(At this time, the new baby, whom they have named Kagoyasha, is 6 months old)
"Father," Inume shouted, "A hoard of demons are charging up our mountain!!"
"What?! Why?!" the girl's father, InuYasha, responded.
"I think Katara sent them!" Inume answered.
"Grab Kagoy(asha) and run away! Take Tetsaiga and the Shikon jewel with you!" InuYasha commanded his now 13-year-old daughter.
"No, father, I won't leave you and mother alone!" Inume screamed.
"Go on! Protect your brother and yourself at all costs! You must live on! You are our only hope to defeat Katara, and something tells me you'll need your brother, and he'll need you. He is, after all, untrained, even if he does obviously have more demon blood in him. I know you're still weak, but I have faith in you!!" InuYasha ordered his daughter.
"Alright, father, I'll go." Inume replied sadly. She lifted up Kagoy in her arms, wrapped in a large kimono, and ran down the far side of the mountain. All she had was her kimono, her cloak, the Tetsaiga, the Shikon jewel, and her helpless baby brother. She heard her mother scream, but still she did not turn back. She ran on and on, into the night, crossing canyons and fording rivers, until dawn came and she was too tired to continue. She put her brother on a soft bed of ferns (he was sound asleep) and she lay down under her cloak. She lay awake for a while, with the same question running through her head. Over and over she wondered, but she couldn't figure out an answer.
She said it aloud, asking her sleeping brother, "What's so important about you and me, that our parents gave up their lives for us?" Kagoy drooled a little, but he didn't answer. Inume didn't expect him to answer. Finally, she fell asleep.
Inume woke up in the morning, cold and hungry. She gathered up her few belongings and hoisted Kagoyasha onto her back. She set off at a brisk pace. The sun rose higher in the sky, and the siblings reached a forest. She remembered her father once telling her,
"Be careful in forests. They are home to many dangerous demons. Wolf demons, pather demons, fox demons, hawk demons...all these and more live in forests. The woods are a dangerous place, Inume. It's best not to enter them alone."
Inume considered her options, then proceeded into the forest. She wondered if she was being brave or foolish, doing something this dangerous. She pretended like she was a brave warrior, like her father Inuyasha, and that she had her mother's miko powers. But even this fantasy couldn't rid her of the fear that was growing inside her. The foliage in the trees blocked much of the sunlight, making Inume feel downcast. She had no trouble seeing, after all, she had his father's eyes. She could see as easily at night as she could during the day. But the darkness still oppressed her. She was relieved, but also nearly blinded, when she entered a small clearing. The noon sun shone down on her, bright in her eyes. Her brother, Kagoyasha, started to cry.
"Shh...there, there, Kagoy, the sun won't hurt you," she comforted him.
That was when she noticed that they weren't the only ones in the clearing. Sitting not 10 feet away on a log, was a boy. He was staring Inume, not moving or blinking.
"Hello," Inume said to him. "My name is Inume. Who are you?"
He told her, "I'm...I'm Sangiroku. You can call me Sangi if you want"
Inume stared at his eyes. They were startling green. And he was SO handsome! She felt a strange fluttery feeling, and her heart was racing. Yes, she knew his name, but who was this young boy? He appeared to be around 12 years old; just a little younger than Inume.
"Where are your parents?" Inume asked him.
"They're dead," he answered bluntly.
"Oh! I'm sorry to hear that! I fear my parents may also be dead. How did yours die?" Inume said.
"An evil demon named Katara killed them both. She murdered them with her pack of wolf-demons," the boy answered her. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
Inume's heart froze. "What?" she gasped. "Katara and her wolf-demons? That's exactly how my parents died!! My father told me to run away. I took my baby brother and ran."
"I see mine isn't the only life Katara has ruined," Sangiroku said.
Tears started streaming down Inume's face. Inume sat down beside Sangiroku and leaned against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and cried.
Meanwhile Sangiroku was feeling something entirely different. Rather than sadness, or even pity, he was actually fighting an internal battle.
"Mother told me NOT to grope...but I want to! No! Mother told me not to! But I want to"
Inume finally stopped crying, and she gazed at Sangiroku with glittery eyes.
"Sangi, would you like to come with me to kill Katara?" Inume asked the boy.
"Oh, Inume, I wish I could. But how could two kids and a baby even hope to defeat someone as powerful as Katara?"
"Because I have the Shikon Jewel and my father's sword, Tetsaiga! I am the daughter of Inuyasha and Kagome!" Inume shouted proudly.
Sangi gasped. "What a strange coincedence! My parents were...."