Lessons Learned

Author Shortey 83

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha or Skyrim! I only borrow ideas because trying to drill them out of my head with power tools doesn't work! ^.^

Story Start:

It had become their daily ritual. Each morning, Sesshomaru would take Takara up the mountain away from the house and train her how to "properly wield" a sword. Although what Sahloknir and Yolheimin must have been at least half way decent seeing as she was able to get a good swipe at his arm, which of course didn't break skin since he wasn't trying to do her harm. However, her skills were definitely improving.

It was also a way for them to interact without causing so much sexual tension, at least on her part. Takara wasn't too sure about how Sesshomaru was taking the training. True he no longer would snatch her into his lap to fondle her or even promise her dirty things, but that seemed a little odd to her. Either way, Takara decided to avoid the subject.

It wasn't too long after the first snow fall that Sesshomaru decided to go and visit Rin. And after a half day journey, in the cold Takara decided that she was no fan of flying in the snow. True the landscape was beautiful, what she could see of it, but her eyes were beginning to hurt, not only from the cold air but from the bright reflections the snow bounced back from the ground. For the most part of the trip, Takara remained huddled up to one of Ah-Un's heads and thought about how she was going to break the news to Kagome.

Once they landed in the village and greeted everyone, Takara decided to pull Kagome aside, the two of them walking far out of ear shot to the very edge of the forest. "So how have things been with Sesshomaru?" Kagome finally asked "I see that the two of you haven't killed one another yet."

Takara nodded and gave her a half hearted smile as she sat down on a fallen tree trunk after clearing away the little bit of snow that had landed on it. "To be honest, I am so confused." Kagome also cleared a spot on the tree and nodded for her to continue. "Everyone knows about how much Sesshomaru seemed to hate me when we met."

"But not everyone knows about how you and Sesshomaru were getting cozy up on the hill right before you left with him" Kagome added with a smirk "Don't worry, I was the only one InuYasha said anything to."

With a sigh, and throwing caution to the wind, Takara blurted out her problems. "He asked me to marry him, Kagome, and I don't know what to do. I've seen sides of him that I'm pretty sure not many other people have seen; he takes care of me, indulges me, and gives me my space when I need it." She paused while Kagome gaped at her and then she continued. "Perhaps what he is doing for this time is normal, but I'm from an entirely different world and things aren't quite so.. so…" A loss for words caused her to stop.

"Things aren't so simple?" Kagome asked. Takara thought about it and finally nodded.

"I remember how things were on the other side of the well Takara" The girl placed her hand on top of her own and continued. "There is always something going on there. There is so much he said, she said; so many lies and so much cheating. There are so many people trying to figure out what is going on in other people's lives they lose sight of their own. I may not be as familiar with Sesshomaru as you are, but I am a bit more knowledgeable about how this world works. It isn't perfect by any means, but it isn't as broken as our own world either. Respect, honor, and dignity still mean something to nearly every person here."

Kagome paused again. "I can't believe that Sesshomaru would ask something like that of you lightly. Let's face it, he finds himself to be very important so why would he go through all of this trouble and waste all of this time and effort if he didn't desire to keep you? It may be only my opinion, but I don't think that his views on humans have changed, but he certainly seems willing to make an exception for you, and coming from someone who he's tried to kill, I would definitely be glad he wanted to marry me instead of the alternative if I had to choose."

There was no denying that. Sesshomaru had scarred the hell out of her a few times when they were just sparring. She couldn't imagine a Sesshomaru that was intent on killing her. "Look at it this way, Takara. People of this time don't just ask someone to marry them without intentions of following through. When they ask for marriage, they mean it. I'm not telling you to marry him, it's up to you of course, but don't let future doubts get in the way of feudal intentions." Her friend paused and smiled "Besides, if you do decide to marry him, I want to see if any children you may have, end up with ears like InuYasha." That made Takara freeze on the spot.

She hadn't thrown children into her calculation, and shivered.

"What's wrong, Takara?" Kagome asked at her reaction.

"I can't have children."

"Meaning you're not able to or…"

"Or. My family is… cursed!" Takara exclaimed before she stood up to begin pacing.

"Cursed how?"

"Cursed as in the youngest child is always a girl and has one more child than her mother."

Kagome smiled "That's not too bad. Are you the youngest?"

"Yep"

"Well how many children did your mom have?"

Takara paused, feeling the blood drain from her face at the thought of it. "Only nine!"

Kagome's eyes bulged to the point Takara was sure they were going to pop out of her head. "You're kidding me."

"I wish I was" Takara trembled at the thought of having to give birth naturally ten times and felt her legs wobble and she had to take her seat again.

Kagome was silent before she spoke again. "Well look at it this way. Sahloknir told you that you had fifty years until you start again, so that gives you about seventy years to have them all."

Takara glared at her "I ought to punch you right between the eyes." Kagome only laughed in response.

"Has he said anything about children?" she finally asked and Takara shook her head. "Well then I would definitely ask him before you agreed. Keep in mind, he has a sharp nose and knows when you can get pregnant and when you can't."

Takara let out a shaky breath and nodded, worried about how she was going to ask him. If he gave her the answer that he wanted she decided that she would marry him, but if he didn't she didn't know what she was going to do.

Sesshomaru watched Takara as she returned to the village with Kagome. While InuYasha's woman seemed to be in good spirits, Takara's face had become pale and appeared rather jumpy. He couldn't have fathomed what had gone on between the two of them to make Takara appear so… worried. He watched as she intentionally avoided eye contact with him, she sat where she didn't have to look directly at him and…fidgeted. A low growl escaped Sesshomaru.

If InuYasha's wench had said something to dissuade Takara from marriage, he would eliminate the entire village in retribution…except for Rin.

Even as they landed back at the mansion, she quickly hurried off to her rooms, and despite the urge to follow her and find out what had spooked her, Sesshomaru made his way to his rooms.

Sitting in the quiet of his rooms, he listened as the human servants finished their tasks for the evening before leaving to their own homes and on the far side of the mansion he could her footsteps… Takara's. He could hear her pacing in her rooms and she continued to do so.

Sesshomaru had had enough. She was going to tell him what had upset her.

Takara's mind was running a million different ways she could approach this with Sesshomaru but as of yet she hadn't decided on an effective method. She thought about sneaking out to ask Sahloknir for his advice, but as soon as she slid open the screen door, she came face to fluff with Sesshomaru. She looked up met his eyes (which communicated to her that he was irritated), and attempted to shut the screen door on him, not that would have stopped him, but it was worth a try. Moving fast, his arm shot up and grabbed the edge of the door and he forced himself into her room.

She backed away from him into the room until her back hit the wall and he didn't stop advancing on her until she lifted a hand and placed it on his chest, the smooth silk of his kimono the only barrier between her skin and his. Takara could feel iron hard muscle under the fabric and shivered as he pressed a bit closer, giving her nowhere to run.

"Can I help you?" she asked him nervously, licking her lips which had dried considerably in the last few seconds.

She watched his eyes follow her tongue's movement before those golden orbs began to bore into her sapphire ones yet again.

"What has upset you?"

"I'm not upset"

He raised a brow "You are"

"No I'm not"

"Then why do your palms sweat? Why does your heart beat faster and why won't you hold still?" he asked as she went to move away from him.

"What are you, a human lie detector?"

"You know I am a demon so why do you ask?"

Takara sighed, forgetting her modern sarcasm didn't have the same effect in this time. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, taking a few calming breaths. Sesshomaru was right, she was upset and despite how much she wanted to avoid the subject she really needed to put it out there.

"I can't do it" Well that was one way to start, unfortunately she couldn't stop either as she started to ramble. "That's not to say I don't want to. That would be a lie because I really do, but today something was brought up and I realized then that I couldn't or maybe that I shouldn't but either way…" She was abruptly cut off when his mouth descended over her own. As she gasped in surprise, Sesshomaru took the opportunity to claim her mouth, caressing her tongue with his own as she leaned in closer to him, both hands resting on his strong chest.

As suddenly as he had started, he stopped making Takara whimper in disappointment.

"Would you speak plainly, woman." He growled lowly "What can't you do?"

"Marry you."

She clearly saw his jaw tighten and his eyes narrow.

"Like I said, it's not that I don't want to, but…"

He growled. A sign that she should continue.

"You see, there is one thing I didn't think of when you asked me, and it's kind of important." She paused and he continued to glare at her. With a sigh she spoke "Sesshomaru we never discussed the possibility of children."

With that last word, his growling ceased and the anger left his eyes as he regarded her curiously. She could feel the blush spreading over her cheeks and looked away from him.

"I fail to see the problem… Unless you do not wish to have my child." That thought must have upset him because he had begun to growl yet again.

"That's the thing. You say "child" and I say "Children"." She looked back and again he looked confused.

"I will give you more than one if you wish." He spoke after he thought a moment and all Takara could do was rest her forehead on his strong chest and shake her head.

"Alright, let me put it this way. If you were to look at my mother's side of the family and trace back a few generations, you would find that the youngest child in our family is always a girl and she always has one more child than her mother. I say it's a curse." He still starred at her and she sighed. "Let me put it this way, my great grandmother was the youngest of six children, and she had seven of which the youngest was my grandmother who had eight, of which my mother was the youngest who then had nine, of which I am the youngest." She paused and let that sink in for a moment.

"Is that all that had you upset? I have no qualms about a large number of pups, for I think I would enjoy the sight of you swollen with them."

Takara snapped her head up to look at him, her eyes wide is disbelief. "'A large number'?" she asked "Sesshomaru that's a… a…"

"A litter?" he finished for her and she blushed.

"Do you have any idea how my body could end up after that many children? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that attractive." She tried to dissuade him.

"How so?"

"Extra weight, stretch marks, and I don't want to even think about how things would turn out down there." She could feel that her flush had spread to the tops of her breasts at the thought.

"I would like to see you a bit sturdier and proof that you have carried my offspring." He moved his head down to lick the tender flesh of her neck and she leaned away, "Besides that, a demon male will tend his mate after she has birthed young. You shall heal fine."

Takara shivered from both his words and his rough tongue sliding over her skin. She could only moan as his wicked mouth moved from her neck, up to her jawline and finally back to her mouth again leaving her breathless in the wake of his kiss.

When she finally pulled back, she starred deep into his eyes, only a few hints of emotion dancing in them, lust, desire, and a hint of something she couldn't quite place. Over the past few months she had thought he was insane for putting up with her antics, but perhaps there was certainly something more to him than that. She wondered if it had something to do with the other woman and thought that now was the time to ask, while they were clearing things up and before either side got hurt.

"I just need to know one me thing" she spoke softly "Who is it you see when you look at me? Is it me or… her?" She hadn't wanted to ask because she was so afraid of his answer; another sign that she had fallen for this demon- cold and stoic to others but not to her.

"You appear identical to her." He began and she thought her heart was about to break. "But I know you are not her. As similar as the two of you may appear, you are nothing like her. You are far too defiant to be her," he leaned down close to her ear and pulled her lower half closer to him and she could feel the hard length of his cock against her belly. "I greatly appreciate that difference."

Takara could live with that answer, she would have to because she had just made up her mind.

"Alright" she finally calmed.

"Have you any more doubts?"

She couldn't look away from those entrancing eyes. "As long as you promise to be patient with me, and don't mind having a litter of half-demons in your home, I'll marry you."

"You may hold me to that." Sesshomaru told her, leaning down to kiss his soon-to-be bride.