Author's Apology: I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! I know it's not fair to all of you after you've given me great reviews. I've started University life, and tonight is the first night in 4 weeks that I've have no work after classes and could work on this story. I apologize again, and I hope this chapter makes up for my slowness in updating. Just to let you know, I will TRY to do better with updating, but if I am slow updating again, I haven't forgotten this story. My professors just give me a lot of homework. I hope you enjoy the story. –Love, Mya G.
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of its characters, just Hanna. Short, sweet, and to the point.
Chapter 12
"Hanna!" InuYasha called out the next morning.
The dog hanyou wandered through the village, searching for the ten-year-old. The little girl had woken up early and had snuck out of the hut without a word, which was fine, but it was time for her sparring lesson.
'Where did she go?' he thought slightly worried now after going through the entire village without a single sign of her.
Certain that Hanna was nowhere to be found in the village, he decided to ask the villagers. When he wandered to Jinengi's garden plot, he saw the giant hanyou weeding his garden.
"Jinengi, have you seen Hanna?" Inu asked, jumping on top of a fence post.
"Hmmm?" Jinengi halted in his morning chore and looked up with his huge, blue eyes. "Oh, good morning, InuYasha. Yes, I've seen her. Hanna-chan asked me if she could borrow one of our hoes."
"A hoe?" Inu blinked in his crotched position. "What does she want a hoe for?"
"She didn't say. When I handed it to her, she said her thanks and ran off that way to the forest," the giant of a hanyou said, pointing out towards the fort entrance. He caught sight of a weed and pulled it up by the roots.
"Alright," Inu sighed, looking in the pointed direction. He hollered his thanks and made his way down the fence until it ran by the fort. He jumped the fort wall and landed easily on the ground. "Where are you, Hanna?" he asked out loud, sniffing the air.
After a few moments, he caught a whiff and followed the familiar scent until he heard his student's familiar voice as she grunted. His ears twitched when he heard the sound of something metal breaking ground. He parted the nearby bushes, and he blinked to see the girl covered in dirt and sweat as she dug a small hole with her back to him. InuYasha stayed silent and leaned against a nearby tree as he watched her take a bundle of branches and leaves and cover the hole. Now curious of what exactly she was doing, he looked around and noticed about half a dozen more camouflaged holes all over the surrounding area.
"What are you doing?" he asked suddenly.
"Eep!" Hanna jumped from fright and twirled around. She was truly a sight to behold. Her kimono was covered in dirt and grass, and dirt covered her legs up to her legs. "P-Papa!"
Inu smiled, raising an eyebrow, and came forward. Careful of where he set his foot, he kneeled down in front of the girl. "Silly girl, what are you doing?"
With a faint blush, Hanna held the hoe out for him to take. "Umm… I was… digging traps, Papa."
"Traps, huh?" InuYasha smirked, looking around. "What's your prey?"
"…" Hanna grumbled something.
Inu smiled and leaned forward. "What was that?"
"Barely dresses witches and lecherous monks," Hanna admitted softly.
The dog hanyou blinked wide, amber eyes at his student and suddenly erupted with laughter. Hanna's blush darkened when he grabbed his side from laughing so hard.
Still snickering, InuYasha wiped the small tears that had gathered in his eyelashes. He held the girl's shoulders softly, his own shoulders still shaking. "Sango's right. You have been spending too much time with me." The hanyou took a deep, settling breath. "So… you do realize that someone could break their ankle walking through here, right?"
Hanna nodded. "That was the plan."
"Oh, yeah? What would happen if someone from home came across your little traps?" Inu asked. The young lowered her head in shame, but InuYasha pet her head softly. "Hey, don't worry about it, huh? This side of the fort is awfully steep when you stray from the path. No one enters through here anyway."
"So can I keep digging?!" Hanna asked with a bright smile. Inu sighed and thumped her nose. "Ow!"
"Now I wouldn't be lecturing you if you could, would I? Just stop while you're ahead." Hanna sullenly nodded her head. "Alright then. Climb on; it's time for your lesson."
"Yes, Papa," Hanna said, obediently jumping onto his offered back.
"Hey, kid, what's with the 'Papa; stuff anyway?" the dog hanyou asked gruffly with a slight blush.
"I… got tired of calling you 'Master' and Mama 'Lady,'" Hanna explained with a small unseen blush on her own.
"Mama!? Does Sango know this?" Inu asked, wide-eyed.
"Mmm-hmm. Is that wrong of me?" Hanna asked softly.
"…." With a darker blush, InuYasha smiled softly. "No. No, it's okay, Hanna." He heard Hanna giggle and felt her snuggle on his back. At the show of affection, InuYasha's blush slowly faded, and without another word, he jumped off to the sparring area.
"Come on, Hanna!" InuYasha challenged, swinging a wooden sparring katana. "You have to block!"
Hanna gasped and defended herself from Inu's strike with the fake sword. "I am!" she gasped out. She gasped again when InuYasha struck again.
"With confidence, Hanna!" the hanyou stressed. He struck her wooden katana again and added pressure against her. Hanna grunted and tried to push back against InuYasha. "Push me off, Hanna!"
"Ugh! Y-You're too heavy!" Hanna exclaimed.
"A demon in battle won't take pity on you just because you're a child!" InuYasha added more pressure against the girl. "It'll pick you out first for your small size, Hanna! You have to be able to defend yourself cause just like the rest of the children, there will be times when you won't be protected by me and Sango!"
With sweat streaming down her forehead, Hanna tried to push back again, but she found her efforts in vain. Suddenly, she slid her 'sword' along InuYasha's and swung for his ankle. InuYasha jumped back however and landed safely a few feet away.
"Good!" InuYasha exclaimed truly impressed. "I'd say that deserves an early break."
At the very suggestion, Hanna sighed with relief and fell to the ground, exhausted. "I'm tired!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah," InuYasha muttered, nudging her with his toes. "Why don't you go swimming with the other girls to cool off?"
"Okay!" The girl instantly jumped up and ran off to gather the other girls.
InuYasha sighed and unceremoniously sat on the landing of his hut. His white eats twitched, hearing the paper screen open and Sango's footsteps walk towards him. Then, Kirara jumped into his lap.
"You work her hard," Sango said with admiration in her tone as she sat down. "Hanna has come along way from when she first arrived here with us."
InuYasha grunted and rotated his shoulder. "She's still got a ways to go before she can slay demons, even teamed in a group."
"Well, of course. I didn't start until I was just a season shy of being twelve," Sango informed him. The demon exterminator smiled coyly as she leaned her head on Inu's shoulder. "However, it doesn't change the fact that she seeks only to please her Papa."
A blush instantly brightened the dog hanyou's face. "Why does she call me that now?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.
"The same reason why she now calls me Mama. It's because she sees us as her parents now," Sango explained.
Inu snorted as he lay on his side, he head resting in his palm. Kirara mewed irritably as she fell from her perch and jumped into Sango's lap. "Are we really the parenting types, Sango? In mean… not once did I ever see myself as a father."
Sweat dropping, Sango raised her eyebrow and sighed. "Really? Well, you've certainly perfected it."
InuYasha blinked. "What does that mean?"
Before Sango could answer, Hanna came back with a group of girls. "We're going swimming!" she exclaimed as they raced past them.
"No boys!" Inu yelled after them, making the older girls blush and giggle. Inu grunted and laid back down. He side-glanced at Sango, who was smiling coyly. "What?"
"No boys!" Sango taunted, imitating his voice. "Admit it, InuYasha. You look at Hanna and see the same thing as I do, our own flesh and blood."
InuYasha snorted but blushed. "I guess," he muttered.
Sango smiled and shifted over to scratch behind his ears. I thought so."
Meanwhile….
"Grr…. I just do not believe this!" Koga growled angrily, as he carried an injured Miroku on his back.
Miroku was not happy with this arrangement either, not at all. Going up the hill, he had a little mishap and had badly twisted his ankle. 'Stupid hole,' Miroku thought.
Sweat dropping, Kagome led them on. "We're almost there. Just hold on for a few more moments."
Trailing behind them, Shippo shook his head in dismay. 'Figures,' the kitsune fox thought, 'We come this far without any trouble, but as soon as we come within sight of Sango's village, Miroku falls into a dug up hole.' He opened his emerald eyes with a smirk gracing his lips. 'Good technique though, camouflaging their handiwork with leaves and sticks. I'm impressed.'
His and Koga's ears twitched when they heard the loud sounds of splashing water. An instinctual growl came from Koga, and Shippo blinked sniffing the air.
"Humans are nearby," Koga informed them, "We're close."
"How close?" Kagome asked.
The wolf's ears twitched again, and he sniffed the wind. Walking through a cluster of bushes, he responded, "Close."
Curious, Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder. However, Kagome's mind was distracted as she walked absently. 'I'm looking forward to seeing Sango, but… How do I ask a friend I haven't seen in so long where another friend is?' she thought, grimacing, 'That seems so rude. Ugh…. What will I even say when we do find InuYasha?'
Vaguely, she heard the sounds of young laughter and splashing growing louder and louder.
"Ha! Ha! Aaahhh!! Stop it, guys!" a young girl squealed, making Kagome snap out of it.
The feminine laughter of other older girls rang. "Oh! Hanna-chan! Hold your breath!"
More squealing laugher rung through the air. At this development, Miroku smiled and chuckled. "Koga, you can put me down now."
The wolf blinked and raised an eyebrow. "What? A few moments ago you could hardly walk!"
"Ah… Yes, but the call of women makes me strong at heart, and with that, I can move on," the monk sighed wistfully, climbing off of a sweat dropping Koga.
"Aren't you supposed to be here to apologize to Sango and win her back?" Kagome asked, gaping at him wide-eyed.
"Idiot," Shippo mumbled.
A thought hit Kagome all of a sudden as Miroku parted some bushes. "Ladies…"
If there were women splashing around in the water, then…."MIROKU, WAI-"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! HENTAI!!!"
Screams erupted through the air as Kagome pushed pass Koga and reached where Miroku was to see the young preteen and teenaged girls run away from the river, clutching their kimonos closed. The youngest of the girls was behind them and tripped over a root, falling to the ground.
"Oh! Are you alright!?" Kagome ran up to the trembling girl.
As Kagome came closer, so did the men. Hanna's eyes shimmered, and she clutched her kimono closed over her chest, seeing the peeping tom crotch down next to her. "PAPA!!!!!!!!!!!" the young girl screamed, making Kagome and Miroku jump back in shock. "PAPAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! HELP ME!!!!"
"Papa?" Kagome repeated as Miroku turned blue at the face from Hanna's fear of him.
"HANNA!!!" The bushes parted, and a red streak flew to the scene. Before they knew it, Miroku was slammed into the ground, and InuYasha had the Tetseiga at the monk's throat. InuYasha planted his foot on Miroku's chest, holding him down painfully to the ground, snarling.
"I-InuYasha…." Kagome whispered in shock.
Tears sprang to Hanna's eyes. She sprung to her feet and ran to InuYasha, clutching the hanyou's waist. "Papa!!" she sobbed, burring her face into Inu's kimono.
The bushes around them parted, and the other men from the village appeared, carrying hoes, swords, and other slaying weapons. Behind them were the other girls who were swimming in the stream.
"That's him!" one the girls cried out, pointing at Miroku. "That's the man who was peeping at us when we were swimming!"
"Don't let his appearance fool you! He's a pervert dressed in a monk's robes!" another girl exclaimed.
Hanna continued to cry. "Papa, he nearly got me!" She pointed at Kagome, who suddenly grew very pale. "She was trying to catch me for him, Papa!"
Kagome gasped. "That's not true! InuYasha, it's us! You know we wouldn't do that!"
InuYasha snorted and removed the Tetseiga from Miroku's throat. As he sheathed it, Hanna looked at him in surprise. "Papa?"
"Pull back, everyone! There's no danger." Sighing, he turned to the young girls and their fathers. "Sango and I know them."
"Are you sure, InuYasha?" one of the men asked.
"Yeah. The monk might be a peeping tom who needs the occasional beating, but he wouldn't hurt a woman." Gently, the hanyou rubbed Hanna's head. He sniffed and looked to see a small stream of blood on Hanna's ankle. "Are you alright, Hanna?" he asked, kneeling down to inspect the cut.
Hanna winced slightly. "I tripped over a root when I was running away."
"Hmm. It's strained," he sighed, taking off his fire rat kimono and wrapping around Hanna's small form. Gently, the young man scooped Hanna in his arms, and Hanna wrapped her arms around his neck. "Come on, men. Lets get the girls back to the village." He looked down at Hanna. "Sango will want to look at your leg."
Hanna nodded and snuggled in Inu's arms.
Kagome gasped and shot up as InuYasha passed them. "InuYasha!"
Hanna blinked and looked at the girl, but InuYasha ignored her and walked on.
"InuYasha…." Kagome stared at the hanyou in shock. "InuYasha, can we-"
InuYasha halted momentarily. "Do what you want?" he said without turning back to look at any of them.
A half hour later, there was an awkward silence as Sango inspected Miroku's ankle. Hanna was sitting in InuYasha's lap with her ankle already treated. Hanna absently played with the hanyou's silver hair, braiding and unbraiding a few strands repeatedly. Kagome sat still with Shippo in her lap, stunned at the revelation that InuYasha had been at the village the entire time. Koga merely sat off to the side.
In an attempt to break the silence, Miroku chuckled. "It was the darnedest thing. We were making our way up the hill, and I stepped into a dug up hole in a small clearing. There must be moles around because the area was full of them."
Looking up, Sango raised an eyebrow. "That mole was Hanna. You fell into a child's booby trap."
Koga snickered at the look on Miroku's face, and Hanna smiled smugly as InuYasha rubbed her head tenderly.
Shippo blinked and looked at Hanna. 'Impressive.'
Coughing, Miroku sat up as Sango finished wrapping up his leg. "Sango…."
"Miroku," Sango said in an unfeeling tone.
"Sango… I… I wanted to come and apologize for the way I acted before you left."
"And to peep at Hanna and the other girls of our village," Sango stated with a cold glance.
"A mere misunderstanding," Miroku insisted. He grabbed her hands. "Sango, I…"
"Let go of Mama, pervert!" Hanna yelled, launching out of InuYasha's lap. At Miroku's shocked look, Hanna glared. "Any real man would know to never try to steal another man's wife! Have you no shame, monk!"
Miroku was so shocked that he could hardly process her words. However, Kagome caught on.
"Another man's wife?" she repeated. "Sango, you're married? To who?"
At that, InuYasha slid his arm around Sango's waist and drew her into his lap possessively. "Me." Hanna came back to them, and Sango pulled her into her lap.
"And Hanna is our adopted daughter," Sango added.
Koga actually coughed at shock from that one as both Kagome and Miroku's eyes started to twitch wildly.
Shippo, however, was beaming ear to ear. "Congratulations!" Shippo exclaimed, jumping into Sango's lap next to Hanna.
"Thank you," Sango smiled warmly.
'Married?' Kagome nearly screamed mentally. 'He can't be married!?'
Without a word, Kagome jumped up and ran out of the hut. With a sigh, Koga got up and followed her. When they were gone, the couple sighed and glanced at Miroku.
"What?" InuYasha grunted.
Miroku looked at them painfully. "Nothing. Congratulations," he said, heading outside for some fresh air.
After a moment, Shippo looked up at the two. "Well, I'm happy for ya."
InuYasha sighed, ruffling Shippo's hair. "Thanks, kid."