InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blood & Tears ❯ November ( Chapter 38 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha but I do own Kaminari, Kaiho, and the lovely Kichou.

AN: Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to leave a review. I do read them and they help to inspire me to keep writing.

Blood & Tears

Chapter 38: November (Warning: Lemon in Chapter)

The blessing was set the morning of the day the pups turned thirty-two days old. The old priest was coming pretty early in the morning so he could get back to his own shrine to start the blessings there by 10:00 am. That worked out fine for InuYasha and Kagome.

They had warned Mama that they intended to go back to the village to visit with old Kaede for the day after the blessing so she would be prepared when some of the items that Kagome had sent over to take with them arrived. In addition to Ramen for a quick meal, she also had blankets and medical supplies in case Kaede needed them. Kagome had warm boots to wear since the walk from the well to the village was usually pretty cold this time of year plus, of course, any baby items she needed including diapers and baby wipes.

They arrived early that morning as planned. InuYasha dismissed their driver and told him they probably would not need him again until that evening. Sesshomaru and Kichou also arrived as they wished to be part of the blessing as well.

The shrine had a sign that said it was closed for a private blessing for the morning so that visitors would not interrupt them. Once everyone was in the shrine itself, those that had them removed their concealment charms. InuYasha removed his and Kagome removed the bracelets from their pup's little wrists. Sesshomaru and Kichou removed theirs as well. Once everything was set, the priest began to chant his prayers for good health and happiness.

Both infants were dressed in special robes for the christening ceremony. Once again Sesshomaru had outdone himself. He brought the two tiny kimonos to InuYasha and Kagome a few days before the ceremony. The girl's was red and the boy's was black, but each had a hand painted scene that included the great InuTaisho in his true form on the back. He was flying on Aimiko's robe and standing on a mountain on Aki's kimono. The family crescent moon was embroidered in red on both kimonos.

The boy was blessed first since he could have actually been blessed the day before on his thirty-first day. As the priest started to chant, he waved the Tamagushi from right to left as he spoke. InuYasha was somewhat lost - the prayer was long and rambled on and the only part that really got his attention was when Aki's name and birthday were recited in the middle of it. Once the prayer was finished, Kagome, carrying Aki, went forward to the altar and bowed. She returned and handed Aki to InuYasha and indicated for him to do the same. He did, and then all of them were given sake to drink from red wooden cups.

Kagome handed Aki to Kichou and then went to her mother and took Aimiko from her. They repeated the same process with the girl, except this time her name and birthday were recited in the middle of the prayer. At the end, Kagome went forward to the altar with Aimiko and bowed, and then handed her to InuYasha to follow suit. Everyone was again given sake when the blessing was over.

Kagome and InuYasha each thanked the old priest again for performing the blessing of their pups. InuYasha handed him an envelope to take back to his shrine as an offering. He also gave one to Grandpa as an offering for the use of the Higurashi Shrine. The old priest thanked everyone for coming and for allowing him to perform the blessing and then headed home to his own shrine for his duties there.

Mama asked Sesshomaru and Kichou if they would like to come inside for a visit while Kagome and InuYasha prepared to go back to visit the village. While Sesshomaru knew the couple would never again make the dangerous trek across to the Western Domain, he knew the hanyou and miko would probably go back periodically and visit the village that InuYasha felt responsible for.

They all went inside and Kichou and Sesshomaru along with Mama, Jii-chan and Souta changed the two infants out of their formal kimonos and entertained them while Kagome and InuYasha changed and prepared to go back. The oversized and well-used backpack was already full and ready to go.

Kagome and InuYasha emerged ready for the trip to the past. InuYasha was once again clad in his firerat with Tessaiga at his side. Kagome was bundled up in a warm sweater and pants with thick socks to wear under her boots. The twins were bundled up like little Michelin tire men. For some reason, Kagome had the feeling it was going to be cold. She had even convinced InuYasha to put on long underwear under his haori and hakama. He thought his mate worried too much, but then again, something in his gut told him it might be colder than usual now, too.

All five of the others walked out to the well house with them. Sesshomaru had seen them vanish into the time slip before, but Kichou never had. She wanted to see this for herself. InuYasha had the backpack thrown over his shoulder and Aki safely in his arms. Kagome had Aimiko in hers as InuYasha helped her up on the edge of the well. Telling the others they planned to be back that evening and saying good-bye for now, they jumped.

They were stunned to discover they had landed in snow. It didn't snow in this region at this time of the year, at least not since they had started keeping records. InuYasha told Kagome to hold on tightly to Aimiko as he wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped out of the well.

“Do you think you could hold on to both Aki and Aimiko if I carry you?” InuYasha asked. He didn't want his mate or his pups out in this any longer than necessary, but he really wanted to check on the village.

“I think so, just don't go too fast,” Kagome replied.

Kagome managed to clutch both infants to her chest, and then InuYasha picked her up in his arms in front of him. Her backpack was already over his shoulder as he took off at run towards the village.

Kaede wasn't in her hut so he followed his nose to the hut he had built and smiled to himself as he smelled the others that were huddled there.

“Where are we going, InuYasha? Didn't we just go by Kaede's hut?” Kagome asked.

“She wasn't at home. I think she's up here,” her mate replied.

“Whose hut is this?” Kagome asked. She had never seen it before.

“You'll see in a minute,” InuYasha responded.

“I need to set you down before we go in,” InuYasha said as he put Kagome on her feet right outside the door. “Here, give one of them to me.”

InuYasha had Aki cradled in his arm as he knocked on the doorframe with the other. “Oi, it's me and Kagome. Let us in!”

A broad smile crossed the face of the demon slayer as she pulled back the layers hanging in the doorway. She held them long enough for Kagome and InuYasha to come in and then let them fall back in place.

Kagome still had both arms wrapped securely around Aimiko, but Sango hugged her tightly. “We are so glad to see you! We hoped you would come to visit and bring the pups. I'm glad to see you dressed warmly.”

“Aye, child. We are glad you came. Take your coat off and come and sit by the fire,” Kaede said. “Let us have a look at your pups. How old are they?”

Kagome handed her pup to InuYasha while she pulled off her coat and boots. She then took Aimiko and took off her Eskimo outfit. She handed her back to InuYasha long enough to do the same for Aki.

Kagome and InuYasha both sat on the floor by the fire pit, each with a pup in their arms. “Well, we told you I was expecting twins. I had a boy and a girl. This is the girl, and her name is Aimiko. The boy is Aki. They are both thirty-two days old today. We were at the shrine to have them blessed, and then we wanted to come and see how you were doing. I just can't believe it is so cold and there is snow! Are all of you all right? When did you come back? Where is Shinkei? Miroku, when did you build this hut?”

“Kagome, they are both beautiful, may I see one of them?” Sango asked. Kagome handed her pup to her and Sango continued, “We came back several months ago. I began to worry when I saw how much coat the animals were already putting on at the end of summer. We decided it would be better to be here if the winter was bad. We've been helping to gather wood and food since we got here. Shinkei is asleep in our room. He's pretty content bundled up in the furs on the bed. And actually, Miroku didn't build this hut. It was gift from InuYasha.”

“What?” Kagome said as she looked at her mate.

“Keh. I decided it was too dangerous here for you and the pups, so I told Kaede that if these two turned up to stay for any amount of time, to let them know they could have it,” InuYasha answered quietly.

“And it's a well-built hut too,” Miroku said. “I don't know what you did, but it is the warmest one in the village. That's why Kaede is here with us. We were worried about her so she is sleeping in the extra room for now. Even though it is bigger, it doesn't require nearly as much wood to keep this hut warm as it does hers.”

“Still, we are worried about this winter. We hope we have enough food and firewood to make it through,” Kaede added as she reached towards InuYasha for Aki.

“You have two fine pups, InuYasha. They both look like you. It looks like you both have done well,” the old miko continued as she bounced Aki in front of her.

InuYasha leaned over and kissed Kagome on the cheek. “You stay here and visit. I want to go and check some things out. I may be gone for a while, but don't worry. All right?”

“All right. Be careful, InuYasha,” Kagome told him as he headed out the door.

“So Kagome, what's it like being married to InuYasha? Has he been a good father?” Miroku asked.

“Actually, he's the best. He's been a good husband and a good father. You wouldn't believe how much help he is with the twins,” Kagome replied.

“I bet he doesn't change diapers, though,” Miroku remarked.

“Why, because you don't like doing it?” Sango chided.

“Actually, he even helps with that, though it was pretty funny the first time he had to at home,” Kagome said before she told them the story about InuYasha almost dropping the dirty diaper off of the side of their building.

“I bet he was irritable while you were pregnant though,” Miroku said. Surely there was something about the hanyou he could get Kagome to admit.

“Actually, he was very good and understanding. There were a couple of times I was pretty crazy because my hormones were all over the place, but he never lost his temper or got angry. If it got to the point where either of us needed to cool off, he would go up on the roof and run. He was constantly telling me he loved me and wanted to know what he could do to help,” Kagome replied.

“InuYasha? He told you he loved you?” Sango asked.

“He told me that he wouldn't allow himself to say it for so long, that it was difficult. But once he was able to finally spit it out, it started to become easier for him to say. He had always tried to show me in a hundred different ways, but he finally learned to say it too,” Kagome told her.

“I just can't believe he was so understanding. I know Miroku and I got in to some pretty heated fights when I was pregnant. The only thing was, there wasn't really anyplace else for either of us to run off to, so we would have to cool down and make up in a day or two,” Sango said.

“Well, apparently InuYasha had some advice early on. Sesshomaru warned him about the hormonal changes when I first became pregnant so InuYasha would have some idea of what to expect. I think it made a huge difference in how he reacted to things. Rather than getting angry himself, he would try to find a way to appease me,” Kagome responded.

“Wait a minute, did you say Sesshomaru gave him advice?” Miroku asked.

Kagome just nodded.

Sango was observing Kaede. “You don't seem surprised, Kaede.”

Kaede shook her head. “Lord Sesshomaru has changed from the youkai that wanted his half-brother dead and gone. He was already showing a great interest in him after he rescued the two of them. In fact, I think he is somewhat secretly proud of his younger brother.”

“He's been a great help to both of us in my time. Sesshomaru already had a home that would be suitable for us if we decided to stay there and has been helping InuYasha to fit in. You guys wouldn't believe how smart InuYasha really is. Did any of you know he could read and write?”

“Well, weren't you teaching him some, Kagome?” Sango asked.

“It turned out he already knew how to read and write in this era. The written language has changed though in five hundred years, so he finally told me it was easier to start from scratch to learn than it was to try and translate. He never let on here because people expected him to just be a dumb animal, so he let them believe it,” Kagome said quietly.

Sango nodded. “It wasn't that long ago I was telling Miroku that for all of the time we spent with InuYasha, we really didn't know much about him. We had no idea that he helped to provide for this village for the winter until he wasn't here to help. I finally realized that we never treated him very fairly, and took him for granted. You were the only one that ever really tried to understand him. I'm sorry for all of those times I tried to make you doubt him.”

Miroku added, “Shippou and I were just as much at fault. We were always baiting him and trying to force him to admit his feelings for you. All we ever managed to do was drive him further away.”

“Well, it does not matter any more. InuYasha and Kagome are now together as they were meant to be. I am glad you two are finally happy,” Kaede said.

About that time Aimiko started to fuss in Kagome's arms where she had been asleep.

“It looks like I probably need to change and feed her. Where one starts, the other shortly follows,” Kagome said as she rocked the pup in her arms.

“Why do you not take them into my room?” Kaede asked. “Otherwise, we will have to send Miroku out into the cold.”

“Let me help you,” Sango said as she reached to take Aki from Kaede. “Miroku, you had better at least check on Shinkei. He'll need to be changed and fed when he wakes up from his nap.”

~ ^~^ ~

InuYasha took off at a run. The first thing he did was run through his forest to make sure there weren't any demons hanging around that did not belong there. All he found were a few that were miserable and cold, but not really a danger to anyone. The hanyou left them alone and continued on his way.

InuYasha went and checked the pile of firewood that the village had gathered. He could tell they had put a lot of effort into their work, but still did not have enough considering how cold it already was. InuYasha went and cut down a number of trees with his claws, and then dragged them back near where the firewood was stored. He proceeded to cut the trees into smaller pieces that would be easier for them to handle as firewood and toss them onto the pile. He wasn't satisfied until the stack of firewood was twice as large as it was before he started.

That taken care of, InuYasha once again started through his forest, this time looking for meat. He found a herd of wild pigs huddled in a hollow and killed four of the boars, leaving two young strong ones with the females so they could continue to breed in the spring. InuYasha dressed them and hauled the carcasses back to the hut that was used to store meat in the winter, though he was surprised to be thrown back by a warding.

`Fuck. The monk must have done that to keep demons from stealing their meat. I guess he'll just have to come out in the cold,' InuYasha thought to himself. `I might as well find more before I drag him over here.'

InuYasha left the boars near the doorway and headed back out, this time to a herd of deer he had spotted earlier. As he had done with the pigs, he killed several males plus a couple of does that looked like they would not make it much longer. There wasn't enough forage for all of them to survive. They would be tough, but no one would care when they were hungry. Field dressing the deer as he had done the boars, he tied the carcasses together and dragged them back to the storage shed.

InuYasha startled the others with his sudden reappearance several hours after he had left. “Oi, monk! I need your help. Come on.”

InuYasha stood in the doorway and impatiently tapped his foot while he waited for Miroku to bundle up. “Let's go,” he said without preamble as he left the hut, Miroku hurrying after him.

“What's going on, InuYasha?”

“If it weren't for that fucking ward, I wouldn't have had to drag you out here in the cold,” InuYasha stated as he led him toward the meat hut.

Miroku stopped in his tracks when he saw the pile of carcasses. “InuYasha, is this what you've been doing all day?”

“Somebody has to make sure you don't fucking starve,” the hanyou replied. “But I can't put them away because of your fucking ward.”

“Sorry, InuYasha. Our meat was starting to disappear and someone decided it was probably demons who didn't want to hunt.”

“Oi, monk. Just do me one favor? If a peaceful demon ever gets brave enough and desperate enough to ask you for food, don't turn it away. No matter how weak they may seem, you never know when they may be able to repay the favor. At least give them enough to get by on,” InuYasha said.

Miroku nodded. “All right InuYasha. It is going to be a long and hard winter. We will turn no one who is starving away. Let me remove the ward from the door so we can put this away.”

Miroku took down the ward and InuYasha hauled the meat into the hut. He quickly tied the rear heals together so they could be suspended by hooks that hung from the ceiling. While he was quickly working at putting everything away, Miroku decided to ask him, “InuYasha, did you design and have this hut built, too?”

“Keh. I got the idea from Kagome's time. They have meat houses for storing carcasses until butchered and sold. We can't control the temperature here like they can in her time, but I thought it would work for the winter when the temperatures were cool enough to keep the meat. That's the only time the village really needs to have food stored away, any how.”

“InuYasha,” Miroku was finding it difficult to talk without his teeth chattering, “I want to thank you for the hut that you gave to Sango and me. It turned out trying to rebuild the slayer village was too much by ourselves. I was relieved when Sango decided she wanted to come back, but I was stunned when Kaede showed us the hut. I'm sorry we didn't appreciate you like we should have when we traveled together. I never realized just how much you did to take care of everyone until you weren't here.”

“Keh. Don't worry about it. Kagome keeps telling me I'm not any good at blowing my own horn. She's right. I think that's it for now,” InuYasha said as he hung up the last boar. “Let's go.”

Miroku glanced at the huge pile of wood on the way back. Apparently adding to their store of meat wasn't the only thing the hanyou had been up to all day.

Miroku and InuYasha reentered the hut. Even InuYasha was glad for the warmth of the fire now that he had stopped moving. He remained warm as long as he was running through the forest or cutting up firewood, but the cold had started to catch up to him once he had stayed in one place for very long. He plopped to the floor next to his mate who was holding Aki while Kaede had Aimiko.

“What have you been up to, InuYasha?” Sango asked as she bounced her own son on her lap.

“Not much, just checking a few things out,” the hanyou replied.

“He just about doubled the pile of firewood and amount of meat that we have stored. He's had a very busy day,” Miroku said.

“Keh.”

Kagome just smiled and rubbed her mate's back as he warmed up by the fire.

It was dark when InuYasha told his mate they really should head back home. He waited patiently while she bundled the pups back into their warm clothing. While he would have helped if he could, they were both afraid he would accidentally shred their outerwear with his claws if he got frustrated - zippers were a lot harder than Velcro. Once InuYasha made certain that Kagome was bundled up as well, they said their goodbyes and promised to come back and visit, though they said they might wait until it was warmer before they brought the pups with them again.

InuYasha was surprised when Sango came and hugged him goodbye. Only he could hear her whisper, “Thank you InuYasha for everything you've ever done for us. I'm glad you're finally happy.”

Kagome had finished her final hugs goodbye. InuYasha had her now empty backpack slung over his shoulder as he picked Kagome up, and then Miroku and Kaede handed her the twins. When Kagome had them settled comfortably against her chest, Sango pulled the coverings over the doorway aside and InuYasha headed for the well.

They were almost to the well when one of the demons that InuYasha had left alone because it looked so cold and miserable came after them and crossed the path in front of them.

“Hanyou, you were too weak to kill us so now I'll kill you and the worthless human bitch and pups. They'll be a nice meal for me,” the miserable looking youkai said.

InuYasha had set Kagome, who was clutching the two pups, down and pushed her behind him. “I guess I made a mistake feeling sorry for you. I allowed you to live because you looked so miserable.”

“InuYasha, be careful,” he heard Kagome whisper from behind.

“Look, you fucking youkai. I'm tired and I'm cold and want to be on my way. Either move out of the way or I'll end your miserable life for you,” InuYasha said to the snake youkai. “Besides, why aren't you hibernating for the winter?”

“Once I've eaten the lot of you, I'll have enough food stored to go into hibernation,” the youkai replied.

“That ain't gonna happen,” InuYasha said as he pulled out Tessaiga as the snake tried to strike at him.

“That rusty old katana isn't going to do any damage,” the snake said as it drew up to strike again, but then his eyes grew big as InuYasha transformed the sword.

“Last warning, leave before I slice your head off,” InuYasha said.

“You're just hanyou. You can't defeat a full youkai like me,” the snake bragged.

“InuYasha, can you hurry this up? We're getting cold,” he heard Kagome say behind him.

The snake seemed to agree and struck again at InuYasha. InuYasha sighed as he took one good swing to separate the snake youkai's head from his body.

“All right, I know you other youkai are out there. If you don't want to starve, take this thing and eat him,” InuYasha said as he picked up the body by the tail and flung it in the forest to where the others had gathered to see what would happen. He almost immediately heard a lot of rustling and then crunching sounds.

“Okay Kagome, let's go home,” InuYasha said as he swooped Kagome and the two pups up in his arms again and headed back for the well at a run. InuYasha didn't stop until he had jumped in the well and then back out to land on the floor of the well house.

InuYasha set his mate on her feet, and then took one of the twins from her. Together, they headed back into the house.

Mama had dinner waiting for them when they returned. Kagome gladly pulled off her coat as her mother helped unbundle the two infants.

“Is this ice?” Mama asked as she stared at the crystallized material that was now starting to thaw rapidly.

“It was snowing, Mama. I don't remember it ever being so cold,” Kagome replied.

“I thought you were a tad overdressed, but I guess not,” Mama said. She had thought they were a bit bundled up when they left after the blessing, even for that time of year.

InuYasha reappeared in the kitchen, dressed in sweats and carrying his athletic bag that now held his firerat and hakama, Tessaiga resting across the top of it. He sat down and took Aki from Kagome so she could change into some warm dry clothes as well.

They ate once Kagome had changed and returned to the kitchen. Jii-chan had appeared and volunteered to hold one pup while Mama held the other. Kagome thought they might make it home before the twins needed to be fed and changed again, but it was not to be. Mama volunteered to help her and disappeared up the stairs with Kagome and the twins.

InuYasha was sitting alone in the kitchen with Grandpa when he finally got the nerve to speak, “I…I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done. First with the wedding ceremony, and this morning with the blessing. It…it meant a lot to Kagome…and…and to me.”

“InuYasha, you may have been a bit rough around the edges when you first started coming around, but you've always been one of the most honest men I've known. I know you'll take good care of my granddaughter,” Jii-chan said as he stood up to head for bed. He squeezed InuYasha on the shoulder as he passed by.

~ ^~^ ~

It actually took longer than InuYasha had expected for word to leak out that there had been a birth in the Nishimoto family. Someone had finally decided that maybe that girl Eri had known something and decided to try to get into InuYasha's building. One of them had been nosing around and discovered that the restaurant down the street did a lot of deliveries to the penthouse, so a reporter tried to go undercover by getting a job as a delivery man there. He had already found out the hard way that the guards of the building were unrelenting and would not accept any bribes (they preferred to stay alive), so the reporter decided to try that route to gain access. All he found out was that any attempt of making a delivery to the penthouse door was pointless.

There were very specific policies in the building, and the reporter wasn't getting past the lobby. In fact, the next time he came back one of the guards on duty recognized him as the guy who offered him a bribe, and he couldn't even get in the front door. He had to return to the restaurant with the food. He was fired as soon as he walked in the door since the guard had called and told the manager of the restaurant he was a tabloid reporter. The restaurant had far too much business from that building to lose it for such a stupid reason.

Others who tried taking pictures of the building or its occupants as they came and went found that their film or discs were mysteriously blank when they went to develop or download the pictures. Of course they had no idea that one of Sesshomaru's many companies had secretly developed technology that would wipe clean any cameras or recorders within two hundred meters of any building it was installed in to protect. The new technology had been developed for the government, but Sesshomaru could use it in his own buildings even if he could not sell the product to others. It had recently been installed in all of Sesshomaru's buildings to protect their exteriors. Anyone who attempted to take a camera and use it within range discovered that not only did they not get the picture they sought, but lost any others on that disc or roll of film as well.

One really brazen photographer had talked a helicopter pilot into taking him to the roof. The security guards took the elevator all the way up as soon as they were notified of the helicopter's approach. The pilot just about wet himself when he realized there were a dozen guards with machine guns pointed at him, and he knew they had the authority to use them on the Nishimoto building he was attempting to make an illegal landing on. The photographer was screaming at the top of his lungs at the pilot as he decided to get the hell out of Dodge and turned around. The pilot told him flat out that nothing was worth getting killed over and he was headed home. The photographer discovered when he went to see what pictures he could salvage, that he had nothing at all any more, including the juicy ones of the orgy at the estate of a popular male model. He was so angry he smashed his very expensive digital camera to the floor.

Word seemed to spread pretty fast that it was very bad luck to try and take photographs near that particular apartment building. A couple of the more aggressive photographers seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth, and the rest reported very bad luck with their camera equipment. Some were actually starting to believe the rumors that there were witches that used magic within the family to protect it.

Any time one of the people Eri had tried to sell information to would try to approach her, she wet her pants and fled at the thought of what would happen to her if she said anything else.

~ ^~^ ~

InuYasha went along with Kagome for her six-week check-up. They made sure the twins were fed before they left, and the nanny told them not to worry - she could handle it and could bottle-feed them if she needed to. The twins preferred their mother, but they would drink the milk Kagome had stored in the refrigerator if they were hungry. Neither pup seemed to have any problem with nipple confusion. If it was edible, they would try and eat it.

InuYasha hadn't really planned on going into the examination room with his mate, but Kagome wanted him with her. She was comforted having his hand to squeeze while the doctor poked and prodded her breasts and abdomen as well as did a full pelvic exam.

Dr. Tanaka also asked Kagome how she was feeling and told her some about the symptoms of postpartum depression. She wanted to make certain that they called her if she started to suffer any of the symptoms. InuYasha paid attention and tucked the brochure she had about it in his pocket, just in case. He would never forget the lesson he learned with that damned birth control shot. He'd also heard about some of the extreme cases on the news where a mother went nuts to the point of killing her child. InuYasha would do whatever he needed to make certain his mate stayed healthy both physically and emotionally.

The good doctor proclaimed that Kagome had healed well and could start having sex with her husband again when she desired. Dr. Tanaka also warned Kagome that just because she was breast-feeding, it didn't mean she couldn't get pregnant again. When the doctor asked if she had thought about what type of birth control she wanted to use, Kagome told the doctor that InuYasha had control over his seed like a full demon did and could tell when she was fertile. Kagome also said that she had made it clear no more pups for a long while.

InuYasha just blushed.

~ ^~^ ~

Kagome had already decided how she was going to reward her hanyou. She still couldn't believe how good he had been through everything the last few months. Or really, since they were married and she became pregnant. One of the reasons she had asked him to go to the doctor with her was so he could hear for himself if Dr. Tanaka proclaimed that Kagome was healed and could engage in intimate activities with him again. She knew that most mothers did not want to for some time after birth, but in truth, she missed her husband as well.

The twins had been taken care of for the evening. They were sleeping for a good portion of the night now. They still had two feedings during the night, but other than that they were doing really well. They had both been fed and changed and put to bed. They usually went to sleep pretty fast when they were full, clean and content.

InuYasha had helped as usual and followed Kagome out of the nursery. Usually they retired to the sofa to watch television for a while, but tonight Kagome took InuYasha by the hand and led him to the bedroom.

“Kagome, are you sure? I know the doctor said you could, but you don't have to if you're not ready,” InuYasha said softly.

Kagome's response was to fist her hands in his hair and pull his face to hers. He moaned as their tongues started a duel for dominance of each other's mouth.

InuYasha was gentle, like he had been the first time he had been brave enough to explore her body with his hands. He reached under her shirt and started rubbing in circles as he made his way to her breasts, not really sure what she would want to do since she was breast-feeding.

Kagome sensed his hesitancy and seemed to understand because she whispered, “Its okay, InuYasha. You won't hurt me.”

Kagome turned loose of him long enough to pull off her top and expose herself to her husband before pulling his mouth back to hers.

InuYasha was still gentle as he caressed her breasts with his hands. He felt Kagome's hands tugging at his clothes. InuYasha stopped long enough to pull off his clothes, and then helped her out of her remaining garments. Kagome took his hand again - this time to climb onto the bed.

Kagome let out a sigh of pleasure and relief as she felt InuYasha's tongue between her folds. It had seemed like forever since he had been able to bring her pleasure this way. She felt his tongue digging into her while his thumb rubbed at her most sensitive spot.

“Oh, Inu…Yasha…don't…stop,” Kagome begged as her body started to buck as it responded to his attentions.

InuYasha didn't until her body started to spasm as she came to completion. He gradually slowed down his ministrations as her trembling body started to come down from its high, until he could tell she could take no more. He kissed his way back up her body until he had reached her mouth and was fondling her breasts with his hands again.

“Are you sure you're ready?” he whispered before he went any further. He was worried because she seemed a little dry and he didn't want to hurt her.

Kagome surprised him again by reaching over for a bottle on the nightstand. He didn't recall seeing it before.

“Here, use this. The doctor warned I might be a little dry while nursing, but this should help,” Kagome said as she took the bottle and put some on herself, and then some on InuYasha's now very hard erection. InuYasha didn't have to be told again.

InuYasha looked Kagome in the eyes as he probed at her opening. He felt her hand reach down to help guide him in, and then turn loose once he was headed in the right direction. He eased himself in until he was buried deep inside her, and then started long, slow strokes, pulling almost all the way out before plunging in again.

It wasn't long before he started to hear, “Inu…Yasha…harder…faster…”

Kagome's hands were holding his sides as he started to pick up speed, still looking in his mate's eyes for any sign of pain or discomfort. He was encouraged by the warmth and love he saw and started to pick up speed as his mate had asked.

Not wanting to make too much noise in fear of waking their sleeping infants, most of what was heard was the moans and grunts of pleasure as the two bodies slapped together. Kagome moved her legs so that InuYasha could tell she wanted them on his shoulders, and managed to help put them there without breaking his rhythm. The new angle started giving his mate the stimulation she was looking for, as he was now hitting one of her hot spots inside her. InuYasha felt her muscles start to clench around him, which was the remaining stimulation he needed to be sent over the edge with her. As they came together, each cried out the other's name. InuYasha stopped his motion and helped Kagome lower her legs to a more comfortable position. He leaned down to kiss her as he remained buried in her core, not releasing her until he felt himself start to slide out of her.

After InuYasha had moved from above his mate, he lay on his side and pulled her to him. InuYasha sighed in contentment as he wrapped his arms protectively around his mate, his wife, the mother of his pups.

To be continued…