A frustrated sigh rang out from the master bedroom, and Rei could only smile as she was assaulted with another pair of dress pants. Rin stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by clothes that no longer fit her slightly bulging frame, and she seemed near tears as her closet slowly cleared out.

"I'm sure that one of your dresses would fit long enough for us to go shopping for maternity clothes, Rin." Rei giggled at the exacerbated look on Rins face as she finally dug out a sun dress and light jacket.

"But what if I get cold Rei?" It was amazing to Rei, that someone could live for over five hundred years and still be able to sound like a petulant child.

"That's what jackets were made for, my dear." Another piece of clothing was thrown in her face as the former Lady of the West pulled on a jacket over her dress. Before Rei could turn to hand Rin her hair pieces, the front door clanged open followed by the sound of a female voice.

"I don't care what the company says they want. The contracts say that the men are to be paid the minimum with bonuses dependent on the quality of work. No one has yet to see a bonus and I wont see the company sued over this." A head poked around the corner as Rin's hair finally cooperated, and allowed her braid to be twisted into a bun. The young woman had deep black hair, and hazel eyes, a beautiful smile that shined at her mother. "Like I said, I don't care. We budgeted for this, give out the bonuses as promised." She nodded at the women in the room, heading down the hall towards her own bedroom as the two older women headed towards the door.

"No charms in the house, young lady!" Rin called over her shoulder as she watched her daughter struggle with a full arm load and getting the door to her bedroom open. Nearly four hundred years of practice allowed her to ignore the eye roll sent her way, as Rei walked over to help.

"I'll call you back, Jaken. Yes, I'll see you tomorrow, and those men will have their bonuses by then correct? Good." Rei had set what she could on the bed, and settled down as Rin made her way into the room. "Yes, I know mom. I just need to set this all down first."

"How was work, Takara?" Rin leaned into the door frame, watching as her daughter stripped off her jacket and drew a long chain off from around her neck. The change was fluid and almost instantaneous as black faded into a shining silver and hazel flashed into red, then a deep golden. Her ears shifted and became elongated, but not too unhuman. It made Rin smile to see her daughters true form, the human exterior a recent development within the past one hundred years.

"It was alright, mom. Jaken has been giving me issues with regards to the budget but he seemed to have understood how..." Takara looked contemplative for a moment before choosing her wording. ...enthusiastic I am about making sure our employees are paid right." She smile to herself as she changed into a workout outfit, and ventured out onto the balcony. "How are you doing, mom? Are you sure your up to going out?"

"I'm pregnant, not made of glass, my jewel." Takara smiled at her mother, worry still apparent in her eyes through the nostalgia of hearing an old nickname. "And Rei will be with me the whole time. Since she and Haruka are visiting from Europe for business, it coincides nicely." Over the years, as society had changed, and demons were slowly backed into a corner by humans, Rei and Rin had agreed on an equal footing. Rin no longer held her official title of Lady of the West, their lands gone to the wonders of the modern age. Though Sesshomaru had adapted, taking the business world by storm and staying at the top of society, while being removed enough to avoid the suspicions of never ageing.

"I think we may be staying for longer this time, maybe to see you through the pregnancy." The worry in Rei's eyes was something harder to ignore. Rei had lived through the first two miscarriages, held her as she collapsed with anxiety that Sesshomaru would cast her aside because her body would not bear him an heir. Rei had seen the short pregnancy with Takara, guiding her through the two month premature birth, and rejoiced with her when Takara lived.

"You do realize that with modern medicine, I will be fine. The doctors even said I could keep working until my third trimester. If I think that anything is wrong, I know to go the doctors." Rin stood straight, and Rei stood both getting ready to leave once again. "And I'm enjoying the time that I have while I can. Your father is going to start denning down soon and I'll barely be able to wash myself let alone go out to get comfortable clothes. That's part of the reason why he's pushing for you to take over some of the companies sooner than he thought." It made Rin proud of her daughter, and her husband.

She knew that the rest of the demon society wanted a male heir for the west, that only a man could carry on the name of the family. But her daughter came out strong and screaming to the world that she would be heard, and no one would stop her. Sesshomaru had never forced Rin to try for another heir after the first miscarriage, scared of her mental strain if she lost another child. He treasured his daughter and raised her to be as strong as any prince in the country. She would carry his name, as far as he was concerned, she was as powerful and harder working as any son.

"We should get going soon, the shops will be closing in a few hours and you need the room to grow." It was a beautiful thing, Rei thought, watching Rin glow with her pregnancy. Haruka and Rei had agreed long ago that children were not anything that the other desired, and simply left the conversation at that. It was enough to help Rin raise her children, to influence them and love them from close by.

"Yes, that would be a good idea. I really do need the clothes for the first semester of school." The women were down into the car garage before long, a car and driver awaiting them. It had become second nature to always assume that at least two guards went wherever Rin was. Her Royal Guard had grown and changed over the past centuries, but one thing always remained the same: the men always came from her original training group. Even though she no longer held her title, the men treated her no differently than they did when she trained them and ascended to Lady of the West.

The only major difference for this outing was that a guard was visible to them at all times. With Rin carrying another child, and the issues that had occurred before, the men were taking no risks that she would start to miscarry and no one be available to the women.

The evening whittled away for the women, buying business like maternity clothes for Rin's new position as the principal of the local high school. It excited Rin, to be able to work with children and guide them towards their educations. Over the years, Rin had experimented with dozens of different jobs, and determined that anything that involved helping children fulfilled her the most.

And over the next two months, school began and Sesshomarus denning instincts increased. Rin knew that they were getting close to the time that she would need to take the rest of the pregnancy off to satisfy his need to keep her safe, but she had one last job to do and it was something she saw as a important milestone in her history.

"Principal Takashi?" A young man, around twenty five, had knocked on the open door and spoke to grab Rin's attention.

"Yes, Souma? What can I do for you?" Souma was the schools truancy officer, and until this point had yet to come to the office in regards to any children.

"We need someone to do a home visit to check on a truant child." This was normally the first step in the cycle of checking for a truant student: establish why they are missing school. If its choice, abuse from parents or truly just an extremely sick student, and depending upon the answer the school could respond accordingly.

"What's the name and address?"

"Higurashi, Kagome. She lives with her grandfather and mother in the old shrine on the hill."

"Don't worry, I can handle it Souma."

Authors Notes:

So ah, yeah that's the end. I know it seems abrupt and kinda leaves a lot hanging but the guilt of having never ended this weighed heavier on me than I thought. I will be uploading this to AO3, if that is your preferred reading site.

Thanks

Chelsea