Author's note: I hope you guys like this chapter, this story is pretty much starting to write itself.

Chapter 10

Inuyasha woke up feeling strange, a tingling all over his body forcing him to leave the realm of slumber. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't hide a small smile at finding Sesshomaru by his side. The demon did not cuddle in most cases, but when he slept, he seemed to gravitate towards the hanyou. Inuyasha relished in the feeling, taking in a deep breath of the demon's scent.

Mate.

Inuyasha looked down when he felt another weird tingle, frowning when he saw the markings of his demon. He moved his leg slightly to try and make sure he wasn't imagining things, the demon next to him growling in response. Inuyasha frowned down at the rest of his body as Sesshomaru slowly roused from his sleep, tired golden eyes looking to Inuyasha's face.

"What happened?" Sesshomaru's tired voice asked, Inuyasha looking to his mate with a confused look. Sesshomaru 's hand was heavy as it touched his face, seeming to smooth down the skin to see if the markings would disappear. They didn't however, Sesshomaru's lips pulling down into a frown.

The demon lord sat up, looking over Inuyasha's body with a thoughtful, though concerned look. Inuyasha sat up as well, though a sharp pain in his stomach stopped him. The hanyou whined softly as he cradled his stomach, the feeling like a deep constricting pain.

Sesshomaru frowned, touching a hand over the hanyou's stomach. The feeling slowly started to fade away, Inuyasha releasing a shaking breath as he relaxed back onto the futon. His markings faded away slowly, Sesshomaru's brows knitting together.

"Your demon thought I had abandoned you." Inuyasha was confused, unsure how that could be possible. He was fully aware he had left the castle and Sesshomaru on his own accord, so why would his demon think it was abandoned? Couldn't it see and hear what he was thinking or something?

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, Sesshomaru's expression evening out as he started rubbing small circles on Inuyasha's stomach.

"It thought I had left you to defend for itself… It was going to abort our pup. That is why your demon called for me yesterday. If I hadn't come, you would have lost our pup."

Inuyasha wasn't sure how to feel.

He wasn't sure how to even take that.

He had always assumed his demon was this strong force that was something for him to control. To think it would do something like that…

All because Sesshomaru wasn't by his side?

That thought left a sour taste on his tongue.

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha whispered, the words shocking him. He wasn't really sure what he was apologizing for, let alone why he was apologizing at all.

He was Inuyasha, the half demon!

But…

The thought that he almost lost the life inside of him… His pup.

When did he stop thinking of it as anything else?

"No, Inuyasha. It was my fault, I shouldn't have let you leave in this condition." The hanyou looked to his mate, anger and comfort mixing weirdly in his chest. He knew the anger was misplaced though, more of the half breed he had been before his amnesia. The half breed that had mated with Sesshomaru was comforted by the idea of its mate protection.

It was weird having two parts of himself collide this way.

"Do you still feel nausea?" Sesshomaru asked as he removed his hand from his mate's belly, running his fingers through Inuyasha's hair. Inuyasha closed his eyes in bliss, shaking his head no.

In fact, he felt like he had before he left Sesshomaru's castle.

Inuyasha opened his eyes when felt the futon shift, warm lips touching his own. The hanyou didn't fight it as Sesshomaru moved over him, the demon's body warming him up and making him shiver. Inuyasha reached his hands up and touched the face over his own, moaning softly as he allowed his warm tongue to enter.

Inuyasha moaned at the taste of his mate, spreading his legs to let Sesshomaru move between them. He didn't feel the need to fight him as he dominated his body, the feeling of being reunited twisting his chest.

He had started to believe he loved this demon.

What was wrong with him?

After their morning session they bathed in a nearby hot spring before getting dressed, Sesshomaru quiet for a long moment. Inuyasha slipped on his fire rate hakama and looked to him, tying his obi around his waist and sheathing tessaiga.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, walking over to his mate and helping him adjust his armor.

"My mother wishes to meet you." Inuyasha frowned at that, lowering his hands from Sesshomaru's armor. Sesshomaru turned to face him, his eyes stoic as he searched Inuyasha's eyes for his thoughts.

"Why?" Inuyasha bit out, not too keen on dealing with a demoness he knew would surely hate him. He was the bastard son of her husband's affair; how would that even pan out?

"She wishes to know who carries my heir," Sesshomaru responded, his expression not revealing anything to Inuyasha. The hanyou knew a little of how to read him now though.

"She doesn't know it's me, does she?" Inuyasha asked, Sesshomaru sighing softly.

"No. I left due to your demon's call before I could reveal it." Inuyasha scowled, feeling even less at ease by that information.

"How are we going to explain this to her?" Inuyasha growled, Sesshomaru titling his head slightly.

"We could merely state I came to you while you were in heat. Any other details I will gloss over." Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest at the thought, not feeling comfortable facing the demoness. He knew Sesshomaru also couldn't stay with him in his hut forever either, still the Lord of these lands.

Not that he didn't wish selfishly for it.

"Is she going to dislike me?" Inuyasha asked, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. He knew Sesshomaru heard it though, the demon reaching a hand up and touching the hanyou's hair. He ran his fingers through the thick locks, the motion soothing the hanyou who leaned into it.

"Yes. But just as I have, she will learn to accept you." Inuyasha frowned at the demon's honesty, though was glad to have a soft kiss placed on his lips.

"Let us go, she is waiting."

That had been an understatement.

When they arrived back at the castle, his mother was waiting at the castle doors. She seemed almost impatient in the way she stood, her eyes however seeming bored. Inuyasha tried not to hide behind his mate as he approached his mother, the woman looking down to Inuyasha with the same stoic eyes Sesshomaru possessed.

Sesshomaru spoke first.

"Mother, this is my mate. His name is Inuyasha." The woman raised an eyebrow, looking from the hanyou to Sesshomaru.

"A powerful demoness offers herself to you, and you choose the half breed?" Inuyasha tried to hold back his tongue at her words, though a ping of jealousy stabbed his chest.

He had been offered a mate before him?

Sesshomaru didn't let the words sit, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"This half breed carries my heir, and will be my bride. He will be given the respect he is due."

"You are aware no half breed has been a Lady of the West, my son?"

"Inuyasha will be. With or without your blessing."

Inuyasha felt their demons clash, the intensity of it making him feel sick. He put a hand over his mouth as he took deep breaths, the sight of it stopping the power struggle between the two.

"Did you consent to this mating, half breed?" Sesshomaru's mother asked, Inuyasha lowering his hand once he was sure he wouldn't throw up. He took another deep breath, the woman becoming impatient.

"I asked you a question half breed," she remarked with a hint of anger, Inuyasha glaring at her in return.

"My name is Inuyasha old wench!" He spat, tired of hearing himself be called that. It reminded him of so many bad memories. The demoness seemed taken aback, Inuyasha huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"He wouldn't have been my first pick, but yes I agreed to mate him," Inuyasha replied, fighting the blush the threatened to bloom on his face. Sesshomaru looked back to his mother, daring her to say anything else that might offend his mate. The woman merely stood there, a thoughtful look on her face.

"I guess him being your concubine is out of the question?" Sesshomaru's expression hardened, feeling the hurt Inuyasha felt beside him.

They were not going to revisit that topic.

"He will not be my concubine."

His mother sighed softly, her posture relaxing some.

"If this is the case, we must start planning for the ceremony. Inuyasha you may call me Lady Kimi." The hanyou was surprised by the sudden give, unsure of how to feel about the sudden switch in her approach. He dumbly nodded however, looking to Sesshomaru, who merely kept his expression blank.

"Inuyasha tell me, how far along are you?" The hanyou looked back to Lady Kimi as she pushed open the castle doors. She walked in first, having the other two tail behind her. Inuyasha blushed slightly, not even fully sure how a demon's pregnancy progressed, let alone a half breed.

Lady Kimi seemed to sense this, looking over her shoulder at his lack of response. She sighed softly, her words stopped by an excited yell. Rin ran down the stairs to Sesshomaru, stopping at his feet with a wide grin on her face.

"Welcome back Lord Sesshomaru," she greeted, her wide grin softening the hardness in Sesshomaru's expression. Inuyasha looked to Lady Kimi when she touched his arm, her own eyes trying to read his own.

"Follow me. There is much you need to learn." Inuyasha looked back to Sesshomaru before walking towards the garden with his mother. She seemed a lot less standoffish now, seeming to be trying to read the hanyou as they ventured through the garden.

"Do you understand how your pregnancy will progress?" She asked as she picked a flower, handing it to Inuyasha. The hanyou took it cautiously, worried by the sudden tenderness she was showing him. However, he knew if Sesshomaru felt she was a threat, he wouldn't have let them walk away without him.

That calmed Inuyasha some.

"No. I understood I had a heat, that's all." Kimi hummed softly, continuing her gentle strides.

"Most demons have a six-month pregnancy period, though due to the sensitivity of your nature, you might very well carry for nine, as a human would. I shall call for a midwife as soon as tomorrow." Inuyasha merely nodded, not even sure what to say.

This was all very foreign to him.

"Sesshomaru went through great lengths to hide your identity from me, do tell me Inuyasha, how did your mating come to be?"

Inuyasha blushed at the question, wondering how much he should include and how much he could exclude without leaving loopholes. She decided to ask the question differently.

"Did he find you, while you were in heat?"

Inuyasha blushed deeper, looking to the flower in his hand.

"I had just started it," Inuyasha replied, Lady Kimi humming thoughtfully.

"When did you start your first heat?" She asked, Inuyasha pursing his lips slightly. He had started it a month before Kikyo sealed him to the tree, his body having just reached reproductive maturity. It felt like such a long time ago though.

"About sixty years ago," Inuyasha replied, the time in demon years barely a couple years for how they aged.

"I'm surprised he didn't court you sooner," she replied, Inuyasha clearing his throat.

"We were dealing with Naraku at the time. There was no time for that."

Silence fell around them, Inuyasha unsure of what he should do now as it seemed the woman was deep in thought. He really hoped she didn't pry further, not wanting her to know too much about what had really happened for them to get together.

That would remain between them.

"He takes in a human girl, and now he impregnates a half demon. His father must have had many lessons to teach him." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at that, Lady Kimi finally stopping in her strides to face the hanyou.

"There is much you both will not tell me, and this displeases me. However, I wish for you to understand one thing Inuyasha." The hanyou waited for possible harsh words, keeping himself steeled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

There wasn't anything she could say that could hurt him anymore.

"I want more than one grandchild."

Inuyasha faltered, his cheeks maddened by a blush once again. She gave him a small smile and moved towards him, looking down to his stomach.

"You have your father's blood, this will make the pup strong. Make sure to eat and rest well." With that she led Inuyasha back to Sesshomaru, the demon waiting patiently with Rin by his side. Inuyasha sped up his steps a bit to stand by his mate, fighting the urge to ask for a hug.

The demon's mother was strange, though he felt maybe Sesshomaru was already aware of this.

"We shall retire for now mother, Inuyasha must rest," Sesshomaru spoke, Lady Kimi merely nodding and watching them enter into the castle before following in behind them.

She would invite herself to stay as well.

Inuyasha released a breath once they got to Sesshomaru's room, closing the shoji behind them. Inuyasha was exhausted from the constant curve balls thrown his way, laying down on the futon with a small grown as he decided to get comfortable. He heard Sesshomaru take off his armor behind him before a warm body joined him, a strong arm pulling him against a hard chest.

"Did she offend you?" Sesshomaru whispered, his breath casting a shiver through the hanyou.

"Duh," Inuyasha replied, though there was no heat behind it. Sesshomaru grunted softly, seeming surprised himself that he got his mother to back down so easily.

Something had bothered Inuyasha though.

"What did she mean a demoness offered herself to you?" Inuyasha asked, Sesshomaru releasing a sigh against his shoulder. The confrontational tone had begun to seep into Inuyasha's voice.

"Before I was aware of your amnesia a demoness came to my castle during a ceremony. Her father offered her to me, though I declined. She was rather put off by it, since my mother has tried to get me to produce an heir for many years now."

Inuyasha snorted softly, closing his eyes as he tried to not let those thoughts get to him.

"Have you been with another woman before?" Inuyasha asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice. Sesshomaru brushed his hair away from his neck, kissing the skin softly.

"No. I had no desire to." Inuyasha couldn't honestly believe that, since he himself had taken a woman before. Though it's not like he could prove it, especially now that she was gone forever.

"Are you jealous?" Sesshomaru asked as he started to rub the hanyou's thigh, his hand moving up to undo the obi. Inuyasha took in a deep breath when his hand slipped into his hakama, the strong calloused fingers painting a circle next to his groin.

"N-No," Inuyasha stuttered through a breath, Sesshomaru growling softly as he licked a trail over Inuyasha shoulder up to his neck. Inuyasha started to pant as his fundoshi was undone, his body needing Sesshomaru's touch.

"I only want you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha took in a deep breath.

I love you…

Inuyasha blushed at the thought, turning over and kissing the demon. He didn't want to feel these thoughts, didn't want to think that they were real. In his time of amnesia however, when he foolishly believed the words of this demon, that was exactly what he felt.

Inuyasha pulled away from the kiss to push down his hakama and fundoshi, Sesshomaru undoing his own obi with a small sense of urgency. Inuyasha helped him undress before kissing him again, trying hard to push those words out of his mind. He couldn't though as he initiated a deeper kiss, rising up to straddle Sesshomaru's thighs.

"Are you sore?" Sesshomaru breathed as Inuyasha trailed sloppy kisses down the demon's throat, a soft moan his only response. Sesshomaru grabbed the hanyou's hips, groaning softly when Inuyasha grinded down against his hardened member.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha moaned against a pointed ear, earning a groan in response. Inuyasha rose up and grabbed the member below him, positioning himself before lowering himself down. He felt the characteristic nausea that accompanied such an intrusion, his lips parting as he tried to take deep breaths as he lowered himself down further.

Sesshomaru gripped his thighs tightly, groaning as he rolled his hips up to speed up the hanyou's descent. Inuyasha moaned in response, feeling a sharp sting of pleasure amongst the discomfort. Sesshomaru rolled his hips up hungrily, throwing off any slow rhythm that Inuyasha wished to keep.

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru grit out, the hanyou gasping when a warm hand slid up his stomach. Inuyasha leaned back when the small touch aided in his nausea, crying out loudly when his pleasure spot was hit with more force. Inuyasha grinded down to get more of the pleasure greedily, the thoughts of love chased away by the overwhelming need that tightened in his stomach.

The hanyou already felt the knot that signified his release build up, his eyes shut tight as he rode the member that granted him such pleasure. He was sore and his legs were already protesting but he didn't stop, only wanting it harder.

Sesshomaru seemed to read his mind as he stilled the squirming hanyou, lifting him up till his member slipped out with a wet pop. Inuyasha whined in protest, though followed as Sesshomaru moved him onto his back. The demon moved over the hanyou and lifted his thighs, Inuyasha a bit shy at being exposed like this.

The hot member that slipped into him though made him throw his shyness out the window, Inuyasha's eyes rolling into the back of his head as Sesshomaru delivered the pounding he deserved. He was considerably more gentle than their initial rut, though the feeling of being pounded brought him to a point. Inuyasha reached a hand down and began to stroke himself, moaning his mates name over and over, driven mad by want.

With a final thrust Inuyasha came with a yell, arching as pleasure zapped through him. Sesshomaru groaned out his orgasm over him, his tensed face relaxing into a visage of peace. Inuyasha's chest tightened.

"I love you..."

Inuyasha had whispered it, though when he did his cheeks burned a fiery red. Sesshomaru didn't seem to hear him though, his face relaxed as he lowered Inuyasha's legs. Kisses followed, Inuyasha praying Sesshomaru didn't hear his confession. It had slipped out before he could stop it.

Why did he feel this way?