He couldn't stay long. Sesshomaru had only stopped into his kingdom to send a missive for more soldiers. He called in favors, revisited old alliances, and held meetings with consuls from all over Japan. He stayed within the palace for only two weeks or so, before he was gone again. He spent little time with Kagome, who was left in charge of the economy after Sesshomaru had checked the accounts. His praise had been sparing, but there, and she was glad to continue to oversee things as long as it brought him pride. Even if after he left there was a hollow pain that permeated her being.

The pain that the babe caused increased with the days. Initially, it only made walking a chore, or pressed incessantly against her bladder, but as time passed, it pressed into her lower back, making sitting or standing nearly unbearable, or kicked against the cage that was her womb, seemingly willing to fight it's way out. The more time that passed, the more Kagome regretted not knowing more about hanyo and their gestation periods, the things to be concerned about, the things that were normal.

Although all that she wanted was to curl up and cry most days, Sesshomaru's mother forced her to get up and go for walks thrice a day, despite her protests, which were loud and frequent. It was only a week and a half after Sesshomaru left that she woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the bedding soaked through. Although she was concerned, her tired eyes closed again and she faded into and out of a dreamless sleep, until a harsh pain stabbed through her insides. She struggled to her feet, pulsating her powers at a frequency that Sesshomaru's mother had prescribed for her, should there be any concerns about the little heir residing in her womb. As she felt the demonic energy so familiar to her closing in, she struggled to resume her pacing that gave her something to focus on.

The classes she half paid attention to in school, in her time, about what to expect during childbirth came back in snippets and bits she couldn't quite piece together. In this time, in the human villages, there were customs observed that placed the woman in a separate place, away from the others in the village, although she wasn't sure of the significance of such a thing. Were births in demon circles similar? Would she have need to fear for her life after bearing a hanyo child? Was it a hanyo? Kagome's head swam with worry, and she nearly retched onto the floor she was standing upon.

Sesshomaru's mother was there within a moment or so, but the midwife took far longer, as they were located in the city, away from the palace. By the time the woman burst into the room, Kagome was struggling to resist the urge to bear down to push the pup out of her uterus. Worry permeated her, as she was well aware of the risks that doing the wrong thing could pose to not only her but this life struggling into the world.

There was a flurry of movement as her robes were parted and removed so as not to further ruin the fabric, although she'd taken to wearing cotton in lieu of silk. Moments later, they were checking to see how dilated she was, telling her to breathe through the immense pain, mopping away her perspiration with a cool cloth. The instructions were clipped and direct, and she struggled to follow. After a long while, she felt a burning, stinging sensation, and let a sob tear through her.

"I can see the head, mistress. You need to keep from pushing for a moment or two." With a whimper and a nod Kagome struggled to go against the instinct to expel this source of pain from her. Several moments passed, before a wail was heard, and the little life wriggled in the grandmother's hands for a moment or two before being passed to Kagome, who struggled to align it's mouth with her nipple.

It's head was covered in little white ringlets, no pigment in the hair. All of it's hair was the purest of whites, and it's eyes were screwed shut. But it's grip was strong and it pulled milk from her breast with very little difficulty. She felt maternal love spread through her, dulling the pain that this little life had caused her just moments before.

Something was off, though. Although she retained some of her more powerful senses, she had only heard a single heartbeat within her womb. Now, though, she could feel a fainter, smaller being within her, and she reached out to catch the midwife, who was fussing with things for the babe.

"I think there's a second baby." It was quiet, and she truly was uncertain, but the midwife simply nodded and sat again between her legs.

This one was easier, sliding out of her without much fuss or pain compared to the first one. As the midwife handed the babe to her, Kagome was struck at the sight of this one. Delicate wings fluttered against it's back, and her pure white hair was bone straight. Her little tail moved of its own accord, flopping to and fro. She struggled towards Kagome and the milk she offered, and the three of them laid like that for a long while, long enough for Kagome to pass the afterbirth and to exhaust herself beyond measure.

Kagome wasn't entirely sure of the customs of anci ent Japan, but she thought she'd stay here in the birthing room until someone came to tell her enough time had passed and she was free to move around as she pleased again. Sesshomaru's mother nodded at her, and swept out of the room, the last one to leave. It was a few minutes before Kagome succumbed to the draw of sleep, but her tired body surrounded itself in a protective barrier. In the quiet of the night, one could hear the sizzle of the mosquitoes hitting the barrier.

A pair of eyes watched the young woman through the night, looking at the smallest twitch that was made, the wriggling babes, all of it. Watching, waiting.

In the blink of an eye, the intruder was gone.