Disclaimer: I am not Rumiko Takashi…Though I'm sure that if I was I wouldn't be sitting here writing FANfiction…that is how you know that I am not her…unless of course she is a fan of herself…which if that's the case then that's just weird. Therefore, if I am a FAN then I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters or plot. Only the plot of this story. Thank you. *bows*
Love Me as I Am
Chapter 22- Promise Me
Suki took her break as an opportunity to get her things ready just in case Kagome hadn't forgotten. She got some things together for the baby and put them in a satchel to carry on her back.
~*~*~
Inuyasha and Kagome reached the cabin just in time to see the others getting ready.
"Mom! You didn't forget!"
Kagome smiled.
"No. But almost. I'm sorry I forgot to tell the rest of you we were going today. Where's Kaede?"
"Out back with lil' sis." Kanaye said, still holding his nephew.
Kagome smiled.
"What about Sango and Miroku?"
Everyone looked around.
"Uh…."
No one seemed to know.
"We're right here." Came Sango's voice from the doorway.
"Sorry to worry you. We were just having some alone time, nothing big." Miroku explained, a mischievous smile playing across his face.
Sango smiled and shook her head.
"Don't listen. We just went out to get some more firewood, that's all."
Kagome grabbed her things to change into.
"Mom? Why exactly are you wet anyway?"
Inuyasha shuffled his feet on the floor. He was wet too.
"We just went for an early morning swim, that's all."
Suki smiled.
"I see."
"Excuse me for a moment." Kagome said, slipping outside to change real quick.
Everyone gathered his or her things as Kagome came in a couple minutes later, dressed in a pale pink and blue kimono.
Suki smiled and removed her baby gently from Kanaye's arms, his slim and yet chubby with baby fat legs limp and dangling in the air. She hugged him to herself.
Kaede brought her sister inside and handed her to Kagome. Everyone exited the cabin and started their walk to the well.
~*~*~
After a little while they reached the well. Inuyasha picked up Kagome, who carried her baby still, and jumped in first, everyone else following.
Upon reaching the other side of the well Kagome gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.
"What is it Kagome?" Inuyasha asked puzzled.
"I-I guess I was in so much of a hurry I forgot to even stop by and drop a line to tell my mom. Oh well. I guess she's used to us dropping in by now. She ought to be because we've been doing it for 15 years."
Inuyasha and the others crept furtively towards the house, reaching the door. Nowadays it was just Mrs. Higurashi and occasionally Sota when he would visit from college. Even Bouyo had passed away and there was a tombstone out back next to the shrine. Scrolled across the surface were the words:
Here lies Bouyo
The best and most loving cat
Who ever lived.
Inuyasha set Kagome down and she knocked on the door.
No one answered. She turned towards Inuyasha and opened her mouth to say something, but not before the door was opened.
Sota stood in the doorway, his girlfriend clinging to his arm, she had honey blond hair and brilliant green eyes. She was only a bit shorter than he was.
He smiled when he saw everyone.
"Hey Inuyasha. It's been a long time huh?"
Inuyasha nodded. Sota was his height now.
"Hey mom! We have a…I mean…we have SOME visitors!"
Mrs. Higurashi dried her hands off on a dishtowel and walked out of the kitchen smiling. She looked more like herself than usual.
"Who is it Sot--Kagome! It's so nice to see you again." She said, wrapping her arms around her daughter, just noticing then that she was carrying a baby in her arms.
"It is yours?"
"Yes."
She smiled and kissed the baby's head.
"Hello darling."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the baby Suki carried.
"Is that--"
"Yes."
No one said anything for a while.
"…Well. Let's go inside then. I've GOT to make some tea for all of you."
Everyone followed her inside.
"Inuyasha? Could you go get out the crib? These two are hardly big enough for the toddler beds yet." Kagome proposed.
Inuyasha nodded and went out to the shed to get the crib.
Sango and Miroku took a seat on the love seat. Kagome and Suki got the couch.
Mrs. Higurashi counted the people in the room, not including the babies, to see how many cups of tea she would need to make.
"Kagome?"
"Yes?"
"Where's Kanaye and young Trinity? They didn't stay behind did they?"
Kagome blinked and looked to Sango who shrugged.
"I-I don't know."
"Kanaye. She'll love you even if you CAN'T see her." Trinity said, standing in front of Kanaye who was backed against the outside wall of the house.
"That's not what I mean. I know THAT. It's just…I…"
"You what?"
"I don't want to ruin her day. I hate it when people worry about me." he explained.
"Oh. I see." Trinity said, letting up a bit.
"I don't think she'll worry. Really I don't."
Kanaye sighed.
"I wasn't just talking about her."
"You weren't?"
"No. I was talking about you too. You've worried more about me than anyone else. I don't like to see you worry like that. What happened to the young Trinity? When did you decide to grow up and stop having fun? When'd you decided to be an adult and let go of your childhood?"
Trinity stared into his empty eyes, searching for some source as to where this sudden statement had come from.
"You can't stay a child all of your life. One has to grow up sometime."
"Yes, but you're fifteen. Fifteen is a young age still. You should live your life to the fullest no matter the circumstances."
"I know…but I--"
Kanaye put his arm around her and pulled her close, pressing his lips against her as she closed her eyes, completely at his mercy.
Kanaye moved his hand up her back slowly, continuing to kiss her. Moments later he broke the kiss but didn't let her go.
"Promise me…you won't worry about me anymore."
Trinity leaned against him.
"I promise."
~*~*~
Inuyasha's ears twitched as he retrieved the crib from the shed, he heard whispering coming from on the other side of the house.
"Yes. That's Trinity and Kanaye." he thought, bringing the crib inside.
He walked in and past everyone, bringing the crib into the bedroom, having a bit of a problem getting it through the doorway. After a few trial and errors, he turned it sideways and got it through.
He set it on the floor beside the bed. Kagome stood up off the couch and walked in, Suki following behind her, both carrying their babies.
"Inuyasha. Have you seen Kanaye?" Kagome wondered, setting the baby in the crib.
Inuyasha nodded.
"I heard them. They're outside on the other side of the house."
"Oh. I see. Alright then."
Suki kissed her baby's head and placed him in the crib as well, right beside the other. She tucked the covers around the two and left the room. Inuyasha and Kagome had left already.
~*~*~
Kanaye took Trinity's hand as she led him inside.
Once everyone was seated inside Mrs. Higurashi started to bring out the tea for everyone.
"So, Kagome. What's your reason for stopping by this time?" Sota asked, his hand clamped around Kara's.
Kagome smiled.
"To say 'hi'…AND to get help with the baby names." Kagome explained.
Everyone nodded.
"All right then." said Mrs. Higurashi.
"One's a girl and one's a boy. That much I know from seeing their clothes." she said smiling. She was often times very observant.
Kagome nodded and pulled out a pad of paper to copy names onto.
"So far…our grand total of names is…"
Everyone waited.
"Zero."
"Ok…so…I've got a few male names I've been fond of over the years. We should add them to the list and then have everyone contribute some names as well." Mrs. Higurashi suggested.
Kagome nodded.
"Then we vote." said Suki.
"Yes. Well…some of the ones I like are Nico, Ichiro, and Kuno. Girls on the other hand--"
"Hold on a second mom. Just let me right them first."
She smiled and waited till Kagome was finished.
"Okay. I'm fairly short on girls' names. Mitsuki was one of my friends from elementary school. I always have like that name. Oh, and Tasuku. One of my dearest friends."
Kagome smiled and wrote them down.
"How about Kuneau." Inuyasha said quietly, only Kagome hearing him.
"What was that?"
"N-never mind. It was stupid."
This was going nowhere."
""I said Kuneau."
"What does it mean?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha shrugged.
"Kuneau was one of my childhood friends. I'm surprised I even remembered her name."
"That's alright. We'll talk later okay?"
Inuyasha nodded as Kagome wrote the name down.
"Is that it?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing we asked you mom or we would have any guys names at all. I think everyone else's brains are asleep…including mine."
Mrs. Higurashi beamed.
"Alright. Voting."
She read off the names and tallied the votes.
"I think we have our winners. Kuno wins for the boy…and…Kuneau wins for the girl. Thank you guys for all your help."
Everyone split up for bed. It was getting late and in all honesty no one was hungry, except for the babies of course. Mrs. Higurashi had set out plenty of finger foods after all.
"Mom. Would it be all right if I took Kuno and the two of us slept in grandma's room with her? This room's kinda crowded and besides, I think grandma could use some company." Suki asked before going to the crib and picking up the still sleeping Kuno.
Kagome nodded when she came back in.
"Good night sweetie."
"Oyasumi (good night) mom. Oyasumi daddy." she said before kissing Inuyasha's cheek and leaving the room, shutting the door to the bedroom behind her.
Inuyasha just stood there as Kagome picked up Kuneau and sat on the bed.
"Come lay down with us Inuyasha. Keep us company."
He nodded and crawled under the covers, sitting up so Kagome could lean against him while she nursed the baby.
"Tell me about Kuneau."
~*~*~Okay. You may notice some changes. One thing is that I've started to use some more Japanese in the story. Sorry if this bugs people but I just got the first and second movies off of eBay and they use Japanese somewhat in the subtitles. I think it's started to rub off on me or something cause now every once in a while I start saying something in Japanese. Man…anime sure does melt your brain…but hey. It's made me a good writer…right? I didn't write much before this. Oh, and also. This chapter is a bit longer because I got some people (constructive criticism) saying that my chapters were a little bit too short. Sorry about that. I'll try to work on it. Sometimes though if I want to get a new chapter out it will have to be kinda short or I don't get it up soon enough. You guys'll have to bear with me there. Ok. Well…I think I've blabbed WAY too much this time. Thank you guys SOOOOO much for the reviews and keep um coming. It really does help.~*~*~ Miyu