TEN

Prompts given:

22. "Did you just hiss at me?"
40. "The kids, they ambushed me."

Inuyasha would be the first to admit he wasn't good with kids, and Shippo would gladly pipe in second to attest to that any day, yet Sango and Miroku were infamous for continuously leaving him alone to watch their twin toddlers.

Most of the time, without warning.

The job wasn't too hard. The two girls were simple enough to entertain. They liked to pretend they were demon slayers, much like their parents, and Inuyasha was an unfortunate and easy target. He swore every time he was stuck in this predicament that he'd get his so-called friends back, but by the time they'd actually return to retrieve their terrifyingly energetic children, he was too fucking exhausted to even talk shit. This time, he was serious. More serious than any other time he got stuck as the victim of their villainous plot, because he finally fucking knew just how he was going to get his revenge.

"Not the ears, not the- Hey! Not the ears!" Inuyasha barked, wrestling the little girls away from the appendages atop his head. They giggled in response, never ceasing their climb up his shoulders no matter how many times Inuyasha pried them off one-by-one, set them gently on the floor, only to wash, rinse, and repeat seconds later.

"Doggy!"

"Come on, guys!"

"We're gonna slay you, doggy!"

"Well, do it some other way!"

"Demons don't get to choose how they die!"

"Those are big words for a four year- Ouch! What did I just say!?" The hanyou pulled one of the daring kids off, holding her out before him by the back of her yukata. She squirmed in his grasp, almost causing him to drop her before he grabbed the other little girl, holding her the same exact way in his opposite hand, finally receiving a brief moment of relief. The two giggled and kicked, looking like a pair of wolf pups learning to paddle in water, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"That's not fair!" One of them boldly claimed, though the smile on her face never wavered.

"You know the rules." He said sternly.

"Okay! We promise!" They swore in unison, their faces lighting up as he set them down once more to attack.

Inuyasha knew they were full of shit. It was only a small moment later that one of the girls managed to hike her way up the half demon's arm, perch on his shoulder, and lean to grab for his ear, snagged away in the nick of time. He held her just the same as before, in midair by the back of her yukata, amusement absent from his expression. She wriggled and paddled once more, reaching for Inuyasha until he took her into both hands, holding her by her sides.

A strong, airy, scratchy noise bellowed from her throat just then as she bared her teeth to him, flexing her fingers by her cheeks like claws. He couldn't help the jerk of surprise as he lurched the kid a little further from his face, her sister doubling over in a fit of laughter.

"Did you just hiss at me?"

"I'm a demon now! I'm gonna get you!" Her squirming grew stronger. "Psst. You're supposed to put me down so I can get you." She whispered, suddenly stopping her movements and holding a hand to her mouth as if she were passing a message to a character off to the side.

Inuyasha could feel the will to fight leaving his body as the child held her hands up to the top of her head like ears resembling his own, waiting for him to finally put her down. They were unnaturally cute, especially for being the offspring of Miroku, and something told him they knew just how adorable they were. He sighed in defeat, setting her next to her identical twin, and they both mock stalked him, taking slow, careful, quiet steps in his open direction. As they leapt to his chest with mighty roars, Inuyasha gave in and played along, yelping and falling back so they could "kill" him.

"Inuyasha?" The sweet tone of his wife greeted, standing in the open doorway just minutes after his imminent death. "What are you doing?"

The girls never stopped climbing over his body along the ground, claiming their victory over and over.

"The kids... they ambushed me."

"Good job, girls! You got the nasty demon!" Miroku's ugly voice chimed, bringing Inuyasha to sit straight up, catching one of the toddlers as she tumbled down his torso.

"And just where the hell have you been?"

"Language, my friend." The monk smiled, kneeling down to scoop up one of his happy daughters. "I had an errand to run, and came back just in time to escort Lady Kagome home."

"That would have been nice to know a couple of hours ago!"

"Did you leave the twins with Inuyasha without asking again?" Kagome asked, giving her friend an expectant look.

"Why do I need to ask? The girls love their time with Uncle Inu!"

"Uncle doggy!" They both sang in agreement.

"Miroku-"

"No, that's okay Kagome. Payback's on the way. Literally." Inuyasha smirked.

"Pardon?" Miroku asked, cocking a brow.

"Yup. You'll be able to repay the favor very soon."

Miroku looked over to Kagome questionably, glancing down at her hardly swollen belly hidden beneath layers of clothing, then back up to her face. She responded with an awkward, thin-lipped smile, shrugging as if to say, "Surprise."

"And remember," Inuyasha rested his elbow on his thigh, propping his chin up with his fist, his smile shifting arrogantly. "Our baby will be at least a quarter demon."