After Midnight

DISCLAIMER: Once upon a time I thought I owned it, and then I realized I didn’t. Then I was sad. Oh, and props to Sunset Miko for the name of Sesshomaru's castle. I didn't even realize I'd seen the name before until I was re-reading one of her storys.

Chapter 3:
Truth and Memory


“Where are we going?” The elder hanyou asked as she was jostled along on Kagome’s back.

“The village,” the miko answered. “We can grab extra supplies and leave word of where we’re headed.”

“Which is?” Akitsuki cocked a brow in a perfect imitation of Sesshomaru causing Shippou to almost trip.

Kagome pushed more of her power into her system and sped up the pace of their sprint. “The Palace Moon,” she said attempting to throw a funny look over her shoulder.

“Oh,” Akitsuki was quiet for a moment before a thought struck her. “How do you know the villager’s won’t attack you?”

It was Kagome’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Attack us?”

Shippou ran up level with his mother as they wove between the trees. He could see her struggling to find a reason for the villager‘s to assault them. “We have friends there,” he reassured. “They’re used to demons and hanyou,” he added delicately.

Silence descended on the odd group for a moment. The only sound being the light footfalls of the adults and the rustle of the wind through the trees. As is usual, the youngest traveler cracked first.

“My name is Sayuri,” the younger hanyou chirped. “How come you can run so fast?” Her nose twitched as she sniffed at Kagome. “You’re human;” she looked unsure, “right?”

Kagome couldn’t help it, she laughed. The girl was too cute, just like her mother.

Shippou silently reveled in the lilting sound of his mother’s joy.

“Hai. I’m human, but I’m a miko. A strong miko can channel their powers to strengthen their bodies and supplement their natural abilities. My friend Miroku, he‘s a monk, does it all the time,” Kagome explained in a patient tone.

The little girl’s mouth opened in a silent ‘Oh.’ Kagome giggled.

“My sister’s name is Akitsuki. She’s too rude to introduce herself.”

“I am not rude!” Akitsuki yelled as she balled her fists and almost fell off Kagome’s back. “We don’t know these people!”

Shippou snorted and turned to Kagome. “Remind you of a certain hanyou?”

“Oh Kami,” Kagome gasped as she burst out laughing. “Don’t let Rin hear you say that.”

Both girls snapped their attention to the miko. “You know our mother?” Akitsuki asked her cinnamon orbs wide.

Shippou seemed floored, his fangs peeking out from his gaping mouth. “Rin?” He asked in an awed voice. “These are Rin’s cubs? Our Rin!?”

Kagome chuckled. “Who did your mother say were her friends in the village? I assume that’s why she told you to run there.”

Sayuri peered from the cradle of Shippou’s arms with understanding in her eyes. “A miko...”

“...and a kitsune,” Akitsuki finished in a whisper.

“Yahtzee!” Kagome sang.

Sayuri blinked owlishly. “What’s a Yahtzee?”

“Uh, never mind.” Kagome muttered, blushing.

Shippou dodged a particularly nasty root intent on tripping him. The ground was familiar now. They were back in Inuyasha’s forest and would be in the village by nightfall.

“How’d you know they‘re Rin’s?” He asked his mother.

Kagome shrugged and jerked her head toward Sayuri. “The necklace.”

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Five Years Ago

Kagome had always loved the Castle of the West. The first day she visited she had fallen for its simple beauty and quiet grace.

It never ceased to surprise her how at odds the castle seemed with the demon Lord that lived there. She often wondered if it had looked the same before he had Rin.

The innocent looking grassy hill gave way to the barrier concealing the castle from outsiders’ eyes. As she passed through the youki of the barrier caused her to shutter. She rubbed the goose bumps that had formed on her arms despite the sunny weather.

‘Why do I always expect to see heads on pikes?’ She mused to herself as the guards near the gates eyed her warily.

‘Oh, come on. You knew I was coming.’ She lifted an eyebrow at the nearest sentry. Absently, Kagome realized that over the years the guards had become much less inclined to sneer at her, but no more prone to open the gate.

“Open,” a deep voice echoed from the inside of the courtyard.

‘I know that voice,’ she thought. Amusement danced in her eyes as she watched the guards scramble to comply with their General’s order.

“General Isamu,” Kagome greeted as she strode through the entrance.

“Hello Kagome,” he smiled. “Back so soon?”

Her other eyebrow rose. “It’s been five years.”

“Ah, but a blink for those such as you and I,” he countered with a fanged grin while taking her hand in his.

She smacked him playfully on the arm. “Stop flirting.”

He chuckled and opened his mouth to reply when he was cut off by the sound of puffing and running steps.

“Kagome-nee-chan!”

“Rin sweetheart, don’t run!” A panther youkai pleaded as he held out his hands in a gesture of supplication.

Kagome and Isamu turned to watch the spectacle of Rin wobbling across the courtyard as fast she could, followed by her distressed mate. The miko bit back her giggles.

“Haruki’s right Rin,” she admonished.

The excited young woman pulled to a stop and wrapped her arms around Kagome’s shoulders the best she could.

“Kami Rin,” Kagome said looking at the other woman’s swollen stomach.

Rin cradled her mid-section and broke out in a gap-toothed smile. Faced with the girl’s joy at her presence Kagome started feeling guilty. Really, it wasn’t so bad here and yet she hadn’t visited once since Akitsuki’s birth. She sighed inaudibly, put the thoughts aside, and turned to watch the two worst troublemakers in the palace.

Haruki‘s green eyes twinkled. “Out here wooing General?”

Isamu’s innocent expression reminded Kagome eerily of Miroku. “Hentai,” she mumbled under her breath as she took Rin’s arm and led her back toward the palace.

Haruki followed his mate snickering at the pout on his General’s face.

The group of four passed between the long low barracks building and the dojo. As they entered the castle and made their way down the hall. Kagome noticed a spark of pain flare in Rin’s aura.

“Is the birthing room prepared?” She asked calmly, looking back at Haruki.

He furrowed his brow. “Yes. Do you need to see it now?”

“Yes,” Kagome mocked his tone with a playful smile. “Your mate is in labor.”

Haruki’s mouth dropped and he attempted to go five directions at once. He only succeeded in falling down.

Rin laughed, “Koi, we’ve been through this three times already. It’ll be fine.”

Haruki nodded dumbly and then lead the way to the birthing room in the left wing of the castle.

“I will alert the Lord,” Isamu said as he parted from the group heading down the hall to the right. He cast a last playful wink back at Kagome over his shoulder. She shook her head and rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Rin and her nervous mate.

Outside the birthing room Kagome turned and placed a hand on Haruki’s shoulder. “Wait here.”

The panther youkai’s body was stiff with apprehension.

Kagome’s gaze softened. ‘So devoted,’ she thought wistfully. “She’s right you know.”

Haruki snapped his eyes from his mate to the miko.

“You have three healthy children. Rin is strong,” she reassured him in a quiet voice.

“I know,” the cat said love lacing his words. He leaned forward and hugged Kagome tight. “She’s in good hands.”

“Miko.” A smooth baritone caused Kagome and Haruki to break apart.

“Sesshomaru-sama,” Kagome greeted with a slight bow. From experience she knew what he wanted to hear. “Rin is in labor. From her energies I would judge that she will birth before the night is through.”

He gave a curt nod and sank to the floor with his back propped against the wall.

It had amazed Kagome when Sesshomaru sat through Rin’s first birth. It astounded her that he hadn’t missed one since. ‘Big softy,’ she mentally chuckled. She knew by his actions that he loved Rin, and it made her respect the daiyoukai all the more.

With a last kiss Rin directed her mate to watch over their children and smiled in reassurance. She then bent and wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru’s neck. Thankfully due to his height, she didn’t have to bend very far. Even sitting on the ground his head rose to her collar bone.

Kagome made it a point to stare idly at the ceiling while she waited for their embrace to end. Another contraction hit and Rin pulled away, placing her small hand into Kagome’s to squeeze through the pain.

“Let’s get you situated inside,” Kagome said wrapping her free arm around the young woman’s shoulders.

Rin turned into the miko’s embrace and allowed herself to be lead into the room. Kagome slid the shoji screen closed behind them.

Hours had passed. The sun had set, and Rin’s contractions were moving closer and closer together. The miko looked up from her place on the floor.

“You still wear it,” she said nodding toward the pregnant woman’s necklace.

Rin smiled and then grimaced as another contraction hit. “I’ve never taken it off.”

“I had thought you might have given it to Akitsuki, or one of your boys. They’re old enough to be training in the army now aren’t they?”

“Yes, Katsuro and Haru are both in the army. But you know boys, they would rather their mother be protected.” She chuckled a little and then moaned.

Kagome moved to check Rin’s progress, kneeling on the futon between the young woman’s legs.

“Kagome-nee-chan,” Rin said with a hitch in her voice.

Kagome locked her blue eyes with Rin’s dark brown.

“Are we like this because of the jewel?”

That simple question froze Kagome’s heart. How could she tell Rin of her biggest mistake?

The emotion must have shown clearly across the miko’s face because Rin reached down and clasped Kagome’s hand in hers.

“I’m not mad. I’m happy.” She said with a large smile. “I get to stay with my family. I should be thanking you.”

Kagome bit her lip knowing that if Rin hadn’t chosen a demon for a mate she would have been sentenced to the same torment as Miroku and Sango. She shook away the thoughts of old guilt. “You say you’ve never taken it off?” She asked changing the subject.

“Never,” Rin replied fingering the delicate silver chain with the dark pink teardrop attached.

“Good,” Kagome said. She concentrated for a moment, her aura surrounding her in a soft rose light. As she opened her fist an identical necklace was conjured out of thin air. “Never do,” she said handing Rin the new charm. “Give this to Akitsuki, and tell her-”

“That if she needs you call, and that she is protected.” Rin said recalling the words Kagome had spoken to her shortly after the battle with Naraku.

The moment was broken when Kagome felt dampness rush across her knees.

“Well Rin, it’s time to lay back and push.”

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What should have been a week’s journey on foot took Sesshomaru just over a day. He found the site with little trouble and felt his anger rise at the smell of blood and death.

He landed along a wide grassy road that cut through the woods about a day and half outside of Inuyasha’s forest. As he scanned the remains of the caravan it became obvious they were ambushed.

‘Cowards,’ Sesshomaru thought shifting through the wreckage. He growled low in his throat as he caught the scent of Rin’s blood.

Moving swiftly towards the source he found the shattered remains of a carriage near the middle of the procession. ‘They made it look like bandits.’ He growled again but it was cut of abruptly as he rolled the body closest to the carriage onto its back.

‘Haru.’ Sesshomaru’s mind blanked before filling with images of how Rin would take the loss of her second son. He felt an odd sense of pride that the hanyou would fight to the death for his mother. The demon Lord was unable to leave the young male’s body in such a dishonorable condition. He closed Haru’s eyes, and buried him in a shallow grave to the side of the path, vowing to return his body to The Palace Moon as soon as possible.

‘Naboru will pay,’ he thought smirking a bit as he imagined Katsuro’s vengeance upon the being that murdered his younger brother.

It was obvious to Sesshomaru that the Southern Lord‘s threat had been carried out. Rin wasn’t there and neither were her daughters. ‘Where the hell is Haruki?’

Sesshomaru sniffed around the clearing trying to pick up the trail of Rin, her mate, or her cubs. He could tell Rin was injured but not dead, at least not yet. What mystified him was why Haruki’s scent was no where in the vicinity. ‘Did he not leave the Eastern Palace with them?’

The demon Lord stiffened as he caught the scent of Rin’s daughters headed into the woods. Their trail was followed by a group of snake youkai. Without second thought he bolted into the forest.

‘Whoever took Rin masked their scent as they left, but the children’s scent cannot be more than two days old. They were not kidnapped then.’ Sesshomaru’s mind was whirling. ‘They fled,’ he concluded.

As he followed the two hanyous’ scents he could smell their fear increase. When the scent of their tears hit his nose he found himself dangerously close to loosing control of his anger for the second time in as many days.

‘The bastards hunted them down like animals.’ He cursed mentally.

Sesshomaru caught the unmistakably bite of holy powers as he neared the clearing ahead of him. He soared over the low brush ringing what looked to be an old camp and froze.

‘The miko?!’ His mind asked incredulously.

He surveyed the clearing and found one body with its spinal cord severed surrounded by five different smudges of ash. The area was thick with the tang of purity and the scents of both the miko and kitsune.

He followed Sayuri and Akitsuki’s trail and felt mild relief when he realized they were unharmed. A moment later he growled mentally as he realized that all four scents disappeared in the middle of the clearing.

‘Damn miko,’ he groused.

To Sesshomaru the only logical answer as to where the group fled was the village. He may not be able to follow their scent trail, but he could follow the miko’s train of thought.

He summoned his youki cloud and headed to Edo.

The only problem was that Naboru’s army was headed that way too.

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She must have drifted off to sleep sometime while they were transporting her. Chastising herself for not being alert, she attempted to keep her heart rate and breathing as steady and relaxed as possible. Rin was not ready for her captures to become aware of her consciousness.

The sling she was tied to swayed sickeningly with the movements of the two youkai carrying it. They had learned the hard way that they couldn’t touch her. After the fourth purity burn the enraged General of the Southern army had basically wrapped her in a sack, but she still couldn’t be touched directly. Thus, she found herself fighting her nausea as she swung between the two snake youkai.

She had been frightened when she told her daughters to run and saw five soldiers chase them, but the fear had turned to relief when the soldiers didn’t return. The General had sent more after them, but Rin was convinced that by that point they would have had ample time to get away. Perhaps they met up with help.

A particularly nasty swing of her conveyance caused Rin to push her hand against the rough fabric to steady herself. She bit back a hiss at the pain in her palm. There was no way they didn’t know she was awake now.

Rin hadn’t really been thinking when she’d done it. Her son was lying dead at her feet, her daughters were being chased through the woods, and the next thing she knew she was slicing open the palm of her hand. ‘Not that the blood trail will help father now since any blood that dripped off was caught by this stupid sack,’ she thought bitterly.

The memory of her son came back to her. The look on his face as he realized he would die. She had to close her eyes against the tears. Haru, he was never really meant to be a soldier. In a way he reminded her of Kohaku. Rin had always considered her second son’s nature to be too kind for blood shed.

She brought up the mental image of him fighting off the youkai in front of him, felling far more than should have been possible. She had never seen him battle so viciously, and he had done it for her. A sad smile settled onto her lips as she swallowed thickly. Her son had died well.

Rin’s thoughts were jarred by the sudden sound of screaming. It was a woman, and Rin felt her blood chill as she picked up the sounds of male laughter and grunts. One of the youkai carrying her chuckled darkly, and she was suddenly very, very glad she couldn’t see outside the sack. The smell of smoke was thick in the air along with the dull roar that signaled a burning building. She shuttered as she recalled the attack on her village by the wolves.

After awhile Rin found herself tossed unceremoniously to the ground, the rope binding the bag shut was cut, and she was left to crawl out on her own. She lay there for a moment, debating whether she wanted to come out after what she had just heard.

“Come out girl. I know you’re awake,” a gruff voice said.

Rin pulled herself from the confines of the sack noticing that she was inside a large white tent. She arranged her face into an emotionless mask that would have made her father proud, and raised her head to glare at the youkai in front of her.

A tori stared down at her seemingly unimpressed. “I don’t see what the big deal is,” he grumbled to himself cocking his head to the side in a very bird-like manner.

“Oh, but she is quite important,” a soft sinuous voice declared from the opening in the tent.

Rin couldn’t hold back a shiver as she watched the female demon slink forward from the shadows. Her knee length hair was black with streaks the color of dried blood running through it. The youkai continued her approach, tipping her hands carefully so that the ray of sunlight entering the tent glinted off her claws. Her bronze eyes lit up with mirth as she saw Rin glance involuntarily at the deadly appendages.

She stood in front of the tori youkai, not even bothering to acknowledge her captive. “Don‘t forget your part,” she said sternly to the demon before turning to leave the tent.

The tori squawked in indignation. “What am I supposed to do until he gets here?”

The demoness tossed a fanged smirk over her shoulder to Rin’s new guard. “Keep an eye on the bait.”

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AN:

Thank you my reviewers! You make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Indigo: Well I hope I cleared a few things up. Everyone should have a decent idea on part of what Kagome did with the jewel.

Naboru: What’s with this demoness? I’m the villain in this story!

Indigo: Shhh! Or I’ll throw you out like I did Naraku. I swear, bad guys are such drama queens. Anyway, there’s more about the jewel but that should be cleared up next chapter. ::grins::

Sessho: Must you keep that expression on your face. It merely proves you are a simple ningen.

Indigo: ::waves remote under Sessho’s nose threateningly::

Sessho: ::growls:: Ningen, this Sesshomaru demands you--

::ZAP::

Sessho: ::YELP::

Indigo: Sess needs a nap. ::looks at smoking Sessho on the floor::

Inuyasha: ::laughs and points::

Indigo: Kagome....

Kagome: Sure thing Indigo. Sit Boy!

Inuyasha: ::thump::

Shippou: Let’s hope no one dies before this fic is over.

Preview!

Chapter 4: Family

Kagome started explaining. “After breakfast Shippou went to the river, and I sensed a demonic aura around our camp. It was radiating malevolence so I got ready to deal with it. Before I got a chance to I felt the energies of two small hanyou followed by five more youkai. I dispatched the first youkai right before these two,” she gestured to the girls, “ran into our camp followed by a group of soldiers.”

Sango gasped. “Soldiers? What were they doing near Edo?”

“Apparently,” Kagome continued, “kidnapping Rin, and attempting to do the same with these two.”

Inuyasha let out a low whistle. “Fluffy’s gonna be pissed.”