InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Great Mom Detective ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

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Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters listed below. They all are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.  I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.  

I also do not own Scooby-Doo and am in no way affiliated with Hanna-Barbera Productions.


Chapter 5

Two days later, and Akina was no further along than she was earlier on her little mystery.  She did ask her father about the extra yen in the cookie jar, but he wasn’t even aware she kept extra cash for Kagome lying around the house.  The one other time she gathered her courage to call the phone number again, no one answered.

Today wasn’t the day to worry about things though.  Today was grocery day, and that was always a full day.  She walked to the store and grabbed the items she came for plus a few packages of Ramen.  She always liked to have some on hand so when Inuyasha came through the well he had his favorite food available.  

After she made her purchase and was on the way home, she stopped at the bottom of the shrine steps.  There was a missing pet flyer on a light pole near the stairs.  She always had a soft spot for animals so she looked at the flyer to see if she could help.

A moment later, her groceries dropped to the ground and she tore the flyer from the pole.  After holding the flyer in shaking hands for a minute, she hastily gathered her dropped bags and practically flew up the stairs to reach her phone.

*********

Earlier That Day

Inuyasha smirked as the last flyer finished printing.  So, it was a little degrading, but if he knew Kagome’s mother, she would be calling as soon as she saw it.  Feh, Kagome should know he wouldn’t agree to a humiliation bet he wasn’t going to win.  He kinda wished that he could have made her agree to do something when he won, but he could probably weasel her into something later.  He picked up a flyer to give it a final proofreading before leaving home and posting them near the Higurashi Shrine.

It read:  “Missing!  Have you seen my dog?  He has white hair and the cutest ears.  He usually wears a beaded collar.  He answers to the name ‘Inuyasha’ or ‘You Jerk’ and flinches at the word ‘osuwari.’  He loves Ramen and is irritable in the presence of strangers.  Last seen with me at a dry well.  Please call Kagome with information at (phone number) or (phone number).”

Satisfied with the results, he put the flyers in a folder to hide them from his mate.  It wouldn’t do to let her in on his little plan.   He shut down his computer then walked into the living room where his mate was currently home-schooling their youngest daughter.  This was the last year for home-schooling.  Next year they were going to start sending her to school since they believed she could convincingly conceal her hanyou strength.

“Morning, Mate.  Morning, Runt,” he grunted out.  Kagome gave him a brilliant smile that always melted his insides.  The purple crests adorning her cheeks caught the light and enhanced her natural beauty.

“Morning, Lover,” she purred.  Before he could say something back, his daughter’s dog ears flicked in irritation and she started making gagging sounds.

“Ack!  Come on you two, there is a young child present.  At least send me to my room first,” Manami complained.

“Oi, we’re just talking, Runt,” he replied while ruffling her white hair in the way that she hated.  She glared at him and he smirked.  “Get your charm, Mana.  You can come with me.”  Manami instantly brightened and ran to her room.

“Oh, and where are you going?” Kagome asked.

“We are going to set my little plan in action.  You got your cell phone ready?  Your mom is gonna call.”

Instantly, Kagome became nervous, “S-she is?  Are you sure?  What are you going to do?”

“Nuh-uh,” he said while shaking his finger.  “You were going to trust me, remember?”

Kagome smirked then, “I remember.  I also think I need to get out the Scooby Doo DVDs for future acting lessons.”

“Keh, if you want.  But there is no way I’m going to lose this and have to talk like that fucking cartoon dog.”

“Language!” she snapped.  She always had funny ideas about not cursing in front of the children.  He could understand when they were really young and repeated things without knowing, but Manami was old enough to know better.

“Feh!”

“Daddy, I‘m ready!” his human-appearing daughter called as she entered the room.  She had her long black hair tied back and was wearing loose clothes.  She was apparently anticipating his ‘secret hanyou lessons.’

Inuyasha smirked in approval, “Come on, pup,” he called as he headed for the door and grabbed his own image charm.  Once he put it on, his dog ears disappeared and human ears took their place, his shoulder-length white hair turned black, the purple markings on his cheeks disappeared, and he looked older than his normal youthful appearance.

“You two be careful,” he heard as they exited the penthouse suite.

“Keh,” he replied as he shut the door.  Once he was sure he was out of his mate’s hearing range he asked, “You ready, pup?”  Manami just nodded her head excitedly.

“Ok, nothing too strenuous today.  Just running, jumping and some stealth.  We’ll keep to the rooftops.  Humans never look up unless they hear a strange noise.  So no grunting, groaning, skidding, or falling.  Got it?  Oh, and lose the shoes, pup.  Remember, nothing compares to the grip of your own footpads, and they give you better control.  And what is Hanyou Rule Number One?”

“Always be in control,” his daughter repeated diligently as she was removing her flip-flops.  Looks like she had already planned on going barefoot.  Good girl.

When they got to the elevator, they went up to the roof instead of down to the lobby.  One of the nice things about owning the building was he could restrict the roof access to just his family.  He would never tell the bastard, but he was glad that Sesshomaru had talked him into buying the place.  He claimed the top three floors for his family and the rest were luxury apartments.  

As they walked out onto the roof, Inuyasha turned towards his daughter, “Keep up.  If I can make it, you can make it.  Hesitation can get you hurt.  Remember that.”  She gave a curt nod, and with that, he took off towards the Higurashi Shrine.

Inuyasha set a pace that was slightly faster than what his daughter could keep up with and made sure that all the leaps he made she would be able to make too.  Her legs were shorter than his after all and this was still training.  They just about flew across the Tokyo rooftops as they made their way towards the shrine.  Eventually, the rooftops got shorter and farther apart.  When the gaps got too large, Inuyasha landed in an alley and waited for Manami to catch up.  Fifteen seconds later she landed in a crouch right beside him.  Her face was red with exertion and she was trying to catch her breath but she kept up with the pace he set and never fell or faltered once.

He gave her a genuine smile and ruffed her hair, “Good job, Mana.  I think you’re doing better than Shuuinu did at your age.”

She looked at him and smiled (a pure Kagome smile) at the praise of being better than her older brother.  Although he was forty years her senior, he was the closest sibling she had in age to her.  Even if he didn’t participate in sibling rivalry, she was determined to out-do him at whatever she could.

Once she caught her breath and didn’t look quite so red in the face, Inuyasha led her out of the alley and along the sidewalk in the direction of the shrine.  They were walking together when Inuyasha caught a hauntingly familiar scent.  He zeroed in on it and almost stumbled then stopped when he realized who it was that was heading in their direction while on some errand.  It was Kagome’s mom.

“Oi, Mana,” he whispered where only his demonic daughter could hear, “That’s your grandmother heading our way.”

She perked up and began sniffing furiously in Mrs. Higurashi’s direction to catch her scent.  “Oi, downplay the scenting.  You’re pretending to be human, remember?” he quietly chastised his daughter.  She nodded and produced a tissue from her pocket and brought it near her face while still sniffing.  Clever girl!  Pretending to have allergies with a tissue as a prop!

Inuyasha watched Kagome’s mom walk towards them and all his memories of her from 500 years ago came rushing back.  He suddenly decided to stick with phase one of the plan, but phase two could use some revisions.

After Kagome’s mom passed them, he grabbed his daughter’s hand and gruffly said, “Come on,” as he started pulling her down the street.   When they got to the shrine steps, Inuyasha began putting up his flyers.  He angled most of them in the direction he knew Kagome’s mom would be returning from.  These were for her after all.  When he had pinned up all but one, he lead his daughter up the steps.  They may as well visit the shrine while they waited for Kagome’s mom to come home.  They looked human after all and he knew Kagome’s Ji-chan wasn’t spiritually powerful enough to see through the illusion charms.

While on the grounds, he showed his daughter the well-house and the Goshinboku.  He even pointed out the bare piece of bark where he had been sealed to that particular tree.  They sat down on a hidden bench and talked.

“I can smell you and Mama,” Manami broke into one of Inuyasha’s stories.  “It smells like she’s breeding.”

Inuyasha smiled, “Yeah, 500 years ago when we left here a few days ago, your Mama was pupped with her first litter.”

“Really?  So she was pupped with Inutaro, Inutomoki and Inutama?”

“Yup.  Although at the time we just thought she carried one pup.  It wasn’t until I could hear the heartbeats a month or so later that we knew she was carrying three.”  He snickered then, “Boy, did that get her panties in a twist!  It’s too bad we had just defeated Naraku the week or two before that.  Just one of your mother’s death glares could have done him in, tainted sacred jewel or not.”

Both or their heads perked up and cocked slightly as they heard someone running up the shrine stairs.  A moment later they saw Mrs. Higurashi running to the house while juggling some grocery bags.

“Oi, let’s go.  You remember your lines?  We’ll wait until she hangs up, ok?”  His daughter gave him a curt nod and then one of his signature smirks.  He couldn’t help but smirk back.

**********

Kagome hummed happily since she had the house to herself.  Inuyasha had taken Manami out for training and mischief and Shuuinu was at work at the local WacDonald’s.  She often wondered if he ever served her younger self, but he wouldn’t tell her one way or the other.  He just claimed that all the customers blended together unless they made a pain of themselves.  He was going to spend another year working there and then Kagome thought he may be ready for college after that.  One of the bad things about raising hanyou children was that they take forever to mature.  

Inuyasha and she had to get creative with their youngest children’s schooling.  After Shuu graduated high school they decided to make him take a series of ‘just after high school’ jobs.  That series of dead-end jobs has lasted about 30 years now.  He was just now beginning to act equivalent to a human sixteen year old.  While still a little young, she didn’t think college would overwhelm him now.  She would talk to Inuyasha about it later.

Kagome settled on the couch to watch a girly movie in peace when her cell phone rang.  ‘Inuyasha’s plans never work out this well.  I bet it’s him calling.’ She thought as she reached for her phone.  When she saw the incoming phone number, it was familiar, but wasn’t programmed on her phone.  

She answered, “Moshi, moshi.”

“Kagome?” asked a familiar female voice on the other side of the line.

“M-Mama?” she squeaked out as her mind went blank.

“I thought it was you, sweetie.  Now I have a few questions for you.  Didn’t I just see you go through the well a few days ago?”

“Mama?” Kagome repeated, still not believing her ears.

“I see… shock, huh?” muttered the voice in the earpiece.  “Ok, well how’s this?”  The voice suddenly became a lot sterner, “Young lady, you come home right this instant.”

That command kicked in Kagome’s finely-honed defense mechanism of arguing back, “Now wait just a minute,” she exclaimed before she caught herself.  “Oh, uh…sorry Mama.”

Her mother chuckled and replied, “It’s ok dear, I was trying to snap you out of it.  But do be a dear and answer this.  Are you my 16 year old daughter, or my 516 year old daughter?”

“Figured it out, huh?”

“I figured it out a couple days ago and even called I. & K. Taisho thinking that was you.  Is it?  A girl answered and then hung up when I gave my name.”

“Um, yeah, that’s us.  How did you figure that one out?”  Kagome asked, confused.  She didn’t think any of the clues they left could link them to their real names.

“Come on over and I’ll reveal my secrets.  We should have time, I don’t expect my 16 year old daughter back from the well for about a week at least.”

“Umm, “ Kagome replied a little guiltily, “ok and I guess we can reveal some of our secrets too.  I’ll call Inuyasha and meet you at the shrine.  It’ll be wonderful to see you again, Mama!”

“I’m sure it will be dear.  See you in a little while.”

Kagome hung up and stared at the phone.  He did it.  Whatever little scheme her mate had come up with had worked with amazing success.  But then, apparently, she had already figured it out from the clues they both left and had already called here.  Mana must have answered and panicked.  

Kagome dialed Inuyasha’s cell phone and he answered on the first ring.

“Hey Bitch,” he answered.  “Told ya,” he continued.

“Hey wait!  How did you know what I was gonna say?”

“Keh.  We’re at the shrine.  You coming?”

She growled at him (after 500 years, she had picked up a few canine habits) then spat out, “You jerk.”

“And I’m all yours,” he replied with that smug voice of his.  “We’ll be here,” then he hung up on her.

Kagome growled at the phone again.  On the way out the door, she  grabbed her keys and her image charm that made her appear older and hid her mating and bonding marks.

**********

Inuyasha smirked as he put up his cell phone.  His daughter was just shaking her head, “Daddy, why do you have to make Mom made like that.”

“Feh, she likes it,” he shrugged.  He didn’t mention that he also thought his mate was gorgeous when she was steaming mad.  That was a secret he had kept for 500 years, and he wasn’t about to let it slip now.

“Keh, here’s the flyer.  Go knock on the door.”  Manami nodded and took the missing pet flyer from him and headed to the front door with Inuyasha following close behind.

*********

Akina was straightening up the house knowing that her daughter was coming over soon.  Before she even really got started there was a knock on the front door.  It hadn’t been near enough time for Kagome to make it over yet.  Assuming she was at home when Akina talked to her earlier…

She opened the door and saw a young girl of about seven or eight standing there with a man behind her, probably her father.  Oddly, they were both barefooted.  Since the girl knocked, Akina gave the girl her attention.

“Yes, dear?” she asked.

The girl smiled brilliantly, then seemed to school her face into a slightly worried expression.  “Hi,” she started and handed Akina the flyer, “I’m trying to help my mom find her missing dog,” the girls lips twitched on the last word like she was trying to keep from laughing.  “Can you help me?” she finished.

Akina looked down at the paper the girl handed her and saw that it was the exact same one that had her rushing up the stairs to call her daughter.  Her eyes widened as she looked at the paper, then raised them to look at the girl standing in front of her.

“Your mom…” she trailed off as she really looked at the man standing behind the little girl.  He looked older, and human, but still very familiar, “Inuyasha?”

“Keh,” the man agreed with a nod.

Akina gasped.  Then said, “Come in, come in!  I just spoke with Kagome and she’s on the way also.  Are you two married now?  And kids, do I have grandchildren?  Is she one?  Hello, sweetie!  What’s your name?  How are you here after all this time?  And where are your adorable ears?  Do you have your dad’s ears sweetheart?  Would you like some tea?  Or Ramen?  How about you, sweetie?  You want some Ramen?  Or I think I have some pocky stashed away.”  Akina’s attention had flicked between the two and she finally ran out of breath.  ‘At least my children came by their excitable natures honestly,’ Akina thought as if she was an outside observer.  

Before she could start on a second round of questions, the man claiming to be Inuyasha raised his hands and chuckled, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Slow down or you’ll hyperventilate before Kagome even gets here.”

She smiled at the two, “Of course.  But still come on in.”  She moved out of the doorway and allowed them to enter.  To her surprise, when Inuyasha got even with her, he gave her a hug.  In reflex, her arms came around him too.

She heard him take a deep breath through his nose then say, “You have no idea how much we’ve missed you,” as he gave her a little squeeze.  And that simple statement from the gruff young man in her arms just about brought a tear to her eye.  

He pulled away and gave her a smile she had never seen on his face before, “Now some answers,” he said with a playful glint in his eye she had also never seen, “Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  Her name is Manami.  I didn’t die.  Hidden.  Yes.  Tea and Ramen sound fine.  She does, and she can have pocky later if she wants.”

Akina laughed.  “Well, I guess it’s my own fault I didn’t understand the answers huh?  Let’s go in the kitchen and have some Ramen.  What flavor do you like best, Manami?” she asked.  At least she picked up those couple of points.

The little girl replied softly with a light blush, “I like all of them, Ba-chan.”

Remembering who her father was, Akina replied, “Of course you do, dear.”  All the while thinking, ‘She called me Ba-chan.  I’m a grandmother!’

She sat the two down in her kitchen and put three kettles of water on to boil.  As the water was heating up, she turned to the two and said, “Ok, no hiding demonic characteristics in the house.  Whatever you’re doing stop it and let me see those ears.”

Manami looked nervous, but Inuyasha just shrugged and with a “Keh,” he removed a necklace from around his neck.  Her granddaughter followed Inuyasha’s example and removed a similar necklace.  Once the necklaces were removed, both of Akina’s dark-haired guests were suddenly sitting there with white hair, dog ears, fangs and claws.  Inuyasha looked years younger and had the purple marks on his cheeks that she had gotten used to seeing.

“That’s better,” she told them, “Inuyasha, you haven’t aged a bit… And aren’t you the most gorgeous thing!” she cooed over her granddaughter.  Manami got a sour look on her face that would surely do Inuyasha proud.  Apparently her granddaughter wasn’t a girly-girl.  She suddenly wondered if any of Inuyasha’s children were girly-girls and the thought of him trying to raise them made her smile.  She fixed them their Ramen then got down to the question and answer session.

“So, Inuyasha…  How many grandchildren do I have?  And when can I meet them?”

“Uh, twenty-six.  Right, Mana?”

“No, Dad,” she said in an exasperated tone, “I’m number twenty-seven.”

“Oh, right.  Twenty-seven,” he agreed.  “And, um, we were thinking of getting everyone together in a month or two so you can meet them.”

“Twenty-seven!”  Akina exclaimed.

“Keh, it was over a 500 year period,” he pointed out.

Akina smiled, “Yes, that will take some time to get used to the idea.”  She shook her head and laughed, “I must be the only person in the world with a daughter older than me.”  

The water was ready then and she made them both a cup of tea and a bowl of Ramen.  She served Inuyasha and then Manami.  After Akina put down their snack, her hand sort of hovered over her granddaughter’s head and her super-cute ears.  Remembering how Inuyasha was about his ears made her slightly hesitant to touch his daughter’s though.  

She looked up and caught Inuyasha watching her.  This time, she was the one to blush as she got caught.  He smirked at her, then gave her a shallow nod and a wink.  Grinning, Akina lowered her hand and rubber her granddaughter’s ears.  Manami jumped a little when Akina first touched her ears, but then went back to eating her Ramen without saying anything.  Her head slowly tilted to better meet Akina’s hand.   Soon, Akina heard a low-pitched growling sound.  It sounded like a puppy’s playful growl more than a threatening sound.  She looked at Inuyasha and saw him with a slight smirk on his face.  She smiled back and decided to leave her granddaughter’s ears alone for a while.  There were still questions to ask after all.

She took a seat in an empty chair and took a sip of her tea.  “So, Inuyasha,” she began, “I guess you can’t really tell me about what’s happening to you two on the other side of the well right now since it may affect my future, but can I get some highlights?  Did you choose to stay on the other side, or did the well close?  I know Kagome is always worried about getting trapped on one side or the other.”

Inuyasha put down his chopsticks and answered, “Well, I think we’ll tell you more details when Kagome gets here, but the well did close on us.  Kagome took it pretty hard because at the time we didn’t know if she would live this long to see you again, and there were a couple things she was going to tell you ‘later.’  Then ‘later’ wasn’t possible anymore…” Inuyasha trailed off into thought.   “We should wait for Kagome before we get into any more of that though.”

Akina nodded.  “OK, next question.  Is this really you two?” she asked as she slid her open yearbook towards him.  He looked down at the picture and laughed.

“Yeah, that’s us.  It was about time we went to school again and Kagome wanted to keep an eye on ya.  Of course, you gave her the idea way back when you showed her this picture in the first place.  She even joined the yearbook staff to make sure that picture made it into the book.  I keep telling her that things will work out the way they’re supposed to, but she thinks she needs to keep her hands in everything.”

Manami looked up, “That’s not what you said a few months ago when you and Mom came to make sure you two were Mated.”

Before Akina could even register what Manami said, Inuyasha gave a frightening growl.  That was followed immediately by Manami letting out a puppyish yip and then a whine all while looking down and away from her father.  Inuyasha then gave a “Feh!” and looked away momentarily.  Akina just blinked.  If she hadn’t been watching, she would have missed the entire thing.

He looked back at Akina and flushed slightly, “Keh, sorry about that.  Pup don’t know when to keep her trap shut.”  He turned his attention back to his daughter, “Mana, your Ba-chan don’t need to know when me and your mom rut.”

Manami nodded and softly said, “Yes sir.  Sorry Daddy.”

Akina couldn’t help but to help her granddaughter out and tease her son-in-law at the same time, “Well, I’m sure you two must have rutted at least 27 times, huh, Inuyasha?  And if Kagome takes after me at all, that would have been during the first month.”

“K..keh!” Inuyasha stuttered out with a bright blush on his cheeks.  Akina smiled.  She would have to come up with a ‘Get Inuyasha to Blush’ game.  It was just too much fun!  Maybe she could incorporate score cards somehow…

Before Akina could ask another question (or see if Inuyasha could turn a darker shade of red), the doorbell rang.  She jumped up and ran to the door expecting it to be her older daughter.  Sure enough, when Akina opened the door her daughter was standing there looking slightly nervous.  She looked the same as when she jumped down the well a few days ago except for some purple stripes on her cheeks that matched the ones on Inuyasha.  After a good ten seconds of staring, Akina found herself with an armful of crying daughter with the word, “Mama,” being repeated over and over again.

Several minutes later found the four of them around the kitchen table once again.  Kagome had finally let go of Akina, but was still smiling keeping her in her sight.

Akina smiled and looked at her expanded family, “Alright you two.  Care to tell me why you waited to get in touch with me until now?  Surely you could have contacted me whenever you’re on the other side of the well before now.”

Kagome shifted slightly and Inuyasha looked away.  Kagome spoke up, “Well, Mama, we decided to wait until the well closed before we contacted you.  That way there is less chance of messing up the time-line.”

Akina nodded, “But I figured it out early and you’re here now, right?”

Tears suddenly sprang to Kagome’s eyes, “No, Mama.  Th…the well is closed.  We’ll never travel through it again.  When you sent us off a few days ago was our last trip.”  Kagome broke down into tears again and Inuyasha put his arm around her and pulled her into his shoulder.

Akina just stared at them.  She would never see her young daughter and her insecure boyfriend emerge from the well again.  At least she had her older daughter and her husband here with her and they didn’t let her sit here for months without knowing what had happened.  But Kagome was pregnant when she last went through the well.  Wouldn’t she need her mother for her first pregnancy?  Apparently not…

“Mama?” Kagome continued after she had calmed down and dried her eyes.

“Yes dear?”

“There were a couple things I was going to tell you back then, but the well sealed and I never got a chance.   First, Inuyasha and I had Mated.  That’s kind of like a youkai marriage ceremony.  I was young and didn’t think you would approve of me being so young and married already.  And I was also pregnant.  I was going to tell you the next time I came back because it was getting harder to hide, but I never did make it back.”

“Oh, well I knew that,” Akina replied without thinking.

“You…you knew?!  How?”  Kagome asked while looking shocked.

“Hmm?  Oh, well I knew about the pregnant part, not about the youkai marriage.  Inuyasha, you didn’t tell her that I knew?”

Akina saw Kagome shoot Inuyasha a glare and he just snorted, “Feh!  Don’t give me that, wench!  You were the one that wanted to hide it from her and was upset about the whole thing.  Then after the well closed, any mention of your family drove you to hysterics.  By the time you calmed down about the whole thing, it was a moot point.”

Kagome stood up abruptly, “I’ve been carrying around that guilt for 500 years, Inuyasha!  And she already knew part of it!”

Inuyasha also stood up to look Kagome in the eye, “That’s what you get for bottling stuff up inside.  That’s what you’re always telling me, ain’t it?  How was I supposed to know that was eating at cha if you don’t bring it up!?  You should know I’m not a fucking mind reader!”

 Akina decided to break in before things got even more heated.  In a very dry tone of voice she said, “My, you would think that after 500 years and 27 children that you two would have grown up some…”

Just as she suspected it would the couple in front of her became quiet, blushed and looked away.  

She noticed that Kagome smiled then and brought a hand to her abdomen, “Well,” Kagome said softly, “twenty-seven and counting…”  

Akina just blinked as what her daughter said sunk in.  Inuyasha threw his arms around Kagome and gave her a passionate kiss and she wrapped her arms about him too.  Manami just sighed with a disgusted look on her face and looked away.

Akina took a drink of her tea and smiled broadly at her daughter.  Things were never quiet around the Higurashi family and with Inuyasha and 500 years of mischief thrown in the mix, things would never be quiet at the family shrine.  And Akina had a whole lot of grandmothering to catch up on!