Inuyasha stood under the sacred tree looking at the elaborate tombstone of his mate. Tears came to his eyes. He wiped them away and sighed.

‘Kagome, I’m so sorry. I failed you. What am I suppose to do now that you’re gone?’ he thought.

Their youngest pup, Ani, took his hand and looked at her mother’s grave. She was only three. She’d be four in a few weeks. She looked up at her father and asked, "Daddy, why is mommy in the ground?"

Inuyasha nearly lost it. He bowed his head and took slow deep breaths to keep himself from crying out in despair.

Kimari, their eldest, had his arms crossed. He yelled out, "Because she’s dead, stupid!"

"Kimari…" Inuyasha growled.

"Well she is! She’s dead, dead, dead! She just up and left us! She didn’t love us!"

Inuyasha looked over at him. "That’s not true. She loved us very much."

"Yeah, right. That’s why she left!"

"She was only human, Kimari."

"I don’t care if she was a slug!"

Nemi was in tears by now. "Please! Just stop!" she begged her brother.

"And why did you have to bury her here of all places?!" Kimari continued his rant.

"This is where she wanted to be buried," Inuyasha told him.

"So what?! What about what we want?! She didn’t care about that when she died now did she?!"

Inuyasha bowed his head again. "I’m sorry Kimari. It’s my fault she died. I couldn’t protect her."

"No! It’s her own fault she died! She didn’t die from a youkai attack! She just gave up on us and died of sickness! She gave up! She didn’t care!"

Ani sucked on her thumb as Nemi continued to cry. Inuyasha looked down at his youngest pup. He had to wonder if she’d remember Kagome at all.

Hoping to lend himself some comfort he picked her up. He held her in his arms as he stared at the grave. She’d only been gone a few days now. The dirt covering her grave was still fresh. No grass had grown on it yet.

Inuyasha thought he knew part of the reason why Kagome wanted to be buried here. Besides the fact that this was a special place to them it was also on the shrine grounds. Five hundred years from now this elaborate grave would still be here. Kagome’s family would know of her death and have a place to mourn her. It seems Kagome had thought ahead.

"Daddy, when is mommy coming out of the ground?" Ani asked.

"She’s not coming out of the ground, Ani," Inuyasha whispered.

"Why not? She must be cold."

That did it. Inuyasha covered his eyes and began to sob. Ani looked at her father surprised. She patted the top of his head and said, "Don’t cry daddy. Mommy doesn’t want to see you sad. When she comes home she’ll want to see you smile."

"She’s not coming home! Get it through your thick skull!" Kimari yelled.

Inuyasha heard a slap. It surprised him so much he stopped crying immediately. He looked over at his son and saw a red handprint on his cheek. Nemi had murder in her eyes as she flexed her claws.

"She doesn’t understand, Kimari! She’s only three!" Nemi told her brother.

"Nuh-uh! I’m going to be four!" Ani said proudly holding out four fingers.

"Nemi, don’t hit your brother," Inuyasha scolded. However, his voice lacked the conviction of his words. He just didn’t have the strength to properly reprimand her.

Kimari crossed his arms and huffed. "I’m going home."

He headed back towards the village. Inuyasha put Ani down. The little girl took her older sisters hand and said, "Let’s play, Nemi!"

"I don’t really feel like playing," Nemi told her.

Ani started to try to drag her. "Come on! Let’s play!"

"Go ahead, Nemi. Go to the lake and keep your sister busy," Inuyasha said staring at the grave.

Nemi sighed and started to walk towards the lake with her sister. Inuyasha stayed at the gravesite. He walked over to the headstone and put his hand on it. It was almost as tall as he was and looked similar to Kikyo’s grave. Kagome had been the village miko since Kaede’s death. As such she was entitled to such a grave.

"Kagome…" he choked out. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry." He started to cry again.

He didn’t know how long he stayed there. Eventually he felt a firm hand clasp his shoulder. Inuyasha looked up to see Miroku next to him.

"We all miss her, Inuyasha," Miroku said.

"It’s only been a few days and already it’s like living in a nightmare. I can’t live without her Miroku. I can’t do this without her."

"You don’t have much of a choice, my friend."

Inuyasha looked back at the grave. He looked down at the flowers surrounding it. He always made sure to bring her fresh flowers every day.

"You need to talk to Kimari. He’s not taking this well," Miroku told him.

"I know," Inuyasha whispered. He sniffled and wiped his eyes. "I’ll go talk to him now."

Miroku nodded as Inuyasha gave the tall tombstone a kiss. He put his hand on it and said a silent prayer. He never prayed before Kagome got sick. He never even prayed for his mother.

Inuyasha stepped away and headed towards the village following Kimari’s scent. Miroku stayed behind at the grave to say his own prayers.

He followed his sons scent home. He pulled the reed mat aside and walked into the hut. He headed for the boys room. He found Kimari sitting on his bed with his arms crossed staring out the window.

Inuyasha sat down on the bed. He remembered that when Kagome was pupped with Kimari the futons in this time period didn’t support her back. She had never once complained that she was uncomfortable, but he knew that she was. So he’d surprised her and made a bed for her. He made the mattress out of feathers covered with cloth sewed together to hold the bedding. He even made pillows for her the same way. Kagome had been so surprised. He couldn’t deny his pups the same comfort. All three of them had beds.

Kimari didn’t acknowledge his presence. Inuyasha sighed and said, "Kimari, I know that you miss mommy-"

"No, I don’t. I hate her," Kimari said cutting his father off.

Inuyasha’s eyes went wide. "You don’t mean that."

"Yes I do."

Inuyasha shifted a little. "Why do you hate mommy?"

"You know why."

"No, I don’t."

"Because she left me. She didn’t love me enough to stay."

"She couldn’t stay. She tried. She was sick."

"It was her own fault! If she hadn’t taken care of that sick villager she wouldn’t have gotten sick!"

A villager had come down with the wasting sickness and being the village miko it was part of Kagome’s duties to act as a healer. She had treated the man who later died. That was how she had gotten sick in the first place. She had caught the illness from him.

"It was her duty to care for that villager," Inuyasha told him.

"What about her duty to us?! Weren’t we important to her?!"

"Of course we were. Your mother tried to get well. She just couldn’t."

"Why?!"

Inuyasha bowed his head and shook it. "I don’t know why. Sometimes humans just can’t fight illness like we can."

"How come Aunt Sango didn’t get sick?! Why couldn’t it have been her?!"

"Don’t say things like that."

Kimari bowed his head and whispered. "Why couldn’t it have been me?"

Inuyasha’s head snapped up. He looked at the boy shocked. "Don’t you ever say that again! Your mother and I would have died from grief if it had been you!"

"No, you wouldn’t. You know as well as I do that you wouldn’t. You’d still have Ani and Nemi to care for."

"And I still have you to care for."

"No one has to care for me. I’ll take care of myself from now on."

"What do you mean?"

"Mom took care of us. Now that she’s gone I have no one. I’ll just make it on my own."

"What am I? Chopped liver? Have I not cared for you and protected you your whole life?"

"Yeah, but it’s not the same. Mom told us stories and everything."

"So? I can do those things."

"It’s still not the same! Besides I don’t want you too!"

"What do you want then?"

Kimari crossed his arms and looked away with an attitude. "Nothing."

Inuyasha had a feeling he knew what Kimari wanted. He wanted the same thing Inuyasha did. He wanted Kagome back.

One thing Inuyasha had never told any of the pups was about his mother. He just didn’t see the point in telling them about her or his past. A past he’d rather forget. Sure they knew everything about Naraku and their travels, but that was it. He wouldn’t have even told them anything about his father, but Myoga had.

"You know, I lost my human mother when I was your age too."

Kimari looked over at him surprised. "You did?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"What happened?"

"Some villagers killed her. I tried to protect her, but I would have had to kill them. I wanted to, but my mother begged me not to. She said it would only prove to them that hanyou couldn’t be trusted."

"Why didn’t they kill you too?"

"They tried. They wanted to desecrate my mother’s body and told me to leave the village if I wanted to live. I refused to leave without her. I was beaten for days. They refused to give me food and water. Regardless of what they did to me I wouldn’t let go of my mother’s body. Eventually I passed out from dehydration after ten days. They thought I was dead but when they tried to approach us they couldn’t. They said a ghost stopped them," Inuyasha explained. His head was bowed and his voice and eyes were soft. He was lost in his memory.

"A ghost?"

"They said it was a large dog. My father." He looked over at his son. "That’s why you have to realize she’s still around and protecting you. Even if you can’t see her. Spirits are funny creatures. She’s probably right here right now listening to us talk."

"I hate her! I hate her for leaving us! I’ll hate her forever!"

"She doesn’t deserve your hatred. She loves you. Right now you’re breaking her heart."

"Her heart isn’t beating, dad. She’s dead. Get use to it."

"You’ll never forget mommy, but you will someday be able to think of her without getting so upset or crying."

"I wouldn’t waste my tears on her."

"You cried the day she died."

"No I didn’t," Kimari said in denial.

"It’s okay to cry, you know."

"Why would I cry over someone I hate?"

"Didn’t you love her while she was alive?"

"Yeah… So?"

"So, I think you still love her. You’re just angry at her for abandoning you. The only problem is she didn’t abandon you. She never could. She left you unwillingly."

"Why can’t Uncle Sesshomaru bring her back?"

"Him?! Ha! He never would!"

"Why not ask him?"

"I did. When she first got sick. I asked him to bring her back if she died. He laughed and said unless I could kill him and wield the Tensaiga myself that it would never happen."

"So kill him!"

"Your mother and I talked about this. She asked me not to. She doesn’t want me to kill Sesshomaru."

"Why not?"

"Because she knows I can’t do it. His sheath protects him from my Wind Scar, Backlash Wave and other attacks. It’s impossible."

"That never stopped you before! Besides, your sheath protects you from his attacks too!"

"But not his poison. And before I didn’t have pups to worry about. Your mother is gone. She’s not coming back. What if I go against Sesshomaru and get killed? What would happen to you Nemi and Ani? I can’t take that chance. Even if I did succeed the sword might not accept me as its master."

"You just don’t love her enough! You want her dead!"

"That is crazy! I love your mother with all my heart! Dead or alive!"

"You can always find another mate, but I’ll never find another mother!"

"I don’t want another mate."

"You say that now, but just you wait."

"Kimari, why are you doing this? Why are you being so difficult? We all have to stick together now more than ever."

Kimari’s black ears flattened sadly. He didn’t want to make things more difficult on everyone.

"You know she loved you. Her last thoughts were of you," Inuyasha told him.

The boy looked up surprised. "M… Me?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"Why me?"

"Because she loved you. We talked about when we found out she was pupped with you and when you were born." Inuyasha let that sink in before he said, "Look, I know you care. I know you’re hurting and being angry is your way of coping. It’s just that your anger is misplaced."

"You’d rather I be angry at you?"

"I’m angry at myself. I can handle your anger. But what I’d really rather you be angry at is the illness that took your mother. Don’t be mad at others, especially not at your mother."

Kimari bowed his head as his hands clenched into fists. Inuyasha sighed and drew him into a hug. That simple action seem to break something inside Kimari because he started sobbing.

Inuyasha rubbed his back. "It’s okay. It’s okay to cry. Just let it all out," he said soothingly.

"It’s not fair!"

"I know."

Inuyasha held onto him as he continued to cry. He closed his eyes and rocked him. He felt two arms wrap around the both of them. Kimari was crying too hard to detect it, but Inuyasha noticed it right away.

He’d felt these arms before. Right after Kagome died. There had been other times too. At night when he cried himself to sleep he’d feel these arms around him trying to sooth him. He wanted to believe it was Kagome and not his imagination from grief. He really did. He just couldn’t bring himself to believe it. Maybe the reason was because if he did the reality of her death would hit him even harder. As it was he woke up every morning expecting to see her. She was never there. Her smile was gone. Her scent was disappearing from the hut. Her presence was gone. The only thing that kept him sane and going were the pups. He had to be there for them no matter what.

He opened his eyes. He could still feel the arms, but he saw nothing. No spirit was to be seen. Kimari hadn’t given any indication that he felt anything either so it must be in his head.

Inuyasha held his eldest pup as he continued to cry. He still had to talk to Ani and maybe even Nemi. Nemi seemed to be dealing quite well actually. Since Kagome’s death she’d been taking up all her mother’s household responsibilities. Though that was typical in this day and age Inuyasha didn’t want that for her. He could take care of them just fine. He didn’t want her cooking and cleaning. He could do it. He wasn’t going to let her waste her childhood just to help him raise Ani.

He sighed. He decided to hold Kimari until he stopped crying. Even if it took all day.

~~~~0000~~~~

Inuyasha handed the three pups their dinner of river fish and rice. Kimari had been incredibly quiet since his crying fit. Nemi was playing with her food. Ani was eating hers rather happily. She had a doll next to her and was pretending to feed it food every now and then.

As for Inuyasha he stared at his food quietly. Kimari was eating his food with great reluctance.

"Daddy, aren’t you hungry?" Nemi asked.

"Eat your food, Nemi. Stop playing with it," Inuyasha answered ignoring her question.

"Dad, you have to eat."

Inuyasha looked at Nemi. She got up and got a bowl of rice. She put it in front of him. "I’ll do the dishes."

Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and stopped her. He looked her in the eye. "Nemi, it’s not your responsibility to take care of me or your siblings."

"Yes it is. I’m the woman of the house now."

"You’re not a woman. You’re only six. Now sit down and eat your food."

"But dad-"

Inuyasha growled cutting her off. Her ears drooped as she sat down. She began to play with her food again.

He looked around at the three pups again before starting to eat himself. Kimari surprised him when he asked, "Dad, are you going to take another mate?"

Inuyasha nearly fell out of his chair. Kagome had only been buried a few days and already Kimari was wondering if he was going to take another mate?!

"Daddy has a mate," Ani said.

"No he doesn’t, Ani," Kimari told her.

"Yes he does. He has mommy!"

Inuyasha bowed his head. He had to find a way to explain to Ani that Kagome wasn’t coming back. Hearing her constantly talk about Kagome returning was ripping his heart out.

Kimari’s jaw clenched with emotion. He got up and ran to his room.

Ani finished her food as she watched her brother run into his room. "Can I go play, daddy?" she asked.

"Sure."

Ani smiled and picked up her doll. She skipped happily into the room she and Nemi shared.

Inuyasha force-fed himself. Every bite was painful to take. Swallowing was even harder. Every time he thought of Kagome and her last moments he had to fight back tears. His hands clenched in and out of fists as he thought about their last kiss. He finally put his elbow on the table, yet another comfort from Kagome’s time that he built, and covered his eyes with his hand. He took slow deep breaths trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

"Daddy, are you all right?" Nemi asked.

"Yeah," he said his voice cracking with emotion.

Nemi finished her food and began to collect the dishes her brother and sister had used. Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She looked up at him. His face looked sad.

"Go outside and play," he told her.

"I was going to do the dishes."

"I’ll do them."

Nemi thought about arguing with him, but the look on his face was so broken that she piped down. She nodded and grabbed a ball from her room. She then headed outside to play.

Inuyasha resumed his position with his hand covering his eyes. Now that the pups were gone he didn’t hold back his tears. He cried quietly. He still had no idea how he was suppose to go on without her. She was his everything. The only thing that kept him from following her to the netherworld was the pups.

He stayed there for a while just letting his tears fall. Finally he pulled himself together and collected the dishes. He brought them over to the basin and poured some water into it. He washed the dishes quietly as he considered the best way to explain everything to Ani.

When he was done he set the dishes to dry and headed for Ani and Nemi’s bedroom. He looked in to see Ani playing with a smile on her face. She must have smelled him because she asked, "Daddy, mommy will be home for my birthday, right?"

Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to keep from choking out a sob. Tears welled in his eyes. Ani was so innocent. Could he really break her heart?

Ani looked up at him. "Why are you crying, daddy? You seem sad a lot lately. Is it because mommy is in the ground?"

He nodded.

"Well don’t worry! She’ll be back soon! Then we can all play together!"

Inuyasha took a deep breath. He walked over to her and picked her up. He sat down on her bed and placed her on his lap.

"Ani, we need to talk," he began.

"Okay."

"It’s about mommy." He took another deep breath. He ruffled her hair and getting choked up he said, "Mommy isn’t coming back."

Ani looked confused. "Of course she is. Mommy would never leave us."

"Mommy died, Ani," he whispered.

Though she’d obviously heard the word before in these times of war she wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.

"What’s that mean?"

Inuyasha shifted her on his lap to hold her closer. He put his cheek on the top of her head. "It means that mommy can’t come back. Ever."

"But why?"

"I don’t think you’d understand."

"Why?" she repeated.

He considered on how to explain it. "Mommy’s heart stopped beating. Her soul has gone to the netherworld."

"Why?"

"She got very sick."

"Is that why she smelled funny?"

"Yes."

"So when is she coming back?"

Inuyasha wasn’t sure he’d get her to understand. He couldn’t tell if she was in denial or was just too young to grasp the concept.

He stroked her black hair and kissed the top of her head. "Ani, listen to me. Mommy is not going to ever come back. She’s gone." He rocked her and whispered, "You know when I take you hunting for rabbits? When we catch them and kill them?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that’s what happened to mommy. When we hunt the rabbits they stop moving and their hearts stop beating. Their souls leave their body. That’s what happened to mommy."

"But we always find more rabbits. They come back so we can hunt them again. So mommy will be back."

"They don’t come back. Those are different rabbits. There’s only one mommy and she’s gone. She can’t come back."

"Why is she in the ground?"

"Because that’s what humans do when they die. They either have a funeral fire and bury their ashes or bury their bodies."

"So… I’ll never see mommy again?"

"You will when you die, but that won’t be for thousands of years."

Inuyasha suddenly smelled tears just a second before Ani started sobbing. "Mommy! Mommy! I want mommy!"

His heart broke into a million pieces as she continued to scream out for her mother. Inuyasha whimpered painfully and continued to rock her soothingly. She started to thrash in his arms in an attempt to get away. She finally managed to get out of his grip and run out the door.

He got up and ran after her following her scent. She may have human features but she was still a hanyou. Quarter-demons didn’t exist. You only had hanyou, youkai and humans. She had used her hanyou speed and zipped away so fast that she was no longer anywhere in sight.

Inuyasha saw Nemi staring in the direction Ani’s scent was coming from. She pointed in the direction to let him know that’s the way she went. He didn’t need her to, but she did it anyway. He took off and followed after the scent.

He called out to her as he headed in the direction she went. He finally found her under the sacred tree. She was crying and digging into the soft earth of her mother’s grave in an attempt to get to Kagome. Inuyasha walked over with tears in his eyes. Seeing her do that was ripping a hole in his heart. He crouched down and picked her up. She began to let out painful wails and fight him trying to get back at the grave.

"Let me go! I’m going with mommy!" she cried.

With tears in his eyes Inuyasha finally picked her up. She kicked and hit him trying to get away, but he wouldn’t let her go.

"You’re not going anywhere. You can’t go with mommy."

"Why not?! Who says?! I’m going!"

"You can’t go because daddy would be very, very sad."

"Well I’M very, very sad! I want my mommy!"

"I want mommy too."

"No you don’t! You put her in the ground! Like garbage! What if she gets cold?! What if she gets hungry?! What if she misses us?!"

"Dead people don’t get cold and hungry."

"Well, I want to die too so I’ll be with mommy! I want mommy!" she continued to cry.

Inuyasha brought her to eye level. He looked incredibly angry. "Don’t you ever say you want to die again!"

"But then I’ll be with mommy!"

"You can come and visit mommy any time you want to."

"But I want to see her!"

Inuyasha sighed. "Mommy doesn’t want you to be upset."

Ani continued to sob hysterically. Inuyasha didn’t think he’d be able to calm her down. He carried her home as she screamed for her mother.

He made it back to the hut and put her down on her bed. "If you calm down I’ll show you a way that you can always see mommy."

She sniffled and immediately started to calm down. "R-really?"

Inuyasha sat down next to her and nodded.

Ani wiped her eyes though her lip still quivered dangerously. When she had calmed down enough Inuyasha kissed her forehead and said, "I’ll be right back."

Inuyasha left the bedroom and went to the room he and Kagome used to share. He sighed as he stared at the empty bed. He looked under it for the photo albums Kagome had brought with her after Naraku’s defeat. She had brought a few of her family and friends as well as pictures from their adventures. He pulled one out and headed back to Ani and Nemi’s bedroom.

He sat down on Ani’s bed and motioned for her to sit on his lap. She sat down and looked at the book in front of her. Inuyasha opened it and looked at all the pictures. There were pictures of Kagome’s mother, father, grandfather, brother and the entire inu-gang. They sadly didn’t have any pictures of the pups since there was no way to develop pictures from that camera thing Kagome use to use in this time period. But they had pictures up to Kagome and Inuyasha’s wedding. They hadn’t made a wish on the jewel until after then so that Kagome could have a wedding in her time with her family to remember. Inuyasha had wanted her to marry her and take her as his mate. He had wanted her family to be there for the occasion too.

Ani had never seen these pictures before. She saw a picture of both her parents. Inuyasha was holding Kagome from behind with his chin on her shoulder. Both of them were smiling.

"Mommy! That’s mommy!" Ani cried happily.

"Yep. That’s mommy."

Inuyasha took the picture from the book carefully and handed it to her. "You hold on to that. Now you can see mommy whenever you want. You can even talk to her and she’ll listen to you."

"Really?"

"Of course. Mommy can still hear you and see you. We just can’t see her. But now that you have this picture you can see her whenever you want to."

Ani got on her knees and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha’s neck. "Thank you, daddy."

Inuyasha put his arms around her and hugged her back. He kissed her cheek and held onto her tightly.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

She pulled away from him so she could look him in the eye. "Are you going to take another mate like Kimari said?"

He wiped away the trail of tears drying on her cheeks. He shook his head. "No, Ani. I’m not going to take another mate. Not now, not ever."

"But mommy wouldn’t want you to be alone."

"I’m not alone. I have you, Nemi and Kimari."

"Is Aunt Sango my mommy now?"

"No. But you can talk to Aunt Sango any time you want to. Okay?"

Ani nodded the type of exaggerated nod that all kids her age were accustomed to giving. Inuyasha looked at her face and sighed. She looked so much like Kagome.

"Time for bed," he told her.

"Can I keep this picture under my pillow?"

"Sure."

Ani smiled and climbed off of him. Inuyasha pulled the blanket down and watched as she kissed the picture of her mother and say, "Good night, mommy."

Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to keep the tears at bay. When he regained his composure he opened them and saw Ani putting the photo under her pillow with the utmost care. He’d have to see if he could make one of those picture frames Kagome use to have in her time. He was sure he could. He’d just have to get Totosai’s to make the glass.

Ani fluffed her pillow carefully. She always slept in the fire-rat she wore like he did. He remembered having arguments with Kagome over it. She always wanted them and him to wear a sleeping yukata, but he felt it was safer in case a youkai decided to unexpectedly attack the village.

Of course Kagome had worn a sleeping yukata to bed every night. It was either that, her miko robes, or one of the few remaining clothes that she had brought with her when she came through the well. She had brought quite a lot he remembered. Most of them were either ruined during attacks or had fallen apart thanks to moths or wear and tear.

Once Ani was lying on her back Inuyasha broke out of his memories. He forced a smile and tucked the tiny pup in. Kagome use to argue that she couldn’t be a pup if she looked so human. But she had youkai senses and a hanyou demonic aura. He could smell the inu in her too. One night a month she’d lose her senses and aura, but her countenance would remain the same.

After she was tucked in Inuyasha gave her a kiss good night. He stood up until a tiny hand grabbed his wrist. He sat back down and looked at her.

"Daddy, mommy always told me a story before bed. Could you tell me one? I haven’t been able to sleep well the past few nights without it."

‘Maybe it would be best if she had some kind of normalcy,’ he thought.

The only problem was all the stories that he knew involved Kagome. He didn’t want to see her cry again.

"What stories does mommy tell you?"

"Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood… Things like that."

"Pup, I don’t know those stories. Those stories are from mommy’s era."

Ani looked like she was about to cry again. Inuyasha didn’t smell sadness. He knew she was just crying because she was cranky and frustrated.

"What stories do you know?" she asked.

He scooted over until he was reclining next to her. He put his arm around her and scratched his nose with his claw. He tried to remember some of the stories that his mother had told him. None of them were about the things that Ani was obviously accustomed to. He’d just have to make one up.

He told her the story of a beautiful hime who wanted to marry a man who was a pauper. However, her father insisted she marry another man of greater standing. In the end she ran away and married the pauper choosing to leave behind everything she’d ever known and her station in life. She lived as a pauper’s wife happily.

Inuyasha had been so focused on telling the story that he hadn’t noticed that Ani had fallen asleep halfway through it. He gave her a last kiss before blowing out the candle by her bed and leaving.

He walked pass Kimari’s room and noticed that he had gone to bed too. It was still early for him to go to bed. He was allowed to stay up later than this and never went to bed early. Inuyasha knew that he was depressed and that’s why he had gone to bed.

Inuyasha’s ears twitched as he heard sweeping coming from the main room. He looked up at the ceiling wondering why Nemi wouldn’t listen to him. He walked into the room and watched as she swept everything outside.

"Nemi, why won’t you listen to me?" Inuyasha asked.

"I always listen to you, daddy."

"No, you don’t. You keep acting like you’re an adult. Your not."

"Mommy told me I was the woman of the house now. I have to take care of you all."

"Look, Nemi. If you want some extra chores I can think of something for you to do. Maybe you can take care of mommy’s herb garden."

"I will. But I also have to cook and clean and-"

Inuyasha held up a hand to stop her. "All you have to do is play and make sure all your chores are done. That’s all I ask."

"But mommy told me to!"

"Mommy isn’t here anymore. You have to listen to me now."

"But it was the last thing she said to me!"

He had a feeling that keeping busy was her way of coping with Kagome’s death. Still, she had to learn that her place wasn’t in the kitchen or stuck in the hut. She wasn’t the mother in this family. She was the pup. As such she should act as a pup.

"Mommy just meant to help out more. I don’t mind you doing more things, but you are constantly trying to take your mothers place. You can’t. No one can," Inuyasha said.

"I don’t want to take mommy’s place. I just want to have my own place."

Inuyasha blinked shocked. "You have a place, Nemi."

"Not anymore. I was always helping mommy. I’m the only one who knows how to do things the way she does it. Kimari and Ani are going to want things to be done the same way."

He thought about it for a minute. "Would you feel better if you taught me to do things the way mommy did them?"

"NO!"

Inuyasha took a step back from her.

"No! A woman has her place! It’s not your job to take care of the home! It’s your job to work the fields and supply the food!"

Though Inuyasha would never work the fields he knew what she was trying to say. That he should worry about protecting the village and providing for them while she took care of the home.

Getting frustrated Inuyasha said, "Look, Nemi. This isn’t open for discussion. I’m telling you not to do something and that should be the end of it. If you want more responsibility I’ll give it to you, but I will not have you acting as the alpha bitch." His tone was deadly serious and left no room for argument.

Nemi looked at the broom in her hand. She threw it down and started to cry. "You just don’t care! Don’t you understand that I have to do this!"

"You don’t have to."

"I wish mommy was here! She’d tell you!"

"Oh yeah. Mommy would tell me off big time because I don’t want you growing up too fast," Inuyasha muttered sarcastically.

"We all grow up, daddy! You can’t stop that!"

"No, I can’t. But I won’t have you waste your childhood. I want you to have everything I didn’t."

That stopped her crying. She looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Before my mother died I always had to play by myself. The village I lived in didn’t accept me and my mother. After she died I had to take care of myself." He sighed. "You’re lucky, Nemi. You live in a village that accepts you even though you’re a hanyou. You have no idea how lucky you really are. You’ve never known the rejection I did. I want to keep it that way. I want you to have the childhood I never did. I want you to play and run around, not work."

Nemi wiped her eyes. She looked at the floor and changing the subject asked, "What are we going to do without mommy?"

"We’ll just have to go on without her as best we can."

"But how?"

"We’ll just take it one day at a time."

"But we’ll never see her again!"

"We will. Someday," he whispered.

Inuyasha sat down at the table and patted his lap. Nemi walked over and climbed up. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. She sniffled and buried her face into his chest. Soon she was softly crying.

"It’s going to be okay, Nemi. I promise. Somehow we’ll manage," he said soothingly.

He continued to rock her as she cried. This was hard on all of them. He didn’t know how he could console the pups. He could barely console himself. All he knew was that he’d promised Kagome that he’d take good care of them. And that was exactly what he was going to do.