***Author's Note***
Good day, my friends! It's been quite a while since last I put anything up. Now, I started writing this a few months back, and it took a disturbing and revolting turn that made me nauseous. I decided I would take a look at what I had already and fiddle with it a bit, then scrap everything else. I'm going to polish some chapters up and completely re-write others. Hopefully I do a better job this time! So, please enjoy, and if anyone starts reading this that read it the first time around is able to keep an open mind. I swear, I am going to keep it rated T, this time, and our Big Bad will be toned down, but only a little bit. He's still going to raise the hairs on the back of your neck! Okay, so please have fun and enjoy!
***End Note***
Inuyasha lay on his back, the warm mid-day sun soaking into his skin with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. At the sound of a high-pitched giggle, he opened one eye to see his only child running towards him being chased by Miroku. "Papa! Papa!" She cried through her giggles, "Save me, Papa!"
Inuyasha sprung to his feet and tackled the monk, making little Momoko squeal in delight. Though he smiled, it did not reach his eyes, nor did he laugh. He did precious little laughing these days. Not since that demon raid on their village. I can't believe that was a year ago, he thought to himself. Just look at how Momoko has adjusted to life without her mother. Poor child will never get to know Kag-. He stopped the thought before her name came into his head. Inuyasha shook his head, dispelling the morose thoughts. He glanced up to see Miroku watching him with a sad, knowing look in his eyes. Inuyasha stiffened and his ears twitched, "What the hell are you staring at? Come on, Momoko. We're going home, away from irritating monks."
His daughter's ears swiveled to catch her father's voice, "Okay, Papa! I'll see you tomorrow, Uncle Miroku!"
Inuyasha swept his little part-demon daughter onto his shoulders and sprang down the hillside towards the village, an aching hole in his chest. After Kagome had found her way back down the well for the last time, he'd thought they'd be together forever. He'd even taken her as his mate. Kaede had performed the ceremony, herself. He remembered how Kagome's lip had curled at the thought of drinking his blood.
"I know it's gross, but it'll bind us closer than any marriage vows ever could. This will literally make us one. Our souls will be bound together, and I won't have to worry about losing you to old age before I get old. Plus, you'll be way stronger than any normal human."
It had taken weeks of begging and pleading on his part, but she'd finally agreed. It had been a simple ceremony, really. Kaede had read a traditional chant while they had stood before the old woman and they'd exchanged their promises. Shippo had worked his fox magic to make cherry blossoms swirl through the air, just as they'd kissed to seal the mating. Little had he known that he'd have to worry about losing her long before old age would creep into either of their joints. Momoko had been only five years old when it had happened. There'd been a demon raid in the middle of the night with zero warning; they had come out of nowhere and decimated the village. Inuyasha had been on the other end of the village when he'd heard her scream. He'd never heard her make a sound like that in all the years he'd known her, and it had frozen him to the bone. He had felt her distress, or maybe it was his imagination; he'd never known which it was. His heart pounded painfully at the memory, even now. Inuyasha had made it to their house just in time to see a massive dog demon yanking his beloved mate out of the house in his teeth; she'd been nearly torn in half, and her eyes were completely blank. He didn't have to check for a pulse to know she was dead. He remembered the grief had nearly driven him mad. For days, he'd run after the trail of the unfamiliar dog demon, but the trail had vanished. His only love was gone.
For many weeks, it was all he could process until one day Momoko had crawled into his numb arms, sobbing. She had been the only one who'd been able to reach him, and it was like the breaking of a dam; they'd curled into a tight ball together and sobbed for hours. He hadn't truly smiled since the night of the raid. He knew the entire village worried for him, and it wasn't that he didn't care, it was simply that he simply couldn't recover. His mate was gone, and she was never coming back. There was no waiting for five hundred years until he could see her again this time. All he could do to see her again was die, and he had Momoko to think about. He couldn't just leave her, much as he wanted to die.
Momoko squirmed on his shoulders, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch just a little, which was the most animation his face showed these days. He brought her down from his shoulders and nestled her comfortably in his arms so that her head could rest on his shoulder, buried in his hair, which was her very favorite place in the world. Momoko leaned back for a moment so she could look into her father's face and smiled that heart-melting smile of hers. Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. Every time she smiled like that, she looked so very much like her mother that it broke Inuyasha's heart, just a little. Even Sesshomaru hadn't been able to resist that smile, Inuyasha thought with pride. He still remembered the first day his half-brother had come to visit after Momoko's birth. She – he couldn't even bring himself to think her name - had proudly handed their daughter to Sesshomaru and asked what he thought. Given that he looked like someone had shoved dung under his nose and that he'd been holding Momoko like something hazardous, Inuyasha had been certain he'd known what his brother would say. He may well have been correct, had Momoko not raised her eyes to look at her Uncle. Something about him had always drawn the girl to him, right from that first moment; she'd lit up with that smile of hers, and Inuyasha watched his brother's heart of ice melt. To his further astonishment, Sesshomaru had sworn on the spot to protect Momoko and her mother with his very life; Inuyasha had never been able to understand Sesshomaru's motivations for that, and he had never asked, either.
But perhaps that was why Inuyasha despised the fact that his brother was so close to his daughter. Despite his promises, Sesshomaru had not been there that night to protect his brother's mate. Inuyasha had become more embittered against his brother than ever before and refused to so much as look at him, let alone speak to Sesshomaru. The older, full-blooded demon liked to act like he cared little what Inuyasha did, or for anything, for that matter, but the truth was, his family was very important to him. Deep, deep inside, anyway; at least, that's what Rin always said.
Inuyasha reached the house he had once shared with his wife just as his precious bundle yawned hugely. Inuyasha's lips twitched again in an approximation of a smile, "Alright, then. Nap time, little pup."
Momoko instantly began to pout, "No! I don't wanna! Can't make me."
Oh, I beg to differ, thought Inuyasha, "Tell you what. If you get ready quickly, I'll nap with you," bribed the half-demon.
Momoko nodded enthusiastically and rushed around to get ready for nap time with her Papa. Inuyasha took the moment to study his daughter. At only six years old, Momoko had inherited many things from her father, though mostly only the physical. She had the same long, white hair, yellow eyes, white dog-ears, and long, sharp claws as her father. She loved to run, jump, and play fight with her father, not that she knew it was really training. The rest, she got from her mother. Her spirit, tender-hearted devotion to those she loved, and her unwillingness to give up, even if it was phrased as a "tactical retreat". Momoko had the same long, willowy form as her mother; she often looked like some sort of spirit, though Inuyasha knew she was flesh and blood. She even seemed to have the same innate ability to read people as her mother had possessed. Inuyasha had learned over the last year to hide his emotions, though his ears still twitched when he was feeling something strongly, instantly giving him away. His daughter would be quite the beauty when she grew up. I'll have to invest in a large stick to beat boys with, he thought. I pity any boy who comes to ask for herhand in marriage. He'll probably have a stroke when he has to face me! Rather than lighten his mood, however, these thoughts only served to further depress him.
Momoko saved him from his morose mood by calling softly, "Papa? I'm ready for our nap now."
The half-demon glanced up to see his daughter in a soft white kimono that she preferred for sleeping and smiled slightly, though as ever, it did not reach his eyes. "Alright then, little pup," he said gently, "I'll lay down, you curl on my chest. Sound good?"
Momoko grinned at her father again, "Okay, Papa!" Inuyasha laid on the tatami mat and Momoko obligingly crawled up onto his chest, where she curled into a tight little ball and instantly fell asleep. Her father smiled another half-hearted smile as her breath instantly slowed. She sighed softly in her sleep and curled gently towards her father's heartbeat.
When Inuyasha finally woke, Momoko was sitting cross-legged on his chest and staring down at him. Inuyasha sniffed out of habit and froze. He knew that scent. Sesshomaru, he thought with a sneer he just couldn't manage to tamp down. Momoko bounced excitedly on her father's chest, "Papa, Papa! It's Uncle Sesshomaru, it's Uncle Sesshomaru! I can smell him, Papa!"
Inuyasha groaned, "Yes, that's very good, Momoko. Can Papa have his chest back now so he can stand up?" Momoko giggled and hopped off of her father's chest to stand dancing by the door, waiting for him. Inuyasha sighed and stood so he could open the door for her. She raced down the stairs and into the lane, straight into the waiting arms of one of his least-favorite people on Earth, his dear brother. Her high giggle wafted through the air as Sesshomaru lifted his niece over his head, smiling as widely as Inuyasha had ever seen his brother smile. He grimaced and made his way towards the happy twosome, and his ears twitched as he took in his brother's expression. Something's bothering him, Inuyasha thought. And it has something to do with my family. We'll see what he has to say for himself; I doubt he'll have anything new to say, let alone anything I want to hear.
Sesshomaru paused when his brother came near and returned to playing with his niece. After a long, tense moment, he finally spoke, "Run along, Momoko. I need to speak with your father." Momoko stopped, glancing between the two men with great apprehension, then shrugged and rushed off to bother Miroku. Sesshomaru watched his brother closely for a moment before speaking, "We need to talk."
***Author's Note***
So, one of the biggest complaints was that Sesshomaru was too AU for some people's tastes. One of my biggest goals in this re-write is to better illustrate Sesshomaru's motives, so that it is made clear why he does what he does. I had never intended him to be AU originally, and it grieved me greatly to learn that I had so mis-written one of my favorite characters! Anywho, there wasn't all that much to change in this chapter, so...I'll be putting up as much as I can today! Thanks, all! Lots of love.
- Lady Darkwind
