Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its original characters.
A/N: A slightly shorter chapter this time, I'll publish the next one tomorrow or in two days and it will be longer.
Chapter Eleven: Beautiful and Blessed Child
Kagome was finally in her third semester, and Inuyasha couldn't wait anymore for the pregnancy to end. She was always tired, aching and short-tempered; he could swear he had never been sat so many times in such a short period, not even at the beginning of their journey. Maybe he should have asked her to remove the beads when they found out she was pregnant. He would have to remember that next time. She was slowly driving everyone crazy, even her mother, and that was saying a lot.
They were currently in the modern era, and Kagome had just activated the beads because the pup had kicked her hard. She said she didn't want him to feel neglected because he couldn't experience the same pain. Well, the argument was flawless, according to her.
"Come on, dear. Just a little over a month, and it'll be over," Kaori smiled. She patted his shoulders empathically.
"Thank God!" he murmured and then flinched when he realized she may have heard him, but luckily for him, she had not.
"A little over a month, and I'll be able to see my feet again," she shouted, raising her hands above her head. She was lying down on her couch and had forced Souta to give her swollen ankles a massage.
"I don't understand why can't he give you a massage..." Sota cried. It was maybe the first time Sota had any kind of negative feelings towards Inuyasha. He didn't do anything and, yet he was reduced to a mere slave because Inuyasha had got her sister pregnant. He gave Inuyasha what should have been a death glare.
"I'm sorry, kid. But if she keeps sitting me I can't give her anything. Do you want to take my place?" he snorted. He would gladly give her 4398 messages if that meant that she wouldn't sit him once during the following month.
Meanwhile, her grandfather watched the scene unfolds with great amusement, and both the hanyou and his grandson gave him the hairy eyeball. "Oi, don't look at me like that. I had my share, and now that I'm old, I can finally enjoy the scenery," he chuckled. He pointed a finger towards Souta, "You don't have any idea of what I've been through when your mother was expecting you."
"Why you? What about their father?" asked Inuyasha. "I thought this was a curse reserved to the expecting fathers."
"Apparently no, Inu-no-niichan. Or I wouldn't be here giving her a massage right now."
"Oh, really, Inuyasha? Curse?" Kagome shouted angrily, "Why don't you try carrying another life inside you for nine months so that we can compare the two things? The least the father can do is shutting his trap and offering comfort. Keh! You're just like Miroku! You men either are complaining or hovering over us," she started sniffing.
"No, no, I didn't mean like that, koi," he rushed to console her fearing another sit. "Don't cry!" Yes, another wonderful thing about Kagome being pregnant. Tears, tears every damn minute.
"To answer your question, boy, my son died when Kaori had just discovered her second pregnancy. That's why I became the only target of her anger; you're lucky you can share with someone else," he shivered. "I still have nightmares sometimes."
Kaori laughed at that. "Come on, father, I wasn't that bad."
"Hmpf! Who says that he could share?" Sota complained again.
"Now, now, dear. Your sister and Inuyasha are going back to the feudal era after lunch. Try to resist just for a while," her mother stated.
That afternoon they went back to the feudal era, and Kagome planned to spend the afternoon with her feet in the river to soothe her ache. However, someone else had other plans, meaning Miroku and Sango's baby. As soon as Inuyasha reached the riverbank with Kagome, Kirara interrupted them, nudging them towards her mistress's hut. Upon their arrival, they found a distressing Miroku placing lots of ofuda for a healthy birth and Shippo bringing a barrel full of water inside.
"Kagome!" the kit screamed, "Come, you have to help Kaede. Sango is having her baby!" That said, Shippo dragged her inside the hut, where they could hear a shouting Sango.
"Monk, if you keep placing ofuda, your hut is gonna disappear," Inuyasha stated, noticing the dozens that already covered the front of the house. The half-demon shook his head.
"Inuyasha, my friend, I must do what I can do better since I'm not allowed in the birthing room," his friend cried.
"That would be? Making a fool of yourself?"
"Yeah, go ahead, Inuyasha. We'll see who laughs next month when you'll be in my position." He was now pacing back and forth in front of his hut.
The hanyou paled, then realized something, "Yeah, it may be like you say, but you won't be next to me making fun of my situation."
"Hmpf! Too bad. I could have helped you through the screams and moans of pain. First births can last for days."
"WHAT? No one warned me!" he was calling Ayame the next time he went through the well. "How long has Sango been there?" he asked, turning ashen.
Miroku stopped and then answered."Her water broke a little before sunrise." He wriggled his hands and started pacing again.
"It's awful. I can hear everything. Is she supposed to suffer like that?" How could he stand hearing Kagome going through this kind of pain? Why did no one warn him? Couldn't they do anything?
"Inuyasha, you're not helping me!"
In the meantime, Kagome was behind a pained Sango and was drying her forehead, whispering soothing words, while Kaede was checking her birth canal.
"How much longer, Kaede-sama?" Sango managed to ask.
"A little longer, child. Ye are still not dilated enough..." was Kaede's answer. She kept preparing everything they needed and checking the canal every ten minutes.
"Uh, I can't do it anymore..." she cried while another contraction hit her. They were very close now.
Kaede patted her. "It's not even the beginning, child. Ye have to resist."The old priestess had helped many women give birth since she had become the head priestess and had seen the same expressions millions of times. She was no longer shocked by the screams and pain of young mothers. She had learned what it meant to be patient.
Behind her, Kagome grimaced and brought a hand to her own large belly. "I don't want to do it anymore". Kaede held her gaze and chuckled. "Ye are thinking about yer own?" She nodded and tried not to think about it, even if it was difficult with a suffering Sango in front of her.
"It's awful, Kagome! It's not fair men cannot experience this..." she gritted her teeth because she was hit by another painful contraction "joyful occasion."
A couple of minutes before midnight, Inuyasha heard the first wail. "Monk! I heard a baby crying, you are a father, congratulations; it won't be long before you can go inside and welcome your first son or daught- WAIT!"
"What? What is it, Inuyasha? What's happening? Dammit! Answer me!" Miroku reacted badly at the lack of response from the hanyou, who made him wait some seconds that seemed almost years.
Inuyasha chuckled and then put an arm around the Miroku's shoulder, "Brace yourself, monk! It seemed you're having twins, and the first one is a girl." Twins the first time, Inuyasha shuddered; he didn't even want to think about it.
Miroku gaped and then fainted.
"It's hopeless." Both he and Shippo commented, shaking their head again at Miroku's antics.
"One more, Sango, yes... like this, good child!" Suddenly the cries of a baby born surrounded them. "It's a girl. You have a baby girl with ten fingers and ten toes. Kagome, come here, help me wash her while I deal with the afterbirth," she instructed.
Kagome waddled towards Kaede with a towel and wrapped the baby inside. She hadn't even reached the barrel that she heard another cry, and then Kaede stated, "Oh, Sango, it seems ye have another one on the way. We are not done yet."
Sango blanched, then groaned, but kept doing her job anyway.
Midnight had already passed when another cry was heard in the stillness of this late summer night. "It's another girl, Sango. Ye did good, very good indeed," praised Kaede. Multiple births were never easy and presented a lot of dangers.
The old priestess gave both the babies to their mother, and they stopped crying as soon as they were placed against her chest, soothed by her comforting heartbeat. "I must clean ye, then we can call yer husband inside. Kagome, child, go give the father the good news."
Outside the hut, Inuyasha laughed at the irony of the situation when Kagome reached them.
"He spent his whole life asking other men's daughters or sisters to bear his children, being a leecher, and then his firstborns are girls," he laughed. "Someone must be laughing at you up there, monk. What are you going to do when your own daughters meet other perverts like you?" he kept on teasing. It was very fun, very fun indeed.
"Inuyasha! SIT! You shouldn't tell him that now. Make the poor man breathe. He had just become a father." She tried to comfort the poor monk who had suddenly changed colour. "Come on, Miroku. Cheer up! You have been blessed twice today!" Kagome exclaimed, clapping her hands.
"They are beautiful. It's obvious they take after Sango," Shippo commented, leaning down from his perch on Inuyasha's shoulder. Everyone was inside their hut to welcome the twins now that the new family had had some time alone to get acquainted.
"Just this time, my young Shippo, I'm going to forgive you. After all, it's a joyous day, and I've been blessed by Buddha with two beautiful daughters, indeed," Miroku answered. He was still in shock at the news. However, he was feeling like the happiest man in the world right now.
The firstborn was wrapped in Sango's arms, while the second was currently sleeping with her father.
"Don't you think we should give them fitting names then?" his wife asked, looking down at her daughter and tenderly tracing her black tuft of hair.
"Ah, yes, yes, my lovely Sango. Do you already have any idea?"
"Kimiko..." she stated, smiling at the girl in her arms.
"Beautiful child. I can't see another name more fitting than this," Kagome praised. "And for the other one?"
For the next several minutes they kept suggesting names, but nothing seemed to convince the parents when Inuyasha spoke up.
"Well, since you're looking for another fitting name. What about Emi?" the hanyou proposed.
"My friend, that's an excellent idea. Since I've been blessed twice, why not blessed with beauty," Miroku agreed. "What do you think, my dear Sango?"
She enthusiastically nodded as tears welled up in her eyes. "It's beautiful, Inuyasha. Thank you, thank you."
Inuyasha started scratching the back of his neck, embarrassed, his cheeks slightly red. Kagome chuckled and kissed one of them.
"It's settled then. These children's names are Emi and Kimiko." Miroku proclaimed, looking at the girl cradled on his shoulder and then his gaze shifted towards Sango.
And today was indeed a blessed day because they had not one but two beautiful additions.
Inuyasha approached Kagome from behind and pulled her in an embrace. He kissed her on the head and rubbed her belly, soothing his pup that had been very active during the whole affair. "Just a little longer, and he'll be here too, koi." He couldn't wait to have him in his arms and find out if he would look more like himself or Kagome.
"Just a little longer," she agreed, placing her hands on his and looking up at him, at the beautiful smile he was offering her. "Just a little longer," she murmured against his lips just before they met in a tender kiss.
A/N: The first ones are here, it would be long before the third addition to the group comes along, then I will finally introduce two old characters and speed up the story a little bit. As for the twins' names, I didn't maintain the canon ones because I find them too difficult to write and to remember. I liked these better.