This is the edited version of this chapter. (From my edit of chapters 1-11)

Inuyasha is not mine, but property of respected companies and Takahashi Rumiko. Sakura, Shinhaku and Yumemi are mine, so ask to use them if you feel the need. Thanks to all who wanted me to write more. :) I appreciate it! But do realize between work and University, I don't have much time...Now on with Chapter four...

The Next Best Thing
Chapter Four: Embroidered Crescent Moon Bands
by Laura Hoak-Kagey

As the sun crept threw the window, Sakura slowly opened her eyes. After she looked in their direction, she could tell that Shinhaku and Yumemi were still asleep. Slowly she crept out of bed, and headed for the door. Being in a new place always caused her to wake up early.

Sakura rubbed her eyes while she walked to the living area. When she reached the living area, she was surprised to see Inuyasha sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Morning, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked up to see a still sleepy-looking Sakura. Even if she wasn't Kagome, he had had to admit to himself that it was good to breathe in a scent so much like Kagome's. "Hey, Sakura. Yer up early."

She plopped herself down next to Inuyasha. "I can't sleep in strange places. The sun woke me up too."

Sakura looked up at Inuyasha. Since she continued to do so for the next few minutes, Inuyasha begun to feel a little uncomfortable. Why was she staring at him? He wasn't that interesting to look at, was he?

"Hey, whatcha lookin' at?"

"I dunno. Doncha ever get the feeling that you've met someone before?" Sakura's feelings were especially strong this morning. She knew that she had definitely never met a person like Inuyasha before, but she felt she had some kind of connection with him.

"Never really thought about it before."

Another small silence filled the room. This time it was Inuyasha who decided to break the silence.

"So, Sakura, you told me about yer mom, but what about yer dad?" Inuyasha knew that the answer would probably break his heart even more, but he had to know. Anything he could find out about Kagome...
Sakura's face held no expression. "Well, I don't know about him. I never asked about him, and I've never met him. Grandma, Great-Grandpa and Uncle Souta were always around, so they helped mommy take care of me."
Inuyasha didn't know how to react to this answer. Sakura had no father? What had happened during the last five and some years? From his few conversations with this little girl he knew without a doubt that she was Kagome's daughter. But as for the father, who...?

As a smile crept onto her face, Sakura said, "But you can be my daddy, Inuyasha. You're so fun to be around! Can I ride piggy back again? But this time can we go fast?"

Children did have short attention spans, Inuyasha thought to himself. But what she said was what he wished was really true. That being he was Sakura's father. "I dunno if I can be yer daddy, but I can pretend for a little while."

He stooped down, and motioned for Sakura to get on his back. "Now, are ya ready for a real ride?"

Sakura nodded, and Inuyasha went out the door, and started taking giant leaps into the air. If Kagome knew what he was doing now, he knew she'd be scolding him for being so careless.

*~*~*

Kagome tried to keep an emotionless face. She would never give Sesshoumaru the pleasure of seeing her in real discomfort again. She had been surprised when he had talked about Sakura before, but now she silently vowed to make herself as emotionless as possible. If she did that, the less chance Sesshoumaru had for pleasure from her own worry and suffering. She now wondered why Sesshoumaru wanted her cooperation in the first place. He had belittled humans so often that Kagome was still surprised that she wasn't dead yet. If Inuyasha were dead...as much as she didn't want to think about it, Kagome needed to accept any possibility open to her. If it were true, then why would Sesshoumaru give a damn about her?
As if he knew she was thinking about him, Sesshoumaru returned to the place where Kagome was sitting. He had gone to the shelf built into the wall on the far side of the room, and was heading back towards her. Kagome tried to see what it was that he was holding.

"Ah, the curious one. Believe me, you shall find out what I have soon enough." Sesshoumaru sat himself down in a chair across from Kagome. "Even though you have already agreed to cooperate with me, I never overlook an option. I am familiar with your strong will and in order to prevent you from turning on me, you will wear these."

Sesshoumaru opened his hands to reveal what it was he had retrieved from the shelf. Two light blue bands embroidered with silver crescent moons lay in his hands. "You may put them on yourself, or I will do it for you."

Rather than have him touch her again, Kagome took the bands from his hands, and made her hands steady as she put them on. As soon as she had slid them to her upper arms, Kagome felt her body heat up. "What the...?"

"Hm, hm, these are my tokens of protection. For a mere human, sometimes you can be clever. Rather than have you try to outsmart me or try to escape my grasp, these bands will be of great use to me. Inside of the bands is a small amount of poison from my claws. If I so wish it, a minute amount of poison will be released, and your skin will absorb it. For a short time you will be under my complete control, unable to control your own body." Sesshoumaru gave himself an evil chuckle. "Of course, while your body will not be in your control, you will be able to see everything, remember everything, as if you were a spectator from afar. In other words, you are under my complete control."

Kagome kept her face emotionless, but in her mind, she wondered how she was going to get out of this one. If what he said was true, she was no more than a servant of Sesshoumaru. What had she gotten herself into? But no, she would figure a way to get out of this, no matter what it cost her. Sakura burned bright in her mind, and that was what mattered to her.

*~*~*

Sesshoumaru looked from the window to gaze at the crystalline lake below his castle. His castle was built into the side of the mountain. Anything that had found its way into his castle never found its way out again. Because of Inuyasha and his Tessaiga, Sesshoumaru's power had been sealed so that it was not much more powerful than that of his worm of a half-brother. Nor would Sesshoumaru ever forgive his father since his own father had given Inuyasha the power to seal Sesshoumaru's. Father had not trusted him from birth, and Sesshoumaru looked for a way to get back at all of them.

This time he had that girl, Kagome, and he could use her to get back at Inuyasha. .

Later, he would take Inuyasha's daughter for his own. Rin was nearly an adult, of which he did looked forward to, but Rin was still merely a human. However, the daughter of Inuyasha would have some power. If Sesshoumaru could train that brat and her power for his own purposes...

*~*~*

Kagome's thoughts were filled of Sakura. She wished with all her heart that her daughter was safe. She had never heard of anyone with a quarter demon blood being hunted before, or even "sensed", like how Sango was able to do. It then occurred to her that her friends Sango and Miroku were most likely still alive and well. Kagome had no idea of where they would be, but if they had stayed near Kaede's village, then they could have found Sakura in the woods. It was a very small hope, but it gave Kagome a little bit of comfort knowing that at least one possibility she had come up with was in her favor.

Because Kagome had been preoccupied with her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed the door starting to open. Only after it was completely open did she take notice of who came through the door. Sesshoumaru stood before her.
"What do you want?"

"Human, I think you should ask me what I want you to do, not the other way around."
The evil chill in his voice made Kagome shiver slightly. With much effort and restraint of her strong, stubborn will, she muttered,

"What do you want me to do?"

"That is more like it."

Kagome started to get a sick feeling in her stomach. If only Inuyasha were still alive...

*~*~*

Inuyasha and Sakura had returned to Sango and Miroku's hut a few minutes ago. As soon as they had come home, Sango had taken Sakura to the kitchen to get some breakfast. She kept mumbling something about Inuyasha needing to learn how to take care of children. Feeding them was important. Or at least that's what Inuyasha had made out.

He had left Sango to Sakura's breakfast, and now sat in the living area with Miroku. Inuyasha had no subtle way of bringing it up, so he blurted it out. "Sakura said she has no dad and she doesn't know anything about him. What does that mean, Miroku?"

The monk's eyes had narrowed a little in thought. "Well...it could have several meanings. But..." At that moment Miroku came to a realization. "Do you know Sakura's age, by chance?"

"Age? No, why?" Inuyasha was trying to make the connection Miroku had, but was failing to do so.

"Wait here. I'll be back shortly."

Miroku went to the kitchen, and just as he had thought, Sango was there. She should be able to answer his question.
"Sango, dear, may I ask you a question?"

A little surprised by Miroku's abrupt appearance, she merely nodded her head.

He took a step closer to whisper something into her ear. "What is Sakura's age? Do you know?"
Sango was a little puzzled by Miroku's question, but she answered anyway. "Well, she said that she's almost five. Why?"

"I'll tell you soon, I promise. Right now I'm trying to see if a guess I have is correct or not. I'll tell you later."
Miroku left Sango with those words and returned to the living area. Inuyasha was still sitting on the floor, near the door.

"Didja find out?"

"Yes. Sango told me. I think you and I need to take a walk. I have a few questions for you too."

The look on Miroku's face was enough to convince Inuyasha that he should follow the monk. Though why he thought this way, Inuyasha didn't know. True he had learned to drop a lot of his "masculine act" since he had started to grow older and more mature, but Inuyasha was still Inuyasha.

Once they were outside, Miroku began to talk again. "Inuyasha, I have a question for you, as I said before. Before I ask it, please don't get angry at what I ask. I'm no longer the lecherous man I used to be."

Inuyasha's face had gone blank. What the hell was Miroku talking about? "Uh, yeah."

"Alright. Before you and Kagome jumped together into the Bone-Eater's Well all those years ago, did anything...happen?"

"Happen? Whatcha mean by that?"

Miroku cleared his throat a bit before replying. "Well, did you and Kagome spend some precious moments together?"

"Precious moments? What the hell are you talkin' about? We had lotsa precious moments. Ask simple questions and forget about the damn pretty talk."

Miroku could tell that Inuyasha was losing his temper over nothing. At least it was good to see Inuyasha acting more like himself, Miroku noted to himself.

"Okay, in basic terms, did you and Kagome have sex before you two jumped into the well?"

"Sex? Whatcha asking that for? What's that gotta do with anything?" Inuyasha was not one to publicly talk about his private life, especially when it came to his sex life. Despite his masculine appearance, he had had sex only once in his life.

"So I interpret your reactions as yes? It's really important that I know the truth. Please trust me Inuyasha."

Something about Miroku's face made Inuyasha realize he was serious. "Yeah, we did. Why? And you better have a damn good

explanation."

Miroku sighed. "Well, I can't say it's the truth, but with all the calculations I've done in my head, Sakura is just about the right age. I have a feeling Sakura is yours and Kagome's daughter."
======
July 2001
http://animeforever.com/inuyasha