The Helper Next Door

- By:FallenFan77

-x-

Summary: Kagome, a nineteen year old girl who lives on her own, but when given the call that her older sister Kikyo died in a car accident. She is the new guardian of her sister's three children. Life isn't always easy, but she gets the help from her next door neighbor, Inuyasha.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha! T-T Why?!

Naomi sat on the floor, her legs crossed as she flipped through channels, she listened to her grandfather's snores near her. The elder man had a newspaper settled on his lap and his neck was craned upwards, and he muttered in his deep sleep.

The teen then turned her head to hear giggles, and she noticed her sisters sneaking behind the chair their grandfather was resting on. "You better not do anything wrong or else you'll give the old man a heart attack," Naomi said to them.

Manami and Kimiko shushed her and their brows knitted only a fraction before they ducked low and out of sight, when their great grandfather roused a little from his sleep.

"Begone you demons….I have sutras…" the elder man muttered and waved his hand in the air as if waving a fly away from his face. His newspaper fell from his lap and onto Kimiko's head when she popped her head out of her hiding spot and crawled by the left side of the chair.

Feeling sudden weight on top of her head, Kimiko shook the paper off, and let it descend on the wooden floor. Manami pointed at her while covering her mouth with her other hand to suppress a laughter.

"Girls, what are you doing on the floor?" Ai asked her two youngest grandchildren who stared up at her innocently. Ai glanced to her father-in-law, smiling as he let out a loud snore and then to the two girls on the floor with hands in the air as if they had done something wrong.

"Nothing," they both said in unison as they exchanged glances. Ai nodded and smiled warmly at the two,"Why don't you play outside, I'm sure you'll find somethings out there, but make sure not go in the well house. You could fall in the well and hurt yourselves!" she called out when the girls dashed around her and out the door before she can finish her sentence.

Kagome was in the kitchen preparing the midday meal as she listen to her mother's calls and her telling the girls to stay far away from the well house. "I would ask Naomi to keep an eye on them, but she wouldn't, and won't place her whole attention on that cellphone on hers any way. Who is she so busy texting every minute of everyday."

"And now you are acting like a mother," Ai said, hearing her daughter talk to herself as she walked in and smiled at her. Kagome placed the knife she had in her hand, done with chopping up the carrot and brushed her hands off in the sink and then washed her hands.

"Really? But, I - I don't think-" Kagome shook her head, disagreeing with her mother. Thinking back to when she and Naomi would talk about one thing and then when they'd continue, it would always end up with the two arguing in the end.

"Trust me my little gumdrop, so far it is going well, you might not realize it," Ai told her. Taking the wooden cutting board and putting it over the boiling soup, and using the knife near to place the cut up pieces of carrot in.

"Mama, what will happen if Tadao comes along, I wouldn't know what to do next." Kagome grew worried, what if Kikyo's ex-husband showed up. She was already told that he did not want the children by the testator, Aiden who had visited days ago.

Ai stiffened at the name, her hand clenched tightly into a fist, and sighed. When ever the name came up, she did not deal well with it, but she kept a straight face to answer her worried daughter's statement. "When the day comes you'll know what to do, he may want the children back, he is their father."

"But he left right after Kimiko was born, he was there for both Naomi and Manami, but not for her. He is a cruel man, he always was. I bet he didn't even want a child in the first place and I was angered by the fact that he cheated on Kikyo before Kimiko was born, that -that…ugh! I can't even say it, Naomi is just in the room next door and if I ever see him near a mile of my home, I'd- I'd-"

Ai patted her daughter's back and shushed her,"It will be alright. Before all of this happened, before the cheating and the divorce, Tadao was there when Kikyo had Naomi. Although he wasn't there when she needed help taking care of his first child. Kikyo was young, just the age of seventeen - they both were - but the pregnancy never stopped your sister from fulfilling what she wanted to be. She did have trouble with the symptoms that came along with pregnancy, but she had mine and your grandfather's help. Tadao helped, but as little as he could, he was always arriving her at the shrine late."

Kagome heard her mother sigh and she gave her a solemn look. Ai patted her once more and continued, looking down at her hands and playing with her wedding band that she never took off.

"Tadao would come to the shrine around midnight or at one in the morning. I would always tell Kikyo to sleep, but she insisted on waiting for him every single night. He'd come here all tipsy, I knew he was drinking because he'd carry that foul smell. He'd yell at her and accuse her that she was the cause of him losing his chance to make this team that he had wanted to be in for. But your sister still cared for him, loved him, and I didn't know what to do. I had you and Souta to care for as well. I just wished that I was there for her even more."

"Mama…"

"I just, it was so hard to see your sister put up with that man."

"Mama…"

"I did not like that man one bit-"

"Mama," Kagome hugged her mother tightly and let her cry on her shoulder. "If Tadao ever comes, I will do everything in my power, if he takes me to court to take the girls. I'll fight and you know it."

Ai smiled and pulled away from her daughter's hug to smile broadly at her. "I know you will."

"Oh my gosh, I heard that too! Oh I can't wait until-" they picked up the squeals of Naomi who was conversing with a friend from her school and the girl would laugh constantly every three seconds.

Kagome let out a small laugh and shook her head. "How did you put up with me and Kikyo, and Souta no less when we were too busy on our phones?" Kagome asked her mother as she wiped her tears away with her hand.

Ai thought about her daughter's question, going back in memory lane and sighed dreamily, those times were one of the most treasured. She recalled the moments when Kagome was only four years old and Kikyo was fourteen turning fifteen, and Souta was in her stomach at the time. Kazuo, her deceased husband that she loved so, would come home with arms wide open as he was tackled on the ground by his daughters. She had long forgotten about their earlier discussion.

"Your sister texted so much, I remember that, because your father would tell me to tell her that he'd take the phone away. If she didn't, her phone would've been locked away or he would've taken it to work." Ai said with a smile and tucked a raven-black lock behind her daughter's ear.

"I know your father would've been proud of you, if he were here to watch you grow and see his granddaughters and his son. But like the waves that shift and turn, life has a way of directing you in a certain path, one that you are not aware of and aren't ready for. Kikyo's death is one of our main struggles in life, but the girls will help you through it as you will help them. Give it some time. Now, let me go check on your grandfather, he is sleeping on the chair again and if my dear granddaughter's shouts and squeals didn't wake him up - I don't know what will." Ai told her, patting her daughter's shoulder and left to wake her father-in-law.

Kagome watched her mother leave the kitchen and she strode over to the window by the stove and noticed Manami and Kimiko playing by the sacred tree. A smile tugged on the corners of her lips, as the nineteen year old gazed at the two girls who laughed and twirled around. She noticed flurries of snow fall gracefully down the window, some stuck to the glass and then she noticed another figure by the tree and smiled.

"I bet he is praying for his mother, and I better go and say hello," Kagome said, turning on her feet to leave the kitchen, and to the door - taking her jacket by the coat hanger and putting her shoes on - and left the home.

x

Outside with the girls.

x

Kimiko giggled in glee as she twirled around and around. The air was filled with white dots and she reached her hand, as if to catch them all. "I got it!" Kimiko exclaimed, her hand grasping on one flurry of snow, but when she looked at it, it had melted in her hand.

"Catch them with your tongue, Kimiko, it is so much fun!" Manami said, doing as she had said, with her head high up. Her eyes squinted when a snowflake landed in her eye and she groaned. "It kind of burns, though if some fall in your eye."

Kimiko laughed and raised her hands again, her fingers extending towards the sky, but her eyes traveled to a figure in red walking to the god tree. Manami was focused on the falling flurries and didn't notice the stranger, before her sister hand nearly tackled her to the ground.

Manami let out a squeal of surprise when her sister tugged on her arm, forcing her to stare at the four year old who had brown eyes wide in a state of amazement. "What is it?" Manami asked her.

Kimiko gaped like a fish for several seconds before finding her voice,"It is the doggy man." That was when it clicked in Manami's head, remembering the event from earlier this morning when her sister claimed that a puppy lived next door.

"Okay Kimiko, it is okay that you want to play games. I'm sure your just imagining it," Manami said, putting her hand on her sister's head to ruffle her hair a bit.

"I am not imagining it, it is him, it's the puppy next door!" Kimiko exclaimed, her hand was directed where a man stood in front of the magnificent tree that she and her sibling would play around before.

"For the second time, it is impossible for a person to look like a puppy, can't you understand that?" Manami retorted, seeing the man's features, believing it was just an old man - possibly older than their great grandfather.

Kimiko wanted to shake some sense into her sister and growled inhumanly in anger, she stomped her foot and marched toward the man with white-silver long hair, who had a cap over his head. "Hello Mr.!"

From her slightly loud shout, Inuyasha jumped to notice that it was just a little girl who stared at him wide-eyed with her brown orbs, that were glued to the top of his head. He instantly recognized her as the niece of the woman that lived just next door in his building.

"Hi," he retorted, golden eyes glancing around to spot where her aunt was, and found her walking out of the house just yards away from where the tree he stood by.

Kimiko pursed her lips and her brows furrowed in thought, wondering how she could prove to her sister that the man did in fact have dog ears. Manami was slack-jawed by the matter that her little sister was speaking to a complete stranger. She remembered that their mother always reminded them to not speak to any strangers or even go up to any strangers.

Manami let out a relieved sigh when she noticed her aunt sauntering to where her sister and the odd man stood. It was time for her to go to them as well, fearing that something would happen if she were to leave.

"Inuyasha, it is nice seeing you here, what brings you to the Sunset Shrine?" Kagome asked, shivering when her jacket was a little too thin for the cold, but nevertheless still having the smile she had on her face.

Manami walked slowly behind her aunt, looking up at the man in red and she gasped. He doesn't look like grandpa's age! He looks like aunt Kagome's age.

"Just visiting this place, my mother use to come here a lot to pray and well I guess I come here because it reminds me of her," Inuyasha retorted, scratching his head uncomfortable of the two pairs of small eyes that glanced up at him.

Manami was giving him a skeptical look, while Kimiko had her hands clasped together waiting in anticipation to see if he would take off the cap that hid those cute little fuzzy ears of his. The four year old frowned when he only scratched his head and she crossed her arms.

As if whoever was listening to her silent pleas, a gush of wind had blown the red cap right off his head and sent it flying near the bole of the god tree.

Kimiko squealed in delight when the white appendages lowered because of the sharp cold that hit on them and Manami's eyes widened at the sight of them. Manami was in a state of shock, but then that changed when they twitched and she couldn't hold back the laughter she held in.

Kagome jumped in surprise at hearing the full blown laughter come from her niece. "Manami, don't be rude." Kagome scold her, noticing Inuyasha tense at the way the girls were pointed at his ears.

"I can't help it aunt Kagome, they are just too cute!"

Inuyasha scowled and remembered that was the reason children had always been fascinated with his dog ears, he hurried over to pick up the fallen cap that laid on the ground and rested it on to his head. Cute. She called 'em cute.

The half demon scowled even more when he noticed the youngest girl jump up and down in delight. "Are they real? Are they real? Tell meeeee!" Kimiko begged.

"Yeah…uh they are." Inuyasha answered and watched in awe that just because of his ears - one of the reasons what caused problems of him growing up - made them all jubilant.

Kagome stood by and glanced from her nieces to the half demon who glanced at her in nervousness.

"Can I touch them?" Kimiko asked and Kagome let out a small laughter, causing Inuyasha to slightly glare in her direction. Kimiko frowned,"I'll give you a cookie."

Inuyasha sighed and nodded,"Alright kid, but no tugging on 'em."

Kagome didn't know what to say when he crouched down and let Kimiko play with his dog ears, but jumped in bewilderment and slight jitteriness when they twitched. "Did I hurt them?" Kimiko asked worriedly.

"No," Inuyasha said, a smile that was faint but enough for Kagome to notice, spread on his face.

Kimiko let out a bubbly laughter and raced to the house to tell Naomi about the doggy man. Manami smiled and waved goodbye to him, following right after her sister and laughing as she entered the home.

"I guess I- uh..-well, I'll see you sometime," Inuyasha said, not finding the words. Not even a freaking 'good-bye' could be uttered and he turned around to leave. "Um. Inuyasha, thank you," Kagome said, causing him to turn around to stare at her incredulously.

"Thank you for what?" the half demon was at lost, not knowing what she was thanking him for. Kagome smiled at him. "Just thank you."

Inuyasha gave her a curt nod and went to the steps of the shrine, he looked back to see her walking to the home and he grinned. Well, your welcome, for what ever I did.

"Is that true?" Kagome heard as she took off her shoes and jacket at the entrance of the house, and shivered when warmth creeped on her skin. She looked to see her mother setting the table for their afternoon meal.

Ai, smiled at her daughter, and arched a brow in her way. "Is what true mama?" Kagome asked, oblivious to the fact that her mother was watching from the kitchen window.

"That, that young man is a …how should I put this the way Kimiko had said." a smile widened on the older woman's face. "A suitor of yours?"

Kagome slightly blushed at the declaration and shook her head. "Mama, Inuyasha is just the next door neighbor. I only met him twice -well three times due to Kouga's music in the morning- but that is just it. I'll help you set the table."

Ai watched her daughter gather the plates and eating utensils and left the kitchen abruptly.

"Maybe that man could help her through this all, Kagome did say that he lived next door. Inuyasha..hmm, the helper next door." Ai thought contently and went back to finish with the soup.

Author's Note

Finally, I managed to update. I've been preoccupied with some tests and now with studying for the SAT's, which are a killer or so I've heard. I've been doing a lot of drawing lately as you can see -if you have gone on my deviant art page - but I am so happy I got to post this chapter. I hope you liked it!

Arigato:

Liz Nekogami
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Thank you everyone! I hope to update soon, but I have exams coming soon and I'll have to dig my nose in the books. I hate exams, but what can I do? I do hope they don't interfere with my stories, I don't want leave you all hanging for the next chapter. I'll try my best to update as soon as I can. Until then!