October 3

Inuyasha and I have had the kids for a week now. The longest we've ever taken care of them is a few days and I have to say, we are exhausted. We never realized before how difficult it is to take care of three small children. From making sure that they're well-fed, keeping them entertained, keeping them out of trouble, and dealing with their tantrums, it's a lot harder than we thought it was and I think we have a newfound respect for our friends.

Rin came by again today and noticed how tired we were. She offered to take them out to play for the afternoon and we were extremely grateful.

"Man, I'm beat," Inuyasha said after we went back inside and sat on the couch.

"To think I ever thought this was going to be easy," I agreed. "They're the cutest kids in the entire world, but geez, are they a lot of work."

"I don't know how Miroku and Sango manage to do it without looking tired all the time."

"They're some kind of superheroes."

"Kagome, if we have three kids, I think we should at least try to have them a few more years apart. Then at least they won't all be crying at the same time."

"I totally agree." Then something occurred to me. "Inuyasha...what if we're having twins?"

Inuyasha considered that for a moment. "If that's the case then I need to get all the sleep I can now."

Then there was a knock on the door. Inuyasha went to get it and we were surprised to find that it was Kohaku.

"Kohaku, thank goodness you're here!" I exclaimed. I hoped we would get some good news out of this.

"It's quiet here. Did you manage to put the kids down for a nap?" Kohaku asked.

"Rin took them out to play," Inuyasha explained. "Come tell us what's going on. We've been worried sick."

We sat around the kitchen table and Inuyasha and I looked at Kohaku eagerly to find out what was going on.

"Please tell us you've found them," I said desperately.

"Not quite, but I have some suspicions about what happened," Kohaku said. "The day Sango and Miroku didn't show up to the village I got worried and went out to find them. I had Kenjiro and the others stay behind in case they showed up. I searched the area for days but I couldn't seem to catch any leads. Then it hit me. Us demon slayers have been trying to contain this colony of spider demons in the area. They seem to make their nests underground suck humans into them. I believe Sango and Miroku were taken by them."

"That would explain why their scent disappeared when I went out to search for them," Inuyasha replied.

"What do the spider demons do to people?" I asked.

"We're not exactly sure because their underground caves are nearly impossible to get into," Kohaku said. "It's my understanding that they trap people in their webs and consume them. They've been causing havoc for months and the demon slayers have been trying to destroy them the best we can but they somehow keep respawning."

"So what are you going to do now?" Inuyasha asked.

"I've organized a search party of demon slayers and we've spent the past few days trying to get into the spider's caves but it's a difficult task. Kenjiro and I and a few others got in but it's like a maze. It's hard to navigate and we barely got out alive. We're going to go back in though. I'm sure Miroku and Sango are down there."

"Should I come with you?" Inuyasha asked. I hated the idea of him going into a treacherous cave of man-eating spider demons but if he felt like he should go help our friends I couldn't stop him.

"You stay here, Inuyasha," Kohaku replied. "I know it's difficult waiting and not knowing what's going on but it would be better to stay with Kagome and the kids." He sighed. "I just feel bad for the three of them. I'm sure they really miss their parents."

"They do, they ask about them constantly," I replied. "We've been trying to keep their spirits up."

"It's probably better for them to have both of you here. They'll be even more confused if you suddenly leave too, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha nodded as he thought about that. "You're probably right."

"Besides, I know it's quite a lot of work to take care of them," Kohaku said with a chuckle.

"You've got that right," I said and Inuyasha agreed. "We've been getting some very practical parenting experience out of it though."

Kohaku left soon after. He was in a hurry to get back with the demon slayers and continue their search. Inuyasha and I are just hoping they find our friends soon. The stress of waiting to find out if they're okay is eating us alive.