InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bitter Blood ❯ Chapter 1

Bitter Blood

Chapter 1

Rin's cries echoed through the great hall.

Sesshomaru sat in his high-back chair before the fireplace, his fingers interlaced, his eyes focused on his unwelcome guests. InuYasha had come to watch over Kagome while she assisted with Rin's delivery; he'd brought their two sons with them-Kisho, who was six now, and Masa, who was still an infant. They sat on a velvet-lined settee in a darkened corner of the room; Masa cradled in his lap, Kisho, sitting as tall as he could, beside him.

Jakken stood off to Sesshomaru's side, the Staff of Heads in hand. "This is taking awhile, isn't it?" he asked no one in particular. "She's been up there for hours."

Sesshomaru glared down at him. "Quiet, Jakken."

"But, Lord Sesshomaru, shouldn't someone go check up on our Lady Rin?"

"It is not given for men to interfere in the practices of women."

"But, my lord--"

"Quiet!" He slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair.

InuYasha smirked. "Getting a little antsy, eh, Sesshomaru?"

He glared at his brother.

InuYasha elbowed his son in the side. "If looks could kill, eh, Kisho?"

"Yeah," he nodded on cue, donning an expression similar to InuYasha's. "If."

Father and son laughed together, mocking the already impatient lord.

"Now, see here, you two," Jakken brandished his staff above his head. "You're guests in the castle of Lord Sesshomaru. I suggest you treat our honorable host with more respect or--"

Another shrill cry pierced the air, then abruptly stopped.

"Dad?"

InuYasha put his hand on top of Kisho's head, silencing him. An eerie quiet settled upon the hall.

Sesshomaru turned his attention to the upstairs landing.

Jakken lowered his staff and followed Sesshomaru's gaze. "My lord?"

Another cry was heard. Softer, raspier-that of an infant.

"Congratulations," InuYasha muttered.

He gave an acknowledging smirk.

A few minutes later, the door to his chamber opened and footsteps could be heard on the landing.

InuYasha stood; Kisho followed suit. "It's about damn time, Kagome. Can we go now?"

She stepped into the great hall, covered in blood and visibly tired. "In a minute, InuYasha." She waved him to sit back down, then addressed Sesshomaru. "Mother and child are doing fine, though Rin lost a lot more blood than I would've liked." She wiped her hands on an already blood- stained towel. "I cleaned up as best I could. You don't wanna risk infection, of course."

"Cut to the chase," Jakken said.

Kagome forced a smile. "Of course . . . Rin's very lucky to be alive. As I said, she lost a lot of blood, and the long labor put added strain on her body . . . I thought I lost her a couple of times, but she is full of surprises." She laughed to herself. "'Just resting my eyes,' she told me. She has a quite a strong will."

"Of course," Jakken scoffed. "Would Lord Sesshomaru choose such a weak mate?"

"I suppose not," she laughed. "It takes a certain type to put up with you dog demon brothers."

"Hey . . ." InuYasha objected.

She cleared her throat. "But, seriously . . . I gave Rin something to help clot her blood and restore her strength; she's a little anemic, now, so she'll have to take some supplements for awhile. I also left a sleeping draft on her night stand. And, I wouldn't like her to walk around much for the next couple of weeks, though I don't want her to stiffen up. She can move around, just no stairs for awhile."

Sesshomaru nodded.

"And she'll need someone to look after till she's fully recovered. Children can be very demanding, even when well. I can stay and--"

"That won't be necessary," Sesshomaru said. "Is there anything else?"

She seemed to hesitate. "Rin seems to be a hemophiliac," she said. "It means that her blood clots slower than most people, making it easier for her to bleed to death. Now, it's a relatively mild case, but it can be troublesome in certain instances . . . Like childbirth," she said.

"What are you getting at, woman?" Jakken demanded.

She glanced over at InuYasha and her two sons, then lowered her eyes. "I wouldn't recommend that she have any more children," she said.

"But our lady is fine," Jakken insisted.

"This time," she said. "But next time, or with a less experienced midwife . . ." she let her sentence trail off.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Jakken asked. "Our Lord Sesshomaru's Tenseiga--"

"Quiet, Jakken." He turned his attention back to Kagome. "Is there anything else?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Well, then," he rose to his feet. "Jakken will show you the way out and pay you for your services."

"I'm sorry," Kagome said.

He didn't reply as he made his way upstairs. Rin and the child were his only concerns.

The scent of her blood hung heavily in the air. He was almost overpowered by the smell as he opened the door to their chamber and made his way to their bed. The sickly aroma was everywhere.

Of course, the woman had cleaned up the actual spots, but the odor remained, as did the evidence of the cleansing. Bloody water in the basin at the bedside. A pile of bloodied linen heaped in the far corner of the room. Stained sheets piled on top of the linen.

He pulled back the curtain on the side of the bed and fastened it to its poster. Rin laid on the right edge of the bed; the child bundled up by her side. The child was rosy and pink, a shock of white hair peaking out from beneath the blanket. Rin was deathly pale with dark circles beneath both eyes, her hair damp and straggly. She was quite still, though he could make out a faint heartbeat.

He gripped the hilt of Tenseiga and narrowed his gaze, scanning for the presence of the messengers from the other world-the greenish imps that carried off the souls of the dead. He released his sword when he found no trace of them and stared down at his wife and child.

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Hi."

His gaze softened. "The woman said you'd be sleeping."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I was waiting for you." She rolled her head to the side and smiled down at the child. "Look," she said. "It's a boy."

He nodded. He had forgotten to ask about the sex of the child, hadn't he? That was normally one of the first questions asked.

"He was so stubborn," she said. "Kagome was afraid she was going to have to cut him out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Would that have been wise?"

"I don't know," she said. "I just know Kagome was afraid he wasn't getting enough air. He turned wrong and . . ." She rolled her head back towards him, laughing to herself. "I'm sure you don't want to be bored with all the gory details."

His gaze remained fixed on her.

Her eyes were bright, but her complexion was so dull. "He's a good boy, though," she said. "He cried a little in the beginning, and then he went right to sleep."

Sesshomaru regarded the sleeping child. His spitting image. The spitting image of his father.

"Have you ever seen anything more perfect?" she asked, glancing down at his tiny form. "What will you call him? Our son?"

He reached over her and held his son for the first time.

"What do you think of him?" she asked. "What will you call him?"

He lifted the child above his head and smiled. "Daichi," he said. "'Eminence.'"