Inuyasha:
A Late Night Run
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Story and OCs © Me
Summary- Inuyasha comes home to find that Ichiro and Tsukihime are not talking with each other, again. Luckily, he knows just the thing to help put his son's mind at ease.
Nightfall in the village. Everyone had gone to bed for the evening, preparing for another day of hard work. However, as the villagers were all about to tuck themselves away into their beds, one certain priestess stood in her house, staring out to the hillside.
Kagome sighed, a look of worry etched on her countenance as she held her infant daughter, Sanka, in her arms while her youngest son, Yamako, clung to her hakama while sucking on his fingers. Inuyasha had gone off to another far-off village with Miroku, again, and he had been gone for at least 2 days. However, she wasn't so worried to the point where she felt that he wasn't coming back. She knew her husband better than that, after all.
It was what transpired in his absence that left her worried.
Kagome sighed in resignation before she turned to retire for the night, herself, but as she did, she caught something out of the corner of her eye before she turned back around and sighed with relief, a warm smile creasing her face as Inuyasha approached the house with a smile of his own.
Better late than never.
"Inuyasha," Kagome said as she embraced him.
"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha replied before he kissed both Sanka and Yamako. "Were you waiting long for me?"
"Not too long," Kagome replied as she let Inuyasha enter the house, and that's when he noticed that someone was missing from the little welcoming committee.
"Where's Ichi?" asked Inuyasha. "Already in bed?"
"Yeah, he's in his room, already," Kagome nodded. "...Actually...I needed to talk to you about him."
"Oh, no," Inuyasha bemoaned. "What'd he do, now?"
"Nothing!" Kagome answered. "Well...not anything bad, anyway."
"Well, what happened?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well...Tsukihime came to visit, earlier today," said Kagome. "You know, her usual visits. Things started out normal. She and Ichiro had their usual roughhousing, they had snacks, everything was fine! But then..." She then sighed. "I-I don't know what happened. I was outside, tending to the garden, but then I heard yelling, so I go in the house, and I see them sitting away from each other, both on either side of the room with their backs turned to each other!"
"They were fighting?" asked Inuyasha.
"Yes," Kagome replied. "And not only are they mad at each other, but Koga's mad at Ichi because Tsuki's upset. Inuyasha, if we don't get to the bottom of this, I'm afraid that they won't wanna be friends, anymore!"
"Is that really such a bad thing?" Inuyasha asked.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome chided. "God, you can't even put your grudge against Koga aside for the sake of our son, can you?!"
"Okay, okay, I'll talk to Ichi," Inuyasha said as he headed upstairs and slid open the door to Ichiro's bedroom, and sure enough, there he was, sitting in the corner with his legs drawn up against his chest with his arms wrapped around them and his face contorted in a pout. Inuyasha saw that his eyes were a little red and he could make out the slightly salty smell of tears. He sighed as he walked over to his son, who glanced up at him, momentarily, before he looked away.
"Hi, Dad..." Ichiro muttered.
"Hey, pal," Inuyasha greeted as he put his arm on his shoulder. "What's goin' on? Why so glum?"
"...Tsuki and I had a fight," Ichiro replied, "and...now I don't think we're gonna be friends, anymore."
"Well, you don't know that for sure," said Inuyasha.
"...It doesn't matter," Ichiro huffed as he looked away. "I can always hang out with Roku, anyway...even though I can't really play rough-and-tumble with him since he's not as tough as Tsuki is."
"You mind telling me what happened?" asked Inuyasha.
"...You wouldn't understand," Ichiro answered.
"Well, I can try," Inuyasha said, but it seemed that his eldest son remained adamant about keeping his issue to himself.
'Why does this seem familiar?' the half-demon thought before he glanced out the window, where he could see the half-moon glowing through the clouds, momentarily darkening the room. The only things that shone through the darkness were both Inuyasha's and Ichiro's golden yellow eyes. As the clouds drifted away, letting the moonlight into the room, again...and that's when Inuyasha's ears pricked up and a toothy grin appeared on his face.
"Hey, Ichi," Inuyasha said. "Come outside with me."
"Huh?" Ichiro muttered in confusion.
"Come on!" Inuyasha beckoned as he walked out, and his puzzled son soon followed after him, just as Kagome came upstairs with Yamako and Sanka in her arms.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" she asked. "It's almost bedtime."
"I know," Inuyasha answered. "Just...you know...lemme do my Dad Thing."
Kagome blinked before she looked down at Ichiro, who tilted his head in bewilderment, which caused her to smile before she looked up at Inuyasha and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Try not to be out too long," she said before she headed to bed, while Ichiro continued to follow his father outside. The moonlight gave Inuyasha's hair a silvery glow as he stared up at the sky, inhaling the night air through his nose before he gave a soft exhale, then turned to Ichiro as he approached him.
"Climb on, Ichi," Inuyasha said as he squat down, allowing Ichiro to climb onto his back with his hands on his shoulders.
"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Ichiro.
"Hold on tight, okay?" Inuyasha told him as he stood up straight. "Don't let go unless I say so."
"But...Dad, what are you- WAAAAH!" Ichiro started, only to shriek as his father took off at tremendous speed before he hid his face into Inuyasha's back while clutching his haori, whimpering nervously as he felt the wind whipping around his ears. He could feel Inuyasha leaping through the air, bounding off tree branches and boulders...and then, for a while, it felt like he was floating.
"Ichi...open your eyes."
Though afraid, Ichiro's trust in his father allowed him to open his eyes before he gasped in awe as he looked down at the treetops below.
Inuyasha...was literally flying.
"Whoa...!" Ichiro whispered in amazement. "So cool...!"
"Make sure you don't get too blown away, Ichi!" Inuyasha warned. "It's a long way down!"
Soon, father and son descended as Inuyasha stuck his foot out, landing gracefully on a branch before he hopped on several more while Ichiro laughed as he clung to his shoulders.
"You're having fun, now, huh, son?" Inuyasha asked.
"You bet!" Ichiro replied. "Faster, Dad! Faster!"
"You got it!" Inuyasha replied as he landed on the ground and sprinted through the forest, his feet thumping against the earth as he ran. As they did, Ichiro could heart what sounded like something roaring, somewhere up ahead, and he could smell something wet. Once Inuyasha broke through the bushes, they saw that there was a huge waterfall in front of them.
"Hang on, Ichi!" Inuyasha shouted over the roar of the falls as he jumped onto the surface of the rapids, sliding down the current instead of going under.
"WHOO-HOO~!" Ichiro hollered.
"YEAH!" Inuyasha cheered before he leaped off with all four limbs spread out like a flying squirrel, his robe flapping in the wind before he finally jumped onto another tree branch, then jumped onto another tree before he climbed up to the very top...he and Ichiro staring up at the half-moon together, and at this height, the moon almost seemed so close, that the former could touch it.
"So...what'd you think, Ichi?" Inuyasha asked.
"That was awesome!" Ichiro replied. "We were going so fast, and I was really scared, but then we were flying and jumping and...sliding on waterfalls and you ran some more and...and..." He then sighed as the adrenaline began to subside. "That was so cool...!"
Inuyasha chuckled as he looked up at the moon.
"...Do you know where we are right now, son?" he asked.
"No," Ichiro replied.
"...We're in the tree where your mother and I met," Inuyasha replied.
Ichiro's eyes went wide before he glanced down at the tree's trunk, and even though he was quite high up, he could make out a patch of the tree that was free of bark...a scar, so to speak...the place where Inuyasha was once sealed by Kikyo's arrow.
"...Whenever I'm feeling upset or alone," Inuyasha began, "I always came here to this tree and let myself think...and after a while, I feel a little better." He then looked over at Ichiro. "I thought that maybe you'd feel better, too."
Ichiro blinked up at his father until his eyes went downcast and his ears drooped, his lower lip being pulled in between his teeth before he looked up at Inuyasha, who smiled at him, as if knowingly.
"...Dad?" Ichiro asked. "We're...we're pals, right?"
"Right," Inuyasha answered.
"And...I can tell you anything, right?" asked Ichiro.
"Sure you can," Inuyasha said, which caused the quarter-demon boy to sigh softly.
"...The reason why I got into a fight with Tsuki," Ichiro began, "is because...she told me her parents are having another baby."
"Really?" Inuyasha asked in surprise. "...Come to think of it, I wondered why Ayame smelled a bit different, lately...but anyway, that's great news!"
"No, it's not!" Ichiro shouted, startling his father a bit. "It's terrible! Now Tsuki's gonna be all sad, again!"
"What?" Inuyasha asked, now a bit confused. "What are you talking abou..." He then trailed off as the realization hit him. "Oh...I see, now...this is still about what happened with Keiko, isn't it?"
"...Tsuki was so sad when she died," said Ichiro. "Now, her parents aren't being fair to her. If her mom has that baby, and that baby dies, too, then Tsuki's gonna get even sadder than she was, before! When she told me about it, I told her that her parents were being stupid and that her mom shouldn't have the baby...and then we started yelling at each other." He then looked down at the ground with tears forming in his eyes. "I...I didn't mean to make her upset...I was just trying to keep her from getting sad, again."
"You wanted to protect her," Inuyasha surmised, causing Ichiro to nod. "Well, son, I can understand that...sometimes, I wanted to protect your mother, back in the days when we were fighting with Naraku and looking for the Sacred Jewel shards...there were times I thought to myself that maybe your mother would be better off staying where she came from...but in a way, I was also being selfish."
"How?" Ichiro inquired.
"Because I wasn't considering how your mother would really feel," Inuyasha said. "Ichi...sometimes, what we think is best isn't always the best thing."
"...So...you're saying that Tsuki's mom should have the baby anyway?" asked Ichiro. "Even if it might make Tsuki sad, again?"
"Well, you don't really know," said Inuyasha. "This baby might actually live longer than Keiko did...and maybe, just maybe...Tsuki might be able to move on."
"...I never thought of it, that way," Ichiro mused before he looked up at Inuyasha with a smile on his face. "Thanks, Dad."
"Sure thing, pal," Inuyasha replied as he pulled his son into his arms, holding him close to his chest, causing Ichiro to sigh pleasantly as he felt his heart swell. Not long after, he yawned as he nuzzled his face against Inuyasha's haori, causing the half-demon to chuckle before he jumped down from the tree and began to make the slow walk back home, carrying his son in his arms.
XXX
The following day, as morning broke and the sun shined brightly, Inuyasha and Kagome were out on the porch, basking in the warmth of the sunlight with their children. Ichiro smiled as he held Sanka in his arms, gently tickling her chin while Yamako was being held by his father, who chuckled as he playfully bounced him on his knee...but then he stopped as his nose picked up a familiar scent.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.
"We got company," Inuyasha replied, and soon, three familiar figures appeared: Koga, Ayame, who had a small but noticeable bulge in her stomach, and Tsukihime, the last of whom was looking down at the ground as she held her father's hand.
"Koga! Ayame!" Kagome greeted. "And Tsuki, too!"
"We heard there was a bit of a...disagreement, yesterday," said Ayame. "I managed to convince Koga to bring Tsuki down here so that she and Ichi can talk, properly." She then glared at Koga. "Isn't that right, Koga?"
"...Yes, dear," Koga muttered with a blush of embarrassment on his face.
"Whipped," Inuyasha smirked, causing Koga to growl at him.
"Stow it, Mutt!" he barked.
"Go on, Ichi," Kagome told her eldest son, who nodded his head before he handed his youngest sister to her, then approached Tsukihime, glanced at him for a moment before she looked back down to the ground. It felt like hours before it seemed like the two would say anything...but as Tsukihime opened her mouth to speak...
"I'm sorry, Tsuki," Ichiro said, taking her by surprise. "I really am."
"...I'm sorry, too," Tsukihime replied.
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Ichiro said. "I was being selfish...I didn't want you to go through what happened with Keiko, again, if this baby ended up dying, too...that's why I said those things."
"I understand, Ichi," said Tsukihime. "You just didn't want me to be sad, again."
"But maybe this is what you actually needed," said Ichiro. "Maybe this baby will help you move on from Keiko."
Inuyasha smiled proudly.
"That's my boy," he said.
"So...no matter what happens," Ichiro began, "I just wanna let you know that I'll still support you."
"...Thanks, Ichi," Tsukihime smiled. "That means a lot."
"...So...does this mean we're still friends?" asked Ichiro, which caused Tsukihime to giggle.
"Of course, silly!" she said. "We'll always be friends! Forever and ever!"
Ichiro laughed at this, then poised himself into a pouncing stance as he growled playfully, causing Tsukihime to mimic the same action before the former leaped forward, launching himself at her before they tumbled along the ground until the wolf demon girl pinned the dog quarter-demon onto the grass.
"Pinned ya!" Tsukihime exclaimed.
"Ugh...just wait until I pin YOU down, for a change!" Ichiro declared.
"Ha!" Koga laughed. "Well, Mutt, that's one thing my daughter has your son beat at!"
"Excuse me?" Inuyasha asked. "You got something to say to me, you scrawny wolf?!"
"Now, now, boys," Kagome scolded. "Let's not fight. Our kids are getting along, again! Let's be happy about that!"
"And hopefully, there won't be any more squabbles," said Ayame.
All in all, the parents laughed while their children playfully chased each other around the yard, glad that the status quo had been returned to normal.
THE END
I didn't say I was gonna stop with the Inuyasha next gen fics, now did I? ;)
Review, please!