A Gift From The Past

A/N: Enjoy and please review. I'm trying to get things the way I want them for this fic, so it's going to be a while until this fic is completely done. My poor muse is going to have a break-down, I think.

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Three months had passed since Kagome and Kagura's arrival at Totosai's cave. They had learned much, and Kagome quickly learned how to weild the demon claw effectively. She would get strong praise from both Inu Taisho and Totosai when she did the techniques properly.

Between the two of them, Kagome and Kagura had managed to gain a bit of a reputation within the youkai world, and it was a feared reputation. Who would ever want to mess with the mighty wind witch, and her hooded companion. Kagome had taken to wearing a cloak almost as soon as her pregnancy began to show. She used the hood to cover the crescent moon and hit it from the world. The only time she had to ever show it was at Inu Taisho's insistance when they came upon a tiger youkai.

The tiger was an honorable one, but was in need of food. Inu Taisho told Kagome to remove the hood so that he could see that she was a friend of his people, just as Inu Taisho had been. He told her to tell the demon that he could find food going north, and not to stop until he came to a river with three boulders in the middle of it. Then the tiger was to wait and a family of stags would be by. The tiger was so grateful that he bowed down before Kagome and then offered his name.

He called himself Tiros, prince of the tiger tribe. He told her that he was now bound to her and anything she asked of him would be granted. Kagome only wanted him to stay silent about her, the marking, and her pregnancy. Tiros quickly agreed, and told her that his tribe would welcome her with open arms should she need a place to go. Kagura only rolled her eyes at the conversation, and patiently waited until the tiger was gone before turning and glaring at Kagome.

"Do you know exactly who that was?" Kagura hissed.

"No. Was he someone important?" Kagome asked.

"Well, duh. Tiros is the son of the southern lord. His family and the northern family are in the middle of a huge war confrence and unless a treaty can be signed, there will be war. We just sent the prince of tigers into the northern territory, so what do you suppose will happen if he gets caught?" Kagura asked, trying hard to be patient with the young former human.

"Ummm, there will be one less tiger in the world. Oh no!!! We have got to get to him." Kagome exclaimed as she lept up, only to lose her balance and fall backwards. A strong pair of hands caught her, and she smiled up into the friendly face of Lord Inu Taisho.

"I don't know how you do that, but I am glad that you are around to save me from embarrassing myself." Kagome said warmly.

Kagura threw her hands up. "I am going after the prince. Kagome, go back to Totosai's. You need your rest. The pup relies on you." Kagura said, with a smile on her face. She could never stay mad at the pregnant miko. Even if she was now an inu youkai. She grabbed a feather, and floated away, confident that the lord will march Kagome back to the cave and make her rest.

As they watched her leave, Kagome turned to the lord. "Why did you have me send the prince to the northern area if you knew that there was bad blood?" she asked.

Inu Taisho looked down at the young woman in his arms and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Kagome, wars such as this are because two selfish individuals cannot agree on a simple matter. The matter in this case is over a woman. I had hoped that the hostility was not so bad that they would attack a youkai looking only for food." he explained

"A woman?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, she was Tiros's mother, and was the intended mate of Lord Setioi, the northern dragon. But she turned him down and mated with one of her own kind, a tiger. Lord Setioi has never lived that humiliation down. But now that she has passed on, he is intent on gaining her ashes so that he can place her spirit among his family. Of course, the southern lord has denied him permission. So, that is basically what this is all about." Inu Taisho replied, as he scooped Kagome into his arms and began the walk back to Totosai's hut. The witch was right, Kagome needed her rest.

Kagome stared ahead of them. She clutched her stomach and gasped, causing Inu Taisho to stop and look at her. "What is wrong, Kagome? Is it the pup?" he asked in a worried voice.

"Yes, I just felt him kick me, and it actually hurt." Kagome giggled. She was shocked at how strong the pup was already.

Inu Taisho sighed happily and finally reached his destination. After making Kagome promise that she would not leave the den, he allowed his essence to slip back into the sword. He, too, needed a rest. His new daughter was tiring him out.

Kagome placed the sword next to her furs and made her way to where Totosai sat. The old man gazed into the fire, and did not seem to notice that Kagome had joined him. So, when he began to speak, it startled Kagome.

"He did not intend on hurting you." Totosai said quietly.

"Huh? What?" Kagome asked, confused.

The youkai sighed. "Sesshomaru was not able to control his beast, and because of that slip, you paid a high price."

"Please, I don't want to talk about it." Kagome said in a pleading voice.

"How are you to ever heal if you don't, Kagome?" Totosai questioned.

Unshed tears lined Kagome's eyes. She looked into the face of the old youkai and finally, she let loose the words that had clutched at her soul for so long. She did not notice when the old youkai had made her place her head on his lap, and cried for what seemed like an eternity. Totosai stroked her hair with a comforting hand, and when she was reduced to hiccups, he finally spoke. "He will know when the pup is about to be born. All youkai males have this ability. It is instinct. If you do not face him now, he will come to you and make you face him. You need to be the one to do the confronting. Despite everything I feel about him, Sesshomaru is not a bad youkai. In fact, he jealously protects what he believes is his, and will fight to the death to keep it safe. I am sure that by now, he is beginning to suspect that you are indeed pregnant, and is looking for you. His nature is protective and vicious, but with what he is protecting, he is as gentle as could be. He would make a strong protector for you."

"But I already have a protector. Lord Inu Taisho." Kagome insisted.

Totosai sighed. "What will happen if Lord Inu Taisho is too weak to fight? Then what? How will you defend your pup? Sure, you have learned the techniques, but have not mastered them. Please, Kagome. Listen to an old youkai's advice. Go and speak with Sesshomaru. Do it for yourself, and your pup."

"He is right, you know." Kagura said, while walking into the cave. She was messy and had two huge paw prints on her backside.

Kagome raised an eyebrow and giggled. "What happened to you, Kagura?"

"That stupid tiger. He wanted to thank me for helping him catch his food, and as repayment, he decided to grope me and then had the nerve to try and claim me." Kagura hissed.

"And what did you do in retaliation?" Kagome prodded.

"Well, first I kneed him in the groin, and then, I smacked him as hard as I could and called him a hentai. He reminds me of that monk that you used to travel with." Kagura muttered.

"Well, look at it this way, at least someone wants you." Kagome giggled.

"Oh joy." Kagura replied in a sarcastic tone. "So, what is going on?"

"Well," Kagome said, looking at Totosai, "We are going to be heading back to the village. I need to get ready to have the pup. And it would be nice for my friends to see me again, and for you to get to know them."

"Fine, but first, I am taking a bath. I now smell of tiger, and I don't like it." Kagura told her. Kagome nodded and watched as her friend walked away muttering about stupid youkai males. Kagome turned to Totosai and threw her arms around him. "Thank you. I really needed to hear what you said to me, and I cannot tell you what it means to me."

"My lady, your hug says it all. You may return, if you wish. I would like to see my dear friend's grandpup with my own eyes." Totosai said. Kagome grinned and promised him that as soon as the pup was old enough, he would come and meet with the youkai who gave him such a wonderful sword.

Kagura soon returned, and after gathering all of their stuff, they took to the air. Kagome loved the feel of the wind in her hair, and it was during these moments that she allowed the hood covering her head to fall back and allowed her tresses to run wild.

As they neared their destination, Kagura caught scent of many youkai. "Kagome, isn't that the village that you spoke of down there?" Kagura asked, while pointing to the ground.

Kagome looked down and said, "Yes, that is it. Wait, I smell youkai, and a whole bunch of them too."

"Ummmm, I have a feeling that we might be in for a rough time." Kagura said and then bit her lip.

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"Well, Tiros told me, before allowing his hands to roam, that a meeting was being held on neutral ground to discuss a possible treaty between the north and south. It would appear that the village is the meeting place and Sesshomaru is the host." Kagura explained.

"Sesshomaru is here?" Kagome squeaked. Damn it, she wanted to do all of the confronting on her terms. This was not what she had in mind.

"Yep. I can smell him. Well, it is now or never, Kagome. It is time to make him see what he has done to you. Ewwww." Kagura hissed, and wrinkled her nose.

"What is wrong?" Kagome asked in a worried tone.

"I smell wolf. That smelly Kouga is here with his pack, and many other wolves. Ugh, just what I need." Kagura groaned. She knew that Kouga had a bone to pick with her. She would have to fend him off while in the village.

"Kouga won't hurt you. Relax. I will talk to him." Kagome said quietly. She was more worried about Sesshomaru.

Kagura landed and the two women stepped off. They walked into the village, and immediately had everyone's attention. Especially the wolves.

Kagome had the good sense to cover her head again before landing and was watching everyone's reactions before deciding what to do. She then noticed Miroku and called out to him.

"Miroku!" Kagome yelled.

"Kagome? Kagome! Where in the hell have you been? Do you know how worried we were about you?" Miroku shouted as he swept Kagome into a crushing hug, which softened when he felt the bulge of her belly. He glanced down and smiled. "So, it is as I suspected."

Kagome nodded, and watched for his reaction. She was surprised when he placed his hand on her belly. He grinned when the pup kicked his hand. He then glanced over to Kagura and raised his eyebrow at Kagome. "Kagura is my friend, and is with me by debt of gratitude. Until she pays that debt, noone can touch her, but me. And I choose to have her as my friend." Kagome said loudly. She knew that Kouga had heard her, because she could hear him muttering.

She was quickly embraced by Sango, who began to also feel up her belly, right in front of everyone. She squealed in delight and took both Kagome and Kagura's hands and led them to where she and Miroku had been sitting. Kagome looked around, and caught the golden gaze of Sesshomaru. He stared at her and then began to approach her, which caused Kagome to panic and she quickly got up. After being steadied, she mumbled an apology and quickly made her way from the group. Hoping to get lost among the other youkai, she threaded her way the gaggle of visitors and finally, broke free and made her way to the well. She did not want to speak with Sesshomaru. Not yet. She wanted to do this her way. But when she made it to where she could see the well, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm. It gently spun her around and made her look up at him. She sighed a breath of relief.

"Hello to you too, Kouga." Kagome said, a grin lighting up her features.

"Kagome. May I ask what the hell happened to you?" Kouga inquired. His bright, blue eyes looked Kagome over, and froze upon her belly. Gently, he touched her with the back of his hand before glancing up when she began to speak.

"Well, you see, it is a long story." Kagome started. She felt Kouga grab her hand and led her over to a log. He sat down and made Kagome sit on his knee. She looked around nervously and then sighed. She knew that there was no way Kouga was going to let her up, but she was pretty sure that should Sesshomaru find her sitting on Kouga's lap, the world would be short one wolf prince.

"Ok, now I am listening." Kouga said. He reached up to remove her hood, but was stopped by Kagome. She shook her head, and Kouga nodded. He would let it go, for now.

Kagome took a deep breath, and explained what had happened and then looked at him for his reaction.

"Who did this to you?" Kouga said quietly. Kagome could feel his rage, but also felt that he was trying to keep calm.

"I can't tell you. I don't want to get anyone else involved." Kagome whispered. She could hear the soft growls that were coming from him, and looked up when he hissed.

"Does Kagura know?" He asked. His eyes narrowed as he watched Kagome tearfully nod her head.

"Fine, after I kick the bitch's ass, I will force her to tell me who it was that did this to you. Then, I will take you and claim both you and your pup." Kouga said in a firm voice. It didn't matter who fathered the pup. All that mattered was that he would raise it.

"Kouga, you told me that you only saw me as a friend, nothing more. Remember?" Kagome reminded him.

"I lied. I wanted you to see how Inutrasha really was before I made any more moves. Wait, it was that mutt that did this, wasn't it?" Kouga bellowed, his anger finally taking control of him.

He eased Kagome off of his lap, and ran towards the village. Kagome painfully tried to run after him, and finally made it to where Kouga and Inu Yasha were standing nose-to-nose.

"YOU BASTARD!! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER? ISN'T YOUR DEAD WHORE A GOOD ENOUGH FUCK FOR YOU OR DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU NEEDED A LIVING WOMAN TO MAKE A PUP?" Kouga screamed, his face red with anger.

"I did nothing to the bitch." Inu Yasha said through clenched teeth.

"Right, like I would believe anything you would say, mutt face. Now, after I take your life, Kagome will be my mate, and the pup will be mine as well." Kouga shouted. He threw a punch at the hanyou, who ducked it and rolled away. He unsheathed tetsaiga and grinned.

"Time to meet your maker, you wimpy wolf. Oh, by the way, if you want to know who knocked Kagome up, why not ask my bastard brother. He took the tramp and she enjoyed it." Inu Yasha gloated, and failed to hear the loud snarl that came from Sesshomaru.

Kagome gasped, and watched as the sword came crashing down towards Kouga. She closed her eyes, and heard a loud 'CLANG'.

When she opened her eyes, she stared at the youkai in front of her, the youkai who had just saved Kouga's life. His long silver hair glinted in the sunlight, and after looking around, she noticed that everyone in attendance was gawking at the youkai with a mixture of fear and awe. She at first thought that it was Sesshomaru, but she finally caught sight of him behind a few snake youkai. Inu Yasha's voice caught in his throat. He could not believe the sight that stood in front of him. His knees began to shake and so did his voice when he uttered a single word. "Father."