Disclaimer: Inuyasha Co. belong to Takahashi-san, not me. I only own original characters and the plot.

Chapter Seven: Mommy dearest

"This wasn't what I was expecting," Kagome thought while looking at them aghast.

Inuyasha had a whole different reaction. All the anger he felt the night before at the mention of Sesshomaru's name suddenly came back with a vengeance, and he wanted so badly to kick his stuck-up ass of a brother. But he knew that he couldn't do anything with Kagome's mother in the room.

"Bastard. What are you doing here? How are you finding your way to ruin my life even here?" he growled, clenching his fist and holding onto Kagome to find some resemblance of control.

Yes, in the end, he had helped them when they had defeated Naraku and after he had brought some shards to Kagome, but he was still the same bastard who had tried to kill him over and over. Sesshomaru didn't change his mind about half-demons and humans; he still considered them inferior and didn't try to hide his disgust for them. The only exception to that rule was Rin, right next to him and older. How was that even possible?

"Inuyasha, wait, I don't think he's the same Sesshomaru we know. It's not possible. Besides, we are the only ones who can get through the well," Kagome suddenly stated confidently. Yeah, it was quite baffling to find them in her living room, but she figured they had some explanation. They had to.

"Listen to your mate, Inuyasha, and do not start with your usual rude behaviour. Higurashi-san was gentle enough to let us in. We are going to explain everything once you both are settled," he said cooly.

"Speak and do it fast," ordered Inuyasha once they were sitting at the kitchen table, each with a hot-fuming cup of tea in their hands. Well, everyone but Sesshomaru, who remained stoic.

"Kagome is correct, little brother; I am not the same Sesshomaru you know and thinking about how... Hn... less inclined to sentimentalisms I was back then..." Inuyasha scoffed, more like a fucking racist, "I can understand why you're acting like this now. But you must know that for me, it has been 500 years more or less after Naraku's death." It was like someone had dropped a bomb in their living room. The silence suddenly surrounded the room.

Kagome gaped at them, incredulous, getting all the implications, and Rin smiled when she did that.

"Yeah... Demons are still alive nowadays, even if both you and Inuyasha never sensed an aura or smelled something strange," she explained. Rin almost felt bad for the connotations of everything they were about to dump on the shoulders of the two teenagers. At the same time, she was aware that it had to be done and that, more importantly, it was the best thing to do.

"But... How?" Kagome asked, shocked. "All these times you have been here, and you knew I was going back and forth, fighting Naraku and all? All this time, demons have been hiding? People around us could recognize what Inuyasha was when we were leaving the shrine?"

They nodded.

"Of course, but we couldn't say anything; we couldn't reveal ourselves until the right time came. Actually, there are still a lot of things we can't tell you because the well isn't closed yet," Rin specified.

"Yeah... The flow of time etc. etc., but why now?" Kagome pried.

"You mated Rin? Rin? All this time you made my life a living inferno because father mated my mother, hated me because I was a half-breed, and then, you go and mated and human?!" Inuyasha finally found his voice and, from the look of it, his trembling figure, his fiery gaze and deadly voice, he was really angry. "How very hypocrite of you!"

"Inuyasha, I can understand that you-" Sesshomaru tried to say. It was the first time Kagome had seen the youkai Lord this way, not even trying to respond to Inuyasha's blazing and threatening aura.

"No, you don't, you can't!" the hanyou stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "I presume you even have children, lots of little half-breeds," he let out a devilish low chuckle, and Kagome noticed Rin flinching at the comment, "that actually know what's like to grow up in a family, that maybe don't have older half-brothers who beat them to a pulp or abandon them when their mother suddenly died just because they are half-humans!"

Kaori, who had until now remained silent, started to catch up, understanding why Inuyasha held such a grudge against his brother. Hadn't even Kagome told her something like this once?

"Inuyasha!" suddenly Sesshomaru was shouting too, unable to keep up with his anger anymore. "I get it, I get it, I was a bastard, but I can promise you I'll find the way to make you forgive me in your time. I can't tell you how and when, but I'll do. However, we aren't here to talk about an old grudge but for more pressing matters. I already told you, I am not the same Sesshomaru you know; I changed, and it is not with me that you will have to solve your problems."

"Old for you! Or must I remind you that the Sesshomaru I know is still a prick?" he retaliated.

"Then it's better if you start to discriminate between the two of us because you're going to see me more often, and I'd like you to behave better in my presence."

Inuyasha snorted. "Can't you hear yourself? Now you're gonna scold me like a puppy? News flash, brother, you're a little too late for that."

"I can assure you, little brother, it's never too late. Now sit down and listen to us!" he ordered, his words holding such finality Inuyasha actually did as his brother said.

He crossed his arms and turned his face, pouting, looking like a scolded puppy. Kagome came closer and put her hand on his thigh in a reassuring way. He put his arms around her waist and his face closer to her hair, inhaling her scent to find comfort. Rin and Mrs. Higurashi smiled at the picture they gave away.

"Now," Sesshomaru started again, "Kagome, you asked why we revealed ourselves today. We had every intention of coming to you in a couple of months, but yesterday night we received news that an old employee of mine approached Inuyasha and created a... hn... disturbance. Since you would have probably looked for me once you knew there was a clone of me in Tokyo, I figured it was better if we came before you started sniffing around."

"You see? Messing up with my life, even if it's not directly! And he called it a disturbance," Inuyasha shouted again.

"I'm sorry about yesterday inconvenience. Kamuri-san has always been problematic; I had to fire him some months ago. He didn't get over it yet," he explained.

"Go on. I don't care about the fucker, even if I did you a favour by scaring him to death," he urged his half-brother. He wanted to come to the bottom of this situation.

"Yes, we still have a lot to talk about it. First of all, my concealment. Nowadays, demons are required to conceal their own appearance in the way they prefer to appear human. For instance, you have been doing just fine until now, even if you didn't know, by hiding your ears – which are the most peculiar of your demon features – the claws and fangs could be a problem if humans would start to notice, but they never do, whilst our colours are easily explained. Anyway, your kind of concealment is not the most used. When someone is born, every demon family can require a concealment charm that not only can make you appear human, hence the absence of my facial marks and pointed ears, but also hide the demonic aura and smell." He removed his wedding ring and, suddenly, he became the old Sesshomaru again. "This is the reason why not you or your mate ever noticed anything strange."

"And what about your powers? Do you still have them o do you become completely human?" Inuyasha asked.

"I am always the same," replied Sesshomaru putting on his ring again. "It's fox magic, they change only your appearance in the way you wish, but unfortunately, it has its flaw. Once you saw a demon without its charm, the spell doesn't work on that person anymore; the smell and aura remain hidden, but a normal human can't detect them anyway. That is why you can see the real me now that I have removed my ring in front of you but still can't sense me."

"Ingenious," said Kaori, pretty amazed by the whole thing. Had they really lived among demons all this time?

"Indeed. Demon society had been hiding since the 18th century when it became clear that humans were dominating us in number and they also started developing weapons that could kill even the strongest of us. We started 'disappearing', we let them know they had killed each of us, and then, in time, they forgot we even ever existed. Now everything is pretty organized and neat, but we needed a lot of time to make it work correctly." He grabbed a folder from his briefcase and started looking for a document. "Nowadays, we even have a different register where births, marriages, and everything else that happens in a demon's life is collected. It also contains information about humans if they mated a demon since their lifespan is increased and displays the right date of birth of someone if it's known. In the human register, we have to change our names and our appearance periodically to not get suspicious. Sometimes people prefer to move since money isn't usually an issue. If you live as long as demons, you start collecting money more easily than a human does. Ah, here they are!" he exclaimed, showing them a couple of documents.

They were the copy of two birth certificated, one Inuyasha Tashio and one Kagome Tashio. Inuyasha's displayed his approximately correct year of birth, 1297, while Kagome was listed as born in late 1482, which coincidentally was 500 years prior to her real birth.

"I figured Inuyasha could make good use of an identity card since you will be travelling back and forth," he put one on the birth certificates, but in the picture, Inuyasha's ears appeared as a human. "And since you two are currently mated, you are already considered married in demon terms, which is why you are also in our register, Kagome. This way, you both could use the advantages of our society while you're still living in this era. I'll give you a couple of booklets that explain every detail of how our society works before we leave. You must read them very carefully." He eyed Inuyasha. "I'm part of the demon council, the one that controls everything and makes sure no one gives us away, so don't create problems, little brother," he said very sternly.

"Keh. It doesn't appear difficult."

Sesshomaru smirked. "There is still a lot you have to learn, but I'm trying to be concise, or we would be occupying Higurashi-san's kitchen for a lot more that is required to a proper guest." He finally retrieved another folder and gave it to Kaori Higurashi. "Here, you can find your own bank accounts with everything you need for, plus your credit cards. Since you still don't know how these future things work and Kagome is still too young to handle such amounts of money, it's better if Higurashi-san safeguards them."

"It's your own money, Inuyasha," Rin chipped in when she noticed that Inuyasha had made a strange face. "Don't ask us how; it's one of those questions we can't answer right now."

They opened the folder to look at the amount, and both mother and daughter looked stunned "That's... that's," tried to say Kagome.

"... nothing strange," Sesshomaru finished for her, "trust us."

"So we're filthy rich too, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, who still didn't understand a lot of modern money and numbers.

"Heck, yeah! Mom, we can repay you for everything we bought and brought on the other side." Her mother dismissed the problem like it was nothing at all.

"Besides, you'll make good use of the money now that you have a pup on the way," Sesshomaru stated. He had smelled her scent earlier, and besides, he knew that she would get pregnant more or less a half year after Naraku's death from past knowledge.

Inuyasha paled, "P-p-pup?"

Sesshomaru seemed surprised. "You didn't know? Honestly, Inuyasha, can't you smell her? Her scent's a clear sign," he clarified.

"How in the seven hells am I supposed to know how a pregnancy smells? It's not like I go around sniffing out pregnant women!"

"P-p-pregnant?" stuttered Kagome. That can't be right; they have always been cautious. Her mother was currently speechless. "You're kidding, right? I mean, I can't be... I can't be," she started shaking and wriggling her hands. "It can't be right," she repeated. She looked at them pleadingly.

Sesshomaru looked unfazed; Rin gave her an apologetic smile.

"I... I can't be pregnant; I'm too young to be a mother. I don't know a thing about being a mother!" she shouted. "We have been cautious, we used protection... How is that even possible?" There was no way she could be pregnant. She couldn't get through something big like that now. She was still a child herself!

"Kagome... calm down now, it's not good to stress yourself like that," Inuyasha tried to reason but shut his mouth when she looked at him with blazing eyes.

"You wouldn't be the first one who found in this situation, Kagome. Besides, are you sure you have always been cautious? A lot of demons aren't the first times they mated which often, more than not, coincide with the woman's heat." Sesshomaru kept speaking calmly as the topic was the shopping list and not her menstrual cycle.

"How is she going to finish school if she's pregnant? The school's administration will expel her as soon as they find out," suddenly her mother spoke up. She looked pale too and, clearly, she didn't receive the news well either.

"Considered already taken care of," Rin said, "I'm going to call my doctor as soon as we leave. She is a friend of yours, Kagome, you'll see. She's going to write you special permission to miss the rest of the year, but you'll have to keep studying and take a couple of exams before you can come back the next school year. You still probably have a couple of months more before you start showing up, so you don't have to leave right now. It will be a little stressful once the baby is born, but we'll help you in every way possible." She got up and hugged her when she saw that Kagome was still tense, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What about the jewel? We can't keep travelling now that both Sango and Kagome are expecting," Inuyasha asked. No way he was keeping let Kagome killing demons if she was indeed pregnant with his pup.

"You won't have to worry about that for too long," Sesshomaru interjected and looked at him straight in the eyes, letting him know he wouldn't tell him more before Inuyasha could even think of opening his mouth. "Well, I think we talked about everything essential for now. We are going to leave for now. You two are expected at our mansion tomorrow for the midday lunch. A driver is going to pick you up at 11.00 a.m. sharp. Don't make him wait. Our son is anxious to meet you." That said, they were both gone, leaving three stunned persons behind them.

"Yup, this surely wasn't what I was expecting..." Kagome suddenly looked dejected and started thinking about all the ways her life was going to drastically change.

"It seemed that we won't have just one baby by the end of the year," Inuyasha sighed.

Ten minutes later, the room was still quiet, and Kagome was silently sobbing, wrapped in Inuyasha arms, while he stroked her back gently.

He didn't know what to do. He would have been happy if not for the fact that he knew Kagome was considered still too young for her time's standards and that this was not what she had expected when they had decided to go down this road.

Suddenly her mother got up and made Inuyasha sign to leave his place for her. Inuyasha left the room, realizing that now Kagome needed her mother's comfort.

"Shh... Kagome, don't cry, don't cry, it's gonna be okay. I'm here, Inuyasha's here, everyone's here, you're not alone," Kaori tried to soothe her.

Kagome kept crying, not knowing how to stop. "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I know you said we had to be cautious... I'm so sorry, I... I don't know if I can do it."

"Of course you can, dear; you're the strongest girl I know. You wouldn't be here otherwise. And for the rest, I'm not saying I'm not disappointed with how things turned out because, believe me, I am. I still think you two could have waited to give me a grandchild, but what are you gonna do? Will you have the strength to face this new challenge?" she kissed her temple and kept speaking. "It's gonna be tough, but when it isn't? The most important thing is that you're not gonna face it alone. You'll always have someone to back you up, both here and in the past. And when your ankles will be swollen, and your back hurt so much you can't even get up from your bed, remember that for every mother it's the same," she winked.

She chuckled at that. "Geez, mom. This is really helping me; think about all the pains my body will have to endure in the next eight months," she rolled her eyes. "I still believe I'm not ready. I'm still scared."

"I wouldn't think otherwise. Everyone is the first time, and the second too. It just gets easier, but you're still scared. Even if know what you are afraid of is this baby and not of the pain, as soon as you see him or her, everything else will disappear. You can't understand until you'll have the baby wrapped in your arms, the little fingers grabbing your pinkie, the soft skin under your lips." She had a faraway look that made her realize that maybe her mother was reliving hers or Sota's birth.

"Were you scared?" asked Kagome then.

Her mother giggled, "Oh, absolutely, I think I drove your father crazy while I was pregnant with you. We had been trying for a baby, so you didn't come as a surprise, but as soon as I saw the result, fear invaded me. What if I messed up? Your father was there, hovering over me, already planning on everything, excitedly calling your grandfather and I was thinking: "Will I be a good mother?"

Your father had always been the calmer of the two of us. I didn't realize it until I found myself pregnant again and without him next to me." She caught a tear from her daughter's face and smiled. "But even if I didn't have your father's comfort anymore, I wasn't alone. I had you, your grandfather and my parents that didn't even let me space to breathe. I had to threaten them I wasn't going to let them see Souta if they didn't leave me alone for at least five minutes."

"I didn't know. I mean, you have always been the perfect mother that I can't think about you in any other way."

"No one is born to be a parent, dear. You learn to be one. Your father and I learned together while you were still inside me, with every kick, with every time I heard your heartbeat or your father caressed my belly as he spoke to you. Everything prepared me for the moment I saw you wrapped in that little yellow blanket, and it was only the beginning. I mean, look at us, sixteen years later, and I'm still learning, plus now I also I have to learn how to be a grandma." She got up from her seat and started collecting the mugs. "I hope your children don't get Inuyasha's temperament, even if between you and him, I'm really worried," she laughed merrily. "Oh dear, you'll have your hands full. Now, you should go and talk to your cute hanyou before lunch. We will have to talk about everything with Grampa, and it's not going to be easy. So enjoy while you can," she winked. "And remember what I told you: you're gonna learn together."

She shooed her away and started cleaning the breakfast plates.

In the meantime, perched upon a branch of the Goshinboku, Inuyasha smiled while listening to the things Kagome's mother was saying. Hell, he couldn't wait to hold his pup in his arms, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared shitless. All his life, he hadn't even thought he could have the chance to be a father, and now there he was, without the slightest idea of how to be one. How was he going to do it if he didn't even ever have a father figure? He certainly couldn't count Myoga as one. Even when he was a pup, the old flea had always left him alone every time he sensed danger; he didn't want to teach his pup cowardness.

He looked down when Kagome reached the God tree, got down, wrapped her in his arms and jumped up again. She squealed at having been handled so fast, but after a few seconds, she settled against him and let him breathe in her hairs, receiving comfort from the small gesture.

"We're going to do it together. Aren't we?" Ahe asked, the sound muffled by his haori.

"Of course we are, koishi. I can't be a good father without you."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Good, because in less than an hour, we're gonna explain to my grandfather why it's that I'm pregnant and already married," she watched him getting paler. "I guess it's a good thing gramps doesn't have any spiritual powers after all."

Kagome and Sota were setting the kitchen table when her grandfather and her mate entered the room. He had been cleaning the storage room with Inuyasha, and now he was too tired to sweep the shrine ground.

"Well, my boy," he said while eyeing Sota, "It seems today you're gonna be the one to use the broom."

The ten years old boy was unimpressed, "What? Why me? Why can't Kagome do it?"

"Kagome has to come back to the feudal era," she answered. "We still have the last shards to find. How many do you think we still need, Inuyasha?" she asked while handling the jewel that was hidden in her shirt, hanging by a silver chain.

"Don't know," Inuyasha answered while coming closer and getting a better view, "I'll say no more than three, but we'll know for sure when we'll find them. I sure hope it doesn't take long. It's like all I've been doing in my life is collecting shards. And I lived for 150 years before I was pinned to that three, which is saying a lot." He leaned against her face and whispered in her ears, "Maybe when we're alone, I'll show you how I'd like to spend time instead of looking for shards." He bit her lobe and stepped away, grinning. Her cheeks reddened, and she looked away not to give away anything to her family.

When everyone was seated and was eating their lunch, Kaori Higurashi decided to speak. "Father, Sota, it seems Kagome and Inuyasha want to tell us something important. Isn't that right, dear?" she encouraged them. Kagome paled and started fidgeting again.

"What is it, Kagome?" asked her grandfather, looking at her sternly as she tried to avoid his gaze.

"Well, uhm, since we defeated Naraku we have been living in Kaede's village every time we are not travelling the country, you know?"

"I thought every time you are not travelling, you were coming home, Kagome," her grandfather stated.

"Yes, gramps, but I'm the only one; the others are now living there permanently. Miroku and Sango got married months ago, and now she is also pregnant," she informed them. They nodded. "Well, you know, things work differently 500 years in the past..." her grandfather narrowed his eyes; Kagome started sweating. "And since I decided that after school, I want to stay on the other side of the well, Inuyasha asked me to marry him, and mom said yes," she hastily concluded.

"You decided WHAT! You're gonna leave us?" Grampa started crying. "Kaori, my granddaughter is leaving me," he sobbed.

"There, there, father. You knew it was going to happen, but there is still time, don't worry," she patted him on the shoulder, "now, why don't you let them finish?"

"Yeah... Well," now to the difficult part. "While we decided that we are going to get married here after school before I leave, we kinda already married on the other side. The villagers built us a big hut. It's normal there, I mean, age of marriage it's different, so for them, it was the most logical thing to do since we're in love and we're always together and..." she rambled one while her grandfather got paler.

Inuyasha eyed him, worried. If he took it so bad now, he didn't dare to think how the old man would react once they told him he had a great-grandchild on the way.

" Yeaaaah! We're brothers for real now, Inu-no-niichan!" Sota shouted and went to hug him. "But you really need to leave us in two years, sis?" She nodded.

"You... You... You are living like a married couple, you... You're actually are a married couple..." Mr. Higurashi was trembling now. "Kagome! What we're you thinking! You are only sixteen. I don't care what they think in the past; you were born and raised in this century, where you are still considered a child, not a woman!"

"Father, please, you know well that Kagome's life changed the first time she fell down the well. She loves Inuyasha; her life is there," her mother reasoned.

"With all due respect, sir..." Inuyasha started saying.

"Well, that's new, Inuyasha speaking formally," Kagome thought.

"Would have you preferred the villagers to speak ill of your granddaughter?" he continued. "In my time, people think differently, and even if I understand where Kagome is coming from, they don't, and I know how it works there. An unmarried woman travelling with an unmarried man does not look good. Now that we are settled in the village, and Naraku is dead, everyone thought that since our duty was completed, we didn't have any more obstacles. It would have looked bad if we hadn't married." Inuyasha had prepared well his speech; he only hoped he could convince the old geezer because they still have to tell him the last part.

Mr. Higurashi harrumphed. "It doesn't mean you have to live like a married couple! You shouldn't have time to spend in the village because you still have your duty here in your time, Kagome!"

"But gramps, what would you think if a married couple didn't act like one? You know, life there is different; they like to gossip about everything..." she tried to follow Inuyasha's lead.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I also know what is required from a young married couple, and you cannot afford that. You are sixteen," he repeated firmly, "and certainly you are not a villager."

"Kagome is not considered a simple villager. She is the apprentice priestess, and everyone held her in high regard," Inuyasha explained.

"Yeah, gramps. Isn't that what you always wanted me to be? A priestess?"

"Don't twist my words, young girl. Besides, usually in that time, a priestess is required to be a maiden, certainly not a young married girl who is expected to give her husband an heir." He turned to Inuyasha, "I don't care what your villagers say, you can appear to be what you want, but I don't want you two to do your duty in the bedroom."

"Father!" exclaimed her mother shocked.

"What? Are you encouraging them too, Kaori?"

"Too late for that. Kagome and I have already consumed our marriage and mated in demon terms. Besides, if you like it or not, there's gonna be a newborn in this family by the end of the year." Inuyasha was starting to get annoyed.

"Straight to the point, Inuyasha. That's how we're going to give the old man a stroke."

The room grew silent. Mr. Higurashi was about to faint, Kagome's mother gave them an apologetic smile, Kagome was wringing her hands and Sota appeared to be more excited than ever. He was indeed the first one to break the silence, "Yeah! We're gonna have a baby with puppy ears!"

Inuyasha looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"Sota, dear, I don't think this is the right moment," reasoned her mother. "Father, I know that is not what we were expecting, and I also know that Kagome is still going to school, but we have already found a solution for that; you don't have to worry. No one outside our and Inuyasha's family will know about the pregnancy. We can't do anything else."

He got up and left the room without a word.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Kaori Higurashi stated, "at least he didn't faint."