This one is another long one. I won't waste much time here as you are all waiting with bated breath to see if InuYasha lived or died. So, here we go. I own nothing except my own fan characters.

Chapter 12

5 Months Later

Kagome's POV

A kick inside my womb woke me up. I groaned and fluttered my eyes open. It wasn't even dawn yet. I stroked my belly lovingly. He was always such an early kicker; Izayio, like herself, had liked to sleep in. I smiled and rolled on my other side, closer to the dying fire.

I just knew that this pup would be like InuYasha.

It had been about five months since I had come across InuYasha and Sesshomaru fighting Kiba. The day Kiba died. The day my life changed forever.

I had lost a lot of people who were important to me; Papa, Kaede, my best friend when I was little, so many more. Even Kikyo. However, nothing compared to the feeling that sank into my heart when I saw InuYasha drop to the ground. I blamed myself for it all.

I pinched my eyes tightly closed, trying to hold back the tears. However, a small sob escaped from my lips. I curled into my self and held my stomach. My pup kicked weakly into my embrace.

I peaked open one eye to make sure I did not wake up Izayio. She lay across the fire pit from me. She rolled over, still asleep. I sighed in relief. Slowly, the sigh turned into a gasp, and then a sob. My shoulders shook as I tried to hold in my tears.

My whole body shook from the force of my silent sobs. I knew I should stop; I would wake up Izayio or hurt the pup. I just couldn't though. InuYasha's face when he looked at me flashed before my eyes. I would never forgive myself.

Beside me, my futon partner turned on his side and draped his arm over my waist. He pulled me up against his front. I turned in his embrace and buried my face in his chest. I cried silently into his clothed chest, as he held me close.

He placed his soft lips near my ear and whispered encouragingly to me. I shook my head.

"No…my…fault…" I mumbled into his chest. I heard his deep rumbling laugh; something I rarely heard. It was like sweet music to my ears.

"If you don't stop, you're going to hurt our pup." He whispered huskily.

I slowly wrapped my arms around him and held him close. "InuYasha, you're so…stubborn."

InuYasha laughed again. "I'm not the one who won't let it go."

I weakly smacked his arm. "I thought I had lost you." His hold tightened.

"I would not have left the temple if I didn't think I would come back. If anything, you coming when you did is what allowed Sesshomaru and I to win." I turned my head up to see his face.

My brown eyes met his golden eyes. He stared at me with the intensity of the sun on a hot summer day. I always felt loved when he looked at me like that; I felt loved anytime he watched me. I moved closer to my mate.

InuYasha readily kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he held the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair. We had long since adjusted to the awkwardness of my swollen belly the first time I was pregnant. However, it would have been nice to not be pregnant right now…

Behind us, a small cough forced us quickly apart. I turned my head and InuYasha peered over my shoulder. Izayio was sitting up in her futon, staring at us.

My face began to heat up. I pulled away from InuYasha. He easily stood and reached over to help me stand. This pregnancy had been harder, by far, than with Izayio; never minding the end, of course.

Izayio also stood and began to roll up her futon. I normally would have rolled up ours, but it was getting harder to do simple stuff. I sighed and placed a hand on my stomach.

InuYasha walked pass me and Izayio to exit the hut. Izayio quickly pulled off her night kimono and slipped into her miko robes. She then turned and helped me slip on a simple pale green kimono. It was easier to wear them than it was my own miko robes.

As I was tying my obi, InuYasha reentered with some firewood. He knelt beside the dying embers and rebuilt the fire. Izayio and I began to gather breakfast.

It had taken awhile to get accustomed to our routine. Now, it was natural. We would eat breakfast together. Then, InuYasha and Miroku would go out to surrounding villages and exterminate. On the days they did not, InuYasha would stay with Izayio and me.

I spent most of my time teaching Izayio the ways of being a miko. A few months ago, I would do all of the village duties that required a miko, now Izayio handled most of them.

When InuYasha and I had free time –something I had more and more of because of the pup-, we would go to the Bone Eater's Well. We would sit together in the small meadow and talk. We talked about the journey. We talked about those three years. We talked about our children. We just talked.

When we didn't talk, he would hold me in his arms, his back against the well. I lean back in his strong embrace. And we would just relax. Once the pup started kicking, he would hold my stomach, patiently waiting to feel our pup.

I sighed, blinking back to our cozy hut. I enjoyed my life now. I knew that once the pup was born, things would change. I would spend nearly all of my time being a mother, something I didn't get to do with Izayio. Though, Sango had offered to help and I was grateful.

I looked over at Izayio. She was looking intently at her claws, waggling her fingers and frowning. She had yet to show any yokai abilities, only miko. Miroku figured it had to do with the curse. Though I pretended to not notice, InuYasha would sometimes take her to a nearby meadow and work with her.

My expression saddened. "Izayio, don't push yourself. They'll come one day." I whispered. Izayio's eyes snapped up and her hand dropped quickly –at a human rate- to her lap.

"Please stop lying, Mother. We all know they won't." She whispered, looking away. She stood and left the hut.

I looked sadly over at InuYasha. I was not a hanyou. I could never help my own pups with that part of growing up. He nodded, understandingly. He stood, bent to kiss my cheek and followed after her.

We had both made a silent agreement about how to raise Izayio and the pup. So far, it was working out. He would handle the hanyou and yokai part of their development. And I would handle the miko and remaining parts. However, for Izayio, a lot of my work was cut out for me. We learned about four months ago that Izayio would be barren for the rest of her life. It was another thing to blame on her curse. She had been forced into adulthood, completely skipping most of puberty.

I could not help but be angered at Marika for doing that to her. She had taken so much from my baby girl. I leaned back and placed a hand atop my belly.

'I swear to you, InuTaisho, I will never let anything bad happen to you. I will protect you with my life.'

X

Regular POV

Rin entered the main sitting room. She looked around. Sesshomaru and his mistress, Kiyomi, were sitting around his desk, reading over some scrolls. When Sesshomaru heard her enter, he looked up. Kiyomi followed his gaze and stared at her. Rin began to feel uncomfortable under the older yokai's eyes.

When Sesshomaru had told Rin that she would not be able to have a baby, she had only felt a little pain. However, when she learned that Sesshomaru needed to produce an heir, she felt guilty. So she told him to take a mistress. That was where Kiyomi came in.

Kiyomi's name described her perfectly. She was in fact the epitome of pure beauty. She shared Sesshomaru's glittering snow like pure white hair that fell to her ankles. It was perfectly sleek and straight and always seemed to gently move in a nonexistent wind. Pale bangs covered part of her eyes that were golden like Sesshomaru's. She wore long billowing pale pink kimonos. Her skin was perfect and pale as death. Her yokai marking consisted of a pale pink star between her slender black eyebrows. Her eyelids were pale pink as were her lips. Her long claws were a hot pink color.

Rin nodded her head in a small bow and went to sit on a palate in the floor on the other side of the room. She paid careful attention to her kimonos and fiddled with them until they were perfectly draped around her on the floor; she did not look up at her companions.

She heard a few scrolls shuffle around on Sesshomaru's desk and then she heard the two stand. Rin peaked up through her lashes and watched Kiyomi glide slinetly from the room; she seemed to not even be troubled by her small pregnancy belly. Sesshomaru quietly closed the doors behind her.

Sesshomaru turned to look at Rin. Rin looked fully up at him.

"Good morning, my lord." She whispered quietly. Sesshomaru didn't even blink as he leisurely walked towards her. He looked down at her and Rin began to feel uncomfortable. "I…I am sorry if I did something wrong."

"You did nothing wrong Rin. Kiyomi and this Sesshomaru were merely looking over some details of the partnership." Sesshomaru sensuously sank down beside her. "Rin, this Sesshomaru wishes to ask something of you if you are willing to do it."

Rin blinked her tan eyes. "Anything, my lord."

Sesshomaru looked at her hard. "Kiyomi does not want to keep the pup. She is willing to end the agreement after it is born on certain terms," He paused. "Rin, would you be willing to care for the pup?"

Rin swallowed and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. Her eyes widened. She nodded weakly. She had always wanted a baby. Even if she could not have Sesshomaru's child, she would raise his child. Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru!" She exclaimed.

Sesshomaru placed an arm around her slender waist and gently held her to him.

X

Ayame had stayed with Sesshomaru after everything had calmed down. She stayed in the background and never made herself noticed. She helped with the rebuilding of the castle in the beginning.

Now, she worked in the kitchen with a few female humans and even fewer female inu-yokai. Many of the yokai treated her poorly because of her type.

To help blend in, she had shed her wolf fur kimonos and wrappings for the simple pale gold kimono that marked her as what she was now: hired help, a lower yokai, whatever you wished to call it. However, after being given the worst of the tasks by the yokai and only helped by the humans, her few kimonos had become ripped and dirty. Her once fine kimono hung to her thighs, shredded at the ends. It was no longer golden but a light brown color. The sleeves had long since been torn away and used for hair ribbons and obis. Her once lively auburn was faded and messily pulled back into a loose bun. She no longer wore flowers in her hair.

Now, she was on her knees, cleaning the fire pit in the kitchen. Soot covered her arms, face, and kimono. She huffed and sat back on her hams. With her forearm, she wiped away some sweat from her forehead. Her arms fell to her lap. She looked down at her hands.

She had lost a lot of weight as well. She looked sickly and no longer like the wolf princess she had been. She heard someone enter the kitchen and she turned her head. Behind her stood one of the soldiers. She weakly stood and walked towards him. She bowed.

"How may I help you, sir?" At the beginning, it had been hard to not growl out her manners to the inu-yokai, now it came easily; as if she were a common human girl.

The yokai sighed. "You don't have to do that. It's Ayame right?" Ayame's emerald eyes flickered up and she straightened slowly.

"Yes. I am called Ayame." 'Among other things…' She thought darkly.

"Ayame, why are you still in here cleaning? It's a wonderful day outside. There's just enough heat and coldness in the air to make it perfect. Why don't you join me outside in the courtyard?"

Ayame's eyes widened. This was the first inu-yokai to show her kindness since she had been here. "What's your name?" She asked meekly.

He smiled. "I am called Hiro. I am of the Chaarusu clan."

Ayame began to feel something she had not felt since the day Koga had gone mad. She began to feel hope. Hiro held out a hand to her. Ayame eyed it. She then looked back up into his violet eyes and smiled. She reached her hand out and took his. Their fingers intertwined.

X

The sun began to creep in through the small window in Sango and Miroku's hut. Sango been up since Kotaro had woke up crying. Now Sango was helping the twins, Asako and Asayo, into their kimonos while Miroku was tending to their youngest child. The twins had not behaved as under developed when they had seen two summers as Kotaro was now. Even now, he was fussing with Miroku about getting dressed.

Sango sighed and finished tying the bow of Asako's indigo obi. She then turned and easily calmed Kotaro's fussing and finished dressing him. Miroku stood back and watched sheepishly.

Once the children were ready for the day, Sango told them to go play. The three children eagerly squealed and ran out of the hut. Sango breathed a sigh of relief and tied her hair back with her blue ribbon. Miroku's arms slid around her waist.

"He always likes you better." He grumbled playfully. Sango turned in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"He's just a mama's boy. He'll be out of it soon." Miroku tenderly kissed his wife's lips.

"Even the twins prefer you. You must teach your magic, Sango." Miroku whispered.

"And that, my dear monk, is something I can not reveal." Sango smirked.

The peaceful moment was shattered by InuYasha's shouting. "Damn it, Miroku! They're pulling my ears!"

Sango laughed. "It's your turn." She quickly turned and peered out the door at the scene.

InuYasha was sitting outside his hut with Kagome and Izayio. Kagome was smiling playfully at the children as they climbed on InuYasha. The twins were in his lap, pulling on his dog ears. Izayio looked frightened as her own dog ears lay flattened against her head and Kotaro looked up at her eagerly from InuYasha's lap.

"InuYasha! I've told you not to use that language in front of them!" Sango called lightly. InuYasha scowled at her.

"I'll use worse if you don't haul them off! OW!" InuYasha yelped as Asayo pulled hard on his left ear and giggled loudly. Kagome laughed freely.

Miroku pushed pass Sango and walked out of their hut. He easily walked towards the group. "Kids, as fun as it is to inflect pain on the dog man, it's not nice."

When they heard their father, they all turned and squealed. The twins leaped from InuYasha's lap and ran off to play elsewhere. Kotaro jumped and tripped. Kagome happily reached over and helped him up. A small split was on his hakama and his knee could be seen with a small scratch covering it. A few drops of blood welled up on the small cut. As Kotaro began to register the pain, tears welled in his eyes. Kagome smiled kindly and pulled him to her.

"Its okay, Kotaru." She whispered sweetly. With her thumbs she brushed away the small tears. "I'll take care of that." Kagome then looked up at Miroku and Sango. "He's got a small cut. I'll clean it and put some herbs on it." She then looked over at InuYasha for help.

He nodded and ceased rubbing his ears. He stood and helped Kagome slowly stand. Once she was firmly standing, she smiled her thanks at him and then reached for Kotaru's small hand. She then led him inside their hut.

InuYasha remained standing and watched her. Miroku walked up beside him.

"She really likes kids." Miroku whispered.

InuYasha nodded mutely. His eyes traveled to Izayio. So much had been taken from Izayio and Kagome. And now, Kagome was having a very bad pregnancy. It was times like this he prayed that that old hag, Kaede, was still alive. Izayio was skilled, but not skilled enough to do anything if the pregnancy took a turn for the worst.

"We need to find a miko like Kaede." InuYasha muttered back. Miroku nodded in agreement.

"There is very little Izayio or I could do." Miroku quietly agreed.

Sango appeared beside Miroku. Izayio looked up at the clustered adults.

"Mother will be okay, right?" Her caramel eyes were wide with the fear of a small child, not that of an adult.

Sango's eyes saddened and she kneeled beside the hanyou girl. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure Kagome and the pup are okay." She pulled Izayio into a tight hug and looked up at Miroku and InuYasha.

InuYasha's jaw clenched. Miroku nodded in understanding.

"I'll leave in the morning." Miroku whispered.

The flap covering the doorway of Kagome and InuYasha's hut stirred, shattering the tense moment. Kagome walked out smiling, with Kotaro ahead of her, his knee freshly bandaged.

Kotaru looked up at his parents. Sango quickly pulled away from Izayio and turned to her son. She began to fix his already tangled dark hair.

"Did you thank Kagome?" Sango asked of her son. Kotaro's grey eyes widened and he looked up at Kagome. Kagome slowly eased herself down, InuYasha hovering beside her.

"T'ank you, Kagome." Kotaru exclaimed in his childish voice. Kagome's smile grew.

She reached out a hand and flattened a piece of hair that Sango had missed. "You are very welcome, Kotaro."

He then turned to his mother, who laughed. "Run along now." She ushered him towards where a few of the village children were playing a game with a ball. Kotaro squealed and ran towards his peers.

Sango turned to look at her friend. "How are you feeling today, Kagome?"

"Oh, about the same as always. He woke me up kicking again." She answered conversationally. She then leaned back onto InuYasha's shoulder.

Sango smiled. "How are you so sure it is a boy? It could be another daughter."

Kagome smiled and looked up into InuYasha's golden eyes. "Because he likes to wake up early, before the sun rises, and start fighting. He wants to protect the people he cares about." She whispered.

InuYasha felt his face heat up. "It's still in the womb. How can you tell from a few kicks?"

Kagome leaned further into his embrace. InuYasha placed an arm around her. He rarely showed affections with Kagome around Sango and Miroku, but part of him didn't want to upset her. She was quick to use her commands in her pregnancies.

"Because I know my little InuTaisho." She whispered, stroking her stomach.

Miroku snorted. "Don't put to much faith in that. Sango swore up and down that the twins were a boy because of how big she was and how aggressive they were. She was wrong."

Sango playfully slapped Miroku. "At the end, though, I decided it was a girl. And I got two!"

InuYasha growled. "Don't try and curse me with little devils like those two."

The other three laughed. They spent an hour or so talking peacefully. Izayio had to leave when a village girl became ill. After awhile, she had to return and ask Kagome for help. The group parted. Sango and Miroku went off to do their own responsibilities while InuYasha and Kagome assisted Izayio.

As the day progressed, InuYasha snuck away from Kagome and Izayio and pulled Miroku away from Sango. The two walked to the edge of the village. InuYasha leaped up and sat on the top rail of the fence separating the cattle from the fields.

"I'm going to come with you." InuYasha told him.

Miroku nodded solemnly and leaned beside InuYasha. "I figured you would. We'll tell Kagome tonight that a village has a centipede problem. We'll leave in the morning. Sango said that Kagome and Izayio could stay at our hut."

InuYasha nodded to himself, his ears flickering. "Who are we going to get?"

"A miko that Mushin-sama had a hand in training. Last I heard from her, her powers had grown significantly. Of course, she's no Kaede or Kikyo, but, she's strong enough to help if anything untoward happens." The monk explained.

InuYasha looked away, his bangs hiding his eyes. "Thank you, Miroku."

Miroku shrugged. "Think nothing of it, InuYasha. You and Kagome have done more than necessary for Sango and me. It's what friends do."

InuYasha grumbled inaudibly. Miroku laughed.

X

The next day, Miroku and InuYasha set out to meet with Miroku's friend, the miko. Kagome had easily bought the story of the rogue yokai. She even agreed that she and Izayio should stay with Sango. InuYasha could only hope that this meant the miko would easily come with them and everything would be fine and this was not the calm before the storm.

They didn't get to Mushin's temple until late in the night. Mushin eagerly let them in, gave them a meal, and futons. In the morning, Mushin told them that the young miko had taken over the temple because of his old age. Miroku and Mushin talked of old times and Mushin asked of Miroku's family. This brought them around to InuYasha's problem.

"Sounds like you need a midwife, not a miko." Mushin rumbled, flushing from the sake he sipped from.

"Kagome's life is in danger, you-" Miroku slapped a hand over InuYasha's mouth.

"What InuYasha means, Mushin, is that we would all feel more comfortable if we had a miko." The monk quickly covered.

Mushin drank deeply from his sake bottle. He coughed lightly. "I feel that this is below Moriko's level."

InuYasha opened his mouth to argue and closed it when the screen behind them slid open. They heard dainty footsteps and turned. InuYasha's mouth dropped. The woman that entered had dark hair that fell to her hips; her eyes were black and her lids were painted crimson. Her miko robes were not the traditional white and red, instead her hakui was dark purple and her hakama was black. Her hair was pulled back loosely with a red ribbon.

InuYasha and Miroku jumped up. InuYasha reached for his Tetsusaiga. The miko's black eyes widened and she took a small step back. Mushin slowly scrambled to his feet.

"Young men, you had better not fight with Moriko." Mushin yelled behind them.

Miroku straightened. "Moriko? Is that really you?"

InuYasha straightened as well. "This is your miko friend?"

The miko, Moriko, offered a small smile. "Miroku-sama. It's been so long." She dropped to her knees and bowed. "I welcome you home."

"You've changed…a lot, Moriko." Miroku muttered.

Moriko giggled and stood. "Yes. I have. Now, what is this about your mate, hanyou?"

"Why do you look like the sorceress Marika?" InuYasha demanded.

Moriko's head tilted to the side. "I know not anyone named Marika. Please, I want to help your mate. She is the Miko Kagome, correct? I've always yearned to meet someone with such immense spiritual power."

InuYasha felt apprehensive about letting her help –he knew what could happen if someone looked as similar to a dead woman as Moriko did- but he needed her to help Kagome. He was between a rock and a hard place.

InuYasha groaned. "Fine. Kagome is five months pregnant," He began.

X

When the group returned to the village, Izayio was waiting for them. She sat on the roots of the large oak tree on the outskirts of the village; her dark hair blending into the blackness of the cool night. She looked up with her shaded eyes and slowly stood. InuYasha's ears flattened, impending the doom of what she had to say. He went to her.

"What's wrong?" He grounded out between his tight jaws.

Her caramel eyes blinked and widened; they were wet. "Mother has gotten worse -terribly so." She whispered.

Miroku and Moriko appeared behind the hanyou male. Miroku coughed quietly and InuYasha turned his head towards him.

"It seems we arrived in time. Izayio, what has happened?"

Izayio looked down; her bangs covering her eyes and her shoulders heaved. "About noon yesterday, she grew so weak. She could barely stand and she was so pale and cold."

InuYasha's heart felt as if a cold hand had clenched it. His golden eyes widened and his pulse sped up. Something he rarely felt -that in the past few months became a very common feeling- began to creep over his being. Fear. Moriko, however, remained calmed. She brushed pass InuYasha and spoke to Izayio.

"Where is Kagome-sama now?"

Izayio's breathing stopped as she looked into the eyes of the newcomer. Miroku could understand the apprehension; he and InuYasha had felt it too. The monk placed a calming hand on her shoulder and stepped closer to her.

"Izayio, she is a friend. Moriko came to help Kagome. Now tell me, child, is she with Sango?"

Izayio was still unable to speak. This woman, Moriko, made Aya pleased. Izayio, though, did not join Aya. This woman made her blood run cold. She focused her miko powers and tried to read her. She read nothing. It was as if she placed a barrier around her. Izayio tried harder and still all she felt was the pain from stressing her meager powers. She shook her head and turned to Miroku, who was looking at her expectantly.

She merely nodded. The world seemed to numb. She barely saw Miroku lead Moriko away. InuYasha slowly walked behind them. Izayio stood alone for a few minutes before she dropped to her knees and held herself. She felt so cold. She had never felt such evil from a person in her current life.

Izayio, shaking, turned her head to watch Moriko. Moriko stood outside Sango's hut, watching her. Moriko's cold black eyes drilled into her own caramel eyes. Izayio felt petrified until Moriko turned and followed Miroku into the small hut. A shiver rattled her body.

'She comes to free Father!' Aya cheered in her mind.

Izayio balled her fists and pressed them against her temple.

'No…'

X

Moriko entered the small hut with InuYasha behind her. Kagome lay in the floor on a futon. InuYasha quickly pushed her aside and kneeled beside Kagome. Sango stood from her other side and went to stand next to Miroku. Kagome's eyes were closed and a damp cloth was folded over her forehead.

Sango quickly explained the situation to Miroku and Moriko. Moriko paid more attention to watching Kagome and feeling her aura though.

InuYasha carefully took one of her slender hands and held it in one of his own. With his other hand, he pushed away the cloth and then her damp bangs so he could see her face. Kagome's eyes fluttered before slowly opening. Her eyes blindly searched for InuYasha before resting on his face. She smiled weakly.

"Inu…Yasha…" The miko rasped out.

"Hey, Kagome. We brought someone to help make you feel better." InuYasha whispered.

Kagome made a noise that sounded like a small laugh. "I feel…fine…stupid."

InuYasha chuckled weakly. She must be feeling fine if she was insulting him. Miroku jokingly voiced this universal thought.

Moriko leaned over Kagome. Kagome weakly turned to look at her, not even bothering to notice the similarities between her and Marika.

"Kagome-sama, I have been called upon by your mate and Miroku to over see the remainder of your pregnancy. I'm going to give you a small exam. Is that okay?" Moriko spoke as she would to a small child.

Kagome weakly nodded. Moriko then looked up at InuYasha. "You said she was five months?" She confirmed.

InuYasha nodded. "She had also just given birth four days prior to…uh…We found out four days after she had just given birth. She had a…rough first delivery." He awkwardly supplied.

Moriko nodded and turned her eyes to Kagome. She placed her hands on Kagome's stomach and felt it. She then felt her pulse areas. While doing so, she felt and looked over her aura.

The whole exam took a little more than five minutes. She dropped her hands and stood. "That'll be all for the moment, Kagome-sama."

InuYasha looked up at Moriko. Moriko motioned towards the door with her head slightly. InuYasha looked back down at Kagome as Moriko and Miroku exited the hut.

InuYasha whispered quietly to Kagome before standing and joining them outside. Sango stayed in with Kagome.

X

Moriko solemnly gazed at the monk and hanyou. "I believe the baby will be just fine," She began.

"What about Kagome?" InuYasha implored.

Moriko eyed Miroku. Miroku nodded and sighed sadly, understanding. He placed a hand on InuYasha's shoulder. InuYasha's body tensed. Moriko sighed.

"Kagome will be lucky to live long enough to deliver the baby non-prematurely." She whispered quickly.

InuYasha's chest tightened. He slowly sank to his knees and his vision swam. He placed his hands on the ground before him and leaned over them; bile rose in his throat and he had to fight to keep it down.

"No…Kagome…we were…I should have…Kagome…" InuYasha stumbled for words. He gasped and it felt as if his lungs were not pulling in air. The world spun.

The world dimmed. He could no longer hear Miroku or Moriko. He no longer sensed the world as memories overcame him.

InuYasha- You cried for me... shed tears for me... why?
Kagome- I just didn't want to lose you.

Kagome- I like you just the way you are.

InuYasha- "Kagome taught me how to smile ... how to trust. It's because of her that I have friends. Relying on my companions - shedding tears for others - true strength and kindness . . . Kagome taught them all to me. She was born to meet me. And I, too, for Kagome's sake . . ."

Sesshomaru- [after witnessing a small argument between InuYasha and Kagome] InuYasha, your patience with this creature is astonishing to me. You protect her, indulge her, and even seem to love her.

Kagome- I'm telling you, I'm not her.

InuYasha- And I'm saying you have to be. 'Cuz there's no other way you could smell so... [Sniffs in her direction] You're not her.

Kagome- I know. My name is Kagome. Ka-Go-Me.

InuYasha- [InuYasha pulls Kagome into a hug] I was afraid. I thought I was going to lose you. I was terrified.

The world slowly seeped back into InuYasha's consciousness. He could hear Moriko and Miroku talking quietly. A gentle breeze whistled through the village. Sango whispered quietly inside the hut. Izayio hummed a small tune off in the distance. InuYasha weakly looked up at Miroku and Moriko.

"…begin treatment to care for the child. Usually we put the mother ahead of the child, however due to Kagome-sama's illness, it is best to treat the child first." Moriko informed Miroku.

Miroku nodded in slight agreement. "Of course, Moriko. How do you suppose we go about that? Try to prolong Kagome as long as possible? She may not need to reach the full nine months as the child will be a hanyou. Seven is typical for a hanyou and five for a yokai. Kagome is close to the sixth month by now though, about five and a half months."

This infuriated InuYasha. His eyes flashed red and he lurched upwards, snarling. "Stop talking about Kagome that way!" He bellowed.

Moriko and Miroku were startled. Izayio yelped from her place under the tree. Sango's whisperings stopped.

"You're just giving up on her? Is that it?" He sneered.

Miroku's face saddened. "InuYasha, we're not-"

"Yes you are!" The hanyou interrupted him. "Kagome's not dead yet! I just got her back again! It's my fault she's sick now! I don't want you to put the pup ahead of Kagome! Save her first and then the pup! When Kagome gets better we can try again!" InuYasha bellowed loudly.

Miroku looked around worriedly. "InuYasha, please. You will wake the village."

"Damn the village!" InuYasha's eyes flashed red again.

Moriko stepped closer to InuYasha. "Please, InuYasha-sama, try and understand. As a miko I will do everything I can to protect them both, but I must first treat the one with the higher survival rate. After all, Kagome can be reborn again and you can find-"

InuYasha narrowed his eyes at Moriko. "Kagome already was a reincarnation of the first woman I loved. I don't want to keep running in circles."

Moriko backed away from the glower in his eyes. Miroku stepped in front of Moriko.

"The gods have smiled on you this far. The baby and Kagome will live as they wish them to. They have funny ways of making things work out. I am sure that baby was conceived for a reason."

InuYasha growled and looked down, hiding his hands in his robe sleeves. "Damn the gods. How have they smiled at me ever?" He grumbled.

Miroku smiled. "They sent you Kagome. Maybe now, they need her back."

InuYasha looked up with rare tears in his eyes. "I'm not ready to give her up. I still want her."

Miroku nodded understandingly. "Maybe you are the one giving up. She still has at least four months. Make her happy these last few months. And, InuYasha, you will always have Kagome. Kagome is in Izayio and she is in the child inside of her. And, she will always be with you. Then, when Kagome has left us, don't give up. Continue living. Continue loving and caring for your two children. Kagome would never want you to crawl up and die because of her. Do you understand me, InuYasha?"

InuYasha looked towards Izayio. In the small sliver of moonlight, she could be mistaken for Kagome except for her small hanyou ears. He thought of how, in about a week, they would both be human for a night. Izayio would be the spitting image of Kagome then.

He then thought of his unborn pup. Kagome loved it. Surely it too would have small pieces of Kagome in it. Though, as it would be more yokai, it would look closer to him, but it would still have little pieces of Kagome.

InuYasha twisted back to face Miroku and Moriko. Without a word, he whipped around and reentered the hut. He came out a few minutes later holding a sleeping Kagome.

Miroku and Moriko spilt apart and allowed him by as he headed towards their hut. Izayio looked up from her perch on her roots and looked undecided. InuYasha paused and sent a look at her.

"Come on, Izayio. We're going home." He then entered their small hut.

A smile flashed across Izayio's face before she stood and gracefully moved after them.

X

As InuYasha laid Kagome on their futon and lay next to her, he watched her face. She was peaceful as she slept; like she was the silly fifteen year old girl again that he had fallen in love with and not the mature twenty year old woman who was his mate. He held her closely to himself and he nuzzled her neck.

Four months. That was all he had. He would just have to make the best of it.

He fell asleep to the sounds of Kagome and Izayio's steady breathing.

I like you just the way you are.

Turned the tides now, didn't I? The final chapter, the epilogue, is all that remains. There will be a possible spin off. Review and tell me if you would like to see a spin off. Though, it might be better decided next chapter though. And, maybe, if anyone would like to see the ORIGINAL ending? This ending, my dear readers, has been born out of the reviewers who kept me going. You know who you are.

~Azarath101