"Again, Yami!" InuYasha called. "Try it again! I know you can do it!"

InuYami nodded and focused her energy. She felt it gather at her fingers, and worked it down to her nails. They began to glow bright blue. "Blue Steel Claws!" she cried, swinging them in the air. The sickle-shaped snips of energy flew through the air at her father, but halfway there, they suddenly died and vanished. InuYami started to cry.

"It's all right, it's okay," InuYasha soothed. "You're doing much better. You actually got to throw them this time. You're making great progress, Yami."

InuYami wiped her eyes. "Yeah, but I still can't get them all the way over to you!"

"You just need to practice. Over time, you'll get the hang of it."

"I think it's time you two had a break," said Kagome, stepping outside with a tray in her hands. "You've been working all morning. Come on, InuYami. Don't cry. Here, I made your favorite."

InuYami sniffed. She brightened up. "Rice balls!" she shouted, and snatched one up. She stuffed the treat into her mouth whole.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Kagome. You know how to work with children," InuYasha marveled. "But that's why I married you, isn't it?"

"You better be careful," Kagome warned. "One false word and you'll find yourself in obedience school, Dogboy." She pointed to the ring of beads around his neck. InuYasha pretended to shrink back.

"You wouldn't!"

"Si—"

"Ack!" InuYasha clamped his hands over his ears.

"—p some of this lemonade," Kagome finished. "It'll make you feel better." She handed father and daughter a glass each. InuYasha blinked. His ears twitched slightly.

"I thought you were gonna say 'Sit.' "

"Why on earth would I say...that word?"

InuYasha took a gulp of lemonade. He licked his lips, smiling. "You caught yourself that time. Used to be that you would say 'Why on earth would I say 'Sit'?' and I'd crash down."

InuYami watched them go back and forth. They were really just kids, she thought. Just kids in grown-up bodies. She leaned back, half-listening to the playful arguments. Anything to take this break from training.

Her father had been training her to use her demon powers for years now. He had started when InuYami had gone up and asked him herself. Kagome had been reluctant at first, but now she accepted the whole thing as father-daughter bonding. InuYami had spent most of her first lessons listening to her father describe how to use a basic slash attack. Then she had watched him demonstrate with a very nervous Shippou. It didn't matter that every attack missed on purpose, the fox demon still tried to run.

And after almost three years of hard work, InuYami was close to breaking through. She could power up her claws and throw the energy. The only problem was that the bursts of energy seldom traveled more than a few feet before fading into nonexistence. It was discouraging, but InuYasha refused to let her quit. "Attacks like this are part of being a demon," he said. "You can't give up being a demon, so you can't give up learning your attacks."

"Well, Yami," InuYasha began, shaking her out of her thoughts, "want to try it again?"

InuYami nodded enthusiastically and got into a ready position. InuYasha took up a similar stance, the sheath of Tetsusaiga held in front of him. "You watch, Kagome!" he called. "She's going to do it this time. I can feel it."

InuYami closed her eyes, fighting to gather her energy. She felt a mental hand touch her own. Let me help, the voice of Sesshoumaru said in her mind. InuYami nodded. Almost instantly she felt the tingle of energy gather in her claw-tips, this time stronger than ever. Determined not to get too excited, she opened one eye and loosed the energy before it was lost. "Blue Steel Claws!" Flashes of bright light sped from her claws, and InuYasha was forced to put the sheath to use to stay in one piece. He raced over and swept her up.

"You did it!" he shouted. "I'm so proud, Yami! You did it! Did you see that, Kagome? She's a real demon now!"

InuYami squeezed him back. Thanks, Uncle Sesshoumaru, she thought.

My pleasure, child. Anything to help my favorite niece. Then his presence vanished from her mind. InuYami felt alone for a few minutes, almost as if a part of her soul had left. But the feeling soon passed, and she once again felt the warmth of her father's embrace. Even if he was a half-blooded murderer, he knew how to make her feel good.

"That was really great, InuYami!" Kagome congratulated as she scratched the youkai behind the ears. "Someday your father will have to watch out for you when you train together."

"I have to watch out now," InuYasha said. There was laughter at the edge of his voice. InuYami became suspicious, part of Sesshoumaru's secret plan for her. She began to wonder if her father was laughing at her expense. Perhaps he was kidding her, and saying that she would never be a match for him. It took all of InuYami's self control not to sink her claws into his throat then and there. The fondness had left the embrace for her; she felt cold, and shivered. "Yami...are you okay? I think we're done for today."

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"I think InuYami used too much of her energy training today," InuYasha murmured, placing the youkai child in Kagome's arms. "She looks a little pale."

"Come on, Yami. We'll get you a nice warm bath and a good nap." Kagome started up the stairs. InuYami shut her eyes and whimpered quietly, wishing all the negative emotions she felt would just go away. They were making her life hard to bear.

Kagome opened the bathroom door slowly. She set InuYami down and started to help her undress. "Is everything all right?" she asked softly. InuYami sighed.

"It's all this going out at night," she admitted. "I mean, he makes me feel good inside, and he's really nice, but sometimes when I get back home, I feel really bad."

"Who?" Kagome lifted the child's white undershirt up over her head.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret."

"InuYami, if someone is making you feel bad, you shouldn't keep seeing them," her mother said. InuYami sighed and started to undo her belt. "People shouldn't be making you hurt, no matter how good they make you feel sometimes. Maybe you should tell me who it is."

"I can't!" the young demon snapped. She tugged her pants off and slipped into the bathtub. "I can't, Mom," she repeated with more calm in her voice.

Kagome started to scrub her daughter's silky white hair. "You have hair just like your father," she whispered. "The two of you look so alike, sometimes I wonder if I'm taking care of him as a puppy demon." She scratched behind InuYami's ears.

InuYami amused herself with a small rubber toy that looked like a duck. She splashed the toy up and down in the water. "Did you know Dad when he was a pup?" she asked. Kagome shook her head.

"No, I met him when we were both still teenagers. Of course, he was mentally much older than I was, but we were about the same age bodily." She poured a cup of water over the frothy mess of shampoo. InuYami shut her eyes tightly. After the water stopped trickling down her face, she rubbed at her eyes and blinked them open. She released the duck and watched it drift across the surface of the water.

"Mom...who was there when I was born?"

"Everyone," her mother replied, combing out her daughter's hair. "Ms. Sango, Mr. Miroku, Shippou..."

"Was Kilala there too?"

"Yes. I believe she was."

InuYami winced as her mother started to work on a knot in her long hair. Kagome picked up a bottle of conditioner and slathered a small blob all over the silvery tresses. After a while, the soft scratching sounds of the comb resumed. InuYami kept still as she asked, "What about when Tsugaru was born? Was I there?"

"You were there, along with everyone else. But I don't think you remember it."

InuYami closed her eyes, thinking hard through her oldest memories. Most were just scraps and flecks, brief flickers of remembrance. But one stood out clearly in her mind. She was in a dimly lit room, sitting on her father's neck. She could still feel his satiny hair bunched up in her nervous fists. 'Why is Mommy crying? Is someone hurting her? Daddy, do something!' 'No one's hurting her, InuYami.' That voice...like the calm in a hurricane. 'Why is she crying, then?' 'Because she's bringing a new baby into the world. He's going to be your little brother, Yami. Isn't that exciting?' 'Is she crying because she doesn't want me to have a brother?' 'No. She's crying because...because...'

It was there that her memory tailed off. She didn't know if he had actually answered the question or not. InuYami opened her eyes. Kagome smiled down at her. "What's up?"

"I think I do remember it," the young demon muttered. "But maybe not. Did Dad ever tell me why you were crying?"

Kagome looked confused. Then she grinned even broader. "No. He got too flustered to even think of a way to put it for you to understand. You were only three years old at the time. He couldn't just say it was because I was in pain. You would have started screaming."

InuYami laughed. She ducked under the water to rinse out her hair, then stood up. Kagome lathered soap between her palms and started to dab bits of the foam on places such as arms, legs, and chest. InuYami took her cue and rubbed the soap suds all over her body. She sat down and rinsed off. The youkai stuck a foot in the air. Kagome started to tickle her. InuYami laughed, squealing happily. While her daughter was still laughing, the woman scrubbed the dust and dirt from the foot. InuYami walked around barefoot all the time like her father, and as a result, her feet were rarely as clean as her brother's. Tsugaru wore shoes all the time, except in the house.

"All right, Yami. I think you're clean. Just look at the water!" InuYami looked down. Sure enough, she could see that the water was not as clear as it had been before she got in. It was slightly murky now.

"Man...I needed that bath," InuYami murmured. She stood up. Kagome lifted her out of the tub and handed her a towel. InuYami wrapped it around herself. Together, she and her mother left the bathroom and went back into InuYami's room.

The youkai dried herself off. She selected her clean clothes and dressed herself. Her mother was there to help her with the small things, like tying her obi and pulling her pants tightly around her ankles. Then InuYami dried her hair with the towel. "I feel like a new demon!" she declared happily. Kagome giggled and started to rub her ears.

"InuYami, I know that going out at night to see your friend brings you happiness, and I'm glad, but perhaps you should spend a few days at home with us," Kagome said. "We hardly see you anymore. Tsugaru wants to know where his sister is. You sleep all day and are gone all night. Tell your mysterious friend that you need to spend time with your family."

InuYami stopped herself before she could say, "But he is family!" It would give Uncle Sesshoumaru away. He would be angry with her for not keeping his secret. She nodded. "I'll tell him the next time I see him. I'm sure he'll understand."

"All right. You hop into bed now. I bet you're tired after training today. You don't have to sleep for the night, just take a little nap is all. You need to get more sleep." InuYami nodded and curled up under the covers. Kagome turned the lights out. InuYami fell into a restful sleep.