FAMILY TIME
By: INuki1
This is the very first Inuyasha fanfiction that I have ever written. I do want to take a moment and apologize for any grammar mistakes and if at times the plots seems to veer off course because once I start writing on something I can't seem to stop or even stay on track at times, sorry ^^;.
Inuyasha decides to teach his niece and nephew a very skillful technique passed down by their ancestors.
The story takes place 17 years after the series ended. Rin is around 25 years old but looks to be around the age of 21 due to her prolonged life-span. Kagome is now 32 years old whose age was also slowly altered due to a lingering effect of the Shikon no Tama along with InuYasha.
*WARNING* Story might contain spoilers
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA OR ANY CHARACTER CREATED BY RUMIKO TAKASHI. HOWEVER; INUOJI, INUKI AND THE TWO FEMALE INU-SHIKGAMIS BELONG TO ME AND CAN'T BE USED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.
ENJOY THE STORY! ^^
Japanese Language
Ojisama = "Uncle" in a formal way
Ōkē = "Okay"
Little Inuki let out a small frustrated whimper as she made another attempt to learn the technique that her uncle Inuyasha was trying to teach her. Sitting right next to him, the 8 yr. old Dai-Hanyō took a moment to look up at him and watched as he did the maneuver with such ease as it was probably a natural every day thing for him. It made her pout a bit.
She began to remember back to his last visit to their castle with her Aunt Kagome. She and her twin brother, Inuoji were playing in one of the private gardens of the castle when they stumbled upon him all alone doing the unusual gesture.
Their unannounced discovery of him made Inuyasha give out a surprised scream as his face blushed to a tomato red before keeling over embarrassingly not expecting to be caught red-handed.
They simply just stared at him, being quite baffled by the action as they have never seen their own parents do it before or any of the other Inu-hanyō servants, making them become quite intrigued.
Expecting them to make some nasty comments or ridicule him about it, they surprised him even more as they began to ask him questions. Strangely enough he was happy to oblige by answering them.
He went on explaining that it was a common trait among Inu-Yokais and it was also part of their heritage too. That perked their curiosity to the point where they even asked him if he could teach it to them.
He then made a promise that the next time he would come for a visit he would indeed teach them the technique but under the condition that they were to never reveal this to their parents.
It perplexed Inuki as to why her parents would be against it seeing as how her father was a full-blooded dog demon and her mother was pure-blood Inu Dai-Hanyō. She was sure that this would be something they would both want to indulge in.
But already eager to learn the technique and not wanting to go against her Uncle's promise she decided to keep it to herself.
Breaking out of her thoughts, she leaned forward to peek around to her Uncle's other side to see how her brother was faring.
A small smirk appeared on her face when she saw that he wasn't having much luck with the lesson either. As he was having somewhat of a hard time performing the technique properly this was quite a rarity, seeing as he was always the one to master most techniques so easily.
But not wanting to get behind either of them she pressed on with the lesson as a new feeling of determination swept over her. Resuming her original position she continued on.
It was nearly an hour later and her newfound confidence began to wear out. It was finally to the point where it was becoming tiresome and it began to hurt her some so she couldn't continue on any further.
"Ohhh…." She whimpered sadly as she laid her left leg out to stretch it slightly.
InuYasha's ears perked up to the small sound as his nose caught whiff of the familiar oncoming aroma of salty tears.
"Ojisama," Inuki whimpered as her voice began to crack a bit and tears started to form. "I can't do it! I can't do it like you can." At that, the tears fell down her small heart-shaped face and over her single cheek markings as the feelings of being a failure had once again washed over her.
Inuyasha stopped what he was doing and just sat there in his famous doggy pose looking down at her as she continued to cry softly and simply smiled.
In his past, he would have lost his cool a bit and would begin acting like an immature pup as he didn't like it when girls cried but his marriage to Kagome caused him to become a bit tamer and helped him to mature in some ways.
Even though there were still those who knew how to get under his skin at times.
Reaching over, he gently patted her on the head in between her cute white doggie ears, which resembled his.
"Inuki," He told her gently. "It's alright, don't cry." He continued to pat her head until her crying subsided and she looked up at him with semi-blood shot eyes. He reached over and wiped her tears away.
"I agree; she shouldn't be whining like a newborn pup." A young boy's voice spoke up making Inuyasha turn his head and shoot a nasty glare at his nephew along with a slight growl. He never approved of him picking on his twin sister, especially when it came to trying to boost her confidence.
"But she's right though," He countered back as he began to rub his now sore, aching leg. "This is a really hard technique. I don't think we'll ever get it right."
Inuyasha couldn't believe this as an exasperating groan escaped from his lips; {Where did they inherit this attitude from?} Even Inuoji was giving up, and so quickly too.
Being so much like his father; proud of his blood line, having inherited great power from both of his parents and being a crowned heir he was showing signs of defeat over this and only after it's been just one day. No one in his family has EVER known the word 'give up'.
He seriously had to fix it. He couldn't let them walk away with this type of attitude, especially over something like this. Who knew what this type of influence could lead to later on in their lives?
"Oh, come on you two." Inuyasha spoke up raising his voice a little with a hint of disappointment in it. "This is not something you two are not going to learn overnight, it takes a lot of time and patience as well as practice to be able to achieve it and once you gotten it down it will make you feel like you can do anything after that."
Both pups were taken aback by his small speech. Aside from their own parents usually being the voices of guidance that was one of the first times their own uncle gave them his own words of wisdom.
"Ojisama…" Inuki began to say, taking his words to heart. Inuyasha looked at her with a warm smile.
"I guess all those years of being married to Aunt Kagome finally helped you develop some brains." Inuoji said jokingly.
"What was that!?" Inuyasha yelled as he looked at his nephew with another stern look and began cracking his knuckles into a fist.
Inuoji didn't flinch or show any kind of fear towards him, unlike a certain fox demon child once did; instead he kept his ground and just chuckled before flashing his uncle a small smile.
[This kid is quite unique] Inuyasha thought to himself [He is DEFINITELY Rin and Sesshomaru's son]
Inuyasha just gave a light 'humph' before giving him a light, but a pretend hit on the head with his fist. Right in between Inuoji's own doggy ears. Unlike Inuki and him, Inouji's ears were slightly bigger, half-pricked and matched the color of his dark black hair.
When the twins were born, both of them were a serious mixture of their parents.
Inuki inherited her father's hair and eye colors and even got what look to be single yet similar cheek stripes like his, she also inherited her mother's ears and her tail too. The only thing that made her stand out some was the two red-dots on her forehead beneath her bangs.
Inuoji inherited his mother's hair and eye colors but was born with his father's facial features and even got a mokomoko like his as well. But just like his sister, he was also born with a trait neither of his parents had and that would be his ears.
Neither of the parents was sure how they came to possess the traits nor did they really seem to care. They instead found them to be quite intriguing and believed each one fit them perfectly.
"Now look kids, why don't we take a little break for now. We still have enough daylight left before we have to call it a night. We'll rest a bit, do some warm-ups and then we'll try again for a little while longer. What do you say?"
"Ōkē!" Both twins said at the same time.
Inuyasha smiled. "All right, now just follow my lead." He stated as he laid down onto his back and stretched out his legs and arms. The twins shrugged at one another and quickly followed his actions laying back into the grass.
After 10 minutes of resting and doing some light stretches they resumed their positions to return to their lesson but not before Inuyasha spoke up to giving them a few tips as to not overstrain themselves any further.
"Also, if the position you're in doesn't work for you, you can try it in a different one that you feel comfortable with." He told them.
"Okay, I'll remember that." Inuoji said as he prepared himself for the lesson one more time.
"I will stay in this position." Inuki said with a bright and somewhat confident smile. He was hoping that this lesson would at least help her boost her confidence some more. Who, unlike her brother wasn't too confident in her abilities.
"Okay," Inuyasha said as he got into place. "Let's begin."
And they continued on with refreshing new attitude.
Meanwhile somewhere in the palace
"Are you sure you are okay with walking around this much?" Rin asked out of concern as she escorted her sister-in-law through one of the castle corridors.
"If you need to rest a bit, we can…."
"It's okay, Rin. I'll be alright." Kagome said as she flashed a smile.
"Are you sure?" Rin asked again; still not all convinced. Kagome was in a delicate state right now and didn't want to see her strain herself out. "Because if…"
Letting out a small giggle, Kagome placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rin, please don't worry so much. I'm pregnant; not sick." She reassured her as her other hand moved down to her protruding belly.
Rin gave her a bright smile as she watched Kagome caress her growing belly. She was very close to her due date which was just in a two more weeks, and for the time being they were staying with them until she and the child would be strong enough to travel back to the village.
She was very happy for her. Kagome and Inuyasha had put off on starting a family for many years. It wasn't until after the birth of her own twins that Kagome decided to have the 'talk' with Inuyasha. It took almost a full year and after much talk with Inuyasha and through some persuasion (with a certain Beads of Subjugation) he finally decided that they should start their own family.
They didn't even have to worry about Kagome getting too old to have children someday either as she didn't look a day over 25.
It could have been due to the time both Kagome and InuYasha were inside the Shikon Jewel for those three days that it left a lingering effect on both of them, allowing Kagome's own aging process to decelerate.
Kagome didn't really seem to mind nor even care about it. She even confided in Rin one day that she was actually quite happy about it as she was now able to live a longer life with the man she loved dearly.
It made Rin blush some as she remembered back to when she was a little girl and had once told Jaken (Kami, rest his poor soul) that she would never die and stay with Sesshomaru forever.
Just like Kagome, she was indeed given that wish and now shared the same life-span as her own beloved and promised to always remain by his side.
When Kagome finally announced her pregnancy to them she was so happy and overjoyed at the fact that she was now going to be an Aunt.
Sesshomaru's expression didn't say much but Rin knew that he was happy for them. It had taken these last few years for the tension between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha to ease off and to finally make Sesshomaru acknowledge the hanyō as his brother and as part of his family. Not only for Rin's sake, but for the sake of their children as he didn't want them to grow up with prejudice attitudes like he once had.
"Rin, Kagome." A familiar voice called out that made Rin's dog ears twitch every time she heard it.
The two women looked up to see Sesshomaru standing in front of them like the powerful and proud Inu-Daiyokai he was. Although his attitude has changed over the years some of his old habits didn't seem to die.
He was in a meeting from late morning to mid-afternoon with the other 3 lords and was not supposed to be out until the sun was setting over the western mountains. But from its current position they could tell that the meeting had ended early which might mean some good news.
Swishing her tail back and forth, Rin walked over to her husband and gave him a light kiss on his lips, which he simply wouldn't have. Giving a disapproving growl, he pulled her back to him roughly and crashed his lips down onto hers into a full-fledged kiss.
Not before long, Rin returned the kiss with equal passion as their hands began to roam all over each other's bodies.
Becoming so lost in their passion they seem to have forgotten all about everything else; especially Kagome, whom was just standing there looking at them awkwardly as they continued on with their little make-out session.
After a few minutes the two broke away clearly having to catch their breaths. Pressing their foreheads together they looked into each other's eyes, so lovingly; and warmly.
Any who looked at them could clearly see their love for one another emanate brightly as it was just that powerful. Sometimes Kagome couldn't help but be a little envious as she and Inuyasha did indeed have a strong upholding love for one another. It just sometimes didn't compare to what Sesshomaru and Rin had.
They continued to hold each other in each other's arms as Sesshomaru caressed her back and she stroked his cheek lovingly, still lost in their own little world together.
It was at that point that as much as she hated to disturb them but her feet were starting to hurt. Giving out a quick cough the two of them looked over at her as she waved at them and smiled.
Suddenly realizing what they just did in front of her they pulled out of each other's arms and straightened themselves out. While Rin was blushing like a 'school girl' as Kagome once put it, Sesshomaru maintained his blank expressionless look while a very small tint of red could be seen under his eyes to any who looked closely.
After regaining their posture, Rin walked back over to her sister-in-law. "Come," Rin said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why not take a little rest? I am sure you might need it now." Realizing what she just said she quickly covered up her mouth and began to blush again.
This time Kagome couldn't help but giggle. "Well, truth be told I was going to ask if we could sit down for a bit before Sesshomaru found us."
"Well, how about we make our way to the tea room than?" Rin suggested. "I can have the servants put together a nice little tray for us and some nice herbal tea for you Kagome."
"Some herbal tea does sound nice." As Kagome has been some craving for herbal tea lately.
"And you my love?" Rin turned back to her husband and walked over to him. "Would you like to join us? You can tell us all about your meeting with other lords over a cup." Telling him this as she batted her eyelashes at him cutely.
He just couldn't say 'no' as he was literally putty in her hands. Some of the slightest gestures she makes at him could make him cave so easily.
"Sounds delightful." Sesshomaru whispered in her ear before kissing her on the top of her head.
At that moment, Rin's diamond mark glowed and two female inu-shikigamis servants that looked like young pre-teens appeared before her.
"Girls, could you kindly put together some tea and snacks for the three us please?" She asked them and they gave their lady a smile and a bow before evaporating into smoke and proceeded on their way.
Kagome was quite impressed with Rin's powers. Being different from her own spiritual powers it was no doubt that Rin's could easily match her or perhaps even more after a little revelation into her ancestry was made some years ago.
No doubt came to Kagome that Rin was indeed very powerful but she was still the same gentle and benevolent person that she was when she younger.
The three of them made their way slowly to the tea room as they continued to make conversation amongst themselves. Rin's arm was linked around Sesshomaru's and showed no intentions on letting him go as she began to talk to Kagome again.
Glancing over at the two women as they carried on their conversation he watched as Kagome put her hands back onto her pregnant belly to caress it.
It was at that moment, a thought had crossed into Sesshomaru's mind and he began to look aimlessly down the hall. His actions caught their attention.
"Sesshomaru, what's wrong?" Rin asked him as she rubbed his arm.
"Nothing really Rin. I was just wondering where the kids are at?" He told her as he continued to look around.
"Oh, I am sure they are around here somewhere." She said to reassure him and even began to look around with him as she suppressed a slight giggle. It really brightened her heart when he always concerned about their kids.
"I am sure they are fine." Kagome spoke up. "I haven't seen Inuyasha either for most of the day, maybe they are off playing with him."
Her last remark bothered him some. Although he had no problems letting him play with his children he just didn't want him to pass any of his unmannered acts on to them.
As they continued on their way they were getting closer to one of the private gardens where both Rin and Sesshomaru caught a small whiff of Inuyasha and the children's scent.
With it being springtime and the flowers blooming the fresh scent would make it nearly impossible to detect anyone but it gave them both a sigh of relief that they were indeed with him and safe.
It wasn't until they were in plain sight of the opening to the garden that Sesshomaru unhooked his arm from Rin's and he and Kagome both stopped dead in their tracks and were gazing out into the field.
"How's this Ojisama?" Inuki asked as she gave another stretch.
"That's good Inuki," InuYasha said encouragingly. "Just don't hurt yourself." He told her as he watched her press on.
Inuoji was starting to become more impatient with his unsuccessful attempts that he began to make his movements more feverish and rapid to the point that it made him lose his balance and fall over making both Inuyasha and Inuki laugh out loud at it.
"Hey! What are you two laughing at!?" He shouted irritatingly.
They both continued to stifle their laughs as he sat up and brushed himself off but not before 'hmphing' at them both; and turning his nose up at them.
"Come on, Inuoji don't get upset." Inuyasha told him only for his nephew to turn to look at him, slightly annoyed.
"Besides, we also have all day tomorrow to try and learn this if we can't get to it today."
That last statement brought a small smile to his face and a refreshing lift to his spirit. At that last comment he got back into position to continue on once more.
They were too caught up in their lesson that they didn't even notice the trio of adults standing behind them in the garden doorway, each one harboring their own feelings and thoughts at the sight in front of them.
"Inuyasha…" Sesshomaru growled as he watched his children indulging in the one activity he never wanted them to learn. His growling became more vocal as his claws elongated some in response to his surging emotions.
Kagome's expression really spoke for itself as she was truly left speechless. (I can't believe he is teaching them that) She thought as she probably knew that this meant that InuYasha would probably need some medical attention before the day was over.
She looked over at her brother-in-law who didn't seem amused with the display in the slightest, this could also mean that InuYasha wouldn't live to see his first child being born either.
This was the last thing that Kagome wanted to resort to and it would indeed embarrass her husband in front of the twins, but she just didn't want any unnecessary fights to break out over this.
"Osu-"But a hand quickly came up and gently covered her mouth to prevent her from carrying out the unfinished command. She looked over to see that it was Rin who was the culprit.
Staring at her in slight shock, Rin brought her hand down. "Rin-chan, why…?" Kagome began to ask but Rin placed her index finger up against her lips in a hush gesture before looking back at InuYasha and her pups as they continued on with their lesson with a smile on her face.
Rin wasn't fazed by this in the slightest as she clapped her hands together while her tail gently swayed back and forth out of glee. She was indeed happy to see her children spending time with their only biological uncle and thought it was cute how they embracing their Inu heritage more.
She also believed that by spending time with the twins would indeed help InuYasha prepare for fatherhood more as they will need to grow up with their father's guidance and protection.
At that thought, Rin looked over at her husband and began to see his Ki begin to emanate from his body and it started to get bigger. She shook her head lightly as the smile never faded from her lips.
She was happy to see that Sesshomaru was protective of their children as he was indeed a wonderful father to their pups but even she felt that he shouldn't over-exaggerating on this matter. They were after all dog-demons.
She walked over to him and calmly wrapped her arms around his waist, which caused him to look down at her with red-tint eyes and she responded back with one of her (as well as his) favorite smiles.
Standing up onto her tip toes, she whispered something into the powerful Dai-Yokai's ear which immediately halted his breathing and caused his demon energy to dissipate. He continued to look at her as he calmed down while his breath was still a little ragged. She than reached up to gently stroke his facial stripes.
Kagome looked on at the display and began to wonder what she told him to prevent him from tearing his brother a new one.
It was at that moment the two inu-shikigamis from before appeared in front of the family and gave the noble lady mother a gentle bow which Rin returned with a slow nod of her head and a smile.
She locked her arm around her husband and turned to Kagome with an innocent look on her face. "Now, how about we all have a nice cup of tea together?" She asked looking back and forth at them.
Sesshomaru just gave one of his casual 'Humph' with a look of aloofness on his face but the corner of his lip curved in a slight smile that only his wife was able to notice. The couple led the way to the tea room arm in arm.
Kagome just nodded in agreement and followed after them, leaving the trio alone to their lesson they seem to have been so wrapped up in it that they were totally unaware of their presence the entire time.
Walking behind Rin and Sesshomaru it made her think that without a doubt that he would probably teach this to their child when he/she were born (if he/she inherited a certain dog trait from him)
Meanwhile, Inuki and Inuoji pressed on with the teaching, it wasn't long until Inuki suddenly felt something fuzzy brush slightly up against the tip of her small toe. She suddenly realized what this meant and a small happy gasp filled the air.
"OJISAMA!" Inuki exclaimed.
InuYasha didn't stop but shifted his eyes over to look at her as he continued on.
"I did it! I did it! It wasn't much but I was able to do it just a bit!" She exclaimed once again as her white dog tail began to wag rapidly out of happiness.
This time a bigger smile appeared on his face
"Yeah me too."
He looked at his nephew and saw he was not in the same sitting position as before but instead was on his hands and knees.
"I did it too!" He said as his little black mokomoko that he sported on his right shoulder poofed up a bit from the current excitement as well.
"Keh! See, what did I tell you guys?"
They both gave him quick smiles before turning their attention back to the moral. Squinting their faces a bit, they made a few more attempts, now more encouraged than ever to master this technique. At this point InuYasha couldn't stop as a bigger, prouder smile donned his face.
They now carried the attitude of refusing to give up until they accomplish a certain task. He couldn't be any prouder than he was right now but he also knew that when they got older they would still be met with many trials and obstacles that will test their strength and spirits individually but was now confident that they could face them head on without hesitation.
He was sure of it.
Hell, if he could get them to believe that such challenges such as learning to scratch their ears was a great accomplishment and have them overcome it so easily than there was nothing that could stand in their way when they got older.
They were indeed his niece and nephew.