-1"What are you doing up and around?" A boy's voice called out quietly.
Kaede jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to see InuYasha perched on the top of the hut. It was obvious that it was his turn to watch to make sure she didn't leave. InuYasha took quick notice that the girl was sweating, breathing rapidly as if she were running, and her heart was racing.
He jumped down from atop the hut and said, "What's wrong?"
"I... I just had a bad dream that's all. I needed to cool off..." Kaede turned back towards the trees to look away from the boy.
"...Come on, you and I need to talk..." InuYasha said as he walked off into the woods towards the river.
Kaede didn't know what he was planning but followed him anyway. They walked down through the wooded areas without him saying so much as a word. Finally, they arrived at the river and InuYasha sat down, as well as Kaede.
"You're a demon, and don't give me any of your defensive lies this time either. I can smell it without a doubt now." InuYasha said quietly.
Kaede looked to the side and into the river, which was still flowing at a rather fast pace.
"I knew it this morning. I woke up because I could smell the blood of a demon... a dog demon... I could smell how much blood you were losing and I knew that there was very little time left to help you. What I don't understand, is why you smell like..." and then he stopped.
Kaede looked to him as he looked away and to the ground.
"Like you?" She asked to break the awkward silence.
InuYasha looked up at her with an almost surprised look and then his face relaxed and he nodded.
"But that's not all... you smell like... Kagome too..."
Kaede wasn't sure what to do almost. The cat was out of the bag now for sure and she wasn't sure about how easy all of this would be to explain to him.
"So what's going on?" InuYasha finally asked.
Kaede sighed as she began to speak.
"I'm from another point in time. And to answer your question, yes, I am yours and Kagome's kid. In my time, things are a lot different than they are from what you know of Kagome's time. Things have gotten much worse. Naraku has taken over -"
"Naraku?! He's there too?!" InuYasha was shocked. Had he really let that awful demon live long enough to find the entrance to the present?
"Yes, a lot of things happened between the time that I was born and when I was 10. Naraku found us after he happened to be passing by the well and could smell my scent, which of course smells similar to yours, and he followed it down the well. And because he had a piece of the Jewel it allowed him to travel to the present and he discovered our whereabouts. That's when... You and mom were killed." She finished.
InuYasha was taken back. "I...I was killed by Naraku?! And Kagome... she... was killed as well?!"
"That's what I was having a nightmare about... I can only seem to dream about that day when I saw you two being absorbed into Naraku's body. I watched it all happen... The only reason why I'm alive was because my uncle pulled me away from the scene and we went into hiding." Kaede added.
InuYasha looked to the girl who was now almost unable to talk.
"Uncle... he was an inventor, and he invented the device that allowed me to come back to this time, as well as the device which was supposed to completely cover my demon scent. The reason that I needed that was so that you and Shippo didn't catch onto my scent, but as you well know, it didn't work very well. I guess it's really only good for smaller demons with senses that aren't very good, and to humans." She finished.
"So... when were...are... you born?" InuYasha almost couldn't ask this but he had to know.
Kaede smiled and said, "You haven't noticed a change in the scent of Kagome yet? I'd be surprised if you haven't..."
"I... I thought something was different about her... but I wasn't sure what it was..." InuYasha turned red in the face.
Kaede laughed and said, "Yeah well, that's me in there."
"So I guess you're only a quarter demon then?" InuYasha asked.
"No. I'm actually closer to full demon than you are." Kaede responded.
"What?! How did that work?!" the boy was confused.
"When I was born my mother's spiritual powers were so strong, that for some reason it enhanced my demon powers, so I'm not completely a full demon, but I'm at least three quarters demon. And of course, the other part of me is human."
The boy looked back to where the hut was and asked, "So you're here because you're going to try to kill Naraku yourself then?"
"Well, that's the idea. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to interact with you guys at all so that none of this was revealed and your lives would go on as they should have. I should have made a faster getaway knowing my mom. I really should have known that she'd want to know who shot that arrow." The girl said as she laughed it off a little.
"Which is why you've been wanting to get away from us so fast..." InuYasha looked away.
"It's nothing personal, of course. It's just that I really shouldn't have meddled with you guys. I could already be changing the future as we know it." Kaede tried to make him understand.
"How am I supposed to know that this isn't some sort of trick by Naraku? I mean, what proof do you have that you're actually our kid from the future?" InuYasha suddenly asked.
Kaede wasn't surprised that he had asked this question. She knew her father, and she knew that he didn't trust everything right off the bat. The girl unzipped the hidden pocket in her kimono top and pulled out a small piece of what seemed to be some sort of glossy, reflective paper and threw it at the boy. InuYasha picked it up from the ground in front of him and looked at it.
"This... This is me! And Kagome! And then... this must be..."
"That's me... when I was just a few months old," Kaede finished InuYasha's sentence.
InuYasha couldn't take his eyes off of this photo for a moment, but then handed it back to the girl. Kaede put the photo back into the zip pocket in her kimono top and looked to InuYasha.
"So what are you expecting to happen to you when and if Naraku has been defeated?" InuYasha asked turning back to look her in the eyes.
"If everything goes as planned, this part of me will disappear and die. And my life will continue through the new future." Kaede explained.
"You'll... die?"
"Well, yes. Sort of anyway. The girl you see before you will die, but I'll still be alive within Kagome, and everything in the future can be changed for the better. I'll just be living a different life. That's all."
Kaede stood up slowly and InuYasha then noticed that the bandages on her arms and legs were bleeding through.
"You're bleeding again..." he pointed out.
"Yeah, I never was able to stay still when I was injured."
Kaede turned back around towards the boy and noticed that he was standing right next to her, motioning to get on his back.
"Come on, we need to fix those," he stated.
"It's okay, I'm fine," she said.
The boy grabbed her arm and turned her around fully towards him and he said, "Now listen, I'm your...father... and I think that if my kid was injured like this, I would want her to be healed. You're not letting yourself heal this way so just do as I say!"
Kaede suddenly felt like it was back before he had died. She was being scolded by him once more. This may have been the first time for InuYasha to punish his kid, but for Kaede, it was a memory that she would always remember.
"Fine," she said as she climbed onto his back.
She then remembered the fond memories of when she'd ride on his back when she was a little girl. He would jump so high and she would hold on as tight as she could. It was almost like it wasn't happening. Like she was reliving her childhood in a dream.
They arrived back at the hut and they saw a familiar face standing outside looking for them.
"Where have you two been?" Kagome asked with a tired voice.
InuYasha let Kaede off of his back as her heart began to race. She forgot to tell him not to tell anyone about this! If too many people know then -
"She tried to walk off again... I had to chase after her, " InuYasha said like he always did when he was annoyed.
Kagome looked to the girl and said, "And you wounds are open again too! Come on, we'll fix this up for you then!"
Kagome walked into the hut and Kaede smiled at InuYasha as he smiled back at her to let her know that her secret was safe with him. And they walked into the hut to rest for the evening.
