Nights in White Satin
Epilogue
Written by Sleepwalking Chicken
Written on November 7, 2004
Author's notes: I can't believe it's over. Once again, I'd like to thank all my loyal readers who continued on this far, I love you all so much! You mean the world to me and you really make my day when I see a review!
But I'll tell you, if any of you have read Terri Botta's 'The Lucky Ones', you'll know how much of a pain in the ass this epilogue was. I didn't want to completely copy her ideas, but a lot of the ones she had were ones that I had too. I tried my hardest; just know that I'm not trying to rip off her ideas.
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Birds chirped lightly outside the window of the small, modest house. The sun peaked over the massive amounts of trees, casting a soft light into the window of the house.
She fidgeted for the umpteenth time that morning. 'It wasn't supposed to be this frightening,' she'd told herself. She licked her chapped lips and blew a small strand of long, black hair away from her bright blue eyes.
'You've lived for over five hundred years; surely you wouldn't be this worried?' Kagome berated herself as she tried to get comfortable in her bed.
The sheets clung to her and her body sunk into the mattress because of the heavy winter comforter she'd purchased for the cold winter they were currently enduring. She tossed and turned, shifted the blankets and shifted her body around.
'Stop moving…' grumbled the disgruntled voice of her sleepy mate. He shifted next to her and cracked open agitated golden eyes. Over the years, they'd established their bond enough that they no longer had to be in a meditative state to talk to one another. It was simply second nature now.
"Sorry." Kagome smiled apologetically and snuggled closer to him, warmed by his body heat. The youkai snorted and rolled his eyes before closing the golden orbs. "I'm just a little nervous," she admitted with a small smile. "I mean, I haven't seen mom in five hundred years…"
"Feh," Inuyasha snorted and nuzzled her neck gently with his head, soft breaths escaping his lips as he lightly kissed the flesh. "You worry too much. Your mom will be happy to see you."
"I know; I just can't help it," Kagome admitted sheepishly.
"Whatever, go back to sleep," he grumbled and fell still, his head resting beside hers and his arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Kagome rolled her eyes lightly but listened to his request, closing her eyes and snuggling back into his warm chest.
They'd spent the last five hundred years together, moving from place to place, never really getting close to anyone. Soon the couple realized the disadvantage of being immortal. They had to watch all they loved grow old and die. It had happened first with Kaede, then Sango and finally Miroku. Over the years they soon had to part with other friends they'd made.
Despite that depressing disadvantage, Inuyasha and Kagome's life had been very fortunate. They'd moved through the centuries with relative ease, Kagome having a knowledge of the history they were living and Inuyasha's ability to protect her should the need ever arise. Over the five centuries they'd spent together Kagome was able to educate the youkai enough that he could attend school with her when the opportunity arose (Though Kagome was a far better student and spent the majority of her time tutoring the poor, lost youkai).
Thus, they found themselves in the twenty-first century as a veterinarian and a history teacher. History had always been Inuyasha's favorite and easiest subject to master, and thus the youkai had found his career in such a profession. Kagome, with her ever caring nature and her need to help others, brought in most of the income as the vet. She enjoyed being a veterinarian mostly because a majority of the 'pets' she took care of were demons in their animal form.
It was like Inutaisho said; demons were able to blend in. Some chose to be human while others chose to be the animal that little children loved or neglected. Inuyasha obviously chose to be a human as did Shippou. Kirara, not having much choice in the matter, remained a kitten who lived with her mistress's successors somewhere on the island of Nagasaki.
Shippou was grown but had yet to obtain a mate of his own. He mostly traveled around, stopping in to see Inuyasha and Kagome when he was back in Japan.
Kouga also chose to be a human and was last seen living on Hokkaido with Ayame. After discovering that he did indeed have no chance with Kagome whatsoever (though it took him a while) he began to court Ayame. Their budding romance was slow going because of the male wolf's reluctance, but soon they were mated and were living happily ever since.
Sesshoumaru chose to be a human, despite his large distaste between his two choices, and was currently working in a large industry. He'd offered Inuyasha a job, but the youkai preferred the simple life of teaching little monsters at the local high school.
The couple lazily snuggled together for a couple more moments before Kagome cracked open her eyes again. "But seriously, how will she react?"
"Kagome," Inuyasha growled softly, desperately trying to stay in a sleepy state of mind so that he could better return to it once his mate stopped talking. He buried his head under the pillow. "It's only been a couple of months for her. It will be fine!"
"But still, a couple of months," Kagome whispered as she let out a sigh. "Mama's still going to react. And after I tell her everything… I don't know…"
Inuyasha lifted his head up; the pillow still balanced on top of his head as he raised a dark eyebrow. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"
"No," Kagome said sarcastically, "I've just been pretending so I could make you suffer from lack of sleep."
"Feh," Inuyasha snorted, ignoring Kagome's tone of voice in favor of reaching out a hand and brushing some hair from her eyes. "Stop worrying, wench."
"You have such a way with words, Inuyasha," Kagome said dryly and rolled her eyes. A smile still brushed her lips, however.
She sat up and kicked back her comforter, much to the protest of her inu youkai, and trotted out of the room. "I'll make breakfast," she chirped cheerfully as she exited the room, leaving an irritated youkai to follow after her.
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Kagome squared her shoulders and bit her lip. "Well, this is it," she declared with a puff of her chest. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck and glanced at her disguised mate.
Inuyasha's hair was a long black and his demonic features were no longer present. He appeared to be a young, human, Japanese male. He glanced at her with soft violet eyes and smiled lightly.
"So," Kagome said uncertainly, "Let's leave."
She turned on her heel and began retreating down the street from which the couple had come and with a roll of his lavender eyes, the youkai darted forward and grasped her shoulder.
"Hey," he growled lightly, wrapping his arms around her stomach and holding her close. "If you're going to fucking wake me up in the morning on my day off then you'd damn well better go through with your plan." He lightly kissed her neck. "You'll be fine. It's fine; it's just your damn mother, Kagome."
Kagome let out a sigh, not missing the undertone in Inuyasha's voice. He'd do anything to speak to his mother again and here she was with the opportunity to continue her relationship with her mother. And she was chickening out.
She nodded her head and he pulled away, a gloved hand grabbing hers and ushering her up the steps of the shrine Kagome used to live in. It had taken them about an hour to get from their house to Kagome's mother's, but now that they were here Kagome felt a familiar wave flow through her.
'Maybe she's not home?' Kagome whispered softly.
'Fat chance. I can smell her,' Inuyasha returned with a small frown as they reached the top. He glanced around for anyone outside. Satisfied that no visitors were around for Kagome's little family reunion, Inuyasha led his mate towards her old home.
He felt Kagome's tension and anxiety rise within her small frame and he squeezed her hand in order to assure her. 'Don't worry. I'm here.'
'Hai, I know…'
Inuyasha stopped at the front door and glanced at Kagome one last time before taking a step back, allowing her to do the honors of knocking on the door.
Kagome gulped and knocked softly. "No one's home," she declared.
Inuyasha growled and marched forward, pounding his fist on the door before stepping back again, ignoring Kagome's glare. "Maybe," he said with a smirk.
Kagome's head whipped around when she heard the door opening. Her heart stopped as her eyes locked with her mother's. It seemed like the five centuries melted away just then, like the world had stopped and her breath had left her.
"Kagome," her mother gasped out, and Kagome dove into her mother's arms.
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"More tea, Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi asked warmly and the youkai shook his head politely. His concealed claws tapped against the small tea cup he'd been provided. The remains of his tea sat at the bottom of the cup, cold and bleak.
Kagome sat across the table from him, graciously accepting the tea from her mother. It had been a couple of hours since Kagome had first come to the shrine to see her mother and the couple had spent the better part of those two hours explaining everything from the day Kagome left for the last time up until their uniting. It had taken a great deal of work and soon the couple had found their voices dry and parched.
Inuyasha let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair; his eyes closing lightly as he bashfully wished he'd gone to sleep earlier the night before.
Mrs. Higurashi had sat engrossed in her daughter's tale, surprised that the hanyou she remembered no longer existed and was instead replaced with a youkai. She was also surprised to see him as a human, not having been able to recognize the poor boy until he spoke to Kagome.
"There's one thing I'm confused about, Kagome dear," Mrs. Higurashi said politely as she sat down at the head of the table, looking at her daughter and Inuyasha. "Well, several things, actually."
"What is it, Mama?" Kagome asked sweetly. After the initial shock of seeing her mother was over, Kagome had calmed down significantly and even managed small smiles at the beginning. Now she truly seemed carefree and happy, like she was oftentimes.
"Well, first of al…" Mrs. Higurashi pursed her lips, wondering how she should phrase this question. Today had been rather stressful for the woman. Her daughter had come home to her finally after months of thinking she was dead and yet hoping she would return home and then discovering that her daughter was immortal and, at the time being, about five hundred years older than she was. "Why is Inuyasha a human?"
Inuyasha glanced up and looked like a surprised puppy, as lame as the pun seemed in her mind, before glancing at Kagome. The girl smiled and the youkai cleared his throat. "It's an illusion," he said quietly, glancing back down at his tea cup. "It masks my features. Kaede gave it to me before she passed away."
"Oh?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, aware of who Kaede was.
"Yes. She was able to give me a sealing necklace. I slip it on and it binds me," Inuyasha said matter-of-factly and pulled out a small silver chain from under his shirt. It was a simple chain with a small pendant at the end. He blushed lightly when Mrs. Higurashi tried to examine it and hid it back under his shirt.
"It says 'my inu'," Kagome said proudly and Inuyasha's blush darkened. "I had it written when I heard he was going to have one." She seemed rather proud of this.
"Anyways," Inuyasha interrupted. "There are other ways of obtaining such spells. They were invented long ago and any youkai can get them if they know where to look."
"Oh, well that answers that question," Mrs. Higurashi said proudly.
"Hm," Inuyasha grunted softly, a blush still painted on his cheeks.
"Well, question two, then," Mrs. Higurashi said with a bright smile, rather enjoying the conversation they had started. She leaned in closer to Kagome, who blinked in surprise. "Do you two have children yet?"
This time, both of their faces burst into flames and Kagome ducked her head as Inuyasha turned away, lightly clearing his throat.
"Oh come now; it's been five hundred years, surely you've had one?" Mrs. Higurashi said with a frown.
Kagome cleared her throat as well. "Well… not exactly…"
"We, uh," Inuyasha coughed softly and closed his eyes. His face was bright as a fire engine. "We didn't want to until we were married by human standards."
Mrs. Higurashi blinked. "And why aren't you?"
"We wanted you to be there, Mama," Kagome said quietly, "Souta and Jichan, too."
Mrs. Higurashi smiled softly and reached out a hand, brushing her fingers through her daughter's hair. Her grown daughter. It had seemed like only yesterday that Kagome was just a little girl. She smiled faintly at the knowledge. She'd lost so many years. Now she was going to make up for it.
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-Nine years later-
The park's gentle blades of grass rustled in the breeze of the summer day. The bright sun shown down brightly on the earth as small children ran along the blades of grass, tripping on upturned roots and anthills.
The eldest son, Yoshiro, tumbled down first when his foot connected with a small pothole in the ground. He fell over with a small 'oof' and just laid there. He was the first child with naturally black hair, twitching black dog ears and dark violet eyes. He looked like a spitting image of his father, minus Kagome's nose and cheekbones.
Shortly after Yoshiro's fall, his younger brother, the second eldest, fell with him. His name was Ryu, and he was a spitting image of his father as well. Short white hair that flipped up in odd angles covered his grey dog ears. Dark blue eyes with the hidden fire of his father's and his mother's caring nature. Ryu was a much kinder and softer person compared to his elder brother.
The two brothers stared at the dirt they'd been introduced to before Ryu started to giggle. Yoshiro rolled his eyes and sat up, only to be attacked from behind by his only sister, Sango.
Named after the taijiya their parents so fondly remembered, Sango had long black hair and her father's ears. Bright golden eyes filled with the curiosity for life and the longing for adventure. She was a quiet and shy little girl but loved her brother's deeply.
Yoshiro let out another small yelp of surprise as his sister wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him.
Finally, the youngest, Tora, came toddling after the three older siblings. His fat, pudgy cheeks curled into a bright smile as he spotted his siblings.
"Ni!" he chirped happily as he waddled over to Yoshiro and joined his sister in hugging him. His fat, pudgy arms held firmly to Yoshiro's right arm. "Ni!" he said again. The little toddler stared at his brother with bright lavender eyes. Beneath his sealing spell were wavy tuffs of white hair and large, droopy ears. One ear was lopped and on the left side of his face his long bangs covered his large bright eyes.
"Tora." Yoshiro rolled his eyes and shrugged off Sango and Tora.
"Where's my hug?" Ryu said with a small frown. Tora grinned brightly and crawled into his brother's arms, hugging him promptly.
"Ni!" he said, his small bubbly words popping from his mouth. He was young and unable to say the word 'aniki'. Thus, 'ni'.
"Kids," came a fifth voice and the four children snapped their heads up, all recognizing the voice of their mother. It became a rapid race to see who could reach the woman first. Tora frowned and grabbed onto Sango's leg.
"Sa!" he said with a small whimper, giving his best puppy dog face. Sango giggled and scooped up the toddler before chasing after her quickly retreating brothers.
When they reached Kagome, the woman was sitting on a bench. She smiled warmly as her children scrambled up the bench in order to sit next to her. Tora and Ryu snuggled into their mother's warmth while Yoshiro climbed up to sit on the backrest. Sango crawled into her mother's lap, her head resting upon the already swelling belly of her mother.
"It's almost time to go home," Kagome said with a small smile as she ran her fingers through her children's hair. "Can you help me grab my stuff?"
Knowing that her children strived to help their mother, she loved giving them opportunities to do so. Sure enough, Yoshiro, Ryu, and Sango began fighting over who would get the chance to carry the bag their mother had brought down to the park with them. Tora was too young to understand this little competition, but he soon would in good time.
"Will Daddy be home soon?" Sango asked with bright eyes as they began their trek home to their small modest abode.
Despite Kagome's steady income she'd received when she was a vet, and the added money they'd managed to obtain due to her knowledge of the future, Inuyasha and Kagome preferred to remain in the shadows, to live a modest life. The littler the attention they received the better. If no one knew of their slow aging process, no one could become suspicious.
After they arrived home, Kagome quickly put Tora down for his nap and found her five and six year olds sleeping soundly on the couch. She gently shook her head and scooped up Sango and Ryu with a gentle flow of her hands.
"Let me get it," said a quiet voice behind her and she smiled warmly when strong arms wrapped around her and took Sango from her, leaving her with Ryu.
"They got tired out," Kagome told Inuyasha softly as they began moving towards the children's bedrooms. Inuyasha nodded his head and brushed the hair away from his daughter's eyes. Golden eyes softened warmly as he gazed at his child. "It's always good to take them outside on sunny days."
"Mmhm," Inuyasha agreed as he slipped into Sango's room. Kagome followed after him with Ryu in her arms. The child snuggled into his mother's arms and slept on.
Inuyasha quietly tucked his daughter into bed. "A nap will do them good," Inuyasha said softly and kissed his daughter's brow silently. Straightening, he tucked an arm around Kagome's waist and led her towards Ryu and Yoshiro's shared bedroom. The eldest looked up when they entered before looking at his sleeping brother. With a roll of his eyes, the eight year old jumped off his bed and retreated to the playroom, where he wouldn't interrupt his brother's slumber.
"They're so beautiful," Kagome said softly, her voice filled with motherly pride as her hand strayed to her swelling belly. Inuyasha nodded his head and grabbed her hand.
She was quiet for a long moment and let out a sigh.
Inuyasha let out his own sigh and led her away from their son's bed, closing the door behind them.
"It's hard," Kagome said softly, her eyes downwards.
"What?" Inuyasha asked quietly.
"We'll outlive them," Kagome said softly, tears threatening to form in her eyes. "It hurts knowing that. That they'll grow old and we'll remain young and they'll die while we stay alive. No parent should have to burry their child."
"Kagome…" He didn't know what to say to it. It was true. He hated to think about it, too. "Just don't… think about stuff like that. We'll face it when it happens."
"You're right," Kagome said and painfully tried to change the subject. "So, how long until you can stop teaching and take a vacation?"
Inuyasha sighed. "In about two weeks, I think."
"That's good." Kagome smiled and sat down on the couch, her swollen ankles demanding she do this every fifteen minutes of standing up.
"Hm, more time to spend with my mate, ne?" he said nuzzled her shoulder lightly, a small dog-like whimper escaping him. Kagome giggled and nodded her head.
"Animal," she said warmly.
"Feh," he returned with a small snort as his hands strayed to her shoulders, working the taut muscles. "Relax, wench."
"You still have such a way with words, you know that?" Kagome said sarcastically.
"Now is not the time to have an attitude, woman," Inuyasha said softly and wrapped his arms around her.
"Love you, too," Kagome said softly and closed her eyes, leaning up against him.
He blushed lightly and held her tight. He had all eternity to spend with her, and he could tell that his life was already looking up. Everything seemed perfect to him now and as his golden eyes fell closed and he continued to hold her tightly to him he could tell that his days would always be sweet.
"I love you," he whispered, and felt Kagome nod.
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Author's notes: And now it's done. Pretty lame epilogue, but I do not care. Enjoy it! Thanks once again for all the love and support I've gotten for this story. I thank all my reviewers and all readers who didn't review. I hope to hear from you all again and thank you!
Love you all!
And yes, a majority of that was very cliché. Deal with it, damnit. Because I'm not changing it. (nods)
Written on: April 26, 2004
Finished on: November 10, 2004