"I still don't understand why she doesn't have any youkai abilities," my father said to my mother. He obviously didn't know I could hear their "private" discussion from my bedroom. It was true that, despite the small amount of my father's youkai blood in me, I had yet to show any actual powers. Then again, mom's friend Sango had said I was the only quarter youkai anyone had ever heard of.
"Inuyasha, there's no need to get so upset. She's only 15, she could be a late bloomer," my mom said, trying to shove reason through my father's thick skull.
"You don't understand, Kagome. A child born with any youkai blood at all will show at least a few attributes from the moment they're born," my father explained. "With Sakura being only one-quarter, I would have figured she would have at least had inu ears." There was a brief silence, so I knew mom either rolled her eyes or sighed, or maybe both. She usually did both. I reached up and combed my fingers through my silver hair, stopping around the point I knew my inu ears would be if I had them. I let the thick strands fall through my fingers slowly. I had inherited dad's hair and, despite the color, I was quite grateful for it. It was always soft so I didn't have to condition when I showered. I never had any split ends. My hair grew incredibly long, as well. Just like dad, it went down to my waist. I turned and looked at my reflection in the mirror above my dresser. I had acquired mom's eyes, and it made for an interesting combination with my hair and darker skin tone. Mom always said I reminded her of her bodily and my dad spiritually and emotionally. I still don't know if that's good or bad.
"I don't know why you keep bringing this up. It isn't like there's anything we can do about it," my mom finally said. "It only ever causes us to fight. And I know Sakura can tell when we've been fighting. She may not have any special youkai powers, but she's in-tune with us enough that she can tell when something's wrong."
"Keh. That's probably because you passed on some of your reiki to her," my dad scoffed.
"Yeah, and she hasn't come into those powers yet, either, but I'm not going to complain about it. What's the point? Like I said, she's probably just a late bloomer. Giver her some time," my mom said, jumping to my defense.
"Fifteen years is more than enough time," my dad growled. I could tell it was just his youkai blood surfacing and trying to take over and "put mom back in her place".
"Human puberty can be stalled as many as nineteen years!" my mom exclaimed. "She's mostly human anyway! Why is it so hard to believe she'd be following more human patterns like she has been her whole life?" I could tell that hit my dad's youkai side pretty hard. I heard him huff and stalk off, the back door slamming shut behind him. I heard mom sigh so I crept towards my door and opened it slowly.
"Mom?" I called out. She came around the corner looking exasperated, but smiled when she saw me.
"You heard that, didn't you?" she asked, placing her hand on top of my head and ruffling my hair. I nodded and she pulled me into a tight, loving hug of the kind only a mother could give. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face against her. I wanted to cry.
"Why is dad unhappy with me?" I asked, my voice muffled by her shoulder. She pulled back and held me by my shoulders.
"Your father isn't unhappy with you," she said sternly but lovingly.
"Then why does he always complain about me?" I asked, the backs of my eyes stinging.
"He just can't understand that you're mostly human, and you've been following typical human growth rates. He doesn't understand that, because you're only quarter-youkai, your body probably isn't capable of displaying youkai capabilities," mom said, pulling me into another tight hug. I smiled. Mom always knew how to make me feel better.
"Would you like to come to the market with me and do some shopping for dinner?" mom asked. I nodded, and we were off.