A Father's Embrace

Chapter Thirteen

Awakening

So many things had changed since Kagome last visited the Feudal Era. She recognized so many of the villagers' faces, but they all had changed over the years. Children had matured, and had become adults. Adults had grown older, now bearing the wrinkles of old age. New faces had also appeared. Most were the faces of youth, of a new generation of children that now populated the village. Others were of adults who had come to the village after Kagome left. And then, there were missing faces. Faces of those whom had passed on while Kagome was away.

Kagome watched intently as Miroku helped his wife prepare the evening meal. Currently, he was trying to convince Sango to taste the stew he had thrown together. Playfully, she resisted. The two laughed, enjoying each other's company. Kagome smiled, admiring the adoration the two still held for one another after so many years. She was glad to see that the pair had found happiness in each other.

After that last battle with Naraku, it seemed like the group had been falling apart. They no longer had the common goal that initially bound them together. When Sango had been gone at her village for so long, Kagome had begun to wonder if the slayer would ever return. But from what they had told her, Sango had returned from her village a few days after Kagome had left. Kagome was glad to know that the monk and exterminator had found the courage to heal each other's scars, and had found the love in each other's hearts.

And now they were raising three beautiful children. Naturally, Kagome was saddened to learn of the loss of their third child, Masuyo. But she knew in her heart that Masuyo had been a beautiful child as well. Kagome was actually amazed that during all these years, the couple had only bore four children. With the way the monk was openly flirtatious with his wife, even after all these years, she figured they would have had twice as many children by now.

Kagome was also sorry to hear of Kaede's passing, even though she didn't expect the old miko to still be alive. In the times of war and disease of the Feudal Era, it was amazing that Kaede was still strong and healthy when Kagome had first stumbled into the well at the age of fifteen. It would have been a miracle if Kaede had still been alive now. She would have been pushing eighty. But from what she was told, Kaede had lived another four years after Kagome's disappearance. She had lived long enough to pass on most all of her knowledge to the young Rin.

Rin had come to the village about six months after Kagome left. The young girl was thirteen at the time. She was starting to become a young woman, and Sesshoumaru decided that she needed to have a female mentor to teach her the things necessary to know about being a woman. Double that with the fact that with the reaching of puberty, Rin was also beginning to display signs of spiritual power. The random spikes in her powers didn't surface very often, and weren't strong enough for Sesshoumaru to be concerned about. However, Jaken had suffered a few mild purification burns too many for his liking.

The Lord of the Western Lands had shown up unexpected on that day with Rin in tow. In private, he had informed Kaede that she would be teaching Rin how to control her spiritual power. Though Kaede was up there in her years, she was still considered one of the strongest mikos at the time. That, and her vast knowledge, were the reasons Sesshoumaru had chosen her to train Rin.

After Kaede's passing, Rin had taken over the responsibilities of the village miko. Though she wasn't as strong spiritually as Kaede, the girl was still adept with spells of protection. But she was predominantly skilled with healing. Very shortly after her mentor had passed away, Rin married the young man who had been courting her for the two years prior. Isamu, the headman Kiyoshi's second son. Isamu was a good five years older than Rin, but he was devotedly in love with her.

The villagers had worried, that Rin's spiritual powers would wane if she allowed herself to fall in love. They still remembered the tragic story of Kikyo. When the former guardian of the Sacred Jewel fell in love, her powers had receded, and thus, the hanyo Naraku was able to kill her. However, when Rin married Isamu, her powers remained intact, much to the relief of the villagers. Some would speculate, that Rin's powers remained true because she did not fall in love with a yokai or hanyo, like Kikyo had.

But those who had known of Kagome's affections for Inuyasha, also knew that that theory was bunk. Through her love for the hanyo, Kagome's powers only grew stronger. The difference was simple. Where Kikyo's love for Inuyasha was selfish and tainted, Kagome's love for him was forever giving and devoted. Kagome had always accepted Inuyasha for who he was, never asking anything from him except to allow her to stay by his side.

Thus, was the same situation for Rin. She returned all the affections that Isamu had for her. Because of that, of the pure love they had for each other, Rin's powers never faltered. A little more than a year after their marriage, they had their first child. A girl named, Yuri. Two years after that, their second daughter Kiku was born. Now ages eleven and nine respectfully, the two girls were very good friends with Sachiko.

Over the years, Kirara had become somewhat of an assistant to Rin. The fire cat was able to carry the sick or injured to Rin's (formerly Kaede's) hut. Not only that, but she also had an acute sense of smell, helpful for locating elusive herbs. Although Kirara had frequently assisted Rin over the years, she was still very loyal to Sango and her family. And since Miroku had built his and Sango's home next door to Kaede's and Rin's hut, Kirara was never too far away should Rin be in need of her.

According to Sango, Shippo had grown up to become a striking young man. He had become quite skilled with his fox magic as well as an impressive swordsman. Miroku had added that Shippo had also become quite the ladies' man, no doubt the influence of the lecherous monk. He had grown up strong, and though he tried valiantly to hide it, it was plain as day that he dearly missed his adopted mother. Up until the day he left the village, he checked the well everyday to see if the girl from the future would return.

Shippo had remained in the village for thirteen years. During his last few months there, he seemed to grow a bit distant, always wandering to the outskirts of the village, seeming to stare off into the distance. Increasingly, he began to ignore the attention that a few of the village girls gave to him. Other than his absent 'mother', there seemed to be something else plaguing him. And then one day, the fox yokai had informed Miroku that it was time for him to leave, stating that there was something he had to take care of, and that he wasn't sure when he'd be back. That day had been about four years ago, and no one had heard from him since.

Kagome's thoughts wandered to Inuyasha. As she had suspected, the hanyo had disappeared the very same evening that she had returned to the future. When this was confirmed, the tiny flame of hope that he may have eventually returned to the village had burned out. Kagome supposed that it was a silly hope to hold on to. After all, if Inuyasha had returned to the village, then he most likely would have gone through the well to retrieve her.

When the hanyo failed to return to the village, Sango and Miroku had assumed that he had been trapped in the modern era with Kagome. Shippo had found the Tetsusaiga abandoned next to the Bone Eating Well a few days after he had vanished. Accepting that fact as enough evidence to prove their theory, Sango and Miroku decided it was their duty to protect the Fang. They vowed that they would pass the sword down, generation to generation, until their descendents in the modern era could return the blade to its rightful owner.

So it came as quite the surprise when the monk and exterminator discovered that Inuyasha had not ended up in the future era, especially given the fact that Maiki was obviously his daughter. With this bit of knowledge, it was easy to conclude when the miko and the hanyo had finally admitted their feelings for one another.

"Ah! That sly dog!" Miroku chirped, amused by his sudden epiphany. "He must've done it before Kagome-sama went back to her era!"

WHACK!

The monk delicately held the lump forming on his head, the result of Sango clobbering him with a wooden bowl. "Pervert!" scolded the slayer, tossing the cracked bowl aside. "There are children present! And you are forgetting that Kagome-chan is right there! She can hear you, you know." Then she whispered into her husband's ear, "Didn't it occur to you that perhaps that could be the reason why she left in the first place?"

Miroku considered his wife's words, and chanced a glance at Kagome. She had her eyes averted, a saddened expression on her face. Guilt immediately plagued the thoughtless monk. He hadn't meant to voice his epiphany out loud. It just sort of slipped.

"Kagome-sama, my deepest apologies. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's okay. I'm fine," Kagome responded in an unconvincing emotionless voice. "Don't worry about it."

Miroku didn't comment on Kagome's depressing demeanor. She wasn't the same person he remembered. The once bright, happy, emotional young miko had somehow become quiet and withdrawn. She continuously glanced over to Maiki. Guilt and concern etched the miko's face as she watched her daughter. Though Maiki had forgiven Kagome for keeping so many things hidden from her, there still seemed to be a barrier between mother and daughter.

Throughout all the conversations of the afternoon and early evening, Maiki had remained mostly quiet. Rarely did she even look up to acknowledge anyone. Currently, she was chewing her fingernails-turned-claws. Kagome recognized this habit as Maiki's way of feigning disinterest. Others were always fooled by this tactic, since Maiki was usually such a good actor when she wanted to be.

Until now, that is. Although Maiki was pretending to ignore everyone by paying so much attention to her claws, the new set of ears on her head betrayed her, and she had yet to realize this. All afternoon, the silver-furred appendages had twitched and turned towards each person as they spoke.

Maiki released a small growl as she switched back to her right hand, glaring at the claws in dismay. "They keep growing back…" she mumbled in frustration.

Sure enough, the claws on her left hand, that she had just finished chewing down into nubs, were already starting to grow back in. A grin tugged at the corner of Kagome's mouth. The combination of her daughter's irritation, plus the canine ears on her head subconsciously swiveling from side to side was quite amusing.

At that point, Sachiko entered the hut, with Kunkun in tow. Maiki glanced up briefly at the child, before her eyes fell down onto the ferret in the girl's arms. An expression of longing crossed the teenager's face. Sachiko caught the look, and a sense of guilt panged her. She walked over to the older girl.

"Do you want to try to hold him now?"

Maiki reached out for her pet as Sachiko tried to hand him to her. But just as it had happened earlier in the day, Kunkun struggled and wormed, trying to get away from his owner. Seeing this, Maiki gave up, letting her hands fall into her lap. She averted her eyes, a defeated look on her face. Feeling ever more guilty, but not knowing what to do, Sachiko pulled Kunkun back to her chest.

"I am sorry," the younger girl replied.

"It's not your fault," corrected Maiki. "He's just not used to me like this. He's just scared. I think he just needs some time to adjust to me." Then, with a meek smile, the teenager looked up into the other girl's eyes. "Until then, why don't you look after him? You're doing a really good job at it so far…"

The girl's eyes widened a bit at this, a hopeful look on her face. She had grown very attached to the weasel-like creature during the short time since he and Maiki arrived in this era. "Really?" Sachiko asked. Maiki nodded, eliciting a huge grin on the child's face. "Okay! I will do my very best to take care of him!"

Maiki managed another weak grin for Sachiko before the girl turned and headed towards the other side of the room to sit next to Takara where the two girls could play with Kunkun. Maiki watched with a saddened expression, though she tried valiantly to hide the pain she felt from the rejection of her pet.

Shortly thereafter, everyone ate the meal that Miroku had prepared, and to everyone's amazement, it wasn't half bad. Conversation was minimal during the meal. By the time Kagome and Sango rinsed out all the dishes after dinner, it had gotten pretty late. Most everyone was exhausted, having had a lack of sleep the night before due to various reasons. So it was unanimously decided to retire to bed early that evening.

Far out into the wilderness, deep within the mountains, isolated from the world, was a single cave, etched into the rocky soil, almost invisible in the darkness of the night. Cool, clean water, melted during the Spring thaw, trickled from the snow high up on the mountain tops, falling in droplets over the mouth of the cave. Inside, it was dark and damp and seemed to be very inhospitable to travelers. Despite this, a single, unmoving figure sat slumped against a wall in the far reaches of the cave.

'Inuyasha.'

'…'

'Wake up, Inuyasha.'

'No… don'… wan' to…'

'The time has come, Inuyasha.'

'No… go… 'way… Leave me… 'lone…'

'But your miko has returned…'

'Ka…gome…?'

'…and with her, the Shikon shards.'

'…shards…'

'Wake up, Inuyasha. Seek out the miko. And claim what is rightfully yours…'

'…mine.'

The figure stirred from his slumber. A faint rumbling echoed off the stony walls of the cave, escalating into a menacing growl. And against the darkness, a set of glowing red eyes slowly emerged.

End Part I

Isamu - bravery

Kiyoshi- purity

Yuri - lily

Kiku - chrysanthemum

A/N: Another filler chapter. But one that I felt was necessary so that we could all catch up on everyone's lives in the Feudal Era. And finally, a glimpse of Inuyasha!