Epilogue Time Mothableepers.
This takes place in the modern era because where else would it take place? Gosh! *Napoleon Dynamite voice*
Kazemaru groaned, rolling over to hit the offensive noise next to him. It finally stopped beeping and he sighed happily as he laid back down on his comfy pillow to sleep. With a loud bang, his door flew open. Turning his head, he groaned again as he saw Inuyasha standing there with folded arms.
"Up. Come on." He demanded. "It's your first day of high school. You'll be late."
"So?" The boy moaned, sitting up somewhat. "Do demons even actually need school? We live, like, a long time. It's not like we'll ever fit in with these humans."
Inuyasha frowned not only at his moody tone, but at the truth in those words. "That might be true, but you may as well finish school and attempt to blend in. We ain't got a choice. Now move your ass and go eat breakfast."
"I don't eat breakfast anymore." He said dismissively. "I'm not hungry anyway."
Rolling his eyes, the hanyou sighed. "Just get ready and meet your sister downstairs."
He always thought girls would be harder. Everyone always complained about females, how hormonal and difficult they could be. In their case though, he found himself enjoying his daughter's company more.
His son's temper was highly annoying and he saw too much of himself in the boy.
Izumi was a sweet girl. Smart, shy, and quiet. She was a lot like her father, except a hell of a lot nicer.
"Dad? Is he ready yet?" She asked curiously.
In human years, she was only a little younger than Kazemaru. The middle school was farther, so he looked back up the stairs and shrugged.
"Forget it, I'll take you. He's not ready."
"Yes, I am!" He shouted, running down the stairs hastily. His school uniform was crooked, papers spilling from his bag, but he was dressed at least. Tugging on his high ponytail, he ran a hand through it to smooth it out.
Inuyasha smirked, before walking into his mate's home office. Sesshomaru spun to face him lazily, a blank look on his face.
"Yes?"
"We're outta here. Enjoy your free time now that summer's over." Inuyasha's smirk widened as he left.
Sesshomaru nodded, turning to his work. He worked from home, preferring it to having to leave the house and socialize with others. Humans, at that. He worked as a translator and author, using his intelligence and way with words to make quite a good amount of money. In fact, Inuyasha didn't have to work on the salary he made but the hanyou was determined to bring something to the table too. It seemed being a stay-at-home dad wasn't for him.
The hanyou worked as a firefighter part-time, which was an easy job for him. Demonic strength, speed, and his fire rat robe worked perfectly with that particular job. He was known around the city as a local hero for his amazing feats during huge and dangerous fires around the larger towns.
o
Kazemaru and Izumi walked side by side quickly. The boy's tired, foul mood was lifted when he saw one of his close friends.
"Shiori!" He called, running up to her and leaving his sister behind.
Izumi huffed, running up to them.
"Don't leave me behind. I'll tell dad you abandoned me, your poor little sister." She pointed a finger at him.
Rolling his eyes, Kazemaru scoffed. "And dad thinks I'm the bad child? If only he knew how bratty you really are! Geez, he acts like you're so perfect."
"Jealous?"
"Shut up." He growled.
Shiori laughed nervously, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on guys, cool it. It's already bad enough that school's starting again."
"Whatever." He mumbled.
"Sorry, Shiori." The other girl said, blushing. "Maybe my brother's got a point. I'm older now, I'm in seventh grade. I should be more, I dunno, mature and stuff like that."
"Exactly." The bat hanyou nodded, before nudging the boy next to her.
He scowled, shrugging. "Yeah, sis. Grow up."
"Hey!" Izumi frowned, before letting it slide. "I guess you're right. Jerk."
Kazemaru stopped in front of the high school as did Shiori. Turning to her, he shoved his hands into his pockets casually. "You gonna be okay to walk by yourself, Izumi?"
She straightened up, nodding. "Sure. I only needed directions on the first day. I'll be going with dad from now on."
He smirked. "Ah, what? You don't like me that much, huh?"
She glanced at the older kids were who staring at them. "No, I just don't want be the annoying younger sibling that tags along all the time. I know you're embarrassed by me."
"That's not true." He sighed, hugging her. "Look, you're annoying but that's your job as the younger one. Now go, you'll be late. Wouldn't want to ruin your perfect attendance record."
"Fine, see ya!" She waved, running down the sidewalk using her demonic speed, not caring if people stopped and pointed. If anything, she liked having an ability they didn't. And it helped her place first on the track team every single time. In a matter of years, she figured she would become a top track runner at this rate.
"Let's go, Kazemaru. My schedule is confusing and I need to find my classes first." Shiori pulled him along, her lavender hair trailing behind her.
o
He tried to ignore the whispers in class, but couldn't. He knew he stood out. He, Shiori, and Izumi did. As one of the few demons that survived into the modern world, it wasn't surprising at all.
"Look at his hair. Is it real?" One of the girls whispered, giving him an odd look.
"What about her hair? It's purple and so are her eyes." Another commented. "She's so pretty though, I'm kinda jealous."
"Don't be, she might be pretty but she's a total weirdo. Same with him. And her fake tan isn't fooling anybody."
Even worse, were the perverted comments. With his excellent hearing, eavesdropping wasn't a choice. It was inevitable.
"I think he's hot." Another girl said, giggling. "Strange coloring, but he's cute."
The guys were more brutal and he tried to block them out. Their comments were about how girly he looked and how he must be gay as result, which was freakin' stupid. Appearances alone did not reveal orientation but he didn't feel like educating them. If they liked to be ignorant, then he'd let them live in their ignorant bliss. He ignored them as much as possible.
Until one slammed their hand on his desk. Looking up, he scowled as he saw one of the more popular guys sneer at him. Admittedly, he was handsome. But very cocky and dumb. He wondered if all good-looking humans were this arrogant.
"Kazemaru." He scoffed, knocking his books off his desk on purpose. "Still looking girly as ever. Never think about chopping that hair off?"
"No, but I could beat you so that you're unrecognizable or you could sit the hell down." He threatened, glowering at him.
"Boys, is there a problem?" Their homeroom teacher looked at them suspiciously, closing the door behind him as the bell rang, signaling class had started.
"No." They both muttered.
Shiori watched nervously, sending him a sympathetic frown.
o
After school, he picked his sister up. She smiled at him, running up to him with her wallet. He knew what she wanted already.
"Burgers and fries?" He guessed.
"Ice cream."
"Okay, it's on me."
They didn't get far before they were confronted by that same bully he saw this morning. He had friends this time around.
"Kazemaru?" Izumi looked worried.
"Damn it, those idiots." He walked up to them, glaring at each boy pointedly. "What do you want?"
"We're gonna teach you a lesson."
"Yeah, right." Kazemaru retorted.
Before they could move an inch, poison whips sliced the sidewalk in front of them. They paused, gazing in horror at the girl who moved forward.
"Don't even think about it." She warned, poison dripping from her claws.
Kazemaru wished he had that power, but he hadn't inherited it. Instead, he smirked a little.
"You gonna let a girl defend you?" Yosuke, the main idiot, asked incredulously.
Nodding, he shrugged. "I don't care. She's a hell of a lot stronger than you morons."
"What was that? You're saying a chick could beat us up? No way!" Yosuke looked at her disbelievingly.
"Try me." She said, her voice wavering a little from uncertainty.
Kazemaru wanted to get this over with, so he charged quickly, punching the four other guys Yosuke had brought along. They were unconscious now, sprawled onto the hot pavement limply.
The demon cracked his knuckles, staring at the stunned boy. "You still wanna fight?"
"I'm not leaving. You don't scare me." Yosuke ran towards him, preparing to bash his face in.
Kazemaru underestimated his demonic strength, too used to living around humans, and accidentally punched him far harder than intended. The crack was sickening and the boy fell to the ground stiffly.
Izumi gasped, covering her mouth.
The young man gulped, kneeling next to the unmoving body. Placing a hand on his pulse, his eyes widened when he felt nothing. No heartbeat, no breathing.
He was dead, just like that.
"Crap...crap, crap!" Kazemaru fumbled for his cell, dialing quickly.
"You killed him." Izumi said faintly, dropping to the ground as she stared at the body with wide eyes.
"I didn't mean to!" He snapped.
Flinching, she nodded. "I know, I'm just...shocked..."
When his father replied finally, he hastily explained the situation.
"What?" The tone was eerily calm, a sign he was in serious trouble now.
"He's dead, please just hurry before other people see. They'll call an ambulance, I'll be arrested...there's witnesses!" Kazemaru explained frantically.
"Very well."
o
Sesshomaru was there within minutes. He stood over the body, drawing Tenseiga. People were beginning to walk towards them, staring with horrified eyes at the scene. Some appeared to be dialing, probably the police or ambulance.
"Hurry." Kazemaru begged.
"Son, after this, I suppose we will need to have a talk about your strength. You and Izumi both."
"Yes, I'm sorry, just please-!"
Sesshomaru swung his sword back, causing the crowd to gasp but he readily ignored it, swiping it over the boy. He could see the minions at work, chaining his soul up to take it to the netherworld where he'd either be sent to hell or reincarnated once more perhaps.
The boy was still, before coughing violently as air filled his lungs again. His heart started, causing him to gasp and sit up as his senses came rushing back to him.
"What? What the hell happened?" Yosuke breathed.
"My father brought you back. I'm so sorry about this." Kazemaru explained.
"What?"
"You died, kid. That man brought you back. It's a miracle." A passerby in the crowd told him, grinning.
The rest of the crowd whispered excitedly, in awe of this mysterious man who could apparently raise people back from the dead.
Yosuke stared at Kazemaru in awe too, but it was a terrified amazement. With one simple punch, he could cause him to bleed internally that easily? The hit packed that much force? If it were true, it was blunt force trauma not by car or bus, but by one fist.
"What are you?" He whispered.
Kazemaru's eyes widened. "I'm a human, like you. Just weirdly colored and...foreign." He lied smoothly.
"...uh, huh. Sure." He stood up shakily, looking over at the ambulance that pulled up.
"We'll take it from here." The emergency med tech told them, carrying a first aid kit at his side.
They watched as the five boys were taken to the hospital to get checked out. Just when they thought there would be peace, there were police and journalists waiting to get pieces of information from them.
This was going to be a long day.
o
Inuyasha clocked out, taking out last look at the fire department. He had been there the entire day and would be back again tomorrow even longer. His shifts were typically twenty four hours with short breaks.
As he walked down the street, he backed up and turned to look at the television in the store window. People were crowding it, watching interestedly.
"Oh, man...Sesshomaru?" He narrowed his eyes curiously. "And our kids...what the hell is going on?"
o
Nearly a week later, after the stressful police questioning had been resolved, the two stared at Kazemaru for a long time, trying to think of something to say.
"You are lucky you got off without anything on your record. You should be going to prison. I was going to have to call a lawyer. The boy, Yosuke, did not tell the police that it was you who killed him." Sesshomaru told him quietly. "I think you have truly frightened him."
Inuyasha frowned deeply. "Hey, take it easy on him. This ain't his fault."
"Do explain. Enlighten me, Inuyasha."
The hanyou felt a fierce protectiveness for his child that he hadn't felt since he was a baby. Inuyasha moved around the table to stand closer to Kazemaru, glaring at the former demon lord.
"Do you not realize how horrible you're being? It was an accident. He didn't mean to kill him." The hanyou looked at his son worriedly, "That's true, isn't it?"
"Yes!" He all but shrieked, horrified and ready for this day to be over. "I didn't want to, I just wanted him to leave me alone. I didn't know that I could-! That I was this powerful."
Inuyasha nodded. "Exactly my point. Sesshomaru, it's about time we stopped sugarcoating things. We tried to the whole assimilating into human culture. It worked well enough before, but they're older. They need to know how strong they are before they accidentally hurt someone else."
"Thank you, dad..." Kazemaru murmured, oddly touched that for once someone was coming to his defense.
Usually they teamed up against him.
"I suppose you have a point." Sesshomaru murmured. "At least we hadn't given him those swords."
"Swords?" The teen perked up interestedly. "You guys got swords?"
"Don't even think about it." Inuyasha shook his head, giving him a funny look.
"I'm only asking. So, what kind of swords are they? Demon swords?" He asked curiously.
The two glanced at each other, before Sesshomaru nodded. Sitting down, he clasped his hands together.
"Had demons prevailed, you would have inherited two swords. Your sister, one. You would have been a powerful daiyoukai and Izumi would have been a powerful demon herself, a princess to the Western lands."
"I don't understand."
"Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga would've been yours." Sesshomaru continued, ignoring his confusion. "And Izumi would have inherited Bakusaiga."
"You would've been able to do a lot of damage, probably more than us. You would've surpassed us, as much as I hate to admit it." Inuyasha grumbled. "Too bad you grew up when things began changing."
"Or not. It's not so bad." Kazemaru shrugged. "Fighting other demons and ruling over stuff sounds harder than dumb school anyhow."
"Maybe the kid's got a point." Inuyasha patted his son's back.
"Perhaps. Either way it goes, you still have power without the swords. You both do."
"Just take it easier. If humans wanna fight you, be the bigger person. Hold back if things get rough. And remember..." Inuyasha leaned in closer so that the older man could barely hear his words, "Unlike your father, I'll always be there for you, no matter how stupid you are and no matter what you get yourself into. I love you, Kazemaru. I love you and your sister so much. You understand?"
He turned to his dad with a wide smile. "I love you too. But to be fair, he kinda was there for me today."
"Yeah, but who was cool about it?"
"Good point." He whispered. "You're the best, dad."
"I know. Now go to your room and do your homework."
"Great. Can I at least eat dinner first?"
Sesshomaru nodded. "Yes, then you go to your room. Listen to your mother."
"Don't call me his mother." The hanyou hissed, "For kami's sake, these kids are already confused enough by our relationship."
"Your dad."
"So, what is for dinner anyway?"
Izumi walked into the room, clasping her hands. "Can it be ramen?"
"I guess. I'm starting to actually get sick of it." Inuyasha sighed.
"Let's go to the ramen stand. It's way better than the cup kind." Kazemaru insisted.
"You kids go ahead. Your father and I will make something here." The hanyou handed them enough money to cover two bowls. "Now scram."
"Thanks!"
Sesshomaru watched them go, looking over at the half demon with interest. "You love ramen still. What is there here to make?"
"I dunno, we could order a pizza, but food's not what I want right now for once." Inuyasha smirked, straddling him abruptly.
"You..." A smirk appeared on the stoic man's face, pulling his younger mate closer to him.
"The kids are gone, let's make it quick."
After what had occurred recently, he just wasn't in the mood suddenly. Pushing the hanyou off, Sesshomaru stood up and buttoned his shirt back up.
"Not tonight. I'm still furious."
The half demon massaged his shoulders a little. "Let it out then. A little time together might help you to cool off."
"No." Shaking his head, he sighed. "Now that they know the truth, worse things will happen."
"You don't know that, Sesshomaru. You have to trust them." The hanyou frowned, pulling away from him slowly. "Besides, people make mistakes."
"I know this."
"So, come on, loosen up a little. Let's just..." He unbuttoned his shirt again, kissing at his neck.
Two words made him pause.
"Thank you."
Curiously, he looked up at him. "Thanks for what?"
He could clearly see something to akin to love in that gaze, even adoration. It made him grin as he realized he was silently telling him he loved him. He returned that gaze, placing his hands onto his chest.
"No need to say thanks. I'm just glad that things have changed." The hanyou meant their troubled past and the older man understood that judging by his slight frown.
They began touching, exploring each other as they hadn't in years. It felt new again.
"Things haven't changed..." The half demon looked up incredulously, "We've changed."
Inuyasha nodded, holding onto him as he returned the ardent kiss. Breaking for oxygen, the hanyou looked at the door nervously.
"Seriously, we gotta hurry this up before the kids get home."
"How much time do we have?"
"Thirty, forty minutes max."
"Go."
"Got it."
The door to their bedroom was shut moments later.
o
When the teens opened the door, they could smell the scent of sex lingering in the house. Izumi set her purse down, smiling a little.
"Not much has changed, huh?" She giggled.
"Nope. You'd think the older they get the less they'd wanna, well, you know..." He said.
"That stuff you told me at dinner, it's true? Like no joke?" She changed the subject quickly, not really wanting to imagine her parents doing anything sexual. Even if it was immature, even if it was the reason that they were both here.
He nodded. "Grandma died awhile ago, so I guess she couldn't tell us. They tried to keep us from knowing the extent of our powers to help us fit in better with modern times I guess. Can't blame 'em."
"I don't either, it makes sense." She agreed. "But I kinda wanna try the swords out."
"Same, but we can't. Dangerous, remember?"
"I know, you're right."
"Look, as long as we have each other-!"
"Don't try to end this night on a corny note. You and I both know we love each other, like siblings not like our dads, but let's be honest. As soon as you graduate high school and go to university you'll forget all about me." She huffed, sitting down on the couch and turned the television on.
He sat down next to her, giving her a hug. "You know what the sad part is?"
"What?" She looked at him expectantly.
"You're probably right."
"Hey!"
"Be quiet, I'm trying to watch this."
"I was watching it first!"
"Then chill out and we can watch it together."
"Jerk."
"Crybaby."
The girl could tell something was bothering him though and she leaned forward to peer into his face. Glaring at his sister, he shoved her back.
"A little personal space, please?" He reminded her, turning up the volume.
"It's not your fault, Kazemaru." Izumi said suddenly, making his breath catch as he glanced at her again. "I know you're still...feeling terribly about hurting that boy, but you couldn't help that. It was an accident and we have demonic strength to top it off."
"I should've known, I've always known we were different. That I was tougher than the other kids but I didn't think I could...it just makes me wonder what more we're capable of. You know?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Why do you think I wanted to try the swords out?"
He smiled a little. "We know we can't. We just have to try a little more to blend in and not cause commotion."
"I think you're talking about you, because I've been doing very well thank you." She said haughtily, lifting her nose as she focused her attention back on the T.V. show.
"Whatever." He grumbled. "I'll try harder too. I'm not making that mistake again."
"Unless you become a spy agent or a hit man. Then you kill all the humans you wanted and it would be your job to do so." Izumi said, grinning widely.
"True, but you've been watching way too many crime shows. Also, not okay to joke at my expense. Feeling guilty enough here."
"They're so cool though." She insisted, before smiling apologetically. "And sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"Look, it's fine. Are we gonna watch this or talk through it?"
"Okay, fine. I'm watching."
The doorbell rang but Inuyasha got to it before they could. After paying the delivery man, he smiled at the sight of his kids hanging out together. So far, they'd had the childhood he wished for them. They were loved, cared for, but most important they loved each other despite their arguments.
Sesshomaru placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are we eating upstairs?"
"Sure, if you want." Inuyasha turned to the two teenagers with a stern look. "Don't stay up too late and you two had better finish your damn homework."
"Fine!" They replied simultaneously, never ungluing their eyes from the screen.
He scoffed, smirking a little. "Kids these days, huh? Never thought I'd be old enough to say that."
"We're not so old." Sesshomaru reminded him. It was true, they aged quite slowly. Even though he was a half demon, Inuyasha aged much like his brother. In human years they were equivalent of someone who was in their mid to late thirties.
The hanyou kissed him, gazing at him with a rare gentleness. "I don't say this often enough cause it's corny to me, but I really love you."
The older man tried not to smile, and it ended up looking a bit odd as he fought back a sincere grin. Instead, he composed himself quickly as he straightened up, returning the light kiss.
