Just my luck that right when I get back from spring break, my professors dump a bunch of work on me.

Chapter 8: Miroku Falls Into a Dangerous Trap / I Smell Emotional Issues

Daitan's eyes were watering as she clutched her nose, and Inuyasha had curled into a ball on the ground, groaning. Nearby, Kagome fanned a small flame, making smoke billow underneath the floor of a small house that a youkai had taken up residence in.

"Couldn't we just use a mouse trap?" asked Kagome, speaking up over the muttering of the townspeople watching. She was addressing Sango, who stood on the other side of the house with her mask covering her mouth and nose.

"Or at least burn something a little more fragrant?" Daitan coughed, sitting down heavily on the ground next to Inuyasha. Back in her own time, she had dealt with the scent of exhaust and pollution just fine, but her nose seemed to have adjusted to the cleaner air in the Feudal Era. The villagers' muttering increased as they looked down at her and Inuyasha.

"Are these a couple of the youkai being destroyed by the smoke?" someone muttered, and Shippo, who was surprisingly unaffected by the foul odor, explained,

"They just have very sensitive noses."

Daitan buried her face in her arms and tried to breathe through her mouth, head swimming. Beside her, Inuyasha started coughing, and she spared a moment to thump him on the back a few times. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted Miroku as he made a beeline for a woman near the back of the crowd.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked, starting to stand up on wobbly legs, but Sango's voice made her look back around.

"Here it comes – get back!"

Underneath the house, a youkai growled, red eyes glowing as it scurried out… and was promptly squashed by Sango's hiraikotsu. By the time Daitan looked back to where Miroku was heading, he was gone. Damn that smoke, it's screwed up my nose… She hesitated, feeling uneasy about leaving Miroku be. …He'll probably be fine. She thought.

Bracing her hands on her knees, Daitan stood up straight, and was immediately wrought with vertigo. Thankfully, Sango managed to catch her just before she fell.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry we had to use the smoke, but it was the only way to get that youkai out without destroying the house." Daitan waved her off.

"It's alright… I just need to lay down…"

Sango walked with Daitan's arm draped around her shoulders, supporting her like she would a friend who had drunk a bit too much. When they had gotten to the house the villagers had let them stay in, she let Daitan flop down onto the floor. Kagome struggled to do the same with Inuyasha, but only got to the doorway before giving up and dropping him. He landed face first on the floor, the other half of his body still outside.

Soon enough, Daitan and Inuyasha had curled up next to each other on the floor, groaning.

"Should've just wrecked the house…" Daitan mumbled, and Inuyasha nodded, face pressed against the tatami.

Kagome, having left to go get some food, stepped back inside, a plate of dumplings in one hand. She set them down and sat next to Inuyasha to rub his back.

"Still feeling sick, Inuyasha?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Why don't I get any back rubs…?" whined Daitan quietly to herself.

"Hey, where's Miroku?" asked Kagome, looking around. Shippo scoffed.

"He followed after some strange woman."

Sango entered the room, now dressed in her civilian clothes, and knelt down next to Daitan.

"He did? While we were busy slaying youkai?"

"Yes," Daitan huffed. "How could he leave his friend for some woman just like that, when she's down for the count? So rude." Shippo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, she was really beautiful. He probably gave her the line about having his first-born child." he said matter-of-factly, biting into a dumpling. Sango reeled back in shock, and Daitan looked up at her.

"Oh, that's right… sometimes I forget that you're new here – whenever Miroku meets a lady he finds pleasing to the eye, he asks for her to have his first-born."

"He– but– have his child?!" sputtered Sango. Daitan closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the floor, willing her headache to go away.

"He always does this. He's just after a 'bit of fun'. Besides," without looking, Daitan pointed a finger up at Sango. "Why are you so uptight about it?"

Sango gripped Daitan's hand and forced it away from her face. Daitan just let it flop to the ground.

"I– I am not uptight." Sango sniffed, crossing her arms. With her face pressed against the floor, no one could see the little smirk that had crept across Daitan's face.

Oh, I see… that's so cute.

—-

An hour later, Inuyasha and Daitan had mostly recovered from their headaches and nausea, and Miroku returned not long after that. Despite her light teasing of Sango, Daitan still felt irritated with Miroku. He could have stood to stick around until after that youkai under the house was killed. It could have been something a lot worse. She thought, staring at Miroku with narrowed eyes as everyone ate dinner. Miroku leaned over to whisper in Inuyasha's ear.

"Tell me, Inuyasha, is it my imagination, or have the girls been staring at me quite coldly?"

"I dunno, maybe it's from all the womanizing," the hanyou replied. When Miroku still looked confused, Inuyasha raised his voice. "Well what did you expect, Miroku? They think you're a philandering creep!"

"You may be my friend, but I'll admit that you kind of are a bit of a creep." said Daitan derisively.

Miroku sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"I've been misunderstood, you may not believe what I'm going to tell you, but-"

"You're right about that." interrupted Kagome, and Sango nodded in agreement.

"Spare us the lies."

The monk was starting to get visibly irritated now, and his eyebrow twitched, but he kept his composure, as usual.

"You could at least give me a chance to explain myself…" he muttered. But he trailed off and didn't speak another word, staring down into his bowl. Daitan's cold expression changed into one of curiosity. That's odd… he usually doesn't just go quiet like that…

—-

In the early morning, when it was still dark outside, Daitan lay awake as she had for the past few hours, staring at the ceiling. Something's wrong with Miroku, I can tell… She heard shifting fabric, and Miroku, who was facing away from her, let out a pained groan.

"Ugh… it still hurts…"

As quietly as she could, Daitan got to her feet and approached Miroku, tapping his shoulder. He jerked in surprise and made to speak, but Daitan pressed her finger to her lips and gestured at the rest of the group, fast asleep. She pointed to the door, and made her way outside. Soon enough, Miroku emerged, tiptoeing past Inuyasha.

Crickets chirped and toads called to one another as Daitan led Miroku a little ways away from the house. Once far enough away, she turned to face him. Miroku smirked.

"Well Daitan, if you were interested you could have let me know a bit sooner-" he stopped talking when he saw her eyes narrow.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and almost missed the way Miroku's right hand twitched. He opened his mouth, "And don't say 'nothing'." A few moments of silence passed, and Miroku sighed in defeat. He looked down at his hand, eyebrows furrowed.

"It's my Wind Tunnel," he said, and Daitan's sharp gaze immediately softened. She had heard the story of how Naraku had cursed his lineage with the Wind Tunnel, and that it would eventually consume him. "The woman I followed earlier turned out to be a mantis youkai, and I used the Wind Tunnel, but her… whatever you call those things… nicked the edges, and now there's a chance that it'll expand and kill me faster."

Daitan's face fell. I knew it… I knew something would happen but I didn't even try to stop him…

"...Why didn't you say anything? You know that anyone on our team would do anything to help you out." she said. But how would we even do that? How do you fix a literal black hole in someone's hand? Miroku just chuckled at Daitan's mildly panicked expression, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"It's not much of a problem, there's a place I can go to get help. And… in case I didn't get there in time… I didn't want you to blame yourself," he gave her a wan smile. "You already do that enough."

Daitan was silent for a moment, then took a breath.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going."

"W-what?" stuttered Miroku, and Daitan made a beeline straight for the house, determination in every footstep. "What are you doing?"

"Getting some supplies. If you don't want the others finding out where we've gone, we'll have to leave now." she stepped quietly into the house and reappeared with her katana, Miroku's staff, and a small satchel that Kagome kept in her enormous backpack, just in case. Daitan handed Miroku his staff.

"I told you I didn't want anyone to come with me!" he whispered urgently, but Daitan wasn't hearing it.

"I'm coming with you, end of story. You're my friend, and I can't just do nothing while you're in pain and possibly going to die." she said, marching off down the road. Miroku huffed and shook his head in exasperation.

"You know you're going the wrong way, right?" he said, and Daitan stopped in her tracks. Her face felt warm in embarrassment. Miroku continued, suggesting, "I'll call Hachi – it'll be faster if we ride on his back."

"...That'll do."

—-

Hours later, the sun was well up in the sky, and Miroku and Daitan were now riding on Hachi's back. They hadn't said anything to each other in a while, and just watched the land roll by underneath them.

"...My father was drawn into his own wind tunnel, and he disappeared without a trace," began Miroku, flexing his right hand in an attempt to relieve some of the pain. "I'm afraid I'll probably end up dying that way as well."

"Not if I can help it." said Daitan quietly, her words almost lost to the wind. I'm part of the reason this happened, it's just right that I do what I can to fix it.

"Miroku!" called Hachi. "I can see the place from here, we're almost there!"

Said place was landmarked by a large grassy field, and Hachi gently floated down to the ground, next to a large crater. He turned back into his normal tanuki form with a puff of smoke. Miroku, Daitan, and Hachi approached the edge of the crater. Daitan spotted a gravestone in the center.

"Where did this big hole come from, anyway?" asked Hachi.

"This is my father's grave." Miroku stated plainly, a bitter smile on his lips. He turned and made his way over to a nearby temple without saying another word. Hachi put his paws together and bowed to pay his respects before scurrying off after Miroku, leaving Daitan to stare at the gravestone. After a moment, she took a breath and turned around to head toward the temple.

—-

As it turned out, the temple's caretaker was none other than the man who had taken Miroku in as a child. His name was Mushin, and although Daitan's nose was still recovering from the smoke from the day before, the sour odor of alcohol permeated the air around the old man and made her stomach turn. She tried to breathe through her mouth as Miroku explained his situation to Mushin.

"A giant mantis nicked the sides of my Wind Tunnel. I was wondering if you could repair it?" he inquired. Mushin reached out to examine Miroku's hand, and after a few moments looked up with a grave expression written on his face.

"Too late. You're going to die tonight." he said. Daitan's sword flew out of its sheath, and she had the blade resting against the throat of the old man in a flash. He winced, trying to lean back, but Daitan only pushed harder, eyes burning in anger. Mushin coughed.

"Relax, I'm just kidding around! Please, remove your sword." Daitan's frown deepened, but she relented, sliding her katana back into its sheath.

"On the one hand, I apologize for my friend, she takes the health of those close to her very seriously," said Miroku. "But on the other hand…" Miroku's fist landed hard on Mushin's bald head. "Do you want to get sucked in?" he growled in annoyance.

Mushin waved a hand, not seeming to care about the multiple threats on his life. Or the sizable lump that had swelled up from Miroku's fist.

"Now now, calm down. I'll stitch you up, but I'm warning you that you must keep the Wind Tunnel covered up and not expose it or try to use it until it is completely healed."

"And what happens if I do?" asked Miroku.

"The Wind Tunnel will spread and eventually consume you entirely. In that case, I will no longer be able to help you."

"Don't worry," said Daitan, patting Miroku's shoulder. "I'll make sure you won't even have to use it." Miroku said nothing in reply. Mushin cleared his throat, grunting as he got to his feet.

"Well then, I will start gathering my medicinal herbs. Go and purify yourself – Goodness knows you need it." and with that, Mushin left the room. Daitan let out a breath, her fierce expression smoothing out.

"I'm glad that all it takes is a few stitches… but I'll still look out for you, just in case," she reassured, giving Miroku a smile, but it faded when he didn't say anything. "Miroku?"

"...Sorry," he apologized, staring at a spot on the floor. "I just… I need to be alone right now."

He padded out of the room and left Daitan standing awkwardly next to Hachi, who shifted from foot to foot.

"Did I do something?" Daitan wondered aloud. Hachi shrugged.

"I don't know… you're clearly trying to help," he said, looking up at her with big brown eyes. "I could try to talk to him for you." Daitan smiled down at the tanuki.

"That's sweet, but I think he'll talk when he's ready. Miroku is a lot more reasonable than Inuyasha, that's for sure."

After that, the two youkai went their separate ways, Hachi to follow Miroku, and Daitan to take a short walk around the perimeter of the clearing where the temple was situated. She stopped near the crater in the ground, once more standing at the edge and looking down at the gravestone at the bottom. Naraku has ruined so many lives, and everyone in our pack has been hurt by him in some way. She thought, sitting down in the grass. I just hope we can get the rest of the jewel shards quickly enough to prevent him from becoming too powerful…

Daitan laid back in the grass, watching the clouds glide across the blue sky, and before she knew it, fell into a light doze.

—-

About half an hour later, Daitan jerked awake. Something didn't feel right. Her instincts told her it was mid-afternoon, but thick clouds had obscured the sun and darkened the land. Not to mention that she could smell another youkai in the area, and it definitely wasn't someone she knew.

Daitan leapt to her feet, already grasping at her katana, and raced over to the temple, where the scent of the other youkai was strongest. She didn't bother to open the door, and instead burst right through it just in time to see Mushin brandishing a cleaver at Miroku, who struggled to stand. Daitan made to cut his head right off, but Miroku shouted,

"Wait, stop! A worm-charmer has possessed Mushin – you can't hurt him!"

Mushin, or rather, the worm-charmer controlling him, sported a wide grin when Daitan hesitated, unable to act.

"Ah, Naraku told me about you, little pup. He said that your heart was far too soft to belong to a youkai, and that you try to protect your own, but are far too weak despite coming from such a powerful lineage!" he cackled, and white-hot rage flooded Daitan's veins. Instead of running him through with her sword however, she tackled him through the wall, both of them accidentally landing on top of Hachi, who had been napping on the other side.

"Daitan, it'll only be Mushin who dies if you kill him, not the worm-charmer!" Miroku's voice was muffled in Daitan's ears as her hand squeezed Mushin's throat. She barely registered the old monk's hand, which lifted the cleaver and cut into her left leg. It was only when a small explosion of blue foxfire engulfed her body, and she fell to the ground with a grunt, clutching her wound. Hachi had transported them outside of the temple. Daitan rounded on the tanuki, who squeaked in fright, but she stopped her advance, rage cooling rapidly when she spotted Miroku, just barely conscious, draped over his back. Hachi briefly glanced back at the temple and gasped. Upon following his gaze, Daitan's eyes widened.

Dozens – no, hundreds of youkai were emerging from the temple, rapidly hatching from glowing balls of light. Miroku, using the last of his strength, pushed off of Hachi's back and landed heavily on the ground with a grunt.

"Go… save yourself, Hachi. Daitan and I can handle them until the poison wears off!" he ordered. Daitan's hands shook with worry, considering the sheer number of youkai that were gathering. She nodded at Hachi, who wasted no more time in transforming and flying away. Daitan briefly took her hand off the cut on her leg. It didn't seem deep, but she still grit her teeth. Damn it-! How could you let yourself get so distracted like that?!

"Daitan, please, could you get me to my father's grave?" Miroku said. Daitan, still keeping an eye on the gathering youkai, picked him up and carried the monk to the center of the crater. Miroku grunted when she sat him up against the stone, and he pulled his heavy limbs into a meditation pose.

"You need to go get Inuyasha and the others – I can take care of myself until you get back." Miroku sounded… oddly calm to Daitan, and it didn't take her long to realize what he was really saying. She grit her teeth, her hand tightening around her katana.

"I'm not leaving you to die here!" she had the intention of shouting at him more, but the gathering youkai suddenly burst into action, flooding the field. Daitan leapt to the lip of the crater, using her sword and light whip to quickly dispatch as many youkai as possible. They weren't very strong, but they kept coming in waves, and it was all Daitan could do to keep the crater with Miroku in it free from any threats to his safety. It would be really great if I had a sword that could use wide-area techniques like that! She thought.

Youkai kept pouring at her, and it hadn't even been five minutes before Daitan's arms and face had become slick with the blood of so many of the fallen. Adrenaline allowed her to use one, two, three, four, five Dashes – more than she had ever tried pulling off in a row, but she was starting to slow down, and the wound on her leg became more and more aggravated with each Dash she made.

Her whip tangled around the pincers of a giant mantis and she pulled hard, sending it flying into a group of smaller youkai. Severed parts of various worms and snakes scattered through the air. But despite her victories in the moment, the sheer number of enemy youkai would overwhelm her eventually.

Then, as Daitan readied her katana once more, the wind blew some familiar scents her way. Daitan could see the familiar flash of Sango's hiraikotsu, and Inuyasha's wide, clumsy swings. She also spotted two mantis youkai that had managed to get past her defenses, creeping down into the crater… Daitan bared her teeth, using one last Dash to dispatch one with her sword, and tore through the other with her claws.

Daitan looked up, noticing that it had gone quiet. The rest of the horde of youkai had been taken care of by the others, and Inuyasha appeared at the rim of the crater.

"Hey, you could at least thank me for saving your sorry butt!" the hanyou demanded, and Daitan's face remained blank. That is, until she chuckled, bowing her head in exasperation. Inuyasha didn't seem to take it too well as he shouted, "And what do you think you're laughing at?" Daitan looked back up at him, smiling widely.

"Thanks, Inuyasha." she said. Bending down, Daitan scooped Miroku into her arms and hopped out of the crater. Kagome, Sango, and Shippo all rushed to meet them.

"Miroku, Daitan!" Shippo cheered, and Daitan gently set Miroku down on the ground to give the kitsune a hug.

"Are either of you hurt? Why did you guys leave without saying anything?" asked Kagome, giving Daitan a once-over and gasping when she saw the cut on her leg. It had been oozing blood at a steady rate, and all the activity definitely hadn't helped. Sango checked over the wound on Miroku's shoulder, grumbling.

"Yes, I would like to know why neither of you left without a word. Miroku I can understand, but you, Daitan?" she gave Daitan a sharp look, and the youkai rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. Inuyasha scoffed, resting the Tessaiga on his shoulder and putting a hand on his hip.

"You're such a hypocrite – you always tell us that we have to work together but then you go and do something like this!" he said, a sour look on his face.

"We didn't want to worry anyone. At least I came with Miroku, he was planning on going by himself!"

"Hey, don't you pin all the blame on me!" Miroku tried to feign annoyance, but there was still a playful twinkle in his eye. Daitan laughed before groaning in exhaustion. Her adrenaline was starting to wear off.

"Who goes there?" Mushin's voice cut right through the lighthearted mood, and Daitan immediately turned to face him, scowling. She noticed that he had a long string of large prayer beads over his shoulder. The worm-charmer continued to use Mushin's voice as his own, saying, "I will punish anyone who dares to disturb the peace of my temple!"

"Oh, just shut up! I know that's not really Mushin talking!" shouted Daitan, drawing her sword. Inuyasha smirked, ready for another fight, and took his stance beside her.

"You're possessing the old man, huh? Then I guess I won't kill ya… we'll just have to beat you up real bad!"

Inuyasha and Daitan both made a run toward Mushin, Daitan racing left and Inuyasha right, but Mushin smirked and tossed the string of beads up into the air. They seemed to be pulled directly to the Tessaiga, wrapping itself around it like a boa constrictor, and the holy power inside of them forced the Tessaiga to revert to its old and decrepit form before attempting to entangle around Inuyasha himself. Daitan immediately changed direction, summoning her whip from her fingertips and grappling onto the hanyou. She pulled him out of reach of the beads just in time and swung him out of range. Inuyasha brandished his claws, having shoved the depowered Tessaiga back into its scabbard to recover, and rushed at Mushin again. Thick smoke billowed out of Mushin's mouth, and more orbs of light containing youkai appeared, rapidly hatching and rushing at Inuyasha.

Daitan, her leg throbbing, ran to aid him, but the string of beads suddenly shook and slithered across the ground, wrapping itself around her body. Being a full youkai, and already weakened, the holy power coursing through the beads immediately sent sharp, blinding pain through her body. Daitan held in a scream, the pain ebbing away to leave behind pure exhaustion.

The beads… they're draining my power! In front of the temple, she could see Inuyasha battling waves of youkai, and Kagome and Sango were attempting to get to another target on the roof. I can't… just sit here like this!

Inuyasha was holding his own, but she could see that he was starting to slow down, and the worm-charmer made Mushin dance around his attacks, taunting the hanyou with his inability to do harm to him, lest he kill Miroku's surrogate father. Not to mention, a horde of youkai were charging their way toward Miroku and Hachi. Miroku, who had just unleashed his Wind Tunnel, and was clearly fully prepared to die to save all of them.

Sweat beading on her forehead, Daitan strained against her bonds. The beads tried to shock her again, but she took them in her hands, the stones burning at her palms, and tore them apart. The holy power faded from the beads, and she swayed briefly at the sudden coolness in the air before rushing to Miroku's aid. The possessed Mushin looked shocked at her escape, letting his guard down just long enough for Inuyasha to land a punch to his face and knock him out cold. The hanyou, having been closer, got to Miroku first, just in time to catch him as he fell backward.

"Damn it! If you try to use that stupid Wind Tunnel again, I'll tear your stupid arm off!" he scolded.

"I second that!" shouted Daitan, turning her back on them to face the new wave of youkai flying at them.

"I don't care if you die or not," growled Inuyasha, drawing the Tessaiga once more, the sword now back to its regular powered up state. "But you're not doing it while I'm around, got that? I won't be accused of abandoning you, I don't want any guilt trips – you're not laying that responsibility on me!" he ended with a shout, and Daitan was ready to start fighting more youkai, but the next swing of Tessaiga sent shockwaves through the air. Before she knew it, the entire horde of youkai had been vaporized.

Inuyasha stared at the Tessaiga, which was now glittering gold with power. Everyone stared at it incredulously, except for a certain someone attempting to make his escape from the roof of the temple. The worm-charmer attempted to race off into the trees, but Sango swung her hiraikotsu over her head.

"Oh no you don't!" and with a mighty swing, she released it into the air and cut the charmer evenly in half. His bottle fell to the ground, which Shippo caught and delivered to the unconscious Mushin. Sango, Kagome, and Daitan headed over to where Mushin lay and watched as the worm-charmer's smoke billowed out of his mouth and into the bottle. Kagome sealed it up tight with a cork.

"I think he'll be fine now." she sighed with relief.

"That's great," said Daitan, starting to sag with exhaustion. She had expended a lot of energy using all of those Dashes, not to mention breaking out of the prayer beads, which had drained a lot of her power. "...Can we take a day off? I'm not feeling too good right now..."

—-

The morning after, Mushin had been able to stitch up Miroku's Wind Tunnel, though he did say that it had definitely expanded since the last time he'd seen it. It seems like we have a shorter time limit to defeat Naraku. Thought Daitan.

The group had decided to head back to Edo, since Kagome had school to catch up on. At least, that's what she had told Daitan, though it was more likely that Kagome wanted her to visit home and get healed up in a time with more access to medicine.

Daitan had just finished polishing up her katana (her dad would kill her if she came back home with weaponry that hadn't been cleaned and polished recently), sitting on a rock just outside of the village, when Miroku approached her. She looked up, having just slid her katana back in its sheath.

"Miroku? What's up?"

"I thought I might thank you again, for accompanying me even when I said I didn't want you to," he twiddled his thumbs awkwardly, staring at the ground. "You bought enough time for Inuyasha and the others to come to our aid. And saved my life in the process." Daitan just smiled.

"Helping out is what friends are for. I'd do anything for you guys."

"...That's another thing," Miroku's expression turned stone cold, and Daitan's face fell slightly when he advanced on her, his eyes piercing. "You have no concept of self preservation, do you?"

"Huh?" replied Daitan intelligently. He gestured vaguely at her injuries.

"Look at you – you're always the one to get the most hurt these days!"

"But-" he cut her off before she could even begin to make her case.

"Just promise me this," said Miroku, placing a hand on Daitan's shoulder. "Take care of yourself. Please. I know you want us all to be alright, but just remember that you're a part of this 'pack' too. We want you to be okay just as much as you want for us."

A few moments passed and Daitan's eyes stung with tears. She turned away to wipe them off on the back of her hand.

"That worm-charmer was right, my heart is too soft… and I wasn't strong enough to protect you guys…" she mumbled, but Miroku just chuckled.

"You're a lot stronger than you think, Daitan. After all, you broke out of a large and powerful string of prayer beads – not just any youkai can do that. You have a lot of potential, you just have to unlock it."

"You sound like my dad," Daitan snorted. "He could have shrugged it off like paper…"

"Well, you're certainly not your father. Everyone has different strengths, and you're still young… sort of."

Daitan got to her feet, taking a deep breath and looking Miroku right in the eye.

"You're a good friend." she smiled, though she knew he saw that it didn't quite reach her eyes. He just patted her shoulder and walked off. A few minutes later, Kagome came jogging up the hill to the well.

"Ready to go?" she asked, hoisting her giant yellow backpack over her shoulder. Daitan nodded, and the two girls jumped into the well together.

—-

Daitan bid her goodbyes to Kagome and her family shortly after they arrived in modern times, and even with a full night's sleep, she felt exhausted from the battle the day before. Not to mention that the wound on her leg hadn't fully healed yet, despite the natural healing factor she had as a youkai. She could just barely keep up her disguise on the train, and she felt half-dead as she trudged through the door to her house. Daitan had just barely reached the stairs when-

"Daitan."

She yelped in surprise, clutching her heart as she turned to face her father.

"...Why do you feel the need to do that?" she gasped. He didn't say anything, just tilted his head and took in her condition.

"You're injured again." he said. His expression was mostly blank, but his eyes looked sad. That was all it took for Daitan's eyes to start watering again. She walked forward and let her head fall forward with a thump against his chest as she sniffed quietly, shoulders trembling as she tried to contain her tears. Sesshomaru's hand came to rest on the top of her head, gently petting her snowy white hair. He wasn't much of a hugger, but the gesture said enough.

A/N: I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so angsty. I wasn't even expecting to write for this episode, but I figured since it's centered around Miroku, who happens to be one of Daitan's best friends at this point, I might as well. And I personally know that even when your friends and family tell you you're amazing when you're feeling low, it just doesn't sink in sometimes. Daitan's got some growing pains to go through, that's for sure. Emotionally and physically.

...Now that I'm done with the heavy stuff, I'll just say that I'm glad to write a little Present Time Sesshy again! He's still not too great at expressing emotion, despite being much older and more mature, but he cares :) He'll be appearing again for the first bit of the next chapter, which I'll hopefully be able to get out on time next week, despite my current workload.

The plan is to stick to canon for now, but who knows what will happen in the future. I have things outlined very loosely, so there's some flexibility, and there are some things I have in mind to happen outside of canon. And for those of you who have been wondering about Daitan's mother... she hasn't been in the picture for a very long time. That's all I will say for now.