InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fuyu no Shimekiri ❯ Fuyu no Shimekiri (Winter's End) ( Chapter 24 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Chapter 24: Fuyu no Shimekiri

It had been one month since the formal dinner announcing their mating, and summer was pretty much upon them. The days had lengthened, and warmed, and Kagome had taken to napping in her favorite spot in their private gardens, on a blanket she kept for just that purpose.

Her pregnancy was following expected lines... well, expected for a youkai pregnancy. So far, she had carried as a youkai female would, and was already beginning to show, just slightly.

Sesshoumaru thought she looked even more regal pregnant. It gave her a glow and a grace that suited her so well, he thought, privately to himself, of course, that he'd keep her pupped just to watch her. He'd heard of males who lost interest in their mates as they grew with child - and he thought they were crazy. The more she swelled, the more he wanted her. Of course, he always wanted her, so maybe that didn't say much, but...

His thoughts broke off as she woke, and noticed him sitting on a bench near her. Smiling, she held out a sleepy hand to him, and he obliged, coming to sit near her, lifting her head into his lap so he could play with her hair.

"Are you well, my mate?" he asked quietly.

"Mmhmm," she sighed, yawning sleepily. "It feels so good here in the shade, with the warmth of the sun and the smells of the garden. I could stay here all day."

He chuckled lightly at her as she arched appreciatively into his fingers. She really liked having her hair played with.

"Inuyasha left with Shippo. Apparently, he is tired of being alone, and decided it was time to find something to occupy his time with, since he cannot have you," he said, smugly. "He plans to help Shippo rebuild the southern palace, and begin settling his clans in their new homes. They both said to tell you they will return to see our child birthed."

She glowered for a moment. "What? They left, and didn't even say goodbye? Why, those..."

Sesshoumaru's eyes softened with amusement. "Of course they did not, beloved. It is not wise to wake you from your sleep, lately. Even I fear your wrath. Look what you did to Koga when he woke you to say goodbye."

Kagome blushed and lowered her eyes. She'd gone on the warpath when he'd woken her up, told him he didn't need to wake her to say goodbye, he could show up at anytime and see her, so there was no need for her to suffer lack of sleep over it. He'd left with his tail between his legs, and Satori's laughing remarks about being whipped. It seemed Shippo and Inuyasha had no intention of being made fools of that way, and simply chose to disappear during her nap.

She muttered sulkily under her breath for a moment, until Sesshoumaru leant down and captured those pouty lips - he figured they were seeing much better use this way. She eagerly returned the affection, and before long, the Western Lord had picked up his mate and disappeared into their rooms... and they weren't seen again until dinner.

Later that night, after they had retired for the evening, and he'd once again worn his mate out, he lay watching her sleep, and thinking over the years since he'd first met her. It was odd, he mused, to think of the word 'human' and 'centuries' in the same sentence, since humans had such short lifespans, but then again, Kagome had never been a normal human. She'd been marked by the kami from the day of her conception.

He wondered, now, about her parents - her mother, who'd carried and delivered her, and her father, who'd sired her, and wondered if he'd get the chance to meet them. Under normal circumstances, he knew without a doubt they'd definitely live that long. That was not to say something couldn't happen before that time... he knew all too well that it could.

Still, it being a mere three hundred and some years till her birth era, he had plans to meet his mate's family, and satisfy that curiousity. She hadn't said much about them, but from the little she had said, he was pretty sure he'd like her mother... seemed she was a great deal like her, and anyone that was like Kagome, as far as he was concerned, could only be worth knowing.

She sighed peacefully in her sleep, rolling over slightly to cuddle against his chest, and he smiled tenderly down at her, placing a gentle hand against her belly. He couldn't wait to feel the pup move... they'd found out just yesterday that the babe was male, and he was excited to know that his heir would be born first. Not that he wouldn't love a daughter, and he definitely wanted several of those, especially if they looked like his mate, but it certainly made it easier that his son was to be born before any others.

With a content look settling on his face that was becoming more and more common to see on him, he let his eyes drift shut, and fell into a cool, soft world of dreams.

Four months later, with a sense of timing that could only have come from his mother, Sesshoumaru's heir decided with regal indifference to what was going on in the world, that it was time to be born, and Kagome took to childbed the moment her waters broke open. It was, perhaps, fortunate for everyone in the shiro that the expectant father was no where around at that time, otherwise, Kagome's screams of pain probably would have had his beast taking over and destroying the palace around their ears.

He'd been called away to council with Koga, and Shippo, over the solutions to the problems that they had discovered with Koga's management of his lands during the war with the South - and it wasn't overly surprising that the hotheaded ookami wasn't taking the implied critiscisms well... until Inuyasha showed up and informed them that Kagome was birthing his brother's heir, and pointed out to Koga what was likely to happen to him if she found out that he was keeping her mate from her at a time like this. He backed down quickly, and the two males followed the Western Lord back to his home - at a more sedate pace, of course.

By the time an almost crazed Sesshoumaru arrived, the pup was already crowning, and with Satori guarding the door into the birthing room, he actually managed to wait to go in until he'd heard the final cry of his mate, followed by the first cry of his son. His mother stepped away from the door with a smile, and Sesshoumaru was inside the room and at his mate's side before anyone could even blink, determined to make sure his beloved was safe, before taking his son into his arms for the very first time.

It was a beautiful moment, and one that Kagome would never forget. She watched as his eyes softened on his child, and then he looked up at her,and came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. Holding the blanket-wrapped bundle out to her, he swallowed hard, and then said, "He is perfect, Kagome. Look at him," he breathed, wonder infusing his tone. "He looks a great deal like my father, with his crests the way they are."

Sitting up just slightly, she pulled back the edge of the blanket, and blinked away the sudden tears in her eyes at the sight. He really was perfect, just as his father had said. His hair was the same beautiful silver of his heritage, and he carried the crescent moon that marked his father, but his eyes - they were a gorgeous deep, warm blue, and if you looked close enough, you could see golden flecks in them. He had a single, jagged dark blue crest on each cheek, and she could see tiny claws peeking from the edges of the blanket.

Perfect.

Later the next evening, the court of the west, along with Inuyasha, and Lord's Koga and Shippo bore solemn witness to the pup's official introduction to the world. Sesshoumaru, carrying his heir, and followed by Kagome, and Satori, entered the room and moved up to the dais.

Turning to face the room, he motioned for silence, and said, "This Sesshoumaru has come before the court of the Western Lands to announce the birth of his son and heir." Holding the silent pup up for all to see, he continued, "The son of this Sesshoumaru will be called Inukou, for he is the prince of the Inu clan." A dangerous glare passed over the room. "Are there any that wish to dispute the naming of my heir?"

Silence.

"Excellent," he purred. "Since no one is feeling particularly foolish this evening, let the court celebrate this night."

He turned towards Kagome as she moved forward to take a now whimpering pup from her mate's arms with a smile. "He's hungry again, love. I will go and feed him, then return to you here."

Satori watched as her son nodded, a proud, satisfied look on his face as his eyes followed her progress out the door, peace in her mind for the first time in centuries. She had so many times over the years worried that her only son would never find happiness - that he would dwell on the mistakes of the past forever, but it seemed that the winter ice that had always surrounded her son's heart was finally, completely gone...

The long, cold winter was truly over, and spring had come to the House of the West at last.

---zZz---

A/N: Wow! What a ride that was... my first attempt at a Sess/Kag pairing. This trilogy is now done. I hope I kept everyone entertained well enough. This is the last chapter of Fuyu, however, there is an Epilogue to come, so don't jump me for leaving dead ends just yet. The epilogue may be a bit longer than the rest of the chapters, so it might take a few days to get out, but I'm aiming to be done with this by the beginning of the week, so just a few more days. I wanted to thank all the readers, and a special thanks to the reviewers. Hopefully, people enjoyed the journey with me, and will remember this story as an entertaining read for a few years to come. Ja Ne!

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