," she added when the cries became more insistent.
They wrapped the baby and brought her out to an expectant Sesshoumaru, who was waiting impatiently after he'd heard his daughter's cries. "It's a girl," Kagome said dumbly after they'd passed the babe to Sesshoumaru.
"I know. I knew she was a female the moment InuYasha became pregnant, I just wanted to surprise him," he smiled at this tiny daughter, his hair cascading around them as he rubbed his finger lightly over her nose and eyebrows, lulling the infant to sleep. "Hello, Jin. Welcome to the world," he cooed to his soft pink baby as he walked into the Birthing Room and sat by InuYasha's side with their daughter in his arms. The hanyou awoke about an hour later to see Sesshoumaru sleeping with a baby on his chest.
InuYasha smiled at his beautiful baby girl and sleeping spouse, even though he knew from the prophecies that his child would have a hard and sorrow-filled life. But for now, he could enjoy her youth and teach her what mattered in life. He wished he would be able to spare his daughter all the hurt that the world could offer, but he wouldn't be able to protect her forever, so all he could do was prepare her for how to handle it and love her with his whole heart.
He didn't see the wasp hovering at his window, or it's master who was hiding some distance away with plans of this new development hatching in his nefarious mind. "And so it begins," the baboon-masked man chuckled.
Owari
Japanese terms:
Otou-san – father (informal)
Kaa-san – mother (informal)