Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, favs and follows! And WiccanMethuselah, are you the same from Dokuga? If so, holy squee myself, I'm honored! :3 Thank you all for your support, I hope you're all enjoying the new chapters. Don't forget to review and tell me what you did and didn't like!
Chapter 41
The palace was a whirlwind of excitement and activity once again. Yoko showed up the very next day upon hearing the news to plan and plot all sorts of baby events with her friend and fellow lady. Of course precautions had to be made and maintained. Sesshomaru was convinced that although Kagome had done an admirable job earning the loyalty and faith of many demons that there were still those out there that wished to do her harm for marrying a taiyoukai and now for preparing to birth a hanyou by him.
"I'm fine, Fubuki…" a vein stood out on Kagome's forehead as the elemental piled pillows behind the stewing miko.
"Now, now, Kagome. No need to take out your hormones on me," he chided cheerily, earning a covered giggle from Akiko.
"I'm not even showing yet!" Kagome protested loudly, waving her arms in irritation at the fawning man.
"Hooo… this is going to be a long few months, huh?" he chuckled and winked at Akiko who blushed.
"Oh get a room you two," Kagome groused, crossing her arms over her bosom making Akiko flush deeper and Fubuki's throaty laughter filled the room.
Sesshomaru's newfound resistances were also a large topic of conversation amongst the ruling lords and many suggestions were raised concerning ways to defend and protect themselves from the potent powers of their enemies. The taiyoukai convened at the western estate often to conduct meetings and share research, their concerns rising with each meeting. Nothing seemed to be turning up and the Seisenmin were strangely quiet. No one seemed to be able to find a base of operations and every time an encampment was found they would rapidly retreat and go to ground. It was also becoming increasingly difficult to make out which humans were part of the group and which were normal villages. In the interest of not terrorizing the human population they refrained from anything that would appear to be a 'witch hunt.'
Despite humanity's popular belief, the four lords were more interested in protecting their human counterparts than destroying them. Had they desired to they could have already. Humans didn't seem to realize this however.
As Kagome grew in size, so too did their trepidation. It didn't seem sensible that they couldn't find anything at all.
The shoji screen snapped open, though all the taiyoukai within had heard her coming they all pretended to be surprised when they saw her standing there.
"Why Kagome-sama, you look wonderful," Takehiko said amicably, determined not to stare at the growing belly of the priestess who stood in the doorway looking slightly disgruntled. The northern lord was sure Sesshomaru greatly missed the light tread the miko used to possess.
"Kagome, dear… where is Akiko?" Sesshomaru asked innocently, steepling his fingers in front of him on his desk and gazing at her over them, his eyes dancing with laughter at her clearly annoyed expression.
"I don't need a babysitter, you ass. The baby is still in my stomach in case you missed it," she pointed at the rather large bump that was forming on her abdomen. "When were those new kimonos supposed to arrive? I'm tired of barely being able to close my robes," she groused. The robes were clearly rapidly becoming too small and Sesshomaru considered her with dancing eyes.
"My fellow lords. I am afraid we need to cease our talk of strategy and issues of estate and war because a more important matter has come up. My wife needs new robes," he ducked the scroll she chucked at him from the stand on the wall to her right, working hard to suppress his chuckle in front of the other lords.
"My, my Sesshomaru. I'm so glad you married her. You're actually personable and funny now," Takehiko laughed at the evilly arched eyebrow Sesshomaru shot his way.
Unknownst to the happy western household and their allies, the Seisenmin were growing immeasurably in power and influence, kept carefully out of the scouts watchful eyes, they gathered followers, holy relics, and slowly built reserves. The taiyoukai had ruled for centuries and their holdings would not be toppled easily. In secret they forged weapons, trained recruits and convinced every human they came across that theirs was the correct way. Those who opposed them were quickly, efficiently and quietly dealt with. A human not allied to them was considered a traitor.
The priestess Yui knelt before a shrine, deep in meditation as Kenshin, the leader of the monk branch of their operation approached and bowed low, paying tribute to the Kami she meditated to before waiting for her to speak.
"Yes?" she said in clipped tones.
"The scouts confirmed it. The former priestess Kagome has wed the malicious demon lord Sesshomaru. There is new news as well, however. She is with child," her eyes opened, filled with anger and disgust.
"As we thought. She must be possessed of a relic or perhaps the still completed Shikon no tama to allow her to continue to utilize holy powers. She and the child will be a nuisance, and a tool to use against the foul demon, nothing more. We still have a long way to go before we are prepared for an all out assault. Until then let your men know to be patient. We do not wish to anger the disgusting demons and rally them against us so soon. Make sure you are mobile. If they plan to attack we must be gone before they arrive.
"Continue recruiting outside the lord's lands only. Those within are not worth our time and will be crushed under our heel as traitors as we march through," the monk nodded with a malicious twinkle in his eye. Humans had suffered long enough under the rule of the demons. What was waiting a little while longer to exterminate them once and for all?
He rose and quietly stalked off, his robes swishing about him and his staff clanking softly.
Kagome's belly grew very big very quickly over the following months, alarming the miko at first. Yoko and Akiko patiently explained that youkai pregnancies did not last as long as human ones did and that her being human would probably not make much of a difference in the time frame. Kagome missed no opportunity to blame the demon lord of the west for her discomfort. Blame which he took in stride, usually twisting it around on her, claiming she enjoyed every minute of it.
One such evening Kagome sat in the dining hall on a stack of cushions, wolfing down every plate of food the staff placed in front of her while Sesshomaru watched in amusement. His little miko had actually lost weight during her pregnancy due to being unable to continue training, some of her muscle tone waning slightly, not that he minded. He was frankly amazed she didn't gain weight from the way she ate.
Finally satisfied she sat back and sighed, placing a hand on her round belly and the other behind her to support her, shooting a narrow eyed glance at her husband.
"Don't you dare make any comments, you brute. I don't have a dog form to eat in like you do," he chuckled and rose to his feet to help her up. His rotund wife had difficulties rising to her feet the bigger she got, and she still had another month to go.
"Mocking you is the least of my worries, my dear wife. I am just glad you are feeding our son properly," she raised an eyebrow up at him.
"What makes you think it's a boy?" her arms cradled her burden as had become usual for her, almost appearing to hug it protectively.
"The shift in the hormones in your scent," he said confidently. "And brace yourself, he is going to grow a bit more before he is ready to face the world," she groaned and placed a hand over her eyes.
"Oh Kami… if he does, I'm going to pop!" he chuckled and took his wife gently by the arm, leading her to the gardens for their customary walk, which usually consisted of her plopping down by the koi pond and dangling her feet in the water. 'Swollen ankles' she claimed. Not that he minded, now that she was his he went out of his way to pamper her in between teasing the living daylights out of her.
"So," she said as he settled her down gently in her favorite spot, "if it really is a boy, what are we naming him?" she looked up at him curiously as he made sure she was comfortable and then folded himself elegantly, earning himself an irritated eyebrow from the woman as he sat, further making her feel like a graceless blimp.
"I had thought it over a little, but nothing definite came to mind," he admitted and she nodded, swishing her feet gently in the cool water.
"I had thought maybe we could name him after your half brother, but perhaps that is not such a good idea," she said leaning back on one hand with her other wrapped around her front. He nodded his agreement.
"The child will be a hanyou," Sesshomaru stated, causing her to look up at him in concern, "however he will be our son and if what happened to us during our consummation holds true, then he may very well be possessed of your miko skills and resistances as well as his half demon blood which will give him an enormous advantage," Kagome nodded, relieved that he didn't seem to mind the fact that his son will be a half breed. "You have been careful to not use your holy powers at all?" he questioned and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Of course I have. Until we're sure it won't hurt him then I act like every other normal human in existence. I haven't used my powers in months," the tone of her voice told him clearly just how much she missed using them as well as her training. A sympathetic arm went around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Fear not, little wife. It will be finished soon and you will be able to resume your schedule from before," he paused, "with some exceptions," she looked up at him curiously. "Well other than the obvious need to care for an infant, when he becomes older I have the distinct feeling that … he will inherit some of our personalities," her eyebrows rose in question, begging him elaborate. "Though a quiet child, I tended to be rather curious and this landed me in quite a bit of trouble in my youth," Kagome smiled, enjoying her mental image of a miniature Sesshomaru. The demon lord snorted. "And let us hope he does not take after my extremely loud, boisterous, and idiotic half brother," Kagome laughed.
The days continued to pass quickly with Kagome complaining the whole way, much to her husband's amusement and exasperation. He couldn't quite blame her though, carrying a demon child could be taxing on a youkai and he knew Izaoi had struggled with InuYasha's birth as well. Oh wouldn't his father be so amused by his son if he could see him now? Take that, for your stupid homosexual comments, Sesshomaru thought to himself with a chuckle.
The occasional pang of guilt did plague him however. Memories of that night. The night of InuYasha's birth tended to surface frequently as his wife grew in girth, reminding him of the callous words he had spoken to his father. Now he understood. How he could kick himself. Perhaps if he had not been so selfish and power hungry his father might still be alive. How might that have changed things? And now, almost a century later, he was following in his father's footsteps. Only a century, had it really been so short a time?
One night a few weeks later Sesshomaru heard the oddest sound as he was finishing his paperwork before preparing to join his wife in bed. The miko should have been in bed asleep already and he rose from his desk, hurrying down the hallway in the direction of the sound and the now odd smell that was flooding the halls. Rounding a corner he found Kagome waddling slowly along, one hand on the wall for support, her other encircling her belly and her head low, sweat standing out on her brow. Clearly she had been heading for him.
"Kagome, what are you doing out of bed and without Akiko?" he asked immediately coming to her side to support her. With concern he noticed his wife was breathing hard and didn't seem to be able to straighten.
"Akiko…" she panted, "went to the kitchens to get me something. I wasn't feeling well, but after she left," she panted harder, her face now a slight grimace, "I started getting these weird muscle spasms and these cramps started," she waved her hand in front of her belly as if illustrating and her eyes had a glazed over, pained expression in them. His eyes went wide in panic and he immediately shouted for a servant.
"Get Akiko and have her ready our room, Kagome is going into labor," Kagome gasped audibly at his statement in between breaths and she grimaced again.
"This is too early," she whispered, the cramps were coming faster and she felt weak in the knees.
"It will be fine," he assured her, supporting her better so she wasn't so burdened, "birth times are an approximation anyway," despite the calming aura he was projecting to her he couldn't help worrying. It was a little early. Slowly he helped her waddle her way back to their shared room, realizing how small his tiny little miko was. Would her body be able to withstand the trauma of birthing his child? Quickly he shoved these thoughts aside and focused completely on Kagome, leading her to the bed and helping her lay down, piling pillows around her to make her more comfortable as she began panting more heavily.
Akiko came barreling into the room followed by Fubuki, the nursemaid, the healer and a few servants carrying basins of water, cloths and herbs.
"Well isn't it just a fucking parade in here," Kagome ground out through gritted teeth as she gripped her husband's hand, completely missing his snort. Oh my appropriate, polite little Kagome, he snickered silently to himself despite the situation. Gently he sat on the bed by her side and snagged a cloth from one of the wildly running around servants, mopping off her face and trying to relax her a little. Gratefully she laid her head back as he paid close attention to her face, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again and glancing at him.
"I love you, but this is ridiculous. Next child you get to give birth," her statement ended in a grunt as a new wave of contractions came over her and she shut her eyes tightly. He chuckled lightly.
"And miss watching the most amazing moments of my life? Never," he leaned close after she regained control of herself and snorted in derision at his comment. "You have never been more beautiful than you are right now, carrying my son and readying to bring him into our world," he whispered into her ear for only her to hear. Tears pricked her eyes and she wanted to kiss him and slap him at the same time.
"Beautiful?" she said incredulously up at him. "I feel like a beached whale!" he smiled and kissed her forehead as Akiko finished preparations and shooed most of the servants out of the room, save herself, the healer and Fubuki who became a cat and sat by her other side, his paw resting on the sheet next to her in silent support. He didn't want to drain her too much by remaining a human while she was giving birth.
"Oh, Kami!" Kagome exclaimed as a new wave of contractions swept her small frame. Akiko stood with the healer at the end of the bed, observing the miko's progress as their son readied to finally show himself.
"Breathe, Kagome-san, you need to take deep breaths," Akiko demonstrated to her and she tried to imitate, each time increasing in speed despite Akiko's attempts at slowing her. Eventually she gave up as more pain hit her, her breaths now becoming groans of pain as her face screwed up and her eyes closed tightly.
"You're doing great, Kagome-sama," the healer told her, "ok, it's time. You need to start pushing," he informed her gently and she groaned, complying despite the waves of contractions wracking her small body.
"Push, Kagome, you need to push!" Akiko encouraged her mistress, Kagome's hand around Sesshomaru's was like a vice as her little body strained, each push accompanied by loud grunts of pain and exertion.
Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed.
"Kagome, you're going to need to push harder, he's coming, but he needs you to help him get there," Akiko said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.
"I'M PUSHING, KAMI DAMNIT!" she yelled. Finally, as though a dam had broken he began to emerge.
"Good Kagome! Keep it up!" Akiko and the healer helped the process as it went along, finally pulling a beautiful and fully formed baby boy free. As Akiko wrapped the child in clean towels, a huge grin on her face the healer took care of the remaining part of the birth process while Sesshomaru kissed his wife's exhausted face all over.
"Sesshomaru-sama," the healers shaky voice stopped him and he looked down at the foot of the bed, his stomach dropping at the panicked look on the healer's face as the little demon hurriedly grabbed a bottle uncorked it and kept working. "She won't stop bleeding," Sesshomaru's eyes snapped to his wife's face, now unbelievably pale as her eyes were rolled upward and her head lolled to the side.
"No, Kagome! Kagome stay with me!" he pressured her, turning her head to face him, thumbing her cheek gently. "Kagome?" she didn't respond, her eyes fluttered slightly, rolling around in her head. Hastily the healer came to her head and dumped the whole vial of fluid down her throat before returning to his post at the bottom, tossing excessively bloodied towels to the side before attempting to stem the tide of blood with a new one. Akiko watched in great trepidation after cleaning the newborn and making sure the silent child was breathing.
A few heart stopping moments passed as the healer worked furiously, applying herbs and creating potions, trying to slow her rapidly flowing blood.
Pressing his forehead to hers, Sesshomaru willed her to be strong. His wife could do this, he knew it. Her cheeks cupped gently in his palms he laid against her for long, silent moments, waiting for something to happen.
Abruptly she took a deep cleansing breath and the flow of blood seemed to lessen. Cerulean blue eyes fluttered open tiredly and he kissed her soundly, resisting the urge to howl in triumph.
"Sesshou…" she whispered and he stilled her with a finger to her lips.
"You have lost a lot of blood, my love. Rest, you will need your strength to heal," she nodded before turning her head, searching for her child. Akiko came over to Sesshomaru's side with a clean little bundle, smiling widely before handing the infant off to his father.
The healer excused himself now that the situation was stabilized, not wishing to intrude on such a tender and private moment. As he closed the screen he couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face. He'd never in his whole long lifetime seen a smile like that on his lord's face. Shaking his head he continued off down the hallway.
Sesshomaru gazed down at his son in awe before seating himself on the bed next to his wife and turning the little bundle so she could take him in her shaking arms, tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks.
"He's perfect," she sniffled, "just like his father," she teased. A full head of metallic grey hair stuck out in all directions, almost hiding his twitching little ears, perched merrily on the top of his tiny little head. Cautiously he opened his squinted little eyes, gazing up at his parents with shimmering blue irises.
"Absolutely not, that hair is definitely your fault," she elbowed him as he smiled down at her before claiming her lips in a loving kiss.
"What is he to be called?" Akiko asked gently, taking out the family ledger, Fubuki seating himself by her side, purring madly. Kagome gazed down at her son.
"Keitaro," Kagome said quietly, touching her now sleeping son's cheek gently. Sesshomaru nodded his agreement to the appropriate name. Keitaro meant 'blessed.'
The palace was in an uproar of celebration once again. Sesshomaru remembered fondly the days before Kagome had come along and turned his life upside down how quiet things were back then. Boring too. He much preferred it now. Tell himself that thirty years ago and he would have cut you down for being stupid. He grinned internally.
Everyone invaded the palace to bring their well wishes to the newborn and his parents as well as bestow gifts on the family. All those who appeared seemed to carefully skirted around the subject of the child being a hanyou and did not comment on the spritely little ears perched on the child's head. Sesshomaru had declared his son to be his heir and you did not insult the heir to the western lands.
Many of the youkai dancing attendance hadn't even known of the western lord's marriage and thus brought appropriate gifts for that as well. Many a jealous youkai female was hurried out of the palace to prevent possible problems, their congratulatory statements having been made. Kagome was kept under constant guard, even when Sesshomaru was glued to her side, which was almost every waking minute. He had even moved some of his considerable paperwork into their room so as not to be separated from his new family.
Keitaro turned out to be an energetic little bundle of joy, keeping his parents up at all hours of the night to feed him and rock him. He very quickly learned how to laugh, this was mostly Yoko's fault, and was soon known to be one of the most jovial children any of them had encountered.
"He's going to be just like InuYasha. I knew it," his father groused one evening. "This is the Kami's punishing me for treating him badly earlier in our lives," he complained as his son bounced in his lap, the smile on his face betraying the harshness of his words. Kagome smiled and sat beside her husband.
"Serves you right, Ice Prince. You were pretty mean sometimes," she grinned at him and he rolled his eyes.
"I was making him stronger. Coddling does no one any good," he replied, kissing his giggling and gurgling son's forehead.
"But it's ok for our son," Kagome giggled right along with their child, making the child giggle harder.
"He got that from you by the way," Sesshomaru eyed his wife in mock disdain. "I never giggled as a child," he bemoaned and Keitaro giggled more before stuffing the sleeve of his father's haori in his mouth. "He got THAT from you too," smoothly he dodged her punch and laughed at her open mouthed indignation.