It Take s a Village

So here is the sequel to Nineteen Years. If you haven't read that one, I'd recommend reading it, but it's not like crucial. There will be a tiny bit of back story in the first few chapters but after that it's full steam ahead with the new story.

Prologue

The sun rose over a hill where a single grave stood. As the light touched the land, a figure was revealed, standing next to the headstone. Silvery white hair glinted, stirred by a crisp morning wind as golden eyes stared out over the village.

Inuyasha, for once, had nothing to complain or be unhappy about. His life was full of all the things that he could ever have wanted: a mate that he loved and who loved him back, pups he could be proud of, happiness, and respect. Thirteen years had passed since Kagome had come back to him. In those years he had never been happier, had never had more pride in his family.

Taisho, his first born, ended up marrying Reuika, one of Sesshomaru's maid. He set himself up as the weapon smith in the village on the outskirts of the Castle of the West. Kita and Volug mated not long after Inuyasha and Kagome did. Now Inuyasha's daughter was heavy with a pup of her own. She and Vol still lived in the little hut that Inuyasha had built for his children. A year after they had mated their souls, Kagome became pregnant and gave Inuyasha another daughter whom they name Koramine. She was a lovely mix of both her parents with her father's silver hair and ears, and her mother's eyes and kind smile. Three years after Koramine's birth, Kagome gave birth to a son. They named him Aram. He had messy black hair and golden eyes.

Saito was now a permanent member of the family, and when Kagome was pregnant the first time, he had moved into the hut where she and Inuyasha lived to help the priestess. Since Kagome couldn't use as much of her spiritual energy to perform her duties as the new village priestess, Saito took over for a while. Being the son of a priestess gave him spiritual powers that he had never used before. Once Koramine was born, Kagome began to train him and he looked after the baby in exchange.

Sesshomaru and Rin's daughter Inara grew up to be a powerful young woman. She had most of the same powers that her father did, and the compassion of her mother, much to everyone's relief. On her thirteenth birthday, Sesshomaru presented her with a sword called Zenseiga to keep her demon blood in check. This was in addition to a crescent moon shaped pendant that Kagome and Miroku had crafted for her that kept her demonic aura from erupting and being picked up by enemies. Rin had the pendant hung from a thin silver chain to make a necklace for her daughter.

Inuyasha's family grew much closer to Sesshomaru, Rin, and Inara and even made new friends in the village. This was mostly due to the fact that Sango and Miroku had moved to the rebuilt village of the Demon Slayers so that Sango could train the new recruits. Shippo and Soten weren't around much either. They had taken up residence in the valley of the Thunder Demons, trying to raise their kids. It wasn't easy trying to look after triplets who had fox magic and lightning powers.

It had been a good thirteen years for Inuyasha, and though he missed his friends, he was still glad to be where he was.

As the sun came fully over the horizon, Inuyasha turned his attention the grave next to him. Kikyo. It was a name that had not come up much over the years. There had been no reason to talk about the past when so much of everyone's happiness revolved around the present. But for some reason Inuyasha had awoken not long before dawn with a compulsion to go to her resting place.

Saito spent a good deal of time on this hill, just content to sit in the presence of his mother's spirit. Even Tai and Kita came to pay their respects sometimes. It reminded Inuyasha of something that Kaede had said to him once about the loved ones left behind. Now, the half demon sat next to the headstone and bowed his head.

"I was never this happy with you, Kikyo." he murmured. "But that was no excuse to try and forget you. I am sorry and I promise that I will visit more and look after Saito." Inuyasha placed the flowers that he had gathered earlier at the base of the grave and turned to walk back down to the village.

As he walked along en route to his home, he stopped to speak with several villagers who called out to him. Others bowed as he passed. It seemed that they were all pleased to have the half demon and his mate as the leaders and protectors of their village. They were respectful ans never had anything negative to say about the gaggle of half demon kids who constantly ran through their fields.

An older woman came up to Inuyasha in front of his home. She bowed to show her respect. "Good morning, Headman." she said.

"Mistress Setsume." Inuyasha replied. "Can I help you with something?"

"I just wanted to ask you to thank your foster son for his care of my husband last week." the woman told him.

"He does good work." Inuyasha had to agree. "I'm glad your husband is alright."

"As am I, Headman, as am I. While I'm thinking about it, how fares your eldest daughter's pregnancy?"

The half demon rolled his eyes. "Kita's fine. She's determined not to let the pup slow her down."

Setsume smiled. "She's a fiery one, your Kita. I remember her running around here as a child." the older woman chuckled. "Well the day is wasting and I'm sure you're a busy man. Good day."

Inuyasha inclined his head to her and headed into the hut. He smiled at the sight before him. Kagome was making breakfast with Saito while ten year old Aram sat in the corner struggling to put on his kimono. Kagome looked up and smiled at her mate. "You were up early. Is everything alright?"

"Fine." Inuyasha answered and leaned over to kiss her. "I just went walking and ended up talking to some of the villagers. Mistress Setsume thanks you by the way, Saito."

The young man smiled. "I'm glad I was able to help. I used some of that salve you gave me, Kagome."

"Oh, was he the one with the burn?" the woman asked. "I meant to go see him."

"You had to help Daisuke's mother that day, so I took care of it." Saito explained. He stirred a pot of rice and looked at the child in the corner. "What are you doing, Aram?"

"Putting on my k'mono." the boy answered.

"If you need help just ask, honey." Kagome said.

"I wanna do it!" Aram fumbled with the tie a bit more and then sighed. "Papa, can you do it?"

"Sure thing, kid." Inuyasha knelt and fixed his son's clothes. "Where's Koramine?"

"Kora went with Kita to the Castle." Ara told his father.

Inuyasha scowled. "That girl needs to stop bouncing around and be more careful."

"Oh leave her alone, Inuyasha." Kagome admonished. "She's alright."

"Women." the half demon grumbled.