1"InuYami...I think you should get rid of it," Sango said.

InuYami had finally gotten her chance to speak with the woman alone. She had pulled the spike-band from under her bed, and had proudly showed her father's friend the treasure. The reaction was not what she had expected. Sango had flinched away from the band, her eyes mistrustful. "But Ms. Sango," InuYami began weakly, "I can't. I love it...It's like a pretty colored stone, or one of Shippou's tops...It's a treasure. My treasure..."

"InuYami, that thing has evil powers," Sango persisted. "It belonged to one of the most evil youkai this land has ever known...Sesshoumaru. It can't be good. Who knows what might happen! It should probably be destroyed."

InuYami gazed sadly down at the spike-band. "I know...but I don't think I can destroy it on my own, and I don't want to tell Dad how I got it..."

"Bury it," Sango said simply. "The earth will absorb its evil magic and neutralize it. Trust me...It's for your own good."

InuYami sighed. "I'll do it tonight," she murmured miserably. Sango patted her back.

"I know it's hard to get rid of something you like. But you must understand. When Sesshoumaru was in power, he spared no life. Men, women, children, he killed them all without remorse. Do you really want something like that to happen again?"

"No!" cried InuYami, shaking her head vigorously. She looked back down at the spike-band. It seemed so harmless, a shiny metal object covered in the scent of her uncle. It was beautiful, so polished and bright...It felt like a part of her now. She couldn't imagine being without her treasure. But Sango said it could be dangerous. She had to get rid of it tonight. She stashed it under her bed. "It'll be gone tomorrow," she promised. Sango smiled.

"Come on. Let's wash the scent off of you and get back down there." InuYami had to smile at the woman's businesslike tone.

"Why don't you have any kids, Ms. Sango?" InuYami asked as she scrubbed her hands. Sango sighed.

"I don't know. I just never found the right man for me, I suppose."

"Mr. Miroku is very nice."

"Mr. Miroku and I didn't get along very well back when we traveled together. We're friends now, but not really anything else." She handed the youkai a towel. "But being with you and Tsugaru is enough for me. If I wanted, I could pretend you were my children."

InuYami smiled, wondering what life would be like if Sango had been her mother. Would Tsugaru still be her brother? Who would her father have been? She nodded and followed Sango downstairs.

"What was that about?" Tsugaru asked. He was sitting in Miroku's lap. InuYasha was watching the pair very intently, particularly the location of the monk's hands.

"Girl stuff," Sango replied before InuYami could say anything. "You wouldn't understand."

"They have a point there. Come on, Tsugaru." Miroku lifted the boy off of his lap. "Up you go."

"You have a nice lap," Tsugaru said as Miroku placed him on the floor. He scampered over to InuYasha before InuYami could lift her foot. He curled up in their father's lap and stuck out his little pink tongue. InuYami growled low at him, flashing her fangs. Tsugaru tried to vacate, but InuYasha held him back, murmuring, "She can't hurt you while I'm here."

"InuYami, I heard that!" Kagome snapped from the kitchen. "Apologize to your brother."

InuYami folded her arms across her chest. "I'm sorry you're such a baby, Tsugaru," she muttered. Kagome stormed into the room. Her youkai daughter yipped fearfully and tried to run, but Sango held her back.

"Be gentle," she whispered to Kagome. "She's having a rough day. She just found out she has to give something up that she doesn't want to go without."

Kagome nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yami, come over here. I'm not going to spank you."

InuYami crept over to her mother, ears low. She had messed with the bull and now she was about to get the horns. "You know what you did wrong, InuYami," Kagome continued. "I know you do. Tsugaru is your brother. He's younger than you are. You shouldn't scare him just because he's being a child."

"He should know that only I can sit in Dad's lap," InuYami muttered angrily.

"You're both my children, and both of you can sit in my lap. I have room for both of you," InuYasha said calmly. "You can sit with me while Tsugaru is still there, Yami."

"It's not the same!" InuYami cried, tears running down her cheeks. She started to cry. Nothing was going right today. First she had been told to get rid of her precious spike-band, and now she was being forced to give up one of the only things that gave her comfort: sitting alone in her father's lap.

"Whoa! Hey, someone have need for an entertainer?"

"Shippou, leave!" the adults shouted in unison. Shippou, however, had no intention of leaving.

"Why're ya crying, Yami?" he asked sweetly, stroking the young demon's arm gently. "Did the big bad doggy dad say something mean?"

"The big bad doggy dad is going to gut you with the Tetsusaiga if you're not careful," InuYasha snarled. Shippou shrugged the threat off. He persisted, coming around to crouch in front of the crying InuYami.

"Look at the silly face, Yami!" he said, sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes. " 'Ook a' da siwwy fwace!"

The girl ignored him completely. Shippou grunted and called, "Stand back! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!"

"Shippou, no!" Sango cried. But she jumped back as Shippou produced an old top of his. InuYasha grabbed Tsugaru and ran. Miroku tried to run, but wasn't fast enough. Shippou threw the top down and jumped back. The top sprang into a giant size and started to spin at an unbelievable speed. Miroku was caught on it as it spun.

"Ship—pou! Get—me do—wn fro—m he—re!" the monk yelled as he spun, his words broken by the top's spinning. Shippou flushed.

"Sorry, Miroku!" he cried, and jumped for the very top part of the toy. With a tap on its spinner, the top shrank back to its normal size. Miroku dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. InuYami had stopped crying to watch, but she wasn't smiling.

"Shippou, you furry idiot!" InuYasha snapped. "You could have hurt InuYami!"

"She was too far away from the top. And besides, I got you on it once," Shippou defended. "You didn't get hurt, did you? No! You went on to kill Naraku, Sesshoumaru, and have two kids!"

InuYasha growled like his daughter had done. Shippou laughed nervously and dropped back a pace. The dog demon howled and started to chase Shippou. The fox demon screeched and leapt through the window. "At least she's not crying anymore!" he called over his shoulder. "You can thank me for that laaaaaaaaater!" And then he was gone.

Kagome was the first person to actually move. She started straightening up the pictures that the top's spin had knocked down. InuYasha moved next, scooping InuYami up in his arms along with Tsugaru. Sango stepped over to help Miroku up. "Stupid fox," the monk growled. "I ought to turn him into a fur coat."

"He was only trying to help," Tsugaru whispered. Only InuYasha and InuYami heard him. InuYasha nodded.

"He was, but he could have done it a little differently."

"Why don't you like Shippou, Daddy?" Tsugaru asked.

"Oh, I like him," InuYasha assured his son. "But there are still some old arguments between us that we never worked out all the way." He put his two children back down on the floor. InuYami reached over and picked something off the floor. She held it up.

"Shippou's top!" she breathed.

"You can keep it unless he wants it back," Kagome said. "We all tell him he's too old to be playing with toys." She smiled.

Sango knelt down beside InuYami. "That can be your new treasure," she whispered. "It's not evil, and it's a lot more fun, too. Every girl needs something to play with, be it a doll, a cat, or a top." She stroked Kilala.

InuYami grinned, closing her eyes happily. She put the top in a pocket of her robe and patted it gently. Sango was right, it was her new treasure. Something to fill the void left by the spike-band. She liked it when she could keep things that belonged to others. For her, it was a way of keeping them close to her. Now she had a part of Shippou to carry always. It was a good thing; she liked the fox demon and thought he was fun to be around. He was a youkai like her.

The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. Shippou made no more sudden appearances. InuYami wished that the night would never come. Then she would never have to get rid of the spike-band, and she could have two treasures. But sadly, all too soon, the sun set. A few hours later, InuYami and Tsugaru were sent up to bed. Before she left, InuYami gave Sango a brief nod. Sango nodded back. The little youkai hurried off to her room.

InuYami sat up in bed, gazing out the window. Between her knees, she held her treasure, stroking the surface occasionally with her hand. It wasn't fair. She knew it was for the best, but she was too attached to the spike-band to really let it go. She envisioned herself digging it up every so often to see if its evil was gone and she could keep it again. Perhaps that would work. She waited patiently for the house to grow silent. Then, once she was sure all the adults and Tsugaru were sleeping, she would leave.

Minutes ticked past, becoming half-hours, then hours. Still InuYami waited. Finally, after two hours of waiting, everything was quiet. She crept carefully from her room, the spike-band over her left shoulder, where its weight felt most comfortable. Now that she could take a good look at it, she saw that it had a band that came across her chest, almost as if it had held something there. The moonlight glinted off of it. InuYami looked up. It was a full moon tonight. The world around her was silver and shadows.

The small demon padded swiftly through the night to the place she had chosen to bury the treasure: a large meadow. She was panting slightly from the weight of the spike-band, which seemed to have doubled during her trek through the night. Once she reached the middled of the field, InuYami lay the band on a stump and started to dig. Ktch...Ktch...Ktch...Her claws scraped rhythmically away at the soil. When the hole was deep enough, she reached for the spike-band.

Her claws stopped halfway to the band. It was glowing oddly in the moon's light, almost as if it were alive. InuYami propped it up against the stump and gazed curiously at it. The space in the middle of the ring filled with silvery light. The youkai jumped back as a face appeared. It was a pale face, with golden eyes and silvery-white hair like her father's. But what intrigued her the most was the markings. Two red strips ran from the side of the head, and a blue crescent moon was on its forehead.

Ah...I see you fully, child, the head said.

"Who are you?" InuYami whispered.

I am Sesshoumaru...or, his spirit, at least. And you are InuYami, the last of the great dog demon's legacy...the last pure youkai of his line...And the only heir to his blood.

InuYami leaned closer, almost hypnotized by the soft voice and gentle face. "Tell me more, Sesshoumaru," she breathed.

And so, in his softest, sweetest voice, Sesshoumaru worked his magic on InuYami's mind, turning her into exactly what he wanted her to become...His pawn.