Moroha was used to her freedom. She had few attachments and even fewer people to answer to. Very literally raised to be a lone wolf, Moroha was used to doing things on her own and only employing the help of others if it benefitted her. However, once the fight was done and the dust had settled, she found herself at odds with where she belonged. She loved bounty hunting and fighting, but the newfound love and warmth that she unearthed after reuniting with her parents in the black pearl wasn't something she was willing to part with. Never before had she known what familial bonds could do for her heart.
Life with the wolf clan was difficult and cut-throat. Her master had been cold and unfeeling with her– a stark contrast to the ever-flowing affection and warmth that poured from her parents in abundance. Seeing the way they looked at her– as if she were a precious treasure– made her finally know what it was like to be wanted. So, though she enjoyed her life of bounty-hunting, she decided to live with her parents in Kaede's village.
The village was small, but cozy. The villagers were ecstatic to see Inuyasha and Kagome return, throwing a large celebration in their honor. Moroha was caught up in the excitement of it all– free food, good company, and even gifts were sent their way. It was around this time that Moroha began to notice her father's more aggravating traits.
As the celebration continued and the night got darker, she saw her father's twitching ears rapidly swirling in every direction. Though he was firmly rooted in the spot beside her, she could see from his rigid posture that he was ready to move at a moment's notice. This wasn't the frustrating part, as Moroha could understand and appreciate being on guard at all times– heck, it was the only way she had been able to survive for as long as she had and she was sure it was the same for her half-demon father. The frustrating part came when Inuyasha would hover. Anytime a person would approach them to talk, she could feel her father get slightly closer to her. She could hear him sniff the air, scenting for danger or deceit. When Inuyasha suggested it was time to turn in, her mother scoffed at him and claimed that it was "still too early." Moroha could sense her father's growing agitation and wondered if her mother could feel it too.
In the days following the celebration, she would continue to know the deep and profound love that they held for her. Kagome was more of a casual mother, letting Moroha know that she loved her but also letting Moroha do as she pleased. Inuyasha, however, was much more hands-on when it came to parenting her. Though she didn't always see him, she could always smell his scent nearby. He would lay about in the trees or relax in the meadows, but Moroha could tell that he was very much aware of what she and her mother were up to.
She had wanted to test this theory by purposefully challenging a large demon that she knew had been lurking just outside of the village boundaries. Demons knew better than to come close to the village that the great dog-demon's children protected, so things were usually very boring. However, she wanted to see if Inuyasha was actually "relaxing" as he claimed he was.
The demon had been resting when she got there, so she quickly provoked it and began the fight. Not but a few moments later did she hear the telltale rustling within the trees. Though he didn't drop down to join the fight just yet, Moroha knew that her dad was watching carefully. Part of her wanted to show off for him– show him that she wasn't a person who needed to be protected all the time– but the other part of her wanted to see what he would do if he thought she was in trouble. Her pride won out and she began doing tricks and taunting the demon. Enraged, the demon shot out sticky webs in every direction, the webs melting anything it came in contact with. When one of the webs grazed her arm, she cried out in pain, clutching it closely. It was at that moment that her father had jumped down with a loud "wind scar!" The demon was quickly defeated and Moroha felt her pride hurt more than her poisoned arm did.
"What were you thinking?" he had said to her, his dark eyebrows pressed down in a deep frown. "Do ya normally just go out and provoke demons four times your size? You could get killed that way!" he scolded her, hand gesturing wildly at the smoking corpse of the demon she had faced.
Moroha felt her face scrunch up, heat rising to her cheeks. She knew that she could've handled herself with that demon if she hadn't felt so much pressure to show off for her dad. Heck, if he had just given her a few more minutes, she could have turned into Beniyasha and the fight would've been over as quickly as it had begun.
Her eyes remained glued to the ground, her shoulders set obstinately, and her sword clutched tightly in her grip. She heard her father scoff at her.
"So ya got nothin' to say for yourself, huh?" he poked, his tone laced with agitation.
"I could've handled it just fine by myself! You didn't need to jump in and steal the kill from me," she protested, glancing up to meet her father's golden gaze. His eyebrows went up at her statement, his head cocking slightly to the side.
"This ain't hunting, Moroha. Ya went out, ya picked a fight, and ya got hurt. Let me look at it," he ordered, his voice still laced with his characteristic gruffness. He held out his hand, waiting for her to give her arm to him. Moroha narrowed her eyes at him and held her nose up in defiance.
"I'm fine! I only picked the fight 'cuz I wanted to see if you were gunna be as overprotective as you normally are! If you hadn't been so clingy, I wouldn't have done it!" she accused, pointing a finger at him with her good arm. She watched her father's face contort into surprise at her claim.
"What?! Over-protective? Clingy?! I'm neither of those things!" he defended, his arms crossing over his body. "I'm just a father worried about his daughter picking fights with demons for no reason! You're lucky I was close enough to help you! You coulda' gotten yourself killed!"
Moroha narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't need your protection, dad!" she shouted back, mocking his title. She watched his ears press back against his head at her words. "I handled myself fine before you were around and I can handle myself just fine now that you suddenly are!"
"It's not my fault that I was trapped in that pearl! I woulda been there if I coulda and you know that!" he defended, his stance becoming more defensive.
"You don't get to just walk in and suddenly become my protector! I don't need to be protected!" Moroha insisted as she stomped her foot on the ground.
"Yeah?!" he shouted back.
"Yeah!" she countered, her voice echoing in the forest. There was a moment of silence, her father's gaze had shifted to the ground, though his eyebrows were still pressed down angrily.
"Fine. Get yourself killed! See if I care!" he called as he jumped into the treeline and hurried away. When he was far enough away that she couldn't smell him anymore, she felt her shoulders slump, weighed down by the gravity of the atmosphere she had created. Her sword made a soft thumping as it fell to the forest floor. She had never gotten into a fight with her dad before and she knew she had hurt his feelings. All she had wanted to do was see if he would show up, and then she had gotten mad at him for doing just that.
What if she had just blown it? Her eyes widened at the realization. Her parents had barely known her for a few weeks, and she had just yelled at the man who was willing to risk everything for her. They would realize that she was a selfish brat and she wouldn't be allowed anywhere near them. She kicked the dirt beneath her feet harshly.
"Why do I always gotta open my big mouth?!" she yelled in frustration. Somehow, she always managed to push away the people that she cared about. She had finally gotten the chance to meet the people she had always dreamed of meeting– had been able to live with them and finally know what a mother's hug felt like or the love of a father. Now she had ruined it forever and she knew that with the harsh things she had said, her father was never going to want to hold her again. She felt the tears rising to her cheeks as she sunk to the ground. She had only just learned of the warmth of a parent and now she wouldn't be able to feel it ever again. As the tears threatened to pool over her eyes, she heard rustling from the forest. She jumped to her feet, sword in hand, and faced the intruder.
"Moroha? What are you doing out here? Oh, jeez! That looks like it was a hard fight, are you okay?" her cousin Towa asked as she came closer to the clearing. Moroha felt relief at seeing the face of her cousin and let out an anxious breath.
"Oh, that? It was nothin'!'' she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. Towa blinked at her and tilted her head.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, moving closer.
"What? Oh, this? I just got nicked, it's nothin'," she waved off her cousin's question flippantly, clutching her arm a little closer to her body. In truth, the wound pulsed with pain and she desperately wished she had let her father take a look at it before she had messed everything up. The reminder made her shoulders slump.
Seeming to sense her reluctance, Towa moved to grab Moroha's arm gently and take a look at it despite Moroha's protesting. "Yeah, we need to see Kagome about this. She would know how to help you," she decided, patting Moroha on the shoulder. "Let's go back and talk to her. I bet your dad will want to take a look at it too, just to ease his mind, ya know?" Towa laughed. "He seems like such a doting father, I bet you get so much attention from him."
Moroha frowned, looking at the ground where she had kicked a large clump of dirt out of the forest floor. Towa didn't realize how much hearing her words was hurting her. Towa didn't know that she had just ruined any chance of getting hugs from her father ever again. She snatched her arm away and shook her head in defiance.
"I don't need them. I'll be fine. It's seriously nothing. Why are you even here, anyways? Aren't you supposed to be catching up with your parents or whatever?" Moroha dismissed, trying to divert the attention away from herself. She watched as Towa's shoulders seemed to slump.
"Well… yeah, I guess so," she answered, her head lowering slightly. Moroha squinted her eyes at Towa's statement and wondered if she was having issues with her family too.
"What? Is 'happily ever after' not all it's cracked up to be?" she teased. Towa's eyes widened in surprise.
"What? No! I mean, yes! I mean… it's just not exactly what I was expecting, though I guess I don't really know what I was expecting…" Towa responded, tripping over her words. She let out a loud sigh. "It's just that Papa Sota was so warm and kind and Sesshomaru is so…"
"Cold? Boring? Distant? Terrible at being a dad?" Moroha supplied.
"All of the above," Towa groaned. "I miss having a dad I can go to for love and support. Sesshomaru feels more like some weird guardian thing than a parent," she explained. "He's great at protecting us and watching over us, but he is just never around and when he is, he's still so far away," she explained. "I honestly don't know how Rin does it."
Moroha felt Towa's words sting in her heart. Her dad was always around– always present and there if she needed him. Love was always there if she needed it and she felt the warmth of his affection in everything he did for her. He was always there for family dinner, always there to say good morning and give her a kiss on the head. She had taken his kindness for clinginess and it made her feel extremely dense. Towa literally never got to see her dad and Moroha was complaining that hers was around too much.
"Sorry, Towa. That sounds awful," she sympathized, shaking her head.
"It's fine. It's just how life is going to be now. As long as I have Setsuna, it'll be okay. To answer your question from earlier though, I was in the area doing some training and I thought I heard a commotion. I'm glad to see that you're alright though," Towa explained as she turned her head to look at the battlefield. She tilted her head after a moment.
"Wait, there's a huge line in the ground, like a gigantic scar in the land. Did you do that?" she asked, looking at Moroha in disbelief. Moroha sighed and shook her head.
"I don't wanna talk about it," she answered, shaking off the question. "Anyways, you'd better get back to Setsuna, you won't want her to worry about you."
Towa looked at Moroha for a moment, analyzing her.
"You're hiding something," Towa decided after a minute. Moroha's eyes widened.
"What? No I'm-"
"Don't try to deny it. I've seen that attack before. Why was your dad here? Did he help you fight the demon?" Towa asked, piecing together the situation little by little. Moroha knew that eventually Towa would figure it out, so there was little point in trying to hide it.
"Listen, me and the old man got into it and now I can't go back to them, okay?" she relented stubbornly. Towa gave Moroha a look.
"You can't go back because why, exactly?"
Moroha huffed at her cousin. "I messed some things up and if I were to go back, it would only make things worse. I'm just gunna go back to Jyubei and see if I can find some bounties that need to be taken care of," she explained, shaking her head.
"Woah, woah, woah, slow down. What do you mean you messed things up? What could you have possibly done to not be allowed back with your parents? Did they say you weren't allowed back?" Towa asked, trying to get more clarification.
"Listen, I know when I've messed things up and I know that my parents aren't gunna want me there anymore, okay?" she shot back. "Dad and I got into a fight and I said some things and now he doesn't want me anymore," she admitted quietly.
Things were quiet for a moment before Moroha heard Towa scoff at her.
"Inuyasha doesn't want you? Are we talking about the same person? The guy who held you up in his arms and claimed that there hadn't been a single moment when you weren't in his thoughts? The guy who held you while you were sleeping and carried you on his back until you were well enough to be awake?" Towa laughed lightly. "I highly doubt he wouldn't want you anymore. I'm pretty sure you are like, one of his most favorite people," Towa reasoned with a soft smile.
"Yeah? What would you know about it?" Moroha sneered, not liking feeling silly.
Towa shook her head and patted her cousin on the shoulder.
"Let's go see Rin about your arm, we can talk on the way there," Towa offered, guiding Moroha in the direction towards Kaede's hut. Moroha fought against it, knowing that she would likely have to pass by her parents' hut to get there.
"I told you, I'm fine!" she insisted, fighting against her cousin. Towa grabbed the wounded arm harshly and when Moroha cried out, Towa looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The expression was familiar.
"You look like your dad when you do that," she grumbled as she relented to let her cousin lead her. "But I'm not going into the village. Your mom's gunna have to come out and see me if you want her to look at my arm."
Towa sighed but nodded her head.
"Fine, but let's at least get closer. She's still a little weak from being in the tree for so long," Towa explained.
They walked for a short while before Towa broke the silence.
"You know, I used to think the same thing as you," Towa stated quietly. Moroha's head whipped to look at her cousin in disbelief.
"Whaddya ya mean?"
"That if I did bad things or said things I shouldn't, that Papa Sota wouldn't love me anymore," she answered calmly. Moroha's eyes widened and she felt her face heat.
"That's stupid. He raised you, why would he not love you anymore?" she shot back.
"Well, when I was little, I was worried that because I wasn't his real daughter, that if I did bad things that he wouldn't want me anymore. I tried running away from home once because I thought that I was too much trouble for him," she narrated, looking firmly ahead as they walked. "When he finally found me, I tried to tell him that I was sorry for being so much trouble, but he just smiled and held me and reminded me that he loved me."
As Moroha listened to her cousin, she felt like their stories just didn't match up. Her dad had barely known her for a few weeks, so he couldn't love her as much as Sota loved Towa– there just hadn't been enough time. Towa had gotten lucky.
"Nice for you," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Moroha, what I'm saying is that it doesn't matter what you do, your dad's not going to just stop loving you because you guys didn't agree on something," she explained.
"Yeah? What if you did something to really piss off Sesshomaru? Do you think he would still love you? Do you think he would want you to keep being his daughter?" she shot back. She watched Towa's demeanor shift.
"That's different. Sesshomaru hasn't ever been very loving or… well… he's never really claimed us as his daughters anyways so it's just a way different scenario!" she defended. "Besides, he probably loves us in a different way… I mean, he went to great lengths to make sure we would be safe!"
"But when Setsuna died, where was he?! When the forest got set on fire, where was he?! Wasn't he the one who stole Setsuna's memories? At the end of the day, these people who say they are our parents don't actually care that much!" she shouted, letting her words spew from her lips with malice. Her father's parting words rang in her head.
"Get yourself killed! See if I care!"
Moroha watched as Towa's face scrunched up in pain.
"You think I don't know that already?! The only people in this stupid time that I know care about me aren't my parents and guess what? It's fine! I'm not going to stop trying to make a life with them anyways! Don't you want to keep them in your life?!" Towa asked, tears now falling down her face.
"Of course I do, but they don't want me!" she yelled, pulling her arm back to throw a punch. Tears blurred her vision, making it easy for Towa to grab her fist. Moroha let her tears fall freely now, crying loudly. "Nobody ever wants me! Not the wolf clan, not you guys, not even my parents!"
She cried for a bit longer before she felt arms wrap around her tightly. Her cousin's grip around her back made her feel a little better, though she couldn't help the sobs that fell from her lips.
"Moroha, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I should've let you explain your feelings better instead of trying to invalidate them. We're already here so let me go get Rin, okay? We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to," Towa offered, pulling away from Moroha. "I'll be right back," she assured her, turning her back and running towards Kaede's hut.
When Towa finally disappeared through the trees, Moroha truly felt alone. She slumped her shoulders, realizing that she had finally expressed how she had always felt out loud. The admission felt like an open wound, similar to the one that still throbbed and bled on her arm. It was like she could hear herself over and over.
"Nobody ever wants me!"
"Nobody ever wants me!"
"Nobody ever-"
"I want you, Moroha!" a gruff voice yelled loudly, crashing through the trees. Moroha whipped her head to find the red and white figure of her father racing toward her quickly. He didn't stop until he was on the ground, right in front of her. She could hear his heart racing in his chest and his breathing a little labored. Had he run all the way back here that fast? Had he heard her crying? Her face flushed at the notion and she looked away quickly from the worried eyes of her father.
"I'm sorry I was so stupid, I just got mad. Moroha, I… I love you so much, of course I want you!" he exclaimed, as though he needed to hurry to get the words out. He sounded almost… scared? Moroha turned her head back slightly to get a better look at him. Leaves and twigs littered her father's white mane, making him look more wild than normal. His face was flushed with a deep red, though whether that was from moving so fast or embarrassment, she couldn't be sure.
"You don't have to say that just because you heard me crying or whatever," she dismissed, waving her hand at him.
"What? No, I… Listen, I'm terrible with words, Moroha. I'm awful at it and I say crap I don't mean all the time. Kagome always warned me that my mouth is what gets me in trouble and she's right," he paused for a moment, looking at the ground as his ears laid back firmly against his head. "You were right… Sometimes I am too overprotective and maybe I am a bit clingy. I just… I have wanted to see you and be with you for so long. I can't imagine not having you around anymore. Moroha," he moved closer, placing a hand on her shoulder as he looked down at her with tender eyes.
"But… but I said those mean things-"
"It doesn't matter," he cut her off abruptly. "You can piss me off for the rest of eternity and there would be nothing in this world or any other that could make me love you any less fiercely than I do right now and always will," he stated firmly, his eyebrows creased with seriousness.
Moroha was stunned. Her face tinged pink and she felt tears pricking at her eyes again. Her father didn't… he still wanted her? He still loved her? She felt her father's rough hands pull her in for a tight hug.
"We've been forced apart for too long to let little fights get between us," he stated quietly. "You'll always be my little girl, no matter what," he whispered, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head.
It was too much for her and she felt herself press her face into the scratchy material of her father's firerat robe. She breathed in his scent, taking comfort in the familiarity of it.
"I'm sorry that I worried you," she apologized after a moment. She felt her father rub her back tenderly.
"I'm sorry for what I said. It wasn't true. My feelings were hurt and I lashed out in anger. You didn't deserve that," he responded in kind, shaking his head. "I ran off, but I could still hear you and smell your scent… that's how I knew where you were," he explained quietly. "How's your arm?" he asked, pulling back to look at it. The wound gaped and throbbed, dirty with blood, dirt, and sweat. He shook his head.
"It's really not that bad," she insisted.
"Well, still, Kagome could-"
"Moroha! I brought Rin!" she heard Towa call. She pulled away from Inuyasha, her face flushed red as Towa and her mother appeared in front of them. Both Rin and Towa shared a look of surprise at the figure of Inuyasha standing there with Moroha, though they didn't seem to question it much. Rin hurried by Moroha's side.
"I came as quickly as I could. May I see your arm?" Rin asked, her gentle voice laced with determination and slight worry. Moroha glanced at her father, watching him nod his head. She held out her arm to the woman, allowing her to do with it what she would.
"Hey… u-uncle Inuyasha," Towa greeted, stumbling over the unfamiliar title. Her dad nodded at her cousin and gave her a wave.
"Hey. Thanks for getting Rin," he acknowledged gratefully. "It's good to see ya, Rin," he nodded. The woman gave him a soft smile and nodded.
"It's good to see you too, Inuyasha. I'm sad that it had to be under these circumstances though," she laughed lightly.
"Yeah.. sorry…" Moroha apologized bashfully. "It was my fault for picking a fight with a demon for no reason," she admitted with a shrug.
"Been there done that," Inuyasha admitted as well, giving Moroha a wink. "So, whaddya think? How long will it take to heal?"
"Well, it's hard to say since it is a demonic wound. I've put a salve on it for now, but you would probably want to have Kagome look over it as well. She might be able to do more than I can," Rin admitted. "How does it feel, Moroha?"
"Eh…" Moroha flexed her wounded arm and felt the pain throb madly. Still, it wasn't the worst wound that she had ever had and she knew that with a little more time, it would probably be fine. "Some bandages and I'll be good as new." She felt Inuyasha place his heavy hand on her head gently.
"Then let's go see mom and see what she can do for ya," he offered, rubbing Moroha's head. "See ya, Rin!" he waved as he guided Moroha towards their hut.
"See ya, Towa!" Moroha called, waving back to her. "Thanks for everything!"
"No prob!" Towa called back as Moroha and Inuyasha set off towards the house.
"You know, your mom is gunna be so pissed when we get back," Inuyasha commented as they walked for a while.
"Yeah, I know," Moroha nodded.
"But she's gunna be mad because she loves you, okay?" he reminded her gently. Moroha nodded.
"It's gunna take some getting used to, but I'll believe it eventually," she admitted, giving her dad a soft smile.
"We'll face it together. Hell, we'll face everything together," he assured her, patting her head affectionately.
"I love you, dad."
"I love you, Moroha."