Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters. I do, however, own Akina and Aiko. For all of those who might be reading this, I think the story is way better than the summary. I suck at summaries, so if you're reading this fic or my other ones, I think you guys would agree that the story is much better than the summary. Okay, well, I haven't gotten any feedback on my second chapter yet, but I'm going to go ahead and do this chappie. I must thank Winchester13 though. Her advice got me thinking about more suicides the Inuyasha group could commit. This story is actually quite tragic now that I think about it, but it's pretty accurate don't you think? Okay, I'm getting on with this chappie now. Drop by some reviews so I can see what y'all are thinking. Oh, and I know that Kagome probably isn't a strong believer in God, (because they believe in Buddha) but I thought it would be a nice touch in the story.
"Honey? Are you coming to bed?" Akina, a young vixen fox demon with shoulder length black hair pulled up in two pigtails and forest green eyes and a black fox tail, asked her husband, Shippo. Shippo looked up at his mate with his blue-green eyes. She had been inside their home with their two week old female kit, Aiko, all day. Shippo had gone outside that morning, claiming that he was going hunting. Shippo had actually been sitting up in Inuyasha's favorite tree.
"Yeah, in a moment," Shippo replied. Akina nodded and returned to the fox demon's household. Shippo sighed with sadness. He loved his mate, but he had been deeply depressed since he had learned of Kagome's suicide. Sango and Miroku had told him the week after it happened. Shippo was in denial at first, but he knew that Kagome had been missing Inuyasha, so Shippo decided that the news was true. Shippo had been sad when Inuyasha died, but after Kagome did too, Shippo could hardly bear the pain that he endured every day.
Shippo gazed at the night time sky with sorrowful eyes. "I wish you were still alive, Kagome," he whispered to the heavens. "I don't care about the point that I'm a full grown fox demon who probably doesn't need his mother. I miss you so much… Mom." A couple of tears fell down Shippo's face. After he learned of Kagome's suicide, he felt like he was an orphan all over again. Shippo hated not having the raven haired girl or the bad tempered half demon in his life. He hadn't brought himself to call Inuyasha 'Dad' yet, but he couldn't help calling Kagome 'Mom'.
I wish I wasn't so sad. Mom died five years ago and Inuyasha nine. My heart still yearns for them though, Shippo thought. If you weren't so sad, then you wouldn't really think of Inuyasha and Kagome as your parents. It's only natural that you can hardly live without them, Shippo's inner demon said.
Shippo stood up from his place on the ground and entered his home. His once bushy tail now dragged on the ground as he walked to his bed. Shippo lay down on the sleeping bag that Kagome had given him so long ago. The sleeping bag had once belonged to Kagome, but when she told Shippo that he would need to start caring for himself, he asked for her sleeping bag if nothing else could be given to him. Kagome gladly agreed and gave Shippo the bag. Shippo breathed in deep. I can still smell her scent, he thought. It's such a wonderful essence.
Shippo was so into the smell of his adoptive mother, he didn't realize that Akina had walked into the room. "Shippo, you didn't say goodnight to your daughter," Akina said. Shippo sat up and stared at his mate. He shook his head to clear his brain of his mother and half-heartedly smiled at Akina. Shippo stood so he could wish his little girl goodnight.
Shippo walked around Akina as he passed through the doorway to their room. He sauntered into the front room where Aiko slept. He found her on the ground whimpering. Shippo carefully picked up Aiko and rocked her in his fathering arms. She smiled up at him. Shippo kissed the young kitsune's forehead. He placed her in a small bed that he had made for her three days after she was born. Shippo gently placed a blanket over his daughter. Aiko went to sleep shortly after she had been put down.
Shippo watched his beloved baby girl start to suck on her peach colored tail. She had Shippo's tail and attitude but Akina's hair and eye color. Aiko reminded Shippo a little bit of Kagome. The thought of Kagome brought tears to Shippo's eyes. Shippo turned around to go back to his room.
Shippo entered the room and closed the screen door. He tried to walk to Kagome's sleeping bag, but his tail had gotten caught in the door. Shippo yanked his tail out and accidentally tripped backwards. Shippo landed on top of Akina who was startled out of her slumber. She yelled, "Fox Fire!" before she could see who had fallen on her. Shippo's shirt caught fire, but he quickly put it out.
"Damn it, Akina! What do you think you're doing?" Shippo shouted in frustration. Akina realized it was her mate who had toppled on her body and laughed shortly. Shippo rolled off of Akina and hugged his knees on Kagome's sleeping bag. Shippo crawled underneath the top sheet. He wanted to sleep, but Akina wouldn't let him. Akina put an arm around her husband.
"Hey, Shippo," she breathed. "We haven't had some time alone in a long time." Akina tried to take the top of the sleeping bag off of her mate. Shippo pulled it up higher and made an attempt to curl up in a ball like he had when he was little. Akina was still persistent. "Come on, Shippo. You hunt all day, and I never get to see you anymore. Whenever I do see you, you're sulking."
"Akina, I just don't want to do anything tonight," Shippo whispered to the wall. He refused to turn around and look at Akina. Akina, being a fox demon, somehow slunk into Shippo's sleeping bag. She wrapped her arms around Shippo's torso.
"I love you, Shippo," she whispered to his back. She gently kissed Shippo's bare neck. Shippo groaned. He struggled to turn around and face Akina, but he managed to. He frowned at Akina's smiling face. How can she smile knowing that Kagome isn't alive? Shippo thought.
"Akina, I told you I don't want to do anything tonight," Shippo repeated. Akina sighed. She knew that her mate was struggling with a depression. She just wanted to be loved on though. Aiko wasn't being neglected by Shippo, but at this rate, Akina believed that Aiko might suffer from neglect in the near future. How would Shippo treat his daughter once he knew that she could walk and talk and defend for herself? Shippo paid attention to her right now only because Aiko was only a kit. Akina feared that Shippo would stop talking to Aiko once she was old enough to acknowledge him.
"Shippo, you need to get over your depression," Akina told him. Shippo scoffed with disgust. He couldn't believe Akina had told him to get over Kagome's death. Kagome was my mother! I can't just forget about her!
Shippo unzipped the sleeping bag and headed for the doorway. Akina sat up. "Where are you going Shippo?" she asked. Shippo glanced over his shoulder at Akina. Only then did he notice that Akina wasn't wearing a shirt. She was wearing a top a moment ago, wasn't she? I'm positive she was. Why did she take it off? Because she thought that you would be "in the mood". Oh. Well, I'm not! I haven't been since the day that I found out Akina was pregnant with Aiko. Normally, I would be "in the mood", but I'm still really torn up about Kagome. I have been since the day I heard the news about Kagome's suicide. If you haven't been all over Akina during mating season, how did you get her pregnant? I was pretty drunk under sake (A/N: you know, the Japanese version of beer?) the night I impregnated her. That's sad, Shippo. That's really sad. I was trying to shrink the thought of Kagome! That isn't an excuse to the point that you won't make love to Akina unless you are severely drunk. She's your mate for God's sake! Don't you care about her?
Shippo ignored his inner demon and cursed his body for making his cheeks flare red at Akina's nakedness. "Akina? Shouldn't you c-cover yourself u-up?" Shippo asked. Akina bristled (A/N: yes, she can bristle. She is a fox after all) with anger.
"This isn't about your depression anymore, is it? Am I repulsive, Shippo? Is that why you haven't kissed me since I don't know when?" she asked him. Tears ran down Akina's face. She was enraged that Shippo wasn't giving her any consideration. Akina stood up from the ground and stomped over to Shippo.
Shippo tried to turn away from her, but Akina grabbed his shoulder and made him face her. Akina was only a couple of inches shorter than her mate, so Shippo could see Akina's front side loud and clear. Shippo hadn't noticed how beautiful Akina was in a long time. He had the sudden urge to kiss her.
"Shippo, if you aren't going to love me, I'm leaving you! I've waited and waited, but I can't be patient forever!" Akina yelled at him. Shippo got a little annoyed at her and replied to her statement with, "Keh."
Shippo's eyes widened. He sounded just like Inuyasha. Looking back at his mate, he realized that Akina didn't look like Akina. She looked more like Kagome. The thought of someone looking so much like Kagome and having an attitude like Kagome's, caused Shippo to start bawling. Akina felt a sudden sadness for Shippo.
Akina put an arm around Shippo's shaking shoulders. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I've just been a little moody since Aiko was born. It just… I've missed you." Shippo turned his head to look at his mate. He began to detect that Akina had kept her love for him strong, but he kept pushing her away. Shippo's tears stopped. He caressed Akina's face and brought it towards his own. He kissed her deeply. Akina broke away only for a second.
"I've anticipated this for a long time," she moaned against Shippo's lips. She kissed Shippo and pushed him to the floor. Shippo's hands moved up and down her back. Before either of them knew what was happening, Shippo and Akina were both naked. All that mattered to them now was that they would finally have some time together, as one.
Once dawn came, Shippo awoke with Akina's sleeping body next to him. He carefully removed Akina's right arm, which had been around his waist, so he wouldn't wake her up. Shippo put on his normal outfit and pulled his hair back up with a teal ribbon. Shippo checked on Aiko, who was fast asleep.
Shippo wrote a quick note for Akina that said, "I'll be gone only for a few hours. I'll be back soon. Love you, Shippo." Shippo left his home with a refreshing sense that he had not felt in an extended while. Shippo looked up at the blue sky and said to the puffy white clouds, "Good morning, Mom and Dad." Shippo smiled at his accomplishment of calling Inuyasha his father.
Shippo took off in a run toward Inuyasha and Kagome's graves. He stopped jogging once he reached his mother's grave marker. He was still brought down with sadness at the sign of Kagome's absence, but for the first time since he had learned of her suicide, he didn't cry.
"Hey, Mom," Shippo greeted the headstone. "Listen, it's not like I'm not missing you because I am. You see, though, Aiko and Akina have been suffering from my depression. I'll still visit you almost every day, but I have to let go. My family needs me now."
A breeze caught Shippo's face, and he swore that he heard Kagome's voice say, "Of course. Your family needs you more than I do." Shippo gave a small smile at this, but he grinned widely when he heard Inuyasha's voice say, "You've made me and Kagome very proud, Shippo. I'm happy I can call you 'son'."
Shippo nodded at the voices and ran back home.
Shippo was feeling really good until he entered his home. As Shippo entered his household, he yelled "I'm home everyone!" Shippo was suspicious whenever nobody answered. Shippo continued with, "Akina? Where are you, my love?" Then Shippo caught the smell of bandits. He was scared now.
Shippo walked to his room searching for Akina. Shippo entered the room and gasped. Akina's bloody body was sprawled on the ground. The main things Shippo noticed were that Akina's kimono was ripped and pushed up to her hips, her tail looked broken, and her hair was messed up from its two pigtails. These are signs of rape. Those damn bandits I smelled must have broken into the house and raped Akina! How does the broken tail explain a rape? If Akina tried to fight the bandits, and they still pushed her to the floor, Akina's tail would have been in the way. They would've broken it to keep it flattened on the ground.
Shippo collapsed on the floor next to Akina. He rolled her over and noticed her eyes closed. "Akina? Akina, honey, please wake up," Shippo pleaded as he feared the worst. Shippo felt Akina's face. What he felt was coldness. Shippo checked for a pulse. There wasn't one.
After Shippo finally realized that his beloved mate wasn't alive anymore, he looked everywhere for Aiko. Shippo didn't find Aiko in her crib or anywhere else in the house. Shippo ran back to his room to see if he had missed Aiko by mistake. Sure enough, Aiko was in her fox form against the south wall. She was bloody, like Akina, and to defend herself, she had gone into her true form. Unfortunately, Aiko's true form was smaller than her human one.
Shippo bent down on his knees in front of his daughter. He picked her up benevolently. Aiko's delicate form was limp in Shippo's fathering arms. Shippo noticed that Aiko didn't have a pulse and was cold, exactly like Akina. Shippo's eyes let loose a flood of tears.
Shippo crawled on his knees over to Akina's body. He sat her top half up and held her along with Aiko. Shippo stayed in that position for a long time. Shippo's tears finally ceased, but he was overcome with a sadness he had never felt before. It was a sorrow even stronger than the one he had whenever Kagome had died. Shippo looked at the face of his mate. Her face was peaceful when it should've held pain.
Shippo didn't understand why Akina had a peaceful look on her dead face, but he didn't try to think about it too hard. Shippo put Akina's body back on the ground. He laid her out straight with her arms against her sides. He then set Aiko on top of Akina's stomach.
Shippo left the two most important beings in the room. Shippo walked outside to look for a shovel. When he didn't find one, he transformed into his true form and dug two graves, one large and the other small.
Shippo transformed back into his human state. He dusted his hands off on his fur vest. Shippo re-entered the house and exited with Akina in his arms bridal style. Aiko was still upon Akina's chest so Shippo made sure to walk smoothly so that Aiko wouldn't fall. Shippo placed Akina on a grass stretcher he had made for her three weeks ago, whenever he knew that the kit was coming soon. The stretcher was for Akina to have a clean place to lie on whenever she gave birth to Aiko, but it would serve to put Akina in her resting place also.
Shippo picked Aiko up off of Akina's chest. He situated Aiko next to him. Now that Shippo's eyes had replenished on tears, fresh streaks deposited down Shippo's face. Shippo tied a vine on the left and right sides of the stretcher. After he had done this, he carefully lowered Akina's body into her grave. Once she was positioned right, Shippo let go of the right vine so he could retrieve the stretcher for Aiko's body.
Though Aiko is small, she still deserves to be buried properly, Shippo said in his mind. Shippo cut the stretcher down with his claws in order to fit through Aiko's grave. Once the stretcher was cut, he lowered Aiko into her grave in the same fashion as he lowered Akina.
Shippo transformed back into his fox version after he was certain that Aiko and Akina were in their graves to his liking. He covered their bodies with the previously discarded dirt. Even as a fox, Shippo didn't stop crying.
Shippo sat back on his hind legs as soon as Akina's and Aiko's bodies were covered. Shippo looked at the graves. Shippo was tired of having to go through the pain of losing the ones that he loved. Shippo looked up at the sky. Why did you do it, God? Shippo hadn't believed very hard in God before, but was willing to believe in Him now. Kagome had talked to Shippo about God before. Only now did Shippo decide to try to talk to God. Kagome used to do it. I remember whenever Kagome used to pray for me, Shippo thought.
Okay, here we go. God, you took Inuyasha away from me, the man that was like my father after my real father died. Then you took Kagome away from me, my own mother. After you had to take my parents, you took my wife and daughter. Why are you doing this to me God? I know that I'll go to the netherworld once I die, too, but are you just waiting for me to kill myself?
Shippo's fox eyes widened at this realization. "Maybe God doesn't want me to kill myself, but I just barely lived without Inuyasha and Kagome. I really can't live without Akina and Aiko," Shippo said out loud to the nearing thunderclouds.
Shippo stood up from his back legs and took off in a fast run towards the nearest river. Once Shippo reached the water, he went back to his human state. He silently told Inuyasha, Kagome, Akina, and Aiko that he was coming to see them soon.
Shippo plunged into the cold river water. He swam all the way to the bottom. Once he got there, he didn't leave his spot. He waited for a certain darkness to consume him. Shippo waited and waited. Finally, consciousness began to slip away from Shippo's grasp.
As Shippo felt his last seconds alive, he smiled.
Shippo's soul retreated from the water. He grinned at the thought of seeing his family again. Shippo looked everywhere above the trees to find the Sacred Tree. Shippo knew that Kagome and Inuyasha's souls would be there awaiting him. If Kagome and Inuyasha's souls were there, Aiko and Akina's souls would surely follow.
Shippo finally found the tree. His soul landed on the treetops so he could rush to the site. Shippo jumped from the treetops a hundred yards short of the Sacred Tree and cried invisible tears. Standing in front of the tree were Kagome and Inuyasha's souls, hand in hand. Shippo laughed to himself. "It's about time you two got together!" he yelled over to them.
Shippo noticed Akina next to Kagome, with Aiko in her arms. Seeing his mate, Shippo jogged over to the foursome. Shippo threw his arms around Akina as soon as he was close enough to her. Shippo heard Aiko squeak out a yip of pain. Shippo backed up off of Akina and took Aiko into his arms. His daughter was back in her human state so Shippo was able to lift her up in the air.
"You've grown," Shippo heard Kagome say. Shippo handed back Aiko to Akina. He turned to Kagome, and she held her arms out for him. Shippo ran into Kagome's welcoming embrace. Shippo felt like a kid again in Kagome's mother-like arms. "Hi, Mom," he mumbled into her shirt.
"Hi, Shippo," Kagome replied. Shippo extracted from Kagome. She didn't look any older than the last time he saw her. Inuyasha cleared his throat.
"Hey, Shrimp, aren't you going to say hello to me?" Inuyasha asked. He walked over to Shippo and gave him a knuckle sandwich. Shippo laughed. He had missed this so much.
"Hey, Inuyasha," Shippo finally said. Inuyasha smiled at him and motioned over to Akina. "When did you get together with this little girl? She's quite the fox demon." Inuyasha crossed his arms and continued with, "Not to mention that you two had a kid together!" Shippo shrugged.
"And she is adorable!" Kagome squealed. Shippo looked at Kagome and found her hugging his daughter. I knew that she would like Aiko, Shippo thought. Kagome gasped with excitement whenever she found Aiko's tail. "Look, Shippo! Her tail is just like yours was whenever you were little! The only difference is that Aiko's is black, like her beautiful mother's." Aiko blushed from the compliment.
"We better be getting back to the netherworld," Akina said once Aiko was returned to her once again. Kagome and Inuyasha nodded.
"Are you ready to go into the afterlife?" Inuyasha asked Shippo. Shippo thought for a second, and then nodded. "I don't really have a choice though, do I?" Shippo asked back. Everyone laughed and Kagome said she supposed not.
Shippo grabbed Akina's free hand. Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's. Right before the group set off into the setting sun, Kagome said to Inuyasha, "I don't want you to fight with Koga once we get back."
Inuyasha groaned. "But he's such a stuck up jerk! He finally appreciates Ayame as his mate, but he still hits on you!" Inuyasha protested.
"I don't care! I swear, if you fight with Koga again this week, I'll sit you like you've never been sat before!" Kagome yelled. At the word 'sit', Inuyasha plunged into the ground. Even dead, Inuyasha's still under Kagome's control, Shippo considered.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha! I didn't mean it that time!" Kagome quickly apologized. Inuyasha jumped up out of the crater he had just made. "Keh! Whatever," Inuyasha said. Shippo noticed that Inuyasha still took Kagome's hand in his.
"Koga and Ayame are in the netherworld?" Shippo asked. Kagome and Inuyasha explained Koga and Ayame's deaths. Shippo was surprised that Ayame had the guts to kill Koga, even if they did end up together in the afterlife.
"Come on, you guys. We really need to get back to the netherworld," Akina repeated. Everyone nodded. The spirits of Shippo, Akina, Aiko, Kagome, and Inuyasha all walked simultaneously, left leg with left leg and right leg with right leg.
Soon enough, the group had disappeared into the sunset. Shippo was reunited with his entire family once again.