Written for several InuKag events on tumblr for 2021...finally getting around to publishing lol! This chapter is rated G!
Kagome stood in the kitchen, stirring the pot in front of her. A savory smell wafted from it, the hunk of pork simmering in the liquid to make the broth that would become the base of their dinner that night.
There were many ways you could tell that Koemi and Kichirou were Inuyasha's kids, and their love of good ramen was one of them. The thought made Kagome chuckle under her breath.
Today was a special day for their family. It was White Day, and both Kagome and Inuyasha planned a special family day for them and the kids. Kagome had taken the entire day off to prepare her mother's famous ramen recipe, while Inuyasha took a half day at the shop so he would be able to pick the kids up from school.
Kagome and Inuyasha loved their lives. They were both successful in their respective careers and had two beautiful children together. They lived in a beautiful two story home in a great neighborhood that really helped foster community between its human and demon inhabitants.
But it was hard being working parents sometimes.
Mostly, things were just busy, in a constant state of motion. Both Kagome and Inuyasha worked similar hours, usually not getting out of work until around five o'clock (with Kagome sometimes going in before the sun was even up). Luckily, Kagome's mother was more than happy to pick up the kids from school and house them until either Kagome or Inuyasha could get them.
From there, it was another three hours of helping the kids with their homework, cooking dinner, making sure the kids each got a bath, cleaning up dinner, packing lunches for the next day, and getting the kids to bed.
Sometimes, Kagome's mother would offer to feed everyone, or at the very least send dinner home with them. That way, they could spend some time together as a family - playing a board game, maybe doing some family crafts, or watching a movie. But Kagome and Inuyasha were both notoriously stubborn and prideful (a little more on Inuyasha's side, but relevant to both nonetheless) and tried to balance work and home life on their own more often than not.
It was easy to not think about a lot when you keep yourself so busy, and while most nights their hectic schedule didn't bother them, there were moments of doubt and self loathing that came when their heads would finally hit the pillow. Inuyasha would grit his teeth as he tried to comfort his crying wife.
Did they work too much? Did they see their children enough? Was there enough structure in their lives? Was this all too much structure? Was she a bad mother for not staying at home more?
Eventually, they came up with a plan; Once a month, Inuyasha and Kagome would take a half day off work - sometimes taking a full day so they could have their own mommy daddy day - so that they could personally pick up the kids from school and truly get to spend the rest of the day together as a family.
Kagome figured there was no better day to accomplish this during the month of March than White Day. They were going to have a movie day, a large stack of movies already sitting in the living room ready for the kids to pick from. She made her children's favorite dish, with sweet mochi for dessert.
Kagome stirred the pot once more before putting the lid back on so it could simmer. Taking a quick glance at the clock, she noted it was almost ten minutes past since school let out, which meant that Inuyasha should be home with the kids almost any minute now.
She took a quick look around the kitchen. The counters were wiped clean and tidy, dishes from earlier having been washed already, and lunches for the kids already prepped for the night. Kagome was antsy for everyone to get home. While it was nice to have the house to herself (a rarity these days), she missed her rowdy little family. But she knew these peaceful moments were hard to come by, so she decided to sit at the breakfast nook, just idly scrolling through her social medias in order to keep her fidgeting at a minimum.
A few minutes later a car engine could be heard pulling into the driveway, along with slamming car doors and muffled voices. Kagome looked up from phone when Akio, their copper colored Shiba Inu who had been napping by the back door, shot past Kagome, quicker than lightning, to skid down the hallway towards the front door. Kagome couldn't see the front door from her spot in the kitchen, but she could see Akio in her mind, bouncing in excitement. She could hear him barking at the door until it opened, only stopping to greet the new guests with lots of kisses and tail wagging.
"Akio!" She could hear Koemi exclaim, the first one to walk through the door. Kichirou must have come in after her, his own greetings to the dog mingling with Koemi's giggles. A few seconds later, and her two children finally came into the kitchen, an excited Akio following them with a toy in his mouth.
"Hi mommy!"
"Hey mom!"
"Hello my darlings," Kagome cooed, giving each child a hug and kiss on the cheek. "How was school today?"
"It was good! We're finally starting on our science project this week. My group is making a volcano!" Kichirou answered, setting his school bag onto a chair and beginning to rummage through it.
"Ohh, that sounds exciting! What about you Ko? Did you do anything exciting today?"
"My teacher taught us to make flower baskets!" Koemi lifted up a large, white paper cup. The sides were painted with pink and red cherry blossoms, with a bright yellow paper flower glued to what was most likely the "front" of the basket. The handle was made out of pipe cleaner, with an assortment of beads threaded through the pipe cleaner on top.
"Wow Koemi, this is so beautiful!" Kagome exclaimed, gently holding out her hands to get a better look at her daughter's creation. Koemi beamed with pride.
"Can we plant a flower in it?!"
"You know, I was just thinking the same thing," Kagome said. She booped her on the nose, causing Koemi to giggle and squirm away from Kagome. "Here, why don't you take this and keep it safe in your room for now. We'll find something to put in it this weekend, okay?"
"Okay mommy!" Koemi grabbed the little pot with both hands and scurried out of the kitchen towards the stairs, Akio dutifully in tow behind her. Kagome couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's excitement. This was such a precious age, full of wonder and joy. It was a bittersweet feeling, to know she wouldn't stay like this forever, but Kagome was just as excited to see her blossom into the strong young woman she knew Koemi would one day become. Such were the ways of parenthood after all.
Someone was missing though. Koemi was upstairs in her room and Kichirou was putting his and his sister's lunch containers in the sink to be washed later, but Inuyasha had yet to come inside. She wondered if she was still out in his truck, not having heard the door open after the kids came in.
"Kichirou, did your dad not come in with you?" Kagome asked.
"No, he was still sitting in the truck when Koemi and I came inside," he replied. He grabbed the fold out step stool from beside the refrigerator to help him reach the sink better as he began to wash out the lunch containers.
"Did something happen to the truck on your way home?"
"No, the ride home was fine,"
Kagome waited for him to continue, hoping for more of an explanation, but Kichirou was determined to keep his back to her, seemingly unplaced by Kagome's questioning. She was so confused. Today was supposed to be a happy day for the whole family, and she expected Inuyasha to be rushing inside just so he could start smelling the ramen broth as it filled the kitchen with it's delectable scent. Maybe something happened at the shop today that required his attention? But Inuyasha would have told her if he absolutely needed to go back out.
Kagome was about to just go outside and find out for herself when Kichirou spoke again.
"Everything was fine until Koemi started talking about her day,"
"What do you mean?" She asked, thinking about the cute little art project Koemi showed her and already wondering how it fit into Inuyasha's disappearance. Kichirou turned the water off and dried his hands with a clean towel that was sitting next to the dish rack. His eyes flit over to her periodically, but he kept his eyes elsewhere for the most part.
"Well, when Koemi and I got into the car, dad asked how our day was. She showed him her little flower bucket thing, and then dad asked what was in it,"
"I didn't see anything in it when she showed it to me,"
"That's because she put it in her bag for 'safekeeping'. I guess one of the boys in her class gave her a small bag of chocolates with a paper heart card for White Day. She was pretty excited about it, but he got real quiet after she showed him. Koemi talked nonstop all the way home, so she didn't notice,"
There was a bit to unpack there, but Kagome thought she was beginning to understand what was going on. Truthfully, she wondered when this was going to finally happen.
Her husband, despite his gruff outer appearance, was one of the sappiest men she had ever known. Inuyasha loved both of his children dearly and equally, but she wasn't blind to the way their daughter had him wrapped around her little fingers. He had cried the first time he held her - hell, even her 'cold-blooded' brother-in-law wasn't impervious to her infant charm.
Koemi was such an outgoing child with a warm personality, and already so beautiful for being seven years old; it was only a matter of time before they would have to start dealing with secret admirers.
"Mmm, I see," Kagome stood up from her chair and walked over to Kichirou, wrapping him up in a loving hug, one arm around his body and one hand gently running through his hair. "Don't worry about your father, it's just a parent thing, okay?"
Kichirou embraced her hard, nestling his head into her shirt. His shoulders relaxed as he breathed in her scent, an Inu youkai trait he partook in whenever he was stressed or worried. She held him for a few more moments, before pushing him back to get a better look at his face.
"I'm going to go find your father. Why don't you go upstairs and help your sister with any homework she might have before dinner's ready? I'll call you guys down later and you guys can pick out the movies we're gonna watch, okay?"
Kichirou nodded and Kagome gave him a kiss on the forehead before he walked past her, grabbing both his and Koemi's bags and trundled upstairs.
Once Kagome was sure Kichirou was upstairs helping his sister, she set out to find her husband. She put on a pair of outdoor slippers and headed out front to see if he was still sitting in his truck. Unfortunately, the truck was empty, and Inuyasha was nowhere in sight. Kagome huffed a little, her hands on her hips as she looked up and down the street. She wondered if he would have gone on a run, maybe to get some nervous energy out of him?
Kagome shook that thought from her mind. He might take that route if he was antsy or irritated at something, but she knew there was little Koemi could do to truly irritate him - if at all, that's how much he was wrapped around her fingers. No, instead, Inuyasha would likely be sulking somewhere.
After checking the large tree in their front yard and the roof - both places he frequented when he wanted to be alone, both places which were empty - she moved on to the back yard. The side gate was closed and latched, but Kagome knew that Inuyasha had no need for it, all he had to do was jump it. Kagome, unfortunately, did not have that ability, so she went back inside to use the sliding glass doors that would lead her straight to the back yard.
She was right to think he wouldn't have left the property. On the right side of the yard was a fairly large children's play set, equipped with a tall slide, monkey bars, and a set of two swings. Inuyasha was sitting on one of the swings, facing the picket fence that surrounded their property, away from the house.
Kagome thought he looked so defeated - shoulders slumped, seemingly only being held up by his hands that gripped the chains on the swing. His head was bent low, and although she couldn't see as well from the angle, she was sure his ears were drooped. She didn't know whether she wanted to chuckle or sigh at his demeanor. Inuyasha was definitely the stereotypical father of a daughter, completely overtaken by the thought of their little girl growing up.
Inuyasha's ears twitched slightly as she strode up to him, letting her know he could hear her approach, but he didn't move. She took a seat onto the swing beside him silently, using her feet to gently swing herself back and forth. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, taking in all the sounds of the wind and birds chirping.
Eventually, the grip Inuyasha had on the chains lessened and his hands fell into his lap. He let out a great sigh, as if trying to expel any tension or negative thoughts from his mind.
"Are you ready to talk about it?" Kagome asked.
"I didn't expect it to happen so fast Kags," he said, letting out a little whine at the end, as if he was truly pained by the idea of his little girl growing up.
"You know, she's still our little girl. A secret admirer at seven doesn't change that,"
"But this is only the beginning! One secret admirer becomes two, and then five, and then there's too many to count, and I'm gonna lose sleep over the thought of some lame ass kid breaking her heart into a million pieces! She'll throw out all her stuffed animals and either get into makeup or sports, or she'll read until her brain is so big that she's graduating high school at like, fifteen, and no matter what path she takes she's gonna be too cool to hang out with her lame ass dad and she's gonna be tall and - "
"Inuyasha, slow down!" Kagome exclaimed. She got up from her swing and forced herself between his legs to stand completely in front of him. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and locked eyes with him, her thumbs gently caressing his jaw. "Take a few deep breaths with me, in and out. Innnnnnnn and ouuuuut,"
He closed his eyes and breathed with her, his manic behavior settling down with each exhale. He was much calmer after the fourth breath in, but when he opened his eyes, Kagome could still see how troubled he was over this secret admirer.
"Inuyasha, no matter if she's seven or seventy, Koemi will always be our little girl, and nothing in this world will ever change the fact that you are her daddy and that she loves you so very much. There will come a time when she won't need us as much, but that won't be tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.
The important thing is that she knows that we will always be there for her. For every achievement, heartache, and puppy love crushes she may or may not have along the way,"
"I know," Inuyasha spoke, his reply muffled as he grabbed her around the torso, pulling her into a grip not so dissimilar to the one Kichirou had her in earlier.
They stood there for another few moments. Inuyasha gently inhaled Kagome's scent as she ran her fingers through his unbound hair, occasionally bringing her thumb and pointer fingers to massage his ears. Soon enough, the tension began to dissipate from his shoulders, and Kagome could hear a low purr coming from her husband.
"If you're ready, we can go inside and spend some time with our children. Kichirou was especially worried about you,"
"I didn't mean to make him worry," Inuyasha whined, his ears drooping slightly again.
"Well, you'll just have to explain it to him. I'm sure he wouldn't say no to another hiking trip with his favorite dad,"
Kagome cupped his cheeks in her hands, placing a sweet, chaste kiss on his lips before backing away to grab his hands. She pulled him up from the swing and began to lead him back up to the house.
Going through parenthood was an experience of a lifetime. Some days were filled with laughter and joy, while others tested the patience of themselves as individuals and as a partnership. Most days, they blended together so easily it was hard to tell the difference between the two. Yet it was an experience neither Kagome nor Inuyasha would trade for nothing in the world.
As they walked back into the house, hand in hand, she knew that as long as they stayed side by side, they could get through whatever was thrown at them.
Even secret admirers.
