Chapter Text
Five hundred years ago (or so….)
The torches that lit the dark hallways of the catacombs beneath the Lord of the West’s manor blazed bright, casting eerie shadows on the stone walls. The procession that traversed these halls was quiet; no one dared speak of what was about to happen. The great Lord himself led the way, his mokomoko wrapped firmly around his shoulders, added armor against any emotions that might dare crack his icy exterior. As the Inu no Taisho, he prided himself on being a quiet, cold ruler, maintaining his lands and passing judgment with his own opinion as the only one that truly mattered. But here, in this moment, all that threatened to collapse, as he considered what they were about to do.
His eyes cast down to the person slightly behind him. His brother’s countenance was grim, determined. Yet Sesshomaru knew that Inuyasha was terrified of what was going to happen in the coming minutes and hours. Even though he, the monk, and the old miko had worked so hard to find a solution to his problem—and even though Inuyasha wanted more than anything for this to happen—Sesshomaru knew that his brother was concerned that something could go wrong, and that, in the worst-case scenario, he could die.
Sesshomaru did not think much about aging, dying, or death. These concepts were foreign to him. He lived, he existed; and, from what his brother had told him, he would continue to live, for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Although his brother was merely a hanyou, he too should have had no concerns over death and dying. But yet Sesshomaru could detect his brother’s fear, for maybe the first time ever.
No, scratch that.
For the second time ever.
The first time was inside Naraku, when his brother realized that he had harmed Kagome. He’d feared for her, and now, he feared for her again.
Sesshomaru understood well the stakes of what they proposed to do. Should this fail—should his brother die—it surely meant that, in the future, his mate would also die. One could not live without the other. He knew that. And as much as it surprised him, he did not want the miko to die. He thought she was…fine. And both of them dead meant their pup would have no parents. A small part of him regretted that his brother knew that feeling all too well. He would be damned if his niece did, too.
At the end of the hall stood a heavy, thick, strong, wooden door. Sesshomaru removed a large key from his robes, and placed it in the lock. He turned it; the lock clicked, and he pushed the door open. He nodded at the monk, who removed one of the torches from the hallway and brought it into the room, lighting the torches in there. They cast an ethereal glow over the room that was to be his brother’s holding cell for the next five hundred or so years.
The room was simple: all inlaid stone, several torches decorating the walls. There was a futon set up in one corner; in the middle of the room was a fire pit, a heavy cauldron resting on a tripod. Logs filled the pit, ready to be lit.
“Do you have everything you need, monk?” Sesshomaru asked.
Miroku nodded. “Yes, my Lord. Thank you for allowing us to do this here.”
Sesshomaru said nothing; he simply leaned back against one of the walls and crossed his arms. His role was not to interfere unless something went horribly wrong, and he needed to bring his brother back into submission.
Miroku looked at Inuyasha. “Are you ready?”
Inuyasha grunted. “As I’ll fucking ever be.” He looked and felt like shit: his hair hung limply about his face, his body was emaciated from the lack of desire to eat, and his clothes hung off him, more like rags than the armor bequeathed to him by the last Inu no Taisho, his and Sesshomaru’s father. It had been a year since Inuyasha had seen his mate, since he’d felt her aura blanketing him, since he’d last felt her presence through their mating bond. His mark was empty; there was no trace of her, because in this time, she didn’t exist. She didn’t belong there. And, without his mate or his pup there to comfort him, he had realized that he didn’t belong there, either. He needed to get back to them, to get out of this perpetual hell he’d lived in since the day he, Kagome, and Morika were separated. His body had been doing the bare minimum to keep him alive. Now, it was his turn to take action—this final act of desperation to reunite his family.
If this didn’t work, he didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do.
Miroku nodded once. “Kaede-obaa-sama,” he said to the old miko at the end of the procession, the only other person whose presence was required at this event, “it’s time.”
Kaede smiled grimly. She knelt before the cauldron and opened her pouches as Miroku and Inuyasha worked to light the fire. Sesshomaru watched with mild interest as she laid out the items on long pieces of linen. She had herbs of different types, and there were body parts of some youkai that were helpful in the sealing and sleep process. Sesshomaru also knew that Miroku and Inuyasha had again traveled far and wide to find these herbs and to locate the youkai, defeat them, and cure the appropriate innards. Kaede also had several scrolls with incantations already written on them.
“Is there water in the cauldron, my Lord?” Miroku asked. Sesshomaru nodded. Miroku peered over into the cauldron and nodded satisfactorily. “Once it’s boiling,” he said to the others, but his gaze settling on Inuyasha, “we will begin.”
Inuyasha sighed heavily and looked around the room. He saw his brother, leaning against a wall, arms crossed, looking for all the world like he’d rather be listening to Jaken go on and on about matters of the court. He saw Kaede, her eyes closed, clearly in a meditative state. And he saw Miroku, his best friend, who had basically moved heaven and hell to get them to this point. He’d spent time away from his wife and his child so that Inuyasha would have the best opportunity to return home to his. Inuyasha would be forever grateful to the monk, and to Kaede, for all their efforts, bringing them all here, to this one, last try.
It had to work. It fucking had to.
“The water’s boiling, Inuyasha,” said Miroku, giving it a stir with his shakujo. Inuyasha smiled, knowing that, five hundred years in the future, Miroku’s son, Hideaki, would be the owner of the monk’s prized staff. He realized he was excited to see them all again, even his idiot nieces.
“I’m ready when you are, Miroku, Kaede-obaba,” he replied simply.
“Then,” Kaede said hoarsely, “it’s time.”
Miroku helped her rise, then bent down and picked up the herbs that Kaede had laid out. Inuyasha selected the linen with the cured youkai parts.
Kaede began chanting in a quiet voice, so low Inuyasha could barely make out the words. As she chanted, she attached each scroll she read to the cauldron bowl. Miroku clearly followed what she said, because at certain points, as she attached a scroll, he dropped a particular herb in the pot and stirred it. At others, he helped himself to the youkai innards Inuyasha held in the linen, dropping them into the cauldron. The heart of a makuragaeshi; the liver of a kuro bouzu; the feathers of a yama orabi. One by one, Miroku put them all into the cauldron; Inuyasha watched as the water changed from clear to a deep blood red, so thick he thought if he stuck his finger in and pulled it out, the water would cling to it, forming a long string.
The water in the cauldron began to spark. Miroku turned to his friend. He pulled a pair of tongs from his robe. “Now, if you please, Inuyasha,” he said.
Inuyasha reached to the fourth finger of his left hand and removed his wedding ring. He hadn’t taken it off in two and a half years, but for this, he would do anything. He handed the white gold band to Miroku, who nestled it between the tongs. Miroku and Kaede chanted together as Miroku lowered it into the cauldron, their words become louder, but more unintelligible. It sounded like gibberish to Inuyasha; Sesshomaru, on the other hand, seemed more interested, as though he understood every word. Slowly, slowly, Miroku lowered the tongs into the cauldron.
There was a great hissing and sparking and flashing of light; Inuyasha was forced to look away. Miroku shielded his eyes with one hand, but kept the tongs and Inuyasha’s ring under that blood-red water. As the water became calm again, Kaede sang softly while Miroku continued to chant, their words in that strange language melding together, despite the differences in tone. At long last, Miroku removed the tongs from the water; Inuyasha’s ring was glowing, the same blood-red as the water.
Miroku and Kaede looked at each other. “It is done,” Kaede said.
“It is done,” Miroku said.
Kaede took Inuyasha by the hand and led him to the futon. “If this works,” she said, “and the gods are willing, you will go to sleep here, and wake up in five hundred years.”
“This better fucking work,” Inuyasha said wearily. “If it doesn’t, I think I’m out of options.”
“It will work,” promised Miroku. He had taken the ring and wrapped it in linen to dry. Inuyasha could see it, still glowing, through the soft fibers of the towel.
“What’s next?” Inuyasha asked.
“I would recommend that you sit, or better yet, lie down,” Miroku said. “Once you put the ring on, you should go immediately to sleep, or thereabouts.”
“What the fuck that does mean, monk?” growled Inuyasha.
“Neither Kaede nor I have done a sealing spell quite like this before,” Miroku admitted. “I am confident it will work, but I am not sure of the side effects.”
Inuyasha grumbled, but sat on the futon. He refused to lay prostrate in front of his brother.
Miroku presented him with the ring; Inuyasha paused for a moment.
This was it; this was what he’d been working towards for a year. This was his last chance to get back to Kagome and Morika; his last chance to be reunited with his family.
But now that the moment was here, Inuyasha couldn’t help it: he hesitated. Even though he trusted the monk, what if this fucking killed him? Then Kagome would die, and Morika would be left without any parents. His brother and Rin would, in fact, be left to raise his pup, and while his nieces had turned out all right, he didn’t want his child raised by the Lord of the West. No matter how much their relationship had improved, both in the past and the future. Morika was his, and Kagome’s, and they deserved the right to raise her. Together.
Inuyasha took a deep breath. He looked at his brother; he looked at his friends.
“If this works,” he said, “then I want to say thank you. For everything. For helping me, for finding this sealing spell—” he looked at his brother “—for giving me a place to hide where I’ll be safe. Thank you.”
Sesshomaru didn’t respond, but Miroku and Kaede smiled. “Thank you, Inuyasha,” said Kaede, “but there’s no need to thank us.”
“As Sango told Kagome, we’re family,” Miroku added. “We would do anything for you, just like you’d do anything for us.”
Inuyasha smiled grimly. “This is a big ask, Miroku. So, let me be fucking grateful for five seconds, okay?”
Miroku laughed softly. He held out the ring. Inuyasha took it. They exchanged glances; Miroku nodded once, and Inuyasha slipped the ring back on his finger.
The pain that rocketed through his finger and up into his hand was white hot and searing. He began gasping frantically for air. Kaede let out a shocking sob and made to go to him, but Miroku held her back, his face pale but resolute.
“Miroku,” Inuyasha croaked, but Miroku stayed strong and kept his distance. Inuyasha held up his hand; it was glowing red, just like the ring, and the redness was seeping up his hand, bleeding into his arm. The pain kept coming, more and more; Inuyasha gripped his arm and twisted his face, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Miroku,” Kaede whispered. Miroku pulled the elderly miko to him and held her close, turning her face away from the scene unfolding. Only Sesshomaru seemed unmoved by his brother’s pain.
Inuyasha screamed as the redness moved up his arm, into his shoulder, and spread to the rest of his body. When it reached his neck, his throat closed up; he was unable to speak anymore. It continued its relentless pace; when it reached his face, his eyes rolled back in his head, and Inuyasha, Prince of the West, heir to the Lord of the West, fell over onto the futon, prostrate and out cold.
Miroku and Sesshomaru watched, staying where they were, until the redness receded from his body. When it did, Inuyasha remained sleeping, his face now peaceful, the stress and worry from missing Kagome and Morika gone. Kaede turned around and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let me check him,” she said. Sesshomaru gave a brief nod. She approached the sleeping hanyou and felt this forehead, then pressed two of her fingers against his neck. “He has a heartbeat, but it is slow,” she said. Then, she held her hand over his face. “He is breathing, too,” she added, “but also slow.”
“It worked,” Miroku breathed, his face relieved, betraying none of the emotions swirling around inside of him at that moment.
“Then it is done,” Sesshomaru said. “We will need to leave someone to guard him.” He paused. “Jaken will be sufficient for now. Will the nekomata be able to help us?”
“I will ask Sango and send Kirara immediately,’ Miroku replied. “I’ll come back with her to help her get settled.”
“That is acceptable,” Sesshomaru said. He looked at them both. “Rin, Jaken, the kitsune, and the slayer are the only others who know of my brother’s situation. Let us keep it that way. No one can ever know Inuyasha is sealed away, by his own wedding ring, in the catacombs of this one’s keep.”
“Agreed, my Lord,” said Miroku.
“Agreed,” said Kaede.
“Then let us go,” Sesshomaru said. “We have much to do in order to insure his safety.”
Three hundred years later
“My Lord,” Shippou said, his green eyes wide and begging, “I wish that you would allow me to do this. I hate the idea of him all alone down there, with no one to keep him company.”
“This Sesshomaru has already told you, kitsune,” replied Sesshomaru, rolling his eyes, “Inuyasha is quite safe. No one but this one knows where he is, and no one else will know where he is.”
“But what if something were to happen, my Lord?” Shippou begged. “I can’t stop thinking about that.”
“Nothing will happen,” Sesshomaru sighed. “We have had this discussion too many times at this point. This Sesshomaru will not have his top spy reduced to guard duty. The information you provide is far too valuable.”
“That may be true, my Lord,” Shippou insisted, “but Inuyasha is like a father to me.”
“You are dismissed, kitsune,” replied Sesshomaru, waving his hand.
Shippou opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. He left the Lord of the West’s office, only to pass the Lady of the West on his way. Heavily pregnant with her second pup, she gave Shippou a questioning look. He smiled sadly and shook his head. Rin’s face shifted from placid to raging.
Rin would be damned if she was going to let her brother-in-law suffer alone, deep in the catacombs of the keep-turned manor.
She stormed into the office.
“Hello, Rin,” said Sesshomaru, not looking up from his work.
“We need to talk, anata,” she said, huffing a little bit from walking even that short a distance. Her appearance, normally so thoughtful and well-put-together, was distressed and frazzled. Her bun was coming loose; her kimono was slipping off one shoulder. She was barefoot.
“What would you like to discuss, mate?” he asked, looking up at her in surprise as he took in her state.
She took the chair previously occupied by Shippou, lowering herself down with difficulty. “Why do you continue to leave your brother unattended in the catacombs?”
“Rin, koishii,” he said affectionately, “why does it matter to you?”
“Because he’s your brother, Sesshomaru-sama!” she burst out in anger. “He deserves better than to be alone and forgotten in some dungeon!”
“And what would you have this one do, Rin?” he asked immediately, trying to stifle any frustration, given her condition.
“Let Shippou guard him,” she replied. “He wants to do it. He feels like he owes Inuyasha for all the times your brother helped him. Please. It would mean the world to him to have this opportunity.”
“This one will repeat to you what he said to the kitsune,” Sesshomaru answered her. “He is too valuable. This Sesshomaru cannot give him up.”
“Then maybe my mate and husband, can,” Rin said icily, struggling to rise out of the chair to make her point clear. She slammed her hand down on the table; Sesshomaru looked up at her, again surprised. “I have loved you for a long, long, time, Sesshomaru. I tolerate a lot of things from you. When you didn’t want Sayua to mate Hideaki, I said nothing, in hopes things would work out, which they did, and quite nicely, I would add. When I wanted another baby, and you said no, because of my health, I tolerated that, too, until this little one decided that your decrees be damned, they were going to make their way into this world.” She narrowed her dark eyes at him. “But this goes too far. I know Inuyasha has no idea what’s going on around him. I know that he’s sleeping, and will continue to sleep for another two hundred years. But in the name of all that is holy, Sesshomaru, he is your brother. And he is alone. So please,” she finished, her eyes filled with tears, “please let Shippou do this.”
Sesshomaru rose and strode around the desk to where his mate stood, now resting both her hands on the desk in her exhaustion. He put his arms around her and held her close, then tilted her face up to his for a gentle kiss.
“You are right,” he replied, “you are right.”
She pulled away a bit, looking at him skeptically. “About what?”
He sighed. “About everything.” He paused. “Jaken!” he called.
The little kappa toddled into the room; he was never more than a few feet away from his beloved lord and master. “What is it, Lord Sesshomaru?” he squawked.
“Find the kitsune and send him in here,” Sesshomaru commanded.
“Yes, my Lord!” Jaken exclaimed, and toddled back out as quickly as he could. Sesshomaru turned his gaze back to Rin; his eyes were gentle and loving. He lifted a hand to her face and smoothed her hair back, running his thumb over her mating mark. She moaned softly.
“Does that satisfy you, my Lady?” he asked her tenderly. “This one’s brother will be well looked after until the time comes.”
“It does, my Lord,” she replied, smiling softly. She pressed her face up closer to his and he dipped his head for another kiss.
“Excuse me, my Lord, but you asked to see me?” said Shippou, coming into the office and looking for all the world as though he wished that he hadn’t.
Sesshomaru released Rin and helped her sit back down. “Yes,” he replied. “This Sesshomaru’s mate has helped him to see that it would perhaps not be a bad thing for you to look after Inuyasha. Family is of utmost importance to inu youkai, and perhaps this Sesshomaru needed to be reminded of that.” He looked down at Rin; she smiled and reached up to squeeze his hand. He turned his gaze back to Shippou, his hand still in Rin’s. “How soon can you start?”
Shippou bowed. “Right away, my Lord,” he said immediately.
“Very well.” He helped Rin to her feet. “You should go rest, koi,” he whispered. “Find Sayua and have her sit with you for a bit.”
Rin stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “I will, my Lord,” she said. “Thank you.” She turned to leave, winking at Shippou on the way out.
“Now, kitsune,” said Sesshomaru, leaning back against his desk and crossing his arms over his kimono, “let us discuss the terms of your guardianship.”
Two years ago
Shippou frantically scented the soil at the bottom of the well. Inuyasha had spilled quite a bit of blood to open the well; there had to be some left. Shippou took out a small plastic container from his jacket pocket, his nose pressed firmly to the ground.
“Kitsune?” came Sesshomaru’s voice from above ground.
“Hold on, my Lord,” Shippou called back, “I’m still looking. Come on, come on,” he murmured, sniffing as deeply as he could without getting dirt up his nose. “Where can you be?”
Then, the scent of Inuyasha’s blood hit him full-on. There, in the corner of the well, was a small, wet patch of dirt. He scooped it up with the contained and smelled it more deeply. This was what he needed.
“I got it!” Shippou shouted. “I’m coming up.” Holding onto the ladder on the side of the well, he quickly hoisted himself up and over the side of the well. He held the container out to Sesshomaru, who scented it and nodded once. Shippou put the lid on it and went to leave the shed. “I’ll be back,” he said, “hopefully with good news.”
“Be careful, Shippou,” Rin said, smiling grimly. Sesshomaru went to his mate and hugged her tightly.
“It’s going to get dark here, mate,” he said softly. “Are you prepared?”
Rin pressed her face to his chest. “I’m ready, anata,” she replied.
“What are you talking about, okaa-sama?” Hideaki asked anxiously.
Sesshomaru turned to his son-in-law. “Call your mate,” he said. “Tell her and her sister to get here as soon as possible. They will want to be here.”
“Should I get Jii-chan?” asked Mrs. Higurashi, surprised.
“No, oba-sama,” replied Sesshomaru. “He should stay with your son at the shrine house.” He narrowed his eyes and pressed Rin closer to him. “Some things the very old and the very young should not experience,” he added quietly.
Inuyasha was dreaming.
He and Kagome were at the sea, sitting together on a blanket. He sat leaning back, one hand propping him up, the other tucking Kagome into his side. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of board shorts; she was dressed in a beautiful red maxi dress, the strings from her bathing suit visible, one hand absently playing with his rosary, while the other rested gently on his thigh. Together they watched Morika running along with line where the sea met the sand, dancing and jumping and skipping through the water.
When did his daughter get so big? He only remembered her as a tiny pup, and yet, here she was, a little girl, her long pigtails streaming out behind her, her triangle dog ears twitching in every direction, her lithe little body clad in a red swimsuit with a white dog on the front. Was it only yesterday he had seen her as a pup?
“Inuyasha,” Kagome murmured, and he turned to his mate, who lifted her face to his for a kiss. He granted her one; she sighed and snuggled in closer to him.
“It’s getting chilly, don’t you think?” she commented. “Should we get Morika and head home?”
“Keh. She’s fine,” he replied. “Let her play a while longer.”
“Whatever you think is best,” she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek. He grabbed her and flipped her so she was flush on the blanket. Kagome’s cries brought Morika over from the water. She leapt on her father, who was tickling and kissing her mother.
“Pa!” she cried. “Leave Ma alone!”
Inuyasha sat up, leaving Kagome a gasping, heaving mess on the blanket. “Then it must mean that you want me to come after you next?” he asked his daughter, his eyes glinting. Morika shrieked with glee and ran away, Inuyasha giving her chase. Kagome sat on the blanket, laughing, watching them run together.
Inuyasha had never felt freer than in this moment: running with his daughter on the beach, feeling the sand between his bare toes, feeling the sun warm on his skin, his hair streaming out behind him. He heard Kagome laughing behind them: her beautiful, tinkling laugh that made him feel warm and oh, so happy. He ran over to her and picked her up, Kagome screaming and protesting all the way, and threw her into the surf. She shrieked and dragged herself out of the water, pulling off her dress, revealing a tiny red bikini underneath.
“You’re gonna get it, dog boy!” she shouted. “Come on, Morika-chan! Let’s get Daddy!”
Inuyasha laughed and allowed his girls to chase him around the beach, letting them get just close enough before he leapt out of their grasp. Kagome and Morika’s cries of frustration made him laugh all the harder, and he forgot in a moment that there were two of them. He focused too much on Morika, and suddenly felt another body leap onto his back.
“Got you!” Kagome yelled, and he crumpled to the ground, allowing the girls to cover him with kisses and tickle him.
Yes, he thought happily, it doesn’t get any better than this.
“Inuyasha?” asked a tentative voice. “Inuyasha?”
Inuyasha growled and threw a hand over his eyes. “Who the fuck is there?” he grunted hoarsely. He wanted to get back to Kagome and Morika.
“Inuyasha.” The voice was more urgent now. “It’s time.”
Inuyasha sat straight up and threw out a hand to grab whoever was there by the throat. It apparently worked, because immediately he heard someone coughing and wheezing.
“Now,” he growled, “tell me who the fuck you are, and what the fuck you did with my mate and daughter.”
“Inuyasha!” the voice wheezed. “It’s me: it’s Shippou.”
“Shippou?” He immediately let his hand fall, and heard Shippou drop to the ground. He finally opened his eyes. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the catacombs under Sesshomaru’s manor. In a room. Where you’ve been for five hundred years.”
“Five hundred what?” Inuyasha was confused. Hadn’t he just been on a beach with Kagome and Morika? “But Kagome and Morika—”
“—are waiting for you at the shrine cottage,” Shippou finished. “Do you remember what happened? In Sengoku Jidai?”
Inuyasha rubbed his face with his hands, dragging his claws gently over his skin. He reached back into his mind, past the beach, back as far as he could go.
The pain of that moment hit him hard; he remembered his soul being torn in two, he remembered Kagome going back without him, taking their pup with her. He remembered his heart breaking as he pounded the dirt floor of the well, and the sound of his voice as he screamed for her, over and over.
He remembered slicing his arm open again and pouring his blood over the well. He remembered Miroku and Kaede chanting, writing scrolls, trying whatever they could. He remembered how Miroku found an old sealing spell, and how he and Miroku went to the edges of Nihon to find the ingredients. They collected herbs; they slew demons. Miroku and Kaede had to cure the body parts from the youkai they killed to create the potion for the spell.
In shock, Inuyasha looked down at his wedding ring. It was a cool white gold; there was no indication it had been used to seal him. He looked back up at Shippou.
“Kagome,” he said.
Shippou held out his hand to help his friend rise. Inuyasha took Shippou’s hand and pulled himself standing. His legs wobbled; they hadn’t been used in five hundred years. He raised his arms and flexed them awkwardly, frowning at his lack of strength. Nothing was working as it should.
“That will come, Inuyasha,” said Shippou, reading his thoughts. “You’re gonna be okay. I’m here to help you in the meantime. Let’s get you back to Kagome.”
“Kagome,” Inuyasha said again. He leaned on the kitsune as Shippou led the way out of the room and through the catacombs. He cursed his body for feeling so frail, but he knew that that it was from missing his mate and from the years of sealing. Every step would take him closer to Kagome—every step would take him back to being whole.
Shippou certainly knew his way through the catacombs underneath Sesshomaru’s manor. Inuyasha had only been through them once, five hundred years before, when he was sick from being away from Kagome and barely cognizant of his surroundings. Even now, things hadn’t changed all that much. He was still half a man; he was still without his mate. But this time, Inuyasha clung to the recognition that Kagome was only thirty minutes away, instead of hundreds of years, and allowed that to be the guiding force behind each movement.
Shippou led Inuyasha out through the catacombs, instead of out through the manor as normal. “We’re keeping out of sight until we get to the shrine cottage,” Shippou told him. “For now, just focus on yourself, and on getting the hang of walking again.”
“Keh,” Inuyasha grunted. “I’m fine, runt.”
“Oh, really?” Shippou asked, one eyebrow raised. He let go of Inuyasha, who wobbled, but did not fall.
“See?” Inuyasha smirked at the kitsune.
Shippou rolled his eyes. Of course Inuyasha would recover faster than a normal youkai from sealing.
They came to a large iron door; Shippou pulled out a key and unlocked it. Shippou handed him sunglasses.
“What the fuck are these for, runt?” he asked.
“It’s daytime,” Shippou said. “You haven’t seen sunlight in five hundred years.”
Inuyasha grumbled, but put them on as Shippou opened the door.
The rush that Inuyasha felt as they stepped outside could only be compared to the times that he would return to Sengoku Jidai after being in Kagome’s (now their) time, or when he would travel to the Hida Mountains with Hideaki and his idiot nieces. He hadn’t realized how stale the air in his cell had been until he set foot outside. Immediately his youki leapt out to meet the day’s breeze, grateful to officially be back in the land of the living. Inuyasha stood very still, taking in deep breaths; he felt the daytime air filling his lungs, and then with a breath out, he expelled the fresh air, along with the rust and weariness he’d accumulated while being sealed. Shippou stopped for a few minutes, allowing Inuyasha to breathe in the air and relax. Suddenly, his phone pinged; he dug it out of his pocket.
“It’s Rin,” Shippou said. “Kagome’s back. We have to go.”
“What do you mean, she’s back?” Inuyasha asked, still squinting at the bright sun underneath his sunglasses.
“From Sengoku Jidai,” Shippou said. “She and Morika are back. Any minute she’s going to realize you’re not coming back with her.”
Inuyasha felt a crushing weight in his chest and he staggered backwards, clutching his heart. “Inuyasha?” cried Shippou, rushing to help his friend. But Inuyasha put up his hand to stop the kitsune.
“I’m okay, runt,” he said. “I think…she just realized I’m not there.” He tried to send his youki to her, but they were too far away, and he was too weak. “I can’t let her know that I’m here,” he said to Shippou desperately. He pressed his hand to his heart even harder, and again took several deep breaths, closing his eyes and drawing his chin to his chest.
“Inuyasha,” said Shippou. Inuyasha looked up and opened his eyes. “The car’s over here. We have to hurry.”
Pull yourself together, man. Inuyasha straightened up as much as he could and assumed what he hoped was an authoritative stance. “Let’s go, Shippou.”
The drive to the Higurashi shrine was quiet. Inuyasha focused on himself, and on feeling out his youki. It was there, but it was so weak. He needed Kagome and Morika, but especially Kagome, to jump-start the healing process. The closer they got to the shrine, the stronger her feelings were coming through their mating mark. Inuyasha struggled to keep it together under the crushing sadness and grief coming through from his mate. It was like experiencing everything he felt the year he’d been separated from her, but all in one moments of immense and indescribable pain. He fought back tears the entire drive.
Shippou, meanwhile, drove like a kitsune possessed. He weaved deftly in and out of traffic, both hands on the wheel at all times, his eyes never deviating from the road. He was so close to completing the most important mission he’d ever been assigned, and he wanted to do it quickly and efficiently. For Kagome, and for Inuyasha.
Shippou pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the Higurashi shrine in record time. He saw the Fujimura car parked out front, and knew immediately what must be happening inside. When he’d left Sesshomaru almost two days before, he hadn’t thought it would take him so long to find Inuyasha, and then to break the seal. He wondered if Sesshomaru and Rin had been there the entire time.
Inuyasha was out of the car before Shippou had even fully stopped. He hobbled over to the steps and began to climb, slowly but steadily, refusing to the let the number of stairs deter him from reaching his mate. She was pouring all her love and her grief for him into their mark; it was hard for him to focus, but he managed.
At long last he reached the top of the stairs. He looked around at the shrine courtyard: just as he remembered. There were lights on at the shrine house, but it was the cottage that drew his attention. He could hear Kagome weeping brokenly in the main room of the cottage. That sound caused his pace to accelerate; before he knew it, he was striding rapidly towards the cottage door.
With a huge shove, Inuyasha pushed open the screen door. It clattered open; he saw Kagome curled up on the sofa, her face pressed into the cushions, Morika cuddled into her side, everyone else standing around watching his mate sobbing. It was more than he could take.
“Oi,” he said weakly, attempting to be funny. “What the fuck happened here? Did someone die?”
He saw Rin and Sesshomaru look up: Rin’s face lit up into a bright smile as she and his brother both sighed in relief. He saw Hideaki’s shock; he saw his nieces begin to cry; he saw Mrs. Higurashi gasp and leap to her feet.
And last of all, best of all, he saw Kagome roll over and struggle to sit up, Morika climbing all over her face and chest in excitement. Kagome’s face was red and puffy from crying; her eyes grew large and radiant as they slowly took him in. She was the most beautiful thing he’d even seen. And then, she spoke.
“Inu-ya-sha?”
Inuyasha mustered up the best smile he could manage; it wasn’t easy, considering all he’d just been through. But the thrill of seeing her again, despite her disheveled and weeping state, was beyond incredible. Even just looking at her, feeling her aura nearby, was enough to begin to help him heal. He tried to convey his feeling for her through two simple words.
“Hey, mate,” he said.
“So things went as well as you could expect today, don’t you think, anata?” Rin asked her mate. She was sitting up in bed, supposedly reading the romance manga that she loved and Sesshomaru hated, but in reality she was watching her mate as he sifted through emails on his laptop beside her.
“Hn,” was all the Lord of the West would say.
“Inuyasha-otuo-sama looked terrible,” Rin sighed. She closed her book and placed it on the nightstand, choosing instead to snuggle close to her mate.
Sesshomaru slipped his arm around her and tucked her into his side, close enough that he still had both hands with which to type. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“You are worried about them,” he said.
“I am,” she said.
“Do not worry, Rin,” he told her, setting his laptop aside with one hand and drawing her face up to his with the other. “We will go back to the shrine tomorrow to check on them. This situation is concerning, and warrants close watch.”
Rin smiled softly and allowed him to kiss her. Although he was never much for outward displays of affection, his kisses were often tender and sweet, and told her just how much she was loved. She sighed and snuggled back into his side, drawing circles on the back of his hand with her fingernails.
“Seeing what Inuyasha-otou-sama and Kagome-chan have gone through has gotten me thinking about how lucky we are, anata,” she said slowly. “When Kagome-chan thought she’d lost Inuyasha-otou-sama, I began to think about how I would feel if I were in her shoes.”
Sesshomaru looked down at his mate in concern. “That is something you will never have to deal with, Rin.”
She giggled. “I know, anata.” Her voice became serious. “It also made me think about how we shouldn’t be wasting time; we should be living our lives and not worrying about the past or the future. We need to do more living in the here and now.”
“Agreed,” Sesshomaru replied. “But we do that fairly well now.”
“Not quite,” Rin said. She turned her face back up to his. “There is something we have not discussed for a long time, my Lord. Something that warrants discussion.”
“Rin.” He knew what she was going to say even before she said it. “You know that having another child could be dangerous for you.”
“I know nothing of the sort,” she scoffed.
“Rin.” Sesshomaru’s voice was insistent and full of authority he only unleashed when he wanted his subjects to listen.
“Sesshomaru.” One of the reasons he had fallen in love with her was that she was never afraid of him; even now, her voice mirrored the authority in his, only hers was also full of defiance.
“This one denies you nothing,” Sesshomaru replied gently, nuzzling her hair with his nose. “Except for this one thing.”
“And it is the thing I want most in the word,” she said. “Don’t you miss having a little one around the house?”
“I would miss you more,” he answered simply.
“Can you at least think on it, anata?” she asked. “It would mean the world to me.”
He wasn’t going to back down from his position on this; he remembered how sick she got with both pregnancies, and how she suffered. She lost too much blood with Asuka. It had been touch and go.
“You know, childbirthing technology has come a long way in the last hundred and fifty or so years,” she said tenderly. “We don’t know how easy or hard a pregnancy would be for me.” She paused. “All I’m asking is that you think about it. Talk to Kagome-chan, if you want. She can tell you what it was like for her.”
If Sesshomaru could have turned red at that suggestion, he would have. “This one has no desire to talk to the miko about childbirth,” he replied.
“Fine,” Rin said. “Talk to our daughter. Asuka will be able to tell you, too.”
He mulled that suggestion over. “Perhaps,” was all he would say.
Rin smiled and reached up to tug her mate down to kiss her. It was a start.