#inuvssess

A black cauldron lay on its side, a congealed mess spilling out onto the ground and adding to the horrendous odor of the area. He raised a sleeve to his nose to fend off the assault to his senses. Stepping carefully around the upended pot, he noticed a disemboweled horse laying off to the side. The sight did not bother Sesshomaru but was rather intriguing.

The animal seemed relatively fresh, judging from the blood that pooled around its carcass. The creature's presence indicated that someone else had been to visit the witch fairly recently. There was not a chance any animal would willingly come this far into the witch's territory. The harness was evidence enough that the horse had recently belonged to some unsuspecting mortal. Perhaps what remained of the mortal was now spilled upon the floor, cooked into a meal for the witch within her cauldron. That was likely, given the witch's penchant for eating any who were mad enough to come calling.

He glanced around the room, looking for the witch. There had been a scuffle here, as evident by the toppled pot and large hole in the wall. But the question was not why this had happened, but who had done it?

He stepped closer to inspect the hole in the wall and peered out into the darkness to see nothing. Yamauba was near, he could sense her.

Within an instant, the onibaba to come flying in a rage towards him.

Sesshomaru side-stepped the attack and used a clawed hand to slice the witch down the middle. The witch cried in surprise and pain, falling to the floor in a heap and grabbing at the dark blood that spilled from the cut. Her wild eyes looked Sesshomaru up and down, and she began to laugh, sputtering blood.

"Ye look like him," she spat.

"Who is that, Onibaba?" he inquired.

"Inu….taisho…," she responded. She coughed and spat blood onto the floor through her broken teeth.

Sesshomaru walked over and knelt beside the tiny body of the haggard old woman, careful to avoid her mess of blood. "My father," he stated.

"Y-your father?" she asked, one hand moving towards his face.

Sesshomaru slapped her gnarled hand away as if slapping an annoying gnat. "Yes. He is dead."

She cackled again, and her hand fell limply to her side in dejection. "Then the bone was yours, careless boy?" She chuckled with realization.

"Bone?" he questioned, rather demanded.

"Aye. Tis the bone I used to create the spell," Yamauba chortled. She looked at her overturned cauldron and pouted a bit.

Her eyes slowly made their way back to rest upon Sesshomaru's face. "I required a piece of him to set him loose upon the human woman he desired. It t'was a summoning. And the call was answered." She saw that she was not getting a rise out of the yokai lord and merely cackled to herself and grabbed at the hole in her middle, seemingly pleased to waste out onto the ground of her abode.

Sesshomaru, disinterested and disgusted with all he could see, smell, and hear, stood, and walked from the room but stopped before stepping outside. Something out of place caught his eye, and he turned his head. A large pack leaned against the wall with a bow and quiver of arrows propped behind. How he had missed it before, he did not know. Useless items for an onibaba, he established, and Sesshomaru moved with lightning speed over to the items and picked them up. He brought the pack to his nose and inhaled. A familiar sweet scent accosted him, his brow coming together in concern, marring his clear countenance.

He took the bag and snatched up the dying witch. Her head lolled to the side, dead already. He could see the small demons from hell dancing around her waiting to take her soul.

No, not yet, witch.

Sesshomaru threw her to the ground, her limp body landing in a heap of rags and gangly limbs. He pulled out Tensaiga with a flourish and sliced through those demons. After a few seconds, the onibaba drew in a shaky breath, and her sunken eyes blinked rapidly.

"Wh-where?" she asked with marked confusion.

Sesshomaru reached down, grabbing Yamauba by the collar and shook the hag, drawing her attention solely to him. He did not have time to answer where she was or why she was not dead. He brought the pack up, placing it in front of her eyes. "Where is the woman?" he asked icily.

She eyed the pack, and her eyes widened with recognition. "The mortal girl?" Yamauba asked incredulously.

"Where?!" he growled through clenched teeth. His eyes began to glow red, indicating the level of his fury.

Yamauba could tell she was finally getting a rise out of him and knew that her second death lurked near. "Gone," she answered with a smirk.

"You will tell me, witch! Or you will wish I had not revived you. I will ensure you live a long life the second time around, with each moment filled with pain and misery beyond your wildest dreams. Long have I awaited the opportunity to whet my claws upon the flesh of one who will not succumb easily to my sinister ministrations," he explained in a cold, quiet voice, "If you do not give me what I demand," he finished.

Yamauba cackled loud and incessantly. Her voice grated upon Sesshomaru, who snarled and elicited a backhanded smack to the witch's head, causing her entire body to turn from the force of the blow.

Still, she laughed, and more blood poured from her maw. "Son of the great Inu-Taisho. Infatuated with a mortal woman, no less! The pompous yokai who would not give me the time of day. Kukuku, how fitting."

"What have you done to her?" he demanded, holding the hag's throat in his hand and issuing a tiny squeeze for emphasis.

The witch's eyes lit up with amusement even as her hands scratched at his iron grip feebly. "The child...is...thine," she pieced together.

Sesshomaru's eyes went wide with shock. It could not possibly be. The thoughts of that night reverberated through him all of the time, haunting him night and day. Yet, he had denied the plausibility of sirring a...

"Of course ye are too full of pride to admit ye have fathered a bastard half-breed," she spat, interrupting his thoughts. "Thy father was also arrogant. T'was my aim to bring him low. Seems instead, I have brought dishonor upon his name through his son."

He scowled and squeezed tighter, eliciting a satisfying gurgle from the witch. "Answer me, witch, while I am still feeling in a gracious mood." His words were clipped and spoken through clenched teeth. A snarl pulled up a lip to reveal long, sharp canines.

"Such a treat," Yamauba said, her eyes glazing over. "To have feasted upon the flesh of such a tender morsel," she gasped as her windpipe was crushed. Sesshomaru continued to squeeze until the skin beneath his grip ruptured and spilled out, muscle and sinew burst, and bone snapped. The dead oni's head and body fell to the ground in separate thuds. Satisfaction coursed through him with the oni's second death, but the feeling was short-lived and quickly replaced with another nearly unknown feeling: Dread.

Haste! the deep voice from inside urged him.

He acted on that urge immediately but paused when something else grabbed his attention. An image played out on the spilled contents of the cauldron. He stepped over and saw a glimpse of the woman, the miko. She was alive, and a small relief flooded through him. Her face, her kind, gentle features were skewed in pain and she gave a soundless cry. He watched, transfixed for a second, as she reached out towards him as if seeing him through space. The voice called to him again and the need to find her filled him.

He still could not smell her scent, masked by the oni as it was, and there was no sure way to know where she had gone, but there was no time to waste if the image was accurate.

Without a backward glance, he was off and out of the stinking hovel. He flew out the door and down the stone steps, noting the disturbance of leaves and skidmarks of a body crashing down the hillside. She had come this way, falling, but had made it down the hill nonetheless.

Reaching the bottom of the stone stairs, he looked both ways and continued, marking the slight footprints embedded within the ground leading away from the old shrine and following them as far as they would take him.

Kagome groaned weakly, wracked by pain. She never in her wildest dreams imagined she would go into labor alone. Even though she'd seen it happen to others and often assisted in the process, her mind was feverish and unreliable at present.

The warmth from between her legs had not stopped, instead, coming out in a steady flow. Amniotic fluid should not still be seeping out at this rate, she thought she remembered from the textbooks. Kagome reached down with a hand and brought the hand back to her face. In the darkness, she could even see the thick, dark substance staining her fingertips. "Shit," she said aloud.

Blood was not a good sign, but she did not have the time to think about it much before another contraction gripped her, and she cried, reaching a blood-soaked hand into the air.

                                              o - o - o - o - o

Sango had busied herself from constant worry by completing katas in a field away from the village. She'd entrusted Rin with her children until she returned from releasing this pent up tension.

Kagome had snuck off a day ago, secreting herself off to visit a witch who would supposedly give her answers to her nonsense questions. The kicker was that Kaede had not told them until this morning, giving Kagome nearly a full day's head start. The woman had fallen asleep waiting for Rin's return and ended up sleeping through the night, as she was oft to do. Of course, Rin would not attempt to wake the sleeping woman until the morning.

Sango cursed and stopped mid-form. She wanted to reach out and touch something, or someone, but that particular person was off gallivanting around. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do at the moment outside of what she had already done.

She had sent a messenger off to her brother first thing this morning, requesting aid. Sango hoped that she could use Kirara's speed and her brother as a babysitter so that she could search for her errant friend, but who knew how far away he was or how long it would take for him to receive the message. She took a deep breath and eased into another kata. The repetitive forms were enough to school her mind and empty her thoughts, allowing her to focus solely on her body's motions.

The forms carried her through an hour undisturbed. Winded, she sat down upon the grass and rested her chin on her hand.

The entire situation was ludicrous, and Sango could not wait for Miroku to return so she could have someone to vent to about all this nonsense to.

It was apparent to everyone except Kagome and Inuyasha that they had fallen out of love. Now they stayed together only because they felt they didn't have any other choice, and neither of them was able to admit it even to themselves. Afterall, Kagome had returned from another time to be with Inuyasha, leaving her family, friends, and all she had known behind. Where else could she go?

Inuyasha was in a similar situation. He had waited, sullenly, for years before Kagome finally came back. Sango had never seen such a love-sick man, but it was the years in between Kagome's disappearance and reemergence that had tempered his feelings. Neither had expected to see one another again, but fate had a way of twisting things beyond one's expectations.

For instance, Kagome and Inuyasha had expected to live happily ever after with one another but soon found that their newfound relationship was not the stuff of fairy tales. They fought and bickered, just as they had those years ago, and there was nowhere for either of them to go when trouble came knocking. And it came knocking often. The pair were both notoriously stubborn, something that had not diluted with time.

It would be a lie to say neither cared for nor loved one another. No, the fact of the matter was: these two people who had grown apart, despite their desire to stay true to one another.

As Sango sat speculating, she could hear in the distance the voices of men. Her head shot up. Could it be? It would be a happy coincidence.

She jumped to her feet and put a hand over her eyes to block the glare of the sun. It was! Miroku had finally returned with Inuyasha by his side. A grin broke on her face, and her heart swelled. Sango broke into a sprint to greet her husband.

"Miroku!" she shouted, taking in lungfuls of air as her legs pumped underneath her.

Miroku, who had been riding a cart laden with items and supplies, saw his wife running towards him. He jumped down and ran to meet her. They met, arms locked around one another, and Sango gave a joyful sob.

"It's been so long this time!" she cried. She pulled away quickly to give her husband a brief scan before burying her head in the crook of his neck.

He rubbed his hand up and down her back, attempting to console her. "I know, but I'm back now."

Sango pulled away and punched him square in the shoulder, "You idiot! Don't you go off again to fight another man's war!"

"Ouch!" he cried out at the force of the blow and rubbed his arm. "I did it so the chaos would not spread here, woman! You should be thanking me," he said.

She grabbed his face and pulled him close for a kiss, which he suddenly did not find cause for complaint. Sango broke their kiss only after hearing the clearing of someone's throat.

Inuyasha scoffed, "Save it for later, you two. I don't need to see you both swapping spit." He crossed his arms and looked relatively annoyed.

"I'm so glad you are both here. It's perfect timing!" Sango exclaimed. She looked at Inuyasha with a straight face. "It's Kagome."

His arms dropped to his sides, and he looked ready to run at a moment's notice, "Where is she? What's happened?"

                                              o - o - o - o - o

The pain was insurmountable. Nothing that she'd ever felt before. How could Sango do this? Willingly?!

Kagome had a tiny moment of reprieve, with the pain subsiding. Attempting to relax was another thing altogether. Weakness had wracked her body; each contraction was draining her shallow stores of energy.

The blood had finally stopped, and Kagome idly thought she might be okay. That was until the pain began to blossom in her belly and radiate down to her core. She barely had the strength to cry out anymore, but she did, screaming for anyone within miles to hear.

Her head swam with dizziness now, and she struggled to stay awake. She had to stay awake, but sleep seemed so inviting. Darkness was calling to her.

Maybe if she closed her eyes for a second, she would feel better? Her eyelids drooped, and her breathing became shallow.

Another contraction gripped her, but it didn't hurt so much this time, only causing her to grimace and grunt. See? Sleep was her friend. She did not want to do this alone anyway.

A bright light shown in front of her, pulling her forcefully out from the darkness. It shook her and called out her name. Kagome did not want to open her eyes and leave the comfort and pain-free darkness that cocooned her within its embrace.

"Kagome! Wake up!"

No.

"Wake up, dammit!"

Not yet.

A sharp sting across her cheek made her eyes fly open.

"Sango! What the fuck?!"

"She has to wake up. It was the only way!"

Kagome's vision was blurry, and her head still swam. All she could see was silver hair and golden eyes. A smile broke on her face, and she reached a shaky hand to touch the apparition before her. Had he come for her?

"Se-" she began but was shushed.

"Hush, Kagome," Sango whispered. "We are here. Inuyasha is with me." The taijiya was crouched next to her, supporting the back of her head. "Kagome, listen to me now," she commanded in a reassuring but authoritative tone.

Kagome's eyes began to roll back up into her head.

"No, no!" Sango said swiftly, patting Kagome's cheek in sharp swats. "Stay with me. No going to sleep. We have a baby to deliver."

"I can't," Kagome cried. "He's not here," she murmured.

Inuyasha looked at Sango; concern etched on his every feature. He held Kagome's hand. "Hey, I'm right here."

Kagome drew in a broken breath and looked over at him, "Inuyasha?"

"Yes, right here," his voice cracked. He'd never seen Kagome in such a state. Delirious, weak, and close to death.

Sango pushed Inuyasha away, giving him a stern look. "Give her some space. The baby is coming now and I have to help her deliver it." Satisfied that he had moved back a bit, Sango positioned herself in between Kagome's legs. She could see, even in the darkness, the pool of blood that she now knelt in. Her heart stopped in her chest, and she shook her thoughts away, instead focusing on the task at hand.

"Kagome, look at me," Sango commanded.

Kagome blinked and nodded. Her dark hair was matted to her forehead in sweaty tendrils, nearly covering her sunken eyes, giving her a disheveled look unsuited to her.

"You need to push….now!" Sango yelled at her. "Push!"

Kagome cried pitifully but did as instructed, grunting with each breath. "Push, Kagome! You're nearly there. Just a little more," Sango instructed.

She sobbed and covered her face with a hand. "I can't. Please don't ask me to do anymore," she cried pitifully.

Sango grit her teeth, "Yes, You can, and you will. Now stop blubbering and push!"

Kagome sucked in a breath and tried to push again. She grunted and bore down as much as she could, and could hear Sango gasp.

The pain had gone, as if by magic, leaving Kagome panting and looking up at the black canopy above. Was she done? She struggled to sit up and felt a steady pair of hands grip her, and an arm slip behind her to help her sit up a bit. Kagome looked over to see Inuyasha by her side, his face unreadable. Why was it so quiet, she wondered. Why wasn't anyone saying anything? Why was there no squalling?

"Where's...where's my baby?" Kagome asked.

Sango's face looked pained, and she glanced up at Inuyasha, avoiding Kagome's eyes. "Your suikan, Inuyasha," Sango requested.

He wordlessly removed the garment, careful not to jostle Kagome too much, and passed it to her.

She worked out of Kagome's sight, and Kagome felt her heart thump within her chest. "Sango!" she called out with a quiver in her voice.

Sango brought the bright red bundle to her chest and stared down, tears streaming down her face. "So-so perfect," she nearly whispered.

Inuyasha laid Kagome back against the tree and jumped over to Sango. He stood over her and looked down at the child. He took an involuntary step back, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Sango!" Kagome called again, this time her arms outstretched before her, demandingly.

Her friend's lips went into a straight line, and she reluctantly passed the child to Kagome's waiting arms. As she laid the tiny wrapped infant into Kagome's arms, Sango whispered, "I'm so sorry."

None of this seemed real. Everything seemed to be happening in flashes, and Kagome cradled the child, looking down upon its cherubic face. So quiet, so still, so pale and upon the child's forehead was a tiny crescent moon. She reached and touched a lock of silver downy hair that curled upon the child's head. Sango was right, so perfect.

All of the fear and pain and doubt rushed to the surface, and she let out a wail, keeling, long and drawn out. Tears dropped onto the infant's face, spilling down from its mother's face. This could not be real.

No one heard the arrival of another, all caught up within their reveries. No one moved as the arrival padded over to Kagome's side and looked down.

"Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha snarled with disbelief.

Sesshomaru did not look up, transfixed on the babe within Kagome's arms. At the mention of the name, Kagome looked up to see the daiyoukai standing over her. 'He came,' she thought, fuzzily, happily.

"You fucking bastard! I will kill you!" Inuyasha screamed and barrelled forward to tackle his brother where he stood.

Sesshomaru jumped backward and pulled out his sword. "Be still, Inuyasha, I have no quarrel with you."

"You fucker," Inuyasha growled. "You couldn't leave what was mine alone." He hadn't bothered to pull free Tessaiga, instead preferring to use his claws. His eyes glowed red with fury.

"I do not want to hurt you, brother," Sesshomaru called out. "But I will not allow you to kill me."

"You won't haveta allow anything. I will rip you to shreds with my bare hands. You will feel pain!" Inuyasha barked and jumped to attack.

Sesshomaru easily side-stepped and dodged each furious swipe. Rage had blinded Inuyasha, and likely nothing would bring him back now that he'd been pushed over the edge.

"DIE!" Inuyasha screamed, finally pulling Tessaiga free. The large fang sword clashed heavily against something, but not Sesshomaru's blade. He was pushed back and saw that a giant boomerang had thwarted his attack.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Sango yelled.

"Get outta my way, bitch, or you'll die, too!" he answered, running to attack Sesshomaru, who stood with his blade in a defensive position.

"No! Stop!" Sango yelled again, whipping her boomerang around to push the raging hanyo back again. "This isn't helping anything! We need to get her out of here, you idiot!"

"After I kill him." His eyes continued to glow red, and he threw Tessaiga towards his brother.

Sango whipped her boomerang in an effort to stop the blade from hitting its target, but it had been a feint. Inuyasha used the flying sword as a distraction and then used the momentum from the boomerang to catapult himself towards Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru brought up his blade and carefully blocked his brother's wild attack. If it came to it, he would kill the hanyo. He gripped Bakusaiga and spun to meet another lunging attack from Inuyasha, who had retrieved Tessaiga and came for him again.

Their swords clashed against one another in a deafening cacophony of steel. Sesshomaru waited for Inuyasha to tire himself out before attacking. He raised the blade overhead and brought it down, only to be blocked by that cursed boomerang. The taijiya had thrown herself in between the pair, her face drawn in agony.

"Kagome…" she said in between sobbing, broken breaths, staring down the warring brothers and pointing a shaky hand. "She's…she's...gone..."

                                              o - o - o - o - o

The taijiya's words broke through Inuyasha's bloodlust. Both brothers pulled up and turned to see what had caused such distress to the warrior woman, enough for her to risk her life by interrupting a feud by two competent opponents.

Resting with her back upon a tree, one arm cradled around the still form of a mixed breed child, the other lay lifelessly by her side, was the blank-eyed woman. Her eyes, usually a dark vibrant blue were now a dull dark blue, stared towards them without seeing.

Sesshomaru, standing his ground, gripped Bakusaiga tightly. With the immediate threat gone, he quickly sheathed the weapon and watched as Inuyasha rushed over to her side; his quarrel forgotten. Sesshomaru watched as his brother shook her still form and urged her to look at him.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked gently, grabbing her arm and shaking.

She did not stir. All of her life had poured out of her and into the ground beneath her.

The taijiya sobbed openly and walked over to his brother. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her hands around his shoulders, weeping into his back.

"You idiot!" Inuyasha yelled. "Why didn't you tell me!" he screamed at her. He pulled her still form closer and groaned into her shoulder, "Dammit, Kagome!"

Without giving any thought to what he was doing, Sesshomaru strode over to her body, looking down upon them. It would be a lie to say the situation did not present a welcome reprieve to his current circumstances. But, somewhere inside, he could not help but feel...sadness? Regret? Or something else altogether.

Seeing his half brother cling to her body filled him with resentment. A part of him longed to bat Inuyasha away like a child who was underfoot. But, she would not like that, he knew. And a queer part of him empathized with his brother's mourning.

As much as he fought with himself to deny it, he could not bring himself to feel nothing at all. Like a star, sparkling and bright in a clear night sky, the reminder of her was always present. A tiny sun that never dimmed though it may be overcast and out of sight that was always there.

Sesshomaru recalled a moment from years ago, a time when a similar situation played out. It was a moment that haunted him, much like the woman did. He had been too late to do anything back then. He would now allow that moment to play out again!

Tensaiga pulsed. He looked down at the sword in his hand, having drawn the blade the second the Bakusaiga was safely sheathed. His father's sword could sense what was in his heart, even if he tried to deny it.

He brandished the blade, ready to strike as the pallbearers danced around, touching her and the child. There were so many. They had all come to collect the souls.

He would not let him.

His brother, Inuyasha, still cradled her body, lamenting her loss. It only took a second for the hanyo to look up and see Sesshomaru standing above, looking down upon him. Inuyasha moved away, pulling the taijiya back with him.

"Please, Sesshomaru...bring her back," Inuyasha pleaded. He was on his knees; his hands clasped before him. "I-I beg of you. Don't let her go. I'll do anything!" he implored his elder brother.

Sesshomaru flicked the blade, Tensaiga, up, and Inuyasha moved back further. He turned his head to focus on the pallbearers. Even more had come. They rejoiced over the souls they had come to collect, their scythes swinging back and forth in wild movements.

It was nothing to slice through them, like a blade through silk. Only one deft movement was required to dispatch the pallbearers back to hell. It pleased him to watch their bodies disintegrate into nothing, and he would not sheath Tensaiga before he had been satisfied they were all gone.

With the sword still out, he watched unmoving, unblinking, waiting for any sign of life. For but a second, he had cause to doubt the power of Tensaiga. It was with a shrill and breathy cry of a babe that allowed him to release a breath which he slowly exhaled through his nose.

No one moved as the cries grew louder and louder. They all watched and waited...for her.

Finally, that still hand which had lain by her side twitched and raised to console the child within her lap. Tears spilled down her face, and those once dead eyes brightened, finally able to see. She looked down, and her voice quivered while she let out breathy sobs.

"Kagome!" the taijiya moved to her side and touched her face. "You're okay!"

The woman merely nodded her head and brought the squalling infant to her chest, hugging it close. The infant quieted from the contact, knowing its mother was near. She drew in a shaky breath and took a moment to look around and noted his presence. She seemed to know that he had brought her back. Perhaps it was the naked blade, hilt still in hand, that gave it away. He turned his head and returned it to his side in one quick motion.