July 14

The next day we continued on our journey to the temple when Myoga appeared in Inuyasha's hair again.

"Hey, you two," he said casually as if he hasn't left.

Inuyasha, however, wasn't buying it. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"I had some other business to take care of…"

"Oh sure," I said, rolling my eyes.

"More like you ran away at the first sign of a demon!" Inuyasha said. "What happened to not running away and sticking with us through this? You know we almost died, right?"

"That's precisely why I left."

"Why you stupid little…!"

"Myoga, are we going in the right direction of the temple?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, we should be there very soon. You won't be able to miss it. It's an old, abandoned stone temple."

Soon after we started to see it in the distance but I could see the barrier around it.

"You must use the tetsusaiga to break the barrier, Master Inuyasha," Myoga told him.

"Got it." Inuyasha pulled out his sword again and it glowed bright red. With one swipe, he shot the barrier destroyer at it and the barrier dissolved. We were in.

The temple was definitely ancient-looking as the stone was chipped and collapsed in some places and parts of it were covered in moss and vines. Inuyasha put me on my feet and we walked up the stone steps.

"This place is creepy as hell," Inuyasha said as we went into the dark temple.

"Tell me about it," I agreed.

"Nonsense, Master Inuyasha. This is the place of your ancestors. You should feel at home here."

"I don't know about that," Inuyasha replied.

In the center of the temple was a gold pedestal with dog demons engraved into it.

"This is where the gem goes," Myoga said. "Just place it there and your mission is complete."

Inuyasha took the gem out of his robe and put it in its place. But then something else happened. First, the gem started to glow bright red. Then the entire temple lit up, displaying the carvings of generations of dog demons around it. As the temple started to shake, Inuyasha put his arms around me for protection. Then the shaking stopped and from the gem, a small sphere of blue light appeared in front of us. We looked at it curiously until it started to grow and then it changed shape until we were looking at a person.

The man in front of us was tall and regal. His white bangs fell lightly into his gold eyes and his long white hair was tied into a high ponytail. He had purple stripes on his face and he wore royal white and blue robes with spiked armor over his shoulders.

Myoga gasped. "Master Toga…?"

Inuyasha and I were shocked.

"Dad?!" Inuyasha said.

A smile spread across Toga's face. "Hello, my son. It's about time we met."

"I-I don't understand. How...what…?"

"I know you weren't expecting to see me when you returned the inu yokai gem. But it called to my spirit and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see my son for the first time, could I?" His expression was light and his aura was warm. He didn't seem like the all-powerful demon lord I had heard so much about. His mannerisms certainly reminded me more of Inuyasha than Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha still seemed to be shocked into silence.

Toga put his hands on Inuyasha's shoulders. "I'm proud of you, Inuyasha."

"You are?" Inuyasha sounded genuinely surprised by this.

"Of course! I know, things weren't easy for you, especially when your beautiful mother passed away."

Inuyasha looked away but I could tell it hurt him to think about his difficult past. "Yeah, well, it's in the past now."

Toga looked sad as well. The expression on his face became very pained. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I desperately wish I could have been there for you. It's my biggest regret that I never got to be there for you and see you grow up."

"Dad…" Again, Inuyasha sounded genuinely shocked.

"All I could do was watch you from the afterlife and hope that you eventually found your way. But you did and I am so proud of you."

"I'm not all that spectacular or anything."

"No? You've mastered the tetsusaiga. You've defeated Ryoukotsei, Naraku, and countless other demons. You've made peace with your older brother. And you understand compassion and love for all beings, whether demon or human. You've grown into such a strong young man. How could I not be proud of you? I only wish that I could have experienced it all with you."

A smile touched Inuyasha's face. "Thank you, dad…that really means a lot to me."

"Not only that, but you've found such a beautiful wife." He turned to me and I couldn't help but return his warm smile. "I should thank you, Kagome."

"Me?" Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"For loving Inuyasha unconditionally and teaching him trust and compassion. You are just what he needs in his life. I couldn't have chosen anyone better to be with my son."

"Thank you, Lord Toga."

"Please, call me dad," he said with a playful smirk. Once again, it reminded me so much of Inuyasha!

"Master Toga," Myoga said. "It's a great honor to be in your presence again."

"You've always been such a good friend to me, Myoga," Toga said. "Thank you for taking care of my son...although you're still a wimp for running away every time there's a fight!"

Myoga blushed. "Um, well...self-preservation?"

Toga turned back to Inuyasha. "Continue to do well, my son, as I know you will. And I know for sure, without a doubt, you are going to be an incredible father."

Inuyasha reached out and hugged his father. The two of them embraced tightly. Then Toga pulled back and said, "I must go now."

"Do you really have to go?" Inuyasha said sadly.

"I'm sorry I can't stay. But always remember that I'm looking down on you with your mother. Both of us love you so much and we know you will continue to grow even more into your own and take good care of your wife and child."

Then he started to fade away and Inuyasha seemed to panic.

"No, dad, please don't go!"

"Goodbye, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha tried to reach out to him again but he was gone. For a moment, he stared into the empty space where his father was and looked kind of lost.

I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder. "Yasha, are you going to be okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah...let's get out of here."

He held my hand and we walked out of the temple in silence. I could tell that he was deep in thought and I wondered if he would want to talk about what happened.

Myoga was the first to break the silence. "I'm glad you finally got to meet your father, Master Inuyasha."

"I am too," Inuyasha replied. "I just wish...I just wish I could have talked to him more."

I gave his hand a comforting squeeze. He sounded kind of shaken up by the whole thing and upset that his father had to go so soon.

"Unfortunately, that is just the way of the spirits of the afterlife if you're lucky enough to meet them at all," Myoga said.

We continued on until the temple was long behind us. As I looked up at Inuyasha, he seemed to still be deep in thought but less sad than before. In fact, he seemed to be very at peace about the whole thing. Maybe seeing his father face-to-face was just what he needed.