Inuyasha:
Visiting Grandma
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Story and OCs © Me
Summary- Inuyasha and Kagome take the kids to see their grandmother, but Ichiro's not so enthusiastic about it.
"What?!" Ichiro questioned. "We're going to see Grandma, again?!"
"Yes, Ichiro," said Kagome, wearing a light blue dress and a pink short-sleeved jacket over it as she packed up some clothes, "and we're going to be spending the night there."
"But why?!" asked Ichiro. "We just saw her!"
"That was more than 3 weeks ago, Ichi," Kagome answered. "When I married your father and after I discovered that the Bone Eater's Well still works, I promised your grandma that I'd visit her and Uncle Sota at least once or twice a month."
"But Mom~!" Ichiro whined. "I don't wanna go! She's always pinching my cheeks when she sees me! Besides, I told Tsukihime I was gonna go play by the creek with her, today!"
"Enough, already!"
Ichiro winced as he glanced back and saw his father, who glared at him sternly with his arms crossed. He was wearing his fire rat haori over a black shirt with the face of a snarling dog on it, as well as a pair of loose-fitting blue jeans and a pair of sandals.
"You are going with us to see your grandmother," Inuyasha began, "and you're gonna like it! She's been very good to me and you need to start treating her with more respect!"
"But Dad-"
"No buts!"
Ichiro sighed in resignation.
"All right, fine," he said. "Maybe this time she won't pinch my cheeks."
"That's the spirit," Kagome smiled as she pet her son on the head. "Now go get dressed."
Ichiro sighed as he walked up the stairs to his room.
"I have a feeling this is gonna be a really long day," he said.
XXX
Tokyo, Japan. 2008.
Knock-knock-knock!
"Hang on!"
The door slid open, revealing Atsuko Higurashi with slightly wrinkled features and a gray streak forming in her hair.
"Hi, Mom!" Kagome greeted while holding Sanka in her arms while Yamako was holding her hand. While Sanka was wearing a light pink onesie, Yamako wore a turquoise shirt with a turtle on the front and a pair of light blue shorts and a pair of cute little crocs. Ichiro stood next to Inuyasha, wearing a gray shirt and a pair of blue shorts, plus sandals on his feet, just like his dad...but the 8-year-old had his ears lowered while pursing his lips in a pout.
"Kagome!" Atsuko exclaimed. "Inuyasha! And the kids, too!" She proceeded to give her daughter a big hug, then did the same to her half-demon son-in-law.
"Hi, Ma!" Inuyasha greeted as he happily hugged his mother-in-law. "It's so good to see you, again!"
"It's good to see you, too, dear," Atsuko replied as she looked to the Yamako and Sanko, both of them cooing and giggling at her. "And the kids, of course." That's when she noticed Ichiro, who looked up at her with a look of uncertainty. Naturally, Inuyasha wouldn't have it, so he lightly swatted his son in the back of his head, causing him to grunt in slight pain.
"Say hi to your grandmother," Inuyasha scolded.
"...Hi, Grandma," Ichiro muttered, prompting Atsuko to chuckle.
"Hello, Ichi," she said. "Shooting up like a weed, I see..."
She grabbed his cheeks, causing him to let out a cry of annoyance.
"But still so cute~!"
"Ugh...Grandma!" Ichiro cried, prompting Atsuko to let go.
"Anyway, come on inside," she said to the family. "I just made tea."
"Sounds good, Mom," Kagome replied as they followed her inside, slipping off their shoes and sandals. However, Inuyasha soon turned around and glared sternly at his son, who froze in his tracks.
"Be nice to your grandmother while we're here, you got that?" he asked in a soft but harsh tone. "Or else you're grounded. Got it?"
"...Yeah, Dad, I got it," Ichiro gulped while Inuyasha nodded his head and continued into the living room, where Kagome stood in front of the mantle...staring at a photo of her late grandfather, Sanosuke, as well as a picture of Buyo.
"Hi, Grandpa...you, too, Buyo," she whispered with a sad yet fond smile, and Inuyasha soon joined her side, quietly placing his arm around her shoulders, which caused her to lean against him.
"Sis!"
Kagome looked up to see her now 20-year-old brother at the top of the stairs, which he raced down excitedly as if he was still an 8-year-old boy.
"Hi, Sota!" she exclaimed as he went up and embraced his sister, tightly.
"It feels like it's been ages since I last saw you!" said Sota. "Even though it's been three weeks!" That's when he noticed Inuyasha and the kids. "Hey, Inuyasha! Don't think I forgot about you!"
"Hey, Sota," Inuyasha replied as he hugged his younger brother-in-law.
"Unkie Soda!" Yamako cooed, causing Sota to chuckle as he picked up his younger nephew and kiss his cheek.
"Hey, Li'l Yama!" Sota exclaimed before he proceeded to kiss his niece on the forehead. "And you, too, San!"
San only squealed in response.
"Hi, Uncle Sota," Ichiro greeted with a smile, prompting his maternal uncle to gently ruffle his hair.
"How've you been, little bud?" he asked. "How are your friends back in the Feudal Era?"
"Roku's doing okay," Ichiro began, "and Tsuki's mom is getting ready to have another baby in a couple more months."
"Oh, really?" Sota asked. "Well, I wish her mom luck, then, especially after what happened last time."
"...Uh-huh," Ichiro nodded as he glanced down at the floor, which prompted Sota to pat his shoulder, affectionately before he went to help his mother in the kitchen with the tea. Ichiro watched before he looked around the living room. For one thing, the house got new wallpaper: it was white with pretty pink roses on them. The room smelled like clean linens and Ichiro had to admit that it was a nice smell...but he preferred the smell of wood and wet grass that his home smelled of. He could never get used to where his mother used to live, originally.
Speaking of Kagome, she was sitting at the tea table while rocking Sanka, who had started to get a little fussy, so she remedied that by pulling down her blouse a bit, allowing the 7-month-old to nurse from her. Yamako was at his mother's side, babbling the few words that he knew, mostly his favorite word, "Mommy". He almost seemed to look at his mother's breasts, greedily.
At that moment, Atsuko arrived with a tray of tea in her hands, which she set down in front of her daughter, and Inuyasha and Sota sat down with her.
Ichiro smiled as he went to join his father and uncle, but then Atsuko looked at him with a tender smile and, to his dread, she reached over and pinched his cheeks, again. Once again, he made his annoyance known, but a quick glare from his father soon silenced him, causing him to sigh.
As tea was being passed around, the family began to talk about their daily lives. Sota was already in his second year at university and he was majoring in medical science. Also, he and his childhood girlfriend, Hitomi, were still going strong. Apparently, Hitomi was studying to be a veterinarian. As for Kagome, she told Atsuko about her priestess duties in the Feudal Era. She had already learned how to say prayers for funerals and even learned advanced exorcisms and blessings. Atsuko laughed, not out of amusement, but pride for her daughter, even saying that her late father and grandfather would be proud.
Inuyasha smiled warmly at his wife, sensing her happiness and how touched she was at that statement. He put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to smile at him before she kissed his cheek, which caused him to chuckle while Ichiro stuck out his tongue in disdain.
He hated when his parents got all lovey-dovey in front of him.
Tea time was over and Kagome helped her mother with the dishes. During this time, Ichiro decided to pass the time by watching TV on the Higurashi Family's new flat screen. He was watching a show about pirates, which did confuse him a little bit. According to Sota, the pirates in this show were actually the main protagonists, but when Ichiro heard the word "pirate", he usually thought of a villain. Despite being a called a pirate, the smiley-mouthed young human with the stretchy arms and that goofy, toothy grin seemed to be anything but a bad guy. He actually seemed friendly and excitable...and maybe a bit stupid.
Oh, well. It was just a cartoon, anyway.
As Ichiro watched TV, Atsuko walked up to him and put down a tray of sugar cookies. He smiled, gratefully before he began to eat the snacks, but as he was munching, Atsuko affectionately pinched his cheek, again, causing him to yell out and glare after her as she walked away. He sighed before he went back to watching TV.
'Be nice to Grandma,' he thought, remembering his father's words. 'Be nice to Grandma...'
He repeated those words in his head like they were a mantra. As the day went on, try as Ichiro might, he grew continuously frustrated with Atsuko. She pinched his cheeks at any opportunity she got: whenever she walked by him, when she was getting him a juice, or when he was sitting next to her on the couch to keep her company (on Inuyasha's insistence).
So imagine everyone's surprise suddenly turned up missing while dinner was being prepared.
"Where did he run off to?" asked Kagome while holding Sanka in her arms.
"Well, he's not outside," Inuyasha answered while Yamako clung to his pants. "I just checked out there. I even checked to see if he went to the well, but he's not there, either."
"Well, that's strange," said Atsuko, worriedly. "I wonder where he could have gone."
"Hey."
Everyone glanced up at the top of the stairs, where they saw Sota pointing behind himself.
"I found him."
XXX
"Ichi?" Kagome called, softly as she opened the door to her old bedroom, which had remained completely the same since she left it. Her mother had cleaned it, recently, she could tell that much. She always managed to keep it clean while she was away. Despite the nostalgic feeling she was getting, she wasn't here for that.
She didn't need to look long for Ichiro for she soon found him, sitting on the bed, holding the pillow to his chest. He had a somewhat drowsy, relaxed look in his eyes. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes were hooded as he sniffed the pillow.
Kagome smiled. She knew that look all too well. She remembered back when she and Inuyasha were still on their journey to find the Sacred Jewel shards and Naraku when he came to visit her one day, intent on taking her back. Despite the shenanigans that happened, such as Inuyasha getting a scalding hot bath and tasting spicy curry for the first time, she remembered how he fell asleep on her bed. Being surrounded by her scent calmed him enough that he just conked right out.
"Ichi?" Kagome asked, causing her son to look up at her. She had a soft smile, one that told him that wasn't in any trouble, but her eyes did show concern for him. Ichiro sighed as his mother sat next to him, gently putting a hand on top of his head.
"...I came in here because I felt safer in here," Ichiro said. "This whole room has your scent in it, so..."
"I understand," Kagome replied.
"...My cheeks hurt," Ichiro told her, causing Kagome to gently stroke his ears.
"I guess Grandma Atsuko went a little overboard, huh?" Kagome asked. "Ichi, I'm sorry she kept pinching your cheeks. I guess she's just excited."
"Why?" Ichiro asked.
"...Ichiro, when I left this place," Kagome began, "I thought I'd never see my Mom again, and I actually accepted that...but sometime after you were born and I found that the Bone Eater's Well still worked, I was so happy...and so was she because I wanted her to meet you and your brother and sister...because Ichi, I don't know how long the well will stay open...so I want my Mom to get to know her grandkids before it closes for good."
"...I understand," Ichiro said. "I just...I just wish that Grandma didn't pinch my cheeks."
"Well, did you actually tell her that you don't want her doing that?" Kagome inquired.
"...Well...not really," Ichiro said. "I didn't tell her because Dad said I had to be nice."
"Well, in this case, your father's wrong," Kagome said. "It's true, you should be nice to your grandma, but you should let her know if she's doing something that bothers. She can very understanding."
"...You sure, Mom?" Ichiro asked. "Are you sure she's not gonna get mad at me?"
"Yes, Ichi, I'm sure," Kagome nodded. "In fact, if you want, I'll be right there with you so you can feel brave enough to tell her."
"...Thanks, Mom," Ichiro began, "but...I wanna tell her on my own."
Kagome smiled before she nodded her head, then led her son out of her bedroom. Soon, they were down in the kitchen, just as Atsuko was finishing making chicken and cabbage gyoza dumplings.
"Umm...Grandma?" Ichiro called, prompting his grandmother to look at him.
"Ichi, there you are," she said with a warm smile. "Where'd you go?"
"I was hiding in Mom's old room," Ichiro answered. "Grandma...I have to tell you something."
"Yes, honey?" Atsuko asked as she approached him, and he flinched a bit, but he soon fought the urge and put on a brave face.
"Grandma...I love you, I really do," he said, "but...can you please stop pinching my cheeks every time you see me? It hurts and I can't even feel my face!"
Atsuko's eyes went wide before she smiled.
"I see," she said. "I guess I have been doing that to you ever since you were 4, haven't I?"
Ichiro nodded his head while Atsuko sighed.
"I'm so sorry, dear," she apologized, sincerely. "I didn't mean to hurt you. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah, I know," Ichiro replied. "So...do you still love me?"
Atsuko chuckled before she reached her hand down...and gently dropped her hand on his head of gray hair, right between his ears, and it took everything Ichiro had not to sigh in relief when she didn't touch his cheeks.
"I'll always love you, Ichi," Atsuko said. "You're my grandson."
Ichiro smiled before he went up and hugged his grandmother, who soon returned his embrace and kissed his forehead and both his cheeks, lovingly. Nearby, Inuyasha smiled as he watched proudly with his arms crossed, along with Kagome and Sota, the latter holding both Yamako and Sanka in his arms.
"Nice going, Kagome," Inuyasha smiled.
"I have my moments," Kagome boasted, jokingly, causing her husband to chuckle.
"Now then," Atsuko began as she held out the dumplings, "what do you say we all have a nice dinner?"
Everyone soon voiced their agreements as they gathered at the dinner table.
XXX
Later that night, as everyone in the Higurashi Household was sound asleep...Inuyasha, who had momentarily gotten up to use the bathroom, had found that Ichiro was not sleeping in Kagome's room with his brother and sister, who were both lying on the futon on the floor with Kagome. Sighing in exasperation, he soon went to look for him, but he didn't have to look far, for he noticed that the door to Atsuko's room was open. He took a peek inside...and he smiled as he felt his heart melt.
Ichiro snored softly as he lied beside his grandmother, who gently held him in her arms.
Aww. ^^
And for those wondering, the show that Ichiro was watching on TV was One Piece.
Review, please!