InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sword of Supreme Conquest ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

The decrepit shelter, standing alone and unloved in the center of the wood, was finally quiet. With the girl's unconsciousness had come a blissful silence that was disturbed only by the sound of rain beating against the sagging roof.

 

 

With his sword still drawn Sesshomaru eyed the body on the floor. His eyes were lit with an inner fire, the only outward sign of the rage that flowed throughout his being. Who would dare attempt to lure him in with such a disgusting display? He was no fool and would not be so readily deceived.

 

 

With a snort of disgust he re-sheathed his blade and turned from the door. He hadn't the time nor the patience to deal with such mediocre opponents. A whimper from the figure on the floor halted his retreat and he turned to watch her carefully.

 

 

It had been decades since he'd seen her face but he recognized it instantly. Every single one of his senses was screaming that this imposter was his Kagome. The very one who'd died after giving birth to their son.

 

That Kagome had been gone and buried for many, many years. Yet somehow she was lying at his feet, looking young and beautiful and most importantly alive. Though his heart was tempted, he knew better than to allow himself the luxury of believing the façade.

 

 

It was the smell of blood, her blood, that'd first drawn him to the tiny hut. He'd watched guardedly from a distance as a giant ogre demon hovered at the door. He'd considered intervening but in a brilliant flash of pink light the beast was no more. It was curiosity that brought him the rest of the way and upon seeing what awaited him inside, anger had made him stay.

 

 

He'd considered killing the wench immediately to punish her and whomever she was working with for attempting to deceive him, but the stupid girl had fainted. As a rule of honour, he never attacked an opponent who'd been left defenceless. As he watched her whimpering form on the floor with cold eyes, he decided to wait. Once she roused herself he would put an end to this ruse and demand answers. After that his sword would gladly bathe in her blood.

 

 

Sesshomaru eased his body down and took a seat against the far wall of the shack. Though he maintained his stony exterior, the lord of the Western Lands was fighting a losing battle against his senses. The overwhelmingly thick, coppery stench of her blood invaded his nostrils with every breath. Her scent, almost entirely overpowered by the scent of blood, tingled recognition at the back of his mind forcing him to recognize it as Kagome's.

 

 

His eyes told him that the long dark hair and porcelain features could belong to no one but her, but the logical side of his brain continued to insist that he was wrong. He had to be wrong.

 

The demon lord's ears perked up as he heard a moan come from just beyond his casually extended foot. Ah, so she was rising at last. He tightened his hand on the hilt of the blade at his hip, his own design of course, and felt it pulse in response. It knew how badly he wanted revenge and was more than willing to fulfill his desires whenever he was ready.

 

 

He watched her rise, his gaze cold and calculating. She pushed herself up from the floor with a soft moan and blinked her dark eyes wide, trying to adjust her vision to the dim light of the hut. Looking down at her stomach she rubbed at it gently. Realizing that she'd not yet noticed his presence he decided it was time to make himself known.

 

 

“Woman,” he called out sternly, his voice commanding her attention. With a startled gasp she turned to look at him, her mouth hanging ajar with shock.

 

 

“Sesshomaru?” she questioned into the darkness. Her eyes grew wide as she peered into the shadows. He growled low in response and unsheathed his sword in one fluid motion. Pointing it at her he held her gaze as he pushed his body up off the floor.

 

 

“It is Lord Sesshomaru and I will be addressed as such.”

 

 

Kagome gaped at him, at a complete loss for words. What the heck was he talking about? Didn't he know who she was? Sure it was possible that she'd already died by this point, but surely he didn't think…?

 

 

Kagome's inner monologue was answered by Sesshomaru's next cold demand.

 

 

“I will not play along with this pitiful charade. Reveal your true form or I will force it from you.”

 

 

He pointed his sword at her meaningfully, the tip resting in the air just inches from her stomach. Kagome's eyes travelled up the length of the blade until they reached its hilt. She realized then the grave mistake they'd made. They were too late - the sword was already in his possession!

 

 

“The sword!” she gasped aloud, her hand flying to her mouth. After all that, they'd come too late to change anything.

 

 

Sesshomaru was livid. It practically radiated from every pore of his body even though his face betrayed no emotion at all. She knew instinctively that he would kill her without a second thought unless she could convince him not to…but how?

 

 

Kagome didn't have time to think over a plan of action before her contractions returned from their brief reprieve in full force. Clenching her eyes shut she grabbed hold of the sides of her stomach and cried out as the pain tore through her. She could feel his eyes on her - he was watching her writhe in pain and she knew he liked it. He always enjoyed watching his enemies suffer and right now, as he saw it, she was his number one enemy.

 

 

“Sesshomaru please,” she begged, her eyes pleading with his. “I know this is hard for you to accept, but I am Kagome. Trust your senses right now because I know they're telling you it's me!”

 

 

Unfortunately the plea didn't work quite as expected. Kagome quickly found herself with her back to the wall and the sharp tip of Sesshomaru's new fang jabbing into her throat.

 

 

“Lies,” he hissed, his voice never rising above a low, threatening growl.

 

 

Come on Higurashi! Pull yourself out of this one!

 

 

She gulped loudly and tried to ignore the touch of cold metal against her skin. Her brain whirred a mile a minute but she still came up empty handed. Surely Inuyasha would return soon? Maybe he could talk some sense into his brother? That was, of course, if she was still alive by the time he got back.

 

 

“I'm not lying,” she responded, trying her best to keep her voice calm and even. “I still bear the mating mark you gave me on my shoulder. Look for yourself if you don't believe me.” She lifted her chin defiantly and boldly met his gaze.

 

 

He seemed to contemplate her suggestion, at least for a moment. His blade dropped suddenly from her throat and hovered near her shoulder. Kagome fought off another contraction as she watched him intently. He had to believe her if he saw it. How could she possibly fake a mating mark?

 

 

With a flick of his wrist he embedded the blade of his sword into her shirt and tore the fabric open. He used the tip to push it down and Kagome turned her body slightly to give him a better view of her back. Her breaths came hard and heavy as she waited. The increasing frequency of her contractions told her she didn't have long to wait for the baby to finally make its appearance. The pain was steadily becoming unbearable but she couldn't afford to lose focus just yet.

 

Using the edge of his leather shoe, Sesshomaru pushed her back against the wall and studied her thoughtfully. His blade lowered and hung loosely in his hand, the tip pointing down towards the rotting floorboards, but he did not sheath it.

 

“It appears that you do in fact bear my mark,” he conceded, giving her a brief glimmer of hope, “but that means nothing. My mate has been dead for nearly a century and I am swiftly losing patience. Tell me what I want to know or I will not hesitate to kill you.”

 

 

Kagome rolled her eyes skyward and heaved a great sigh. “Sesshomaru you are such a stubborn ass sometimes. Well I'm going to have your baby any minute now so you can either stand there threatening to kill me or help me until Inuyasha gets back. I sent him to go find you, you know.”

 

 

The dog demon narrowed his eyes at her words before turning to look out the open door. The woods were silent and empty; there was no sign of his half-demon brother.

 

 

“Indeed,” he mused aloud more to himself than to her.

 

 

He turned his head as she let out another cry of pain. He had to commend her acting abilities. He could feel the pain emanating from her body and the tears streaming down her cheeks were certainly a nice touch, but he'd lived too long to be tricked by such theatrics. With a casual air he strode to the corner of the hut and once again seated himself against the wall.

 

 

Kagome was panting so hard she could hardly speak. The pain had become all consuming. It was the only thing she could focus on clearly - that and the unbearable urge to push. For the moment the pain was the perfect accompaniment to the fury she felt towards Sesshomaru for being his regular stubborn, haughty self.

 

 

Stubborn ass, she cursed as she watched him watching her out of the corner of her eye. He appeared completely unaffected by the fact that she was giving birth to their child, barely three feet from where he sat.

 

 

Would I believe it myself if I heard such a story? she wondered. No…I suppose not. To him I've been dead for years. It'd be like if Dad suddenly appeared to me out of nowhere… I don't think I'd buy it either.

 

 

“Can I ask you something?” Kagome spoke up to break the conversational silence hovering between them. When Sesshomaru didn't respond she pushed on knowing that while he did his best to ignore her he could hear her just fine.

 

 

“When your first son was born was I…I mean...were you there? Did your mate have the baby at the palace?”

 

 

Stony silence answered her but Kagome had an inkling she was finally getting through to him. Even his stubborn ass couldn't deny logical reasoning.

 

 

“I'll take your silence to mean that you weren't,” she prodded. “So you missed the birth of your first child huh. What was your excuse? It must've been really good for you to skip out on something that important.”

 

 

She knew she was egging him on, she could see his anger building in the tension around his mouth and jaw, but it was the only way to make him see reason. She needed him to help her - she couldn't possibly do this alone.

 

 

“Woman. Cease your infernal chatter.”

 

 

Kagome refused to back down, not when she was finally making some progress. She was as stubborn as they came on a normal day and considering she was giving birth her patience was rice paper thin. “I will not cease!” she retorted angrily.

 

 

“You don't remember the birth of your son because you weren't there, but not by choice right? You weren't there because I gave birth here, in this time, in this place. Think about it Sesshomaru! Doesn't that make any sense to you at all? Why do you think I sent Inuyasha to find you? I knew I couldn't make it back to you in time so I thought that maybe if he found you here then you could still be by my side.”

 

 

Feeling deflated, her voice dropped to barely a whisper, but one she knew he could hear. “I can't do this without you.”

 

 

If he didn't believe her now then all hope was lost. There was nothing left to say. If her words couldn't convince him now they never would. She would just have to be strong like always and push through it on her own.

 

 

Thumping her head gently against the wall she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. With still no sign of movement from Sesshomaru's half of the hut she gave up on him. It wasn't his fault of course - she was asking a lot of him, to believe her cockamamie story and then help deliver their baby - it was a lot for anyone to ask. But still, it would've been nice for a little bit of assistance.

 

 

Praying that Inuyasha would give up his search and return soon she settled her back against the unforgiving wood and tried to make her body as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. Wedging her heels between the soggy floorboards, she used them for leverage as she pushed against the contractions.

 

 

Each push brought the intensity of her pain up another ten degrees. It was only get worse before it got better but once it was over she would have their child resting safe in her arms. Holding onto that glimmer of hope she used what was left of her strength to bring her son into the world.

 

 

With an exhausted sob her body slumped backwards against the wall. She looked down with unfocused eyes at ten perfect tiny fingers, ten perfect tiny toes and a mane of thick dark hair. Finally…

 

 

With a smile that spread from ear to ear she picked her baby up and brought him closer so she could wipe him clean. As she rubbed the sleeve of her long discarded coat over his delicate skin she noticed something wasn't quite right. Why hadn't he started crying yet?

 

 

The little babe resting in her arms appeared to be sleeping but his skin was slowly turning a frightening shade of blue. With a frantic cry she turned him over and slapped her hand against his tiny bottom but no sound emerged from the perfectly formed mouth that resembled her own rosebud lips.

 

 

“No…this can't be happening. Not now!” The panic crept steadily into Kagome's voice as her hands holding her son began to shake. Holding him close to her chest she rocked him back and forth and cried silently, her warm, pitiful tears gently cleansing his delicate face.

 

 

“No, no, no, no…” the word uttered from her mouth over and over again in a quiet mantra, even long after her voice ceased to work. Her tears were enough on their own to express the pain of her heart breaking. She had lost the baby…her baby…Sesshomaru's baby.

 

 

Dead.

 

 

The word echoed through her mind as if it were stuck in a playback loop. How could she have failed so completely? What would Sesshomaru, her Sesshomaru, say when she returned to him empty handed? How could she possibly explain?

 

 

Kagome was so lost in her own misery she didn't notice when the demon lord stood from his place on the other side of the hut and moved to stand next to her. He crouched down low and swiftly drew the sword at his hip. In one swift motion he brought it down to slice the umbilical chord in two, severing the tie between mother and child.

 

 

Kagome winced at the sound of the sword's blade lodging into the soft wood of the floor but paid him no more attention until he tried to take the child from her. When she felt his hand grasp for the tiny body cradled in her arms she screamed and pushed him away.

 

 

More than a little surprised by this reaction Sesshomaru stumbled backwards, lost his balance and fell to one knee. With an irritated grunt he pushed himself up off the floor and succeeded in snatching the child from her weak grip.

 

 

Kagome clawed at the air in vain as he stood up, taking the child out of her reach. Her eyes were wild and glassy with panic and a touch of madness. He noticed the tears that continued to stream down her flushed cheeks and quickly looked away. He couldn't meet her gaze just yet, the guilt was still too much. It was his fault this had happened. He was angry with himself more than anything for taking so long to finally realize the truth.

 

 

His golden eyes softened as he stared down at the blue face and tiny body of his son. He'd always been so bitter, knowing that he hadn't been there to see his birth, but now he understood. In reality, he'd been there all along. He hadn't missed a second, not a single, painful, agonizing second. He felt a bevy of powerful emotions clash within his chest and he sucked in a shuddering breath. It was neither the time nor the place to get choked up. Unless he acted fast there would be no birth to celebrate.

 

 

Sheathing his sword, he quickly removed a red silk sash from his waist and wrapped the child inside to protect it against the chilled air. After setting the tiny lifeless body on the floor he drew his sword once more and rested the tip overtop of its chest.

 

 

Kagome watched with fascination as Sesshomaru slowly closed his eyes and concentrated his energy into the blade. A vibrant blue light travelled down the shaft and enveloped the tiny parcel with her son inside. She held her breath and watched in muted silence.

 

 

She had no idea what kind of power Sesshomaru's new fang possessed. As its glow dissipated, the electricity in the air seemed to die down as well. The hut was silent for a long and agonizing moment and then, like a beacon of guiding light through a dense fog, a thin wail broke through the air and brought her back from the brink.

 

 

Her mouth hanging open in disbelief, Kagome slowly crawled across the floor and lay down next to her son. His cheeks flushed a brilliant red as his cries turned him the colour of the silk scarf that covered him. With delicate fingers she traced the wrinkles of his brow and caressed the silky soft skin of his cheeks.

 

 

“Shhh I'm here now,” she cooed gently as she stroked him and was surprised to see the lines of his face relax beneath her touch. The tinny wails emanating from the half demon at her side immediately quieted at the sound of her voice. Kagome smiled with relief, happy to know that she hadn't completely failed as a mother just yet.

 

 

Resting her head on her hand she turned her face upwards and realized that Sesshomaru had been watching her the entire time.

 

 

“Thank you,” she whispered to him with genuine gratitude.

 

 

His eyes held hers in a gaze that told her he wasn't sure how to react. He quickly broke eye contact with her and looked towards the door. Kagome turned as well but smiled when she saw Inuyasha run into the hut looking frantic. He was sopping wet from the rain. A puddle of water began to slowly collect around his feet.

 

 

 

“Kagome!” he cried out and ran forward but halted when he noticed Sesshomaru standing behind her.

 

 

“Sesshomaru! When did you get here?”

 

 

The brothers eyed one another warily, their bodies tense. Kagome broke the tension by calling out to him. With a smile she nodded at the tiny bundle squirming on the floor next to her. He looked down at it curiously and then at her, his eyes wide.

 

 

“You had the baby already? I can't believe I missed it!” he exclaimed, his voice ringing with disappointment. With her gentle urging he gingerly picked up the child and studied his tiny face in the dim light. With a smile playing across his lips he used the tip of his finger to play with the boy's mouth, finally sticking it inside so he could suck on the droplets of the water that still clung to his skin.

 

 

“So what's his name?” he asked casually, looking up from the child's face to Kagome's.

 

 

“He doesn't have one yet,” she explained, her forehead creasing in thought. After a moment she looked up at her mate expectantly. “Perhaps you would like to name him?”

 

 

Sesshomaru regarded her with a soft look before answering, “Ronin. His name is Ronin.”

 

 

“Ronin?” Kagome rolled the name across her tongue as she spoke it, liking the way it sounded on her lips. “Yes…that's perfect...”

 

 

Her words faded into a sigh and she collapsed quietly to the floor.

 

 

“Kagome?”

 

 

Sesshomaru moved swiftly to kneel at her side.

 

 

“Wake up Kagome,” he demanded, shaking her lightly. Her body was limp and rolled easily back and forth beneath his hand. He stared down at her wide-eyed, at a loss to understand what'd happened to her.

 

 

“Shit! There's so much blood!” Inuyasha gasped aloud, taking a hesitant step back from the large pool that saturated the floor at their feet.

 

 

Noticing the dark stain for the first time, Sesshomaru stared in disbelief at his mate's pale face. Why hadn't he noticed it before? How could he have missed this? Beneath his hand he could feel the faint flutter of her heart through her shirt but it was far from reassuring. With each passing moment it weakened and grew faint.

 

 

No! he thought, with his mind reeling. I cannot lose her again!