InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What Are You? ❯ Chapter Twenty-Three: Beautiful Death ( Chapter 23 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter Twenty-Three

Beautiful Death

I sent Jaken ahead of me to clear out the palace, with no explanation to the servants. I would have gone myself, except for my scent. I said to only keep the ones old enough to have known about me beforehand—which meant the healer, and two other servants still around.

It would be good to have the healer there. It was kind of a relief that the old demon was still around. I was glad I had kept her on the staff now.

When I arrived, the three remaining demons were suspicious of weirdness, but when they inhaled my scent, they didn't know how to react. The two servants only looked at each other, blushing. But the healer smiled.

“Sesshomaru-sama. Welcome home,” she said, bowing respectfully.

“I wish to speak with you alone,” I told her. I looked to my three servants. “Take care of Rin.”

Rin looked anxious to explore the palace, anyway, so her interest in following me was fairly low. Jaken would escort her, and the other two would prepare a room for her for the duration of our stay—preferably one close to me. Rin may be frightened staying here for a while. The girl was so used to sleeping outdoors, and always near someone else. Besides… it would make me more comfortable if I knew where she was. Just because I had known those two servants all my life didn't mean I trusted them not to try to eat her.

The healer followed me. Her name was Chiyouta, and she had been the one to be with my mother through childbirth. She would do the same for me now. That was comforting too. Chiyouta was a mixed breed of demon—nothing purebred about her. Primarily, she seemed to be a wolf, though.

I went to my room. “I want you to be my midwife. Starting now.”

She nodded. “I would like to inspect the child now, in that case.”

I had expected as much. I slid open the door to my room and removed my armor, mokomoko-sama, and opened my haori. I sat down on the bed, waiting for whatever she wanted to do.

She began by prodding at my slightly swollen stomach. She pressed an ear against it, listening. She sniffed at me and did a few other things I didn't see a reason to doing.

She looked at me finally. “How did you let this happen?” she finally asked.

I scowled. She was too bold. “Do not ask me such things. I do not have to explain it to you.”

She laughed and shook her head. “You know exactly what I mean, Kareishikyo.”

I scowled. Yes, my name was Kareishikyo. It means: “beautiful death.” I looked just like my beautiful mother, and, it seemed, somehow, my father had seen my fate, which is where the “shikyo” part came. Naturally, I had kept my “male name” similar to my original name, if a bit more extreme and more poetic.

“Do not use that old name. I no longer know it,” I said disdainfully.

She laughed. She knew that I couldn't afford to kill her, or even hurt her. “You will always be `Kareishikyo' to me, Sesshomaru,” she told me. “I knew you before you were born, and you will always be, to me, `Karei-chan.'”

Was there really even a point in arguing? I suppose not. “How is the pup?” I said, changing the subject. She should know not to mention it to anyone, or use it in front of anyone but me. Why did she even keep that old name in her head? It was dangerous for her.

“Your pup is healthy,” she said. “Who is the father?”

A half-demon… But a half-demon with nothing but a rotten human heart and nothing more. I should tell her that. It might need special treatment if this were the case. “Naraku,” I answered.

She blinked in surprise. “Naraku… That demon?”

I nodded. “Half-demon,” I corrected. “And he's dead now.”

Her faded violet eyes fell down to my stomach again. “No need to worry about the child having human blood. There is a full-blooded demon growing in there,” she said.

“How could that be?” Logic said otherwise.

She looked at me. “In half-demons, the demon blood is usually dominant. It is like pouring two different liquids in a jar. The dominant one will overpower the other, and it is more so with this child.” Good. That was comforting, anyway. It also meant that it was more likely going to look like me than like Naraku. “One more thing,” she said. She met my gaze. “There's two.”

Fantastic. Twins. Well, my life had suddenly gone downhill. Rin would be thrilled.

Speaking of which, maybe I should tell her that she was going to be a big sister.

A thought flashed across my mind, darkening my mood further. A big sister who would die long before the twins had grown up.

*****

Author's Note:

Sesshomaru's “girl name” was chosen almost completely randomly, but I liked it, and I'm sorry if you don't. It doesn't really matter anyway, though, does it?

Chiyouta means “healing song” which was also fairly random.