She's Not Mine (scripture mastery ppl should have recognized this by now. Hehe. I only missed one this year!)
Chapter six:
Night Terrors
Kagome was the first to notice the return of the monk and his daughter, and shortly thereafter, Sango. She noticed from afar that something was wrong, but it wasn't until Inu Yasha said he could smell blood did she figure out what it was. She ran to get her first aid kit, and met Katura and Miroku in the doorway, but apparently Miroku had made such a fuss about the girl's wound that she refused Kagome's help. "I told you already, it doesn't hurt, and it'll heal on it's own."
"But Katura," said Kagome, "that cut is awfully deep."
"Leave the kid alone," said Inu Yasha, "if she wants to bleed to death then let her!" Miroku picked up his staff that had been put in the corner, and hit Inu Yasha upside the head with it. "Oi, monk! What the hell was that for?" He didn't answer, but simply sat down next to Katura. "Feh. She's probably like me anyways, and won't even have a scar tomorrow."
"You're right, I won't, now will you two stop?" she asked, turning to both Miroku and Kagome. "Besides, I'm hungry. Would someone please tell me what they did with my pack?" Inu Yasha picked it up and threw it to her, but threw it so high, she had to reach above her head to catch it, and had she not been as strong as she was, it would have knocked her over with the weight. She rummaged through it for a few minutes, and was so concentrated on it she didn't notice everyone crowding around her to see what she had. She pulled out all sorts of weapons and even a shield, and finally a loaf of bread and some fruit wrapped in a cloth, and a water-skin. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her, so she stood up and said she was going to eat outside. She sat on the front steps, absent-mindedly chewing on her food as she thought about what was going on. She was surprised that Miroku had offered to take her in, since she thought he would completely deny it no matter what she said, but she found she was glad to see that he had accepted her. She had never had a father, and the fact that he wanted to be hers made her feel good, even happy. She was curious to see how Sango would act toward her, but she figured the demon slayer would take on the role of her mother, even if Miroku never asked her, but she found that she really liked Sango, and could stand listening to her commands, especially if she was going to be nice about it. Over all, she decided she kind of like the way things had turned out, but decided not to get her hopes up in case they all decided to leave her again.
She didn't notice until he cleared his throat, but Miroku had sat next to her. He had stew that he was slowly sipping, and seemed to just want to sit with her. He was getting better at hiding his thoughts, just like her mother had, and it was making her a little annoyed that he still seemed to be hiding things from her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she stood up and walked back inside before he could say anything. She was mad at him again, and was positive that he didn't know why, which made her even angrier. When she got inside, she saw Inu Yasha sitting on the floor, holding up her extendable spear, Shipou sitting on his shoulder telling him that he didn't think it was a good idea. He found the knob that released the spring in the center of it, and just as he pressed it, she quickly grabbed it from him and threw it into the air before it stabbed both him and Shipou. She caught it and spun it around for a moment before she second- naturedly closed it again while it was behind her back, then glared at Inu Yasha who just sat there sweat dropping. "This," she said firmly, pointing it in his face, "is not a toy to be fooled around with. Understand?" He swallowed and simply nodded. She put it back in her bag, along with the shield and other weapons, muttering to herself, "and people say children can't be trusted with spears..."
She was still mad at Miroku the next day, having slept on the roof with Inu Yasha putting her in a foul mood, and refused to go with them when they got ready to go. The group decided that is would be best if she went with them, but she knew most were only saying that because they didn't want her bitterness towards Miroku to make her a potential enemy to them in the future. She said she was going to stay with Keade, and that they were better off leaving her be. Kagome shot Inu Yasha a dirty look, telling him to try and talk some sense into her since the one-fourth-demon child wouldn't listen to anyone else.
"Fine," said Inu Yasha as he planted himself on the front step of Keade's hut. "We aren't going anywhere until Katura does."
"What?" asked the girl incredulously. "What about your quest for the shards?"
"It'll just have to wait I guess. I hope Naraku doesn't find any more while we wait here." She tried to get into his mind to see what he was up to, but Miroku must have shown them all how to block their thoughts from her, because she wasn't getting anything from anyone. "Looks like the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, kid. I hope you make the right choice."
She just stood there shaking her head at him, her jaw slack in disbelief. "What a bunch of imbeciles," she said to herself as she went back inside, but Keade immediately sent her out the door, and threw some hoes and shovels to everyone else.
"If ye insist on staying, ye can make use and weed that hill over yonder," said the old hag, pointing to a large hill behind them. They all looked back and forth between Keade and the hill. Finally, Katura walked past the group and over to the hill where she began to work. Everyone else complied and followed, but not without a little grumbling. Inu Yasha was the loudest complainer, even though he was quite capable of clearing the entire hill in less than an hour if he really wanted to, but he'd rather be miserable and make the rest of them miserable too.
"This is just great. Happy now, brat?"
"I don't know why you're complaining dog boy; you can leave any time you want to. You are the one who decided to stay on your own free will. I'm staying, and so I would probably be doing this anyways. You on the other hand should be searching for your precious jewel so you can become human."
"Demon. I want the jewel to become a full-fledged demon," he said through gritted teeth.
"Sure you are, and Miroku is gay."
"I am NOT!" said the exasperated monk, who was about ready to hit her over the head with his shovel.
"That's my point." She continued to work as if there wasn't any confrontation, and the others fell silent.
Finally, Kagome spoke, and everyone was glad. "I could really use some music right about now. Does anyone know some good songs?"
Almost immediately, Miroku and Katura started singing, but Miroku let his daughter continue since she was unaware that they had both sang the same song.
I'm sitting here. I'm waiting patiently,
For the world to turn. It's not all that fast today.
So I'm on my own. Well I know I'm not alone.
I'll be witnessing a happy ending.
I'm sitting here in silence. I'm waiting here patiently,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting too.
I'm sitting here alone now, and I'm waiting here on my own,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting for me too.
I'm watching now, and I'm seeing others as they pass me by.
It's not a pretty sight, but it will be someday.
And it's not that I...it's not that I'm afraid of loosing you.
I'm afraid of me, and what my choices might do, do ,do,
So I'm sitting here in silence. I'm waiting here patiently,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting too.
I'm sitting here alone now, and I'm waiting here on my own,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting for me too.
La la la la all this time I seem to wonder how all this is gonna end.
Will you stay with me forever, and tell me that you'll never go away?
Well I'm sitting here in silence. I'm waiting here patiently,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting too.
I'm sitting here alone now, and I'm waiting here on my own,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting for me,
Sitting here in silence. I'm waiting here patiently,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting too.
I'm sitting here alone now, and I'm waiting here on my own,
And I'm wondering if you're waiting for me too.
Miroku couldn't believe his ears. A memory came flying back to him from ten years ago.
As they lay together, he started to hum his favorite song, trying to lull her to sleep. It worked for the most part, but she had been curious, and wanted to know what the words were since she had heard him humming it many times before. He granted her wish, and sang it softly to her, and when he had finished, he explained that his father used to sing that song to him when he was a child; the song that his grandmother had taught him. It had survived four generations so far, and his child would be the fifth. She had smiled, half asleep, and promised that she would sing it to his children as well. He had given her a questioning look, and she said that she loved him and would gladly teach his children everything she knew. She had fallen asleep, but left him in a pain, realizing what he had led her to believe.
And now his daughter was singing the song. He stared at her, and she looked up, feeling his gaze. "Oh, right. I forgot. That was your song wasn't it? Mother said she promised she would teach it to me for your sake."
"She kept her promise..." he trailed off, still in a daze.
"Unlike you," she said bitterly.
"I never promised her anything."
"Oh yeah, you like to just live in the moment."
"There is nothing wrong with that," he said defensively.
"Not until the bastard is born," she said, obviously hurt. He finally lost his patience with her, and grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him.
"Do not speak like that! You are my child, and I will not tolerate it!"
She flung him off and glared at him. "I'll say whatever the hell I want to say if it's the truth, which this just so happens to be! Damn it Miroku! Just because we share the same blood doesn't mean you can control me now! You weren't there the first nine years of my life, and I don't want you in the rest of it!"
He was speechless. There was nothing he could say to that, and he was really hurt. "Fine," he breathed, letting her win, and went back to his weeding. Katura felt bad for her outburst, but was too proud to apologize to him.
Nightfall came swiftly that night, and all were glad to get some rest. There wasn't enough room for them all in Keade's hut, so they stayed in a larger house, the girls in one room, the boys in another. They thanked the owner of the house, but he said it was nothing for the friends of lady Keade. They settled in, and soon everyone was asleep.
Miroku ran through a deep mist, the pain in his chest forcing him to slow his pace, but some terror behind him was keeping him on the run. He ran until he got to a cliff, but couldn't slow down at that point. He yelled out as slid over the edge, and closed his eyes as he prepared for impact. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes to see that he was laying on the ground, the strong breeze around him making it feel as if he was still plummeting to his death. He looked around and tried to move, but his hands were bound and his body was sore. To his right he saw the limp form of Katura, and called out to her, but she didn't respond. It began to rain, and he was soon soaked to the skin. He was worried for Katura, since her kimono wouldn't keep her warm and she would get sick from the rain, but that wasn't the only thing he had to worry about. A snake demon began to slither around them, hissing as it went. He struggled, but the more he moved, the closer the demon came. He was only a few inches away from Katura's hand when the serpent reared up, and snatched her. He screamed her name, and she started to come to. She saw the snake slithering around her body, and started to panic, but it just coiled around her tighter. She cried out in pain, and Miroku's heart broke. The demon opened its mouth and bared its fangs, its venom dripping from them. It inched closer and closer to her, and the nearer it got, the louder Miroku yelled. Katura saw it coming and fainted. In one last act of desperation, Miroku screamed her name as loud as he could.
Katura!
The monk heard a scream, and bolted upright. He wasn't sure if he had dreamed it or not, but he had to make sure Katura was safe. He jumped up and was out the door in seconds, and was so desperate to get to the girls' room, that he ran into someone. He looked down, and found it was Katura. When she realized who he was, she hugged him tight around the waist. "It was so real," she whispered into his robe. He realized that she too had had a nightmare, and hugged her back, understanding what terror she must have gone through to make her run to him like that.
"SShh... it's over now. I'm here." She started to sob at his words, which confused him since he was trying to comfort her, but just held her tighter. "There, there," he said quietly, "Everything is okay. You're safe," he breathed, finally feeling relief from his own nightmare.
She let go of him, and started to wipe her tears. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm being childish."
"Do not apologize. Having nightmares is not childish." He knelt down so they were eye level. "I had a nightmare just now, and was going to check on you to make sure it wasn't real. We all have nightmares every once in a while."
"Mother always scolded me for having nightmares. She said I needed to grow up and stop getting scared so easily. I don't think she knew how real they were."
"Katura, never be ashamed of your dreams or fears. Your mother shouldn't have said that. I will never be ashamed of you if something makes you afraid. Do you want to know what my dream was?" She nodded and sniffed. "I dreamed that I was running from something that made me terrified, and I ran so fast, I ran right off a cliff. That's how scared I was. But it was nothing compared to the fear I had when I saw you in a demon's clutches. I was scared out of my mind."
Her eyes widened at the part about the demon. "Was it a snake demon?" He cocked his head a little, but nodded. "There was a snake demon in mine too. He had me, but I didn't know it until I heard you yell my name. I looked down, and saw you lying there on the ground. You looked like someone had beaten you. I saw the snake's head come toward me, and I tried to get out of its grip, but it tightened its hold on me and turned to you. It was about to bite you when I woke up screaming. That's why I ran to make sure you weren't hurt."
He smiled, and put a hand on her shoulder. "It looks like we were both scared for the other. I almost lost my mind at the thought of loosing you to that demon." A tear ran down his cheek, and if it weren't for the moonlight, Katura never would have noticed it. She gasped, and reached out to see if it was real. Her hand was shaking as she touched his face, and once she knew that her fingers had met his salty skin, she threw her arms around his neck, and started sobbing again. He held her close, trying to comfort her. He looked up and saw Inu Yasha and Sango standing in the hallway, just smiling at him. He smiled weakly back to them, knowing they had seen and heard most of what had just happened, and that he might never hear the end of his night terrors from Inu Yasha, but his daughter was all that mattered now.
"Papa..." she whispered, and he tightened his grip on her, closing his eyes, trying hard to keep his tears from running freely. "Don't leave me."
"I will never leave you, Katura. Never." He picked her up, and carried her back to bed with him, making sure she was sleeping soundly before falling asleep himself.