Light of My Life

Light of My Life

Title: Light of My Life

Author: kazeko

Series: Inuyasha

Rating: R

Archive: Sesshoumaru/Kagome

Characters: Sesshoumaru/Kagome, Inuyasha/Koyama, Sango/Miroku

Summary: A powerful prophecy brings mortal enemies together, but prejudice may well tear them apart and spell the end of all inuyoukai.

Disclaimer: No ownership.


Chapter 20: To Keep a Secret


Inuyasha sighed and counted heads, wondering how he could convince his brother that Akihikomaru should not go to Edo. He knew what had happened, he knew that Kagome had given birth, and there was no way he could tell Sesshoumaru that. He accepted the assignment, feigning ignorance, and took his nephew into the pack. Akihiko was a little nervous about being away from his pack, his siblings, and especially his father, but he knew that he was safe with his uncle and the Fire Stripe inu youkai.

Inuyasha gathered his pups and introduced them to Akihiko, watching as Katsumi, the Alpha Pup, examined the boy. She apparently approved of Kaori's Beta and began to introduce her brothers and sisters. Inuyasha bowed to Sesshoumaru and turned to leave the Western Palace, freezing as a familiar voice called his name.

Satori joined Sesshoumaru and stared at the Fire Stripe Pack, golden eyes unreadable. "Well, you have certainly done well for yourself. An entire pack of your own."

"Hn."

If Satori was surprised to hear Sesshoumaru's famous monosyllabic response from his half-brother, she gave no sign. "An Alpha Pup, I hear, and born in inu form at that. Tell me, was it hard to kill that insufferable whelp Tentei?"

Inuyasha grinned, baring a fang. It seemed that Satori was declaring a truce, now that he had a pack and position of his own. "As if a weakling like him could be stronger than my father's blood."

"Indeed. Take care of those children, Inuyasha."

"Naturally." Bowing slightly, Inuyasha returned to his pack, watching as they created a protective circle around the pups. Smiling at Koyama, he led the group east, toward Edo and Kagome.


"There's a whole pack of inuyoukai coming this way! Kagome-san, please do something about them!"

Kagome sighed and rubbed her forehead, already tired of the Headmaster's youngest son. He never quite trusted that most youkai were decent and the coyotes would protect the village from the ones that were not. "I will greet them in the forest. You have nothing to worry about," she assured him. She shooed him out of her home before turning to Rin. "Sometimes these villagers are quite a handful. Watch Seizukiko while I take the sisters to investigate this."

"Okay, Kagome-san. I will also finish making her new toy today."

"Good. I know she'll like it." Shouldering her quiver and grabbing her bow, the miko headed into the woods again. She gave a sharp whistle on the way, a call the sisters had taught her to use when she was going to confront youkai. Shishi, Senritsu, and Senmei arrived moments later, Sango and Miroku with them.

The tajiya hugged her friend, watching Miroku's infamous hand as the houshi did the same. Despite the fact that he was married with a baby on the way, Miroku still groped women on occasion. Thankfully, he kept his hands to himself. "What's all the fuss for, Kagome-chan?"

"One of the headman's sons said a large group of youkai was spotted in the woods. I can sense them a little, but they are hiding their youki from me. We are going to investigate, since that seems to be my primary job description these days."

Sango grinned. "I suppose they are getting used to being safe. How is Seizukiko?"

"Fine. Hungry all the time. I can never get a good night's sleep with her around."

Sango rubbed her own belly, the bulge barely visible. "I suppose that I will have to deal with that soon. Only four moons to go."

"You will have me to help you, my lovely Sango. There is nothing to worry about."

Something in Miroku's cheerful words stung Kagome, and she paused mid-step, thinking about the father of her child who could not be around to help her. Tears sprang to her eyes and she dashed them away angrily, smiling at her friends. "It's nothing."

"You are thinking about him again."

"Yeah, Senmei, I am. I'm sorry to do that so often."

"It is natural when you lose someone." The coyote raised her nose to the sky and sniffed, narrowing her eyes. "They are close. Part of the scent is familiar to me. Come, they are stopping inside the forest, and there are a lot of them."

They reached the area where Senmei scented the intruders and stumbled upon a sight none of them had expected. A squealing inu pup barreled past Kagome, six or seven more on her tail, another small group waiting on the other side of the clearing for the pup to run into them. The pup, a female with silver hair, sensed the trap, feinted to the right and leapt away, to the left, leaving the pups chasing her to collide with the ambush group. Stopping a few feet away, just beside Kagome, the pup with silver hair and red stripes on her face grinned her triumph.

"You think I would fall for that? Foolish pups! I am the Alpha Pup and above such trickery." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and froze, emerald eyes widening as she realized that they were not alone in the clearing. Turning slowly, she looked up at the miko towering above her, counting three coyote youkai, a houshi, and a tajiya. Instantly recognizing six threats to her life, the pup flashed away, howling for her parents. Nine of the other pups glanced at the intruders and followed their leader, only one male staying behind. His pale blue eyes studied Kagome a moment before he sniffed and grinned, running and leaping into her arms.

"Mother Kagome," he whispered, his golden tail wagging. "I've missed you."

"I missed you, too, Akihiko." She buried her nose in his hair and closed her eyes, inhaling his scent, remembering her time with his family. A moment later, a crashing noise announced the arrival of Inuyasha and Koyama, come to see what frightened their children. The hanyou grinned and crossed his arms over his chest when he realized how little threat there was.

"Oi! Gonna ignore me all day?"

Kagome grinned and kissed Akihiko's forehead before placing him on the ground and turning to her friend. "Sorry, Inuyasha; I had my hands full. I'm guessing those were your pups? All ten of them?"

Sango gasped, eyes flying to Koyama, feeling sympathy for the youkai who had given birth to them. The three coyote youkai bowed their heads in greeting, backing away and leaving the humans and inu alone. "Ten?"

Koyama grinned. "They are a handful, for certain, but I have an entire pack to help rear them. Thankfully, I will not go into heat again for a few years, so they will have plenty of care and attention. Did you see Katsumi's mark?"

"I'm guessing she's the one that sounded the alarm. I did see it."

"She's the reason we have this pack. I am grateful for that. Sango, it seems that you have a pup on the way."

The tajiya blushed. "Yeah. Miroku is determined to start that family as soon as possible. I think it's a boy, as much as it moves around."

"I thought mine was a boy, too," Kagome reminded Sango, grinning. "I was wrong."

Koyama squealed in delight. "A girl, Kagome! Your pup is a girl!"

"Pup?" Akihiko's question froze the group as he stared up at the adults. His blue eyes darkened and he took a step back, anger coloring his aura. "So soon after you left us, another male has mated you? Did you forget my father so quickly? He spends his days staring into the east, thinking about you, missing you, and you have replaced him? How could you betray my pack that way? I thought you loved us."

"I do, Akihiko," Kagome whispered, squatting down so she was on eye level with him. She thought of Sesshoumaru, standing on the balcony of his room and thinking about her, missing her, and tears sprang to her eyes. "I miss you all so much and I want nothing more than to come home to you, but that is not possible. Especially not now."

"Because you have a child with another male?! Because someone else claimed you!"

"No one claimed me, Akihiko. I am still alone, still missing Sesshoumaru, and I doubt that I will ever mate anyone."

"Then where did the baby come from?! Koyama said that you have a pup!"

"Come and see her, then you'll understand."

Akihiko crossed his arms and glowered at the miko, nodding slowly. Inuyasha whispered something to his mate and joined Kagome, the small group heading back to her hut. He had hoped to keep Akihiko from finding out about the child, but it seemed impossible to do so. He only hoped that the pup would not tell his father what he saw.

The trip to Kagome's hut was a short one. Many villagers greeted Inuyasha as they passed, wondering about the mark on his forehead but knowing better than to ask. They reached the hut and all of them entered, Sango and Miroku sitting near the fire while Inuyasha and Akihiko followed Kagome into her bedroom.

Rin looked up from the toy she was carefully stitching, grinning at the inu youkai pup. "Akihiko! I didn't know you were coming!"

"Hi Rin. I didn't really expect to be here myself." He looked up at Kagome as he sniffed the room, following his nose to the crib in the corner. The young pup pulled the blanket back and stared in shock at the hanyou pup lying there. She opened her sapphire eyes and stared at the boy hovering over her, sniffing the air. She recognized him as family and she raised her hands, wanting to be closer.

Akihiko carefully lifted the pup, his nose twitching. "She . . . she is of my pack."

"Not really. I had to renounce the pack to protect the six of you. But she is your father's daughter."

"A hanyou pup . . . I thought my father did not want a hanyou pup. And the curse my sister told me said that a hanyou could bring about the ruin of our pack, or raise us to the heights of power." He looked up at the only mother he had ever known, tears in his eyes. "This is why you cannot come back? Grandmother's curse?"

"You guys are safe as long as I am here and not there. Please understand that I would come back if I could."

"The miko who cursed my family better be glad she's dead, or I would rip her apart," the pup growled, his eyes flashing red. "I wish there was no curse so we could all be happy," he whispered, looking at the baby in his arms. "And all together."

"I know," Kagome whispered, pulling the boy and infant into her arms. "I never wanted any of you pups to know, since now you will want to be with her. She might be your family but she cannot live with you. Promise me that you won't tell your father, your brothers, Shippo, or Kaori."

"I promise, as long as you let me come see her whenever I want to. I can do it without Father becoming suspicious."

Kagome smiled. "Very well. I think we can arrange that."


Inuyasha bowed to his brother, Akihiko standing by his side. "We visited Edo as you asked, but we found nothing that would have caused you alarm. Recently, a band of coyote youkai has taken up residence in Edo, three families including the three sisters who helped us. Other than a few births recently, nothing is out of the ordinary. Kagome thinks that a recent battle with a group of lizard youkai might be what you sensed."

Sesshoumaru nodded, waiting for his son to return to his side. "Did you enjoy your visit with Kagome?"

Akihiko nodded, grinning widely. "I did, Father. Thank you for letting me travel with Uncle Inuyasha. I had fun playing with Rin, and Sango-san is expecting a pup. I hope that I can go back and play with both of them sometime soon."

"I suppose that can be arranged. Go find your siblings now; Jaken is serving food." Akihiko dashed off at the offer of food, Sesshoumaru turning back to Inuyasha. "And Kagome, was she well?"

"She misses you, all of you guys, but she seems to be doing alright. She wants me to make sure that you aren't neglecting yourself missing her."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at his brother's words. It seemed that Kagome was as perceptive as always. "You assured her that I am well and taking care of the pups consumes all of my time."

"I told her that you stare at the moon every night and that you sometimes forget to eat. She told me that I ought to hang around until you are better."

Sesshoumaru growled. "This Sesshoumaru does not require supervision."

Inuyasha raised his hands in defense. "I know, but I had to promise to look in on you. I'll only stay until after the meal tonight. I'm sure you'll throw a fine feast to celebrate a visit from one of your lesser lords and his pack."

The brothers stared at each other as Sesshoumaru tried to convince Inuyasha to relent, to leave him in peace and solitude. It became clear that the Fire Stripe Alpha had a will to match his own and would not leave until he was sure that the Western Lord was eating. With a sharp nod, Sesshoumaru conceded defeat for possibly the first time in his life.

"Of course."


TBC