InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fifty Years ❯ Chapter 3

Things were awkward for a while after that. Sesshomaru was shocked speechless at his brother’s confession, and hoped that the younger one would not remember his words. Unfortunately, Inuyasha did remember, and was horrified that he had told his brother such a thing. He knew that Sesshomaru didn’t feel the same. The Demon Lord may have made him his mate, taken him to his bed, and impregnated him, but Sesshomaru did not love him. Inuyasha did not doubt that his brother cared for him somewhat, but love seemed to be out of the question.

The next few years were relatively stable for the brothers and their family. Inuyasha cared for the children and handled the occasional demon problems while Sesshomaru directed the Western Lands and the demons under him. When the twins were three years old, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru welcomed their third child, another boy named Mareo. He was a rare child, as his name suggested. Instead of having the traditional silver hair of his forbears, his hair was the same shade of gold as his eyes. He possessed the lavender stripes of his mother’s full demon form, with his father’s pointed ears. The House of Taisho was once again blessed with happiness at the birth and health of Mareo and Inuyasha.

For the most part, Inuyasha was happy with his life with Sesshomaru and their children. The boys were rambunctious and could quickly get into trouble. He wasn’t confined to the palace, and when he left, those who knew who he was respected him. But there were times when he was depressed. He would go through days where he would barely eat or sleep. He wouldn’t let Sesshomaru touch him at those times, and he would wander around the castle looking lost if he wasn’t in the company of his children. Those are the times that Sesshomaru felt the smallest inkling of guilt that he didn’t return the love his brother so obviously had for him. Whenever he felt like that, Sesshomaru would do something small and nice for Inuyasha that would cheer him up and assuage his guilt.

Shortly after their tenth anniversary, Sesshomaru woke once again with a female Inuyasha in his arms. Knowing this meant only one thing, Sesshomaru dressed quickly and called for the healer. This birth, however, was unlike the previous ones, and set the entire castle into a flurry of activity before it was over. ~*~

That morning, when Inuyasha woke up, he already knew the day was going to be long. He had once again transformed, which meant his child was on the way. Normally, when he woke up on those mornings, he felt fine except for a few occasional pains. This morning, however, he hurled himself out of bed and to the basin so that he could throw up. Inuyasha thought this occurrence odd because his morning sickness had stopped months earlier. Too tired to contemplate further, Inuyasha stumbled back to bed and waited for the healer to come.

The hours ticked by, and Sesshomaru stayed at his mate’s side. For some reason, this birth was not progressing as fast as the others had or as the healers would like. Inuyasha was in an incredible amount of pain, and was losing more blood than he had before. Sesshomaru felt an involuntary tug at his heart at the image of his mate writhing in pain trying with all his might to bring their child into the world.

After twenty-four hours passed, the healer became worried. It shouldn’t be taking this long, especially since he had already given birth twice before. At thirty hours, she took Lord Sesshomaru aside and mentioned that she might have to cut his mate open and take out the child. It was not something either wanted done, but there was a limit to everyone’s strength, and Inuyasha had long since passed his.

After thirty-four hours, his mate could no longer contain his screams and let them loose. The palace reverberated with his cries of agony, and the children (who were kept in another part of the castle away from the birth) echoed with cries for their mother. Two hours later, after thirty-six hours of intense pain, Inuyasha brought their first daughter into the world. Kameko Toshi, the long-lived mirror image, was just that. She looked exactly like her father with one exception. She had his hair, eyes, markings, and build, but her mother’s ears. On top of her nest of downy hair, two silver puppy ears perched, eagerly swiveling to catch sounds of her new world. While her father marveled over her beauty, her mother was in worse shape.

Inuyasha was bleeding heavily, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Kameko, the first girl, was the largest baby he’d had. She was easily fifteen pounds, and although his body had previously handled childbirth, none of her siblings were over ten pounds. Inuyasha’s body was almost too small to let her out. Indeed, the baby’s birth had caused several tears in the birth canal and perineum that had to be repaired so that Inuyasha wouldn’t have complications with any future births. Kameko’s entrance into the world was so traumatic on Inuyasha that the healer recommended that he be on bed rest for two weeks to allow his body to recuperate. Sesshomaru quickly agreed.

He had stayed with his mate the entire thirty-six hours and watched as Inuyasha valiantly struggled to birth their child. He saw the pain and anguish he was in, that he kept mostly to himself for fear of upsetting those around him. When he finally managed to bring their child into the world, Inuyasha was utterly exhausted. As soon as the afterbirth was expelled, Inuyasha passed out. Although he was slightly alarmed at his brother’s unconscious state, he figured he deserved the rest. With his hair fanning his head and sweat dripping down his face, his mate looked like a fallen angel. A fallen angel that had captured Sesshomaru’s heart. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Sesshomaru had fallen in love with his mate. He didn’t think he could tell him, though. After all these years, he didn’t think Inuyasha would believe him. ~*~

Inuyasha slept for the next two days, only waking to feed their child. Her brothers loved her immediately and couldn’t wait until she was old enough for them to play with her. Sesshomaru shook his head and sighed at the amount of trouble those kids managed to get into when no one was looking, and even when they were. They were a handful, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes, they were too much for even him and Inuyasha to handle together, let alone apart.

Sesshomaru didn’t want to think about what his life would be like if he didn’t have his mate by his side. An involuntary shiver went down his back, and he thought about a time when that was almost the case. ~*~

The week after Kameko’s birth, Inuyasha was still weak. As the healer had told Sesshomaru that his mate needed bed rest for at least two weeks, he was not overly alarmed. Indeed, the only thing Sesshomaru allowed Inuyasha to do was feed their daughter, and that was only after an intense argument with his mate over the use of a wet nurse. Anyway, Inuyasha only left the bed to relieve himself, and even then, it was always with the aid of his mate.

This particular day, Inuyasha was in bed feeding their daughter before he himself ate dinner. As usual, the girl went to sleep soon after her feeding, leaving Inuyasha to enjoy his dinner in peace. Sesshomaru was hosting visiting nobles, so Inuyasha ate his dinner alone. When the nanny came in for the child, he wasn’t feeling well, but attributed his dizziness to the persistent weakness of his daughter’s birth. As the hours passed, however, and his condition didn’t improve, he became worried. When he tried to get out of bed to go to his mate, it was already too late. His legs were weak, and he collapsed halfway to the bedroom door. That was how Sesshomaru found him.

After an exhausting day of hosting nobles and dealing with their pettiness, Sesshomaru wanted nothing more than to lie in bed next to his mate, inhaling his scent. It always soothed him, even if he didn’t sleep. Before he made it to his room, he knew something was wrong. A strange scent was emanating from his brother, and when he opened the door, he found his mate passed out on the floor. After summoning the healer, he picked Inuyasha up and put him in bed. Even though it was late at night, the healer came as fast as she could. By the time she got there, Inuyasha had developed a fever and was sweating profusely.

The healer took her time, carefully analyzing the patient. After an extended observation, she told Lord Sesshomaru of her findings.

"My Lord, I do believe your mate has been poisoned," the healer said.