Chapter 3

Kagome and InuYasha are now ten and eleven years old. They were growing up fast and were nearing the end of elementary school. They had just been let out of class for recess.

"Come on, Koinu! Let's go to the swings," Kagome called. She skipped to the playground's swing set, giggling as she went.

"Way ahead of ya," InuYasha replied with a smirk. Using his half-demon abilities, he sped past her by leaps and bounds. But, someone else was also rushing to beat Kagome to the swings.

"Kikyo! That's Kagome's swing! You heard her say we were heading over here, so move!" InuYasha screamed at the girl, enraged by her petty behavior.

"But Yashie," Kikyo whined as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. InuYasha cringed but Kikyo pretended not to notice. "Kagome is so ugly. She's like a sad attempt at copying me. Wouldn't you rather swing with me, someone beautiful? The most beautiful?"

InuYasha scowled. He was about to tell her off when Kagome stealthily walked up behind Kikyo on the swing. She stood over her and glared at the back of her head before answering for him.

"No," Kagome snapped. She pushed Kikyo off and watched in satisfaction, but slight irritation, as the girl dramatically fell to the ground. She then took her rightful place on the swing as a red-faced Kikyo silently stomped away.

"Pff- pfft!"

Kagome glanced over at InuYasha. His face was turning purple as he tried to hold back his laughter. She snorted and at that moment he lost it and fell out of his swing laughing. Kagome shook her head but laughed along with him as she watched him roll around on the ground clutching his sides.

She rolled her eyes. "You're so silly."

After school, Akira picked them up and brought them to his house. Sora was already prepared for their arrival and handed each of them their afterschool meals. Akira got a club sandwich on toasted bread with a light beer. Kagome got a Japanese omelette with rice, and InuYasha got a steaming bowl of ramen. Part way through their meals, the phone rang. Akira was expecting a call, so he promptly answered it.

"Hello? Ah, Naraku! How are you? It's been a long time since I heard from my big brother."

"Oh, I'm doing just fine, Akira. Things are going pretty well over here in America," Naraku replied. "How are things with you and your family in Japan?" As he spoke on the phone, Naraku examined a Christmas gram of his brother's family that he had received a while back. He scanned the photo and admired the cute, coordinated outfits. His eyes paused on his niece's face and lingered there for a moment.

"That's good to hear. Oh, and we're doing well on this end. Baby Souta has been a great addition to the family. Kagome, Sora and I are so happy."

When Kagome was eight, her mother had given birth to her baby brother Souta. Now, he is two years old. One day when Akira was watching soccer with InuTaisho, Souta walked over to the TV. He mimicked his father's cheers and yelled, "goal! Goal!" Since then, Akira took note of his son's interest in soccer and showered him with plushy soccer balls, soccer ball pajamas, and some tiny paraphernalia from his favorite teams. Sora was slightly annoyed by the lengths her husband went to influence their baby, but Akira always defended his behavior. "Oh just think about it, sweetheart," he once said to her. "Think of all the scholarships and awards he could win!" Sora would always just shake her head and smile. She knew he was just excited to have a son.

"I'm glad to hear it, brother," Naraku said. "I'm happy you now have the family you've always dreamed of." Despite his words, Naraku struggled to comprehend why anyone would want pestering kids and a nagging woman. "By the way, brother, when can I come and visit your lovely family? Those friends of yours decided to have a big pool party in the summer, have they not? May I come and join you then?"

"Oh! I had forgotten about that. But yeah, of course! Please come and visit," Akira said with excitement. "It's been too long-way too long. So that would be perfect!"

"Great, so it's settled. I'll be there! I'm going to get off the phone now to run some errands and plan. Goodbye."

Naraku immediately continued to go about his day, and planning is exactly what he did. But what he was preparing for was not nearly as innocent as a festive pool party.