As she and Inuyasha walked home together, Kagome kept her eyes trained resolutely ahead. Her heart still raced like mad. Shin burbled, reaching over for Inuyasha. With a half-hearted scoff, Inuyasha plucked the baby from her chest. As they went along, he kept tossing Shin up in the air and catching him. The tosses grew higher and higher each time, but Shin just giggled, delighted.
“He’s such a happy kid,” Inuyasha said, grinning. “Guess we’re doing something right, huh?”
Kagome nodded absently. She was too preoccupied with her guilt and anxiety to even consider the idea of congratulating herself for anything. She hazarded Inuyasha a glance.
“When did you get back to Edo?” she asked him.
“Just now,” he said easily. “I’d barely touched down over at Sango’s place with Kohaku and Kirara when I heard you yelp and ran over.” Catching her sidelong glance, he asked, “Why?”
“Just wondering,” she replied, facing forward again.
As she lay in bed that night, unable to sleep, Kagome kept rehashing her confrontation with Sesshoumaru in her head. She’d acted surprised by what he’d told her. Shocked, even. Superficially, she had been.
But if she were being honest with herself, deep down she’d had her suspicions about that mark. Only she’d convinced herself—rationalized to herself, rather—that these were only wild notions better off dismissed. She’d told herself this just to keep from dwelling upon it. Now, she had no choice. On some level she was reeling more than anything just to have those nagging doubts confirmed.
Part of her regretted that she’d confronted Sesshoumaru at all. She couldn’t feign ignorance anymore, not even to herself. In the eyes of demonkind, Shin was Sesshoumaru’s heir. And she—
Kagome screwed her eyes shut, but she couldn’t block it out: his binding claim on her. It wasn’t just ceremonial—it was physical. So different from a human union. Brutal and interminable. But then, she reasoned, so were youkai.
Even if Kagome refused to acknowledge it, his mating mark was still there in her flesh, like a brand of ownership. It reviled her on an intrinsic level. For the most part, the mark had remained dormant since Sesshoumaru had laid it on her, but that flare-up today frightened her still. Clearly, the mark responded to his will in some uncanny way. She could only begin to fathom what that might mean, what sort of power his mating mark might hold over her, miko or not…
Her only consolation—and it was no small one—was that no matter how barbaric youkai mating customs might be, Sesshoumaru wasn’t. Deep down, she’d known this, too.
Sleep came to Kagome then. She woke in the morning, alert if not refreshed. In the cold light of day, she no less dreaded her grim path forward, but at least she felt more prepared for it. Somewhere in the distance, an invisible clock was counting down. The difference between today and yesterday was that Kagome accepted that this was so. There was some small relief in that, she supposed.
Her chief concern now was strategizing how best to go about breaking the news to Inuyasha before he found out from someone else. She was certain if she put her mind and heart to it, she could come up with the best way to frame it all. She just needed time.
Kagome was still mulling over all this when she went to visit Rin that afternoon. She’d brought a jade comb over as a gift for her, for all her help with watching Shin.
“Oh, you really didn’t have to, Kagome-chan,” Rin said cheerily. “Shin-chan is such a little dear.” With a smile Rin admired her gift, its delicate carved flowers very much to her taste. “Thank you, though, this comb is lovely.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Kagome said, smiling back.
Sitting starry-eyed in Rin’s lap, Shin swiped for the pretty comb, but it was out of his reach. With a ghostly shimmer, he transformed into his humanoid demonic form, and with a flick of his snowy train, he knocked the comb from Rin’s hands. She gasped as Shin caught the comb in his little claws. Kagome gasped as well—but not for the same reasons.
“Shin!” she said, aghast at his thievery.
Shin’s golden eyes flicked to her, utterly nonplussed.
“Kami,” Rin said, recovering, “how much he resembles Sesshoumaru-sama! And his Lady Mother, too.”
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Revised 3/26/23
Osnaps Kags! The puppy is out of the kennel now!
Yupp XD
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OH. MY. DAYS. HERE WE GO, Y’ALL! THE TRAIN OF LIES IS FAST APPROACHING ITS LAST STOP DJGLSDJGDG. Now we just need Shin to phase in front of Inuyasha >:)
Hahaha yeah the train is full steam ahead XD
Thanks for sharing!! ❤❤
Oh-ho-ho! Kagome better figure out how to frame that shit fast. Everyone but Inuyasha is gonna know soon enough.
Such a good reveal. 💜
Thank you, Uissuteffu! It’s a house of cards all right XD
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omg this reveal was way too good
Yay thank you! So glad you enjoyed ❤❤
Excellent. Kagome ‘s whole “I need time to frame this…” Made me upset. Like girl, how much time do you need.. the news is going to suck, so out with it.
And then Shin is like “I’m gonna transform” awesome!!!!
Are we going to see Lady Mother? It’s like the 3rd official mentioned of her.
“Kagome ‘s whole “I need time to frame this…” Made me upset. ” – lol yep totally feel ya there
Thanks so much, Katherine!! ❤❤
Inu PLEASE Kagome is so obvious! Look at this and tell me your demonic dog nose and ears and eyes your papa gave you don’t sense the suss!! You are a walking suss detector!!!
[Kagome nodded absently, too preoccupied with her guilt and anxiety to even consider the idea of congratulating herself for anything. She hazarded Inuyasha a sideways glance.
“When did you get back to Edo?” she asked.
“Just now,” he said. “I’d barely touched down over at Sango’s place with Kohaku and Kirara when I heard you yelp and ran over.” He caught her sidelong glance and asked, “Why?”
“Just wondering,” she replied, facing forward again.]
Inuyasha’s apparent ‘obliviousness’ is getting my heart pumping. I don’t doubt he can be slick if he wants to 😂 He’s survived demons and humans and worse. And with Shin shifting forms as he pleases now Kagome might as well count down the seconds.
“You are a walking suss detector!!!” – hahaha love it! XD
Yeah that clock might’ve just sped up lol – thanks so much for sharing your thoughts & reactions, oskorreia!!
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Ahaha I knew that Rin knew! And she’s so cheery about it too, but of course Sesshoumaru’s girl is a unique kind of scary 🤣 Now I’m gleefully, viciously hoping that we get Jakken’s reaction. He’s gonna choke on his own little green heart.
Congrats to Rin for getting a new little brother >:3c
“He’s gonna choke on his own little green heart.” – hahaha oh for sure he would XD
Thanks so much for sharing, Kova!! ❤❤
Oh, Kagome :’> I’m sure no one would mind if Sess was a Little barbaric. If he manhandled her rights a bit. Who needs equality when you have demon lords squishing you down? 😘
” I’m sure no one would mind if Sess was a Little barbaric.” – 😉 😉 yeah i’m not opposed personally XD
Thanks so much for sharing, friend!! ❤❤
Mwahaha….just wait until it hits the fan. I just hope Sesshoumaru is around before his mother busts Kagome’s lie. Inuyasha might just kill her!
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“She was certain if she put her mind and heart to it, she could come up with the best way to frame it. She just needed time.”
sigh 😞 Did marrying Inuyasha make her lose sight of herself that much? Kagome’s always been brave, but now she needs courage
Yep she’s certainly become estranged from her old self…
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!! ❤️❤️
Yay, we got Rin back! Rin knowing is definitely the least surprising out of everyone in Edo.
On that thought, btw.. Kagome is really lucky to be living in the only human village this side of feudal Japan that doesn’t take her to task for being a non-virgin miko, a demon’s bride, and a mother to a demon baby. I don’t know if this situation is bc other reiki-users are unaware or it’s simply a Shikon Miko privilege, but it’s at least one less mess for her to handle. Royal demons plus the looming threat of the Western Lady is complicated enough 😵💫🥶
Yep she is lucky – I like to imagine Edo village as relatively liberal, cosmopolitan sort of place, given the past history with the Shikon no Tama, etc. The villagers there are more aware that there are ‘good’ demons and bad, and the priestess’s role is more practical to them than ceremonial. Anyway that’s my headcanon 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts & hope you enjoy the next chapter!! ❤❤
Oh snap! 😭 How are you going ti get yourself out of this.one girl?! It’s only a matter of time.
Yep…
Thanks for sharing!! ❤❤
Me muero por el siguiente capítulo, ya quiero ver la reacción de Rin, uppp igual que todos los bebes se concentran en algo y se olvida del mundo que los rodea.
Por lo menos el bebé si siente confianza de transformarse donde está.
Haha yeah Shin just goes for what he wants 🙂
So glad you’re excited for the next chapter, Claribel! Thanks for sharing ❤❤
I literally reread everything again. This is an excellent story. Kagome isn’t my favorite. She is nuts, and selfish and just needs to accept responsibility.
Sesshomaru Is the best, and his love can be clearly seen. I can’t believe he mated her and has literally made her nobility regardless of how crappy she’s been.
I feel so bad for Inuyasha. He’s been done so dirty.
Yeah, Kagome’s mired deep in depression that I assume has been going on since her early marriage. In a flashback didn’t the story mention that Inu had started being picky with what she wore right on her wedding day? Yikes. She should never have accepted his proposal. Since then I don’t think she’s ever come to terms with her shattered fairytale.
Post-pact I think her mind’s just spiraled Faster. The saving grace here is that at least – so far – she doesn’t try to suppress Shin from being himself. Or take out her frustrations on him for looking too much like Sess, as I fear she’s become too comfortable doing to his sire 😣
I mean Sess isn’t without fault either, and I also think it’s great that she could openly express her fears to him, but they way she keeps going back n forth between brooding over her wrongs and aggressively denying them to him is a trip
Ahh thank you, Katherine!! This is certainly a story that has a lot packed into the details – appreciate you sharing your thoughts after re-reading! Love hearing your take on the main characters and their various predicaments ❤❤