Strength

Writing the last chapter was a bit more harrowing then I imagined, so had to delay this a little. So sorry. Thank you all so much the reviews helped, and made me feel guilty for delaying so I had to write this chappie.

Special thanks to BiBi11 and LadyKaa28 for allowing me to bounce some ideas off them. YOU two rock!!!

One thing to clear up, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are not mated, so he has no special sense linking him to Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru was not himself during their encounter and cannot even imagine that Inuyasha got pregnant from it. His instincts responded to the ROLE he had to play for his blood children, and since he has never been a father he has no idea what it is.

read, review and ENJOY!!!

Edited by ME!

Chapter 7 : To keep the Babies safe

It was almost a week since Inuyasha had left them at the village. Shiori knew the villagers wanted her and her mom to leave. She had felt safe with the other Hanyou, accepted. She decided that she needed to go find him. Her mom needed some convincing, Hana really did not want to borrow trouble, but when her daughter threatened to go without her, she finally agreed and the two left the village to try to find the Hanyou. Shiori could sort of guess where Inuyasha was, the quiet girl having noticed the Hanyou looking at the cave on the high rock face.

They approached the area where Shiori was sure Inuyasha was, when the demons attacked. Shiori put up a barrier but there seemed to be a swarm of demons and the pressure on the child was great. Hana screamed, calling desperately for Inuyasha. It seemed to them that one second the Demons were swarming them and the next second they were gone. 2 more powerful sets of Youki rent the earth as the WindScar cleared away the last of the demons. When the two looked up, they saw the dog eared Hanyou leaning heavily against his sword. His hand across his stomach.

Before they could reach him, he turned and jumped off, heading back to the small cave. The two quickly followed, the climb up the rock face was hard, but they made it to the little cave. A fire lit the cave and as they walked in the sight of the Hanyou shocked Hana to the bone.

Any body fat left on the Hanyou was gone, he was painfully thin, his face was gaunt. He looked like he had been starving for months, comfortable in his lap however were 3 pure white plump healthy looking puppies. As soon as they walked in the pups were on their feet growling and glaring from their bearers lap. Inuyasha growled softly and the puppies relaxed. The largest of the puppies kept a wary eye on the two human.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay at the village." Inuyasha said, and then he growled warningly. "Hana, don't come any closer, not you or Shoiri, until my pups transform, that is the closest I will allow you to come to them." Inuyasha warned when the two were about 5 feet away from him. Nodding they both knelt and commented on how cute the puppies were. Hana finally got a look at the cave, she could smell the thick scent of blood in the air. She knew the herbs were supposed to mask the smell, but the sheer amount of blood had totally overwhelmed it. Her eyes tracked the cave, she was the cloak and leaves that had been pushed to a corner, they had all stuck together and the looked as if they had been dipped in blood. Empty bags of water lined one side of the cave, on the other were some rotting fruit and dried meats. The reason that it had gone unconsumed was apparent; blood had spread across the floor and now covered the food.

The Hanyou had obviously moved closer to the mouth of the cave, that was cleaner and kept his pups there. Inuyasha noticed Hana's reaction. "The smell of blood when I woke up was too strong, lesser demons were attracted to the blood. I have been fighting them off ever since."

Hana gasped, as she saw Inuyasha's exhausted but strangely happy eyes. "Can you leave this cave? We could find another?" Hana suggested.

"I can't, not yet, I have to provide my pups with enough Youki to make their transformation to humanoid state. I just need a few hours of rest, to gather the Youki." Inuyasha said determination in his gaunt face. "Can Shiori create a barrier and keep the demons out tonight at least?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes! Inuyasha-sama I will keep the demons out the whole night. Please you rest and get better." Shiori said with determination, this was the first time she had a chance to really pay the Hanyou back for all he had done for her, she would not let him down. And maybe after this he would let her play with the pups.

Inuyasha's smile was weak, he turned to the wall, careful to avoid pressure on his belly, and placed the puppies between himself and the wall. He growled, and nuzzled them, sending them to sleep.

He was awakened past midnight by the pups licking his face, and yipping urgently. Inuyasha had put of transforming them as long as he could, ideally they should have been transformed the day before, but between feeding the pups and fighting off attacking Youkai Inuyasha just had not had the Youki to do it. The puppies now needed to transform and their instincts were making them confused and distressed. As much as he wanted a few more hours rest before doing it, he could not take the risk.

Inuyasha looked around the cave and blinked. The cave was clean, all the bloody rotting items had been removed and there was something that smelled amazing on the fire. Hana was fast asleep beside Shiori who was in a trance state by the cave mouth. They had both worked hard.

Inuyasha winched in pain as he reached for the stew. He ate -enjoying the taste of warm food, and getting re-energized. The pups were calmed by their bearers rising Youki, tumbled with each other while waiting. Centring himself, Inuyasha hoped that what Youki he could provide was enough. He arranged the pups in front of him. The pups, settled quickly seemed to wait expectantly for their bearer. He gathered his Youki in the palms of his hands, placed them on top of the pups, and for the first time 'called' to them to transform.

The puppies blinked for a few seconds not understanding, then instinctively the caught on. The oldest puppy first raised his Youki to meet his bearers, Youki merged and the puppy pulled his bearers' Youki into him, to give him the energy to change. Quickly the other two followed.

With three pups, it was not enough. four hours of uninterrupted sleep was just not enough to generate enough Youki for the pups. Inuyasha released all barriers on his Youki, allowing the pups to take want they needed directly from his life energy. The two younger pups continued to draw energy, the oldest pup suddenly seemed to realize sense something was wrong, he tried to pull back from the change, to give his bearer back the energy he had taken. Inuyasha refused to allow this, and the pup whined in distress, causing the other two to realize what was happening. All three pups now tried to stop the change, but Inuyasha's will was stronger then theirs. Stopping the transformation now, would damage the pups permanently, they may never get their proper form. So regardless of the cost to him, he was forcing his own life energy into the puppies. The puppies howled in distress, they did not know why, but instinctively they feared for their bearer.

Sesshoumaru had been searching desperately for the cause of his distressed night. He had no idea why, and none could give an explanation, to why he had experienced such pain and sadness. His sleep since then had been haunted and uneasy, but no clues as to the cause emerged. He sat at his desk looking through reams of information on Youkai spells and health trying to find precedents of what he had experienced. Jaken sat watching the Lord's intense search, when suddenly Sesshoumaru's eyes rolled back and he collapsed on to the desk. Jaken screamed and called for the healers.

Sesshoumaru found himself standing at the mouth of a deep dark cave. Mist clouded the air around him. He knew suddenly that if he could get to the heart of the cave he would find his answers, but try as he might the mist blocked his entry. Instead he saw strange lights in the cave, one was fading, the others, he could not be sure how many, were strong. One light, small and achingly fragile, broke from the other lights, and seemed to try to come towards Sesshoumaru. But that light too was blocked by the cursed mist.

Then he 'heard' it, a voice that was not a voice, in his heart calling to him. "Help! Please.. help us! We need... we need ... you, now! Help us! Now!"

Sesshoumaru did not understand. What was wrong? What help did they need? He could not reach them – how could he help. What was he supposed to do? The tiny light seemed confused, sad, unable to answer, as it drifted back to the fading light. Sesshoumaru stared at the fading light, he HAD to do something. That light could not die. Sesshoumaru drew out his Youki, focusing on all the lights, he sent a huge ball of his Youki at them. Immediately he was sucked backwards away from the cave, he saw the fading light get brighter, and he was suddenly back in his own body. His Youki drained.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama! Are you okay? What happened? The healers said that your spirit had left your body." Jaken yelled as the DaiYoukai slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"Jaken you will be silent." Sesshoumaru did not what to share what had happened with anyone, least of all the Kappa. Something important was happening somewhere, and while Sesshoumaru knew he needed to know what it was, he still had no clue as to what he was looking for. What on earth was happening? The desk shattered to pieces as the DaiYoukai pressed against it. Sesshoumaru forced back a sudden need to howl like an abandoned puppy, ...why was his heart shattering like this? WHY!

Youki poured into Inuyasha, the Hanyou was too focused on his task to comprehend the source of the Youki, he was just grateful for it. (Later he just assumed it came from the Goddess.) The boost of Youki poured into the pups, comforting them, strengthening them and finally giving them what they needed to transform. Inuyasha cooed in delight as he gathered the babies into his arms, for their first feeding in their normal forms.

Hana and Shiori awoke to a sight they would never forget. Inuyasha pale, gaunt and dark eyed, with the most loving and happy look on his face, holding three beautiful white haired babies to his chest. Inuyasha smiled at the two and waved them forward for an introduction.

"Hana, Shiori come meet my babies." As the two approached the babies reacted, one turned to look and blow bubbles at them, one hid shyly in Inuyasha's chest casting them big eyed glances, and one reached up higher placed tiny hands around Inuyasha's neck, and turned slightly to glare at the approaching strangers. Inuyasha chuckled.

"This one blowing bubbles at you, is my youngest son, MizuKishi, the Water Knight, called Kishi." Of the three this one looked most like Inuyasha, big eyes, solid build, cute roundish face, and two purple lines like lightning bolts on his cheeks. Inuyasha touched the soft hair of the baby hiding in his chest. "This is my daughter, Megumishan, she is truly a beautiful blessing." This baby was the tiniest; she had one wave like stripe in red down her cheeks, long lashes and long yet large eyes with a natural pink eye shadow. Inuyasha tilted his head to nuzzle the tiny white haired head, buried possessively in his neck, immediately the baby, lost his glare and whined in contentment. "And this is my first born, my perfect little hero, Yuushamanten, or Yuusha for short. He already has a strong grip." Inuyasha said proudly.

"Ahh they don't have your ears." Shiori said sadly.

Inuyasha beamed at her. "Yes! Aren't they perfect! I am positive they all will be able to transform into their Inu forms, but even of they can't I don't care. They are perfect as they are, my beautiful little Youkais!"

"Yes they are beautiful Inuyasha-sama." Hana said softly, she reached out to touch Inuyasha's hand but hesitated when a pair of small golden eyes glared at her from next to his father's neck. Her hand shifted direction and gently touched Kishi's head instead, while the puppy continued to look at her watchfully, the glare died. The oldest looked the least like his bearer of the three, long thin eyes, two straight purple marks on his cheeks, a longer face, and of the three pups, he was the only one with a crescent moon on his forehead. The baby had seemed haughty and aloof, until the point Inuyasha nuzzled him, as soon as the baby focused on his bearer, he seemed to cuddle and cling even more then the other two. Hana did not know what to make of that one.

She could not hold back her smile as she watched the little family.

With the cave no longer smelling of blood, they stayed in it for two more weeks, to give Inuyasha time to recover. Hana learned that Inuyasha could no longer heal like a Youkai, when Kishi and Mee-chan while playing chase-y had both clambered over and crawled on their bearer's belly. Inuyasha did not move to remove the babies from his belly but his small hiss of pain was audible to all. That woke the sleeping Yuusha who was growling warningly at the world before he was fully awake, and the two babies to look at their bearer in concerned confusion. Inuyasha immediately smiled, and growled to comfort his babies. Only then did he carefully pick them off his belly and place them beside Yuusha.

It was when Inuyasha stood gingerly, Hana noticed the growing red stain on the fire rat robe. Before she could voice her concern, Inuyasha gestured outside to her, and the two adults, left Shiori to baby sit as they went out just beyond the barrier. Knowing that he did need help, Inuyasha opened the top to show Hana the damage. Hana was beyond stunned, the cross shaped scars and burn marks to seal the birthing lines on the belly were in a word 'Ugly", blood was seeping out of the small hole that Inuyasha had used for the umbilical cords. Hana helped him clean the wounds as Inuyasha explained that he would not be able to heal like a Youkai for at least a year. Hana shuddered, to see the beautiful and strong Hanyou scarred like that was sacrilegious. That he asked her to hide her knowledge of the scars and his weak healing from his babies, even into their adulthood, was heartbreaking.

When the two walked back into the cave, the babies greeted their father as if he had been gone for five years and not less then five minutes.

The cave, without a nearby water source and too high up to be safe for active babies, was not suitable with the fast coming winter. Inuyasha made a backpack kindda bag, that allowed his to place the babies inside, tied to his back, while keeping his hands free. It always made Shiori and Hana smile when they saw Inuyasha with three tiny heads, peaking out from within his long hair.

The small group travelled slowly together. Inuyasha was looking for a good safe village to raise his babiesm and Hana had decided she would stay with Inuyasha. It was two months till they found a suitable place. And in that two months of travel Hana was the only one in the group aware of the damage taken by the Hanyou to keep his babies and by extension them, safe. Some of the scars from that journey would never leave the Hanyou, and Hana was sure that he would never allow anyone even his children to see his bare belly or his bare back. He hardly ever let her see it, and only when he absolutely needed her help.

Finally the group arrived at a small town beside Lake Tazawa. It was a beautiful area, sustaining numerous small industries. The town here was the Youkai Town of Awa led by their mayor a farsighted old Tiger Youkai. The town while mainly populated by Youkai, had 3 human families and a good number of Hanyou living in it. It was a place that Inuyasha had dreamed of living in. The only rules to living in the town was that all members of the town had to be accepted by other town members, and to become a member of the town, the people had to contribute something to either the safety, economy, beauty or education of the town.

Inuyasha was hesitant when he approached the Mayor, after all it was a Tiger Youkai. The Mayor's name was Iroh, and his eyes though old were still sharp and clear. Seeing Inuyahsa's sword and walk, he did not beat around the bush. Without asking for Inuyasha's name he told the Hanyou that there was a rouge Fire Youkai who was attacking the town's people. He wanted Inuyasha to rid Awa of the Fire Youkai before any other discussion was done.

Inuyasha only too happy to comply, left Shiori and Hana at the village. He went to track the Fire demon with his three babies in tow. The babies were safest with him, and all three as young as they were knew how to hide and stay hidden while their father took out the trash. Once on the Youkai's trail Inuyasha moved carefully, hiding the babies in a hollow of a tree, he found the Youkai and killed it, with minimum fuss. Job done, he quickly returned to the Babies. His babies as usual did him proud. Kishi had Mee-chan hidden behind him in a far corner of the hollow, and Yuusha sat crouched in the entrance blocking the other two from sight. They were all silent, their Youki pulled back and hidden from any passing potential threats. Inuyasha praised them, and spent many hours playing with them before returning to Awa.

And that was how Inuyasha found a safe home to raise his babies.

-tbc-

Kindda linking chapter... Hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE review!