InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Promises to Keep ❯ The Accident ( Chapter 1 )

"There's been an accident . . ." and with those four words Inuyasha's life is forever changed. Now his custody belongs to a human whose daughter that he just can't seem to get along with . . .

Promises to Keep

Chapter 1- The Accident

By fire_goddess

Asami Higurashi sighed contently as she pulled the chair out from the kitchen table and sat down with her cup of tea. Two paper bag lunches sat on the counter, ready for their owners. Asami enjoyed the moments before she woke the children because kami knew there would be no quiet after those two had awaken.

The thirty-year-old woman took a deep sip from her tea and fiddled with the crane pendant on her necklace that her husband had given to her on their first anniversary. It was one of the only presents Asami had received from the late Yosho that she truly liked. She had loved her husband very much but he genuinely did not know how to gift shop. Ironically, Asami's best friend, Izayoi, had told Yosho buy it. Izayoi's husband had bought her a pendant similar to Asami's years before.

The oven timer went off with a low beep, signaling the time to wake the house's younger occupants. The elder woman bit her lip at the news to which she had to inform her two children. They had been invited to dinner at Izayoi's and while the children loved Izayoi and her husband, Inutashio, Kagome most certainly did not get along with the couple's youngest child, Inuyasha.

Asami stood and turned off the oven timer. She turned to make her way up the stairs when the telephone started to ring shrilly.

With a huff of annoyance, Asami corrected her earlier destination and answered the phone. Whoever dared call at seven in the morning better have a good excuse . . .

"Hello?"

"Is this the Higurashi residence?" said an unrecognized voice.

"Yes, it is. Who is calling?"

"Are you Asami Higurashi?"

"Yes, I am. What is all this about?" asked Asami irately.

"You are the Godmother of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha Tashio, are you not?"

Asami gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. In a worried voice she barely recognized as her own, she answered, vaguely remembering the call she had received that had informed her of her husband's death.

"What had happened to their parents?"

"There's been an accident."

Sesshomaru had seen his Aunt Asami park her car in the drive way. His parent's car was still absent regardless of the fact they had called and said they would be home last night. Despite the 17-year-old's better judgment, Sesshomaru assured himself that his father had decided to stay at the hunting lodge a day more.

The Inuyoukai unconsciously sniffed the air to make sure Inuyasha was still asleep. The 10 year-old hanyou always slept late when his mother wasn't around. If not for their Aunt Asami's arrival, Inuyasha would have stayed in his room all day to avoid a certain impending guest.

Sesshomaru didn't know what his half-brother despised about Aunt Asami's 9-year-old daughter, but it was enough to put him in a very foul mood and keep him that way.

Sesshomaru reached the hallway and waved the butler away impatiently. He opened the door before Asami had a chance to reach the walkway and stepped out onto the porch to meet her.

"Aunt Asami," greeted Sesshomaru politely. He noted the human's puffy eyes and her slightly swollen lip. His Aunt had a habit of biting her lip when she was upset.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, my dear," she replied quietly, stopping slightly in front of the young man in front of her. Sesshomaru was Inutashio's child from a previous marriage that had ended quite badly. The Inuyoukai acknowledged no other mother but Izayoi because of it.

Asami smiled gently at him and tried to give a look a reassurance.

"This is about my parents, isn't it?" he replied coolly, his stoic mask falling into place. Asami watched as his features became cold and emotionless but said nothing. He would mourn later. For now he had to be strong, for both himself and his younger brother.

Inuyasha understood that his parents were gone. He knew they were dead. What he didn't understand was why he was being forced to sit between his Aunt Asami and brother to listen to a couple of guys in suits ramble on about his parent's will. What did it matter? They were gone.

Sesshomaru tapped his claws on the large mahogany table and stared at the four lawyers sitting across from them. The only one he recognized was Myouga who had been a close family friend for more years then he'd been alive. The small flea demon sat silently between the three humans, allowing them to list the multiple benefactors from the will.

Asami reached over and laid her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder very briefly before replacing her hand in her lap. Inuyasha acknowledge the contact and shifted slightly, finding an odd reassurance in her touch.

". . . And that brings us to the guardianship of the deceased's children," the human ended, looking towards the flea demon for clarification.

Myouga chin barely reached the table as he collected his papers and cleared his throat. As if it were some signal, the human lawyers stood and left the room. "That's better," muttered the flea demon before addressing the thee sitting across from him.

"As I'm sure you are aware, Asami-sama, Izayoi and Inutashio left Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in your custody."

Asami nodded and waited for Myouga to continue. "While everything would be quite clean cut from here on, we can not ignore the large inheritance left behind."

Inuyasha didn't even glance up at the mention of the inheritance. Sesshomaru issued a growl of annoyance and voiced his question. "Wouldn't the money be entrusted to Aunt Asami until Inuyasha and I reach the age of 18?"

"Well," toddled Myouga, "Traditionally, yes, but I'm afraid Inutashio-sama was not the most traditional person."

"What does the will say?" demanded Sesshomaru, his mask slipping slightly.

Myouga gave a small grunt and removed a piece of paper from his briefcase. "The money will be entrusted to Asami-sama, as you assumed, Sesshomaru-san, but there are conditions, I'm afraid. Until you come of age, Sesshomaru-san, you must remain with Asami-sama in her household."

Sesshomaru nodded and prodded Myouga to continue. "After you turn 18 next month, you will be allowed a fraction of your inheritance to pay for your educational costs when you attend college in the fall. You will receive the remainder of the inheritance when you turn 21 and fulfilled certain . . . prerequisites."

"Very well," agreed Sesshomaru. "And Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha raised his head slightly at his name and glared at Myouga over the table. Myouga cleared his throat over the young hanyou's glared and continued on with the will. "Inuyasha-san will also receive a fraction of his inheritance when he turns 18 and the remainder of it when he turns 21. However, Inuyasha-san has a few restrictions requested by Izayoi-sama."

"What are those?" asked Asami.

"He must complete his college education and receive, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in a field of study of his choosing. He will also remain under your guardianship and remain a dependent until he receives a degree and acquires a steady job."

Asami nodded and shot Inuyasha a gentle smile. The hanyou sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Is that everything?" asked Sesshomaru.

"One more thing," continued Myouga.

"What is it?" asked Asami.

"In the event that either Sesshomaru-san or Inuyasha-san mate before they reach their 21st birthday, they are automatically afforded half of their inheritance to be used at Asami-sama's discretion."

Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms. "Mate? Are you crazy?"

"Does that apply to a human marriage as well?" asked Asami.

"Human marriage is void concerning this circumstance," replied Myouga.

Sesshomaru nodded and stood from his chair. "I assume that is all?"

Myouga grunted and jumped down from his chair, disappearing from view for a moment before walking around the table. "Good luck, Asami-sama. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

The three watched Myouga leave the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Sesshomaru ran a hand through his hair and shook his head lightly. "When will you have us move in, Aunt Asami?" asked Sesshomaru.

"As soon as possible," replied Asami, without hesitation.

"What about our house?" asked Inuyasha.

"We'll sell it," said Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha muttered something intelligible and looked up at Asami. "Is there enough room for us at your house?"

Asami nodded. "Yes, but I'm afraid someone will be sharing a room. I have an empty guest bedroom so either the two of you can share the room or one of you can bunk with Souta."

"Inuyasha will share a room with Souta," Sesshomaru replied automatically. "When I leave for college in three months, then Inuyasha can have his own room."

"Why don't you just have everyone move into the mansion?" asked Inuyasha disparately.

Asami shook her head and smiled gently. "The shrine will do for our little family, Inuyasha. Now, why don't we get a head start on moving your things?"

Kagome stared out the window and ignored her grandfather's calls. She was supposed to be helping Souta clean his room but the nine-year-old was more concerned with when the new occupants of the house would appear.

Jii-chan had explained to her the best he could that there had been an accident and Aunt Izayoi and Uncle Inutashio had died. After a long crying session with Buyo who had watched her curiously the whole time, Kagome had dried her eyes long enough for Jii-chan to inform her on the status of her two `cousins.'

Kagome had burst into tears all over again at the news that Inuyasha would be coming to live with them, permanently. She had decided to make an effort, however. Memories of her father's death lingered and she knew that both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru would be hurting. She knew what it was like to lose one parent. Kagome couldn't imagine being without her mother as well.

It had been three days since their mother had left to stay at the mansion to help Inuyasha and Sesshomaru pack their stuff. The funeral had been yesterday and had been restricted to close family friends. Neither Izayoi or Inutashio had any biological family to speak of, so the number of attendants could be counted on two hands.

It didn't matter that Kagome had seen her mother just this morning. She was still upset that the boys were getting so much attention. She was glad, however, that her mother had taken her out of school for the next few days. The teacher hadn't been very happy about it at first, but after hearing about the death of close friends the teacher had decided to excuse Kagome from all the work she missed. Souta didn't have to worry about missing any work due to the fact he was only in Daycare.

Jii-chan scowled at Kagome when he saw her sitting idle by the window. "Kagome, child! You are supposed to be readying the house for your new brothers!"

Kagome visibly winced and shook her head. "They're not my brothers!"

Jii-chan sighed and sat down beside the young girl. She had crossed her arms and turned her head towards the window. "Now where did this come from?" Jii-chan asked gently, realizing the sore subject.

"Inuyasha isn't my brother," she said again, very quietly. "Just because he's an orphan now and he's living in the same house don't make him my brother."

The old man sighed, for once feeling his age. "No, you're right. It doesn't make him your brother. Is that what you're really upset about? That everyone will say he is now your brother?"

Kagome shook her head and finally looked up at her grandfather. "No. I just . . . why did they have to die?"

Jii-chan was silent for a moment before offering another smile and wiping the lone tear that had snaked down Kagome's cheek. "Sometimes bad things happen in this world and we have no choice then to keep moving on. Now your Mama, she made a promise to your Aunt and Uncle. She promised to take care of their children if anything ever happened to them. Well, something happened and now your Mama is making good on her promise. She's going to take care of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru and we're going to help because that's what family is for."

Kagome nodded and leaned her forehead on the glass of the window. The area around the window was the coldest spot in the house due to the winter snow. Kagome shivered but didn't move away. She had to wait for her mother. She had made a promise too, she thought as she fingered the crane pendant on her charm bracelet. A promise she intended to keep.