One last chance

Author: Yasmine1

Summary: During a fight with another of Naraku's demons, a girl appears to help fight. Who is she? Why does she know everything about the gang? Is she friend or foe?

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I own anything having to do with this world. I do however own Kumiko…. She is all mine. Ready for the next chapter? Here we go.

Chapter 4

(Love is Power)

Miroku had had a strange dream of a little girl. Her long hair blowing on the breeze she was maybe 4 or 5. She was laughing at two people that sat on the ground with her. One was a woman wearing a small white dress her long dark hair also blowing on a small breeze. The other was a man with long white hair pulled into a ribbon at the base of his neck. He couldn't see their faces. Nor could he hear the words that they spoke, but he could hear her.

OOOOO

"Mummy, can I go play on the swings? I promise I will be good." Her mother seemed to say something and the young girl smiled and ran towards a metal object and began to swing on it.

"Mummy! Daddy! Come play with me please?" The father rose after placing a small kiss of the mother's hand and walked over to his daughter. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as he got behind her and began pushing her lightly. She looked up at him as her mother came beside her father. They shared a small kiss and hugged the little girl. Everything was peaceful, Miroku had wished this scene would stay this way. But it was not to be.

The explosion was too quick. And the parents only had time to shield their daughter and themselves before the flash of light became fire and screams of agony. The after math of the explosion knocked the little girl and the mother to the ground, both having hit their heads on the metal object was now bleeding. And the father lay on top of them semi-conscious. People were running and yelling. Their mouths open with freight at whatever was behind them. Miroku could only focus on the little family but he did notice a tentacle grab a man that was running away. He just briefly wondered what could've grabbed him when his focus turned and he looked into the eyes of Naraku himself.

OOOO

Miroku sat up in a flash, a cold sweat littered his brow and his hair was damp and matted to his crown. He was confused and scared, unsure of where he was for a moment. After he was able to calm his breathing he came to the idea that the little girl was Kumiko. But who were her parents? And had she really come into contact with Naraku and lived?

So many questions in his mind and not enough answers. But he couldn't go to her, ask her to reveal her past to him. A stranger. It would be unwise to ask and also to provide that information. For their own sakes. He pulled his legs to himself and wondered if this was not just an illusion. Maybe she had placed this image of her younger self in his head to make him have sympathy for her. But why? That made no sense to fool him, but then she may know that he saw her ears and is aware that she is a Hanyou. That she has the dog ears that match Inuyasha's ears. Could that have been Inuyasha in the future? Was Kumiko his daughter? Was she showing him a future that will exist or could exist? One where if they do not kill Naraku now, he will some how exist even years from now. A threat to the way of life for millions of people, killing millions of people for his own sick pleasure. Maybe she was right to try to kill him at any cost. Maybe they shouldn't have stopped her but allowed her arrow to hit the mark that would have saved her future.

Miroku shook his head. He had no way of knowing that what he saw was real or fake unless he got up the courage to talk to the mysterious girl himself. Resolving that he would talk to her in the morning before they would pack to leave, he laid down again. The moon was shining down on him and his friends. Kagome held Shippou close to her, his mouth was wide open. Inuyasha was up against a tree, he had fallen asleep a bit after Kagome did. He looked around for Sango, she was not in the place that he had seen her sleeping. Getting into a panic, he sensed a presence coming from the woods.

Sango walked over to their sleeping circle, her steps where light and her breath was like little puffs on the air. She seemed to have something important on her mind. Miroku was torn between talking to her, or allowing her dark mood to encase her and drift her off to a bitter sleep. She decided for him.

"Miroku, why are you not asleep?" Her cool eyes slipped into his view. Her long hair smelled briefly of the berries her and Kagome often wash with. She seemed so small just then. As if she would break if he touched her. And though he couldn't quite place it, there was something off with the way she was looking at him. Something not right with the way she laid down on her own mat. She looked at him and he at her, no words need be said for him to know that she was tormented. He wondered if it was about Kohaku. If she was still upset about it. But deep down he knew it was not that.

"I awoke from a nightmare of sorts. I was about to go back to sleep but noticed you were not here. I was about to get up and find you when you came back. Is there something the matter Sango? You seem distant and disturbed." He tried to push the worry that he felt from in his soul through his eyes. He wanted her to see his worry and love for her.

"I am fine Miroku. Please do not worry about me. Now get some sleep we will be having a long day tomorrow." Her answer was so hasty that he knew he had hit a target. She turned her back to him and he could sense the tensing of her back muscles through her clothes and the blankets.

Oh Sango. What horrors flow through your head that you think are so bad that you must keep it from us? From me? He watched her. As he always did. His little Sango. The love of his life. Sure he asked any woman that would allow him to talk to have his children. Mostly because he knows they won't do it but mostly just to see the jealous look on her face. Her beautiful face that raised the sun in his heart and allowed him to live another day. How her smile both stopped his heart and allowed it to beat was a joy to him that he could not express to her yet. They had gone through so much, but his feelings for her would have to wait. Sleep took him and he dreamed of a world where Sango loved him as much as he loved her. A world where she had been the mother of his children and he still couldn't get enough of her. A world where Naraku was dead and his minions were no more. Where the only power he had came from her. The power of Love.

OOOOO

The next morning as Kagome and Inuyasha argued of where to go, Miroku slipped into Kaede's hut to see the girl. She was up, running her hands through her long hair of white and black. She had her back turned to him but seemed at peace. He hated to disrupt her moment.

"Kumiko? Are you a hanyou?" He figured being straight forward would be the best approach.

"I am Miroku."

"Are you from the future?"

"I am Miroku."

"Did you meet Naraku? Did he harm you in anyway?"

"He did. He still does. And until I kill him he will do it again."

"Inuyasha, he is your father right?" This seemed to be the wrong question to ask. Her features transformed into a mixture of pain, anger, sadness and acceptance.

"I am here to right a wrong. I will not talk about my involvement with Inuyasha. I will not talk to you about my past either. Al I will say is that Naraku must die here, at any costs. And if I must kill to protect my time, if I must kill one of you to protect my time, you must know I will not hesitate. Miroku I mean you and your companions no harm, but Naraku must die." She looked at him and he could see in her eyes that his question had been answered. He could also take from her answer that Inuyasha does play a part in her past. What he isn't sure of is if it is one of love or one of hate. But none the less, Inuyasha was not Kumiko's father. That he was sure of. Nodding his head he told her they were about to leave and to get ready and left her to her silence.

OOOOOO

The sun was high and already the warm air surrounded and heated the chilled expressions on the faces of his friends. They had not known what to do with Kumiko and such had to take her with them. Kaede gave them some medicines to take with them and they headed West towards a faint presence of a Shard. Miroku watched the group that he called friends, then looked to the mysterious girl that watched them just like he.

'What are your secrets?' And as soon as he thought it she turned to him and he saw the dream again play before his eyes. Of course, how could he be so blind? He knew who Kumiko's father was. They shared a moment of understanding and then he turned from her. He was actually anxious to see how this played out. And the Sun shined high and kissed the ground as they walked to their new adventure.

TBC