[Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi, the lucky bitch, owns Inuyasha, not me. Damn.]
[Foreword 1: This is a sequel to my last story, "Get Away From Me." I dearly suggest you read that before you read this. For all my faithfuls out there, I implore you to review this one with as much diligence and enthusiasm as you did "Get Away From Me." I expect the same of you new readers, as well.]
"Do you think she's okay with it all?" asked Inuyasha. Ever since the day Yumi was born, he had seemed a bit more careful than before, when he would've killed anyone to get a jewel shard.
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Inuyasha. Calm down." Kagome took one last look at her daughter, sleeping peacefully across the room, before smiling at Inuyasha. "There's nothing we can do about it. Why are you so worried?"
"I never knew my dad in the first place, and here she is, thinking that I'm her father for six years...and now she finds out that I'm not? I don't know about her, but that probably would've stunned me into silence for the rest of my life." Shippou, now a teenager, looked up from his futon and mumbled something along the lines of, "Oh, wouldn't that be nice..."
"Shut up, Shippou," said Inuyasha, looking around for something to throw at the adolescent kitsune, who promptly went back to sleep.
"Don't worry about it. We'll all be fine, I promise. But I will have to go back to my time to go to my grandpa's funeral. I'll leave you both here. I don't want to take Yumi to a funeral when she's only six years old, and I'd rather you just not go, if you don't mind."
Inuyasha nodded. He didn't mind being left behind; Kagome's time was so...different. He didn't like it. It smelled like gasoline and the noises hurt his ears [gotta love the ears...]. "It's okay with me."
"Good." He kissed Kagome on the top of her head and they both settled in for the night. [Snuggle, snuggle...so sweet it makes your dentist wince.]
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"Bye, Mommy!" said Yumi from atop Inuyasha's shoulders. Kagome waved from the rim of the well.
"I'll be back in about four days. Be good while I'm gone, Yumi. I love you!" And with that, she vanished over the side of the well.
12345
It was a peaceful morning. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves of the trees in the Inuyasha forest, dappling Yumi and Inuyasha with green and yellow light. Inuyasha had set Yumi down to walk back, and they did so in silence.
"So...what do I call you now?"
"Huh?"
"Well I can't call you Daddy anymore. What do I call you?" the girl stared up into Inuyasha's eyes with a very Rin-like quality that the older girl had indeed possessed when she was younger and traveling with Sesshoumaru.
"Uh...Inuyasha, I guess." They walked in silence for a bit more.
"Inuyasha, what happened? Did Mommy love my daddy?" Nodding, Inuyasha answered.
"Of course."
"And you love my mommy, right?"
"Of course, Yumi."
"Then why did you kill my daddy?" They had stopped walking now. Inuyasha kneeled next to his adopted daughter.
"Because...I was angry. I was angry at my brother for what he did to Kagome. He kidnapped her, more than once. Then I thought he broke his promise not to do it again, when it was really a trap laid by our enemy. I only learned after he was dead that it was a trap. I didn't even realize that she loved him. Given the chance, I never would've done it." He whispered now. "Your mom loved both of us—Sesshoumaru and myself. I would have let her choose between us, for her own happiness. But I didn't have the choice."
A tear ran down Yumi's cheek. Inuyasha wiped it away and hugged her. "I love you both. From the day Kagome came back to this era with the news, I promised that I would take care of you both. And I intend to keep that promise."
Yumi looked up. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
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The noon sun wasn't unbearably hot, so Inuyasha, Shippou, Rin, Yumi, and Kaede went down to the river for lunch. After they were done eating, Shippou made some inaudible wisecrack, so Inuyasha ended up chasing him around the riverbank for about half an hour. During that half hour, Yumi turned to Rin. She was determined to find everyone's viewpoint.
"Rin, I know you're not my aunt." Rin's smile faded.
"You were bound to find out sometime. What do you want to know?"
"What was my daddy like?" Rin's smile returned. She had loved Sesshoumaru as her own father, and was devastated that day when she saw Sesshoumaru's body on the ground in the rain.
"He was wonderful, Yumi. A lot of people didn't like him because he was never very nice to them, but he was nothing less than generous to your mother and me. That kimono you're wearing now came from his castle. He was very nice once you spend a few months following him around the Japanese wilderness. Quiet, but a good person. His name may have given him something of a reputation, but the real Sesshoumaru was a great person. Capable of love, compassion, and jealousy. Selfishness, anger, pain. I would say that he was only human, but he wasn't. He was a great demon and a great ruler. I wish you could have known him."
"Thanks, Rin." Yumi turned and laughed as Shippou led Inuyasha into the river, only to jump over the deep part and have his pursuer splash into the hole in the riverbed. Inuyasha gave up on the chase and returned to his spot at the riverbank next to Kaede.
"Inuyasha, are Miroku and Sango still coming for a visit later today?"
"They should be. If they're not, I won't worry about it."
[A/N: Whee, first chapter done!!! My parents go back to work this week, so I can write on this a lot. Yay! BE on the lookout for another chapter soon!! Ja ne. REVIEW, MONKEYS.
[Foreword 1: This is a sequel to my last story, "Get Away From Me." I dearly suggest you read that before you read this. For all my faithfuls out there, I implore you to review this one with as much diligence and enthusiasm as you did "Get Away From Me." I expect the same of you new readers, as well.]
"Do you think she's okay with it all?" asked Inuyasha. Ever since the day Yumi was born, he had seemed a bit more careful than before, when he would've killed anyone to get a jewel shard.
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Inuyasha. Calm down." Kagome took one last look at her daughter, sleeping peacefully across the room, before smiling at Inuyasha. "There's nothing we can do about it. Why are you so worried?"
"I never knew my dad in the first place, and here she is, thinking that I'm her father for six years...and now she finds out that I'm not? I don't know about her, but that probably would've stunned me into silence for the rest of my life." Shippou, now a teenager, looked up from his futon and mumbled something along the lines of, "Oh, wouldn't that be nice..."
"Shut up, Shippou," said Inuyasha, looking around for something to throw at the adolescent kitsune, who promptly went back to sleep.
"Don't worry about it. We'll all be fine, I promise. But I will have to go back to my time to go to my grandpa's funeral. I'll leave you both here. I don't want to take Yumi to a funeral when she's only six years old, and I'd rather you just not go, if you don't mind."
Inuyasha nodded. He didn't mind being left behind; Kagome's time was so...different. He didn't like it. It smelled like gasoline and the noises hurt his ears [gotta love the ears...]. "It's okay with me."
"Good." He kissed Kagome on the top of her head and they both settled in for the night. [Snuggle, snuggle...so sweet it makes your dentist wince.]
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"Bye, Mommy!" said Yumi from atop Inuyasha's shoulders. Kagome waved from the rim of the well.
"I'll be back in about four days. Be good while I'm gone, Yumi. I love you!" And with that, she vanished over the side of the well.
12345
It was a peaceful morning. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves of the trees in the Inuyasha forest, dappling Yumi and Inuyasha with green and yellow light. Inuyasha had set Yumi down to walk back, and they did so in silence.
"So...what do I call you now?"
"Huh?"
"Well I can't call you Daddy anymore. What do I call you?" the girl stared up into Inuyasha's eyes with a very Rin-like quality that the older girl had indeed possessed when she was younger and traveling with Sesshoumaru.
"Uh...Inuyasha, I guess." They walked in silence for a bit more.
"Inuyasha, what happened? Did Mommy love my daddy?" Nodding, Inuyasha answered.
"Of course."
"And you love my mommy, right?"
"Of course, Yumi."
"Then why did you kill my daddy?" They had stopped walking now. Inuyasha kneeled next to his adopted daughter.
"Because...I was angry. I was angry at my brother for what he did to Kagome. He kidnapped her, more than once. Then I thought he broke his promise not to do it again, when it was really a trap laid by our enemy. I only learned after he was dead that it was a trap. I didn't even realize that she loved him. Given the chance, I never would've done it." He whispered now. "Your mom loved both of us—Sesshoumaru and myself. I would have let her choose between us, for her own happiness. But I didn't have the choice."
A tear ran down Yumi's cheek. Inuyasha wiped it away and hugged her. "I love you both. From the day Kagome came back to this era with the news, I promised that I would take care of you both. And I intend to keep that promise."
Yumi looked up. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
&&&12345&&&
The noon sun wasn't unbearably hot, so Inuyasha, Shippou, Rin, Yumi, and Kaede went down to the river for lunch. After they were done eating, Shippou made some inaudible wisecrack, so Inuyasha ended up chasing him around the riverbank for about half an hour. During that half hour, Yumi turned to Rin. She was determined to find everyone's viewpoint.
"Rin, I know you're not my aunt." Rin's smile faded.
"You were bound to find out sometime. What do you want to know?"
"What was my daddy like?" Rin's smile returned. She had loved Sesshoumaru as her own father, and was devastated that day when she saw Sesshoumaru's body on the ground in the rain.
"He was wonderful, Yumi. A lot of people didn't like him because he was never very nice to them, but he was nothing less than generous to your mother and me. That kimono you're wearing now came from his castle. He was very nice once you spend a few months following him around the Japanese wilderness. Quiet, but a good person. His name may have given him something of a reputation, but the real Sesshoumaru was a great person. Capable of love, compassion, and jealousy. Selfishness, anger, pain. I would say that he was only human, but he wasn't. He was a great demon and a great ruler. I wish you could have known him."
"Thanks, Rin." Yumi turned and laughed as Shippou led Inuyasha into the river, only to jump over the deep part and have his pursuer splash into the hole in the riverbed. Inuyasha gave up on the chase and returned to his spot at the riverbank next to Kaede.
"Inuyasha, are Miroku and Sango still coming for a visit later today?"
"They should be. If they're not, I won't worry about it."
[A/N: Whee, first chapter done!!! My parents go back to work this week, so I can write on this a lot. Yay! BE on the lookout for another chapter soon!! Ja ne. REVIEW, MONKEYS.