Chapter Ten – Rumours

"Hey, Kaza?"

"Yo."

"Can I hold Kaida?"

"That's about as likely as me setting my ass on fire." I said with a sardonic smile.

"You don't seem happy about holding her." Nariko stomped on a stubborn bunch of weeds. "I just wanna hold the baby."

"She's not fun, lemme tell you." Said baby was particularly grumpy this morning. It was hard for her to take naps while we were out here.

"Then why won't you let me hold her?"

"Cause I promised her mother I'd look after her."

"I still swear you're her mother." The hanyou muttered. I raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, we do not look anything alike. And does it look like I'm healthy enough to bear a child?"

"What on earth do you mean?"

"I hardly have any body fat." I said, poking my flat stomach. "Look. That's all muscle. Fine and dandy when you're fighting demons, but not so good for kids. Didn't your mom ever tell you that?"

"My mom never talked about her having me." Nariko said darkly.

I didn't pursue the subject. Kirara mewed, as if telling both of us to shut up, and we walked in silence.

Having Nariko around wasn't all bad though. I did enjoy the company, and she helped with Kaida a lot. Also, she hunted. My specialty was raw strength and precision, not the stealth you need to track down animals like deer. Nariko, being half dog, could do it.

We'd been alone for nearly a week. Kaida had stopped crying for Kagome – she just seemed out of sorts. I was trying as much as I could to get her back to normal, but for a six-month-old out in the forests of Japan, our personal luxuries were greatly diminished.

I was having problems too. I had absolutely nothing with me, so that meant that I walked and slept in my leather Taijiya suit, which was starting to get dirty and disgusting. I was reminded of my old, tattered, repulsive kimono, the one that had gotten me through two fights with Naraku (both victorious, mind you) and nearly three months wandering in Japan.

Another thing I was starting to notice was the similarities between Nariko and Inuyasha. Becoming more pronounced the longer we went, it was quickly obvious that it was no coincidence that they were both dog-human hanyous with resolutely stubborn tempers and strong powers. Nariko was quite a good hunter, and she could track down game with little interference from me. In fact, I was getting a little annoyed. We hadn't had any demons, so there was no way I could show how kick-ass I was with those little bastards. It was like Nariko was contributing more to our little party than I was, and it annoyed me.

We were looking for my parents. Nariko still hadn't told me her business or her family, and neither had I. She only knew we were trying to get Kaida back, which we could both agree on. But one night, sitting around a low campfire, I decided to ask her about it as we were having our normal meal of smoked deer meat.

"Hey, Nariko?"

"Yeah?" She said through a mouthful of deer.

"Look, I was trained as a Taijiya, and I do know my fair bit about demons…you're half dog demon, obviously."

"Thank you, I had no idea." She drawled. I was quite impressed. She was starting to talk like me.

"But there's only one pure-bred dog demon left, and that's Sesshoumaru."

"Lord Sesshoumaru to you." She grunted, then suddenly her eyes widened and she almost dropped her deer meat. I grinned.

"Aaah, so you do know him."

"I know him." She replied shortly.

"You know him? Goes back a couple family generations, huh? Or maybe not too far…" I hinted.

"If you're saying he's my father," Nariko grunted, "You can shut up. He's not my father, no more than you're Kaida's mother."

That was where I knew she was lying through her teeth. Nariko would never have given up on her dogged determination that I was Kaida's mother unless it was something exceedingly desperate. Sesshoumaru had to be her father. There was no other way this could have worked.

But then, I realized, looking down at Kaida sleeping on Kirara's warm hide, she was a cousin to Kaida, and Inuyasha's niece.

"Sesshoumaru has relatives, doesn't he?" I burst out.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

"Well…I'm just…"

"Trying to find out how a hanyou like me came around, huh?" Nariko said with a twisted smile. "None of my own choice, I'm afraid, nor my parents. Kind of an accident, you could say."

"Don't worry, kid, so was I." I said, helping myself to deer meat. "But I bet your dad wasn't dead when your mom was pregnant."

"Your dad was dead?" Now she was interested.

I hadn't told my story to many people over these years, and she seemed like a willing enough audience. I couldn't resist telling her, "As good as dead. He was in a trance with Naraku."

There was a sharp intake of breath; Nariko had hissed. She looked angry. "Filthy, bloodstained, vile scum, Naraku." She said. "I've never even met him, and I know I hate him. You should hear my parents talk about him. He ruined their lives."

Oh, if only you knew, girl. I tried very hard not to burst out, "He ruined your parents' lives? Take a good look at me! My hand has a friggin' hole in it!"

But then she continued with something that made me have to hold my tongue even harder. "At least the Daughter of the Wind killed him…if the rumors prove true, of course…she's supposed to be your age, and a Taijiya."

Nariko gave me a glance, but I just smiled. I'd never really been shy about telling people who I was before now, but somehow this made me hold my tongue.

"We can only hope the rumors prove true." I said with a smile.

Nariko looked at the fire. "Well, if they are true, your dad should be free now, shouldn't he?"

"Yeah, he is." I looked from Kirara and Kaida to the sword at my hip. "I wonder what he's doing right now…"

Wow. Hi. It's been - what, a good year since I updated? Seriously, you all must've thought i was dead. Well, I pretty much emo for three months or so, then got back on my feet, then I went and partied it up in Europe...finished another novel...and I forgot about poor Kaza! But a few weeks ago I started getting reviews and people adding this to favorites and alert and stuff, and you know, WTF (has anyone noticed how it can also mean what the fck? Lol!!! sorry...) is a good story. I want to get some closure.

I really am sorry I haven't been updating...must've sucked for all you guys to wonder when i'm gonna finally update. And i always hated people who never updated and didn't finish the story...but hey! I'm back! I'll finish the story now! Please review, even if you want to kill me...i really appreciate them! Luv - PVB (who is not dead!)