Chapter Text
The first had looked just like his brother: silver hair, puppy ears, Golden eyes, claws and fangs, a quintessential Inu-hanyo son.
The second and third had been twins, a boy who looked completely human and a girl who looked completely Youkai. If it weren’t for their mixed scent no one would know they were hanyo.
The fourth had been another mix of features. Silver hair, blue eyes, softly pointed ears, no fangs or claws; a beautiful little girl that Kagome called her elf-child.
The fifth had been a surprise.
His arrival had been diligently planned and anticipated; all their children were loved and doted on equally and adding another now the others were getting older was a choice that had taken no real thought.
He came into the world just as the others in a flurry of chaos and excitement, but the silence following his birth had been deafening.
The baby cried, but everyone in the room took one look and lost their own voices.
He had healthy lungs, that much was certain, two arms, and two legs....
It was the soft coating of fur that covered his body and undeniably doggish snout that seemed so out of place.
Kagome... he looked to her immediately. Tears streamed silently down her face as the midwife placed her new baby in her arms and she cooed over him. He could smell her fear and anxiety, stronger than the fatigue of childbirth and edged with deep sadness.
She closed her eyes and wept. He snapped out of his shock and went straight to her side, looking over his new pup to ensure he was healthy despite his appearance.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Oh Kami-Sama I’m so sorry.”
She kissed the baby’s head and rocked from side to side with him, whispering apologies into his fur and weeping in anguish.
He was at a loss how to help her, so when the babe was asleep and she’d fitfully rested for at least a little while he endeavored to find out what he could from her.
“Why do you apologize to him?”
Weary from birth and such a turbulent storm of emotion, Kagome sighed and wilted into his side.
“I know you saw him. You held him, how could you not have? Hanyo have a hard enough time as it is, even when they look mostly human. What’s the world going to do to him, Sesshomaru? How is the world going to treat my baby?”
Her tears started anew.
He scooped her up and placed her in his lap where she sank into him, tears bleeding into the silk of his clothing.
“I don’t know if you ever met Jinenji. He’s a hanyo who didn’t turn out like Inuyasha. He’s huge and has an inhuman face. He’s gentle and good but the villagers he lives near tormented him. His mother was so old... I don’t know if she’s even alive anymore, and his father wasn’t there. I just... I’m so scared. Our other children have options, they can hide if they need to... but this one...”
He tightened his arms around her and rumbled low in his chest to soothe her wildly fluctuating aura.
“We will go and find this Jinengi when you are healed.”
Kagome grew still and her crying ceased.
“What?”
“We will ascertain his well-being and offer him a place here should he wish it.”
“Sesshomaru....”
“As for our son, he will have a mother who never dies and a father who will not leave his side. No matter what he faces in the world, or what cruelties he encounters, he will be safe with us. He will be safe with me.”
Her face crumpled in tired relief and she fell back into his embrace. No one would be fooled into thinking the problem was solved, they were only at the beginning of his little life and there was no true way to predict what challenges would be in store for him.
But, Sesshomaru thought as he pulled the little sleeping basket closer and observed his new son sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the angst his parents were trying to process, he already wouldn’t trade him for anything.
“Another strong son. Father would be proud. I am proud.”
He ran one fingertip through the soft, silvery fur covering his rounded cheek and smiled.