Many, many years later...
Casa sat upstairs in the study, signing documents and invitations. Sesshomaru walked in after a raging war had ended.
"So, how was it?" Casa asked, not leaving her eyes from her papers.
"Tough. Those rats never know when to give up," Sesshomaru told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Any news?"
"Blossom's getting married and Inu no Taisho is expecting his second child. Nothing great," Casa answered, finishing up the last document.
"Almost done?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Yeah, almost. Why?" Casa asked, raising her head from the papers.
"I want to take you somewhere," Sesshomaru told her.
"Ok, just as long as it's not too far," Casa said. "Tonight is the night."
"I know dear," Sesshomaru said leaving. "Just don't make any plans."
He left and was nearly ambushed by two youngsters running towards him. Small Izayoi and Cassandra were very excited their uncle was home. They loved his stories and tales of the past. Sesshomaru sighed and picked up both of them. The recent war would be a good story, but the kids had different ideas.
"Tell us how mommy and daddy met up. Daddy won't tell us anything," Cassandra whined.
"Well, maybe your mom would share it with you. I don't know that story," Sesshomaru admitted.
"Mommy went home," Izayoi said.
"Well, you'll have to wait. Or, I could talk to your dad," Sesshomaru suggested.
"Talk to me about what?" Inuyasha asked. He had matured slightly. His hair was longer and he actually agreed to wear the royal clothes now that he lived in the palace. He looked very regal.
"Daddy!" Izayoi and Cassandra yelled and Sesshomaru put them on the ground to go to their father.
"Talk to me about what?" Inuyasha asked again.
"Well, they want to know the story of you and Kagome and how you met," Sesshomaru told Inuyasha.
"Well, it's not that exciting. Your stories of the past are way more exciting," Inuyasha told him.
"Just tell them. I'm telling you, having to put up with twins whining because they don't get their way isn't a lovely sound," Sesshomaru told Inuyasha.
"Whatever," Inuyasha said, picking his daughters up. "Maybe some other time."
Tears formed at each of his daughters' eyes as he walked off. It was going to be a loud night.
"Hey, anyone home?" A male voice downstairs said. "Hello?"
"Yeah. I thought mom told us that dad wasn't dead, yet," a female voice said.
Sesshomaru came to the stairs and found his two kids at the door.
They had grown up very well. Blossom was now a young lady, her silver hair down to her waist. She had sprouted wings while she was three, which had shocked Sesshomaru when he first saw them. They were black and slightly see-through. They now were flapping lightly behind her. Casa had explained her grandmother had wings. It was something about ravens.
Inu no Taisho wore royal clothes like his father, but green designs instead of red. His blond hair was fairly short which his father had disagreed to when Casa first started cutting it. He had the figure of his father, his eyes sharp. His ears gave him away, though. His emotions always were shown through his ears. Right now, they were upright, listening.
"Dad!" Blossom yelled.
"Hello father," Inu no Taisho said. "I'm at least much civilized than her."
"Hey, be nice to your sister," Sesshomaru told his son.
"Why? You were never nice to your half-brother," Inu no Taisho pointed out.
"That's me. Not you," Sesshomaru told Inu no Taisho.
He walked down and received a hug from his daughter.
"Dad, I'm getting married!" Blossom announced.
"Lovely," Sesshomaru said. "Your mother had just informed me."
Blossom pouted and said, "I wanted to tell you."
"Hey, don't pout. It doesn't suit your beauty," Sesshomaru told her.
"I thought I heard familiar voices," Casa said at the top of the stairs.
"Mother," Inu no Taisho said.
"Mom!" Blossom exclaimed and ran to her mother to give her a hug.
"Dear, congratulations on getting married," Casa said.
"Yeah. He's so sweet. He's planning on coming over tomorrow. He's been busy with his own wars," Blossom explained.
"At least my daughter isn't stubborn," Sesshomaru said.
"What is that supposed to mean, father? I'm expecting my second son," Inu no Taisho said.
"Have you married yet?" Sesshomaru asked.
"I'm doing it demon style. Only mate," Inu no Taisho told him.
"I see," Sesshomaru said and picked up the luggage of his children. He carried it to their room and a tall fox demon came around the corner.
"Sesshomaru, are we having guests?" He asked.
"Yes, Shippo. My children seemed to have visited," Sesshomaru said.
Shippo nearly squealed, but he was brought up better than that. He nodded and headed to meet up with the guests.
Sesshomaru joined Casa and his children in the dining room. Casa had already started serving the tea and were chatting nicely with everyone. Inuyasha walked in, two teary daughters in hand. Their tears stopped when they saw their cousins and leaped from their father's hands and ran to their cousins. Blossom held Izayoi while Inu no Taisho held Cassandra.
"Where's Kagome?" Blossom asked. "I wanted to chat with my aunt."
"She's gone out and should return by tonight. But usually that means she won't return until tomorrow," Inuyasha grumbled. Sesshomaru sighed and embraced Casa. They had a family. Their dreams had come true. And they were actually civil.
"Blossom," Shippo exclaimed as he entered. He always had a slight crush on his cousin. Blossom looked up at him and smiled. Then she turned her attention back to Izayoi.
Sesshomaru eyed Shippo suspiciously, but looked back at his daughter. She was going to be married soon, so he no longer had to worry. He always had to keep Shippo away from Blossom when they were kids. Continuously he would find Shippo with Blossom. They had fascinations with each other, but Blossom out grew hers. Shippo's still remained.
Everyone caught up on news and Kagome walked in and asked to have a private conversation with the adults. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Casa left the room and caught up with Kagome outside.
"I have some good news and some bad news. Which one first?" Kagome asked.
"Good," everyone answered.
"Sango and Miroku are planning on joining us tomorrow," Kagome told them.
"And the bad?" Casa asked.
"Naraku's back," Kagome said.
"I killed him. He's not back," Sesshomaru told her.
"Miroku's wind tunnel has returned. This isn't the first time he's faked his death," Kagome told them.
"So, you spoke to Sango and Miroku before you returned?" Casa asked. Kagome nodded.
"Are you sure he had it back?" Inuyasha asked.
"Everything all right out here?" Inu no Taisho asked.
He saw their expression, though they said everything was just fine.
"What's going on?" Inu no Taisho asked.
"It's nothing, dear. Just go preoccupy the children," Casa told them.
Inu no Taisho didn't seem convinced, but did as he was told.
"We haven't fought in a while," Casa told them.
"Correction. Inuyasha and you haven't. I had to patrol every day for your information," Sesshomaru told her.
"Should we check it out what's going on with Naraku?" Casa asked.
"I would think so. That's why I told you guys," Kagome said.
Suddenly, a high pitched screech was heard. Everyone but Kagome doubled over. Sesshomaru caught Casa before kneeling on his own. Kagome hurried to the dining room and found everyone holding his or her ears. She saw Inu no Taisho look up after a while and blink a few times, and look over at his sister. She seemed fine along with the children, but they were crying.
"Mommy, it hurt," the girls cried. Inu no Taisho and Blossom passed them over to their mother and joined their parents.
"Now I know something's going on," Inu no Taisho said.
"You were effected as well?" Inuyasha asked. Everyone was fine but Sesshomaru. Seeing that he was the only full demon, his ears were more sensitive.
"The one day I'm not a sorceress," Casa sighed and helped her husband up. He seemed to be having trouble hearing. "You all right?"
"I will be," he said, blinking a few times and looking over at his wife. "I am."
Casa smiled and looked at her kids. They seemed fine. Casa held the little girls to give Kagome a break.
"Think 'he' did it?" Kagome asked.
"Who's 'he'?" Inu no Taisho asked.
"No one you should be concerned about," Sesshomaru said.
"He deafened me, father. I should be concerned. I wonder if Kioni is all right," he mumbled.
"You're mate?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, and the kids," Inu no Taisho mumbled. "I'll return soon."
Before anyone could respond, Inu no Taisho was out of there. Blossom seemed slight agitated, but stayed with her parents.
"Blossom, you may go check on your mate," Sesshomaru told her.
"No, I'm more worried about you," Blossom said.
"Shall we go searching for 'he'?" Inuyasha asked.
"I don't know. Who will take care of Izayoi and Cassandra?" Casa asked.
"Maybe Blossom," Sesshomaru whispered.
"Why do I have to stay behind?" Blossom asked, slightly angry.
"You and your brother. This doesn't concern you," Casa said.
"Mom, I'm old enough to understand this stuff. I'm not longer your little daughter," Blossom told her mother.
"This is an issue before you were born," Casa told her.
"Naraku, right?" Blossom asked.
Sesshomaru and Casa's eyes went wide. How did she know?
"I've over heard Aunt Kagome and Uncle Inuyasha talking about him," Blossom told them.
Inuyasha "keh"ed and took his daughters from Casa's hands. "Who's going to take care of them then?" Kagome asked.
"Maybe we can drop them off at Kaeda's?" Inuyasha asked. Everyone rolled his or her eyes at him. "What?"
"She died a long time ago, Inuyasha," Kagome shared. "She was a normal human and very old at that."
"Well, then what?" Inuyasha asked.
"Sango and Miroku would most likely want to join. Maybe a villager will help?" Casa suggested.
"I'm not trusting my children with a stranger, especially a villager," Inuyasha said.
"Would you rather have them in battle with us?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha was silent.
"Inu no Taisho could stay behind," Blossom suggested.
"You know how he would react if he found out you were going and he wasn't," Casa said.
"We'll drop them off at the village and pick up Sango and Miroku. Then we'll wait for Inu no Taisho to return and we'll leave," Sesshomaru suggested.
"Sango and Miroku are going to join us tomorrow. We should head to the village now then," Kagome told them.
Everyone nodded and headed to their rooms to get read to leave. Casa was still worried about Sesshomaru, but he told her he was fine.
Everyone met in the main hall, ready to go. They opened the door and left. Cassandra started crying. She had never been out of the castle for most of her life. Izayoi, though, went out with her mom once to Kagome's era. She liked the adventure and from what she could see, they were going that way again.
"Mommy, are we seeing aunt Sango and uncle Miroku?" Izayoi asked.
"No. We need you to be taken care of someone while we go out for a trip," Kagome told her daughter.
"How long, mommy?" Cassandra asked, her tears dying down.
"Most likely a few days," Kagome told her daughters.
Inuyasha nearly rolled his eyes. It would take a few days to find Naraku, then kill him. They had no idea where Naraku was, so they first needed leads.
They got to the village and saw Miroku and Sango waiting for them.
"We knew you would come as soon as we mentioned 'him,'" Sango said. "And you brought the girls."
"We need some villager to take care of them," Kagome told Sango.
"Well, we would be proud to take care of them," Sango said.
"What?" Inuyasha asked.
"Miroku and I aren't as young as we used to be. The only reason we're alive is because of the jewel," Sango told them.
"We're sorry we can't assist you, but it's our age. We don't have any demon blood that keeps us as young as possible. And we aren't going to wish for that and taint the jewel," Miroku told them.
"We understand," Casa said.
"We can help by taking care of the kids," Sango told them.
"All right. Well, we were going to bring you back to the palace and wait for Inu no Taisho. He has gone to check on his family," Casa told them.
"No, we'll stay here. Tell him we said hi," Miroku told them.
"Keep the kids safe, all right?" Inuyasha told them.
They nodded and Kagome passed the kids over. They didn't cry. They were used to being held by Miroku and Sango. But when they started leaving, tears began. Inuyasha had to force himself to leave. He hated to leave with his children crying at him. Kagome nearly had to be pulled from her kids. It reminded Sesshomaru and Casa the day their kids decided to leave to begin their lives.
"Mommy, daddy," Cassandra and Izayoi cried.
Kagome and Inuyasha sighed and joined Sesshomaru and Casa back to the palace. They found Inu no Taisho waiting for them there.
"Where did you go?" Inu no Taisho asked.
"Cassandra and Izayoi needed to be protected while we go out," Kagome said, her head hanging slightly.
"We are going out? Where to?" Inu no Taisho asked.
"And he's the older one?" Blossom asked.
"Blossom, he didn't eavesdrop like you," Kagome said. Everyone turned to her except Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. They had heard that word before.
"Listening in," Sesshomaru, Kagome and Inuyasha said in unison. Everyone nodded and Sesshomaru explained the situation to his son. Once everything was clear, they started thinking of places Naraku could be.
"He hid on that mountain once, remember?" Inuyasha said.
"And the last castle he was at," Casa suggested.
"How about we just go searching to see if anyone knows anything about him," Blossom suggested.
"That's too easy," Inu no Taisho said.
"But it's logical," Blossom argued.
"Naraku wouldn't be that stupid, would he, father?" Inu no Taisho asked.
"No, he wouldn't. But we have no direct leads. Blossom's idea suits the most," Sesshomaru said.
Blossom stuck her tongue out at Inu no Taisho who just shrugged and looked away. Blossom smiled triumphal, but it didn't last long. A strong wind passed by and a small girl showed up. Kanna!
"Naraku summons for you, Sesshomaru. And for you, Casa. Everyone else will stay or Cassandra and Izayoi will die," Kanna said in a monotone.
"Cassandra and Izayoi!" Kagome exclaimed. With a tilt of her mirror, Kanna showed them the children tied up, crying.
"You bitch!" Inuyasha spat, stepping forward with his hand on his sword. Sesshomaru's hand stopped him.
"We understand and will follow," Sesshomaru said.
Kanna smiled for the first time in her life and disappeared in the wind.
"An illusion. You get so tricked when it comes to the ones you love," Sesshomaru said, looking west.
"Well, she told us he wanted to see us. But where will we find him?" Casa asked.
"That's his scent," Sesshomaru said. "Everyone will follow it until we get to the barrier. Inuyasha will destroy it and stay guard there. Then we most likely get to Kanna. We need some people to keep her preoccupied. Blossom and Inu no Taisho, you two kill her. Don't just take out her mirror. And watch out, she sucks in souls.
"Then Kagome can stay guard outside the main door of the castle and Casa and I will enter. Shippo, if you wish, stay with Kagome so she isn't killed. If anything should happen, all of your will smell blood or a scream and hurry to that place. If it's at Casa and my area, do not come. If Naraku finds out you are here, he will most likely disappear again."
Everyone nodded and followed Inuyasha and Kagome who were high in the trees. Sesshomaru and Casa ran on the pathway while both Inu no Taisho and Shippo walked behind in a lazy way. Blossom was the only one who flew.
"I guess we can't go where you wanted to," Casa said, leaping over a log.
"Well, of course we couldn't as soon as our children showed up. I was just thinking that maybe our children would want more siblings," Sesshomaru said, smelling Naraku's scent stronger and stronger.
Casa sighed and then jerked to a halt. Sesshomaru was the first to notice it and stopped, looking at his wife. Blossom hurried to her mother's side as well as Inu no Taisho. Shippo, Inuyasha and Kagome were the last to notice and they too stopped.
"Mom, what is it?" Blossom asked, holding her mother's hand while her mother stared with a glazed vision into the sky.
"Casa?" Sesshomaru asked, walking in front of Casa.
"Everyone get away!" Inuyasha ordered. "That look means possession! I've seen it enough times by Kagome I couldn't forget it!"
"Possession?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Not alone, huh? I thought so," Casa said in a monotone. Neither her eyes nor face showed expression. "I thought I told you not to bring anyone. Still, come. This ought to be a show. Follow your beloved, Sesshomaru. I can bet it is going to be a wonderful show. You won't be able to take your eyes off of it."
Casa's eyes returned to normal, though she did stumble forward first.
"Damn, that was weird," Casa said, shaking her head to rid herself of the dizziness.
"We should start out before sunset. I do not wish to be camping out with my brother, especially on a night like tonight," Sesshomaru said, sighing. Then hurried along, but the sun set before they arrived anywhere near the barrier. The scent of Naraku and his spawns were close, but they needed to rest because of Casa. Her transformation began and she nearly took herself out by jumping into the air just as she transformed. Luckily Sesshomaru caught her and brought her softly to the ground and decided for the group to camp there.
Casa sighed and helped Kagome set up camp. They would have to wait until the next day to fight Naraku, Casa assumed. One more day...