I Thank the Stars by Chiaztolite

I Thank the Stars

The soft murmurs of conversations surrounded Sesshōmaru as he waited outside the café; a dog leash wrapped securely around his wrist. Shirokin sat beside him, watching the pedestrians passing by the moderately occupied sidewalk café. The dog was calm, but Sesshōmaru made sure to hold onto the leash tightly. Though Shirokin was already mature, sometimes he was as excitable as a young puppy, especially whenever he saw a squirrel.

The trees around them filled the vista with a profusion of yellow, orange, and bright red. There were bound to be a squirrel or two that might entice the dog to abandon the good manners Sesshōmaru had spent months to instil.

A few people stopped to admire Shirokin, complimenting his neat appearance and good behaviour as they both waited in front of the café. Sesshōmaru nodded in acknowledgement and murmured his thanks, his hand idly combing through Shirokin's long white fur before he scratched the dog behind the ear, earning a loud rumble and an affectionate head rub against his flank.

Seconds later, Kagome rushed out of the café with a paper cup in each hand; the rust-coloured cashmere scarf around her neck swayed gently with the autumn breeze.

"Sorry, sorry it took so long," she said when she reached him. "I tried to get you Gyokuro tea, but Hojicha is the best they can do. So, here—"

"Hojicha is perfectly fine, mate," Sesshōmaru said, accepting the cup and taking a sip of the tea. The liquid slid down his throat, warming him from within. He relished the slightly sweet flavour and the pleasant aroma of the roasted green tea, harvested locally from the fields in Kyoto. 

"Were you a good boy, Shirokin?" Kagome lowered herself to her haunches and let the dog lick her hands. "But you're always a good boy, aren't you, pup? Aren't you?"

Shirokin yipped excitedly and circled her, pulling the leash in Sesshōmaru's hand and drawing joyful laughter from the woman. Sesshōmaru nearly rolled her eyes. Kagome spoke to the dog as though he was a toddler or a small child.

"Shirokin is not a pup," he reminded her for the umpteenth time. "He is a proud, fully-matured Samoyed and would like to be treated as such."

Kagome straightened and gave him a mock glare.

"He'll always be my pup," she said, the dog barking as though in agreement, prompting Sesshōmaru's lips to twitch into a smile.

Shirokin's previous owner had abandoned him as a young puppy on the side of the road. Sesshōmaru and Kagome had been driving along a lonely countryside road when he heard some pitiful yips from within a battered cardboard box, soggy from the rain. Inside, they found a tiny pup with wet, matted fur and mournful brown eyes. He had been so dirty with dust and mud that they thought he was a grey dog.

There was no way they could have left the pup inside the pathetic shelter, so Kagome wrapped him in a spare shawl she happened to have in the car and held the shivering pup on her lap all the way home. They fed the starved dog and gave him the longest bath. In the end, the water was murky grey with flecks of mud inside the tub.

Then, they realized he had been a dog with a long, beautiful white coat.

Now, Shirokin's long mane was as white as snow and soft as satin, brushed thoroughly and lovingly every day. He was well-fed and well-loved. He enjoyed long walks with Sesshōmaru and Kagome three times a day, slept at the foot of their bed each night, and was a full-fledged member of the pack.

Kagome straightened and leaned over to look into the stroller parked in front of Sesshōmaru, peeking underneath the hooded canopy. She looked up at her mate and grinned, her blue eyes lighting up with joy.

"Well, this one is a pup, yes?"

Sesshōmaru's golden gaze softened as they landed on their son, still sleeping so soundly inside the pram. Unlike Shirokin, their son's mane was glossy black like his mother's. But his eyes were golden like his father's.

Kagome adjusted the blanket around their pup's body before she pulled the canopy down to shield him from the brisk autumn air. She shifted her eyes onto Sesshōmaru and smiled again.

"Shall we start our stroll now, mate?"

Sesshōmaru nodded, and they began to walk. Knowing how much Sesshōmaru loved gazing at their son during a stroll, Kagome took over Shirokin's leash and let her mate push the pram.

Their family had come to Kyoto for a bit of rest and relaxation, to get away from their busy lives in Tokyo, and to enjoy the autumn shades as the leaves turned golden, russet, and bright crimson. They headed towards the Philosopher's Walk in the Higashiyama district in the northern part of Kyoto to stroll along the stone-paved path along a small canal. Cherry blossom trees lined the way, and in the spring, they exploded with a profusion of delicate pale pink blooms. In the autumn, the ginkgo and maple trees provided beautiful fall foliage, changing the landscape with a burst of fiery colours.

They turned into a meandering, off-the-beaten trail, moving away from tourists and other pedestrians who flocked the infamous path. More trees flanked each side, sheltering them under canopies of colourful leaves. Venturing into a small, wooded area, they found the perfect spot underneath a tree for their afternoon picnic. Kagome laid a blanket on the forest floor and set out their bento boxes.

Their picnic lunch consisted of the autumnal dishes for which Kyoto was famous: matsutake mushroom tempura — lightly battered and fried using cold-pressed white sesame oil, chestnut rice, grilled pacific saury, sweet potato glazed with honey and sesame seeds, various types of pickled vegetables, and ripe persimmon slices.

Ichimaru had woken up from his nap. Sesshōmaru took their son out of the pram and placed him on the picnic blanket, where he babbled away happily. Soon, her mate was on the blanket too, gently encouraging their son to utilize his core muscles to rise onto all fours and begin to crawl.

Shirokin was playing nearby, rolling around on the bed of fallen leaves. Somehow, he managed to bury himself under a pile of dry leaves and was now hiding there, even though the fluffy wagging tail gave his whereabouts away.

Chuckling, Kagome brought out the small plates for their autumn picnic. When she finished setting them out on the picnic blanket, she watched her mate and son playing together, and then Shirokin — still underneath a mound of fallen leaves.

A little smile curled upon her lips as she contentedly observed them — her family.

Then, she looked up at the canopy of bright orange leaves above her and marvelled at how beautiful this day was.

————

They were on their way back to their inn when they passed the Togetsukyo Bridge — or the Moon Crossing Bridge. The forested mountains of Arashiyama were behind them, providing a glorious backdrop of golden ginkgo and the bright orange and fiery red maple trees. The surface of the river below the bridge was so clear, it reflected the colourful mountains like a mirror image.

All around her, she smelled cedar and pine, the smokiness of roasted tea, and something else that lingered sweetly in the air, like stewed red beans or caramelized brown sugar. Kagome drew in a deep breath, basking in the glory of autumn in the old capital city. The sights of Kyoto in the autumn never failed to impress her and make her heart lurch with their majestic beauty.

Sesshōmaru pushed the pram with one hand while the other held hers, keeping her fingers warm as they strolled leisurely along the bridge with Shirokin leading the way.

Kagome asked: "Do you remember when we met again, Sesshōmaru, two years after I hopped into the well and arrived in modern-day Tokyo?"

"You love telling that story," he said, smiling at her indulgently. "Why don't you remind me?"

"Alright." She chuckled as she linked her arm with his. "I was working as a travel photographer, taking pictures of the young girls crossing this bridge as part of the tradition after they received their blessings at the local shrine. I heard a man calling out 'Miko' repeatedly. I tried to ignore him, but he was… insistent."

Sesshōmaru's lips curled into a smile as though he could not help it. "I remember you were irritated, so focused on your camera and your subjects," he piped in. "When you finally turned around, you stared daggers at me. For the first time in a long, long time, I felt true fear."

She jabbed an elbow into his ribs, feigning annoyance. "Only because I did not recognize you at first. You had glamour on."

"The people gasped when you turned around on the bridge, thinking what terrible luck you would bring upon yourself."

She grinned. Sesshōmaru was talking about the tradition in which young girls, as part of their coming-of-age ceremony, would go to the shrine to receive their blessing and then walk across the Togetsukyo bridge without stopping. To stop and turn around was believed to bring bad fortune and invite calamity into one's life.

That day, Kagome had both stopped and turned. But, instead of calamity, she invited the love of her life into her heart and soul.

It was the best decision she ever made.

"Little did they know, you were the demon I had been waiting for," she said, smiling at him teasingly.

He turned, and with his eyes, he adored her.

"And you were the priestess who got away," he said, snaking his arm around her waist. His voice was so low it was nearly a growl. "And the moment I saw you on this bridge, I knew I would not let you slip through my fingers again."

On that same bridge, he took her wrist and captured her lips, drawing her into a kiss that was both gentle and passionate, lingering and thorough. She, nearly swooning, curled one arm around his neck while the other clutched his chest, holding onto him as her knees weakened and threatened to buckle. All autumn colours swirled around her as she surrendered to the kiss.

Pedestrians swarmed around them; it was a busy, touristy place. The people gasped again, scandalized at the very display public of affection, though Kagome and Sesshōmaru — as they lost themselves in each other's embrace — could not care less.

————

They spent a quiet evening at their inn. Dinner, served in their traditional Japanese room, was an intimate affair, just the two of them, with Ichimaru seated on Sesshōmaru's lap and Shirokin on the floor beside them, making sad eyes at Kagome as the dog silently begged for food.

Kagome slipped bits and pieces under the table whenever she thought her mate was not looking. Though, with senses as sharp as Sesshōmaru's, she wondered how oblivious he truly was or if he merely indulged her weakness for Shirokin's warm, heart-melting brown eyes.

But with a young hanyō baby perched on his lap, Sesshōmaru was busy too.

Ichimaru was just under nine months old, yet he had grown nearly a full set of teeth and a pair of admirably sharp fangs. Since he began teething, he chewed on everything: his blanket, stuffed animal, rattle, even the side rail of his crib sometimes. But lately, his favourite chew toy was his father's fingers. Sesshōmaru bore the bite marks proudly and patiently, even as Ichimaru preferred to bite his hand instead of the ripe pear slices he waved in front of the pup's face.

Ichimaru ignored the pear, but he was babbling happily. His round golden eyes found his mother, and his face lit up with such unconditional love and joy. He lifted his pair of chubby arms towards her.

"Ma-ma… Ma-ma—"

The sound of her son calling her never failed to inspire such happiness in her chest. Kagome beamed at the baby.

"You want your mother now, my son?" Sesshōmaru stood and got ready to transfer Ichimaru into her arms. "I do not blame you. I want her too — all the time."

He winked at her as they exchanged heated looks across the dining table. Kagome bounced Ichimaru on her lap and managed to get their son to take a few bites of the pear while Sesshōmaru ate his dinner. They spoke about how pleasant their day was and made plans to visit some of the temples in the neighbourhood tomorrow. When Ichimaru yawned, rubbed his eyes, and began to nuzzle against her chest, she knew the pup was sleepy and was ready for bed.

"I will start putting Ichimaru to bed," Kagome said as she lifted her son into her arms. "Perhaps after, we could…"

She cocked her head towards the direction of the room's private terrace, where an outdoor hot spring waited for them, and gave Sesshōmaru a look she hoped translated as sultry and enticing. It seemed to work, as he stared back at her with a heavy-lidded gaze, silver eyebrow slightly arched and golden eyes gleamed with interest.

"Perhaps," he said.

She smiled inwardly as she went to their bedroom to prepare Ichimaru for sleep time. Though Sesshōmaru said 'perhaps', she knew he meant yes.

————

Ichimaru fell asleep in his crib without much fuss. Sesshōmaru was already at the private outdoor bath when Kagome finished taking a quick shower. Then, with only a small towel wrapped around her body, she stepped out onto the terrace, meticulously landscaped with pine trees, maple bushes, and glowing stone lanterns. The brisk autumn night air greeted her; goosebumps rose on her skin in response.

She set up the baby monitor on the wooden bench where Sesshōmaru had placed his robe and towel. Shirokin was inside, sleeping at the foot of Ichimaru's crib just as he always did at home. The dog's protective instinct was strong, especially over the youngest member of their pack, and he would alert them if something happened to their son.

If the monitor — or Sesshōmaru — did not alert her first.

Sometimes Kagome wondered why they bothered to keep the baby monitor around. Sesshōmaru's keen sense of hearing was much sharper than the best available monitor on the market, and far more reliable. He could hear every breath and every beat of Ichimaru's heart as though their son slept beside him.

Her chest was immediately flooded with warmth at the mere thought of their son. Ichimaru's conception had been a surprise. They were mated for nearly a decade before she became pregnant. No healthcare professionals could explain the possible causes of infertility, despite numerous visits to the yōkai doctors and fertility clinics specializing in human-yōkai relations. Kagome had resigned herself to the possibility that her reiki and Sesshōmaru's yōki clashed too much for her body to bear fruit.  

They had been content and knew they would have been happy nevertheless. But — Ichimaru's arrival was a sweet, miraculous addition to their lives.

The pregnancy had been difficult; the delivery even more so. After nearly twenty hours of labour, the doctors had to perform an emergency C-section.

Her body bore marks from both the pregnancy and the birth. Unfortunately, even with the presence of Ichimaru's and Sesshōmaru's yōki inside her system, her body could not regenerate enough to prevent the scars.

Kagome entered the hot spring where Sesshōmaru was waiting. The moment her toes touched the water, he approached her, standing so close that his chest brushed against her back. Sesshōmaru's lips travelled from her ear to the crook of her neck; his arm curled around her midsection to caress her soft belly. Kagome stiffened when his fingers brushed against the jagged, puckered scars from the surgery.

She squirmed in his embrace, trying to angle away from his touch.

"No." Gently, she pushed his hand off her stomach. "Don’t touch there. It’s… ugly.”

Even after nearly a year, she could not get used to Sesshōmaru’s hands touching her scarred parts. She was not confident that things were still the same as they used to be. Her body had changed so much compared to before the pregnancy and birth. Although Sesshōmaru always greeted their lovemaking with much enthusiasm, she worried. She must have… stretched in places she wanted to keep tight and pleasurable for him.

Instead of taking his hand away, he cupped her hips and urged her to turn around, bringing her body closer to his.

“It seems I have been remiss in reminding you how exquisite you are,” he murmured against the slope of her neck. “A lapse I intend to rectify immediately.”

His hands travelled to her chest to cup her breasts, which were still tender after she stopped breastfeeding. Her mate took great care to handle them gently, caressing the soft mounds as his thumbs rubbed against the hardening nipples.

Kagome sighed and reddened. “It’s not your fault… I just don’t think my body is the same as it used to be.”

He lifted his head to stare at her, golden eyes flickering with a mild rebuke.

“As I grow older, my body will change too,” he reminded her. His words did not make her feel better at all; she arched an eyebrow at him. Sesshōmaru had grown slightly taller and broader as he slowly aged, with more alluring magenta stripes adorning his ribcages and hips.

“Yeah, into something more… more magnificent than before. While I look more and more like melted ice cream,” she retorted, looking away.

He smothered quiet laughter as he took her chin between his thumb and index finger, gently coaxing her to look back at him.

“Your body is made more perfect and more beautiful to me by these marks,” he told her. “Each scar you bear reminds me of how brave and strong you are. I do not ever wish to hear you say the word ‘ugly’ to describe any part of you.”

It was difficult to be upset in his presence, Kagome thought as she felt the urge to smile tickled at her lips, especially not while he stared at her so deeply with his intense golden gaze.

“Conceiving a child or giving birth is not something I can ever do, no matter how strong or powerful I am,” he said. “I thank the stars every day you consented to be my wife and my mate, the mother of my child—“

“Children,” she corrected him, reaching up to graze his cheek. “I still hope for us to have more than one.”

She had insisted that their son was named ‘Ichimaru’ — first son, as a reflection of her hope that the pup would be the first of many. Excitement and concern warred in his eyes at the thought of trying again. There were fears — both his and hers. Yet, when he reached for her hand, she felt the same cautious hope in the tightness of his grasp.

“I will welcome any child who comes from our union with pride and elation,” he said. “But this life with you, Ichimaru, and Shirokin is already much more than my wildest imaginings. I feel no regret — only joy.”

Touched by his sentiments and encouraged by those words, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. He welcomed her, bending down as she tilted up to meet each other halfway, melting together into a kiss. Her breasts were flattened against his chest; his hands found their home in the small of her waist as his lips coaxed hers to part. She did so, and sweetly, his tongue followed, tangling with hers as they deepened their kiss, stealing each other’s breath.

Her nipples grew even more taut against his solid chest, and as his palms glided along her ribs and upwards to cup her breasts, she shivered. The knot of pleasure tightened inside her womb. He growled low as she whimpered and mewled in his ear. She felt him hot and hard on her stomach. His hands descended to cup her bottom and grind her against his erection, and she softened, melting even before he touched the shadowed parts between her thighs.

“I want more,” she whispered, her fingers playing with the hair at his nape.

“Soon.” He mouthed the tip of her ear. “Soon.”

She lifted a leg and hiked it around his hip, exposing her core so he could rub himself against her needy, most sensitive part. He growled and nipped the soft flesh at the side of her neck, eliciting a long, tortured moan from her.

Then, the sound of Ichimaru’s wailing, followed by Shirokin’s bark, pierced the quiet night.

Kagome’s shoulders fell just as Sesshōmaru’s head dropped into the crook of her neck, and they leaned into each other while their bodies shook with quiet laughter.

“I’ll go,” she said, already moving away, but he caught her wrist.

“You stay.” He chuckled, giving her forehead a lingering kiss. “Relax and enjoy the bath. I will check on our son.”

Sesshōmaru exited the bath, dried himself, and put on his robe to go inside to soothe Ichimaru. Kagome remained outside, leaning back against the tub and submerging herself in the steaming bath. The water was at a wonderful temperature — not scalding, but hot enough to loosen tight muscles and keep the chill of autumn air at bay.

She looked up at the sky, admiring the smattering of sparkly stars across the inky indigo expanse. It was a lovely night. The sound of trickling water was hypnotizing, lulling her into a state of calmness that could be elusive in a life as a busy professional with a young child. Warm steam rose over the surface of the bath to join the night air. The stone lanterns cast a warm glow over the colourful maple bushes. The autumn breeze blew, gently shaking the canopy of golden and red leaves above her. A few twirled and fell onto the hot bath, adding splashes of colours on the water's surface.

It was a lovely night indeed, yet she was beginning to feel lonely. An alone time could be precisely what the doctor ordered, but she was there to spend time with her family.

And they were all inside.

Kagome rose to her feet and waded out of the bath to towel herself dry and don her robe. Shirokin padded to the door to greet her, rubbing his side against her slightly damp calves and then followed her into the bedroom.

Ichimaru’s happy babbling and Sesshōmaru’s low, soothing murmurs reached her ears before she reached them. She leaned against the sliding screen, watching them as they sat together. Sesshōmaru had lit up the fireplace, keeping their room warm and toasty. The flames blazed within the pit, casting merry shadows across the walls. Ichimaru, wide awake, was on his father’s lap as they read a book under the warm glow of a nearby lamp. Both looked up at her when they sensed her presence; their faces lighting up when they saw her.

“Is there room for another one?” Kagome asked, entering the room.

Sesshōmaru smiled and opened his other arm, hand outstretched to welcome her into his embrace. “You know I will always make room for you.”

Smiling back, Kagome stepped into the circle and onto her mate’s lap. Shirokin came over and nestled close at their feet, yawning wide before he put his head down for another bout of a nap. Sesshōmaru kept her close, pressing her against his side as Ichimaru reached and tugged on her damp hair, drawing laughter from both his parents. He continued to read, his low and gentle voice lulling their son slowly back to sleep.

Kagome laid her head upon her mate’s shoulder as they watched the sleeping pup.

And outside, the autumn wind still blew.