Note: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters but I do own the character Mayumi.


Chapter 5

He had lived in the land of the strongest and most prosperous lord of the region. At the age of six he had become an apprentice in the samurai's way. He was an outstanding pupil and was often praised by his sensei. At the age of 13 his sensei had entered him into a tournament that the lord held each year. The tournament was used to determine which samurai would become one his personal guards. On that day a lot of people had shown up to see the competition. Most had come to see the young apprentice, which angered many of the samurais. To teach him a lesson they had him fight first and against the most skilled samurai. When the fight started the older man showed no mercy. Realizing he was out powered he used his speed to hold his own. The crowd had cheered at the sight of the young apprentice. Despite all his efforts the fight soon ended when he fell to the ground after a strong hit to the head. He had been carried way but not before he received a loud round of applause. Although he had lost his match the lord was impressed by his performance. The lord promised him to make him one of his personal guards when he finished his training. His effort had earned him the respect of the people.

At the age of 15 he fell in love with a maid in the lord's castle. They wed the day that he became a full pledge samurai. The following day the lord made him one of his personal guards. The following year she gave birth to a baby girl. He named her Mayumi. He couldn't of been happier with his new family. He was with the woman that he loved and now he had a beautiful daughter. The first two years of his marriage had been perfect. He rarely had to leave them. He had left three times in those two years and it had been on political missions where danger had been low.

By the third year of his marriage, talks with two lords of the region failed. Soon war was declared against his lord by the two greedy lords. In the first half of the year the lord saw close to half of his army disappear. When it was obvious that he couldn't hold his outer lands he offered them to the two lords in return for peace. The two lords refused and took them by force and pushed towards the castle. The lord decided to send most of his personal guards to defend what was left of his land. The young samurai was sent to defend the northern lands. It pained him to leave his family but did as he was ordered.

At the age of two Mayumi lost her mother to illness. Being the daughter of one of the lords personal guards she was sent to the lord's castle. There she spent her days crying for her mother. Her father was called back from the war when maids failed to comfort her. When he arrived he took his daughter into his arms and spent the night mourning his wife. From that day on he promised himself and her that he would never leave her.

The war continued for three more years. For those years Mayumi was by her father's side. She still missed not having her mother but was happy being with her father. When he wasn't fighting off an attack he was by her side making her feel loved. Although she was living in a time of great lose and sadness to her it was the happiest time of her young life.

FLASHBACK

"Daddy can we stay in this village longer? I really like it here. There are a lot of children to play with." She smiled at her father who was sitting across her.

"We'll stay a bit longer. But we'll have to leave in due time. Until then have fun with your friends."

He returned her smile. 'This village won't last much longer. But for you I'll try to hold the ocean back if it would make you happy, my dear Yumi.' He looked into her clear blue eyes. 'Those eyes could give hope even in the darkest of times.' He tried to stand up but a jolt a pain forced him to sit back down. Mayumi moved to sit by his right side.

"Daddy!" He cursed himself for worrying her.

"I'm ok Yumi. Please don't worry its nothing." He said the last part when he saw the fear in her eyes.

"Please don't lie to me daddy. Mother always said she was ok." She lowered her head to hide the tears.

"I'm… sorry" 'How can she remember that? She was two when her mother died. I can't even remember when I was five.' He put an arm around her and pulled her to him.

"Tell me what is wrong. Please, I'm a big girl now." She looked up rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"Its just my shoulder. I got hurt yesterday but its nothing serious. So don't worry about me… big girl." He rustled her hair with his hand at the last words and smiled at her.

"Hey! I am a big girl. I help get the children to a safe place when there is an attack. Don't I? I also help calm them down when they start crying. All the women say I'm very helpful more so than the older girls." She smiled at him while she tried to straighten her hair.

"I knew you helped get the children to safety. But I didn't know you also helped to comfort them as well. Can I know how you do it? Or is it a secret?" He looked down at his daughter's smiling face.

"Of course you can know. It's no secret at all. I tell them that you would never let anyone harm us. I also tell them how great a samurai you are. Just in case they don't believe me I show them a few of the moves you taught me. They really like that. Some of them want to become samurais just because of you." She smiled at her father

"Do you really say that? And they believe you?" He said in a playful tone.

"Of course they do. Why wouldn't they believe me? It's all true. Isn't it?" She copied his playful tone.

"I don't know about being a great samurai. But you're right about not allowing anyone to harm my little girl and her friends. I'll always protect you. My dear Yumi."

She hugged him tightly and buried her face in his chest. He ignored the pain from his shoulder and pressed her closer to him. He closed his eyes and thanked his wife for the gift he held in his arms.

END FLASHBACK

Two days after that day the village was attacked once more. Her father had led his men into battle like so many times before. She had waited with the rest of the children in a small house for her father's return. The day soon past and night came. When she awoke her father's friend greeted her. He didn't speak to her but simply laid before her the tantō that had belonged to her father. He gave orders to the women near by to prepare to leave the village before he left her. She had ignored the noise of the people around her as they prepared to leave. All she could do was stare down at her father's tantō, the last thing that was left of her family.

Her father's friend soon found her a new family to live with. The family was nice to her but she still felt unloved and ignored. She soon decided it would be better to be alone and left. She wondered from place to place. When she couldn't find food in the forest she would venture into the nearby village for it. This was her new life and she was content being alone with her memories. She was going on five months when the man she had nearly killed found her.

Now she sat in a room with her father's tantō before her like that dreadful day. The sword reminded her of that day but it was the only thing she had of her father. The second she realized that she might of lost it she had started to cry. It was then that the man with her father's loving eyes had returned it to her. She was content with her new life but still prayed for her father's return. 'He has the same colored eyes as my father. Could he be?' She wondered as she looked at her father's tantō if her prayers had been heard. She wiped the last of her tears away. After a moment she looked at the two full bowls of food by her side. She hadn't eaten for two days. But still wasn't sure if she trusted them. 'He did say he was a Buddhist monk. He wouldn't hurt me, would he?' Deciding to trust him she picked up one of the bowls and began to eat. The food was a bit cold but she found it heavenly good. She stopped eating. 'He told me the names of his wives but not his.' She made a mental note to ask him his name next time she saw him before continuing to eat.