Chapter Three

Sweet Like Berries

Kuroii couldn't stop thinking to himself about how terrible this plan was. Not the plan's execution; that would go flawlessly. But what kind of person wants to take a baby from a loving family?

Ginta and Hakkaku snuck around quietly, making sure everyone was asleep. Normally, the group would be awake with the first sense of an intruder, but with the exhaustion of parenthood, they slept as if they were dead. Flashing a thumbs-up to Kouga, the cat and the wolf approached Kagome and Akira.

'Beautiful,' Kouga mouthed, refraining from pushing the hair out of Kagome's sleeping features. He glanced to Kuroii and gave a nod.

Kuroii's crimson eyes glowed brighter as he stared at the others amongst the clearing. He stopped over each person, eyes flashing a momentary yellow. It was one of his powers he had, for being the Guardian of that particular forest. In his own terrain, he could cast anyone asleep and do hypnosis. Not only that, but he could speak telepathically; just some of the kicks for being a Guardian youkai.

"She looks like Kaze," Ginta knelt beside Kouga, looking at the sleeping hanyou. He smiled. "Does she remind you of him?"

"Kaze..." Kouga crinkled his nose. Kaze was his three year old son, with dark burgundy hair and the brightest green eyes, just like his mother, Ayame. He dressed just like Kouga, even up to the high pony tail. The fur he wore was black, instead of brown, however. "No, this kid doesn't remind me of Kaze. It's the child of Inuyasha, makes me fucking sick. Little bastard child." Kouga lifted the baby out of Kagome's arms, gentle as the wind. 'She will be beautiful, though, just like her mother.' He thought to himself, and he hid a smile.

"I think we should get going, Inuyasha isn't here. Who knows when he'll come back!" Hakkaku nervously scratched around his mohawk.

"You're right, let's go," Kouga held Akira in the crook of his arm, and then set off back into the forest. The wolves followed, but the cat stayed behind. "Kuroii, do that other thing you can do, then you're off." He threw a huge ball of catnip at him. "Have fun with it." And then they disappeared into the forest.

Kuroii sniffed the catnip, and then picked it up in his mouth. The wolf knew catnip well, he thought, tasting the sweet buds on his tongue. That was when he heard a strange noise in the distance; Inuyasha!

'For fuck's sake...' Kuroii growled quietly at the back of his throat. He knew Inuyasha would smell the scent of Kouga intertwined with the scent of his daughter. The plan would be ruined, and then there would be a possibility of blood being spilled in his peaceful forest... The cat knew what he had to do, to keep the forest safe, although it wasn't the right thing to do.

With a poof of fire, the tiny nekomatta transformed into a large version, much like Kirara. He bounded off towards Inuyasha, cloaked in the darkness.

"Kouga?" Kuroii heard Inuyasha inquire to himself. He watched as Inuyasha stopped in his tracks and began to sniff the air. "What the fuck is that stinking, mangy wolf doing around here?!" Before Inuyasha had time to investigate, Kuroii's eyes flashed and Inuyasha fainted with a thud.

'He'll find his daughter, again,' Kuroii assured himself, as he gazed at the hanyou. His eyes then flashed a green, and then he turned back to where the others slept. His eyes flashed green over all the others, and then he disappeared into the darkness.

Several miles east of at the forest's edge was a small berry patch, a popular chatting spot for the women of the tiny village just beside the trees. Bundled in a fluffy brown pelt was Akira, thumb in mouth, lying at the top of one of the tiny bushes. Her golden eyes searched around curiously, the light from the moon and stars illuminating her view.

'Ah, there she is,' Kuroii, small once more, padded over to the bush and hopped up next to her. He noticed that there was a crudely written note between her arm and the pelt, which read her name. 'I can't believe I went along with this... I got in too deep. I had to keep you away from them, I hope you understand. This forest has to be peaceful, and if your dad killed an alpha Oukami youkai, you know; not very peaceful.'

She gazed back up at him, smiling. He licked her forehead, and then cuddled beside her. Kuroii watched as the baby fell asleep against him, and then he cast a barrier several meters around where the two of them would sleep. That night, they would be protected and safe from anything.

"Demons are in that forest, there! Ye, dangerous are they," An older miko announced, holding a fist full of sutra beads before the tree line of the forest. It was the next morning and Koharu, walking past with her four year-old daughter, gave a snort.

"There are no demons, there is no danger," Koharu fixed some of the straw on her homemade berry-picking basket. "That handsome Houshi-sama was here just four years ago, don't you remember? He blessed his forest and this village from all harmful demons. Don't ruin his good name by calling his works faulty."

"Aye, brat. Over yonder at the trees, there is an ominous barrier. Neither a person nor creature can get past it. It is the works of a demon, I tell ye, what else could it be?" The miko smirked towards her. "Try if ye will, but get past you won't."

"Don't hold your breath," Koharu muttered, and then tugged the hand of little Suiko beside her.

"But Ma, the demons..." Tears welled in Suiko's eyes as she looked up at her mother.

"There are none, hun, don't worry about it. I trust Houshi-sama with everything; and I trust there are no evil demons here. She's just old, don't you mind her!" Koharu smiled and petted her daughter on her head. Suiko smiled and gripped her basket.

"Well, I hope we find lots of berries, Mama!"

"I'm sure we will."

With that, the two entered past the tree line towards the patch. The miko stood, befuddled at what had occurred, and then returned to her hut.

Meanwhile, Kuroii's ears twitched to the sound of people nearing. He glanced at the sleeping baby at his side, and then gave a catlike grin. 'That was definitely sooner than I expected.' He hopped from the top of the bush and hid underneath the bottom leaves, watching his plan unfold.

"Lalala, la la," Suiko sang as she swung her empty basket around. "No demons here, Mama, you were right. Just berries for you and me!"

"Yup, just berries, just berries..." She muttered, but Koharu knew that something wasn't right. She had been in the presence of demons before, and could still feel the tingling sense in her spine when one was around. "Oh, oh my God!" Koharu ran forward, her basket dropping to the ground.

"Mama...? What is it?" Suiko set down her basket and took several steps towards her mother, hand to her mouth both anxiously and curiously.

"A.... A baby," Koharu's eyes widened scanning over Akira and the note, as she picked up the baby from the bush. Kuroii smiled from within. "Her name is... Akira."