Author Note: I am in a very giving mood and a writing mood, which means you guys get two chapters in one day! If you'd like, leave a review! I always look forward to reading them!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or affiliated with Inuyasha, however this particular story is M-I-N-E! :)

Parental Problems

(Back in the real world...)

The shard hunters left Kaede's village in relatively high spirits. With a goal and destination in mind, they could finally focus on finding Kagome and continuing their quest to restore the jewel and defeat Naraku. The only one not sharing their enthusiasm was Sesshomaru, who had remained almost dour since their departure. This was unsurprising seeing as he was traveling alone with the group.

The daiyokai had originally planned on brining Jaken and Rin with him, except Kaede had sternly steered him away from the idea of bringing a human child on a long trip through yokai infested mountains, to a volcano no less. Sesshomaru had tried to argue the point as he was more than fit to protect his charge, but there was no appeasing the old woman's grandmotherly instincts. She had taken an immediate liking to the girl, especially after Rin had given Kaede her trademark flowers. Sesshomaru settled with leaving Jaken behind to guard Rin just in case Naraku tried to kidnap the girl again.

Can't blame the bastard for giving in, though. That old woman's sharp tongue even scares me! Inuyasha thought ruefully, giving the beads around his neck a tug.

Since Kagome wasn't with them, the group was short on medical supplies, so Kaede had given Sango a bushel of herbs for safe-keeping in case they ran into Naraku or one of his incarnations along the way. Sango's "patch-ups" would have to do in a pinch if they ran into trouble.

It took the group a couple of weeks before they finally reached Totosai's forge. If they didn't have humans in the mix, it would have only taken the brothers a few days, but there was no way Inuyasha was going to leave his friends behind. With Kagome gone, they had become the support he needed in order to remain level-headed, as much as he hated to admit it. And he was not about to travel alone with his half-brother. While the two had remained somewhat amicable, Inuyasha was fully aware that his friends were the only reason the two were not constantly at each other's throats.

While Sesshomaru wasn't exactly friendly with the rest of the shard hunters, he had found somewhat of a balance in dealing with them. Miroku made it a point to get his opinion when it came to deciding which paths to take, and Sango always included him in the conversations they had when the group set up camp for the night. Most surprisingly was his interactions with Shippo. The kid took to him easily, showing off his tricks and any knick-knacks he found along the trail. Being around Rin must have given him a soft spot for children, since Sesshomaru gave the fox kit his undivided attention whenever he wanted to show the daiyokai something.

Inuyasha mostly avoided his half-brother, but the two had taken up a somewhat ritual of light sparring in the early morning while the rest of their party slept. He figured it was good for the both of them to keep alert and blow off some steam.

When the group crested the volcano and caught sight of Totosai's old forge it was a welcome relief. They were finally going to get some answers.

The old demon sat outside the entrance hammering away at a sword, but upon noticing the group, he laid down his hammer and stood up. A loud crack echoed through the clearing as he strained to pop his back.

"Well well, look who it is. What have you done to your sword now, mutt?" he grumbled, holding his hands behind his back.

"We're not here for my sword or his," Inuyasha jerked a finger in Sesshomaru's direction. "We need some answers old man."

"Huh?" Totsai blinked at him unintelligently before his face paled upon seeing Sesshomaru.

Myoga jumped out of Inuyasha's hair and exclaimed, "Totosai! They need to talk to you about Hideyoshi!"

"Hide-who now?" Totosai asked, scratching his head.

"Hideyoshi!" Myoga yelled again, jumping up and down on Inuyasha's head.

"Never heard of him," Totosai shrugged.

Inuyasha glanced at his brother, noticing his patience was wearing thin by the slight twitch of an eyebrow.

This can't be good...

Myoga was growing hysterical. "Hideyoshi you old fool! How can you not remember your own son?!"

"Hmm, I've got a lot of sons, daughters too. Now, Yuta! That was a fine boy. It was a shame he died trying to help his mother..." Totosai sighed, getting lost in old memories.

Sesshomaru had lost his patience. He took a step towards Totosai, which instantly had the old demon cowering behind Inuyasha.

"Gah! Don't let him hurt me!" he yelled, tugging on the hanyou's sleeve.

"I'm gonna hurt you if you don't start talking!" Inuyasha growled."

"Hideyoshi...Hideyoshi...Aha! Yoshi!" Totosai exclaimed, finally recognizing the name, before his expression instantly soured. "I haven't seen that boy in centuries! Nothing but trouble, if you ask me," he grumbled. "What in the world do you want with him?"

Myoga jumped over to Totosai's shoulder and said, "They want to know about the mirror!"

"Mirror, what mirror?" Again, Totosai was completely lost.

Sesshomaru let out a low growl.

"Ahhh, mirror, that mirror!" Totosai said quickly. "Yes, I remember him making that thing. Little good it does. Allows you to see different versions of yourself and the like. Don't know why you'd want anything to do with that."

"Totosai, we believe lady Kagome has traveled inside the mirror! They need to find a way to bring her back!" Myoga explained.

"Oh dear..." Totosai deflated. "I remember him mentioning being able to go in it. All I know is that you have to be in a place of strong spiritual energy to use it or have strong spiritual powers yourself."

"I am aware of its workings." Sesshomaru spoke. "What purpose does it serve?"

"Hmmm, well..." Totosai trailed off looking away. "I think he originally made it because of his mother?"

"His mother?" Inuyasha asked, baffled.

"Yes, after Midoriko's death that boy tried thinking of a way to bring her back. Wanted to change her destiny and all that. Ha! As if destiny could be changed!"

There was a collective silence from the group before everyone started shouting at once.

"Midoriko?!"

"That Midoriko?!"

"How is that possible?!"

The only one that stayed silent was Sesshomaru. Once everyone had settled down, he asked "Who is this woman of which you speak?"

"Um only the greatest miko that ever lived!" Shippo exclaimed excitedly. "Other than Kagome that is..." He looked away bashfully.

"Midoriko was the miko that created the Shikon no tama," Miroku explained patiently. "During her battle with a large group of yokai, she used the last of her spiritual power to extract the demon's souls and her own to create the jewel and seal them away for eternity."

"Midoriko is the one who founded the demon slayer village that I am from. She is also one of my ancestors..." Sango trailed off as she looked at Totosai, comprehension dawning.

The old demon was nodding his head, "Yep, that's my Midoriko!" he beamed proudly, before his expression turned solemn. "When she died it about near broke my heart. Yoshi took it the hardest. He thought he could use the mirror to find his mother and bring her back. Since then, haven't seen him since."

"Alright, so all we gotta do is find Naraku, make him hand over the mirror, and find a spiritual spot so we can bring Kagome back!" Inuyasha declared.

"It may not be that easy, mutt," Totosai muttered.

"And why the hell not?!" Inuyasha barked.

"The mirror makes you trade places with the one in the world you're going to. Did another Kagome jump outta the mirror after she went in?"

"Uh...no. We definitely didn't find another Kagome..." Inuyasha's ears flattened.

"Mhm, thought so. That probably means the Kagome she should have traded places with is dead."

"WHAT?! Wadda ya mean dead?!"

Other Author Note: I really like writing Totosai. He is a fun character! I have also decided to post this story on AO3 and Wattpad since a fair amount of fanfic readers have migrated to those sites. Don't get me wrong, I love FFN and I will continue to post here, so for those of you that prefer this classic sight you've got nothing to worry about. Now I will not be posting the entire story all at once because 1. it will take way too long for me to format 40 chapters worth of content onto two different sites, and 2. posting a chapter a day allows me to reach more readers, since it will be trending on the updated page for a while. Now while I do want more readers, this is more for the benefit of others. As a fanfic addict myself, whenever I come across a great story that I somehow missed upon its initial release I'm always a little sad that I didn't get to experience the anticipation and build-up of a good plot. A good example for me would be Forthright's Unspoiled, and THAT is a good read! Go check it out if you haven't. Actually go check out her whole page, there isn't a story she's written that I haven't loved!