Daughters
Chapter Eight: Stars in the Sky

"Come on, she still doesn't have any money," the third boy said with a sigh. Rin had taken to calling them first, second, and third boy, since she didn't dare ask their names. The third boy was typically the nicest to her and usually the one that called off the first boy whenever they came to the playground after school.

The first boy pulled away and looked solely disappointed. "You'd better have some money by the time we get back here tomorrow."

Rin whimpered as the boys stalked away. She sat in the mud created from the rain earlier that day. She felt sticky and dirty. Despite the third boy's kindness, he never actually did anything to stop the other boy's antics. For several days now she'd been found by Inuyasha in the dirt.

"Hey." Speak of the devil.

Rin looked up at her cousin as he came into the schoolyard. Why was he always late? Why couldn't he see that she was getting hurt by the boys? Her elbow throbbed from where she'd hit the ground hard.

"Why are you always in the dirt when I get here? I'm getting tired of doing your laundry all the live-long day," Inuyasha said grumpily, but offered his hand to Rin anyway.

Rin hesitantly took it and let Inuyasha haul her to her feet. They began their long trek home and Rin refused to release Inuyasha's hand. She felt secure with him there. She knew that no one could touch her as long as her cousin was by her side.

She gripped his hand tightly and walked closer to him. "Inu-oniichan…?"

"What?" Inuyasha asked, glancing down at the girl with a discontented face.

Rin lost her nerve. "Nothing. Sorry."

Inuyasha glanced down at her again, his eyebrows knitted into a thoughtful expression. Rin didn't say anything else the rest of the trip home. She'd been acting weird lately. He wasn't sure why it was. He couldn't just go out and ask her, because that would have been weird and he doubted that Rin would answer him if he did ask her.

They reached home and Rin quickly went about making some drawings at the kitchen table. Kagome had bought her new crayons and she was happily breaking them in. She pressed lightly, so that she wouldn't break the crayons her sister-figure had given her.

"She'll be here soon," Inuyasha said to Rin, checking his watch. He hadn't seen her since yesterday. She hadn't been at school that day. Miroku told him that he was still watching her stepmother. The conversation he'd had with Miroku when he first learned about Kagome's family situation still rang clear in his mind.

As if beckoned by his words, a knock sounded at the door, alerting Kagome's presence. Inuyasha moved towards it and opened it, allowing the girl to come inside.

Miroku's words still whispered in his ear.

Now that he looked… he had to admit that Kagome did have very nice…

'Hair. She has nice hair. Her hair is neat. Her hair. Hair.'

Inuyasha felt his entire face turn red at such thoughts. He was going to kill Miroku for making him actually look at Kagome in that way. He was not some stupid pervert like he was. He hated to admit that Miroku wasn't relinquishing his hold on Inuyasha and Miroku had taken him to saying 'my friend' at the end of every sentence whenever he talked to Inuyasha.

So, he had a friend. A perverted, stupid, and annoying friend. But a friend.

It was weird. He'd gone through life so long without a friend. Kagome's words of wanting to be his friend returned to him and he remembered telling her that he didn't need friends.

Well, he still didn't need them.

But having them wasn't too bad.

"Rin, don't go too far," Kagome called after Rin who played with one of her friends from kindergarten. The child's parents sat on the other side of the park, so that the adults could watch from a different vantage point and keep the children from wandering away.

Inuyasha watched Rin play with the other little girl for a long while, refusing to look at Kagome who sat behind him quietly, her own blue eyes following Rin's movements. He'd just gotten off work to meet Kagome and Rin, but Kagome hadn't left yet. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"She really is very cute," Kagome said beside Inuyasha and the boy felt his head jerk into the tiniest of nods. "She's been acting a bit strange, though."

"You noticed, too?" Inuyasha finally spoke, turning his head to look at Kagome and the said girl nodded.

"She's a little skittish," Kagome said with pursed lips, her eyebrows knitting together. "Did something happen to make her skirt away from people?"

Inuyasha glared at her. "I'm not hitting her, if that's what you're thinking."

"I never said that," Kagome said defensively and shook her head. "I meant that did she fall down and hurt herself? More so than usual, anyways."

"Uh," Inuyasha thought. "The other day she had a cut on her elbow. But, it looked shallow. She hasn't complained about anything either."

Kagome smoothed the ruffles in her springy skirt. The light blue material ruffled in the early night breeze. She was concentrating solely on Rin at that moment and didn't notice anything else. Her loyalty for Rin was remarkable. It was hard to find a reliable babysitter nowadays (or so Inuyasha had heard) and Inuyasha was incredibly thankful for Kagome, though he wouldn't ever be caught dead saying it.

"It's getting dark," Inuyasha said idly, tipping his head back towards where the moon was making its appearance.

"I love night," Kagome said firmly.

"Even though—" Inuyasha began but Kagome sent him a death glare that silenced him. Yes, she loved night, even though she was attacked by that man at night.

"Night is comforting."

"It's dark. Things hide in the dark."

"Things can hide in the light, too," Kagome said gently, staring at her feet and toying with the hem of her skirt, flipping it over her fingers and back over her knees. "Things can hide no matter what."

"I guess so," Inuyasha said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with Kagome's seemingly philosophical words.

They basked in silence, neither looking at one another and the awkwardness between them nearly tangible. She swallowed slowly and watched as Rin played on the swings with her friend. The parents on the other side of the park yawned and the wife rested her head on her husband's shoulder.

Inuyasha stared at the disappearing sun as it dipped away below the horizon, painting the sky a dark blue and black. The moon glowed in the sky, as if suspended by a single string.

"I love looking at the stars," Kagome said, a hint of sadness in her voice, though her face betrayed nothing. She stared up at the moon, and the light reflected in her eyes.

Inuyasha stared at her a moment before ripping his gaze away towards the trees dotting the park. The green grass bent away from the night breeze.

"There are no stars," Inuyasha said. "The light pollution from Tokyo hides them."

"I believe the stars will come out someday," Kagome said with a smile on her lips.

"Yeah, when the electricity goes out everywhere in the city," Inuyasha said bitterly, staring up at the starless night sky.

"At least you know they're there. They never go away."

"Unless they die," Inuyasha said sarcastically.

"The stars are so far away. When I was young—we didn't live in Tokyo—I would look up at the sky and think that someday I was going to be an astronaut and go there, to see the stars. I even persuaded my mom to take me to space camp one year. But… I would look up at the stars at night and reach out my hand, like they were just little dots and I could scoop them out of the sky."

She demonstrated by reaching out her hand and gripping the empty night air. She smiled, and her smile looked sad.

"The stars hide themselves under the hustle of this city, afraid to let themselves be seen. But maybe someday they'll come back," Kagome said and sighed. "Maybe they'll reappear and light up someone's world."

"Kagome…"

Kagome ignored him and kept smiling as her eyes reflected the unearthly glow of the moon. "When I look at the stars, I feel… I don't know. I guess I'm getting all philosophical over the stars for no particular reason."

She dropped her hand into her lap and smiled down at her knees shyly, her cheeks painted a light pink—but it could have been from the cold of the Tokyo night. She dipped her head, her black bangs covering her eyes and spilling over her shoulder, dusting over her chest and swaying in the breeze.

"Maybe someday," she repeated and fell silent.

Inuyasha watched her, his curiosity peaking with her words.

'She looks so lonely,' he realized before he could stop himself. 'Empty.'

She lifted her gaze again, her blue eyes shining. She forced a smile on her lips, replacing the indescribably lonely one. She stared at the sky, but her forced smile was just as bad as her raw, lonely one.

"I suppose," Kagome said, finally breaking her gaze from the sky to look at him. "It will be a long time before they appear again. But when they do… they'll light up the night sky."

Her blue eyes had an uncanny tendency to stare at him like she was looking into his soul. He turned his face away quickly, feeling his cheeks turn a bright pink from the attention he was receiving. He didn't like it when people looked at him, especially when it was someone with such lonely eyes.

'When the stars light up the sky, maybe she'll be happy,' he thought before he could stop himself. He quickly shook his head. What the hell was he doing thinking such things? He didn't know Kagome and Kagome certainly didn't know him. Sure, she wanted to be his friend, but he sure as hell wasn't someone worth befriending. That was just a fact of life.

Kagome deserved happiness, especially when she looked so empty. She deserved to smile. Why was he thinking stuff like this? He hadn't ever thought like this before, and he certainly didn't want to start.

"Kagome…"

Kagome laughed quietly and turned her head to look at him, her eyes warm. "You said my name."

"Keh," he said softly. "Don't get used to it. It's such much easier to just call you 'girl' or whatever."

Kagome didn't say anything, she just silently looked at him.

"Don't take this as an act of kindness or anything," he continued stubbornly. He crossed his arms and slouched on the park bench, stretching out his legs and resting his head on the backside of the bench.

"I just thought that maybe you wanted to be a bit friendlier, that's all," Kagome said with a shrug, but didn't seem bothered by it. She didn't seem to get angry with him anymore.

"Why don't you get angry with me anymore?" Inuyasha asked, voicing his thoughts.

Kagome blinked and looked at the slouching boy. She tucked her legs beneath the bench and turned to look at him. "Do you want me to be angry with you?"

"What? No!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I mean, I don't care. I was just wondering, that's all."

"When I got mad at you," Kagome said, stretching out her hands and pulling on her knees. "You got angry right back and were very rude. But I could tell you were upset. Even though you're mean to people, you don't like others being mean to you."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed; there was no tone of mockery or accusation in her words, but he got the distinct feeling that Kagome was building herself up onto a pedestal and trying to make herself superior to him. But, then again, it could have just been his diluted mind.

"I decided that I wanted to be kind to you," Kagome said and smiled brightly at him, her blue eyes glimmering; there were no longer any traces of loneliness in her eyes. "I wanted to show you that not everyone hates you."

Inuyasha's frown deepened. "You don't?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. I want to be your friend."

"Keh," he muttered softly, turning his head away. "Do what you like. I don't care."

Kagome turned her attention back towards Rin, her face a bright red. But she was smiling.

"Can I have money?" Rin asked, her eyes wide.

"What?" Inuyasha asked dully, blinking slowly. He was so tired. Taking care of Rin, going to school, and working extra hours was really getting him down. He seemed to always be tired, now.

"Money for… milk," Rin said after some hesitation. Inuyasha frowned deeply.

"Your school doesn't have a cafeteria. You don't need money," he said with an offhanded shrug. He stood up and kicked the blankets from him as he moved away from his futon. He left his room just as messy as ever and exited the room, going to the bathroom.

"Please?" Rin asked earnestly, tugging on Inuyasha's pajama leg. Inuyasha shook his head.

Rin hoisted herself up on the counter and watched as Inuyasha brushed his teeth, shaved, and combed his hair. She kept peppering him with an occasional, but still earnest 'please' only to have it thrown back at her with Inuyasha's refusal.

"Why do you need money so much?" he asked as he cleaned his razor. He needed to buy a new one, the one he had now was getting dull. He turned to look at Rin and crossed his arms, leaning against the counter that held the sink.

"Milk," Rin said quietly. "We don't have a lunchroom… but we have a milk machine."

"I give you juice in your lunch," Inuyasha said stubbornly and inspected his face in the mirror, searching for a place he hadn't gotten shaving. He wrinkled his nose and nodded his head silently, his inspection complete.

"I like milk."

"Then I'll buy you milk for your lunch from now on," Inuyasha said with a shrug. "Look, the answer is no."

Rin left the bathroom, looking defeated and upset. Inuyasha sighed.

Why did Rin suddenly want milk? He'd never even seen her drink any milk and he had a fairly large carton in the refrigerator.

As they set out for the day, Inuyasha found himself slipping some yen into Rin's lunchbox, so she wouldn't notice until lunchtime. He'd be damned if he let Rin get all hyper and happy about some money before he was well out of sight.

Rin shook in the breeze as the tiny wind pushed against her goose-pimpled skin. She'd forgotten her jacket. She gripped the money Inuyasha had given her and looked around, unsure of whether or not the boys would appear. But she knew they would. They'd been showing up for the last few days, now that she gave them money.

She swallowed and felt guilty for lying to her cousin. He thought that he was buying her milk, but, instead he was buying her a lesser beating. She wished she could tell him, but she was afraid. What if he didn't believe her?

She heard the three boys' voices from a couple blocks away and Rin felt fear grip her again. She didn't want to have to give them money and then get pushed around. At least now that she had money they didn't do it as long or as hard. Maybe they'd get tired and leave her alone eventually. She didn't like Yankees, she decided.

As their voices drew closer, Rin felt a sudden impulse grip her and she ran away as fast as her little legs would carry her. She ran around to the back of the schoolhouse and climbed under the fence and into the street. The boys' voices were distant and now but Rin didn't stop, she ran as fast as she could in the direction towards her home.

Inuyasha moved down the street, his hands stuffed into his pockets, trying to move quickly without looking earnest to get there. Because he really wasn't. He weaved between pedestrians, more relaxed then them but in a much greater hurry.

He was late again. He had a terrible habit of being late. Rin's teachers would have surely slaughtered him had they the chance. He was forcing them to stay after. According to them, they refused to leave until he appeared because they didn't want another disappearing routine.

When he got there however, it was Inuyasha's turn to want to slaughter someone.

"Rin!" he called, his voice rising higher than usual as he searched around for her. The schoolyard was once again deserted and the windows were dark and empty.

Yeah, he was going to kill those women.

"Rin!" he called again, circling the schoolhouse several times in search of the girl. Rin had been acting weird, but he knew that the girl would not purposefully ignore her calls. "Damn it!"

He cursed several times and darted back to the front of the school, knocking into three boys making their exit.

Inuyasha nearly crashed into them in his haste and the boys drew themselves up, trying to look as tough as possible before the older, obviously non-Yankee, high school student. But as they inspected Inuyasha, they could see he was not to be trifled with. With the summer uniform on, they could see his arm muscles and his furrowed brow suggested someone who was in a rather sour mood.

He didn't apologize for crashing into them and the boys didn't demand one. They didn't dare mess with someone as angry looking as he was.

"Oy! Have you guys seen a little girl with a stupid little ponytail on the side of her head?" Inuyasha demanded, frightening the three boys as they backed away. They knew who this must be and for one moment they feared that they were about to be beaten.

Was this that little girl's father? He was young. A brother maybe?

They didn't care. All they knew was that if he found out who they were, they'd be in serious trouble.

"N-no sir. We haven't," the third boy said, giving the older man a slight bow. Inuyasha didn't return it, nor did he answer, as he'd already turned away.

"Then get the hell out of my way," he commanded and the boys were eager to agree, quick to get out of sight form the obvious protector of that little girl they'd been stealing money from.

Inuyasha didn't notice the boys' skittish behavior, nor did he care.

"Damn it! Not again!" Inuyasha told the sky as he ran down the street, going directly towards the park he'd found Rin last time. He hoped beyond hope that Rin would be there.

His first thought was to check the park where Rin went to before, and he quickly darted in that direction, his legs screaming at the amount of running he was doing. But he didn't care. He had to find Rin. Not only would his grandfather and aunt kill him, but now the added on danger of being killed by Rin's teachers, Rin's friends, and Kagome weighed on him. He didn't want a damned lecture from them.

He reached the park and searched around, grasping children's shoulders and jerking them away; inspecting them to make sure it wasn't Rin before running along before worried parents could scold Inuyasha for his harsh and pedophilic behavior.

This process continued as Inuyasha ran to every park in the area, searching for Rin and her stupid little ponytail on the side of her head. He asked anyone he crashed into, but no one had seen her. Inuyasha was growing rather agitated and tired.

She wasn't at any of the parks. Inuyasha wrinkled his nose and turned on his heel, shouting Rin's name one last time before running back towards his house. Maybe Rin had gone home by herself?

But that idea was proved wrong as soon as he reached his apartment and found that Rin was nowhere to be found.

He leaned over and placed his hands on his knees, panting as he felt sweat roll down the back of his shirt. He snarled at the disgusting feeling of his uniform sticking to his body, but he had to find Rin. Even if he ruptured a lung in the process.

After regaining a second wind, Inuyasha ran down the flights of stairs that led up to his apartment—he didn't want to wait for the elevator—and moved out into the street.

Where would Rin go, anyway? Inuyasha tried to think. If she wasn't at any of the parks, and she wasn't at his house… then where could she possibly be?

Inuyasha's face jerked up as a thought struck him. He remembered what Rin had said the last time she'd disappeared. She'd wanted to go home. She'd wanted to see her mom again. Inuyasha remembered where Mari used to live. He'd visited her house multiple times when he was younger. Mari had adored him and treated him like her own son, but she hadn't had the ability to take care of him at the time—hence why he was never formally adopted by Mari and her family. She was too young at the time and didn't understand what it meant to be a mother. That's what his grandfather told him. He'd never known if there were other reasons or not.

He raced down the streets, undusting the long-lost memory of Mari's address. It wasn't too far from the kindergarten and he knew that that was where Rin would go to if she had no other place to go. He scolded himself for not thinking of it sooner.

With the destination in mind and some air to breathe, Inuyasha moved faster, wishing to reach Rin before darkness fell.

Rin remembered what it was like to come home to this house. She'd never have to wait at the schoolyard. Her mother would be the first there and she'd greet Rin with open arms and a wide smile. Rin would dive into her mother's arms and laugh because she was happy. She was happy with her mom.

They'd come home and the house would be cozy and warm. No one would disturb them. When her father was alive, he'd come home after her mother started preparing dinner and she was happy. She could barely remember her father. But she remembered her mother.

Her mother was warm. Her mother would smile. Her mother would hug her. Her mother would tell her that she loved her.

Now, Rin sat on the stairs leading up to an empty house, dark as the night. No sounds came from it. No delicious smells wafted from it. No one was there to greet her. No one hugged her. No one kissed her. No one smiled at her.

Perhaps a small part of her had hoped that she'd come home and her mom would be waiting for her there. Perhaps a small part of her hoped that she'd come home soon. Perhaps…

Rin ducked her head, feeling a solitary tear roll from her eye. She wanted to see her mom again.

Dead was so final. Death was something that Rin couldn't grasp. Her mother had gone away. Her mother was never returning. But there was still a small flame of hope in Rin's chest that prayed and longed for the return of her mother.

"Rin! I knew you would be here," Inuyasha said as the darkness engulfed the city. Sure enough, Rin sat on the stoop of a dark, empty house. She looked at Inuyasha with a stricken expression, as if she'd been expecting to spend the night here and not find Inuyasha until the next morning.

He ran up to her and panted, his entire body feeling fatigued. He'd run the entire afternoon and now it was night. He was tired before such an ordeal, on top of that.

Now that he stopped, he could tell that his legs were going to burn for the rest of his life. His muscles weren't used to such long exercises and they were not pleased with the amount of running he'd had to endure, especially with improper shoes.

Rin sniffled, her large brown eyes spilling over with her tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Inuyasha waited for his breath to return to him. Save for Rin's small, sporadic sobs and Inuyasha's deep, heavy pants, there was no sound in the quiet neighborhood. Inuyasha looked at the empty house and felt as if a tiny hole appeared in his heart. He remembered this house. He used to spend every New Years there until he was fourteen. He'd stopped coming after that and spent the time with his grandfather, instead.

"Come on, Rin, let's go," Inuyasha said and offered her hand once he could breathe and speak properly again.

Rin pushed it away. "No!"

"No?" Inuyasha repeated, confused. He stared at Rin like she'd just bitten him.

Rin shook her head and ducked her face, not wishing to see Inuyasha's stricken expression. Rin mumbled something to her knees then jerked her head up, her eyes firmly closed.

"I want my mommy!" her voice cracked and echoed in the silent courtyard of the forgotten house.

"Rin…" Inuyasha said uneasily. He inched towards her.

"Go away!" Rin cried out harshly, her head ducking again. "Go away! I want my mommy! I miss Mommy!"

Inuyasha moved to her side and sat down. She pushed him away, her hands shaking as she struggled against his far larger bulk. She sobbed and her hand slipped. Her forehead pressed against his bicep before she jerked away and cried out again.

"Go away," she repeated, wishing that he would just listen and leave her in peace. "I want my mommy!"

She continued to push, struggling and struggling but refusing to give up.

After almost half a minute of this, Inuyasha inched away and grabbed Rin's hands, his larger and harder palms encasing Rin's tiny little fingertips in his. She continued to cry and didn't look up at him.

Silently, he handed her the jacket she'd forgotten that morning and forced her arms into it, forcing it onto her slim, shivering body. Rin continued to cry and didn't thank him.

Inuyasha sighed and ran an uneasy hand through his hair.

"I miss my mom, too, sometimes," Inuyasha finally said and felt like a fool for saying it. He hadn't admitted it to anyone. It had always made him feel weak and useless. But he remembered his promise to never let Rin cry again.

Rin stopped mid-hiccup and lifted her head, staring up at him in shock. "You… do?" she questioned her eyes wide. "Inu-oniichan misses his mommy, too?"

Inuyasha nodded his head and exhaled noisily. "I lost my mom, too. And I miss her."

Rin hiccupped and nodded her head. "I miss mine."

"But I also know," Inuyasha continued, daring to lift his hand and let it float to Rin's head. He patted her soft hair, the brown tuffs sticking to his hand with static electricity before falling back to their proper place. "I know that your mom wouldn't want you to be sad. She loves you, Rin, and she always will. But she doesn't want you to be sad. Not because of her."

'I'm such a hypocrite,' Inuyasha thought bitterly, recalling his mother's image in his mind's eye. His mother had only seen him miserable.

Rin's bottom lip quivered. "Inu-oniichan."

"Come on, Rin," Inuyasha said standing. "Are you ready to come back?"

Rin looked at the hand her cousin offered her and then back up at him, tears spilling from her eyes. She nodded her head meekly and extended her own hand, gripping his firmly and never relinquishing her grip.

"Let's go home," Rin said, and sniffled.

Inuyasha nodded his head and began walking. In the distance, Inuyasha almost swore he saw a star… but it could have been a trick of the light or an airplane. Inuyasha didn't dwell on it.

Rin smiled hesitantly and Inuyasha nodded his head, pulling Rin along in what anyone else would have called tenderness.