Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 7: Kyashii and Kaliya

The nights were long and dark, and the winter rains were coming in faster and faster. Soon, it would be winter, the flakes of snow falling fast and thick to cover everything in its white blanket.

Kagome sat in her hut, alone for the time being, ears perked to the sounds of the muted daily life in the village. The rain was thick today, and it was hard to see even a few feet in front of one self, even for one of the two hanyous of the village. Inuyasha had left a few nights ago, heading west to the kingdom he now owned. He was due back sometime that tonight.

"Ka-chan? Why do you seem sad?" Rin asked as she came in from the rain, the water making her hair curl around her child's face.

"It's nothing. Come, I'm sure that Kaede would like a few flowers before they are frozen," Kagome said, watching as the girl's face lit up. She got up from her seat with difficulty. The young hanyou miko knew that her child was due soon, and when it came into the world, she would cast a spell so that it would appear normal to the mortals of her world when they crossed over together.

Together, both human child and half demon priestess collected quite a bouquet when they decided to stop at the hot spring caves for a while and wait to see if the rain would cut them some slack. While they were there, Rin decided to swim around for a bit, while Kagome stood watch, eyes and ears alert for any tell tale signs of a demon sneaking up on them.

An hour or so later, Kagome smelt her water break and gasped. As quickly as she could, she made her way to the edge of the hot spring where she told Rin to throw on her clothes and hurry to the village to collect some one to help her with the birthing. The girl did as she was told; hurriedly putting on her clothes and running out of the cave, back to the village, barefoot.

Kaede was out of the question. The old woman had arthritis and there was no one to get her to the cave. There was Miroku, but the monk was a hentai. But he was away, due to return sometime in the next few days. That left Rin to handle the birth of the child. She had delivered children before in her other village, before she was cast out for helping Sesshoumaru when he lost his arm during a fight with Inuyasha. Arriving at the hut, she set around and collected as many things as she could. A bowl that lay on the table was grabbed and put into a bag, including as many rags and blankets that she could find. Taking a few deep breaths, the girl ran out of the hut and in the general direction of the caves. The she ran into a solid, red something.

Stiffling a cry of fear and surprise, Rin looked up into Inuyasha's face. "Ka-chan's having her child!" she exclaimed and was promptly picked up by the half demon, who ran off, jumping over fallen trees and brooks. He made it to the cave without even breaking a sweat.

"About damn time you got here," Kagome hissed as a painful contraction took a hold of her. In the midst of her pain, she cried out, swearing out loud. "Kuso!"

Rin, as a child, heard enough swearing to know that this was Kagome's way to say that it hurt like the devil, as it was for every mother as they went through the pain of child birth. She prepared everything, laying out the rags and blankets beside her and filled the bowl up with water from the spring. Then she waited for the right time, watching Kagome's each and every reaction to the contractions that came faster and faster as time passed, listening to her cries as she swore in pain. She heard her adopted mother utter a word: "Osuwari" and cringed, expecting to hear a crash, but she remembered that the charmed necklace had been taken off of Inuyasha.

The white haired hanyou sat at the mouth of the cave, wincing deeply with each uttered curse and scream. The wince deepened as he heard the cursed word, "Osuwari", remembering the pain that he would get as he ate dirt each time he heard Kagome say that word. He had heard from others that child birth was painful, but the outcome worth it. He remembered when he was small, he sat outside his mother's room once as she gave birth to a small girl, but the child had died during the birth. Saddened by the events, his mother had looked after him with even more protection, afraid that she would lose her youngest son.

"Ka-chan, try to relax, please," Rin tried to calm down the hanyou miko as she tensed up for another contraction.

"You know, that's easy for you to say," Kagome said and gave an earsplitting shriek. "I feel it!"

A pungent odor came from the wet outside. Growling, Inuyasha got up from his spot on the floor and drew his Tetsusaiga from its sheath at his side. There were demons approaching, and they were there to tear into the flesh of a newborn. Silently, the hanyou watched as a bunch of scorpion demons made their way to the cave before he attacked them. "Adamant barrage!" he shouted, his father's sword turning into a rough diamond texture as he unleashed jagged diamond like splints at the demons. Within seconds the demons were gone, leaving behind smoking ruins.

Rin smiled as she held the first born. Efficiently wrapping the child with a small blanket, she set the baby aside and helped Kagome to deliver a second child. They were both girls. "Ka-chan, you have beautiful daughters," she said, holding the little girls out to her.

"They're perfect," Kagome whispered hoarsely, her voice gone from all the screaming that she had done. She uncovered both of her daughters and inspected them, her pain from the labor disappearing as she smiled at them.

The first one must have weighed about seven pounds. Her golden eyes were alert and bright, cooing when she saw Kagome's black and electric blue hair with her inu ears peaking over her head of hair. The second child weighed less, about a little less than six pounds. Surprisingly, her eyes were a light grey that were almost clear, but she also cooed when she saw her mother's face. Both children had hair; the oldest had black hair, while the youngest had the silvery white hair of her father, with ears matching their hair color.

Inuyasha came in from the rain after making a quick scout to make sure that there were no more demons around the place. Rain dripped from his ears and bangs, instinct making him take his time. He knew that if he approached too fast, Kagome's maternal instincts would go into overtime and she would attack him, and it was more than likely that she would flay him alive.

Kagome allowed Inuyasha to approach her. "What do you think that we should call them?" she asked.

"My mother wanted to call her third child Kaliya, but she died during birth. I think that it's just right that her memory lives on," Inuyasha said, golden eyes looking over his children adoringly.

"I agree," Kagome said, holding both children to her. "The first one will be called Kaliya, and the youngest will be called Kyashii. Come on; let's go introduce you to the village."

A few days after the birth, Kaede announced the birth of Kagome's children to the entire village. Miroku had returned from his travels in time to learn of everything that had happened over the days that he had been gone. He congratulated the two hanyous, accompanying them to the Bone Eater's well. There, Kagome cast a spell on the twins to hide their true appearances while Inuyasha put on his necklace, his hair turning black, eyes changing to a deep violet, claws and ears disappearing from view. He left the group to change into the clothes of Kagome's world, returning with the fire rat's clothing in a small bag that Kagome's mother had bought for him when they had last visited. Gently taking one of the sleeping bundles that Kagome held, Inuyasha stepped on the edge of the well, and, grasping each other's hand, the two hanyous jumped down the well of time, experiencing the soft lights and feelings of time travel.

Mrs. Higurashi was just settling down for a cup of tea when she heard jii-chan shout something unintelligible about Kagome. Rising from her seat, she went to the door and watched in amazement as Kagome gave the bundle that she was carrying to her grandfather when she noticed her mother standing at the doorway. "Ka-chan. I missed you a lot. Come, I want you to meet your grandchildren," Kagome said.

"Grandchildren? Oh my," Mrs. Higurashi gasped.

"Yes, grandchildren. The one that Inuyasha is carrying is the first one born, Kaliya, in memory of his still born younger sister. The one I gave to jii-chan is Kyashii," Kagome introduced her mother to her daughters.

"Dear, I almost forgot. Your friends are coming over today," Kagome's mother said, causing her daughter to sweat drop.

"Ne. When will they be here?" Kagome asked, only to have her question answered by the sudden screams of familiar voices. "Never mind, I got the answer."

"Kami, Kagome's back!" cried out Eri.

"Where has she been all of this time?" asked Ayume.

"Guys, I've only been away for a few months all ready. And, please, be quiet. I don't want to have two upset kids here," Kagome said, causing a hush between her friends when they noticed the two sleeping bundles.

"Kagome, you had kids?" Eri asked in a hushed tone.

"Duh, can't you tell?" another answered in an equally silent voice.

"I would like you to meet Kaliya and Kyashii. I had them a couple of days ago," Kagome partially lied, not wanting them to know that in terms of a half inu demon, they were a few weeks old. As they entered the house, a sudden dark feeling overcame the new mother.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, handing Kaliya to Mrs. Higurashi when he noticed his mate's state.

"I have a mush no shirase," Kagome said, bolting for the back door, brown eyes wildly searching for something as she jumped up to the first limb of the Goshinboku. The first limb was twenty feet above the ground, and the rest becoming thinner as she progressed. Stopping at the very top, she gazed around, trying to find out where the source of her distress was coming from, but she couldn't find it.

Sighing, she made her way back down the tree when an object in the corner of her vision made her turn that way. There, standing on a building not all too far away from the shrine, she watched as a man, or something, resembling Naraku step off of the building and disappear.

"Kami. Who was that?" Kagome gasped. Then she sensed Midoriko's presence nearby.

"Miko, I have come to tell you to watch out. Naraku's demonic spirit has grown stronger and will return for your soul," the dead priestess said, her voice echoing all around the hanyou miko.

Jumping down from the Goshinboku, Kagome hid her emotions about the outcome of the events. She went inside, brushing aside the comments of worry, explaining that she needed some air.

Inuyasha knew better. He needed to know, but refrained from asking his mate about it until they were alone. At the moment, he wished that they had brought Rin and Shippou with them. He wanted to know if they were all right, but when he thought about it, he knew that the feudal era was the best possible place for the two adopted children to be for the time being.

After Kagome's friends had left, Inuyasha sat on the roof of the house, waiting for Kagome to bed the twins and join him up there. When she reached his side about fifteen minutes later, he asked her straight out. "What's the matter? I know that you didn't just need air back then," he stated.

"I'm sorry, but I felt a youkai, or something like it. When I climbed the Goshinboku, I saw something that resembled Naraku. Then Midoriko appeared and told me about Naraku's spirit gaining strength and that he would try to take my soul," Kagome whispered.

"He won't take it. I'll make sure of it," Inuyasha told her softly, an arm encircling his mate's waist.

"Arigatou," Kagome whispered to him, kissing him soundly, her clawed hand running through his silky hair and dozed off, her head cradled by her mate's powerful body.

Later, around midnight, they woke up to a scream. Jumping back into her room, Kagome went to check on the twins while Inuyasha checked out the rest of the property, Tetsusaiga out of its sheath. When he found nothing, he made his way to the house, pausing when he heard a slight whisper of movement behind him. Turning around, he saw nothing and shrugged it off.

Kagome sighed in relief. Her babies were all right. She held them close to her as they whimpered in fear. They had sensed something, just like the two full grown hanyous had. She started in fear when she heard Inuyasha come into the room, but relaxed when she sensed nothing wrong with him.

"Nothing?" Kagome asked.

"Not even a bird chirping," Inuyasha answered. "It's strange though. I mean usually, there are the sounds of nature at night, but there wasn't even a peep out there."

"There's got to be something out there, then," Kagome concluded.

"Hai. I agree with you," Inuyasha said.

"Tomorrow, then, I'll perform a spell to see what's wrong," Kagome promised and put her children back to bed, hoping that the morning would bring a sense of peace and tranquility, instead of fear. She sighed. If only that her life wasn't as complicated as it was right now. These were the times that she wished for a normal life, but knew that she would miss the life of excitement like this.

When morning came around, Kagome made her way to the Goshinboku, a small, slim package held in her hand. Kneeling by the ancient tree, she unwrapped the package, revealing a small, ornate, copper dagger. The ceremonial dagger was used for generations, given to her by Kaede not too long after she had started her serious training of her miko powers.

Knowing that she wouldn't be disturbed, she called upon Kami, and the four elements to guide her during her spell casting. "I call for the elements to appear to me. Protect what is mine, those that I love, while I fight what evil may come. I will stay strong and not worry about my loved ones as long as the elements do their job," she said, drawing a star on a palm with the dagger and pressing it on the tree. The blood stayed there in the shape of the star, and then it disappeared. The spell had been accepted by the powers above. She knew that the fight between Naraku's spirit and the two hanyous would come soon, and when it did, she would have to reveal her true form to every one around her.

Getting up, she made her way back to the house and got busy making breakfast for her family. She, on the other hand had a craving for some fresh meat, but decided to try and ignore the craving. She would have her meat after they had defeated Naraku's spirit once and for all. Once the entire breakfast was made, and a few strips of uncooked bacon swallowed, she exited the house and followed a familiar scent.

"Hello Shippou," she said, startling the full grown fox demon as he walked around the property.

"Kagome, I've almost forgotten how good you looked when you were younger," the fox youkai said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find out where and when Naraku's spirit will come and try to take my soul," Kagome replied. "Are there any other demons that you know who are still around the area?"

"Yeah. I can gather them up and ask them to help you, seeing as you are the only hanyou miko in the entire world. How would Inuyasha react if they all came here and you asked them?" Shippou asked.

"I think that he wouldn't mind all that much," Kagome replied.

"Great. I'll get to work on that right away," Shippou said and left.

Sitting by the well house, she wondered how she was going to defeat a spirit, a powerful one like Naraku's. How would it be possible? Or would every one die and they would leave Kaliya and Kyashii alone in the world, without their parents to tell them about their powers and who they were. Steeling her resolve, Kagome swore to herself that she would not give in that easily and allow her children to live their lives without their parents.

When Shippou returned with the demons he had promised to bring so they could listen to Kagome, Inuyasha was practicing sword fighting with Kagome, who still wielded Midoriko's sword. The twins lay nearby, cooing and fussing over each other, watching their parents practice.

"What do you know, the runt's here," Inuyasha said, sheathing the Tetsusaiga in a fluid motion.

"You can't call me a runt any more, Inuyasha. I'm full grown, and I'm here to offer my help to help you beat Naraku once and for all," Shippou retorted. "I've talked to Kagome earlier, and she's agreed to talk to these youkai I've brought. They want to hear what she has to say about Naraku's reappearance."

"Thank you, Shippou," Kagome said, and then she raised her voice so all the demons could hear her. "I hope you all know who Naraku is. We, Inuyasha, myself, Shippou, a cat youkai and a few humans defeated Naraku before, and we aim to do so again. What I would like to know is if you will help us defeat him."

A figure walked forward, her long, dark streaked blonde hair swirling behind her, red eyes alert as she spoke. "I will help you both, Kagome," she said.

"Kilala?" Kagome gasped when she realized who it was who had stepped forward. "Oh, Kami. You look good in your human form."

"Arigatou, miko," Kilala said and backed away.

A sharp wind cut through the shrine's clearing, bringing with it a shuddering feeling. Without knowing it, Kagome had scooped up her children and brought them inside the house, telling her mother that she would be gone for a while, and that she couldn't bring the kids with her. Then she was outside, leading the way down the street to where the feeling was coming from.

Today was the day when they would face Naraku once and for all, and hopefully, defeat him for good.

Hanyou—half demon

Ka-chan—mother

Miko—priestess

Kuso—fuck

Osuwari—sit

Jii-cahn—grandfather

Ne—okay

Inu—dog

Mush no shirase—bad feeling

Kami—god

Youkai—demon

Arigatou—thank you

Hai—yes