InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Slayer Sango ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

Thanks to my reviewers-- your interest in this story is much appreciated. The Sesshomaru-Sango pairing has always been my favorite. The Lord of the West coupled with Rin or Kagome just doesn't sit well with me. I can somewhat deal with a Kagura or even Yaoi pairing (Sessh is so pretty) before seeing him with Rin (his de facto daughter) or Kagome (Inuyasha's mate/girlfriend/wife). Also, I really have nothing against Miroku but in my universe he's no competition for Sessh when it comes to Sango's heart.

 

Major Sess Sango in this part for all you fans of the pairing.

 

 

 

Chapter 19

 

She could hear and smell the wretched beast before she could see it. Others thought that because she was a taijiya the sensations for her would be somehow less vile. They were wrong. The stench of the oncoming demon was so bad that she turned and wretched into the bushes. A tremendous 'crunch!' 'crunch! sound got louder and louder as the creature got closer-- massive clawed paws dug into the clay earth as it moved toward the tiny village that lay beyond.

 

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango managed to get off a sharp flick of her wrist to send her giant weapon at the massive rat demon as it appeared through the trees. A miss, she found herself having to retreat quickly on Kirara's back in order to avoid a razor-sharp swipe from the fearsome animal's huge claws as it attempted to hone in on its attacker. "Again, Kirara-- closer!"

 

The call had come early that morning-- a young mother, baby in tow had run to her cottage to beg that she come and assist. The men of the tiny settlement had been unable to ward the creature off with spears and arrows, and the demon had already consumed one or two of the strongest men in an awful, bloody rampage.

 

While dealing with such a nasty demon was not necessarily pleasant, Sango welcomed the chance to do what she did best. The life force within her shone brightly as she fought, it radiated and consumed the worries and fears that had recently been her lot. "Die you big son of a bitch!" she screamed, and swooped in with her katana to stab at the huge rat monster near the base of its brain where the neck met the haunches. It screamed when struck, wheeled about and kicked upward with its hindquarters. Kirara was just able to avoid a hit. The creature still had life, and showed Sango as much when it reared back up on all fours and screamed at her. "Put me down, Kirara!" The taijiya rolled to the ground, an axe and Hiraikotsu at the ready.

 

That morning she had been to see the healer. Her stomach complaints and headaches had not subsided for several days, and she wondered at the cause. Nor had her monthly period ever arrived. This made her worry. Sango told herself with half a heart over and over in the days before going back to the healer that it was alright-- sometimes she skipped periods, and it didn't necessarily have anything to do with...being pregnant.

 

However when she had got out of bed that morning and started throwing up it was alarming, and so she set off to see the healer to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps she simply had a bad cold or some other disease.

 

"Come here taijiya," said the elderly woman on seeing Sango approach her little hut. Instantly detecting distress in the young woman, the priestess remembered from a previous visit the remedy to prevent pregnancy she had been sent away with. The wizened, wrinkled hands of the old priestess belied a deftness and sureness of purpose as she examined Sango up close-- looking into her eyes, smelling her breath, touching certain places on her body. She worked like an expert. "How long have you been feeling this way, child?"

 

"For about two weeks." The priestess nodded.

 

"Have you had fever?"

 

"No, just headaches, and some aches all over my body besides the feeling sick." The elderly woman then directed that she remove her yukata. 'Don't be shy. She's trying to help you.' The younger woman allowed the healer to examine her in the nude. After a brief perusal, the older woman retreated.

 

"You may get dressed now, my dear."

 

"So what do you think is wrong with me?"

 

"Nothing is wrong. You are experiencing the normal effects of the condition known as pregnancy. My dear, you are going to have a baby." Sango's eyes flew wide open. So did her mouth. Noticing the reaction, the healer asked, "Are you sure you took the root as I directed you?"

 

Sango stammered and her head spun at the news. She stared at the old woman, disbelieving. "Y-yes. I am sure I did...every morning with my tea, just as you told me. I can't be pregnant!"

 

"You are my dear. The symptoms are all present. If you took the remedy as I directed then it should have worked. Something is amiss..." She thought to herself for a few moments and then looked up. "Tell me taijiya, the man-- he is human, is he not? I apologize for having to ask such a question."

 

Sango swallowed and longed for a drink of water. Her lips and mouth were suddenly horribly dry. "Actually, no he isn't."

 

"He is hanyou? Youkai?" The old woman moved closer, suddenly very interested in Sango's private life.

 

"H-he is youkai. Taiyoukai." The priestess shut her eyes and clasped her hands together. She rocked back and forth slowly shaking her head, and seemed to go into a sort of trance. Finally she looked up at Sango with eyes full of sympathy.

 

"Gods child there is no potion on this earth that can prevent the conception of a taiyoukai, at least not one that any human knows of. The seed is too strong. Had I known before that you were in love with a taiyoukai I would have advised you that avoiding pregnancy would be most difficult, even impossible unless you refrained from having relations."

 

Sango gasped and shut her eyes. 'Oh no.' It simply had not crossed her mind to divulge the fact of her lover's demon existence on her first visit to the healer. It was hard enough as it was being involved with a youkai without having to tell people.

 

"You will have a baby, a hanyou. I understand such pregnancies are not without difficulty...I would hope for your sake that the mild illnesses you have now will be the extent of your distress while carrying such a child. You may of course come to me for help if you need it."

 

The priestess' words flitted through her mind even now as she fought the ferocious rat demon in front of her. 'Pregnant. With Sesshomaru's baby. Or pup, as he would call it. What in all nine levels of hell am I going to do?' She readied her axe at the same time she let Hiraikotsu fly. 'What you've always done,' she replied to herself. 'You will live and fight.'

 

Suddenly she felt a burning sensation at her back. It felt like a sword had cut her, slicing from the shoulderblades down to the small of her back. Turning slightly she could see yet another huge rat demon, perhaps the mate to the one in front of her. She cursed and smelled her own blood in her nostrils-- the creature had slashed her with its front paws. Raising her axe to strike, the last thing Sango remembered were the sounds of Kirara's growling and huge, razor sharp teeth coming toward her from several feet away.

 

 

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From his library window Sesshomaru stared far into the near forest. His youkai senses had been nagging at him for hours, calling to him in some undefined way. So far he had been unable to place the source of his concern. Reviewing the events of the day in his mind, he brooded.

 

'Tamaku and Hisako both believe I should reconsider mating Lady Kaiya. Inuyasha remains the stubborn baka that he is and refuses to employ Tetsusaiga against my enemies. Sango is...well...' He sighed. Since when did he, the Lord of the West become so much at the mercy of those around him rather than the other way around? 'Am I becoming soft, father?'

 

Inuyasha had flatly refused his request to use Tetsusaiga against Jitsuo's army in the oncoming war. The demon lord's eyes became hard with the memory of their earlier confrontation.

 

"Why should I help you Sesshomaru? You have never done anything for me but curse me, fight me or treat me like shit. Even when it would have been easy for you to help you pushed me away. Leaving me at the mercy of my human grandfather who beat me to within an inch of my life every chance he got-- You didn't care. And you wonder why I hate your fucking guts?" The hanyou's eyes blazed with the fury of memory as he spat his words out at his brother.

 

The demon lord remained indifferent, composed. He spoke evenly. "You weren't worthy of my attention. You were a stupid, rash half-breed then and you are now. How can you expect me to waste my time on your idiocy?"

 

"You aren't better than me, Sesshomaru."

 

The demon lord stood and sneered, hissing through his teeth. The anger rose in his eyes. "I am in every way your superior. I always will be, you ridiculous hanyou baka!"

 

Inuyasha snarled back. "You left me to die with my mother. You could have rescued me from her relatives who hated my half-demon blood. Instead you cursed me just like they did, and left me to fend for myself...if you call that being better than someone else you're crazy."

 

Sesshomaru sat back in his seat at the accusation. "You don't know the truth."

 

"I do. I was there. You didn't care if I lived or died, Sesshomaru. You still don't. The one good thing that came from all of it is that I learned to take care of myself, learned to think for myself. Otherwise you have been worthless to me, less than worthless!"

 

The demon lord's eyes flashed. "Have you forgotten that I have given protection to your son? Your offspring? Brought your mate here for her safety? Are you so ungrateful, Inuyasha?"

 

The hanyou sniffed and shrugged. "It's all for your own benefit. You are getting something out of it, that is the only reason you are keeping us here. It sure as hell isn't out of any family regard..."

 

"Do not profess to know what goes on in my mind, baka. That has always been your problem. You rush to conclusions without thinking them through, if you even think at all."

 

"Go fuck yourself, Sesshomaru. I've got to get back to Kagome." He turned and stormed out of the library.

 

"This conversation isn't over," said the demon lord as he watched his brother walk away.

 

 

Now standing before the window looking out over the forest he wondered, 'Why did my father ever produce that stupid baka?' He shook his head and his thoughts soon turned to Sango. He remembered how he had sought the taijiya twice in the several days since their tryst in the wildflower meadow. Both times she had declined him, citing fatigue. The youkai had not pressed the issue knowing she still harbored serious reservations due to his taking of another female as a mate. Sesshomaru saw that he had to resolve the situation somehow because increasingly it became clear to him that life without Sango was less than ideal.

 

He needed her. She calmed his youki rage, soothed him, provided a grounding that the demon lord lacked elsewhere in his day-to-day existence. Her latest gentle refusals to be with him had cut deep into his soul. He longed to ease her mind, to remove the barriers that kept them apart. When in her company the world seemed clearer, easier to discern and explain. Simply put, without Sango the youkai lord felt unfinished. 'A woman, a human woman has done this to me,' he thought with no small amount of soreness. 'But I need an heir! A youkai...' His pride demanded he deliver to his people a son of his blood to rule when he could no longer. Conflicted, Sesshomaru continued to ruminate.

 

He recalled with slight displeasure a conversation earlier in the week with Tamaku and Hisako. They had approached him as a pair, advising that in light of Lady Kaiya's unrelenting distress that he consider putting off the claiming and mating rituals until after the oncoming war, something he planned to do anyway. Hisako had then cautiously suggested that Kaiya was probably the wrong demoness for the position of consort. Sesshomaru noticed the lengths to which the dignified noblewoman went to state her position respectfully, and while he did not sympathize with the sentiment behind it he did respect her judgment. He had been noncommittal, stating only that he would review the situation.

 

Had Sesshomaru, the most calcualting demon in the West, made a bad decision? Tamaku related conversations he had with Akira. Even the girl's father now believed the match was not a good one given his daughter's unrelenting opposition to the arrangement, and hoped Sesshomaru-sama would consider perhaps taking Midori in Kaiya's stead. Sesshomaru had ignored this suggestion. 'How can I go back on my choice,' he asked himself. He had courted her in front of the entire community, made his declaration. He truthfully did not know what he would do, and continued to ponder.

 

Suddenly the demon lord felt a powerful disturbance. His youki began to roar fiercely within him and his eyes shone red. His breath came hard and fast and the blood began to rage in his veins as the instinctive, primal part of his being came crashing to the fore. It spoke to him in harsh, clipped growls-- 'Danger! Protect! Protect your bitch!...claim what is yours! Go! Go now!' Sesshomaru reeled. His youki had rarely been so demanding.

 

She was seeking him, calling the way a mate calls for her partner when in distress. Something was terribly wrong. In an instant he was gone far from the palace, racing across the countryside. He had to find her, to find Sango.

 

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She was in the midst of battle, hand raised to strike with an axe at the demon behind while another lunged to destroy her with its front teeth. Sesshomaru acted instantly, striking two quick slashes with Tokijin to eliminate the first demon. He then directed a well-placed enormous whip of youki energy to drive the other huge rat away before Sango could be sliced to bits. The demon lord finished off the wretched creatures with Tokijin, causing blood and fur and bone to spew into the air in a series of death blows. The threat conquered, he went to where Sango lay close to an outcropping of thistle and brush at the edge of the tree line. He found her alive and conscious but bristled at seeing a long slash down the center of her back, the nasty work of one of the rat demons.

 

It had moved him, seeing her down a few moments earlier. He had wanted to go to her instantly, to cover her body with his own at the sight of her extreme vulnerability to danger. Only a consuming, bitter rage at the offending youkai had deviated his plan to do exactly that. The offending menace now defunct, he could go to her. He knelt close by as she sat up using Hiraikotsu for support.

 

"How did you know?" she asked, the stress of battle present in her expression. How could he possibly have appeared just when she was about to be struck down? Searching his eyes for an answer, Sango could see concern mixed with relief. She then sighed and rested her forehead against his shoulder, breathing hard. The demon lord did not recoil from the rat blood, fur and slime that rubbed off her armor onto his silks as she sought his comfort, and he steadied her with his sure grasp. Sango looked up to see Kirara nearby, pacing warily. "How did you know, Sesshomaru?"

 

He gazed at her, satisfied his efforts to protect had been successful. "You called for me huntress," he said in a calm, cool voice. Sango gave a puzzled look. Sesshomaru wanted to explain but could not properly convey with words what he knew in his youkai blood. "You let me know you were in danger and I am here," he said simply.

 

Sango racked her brain trying to remember. 'Did I call out to him? I don't know if I did...' "Were you close by?" she asked.

 

The demon lord shook his head no. "I was at the fortress."

 

The inuyoukai palace was a good two days march for her from where they were presently. Of course Sesshomaru could get where he wanted very quickly. Sango had no trouble understanding that. Still there was no way he could have heard her calling him from such a distance. Suddenly weary, she reached out to grasp his hand for additional support.

 

"You need help," he said.

 

"Masterful observation, Sesshomaru."

 

"Do you mock me woman?" He retorted, and lifted her in his arms and left the horrible scene. She cracked a slight grin and wrapped her arms around his neck.

 

Remembering her morning, the taijiya became suddenly serious. "Sesshomaru, I have something to discuss with you. It is important--" He cut her off.

 

"It can wait huntress. You need a bath, and now I do as well. There is a hot spring nearby." His neck and hands were smeared with the rat blood splattered over Sango's armor. The pair of them looked as if they'd just emerged from a war zone. Soon they came upon the location, a watery vision in the early evening twilight. He set her down carefully next to the pond's edge.

 

Sango marveled at the gentle care he took with her. He insisted on tending her wounds himself, and helped her to undress after first removing his own soiled clothing. Together they stepped into the soothing water of the hot spring. She couldn't help voicing some discomfort at the pain of the cut on her back as the warm water lapped at the fresh break in her skin.

 

"Turn, exterminator." She did as she was told. He could see a long surface cut that lay bright red across her shoulderblades, which then made an oblique turn down and ended at her lower back.

 

"It hurts, Sesshomaru! Owww!" She whined prominently, seeking his sympathy.

 

"It is only a surface injury. Stop your foolish complaining."

 

"Insensitive youkai!" He gently washed the cut, cleaning away the blood and dirt. "What were you doing fighting two of those abominable creatures by yourself?"

 

Sango rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask to go against two of them at the same time. It just happened that way."

 

"You are fortunate I came when I did then, huntress."

 

Sango then nearly melted as he began to ever so gently wash the rest of her body. Taking his time, he used sensitive hands to rub the dirt and blood away from her front, her legs, her back...it felt like heaven. She wondered how she had been able to refuse him the last two times he had sought her for lovemaking. She had turned him down because of her nervousness over the possibility of being pregnant, and to engage in the activity that led to her potential state simply wasn't appealing at the time. Of course now she knew the truth.

 

She spoke softly. "Sesshomaru, I'm going to have a baby."

 

He said nothing for several moments, and continued to gently tend her body, now moving up to her scalp and hair. His careful massaging of her head felt so good that she let out a loud sigh of pleasure. "Did you hear me? I said that I am pregnant. With your child."

 

"It had better be mine," he said.

 

"What is that supposed to mean?"

 

"Nothing." She couldn't see the half-grin that appeared on his face. "Sango I already knew you were with child," he said.

 

She turned to look at him. "What? How long have you known?"

 

"Not long. I think it happened only in the last few weeks. I didn't sense that you were pupped before our last meeting."

 

A long pause. "I had been trying to prevent it, you know." Another long pause. He said nothing in response. Now finished with her hair, she turned to face him, and leaned in to kiss his lips briefly. "Thank you. That was very sweet."

 

"It is my duty to take care of you, Sango."

 

She frowned. "No it isn't. Your duty is to your mate." That still stood between them. To her continued frustration, Sango could see no way around it, and folded her arms to express the displeasure she felt at the thought. All she would ever be able to give him was a hanyou, not the full blood youkai he kept saying he needed as an heir.

 

"It is my duty to take care of you," he repeated calmly.

 

"Because I am pregnant? Well you can forget it. I don't need your charity. I can take care of myself--"

 

"Quiet woman, you are rambling again." He splashed her with water, making her gasp. She displeased him when she got like this, so ready to discount his presence in her life. He continued. "My duty to protect you is not related to your pregnancy."

 

She questioned him with her eyes. Sesshomaru took both of her hands in his and drew her to him. His voice became serious, low and deliberate. His glittering eyes bored into her own. "Sango, listen to me."

 

She felt something strange. It was as if someone were calling her from far away, but on the inside. A sensation like the wind seemed to move through her, mingling and engaging and meandering with her own spirit. It felt like him, like Sesshomaru. Thoroughly baffled, the taijiya nonetheless listened intently.

 

He spoke softly, carefully. "You...you are my mate, Sango...I was able to hear you from the fortress because at some point it happened. I think we are mated." Sango's eyes flew wide open. 'Is that why I've been feeling so strange lately? As if something were in my head? Has it been him all along?' A growing knot took shape in the pit of her stomach.

 

He continued. "I am not entirely sure how we became mated because I have not marked you, though you were claimed. The ancient ways are sometimes a mystery even to me... It may be that the process is not complete, but I am not sure. I have claimed you, perhaps that is what started it."

 

Tears came to her eyes. This is what she had been waiting for, what she'd longed for him to finally see-- that they were meant for each other. The obstacles they had faced, the pain she had endured-- it all had been worth it to hear him admit this simple fact.

 

He wiped her cheek and continued, his voice almost plaintive. "Have you accepted me, Sango? I need to know..." His eyes never wavered from hers, and the gentle sweetness of his voice lulled her. She nodded in response to his question. "To your heart? Truly?" She nodded again vigorously, and to punctuate it laid a blazing kiss across his lips.

 

Her voice, although tremulous was clear and strong. "I-I love you, Sesshomaru. I always have. Ever since that day you came to get Rin...gods, I loved you even before that." Tears fell fast and hot down her face. The demon lord cradled her to his chest and shut his eyes. This is what he had longed to hear.

 

"Say it again."

 

"I love you," she repeated.

 

"Mmmm. Again."

 

"I love you!"

 

He pulled back and captured her large velvety brown eyes in his own. Clasping her to him, the pair lost themselves in a hot, sensual embrace. His tongue snaked into her mouth to taste and explore, to tell her what he had been unable to with words for so long. One hand cradled the back of her head while the other gently caressed her heated folds under the water. Her fire ignited, Sango gasped with need and searched for his hardness. She traced from the base up to the tip, massaging the head with her palm. Her attentions, insistent and unrelenting, made the demon lord hiss with pleasure.

 

He took her to a secluded area away from the bank of the spring. Sitting with his back propped against the smooth bark of a tree, he pulled her into his lap to straddle him. They attacked one another, kissing hotly. She squirmed, grinding her heat against him while tasting his mouth and neck. He caressed her breasts and sides of her body, careful not to disturb the wound on her back.

 

"Tell me what you want, Sango," he breathed. Easily holding her away from his hard member, he licked at her ear and the patch of flesh just below that he knew drove her insane. She shuddered and gasped.

 

"I...I need...I need you..." He kissed her, sucking at her neck. His eyes caught the patch of flesh where her neck joined her shoulder, the marking region. 'It would be so easy...two fangs buried deep--'

 

"Sesshomaru! Don't tease..." she whimpered. He kissed the spot instead and rolled her plump nipples between his fingers.

 

"Tell me, huntress, what you want..." Another gasp as he dipped a finger into her depths, and she pushed forward to meet him. He removed it, and she wailed in frustration. "Tell me, Sango."

 

"Ah, Sesshomaru! I want you inside my...I want you to take me!" An evil grin. He lifted her and slowly brought her back down over his length, sinking it in bit by bit. She let out a deep sigh and immediately began to move against him, desperate for contact.

 

"Slow down, woman."

 

"I can't--I can't help it... I need it...I need you!" She grasped his shoulders tightly and began to slide herself up and down on him, letting the sweet pleasure rip through her body as he rocked against her walls. Sesshomaru forced her to slow her pace anyway and placed a hand on each of her hips, guiding her rhythm.

 

"Ohhhh gods! Its so good!" she moaned and threw her head back as he began a deep grinding of her depths. Pumping her deliciously wet womanhood, the demon believed he had never experienced anything so heavenly. He could live inside this female. Plastering his mouth over hers, his tongue slipped into her throat while he began a sharp thrusting. This eventually brought them both to a feverish climax, and Sango relished the sounds that came from her beautiful youkai lord as he pounded his seed into her. She stroked his damp hair, cooing and laying light kisses to his forehead as he finished.

 

"Are you sure you are not a demon?" asked Sesshomaru.

 

"For the last time no!" She laughed. Resting with him still inside her, her thoughts began to wander in the evening air. "Although your child will be youkai. At least partly."

 

He broke their embrace. "So you intend to have my pup then, Sango?" She said nothing, only nodded and looked down. They both knew he could help her lose the pregnancy if she really didn't want it, but the thought now horrified her. For his part Sesshomaru had prepared himself for the declaration that she wanted to end it. Hadn't she said earlier that she tried to prevent becoming pregnant in the first place?

 

"I want it," she whispered. "It will be part of you, and a part of me. Ours, a beautiful thing." The knowledge that she intended to keep his pup filled the demon lord with deep satisfaction. He stroked her damp hair and hugged her close. Kissing her fiercely, he held her to him for all he was worth, his woman, his mate.

 

The air became cool as they sat together for a long time. Sango didn't want it to end, but knew she had to get back to Kirara, and assumed Sesshomaru had business to look after of his own. Pulling away with a tender kiss, she began to look for her clothing.

 

"Your armor is very ripped. I don't know if you will be able to put it back on again," he remarked, examining the remnants in her hands.

 

"I can't walk out of here naked, Sesshomaru."

 

"I wouldn't mind..." She frowned at him, then smiled.

 

"Lecherous youkai."

 

"Here, take this--" He gave her the still pristine under-robe or juban that he wore with his now stained silk haori and hakama. She took it thankfully and wrapped it around her. "You are coming to the palace, I assume." he asked almost as an afterthought.

 

Something inside Sango cringed. Of course he would ask this of her, especially now. But she wasn't ready. Not yet. They weren't ready.

 

"Sesshomaru, I can't."

 

He stepped forward. 'She doesn't understand yet, stubborn female.' "I've already told you that we are-- that I am, closer than before." The demon lord purposely avoided the term mate. He still had not marked his intended, and realized it would have to wait until matters were clearer.

 

"I know, but it isn't public. It can't be..."

 

"Not now perhaps. But why should that stop you from going back with me to the palace? I must protect you now. And the child--"

 

"You are still attached, my lord," she broke in. "It would be wrong for me to go around that fortress with your betrothed waiting in the wings." She wanted to cry at the thought of him having someone else, but held it in. "Please understand, my love."

 

He grasped her hand and moved so that their bodies touched again. "I am in love with you, Sango-san." He said it with such tenderness, such purity of heart that it made the young woman gasp with surprise and happiness.

 

Sesshomaru had finally come to the realization that whatever he felt for Sango, it was as close to the human emotion called love as it could get. He now had no problem identifying it as such even though he could not say that he had ever felt anything similar for anyone else on the planet, ever. She was the woman of his heart and he finally felt comfortable saying so. Fresh tears welled in her eyes.

 

"Y-you love me?"

 

"Yes, my sweet. I love you." He cradled her to his chest, and lay light kisses on her forehead.

 

"Oh Sesshomaru," She grasped him tight in her arms, and felt something incredible. He yielded to her, letting her lead them into a deep, satisfying kiss. His body molded to her own and communicated a complete acquiescence to her dominion over his person and his heart. It was the first time she had ever experienced such a thing from him, and it moved her deeply.

 

She spoke against his chest. "Come for me when you are free. I will be waiting." He nodded and with great reluctance, released her from his grasp. He kissed her temple and spoke gently.

 

"You will be mine one day, Sango."

 

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