It had been two days since the kidnapping and return of young Kaede, and everyone was beginning to stay at attention about the girl's whereabouts. She was showing signs of her active demon side being fully healed and was going off on her own for moments at a time, which of course, brought everyone's attention to it. Sango's wounds were healing, but since she was a human, she would have to stay away from battles for a few more days. And now it was time to for Kagome and InuYasha to make a trip to Kagome's present time. They had discussed how it was that they were going to announce the soon arrival of the much younger Kaede to Kagome's grandfather, mother and brother. They all gathered at the well to say their goodbyes for the next few days.
"Stay here with Miroku and Sango, Kaede. Kagome and I are going to be gone for a few days while we straighten everything out with her family, and I don't want to come back here and hear about how you got yourself killed while we were gone!" InuYasha scolded.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like to come with us Kaede? It might be easier for them to accept this whole thing if they meet you before you're born!" Kagome said in a nervous fit.
"Oh no no no! It'll be better this way trust me! It'll work out better than you think it will," Kaede replied with her hands up in front of her.
"Don't worry about a thing here you two, just take your time. Things like this will always require more time so just relax," Miroku stated.
InuYasha picked up Kagome and said, "We'll be back in three days!" and then they were off.
"So, what's the plan now, Kaede?" Sango asked.
"Well, I'm in need of some serious training," she replied.
"Well then, we should start on that today when we -" Miroku was about to comment on before he was interrupted.
"No no, there's no we involved. I need to train on my own, that way I get everything in that I can."
"But Kaede, you heard InuYasha, you can't leave here or he'll get really angry!" Shippo tried to reason with the girl.
"Well that's why I would trust you guys not to tell him that I've gone off alone," Kaede replied sarcastically.
"Shippo's right Kaede, InuYasha could come back sooner than Kagome and then you'd be caught. As well as the fact that it's too dangerous to be out on your own," Miroku commented.
"I told you before, monk, I'm healed. I'm a demon, not a human. I've got my entire demon working in full force, so I can take care of myself. If InuYasha comes back early just tell him the truth, I don't care. But I need this time to spend on my own, regain some sense of things," Kaede replied.
"It's too dangerous Kaede! If you're harmed and we don't know about it, then even if InuYasha does come back sooner than expected you could be in serious danger," Sango stated.
"I'll take the risk... See you guys in three days!" Kaede said as she sprinted away.
"Do you think it's wise for her to be going out alone like that?" Sango asked the monk.
"She seemed quite confident in her abilities to take care of herself. Let's just hope InuYasha doesn't find out about it. Otherwise I don't think that Kaede will be the only one in danger," Miroku said nervously.
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Kaede stopped her running at a small clearing. She looked around slowly, listening in on every sound around her. The wind blew strongly and suddenly Kaede just threw herself on the ground.
"Ahhh! Soft grass, cool winds! No one around yelling at me to stop moving! Just a couple of days of me and nature! I'll never get over the outdoors!" Kaede reveled in the peace and quiet of the outdoors.
Her love only lasted for a few moments when she realized that it was time to get to work. With her Tetsusaiga at her side, she focused on a nearby object and began her training.
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"So what now, Miroku? Kagome and InuYasha are gone, and Kaede's out on her own too, so what do we do?" Shippo asked.
"The only thing we can do, I'm afraid... We wait. InuYasha said that he would be back in three days, and I have no doubt that he'll keep his word." Miroku replied leaning against Kaede's hut with his eyes closed.
"Where did Sango go off to then?" the fox child asked.
Miroku opened his eyes and looked around.
"Good question. Perhaps I should go and look for her myself," Miroku replied as he stood up.
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Kagome's grandfather's eyes were wider than two moons. He wasn't really sure that he had heard what he was just told. Sota was the same way, but Kagome's mother had more of a worried expression on her face.
"So... What does this mean for you Kagome?" her mother asked her.
"Well, I think we've decided that I'll still go back and forth to the past until I'm unable to keep up with them anymore. After that, I'll deliver here in the present," Kagome said in a comforting tone.
"Demon! I knew that you would be nothing but trouble! And now Kagome is... but... You will go back to your time and leave this family alone!" The grandfather yelled.
Everyone ignored the old man, as per usual.
"Does that mean I'm going to be an uncle Kagome?!" Sota asked in an excited tone.
"Yes, Sota, it means that you're an uncle, mom's a grandma and grandpa is a great grandpa," Kagome tried to sound less like she was anxious.
"Kagome, because you've already made up your mind about all of this, then let me make one thing clear. If you're planning on going through with this, then I want you and InuYasha to at least be married," Kagome's mom pleaded.
InuYasha looked to Kagome's mom and said, "By demon rules, we were already "married" the moment that we conceived the child. Dog demons are loyal, and wouldn't leave their mates for anything."
"Mates? I've never thought about it that way..." Kagome thought silently.
"Then please, marry by human standards. That's all that I want," Kagome's mother pleaded again.
"Well, we told the others that we would be back in three days. I guess if we got married before then, then we'd be okay," Kagome thought aloud.
"I can gather up everything we need! Just leave it to me, okay?" Her mother said happily.
"What do you think, InuYasha?" Kagome asked.
"Just as long as we get back to the past in time, I'm fine with whatever..." InuYasha said in a not so homely tone of voice.
"Good! Just give me two days to make all the preparations that we need and you'll be back on your quest, I promise!" Kagome's mom said in a relieved tone of voice.
Kagome and InuYasha walked outside and sat under the tree of ages.
"Kaede was right, that went a lot easier than I expected it to," Kagome commented.
"Well she's lived in the future, we probably told her about it," InuYasha replied.
"You know? This just gets stranger and stranger every day. I mean, our daughter from the future came to us to try to save us in order to keep us from dying, and right now we're making the memories that she already remembers us talking about... It's just wearing me out," Kagome said wearily, leaning up against InuYasha for comfort.
"Well, hopefully, we'll do it right this time, and our daughter won't have to die..." he said almost sadly.
"What do you think she's doing right now?" Kagome asked.
"Well, knowing you and me, she's probably doing something that she's not supposed to be doing, like going off alone," InuYasha replied in the "I already know how I'm going to kick her butt when I get back" tone of voice.
"That's what I was afraid of..." Kagome replied.
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Kaede jumped back down the ground after having swung her sword. She was out of breath, but she had finally destroyed the rabbit demon that had attacked her out of nowhere. Her clothes were a bit torn, and she had a few scratches, but she was hardly worse for the ware. Scratches were going to heal within a few hours and no one would have known anything else.
"Well that was perfect training. But it was strange. That rabbit demon was more different than any other that I've ever seen. Someone was manipulating it. Although there was no jewel shard involved, so I'm not sure that it could have been Naraku. Still, I'd feel a lot better if I knew what was going on."
Kaede put her sword away and decided that it was time to have lunch. She found a river and built a small fire. As soon as the fire burned hot, she jumped into the river and waited for a nice, big fish to swim by. As soon as she saw the perfect fish she grabbed it and smiled for the victory of her catch.
"That was a great lunch! I should get back to my training though," Kaede said as she stood up and stretched her muscles.
"Who the hell are you?" A voice asked.
Kaede turned quickly to see three wolf demons standing on the other side of the river.
"Well that all depends, who wants to know?" She asked in a taunting tone.
"Don't get cute with me! You smell like someone I know, and because I've never seen you before, I'd like to know why!" The middle wolf yelled, getting frustrated.
"Someone you know?" Kaede asked, now confused.
"How does this demon know my parents?"
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For the next chapter!
"Sango!" Miroku said happily as he came upon her and Kirara on a hill, not far from the well.
"What are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked her.
She looked back to see him and said, "Just thinking I guess."
Miroku sat down next to her and looked up at the, now, reddish sunset.
"How do you think that Kagome's family is taking the news?" Miroku asked.
"Well, they haven't run back before the agreed time, so I imagine that it must not have gone all bad," Sango replied.
There was an awkward moment before Miroku asked, "How are you feeling?"
"...Better..." Sango said quietly.
"So what exactly is bothering you Sango?" Miroku finally asked.
"Well I... overheard you talking with Kaede the other night. I heard her say that we were to die not long after she was born. But she... she never said what happened to Kohaku..."
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