Unbroken

I awoke with a start, sitting up in bed, my heard pounding, sweat running down my face. I glanced out the small crack in the curtains. The sky with lightening but the sun hadn't even begun to peak over the distant horizon yet.

I laid my head back against my damp pillow, trying desperately to grasp at the remaining tendrils of the dream that had frightened me, only to let it slip through my fingers. When I realized that there was no way in hell to remember the dream, I began to try to remember the feelings that I had felt instead. That, I could remember.

It was hard to describe the feelings I felt in that dream. It was like being happy, sad, angry, relieved, and heartbroken all at once. Then my mind darted away from my dream to the little girl that was beside me.

I glanced at Rin who still slept peacefully on her side, facing the window. I was glad I had her here, even if she was just a child. She gave me peace in knowing that Sesshomaru would come back. 'Sesshomaru.' My mind sighed his name, still confused about his actions from the previous day.

I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling the child within me. He moved his arm and a ripple ran across my stomach. I smiled, still excited for the time that he would finally be in my arms.

Over the course of my thinking, I failed to notice the sun peeking over the horizon. The small slit in the curtain sent the beam of light to land directly on Rin's face, causing her to stir. She mumbled something, opening one eye.

"Morning sleepy head." I forced cheer into my voice, mostly because I didn't want her concerned.

She rolled over and looked at me. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, stretched and yawned, then smiled. "Good Morning Lady Angel."

Little Rin stood, stretching again, then walked carefully to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

I focused on my surrounding at that point, wondering if I could still feel the feelings of darkness that I had felt before I fell asleep. I closed my eyes and concentrated. I stretched my senses as far as I could. I did feel something, like something wasn't right. It was on the far outskirts of my reach, waiting. A shiver of unease passed through my body and I opened my eyes, drawing my senses back to myself.

Rin came back into the room, her bangs wet from her splashing water on her face. She walked to the window and opened the curtains letting in the orange glow of the morning sun. She turned towards me and smiled once more. "How are you feeling today?"

I lied, I had to for her sake. "I'm okay. Nervous and excited." I shot a smile back at her. There was a sharp knock on the door and the same woman from yesterday swept into the room.

"Here is your breakfast my dears." Annabelle seemed cheery, her dark green skirts swirling around her legs. She placed a tray on the bed that went over my legs and placed a plate of food and a glass of water on it. There was toast, orange slices, rice, and eggs on the plate and my stomach instantly growled, hungry for the food before me.

Annabelle handed Rin a plate and a glass of water. Rin bowed her head towards Annabelle, grateful for the meal. She sat the plate down on the desk, pulled out the chair, and sat. She closed her eyes for a second before grabbing the chopsticks that where on the plate and digging in.

Annabelle swept out of the room as quickly as she had come and shut the door. I grabbed my own chop sticks and tried my best to eat. I failed miserably with chopsticks and soon, after many failed attempts, set aside the sticks and ate the food with my fingers.

Once I finished the delectable goodness that had once been food, I placed the tray on the bedside table and rolled out of bed. I waddled to the bathroom, combed my hair, braided it, and brushed my teeth. There was a tiny hand held mirror on the counter and I picked it up, looking at my reflection. The marking on my forehead and cheeks where still there, my eyes still shown a bright blue, my hair still light blonde and blue. My appearance hadn't really changed much except that my skin seemed to be a little darker from being in the sun all the time.

A really sharp pain hit me causing me to drop the mirror, which shattered into a million different pieces. I gripped the counter with such force that my knuckles turned white. I groaned loudly, my free hand clasping the lower part of my stomach. I felt water trickle down my legs and pool around my feet. Rin ran into the room, worry and fear clearly visible on her face. Another sharp pain hit me and my knees nearly gave out.

"I'll go get Miss Annabelle!" Rin was clearly frightened as she quickly darted off and out the door.

I slowly made my way to the door when another sharp pain hit me. I groaned and leaned my forehead against the door jam. I looked into the bedroom, looking for something I could hold onto to get to the bed. Just when I was about to brave the long distance, Annabelle burst into the room, her eyes searching for me. Rin was at her heels, tears streaking her face.

Annabelle made eye contact with m and quickly ran to my side. She wrapped one of her arms around my shoulder and the other around my waist and helped me to the bed. Halfway there another severe pain hit, causing me to put nearly all my weight on Annabelle. When we reached the bed, I collapsed, laying on my pack. Just as another wave of pain struck, four women entered the room.

They all looked exactly the same. They had the same black hair, same brown eyes, and same lavender colored kimonos. Each of them carried something different. The first one carried a large metal bowl with steam rising from the top. I assumed it was full of hot water. The second carried an arm load of towels, the third carried a small blanket, and the fourth carried a couple of strange metal tools.

Each woman set their objects either on the bed or on the bedside table and each woman took a different place around me. One sat on the bed behind me, my head in her lap, there were two women at my feet, and the fourth woman was behind Annabelle, who was sitting at my feet. The two women near my feet grabbed them and lifted my legs in the air in the same way that the stirrups at the doctor's office had been. Annabelle pulled her chair closer to the edge of the bed.

"Angel, on your next contraction, I need you to push, okay? Push as hard as you can." Annabelle's voice was firm as she started barking instructions at the other women, and Rin. "Ruki, be sure to help her push. Sakura, Yen, please keep her legs as still as possible. Rin, I need you to sit beside Angel and give her words of encouragement."

Rin climbed onto the bed and grabbed my kimono with shaking hands. I knew she was scared. So was I. "It’s okay Rin." I smiled at her and I flinched, another contraction gripping me.

"Push!" Annabelle yelled.

So, I pushed, as hard as I could and white hot pain shot across me lower half and I groaned loudly. The woman behind me pushed on my back while the other two woman held my feet firm, keeping me from moving them.

"It’s crowning!" Excitement filled Annabelle's voice.

I fell back on the woman behind me. I was catching my breath when another contraction hit. I pushed as hard as I could again, gripping the sheets.

"I've got its head, one hard push to get past the shoulders!"

When another contraction hit, I pushed with all my might and more white hot pain shot across my lower stomach. I screamed as my body stretched to accommodate the child being born. I felt a lessening of pain as the child was pulled from inside of me. I collapsed on the woman behind me, sweat running into my eyes and down my face. My vision was staticy as I huffed, trying to catch my breath.

"It’s a boy!" Annabelle was pleased. "A perfectly healthy and beautiful baby boy!" She handed the child to the woman behind her to be cleaned. "I need you to give me one more big push okay?"

I wasn't sure why but I conceded, pushing one final time. I felt something move out of me and fall into the towel that Annabelle was holding.

The women who held my feet and back helped me get into bed the right way, my back leaning against the headboard. I was exhausted, thankful that the pain was finally gone. The woman who had cleaned my child had wrapped him up in a blanket. She handed him to me, a smile on her face. The four women, without saying a word, bowed and left, leaving Annabelle, Rin, and myself alone in the room.

"What is his name?" Rin peeked at the baby over my shoulder.

He had a thick head of black hair that stood on end from being washed and dried. He had a blue streak on each of his little cheeks. His eyes were closed but his little fingers gripped my index finger tightly.

I wasn't sure what I wanted my son's name to be. I wanted an American name but he would be raised here, in Feudal Japan. I didn't want to give him a name that he would later resent. I wanted a name that wouldn't get him made fun of or make people give him strange looks over. I pondered for a minute, neither Rin nor Annabelle saying a word.

"His name will be Katsuro." I smiled at my son and his eyes opened.

One eye was red, like Naraku's had been and the other was a bright blue, like mine. He looked me up and down, intelligence shining in his eyes, intelligence that shouldn't be that strong, not yet anyways. His eyes shown like he had lived a million lifetimes before being reborn and for some reason that frightened me.

"Miss, I need to take young Katsuro to get blessings from our high priestesses. I assure you, he will be safe with me. Lady Ayume will be thrilled to give blessings to this wonderful blessing."

"I'd like that, Annabelle. Thank you for all that you have done." I handed Katsuro to Annabelle, his eyes never leaving my face.

"It's the least I can do." She inclined her head before taking Katsuro out the door.

Rin gave me a great big hug. "Katsuro is so pretty! He has the most unique eyes." She smiled at me as I hugged her back.

I closed my eyes, needing a nap, but something was telling me not to fall asleep. I wasn't sure why, but something was telling me to be on high alert. "Rin, why don't you draw me a picture?"

"Great idea!" She jumped up and ran to the desk and took out a piece of paper and proceeded to draw.

While she was distracted, I closed my eyes and extended my senses again, wondering why my body felt the need to prepare. I felt the same feeling of unease as I let my senses explore our surroundings. Suddenly, I felt a strong darkness approaching with amazing speed toward the sanctuary.

My senses snapped back to me as an explosion and screams echoed through the building. The walls shook and the floor trembled with the force. Rin shrieked and I struggled to swing my tired legs over the edge of the bed. Before I could stand, the door to our room exploded, sending shards of splintered wood hurling though the air. Rin screamed, ducking behind the bed and I covered my face with my arms.

When the clanging of wood finally stopped, I looked up and in the doorway stood a very tall woman, black smoke swirling around her. She wore a black corset with red trim, tight black shorts, and over the knee black boots. Her hair was platinum blonde, her eyes shown a bright red, and she had a black line under each eye that came to a point right above her jawline. She wore a big smile and looked down at the bundle of blankets in her arms.

I immediately stood, cursing myself from letting the maidens to take my weapons. I began moving towards her, shaky legs aside, I wanted to kill this woman for taking my son.

She tisked at me. "Bad mommy!"

What I had perceived as smoke was actually a part of the woman. She shot a tendril of the smoke towards me and the closer it got, the more claw like it became. The smoke claw wrapped around my throat, digging claws into my skin. I immediately couldn't breathe. I kept moving forward, hell bent on retrieving my son.

"My, have we got spirit!" She shot more tentrils of smoke towards me, each turned into claws and snaked their way around my body, keeping me from moving further as their claws dug into me. I could feel blood oozing from the marks left by the claws.

"I must say, thank you for birthing Naraku's son." She smirked and my vision began to tunnel. "To bad I wasn't able to give him a son." She pouted and I fell to my knees. She laughed and a chill went down my spine. "To bad he will never know his mother."

I was barely hanging on, my lungs were on fire and my heart rate was slowing. My head hurt and my vision was tunneling even more. The yelling from the remaining women grew dim and so did the light in the room. I pulled against the smoke that held me, still fighting to reach my son.

Katsuro turned his little head towards me, the same intelligence that shown before shown even brighter now as his red and blue eyes made contact with mine. I struggled until my entire vision darkened and I couldn't distinguish shape from shadow. I heard another laugh as I collapsed against the cold wooden floors.