…From the Ashes the Phoenix Rises

By Danyealle

(FanFiction/Angst)

Epilogue

Sesshomaru had taken no more than two steps into the fortress’ garden when his sensitive ears were assaulted by a child’s cry of “Uncle Sess’mamoo!”  Then a little streak of red and silver ran at him and launched its’ self at the might demon lord.

Showing his inhuman speed and reflexes, Sesshomaru caught the little two-year-old dog-eared hanyou easily.  Holding him to his chest, he smirked, “How are you Dai?”

Grinning at his great and terrible uncle who he hero-worshipped, he said, “I’m good!  I was missing you!”

“Dai!  For Kami’s sake let your uncle set down before you tackle him!”  Ayame said as she hurried over.  “Sorry Sesshomaru, he got away from me.”  She said, puffing.

“No harm done.”  Sesshomaru said stoically, holding his nephew.  Secretly, he preferred to be tackled rather than wait to sit down.  The little imp had a knack for accidentally nailing him dead-square in the nuts every time he crawled on him.  The kid didn’t mean it but that was little consolation after you’ve been racked a good one by a two-year-olds’ knee.  It had to be Inuyashas’ genes that was the cause of something like that, he had decided long ago.  Looking at the little boy, he asked, “Where’s your father?”

Giving him an angelic smile, fangs gleaming, the kid replied, “Talking with Uncle Kouga and Uncle Miroku.”

“C’mon Dai, let your uncle loose so he can go see your Aunt Kagome.”  Ayame said, holding out her hand to the little boy.

Handing the pup over to his mother, Sesshomarus’ eyebrow rose, “Kagome is supposed to be resting.”  He said gruffly.

Grinning, Ayame replied, “She is.  She’s in that comfy chair you got her with her feet propped up.  Kohaku is here so all she’s doing is chaperoning.”

Relaxing, Sesshomaru nodded, “Good.”

Holding her squirming son, she said, “C’mon ya little monster, let’s go find the others.”  Then walked towards the other end of the garden.”

Walking over to the end he knew Kagome favored, he watched Dai streak by followed by the monk and slayers twins, all laughing.  When Kagome came into view, he smirked.  Indeed, she was relaxing, reclined in a chair with her feet propped on a plush footstool, ankles crossed.  Ensconced in her lap, all curled up and fighting to keep her eyes open was Kougas’ daughter, Aki.  After giving Kagome a tender kiss and rubbing her swollen belly he picked up the droopy-eyed child.

“She’s done everything she could to stay awake so she could see you.”  Kagome told him quietly.

Smirking, he felt a surge of pride and his beast purred like a cat.  “Of course she did, she’s my girlfriend.”  He said a bit smugly as the child rested her head on his shoulder, draping one arm around his neck and the thumb of her other hand slid into her mouth.  Her big, sky-blue eyes kept threatening to slide shut but she was forcing them to stay open.  “Go to sleep Aki, I’ll be here when you wake.”  He told the child quietly.

Nodding, the little girl sighed lightly, her heavy lids sliding shut.

“It appears that little kids don’t think you’re all that horrible Mr. Big-Bad-and-Scary.”  Kagome told him with a grin.

“Hn… They don’t know any better yet.”  Was his stoic reply.

“Riiiiightttt.  You’re just a big softy when it comes to kids.”  She chuckled.

“Perhaps.”  Was his ambiguous response.  Kissing Kagome on top of the head, he told her, “Let me take her to her father then I’ll return.”

“Alright.”  Kagome said, smiling.

Following his nose, he found the ookami easily enough.  He was in the corner of the gardens quietly talking to Miroku and Inuyasha.

Seeing the taiyoukai approach with his sleeping daughter in his arms, the wolf demon grinned hugely. “There’s Daddy’s’ girl!”  He said, carefully taking the sleeping child.  “She get to see you before she conked out?  I know she wanted to.”

Nodding, the demon lord replied, “Yes, for a couple minutes.  My meeting ran longer than I anticipated.”  His tone had a touch of bitterness to it.  “But that matters not.  You’ll be here for a few days and today was the last of my meetings.”

It was now five years after Kagomes’ confrontation with Inuyasha and three years after the final battle with Naraku.  As they usually did on the anniversary of that battle the pack gathered at the Western Fortress to have a get together and celebrate the anniversary.  As one would expect many things had changed.

After the confrontation, Inuyasha had vanished for two months.  None of the pack had known where the hanyou had gone.  Disheveled an dirty, the half-breed had finally shown up at their camp on exactly the two month mark.  Subdued and quiet, he had asked to speak to Kagome alone, stating bluntly he wanted to apologize to her.  She had agreed under the condition they just moved to the outer edge of the camp where she was in Sesshomaru and Kougas’ line of sight.

For two hours they had talked quietly.  The end result was Kagome forgave him.  Though she had forgiven him he had been well aware that it hadn’t meant the trust came back as well because it hadn’t.  After apologizing to her he had apologized to the rest of the pack as well then asked, not demanded, to be allowed to rejoin them.  Though Sesshomaru and Kouga had some misgivings the hanyou had been allowed to.

The Inuyasha that had returned to the pack wasn’t the same one that had left it.  No, he hadn’t fully matured but he had taken a giant step that direction.  As it turned out what had happened with the pack had shoved him that direction but something unexpected had given him the kick in the ass that made him take that all important first step.  Ayame.  The ookami princess had run into the inuhanyou by accident.  She had attended the celebration Kougas’ tribe had thrown to honor Kagome and Sesshomarus’ mating so she had heard the whole story of the betrayal.  As a result she had given him and ass chewing the likes of which he had never had before.  It was that rendition of the riot act that had been the slap upside the head he had needed.  It had started him down the path to maturity.

When he returned to the pack, he made a conscious effort to change and regain Kagomes’ trust.  Yes, he had come to terms with the fact that she was lost to him as a mate but he was determined to keep her as his friend.

Because he genuinely wanted to change and regain her trust by the time of the battle with Naraku he had managed it.  Yes, he could still be an arrogant, insufferable egomaniac but he had changed.  He was no longer exhibiting the behavior that had done the damage in the first place.

As Sesshomaru had seen in that vision with Midoriko, the final battle was the single hardest thing any of them had ever been in.  It had taken everything they all had and even then it looked as though they might not win.  What finally turned the tide was help from three very unlikely sources: Kohaku, Kagura and Kanna.  Once those three came down on the packs side the tide began to turn.  Even with their help it was still an uphill fight.  IN the end it was Kagome that struck the final blow that ended the reign of terror of the arachnid.  The rest of the pack had hit him with everything they had then the little priestess hit him with a strike from her sword called ‘Shin, Kon ken Fuwafuwa’.  It not only forced the jewel from his body it purified him into a pile of ash.

After he was gone Kouga handed over the jewels in his legs.  The jewel from Kohakus’ back was also turned over.  As expected, Kohaku had died when it was removed only to be brought back by tensiega.  After ‘healing the jewel, making it whole, Kagome made her wish-that all those who had been so hurt by Naraku find peace and happiness, then the jewel that had caused so many so much pain for so long was gone.

After that there were a lot of changes to come.  First, there was Kagura and Kanna to deal with.  After a great deal of discussion, the two came under both Sesshomaru and Kougas’ protection, thus ensuring the safety of both.  Because both of them had been controlled by Naraku because the spider held their hearts Kouga forgave them and they had taken up residence with his tribe.  A year later Kagura had become his mate.

A month after the final battle Miroku and Sango were married at a beautiful ceremony in Edo.  It was attended by their whole ‘family’ as they called them, the pack they had traveled with for so long.  Their example was followed several months later by Inuyasha and Ayame.  It seemed that the inuhanyou had fallen for the exuberant wolf demoness.  Also, it seemed to those that had known Inuyasha for so long, Ayame had a way of keeping the hanyou on the straight and narrow.  She, it turned out, was a lot like Kagome in being able to make him see sense.  All agreed, she was good for him and he obviously loved her.  But the biggest change in him came when Dai was born.  For Inuyasha it was love at first sight.  Yes in deeded, the boy was the spitting image of his father but he had his mothers’ beautiful green eyes.  His silver hair was streaked with the same color of red as his mothers.  Those fuzzy dog ears of his weren’t the color silver like his fathers but red like Ayame’s’ hair.  From birth father and son were inseparable but the boy had his mother there to counterbalance any of Inuyashas’ less desirable traits.

Really, all of them had changed since that last battle.  Kouga and Kagura had calmed down a great deal.  The monk now only had hands for Sangos’ backside and she had learned to appreciate his touch.  Kagome had matured and taken on the duties befitting someone of her station.  And he, Sesshomaru, had mellowed.  Yes, his stoic, public persona was still there and was his face for most of the world but his ‘family’-Inuyasha and the rest of the pack-saw another side.  When his ‘nieces and nephews’, he considered all the children born to his pack mates a niece or nephew not just Inuyashas’ child, he loved the children as though they were his own.  They brought out the softer side and the children, in turn, seemed to adore him.  Hell Dai hero-worshipped him, something he adored.  Aki seemed to love him.  He, using that soothing rumble that had always worked with Kagome to sooth her, could get the child to calm down or sleep.  It had been that way with the twins of the monk and slayer, Taija and Hayashi.  They had adored him from the time they were infants. 

Really, his only disappointment was that he didn’t have any children of his own yet.  As it turned out Kagomes’ miko powers had made it hard for her to conceive.  Finally, she was pregnant but she was having a rough time of it.  She was now in her last few months and was now mostly confined to bed or sitting in a chair, no physical labor of any kind.  She went to the doctor in her time and both she and the child were healthy but she had to take it easy. 

After passing Kouga the light of his life and talking to the three men for a few minutes he excused himself so he could return to his mate.  Before he reached where Kagome was he ran into Ayame, almost literally, once again chasing Dai.  Rather than snag onto the boy he grabbed the ookami.  Giving her a one-armed hug, he then gave her a pat on the back.  “Let him run Ayame, he won’t hurt anything. Go take a rest and get something to drink.”  He soothed.

Sighing, she gave him a smile, “Thanks Sesshomaru.”

Smirking, he watched her head off then made his way back to Kagome who was keeping an eye on Rin and Kohaku.  They were due to be married in a month and tradition dictated that they have a chaperone at all times.  When he got there he gently lifted her into his arms then sat down with her in his lap.  As she always did, she sighed happily and curled up to him.  Gently, he rubbed her lower back where he knew it was uncomfortable for her.

Suddenly, her eyes widened and she gasped. 

Concerned, brow furrowed, he looked down at her, “Kagome?  Is everything alright?”

Grabbing his had, she put it on her stomach but said nothing.  Suddenly, he felt a kick against it, making him grin.

His child…

Kissing her softly, he rested his head against the top of hers, smiling.

His Kagome….

His phoenix….