InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Lifetime Loving You Part 1; Seasons in Owari ❯ Birth of the Second Hanyo ( Chapter 28 )

Chapter 28; Birth of the Second Hanyo

(Inu-yasha)

Aki and I stood out side on the perches of stone looking at the sky as snow began to fall on our faces. The clouds were in an odd formation, and the wind was starting to pick up a little. There was a chill in the air and a distant howl in the air.

"A storm is coming, Inu-yasha. It's is best that we get all the animals into the barn and secure them in their pens."

I nodded and jumped down from my perch with him and began to get to work.

Moment later we were all inside eating our share of dinner as the wind began to pick up outside. Aki and I ate late that night in the kitchen. We ate our ration of rice and dried meat with warm milk from the cow and said nothing for a time.

Aki then looked at me for a long period of time over the table. I finally caught his stare and put my bowl down on the table.

"What?"

Aki looked down and then back. "There is something very odd about the way you treat Lady Kagome. You act as though you love her, and yet it seems there is something holding you back.

"Inu-yasha, I know that it might not be my place--"

I snapped, "Then mind your place!" I picked up my bowl and began eating again.

Aki arched his brow and then narrowed it. "You love another...or you love her and she has passed on and you can not put her out of your mind. I can see it in your eyes."

I froze and then placed the food down again. "She...she's alive, Aki. She's alive and walking this earth...and I don't know what to do. I'm not able to figure any of it out. I don't know what is write or wrong anymore."

If only I had known...

If only I had known at that very moment Kagome was just around the corner of the kitchen hiding from us and listening to our conversation...

"Inu-yasha...is this woman...your mate?"

If only I had known she was there looked at us both as I sat before my food. If only I had known she had walked in and had smelled her scent, I would have saved myself from the torment, pain, longing, desire, loneliness, and bitter cold that I would feel for so long.

"Yes, she is! I mated with her the night before our trust weakened and I lost her. Now she's here, on this earth again and...and I don't know what to do."

I heard no noise as Kagome placed her hand over her mouth and began to step away from her hiding place and then disappear down the hall fighting the tears that wouldn't be held back. She cried as she ran through the halls of the estate and slumped onto a wall to weep bitterly.

A moment later, she pushed herself to her feet again and throwing on her winter fur and booties, and ran out into the cold before the storm hit.

Polaris came around the corner only to see her close the door behind her. Then, she slowly made her way down the halls to find her sisters. "Does anyone know what is bothering Lady Kagome?"

All of the sisters shook their heads, and Polaris made a face. "Let her be then. She'll be back before the storm arrives."

~~~~

(Kagome)

My tears made it hard to see, and the cold made my face cold. I marched through the snow to the barn and opened the door and closed it as snow skimmed the surface of the white blanket.

I sniffled and tried to stop myself from weeping as Inu-yasha and Kikyo's words echoed in my head.

It was true!

I made my way to the pile of hay just outside the pen where the cow and her four months old calf stood eating the hay. I put my hand over the calf's nose and rubbed it as it nibbled in the hay.

"You grew up never knowing your father, right? All you need is a mother to support and care for you. So, why can't my baby be the same, right?

"I'm alone in this world now. I always have been." I whipped my nose on the back of my hand and tried to catch my breath. I then touched my belly as a slight discomfort made it hard to sit up the way I was. It was an odd pain that I had not felt before, and to cure it I lay back in the warm hay on my side and looked at the two animals near me.

"Inu-yasha has no room for me in his heart...what room would it hold for my child? He deserves to be free. I have no right to keep him like this."

I felt my eye lids begin to drift and close. "I'm so tired...so tired..."

~~~~

(Inu-yasha)

Hours passed and the storm has finally hit us in the house. The sisters secured the doors with wood and locked the windows. The wind was howling like a pack of wolves just outside the home, and the snow sounded like sand blasting against the wood walls.

Polaris took a seat at the table in the eating room and began to sew an old kimono.

I arrived in my red kimono and hakama and sat down at the other end of the table. She didn't look up at me and continued to look at her stitching.

"Inu-yasha, I fear something upset Lady Kagome today. Would you have any idea what might have been the cause of it?"

I looked at her rather strangely. "Why is it that whenever Kagome gets upset about something, they point the finger at me? Jeez, no matter where I go it's the same!"

Polaris smirked as she pulled her needle through. "A curse perhaps due to the fact you stay beside her. You are always at her side Inu-yasha, and I see the love you have for her."

I turned to her and lowered my eyes. "I don't love her...I can't! I'm bound to another woman."

Polaris stared at me for a long time, examining the look on my face and saw everything just by looking at my face.

"Tell me of this woman, Inu-yasha! Tell me of your mate!"

I felt a strange sense of warmth go down my neck. "You...you really want to know?"

Polaris placed her work down and folded her hands. "Humor this old dog! Come, come!"

I listened to the sound of the wind in the wood for a moment and looked at the tiny flame of light in the center of the table.

I told her about the time I got word of the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls, and that I had once desired it's power to become a full fledged demon. I told her of the woman who guarded that jewel, and how she would shoot her arrows at me to ward me off.

The Priestess Kikyo was a master archer, who guarded the jewel from demons, and me. Yet, no matter how many demons she had killed, she could not kill me.

"I can't show weakness to anybody. I mustn't be indecisive, because a demon would use it against me.

"While I'm a human, I'm not allowed to be human.

"Inu-yasha, you and I look alike. Since you are half demon that is why I haven't been able to kill you."

I remember snorting over the entire fact. "Quit your complaining, we've all got our cross to bear!"

The look on her face...the look that made my heart burn with guilt and longing. "You're right I shouldn't complain."

I remember following her. I was all ways at her side, watching her with the children, purifying herself by the waterfalls, and gathering herbs. And at the same time no matter where I was, she was not far away either.

"Me become human?"

Those days when she told me of the other wish the jewel could grant. If I were to wish to become human and spend the rest of my days with her, I won't be alone anymore and she wouldn't be either.

We would be man and woman.

"You agreed to this?" Polaris voice came to me.

"Yes!"

I have no second thought, so doubt in my mind that would turn me away from something I had longed for. I had longed to be accepted...and I was. Kikyo would take me in and love me.

I remembered that night in the woods as the moon shimmered in the sky and Kikyo looked out over the cliffs at the village.

I came to her from the trees and touched her as she turned to me. "You should be asleep in the village."

Her eyes looked into mine as she touched my face. "I can't sleep! I don't want to be cold tonight."

I remember running my hands through her hair and then bending down to kiss her. The warmth in her mouth...the warmth in her touches...

Before I had time to comprehend all that had happened I found myself touching skin, my skin and hers. Her garments fell into a heap in the tall grass, and my kimono and nagajugan were by them. My hakama was pulled to my ankles, and my back as on the earth.

Her lips had a hunger that scared me, and I could smell the fear in her too. I remember her silent scream when it happened, when we became one. She was tight and warm, and she moved against me, pleasuring and touching me.

I couldn't breathe...couldn't think...all I knew was that I was there and this was happening.

"I was frightened when it happened. When I felt myself reach that point, I didn't know what had happened. All I knew was that something hot and warm that came from inside of me was mixing with her.

"I was inside of her..."

Polaris made no reaction and rested her chin on her hands. "What happened on the promised day?"

I closed my eyes as the memories flooded back to me. "A demon, Naraku, stole her form and deceived me into believing Kikyo had betrayed me. He had done the same to her, and took her life in the process. I went to the village and stole the jewel, but before I could make off with it, Kikyo, the real one, summed up the last of her power and bound me with her last scared arrow to a tree.

"I died wondering how it had come to this. How something that was going to be so right, would have come to this.

"Kikyo died not long after I was told and took the Jewel with her to the grave."

Polaris closed her eyes and tapped her index fingers together. "Do you know what happened after that?"

I smirked. "I woke up fifty years later to find Kagome running away from a demon. In turn, everyone believed she was the reincarnation of Kikyo.

"I didn't believe it...until the witch, Urasue stole Kikyo's ashes and grave soil to make her a new body. Then, she captured Kagome, and used her soul to give her a soul. It was then that I discovered Kagome's soul was Kikyo's.

"Kagome called the soul back to her body, but a piece of it remains in Kikyo. The piece that desires to take my life from this world because she couldn't trust me."

I tightened a fist until my claws began to dig into my skin, and I relaxed before blood was drawn. "Now...Kikyo is here, my mate...and I feel so lost and torn between something I'm not even sure about. Something, that I'm not even sure is real."

Polaris let a heavy amount of air escape from her nose and picked up her sewing again. "Inu-yasha...let me tell you something that my father once told me... 'Love lives for the living and the living live for love.'"

I looked at her in a strange way, completely baffled by what she had told me. "What are you talking about? That doesn't make any sense at all."

Polaris didn't even look at me. "In time, Nephew, in time!"

I sat there and crossed my arms. I thought about what she had said for a moment. "Love lives for the living and the living live for love..."

~~~~

(Kagome)

I didn't know how long I was out, but one thing was sure and that was that there was a pain in my stomach that hurt like hell when I awoke. I touched my pregnant belly and sat up with great struggle. The wind howled outside and I could hear the snow hitting the sides of the barn. The door and windows were rattling and it was dark.

Night had fallen, and the storm had picked up. "Great!" my voice cracked as I began to move my legs to aid myself.

Yet it was at that moment when I moved my legs, I discovered the lower half of my yukata was wet. "Odd...I guess the snow is melting and leaking from the roof."

I struggled to my feet and found the oil lamp, and I lit it with a stone. It took sometime before the oil began to burn and I could see the animals stirring in their pens.

"The storm must be getting bad." I walked over to the door and felt the violent rattle. "I'll just have to wait in here until it passes."

I began to walk back to the hay I was resting on when I stopped dead in my tracks.

I felt my stomach harden and contract violently all of the sudden, and it knocked the wind out of me making it hard to breathe. "Oh no...no, no, no, no, no, no not now! It can be time now?"

I felt the pain surge through my body and I stumbled to a fresh pile of hay not far from the sheep's pens. I moaned in pain and tried to breathe. I yelled a little, but not loud enough to spook the animals.

So, much pain!

It hurt so much!

When it subsided, I tried to breathe more properly again. "Oh gods, please not now! Not here! Not this night!"

It was then that I have finally come to realize the wet stain on my kimono was my broken water.

I had no choice. The baby was coming and I was alone.

I put my hand to my chest to ease myself to a steady pace of breath, only to realize that my mother's locket was gone. My mother's silver locket wasn't around my neck anymore.

I had lost it! I had lost my last piece of home; the last piece of my family.

I cried out of pain and heartbreak. "Now I really am alone!"

~~~~

(Inu-yasha)

I sat there in the dim light as Polaris sewed and I went over what she had told me in her head.

It was dead quiet in the estate. All that could be heard was the howling wind and snow smacking against the sides of it.

I closed my eyes to try and rest, when the sound of pounding footstep came down the hall. My ears perked and I turned them in the direction of the sound and turned my head to the hall. Aki came in a mad dash that could have matched Kouga's.

I saw his face written with panic and concern as he tried to catch his breath. I got to my feet as Polaris's eyes widened in fear. I took hold of Aki's shoulders and shook him a little.

"Aki, what is it? What's the matter?"

Aki took a gulp of air and held it for a moment, then said one name that made my body tremble with fear.

"Kagome..."

My eyes opened widened and something inside of me snapped.

"Lady Kagome is hu...she's not in the house."

Polaris jumped to her feet and I looked to her. "She went outside before the storm hit. If she not back yet then..."

My heart missed a beat and I bolted for the door. Aki turned on his heals, "No, Inu-yasha, you'll be blinded by the snow!"

I didn't care anymore! Kagome wasn't going to die, not like this, not while I was here. I wouldn't lose her or her baby to this or any other likes of demon, man, or nature.

I didn't even bother with a fur or any form of protection for my feet. I ran out into the wind and snow until I was in a cloud of white on the hill. The snow was so thick, I couldn't see the house, the barn, the tree, the rice fields, the forest, pastures, nothing but white. The tiny flakes of snow hit my face like needles and I had to cover my face with my kimono to shield my eyes.

The cold was unbelievable and I felt my teeth begin to chatter. I couldn't bring my arms down to hold myself with out worrying about my face and I looked through the snow.

"Kagome," I called out into the dark and white nothingness. "Kagome, where are you?"

The wind howled and it made my feet loose their balance momentarily before I caught it. I took a few more steps into the cold. "Kagome..." I yelled.

Suddenly the wind picked up and took my feet with it as I fell forward into the icy ground. I groaned and shivered as my mind tried to comprehend what had happened. I struggled to get to my feet again. I put one hand in the snow and pushed only to have it sink into the white, frozen powder.

Then, my hand touched something hard and I grasped it and pulled it out. Kagome's locket! She was near by, maybe.

I clutched the silver heart in my hand and got to my knees as my golden eyes looked out into the snow. "Kagome!"

I shivered and the icy snow began to hit me in the face again. I was so cold...so lost, with only this tiny locket in my hand.

I hunched over and swallowed as the snow hit my eyes while I squinted into the cold. My ears were frozen, my fingers and toes were numb with cold, and my nose filled with ice.

"Kagome," I moaned and fell into the ice.

Just take me know? I've failed her...I can't find her...she could be dead...frozen in the cold with a baby that I'll never see...never know...never hold.

"Inu-yasha!"

This was it!

"Inu-yasha!"

This was the end!

"Inu-yasha, on your feet."

I opened my eyes slowly and found a figure looming over me. The snow was gone and I found spring grass instead around my face. I gasped and jumped to my feet looking around me and then at the crescent moon in the sky.

"It's about time!" the voice said again.

I turned to the figure in the shadows as it slowly came into the moonlight. I narrowed my eyes to see what it was.

Slowly, a face appeared and looked at me. The same golden eyes, the same large dog ears and silver mane... "Father?"

He huffed and looked me over. "You have a knack for giving up all too quickly at points, and now of all times."

I turned to him once he was completed circling me like a lion. "What are you talking about 'now of all times'?"

He smirked. "Can't you sense it? The stillness in the air, the reasons why the girl is not near? The child is coming, My Son! Your brother's hanyo child in which he did not wish to bear on his own accord."

I lowered my head and then faced him. "I can't do this! I don't know how to be a father...and yet, I feel like I do."

Father smirked. "Instinct will drive you. It is in your demon blood, but your human half will lead you in the right path."

I narrowed my brow. "I don't understand!"

It was then that my father raised a single finger to my chest and with it, pulled out a white glow. "It is strong enough...good!"

The light disappeared into my chest again and the silver star charm appeared in its wake along with Kagome's silver heart shaped locket.

The two charms shimmered and my father broke a piece of his fang and put the floating fragment between the two objects.

The charms began to glow and turn into a swirling dust around the fang. Then, my father turned into a gust of wind around me and the silver dust and fang began to glow.

"Inu-yasha," my father's voice echoed around me as my feet left the ground. "This is the Spirit Star! It will subdue the demon sprit within the child and grant the second and third souls harmony. It will make it one of us...one of the western dogs of the wind.

"Do not forget...do not forget!"

I reached out to the circling silver dust as it formed a four point three dimensional star of silver. The fang glowed from within and it fell into the center of my palm. It was the size of a bite size piece of meat with this tiny fragment of fang within it glowing.

"Don't forget what?"

His voice came to me again. "Do not forget!"

I suddenly felt my body fill with warmth and heat. It was intense and yet so at ease. I felt strong and weak at the same time. My heart's pace quickened and the blood rushed in my veins. My lungs filled with the scents of herbs and flowers...of rich spiced fragrances and sweet scents.

This...this is what I feel... "Kagome..."

My eyes opened and I found myself in the snow again with an object enclosed in my hand. I opened it to find the Sprit Star I my palm. I sat up in the wind and snow and looked at it.

"Kagome!"

My nose picked up her scent, and it was strong with plenty of heat behind it. The smell of labor was mixed in with it too.

I pushed myself to my feet and stumbled as fast as my feet could carry me through the snow and wind. I blinked through the icy wall until my eyes could make out a darker all in front of me. Kagome's scent was strong here. "The Barn," I said as I pushed my way to the side. Of the building and found the door.

With all my strength I pounded on the door hard and busted it open and fell on the hay covered ground. I coughed as I took a breath of warm air. I heard clucking from the chickens and the cow mooed as she tried to keep her calf out of the cold air. I rushed to pick up a heavy piece of hide that covered the hay and bolted it to the opening with the broken pieces of wood from the damaged door.

I fell on my knees as I looked around me. I shook off the rest of the ice that hadn't melted and snorted air through my nose to warm it again. I looked around quickly and huffed. "Kagome?"

I crawled around the floor until the feeling in my legs could return. "Kagome?"

I heard panting to my left and turned my head just as Kagome turned to spy me. "Inu...Inu-yasha, the baby! The baby, it's coming!"

I suddenly got all feeling in my legs again and slid to her side. Her face was covered in sweat and her hands were trembling as I grabbed one, and her brown eyes looked into mine. "How far long are you?"

Kagome gasped for air. "I'm not sure...but they're getting closer!"

I looked at her and suddenly felt Kagome grip my hand as another one of her contractions hit her full blast.

I had had swords pierce me, wolves bite me, and beatings by the thousands...but nothing compared to the pain I felt when Kagome gripped my hand through the contraction. I must have made a dozen faces in that one moment as I waited for her grip too loosen and the contraction to end after she stopped yelling.

"Oh jeez this hurts!" she said at the end and she tried to catch her breath again.

I shook my hand once she let it go. "You're telling me!" I said in a raspy voice.

I looked her over for a moment and began to remove my kimono. I looked at the fire rat knowing that the warmth of the fur would keep the baby warm through the night. I ripped my sleeves from my kimono preparing a swaddling cloth for the baby.

I folded my vest and put it under Kagome's head to support her, and I shuffled through the hay to her legs. I looked at the white yukata for a moment to swallow hard and then look into Kagome's pain filled eyes.

"Kagome, listen to me! I'm going to feel to see how far long the baby is. Can you trust me?"

Her mouth opened and with a few puffs of air she nodded. "Uh-huh!"

I nodded to her and held everything back as I lifted her yukata to her knees and held my breath as I felt the place where the flesh was heated with liquid and warmth. Once I had found it I looked at her stomach and slowly made my way into her until I felt something. It was a hard lump of flesh and I gasped.

Kagome jumped. "What? What is it? Is the baby okay!" she asked through pants of air.

I pulled my fingers free and looked things over. "Kagome, the baby's fine, but you have to start pushing."

Kagome looked at me like I was crazy. "Push, no I don't want to push!"

I narrowed my brown and looked at her. "Kagome, you've got to! The baby's got to come out now."

Kagome's panicked pants began and I could sense her fear begin to build. She didn't know what she was doing, or what would happen. In that moment, Kagome's eyes seemed to fill with loneliness, and it worried me.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I pushed her legs farther apart for birth and pushed Kagome against the pile of hay behind her. Her pants increased and she began to moan. "Another one's coming!"

I put my arms around her knees and leaned into her body and let my nose brush against hers. Kagome's eyes opened and her pants became scattered.

"Remember this, Kagome? Just look into my eyes, and focus on that."

Kagome's breathing seemed to sooth a little and I felt her hands grip my shoulders. She nodded. "I'm ready!"

I let out a breath of air I didn't know I was holding and took another breath in. "Now, push!"

Kagome held her breath and beard down on her stomach as she scrunched her face up. I pushed her legs back into her to give her the extra power she needed to deliver, and we held on to our breath together for what felt like hours before Kagome stopped.

"Count to ten!"

"What?" I said out of breath.

"Count to ten! I'm only supposed to push for ten seconds during each contraction!"

I gave her an odd look. "Who told you that?"

She caught her breath and got ready to push a second time. "Just count!"

"When?" I freaked.

"NOW!" she screamed as she pushed again.

I caught her, and began the count once my head cleared. "1, 2, 3..."

Kagome's body tensed as each number dripped from my lips like those faucets of her in her time. When ten came, Kagome relaxed in the hay once the contraction was over. I put my fingers to her warmth to feel for the bulge. "It moved a little. It will come quicker the more we go along with this."

Kagome's hands were still at my shoulders and I came back to her as her breath tried to steady again. I looked into her eyes and nuzzled her nose. "What is it?"

Kagome's eye looked lost. "When did all of you go out looking for me?"

"They didn't!" I said as I discovered I was trying to catch my breath as well from nerves and anticipation. "Aki found out you weren't in the house when the storm hit, and I ran out looking for you."

Kagome's eyes looked even more lost as her breath steadied again to almost normal, but I was still breathing puffs of air like, well, a dog.

"You...you were worried?"

I narrowed my brow and looked at her as I wiped away the sweaty hair from her face. "Kagome, since when did any of that change? I've always been worried about you when you could be in danger. Baby or no baby...I'll always protect you."

It was true, every word was true. Kagome's eyes shimmered for a moment before her breath picked up pace again. "Oh, it's another one! Here comes another one!"

I prepared myself and hooked my arms around her knees and leaned into her to watch her eyes. "Ready?"

Kagome's face scrunched up. "Mm-hmm!"

I touched her nose again. "Alright, push!"

When she did, I started counting for her. Yet somewhere in my head, my body couldn't believe I was here. Kagome was really giving birth to the tiny life I had felt kicking my hands not so long ago. The tiny life that I could smell, hear, and feel in side of this girl; and that tiny heat that pounded in my hand, was now on its way into our lives.

...Our lives!

It felt strange thinking of it that way. Our lives! Our baby, but it wasn't really mine...yet, everything that had transpired, everything that had happened to be in those nine months was now leading down to this moment. The moment when I discovered, I had longed for this baby to come as long as Kagome had.

For all that had happened, and everything that I felt, I wanted to protect this baby. I wanted to hold it and keep it safe from harm. I wanted to keep it warm.

I wanted it too call me what it could never call my brother.

This gift was given to me either by fate or something else, but everything that had happened to me was the same thing a father would do if his wife were with a child.

Even if this child's blood wasn't mine, it was still apart of my family...apart of my bloodline and heritage. This was the grandchild of my father for one thing...but it was also a dog demon, or at least half of it was. And the other half...

...the other half was Kagome; my Kagome.

That's was all I needed to know. That was all that needed to be known. This was Kagome's child, and that was all I cared about! I didn't need a better reason than that. Human men didn't need any better reason than that...so why didn't I?

On the third contraction, Kagome's pushes came with more force, but lacked in power toward the end.

I counted as she gasped, "Oh, god! It's coming! It's coming!"

I let Kagome after the count down was over and her body sort of flopped harder than it normally had. I put my hand to her warm spot, but this time the area was blocked.

I looked down to find a lump of flesh at the opening of Kagome's womb and let out a breath of joy that sounded like a puppy's bark. "Kagome, Kagome, the baby's crowning! We're going to have a baby soon!"

Kagome gasped for breath and tried to find herself again. Her eyes were fluttering and she was getting tired. The smile on my face began to disappear and I felt panic build in my chest again. The same panic I had felt when she was stolen from me in the wood so long ago. I had never panicked the way I had between that day and this moment.

"Kagome?" I whispered, and her breath wasn't pacing normally as it would have by this point. "Come on, Kagome, stay with me here! The baby's almost here!" I told her again with a smile that soon disappeared when Kagome began to waver.

The next contraction came hard and fast, and Kagome wasn't ready for it, and nor was I. I found her knees and the skirt of her yukata was now bunched at her hips, but I didn't care anymore. I let her legs go and looked at the crowning head; I put my hands over it. 'It's got to be now!'

I looked at Kagome as she tried to survive this contraction with gasps and moans. "Kagome, you need to push! Just one more push and the baby's out, Kagome!"

Kagome couldn't catch her breath and she had to swallow to speak to me. "I can't!"

I felt my pulse quicken and I leaned into her and rubbed her nose against mine. "Yes you can, Kagome! I know you can!"

Kagome swallowed again and shook her head. "I...can't!"

Her breathing was scaring me, and I began to worry not only for the baby's safety, but for hers. She was exhausted and her legs were limp. Kagome had no energy left in her.

"No, come on, Kagome! Please, don't give up now! Not when you're so close!"

Her fatigue was growing evident and no amount of nuzzling was bringing her out of it.

"Kagome!" I whispered.

She couldn't give up! Not now! I wouldn't let her! Not the girl who had faced demons larger than her. Not the girl who had made Naraku's heart tremble with fear. Not the girl whom I had grown to find so natural to have at my side all this time. No! I wouldn't let her do this! I wouldn't let her be done in by exhaustion from giving birth.

And so...I did the first thing that came to my mind.

I waited until Kagome's lips had steadied, and leaned in the rest of the way. I kissed her bottom lips and then her top, and before I knew it I had given into Kagome's lips with a hunger. My body trembled from the warmth that ran into my body when she returned it for the first time. When her mouth opened a little more I took advantage of it and let my tongue taste this girl I had come to adore in so many ways.

I put everything I couldn't tell her into that kiss; every "I'm sorry", every "Don't go", and every "Stay with me". My body trembled with the feeling building inside of me; and, when Kagome's hands palmed my face, the kiss became hungrier and more passionate.

'I need you! Not because of the shards or Naraku. I'm not strong enough on my own. Please, don't go! Please, don't disappear! I don't want to be alone! I don't want to be without you! It won't feel normal not having you at my side. It won't be right! Kagome...please...I'm here! I'm not leaving you! I swear, on my heart, or death, I will never leave you.'

This was the message in my kiss, and all of it was true.

When my lips left hers with reluctance and an uncontrollable urge that I couldn't fight, I found her eyes in mine again. I focused as I tried to find my breath again and steady my hands. Kagome's breathing balanced out and I got ready. "Now, push!"

Kagome caught her breath, and groaned as she leaned forward into my face and held on to my shoulder as she pushed. I encouraged and told her to keep going a the lump of flesh began to grown in my hands.

Before we knew it, there was movement in my hands and the next thing we heard was a newborn baby's cry. I opened my eyes and Kagome began to breathe again as she wondered what the noise was. I looked down first and laughed. I laughed for joy for probably the first time in my life. "Oh my gods!"

Kagome suddenly began laughing with me as be both trembled with the sudden excitement and pounding in our hearts.

Kagome's eyes never looked brighter, as I looked down at that gaping mouth and tiny nose and eyes. It was in its human form, which was typical for any hanyo child. The demon blood would kick in at it's own pace and time.

Still, I was holding Kagome's baby in my hands as it shrilled with cries from the lamp light and the cold.

I swallowed as Kagome began to comprehend what had just happened.

I looked into her eyes as tears formed in both our eyes. "Kagome...It's a girl, Kagome! It's a girl!"

Kagome laughed and smiled as she looked at me and then to her baby girl. I leaned back and put the tiny life in my lap while I collected my torn kimono's sleeves and cleaned her. Once a knot was tied on the cord, I cut it with my claws and wrapped the bundle of warmth in my fire rat sleeves and cradled her in my arms. Kagome rested for a moment to recover from delivering the placenta, and I cradled the girl in my arms to hush her.

Kagome looked at me with the tiny baby in my arms as it cooed in its sleep a little. Truly, she had never seen me happier until this moment. I had never been happier up to this moment. She then held out her arms to me and I looked to her. "Let me hold her?" she asked, knowing I couldn't refuse.

I handed her the baby making sure she supported her head and rump before making my way around Kagome and sitting behind her to keep her warm between my legs while she continued to recover.

I couldn't help touching that tiny package that had been inside of Kagome for so long. My nose couldn't help taking in Kagome's scent even though her hair and mine was still sticking to our faces.

I smirked, "She looks just like you."

Kagome giggled, "Yeah she does, doesn't she! Same nose...same ears...same cheeks..."

I nuzzled closer to Kagome's face. "Same beauty..."

Kagome turned to me and looked into my eyes with an unsure feeling in them. My heart pounded and my nose touched hers again.

My lips tried to find words again. "What are you going to name her?"

Kagome looked at the sleeping babe in her arms. "I don't know. She is part dog demon."

"So?" I asked, still wondering.

She turned to me. "Your mother named you in her native language. Why don't you name her?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "Me? Why me?"

Kagome's eyes batted. "Because you know the dog demon tongue, don't you?"

I thought for a moment, "It's hard to remember it all. It's been so long since I've really used it, or needed it for that matter."

I looked at the baby girl in Kagome's arms and thought hard for a moment, and then my father's voice came to me again.

"This is the Spirit Star! It will subdue the demon sprit within the child and grant the second and third souls harmony."

I looked to my chest and pulled the four pointed star from my clothing. Kagome looked at it in awe. "What is that?"

I spoke in a husky voice, "The Spirit Star...it's a gift from someone very dear to me, you could say."

In a way this was true...the star charm that made up this one was from Kagome, and then there was my father to consider.

I placed the charm over the blankets and looked at it for a moment of time. "I will keep her demon blood in check."

Kagome smiled and looked at me again. "Just like your Tetsusaiga. But that still doesn't get you out of a name."

I thought about what my father had said to me in the vision. "...demon spirit...second and third in harmony..."

Three souls... "Kitsumi"

Kagome was caught off guard. "What?"

I looked at her and then to the baby girl. "Kitsumi, it means 'Three Souls' in old dog demon."

Kagome looked at her daughter and smiled as she touched the baby's chin with her finger. "Kitsumi...Three Souls...but what are the three souls?"

I found myself trying to think of a way to explain this. What did my father mean by three souls anyway? Quickly I thought up an explanation.

"Three souls, you know, the soul of the mother, and the soul of the father..."

Kagome waited fore the rest as I tried to find the third. What could be the third?

"And the third?" Kagome asked with enchantment shining in her eyes, making me wonder if I should tell her what I really wanted to say.

But I didn't know...and out of panic I blurted, "The third soul is her soul, the soul that gave her life."

Kagome's eyes dimmed and she looked back at her baby again. "Oh, I understand!"

My heart felt funny after that, and I felt like something had happened. Something I wouldn't like.

Slowly, I began to nuzzle her again, but with the unknown passion I had suddenly never encountered before. I liked it! I liked it a lot! Truth was I wondered if I was allowed to have more of it.

I found my way to Kagome's face again, and switched sides to come to her face instead. Kagome's brown eyes looked into mine with a sadness and exhaustion in them.

Before I knew it my lips her stealing kisses from Kagome once again, and each had the same hungering passion as the first.

'The truth, Kagome....the truth is...I'm the third soul!'