Day 3 of the 12 Days of Witchyness!

My greatest and loveliest thanks to my darling Savannah for the beta. LOVE YOU.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

Kiss It All Goodbye

(Five Times Inuyasha Resolutely Didn't Cry and the One Time He Maybe-Sort-Of-Definitely Did)

(1)

"Here you go Daddy."

A soft voice filled his ears, stirring Inuyasha awake from where he had fallen asleep on the couch. He had had a particularly bad day at work and Kagome had simply kissed him in welcome and told him to go watch some television before dinner was ready. The soft voice belonged to his little girl, Izayoi, who was now staring at him with those big golden eyes that were so much like his.

"What sweetie?" he asked, pushing himself into a sitting position so that he could tug his child onto his lap and hold her close. In her tiny hands was a folded piece of white paper, her tiny painted nails that Kagome had done standing out in contrast to her pale skin. "What do you have?"

Izayoi looked up at him and grinned, wide and beautiful, even with one of her front teeth missing. "I drew this for you!"

"For me?" Inuyasha made a show with his gasp of surprise, gently taking the present and unfolding it. The moment he saw it, his heart literally stopped beating. Long, squiggly lines of crayon decorated the piece of paper. It was a drawing of the living room, with three stick figures sitting on the couch. On the left was clearly Kagome, with her long black hair and dark brown eyes. Her smile was red because of lip stick and she was wearing high heels for reasons that were completely unknown to him. In the middle was Izayoi, looking so much like her mother that even crayons couldn't take that away. Her hair was black just like her mother's but her eyes were gold and her smile even larger. And on the right… It was him. His hair was grey, but he figured that crayons didn't have accurate colour schemes for someone with hair like him. His eyes were the same colour as hers and his arms were ridiculously long, but that was okay because they were wrapped around the two of them, both of his girls.

At the top of the page there was a big, crooked heart and the words I Love You Daddy.

Inuyasha kissed the top of her head and hugged her impossibly close, putting the hug in the drawing to shame. "Kagome," he called out, coughing a little to cover for the strangled tone of his voice. He was not having an emotional moment. He wasn't.

A hand ran through his hair and soon Kagome was sitting down right beside him. She smiled knowingly at the crayon drawing Izayoi had done and leaned in.

Inuyasha hugged his girls and resolutely held back any sniffles he might have felt coming.

(2)

"Kagome, I don't think I'm going to make it through the night," Inuyasha murmured into the speaker of his headphones that were hooked into his cell phone. The ears on the top of his head despised the ear buds, but cell phones weren't exactly convenient for him. "There's a boy and he's talking to her."

"It's a school dance, Inuyasha. It's Izayoi's first dance. Please be nice and don't do anything."

Inuyasha huffed but eyed the kid all the same. At twelve years old, Izayoi was certainly growing up far too fast for him to keep up with. When the teachers had needed helpers to watch out during the elementary school's dance, he had volunteered because he thought it would be nice to watch his little girl have fun with her friends twirling around.

There was no twirling. Children danced like animals and it terrified him. The only reason he hadn't dragged Izayoi away was because so far she hadn't strayed from her friends, who seemed relatively calm in comparison to the rest.

But now there was a boy. And he was talking to her. Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

"Inuyasha," Kagome murmured, soft and understanding. "She's growing up."

"Thanks, like I didn't already know."

His wife let out a puff of air that was a mixture of a sigh and a laugh. "It'll be over in an hour. Stay calm and try to let Izayoi have fun."

"Fine," he mumbled, not making any promises. "Love you. I'll text when we're on our way back."

"Have fun," Kagome chimed in just before he hung up. Taking the ear buds out, Inuyasha put them back in his jeans pocket and surveyed the children dancing and having fun. The song playing was strange and weird and not anything he recognized. He hadn't even been able to figure out if it had ended until it shifted to the next song, which was extremely different and had him tensing from his position against the wall.

It was a slow song.

Instantly his eyes searched out for his daughter but he couldn't find her. Oh god, what if she was dancing with that boy? Oh god. Oh god. What was he going to do? There were other parents at the dance, maybe the boy had his mother here and if Inuyasha said anything it would be bad. Very, very bad.

"Dad?"

Inuyasha was startled out of his thoughts by the presence of his daughter to the side of him, looking up at him with a weird expression on her face. "Yes?" he asked, staying extremely still. The less he moved, the less of a chance that he'd attack anything that came close to his little girl.

"It's time for the parent dance," Izayoi stated, tugging on his shirt sleeve. "Everyone else is already dancing. Come on."

Inuyasha looked around and realized that other parents were, in fact, dancing with their kids. The other children whose parents weren't there were skipping around and dancing amongst themselves, but it was sweet, all the same, that the school would make sure the parents could have this.

"Dad, you look funny," Izayoi pointed out once they stepped onto the dance floor. "Are you tired?"

"No sweetie, I'm fine," Inuyasha replied, holding out his hand so that she could put her tiny one in his. Her hand was so small but so much bigger from what she was just a baby, and it hit him then just how much his baby girl had grown.

Holy crap. Oh god.

"Dad?"

"Right, dancing," he murmured, tugging her close and spinning her around. The massive smile on her face made his chest hurt; a band that was wound so tight, Inuyasha wouldn't take it away for the world. She was twelve years old and he was aware that he was already Not Cool Dad, but still, moments like these made everything…perfect.

"Stop looking so silly, you're embarrassing me," Izayoi murmured, smacking him lightly in the stomach but still smiling at him.

"Sorry, your Highness," Inuyasha replied, making a face at her.

Izayoi made a face back and in that second, the world should have stopped spinning. It didn't, but Inuyasha blinked a couple times more than he should have and continued to twirl his little girl across the dance floor.

(3)

"Those gowns are an atrocious colour," Inuyasha stated bluntly, peering at the stage. "What letter are we at?"

"R," Kagome answered, sighing. "And yes, the school colours are distinctly ugly. There's nothing that can be done."

"How long have we been here?" Inuyasha whined under his breath. The seats were plastic and uncomfortable and just because this was his daughter's high school graduation, it didn't mean that he had to enjoy every other kid that was in there. Who really gave a crap?

Of course, then Izayoi Taisho was called to the stage.

Inuyasha was just about to cheer and whoop when Kagome grabbed his leg and shushed him, smiling. "You're not allowed to cheer, remember? We have to cheer at the end to be respectful to those who don't have anyone to cheer for them?"

Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy. "What?" But Kagome was already taking photos, smiling broadly and waving when Izayoi glanced in their direction. She looked so grown up already, with her makeup done and her long black hair curling around her shoulders. It was a shame the colours were so awful but Izayoi pulled it off beautifully, like the angel she was.

When the diplomas were all received, everyone stood up and clapped for the graduates. The high school kids all threw their hats into the air and it was a mass of pointy square things flying and poking out eyes. Eventually Izayoi appeared to them from the growing mass as students and parents mingled.

"Congratulations!" Kagome called out, taking a picture before reaching around and hugging her daughter. "How happy are you to have graduated high school?"

"Technically I still have a few weeks left," Izayoi replied, rolling her eyes but hugging her mom tight anyways. "But it was pretty cool. The colours are offensive though."

"That's what I said," Inuyasha pointed out, smirking and holding out his arms for Izayoi to come into. She grinned and hugged him, Kagome taking about a thousand pictures too many. "So what now?" he asked, letting her go and ruffling her hair.

Izayoi gave him a disparaging look, fixing her hair. "I'm going to go and talk to some friends for a bit. I think some of the teachers are doing photos so that'll be fun, if you guys want to stick around?"

"Of course," Kagome replied, shouldering the camera. "We'll be around here and if you can't find us just text."

"Got it, thanks Mom!" Izayoi called out, running back into the crowd to find her friends.

Inuyasha just stared. "That's it? I sat through all of that crap for three minutes with her?"

"You saw her walk and stage and get a diploma," Kagome replied, used to his rambling. "And besides, it was worth it to see your face." Frowning at her in confusion, Inuyasha poked his wife in the side until she relented and explained. "You were all tearful."

"I was not." Inuyasha crossed his arms and glared at his wife. "That's hurtful you would suggest such a thing."

"You were and it was cute. It's not something to be ashamed of, Inuyasha. Our little girl is growing up. Being a parent is hard."

"Being your husband is hard."

"Being your wife is significantly harder," Kagome replied, raising a brow as if to challenge him further. "Here, I'll prove it to you." Turning the camera on, Kagome flipped through the photo gallery on it before landing on a picture of the two of them hugging. She passed it over to the half-demon, letting him see for himself exactly what his face looked like.

Inuyasha blinked, realizing with a start that while he had not been tearful, it certainly looked like it. His eyes were closed and it was clear that he was holding onto her tightly. Izayoi was grinning ear-to-ear, pressing up against his chest because she was short just like her mother. Everything about the shot was perfect and as Inuyasha looked at his daughter's face – so perfectly mixed between himself and Kagome, although he thought she really took more of her mother's traits – he couldn't believe that she was really so old now.

Hadn't it been only a few months ago she was a tiny baby?

"I know," Kagome murmured, even though he hadn't spoken a word. She cuddled up to his side and rested her head on his shoulder, holding him close. Inuyasha stared at the photo some more before flipping between the others. Izayoi definitely took after Kagome.

Eventually Izayoi came back, flushed and happy and ready to finally leave. Inuyasha grinned but halted them, holding the camera up. "There isn't a picture of just the two of you."

Kagome looked so incredibly happy, wrapping her arms around her daughter as they both smiled brilliantly for the camera. It was then that Izayoi raised a brow at her mother and the two of them leapt at the camera with faces both horrifying and hilarious. Inuyasha snapped that one too.

"Excuse me," Inuyasha said, politely tapping on one of the other parent's shoulders. The man had been talking to some other adults, so certainly he couldn't be horrendously busy. "Can you take a photo of all of us?"

"Sure," the man said, double checking to make sure he knew how to take the shot with Kagome's complicated (of course) camera. With Izayoi in the middle, Inuyasha on the right and Kagome on the left, they smiled for the photo and waited for the second one.

"Ready?" Inuyasha mock whispered, gesturing at the man taking the camera to be prepared.

"For what?" Izayoi asked, cautiously, as she should.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around both of his girls and squeezed them tight, lifting Kagome up in the air a little with Izayoi laughing maniacally in the middle, squished as she should be.

The photo was a little blurry when it was printed later, but Kagome looked incredulous and Izayoi looked so carefree that Inuyasha saved it. He had it blown up and framed, bringing it carefully into his office the next week so that it could hang across from his desk, right where he could always see it.

And when Inuyasha was having a particularly hard day, all he had to do was look at it and count the hours before he could come home.

(4)

"This is a bad idea," Kagome sighed. "She's in the middle of exams. She's probably busy studying and does not need us to come and see her. It'll only be a distraction."

"We haven't seen her in three weeks, Kagome," Inuyasha said, stressing the length. "She comes home every weekend. We can make a trip up to see her."

"Why isn't she answering the door then?" his wife asked, raising a brow.

Inuyasha's ears twitched just before a smirk came to his face. "Oh she's coming. Bet you five dollars she'll be pleased."

The door opened and suddenly there was a sniveling girl with a red nose, hair sticking up everywhere and big wide golden eyes. "Oh my god, why are you here?" Izayoi asked, sounding somewhat panicked but mostly nasally. "I have to study."

"You're sick," Kagome accused, as she pushed inside to put her hand on her daughter's forehead. "You have a fever."

"I've had one for a couple days now," Izayoi responded, coughing and whining. "I have three exams coming up though and no time to relax."

"Have you even eaten anything?" Kagome demanded, looking at her watch.

"Yes," their daughter replied weakly.

Inuyasha nodded his head once. "That's a lie," he pointed out, for the first time speaking.

"It's four o'clock, Izayoi," Kagome chastised, ushering her daughter further into the house. "Come on, let's see what's up."

Izayoi put up a struggle, dragging her feet. "Mom, Dad, you don't want to be here. I am contagious probably and I'll cough all over you and before you know it–"

"We'll all be sick together and it will be wonderful family time," Inuyasha interrupted, smirking at his own response. The further they got into the one-bedroom apartment, the more apparent it became as to why Izayoi didn't want them inside. It was like a bomb had gone off – a paper bomb. "What the hell?"

"Okay, it looks bad, I know," Izayoi explained, finally twisting away from Kagome. "But these are all my notes and there are a lot of them and I've been sleeping on the couch most nights–"

"Izayoi!" Kagome yelled.

"I didn't mean to! I was just studying too late and then I fell asleep!"

Inuyasha looked between the two women, sighing. "I'm starving," he said suddenly, even though he wasn't particularly. "Can one of you make something before I pass out?"

Kagome eyed him but nodded, heading into the kitchen. "Emergency soup time, yes?"

"Please!" Inuyasha called, looking over Izayoi critically. In a lower voice he whispered, "you okay?"

"I am," Izayoi replied, just as quietly. "I'm just…stressed."

"I can tell, it's why your mother is having a heart attack over the fact that her baby isn't taking care of herself."

Izayoi sighed but nodded, looking over at the scattered mess of papers. "There's just too much to study."

"What exam do you have first?"

"Commercial law, tomorrow night," she replied, moving over to grab several stacks of papers – some with only writing while others had charts and pictures and clearly re-printed documents. "I've got to go through this, at least a couple times if I can."

Inuyasha took the pile of papers and flopped down on the couch, scanning through some of the lines. "So what's the definition of commercial law?"

"Really?" Izayoi exclaimed, smiling a little anyways. She grabbed a box of tissues and flopped down on the opposite end, thinking.

And that was how Kagome found them; Inuyasha was asking questions while Izayoi answered them. The soup was hot and ready, although she wasn't sure how good it would taste with the limited amount of ingredients. Knowing a sick Izayoi, however, she probably wouldn't be able to taste anything anyways. "Dinner's ready!" she called.

Izayoi groaned happily, stretching on the couch before she hopped up and tugged on her dad's hair. "Come on, I'm so hungry."

Inuyasha followed slowly behind, standing right beside Kagome as Izayoi helped herself to the pot of soup that Kagome had made. "She's about as difficult as you are when you're sick."

All his wife responded with was an outstretched hand.

The half-demon frowned. "What? You want to hold hands?"

"Five dollars, don't you remember the bet?" Kagome asked, smiling smugly.

Sighing, Inuyasha grabbed her hand instead, swinging it between them. "The two of you are going to be the death of me, you know that right?"

Izayoi slurping down her soup was the only answer he needed.

(5)

"Dad, I'm fine."

"Take it."

"No, Dad, seriously, I love you but you are a pain."

"Kagome! Make her take it!"

"Izayoi, take your father's carefully put together book of phone numbers to call and strategies to implement in case of burglars or muggers or any bad men."

"But Mom, I'm going to be fine. It was you guys who said this was a great place!" Izayoi yelled, looking at the book worriedly. "And it's like a jinx!"

"It is not a jinx," Inuyasha scoffed. "You are living on your own several hours away from us. It's not like university any more where I can still come and visit you whenever. How else am I going to know you're safe?"

Slowly, his daughter reached out to take the book, pulling it close to her chest and giving a small smile. "I'm still going to come see you. If I had a choice, I'd stay."

"No, you'd still go because this is a really great job and you deserve to have it," Kagome said, appearing from the boxes of Izayoi's stuff. "We're not that far away."

"We are," Inuyasha stated, the exact moment that Izayoi said, "you're right."

The two of them glared at each other, both eventually turning to glare at Kagome. "You two need to hug it out before I smack the both of you," Kagome murmured, grabbing her jacket. "Now Izayoi, are you sure you're okay with unpacking the rest? There's still a lot to go through."

"Yeah, I'm sure," their daughter replied, shrugging. "It's really late and you should get home. I promise I'll be fine."

Inuyasha sighed. "Okay, I hear you loud and clear. I get it. You'll be fine. But, in case you aren't, I've compiled virtually every number you could possibly need in there. Also, there are numbers for several self-defence classes if you so find the time."

"Subtle," Izayoi mumbled.

"Careful," Inuyasha replied with a smirk.

"Come on, Inuyasha. It's time to head out." Kagome hugged her daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "Call me when everything is settled."

"I will, thanks Mom." Izayoi smiled up at her dad. "Bye Dad."

"Bye sweetie," Inuyasha murmured, hugging her tight. He was possibly, kind of, taking this harder than he had originally planned for. If the way Kagome was smiling softly at him was any indication, she knew. "Have fun unpacking."

(+1)

Kagome's hand brushed along his cheek. Her eyes were a little glassy but his wife kept stating that it was because she was happy. She was. Today was supposed to be one of their happiest days yet. "You've got to go meet her now."

Inuyasha tried for a smile but it didn't work. "I know I've said this before, but now I'm actually one-hundred percent positive that I can't do this."

"You can."

"I can't."

"You can."

"She's getting married, Kagome. And, I know I said he's a nice guy, but he's not this nice that I'm going to just hand him my daughter."

"She's twenty-seven," Kagome murmured, softly. "Izayoi is smart and talented and she's learned from you to take no shit. She's found the right guy."

"Maybe," Inuyasha growled. "Maybe not."

"Do you know how much that wedding dress cost?" Kagome asked sincerely. "If you had such reservations, you really should've said something before."

"I…" Inuyasha sighed and put his head in his hands. "Okay fine, so I'm being difficult."

"Really?" Kagome asked, mock gasping. "What a shocker."

He smirked at her but it didn't last. "I have to walk her down the aisle. I might accidentally punch him upon seeing his face up close."

"Oh god," his wife groaned. "That's a bad idea. You like Koji, remember?"

"I liked him a lot better when he wasn't marrying my daughter." Inuyasha smirked. "So, is it time yet?"

Kagome sighed, clearly knowing that she wasn't going to win. "She's in the dressing room. Go and get her. It's about to start."

The scene was chaos, but Inuyasha didn't exactly know what normal weddings looked like so he wasn't one to judge. He figured, however, that Izayoi screaming in front of the mirror wasn't a good sign.

At all.

"…Should I come back at a later time?" he asked, standing just inside of the door. He froze when Izayoi's big golden eyes stared at him, furious. "My flowers are ruined."

"Oh god," Inuyasha mumbled, looking at the bouquet. Nothing seemed wrong with it. "What happened?"

"It's the wrong shade of blue," Izayoi whined, waving the poor flowers around. "This is closer to a cerulean blue than royal blue and it's going to clash with the napkins!"

Inuyasha remained where he was, uncomprehending. "Is this what the term 'Bridezilla' means? You realize that no one is going to notice that. At all. Whatsoever."

"But everyone is going to be judging!" Izayoi wailed. The bouquet was put down rather carelessly on the table and Inuyasha tried not to wince in sympathy. "People always judge at weddings."

"Okay," Inuyasha mumbled, slowly making his way further into the room, as if approaching a spooked horse. "Then if you see that, you can point them out to me and I will beat the living shit out of them."

Izayoi laughed, a strangled choking sound that wasn't as satisfying as the real thing. "That's not nice. I'm already paying for their plate of food."

"And since when have you not liked to pig out?" Inuyasha asked, rolling his eyes. "I've seen you eating that rabbit food and I'm pretty sure tonight you can let loose a little."

"You're not helping," his daughter mumbled.

"I'm helping a lot and you know it," Inuyasha whispered, finally close enough to kiss her forehead. He reached over to the bunch of flowers and put them between their bodies, giving her a pointed look. "Now, it's time to meet that fiancé of yours."

"Yeah," Izayoi mumbled, taking the bouquet and a very large, deep breath. "Thanks Dad."

Instead of answering he just kissed her forehead again, gently leading her out of the room. The bridesmaids were already outside but any of them that tried to come close to Izayoi were stared at by Inuyasha. He might have been a bit protective. Possibly.

It really, really sucked when the music started the bridesmaids were walking down the aisle. When the last one was already at the end, Inuyasha didn't budge an inch.

"Dad?" Izayoi whispered – more like hissed. "We should be walking."

"I should be running away with you over my shoulder so your mother and I can hide you in our closet forever," the half-demon answered, taking a step forward nonetheless.

"You're not going to cry, are you?" his daughter asked, looking at him fondly as they moved ever so slowly closer. "Aw, Dad."

"I am not going to cry," Inuyasha replied firmly. "I am not."

"You're tearing up, I can see it."

"I am not. Do not make me punch your fiancé when I have to give him your hand."

Izayoi smiled brightly but said nothing more.

Inuyasha didn't, in fact, punch anyone that night but when he approached Kagome already sitting down in the front row, tissue in hand, he took a deep breath. "Don't say a word," he mumbled.

His wife merely grabbed his hand, her thumb tracing over the smooth skin before she kissed his cheek. "Your secret is safe with me," Kagome whispered, kissing the very corner of his eye to take away the only evidence that he was possibly, maybe, having a fatherly moment.

So this was ridiculously fluffy. Just keep this in mind when you read the dark!fic I'll be posting in 2 days. Because it's fucked up. It gave ME terrors and I WROTE it. Literally, terrors. It took me 5 hours to fall asleep and then I passed out with the light on.

So remember the fluffy. REMEMBER THE FLUFFY.

Feedback is love :)