InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Persistence ❯ Chapter 21 ( Chapter 21 )

Thanks for the reviews!!!! There are just a few chapters left to this fic.

 

Chapter 21

 

 

Kagome lay back, panting heavily. The weight of Sesshomaru's arm laid across her abdomen as they both relaxed after another passionate session of love making. His arm reached down and grasped the sheets, pulling them up over their bodies. Kagome curled her left arm around Sesshomaru's neck, pulling him closer so that his head was resting on her shoulder, his nose buried in the crook of her neck. He pulled her body snug against his.

 

Two weeks had passed since the first time they had sex. If her calculations were correct, she should know this week if anything had took or if they needed to continue praying and having sex. Never before had she been so extremely nervous about getting her period. The state of the Western Lands was literally dependent on her womb's ability to conceive and nurture an heir.

 

“I need to shower before work,” Sesshomaru mumbled against her neck. Her nails grazed over his scalp when he begrudgingly rolled away from her. Kagome watched him rise from the bed and leave the room to enter the bathroom around the corner. Even though she had seen him naked and been naked with him so many times since their first time she still could not get past how gorgeous he was. The muscles of his back rippled slightly as he walked out of the room and she smiled at his retreating form. The all familiar blush dusted her cheeks and she sighed with contentedness.

 

Once Sesshomaru was out of the shower and dressed he found Kagome dressed and sitting at the dining table eating a peach. He grabbed one for himself and walking over to the table. He stopped by Kagome to lean down to kiss the top of her head before sitting down across from her and laying out the day's newspaper.

 

“I think I'll stop by the shrine today and pick up a few things to bring over,” Kagome said between bites. Sesshomaru nodded his understanding while reading over the variety section.

 

“You'll come down to the shop afterword?” he asked. Since their first night together Kagome had stayed with him at his apartment. Her mother had been overjoyed for her daughter's decision. She had known all along that the tall, gorgeous demon would win over her daughter's heart. During the days, Kagome would go with Sesshomaru to the shop or to the castle. When she was at the tattoo shop she spent her time visiting with Shiori and helping to catalog the artwork. When she was at the castle, she talked to the staff and visited with Chimitsu and Suteki, learning more about the family's heritage. She was enamored with the young demon child and he had also taken a strong liking to her. Kagome smiled at the memory of their last visit when the young boy fell asleep on her lap.

 

“Of course,” she answered as she wrapped the peach pit in a napkin and tossed it into the garbage. Sesshomaru left for the shop after Kagome insisted she was fine to take the train across town to the shrine.

 

 

---000---

 

 

“Kagome! Is that you?” her mother's warm voice greeted as Kagome slipped her shoes off at the front step just inside the doorway.

 

“Hey mom!” she called out, walking through the living room. She poked her head into the kitchen and found her mother putting away a fresh batch of groceries. It always seemed like her mother was shopping and filling the cabinets with food. It's not like I have to pack a bag every time I leave here to feed Inuyasha in the feudal era. Oh well, she thought, some habits take a while to shake off.

 

“How are things?” her mother asked with a knowing smile. Kagome blushed prettily as visions of naked alabaster skin flashed through her mind.

 

“Things are good,” she said with a grin. “I stopped by to pick up some more stuff to bring over to the apartment. Do you remember where I packed my books?”

 

“Actually, Sesshomaru came over a few days ago and picked them up,” her mother replied.

 

“Oh, that was nice of him,” Kagome said, her voice colored with surprise. “I guess I should head out to the shop then,” she said as she checked her watch. Her mother walked over and wrapped her in a warm hug before she slipped her shoes back on and made her way down the shrine steps to the train station.

 

Mrs. Higurashi watched her daughter gracefully fly down the shrine steps from the top. Turning around, she made her way back to the house to finish putting her groceries away. She prayed to the gods that they would be kind to her daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law. It had been so long since she had seen Kagome glowing with happiness.

 

 

---000---

 

Almost a week later…

 

 

The bathroom door was pulled open to the sound of water refilling the toilet basin. Shiori looked up expectedly as Kagome exited, tossing a plastic-wrapped item into the garbage behind the front counter. Kagome plopped down on the stool next to the half-demon woman with white-blue hair streaked with the latest colors of bright red and orange.

 

“Negative again,” Kagome sighed as she slumped against the counter. She was so tired of the tests. The court had asked that she test every day for pregnancy and notify them immediately upon a positive result. The more tests she took, the more overwhelming and annoyed Kagome felt toward the small, singular blue line that always showed up. “I'm a young female. I'm supposed to get knocked up at the drop of a hat,” she grumbled. Shiori laughed next to her and rubbed small circles on the back of the young girl hunched next to her.

 

“It'll happen. I know you don't have much time but it will happen.”

 

“Why are we here on Sunday anyway?” Kagome grumbled, “doesn't he take a day off?” Shiori glanced sideways at her. The pressure must be getting to her if she's this grumpy.

 

“Oh, he does. Today just happens to be the first of the month so he does inventory,” Shiori answered as she clicked a few more cards on her FreeCell game.

 

“And you're here why?” Kagome asked as she folded her arms in front of her and laid her head on them.

 

“Needed to get away from the kids,” she replied with a smirk. “Plus I wanted to clear last month's invoices but I had that done before you got here. Now I'm just feeding my FreeCell addiction.”

 

Kagome huffed and doodled on a sheet of paper she had picked up off the corner of the counter. The pressure of pregnancy weighed heavily on her as of late. She always felt soothed and content while wrapped in Sesshomaru's arms each night but, come morning when it was time to face the absorbent tip of her daily pregnancy test, she felt the world's weight on her shoulders as if she were Atlas.

 

 

---000---

 

 

Tapered fingers trailed over smooth, soft skin. No matter how many times he touched her he still couldn't believe she was finally there with him. Shifting slightly, Sesshomaru positioned himself on his side, peering over Kagome's shoulder and back and she snoozed lightly. On Monday mornings it seemed to be especially difficult to drag her out of bed. On the last two she had clutched the sheets, mumbling for `just a few more minutes'. It took taking away all of the pillows and blankets then opening the blinds to get her out of bed. The kicker seemed to be that Sesshomaru's apartment was street side and she had slept naked. A sly smirk lit his lips and he remembered her shrieking as she ran to the bathroom.

 

She arched her back while stretching, shuddering just slightly from the dainty caress along her back. She turned her head on the pillow and peaked an eye open.

 

“Morning,” she grumbled.

 

“Yes, it is,” he replied lightly, leaning forward and kissing her shoulder gently. She sighed and shifted with a groan as she moved to get out of bed.

 

“Nature calls,” she mumbled as she stumbled toward the bathroom.

 

Sesshomaru lay back on the bed, tucking his hands under his head. He knew what was coming before she had even woken up. Kagome reeked of menstrual blood. He sighed softly after he woke and the strong and musty scent filled his head. Don't give up, Kagome, he thought to himself when he heard a whimper from the bathroom.

 

 

---000---

 

 

Kagome didn't go to the shop or the castle on Tuesday. Instead she stayed home in bed. Sesshomaru poked and prodded, encouraged and begged for her to come to the shop with him but to no avail. Kagome was in a depressed rut and nothing was going to pull her out. She had been that way ever since she had gotten out of bed Monday morning and gone to the bathroom. There, in the basin, was the heartbreaking mix of red blood.

 

“No. Oh, please, no,” she begged. Her abdomen did feel tender and her breasts had been rather sore when she woke up but she attributed it to enthusiastic sex as of late. Sesshomaru came to the bathroom door having heard her soft whimpering. She brushed past him with tears welling at the corners of her eyes and crawled deep under the covers of the still warm bed. Sesshomaru followed and wrapping his arms around her huddled form on the bed.

 

“It'll be okay, Kagome,” he murmured against the blankets.

 

“No it won't! There's so much riding on this! I'm a failure!” she wailed.

 

“I understand that this is very difficult and hard on you but we still have time,” he said as slender fingers brushed through the black hair that peaked out of the blankets. The blanket came down a little bit, revealing her tear-streaked face. The pads of his fingers wiped away salty trails left from the tears that were still pooling in her eyes. “I promise it will all be okay. You're not a failure.” She stayed in bed the rest of the day.

 

Sesshomaru did whatever he could to cheer Kagome up, even going so far as to make fun of himself. He frowned at her lack of joyous laughter at something as rare as Sesshomaru poking fun at himself. Instead she would grace him with a slight gentle smile that never made it to her eyes. How he longed to see her smile light up her whole face again. Her sadness clung to her like cigarette smoke, a constant reminder to him of how she felt about herself. During the day she stayed home and watched TV in her pajamas and during the night she was wrapped in his strong and comforting embrace.

 

However, by Friday Kagome was back at the shop helping Shiori catalog artwork and pieces for the expo coming up in 2 months. Not ones to be swayed by a set back, Sesshomaru and Kagome went right back into the task of conceiving an heir… not that it was much of a problem. Shiori often found herself giggling at Kagome as she walked out to the front of the shop trying desperately to adjust her skirt and fix her hair.

 

 

---000---

Almost a month had passed since their melding and two and a half weeks since the crushing blow of having her period. The pair was still hopeful that they could conceive in time. Business had picked up slightly at the shop and Kagome found herself spending time helping out more and more. She began making orders for t-shirts and decals, swearing to Sesshomaru that it was a good idea. She even got him to draw up a new design for `Eternal Ink' for a new sign out front. His hands moved like silk in the breeze while drawing. To Kagome it seemed almost as if his pencil hardly touched the paper.

 

Around noon she dug into her purse and retrieved a test. The front of the shop was occupied by three young men hovering over the counter while Shiori flipped through pages of her scheduler, trying to find some open spots for the guys.

 

Kagome's mind was going over the last order she placed on the cafepress website for t-shirts, caps, and decals while she closed the bathroom door, ripped open the packaging and assumed the position. Did I submit the new artwork for the second set of caps? I can't remember, she thought to herself. She glanced at her watch as she flushed the toilet and pulled up her pants. She set the wand on the edge of the sink while she washed her hands. Lately she had set a timer and come back to the bathroom after a few minutes to check the status. Over the weeks it had become increasingly panic-inducting to sit and wait for the results and she found that walking away for a while did help ease her churning stomach. In the background she heard the phone ringing.

 

“Kagome? Could you get that for me, please?” Shiori called out from the front.

 

“Sure,” she replied, grabbing the phone from the wall in the hallway. “Sumi Itsumademo, Kagome speaking, how may I help you?” After a long conversation about tattoo care with a customer from yesterday, Kagome hung up the phone to tell Shiori about Mr. Yukito's fright over the ink on the bandages when he got home. While the girls tittered away, Sesshomaru vacated the back room having just finished his 11am appointment. As he walked past the bathroom he noticed the wand still sitting on the sink. That's odd. It's not like Kagome to leave something personal lying around. He stepped into the bathroom and gingerly lifted the wand from the sink, glancing at the small, circular window. He picked the instructions out of the garbage and unfolded them to read how to decode the symbols.

 

“I bet he calls again tomorrow,” Shiori said with a grin. Sesshomaru stepped into the front of the shop and stopped in the doorway holding the test wand. Shiori noticed his baffled expression and nudged Kagome who turned and looked up at him, her eyes meeting his.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" she asked with a confused look.  Sesshomaru held out his right hand where the white plastic pregnancy test was held gingerly between two fingertips.  There, in the small circle on the wand, was a blue plus sign.  It was slightly faint but it was a definite plus sign.  Kagome's eyes went wide as she took it in her hands and stared.

"Where did you get this?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

"It was on the edge of the sink in the bathroom," he explained.  Kagome stood suddenly, grabbed another test from her purse and rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.  Five minutes later the bathroom door slowly swung open and she took two steps out.  Her eyes were rimmed with tears as she looked up at Sesshomaru.

"We... we did it.  Sesshomaru, I'm pregnant!"

 

---000---

 

End chapter 21

I promise you I'm already working on Chapter 22. In fact, I have the rest of the story laid out - I'm just trying to figure out how to segway and start into it.

 

A side note: I've never been pregnant (yet) and I'm going to take some liberties with gestation periods and pregnancy information. I figure since the babe has a miko and demon for parents that she/he/it will gestate differently.