InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fuyu no Shimekiri ❯ Epilogue ( Epilogue )

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

Epilogue:

Sesshoumaru looked up at the long flight of stairs leading up to the shrine where his beloved mate had grown up, and shook his head ruefully. Of all the ways he'd imagined this day going over the several hundred years he'd been with Kagome, this hadn't been one of them.

He'd always thought that they would be together as they climbed these steps and walked across the courtyard she'd described to him, and that they would, together, knock on the door, waiting for her mother to answer it. He sighed. So much for plans.

"What's so amusing, father?"

He glanced to the side at his son, and shook his head. "Just thinking how things never turn out the way they are planned. I never thought I would be making this little trip without your mother."

Inukou nodded. "True. Who would have guessed that mother would go into labor on this one day... it appears that my sister has mother's immaculate timing."

He looked at his son with amusement, unable to stop the chuckle that escaped him. "And who are you to speak, my son? As I recall, your sense of timing was also... impeccable, shall we say? It appears that my beloved mate has indeed passed that down to both of my pups."

"Indeed." He grinned suddenly, his beautiful turqouise eyes gleaming with humor. "Mother certainly has an exquisite grasp on the concept of proper timing, does she not?" He shook his head and motioned to his father as he began moving up the steps. "Come along, father. Mother would like her mother to appear before the birth of my sister, I'm sure."

Sesshoumaru nodded and followed his son up the stairs, looking around with interest as they finally reached the top, and crossed the main shrine courtyard. Just as they reached what they both knew as the Goshinboku tree, they were accosted by an elderly man in priest's robes... although they could both tell that he had no spiritual powers.

"I am the priest of this shrine - may I help you gentlemen?" He'd approached the two because they looked affluent - and as shrinekeepers, his family's livelihood depended on donations. The wealthier, the better.

Sesshoumaru and Inukou looked at each other. From his mate's descriptions, he knew this had to be her grandfather. With a slight tilt of his head, he spoke. "I would hope so. I am looking for the mother of one Higurashi Kagome. Could you perhaps introduce me to her?"

The elder tilted his head a bit suspiciously, eyes narrowed. "What do you know of my grandaughter?"

"I am Taisho, Sesshoumaru. I am Kagome's husband, and this," he gestured to Inukou, "is our son." As the elder's eyes began to bulge out, he continued. "She would have been here to greet you, but she is in hospital, giving birth to our second child as we speak, and requested that I come and bring her mother to her."

Inukou bowed respectfully as his father introduced him, grinning as the older man spluttered.

"How can you be her husband? It's not possible! She was always too busy chasing that Inuyasha character, more's the pity," he muttered, annoyed.

At that, Sesshoumaru actually laughed. "And there, respected elder, we agree. My little brother is more than enough to annoy a saint."

"Your brother?! Then you are youkai, too? Kami preserve us, what was that girl thinking! And how are you standing before me now, anyway? Did you come through the well?"

"No. We lived through the eras until this one. We just could not contact you until the last time she went through the well and it sealed without endangering the timeline. I'm sure you can understand that," he said smoothly.

The priest unbent a bit at that, nodding. "Yes, I can understand." He turned to look at the younger man. "So - you are my great-grandson, eh? Well, then, let me look at you," he said, as he looked the young man over. He nodded, pleased. "A fine looking young man, if I do say so myself." With a sigh, he pointed towards the house. "Come along, then, Aiko will be eager to meet you, and if I know Kagome at all, she'll be highly annoyed if we don't get her mother to the hospital on time. She always was a bossy, impatient child."

The two Taisho men glanced at each other again, amused at the antics of this male, and his summary of Kagome's character. "You are correct, elder, she is bossy and impatient. She has always been that way. Five hundred years hasn't changed that at all." Sesshoumaru smiled slightly, eyes far away for a moment, before returning to focus on the present. "She wouldn't be Kagome, however, if she weren't."

"Hmph. Too true, unfortunately." He stomped into the house, leaving his sandals at the door. "Aiko, child, you need to grab your purse, and get your shoes on. You need to go to the hospital to see Kagome," he hollered into the kitchen.

Sesshoumaru watched with interest as the woman who had birthed and raised his amazing mate materialized in the door. "What? What's Kagome doing in the hospital? She's not hurt, is she?" When she caught sight of the two very handsome males inhabiting her living room, she stopped short. "Oh! And who are you two?"

He bowed to her. "I am Taisho, Sesshoumaru. Your daughter is my wife. She requested that I come and bring you to her in hospital," he said, softly, as he took in her confused look. "She is in labor, giving birth to our daughter, and she wanted her mother with her." He gave the astounded woman a small smile.

"Originally, we had planned to come to you today... Kagome has waited almost five hundred years to see you again. But our daughter decided that today was the day she wanted to be born instead, so..." he trailed off as she smiled, still looking somewhat confused, but excited, nonetheless.

"Taisho... you wouldn't be that particular Taisho, would you?"

He bowed. "I assume you know the name. Yes, I am that particular Taisho. And this," he tapped his son on the shoulder, "is your grandson, Inukou." As she clapped her hands excitedly, he smiled. "There is much to tell you - however, Kagome is waiting, and I am loath to deny her anything she wants. If you would please obtain what you need, I will escort you to the hospital. We can talk later."

Aiko nodded eagerly, smiling widely at the two men in her living room. She dashed upstairs, calling to her father-in-law to make sure Sota arrived home from school on time. She was completely mystified how her daughter could disappear down the well yesterday, and then today end up in labor and giving birth, but she was sure she'd find out soon enough, and was quick to gather what she needed and then head back down the stairs.

As soon as she stepped foot at the bottom of the shrine stairs, she was shown just how wealth could smooth the way for a person, as they were all ushered into a very long limo, then whisked off through traffic as though no one else was even on the roads, heading towards the outskirts of Tokyo.

There was little speaking done on the trip - it was obvious that the elder Taisho male was nervous, even though he hid it well, and she smiled in sympathy. All prospective father's reacted the same. It was just natural.

They hadn't spent more than twenty minutes in the car, before they arrived at what was obviously a private clinic, and as soon as the car had pulled around to the doors, they were all escorted immediately inside, and straight to what appeared to be the Labor and Delivery section.

Catching sight of her son-in-law's face, she reached over and patted his arm as they were led to a private waiting room, and sat down. When he glanced at her, she smiled at him.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Why are you out here, though, instead of inside with her?"

Sesshoumaru exchanged glances with his son, then, nodding, they both let their concealing spells down, and waited for her reaction. They weren't disappointed.

"Oh! Oh, my... so you are youkai - I see." She tilted her head and stared consideringly at the two. "So you change almost everything about your appearance. Except your eyes, young man. They are very beautiful, though," she said, with a mischievous grin. "I can see why you'd want to keep those." She looked back at Sesshoumaru. "Your coloring - it reminds me of Inuyasha. Are you related?"

He nodded shortly. "Yes, that baka is my younger half-brother."

Aiko looked thoughtful. "I see. I had always thought that he and my daughter would end up together - I am very curious about what happened there."

Inukou grinned as his father grunted absently. "That, honored grandmother, is a long story. For right now, I think that the nurse standing in the doorway there is here to take you back to mother - father," he glanced at a visibly anxious Sesshoumaru, "being youkai, can't stand to be around mother when she's in pain - he gets violent wanting to protect her. It's an inu thing," he said, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "We'll be fine, just go comfort mother, we'll join you when the new spawn," he flashed a quick grin at his father as he growled at him, "finally makes her appearance."

Aiko shook her head, amused at the way the young man was doing everything in hs power to keep his father's mind off of things. She didn't understand half of anything that had happened this day, but, following the nurse out of the room and down a hall, she figured she'd find out sooner or later. She was patient, she could wait. She had all the time in the world, after all.

---zZz---

Kagome grinned tiredly at her mother as the door was opened, and a once-again-crazed Sesshoumaru erupted through it, making a bee-line straight to her side. Looking up, she smiled away the anxiety she could see in his gaze, and gestured for her mother to come over to the bed.

"Look, Maru-chan, your daughter." She took the bundle from her mother and handed her to her mate and husband, and watched, again, as he absolutely melted all over the tiny child in his arms. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes..." he looked up at her as his voice trailed off. "Of course she is - she looks like you, beloved." He leaned down and kissed her softly. "Thank you for her... and for her name." Kagome had decided to name her Rin, in honor of the child that had first opened Sesshoumaru's heart to love.

She beamed at him. "Your welcome, love. And thanks for going and bringing mother here... I just didn't want to wait anymore, even if this little one was too impatient to wait another day." She looked down at the infant cradled so protectively by her mate.

The child had a full head of ravens-wing hair like her mother, and beautiful gold eyes. She resembled her mother, facewise, with gorgeous, even features that were only highlighted by the sherry colored cheek stripes she carried - two on each cheek, just like her father.

Just as Aiko was about to step out the door to give the new parents a few minutes alone, she was pushed back by the door swinging wildly open, and three male figures forcing their way into the room. The tall, silver-haired one waved at her as he passed, a "Hey, Higurashi-san, long time no see," flying from him as he rushed to the side of the bed.

Sesshoumaru scowled as his brother entered the room.

"Oh, get over it, Sesshoumaru. Koga, Shippo, and I all came to see Kagome and the baby, not your ugly ass. We can see you anytime. Besides - she's prettier to look at." Inuyasha looked down at the blanket wrapped bundle in his brother's arms, and reaching over, pulled the edge back so they could all see.

Aiko's eyebrows had shot up as Inuyasha passed her, amused to see that he still was just as hyper as he'd always been, and curious as to the identities of the other two men. This story would probably be epic, it would almost have to be with this group of people, she knew.

"Hey, where's 'Kou at? That boy owes me money!" Inuyasha looked around the room for his nephew, as the other two males cooed over the baby.

Kagome's eyes narrowed on him. "Inuyasha, why does my son owe you money? What have you done now?"

"Nothin' 'Gome, I swear. I just bet him that you'd have the baby and Seshoumaru would manage to keep his calm - even if only barely. He didn't think so - he thought he'd lose his legendary cool and destroy half the clinic."

Sesshoumaru stood up slowly, passing his daughter to his mate, he said, "Please excuse me, Higurashi-san, beloved. I have an ignorant whelp to go take care of." As he caught Inuyasha's wince, he frowned. "Make that two ignorant whelps." Bowing to his mother-in-law, he nodded to the two males. "Shippo and Koga will escort you home. Kagome goes home tomorrow, and the day after, I would be pleased to invite you and the rest of your family to our home. I am sure there are many questions you have, and we will be happy to answer them all."

She nodded. "You could say that. But your plan is fine by me - just give me a call so we can be ready before you want us to come." She moved back over to the bed and, leaning down, hugged her daughter to her. "Congratulations on your daughter, dear. Get some rest, and I'll see you in a day or so."

Sesshoumaru tipped his head in her direction. "Get going, you two. Take Higurashi-san home, then both of you can go away," he said, with a scowl. "In the meantime, I am going to track down my son. Let's go, bakayasha." Glancing over his shoulder at Kagome, he smiled slightly. "I will return shortly, beloved."

She nodded, and waved everyone out of the room tiredly. Curling up with her daughter in her arms, she drifted into sleep, glad the day was over.

---zZz---

Kagome stood outside at the top of the long, curving driveway, so very eager to see her family after so long, that she couldn't stand to wait inside any longer. Sesshoumaru merely shook his head in amusement, and joined her in her wait. He knew that this was going to be a long day... all their family was there, including his mother, who had immediately returned from her vacation in Europe on finding out that her granddaugher had been born.

After they had arrived, and he'd managed to usher everyone inside, he coaxed his excited mate into sitting down in the now packed reception room of their Tokyo mansion. They still had the shiro, but also maintained several other homes in various areas. It was just easier than staying in hotels.

As his mother sent for refreshments for the large group, Aiko smiled at her daughter, and finally asked the question that had been burning on her tongue since she'd seen them the other day.

"I don't want to offend anyone here, but, the last I knew, Kagome dear, you were in love with Inuyasha. What happened that you ended up with his brother instead? Not that I'm unhappy about that, or anything, you understand," she said, with a glance at Sesshoumaru. "I'm just a bit confused."

Inuyasha grimaced as Sesshoumaru nodded, and was suddenly glad his mate wasn't on the premises - this was still a somewhat sore topic between them. He would always love Kagome, nothing would ever change that, and while he did love his mate - it wasn't the same. Not that Kagome knew that, and he'd never say, but...

So began the long explanations, talking over everything that had happened after the last time she'd gone through the well. It was easy to see that Aiko felt sorry for the hanyou as the story unfolded... she'd caught the look on his face when he didn't think anyone would notice, and knew that, deep inside where he'd never let anyone see, he still loved Kagome. It was too bad that he'd not understood his own heart till it was too late.

And that was a very obvious truth. It had become too late several hundred years ago... because it was evident that his older brother absolutely worshipped the ground her daughter walked on - and the emotion was returned a thousand times over by Kagome. It warmed her heart to see such love between them.

Sota was overwhelmed with everything, and even though he was disappointed that his hero hadn't ended up being his real 'dog-brother', he was thrilled that they were still family. He sat next to Inuyasha the entire day, and the hanyou had to admit, it was nice to be someone's hero... it wasn't a place that he was really used to being.

Grandpa just sat and listened without making much noise, content to listen to tales that were legend to him... and excited as anything to find out that his grand-daughter's husband was the youkai Lord of the West. It was like finding all his beloved stories coming to life - he'd read many tales of who he know knew to be Sesshoumaru.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru finally finished with the stories up to the time of their son's birth, just in time for lunch, and as soon as everyone had eaten, they launched into the tales of the events that had occurred after that time.

Aiko and her family laughed when told of the unlikely courtship that Inuyasha had undergone with his current mate, a beautiful young kitsune named Akako. They were all intrigued to find out that Shippo was mated to her twin sister, Akina. The two sisters had latched onto the two males when they'd been busily rebuilding the Southern Shiro and gathering the kitsune clans - and had spent almost a hundred years chasing the wily males, both absolutely determined to have them, and refusing to give up. It went without saying that neither male found those stories particularly amusing. Everyone else, however...

While everyone was laughing at their expense, Sota popped up and asked if Inuyasha had any kids yet, and Aiko wasn't particularly surprised to find out that neither he nor Shippo had produced any... of course, Inuyasha had had the two children with Kikyou, and though both had by now passed on, he still kept track of his descendants and made sure that they were well cared for. It was something he didn't often speak of - despite the bad ending with Kikyou, he'd loved his son and daughter, and when they'd died... it had hurt.

There was a strong pulse of amusement when Aiko asked what had happened to the foolish Lord who'd tried to challenge them, along with the female that wanted to fight for Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha had been correct when he'd assumed they wouldn't find anyone willing to take either of them on, and finally, after being alone for several centuries, they'd given in, and were now mates. He, however, hadn't fared so well as time passed, and was no longer the Northern Lord. He just hadn't had enough power to maintain his grip on the lands, and the current Lord was much more effective.

Of course, the humans had no idea of any of this - only youkai. They still held to the old ways, and all owed allegiance to one of the Cardinal Lords. It was a government within a government, so to speak. They all lived by the laws of the land, just like every human, but they also had another set of laws that only they knew, and followed.

Shippo was still the Southern Lord, and managed his realm quite well - Sesshoumaru had never had cause to regret handing the title to him, and Kagome was very proud of her adopted son.

As for Inukou, everyone had a field day explaining some of his escapades to his grandmother, uncle, and great-grandfather, and since half the time he managed to get into trouble, it was at his uncle Inuyasha's side, those stories degenerated into outrageous tales that kept everyone laughing straight on into the evening, and right through dinner. A great deal of the laughter was at the obvious irritation of Sesshoumaru. He felt that his son and heir had been corrupted by his brother, and was very disgruntled about it. Inuyasha, of course, found this quite hilarious - after all, that's why he did most of those things - to irritate his stuffy brother, and everyone was aware of that, including Inukou himself.

Finally, as the long day drew to a close, Kagome wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her. It was time for everyone to return to their homes, and Kagome to rest. After all, she'd only just given birth two days before, and still tired easily. As willing as she'd been to push herself and stay up later to spend more time with her family, Sesshoumaru put his foot down. She could see them at anytime now, so there was no reason for her to tire herself out, and her mother and Satori agreed.

Making plans with mother and mother-in-law to have a girl's day out in the near future, she quickly threw her arms around her brother and grandfather, then with a happy wave, saw them all off, before allowing her mate to escort her firmly inside, and up to their rooms. With the new addition to the family sleeping soundly, Kagome allowed her mate to help her change for the night, and then draw her down onto their bed.

It didn't take much for her to fall asleep - she'd truly exhausted herself, and Sesshoumaru lay curled up with her, tenderly running his fingers through her hair as he thought about the day. Just as he'd thought to himself so many centuries ago, he'd found that his mate's mother was indeed a fascinating and worthy woman. She was warm, open-hearted just like her daughter, smart, and held a deep wisdom that came with having an old soul.

As he looked back over the last several hundred years, and the culmination of all the waiting his beloved mate had done, he smiled, and knew that everything they'd been through, all the trials and tribulations, all the waiting he'd done for her, all of it, had been worth it. He regretted nothing, and he wouldn't change any of it.

It was a lucky man that could say he had no regrets.

Sesshoumaru was a lucky man - and he knew it.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, surrounded by the one thing he'd almost missed out on...

A family.

---zZz---

Well, there it is. Finally finished. Not sure I'm totally happy with the way it turned out, but hopefully, it wrapped everything up well enough. I have to say, 25 chapters in one month - I feel really good about myself on that score, because that was a lot of writing. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed my first Sess/Kag pairing, and a final thanks goes to all the readers, but especially to the reviewers. Ja Ne Everyone!

Until next time,

Amber