So I couldn't help myself. It was killing me that people can see my vision for this story, so I HAD to give you the next day. Maybe now you'll understand why Mieko is, well...Mieko. This one's a shorter chapter, but I had to get it out there STAT! Please hit up the Review page and let me know if you're with me or not.

Chapter 12: Daddy's Little Girl

After everything was said and done, Kaede, Sango and Rin helped change the bedding while Kagome sat sleepily in the corner with Mieko in her arms. The new mother marveled at the little girl, sensing the strength of her aura. She was curious as to why she looks so much like her, and not her father. But she felt that no matter what or who her daughter is, she would love her till the end of time.

Once the women had finished cleaning up for Kagome, they urged her to rest with the baby. Kagome felt incredibly sore from the waist down, and her breasts were swollen with Mieko's first meal. Kagome lay down with her back up against a wall to prop herself up as she feed her daughter. Mieko seemed to gladly accept the offering. The young mother relished this new form of connection with her child. Kagome closed her eyes and meditated on this new experience.

All was quiet until InuYasha returned. "How are you feeling, Kagome?" He came and sat beside his wife and their nursing child.

"Like the lower half of my body got ran over by a truck!"

The hanyou raised a brow not understanding, "By a what?"

Kagome sighed, Of course he doesn't know what a truck is… "How about a herd of wild boars? That's a good equivalent."

InuYasha cringed, and then began stroking her hair with his hand. "I'm sorry you feel so awful. I felt so helpless not being able to ease the pain."

"Mmm," she hummed in understanding, "It's okay, InuYasha. It's over and we have this beautiful little girl. Her energy is so strong I can feel it."

InuYasha was silent a while then finally asked, "I thought Suijin said that my bloodline ran strong in Mieko. I'm a little surprised that she is completely human."

It was then that it dawned on Kagome. "InuYasha. Look at yourself. If she is her father's daughter, maybe sunrise might change your tune."

InuYasha slapped his forehead, "Baka! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because that's what I'm here for, InuYasha!" Kagome teased.

"Keh…well you get some sleep, Kagome. I'll wake you just before sunrise."

Mieko had stop suckling and had drifted off to sleep. Kagome took her daughter, burped her gently, and curled back up with her on the mat. Slumber came ever so quickly to her.

Kagome came to in the faint light of the approaching dawn. InuYasha nudged her softly, and she awoke to his big smiling chocolaty eyes. "It's almost sunrise." As Kagome sat upright, Mieko's little newborn eyes opened and took in her parents' faces, and her surroundings. InuYasha took Mieko into his arms and beckoned to Kagome, "Let's go outside and watch the sunrise. It's Mieko's first one."

The miko smiled, how sweet. InuYasha has officially turned into a puddle of goo. "That's a beautiful idea."

They went over to the steps that led up to the shrine, climbed up a short ways, and sat down on the steps. InuYasha still had his daughter in his arms, wrapped in her blanket to keep her from catching a chill on this early spring morning.

Kagome watched as flickers of light began to peek over the horizon. Her gaze turned quickly to her husband and daughter as she held her breath.

As the sun rose above the tree line, InuYasha watched his child intently. He felt the youkai blood beginning to pulse within him again. He was shocked to feel the pulse reverberate through Mieko as well.

Kagome watched as the transformation began, InuYasha's human ears began to disappear. She looked at her daughter and she gasped. Her hair was turning silver, and little canine ears formed on top of her head as it did on her father.

InuYasha witnessed it as well, tears formed in his eyes, "You were right Kagome. She is a hanyou." Mieko opened her eyes once more and they were a golden hue. She looked straight at her father and started making little gurgling infant sounds. Kagome leaned against him as he put his arm around her. "I never knew my life could be capable of this kind of happiness," he admitted in a very sentimental tone.

"InuYasha…" Kagome was so overwhelmed with the emotions of having this completed circle in her life of love and happiness, knowing that even more so for her husband, it was an extremely precious thing.

InuYasha yawned. Kagome looked at him and shook her head, "You really did stay up all night, didn't you?"

"Of course! What else would you expect me to do? I could never have been able to sleep!" He said, standing up and handing the bundle of Mieko to Kagome.

"Well let's go get a little nap and take our time today. I'm still incredibly sore and won't be able to do very much for a few days," Kagome said with her own yawn.

The family went back to their dwelling and curled up together as the sweet silver-haired newborn fed once more, and they all napped together.

It was closer to noon, when InuYasha got a knock at their door. It was Sango, Miroku and the kids. Sango was getting very pregnant herself, as she only had about a month left to her term. She sat herself on the rice barrel, as she couldn't get all the way down to the ground without help.

"So she is her father's daughter, huh, Kagome?" the taijiya smiled. The twins ran over to Kagome and Mieko, "Inu! Puppy!"

"Whoa, girls," Miroku stopped them in their tracks. "Mieko is fragile; you can't try to pet her like you would InuYasha-sama."

The girls put their out stretched arms down at their sides, deflated, "Awww, but Touchan!"

"That's enough, girls, you can play with Mieko when she's older." The monk said in a firm fatherly tone. The twins ran back to their father's side as he approached Kagome with her sleeping child.

"She really is a female version of me." InuYasha said, sounding quite satisfied with his daughter's potential. Kagome beamed at her husband. He added, "But there is definitely something even more powerful about her that I'm sure we'll all come to find out in years to come. I know Kagome feels it, and Suijin has alluded to it."

"We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure InuYasha," the monk agreed.

Later on, after Kagome and Mieko had taken a nap, Rin came to visit, with Sesshomaru reluctantly following. Rin was wearing a new kimono. A light shade of spring green with white, pink and peach floral designs on it, tied with a peach sash. InuYasha sat with Kagome and Mieko and didn't hide his surprise at the sight of his brother entering his home.

InuYasha knew the hut still vaguely smelled of childbirth, at least to their sensitive noses, and absolutely expected his older brother to make some snide remark in disgust. But Sesshomaru remained oddly silent. Rin squealed with delight, "Oh! Kagome-chan she's so kawaii! Just look at her little ears! Can I please hold her?"

Kagome nodded with a smile and Rin bent down to her and took Mieko in her arms. The little hanyou made little gurgled noise and opened her amber eyes to inspect Rin.

Rin gasped in astonishment, "She's a little InuYasha! What beautiful golden eyes!"

Rin squealed once again and nuzzled Mieko's patch of silver hair. She turned to Sesshomaru with what she thought was a brilliant idea.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Look at Mieko! How amazing is she?"

Rin approached the daiyoukai softly as not to jostle the newborn. He stared intently at the tiny hanyou in his ward's arms as if assessing her. "So, Kagome," the youkai began, "the Great Mother, Suijin has appeared to you?"

"Hai, Sesshomaru," Kagome replied. "Every full moon since the harvest, she has been of great guidance to me as a mother and a priestess."

"And she spoke of your child?" He asked with a mere shade of intrigue in his voice.

Kagome confirmed with a nod. "Suijin-sama told me that we will 'have powerful children that will walk in our footsteps for ages to come.' Those were her exact words. She also seemed baffled by the strength of the youkai blood, that was accompanied by an immensely pure aura."

The demon lord's eyes went back from Kagome to the little child in Rin's arms. "Hmmph…I can sense what Suijin-sama spoke of. How…unusual."

Sesshomaru quietly stared at Mieko for another moment as the dog-eared infant. Not knowing whether her aura meant friend or foe of a pure-blooded youkai like himself. For a moment, the stoic daiyoukai felt somewhere in his gut that this was not going to be the last time he would see little yellow eyes peering back up at him. As soon as he realized his thought, he immediately dismissed it.

"Sesshomaru-sama, you should hold your niece! I think she likes you! She won't stop watching you!"

"No, Rin, my iron armor could injure her. It is not safe for a child."

"Then may I suggest taking your armor off…Onii-san."

"There's that disgusting term again. InuYasha, make sure she never refers to me as that again. My name in the familiar is sufficient."

Kagome smirked a little and thought of one better. "Well then Sesshomaru, Oji-san…You are her uncle. She does seem intrigued by you. Mieko won't bite…she doesn't have her fangs yet!"

Rin and Kagome giggled as Sesshomaru glared. He was about to turn and walk out, when Rin stopped him abruptly by grabbing his forearm arm with her free one. "Sesshomaru-sama!" The youkai looked back to Rin. She has never been as bold as to attempt to keep me from walking away. Why is she giving me that look?

Rin looked up at her lord with doe eyes, mentally pleading him to not be angry. Sesshomaru softened ever so slightly. He spoke to his brother. "I remove my armor for no one. If you dare to think this will happen again, you are mistaken."

The daiyoukai unhinged the black hide and iron armor and placed them down on the floor. Kagome and InuYasha's jaws hung slack in disbelief as Sesshomaru took their daughter out of Rin's arms and into his own. His nostril flared ever so slightly as he took in her scent, as if to memorize it. Her strange aura, it's almost consuming, the lord thought as he felt his body tingle, it was almost like it was trying to tame him, to lull him into a peaceful state.

"Hmmph." He examined her closely, furrowing his brow as he realized her energy could probably prevent a demon from utilizing their full power in their true form. The rage of my youkai blood would be nearly impossible in her presence. I can feel it. A hanyou that can tame the youkai? The ultimate taijiya and priestess, perhaps? And she is, in part, my blood…Our father's blood.

The silence for a few solid minutes as no one spoke at the sight of the Lord of the West quietly enthralled by a newborn child. His eyes flickering with thought until InuYasha couldn't keep still anymore.

"Keh, so are ya gonna give her back?"

Mieko's aura was so commanding and so peaceful that Sesshomaru felt like he was forcing a dirty look at his brother. He leaned back toward Rin and put Mieko back in her care and without a word, went and sat himself near the fire pit, against a wall.

"Ohi, Sesshomaru, are you okay? You look…tired," InuYasha spoke observantly to his brother. "I mean, kuso! You usually have some witty comeback for me."

The daiyoukai remained silent, not wanting to let on his weakness to his niece's power. He felt…drained. It's as if I am recuperating from battle. She purified my youki, at least to a small extent and I just need to be…still. Rin handed Mieko back to Kagome and came over and sat beside him and leaned against his arm, looking up at his somber face. He glanced down at the face that, as he recalled, five years ago, had watched him the same way, wordlessly, as he recuperated under a tree in the forest. The girl had taken a beating to bring him fish. It was that face that appeared in his minds eye when he found her dead on the forest floor. It was that face that caused the first ever pang of emotion other than anger or jealousy he'd ever felt in his hundreds of years, and urged him to give the poor little orphan back her life.

"You are worried, Rin?" The youkai's question sounded more like a statement of the obvious. "Do not be."

Kagome and InuYasha exchanged looks as Sesshomaru fell silent again, not moving, not speaking and just staring off in thought.

"Since you all can stop staring at me, I'll tell you what the child's power does. Her aura purifies youki, the demonic aura. It is essentially what Tetsusaiga does for InuYasha, keeping his youkai blood from surging. As I see it, it would not affect humans much, especially those who are already pure of spirit. It keeps hanyous from becoming youkai. But to weaker youkai, it could be like a deadly miasma."

"You figured this all out just by holding her, Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, amazed at her brother-in-law's insights.

"Yes. I felt part of me being lulled, tamed…purified. She was slowly draining me of my power. To stronger youkai like myself, she could most likely prohibit them from using the full extent of their powers, by rendering them unable to change into their true form."

"You're not kidding." InuYasha said, baffled.

"I would never lower myself to joking."

"So you just need to rest a bit and regain your energy," Rin stated.

Sesshomaru nodded at the doe-eyed teenager, "I am already feeling my strength return. But the Great Mother Suijin was correct in heralding the power of your child. Youkai across the lands will someday fear her name."

"That is such a compliment, Sesshomaru," Kagome said gratefully.

"It is not a compliment. It is merely a truth. I will not be among those who fear her, as she is of our father's blood. And though she may be able to drain me, I highly doubt that she could ever kill me."

"Why would she ever want to kill her uncle, Seshomaru-sama? That's silly!" Rin retorted.

"Keh. Why would she waste her time on you anyhow?"

"InuYasha! Don't make me use…it."

The hanyou cringed at the thought of her yelling "Osuwari!"

"So does that mean Jaken-sama, can go near Mieko?" Rin asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Nor A-Un. But they would probably sense her coming."

The daiyoukai rose to his feet and picked up his armor. After he was done reattaching it, he went back over to Kagome and Mieko and knelt before them, gently touching Mieko's cheek with a clawed finger. "She will be a force to be reckoned with."

He stood back up, turned and walked to the door.

"Rin. Come with me."

"Hai!" The girl skipped out the door, happy in her new kimono.

The hanyou and the miko sat there in shock at the revelation of their daughter's power. They both stared blankly a moment at the door Sesshomaru and Rin had just left through, trying to process everything that had just transpired. They finally looked at each other, unsure of what to make of it all.

"I have never seen your brother let down his guard…at all…ever." Kagome mused. "I mean he was still arrogant, fairly cool and collected. But it seemed to take every ounce of his being to cling to his pride. It's usually seems second-nature to him."

"No, Kagome, being an arrogant bastard is his first nature, not his second."

"InuYasha!" she exclaimed half laughing at, half horrified by her husband's crass comment.

"I'm being serious, baka! Something really serious just happened to your brother in front of our eyes. And yet, he still was gentle to our daughter."

"You're right Kagome, what the hell is up with him. It's almost like he has a heart."

Kagome shot a half-humored glare at him, "I'd use the 'O' word if it weren't for Mieko being right here."

Kagome and InuYasha continued their banter. Meanwhile outside a little ways away, Sesshomaru and Rin had found Jaken and A-Un out near the river. "Jaken," his voice boomed, "You and A-Un are to stay away from my niece. I believe her power could possibly be detrimental, if not fatal to you."

Jaken's eyes went round. In his shrill tone, he began to beg the demon lord to explain.

"Just do as I say, Jaken," the daiyoukai commanded with a glint in his eye.

Back at the hut, Kagome was tiring out as she fed her daughter. "I think I'm going to take a nap with Mieko," Kagome proclaimed to InuYasha, "I'm exhausted."

"Keh, yeah, my head is spinning just thinking about all that. So, I'm going to go hunt for dinner. Oyasumi, koibito."

Before departing InuYasha kissed the top of his daughter's silvery head and smiled, "Daddy's little girl!"