SliverKitsuneGrlAngel : Thank you for following the story and adding it to your favorites! :)
InuKagLover 1992 : One would hope for that, but then again would she be willing to allow him close to her in that position?
windbreaking : She didn't go home since she promised Sesshomaru she wouldn't put her children at risk with not just her own appearance changed but the fact that like you said there would be no way to be sure that someone wouldn't leak information about her strange looking children. Do not worry though because in this chapter you will find how that all went down!
Thanks to all my reviewers, readers, and people who favorited or added this story to their alerts! Much love to all of you!
The moon started to fade as the sun began to peek over the horizon, Kagome moving slower than she had hours before, the pain nothing too bad, just annoying her and causing her body to both tremble and tense. She felt so tired, so worn out from walking for hours in hopes of both finding help and to get away from Kaede's village all at once. The Miko's powers seemed to fluctuate with every contraction and Kagome worried that the flux of it would lead the others to find her. Even without her scent to guide the Hanyou as she had smothered her aura to make it harder to track as soon as she had jumped out of the well, they would surely feel the power of hers trying to break free. She desired a moment to rest, but the last time she had tried it had only proved to cause her more discomfort, her contractions becoming less uncomfortable with the movement of her steps. Those same contractions were getting closer, maybe a minute or two between them as they crashed over her and she knew it was almost too late. She would be out in the middle of nowhere giving birth in the feudal era, the very thought making her worry more about what she would do if that happened.
She knew it was how it was to be even if she had gone home. There was no way she could give birth in a hospital, but at she had at least hoped to have her mother or even someone she knew by her side. Her legs shook as another contraction struck her and with a gasp she moved to find a spot to sit when the sound of voices reached her ears. "Help!" she cried out, the voices still continuing as if they had not heard her. "Is somebody there? Please!" Looking up when the voices came closer she noted with relief that it was a pair of women, one of whom looked to be pregnant as well. When the first one saw her she turned to her friend before pointing at the downed Miko who was now leaning against a lone tree on the side of the road.
"Oh, my Kami," the pregnant woman cried as they came to her side, her friend, a dark haired woman, crouching before her with a concerned look on her face. The pregnant woman, her red hair gleaming in the sun as it rose higher on the horizon pulled out a flask before handing it to Kagome who took it quickly, downing a good deal of it greedily, her body accepting the relief of the cool water as passed her lips. "Are you very far along?" It seemed that the pregnant woman could tell she was in labor, though she was mildly surprised since she knew she looked like she had just been in a very bloody fight.
"About a-a minute or so apart," she gasped as another contraction hit. They looked at each other with very concerned looks before the dark haired woman rushed off down the road leaving the two pregnant women alone. "Where is she going?" Kagome asked, wondering for a moment if the other woman was going to find help. Surely, none would be found before she gave birth.
"You're lucky," the other woman stated with a soft smile. "Our village is just around the corner and with you being a Hanyou you're even luckier." The Miko blinked at those words. Had she found a village like those that had been so close to the castle of the Queen? "And we have a Miko visiting as well so even better for you." Kagome couldn't believe her good fortune. Not only had she found help, but a village with a Miko in residence was more than she could even dream of.
"Kagome?" a female asked, the voice so familiar that when she turned to look the woman from before was back with an older woman at her side, those brown eyes looking with worry at her. Before her with the women who had rescued her was Kaede, the older woman kneeling beside her as some men appeared at her side. "What are ye doing out here?" When she noted the sweat that was streaking the younger Miko's face she shook her head, dismissing her question, at least for the moment, before turning to one of the men. "Genta, help her to the village, to that hut on the edge of the village." The taller, more muscular male of the two doing as he was asked as he hefted her into his arms bridal style. As he walked by Kaede she said, "We'll talk later."
It had taken nearly all his energy and most of the morning to get close enough to Kaede's village, the sight of it at the bottom of the hill making him sigh in relief as he continued down the hill as fast as he could. While running his nose picked up on a familiar smell, the smell of Miroku and Sango, the smell of their sweat coming from close to where he was, but there was no scent of his mate with them. Confusion flickered in his eyes as he changed directions, going parallel of the village to find the pair from his group. It didn't take him too long to find them, to understand why the smell of their sweat was so strong as the pair were sparring with each other. With the defeat of the Queen Miroku no longer had his wind tunnel, her absorption of Naraku's life force keeping the curse going after the death of the spider demon. He stopped just at the edge of the clearing, watching for a moment and wondered briefly if the fear he had felt had just been his own imagination in overdrive. After all, he had just rescued her and then was forced to leave her side to ensure that she didn't have any more setbacks over their new relationship.
Kirara was close by, her head raising when she smelled him reach the clearing. He shook his head at her, giving her the answer to the question in her eyes since she too could smell his own feelings as he could others. Snorting she put her head back down to rest as her human partner continued to spar with the monk. With each second that passed Inuyasha thought about leaving, but he could feel that strange feeling from earlier still pushing at him, willing him to understand whatever it was trying to convey so he hollered at the pair, "Hey! Where the hell is Kagome?" Sango seemed just as surprised to see him as the monk with her, both of them turning to walk towards him.
"She said she wanted to visit her mom, so she went home just last night," was the slayer's response, the monk remaining silent as he watched the Hanyou, noting a look of irritation flickering across his features. Sango narrowed her gaze at the silver haired male. "Inuyasha, you know that her mother is probably worried sick about her! She hasn't been home in nearly two months and she's pregnant too! Don't you think her mother should know about that?!" His ears went down for a moment, but remembering what his brother had said to the Miko echoed in his mind.
"Do you not recall what my brother said to her?" At the confusion on their faces he guessed that they had truly forgotten the older male's command of the Miko when learning that she not only was pregnant, but she was turning into a half demon and having his pups. "He told her not to go back home!" Sango sighed.
"She's not staying there, Inuyasha, sheesh," the slayer stated with annoyance in her tone. "She knows that she can't go back home permanently, but a quick visit shouldn't be too much to ask after all we all thought she would be going home eventually, even if we wanted her to stay here." His ears dropped even further down at that thought. Yeah, that had been a thought that had crossed his mind as well, more of a fear since he wanted her to stay here with him. He would have gone to her time if need be, but he also knew that if he did stay in that time he would never fit in, not really. He couldn't leave the house without a disguise and while he had taken in some of her time's traditions he knew that like this era he wouldn't be able to work to help support them. No, it would be better if she stayed here and so with a nod at them he rushed off to the well to wait for her. Hopefully she would be back that night, but when he got to that well that connected their times her scent still clung to the air, stale but still there and that was unusual.
Usually when the woman from the future left thru the portal of time her scent went with her, leaving nothing lingering in the air so leaning over the lip of the well he wondered if she had come back and was still down there. His mouth fell open when he spotted her yellow bag at the bottom of the shaft. "Fuck!" he cursed, the thought that she had come back and when no one had been there to help her had used the bag as a way to escape the bottom of the dry well came to mind, but then where was she? He lifted his nose to the air, her scent only in the bottom of the shaft, none of it in the air of the clearing. "Where the hell is she?" Grumbling he decided that the best course of action was to go to her time and check with her mother. Surely her mother knew what had happened to her daughter, that the woman maybe had gone back when she couldn't get out of the well, but that left the question as to why the bag was still in there. Jumping into the future without a second thought, only the hope that his mate were safe and truly not in danger while he was running around looking for her.
The Miko was in fact rather close to where the well was, even if it was a at least a half a day's walk to where the village she was currently at, she was still close enough that had he been able to smell her he would have been there for the beginning of her labor. Thankfully they had given her a change of clothing, the brown kimono she wore halfway hidden under the cream colored blanket that covered her stomach and legs as Kaede checked to see how far along she was, her grey head peaking over the end of the cloth. "Well it looks like ye are fully there, Kagome." The Miko groaned, ready to have her babies and finding that at the same time she was afraid. She didn't know the first thing about being a mother and to top it off they were half demon and while she had raised Shippo for a few years she had never dealt with a demonic child. "When ye feel a pressure on ye stomach ye will need to push and when it goes then ye stop, okay?" Kagome nodded, a pressure immediately felt after Kaede's words. Beside her was the red head from before, a pot of water on the fire before her as another woman, a wolf demon with bright blond white hair stood on the other side seeming to be watching what was happening with a keen eye.
Was this demon here to learn how to assist in giving birth or was she just one of the villagers helping Kaede? She didn't know and at the moment she found that while she was curious she didn't truly care as another contraction ripped thru her. She didn't know how long this would last, no information on this period in her life save for her mother's stories of how it was different with each birth, her own only lasting about ten hours while her brother had been almost twice that long. Shivering at the thought that she could be here for a whole day she prayed as another contraction forced her to push down again that it would less than either of those numbers since she was still so tired from the night of walking.
When Inuyasha landed on the other side of the well, he found his fear elevated and worry right on its heels. There was no fresh scent in the air of his mate, her smell seemed to be several hours old, almost as if she had only been here the night before and only for a few minutes at most. What had she done? Had she tricked the slayer so she could run away?! Did she really not want to be with him? His ears dropped at the thought that while Sango and Miroku had been insistent that she loved him that she would run from him, but if she truly believed the words woven into her mind by the Queen then she really saw him as a male that didn't want her or their pups. Debating for a moment on checking in with Kagome's mother, sure that the woman was worried about her missing child he decided that it could wait. He would break the agreement between Sesshomaru and the Miko so that she could see her mother at least once before he implored her to stay by his side, to give him a chance to prove to her that he wanted her and their pups. Those plans changed when he jumped up to the lip of the well, ready to turn back and go to his time when a voice stopped him.
"Inuyasha?" The Hanyou turned to find Sota there, his eyes wide at the appearance of the silver haired male. Before he could say a word though the younger male rushed to grab him, fear and worry mixing in with his natural scent and the Hanyou paused. "Where is my sister? Is she okay?" Even his words held the feelings that tinted his scent and Inuyasha found that he needed to sooth the boy's fears and with that complete then Sota could tell his mother so he told the boy that his sister was fine, just resting on the other side after their battle. Not a complete lie, but not the full truth either. He felt the brother of his mate relax his grip, his body slacking with the news that his sister was alright. "When will she come back? Mom is super worried about her."
"I will bring her back here as soon as she feels better, okay?" Nodding at the older male he smiled, watching as the Hanyou disappeared into the well.
A few short hours found Kaede pulling the first pup from between her legs, the cries of the newborn filling the small space as the demon next to her took the child from the older Miko's hands with the clean cloth over to the other woman waiting with a wet cloth from the warm water in the pot, the fire growing lower as she allowed it to die a bit. Kagome's brown eyes followed her first child, the small child's form hidden from her view. Kaede's words brought her back to the present, "Ye have a beautiful baby girl, Kagome." Smiling for just a moment before another contraction reminded her that she still had more pups waiting to be born she pushed again, another cry joining her first child's wails. Again the same steps were taken as another woman was called to join the other ones assisting Kaede, a few cradles brought in to aid in holding each baby while their mother gave them another sibling.
It felt like forever when Kaede finally handed off her last child, four children that were healthy and happy. Kagome lay back, her body slick with perspiration and tears as she turned her head to look at the four cribs with her-no- their pups. She had one girl and three boys and she had yet to even lay eyes on them as the three women and Kaede looked them over to make sure that all were fully formed with no birth defects or health issues, but judging by their cries upon coming out of her womb she doubted they were nothing but perfect and while she had been afraid before giving birth to them she yearned to hold her children. It was as if the older Miko could read her mind, bringing her first child, the small girl wailing as she was moved toward her mother. When the baby was placed in her weak arms she immediately began to cry softly at first as her child opened her eyes to stare into her own brown ones.
The little girl looked like her, her hair black with what appeared to be small puppy ears that were silver like her father resting downward on her head. Her eyes were brown like Kagome's, wide and glistening from the tears that she had been shedding, those same tears drying up as she stared up at her mother. Pulling back her top she aided her child in finding a breast to feed on while Kaede placed one of her sons in her other arm, his golden eyes watching her silently, no tears gracing his eyes as he too found a breast to latch onto. Both her children watched her for a moment as their eyelids became heavy with the intake of milk, content with their bellies being filled while the others seemed to calm down in their cribs awaiting their turn to feast upon the milk their mother was feeding their siblings. After the first two had been fed she was handed her last two children, both the boys graced with silver hair like their father and golden eyes. All of them had their father's ears, something that made her smile knowing that they had the cute triangles on their heads instead of ears like hers. She wondered though, if they were quarter demon since their looks were like that of their father instead of appearing more human in appearance.
"They're more than half demon," came a response from the wolf demon whom she had learned was named, Kata. "You're a Hanyou and I figured by smelling you that your mate is also half demon. Those pups," she said pointing to where three of the children rested, one still in her arms watching her with such an intense gaze, his mouth still latched onto her nipple. "They have a scent that leads me to believe they are a little more than half demons." She smiled, the smile holding a sense of sadness. "Why are you alone anyway? Where is your mate?" Kagome looked away as Kaede looked over at her from the spot by the fire where she was currently cooking a meal for them. She also wanted to know why the young woman was alone and why Inuyasha wasn't at her side. She knew that he had gone to assist the wolf leader at Sango's insisting and while she had agreed with the slayer's thoughts on why he should give the Miko time to adjust after the battle and all that had been told to her about the new relationship between the two, she knew that Inuyasha would have wanted to be there when his pups came into the world.
"He's helping some others that had tragedy befall their village," she stated, still not turning toward them as her eyes watched her son's eyes close, sleep not far behind. The wolf nodded, knowing by scent that the woman before her wasn't lying, but also knowing that there was more to this story, but with one look at the Miko by the fire she knew that she should leave and give the two privacy. She had gathered upon seeing the way the other Miko had acted that she knew this young half demon and that she too found it strange for the young woman to be out and about alone on the road like she had been. Bidding them good day she headed out into the sunshine from the late afternoon sun. Kaede came to her side, taking her child as he snoozed peacefully now that his stomach was full.
"Did ye run from the village child?" she questioned, laying the baby in the vacant crib before turning her gaze toward Kagome. The Miko turned to her in surprise. "I know that neither Sango nor Miroku would have let ye travel alone when you were in such an advanced state of pregnancy." Flushing at the chastising tone of the older Miko she finally nodded. "Why would ye take such a chance? Do ye know what Inuyasha would d-"
"He would be mad at me, but only because he feels burdened with the knowledge that I was pregnant after a night that I am sure he wishes never happened," she spat, her tone bitter with the knowledge that the Hanyou in question would only be with her because he felt responsible. He wasn't a monster. He was a noble male, even if he denied it. She had forgiven him for his lapse in memory since she would change nothing in being given his children. They were a gift that she would never regret. Kaede had no words to say, her eyes closing in both frustration and anger at the woman before her. Kagome was being irrational, but that was to be expected since neither of them had been all that wise to each other's feelings. The rest of the group and even she could see that they truly belonged together, but with her sister continuing to butt into their relationship it had stalled to the point that neither knew what to do and that was something that still seemed to be causing a chasm in their affections.
"Child," she said, her tone a bit harsher than usual when talking with the younger Miko, "Ye both care deeply for each other, a love that was not allowed to bloom because of my sister's trifling." Kagome looked up at the tone that was being used toward her, feeling as if she were being reprimanded like a child that had snuck in a small snack before dinner. She didn't like it but because of the respect she bore towards Kaede she sat silently, a mutinous expression on her face. "Even with my sister long gone, Kami help her, ye two are still standing on the edge of a cliff looking mournful of that relationship being lost when it is not gone. Ye just have to talk and find out what the other feels even if ye are afraid of what the other has to say. Is it fair to keep his children from him?" Looking down at her hands that were fisting in the cream colored blanket she shook her head. Even if he didn't love her who was to say that he wouldn't love his children. She was sure with all that she knew about the male that he had thought his only chance at being with one who would have bore him children had been with Kikyo and even then they would be human since he would have used the jewel of four souls to fulfill her request.
He had wanted to be a full demon, but would have given up that dream for the dead Miko and that was what love was. She loved him enough to at least give him the chance to be apart of his pups lives. She knew that deep down she would do anything to make him happy even if she were miserable. Looking toward her babies, their soft breathing the only sound in the room. Sighing with resignation she finally spoke, "You are right. It is only fair to him and to them to be able to be together." She looked at the older Miko. "I do ask that you allow me at least a week before you tell him where I am, Kaede." The Miko didn't ask her why she wanted that time because she knew. Kagome wanted to have time with her children and time to recuperate from the birth of her four children before she had to see him. Kagome sighed again and closed her eyes as she prayed that a week would give her the strength needed to face him again without breaking down in front of him. She was sure he would not like that she wasn't going to live with him, becoming a true mate by being with her mate, but that was her choice and she knew it was for the best. Why be with someone in such close quarters, sleeping in the same house when you would never be like a true mate? When it was a one sided love? With that last thought she drifted off to sleep.
Such a turn of events! Kagome running off and into Kaede, one of the last people she wanted to see when she was escaping! Then Inuyasha looking for her without a way to find her! What will happen when he finally lays eyes on her? Will she change her mind about their relationship or will she stand by her choice? Stay safe!