Chapter 27

Sesshomaru

Two weeks.

That is how long it has been since I overheard that conversation between Father and the miko. Unfortunately, it has made me think. Have I been pushing the miko away? The one woman who has never wanted anything from me other than for someone to talk to? Even Rin couldn't claim that; she is my mate after all.

Am I letting the…fear…of her pup run my life? So much so that I have begun to avoid the one true friend I have? Have I become so pathetic that something so defenseless is causing me to shy away from the people whom I trust?

Is that the problem? That the pup is weak, and I am, once again, letting my views on humans into the equation? No. That cannot be it. The pup may be hanyou, but even InuYasha has proven that Father's blood breeds strong. Plus, the miko is no Izayoi. She is powerful herself so their pup will be strong, maybe even stronger than InuYasha.

So, why? Why am I pulling away from the woman? Just because she is pupped? This is something that needs to be resolved. I do not wish for my friend, even if I won't admit it out loud, to cry. Not to mention, soon, I will need an heir. Would I act like this with my own mate and son?

No. I am Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, and I will not allow such a simple thing to make decisions for me. From this day forward, things will change. I will let nothing stop me when it comes to my pack. I am beta after all, and I must protect what is mine, both physically and emotionally. Kagome included.

I stood from the tree I had been sitting against. I had needed some time away from everyone to think, and this had been a perfect spot. Having come to a conclusion, it was now time to find the miko and make her see that my past actions would not happen again.

I simply needed to find her. She and Father had gone for a walk earlier this morning. Kagome had been restless and had practically begged him to take her on a stroll. Father, of course, said yes. However, that was a few hours ago, and I was close enough to the palace to feel that they had yet to return.

Something in the bottom of my spine was telling me to look for them. Father would never keep the miko away for this long, not in the condition she was in. I shot out my aura, searching for the miko, and was surprised by what I found.

The moment my aura touched hers, it was as if she reached out and grasped on to mine, never letting go. I could feel her panic and pain. What worried me even more was the feel of Father's aura. It almost felt feral, as if his beast was close to surfacing.

Not letting go of the miko, I took off running in their direction. It only took me a few minutes to get to them, but when I did, what I saw shocked me. Kagome was perched against a tree, sobbing. Father was in between her spread legs, his hands shaking and his eyes the reddest I have ever seen.

The smell alone told me exactly what was happening. The miko was in labor. I immediately understood why Father was going feral. There is a reason why males are not allowed in the birthing chamber, at least for demons.

When our mates are in pain, it is our instinct to kill whatever is hurting them. While we would never kill our own pup, in our worry, we may end up hurting both of them. Father was struggling to fight back his beast which was why he was shaking as bad as he was.

"Can she not be moved?" I asked, wincing slightly at the suppressed scream Kagome held back. Father shook his head, unable to answer.

"No. I'm too far along." Kagome started, panting as tears fell down her face. "I didn't know I was in labor. That's why I wanted to walk. If I had known…"

"Silence, Miko. Reserve your strength." I ordered before looking towards my sire. "Father, your mate needs you. If you allow your beast control, you cannot help her the way you need to. You are the Inu no Taisho. Do not let your beast win."

I watched as Father took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were a little less red, but still dark. He nodded at me and began rubbing Kagome's thighs. When I looked back towards Kagome, I could see her glancing at me, not wanting to get caught.

I slowly walked towards her, not wanting to startle Father in his current state. When I was beside her, I took off my armor and set it on the ground. When I was freed of the contraption, I sat beside her, leaning my back against the same tree as her.

"You don't have to be here–" Kagome started, but stopped when another contraction coursed through her body. I patiently waited for her to calm down so she could finish her sentence. "I know you're not comfortable around pups–"

"Enough, Kagome." I interrupted, making her look at me. It was not often I said her name, and it always got her attention. I didn't know what to say to her at this point so I let my actions speak for me.

I held out my hand.

For a second, she just looked at it, and I thought she would refuse me. I was relieved when she took it. At least until she had a contraction. I hadn't been expecting the strength of her grip and even my eyes widened at it. However, I didn't pull away.

It wasn't long before I could hear the pup being pushed from Kagome. The moment she was freed, and in a more-controlled Father's arms, Kagome relaxed against me, panting heavily.

Father was looking down at his pup with wide eyes. It was easy to see the adoration he felt for her at first meeting. I couldn't help but wonder if I would carry that look when my heir was born. I had never seen someone carry such a gaze before, and even I had to admit it was fulfilling.

"Is she healthy?" Kagome asked, looking up at Father as he kissed his pup on the forehead.

"She is perfect." Father answered, leaning over Kagome and gently handing the pup to its mother.

I was curious, I'll admit it. I didn't even realize I had been leaning over, trying to look at the tiny thing, until Kagome's blue eyes met mine. Her smile towards me very nearly made me run, but I stayed for her.

Instead, I reached out a clawed finger and, very hesitantly, ran it down the pup's cheek. I was quite surprised when her hand shot out and wrapped around my appendage. My mouth even dropped slightly, but I quickly closed it.

"Look. She likes her big brother." Kagome laughed while Father chuckled.

"You see, Son, there is nothing wrong with a pup." Father teased, making me growl slightly. At my growl, the pup's ears twitched towards me, and everyone, including myself, smiled at her responsiveness.

She looked much like Father. She didn't carry any markings, as I did, but she did have the golden eyes of our line and the silver hair. Her ears looked just like InuYasha's, only cuter. I growled again and was rewarded with another ear twitch.

She wasn't so bad after all.

Mattaki

I watched my eldest with my youngest. It was easy to see he was already wrapped around her finger, and she didn't even have a name yet. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face as I ran my fingers through Kagome's hair, getting the soggy tresses off of her face.

"You did beautifully." I soothed, watching as she smiled up at me.

"You did well, too. Even if I had to walk you through everything." She teased, making me smile.

"It is lucky Sesshomaru showed up when he did. My beast was very near the surface." I continued, looking at my son who didn't even seem to notice I was speaking. He was still looking down at my daughter as if she was the only one there.

"Son." I called, finally gaining his attention. "Take her, please. Kagome still needs to finish with the birth."

Fear.

That was what just flashed through his eyes. He pulled back from my daughter so quickly that he startled her, making her cry. I narrowed my eyes at him, about to say something, when Kagome beat me to it.

"Please, don't leave." Kagome begged, making Sesshomaru freeze. "You won't hurt her, I promise. Just hold your arms like I am."

I could see the wheels in Sesshomaru's head turning. It was easy to see he was waging an internal battle inside of himself on what he wanted to do. Finally, and to my relief, he nodded and mimicked the way Kagome was holding her arms.

Gently, she leaned up and placed my daughter in Sesshomaru's arms. He tensed immediately but didn't move away. When Kagome let go completely, Sesshomaru couldn't take his eyes off of his little sister. He was spellbound.

I used this chance to help Kagome with the afterbirth. Once she was cleaned as much as she could be, I walked over to my son and held out my haori. He looked up at me, confused, and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"It is time to take them to the palace. I want them both to be looked over by Nora. It is too cold for her to stay bare. Use my haori to wrap her until we get back." I ordered. Sesshomaru nodded and very carefully took my clothing and wrapped it around my daughter. I gently picked up Kagome, trying to make sure she wasn't jostled too much, and began walking towards the palace, Sesshomaru following behind me.

"We have to name her." Kagome reminded although she was already half-asleep.

"Keiko." Sesshomaru jumped in, making both Kagome and myself look at him. He stopped and looked at us with shock on his face. It was very easy to see he had not meant to say that out loud.

"Adored one…I like it." I stated, looking down at Kagome for approval.

"She is definitely adored." Kagome chuckled, looking back towards Sesshomaru again.

"Thank-you, Son, for naming my daughter." I teased, chuckling as his eyes narrowed towards me. The moment Keiko made a cooing sound, I was forgotten, and she held all of her brother's attention.

It took about an hour to return to the palace. I refused to run because I didn't want to risk injuring Kagome. Needless to say, the moment we arrived, news traveled quickly. I barely had time to get my mate and pup to Nora before we were bombarded.

I could hear the entire pack outside the shoji screen as Nora checked over my females. The healer had to pop Sesshomaru for growling at her the moment she tried to take Keiko. At least she has one brother who will protect her. I have no idea how InuYasha will react yet.

When Keiko and Kagome were cleaned and resting, I finally opened the screen for the rest of the pack to enter. Sesshomaru was standing guard over Kagome and not taking his eyes from everyone in the room.

"Where is the runt?" InuYasha asked. He was the first one to enter the room. At his slight insult, he was having to jump out of reach of Sesshomaru's claws.

"You will refrain from such insults, Half-breed." Sesshomaru snarled, making me laugh.

"Needless to say, she has a very protective big brother." I interrupted, stopping my sons from fighting in the nursing room.

"Since I am the grandmother, I get to see her first." Hitomi stated, pushing her way past everybody. I placed an arm on Sesshomaru's shoulder, keeping him from growling at anyone else.

Keiko, of course, was passed around to everyone, even InuYasha. I noticed when Kanna held her, my youngest son got a certain look in his eye. It was quite obvious just what he was thinking. Finally, after some time, everyone had a chance to greet the new life.

I made everyone leave as Kagome yawned for what had to be the hundredth time. She was currently feeding our daughter, and I sat beside her on the futon. She was leaning her head against my shoulder, her eyes closed.

I ran my hand over Keiko's full head of hair and couldn't stop the amount of love that washed over me. I hadn't really gotten a chance to stop long enough to let it register that I now had a daughter. Looking at the little bundle in my mate's arms now made that fact very real.

I was now the proud father of three: two sons and a daughter. Of course, Keiko would be the most protected out of all of them. Her older brothers would never allow anything to happen to her, nor would I.

I couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before Sesshomaru pupped Rin.

-sSs-

Well, here you go, it's kinda short but, everyone now gets to meet Keiko. I hope you all got to enjoy this story. There won't be many more chapters for this, maybe like three or four including the epilogue. So prepare yourself because the end is coming. Lol.

Rant (I am posting this on all of my stories.): I am also thinking about turning off guest reviews. I have no problem with negative reviews, as long as they are constructive criticism and in some way can help with my story. I have said this many times. Not only in this story, but also on my others. These last few chapters on all three stories I have been working on, I have been getting not only negative reviews, but insulting ones as well. If you don't like my story, that is fine. You are entitled to your opinion. No one is forcing you to read them either, but what aggravates me, is you insult me under a guest review. Not only can I not message you to defend myself, away from others eyes, you are hiding behind an anonymous identity. I really don't want to turn off guest reviews, because I have quite a few people who enjoy my story and review under a guest name. All I ask from my readers, if they decide to review negatively, give me pointers, things I can do to make this story more pleasing for my readers. Do not insult me because you don't like my story. If you dislike it so much just move on. The only good thing about you reviewing as a guest is I can choose whether or not it shows up on my story. If you insult me, it will be deleted. If you are giving pointers, it will stay, just like many others have. Just be mature about this, and if you can't be and have to insult me, don't hide. At least allow me to defend myself in a private message. Thank you for everyone else who reviews, both negative and positive. I look forward to getting reviews from everyone…as long as I'm not getting insulted by an anonymous guest. Lol. End Rant.

Shoutouts:

Lorelei: Thank you for favoriting this story. I am glad you like it.

Lorelei, Kitty with a Snipper, LeahmSully: Thank you for following this story. I will do my best to keep it interesting.

LazuriteSix: They don't add much to it. I had quite a few readers asking me to do another prank, so I did. Lol. It was literally just a filler chapter. But the pranks are over with.

RedDrake323: He is definitely closer to Kagome now. Lol. I think you will really like one of my new stories, it will be somewhat like hatred, but not. It will have to do with a war against monks and miko's and I am actually really excited for it.

DogDemoness108: Thank you for your kind review. I am glad that you think so highly of my story.

LADY SILVERFOX: I hope I did what you asked to your liking. I've never been pregnant so I am not entirely sure how it feels lol. But I tried to go by your last review.

Victoria cullen34: Sesshomaru will be wrapped around Keiko's finger from here on out. Lol. He is a very protective big brother.

Jazzmon(Guest): We get a preview of Sesshomaru acting like a doting big brother in this chapter. However, the next chapter will also have some Sesshomaru and Keiko action.

Decadenceofmysoul: There relationship is fixed, but not too much happened. It was mostly Sesshomaru thinking.

Whovian212: Thank you for your review, and I am glad that you liked it.

DarkAngel8605: I am glad you like my pranks, not many people did. Lol. I wanted to change things up and luckily I did. Thank you for your review.

I do not own InuYasha.