Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Growing Up Hanyou	By : InitialA Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 5182 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Nao
By:
InitialA/TuxedoUranus89
Disclaimer: I don�t
own InuYasha.
LiveJournal
Community: http://community.livejournal.com/tu89_ia_fanfics/
Author�s Notes: Wah,
I would have started this sooner, but I lost my notebook with all the little plot bunnies in it! But I�ve found it now,
and I�m very, very excited to start this chapter. I�ve been working towards
this one for a while, and I hope you enjoy it. (all
italicized sections are flashbacks, just to clear up any confusion that may
spring up right away)

�We
think your daughter has Williams Syndrome.�

He watched his mate stare blankly
out the window; there were circles under her eyes he hadn�t noticed before, the
strain of the last few years was taking its toll. At two years old, their
second daughter, Nao, had undergone two major heart surgeries already, and a
third was being considered. Her twin, Ryuu, had thankfully been just as healthy
as Izayoi and Sachi at birth, but just a few weeks after they�d been brought
home, she had suddenly stopped breathing. After rushing to the hospital, Nao
had been revived, and the source had been diagnosed as aortic valve stenosis.
InuYasha had no idea what any of that meant, until Kagome explained that her
heart wasn�t able to pump blood from one side to the other very well.

�They�ll
have to go in and fix her heart so this won�t happen anymore.� She spoke
calmly, as if things like this happened every day in their lives, but inside,
she was screaming.

Now, two years and as many
surgeries to fix it later, blood work had been done, and Nao was diagnosed with
Williams Syndrome; he wasn�t sure what that was either, and the doctors
certainly hadn�t been helpful, saying it was different in every person who had
it. Something with genetics and chromosomes and other scientific bullshit he
didn�t really want to deal with. He knew his daughter was different than his
other pups: she was a miniature, near-perfect copy of her mother, and had the
miko powers to prove it.

�Kaa! Tou! �Ook!� Nao�s smile was wide as could be as a ball of
pale flame danced around her. Kagome merely watched, more cautious than
fearful; InuYasha couldn�t see what they were looking at, but sensed something
supernatural.
A
kitsune spirit appeared briefly, tugging Nao�s hair for luck, and vanished in
the blink of an eye. Her mother sighed, smiling ruefully. �Well, at least
someone else around here will be able to seal Sachi in his room when he�s temperamental.�

Nao and Ryuu,
while twins, couldn�t be more different. When she wasn�t exhausted,
Kagome often joked that they were the gods� little prank, a literal representation
of yin and yang. They looked almost identical, the same black hair, pointed
ears like their uncle, and warm mahogany eyes, but that�s where it ended. Nao
was smaller and thinner, with pixie-like features, and a small bank of miko
fire within her. Ryuu�s demon blood was dominant, his hands adorned with claws,
and fangs whenever he smirked, just like his father. She was left-handed; he
was right. Ryuu turned human on the waxing crescent moon; Nao turned hanyou,
complete with silver hair and puppy ears, her miko spirit becoming dormant. The
first month of the change, the house had been filled with wails: neither pup
had any idea what was going on. Nao�s nature was sweet and friendly, and Ryuu
was showing signs of his father�s infamous dislike of crowds.
Her pixyish-appearance and her all-around
different nature, had been yet another reason for the
blood tests. Today, they were scheduled to take her back to the hospital for an
fMRI, and some tests for any mental disabilities. Again, InuYasha had no idea
what any of that was going to accomplish, if it wasn�t going to fix his
daughter, and make his wife the cheerful, good-natured woman he�d fallen in
love with so long ago. �Kagome?�

Her
face was glowing. �We�re having twins.�
He
paled slightly; the two they had were handfuls and a half. But he didn�t have
the heart to erase that beam from her face with his fears. �Twins?�
�Aren�t
you excited?� Her face fell a little, sensing his
anxiety.
�I
am. Don�t get me wrong, Kagome. I�m just� we have enough trouble with the two
we�ve got.� He told her quickly.
She
shook her head. �I know, InuYasha� But Sachi�s gotten a little better about
bedtime. We�ve talked with Iza about tormenting him. I think we can do this.�
She
spoke from her heart, a wistful glimmer in her eyes, and he believed her.

She turned, and the look on her
face was enough to break his heart. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes, and she
looked as though the whole world rested on her shoulders. Her arm was still
bruised from the last blood donation she�d given in preparation for Nao�s next
surgery; their blood types were the same, AB, and the infusions of pure-human
blood didn�t hurt her as they might her siblings. �InuYasha��
He walked over to her, and held her
close. He worried about her. He�d noticed the little things lately�at 26, she�d
lost her youthful energy; the bags under her eyes were darker than he�d
originally thought. There was a worry line forming between her brows. He feared
she was slowly starting to age, and watching her die might be the one thing
that could kill him. �It�ll be ok, koi. We�re just going for tests; she�s not
getting surgery this time.� He told her softly, running his claws through her
hair.
She nodded. �I know� I�m just so
worried��

�What
do you mean, you think?!�
Kagome cried, fighting against InuYasha�s hold.
�We
need to take a closer examination of the DNA samples we received, but there
appears to be some sort of anomaly in her seventh chromosome. It�s a rare
chance, but with the behavioral and physical attributes your daughter has,
there�s a very good chance that she has Williams Syndrome.� The genetics
specialist informed them, unfazed by Kagome�s outburst.
InuYasha
tightened his grip on his trembling wife. �What are the chances?�
The
specialist glanced at his charts. �One in seven-thousand five hundred; nowhere
near as common as autism or Downs Syndrome, but the
good news is that we�ve discovered it early enough that we can begin working on
discovering the more prominent disabilities she will have once she�s further
along in development. She can get the help she needs, and live a relatively
normal life.�
�Relatively?! She�ll lead a perfectly normal life! Because there�s NOTHING
wrong with my daughter!� Kagome yelled, furious.
�Nishi-san,
you cannot deny that the problems with her heart are anything but normal; her
condition is not normal. It will be years before she�s able to get a permanent
valve replacement. She will have to do the best she can with the��
InuYasha
interrupted him. �Stop. Don�t say anything else.� He
snapped as Kagome buried her face into his chest and sobbed.

Sachi poked his head in the room.
�Mama?�
InuYasha growled softly, letting
him know it was ok. The three-year old cautiously climbed up on his parents�
bed, and snuggled next to his mother. �Don�t be sad, Mama�� He mumbled as she
put her arm around him.
InuYasha�s heart hurt. Sachi had
calmed down after becoming a big brother, his nature turning quiet and
thoughtful, with an almost crippling shyness that made him stick to his mother
like glue. He was as sensitive to her mood changes as InuYasha. Sachi hadn�t
been the only one to change since the arrival of their younger siblings: Izayoi
had almost been forced to grow up beyond her five years, taking both of her
brothers in hand while Kagome fretted over Nao�s health after that first
attack. Kagome herself, aside from worrying herself sick, was also starting to
scare him with how often she spoke of death. He still remembered that first,
alarming conversation they�d had, after the second time their youngest had
almost died�

�InuYasha��
�Yeah?�
He grunted, still on edge from looking away for one second before Nao had had a
seizure that resulted in the latest trip to the hospital.
�She
won�t die, will she?� Kagome didn�t look at him, instead watching through the
window as half a dozen doctors surrounded their nine-month old daughter.
�No,
Kagome. She won�t die.� He hoped he wasn�t lying.
If
he was, he wasn�t sure who he was trying to convince: her, or himself.
She
looked away. �People survive this stuff all the time� They do, I know they do�
but they never talk about their families. How hard it is to stand by and watch
as all this terrible stuff happens� and you can�t do anything about it��
He
reached over and took her hand. He worried that she blamed him for not watching
Nao carefully enough, but deep down, he knew that even if he�d been watching,
he�d have only seen her eyes roll back into her head as she�d started
convulsing. Kagome leaned against his arm. He shifted, holding her against him,
and buried his nose into her hair; he couldn�t watch all those people doing
Kami-knew what to their daughter. There were only the usual hospital noises to
be heard until his mate spoke again, quieter than before. �What would happen to
you if I died?�
InuYasha
stiffened. He stopped breathing. The entire world stopped spinning in that
instant as the question he�d dreaded thinking about for years was shoved at him
abruptly. Kagome merely shifted and looked up at him; she had to know the mental anguish he was going through at her voicing
the very thought he�d squashed for decades. She had to.
When
he�d found his voice, he croaked, �Why do you want to know that?�
�Because
I�m going to die. Someday, anyway��
He
couldn�t feel anything anymore. And the fucking wench decided to drive the nail
home. �I won�t live as long as you, you know that. You, Izayoi, Sachi, Ryuu�
even Nao might live longer than me. A lot longer. I�ll be gone in the blink of
an eye by your standards, and I want to know what will happen to you all. Will
you be ok without me? Will you forget me?�
He
didn�t hear any more as a roaring sound filled his ears. Dimly he felt himself
detach from her and in a blind panic, rushed into the nearest bathroom and
barely made it to the toilet in time to empty his stomach. After that, he
proceeded to faint dead away on the cold bathroom tiles.

He still hurt to think she might
think he�d forgotten her. Even in five hundred years of separation, he hadn�t
forgotten her. She still spoke of it sometimes. It was alarmingly morbid, how
much she focused on death. Nao�s mortality and the number of times they�d
almost lost her seemed to have hit home more than the number of times any of
their old friends had died during their adventures in the Sengoku Jidai. More
than any number of times he�d nearly
died. �Come on� we�ll be late.� He grunted, half to himself, as he stood and
walked out of the room.
Nao looked up from her dollhouse as
InuYasha entered hers and Ryuu�s bedroom. Her smile was wide and innocent. �Tou-chan!�
He carefully scooped her into his
arms and held her. �You feeling okay today?� He asked
in a gentle voice, masking his own fears for her sake.
�Yes, Tou-chan,
vewy good. Wanna pway?� She
asked, her words only a little hard to understand.
InuYasha hoped it wasn�t another sign of something wrong with her.
He smiled despite it. �We can�t
right now, sennyo.� He told her, tweaking a pointed
ear. She giggled. �Later, after we get home.�
�We goin� somewheres?� Nao
asked.
�You have to see Dr. Kino again, remember?�
At this, Nao�s face turned fearful. He quickly recovered, �It won�t hurt this
time, I made him promise.� Her face relaxed.
She sat up in his arms suddenly. �Kaa-san comin�.� She announced. �Kaa!�
While her human blood dominated her
appearance and abilities, they weren�t sure if her superior hearing was a
side-effect of her dormant demon blood, or if it was another sign of her
disorder. They had been told it would be a few years before it could be
determined more fully. Kagome smiled at her youngest as she walked in; InuYasha
wished she�d smile more, it took the illusion of age
off her face. �Ready to go, sweetling?� She asked,
holding out her arms.
Nao was lighter than a bird, and
was easily cradled against her mother�s chest. �Tou-chan,
Puru.� She said.
Grabbing the purple doll, InuYasha
followed the two downstairs, where Izayoi was entertaining Ryuu with a puzzle.
The boy was clearly agitated with it, the pieces being smaller than he was used
to, and kept digging his claws into the carpet. �Iza, did Obaasan
call?�
�No, Mama.� Izayoi replied calmly,
sounding worlds older than her seven years. �She�s almost here though, it�s nearly time for you to go.�
Ryuu�s face broke into brief
happiness as he fit two pieces together without having to smash them down. �Got
one!�
InuYasha squatted down, inspecting
the half-finished work. �Good job, pup. What�s this supposed to be of again?�
The look he was given could have
peeled paint. �Duh, Oyaji, it�s Transformers.�
Kagome frowned, putting Nao�s coat
on the beaming girl. �Ryuu, don�t call your father �oyaji�.�
She reprimanded.
�Why not? He calls himself that!�
�InuYasha��
�What? You�ve never complained
before!�
�Your children have never called
you it before. Ryuu, apologize, and InuYasha, don�t use that language!�
�Hai�
Sorry, Otou��
InuYasha nodded, distracted by the
slamming of a car door outside. �Your mother�s here.�
Mama was looking somewhat worse for
the wear lately as well. She hadn�t taken the news very well, and often slept
over a few nights a week to help Kagome with the housework and the children, as
well as watching Nao carefully.

�Mama,
we�ll be fine. InuYasha got things worked out with the company, he�s home most
of the day now.� Kagome protested as her mother deposited a suitcase in one of
their spare bedrooms.
She
turned and gripped her daughter�s chin, going over her face inch by inch with a
perceptive mother�s eye. �You haven�t been sleeping. You haven�t been with your
husband. You�re overworking yourself, you�ve got lines forming on your face,
and you deny your own mother�s help? I raised you to know when you�ve reached
your limit.�
�I
know my limits, Mama. I�ve gone past them dozens of times. Ask InuYasha.�
Her
mate snorted from the doorway. �Gone past them, fainted, slept for days, took
more days to regain your strength� I know, Kagome. I was right there. Be a good
wench and accept your mother�s help.�
Kagome
looked down. As much as she hated to admit it, she was tired, all of the time.
Four children, one of them who was seizure- and
heart-failure-prone, classwork, and housework were
getting to her. InuYasha was helping where he could, but even then, she knew
she was taking on too much. She�d burn herself out sooner or later. �Alright
Mama��

�OBAA-CHAN!�
Nao squealed, launching herself at her grandmother.
Mama eagerly scooped up the
toddler, kissing her cheek. �How�s my little Nao today?�
�Good, Obaa-chan!�
Kagome smiled tiredly at her
mother. �Hi Mama.�
InuYasha acknowledged his
mother-in-law with a nod, ruffling Ryuu�s hair briefly, earning mutters and an
annoyed look in return. �We should get going. These things take forever as it
is.� He said, sliding sandals onto his feet.
Sachi hugged his grandmother�s leg
as the four left at home waved good-bye.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
InuYasha�s
so quiet these days� Then again, I�m not so chatty either. Kagome thought
while folding and refolding her hands on her lap. Nao was back getting her fMRI exam, and they had nothing to do but wait.
They sat stiffly in the cold,
plastic chairs in the waiting area, unsure of what to say to the other. Kagome
fingered the end of her shirt. InuYasha shifted, looking away, and down the
hall. His nose wrinkled, still unused to the scent of sickness and medicines
that lingered through the halls, even with the amount of time they�d spent here
in the last two years alone. Kagome sighed slightly. We can�t even look at each other� She cleared her throat. �InuYasha?�
Violet eyes glanced at her. She
gulped, unnerved by the steel resolve in them. �Um��
He sighed. �Out
with it, wench.�
�Are you mad at me?�
He was startled. Of all the things
he�d expected her to say, that hadn�t been one of them. �No, Kagome, why would
I be?�
She shrugged, looking at the floor.
�You seem like you are, that�s all.�
He frowned. �Kagome��
She didn�t look at him. �Something�s
bothering you. I wish you�d tell me.�
Another silence settled over them,
Kagome wishing she hadn�t put him on edge, InuYasha wrestling with how to tell
her he feared for her. Ten minutes later, they were saved by the squeaking
wheels of the gurney gliding towards them, pushed by a nurse and carrying their
youngest. Kagome leapt to her feet. �There�s my baby. Were you good for the
doctors?� She cooed, scooping the girl up.
InuYasha stood by. The nurse
smiled. �She got a little claustrophobic in the few minutes, but after we
calmed her down everything went fine. They�ll be examining the scans while we
take you upstairs and she does some more tests.�

The
picture was simple enough: a house, a dog, and a child. At nearly two, though,
Nao�s motor skills weren�t even up to par with a human two-year old. The copy
she was making was barely recognizable; however, she was dutifully making sure
the spots were in the correct order and size on the dog, the flower pattern on
the child�s shirt was of the correct size, and the chimney and windows of the
house were spaced perfectly and the right amount of smoke pouring out of the
chimney. The psychologist sighed as she showed the drawing to Kagome and
InuYasha. �It�s fairly common for those in her condition to focus on small
details. There�s very little evidence left we need to gather to properly
diagnose her.�

Today was a jigsaw puzzle, much
like the one her twin had probably given up on a long time ago. The pieces were
large enough that a young child would have little difficulty to put together,
but Nao was having trouble. The psychologist was helping as little as possible,
a nudge or a clue here and there, but mostly it was a test of her thinking and deciphering
abilities. Kagome watched from the one-way mirror, hurting at the tears of
frustration forming in Nao�s eyes. InuYasha was in the hall. Will it always be this way? I can only stand
by and watch as my daughter struggles, being able to do so little to help? Will
she survive long enough to have those struggles?
A tear slipped down her face. She
was angry. Confused. She felt as lost as she did the
morning she fell down the well, five hundred years into the past and nothing
familiar about but the old tree, with a strange boy pinned to it. A hand rested
on her shoulder. �Don�t cry.� He told her.
She looked into those same eyes,
violet instead of amber, eyes that once bored into her with more hate than she�d
ever experienced. They were filled with concern, uncertainty, love, and fear. �I
need an outlet�� She whispered. �Something��
He folded her into his arms easily.
�She won�t die. We�ll make sure of that. We�ll do what we can, and hope someone
can pick up what we couldn�t.�
She nodded, watching as Nao played
with some stuffed animals, and looked at images the psychologist held up for
her. The hated puzzle was left unfinished. �Will you pick up when I can�t do
anymore?� She whispered.
He froze. �Kagome� please stop
talking about that.�
�But��
InuYasha spun her to face him, his
eyes hard. �You don�t know how that makes me feel, hearing you speak so
casually, almost wistfully of your own death. You�re weighing the cost of Nao�s
mortality against your own. What is it, as long as she survives,
we�ll be ok if you die? It�s not as simple as that!�
She couldn�t meet his eyes. �As
long as you and our children survive� I want you all to be happy. I want you
all to live.�
�And what about
me? Have you thought what it might do to me if you died?� He snapped,
letting go of her and stalking to the other side of the room.
An uncomfortable tension stretched
between them. When she didn�t say anything, he sat down hard. �You seem to be
forgetting you�re the most important person in my entire life. I�d� I�d
probably die myself if you died, Kagome. If I lived, I�d probably be miserable
for the rest of my life. I love our children, I do, but Kagome, you come before
anything in my heart. I thought� I thought you felt the same��
She knelt before him. �InuYasha��
He didn�t look at her. �I�m going
to ask you a question. I should have probably asked this
years ago; I actually was going to, but then you were pregnant, and then
the twins were born, and things have just been a roller coaster since. And
lately I�ve been wondering if you�d even want to at all��
He pushed back the memories of her
speaking so indifferently about death.
She made a questioning noise after
a few moments of silence. �I don�t know if it will work.� He told her, meeting
her eyes. �I want to do the blood-binding with you. I�ll probably live another
three or four hundred years, I don�t know. But I want you with me. I can�t face
more centuries alone, never knowing if I�ll see you again. I can�t breathe just
thinking about it.�
Kagome was silent for a few
minutes. �Why wouldn�t it work?� She asked at last.
�Because I�m not a full-youkai; it
might not work because my blood is both human and youkai. If it does work, we
might have to do another binding in a few decades or something. I might be able
to tell if that�s happening; I talked to Sesshou-maru and he said he can smell
his demon blood inside of Rin. I may be able to sense if it�s waning in you.
But that�s if it will take.� InuYasha explained.
They heard a door open outside.
Kagome took his hand as he started to rise. �InuYasha� when�s the soonest we
can do it?�

((�some of you are probably wondering what on earth I�m doing. I have
some plans. There�s going to be a small plot for the next few chapters. A small, loose plot, but a mini-plot all the same. That�s
all I�m going to say on the subject. Anyway, this is very nerve-wracking on me.
I�ve been developing Nao�s character for months. And wouldn�t you know it, she decided to tweak her personality on me again. I
wanted to go another step with her; her character was very simple to start, and
then took on a life of her own. She�s not got a lot going for her right now,
but give her time. For more information on Nao and
Williams Syndrome, please check the LiveJournal Community; I�ll be posting some
things on there soon after this chapter goes up. Reviews are always welcome.
Thanks for reading!!))
- 6
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Growing Up Hanyou