Chapter 2

Although tired, Kagome lay awake for a long time, until finally deciding to confront her mummy and daddy. The strange man had frightened her even if she did like him initially, innately feeling that he meant her no harm. She was sure now that he was speaking about her. The tiny girl slid her dainty feet from underneath her checked Barbie covers and padded barefoot to her parents room, the cool wood floor feeling nice on her feet. She didn't like wearing slippers much, even if mummy insisted that she would catch a cold like that.

Kagome made her way down the corridor tracing the familiar patterns of the wallpaper with her fingers. She saw the light from her parent's room split the darkness of the corridor; clearly she wasn't the only one who was up past bedtime. She was glad that they were awake and wouldn't be mad at her for staying up so late, after all they were too and telling her off now would make them hy-poc-rites. Kagome was rather glad that she didn't forget the word, it was an adult word.

She walked into the room to find her mother fast asleep and her father gently stroking the woman's brown hair, whilst staring off into the distance. Kagome smiled and ran towards her daddy, throwing her slight form onto the bed, not worrying about the damage she might deal to his person at the slightest.

Daddies must be tough.

Her father's eyes slowly turned towards her, as if only just noticing her presence in the room, which was impossible with his enhanced youkai senses. The proud inu lifted his hand and wrapped it around the petite girl, pressing his head into her hair and inhaling deeply, trying to memorise the scent of his pup.

"Kagome" he whispered, not wanting to wake his mate "were you a good girl today?"

Kagome giggled softly and flung herself onto his neck.

"Yes daddy, I always am!" she hit him playfully for possibly assuming otherwise "I played with a girl named Souki and her brother Jinta today. We made sandy pies and tried to feed them to a dog, but it only sniffed them and wagged its tail. Jinta said that they looked tasty though and that dogs just don't know what is good for them. I sprayed him a little from my water bottle after we played tag for that." She huffed in annoyance as her forgotten anger at the silly boy surfaced once again. Boys are dummies for sure.

Her father smiled with the corners of his mouth and inhaled her clean scent once again; enjoying the peace it granted him. It almost made him forget that they were to part in several hours. His handsome features hardened at that, strings of red running through his golden eyes. He blinked and made himself focus on Kagome's chatter instead. It would not do for her to see him lose control, no matter what the situation.

Kagome glanced up to her father, finally noticing that he wasn't paying close attention to her words. Many ladies said that he was gorgeous, but he didn't acknowledge them at all as he loved her mummy with all his heart. She loved hearing the story of how him and mummy met and grew fond of each other and then fallen in love. It sounded like a fairytale to her. Him-the knight in shining armour with beautiful jet black hair and speckled amber eyes and her – soft waves of light brown hair framing the aquamarine eyes that changed their colour from light to midnight blue, depicting her mood.

On the day they met, her father joked; those eyes could have bore holes in his head. He was unwise enough to call her 'ungrateful' for screaming at him after he pulled her out of her wrecked car. How could he have known after all that she was practising for a movie scene? Now, six years after they got married, he loved her just as much if not more. But at this moment, on this day, he almost wished that he had never met Midoriko, for the pain he was experiencing was simply unbearable. He had to stay strong for his girls though, his mate and pup requiring his protection today more than ever before.

He smiled at Kagome and patted her head.

"Kagome. I want to you know that I and your mother love you. We will always love you, no matter what will happen. No matter where you will be, we will always be with you."

With that, he gave her a small medallion on an intricate chain. She tilted it to see soft hues shimmer in complicated patterns, taking her breath away for never before she was allowed to hold something so fragile and significant. She felt around the edge and saw that it could be opened. Inside, there was a small photograph. She remembered when it was taken; it was several months ago now, at a fair. Her mother was smiling radiantly at the camera and daddy was smirking slightly, clearly proud of his company. Kagome was sitting on their shoulders with a giant heart-shaped lolly in her right hand. It was a fun day, although she was sick from going on the big ride.

He took the medallion out of her hands and slid the chain over her unruly raven locks, admiring the way it looked against her pale skin. Kagome smiled and lay down on his lap, her head resting against her mother's cheek. She smiled contently and closed her eyes, whilst gripping her father's hand firmly.

'Quite strong for a girl' he felt himself swell with pride at that. She would take after him.

"Good night daddy. I love you."

He smiled sadly and squeezed her hand, before reclining his head against one of the upright pillows. His strength may be required tomorrow.