InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Epilogue ( Chapter 110 )

The waiting room was eerily quiet.  Bellaniece figured it was because most of the children had been left with Rin and Shippou.  Morio was sleeping against his father's shoulder.  Mikio was looking at a cloth picture book and twiddling his left ear while Kagome pointed out things and murmured to him.  Nezumi dragged her attention off of the Popular Mechanics magazine she was browsing to whisper something to her mate.  Sierra dozed against Toga's shoulder, and he was resting against her forehead with his eyes closed.  Sesshoumaru sat, straight and proud, eyes trained dead ahead, staring at the wall while Kagura keyed things into her pocket PC.  She drew her legs back under her chair when InuYasha stalked past them for what had to be the hundredth time.

Bellaniece stood up and grimaced, gently pushing against her belly to encourage the baby to move off of her bladder.  Kichiro had been thrilled when she'd come home from having an ultrasound that confirmed what they'd already suspected: they were having a daughter.  "Next time we head into the hospital," he'd said a few hours ago when he carefully shook her shoulder to wake her, "we'll be having our own pup, not waiting while Gin gives birth."

Kichiro slipped into the waiting room, spotting Bellaniece and hurrying over to kiss her cheek before he bent down to kiss her belly, too.  "How's it going?" she asked.

He snorted but couldn't hide the amused glint in his eyes.  "Gin's doing fine.  Your father's a damn mess."

She wrinkled her nose and tried to look severe but couldn't manage it.  "I thought as much."

"He's gonna make her nervous," InuYasha snarled as he cracked his knuckles and kept pacing.  "Damn baka . . . She don't need to be worrying about that bastard when she's having a pup."

Bellaniece giggled, pressing a hand to her mate's chest.  "See, lover?  And you said Daddy's old balls wouldn't work!"

Kichiro choked.  InuYasha sputtered.  Ryomaru grunted so hard that Morio woke with a startled cry.  Nezumi dropped her magazine.  Kagome's cheeks pinked as her hand fluttered against her lips.  Kagura coughed.  Toga barked out a laugh, proving that he hadn't actually been sleeping.  Sierra jerked upright with a disoriented shake of her head.  Sesshoumaru, however, remained stoic and silent.

"Old . . . balls . . .?" Toga rasped out, obviously trying not to laugh.

"I don't even think I want to hear this," Nezumi groaned, taking her son from her mate before Ryomaru dropped him.

"Oh, I think I do," Sierra remarked with a bright grin.

"Kichiro said that Daddy had old balls—too old to work correctly," Bellaniece supplied.  "I think you should admit that you were wrong," she pointed out.

Kichiro snorted.  "I don't think so . . ."

"What kind of balls to you have, sweetie?" Sierra questioned, turning her gaze on Toga.

Toga blushed.  "Wh—I—Sie!"

"You're probably a better judge of Toga's balls than Toga is," Nezumi muttered.

Sierra grinned.  "That's true . . . I guess that'd mean that Toga has girly balls since he had such bad luck making girls the first three times . . . four, if you count the twins individually."

"Girly . . .?" Toga choked.  "This Toga does not have girly balls!"

Ryomaru laughed.  "That'd mean that I have manly balls," he gloated.

Kichiro snorted.  "More like baka balls."

Nezumi snatched her magazine off the floor, careful not to upset her infant son and jerked up the publication to cover her face.

"Better than your neutered balls," Ryomaru shot back.

"I don't think you have neutered balls," Bellaniece assured Kichiro.  "More like . . . domesticated balls."

"Absolutely," he agreed.

She kissed his cheek.

"You're all fucking bent," InuYasha snarled, face crimson.

"Well, old man," Ryomaru went on.  "Mother was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, and you were her protector, which would mean that you have, what?  Sacred balls?"

"Oh, kami," Kagome groaned, burying her flushed face in her hands.

"Balls?" Mikio repeated, eyes round and serious as he gazed up at his mother.

"Oi, damn it!" InuYasha growled.

"Damn it!" Mikio echoed, clapping his chubby little hands.

"InuYasha!" Kagome gasped, covering Mikio's mouth.

"I'm fucking going outside!" InuYasha yelled as he stomped toward the door.

Kichiro laughed as Bellaniece slipped her arms around his waist.

"So, Mother," Toga began, an evil grin on his face.  "What would that make Father's . . . balls?"

Kagura didn't answer though she did look suspiciously close to laughing.  Sesshoumaru still didn't react.

"What else?" Ryomaru interrupted.  "He's older than Zelig, right?  That'd make his ancient balls."

Bellaniece pressed her lips together in a tight little line to keep herself from laughing outright.  Sierra giggled, her hand pressed against her lips as she tried not to dissolve in laughter.  Kagome picked up Mikio and hurried out of the waiting room though not before Kichiro saw the hint of a smile she was hiding behind Mikio's downy head.

Sesshoumaru shifted in his chair and slid his gaze to the side to meet his mate's cautiously amused eyes.  "We shall not discuss the . . . balls . . . of the tai-youkai," he said coldly.  "However, if you must . . . This Sesshoumaru prefers 'antique' to 'ancient'."

"What do you think of him?" Gin asked, her voice tired—exhausted really—but her smile was radiant as she tilted the tiny bundle in her arms for Cain to see.

Cain sat on the edge of the bed and slipped his arm around Gin's shoulders, blinking rapidly to dispel the gathering moisture, the late wave of emotion that both humbled him and made him proud as he gazed at his newborn son; as Gin sighed happily and rested her head on Cain's shoulder.  "You did wonderfully, baby girl," he rasped out.

"He's beautiful."

"He is."

"And he's ours . . . really ours."

Cain laid his hand on his son's downy bronze hair, smiled when the baby turned instinctively, bright golden eyes alert as he opened his mouth and uttered a tiny squeak.

"Gin . . ."

"You want to hold him?"

He kissed Gin's cheek and nodded.

She shifted to help him take the baby.  Swallowing hard as he stared at the infant, scarcely able to believe that Gin had given him such a wonderful gift—so many gifts, really, Cain kissed the baby's forehead and cleared his throat before he could speak.  "I should do it, don't you think?  If you're up to it, that is."

She nodded and smiled.  "I'm fine."

"All right."

Handing the baby back to his mother, Cain stood up and strode to the door to go find either InuYasha or Sesshoumaru—either would do, though if Cain had his druthers, he'd opt for the latter.  He didn't have to go far.  InuYasha pushed the door open before Cain could reach it, and the two spared a moment to glower at each other before Gin cleared her throat in a gentle reminder.

"You'll do," Cain grouched, turning on his heel and striding back to the bed.  Gently taking his son once more, he cradled him in one arm and kissed his fingertips before pressing them to the infant's forehead.  "I name this child Sebastian Kaemon Zelig, the rightful successor to the North American tai-youkai."  The baby stared solemnly at his father, and Cain kissed him again before grudgingly handing him over to his grandfather.

InuYasha snorted at Cain's proclamation but mimicked the motions, cradling Sebastian in one arm, kissing his fingertips, and brushing them over the baby's forehead.  "It has been witnessed," he muttered, the stilted formality awkward and harsh yet somehow comforting, all the same.

Refraining from the urge to take his son from the hanyou, Cain turned to hurry over to Gin, instead, kissing her gently and pushing the hair back out of her eyes.  "I'll go tell the others," he said.  "I trust you won't let your father drop Sebastian?"

"Keh!"

Satisfied that he'd struck a direct hit with his barb and casting InuYasha a rather condescending grin, Cain stuffed his hands into his pockets and strolled out of the room.  The trek to the waiting room didn't take long, and he stopped just inside the doorway, his gaze settling on his very pregnant daughter.

"Daddy!" Bellaniece exclaimed as she hurried over to hug him.  "How's Gin?"

He nodded.  "Gin is fine . . . and Sebastian has been recognized as my official successor."

"Fine thing, that," Kichiro grumbled under his breath but loudly enough to be heard.  "Who knows how long the old balls would have lasted, otherwise."

Cain blinked and narrowed his eyes at his son-in-law.  "What's that?"

"Nothing, old man," Kichiro replied.  "Nothing at all . . ."

"Belle?" Cain asked as coughs and muffled chuckles erupted in the room.

Bellaniece smiled innocently and rose on her tiptoes to kiss Cain's cheek.  "I have no idea what he's talking about," she replied glibly.

Cain made a face and slowly shook his head.  "Ass-monkey," he muttered.

Kichiro laughed.