Author's Note: Ok, this is when Sesshoumaru and Rin make come in...duh. But you know, they're not gonna be traveling with the gang, just to let you know. I'm just saying what ol' Fluffy's up to nowwa days. But hey, that doesn't mean he won't be totally out of the story. So don't worry, he'll make more than one appearance later on. Please read and review! Enjoy!
lady kjerston of the western: Thank you for the compliments! I'm glad I don't dissapoint... That would be very bad if I did! And I'm glad I was of good help to you. I don't usually give advice to people, but I would for those who really need it and go to me for it. And your mom's freakin' 30?!! Did she give birth to you at like 13? My mom's 36! Cool! We have young moms!... sometimes uncool...Thanks for your review!
inuyashagal: Thank you very much! I am putting all my effort into this, and it's very hard! But it looks like it's paying off, ne? Thanks for your review!
otome-noaidani-zetsubo: Your welcome! lol, everyone likes a little lemon once in a while... or all the time. Doesn't matter! And of course I'll help you! I'll do the best I can for whatever you need help with. Have you started it yet? Or have you already and need more ideas? e mail me and tell me all about it. Yeah, and of course we could keep in touch. I'd like that. Thanks for your review!
Suaru: Thank you!!! And yes! A fit Inuyasha shall have! Heehee! Thanks for your review!
angela: Thank you so much! That means a lot to me, thanks for your kindness and for your review!
TennyoKameko: lol, thanks! Yes yes. I got it from Fairly Odd Parents! I just thought it was too funny and had to add it in my story somehow. And once I found the chance, I took it! And I'm glad you laughed! Personally, I think it was funnier in this situation. heehee! Tjanks for your review!
Washuu Ogami: Awesome! Thanks for the info! Now I fully understand it. And it's all right to ramble! We all do it. lol, And oh. Be sure to check out the stories you reviewed for, I answered them! Thanks for your review!
shiroi-miko: Yes! She shall come! lol, and yeah. I know exactly what you mean. it'll just be cute, cause they're too young to be all serious about stuff like that. And the Inudaddy is a gonna get mad! lol!!!! Thanks for your review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha
Chapter Nine: Empty Dreams Only Dissapoint
Rin walked around the garden that surrounded the demon lord Sesshoumaru's castle. She had a tranquil smile on her lips as she looked up at the morning sun just behind the trees. She remembered all her times playing here as a young girl.
Rin stood there, now looking at a certain spot in the garden that was her favorite among the others. She could just see her younger self there right now, chasing a butterfly, picking and smelling the beautiful flowers that she would always give to Sesshoumaru, and also laying down in the grass watching the clouds go by.
'I can remember those days so well, I kind of miss them.' Rin thought and smiled.
The no longer orphan girl was now a woman of twenty years, and a demon by the way.
When she was fifteen, it was then that the lord had asked her become his mate. Rin was surprised to say the least, but said yes anyway, for it was her dream ever since the lord had taken her in his care and protected her. Sesshoumaru had, like Inuyasha, made it so that Rin could live as long as he did, but turned her into a full demon. And the effects of it were great. She now had beautiful violet eyes, long straight black hair that reached her mid back, dog ears like Inuyasha, and claws with the same poison in them as Sesshoumaru's.
And of course, they also had three wonderful children. Two four year old boys, Minoru, and Kensaku, and a three year old girl, Tani.
They were napping at the moment which gave their mother finally a time to relax.
"Remembering old times?" Asked the demon lord who had come from behind Rin, he stood next to her and brought his arm around her shoulders. Rin simply nodded and rested her head on his shoulder, "Only a few."
Sessoumaru and Rin both looked at the garden, enjoying their time alone.
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"Inuyahsa, I said no. I don't need you to carry me."
Everyone sighed. Ever since ten minutes ago, when Kagome had stopped walking and held her head because it felt dizzy from the heat, Inuyasha wouldn't stop asking her if she was ok and if she needed him to carry her for a little while.
"Are you sure Kagome?" He asked again, his hand on her shoulder.
"Inuyasha! You've been asking me if 'I was sure' for ten minutes now! And yes, I've never been more sure in my life!"
Everyone went silent for a short minute.
".....Are you absolutely sure?" Inuyasa whispered.
"Inuyasha! SIT!"
Inuyasha yelped and fell to the ground. Miroku and the boys knelt down beside the whole that was shaped like Inuyasha. Taikan sighed, "I knew she'd do that and I'm surprised he didn't see it coming." He muttered innocently.
Miroku sighed also and shook his head, "I know I saw it coming."
"W-What did I do?" Inuyasha asked in a murmur as he tried to get himself out of the hole in the ground.
"I'm afraid it's what you didn't do Inuyasha." Said the monk and stood up.
"And that would be?" Asked the hanyou once he stood up next to Miroku and dusted his shoulders.
The monk placed a hand on his friend's shoulder once it was dusted off, "Well, my blind friend, you wouldn't leave Lady Kagome alone, and so she sent you to the ground again." He replied and they both looked at Kagome for a response. The miko looked angrily away,"That's right." She muttered.
The two younger boys sighed; it was only half an hour that they had been walking and already they were getting bored and watching without surprise how Inuyasha pissed Kagome off in record time... again, and now they wishing they could fight a demon or something to pass the time.
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Kaede made lunch for everyone since Sango had been napping and watching over the children. The old priestess brought all the food to the table and called everyone to come and eat.
The kids ran inside and was about to dig in when suddenly Sango appeared out of nowhere and starting eating it first. She was so hungry at the moment that she wasn't acting like her old self, and that was scaring both Keiko and Teishin a little.
"Ladies first." Sango mumbled in between bites of her food.
"...Or ladies only." Teishin muttered. He knew his mother would of course leave enough for all the children to eat, but she was just being plain selfish here!
After a few minutes, Sango's full stomach caused her to fall asleep and that's when the children decided it was safe enough to eat their share of the meal.
"Is Mom ok?" Keiko asked her brother. He shrugged his shoulders, "Pregnant women are scary."
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Sanae and Kaden were done with their meal first and so went outside.
Kaden walked tiny steps with her sister just outside and they both sat against the trunk of a tree. She made a little sniffle before turning to look at Sanae, "I wonder why Daddy didn't let you go with them?" She murmured shyly, not really knowing what to say.
Sanae shook her head, "I don't know why either Kaden. But I wanted to go real badly... I mean, I practiced my archery with Mom for...forever now, " She saddened, "I was hoping Dad would see how strong I've gotten, and let me go with him."
Just as both girls sighed in misery, Sanae snapped her head up and looked at her sister, "I'm right Kaden. I have gotten stronger. And I'm going to prove that to Daddy whether he likes it or not." Kaden didn't have time to portest. Sanae was already walking back inside of the hut to retrieve her arrows and small bow that her mother made especially for her.
"B-but Sanae. Daddy will be very mad." Kaden tried to reason once she caught up with her. Keiko, Teishin, and Rikku were all playing in the back of the hut, giving Sanae a better chance of sneaking out of there. Surely if the other children knew of her plans, they'd tell on her.
"I know. But he won't be once he knows how strong of a daughter he's raising." Sanae smirked. Sango was napping in one room and the girls were sure to be as quiet as they could. Both sisters gussed that Shippo was helping Kaede in the garden.
Sanae saw her bow and arrows next to where her mother's were before she took them with her on the trip. Sanae grabbed them and suited up. The eleven year old hanyou smirked again and turned toward Kaden to see her expression of uncertainty. "Uh Sanae, I still don't think this is a good idea. What if a big gigantic monster demon comes and eats you or something?" Sanae had noticed how Kaden said gigantic like 'Guy-jantic' and she almost laughed.
She shook her head, "I'll be ok. Dad taught me and Taikan how to survive stuff like that. Don't worry, I'll know what to do." She smiled. Kaden sighed and nodded. She walked up to her older sister and gave her a hug goodbye, "Be careful." She whispered. Sanae's heart melted, "Kaden..." She murmured kindly.
Once both of them were outside, Kaden waved bye to Sanae who walked away with a small bag of essentials and her weapons. Sanae kept walking on and never looked back, if she did, she'd never be able to go on. 'I must go. I want to help Mom and Dad fight the demon.'
Sanae walked on with the feeling of strong will in her young heart. She wouldn't have had that feeling, had her mother not told her something important to her before. 'Mom, I remember what you said to me long ago, and now that I understand it, I thank you.'
"Mommy." Sanae came and sat next to Kagome in a fit of tears.
Kagome looked down at the girl beside her and put an arm around her, "What's wrong?"
Sanae cried in frustration, "Mom, I can't do it. I'll never be as strong as you." She threw her arrows down in front of her and slammed her fists down in her lap. Her pout was so adorable, but Kagome didn't laugh. She knew her daughter was serious.
Kagome shook her head, "Yes, you can. You can do anything once you set you're mind to it Sanae." Kagome encouraged. "I wasn't so good my first time either. But the more I practiced, the better I got." Sanae looked up at her, "Just remember sweetheart, nothing in life that you truly want is just going to fall in your lap like an instant dream come true... You've got to work for what you want."
Sanae didn't say anything, taking all this in at once and trying to understand it. "I-I do want it Mom." She murmured so low that Kagome didn't hear her.
She felt her Kagome's hands find her own and hold then tightly. She knew this was about something more than just her archery, so she went on, "Sanae, you're just a child now. I wish you didn't have to worry about things like this at such a young age. But in this era of flaseness, there's not a lot of people we can trust." Kagome looked down at their hands. " I want you to understand that you have dreams you want to achieve right now, even though you don't realize it yet. Sanae... I want you to be independent and have self respect for yourself as you grow older and find out who you really are... I want you to be happy, and follow your heart."
Sanae didn't understand. 'What's she trying to tell me? I already know who I am... At least I think I do... And follow my heart?' She lowered her head.
Growing up, Sanae always felt like she was in a way, not free. She felt like she couldn't do what she wanted. Her innocent desires felt as if they were overlooked and she felt sad for that. Not understanding a thing, she cried even more, "Why? Why Mom?"
Kagome looked at Sanae with kind eyes that spoke of the truth, "Because children with no vision do what they're told."
Sanae let the tears fall. Back then, she had no idea what that meant. But now she did and she smiled, 'Mom, don't worry. I'll achieve my dreams, all by myself.'
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The kept traveling for an hour now and both Inuyasha and Kagome seemed to have forgiven each other since they were both holding hands. Taikan didn't seem to mind though; he was getting use to this now since they were like that almost all the time.
As they kept walking, they saw an old man sitting on the ground on the side of the dusty road. Kagome's face grew concerned for the man and immediately went to him. She knelt down in front of him, "Um excuse me sir, are you all right?" Inuyasha knelt right by her side, not trusting this guy. Miroku stood behind his two friends and kept the young boys behind him.
The man's form was covered in an old beige cloak type clothing and pulled out some type of crystal ball. Inuyasha knew right away what was going on and he growled as he stood up, bring Kagome with him. "I'm not wasting my time on some fake fortune teller, let's go." Kagome was trying to protest but the man spoke.
"Now hold on Inuysha, I'm sure you'd want to hear what I have to say." He said.
"H-How the hell do you know my name?" Inuyasha asked him, now upset and confused.
"Calm down, I am not your enemy. I am spiritually intuitive, or psychic as you might want to call it, and can see the future." He replied.
Kagome gently nudged Inuyasha's arm, "Oh come on Inuyasha, this guy could be a real help to us." She whispered to him. Miroku and the other boys nodded.
Inuyasha sighed and rolled his eyes. In a huff he asked, "Oh really? Well then fine, I'll play along. So what's my future?"
The man held out his hand to Inuyasha. The hanyou sighed irritably, "Of course. Miroku, pay the guy already, I want to get this over with." He said to the monk and he obeyed.
Once the man received his pay, he looked in his crystal ball. Curiosity getting the better of them, they leaned in a little bit closer to see what the old guy was seeing...That is if he really would see anything.
The man gasped and looked up at Kagome, "You are a miko am I correct?"
Kagome hesitated, not knowing he was going to speak to her at all, but soon recovered and answered him with a shaky, "Yes."
"Miko, I am afraid something of terrible misfortune will soon come your way." He said gravely and Kagome brought a fist to her chest as she let out a light gasp. "W-What do you mean? Something bad is going to happen to me?" Miroku and Asoka narrowed their eyes toward the man who frightened their friend, but Taikan was growling.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome's terrorized face and angrily growled at the man, "Don't scare her like that! Y-You're wrong!" He shouted and pulled Kagome up with him. "Let's go, we don't need this." He was about to walk away with the others when he suddenly turned back around knelt in front of him again.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, "Psychic huh? Well then, this shouldn't be much of a shock to you." He muttered and snatched the money out of the man's hand.
The man in the cloak looked up at their retreating forms, "I apologize hanyou. Nevertheless, I can't change the fact that your son and the miko are both in danger." He said with sad eyes.
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"Inuyasha, do you think what he said was really true?" Kagome asked him. Inuyasha looked at her and shook his head, "Nah, I'm sure that guy was just trying to earn some money by scamming people. He's crazy." He said to make her feel better.
Kagome nodded and rested her head on his shoulder as they continued their journey.
Inuyasha felt his heart beat faster. He really didn't want to make Kagome worry. But now he was afraid. Because when the old man had told Kagome of her fortune, Inuaysha knew he wasn't lying...