InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tomaru's Story ❯ Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 

Kagome nearly died when Sesshoumaru pulled her to him and captured her lips in a searing kiss.

 

The intense sensation that rushed over her almost made her faint in delight. His lips were cool, firm, and he tasted like… well, like she suspected wilderness would taste. Untamed and free.

 

Shakily she parted her lips, offering him entrance. He gladly took, dipping his tongue inside, deepening the kiss.

 

Her head was swimming. It's true… he ran away from you because you hurt him… you're carrying his brother's child… yet he wants you anyway!

 

She whimpered as his hand slid down her back, cupping the small of her back and pulling her full against him.

 

A thump against his midsection gave him pause. Regretfully he pulled away and glanced down at the small mound pressed against him. “…I think he does not like me.”

 

Somewhat breathless, she looked dazedly into his face. “He? What makes you think it's a boy?”

 

He snorted softly. “This Sesshoumaru would not…” he caught himself before he finished his statement. …father a female…

 

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. “This Sesshoumaru would not presume to make predictions about the sex of my baby?”

 

He glowered at her. “Watch your tongue, miko.”

 

She laughed, leaning her forehead against his chest. “There's the Sesshoumaru I know and…” she halted, unwilling to make the confession just yet.

 

This time he raised an eyebrow. “And what? Despise? Because I am not Inuyasha?”

 

Immediately she was contrite. “No! That's not it at all! Gomen, Sesshoumaru. I… I know how much the memory of your brother hurts you… and the thought of this child…”

 

He gave her a Look, silencing her. “It is not the memory of my brother that hurts me, Kagome. And it is definitely not the child.”

 

“Then what is it? Onegai… I want you to confide in me.”

 

He would have sighed if his demeanor had permitted it. “My brother and I… reached a sort of understanding… before he died. I… no longer hate him and what he represented.”

 

Represented… “You mean your father taking a human mate? And being unfaithful to the memory of your mother?”

 

Pain flickered across his eyes, almost missed by her understanding gaze. “That is the long and the short of it, hai.”

 

Confused, she tilted her head at him. “Then… then why does the thought of Inuyasha's baby bother you so much?”

 

His golden eyes hardened slightly. “It is not the thought of his pup that bothers me… it is the knowledge that…” He grew silent.

 

“That he… took me… before anyone else could?” she finished, thinking she had found the source of his ire.

 

Sparks flew from his amber eyes as he growled at her. “He didn't take you, damn it!”

 

She blinked at the forcefulness of his words. “Then… then how do you explain how his baby is inside me?”

 

Abruptly he stood up. “This Sesshoumaru has other tasks to attend to. Fetch Rin and prepare her for the evening meal.” The tai-youkai tone was back.

 

Slowly she stood as well, bowing as he left the room. “Hai…” she murmured, then straightening she called out to him. “Wait! Sesshoumaru…”

 

It was too late. He had already disappeared. She frowned slightly as the baby let her know of its discontent about something.

 

She placed her hands on her belly, looking down at the small mound. “I really messed that up, didn't I?”

 

A shifting movement and a thump were her response. It certainly is strong… just like its father...

 

She grinned. I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl? And what in the world am I going to name it?

 

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I can't do it. I can't tell her the truth…

 

What truth? The truth that you're starting to love her, or the truth that you're too scared to admit it?

 

He glowered as he stared out his bedroom window. The truth that I am that child's father, not that baka brother of mine.

 

His youkai chuckled. What if she finally notices the crescent on her back? Don't you think that will raise some questions?

 

This time he growled, baring his fangs. Damn it. That crescent mark was the proof of their mating, the sign that she was carrying his heir. Once he managed to convince her to let him take her as his formal mate, the Lady of the Western Lands, the color would shift to match the crescent on his forehead, showing she belonged to him.

 

He already knew what would happen when the baby was born. It would have a light green crescent on its forehead, matching the one on Kagome's back right now. Perhaps it might have the same color crests on its face as him, perhaps not.

 

Kagome's innocent voice echoed in his already spinning head. Then how do you explain how his baby is inside me?

 

Damn it, it's not Inuyasha's baby! It's mine!

 

Turning, he walked to his chamber door, opening it. He needed to get away. Far away. So that she didn't have any more questions he couldn't answer.

 

A tour of his lands was in order. Yes. That was the solution. He needed to check on the Western Lands to make sure everything was in order.

 

Then he wouldn't falter and tell her everything that now filled his once-cold and useless heart.

 

He wouldn't confess that he loved her.

 

Shaking the thought out of his head, he strode down the hallway and out of the house before anyone saw him, including Jaken. Jaken would understand, would take care of things. Jaken would help keep an eye on his lord's miko.

 

He would return before the baby was born. He swore it on his father's name. There was no way, in heaven or hell, that he would miss his child's birth.