Nature or Nurture? by Lauri2018

Heir

***This story is on Dokuga as well as on Wattpad and I might be posting it on Fanfiction.net. All of these stories are by me, so no one is plagiarizing! Rating MA on Dokuga for safety. Not entirely sure where the story will be going, but I have a rough idea. Should be obvious that I don't own Inuyasha...

They were just bedding down for the night, having travelled most of the day starting at the crack of dawn. Inuyasha always insisted that they waste no amount of daylight, even when their group consisted of two children, three humans, a half demon, and four full demons. The children were the ones that had the most trouble with so little sleep, so Kagome had made and enforced the rule that if they started their days so early, then they had to make camp by a decent time so the children had enough sleep to grow properly and be healthy.

Rin, Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Ah-Un had been fairly recent additions to the normal group of shard hunters, but they had gotten into a routine very easily and quickly. Basically, to resolve all disputes over direction and course of action between the fueding brothers, Kagome had final say on everything. Most of the time she tended to side with Sesshomaru because he was the more reasonable of the two, but their were some human needs that took explaining first before he agreed.

Inuyasha knew that the humans in the group had extra needs, but always was rushing them or declaring them to be pathetic because of them. With this system, though, Inuyasha's rushing and Sesshomaru's lack of knowledge on all things human dwindled swiftly. Kagome was the leader in all things and everyone was fine with that, including Sesshomaru.

He had gained a new respect for the young miko once he learned of her origins and the situation regarding the jewel and what had happened to it. He thought that she was brave, honorable, and trustworthy considering that she could have escaped to her era many times over and left someone else to pick up the pieces of the jewel or handle the fight between them and Naraku, but she never did.

In addition to that, she was very motherly toward her adoptive son, Shippo, and his ward, Rin. She took care of them by making sure that they were well-rested, fed, and bathed daily. He had wondered why she smelt so much better than other humans, but now he had his answer. She bathed regularly and did not think that too much time in the water would turn her into a kappa, like the other uneducated and purposefully filthy humans of the time.

That brought up another of her good qualities. She was well educated and well read. Sesshomaru had learned about how she would return to her time in order to take tests to prove that she had learned the material being taught to her. It was really a novel concept considering that most, if not all, of the women in this era were not taught how to read or write, let alone things like math and science.

All in all, the miko was the one out of the entire group that he had a strong admiration for and considered a good friend. The slayer was still suspicious of him, the monk was a proven pervert, and the half breed was a vulgar idiot to say the least.

That was why, when he recieved news from his fortress that his heir was now being brought into this world and that the mother wanted to leave the heir with him to raise while she retired to her reward, he had the thought to bring the child back here for the miko to help him raise.

He didn't let anyone else in on this development just yet. He simply informed Kagome that he had something to attend to, but would be back by the next day at the latest. She accepted this and said that she would look after Rin while he was gone, which was exactly the response that led him to his decision. 

The mother of his heir was picked for her power and nothing else. She was not his mate and now she did not even want anything to do with the child she had birthed. However, here, right in front of him, was a woman that would be more than willingly to be the mother of his newest child for no other reason than that the child needed her. She would expect no reward or incentive for taking the position, of that he was sure. That was just the kind of person he was learning that she was.

Fumiko might have been the best choice out of all the demonesses available to him for giving birth to his heir, but Kagome was the best choice out of all women, regardless of species, to be the mother of his child.

~~~

Sesshomaru sped to his fortress in his energy sphere and arrived just as the midwife was cleaning the child off. She bowed to her lord and presented to him the child. It was a boy, just as he hoped it would be.

He took the child into his arms and named him. "Katsuro," he stated.

"That is a wonderful name, my lord. He will be a most victorious son indeed," she midwife complimented him, feeling that she had the right to do so considering that she had also helped to bring him into this world as well as his first born son and heir. "If I may ask, my lord, how are you going to care for him without the milk of his mother?" 

It wasn't an out of line question, but Sesshomaru didn't feel like any rumors spreading while he was hunting Naraku. His position of power was firmly set with an heir now, but he still wanted to avoid unnecessary drama if he could. So, he simply replied, "I have a plan in place."

The midwife accepted that answer, because although she had helped bring the child into the world, this was still her lord and who was she to question him further.

He wrapped his son in soft silks emblazoned with their family crest and then in his moko-moko to ensure that he would be warm. After ensuring the child's well-being, he sped out once more to rejoin the group and give the miko Kagome her new charge.

~~~

Kagome wasn't worried about Sesshomaru. She knew that he could take care of himself and was intelligent enough to not be ambushed and even-tempered enough to not start fights he couldn't win. Not that there were any fights that he couldn't win.

The youkai had more power in one of his little fingers than most demons possessed at the height of their lives. So, no, she was not worried.

Rin had been left in her care along with Jaken and Ah-Un. She had no problem taking care of the young girl. In fact, she loved stepping in as a sort of mother for the child.

It did make it awkward at times when she thought that if she was the mother of the girl, that Sesshomaru was the father, but as she got to know the demon lord more and more, the more safe and at ease she felt in his presence.

He didn't lie. He didn't go against his word. If he said something, then he meant it. He was, above all else, a being with a sense of honor and loyalty. Once you had his trust, only a fool would throw it away.

He was quickly turning into the best friend that she had ever had. He understood her and what was important to her. He treated her like her opinion mattered and that what she said had value just because it was her that said it.

The way he treated her made her feel like she was important. She needed to feel like that, especially after Inuyasha got into one of his "pathetic human" rants. Her self esteem had been pretty average throughout her young life, but then she was pulled down the well and introduced to one of the most idiotic and non-filtered hanyou she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

He may not have been educated, but there was not lack of insults for him to hurl at her without a  moments notice and without any provocation on her part.

Sesshomaru had recently taken to shutting those rants down before they ever got started. She supposed that there was only so much of the hanyou's voice that he could take before he wanted to permanently damage his hearing. Most of the things he said applying to Rin didn't help the situation either.

The way that Sesshomaru protected her, Rin, and Shippo made her heart stir in a way that it hadn't in a very long time. She had had her puppy love crush on Inuyasha when she first came through the well, but she attributed it to the suspension bridge effect of when he saved her from mistress centipede, tried to kill her, and then went on to save her from other various threats. That kind of adrenaline rush must have affected her brain chemistry for her to have ever considered Inuyasha in a romantic sense.

Inuyasha and romantic in the same sentence was enough cause a shiver of revulsion to roll down her spine. He was dirty, foul-mouthed, and ran off to Kikyo whenever he had the chance. Most of the time when he ran off to her, he was leaving the rest of the group unprotected and unaware of their vulnerability.

It was enough to make her want to spit.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand, never left them unprotected. When he had something to take care of, he informed her and made sure to leave Jaken and Ah-Un for extra fire power and a means of communication should something go awry.

She knew that she shouldn't be comparing the two brothers, but differences between them were so obvious that she couldn't help it. She knew where her interest lied, but didn't want to make anything more difficult in the group than it already was.

Inuyasha resented her taking Sesshomaru's side on most things, but he also wasn't able to admit that things turned out better when they did things his brother's way.

Overall, Sesshomaru was more mature and trustworthy than Inuyasha and he made her feel safe. It also didn't hurt that he was insanely gorgeous in that inhuman way of his. His markings, his long flowing hair, even the very air with which he carries himself make him the most beautiful and awe-inspiring creature she had ever laid eyes on. This wasn't a crush. She had full-blown feelings for him, but she couldn't act on them.

He had responsibilities to his lands and his people, so as he has started before, he must have a full-blood heir for his titles. She, being human, couldn't provide that for him and thus made him out of reach for her.

Done ruminating on these thoughts that couldn't go anywhere, she called out for the children that their break was done and that it was time to get back to their lessons. She had taken it upon herself to teach them how to read and write. Once they progressed some more, she would introduce math to them.

They wouldn't need to study it the way she was required to, but it was a skill that could make their lives much better in the long run. Shippo could become a lord in his own right with the proper strategy, knowledge, and power. Rin could attain a better mate for herself in the future as well. She knew that it wasn't normal for women to be educated in this time, but she didn't see how it could hurt them, so they continued with the lessons when they had time for them.

"Okay, so let's see if you can write your names now. You can go as slow as you need to, but try to make it with clean lines. After we read some more, I have a treat for you two," she offered them an incentive to try harder. Motivating wasn't ever a problem, not with all of the candy and coloring pages she had access to in her time.

They would be occupied until Sesshomaru came back and then they would set on again to find the jewel shards and take down the spider.

~~~

Sesshomaru didn't take to much time getting back to the group, but he did take more care in traveling than he normally would have. After all, he was carrying precious cargo in the form of his son.

Fumiko hadn't even bothered to feed his son once before she insisted on taking her reward to her new accommodations. In exchange for his heir, he had given her a castle on the edge of his lands, a fair amount of riches, and hired staff for her new holdings. She was a materialistic bitch and he knew that this wouldn't be the last he saw of her. She had no concept of moderation at all, so he had it in writing what their deal was and had made her sign it with her youki and blood in order to seal it.

No one could dispute that the child was his and that she had been compensated fairly, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't try. Of course, by then his son would be firmly attached to his new mother and hopefully the position of Lady of the West would be filled once again.

There was nothing in the contract to say that she couldn't care for her child like any other mother, but he knew that she didn't have a maternal bone in her body and would raise a finger to care for the child once it was of no use to her.

With these thoughts in mind, he was only a few minutes away from where he had left the pack. Making his descent, he landed beside Kagome and waited for the chaos to ensue. 

Inuyasha immediately let from the tree he was sulking in and began sniffing the air, trying to pinpoint the new scent.

"What the hell is that!" he roared rather than asked. His caterwauling woke the child and he let out a piercing cry of hunger and discomfort.

Without hesitating, once she heard that heartbreaking sound, Kagome shot up ramrod straight and was at his side looking at the bundle he still carried in his moko-moko. She traced the deep maroon stripes that decorated his cheeks and then the blue crescent moon adorning his forehead. The pup looked exactly like his sire.

"May I?" she asked him, reaching out for the pup. He moved the moko-moko closer to her and she took that as permission.

Inuyasha kept squalling in the background, hurting the pup's sensitive ears.

She cradled the child close and softly uttered the command, "Sit!" Even without the normal volume, the command itself was enough to get the job done and the hanyou was face-planted into a crater of his own creation. That would shut him up for a few minutes.

She looked up to Sesshomaru for an explanation, and he gave one without delay.

"You are already raising two children not of your own blood. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind adding one more to that total. His mother has abandoned him as I thought that she would. Will you take him as your own?" he inquired.

"Yes, of course. What is his name?" she asked, rocking the child and soothing him naturally, like she had given brith to him herself.

"Katsuro."

"Katsuro. It's perfect, he's perfect," she muttered, most likely to herself, as she took his tiny clawed hand into hers. It wrapped around one of her fingers, struggling to make it that far, but maintained a tight grip on it. She kissed his little hand and then something amazing happened.

Where she had pressed her lips, his hand glowed the color of her powers, leaving behind a pink mark.

Katsuro - meaning victorious son.

Fumiko - meaning child of abundant beauty