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The Western mountains were behind him now; the valleys and wide plains of Japan swept out in front as he flew hard through the dense air to be with his mate. A violent surge of wind crackled against him, it whipped moon spun hair and silk in disarray as he flew swiftly through the evening time sky.

He couldn't let up, even though his body was almost at its breaking point and the burning inside his chest felt like sandpaper against his flesh. Instincts was the air beneath him, it drove him on relentlessly as fear rose with foreboding that something had gone terribly wrong with the birthing.

The scheduled time for the baby to be born was not yet at hand, and not only that, Kagome had bled profusely each time that she had delivered and was in need of his blood and strength. The probability of her needing him like that again was high. He had to get there in time; no other option would guarantee success. He gasped for air as their connection worked itself loose, severing forever if she did not make it, and even now with the vulnerable state of their makeshift bond, the tightening in his chest was too intense to ignore.

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Kagome screamed with the seething pain. "Sesshomaru help me please!"

The midwife pressed down harder onto her stomach as the baby's head blocked the neck of the womb. She exhaled a breath and applied more pressure to her hand, Kagome screamed again. The pain she brought the lady was hell on her soul, but what choice did she really have. If with her actions the infant was expelled from within, then she would gladly live with the guilt.

"Push mistress the little one is ready to make an appearance." Sayoka encouraged her charge even though she knew that Kagome lacked the necessary strength to bear down. It had been a long and tiresome birthing and yet the baby would not come. Where could the lord be she wondered? She sighed heavily with despair and focused again on her task. The lord's mate needed all the assistance that she could give her.

"I can't…I'm too tired, all my energies are gone," Kagome cried, bone tired, aching and distressed.

The mid-wife averted her eyes from betwixt the lady's blood-spattered legs and ran her eyes over her face instead. She was exhausted, her breaths short and hurried, tears saturated her orbs, but fire and determination, the will to live still burned brightly in them. She smiled at her in spite of the horrid circumstances. The lord's mate was strong indeed, giving birth was one of life's greatest miracles yet filled with pain, and it was that part of life which was agonizing and nothing could be done about it.

Doctor Tanaka squeezed Kagome's hand gently to lend her some of his strength, if that was at all possible. The lady had been in labor for twelve hours, and still the little one would not come, it was if the baby had no desire to be born at all.

Something had to be done now he decided. Birthing could be difficult under the best of circumstances, but when the species mingled and procreated, what should be a natural process becomes that much harder.

His own mother had perished under similar situations. Luckily, his father had come moments before she had taken her last breath and had cut him from the womb, else both of them would have died.

He lifted his head and gazed at Kagome's sweat stained face and realized the obvious truth, something had changed between the lady and her mate. That assumption though highly speculative was derived at by his intellect; and by scents he recognized that she had lost the smell of her mate's power and essences, and the fact that she lived all alone in the country was significant in his assessment.

Because what male in his right mind could leave his woman alone in a time like this no matter the situation? Granted, Kagome had gone into early labor almost two weeks before her due time. Sayoka, her midwife and aide had done her best to care for her and had tried insistently to staunch the steady flow of blood that seeped from between her legs until he had come.

Kagome's trembling hand, her pale flesh from the dangerous blood loss, the hissing sound that she made as she whimpered, and her teeth chattering from pain all served to anger him even further.

There was nothing more that he could do except to cut her open and save the baby, thus ending her life, a life that she desperately clung to. But how could he just stand by and watch while both she and her baby perish? To save the baby meant certain death for her, and if that were to be the outcome his conscience would chastise him forever, because he'd fought so hard to save her. Demon births were hard, and maybe if the father was here now, he alone could possibly save her.

Long moments had passed and Kagome still could not find the energy that she needed to push and to expel her child from within. Her caregivers remained silent as they watched her slowly dying, feeling helpless by their own ineffectiveness.

Tired eyes opened briefly and Kagome looked at the two individuals by her bedside, she saw worry and sadness in their gazes and felt badly for them. She sighed weakly and then shifted her orbs from them to the door, looking for Sesshomaru, but sadly he wasn't there.

She shook her head unhappily and focused on the doctor again. "Do it," was the grief-stricken command.

Doctor Tanaka drew closer and peered down into her eyes with incomprehension for a few seconds. "What are you saying?" He asked nervously now, knowing just what she'd meant but hadn't the heart to comply.

"Save the baby because I cannot hold out for much longer," she said softly, with tears in her eyes and the deep timbre of regret lacing her tone.

She turned away from him with terrible fear and sadness, while tears had started to stream down the sides of her face. In anguish she wept for her children and the baby that she would never get to hold, her body shook violently with the onslaught of her emotions. She cried for Sesshomaru her one true love, who when he came would find only her corpse and the baby, which would only serve to remind him of his failures. She wept even harder by the dreadful thought.

He removed himself silently from the bedside with dull resignation and approached his bag that sat atop the table. As he was about to touch it the worried voice of the midwife stilled his hands.

"Don't, I am sure that the lord is on his way here as we speak. My son has left for quite some time and I am positive that he will get here soon," Sayoka pleaded with him as their gazes locked, with the look of terror on both of their faces.

He nodded in spite of the defeat he felt on the inside. "I will wait just a little longer on him, but if her condition destabilizes I will do what I must, losing both of them when my actions could spare one is foolish."

He looked away from the distraught female as he'd finished speaking and took a knife from his bag.

With his mind made up he pulled up a chair by the bedside with the small medical knife enclosed in his palm, while the fingers on his right hand searched for the pulse points on her wrist. He watched Kagome's face and chest as well for signs that she still breathed.

The shallow breaths were a cause for concern as they'd lessened with time, and her pulse barely throbbed under his fingertips. He frowned; such a beautiful and wholesome person would soon expire under such horrid conditions. He closed his eyes with the awful sentiments, wishing and hoping that the lord would make it in time.

She was barely breathing now, but determination made her open her mouth and grasped as much air as she could then she forced it down her throat eagerly. She closed her eyes tight; she would not let her baby die. Her hands trembled with fear and she formed fist and opened her eyes again; the flicker of sadness and remorse in the doctor's eyes was not missed.

"Please," she rasped, begging through the sorrow and numbness, "don't let my baby die."

She searched his face in silence as she pleaded, and he wondered if she could actually see him, there was no spark left, although maybe the veil of misery shrouding them made her stare at him blindingly.

He looked away from her harsh gaze and clambered out of the seat as her pulse constricted. He hadn't noticed how tightly his fist had curled around the knife until he felt wetness and looked, blood pooled into his hand; absentmindedly he wiped it away on a towel.

It was all the time that he could spare if he wanted to save the baby and hence carry out the mistress's last wishes. He turned to the midwife and perused her countenance; she looked away from him and stared frantically at the door, wishing to every gods that the lord would appear.

She heard the doctor's harsh intake of breath and the shuffle of his feet as he moved. They were out of time and wishing and hoping for the lady's mate to come had no place here anymore. She wiped a single tear from her face with the back of her hand that had fallen from her eye by grief.

She shifted her head to the doctor again, their gazes locked. "He isn't going to make it," she said quietly, almost as if she spoke to herself rather than to her companion.

Her expression remained frantic for a few more moments until understanding turned it into calmness. She nodded to the doctor and came closer. She gulped with nervousness and reached for the basin with water, two thin strips of cloth and a small towel.

Kagome hurt all over, her awareness diminished to the point of unconsciousness but she could still sense their presence as they drew nearer.

"Kagome," she heard the doctor say and opened unfocused eyes. "It is time, take this."

She opened her mouth and he deposited a bitter lump into it. "It will help with the pain, I am sorry."

She locked her lips tight in dismay, though she knew that now was not the time for regret, a moan of bitterness still escaped her even though she had fought it. She wanted her child to live even if she couldn't. It was her decision and she would save the remaining strength that she had until her child was safely delivered. She nodded to Doctor Tanaka while she chewed slowly on the herb.

He scowled and pursed his lips in a thin weary line and held the knife firmly in his right hand, while the nurse wiped sweat from Kagome's face and neck. In time she tied both of her feet with the strips of cloth and anchored them securely to the bed posts.

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He felt flush even though the cool evening breeze met his body in a rush. The house loomed in the distance just beyond the hills and avenue of trees, just a little more and he would make it. He was breathless and weary, his nerves rattled with worry and yet he would not quit. The sky had gotten darker, covered in a sooty blanket for sleep; it signified the many hours that he had flown in earnest to be with her.

The blade's sharp edge glistened in the lantern's glow. Doctor Tanaka took a deep breath and embeds the knife deep down into turgid flesh and slowly dragged it across in a straight line. What strength she had left forced its way past the deadly conviction in her heart. Her mouth opened wide and she screamed with the excruciating pain.

"NO! No! I can't take it, Sesshomaru save me pleaseeee. I don't want to die!"

The horrific wail and pain of distress coursed through the doctor's body as if he was the one being butchered, his hand shook uncontrollably and he pulled it away. Sayoka placed her arm on his shoulder and squeezed to calm him. He closed his eyes briefly and then reopened them and continued.

As he made the incision, the knife worked itself way down, cutting through and across skin, tissues and nerves. The body of flesh tore apart and a gaping hole formed into Kagome's lower abdomen.

Kagome's entire body rose in a fit from the pressure and the pain. The nurse gasped in fright, bothered greatly by the disturbing image She gritted her teeth dismissing the tension within her being and tightened the restraints on Kagome's legs, she held her arms down as she flailed and thrashed.

Then a terrible stillness surrounded Kagome and she let her go. Her hands came up involuntarily and pointed to the roof, while her body continued to tremble with shock. Her mouth gaped as she cried and screamed; only the sounds never made it pass her lips, as death lay its cold hands upon her, curling its vice into her soul.

Doctor Tanaka squeezed his eyes shut as her thick blood flowed, the tension in his neck visible through the bulging veins there. Blood covered his hands that shook as he reached inside Kagome's belly and felt a foot, he tugged at it. He released an indistinct breath that sounded more like a groan of despair as he watched the woman's life drained away and new life replaced it instead.

He swallowed around the huge lump that had formed into his throat as he pulled the infant free and his hand snagged across another body, his eyes widened in disbelief. He squared his shoulders as he gave the nurse the baby who quickly left the room, and immersed his hands again inside the lady's abdomen, feeling for the little life.

As he'd successfully pulled the second infant out a wild breeze almost toppled him. He glanced up only to see a white form standing between him and the bed staring down on a dying or dead Kagome. He couldn't tell for certain as the lord stood between him and her.

Sayoka followed the doctor's gaze as she re-entered after cleaning and putting the baby to rest inside the crib, only now coming to terms with what she saw. The lord stood over his mate and gazed down in sorrow, while the doctor held another bloody baby in his arms.

She made a step, so did the good doctor in the direction of the bed, only to stop dead into their tracks as the lord growled.

"Stay back!"

It wasn't without fighting his turbulent emotions that he stood quietly and stared down on his mate. She was covered in her own blood, her intestines askew as they protruded through the cavernous opening that was her belly. She wasn't breathing he observed, but a pulse still ticked wildly in her neck.

She was dying, but not dead yet. This was one scenario he would never accept. Tensaiga scraped along its scabbard as he unsheathed it. He closed his eyes and compelled the sword to do his bidding with a focused thought.

Blue light engulfed the blade and swirled around its tip, the glow warm and mesmerizing. The others looked on silently as they could feel the sword's heavenly powers. They both breathed easier as the lord placed the apex of the sword on Kagome's abdomen and concentrated.

From the side Sayoka watched as the sword's energies washed over the dying woman; it encased her form in a pillar of blue light as the lord focused on healing her.

The rotating energies lifted her body high off the bed as it restored her. When he was done the lord dropped the sword carelessly to the ground and caught her moments before she fell back into the bedding. He held her close to himself and enveloped her form into his protective embrace. The doctor and the nurse decided to leave them alone.

Kagome's eyes opened a fraction and she smiled weakly when she saw him. "I knew you would come, how is the baby?" She asked faintly, then tired eyes closed once more. He merely nodded even though he knew that she had not seen.

He held her throughout the night as she slept, feeling empty as the memory of what he'd averted filled his thoughts. If he had gotten here a moment longer she would have been in the grave by now.

His soul felt poisoned with bitterness, though he had healed her and should be contented, but he wasn't. How many times because of him she'd nearly died, the answer too many times than he cares to remember? She fidgeted in his hold but did not awaken, as of yet he had not seen his children.

In the mid afternoon while Kagome slept on and he continued to hold her, the midwife came to see him.

"Master the babies need nourishment," she said in anxiousness and Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he was the cause of her mood or the whole situation that has affected her. She sighed and then her lips parted again. "They have not had a feeding since their birth and are getting fussy, and the lady needs a bath and the soiled linens discarded."

Sesshomaru continued to watch Sayoka as she paused just inside the door and glanced around. He saw how uneasy she'd become. He didn't say anything, his heart and mind could not find the strength that it needed to relinquish his hold on Kagome and to attend to the babies.

However, a desperate wail from one of the infants did the trick. Carefully he removed Kagome from his arms and rests her body down to lay flat on the bed. He brushed some strands of hair away that was stuck to her forehead with sweat, she was quite warm and that worried him.

He paused at the door and looked at the nurse expressionlessly. "Take care of her," he said sternly and walked away.

Both babies had started to cry and the doctor who had remained throughout the night rubbed their tummies to comfort them. As he gazed at them he thought how beautiful the children were, so that he had missed when the lord came to stand behind him. He turned around quickly when he'd realized the mistake and moved to the side hastily.

Sesshomaru approached the crib, his front touched the pinewood. Thoughtfully he gazed at his newest children and they stared right back at him, one of them smiled showing pink gums devoid of teeth. A smile bloomed inside of his heart, it travelled hurriedly upward to his face and he smiled back.

He lifted the dark haired one from the crib, it was a boy with blue eyes like his mother, but his demonic heritage marked them an icy blue. He was chubby, crinkly and red with elfish ears; he looked like his mother and was beautiful. The other infant started to fuss; he looked down and it would appear that the baby scowled. He smiled and focused his attentions back unto the child in his hands.

"You I shall call Arashi," the baby giggled as his father spoke his name to him, he kissed him on the forehead and passed some of his youki to him to create their lifelong bond.

After cuddling the baby a few moments he put him down and took up the other infant who was naked now that the towel had fallen away. He had another daughter, white haired like his other children but had the same eyes like her brother.

He looked at her attentively while she yawned and then began to cry at the end of it. He brought her to his chest and lovingly rocked her while he kissed her fuzzy head.

He muttered in her hair. "Your name will be Hina."

The process was repeated with his daughter, and no sooner than it was over the nurse came calling again.

"Master, the lady has awaken and is asking for her children."

He nodded and picked up his son; with both babies in his arms he went to Kagome. She was lying in bed with her eyes opened when he arrived, clean and devoid of blood and the stench of death that had clung to her unwashed body.

He could tell that she was not completely back to normal, for she labored as she breathed and could hardly move when she saw him; regardless, she tried to sit up.

"Do not get up Kagome," he said as he came to her side, "open your robe the babies needs to eat."

She shoved the robe from her shoulders, revealing swollen breasts that leaked with her mother's milk. Sesshomaru placed the squirming infants on her chest and instinctively the smell of milk had them latching onto a nipple.

After a week he was still there with Kagome and their children. Sayoka's son became the messenger that kept their older children informed of their newest siblings and of their activities.

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A week turned into two, and then a month passed by and he remained with Kagome and their babies; the west and his life there temporarily fitted at the back of his mind. However, Maemi's monthly courses arrived, she had not conceived and was outraged, and when she'd learned from her mate's horrible children who could not wait to throw the unpleasant news into her face, that he had two more offspring and was with their mother, she finally snapped.

No one had the authority except for her husband to restrict her movements and he was not here. She had summoned the captain of her army three days prior, and finally he'd reached the palace doorsteps.

She escorted him personally to the sitting room of her quarters. Her mother gave him a letter outlining the princess's explicit wishes to be given to the emperor. One of her desires was that all priestesses in the human cities and towns were to be banned from using their skilss, only the ones that had a permit from the crown could ply their trade. If caught they were to be killed instantly.

Perhaps her husband thought that she was foolish, but that was a trait she did not possess. Ruler of the west he maybe and king of demons, but he was not emperor of Japan and lord over humans. Her hands maybe tied here, but her brother owed her and she would collect.

And if that wasn't enough to sway him in her favor, he was her brother and when he read of how mistreated and hated she was, and that the lord had impregnated his former lover while married to her, he would not sit still. Also, after he heard how the lord had lied, telling her that he had been with the woman before their marriage, but by her calculations that could not be, as the woman has had the babies in the same amount of time that she had been his wife.

Now she was certain, she smiled crudely by the thought. The first time that she had been really close to her husband's youngest daughter she knew that there was something different about her, the pieces of that puzzle took some time to fall into place, but now it had.

They weren't hiding their mother's pregnancy anymore; their talk was careless with total disregard for her feelings. And by those conversations even if she had acquired the information by eavesdropping, she had learned that Aiko was the product of a priestess and the lord. She now had a means to fight back.

With her family's help she would destroy the woman that stood before her and happiness. How dare her husband leave her alone to be with his whore? She would not stand for it and the humiliation that came with the situation. She was a princess after all and deserved to be treated as one. She shook her head, willing away the hurt and the anger. No more would she hunger for his affections. She had a trap to set.

Arashi – Storm

Hina – Sunshine