Beneath The Endless Sky

Luna Silvereyes

Saaya and Mononoke

" Saaya! Get back here!" Sesshomaru shouted furiously. Saaya was just barely visible beyond the rise, her shoulder-length white hair flying behind her. The wolf cub, now half grown ran beside her, equally rebellious today. Sesshomaru paused and shook his head. He was far from tired, though he'd been chasing her all day, but he was getting a little annoyed. He had to keep reminding himself that demons grew quickly and she was only a month and a half old. She had reached that point in her life where she discovered her legs and never wanted to stop using them. Yet she was too young for her parents to tell her that she'd have many, many, many years in which to use them so much, she'd take them for granted. When she was old enough, she'd get the same lecture about other things. Now, Sesshomaru's job was just to get her home in time for her bath.

" Saaya!" he yelled again. Her head appeared at the top of the hill. " Yes daddy?" she called. He found he had a hard time getting used to that.

" It's time to go home. Your mother's waiting for you." He called. Saaya beamed. " Aw, can't we stay out a little longer? Mononoke hates taking baths." She whined. She squealed as Sesshomaru suddenly flew up beside her and scooped her up before she could run again. She hung limp in his arm as he started back toward the village, looking like he was carrying a rag doll. He didn't have to worry about grabbing the wolf cub. Mononoke never left Saaya's side if he could help it. Saaya swung her arms back and forth as he carried her back to the village. She looked up, letting her arms dangle downward. " Daddy? Why is the sky blue?"

" I don't know." He replied, glancing down at her.

" Daddy? Why is the grass green?"

" Because the earth made it that way."

" Daddy? Why does your arm hurt you sometimes?"

" Because it was recently reattached to me."

Here, Saaya laughed happily. Little did the happy young demon girl suspect that what her father was saying was the complete truth.

" Daddy? How old are you?"

" Three hundred and seventeen."

" Daddy? How old is mommy?"

" Somewhere around eighty."

He never really tired of answering her constant questions. He liked hearing her young voice. He'd never gotten to hear it when Miharu was born. She'd been taken so quickly and by the time he found her again, she was too old to ask such stupid questions. Well, to Saaya, they weren't stupid. But if an older person asked that to another older person, it would sound stupid for sure.

" Daddy? Why is my hair white?"

" You have my hair."

" I do? I'm sorry. I'll give it back."

Sesshomaru stopped and watched, wide-eyed as she attempted to pull her own hair out.

" Ugh! Ugh! Umph! Arghhh!" she grunted. " I'm sorry. I can't seem to get it out. I'll cut it with my claws when we get home."

" Uh, Saaya, you can keep it. I've got plenty." He said.

" Okay." She said. He started toward the village again and she hummed one of the faster lullabies that Saeka used to sing her.

" Near a tree by a river, there's a ho-ole in the ground, where an old man of aron goes around and around. In his mind is a beacon in the va-ale of the night, for a strange kind of fashion there's a wrong and a right."

She stopped and swung her arms again. They were nearing the village. Sesshomaru could see it from where they were standing.

" Daddy? How did you meet mommy?"

Sesshomaru smiled a little. " I was very sick. Your mother was a healer and she came to help me."

" And she made you all better!" she squeaked. Sesshomaru nodded. He looked down at her. " All right. So your mother doesn't think I trapped you again, can I trust you to walk to the village on your own?"

" Yep! Then Mononoke and I can go play after our bath!" she said. Sesshomaru carefully set her down, and instead of running away, she and Mononoke ran for the village where Sesshomaru could see Saeka standing by Kaede's village, her eyes shaded from the sun as she waited for them.

" Mommy!" Saaya cried. Saeka snatched her up and spun her around. " Oh, you're back! I thought you'd been lost forever!" she cried, pretending to be scared.

" I didn't leave, mommy. Daddy found me." She said as Sesshomaru came up to them. Saeka smiled. " So I see." She said. She looked up, Saaya's hand clasped in hers. " Was she agreeable?" she asked.

" After awhile. It took a little convincing." He said.

" Come on, Saaya. Time for yours and Mononoke's bath." Saeka said.

She led them around the back where she had some water all ready in a wooden tub. After she got them both in, Sesshomaru came around. " I never understood why you do them both at the same time." He said. She pushed Mononoke back in as he tried to leap out and smiled. " Well, they're both dirty, washing them both together won't make much of a difference in how clean they get, it saves work and water and they can't bear to be separated." She said. At that moment, Saaya splashed and drenched Saeka. Saeka made a face suggesting she was trying to be patient with her young daughter and shook the water out of her eyes. " Ugh. I hate getting soap in my eyes. You'd think they'd have sting-free soap in Kagome's world." She said. " When I give these two a bath, I usually end up taking more of one than they do."

" She gave the soap to you?" Sesshomaru said. Saeka nodded. " Yes. She brings me a little every month, starting last month when I gave Saaya her first bath. It works quite well, for something made from leaves."

Saaya splashed again and this time got a fistful of soap in Saeka's eyes. Saeka yelled and recoiled a bit, rubbing her eyes. Sesshomaru knelt beside her and used the corner of his sleeve to get the soap out of her eyes. Saaya and Mononoke watched for a second and then went back to dunking each other.

" Are you okay?" Sesshomaru inquired. Saeka blinked a few times. " Yeah, it stings though. Thanks." She said. Her eyes were bloodshot and slightly red around the rim, but she seemed fine. She just looked like she'd been crying. She returned to washing the two goofballs in the water. She carefully ducked Saaya's head beneath the surface and scrubbed her hair with soap, rinsing the water out by splashing her lightly. Saaya giggled and blew soap bubbles into the air.

Sesshomaru went to find InuYasha and the others while Saeka fished Saaya and Mononoke out of the water.

" I did not!"

" You did so!"

" Ah, you're dreaming!"

" Sit, boy!" Kagome yelled. Sesshomaru winced as he heard the telltale thud of the enchanted beads still at work around his brother's neck. He went around Kaede's cabin and found the two of them deep in an argument as usual.

" What are you two fighting about this time?" he grumbled. Kagome looked at him. " Hello, Sesshomaru. Apparently, InuYasha decided to hide my bag on me as soon as I said I wanted to go home for a few days."

" I didn't hide your stupid bag! Maybe you misplaced it, did you ever think of that?" he yelled.

Sesshomaru glanced back and forth at them as the argument started up again. Finally, he rolled his eyes and snarled at them both furiously. They both stopped on a dime and stared at him.

" Cut it out." He said. " InuYasha, help her look for her bag and Kagome, if you find it, apologize to InuYasha. If it turns out he does have it, do what you like." He said, turning and leaving the way he came.

" Fair enough." Kagome said smugly. InuYasha growled. " I don't have it. You'd better start working on that apology and it had better be good." He said.

Saeka came around with Saaya in her arms just in time to see the end of the fight. She smiled at her companion. " Very good." She said. Saaya squirmed to be let down and Saeka set her on the ground. " You're a regular Wiseman."

" I try." He said tonelessly.

" Daddy!" Saaya cried. Beside her, Mononoke yapped excitedly. Saaya laughed. " I'm all clean now!" she declared.

" I see that." Sesshomaru said. Saaya bounced up and down. " Can Mononoke and me go play?" she asked.

" It's 'Mononoke and 'I', and yes, you may go play. But don't go too far." Saeka said. Saaya grabbed the wolf cub and dashed off to the hill. Saeka sighed.

" I can't believe how fast she's growing. She's only a month and a half old." She said.

" Think of it this way, Saeka. She's a demon like us. She'll live far longer than any human would. We'll have her for a long time yet." Sesshomaru said. Saeka sighed. " Yes, but still. I still haven't even done her first haircut yet. She's going to need it. She can hardly see without that headband."

Sesshomaru took a step back for some reason and Saeka gave him a funny look. " What was that for? Oh, I get it. You're afraid I'll get ideas." She grumbled.

" Whoever said that?" he said in his usual semi-cold tone. Saeka rolled her eyes. " I've wondered for a long time how you always kept yours managed." She said, crossing her arms and tapping her chin.

" I've always done it myself."

Saeka shook her head. " I'm surprised you still have hair." She said, turning and heading back around Kaede's hut to purify the water for another time.

Sesshomaru stared after her and then quickly turned and calmly made a beeline toward the forest. He figured when she got into quirky moods like this, he was at a better advantage to avoid her, especially if she was nervous about Saaya's first haircut. She may just want to 'practice'.

Already he was forming ideas and excuses to use for Saaya when the day came. He'd ask Kaede about it later.

A/N: Okay, I hate doing disclaimers, but I'll get it over with. I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters except my own. Okay, this is the first chapter of Beneath The Endless Sky. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Just as a warning, there are two more books following this one and possibly more after that. One of the books after this is a short Oneshot connected to the series. It may not be long, but it's a part of the series nonetheless. R&R!