InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Royal Birth: Sequel to His Little Girl ❯ I can do this ( Chapter 19 )

 

 

Kagome gasped softly in pain as she woke and moved on the bed. Her head was throbbing but she couldn't sleep any longer. Her pups needed to be fed and she had work to do. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha either hadn't come to bed yet or had already left, either way she was alone in the room and had no need to hide her discomfort.

 

Kagome turned on the bed as she sat up and let her legs hang off the side facing the window as she slipped off the bed. It was bad enough when she was simply sitting but now that she was standing her head felt like it may very well split open. She had to grab the foot board so she wouldn't fall and barely kept her feet under her as she moved to the wardrobe and dressed for the day. As stiff as she was it was hard to tie the belt on her under kimono and then her obi on her over kimono but she managed it and was able to make her way over to the vanity to brush her hair.

 

Kagome wanted to sob into her hands she was so tired but refused to give into the urge. She was strong, she wasn't a weak cry baby and she would get through this. These were her children she had to tend to how dare she feel put upon to be their mother. She loved them to the very depths of her soul but she was so very very tired. She stood slowly from the small bench and made her way over to the door. Every step was agony, her back burned and her body and mind simply wanted to collapse and sleep until the New Year but she couldn't. There was too much to be done.

 

Kagura was here and paying her a life debt, perhaps she could take these things off her hands. Her eyes widened and her hand slapped over her mouth as she ridiculed herself for the very thought of it. How dare she! Kagome thought and mentally berated herself. Kagura was her friend now, her friend! Not her servant, not her - whatever! She was her friend! Friend! Tears sprang to her eyes from self ridicule. How could she think such things?

 

She turned and ran down the hallway and made her way into an empty chamber and sat under the window on the floor her arms wrapped tight around her knees. She was so tired, so very tired. On top of that she had thought badly about her new friend and it all just came out as she sobbed softly into the hollow made by her knees and chest, her face buried in her arms.

 

“Shh, it's alright little one,” she heard a soft voice say and looked up to see Kokoro kneeling beside her. “Now suppose you tell me what's wrong?” the kindly squirrel youkai asked her as she stroked Kagome's hair.

 

“It's nothing Kokoro,” Kagome said and forced a smile as she dried her tears. “Just hormones I guess.”

 

The youkai looked at her a little sadly, why wouldn't her friend tell her what was wrong? Kokoro leaned closer and kissed Kagome's hair before standing and offering the woman a hand. She pulled Kagome to her feet gently and into her arms for a warm hug.

 

“Just promise me something Kagome,” she asked and Kagome made a sound of questioning. “Promise me that you'll ask for help if it gets to be too much?”

 

Oh my friend it already is too much, Kagome thought but didn't say it.

 

“I'll try,” Kagome said and the youkai woman sighed.

 

“I guess it's better than nothing.”

 

The women pulled away from each other and Kagome left the room after her friend, moving down the hall to find her pups. She could hear their bleating voices and found them playing with Keiko in the garden. The woman, her grandmother - grandaunt - aunt in law? Whatever she was, Kagome though with a shake of her head looked up at her and smiled.

 

“Hello dear,” Keiko greeted and motioned for Kagome to take a seat on the blanket she had set over the snow. “How are you?” she asked as Kagome sat down and lifted Inuyasha's daughter into her arms.

 

“I'm ok,” Kagome said and looked around before opening her kimono enough to tuck the infant inside to feed her.

 

“Your pups are teething,” Keiko said and Kagome smiled.

 

“Yes, my little ones are at that.”

 

Keiko frowned. “Kagome are you alright, forgive me for saying so but you seem rather distant. Is your mind still preoccupied with the fight? You only did what you had to, if you hadn't killed Loki and her daughter they would've killed countless others,” Keiko said thinking that to be the problem, Kagome was such a kind hearted girl.

 

“Yes” Kagome agreed, it was easier to go along with that then to say the truth. “It's hard to think about sometimes,” and it was. She hated the thought that she had willingly taken two lives without the excuse of gaining jewel shards.

 

“Well don't worry yourself dear, it will get better.”

 

Kagome nodded and continued to feed Makia, burping her once the infant was finished and then putting her own daughter to her breast, her son following soon after. She looked up when Keiko stood and gave her a nod and smile of goodbye when the youkai woman left.

 

“Mamma!” she heard the call of Shippou's voice and looked to see him and Rin come running towards her after hopping off the backs of their wolves.

 

“Mamma!” Rin said happily and the two hugged her fiercely, Kagome biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out in pain.

 

“Hello my little ones,” she said when she knew her voce would be steady.

 

“Hi Mamma,” Shippou and Rin said together and she laughed softly.

 

“Why don't you two go inside and get a bath. I'm sure your Uncle Yasha will be more than happy to help you with that.”

 

“Yay!” Rin squealed loving baths almost as much as she loved to pick flowers.

 

The young hanyou girl grasped Shippou's hand and drug him behind her as she ran into the castle calling for her `Uncle Yasha' all the way. She smiled softly at them and returned her attention to her nursing son. She flinched as his tiny milk teeth caught on her nipple and punctured the flesh. He didn't mean to she knew, but still it hurt so much. When he was done he removed his tiny fangs from her nipple and she raised him to her shoulder to burp him.

 

She gently set her son back on the soft blanket and then looked down to see what damage he had done. Pearl droplets of blood were forming on her nipple and she bit her lip to keep from crying out when she used a bit of snow to soothe the ache. She was a mother, a nursing mother, this came with the territory. Besides, she hadn't had to scruff the pups for anything before and didn't really know what scruffing was or how to do it. She would just let it go for now, this was part of being a mother she told herself.

 

“A little nap won't hurt,” she told herself as she felt herself growing increasingly tired and began to lean toward the blanket. “No!” she suddenly said and sat back up with a shake of her pounding head. She had work to do, she couldn't afford to waste time. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself. “If my mate can rule the Western Lands, then I can surely be a mother, what right do I have to complain? I wanted to be a mother as much as he wanted to have pups. I can do this,” she repeated to herself and kept the four words going through her head like a mantra throughout the rest of the day.

 

 

“Lady Kagome? Lady Kagome?” Kagome looked up at the call of her name.

 

A young badger youkai servant stood in one of the larger guest chambers and looked at her expectantly.

 

“I'm sorry dear, what was that?” Kagome asked as she stood leaning slightly against the door frame but not enough for it to be noticed that she was doing so.

 

“I asked if the room looked up to your standards for the visiting Lord and his brood,” she said and looked upon Kagome as though she were studying her.

 

“Oh,” Kagome looked around the room. “Yes, yes it all looks wonderful, as did the other rooms. Thank you so very much sweetie,” she said and saw the blush that spread across the young youkai's face. Kagome guessed that if she had been human the girl would have been maybe fourteen at the oldest.

 

“Are you alright my lady?” the girl asked seeing Kagome lean a little heavier against the wooden frame.

 

“I'm alright,” Kagome assured her as she struggled to keep herself awake. “I'm fine I just need a minute.”

 

“Can I get you anything?” the girl asked and Kagome shook her head and moved forward into the room.

 

No,” Kagome said and came to stand before the girl. She took the young badger youkai into her arms and hugged her warmly. “Thank you for all you've done already sweetheart,” Kagome said praising the girl for a job well done.

 

The young badger returned Kagome's hug and then after a few moments left Kagome alone in the room and went to tend to her other duties. Before Kagome had come to the castle the servants had just done their work as they were instructed to but took no real pleasure in it. But now that Kagome was here, she gave a kind word to all, hugged nearly every servant she'd come into contact with and praised them even for the slightest thing. The servants had never worked harder, even with the threat of being disowned. They didn't work out of fear or duty now, they worked out of love for their lady, all they wanted to do now was here a word of praise from her. They didn't need the money they were paid, Kagome's kind words were more than enough.

 

Kagome regained her balance and shook the weariness away as she moved down the hall. Her breasts were telling her that it was time to feed the pups again but her nipples were still so painfully sore from their breakfast feeding. As she was walking down the hall she heard voices and looked out the hall window. The visiting lord and ladies were here far earlier than expected, they weren't supposed to be arriving for at least another day! Thankfully the rooms were prepared.

 

As she made her way to greet them, she caught one of the passing servants and told them of the early arrival and to ask the cook to prepare a feast. The servant nodded and moved quickly down the hall after casting a concerned glance at Kagome. The woman looked ready to collapse!

 

Kagome made her way to the doors and opened them to greet the guests and invite them inside. She smiled at them all and opened her mouth to say hello but became suddenly dizzy. The world around her went black.

 

“What the hell?” the visiting lord said and caught Kagome in his arms as she fell. “Isn't she the lady of these lands?” he asked his mate.

 

“Yes, that's Lady Kagome. I wasn't aware she was sick.”

 

“I don't smell sickness on her my mate,” he said to his wife and lifted Kagome into his arms and carried her in his arms as a servant showed him the way to Lord Sesshoumaru's office. “Just exhaustion, such powerful exhaustion.”

 

“She's a nursing mother,” his eldest daughter pointed out as she walked beside her mate, one of the highest esteemed generals of the Northern lands army.

 

Mintomaru carried Kagome in his arms and waited as the servant opened the door to Lord Sesshoumaru's office revealing the Lord, his hanyou brother, his father and his father's sister inside.

 

“Your mate needs rest,” Mintomaru said as he eyed Sesshoumaru.

 

“You have arrived early Lord Mintomaru,” Sesshoumaru said simply as he moved to take Kagome from the lion youkai's arms.

 

“She needs rest,” he repeated and stared at the younger inuyoukai.

 

“How old are her pups?” Mintomaru's mate asked as she looked upon Lord Sesshoumaru.

 

“Which ones?” Inuyasha asked gruffly.

 

“The nursing ones of course,” she said looking at the hanyou in confusion. “Which others could I have meant?”

 

“She has two pups that are well past the nursing age and three that are nursing,” Keiko said as she came forward with Toga at her side.

 

“Five pups?” the lord's daughter said her eyes wide. “How old are the ones that aren't nursing?”

 

“Pappa!” Rin giggled as she came up around the guests and chased after Mintomaru's swishing lion tail.

 

The lion youkai chuckled softly and swung the tiny hanyou up into his arms and looked at her with a discerning eye. “Hello little one,” he greeted and raised one hand to touch her tiny black ears.

 

“Hello,” Rin greeted and peered over his shoulder at Shippou who had come in behind her and was watching her in Mintomaru's arms. “Hi Shippou,” she said and then looked at the youkai who held her. “Shippou is my brother.”

 

“He is a kitsune though is he not?” he questioned the child.

 

“Yup. Mamma adopted us both and then she had the twins and the Uncle Yasha had a baby, but her mother had to go away so now our mamma is her mamma too!” the child said energetically.

 

“Uncle Yasha?” he questioned the child.

 

“Me,” the grown silver haired hanyou said as he stepped forward and Shippou leapt up onto his shoulder. “I'm Inuyasha.”

 

“Your mate?”

 

“Did not survive childbirth.”

 

“My condolences.”

 

Inuyasha nodded and then took Rin from the youkai as he moved out of the room. “I'll take them to Kagura,” he said still not liking that the wind sorceress was there.

 

“And I will stay with them my son as you attend to your mate,” Toga said giving Sesshoumaru a clear look that said they would be having a talk later. He did not like seeing Kagome in such a state and neither did his son he knew that, but still his son needed to be more aware of his mate's condition than he was.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded and carried Kagome out of the room as the four youkai gathered inside with his father and the last one in shut the door after he had left at his father's request. Damnit Kagome, he thought as he stalked down the hall, why didn't you tell me you were so tired? He had been able to smell her tiredness before but she had somehow covered up the depth of her exhaustion. Just from the smell of her he was surprised that she hadn't collapsed earlier than this.

 

Sesshoumaru laid Kagome down on their bed and began to undress her. As he hung up her outer kimono he took a sleeping gown from her wardrobe and moved back to the bed, stripping her of her under kimono. It was then as he removed the plain white kimono that he noticed that her right nipple was bleeding. He moved closer, yes those were definitely fang marks left by one of his pups. But which one he wondered as he sniffed at her nipple. His son?! His son had done this? Why hadn't Kagome scruffed him before it got this bad?

 

Kagome began to moan softly and Sesshoumaru looked down upon her, sitting next to her as she awoke. She blinked up tiredly at him, her eyes confused before she shot up in bed, her mate catching her shoulders and pushing her back down to the bed gently.

 

“Kami,” she breathed out on a whimper. “I'm sorry,” she said as she looked up at him embarrassment in her eyes, she was too tired to blush.

 

“Why didn't you tell me you were so exhausted?” he asked her as he carefully dressed her in the silken gown.

 

“I'm not, I can handle this,” she protested weakly and barely had the strength to move her arms to help him dress her.

 

“You are,” he said as he looked upon her. “You are more than exhausted Kagome. Why didn't you tell anyone?” he asked his worry showing.

 

“I'm supposed to be able to handle this,” she said softly and felt tears once more fill her eyes. “I'm a mother, this is part of it. I'm supposed to be able to handle this,” she said again her voice weak with exhaustion as tears of exhaustion rolled down her cheeks.

 

Sesshoumaru lifted her into his arms and held her against his chest as he rocked her while she cried softly. He stroked her hair and held her close as he held her in a comforting warm embrace. “You need to tell me these Kagome, tell me when you're-” he pulled Kagome away from him just enough to look into her tear filled eyes. “You've been exhausted when we've made love haven't you? That's why you weren't enjoying it as much as before?” he asked and when she looked down in shame he had his answer. “Kagome,” he groaned softly and lifted her face with a finger beneath her chin. “Why didn't you tell me?”

 

She closed her eyes and sniffled as tears ran down her face, “I don't want to be a bad mate or a bad mother. I can do this,” she said her voice trembling and felt Sesshoumaru cup her cheeks in his hands and bit her bottom lip before looking up at him.

 

“Kagome,” he said softly and locked his gaze with hers. “You are not a bad mate, nor are you anywhere near being a bad mother,” he assured her and kissed her forehead. “You're exhausted.”

 

“But there-”

 

“Shh,” he shushed her. “You need sleep. I'll bring the pups in to feed after awhile but for now I want you to rest, so you understand me?” he said gently and kissed her damp cheeks kissing her tears away. “I want you to sleep.”

 

“But I-”

 

“Will sleep,” he finished for her and helped her lie back on the pillows and pulled the covers up over her. “Now sleep for me,” he said softly as he leaned down and kissed her lips. “Just sleep,” he said softly continuing to softly repeat the command to sleep until her eyes were closed and she sleeping peacefully. “Just rest my mate. For now you are on bed rest until I say otherwise,” he whispered softly to her but mostly to himself.

 

Sesshoumaru kissed her forehead once more before rising and leaving the room. He shook his head as he stepped into the hall and was met by his father standing before him and raising a single silver brow as he looked at his son in question.

 

“In the library,” Sesshoumaru said softly. “I've no wish to awaken her now that she's sleeping again.”

 

Toga nodded and followed his son down to their `secret' library. Once they were inside Sesshoumaru sighed and ran his hands over his face. He turned to his father and his eyes nearly begged for help as he sat down wearily.

 

“Kagome's been covering up her scent with her miko powers. No one noticed because the smell and sight of her exhaustion were hidden from us all. She's so afraid of being a bad mother and a bad mate,” he said as he looked up at his father. “How do I make her know that it's ok to be exhausted, that it's ok to ask for help when she needs it?”

 

“You can't really do anything to prove it son,” Toga said as he sat down in the chair next to his son. “She needs to figure it for herself, just tell her that it's ok. How is she now?”

 

“Sleeping. I'm putting her on bed rest until I know she's better.”

 

“And how long will that be?” Toga asked amused knowing that the stillness would drive Kagome nuts but also that it was what she desperately needed.

 

“A week at the very least.”

 

“She's going to fight you on that,” Toga said as he opened the hidden cabinet in the table between them and withdrew a bottle of hundred year old sake. “Oh please Sessh,” he said seeing the look on his son's face when he took two cups from the table's top drawer. “Did you really think that I only came in here to read?”

 

Sesshoumaru snorted a laughed and shook his head, accepting the cup of rice wine his father handed him. The two sat silently as they sipped their sake and then Sesshoumaru refilled the cups before they continued their conversation.

 

“Where are the visiting lords and ladies?” Sesshoumaru asked and took a sip of the rich wine made better with age.

 

“Feasting and then will tour the grounds with Keiko. How are you going to keep your mate in bed if she tries to fight you on the bed rest as you know she will?”

 

“Bondage?” Sesshoumaru asked and then shook his head. “Honestly I don't know. I'm just putting this together as I go along, but if she gives me those eyes of hers, I may need some back up.”

 

“Which eyes?” his father asked as he watched his son with an amused grin.

 

“The sad eyes that make her look at me like I just kicked her puppy or took away her favorite toy.”

 

“Ah, those eyes,” Toga nodded wisely and then sighed. “Both your and Inuyasha's mothers gave me that look a time or two.”

 

“How did you deal with it?”

 

“When it was important? I kept my back turned so I wouldn't have to see their faces knowing if I did I'd give in.”

 

“I've tried that.”

 

“And?”

 

“She comes around to face me.”

 

“Have you tried evading her when she does that?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then what happens?”

 

“She…she grabs my hair and pulls me down to face her as though I were a misbehaving horse.”

 

Toga barked out a laugh and shook his head at his son. He could just see Kagome doing that in his mind. That girl certainly was forceful when need be.

 

“You could always lay down and sleep beside her to make her rest.”

 

“Then who would run the lands?” Sesshoumaru asked as he refilled the cups again.

 

“Hello Sesshoumaru, I was the Lord of these lands before you were. I'm certain I can remember how to do it, I wasn't dead that long. Your brother and I would run the place while you're off sleeping.”

 

“Inuyasha?” Sesshoumaru said disbelievingly. “He hasn't done a thing to help me.”

 

“And it's about time that he learned how don't you think?” his father asked. “I'll teach him, though I doubt I could get him into the formal silks all the time, he seems pretty attached to his fire rat clothing. And I know I most definitely won't get him into a pair of shoes, he didn't even like them as a pup, always took them off and chewed on them.”

 

“The epitome of a dog. Chewing on shoes.”

 

“Your brother would be rather upset if he heard us talking about him,” Toga laughed as he refilled their cups a fourth time.

 

“Yes he would be,” Sesshoumaru said as he drank down the sake quickly. “This is very good drink father.”

 

“Are you getting drunk?” Toga asked feeling a bit tipsy himself.

 

“Father these cups are big enough for the drink at meals. We have now consumed four cups of sake and each one was the equivalent of three normal drinks of sake. I'd say that we are both a bit…runk.”

 

“You said runk,” his father laughed at him as he drank from his cup.

 

“I did not I said dunk. Drnk. Runk. Damnit we're schnockered,” he said as he sat back against the chair.

 

“What was that word? Shh-sch-schonockered?”

 

“Yes, Kagome used it once. Said it was Yiddish or some such thing. Means we've had too much sake for our own good.”

 

“Ah, yes. We should stop then.”

 

“Yes we should.”

 

“More sake?”

 

“Yes, thank you.”