InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Secret Lovers ❯ Sources ( Chapter 26 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: saphira404 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.27.2013 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 244 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.27.2013 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 244 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 26: Sources
A/N: Nice little interlude chapter before we get to the big finish. There will only be one chapter left after this then an epilogue. The end is almost upon us!!! This is a great time to thank all of you guys for reading this fic. A special mention to all the people who have favorite this story and put it on their alert lists.
Disclaimer: Sadly even though I love writing AU stories on my OTP, they don't belong to me. I tried to buy them, but all I could afford were plushies. Oh well better than nothing lol.
“Talking”
'Thoughts'
Sesshoumaru jumped out of his car and rushed towards the entrance of the large hospital. He was relieved not to have come across any police road check during the drive over as he knew a speed check would have landed him in deep trouble. He had driven way over the speed limit, and the beer he had had earlier with his brother would not have helped his case either. Being arrested would not have been a hardship, except that it would have been a loss of precious time. The long drive had been a complete blur to him. He had kept his focus trained on one thing, and one thing only: getting to Kagura as quickly as he could.
He pushed past the glass doors, and stormed inside the hospital. After a quick perusal, he located the sign pointing towards the obstetrics department. He was sure that it was where Kagura was. The thought had barely crossed his mind that he got on his way.
“Sir!”
Considering that he was the only person in the hospital corridor, he was sure that the authoritative female voice coming from behind him was addressing him. He therefore reluctantly turned around.
“May I help you?” The tired old woman questioned. The hard edge in her voice showed that her inquiry was more of an order than an offer for help. She was 11 hours into her 12 hours shift, and the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was to police hospital corridors when she should be nursing her patients.
Sesshoumaru took a calming breath. He knew that lashing out at the older woman for wasting his time would not be beneficial for anyone. “I am on my way to the obstetrics ward…”
She regarded him with slight suspicion before answering. After all she had recently read a troubling sensational news items about strangers snatching babies in hospitals. It prompted her to ask him “Why?”
Sesshoumaru grinded his teeth, and used all of his legendary reserve not to blow up at the woman who was currently wasting his time at such a crucial moment. “My sister in-law is giving birth.” He realized he was technically lying, but at the moment this was the last thing on his mind. He could tell that the old woman was still suspicious of him, so he added. “Her name is Kanna Jiyuu-Saito…” He hated having to explain himself when he was pressed for time, but at the moment did not see how he could get around it.
‘As long as she lets me through.’
“Oh dear!” The nurse nervously bit her lip. The name rung a bell. She remembered the small pale patient she had checked up on earlier in the evening. ‘Hopefully the situation has improved now’
“Well… she’s on the third floor in the restricted area with her husband, but her sister… I guess she’s your wife… you don’t look like Mr. Saito’s brother… well anyway she’s is in the opened waiting room on the same floor…”
The words had barely registered in Sesshoumaru’s mind that he rushed over to the stairs; he did not have the patience to wait for the elevators. He heard the older woman express her displeasure at being dismissed so easily by him, but he completely ignored her, he had things to do.
‘Kagura, I’m coming.’
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Kagura sighed and ran a pale hand down her tired face. She had never been known for her patience, and waiting to hear news about her sister and unborn nephew was driving her absolutely crazy. She sighed once again and pressed the call button for the elevator. She cleared her mind, and focused back on the tasks she had to accomplish for the moment.
‘I need to do this before I allow myself to break down,’ She thought even as her finger smashed once more on the button.
“Where is that damned elev…”
“Kagura.”
She turned around sharply upon hearing her name being spoken. Once she saw who had called her, her crimson eyes widened in shock.
“Sesshoumaru.” The breathless tone of her voice demonstrated just how exhausted she was after the long evening, and how elated she was at seeing the man she loved walk up to her.
“What are you doing here?” She was in complete shock. Some hours ago when she had spoken with her aunt, she had wanted to see him so badly so as to clear the air, and go back to how lovely things were before… but now... Now she could only think about her sister and being there for her.
“I came to check on Kanna.” He was tempted to add that even if he was worried about the younger Jiyuu sister, it was really for the eldest sibling that he was there. He wanted to support Kagura in any way he could. “Yukiyo left a message on our answering machine at the condo about Kanna going into early labor and needing surgery… how is she?”
Speaking about her sister’s condition allowed Kagura not to have to face up just as of yet to the apology she knew she had to make to Sesshoumaru. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her racing heartbeat. Having to speak about what had occurred made her nervous for her sister all over again.
“Kanna went into premature labor a few hours ago. The doctors need to run some more tests, but they think it might not be safe for the baby to be born yet …” Kagura interrupted herself to take a deep breath. She could feel tears tickling her nose, but she pushed them down. From the moment she had walked through the doors of the hospital, she had sworn to herself that she would not break down, at least not in public. ‘I will be Kanna’s tower of strength. Yukiyo is a wonderful man, but I know he doesn’t deal well with emergencies… besides he’s also going to need me. I must stay strong.’
“Instead of doing a C-section, they decided to slow down Kanna’s labor and keep her under observation… They put her on an IV with a mix of corticosteroid and magnesium sulfate. It made her nauseous, but at least it worked. Her labor hasn’t progressed, and the doctors hope it will be stopped long enough to make sure the baby’s lungs are completely developed… otherwise they’d have to put him in an incubator and plug him to a ventilator and feeding tube.” Ever since the doctors had told them about the possible complications with the baby, Kagura had tried to prevent the mental image of her tiny nephew placed in an incubator with tubes hooked up to him from penetrating her mind, but at the moment she was unable to do so. Before she could help herself, she felt tears trickle down her cheeks.
In a matter of seconds she found herself engulfed in a warm embrace. Ever since the night they had spent together in a hotel at the beginning of their relationship, Sesshoumaru and Kagura had shared many embraces, all too often they had been passionate, nothing to do with the way that he was presently holding her. She felt comforted in a way in which her aunt Kaede had only been able to bring to her in the past.
“Kanna is strong. She is going to be okay, so will the baby.” It tore at his heart to hear her sobbing, and feel her warm tears against the sensitive skin of his neck. He gently whispered in her ear as he ran a tender hand up and down her back. He was of course worried to hear about Kanna, but he wanted to comfort Kagura as best as he could.
“I argued with her before she… the doctors said stress and upset is a possible trigger of premature labor, and I…” She was about to tell him know that Kanna had been angry with her for walking out on Sesshoumaru, but she could not quite form the words, and contented herself with letting out a muffled sob.
‘I wish I hadn’t burdened her in such a way… why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut about my relationship with Sesshoumaru?! She has enough on her plate taking care of the boys…’
“No.” Sesshoumaru interrupted her, and cut through her thoughts. He pushed away from Kagura, and placed his two hands on her shoulders. When she would not look up at him, he hooked a finger under her chin, and raised her head, forcing her to stare straight in his amber eyes. “You have told me that both Hakudoushi and Akago were both born slightly premature. The fact that Kanna’s third child would be too is none of your fault.” He reached down to wipe away her budding tears with the pad of his thumbs.
Kagura bit her red lower lip, but did not answer. She was too drained at the moment to argue. She was sure the feeling of guilt would not leave her until she had heard from Kanna herself that she had not contributed to her situation.
Both of them were surprised by the ding of the elevator. It gave Kagura the opportunity to break away from Sesshoumaru’s warm arms. She wiped the last of her tears, and cleared her throat. She hated appearing so weak; especially, in front of him.
“I have a taxi waiting downstairs. I need to go get the boys. They have school tomorrow, and Yukiyo and Kanna don’t want their routine to be upset.”
Sesshoumaru’s response was to arch one of his eyebrows in an inquisitive way she knew all too well, so she elaborated. “I left my car at the train station. I took a train to get here… and the boys are at the neighbor’s house. Yukiyo dropped them off before meeting Kanna at the hospital, but they don’t want them to be left with her. Mrs. Watanabe is nice, but she too old to look after two boys that age…”
“You don’t need a taxi, my car is up front. Come on, we’ll go get them.” He had decided earlier to stick by Kagura, and he intended to do just that. Sesshoumaru half expected Kagura to refuse his help, but was glad when she simply gave him a sad weepy smile. The two of them stepped into the elevator car, and went on their way.
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Sesshoumaru effortlessly maneuvered his car in the empty streets. It was only when he noticed that the sun was peaking at the horizon that he realized he had spent a sleepless night. He glanced over at the woman seating next to him, and was not surprised to see the dark bruises under her eyes. He could tell she was exhausted and upset, so he allowed her the chance to be as silent and reflective as she needed.
Contrary to her usual self, Kagura was in fact being completely silent. All she could do was think about Kanna, the baby, Yukiyo, and her nephews. She was surprised however that unlike the time when Sesshoumaru had given her the silent treatment when they had driven to the resort where the award ceremony was to take place, the silence between them was not oppressing despite the fact that there was so much unresolved between them.
‘I guess that having a family member in danger puts things into perspective.’ She mused.
“It’s the house on the right.” She then indicated aloud as she pointed to the Watanabe household. Mrs. Watanabe was a widow with grown children and she sometimes looked after Hakudoushi and Akago when Kanna needed a babysitter, but never for a long period of time. After all Kanna was too protective of her little darlings to leave them out of her sight.
Sesshoumaru parked the car into the driveway, and waited for Kagura to say something. When she failed to do so, he intervened.
“Would you like me to go inside with you?”
“They must still be asleep, it would be useful for you to help me carry them.” Kagura finally admitted after taking a long calming breath.
He nodded, and reached to open the door before heading towards the front door of the small house across the street from the Jiyuu-Saito household. He heard Kagura moving behind him, so he did not have to turn back to know she was following. Once they reached the door, they did not have to knock as it was thrown opened.
“How are Kanna and the baby?! I haven’t been able to sleep at all waiting for some news. Well it could also be my usual insomnia giving me trouble. At least the boys are sound asleep. Kagura, won’t you and your friend step in?” The questions came from a short woman with curly steely white hair.
“Thank you Mrs. Watanabe. Kanna will be alright she has to stay at the hospital for now, so I will be looking after the boys.” Kagura said even as she and Sesshoumaru stepped inside the small cozy house. Sesshoumaru noted that Kagura had plastered on a fake smile, but did not comment on it.
“It’s nice to finally see you up close young man.” The older lady leaned forward to stare closely at Sesshoumaru despite their large difference in size. “I’ve observed you going over to the Saitos’ a couple times in the past year.” Her question caused Sesshoumaru to send Kagura another unspoken question through an arched eyebrow. Kagura gave him a pleading look, begging him to ignore the eccentric Mrs. Watanabe and her habit of spying on her neighbors.
“We’ll just go pick up the boys now. They have school in a couple hours…” Kagura said pretending that her sister’s neighbor had not asked any questions.
The old lady ran a hand through her curly hair and turned her mouth in a small pout. “Oh alright. They’re in the living room.”
Without further ado, Kagura headed past the entryway to retrieve her nephews. The moment she stepped into the living area, and flicked the lights on, Hakudoushi jumped up from the couch. He had not been able to sleep very much, but had pretended to do so in order not to attract the attention of their elderly caretaker. Mrs. Watanabe did have a tendency to talk his ears off and ask tons of questions about his parents and their other neighbors. He hated having to mind her, but knew that if he did not, his mother would have his hide.
“Aunt Kagu!” He screeched happily before rushing in the direction of his mother’s older sister. “Did mom have the baby yet?”
Kagura felt as him her face was going to break into pieces even as she forced herself to spread her lips in as big a smile as she could. She looked down into her nephew’s innocent lavender eyes, and hoped he would buy into her performance.
“It will take a little bit longer, so for now your mom has to stay at the hospital. Your dad is staying with her to keep her company, so in the meantime I’ll have the great pleasure of looking after you and Akago.” She said gently, ruffling the boy’s fair bangs.
Unaware of the danger looking over his mother and younger brother to be, Hakudoushi smiled happily. “Are we going home now?”
Akago also sprang from the makeshift bed, which had been made from couch cushions, and perked up at the idea. “Home! Home!” He echoed happily with his limited speech abilities.
Despite how worried she was, Kagura smiled at her two adorable nephews. “Yes, we’re going home.” She headed towards the youngest of the two boys, and picked up Akago. “I’m going to put you two back to bed. You need to catch up on sleep before I drop you off at school.”
“Ugh why school? I want to go to the hospital to be with mom and dad. I don’t want to go to school!”
Kagura sighed at hearing her older nephew’s rant. She did not presently have the energy to argue with him on the topic, but realized she did not have much of a choice.
“I told your parents that I would make sure you go to class. You have a math exam next week, and you have a practice test for it today, your dad told me so, and I promised him I would make sure you wouldn’t miss you.”
“Ugh how annoying.” The boy groaned, crossing his arms over his chest in protest.
Sesshoumaru sensed the dilemma Kagura was in. She may be strong, but she would not be able to round up the two boys at the same time. He therefore decided to intervene.
“You will do as your parents and your aunt say.” He spoke in as stern a voice as he could. He then took Hakudoushi by the hand, and led him towards the exit. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Aw okay, uncle Sesshoumaru…” Hakudoushi was not used to being scolded. His father was too good-natured to tell him off, and his mother’s soft voice did not lend itself to giving a good scold like Sesshoumaru’s grave one. Not to mention that one look up into the older man’s hard amber eyes let him know that it would be in his best interest to do as he was told.
Sesshoumaru wondered if Kagura was bothered by the way her oldest nephew referred to him. When she failed to make any comments, he inferred she did not, and he found it pleased him.
Kagura heaved a sigh, and with Akago safely tucked in her arms, headed towards the front door, Sesshoumaru with Hakudoushi following closely behind. “Thank you for everything Mrs. Watanabe, we’ll show ourselves out.” She did not intend to get cornered by the elderly lady, and forced to answer a series of questions she had no wish and no patience to deal with at the moment, so she hurried towards the safety of her sister’s house.
“It’s not very nice to leave little old me all alone…” The old woman said petulantly even as she glided towards her favorite observation spot, right by the window that gave prime access to the residential street in front of her house. ‘Well it’s too dark to see much, but in a couple hours I should be able to see clearly. Can’t wait to find out if Kagura’s young man will leave… maybe I should get myself a snack to enjoy the show! Oh goody!’ She rushed over to the kitchen to make herself something to eat to accompany the show she was sure to be witness to.
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“Thank you for helping out with the boys. They were over excited, so it’s a miracle they fell asleep.” Kagura declared. She sank into her sister’s lush sofa, and let out a weary sigh. Now that her two nephews were taken care of, and that she did not have to put on a façade any longer, she allowed herself to feel again.
‘Yukiyo hasn’t texted me back. I hope Kanna’s still doing okay, and that the meds are working….’ She pondered as she checked her phone for the hundredth time since they left the hospital.
“Tea?”
She looked up from her screen, and with a grateful smile took the steaming cup Sesshoumaru was extending towards her. She took in a few careful sips, and felt the warmth of the flavored liquid radiate all over her; it was only then that she realized that she had been freezing cold. ‘I must be more tired than I realized…’ She thought, recalling how she usually became cold when tired.
Despite the palpable distance between them, Sesshoumaru settled on the couch next to her. The two of them sat close enough to touch, but not doing so, and silently sipped on their respective cups of tea.
“I’m sorry.” Kagura finally broke the long silence. She could feel her face heating up, and wondered if it was due to her embarrassment or the restorative drink. In any case she put down her tea, and was shocked to see her cup was almost empty.
Sesshoumaru also set down his half empty cup, and looked at her with surprise before answering. “I volunteered to help.” He knew she needed him, and he intended to do everything he could to help her.
She shook her head, signifying that he had misunderstood her. “Not about right now… I’m sorry about before… about walking out…”
Her unusual pallor, the bags underneath her eyes and the strands coming out of every directions of her usually neat bun let him know that this was not the time to square things up between them.
“We can talk about this later.” He gently assured her. A sleepless night and the worry about Kanna’s condition looming over their head, he knew this was just not the time to set things straight.
“No.” She shook her head. “I need to get this out now before I chicken out.” After allowing herself one last calming breath, Kagura started speaking. “When I was away… I went to see my aunt, Kaede.”
Just like him, Kagura did not often speak of her childhood, but Sesshoumaru knew who Kaede was, and about the illness that had struck her down. While Kagura had never spoken about how much pain seeing her aunt in such a diminutive condition caused her, he was sure that was the case.
“We were able to have a conversation… I told her about us, and about quitting Shikon Magazine.” Since she fully intended to smooth things between them, she opted for a euphemism, and did accuse him of betrayal as during their last encounter.
“She gave me a lot of things to think about. She pointed out that I have the bad tendency to shut things out when they don’t go my way, and I have to admit she’s right. I was pissed and instead of dealing with it, I ran away… Anyways for now, I just want to really understand why you didn’t tell me about Naraku’s proposal sooner.” She was tempted to add her aunt’s theory about Sesshoumaru being afraid of her reaction, but she decided to let him explain things in his own words.
At the moment, he was wishing that he was not running on empty batteries, an empty stomach and the flimsy amount of caffeine contained in the tea he had just downed. He knew he needed all the focus in the world if he was to salvage things between them.
“When I first arrived at Shikon, I assumed you knew of the proposition Naraku had put forward to me. It did not take me long to figure out this was not the case. I admit that at the time, I was tempted to tell you about it…”
“It’s a miracle you were able to refrain yourself from throwing it into my face during our early clashes.” She was the first to recognize that she had not made things easy for Sesshoumaru when he had first been hired. She hated the fact that Naraku had brought him in, and had done everything possible to antagonize her co-worker including coming up with the nickname of ‘demon’ for him.
“I have boundless patience.” His joking remark brought a faint smile to her lips, a welcoming sight to his own eyes. “Once I started working at Shikon, I came to realize that I did not have as much interest in being an editor as I had anticipated. There was therefore no reason for me to take Naraku up on his offer to take over the magazine upon his retirement. I decided to stick around while I figured out what I wanted to do next.” He took a brief pause to gauge her reaction, but when she failed to comment, he resumed his explanation. “Then when the two of us became… involved, I did not want to tell you as I did not want to hurt you. I now wish I had told you sooner as it would have prevented Naraku from using this knowledge as a weapon against you; for that I am truly sorry.”
Just as her aunt and sister had anticipated, Kagura had to recognize that Sesshoumaru’s explanation made sense. As angry as she was over the situation, she could admit that he was not the one towards whom her wrath should be directed at.
‘Sesshoumaru wanted to protect me. Naraku is the asshole, as expected, but just like my mom, I won’t let him thwart my one chance at happiness!’
Kagura reached down to interlace her fingers with his. “You don’t need to apologize. I understand that you didn’t want to hurt me… I’m the one who’s sorry. The other day, I was so angry. Instead of acting rationally, I just saw red, and picked a fight with you.” She knew exactly what buttons to push to get a rise out of him, and she realized that was exactly what she had done back then. “I blew up instead of giving you a chance to explain yourself. That would have saved us both some heartache.”
Hearing her admit her wrongs felt like receiving a balm on his hurts. It felt nice to be able to have a conversation without her jumping at him too. He however realized that he also was not without fault. “I do apologize for what I said about you and your father… I was frustrated at the time and tried to find a way to hurt you in return.”
Recalling Sesshoumaru’s unkind words about Naraku overlooking her professional abilities made the young woman’s heart twist in pain. Usually she would have lashed out just thinking about it, but this time she took the time to think before she spoke. Deep down she knew that Sesshoumaru had not only been just pointing out the obvious, but also finding a way to work out his anger over their argument.
“I understand. I’ve said some pretty awful things to you too in the past; especially, when things didn’t go my way.” Her thumb gently traced the back of his hand in a tender gesture. “We just hit a rough patch, but we’ll fix things and find a way to go back to how it used to be.”
He gently tugged on her hand, causing her to fall over against his chest. He placed his arms around her, and held her tight. If someone had told him a year ago that holding on to someone else could make him feel so at peace, and so complete he would have laughed in their face, and yet that was exactly what holding Kagura in his arms made him think about. He turned his head to the side, and pressed a small kiss to her temple. The little sigh of contentment she let out as she tightened her arms around him let him know he was not the only one feeling the effects of their touch.
Kagura relaxed, and allowed herself to bask in the warmth of his body and the comfort he provided. For the first time in a long time she was able to clear her mind and not think for a moment. She could feel a prickling sensation creep up her nose again, but this time successfully squashed down her tears.
“I missed you.” She finally murmured against the skin of his neck, causing a delightful shiver to run down his spine.
“I love you.” He gently whispered in her ear after a long pause. Saying the words still felt foreign to him, but there was no one else he could imagine ever saying them to. It was the first time he had ever actually spoken the words out loud to her. He had found many other ways in the past to express his feelings, but up until now had not been able to rustle up enough gumption to say the three little words he knew she ached to hear. He expected her to respond in kind, but her only response was to let out a small snore.
“Little witch.” He commented under his breath as he loosened his hold on her, and carefully leaned her back against the cushions of the couch to make her more comfortable while she slumbered. He mentally made a note to find a way to address Kagura’s tendency to fall asleep at the most importune moments. His pride was still stung that she had passed out on him the first night they were intimate while he had stepped out to buy condoms. ‘At least the witch has mitigating circumstances today.’ He thought, his finger gently tracing the bags under her left eye with his finger. He laid her down, placed a side pillow under her head, and a throw blanket over her body before heading to the opposite sofa to get some shut-eye of his own.
‘Something tells me that this will be a long day as well.’
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“Mommy!” A loud screech resonated through the Saito household.
Kagura jerked awake immediately. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and looked around herself. She was surprised to see she was lying on her sister’s couch. Her little disorientation faded away as she recalled what had occurred in the past 24 hours. She glanced outside, and saw sunshine peaking through the curtains.
‘Shit! I’m running late.’ She had promised Yukiyo and Kanna she would make sure the boys would still go to school and preschool respectively.
“Moomyy!”
‘Akago.̵ 7; She threw away the blanket she did not remember putting over her, and rushed upstairs in the direction of the boys’ bedroom. The sight that greeted her eyes made her heart melt. Hakudoushi was in his bed, a sobbing and sniffling Akago held tightly in his arms.
“I took him out of his crib, but he won’t stop crying.” The older boy gave as explanation.
Kagura picked up Akago and cradled him in her arms. “Everything’s okay. Stop crying honey.” She gently cooed in a way she had seen her sister do a thousand times.
“He wants mom.” As much as he too wanted to see his mother, Hakudoushi did not want to cry out like his younger brother. I’m not a baby anymore.’
His aunt did see right through him, and it made her hurt. She reached down to gently smooth over his bangs.
“I’ll give your brother a bath to help calm him down.” Akago immediately perked up at the prospect, and let out a happy yelp. He absolutely loved taking baths; especially bubble filled ones. Kagura chuckled at his reaction before continuing to speak. “In the meantime, why don’t you get dressed for school and think about what you want for breakfast…”
Hakudoushi put forward a dubious look. “Aunt Kagu, are you going to make it?”
Kagura was torn between annoyance and amusement at seeing her nephew’s reaction. She did not really take offense, as she of course knew full well that she was lacking in the cooking department. It did not mean that she was going to let her nephew mock her. Just as she was about to defend herself, she felt a comforting presence behind her.
“How about I help?”
Hakudoushi let out a relieved sigh. “I think that’d be great uncle Sesshou.”
Kagura chuckled, and after playfully tweaking her oldest nephew’s nose, walked past Sesshoumaru and headed towards the bathroom, Akago safely in her arms.
Hakudoushi waited until his aunt was not in sight before dealing with something that had been on his mind for a while.
“Uncle Sesshoumaru…” He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again. He did not know why, but he was not as afraid of coming across as weak in front of the older man’s quiet impressive presence as he was at the prospect of embarrassing himself in front of his aunt. “Is my mom going to die? Last year my friend Tomoyo, his mom got sick and stayed at the hospital… she never came back home and now he lives alone with his dad.”
Sesshoumaru was taken aback by the question. He just did not know how to react. He had never been one to offer comfort in the past, and was not sure he would be able to cope.
‘Kagura would be better equipped for this…’ He thought a sudden feeling of panic rising inside him… he however resisted the urge to call her over when he saw the worried tears pooling in the little boy’s lavender eyes.
He crouched down to Hakudoushi’s level, and gently wiped the tear running down the boy’s rounded cheek. “Of course not. Your mother will be just fine, so will your new little brother. Kanna had you and Akago, and she came home both times.”
‘I guess that if she’s done it twice, she should be fine this time again.’ Hakudoushi mulled over Sesshoumaru’s words.
Sesshoumaru hoped his words were coming through to the boy. “She will be back home in a few days with your new brother, and you will help her. Both of your parents will need you to step up and help out with the new baby and Akago.”
“Because I’m the big brother.” The youngster propped up his chin, and puffed up his chest in pride, his tears completely dried now.
“Yes.” Sesshoumaru felt a faint smile stretch his lips. He felt proud to see how the young boy was able to compose himself. Mastery of one’s emotion was a code by which he had lived by his entire life. Be it when his mother had died, or when he had walked away from his father’s house and decided to make a way for himself in the world, he had never let anyone know about the true emotions raging inside of him. He had put on a carefully crafted mask of cold indifference and had glided through his life until he begun having a relationship with Kagura.
‘It is amazing to see how he witch has managed to change me is such a short span of time.’ He was uncomfortable with the changes in him, but was not sure he disliked them entirely.
Despite their relationship, and the feelings he had towards her, displays of emotion were still not something he was accustomed to. He was not used to being the one offering comfort, but in the past day he had had to do so more times than he could have ever expected: first his conversation with Inuyasha under the God Tree, then his reconciliation with Kagura when she needed his support, and now he unexpectedly found himself wishing to chase the sadness from a little boy’s eyes.
“Do you have a brother too?” Hakudoushi’s unexpected question thrust Sesshoumaru out of his introspection.
“Yes, he’s younger.” It felt strange to acknowledge Inuyasha as a relation not only to himself, but to others as well.
“So that’s how you know how to be a good big brother… I think your brother is lucky, I think you’re a really cool.” Hakudoushi launched himself to give Sesshoumaru a brief hug before rushing out of the room. “Oh and uncle Sesshoumaru I’m hungry, I want pancakes…” He rushed out of the room and as he ran down the corridor threw over his shoulder. “Hurry up aunt Kagu, we need to get ready for school.”
Sesshoumaru turned around just in time to see Kagura appear in the frame of the door. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop… I just forgot Akago’s favorite bath toy.”
“Yellow boat!” The toddler pointed towards the shelf that housed said item. He grinned happily when Sesshoumaru handed it to him.
“Thank you for that. I think Haku really needed some comfort, but he’s too proud to accept some from me.” She was burning inside with the wish to question him about what prompted him to bring up Inuyasha, but decided against it. Now was not the time to have such a conversation.
Sesshoumaru nodded in understanding, but refrained from making a comment. A part of him was uncomfortable with the thought of Kagura seeing him acting in such an unusually emotional way.
“Bath now!” The unhappy Akago squirmed in his aunt’s arms. He hated being overlooked, but his intervention was welcomed as it provided a well needed diversion to both adults.
“Looks like I have to take care of the little tyrant.” Kagura gently bounced the protesting little boy.
“I will get started on breakfast.” Sesshoumaru was glad to have something to do.
“You know how to make pancakes from scratch? Kanna doesn’t keep the mix thing in the house. She believes in good old fashioned home cooking.”
“Of course.” He paused to give her a quizzical small smile before sleeking out of the room to go down to the kitchen.
“Why did I even ask?” Kagura amusedly muttered to herself as she headed to the master bathroom to give Akago his bath.
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The boys had been taken care of, and after borrowing some necessities from her sister and brother in-law, Kagura felt as if she and Sesshoumaru looked halfway decent. It was with renewed energy that they had headed for the hospital. She did not know if it was because she had managed to smooth things over with Sesshoumaru, or simply because he was next to her, but she felt a lot more optimistic about her sister and the future.
Sesshoumaru was relieved to finally see the frown on Kagura’s brow slowly dissipate. He had to admit that had worries about the lives of Kanna and her baby had not been in the balance, he could have allowed himself to enjoy the present situation. There was just something to be said about the domesticity aspect of the past day. He was impressed that despite a few bumps, he and Kagura had been able to get the boys up and ready for school. They had worked in tandem like a well-trained team.
The couple had barely stepped into the waiting room of the hospital with which Kagura had become too acquainted the previous evening, that Yukiyo came barreling down on them. The usually neat fiscal analyst looked unusually frumpy and disheveled. His pale hair was messed up and his lavender eyes were bloodshot.
“How are the boys?”
Kanna may complain that her husband was too much of a workaholic, but she had never doubted the fact that he loved him family above else. The second he had received the call that she was hospitalized, he had dumped the project he was working on, rushed out of work to go to her, and had not left her side since. He was torn between being there for his beloved wife, or their precious children. Even though he had complete confidence in Kagura, it was with reluctance that he had placed the children in her care.
Kagura sent her brother in-law a reassuring smile. “They’re fine. We dropped them off at preschool and school respectively.”
“We?” He echoed then for the first time took his eyes off of Kagura, and noticed she was not alone. “Sesshoumaru?” He was surprised to see the other man there. From what Kanna had told him it seemed that Kagura had broken things off with him. He as his wife had been sorry to hear that since he genuinely enjoyed spending time with the other man. They had yet to go on an actual double date, but he knew Kanna had hoped to set one up in the future. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Yukiyo, how is Kanna, has there been any improvements?” While she could tolerate him wanting to ensure his children were cared for, Kagura did not have enough patience to bear hearing him exchange niceties with Sesshoumaru while she waited. He had not replied to the text messages she had sent him earlier, but considering phone were not allowed in Kanna’s room, she had not thought too much of it.
“She just fell asleep, but… well there’s something you should know… after monitoring her and the baby’s vitals all night the doctors decided to schedule a C-section for this afternoon.”
To be continued…
A/N: According to my grand master plan (yes, I do have one!) the next chapter will be the last one. There will just be an epilogue afterwards. The chapter will be of course named Last Edition. See you then!
A/N: Nice little interlude chapter before we get to the big finish. There will only be one chapter left after this then an epilogue. The end is almost upon us!!! This is a great time to thank all of you guys for reading this fic. A special mention to all the people who have favorite this story and put it on their alert lists.
Disclaimer: Sadly even though I love writing AU stories on my OTP, they don't belong to me. I tried to buy them, but all I could afford were plushies. Oh well better than nothing lol.
“Talking”
'Thoughts'
Sesshoumaru jumped out of his car and rushed towards the entrance of the large hospital. He was relieved not to have come across any police road check during the drive over as he knew a speed check would have landed him in deep trouble. He had driven way over the speed limit, and the beer he had had earlier with his brother would not have helped his case either. Being arrested would not have been a hardship, except that it would have been a loss of precious time. The long drive had been a complete blur to him. He had kept his focus trained on one thing, and one thing only: getting to Kagura as quickly as he could.
He pushed past the glass doors, and stormed inside the hospital. After a quick perusal, he located the sign pointing towards the obstetrics department. He was sure that it was where Kagura was. The thought had barely crossed his mind that he got on his way.
“Sir!”
Considering that he was the only person in the hospital corridor, he was sure that the authoritative female voice coming from behind him was addressing him. He therefore reluctantly turned around.
“May I help you?” The tired old woman questioned. The hard edge in her voice showed that her inquiry was more of an order than an offer for help. She was 11 hours into her 12 hours shift, and the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was to police hospital corridors when she should be nursing her patients.
Sesshoumaru took a calming breath. He knew that lashing out at the older woman for wasting his time would not be beneficial for anyone. “I am on my way to the obstetrics ward…”
She regarded him with slight suspicion before answering. After all she had recently read a troubling sensational news items about strangers snatching babies in hospitals. It prompted her to ask him “Why?”
Sesshoumaru grinded his teeth, and used all of his legendary reserve not to blow up at the woman who was currently wasting his time at such a crucial moment. “My sister in-law is giving birth.” He realized he was technically lying, but at the moment this was the last thing on his mind. He could tell that the old woman was still suspicious of him, so he added. “Her name is Kanna Jiyuu-Saito…” He hated having to explain himself when he was pressed for time, but at the moment did not see how he could get around it.
‘As long as she lets me through.’
“Oh dear!” The nurse nervously bit her lip. The name rung a bell. She remembered the small pale patient she had checked up on earlier in the evening. ‘Hopefully the situation has improved now’
“Well… she’s on the third floor in the restricted area with her husband, but her sister… I guess she’s your wife… you don’t look like Mr. Saito’s brother… well anyway she’s is in the opened waiting room on the same floor…”
The words had barely registered in Sesshoumaru’s mind that he rushed over to the stairs; he did not have the patience to wait for the elevators. He heard the older woman express her displeasure at being dismissed so easily by him, but he completely ignored her, he had things to do.
‘Kagura, I’m coming.’
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Kagura sighed and ran a pale hand down her tired face. She had never been known for her patience, and waiting to hear news about her sister and unborn nephew was driving her absolutely crazy. She sighed once again and pressed the call button for the elevator. She cleared her mind, and focused back on the tasks she had to accomplish for the moment.
‘I need to do this before I allow myself to break down,’ She thought even as her finger smashed once more on the button.
“Where is that damned elev…”
“Kagura.”
She turned around sharply upon hearing her name being spoken. Once she saw who had called her, her crimson eyes widened in shock.
“Sesshoumaru.” The breathless tone of her voice demonstrated just how exhausted she was after the long evening, and how elated she was at seeing the man she loved walk up to her.
“What are you doing here?” She was in complete shock. Some hours ago when she had spoken with her aunt, she had wanted to see him so badly so as to clear the air, and go back to how lovely things were before… but now... Now she could only think about her sister and being there for her.
“I came to check on Kanna.” He was tempted to add that even if he was worried about the younger Jiyuu sister, it was really for the eldest sibling that he was there. He wanted to support Kagura in any way he could. “Yukiyo left a message on our answering machine at the condo about Kanna going into early labor and needing surgery… how is she?”
Speaking about her sister’s condition allowed Kagura not to have to face up just as of yet to the apology she knew she had to make to Sesshoumaru. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her racing heartbeat. Having to speak about what had occurred made her nervous for her sister all over again.
“Kanna went into premature labor a few hours ago. The doctors need to run some more tests, but they think it might not be safe for the baby to be born yet …” Kagura interrupted herself to take a deep breath. She could feel tears tickling her nose, but she pushed them down. From the moment she had walked through the doors of the hospital, she had sworn to herself that she would not break down, at least not in public. ‘I will be Kanna’s tower of strength. Yukiyo is a wonderful man, but I know he doesn’t deal well with emergencies… besides he’s also going to need me. I must stay strong.’
“Instead of doing a C-section, they decided to slow down Kanna’s labor and keep her under observation… They put her on an IV with a mix of corticosteroid and magnesium sulfate. It made her nauseous, but at least it worked. Her labor hasn’t progressed, and the doctors hope it will be stopped long enough to make sure the baby’s lungs are completely developed… otherwise they’d have to put him in an incubator and plug him to a ventilator and feeding tube.” Ever since the doctors had told them about the possible complications with the baby, Kagura had tried to prevent the mental image of her tiny nephew placed in an incubator with tubes hooked up to him from penetrating her mind, but at the moment she was unable to do so. Before she could help herself, she felt tears trickle down her cheeks.
In a matter of seconds she found herself engulfed in a warm embrace. Ever since the night they had spent together in a hotel at the beginning of their relationship, Sesshoumaru and Kagura had shared many embraces, all too often they had been passionate, nothing to do with the way that he was presently holding her. She felt comforted in a way in which her aunt Kaede had only been able to bring to her in the past.
“Kanna is strong. She is going to be okay, so will the baby.” It tore at his heart to hear her sobbing, and feel her warm tears against the sensitive skin of his neck. He gently whispered in her ear as he ran a tender hand up and down her back. He was of course worried to hear about Kanna, but he wanted to comfort Kagura as best as he could.
“I argued with her before she… the doctors said stress and upset is a possible trigger of premature labor, and I…” She was about to tell him know that Kanna had been angry with her for walking out on Sesshoumaru, but she could not quite form the words, and contented herself with letting out a muffled sob.
‘I wish I hadn’t burdened her in such a way… why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut about my relationship with Sesshoumaru?! She has enough on her plate taking care of the boys…’
“No.” Sesshoumaru interrupted her, and cut through her thoughts. He pushed away from Kagura, and placed his two hands on her shoulders. When she would not look up at him, he hooked a finger under her chin, and raised her head, forcing her to stare straight in his amber eyes. “You have told me that both Hakudoushi and Akago were both born slightly premature. The fact that Kanna’s third child would be too is none of your fault.” He reached down to wipe away her budding tears with the pad of his thumbs.
Kagura bit her red lower lip, but did not answer. She was too drained at the moment to argue. She was sure the feeling of guilt would not leave her until she had heard from Kanna herself that she had not contributed to her situation.
Both of them were surprised by the ding of the elevator. It gave Kagura the opportunity to break away from Sesshoumaru’s warm arms. She wiped the last of her tears, and cleared her throat. She hated appearing so weak; especially, in front of him.
“I have a taxi waiting downstairs. I need to go get the boys. They have school tomorrow, and Yukiyo and Kanna don’t want their routine to be upset.”
Sesshoumaru’s response was to arch one of his eyebrows in an inquisitive way she knew all too well, so she elaborated. “I left my car at the train station. I took a train to get here… and the boys are at the neighbor’s house. Yukiyo dropped them off before meeting Kanna at the hospital, but they don’t want them to be left with her. Mrs. Watanabe is nice, but she too old to look after two boys that age…”
“You don’t need a taxi, my car is up front. Come on, we’ll go get them.” He had decided earlier to stick by Kagura, and he intended to do just that. Sesshoumaru half expected Kagura to refuse his help, but was glad when she simply gave him a sad weepy smile. The two of them stepped into the elevator car, and went on their way.
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Sesshoumaru effortlessly maneuvered his car in the empty streets. It was only when he noticed that the sun was peaking at the horizon that he realized he had spent a sleepless night. He glanced over at the woman seating next to him, and was not surprised to see the dark bruises under her eyes. He could tell she was exhausted and upset, so he allowed her the chance to be as silent and reflective as she needed.
Contrary to her usual self, Kagura was in fact being completely silent. All she could do was think about Kanna, the baby, Yukiyo, and her nephews. She was surprised however that unlike the time when Sesshoumaru had given her the silent treatment when they had driven to the resort where the award ceremony was to take place, the silence between them was not oppressing despite the fact that there was so much unresolved between them.
‘I guess that having a family member in danger puts things into perspective.’ She mused.
“It’s the house on the right.” She then indicated aloud as she pointed to the Watanabe household. Mrs. Watanabe was a widow with grown children and she sometimes looked after Hakudoushi and Akago when Kanna needed a babysitter, but never for a long period of time. After all Kanna was too protective of her little darlings to leave them out of her sight.
Sesshoumaru parked the car into the driveway, and waited for Kagura to say something. When she failed to do so, he intervened.
“Would you like me to go inside with you?”
“They must still be asleep, it would be useful for you to help me carry them.” Kagura finally admitted after taking a long calming breath.
He nodded, and reached to open the door before heading towards the front door of the small house across the street from the Jiyuu-Saito household. He heard Kagura moving behind him, so he did not have to turn back to know she was following. Once they reached the door, they did not have to knock as it was thrown opened.
“How are Kanna and the baby?! I haven’t been able to sleep at all waiting for some news. Well it could also be my usual insomnia giving me trouble. At least the boys are sound asleep. Kagura, won’t you and your friend step in?” The questions came from a short woman with curly steely white hair.
“Thank you Mrs. Watanabe. Kanna will be alright she has to stay at the hospital for now, so I will be looking after the boys.” Kagura said even as she and Sesshoumaru stepped inside the small cozy house. Sesshoumaru noted that Kagura had plastered on a fake smile, but did not comment on it.
“It’s nice to finally see you up close young man.” The older lady leaned forward to stare closely at Sesshoumaru despite their large difference in size. “I’ve observed you going over to the Saitos’ a couple times in the past year.” Her question caused Sesshoumaru to send Kagura another unspoken question through an arched eyebrow. Kagura gave him a pleading look, begging him to ignore the eccentric Mrs. Watanabe and her habit of spying on her neighbors.
“We’ll just go pick up the boys now. They have school in a couple hours…” Kagura said pretending that her sister’s neighbor had not asked any questions.
The old lady ran a hand through her curly hair and turned her mouth in a small pout. “Oh alright. They’re in the living room.”
Without further ado, Kagura headed past the entryway to retrieve her nephews. The moment she stepped into the living area, and flicked the lights on, Hakudoushi jumped up from the couch. He had not been able to sleep very much, but had pretended to do so in order not to attract the attention of their elderly caretaker. Mrs. Watanabe did have a tendency to talk his ears off and ask tons of questions about his parents and their other neighbors. He hated having to mind her, but knew that if he did not, his mother would have his hide.
“Aunt Kagu!” He screeched happily before rushing in the direction of his mother’s older sister. “Did mom have the baby yet?”
Kagura felt as him her face was going to break into pieces even as she forced herself to spread her lips in as big a smile as she could. She looked down into her nephew’s innocent lavender eyes, and hoped he would buy into her performance.
“It will take a little bit longer, so for now your mom has to stay at the hospital. Your dad is staying with her to keep her company, so in the meantime I’ll have the great pleasure of looking after you and Akago.” She said gently, ruffling the boy’s fair bangs.
Unaware of the danger looking over his mother and younger brother to be, Hakudoushi smiled happily. “Are we going home now?”
Akago also sprang from the makeshift bed, which had been made from couch cushions, and perked up at the idea. “Home! Home!” He echoed happily with his limited speech abilities.
Despite how worried she was, Kagura smiled at her two adorable nephews. “Yes, we’re going home.” She headed towards the youngest of the two boys, and picked up Akago. “I’m going to put you two back to bed. You need to catch up on sleep before I drop you off at school.”
“Ugh why school? I want to go to the hospital to be with mom and dad. I don’t want to go to school!”
Kagura sighed at hearing her older nephew’s rant. She did not presently have the energy to argue with him on the topic, but realized she did not have much of a choice.
“I told your parents that I would make sure you go to class. You have a math exam next week, and you have a practice test for it today, your dad told me so, and I promised him I would make sure you wouldn’t miss you.”
“Ugh how annoying.” The boy groaned, crossing his arms over his chest in protest.
Sesshoumaru sensed the dilemma Kagura was in. She may be strong, but she would not be able to round up the two boys at the same time. He therefore decided to intervene.
“You will do as your parents and your aunt say.” He spoke in as stern a voice as he could. He then took Hakudoushi by the hand, and led him towards the exit. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Aw okay, uncle Sesshoumaru…” Hakudoushi was not used to being scolded. His father was too good-natured to tell him off, and his mother’s soft voice did not lend itself to giving a good scold like Sesshoumaru’s grave one. Not to mention that one look up into the older man’s hard amber eyes let him know that it would be in his best interest to do as he was told.
Sesshoumaru wondered if Kagura was bothered by the way her oldest nephew referred to him. When she failed to make any comments, he inferred she did not, and he found it pleased him.
Kagura heaved a sigh, and with Akago safely tucked in her arms, headed towards the front door, Sesshoumaru with Hakudoushi following closely behind. “Thank you for everything Mrs. Watanabe, we’ll show ourselves out.” She did not intend to get cornered by the elderly lady, and forced to answer a series of questions she had no wish and no patience to deal with at the moment, so she hurried towards the safety of her sister’s house.
“It’s not very nice to leave little old me all alone…” The old woman said petulantly even as she glided towards her favorite observation spot, right by the window that gave prime access to the residential street in front of her house. ‘Well it’s too dark to see much, but in a couple hours I should be able to see clearly. Can’t wait to find out if Kagura’s young man will leave… maybe I should get myself a snack to enjoy the show! Oh goody!’ She rushed over to the kitchen to make herself something to eat to accompany the show she was sure to be witness to.
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“Thank you for helping out with the boys. They were over excited, so it’s a miracle they fell asleep.” Kagura declared. She sank into her sister’s lush sofa, and let out a weary sigh. Now that her two nephews were taken care of, and that she did not have to put on a façade any longer, she allowed herself to feel again.
‘Yukiyo hasn’t texted me back. I hope Kanna’s still doing okay, and that the meds are working….’ She pondered as she checked her phone for the hundredth time since they left the hospital.
“Tea?”
She looked up from her screen, and with a grateful smile took the steaming cup Sesshoumaru was extending towards her. She took in a few careful sips, and felt the warmth of the flavored liquid radiate all over her; it was only then that she realized that she had been freezing cold. ‘I must be more tired than I realized…’ She thought, recalling how she usually became cold when tired.
Despite the palpable distance between them, Sesshoumaru settled on the couch next to her. The two of them sat close enough to touch, but not doing so, and silently sipped on their respective cups of tea.
“I’m sorry.” Kagura finally broke the long silence. She could feel her face heating up, and wondered if it was due to her embarrassment or the restorative drink. In any case she put down her tea, and was shocked to see her cup was almost empty.
Sesshoumaru also set down his half empty cup, and looked at her with surprise before answering. “I volunteered to help.” He knew she needed him, and he intended to do everything he could to help her.
She shook her head, signifying that he had misunderstood her. “Not about right now… I’m sorry about before… about walking out…”
Her unusual pallor, the bags underneath her eyes and the strands coming out of every directions of her usually neat bun let him know that this was not the time to square things up between them.
“We can talk about this later.” He gently assured her. A sleepless night and the worry about Kanna’s condition looming over their head, he knew this was just not the time to set things straight.
“No.” She shook her head. “I need to get this out now before I chicken out.” After allowing herself one last calming breath, Kagura started speaking. “When I was away… I went to see my aunt, Kaede.”
Just like him, Kagura did not often speak of her childhood, but Sesshoumaru knew who Kaede was, and about the illness that had struck her down. While Kagura had never spoken about how much pain seeing her aunt in such a diminutive condition caused her, he was sure that was the case.
“We were able to have a conversation… I told her about us, and about quitting Shikon Magazine.” Since she fully intended to smooth things between them, she opted for a euphemism, and did accuse him of betrayal as during their last encounter.
“She gave me a lot of things to think about. She pointed out that I have the bad tendency to shut things out when they don’t go my way, and I have to admit she’s right. I was pissed and instead of dealing with it, I ran away… Anyways for now, I just want to really understand why you didn’t tell me about Naraku’s proposal sooner.” She was tempted to add her aunt’s theory about Sesshoumaru being afraid of her reaction, but she decided to let him explain things in his own words.
At the moment, he was wishing that he was not running on empty batteries, an empty stomach and the flimsy amount of caffeine contained in the tea he had just downed. He knew he needed all the focus in the world if he was to salvage things between them.
“When I first arrived at Shikon, I assumed you knew of the proposition Naraku had put forward to me. It did not take me long to figure out this was not the case. I admit that at the time, I was tempted to tell you about it…”
“It’s a miracle you were able to refrain yourself from throwing it into my face during our early clashes.” She was the first to recognize that she had not made things easy for Sesshoumaru when he had first been hired. She hated the fact that Naraku had brought him in, and had done everything possible to antagonize her co-worker including coming up with the nickname of ‘demon’ for him.
“I have boundless patience.” His joking remark brought a faint smile to her lips, a welcoming sight to his own eyes. “Once I started working at Shikon, I came to realize that I did not have as much interest in being an editor as I had anticipated. There was therefore no reason for me to take Naraku up on his offer to take over the magazine upon his retirement. I decided to stick around while I figured out what I wanted to do next.” He took a brief pause to gauge her reaction, but when she failed to comment, he resumed his explanation. “Then when the two of us became… involved, I did not want to tell you as I did not want to hurt you. I now wish I had told you sooner as it would have prevented Naraku from using this knowledge as a weapon against you; for that I am truly sorry.”
Just as her aunt and sister had anticipated, Kagura had to recognize that Sesshoumaru’s explanation made sense. As angry as she was over the situation, she could admit that he was not the one towards whom her wrath should be directed at.
‘Sesshoumaru wanted to protect me. Naraku is the asshole, as expected, but just like my mom, I won’t let him thwart my one chance at happiness!’
Kagura reached down to interlace her fingers with his. “You don’t need to apologize. I understand that you didn’t want to hurt me… I’m the one who’s sorry. The other day, I was so angry. Instead of acting rationally, I just saw red, and picked a fight with you.” She knew exactly what buttons to push to get a rise out of him, and she realized that was exactly what she had done back then. “I blew up instead of giving you a chance to explain yourself. That would have saved us both some heartache.”
Hearing her admit her wrongs felt like receiving a balm on his hurts. It felt nice to be able to have a conversation without her jumping at him too. He however realized that he also was not without fault. “I do apologize for what I said about you and your father… I was frustrated at the time and tried to find a way to hurt you in return.”
Recalling Sesshoumaru’s unkind words about Naraku overlooking her professional abilities made the young woman’s heart twist in pain. Usually she would have lashed out just thinking about it, but this time she took the time to think before she spoke. Deep down she knew that Sesshoumaru had not only been just pointing out the obvious, but also finding a way to work out his anger over their argument.
“I understand. I’ve said some pretty awful things to you too in the past; especially, when things didn’t go my way.” Her thumb gently traced the back of his hand in a tender gesture. “We just hit a rough patch, but we’ll fix things and find a way to go back to how it used to be.”
He gently tugged on her hand, causing her to fall over against his chest. He placed his arms around her, and held her tight. If someone had told him a year ago that holding on to someone else could make him feel so at peace, and so complete he would have laughed in their face, and yet that was exactly what holding Kagura in his arms made him think about. He turned his head to the side, and pressed a small kiss to her temple. The little sigh of contentment she let out as she tightened her arms around him let him know he was not the only one feeling the effects of their touch.
Kagura relaxed, and allowed herself to bask in the warmth of his body and the comfort he provided. For the first time in a long time she was able to clear her mind and not think for a moment. She could feel a prickling sensation creep up her nose again, but this time successfully squashed down her tears.
“I missed you.” She finally murmured against the skin of his neck, causing a delightful shiver to run down his spine.
“I love you.” He gently whispered in her ear after a long pause. Saying the words still felt foreign to him, but there was no one else he could imagine ever saying them to. It was the first time he had ever actually spoken the words out loud to her. He had found many other ways in the past to express his feelings, but up until now had not been able to rustle up enough gumption to say the three little words he knew she ached to hear. He expected her to respond in kind, but her only response was to let out a small snore.
“Little witch.” He commented under his breath as he loosened his hold on her, and carefully leaned her back against the cushions of the couch to make her more comfortable while she slumbered. He mentally made a note to find a way to address Kagura’s tendency to fall asleep at the most importune moments. His pride was still stung that she had passed out on him the first night they were intimate while he had stepped out to buy condoms. ‘At least the witch has mitigating circumstances today.’ He thought, his finger gently tracing the bags under her left eye with his finger. He laid her down, placed a side pillow under her head, and a throw blanket over her body before heading to the opposite sofa to get some shut-eye of his own.
‘Something tells me that this will be a long day as well.’
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“Mommy!” A loud screech resonated through the Saito household.
Kagura jerked awake immediately. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and looked around herself. She was surprised to see she was lying on her sister’s couch. Her little disorientation faded away as she recalled what had occurred in the past 24 hours. She glanced outside, and saw sunshine peaking through the curtains.
‘Shit! I’m running late.’ She had promised Yukiyo and Kanna she would make sure the boys would still go to school and preschool respectively.
“Moomyy!”
‘Akago.̵ 7; She threw away the blanket she did not remember putting over her, and rushed upstairs in the direction of the boys’ bedroom. The sight that greeted her eyes made her heart melt. Hakudoushi was in his bed, a sobbing and sniffling Akago held tightly in his arms.
“I took him out of his crib, but he won’t stop crying.” The older boy gave as explanation.
Kagura picked up Akago and cradled him in her arms. “Everything’s okay. Stop crying honey.” She gently cooed in a way she had seen her sister do a thousand times.
“He wants mom.” As much as he too wanted to see his mother, Hakudoushi did not want to cry out like his younger brother. I’m not a baby anymore.’
His aunt did see right through him, and it made her hurt. She reached down to gently smooth over his bangs.
“I’ll give your brother a bath to help calm him down.” Akago immediately perked up at the prospect, and let out a happy yelp. He absolutely loved taking baths; especially bubble filled ones. Kagura chuckled at his reaction before continuing to speak. “In the meantime, why don’t you get dressed for school and think about what you want for breakfast…”
Hakudoushi put forward a dubious look. “Aunt Kagu, are you going to make it?”
Kagura was torn between annoyance and amusement at seeing her nephew’s reaction. She did not really take offense, as she of course knew full well that she was lacking in the cooking department. It did not mean that she was going to let her nephew mock her. Just as she was about to defend herself, she felt a comforting presence behind her.
“How about I help?”
Hakudoushi let out a relieved sigh. “I think that’d be great uncle Sesshou.”
Kagura chuckled, and after playfully tweaking her oldest nephew’s nose, walked past Sesshoumaru and headed towards the bathroom, Akago safely in her arms.
Hakudoushi waited until his aunt was not in sight before dealing with something that had been on his mind for a while.
“Uncle Sesshoumaru…” He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again. He did not know why, but he was not as afraid of coming across as weak in front of the older man’s quiet impressive presence as he was at the prospect of embarrassing himself in front of his aunt. “Is my mom going to die? Last year my friend Tomoyo, his mom got sick and stayed at the hospital… she never came back home and now he lives alone with his dad.”
Sesshoumaru was taken aback by the question. He just did not know how to react. He had never been one to offer comfort in the past, and was not sure he would be able to cope.
‘Kagura would be better equipped for this…’ He thought a sudden feeling of panic rising inside him… he however resisted the urge to call her over when he saw the worried tears pooling in the little boy’s lavender eyes.
He crouched down to Hakudoushi’s level, and gently wiped the tear running down the boy’s rounded cheek. “Of course not. Your mother will be just fine, so will your new little brother. Kanna had you and Akago, and she came home both times.”
‘I guess that if she’s done it twice, she should be fine this time again.’ Hakudoushi mulled over Sesshoumaru’s words.
Sesshoumaru hoped his words were coming through to the boy. “She will be back home in a few days with your new brother, and you will help her. Both of your parents will need you to step up and help out with the new baby and Akago.”
“Because I’m the big brother.” The youngster propped up his chin, and puffed up his chest in pride, his tears completely dried now.
“Yes.” Sesshoumaru felt a faint smile stretch his lips. He felt proud to see how the young boy was able to compose himself. Mastery of one’s emotion was a code by which he had lived by his entire life. Be it when his mother had died, or when he had walked away from his father’s house and decided to make a way for himself in the world, he had never let anyone know about the true emotions raging inside of him. He had put on a carefully crafted mask of cold indifference and had glided through his life until he begun having a relationship with Kagura.
‘It is amazing to see how he witch has managed to change me is such a short span of time.’ He was uncomfortable with the changes in him, but was not sure he disliked them entirely.
Despite their relationship, and the feelings he had towards her, displays of emotion were still not something he was accustomed to. He was not used to being the one offering comfort, but in the past day he had had to do so more times than he could have ever expected: first his conversation with Inuyasha under the God Tree, then his reconciliation with Kagura when she needed his support, and now he unexpectedly found himself wishing to chase the sadness from a little boy’s eyes.
“Do you have a brother too?” Hakudoushi’s unexpected question thrust Sesshoumaru out of his introspection.
“Yes, he’s younger.” It felt strange to acknowledge Inuyasha as a relation not only to himself, but to others as well.
“So that’s how you know how to be a good big brother… I think your brother is lucky, I think you’re a really cool.” Hakudoushi launched himself to give Sesshoumaru a brief hug before rushing out of the room. “Oh and uncle Sesshoumaru I’m hungry, I want pancakes…” He rushed out of the room and as he ran down the corridor threw over his shoulder. “Hurry up aunt Kagu, we need to get ready for school.”
Sesshoumaru turned around just in time to see Kagura appear in the frame of the door. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop… I just forgot Akago’s favorite bath toy.”
“Yellow boat!” The toddler pointed towards the shelf that housed said item. He grinned happily when Sesshoumaru handed it to him.
“Thank you for that. I think Haku really needed some comfort, but he’s too proud to accept some from me.” She was burning inside with the wish to question him about what prompted him to bring up Inuyasha, but decided against it. Now was not the time to have such a conversation.
Sesshoumaru nodded in understanding, but refrained from making a comment. A part of him was uncomfortable with the thought of Kagura seeing him acting in such an unusually emotional way.
“Bath now!” The unhappy Akago squirmed in his aunt’s arms. He hated being overlooked, but his intervention was welcomed as it provided a well needed diversion to both adults.
“Looks like I have to take care of the little tyrant.” Kagura gently bounced the protesting little boy.
“I will get started on breakfast.” Sesshoumaru was glad to have something to do.
“You know how to make pancakes from scratch? Kanna doesn’t keep the mix thing in the house. She believes in good old fashioned home cooking.”
“Of course.” He paused to give her a quizzical small smile before sleeking out of the room to go down to the kitchen.
“Why did I even ask?” Kagura amusedly muttered to herself as she headed to the master bathroom to give Akago his bath.
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The boys had been taken care of, and after borrowing some necessities from her sister and brother in-law, Kagura felt as if she and Sesshoumaru looked halfway decent. It was with renewed energy that they had headed for the hospital. She did not know if it was because she had managed to smooth things over with Sesshoumaru, or simply because he was next to her, but she felt a lot more optimistic about her sister and the future.
Sesshoumaru was relieved to finally see the frown on Kagura’s brow slowly dissipate. He had to admit that had worries about the lives of Kanna and her baby had not been in the balance, he could have allowed himself to enjoy the present situation. There was just something to be said about the domesticity aspect of the past day. He was impressed that despite a few bumps, he and Kagura had been able to get the boys up and ready for school. They had worked in tandem like a well-trained team.
The couple had barely stepped into the waiting room of the hospital with which Kagura had become too acquainted the previous evening, that Yukiyo came barreling down on them. The usually neat fiscal analyst looked unusually frumpy and disheveled. His pale hair was messed up and his lavender eyes were bloodshot.
“How are the boys?”
Kanna may complain that her husband was too much of a workaholic, but she had never doubted the fact that he loved him family above else. The second he had received the call that she was hospitalized, he had dumped the project he was working on, rushed out of work to go to her, and had not left her side since. He was torn between being there for his beloved wife, or their precious children. Even though he had complete confidence in Kagura, it was with reluctance that he had placed the children in her care.
Kagura sent her brother in-law a reassuring smile. “They’re fine. We dropped them off at preschool and school respectively.”
“We?” He echoed then for the first time took his eyes off of Kagura, and noticed she was not alone. “Sesshoumaru?” He was surprised to see the other man there. From what Kanna had told him it seemed that Kagura had broken things off with him. He as his wife had been sorry to hear that since he genuinely enjoyed spending time with the other man. They had yet to go on an actual double date, but he knew Kanna had hoped to set one up in the future. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Yukiyo, how is Kanna, has there been any improvements?” While she could tolerate him wanting to ensure his children were cared for, Kagura did not have enough patience to bear hearing him exchange niceties with Sesshoumaru while she waited. He had not replied to the text messages she had sent him earlier, but considering phone were not allowed in Kanna’s room, she had not thought too much of it.
“She just fell asleep, but… well there’s something you should know… after monitoring her and the baby’s vitals all night the doctors decided to schedule a C-section for this afternoon.”
To be continued…
A/N: According to my grand master plan (yes, I do have one!) the next chapter will be the last one. There will just be an epilogue afterwards. The chapter will be of course named Last Edition. See you then!