Chapter 10
"Mama, is Izzy ok?" Toshiro asked as he pulled on her kimono. Kagome looked down at her son and smiled.
"I think she'll be fine. She just got a little scared, that's all." She said as she knelt in front of the little boy.
"Me too." He told her and turned to walk away before being stopped by Kagome.
"Shiro, what do you mean?"
"That scares me too. I don't like the feelings. I can't stop or do anything; I'm scared I might hurt Izzy, or Taji, or Shippo, or you or papa. Or someone else." He said as tears started to well in his brown eyes. Kagome pulled him into a hug and whispered into his ear.
"That is your demon trying to protect you. You need to fight it every time you have that feeling. You don't have to worry; you will never be alone when you need to fight it. You'll always have your papa and me to help." She kissed the top of his head and dried his tears as he nodded and smiled at his mother.
"Shiro, you don't have to worry about hurting any of us. Especially me and papa." Shippo added with a smile. Toshiro smiled at his older brother and looked to his mother.
"Are Izzy and papa coming back?" He asked looking at everyone that was standing around.
"Yes. Your sister and papa just needed to talk for a little while okay? So why don't you go back and play with the other kids?" Kagome said and watched as he nodded and ran off. She stood up and turned back to the group. "I sure hope they'll be back soon." She said. Shippo and Koga looked at each other and knew they needed to go look for the two and started to slowly wander off as the women began to talk and cheer each other up. Sesshomaru did not miss the looks and movement of the kitsune and wolf and followed them.
"You really think Inuyasha would want you two to go wander around and interrupt when he's trying to calm his pup?" Sesshomaru said from behind them, as they got ready to take off. They stopped and turned to face him.
"He's taken long enough, he's worried Kagome. He should be back by now with that pup." Koga said to the taller Yurkai. Shippo turned to look in the direction of the sacred tree then back at the two Yurkai beside him.
"Let's wait a little while longer. He really wouldn't be happy if we walked in when he was trying to take care of Izzy. Besides I know exactly where they are." He told them and started to walk away.
"What do you mean you know where they are?" Koga asked confused. Sesshomaru looked that same but hid it behind the cold mask he always wore.
"Inuyasha and Izzy are always at the sacred tree when they need to think and be alone. You didn't think I wouldn't be able to know what goes on around me, especially considering who trained me." He said before walking over to the children and leaving two Yurkai staring at him.
It was midafternoon when Inuyasha came out of the forest and stopped to stand in between Koga and Sesshomaru. They both jumped slightly when they saw him.
"Where the hell did you come from?" Koga asked staring at him. Inuyasha looked at him with a smirk.
"Where I said I would be." He said and started towards the hut that the women were in front of. The other two men followed him. Kagome turned and saw Inuyasha carrying Izayoi against his shoulder.
"Inuyasha, what happened?" She asked concerned as he came to stand in front of her.
"She fell asleep on the way back." He told her as the women and two men followed them into the hut. He walked into the kids' room and laid her in her bed gently. He covered her up and smoothed her bangs out of her face as Kagome came to his side and he stood. "I'm getting worried about her. She isn't acting herself." He told his mate. Kagome looked down at the little girl then back up at him.
"I know, she seems like she's afraid to do anything." Kagome said looking sadly at her daughter. "I don't know what to do." She whispered.
"We'll figure something out. We always do." He told her and pulled her tight against him. Kagome let a few tears fall as she held Inuyasha close.
"Kagome, Totosai just showed up. He said he has something for Toshiro and Izayoi." Sango called at closed door. Kagome sniffed and whipped away her tears before calling back.
"I'll be right there." She turned back to Inuyasha who was watching the little girl in bed. "Inuyasha?" She asked a silent question with just the tone of the one word.
"It's alright. Let's go see what the old geezer wants." He said and wrapped an arm around his waist. The two walked out to find everyone got board at waiting for them and went outside to watch Shippo and Miroku be chased and tackled by the children. Kagome smiled and looked up at Inuyasha who smirked as Toshiro and Taji launched themselves and knocked Shippo flat. Kagome looked over to where the adults had grouped together and say Totosai still sitting on his three-eyed cow.
"What the hell you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working on something?" Inuyasha said walking up to the old demon. Kagome followed him and placed a restraining hand on his arm that seemed to make him relax a little.
"Was I?" The old demon scratched his head thinking. It didn't take long for Kagome to lose her grip on his arm and Inuyasha hit Totosai on the head.
"Yes you were!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome placed her hand on his arm and took a step forward.
"Inuyasha." She said softly. He turned to look at her and relaxed. Kagome took a step forward and spoke to him.
"Totosai we came with the twins last night, you were supposed to make something for each of them." He looked at them for a moment before scratching his head for a minute.
"Ah yes, now I remember. I finished the two items." He said pulling out two necklaces. The one was pink with a sakura blossom with Inuyasha's fang in the middle. The second one was blue with a dragon curled up with the second fang in the middle.
"Oh, they're beautiful Totosai." Kagome said as she reached out to take them.
"There still needs to be one more thing added to them." Kagome looked up from the necklaces to the old demon.
"What do you mean?"
"You need to add a drop of your blood to the center of each." He told her. She nodded before turning back to him.
"Would you like something to eat?" Kagome offered.
"That would be wonderful." He said.
"I'll get it. Kagome…" Sango said gesturing to Izayoi and Toshiro who were on the steps. Kagome nodded and started towards the twins. A cry rang out and sent Koga and Ayame running for their twins. Shippo and Miroku were still running around with Taji, Hanna, Haruko, Kanno, Taro, Jiro, and Akio. Saburo was just coming out of Kaede's hut and joined in the game of tag. Rin sat on the steps with some villagers that she had made friends with while she had stayed with Kaede. Sesshomaru stood not too far off keeping a close eye on everything that was going on around Rin. Inuyasha began to follow his wife over to the twins. The twins looked up to see their mother and father walking over to them. Kagome smiled at them as she stopped in front of them, Inuyasha coming to her side.
"I'm going to go finish these, I'll be right out." She told Inuyasha who nodded and bent down to pick them both up. He could smell her blood a few moments after that. The smell of her blood always drove him mad, but he knew it would end soon. He turned and started towards the other children. Before he took three steps Kagome was next to him handing each of the twins their necklace, smiling.
"Mama!" Came a screech. Taji ran over to hide behind his mother. "Up!" He called. Kagome smiled and picked up the little boy who giggled and laughed as his mother held him close.
"Are you playing nice?" She asked him. He giggled and leaned in to lie on his mother's shoulder. Kagome smiled and looked at Inuyasha who held the twins. Izayoi leaned and was falling asleep against his shoulder and Toshiro was leaning on Inuyasha's shoulder but he looked around at everything.
"Kagome could we lay the kids down to go sleep?" Ayame asked holding both twins while Koga carried Akio, and Jiro.
"Of course. I think its bed time for all of them." Kagome laughed, watching Miroku carrying Hanna and Haruko, Sango carrying Kanno, Rin holding Taro, and Sesshomaru carrying Saburo. They put all the children in Izayoi and Toshiro's room. All except Kanno who slept in Kagome and Inuyasha's room with Sango and Miroku, and Koga and Ayame's twins who slept in with Koga and Ayame in Kaede's hut. Inuyasha did one more round around the house and one last look in on the kids and he came back to find Kagome sitting up on the bed they were to sleep on. She did not even notice he had come to sit beside her.
"What's the matter?" His voice brought her out of her thoughts and she turned and looked at him.
"Nothing, just thinking." She sighed. Inuyasha nodded.
"I know what you're thinking about and you need to stop worrying. Why don't we go for a walk?" He stood up and offered her his hand and she stood.
"Yeah, I think that would be nice." Kagome said as they walked into the night air. "It's such a lovely night." She said staring up at the stars. They walked for an hour until they came to a very large two floor hut, that Kagome had never seen before. It sat on a small cliff overlooking the small village they call their home. Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha who was staring at her.
"Inuyasha?" She asked as she turned to face him.
"Do you like it?" He asked with a smile.
"You mean...?" She asked. He nodded as she turned back to look at the house. "Oh, Inuyasha! It's wonderful. Is this where you were always sneaking off to?" He smiled as he watched her reaction.
"Yeah. I wanted it to be a surprise. I figured I might be able to bring a little bit of your house here for you. I made it big enough for us and the kids all have their own room and there are a bunch of extra rooms for guests." She smiled and stared at him then back at the house.
"I love it Inuyasha! Thank you!" She cried as she threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked her up and spun her twice before setting her down again.
"You're welcome." He said looking into her watery eyes. "Now stop your crying, wench and let's go look at the inside." She sniffed and whipped her eyes before turning back and being lead through the house he built for her.
They walked in through the front door, it was an actual door instead of the bamboo flap, and they walked through the foyer and entered the kitchen. It was a relatively large room with a fire pit in the center, off to the right was a tub that had something resembling a faucet attached to the back of it. Next to the sink was a small counter to be used to cut and place things for food on. In the back of the room, there was a box looking item. Kagome opened it to find all kinds of herbs and spices for food. Inuyasha lead her down the hall out of the kitchen, off the right was a little storage room with all kinds of food. On the left was a little room that resembled the bathroom that Inuyasha had seen back in her era. Farther down the hall there was a very large room on the right.
There were two large windows that looked out to the cliff, and had a large bench with a back and cushions; in front of the bench was a fireplace that was contained with a chimney to let the smoke out. Across from the living room were two medium sized rooms next to each other each had a window in the back. The window had a material that allowed you to view out but not let the air in unless opened. There was a bed underneath it. Back into the living room, they walked to the back to the stairs that lead to the upper floor. At the top of the stairs was a door leading to a small room filled with blue things a window was situated overtop of the bed. To the left was another small room filled with pink things, and again there was a small window over the bed. Next to that one were three more small rooms that were empty except for a bed in the far corner with a window above. Back to the stairs, they went to the right to find another small room filled with black and white things and a window over the bed covered in black. Next to that was three more bedrooms filled with nothing but a bed in the corner a window above. The last room was another very large one. This one was filled with a large bed in the back, another small fireplace, with a little bench in front of it, with two large windows on either side of it. In the back was a small door that lead to a very small room that held the same thing as the bathroom downstairs.
"Oh Inuyasha, I love it!" Kagome said as she turned and gave Inuyasha a kiss.
"Let's go outside and sit for a while. We can go back and bring the kids tomorrow." Inuyasha said as they walked back outside to sit on the cliffs edge and watched the stars.
"It really is a beautiful night." Kagome said as she lay down next to Inuyasha.
"Yeah" Inuyasha said looking up also and pulling her closer to his side. They sat for a while looking up at the stars and out over the village remembering the years passed.
As the two sat and talked they remembered all the years that had passed, and as the spoke the flash backs started, it was like they were back in the memory.
"We've come a long way from when we first met." Inuyasha said glancing over at Kagome.
"Yeah. When we first met you thought I was Kikyo and tried to kill me, now look at us." She smiled and cuddled into his side as they lay on their backs looking up at the stars. Inuyasha smiled remembering when he was revived after his fifty-year slumber. "Yeah, we really have come a long way. From you trying to kill me, and me being a dense young girl with no idea what was going on. Now look at us. Mates, with three and a half year old twins and a one year old."
"Yeah, a lot has changed. You got smarter." Inuyasha smiled as she looked up at him with a fake scowl on her face.
"And you grew up, and opened up." She told him as she smiled to and leaned her head back down. "So many memories. Good and bad."
"Kagome, do you miss your family?" He asked. He knew the answer but wasn't really looking for the actual answer. If she missed them terribly he would find a way to get to them. He always wondered how much she missed them. He thought it was a lot but she never showed it. She was always strong when it came to, really, anything for that matter.
Kagome, Sango and Miroku were sitting under a large oak tree watching all the children run around, while Inuyasha and Shippo were off on demon extermination in a nearby village. Miroku sighed, stood up and walked over to where an argument broke out amongst the children. Kagome smiled as all the children smirked and tackled him.
"They all got so big." Kagome said watching her three children chase Miroku and tackle him for the other children to pile on top.
"Yes, I can't believe Hanna and Haruko are eight. And Kanno… he used to be my baby. He's five years old." Kagome nodded.
"Yeah I know, the twins are four and Taji is two. Their all growing up and acting like their own person."
"They're growing up too fast. Before we know it they'll be out slaying the demons." Sango said with a little smirk.
"Yeah, Izzy is already trying to… Inuyasha and I find her trying to sneak out when she smells one. Shiro's not that much farther behind her either. They really do take after Inuyasha. At least I have one good kid." Kagome and Sango laughed at her comment as Miroku was still battling the children. Suddenly Sango jumped.
"Sango, are you alright?" Kagome asked watching Sango freeze. "Sango?" Her sister turned to look at her.
"I think the baby's coming." She said. Kagome jumped up and started to help Sango to her feet as Miroku finally walked back over to them.
"Miroku, take her back to the hut, I need to go get Kaede." Kagome said as she handed Sango off. She looked up at Miroku and saw he was confused and she began to explain quickly. "The baby, Miroku. Go. Now." She said and she took off running to find the old priestess.
Five minutes later Kagome rushed back into the hut to find Sango deep in her labor. She started to prepare and when it was very close and Kaede still had not made it, Kagome decided she was going to have to take over.
"Miroku it's time." As she pulled everything over to where she needed them. He looked up at her confused.
"But Kaede…"
"She is on her way, but the baby isn't going to wait." He looked scared as he looked from his wife up to his friend. "Miroku, trust me. She's going to be fine. I promise I won't let anything happen to her or the baby." She smiled sweetly as he slowly nodded. He kissed Sango on the forehead before standing and leaving.
"Kagome, there's something wrong. It's too fast." Sango said before she screamed out in pain.
"It's alright Sango. We'll get through this and you'll have a beautiful baby by the end of the day." Kagome said trying to reassure her sister. Kaede walked into the hut as another contraction hit.
"Relax child, ye will be fine." She said as she switched spots with Kagome. "Alright, bare down." She told the slayer. Sango bore down. She was still pushing after an hour and a half. Kaede and Kagome were beginning to worry as Sango began to tire. Suddenly the head began to come out. "That's it Sango, a few more."
"I can't do it." She breathed. Kagome whipped the sweat off her forehead.
"Yes you can Sango. You can do this. Just a little longer." Kagome urged. Sango looked up at her before taking another breath and pushing. It didn't take long for the baby to come out, but there was no noise. Kagome looked to see Kaede trying desperately to untangle the cord from around the neck. Kagome moved to take over and had it untied but there was no noise. Kagome smacked the baby on the bottom hard and it started to wail.
"What is it?" She asked her sister and the old miko.
"It's a little girl, Sango." Kagome said as she helped clean her up. Once clean and wrapped in a soft blanket Kagome carried the cooing girl to Sango. "She's beautiful Sango." She smiled as she handed the baby over. Sango looked down and smiled at the little girl. She had Sango's brown hair and Miroku's violet eyes. She looked like the perfect mix. Kaede smiled at the women before her and left to deliver the news to Miroku.
Miroku was scared, he walked over to the tree outside of the hut and sat at the base staring into space, until Inuyasha who came and sat beside him interrupted him.
"It started, huh?" Miroku turned his head to look at his friend and nodded. Inuyasha saw the fear in his eyes as he looked at him.
"Where are the kids?" He asked Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked over to where Shippo had taken the kids to start a new game of tag and was now walking back to join Miroku and Inuyasha.
"Their fine, Shippo just got them started on another game." He looked back at his friend. "How you holding up?"
"Alright." Shippo sat down on the other side of Inuyasha, and the two men watched the children. Inuyasha heard what was happening inside the hut but decided not to say anything to Miroku who looked worried. He had a different feeling with each birthing. The twins he was hysterical, running around and scared as hell. His son he was calm and collected, and this one he was quiet and worried. It amazed Inuyasha how much he differed in each. After an hour and a half, there came a cry from inside the hut. Inuyasha smiled, knowing what it would do to his friends if the child had died. Miroku looked up at the hut, and after a few moments Kaede emerged and told Miroku he could go in and see them.
Kagome came out shortly after Miroku went in. She smiled at Inuyasha as he and Shippo stood and walked over to her.
"It's another girl. She is the perfect mix between them." Kagome smiled as she hugged Inuyasha and Shippo. "What took you two so long?"
"We got tied up with the demon." Shippo said before being pulled away by the children. Kagome smiled at the children ganging up on Shippo then she looked at Inuyasha.
"What did he mean, you got tied up?"
"It's nothing." He said was about to walk away when he was stopped by Kagome's hand on his arm.
"If it's nothing then what's with the blood on your haori? And why does Shippo look all beaten up?" Inuyasha smirked.
"Always observant. Aren't you?" Kagome smiled.
"Always. Now, take it off." He had learned a long time ago that arguing about that was useless and he started to take his haori and kimono off. Kagome looked at his wounds and shook her head. "Stay here." She went into Kaede's hut to grab bandages. As she left she glanced at Miroku holding his daughter. Sango looked at Kagome and smiled.
"What are you all smiles for?" Inuyasha asked when he saw her walking out of the hut.
"They're just so cute. It reminds me of when the kids were born." She said looking into space. Inuyasha smirked. He knew she was remembering when the twins were born and then when Taji was born.
"Oye wench, you wanta finish daydreaming and finish up here." She snapped out of her thought and finished bandaging him.
"Inuyasha…." She said. He looked at her and knew what she was thinking.
"Don't go thinking…." She did puppy dog eyes at him. "No." She moved closer to him and started to nuzzle under his chin and slowly made her way up and kissed his neck. He shivered and tried to keep from giving in as she continued. "Wench…" He tried to sound intimidating but his voice shook and she looked up at him with a smile.
"Yes, my love?" She asked sweetly.
"You still owe me if I remember correctly. Every time you were going to, we were….interrupted." He had given in. He could never fight the urge especially when she was acting that way. Miroku came out of the hut holding the tiny infant. Inuyasha and Kagome turned away from each other so they would not continue and waited for Miroku to make his way over.
"How's Sango?" Kagome asked.
"She's sleeping so I thought it would be a good time to introduce Akemi to her family." He walked over to Kagome and she took the baby. She smiled down at the little girl and moved so that Inuyasha could see her. The children ran over to see their father.
"Papa, what's that?" Asked Kanno
"This is your baby sister." He said. The twins were standing on their tippy toes to get a peak. Inuyasha knelt down and picked up his nieces to show them. Miroku picked Kanno up and Shippo lifted Izayoi to his shoulders and held Toshiro and Taji up to see.
"She's tinny." Kanno said watching as Akemi fell back to sleep.
"She doesn't look like Taji did." Toshiro said. Taji was confused and looked at his father.
"Yeah, she don't have ears" Izayoi said as she grabbed hers. Shippo chuckled.
"That's because Akemi's a human." He explained.
"Izzy, you guys gonna play?" Called a young girl. Izayoi looked at her mother and father.
"Go on. Go have fun." Kagome said. All of the children cheered as they were let down to go play. Kagome smiled watching the children run around.
"Shippo!" Called a girl who was running towards the group. Shippo turned and smiled watching her come closer. She came to a stop in front of him and said hello to the others.
"Shippo, I was thinking about going fishing. Would you like to come?" She asked shyly.
"S- s- sure." Shippo stumbled on the word. The girl smiled up at him.
"Really?" She asked and grabbed his hand and started to drag him away before he could answer. Inuyasha smirked; he knew how it was with a woman like that he looked over at his mate who was smiling bright at what they all had witnessed. Miroku had a smirk just like the one Inuyasha wore. Kagome handed the baby back to Miroku.
"We're going to start home. I'll stop by a little later to see how Sango is doing." Miroku nodded and Kagome and Inuyasha turned to walk towards their home. Miroku walked back into the hut after hearing Inuyasha call to his kids.
"Oye, you three, if you don't get your butts home by dinner, you don't get any!"
" 'Kay, Papa!" Izayoi called for her and her brothers.
It had been a year and a half since Akemi was born. She didn't only look like a perfect mix of Miroku and Sango, she even acted it too. She was starting to walk and talk and she always wanted to play with the bigger kids. She got along with everyone. One day the children were playing with the village children, Sango and Miroku sat at the base of a tree watching as their children played tag and tried to help Akemi learn and play. Sango looked up into the branches of the tree and saw Kagome lying against Inuyasha. She smiled at the way he stroked her hair and showed so much affection to her and he did not care if people saw anymore. Kagome was sitting sideways on the branch in front of Inuyasha, she had her head over his heart and was dozing while he kissed the top of her head and ran his clawed fingers threw her hair. Inuyasha watched as Toshiro was tagged and everyone ran away. Miroku glanced at his wife to see her looking up. He looked into the tree wondering what had her so fascinated and saw Inuyasha smile and kiss the top of Kagome's head.
"We've all changed so much." Sango said as she turned to look at Miroku.
"Yes, some more than others." He said glancing back up at Inuyasha and Kagome.
"Tired?" Inuyasha asked softly. She nodded yes without opening her eyes. She loved when she was able to just sit and cuddle against him. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. He could hear what his friends were saying, and knew they were starring. He had grown used to people looking and staring at him when he showed his feelings.
"You wanta go home?" He asked.
"No, I just want to sit with you." She said and cuddled closer, if that was possible. "I like these times. But you know I do miss the old days of traveling." She looked up at him and smiled remembering all the memories from when they traveled.
"Yeah, well you just miss sitting me all those times." She glared at him playfully before smiling. He smirked, truth be told he did miss traveling to and he knew his other two friends did too.
"Inuyasha whatever happened to that demon you and Shippo went after in the next village over?" Kagome asked curious. They had been chasing the same one for the last year and a half.
"He keeps slipping away. We have him cornered then he just gets away. I think we might have to start going after him if we don't get him soon." He said watching the children. The rest of the day they sat and watched, the children play and they joined in a few times. Late into the night, a soft knock came at the door. Inuyasha woke up and went to the door to see who it was at that late hour.
"Inuyasha?" Asked a small man with black hair and dark eyes. Inuyasha looked the man before answering.
"What's it to ya?"
"I was sent by the head man of my village to come get you. The demon is back."
"So you came in the middle of the night and woke me up instead of waiting till morning?" He half yelled, trying to keep his voice down as not to wake the others in the house.
"Inuyasha? Who's at the door?" A soft voice came from the entrance of the kitchen. He turned to see Kagome standing there with a small blanket around her shoulders. He sighed and looked back at the man.
"When do I need to be there?"
"Tomorrow, by sunset." Inuyasha looked back at Kagome who was now walking towards him. He nodded to the man and closed the door.
"Inuyasha, what's going on?" She asked as she came to stop by his side.
"Come on." He took her up the room they shared and he started explaining. "Kagome I'm going to go back to that village, if I don't kill that demon, I have to go after him. I don't know how long I'll be gone for." He said as he sat down on the bed. She walked over and sat next to him.
"Inuyasha, don't worry about it."
"Kagome I don't want you or Miroku and Sango following me." He looked into her eyes. She saw love, and fear swirling around in his pools of gold.
"Inuyasha…"
"No Kagome if something happens I don't want you or them being caught in it."
"No Inuyasha, I don't want that to happen with you either. If we came along maybe we would be able to help."
"Think of the kids. If something were to happen…. I don't want them to have to live and grow without their mother."
"And I don't want them to grow up without their father." Kagome was starting to get upset.
"Kagome…"
"No, Inuyasha, don't you even think about it. You know they need you, just like they need me."
"Kagome I know. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to you."
"And you think I would be able to bare living on if something were to happen to you?" He stared at her for a moment before looking at the ground. "Inuyasha, please, if you have to go after him come home and tell us and we will figure something out then. But until then let's focus on you killing him tomorrow. Okay?" She smiled slightly as he looked up at her.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Koi." He said as he hugged her and nuzzled her neck.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Ai." She said as she hugged back. "Let's get some sleep before you go wake Shippo and you two head off." She smiled and climbed on all fours up to her spot in bed. Inuyasha was about to follow her and tackle her when a soft voice came from the door way.
"There's a scary man in my room." Taji cried and ran to his mother. She cradled him and smoothed his hair.
"Sweet heart, it was just a bad dream." She spoke softly.
"Why don't I take you back to bed? And I'll make sure there's no one in there." Inuyasha said as he picked his son up and carried him back into his room. Kagome lay down and waited for him to come back. After ten minutes, he was getting into bed beside Kagome and holding her tight as she cuddled into his side.