A/N: So I'm engaged almost officially now…? And my ring size is 3 and three-quarters. Three-fourths of the way through my second Junior semester. Woot! I had to educate myself some more on Tetsusaiga's attacks. So everyone knows the wind scar, and I guess there's a "red Tetsusaiga" too that breaks barriers (just not Naraku's). Then there's the diamond attack which I heard of in a story (or was this a real episode?? I can't remember) where IY breaks Kagome's new bike and then, when he can't fix it, decides to make a diamond for her instead…? Somehow I think I'm mixing up a fan fiction with a real episode. I can't remember, but that was how I heard about it first, so I had to go through an episode summary to find the proper name, and I think it was: Kongosoha. Right?

Knowing the Tetsusaiga and its endless add-ons (like a Facebook page has its Applications ugh) I'm sure there have been further advancements in the manga. I only know as far as the diamond one though.

Disclaimer: I don't own them really I only wish I did.

Last Chapter: Koinu returned home to convince Inuyasha to let everyone come and help Sango. Aki got angry because she felt that IY was simply trying to control them when in reality IY is motivated more by the knowledge that this youkai could entrance him and he wouldn't be able to save his wife and daughter if something went wrong. Sango, Kasai, Kohimu, Tisoki, and Masuyo reached the village of Seizansha where a survivor met with Sango and the others to describe his encounter. Kasai expressed doubt and Sango shot her down.


A Diamond is Forever

Traveling was, in some ways, always going to be the same as it was some twenty or more years ago when Inuyasha and Kagome had searched for Jewel Shards with Miroku and Sango. There was always the dust of the road, the thorns that occasionally stuck someone in the foot, or an uncomfortable rock. There was always the disagreement on pace and when to stop to rest, when to eat, and when to call it a day and sleep. The heavy pull of supplies on Kagome's back hadn't changed, though her tolerance and endurance of it had. Inuyasha still led the way most of the time, and he still wore the red Fire Rat robes while traveling. Tetsusaiga still rocked against his hip with each step like a stiff, lame third leg stretching for the ground but never touching it. As far as Inuyasha was concerned, the passage of twenty years had done nothing to change the threat level of the world.

However, many things had changed forever. Now Inuyasha called for speed reductions to favor Kagome, even when she said she could walk faster or longer while Akisame whined about being held behind. She begged to charge ahead and scout with Shippo. Inuyasha repeatedly told her no until they reached a shouting match that drove Koinu and Kagome into walking together, trying to shield their ears.

Finally in the thick humid evening, Inuyasha sent Koinu and Akisame to find Shippo. The fox kit's contribution as scout was one major change that twenty years wrought. Shippo had been a poor journeyer when the troupe searched for Jewel Shards: tiny legs that struggled to get him anywhere, a long bushy tail that could trip him if he wasn't careful, and an overwhelming fear of predators or enemies that might cut his life short. Now Shippo was an invaluable contributor, practicing his new powers to help the group on the journey. The audacious, troublemaking spirit of the kitsune had at last reached him in full.

Alone with Kagome, the hanyou struggled to talk with her about the new moon, of his currently bungled plans for having another baby. It was difficult, even after years of marriage and parenthood for Inuyasha to overcome his natural embarrassment of the topic. It was so much easier to speak with her frankly when they were in the privacy of their bedroom, in the darkness, when arousal could make him speak frankly, with boldness, marching straight to the point.

He tried to do it then, blurting out, "What do you think about babies?"

Kagome's steady walking rhythm faltered for a moment as she turned to stare at her husband, startled, "What? What do you mean?"

Already Inuyasha felt the heat spilling over his cheeks and fought it, scoffing, "Feh, you know, babies…"

He wanted to draw a gushing, nostalgic reaction out of her, to test her willingness to have another child. Raising their children was always a hard endeavor, as was raising any baby, but for them in particular it was a trial of thinning patience. While Kagome was pregnant Inuyasha would hover incessantly, smothering her with his worry—which manifested itself in a sort of crotchety, unending nagging. Kagome would dread the birth and the decision of where to give birth to her child. Koinu had been born in the Feudal era, which was nerve wracking for her, but it had the privacy she needed for having a baby that might have dog ears. Akisame had been born in the modern era, in the strange, cold comfort of a hospital.

"What about babies?" Kagome asked him, eyeing her husband critically, searching for something.

Inuyasha frowned and nervously looked away, to the dirt, to the sky, to the trees, to the road ahead—anywhere but at Kagome. He wiped his forearm across his temples, puffing at the heat and humidity of the evening. "Why does it have to be so fucking hot when we walk?"

Kagome smirked amusedly, "That was obvious, Inuyasha."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Changing the subject," Kagome chuckled and then grasped his sleeve and arm encouragingly, "Why are you so nervous?"

"I am not!" He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to take the lead by a few steps.

Kagome picked up her pace to meet his, staying even with him. "Why are you asking me about babies?"

Twenty years ago Inuyasha would've snapped at her again and told her that she was nagging him. Then the name calling would begin until she punished him. Time had made him gentler in this way. He trusted Kagome to listen to him and take him seriously. It was better to tell her what was on his mind than to hide it from her and have her nag and whine at him for the secret-keeping.

He sighed and worked his shoulders for a moment, fighting the desire to tense up protectively like a clam closing its shell. "Like when Koinu and Aki were small," he stammered, ears flattening, "do you miss it?"

She sighed at his side and stared at the road ahead. Inuyasha watched her avidly, examining her face for any further, hidden truths. "Well," she began cautiously, "I do miss it a little. I miss being able to hold them," her face softened, her eyes grew moist, "I miss the way they used to get a long without bickering…"

"We could have another," Inuyasha blurted quickly and then faced forward again, trying to hide the importance of those four words, and how much her answer, one way or another, would mean to him.

"I don't want to end up like Sango!" Kagome laughed nervously, "In my era two children is completely normal. In some countries there are laws against having more than one baby! And in others the government will pay people to have babies because most couples won't…"

She stopped talking when she caught the way Inuyasha was staring at her with a mixture of pain, incredulity, and confusion. Uncertainly, Kagome cleared her throat and fell silent, as if they hadn't been talking at all, merely walking side by side peacefully, in an utter state of contentment.

"So…" Inuyasha's voice was a low, thick mumble, "…you don't want to…"

Abruptly Kagome blinked as she watched her husband and listened to him, realizing by his voice and his expression that Inuyasha was asking her to have another baby, or rather he was gauging her reaction. She frowned, putting the realization into her mind in its fresh context and came up empty.

"I didn't say that!" She stammered hurriedly, trying to squash any feelings of rejection inside Inuyasha, "You remember when Akisame was a baby and a toddler. She was such a handful! We couldn't do anything or go anywhere. She was always fussing! I remember you hated babysitting her…"

Inuyasha's ears flattened immediately, his golden eyes narrowed. "It wasn't all like that!"

"Yes it was," Kagome insisted, frowning at him, "and the dirty linens, the diapers, the tantrums, going into labor…" she bit her lips and groaned in remembrance.

The hanyou spluttered, helplessly caught between Kagome's recollections and his own fresh, overpowering need to return to those simpler times, to start anew…

"Things are still so complicated," Kagome went on, sighing, "Koinu feels inadequate, Akisame swears like a sailor—our job isn't even close to being over, Inuyasha."

"It wasn't all bad!" Inuyasha shouted angrily, glaring at her now at last, "You remember Koinu's first word? What about," he lowered his voice and his face colored as he continued, "nursing them? I remember you liked that a lot…"

Kagome blinked, her step faltering again as she considered his words. "Yes, but when they started teething…"

"That wasn't even bad!" Inuyasha snapped, correcting her, "You told them not to bite and they didn't."

Kagome sighed heavily, giving in, "That's true."

"Why are you—why don't you want…" Inuyasha frowned and swallowed the words when movements ahead of them on the road caught his eye. Shippo, Akisame, and Koinu had appeared in the road some distance ahead.

"Inuyasha!" Shippo shouted, waving his arms for a moment. Beside Koinu and Akisame the kit was boyish, only as tall as Akisame though on closer inspection it could be found that Shippo was plumper and a hair's breadth shorter than Akisame.

The hanyou was about to lift his voice to shout back at Shippo when the kit appeared directly in front of him in a rush of thin, scentless smoke. Inuyasha scrambled backward for a second, alarmed and trying not to collide with Shippo. "Dammit! Do you have to do that Shippo?"

The kit dusted himself off fastidiously. "Yep, I do. But sorry for almost running into you." He moved hurriedly onto the point, "There's a village up ahead a ways. Koinu and I already negotiated a room for the night."

"How did you pay for it?" Kagome asked, perplexed.

Shippo smiled mischievously, "We're traveling with a legend, Kagome," the kit flicked his eyes teasingly toward Inuyasha; "they saw Koinu and thought he was Inuyasha. They'll let us have a room for the night if Inuyasha can make them a few diamonds with Tetsusaiga."

The hanyou growled irritably, "Shippo! I ain't gonna do it!"

"Why not?" Shippo queried, his tail flicking like a chipmunk's as he spoke, clearing out some of the dust from the road like a broom, "They love you!"

"I ain't gonna have a whole village of morons gawking at me and pulling my ears and…" he fell silent, snarling quietly.

"You could have Koinu do it—they won't know the difference," Shippo suggested, slyly.

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo watched Koinu and Akisame where they were standing in the distance, silhouetted by the dropping, orange light of the sun. Akisame punched Koinu in the shoulder as they watched and Koinu took a step away from her, laughing.

"He doesn't know how to do it." Inuyasha growled defeatedly, sighing.

"You could teach him and pay the villagers at the same time," Shippo pushed.

Kagome nodded, "Shippo's right, Inuyasha. Use this as an excuse to teach Koinu." She pinned him with a meaningful glare, scolding him silently as she added, "You should've done this a long time ago. You weren't far from his age when you learned how to do it yourself."

"Like hell!" He snapped, "I was a lot older than he is!"

Shippo smirked, "No you weren't—the fifty years pinned to the God Tree doesn't count."

"I was older!" Inuyasha snarled, "I was older than Koinu when that happened!"

"It's worth a try," Kagome said, coaxingly.

"Fine," Inuyasha growled, sulking.


It was in the depths of the moonless night in the smelly hut in the fishing village of Seizansha—miles away on the same night Koinu, Kagome, and Akisame were arguing with Inuyasha to ensure that they could leave to help the demon slayers—when Tisoki began to dream, vividly.

He had seen the ocean before a few years ago while on a mission with his father. The sea, when he'd seen it, was cold and desolate. The bay was frozen thickly with ugly, gray ice. Further out he could see the ocean, gray like slate. The smell was lost in his memory, buried by the ghost exorcism that took place instead. In Seizansha the sea was much more prominent because it was summertime. The water had been clear and blue during the daytime, the waves rolled in with enormous energy and noise, rushing and roaring against rocks and sand. Further out in the fertile shallows, the water lost its rich blue and became turquoise, almost green.

(A/N: I'm going to admit that I've never seen the ocean here, but I live 30 miles from the largest body of Freshwater in the US, Lake Superior, which is cold, beautiful, clear, and deep. Even in 96 degrees 100 percent humidity, hop into that "Lake" and it's bone-numbingly cold…I've done it! It steals your breath away!)

In Tisoki's dream, he saw the sea, not in the daylight, but in the darkness after nightfall. He felt the sand beneath his toes, the prickling of rocks and the grit of the smoother sand. When the water lapped at his toes it was surprisingly cold, setting his feet into a deep aching on contact. As hot and humid as it was during the daytime, the ocean was barely affected. In warmer climates further south, even the sea warmed against the sun's continuous touch. But here, in the north, the ocean was a stubborn beast. It stayed cold, unaffected on the surface by the sun.

Tisoki sloshed through the water, adjusting gradually to the aching chill. The waves sucked at his feet, pulled at the skin and hair on his bare legs. An energetic wave reached up a little too high and startled him, making his body tighten and gooseflesh break out over his torso.

Out in the waves, something moved. It was bright, like a large white rock—but rocks don't swim.

Years ago, when Tisoki had seen the sea in the wintertime, he'd seen a few ink paintings of sea creatures and monsters. Miroku, who was continually interested in educating himself in everything like the intellectual he liked to imagine himself to be, took time examining the images and asking the painters what they knew about monsters and animals that lived in the sea. There were stories of fish that could swallow humans whole, and others who would tear chunks out of hapless swimmers. There were mermaids—ninyo to the Japanese—there were any number of bizarre monsters that ate or enchanted humans.

Tisoki had examined the ink paintings too. He'd never seen a whale or a dolphin, but the artists and fisherman described the animals as fish-like, except that they were more easily spotted than fish because they enjoyed coming to the surface and spraying water out holes in the tops of their heads. Also, unlike most fish, they were huge.

Many legends centered around whales or dolphins would compare them to people, attributing intelligence. In Greece mythology told of a crew of sailors that was cast into the sea for defying the gods and turned into dolphins. It was the duty of dolphins, as atonement for their defiance, to push drowning sailors toward the shore to save them. But fascination was also capable of drawing out its darker cousin—fear and superstition.

Tisoki watched as the shape moved under the water, twenty feet out from the shore. It was smooth, seemingly unaffected by the pull and push of the waves. Its shape was unclear, masked by the water like a carnival funhouse mirror distorts reflections. At first it appeared as uninterested in Tisoki's wading, but after a time the creature moved closer, strafing back and forth. Tisoki watched it, stiff with uncertainty, but somehow unable to move.

The creature, white like fresh snowfall, surged abruptly forward, rushing with the approach of one strong wave. It was three feet from him when it slowed. The wave moved beyond the white creature, pushing and surging against Tisoki's calves and knees. With the creature at last so close and with the wave rushing past both of them toward the shore, creating a shallow dip, Tisoki was actually able to see part of the creature's back exposed above the water.

It was elongated, about five feet long, but its body was round. There were two triangular flippers like paddles at its front. At the end the creature lifted a horizontal tail, flat—the opposite setup of a fish's. It had a long snout with a bulbous forehead. Its eyes were dark spots set at the corners of its mouth.

Tisoki gasped and tried to back away, but his feet resisted the call of his brain. He stared, wide eyed, at the white beast before him.

It lifted its head and, in the same motion, a dark hole opened at the top of its head, whooshing with wetness and air, splattering Tisoki in the face. He fell backward, crying out as his rear splashed down in the seawater.

The creature parted its long, toothy snout—it didn't have lips technically—and splashed with its tail as another wave rushed around its body, pushing it forward. Tisoki covered his head with his arms, bracing himself for the impact, but it wasn't the freezing touch of a fish that smashed into him, but a smooth, hot body instead.

Tisoki blinked unsteadily and found himself staring into a human face. Her eyes were black as ink or tar and they gleamed even in the low light of the night, the ocean, and the surf. Her body weight was considerable, a tangible weight pressing into his chest, onto his stomach, groin, and legs. Her hair flowed long and free in the rise and fall of the waves as they died on the beach sand.

As in any bizarre dream, Tisoki felt confusion first and then, abruptly, desire and lust. The monster had transformed into the beautiful, naked woman. That was completely natural. His body responded; heat swelled between his legs.

The woman opened her mouth and sound came out, high-pitched, grating on his ears. Tisoki winced and shook his head, trying to escape it. In the same moment he saw her teeth, white and uniform, each the same size as the next, conical and with equal spaces between each. Horror swept through Tisoki then, setting his heart into a flutter.

The screeching grew louder and shriller until—

Tisoki jerked awake, gasping and covered in sweat. His mouth pulled greedily on the moist, humid air inside the smelly fish hut.

Kohimu and Masuyo slept on either side of him, fitfully. The thickness of the air and the remaining heat from the daytime had equaled a very restless sleep for all of the slayers. It was probably more comfortable outside of the hut, but because of their gender and the closeness of the sea, Tisoki and his brothers were condemned to sleep on their mats in the reeking hut.

Kasai and Sango had taken up position sleeping in the wooden entryways beside the beach sand, under the stars. If Tisoki, Kohimu, or Masuyo rose in the night mysteriously Kasai or Sango would waken as well and accompany them to make sure that their brothers or sons didn't join the names of the dead village men.

Tisoki hauled himself up from the floor and walked out the hut flap on the end where he knew Kasai was keeping watch. The sweat covering his body made him shiver as he stepped outside and met the chilled breeze flowing off the sea. The smell of the salt oozed in as well, somehow disturbing as well as enchanting.

Kasai was curled into a ball on the hard wood directly outside the flap, covered by thin blankets from the night. As Tisoki moved by her she stirred, blinking her violet eyes against the darkness. Tisoki couldn't be sure how she knew which of her brothers it was, but somehow Kasai yawned and called his name, "Tisoki? What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"I had a weird dream, so I got up for some air." He moved onto the sand and picked up his sandals, sliding them on easily. "The survivor really…" he frowned and shook his head, searching for the correct word, "…disturbed me I guess."

"He was insane," Kasai muttered, sitting up slowly, "of course he disturbed you."

"No it isn't that," Tisoki sat awkwardly on Kasai's blanket and ran a hand through his hair, "He lost his brother to this thing. And this place has lost so many men to it, I just want to help them, but I can't because I'm a man. Just another meal to this youkai."

"Hanyou," Kasai corrected him, shifting uneasily.

"Hanyou," Tisoki agreed, glaring at her briefly. The expression was lost in the darkness. For a time they sat in silence, and then Tisoki laughed and said, "I half expected you to be gone, Kasai. Out looking for some pretty little village boy to flirt with…"

Kasai whipped around to stare at him, inhaling sharply, "You think I'd just get up and leave my family?"

Tisoki gave a weak, pacifying gesture, "I'm just teasing you."

His sister hugged herself and stared off into the darkness, facing the sea. With the lack of moonlight it was black, an invisible, menacing presence that roared and hissed as the waves flowed into the shore. It was so loud that it consumed the silence between the siblings and dominated their words, making them raise their voices above it to be heard. Yet, for as powerful as it was, the sea was invisible in the night. Only the occasional glint or flash of movement betrayed it.

"Kasai?" Tisoki asked, leaning forward, trying to see into his sister's face though the light was so weak that it was an impossible task, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said.

Tisoki fell silent, watching her. What he could see was limited, a block of black shadow. "You're lying, something's up. Was it that stupid thing I said about you chasing boys?"

"I said I was fine, Tisoki," she snapped, "go back inside and sleep or I'll wake up Mom."

He sighed and ran his hands through his shaggy, loose hair, worn short as their father's had been during his days as a Shard hunter trailing Naraku. "Fine, have it your way." Tisoki hauled himself up to his feet and pushed aside the flap over the door to the hut, going back inside the humid, thick night heat.

It was suffocating outside, but Kasai was being difficult, more difficult than he wanted to deal with in that moment, with his dream still so near, haunting him. Tisoki slipped into his spot between his lightly snoring brothers. Masuyo murmured in his sleep and nestled closer to Tisoki, apparently unaware of the sticky heat while he was in the depths of sleep. Kohimu had rolled onto his side and was twitching in the throes of a dream.

Tisoki wondered if Kohimu was having the same troubling dream that he'd had. And what about Kasai? Had she dreamt of the monster? Were any of them really safe from the beast in the sea?


As twilight closed over the little village where Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Koinu, and Akisame had decided to stay the night, a group of at least a hundred men, women, and children had gathered in a massive circle. The villagers gawked and squinted through the darkness as Inuyasha and Koinu stood together with an untransformed Tetsusaiga poking up out of the dirt like a branchless, leafless tree trunk. In the midst of the crowd, standing together collectively, Kagome, Shippo, and Akisame watched as well. Akisame held Izoukago, Koinu's currently abandoned sword.

"Take it," Inuyasha ordered.

Koinu lunged and reached out, snatching the sword out of the dirt and lifting it above his head. As he made this motion Tetsusaiga glowed and enlarged to its full, deadly size. To impress Inuyasha, Koinu kept the fang-sword off the ground, supporting its weight with both hands.

"Clear a path!" Inuyasha bellowed at the crowd, waving his clawed hands at one side of their gawking, peasant audience. The circle changed shape, becoming a U-shape instead. With this done, Inuyasha faced his son again, his ears flattening and his posture stiffening as he became very serious. "Control it, Koinu. And aim it. Don't kill anyone."

Koinu nodded, squaring his jaw. He lifted the sword and drew a deep breath, imagining his mother and Akisame in the distance, in danger, under threat. It was a simple wind-scar maneuver, a trick he'd been using for over a year…

"Wind Scar!" he shouted, whipping the Tetsusaiga through the air. A bolt of light-energy streamed away, arching through the dirt, tearing it up. Roots, clumps of mud and dirt, and a few desiccated plants flew up and out of its way only to be incinerated. As the villagers gasped and gawked and murmured chants of awe, Koinu lowered Tetsusaiga and grinned with open, beaming pride.

Inuyasha's expression had loosened and when he looked toward his son he smiled. There were moments when Inuyasha enjoyed basking in attention, though he would never admit to such a fact. Now appeared to be one of those moments. He gestured at Koinu and began his instruction, "We're going to try Kongosoha."

Koinu pointed his eyes straight ahead at the path that his Wind Scar had ripped through the dirt. He shifted his grip over the hilt and noticed how sweaty his palms were. His arms muscles jerked, quivering under Tetsusaiga's immense weight. As he listened for Inuyasha's instructions and guidance, Koinu felt a flash of panic when his father's sword rippled with light, trying to shrink.

Gritting his teeth, Koinu flicked the sword up and then sharply downward, trying to keep Tetsusaiga battle-ready. His white ears pressed against his hair, his eyes stung. The sword became too heavy for him and Koinu rested it in the dirt. Inuyasha had stopped talking, the silence of the crowd felt heavy on his shoulders.

The sunlight, setting in the west, had faded, hidden behind a wispy, rainless cloud—and suddenly Koinu growled, knowing the source of his problem and this latest failure. For him the closeness of the new moon continued to affect him before and after its passing. His transformations were random and unpredictable. This night was apparently one where he would lose his demonic powers for a second night.

Defeated, Koinu sighed and allowed the Tetsusaiga to condense into its dinged and dull katana form. "I can't do it tonight," he mumbled.

Inuyasha nodded, "It's fine, I'll take care of it." The hanyou stepped forward smoothly and ripped Tetsusaiga out of the ground, transforming it faster than Koinu ever could. The villagers turned their eyes swiftly from Koinu and toward the hanyou instead, aware that he was the real hero, Koinu was just a look-alike son.

As Inuyasha prepared to make the diamond strike, Koinu grimaced as his body warped with the loss of the sunlight. A few of the people closest to him were distracted by his transformation as well, staring wide-eyed as Koinu's ears shrank and lost their white coloration, shifting their spots onto the sides of his head. His hair flashed its brilliant white once, defiantly in the growing darkness, and then faded, becoming black like Kagome and Akisame's. In a moment, after the pain had gone and the transformation had completed, Koinu watched his father looking like any one of the human villagers, with the notable exception of his blue eyes which were unchanged.

The Kongosoha gave the villagers scores of small, clean, shining diamonds that they produced in trade for food or goods, increasing the wealth of their small village many times over. A single night's stay in return for Inuyasha's work was a bargain.

On their way out of the field where Inuyasha and Koinu had made their demonstration, Kagome walked purposefully close to her son. She tried to stroke his hair as they walked and, as if he failed to notice her affection, Koinu allowed it. His acceptance of such things was something that continued to astound Kagome. Who could've imagined that Inuyasha's son would be a gentle, sweet-natured puppy? If Kagome had tried to comfort Akisame in a similar way, stroking her daughter's hair, it was unlikely that Akisame would tolerate it at all.

"You did wonderfully," she smiled at him. Her hand continued its path from shoulder to hair, squeezing one and combing through the other. "Your father was very proud of you."

Koinu gave her a weak smile, "It was just poor timing, right?" When he looked her in the eye, Kagome could easily make out the frustration and sadness in his gentle blue eyes.

"You can't control the sun," she reassured him, patting his back.

At the same time Inuyasha arrived on Koinu's other side, his face set in a sour expression. "Damn Shippo and his ideas," he grumbled. His ears were flicking in every direction around him, self-consciously. The villagers that had had their fill of diamond collecting—and most of the children that were too young to understand the worth of shiny rocks—were trailing Inuyasha, Kagome, and Koinu, gawking innocently. Once, when a small boy came too close to Inuyasha, within five feet of him, the hanyou growled and made a mock motion as if to charge the child like a lumbering, enraged musk oxen. The boy squealed fearfully and darted away toward the crop fields. Inuyasha resumed his irritable, stiff-legged walk as soon as the boy was gone, though now his face was more smug than sour.

"Good job with the Tetsusaiga," Inuyasha said, speaking abruptly to Koinu as they reached the inn where they were to stay for the night. "Especially with the sun setting. These peasants don't understand that, ignore them."

Kagome smiled and slipped between Koinu and Inuyasha, touching both their shoulders as she passed, revealing her silent joy at having father and son interact in what was almost certainly a healing way. She joined Akisame and Shippo inside the warmly lit room with its blazing braziers. The door closed behind her, a fact that father and son both took note of. Kagome's desire for them to spend time together was transparent.

"Thank you," Koinu replied, bowing slightly, "Father."

Inuyasha could see well in the dark, far better than either of his children, especially beyond Koinu's ability now. It was unlikely that Koinu would see his father's bright, thoughtful expression, or the slightest hint of moisture in his eyes as his mind drifted through memories. He had seen Koinu grow over the years, always carrying his outward appearance, but struggling to come to terms with a personality that was vastly different from the father he idealized. In many ways Inuyasha could sympathize—he was nothing like Sesshomaru, and presumably nothing like their father though he longed to be. He wanted more for Koinu, something like the happiness that Inuyasha hadn't found until after Naraku had died and he'd taken Kagome as his lover at last. So far he was certain that he'd provided that happiness and stability to Koinu and Akisame, but Inuyasha wasn't happy as long as he felt that his children were unprepared for the hardships of life on their own.

Koinu's Wind Scar had been impressive. Combined with the setting sun that caused his demonic powers—only half those of what Inuyasha possessed to begin with—and with his youth and lack of true battle experience, Koinu had impressed Inuyasha. Yet Inuyasha continued to worry, what if he wasn't able to protect his son? Could Koinu fight and survive alone? He shuddered to think of Akisame in a similar situation.

"When this is all over—Sango and this whale youkai I mean—I'll teach you the Kongosoha and red Tetsusaiga properly." He smirked, brightening even further, "We'll rip up all the hillsides in the village for them! Then they'll put in their fields and all that shit—everyone's happy." He grinned, liming the scenario more and more. "Sound good to you?"

Koinu nodded, also smiling widely, "Yes, Father. Will you teach Akisame too? She hasn't mastered the Wind Scar yet."

Inuyasha scowled, "Feh! She's too young."

"You expected me to learn when I was her age," Koinu said.

Inuyasha spluttered for a moment, irritated at the truth of his son's words. In his human form, Koinu was maddeningly close in appearance to Kagome. He had her long black hair with a slight wave in it. His eyes were blue, his face rounder and gentler than Inuyasha's though this could partly have been his youth, not his actual bone structure. He was a smidgen shorter than Inuyasha, but Koinu would probably break even at least with his father in height one day.

"I'll think about it, she can watch," he answered, grumbling. "Let's get inside, I smell food."

Koinu nodded and followed Inuyasha inside.


A bizarre, deep song ripped through Kasai's dreams.

Wrapped in her scratchy, thin blankets, sleeping outside the flap of the fish hut where her brothers were sleeping fitfully inside, Kasai jerked and flinched in her sleep. She moaned, turning her head, pressing it to the ground, trying to block out the song. Her dreams intensified, wrapping themselves around her brain. She saw a blue-gray world, and underwater landscape. Lithe, sleek shapes cut through the water, sending sprays of high-pitched whines, clicks, and snaps in her direction.

The world was deafening, maddening. She gripped the wood pallet that she was sleeping on, running her hands over the surface, picking up splinters as she did so.

Through the song, a cavernous voice began to speak, bellowing into Kasai's ears.

Slayer, I am here to help you.

Kasai could not answer the voice; she was trapped in her dream world, under the sea water, skimming the waves herself. More of the fish-like creatures—dolphins and whales—swam around her, darting in close and then peeling away. Their sounds continued the song in its feverish pitch.

You have come to kill the hanyou Iruka. I am Kujira, queen of the sea. Seeing your people kill the half breed would please me to no end. I can provide you with invaluable information. At noon on this day, walk the shoreline and I will beach myself to speak with you. You will not find the answers to your questions otherwise. I can tell you all that you need to know about killing the half breed Iruka.

As suddenly as it had come, the song stopped and the blue, watery world vanished from inside Kasai's mind. She sat up, awake immediately, pulling on her long black hair, panting as if she'd been choked rather than deafened. In the same instant that she woke, Kasai also heard commotion inside the fish hut. Tisoki was crying out, shouting incoherently.

"What's going on?" Kohimu's voice demanded. Masuyo whimpered wordlessly.

There was more sound as Sango stirred and entered their hut, demanding the same thing as Kohimu. Tisoki began a stammered, blustered explanation, "I had a dream—this whale was talking to me—Kujira. She said she was a queen…"

Kasai got to her feet and lifted the flap, stepping into the fish hut as well. Her violet eyes were wide and dazed, a mirrored image of her older brother's. "I had the same dream. A whale named Kujira. She said I had to walk on the beach…"

Tisoki spoke at the same time, "…walk on the shore at noon and she would speak to me."

The slayer children, still sleepy and sluggish, gazed between one another and then turned their attention as one onto Sango, their ultimate decision maker. Sango sighed and crossed her arms over her disheveled night robe, frowning. "How do we know this isn't a trick?"

"We both dreamed it, Mom." Tisoki started, excitedly, gesturing at Kasai, "The same dream. And she told us to walk the beach during the day; the hanyou doesn't attack until nightfall or evening."

Sango shook her head, closing her eyes tiredly, "Demons will change their behavior when they perceive a threat. If this monster is able to invade our minds then it already knows we're here. We have to be on our guard at all times."

"But Mom," Kasai objected, "Tisoki and me are the only ones that have Dad's spiritual powers and we're the only ones that dreamed this. What if it isn't a trap?"

Sango's lips pinched into a thin, hard line. "We won't send Tisoki, he's vulnerable. I will go with you Kasai, but we won't give this Kujira very long, to be safe we're going to assume that it's an enemy, not an ally."

"I'll do it," Kasai agreed instantaneously, eager to escape the stink of the fish hut and even happier at the possibility of helping.

"Good," Sango nodded, seeming to deflate as the chance of immediate danger passed, despite her warning to her children about remaining on guard. "We should all get dressed now. There's a lot of work to do and—Tisoki, Kohimu, you should go to the village elder and ask him for something for us to eat for breakfast."

When her sons nodded and headed out of the hut at a jog, Sango followed them shakily. Masuyo and Kasai, sensing trouble, stepped outside with her. Even before they'd spotted her, Sango's retching sounds had given her away. Kasai and Masuyo joined her, holding her hair back.

Finally, after several mostly dry heaves, Sango straightened up and wiped disdainfully at her mouth. Her pale face was scrunched up with discomfort.

"Mother," Masuyo piped up, weakly, "Are you okay? Are you sick? Did you eat some bad meat?"

Kasai held her mother's arm, helping support her as they walked away from her little spot of vomit and as Sango sat down heavily, exhausted. "I'll be fine," Sango told them, trying to smile.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Momma?" Masuyo asked, lapsing into a child-like voice, filled with uncertainty and fear. If Sango was shaky and sick then there was something obviously wrong with the natural way of the world.

Sango shook her head, "No Masuyo, go help your brothers find breakfast. That will help me."

Masuyo nodded and hurried away, his bare feet kicking up the sand behind him.

Kasai stayed silently at her mother's side like a guardian or a watchdog. "You should get dressed, Kasai. I'll do the same in a moment," Sango told her, smiling reassuringly.

"Mom," Kasai started, uncertainly, "You're not all right, are you?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Kasai." Sango spoke firmly, using her tone rather than her words to actually order Kasai away from her.

Kasai hesitated, staring down at her mother. Sango would not meet her eye, but instead focused on the sea. It was turbulent on that new day. The sun had only just risen, gold-orange light colored the world, making it glow luminescently. There was a strong wind, ripping at the ocean, pulling the lines of waves that were cresting far out on the gray waters into whitecaps.

"Go on, before your brothers get back," Sango scolded, resolute and distant, like a death row inmate accepting his fate.

Silently Kasai turned away, frowning fiercely. She folded her arms over her chest and stared at her bare, dirty feet in the beach sand. The niggling suspicion stayed in her mind as she passed the small puddle of stomach acids that Sango had left behind. She diverted from her path to the smelly fish hut for a moment to kick sand and dirt over it. Then, unsatisfied, Kasai knelt and pulled a few clumps of saw grass out of the earth and piled them over the vomit as well. Pulling them up cut her palms, making them bleed slightly, but Kasai ignored the pain and wiped away the blood.

At the flap entrance to the fish hut, Kasai looked over her shoulder at her mother's wearied, slumped posture and the way she stared off at the horizon with a despairing, troubled expression…

Mom, are you pregnant again? How are we supposed to do this without you? Kasai slipped into the darkness of the hut, frowning and praying silently that Koinu would bring Akisame and Kagome with him soon.