InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Third Rate Romance ❯ Aftermath - Current Era - One Last Time ( Chapter 10 )

Third Rate Romance

Reba Jean 4/11/04

Email to: rebajean@writing.com

Category: Parody/Humor/Romance

Rating: R/NC

Disclaimer: Characters based on "Inuyasha" © 1997 by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc.

Aftermath - Current Era - Part 4

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"Cats rule and dogs drool!"

-- Sassy in Homeward Bound

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Kagome began to play with Sesshoumaru's hair absently, running her fingers through its snowy length, giggling as she plaited the sections into a long braid. Sesshoumaru cocked his head and growled at Kagome. "That is rather distracting you know."

Kagome smiled mischievously, "I know, but I thought you said you wanted a tribal look for your meeting tonight. I'm going to tie it with navy and crimson to match your markings. If you'd just let me snip some fur off Fluffy, I could put some fur decorations in your hair like some native tribes wear."

Sesshoumaru leapt away from Kagome, regarding her with a look of utter horror. He scooped his fur up off the bed, bunching it against himself protectively. "No one, not even you, will hurt my Fluffy! Inu youkai traditionally may mate for life, but that would be instant grounds for divorce, if not death and dismemberment."

"Sheesh! I was only teasing. I guess I could trim a bit off your tail. You're really wired or something," Kagome grumbled. "Have you been eating chocolate again?"

The red bled slowly out of Sesshoumaru's eyes as he calmed and dropped his battle ready stance. "After all this time, you should know better than to make such a foolish jest concerning Fluffy," he stated coldly.

"It's been a while since I've seen the angry demon lord," Kagome answered defensively. "Sometimes I forget . . ."

Sesshoumaru stalked across the room and began circling her in a predatory fashion. His nostrils flared and he snapped, "Your fingers smell of wolf, and you've gotten that stench all over my hair."

"Wolf?" Kagome tilted her head and appeared puzzled.

"Oh yeah, I got the mail on my way home. Kouga sent us a postcard from Russia. It must be from that," she guessed.

Sesshoumaru lifted one eyebrow in inquiry, prompting "And?"

"His tribe's hunting and fishing guide business in Kamchatka is doing well. Their family is all fine." Kagome giggled and grinned, adding slyly, "Kouga has the usual complaints about Ayame's nagging. He says if I'm finally tired of Dog Turd's brother that he would still be happy to have me as his second wife. You'd think he'd of given up long ago, what with all those times I turned him down when he asked me to be his first wife."

Sesshoumaru growled softly and trailed his claws suggestively up and down her sides. "And have you tired of this Sesshoumaru yet?" he asked teasingly, open invitation glowing in his eyes.

"Not enough that you'd notice," Kagome teased back. Judging from the look in his eyes, Sesshoumaru would not be leaving early for his meeting after all.

"You belong to this Sesshoumaru alone. You are not to forget it," his voice rumbled low against her skin as he nipped her neck.

Swiveling his chair to face Kagome, he dropped into it gracefully and pulled her across his lap, burying his face in her hair.

"You reek of kitsune as well. How was the party at Shippou's house?" he commented.

Sniffing her again, he raised an eyebrow, "Rin was there? Why did you not tell me that she would be attending?"

"I was surprised as well. The shower was for one of Shippou's granddaughters, who is expecting her first child. Rin brought her youngest grandson," Kagome answered. Her brow furrowed and her eyes appeared troubled for a moment.

That Rin had survived the centuries was due to the magic of the kitsune clan that had made her Shippou's blood sister in one of their ancient rituals. The same clan into which she had mated. Who would have thought that Shippou's second cousin was among the hostages taken by the Western forces to ensure the continued good behavior of the troubled regions bordering the Southern Lands. The attraction between Rin and the wayward rebel 'teen' had grown from the fights and mutual insults of their first meeting to the lifebond they still shared.

"What's wrong?" Sesshoumaru asked. He grasped her chin, turning her averted face back towards his own.

Kagome sighed in exasperation, "I want blood grandchildren. Do you think those boys of ours will ever mate or marry?"

"I can remember being rather reluctant to take that step myself," Sesshoumaru commented slyly.

"Yes, but for over 500 years?" Kagome countered.

"There was Tai's unfortunate alliance with that dragon girl," Sesshoumaru mused.

"Forty years and no children," Kagome responded.

"Keiko," Sesshoumaru whispered. Their only daughter, her children, and all the human family into which she had married, lost when they refused to leave the city in spite of Kagome's warning. Nagasaki.

Sesshoumaru gazed into Kagome's eyes and grasped her shoulders. "Are you certain that it is grandchildren that you want? Or are you perhaps longing for another pup of your own?"

Kagome's eyes widened. It had been many years since her last young one. Longer still since the boys were small and their adopted children, the kitsune Shippou and human Rin, were all raised together. "You may be right; I hadn't really thought about it."

Gently cupping one side of her face, Sesshoumaru said softly, "The time of mourning is long past. I think that I would like another daughter if you are willing."

Sesshoumaru picked her up and deposited her gently on the bed. His planning session with his legal associates on how to convince the Japanese banking consortium to settle the Indigenous Peoples' lawsuit by agreeing to a establish an ecological land preserve, would have to wait. There were more important matters in his hands.

Their gentle and almost lazy lovemaking continued for hours. Unlike most of their encounters, this one had not been wildly passionate and frenzied, or brutal and savage like when they came together while angry or after a violent battle. "One more time," Kagome murmured sleepily against Sesshoumaru's chest. She draped one leg over his hip and ran her toes up and down the back of his thigh and calf suggestively.

"In a minute," Sesshoumaru answered absently. His thoughts wandered, nostalgic and melancholic, to the past. Flickering images of their past encounters, swept through his mind and roused his desire. "How many thousands of times do you think we've done this, koi?" he whispered huskily.

"Hundreds of thousands," Kagome corrected, as she touched his thoughts.

"I can feel it when you do that, you know, when you're peeking into my mind. And I can feel your skin touching mine across the room, when you reach out with your power. Especially after sex," he smiled against her hair. "I don't think there's anything you haven't seen in my mind, from the junk in the basement and attic, to how I enjoy doing this . . . and this," he punctuated his statements with kisses to her jaw and neck.

"Mmmmm," she moaned and returned the favor, tongue tracing swirly paths across his chest.

"Do you trust me?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly.

Puzzled, Kagome answered, "Yes, of course, with my life."

"Then why have I never been able to touch the core of your being?" he asked curiously. Over the centuries the walls he had built had fallen to her one by one. His laboriously maintained icy facade was often dropped when they were alone. The inu youkai nature shared the pack traits of their namesake; it was more natural to be one with the group than solitary. Kagome maintained an elusive, mysterious core over the centuries, however. He could touch her surface thoughts and her emotions were displayed for all to see. He did not know if her secretiveness was the way of human females in general; it almost reminded him of the solitary feline nature.

"I'm not sure what you mean?" she asked, stopping her seductive touches.

"Don't stop," he murmured in complaint. Rolling atop her, he entered in one smooth motion. "Open to me, Kagome. Open your self; let me touch your soul," he commanded. They bucked together, suddenly consumed by the heat from within, thoughts fled. Molten red gold flames flowed together with purest silver white light. She felt his heat within her; he her warmth around him. She moved within him to feel her touch on his skin. He felt her white heat build to explosive force and shatter; she sensed the erupting force leaving him to drench her within. They were one.

As their miko and youki tendrils separated and dissipated, their bodies wet with sweat collapsed together. Kagome panted, "Wow, what was that? I couldn't tell what was me and what was you. Amazing and confusing at the same time."

Sesshoumaru caressed his mark on her shoulder and drew her lips back toward his for a lingering kiss. His eyes opened and gazed at her affectionately. "I did not quite realize in asking, what I would receive. I thought perhaps I was being purified; and did not mind at all."

"I wouldn't ever do that; you have never been so evil as you believe yourself to be. The spirits of your kind are bound to the land and protective of all it sustains. Certainly no more evil by nature than humans, probably less because naturally long lives leave you less susceptible to the greed of my short lived kind," Kagome offered reassuringly.

"You are too kind," Sesshoumaru replied dryly. His mate was truly kind, generous, loving, and never thought ill of any creature. "You tempt me to see how I might repay your kindness; but I must leave all too soon."

Sesshoumaru grinned wickedly and added, "You shall do one final task for this Sesshoumaru and join me in the shower to redo my hair. First you touched it with fingers that smelled of wolf and then you got it all sweaty from love making." He stood and began to move toward the bathroom. Kagome laughed delightedly in response, grasped the tail still trailing sensuously across her body, and pulled him back to her side.

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Kagome walked slowly down the sidewalk, the faster paced crowds swirling past her. She stopped to stretch and rub her lower back. She had reached the large, uncomfortable stage, and would be happy when the pup was finally born. The humid air and the heat radiating off the streets of Tokyo only added to her discomfort as she walked the last block toward the White Dog Dojo.

"Hey Kagome! Wait for us!" She heard the voice of her friend Eri hailing her from across the street. Kagome turned and watched as Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi towing Hojo hurried toward her.

"We haven't seen you in like, forever!" the girls squealed. "What's new?"

As the girls stopped in front of Kagome, Ayumi squeaked, "Oh." Her eyes grew large.

"We thought you were ill again, Higurashi-san. We heard you had withdrawn from school," Hojo commented. His expression was as shocked as the girls.

Eri seemed the first to recover and was unable to restrain her curiosity. "Is the father that ignorant, foul-mouthed, violent, but cute old boyfriend of yours, Kagome?

Before Kagome could answer, she was embraced from behind, and a familiar voice answered for her. "That would be my idiot younger half-brother, Inuyasha. Kagome's taste has improved. I am merely beautiful and deadly, and quite thoroughly killed Inuyasha in our match this afternoon," Sesshoumaru smirked over her shoulder.

The girls stared open-mouthed at the tall gorgeous man holding their very pregnant friend. Dressed in the White Dog Dojo uniform of white gi and black hakama, his katana was thrust through his obi. His long silver white hair was tied up in a high tail, leaving his pointed ears and crimson stripes clearly visible across his cheeks.

Kagome hissed, "Sesshoumaru, how many times have I told you that your battles with Inuyasha upset me. You didn't kill him or damage him too badly did you?"

Sesshoumaru looked down disdainfully, "I carry Tensaiga, as you can see, so he could have come to no real harm. He has even improved a bit since training with Tai and Sho, though they are still far superior in skill."

Hojo was the first to recover his composure and tugged Ayumi forward, his hand still captured by hers. He bowed slightly, "I am Hojo, and these are Kagome's friends Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. And you are?"

"Oh sorry, guys." Kagome flushed, "Sess-chan, these are my friends. Guys, you remember I told you about going through the well and my adventures in the past. This is Lord Sesshoumaru, the Taiyoukai of the Western Lands. These days the Western Lands are part of the Inu-Higurashi Corporation holdings. Sess-chan is the company CEO and also my husband."

Yuka's eyes grew large, "But we thought, those were just some more of your grandfather's stories."

"Or maybe something you dreamed in a fever, while you were ill," added Hojo.

Eri stared at Sesshoumaru, "You must be sooo rich! Are you really a real live youkai?"

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow, "I am."

"But I thought they were only legends and stories from the past," said Ayumi in confusion.

Sesshoumaru smirked, showing his canines, "There are far more of us around than the general population would believe." The girls shifted nervously, unsure of what to say.

Hojo decided to break the silence and said politely, "So Kagome, congratulations. When will your first child arrive?"

Kagome giggled. Sesshoumaru half-smiled again, "This will be Kagome's fourth birth. We have two grown sons still living, as well as our adopted son and daughter. I must assume that you did not realize the truth in Kagome's stories, or perhaps she neglected to mention that she remained in the past when her quest was complete. We have been together more than 500 years."

The girls displayed fish mouth expressions and bug eyes once more. They stared at their friend in silent amazement, as if she were an exotic creature in the zoo. The momentary quite was broken by the roar of a powerful engine as a large red and black motorcycle emerged from the dojo garage. Astride the bike was Inuyasha, dressed in studded black leathers over a red tee shirt, with a red print bandana concealing his ears, his long white hair streaming out behind. Kikyo, in black leather hip hugger pants and a red tube top, clung to him tightly. Across her left shoulder was tattooed, "Inuyasha's Bitch".

Sesshoumaru commented sarcastically, "My previously mentioned idiot half-brother, Inuyasha, and his mate, Kikyo."

Inuyasha flipped the bird at Sesshoumaru as they sped by and yelled, "I ain't no idiot. Next time you 'die', Asshole!"

Kagome laughed, "He's kind of a sore loser."

Eri and the other girls eyed Kagome. "Girl, you so have a lot of explaining to do."

Sesshoumaru, sensing Kagome's weariness with the whole situation, picked her up and backed into the alley. "Then it must wait until another time, as we must be elsewhere."

Hojo gasped as Sesshoumaru materialized a cloud of youki and they rose into the air. Their forms faded away into the concealing cloud of mist, which then rose above the buildings and drifted away.

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Sesshoumaru restlessly stalked the corridors outside the delivery room. His expression calm and impassive as always, his nervous state betrayed only by his ceaseless pacing. Though it was Kagome's fourth delivery, it was nerve-wracking none the less. The exasperated women had banished him again.

Kagome's mother opened the door, "Come in and meet your new daughter. She's absolutely adorable." Mrs. Higurashi moved back against the wall, joining Rikka, Shippou's wife, and Rin to watch the fun.

Kagome looked radiant though exhausted. It had been her quickest delivery yet. Though Sesshoumaru had flown at top speed, they had barely reached the birthing center favored by the prolific kitsune clan, where Shippou's wife worked. Sesshoumaru gingerly sat down on the bed next to Kagome, who held the swaddled infant. His eyes softened and he asked quietly, "Are you okay?" The concern was evident in his voice.

Kagome smiled, "I'm fine. Do you want to hold her?"

Sesshoumaru reached for the infant and pulled back her covering. A fluffy dark chocolate tail fell from the blanket folds. The infant squirmed in his practiced hold and blinked up at him sleepily with blue-green slit-pupil eyes. The tiny chocolate triangle ears, half-hidden in the tawny fluff covering her head, flicked back and forth. A soft "muurrow" turned to a yawn, revealing needle sharp teeth. She closed her eyes and began to purr contentedly.

Sesshoumaru raised a questioning eyebrow and looked at Kagome in confusion. The latest addition to House Inu appeared to be a neko youkai kitten. He barked a short, ironic laugh. "She is indeed adorable," he began.

Kagome giggled, "I think we should call her Kitty. That's an English name meaning . . ."

"I know what it means. I'd just like to know how and why. I would have sensed it if you had been unfaithful," Sesshoumaru managed to choke out, glaring at the smug, laughing, infuriating pack of females surrounding him. He looked down at his daughter, observing in surprise as her ears shrank and lowered and her tail disappeared. Her features now had the lovely elven cast of a youkai maiden.

Kagome's mother reached over and patted Sesshoumaru's shoulder reassuringly, "There, there, dear. Don't be upset. I guess that I never got around to telling you or Kagome that my grandmother came from a neko clan. Kagome's father had some leopard and tiger lineage as well as neko and human, but I'm not sure to what degree. I was told that in our families the youkai genes are recessive, I think it's called, and the miko powers keep the youkai traits masked usually. I guess that's why none of my grandchildren ever had those adorable white puppy dog ears like Inuyasha. Your children are actually more youkai than human."

Sesshoumaru wrapped his free arm around Kagome and relaxed against her, kissing her lightly. "My darling Kagome, in all the years we have been together, you have never ceased to delight and amaze this Sesshoumaru. The fates have conspired to play a rich jest. This Sesshoumaru, is now the proud father of a daughter, who has the appearance of a neko youkai, birthed by his apparently 'human' mate." His bemused expression gave way to one of genuine amusement and he laughed out loud.

~ ~ The End ~ ~