Okedokes. Here ya'll go!
This chapter is interesting... I tried to really get Megumi's character down. I have to keep reminding myself that she's only 6. So it's hard to give a correct reaction from her to certain things regarding Naraku and her heritage... Hope its all right.

-Happy Reading-

Chapter 16 - Explanations

After much consideration, the group decided it would be best if they remained in Kagome's time for a few more days. Much preparation would be needed for the upcoming journey. Plus there was still the issue of revealing everything to Megumi.

But most of all… No one was anxious to leave.

It was a quiet Saturday morning and Kagome, Megumi and Sango were outside. Sango was seated under Goshinboku watching Kagome and Megumi practising archery.

"Your aim's getting better, Megumi-chan!" Sango commented cheerfully. She watched as the little girl took aim again, the long bow looking ridiculously large in her hands, and released the arrow, sending it zooming across the yard. It hit the target, a little off from the centre.

"Megumi, you're getting so good!" Kagome told her, a proud smile on her face.

"Arigato, Mama…" Megumi replied happily. She beamed at her mother with pride. But her smile quickly faded. "But… Why do I have to do this?"

At first, archery had been fun. She liked the silence and the way it came so naturally to her. It was like this sport was made for her.

But soon her mother had made her perform the same drills over and over again. She was tired and wanted to sit down. Her hands were sore and blisters were starting to form. She wasn't going to shoot anymore… Unless her mother gave her a good reason.

"I wanna know!" She whined. Her arms ached and her head was pounding from standing in the hot sun all morning.

Kagome and Sango exchanged nervous glances, both unsure of what to tell the child.

How could you explain to a six year old that you were about to go rage war against the fiercest demon in all of the Sengoku Jidai? And that she was your main hope in defeating the demon.

"Megumi…" Kagome whispered. "Let's take a break."

The pair put the bows and arrows down and walked over to where Sango was sitting.

Megumi sat beside her mother and awaited an explanation. She crossed her arms over her chest, a stubborn, yet defiant look on her face.

It's scary how much she resembles Inuyasha, Sango thought.

"There's something you need to know first…" Kagome said. But she paused, unsure of how to phrase it. But then an idea hit her. Wait! I know… "Your ears…" She brushed her hand on the top of her daughters head, rubbing them gently. "And you're claws…" She held her small hands, her own quivering slightly. "I wanted to wait until you were older…But…"

"Okaa-san! I want to know!" Megumi demanded, her grip on her mother's hands tightening. "Please…" Her face was set in a defiant pout.

Kagome couldn't beat around it any longer. She had to get it out! It was only right her daughter know her heritage and understand the danger she was in.

So she gave in.

"Do you know why your father has the same features as you? Why you both have ears?"

Megumi shook her head.

"He's a hanyou. Part demon. And so are you."

It took a minute for Megumi to fully understand what her mother had told her. She went off into a daze, trying to grasp the idea.

"Ha-n-you?" She whispered. She'd heard it somewhere but couldn't quite remember where… "Wait… Youkai!"

Then it hit her. Hanyou… The word she had heard in so many fairy tales. Stories about a human a youkai having a half demon child!

"Hanyou? Half-demon? I'm part demon?"Thoughts swirled around in her head trying to come up with different explanations, none which made much sense.

But demons don't exist! They're only in stories… She knew she was different, but…

"Hanyou…" She whispered, seeing how it fit.

And suddenly. everything made sense. All the stories she had read about the feudal age, and demons… She wasn't a half demon, she was only quarter… But that explained the ears and the claws… And the eyes!

"Your father…He's from the Sengoku Jidai… I met him when I fell through the well. We travelled around, fighting demons and piecing together this." She pulled out the sparkling jewel at which Megumi looked away in guilt. She still felt bad for what she had done.

The well! She wondered curiously. I fell down it! Did I travel to the Sengoku Jidai?

"Mama?" She asked quietly, her heart beat racing.

"Yes?" Came the reply.

"D-Did I go there? When… When I fell into the well?" Megumi whispered, her amber eyes sparkling.

"Hai."

It took a moment to sink in. She was now piecing things together. The jewel she had stolen from her mother was the sacred Shikon no Tama, the jewel of four souls. The jewel she had thought only existed in legends and dreams.

Then she had fallen down the well and ended up in the Sengoku Jidai, a place where youkai and oni still existed. And there she'd met her otou-san, who had left…

Wait… Left? She thought.

"Okaa-san? Why did I meet otou-san there? Why wasn't he here?" Megumi asked. This was something she had wondered ever since she could remember. Even when her mother had given her the hat, which was still on her head now, she had resisted asking. But now, with him back, she felt it ok to ask.

Kagome picked up the little girl and walked over to Goshinboku.

"See that little mark there?" She pointed to it, her hand running over the bark of the withered tree. "In the past, your otou-san was shot with an arrow by a lady who was protecting the jewel. He stayed there for fifty years, until I went back in time and freed him. The lady that shot him was named Kikyo-sama. She had fallen in love with him, but then died protecting the jewel."

Kagome no longer had any problems discussing Kikyo. She felt that everything was over with. Kikyo had passed into the other world and was no longer wandering around the world of the living.

"Why would she shoot him if she loved him?" Megumi asked, curiously.

"Becau-" Kagome started before she was interrupted.

"Because the jewel makes people do very strange things." Inuyasha told the girls, putting his arm around Kagome, who jumped in surprise when he came up behind them. "And someone had tricked us both."

"But you love Okaa-san now, right?" The girl wondered, her face distraught with worry.

"Of course." He reassured her, and Kagome looked at him lovingly. "And I love you too. Don't forget that." He patted the girl on the head and then knelt down beside Sango, needing to ask her a few questions.

"But why was otou-san never here?" The girl pressed on, needing to know the answers.

"Wel-" Again Kagome was cut off by Inuyasha.

"For every legend there's always a bad guy." He had finished his conversation with Sango, who went back to the house, and now was giving his full attention to making sure that his daughter knew exactly what they were up against…. Even if he didn't…

"And this bad guy wanted to kill your okaa-san and me. He even came all the way here." Inuyasha stated bluntly.

"But why would he want to kill you?" She gasped, horrified at the thought of not having any parents.

"He wanted the jewel."

"But why would someone want to kill another person?" She asked, unable to grasp the thought of ending another person's life.

"Because he is a horrible person. He thinks its fun to hurt people..."

Megumi grabbed onto her mother's shirt and buried her face within it.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed. "You're scaring her!"

"Well, she needs to know, Kagome!" He told her angrily.

"You're so insensitive! She's only a little girl." Kagome shot back.

"I don't care! She needs to be prepared!" He argued.

"Just because you grew up a fighter doesn't mean she has to!"

"What do you want, then? You want Naraku to kill her? Or to kill us all?"

Megumi pulled herself away from her mother and jumped up onto a branch of the Goshinboku. She covered her ears. Why did they have to fight?

She didn't seem to notice how high up she was …

After the noise got unbearable, Megumi shouted, "STOP!"

Kagome and Inuyasha both looked up, spotting the girl on the branch.

"Megumi! Come down here!" Kagome shouted.

"No! Not if you keep fighting!" She cried.

And for once, they did.

"Inuyasha, I'm-" She started, but was yet again interrupted.

"No, Kagome, I'm sorry. I just don't want anything bad to happen to her, or you." He explained, picking her up.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He jumped up into the tree and sat down beside Megumi, placing Kagome beside him.

"I don't like it when you fight." Megumi whispered. She leaned her head against her father and held his hand.

"I know… And I'm sorry. I just don't want to see you get hurt, ok?" Inuyasha asked, cuddling the little girl.

"Ok…" She mumbled, closing her eyes and basking in the warmth of her parent's love. Then she remembered what they had been explaining before. "Otou-san?"

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Who's Naraku?" She asked innocently. She had heard her father mention his name before. He had said it with such hatred and disgust, it must be somebody bad.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha sighed.

What do I tell her? Kagome wondered helplessly.

"He's… Well… He's the bad guy that tried to kill me and your otou-san… And you, before you were born." Kagome paused to allow it all to sink it.

How could a six year old even begin to comprehend that someone… Someone she didn't even know, wants her dead.

"Megumi… You're a very special girl…" Kagome shifted her gaze downward and stared at the ground below. 'There's a legend about a prophecy… A piece of paper that will help us greatly to destroy the bad person who is trying to hurt us…"

Megumi shifted slightly, feeling little uneasy of what her parents would tell her next. Though she really wouldn't be very surprised considering everything else she had just taken in.

"But only I can read it… It's a magical paper… When we complete all the steps you'll… Well…You'll be able to see into the bad person's mind…" Kagome broke off, not sure she could continue. Every time Naraku's name was mentioned, she became very emotional. After all, it was that bastard that had caused all of this… All of her pain!

"Naraku no yarou…" Inuyasha cursed, which he received a smack on the head from Kagome.

"You have such a filthy mouth…" She muttered, smiling slightly.

Megumi stared at the house, her gaze distant and disconnected. She tried hard to understand it all. She tried. She really did.

Although her mind subconsciously dismissed it all as a joke, she could hear something. Something in the deepest parts of her heart telling her that is was true. She was the daughter of hanyou from the feudal Japan and a human with miko powers from the present Japan. And there was a man who was committing his life to killing them all. And there was a magical paper that gave steps that would allow her to see into this person's mind.

Her face burst into a smile and she believed them. How could it not be true? It made too much sense. And all along, growing up, she had known that she was different. Not just her appearances, but her heritage. She was special. She was unique! And she was different.

But in a good way!

"Okaa-san?" Megumi smiled happily and rubbed her ears, for once accepting herself for what she was. Not once in all her life had she been happier than this. If only she could stay in this moment forever.

But alas, time goes on.

"Should we get started… Um…" She said in a typical cute six year old's voice. "I mean looking at the… Uh… Prophecy."

Kagome and Inuyasha seemed a little taken back by the question. Not only had Megumi taken all the news very well, but she wanted to get started on plans for Naraku's demise. Things were turning out rather good.

"Hm… Hai, I guess. The sooner the better…" Kagome was lost in thought for a moment, but Inuyasha picked her up and jumped out of the tree. Megumi stared down at her parents, wondering how she was supposed to get down.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san! Help!" She cried. She wasn't very good with heights. She hadn't really been paying attention when she had jumped up here in the first place. She had just wanted to get away from the fighting. Now she was starting to wish she had stayed on the ground.

"Megumi, just jump down like I did." Inuyasha instructed, much to Kagome's dismay. She quietly asked what he was doing. "I'm testing her. If she can't jump down from the tree, she certainly isn't ready to face Naraku."

Megumi's hands gripped the branch tightly, her claws digging into. Her entire body was tense. As she looked down, the ground seemed to become a lot further away.

"You can do it, Megumi!" Kagome assured her.

I can do it… Megumi thought confidently. I can do it! She looked down again. Oh, I can't do it!

As she looked into the disappointed face of her father, she realized what this was.

He was testing her. If she couldn't jump from here, how could she ever hope to face someone who's been bent on killing her since before she was born.

"I have to try!"She whispered boldly. She got into a squat and looked at the ground, towards her parents. With a quick inhale she pounced off the limb of the tree, moving in slow motion, feeling suspended in air for a few seconds before…

-CRASH-

She collided with her father, who was certainly not expecting it. They fell to the ground, Megumi laughing and crying out in joy, and Inuyasha covered in dirt and dust, obviously happy for the girl, but a little peeved about the location of her landing.

Megumi hugged her father tightly and jumped off him, prancing around the yard, proud of herself.

Kagome picked up the girl and swung her around.

"I knew you could do it!" She exclaimed, cheerfully. She let the girl down and she ran over to her father.

"I'm so proud of you!" He told her, "but we still have a bit to work on, ok?"

She nodded excitedly and grabbed both of her parent's hands. She had conquered her fear of heights! She still had training to do but it would all be easy from here. If she just believed in herself, everything was possible.

Ha! She thought spitefully, I'll get you for trying to hurt me and my parents! I wont let you hurt us anymore!

I'll get you Naraku!

That was pretty good I think: ) Hope you all liked it!

And once again... THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS -heart- YOU ARE AWESOME! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

Much love!

-Kellai-chan-