Authoress' Notes: Well I originally decided to make this the last part, but...it isn't. I really like this part. I'm not sure about the entire first scene, but I love the second scene...you'll see Anyways. I wanted to thank all of you for reviewing. I'm so glad you liked this. I would also like to say how sorry I am that this took so long to put up. My end of the year stuff was killer and job-hunting is now my full-time engagement... So I've been a bit busy, but the next part won't take nearly as long to put up.

Oh and thanks to anyone who read, "Hiding" and reviewed it...THANK YOU!! – Note on that one, I'm going to be adding to that one and fixing it up; I found errors in it. Eek.... ANYWAYS, I'm so proud to present the next installment of "Family Ties" Everyone enjoy it!! Please read and review. And as always review responses are at the bottom.

Smiles - T.A.

EDIT - At this point in the edit I started altering the chapter structure a bit. I think it flows a bit better this way.

Family Ties: Part 15

With two injured and two children the day's worth of nearly non-stop walking hadn't been easy on the group. Shippou and Tanaya had spent the day chasing each other and playing other games along the trail. Inuyasha had carried Kagome in his arms, trying to ease the pain of her injuries. Michi had ridden on Kirara; she was trying to keep off her feet as much as possible. Sango and Miroku had walked ahead of the group scouting the roads and keeping watch over the children. Now they were started to bed down for the night. The sun had long since set and they'd already eaten; Kagome's bag hadn't ever been so light. Sango had left a while ago to go scout the roads; she would have gone alone, since she wanted Kirara to rest, but Shippou had tagged along behind her.

"Are you warm enough, little one?" Miroku asked Tanaya as he tucked a blanket around her and settled her in his arms.

"Yes, but, Miko, could you tell me some more of the story?" Tanaya pleaded quietly.

Miroku glanced at his friends, then down at his 'niece's' expectant face. "Of course, where were we?"

"The group had just heard a rumor about the Spirit stone coming from a lake inside a mountain, and they were traveling there to see if it was true."

' Damn. I didn't realize I was that far along. This is where Sango comes in. How am I going to describe her?' Miroku thought half-panicked, but he managed to look completely calm and simply agreed with Tanaya. "Ah, yes, that was where we were."

Tanaya smiled brightly and waited for her 'uncle' to begin.

Miroku cleared his throat, "Now, the group had heard a rumor that the Spirit stone had come from a lake inside a mountain. The Black Mountain held within it the legendary Crystal Lake that had given birth to the Spirit stone."

"Wow. A lake made of crystal."

"Yes it was quite amazing and beautiful. Now there also was a village of protectors that lived at the base of the Black Mountain. They guarded the Crystal Lake for it had been a holy woman born from their people that had caused the Crystal Lake to be formed and the Stone to be created. In this village there was the bravest and strongest protector of them all, she was..." Miroku paused as he tried to figure out how he was going to describe Sango, not to mention Kirara. He drew a deep breath and as if an answer to his prayer the little fire-cat began to play with Sango's dragon-scale knife sharpener. 'Ah-ha. Kirara, you are now a dragon, but what would a dragon listen to...' Miroku thought, before a little voice interrupted.

"Was what? What was she?" Tanaya questioned.

" Patience." Miroku tapped her nose before continuing, " She was a Water Goddess and ever at her side was Dragon that could change forms."

"Like Kirara?"

"Yes, just like Kirara. Together they helped guard the Lake with the protectors, but the Water Goddess was tricked away from her post by one of the Ruler of Hell's minions, an evil monkey."

"Like the bad white monkey that tricked me?"

" Exactly like that, actually. Now while the Water Goddess was away, the Ruler of Hell had ascended from his lair and killed all the protectors, and took the shards of the Spirit stone, which the protectors had gathered, for himself."

"Eep! Now the Ruler of Hell is collecting the pieces too?"

"Yes and if you want to hear the rest of this..."

" Sorry Miko, I'll be quiet." Tanaya yawned and leaned against Miroku.

"It's alright." He ruffled her hair gently, before continuing the story. "So, the group of the holy princess, the warrior prince, the Child-like forest spirit and the Roguishly handsome thief finally reached the Black Mountain..."

Miroku continued the story with little to no interruption. He yawned quietly as he finished the section of the story. "The warrior prince didn't mind the Water Goddess traveling with him, for he was sympathetic to her pain. The holy princess was glad to have the company of another woman. The Child-like forest spirit enjoyed the company of the Dragon, since they could play, when the Dragon was in its chibi form. However the Water Goddess and the thief were not getting along very well, since he kept stealing her gold chains that hung down from her belt. But they were learning to get along slowly but surely. And..."

" Miroku, she's sound asleep." Michi interrupted quietly.

Miroku looked down at the child to find her indeed sleep. Her face looked completely peaceful with her slightly opened mouth and her eyelashes making tiny dark-crescent moons under her eyes. Tanaya shifted and balled her fist under her chin as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. "So, she is." He smiled down at the little girl, and tucked her hair back behind her ear.

Michi chuckled at the scene, than asked Kagome, "Are you feeling alright?"

" Yeah, just tired." Kagome yawned and rolled her neck.

"I don't know why. I carried you all damn day." Inuyasha complained from his tree perch above them.

Kagome opened her mouth to holler 'sit,' but Michi clamped her hand over Kagome's mouth.

"My daughter just fell asleep, please don't wake her up." Michi requested.

"Oh right, sorry." Kagome sheepishly responded, before asking. "How are you doing?"

"My legs are a little sore, but I should be fine." Michi smiled and patted Kagome's hand. "You should get some sleep."

"I don't want to go to bed until Sango and Shippou get back from scouting." Kagome rubbed her arms absent-mindedly.

" We're back!" Shippou announced.

" SHH!!" Michi and Kagome both hushed the excited kitsune.

Shippou looked sad for a moment before realizing that Tanaya and maybe even Miroku were already asleep. "Oops. Sorry."

"It's alright, Shippou. Where's Sango?" Kagome questioned.

Sango entered the light of the fire, "I'm right here. Doesn't look like the roads should be as rough tomorrow."

" Thank goodness." Kagome sighed. "Okay, I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone."

"Me too." Shippou suddenly looked very sleepy. "Goodnight."

Kagome crawled into her sleeping bag and Shippou curled up next her. The two were asleep almost insistently.

"I couldn't even fall asleep that fast when I was a child." Michi complained quietly.

"I could when my father was home." Sango pulled her knees up to her chest. "I fell asleep without any worry of anything."

"My mind was always too busy. The only times I ever fell asleep like that was after I'd been chasing Miroku all day." Michi laughed softly.

Miroku opened his eyes slowly as if his eyelids were too heavy lift.

"Go back to sleep, Love. I'm not really talking about you." Michi waved her hand dismissively.

Miroku nodded and closed his eye again.

Michi yawned, "I should get some sleep too. Goodnight Sango," Michi looked up, "Inuyasha." She walked over to where her cousin was dozing and sat down beside him. She shifted Tanaya into her lap and leaned against Miroku's chest. "A Water Goddess?" She questioned very quietly.

Miroku looked down at Michi and shifted so he could wrap his left arm around her. "How else could I describe her?" He smirked, though his eyes still looked tired.

Michi rolled her eyes and made herself more comfortable.

Sango took a drink of water from Kagome's canteen and stared up at Inuyasha.

"What is it, Sango?"

She smiled at the hanyou, "Get some sleep, I'll take the first watch."

He nodded and situated himself more comfortably in the tree.

Sango was a bit restless, partly because she didn't know where they were going. Miroku hadn't been very forth coming as to where he was leading them. Sango suspected it was because he wasn't quite sure. She knew the path that lead to Kyoto was close, but was that really where they were headed? She looked to Kirara, who was chewing on her dragon-scale knife sharpener.

"I know you like using that on your teeth, but please don't dull it completely." Sango requested of the fire-cat, who promptly dropped the sharpener and trotted up to her mistress. Sango lifted Kirara into her lap and began stroking the fire-cat's white fur. "Been a hard day for you too, huh?" She asked Kirara, who simply yawned in response.

Sango scratched behind Kirara's ears, eliciting the soft purring sound that would make a person think the fire-cat wasn't dangerous at all. As Sango thought about harmless appearances, her eyes shifted instantly to the sleeping monk. Miroku looked almost gallant; with his arm looped arm his cousin, as even if in sleep he was ready to protect her. As she gazed at him for another moment, she noticed that he wasn't sleeping. He doing his best to feign sleep, but his breathing wasn't regular enough.

Miroku was awake on the other side of fire and he could feel Sango's eyes on him, but she wasn't his concern at this particular moment. His focus was on his cousin, who was just starting to drift off to sleep. He honestly didn't know what to do with her and Tanaya.

He had four options, one of which wasn't really an option. She could not stay with him; living on the road was no life for a mother and child. Two of the options were in Kyoto and the last was...maybe his only real option, though he dreaded it. Nori lived in Kyoto as the lady of very rich house and Michiko was, well, married to her work to put it politely. He did not want Michi to live as her sister's servant or Tanaya to grow up, where she would any contact with men like him. He might have to take them to temple.

He was still a little mad at Michi, for not telling him what was going on with her husband. She should have told him; he could have helped her. ' Damn her for being so worried about everyone else that she forgot to think about herself.'

Michi sighed softly; now she was completely out of it.

Of course, if he had known about her husband sooner, he might have brought her back to the village they'd grown up in, then she would have died in the flood. No way to win there. That situation was coming up all to often in his life right now: no way to win.

Thinking on no way to win...if he went to Kyoto he was really screwed. His family had high standings there and he didn't want his friends to know. In Kyoto, the Lord of the house his grandfather had once served, would summon him, and then he would have to weasel his way out of a reward. Strange as it may sound, he didn't want anything he hadn't worked or conned for himself. Maybe he could convince the Lord to take in Michi as the favor...doubtful. Besides Michi hated the city, she never found any peace there.

' That brings me right back to the original problem of what to do with her.' Miroku moved to rub his temple with his right hand, but it bumped into to something; he froze. He opened his eyes to find the back of his hand resting against Sango's face. She blinked and her cheeks turned bright red.

"I have it on very good authority that if you sneak up on people, you get hit." He smirked.

Sango blushed clear to her ears as she managed to sputter, "I wasn't doing anything."

"I know, Sango, I was teasing." He smiled and pulled his hand away from her face.

"I thought you might like some water." She picked up the canteen, that she had accidentally dropped, and offered it to him. "I know you weren't sleeping."

"Very perceptive and yes, I would like the water, thank you." Miroku took the canteen from Sango and took a slow sip from it. He looked down at Michi, than back at Sango. "You inspire poetry." He informed the taijiya.

"What are you talking about?" Sango curled up her lip slightly.

Miroku pointed behind her and chuckled. "The firelight is behind you, it frames you with light. Just like lake at sunrise."

Her mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at the monk. " Houshi-sama..."

Miroku was now staring into the darkness. "I don't know what to do with her, Sango. She always took care of me and now I'm not sure what to do with her."

Sango followed Miroku's line of sight, but didn't see anything of interest. "We're near Kyoto."

His eyes locked with hers. "So you noticed." He cleared his throat. "Michi's two older sisters lived in Kyoto."

"I thought she had three older sisters."

"She did. Uta was the oldest of the four, but she died...in a flood. It was several years ago, it wiped out the village that Michi and I grew up in. Michi was a lot younger than her sisters, the closest one to her age was Michiko and she was seven years older."

"That why you're so close to her." Sango deduced.

" Among other things." Miroku shook his head. "Sango, get some sleep. I'm not going to get any sleep, I might as well keep watch."

Sango looked wearily at him, before sitting down beside him. "I'm going to take advantage of you..."

"By all means." He smiled brightly.

Sango pinched his arm, "I was going to say your warmth. You won't grope me with your niece sitting so close."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. I am." She leaned against him and let him put his arm around her. "Goodnight Miroku."

" Goodnight Sango."

" Goodnight to both of you." Michi's tired voice bid, causing both of them to blush.

Original Reviewer Responses:

Review Responses:

Nuklear Firefly: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like that part! Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

Incoherence: Got a moment in this chapter too! Thank you for the compliment I loved writing that scene, it was fun! I'm also glad you like the family I've created for Miroku. I wasn't sure if people would warm up to the idea, but I guess they did. YAY!!

I'm so glad that you think I'm writing this well. Thanks for all the time you take to read and review this. I hope you liked this chapter too!

WildfireDreams: Glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

Blades of Ice: Michi's really grouchy about that being burned thing, but she'll get over it...I think. See where I sent them... Good idea: Yes/No? Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

Jaid Skywalker: Hee, hee I fooled you!! I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter. I do want to write another story for this, maybe I'll set it in be fun kids

Really I LOVED writing that whole 'goodnight kiss' scene it was so fun! Glad you liked my little scene. I love the idea for the story. Let me know if you get it into production...I really want to read it!

Loved your little scene as always LOL.... Probably gave you major ammo for the next one. I still like the 'run' one better; I think that's just my fav! Laughs out loud thinking about it Anyways. Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too! Also thank you for being your hyper, happy self!!

Hikari: So glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the wonderful review as always. Looks downs and disappears for a moment, than smiles Someone wants to tell you something. Go ahead.

Tanaya: Turns in place, hugging the plushie Thank you, Hikari-sama for the gift. Bows and giggles before running off

Anyhow, she wanted to tell you that. Michi's thankful for the gifts, she'll put them to good use. And thank you for the hug!! I love hugs!!

Ducks her head in case of flying weapons Okay, you have fun with those... just don't put an eye out.

Now seriously: Thank you so much for your wonderful compliments. I so appreciate the time it must take to write. I try to write as honestly as I can and bring the characters to life, with actual personalities. Take your time with the drawing. I have the first one you gave me framed and hanging on my wall. It is simply the most inspiring thing that I have ever received.

So sorry about the job; we weren't supposed to match there. Good luck fellow hunter!! Smiles

Chris-Redfield26: I'm so glad that you enjoy my story. I put a lot of work into this and I'm so glad that people like it. Thank you so much for the compliment on my ability. I appreciate it in more than one way. I want to be a novelist.... my own story is work in progress. One day I hope to be published. Thank you so much the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Jen of the Wildfire: I'm so glad that you like this story. Michi's grateful for the doughnuts. She's learned to take anything with chocolate and enjoy it. So glad you liked that thought of Sango's I just loved writing that scene.

If you want to go after Yukio, go ahead. Just clean up when you're done.

I'm a little less busy, now. I'll try to take a look at your stories, when I can. But I way owe people reviews! But you have my word: I will send a review your way!! Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

Lil' Chi Chi: Girl you beyond made my night the other day. I was working on an editing project for a friend of mine and I kept checking my e-mail and finding your reviews...it was great!! Thank you so much for taking all that time to review so many time and staying up to finish the story. I hope you weren't too tired the next day. I'm glad you enjoy the story. Thank you so much for being so specific in some of those reviews to tell me what you liked. Also, thank you so much for saying that you love the way I write.... It makes happy!! I'm glad you like Michi. I put a lot of effort into making her a believable and likeable character. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all that time you put into all those reviews!! THANK YOU!! I seriously hope you enjoyed this part too! (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for you, 'cause you are awesome!!