Title: Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: R

Genre: Darkfic/Redemption

Prompt 6:Saints and Sinners

Word Count:1517

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome, Inuyasha/Kikyou

Universe: Canon (Past Divergence up to the point of Kikyou's death)

Warning: Miscarriage, Character Death

Summary: Inuyasha lays his child to rest

A/N This is divergence from the story told in anime/manga about Inuyasha/Kikyou's relationship and offers an alternative view as to why she wanted him to become human. Kikyou is the saint and sinner here. She was a saint to the people as a priestess and Protector of the Sacred Jewel. What she did here would have been considered a sin or offense against the kami. In reading about Jizo you wonder if the Japanese have a better way of dealing with miscarriages than we do

She reread the letter again and again. It seemed to be an invitation. The letter was in courtly hiragana that he must have learned from the women in his grandfather's palace in Satsuma. The invitation merely asked the reader to come to Gosinboku at a particular place and time. Why would her husband send her an invitation? The invitation did not say what event she was being invited. The letter made her uneasy.

Recently, Inuyasha had been frequently absent from their home . Exorcisms seemed almost constant events. He and Miroku would return after days with bales of rice Inuyasha would only bring enough rice to keep them fed. The majority of the rice seemed to be going to Miroku. Kagome did not complain. Miroku had five mouths to feed. It was the inequality of the split that made her wonder what was going on.

She had tried to broach both the subject with Miroku and Kaede. Both of them brushed off her concerns telling her that nothing was amiss. Sango seemed as mystified as herself by the made her think that Miroku and Kaede knew something of what was going on while Sango had been kept in the it was her own pregnancy that caused her uneasiness. She knew from her sex educationthat hormones during pregnancy could lead to wild mood swings. Inuyasha's absence and unusual behavior did not help her feeling of forboding.

Finally, the day arrived. Apparently, they were supposed to meet at noon at Goshinboku. When Kagome arrived, Kaede was already there. Inuyasha and Miroku were dragging a cart to the tree.

Just then Sango and Shippou arrived.. Sango leaned over to Kagome and whispered

" I left the children with Rin. She should be able to handle them for a short time."

Miroku and Inuyashsa were hauling a statute in front of Goshinboku. Inuyasha seemed to know exactly where he wanted Miroku to place the statute. When they were finished Kagome stared at the stature that they had set up. She recognized the statute as the being the Buddhist deity, Jizo or .Ksitigarbha

She became even more perplexed by the statute. Jizo was the protector of infants who died before their parents. Kagome knew that in her own age Jizo was still worshiped as the guardian of the souls of stillborn, miscarried or aborted fetuses. No one had mentioned anyone losing a child. What was this all about?

Finally, when all were in place Inuyasha nodded to Kaede. Kaede began to chant the Shinto prayers for dead. When the prayers were finished, the yellow prayer beads were placed on the statute and Inuyasha tied a prayer ribbon to Goshinboku.

When he was done, he turned to Miroku. and nodded for him to proceed. Miroku began to chant the mantra to Jizo.. When he completed his mantra he piled small pebbles in front of statute He then turned to Inuyasha and indicated that it was his turn to proceed.

Inuyasha looked at his friends. He motioned for Kagome to join him. When she reached his side, he drew her to him by putting his arm around her shoulders. and placed his other hand on her belly. His touch brought her some comfort. Inuyasha had been away so much recently that she had spent many nights alone. It made her wonder why he felt the sudden need to be close to her.

It was comforting to be close, but it made her uneasy that something hidden was about to be revealed.

Inuyasha began.

"Once there was a hanyou and a priestess who fell in love. They would meet at midnight at Goshinboku. Eventually, they could not contain their passion any longer. Within a short time, the priestess became pregnant with their child. It was known only to the two of them. As time passed, the priestess began to show more, but still no one indicated that they knew of the shrine maiden's condition."

" The priestess began to notice that her powers were fading. Her ability to protect the jewel had been jeopardized by her condition. The hanyou took on more and more of the duty of protecting

the jewel and the priestess. One day the priestess was alone when a particularly vicious demon attacked her. She was severely wounded and barely escaped when the hanyou arrived to finish the demon"

"What happened next was horrible to both of us. The priestess suffered internal injuries At some point she began to bleed heavily in her lower regions and was in quite a bit of pain. Eventually the pain and the bleeding stopped. The hanyou could tell that the priestess was no longer pregnant. He tried to comfort her. They buried the remains at the base of Goshinboku. The spot was not marked for fear of what the villagers would do if they knew. But they both knew where the child had been laid to rest.."

" The priestess was devastated. Although she had dreaded people discovering that she was with child, the loss of her child had a profound effect on her. She began to feel that she had punished by the kami for having borne the child of a demon which she was supposed to remain pure. She was convinced that the loss of her powers coincided with her pregnancy."

" She was not willing to give up the demon. Instead, she seized upon a plan which would allow them to be together. If the kami had caused her to miscarry because a priestess should not carry the child of hanyou, then they would appease the kami. The hanyou would wish to be human. If the jewel disappeared the priestess would no longer be required to protect it. If that happened she would have no further use for her spiritual powers and they could live together openly as husband and wife. Then maybe the kami would bless their union and allow them to have children."

" The hanyou agreed. He wanted them to be together openly. In his mind they were already husband and wife. If it meant that they could be married openly and have children, then he was willing to do anything to reach that end. In the end Naraku spoiled their plans by killing them what would have been their wedding day."

"Sometimes after her resurrection, Kikyou still felt that she had sinned . One time she even asked me if I thought that Naraku had been created by the kami to punish us for what we had done. I always told her that in my mind we did nothing wrong. Naraku was simply a bastard created by the Jewel. Still she was haunted by that thought up to the end. Naraku knew of her fears and preyed upon them"

" After Kikyou ascended I got caught up in finishing off Naraku. It was only when Kagome became pregnant that my old fears reasserted themselves. I talked to Miroku and Kaede about performing this service. I had to work long and hard to obtain the funds for the statute of Jizo to mark the spot where we buried our child. I hoped that Jizo would protect the child until I was able to do so. I was also concerned about the child that Kagome is bearing. I guess I was hoping that Jizo would also protect our child .until it can be born"

With those words Inuyasha concluded his remarks. There were tears coming down the faces of Inuyasha and Kagome as they held each other tightly. Even Kaede was affected when she realized what had happened to her sister.

Amid this tearing a wondrous event occurred. A shimmering figure appeared over the statute, Gradually, it coalesced into a recognizable form. It was clear to all that the specter was Kikyou.

She smiled at Inuyasha and Kagome and held out her hands in gratitude. To their amazement another smaller light rose to greet her until it rested on her chest. She wrapped her arms around the little one and beamed at it. Gradually, the light began to take human shape.

Inuyasha began to smile and finally spoke.

" Thank you for coming, Kikyou. Take care of our child until we meet again."

Kikyou nodded. To Kagome's eyes she resembled something not unlike the Madonna and Child that she had seen in the Christian churches where she had attended weddings. Kagome realized what the child meant to Kikyou and Inuyasha. As Inuyasha held her tighter she knew that they would both cherish the child in her womb just as much. Kikyou and the child slowly began to fade. Eventually, everyone left except Miroku who seemed lost in thought.

He offered some special prayers to Jizo. It was clear to him that Jizo had protected the child all of these years from the flames of hell even without the statute being there or the mantra being chanted. He had brought the child to its mother now when she was finally able to come for him. Miroku prayed that Jizo would offer the same protection to his children and his friends children should it ever be .needed...