InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tomaru's Story ❯ Epilogue ( Chapter 27 )

Epilogue- Dedicated to all my readers

 

A tall, slender, lovely girl, on the brink of womanhood, stood silently outside the closed chamber door. Her long black hair brushed the small of her back and her chocolate eyes stared at the wooden barrier with only a slight flicker of worry and concern. She kept her small, dainty hands folded in front of her, the long sleeves of her sunshine yellow kimono almost covering them completely.

 

A crash and a squeal caused the girl to shift her gaze from the door to a silver-haired boy racing down the hall, his golden eyes wide and his white dog ears nearly flat against his skull. His green and white silk robes were all askew and there were… ribbons in his hair?

 

“Rin!” the 9-year-old whispered frantically as he skidded to a halt in front of the older girl. “Help me, onegai!”

 

Rin narrowed her eyes slightly. “Again?”

 

The boy sighed, lowering his head in shame, his ears drooping pitifully. “Hai. Again.”

 

The three youngest children of the Inu no Taishou, Sesshoumaru, and his ningen miko mate, Kagome, Tamiko, Kioko, and Aiko, were a terror to their older brother, Tomaru, who tried in vain to escape their girly clutches daily.

 

Granted, they were littler than him, but they loved to “prettify” the heir to the Western Lands as often as they could.

 

And being the good big brother that he was, he would almost always let them.

 

However on some occasions, such as today, when the Lord of the Southern Lands and his immediate family were coming over to discuss treaties and politics, he obviously didn't want to disgrace his father by showing up looking like he'd fallen in the Cursed Spring of Drowned Girl in Jusenkyo, China. That was some other guy's problem.

 

Three giggling voices could be heard coming down the hall. “Tooooooomaruuuuuu!”

 

Golden eyes pleaded with her. “Onegai, Rin-ane-ue?” he begged, using the endearment he knew would work.

 

Rin stifled a sigh. “Tomaru, do you know where Mama and Father are?”

 

He blinked in confusion as the giggling got closer. “No… why? Should I? They should be getting ready for the Ookami no Taishou and his family to arrive…”

 

The older girl's chocolate eyes glanced at the wooden door across the hall from where they stood. “Apparently someone couldn't wait to arrive.”

 

Tomaru's gaze followed his older sister's and stared at the closed door. His keen hanyou hearing could pick up the sounds of his mother inside. “Oh, Kami… now?”

 

“Hai.”

 

Three delighted squeals caused the hanyou to wince, flattening his ears again. “Big brooooother! We found youuuu!”

 

Three hanyou girls glomped the poor boy, giggling like crazy. Tamiko, the oldest at 8, bore delicate pale pink crests on her cheeks, one on each side rather than the two her father had. Her long silver hair was pulled back in a braid.

 

Kioko, 6, giggled wildly, showing off her little fangs. She, too, bore the typical white dog ears, but the tips were black- almost like a fox's. Her cheeks displayed thin, jagged yellow crests.

 

Finally, Aiko, the youngest at 5, squeezed her brother's arm as tightly as she could, her long black hair tied back in a cute white bow. Two black dog ears twitched in delight as she smiling lovingly up at her beloved brother. Two white crests mimicked Sesshoumaru's on each cheek.

 

“Ack! Geoffme!” he yowled from underneath the pile of sisters.

 

Everyone froze as the great wooden door opened and their father, Sesshoumaru, stepped out silently, his tolerant gaze sweeping over his children.

 

Finally, his golden eyes landed on Rin, locking with her chocolate ones. “Where is Shippou?” he asked as if it really didn't matter.

 

“In the dining room, discussing the atmosphere with Jaken,” she replied in a similar manner. Living with Sesshoumaru for all these years had really changed her demeanor from spunky, naïve child to responsible, collected adolescent.

 

Of course, having four younger siblings helped quite a bit as well.

 

A slight smile tugged at his lips as his youngest daughters crowded around him, hugging him wherever there was room. “Daddeeeeeeeee!” they squealed in delight.

 

“Girls,” he murmured, causing them to snap into a line, all innocence and discipline, looking up at him with three pairs of identical gold eyes.

 

“Hai, Daddy,” they chorused.

 

Shippou rounded the corner, looking rather perturbed. “I swear, I'm going to kitsune-bi that toad and serve his back legs for dinner,” he growled.

 

Shippou, now in his mid-teens, was turning into a very good-looking kitsune indeed. His long golden hair was pulled back in a high ponytail like it had been when he was younger, but he had foregone the turquoise bow, opting instead for a turquoise band to secure it.

 

Large forest-green eyes looked out from a handsome face, framed by pointed ears. His body had lengthened a great deal, turning muscular from training with Sesshoumaru and Tomaru. He was lean and athletic, and his kitsune powers had increased immensely.

 

He was dressed quite nicely in a turquoise haori and tan hakama, his long golden tail trailing behind him like a banner. Girls, ningen and youkai alike, adored him and not-so-secretly pined for him.

 

The kitsune stopped when he saw the group in front of his adoptive parents' door. “What did I miss?”

 

Sesshoumaru turned his golden gaze upon his eldest son. “Only the arrival of someone we've been waiting quite some time to meet.”

 

Everyone held their breath in suspense.

 

The tai-youkai turned and opened the door once more, gesturing to the group to enter.

 

Single-file, from oldest to youngest, they entered their parents' bedchamber to see their mother, Kagome, propped up on some pillows and holding a tiny bundle in her arms. She smiled tiredly at her children.

 

“Come in, kids, and meet your new brother.”

 

Tomaru gave an un-tai-youkai-like cheer, jumping in the air for joy. Sesshoumaru shot his son a glance and the boy grinned sheepishly, but settled down. “Gomen, Father,” he mumbled, scratching a fuzzy white ear with his claw.

 

“Why are you apologizing, pup?” he asked. “It gives me great pride that you are pleased about your brother's arrival.”

 

“'S'not that,” Tomaru explained, then winced at his father's sharp look. “I mean, it isn't that- I'm just happy that he's not another sister…”

 

Shippou suppressed a snort. Rin rolled her eyes. Three golden-eyed little girls glared up at their brother. Kagome shook her head, smiling.

 

Sesshoumaru, Inu no Taishou of the Western Lands, threw his head back and laughed, an extremely rare sound coming from the usually stern and cool-featured tai-youkai.

 

Sometimes the boy acted so much like Inuyasha it scared him. Was his brother's soul shining through Tomaru that much, or was the hanyou simply destined to be a troublemaker regardless?

 

Inuyasha himself only knew.