Chapter 28: Sick Care
How had everything gone so wrong so quickly?
A mere forty-eight hours ago, the Nishikunis' priority had been giving Sesshoumaru and Rin the wedding they deserved.
Now, Inukimi stood in the lobby of a demon hospital, staring out at the street and fingering the Meidou Stone. If Rin didn't make it—if one of the babies didn't make it—she would know immediately.
And she would fix it.
Tenseiga could only revive a person once. But she had the power to pull a soul out of the Meidou and restore it to its body. Only, she had never done it before.
After all, she was no god. Who was she to judge who lived and who died?
But Sesshoumaru's horror when the stinger sank into Rin's skin had been a tangible thing. In that moment, she had witnessed just a fraction of the way his soul must have shattered when Rin died just moments earlier.
Sesshoumaru had tried to suck the poison out, but he couldn't be sure that he had gotten it all. They had run with their wounded back to the medi-vans the DSC brought along, only for Kaede to tell them that they had no antidote on board for saimyoushou poison—which seemed an egregious error in retrospect, given that the presence of the insects had been in Touga's report to Chief Kimura—but perhaps the rushed nature of their departure had prevented them from obtaining any. Either way, Rin's only option was to go to a hospital.
But the medi-van would never had made it in time, and though Sesshoumaru was ready to fly her there, sightings by humans be damned, Inukimi's daughter-in-law had—once again—surprised her.
"You're needed here, Sesshoumaru. You…can save them," Rin said.
"Them" being the fallen slayers.
Inukimi could not understand the sort of generous heart her daughter-in-law wielded. To her, the slayers had known what they were getting into when they signed up. They always put their lives on the line. It was the same with any war. There were always casualties.
But Rin had experienced coming back from death herself—so naturally, she wanted to share that power with others.
The two were at such loggerheads that Inukimi decided to take matters into her own hands—literally. She scooped her daughter-in-law into her arms and gave Sesshoumaru some parting advice of, "Son, learn this now: do not argue with a woman in labor," before shooting off like a star into the sky with Rin.
By the time Inukimi had stormed through the front doors of the hidden demon hospital, Rin was losing consciousness. The staff got her onto a gurney and moved her to an emergency operating room as Inukimi filled them in on all her conditions—miasma poisoning, saimyoushou poisoning, labor, physical and mental trauma….
She had been shocked when Rin lifted her arm and grabbed onto Inukimi's sleeve just before they got to the operating theater.
"Mo…ther…."
"I will call her for you," Inukimi answered, taking Rin's hand. It went against all demon custom to show a human the secret demon ward of a hospital, but she would never deny a mother the opportunity to be at her dying daughter's side—even if Inukimi planned to make sure Rin did not experience a second death so close to the first.
Rin's head rolled from side to side as she tried to shake it. "Mo…ther…. If they have…to choose…save them."
Inukimi's heart clenched. Of course the girl would give up her life for her children. She will be a good mother to these pups.
"Do not speak of such things," Inukimi bit back. "There will be no choice to make."
Rin frowned, though in her delirious state, it looked more like a pout. "No, listen. Sesshoumaru…will wither…if none of us…survive. I want him…to live. I want him…to raise our girls. Tell him that. He will…not listen…otherwise."
Inukimi's face twisted. She will not only make a good mother. She has already proven to be a caring wife and mate, despite only knowing Sesshoumaru for a handful of months. She's certainly a better one than I was as a newlywed….
And the fact that she was thinking of Sesshoumaru while her own body was being destroyed from the inside out….
I was wrong about you, Rin. You are more than worthy of my son.
But all she said was, "It will not come to that."
"Promise," Rin said.
"…I promise…daughter."
Then the doctors had to whisk her into the operating room, and Rin's hand fell away from Inukimi's sleeve.
And so now Inukimi did what she had always done.
Wait.
The others arrived in spurts—Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Touga, Tsukuyomaru, Kirinmaru, and Kaede—and then the Higurashi family, whom Inukimi had to escort in.
Inuyasha, Touga, and Tsukuyomaru—whose wings had been crushed in battle, Inukimi learned— were all admitted. Kirinmaru had driven the ambulance here himself in order to keep the location of the demon hospital a secret. Apparently, Izayoi was being treated at a human hospital with the other DSC members. Alliance or not, they were not about to inform the Demon Slayer Corps that one of their hospitals—indeed, all demon hospitals—operated as covert operations in plain sight (behind barriers) attached to human hospitals.
The medics all but forced Sesshoumaru into the back to see to his wounds—namely, the spirit bullet in his leg—but he returned so quickly, it was obvious he hadn't let them sedate him for the surgery. She knew why he wouldn't. He wanted to know about Rin as soon as he could. But she almost wished he had let himself be put under, if only to get a moment's well-deserved rest.
He's shown so much strength today. More than I could have imagined. …More than I wish he had to.
And she feared he would need even more now as they waited for news of his mate.
Inukimi didn't realize how tense her body had been until Rin's obstetrician, Dr. Jinanji, called Sesshoumaru to his office to give him the updates on her condition. Naturally, Inukimi followed—someone would have to report everything to Touga when he woke, and she couldn't trust Sesshoumaru to be so forthcoming with details—and even Rin's mother demanded to tag along.
A nurse led them to a spacious, private office. When they stepped inside, they found Dr. Jinenji seated at his desk. Though the doctor was a friend of Inuyasha, this was Inukimi's first time meeting him. The half-demon was massive—and quite ugly. There was something unnatural about his face. It almost appeared to have been shaped into something it was not supposed to be. Scars peeked out on the backs of his burly hands beneath the sleeves of his lab coat. When he stood up, the room, despite being larger than doctors' offices typically were, seemed to shrink in size.
His odd looks contrasted with his soft and soothing voice. "Sesshoumaru-san, welcome. And this must be Inukimi-san. A pleasure to formally meet you. And…might you be—?" he asked, turning towards Rin's mother.
"How are they?" Sesshoumaru interrupted.
Dr. Jinenji gestured to the two seats in front of his desk. Inukimi sat down as if she owned the perch; Higurashi-san attempted to get Sesshoumaru to sit so he could rest his leg, but he declined, letting her take the seat. At least her boy had some manners.
Dr. Jinenji folded his hands on his desk, taking on a clearly clinical persona. "First, Sesshoumaru-san, allow me to congratulate you on becoming the father of two little girls."
"Oh," Higurashi-san breathed in relief, and her hand landed on his arm. Interestingly, he let it remain.
"They are well?" he asked.
"They are in the NICU." Higurashi-san sucked in a breath, but Kaede had prepared Sesshoumaru and Inukimi for such news before the Higurashis arrived. "We had to deliver them via an emergency C-section, since Rin-san fell unconscious prior to the surgery due to the poison in her bloodstream. For reasons I will explain shortly, we are still ascertaining if the children's lungs have developed enough to breathe on their own. Right now, they are both on oxygen. They are also being treated with antidotes."
"Then the poison did affect them?" Inukimi asked. She knew it was not a given that her grandchildren would receive her and Sesshoumaru's poison immunity—not least of all because they were half human—but even so, she had hoped. It was a powerful ability—and one that would keep their more-susceptible, half-mortal bodies safer.
"Yes and no," the doctor continued. "Since we had Rin-san's medical records, which included the paternal profile you completed, Sesshoumaru-san, we were aware of your abilities, which helped explain why the children…reacted the way they did."
"How do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"It will be easier if I show you," Dr. Jinenji said, clicking on his computer. One of the monitors was already turned towards the three family members. He brought up a video file. "This is a recording of the surgery, which we are required to have by law." He sped ahead to a certain marker and then zoomed in and pressed play. In the video, Dr. Jinenji removed a pale, bloody baby from Rin's open womb. Inukimi could just make out a glint of white hair beneath the blood, and her heart resonated. As with Inuyasha, their dog demon blood appeared to be strong.
But what was far more noticeable on the wailing child was the crescent moon on her forehead, the jagged stripes along her cheeks, and the pointed ears. Inukimi felt like preening—to think the children had also inherited their royal markings!—but she should have known there was a catch.
"Your second child came out much the same," the doctor said, speeding forward again. This time, he pulled out a little girl with a dark head slick with blood. She too sported the same moon and stripes, though she also had some along her wrists.
"The first girl showed signs of saimyoushou poisoning. She was running a temperature, and we worked to cool her down as we hooked her up to oxygen and an IV of antidote. However, the second girl did not exhibit the same symptoms; rather, she did not cry when we took her out, and we discovered she had trouble breathing. We found traces of miasma in her blood after we hooked her up to oxygen. So it would appear that while one is resistant to poison gases, the other is resistant to venom.
"Their markings disappeared within the hour once they were hooked up and calmed down, and their ears took on a rounded, human shape. We wish to observe them for at least another few days to be sure, but we are cautiously optimistic that they are developed enough to go home with you as soon as their systems are cleared of poison."
I see. So the features are not permanent. Then that could only mean…their full-demon blood emerged in the womb in response to the threat.
So young and already so powerful.
"And Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Ah." Dr. Jinenji quietly closed the video. His tone set Sesshoumaru's and Inukimi's hackles on edge.
"Tell me," her son stressed.
He would know if she was dead. I would know. She's not. So what is the problem?
"Rin-san made it through the surgery, although her womb showed signs of struggle. When we removed the children, they displayed small but sharp nails. There were shallow cuts inside the womb that we sealed. We believe the children were relying on their demon instincts to survive and trying to escape. Luckily, as babies, they do not have full control over their limbs yet, so they did not do much damage before we got in there.
"But, as you know, that's not all. As I understand it, she received a lethal dose of saimyoushou poison, and although Sesshoumaru-san attempted to suck some out, much of it remained. Saimyoushou venom spreads quickly. While we did administer an antidote through IV, frankly…it's a miracle that she's still alive. Perhaps Sesshoumaru-san's quick thinking saved her. I have an additional theory, but I still need to run some tests to be certain."
"Would you tell us your theory, Doctor?" Higurashi-san asked.
"Do you know what a chimera is, ma'am?" he asked. She shook her head. "It is a Grecian demon with a lion's head, goat's body and serpent's tail. It became part of human mythology, although at the time, it was indeed very real. Still, the word became synonymous in human terms as a being comprised of multiple animal parts, so to speak.
"Now, microchimerism is a documented phenomenon where a fetus' cells cross the placental barrier and enter the mother's bloodstream. Like stem cells, they have the ability to grow into any sort of tissue, depending on where they end up. As a result, a mother always carries parts of her children with her for the rest of her life. I suspect that in this natural exchange, Rin-san received bits of poison immunity from both her children, which helped to negate both the miasma and saimyoushou venom just enough that the dosage did not kill her before we could administer the antidote. Of course, Rin-san is by no means completely immune; however, she should have a stronger resistance to poisons now."
"Amazing," Higurashi-san said on a breath.
"I suspect it was the fetus' way of making sure her body could care for them. We did run blood tests on the girls when they came out and while they were still in their demon forms. They both exhibited the same poisonous blood Sesshoumaru-san has; however, when they relaxed, that poison went dormant, in a matter of speaking. Luckily, the placenta prevents the mother's and baby's blood from mixing, or that could have been a disaster. Then again, I suppose that unique organ is the very reason half-demons are able to exist in the first place, despite the two races having such differing characteristics."
"Will she make a full recovery?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"We still have her in the ICU and will be watching her. I wish to prepare you, Sesshoumaru-san. Rin-san has suffered quite a trauma. Given all that poison in her body and the fact that she passed out before we gave her an anesthetic…it's possible she has fallen into a coma."
Higurashi-san made a noise of distress. "A coma? Are you certain?"
"Not yet. We will wait to see if she wakes up once the poison is out of her system, but if she remains unresponsive, we will have to run additional tests."
"If she is in a coma…how long would she be asleep?" she continued.
The doctor shrugged his massive shoulders. "I cannot say. Contrary to what movies and media would make you believe, most comas do not last years; some last a few days. Others, a few weeks. We will simply have to wait and see. Rest assured, we will keep watch over her."
"May we see her? And the children?" she asked.
"Of course. Sesshoumaru-san, whom do you wish to visit first?"
He hesitated, and Inukimi sympathized with the conflict. If someone had asked her to choose between going to Touga's bedside or Sesshoumaru's, it would have been difficult…but she would have chosen her son no matter what.
"The children," he finally said.
"Of course. But…I'll have to ask you to clean up first, Sesshoumaru-san. The babies in the NICU are particularly susceptible to pathogens and you are…well…."
Covered in blood.
Indeed, her son had been so concerned, he had not changed out of his clothes. She vaguely recalled hearing his brother-in-law offer Sesshoumaru a pair of gym clothes from his trunk, so she didn't blame Sesshoumaru for turning that down at the time. Now, however, he would have to accept the travesty of fashion.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I will be quick."
While Sesshoumaru showered, Inukimi returned to the waiting room. Rin's mother tried to explain to her family and Kaede what she had just heard, but it was evident the demonic terminology had overwhelmed her, and Inukimi had to step in with clarification. Once Sesshoumaru was ready, they all tailed him to the NICU, anxious to see the babies, only to be told that Sesshoumaru alone was allowed inside.
Inukimi chafed when the nurses wouldn't let her into the ward—imagine, her, the children's grandmother, being denied!—so she had to content herself with having the first glimpse of her granddaughters—and her son's meeting with them—from the other side of the glass, along with the noisy Higurashi family.
But perhaps that was for the best. If she had been in there, she would have been too preoccupied with the children to notice her son's expressions. And she needed to be sure to tell Touga everything, since he could not be here himself.
Sesshoumaru—now washed and gloved—reached into a bassinet and pulled out the white-haired girl—his eldest. Seeing such a tiny being hooked up to so many wires twisted Inukimi's heart, but Sesshoumaru's gentle expression eased much of the tension.
He looked just like his father had when he beheld Sesshoumaru for the first time. A more subdued expression, perhaps, but his eyes—always the most expressive part of her boy—were filled with pure awe.
The baby girl stared fussing, her face screwing up as if to cry, and then Sesshoumaru brought his fur up to caress her head, and she turned towards it, quieting.
Did he know to do that, or was it instinct? Pups craved the smell of their parents and the touch of their furs. Fur cuddles were one of the quickest ways to calm colicky babes down.
She was rather ashamed now to realize that as much as Sesshoumaru and Rin had been preparing for the babies' arrival the last couple of months, Inukimi hadn't deigned to be very involved or pass on her own knowledge to her son. Well, that would change.
The doctor spoke to him, and then Sesshoumaru let the tail of his fur drift into the youngest's bassinet and nuzzle her.
Afterwards, Dr. Jinenji left, coming out to speak with the rest of the gathered family. But Inukimi paid no attention to him, her eyes still riveted to her son and granddaughters.
Sesshoumaru spoke to the girl in his arms, and he was so quiet, Inukimi had to strain to hear him through the glass.
"Papa is here," he murmured. "This papa is very proud of his pups."
While the twin in the bassinet remained asleep, the child in his arms pumped her limbs in excitement. Inukimi could sense the little push-and-pull game of demonic energy Sesshoumaru was playing with her.
"How many fathers can boast that their children saved someone before they were even born? Not only did you give your mother a fighting chance at life today, but…you have saved me as well. I cannot promise to be the best father. Already, I failed to keep you and your mother safe. But I can promise that I will do everything in my power to protect, provide for, and guide you as you grow."
Inukimi's heart swelled with pride—for her granddaughters and her son.
The little girl's tiny fist whacked against his fur, her fingers opening and closing until she caught some of it and pulled. Sesshoumaru's lips twitched upwards.
And then he bent down and kissed that little hand.
If there had been any ice left on Inukimi's heart then, it melted. For if her stoic son could change so dramatically, then so could she.
Sesshoumaru held his youngest next, and though the girl somehow managed to continue sleeping, he nudged his finger near her hand until her little digits curled around it. He pressed his lips to her head as well.
Once he set his girls back in their bassinets so they were facing each other, he did something Inukimi had never seen him do.
He got out his phone and took their picture.
Inukimi huffed a laugh. So much for our "no photo" policy. I suppose it was too much to expect a doting father to resist the urge.
She could not deny wishing they had had the technology back in her day to record such exact moments in time. Even if the photos or videos would have brought the pain of seeing a Touga who had been happy with her yet knowing it would not last, she would have enjoyed watching her little boy be a playful puppy again. Although given this new Sesshoumaru she was seeing, perhaps she would have that opportunity in the near future after all.
Sesshoumaru brushed a thumb along each girl's cheek in a brief farewell. "Rest well, my warrior twins. You have earned it."
Indeed you have.
Sesshoumaru went to visit Rin's bedside next. Inukimi managed to keep the Higurashis at bay for a few moments to give her son and his mate some privacy. After all, his first moments with the twins had been on full display. But she could only keep the headstrong family from Rin for so long before they burst into her recovery room to look her over and talk to her unconscious form.
But Rin's mother forced Sesshoumaru to do something even Inukimi had not been able to do: go home and rest. His leg was still recovering from a spiritual bullet wound, and though the other physical exertions of the day might not have had as much of a toll on him, Inukimi could see in the droop of his shoulders and his eyes how the emotional ones had.
Sesshoumaru's mother-in-law assured him she would stay with Rin while Souta took him and Kagome back to the estate to rest. (Kagome and her baby had been checked and cleared, and apparently, she'd had to threaten Inuyasha into staying put in his hospital bed, which Inukimi wished she could have seen.) Inukimi was surprised though that the whelp seemed to be recovering so quickly compared to his father. He had sustained some serious injuries in the fight, but he apparently had enough fight left in him to go after his nurses and doctors.
With the others dispersed, Inukimi went to Touga's room, where he was hooked up to an IV and some antidote for the saimyoushou poison. She took a seat at the head of his bed and stared down into his wan face. Bandages covered his body at various intervals, and she was suddenly transported into a bygone age. She reached out and stroked his bangs, brushing them away from his forehead.
How many times have I told you to be careful, you idiot?
How many times had she sat at his bedside as he recovered? It had been centuries since the last time—and yet it never got any easier.
Somehow, seeing him in this modern setting, hooked up to machines that were meant to reassure her that his heart beat and that he was getting fluids, felt so much worse than the days in which he would lay in their bed like a corpse.
Dr. Jinenji had told Sesshoumaru to keep talking to Rin. There was always a chance that she could hear him but not respond. The doctor said it would reassure her, if that were the case.
Touga was not in the same boat. Apparently, not only had he had taken several stings from the saimyoushou in order to protect Rin from them, ultimately causing him to black out, but she'd heard from the others that he had also had a spiritual bullet explode in his face. And yet, for once, Inukimi couldn't stand the silence with only the beep and whir of machinery in the background to keep her company in this bland hospital room. Still, what could she say? Her heart felt too close to the surface today, riding the waves of elation in regards to her grandchildren and despair for her daughter-in-law's condition and the hurt it caused Sesshoumaru. Too many maudlin words for Touga might send her over the edge into tears—and someone had to stay a pillar of support in this family.
What would the old Inukimi have said to her husband as he lay in his sickbed?
"You used to enjoy tasting my blood, and you can't even handle a little saimyoushou sting?" Inukimi muttered with a rueful smirk. "Maybe you lost whatever immunity you gained since you didn't keep up with your doses…."
Just then, Inukimi's cellphone buzzed. She wondered if it was Sesshoumaru, but the name on the caller ID surprised her.
"Izayoi," she said upon answering.
"Inukimi, thank goodness. I tried to call Inuyasha, but he wasn't answering his phone."
"I believe he's been strapped to his bed like an asylum patient because he keeps throwing off his doctors and trying to leave."
"Oh dear," Izayoi sighed. "So he's alright then?"
"So it would seem."
"And Rin? Is she okay?"
The last Izayoi had seen of Rin had been at the medi-vans before Inukimi took her away, and the girl had still been awake. Inukimi relayed to her the news—balancing the good of the twins' birth with the bad of Rin's potential coma.
"I'm so glad Towa and Setsuna are okay and that they were able to save Rin. But I feel so bad for her and Sesshoumaru. Facing certain death as you're giving birth is…terrifying. All you want is to make sure your child lives before you go, and yet…you don't want to leave him alone."
Inukimi had forgotten that detail of Inuyasha's birth. She had always recalled it as the day Touga nearly died—never the day that Izayoi did. She had never asked about the particulars though.
"How did it happen?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Pardon? How did what happen?"
"Never mind."
"No, Inukimi, don't do that. Please. We…we need to talk like this. Be open. For…for Touga's sake."
Inukimi blinked in surprise. That was a rather gracious offer on Izayoi's part. She looked down at her husband's unconscious face.
Very well. I can agree on that point.
"…How did you die?"
"How much do you know about that day?"
"…Not much."
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line before Izayoi relayed, "An old friend of mine—a samurai who worked for my father and an…admirer—had been watching our home for some time, or so I gathered after the fact. He took advantage of Touga leaving to fight Ryuukotsusei and planned to kill him when he returned. I think…no, I should not presume what he thought.
"At first he played the part of a hero, saying he would save me, bringing me to my birthing bed and fetching a nurse for me. But then he came to visit, which was odd, since men weren't allowed in the birthing room back then. Yet I welcomed the voice of a friend, and he spoke as though we were still friends…right before he stabbed me. He wished for nothing more than to 'free me from the demon's control,' and that, apparently, meant killing me.
"But I was determined to bring Inuyasha into this world, so I held on. And then, as soon as he was in my arms, I felt as if I had fulfilled my life's purpose, and I could finally rest. After that, well…. Touga asked me once if I recalled what death was like on the other side. I don't really. I just had a sense of…cold and darkness. And then I woke up, as if I had merely been asleep. Touga had to tell me alter that I did actually die."
"I see." Objectively, Inukimi imagined Izayoi had been dead for a short enough time that she had only traversed part of the path to the netherworld through the Meidou. It would account for that feeling of cold and dark.
But as for the pain and fear surrounding it, she could not imagine such a thing. Death was a foreign concept to her—something that would only come for her in the most extreme of circumstances.
Inukimi had assumed Izayoi died of natural causes in childbirth. It was common for mortal women back then. Human bodies were frail. She did not realize Izayoi's life had been taken from her.
Once again, the woman had proven stronger than Inukimi thought.
"How is Touga?" Izayoi then asked, perhaps sensing the awkwardness of the lingering silence.
"Asleep," Inukimi replied. "Knowing him, it will take a few days for him to wake up. This happens when he pushes his body to the limit."
"Did he…. How often did he injure himself…back then?"
"I'm not sure," Inukimi answered. "His men only brought him home for the worst injuries. But even those happened too often for my liking, especially once we had Sesshoumaru. I told him to be more careful, lest he leave his pup without a father. But he never listened."
Izayoi gave a weak chuckle. "That sounds like Inuyasha. Like father, like son, I suppose. I rarely saw that side of Touga though. …Coming to the brink of death will do that to you though. Make you reconsider everything you've been doing with your life."
"Hm."
"I felt that way again during…during the arena match. I just thought if I could get through that, no other problem in my life would compare. I may have been given an extra lease on life, thanks to Touga's mating mark, but I've learned for the second time now that that life isn't guaranteed. And no matter how long it is…life's still too short to fight with your family."
There was another awkward pause. Is this…some sort of overture of truce on her part? Inukimi supposed she could test the waters.
"How are you?" she finally asked.
Inukimi could almost hear the relieved smile on Izayoi's end. "I'm okay. They still have me on this breathing machine, but I took it off for a few moments to call, and I'm feeling much better now. I'm waiting to see if they'll discharge me. I want to be there with everyone else."
Inukimi nodded. "Then I'll let my chauffeur know to be on standby for your call. …I'll text you Touga's room number. He'll want to see you when he awakes."
There was a stunned silence on the other end. Then, "Thank you, Inukimi. I'd appreciate that."
Even the most patient of demons needed to stretch her legs after sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair for hours.
Touga had shown no signs of waking up yet, so Inukimi took a walk through the hospital. She passed by Inuyasha's room, where he was watching TV—which was all he really could do, being strapped to his bed. The doctors had been benevolent enough to put a remote in one of his hands. The image made her smirk. She then walked by Rin's room and peered in the window, where she saw Rin's mother holding the girl's hand and rubbing it. The woman's eyes were red, and dried remnants of tears cast a faint sheen to her cheeks. Inukimi let them be.
Then she moseyed over to the NICU. She walked up to the glass window, peering in and trying to see her grandchildren, but her view wasn't the greatest, and she wished she could be closer.
The nurse inside saw her and waved, coming out. "You must be Towa and Setsuna's grandmother," she said.
Even if Towa and Setsuna weren't two of a small handful of babies within, family demon signatures were impossible to hide from other demons. Inukimi nodded.
"Would you like to come and see them?" she asked.
Inukimi blinked in surprise. "You're going to let me in this time?"
The nurse smiled sheepishly. "There was quite a crowd here earlier. We understand—everyone wants to see the newborns and make sure they're okay, but we can't risk infections or overwhelming them or the other little ones. But since it's only you right now, and you're a grandparent…I can let you in, as long as you agree to follow our protocol." She winked in a way Inukimi was familiar with as a member of royalty—someone in a position of power potentially bending the rules for another.
Inukimi nodded. "Very well."
The nurse made her wash her hands and put on gloves, then led her to the boxes with her granddaughters. Little Towa was sleeping, the little silver fluff on her head so reminiscent of Sesshoumaru's as a babe. Setsuna was a different creature entirely to behold, her dark hair and deep violet eyes staring up at Inukimi with curiosity. Though her coloring was more her mother's, there was a set to Setsuna's face that reminded Inukimi of Sesshoumaru.
"Would you like to hold Setsuna since she's awake?" the nurse asked. Inukimi nodded. The nurse reached into the box and handed the girl over to Inukimi, rattling off—probably unconsciously—to mind her head and the wires.
As the weight of the little one settled into Inukimi's hands, her heart panged. She hadn't realized until that moment how much she missed this feeling.
The nurse smiled at her. What kind of expression did she have on her face just now? She tried to twist it back into neutrality. "I'll just be over there," the nurse said, pointing to the corner. "Let me know when you're ready to put her back."
Setsuna pawed at Inukimi's fur over and over again. "You like that, do you?" Inukimi murmured. "It is a rather lovely one. Sadly, you will not have your own, but…perhaps we can figure something out."
Setsuna grunted, and then the scent of feces filled Inukimi's nose, which crinkled.
"Here I thought we were having a moment, but apparently you thought otherwise."
"Un," Setsuna said.
"I'll take her," the nurse said, reappearing and pulling Setsuna from Inukimi's grasp without so much as a by-your-leave. "I need to change her and take her weight. In the meantime, you're welcome to touch Towa through the portal, but I can't have you hold her just yet." Then the nurse set to work cleaning Setsuna up.
Inukimi moved around to Towa's box. The little girl was still sleeping, so she reached through the holes in the box, running the tip of her finger along the little divots of pre-knuckles on the baby's curled fist. To think they looked so gentle, and yet these little hands had already shown their claws.
"I will teach you to wield them," Inukimi murmured. "It is obvious that half-demon or not, you have inherited a great many abilities. We will discover them together. You will not be helpless. So sleep well, little one, and dream of a limitless future."
Izayoi was not released until later that afternoon, so she did not arrive at the hospital until visiting hours were nearly over. Nevertheless, she came to check on her son and mate as well as to see Rin and the twins. Then they all had to head back home for the night before beginning their vigils again the next day.
Inuyasha was discharged the following morning, but he went home to recuperate with Kagome. Sesshoumaru became the ghost that haunted Rin's room and the NICU. Inukimi and Izayoi each sat at Touga's bedside, waiting for him to awaken.
That first day they sat together, the silence weighed heavily between them.
Izayoi caved to it first.
"I only saw a small portion of the battle," Izayoi admitted. "Once the boys made it into the arena. How…how did you fare?"
Inukimi recapped in succinct detail her fight with Byakuya and what led Inuyasha, Touga and Rin to be in their current states.
In turn, Izayoi relayed what she had witnessed about the altercation before Inukimi had happened upon the boys in the clearing—how after Naraku's monsters were defeated, the boys had lured Hakudoushi into the arena in order to trap Entei. There, an injured Tsukuyomaru had created a barrier that kept the horse from flying off, and Inuyasha used the Backlash Wave on Hakudoushi's attack to end them. But then Naraku and Zero had appeared, and Kanna, Naraku's IT-specialist daughter, brought in not only the girls but the DSC officers who had gone in to retrieve them under her spell. Naraku had attempted to have Kagome kill Inuyasha then, but her spiritual energy made her more resistant to Kanna's control, and she ultimately broke it.
It was during these altercations that Naraku finally revealed his motives.
"I just couldn't believe that Naraku was my old partner on the force, On Igumo," Izayoi confessed. "I always felt guilty for what happened at the Mamidaira Inn, but to think that's what started all of this."
Inukimi did not recall the incident in question, so Izayoi explained.
"Fifty years ago, the DSC got a tip about a demon hotel, the Mamidaira Inn. I notified Inuyasha so that he could get the tanuki staff and guests out before we arrived, but he only half succeeded by the time we showed up. The tanuki panicked, throwing flash bombs at us and setting the inn ablaze. My partner, On Igumo, and I got trapped within. Inuyasha came to save me, but he wasn't careful, and On Igumo found out he was a half-demon and my son. So he pulled a gun on my boy. Inuyasha grappled with him and…accidentally pushed him into the fire.
"On Igumo barely survived, and Kikyou, his ex-girlfriend, came to care for him in the hospital—exactly where Inuyasha went to…silence him."
As he should have. The whelp had left a loose end, and it was his responsibility to yank it out. Inukimi could picture what happened after that. The boy got distracted by his infatuation with Chief Kimura.
Izayoi continued, "Apparently, On Igumo's jealousy over the two's deepening relationship was what led him to trick Inuyasha into revealing his identity to Kikyou, who then…shot him. The rest you know."
Inukimi sat back in her chair. "And so the mystery is solved at last. Why Naraku appeared to suddenly. Why he was so obsessed with your son."
Izayoi nodded. "But now it's left me wondering if this was all my fault."
Inukimi frowned. "Why would you think that?"
"Because if I had been more careful that day—or I had alerted Inuyasha sooner or stalled the DSC or something—this could have all been avoided."
"You cannot know that," Inukimi said. "Take it from someone who has tried to change the future. Even if you try to change what you think is the root problem, something else you could never have expected comes up. You cannot account for every possibility, for you cannot control the actions of others—or even the vagaries of nature and fate."
Izayoi nodded. "I…yes, you're right. Thank you, Inukimi. That was…very reassuring."
Their conversations went on and off in this manner—many times sticking to a recounting of events, but here and there, an unexplored memory or feeling emerged. Touga remained asleep for the entirety of the day.
The next day, Inukimi and Izayoi took up their respective positions again—Izayoi at the head of the bed and Inukimi at Touga's feet. They appeared to have exhausted the topic of the battle and all news of medical updates, so Inukimi perused her tablet, and Izayoi sewed something for the babies.
At one point, Inukimi felt a shift in Touga's demonic power—just a flicker. But she knew what that meant.
She placed a hand on his ankle. "He's waking up."
Izayoi looked over at him in surprise, because he still appeared to be quite asleep. Abandoning her sewing, Izayoi grabbed Touga's hand. "My love?" she asked.
Touga's eyes twitched. He shifted, and his head lolled over, but he still didn't wake. It was another ten minutes before he opened his eyes and immediately found Izayoi's.
"Hello, my dearest," Izayoi said, reaching out and caressing his face.
"Izayoi," Touga murmured in such a content voice that Inukimi's heart squeezed. Reflexively, her hand tightened on his leg, and he looked down. His eyes widened marginally. "Inukimi."
"Welcome back," Inukimi responded.
"How long have I been out?" he asked, looking around the hospital room.
"Three days," Izayoi responded.
He closed his eyes, concentrating as if he were trying to remember. Then his eyes snapped open. "Rin! How is she? The girls…?"
"Towa and Setsuna fought hard. They are in the NICU," Inukimi said.
"Fought? The NICU?" Touga echoed, trying to sit up. He winced, and Izayoi pushed him back down. Inukimi repeated everything the doctor had told her. And then she explained Rin's condition.
Touga sighed, deflating into the bed. "That poor girl. She did nothing to deserve all this. How is Sesshoumaru holding up?"
Inukimi glanced out the window to the sky. "He does not step outside the hospital until he is forced to. At home…he sleeps. Or at least, I believe he does."
Touga's expression flickered with concern. Though the words might seem innocuous enough to a human—promising, even because of said rest—Inukimi and Touga both knew that if Sesshoumaru was succumbing nightly to something he didn't normally need for days, he was not well.
"I see. Will you call him here? I'd like to see him. No, wait, I want to see the girls too. I should get up," he said, sitting forward again.
"Not until you've seen the doctor," Izayoi protested, pushing back on his chest and pressing the call button.
"I'm fine, Izayoi," Touga answered, though when he bent forward, he tried to hide a grimace and failed.
"That's what your son said. He fought his doctors and nurses to the point they had to strap him down to his bed," Izayoi answered with an accusatory look at Touga, as if it were all his fault their son had inherited such tendencies. "I won't intervene if they need to do the same to you."
Touga sighed, shaking his head and lying back. "Very well, I'll behave. But Inukimi, please call Sesshoumaru."
She did, and their son came by as requested. He even showed off the pictures of Towa and Setsuna on his phone, which not only appeased Touga but, to Inukimi's eye, brightened Sesshoumaru's mood even if only marginally. For the moment, it was enough.
Towa and Setsuna were released from the NICU a few days later. The day Sesshoumaru was scheduled to bring them home, Inukimi organized the entire estate staff to line up along the walkway to their home.
Perhaps they could no longer host a ceremony with the sort of grandeur she had in the past with a palace and hundreds of loyal servants at her beck and call. But she would see to it that her grandchildren received the respect they deserved.
She stood with Touga, Izayoi, Kagome, and Inuyasha on the engawa as Sesshoumaru arrived, bearing the children in their car seats.
As one, the staff bowed and intoned, "Welcome home, Towa-sama and Setsuna-sama!"
Kagome snapped pictures on her phone as Sesshoumaru looked around the proceedings in a mild state of awe. No sooner had he reached his family than Touga swooped down to carry both girls in his arms. "Hello, my precious puppies," he said, rubbing his nose one at a time against theirs, a natural canine instinct to show affection. Towa sneezed in Touga's face as a result, but he just laughed. "Even your sneezes are adorable."
"Goodness, it's true what they say: men treat their girls differently from their boys," Izayoi remarked. "You were much more reserved with Inuyasha."
"It was a different time," he replied. "It wasn't acceptable for men to show so much emotion."
"Is that your excuse?" Inukimi remarked, but aside from some raised eyebrows, the others let her comment slide. She turned to the assembled staff. "You may come give your greetings to the princesses."
Sesshoumaru looked ready to duck inside, but Touga assured him that this would give the staff an opportunity to bond with the girls they were to serve. Inukimi thought it was quite rude of Touga to hog all the time holding the children, so at one point, she plucked Towa out of his arms and held her. Izayoi then ended up taking Setsuna, leaving Touga looking rather put out.
By the time they were done, the babies were snoozing. "We should put them to bed," Sesshoumaru said, stepping inside.
"Wait! Rin and I promised we would do this photo-op when they were born," Kagome interrupted, shoving her phone in his face. Inukimi glanced at it, finding a photo showing two naked babies lying on their sides facing each other in the shape of a heart. They lay on a quilted heart to reinforce the image. With the heart, it was a touch too gaudy for Inukimi's tastes, but she understood the sentiment of wanting to see pups snuggle with each other. "I've made the props and everything," Kagome continued.
"Perhaps you should save this for a milestone," Sesshoumaru remarked. "Let them acquaint themselves with their new home."
Kagome frowned. "They're babies—they're going to sleep anywhere you put them. Let me take a picture in the meantime."
He frowned. "They are part dog-demon. There are unfamiliar smells and auras here. They must learn that this is home."
Kagome stopped. "Oh. I didn't think of it that way."
Sesshoumaru strode past her. "Remember that eight months from now, when yours is born."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Fine. Since we can't do their one-week milestone, we'll do it for their one-month one. And maybe by then…Rin will be awake to participate." Her words were a somber reminder for the group of who was missing this moment, and so once the girls were down in their bassinets, everyone quickly dispersed.
That first night, Inukimi heard every time the girls cried. Sesshoumaru and Jaken ran to and fro between the nursery and the kitchen. Whiffs of dirty diaper and baby powder clung to them as they passed. But Sesshoumaru never once asked Inukimi for help.
Once again, Inukimi found herself having to adjust to more noise. But then, after the last few months of having Rin here, she was more or less used to no longer being in a cone of silence.
Yet there was one point in the middle of the night when the girls' crying simply would not cease. Sesshoumaru and Jaken had been with them for nigh half an hour, and the girls continued to scream. Truly, they had demonic lungs to wail for so long.
So Inukimi put down her tablet and went to the nursery. Sesshoumaru held a wailing Setsuna against his fur, trying to soothe her.
"I had forgotten how loud it is to have a child in the home…let alone two," she announced as she entered the room. Her son looked at her with tired reproach, but without another word, she walked over and plucked Setsuna from his grasp and started rocking her, humming the first tune that came to mind.
Sesshoumaru stared at her in befuddlement. "You…used to sing to me, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. You were my little boy," Inukimi answered, wiping the tears from Setsuna's cheeks as she calmed down and snuggled into her grandmother's fur. "It is an ancient song passed down through our clan. Your father sang it to you as well." And, I suspect, to Inuyasha. Inukimi looked up at him. "I understand your propensity for quiet, son. But at this age, children need to hear you to be comforted."
Her lullaby soothed the girls, and so they put them to sleep. Sesshoumaru hovered over their bassinets, staring at them for a few moments as they slumbered. She understood the compulsion. There was some inexplicable instinct that needed to be reassured that they breathed. She stood vigil beside him, but her gaze soon turned towards her son instead of his children. A smear of baby powder coated his cheek. She couldn't believe he had actually changed a diaper and not left it just to Jaken. Was this more of Rin's influence? From what Inukimi understood, the girl had all but forced him to attend parenting classes with her at the hospital.
She reached out to wipe away the powder, and he jerked away in surprise. She raised her brows and held her white thumb up. "You had baby powder on your face. Most unbecoming." He huffed in response. She looked down at her fingers as she brushed off the powder and then murmured, "Looks like I owe you two a honeymoon." Sesshoumaru looked at her for an explanation, but Inukimi decided to leave him guessing.
When she returned to her tablet, she began looking up lists of popular honeymoon spots for demons. She would need something to surprise Rin with when she woke up.
Childcare for new parents took a great enough toll. But as the weeks passed on, Inukimi watched her once unflappable son's frame slump more and more with weariness, becoming a mere shell of himself.
Rin still had not woken up.
There was hope at one point, for Sesshoumaru swore he felt her awareness flare through their mating bond, but she didn't wake up when he checked on her. And as the weeks dragged on, Inukimi saw that threadbare hope unravel more and more of Sesshoumaru's soul. But as much as the babies also ate away at his energy, they seemed to be the one thing tethering him to this life.
Rin was right. Without them, he would have been lost.
But it pained Inukimi to know there was nothing she could do to help her son beyond the support she already gave him at home.
Sesshoumaru had fallen into a pattern. As soon as the babies were up, changed, and fed in the morning, they headed to the hospital, where they stayed all day. Jaken would go with him to help care for the girls while Sesshoumaru remained a sentinel at Rin's bedside. Then they returned at night, went through the same motions, and Sesshoumaru attempted to sleep—which was perhaps the biggest testament to his mental degradation.
Then, six weeks after the battle with Naraku, Touga burst through the front door of Inukimi's house.
"Sesshoumaru called. Rin's awake," he announced.
Finally, Inukimi thought, abandoning her tablet. She hurried with him to the garage, where the rest of the family was getting into their cars.
When they entered Rin's room, the Higurashis were already there. Inukimi took one look at her daughter-in-law and sighed in relief.
The girl was obviously exhausted, her eyes droopy and her body lying back against the propped-up bed, but even illness had not driven away her smile, which she turned on everyone in the room—even her mother-in-law.
At one point, Inuyasha asked, "So when are they finally gonna spring you from this joint?"
"Two days…I think?" Rin replied in a raspy voice—the result of having a feeding tube down her throat for so long.
Rin looked to Sesshoumaru for confirmation. He added, "They wish to monitor her for the next forty-eight hours and run some tests. They also want to devise a physical therapy plan."
Rin's expression deflated, her shoulders drooping as she stared at her legs. They twitched beneath the covers. "I haven't tried getting up yet…but I can hardly lift them."
She would be wheelchair-bound for weeks while she learned to walk again. Inukimi realized then that their house was anything but accessible. She would have to work on getting that fixed.
"Good thing we have a pool!" Kagome announced. "Isn't water rehab good for this sort of thing?"
Rin nodded. "That's a great point, sis. Maybe you won't mind…helping me work out then." The sisters giggled.
"Look, all that's important is that you're awake again," their brother, Souta, said, patting her hand. "The walking will come with time."
"You're a young thing. You'll bounce back before you know it," Grandpa Higurashi added.
"And then we'll really have something to celebrate," Touga said. "After all, we still haven't held your wedding reception. I can't think of a better way to celebrate your marriage, your girls, and your recovery."
Sesshoumaru cautioned, "It is too soon to plan such a large affair right now. Let Rin rest."
"Don't worry, Rin—you needn't lift a finger. Izayoi and I will handle everything," Touga answered with a grin.
Unbeknownst to Rin and Sesshoumaru, Inukimi, Touga, and Izayoi had already been planning this for a while. It had provided something for the family to look forward to as Rin slept.
For instance, when Inukimi had presented some honeymoon options to Sesshoumaru, he had picked one without hesitation: a sanctuary in Ireland run by the local sidhe that she and Sesshoumaru had visited sometime during the last century, when they were conducting research for Western Sanctuary. Apparently, going to Ireland was a bucket list item for Rin.
And because Inukimi had taken it upon herself to research their honeymoon (never let it be said that she could not hold up her end of a bargain), she allowed Izayoi to take the lead in planning the reception alongside Touga (though of course, Inukimi made her opinions on certain matters, such as Izayoi's garish taste in florals, known).
Inukimi had experienced the resetting of time over and over again. The very concept of it had ceased to have much meaning for her. And yet in these past six week, time had felt suspended as they waited for Rin to wake.
Now, finally, the clock was moving forward for their family once more.
AN: If you decided not to read My Sanctuary because you did not want spoilers…you now have permission to go read! This is the last chapter that follows the details of that fic. From here on out, we will deal with events post-My Sanctuary — a sequel, of sorts! Look forward to it!