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When you wield a sword, you are pointing a weapon against both your enemy and yourself.
Inuyasha had no idea what to do with himself. He was of no use lingering around Kaede’s hut but he dared not wander off in case he was needed. Restless energy built up beneath his skin made him want to punch or shout but the object of his frustrations was also his greatest joy. Ordinarily, when Kagome disappeared into Kaede’s hut to speak to the elderly priestess alone, he would wait up the grassy hill. Rin’s hut was concealed in the trees and she never batted an eye when he appeared outside her opened window. Only setting down a bowl of what she’d been preparing before turning away to tend to her business as if he weren’t intruding on the peaceful tranquility she kept.
Yet right now, Rin wasn’t at home and neither was Sango. Miroku would have his hands full with the three children who called him father so earnestly and Shippo sent a message on a leaf days before apologizing that he wouldn’t be able to make it back on time. So Inuyasha found himself wandering through the woods, circling around familiar thickets and catching the outline of his foot in the soft earth he passed only to turn in another direction. Nearby but utterly useless.
Eventually, he tired of his wandering and sat at the top of the hill, peering down at the village below. Villagers ambled around committing to their daily chores as not even the birth of a child would stop the coming harvests. However, Inuyasha could still hear their whispers of Kagome’s state. No one would object to her bearing his child to her face but there was a stifling apprehension to the air. Demons were commonplace around the village - heroes, or so the children were fond of calling them - but impressions were difficult to change.
Especially amongst the older folk who still remembered the fate of Kikyō.
Inuyasha sighed, feeling a strange shift at his back and the overwhelming pressure of another demon’s yoki approaching. He hesitated for a moment, fingers brushing against the weathered pommel of Tessaiga until he recognized that stifling presence.
If there was one thing Inuyasha could appreciate about Sesshōmaru, it was the delicateness in which he approached. Over the years Inuyasha grew accustomed to watching for signs of the daiyōkai’s approach. From Rin’s attentiveness to the skies to whispers amongst the villagers. The most notable sign was in moments where Inuyasha wandered through the greenwood and felt the gentle lull of the forest hush heralding Sesshōmaru’s approach. The daiyōkai had a presence where even the world itself would quiet out of deference. Inuyasha huffed, jerking his chin forward to keep from acknowledging the warm presence at his back.
However Sesshōmaru’s aura could not be denied, it pooled together, still as the placid waters of the sea before a storm. Yet there was the slightest ripple nearest to its edges as if something were troubling him. Inuyasha sniffed, a confused expression crossing his face. The only time he felt such unease from his brother was when Rin was involved.
A furthermost memory resurfaced of the years that passed in between her first arrival and the last time he felt Sesshōmaru’s presence treading on the outskirts of the village. Out of respect for their bond, Inuyasha decided not to take it to offense if Sesshōmaru returned within a few moons or so to visit her, but to his surprise and disappointment with his elder brother, the daiyōkai never did.
Rin seemed not to take offense to his lack of presence and flourished into a woman of her own renown. Inuyasha could say he was proud to have watched her grow up, but after almost ten years had passed, Sesshōmaru set foot in the village once more— not armed with gifts of silks and mulberry like his retainer but with himself alone. Inuyasha wondered what Rin must have said to him in the letters she wrote, if he truly had read them or if something happened to cause the change. Was he intending to tell her he wouldn’t return again, that there was somewhere else he would be? The thought of Rin’s upset sprouted rage in his chest as his brother swept through the village as if he were a god among men. Whispers carried in his wake but he paid them little mind, marching toward where Inuyasha stood with Kagome at his side. Inuyasha was close to biting out a harsh reprimand to know what Sesshōmaru was doing there after so long but Kagome cupped her hands around his stiff knuckles, whispering for him to hear Sesshōmaru out.
She was always better at talking to others than he was and handled Sesshōmaru with absolute ease. Kagome, with her gentle smile and clever words, directed his brother up the stairs and past the torii gate, detailing the trail in the woods nearest to Kikyō’s shrine where he would find Rin’s hut and she herself.
No one else would have noticed Sesshōmaru’s surprise with how impassive his expression was. His only thanks to Kagome being a sidelong glance as he turned away, not even deigning to look over in Inuyasha’s direction. Fine, Inuyasha had thought, let him go up there and be chastised by Rin for leaving her alone for so long. Sesshōmaru’s aura crackled against his own even as their physical bodies distanced but as Inuyasha drew back, he noticed the faintest spike. A familiar one he’d seen in Kagome’s aura now and again. Anxiousness. Sesshōmaru stopped abruptly then peered over his shoulder with a narrowed-eyed glare. Kagome intervening immediately before the daiyōkai could turn around, waving her hands around while demanding that they didn’t fight.
After a moment, Sesshōmaru’s golden gaze drifted forward as if he were deciding this wasn’t worth his time but Inuyasha received the hidden threat loud and clear. Still, it was amusing to see how ruffled his brother could be.
“Inuyasha, what are you smirking about?” Kagome asked in a huff, her bottom lip jutting out in a tiny pout as it usually did when she was exasperatedly worried. She stood in front of him with her hands propped up on her hips. Inuyasha spared a glance over his shoulder at Sesshōmaru’s back, then the still reed mat over Kaede’s door. There was no one on the path past Kagome either, he thought as he peered over her shoulder. Her annoyed almost whining, “Inuyasha”, bringing a small smile to his face.
As she opened her mouth again to accost him with questions, he cupped her cheeks between his palms and pressed a kiss to her nose. Her startled gasp brushed against his lips as he dipped down to press his mouth against hers, smiling inwardly at the faint buzzing of her sigh against the seal of their lips. Her heartbeat quickened as he pulled away, rolling his thumb over the pink dusting across her cheekbones.
After admiring her dazed expression for a moment longer, Inuyasha pulled his hand away then swept past her, feeling satisfied as he called over his shoulder, “Come on, let’s head back to Miroku and Sango’s.”
He slowed his pace enough for her to catch up and counted backward from ten in his head until he heard Kagome’s breath hitch and her straw sandals scuff with a turn on her heel. “I-Inuyasha!” He grinned at the way she yelled his name, flustered and pitched. As she chased after him, he let himself be caught and laughed while her fingers tweaked at his cheek. It was ironic that Sesshōmaru was the one who made fun of him for loving a human while he climbed the steps to a woman who would be his reckoning. A part of Inuyasha felt elated to know that he shared this in common with his brother
… That he wouldn’t be the only one to fall in love with a human woman either.
As his mind returned to the present, Sesshōmaru’s presence loomed large at his back and Inuyasha wondered if there were a reason his brother was doing his best impression of a ungyō komainu statue.
“Where’s your daughters?” Inuyasha asked, a glance tossed over his shoulder when he suddenly realized he hadn’t heard a single murmur from his brother’s fur. Rin’s insistence on Sesshōmaru’s involvement in their rearing had been a source of amusement and fascination for Inuyasha. He had been on the deadlier side of those hands for many years, so seeing children held so carefully was nothing short of amazing.
Sesshōmaru’s eyes slid toward him and stayed as if he were trying to will Inuyasha into revoking his question. Unmoving, silence held between them for a breath, filled with the sleepy warbling of birds who deemed their song far more important than the daiyōkai’s answer. Eventually, Sesshōmaru relented and said, “Rin wanted them close.”
“Hmph,” Inuyasha propped his cheek up on his hand, staring down at the thin trail of ash grey smoke drifting from the opening in the hut’s roof. “You think she can handle having three babies at once?” A barb of vicious intent jabbed at the base of his spine in response. “I’m not saying she’s weak, it’s just that Kagome’s giving birth and..”
“Rin did as well,” Sesshōmaru interjected and the sternest of his voice left Inuyasha taken aback and silent. When he said nothing further, Sesshōmaru’s aura stilled and the barb was removed from his spine as a result. “She would know.”
Inuyasha grumbled softly, digging his chin into the heel of his hand while his leg bounced impatiently. If he listened hard enough then he could hear all of the heartbeats in that old, cramped hut. So many people gathered together who were important to him in their own way. The old hag, his sister-in-law, his nieces, one of his closest friends, and his beloved wife. Soon, there would be a seventh heartbeat and his world would be turned onto its side as he tried to reconcile this new presence into his ever-growing list of people he had to protect.
But there was a chance, wasn’t there? A chance fate would deem his karma unanswered for only to force him into exchanging one life for another. His wife or their child, their child or his wife, what if the gods would not allow him to have both simply for what he was and what he’d done—
“If you continue thinking such useless things in my presence, I will kill you.”
He blinked owlishly, then tilted his head back with a flat expression aimed at Sesshōmaru’s annoyed half-lidded stare. “That your way of cheering me up? Tch, guess we found something you actually suck at.” There was the faintest twitch of Sesshōmaru’s eye but aside from that, his expression didn’t shift. Typical. Inuyasha clicked his tongue, resting his cheek against his knuckles with a rueful glare pinned on the clear blue skies overhead. How could the world be so at peace when Kagome’s life was in the balance? “Don’t pretend you weren’t hovering around thinking the worst when Rin was giving birth..”
“I have lost Rin to death twice, a third is inevitable,” Sesshōmaru said with such ease that Inuyasha wanted to punch him in that handsome face of his. Though it was his aura that gave him away, an almost imperceptible shift Inuyasha might not have felt if he weren’t so close to him. Ripples on the sea, stirring the waves into foamy crests, preluding a storm that vanished before it could fully form. The birdsong came to a halt and Inuyasha’s eyes widened as he saw larks take to the skies, willing to abandon their nests to flee Sesshōmaru’s presence.
Inuyasha grimaced. He was foolish for remaining with his back to his brother, where he could easily have been struck down before he could draw Tessaiga, but no killing intent followed. Though to Sesshōmaru’s credit, if he were in his shoes, then he might have clobbered himself just a bit. Instead, he spoke with the patience and energy of someone who resigned themselves. It would have been less disconcerting if it weren’t about someone he knew well.As they lapsed into a silence Inuyasha preferred, he wondered if perhaps Sesshōmaru - someone who had so much control over himself that it was almost unnatural - was allowing him to see how he felt.
Trying to comfort him.
Kagome’s way of thinking was starting to rub off on him, he thought. If he closed his eyes then he could have pictured they were home near the hearth as she relaxed from a day on her swelling feet, mumbling about the pains of carrying a child. Some days he worried she would resent him and did his best to stay out of her way, but close enough that he could be there if she needed him. Every time the thought crossed that this would be what drove her away, Kagome would call for him and practically beam once he stepped into her line of sight. This time with the firelight illuminating her with a softer, heavenly glow, she held out her arms as if she were a child seeking comfort.
Inuyasha marveled at how she seemed so untouched by time. Only now she was heavy with child and firmly grasping his sleeves to bring him down beside her. He realized what she was doing a moment too late. Chiding himself on allowing her to comfort him like this with her arms around his shoulders in a tight embrace, and his nose tucked against the hollow of her neck where her scent was strongest. His ears pressed to his head then twitched up when he heard the faintest call of his name whispered against his temple.
Listening closely, he heard Kagome whisper, “Inuyasha.. Listen..”
His ears swiveled back as he tried to hear what she wanted him to, blocking out the forest’s hum and buzzing insects and the fire’s crackling. Then he heard it— a light thump, like a muffled kick. The tiny heartbeat about a quarter faster than her own.
“It won’t be long now,” Kagome assured him, her voice sounding so far away but close all at once. Startling him with her blunt fingernails grazing the quivering tip of his ear, sparking shivers down his spine. The arm still slung around his shoulder blades pressed in close, as she cupped her hand around his shoulder, tethering him to the world, her, and the little life they made together. Her giggle was muffled as she pressed her lips to the side of his head, but he could hear her clear as day, whispering excitedly, “I can’t wait to meet her..”
Inuyasha opened his eyes and sighed, the warmth of the fire and Kagome’s embrace were gone and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the billowing leg of Sesshōmaru’s pants. He must have moved from his spot behind him to stand next to him which was rather unusual. Though seeing as there was still some space between them, Inuyasha decided that was just fine, until he noticed his brother was looking down at him which ticked him off more than he liked.
“If you got something to say then just say it,” Inuyasha spat out after standing up himself.
Sesshōmaru raised a brow at the provocation thne looked ahead, lifting his chin like the lord he claimed himself to be. Inuyasha bared his fangs behind pursed lips. It was only anxiousness making him act like this, he reminded himself, Sesshōmaru was as easy of a target as anyone. Even if he didn’t necessarily like fighting with him like this. His clenched fist trembled at his side as he glared up at him, wondering if maybe Sesshōmaru knew that and just let it happen.
They were used to being at each other’s throats anyway.
“Don’t shame her with your doubt,” Sesshōmaru said, slanting a glance toward him and the look in those eyes were almost disappointed. Inuyasha balked but he wouldn’t have admitted that he lowered his hackles slightly at the reprimand. Sesshōmaru looked at him that way plenty of times before, but in the defense of Kagome?
Inuyasha hadn’t the time to ask what he meant when Sesshōmaru’s attention snapped forward and his eyes widened a bit. He stepped forward without expressing why, the air pressed down beneath his heels as if he were stepping on stone to make his ascent to the skies. Inuyasha startled, almost tripping over into an ungraceful tumble down the hillside when he heard a shrill cry.
It was utterly helpless, and loud but perfect.
Inuyasha’s eyes felt warm as he stared down at the hut and saw Sesshōmaru’s slow descent near the front of it. A sliver of gold over his shoulder with a look he’d grown conveying a message Inuyasha was used to perceiving: hurry up. With one crouch, Inuyasha sprang into the air, feeling a sudden weightlessness that brought a smile to his face. Straw scratched the soles of his bare feet when he landed on the roof, carefully sliding off one end to land in front of the swinging reed mat. Rin’s startled gasp made him lift his head in time to see her pass two swaddled children into Sesshōmaru’s fur.
She smiled at him beatifically, and Inuyasha might have smiled back if not for the scent of Kagome’s blood and salt mingled with her own flowery scent. The scent of the former was sickening but for Rin to be smiling that must have meant all went well. Inuyasha dared not to look at Sesshōmaru in case he were going to chastise but hearing the twins’ murmuring babble to their father, his attention might have been elsewhere for the time being. Inuyasha’s ears swiveled back in time for him to step out of the way as the mat swung open for Kaede to step out while rolling down the sleeves of her kimono. She took her sweet time by patting them down so they hung at her wrists, not bothering to look at any of them even to greet Sesshōmaru.
Her head twitched up once she finished then she turned and pinned Inuyasha in place with one keen eye, her eyebrow raised. “What are ye doing standing there like a half-wit, Inuyasha? Go inside.”
Inuyasha flushed pink as he grumbled, “I wasn't waiting for you to tell me that, hag.”
Rin giggled and Inuyasha shot an ireless glare in her direction, wrinkling his nose as Sesshōmaru stepped behind her with a glower that was a little less intimidating considering the infants cradled in his arms. Kaede shook her head, laying one hand against Inuyasha’s back. He glanced down at her with a confused hrm only to yelp as she practically shoved him inside. The mat slapped him in the face as he tumbled through, catching himself from tripping onto the raised floor. But before he could yell back at her, the sight before him stole rendered his mind blank.
It’d been only a few hours since Inuyasha last laid eyes on Kagome, setting her down on the futon before Sango shooed him out of the room with a squeeze against his bicep. She didn’t have to be told to protect Kagome, to make sure she did everything to make sure they made it out of this alive. And for a moment, it was like they were on the battlefield again with Sango giving him a faint nod then turning away with a determination radiating off her in waves that’d make her unstoppable. Inuyasha knew she wouldn’t let him back into the room until they were finished but hearing Kagome’s pained whimpers and groans made him think a fight with Sango would have been worth it.
Now though, none of that mattered. The mid-morning sunbeams slipped through the window slats striping Kagome’s rosy pink cheeks with golden stripes. Her hair fanned out on a cloud-like pillow that suspiciously reminded him of Sesshōmaru’s fur. A brown, cracked bowl set beside the white futon and deep red-white printed comforter tucked up to Kagome’s shoulders. Sango dipped a cloth into the water, the exhaustion on her face eased as she folded it in threes then dabbed at Kagome’s forehead. Her fingers were tinged pink, likely from blood but they’d been washed so many times that the scent wasn’t as strong.
Inuyasha swallowed the bile in his throat as he hesitantly took a step forward, hearing Sango ask, “Feeling any better?” to Kagome over the crackling flames.
“Yeah,” Kagome told her to his relief. Her voice was hoarse with tiredness and guilt tied itself in tight ropes around Inuyasha’s ankles threatening to drag him beneath the earthen floor. He scanned the room with his eyes, noticing the grass and reed woven basket set beside Sango where several small blankets poked out. “Inuyasha…?”
He stiffened at the sound of his name and whipped his head around to see Kagome looking toward him with a genuine smile that could outshine the sunlight. Sango bent down to whisper something he couldn’t bother to make sense of because it made Kagome laugh, her shoulders bouncing lightly but the slightest wince twitched at her brows and he was trudging to her side without another thought.
Sango seemed to take that as her cue to leave, pushing up to her feet. “You did well, Kagome,” she said with a light pat to Kagome’s cheek.
“Thank you, Sango…”
Sango gave one last smile to her then the basket, a soft tender thing Inuyasha thought was solely reserved for Kohaku and Rin. As he shook off his shock, their paths crossed and Sango stopped him with a squeeze to his shoulder.
“Congratulations, otō-san.”
Heat surged up to Inuyasha’s cheeks as he knocked off her hand gently with an embarrassed keh, glaring at her as she left with a cheery laugh. The mat swung behind her and the gaps between revealed the front of the hut had been vacated, likely the others giving them privacy. Inuyasha’s hands fell to his side as all the energy in him drained out with no one left to bicker with, and the gravitas weighed heavily, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Otō-san. Otō-san. Oto—
“Inuyasha…”
His heart leapt into his throat at the sound of her voice, how weak it was. A word he would never associate with Kagome and as he turned around, Sesshōmaru’s words began to make sense. He shouldn’t doubt her or it would put her strength into question. And as he set down on his knees beside her, he brushed his knuckles against her soft cheek while reminding himself that Kagome - his Kagome - was the strongest person he knew. She smiled at him wearily, a crease between her brows when she tried to sit up.
“Kagome, what are you doing?” He griped, hastily positioning himself behind her so she could lean back against his chest after she reached into the basket. His eyes widened at the view over her head of the wrinkly, pink-tinged infant swaddled in her arms. The child’s eyes were closed, and atop their rounded head was a patch of damp, wispy dark curls. A scrunched up face paired with thin, dark eyebrows meeting together as their tiny nose twitched, likely taking in every new scent around them.
“Inuyasha,” Kagome’s gentle demand for his attention tore his gaze from the child’s face and down to her. Her head tilted back against his collarbone to where he could barely see her eyes from beneath her bangs, the curl of her lips the sweetest sight he could lay eyes upon. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
With only the low-burning brasier to pop and hiss at him in rebuke, Inuyasha nodded and whispered against her crown, “She is..”
Kagome’s giggle lacked its usual volume and his heart gave a startled thump as he tried to sniff her discreetly for the familiar tint of sickness. Sweat clung to her like a second skin, b the smile on her face was enough to ease his worries for now as he tucked his cheek against hers, slipping his arms around them both.
“I told you our child would be a girl,” Kagome murmured in a sing-song voice that fell flat in a few places though he was unwilling to point that out. Let her have her victory, he thought, smiling to himself.
“Yeah,” Inuyasha sighed, brushing his nose against the apple of her cheek with a kiss matched to her temple before he settled again. “You did.”
Kagome hummed sleepily, her head lolling against his shoulder as she sighed. “Mama said it's best to wait thirty days before you say your baby’s name aloud to others..”
“That right?” Inuyasha murmured, careful not to jostle his shoulder too much as he shifted his hold to let her rest against the flat of it. “Didn’t you say something about visiting a shrine?”
“Mhm.” He could practically hear the smile in her voice as she quipped with genuine joy, “You remembered.”
“Keh, why wouldn’t I? You wouldn’t quit talking about it for days.”
Kagome laughed again but this time it was softer, and if his hearing wasn’t as good as it was, he might not have heard it. The gentle tremble of her shoulder bouncing against his jaw telling of her mirth. “You’re right…” She whispered, voice trailing off with a sigh too deep for his comfort. “I’m so happy.. Inuyasha.”
His heart gave one painful pound when she fell silent shortly after, her body soon going limp against him as their child’s head slid down to rest against the upper swell of her breast. Inuyasha’s eyes widened as he reached up, tapping her cheek lightly with one finger. “Kagome? Oi, Kagome…!”
Sheer panic expanded in his chest as he cradled her cheek, tilting her head toward his. No, no, no, no. He tried not to let his energy flare too out of control. Please no, he begged whichever god was smiling down upon him cruelly. Don’t take her.
Then, the first few notes of a quiet snoring pattern flicked at his pressed ears.
Inuyasha blinked, unsure if he heard well enough but when she gave another murmur, he could have wept with relief and messed up her hair all at once for worrying him like that. But if she could sleep so easily after giving birth, that could only mean she felt safe. His heart swelled as he peered down, noting how their child - their daughter’s - heartbeat also slowed.
She felt safe with him there. Kagome, he could understand, she protected and cared for her for nine excruciatingly long months all while committing to her duties as a priestess until she couldn’t even stand without almost falling over. He felt almost useless when confronted with all of the sickness and aches she had. This wasn’t something he could fight, it was Kagome’s body and the child they made together. So Inuyasha did his best to be useful, visiting Jinenji for herbs to put together remedies his mother taught him about and following Kaede, Sango, and Rin’s instructions to the letter. Shippo passed on his regards through the little letters and gifts he could spare from his training which definitely eased Kagome’s missing him when he was away.
Sesshōmaru made the occasional appearance now and again but with Rin’s own pregnancy, he was more often than not at her side. Miroku was a bigger help anyway considering Sango had their third child only a year ago.
The best thing you can do, my friend, is be there when Kagome-sama and your child need you. That is a father’s duty after all.
Inuyasha swallowed thickly, focusing on the dozing pair in his arms. Be there when they needed him. He could do that. He wondered what kind of hold would be too tight or too loose then settled on cradling them both against his chest, setting his legs on either side of Kagome where his heels dug into the futon. The blanket slipping down to her lap pulled up to settle just beneath where his arm supported her own. Lost in sleep as she was, Kagome didn’t relinquish her hold on their daughter even by the slightest measure.
Did his own mother hold him that tightly when he was born?
He wondered what his father had done as well, only remembering his mother telling him that his father named him shortly before the battle that would lead to his demise. Staring down at that scrunched pink face that smoothed out in slumber, Inuyasha felt determination stir in his chest. He wouldn’t let that happen to her. She wouldn’t suffer through the pain of not knowing him - of wondering if he loved her or was proud of her - if he wanted her.
She would know who he was and that from the moment he met her, he loved her.
“Come on, Inuyasha!”
“I’m coming, woman! Slow down before you trip!”
The days passed in the blink of an eye and Kagome regained her strength with every sunrise. Like now as she ran up the stone steps without a care in the world. Looking less like the legendary priestess everyone murmured about and more like the girl from a strange world who was excited at everything she laid eyes on. It brought a smile to his face when her back turned after he’d almost reached the step she was on. Her fingers batted at their daughter who was staring at everything curiously, shadows dancing across her face from the leaves rustling overhead.
Light brushed past their curved sides, illuminating the green to a pale yellow color almost as if they were holding liquid sunshine. She seemed to like that as she waved her hand around, mouth open with little noises coming forth that Inuyasha still couldn’t make sense of. When she turned her eyes on him, he smiled faintly and adjusted the strap of the sling Kagome looped around his head that morning.
“Your okaa-san’s sure-footed as a rabbit, isn’t she, Mo—“ He bit the inside of his cheek then muttered a curse, covering his mouth as she sputtered a little giggle. Her voice was like a song and perked his ears as he took one step after another, grumbling down at her elated face, “Don’t tell her I cursed.”
“Inuyasha, are you two okay down there?” Kagome called down to him and he waved a hand over his head.
“Yeah, yeah! Not all of us have a death wish like you.”
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him, turning on her heel once he reached the staircase’s landing. “You could have fooled me…”
He clicked his tongue at her back, slipping his fingers into the half-circle of her hand as he fell in step beside her. It’d been some time since he last walked up those steps or come this far for anyone other than Rin. He told himself that he wasn’t avoiding the shrine. There simply was no reason to go there anymore. The path had been swept recently, likely by Rin or Kaede and the ground that’d been disturbed by Urasue were cleaned up with a new patch of bellflowers sprouting in the grass surrounding the auxiliary shrine.
Kagome curled her fingers around his hand with a light squeeze and the resulting pressure made Inuyasha realize he’d been holding her hand tighter.
“… Sorry,” he mumbled, staring at the wooden boards and the stone etch marks, unsure where to lay his eyes now that the one who rested there was truly gone.
Kagome shook her head out of the corner of his eye. “It’s fine,” she said. “I wanted to come here because she deserves to know Kikyō as well.”
Inuyasha frowned. Their daughter seemed taken with the shrine, her eyes wide. “But Kikyō is..”
“Important to you,” Kagome finished, her hand slipped under his line of sight and rested against his cheek. The warmth of her palm coaxed him into turning his head to where he could look down at her and his heart stopped. The corner of her eyes crinkled as she smiled wide, cheeks flushed either from exertion in her one-man competition up the shrine steps or sheer joy. He could have bet on the latter from how much happiness exudes from her, threatening to overcome him as well. His eyes softened as her fingers slipped down his jawline to the point of his chin. “So, shall we introduce her?”
Inuyasha nodded slowly, and Kagome bounced on the tip of her toes then looked forward. She clapped her hands together three times then bowed her head in a prayer. He wasn’t sure what she was saying or thinking but he looked down at their daughter, and her curious gaze turned up to him almost at the same time. Before he could close his eyes to utter his own prayer, Kagome startled him as she proclaimed loudly, “Okay! Inuyasha, why don’t you tell her name?”
Taken aback by her outburst, Inuyasha squinted then stammered out, “W-What, why me…?!”
Kagome huffed, setting her hands on her hips. “Because you’re her father.”
“So what…? You’re her mother, you’re the one who carried her and gave birth to her, so that should be something you do— it was thanks to you that she’s even here!”
Kagome’s eyes widened as he spoke and he cursed inwardly, hoping he hadn’t said something that was going to turn this day into a living hell. Then all at once, her expression changed from shock to an unreadable stillness that confused him even more before settling into a kind, warm look.
“Inuyasha,” she began, gently slipping her hands around one of his own as if he were going to fall apart if she grasped him any tighter. His claws peeped out between the cradle formed by her palms and he curled his fingers to keep them from blocking his view of her smile as she lifted their joined hands. “It’s important you do it. Your otō-san named you before he had to leave, right? So you name her, and then…” She squeezed his fingers as if trying to imprint her words and this sensation into his skin for all time. “We can go home together, as a family.”
Inuyasha swallowed the pain lodged in his throat as the memory of his haha-ue’s admittance returned. How wistfully she stared out at the velvety ink sky on a new moon night, running her fingers over his darkened hair with a lingering touch where his ears would have been. She was the first to love him as he was completely just as she loved his father — his wonderful, terrible father. He squeezed Kagome’s hand in return hoping the gesture conveyed his acceptance as much as he could without words. As she eased one of her hands free, she allowed the other to remain in his grasp and they turned to the shrine as he tried to gather the words.
Their daughter looked on with her gurgling, little noises. Her tiny fingers brushing at the ends of his forelocks attempting to grasp them in her chubby fist. A small smile curled his lips as he drew in a breath then squeezed Kagome’s hand as he released it, tucking a finger in his daughter’s outstretched hand.
“Please watch over this child in my arms, and guide her from danger and hardship as long as she draws breath,” Inuyasha glanced down at their daughter’s eyes, curling his caught finger against her knuckles. “… Her name is..” He glanced at Kagome and she gave him an encouraging nod. When he looked up with renewed confidence, Inuyasha smiled proudly.
“Moroha.”