He moves his lips, but no sound escapes them. It breaks your heart. Tears start flowing down your face. The whole world seems to go still; You can hear nothing, your body is numb.
A thousand thoughts go through your head. You want to comfort him and nurture him. You want to scold him for being so stupid. You want to hold him gently and kiss him.
Childishly, selfishly, and most of all... You want to beg him to please stay. The time you shared has been so short. You wanted more time, even just a little. Months even, anything more than these mere moments.
You're afraid of losing him but also of having your child and raising the baby without him. You don't know how to get back to your family and have no friends here. No one will help you. There's only Naraku, and he's leaving you again, this time forever.
"Naraku..." You eye the arrow sticking out of his chest. It looks as though it pierced his heart. "This will hurt for a second." You pull the arrow from him and it disappears. You still aren't sure how or why. Naraku, of course, had told you of Kagome and Kikyo's powers, but you were never a priestess and certainly didn't contain the power of the Shikon Jewel.
Wait a minute! "The Shikon Jewel!" You say aloud, grabbing for your bag. More firmly than you would have thought possible, Naraku grabs your arm.
"No," he says. His voice is barely above a whisper, but you can hear him as if you two were the only things in the whole world. "It's too late."
The words freeze you, but only for a moment. "Don't say that!" You don't mean to yell, but you can't help it.
He smiles at you, and you can't help the way your heart flutters. "Silly human girl," he says, pulling you closer to him. "It's just too late."
You look down at him. A steady stream of tears drops down from your face and plops onto his neck and chest. They mix with his blood.
There is more blood this time than last, and it looks like the bitch shot him straight through the heart. I have to have hope. I can't let this be the end. Not just for him, not just for me – but for our family. Our baby. "Don't say that." You say more softly before trying to wipe your tears away.
You dress his wounds in silence.
You don't want to admit it, but this seems pointless. As soon as the gauze is on, it needs to be changed. The wound isn't healing, nor does it look like it will. Even the scratches from the trees and branches are beading with dots of blood and no signs of healing.
Deep in your heart, you know that Naraku was telling the truth when he said it was too late. You want to take him in your arms and hold him. Before you can, however, your water breaks.
Already overwhelmed, you can't help the renewed flood of tears. You want to be able to care for Naraku, but you know your labor is unstoppable.
For a moment, Naraku's eyes widen and he smiles. The world seems to renew; You can hear the crackling of the fire, the chirping and chitterings of far-off creatures and bugs – even the stars seem to twinkle more brightly through the canopy of branches above you. For just this moment, you can't help but think everything is going to be okay.
"The Shikon Jewel – the part I gave you – swallow it. I'm sorry that I can't give you the other half. That damned Inuyasha stole it."
Not wanting to upset or cause him any extra stress, you swallow the jewel.
Strangely, it goes down smoothly without choking or cutting you. And as it goes down, you begin to immediately feel very different. Your perception becomes shrewd and the pain you have diminishes greatly. You feel strong. Even your feelings of panic and fear seem to dull, though the ache in your heart persists.
You don't know what to say; If Naraku had taken it instead, surely he would have recovered. "Naraku –"
"I'm glad I came back in time to be here for this. And..." He looks awkward. You know he has come a long way with expressing himself, but it's not a secret that it's difficult for him. "I'll always be here for you. I will do whatever I can to make it easier on you."
He holds you through your labor, which is blissfully quick. Only a few hours pass before your son is born. He looks just like his father, just like the little boy from your dreams. He has wavy black hair and dark red eyes. You want to properly welcome this perfect baby into the world, but you can feel that you're still in labor.
Almost immediately, an adorable baby girl follows her brother. She has beautiful silver hair and pink eyes. Some of your features are mixed in there, but she still looks mostly like her daddy.
You look to your man. You've never felt such love, happiness, and contentment. You hold your son out to him. "Do you want to hold our son?"
Naraku's smile is proud. He holds the boy up high. "His name is Kuro," He says without hesitation. "What have you named her?" He looks to your daughter. You do, too.
"Setsuai," it was a name you'd heard in the village, while you were working at the hostel.
For a time, your family is together. You trade the babies so that you can hold your son, and Naraku your daughter. It's a blissful time you know you will remember always. You will yourself to commit every line of this man's face, the way he smiles at you, the way he gazes at your children, to your memory.
Reality seizes you all too soon as you realize that this will be the last time you are all together as a family. You want to ask Naraku so many things; where should you go? What should you tell the children as they grow? How can you go home now? Should you take the children there? Would they even be okay in your world?
"Isn't this a happy moment?" Sesshomaru steps from behind a nearby tree. His cruel eyes rake in the scene, lingering on the children. His eyes lock on yours.
You're scared and angry, unable to move or speak. The tension mounts for a moment, and you're certain that Sesshomaru is going to cut your throat. Then, he focuses his attention on Naraku. "I see you did not kill my brother, Naraku." He draws his sword. "You know what the punishment is. You broke your word."
He moves closer to your little family. "Will you stand and fight, or will you die right here?"
The words rip through you. He's already dying, you monster! You want to scream at him – to fight him! But you know that you don't stand a chance. And worse? Naraku stands up. It's as if he were saving up his strength for this moment.
Dutifully, he gathers up your belongings and helps to put them on your back. He also takes a few moments to use some of your nightclothes to fashion a baby carrier of sorts. He ties the children to you, crisscrossing them at your chest. For a time, he acts as though Sesshomaru isn't there. And, to your surprise, Sesshomaru allows it.
"For so long, I only wished for Kikyo's heart. Our time may have been brief, but I realize I never needed to Shikon Jewel to have love. I just needed a good woman. These children; Care for them always. They are the proof of my love for you. I love you. Go." His words are so beautiful you can't help a tear or two. He wipes them away for you, but you catch his hand and hold it to your face.
"I love you, too, always."
He takes his hand from your face and turns to Sesshomaru. "Go." He says again.
When you run, it is as though the wind pushes you forward. You feel as though you're flying. The Shikon Jewel truly does wonders, even for humans.
You aren't sure if Sesshomaru will come after you and the babies, but you know you can't chance it. The entire run from where you left Naraku to the mountainside only takes a few minutes. You sit down under a tree, not quite tired but ready for a rest. The babies look up at you with bright, inquisitive eyes. They seem to understand the importance of staying quiet right now.
Suddenly, and from far away, you hear a man's cry.
As though you are transported, you see exactly what is happening:
You seem to be seeing things from Naraku's point of view. He is looking up at Sesshomaru, who has a twisted, cruel grin on his face. "I can make this swift, you know. All you have to do is beg." Somehow, you know that Sesshomaru isn't seeing Naraku, but Inuyasha.
"I am happy to die now that they are safe." Naraku seems to know that you're there. In his mind, you see him holding you. "Don't watch this, girl. Just close your eyes and let me hold you one last time."
When you come back to the big tree and your little babies, they are crying. You carefully figure out how to feed them. It doesn't take them long to nurse, and they go straight to sleep. They look so sweet and innocent. You've never seen such beautiful, perfect babies before.
Now that they're sleeping, you know what you must do: You must go to Naraku. He deserves to be buried.
You know from the moon that it's only been a couple of hours since Sesshomaru showed up and took your husband from you, but you suspect he wouldn't linger.
The walk back seems easier and faster than usual. As you get closer to where you know his body will be, you hear a voice. "I wouldn't look if I were you, woman." You turn to look at Sesshomaru, but he is already gone.
Your stomach turns as soon as you lay eyes on Naraku. His head is in his lap, and one arm lies useless on the ground. Your knees buckle and you have to catch yourself as you fall. You crawl over to his body and gingerly touch his chest as if to confirm that it's real.
Though he can't have been dead long, his body is as cold as ice. Reality shatters as you cry. The babies wake and cry with you. "Naraku," you manage to whisper through your tears. "Please, Naraku..." You shake him, refusing to believe that something so lame as a little sword could kill him. "Naraku!" You scream it this time.
As the babies cry, you remember what he said. "These children; Care for them always. They are the proof of my love for you. I love you. Go." You hold the babies close to you and rock them back to sleep. You realize that you might never be able to dig a hole large enough for him with two such tiny babies.
But you can build a pyre.
Using the embers from the night before you build up a huge fire. You know it's dangerous. You know that it will spread. But you would gladly burn the whole world for this man and these babies.
It's gut-wrenching, but you throw his loose arm into the fire. It immediately begins to burn. You know it's hot enough now to do the job. It takes a while, but you manage to drag his body into the fire. At last, all that is left is his head. You pick it up. It disgusts you somewhat, but mostly you feel profoundly sad and lovelorn. You kiss his cheek for the last time.
"Naraku, I am yours always." You gently place his head in the fire.
You don't want to watch him turn into ashes. You know it will burn him up. You know that eventually, it will burn up the whole damn forest. As you turn to go, you see his baboon skin. You grab it and put it on proudly.
You can hear the flames licking up, hungry and ferocious. You hope that it takes Sesshomaru with it.
Damn you, Sesshomaru. And damn Inuyasha, too. You look down at the little babies. You took their father, my love. I will have my revenge someday.
You don't know where you want to go, or what you can do. Naraku did admit that he essentially stole you from your own time, but he never quite actually explained how or how to get back. It doesn't matter, you realize. After all that's happened, I could never go home anyway. I could never enjoy what I used to. I could never explain how I was missing for a few months but came home with babies. But mostly... Mostly, I want to know it was all real. I never want to forget my Naraku.