Beyond the Darkness
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A/N: Woot! Chapter fifty-three is DONE! Alrighty. It's a whopping five-pager (well, like, a less than a quarter of the fifth page was actually written on, so not exactly five pages :b), so you better enjoy! DX JKJK! I hope you DO enjoy it though! (: R&R please! Thanks a bunchies! C: -Michele
::Fifty-Three::
The trees were blurred through her eyes as her forehead bore beads of sweat at the edges of her hairline. The pain from the contraction was unbearable and familiar, from when she was pregnant with Shippo. She'd done it then, she'd be able to do it now.
"Sesshomaru," she moaned. She looked up at his face. His eyes were narrowed and his speed increased, feeling the one arm that cradled her tighten its grip. She leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing. How lucky was she to have a mate like Sesshomaru? It did pay off to be in love with an all-powerful demon.
"We're almost there, Nikala," Sesshomaru murmured, picking up the pace. The smell of human mingled in the air as they were approaching a village, and amongst that scent, he could sniff out a couple of familiar demon scents as well. InuYasha and Shippo must be there, along with everyone else.
Another contraction. Nikala's moans grew louder.
"Sesshomaru!" she cried, gritting her teeth before letting out a loud gasp.
We're almost there!
Rin and Jaken would catch up later, he figured. They were far behind, coming as fast as they could on A-Un, but Sesshomaru's speed was miles faster than the dragon's.
Suddenly, they reached a clearing of trees and entered a vast village full of small huts and many rice fields. They were spotted immediately when Sesshomaru exposed himself and cries were sent across the fields.
"A demon!"
"Run! There's a demon!"
Sesshomaru glared, but he had no time to silence them. He sniffed out InuYasha's scent and took off in another run. The scent led him to a larger shack smack dab in the middle of the village.
Nikala gripped Sesshomaru's pauldron and moaned again, tilting her head back in pain. Her breathing was fast and heavy.
"Sesshomaru … Sesshomaru!"
"Hold on, Nikala," he soothed. He darted for the hut, approaching some familiar faces. Miroku and Sango were outside, Sango brandishing her boomerang.
"Sesshomaru?" Sango asked.
"Nikala!" Miroku pointed. "Has she —?"
"She's going into labor," Sesshomaru explained. Sango and Miroku exchanged looks of surprise as Sesshomaru burst into Kaede's hut. His massive presence startled the elderly priestess, as well as InuYasha, Kagome, and Shippo.
"Sesshomaru!" InuYasha burst.
"My mate is going into labor, priestess," he said to Kaede. Kaede's eyes widened.
"Make room for her then," Kaede instructed. InuYasha and Kagome immediately went to work. They set up a mat for her with a pillow.
"Is she alright? Are you alright, Ma?" Shippo asked, looking up at his mother in Sesshomaru's arm.
Nikala chuckled lightly. "Yes, I'm fine, dear one." A moan followed after, leading her to not be so convincing.
"Set her down," Kaede said to Sesshomaru. He placed her on the mat and stepped back. "Now, ye men need to leave the hut. There'll be no men in the birthing room." Sesshomaru sent Nikala a long look, but she nodded at him to go.
"I'll be fine, I promise."
"I don't want to lose you again," he said.
"You won't. I'll be here." She smiled at him.
"Go on, you guys. Shippo, tell Sango to bring a bucket of water," Kagome ordered. Shippo nodded and bounced out of the doorway following the brothers.
"Get me some rags, Kagome," Kaede instructed. When Kagome returned, Sango had entered with the bucket of water, and Rin at her side.
"Lady Nikala!" Rin exclaimed, rushing to her side. The girls knelt down around her. Kagome passed a rag to Sango, who dunked it into the bucket, squeezed all of the excess water back into the bucket, and dabbed Nikala's forehead.
"Pass the rag to the girl," Kaede said, speaking of Rin. "Keep dabbing her forehead, lass." Kaede moved to the end of Nikala, who was now covered by a large blanket thanks to Kagome, her knees bent up. "I'm going to need ye to push, lassie," she said to Nikala. Nikala nodded. She knew the procedure. "Kagome, get ready with some towels. Sango, get her another damp rag." The two of them nodded. Nikala bit down on her lip and pushed, screaming out in pain.
* * *
Sesshomaru paced back and forth before staring out at the rice fields. Was Nikala okay? Was she still in pain? Jaken and Rin had arrived, and once Shippo had instructed Sango what to do, Rin followed her and walked into the hut with her. He wanted to know what was going on.
As usual, Jaken was at Sesshomaru's side. "My lord sure is quiet," Jaken said. "Have you something on your brilliant mind?"
"Brilliant my ass," InuYasha retorted, coming up from behind. Jaken turned and glared daggers at him.
"How dare you insult Lord Sesshomaru!" he shrieked.
"What is it, InuYasha?" Sesshomaru asked, indifferently, yet annoyed.
"Nothing," he said, carelessly. "Just wondering how exciting someone like you could be about having a baby."
Jaken looked up at Sesshomaru. Indeed, it was quite surreal. Then again, so was him falling in love.
"So, since you're going to be a father, that would make me the uncle of your kid," InuYasha said again. "That's just weird." He shuddered.
"You should be blessed to be the uncle of Lord Sesshomaru's child! Of course, the baby will be so much greater than you, half-breed, being full demon," Jaken sneered. Sesshomaru smirked. This was true, he thought. InuYasha's eyes glared.
"Feh. Yeah right. Like a baby will be able to overpower me, full demon or not. Look at Shippo; I'm still stronger than him and he's a full demon," InuYasha said.
"But this baby will be the offspring of Lord Sesshomaru, so it will possess power you couldn't even dream of!" Jaken exclaimed. "Isn't that right, Lord Sesshomaru?"
"Of course," Sesshomaru agreed. Jaken beamed. InuYasha merely rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but I'll be the one to teach it how to kick your ass," InuYasha replied.
"As if you could, InuYasha," Sesshomaru said with an eye roll, still peering out at the fields. He suddenly heard a cry from the hut, a cry from Nikala. His head whipped around, his eyes wide.
I can't lose her again!
InuYasha and Jaken looked towards the hut, startled as well. None of them were experienced with child birth, so they hadn't known that the cry was actually normal, that she was just pushing for the baby to come out.
"She sounds like she's in pain, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cried out, tugging on the bottom of his hakama.
"It's quite alright, really," Miroku reassured, appearing in front of them. "She's fine. This is typical during child labor."
"How would you know?" InuYasha snapped.
Miroku rolled his eyes. "As a monk, I come to bless the children when they are born." He turned to Sesshomaru. "I assure you, Lady Nikala is fine."
Sesshomaru found it hard to trust the monk whenever it came to Nikala, but his words were reassuring. He could breathe easier.
"If Sesshomaru is this worried about his mate, then I'm sure he'll make a good father as well," Miroku said with a smile. He clapped his hands together and bowed. "May you and your new family live well and prosper."
Sesshomaru widened his eyes at the monk's words. Was he just trying to appeal to Sesshomaru so he would lift all suspicions he had towards him and Nikala, or was Miroku actually trying to make nice with him? He didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, a loud, long scream came from the hut. Nikala! thought Sesshomaru. The villagers paused what they were doing and stared horrendously at Kaede's hut. But soon, the scream was replaced with a cry. An unfamiliar cry. A baby cry.
Sesshomaru's eyes widened and he dashed off towards the hut. The baby. The baby. The baby! It was all that ran through his mind. He burst through the doorway, his eyes darting for Nikala, and what he saw made his heart throb.
She was sitting up slightly, with the help of an extra pillow, cradling a bundle of blankets. Nikala tilted her head and smiled warmly at him through her weariness. Rin ran over to him.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" she said excitedly. "It's a girl!"
A girl? he thought. I have a daughter.
Rin grabbed his hand and led him towards Nikala. Kagome, Sango, and Kaede were kneeling on the opposite side of them. Just as Sesshomaru was about to look down at the bundle in his mate's arms, the other men stumbled in.
"Ma! You're alright!" Shippo cried happily. Nikala chuckled.
"I told you I would be, little one," she said.
Shippo made his way over to her, sitting down beside her next to Kagome. Nikala looked up at Sesshomaru.
"Would you like to see your daughter, my lord?" she asked gently. Sesshomaru looked into her topaz eyes before glancing back down at the bundle as Nikala moved some of the blankets. She revealed a most angelic face with a dainty pink nose and purple lines underneath her shut eyes and her mouth was empty of any fangs as she cried. Two tiny white fox ears poked out from her mass of white hair. Sesshomaru was beginning to realize something quite peculiar.
"Hey, Sesshomaru, she looks like you," InuYasha mentioned. Nikala smiled widely and stroked her daughter's face gently.
"That she does," she said, looking up at Sesshomaru. Nikala bounced her gently, to stop her crying, but she did not prevail. "Do you want to hold her?" Sesshomaru looked taken aback just the slightest. Never in his life had he held a baby before, let alone a crying one. He hesitated before Rin exclaimed, "Yes! Hold her, my lord! This is your first baby!" Rin's smiling face encouraged Sesshomaru and he agreed. Kagome and Sango exchanged smiles while Nikala placed the baby in Sesshomaru's arms. She tightened his arm around the baby.
"There you are," she said and looked into Sesshomaru's eyes. He looked down at his crying child. Suddenly, her cries started to cease and were replaced by light moans. Soon, the baby was quiet as she rustled in her blankets. Everyone's eyebrows rose, even Sesshomaru's.
"Looks like Sesshomaru has a magic touch," Kagome beamed. He briefly glanced at her before looking down at his baby again. He was surprised to see her eyes now open, big, bright, topaz eyes staring up at him. Slowly, a smile began to curl in her little lips as she made happy baby noises. She stretched her arms up towards him. She was happy to see him. Sesshomaru's child was delighted to see her father.
Kagome and Sango were brought to tears at the affection Sesshomaru was receiving from the baby. Even InuYasha smiled, though his golden eyes were still narrowed and his arms were crossed, as if he knew all along that the baby would react that way. Jaken's wide, bug eyes were soaked in tears. Nikala merely smiled. She knew the baby would love him. And she was right.
"Ai," Sesshomaru muttered. Nikala tilted her head. "The baby's name shall be Ai."
"Love," Nikala translated softly while the baby cooed, longing to touch Sesshomaru's face. "It's perfect."