Authoress' Notes: (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for everybody for being patient with me and not sending me death threats...I appreciate it; I scare easily.

So this is the next part of my little tale, obviously... Now, I'm not so sure I like this part entirely, in fact all but two scenes I just about scraped, but my sanity won out...I think. I hope you enjoy it. I'm gonna hit 50 reviews!!! Finally!!! WOOHOO!!!

Now than I need to thank Tyric Stinnet, my little brother, for it was he that gave me the wonderful idea to have Miroku seal the wind tunnel in Michi's hand...I was gonna be evil and curse her too, but Tryic suggested the other...Wow. He's so awesome!!!¥

Thanks for the wonderful reviews...responses are at the bottom! Smiles - T.A.

EDIT - In edit this got a little more attention with refining, but I think I'm the only one who can tell.

Family Ties: Part 8

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, than at Shippou; Michi had already tended their wounds. Kagome was sleeping deeply due to the medicine that Michi had given her, while the kitsune was just unconscious again. Demon healing worked much better if the injured one was sleeping; thinking on that he knew he should probably catch some sleep himself. He looked down at his left hand, the fingers of which were still entwined with Kagome's. She'd been in so much pain before Michi had given her the medicine. The tears in her eyes had easily persuaded him to hold her hand. Stupid wench and her stupid tears, he couldn't fight them and she knew it.

He detached himself from Kagome's grip and paced across the floor. What the hell did Naraku want with them; now. Why now, and why the hell here? It didn't make any sense. Why would he go after the damn kid?

He looked down at Shippou and sniffed at the kitsune, just to make sure he wasn't any more hurt then they'd originally thought. He didn't want the brat to be hurt. Shippou annoyed him, but he was the only one who could pound the shit out of him. He'd gotten the full story from Kirara and almost hadn't believed it.

According to the demon-cat, she and Shippou had both woken up during the night and discovered that Tanaya had gone off into the woods. The two had followed her scent and also picked up on an abyssal-crow right in the child's path.

Inuyasha snorted. Abyssal-crows were nasty demons; they could steal powers from other creatures. Which made him wonder, why wasn't Shippou the creature's target? Kitsunes were full of power and energy, which made them the usual prey of the abyssal-crow, but this one had been after Tanaya, not Shippou.

Kirara had told him that the bird had been faking a broken wing and Tanaya being the type of kid she was, was trying to help it. The bird suddenly turned and lashed out to catch the little girl in its teeth, but Shippou had gotten in the way of the attack.

Inuyasha really didn't understand that, Shippou had survival instincts to rival any of them; why the hell had he taken that attack?

The bird had latched onto Shippou's tail, and starting drawing power out of him, but Shippou had retaliated with his foxfire. The bird being more surprised than anything had released its grip and in typical Shippou fashion, the kitsune had fallen against a rock and knocked himself out.

Inuyasha was begrudgingly proud of Shippou and worried about the group. He came to the realization that these people were his pack. Kagome would have gone all mushy and called them his family. But it was more than that; these were his friends, his chosen pack. He was strongest of them and that made him their leader. That's why he was so overprotective of them; they were his pack.

Michi came into the room and looked up him wearily. "How are you?"

"Feh, I'm fine." He crossed his arms over his chest. "How's Miroku and Sango?"

" Miroku still hasn't woken up. I honestly don't know what's wrong with him. There isn't really a mark on him. I can't figure out if he breathed in the poison or if he's drained of energy." Michi sighed and knelt down to examine Kagome's wounds. "Sango's wounds aren't bad, but she's been very quiet, almost numb."

"The boy that was with Naraku is her brother."

"I see; that would be difficult to deal with. It is strange that a demon slayer would join a demon."

"He didn't have a choice. Technically, he's dead." Inuyasha flopped down in between Kagome and Shippou. "Kohaku died, but Naraku brought him back with a jewel shard. Now Kohaku's just a puppet that Naraku uses to screw with Sango's head."

"I can't even imagine what that does to the poor girl." Michi lifted the bandage on Kagome's thigh and wrinkled her nose.

"She okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. It's just a little deeper than I thought before. I'll give it until tonight, than I may have to sew it up." Michi bit her lip as she weighed her options, before allowing a slight smirk to cross her features. "Now then, shall I have a look at you?"

" Haven't you already?" He grumbled.

"I suppose, you're right." Michi covered her mouth and suppressed her laughter. "That does remind me, I was going to talk to you about something..."

"Look you didn't smell like a man at all I was just trying to figure out why, okay?!? Jeeze, I didn't mean anything by it." He huffed.

Michi blinked, "Oh yes, that, I figured as much. What I was going to ask you was: why were you human last night?"

Inuyasha muttered, "It happens every new moon, when the sun rises I revert back."

"Oh I see." She rose to her feet. "I'm going to go check on my cousin again, before I head out to the fields. Is there anything you need?"

" Peace and quiet." He huffed.

"As you will." Michi bowed and left the room.

Inuyasha folded his arms and rested his chin on his chest. He wanted to get some sleep, before anything else happened.

Sango blinked, while trying to keep her eyes open, she was so exhausted from everything. Her fingers absent-mindedly rubbed the bandage on her arm. She watched Miroku sleep and brushed a stray hair away from his face. He looked so serene, but what if something was wrong with him that they didn't realize. He hadn't stirred since fell against her after the fight with Naraku. He'd hit her with the weight of a dead body, but he was breathing then just as he was now: in soft shallow breathes.

When Inuyasha had asked if he was really knocked out, Sango had joked that he had to be; he'd landed on her chest and hadn't tried anything.

Now Kagome and Shippou were under the watchful eye of Inuyasha, while she took care of Miroku. Kirara was trailing behind Tanaya, just in case Naraku tried to get her again. Michi hadn't stopped moving since the whole incident had occurred. She went from helping them to working in the fields. Sango was grateful to be watching the sleeping monk; she didn't feel like talking.

'Kohaku, why can't I save you? I was supposed to take care of you. I'm your older sister, that's my job.'

"Any change?" Michi's voice had startled Sango out of her thoughts.

"You need to wear a bell." Sango sighed and looked up at the woman. " No, he hasn't moved."

"I tried putting a bell on him once." Michi thoughtfully remembered.

"What happened?"

"He held it still when he walked." She smirked.

Sango groaned and lightly slapped her forehead. "Figures."

Michi nodded and started crushing some herbs in a stone bowl. "How are you feeling?"

Sango looked at her arm. "It's only a small cut. I've had much worse."

"I wasn't talking about your arm." Sympathy flooded Michi's features as she spoke to Sango. "Inuyasha told me about your brother. I am sorry."

Sango looked down at the ground. "It isn't him really, but I just can't bring myself to hurt him."

" Understandable." Michi continued preparing the herbs. "Thank you, for having Kirara follow Tanaya around. It makes me feel a lot calmer."

"It isn't a problem." Sango looked at the sleeping monk, than back Michi. "What are you preparing?"

"It's a type of ward." Michi dropped a few leaves into the mix and smoke puffed up from the bowl. "Well that's not supposed to happen." Michi poked her finger into the bowl and pulled it back out quickly. "Ouch. That would not be the correct mix. I'll be right back."

Sango chuckled as Michi carried the bowl and basket out of the room. She rubbed her fingers back over the bandage. "There's another scar for my record." She sighed and rested her head near Miroku's. " When I wake up, you had better be trying something." She threatened the monk, before closing her eyes and whispering. "Please, just wake up. I don't want to lose anyone else."

:Begin Flashback:

"I thought I'd find you here." Michi settled down next to him, her brown eyes full of laughter.

"How can you smile? He's practically selling you. You're a wonderful priestess, and he's wasting that." Miroku rubbed the side of his face.

"Here, let me look at the that bruise." Michi tried to turn his face towards her, but he knocked her hand away.

"Stop it, you're not my parent."

Michi winced and sighed. "What's really bothering you, Love?"

"You're going to be so far away." He huffed. " I'm not used to that."

"Time changes everything. Look at you, a year ago; you'd have thrown a child's fit over this. Now you're just moody." She smirked.

Miroku half-heartedly slapped her arm. "Of course, just pick on me. You realize you're leaving me alone with Moushin. I'm very impressionable, you know. I'll be drinking myself to death the day after you leave." He sighed dramatically.

"You start that and I'll beat you to death with my broom. You're better than that. Besides, you're going to start traveling soon and gentlemen do not drink like that." She tapped the end of his nose.

"I'm a gentleman now?"

"You'd better be. I thought I'd beaten that into you."

Miroku made a face, as if he was strongly considering her point than laughed. "No, I think tradition will out weigh your training. Besides, I'll need an heir, in case I fail."

"One you won't fail and two with an attitude like that; what do you plan to do? Walk up to every girl and request her to bear your child?"

"Only the pretty ones."

"Ah." Michi whapped the back of his head, "I know I taught you better than that."

"I was joking."

"You had better be or you may lose your soul-mate." Michi raised her nose up in the air.

"Is that possible? I thought I'd known her when I saw her."

"I never said that. I told you if you lost her you'd never be the same."

Miroku narrowed his eyebrows at his cousin, "Now, you're going have to try to see her again."

"You're so impatient sometimes, just like a child. You're going to have to learn some measure of control before you start traveling." Michi laughed.

"Don't change the subject."

"Well I suppose I should have a look. I won't be able to do it anymore, after I'm married." Her voice got quiet as the last words left her mouth. "I never thought about that before."

"I can talk to your father again."

"Oh and let's Uta's husband give you a matching set of bruises? I don't think so."

"Do you really think you're ready to be someone's wife?"

"Yes dear." Michi responded sarcastically, " See there, that's all I really need to know, right?"

"I guess." Miroku scuffed his foot on the ground. "I want a wife that I can respect. One I can talk to, like this."

"You're going to have to find someone with a lot of spirit." Michi half-heartedly warned.

"That could have advantages." He flashed a perverted smile.

Michi hit him in the back of the head again, "You and that mind of yours. Right down into the dirt. Come on, we'll walk down to the waterfall and I'll throw you in."

"I don't know why you people think throwing me under hard falling water will bring my purity back."

"No, you see we're hoping it may return a bit of clarity to that muddled brain of yours." Michi stood to her feet and stretched her arms over her head.

"Hasn't worked so far." Miroku argued as he started following behind her.

"We're hoping for a miracle."

Miroku picked up a stick and threw it at Michi, hitting her between the shoulder blades.

"That's mature." Michi commented dryly without turning around to look at him.

"I learned from the best." He laughed.

"Oh thank you, Love." She smirked and continued down the path.

"You aren't really going to throw me into the waterfall, are you?"

"No, I found the most beautiful reflecting pool last time we were down there. The water's the clearest I've ever found, it should be easier to see in it." Michi explained kicking off her shoes and picking them up.

"Deeming this hallowed grounds?"

"It is to me."

Miroku took off his shoes as well and followed his cousin until they reached a small plateau over looking the waterfall.

Michi knelt down on one side of the small water pool and motioned for him to sit across from her. She took out her bag of herbs and shifted through it until she found what she was looking for. She laid out the dried plants on one side, than gathered a few sticks and made a small pile. "Here light that." She motioned to the sticks.

Miroku found his flint rocks and snapped them together a few times, before he finally got enough of a spark to light a small fire. "I never understood this part."

"That's because you can't do it. You've always learned best by application." Michi put a few larger sticks on the fire, to keep it burning, while she prepared three small sticks by wrapping small vines around them. "Okay, now touch just ends."

Miroku obliged her and tapped the ends of all of the sticks.

Michi took them in her hands and let her eyes fall closed as she focused on what she wanted to know. One by one she lit each of the sticks, let them burn down to the point that they almost brunt her fingers, than blew out the flames and dropped them into the pool. She spread the herbs over the water and breathed in and out deeply allowing the smoke to penetrate her senses.

Miroku cocked his head to the side, watching her with curious eyes. He never quite grasped how this worked, but he trusted Michi.

Michi finally opened her eyes slowly and looked into the pool. "There's demon... it's Naraku! He's gotten to her, but hasn't killed her. You won't recognize her at first sight. You won't realize who she is, until it's almost too late."

"That's encouraging."

"She'll be so wounded, and you won't realize that she needs you. You'll be sleeping."

A white light flashed brightly, illuminating the whole area, when it died down, the area had changed; in fact it was an entirely different place, at a different time.

"Here you are, sleeping again." Michi's voice called out.

Miroku opened his eyes. "I was only resting."

"You're going to sleep your life away, if you don't wake up."

"I am awake." He insisted.

"Are you?"

"Is this some new theory you've come across in your readings?"

"No, it's just a question. Do you know; if you're really awake?"

"You aren't making any sense."

"Well see; won't we?" Michi looked sadly up at the sky.

The field suddenly became dark and storm clouds rolled across the sun. "What's going on?"

"You tell me."

:End Flashback:

"Good morning." Michi's voice beckoned.

Sango yawned and blinked as she woke up. "Good morning?" Her voice sounded groggier then she would have liked. "How long was I asleep?"

"A while, the sun's almost down." Michi explained.

Sango looked at Miroku expectantly, but found that he was still sleeping. " Has he woken up yet?"

"No, he's stirred a bit, as if he was dreaming, but he didn't wake." Michi took a long stick from her sleeve and lit it from the candle on the floor. She lit each of the four bowl and the ends of Miroku's bed.

"Are those the wards, you were working on?" Sango asked.

"Yes, I don't know what else to do for him, but keep the demons away." Michi sadly shook her head and let a single tear slide down her face.

"What the hell is that shit? It stinks!" Inuyasha complained from the doorway, with one hand clamped hard over his nose.

" Well, at least you know it works." Sango stood on shaky legs and smiled at the grumpy hanyou.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but I don't know what else to do besides this."

"It ain't like you don't have any protection from demons! Ya got me here! It ain't like I'm gonna let anything hurt 'im." Inuyasha snorted and looked at Michi before continuing. "But of it makes you feel better, just leave it. But come out into the other room, so we can figure some stuff out."

Michi bowed her head to Inuyasha and kissed Miroku's forehead before following the hanyou out into the other room.

Sango arched her eyebrow in confusion. Why was Inuyasha being so polite, without Kagome hovering over his shoulder threatening a 'sit'? She walked out behind the others wondering what Inuyasha was so anxious to talk about.

"How are Kagome and Shippou doing?" Sango asked.

" Shippou's outside playing with Tanaya and Kirara. Kagome was awake for a bit, she even ate a little, before she went back to sleep. She lost a lot of blood from those two wounds." Michi poured a bowl of soup and offered it to Sango.

" Thank you. Has everyone else eaten?" Sango wondered.

" Yeah, we were waiting for you, but you wouldn't wake up. Gods, you've been sleepin' since noon." Inuyasha grunted and accepted a cup of sake from Michi, with a nod.

"So what are we trying to figure out?" Sango sipped a bit of the soup grateful for the warm food.

Inuyasha motioned to the outside of the house."A lot, but starting with, what did that crow want with Tanaya? I mean, she's only human; isn't she?"

Michi looked up from her cup and afforded Inuyasha a mild scowl."My family has a strong bloodline."

"That don't explain nothing! Abyssal-crows, like energy and power they steal it out of their victims. But that crow didn't want anything to do with Shippou; it drew out Tanaya for its meal. I don't care how strong your bloodline is; no abyssal-crow is gonna choose a human child over a kitsune." Inuyasha huffed and folded his arms over his chest.

"Are you sure that Tanaya was the target?" Sango questioned.

" That's what Kirara told me." Inuyasha shrugged.

" Maybe Naraku directed the crow?" Sango offered.

Inuyasha leaned forward and narrowed his eyebrows at Sango. "You ever seen a crow demon that would take orders?"

"No, I haven't." Sango admitted and looked at Michi. "You must agree that it is rather strange."

"As far as I'm concerned the crow was after her power." Michi clenched and unclenched her right hand.

"But she's only human." Inuyasha insisted.

" Listen, why do you think some sutras work and some don't? It's the writer that determines it, their power, strength, courage, or purity of intention. It's the writer's power that what determines the power of sutras."

"But priests and monk are just trained humans." Inuyasha argued.

"You really think that it's the title that grants them their power? Yes, they are only humans, but they can tap into or use powers. It's something they're born with, just like demons."

"But demons draw on evil." Sango countered.

"Not all demons. Some use their power help. I prefer to think of power as a tool in the hand of the user. It is for them to decide how it will be governed. It's like a flame. A normal human's power is like a candle, where as a priest or monk or demon is like a torch or a campfire. It burns stronger, with more potential to do harm or to do good."

" Where do you come up with this stuff?!?" Inuyasha hollered.

" Reading, lots and lots of reading." Michi sighed.

"It makes sense though, I guess." Sango bit her lip. "Would that explain how Houshi-sama closed the wind-tunnel in your hand?"

" Maybe, but I've never seen him generate that kind of raw power." Michi laid her hands on the table. "In my family, the older we get, the more we train; the more our power comes from knowledge and not within ourselves. The young ones in our family have a store of raw energy, which they can use to defend themselves. Otherwise, as children they'd be an easy target for demons to kill, before they had the learned skills to defeat them."

"How the hell does that work?"

"My great-great-great grandmother determined it to work that way. She cursed her own family, to protect her children." Michi pulled her hands to her chest. "I can understand why she did it. You feel so helpless as a parent. You want to protect your children from everything, but you know you can't. You know you could even die trying and still fail. It's hard to live and I guess this was her way of fighting it."

"So you've never seen Houshi-sama use this kind of power?"

"No, in fact..." The door of the house swung open and Tanaya came running in with Shippou and Kirara hot on her heels. "What is it, Angel?"

" Father is coming." Tanaya sounded terrified as she buried herself in her mother's arms.

" Don't worry. You'll be just fine." Michi kissed her daughter's head and shooed her off, "Just take Shippou and Kirara to your room. I'll call you, when it's safe." Michi stood up and squared her shoulders. "You two should go check on the others; make sure they're alright."

Inuyasha arched his eyebrow, "Why are you trying to get rid of us?"

"I just need to talk with my husband." Michi's voice was subdued and quiet.

Inuyasha looked at Michi, the woman's eyes were sad, but there wasn't any fear in them. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to leave her the tiny bit of dignity she had left.

"Come on Sango, the monk's probably awake and chocking to death from the smoke and Kagome's probably whining already." He huffed and the two started down the hallway. 'I can smell that man from here. Gods, he reeks of something familiar, but I can't place it.'

Original Reviewer Responses:

Review Responses:

Nuklear Firefly: Thank you, thank you. I'm so glad you liked the action sequences so much. Oh yeah, Miroku with sons, definitely. Now can't you see him handing out his 'wonderful' advise and Sango behind him mouthing to their son "NO."

Coherentidiot: Goddess? Me? I don't know about that exactly, but let me tell you that is one of the coolest analogies I have ever heard for a writer! Go you! Very creative!

Thanks so much for the really awesome review! Yeah, Michi does lecture, but she's kinda the older sibling, she tends to do that on autopilot (I'm a big sister too, so trust me...we don't think about it sometimes...mostly because we're only trying to help). Thanks so much for being supportive. I'm so glad you like this story! Thanks for reviewing!!

Lifts reviewer from her knees Be patient, fluffy scene come to those who wait.

Thanks for being so awesome!!! Thank you for the reviews, they are so encouraging!!

xX Iron-Reaver Xx: Authoress is sitting atop a pile of books, with the muse underneath She was trying to mess with my plot again....Anyways I so understand about the comp curses under her breath Technology isn't my best friend by any stretch of the imagination.

Michi's brain is always working, in fact she's one of the more vocal characters I've created and quite difficult to control....as for her plans for Miroku and Sango, well you'll see

Naraku is generally an #$###&# which makes him really nice as a villain, you love to hate him and he'll do things just to be cruel...well let's just say he's a sore loser...oops wasn't supposed to let that out.

Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I'm so glad you liked the action sequences. I didn't want them to overtake the story. Your comments were very encouraging, as always Thanks for being so detailed in your reviews, it's so helpful!!

Hikari: End?? Who said anything about the end? I still have 'demons' to slay in this story. Thank you so much for your wonderful specific review!! I love those!!

Hm...Forgot Inuyasha was human in the last chapter, I'll have to fix that when I clean up all the chapters....

I'm so glad you liked all the little details. I love adding stuff like that. As for Kohaku, I needed something to hold those pesky heroic people still, so I could get a one-on-one with Miroku and Naraku. Naraku?? Tanaya?? Hm...you'll have to wait and see

Anyways. Thank you. Thank you for review. I so appreciate all your comments they are so inspirational!!

Jaid Skywalker: Yes, Naraku bad. That's what makes him so delightful as a villain; you love to hate him. Thank you for the encouraging comments. I'm so glad you liked the action scenes. I was nervous about writing them. I hope you liked this next part! I so love your reviews! Thanks again!!

Kaylana: Now, why would you think he did something to Tanaya?? Hm...guess he does have a pretty lousy track record. But anyways thanks for reviewing the fic. I hope you like this next part! Thanks again for the review.

Pizza is Cheesy: Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry you're having a run of bad luck...I hope things are looking better for ya! Thanks for your comments. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Saki: Wow, thank you so much for your review. I'm so glad you like the story! It's so nice of you to say what you did. I really appreciate it. You are very kind. Thank you for your compliments and the review. I always love to here from people that read my work. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Blades of Ice: Turns her head to the left slightly Spork?? Looks around nervously Um...should I be worried about bodily harm??

J/K I'm not that much of a fraidy cat! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! I hope you liked this one too. I hope its up par! Thank you so much for review. I so love you people that take the time to review it means a lot to me!

Dreamseeker: Okay love...watch what you give away about me. I'm so glad that you like the story. Glad you've finally got the Internet too. Thank you for you wonderful reviews. I appreciate you taking the time! Thank you so much!! Stay out of trouble!

warriorGL: Thank you so much for you thoughtful review. I appreciate all the time you put into it. I what you mean about m/s stories getting rushed. I love a mushy scene as well as the next girl, but I also like realism...So thank you for saying that you liked that part!!!

Wow gathers the points and hugs them I got points!! Does a little happy dance Oooo, they're even letter marked!! Happiness!!! I am so, so glad that you're enjoying this story. Thank you so much for the feedback, I'm sure you can tell that I'm thrilled by it!!! I so appreciate comments the most that tell me why the person liked it. It can be helpful in knowing what to look for or watch in my writing. Thank you again and again for your wonderful review. I hope you continue to enjoy this story as it goes.

WildfireDreams: Thank you so much for your review. Wow, everyone seems to really like Michi. I'm so glad!! Thank you for taking the time to review. Oh thanks for commenting on the story as well, I really liked writing that. I hope you like this part too!! Thanks again!!!