Chapter 26

Mattaki

I smiled as a scream echoed through the halls of the shiro. Everyone at the table stopped their chatter to look around, looks of confusion on their faces. The only person missing was Kagome who refused to get out of bed this morning.

She had been up most of the night, planning more pranks with Emma. I wasn't a fool and knew I would eventually become her target. It was only a matter of time so, why not beat her to the punch?

I could feel eyes on me, everyone wondering why I didn't get up and run to Kagome the moment she screamed. I could feel her anger through our bond, and I knew that she had met with my prank, so she was safe…just dirty.

"Father, what have you done?" Sesshomaru asked as the sound of Kagome yelling for Emma hit our sensitive ears. The demons at the table were the only ones who could currently hear the conversation the two were having.

"Did you think I would not know I would become Kagome's target? I simply beat her to it. Now she will remember that, if she chooses to prank me, I will return the favor tenfold." I answered, taking a sip of my tea as InuYasha and Kai snickered. Even Sesshomaru looked amused and I could only assume that was because someone had finally gotten the one woman who was never pranked. "Although Emma should watch her back as well. You never know, there may even be something hiding around the corner for her."

"What exactly did you do?" Sango asked, smiling slightly. In the few weeks she had been here, she had learned exactly how Kagome could be.

Kagome had gone to an artist that lived in a nearby village and had asked that he paint fifty promiscuous paintings. Within a week, he had her order completed, and Kagome had plastered them all over the monk and demon slayer's room.

They didn't know what hit them.

Not only were there naked women on their walls, there were also paintings of two women in the act of lovemaking, a man and a woman in the same fashion, and even a full-fledged orgy in another. Sango had stared in horror at what had become of their rooms while Miroku had promptly passed out with a nosebleed, all before his wife could even reprimand him for looking.

It had been quite amusing seeing the monk begging his wife to allow him to keep at least one painting as she burned the things, her own eyes carrying the same amount of fire that ate at the art. I hadn't known a full-grown man could cry like a child until Miroku had fallen to his knees as the last painting went up in flames.

Everyone at the table had fallen victim to Kagome's games, one way or another. Even the guards and servants had become victims. All except me, but I knew my time was coming. However, I was not looking forward to whatever my miko had planned, so I decided to turn the tables. The sound of her yelling told me that was exactly what happened.

By now, even the humans could hear her yells as she and Emma made their way towards us. I schooled my face into an indifferent mask and waited patiently. This would be good and memorable for everyone at the table.

The doors slammed open so hard, they bounced off the walls and closed once again. A feral growl on the other side indicated that the doors were very close to getting purified for not obeying Kagome's orders.

Finally, the guards opened the doors and attempted to stay out of the furious miko's way. When I saw exactly how well my prank had worked, it took everything I had not to laugh. My insides hurt from the effort of keeping my amusement locked away.

Other than Sesshomaru, no one else had the ability to keep their amusement hidden. InuYasha was laughing so hard, he had no choice but to bury his face into a chuckling Kanna's shoulder. Souta was just as loud as he was. Sango and Miroku were making comments about payback being a bitch, and Hitomi and Rin were laughing silently, trying not to anger the infuriated woman even more.

Kai was the idiot of the group.

He stood from the table and approached my woman, a wicked smile on his face. He circled around the tiny woman, taking in her appearance. She was covered in a very thick, very pungent, and very disgusting mud.

I had used the classic prank of perching a bucket over a slightly-opened door. This one was to our chambers. Kagome had become somewhat forgetful in her pregnancy and quite a few times, I would have to pull our doors shut.

This just worked into my plan. She wouldn't suspect anything by me leaving the door ajar. The only difference with this prank was the bit of rope that was tied around the bottom of the bucket. I didn't want to hurt my heavily pregnant mate so I had attached the other end of the rope to the roof, making sure she wouldn't be struck. The added benefit to this was that it ensured that the bucket would completely flip upside down. Every bit of the muddy slop would be deposited onto the unsuspecting victim when the prank was activated.

Even I was having to crinkle my nose at the smell that was radiating off of my mate. She was horrid.

"It seems as if you are attempting to convert into a hog, dear Kagome." Kai teased, smirking slightly. I rolled my eyes, knowing he had just dug his own grave. He hadn't meant to call her fat, but that was exactly how she would take it.

Before anyone could do anything, Kagome quickly struck…faster than a snake. Kai fell to the ground, holding his manhood and groaning slightly as a fuming Kagome stood over him. When she was sure he wouldn't be thinking coherently for a while, she turned her angry gaze on the rest of us.

The fire in her eyes suddenly had me thinking that maybe I should have taken her prank instead of retaliating. Kagome alone was feisty, her anger a force to be reckoned with, but add a pup and this dangerously-close-to-exploding-in-fury Kagome was just downright terrifying.

"Who did this?!" Kagome snarled through clenched teeth. She has been spending too much time around inus for her growl to sound that good. Even InuYasha's ears flattened against his head and his laughing stopped as the ire of his alpha female was clearly heard, even to the humans.

"Well?" Kagome asked when no one answered. She walked around the table slowly, looking over everyone as if she was searching their soul for an answer.

When she stood behind InuYasha, and he ducked down so much, it seemed as if he had no neck, I knew he would cave. He, out of everyone, had more of a reason to be scared of the miko because of the beads around his neck.

What I wasn't expecting was for her hands to shoot out and grab a hold of InuYasha's ears. He instantly jumped up and begged for release as she tortured the sensitive things.

"It was Pops!" InuYasha yelled, making me sigh. Kagome let go of his ears and he fell to his face with a groan.

My eyes widened slightly as Kagome turned to me slowly, but I quickly schooled my features. I would not show fear. I was the alpha and I could do as I pleased. Of course, the wicked gleam that entered Kagome's eyes at that moment had me second-guessing.

"I'm not even going to ask why." She replied, her voice much calmer than I thought it would be. "In fact, your prank may turn out to work in my favor. You see, Mattaki, there was a reason I wanted to wait a bit before I joined you all for the afternoon meal. I did not want my face to give away what I had planned."

"Kagome…" I warned, wondering exactly what it was she had done.

"Stand up, my love." She ordered sweetly. She grinned at me, and if she had fangs, she would have reminded me of a feral female inu yokai. It sent shivers down my spine.

Cautiously, I attempted to do as she asked, only for my eyes to widen in shock. I couldn't. Not only was my ass currently stuck to my chair, but even my feet seemed to be molded into the floor beneath me. I struggled slightly before snapping my eyes towards my mate.

"What have you done?" I questioned, terror filling me as Kagome began stepping closer towards my person.

"You see, I had the sudden urge to place glue in your chair and under it. Honestly, I assumed it wouldn't work. I figured you would have smelled the stuff, but now I see your mind was too preoccupied by what you did to your pregnant mate." Kagome explained, holding up her hand and looking at the mud-covered appendages that wiggled as the wickedly feral grin grew on her face again.

I couldn't help but gulp as she slowly reached that same hand towards me. I backed away as much as I could but quickly reached my limit as my glued ass protested my movement. I could see everyone watching curiously as I watched my mate.

"What are you doing, Woman?" I growled, snarling slightly as a mud-covered finger continued to slowly make its way towards me. I attempted to grab her hands before I realized that she had placed glue on the armrests, too. When I had been trying to hide my amusement earlier, I had placed my hands there to help control myself. Now I was regretting every decision I had made since this morning.

Finally, her hand made contact with my face and I groaned. One little swipe was all she did, but it was enough. Her finger ran just under my nose, smearing the disgusting filth under it. When she pulled away, I looked at her before my eyes widened.

And then I sneezed.

My nose was sensitive as it was, and having this vile concoction directly under my nose was overloading my senses. So, my body was doing what it needed to get the damn things under control. I, Inu no Taisho, one of the greatest inu daiyokai in existence, was sneezing…repeatedly.

"You see, I was only planning on leaving you glued for a few moments, but now, I think I will let you suffer for a bit longer. I do, after all, need to clean myself. I have no idea how long that will take, but when I am finished, I will return and remove the glue." Kagome informed before turning and walking from the room with her head held high.

Once again, I sneezed.

The feral roar that left my throat had quite a few guards and servants scattering to safety as I struggled against the glue holding me. The laughter of my youngest pup hit my ears and I struggled even more against my bonds.

"Pup, if you continue to laugh, the moment I am free of this fucking chair, I will take you over my knee and whip you until your pale ass matches that of the robe you currently wear." I snarled, my eyes bleeding red.

InuYasha shut up instantly at my beastly voice. Sesshomaru decided that it was best for the others to leave to ensure their safety. As he escorted the group from the dining hall, he turned and took one last look at me, smirking at the sneeze and whimper that forced their way from my throat.

-sSs-

Three hours. That was how long Kagome left me tied to that chair. The moment I was released, I orbed to our chambers, my mate in my hands. I gently tossed her to the bed, making sure no harm would come to the pup, and jumped into the spring, clothing and all.

When I surfaced, my face cleaned of the vile stuff, Kagome was laughing hysterically. At least until she caught sight of my red eyes and heard the low warning growl I released. She didn't even have time to react before I pounced.

I very thoroughly showed her why I was alpha in as many ways as possible. I made sure she screamed to all that could hear that I made her submit to me. For hours on end, I brought her to release after release until she was begging for me to stop.

Even then, I continued until her entire body trembled and tears fell from her eyes. This would be a night she remembered for eternity. She would never again question who she belonged to and just who made her submit over and over again. I was the alpha, and she had been fully punished.

We laid on our bed, my head resting on her highly-swollen stomach, listening to the fast heartbeat of my pup. I was slightly worried about how quick the pup's heartbeat was, but Kagome assured that children carried faster heartbeats than adults.

While I agreed, I couldn't fight the thought that something wasn't quite right. I may not have been present through Izayoi's full pregnancy with InuYasha, but I had visited her on occasion. Even InuYasha's heart had not beaten as quickly as hers.

I was sure our pup was female, especially after talking with Hitomi. Apparently, for as long as the woman could remember, her line always birthed females first. It was just a given, and nothing seemed to ever change it. I hoped with every fiber of my being that this was true. I would love the pup no matter what, however, I could not help but to wish for a daughter. I had my sons. Now I wanted something different.

I was slightly surprised when a sudden kick connected with my cheek. I leaned up some and looked down at the tiny foot that was pressing against Kagome. Our pup had been kicking for some time now. Kagome only had a month left to go before we finally get to meet our bundle.

It seemed that our little girl grew more and more active every day. I ran my thumb over the footprint, smiling as she pulled the thing back and it disappeared back into the depths of Kagome's womb.

I laid my head back against Kagome's stomach as my mate reached up and ran her fingers through my hair. We enjoyed the companionable silence that nights like this held. It was comforting and relaxing just for us to cuddle together.

With that said, I was not expecting the very hard kick that connected with my ear, sending a sharp pain through it. I sat up, instantly growling as my ears rang from the pain of the kick. I could hear Kagome laughing at me as I glared at her stomach.

"I do not understand. Do you somehow have oni mixed in with your blood?" I asked Kagome, glaring at her as her laughter subsided into giggles. I rubbed my hand over my ear, glad that the ringing was finally beginning to stop.

"I guess she is going to take after her father." Kagome teased. I looked back towards her stomach to see a perfect imprint of my daughter's foot. I growled slightly before poking it and once again watched the thing retreat to safety.

"If this is any indication of her personality, I do not believe we will survive." I mumbled, laying back down beside Kagome. I ran my hand under her, pulling her to me as much as her stomach would allow.

"We'll be fine." She soothed before she sighed. "Can I ask you something, Mattaki?"

"Of course, Little One." I answered, nuzzling my nose against her dark hair and breathing in deeply.

"Is Sesshomaru okay with me being pregnant? It almost seems as if he pulled away from me when he found out. I feel like I've lost my friend." She admitted, making me look up at the roof for a moment. I flared out my aura, calling my son to me. I knew this was something he would need to hear because even I had noticed the way he was pulling away from my mate. When I was sure he was within hearing distance of the conversation, I began soothing my mate.

"Sesshomaru…he has never been comfortable around pups. For a few centuries, he was an only child and, with the training he was forced to undergo as my heir, he never really had time to associate with others. I had hoped that would change with InuYasha's birth…you know how that turned out." I explained, rumbling in my chest when the smell of Kagome's tears reached my nose.

"Will he ever be my friend again?" She sniffled.

"I believe that once he gets used to the idea of our pup, he will realize what he is doing." I answered, noticing the way Sesshomaru's aura screamed of guilt as he stood outside my door.

"I miss him, Mattaki. He saved me. When no one else was there for me, he was. He picked up the pieces I was and kept them safe until you came along to put them back together. I don't want to lose my friend." She sobbed, burying her head in my chest as she began to cry harder. I was glad she couldn't use her reiki at the moment. If she knew Sesshomaru was at our door, she wouldn't be saying what she was at the moment.

"Sesshomaru is not willing to let go of your friendship. He may not admit it but you are his first true friend. Even Rin was not as understanding of him as you were, at least not until she was a grown woman. You, however, were there for him just as much as he was there for you." I both comforted, and lectured. I was helping my mate to calm down while making Sesshomaru understand what he was losing by acting the way he had been.

"I hope you're right. He is my best friend, even more so than InuYasha or Sango. It would hurt to lose him." She whispered, finally calming down slightly.

"Rest now, Kagome. I have a feeling this matter will resolve itself." I ordered, pressing my lips against her forehead. I could feel Sesshomaru walking away from the room, his aura still filled with guilt, but now also determination.

One thing Sesshomaru was not was a failure. He would never allow his fear of pups to bring him down or ruin something he has in any way, including his relationship with my miko. All will be fine between the two. If Kagome and InuYasha could come back from what he did, Sesshomaru and Kagome would thrive.

-sSs-

The whole thing with Sesshomaru and Kagome will play into the next chapter. It may take a while for me to get out my chapters. Not only am I working on three stories, I have two more floating around in my head that won't leave. Lol. Plus if you add my personal problems on top of that it may be hard for me to post chapters as quickly as I normally would. Don't worry though, I will not leave you all hanging for long. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a slight filler until the ending. I believe quite a few of you will like the next chapter.

This story doesn't have much more to go before it's finished. Maybe about five chapters before it's over. It's the same with my unexpected love story, then I will be starting on two new ones. I'll let yall know when it happens though.

Shout outs:

DogDemoness108, DarknessInu1991, Tennyo Ch'ang-O, Quercy, Kalsifer, CresentWolf1,TheForgottenPrincess, sychofairy95: Thank you all for favoriting this story. I am glad that you all enjoy it so much.

Jazzyhot003, DarknessInu1991, mary.I,kraft, ShaleenaDante, callac, Kalsifer, KayMay090, TneForgottenPrincess, sychofairy95: Thank you for following this story. I will do my best to keep it interesting for you.

DogDemoness108: Thank you for your review, and I am glad you like it so much.

Matsuo Hotaro: I got your reviews on all of the past chapters. I'm not even sure if you are on this chapter yet, so I can't answer any of your questions without giving things away. However, I am grateful for your reviews and I thank you for letting me know how you feel about my story.

My3rdeyes: I am glad to have you reading another one of my stories. Thank you.

RedDrake323: A lot of people were excited about them getting together. Which I'm glad about. Kagome already knew that Kai wanted to court her mother. So it wasn't much of a surprise. IT was only about a sentence long, but when Hitomi thinks about how Kagome explained demon mating customs, it says that Kagome already knew. Lol. Kagome's baby will be born in the next chapter, so I imagine that will make you happy.

Slvrphoenx: I am glad you liked everything I did with the story so far. I wanted to go ahead and tie up loose ends when it came to the couples because this story will be ending soon. I am glad that you and everybody else agreed with my couple choices. Lol.

DarkAngel8605: I couldn't send them away. Kagome would want her mother around for her first pregnancy. Plus some of my readers would kill me. No more pranks on Sesshomaru but instead a return prank on Kagome. I hope this was as good as pranks on Sesshomaru. I could never leave Mattaki unpranked. Lol.

JJ(Guest): I am glad you are happy for Hitomi. Thank you for your review.

Decadenceofmysoul: Thank you for your review. I am glad you like what I have done so far.

I do not own InuYasha.