Disclaimer: Okay, who am I kidding; There's no way I own Inuyasha. However much I could wish I did, I don't. My Eyes.
Enjoy! This is Chapter One: Adoption
"Virtue does not come from wealth, but... wealth, and every other good thing which men have... comes from virtue." –Socrates
Chapter One: Adoption
It was the end of the final battle with Naraku. Trees were uprooted and lay where they were thrown. Their roots pointing toward the sky like twisted fingers. The still form of Naraku was vast and lifeless, his body taking on the gray hue of death as his terrible miasma dissipated. Finally, the massive spider was dead. Kagome's aura was slowly causing the body of the spider to fade away and disappear, along with all the stones of miasma that had dropped to the ground.
Other prone forms littered the battle ground, also lifeless. The bodies of Sango and Miroku, their hands stretched towards each other but not quite touching looked as if from a storybook like a tragedy.
One shape moved and cried out in pain, her fingers curled in the mud as she struggled to sit up. Finally, she kneeled in the mud, taking in the carnage around her. Spotting something red buried under a tentacle, she gave a strangled yell in anguish, and lurched to her feet. She reached Inuyasha's side and grasped his hand in one of her own while pushing the tentacle off of him.
Inuyasha coughed and his eyes fluttered open to meet hers.
"Ka-Kagome… I'm glad you're alright. Did we beat him?"
She could not keep the tears from her eyes as she nodded her head.
"Yes Inuyasha; he's dead."
"Right on…where's the Shikon no Ta-Tama?"
"I've got most of it right here… but I shattered the rest so he couldn't use its power. That's what let us beat him."
"I see… Kagome, get yourself home. Be safe. I'm afraid I can't protect you any longer." His voice was starting to fade, and Kagome looked at him filled with alarm.
"Bu-But Inuyasha! You've always protected me, you can pull through, you can make it again. Don't give up, Inuyasha!" She was frantic now, but he weakly patted her leg, then trailed it up to her waist.
"Not this time, I'm afraid. This one is too deep for even me to pull through. I can't protect you anymore, but my robe can. It will keep you warm and safe…" with that, his hand fell away, and his eyes twinkled one last time. "I didn't miss."
Then, he closed his eyes forever. She laid her head down on his shoulder and wept. It did not take long for her to realize what he had been talking about.
Sesshoumaru arrived soon after, and had stared at the carnage in horror at the outcome. Inuyasha's death had affected the stoic lord greatly, and when Kagome had opened her eyes she saw his shoes in her periphery. She stood up and lunged at him. He let her cry against him, striking his chest with her fists, but after a time he caught her hands in his, and she fell against him; sobbing quietly.
"Why didn't you come earlier Sesshoumaru? He… he's dead, now, can't you save him?" She cried to him plaintively.
He gazed down at the woman in his arms and met her wet green eyes. The sorrow in his soul was so plain to see, Kagome stopped crying altogether.
"I am sorry, Kagome. I cannot, I had already saved him once. The sword won't let me bring him back again." His deep voice calmed her, and helped her think more clearly. She sniffed and took a deep breath.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru. I wasn't thinking."
His hand came up and caught the collar of her shirt, and peered at the mark on the juncture of her neck and shoulder with interest.
"So he did mark you." He grunted, "this makes you my sister."
He released her collar, she was blushing furiously, then his eyes widened slightly. The sudden flood of blood to her face helped him catch her scent all too easily.
"You are carrying his child, too."
She looked down, "I know." She placed a hand over her womb protectively, "I would like to keep him."
"How can you be sure it will be a boy?"
"Your father. He sired both you and Inuyasha. If you two share anything from him, it is likely it would be a boy."
He seemed to think about what she said, and nodded slowly.
"Such reasoning seems permissible. You are my sister, I would like you to accept my request that you come to live with me at my castle. You will be safe there, I can assure you."
She bowed deeply. "I am honored, Sesshoumaru-sama; but I know you have not been fond of humans or half-breeds. Why would you do such a thing?"
He turned his back and began walking away, when he saw she was not following, he stopped and turned his head slightly.
"Honor." With that, he continued, Bakusaiga and Tensaiga slapping against his legs as he walked. Kagome began to run after him, but stopped after a moment.
"Wait, Sesshoumaru-sama! We need to bury everyone! Please, let me do this!"
He turned towards her consideringly, then nodded his head. Relieved, Kagome turned back to the remains of her friends and began the arduous task of laying their bodies out in a row. She placed their weapons under their heads, except in the case of Inuyasha, where she took the blade and offered it to Sesshoumaru. With a pained expression, he reluctantly accepted it and tucked it into his sash. The blade only crackled lightly, as if grumbling grudgingly it's acceptance of its new master.
With Sesshoumaru's help, Kagome acquired a shovel and set about digging the first grave, but when she collapsed from her wounds, he caught her and laid her prone form in the shade of an uprooted tree trunk.
As he was finishing Inuyasha's grave, he turned towards the last body left. He carefully, almost tenderly, stripped Inuyasha of his fire-rat robe, until Inuyasha lay only in his under- hakama and haori. The white fabric was soft to the touch, and it seemed fitting that his brother be laid to rest in the white of purity and justice. So little justice had been met out for the boy's sake. Maybe Inuyasha could rest in peace knowing that Sesshoumaru would look out for her.
Over Inuyasha's finished grave, Sesshoumaru stood silently. Contemplating recent events, and his future, as well as the future of the girl. Nay, he corrected himself; the woman. The girl had long ago been replaced by the jaded, and battle-hardened woman he knew today. As well as soon-to-be mother.
All at the hands at the one she loved.
He could hear her stirring restlessly, as she struggled with exhaustion and blood loss. She needed help soon.
At the head of each grave, he thrust in a cherry tree sapling and willed it to take root with his own spiritual pressure. When the roots responded and entrenched themselves into the soil and the bodies, he turned away and walked over to the miko.
She was breathing shallowly, but quickly, and her brow was furrowed and fevered. Not good. He bent and hoisted her into his arms and took to the skies swiftly. Once in the air, he summoned his cloud nimbus and he shot off to the west, lowering Kagome down onto the cloud's firm surface carefully.
She muttered amid her fever dreams, exhaustion making her slightly delirious.
Three hours later, they landed in the courtyard, Sesshoumaru took the young woman into his arms and carried her inside. She was such a tall being, for a human, four heads taller than Rin herself. Four lower-class dog-demons came forward, hopeful looks on their faces as they sought to learn his will.
"You three, come with me. I'll need a room prepared for her as a place to stay. Make it the room across from mine, connecting to the nursery."
"Sire! Your will be done, Sire!" the demons said, saluting sharply. Sesshoumaru turned to the last dog demon, and the demon stiffened to attention, his eyes intent. "I need you to summon Tobiume to my room."
"Yes, Sire!" He saluted and shot off down the south wing. Sesshoumaru turned down the north wing of the castle. The three followed him down the various connecting passageways down to his room, they left him at his door as they turned in through the opposite door to prepare the room.
Sesshoumaru laid her down on his futon and began examining Kagome's wounds with a critical eye. A few serious gashes marked her left arm; starting at her elbow and traveling upward to her shoulder, her left side; dangerously close to her abdomen. There was a third deep cut traveling down her leg. All three had mild discoloration which meant poisoning. This required his expertise, since he was a Venomer Inu-Taiyoukai. The saliva of a Venomer such as he had amazing properties in healing and would act as an antidote for almost any poison or venom.
He began on her left side, wanting to remove all danger from her pup as soon as possible, the last of his father's bloodline, besides himself. He dug his tongue in and lapped at the cut, the blood was sweet but the bitter undertone expressed the poison, it was not pleasing. When he finished with that the gash closed up, leaving fresh pink flesh. Next, he cleaned the gash on her leg, moving on only when the wound sealed off, leaving his saliva inside.
Lastly, he cleaned her left arm, by now, his mouth was salivating thickly, and he only had to slather the thick healing substance over her cut before it healed up completely.
The deathly pallor that shadowed her face lifted, and her breathing came easier. There was a knock on the door and some few seconds later it opened without any sound on the other side. A tall elderly woman entered, wearing the forest green of a healer. Her hair was long and white, brittle-looking in her old age, and her face was a mass of wrinkles. Her deep-set amber brown eyes peered out sharply from her face, and her mouth seemed set in a constant small smile, which was at odds with the rest of her stern visage.
"I am here, now, my young prince. Let me see her." Few people in the world could ever have gotten away with using that tone with him, and she was one of them. The other two were dead.
She walked forward, leaving her long staff against the wall and hefting her pouch of herbs. Sesshoumaru nodded his head at her in deference to her and made room by crouching on Kagome's other side.
The old woman clucked methodically as she examined Kagome's injuries, when finished with her examination, she began stripping Kagome of her clothing. Sesshoumaru huffed at the indecency of it all and left the room, telling her he would "be returning later."
The old woman continued working, Kagome's body open to her eyes as she probed, bandaged, and healed all of Kagome's wounds. When she discovered the child growing in Kagome's womb, she almost believed it to be Sesshoumaru's whelp, but the mating mark was wrong; it was the second son of Inutaishou that was the father.
She hummed thoughtfully then, a soft smile on her lips. That boy had been such a dear.
'So this was the girl who stole his heart? She ain't bad to look at, I'll give her that.'
When she finished with bathing the wounds and dressing them properly, she wrapped the girl in a white sleeping tunic and placed her under the covers.
She waited there in the room until the girl finally opened her eyes. The first reactions of the newly awakened patients were always the most interesting. Especially those who had believed themselves to die. This girl was no exception; her consciousness was noted in the twitching of her fingers, and as she became more aware of her surroundings, she sat bolt upright and placed her hands over her stomach.
The old healer smirked. 'So the girl knew…' The girl looked around the room wildly, and spotted the elderly woman sitting in the chair near the bed, she opened her mouth to speak but the only sound coming out was a dry rasp.
She was floating, feeling warmth spread throughout her body. She ached, her whole body ached, but it was a delicious good ache, like the soreness in the muscles after a good workout, she wasn't in any great pain any longer. She felt content to just lie there and rest.
Rest.
Inuyasha and the others! Were they put to rest? Did I die, too? Oh no; if I'm dead, then my baby is dead, too! That cannot be! Oh my child! I still need to complete the jewel! Her thoughts went racing through her mind, sending her exhausted body into overdrive.
Forcing her eyes open, she sat up and the world tilted around her. She looked around dazedly, uncomprehending her surroundings. She raised one hand to her head and spread her fingers across her forehead with her thumb bracing against her temple. Her other hand curled around her still-flat belly to protect her child.
Her eyes landed on an elderly woman sitting in a chair by her bed, and while she did, she remembered Sesshoumaru helping her bury her friends, telling her to stay with him… then she remembered feeling faint and falling. And later, something warm and wet dabbing at her side, her leg and her arm…it was too soft to be a cloth.
As soon as that realization went through, her brain supplied her with another hazy image through mostly shut and sleepy eyes of long straight silver hair curtaining over a face she thought she should know. A firm hand that braced her, with magenta markings on the wrists. 'He's…healing me…' she remembered thinking.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out save a dry rasp.
"I…"
"Don't speak just yet, girl. Drink this, it's a restorative."
The old woman offered her a glass of a pale-green liquid, and Kagome could smell some of the familiar herbs, but there were others she couldn't name, all for healing and rehydration, and acceleration of recovery.
She tilted the glass, and swallowed every last drop with barely a grimace, even now she could begin to feel the effects as her body welcomed the strong restorative. The woman remained sitting, watching her quietly. Kagome began to collect herself, her face returning to full color and finally she met the woman's eyes once again.
"Thank you…my name is Kagome Higurashi, um, where am I?"
The woman's eyes twinkled, 'This girl's very name means sunset! What a strange coincidence that she was brought to the Western Lands!' Then she paused at that thought. There was something about this girl that tugged at her. Something she should be able to recollect. She would need to look it up in the old tomes of the History of the Western Lands.
"Welcome, Kagome, to my grandson's castle."
"Who is your grandson?" Kagome tilted her head to the side, fingering the empty cup. "You mean Sesshoumaru-sama."
The woman nodded and stood up, revealing her full height of seven feet, along with the magenta marks on her wrists and the crescent moon on her forehead, the stripes on her cheeks however were a deep bloody red in color.
Kagome gaped in awe, this woman stood so regal there, in her long plain green-cotton kimono, her entire being spoke of a quiet power and dignity. 'now I know where Sesshoumaru gets his attitude from, but this woman seems nicer… less cold.'
"Wow, it is an honor to meet you, milady, thank you for healing me." Kagome said with a bow of her head, but the woman waved it away.
"Worry not, little dove, my name is Tobiume Kageyoshi, but you may call me Tobiume. As for why I healed you, Sesshoumaru sent for me, and seeing you're the mate to my grandson, I knew I had to heal you. Besides, you carry my great-grandson in your womb. That was reason enough for even Sesshoumaru to help heal you."
"Sesshoumaru-sama healed me, too?" Kagome squeaked, suddenly worried.
"He did, but don't fret. He did nothing untoward your person, he kept you mostly clothed the entire time, only healing what was necessary until I arrived to finish the job." She replied.
Kagome felt relieved to know her son was alright, and her hand came down again to rest over her womb, smiling softly. Then she thought more on what Tobiume had just said, 'wait, what if he had seen me?' she thought frantically, but her thoughts were interrupted with soft laughter.
"What is that look for, little lass? It's not as if he saw you naked."
Kagome blinked, processing what she had just said. "Oh, he didn't?"
"No, he left before I even got done untying your shirt-collar. By the way, I had those garments burned. No granddaughter of mine shall wear such questionable rags."
Anxiety was clearly present in her face, because Tobiume looked at her pointedly, "No, I don't want to hear it, you will have a proper wardrobe to choose from, and that's final."
Kagome had clearly lost this argument before it even began, and so she hung her head in silence. 'it's for the best, I suppose.' Kagome laid back in her bed, and fell back asleep.
"Tobiume, such a thing is impossibly dangerous, she smells human enough; but if she even has the slightest drop of demon-blood running in her veins, she and the pup could perish. "
"And I tell you, her blood is pristine. There shall be nothing to worry about, if anything, her blood is so purely human, she might even be descended from the pristine humans!"
"You mean, she might be one of those? One of the Gedrishakrim here in that room, Tobiume, that is impossible. They are a reclusive sect, and extremely rare. Their blood is Omega, as the Royal Inu-Youkai is Alpha…to perform the ritual on one of the Gedrishakrim." There was a long pause then. "I see. Very well."
Kagome woke up some time later to two sets of amber eyes looking into her own, one set was older-looking, and of a darker brown than the liquid gold of the other set.
"Um… hello Sesshoumaru-sama, Tobiume-sama…"
"Hello, Kagome. It is time for the ceremony, if you are willing of course."
"Ceremony, what ceremony?" Kagome asked, now purely confused.
"The Ceremony of Adoption, little dove. Time to make you part of the family." Tobiume said with a smile, "We can't have you pass away and die in two blinks of our eyes."
Sesshoumaru nodded from his place on Kagome's other side of the bed.
"Alright, I accept. What do I do?"
Sesshoumaru turned away, and Tobiume smiled.
"Right this way."
Kagome was given a dark blue cotton kimono to wear and was led out into a large garden in the middle of the castle. The sleeves were too long, and the hem kept trailing on the ground, despite Kagome's efforts to preserve it.
Once they reached the center of the meadow, the two exceptionally tall demons turned and faced the diminutive human. Kagome swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. She had not realized just how tall they were until now.
Tobiume beckoned Kagome come close and laid her hands on Kagome's shoulders, "Now, are you sure you want this? This will affect your child as well."
As Kagome suddenly wrapped her arms around her with a yelp and fearful look, Tobiume chuckled, "Not adversely, my dear, it won't hurt him."
"Okay…" Kagome would just have to trust them.
"Now, repeat after me…" Tobiume said, all traces of her smiling face gone. Sesshoumaru also seemed very intense about something. Power swirled around the aged demon-healer as she summoned her energy.
At the appropriate time in the high-chant, Tobiume grasped Kagome's hand and Sesshoumaru's hand and placed them together; palms facing each other with a smooth double-bladed knife between them. Kagome curled her fingers around Sesshoumaru's larger digits and his claws carefully did the same. Waves of power rose and fell around the three of them in splashes of gold and forest green, with a lightly pink tinge as Kagome's energy also flickered to life.
Quickly, at the climax of the spell, the blade was turned and sliced into their palms and yanked down. They stood together as their blood seeped and mixed together, running down their arms when suddenly the magic slammed into Kagome and Sesshoumaru.
Kagome drew a sharp breath as a strange pain lanced across her body. The transformation came swiftly, and when the light faded, Kagome found herself staring across at Sesshoumaru, their eyes meeting evenly. Kagome blinked, 'how…?'
She lifted one pale and slender hand to see it tipped with delicate and shapely claws, she snorted in surprise and the sound surprised her. A strand of hair slipped over her shoulder at the sudden jerk of her head and she looked at it, astonished. It was steel-gray instead of inky black, and the length had changed, it had grown to her lower back. The blue kimono now fit her perfectly, the hems on her sleeves now resting midway down her thumbs.
"Wow…" Kagome breathed, her voice sounded strange to her ears, deeper and lilting. Kagome's hands lurched up to her mouth, her eyes wide in surprise. Tobiume was smiling as she gazed on Kagome, "Ah, you look dazzling, my dear." She glanced over at Sesshoumaru, "almost makes you wish you marked her, neh Sesshoumaru?" Sesshoumaru grunted and slid his eyes away from Kagome to look at his grandmother dryly.
"She has taken well to the change. But she is my sister by mating and by adoption." Kagome blushed; coming from Sesshoumaru, that was the most sincere compliment in the world. She smiled suddenly, Sesshoumaru was her brother!
"Hasn't stopped other brothers from claiming their sisters before." Tobiume snickered under her breath. But Kagome's eyes lit up as if she hadn't heard Tobiume's comment.
"Sesshoumaru-niisama!"
Sesshoumaru gave her a strange look, a sister might be a refreshing change, but she was such a strange creature. His eyes drifted to her waist, towards the pup that had yet to show its presence in her body. But then, he reflected, since Kagome was now a dog-demon, she may never show her pregnancy.
Dog demon females were the more warrior-like of the species, they fought and roamed no matter how far along they were to whelping. His grandmother was a rare occurrence that happened only once every few hundred generations; a healer type dog-demon female whose greatest skills were in her own longevity and restorative powers, along with a more quiet personality, and not prone to blood-lust.
Kagome turned and examined the garden with new eyes bright with wonder, though her heart still wrenched with the loss of her friends. Suddenly the weight of the world seemed to fall on her and she seemed to collapse in on herself. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes fell to the ground.
She had lost her friends, her fellowship was broken. Out of the five of them, only Kagome was left. She felt like a massive hole had been wrenched open inside of her, making her hollow and shell-like.
She walked almost blindly to the edge of a koi pond, Tobiume and Sesshoumaru watched her walk away in silence. Sesshoumaru moved to walk after her, but Tobiume stopped him with a shake of her head. "Let her find resolve."
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, and turned towards the door, sitting himself down by the doorway to watch the fair dark-haired demoness. Tobiume sat on the other side of the door as they watched the newest Royal Dog-demon curl up with her back to the others. Her eyes filled with tears they could easily smell from their distance, as she watched the large fat and colorful fish swim lazily through the water, oblivious to her sorrow.
To her loss.
She leaned her head on her knees and drew deep shuddering breaths, trying to control her own sobs. She felt a certain detachment she never possessed as a human, like her emotions were something she could control whether she felt them or not.
Life went on for all things, the world continued on its track and would welcome the bodies back into its bosom no matter what that person did, souls of course were judged accordingly, and sent to the Ninth Gate of the Realm of the Underworld. Such as it does and always did. She sighed, still feeling the grave hole in her being where her friends had been torn away from her.
But now they were gone, and she was left with nothing. She paused, not nothing. She did have something; Inuyasha's son was right there inside of her, growing and alive. She had a piece of 'him'. She smiled slightly, and something akin to happiness glowed in her eyes for a moment, yes she was not alone; she had her son, she had Sesshoumaru, and…she had her grandmother, Tobiume. The two great Tai-Youkai seemed sincere and welcoming of her, very receptive, and she would surely need help with this body of hers.
Her friends would not want her to be in such anguish over their passing. They would want her to find new resolve to live, and not let their lives have gone to waste. Well, Kagome had new resolve now alright; she had a son to live for, and half the Shikon to find. She sat up straight and flexed her hand, feeling the strength in her fingers. She could do this for them, she would carry their hopes and dreams onward; their spirits would live through her!
She scrubbed her eyes and face, removing the signs of her crying as best she could. She stood up and turned around, meeting Sesshoumaru's eyes.
"I want to learn to fight. Brother." Her words were but a whisper, but Sesshoumaru heard them easily.
A flicker of a smile appeared on his lips for a moment and disappeared as quickly as it came, his eyes glittered. He stood up and raised his hand towards Kagome in a silent summons. She walked forward, and touched her fingertips to his, their hands fell to their sides as Sesshoumaru turned and walked through the door, Kagome following. They both missed the smirk on Tobiume's lips.
A battle-born lady walked the halls again. When that lady finished training, nothing would stop her. Although the males prided themselves on being master swordsmen, the truth of it was that the female Dog-demons, or Jageras as they had come to be known, tended to be even more driven and ferocious when came to fighting. Especially pregnant females; they tended to snap back out of their grief over fallen mates and attack with a clear and cunningly cruel mind.
Kagome followed Sesshoumaru back to the hallway of the room she had woken up in, but instead of the room she had been in, they turned in to the door opposite and slid the doors open. The walls were a pale green, with leaves painted in various shades of green as the border. The futon was also green, but of a much darker color, with the floor being of dark hardwood. The room smelled as if it had been freshly cleaned, with the clean scent of rose oil, and lavender, and sage.
"This shall be your room for as long as you wish to stay here. I have something you may want back." With that, he strode forward to the freshly built armoire and opened the door, inside was Inuyasha's fire-rat robe, clean and perfectly preserved; not a stitch out of place. Sesshoumaru placed his hand on it, feelings of nostalgia welled up inside him; it used to be part of his father's armor until the man had given it to Inuyasha's mother to keep her and the infant safe.
And now, Kagome will wear it; to keep herself and her child safe. He picked it up, and also picked up a soft golden-cream under-haori for Kagome to wear underneath. Turning, he saw Kagome regarding them thoughtfully, before a small smile graced her lips and she accepted them from him.
He left the room, the door sliding shut quietly. Kagome had a pretty good idea how the clothing went on, after having to bandage and care for Inuyasha's wounds enough times…and for other things, like when he claimed her as his mate a mere couple of weeks before the final battle. She swiftly shrugged out of the blue kimono, brushing away such soft memories, then she shrugged off the under-kimono, and pulled on the under-hakama, tying it securely around her flat waist. Then she pulled on the golden under-haori and tucked the hem into her hakama, followed with the red fire-haori itself, completing the assembly.
She stepped out of the room after she hung up the kimonos she had been wearing. Sesshoumaru was waiting for her, and he appraised her with an unreadable expression. He turned down the hallway and Kagome followed him easily, her taller frame lengthening her strides to match his automatically, Kagome was astounded to realize that she now almost matched Sesshoumaru in height. Then she smirked, she guessed that since Sesshoumaru was the one to adopt her, she had 'inherited' his height, so to speak.
"What is so funny, imouto?"
She started, and the smirk faded. She was not used to him calling her his sister, "Nothing, Nii-sama, I just never thought that I would ever be able to look you in the eyes without moving my head so far." She said. She slid her eyes to meet to meet his without moving her head for emphasis.
"Hm."
They turned a corner and walked down a long passageway. At the end of the hall, she found they had come to an impressive set of solid oak doors. Sesshoumaru placed one hand on the handle and twisted, pushing with a smooth motion.
So concludes Chapter One. Read on my friends, it only gets better.