Hi! This is the last chapter, and I'm not really crying because I'm kind of glad since I've been writing this thing for like two years… I think. : ) : ) So yeah, I'm not that sad about it. I'm actually kind of glad that I finally got to finish the last chapter of this thing. Haha. Thank you all to those who read this story from beginning to end and to those who reviewed the chapters. :D:D I'm so happy that lots of people really enjoyed this story since it's like my longest one, besides the Legend of Kai, but that doesn't have as many words as this thing does. Lol. Alright, on with the long awaited last chapter. There's a big surprise and I'm not telling anyone anything about it. :D:D
A New Life is Born
It had been nine months since Sesshoumaru had left me at my village and Shouru had become one with the family. He was like my care taker that helped me get everywhere. Since I was pregnant, my belly had gotten a bit bigger than what it was normally. During those nine months, my fifteenth birthday came and Rain threw me a small party with some of her friends and the family. Father was surprised that Shouru had found him and that he was so respectful towards him. He was overjoyed to hear that I came home and that I wasn't pregnant with a psychotic half demon. My nine months of being pregnant were over, since the child was already on its way into the world.
"Tsuto, are you alright?" Shouru asked me, bursting into the hut with worry.
"I'm fine… just having a baby coming out of me!" I groaned, trying to keep from killing something.
"Ah!" Shouru shouted with some fear as he left the hut.
He knew that Sesshoumaru was coming and that the villagers were hiding from him in their huts.
"Hang in there Tsuto, Sesshoumaru's coming for you," Shouru whispered as he looked up at the moon.
Sesshoumaru ran as fast as he could through the forest towards the village.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, do you think that it is wise to leave Rin at the castle unattended?" Jaken wondered, clinging to his lord's fluffy thing.
"She'll be fine Jaken. I have far more worries for my mate," he growled with agitation.
Sesshoumaru had told both Rin and Jaken what had happened and who is mate was. Rin was overjoyed and Jaken wasn't so sure that he agreed with it since he had feelings for his lord.
"Why must you go there while she is in labor? Why not go after the child is born?" the imp wondered.
"If she were to die, Jaken, then the pup would as well. Only Tenseiga would have the power to bring both back to life," Sesshoumaru growled again, becoming annoyed with his vassal.
"Oh I see, that would be most unfortunate," Jaken said with a small grumble since he didn't want to be stuck babysitting.
Sesshoumaru ran faster, knowing that the child would be born soon.
When the moon was high in the sky, Sesshoumaru arrived at the village only to hear no crying. He could see two people standing outside of one hut, one person being Shouru and the other being unfamiliar but had a familiar scent. Jaken let go of his lord's fluffy thing and looked around when he touched the ground.
"Who are they lord Sesshoumaru?" he asked, looking at Shouru and the other man.
Sesshoumaru didn't acknowledge the fact that he had heard his vassal's words, only walked towards the hut. The smell of death wasn't in the air which meant that everything was alright.
"Nice to see you again, lord Sesshoumaru," Shouru said with a slight bow.
"What are you doing here, half demon?" Sesshoumaru asked, resisting the use of the words half breed.
"I am Tsuto's brother. We have the same father, like you and Inuyasha," he said with a small grin.
"Resist using that name in my presence," Sesshoumaru said coldly before his golden eyes looked at the other man.
A moment of silence passed and then the man spoke.
"So you are the one who has claimed my daughter as his… At least you will treat her more as a wife than Naraku would have. For that, I am grateful Sesshoumaru," he said, bowing as well.
Jaken was about to scold the man but Sesshoumaru gave him a cold glare. When he and the imp went inside, Shouru shook his head.
"Sometimes I wondered who's colder. Naraku, or Sesshoumaru," he laughed with a small shrug.
When Sesshoumaru walked into the hut, he looked directly at me and froze with surprise at what he saw. A small bundle of black hair with two dog ears on the top of the head. 'I didn't expect him to be surprised.' I thought with a small smile.
"It's a girl," I said with a weak smile.
Jaken peeked his head out from behind Sesshoumaru's leg and saw that the baby was feeding.
"Oh," he whispered to himself, hiding behind his lord's leg again.
Sesshoumaru walked over to me and then sat down. 'I wonder if he feels as happy as I do right now.' Leaning my head against his shoulder, I closed my eyes.
"Can I stay here tonight with you Tsuto?" Rain asked with a cute little look on her face, which I couldn't see.
I opened my eyes to look at my younger sister and then nodded my head.
"Yay!" she said happily as she ran over and sat on the other side of me.
My mother and the priestess that had helped bring the child to birth left with Shouru and my father to stay at the priestess' hut for the night.
"What are you going to call her?" Rain asked with a small smile.
Jaken glared at me coldly while sitting on the other side of the room. I merely stuck my tongue out at him like a child would.
"What would you like to call her Sesshoumaru?" I asked, looking down at the small child in my arms who was done feeding and was now asleep.
Sesshoumaru was lost in thought, thinking hard about the name.
"Ryura," he said calmly.
"Isn't that a guy's name?" Rain asked with some confusion.
"It is a fine name," I whispered before falling asleep with my head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder.
Fourteen years later. (Ryura's P.O.V.)
I woke up as soon as he sun rose, having the plan to steal my father's hoari from him. 'I want to wear it! I wonder if he has any of his older ones from when he was younger.' I thought with a wide grin on my face. Silently opening the door to my chamber, I crept through the hallways towards my mother and father's chamber.
"And what sort of trouble would you be into this morning Ryura?" Rin's voice asked with amusement, seeing me walk towards the chamber.
"Stealing a hoari from father, want to come with me?"
Rin laughed. Even though she was at least nineteen now, she still loved to play around.
"You know the answer to that," she laughed, following after me.
My golden eyes wandered through the hallway, seeing if Jaken was around since he always ended up ruining my fun. 'Alright! Let's pull off the skills that father has taught me over the years.' I opened the door to the dark room, knowing that it would still be dark on the inside of the chamber. Rin waited at the door, knowing that if she came in that both father and mother would wake up. There was a closet on the other side of the chamber and I silently opened it. 'All right, let's see what we can find… There's a hoari from recently, so it's too big… Oh there's one from when he was a lot younger!' What I didn't realize was that I had thrown the hoari backwards onto my mother and father's bed, having woken up father.
"What are you doing Ryura?" he asked, pilling his newest hoari off his head with some annoyance.
'Oh crap…'
"Nothing, just looking for something. You know me. I could have lost it anywhere," I laughed nervously, holding the hoari behind my back.
"Must you steal my hoari in the process?" he mocked me.
"Hope you had a good sleep father!" I cried, running out of the chamber as fast as I could.
Rin laughed when I had shut the door behind me and I gave her a small glare.
"That was a close one huh?" she laughed.
"Unfortunately," I laughed as well.
I had to admit that there was something wrong with the way I acted sometimes, but Jaken merely blamed it on the fact that I was half demon.
"So why did you want lord Sesshoumaru's hoari?"
"I just wanted a hoari instead of a stupid kimono. All women wear them so I want to be different from them. I need to be strong in order to take over for father one day," I said with stars in my eyes as I pictured my dream come true.
Rin laughed again as we walked back towards my chamber.
"You're weird sometimes you know that?" she laughed with a wide smile.
"Yeah I know that, but I like it that way."
"Alright, I'll see you later. Maybe if we're lucky the baby will come today and lord Sesshoumaru can stop worrying about it," Rin said as she walked towards the stairs.
"Yeah, hopefully," I laughed nervously.
'Mother is almost due to give birth. The baby should have been born a few days ago, but I guess it's taking it's time… Father said that he has a bad feeling about it, and so do I. It feels like death is in the air…' I thought as I walked back into my chamber.
I changed into the hoari and the pair of pants that were with it. The hoari was white with light red flowers that were huge. The sash that went with it all was the opposite colours of father's recent one; the blue and yellow switched places.
"Now that feels better," I laughed, going back out into the hallway.
'The baby is on the way… Father said that the scent would be sour, and that's what I smell…' Both my father and mother told me that when mother was pregnant with me, father had to leave my mother for nine months. Why he didn't do it this time was beyond me, but I thought that it had to do with the fact that he was worried about what might happen.
"Lord Sesshoumaru wishes that you would wait outside while lady Tsuto is in labor. He too will be waiting outside the castle," a mistress said with a solemn tone.
I nodded my head with agreement before running towards the castle doors. When I was born, father suddenly thought it proper to have some servants working in the caste grounds. 'But it's going to end up raining soon, so why would he want to wait outside if we'll only get wet?' the thought was confusing but I learned not to question my father's intensions. Running down all the steps, I saw the two doors and went outside into the world that seemed rather dark. Without the sun, the dark rain clouds covered the sky and made the mood completely dark. 'Death is definitely in the air around here…'
"Ryura," father's voice said calmly.
"Yes father?"
"You sense the feeling of death in the air don't you?" he asked me, avoiding to glance at me.
"I do father and it feels cold. A bad sense for a day of birth," I whispered, looking around at the area.
'I feel empty inside, like I'm about to lose something important to me… I'm sure that mother is going to die giving birth to my brother…' My golden eyes looked at Jaken who was looking quite upset. He didn't seem to enjoy this type of weather, at least not when he was dragged outside into it.
There was a loud crack of thunder and then the rain started to pour down onto the western plains.
"What would you do father, if mother were to die?" I wondered, watching small puddles form beneath my feet.
"Ryura you brazen child! You should know your place when you speak to lord Sesshoumaru like that!" Jaken yelled at me, raising his staff as a threat.
"Shut up Jaken! What are you gunna do, huh? Beat me over the head with that damn staff every time I ask my own father something! Why don't you go kiss my ass you damn imp," I growled hatefully, raising my voice to make it sound like I was completely pissed off.
In truth, I was on the verge of crying but I chose not to show it. I had at least some respect if not any. Father was rather surprised that I had raised my voice at all, since not once had he heard me yell about anything. 'That stupid bastard of a toad. I want to cut off his head and use it as my sushi!' I thought with a grunt.
"I would feel remorse for bringing the fate upon her. Though I'm sure that in the past there would have been a worse fate. As her mate, how could I not feel the difference in life?" father replied, regaining his composure and looking out across his lands.
That was the first time I had heard or scented fear on his being and it surprised me.
"A day without her would seem like an endless rainfall and stormy weather," I whispered.
The door behind us opened and all three of us turned to see the mistress holding a small bundle in her arms with short silver hair and small dog ears. At first relief hit me, but then I saw the solemn look in the woman's face and the smell of death filled the air. 'Was it the baby or mother that died? Or was it both of them?'
Upon being soaked by rain, the day was already dark and lousy, but this was just about the worst thing that could happen on a dark day to make it worse.
"My lord, I bring grace news about lady Tsuto," the mistress started, not sure on what to say.
Father turned to her with a small look of regret since he didn't really know how to show his emotions well.
"I'm afraid that she dies while giving birth…" the woman trailed off.
There was a loud crack of thunder and it made me jump since I was dazed by the woman's words. The rain seemed to become a harder downpour and it was hard to really see what was going on.
"What of the child?" father's voice broke the sound of the rain.
"It's a boy and is well alive. The best thing I could do to keep it from crying was to allow it to feed from Tsuto," the woman said with a small smile, trying to make the moment happier.
'Wait, if mother died, then why can't father use Tenseiga to bring her back to life? Would that not work?'
"Very well, bring him to Ryura's chamber. I will be there shortly. Jaken, go with her as well," father ordered, turning back around to the rainy lands.
"Aye my lord," they both replied before leaving into the castle.
When I knew they were gone, I turned to father.
"Why don't you use Tenseiga?" I asked.
"She can't be brought back with Tenseiga. Even the sword of Heaven can't bring back the one who was pure. She was not a normal human Ryura, she was something different," father explained, avoiding my gaze.
"It's that whole Naraku thing isn't it? That god damn bastard!" I growled hatefully.
"True that it is Naraku's fault, but if he had not gotten Shouru's father to leave his mother, then Tsuto would not have been born, and neither would you."
'Damn it! God I seriously hate that god damn bastard! I spit onto his remains.'
"Come Ryura, your brother waits to meet you," father said while turning towards the castle.
"I'll meet him later. I'm gunna go find a shovel," I said solemnly.
When I found the place mother loved to sit, I sat down and looked around the area.
'She really did love this spot. She told me that this was where she sat the first time father wanted to mate with her. I know why she really loved it though. In spring and summer, this place is full of wild flowers that smell beautiful.' I thought with a small smile, bringing myself to tears. No one walked out there, not even in the winter. It was like a sacred place that no on could touch.
"The perfect place for her grave," I whispered, turning onto my hands and knees.
With some anger towards Naraku mixed in with the sadness of my mother's death, I started to dig with my claws. Even the pouring rain would not keep me from completing the hole. Not even the thought of being tired could wear my body out.
A good half the day passed before I came back into the castle. Everything but the hoari was brown. Even my long black hair seemed brown from how much dirt was in it. Walking towards the stairs, my clothes were dripping wet and left small puddles of water on the floor. 'At least it's not raining so hard anymore,' The sky was getting darker as night started to fall.
"Where have you been all day Ryura?" Jaken's voice asked with anger when he appeared out of nowhere.
"Outside, now leave me alone," I said quietly.
"You look like you were fighting with some sort of witch with all that mud on you," the annoying toad said with mockery.
"I'm not taking it back Jaken. So leave me alone," I said with a growl.
The imp immediately ran away with fear and I went up the stairs to my chamber. The scent of my brother filled my nose and I got used to it already. 'I'm sure that it will change once he gets older…' Opening my door quietly, I saw father sitting against the wall with the boy in his arms.
"What's his name?" I asked, looking towards the right.
"Yuhi," father replied.
"He sort of looks like you, but with mother's eyes," I said solemnly.
It was true, even though Yuhi had small dog ears, he did look like father. On his forehead was a navy crescent moon and he had the four raspberry stripes on his cheeks. His eyes were green and he did not receive the claw like marks on his arms. That was something that I had received but they remained covered up.
"I'm sure that I did not look so defenseless," he replied with an assuring tone.
At his words, I couldn't help but laugh slightly.
I sat down near the doorway, still not meeting gazes with my father.
"Do you wish to hold him?" he asked me, looking at me with his cold eyes, which didn't seem so cold anymore.
"Not really," I whispered solemnly.
It sounded like father had sighed, though I knew that he would never let his composure to fall since he was too proud. 'It's not Yuhi's fault that mother is gone, and it's not father's either, since he would save her if her knew a way how…'
"What have you been doing in the rain?" he asked me.
"Just digging a hole," I replied quietly.
"You realize that it will just fill with rain," he said with some regret.
"I'd rather have it fill with water than not have a grave for her. After all, it is in her favorite place," I said quietly, letting my eyes wander to him.
"If it's not raining tomorrow, we will burn her body and bury her ashes in that place," my father said with a kind tone.
'I hope that when Yuhi is older, he will understand about mother no being alive.' Suddenly tears fell down my cheeks and I couldn't stop them from falling. As if I hadn't cried enough while I was outside, but they didn't seem to want to stop.
"No crying Ryura, you know how much I despise it when you do so."
"I'm sorry father. It just feels like my heart is being crushed," I replied, wiping my tears away.
"She may not have been gone for very long, but the world already seems a bit less bright," father said solemnly.
'It does, but I guess that was the price to be paid to give the world new life. There is always another path that could be chosen…'
End of Last Chapter
Hello again everyone. Yeah that's right, that was the LAST chapter of this story and there is NOT going to be a sequel. I spent like two years of my life writing this thing and it's eighty-one pages long in total on the computer. o.O Can you imagine how many pieces of paper would have needed to be used to write this whole thing? Well, I'm quite glad that this one is over. I did enjoy writing it even though for the longest time I had no clue whatsoever on what to use in few chapters. Lol. But I fixed that because it's finished! Does a victory dance Anyway, thanks again to all of you who took the time to read and or review this story. It really makes me happy to know that people enjoyed the time I spent in writing the whole thing. :D:D I guess that I can't say that I'll update soon because it's done but I can say please R&R. So please R&R. : ) : ) Bye-bye everyone!