"Are you sure we can ask him?"

"He won't mind."

"Okay... " Kotaku set his schoolbook down and walked over to Inuko's side. Together, they crept up behind InuYasha and got his attention with a not so gentle tap on the shoulder.

InuYasha spun around and narrowed his eyes. "Can I help you?" He spat out.

Kotaku looked up down and around, tapping his fingers against his head, and started to produce a few ummms..and ahhhs. "Well...I.." He finally began to speak, but Inuko cut him off.

"We wanna know how exactly you and the others defeated Naraku." Inuko crossed his arms and tilted his head, daring his father to lie.

"Oh? Didn't Kagome post that story on her website or something?" InuYasha's tone took a surprising calmness, losing its usual nastiness when someone under the age of 20 bugged him.

"It isn't up yet, but to tell you the truth, I haven't even heard the whole story." Inuko took a seat on the floor, and Kotaku did too on the other side of InuYasha's chair.

"Yeah, you were a real hero, and we just wanna hear how." Kotaku's words inflated InuYasha's ego a bit, so the dog demon settled back further in his chair.

"Its pretty simple. I guess I have to get down a few basics first. The part I think you already know is that your mother," He shoots his eyes down to his son, " is the reincarnation of Kikyo. Back in the day, more specifically the time I come from, Kikyo was a powerful priestess and she used to guard the sacred jewel, the shikon no tama. The thing could be used for good or evil, but since everybody be out for their own selves, it was basically bad news if anyone but her got their hands on it."

A smile snaked its way onto Inuko's face "Everyone be out for their own selves? Have you been watching music videos again?"

After Inuko was kicked in the side, InuYasha continued, "As I was saying, if it got into the wrong hands it would be bad news. I was young and stupid back then, and had fallen for Kikyo. After endless flirting we finally decided to use the jewel. Now it was against Kikyo's code to ever use the jewel, but we knew we couldnt be together long as I was half demon. So, I was gonna take it and make myself human, so me and her could live happily ever after."

Kotaku sat up straight and looked him in the eye. " There is a rule. Momma says you shouldnt change yourself for anything."

"You're right kid, and there is also a rule called 'don't interupt. "

Kotaku frowned.

"Anyway, I was young and stupid, and both of us were easily fooled. Naraku set it up so it looked like we betrayed each other for the sake of the jewel. I ended up killing Kikyo," his voice lowered and he paused for a moment, pondering on a pain that never completely went away, but then looked to his audience, "and she ended up pinning me to a tree and basically putting me in a coma for 50 stupid years. Stupid Naraku.

Fifty years later my time Kagome accidently fell through the bone-eaters well with currently the jewel stuck in her stomach. Some demon was chasing her, and while she was running she ran into me, still unconscious. Since she is Kikyo's reincarnation she was able to pull the arrow out of my side. I woke up, we had a slight argument, she screwed with my ears, I thought she was Kikyo, blah blah blah.."

"I remember this part, " Inuko smirked and crossed his legs, "I remember mom saying how stubborn you were, and that you wouldn't believe anything anyone told you back then, that is why they had to-"

After Inuko was kicked in the side, InuYasha continued. "Everything was straightened out when we went back to Kaede. She was Kikyo's younger sister, cept by then she was an old woman with a bad attitude who ticked me off every day of her wretched life. I was still pretty pissed off at Kikyo for betraying me, so I was gonna take the jewel for myself and become a full DEMON instead of a weak human. Then I wouldn't need anyone to do anything for me ever again.

Still, fate had a funny way of screwing me over backwards. A random demon sensed the power of the jewel, some nasty crow it was, and took off with it. Kagome in her 'infinite wisdom of NEVER having picked up a bow and arrow before, shot at it, and instead of killing the ugly thing shattered the precious jewel that everyone wanted into itty bitty pieces. I may love your mother Inuko but that had to be the most moronic thing she ever did."

"Oooh," Kotaku chirped, "Im going to tell her you said that!"

"You wanna be kicked?" InuYasha asked him.

Kotaku quieted.

"Okay this is probably the part of the story where you are not as clueless. The Jewel shattered, and we went to go find the shards before all the dumb demons sucked them up. And believe you me, there are plenty of dumb as dirt demons. Unfortunately, Kaede was absolutely sure that I was evil incarnate, so she cursed me with that dratted rosary. With one call..of the word.." He glared at the boys, daring them to interrupt, but when nothing came he continued, "with one call of that stupid word the rosary would gain weight and ..well, you already know that. Stupid old hag, I still blame her for coming up with the thing in the first place.

"To cut a million stories a hell of a lot shorter, We found out that Naraku was behind everything, the destruction of Sango's village, the kidnapping of her brother, the curse in Miroku's hand, all that stuff and having one enemy to fight was good for me. Kagome had no personal connection to Naraku herself except through me, and that was enough.." His lips curled into an odd smile, and Kotaku raised his hand.

"She mustve cared a lot to constantly put herself in danger like that. For all of you. And her family to be supportive."

"Yeah I know I married her lets go on with it, " InuYasha stretched, "but before I do can someone get me some ramen?"

"I would like some too!" Kotaku jumped to his feet.

"I'd rather have some cookies.." Inuko raised his hands behind his head and looked of innocently.

"What are you talking about? You are a ramen- fanatic! Like father like son after all!"

Inuko cleared his throat, "There isn't any left. I ate it all."

"WHAT? YOU PIG!" InuYasha sprang from his seat. Inuko backed up slowly and began to stutter.

"You weren't home! I was hungry! It didn't have your name on it!" Inuko checked to his left and his right for a quick escape, as as InuYasha's fist came swinging down he dodged past him. InuYasha stepped over Kotaku and chased his son into the living room, leaving Kotaku by himself.

"But what about the story?" Kotaku muttered softly, but a few seconds too late. "Great, and no ramen to boot." He shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping Kagome was around to talk.

He found her sitting outside on the back porch. He snuck quietly to her side and rested against her, and looked up at her with big sad eyes.

Kagome raised a brow but then smiled. "Yes?"

"InuYasha and Inuko were in the middle of telling me the story about how Naraku was defeated. InuYasha got hungry though, and Inuko ate all the ramen and-"

"Say no more. He'll be chasing him down for the next hour. You want me to continue the story?"

"If you could."

"Where did he leave off?"

"Before he started to cut corners and ramble, about at the part where the sacred jewel shard was so clumsily shattered by you."

"Ha! How dare he say that" Kagome crossed her arms in semi-mocked anger. "Should I have just let it fly off to who knows where? I had to do something, and I did. He should be thankful for my bravery. Besides, if I hadn't done that, we wouldn't have had all those great adventures."

"That is what I want to hear! Those adventures."

"Its gonna be hard to sum them all up, Kotaku. " Kagome ran her hands through her bangs and twisted her finger around a lock of her raven-black hair. "There are so many to count I don't even know what to say. We had great moments together, precious moments. With InuYasha, with your mom and dad, they changed my life for the better and I can't thank them enough for it.

"Okay. When InuYasha and I first met, he was a total jerk to me and everyone around him. Though I do understand why now, he did have a hard childhood not to mention Kikyo was taken from him tragically, but it was still no excuse to be the way he is. Instead of trying to help people, he figured the only way to live was for himself and he wanted to get the sacred jewel so he could turn into a full demon. Unfortunately that point it turns into a blur, since we met so many people and did so many things along the way. We freed villages from demon control, slayed demons, slayed more demons..." Kagome stopped for a moment to ponder over a story to tell.

"There must be something after that of interest?"

"I'll have to think on it, but unfortunately, Im being called in early. When I get back however, I think I'll tell you the story about InuYasha getting the Tetsusaiga! That is a good one, and Im the hero of the story. At least a little."

"I doubt InuYasha would say that.."

"That is why you come to me for the truth!" She patted his back and walked back inside, leaving Kotaku alone again.

"This is going nowhere fast. I'm getting something to eat." He made a beeline for the kitchen, got up on a stool and started to prepare himself a snack. Miroku walked in and grabbed some orange juice, nodding to his son.

"Hey."

"Hi. Are you about to run off after food or work or something else?"

"Not at the moment." Miroku sat down and sipped his juice, patting the seat next to him. "What's up?"

"I wanna hear the story about the fall of Naraku." Kotaku grabbed a hand full of cookies, and with Sango out of site, started munching them.

"That is quite a tale. It all started when InuYasha met Kagome and.."

"I know THAT part. Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo, she held the jewel in her body, a demon got it out, InuYasha met Kagome, the jewel got shattered... I wanna know what happened after that."

"Ive heard a few stories but Im probably the wrong person to ask if you want to know what happened immediately after. I didn't meet either of them until a time afterward. Before that though, I was travelling the countryside, lending my aid to any maiden who was in need. I could never refuse coming to an aid of a beautiful woman.

I remember this one time, this was a bit before I met InuYasha and Lady Kagome, when a princess of a castle asked me to help rid her home of the fox demon spirits that inhabited it. It was easy really, and the princess was so glad for the help that she was able to relax again and bathe in the nearby springs. It was a beautiful spring day, I remember it as clear as the spring water that she was bathing in. I slowly approached the princess, her delicate curves causing the water to ripple." Miroku's eyes misted slightly, but his muscled tensed when he heard a familiar sound behind him

The sound of Sango clearing her throat.

Miroku spun around in his chair to see his wife, one curler in her hair, one sandwich in her hand, and one foot tapping on the floor.

"And it only reminded me of the beauty that was your mother. That reminds me, there are a few birthdays coming up and I need to get to the store." Miroku made a quicker exit than Kagome did earlier, and Sango took his seat.

"Okay spill it what was the lecher telling you. You would think by now he would've grown out of it!" Her voice slowly increased in volume, leaving her son with a completely blank expression. She sighed, took the curler out of her hair so a lock of hair could bounce its way into place, and took a rather agressive bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she was holding.

"Er.. what dad was telling me was how Naraku was defeated. At least that is what I asked him."

"You've never heard the whole story, have you? You should've just came to me in the first place. I can't tell you much about the beginning, when the jewel was first broken, but it is very clear to me how Naraku snaked his way into my life and changed it forever.

"I was living a fufilling life as a demon slayer. In our village it was our divine right and purpose, and I was very proud of it. I had learned my skill from my father, your grandfather, and after I lost my mother to illness when I was about your age, he and my brother Kohaku were the closest people to me.

"But no, Naraku won't have anyone happy as long as he doesn't get what he wants. He took control of Kohaku and.." Sango's fist clenched tight, "and everyone was slaughted. Everyone. My father, my friends, everything and everyone was gone. I had never so much as heard of Naraku in my entire life, yet it was his pleasure to destroy mine. Kotaku was moments from death and to save him, Naraku placed a jewel shard in his back. "

"So Naraku saved him?"

"No not at all. He needed me, he needed to manipulate me and use me to his purposes. That is why he killed Kikyo, to manipulate InuYasha, so he killed my family to get control of me. The jewel shard in Kohaku's back kept him alive physically, but his mind was a slave to Naraku's power. Time after time he used him to do his bidding, dangling him in front of me like meat in front of a stray animal, taunting me like that. There are so many people lost to me, and that is a wound I don't know will ever heal.." She wrapped her arms around her son, bringing him into her lap, and sighing softly.

Kotaku saw the sadness in his mother's eyes and slowly slipped free of her grasp. "I can ask later, okay?"

"No, Kotaku, its okay its.." Sango smiled as Kotaku slipped out of the room, in appreciation of his consideration for her. She sat back down and drank the rest of Miroku's orange juice, slowly pulling her mind from the past. She tilted her head to hear the sound of him muching the cookies outside of the door. "Put those back before you run off."

With crumbs of chocolate sandwich cookies still fresh on his lips, Kotaku slumped in front of the TV and stared like a zombie. A few people walked by, and in InuYasha and Inuko's case, ran by, but he didn't blink. It didn't look like anyone would stick around to talk to him, there would always be a million distractions.

At long last, an exhausted InuYasha plopped down beside him and stretched his arms around the couch. 'Guess I can continue that story now. Its a long one, and after I'm done, you can let Inuko out of the closet."

"Well..." Kotaku jumped slightly when he heard the pounding of the younger dog-demon against the closet door. Half way across the house.

"You know that's okay. I think I'm just going to wait for Kagome's web page to update." He turned the TV off and waved to InuYasha, "Ima go to my room and watch DVDs. Its safer in there."

"Hey! No touching any of my DVD's unless you wanna share a closet with Inuko!"

"I'm telling Mom!"

"Not unless you want to be kicked!"