InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Hanyou Handbook: A Romance ❯ Chapter Twenty-Six ( Chapter 26 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: donatella 
The final chapter!
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Romance / Angst | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.03.2011 | Updated On: 12.03.2011 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 633 | Status: Completed
The final chapter!
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Romance / Angst | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.03.2011 | Updated On: 12.03.2011 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 633 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Inu Yasha and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise. I make no profit from this fiction. All original characters and story are owned by Donatella D.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was Inuyasha’s human night, and though he had always hated his human nights, it was much worse while in his present condition, so Inuyasha dreaded it even more. Tonight, he would be tortured by more nightmares - he was certain - so as always he would try to stay awake through the night if his brother will allow it.
He was starting to understand why the vivid dreams were worse on the nights when he had no demon power; it was because while he was human it was easier for that demon to possess him. The demon that no one but him believed in -- well, he and his puppy; and he just wished that the doctor would hurry up and take the damn thing out already, but everyone was waiting for Inuyasha’s human night to come and end before they went ahead with their plans to remove the ‘baby’.
“Keh, They’re all gonna be real surprised when they see it’s not a baby,” Inuyasha said to himself and the puppy that was looking at him, hanging on his every word as if she understood what he was saying, but she was just watching his transformation into human take place, and cocked her head in confusion.
“Did you say something, little brother?” Sesshomaru asked as he walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to his mate.
“No,” Inuyasha sighed.
“You are not planning on staying awake tonight, I hope.”
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, “What do you care? I’m not tired anyway.”
“You have to sleep, Inuyasha; you’re sleeping for two.”
Rather than argue about it, Inuyasha decided to lie down with his back turned to his brother, and feign sleep. However, Sesshomaru was onto his ruse, and so spooned him from behind and wrapped his arm around him so that he would be so warm and comfortable that he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes open; and just in case that didn’t work, he combed his hair with his fingers, which was sure to have him out cold in no time, which it did.
xxxoooxxx
Somewhere in slumber…
‘Kill him,’ the voice in Inuyasha’s head insisted.
“No.”
‘Kill Sesshomaru,” it said over and over, again and again.
“No!” Inuyasha cried out in his sleep.
‘Your brother doesn’t love you; he’s waiting for you to die, and if you don’t die then he will kill you himself.’
“That’s not true.”
‘He hates you -- he’s always hated you, half-breed. Why do you think he won’t tell you he loves you?’ The demon knew exactly how to get to Inuyasha, and it forced tears from his sleeping eyes.
“No.”
‘You must kill him before he kills you -- do it!’
“I won’t! I won’t kill him! You can’t make me!” Inuyasha started to scream in his sleep.
‘I can make you, you worthless hanyou… that’s what your brother calls you.’
“No!”
‘Kill him -- kill Sesshomaru!’
“How ‘bout I kill you, bastard!” and Inuyasha took his currently human hands with its dull, human fingernails and tried to kill the demon living inside him by clawing at his own swollen belly. He managed to break the skin that separated him from the demon’s torture, but the barrier was tougher than he thought, and he had to claw deeper to get through when two powerful hands stopped him.
“Inuyasha! What are you doing?” Sesshomaru said in a loud, demanding voice.
“I have to get him out!” Inuyasha cried.
“Stop Inuyasha, before you hurt the baby,” his brother insisted still holding his hands tightly by the wrists so he couldn’t do any more damage to himself.
“He wants me to kill you -- I can’t fight him anymore. I have to get him out before he gets too strong!”
“Who are you talking about, little brother?”
“The demon living inside me -- he’s getting stronger, and he wants me to kill you!”
“Why would he want to kill me?”
“Because you’re too powerful,” he continued through his panicked tears, “Your power is keeping him from being reborn.”
“Being reborn?”
“The cat demon; it’s the cat demon!”
“You mean the demon that raped you.”
“Yes!”
“That demon was long dead before you conceived, little brother; how could he possess you?”
“I don’t know, but it has to come out now! Please take it out,” Inuyasha pleaded.
Sesshomaru still didn’t know what to believe. Could Inuyasha really be possessed? Whether he was or not, Inuyasha believed it, and that meant that the baby/demon had to come out. He let go of his brother’s wrists, held him tightly in his arms, and stayed that way the rest of the night until the morning when Inuyasha would return to his half-demon self. He will talk to the doctor about taking ‘it’ out then.
Inuyasha seemed so convinced. Could it be that there was no baby after all? Could that rounded belly be holding a cat demon waiting to be reborn? Perhaps the cat demon was trying to possess the baby… or Inuyasha. One thing was certain, it was all too much for his brother who was being driven mad by it, imagined or not.
Sesshomaru was actually a little relieved that there could actually be a demon possession. That would be a lot easier to deal with than a crazy mate would; after all, it was something he was used to. He had no problem getting rid of that cat demon again - he got rid of demons all the time - but taking care of a mentally ill mate was something he had never dealt with before. He simply didn’t understand it, and he secretly hoped that Inuyasha was right.
xxxoooxxx
“The only demon inside your brother is your child, Lord Sesshomaru,” the doctor told him with that reassuring smile of his that he found most irritating.
“How can you be so sure?” Sesshomaru asked.
“I can’t; it is simply my professional opinion. I can see nothing to make me think otherwise. Besides, it little matters; whatever it is, it needs to come out. He is done with his human night and back to his half-demon self, which was the only thing stopping us from removing the child earlier. So we will remove the child today.”
“Today?”
“Stay with your mate and keep him calm. I will be back shortly with the priestess and the monk.”
“Why the monk?”
“Just in case.”
“You mean to exorcise the demon.”
“I like to have all my bases covered,” the doctor smiled, and bowed as he hurried out the door to go prepare for the birth.
Sesshomaru walked back to his sleeping Inuyasha, neither of them had gotten much rest the previous night -- he was going to need it. At least they won’t have to wait much longer to find out what has been growing inside Inuyasha. The thought that something might have been feeding off his brother all these months, something that was not his child was disturbing to say the least, and his anger for this thing was starting to get the better of him.
He looked across the room where tensaiga was leaning against the wall, grabbed it and set it down on the floor beside him by the bed -- just in case. Then he did the same with bakusaiga, again, just in case. Who knew what kind of demon he was going to have to deal with, or ghost demon, or maybe nothing at all, but he wanted to be ready for anything. He looked up from the bed to see the old miko standing there with a cup in her hand.
“Sorry to disturb you, Lord Sesshomaru; I have a potion for Inuyasha that will induce his labor,” she said. She shuffled over to him to hand him the cup, “Lord Sesshomaru, may I have your permission to have Kagome here with us for the birth?”
“Why?”
“I know you do not trust her, but I believe she could be of help if there is indeed a demon possessing Inuyasha.”
“This birth is turning into a spectacle. Is it really necessary to have all these people attending?”
“It is for Inuyasha’s safety.”
“I think it will make Inuyasha uncomfortable. She can be nearby if she is needed, but I do not want her in this room.”
“Very well, that should do. Ye must wake your brother and have him drink this right away,” she said as she handed him the cup. “I shall return soon with another cup for him to drink,” she added, and shuffled her way back out of the room, but before she made her exit she stopped and turned for some final words, “Try not to worry yourself too much, child; everything is going to be fine,” and she left.
Did she just call the Lord of the Western Lands ‘child’? Sesshomaru found that amusing, and he knew she was only trying to reassure him, but how did she know he needed reassuring? He wondered if his worry were actually written on his face -- how embarrassing would that be? However, she was a kind and capable old miko and one of the few people he trusted. She always had his and Inuyasha’s best interests in mind, and will probably make a very good babysitter in the near future.
“Inuyasha, you must wake up now,” he said, as he gently shook his shoulder, “Come, little brother, it is time to wake.”
“Why? I’m tired,” Inuyasha said, as he rubbed his eyes.
“Drink this and you can go back to sleep.”
“Yuck! What is this?” he said as he got a good whiff of the stuff.
“The doctor is going to take the… demon out today -- this will help.”
“Really? When?”
“Very soon.”
“I can’t wait till this is over,” Inuyasha said as he downed the warm, herbal brew.
“Nor can I, little brother.”
“How are they gonna do it?”
“Does it matter?”
“I guess not.”
“You are not scared, are you?”
“Keh, No way -- should be a piece of cake. Whatever they do has to be better than having this thing inside me. I just wish they’d get it over with already.”
About one hour later…
The old Miko had once again appeared holding a cup of baby-be-born juice, “Ah, you are awake. How are you feeling, Inuyasha?” she asked.
“Fine. When are we gonna get this show started already?” Inuyasha asked her.
“Patience, child; this will take a while,” she said as she handed him another cup.
“Why do I have to drink all this crap? Can’t you just take the thing out now? How long is this gonna take?”
“Inuyasha, I am afraid ye are going to have to work for this delivery -- we cannot just ‘take it out’ and it will not come out on its own,” she said, somewhat amused at his impatience.
“Whadaya mean ‘work’?”
“Ye have to push it out.”
“Well, I can do that right now. What’s the big deal?”
“Hmm, I suspect it will not be quite that easy. I will let ye know when ye are ready to push it out,” she explained, holding in her laughter at his naiveté on the subject.
“So, you don’t want me to push it out?” he asked, trying to get a straight answer.
“Later, Inuyasha. For now, just try to relax and get some rest.”
Oh great, he thought, this sounded like it was going to be a huge project, and he was too anxious now to go back to sleep. Meanwhile, the doctor, Miroku and Sango were parading in and out of the room to deliver sheets, towels, water and other things that Inuyasha couldn’t identify.
“Sesshomaru, you’re gonna stay with me, right?” he asked his brother with much less conviction in his tone than his previous conversation held.
“Men are not usually permitted in the birthing room, Inuyasha,” Kaede explained.
“What the fuck? I’m a man,” Inuyasha spat out, with the ridiculousness of the whole scenario.
“Hmm, you do have a point. If ye wish to stay, Lord Sesshomaru, then I believe ye can be of great help.”
“I do not care what is permitted -- I have every intention of staying with Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said, and then with a little less confidence, he asked, “Help?”
“Do not worry -- nothing ye can’t handle,” she assured him.
A few hours later…
“How much longer?” Inuyasha began to whine again when suddenly he felt a sharp pain hit him down his spine and across his lower abdomen, “Owwww!” he screamed.
“Ah, finally!” Kaede exclaimed, getting a little tired of listening to her patient complain about getting started.
“That hurt… a lot!” he said as he tried to catch his breath.
“Yes, Inuyasha, it is going to hurt,” Kaede, explained.
“How come no one told me that?”
“Relax Inuyasha. Sango is here to help ye through your pains -- she has gone through this a few times herself.”
“Yes, it’s not that bad, Inuyasha, it’ll all be over before you know it. Though my first one took nearly two whole days before he decided to come out -- that was a lot of work, let me tell you,” Sango happily reminisced about her first experience at giving birth to her eldest.
“Sango,” Kaede mildly scolded her.
“Days? I have to do this for ‘days?’ Are you kidding me?!”
“Well, that was just me -- everyone’s different, Inuyasha,” Sango tried to correct her mistake, not wanting to upset Inuyasha too much.
“Do not worry, child, we will not let ye go for days, I assure you.”
And a few hours more…
“Fuuuuccccckkkk!” Inuyasha’s screams of pain could be heard throughout the entire village.
“Oh my, such a fuss. In all my years of delivering babies I’ve never heard so much screaming,” Kaede confessed her observation to the doctor who had made his appearance.
“Yes, males do not seem to have the pain tolerance of females, which makes them tire more quickly; they also lack the endurance for a prolonged labor that females have little problem with,” the doctor explained.
“How very interesting, doctor.”
“I have found females to be quite a bit stronger than males in this regard. The male body and mind are simply not built for this, hence the problem with transformed, male half-demons. Combine that with all the excessive blood loss and it is no wonder they do not live through it,” the doctor continued with his deep enthusiasm for the subject.
“That has never occurred to me. Perhaps because I have never seen a male give birth before,” Kaede thought aloud. “Inuyasha, ye mustn’t push yet, it isn’t time.”
“It feels like I should!” Inuyasha groaned.
“I know, but don’t. No pushing until I say so,” Kaede instructed.
“Fuck you, old hag!”
“Oh my.”
And still a few hours more…
It was now early the next day, before the sun had shown, and Inuyasha was still only in the first stages of labor, it was taking much longer than he had anticipated. Kaede had given him gallons of that stuff to drink, and Sango kept trying to tell him that it wouldn’t be too much longer, but Inuyasha was starting to wonder if it would ever end. He was in so much pain and no one seemed to take him seriously, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. Well it wasn’t, dammit! He was a man, and there was nothing natural about it!
“Alright, Inuyasha, it is time. When you feel the pains come, I want you to push,” Kaede ordered him.
After all that, he was now expected to work. He wished he had gotten more sleep the night before; he was so tired, and now he had to push this thing out of him. Thankfully, this should be the easy part, or so he thought.
He could hear Kaede giving out orders to everyone, and then someone lifted him up on his knees as if he were a rag doll -- must have been Sesshomaru, he thought; he could feel his brother behind him holding him steady and giving him something to lean against as he was ordered to push by Kaede. God, he hated her. Who was she to tell him what to do anyway? What a fucking bitch! When this is all over, he’s going to give that old, bitch hag a piece of his mind.
“Inuyasha, ye must push harder,” she told him.
“I’m pushing as hard as I can, you old bitch! If you think it’s so easy, why don’t you try it!” he screamed at her.
“Yes, I will do that, but for now ye must push harder, Inuyasha.”
“Come now, little brother, use all your strength,” he heard Sesshomaru whisper in his ear, and he tried a little harder on the next one.
“Much better, Inuyasha,” the bitch hag said, “Now rest before the next one.”
Was she kidding? Rest? Yeah, right -- that’s just what he felt like doing now. He wanted this over and done with, and she’s telling him to rest. His thoughts were interrupted by another contraction along with another order from the old hag. He wasn’t even sure he was pushing correctly, maybe he was doing it wrong, and that’s why the thing won’t come out.
“Keep going, Inuyasha,” the bitch hag said.
Keep going? For how long? Then he heard his brother whispering to him in his ear again. That was so much better than listening to that bitch order him around. “You are doing very well, little brother -- just do what the old priestess tells you.”
And still the hours passed…
It had been a full day now since this birthing thing had started and Sesshomaru was starting to worry about his little brother. He could see how exhausted he was becoming and he had to hold up his full weight now to keep Inuyasha in position on his knees. Between contractions, Inuyasha rested his head back on his brother’s shoulder, almost falling asleep until the next one woke him, and then doubling forward in pain as he tried his best to do as he was told. He squeezed Sesshomaru’s hands so tightly that his claws dug into the flesh. What bothered Sesshomaru most though was that he had stopped complaining and the only sounds he made were cries of pain.
The priestess had been changing blood-soaked sheets and towels that were starting to pile up on the floor near the bed; and still Inuyasha seemed no closer to the end. How much more blood was he expected to lose?
“I cannot continue like this, doctor. Inuyasha is exhausted and he is little further along,” the priestess finally said, “This baby is simply too large to come out on its own; I am afraid we are putting it in danger.”
“Yes, I agree it is time to help the process along,” the doctor said, “Lord Sesshomaru; we need to lie your mate down flat.”
When Sesshomaru finally saw his brother’s face he was shocked at how pale he was, and he was starting to think that maybe Inuyasha wouldn’t make it through this. It was finally time to think about those options. Should he let him die, can he? Looking at his brother now, he wasn’t sure he could, but maybe after he’s dead, after their bond is broken and Sesshomaru is back to his old self, maybe then it won‘t bother him. However, if that is what he wanted, then why was tensaiga sitting on the floor just within reach? He had to decide what he was going to do now because there wouldn’t be much time to act later.
The doctor pulled out some god-forsaken, sadistic looking tool with very long handles on it for good leverage and proceeded to position it between Inuyasha’s bloodied thighs. Sesshomaru was a bit horrified by the looks of the device and that it was about to be used on his mate. This looked like it was going to be very painful, he thought. Maybe cutting him open wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“You must hold your mate still, my lord,” the doctor ordered him.
With Inuyasha’s head in his lap, Sesshomaru took hold of both his brother’s arms and held him in place as best he could without hurting him.
“Now take a nice, deep breath, Master Inuyasha,” the doctor instructed, but Inuyasha couldn’t hear him through his exhaustion, so Sesshomaru repeated it to him. When the doctor saw Inuyasha finally inhale, he pushed those long handles together until he heard a loud crack, and Inuyasha cried out in pain.
Sesshomaru couldn’t help but compare it to cracking open a cooked lobster for lunch, except the sound of bone crunching was louder than shellfish. It was horribly gruesome, unless you intended to torture someone with the device, and it put his brother in terrible agony. Perhaps that bitch miko was right; this did seem inhumane.
“We must get him back up on his knees, my Lord,” the doctor said as he moved his legs back into position. “Now, one more push, Master Inuyasha.”
But Inuyasha was now trembling violently, and his skin was covered in cold sweat; he was barely conscious, and Sesshomaru didn’t think his brother was in any condition for more pushing; he couldn’t even use his legs to keep himself upright anymore. However, Sesshomaru was there to help, so he helped as best he could by giving him encouragement and quietly repeating in his ear what he had to do. “You’re almost done, little brother, just one more and it will all be over.”
“I can’t,” Inuyasha managed to get out.
“This is not the most difficult thing you have ever done, Inuyasha. You can finish this,” Sesshomaru demanded.
That’s true, Inuyasha thought. He killed fucking Naraku, damn it! This is nothing compared to fighting that bastard. Women do this all the time; surely, he was as strong as any silly girl was - so he gave it one more try. He squeezed his brother’s hands tightly and held his breath for one final push until he felt something slip from him.
Sesshomaru laid him back down on the bed and sat next to him as the old miko laid the baby on top of Inuyasha’s slowly diminishing belly.
“It looks as if Inuyasha’s little demon man is a big, healthy, baby girl,” Kaede commented with delight.
“No, there is a demon. How did it manage to stay hidden all this time? It’s trying to possess the baby,” Miroku said, as he stepped forward to examine it. “It’s leaving Inuyasha and trying to be reborn.”
“Yes, I can sense it now too -- a cat demon. You must stop it, Miroku,” Kaede warned as she was busy cleaning the baby’s airway.
Miroku was prepared for this -- it was the only reason he was there -- so he quickly jumped into action with his sacred sutra’s at hand. However, he didn’t want the demon to retreat back into Inuyasha and he couldn’t take the chance of hurting the baby by trying to vanquish it there, so he coaxed the cat demon out with a jar of catnip-scented sutra’s and shut the lid to capture it. He then left with the demon-filled jar to deal with it far away from mother and child so no one would be hurt.
However, the seal of the lid was apparently not enough to contain the demon and before Miroku could leave the birthing room, the demon escaped the jar and possessed the first thing it came into contact with.
Miroku followed the demon spirit out to the main room where Kagome had been waiting patiently to be needed, but all Miroku found there was a seven-foot tall, very angry cat demon wearing the shredded remnants of a petite-sized, priestess’s red and white kimono. Miroku quickly raised his staff after throwing many more sutra’s onto the possessed Kagome as he tried to exorcise the demon from her, but the cat demon lunged at him with his sharp claws, tore through Miroku’s robes to his flesh underneath, and knocked him to the floor.
Miroku wasn’t about to let a little scratch make him shirk his responsibilities to his friend; he recovered quickly enough with a back flip away from the demon to put some space between them and then he flung his staff in the demon’s direction, but was blocked at the very last second by the demon himself. Again, it lunged at Miroku who was now defenseless without his weapon, and just as the cat demon was about to rip Miroku’s head off with his huge hands and sharp claws, the demon was annihilated by a flying hirakotsu that flew mere inches over Miroku’s head.
“Phew - thanks, Sango,” he said as he made his way over to her.
“Where’s Kagome? How come she didn’t help you?” Sango asked.
“Oh no,” he gasped as he looked down and found nothing but a few torn remnants of Kagome’s clothing lying on the floor. He looked sadly at Sango and prepared to tell her what she had just done, but thought better of it. There was no reason to upset her now; she was still needed in the other room, so he kept the news to himself, and instead he said, “You should go back to the birthing room -- they probably need you.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Miroku?” she asked.
He nodded his head and smiled at her, and she left to go help in the other room. Miroku picked up the pieces of clothing left on the floor and took it outside to burn. He decided he would tell everyone that Kagome had changed her mind and went back home. That would be better than having his wife think she had killed a dear friend - it wasn’t her fault anyway; she was just trying to save him. “Oh Sango,” he said aloud to himself. “You just killed Kagome.”
Meanwhile…
“So there really was a demon possession after all. We must all apologize to Inuyasha for not believing him,” Kaede said as she continued to clean the crying baby.
“Would you be so kind as to cut the cord, lady Kaede?” the doctor asked her, “I’d like to finish the delivery.”
“Yes, of course, doctor.”
Sesshomaru looked down at his mate; his teeth were chattering and his skin was white and cold to the touch. “Inuyasha,” he said to him quietly, and Inuyasha lifted his heavy lids just a crack to look at him with unfocused eyes. “You did very well, little brother. I am very proud of you.”
“Is it over?” Inuyasha spoke in a hoarse voice, just above a whisper.
“Yes, and you have a baby girl.”
“No, it’s a boy,” he insisted.
“No, the demon was male, and the baby is female; that is what confused you. You were right, little brother, the cat demon was trying to possess the baby. I am sorry I didn‘t believe you.” However, Inuyasha’s eyes had closed again and Sesshomaru wasn’t sure he heard his apology. More importantly, Inuyasha was looking worse and seemed to be having trouble breathing, taking in quick shallow breaths punctuated with blood-filled coughs, and his pulse was slow and weak. He was dying, Sesshomaru was certain; he would probably be dead within minutes. What should he do?
“Inuyasha, open your eyes, little brother,” he said, desperately trying to get a few more moments with his mate -- he had made his decision. He will not interfere; he will let nature have her way, but there was one thing he was still willing to do for his little brother. “I love you, Inuyasha. Can you hear me? I’ve always loved you, little brother.”
Sesshomaru thought he could detect a slight smile on his brother’s lips. That meant he must have heard him and he was glad he could make Inuyasha happy in his last moments of life. It was the least he could do, he thought, and saying the words wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He took his brother’s hand in his and patiently waited for him to take his last breath.
“Really?” Inuyasha’s throat hurt and his voice was low and hoarse, but he had to ask him. Sesshomaru was even more shocked when Inuyasha opened his eyes before he continued to question him, “You really mean that? You really love me?”
“I do not lie, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said, trying to overcome his embarrassment. “How do you feel?”
“It hurts… a lot, and I’ve never been so tired… that was even harder than killing Naraku.”
“Hm, Indeed.”
“Inuyasha, would you like to see your new baby girl?” Sango smiled and held out a freshly cleaned bundle of baby for the brothers to see.
Sesshomaru lifted his brother’s head up from the pillow so he could view his new daughter who seemed to know immediately who she was looking at. She gave what could be interpreted as a smile, and opened her large amber eyes wide to get a good look at the one who had kept her safe, warm, and free of cat demons all these months.
Inuyasha felt so weak, but he just had to see the little life he’d been harboring all this time, and when he met her eyes for the first time, he felt a little better, as if she were giving him the strength to stay awake just a bit longer so she could properly introduce herself to him.
“This is what was inside me all this time… this little thing?”
“I tried to tell you, little brother, but I could not convince you.”
“She looks just like you; she even has your demon marks… and ears.”
Indeed, she did; in fact, she looked like a baby Sesshomaru and Inuyasha just knew that he was looking at the spitting image of his mate when he was a baby. The perfect little she-demon had his pure pale skin and shimmering silver hair in a small, short ‘poof’ atop her head. Her almond shaped eyes glowed a light honey with dark streaks of intense gold surrounded by luxurious tufts of black lashes all framed with the same purplish pink markings of her father. This small beautiful face was topped off with the dark blue crescent that sat in the center of her forehead and two matching demon stripes highlighting each cheekbone. All that adorned the tiniest of demon baby faces, which made it look even more stunning than on Sesshomaru, and much cuter. Though the lovely, little creature had no fangs yet, she did have exquisitely tiny claws decorating each tiny finger.
“You’re not too disappointed, are you?” Sesshomaru was a bit sad that his daughter didn’t look like his mate, and he imagined how cute she would be with Inuyasha’s fuzzy, dog-ears, which he loved.
“No, it’s better that she looks like you. I wouldn’t want her to look like a half-demon anyway -- I think she’s beautiful.” He hadn’t said anything about it before, but Inuyasha was a bit worried that it would look like him - dog ears and all, which he had always hated and he was grateful that she wouldn’t have to endure looking like a half-demon and all that went with it.
“She is a full demon, there is no reason for her to look like a half-demon, but I agree, she is beautiful. You have managed to make a perfect little creature, Inuyasha. You have done very well.”
“Mm… thanks,” were his last words before closing his eyes and succumbing to sleep.
“I think I should feed her now,” Sango said, and took the baby with her to sit in the corner of the room where she could nurse in peace.
The doctor and miko finished their task and gave their patient one final inspection before they made their prognoses known.
“I do believe this boy is going to live,” the doctor said with shock, “I owe you much thanks, Lady Kaede. Without your expertise he would have most certainly died.”
“Well, he is a very strong half-demon. I have seen Inuyasha close to death at least half a dozen times before, yet he always seems to spring back to life,” she confessed, not wanting to take all the credit.
The doctor seemed truly amazed that Inuyasha was still alive, although quite proud of himself that he finally managed to achieve his greatest challenge, i.e.; the successful birth from a transformed, male hanyou - with the help of the priestess, of course. He exclaimed with much delight how he would immediately begin a new chapter for his book all about Inuyasha, and the steps he had taken to accomplish this great feat in half-demon medical science.
“He was also wise to choose such a powerful mate. I doubt he would have survived without all the demon energy you provided him, Lord Sesshomaru,” the doctor couldn’t help thanking everyone involved as if he had just won an award for best doctor.
“Then you believe he is going to live?” Sesshomaru asked.
“Yes, he only needs plenty of rest and time to heal, and he should be fine,” the doctor happily announced.
“I told ye not to worry, Lord Sesshomaru. Ye will have your Inuyasha for many more years to come,” Kaede confirmed.
Sesshomaru was almost as stunned as the doctor was when he heard the news. Only moments earlier, his brother had looked like he was hanging on the edge of death. How could Sesshomaru make such a stupid mistake? Apparently, he was still not himself, nor would he ever be again. This was his new self - here to stay, so he had better get used to it.
All in all, things could be worse, he still had his strength, his dignity, his love for his imperfect hanyou little brother, and now he had a perfect little demon daughter to love as well -- Rin will be so pleased with having a little sister, he thought. His very own family to take care of and protect - that wasn’t so bad; he could do that. Nothing that had worried him these past months mattered anymore. Inuyasha was free of his cat demon and Sesshomaru was now a life prisoner to Inuyasha, but he did truly love Inuyasha and he might even be able to tell him that again someday.
The End
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was Inuyasha’s human night, and though he had always hated his human nights, it was much worse while in his present condition, so Inuyasha dreaded it even more. Tonight, he would be tortured by more nightmares - he was certain - so as always he would try to stay awake through the night if his brother will allow it.
He was starting to understand why the vivid dreams were worse on the nights when he had no demon power; it was because while he was human it was easier for that demon to possess him. The demon that no one but him believed in -- well, he and his puppy; and he just wished that the doctor would hurry up and take the damn thing out already, but everyone was waiting for Inuyasha’s human night to come and end before they went ahead with their plans to remove the ‘baby’.
“Keh, They’re all gonna be real surprised when they see it’s not a baby,” Inuyasha said to himself and the puppy that was looking at him, hanging on his every word as if she understood what he was saying, but she was just watching his transformation into human take place, and cocked her head in confusion.
“Did you say something, little brother?” Sesshomaru asked as he walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to his mate.
“No,” Inuyasha sighed.
“You are not planning on staying awake tonight, I hope.”
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, “What do you care? I’m not tired anyway.”
“You have to sleep, Inuyasha; you’re sleeping for two.”
Rather than argue about it, Inuyasha decided to lie down with his back turned to his brother, and feign sleep. However, Sesshomaru was onto his ruse, and so spooned him from behind and wrapped his arm around him so that he would be so warm and comfortable that he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes open; and just in case that didn’t work, he combed his hair with his fingers, which was sure to have him out cold in no time, which it did.
xxxoooxxx
Somewhere in slumber…
‘Kill him,’ the voice in Inuyasha’s head insisted.
“No.”
‘Kill Sesshomaru,” it said over and over, again and again.
“No!” Inuyasha cried out in his sleep.
‘Your brother doesn’t love you; he’s waiting for you to die, and if you don’t die then he will kill you himself.’
“That’s not true.”
‘He hates you -- he’s always hated you, half-breed. Why do you think he won’t tell you he loves you?’ The demon knew exactly how to get to Inuyasha, and it forced tears from his sleeping eyes.
“No.”
‘You must kill him before he kills you -- do it!’
“I won’t! I won’t kill him! You can’t make me!” Inuyasha started to scream in his sleep.
‘I can make you, you worthless hanyou… that’s what your brother calls you.’
“No!”
‘Kill him -- kill Sesshomaru!’
“How ‘bout I kill you, bastard!” and Inuyasha took his currently human hands with its dull, human fingernails and tried to kill the demon living inside him by clawing at his own swollen belly. He managed to break the skin that separated him from the demon’s torture, but the barrier was tougher than he thought, and he had to claw deeper to get through when two powerful hands stopped him.
“Inuyasha! What are you doing?” Sesshomaru said in a loud, demanding voice.
“I have to get him out!” Inuyasha cried.
“Stop Inuyasha, before you hurt the baby,” his brother insisted still holding his hands tightly by the wrists so he couldn’t do any more damage to himself.
“He wants me to kill you -- I can’t fight him anymore. I have to get him out before he gets too strong!”
“Who are you talking about, little brother?”
“The demon living inside me -- he’s getting stronger, and he wants me to kill you!”
“Why would he want to kill me?”
“Because you’re too powerful,” he continued through his panicked tears, “Your power is keeping him from being reborn.”
“Being reborn?”
“The cat demon; it’s the cat demon!”
“You mean the demon that raped you.”
“Yes!”
“That demon was long dead before you conceived, little brother; how could he possess you?”
“I don’t know, but it has to come out now! Please take it out,” Inuyasha pleaded.
Sesshomaru still didn’t know what to believe. Could Inuyasha really be possessed? Whether he was or not, Inuyasha believed it, and that meant that the baby/demon had to come out. He let go of his brother’s wrists, held him tightly in his arms, and stayed that way the rest of the night until the morning when Inuyasha would return to his half-demon self. He will talk to the doctor about taking ‘it’ out then.
Inuyasha seemed so convinced. Could it be that there was no baby after all? Could that rounded belly be holding a cat demon waiting to be reborn? Perhaps the cat demon was trying to possess the baby… or Inuyasha. One thing was certain, it was all too much for his brother who was being driven mad by it, imagined or not.
Sesshomaru was actually a little relieved that there could actually be a demon possession. That would be a lot easier to deal with than a crazy mate would; after all, it was something he was used to. He had no problem getting rid of that cat demon again - he got rid of demons all the time - but taking care of a mentally ill mate was something he had never dealt with before. He simply didn’t understand it, and he secretly hoped that Inuyasha was right.
xxxoooxxx
“The only demon inside your brother is your child, Lord Sesshomaru,” the doctor told him with that reassuring smile of his that he found most irritating.
“How can you be so sure?” Sesshomaru asked.
“I can’t; it is simply my professional opinion. I can see nothing to make me think otherwise. Besides, it little matters; whatever it is, it needs to come out. He is done with his human night and back to his half-demon self, which was the only thing stopping us from removing the child earlier. So we will remove the child today.”
“Today?”
“Stay with your mate and keep him calm. I will be back shortly with the priestess and the monk.”
“Why the monk?”
“Just in case.”
“You mean to exorcise the demon.”
“I like to have all my bases covered,” the doctor smiled, and bowed as he hurried out the door to go prepare for the birth.
Sesshomaru walked back to his sleeping Inuyasha, neither of them had gotten much rest the previous night -- he was going to need it. At least they won’t have to wait much longer to find out what has been growing inside Inuyasha. The thought that something might have been feeding off his brother all these months, something that was not his child was disturbing to say the least, and his anger for this thing was starting to get the better of him.
He looked across the room where tensaiga was leaning against the wall, grabbed it and set it down on the floor beside him by the bed -- just in case. Then he did the same with bakusaiga, again, just in case. Who knew what kind of demon he was going to have to deal with, or ghost demon, or maybe nothing at all, but he wanted to be ready for anything. He looked up from the bed to see the old miko standing there with a cup in her hand.
“Sorry to disturb you, Lord Sesshomaru; I have a potion for Inuyasha that will induce his labor,” she said. She shuffled over to him to hand him the cup, “Lord Sesshomaru, may I have your permission to have Kagome here with us for the birth?”
“Why?”
“I know you do not trust her, but I believe she could be of help if there is indeed a demon possessing Inuyasha.”
“This birth is turning into a spectacle. Is it really necessary to have all these people attending?”
“It is for Inuyasha’s safety.”
“I think it will make Inuyasha uncomfortable. She can be nearby if she is needed, but I do not want her in this room.”
“Very well, that should do. Ye must wake your brother and have him drink this right away,” she said as she handed him the cup. “I shall return soon with another cup for him to drink,” she added, and shuffled her way back out of the room, but before she made her exit she stopped and turned for some final words, “Try not to worry yourself too much, child; everything is going to be fine,” and she left.
Did she just call the Lord of the Western Lands ‘child’? Sesshomaru found that amusing, and he knew she was only trying to reassure him, but how did she know he needed reassuring? He wondered if his worry were actually written on his face -- how embarrassing would that be? However, she was a kind and capable old miko and one of the few people he trusted. She always had his and Inuyasha’s best interests in mind, and will probably make a very good babysitter in the near future.
“Inuyasha, you must wake up now,” he said, as he gently shook his shoulder, “Come, little brother, it is time to wake.”
“Why? I’m tired,” Inuyasha said, as he rubbed his eyes.
“Drink this and you can go back to sleep.”
“Yuck! What is this?” he said as he got a good whiff of the stuff.
“The doctor is going to take the… demon out today -- this will help.”
“Really? When?”
“Very soon.”
“I can’t wait till this is over,” Inuyasha said as he downed the warm, herbal brew.
“Nor can I, little brother.”
“How are they gonna do it?”
“Does it matter?”
“I guess not.”
“You are not scared, are you?”
“Keh, No way -- should be a piece of cake. Whatever they do has to be better than having this thing inside me. I just wish they’d get it over with already.”
About one hour later…
The old Miko had once again appeared holding a cup of baby-be-born juice, “Ah, you are awake. How are you feeling, Inuyasha?” she asked.
“Fine. When are we gonna get this show started already?” Inuyasha asked her.
“Patience, child; this will take a while,” she said as she handed him another cup.
“Why do I have to drink all this crap? Can’t you just take the thing out now? How long is this gonna take?”
“Inuyasha, I am afraid ye are going to have to work for this delivery -- we cannot just ‘take it out’ and it will not come out on its own,” she said, somewhat amused at his impatience.
“Whadaya mean ‘work’?”
“Ye have to push it out.”
“Well, I can do that right now. What’s the big deal?”
“Hmm, I suspect it will not be quite that easy. I will let ye know when ye are ready to push it out,” she explained, holding in her laughter at his naiveté on the subject.
“So, you don’t want me to push it out?” he asked, trying to get a straight answer.
“Later, Inuyasha. For now, just try to relax and get some rest.”
Oh great, he thought, this sounded like it was going to be a huge project, and he was too anxious now to go back to sleep. Meanwhile, the doctor, Miroku and Sango were parading in and out of the room to deliver sheets, towels, water and other things that Inuyasha couldn’t identify.
“Sesshomaru, you’re gonna stay with me, right?” he asked his brother with much less conviction in his tone than his previous conversation held.
“Men are not usually permitted in the birthing room, Inuyasha,” Kaede explained.
“What the fuck? I’m a man,” Inuyasha spat out, with the ridiculousness of the whole scenario.
“Hmm, you do have a point. If ye wish to stay, Lord Sesshomaru, then I believe ye can be of great help.”
“I do not care what is permitted -- I have every intention of staying with Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said, and then with a little less confidence, he asked, “Help?”
“Do not worry -- nothing ye can’t handle,” she assured him.
A few hours later…
“How much longer?” Inuyasha began to whine again when suddenly he felt a sharp pain hit him down his spine and across his lower abdomen, “Owwww!” he screamed.
“Ah, finally!” Kaede exclaimed, getting a little tired of listening to her patient complain about getting started.
“That hurt… a lot!” he said as he tried to catch his breath.
“Yes, Inuyasha, it is going to hurt,” Kaede, explained.
“How come no one told me that?”
“Relax Inuyasha. Sango is here to help ye through your pains -- she has gone through this a few times herself.”
“Yes, it’s not that bad, Inuyasha, it’ll all be over before you know it. Though my first one took nearly two whole days before he decided to come out -- that was a lot of work, let me tell you,” Sango happily reminisced about her first experience at giving birth to her eldest.
“Sango,” Kaede mildly scolded her.
“Days? I have to do this for ‘days?’ Are you kidding me?!”
“Well, that was just me -- everyone’s different, Inuyasha,” Sango tried to correct her mistake, not wanting to upset Inuyasha too much.
“Do not worry, child, we will not let ye go for days, I assure you.”
And a few hours more…
“Fuuuuccccckkkk!” Inuyasha’s screams of pain could be heard throughout the entire village.
“Oh my, such a fuss. In all my years of delivering babies I’ve never heard so much screaming,” Kaede confessed her observation to the doctor who had made his appearance.
“Yes, males do not seem to have the pain tolerance of females, which makes them tire more quickly; they also lack the endurance for a prolonged labor that females have little problem with,” the doctor explained.
“How very interesting, doctor.”
“I have found females to be quite a bit stronger than males in this regard. The male body and mind are simply not built for this, hence the problem with transformed, male half-demons. Combine that with all the excessive blood loss and it is no wonder they do not live through it,” the doctor continued with his deep enthusiasm for the subject.
“That has never occurred to me. Perhaps because I have never seen a male give birth before,” Kaede thought aloud. “Inuyasha, ye mustn’t push yet, it isn’t time.”
“It feels like I should!” Inuyasha groaned.
“I know, but don’t. No pushing until I say so,” Kaede instructed.
“Fuck you, old hag!”
“Oh my.”
And still a few hours more…
It was now early the next day, before the sun had shown, and Inuyasha was still only in the first stages of labor, it was taking much longer than he had anticipated. Kaede had given him gallons of that stuff to drink, and Sango kept trying to tell him that it wouldn’t be too much longer, but Inuyasha was starting to wonder if it would ever end. He was in so much pain and no one seemed to take him seriously, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. Well it wasn’t, dammit! He was a man, and there was nothing natural about it!
“Alright, Inuyasha, it is time. When you feel the pains come, I want you to push,” Kaede ordered him.
After all that, he was now expected to work. He wished he had gotten more sleep the night before; he was so tired, and now he had to push this thing out of him. Thankfully, this should be the easy part, or so he thought.
He could hear Kaede giving out orders to everyone, and then someone lifted him up on his knees as if he were a rag doll -- must have been Sesshomaru, he thought; he could feel his brother behind him holding him steady and giving him something to lean against as he was ordered to push by Kaede. God, he hated her. Who was she to tell him what to do anyway? What a fucking bitch! When this is all over, he’s going to give that old, bitch hag a piece of his mind.
“Inuyasha, ye must push harder,” she told him.
“I’m pushing as hard as I can, you old bitch! If you think it’s so easy, why don’t you try it!” he screamed at her.
“Yes, I will do that, but for now ye must push harder, Inuyasha.”
“Come now, little brother, use all your strength,” he heard Sesshomaru whisper in his ear, and he tried a little harder on the next one.
“Much better, Inuyasha,” the bitch hag said, “Now rest before the next one.”
Was she kidding? Rest? Yeah, right -- that’s just what he felt like doing now. He wanted this over and done with, and she’s telling him to rest. His thoughts were interrupted by another contraction along with another order from the old hag. He wasn’t even sure he was pushing correctly, maybe he was doing it wrong, and that’s why the thing won’t come out.
“Keep going, Inuyasha,” the bitch hag said.
Keep going? For how long? Then he heard his brother whispering to him in his ear again. That was so much better than listening to that bitch order him around. “You are doing very well, little brother -- just do what the old priestess tells you.”
And still the hours passed…
It had been a full day now since this birthing thing had started and Sesshomaru was starting to worry about his little brother. He could see how exhausted he was becoming and he had to hold up his full weight now to keep Inuyasha in position on his knees. Between contractions, Inuyasha rested his head back on his brother’s shoulder, almost falling asleep until the next one woke him, and then doubling forward in pain as he tried his best to do as he was told. He squeezed Sesshomaru’s hands so tightly that his claws dug into the flesh. What bothered Sesshomaru most though was that he had stopped complaining and the only sounds he made were cries of pain.
The priestess had been changing blood-soaked sheets and towels that were starting to pile up on the floor near the bed; and still Inuyasha seemed no closer to the end. How much more blood was he expected to lose?
“I cannot continue like this, doctor. Inuyasha is exhausted and he is little further along,” the priestess finally said, “This baby is simply too large to come out on its own; I am afraid we are putting it in danger.”
“Yes, I agree it is time to help the process along,” the doctor said, “Lord Sesshomaru; we need to lie your mate down flat.”
When Sesshomaru finally saw his brother’s face he was shocked at how pale he was, and he was starting to think that maybe Inuyasha wouldn’t make it through this. It was finally time to think about those options. Should he let him die, can he? Looking at his brother now, he wasn’t sure he could, but maybe after he’s dead, after their bond is broken and Sesshomaru is back to his old self, maybe then it won‘t bother him. However, if that is what he wanted, then why was tensaiga sitting on the floor just within reach? He had to decide what he was going to do now because there wouldn’t be much time to act later.
The doctor pulled out some god-forsaken, sadistic looking tool with very long handles on it for good leverage and proceeded to position it between Inuyasha’s bloodied thighs. Sesshomaru was a bit horrified by the looks of the device and that it was about to be used on his mate. This looked like it was going to be very painful, he thought. Maybe cutting him open wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“You must hold your mate still, my lord,” the doctor ordered him.
With Inuyasha’s head in his lap, Sesshomaru took hold of both his brother’s arms and held him in place as best he could without hurting him.
“Now take a nice, deep breath, Master Inuyasha,” the doctor instructed, but Inuyasha couldn’t hear him through his exhaustion, so Sesshomaru repeated it to him. When the doctor saw Inuyasha finally inhale, he pushed those long handles together until he heard a loud crack, and Inuyasha cried out in pain.
Sesshomaru couldn’t help but compare it to cracking open a cooked lobster for lunch, except the sound of bone crunching was louder than shellfish. It was horribly gruesome, unless you intended to torture someone with the device, and it put his brother in terrible agony. Perhaps that bitch miko was right; this did seem inhumane.
“We must get him back up on his knees, my Lord,” the doctor said as he moved his legs back into position. “Now, one more push, Master Inuyasha.”
But Inuyasha was now trembling violently, and his skin was covered in cold sweat; he was barely conscious, and Sesshomaru didn’t think his brother was in any condition for more pushing; he couldn’t even use his legs to keep himself upright anymore. However, Sesshomaru was there to help, so he helped as best he could by giving him encouragement and quietly repeating in his ear what he had to do. “You’re almost done, little brother, just one more and it will all be over.”
“I can’t,” Inuyasha managed to get out.
“This is not the most difficult thing you have ever done, Inuyasha. You can finish this,” Sesshomaru demanded.
That’s true, Inuyasha thought. He killed fucking Naraku, damn it! This is nothing compared to fighting that bastard. Women do this all the time; surely, he was as strong as any silly girl was - so he gave it one more try. He squeezed his brother’s hands tightly and held his breath for one final push until he felt something slip from him.
Sesshomaru laid him back down on the bed and sat next to him as the old miko laid the baby on top of Inuyasha’s slowly diminishing belly.
“It looks as if Inuyasha’s little demon man is a big, healthy, baby girl,” Kaede commented with delight.
“No, there is a demon. How did it manage to stay hidden all this time? It’s trying to possess the baby,” Miroku said, as he stepped forward to examine it. “It’s leaving Inuyasha and trying to be reborn.”
“Yes, I can sense it now too -- a cat demon. You must stop it, Miroku,” Kaede warned as she was busy cleaning the baby’s airway.
Miroku was prepared for this -- it was the only reason he was there -- so he quickly jumped into action with his sacred sutra’s at hand. However, he didn’t want the demon to retreat back into Inuyasha and he couldn’t take the chance of hurting the baby by trying to vanquish it there, so he coaxed the cat demon out with a jar of catnip-scented sutra’s and shut the lid to capture it. He then left with the demon-filled jar to deal with it far away from mother and child so no one would be hurt.
However, the seal of the lid was apparently not enough to contain the demon and before Miroku could leave the birthing room, the demon escaped the jar and possessed the first thing it came into contact with.
Miroku followed the demon spirit out to the main room where Kagome had been waiting patiently to be needed, but all Miroku found there was a seven-foot tall, very angry cat demon wearing the shredded remnants of a petite-sized, priestess’s red and white kimono. Miroku quickly raised his staff after throwing many more sutra’s onto the possessed Kagome as he tried to exorcise the demon from her, but the cat demon lunged at him with his sharp claws, tore through Miroku’s robes to his flesh underneath, and knocked him to the floor.
Miroku wasn’t about to let a little scratch make him shirk his responsibilities to his friend; he recovered quickly enough with a back flip away from the demon to put some space between them and then he flung his staff in the demon’s direction, but was blocked at the very last second by the demon himself. Again, it lunged at Miroku who was now defenseless without his weapon, and just as the cat demon was about to rip Miroku’s head off with his huge hands and sharp claws, the demon was annihilated by a flying hirakotsu that flew mere inches over Miroku’s head.
“Phew - thanks, Sango,” he said as he made his way over to her.
“Where’s Kagome? How come she didn’t help you?” Sango asked.
“Oh no,” he gasped as he looked down and found nothing but a few torn remnants of Kagome’s clothing lying on the floor. He looked sadly at Sango and prepared to tell her what she had just done, but thought better of it. There was no reason to upset her now; she was still needed in the other room, so he kept the news to himself, and instead he said, “You should go back to the birthing room -- they probably need you.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Miroku?” she asked.
He nodded his head and smiled at her, and she left to go help in the other room. Miroku picked up the pieces of clothing left on the floor and took it outside to burn. He decided he would tell everyone that Kagome had changed her mind and went back home. That would be better than having his wife think she had killed a dear friend - it wasn’t her fault anyway; she was just trying to save him. “Oh Sango,” he said aloud to himself. “You just killed Kagome.”
Meanwhile…
“So there really was a demon possession after all. We must all apologize to Inuyasha for not believing him,” Kaede said as she continued to clean the crying baby.
“Would you be so kind as to cut the cord, lady Kaede?” the doctor asked her, “I’d like to finish the delivery.”
“Yes, of course, doctor.”
Sesshomaru looked down at his mate; his teeth were chattering and his skin was white and cold to the touch. “Inuyasha,” he said to him quietly, and Inuyasha lifted his heavy lids just a crack to look at him with unfocused eyes. “You did very well, little brother. I am very proud of you.”
“Is it over?” Inuyasha spoke in a hoarse voice, just above a whisper.
“Yes, and you have a baby girl.”
“No, it’s a boy,” he insisted.
“No, the demon was male, and the baby is female; that is what confused you. You were right, little brother, the cat demon was trying to possess the baby. I am sorry I didn‘t believe you.” However, Inuyasha’s eyes had closed again and Sesshomaru wasn’t sure he heard his apology. More importantly, Inuyasha was looking worse and seemed to be having trouble breathing, taking in quick shallow breaths punctuated with blood-filled coughs, and his pulse was slow and weak. He was dying, Sesshomaru was certain; he would probably be dead within minutes. What should he do?
“Inuyasha, open your eyes, little brother,” he said, desperately trying to get a few more moments with his mate -- he had made his decision. He will not interfere; he will let nature have her way, but there was one thing he was still willing to do for his little brother. “I love you, Inuyasha. Can you hear me? I’ve always loved you, little brother.”
Sesshomaru thought he could detect a slight smile on his brother’s lips. That meant he must have heard him and he was glad he could make Inuyasha happy in his last moments of life. It was the least he could do, he thought, and saying the words wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He took his brother’s hand in his and patiently waited for him to take his last breath.
“Really?” Inuyasha’s throat hurt and his voice was low and hoarse, but he had to ask him. Sesshomaru was even more shocked when Inuyasha opened his eyes before he continued to question him, “You really mean that? You really love me?”
“I do not lie, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru said, trying to overcome his embarrassment. “How do you feel?”
“It hurts… a lot, and I’ve never been so tired… that was even harder than killing Naraku.”
“Hm, Indeed.”
“Inuyasha, would you like to see your new baby girl?” Sango smiled and held out a freshly cleaned bundle of baby for the brothers to see.
Sesshomaru lifted his brother’s head up from the pillow so he could view his new daughter who seemed to know immediately who she was looking at. She gave what could be interpreted as a smile, and opened her large amber eyes wide to get a good look at the one who had kept her safe, warm, and free of cat demons all these months.
Inuyasha felt so weak, but he just had to see the little life he’d been harboring all this time, and when he met her eyes for the first time, he felt a little better, as if she were giving him the strength to stay awake just a bit longer so she could properly introduce herself to him.
“This is what was inside me all this time… this little thing?”
“I tried to tell you, little brother, but I could not convince you.”
“She looks just like you; she even has your demon marks… and ears.”
Indeed, she did; in fact, she looked like a baby Sesshomaru and Inuyasha just knew that he was looking at the spitting image of his mate when he was a baby. The perfect little she-demon had his pure pale skin and shimmering silver hair in a small, short ‘poof’ atop her head. Her almond shaped eyes glowed a light honey with dark streaks of intense gold surrounded by luxurious tufts of black lashes all framed with the same purplish pink markings of her father. This small beautiful face was topped off with the dark blue crescent that sat in the center of her forehead and two matching demon stripes highlighting each cheekbone. All that adorned the tiniest of demon baby faces, which made it look even more stunning than on Sesshomaru, and much cuter. Though the lovely, little creature had no fangs yet, she did have exquisitely tiny claws decorating each tiny finger.
“You’re not too disappointed, are you?” Sesshomaru was a bit sad that his daughter didn’t look like his mate, and he imagined how cute she would be with Inuyasha’s fuzzy, dog-ears, which he loved.
“No, it’s better that she looks like you. I wouldn’t want her to look like a half-demon anyway -- I think she’s beautiful.” He hadn’t said anything about it before, but Inuyasha was a bit worried that it would look like him - dog ears and all, which he had always hated and he was grateful that she wouldn’t have to endure looking like a half-demon and all that went with it.
“She is a full demon, there is no reason for her to look like a half-demon, but I agree, she is beautiful. You have managed to make a perfect little creature, Inuyasha. You have done very well.”
“Mm… thanks,” were his last words before closing his eyes and succumbing to sleep.
“I think I should feed her now,” Sango said, and took the baby with her to sit in the corner of the room where she could nurse in peace.
The doctor and miko finished their task and gave their patient one final inspection before they made their prognoses known.
“I do believe this boy is going to live,” the doctor said with shock, “I owe you much thanks, Lady Kaede. Without your expertise he would have most certainly died.”
“Well, he is a very strong half-demon. I have seen Inuyasha close to death at least half a dozen times before, yet he always seems to spring back to life,” she confessed, not wanting to take all the credit.
The doctor seemed truly amazed that Inuyasha was still alive, although quite proud of himself that he finally managed to achieve his greatest challenge, i.e.; the successful birth from a transformed, male hanyou - with the help of the priestess, of course. He exclaimed with much delight how he would immediately begin a new chapter for his book all about Inuyasha, and the steps he had taken to accomplish this great feat in half-demon medical science.
“He was also wise to choose such a powerful mate. I doubt he would have survived without all the demon energy you provided him, Lord Sesshomaru,” the doctor couldn’t help thanking everyone involved as if he had just won an award for best doctor.
“Then you believe he is going to live?” Sesshomaru asked.
“Yes, he only needs plenty of rest and time to heal, and he should be fine,” the doctor happily announced.
“I told ye not to worry, Lord Sesshomaru. Ye will have your Inuyasha for many more years to come,” Kaede confirmed.
Sesshomaru was almost as stunned as the doctor was when he heard the news. Only moments earlier, his brother had looked like he was hanging on the edge of death. How could Sesshomaru make such a stupid mistake? Apparently, he was still not himself, nor would he ever be again. This was his new self - here to stay, so he had better get used to it.
All in all, things could be worse, he still had his strength, his dignity, his love for his imperfect hanyou little brother, and now he had a perfect little demon daughter to love as well -- Rin will be so pleased with having a little sister, he thought. His very own family to take care of and protect - that wasn’t so bad; he could do that. Nothing that had worried him these past months mattered anymore. Inuyasha was free of his cat demon and Sesshomaru was now a life prisoner to Inuyasha, but he did truly love Inuyasha and he might even be able to tell him that again someday.
The End