Disclaimer: I do not own any part of InuYasha, only my own character Kakiya.

Epilogue

XXX

"I'm not the one you really care about deep down inside."

"But-"

"No Rin, listen. The kind of affection for have for me is not the kind you think it is. You see and love me as the father that you never had."

"Then what am I supposed to do without you? Who am I supposed to love...?"

"Rin, you are all grown up now, it's time for you to... leave the nest, so to speak, and discover the world; your life. You know the one who truly holds your heart, Rin, whether you acknowledge it or not, is up to you."

Sesshomaru looked over and met eyes with Kohaku, who gave a curt nod of acknowledgment. Rin followed his gaze and saw Kohaku, and gave a shy wave. Kohaku smiled and waved back.

"Rin, I must go now, but promise me this, do not hate the one who has always cared for you, do not hate her, she has done nothing but good for you Rin, remember that."

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru. I was wrong to blame her for taking you away from me."

"Rin." he almost growled.

"I'm sorry! It's just-"

"Enough, I must take my leave now, she is waiting for my return and I mustn't let her wait for long." He looked over at Kohaku, who was slowly making his way over to them. He looked back at Rin, who was staring at Kohaku with obvious affection in her eyes.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you have returned."

"I have, however, I must leave now. As always, I will leave Rin in your care."

"Yes of course, my lord. I will always protect her with my life,"

Rin smiled to this, he had always made Rin happy with what he said about her. Then she realized something; the one she truly loved was always with her. He was always by her said when Lord Sesshomaru was not around. Kohaku, he was the one Lord Sesshomaru was talking about. Sesshomaru lifted up into the air and flew away, but not before he saw Rin embrace Kohaku, with tears of happiness streaming down her eyes.

The wind changed; bringing him a scent that he found familiar yet new at the same time, he smiled, 'You have come into this world at last' he thought.

InuYasha was up ahead with Kagome simply enjoying each other's company in the middle of a flowery meadow, surrounded by their young children.

InuYasha noticed the change in the winds, "So he's finally come, huh?" he smiled.

Kagome watched her kids run around them, "I kind of want to see his face! I bet even he'll be all smiley and happy!" she laughed.

InuYasha thought about that for a moment and burst out laughing, "We should go visit them." he suggested. Suddenly, InuYasha caught the scent of some familiar demons and turned toward them.

"Lord InuYasha!" the small demon yelled, "Oh thank goodness you're here with Lady Kagome! Lady Kakiya needs your help! She was attacked by a demon when she was almost due, and now she's poisoned! Please come and purify the poison before it's too late! Her body won't be able to handle it! My master said that only a human or half human can handle the flower, or a guardian like Kakiya, but she is far too weak…"

"Of course I'll help! Where is she now?" she asked urgently.

"Before turning human, she used the last of her strength to teleport her to the closest place she knew she'd be safe, she is at Lord Sesshomaru's mother's castle."

InuYasha grimaced, 'I'll have to see that lady again... And it's so far away!' he paced around, "We'll never make it in time." He looked at the demons, "But she is in her white guardian form, right? She should be able to purify the poison."

Kagome stared at InuYasha, "You're asking too much for a person who just gave life to another. Besides, her body probably protected her unborn child from the poison while disregarding itself."

From above Sesshomaru heard their whole conversation, "She's been poisoned...! I will not let this happen! Not now...' He flew faster down towards InuYasha and swiftly landed

"Sesshomaru?" InuYasha was surprised that he was suddenly here.

"We are going to the castle; I am taking all of you with me."

A blue sphere of energy enveloped them and teleported them through the air and they reached his mother's castle in no time.

Sesshomaru's mother stood there at the top of the stairs when they arrived. "You came here so quickly." She smirked, "I did not think I would ever see my son care for something so deeply in his life..." she smiled at him, 'Except for that human girl he once brought... I wonder if he's eaten her already, I never see her anymore...' she wondered

Sesshomaru was not in the mood for his mother's teasing, "Where is she?"

Her face grew serious, "Follow me." The she looked at InuYasha and then at his children, "You should leave them in a separate room, if you want to see Kakiya. I think the scent of her blood might be overwhelming for them." She smirked to herself, 'even I find it tempting.'

"Yes, of course we will." Said Kagome.

The group hurried into the castle, Kagome quickly led her children into a playroom where the other demon maids and the small demons that come to fetch them were.

"Look after them, like you always do, okay? And kids, please behave yourselves."

"Yes mom!" they laughed.

Kagome left the room and quickly followed the others into another room. One of the demon maids they saw was holding a bundled up child. When InuYasha entered the room, he felt dizzy from the strong scent of Kakiya's blood. Sesshomaru hurried over and knelt by her side, he saw her blood staining the sheets below her; he could already feel his anger grow. 'How dare someone do this to her...' he growled, his eyes turned red.

InuYasha sensed his older brother's rage and demonic aura growing and quickly stepped in front of Kagome, shielding her from any sudden bursts from Sesshomaru. Still, he watched his older brother in awe, never in his life did he see him react so strongly about anything and he never saw him kneel down beside someone.

"Sesshomaru." His mother called to him sternly, "Do not do that here. Control yourself." She walked over to the demon maid and took a wrapped up baby from her hands and slowly walked over to him. "Behold, my grandchild and… your newborn son."

Sesshomaru's face lit up and a gentle smile lifted his lips, his anger subsided as he gingerly took the child into his arms and gazed at his sleeping face. He touched the purple crescent on his forehead and amused himself about how this particular trait had been passed down from his mother, him and now to his child. There were no streaks on the little boy's face, like his mother, but he shared the pointed-ear trait of them both. The baby had a small amount of silver hair coming from the top of his tiny head. While holding his newborn in his arms, he looked at the child's mother through sad eyes. He noticed her pale face and could sense her week life force.

"Of all times to lose your powers..." he whispered. He caressed her check with his hand, "Kakiya, awaken and see our child."

At the sound of her beloved's voice, Kakiya's eyes slowly opened, "Sesshomaru...?" her eyes drooped, as she tried to keep them open, she looked at the child in Sesshomaru's arms, "Our child..."

"Ryuuhei." Sesshomaru told her.

She managed a weak smile, "Ryuuhei..." she repeated. "He will be as strong as his father when he grows up." Kakiya tried to sit up, and Kagome rushed over to her to help support her.

"Don't try to move so much, you're still injured, plus, if you move around the poison would get around faster."

InuKimi had a maid bring in the jar of glowing purple narcissuses that Kakiya had got a few years ago. "Kagome, would you prepare the flower? You only need to crush the petals and place them in water." Another maid brought in a mortar and pestle, along with a glass of water.

"I'll get started right away."

Kakiya weakly smiled, "The wounds are what I worry about." She looked at her child bundled up in Sesshomaru's arms, "Besides, I want to see his little face."

"Yes, but with those wounds, even your body won't stand the poison." Kagome looked at the blood soaked bandages and the blood staining the bed sheets, then quickly finished up the mixture, "Here, drink this." Kagome handed Sesshomaru the drink.

He gently put the cut to her lips and let her drink the medicine. Sesshomaru saw a frown appear on her face and knew at once that the flower did not have a pleasant taste, "Drink it all, Kakiya."

Kakiya drank the rest of her medicine with distaste, her frown disappearing when Sesshomaru took the cup away. She slowly sat up and saw their child for the first time, "Hello there," she softly smiled, touching his sleeping face.

A maid sat beside Kakiya and helped her moved onto a clean futon and replaced her sheets with new ones, carrying the bloodstained ones away. Sesshomaru noticed the poison scent coming from her wounds, and recognized it. It came from a persistent demon, who was after Sesshomaru for his title over the western lands. The snake demon had been trying to find a way to conquer him, but has so far failed at every attempt. He stood up.

"Mother, take care of this child" he said and gave his child for his mother to hold.

"Sesshomaru?" Kakiya questioned weakly. Kakiya grabbed onto cuff of his pants before he could take a step.

He knelt back down and slowly pried her hands away from him and held her pale hands in his own, "I'll be back."

Kakiya looked at him with sad eyes, "Can you not do it... later?"

Sesshomaru turned away to hide the anger in his eyes, "That pathetic demon did this you. This is not the first time he's done something to you..." He felt her hands gently squeeze his and he looked back.

"Sesshomaru-"

He cut her off, "Kakiya. We both know what he was really aiming for when he did this." He touched her back and felt her flinch under his touch, "He was trying to kill our child before he got the chance to come out to this world. He was trying to find my weakness, to bring me down and he did." Sesshomaru touched her cheek, "You and our child, are my only weakness."

Kakiya looked away from his eyes and instead, focused her attention on the armour on his chest, 'I know...'

Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her, "I'll be back, Kakiya." He repeated. "You just focus on healing yourself. I won't be long." He whispered before letting go of her. He stood up and made his way towards the door. 'I don't plan to repeat the same mistake my father did and leave my newborn alone...' he thought bitterly.

"Sesshomaru! You're just going to leave her and your newborn son here? Where the heck do you think you're going?" said InuYasha.

Sesshomaru glared at him, "InuYasha, I trust that you can protect them while I'm gone. I have to go take care of the man who dared do this to my Kakiya."

"Kakiya, you know who did this to you, don't you?" Kagome asked, worriedly, "Is that the person Sesshomaru's going off to kill?

InuYasha scoffed, "That guy wouldn't last ten seconds if Sesshomaru's he's fighting."

Kakiya let out a small laugh, which ended quickly because of the pain, "He is merely a snake demon who always flees for his life every given chance when he encounters Sesshomaru. He only uses underhand attack tactics and traps to lure his prey; despite his flaws, he is one powerful demon and even I face much difficulty just to fend him off."

InuYasha grinned, trying to cheer his sister in law up, "And such a demon got the best of you, did he? The Kakiya I know much be growing old and slow…" he teased.

"I suppose you're right." Giggled Kakiya, "I was not paying attention; I wanted to get to this castle before that little guy came out." She joked. "Unfortunately, he caught me when I was in the grip of one of my contractions, and I couldn't do much about him."

"You said he was powerful right?" InuYasha questioned, "I have spared with you many times over the last few years, and I know your strength. For you to say that he is powerful must mean something. How will Sesshomaru fair?"

The pain from her back kept her from speaking for only a moment, "It will take a while to track him down," she said truthfully, "And killing him will also take time, but your elder brother is powerful and will not be defeated." Kakiya turned to Kagome who was now tending to her back, redressing the wound. "How does it look?"

Kagome sighed and finished up, "I think the poison's all gone now," she gently pushed Kakiya back down on the bed, "What you need is rest."

Kakiya complied and closed her eyes, "I will address this wound after I regained my strength…" she slowly opened them again, "Kagome, have you thought about my offer?

A sigh came from her, "Yes. InuYasha and I decided that since I was going to stay here for the rest of my life, I should take up your offer." She thought about her part-demon children playing in the other room, "And I don't like the thought of leaving my own children early just because humans die fast." Kagome touched Kakiya's hand that was resting over the blanket, "I will take your offer, but do it when you are better."

"Of course." Kakiya smiled before letting sleep overtake her senses.

InuKimi led them all out of the room, gently closing the door behind them. Kagome gathered her children to the entrance of the castle and let them play along the steps. InuKimi sat down on her throne and watched the children.

A glint of amusement touched her eyes as she studied InuYasha's dog ears and his children's.' She sighed, which immediately brought InuYasha to attention, "I only wished that my grandson had those ears too." She eyed them jealously.

InuYasha covered his ears in fear, remembering when he first met this woman and how she basically tortured his ears, "Well too bad, you can't have them."

"A shame." She watched as her own grandson slept in his arms, 'I feel like this child will also grow up like his father; absolutely not cute, and completely lacking any charm.' She thought sorrowfully, "Perhaps I shall take this child away from him and raise him myself." She said wickedly, unaware that she had just said her thought aloud.

"I don't think Sesshomaru would like that…" Kagome told her slowly. "And Kakiya definitely would object."

InuKimi smiled, which brought a chill up InuYasha's spine, "Not if I kidnap them both." She touched on the crescent moon on his forehead and thought the child looked similar to Sesshomaru when he was only an infant.

They bickered around like that until evening fell. A maid showed InuYasha and his family to room so that they could rest sleep. After watching the moon raise, InuKimi also retired for the night and with her, she brought her grandson. At this time, Kakiya awoke when the rest of the castle was silent. She slowly made her way outside the castle and looked towards the moon. A speck of darkness could be seen, but soon, it grew larger as it drew closer to Kakiya. Sesshomaru was in his dog form, and blood stained his white coat. He quickly reverted back to his human form, and landed softly beside his mate and quickly took her in his arms.

Kakiya could smell the scent of the snake demon coming from Sesshomaru, but she knew that not all the blood on him was from the demon. "You're injured." She whispered.

"And he is dead." He growled in return. "And you?" Sesshomaru plopped his head against hers and gently planted a short kiss on her lips, "Our child?"

"With mother, and I was about to heal my wounds myself," Kakiya answered.

"Oh? Do you have enough energy for that?"

"I just need to find a body of water to help. Unfortunately, I cannot do much healing in this form without the air from another source." Kakiya touched a warm, wet patch on his side, "I will do the same for you as well."

"Very well." He teleported them both to a small spring he used to play in as child nearby.

They both entered the cool spring water as they were. Kakiya began working her magic as soon as she touched the water; feeling the energy the water was giving her the deeper they went into the spring. A soft blue glow lit up the spring as the same light surrounded the both of them. She felt irregularities and wounds on both of their bodies and began to heal them. Water swirled up around them, their injuries and blood washing away as soon as the water touched them. As soon as the wounds were attended to, Kakiya fixed the small rips in Sesshomaru's robe as well, lacing together the fabric with precision. She felt the familiar drain of energy as this long process carried itself out. When the spring finally stopped glowing, the two left the water and the same water stayed in the spring leaving their clothes perfectly dry when they were on land again.

Kakiya wrapped her arms around him and smiled into his boa, "Let's go back." Three orbs of light came from her body and surrounded them teleporting the two back to the castle with ease.

When they arrived, they found his mother standing there with their child in her arms, "I believe he wants to see you." She simply said before handing Kakiya the infant and retreating to her room.

The Ryuuhei was awake and his eyes were shimmering when his parents laid eyes on him. He laughed and reached out towards them and pulled on Sesshomaru's hair when it neared him.

"How cute." He muttered sarcastically and started the task of preying his hair from the child's deadly grasp.

Kakiya laughed, "Ryuuhei, you should let go of his hair, or else you'll have to face his angry face." she poked his small hand and he released his father's hair.

Sesshomaru put a possessive arm around her, "Who's angry side?" he whispered, before leading her off to their room inside the castle.

Ryuuhei squirmed in his blanket and this time grabbing hold of his mother's hair. He wanted attention from his mother, but failed to receive any because of his monopolizing father. When they finally settled on their bed, Ryuuhei wailed whenever Sesshomaru or Kakiya moved him from where he wanted to sleep: between the two of them. The two new parents quickly gave in to his protests and let him stay where he was. The new parents stayed like that for the rest of the night, separated much to Sesshomaru's distaste. Soon the little one was soundly sleeping, his parents still watching guard over him.

"He's going to be a difficult child." Sesshomaru mumbled.

Kakiya gently took Sesshomaru's hand in hers and rested them over the child's head, "Your mother told me that you were no different when you were younger." She smiled, fiddling with his fingers.

His mate softly giggled when she saw him narrow his eyes, "Is there anything that woman has not told you?"

"Perhaps." Kakiya felt sleep closing in on her, her eyes drooped.

Sesshomaru watched her, he could sense her weariness, "You are tired, sleep." She mumbled a soft sound of agreement and closed her eyes. It wasn't long until she was sleeping as well.

'Yes,' he thought, smiling despite himself, "I enjoy this feeling of having a family." He gently whispered, agreeing with himself.

He heard his mate giggle, and was surprised when he found himself staring into the amethyst eyes of his lover, "I do too." She whispered to him.

"I thought you were sleeping." He said, easily hiding her embarrassment.

She held his golden gaze, "I love you." She told him.

"And I love you as well, Kakiya."

XXX

Thanks for all those who have stuck with me all these years. Hopefully you enjoyed the big update. Have a happy 2012!