Daddy Dearest – Part Fourteen: Beginning Of The End

Xandra: My my my, I got such an interesting reaction to my last chapter. I’m glad I cheered some people up with the update as well as depressed some others. Too bad it took me so long to get the next one out...thanks for all the reviews anyway. Welcome to my new readers, welcome BACK to returning ones... and sorry for taking so long! Life is hell lately...x-x

Well, anyway, without further ado, the next chapter of Daddy Dearest! Enjoy! (THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! LOVE YOU! hugs everybody)

PS: I’m re-editing the story itself, fixing all those little errors I didn’t notice before...and I’m also getting rid of all my rants at people who prolly didn’t deserve it. -.-; It’s been so long since I updated that I now actually SEE that I’m a dumbass. Oh well. Enjoy the chapter. (And I WILL try to update more, I swear!)

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Miroku was better by morning, though it seemed that some part of his ailment had still hung back, as was supported by Lu’Ráve-sama, who eyed him as he joined the group. Though he looked perfectly normal, it was obvious that something had changed in him--for better or worse, no one could tell. Without a word, he sat down next to Inuyasha at the table and started into his breakfast.

Kagome stared at him as he ate, as did everyone else, but he made it a point not to notice. Something’s not right,she thought, uncomfortably. He’s so quiet...

He was sick,a voice said in the back of her mind. He could’ve died...

But he’s never this quiet, not even when he’s sick...he’s almost died a million times...As she watched him, she realized that he hadn’t so much as looked up from his food since he sat down, nor had he made to speak, ask a question or anything else. It was so unlike him... Something’s definitely wrong.

“Miroku-san,” Lu’Ráve said, suddenly, turning his pale brown eyes to him. The monk went rigid and his dark eyes darted to him. “When you are finished, I wondered if I might have a word with you?”

He didn’t look at all happy about this prospect. “...Certainly.” He set his things aside and stood abruptly.

Without a word, Lu’Ráve floated to his feet and, bowing to the room, led him out.

As Miroku turned stiffly to follow him. Kagome noticed how odd the two looked in comparison, and yet how fitting their appearances were. Lu’Ráve was all purity, a great high priest, pale colored, mild-mannered and gentle, and Miroku was a ball of sin, a lecherous monk, with dark hair and eyes and false pretenses. Of course, that was over-generalizing, but it seemed pretty accurate.

I wonder what he has to talk to him about,she thought.

“I wonder what the hell he could wanna talk to Miroku about,” Inuyasha echoed aloud.

“My thoughts exactly,” Sango murmured over the rim of her cup.

Kagome blinked. So it wasn’t just her. How weird was THIS?

“What is it that you want from me, Lu’Ráve-sama?”

The white-clad priest turned to look at him as they stood in the bonsai garden. The dim sunlight that managed to penetrate the heavy storm-clouds in the sky reflected off his hair and robes, making him glow in an unmistakably holy way. “Be not so polite, Miroku,” he said, calmly. As he turned away, however, something not so predictable passed his lips. “I can sense your jealousy...your hatred sears the very air.”

The monk blinked in surprise. It was true--seeing the purity that was the priest made him terribly angry and sinfully jealous of his power. He had never sought power, and yet somehow, just seeing Lu’Ráve made him thirst for it, just to compete with him. Somehow, he was unsurprised that the other knew of this, but it fazed him only for a moment. “What do you want,” he said, tactlessly.

“Merely to ask why you hold such revulsion for me.”

“You know everything, don’t you, PRIEST?” Miroku spat, coldly. “You tell me.”

With a small sigh, Lu’Ráve shook his head and floated slowly away. “Walk with me, houshi, and perhaps the answers you seek will be given.”

Irritated, he followed.

The pale young priest swept slowly, gracefully, through the bonsai garden, gliding along the stone path that wound its way through beautiful displays of the flora. The garden itself, it seemed, was larger than the temple, for it passed out through a gate nearby and continued onto another plot of land. “The sky is lovely this morning,” he commented, suddenly.

Miroku glanced up, curiously, then frowned. “If you favor rain clouds.”

“Well, certainly,” Lu’Ráve said, carefully, folding his hands gracefully behind his back. “Anything dark can be lovely. And dark is such an unfitting term for this day...you see, in fact, it is very bright.” He closed his eyes, turning his face up toward the sky.

The monk looked upward, noting the small beams of sunlight spearing through the dark clouds. “There’s so little light, you could hardly call it bright.”

“There is actually very much light,” Lu’Ráve corrected him. “This part of the sky merely wishes to cloak itself in darkness, knowing that the true light of itself might not be appropriate for those people who witness it.”

He blinked. Why was he being so abstract? “What does that mean?” he asked, impatiently.

“It means,” the older man said, patience in his pale eyes, “That this sky’s light is enough...and perhaps the sky should realize that, though few people recognize its efforts to conceal itself, those who DO appreciate and even favor it in this manner.”

The metaphor floated through his mind, and though part of him was obliged, the hateful part of him disagreed. “The bigger part of the sky is supremely bright,” he ground out, quietly, glaring sidelong at the priest, “and many people favor it to the darker one.”

“But many people are fools in this world, Miroku,” Lu’Ráve responded. As the monk stopped to face him, he smiled ever so benignly and gestured up to the overcast atmosphere. “The bright sky may be beautiful, but it is also unfortunate that it must always be bright for others to appreciate it. On days that the sun does not shine correctly, the bright sky is not bright, and therefore not appreciated for itself. It is to be pitied, not revered.” He sighed. “It must work hard to keep the light the others so adore.”

Miroku stared at him for what felt like hours, the meaning slowly sinking in. “To be so bright must be very tiring...” he said, softly.

The young priest nodded, his very heavy appearance seeming so much more obvious by the moment, then continued on through the garden. They reached the end of the path and turned back, heading toward the shrine again. “You see,” Lu’Ráve said at length, “The darker sky is much better off...for those who admire it do so not because it shines, but because it simply is. Though both parts of the sky have the same amount of light...the darker hasn’t to try to gain its followers, merely to be. It knows who truly supports it whenever it comes because those who do are grateful when its visible light shines, and satisfied when it does not.”

“...I see.”

“Indeed.” Suddenly, Lu’Ráve stopped again and turned to him. Taking a deep breath, he set a pale hand on his shoulder, surprising him slightly. It was amazing how a man that resonated with holy power could have a hand that felt so frail, as if his entire being were devoted to his craft. “Miroku, do you understand what I have said?”

He gave a small nod. “I think I do...” he trailed off, frowning, then continued. “But... Lu’Ráve-sama, I am not like the darkened sky. I’m so sinful I’m surprised I’ve not been stoned to death on the streets. But you-- ”

“I am not someone to revere, Miroku,” the older man sighed, weakly. “I am merely the bright sky...and the sky sometimes tires of bringing light to others, but someone must do so. You, on the other hand, are free; you are not obligated to do such things as I am.” He gave a small smile. “If I were to stop shining for even a moment--if I were to ever fall in love and wish to marry--what would my followers think of me? It is not my place...but it is yours.”

“But I don’t--”

“You do, Miroku. You have the holy light, just as I have it, but you do not live for yours. You are still a pure soul, despite what you do.” Lu’Ráve cupped his chin, forcing him lightly to look at him with his weak hands. “You are free, and I am captive. Doubt not yourself, Miroku, because the dark sky still has as much light as the bright sky...it merely needs not to struggle as hard to be bright for those who prefer it the way it came.”

Silently, Miroku was grateful. He gave a small nod, then followed the young high priest to the shrine again. As they walked, he wondered how miserable the man must have been. To shine for others...just so they are happy...He frowned. It’s a pity, but someone has to do it, I suppose...Lu’Ráve had a point. Someone had to do what he did, or others would suffer, just as the sunny sky had to be bright for the plants and the animals to live and grow. Still...somehow, he found himself pitying the bright day for having to work so hard.

“Go inside, finish your meal,” Lu’Ráve said as they reached the back doors. “I will remain here. Tell the others I am fine.”

Miroku nodded, mounting the deck, but as he turned back, a sudden guilt filled him. He had shown such disrespect to a man who knew things that the world would benefit from. “Lu’Ráve-sama...I--”

“Go, Miroku,” he sighed. “I understand.”

With a silent nod, the monk moved to enter the shrine again.

“Miroku-san?”

He paused, glancing back, then blinked as the other man offered him a weak smile.

“I admire the darker sky.”

With a small, honored smile, he bowed to the priest, then went inside.

And his heavy soul felt lighter.

The others were slightly shocked by his transition from gloomy to less- gloomy, and further shocked to find that Miroku’s resentment of Lu’Ráve had come full circle and become respect. He was in only a slightly better mood, but anything was better than his initial one.

“Travel safely,” the old priestess sighed. She patted Mikiro’s head. “Take care, young one.”

He nodded, smiling shyly.

Miroku shook hands with the high priest, and the others bowed to him. But then, he frowned, gripping the man’s hand tighter and drawing him closer. “Please relax sometime. Stop shining for others or you’ll shine yourself out.”

The priest blinked, then smiled. “I thank you for your concern, but the bright sky must shine when it is able. Besides...sloth is a sin.” He winked.

“Yes, but even the gods rest, and if you work yourself to death, it would be suicide and--in a form--murder. THAT is a sin as well. Better to rest and ensure many more days of light than to shine yourself into oblivion.”

“Be at ease, houshi-sama,” Lu’Ráve laughed. “You are wise for one so young. I will rest when my light is no longer needed, and only then. It is what I was ordained to do.” He sighed. “Good luck, Miroku. I sense great trouble in your future...but I know you will overcome it.”

He smiled, though somehow he doubted the belief. It was good to have the priest’s faith nonetheless. “Thank you.”

Then, Mikiro surprised them all when he hugged Lu’Ráve, clutching around his knees tightly. At the look of shock from the others and slight surprise from the priest, he simply smiled. With a weak smile, the worn man knelt, picking the boy up and giving him a proper hug. Then, he handed him to Miroku, and for the first time, the boy went willingly.

Their group headed off, the monk juggling his son onto his back to better maintain his balance. He had so much to think about that he hardly realized he was doing it at all--it was so natural for some reason--and Mikiro was tired, so he fell asleep moments later, burying his face in his father’s hair. There was no objection from either side.

“Aww...” Kagome cooed from nearby.

Miroku smiled, weakly, in response.

Inuyasha scoffed. “Feh.”

“Mikiro didn’t sleep too good,” Shippo commented, randomly, bouncing up to sit on the hanyou’s shoulder. He got comfortable, then continued, idly. “He was all rollin’ around and stuff, muttering about his mother and death.” He blinked. “It was sorta creepy.”

Sighing, Inuyasha folded his arms within his sleeves. “He’s worried about Kiori, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” Kagome sighed. “He has a right to be scared for his mom...I wonder when she’s comin’ back for him...”

“Once she finishes her quest,” Sango said. “Whenever that is...”

Miroku refrained from adding his two cents, deciding it was better to save it.

Their resident ex-miko, deciding it was getting too depressing, changed the subject. “Oh! Look at the sky!”

All eyes lifted to the overcast sky above. Slowly, the dark clouds were rolling away, revealing the blinding blue of the sunlit sky. Miroku noticed, bemused, that the spots where the darker clouds still clung were punctured by beams of light, the very image of which was quite stunning, while the clear sky was...well, to put it simply, boring! One saw the blue sky almost every day...such a thing as the dark sky was more...amazing. The symbolism brought a smile to his lips.

“The sun’s coming out,” Sango commented, softly.

Miroku smiled, then looked back at the temple not far away, where Lu’Ráve remained, peering upward. “I pity the bright sky...” he sighed.

Sango glanced at him, curiously. “What was that?”

“Oh...nothing.”

“Why would you pity the sky?” Inuyasha asked, his voice tilted with annoyance. “Because it’s airier than everything else?”

“No...” He turned back down the path and continued on. “Because it’s forced to shine for others to take notice of it.” He sighed. “I wonder what it did before it learned to shine...”

The others were staring at him, but he shook his head and kept walking.

“Never mind,” he sighed, offering a small smile. Adjusting his son on his back and setting his staff over his shoulder, he looked up at the sky. “Just never mind.”

Somewhere not too far away, a determined woman was scaling a jagged cliff, her hands gripping the rough stones as she forced herself ever higher up the endless peak. That does it,Kiori thought, viciously, as the wind ripped past, nearly dragging her from the cliff’s face. I hate men. No man is worth this much trouble.She continued up, watching as the flutter of expensive cloth disappeared from sight, along with a flash of a fluffy white tail. And I just had to pick the demon-man that can fly, didn’t I? Damn him--if this keeps up, I’ll kill him before I call on that favor.

As the elements continued their attempts to thwart her, Kiori pushed onward, using her frustration for the entire situation as fuel to force herself onward. Why was she even doing this?!

Her mind floated back to her son as he climbed, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was all right. Then, it came back to her for the millionth time. She was doing all of this for Mikiro, so he could be a lord someday...so he wouldn’t have to live in this terrible land unprotected.

I take it back,she thought, tiredly, as her hand grasped the edge of the cliff. The lord she sought had disappeared again, continuing on his way with his toad-like servant and little girl. Only one man is worth this much trouble...and his father had better be taking care of him.

She moved to pull herself up, but the rock she held slipped, dumping her back over the edge. With a cry, she grabbed the nearest stones, snatching at them so roughly that she skinned her fingers, cracking several of her nails.

“Damn it!” she cried. “Whatever god is responsible for this is really getting marked up on my shit-list!”

Suddenly, a strong hand came down over the edge of the cliff, catching one of her wrists and pulling her up. She found herself lying on her face in the dirt moments later, dizzy and disoriented.

“Ugh...” Slowly, Kiori climbed to her knees, shaking her dull brown hair out of her face. Then, she paused as her eyes fell across several men and a woman standing before her. They were all dressed in armor and fur, wild- looking and most of them ugly. The one that had helped her was worst of all. She stared at them, blankly, at a loss for words.

“What are you doin’ over there?” the youngest man present shouted at the man nearest to her. His voice was slightly nasal and carried a proud air. Because he was the most attractive and the best dressed one there, as well as accompanied by a woman, Kiori had a feeling he was their leader. When the uglier man didn’t respond, he scowled, his pale eyes narrowing. “WELL?!”

“Gah! Uh, look what I found, Kouga!” He grabbed Kiori by her arm, yanking her forward.

Angrily, she ripped her walking stick from her back and bashed him over the head, knocking him away from her and to the ground. He nearly fell off the cliff. The others gawked at her. “Don’t touch me, scum,” she spat, vehemently. She dusted herself off, eyeing the leader, who looked slightly taken aback. Somehow, judging by the look of loss on his face, it all made sense to her now. “Wolves. Should I be surprised?”

The leader--Kouga, or something--gestured to a few of the other ‘men’, who had been moving slowly toward her. They stopped, backing off, and he approached. “Show some respect,” he barked at her. “Had we not shown up, you would’ve fallen from the cliff, old woman.”

Her eye twitched and she stood, lifting her eyes to him. “Old...woman...?” Her blood-pressure shot through the proverbial roof. “I’ll show YOU an old woman!” She moved to strike him with her staff, but he caught it, visibly unfazed. In response, he snarled at her, looking very ready to eat her right there. So, she moved for plan B and kneed him in his groin as hard as she could. Which was pretty hard.

That got him. He collapsed.

The other human-wolves hurried to his aid, the redheaded woman screaming away about him. “Kouga! Are you all right? Oh gods, I think he passed out.”

“Did she hit him THAT hard?”

“Geez, how embarrassing...”

Kiori finished shaking the dirt from her clothing, then rotated her staff, leering at the gathered people. “Let me pass and bother me no more, mongrels, and I’ll cause you no more trouble.”

The woman glared at her, scathingly. “How dare you--”

“Let ‘er go.”

They all looked at their young leader, who was red in the face and curled up in a ball. Some of his numbers sighed, shaking their heads in embarrassment, while others gawked at him. (For his words or being conscious, she wasn’t sure.)

“But Kouga--”

“Shut up, Ayame,” he coughed. He opened one eye, peering at Kiori herself, then shook his head, grudgingly. “That’s her...I thought it might be...”

“‘Her?’ ”

“The woman that mangled half the wolves yesterday.”

Kiori recalled with a brief roll of her eyes her ‘battle’ with the shaggy mongrels she had been forced to deal with the day prior, the ones that had prevented her from reaching Sesshomaru. Now that she was paying attention, she could see several similar dogs hiding in the forest nearby, very visibly cowed by her presence.

The redheaded woman Ayame looked at her, startled. “This woman--?”

Kouga nodded. “Don’t fuck with her, she’ll kill us. Ain’t worth the trouble.”

“Smart mongrel,” Kiori snorted. Leering at the nearest wolf soldier and sending him packing, she stepped over the leader and his woman and continued onward. “I haven’t time to play with dogs.”

And as she left, Kouga managed to sit up, still in pain but suddenly interested.

For a moment...he’d thought he’d smelled Mikiro nearby.

That’s too damn weird for me...

“We gotta find another shard of the Shikon,” Kagome whispered to Inuyasha.

He gave a small nod of agreement. They did. That demon bitch Sakura had taken their fragment. Now Naraku was that much closer to having the whole thing, and that would mean doom for the world.

He glanced down at Mikiro, who was walking not too far from him and playing with his rosary. That boy would suffer if Naraku got all the jewel shards...because it was the sworn duty of Miroku’s family to kill the demon, and if he got all that power, both he and his father would be as good as dead.

“Kagome,” Miroku said, suddenly, drawing all eyes.

“Yes?”

“I sense something foreboding in the air,” he stated, tonelessly. “Tell me, do you sense any shards?”

The ex-priestess stopped and looked slowly around, then closed her eyes a moment, apparently trying to locate any.

There better be some nearby,Inuyasha thought, impatiently. We ain’t got much time and Naraku’s close to having the whole damn Shikon. That happens and it’s all over.

Finally, Kagome opened her eyes. “No shards,” she sighed, defeatedly. “But I do sense something coming...Inuyasha?”

“I’m on it.” Adjusting his sword at his hip, he leapt into the nearest tree, perching there and taking a few whiffs of the air, listening for any noise.

Sango pulled her boomerang from her back, using it to nudge Mikiro back behind her, then glanced around. Miroku came to stand beside her, his staff held ready. Shippo hid behind the dark-haired child, whimpering stupidly.

Suddenly, the rancid smell of carrion reached his nostrils, making him wince, and the sound of heavy panting in the distance came soon after. “It’s youkai, that’s for sure,” he called down. “Not too big--smells like those damned mouth demons!”

“Koketsu again,” Miroku sighed. “Who is dispatching those horrid things?”

“Naraku, prolly.” Inuyasha jumped down. “It’s only one, so if it shows up, it shows up. If not, let it go. We ain’t got time to mess with those stupid things unless we gotta.”

They all agreed with that, but unfortunately, their plan of escaping confrontation was not to be. A blood-curdling shriek rang out, making everyone jump, and a voice cried out.

“Help me! Please!”

The hanyou sighed, scratching his head, then boosted Kagome onto his back. “Well, let’s go, then.”

Kirara transformed into travel-mode and the others piled on, and the group headed off toward the noise, Inuyasha leaping through the trees, the neko youkai flying over them.

In no time, they found the cause of the disturbance. Lying beneath a battered old tree not far away was a young girl, beaten and bloody, her clothing brutally thrashed. The brush around her had been trampled and ripped up, showing signs of a large beast having been there not moments before their arrival, but now it was gone, leaving only the child as proof of its attack.

Kagome hopped off Inuyasha’s back and dropped down next to her. “Little girl, are you okay? How badly are you hurt?”

“I...” She coughed, weakly, then sat up, but her right arm gave and she fell to the forest floor again with a small cry. “T-the princess...”

Sango blinked. “Princess?”

“The princess...the village...help us, please...” Suddenly, she forced herself into an upright position, only to collapse at Miroku’s feet, clutching his robes weakly. “...H-help...”

The lecher stared, horror-stricken, then hurried to help Kagome calm her down.

Inuyasha huffed, then glanced over his shoulder as something moved in the brush only meters away. “Damned thing’s still lurkin’. I’ll get it.” Unsheathing Tetsusaiga, he hurried off after the putrid scent of decaying flesh, intent on killing it. It’s about time I got to kill something. It’s getting boring around here.

Kagome managed to get the girl sitting upright and helped her wake up, but she was losing blood fast and fading even faster. The koketsu had tried to rip her in half, but it had heard them coming somehow and had abandoned her for a lost cause, leaving her to suffer. She was probably eight at the oldest, far to young to suffer such pain.

The weakening girl sputtered and whispered for several short moments before finally losing consciousness, at which point the ex-miko finished bandaging her wounds.

“She says her village is plagued by the mouth demons,” Kagome reported at length. “Other, bigger demons too. She’s a page, and her princess sent her out to get help, because all of the warriors are off fighting the war, so no one can protect them. The thing followed her...poor girl, she almost died.”

Miroku frowned, then looked at Mikiro, who stood cowering behind him, clutching the hem of his kimono desperately. Kiori was right,he thought. This world is too dangerous for children nowadays. I shudder to think what may have happened to him had he not been left in our care.Yet another mark against him for doubting the woman’s intelligence at first. She certainly knew what she was doing

Sango sighed. “We had better get her home,” she said, determinedly. “We might as well help while we’re here, right?”

“Of course,” the monk sighed. “What else can we do?”

However, as Kagome lifted the injured girl onto Kirara for transportation, the words of the gypsy witch came back to him.

“...‘the victim will find you,’ ” he whispered to himself. The image of the poor child toppling to the ground at his feet flashed before his eyes, and his grip on his staff tightened. “‘The victim will find you, and through her you will start your path to destruction’!”

The huntress glanced sidelong at him. “What are you muttering about over there?” she asked.

He shook his head, waving her off dismissively in favor of the prophecy he had been given. The victim has found me, apparently,he thought, eyeing the hurt young girl. The chain of events has begun...Arundel said...she said that I would battle a two-faced oddity, do something else, fight ‘a woman with many forms’...that’s Sakura, no doubt. I can’t remember the rest of it...

The branches high above them parted and Inuyasha dropped into sight, looking thoroughly disgusted. He wiped his hands on his pant-legs, wincing. “Hell, why do those things have to explode when you cut ‘em?” he demanded, sourly. “If they weren’t so fucking sticky...how much blood can one mouth on legs carry, anyway?!”

Sango shook her head. “We’re going to this girl’s village to help her people,” she informed the hanyou. Before he could argue, she continued. “She was nearly eaten, Inuyasha. We have to take her home anyway, so we might as well do what we can to assist her.”

Angrily, the half-demon punched a tree, burying his fist in the trunk. “Damn it! I’m so sick of this!” he shouted. “We don’t even have ONE FRAGMENT of the Shikon jewel and now we’re doing MORE charity work! When does it end?!”

“When Naraku is stopped,” Kagome said, grimly. “Let’s get going.”

Inuyasha pulled his arm from the tree, snorting indignantly, then turned and headed off. Sango followed, and Shippo shot after them, wailing childishly in fear of another attack.

Miroku nudged his son along with his staff, distractedly, considering his fate. It’s been two days since the prophecy was told to me,he thought. My time is growing short and already it begins...what am I going to do?

You’re going to do what you always do,a reasonable voice in his mind replied, simply. You’ll fight, you’ll face your destiny, and you’ll save your son the trouble of fighting Naraku someday before you keel over or you’ll be damned to Hell.

A wonderful plan,he thought, dryly. Still, it seemed to be his only choice. Looking up through the canopy at the bright, blue sky, he sighed. I only hope I can shine as you do for the time I have left.

To Be Continued

Xandra: Short chapter, I know, but I’m going right to work on the next one, I swear! Hope you enjoyed, forgive me being so damn late! XX I LOVE YOU ALL! IT’LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! plans to finish this story soon

PS: The little girl was yet another promised cameo, I believe for my contest winner that--when asked about her character--said something to the effect of, ‘I wanna be somebody who shows up and...dies. I don’t know why, I just do.’ (Topaz, if I’m not mistaken! points) Cameo not over, but neither are the appearances of the other two, Sakura and Akaly-na. (Yes, Kaylana, your kitsune gets a final say on Sakura. ) Review, please, and forgive the oh so late update. X-x