InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Words with My Uncle ❯ Home ( Chapter 5 )

-Chapter Five-

-Home-

 

“Don't leave me here alone,

You're as close as it gets to home.”

-Better Than Ezra, “Our Finest Year”

 

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Those were the worst days of my life, you know. But they ended in the best way possible: my uncle coming to see me. We could relate, you see. When he was young, Uncle's mother died. He knew what it was like to be without parents, alone and quite unsure of what to do with yourself. I am ashamed of the way I treated him when he arrived, but he assured me later when I woke up that my reaction was normal. You have no idea how glad I was to hear those words.

 

“It's okay, Kotaromaru.” I was so grateful. And when Uncle Inuyasha got up to leave, he said the one thing that made me the happiest I could have been; he asked me to go with him, back to Kaede's village, and live with his family. My family. I agreed immediately, but when the advisors confronted us at the castle gate as we were leaving, they refused to stand aside. Despite what happened, they said, the tai-youkai was required to fulfill his duties. That was when Uncle stepped up to them and told them, none too politely, that they could go and… well, fornicate with themselves, for all he cared. “I'm taking my nephew with me,” he insisted.

 

Eventually, with a bit more rude persuasion, the advisors agreed to let us leave, on the condition that one of them come with us to keep my education going. And that I make routine visits to the castle to catch up on any matters of importance. It was Hani, my favorite advisor, who volunteered to accompany us.

 

Ten minutes later we three were headed swiftly for my uncle's home - I rode on his back while Hani ran alongside him. Sometime during the journey I fell asleep again - I hadn't really slept in so long - and when I finally woke up night had already settled over the village.

 

OooOooOooOooO

 

“Itsuka eien no nemuri ni tsuku hi made,” Miyami sang quietly while she dabbed a cold cotton cloth on her older cousin's forehead. He'd been sleeping for hours, and Kagome had told her to just make sure that Kotaromaru was comfortable. Inuyasha watched his daughter from the corner of the bedroom, sitting with his arms and legs crossed.

 

“Dou ka sono egao ga taema naku aru you ni…”

 

Inuyasha let the song wash over him gently. It was one that Kagome used to sing to their pups when they were newborns. It always seemed to calm him just as much as it did the babies. And he needed calming quite badly at the moment, he thought as he looked solemnly at the unconscious Kotaromaru. Inuyasha knew firsthand what it felt like to lose the most important person in his life, to become an orphan, to be alone. When he thought about it, his and his nephew's situations were very similar - neither had really known their fathers, and their mothers had died when they were young.

 

But luckily for Kotaromaru, Inuyasha was not about to leave the boy to cope with his feelings himself. The tai-youkai needed someone to be there for him - even if he didn't know it yet, and Inuyasha intended to be that person, despite the fact that he really wasn't sure how to go about offering his support. Although he had now spent the past twelve years in the company of one of the most emotional women on earth, the hanyou was still not accustomed to discussing his personal thoughts. He had no reason to - Kagome knew him inside and out, and his pups were beginning to develop the same sense their mother had, of being able to identify his moods based upon his actions. Even when they couldn't decipher his feelings, Kagome did it for them, thank Kami.

 

But Kotaromaru had not been in Inuyasha's presence enough to understand him, but then again, he wasn't that kind of person anyway. Kotaromaru was very frank, verbal, and blunt. He said what was on his mind without pretense, when he knew it would be wise to. The boy did not care about what others made of his thoughts or statements, or his manners, for that matter. It was a trait he inherited from Sesshomaru, mused Inuyasha. He snorted lightly.

 

The point was, in order for Kotaromaru to comprehend that his uncle was there for him, Inuyasha would have to be just as obvious as the young tai-youkai, if not more so. The hanyou did not relish the idea of that. He had a bad habit of saying things that were the exact opposite of what he really meant, and that tended to cause problems.

 

“Are you okay, Inuyasha?”

 

He looked up, startled, to find that Kagome had entered the hut without his even noticing it. It was a mark of how distracted he was, to be sure. She now stood in front of him, taking in his scowl and clouded eyes, and knew the answer to her question without having to hear it from him.

 

Inuyasha unfolded his arms and Kagome sat in his lap. He locked her in a close embrace, loving the instant calm that just her nearness could bring him. The miko sighed. For a little while, they just sat there, listening to the familiar beats of each other's heart. Miyami was still singing quietly over her cousin while she brushed his snowy bangs from his face.

 

“How is she?” Inuyasha asked.

 

Kagome frowned, her eyes turned glassy. “She was asleep the whole time. They said she can't feel any pain now.”

 

Smelling the salty scent of her tears, Inuyasha tightened his grip around his mate. He hated that he couldn't fix things for her. His gaze lingered on Kotaromaru for a moment and his anger with himself grew. He couldn't fix anyone.

 

“Don't be upset, Inuyasha,” whispered Kagome, kissing his chin. “I'm just glad that she won't have to suffer anymore.”

 

The hanyou grunted, his chagrin somewhat abated, but still strong. Kagome looked at her nephew and understood.

 

“That's not your fault.”

 

“I was supposed to be there.”

 

“How could you have known?”

 

“I just should have. It's my responsibility.”

 

Kagome let loose a frustrated noise. “It is not your responsibility to be a mind-reader, Inuyasha. You've done what you can.”

 

“He told me he hated me.”

 

Miyami stopped singing to look at her parents with worried yellow eyes.

 

“You know he didn't mean it.”

 

The hanyou had nothing to say about that. He just stared moodily at the floor, prominent scowl lines marring his usually smooth forehead. Kagome kissed him again, on the cheek this time. “You're his hero, Inuyasha. I can see it every time he looks at you. Wait and see, when he wakes up, he'll be glad that you're here.”

 

With that, the miko extracted herself from his hold and stood up. “Come on, Miyami,” she beckoned to their daughter. The girls exited the hut, leaving Inuyasha with an unconscious inu-youkai and his torrential thoughts.

 

The moon was well into its course through the sky before Kotaromaru finally stirred. The time alone had given Inuyasha sufficient opportunity to mull over all the things in his head, so he was sure he would be ready when his nephew sat up slowly and looked around. But Kotaromaru's wide golden eyes settled on Inuyasha, distressed, and suddenly the hanyou had no clue as to what he should be saying or doing.

 

“Uncle?” The boy's voice was small in the humid summer evening.

 

Inuyasha had to clear his throat twice before he could respond. “Welcome back to the land of the living, pup.”

 

Instantly the hanyou recognized this as not the right thing to say, since shiny tears pooled in Kotaromaru's eyes. Inuyasha got up and crossed the room in three long strides; when he reached Kotaromaru he knelt down so that they were face to face. The tai-youkai looked like he was trying to fight the urge to cry heavily.

 

“What're you doing?”

 

“U-ujitama t-told me that m-men don't c-cry.”

 

Ujitama. A spark of recollection flared in Inuyasha's mind. The rat-youkai who had heartily opposed letting him take Kotaromaru. Ugh.

 

“That bastard don't know a thing. Don't listen to anything he's got to say, okay?”

 

Kotaromaru nodded, looking calmer. He sniffed loudly. “This is where you l-live?” he asked after a moment.

 

Relieved that the boy appeared to be forgetting his sorrow in light of discovering a new place, Inuyasha made a noise of assent. “You want to see the rest of it?”

 

His nephew's gaze lit up like a torch. “Yes!”

 

So Inuyasha led Kotaromaru around Kaede's village, pointing out the different places, naming the people they saw. When they reached the last hut and Kotaromaru had yet to see any familiar faces, he inquired, “Where is Aunt Kagome?”

 

Smelling her on the breeze from the forest, Inuyasha headed that way, the boy in his wake. They happened upon not only Kagome, but Shippo, Miyami, Kyuichi, and everyone else as well, under Goshinboku. When they saw him, every face beneath the ancient tree smiled warmly at Kotaromaru. The resultant feeling in his chest was sweet and pleasant, and their smiles became contagious. He donned one as well; it felt like being real again.

 

Kagome met him several yards from Goshinboku and hugged him tight, whispering, “It's so good to have you here, sweetie.”

 

His cousins - even Kyuichi - bestowed him with happy greetings, as did Miroku and Sango, the latter of which appeared to be nine months pregnant and then some. The monk introduced their children, whom Kotaromaru had never met. The oldest, twins, Sachiko and Yoshio, shook his hand, and he liked them instantly. Tsune and young Shintaro came next, and each boy grinned at Kotaromaru as if he was some long lost friend of theirs.

 

“This is home,” Inuyasha had said, and the tai-youkai found himself inclined to agree. His eyes shifted from one person to another, taking in their kind, welcoming faces, each one filling him with a sense of belonging he had not felt once in his entire life. `Home,' he thought. `I'm home.'

 

OooOooOooOooO

 

It might have been pure coincidence, though I could never be sure, but after I turned ten I could never finish a lesson without being interrupted. My advisors all complained over my lack of what they called a proper education, but Uncle just scoffed at them. “He's getting his education,” he used to say. “It's just got holes in it, is all.”

 

My reason for telling you this is that during my very first lesson with Hani in Kaede's village, a distraction came in the form of little Senko, Sango and Miroku's fifth and final child. I submit to you now that there is nothing quite as effective as keeping a man abstinent as hearing a woman go through labor on a positively scorching afternoon. Or rather, hearing her scream obscenities at her poor husband while he sits by watching.

 

OooOooOooOooO

 

“So tell me what you remember of the Great Wars, my lord,” ordered Hani, sitting opposite Kotaromaru with a patient expression on his face. They were conversing in the same hut that the young inu-youkai had awoken in his first night in the village.

 

Kotaromaru, hating to disappoint his favorite, and youngest, advisor, dug around eagerly in his brain for all the information he could. But the heat of the day was so intense that it was even able to hinder his thoughts for a second or two, despite the fact that being youkai normally helped protect him from fluctuating temperatures. Dates and titles of important generals flashed around just out of the reach of his grasping memory. Seeing his expression, deep in concentration, Hani chuckled and took pity on the boy. Being an owl youkai himself, he preferred the cooler nights as opposed to the taxing days.

 

“Never mind, my lord. Why don't we try an easier subject? Something more recent, hm?”

 

Kotaromaru was eternally grateful for this small kindness. He reflected briefly on how much more enjoyable his lessons were with Hani than they had been with cruel Ujitama, who would have merely berated him for submitting to the heat.

 

“Like what?”

 

“What did Ujitama-san tell you of the Shikon no Tama?”

 

Frowning, Kotaromaru replied, “Not much, Hani. We were just starting the subject when…” He trailed off, not eager to finish the statement, but his advisor understood.

 

“Ah. Well then, you inform me of what you already know, and I'll finish the lesson for him.”

 

Nodding, Kotaromaru began. “The Shikon no Tama was created during a battle between a great youkai and the priestess Midoriko. Both of their souls were trapped inside when the jewel burst from her chest.”

 

He almost felt that his knowledge seemed rather insubstantial, and apparently Hani felt the same way because he looked mildly exasperated when the tai-youkai finished.

 

“Is that all?”

 

The boy nodded again.

 

“Very well. I see that Ujitama-san was not very thorough at all, was he? I shall have to make up for his lack.”

 

Secretly this scolding of the old rat youkai pleased Kotaromaru to no end, but he didn't let Hani know that. Instead, he just voiced his agreement.

 

“The Shikon no Tama - make sure you're writing this down, my lord - the Shikon no Tama, because it contained both the miko and the beast she fought, was a source of great power. The spirits of the opposing sides continued their brawl within its confines without pause, and this allowed the jewel to possess a shifting spirituality of its own, so to speak. When it was in the hands of someone pure of heart, the Shikon no Tama could be used for good. Conversely, under the influence of an ill will, it could be tainted with evil.

 

“To anyone, good or bad, who held the jewel, it was highly valuable, capable of granting one wish without limitations. After granting a wish, however, the Shikon no Tama would be rendered useless.”

 

Kotaromaru was copying everything Hani said very quickly, the ink he used sometimes blotting across the scroll in his haste to not miss a single detail. Hani smiled at this. “Very good,” he commented on his pupil's eagerness.

 

“Now, after its creation, the jewel changed hands many times, as it was sought out rather actively by numerous humans and youkai alike. Eventually it fell into the care of a village of taiji-ya. Slayers, my lord. The elder of their village entrusted the Shikon no Tama's safety to a powerful miko called Kikyo, a woman who lived in this very place here.

 

“But Kikyo fell victim to a vengeful hanyou named Naraku, who tricked her and the hanyou she was in love with into thinking they had betrayed one another. Naraku wished to taint the jewel with their hatred and bitterness, but he failed. Kikyo pinned her hanyou to the Goshinboku - yes, that tree - just before she died of wounds inflicted upon her during the conflict. The Shikon no Tama was burned with her.

 

“Quite to the surprise of the world, however, the jewel resurfaced fifty years later. It was then accidentally shattered into dozens of shards that were expelled all across the country. Youkai and humans everywhere found these shards and used them for all kinds of purposes-”

 

Miyami burst into the hut, curiously ruffled looking with flushed cheeks and erratic breath. She appeared as though she had some great announcement to make, but when she saw Hani her face fell and instantly an air of embarrassment replaced the excitement.

 

The owl youkai, however, smiled kindly at her. “Yes, Miss Miyami?”

 

“Um,” she gasped, her breathing still coming in fast waves. “Um. It's Sango, sir. She's in labor, and, um, I was wondering, sir, if Kotaromaru wanted to come, um… Wait with us.” The young hanyou looked very flustered, and Kotaromaru could no longer tell if she was blushing from running to the hut or from mortification.

 

Hani, still smiling pleasantly, turned to the tai-youkai. “Well, my lord?”

 

Kotaromaru blinked stupidly. “Well, what?”

 

Amusement flashed in the older youkai's orange eyes. “Do you wish to wait with the others?”

 

“You mean you're going to let me?” Kotaromaru asked, quite amazed. Freedom from his lessons, granted by his teacher, was a new thing.

 

Nodding, Hani said, “For something important like this, I will allow it.”

 

His face broke into a huge grin, for in actuality the inu-youkai was very eager to meet the newest member of Miroku and Sango's family - his family - and did not want to miss it when the child was born. He stood up, thanked Hani, and ran out next to his younger cousin. They didn't have far to go; their destination was just across the road. It seemed like half the village was outside the hut of the monk and the taiji-ya. Kotaromaru recognized the pottery maker, all three of the old biddies who liked to sit around the village drinking sake, his uncle's neighbors - a young couple, and the kind fisherman who gave Kotaromaru and the rest of the children sweets when they passed by his home. The rest of the people he didn't know, or could only recall by face but not name.

 

Inuyasha, Shippo, Kyuichi, Sachiko, Yoshio, Tsune, and Shintaro were huddled right outside the doorway. Kotaromaru and Miyami joined them.

 

“I just can't wait!” cried Sachiko, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. “I hope it's a girl!”

 

Kotaromaru smiled at her, understanding why she would want a sister. She was, after all, the only female among four children. Despite that, she always got along well with her brothers, playing all the same games and never being afraid to get a little dirty, like the boys were so fond of doing. Kotaromaru liked Sachiko and her twin brother a lot. They were only one year younger than he, which always made them good company. And Yoshio, especially, was much better to be around than Kyuichi, who wanted to do nothing but spar when he was around Kotaromaru. The tai-youkai always refused him, saying he was too tired, hungry, hot, or whatever else he could think of. Honestly he was just afraid that Kyuichi would want to sword fight. If his cousin or his uncle ever found out he still couldn't wield a weapon skillfully, Kotaromaru would be humiliated.

 

“I hope it's another boy!” asserted Tsune. “We'll show him how to play samurai, won't we, Kyuichi?”

 

The other boy smirked. “Hell yes!”

 

His exclamation was immediately followed by a gasp, a thump, a cry of pain, and a bout of giggling. Both Miyami and Sachiko had been taken aback by Kyuichi's obscenity, causing them to each suck in their breath quickly. Inuyasha, the only person who had remained utterly still and silent for the duration of their wait, suddenly regained his mobility to knock his son over the head, much like he had done to Kotaromaru only a few days ago. The younger hanyou let loose a yell, and Kotaromaru sympathized a little, knowing how unpleasant such a blow could be, but that didn't stop him from laughing hard with everyone else.

 

“Watch your mouth, pup, or I'll wash it out for you,” Inuyasha warned.

 

Kyuichi rubbed his head angrily. “How come I get in trouble but you and Shippo say that word all the time?”

 

Said kitsune grinned wickedly, his blue eyes glittering. “Sorry, kiddo, but you have to be at least this tall to say bad words.” He demonstrated by holding his hand about a foot and a half above the boy's head. “Oops! Looks like you're too short! Sorry, try again next time.”

 

The next second Kyuichi was pouncing on Shippo, trying to punch his chest wildly, but the youkai just laughed and held him back. Eleven years had been kind to the kit, and he was no longer the small child he had been when Kotaromaru first met him. Rather, he had grown lean, muscled, and taller than Inuyasha. Kyuichi stood no chance against Shippo's much longer arms and stronger grip. But still Kyuichi fought valiantly - or was it stubbornly? Probably the latter. - refusing to give up until Inuyasha grunted, “Settle down,” and instantly they did.

 

Kotaromaru continued to chuckle lightly at the disgruntled look on his cousin's face. Miyami, too, apparently thought the whole situation was funny.

 

“Wow, big brother, you lost pretty bad, huh?” she teased, her mischievous smile showing off the dimples on either side of her face.

 

“Shut up, Miyami.”

 

“Oi, be nice to your sister!”

 

“That's right. You gotta be nice to me!”

 

“Miyami-”

 

“Sorry, Papa.”

 

Next to Kotaromaru, Yoshio was rolling his eyes. Little Shintaro had crawled into his brother's lap at some point and was now attempting to replicate the maneuver, with some difficulty. His eyes kept crossing oddly, making him shake his head in dizziness. Kotaromaru smiled before turning his gaze to look at the hut. He regretted this instantly, since the movement caused the sun to shine brightly in his vision. It was low over the trees now, casting long shadows and signaling the end of the afternoon. The temperature was dropping too, thankfully.

 

The sun continued to sink slowly beneath the horizon, and outside the village was still waiting. Not much noise came from inside the hut; “It's still early yet,” Shippo assured the children when they worried over this fact. He had sat through all of their births so far, and knew just how long the process could take.

 

But when the moon was high in the sky, and every one of the younger ones except Kotaromaru had fallen asleep, Sango's pained moans and screams began to carry out into the air. The young tai-youkai's eyes widened upon hearing one particularly strained sounding exclamation.

 

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked his uncle, who still stood, unmoving, against the hut wall.

 

“She'll be fine. Sango is tough.”

 

Kotaromaru was doubtful. “It sounds like she's in a lot of pain.”

 

Inuyasha snorted. “Of course she is. She's having a pup. But don't worry; women do this all the time.”

 

“They do?” The boy could hardly imagine such an idea.

 

“How do you think you got here?” asked the hanyou, looking down at his nephew.

 

“You mean Mama had to do this too?”

 

“Yeah. And your aunt, and my mother, and every other mother who ever lived.”

 

“Wow.”

 

A grunt of agreement answered him. Then there was a few minutes of relative silence, broken only by Kyuichi's snores and a loud, “I'm going to kill you for this, monk!” from inside the hut.

 

But Kotaromaru's thoughts were far from quiet. They were crowding his head, making him feel like if they didn't get out soon they would start pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. So he asked, “Uncle Inuyasha, is Aunt Kagome's mama going to be all right?” He said it to relieve some of the tension in his mind, but he found that he actually wished to know the answer as well.

 

Inuyasha sighed heavily, looking off at the moon with a sadness in his eyes that shocked Kotaromaru. For a moment it seemed like no answer would be given, but then the hanyou uttered, “No, pup.”

 

“Is she…” Kotaromaru didn't know if he dared to say the world aloud - it was such an awful word - but he was spared the agony by his uncle, who finished, “Dying?”

 

The tai-youkai winced, then nodded.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Oh,” even to his own ears, Kotaromaru's voice sounded small and childish.

 

“It's okay, Kotaromaru.”

 

“… It is?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“But… won't Aunt Kagome miss her mama?”

 

“Of course she will,” replied the hanyou. “But that's just natural.”

 

Kotaromaru wasn't sure he completely understood. “So why is it okay if she… dies?”

 

Inuyasha looked like he wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to, and Kotaromaru knew that his uncle didn't like to talk a lot, but instead of just shaking his head, like he normally would have done, Inuyasha said slowly, “Because… Mrs. Higurashi doesn't have anything… to hold her back… I mean… She doesn't have any unfinished business.”

 

“Unfinished business?” The inu-youkai didn't want to bother his uncle, but he couldn't help but ask.

 

“Well, yeah. She raised her family, looked after `em. And she knew it was coming.”

 

Small golden eyes stared at the older man in disbelief. “She knew she was going to die?”

 

“I expect. Everyone does, anyway.”

 

Kotaromaru winced, but knew that was the truth. Inuyasha didn't miss the movement - mentally he kicked himself - and added, to comfort the boy, “She made sure that your aunt and your cousins knew how much she cared for `em, though, and that's important.”

 

In his head Kotaromaru could hear his mother laughing and hugging him, calling him by the pet name she chose that he always used to hate. It didn't seem like such a bad name now.

 

“Your mom, she was the same way, pup.”

 

Inuyasha's statement brought Kotaromaru back to the present, and he found himself nodding to the words. “I know,” he confessed, startled to realize it was the truth. “She loved me a lot, didn't she?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The two males fell silent. In the grass the crickets chirped away, oblivious to the conversation taking place above them. The moon continued to shine, and the world went on peacefully. Kotaromaru could not decide if he had expected it to stop or not, but he found he was content with the way it just kept going, even after he had made such an earth-shattering discovery.

 

“You're lucky for that, pup,” said Inuyasha, his gaze so far in the past that it looked as though it could not be retrieved.

 

“Didn't your mama love you, Uncle Inuyasha?”

 

The hanyou's ears drooped, but in the darkness a small glint of white flashed, letting Kotaromaru know that his uncle was - amazingly - grinning.

 

“She did. But that's what killed her.”

 

The tai-youkai frowned in distress. “What do you mean?”

 

His uncle sighed again, more heavily than before. “There's a lotta people - and youkai - out there who don't think their races should mix. My mother's people, they made her an outsider for having me, for refusing to just dump me in the forest somewhere or drown me in a river. She used to stand up for me when the villagers would hurt or scare me…”

 

Kotaromaru found it hard to believe that the man he knew as Inuyasha could ever be scared of anything, but did not say that.

 

“… And she never said it, but she missed be accepted. Being part of society, ya know? That, and all her sadness for me, it killed her. Inside first, and then outside later.”

 

He ended with such a note of regret that Kotaromaru could not stop the anguished whine that welled up in his throat. It was so difficult for him to imagine that his strong, proud uncle had once been anything but. Or that anyone would want to drown a baby for just being a hanyou. The child didn't choose its own fate! It was unfair that Inuyasha and his mother should have to suffer for something so inconsequential. Quite unexpectedly Kotaromaru's sorrow morphed into anger, a hatred so deep for the ones who had caused Inuyasha pain that he wanted nothing more than to hunt them down and make them pay dearly for it. He started growling aloud, unbeknownst to himself.

 

Inuyasha almost laughed - almost - at the fierce expression on his nephew's face. It promised vengeance and all sorts of hell, but the hanyou didn't want the boy feeling like that. He put his hand over Kotaromaru's shoulder, just long enough to get his attention.

 

“Calm down, pup. That's in the past. It don't matter now.”

 

“But your mama-”

 

“I made up for her a long time ago, pup, when I mated your aunt. I did what my mom would have wanted and lived like I wanted to. That's enough for me.”

 

Kotaromaru was still angry, but he let himself be placated, for the most part, by Inuyasha's words. He thought about what Minami had asked of him - to catch a butterfly - and knew she had really meant that she wanted him to just keep living, and not dwell on the past. It sounded hard, but he thought, for her, he would do it. He'd have done anything to keep her with him, had she just said the word.

 

“Doing what would have made her happy is what lets me honor her. It's how I let her memory live,” Inuyasha said, staring down the stars as if he could his mother in them.

 

And then Kotaromaru knew that Minami would always be with him, so long as he didn't let her down. The beginnings of a small, warm flame fluttered into existence in his chest. “I'll do that too,” he declared, determined to see the promise through to the end.

 

This time Inuyasha did laugh, just a quiet, quick “heh”, but it made Kotaromaru smile. Somehow he could tell his uncle was proud of him for his vow.

 

“You do that, pup. You do that.”

 

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In case anyone recognized it… The song that Miyami is singing in the beginning is “Dearest” by Hamasaki Ayumi, one of the ending (I think) songs for the Inuyasha series. But you'll have to look up the translation by yourself, because I am way too lazy to find in now. I'll add it sometime soon, I promise. Hah. Anyway, as a precaution, no, I do not own “Dearest” or anything to do with it.

 

Thanks for the reviews:

Nikkie23534 (Thank you so much! As for Sesshomaru, well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading and find out, won't you?) - InuGoddess715 - Chase 65 (The rat…? Hmm… Maybe…) - BrownRecluse (Thank you! And congratulations to you as well.)

 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is property of one Ms. Rumiko Takahashi. And thank gosh for that, because if I owned it you would be running for your life. Toodles.