At Kaede’s doorstep, Sesshoumaru landed. With Kagome in his arms, he shouldered through the patchy door curtain. A startled gasp rent the air. Through the haze of her pain, Kagome saw Rin kneeling there on the tatami across from Kaede. They’d been having tea, it seemed.
“Old woman,” Sesshoumaru said, striding forward as Kagome groaned again.
He didn’t say anything more than this. He didn’t need to. At once Kaede rose, a resolute, knowing look on her weathered face. Pale and shaky, Rin rose as well.
“I—I’ll go fetch Sango-chan,” she said faintly, as she slipped by Sesshoumaru and out through the door.
“Bring her here, Sesshoumaru-sama,” Kaede said calmly. As Sesshoumaru lowered Kagome to the futon at the rear of the hut, the old miko clasped her hand and said, gruff but kind, “Now, now, child. Ye must be strong, as I know ye are.”
Kagome whimpered, clutching her in turn. Settling her into the bed, Sesshoumaru drew back, lingering. A moment later Sango burst breathlessly through the door, with Rin at her heels.
“Oh, Kagome-chan!” Sango said, kneeling next to Kaede at Kagome’s side and rolling up her sleeves. “Is it time already?”
“Aye, it is,” Kaede said, as she draped a blanket over Kagome from waist to toes.
Kagome’s knees were upbent. Her toes curled into the mattress for purchase as she rode out another sharp contraction. Beneath the tented blanket, Kaede rearranged Kagome’s damp kimono. She winced, biting her lip as Kaede checked between her legs.
“Not long now, methinks,” the old miko mumbled, turning to Rin. “Fetch us some hot water and linens, will ye?”
Rin nodded, hastening off. But Kagome scarcely noticed this. Because opposite Kaede and Sango, Sesshoumaru was standing, moving away.
“No, where are you going?” Kagome cried, bolting upright as she seized at his wrist. “Don’t leave me, Sesshoumaru! Don’t leave me, please…”
Sesshoumaru paused, not facing her. “I’m going to fetch Inuyasha,” he said.
Gritting her teeth through another wracking wave of pain, Kagome held to him still, feeling dazed. She had forgotten about Kaede and Sango entirely, until she felt her friend’s deft fingers prying gently at her white-knuckled hold.
“…It’s all right, Kagome-chan,” Sango said quietly, frowning between her and Sesshoumaru. “Let him go.”
Reluctantly, Kagome released him. As she let Sango guide her back down to the bed, the rest became a blur of agony and urgency. The pressure was immense, all-consuming. It was all Kagome could do to breathe when Sango reminded her, to push when Kaede told her to.
Dimly, she registered a commotion beyond the hut. Then Inuyasha’s face swam before her, drawn with apprehension. She felt the anxious flare of his youki, heard his ragged endearments as he clutched her bloodless hand in his claws.
“You’re doing great, Kagome. Just a little longer, okay? Just a little longer, and it’ll all be over. Any minute now, Kaede says…”
But whether it was one minute or one hundred Kagome couldn’t say. All she knew was that the pressure that had burst every blood vessel in her face suddenly abated. She sank back into the mattress, totally drained. Empty.
A soft, whimpery cry pierced the silence.
Kagome pushed herself up on her elbows then, by some vestiges of inner strength she didn’t know she possessed. Craning her neck, she looked over to where Kaede was tending to something pink and wet and squirming. When she pressed that warm, wriggling bundle into Kagome’s arms, she could hardly believe it.
Kagome cradled the bundle to her breast, staring down in shock. Ears pricked, Inuyasha gaped beside her just the same.
“He…” Kagome breathed out. “He’s…”
Dark-haired and stormy-eyed, the baby peered back up at her. Kagome’s breath caught in her chest. She counted his tiny fingers, his tiny toes. He was so small, so serene. So perfect, and so perfectly—
“…Human,” Inuyasha muttered, baffled. “But…it’s not even a new moon tonight…”
Kagome glanced blearily toward the open window. It was night out now, and sure enough the moon was the slimmest silver crescent in the sky. Her baby’s youki wasn’t detectable in the slightest.
“…Maybe his phase is different,” she mumbled, running her fingers through his soft dark hair, uncaring.
“Maybe,” Inuyasha said. His voice was strangely hoarse as he skimmed a knuckle over the baby’s downy cheek. “…He looks just like you, Kagome.”
Absently, she nodded. The whole world could have fallen away around her without her even noticing. The staggering pressure she’d felt before was nothing compared to the upswell of emotion that gripped her heart as her baby latched to her breast.
“Hello, Shin,” she whispered to him, meeting his heavy-lidded blue gaze with her own.
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Revised 6/21/23
Ahhhh the plot twist. WHAT WILL HE LOOK LIKE WHEN IT’S NOT HIS HUMAN NIGHT?! will he have the crescent? That’s too much to hope for isn’t it? XD it would force Kagome’s hand
😉 love hearing your thoughts & questions on this twist, Uissuteffu!! Hope you enjoy the next part! <3
Ahhh it kills me that Sess had to leave during the birth. What a twist!! And he’s obviously (?) half yokai, which makes sense. Maybe the cat won’t be out of the bag for a while yet again…?
“Ahhh it kills me that Sess had to leave during the birth.” – yeahh it was sad… 😞
Hope you enjoy where the story goes from here!! <3
You finally give a story thread a small bit of closure and manage to bring NEW suspense into play!!! It’s wonderful but I want THE DRAMA. I wanna see what’s going to happen when the proverbial cat is out if the bag.
As always, wonderful chapter!
Thank you, M!! So glad you enjoyed the scene! I’ve been so excited to share this one for so long 🙂
Hope you enjoy how things progress from here! <3
THE BABBBBBBYYY!!!!
❤🥰💕 he’s finally here!
Did Shin or Kagome use their powers during the birthing? Or maybe Sesshuomaru? Too many people and/or animals (the phoenix) with power… including the one(?) baby.
Great questions, Celes!! There’s certainly some mystery surrounding these events… 🙂
Thanks for sharing as always & hope you enjoy the next chapter!! <3
Fue hermoso, un bebé 🍼😍 inocente, que dependerá de ella, y de que su madre sea sabía, fuerte para superar todo.
Me encanto, pero me dejó con ganas de más….
Muy ansiosa por otro capítulo.
So glad you enjoyed the scene, Claribel! Thanks for sharing your reactions & hope you enjoy the next chapter! 🙂 <3
Man, this story is constantly keeping me in suspense
Thank you, Katherine! Hope you enjoy where things go from here 🙂 <3
You snatch us off one cliff, just to dangle us from another one! 🥴😆 NGL, I wanted Kagome to birth a Petite Maru. Alas, I suppose our heroine needs a breather before the fecal matter hits the ventilation apparatus.
XD Petite Maru is adorable! Hard not to go that route, I have to say 🙂
I’ll try not to leave you hanging too long 😉 Hope you enjoy how things go down…!
Thanks for sharing! <3
Poor Sesshomaru had to “fetch” Inuyasha for the birth of his biological son. I love the name choice for the baby. The kanji for Shin can translate to, according to Wikipedia:
真, “true”
伸, “extend”
新, “new”
心, “heart”
信, “belief”
進, “progress”
慎, “humility”
晋, “advance”
紳, “gentleman”
Yay these kanji are awesome, Siomarabelle!! Thanks for sharing them 🥰
So happy you like the name! It’s also the name of my favorite character from my favorite manga of all time (Gokusen 🙂 )
Hope you enjoy the next part!! <3
I actually love that the baby came out looking like his mom. We never get that.
I’m wondering if since his mom is a powerful Miko and his Dad is a full fledge powerful demon (and as far as we know this has never happened) is his Reki powers suppressing his demon ones. If it is, good show baby Shin! You gave your mom a little time to get her bearings before the truth is revealed.
I was also thinking he could just have a demon night instead of a human one but knowing how your able to twist us up I’m going to go with the first one. Thank you for bringing us to the edge of our seats once again! I always look forward to your updates.
“I actually love that the baby came out looking like his mom. We never get that.” – 🥰🥰 that makes me so happy to hear!
Love hearing your thoughts on the nature of baby Shin’s blended powers, and how his demonic self might manifest! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing, Mi, and hope you enjoy how the plot thickens from here! <3
Kagome! You can’t be reaching for Sess like that, you’ll blow your cover! Lol Rin is already suspicious, and now Sango is side eyeing them.
😉 Yep not the smartest move on her part…
Thanks for sharing, Maya!! 💕
Ahhh this was wonderful!
Thank you!! 🥰🥰
I am not gonna lie, I was also hoping for the baby to be a spitting image of his father but at the same time, I look forward to this unexpected route (you never fail to surprise your readers!) and I was honestly shocked with how the baby is born human. Now there’s so many questions on my mind like is the baby in his human night or if this is permanent or will it change in a course of time. I am also sad that Sessh left during the birth but I guess it’s to prevent any suspicions or to reduce kagome’s stress. I mean, I am already deep into this fic but now that the baby is finally here, this gonna be another interesting part of the story and am so looking forward to see how it progress!
Thank you, Pixie! Love hearing your thoughts on the baby’s humanity and so glad you’re looking forward to the new direction the story will be taking from here 🙂
Hope you enjoy the rest of the journey! <3