Prompt: Haruka's Adventure
Summary for the prompt: Inuyasha, Sango, and Kagome are desperately looking for a sitter for their children and unfortunately no one seems to be free. Miroku decides to stand in while everyone else is gone. When he doesn't keep a close eye on everyone, Haruka ends up wandering off into a forest all by herself. With Inuyasha being able to pick up her scent, he can easily find her. But on the night of the new moon, it will be a completely different story.
OC's in This Chapter
Haruka (Inuyasha and Kagome's daughter) age two
Midori (Sango and Miroku's daughter) age six
Misaki (Twin of Midori) age six
Akio (younger brother of Midori and Misaki) age four
No one. Absolutely no one was free to watch the children. Sango wanted to go and visit her brother but thought the journey would be too much for her to handle all of her children. Kagome was traveling as well to see an old friend of hers and felt the same as Sango. Inuyasha and Miroku had another far village to travel to. Rin still appeared to be too young to do the job and was busy visiting Sesshomaru. Kaede was the complete opposite of Rin. Shippo too, still appeared too young, but he had to be off to take the Fox Demon Exam.
"Damn it, we're never going to find anyone," Inuyasha growled.
"We've got to find someone to watch over the kids," Sango sighed.
Miroku, the mysterious and lecherous walked right into the picture as he humbly offered his services.
"I humbly offer my services to watch over all of the children."
"Miroku, don't you have a job or something to do with Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.
"I could use some kind of a break for once and awhile. I'll be spending some quality time with the kids!" Miroku replied.
"I can handle the demon on my own. I'll be able to pick up it's scent and slay it before it does any damage," Inuyasha said.
"Are you sure you can handle all four young kids?" Sango asked. Haruka was the youngest amongst the children and she tends to wander where her feet take her.
"It'll be fine Sango. It's not like we have more kids than Inuyasha and Kagome," Miroku replied, as Sango rolled her eyes as if he really can't handle it.
"You've got to keep a very close eye on Haruka. You know how she tends to wander aimlessly all the time!" Sango exclaimed.
Haruka not too long ago had an incident when wondering around the village. She was chasing a butterfly while being unaware of her surroundings and she almost fell into a flowing river with a strong current. Luckily, Rin was there to stop her and prevent her from drowning before things would get much worse. This scared the heck out of Kagome and Inuyasha giving them more of a lesson to watch Haruka more carefully in the future.
"Sango does have a point there," Inuyasha growled. "Anyways I gotta get going very soon."
"You seem to be in a hurry Inuyasha," Kagome said to find him already gone. "Well, take care Miroku since you're one of the only ones available. Inuyasha should be back in a few hours. Sango and I will probably take a day or two."
"Don't worry. Your daughter is under my careful watch!"
…..
"I was so wrong to volunteer for this job!"
"Papa come on! Let's play something!" Miroku's daughter Midori (who wore a green kimono) begged.
"Now, now Midori, I also have to keep an eye on Haruka," Miroku replied.
"Why do you always have to watch her?" Midori's twin Misaki groaned.
"Because, Haruka is still a very young girl. She doesn't fully understand her surroundings yet. Just like you," Miroku explain as the two twins.
"Maybe we can play with her and it will teach her!" Misaki squealed in excitedly.
"Come here Haruka! Let's braid your hair!" Midori said to Haruka who turned to the twins. The twins took her to a soft green meadow with tall grass and flowers surrounding the area. Miroku kept watch nearby the girls as he sat on a hill peacefully.
"Pretty flowers!" Haruka exclaimed running towards the daisies lying on the ground.
"Stay here Haruka! You don't want to get lost do you?" Midori asked quickly grabbing Haruka's had.
"I think she loves those daisies! Let's make a tiara for her!" Misaki added.
The twins and Haruka all gathered all the daisies they could find as they all held handfuls in their hands. As the girls were about to get started on Haruka's hair, the twins suddenly saw their father running towards them frantically.
"Girls, is Akio with you?" Miroku asked them half calm and frantic.
"No. We thought he was with you," Midori replied.
"Is he lost?" Misaki added.
"Damn! Sango didn't say Haruka wasn't the only one to wonder off!" Miroku growled to himself in his head. "Alright girls, we've got to find him. Then you all can get back to playing."
Miroku and his daughters ran out of the meadow to search for Akio, the younger four year old brother of the twins. But they didn't realize they had forgotten something. Something important.
Haruka just sat and gazed at the blue sky and the cotton clouds swimming along the blue. She giggled as she laid down and gazed once more. She didn't know for how long she was laying there, but she gave a small sigh and sat up.
"Ruka bored," Haruka silently groaned. She looked around for wondrous things to do. Explore. She stood upon her small wobbly feet and and traveled through the distant plains of wherever the grass would take her. She watched the petals fall from the trees and fly on top of her burying her to the sacred ground of the earth.
"Pretty!" Haruka squealed throwing pink petals into the air. "Ruka loves flowers!"
She went wherever her small little feet could take her. Soon, tall trees and rich green leaves had appeared as Haruka began her little adventure in the forest.
Blue birds flew by as Haruka watched them sing their song. The birds had lead her to their nest where a batch of baby blues peeped out from their nest where their mother bird was greeted graciously to her home. They chirped as they begged for their food that was about to be served.
The mother leaned down on her children feeding them all their dinner as they all split and shared the worm. Haruka stared at the family of birds as they all cuddled in their nest tightly. She felt her stomach grumble after watching those birds eat the food.
"Ruka hungry," Haruka said to herself while putting her hands on her stomach. "Ruka will wait."
Haruka knew that someone would be able to feed her when she gets home. Home. She didn't know she was far from home already. Haruka glanced around to find herself alone. Twins weren't around. Nor was her Uncle Miroku. Or Granny Kaede. Or Auntie Sango. Or Auntie Rin. Or Shippo. Not even Mama and Papa. She thought about all the people in her life that cared for her and she completely forgotten about how worried they'll be if she doesn't come back.
"Ruka will go home," Haruka smiled as she looked around for a possible path. But she was in the middle of nowhere. Haruka didn't know how to use her senses fully as she started to feel a little anxious. No one was around to help her find her way. She continued looking around until she heard a noise from behind her. The sound of a stick cracking. She turned around to the source of the noise which was a brown majestic hare.
"Bunny rabbit!" Haruka exclaimed chasing after the hare as it hopped on where it's short legs could take it.
…..
It was several minutes, more like hours, for Miroku to find his runaway son. It was nearly sundown by the time he found Akio.
"Akio! There you are! Wait until your mother hears about this!" Miroku scolded at Akio, but was relieved at the same time as he picked him up in his arms.
"Papa….." Midori said in a tone that confused Miroku.
"What is it Midori?" asked Miroku.
"Haruka….she's not here," Misaki added but with a more guilty face.
Those words had wrung through Miroku's ears as he froze in place not knowing all this time, Haruka managed to slip herself away and sneak off somewhere to explore.
"No! Inuyasha is going to kill me!"
"Wha-...I thought she was with you when we went to go look for Akio!" Miroku exclaimed.
"We thought she was following us when we went to look for Akio, but she was gone when we looked back to find her. We felk like someone wasn't here when we started looking for Akio," Misaki explained guiltily.
"This has got to be the worst day ever!" Miroku groaned in his head since he'll spend more hours looking for Haruka.
"Whoa look at that pretty sunset!" Midori exclaimed as Miroku nervously stood in place.
"Sunset! Girls, when did you notice Haruka disappeared?" Miroku asked.
"Right now. The last time we saw her was at the meadow," Misaki replied.
"Oh lord. Things had gotten really worse. She could've slipped off a while ago meaning she could've been gone for…..hours!"
…..
Haruka continued her journey along the forest as she lost track of that hare she was chasing. She looked at the orange flamed sun as it reached it's peak to nightfall. The orchestra of crickets started chirping, the owls hooting. Bats screeched and flew into the sky with their comrades. Wolves howled in the distance as they awaited their pack for an evening hunt. All of these sounds had rung in Haruka's ears as she felt them now at the side of her head. Her eyes were the color of Kagome's. She looked up in the sky only to find millions of twinkling stars.
"Moon not out. Ruka not a doggy," Haruka sighed as she looked around her surroundings. She knew once again, she was alone. Only this time, it was in the dark.
"Ruka scared. Ruka want Papa and Mama!" Haruka breathed nervously as she started to whimper. "Ruka wan' go home!"
"What is she doing all alone out here at this late time? I've got to see."
…..
"WHAT?!"
"Like I said…...the girls didn't know where she…" Miroku stuttered nervously.
"She was out there on her own for hours?! Damn it Miroku, something could happen to her on a night like this!" Inuyasha shouted.
"I can't track her! It's the night of the new moon. Both of us have lost our senses so it will take forever to find her!"
"Calm down Inuyasha, we'll send a search party to find her," Kaede said cooly.
…
"Ruka scared!" Haruka whimpered once more. She was no longer a hanyou, for the time being. She heard another sound behind her as she stayed in the position she was in. She was afraid to look behind this time. She slowly turned her body around to see something that surprised her. A rusty coated creature with pointy ears, a small fluffy tail and sharp teeth. She looked into the eyes of the creature, for it showed no intentions of doing her harm.
"Foxy!" Haruka smiled as she ran towards the fox. The fox only sniffed and stared at the young girl with it's calm eyes.
"Fluffy foxy!" Haruka pet it's warm coat as she giggled feeling less afraid now. The fox knelt down as it looked at Haruka telling her to ride his back.
"Ruka ride foxy!" Haruka squealed climbing on the fox's back. The foxy took off in the forest as Haruka riding on it's back. It suddenly stopped on it's trail as it growled pointing its nose to the direction behind it.
"I smell human blood! I shall devour the little helpless human!" hissed a raspy voice. The voice appeared itself as a demon bat with unsettling, nightmarish looks on it.
"RUKA SCARED!" Haruka screamed clinging onto the fox's silky fur for protection. The fox only flared back as Haruka felt a ring of heat surround the two. A ring of blue fire which appeared to be the fox's barrier.
"You fool! Give me that young human to devour, and I shall spare your life!" the demon bat hissed.
"Never!" The fox leaped out of it's ring with Haruka on his back clinging tightly. His sheathed his claws and showed his teeth as he scratched and bit the demon with all of his power. The demon screeched as it blew into ashes and left Haruka and the fox unharmed.
"Thank goodness I was here to protect her on time. Thank goodness she's safe too," The fox said to himself as he looked at the small girl who was smiling and less afraid.
"Foxy save me," Haruka smiled as the fox nodded until he pointed his ears to the sounds of horses. He heard voices in the distance with the horses. He ran off to the sounds with Haruka riding on his back knowing that she'll be returned safe and sound. Stopping in the middle of a clearing, the fox knelt down letting Haruka carefully lift herself down.
"Be safe little one."
Haruka smiled as she turned around to hear the sound of clicks and clacks running right towards her. The fox turned back to the forest as Haruka stared at it's departure.
"HARUKA!"
"Papa!" Haruka smiled running towards Inuyasha who knelt down with his arms spread out wide for her to run into. Haruka felt warm arms embrace her body and her feet being lifted off of the ground.
"You scared me Haruka. Don't run off like that again young lady!" Inuyasha scolded while pressing Haruka to his chest tightly, and stroking her hair softly.
"Ruka sorry," Haruka smiled slightly.
"You're safe now my spring flower. You're safe."
"What a relief," Miroku sighed running his hand through his hair. Inuyasha glared at him like he did a very irresponsible job in the first place.
"Like we'll be trusting you to watch her again," Inuyasha grumbled.
"Inuyasha, the important thing is, we found her and she was well. She doesn't seem to be hurt either," Kaede implied.
"Yeah. Whatever," Inuyasha sighed still carrying Haruka with him.
Haruka peered from behind Inuyasha's shoulder and looked to see if her fox in shining armor was still there. There he stood in the clearing as blue fire surrounded him showing his true appearance. He looked like someone Haruka recognized, and someone her father knew very well. His green colored eyes gazed right into Haruka's as he winked his left eye and turned around to depart.
…
Kagome and Sango both stood where they were wide eyed as Miroku laughed nervously while Inuyasha glared. The four children in the meantime stayed close by.
"You lost both Akio and Haruka?!" Sango exclaimed angrily.
"It's….a long story eh heh heh!" Miroku laughed.
"I swear I'll never trust you again with Haruka," Inuyasha grumbled.
"I'm more relieved Haruka's alright. It was on the night of the new moon last night and who knows what could've happened to her?" Kagome asked.
Footsteps approached the gang. A boy with auburn hair, a tail behind him, and green eyes. Haruka glanced at the figure approaching them as she smiled and ran towards him.
"Foxy Shippo! Foxy Shippo save me from demon!" Haruka smiled hopping into Shippo's arms.
"Easy there Haruka," Shippo smiled as he carried her back to everyone.
"Wait….did she say you saved her?" Sango asked. Shippo nodded releasing Haruka and placing her gently on the ground.
"I was on my way back from the fox demon exam until I happened to see her wandering off in the forest. I'm sure you all heard about the demon bats around lately?" Shippo asked as everyone's bodies suddenly tensed. Demon bats were seen recently devouring humans lately and certain demon slayers available had to do the job.
"Luckily, I was there to protect her before it even touched her," Shippo finished.
"Damn. Haruka would've been…before I could even…..." Inuyasha said nervously holding on to Haruka who reached up for him.
"Thank you so much Shippo! I'm just glad she's safe," Kagome smiled while holding Shippo's two hands.
"Thanks! I just got promoted 5th rank!" Shippo smiled holding a piece of paper with his rank written on it.
"That makes me wonder, Shippo is getting stronger," Sango smiled as she and Kagome glanced at each other nodding and thinking the same thing.
"Shippo is a demon after all and he and Rin are getting older. Even if they still look young," Kagome added on.
Shippo stared back confused to death about what Kagome and Sango were talking about. Miroku and Inuyasha both looked nervous about what the women have to say.
"Uh, what's your point?" Shippo asked. Kagome and Sango both smiled knowing that they had found what they were looking for.
"Shippo, we understand how powerful you're getting. You and Rin are growing older by the minute. I believe we have found a new sitter for our children," Sango started as Shippo tensed himself in place.
"Who...is it?" Shippo asked.
"You of course!" Kagome smiled as Shippo, Miroku, and Inuyasha all yelled, "WHAT?!" at the same time.
"Are you sure about this Sango?" Miroku asked as Sango flared back.
"Like you did a fantastic job!" Sango hissed crossing her arms.
"Uh….I….well, you did save and all…." Inuyasha said hesitantly. He did after all, save his only child. Shippo only looked like he didn't want to do the job since he has more demon exams to take. And not to mention, the number of children he must watch. Especially if they wander off to dangerous places.
"I…." Shippo started hesitantly until Kagome and Sango replied happily taking that as a yes.
"Great! Since there are demon bats attacking certain villages, let's go slay them. Shippo, why don't you and RIn get started?" Kagome asked as she and the others started heading towards the exit of the village.
"You know what Shippo, I'll trust you on this. But if anything bad happens to Haruka and the other children, I swear I'll kill you!" Inuyasha said as Shippo gasped while angrily stomping the ground.
"See you later Shippo! You know the drill!" Sango smiled as the gang headed out setting for the next village.
"Wait, you're leaving now?! Don't just leave me with everyone!" Shippo shouted trying to escape and leave Rin with the job until he felt little hands grab around his body and tackling him to the ground.
"This has got to be the worst day ever!"