Daddy Dearest – Part Four: Ambush At Sundown

In the morning, the gang had breakfast with Yvette and her grandmother, then got their things together and thanked them for their kindness. Before they left, however, the old woman brought out a pair of sandals for Mikiro's bare little feet. "A boy so small shouldn't walk around without some protection from the ground," she had said.

So, they left and departed in high spirits.

Well, for the most part anyway. Miroku was still having trouble sorting out his thoughts and feelings about his son and himself, and the night hadn't brought him any reprieve from it. Dreamless and unrestful sleep had engulfed him the moment his eyes had closed, only to spit him back into reality seemingly moments later, nauseous and dizzy with a headache from lack of true rest. This wasn't helping him in the slightest.

Meanwhile, it seemed that Mikiro had somehow found his way into Inuyasha's room in the night, suffering from an undisclosed nightmare that he didn't want to talk about. Since he had first seen the two that morning, Miroku had not seen Mikiro leave Inuyasha's side, and it was disturbing. Sango had commented that it was actually quite cute, and Kagome had agreed, but Miroku didn't find it cute. He found it threatening, and yet, he could do nothing about it. It was as if Mikiro wasn't even HIS son.

They stayed in the village a while and picked up a few supplies to help them on their journey, and while the girls shopped, Miroku questioned the people of the area about any strange disturbances they may have experienced. The only odd things they had seen were the koketsu, but other than that, there was nothing remarkably unusual, excluding the massive cold front that had hit the prior night and had lingered most nights before.

//I feel as if I'm missing something,// he thought to himself as he waited with Shippo. Sango and Kagome were finishing their shopping inside the shop, and Inuyasha and Mikiro were with them for some reason. //There must be something I am overlooking...I fear if I do not discover what it is that I am not seeing here, it will come back and make me suffer for it...//

"Wha'cha thinking about, Miroku?" Shippo asked, looking up at him.

He sighed. "Nothing for you to trouble yourself over, Shippo. I just have a feeling that there is something here I am not seeing..."

"Your son, maybe."

He jumped, then did a double take and looked at the kitsune. "PARDON me?!"

Shippo blinked. "I said that pretty loud, huh?" He sighed. "I haf'ta stop talking to myself so much!"

Miroku grabbed the little youkai by his collar and lifted him into the air. "What exactly did you MEAN by that?!" he demanded, feeling suddenly provoked and insulted.

"Nothin! Nothin at all!"

"TELL ME WHAT YOU MEANT!"

"Miroku, put Shippo down," Kagome said, sternly, as she exited the shop. "What are you doing to him?"

Miroku quickly shook off the sudden unexplainable fury and dropped the fox youkai on a crate nearby, putting a hand to his forehead and taking a deep breath. //What is the MATTER with me?!// he demanded of himself. //What is my problem?!//

"Wha'd you do now, Shippo?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nothin!" the kitsune exclaimed again. "He's losin' it!"

Sango shook her head. "Shippo, don't--"

"No," Miroku said. "I don't believe he is entirely wrong in that statement. I apologize, Shippo."

Everyone stared at him for a while in silence, but he barely noticed them.

//I'm losing control of myself,// he thought. //I can neither process my own thoughts nor make intelligent decisions anymore...what is going on...//

"Maybe we had better get moving," Kagome suggested. "I think I sense jewel shards..."

"Let's go, then," Inuyasha agreed. Mikiro was standing behind him and eyeing Miroku himself meekly, but he was silent.

Shippo got up and leered at Miroku, then hurried over and stood next to Mikiro behind the hanyou's legs.

As Inuyasha turned to go, both boys kept close to him, and Mikiro refused to look at him. Kagome quickly followed him, giving Miroku an unreadable look, but Sango stayed with him as he watched the others head for the path.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Miroku, what's the matter with you? You're acting very strange."

He sighed. "I don't know, Sango..."

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

He looked up and watched Mikiro hug onto Inuyasha's hand, then sighed as the hanyou patted his head with a smile before picking him up. "No."

Sango wasn't stupid. She followed his gaze, then looked at him, blinking. "You're jealous."

He didn't answer, because he wasn't certain if it was true.

No, that was a lie. He knew he was jealous, all right, but he wasn't about to admit it.

"Come on, you guys!" Kagome called back to them.

Miroku sighed, then grabbed his staff and headed off after them with Sango in hot pursuit. He felt like he was going out of his head and he didn't know how to fix it...it was all so confusing. Part of him felt the oddest urge to bash Inuyasha's head in with his staff and take the boy from his lifeless arms, but another part, the biggest part, was afraid to do so because Mikiro was so thoroughly afraid of him and, truthfully, he was afraid of himself. These warring feelings inside of him were tearing him apart and he had no idea how to stop them.

Sango grabbed him by his shoulders and turned him around. "Miroku, you know I'm here for you if you need to talk, right?"

He sighed, nodding. "Yes, and I thank you, but I sense that whatever I am going through is something I must face alone--without your help."

She frowned. "All right...but if you DO need to talk--"

"I'll inform you," he said, forcing a slight smile. It was about as much as he could bear to fake without fear of hurting his face.

She nodded, then skirted him and went to catch up with the others.

As soon as she was out of range, he sighed and leaned against his pole, shutting his eyes. "I doubt this could get much worse."

"MASTER!!!"

He jumped, then looked back over his shoulder and sighed. "Oh, fuck!" he swore, irritated. "I hate my luck!"

It was Hachi, and he was being chased down by a bunch of three-eyed demon- wolves.

//Why me? Why ALWAYS me?// Miroku thought as the nerveless creature ran up and hid behind him. With a sigh, he rotated his staff and brought it down over one of the wolves' heads, flattening it with a cry of pain. The others quickly turned tail and ran, and the other followed, albeit wobbling as it retreated.

The others had stopped and were hastily coming back to see what had happened.

"What was that about?" Kagome asked as the wolves disappeared over the horizon.

He sighed. "Hachi, what did you do?"

"Nothing!" the raccoon youkai cried. "I did nothing! They attacked ME!"

"WHY didn't you fend them off yourself?" he asked, grouchily. He was in no mood to be listening to this incessant whining. Normally, it wasn't that bad, but he hadn't gotten any real sleep and his fuse was amazingly short, as Shippo had proved only minutes ago.

"W-well...there were more of them than these is of me..."

"There were three," Miroku said, flatly, fingering the staff tensely. He wanted to hit the damn thing so badly... "You could have changed into something huge and frightened them away instead of coming to me."

Hachi cringed. "I'm sorry, Master..."

Miroku sighed and bopped him with his staff, then turned to the others. "WELL? Are we going or are we all going to stand here and stare?"

"Somebody's grumpy," Shippo muttered.

Inuyasha looked down. "Is that coming with us?"

"Most probably," Miroku sighed.

"I'll be quiet, Master, I promise!"

"Then start now."

Hachi shut his mouth and silently tailed Miroku as they headed off. Yet another body to add to their group, and yet another liability.

//This is what I get for making stupid comments.//

~

"Hmm...that little badger gave me an idea," Naraku said to himself, looking at the afternoon sky. "Oh, how unlucky. It seems that the moon will be taking a break from its nightly task of crossing the sky. What a perfect opportunity to get the Shikon jewel fragment the girl carries...but what have we here? I sense something else of value amongst them...strange that I cannot make it out." He shrugged, then stood on his perch high above the unsuspecting group. "No matter, though. I had better put the affairs in order before sunset, or else I will lose this perfect opportunity."

**** ~

They stopped to eat and rest in mid-afternoon, finding a pleasant glen to relax in with a little silver creek bisecting it. Throughout the journey so far, there had been little socialization, thanks to Miroku's bad mood and everyone else's caution of it, but by the time they reached this lovely little place, he had worked out most of his misplaced anger and managed to calm himself to a good extent.

Kagome began setting out a picnic she had brought with her from her time while Sango fell to polishing her boomerang. Inuyasha, who had been carrying Mikiro since they had left the inn, now set the boy down to allow him to go play with Shippo and Kirara, and Miroku positioned himself near the bank of the stream, where he hoped to relax a bit.

Of course, that didn't last, because Hachi, who apparently hadn't noticed Mikiro until that moment, had to come bother him. "Master, who is that child?"

Miroku sighed. "Which one," he asked, dully. He knew who he was talking about, he just didn't care to talk to him right then.

"The black-haired boy in the blue--" Hachi suddenly cut off as Mikiro sat down on the other side of the stream with Shippo and folded his legs, smiling cutely as the kitsune began to tell him stories. The tanuki looked at him, then at the boy, then back at him. "MASTER! Have you a son?!"

"Oh, of course not," he sighed, rolling his eyes, "It's a coincidence that he looks exactly like me."

"Oh."

With an aggravated growl, he looked at Hachi, who covered his head with his hands instantly. He sighed, forcing back the anger. "I have a son," he agreed, finally.

"But you said--"

"Sarcasm, Hachi. Yes, that is my son."

"When did you get a son?"

"Yesterday," he muttered.

Hachi stared. "He is awfully well-coordinated for an infant."

Miroku sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "He was given to me yesterday morning, he was born three years ago."

He blinked. "I thought you did not have a son, Master."

"So did I."

"This is very trying."

"Yes," he sighed. "Yes it is."

Suddenly, Mikiro looked up and blinked, looking at Hachi. "A badger in robes?" he whispered to Shippo, who laughed.

Miroku smirked as the raccoon face-vaulted.

"No, it's a youkai," Shippo informed him, still snickering, "like me, but not as good at being one as I am. I'm tons better than him."

"The young master is three years old?" the raccoon-demon asked, looking somewhat annoyed.

Miroku nodded. "Yes."

"He is very wise for such a young child."

"Without a doubt," he agreed with a sigh.

He watched as Kagome skipped across the stones in the creek, approaching the boys. She knelt down next to them in the grass, then began teaching them some game involving chanting a rhyme while clapping their hands together in different patterns. It looked complex, but in no time, the boys had memorized the pattern and were laughing hysterically as they attempted to do it themselves. For some reason, hearing Mikiro's laughter seemed to lighten the heavy load on his heart caused by his guilt and vexation. It was as if that happy sound made all of it bearable.

//I wonder why his joy causes this in me...//

"Master," Hachi began, "If I may ask, who is the child's mother?"

He sighed, the heaviness of his heart returning. "A young woman named Kiori."

Hachi sat upright. "Kiori? As in the Lady Kiori?"

He looked at the raccoon, blinking. "Yes, I believe so...what of it?"

"Oh, you spoke grandly of her to me, Master, do you not recall? I thought you would never cease in your praise of her!"

Miroku turned and looked at Hachi head-on. "I spoke of her to you? I don't even remember her myself!"

"How can you not? All I heard for a very long time was how beautiful she was and how much you..." he paused, frowning, "How much you loved her...how could you possibly have forgotten?"

He felt an uncomfortable numbness eating at the edges of his mind, the feeling that signaled his brain struggling to recall something that seemed vaguely familiar. Had Hachi been with him that long? If so, maybe the youkai could help him to remember when and where this had all happened, so he could ascertain the extent of what he had done. This specific, unexplainable loss of memory was what troubled him most, but he was certain that, once he was able to recall what he needed to, he would find it much easier to deal with the problem of his son.

"You seem distraught, Master," Hachi pointed out.

He nodded. "Yes...and I fear this may become permanent if the gods do not bestow upon me the knowledge I seek."

"What knowledge is this?"

"Why I cannot remember her..."

Hachi blinked. "You have truly forgotten her?"

He nodded, brushing his bangs out of his face with one hand and staring across the small creek at Mikiro and Shippo. They were both exhausted from playing that game and chanting the rhyme and were now lying on the grass, talking about the clouds and what they saw. "Yes, and no matter how I try, I cannot remember her or anything about her."

The youkai paused for a moment, looking at the sparking stream, then suddenly jumped to its feet. "I have an idea!"

"Comedy will not lighten my mood, Hachi," Miroku said, smirking to himself.

The raccoon ignored the comment. "Master, have you had some trouble sleeping?"

"More than some," he agreed, wryly.

"If you will give me a coin or two, I can get you a sleep-aide from a village not far from here."

He pinned Hachi with a suspicious look. He was NOT about to give money to a demonic raccoon without a DAMN good reason. Besides, what did his sleeping habits have to do with remembering Kiori? "What are you trying to get away with?"

"Nothing, Master, I swear it! Your lack of sleep might be affecting your ability to remember what you wish to. I mean, have you slept well since the boy was left to you?"

He shook his head, slowly. "No..."

"Then perhaps this has something to do with it. Once you are well-rested, you might possibly remember the boy's mother."

He eyed the raccoon for a moment, then looked at Mikiro out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to remember Kiori so he could get the guilt out of his mind and finally try and relate to his son, and in order to do that, he had to get some rest so he wouldn't be so grouchy. He sighed, then took a pair of coins from the pocket of his robe and handed them to the Hachi. "Very well, but I warn you, if you try to run off with those without offering me any remedy to my disorder, you will experience an all new world of excruciating PAIN when I get my hands on you again, and I promise you, I WILL, am I clear?"

Hachi swallowed. "Y-yes, Master. It will take me until sunset at the earliest, though, so I will need time--"

"You will return to me no later than two hours after the sun has set, then," he said. "WITH the remedy. I doubt I will make it through another night in a very giving mood unless I get some well-needed rest. Well? You have your task, so go!"

Hachi turned and quickly bolted away into the forest, back the way they had come, and was gone.

The moment he was gone, Sango came and took his place in the grass next to Miroku. "He was in a hurry. Where is he going?"

"To get me a sleep-aide," he sighed.

She blinked. "You haven't been sleeping?"

Miroku looked directly at her and she jumped, blinking again. Apparently, it was obvious.

"Well, that explains your bad attitude and sudden urge to NOT be a pervert. I was starting to worry about you--but don't let that give you any ideas of groping me, because tired or not I will STILL slap you for it."

He smiled. "I thank you for your pity, but I have enough condolence for myself to last me a lifetime."

She looked at him for a long moment, and even after he had looked away, he could feel her eyes on the side of his face. Why was she so concerned by his welfare?

And then, she took his hand, and he looked up, surprised. She smiled back at him, then pointed over at the boys, who were still lying in the grass. Mikiro's smile was still positioned on his face, and it was a fitting expression that Miroku felt he should always be able to wear, instead of that frightened pout.

"Why don't you talk to him?" she whispered to him. Then, she did the unthinkable. She kissed him on his left cheek.

Miroku blinked, taken aback. "S-Sango, I..."

"No, don't," she said, shaking her head. She pointed to Mikiro again. "Talk to him."

He stared at the boy for a long moment, allowing his eyes to travel across his smiling face, then turned away, closing his eyes. "I can't," he said, finally. "Maybe after I prove to my mind that he is my son."

~

Sango blinked, almost disgusted with him. "But how can you deny it?" she demanded.

He sighed. "*I* do not deny it...but a part of me...a small part of me is absolutely set on the idea that if I cannot remember his mother, he cannot be my son." Slowly, he looked up at her, and she was shocked to find that he was almost crying. He took her hands in his own and looked at her, his eyes shining with more than just tears. "Sango, I have to prove myself wrong...but in order to do that, I have to remember being with Kiori, and I will...but I cannot face him until I do. That small part of me wants to say that he is not my son, and it doesn't want to be proven wrong, but I have to know for absolutely certain, without a doubt, that he is my child. I'm sorry to admit it, but I am afraid, and part of me demands proof."

She blinked. That sounded so familiar...

/'The little girl in me still believes his passionate words and adores the exterior of what he is, and refuses to believe that he deceived me to get what he wanted from me. Though I myself know the truth, that small part of me wants proof.'/

Kiori. Now she remembered. //How odd...// Miroku was questing for proof that something was true, while Kiori was searching for proof that something was not. They were so alike in central mindset that it was almost eerie.

She offered him a comforting smile, though she knew it wasn't really convincing. "Well, whenever you finally come to terms with yourself, you remember that there is a little boy sitting right there, waiting, just as you are."

Miroku sighed and tried to look away, but she caught his chin and forced him to look over at Mikiro again. "I know..."

"No, you don't," she whispered. "The difference is, while you are waiting for your past to come back, he is waiting for his future to arrive. While you wait for the memory of a woman you knew, he waits for his Daddy, a man he has NEVER known, and unlike you, he can see what he's waiting for clear as day. The question is, when will he get what he's waited so long for, Miroku?" Sango stood up and left him to ponder what she had said, proud of herself for coming up with the keen little speech.

She went back to the picnic blanket, where Kagome was still setting out lunch from her huge yellow backpack, then sat down and sighed to herself.

"Is Miroku still having trouble dealing with all of it?" Kagome asked.

Sango nodded. "Yes, unfortunately, but I think I just gave him something to turn over in his mind that might help him sort things out."

"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed from the tree nearby. He was sitting on a branch hanging over the blanket, and as Sango looked up at him, her eyes followed his line-of-sight to Mikiro. It was like he was watching over him. "What's he got to sort out? The kid's his son--the hole in his hand and his looks prove it--what more does he need as proof?"

Apparently, he had been listening. "He said part of him needs more than that," Sango sighed.

Inuyasha scowled. "Wish I knew which part that was. I'd rip it out for him-- then maybe he'd take responsibility for his foolishness and take care of that kid. He doesn't deserve to be ignored like he isn't here, he deserves to have someone love and care for him, just like every kid does."

Kagome and Sango exchanged a surprised glance. "Inuyasha...?"

"You really feel strongly about Mikiro, don't you?" Sango asked.

"Feh."

"Take that as a yes," Kagome sighed. She finished setting up, then whistled. "Shippo, Mikiro, Miroku, lunch is ready!"

The kitsune and the chibi-version of the perverted monk quickly got up from their places in the grass, brushed themselves off and quickly set to hopping across the little rock path in the stream, but Miroku didn't move. Both boys hastily raced up and planted themselves on the blanket, Mikiro more politely than Shippo, who practically leapt into the food. Inuyasha dropped from his perch and landed in a crouch near the boys.

"Miroku!" Kagome called to the stationary figure. "Did you hear me?"

"Thank you, but I find myself lacking an appetite."

She frowned. "Aww, c'mon! You HAVE to eat SOMETHING! I'm not THAT bad of a cook!"

"Oh, quit pouting, Miroku," Inuyasha spat at him. "Whatever your problem is, get over it."

The dark-haired priest looked back at him, cocking an eyebrow. "Since when do you take an interest in my well-being, Inuyasha?"

"I don't," he retorted. "I just hate seeing a grown man pouting about nothing; it's pitiful and annoying."

Miroku sighed, then stood and came to join them, sitting cross-legged next to Sango. He looked thoughtful as he accepted a can of soda from Kagome. He didn't even open it.

//I REALLY hope Hachi hurries back with that sleep-aide,// she thought.

~

//Ooh, he would be very angry indeed if he knew what I was doing,// the tanuki thought as he waited in the shop for the proprietor.

He had heard of this potion from a stray, friendly youkai along his journeys a few months ago, and the moment Miroku had mentioned being in need of sleep and a forgotten memory, he had remembered it. He knew very well that if had just came out and said, "Miroku-sama, there is an illegal potion a gypsy witch makes that helps restore memories, would you like me to get it?" he would've gotten smacked so hard with that staff of his that his head would fall off. No, his master was slightly unscrupulous at times, thanks to his love of beautiful women, but he was a good man with strong morals.

He shuddered at the thought of getting bopped with that staff. //Oh no, I will not let him know it is a potion. He will do fine to think of it as a sleep-aide, because it is...it is merely a sleep-aide that helps clarify thinking...not really a spell at all...// He paused, then frowned. //Oh, who am I kidding. It's a spell, but it will help him...I hope.//

A cloaked figure walked out from the back of the shop and paused to look down at him. "A tanuki, I see. What can I help you with, little creature?"

He coughed, uncertainly. //I hope this is a good idea...// "I am in need of a certain potion...a powder, I believe, that helps the victim--er, PATRON, to recall long-forgotten memories through sleep."

"Ah, quite the dangerous concoction, my dear little youkai," the form hissed. It was a woman, no doubt about it, but there was a very foreboding air to her that made Hachi uncomfortable. "Quite pricey, too, I might add."

"Hold on one moment," he said, quickly. "DANGEROUS? I was not informed that there was any danger involved in the use of the potion!"

She shook her covered head. "Every type of magic has a drawback or two. It is nothing life threatening, I assure you. The question is, do you have the money to pay for it?"

He cautiously brought the two golden coins from his pocket and set them on the counter, but he didn't take his fingers off them. Gypsy witches were even less trustworthy than youkai. "I would prefer you tell me more about the potion before I agree to pay you."

"Ah, a smart one, you are. Very well. My concoction is guaranteed to restore memories, if the subject using the potion has a specific thing in mind that they wish to recall. If not, it simply drags up loose, forgotten memories of slightly important events into view."

//Good! He is thinking of nothing but his inability to remember the Lady Kiori!//

"Are you to be using it on an animal, youkai or human?"

"A human."

"Male or female, and being of what age?"

"Male, I would hope, and I believe he is somewhere along the lines of nineteen years of age, if not twenty."

She took out a sheet of paper and took it down, then nodded. "Very well, this will be easy. It will take me roughly three hours to brew it, and then you can take it along. Tell me, little youkai, you look troubled. Are you planning on drugging someone with this?"

He jumped. "Well, no! I-I mean, I was going to--" He paused. "How do you mean by that?"

She chuckled. "Are you going to administer the potion without the subject's knowledge?"

"I told him it was a sleep-aide, for my master has great trouble sleeping."

"Ah, quite the wise choice, for the potion does indeed induce a deep sleep, but if mixed improperly, it might cause nightmares or mixed memories, as well as some unfortunately bowel issues." She smirked. "In my youth, I found it fun to put in tea to serve to my father when he made me angry."

Hachi snapped his fingers. "My master drinks tea, especially at night before he sleeps! Could I perhaps slip it into that to help him?"

She nodded. "Yes, indeed, but you might exercise caution when administering it, for too much causes delusions, even faintness in order to help the subject remember the full extent of what they need too, and too little has no effect but some sedentary assistance. In a nutshell, if you give him too much, he might faint without warning at an inopportune time, but too little will be a waste of the magic in it. If anything, I would suggest serving him no more or less than a thimble-full in one cup of tea, lest something unfortunate happen."

**** ~

Miroku watched as the others finished their lunch, still not having eaten out of lack of real hunger. He was still wracking his brain for that section of his life that he just couldn't catch. He wanted to push it aside and forget his need to remember Kiori, but for some reason, his mind would not let that tiny spark she had started go. Apparently, some part of him still knew her, and it wasn't going to let him live in ignorance.

He looked across the blanket at Mikiro, who was sitting next to Inuyasha and fighting with a little snack-sized back of potato chips Kagome had given him. The little boy just couldn't get it. "Grrr..." he growled, yanking at the top of the bag. He frowned, then looked up at the hanyou, who was eating from a full-sized bag of the same chips. He offered it to him. "Can you open it?"

Inuyasha paused in mid-action, a chip already half into his mouth, then nodded. "Sure." He crammed the chip into his mouth, took the little bag and laid it flat on his left palm, then balled up his fist and brought it down over it with a loud 'BOOM!' that made everybody jump. He handed it back. "There ya go."

Mikiro giggled. "Thank you."

"Aww, that's cute," Kagome whispered to Sango, who nodded her agreement.

Once again, Miroku failed to find the cuteness in it, though his sleeping jealousy awoke with a vengeance at the sight. Certainly he had no serious right to be jealous, besides the fact that the boy was HIS son and not Inuyasha's. They only got along because the hanyou was as immature as Mikiro was, and his IQ probably wasn't any higher, either!

He paused in mid-thought. He really WAS jealous! He was belittling Inuyasha in his mind because his son liked him more, and every comment he had made was unwarranted. He had no right to do that, jealousy or not.

But that was HIS son!

...Wasn't it?

He sighed, then stood and looked off at the horizon. The sun would be setting in an hour or so, and then they would stop for camp, the tanuki would be back with the sleep-aide and maybe he would get some rest. He wanted so badly to be able to talk to Mikiro without fear of hurting or frightening him, but in his current state of ill-tempered unrest, he was bound to do it anyway. He would just have to wait for his chance.

Soon enough, the others were ready to go. After cleaning up the remainder of the picnic, Inuyasha hoisted Mikiro onto his shoulders, Sango picked up her little youkai and the kitsune hopped on Kagome and they all headed off. Miroku couldn't help noticing how he felt as an outcast suddenly, being that everyone had someone to care about but him. Kagome had Shippo, Sango had Kirara and the hanyou had his son, but what of him?

//Why is it that so many things that never troubled me are bothering me now?// he thought. First the lying, and now his own state of social isolation. What was the deal with it? He sighed to himself as they crossed the stream and entered the forest again. //I certainly hope Hachi hurries back with that sleep-aide.//

**** ~

"Inu-san?"

Inuyasha blinked, then smirked. The boy had a knack for doing that to people's names! "Yeah, Mikiro?"

"I'm sorry if I sound rude, but..." he poked one of the hanyou's ears, making it twitch. He snickered. "Why do you have puppy ears?"

He refrained from mentioning the fact that he was half demon in fear of frightening the boy. "I'm, uh...special."

"Oh...I see."

He smiled to himself. Though he didn't know why, he felt amazingly protective of this sweet little boy, the same way he felt about Kagome most of the time, but for a different reason--he thought. Though he denied it all of the time, he knew he loved her, and that was why he defended and looked out for her, but Mikiro had sparked an all-new feeling in Inuyasha. He couldn't help but feel as if it was his duty to shield this innocent little boy from harm, despite the fact that he was neither his father nor anyone really associated with him. He just felt...connected to him. After all, as a child, he hadn't had a father either, just his mother, and when he had lost her, he had indeed felt the need to be protected, just as the poor child on his shoulders did now. They had a lot in common.

Mikiro poked at his ear again, then snickered as it twitched. "I'm sorry, does that bother you?"

"Nah, just don't do it too much," he said, smirking.

Kagome smiled over at him. "Aww, Kodak moment!"

"What's a Kodak?"

She grinned. "Never mind, future thing. What I mean to say is, it's cute."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Kagome shook her head, then fell behind to talk to Sango.

"Why are you so mean to her?" Mikiro whispered in his ear all of a sudden.

It was still hard to get over the fact that this kid was three. He was so fucking smart for a toddler! "I'm not tryin' to be mean," he retorted, "But she's annoying."

"That's because she likes you. You should be nice to her, and then maybe she'll tell you. She's afraid you don't like her back."

Inuyasha blinked. Kagome liked him? He shook off the sudden creeped-out-but- happy feeling he suddenly got and tried to look up at Mikiro, but it was impossible, being that the boy was no larger than Shippo and he was sitting on his shoulders. "What makes you think that?" he asked softly.

"I don't think it," Mikiro whispered back. "I know it."

"How do you KNOW that, then?"

"I can tell. She likes you a lot. Be nice to her and you'll see. Go ahead, try it!"

He shook his head. "Not a chance, I am not embarrassing myself just to prove you wrong."

The boy gave one of his ears a little tug.

"Oww!"

"Why would you be embarrassed if you didn't like her too?"

Inuyasha gulped as he felt the heat explode in his cheeks. How in the name of the gods had he known that?! "How did you--?!"

Suddenly, Mikiro reached over as he passed a strange tree and grabbed a pretty blue flower from a protruding branch, then reached around his shoulder and shook it in front of his eyes. "Give this to her. My Mommy says girls like flowers."

He took the little bloom from him, then looked back over his shoulder at Kagome, who was talking with Sango about something. They were whispering back and forth and giggling, the way girls tended to. "I can't," he muttered to himself, looking down at the flower. "I just can't..."

"You're thinking about someone now and it hurts you," Mikiro whispered to him. "What is her name?"

"Kikyo," he answered instantly. Then, he paused as he realized the child had known again. //What the...//

"She had a beautiful name. She died, and you feel guilty for it, don't you?"

"How do you know that?" Inuyasha asked, becoming quickly agitated.

The little boy smiled. "I'm just special." He paused. "You should try to tell Miss Kagome."

"Tell her what?"

"You know what. I feel your heart when you look at her, Inu-san. You should, you know. If you don't, she might keep thinking you don't."

Inuyasha moved to ask again, then stopped himself and looked at the blue flower again. He sighed. "I'm afraid," he said, honestly. "Even though you say she likes me, I'm almost afraid Kikyo will hate me for it if I do love-- er, like Kagome."

"I don't think she would, and you don't have to pretend you don't. I may be little, but I understand more than you think."

He sighed, smiling. "Apparently so."

Suddenly, as they passed from the thick forest into an open area, a terrible scent caught his attention, so strong and awful that it sent Inuyasha cross-eyed. It was almost like the smell of the mouth-demons that had attacked them, but it was stronger and slightly different. It put him on his guard in an instant, and he froze in mid-step.

"Something's here," Miroku said for him. "I sense impending danger only moments away."

He took Mikiro off his shoulders and turned, handing him to Kagome. "Take him and Shippo and make a run for cover."

Then, without warning, Mikiro shrieked and grasped the front of his robes. At that exact moment, Miroku's right hand flew to his chest and he almost lost his footing on the grass, but he used his staff to steady himself. He took a labored breath. "Too late for that," he said, looking hastily around. "We're surrounded...whatever they are, they're EVERYWHERE..."

"Damn it!" Inuyasha swore, ripping the Tetsusaiga from its sheath and taking a quick whiff of the air. It was awful, whatever it was. He stepped back in front of the two girls, kitsune and the boy, eyes darting warily from one side of the clearing to the other. The forest was so thick that, if they were surrounded, there could be numerous demons hiding within, out of sight. The fact that it was almost sunset didn't help either.

Kirara jumped from Sango's arms and was immediately transformed, becoming the huge saber-toothed fire-cat youkai. She stood at the huntress' side, ready to pounce on the first thing that came near. Miroku took the other side, near Kagome and Mikiro, and Shippo hopped down behind them.

All was silent as the sun slowly began to sink toward the mountains, until a dull rustling caught Inuyasha's attention nearby. He immediately looked in that direction, but he saw nothing.

"Can you fight them in the dark?" Kagome asked.

"If I knew what they were--" he stopped as his eyes hit the sun, which was sinking ever closer to its resting place. A sudden fear grabbed his heart. "Wait...what day is it?"

"The fourth, I believe," Miroku offered.

Inuyasha sighed with relief. The new moon wasn't until the fifth.

"Then again," the monk said, pausing and grasping his staff. "No, that was yesterday."

He gasped, his heart stopping. "Oh, fuck."

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked, her voice soft.

He gulped. "New moon."

"WHAT?!" Sango exclaimed. "You mean--?!"

Suddenly, a terrible cackling erupted from the bushes. "Dinner is at sssundown," a voice hissed from the trees.

"What?" Mikiro squeaked, blinking.

Miroku fingered the rosary wrapped around his wrist, eyes wide, as the rest of them looked desperately around for any sign of the youkai. "How amazingly unfortunate for such a thing to happen this night."

Inuyasha bit his lip. The second the sun dropped behind those mountains and the sky was completely dark, he would be reduced to a human, and the Tetsusaiga would revert to an old rusted katana, useless to him. //I'd bet my life that Naraku planned this,// he thought, bitterly. He stepped away from the others, taking a deep breath and trying to catch a hint of where the creatures were and how many there were. He could handle as many demons as Naraku could dish out when he was alone and himself, but as a human, with a child and two young women to protect, he knew that he had little chance of succeeding in anything, short of getting killed. Certainly, Sango could protect herself with the boomerang and Kirara, Shippo could change forms and Miroku had the air-rip, but if there were too many youkai, how would they survive, especially with Kagome and Mikiro to think about?

As the sun finally began to sink behind the mountains, Inuyasha felt his strength beginning to fade. //We are so fucking doomed.//

****

To Be Continued

Xandra: I LOVE cliffhangers, and besides, you people are pressuring me to finish, so I'm finishing this one early. The next chapter should be up soon (I have the next three finished, but I'm keeping you waiting because I get more reviews that way), and yes, there will be some greatly-requested Inu- chan/Kagome fluff soon, along with, unfortunately, more Miroku bashing. I love the monk, really I do, but for the sake of the story, I have to. You understand. Reviews are welcome, and if you have any ideas about demons/creatures you'd like to see help/talk to/attack/bother/annoy the Yasha gang at some point in my story, feel free to email me with them (make them original!) at [email protected]. Don't forget to put "Daddy Dearest" in the subject bar, so I don't delete it. Thanx for reading!

Oh, and P.S., I have seen very little of Hachi so far, so I'm not certain how he addresses Miroku, so I took a guess. He just seems like the kind of cowardly creature that would call him master. If it's wrong, sorry, but I have no better assumptions. Same thing with Kirara; I've read some on her and seen even less, but I'm trying here!