Chapter 19: Daughter
Kagome lied there, staring at the ceiling before looking at Sesshomaru, who slept beside her. She did not know what to do at this point in her life. She stared at him, watching him sleep as she thought of her life up to this point. She thought of the battles and the odds that she had overcome with her friends, but she didn’t do that anymore. She had become that bird trapped in the master’s cage of gold and silver. Where had her old self gone? She had gone into battle countless times with her bow and arrows unafraid of the next moment and lived in the now…but it had changed. Why? Why did she change?
She watched Sesshomaru in his sleep, his face did not hold the peaceful look that it normally did…no, it was different this time. It looked like he was in pain and he didn’t habe her trapped in his arms like she normally would be. She was fine with that, but the look on his face had her concerned for him and made her want to reach out for him. Instead she moved to get out of bed, but a hand grabbed her hand and stopped her.
Kagome turned her eyes to have ocean blue meet gold. “Can I help you with something?” she asked calmly and without the venom in her voice. Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment before taking his hand from hers and pushing some of her bangs from her eyes. Her bangs were often in her eyes now and her hair had grown since their days of travel to kill Naraku. It made her look older and lovelier than in the past, but he wondered why he didn’t notice before. “I want to get to know you and learn about you,” he said softly. She looked at him and wondered why he was saying this? Why did he want to know when he wasn’t going to change?
But she saw something in his eyes that willed her to talk with him. “What do you want to know?” She asked as she moved to lie back down with him. Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him as he stroked her hair. “How did your parents meet?” he asked softly as he gently rubbed her swelling stomach, hoping that he would soon feel them move inside their mother’s womb.
“They met when my mom was out to get her wedding dress for her upcoming wedding. My dad had worked at this-”
“Your father worked? I thought you said that he was a priest, why would he work?” Sesshomaru asked. He was confused now, her father was a priest, did work, but not wealthy and had a noblemen’s daughter for his bride, one that had been meant to marry another as well. Kagome frowned at Sesshomaru, confused. “It’s not an uncommon for a priest to work where I’m from and he wasn’t a priest…he was descended from priests, priestesses and shrine keepers.”
“Where are you from?” He asked her; he had realized that he had never asked her that and wondered why he didn’t. Kagome looked at him for a moment before thinking of how she should answer since she didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell him that she was from the future. She didn’t trust him like she did her friends or Inuyasha; she didn’t know if she would ever trust him in anything. “My village is near the Well.”
“…Why do you feel the need to lie to me, Kagome?” he asked calmly as he moved a hand to stroke her face. He couldn’t understand why she was lying to him; he wasn’t her enemy, but she almost always treated him as if he was. He didn’t like it, but he would allow it until the babies were born, then it would be stopped. She looked him in the eye and asked. “What do you want to hear then?” He frowned at her words and the tone that she had as well; why did she insist on being so difficult in everything. “If you do not desire to tell me then, ask me a question.”
Kagome just looked at him, surprised for a moment before she started to think of a question to ask him. When it hit her good and hard, “How do you think we should raise our children?” Sesshomaru was a little surprised by her question, but saw no reason not to answer it. “All our children will be trained for battle an-”
“Why? Why must our babies be trained for battle? What if they want to never shed blood unlike their father?” She interrupted. Kagome didn’t and refused to let her children be trained to be soldiers that would be slaughter others at their father’s order as she carried another batch waiting to be born for that fate. Sesshomaru rolled on top of her with his frown deepening. “They are my offspring, Kagome and they will be trained and will fight by my side in battle. They are also demons…you aren’t growing humans in that womb of yours and they will desire to shed blood like we all do,” He growled at her before moving down her body to nuzzle her stomach.
“If one of them is killed? If Mizuki is killed in battle? What then? Will they just bring you shame and you’ll deny them as your children?” She snapped at him, feeling her powers rise to the surface. Her feelings were ripped and roaring inside of her like the waves of the ocean in a rage; she didn’t want that for her babies to suffer…she just wanted them to grow up happy and healthy. But could they when their father would see them as nothing, but weapons to be used? It was then that she noticed his eyes were red as blood.
oOo
Nori sighed, trying to not think of the corpse that had been her son’s mate and instead think of the adorable stuffed animals that she was having made for her grandchildren. But it was hard when she was concerned on what was going to happen next.
What was going to be Sesshomaru’s next move with the death of his mate? He could mate with Kagome, but it would just start the war that he planned for to happen ahead of time before he was fully prepared for it. He could also hand over Kagome to Sakura’s brother, but Kagome was pregnant and it would put the lives of her unborn in danger for them to leave Sesshomaru’s side since he needed to continuously plant his seed inside of Kagome for both a safe birth and for healthy children.
Nori stared into her cup of tea, her thoughts lost to what her son’s next move would be. “My Lady,” One of her handmaidens said softly, drawing her from her thoughts. “Yes?”
“So guests have arrived and seek to speak with you or Lord Sesshomaru,” The handmaiden told her lady, who sighed greatly. This was either good or bad…Nori couldn’t help but wonder which it would be for her son. But then only time would tell her that.
oOo
“NO ONE WILL EVER HARM MY CHILDREN OR THEY WILL SUFFER AT MY HAND! I WILL ALSO NEVER BE ASHAME BY THE SEED THAT GROWS FROM YOUR BODY! THEY ARE MY CHILDREN AND WILL NEVER BE DENIED THAT TITLE!” Sesshomaru roared at her, but Kagome didn’t flinch at his roar. She was surprised and shocked as well; Kagome have known that Sesshomaru was fond and cared for their daughter…but his words held a deeper meaning than just that.
He saw his children as more…he loved their children.
The knowledge of that released tears that flowed down her face gently and softly as the knowledge filled her. Sesshomaru was taken aback by her tears and wondered if he had taken it too far as he wrapped his arms around her, to try soothing her of the upset that he had caused her. “I think I needed that, Sesshomaru.” She whispered softly as looked down at her swelling stomach. Sesshomaru looked down at her, confused by her words. “how so, Kagome?”
“I didn’t know what you felt for these children inside me or for Mizuki. I didn’t know if they were to become weapons or toys…would you make every choice for them until you are no more? But I don’t think that way anymore…because I know you love our babies,” Sesshomaru stared at her, shocked and wondering if that was the odd emotion that had filled him at Mizuki’s birth. Did he love his children? It was a question that he had no real answer to. “Will you continue to tell me of how your parents’ meeting?” He finally asked.
Kagome looked at him for a moment before nodding to his request. “Dad had worked at the shop that she was getting her dress from. Mom noticed dad right away, but ignored him to look through the dresses to see one that she might wear to her wedding, though her heart wasn’t into it. Her marriage was an arranged one that her father, my grandfather was forcing on her. He didn’t care that my mom couldn’t stand to be around the rude, but wealthy man that he was having her marry.”
“Why is that? I do not understand, aren’t arranged marriages apart of your village’s life?” Sesshomaru asked, he didn’t fully understand all of this, but it was interesting to heard about it still.
“No, a woman cannot be made to unless it’s her desire to have that man in her life. If she doesn’t want him and he forces her to marry him or to have sex then he will be punished,” Sesshomaru stared at Kagome, willing her to look up from the children growing inside of her. Was that why she fought him so? Because of her village’s improper way of bringing up their females?
“Then my dad came and started helping her look, and though there were many dresses that would have looked perfect on my mother. She didn’t find the one that she wanted to wear and decided to have the shop do a custom job for her instead. After that they would meet often at the shop until they would meet outside of it as well, but my grandfather put a stop to that.” Kagome thought of how mother had been when she told her about her grandfather and what that side of the family was like.
Cold and emotionless. Any sign of emotion and you would be punished for it, if you complained about a decision make for you without your consent and you would be beaten black and blue. Kagome often wondered how her mother turned into the wonderful person that she was when she was raised like that.
“What happened after?” Sesshomaru asked. He could tell that Kagome found this to be odd, but it all sounded like what a normal noble father would do. One of noble blood couldn’t let their blood be tainted by the weak blood of commoners…but then would it be said to be the same with what he did with Kagome? He gave her his seed, letting it grow in the fertile field of her womb, tainting the world with the birth of their children of two bloods; demons and humans. He waited as his thoughts swarmed in his mind.
Kagome said nothing as she tried to move out of his arms; her bladder was going to burst soon. But Sesshomaru didn’t let go, “Sesshomaru…I need to pee, so let me go.”
He instantly let her go and let her go to take care of her business. He also got up, leaving the cave to get fresh air and hope to get some answers from his thoughts. You took me without a thought to my feelings, I carried Mizuki inside me and gave birth to her with the fear that something was wrong with her or that she would die during the birth or after because of your physicians. Then she have been taken from me because you want more children and I’m forced to comply if I want to see her, so now I’m pregnant again, Sesshomaru. I am her mother and the mother of your unborn children, I didn’t ask or want it, but I am. I love my babies, but I don’t see why I would want their father, who has no respect for me because of what society says it doesn’t matter and I don’t belong to him because society expects it.
Kagome’s words echoed in his head from last night and the words that she had spoken now. She was intelligent, kind and sweet; her strength and power were endless like the ocean that coloured her eyes. After a few minutes, he noticed that she stood at the mouth of the cave. He moved quickly to her side; Sesshomaru didn’t want her standing or walking for long in her pregnancy.
He noticed how he didn’t have to fight her to keep her in his arms as he carried her to the hot spring. Gently he placed her in it before joining her; she didn’t protest at him wrapping his arms around her either. Sesshomaru took it as a good sign and hoped that it was one.
“So what happened after, Kagome?” he asked again, he wanted to know what happened next. He wanted to know what Kagome hoped for their children.
“Well, my grandmother had another dress made from another shop, but the day of the wedding there were too boxes. When my mom opened one, she found the dress that was meant for that wedding and when she opened the other…she almost cried. My dad had sent the dress that had been made for her and with it was a letter. The letter was a letter of proposal to her. After reading that letter, my mom took the dress that dad sent and leave with own a letter of her own to explain.” Kagome thought of the strength her mother had shown in her actions that day before she had been born.
“That…seems foolish to me,” Sesshomaru finally said to her, making Kagome look and glare at him before she pushed her way out of his arms. She was a little annoyed since he had let her do so, but still plan to confront him on how it was foolish. “How so?”
Her voice told him that she was ready to make war if he didn’t answer her soon. “Your mother walked away from everything that she would need in life for a man that would likely have nothing for her. Its foolish to me that she would do that,” he replied. Kagome frowned at him for his words, her mother hadn’t been foolish…she had been brave to do that.
“It’s was more brave to me than foolish, Sesshomaru. My mom took what she really wanted from life and not what others would make her take! She was happy and is still in love with my dad even now though he’s dead. There is no one that I admire more than my mother,” she told him as she turned her back to him. “It was still foolish,” he told her, making her turn and glare at him passionately. “Then you’re blind, Sesshomaru. You’re blind to how not all women desire a cage or desire to have every man rule over them! My mother never wanted that and I don’t either, I’m that our daughters will be the same and desire the right to choose how they will live their lives instead of letting their father and brothers’ choose for them.”
“Unlike you Kagome, our daughters will be brought up the right wa-” She slapped him before he could finish. “The right way? No, Sesshomaru! My daughters will be brought up to believe in their abilities and themselves! I wouldn’t have them before simple-minded women that have not a thought in their head beyond what kimono to wear for the next meal!”