Shards, Miko, Hanyou, and Daiyokai
Told in Kagome's POV
(I'm going off of the idea that moons are days.)
***Friendly reminder: Sessy doesn't have his arm back yet. He only has one arm right now.
Chapter Five:
"Hey Souta, how have you been?" I ask as I climb over the lip of the well.
"I've been doing okay. It's been quiet around here. Grampa has been cleaning up around the shrine, and Buyo has been hanging around the well a lot lately," Souta answered.
"He must've been missing me," I say as Buyo brushes up against my legs.
I bend down to pet him before he stalks off to the house. After Buyo left, Souta and I walked into the house. It must be the weekend for Souta to be in the well house so early in the morning I thought to myself. I walked into the kitchen and saw my mother over the stove preparing lunch.
"Hi, mom. I'm back for a quick visit to gather supplies for the children. I'm going to look for the books you gave Souta and I when we were younger to learn numbers and letters," I say as I place a kiss on her cheek.
"That sounds good, sweety. Why the sudden interest in teaching the children?" My mother asked as she turned around to look at me.
"Sesshomaru asked me to teach Rin what it means to be human. He's yokai, so he doesn't know what it is she needs to know. It's mostly unheard of for youkai to travel with humans much less take care of a human child. I guess he feels inadequate when it comes to raising her," I say with a shrug.
"Do you mean the Sesshomaru that tried to kill you several times? That Sesshomaru?" my mom asked incredulously.
"He's been traveling with us for the last couple months. He seems to be warming up to us a little bit plus he must trust me a bit to let me teach his ward," I answer nonchalantly.
"Well, I know you will do a good job. You always were good with children," Mother turned around and continued stirring what she was cooking on the stove.
"About that..." my voice trailed off in my embarrassment to finish what I was saying, "Mom, what should I tell Rin to explain her period to her? I'm sure she's never even been around other women who could teach her about such things."
"Just be honest with her, honey. Tell her that it's her body's way of getting ready to have children when she's old enough," my mother answered.
"Well, I guess I can say that. I just don't want to make it too awkward for her. I guess I'll go gather the books now, and I will go to the store and get some notebooks, pencils, crayons and coloring books as well," I say as I walk into the living room to look at the bookshelves to see what books I will bring.
I saw the books about letters and numbers. It was a bit rudimentary but it's a good foundation. I can always come back and get books that will be more suited to them as they learn. Being that she would be starting her monthly cycle soon, I don't want to just give her a book to read when she finally learns to read. I suppose that it will have to be something I teach her about sooner rather than later. I groaned to myself before putting all the books on the table in the kitchen before grabbing my money out of my room and hurrying to the store to get the supplies I need.
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A short time later, I head home with all of the items I need for the trip. I got some extra tea, a new backpack, ramen for Inuyasha, notebooks, pencils, crayons, and coloring books to keep the children occupied. When I got home, I stuffed all of the stuff I bought into my new backpack before I walked up to my mom in the kitchen and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I wanted to talk to you before I leave, mom," I say tentatively before sitting down at the table.
"Oh? What did you want to talk about Kagome?" My mom walked over to the table and sat down beside me.
"We finally defeated Naraku but the jewel still isn't complete," I say as I show her the piece of the jewel around my neck.
"You finally defeated that bad demon? I'm so sorry that you didn't finish the jewel, Kagome. I know you were looking forward to the end of this jewel nonsense," my mom hugged me as I started crying from frustration.
"Part of me wants it finished and gone and the other part of me hopes that it's never completed, so that I can have both of my families. Sesshomaru and Rin are going to be traveling with us now, so it's like my family got bigger in the feudal era. Sesshomaru may not see it that way, but he is Inuyasha's brother. Oh mom, Inuyasha still keeps running to Kikyo. It's so sad to see. All of us in the group knows that she shouldn't be there, but Inuyasha insists that she'll be able to stay. I don't know what the jewel will do once the wish is made. I don't even know what to wish yet," I sit up and rub my eyes by the time I'm finished speaking.
"Knowing what to wish for will come in time, Kagome. Didn't you say it must be a selfless wish? You are the most selfless person I know. We will support you no matter what happens," my mom pats me on the head before giving me a big hug.
"I'm just worried about how everything will turn out," I whisper before letting my mom go.
"It'll be fine."
Silence fell over us for a few minutes. We were both in our own minds.
"I guess I had better get back. They're expecting me before the end of the day," I say as I give my mom one last hug before getting up and grabbing my backpack.
"Be careful, Kagome. We will see you when you come back," my mom said as she walked back into the kitchen to finish washing the dishes.
"Yes ma'am," I answer as I walk out of the door and back to the well house. I sit on top of the well before swinging my legs over and jumping in.
-Page Break-
"Kagome's back!" I hear Shippo yelling in excitement above me.
I feel an arm wrap around my waist and then the ground is no longer underneath my feet for a few seconds before we touch back down on the soft grass a few feet from the well. Sesshomaru takes my backpack off of my shoulders before he takes a few steps away from me.
"Thank you, Sesshomaru," I say as I smile up at him.
"Hnn," Sesshomaru hums in response.
"Kagome!" Shippo jumps into my arms excitedly.
"I was just gone for a couple hours, Shippo," I hug him tightly to my chest before pulling him back to see into his face.
"Any time away from you is too much," Shippo says before burying his face in my chest.
I pet his hair before I feel a small hand grab my skirt and pull a little bit. I look down to see Rin, and I sit down so that I can hug both of the children to me.
"Hello, Rin," I say with a small smile on my face.
"Hello, Kagome-sama," Rin answers with a huge grin.
"Miko, we need to return to the village. The others have been waiting," Sesshomaru speaks up.
Sesshomaru is standing beside us with my backpack slung over his shoulder. I look up at him and see a hint of fondness in his eyes before he abruptly turns away.
"Okay, Shippo and Rin. Let's get up so we can go back to the village," I say cheerfully.
The children and I get up and they both grab each of my hands before walking quietly back to the village. As I walk into the village, I see Sango and Miroku standing outside of Kaede's hut speaking quietly to each other.
"Where's Inuyasha?" I ask curiously although I'm pretty sure I know the answer.
"Well, since we aren't leaving until tomorrow morning..." Miroku's voice trailed off.
"Well, that's fine. Perhaps we can heat up some water to make ramen for lunch. After that, Rin and I can go gather herbs for the trip," I say cheerfully before going into Kaede's hut to start a fire with the firewood up against the wall.
I get the fire going and start making the ramen before splitting it into servings for everyone. While I was cooking, Sango, Miroku and the children all sat down waiting for their share. Sesshomaru put my bag down against the wall and then sat down beside it. Everyone ate in silence. I started thinking about when would be an appropriate time to tell Rin about her time of the month, and I figure now would be the best time because I can bring her away from the boys to talk to her without worrying about danger overmuch.
After Rin and I finished, I grabbed her hand a pulled her out of the hut. Shippo and Sesshomaru followed me out. I drop Rin's hand before turning slightly but not enough to look at Sesshomaru as I talk.
"Sesshomaru, I need to speak to Rin about something that's... um... private. It's a girl thing, and I don't know how she will react when I tell her, but it's important that I do tell her," I mumble nervously without turning around.
I'm not entirely sure how he will react to what I'm saying and it makes me nervous because I do not want to offend the Lord of the West in any way, shape, or form.
"That is acceptable. The kit and I will be close enough that if you should need us, we will be there," Sesshomaru answered after a few seconds of thought.
I physically sag in relief before taking Rin's hand and leading her to the forest. There is a clearing not too far into the forest by Kaede's home. I sit down with Rin and calmly explain what each herb is.
"This herb is good for sprains, cuts, and bruises. This herb is good for helping headaches and mild pains. This herb is good for when you have an upset stomach. I'll teach you how to use them after you learn how to identify them," I point to each individual plant before I pull them out of the ground and pile them into my lap.
"Okay, Kagome-sama," Rin answers cheerfully.
I spend a few more moments pulling up herbs before getting myself together enough to have the conversation that I need to have with Rin.
"Rin, there is something I must tell you. It may be a little embarrassing, but I feel you are old enough that you should know."
"Yes, Kagome-sama?" Rin asked curiously.
"As a girl grows up, her body changes so she can have a baby. The reason her body changes is because her body is getting a place ready for the baby to grow inside of her. The place where a baby grows is called a uterus. Every month the uterus wall gets ready for a baby. If there is no baby, the uterus wall comes off and causes blood to come out of her. The uterus makes a new wall every month, so that's why every month you'll bleed. Periods can last from 5-7 moons. Do you understand, Rin?" I ask her.
"So Rin will bleed for 5-7 moons every month?" Rin asked curiously.
"Yes, you'll bleed right here," I cup my hand under my sex to show her what I mean.
Rin's eyes widened a little bit but she didn't say another word.
"A month is generally 28-30 moons long. So, during every month you will bleed for 5-7 moons. It doesn't normally hurt a lot. You may have cramps, but it isn't meant to hurt too bad. If it does hurt too bad then just tell me or Sesshomaru so we can help you," I say comfortingly as I put my arms around Rin.
"Are you going to tell Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked quietly.
"I am pretty sure he already knows about this, Rin. I just think he wanted me to tell you since I'm a girl too," I answer reassuringly.
We sat quietly together for a few moments before Rin jumped up and started looking for something.
"Rin? Are you okay?" I ask while I grab the herbs in my lap before standing up to see what the young girl was doing.
"Rin is okay, Kagome-sama. I was looking for flowers for Sesshomaru-sama," Rin said with a big grin on her face.
I helped her find a bundle of pink and white flowers before we head back to the village with her hand in mine.
"Miko," Sesshomaru greets us as we walk back into the village.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Rin got you flowers!" Rin ran up to him excitedly before holding out the flowers to him.
"Thank you, Rin," Sesshomaru took the flowers from Rin before turning to me, "Rin, go in the miko's hut. This one wishes to speak with Kagome."
"Hai, Lord Sesshomaru," Rin says cheerfully as she walks into Kaede's hut.
"Are we on a first name basis now, Sesshomaru-sama?" I ask him teasingly.
He shoots me a look before he grabs my elbow and pulls me a little ways away from the hut.
"This Sesshomaru wants to know what you have told Rin," He said as he let my elbow go and took a step backwards.
"I was merely telling her about her time of the month. I didn't think it was a good idea to tell her on the journey because we wouldn't be able to get too much alone time away from Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo once we leave the village," I answer calmly.
"You decided to start your teaching by telling her about that?" Sesshomaru asked with his head tilted to the side.
I giggle uncontrollably at him before I cover my mouth at his questioning glare.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I assure you that she should be starting her time of the month soon, and because of that, I just wanted to warn her since you seemed uncomfortable with it," I giggled a little more while I answered him.
"Cease your giggling, woman," Sesshomaru ordered with a glare.
"You looked like a dog with your head tilted to the side like that. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. It was so adorable," I say as I take a step towards him with a smile on my face.
"This Sesshomaru is an inu, Miko," He growled while looking at me approaching him.
"You are a dog yokai in human form. It's not the same as what I'm thinking. I'll have to bring a picture back next time I go through the well."
"If you must," Sesshomaru answered trying not to look curious about the idea.
A few seconds of silence passed before I grew serious once more.
"I will be starting their schooling tomorrow. I don't really think Rin understands the importance of what I told her today, she will in time, of course, so I will not worry for now. Perhaps one of us will be around to help her when the time comes," I spoke casually.
"This one is not looking forward to that day," Sesshomaru's eyes showed his reluctance to the idea.
"Rin is a smart girl. She will be able to learn quickly enough that you shouldn't have to deal with it more than a reasonable amount of time if it happens when no one else is around to help her," I respond to ease his worry.
"This one hopes so."
When Sesshomaru was finished speaking he walked into Kaede's hut with the children, and I followed him. By then it was evening and it was time for me to cook supper. I cooked the ramen I had in my backpack and served everyone except for Sesshomaru (who didn't want any). We all ate in silence and then got ready to go to bed. Sesshomaru sat against the wall watching over all of us as we slept.
-page break-
(Guys, I was dreading this chapter so much! I'm so sorry it took so long for the update. I kept going back and forth with this chapter trying to decide how to write it. I wasn't sure how in depth I should go. I know Kagome has much more knowledge in her era than in the Feudal Era, so I wanted to make it seem like she was knowledgeable but also not be too much for Rin. Children kind of have this tendency to blow everything off until it becomes important to them, so I thought I could incorporate that here. Having a period or being a woman doesn't concern her now because it hasn't happened yet. I was also trying to make this easier on both parties because period talk can be uncomfortable for people who aren't family. Sesshomaru is a guy, so I figured it would be downright weird for him to talk to her about it. She's not likely to leave his side so... Anywho... I'm glad it's over because I was struggling so much with this chapter. I wanted it to be perfect. Leave me reviews even if you don't like how I handled it.)
ipod reader: I laughed when I read your latest review. That would be pretty funny.
One2handcuff: I love that idea so much!
You are all so wonderful, and I hope I'm not messing this up! Thank you so much for reading my story.