IN KAEDE'S VILLAGE

Sango was setting out the dinner she had prepared. Miroku walked into the room and set his pack down.

"Miroku, you're back!" Sango said, embracing him, "How were the villagers?"

"It wasn't the worst I've seen, but that demon did some damage..." he replied; he was visably exhausted.

"How about we eat and then you can rest?" she replied with a gentle smile.

"Daddy!" the voices of two little girls rang from behind Miroku.

Yumi, their eight year old son, however was leaned against the wall in the shadowed corner. The two girls, Nakki, the six year old, blue-eyed, brunette hugged his waist, and Sikae, the two year old, spitting image of Sango, hugged his leg. He hugged them both and gave them their presents. Nakki got a bow and set of arrows; Miroku had been teaching Nakki for about six months with a home made bow before it had broken. Sikae got a doll that wore a pink camono with white flowers on it. Nakki looked the bow over, aimed it, and looked it over again. Sikae hugged her doll and sat on the floor to play with it again.

"Thank you, daddy!!!" the two chimed in unison before returning to their gifts.

Miroku looked over at Yumi and approached him.

He kneeled infront of him, "Did you take good care of everything for me?"

Yumi nodded.

"I had to use this once though," Yumi replied holding out his right arm to show a cloth-wrapped hand with a necklace of beads wrapped around that.

"Did you defeat it?" Miroku asked, looking at the arm solemnly.

He nodded again. Yumi was a quiet child, probably because of his lack of self-esteem. He had always been different from everyone else except his father; He was the spitting-image of him too.

"I brought you something," Miroku spoke up.

Yumi's face lit up, and a grin crossed his face. Miroku pulled out a beautiful sword and sheeth.

"I'll teach you how to use it if you promise you'll be carefull with it, not use it around your sisters unless you have to, and learn to control it and use it properly before going into any sort of battle with it," Miroku explained.

Yumi nodded with a determined look on his face, "I promise."

"This is no ordinary sword...it was made by a swordsmith about nine years ago; he was a great swordsmith in his time before his death, and he had given this sword great powers..."

"Who was he?" Yumi asked with interest.

"His name was Totosai..." Miroku replied, "Yumi, you remember Inuyasha, correct?"

Yumi nodded, "He was that half-demon that betrayed mother and you..."

"In a way, yes," Miroku continued, "Well, that great sword that he possessed was also made by the same man, a very, very long time ago."

Yumi's eyes were wide with amazement as he looked at the sword in his hands. Sango looked over at the two to see the sword Miroku had been keeping since before Yumi was born as a smile crossed her face.

Present Time

Kagome was working at the book store she had been working at for about a year. The babysitter was cleaning up in Kagome's kitchen when Melina walked in holding her crayons and coloring book.

"Can I go outside to color?" she asked, holding up her coloring book and hugging her teddy bear.

"Yes, but don't leave the yard, okay?" the woman said.

"Yes, ma'am," Melina replied skipping out the door. She sat in the yard coloring and humming happily. She saw a frog jump by and smiled.

"Hello, Mr. Frog!" she exclaimed, but it kept hopping.

She stood up and then squatted down. The frog hopped, and she hopped, it hopped again, and she hopped again. After a few minutes, she stopped, stood up, and stared at what looked to her like a play house. She opened the door and walked in; she saw a well that had been sealed up and had papers all over it. She sat on it and picked up one of the peices of paper and began coloring on it, then another, then another, then another, and when she picked up the last one, the seal fell beneath her, and she fell along with it. She stood up, now in a beautiful grassy area and rubbed her bottom.

"Ow!" she said in a sweet-sounding, young voice.

She looked around and began walking around.

"Mr. Frog!" the four year old called.

She walked toward the edge of the forest surrounding the area but stopped. She was scared of the dark and the forest looked very dark; the trees kept the sunlight out. She then heard voices from inside the forest and couldn't help it; she entered the dark forest and ran toward the voices. She entered a bright clearing after just a minute or two. She saw a man in funny clothes and a boy just about four years older than her in equally funny clothes. The boy had a beautiful sword in his hands, and then she noticed the beads around their arms.

"Those beads are pretty, can I see them?" she asked, catching their attention.

Both the man and the boy turned to look at her.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, dropping the sword to his side.

"I'm Melina!" she said hugging the bear, "Who are you?"

"I'm Yumi," he replied, a little confused by her clothes and stuffed bear, "And this is my father."

"I'm Mioku," the man added, "Where is your family?"

"My mommy is gone...she went to work. I was staying with my babysitter, and I found a playhouse...I want my mommy..." Melina answered as tears filled up in her eyes and her nose and cheeks turned red.

"It's okay..." Miroku replied in a soothing voice as he picked up the small child, "We'll find her."

Miroku had noticed the clothes, though it was her face that held his attention more. She was very familiar to him, and he wanted to figure this out quickly.

"What's your name?" he asked the girl on his shoulders.

"Melina," she answered in her sweet, sing-song voice.

Miroku prepaired himself for his next question, "What's your mommy's nam-"

Suddenly a large demon came through some trees into their veiw.

"Father!" Yumi called out.

Miroku set Melina down beside Yumi, "Protect her."

He ran over to the demon and pulled off the beads, "Wind tunne-"

"Wind scar!" and all-too-familiar voice called from behind the demon.

Miroku wrapped the beads around his arm again as the demon was defeated. The half-demon stepped into veiw and bent down to pick up a jewel shard that had been thrown from the demon, "Hm...this is interesting."

"Hello, Inuyasha," Miroku replied coolly.