A steady throbbing was forming in Kagome's brain. You wouldn't think watching a child for one afternoon would be such a big deal, she mentally glowered. It's not like she's bad or anything. All she wants to do is be held. It's not that difficult. But oh no, that's women's work! Arg! He is such a baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Why she could ever want him to be her otoo-san, I'll never know! She should've kept her mouth shut when she had the chance! At least she could...
"Kagome-chan!" three high pitched voices squealed. She turned around to see Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka running up behind her.
"Ohayo," Kagome stated in a friendly tone to cover up her frustrations with the stubborn hanyou.
"Kagome-chan, it's so good to coming to school again for more than a day or two at a time. Your health must be improving," Ayumi said with a smile.
"Are you ready for the math test today?" Eri inquired.
Sigh. "Not really. I didn't get much studying done because of In... being sick," Kagome quickly recovered. Knowing her friends, if she said anything about Inuyasha staying over for the night or waking up with him in her bed, she'd never hear the end of it. It was bad enough everyone at school already thought she had the worst immune system in the world. Rumors that she was sleeping with her 'mystery man' were not something she needed added to her list of problems at the moment.
"Yeah, we heard you had malaria and were in the hospital for while..." Yuka continued.
Kagome twitched. Errr, Ji-chan! I really need to have a talk with him about these diseases! "Oh, well, I'm fine now."
"I didn't get much studying in either," Eri replied. "My parents went out for the evening and left me to watch my ototo. He's such a brat. He could use to learn a few things from Souta."
"Mm, yeah, he is a big help sometimes," Kagome agreed. A fond smile crept up on her face as she recalled all the times her little brother had brought her homework for her. He may have been a pest sometimes, but he really was the best little brother she could hope for.
"I still don't get the integrating multiple variables thing," Yuka groaned. "Half the test is gonna be on it, too."
"I know what you mean..."
"Oh, integrating multiple variables is easy," Ayumi interrupted.
"Really!?! How?"
"Explain it to us!"
~~~~~
"Otoo-sama! Otoo-sama! Oootoooo-sssaaammmaaa!"
Inuyasha eyed the child fidgeting in front of him. Her fingers were lacing and unlacing in front of her and she a rather desperate look on her face. She was hoping from one foot to another while somehow managing to keep her knees locked together. It would have been quite a comical display had the child not insisted on calling him 'otoo-sama' several times in a row in that whinny puppy voice.
"What?" he demanded.
"Otoo-sama," she whimpered again.
"What?" She stopped hopping and just stared at him with big, pleading eyes. "What?!" Her whimpers became more insistent. "If you want something, runt, you have to tell me. I can't read minds." She crossed her legs and grabbed between them.
Now he was really confused. "What's wrong with you? Did you hurt yourself or something?"
Curious, he picked her up. Her eyes were beginning to water. Having previously learned how loud she cried, Inuyasha decided it would be best to figure out what was wrong and get rid of it. The child was pulled close to his chest, and he gently scratched behind her ears as he looked her over.
Yahna curled her legs up, still grabbing between them. It was an odd place to have hurt herself really. Injuries there were usually a little harder to obtain... unless she had pulled a muscle. He gave a slight wince at the thought. He'd pulled muscles there before, and it usually hurt more than being sat. Well, she was jumping on some of the furniture earlier. He glanced around Kagome's room in an attempt to determine the culprit responsible for her pain. Maybe the shelf... or the 'dress-her'...
Warmth soaked in to the front of his haori. The scent of urine filled his nose. Hesitantly, he looked back at the child. A very guilty, slightly embarrassed expression covered her face. Her hakama was soaked between the legs, as was the front of his hoari where she was pressed against him.
"God damn tree brat! You pee outside! Not on me!"
~~~~~
"Higurashi!"
The girls turned around quickly to Hojo approaching fast on his bike. The bike slowed and came to a stop next to them. He stepped off and smiled innocently.
"Hojo-kun," all four said at once.
Ah, the dream boy of Kagome's junior high school. He was handsome, charming, sweet... Hojo reached into his bag and pulled out a small, plastic bag with some sort of herbs inside. "Here," he said kindly as he handed it to Kagome. "It's green tea with willow bark, catnip, and clover. It's good for boosting the immune system, keeps down fevers, helps with toothaches, and reduces swelling."
He was also quite obsessed with giving Kagome rather bizarre healing remedies. It was sort of cute, really, in a rather pathetic, desperate sort of way.
Kagome forced a smile. "Uh, thank you Hojo-kun. That's very kind of you..."
"And I was wondering if you would like to go see the new Miyazaki film this Saturday? I hear it's one of his best yet."
"Uh, I would but I can't." There's no way Inuyasha will let me stay until Saturday even if I wanted to.
"Really?" The boy gave her a rather disappointed look.
There was a nudging in Kagome's side. She glanced over to see her friends staring at her. "She'd love to go," Eri answered for her.
"No, I really can't," the young miko insisted.
"Why not?" Yuka demanded.
"I... uh..." An image of a very angry Inuyasha passed through her mind. One way or another, he'd find a way of dragging her back through the well. Then Yahna appeared. That was it! "I have to babysit!"
"Babysit?" the others all chorused.
"Yeah. She's the daughter of a friend... of Mama's. I said I'd babysit her while he's... out of town... for the next few days. I gave him my word, so I can't back out now."
"Um, Kagome-chan?" Ayumi inquired gently, "Are you sure you should be around children? You might still be contagious."
A blush spread on Kagome's cheeks. Ji-chan! "I'm fine now. Really. I am." She gave a nervous laugh just as the bell sounded. "Oh look! There's the bell! We better hurry to class!" Kagome made a run for her class and it's promise of safety from her friends questions.
~~~~~
"Otoo-sama!" Yahna cried as she ran in circles around him in something Kagome's mother called a 'dress'. It was an odd outfit made of two pieces of light purple fabric stitched together on the sides with a little yellow bird on the front. Mrs. Higurashi said it had been Kagome's when she was as little as Yahna. It looked strange on her as far as he was concerned. He might be able to see a young Kagome in it but not a miniature version of himself. Besides, this was Kagome's time, not Yahna's. The child didn't belong in anything from this time... not that he cared or anything. She wasn't his anyway...
He scratched his bare chest unconsciously. Mrs. Higurashi had taken their clothes a while ago and said she'd put them in the 'washing machine' and 'dryer' for him. Frankly, he didn't care if they were dry or not; he just wanted his clothes back. Normally, he didn't like going around with out a covering of some sort. It was... Embarrassing. Damn brat. Just had to go and wet yourself, didn't you? Couldn't go outside by yourself, could you?
Amber eyes watched the child run several more circles. Just watching her was starting to make him dizzy. Then, she stopped. She attempted to find balance as her body wobbled uncontrollable. Yahna plopped on the ground. Her head swayed back and forth and her eyes danced around wildly. Finally, she flopped on her back and giggled while he watched her like she had gone mad.
Inuyasha leaned over the pup. "Oh, I suppose you like being dizzy, huh?" Her hands reached up. The little hands clenched and unclenched as she attempted to reach for him. "Keh!" He backed off and leaned back against the wall in the living room.
He felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see her pulling on him. He lifted the hand with her still attached up. "What?"
"Otoo-sama!"
"Yeah, what?" She made the purr he was coming to recognize as her growl. For the first time, her innocent smile was completely gone and had been replaced by a mischievous smirk. He grunted. "You're too little for those sorts of games with someone as strong as me. Besides, you're a girl and girls don't play such games."
Yahna pouted. "Otoo-sama..."
"No. It'd be too easy to seriously hurt you and I'm not going to get subdued for playing with you... then again..." He smiled devilishly.
"You're kimonos are clean," Mrs. Higurashi said in her usual calm voice as she came in. She held the folded clothes out to him. "The haori still needs to dry a little longer, though."
Inuyasha gave a slight nod. "Arigatou," he stated blandly.
Yanna copied his nod and smiled innocently at the human woman. The woman smiled back, then left.
When she was gone, the azure eyes turned up to Inuyasha. "Otoo-sama..."
The child's warm clothes were dropped on her. "You can dress yourself. I've seen you do it." Yahna snuggled in to the warm clothes with a blissful sigh. Amber eyes glanced down at her. So easily pleased...
He turned his attention back to his yukata and carefully unfolded it. The simple white cloth was pleasantly warm as if it had been warn for a while. A clean, slightly flower scent carried up to his nose and made him smile. It was similar to Kagome's clothes, though it lacked that distinct part that was her... that was just Kagome...
A tug on his hakama brought him back to the present. He peered down at the child still wearing the 'dress' thing. "Eh? What?" She beckoned him closer with one finger. The older hanyou knelt down so he was close to eye level with her. "What is it? You don't have to pee again, do you?" Yahna shook her head. "Then what?" She cupped her hands around her mouth as if she wanted to whisper a secret. Truly curious, he kneeled down further and turned his ear to her.
Suddenly, she bolted out the door. Completely confused, he leaned back on his heals and scratched his head. Alright, so the pup is acting weird. Maybe it's just playing... uh... something. Probably a game Shippo taught it.
Shrugging it off, he went back to dressing. Then he noticed something was missing. His munahimo... the little cord one. His eyes darted around in a frantic search for it. The yukata was turned over and inside out. No sign of it. He glared at the door.
"She didn't..." Yahna peeked her head back in with the same mischievous smile as before. She held up one hand, proudly displaying the black piece of cording. "Give that back!" he roared as he leaped for her. The child darted out of reach and down the hall. "That's mine! Give it back!" he howled as he chased after her.
~~~~
Kagome was practically skipping up the steps on her way home. The test had gone wonderfully and she was sure she had past it. It really hadn't been as hard as she had thought and she was glad she hadn't stayed up half the night studying. Her friends and her had gone to Wacdonalds just after school to celebrate. Best of all, the other three girls had been in such a good mood about the test, they had completely forgotten to ask her about her 'mystery man' or the 'babysitting' job. Sure, today had gotten off to a bad start, but now there was nothing that could bring her spirits down...
Crash! Bang! Boom! "Come back here, brat!"
Scratch that.
Kagome ran the rest of the way to the house, fearing the worst. The second she opened the front door, something light purple and white flew at her chest. She was sent sprawling to the ground with the thing attached to her chest. It took the girl a few seconds before she recognized the white and purple and pink thing.
"Inuyahna!"
"Okaaaa-samaaa," she half purred out with a huge grin on her face. The child held up a piece of black string rather proudly.
"What is..."
"Don't let it get away!" Inuyasha barked as he came thundering down the hall.
"Sit!" The hanyou greeted the floor boards with his face. "What did I hear breaking?!"
"That's mine! Make it give it back!" he snapped.
"Inuyasha!"
"The pup started it! Anything broken is the pup's fault!"
"What did you break!?!"
Souta peeked around the corner. "He knocked over your dresser and book shelf, broke a few dishes, spilled the laundry everywhere, tipped over the kitchen table and a few chairs, and there are claw marks in my door," the boy supplied. Inuyasha glared at him.
"If they're going to rough house like that, they need to go outside," Mrs. Higurashi scolded. Kagome stared in shock as she saw her mother come around the corner looking slightly frazzled.
Blink blink. "Inuyasha, sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" The hanyou let out a painful 'urk' as he was repeatedly slammed in to the floor. "And you are going to help clean everything up!"
"The pup started it!"
"She is going to help too!" She shot the child a hard glare. Yahna flinched and hid her treasure behind her back. Her eyes turned big and watered over. "Don't even think about it! You helped make this mess, you're helping clean it up!"
"Okaa-sama..."
Kagome shoved the girl off her stomach. "Give it back!" Yahna flinched again. "Now!"
"Okaa..."
"Now, Inuyahna!"
Yahna whimpered but leaped over to Inuyasha. He gave her a dirty glare. Hesitantly, she held out her prize. Inuyasha harshly grabbed it and turned away from the girl. "Damn manipulative little brat..." he muttered as he tied it back on.
"One afternoon. Really, just one afternoon..." Kagome muttered as she dusted herself off.
Souta watched her storm past and up the stairs. Inuyasha was close behind, scowling at the child he roughly carried with him. Yahna sniffled but said nothing.
The boy looked up at his mother. "I don't suppose this would be a good time to tell her she was late in coming home."
"No, I don't think it would," the woman sighed.
_______________________________________________________________
Japanese words I've used in this chapter
Munahimo = the string inuyasha wears that is used to keep clothes closed and/or decorate them (thank you Amakara)
Ohayo = good morning
Ototo = younger brother
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inuyasha has learned three important things in this chapter. 10 points for each one you can name.
None of Kagome's friends have ever been given family in the series, so I did give one of them a younger brother. It was harder to work around if I took it out.
Ah, it feel good to edit something funny. I was working on something rather depressive for the past few days and... well, yeah. This on top of some issues with friends didn't put me in a good mood for a while. This cheered me up a bit.
I don't know, why do you have to be so mean Inuyasha65? If you mean, why is Inuyasha being so mean, that will actually be answered in chapter 14 which will conclude the first part of this. I have it divided into parts in my mind, by the way. This first part is called Yahna-chan in honor of the little cutie (though I guess Otoo-sama fits pretty well too).
They're not OOC, Finding Faith? Really? *get's big grin on face* Thank you so much. I've been trying to keep them in character as much as possible. That's not always easy with some characters, so it's nice to hear that I'm doing a good job with them.
Thank you for the high praise, shorty40. It means a lot to hear people that like the flow of my writing. Sometimes I'm not always sure if things flow or make sense not and since I'm my own worst critic, it's good to know that others know what I'm talking about.
Good questions, giggles19701 and Joann. Yes, the mystery will be solved. However, it is going to get a lot more complicated first. As for her parentage (and how she could be born from a tree), that will be answered later as well. As for bringing Inuyasha and Kagome closer together, well yes and no. She is certainly bringing them physically closer. However, children can be a great strain on any relationship. However, I am a big Inuyasha/Kagome supporter, so yes, there will be at least moments with them.
Yet, Dragon Man 180. She isn't grabbing his ears yet. Besides, where's the fun in Yahna grabbing them? I can think of someone else grabbing his ear that would be much cuter and really funny.
Badgerwolf, women's rights in feudal Japan is an oxymoron. Women didn't have rights. They were completely at their father or husband's will, really. In fact, this time period is when women actually started losing many of their former rights. Not a good time for women in Japan. I am sort of reflecting this a bit in Inuyasha. However, Kagome comes form a time when women have gained a ton of rights and are gaining more by the year. This is due to the need for women to work in Japan, so they are getting better treatment in order to encourage them to take jobs.
Alana-Star, I'm got to agree with Leo on this.
So, that's all for now. I'll try and edit the next chapter by next Friday, but don't hold your breath, kay? That chapter is gonna be a little heavier than the last ones. Given the note that this one ended on, I think you can guess that a little. See you all next time.