Lessons Learned

Author: Shortey 83

Chapter: 46 – Uncle

Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha or Skyrim!

Story Start:

The journey home was just as abrupt as the journey to his mother's palace, and despite being exhausted, Takara was also excited. Tōga had brought word that Kagome had already gone into labor and while Sesshomaru was in no hurry whatsoever, Takara rushed to throw her clothes on and bundle their sleeping son.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she rushed him gleefully. "I have to be there for her, and I can't wait to see the baby!"

"Calm down, My Treasure," he lightly scolded her, although his eyes betrayed his amusement. "She hasn't even had the child yet."

Her hands gripped his, praying her touch conveyed the urgency she felt threatening to burst from her. "Sesshomaru, love of my life, heart of my heart, sire of all my children including those yet to come," His father's deep chuckle came from the hall where he waited for them. "Do you mean to tell me, that you would deny me even a moment of Kagome in active labor?" A brow raised but he didn't speak. "Can you imagine how many times InuYasha will be told to 'sit' today?" Takara didn't even give him a chance to answer. "Well, I can, and I don't plan on missing a single one. Now, let's go!"

Tugging on his arm in time with her last statement seemed to finally get him to budge as he followed her into the hallway. "Sometimes, you worry me, My Treasure." He sighed as his father followed them, laughing the entire way.

By the time they'd made it back to the mansion, the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, the valley quiet as they landed in the garden. She had to admit, it was a peaceful morning for a baby to arrive.

Of course, the loud crash coming from outside the guest house may have broken the mood for most, but not for her. Nope. Takara removed her sleeping son from her breast, tucked herself back into her kimono, and passed the pup off to his father before running in the direction of the crash.

I hope I'm not too late! She giggled to herself, sliding precariously around the corner of the porch, but catching her footing before falling off. Sure enough, she arrived just in time to see InuYasha picking himself up off the ground while his mate and her best friend stood propped against the porch frame and holding her stomach.

"Ka-go-me!" She shouted, dragging out the last syllable of her name, not carrying who she woke up as she leapt over the groaning half demon and slid to a halt in front of her friend. "Is this a false alarm or are all systems go?"

A little stunned by Takara's sudden arrival, Kagome couldn't help but laugh, the angry look melting off her face. "Oh, um… No. No false alarm. I was just asking if InuYasha would go get Sango, but he refused to leave."

"Oh, he's not going anywhere-" Takara assured her.

"See, Kagome? At least Takara is making sense." The half demon gloated.

"-because I can't imagine how many times the word 'sit' is going to come out of your lovely mouth today." Both women stared at one another, their grins simultaneously broadening as they turned to face the now panicked half-demon. "I'll ask Sesshomaru if I can send Jaken and Ah-Un to fetch her, but first, let's get you settled and as comfortable as possible."

Takara did as she said, settling her friend and ensuring she was comfortable before making the preparations for her niece or nephew to arrive. Once Jaken was sent on his way, Takara made her way into Rin's rooms to wake the little girl for breakfast and to tell her the news.

She found her in a tangle on her bed, her blanket only covering one leg and her stomach, an arm thrown over her face and her head resting on Kaos' body. Her dog was sprawled out on his back, but now awake as he looked at her upside down, wagging his tail in greeting.

Despite how precious her little girl looked sleeping so soundly, Takara knew she would be disappointed if she didn't get to help Kagome through even a moment of her delivery. Carefully, she lifted her head and instructed Kaos off the mat, replacing him with her lap while she coaxed Rin awake, stroking her tangled black hair away from her face. "Rin, time to wake up," she softly called, smiling when her bright brown eyes flickered open for only a moment.

"Too late," she chuckled, reaching down to lightly tickle Rin's side until she was laughing and trying to escape. "Come on, sleepy head. Let's get some breakfast. Kagome is in labor so that means-"

"The baby is coming!" Rin finished, jumping out of bed and running to find a clean kimono. Takara smiled as she helped her little one dress for the day, helping her chose a plain kimono that would be easy to keep clean.

"Are you going to wear that kimono, Takara?" Rin's question drew Takara's attention to her own kimono.

"Oh," she giggled. "No, we'd just made it home when he heard InuYasha 'sit'. I should probably go change once your dressed." Almost immediately, Takara felt Rin's mood change, a sad sullen expression coming over her face. "What's wrong, Rin?"

Her brows drew together in confusion as she waited for an answer, trying to figure out what had her upset. "How come you didn't take me with you and Lord Sesshomaru? Is it because I'm not really your daughter?"

The question hit her like a ton of bricks and Takara's mind blanked for a moment as she struggled to find a way to explain what happened without giving Rin too many unnecessary details. "No, Rin. That has nothing to do with it." She struggled to find the words as hopeful brown eyes stared back into hers. "You are my daughter, and I don't care what anyone says about that. However, there are things that… you are not ready to see-"

"But you took Kuromaru,"

"-And those things he isn't old enough to understand and I doubt he will even remember." She could tell her little girl still wasn't satisfied with the answer but didn't complain. But Takara had made a promise to herself to make sure Rin had all the knowledge she needed about her body and the things that went on with it as she grew, so in an effort to appease, she made a compromise.

"Rin, you've met Lord Sesshomaru's mother, haven't you?" The nod of her head prompted her to continue. "Well, I will tell you that the reason I didn't take you was because the demons of her court wished to see Lord Sesshomaru and I…" she hesitated, trying to find the right words.

"See you what?"

Ignoring the flush on her own cheeks, Takara debated how to tell her. "Do… what married people do… in the bedroom."

The little girl's eyebrows pulled together. "You mean when they try to make a baby? Why would they want to watch that?"

Takara knew the answer to the question, but it wasn't something someone so innocent would understand. "Well, it's something that I suppose demons enjoy but as for why, that's something you probably won't understand until you're married, if even then. But-" she continued on when Rin's face began to fall, holding out a fist with her pinky extended. "Do like this with your right hand,"

Rin did as instructed and Takara wrapped her pinky around the tiny digit. "Where I come from, this is called a pinky promise. It is a very important promise between girls, so I will make you this promise." Takara hoped this would work. "When you are married, if you still want to know what happened, I promise I will tell you, but it has to wait until then."

"If I'm married, can I go with you?"

Takara could've sworn she heard Sesshomaru's laugh just outside the screen, but she ignored it. "I doubt you'll want to come, Rin, but yes, if you want to come after I tell you what happened, you can. I promise."

To her embarrassment, that seemed to cheer her little one up as she wrapped her arms around Takara's neck and hugged her tightly. Oh, if you only knew… she inwardly groaned.

Sure enough, when she walked out of Rin's room, Takara found her husband there with a taunting smirk on his stupidly handsome face. "Oh, knock it off." She huffed, stomping away to her rooms to grab a clean kimono. A quick bath wouldn't be a bad idea either. She thought as she made her way to the bath house. It won't hurt Sesshomaru to keep an eye on Kuromaru for a while.

Takara took a quick bath, doing her best to ignore the lingering soreness from her overworked body. She hadn't gotten the best sleep either with Sesshomaru and Kuromaru roughhousing into the night even after she'd buried herself in the mountain of furs. It seemed her pup was finally beginning to realize that his sire was more than just an authority figure, but he could also be seen as entertainment too.

Once in a clean and plain kimono, Takara hurried back to the guest house to find Kagome still settled and napping and as tempting as it would've been to join her, she set about helping Rin everything was ready for the baby's arrival.

By noon, Sango had arrived, bringing her twins with her to give Miroku a fighting chance at keeping the peace with only one child to look after. It seemed their son was also finding ways to glue himself to his father's hip as he grew. The former demon slayer was also eager to see her friend's first child arrive and was nothing but smiles as she walked through the door.

After checking Kagome to see how far along she was and finding her friend still early into labor, the three of them set about catching up. It took some effort on her part, but Takara managed to steer them away from conversation about her previous day's trip.

"However, Sango," Takara quickly worked to change the subject, "I was wanting to talk with you for a proposition."

"What did you have in mind?"

Takara thought best how to word her request without demeaning her friend. "Well, I was wondering if we could potentially help each other. You said Miroku was needing to leave home more often for work because of the children, right?"

Sango gave her a sad nod, and it was one all three of the women understood. Each of them loved their husband's dearly, even Kagome for all her arguing with InuYasha, Takara couldn't imagine being away from Sesshomaru as much as Miroku was gone.

"Well, I was wondering if you and Miroku would be willing to teach some of the men in the village how to fight? Nothing drastic," she quickly added. "But enough that they feel they would have a better chance at defending the village should bandits attack or even lesser demons?" She glanced out the open screen where Sesshomaru sat on the porch of the main house, overseeing Kuromaru's play with the twins as the three of them tumbled and tussled together. The girls giggled at his antics and Kuromaru's happy barks and his increasingly growing speed had leveled the playing field the age gap provided.

"Every time something happens, I end up making Sesshomaru… I don't know… I wouldn't say mad, but it seems wrong to just say worried or upset." Both girls nodded in understanding. "It's just, I don't want people to see the two of us as the only things between this village and its safety because we can't and won't always be confined to the village."

"I know what you mean," Kagome sighed. "Even when we were traveling and trying to defeat Naraku, we always felt like our village could be attacked at any time… and it was." She shrugged as she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. "Of course, Kaede has always been there to help the villagers, but you don't even have that. It really is just the two of you."

"Yeah," Sango agreed. "It's no wonder you call us whenever the two of you have to leave." A sly smile crept onto her face. "I mean, staying in the mansion, not having to work, having servants to attend us and the most incredible hot springs… Torture, Takara, pure torture."

The three of them laughed while Takara caught InuYasha slipping a glance inside at the trio, but little Rin quickly chased him away for his own sake. Takara didn't have the heart to tell her not to because the little girl didn't want to see the half demon slammed into the ground like Takara did, but hey. Everyone had their thing.

"Back to the topic at hand," Takara redirected the conversation. "If it is something you and he would be willing to do, we would be more than willing to pay." Her hand raised at Sango's coming protest. "I can't in good conscience ask this of the two of you without compensation. You already don't see one another very often, and I don't want to be the cause of even more strain on your relationship. At least this way, Miroku would only have to travel when there was a genuine need and not be away for as long."

"I see your point, but I just feel like the offer is too generous, Takara."

"How can you say that when we haven't even talked price or training logistics?" She countered and thankfully it was enough to quiet her friend. "Besides, if you could just get them started and maybe find a trainer who could replace you, things would be easier in the long run for all of us."

The demon slayer considered her proposition on that matter. "You know, Kohaku is actually a pretty decent instructor. Maybe if we established something, it could help him with his own training?"

Takara hadn't even considered Sango's little brother. Of course, he was still young, but then again, so was she. Takara figured the two of them were close in age. "I don't think that would be a bad idea." Takara considered, "I don't know him very well, but he seems to be kind and trustworthy. I think that could work out well."

"Even Shippou would be willing to help," Kagome offered. "He just spends most of his time arguing with InuYasha when he's home from his training."

Takara agreed, smiling as she nodded to the door where Rin too sat watching the children playing. "True, but we would just have to make sure that… the men don't fight amongst themselves, if you know what I mean." Sango and Kagome also gave the little girl knowing smiles. It wasn't a secret that both Kohaku and the little fox demon were sweet on Takara's little girl.

A glance out the door to her husband, whose head was now turned in her direction and giving her an icy glare eased her fears though. "Then again, I don't think there will be much to worry about on that front after all." Both women also leaned over to peek at a glaring Sesshomaru before also falling into a fit of giggles.

After all was said and done, and some preliminary terms were on the table to discuss with Miroku, Takara excused herself to go and find lunch for them. Kagome said she wasn't hungry, but Takara had recently been there and decided it was best to at least give her the option.

She strode to the main house, aiming for the stairs beside Sesshomaru who watched her approach while she skillfully dodged the children playing with a laugh as they ran around her and between her legs in an impromptu game of tag.

As she made it to safety and the three of them tumbled to the other side of the yard in a ball of barking, giggling fabric and fur, Takara paused by her mate as she watched them for a moment longer.

"On a scale of one to ten, one being indifferent and ten being angry to the point of transforming, how mad are you?"

Out the corner of her eye, she watched his narrow slightly as he looked to her while she fought a grin. "Five," he answered. "Neither of those whelps better come within sniffing distance of her."

Takara tried not to giggle at his ridiculous stance on males eventually chasing after Rin, but she failed. "Oh, stop it. What are you going to do when she finds someone she's interested in?" Even as he growled in response, she couldn't help but lean over and kiss him, ignoring her friends' teasing cat calls. "Besides, we're guaranteed to have at least one more daughter by the time things are said and done. Do you mean to tell me that you will busy yourself chasing males away from both of them?"

"Perhaps,"

"And leave me all alone? I don't think so?"

"You will be busy with our other pups, and I will ensure no males come near our daughters," The way he growled at the various unseen males, potentially wooing their female children was possibly the most adorable thing she'd seen from her mate.

"Uh huh," she laughed walking up the steps. "You do that, and I'll be sure to touch myself every time your away." The way his head whipped around to her as she sauntered off made her laugh, glancing back to him as she rounded the corner. "I'll go ahead and fashion myself some very short kimonos just for the occasion you decide to run off and interfere. If I even have the suspicion you are…" She trailed off, wiggling her pointer and middle fingers suggestively in his direction as she disappeared around the corner.

She may not have heard him, but Takara knew he'd followed her. Of course, she thought about what she said and laughed to herself, turning around to face him with a huge smile on her face. "You know, never in my wildest dreams, did I ever imagine touching myself as an effective form of distraction. Who knew?"

"You know better, Takara," he growled, stepping closer, but she didn't back up nor did the smile slip from her face. "You are not to pleasure yourself, or I will punish you."

Sweet smile still in place, she leaned into him, resting her hands on his chest while she when on her tip toes and licked and kissed him under his chin before giving a gentle bite to his jaw. She dropped from her toes back to the flat of her feet and smiled up at him as he glared down at her.

Hands still on his chest, stroking him through the silk of his kimono. "Of that, I have no doubt, my love." She giggled, giving his chest a pat as she turned to go find something to eat. "As a matter of fact," she sighed at the thought before glancing over her shoulder and looking at the handsome creature with her most seductive smile. "I look forward to it."

It did her good to hear him snarl and snap a few boards as she sauntered away. Would she pay for it later? Yes. Would she enjoy it? Also, yes. Besides, it wouldn't hurt her husband to have that ego taken down a peg or two now and then she reasoned.

Of course, it may have been a little too much to walk by him on her way back and gently bite his ear, dancing out of his reach before he could grab her.

The look he shot her told her she would pay for teasing him later.

The glance she shot back told him she looked forward to it.

"Takara, I gotta know," Kagome sighed as she decided to eat a tiny bit of rice. "Are you always horny or something?"

Thankfully, Takara had yet to bite into her rice ball, unlike Sango who choked on hers for a moment. "I mean," she continued, absentmindedly reaching over to pat Sango on the back. "Every time I turn around, you and Sesshomaru look like you're about to jump each other. I know you said it was good, but is it really that good?"

Takara quickly tried to shush her pregnant friend, indicating that Rin was nearby, and Kagome covered her mouth, forgetting their young audience was nearly in earshot.

In response, Takara just shrugged. "Who knows, but if you were getting what I'm getting every night, you would understand." She paused while both girls laughed and considered. "Then again, maybe I am. I mean, of course while I was still sore after giving birth, I wasn't…" she tried to find the words. "I wasn't interested… for me, but I really like," she paused and glanced to find Rin walking in. "I really like taking care of him, if you know what I mean."

Sango shrugged. "I can see that. My children were born fairly close to one another, all things considered, but with twins, it took me a little longer to heal."

"But is it really a good idea to tease him like that, Takara?" Kagome inquired.

She shook her head in response. "Not at all, and I'm definitely going to pay for it later… so if you hear any screams, despite what you may think, don't come running. I'm okay."

After finishing their snack, Kuromaru decided he too was hungry, but he was also covered in dirt from playing with the twins. "Oh, no you don't," she laughed as he tried to force his way into her lap and root in her kimono. "The three of you need a bath first."

"Do you need any help?" Sango offered, but Takara declined, taking the three of them off to the hot springs while Rin hurried off to fetch some towels and clean clothes for the twins. Once inside, Takara filled a little basin with water to cool for Kuromaru and quickly washed Sango's twins.

"Alright," she laughed, handing the first of the little girls off to Rin to dry and dress while Takara went to work on her sister. "One down, two to go." She checked the water temperature in the basin mid bath on the second of the twins and decided it was cool enough to place her son in it. It was shallow enough that even if he laid down, it wouldn't cover his nose.

With one twin dressed, Rin decided to help with Kuromaru, gently pouring water over him to clean his fur from as much sand as possible. As Rin scrubbed behind his ears, her little pup let out a huge yawn that was more than telling he was ready for a nap. "Where are they going to sleep?" Rin asked, turning away as Kuromaru shook some of the water off.

"I'll probably put a futon on the porch," Takara mused, as she began to dry the second little girl. "I don't want them to wake up if Kagome starts progressing too soon. The last thing we need are three grumpy babies and a woman in labor. Can you imagine the screaming?"

Rin giggled, lifting the sopping wet puppy out of the basin and setting him on the floor so he could shake off the excess water before she began to towel dry him. "Don't forget his ears," Takara reminded her as she started dressing the second twin while the first put the stools back like the tiny helper both girls were.

Once they were done, Takara emptied the basin, rinsed it out and helped wrap her pup in a dryer towel for Rin to hold while she pulled a futon onto the porch. She debated where to put them but figured within eyesight of the guest house would be best. That it happened to also be near Sesshomaru didn't matter to her. She knew better than to ask him to keep an eye on the twins, but at least if they were asleep near Kuromaru and where the four of them could keep an eye out for them, Takara knew they would be fine.

She laid out the futon and the little girls eagerly climbed into bed, tired from their playing with Kuromaru. It wasn't long before both girls were asleep after they were tucked in and by that time, Rin had managed to get her little brother mostly dry.

"Would you do me one more favor, Rin?" Takara asked while picking up her still damp son and sitting on the porch beside her husband. "Would you mind going to grab me two combs?" Rin gave her an odd look but did as she asked, heading off to Takara's rooms to grab a couple of combs.

While she waited for Rin, Takara watched as InuYasha hopped down from the roof of the guest house and wandered over, fearfully looking over his shoulder. "I take it she's starting to feel it?" She laughed at her nervous friend while she rubbed her son's fur a bit more and double checked his ears were clean and dry.

"Yeah," he sighed, putting her between himself and Sesshomaru. It was bothersome the level of distrust the two of them still had between each other despite everything, but considering some of the stories she'd heard, this was relative peace for them. "I'm afraid to say anything though because of that damned 'sit' command."

She couldn't blame him for that. Although it was amusing to watch, it probably hurt too and the poor guy was already nervous enough for his wife.

Fed up with waiting for his meal, her pup growled a little as he tried to climb into her lap again. She decided to act before Sesshomaru could. "Nid" she told him; her dragon speech more alarming to him than her normal speech. Startled, he sat back and waited, no doubt surprised it was his mother who corrected him.

Happy with his patience, she lifted Kuromaru into her lap and allowed him to find his meal, only uncovering him once he was latched to avoid Sesshomaru starting a fight with his younger half-brother. She tried not to watch InuYasha as he watched her, but she couldn't help it.

Afterall, InuYasha hadn't even met her son before today. Part of it was probably due to Sesshomaru being so protective, but she hoped he would eventually realize that the half-demon would never do anything to harm their son. After watching how he simply oversaw the play between Kuromaru and the twins with InuYasha nearby, she was even more hopeful.

A few moments later, Rin returned with the brushes and Takara took one, combing Kuromaru's fur so it wouldn't dry pointing in every direction. Eventually her pup had drank his fill and began to doze off. She glanced to her husband, met his eyes and gave a little tilt of her head to InuYasha.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, but she kept her gaze soft and understanding until it seemed he finally relented, giving her the slightest nod. She gave him a gentle smile and turned to her half-demon friend. Gently she patted the porch beside her, "Sit down, InuYasha." She invited. He threw up his hands and went to refuse, but Takara wouldn't be denied. "Otherwise, I will tattle on you."

Defeated, he realized he had no choice and reluctantly did as he was told. She had him sit back a little further from the porch ledge as she righted herself and took her sleeping son into her arms. "Takara, I don't think-" he tried to resist, but she wasn't having his refusal as she passed her sleeping pup to the half demon and adjusted his hold while Kuromaru settled back to sleep.

As soon as her son let out a contented huff and his breathing deepened, she watched as the half-demon settled and simply stared at the pup in his arms. It melted her heart as he gently ran his hands down the pup's body, smoothing his fur and the faintest hint of a smile crept onto his face.

Knowing it was better not to gloat, Takara returned to her seat, scooting further back to the porch herself. "What is this comb for, Takara?" Rin whispered. In answer, Takara gently took the comb and patted her lap. A wide grin split her face as she laid down between Takara and Sesshomaru, placing her head on Takara's lap. A few moments later, everything was peaceful while InuYasha held Kuromaru and Takara hummed a quiet tune, combing her little girl's hair as Rin too drifted off for a nap.