[I would like to thank CometsChaos, who is my so-far ONLY absolutely faithful reviewer, and I would also like to thank whoever it was (damn, I forgot your name, gomen nasai!!!) that IMed me the other night. Thank you, all!!]
[Disclaimer: Nope. I own nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Zero. Yay me.]
"Inuyasha, how are you?" Sango called upon reaching the village. Inuyasha was sitting outside arguing with Kaede. He acknowledged Miroku and Sango's presence and went back to arguing.
"Listen, old hag. Whether you like it or not, Yumi is my daughter now and I say what's best for her. What's best for her is NOT going to see the castle!"
"Inuyasha, quit being so stubborn. All I'm saying is that the child should at least be given the opportunity to see the place her father lived." She turned and went inside the hut.
"Well, it looks like things are going great around here..." Miroku trailed off. "Where is Kagome?" he added. Inuyasha looked up.
"Her grandpa died, so she's in her time at his funeral. She should be back in a couple of days."
"And Yumi...Is she who you were discussing?"
"Yeah. She's down at the river with Rin and Shippou. Kaede thinks I should take her to see Sesshoumaru's castle, since she...well, she found out about Sesshoumaru." Sango and Miroku exchanged looks of mixed sorrow and surprise.
"Well, she had to find out sometime, didn't she? What was her reaction?" asked Sango as they began to walk down to the river.
"She seemed to take it pretty well, but she cried even more than Kagome, so...I'm not entirely sure how she feels." Miroku rolled his eyes.
"How can you not be sure how she feels? Don't you talk to her?"
"Apparently not enough."
&&&12345&&&
The wind blew across the hill near the river softly. Rin was having a great time telling about Sesshoumaru to Yumi, and Yumi was having a great time hearing about her father, appreciating both the good things and the bad things that she heard. Rin stopped mid-sentence as Inuyasha's worried voice ripped apart the landscape.
"Yumi, where are you?!" Yumi and Rin peeked down at Inuyasha from the hilltop.
"Hi, Inuyasha," said Rin, preparing to get yelled at.
"Rin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"We got tired of the river, Inuyasha, so we decided to come up here."
"I don't give a damn! I don't want you taking Yumi somewhere without telling me first. Come on back to the village. It's time for supper." Sango took Yumi ahead, while Rin hung back to talk to Inuyasha and Miroku.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. Why are you being so paranoid?" Miroku answered before Inuyasha could speak.
"He's concerned for Yumi. He's feeling the same way he did as when she was just born—when he was also afraid she wouldn't like him—and is treating her like she's about to break. You know, he treated Kagome the same way when she was pregnant."
Inuyasha spoke after hitting Miroku in the head. "I just want to be sure she's safe."
"You don't want Kagome to yell at you when she gets back?"
"That's about it, yeah..."
&&&12345&&&
That night, Inuyasha watched Yumi fall asleep. It wasn't entirely true. He didn't want Kagome to yell at him when she returned, but he also just wanted his daughter to like him. He killed her real father, and had never thought about what effect it would have on her when she found out about it.
Inuyasha's Dream
He could tell it was a time of better days. The sun shone and the birds sang and the clouds had taken a mysterious leave of absence. Inuyasha was walking through the forest, moving at a moderate pace, but seemed to need to get where he was going as soon as possible. As he exited the forest and came upon a meadow-like place, he saw what he dreaded to see: Sesshoumaru's castle. But something was different. It wasn't derelict and dilapidated; it was well-kept and seemingly full of life. Apparently without any control over what he was doing, Inuyasha leapt to the top of the wall and looked down at the courtyard with the fish pond and flowers. Sesshoumaru was alive—now Inuyasha knew for sure this was a time of "better days." Kagome was there, smiling and happy. She turned away from Inuyasha, whom he felt she could not see, and motioned for someone standing in a doorway to exit.
It was Yumi. She ran out into the yard, followed by a very young toad demon very much resembling Jaken, who was tripping and stumbling as he tried to catch up with her. Yumi smiled as her mother caught her in her arms and hugged her. Sesshoumaru smiled. Wait a sec—Sesshoumaru did WHAT?!? He smiled? "Better days," alright. Better days. For everyone. Kagome was happy, Yumi was happy, Sesshoumaru was happy, even—Inuyasha could see as she exited a building to his left—Rin was happy. They were all happy without him. Was this what would have happened if Sesshoumaru was still—
Inuyasha sat up, breathing heavily. It was just a dream. Thank God, it was just a dream. He looked over at Yumi, who was sound asleep. He reached over and pulled her blanket up over her shoulders. She rolled over, and the blanket stubbornly fell off again. Again, Inuyasha pulled it up. The damn blanket decided to be difficult and fell off again. He gave up and looked at the other people in the room. Miroku was sleeping closer to Sango than she ever would have allowed in the days when they were all actively traveling together.
It had been a difficult thing, to beat Naraku. But it had happened, with a great surprise and disappointment to all. The Shikon no Tama, Sacred Jewel of Four Souls, had been completed after Naraku was dead, and then it had...disappeared. Just like that. Disappeared like smoke into the wind. Like glass in water. Like snow in a volcano.
Yumi hadn't understood why her parents had come home so tired and exhausted but happy. She didn't understand it, but she was glad they were home. Then, two years later, she had found out that one of them wasn't even her real parent. He was her uncle.
Then again, Inuyasha thought, if she had loved him before, why couldn't she love him now? She had seemed a little...cold towards him ever since they had come back from Kagome's time. He had tried so hard for all of six years to make her happy, and it had worked up until then. She had treated him like her father because that was what she had believed.
It was what she had believed, and it had worked until she found out the truth.
[A/N: I feel the word fizzle coming up shortly...FIZZLE. Yep, there it is. I do have some idea of what I'm going to have happen next...a very good idea. Review, monkeys. Ja ne.
Yumi: Oh shut up and go to bed, you psycho.
SPK: Fine. Bossy little...
Yumi: Inuyasha!! She's being mean to me!
Inuyasha: Nothing I can do about it. She writes my lines. Sorry, hon.
SPK: ((sticks tongue out at Yumi))
[Disclaimer: Nope. I own nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Zero. Yay me.]
"Inuyasha, how are you?" Sango called upon reaching the village. Inuyasha was sitting outside arguing with Kaede. He acknowledged Miroku and Sango's presence and went back to arguing.
"Listen, old hag. Whether you like it or not, Yumi is my daughter now and I say what's best for her. What's best for her is NOT going to see the castle!"
"Inuyasha, quit being so stubborn. All I'm saying is that the child should at least be given the opportunity to see the place her father lived." She turned and went inside the hut.
"Well, it looks like things are going great around here..." Miroku trailed off. "Where is Kagome?" he added. Inuyasha looked up.
"Her grandpa died, so she's in her time at his funeral. She should be back in a couple of days."
"And Yumi...Is she who you were discussing?"
"Yeah. She's down at the river with Rin and Shippou. Kaede thinks I should take her to see Sesshoumaru's castle, since she...well, she found out about Sesshoumaru." Sango and Miroku exchanged looks of mixed sorrow and surprise.
"Well, she had to find out sometime, didn't she? What was her reaction?" asked Sango as they began to walk down to the river.
"She seemed to take it pretty well, but she cried even more than Kagome, so...I'm not entirely sure how she feels." Miroku rolled his eyes.
"How can you not be sure how she feels? Don't you talk to her?"
"Apparently not enough."
&&&12345&&&
The wind blew across the hill near the river softly. Rin was having a great time telling about Sesshoumaru to Yumi, and Yumi was having a great time hearing about her father, appreciating both the good things and the bad things that she heard. Rin stopped mid-sentence as Inuyasha's worried voice ripped apart the landscape.
"Yumi, where are you?!" Yumi and Rin peeked down at Inuyasha from the hilltop.
"Hi, Inuyasha," said Rin, preparing to get yelled at.
"Rin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"We got tired of the river, Inuyasha, so we decided to come up here."
"I don't give a damn! I don't want you taking Yumi somewhere without telling me first. Come on back to the village. It's time for supper." Sango took Yumi ahead, while Rin hung back to talk to Inuyasha and Miroku.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. Why are you being so paranoid?" Miroku answered before Inuyasha could speak.
"He's concerned for Yumi. He's feeling the same way he did as when she was just born—when he was also afraid she wouldn't like him—and is treating her like she's about to break. You know, he treated Kagome the same way when she was pregnant."
Inuyasha spoke after hitting Miroku in the head. "I just want to be sure she's safe."
"You don't want Kagome to yell at you when she gets back?"
"That's about it, yeah..."
&&&12345&&&
That night, Inuyasha watched Yumi fall asleep. It wasn't entirely true. He didn't want Kagome to yell at him when she returned, but he also just wanted his daughter to like him. He killed her real father, and had never thought about what effect it would have on her when she found out about it.
Inuyasha's Dream
He could tell it was a time of better days. The sun shone and the birds sang and the clouds had taken a mysterious leave of absence. Inuyasha was walking through the forest, moving at a moderate pace, but seemed to need to get where he was going as soon as possible. As he exited the forest and came upon a meadow-like place, he saw what he dreaded to see: Sesshoumaru's castle. But something was different. It wasn't derelict and dilapidated; it was well-kept and seemingly full of life. Apparently without any control over what he was doing, Inuyasha leapt to the top of the wall and looked down at the courtyard with the fish pond and flowers. Sesshoumaru was alive—now Inuyasha knew for sure this was a time of "better days." Kagome was there, smiling and happy. She turned away from Inuyasha, whom he felt she could not see, and motioned for someone standing in a doorway to exit.
It was Yumi. She ran out into the yard, followed by a very young toad demon very much resembling Jaken, who was tripping and stumbling as he tried to catch up with her. Yumi smiled as her mother caught her in her arms and hugged her. Sesshoumaru smiled. Wait a sec—Sesshoumaru did WHAT?!? He smiled? "Better days," alright. Better days. For everyone. Kagome was happy, Yumi was happy, Sesshoumaru was happy, even—Inuyasha could see as she exited a building to his left—Rin was happy. They were all happy without him. Was this what would have happened if Sesshoumaru was still—
Inuyasha sat up, breathing heavily. It was just a dream. Thank God, it was just a dream. He looked over at Yumi, who was sound asleep. He reached over and pulled her blanket up over her shoulders. She rolled over, and the blanket stubbornly fell off again. Again, Inuyasha pulled it up. The damn blanket decided to be difficult and fell off again. He gave up and looked at the other people in the room. Miroku was sleeping closer to Sango than she ever would have allowed in the days when they were all actively traveling together.
It had been a difficult thing, to beat Naraku. But it had happened, with a great surprise and disappointment to all. The Shikon no Tama, Sacred Jewel of Four Souls, had been completed after Naraku was dead, and then it had...disappeared. Just like that. Disappeared like smoke into the wind. Like glass in water. Like snow in a volcano.
Yumi hadn't understood why her parents had come home so tired and exhausted but happy. She didn't understand it, but she was glad they were home. Then, two years later, she had found out that one of them wasn't even her real parent. He was her uncle.
Then again, Inuyasha thought, if she had loved him before, why couldn't she love him now? She had seemed a little...cold towards him ever since they had come back from Kagome's time. He had tried so hard for all of six years to make her happy, and it had worked up until then. She had treated him like her father because that was what she had believed.
It was what she had believed, and it had worked until she found out the truth.
[A/N: I feel the word fizzle coming up shortly...FIZZLE. Yep, there it is. I do have some idea of what I'm going to have happen next...a very good idea. Review, monkeys. Ja ne.
Yumi: Oh shut up and go to bed, you psycho.
SPK: Fine. Bossy little...
Yumi: Inuyasha!! She's being mean to me!
Inuyasha: Nothing I can do about it. She writes my lines. Sorry, hon.
SPK: ((sticks tongue out at Yumi))