All That I'm Living For

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine, so these characters are not mine.

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Chapter Nine

"Lady Rin!" Izayoi exclaimed as Rin and Sesshomaru walked into Kaede's village, followed by Ah-Un and Jaken.

Rin bent down and picked up the little girl, hugging her.

Izayoi sniffed her neck. "Aunty Rin," she amended and then turned her gaze to her Uncle.

"Uncle Sesshomaru," she said, nodding her head to the great demon and squirming out of Rin's grasp.

He nodded back and said nothing.

"Mommy's better now," Izayoi said as she escorted them to the hut. "She was 'in trouble'—as Daddy called it—for a couple month's after she lost the baby, but now she can be happy because she's having another baby in a few months." Izayoi smiled up at Rin, and then turned her gaze to Jaken. "Hey!" she said stopping, her hands on her hips, glaring at Jaken. "I bet you didn't tell Uncle about me."

Jaken looked in another direction. "You cannot command me to tell my Lord anything."

"Master Jaken," Rin said.

Jaken jumped. He hated it when she called him 'Master Jaken': something bad always happened. A rock flew at his head. "I'm sorry," he said, bowing before the little girl.

Izayoi nodded and skipped ahead of them. "Mommy, Aunty and Uncle are here!"

"Aunty and Uncle?" Kagome said, stepping out of the hut, sweat dripping down her brow. "Aunty and Uncle?" she said, staring at Rin and Sesshomaru.

Rin grinned but her mate looked off in another direction. "Kagome," she said, hugging the priestess. "It's good to see you well."

Kagome laughed nervously. "Yeah, um, let's not talk about it."

Rin smiled and produced a bouquet of flowers she had arranged from their garden at the Western Palace. Kagome's eyes welled with tears but she shook her head, trying to clear the emotions running through her body. "Izayoi will show you," she said and she told the girl to take them to her sister's grave.

Rin looked down at the little marker and cried, kneeling down and placing the flowers on the grave beside another fresh set of flowers.

"Daddy comes here every morning with flowers," Izayoi said softly.

Kagome still hasn't healed yet, Rin thought. Would my grief tear me apart too? She placed a hand on her belly and sighed.

"Come, Rin; my brother has returned," Sesshomaru said, leading her back to the village. Izayoi grasped her Uncle robes and walked with them, not commenting on how he was missing an arm.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said when they had returned.

Sesshomaru grunted.

"Rin," he said in a softer voice. "You are pregnant."

She blushed and looked at Kagome who hadn't moved from the doorway of the hut since they returned. "Congratulations," Kagome said softly, placing a hand on her stomach and looking down at the ground.

"I hear that congratulations are in order for you too, Kagome," Rin said.

Kagome twittered nervously. "Who told you that?"

"Izayoi."

Kagome placed a hand on her daughter's head. "Izayoi, you know-"

Izayoi crossed her arms and looked away from her mother. "I was only telling her the truth."

"What?" Kagome said, her eyes wide. She looked at Inuyasha and he nodded. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Izayoi wasn't supposed to say anything until I told you—or you found out yourself—but I guess the novelty of 'Uncle Sesshomaru,'" he said, glaring at Sesshomaru, "made her speak before she was told she could."

"Oh," Kagome said, placing her hand over her mouth. "I'm pregnant?" She fainted.

"Not the reaction I was looking for," Inuyasha said after he lay her down on their futon.

"Will she be able to handle it?" Rin asked as they stood outside, letting Kagome rest.

"Izayoi, go get Sango," he said, shooing his daughter away.

She gave him a dark look but went to do as he said.

"I don't know," he said when Izayoi disappeared around the bend. "Izayoi seems to think so."

"Kagome is strong," Rin said, placing her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.

He smiled weakly and pulled away. "How long have you two-"

"Um, since, ah," Rin stuttered, blushing.

"Since we returned home," Sesshomaru said smoothly.

Inuyasha nodded. After a pause, he said, "You know, I have to thank you for-"

Sesshomaru waved his words away. "I wish there was more I could have done."

Inuyasha looked down at the ground. "It will warm Kagome's heart to hear you say that," he said softly.

"You chose the name 'Kikyo': why?" Sesshomaru said, looking at his brother.

Inuyasha stared off into the distance. "We had decided on the name before-" he gulped, "-and it just stuck; it was a girl, after all."

"I saw Kikyo," Rin said softly, not looking at anyone. "When Kagome fired her arrow, I saw the priestess stand with her."

Inuyasha nodded. "Sometimes I see her in Kagome's eyes; she watches over us."

It must be weird having a dead woman watch over you through your mate's eyes, Rin thought.

"Lady Rin!" Sango said, waving with her free hand. She clutched a baby to her bosom and was breathless by the time she reached them. "Lord Sesshomaru," she said, bowing to him.

Sesshomaru looked away, annoyed.

Sango looked at the mark on Rin's neck and smile. "Ah. Well, Kagome's fainted again; shall we go in a revive her?" Sango said, grabbing Rin's arm and guiding her into the hut.

"Did you know she was pregnant?" Rin asked as Sango put the baby down and busied herself, looking for something to revive Kagome with.

She nodded. "Inuyasha couldn't keep it to himself; the only one who didn't know was Kagome, and she was going to figure it out soon: the villagers have been leaving her congratulatory offerings."

Rin peered at the baby; it cooed at her and tried to grab her with its hands. "Pick him up; he's perfectly safe."

"Oh, I don't know, I might-"

"No one has dropped him yet, and I can't imagine you would; if you can pull a bow string back, you can pick up the baby without dropping him."

Rin picked up the child and looked into its brown eyes. Her body rocked back and forth, lulling the baby to sleep, his thumb in his mouth. "A natural," Sango said as she put a cold compress in Kagome's head. "Kagome," she said, shaking the woman, "wake up."

Kagome sat up with a start, her hand on her chest. "Oh Sango, I just had the worst dream-"

"Is it really so bad to be pregnant again?" Sango said.

Kagome saw Rin. "It wasn't a dream?"

Both women shook their heads: no.

Rin watched as Kagome's face went from shock to pain to joy to nervousness. "What if I lose the baby?" she whispered.

"Kagome, you won't. Izayoi came out fine; Kikyo—there were extenuating circumstances. As long as you stay out of trouble, the baby will be fine," Sango said, her hand on Kagome's knee.

"But-"

Sango shook her head firmly. "It's time to get up and start moving again. You have been neglecting Izayoi."

"What?"

"Izayoi likes to think she's a big girl, but you have been neglecting her. More often then not Izayoi is sniffling because you have been distant."

"My poor baby-"

"Yes," Sango said, standing up. "Your poor baby needs you; she'll only live this part of her life once."

Kagome's eye brows furrowed and she stood up. "Enough grieving; its time to let it go."

Sango sighed and hugged Kagome. "That's my girl. Inuyasha and Izayoi are outside."

Kagome marched outside and glared at Inuyasha, her hands on her hips. "You knew and didn't tell me?"

Izayoi stepped back and hid behind Sesshomaru; he absently placed his hand on the girl's head.

"Um, well I was going to tell you, I, uh, just hadn't gotten around to it," he said, backing away.

"You hadn't gotten around to it? What's that supposed to mean?" she said, her fists clenched.

"Kagome, you were-"

"Sit boy!" she said, pointing to the ground.

"Kagome must be better," Miroku said, strolling up to his wife and gently massaging her rear. Sango slapped him. "You too," he muttered.

Inuyasha got up from the ground and glared at Kagome. "You would have found out sooner or later, even if I hadn't told you." He crossed his arms.

"After everyone else knew first," she said.

"Hey, I was just spreading the joy-"

"Before you even told your wife?"

"I didn't know how you'd take it-"

"How'd you think I'd take it?"

"Terribly," he said, not looking at her.

"I-" Kagome didn't know what to say. He was right. "Sit boy!"

He went crashing into the ground. "Kagome!" he yelled.

"Mommy, stop!" Izayoi said, running to her father's side.

Kagome sighed and grabbed Inuyasha's hand, hauling him up. "Never keep that secret from me again," she said in a low voice. "You too," she said to Izayoi, and she stomped into the hut.

"Mommy can be scary," Izayoi said, grabbing her father's hand.

"Better scary than mopey," he muttered. He picked her up and smiled. "She's better now."

"Yay!" Izayoi said, bouncing in Inuyasha's arms.

Kagome came out of the hut, her complexion a little better. "Sorry," she said to everyone, bowing. "I wasn't myself."

"You haven't been yourself for a while," Inuyasha muttered.

"Inuyasha-"

He held up Izayoi as a shield. Kagome backed down but gave him dark looks.

"It's all right, Kagome. We should be going," Rin said.

"Already? Why don't you stay for dinner?' Kagome said.

Sesshomaru shook his head. "I want to be back at the castle by dark."

"He won't let me stay out at night," Rin said.

"Oh," both Kagome and Sango said.

"He doesn't want a demon to get me," she explained.

Both women sighed and nodded. More demons would be after Rin now that she was mated to the great Lord Sesshomaru. "Well, come back soon," Kagome said. "We can answer all your questions about babies and show you some useful techniques when giving birth."

Rin bowed. "I will return."

She and Sesshomaru left the village. "Ah-Un, Jaken, go ahead of us," Sesshomaru said to his servants. Jaken went muttering on Ah-Un's back. "We will take a stroll." He grabbed Rin's hand and walked with her through Inuyasha's Forest.

Rin leaned into his body, wrapping her left arm around his waist and holding his hand with her right. He adjusted, holding her close, letting his hand drape around her shoulders. She pulled at his fingers as they walked to the sacred tree.

"My brother was trapped here for 50 years," he said, touching the tree.

"By Priestess Kikyo-"

"By a human."

Rin said nothing. What was he thinking? He still surprised her, even though they had been together every moment since they had mated. She couldn't read his thoughts, though hers seemed to be an open book for him. Would she ever truly know him?

"Do you feel trapped, Sesshomaru?" she asked softly.

His eyes flashed. "You have not trapped me, Rin." He held both her hands in his.

"I am glad, then," she replied, kissing him and letting it go at that; she would carry no guilt in her heart.

"You have set me free," he said, drawing her into his embrace.

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, threatening to overwhelm her. Oh how she loved him!

He pulled away slightly and brushed her tears away. "Why do you cry?"

She smiled. "I am happy."

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Pau.

R & R.