oh thats so sad, tears! :[[[[[[

Eee can't wait for the next chapter(s) to see Sess and Kag in the future!

Poor Yoshi. I hope he does understand one day that in order for him to have a father, they had to leave. One day he will see them again and appreciate that. Thanks for the update Chie! I am excited for the next chapter!

Simply wonderful. Though I do hope this isn't the end, I wouldn't be dissappointed if it was.

I still like this story even if I don't agree with some of the things you do. update soon

I can't read this story anymore. I'm sorry, I really am but I just don't see this heading anywhere thats realistic. How can any woman agree with what Kagome did? I would call her a coward. "Free spirit" or not, she made a terrible and selfish choice. She does not deserve to see her son and she does not deserve to be called a mother. Her role was more like a surrogate and Sesshomaru was the sperm donor.

Hello Chie,

I would just like to say that I did read your entry on the reason's behind Sesshomaru and Kagome's departure. And despite all that, I cannot find it within me to agree or even understand them. Don't get me wrong, I respect you as an author and, for the most part, I have enjoyed your story. However, I feel that they were both completely selfish in this decision to just pass a responsibility to somebody else as soon as they got the chance. On a baby no less, THEIR child! What mother would ever give up her own flesh and blood for a deal? I understand she loves him, but in my mind, no man could ever have more worth to me than my child. If I were Yoshimaru, I would feel a great amount of bitterness and, honestly, hatred at the fact that my parents abandoned me so they could live a life without cares. That's not fair to the child, they made him and should take responsibility for him. It was one thing when the Inu no Taisho died and Sesshomaru had to take over, but Sesshomaru does not have the excuse of death. He is leaving because he does not want to take responsibility of his lands any longer. The time for him to live a care-free life passed with his childhood, as it does with all beings. Sesshomaru and Kagome should have been there for Yoshimaru, not abandoned him to the life they didn't want to live. They could have just told Kimiko to give the throne to another line. Now Yoshimaru will have to suffer through the tutoring, the training, and the pressures that Sesshomaru did, regardless of the fact that there is no scandal involved, he IS the heir. The only heir, and should something happen to Kimiko, he will have to ascend quickly just as Sesshomaru once did. They should have taken this into account before abandoning their child.

*Tear* Is... is that the end? Please tell me that's not the end!! *Cries* I hope not!! I'm not ready for it to be over yet!!!

nawwwwwwwh, Yoshimaru! *cuddles him* so adorable!

you did a wonderful job repusenting a young boy in such a situation. You were able to show both sides of his story, in that he was being raised in a loving, healthy enviroment but also longing for his parents and trying to understand their story, their feelings. Of course being so young it is very difficult and cuz he's intelligent no doubt is tossing it around even more cuz he's turning it from every which angle, but i'm sure with time as Izumi said, he'll come to understand! :)

I like that you did a time skips, nothing specific really to the distance of then but in relation to the characters. Sango and Miroku's death, Keade's death, Rin and Shippo leaving for the West and Kimiko giving her blessing for them to wed. These are the little details that matter, and it makes me fall in love with the hardship of the story even more.

Such a happy chatper!! :) I'm not sure if you completed it or not because your story still says incomplete. Whether or not you choose to coninue the story or end it, I will be glad. Thank you for giving us readers a splendid time - I really did enjoy reading your story. You are a wonderful writer and I hope to read more of your work in the future.

Darn you, Chie! You made my eyes water so badly that I can't see what I was typing! I had to stop for a minute so that I can clear them and type this out. So touching! There aren't enough words to describe how I felt reading that chapter!

again another wonderful chapter, and u really made me cry this time.. i loved it. u transformed that anger and loathing into an emotion that people understand and love. thank you for a lovely chapter. i expect a few more, maybe 1, but still it feels empty and needs an ending that will be AWESOMELY SUPREMELY AWESOME!! yes i just said that. but still i love how u tied everything down so all your lose ends are neat. thank oy again. and i hope people can appricate this chapter for what it is, and not for what they want it to be. fanfiction is fanfiction not theirfiction. i hope u had fun w this chapter. the love between kags and sess even when not in the chapter shown through soo powerfully, it was like light in the morning. it comes no matter what day or time.

Glad they finally admited it, but sad they had to leave their pup. It was a great chapter.

i just like how you made the ending make you want to know what comes next. cant wait intil you make  the next chapter.

I... was not expecting that. I honestly don't know what to say, other than I feel sorry for Yoshimaru. The rest of my feelings are too convoluted to put into words.

I did love the moments between Sesshomaru and Kagome though.

Thanks so much for writing.

Chie, Chie Chie.  You know I love you.  I read your live journal too and I see your point of view.  But it still feels very wrong.  I think this was a mistake and it really leaves a sour imprint on the story as a whole.  What exactly is the moral message here?  It's ok that they abandoned their child because Sesshoumaru needs to be free and Kagome didn't really want to be pregnant anyways?  How are they going to explain that to their son when they see him again?  "I'm sorry sweetie, we weren't around for you because we didn't want to be tied down by the responsibility of being Lord and Lady of the West.  But hey, you had Kimiko and Izumi.  That's just as good, right?" 

Do you see what I'm getting at?  It's all well and good that he'll have a better life than Sesshoumaru did...but it still doesn't change the fact that his parents left him.  I just don't see how their reasoning would ever be good enough for him. 

I did have a very negative emotional response to this chapter.  My own personal feelings on the matter is that their actions are incredibly selfish and completely show a lack of character.  To me, that isn't usually the type of feeling you want your reader to have about your two main characters.  It completely incapacitated my ability to feel joy over their confession of love for each other, because I was in such shock and horror that they were going to abandon their child.  How are we supposed to feel sympathy or root for them, when they're ok with laying all their responsibilities, not just on someone else, but an innocent little baby?  They can't handle it, so they're pass the duty off on their son?  That's not the actions of a parent.  It is true, that he would have been the heir no matter what they did, but they won't be there to guide him and help him and shield him.  If it were me, I would want to be there first hand to ensure that he was safe and protected and not crushed under the pressure that a future lord will inevitably face.  That's their JOB.  And they've put THAT on someone else as well.  I just feel that you're not seeing that no matter how you slice it, they're shirking their responsibility as parents and their reasons are 100% selfish.  That is my personal, biased stance on the matter. 

Now, I will try to give you my objective POV, because I do have a lot of respect for you as a writer, so with my personal feelings aside I will tell you from a literary standpoint why I feel that this chapter doesn't fit your story.  The typical formula when you have protagonists it that they are supposed to grow, not regress.  By going this route, you've chosen to focus on all the reasons for why they should go...but none of the reasons of why they should stay.  There's more to this story than the burden Kagome and Sesshoumaru have felt being the future Lord and Lady of the West.  I think this chapter totally shifted your reader's focus onto the wrong thing, and that is one of my major issues with it.  The burden Kagome and Sesshoumaru have been subjected to has been a theme in your story, but to me it's not your major one.  The major theme has been Kagome and Sesshoumaru overcoming their circumstances to find love in each other.  To me, having a child together was a chance to cement that feeling of the solace and love that they've found in each other.  By giving that up, not only does it feel like they're giving up a part of themselves, it feels like they're throwing away all they've been through, instead of embracing it as what has brought them together.  The reasoning behind why they would give up Yoshimaru feels flawed and weak because of that.  They will have each other, but a child is typically viewed as a precious, irreplaceable thing.  The justification that they can have more pups...like they're something that's replaceable...feels really thin and contrary to the actions of a protagonist.  Having to give up your baby? It's not always the hero's choice.  Giving up your baby for selfish reasons?  You're not going to get much sympathy from your readers.  This chapter and the last part of the previous chapter just feel like a giant step backwards and in the wrong direction.    

*sigh*.  There's more, but I'm starting to feel like I'm reaming you.  Bottom line,  their behavior in this chapter feels really wrong and out of character.  And not just the canon characters, but what you yourself have portrayed your characters as being.  I don't think being Lord would have crushed Sesshoumaru.  Not with Kagome and their child by his side.  You admitted yourself, the pressure Sesshoumaru once faced has changed.  Kimiko changed.  So why would being Lord equal a death sentence for them?  It will be safe for their son, but not for them?  It doesn't make sense -_-           

Stories don't have to be perfect.  Not everythign has to have a story book ending.  But  they should make sense and fit what you've already established.  I think this event doesn't support what you've written.  I really think you should give this more thought and think about they reasons why they wouldn't give up their son.

Keep up the good work. 

Oddly enough, I'm not upset with what you did, and I agree with how you wrote this chapter.

I think I would call it bitter sweet. Lost something of great importance...at least for now, but gained understanding and support through the pain....plus a fair chance of being reunited later.

Now I'm anxious as to what you are planning to do for their next journey.

Aww this made me want to cry... Although one thing I kinda don't get is that she talked about Sess losing himself and all that, but... in exchange for their freedom she's basically condemning their son to the same problem... To me that seems a lil cruel, but in 500yrs he'd still be a kid (IF I'm guessing youkai aging right and by how you described Sess as being 9th cent and being 20) Or he'll be a teenager. Dunno, but yeah it seems to me a lil odd to me that she would just toss something like that onto her newborn for their freedom, super selfish to me. But I do understand it. Sides if I guess the aging right then like I said, he should still be a kid or a teenager and still can't be lord, heh, poor Kimiko... >.<

This was absolutely beautiful. I'm sorry if you have been getting some mean reviews, please don't think all of your readers hate you. It made me think of my cousin who had a baby when she was still just a teen and decided to give him up for adoption. It hurt to let him go, but it was what was best for her and for him. They have since reunited and have a very good relationship now. 

I read your blog post and am very happy you are a sucker for happy endings, as I am too. Thank you for not letting this be the end, as bittersweet as it is. Please know that you are one of my favorite Dokuga authors and that I am truly in awe of your gift with words. Thank you so, so much.

About time she told him how she felt. I mean wow, it took a weight of my chest. It was very emotional, leaving their pup, it actually made her stronger. Now where will they go?